My weekend will be all about reading and gaming on my iPad 2. I’m thoroughly enjoying George R.R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons and hope to knock out several more chapters this weekend. To break things up, I’ll throw in some gaming too. Civilization Revolution is pretty much a daily thing for me. I’m really digging Groove Coaster too. Rage HD is free for a limited time, so I’m going to give that whirl.
How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?
RIM and its American carrier partners have announced pricing for the upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9900…and it’s ridiculous. On AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, the 9900 will cost $249.99 after a rebate and a two-year contract commitment. On T-Mobile, it will cost $299.99 under the same conditions. That’s frickin’ hilarious!
While the BlackBerry Bold 9900 looks like a nice piece of hardware, its internals are outdated and it runs a pathetically archaic operating system. Tech specs include a single-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, 8GB of internal storage, 768MB of RAM, and a 2.8-inch screen (640 x 480). Those specs look like a joke compared to current high-end Android phones, all of which are priced at $199.99 under the same terms. The only exceptions are some of Verizon’s LTE Android phones, which cost $249.99, but those models offer unmatched Internet speeds. The point being that the Bold 9900 is way too expensive for what it offers.
To me, the pricing can only mean one of two things. Perhaps RIM has given up on the consumer market in 2011. Outside of corporate use — specifically BlackBerry Enterprise Server — I can’t see how a sane person would pay a premium price for such a weak (though certainly handsome) phone. Sure, there are some BlackBerry addicts that will snatch up the 9900, but being a BlackBerry addict in 2011 is akin to insisting that Jenna Jameson is still one of the sexiest women in the world.
My initial feeling is that RIM is waiting for its QNX-based version of BlackBerry OS to hit in 2012 before aggressively attacking the consumer market again. My other feeling is that this is just the latest of a series of idiotic decisions made by RIM executives.
What do you think of the BlackBerry Bold’s pricing? What is RIM thinking here? Do any of you still believe that Jenna Jameson is still ultra-hot?!?
[I wanted to post this story yesterday, but my crap web host decided to take the day off. Never use AnHosting.]
Google has announced that it has purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5-billion or $40 a share. While that sounds like a hefty chunk of change, there are a few things to consider. First of all, Google can afford the purchase. Secondly, with all the ridiculous patent wars happening in tech, Motorola Mobility gives Google the opportunity to counter-sue and pursue cross-licensing deals with companies that claim Android infringes on their patents. Lastly, it’s just good business to have control of software, services, and hardware.
Google CEO Larry Page wrote the following on the Official Google Blog:
This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.
We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community” and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.
This deal is first and foremost about patents. Depending on which source you believe, either Motorola or Nokia holds the largest mobile-tech patent library. Technology patents are getting out of hand. Apple and Microsoft are pretty much suing everybody that makes a mobile device. It’s sad that Microsoft made more money off of Android than Windows Phones in Q2 2011. It’s also sad that Apple is able to block Samsung devices from being sold in certain countries over patent litigation. (I’ve never mistaken a Galaxy device for an iPhone or iPad, have you?) Acquiring Motorola Mobility gives Google a ton of ammo to defend and attack in the crazy patent wars.
Although Motorola has been getting beat up in the press in 2011 due to the underwhelming Xoom tablet and the comically delayed Bionic phone, it’s still one of the best Android handset makers in the world. Remember, Android didn’t really take off until the Motorola Droid/Milestone. The company has made excellent Android phones like the Droid X and Droid 2. It will be interesting to see if the number of Motorola handsets decreases after the acquisition is complete (I’m guessing it will). The acquisition also fuels the rumor that Motorola will be making the Android Ice Cream Sandwich hero phone, rumored to be called the Nexus prime.
Regardless of whether Motorola Mobility continues producing the same amount of phones, it’s important for Google to lead the way by showing how to integrate Android software, services, and hardware. Prior to the acquisition, Google only controlled the first two. Now it has a hardware manufacturer to play with. This can only be good for the future of Android.
