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Michael Dell confirms mini 3i US release for 2010

October 15, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

According to TechPulse, Michael Dell has confirmed the launch of his company’s first Android phone, the mini 3i, for 2010. The device is rumored to be coming to AT&T and should see a hardware upgrade from the version available in China, namely to add Wi-Fi and 3G support. Smart move, Dell. Launching a phone without those things would just put me over the edge.

The phone wasn’t all that well received when Dell first started shopping the thing around, and it doesn’t look like things have improved. Of course, it’s pretty hard for people to get excited about what looks to be an iPhone/Pre mashup running on Android. If anything had a shot at the iPhone in recent days it was the Pre because Palm had some pretty clear differentiators. Dell doesn’t have that. What it does have, though, is the pure gall to call underwhelming product releases an attempt at competition in essentially every market the company takes part in. As I’ve said before, this will be one long, agonizing death.

Mobile, News

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Michael Dell taking pot shots at PCs fastest-growing market

October 14, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

I hate to call netbooks a section of the PC market. They’re just laptops. Small laptops. That’s all. The world’s great surprise at the success of the netbook makes as little sense to me as defining these little laptops as their own section of the market does. We’re in a recession and the machines are cheap. It’s also not a secret that computers usually deliver more than most consumers ever need. Smaller, less-powerful laptops are a welcome deviation from that course. So why is Michael Dell bashing the tiny PCs?

Speaking at a dinner party in Silicon Valley last night, Dell said user excitement with netbooks lasts all of 36 hours. Dell says users long for their larger screens, their bigger keyboards, shortly after the netbook thrill passes. “We see a fair amount of customers not really being that satisfied with the smaller screen and the lower performance, unless it’s like a secondary machine or it’s (a) very first machine and the expectations are low,” said Dell. “But as a replacement machine for an experienced user, it’s not what we’d recommend. It’s not a good experience, and we don’t see users very happy with those.”

It’s a strange sentiment from the CEO of a company that has a full line of netbooks for sale. Apparently this was Dell’s way of saying his company can give a customer options, that it can meet any need. As Don Reisinger at CNet pointed out, netbook sales have gone up 264% in Q2 over last year, while notebook sales dropped 14%. Mr. Dell would likely do well to consider those numbers when making sweeping statements about the future of the computer market.

Computers

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Nokia Booklet official for AT&T

October 13, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

I think I’m starting to understand AT&T’s strategy for the next few years. As complaints continue to pile up, the company will just add more and more bandwidth-hungry devices until it inevitably crushes the network, at which point customers will be so fed up they will pay for anything, including tiered data plans. That’s a long introductory sentence for a netbook, I know. Now, the netbook.

Nokia confirmed its 3G capable netbook, the Booklet, to be released on subsidy with AT&T. The little lappy will run $299 with a two-year contract at data rates of $60/month. You will also be able to get the computer for $599 unsubsidized. The system runs Windows 7, which supposedly seamlessly handles 3G to wi-fi crossover, has a 120GB hard drive, and sports an A-GPS card for location services. Nokia has also crammed a 16-cell battery into the thin frame for an estimated 12-hour battery life. I’ll believe that when I see it, but for now it’s nearly double most other netbooks.

Through the holidays you’ll only be able to buy the Booklet at Best Buy stores. Execs from Best Buy, Microsoft, and Nokia were all in Manhattan for the announcement today and seemed optimistic about sales potential. If you’re looking for an ultra mobile device and don’t already have a laptop, will you really want one of these on a service contract? How bout when it’s sitting next to a 32GB iPhone?

Computers, Mobile

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Now you can use your iPhone as your car keys

October 13, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

It’s been pretty hilarious to watch all of the fake “there’s an app for that” ads come out, just to see an actual app released a few months later. Such is the case with SmartStart from Viper. The free app hooks your phone up with a starter kit installed on your car and essentially turns your iPhone into your keys.

SmartStart does more than just ignition. You can start your heater, lock and unlock doors, pop your trunk, and set the alarm. Since the signal is carried over cell networks you can use the app from pretty much anywhere without range limitation.

All that convenience comes with a pretty hefty price tag, though. It’s $299 for the car module if you’ve already got a Viper system, $499 if not. You get a free year of service but after that you’re looking at $30/year to keep things running. Even at that price, though, I’d imagine a lot of people would be willing to buy. I mean, really, your iPhone controls your car. Now you just need to replace your Ford Focus with an Aston Martin.

Apps, iPhone

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Accessories for the Storm 2 show up in Best Buy

October 12, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Engadget got an early look at some accessories for the Blackberry Storm 2 today. It’s just more in a year-long string of leaks that point to a release some time this month, maybe even some time this week. The shots from Best Buy are just some silicone skins, but none of the material can seem to agree on a name for the device.

The accessory packaging shows 9550, the numeric nomenclature for the device, Storm II (is there a Storm III in the works?) and even Odin, which used to be the product’s code name. The three names show up right next to one another, apparently to assuage any doubt about just which device the skins are for. That a major retail chain has them, though, almost definitely points to a release date in the near future.