Tag: Mobile Tech

Nexus Prime Headed to Verizon as a Timed Exclusive?

A lot of mobile tech enthusiasts were surprised and disappointed to learn that Verizon has passed on getting a Samsung Galaxy S II variant. My initial thoughts were that it was waiting for the LTE version of the Galaxy S II (probably) or it was waiting to get the Nexus Prime (less likely). According to Boy Genius Report, the Samsung “Droid Prime” will be headed to Verizon as a timed exclusive on October 2011.

For those of you not familiar with the Nexus Prime, it will be the third Google Android champion phone, following the Nexus One and Nexus S. It will be the first phone that runs the next version of the Android operating system, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich. Other rumors indicate that it will have a Super AMOLED HD 720p (1280 x 720) screen and a five megapixel camera that raises the bar on image quality. The sweet hook on being a Verizon exclusive is that it will also use zippy LTE connectivity. Right now, there’s nothing that can touch Verizon LTE in terms of Internet speed.

It’s interesting that BGR is using the brand Droid Prime and not Nexus Prime. The Droid is a brand specific to Verizon and it seems odd that Google would dump the Nexus brand in favor of a carrier-specific one. That’s the only part of the rumor that seems suspect. Perhaps the Droid Prime isn’t a Nexus phone at all.

Are you excited about the possibility of a Google champion phone running on Verizon’s LTE network? Would you rather have this or an iPhone 5?

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Coffee Talk #391: Powerful Brands That are Dead or Dying

My tech writer friends and I were talking about brands that were powerful 10 years ago, but are dead or dying in 2011. Names like Dell, Nokia, and RIM came up. It wasn’t that long ago when Michael Dell advised Apple to…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, gratuitous use of chyrons, the scariest insect, or why my coffee beans are late, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

My tech writer friends and I were talking about brands that were powerful 10 years ago, but are dead or dying in 2011. Names like Dell, Nokia, and RIM came up. It wasn’t that long ago when Michael Dell advised Apple to shut down the company, Nokia was the leading high-end smartphone manufacturer in the world, and RIM’s BlackBerry platform was considered cutting edge. It’s crazy how much can change in a decade. These days Apple makes Dell look like a joke, Nokia is no longer a player in the high-end market, and RIM’s BlackBerry OS is considered an archaic piece of crap.

Other companies like Excite, Palm, and Yahoo! were discussed. I wanted to talk about gaming brands, but most of these guys don’t know anything about that world. That’s where you come in! Remember when the “big three” of gaming was Nintendo, Sony, and Sega?!? It’s crazy how Sega went from one of the biggest players in console gaming to a middling publisher.

What brands do you remember being juggernauts in 2001 that are dead or dying in 2011? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Samsung Expands Galaxy Line with M, R, W, and Y Models

With the immense success of its Galaxy S and Galaxy S II phones, Samsung has decided to expand the line (expand the galaxy?). Get ready for the Galaxy M, Galaxy R, Galaxy W, and Galaxy Y phones! Confused by the naming strategy? Don’t be. The IT Times has a breakdown of what each model means:

  • “S” (Super Smart) – Devices at the very pinnacle of Samsung’s mobile portfolio. This class will only be used on flagship devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S, the award-winning smartphone that has already sold 10 million units throughout the world.
  • “R” (Royal / Refined) – Premium category models, a combination of power, performance and productivity for the individual who wants to be defined by the technology they carry.
  • “W” (Wonder) – High quality, strategic models, perfect for those seeking a balance between style and performance.
  • “M” (Magical) -High-performance models at an economic price-point.
  • “Y” (Young) – These are entry models or strategic models for emerging markets or a younger audience more sensitive to price.

On second thought, this is a bit confusing. Certain models will also have additional designations, including:

  • “Pro” – This indicates that the device includes a QWERTY keyboard for speedier email typing and increased productivity for professionals.
  • “Plus” – This indicates that the device is an upgrade from an existing model.
  • “LTE” – This indicates that the device is designed to utilize LTE (Long-Term Evolution) connectivity standards, a 4G standard to provide increased mobile network capacity and speed.