Of course it will be interesting to see how Google’s Android partners react to the deal in the long term. Right now its partners are applauding it because of all the lovely patents. Google will have to juggle the advantages of having its own hardware arm and appeasing its hardware partners. Naturally, Motorola Mobility will have some advantages over HTC, Samsung, LG, etc., but will they be substantial enough to stifle the competition or will the competition be forced to be more aggressive with differentiation? For example, will HTC — one of the most successful Android partners — be even more aggressive with its Sense UI and HTC Watch video service in order to help its phones stand out from Motorola’s Google phones?
What do you think of Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility? How do you think it will affect the Android universe? Is Motorola now a shoe-in for the next Android champion phone and all future Android champion products? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!
The word on the street is that one of the first HTC phones with Beats Electronics will be the HTC Vigor for Verizon. Droid-Life claims that the phone will resemble the HTC Thunderbolt, but its innards will be much more powerful. The Vigor is rumored for an October 2011 release. Here are the specs (also rumored):
Well color me curious! It will be interesting to see what kind of processor the Vigor uses. The next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (Krait) is slated for a Q4 release. It features an updated Adreno 225 GPU that compares favorable to the GPUs in the Nvidia Tegra 2 and Samsung Exynos processors. I’m also curious to see what battery life will be like. One of the few things I didn’t like about the Thunderbolt was its poor battery life. I’m hoping that HTC includes a hefty battery that adequately supports the formidable combination of 4G LTE, a 720p screen, and a powerful process.
Any of you interested in the HTC Vigor?
With Nintendo’s recent financial report and the company’s bungling of the 3DS, a lot of people are saying that Nintendo is doomed. As someone that has covered the company for several console generations…
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, how many idiots it takes to perform a successful server migration, Austin Aries on Impact Wrestling, or not missing Alex Rodriguez in the slightest, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
With Nintendo’s recent financial report and the company’s bungling of the 3DS, a lot of people are saying that Nintendo is doomed. As someone that has covered the company for several console generations, I find this amusing. We’ve come full circle! People were saying that Nintendo was doomed during the N64 and GameCube days, ignoring the heaps of money it was making with its Game Boy products. When the Nintendo DS and Wii were breaking sales records, people were asking, “Can anyone stop Nintendo???” A rough launch, currency exchange issues, and the tail-end of a console’s lifespan have Nintendo doomed (again). Funny how it goes….
One of the byproducts of this gloom-and-doom reporting is that “experts” believe that Nintendo should ditch the hardware business and focus strictly on software. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of how people used to clamor for Apple to get out of the hardware business and just be an outstanding software developer. Yesterday I read an extremely stupid article written by a writer I usually enjoy. TheAppleBlog’s Darrell Etherington wrote:
Nintendo wouldn’t be the first gaming company to stop making hardware and turn its attention entirely to software if it did change its focus to developing for Apple. Sega made the same move back in 2001, based in part on the same kind of mistake that’s causing Nintendo’s headaches today.
That’s one of the dumbest comparisons I’ve read all year. First of all, the financial situations are completely different. Nintendo has always enjoyed great margins on its hardware. Even when it was being outsold by Sega, Sony, and Microsoft, it made strong profits on hardware sales. The company has always had a lot of cash in the bank. Sure, Nintendo is having a down year with a mishandled 3DS launch and the Wii being on its last legs, but how does that compare to Sega, a company that was losing money at the height of the Dreamcast’s popularity?
Secondly, why would you even mention Sega as a reason for Nintendo to drop hardware and focus on software?!? Sega went from being part of the “big three” companies in console gaming to a middle-of-the-road game publisher. That’s hardly a success story.
I just don’t understand why people are calling for Nintendo to exit the hardware business at this time. Sure, the 3DS will not be as popular as the DS. I sincerely doubt the Wii U will put up the numbers that the Wii did. Having said that, I expect the company to make a lot of money with both products. This talk of Nintendo dropping hardware seems way too premature.
