Category: Mobile (Page 49 of 65)

      Smartphone War: Are Apps the Deciding Battleground?

      June 30, 2009 /

      The touchscreen smartphones.Smartphones used to be the domain of supergeeks and tech professionals – people who needed or desperately wanted the functionality of a full computer in a tidy mobile platform. As the devices became more popular and the desire for on-the-go web capabilities grew you could almost smell the storm coming.

      Then the iPhone came out and sold millions, spurring competitors to make their own touchscreen wonderphone. We’ve now got the Blackberry Storm, the HTC G1, the Palm Pre, the Nokia N97, and the Samsung Jet, all running on a different operating system. While the manufacturers tout the hardware features that make their phone the best (physical keyboards, a screen that clicks, a camera with a flash), consumers are starting to look to the software that runs the phone, and the applications they’re finally able to install, to make a decision.

      Apple has been most successful with third party application sales and support due to their App Store, which opened in mid-July, 2008. Since release, the App Store has seen more than a billion application downloads and now showcases more than 50,000 third party applications. From games to translators, finance tools to ereaders, the Apple App Store has an app for almost anything, leaving its competitors lagging far behind.

      It’s taken nearly a year for competitors to get their mobile application stores up and running, time during which Apple has continued to lure consumers with the promise of a robust app catalog. As Business Insider points out, consumers aren’t just investing in a phone, they’re investing in a platform, with application quality and quantity as a major component of that investment. In a similar article, BI adds that time users spend with applications is replacing time spent on the web. Apps like Yelp allow users quick access to restaurant reviews, where before they would have been using Google.

      This isn’t just good news for Apple, it’s an important statistic for developers. Continue reading »

      Apps, Computers, Gaming, iPhone, Mobile

      Dell Maybe Kinda Sorta Releasing an MID

      June 30, 2009 /

      Dell bring Anroid to an MID near you?According to a Wall Street Journal report yesterday, Dell has been developing an iPod Touch-like device, capable of accessing the internet but leaving out phone capabilities. The device could be released as early as the end of the year…or not.

      The WSJ talked to a couple engineers closely involved with the project. They claimed the device would be running Android and comes in just a bit bigger than the iPod Touch. The confusion, at least as far as release is concerned, comes from this:

      Another person who was briefed on the company’s plans said Dell may begin selling the device later this year, though this person said the plan could be delayed or scrapped entirely.

      Delayed, okay. Scrapped entirely? Like completely do away with the project’s release date? That just doesn’t make any kind of sense. The story gets stranger.

      According to the article, people at Dell have been working on the device for the past year or so, following a botched attempt to compete with Apple in the mp3 market. They wanted to what now? I realize Dell is the second largest computer manufacturer in the world (for now), but directly compete with the iPod? I don’t know who thought that would work, but that person should probably be fired. Going toe-to-toe with something as entrenched as the iPod is silly, unless you have some seriously compelling differentiators, and something tells me Dell does not.

      On this new MID, people from Dell have also claimed potential plans to sell the MID through mobile carriers, and I can only think of one reason to do that: 3G capability. Unless they want to market the thing with T-Mobile/AT&T hotspots, which is totally ridiculous. Dell employees go on to say Dell is also working on a few Android based smartphones for release later in the year.

      Is it just me, or is this one giant PR nightmare? You’ve got employees at all levels of the company, from engineers to folks intimately involved with release plans, spilling their guts about in-development projects that could potentially compete with the iPhone/iPod Touch and yet none of them sound coherent enough to actually believe.

      Are we seeing the early onset of an upcoming death rattle from Dell? Are they trying to stay solvent as desktop sales plummet? Why don’t they have a tighter lid on this MID thing? They’ve certainly got me speculating, though I’m more worried about the company planning than interested in their new mobile device, whether it be MID, smartphone, or something else entirely. I won’t be holding my breath.

      Audio, Mobile, News

      WebOS Mojo SDK Beta Leaked – Let There Be Apps

      June 27, 2009 /

      Palm Pre WebOS SDK BetaI’ve tried to be clear about my feelings concerning Palm’s late SDK release for WebOS, the operating system that runs the Pre. In my mind it’s a terrible, bass ackwards plan that’s done nothing to help Pre sales figures.

      There was a bright light today, though, when I saw that the Mojo SDK Beta build had be leaked via torrent. That light’s still at the end of a long tunnel, though, as Palm maintains strict control over the final release build, and certainly won’t publish any apps made with the beta. The good is that developers can finally get their hands on development tools and start polishing their apps for a clean release, whenever that may be.

      Palm also mentioned this week that they are adding developers to their early adoption program, doubling their membership this week. They predict the number should double again next week, though without an original stat, this might not be as many developers as I would hope.

      At any rate, movement is movement, and at the very least the homebrew community just got a new toolset to fiddle with.

      Apps, Mobile

      Sprint Takes Their First Shot

      June 27, 2009 /

      Sprint's Pre vs. iPhone ad.Remember how Palm and Sprint weren’t going to position the Pre against the iPhone? Because the Pre isn’t meant to run against the iPhone. Because it was was designed for its own subset of consumers, not iPhone malcontents. Because, because, because.

      The world didn’t pay much attention to that plan, though, because frankly, the devices are similar enough for comparison and in the world of cellphones, it’s usually an either/or decision. Either I get an iPhone or I get a Pre. You get the idea.

      Sprint has finally caved, taking their first shot straight at Apple’s face. They posted the ad at right on their Facebook page this week, which features the Pre leaning against a chewed-to-the-core Apple. As if they they thought the ad was a little too subtle, it also includes text like, “The Palm Pre does things the iPhone can’t. Run multiple applications at the same time with real-time updates and even save $1200 over two years.”

      The ad does seem to be well timed, at least. Original iPhone contracts should be up right around now, and who knows, maybe the Pre will nab a few of those folks away from Apple, but I’m pretty unimpressed with their sales pitch. Run multiple applications? Like…all 30 of them at once? Pitching your multitasking is great if you have some sort of reasonable app selection, but 30? Why not remind people that you’ve got a full keyboard, a flash on the camera, a slick new operating system? Granted, the first two are obvious, but they’re benefits the customer will see immediately, not in six months when you finally release your SDK.

      Apple, iPhone, Mobile

      AT&T Upgrades Should Alleviate iPhone Headaches

      June 24, 2009 /

      iPhone call failed.Yesterday, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel told Gearlog that his company is upgrading their 3G services to include the 850MHz spectrum. As it stands, most 3G services run at 1900MHz and the spectrum is getting congested. The upgrades should alleviate some of that congestion.

      This is good news for all of the new 3GS owners this week, but particularly those in cities like New York and San Francisco, where iPhone saturation is highest, along with network strain. The 850MHz frequency is a lower band, allowing it to travel further and penetrate walls more easily than 1900MHz.

      Along with a more reliable signal in cities, AT&T customers could see 3G hitting previously EDGE-only service areas, though it probably won’t extend service areas by much. AT&T is also starting to upgrade to HSDPA, which is supposed to double the download speeds of their current network.

      It’s nice to see AT&T trying to keep up with the influx of iPhone traffic, but it still feels like just that. Keeping up. And barely. Hopefully these changes will add enough stability to keep people happy until HSDPA provides a stronger backbone for the nation’s only iPhone provider.

      iPhone, Mobile

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