Yeah, I’m going to need a cheat sheet to tell these models apart. Though I suppose having names that are clearly defined for specific market segments is much better than having nebulous (meaningless?) monikers like Infuse, Amaze, Sensation, Incredible, etc.

What do you think of Samsung’s additions to the Galaxy line of phones?

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Coffee Talk #389: Are We Living in a Post-PC World?

I’m not buying the whole “Post-PC world” rhetoric. I hate that phrase. It’s a clever bit of marketing that reminds me a bit of the term “Retina Display”. Apple, Steve Jobs in particular, has ingrained the terms Post-PC…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, why animals freak out before natural disasters, Hustler’s rumored Rihanna sex tape, or paid Android apps that still have advertising (WTF?!?), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Like many of you, I spent a lot of time reading a bunch of reactions to Steve Jobs resigning as Apple CEO. One of my favorites was by Peter Pachal of PC Magazine. While I enjoyed the piece, there was a section that bugged me. Check it out:

The reason Jobs picked this time to leave active duty at Apple is apparent. He’s done. He’s finished executing a brilliant strategy of transitioning Apple from a PC-focused company to a company that’s leading the charge into what Jobs calls the “Post-PC world.” Over the past decade, Apple’s legendary success began with the iPod, evolved into the iPhone, and reached new heights with the iPad.

I definitely agree that Jobs changed Apple’s focus and transformed it into a drastically different company than it was in 1997. That said, I’m  not buying the whole “Post-PC world”  rhetoric. I hate that phrase. It’s a clever bit of marketing that reminds me a bit of the term “Retina Display”. Apple, Jobs in particular, has ingrained the terms Post-PC era and Retina Display to the point where a lot of tech writers think that the Post-PC is an actual era (after the Palaeozoic Era?) and Retina Display is an actual technology. It infuriates me. (For the record, I’m not accusing Pachal of either. His article just reminded me of the matter.)

See, I don’t think of products like the iPhone or iPad as post-PC. They’re just different kinds of personal computers. They’re personal devices, right? They compute things, don’t you agree? They just use different input methods, come in different form factors, and offer a different experience. I realize those sound like major differences, but I believe that my laptop, my smartphone, and my iPad are all personal computers. They’re just different kinds of PCs. Put it this way — my laptop is quite different from the Altair 8800, but they’re both considered personal computers.

Do you agree with me? Are smartphones and tablets just new kinds of personal computers? Or are they distinct device types that should not be considered PCs? Are you living in a Post-PC world? Are you a Post-PC girl? (Think Madonna.)

Today’s Poll: Will the iPhone 5 Be on All Major U.S. Carriers?

Following the recent rumor that the iPhone 5 will be available on Sprint in October, MacTrast has posted a story that claims Apple’s next iPhone will be available on T-Mobile as well. If both rumors pan out then the iPhone will be available on all four major American carriers. That’s a potentially huge happening that could shake up the U.S. market.

What do you think? Will it happen? Kindly take today’s poll and discuss!

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Steve Jobs Resigns, Tim Cook Named New Apple CEO

Huge news out of Cuppertino: the legendary Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO and former COO Tim Cook has been named as his replacement. Jobs will still serve Apple as chairman of the board. As many of you know, Jobs has been suffering from numerous health issues over the last few years. Many believed that Cook would be his successor. Despite the inevitability of it all, it still feels a bit shocking. Apple without Steve Jobs steering the ship seems…not right. Before I get to some analysis and explanation, here’s a clip from the press release:

Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.

For those of you not familiar with Cook, he is one of the biggest reasons that Apple enjoys the profit margins that it does. The man knows how to work supply chains, setting up favorable deals for components needed in Apple products years in advance. For example, Cook set up deals for high-quality LCD displays years before the iPad and iPhone took off. This helped Apple secure relatively cheap prices for these goods. A nifty side effect, particularly on the tablet side, is that Apple’s competitors have had a tough (and comparatively expensive) time getting LCD screens for its products.