What do you ladies and gents think? Should Nintendo leave the hardware business? Or is that just crazy talk? Do you think Nintendo would develop games for Android and iOS while it still sold consoles? Do you think the admiration Satoru Iwata and Steve Jobs have for each other means anything in business terms? Should Ninten-Do or Ninten-Don’t?!?
[Updated 8/11 with awesome PR photo.] HTC CEO Peter Chou has revealed that his company is investing $300-million in Beats Electronics. Some of you will remember Beats as the high-end audio company founded by hip-hop legend Dr. Dre and Interscope super-producer Jimmy Iovine. The goal is to improve the audio quality of HTC phones and leverage the Beats brand. AllThingsDigital had more from Iovine:
Beats CEO (and legendary music producer) Jimmy Iovine told AllThingsD that the partnership with HTC is just the latest piece of his crusade to improve the sound in modern electronics. Iovine said that the shift from listening to music on stereos to one where MP3s are played on computers has led to “an entire generation lost to bad-sounding music.”
There’s no denying that Beats has a certain cachet and will be useful for marketing purposes, but I wouldn’t expect HTC phones to suddenly have magical audio quality. Current Beats products, like Beats by Dre from Monster Cable, are decent goods that are also overpriced and overrated. I’m sure Beats Electronics will help improve the audio quality of HTC phones, but I mostly see this as a really expensive marketing move.
HTC phones with Beats technology are expected to arrive in late 2011.
What do you think of HTC teaming up with Beats? Does it make you more interested in HTC phones? Or is it just a marketing ploy to you?
[Update: Below is an amazing photo of Chou, Dre, and Iovine. This was, by far, the best part of the press release.]
AT&T is fighting the “evils” of unofficial tethering. Verizon is doing the same. But who’s fighting for your right to party tether?!? That would be a nonprofit group called Free Press. Both AT&T and Verizon left the 700MHz auction with huge chunks of spectrum. Verizon has been using that spectrum for its 4G LTE network. Free Press believes that Verizon charging additional fees for tethering and blocking third-party tethering apps violates the FCC’s auction rules.
The organization lodged a complaint with the FCC, calling out Verizon for not allowing third-party tethering on its LTE phones. Verizon replied that it didn’t do any blocking; it merely “suggested” to Google that third-party tethering apps should be unavailable to its LTE phones through Android Market. In a press release addressing Verizon’s (almost funny) response, Free Press policy director Matt Wood said:
Verizon Wireless essentially claims that subscribers who use tethering apps are stealing service, but this argument is as ridiculous as it is offensive. When users buy wireless data service — whether capped or unlimited — they should be free to decide how they use that data. Verizon would rather call tethering a separate service and require its subscribers to pay twice for the same data. But under that warped view, what’s to stop a carrier from deciding that instant messaging or streaming video applications compete with the carrier’s own services, and consequently blocking subscribers from accessing these applications?
The good news is that Free Press is correct. The 700MHz spectrum is supposed to be “open”. The bad news is that the definition of open was bastardized by corporate lawyers and lobbyists. While blocking tethering solutions violates the auction in human terms, intentional vagueness and convenient loopholes will almost definitely allow Verizon to keep blocking unofficial tethering solutions.
I love that Free Press is fighting the fight against American mobile carriers. It is completely ridiculous that the same data gets handled and charged for in different ways. While I somewhat understand the need to reign in unlimited customers, double dipping on a tiered data system is a total scam.
Between outmoded data caps, silly throttling, data discrimination, and dumb tethering rules, it’s almost as if the carriers don’t want mobile broadband to truly evolve. Oh wait, they’re all afraid of becoming dumb pipes….
In the tablet market, there’s the Apple iPad…and everyone else. Nobody can touch the iPad at the moment. Tablets running Google Android Honeycomb aren’t as good as the iPad. The BlackBerry PlayBook isn’t as good as the iPad. With its recent webOS, the HP TouchPad is the second-best tablet on the market, but it’s still not as good as the iPad. The sales of all the aforementioned tablets reflect this; the iPad is a waterfall that keeps getting bigger, while its competitors are drops in a bucket.
