Who spiked Ben Parr’s coffee with Apple “reality distortion field” Kool-Aid? The Mashable co-editor is gushing about Apple’s rumored mobile advertising platform and how it poses a credible threat to Google. Based on what? Among his other talents, Ben writes science fiction. Perhaps he confuses fact with fiction? Did he have a flashforward, another scifi concept, and see the future?
Do you ever get the impression your wallet is being relentlessly sucked dry? Or that consumers are being expected to pay for an ever growing list of subscription-based services that, in a less profit-mad world, […]
It’s April Fools’ Day, and I’m not joking. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, by comparing and contrasting Apple old with Apple new. 🙂 Last night I posted to Betanews: “What 1984 Macintosh marketing reveals about iPad,” which is based in part on my April 2006 post “When Magazines Mattered,” about Apple buying all the ad pages—39 of them—in the Newsweek 1984 election issue. Magazines mattered to Apple for promoting Macintosh during its launch year. Now iPad matters to magazines, for which some publishers hope to turnaround sagging readership (and ad revenues). Ha, who’s paying whom now?
In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant. In Japan, most research is done today on smartphones, not PCs. John Herlihy I believe five years. But three is definitely possible. As I explained in June 21, […]
My smartphone changed my life. Serious. It has my calendar, all my contacts and is an easy and intuitive communication tool. Danielle Warby
Over the weekend, I did some research on the Leica X1 compact digital camera, which is just now shipping. Digital Photogtaphy Review’s highly technical review gave the X1 mixed marks. I found Steve Huff’s X1 review to be much more interesting and useful—as it’s more real world. The amazing image above is the first taken by Steve using the X1; digital compacts simply don’t produce such detail.Â
Whoa, this Sony notebook makes overpriced Mac laptops seem like a bargain.
Last week, I ordered the Nexus One during Google’s event, before the invited attendees got their free review units. Google shipped the phone by free FedEx overnight, so I began using the so-called “superphone” on Wednesday (January 6). Google impressed with the simple ordering process and prompt delivery.
I would recommend the Nexus One over iPhone to most anyone. While I’m no fan of Nexus One’s industrial design, the phone satisfies in most of the important ways: Call quality, user interface responsiveness, overall speed of the device, 3G telephony and data reception, ease of typing on touchscreen, and applications availability. Google and HTC have put together a simply satisfying smartphone.Â
Microsoft and Apple underestimate how quickly Google is consolidating its mobile platform—clearly so do geeks reviewing Nexus One. Google isn’t just going for one piece of mobility but the whole shebang. Google is putting together the pieces to offer a single mobile lifestyle, with no PC required, supported by search and other Google informational services. Like everything else the company does, free is the glue sticking everything together.
Google’s decision to sell Nexus One direct, even the carrier subsidized model, is part of the strategy. Open-source licensing has its limitations and risks fragmenting Android. As I explained in March 2009 post “There’s an App for That,” Apple changed the rules for mobile operating systems by breaking carrier control over updates. Apple distributes iPhone OS updates, preventing the kind of fragmentation typically caused by carrier distribution. By selling a handset direct, Google takes control of Android updates for a flagship phone that also acts like a baseline design model for handset manufacturers licensing the mobile operating system.Â
A tablet is a natural extension of the iPhone experience, and will ready the user base to accept new and other devices, like internet flat panel television sets. If Apple tried to launch an internet […]
Yesterday someone stole my daughter’s new smartphone from a school locker. On Friday, a good friend’s iPhone 3GS disappeared from a car dealership, while he was talking on it. Both stories, which go oddly together, are cautionary tales about social media, cloud computing and the risks of identities stolen with the hardware.
Stolen phones used to conjure fears of minutes usage overages or big bills from calls placed to faraway places. Now the cost could be  you.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-W2Ia9tar8]
Before there was Twitter or before Facebook gained popularity, I followed people online directly through their Websites or RSS feeds. I’ve long favored personal blogs over professional news sites. The best stories are told by and are about people.
Fast forward five years, people are what make the social Web work so well, and why my profession, journalism, is in state of chaos. Why read something filtered by a reporter/editor when the single, or even crowd, source is available? Interaction is more personal and direct.