The reaction from the stock market has been a completely expected overreaction. According to Wired, Apple shares closed at $376.18, but dipped to $357.10 in after-hours trading. I understand that people are jumpy on someone other than Steve Jobs leading Apple, but there’s no need to panic (yet). Jobs is still around and working for Apple. More importantly, Apple plans things out so far in advance that an immediate stock dip seems a bit stupid to me. I would be shocked if there were drastic changes to how Apple does business over the next five years (at least).

What are your thoughts on Steve Jobs resignation and the future of Apple? Is it a sign of an inevitable fall? Or is it simply due to health issues? At the very least, Tim Cook will do a better job taking over Apple then Steve Ballmer did taking over Microsoft, right? Is going with an “operations” guy instead of a “vision” guy the best thing for Apple’s future?

iPhone 5 Coming to Sprint?

According to The Wall Street Journal, Sprint will be the third American carrier to get Apple’s iPhone. According to the newspaper’s sources, “Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin selling the iPhone 5 in mid-October, people familiar with the matter said, closing a huge hole in the No. 3 U.S. carrier’s lineup and giving Apple Inc. another channel for selling its popular phone.” Another source mentioned that Sprint would be getting the iPhone 4 as well.

This would be tremendous for Sprint, which is a distant number-three in the U.S. market. Verizon is huge. AT&T is huge, especially if the company’s merger with T-Mobile goes through. The gap between the top two carriers and the third is only getting bigger. An iPhone on Sprint would help matters.

One thing to keep in mind is that Sprint’s iPhone will probably not be a “4G” phone. Sprint currently uses WiMax for its 4G network. It’s an uncommon technology and I sincerely doubt Apple would make a specialized model just for Sprint. The rumor right now is that the next iPhone will have both CDMA and GSM radios, allowing Apple to have one model that will work for most of the world’s carriers.

On the plus side, Sprint is the only American carrier offering true unlimited plans. Its competitors are either using data caps or data throttling. If you use a lot of data and can live with relatively slow CDMA data speeds then a Sprint iPhone is worth a look.

Any of you guys and gals interested in an iPhone 5 on Sprint’s network?

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John Carmack Talks Licensing, Mobile, Tools, and More

Gamasutra has a must-read interview with id Software’s John Carmack. The brilliant programmer covers a wide variety of topics in this four-page interview, including Rage, frame rate, the decision to stop licensing id Tech, the benefits of being acquired by ZeniMax, the true power of mobile devices, and more. I highly recommend reading the whole thing. You’ll be a smarter gamer for it. Here are some highlights:

Why the company stopped licensing its id Tech engine:

It’s interesting when you look back at our technology licensing — it was never really a business that I wanted to be in. In the very early days, people would pester us, and we would just throw out some ridiculous terms, and we were surprised that people were taking us up on it.

I didn’t want to be in the process of supporting a lot of outside teams — because we feel beholden to not make radical changes, and pull the rug out from underneath lots of other people. If it’s your own team, you can make the sensible decision of “It’s going to be worth it. It’s going to suck for a while, but we can make our way through it.” But you don’t want to do that to other people.

Why Microsoft gives its Xbox 360 developers expensive tools for free:

Microsoft has got some pretty good static analysis tools, and normally they make you buy, like an $8,000 professional edition of Visual Studio, but they give it for free to all Xbox developers — which I think says an interesting thing about this stuff. Where Microsoft figures that, well, nobody blames them for crappy software on Windows, but they do blame Microsoft a bit for crappy software on 360, so it’s in their best interest to put more static analysis tools available there.

One of the biggest problems with PC game development:

It’s pretty sad, the fact that we have these PCs that are sometimes 10 times as powerful, and we have more trouble holding 60 frames per second on the PCs because of drive and OS unoptimalities. And there are reasons for all of them. I’ve done enough driver work on OpenGL to understand why things wind up the way they are.

