Pandora has announced that it has come out with a version of their live streaming music software for Windows Mobile. This is an interesting move to make a Windows Mobile version before a Symbian. Thats all for now.
-Aryeh
Apple: Past and Present
Check out this video that shows 30 years of Apple in 3 minutes.
-Hillel
Two New Apple Ads
Here are two new Apple ads to get you in the holiday spirit (some Hanukkah ads are on the way, right Steve?)
-Hillel
CES: Palm, Apple, and Tech N’ Marketing
CES is coming up and that means a few things for you and me. First of all, it means that you will be able to come here to view/read about the latest news from the show because we have someone who will be blogging from Las Vegas for us. The other piece of information that will become clear to us is that there is no, and never will be an iPhone Nano (right Apple? You are not really going to shrink the esthetically pleasing iPhone, are you?)
CES also means that we will finally know whether Palm really has something significant for us or if they’re closing down shop. Those are the only two options as far as I can tell, because if Palm’s announcement is not something absolutely huge, I am talking iPhone or G1 huge, then we can all say goodbye to the maker of the famous Treo.
There is no question that Palm is getting our hopes up and the word on the street is that they will be annoucing a totally new OS with at least one new device but probably more. They are making some huge steps in the right direction, there is no question about that. They just launched their on-device application store for both Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices. They are calling it “The Software Store”, how original.
According to Mobile Crunch, Palm’s new OS will be called Nova, and will try to fall somewhere in the middle of the business oriented RIM and the fun oriented iPhone. I am not sure I agree with that assessment, RIM is not so business oriented, with their Storm, and the iPhone is not only fun oriented, with its push mail and GPS.
There is no question that whatever Palm announces, it will be big, the only question is, will it be big enough? They just replaced their CFO and they are releasing all kinds of teasers to the press so it looks like they are trying to make it REALLY big.
I was never a big fan of Palm, my wife had the Tungsten II, which was pretty lame, and I for one, never really understood the appeal of the popular Treos. If Palm achieves their obvious goal of competing with Apple and RIM, and they introduce a new awesome OS along with a device that has a really large touch display with all the goodies we have grown so accustomed to, I will be the first in line.
-Hillel
Congrats to Tech N’ Marketing, But Not to Nokia
Before we discuss the latest and greatest cellular developments, I just wanted to say that this is the first post on the new hosting, it took long enough, but it is finally live, so congrats.
There have been various things going on in the tech world and specifically the cellular market, but I think everyone agrees that one of the biggest and most important pieces of news is the N97. I know I wrote a lot about it already, but a lot more is known to us now, so I think another N97 post is in order.
Mobile-review had some time with the N97 and although the commercial device is not available yet, so the final version of the software cannot be analyzed, the amount of time they spent with the device is more than the rest of us are getting, so it is pretty exciting.
I read the whole review and what I came away with is that the N97 is first of all a very impressive device. It is not as thick as I originally thought, the screen is pretty outstanding, the widgets are a cool idea, and the battery life is phenomenal.
N97 Compared to the iPhone
On the flip side of things, and I guess the flip side is what matters because these are the aspects that will prevent me from buying it (yea right, as if I could afford it), there are more than a few things that bother me about the device. Let’s start with the design. I would have liked it if the entire thing was not made out plastic, a little metal would have made things a lot more impressive and serious.
Not sure I am feeling this 35 degree angle thing, did not work for the Tilt, not sure it will work for this. Then there is the whole resistive screen issue, which to be honest, I do not fully understand yet, but it is supposedly a big downside for the N97. From the video below (might as well put your volume down, unless of course you speak Russian), you can see that the interface, which by the way sorry to say, just cannot be compared to Apple’s (I wanted to see if I could write a review without the I word) is a little quirky, but again, this is not the commercial version, so that might change.
N97 Compared to the XPERIA
I am not getting why the N97 cannot be charged via USB, why would Nokia do that? Am I missing something? As for the widgets, it is a cool idea, but if I wanted widgets, wouldn’t I want them fully customizable? If I were so inclined to have home screen widgets, I would turn to Cellogic to design em, and use Flyscreen.
Two more things I do not like about this phone is of course, the price, but more importantly, Nokia’s marketing strategy really bothers me. The 5800 just came out! I have heard of competition between cellular superpowers, where one outdoes the other and makes consumers forget about the first one’s phone that was recently released (did you get that?). What I have NOT heard of is a company stealing its own thunder. This is something Apple would never do. Why would anyone in their right mind go out and buy a 5800 now, knowing its big brother is right around the corner? Nokia would say they are targeting different audiences with the two phones and to that I say, B.S. Are you telling me there are 5800 people out there that do NOT want a full QWERTY, 5 mp camera, or home screen widgets? Cmon.
N97 Compared to its Little Brother
I, for one, was very excited about the 5800, but now that the N97 has a bigger screen, a better OS, and a full QWERTY, I would not consider getting the Tube anymore. Correct me if I’m wrong, did Nokia just convince me not to get a Nokia phone? Now, that’s good marketing.
-Hillel
We’re Moving
Hi All,
We are moving from wordpress.com to our own hosting. We are sorry if the site is a bit buggy for the next few days. We will be back better then ever.
-Aryeh
Lenovo and Skype Enter the Cellular Market
Not much going on, so I thought I would just report a few small pieces of news. First of all, a mysterious picture showed up on the Web of an unknown Lenovo cellphone. I am a big fan of their laptops so this picture caught my attention. The phone will supposedly run on Android, which makes it the G2?
I am calling it the G2 because it will be the second Google phone, but from the looks of it, it cannot possibly have very much in common with the G1 or the HTC Dream, so to even put them in the same category is a little funny.
Absolutely nothing else is known about this device, but I say, if Lenovo is entering the cellular market, that means more players, cheaper prices, and better phones for us.