Amazon has huge plans for the tablet market, but with so many competitors floundering, how can it hope to succeed? How can it hope to compete with Apple? Perhaps the answer is by being cheaper and offering a better reading experience than other tablets. PC Magazine’s Tim Bajarin recently wrote:
Multiple sources tell me that it will have the best reading experience of any tablet on the market. But, I am also hearing that Amazon is using pretty low-cost parts and not using any of the major manufacturers that are producing most of the tablets for mainstream competitors. Apparently, the company’s key goal is to make the tablet very inexpensive and then use a new business model to own the Android tablet market.
This might be the best strategy for Amazon. HP, Google’s partners, and RIM are trying to compete with Apple on a feature-by-feature basis. Those companies are trying to outdo the iPad in every way. If Bajarin’s sources are correct, Amazon hopes to take its slice of the pie by emphasizing price and its Kindle connectivity.
Amazon already has several pieces in place for its Android tablets. While some developers find it controversial, the company has had good success with the Amazon Android Appstore. Its Cloud Player offers a convenient way to listen to music on multiple devices and encourages Amazon MP3 purchases. Using screen tech that offers a superior reading experience and encourages Kindle book purchases is a potentially excellent differentiator. Not only would it round out the Amazon tablet’s cloud offerings, but it would make customers more likely to buy apps, music, books, and anything else they can find through Amazon.
I’d be totally down with a cheap Android tablet with great readability from Amazon. I’m a Kindle user, but I find that my eyes get tired way more easily on the iPad than on a Kindle Reader. I already use the Amazon Android Appstore and Cloud Player frequently. One of my few issues with the iPad 2 is that there isn’t a good way to handle multiple Gmail accounts while retaining all the native Gmail features. While the iPad 2 has had a huge impact on my digital life, I’d be willing to make room for the Amazon tablet that Bajarin describes.
How about you? Any of you curious about a cheap Amazon Android tablet with great readability?
After posting a tantalizing countdown clock that points to a September release for the Nokia N9, it looks like Nokia will not be selling the phone in America — at least not right away. Engadget has received a PR statement from Nokia that said that the N9 will not be launching in America. Here’s the deal:
After the very positive reception to the launch of the Nokia N9, the product is now being rolled out in countries around the world. At this time we will not be making it available in the US. Nokia takes a market by market approach to product rollout, and each country makes its own decisions about which products to introduce from those available.
Nokia N9 News wrote:
The site is taking this to mean that the Nokia N9 will not be released in America at all. However, the statement could mean that a U.S. launch will take place after the N9 is available in other territories. One conspiracy theory floating around is that Microsoft doesn’t want the N9 available in America because it wants Nokia to focus on its Windows Phone products in the U.S.
I would have loved to have seen the phone released in the U.S., but it looks like that won’t be happening in September. Also, I’m not buying the theory that Microsoft is blocking the release. As beautiful as the N9 is and as slick as its version of MeeGo seems, I really don’t think Microsoft gives a damn. The N9 geek-chic cool, but it isn’t a threat to anyone. That said, I still plan on picking one up…even if Nokia is making things difficult.
More info on the Samsung Hercules for T-Mobile has been leaking out and I’m really tempted to pick one up, but I also have some concerns that prevent it from being a day-one purchase. I first read about the phone on ThisIsMyNext and recently saw a photo of it on TMoNews. Although it’s being positioned as part of the Galaxy S II line, it’s more like a cross between the Galaxy S II and the Infuse 4G (AT&T). Here’s what’s going through my head with the Samsung Hercules:
Love
Don’t Like
Unsure
It was good to get my thoughts on the Hercules down. (It was also fun searching for Kevin Sorbo photos for this post’s thumbnail. That guy cracked me up.) Now that my thoughts are on screen, I’m actually less tempted to pick up a Hercules. The big selling point is the HSPA+ 42. Aside from that I think I’d be happier with a new Nexus or an iPhone 5. Let’s see!
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