And sure, on the PC, you can go ahead and you’re running two megapixels. You can turn on anti-aliasing, and you can have much bigger page tables for the virtual textures, and all this stuff. But still, if you want it to get done in like 16 milliseconds, the graphics drivers are a huge hindrance right there.

As I said before, it’s a fantastic interview. Carmack is awesome. I guarantee you’ll learn at least four things from this story. Now go read it!

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Die Text Messaging, Die!!!

I can’t wait for text messaging charges to die. (In America) The costs for traditional text messaging (SMS) are stupid and overpriced. While U.S. carriers are getting dinged for their lame data prices and practices, the charges for text messaging are just as bad, but fly under the radar. Thankfully, there are a number of alternatives that have made or will make text messaging obsolete (for smartphone users).

Before I get to those, I wanted to point out that AT&T sees that the death is near for traditional text messaging. According to Engadget, the company will only be offering one text messaging option starting August 21, 2011: the $20 unlimited package. I see this as one last cash grab before traditional text messaging kicks the bucket.

As I mentioned earlier, there are a number of alternatives to traditional text messaging. BlackBerry fans have been enjoying the excellent BlackBerry Messenger for years. Google Voice users have been enjoying free text messaging to the U.S. and Canada since launch. Facebook recently launched a standalone Facebook Messenger app for Android and iOS. The upcoming Apple iOS 5 includes iMessage, which is like a better and more elegant version of BlackBerry Messenger. A few of you have joined me in group messaging sessions through Google+. Those are just some of the great alternatives to traditional SMS.

Of course these solutions won’t work for everyone. Some people are still on “dumb” phones, others rely heavily on MMS, and international solutions can be a problem. I send a lot of international texts and resort to a stupid system because Google Voice doesn’t have an international option. To use the same number I have for calls, I receive international texts on Google Voice and send them through Skype, which displays my GV number as the caller ID. Until Google gets off its ass and officially enables international texting, I have to rely on this MacGyver solution.

What do you ladies and gents think of the future of text messaging? Do you think it’s on its way out? Will iMessage and the popularity of the iPhone help quicken the demise of SMS? Do you use any of the solutions I mentioned above? Or maybe you use an app from a smaller company, like Handcent of ChompSMS? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

HP Calls it Quits on webOS (Pre, TouchPad)

After acquiring Palm for $1.2-billion with the intent to go big with webOS, HP is calling it quits. The operating system behind the Pre line of mobile phones and the TouchPad tablet, tech enthusiasts loved webOS for its innovative features. Unfortunately, the hardware was never the best (at least on the phone side) and a teeny development scene made for a small app library. Considering those factors and the fact that HP has traditionally been more of a corporate brand than a consumer one, it’s not surprising that HP has given up on webOS, though it is surprising that it happened so suddenly. Here’s a clip from the press release:

HP will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. The devices have not met internal milestones and financial targets. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

Keep in mind that HP still has a chance  to make the $1.2-billion purchase worthwhile. It can license webOS to phone and tablet manufacturers. With Google’s recent purchase of Motorola, there are probably some Android phone and tablet manufacturers looking to diversify.

RPadholic smartguy and I were chatting about HP getting into the patent wars. That seems like the “cool” thing to do these days.  HP can either sue other companies that infringe on its Palm patents or it can license the patents for a hefty sum. Other possibilities include leveraging the patents for favorable cross-licensing deals or selling them outright.

It’s a shame that webOS ended up with a company that was ill-equipped to serve the consumer market. It is an impressive piece of software and the TouchPad (with its recent software update) was the best iPad alternative I’ve tried. Despite the enormous potential of webOS, the operating system was unable to thrive due to poor corporate strategy (both Palm and HP). Will it live again through other companies? Probably. Will it be a significant player in the mobile market? Probably not.

[I wanted to post this story yesterday, but my crap web host decided to take the day off. Never use AnHosting.]