In other news, I do not usually take interest or post about these little cute inventions, but this just struck me as borderline genius, so I figured I would share it.
Yes, that would be a hollow coin, in which one can store/hide their Micro SD cards or any other really small memory card. I just thought that was really innovative and pretty cool.
Lastly, looks like Skype launched a beta version for Windows Mobile devices. Not sure what took so long, but I guess this is a good development. On the other hand, not sure why anyone would want to use this, with programs like Fring and others that include Skype, MSN Messenger, AIM, Gtalk and more, why would someone use an application that limits you to your Skype friends exclusively?
-Hillel
sNAX Makes You Forget Joost; For Now Anyway
I recently posted about a well knows app called Joost. Joost allows you to watch videos online using your iPhone or iPod Touch. As I wrote in that post, Joost has a few quirks that need working out. Well, they have been worked out. The result is vSNAX. OK, that’s not the result, it is a totally different app, but it is leagues above Joost in almost every way.
vSNAX lets you view a guide where you can easily see what is playing (they are not really playing, it is more like what is available, but it totally reminds you of a TV experience) on the tens of channels offered. The available channels include CBS, Discovery, VH1, Trailers, Comedy Central, Celebrity, Box Office News, and many more.
You can also navigate by choosing a specific channel and watching the clips continuously, or click on the Most Viewed tab and watch the popular videos. There are many other options available, such as highest rated and others. The interface is very intuitive and user friendly. The app responds fast and the videos are high quality.
The only down side that I can see right now is a few extra seconds to load up the videos, and the lack of some of the content available on Joost.
Another very cool feature is the ability to browse clips while you are watching a video. It shows up as a filmstrip on the bottom of the screen and using your finger (of course) you can smoothly navigate through the available videos on the selected channel or select a different channel.
vSNAX is a great app that blows its competition out of the water, although, it is not perfect, as it needs a little more content. The winner will be decided by whether Joost works out its issues or vSNAX signs more contracts. Whichever comes first will win this war.
The only huge drawback of this app is well known to the developers themselves. In fact, it is written on the vSNAX’s iTunes page. “Warning; may cause obsessive daily SNAXing”. I think that is an understatement, I have not watched so much stand up comedy in a long time.
-Hillel
Steve Jobs Vs. Tech N’ Marketing
Hi All,
A few days ago Hillel posted about the new Apple headphones, and we got many people responding to his blog post. One of the responses was a post by a gentleman named Brian. Here is his comment:
Author : Brian (IP: **********)
E-mail : ************@mac.com
URL :
Whois : ********
Comment:
Sorry, this is complete FUD. Just as Roger noted above, check out the various other in-ear buds out there and you’ll find they are all above $79. Anything less than that is in another class of quality.Why are you blaming Apple for this? I guess the secret is out. Apple is working with vendors to price fix all ear bud systems, oh wait, they weren’t the first out with these….
Please, remove the bullseye from Apple and let’s get some real facts in here before you spread more FUD.
I am going to leave all comments regarding the content of the post aside and focus on who is posting. I believe the person who posted this comment is a representative of the Apple corporation. If you look at the IP address, it tracks back to Apple Inc. If this is so, I am very disappointed with Brian’s unwillingness to tell us who he represents. It is truly unacceptable for Apple to be doing this.
Using tactics of Guerrilla marketing are often times necessary, but it needs to be done correctly:
Brian had some very big beginner’s mistakes:
1. Mask your freakin IP address! Come on everyone know that WordPress tracks your IP.
2. Don’t use terminology that only people from the industry use, like FUD . The Average Joe has no idea what FUD means.
3. Only use Guerrilla marketing when necessary – we are just some guys writing a blog about interesting stuff we come across and we write how we feel about it. DUDE, we are not your make it or break it point. Thanks for taking interest in us but look elsewhere.
I hope you own up to your comment and provide an explanation. Again, this is not about the content of the blog post or the comment (which is quite nasty) but rather about Brian and who he represents.
-Aryeh
Nokia: This is How it Starts
There is a picture of an unknown Nokia touch screen device floating around the Web. The picture is actually taken from a Nokia presentation given in Nokia’s Capital Markets Day 2008, so you know it’s not fake. The phone looks pretty awesome, and I am hoping Nokia is really taking its gloves off and getting in the ring with Apple. The N97 is nice, there is no doubt, and the addition of a full QWERTY is a blessed one, but in terms of hardware, it does not compare with the iPhone. Very few phones do.
However, this new phone, pictured below, does compete, and in my opinion, blows the iPhone out of the water. It also looks like it offers some pretty cool features. Sorry there is no more information available yet, but knowing Nokia and the way they work, there will be an announcement soon. I hope.
-Hillel
Walmart and G1 News Have Me Asking; “So What”?
Just two quick updates that are apparently very big news in the cellular world. Walmart is officially going to be selling iPhones for Christmas and the unlocked G1 is now available for $399. I say apparently because I personally am not overly excited about either one of these developments.
Let’s start with the first one. Walmart is selling iPhones. Why is this big news? Walmart is the most popular retailer in the U.S and the iPhone is the most popular cellular device. So my only question is why did it take so long? Why is this a big piece of news? If the rumors were true and Walmart was going to offer a $99 iPhone, now that would be exciting.
On to the G1. Well, I was not overly excited about the HTC Dream from day one and this doesn’t change anything for me. I honestly would never consider buying the G1 in its current form factor. Maybe HTC and Google should put their thinking caps on and get things moving for the G2 and release it unlocked. Now that would be exciting.
Just to summarize, the only thing that would possibly make today’s news any more boring is if someone would release the news that Target is going to be selling RAZRs and that Motorola announced a new phone.
-Hillel