By Mitchell Seholm - 12 March, 2010, 3:39 pm
Typically we don’t write a great deal of cell phone news about the FCC as their actions are behind the scenes and rarely affect our day to day lives in any significant manner. However the big guys over at the FCC have taken an interest in testing the validity of the promises made by mobile networks. They have released a new application that is designed to probe network latences and download speeds at home (old news) but more importantly to test your connection on your mobile device. This new data will give them the ability to provide concrete data showing the discrepencies between advertised and actual broadband speeds being offered. This will also be a great way to check out network performance in different areas. (Anyone with enough time on their hands care to test the 3g coverage maps being displayed by Verizon/ATT?) The broadband test application is currently available for download on both the App Market and App store, and compatibility for other OS will be coming soon. This is a very interesting app, go check it out right now.
By Mitchell Seholm - 12 March, 2010, 2:47 pm
March 23-25 are a tremendous few days in the wireless world. The International CTIA WIRELESS show is a premier wireless event that represents a $1 trillion dollar global marketplace. Some of the industries involves are wireless and converged communications, wireless broadband, mobile web computing and data industries. Over the three day event those present undergo intensive learning on new products being released, network with others in the industry, and get glimpses of technology that will be debuting throughout/in the coming year. CTIA has been holding the International CTIA WIRELESS event for 25 years now, it debuted back in May 28th, 1985 and has become one of the largest expositions in the wireless world. The event showcases our dynamic and constantly changing mobile life, and brings wireless leaders together to convene in learning, exploration, and to both listen and lead each other into the future of the mobile industry.
Some of the key features of the International CTIA WIRELESS event…
By Mitchell Seholm - 12 March, 2010, 2:18 pm
Some more dismal cell phone new today as Google’s online-only sales model for the Nexus One is not living up to the expectations originally set by Goldman Sachs. The Nexus One was estimated to be on pace to sell 3.5 million units in FY2010 and after their atrocious sales in the first month of only 80,000 handsets, Goldman Sachs has lowered it’s 2010 estimate down to a mere 28.5% of the 3.5 Million units, coming in at a new projection of 1 million units for 2010. Vodafone picking up the Nexus One and bringing it to the UK shortly may help their current situation, but not enough to get them back on track. T-Mobile and Verizon are the US carriers of the Nexus One and at best Google is hoping to improve their abysmal sales up to 2 million handsets in FY2011 should they add a few new angles to their approach. Goldman Sachs opinion is that Google needs to release a second generation handset, market it aggressively, and drop the online-only sales model. The latter of those suggestions is pretty heavy hitting as it could possibly mean their online-only sales model to be inadequate and in need of some serious supplementing via old school retail sales. Being so early in the year it’s hard to tell what will actually happen, but thus far it has been a disappointing realization for Google and their Nexus One release.
By Mitchell Seholm - 12 March, 2010, 11:53 am
According to a recent study from Careerbuilder.com, today’s workforce is overly available and less safety conscious due to the implementation of smartphones. It is unwise to use your cellphone during every commute, but 1 in 5 workers report they check their device every time it vibrates or beeps. On top of the 54% surveyed that had a smartphone or similar device saying they check it often while driving a vehicle these are not statistics to put your mind at ease. In an industry comparison, those in sales used their phone considerably more while driving than any other group at 66% (this is not really a surprise), following behind them are a not to shabby 59% and 50% from professional service workers and health care providers. The survey consisted of 5,200 individuals from November 5th to November 23rd, 2009. Many of these workers are aware they are risking their own and others safety when checking their phones on the roads, but feel pressured to do so regardless due to the tough economic times and the ever-growing need to remain available past office hours as required by their employers. Rosemary Haefner, VP of Human Resources for CareerBuilder suggested,”It is challenging for workers to maintain a good work/life balance when they are constantly connected to the office, so turning their devices off is important for their health and safety.” (perhaps not so healthy for their financial situations though) She continues with “The lines between work and life can be very blurry these days - 17 percent of workers said they feel like their work day never ends because of technology connecting them to the office. To reduce burnout and avoid potentially risky behavior, workers should allot technology-free time when away from work.”
Some additional mobile usage findings from the studies were equally interesting…
By Mitchell Seholm - 12 March, 2010, 10:32 am
Apple’s iPad pre-orders are now available! For those that needed more specifics than “March 12th” you will be satisfied to know that as of 2 hours ago your pre-order page at apple.com has been live since 5:30AM Pacific and 8:30AM Eastern. Now all of you iPad future owners why don’t you spend some valuable time with all those things that will be collecting dust once your iPad arrives. Not exactly cell phone news, but we know that everyone is interested in all things Apple. You have around three weeks to say your good-byes to your books, laptops, and perhaps loved-ones.
By Mitchell Seholm - 12 March, 2010, 10:12 am
Vodaphone has come through with it’s statement made in January this year suggesting that the Nexus One would bring the Android-powered smartphone across the Atlantic. It was merely a waiting game, and today the wait is over. Vodaphone UK has put the Nexus One on their website and tagged it with “Coming Soon.” No official release date or pricing has been announced thus far, but for any of you that can’t wait to get your hands on this over in Europe, this cell phone news will certainly not be left untouched as more arises. For our full review on the Nexus One check out our cell phone reviews or click the post for the link.
By Mitchell Seholm - 12 March, 2010, 9:50 am
With the reign of free software becoming universal among carriers, Swedish mapmaker Wayfinder is the first casualty of war in mobile based navigation services. In January 2009 Vodaphone and Wayfinder were preparing to close a £20 million ($30 million) transaction to bring Wayfinders navigation services to Vodaphones mobile devices. Enter free navigation services such as Google Maps and Nokia’s Ovi maps with free turn-by turn directions and what’s left in the wake is plummeting TomTom and Garmin share prices and Wayfinder’s Anna Cloke left to give the statement “We could not charge for something that others gave away for free.” This will likely be a repeat performance for several corporations in the future as they aren’t left with a lot of leverage when their competitors are closing up shop and offering their services for nothing. Fantastic cell phone news for the user, and less than favorable for mobile navigation (and potentially other software) providers.
By Mitchell Seholm - 11 March, 2010, 4:51 pm
It seems our fears from a mere 7 hours ago are already coming to fruition. (viewed [here]) It seems between AT&T and Verizon that one of them will inevitably fold and adopt a tiered data plan and the rest of the lemmings will likely follow in their footsteps (Hopefully one or two will hold back to prevent total chaos). They have both been talking a lot about a necessary change in wireless broadband pricing models and trying to justify the changes as “fair.” They are both suggesting the increase is due to the billions they are dumping into building new networks, but in reality it is to compensate for their significant losses in SMS and mobile voice revenues. Verizon CTO Tony Melone stated “It’s one thing to say all you can eat is gone, but it’s another thing to have consumers worrying, ‘Can I stream this radio?” when in fact it hasn’t been “All you can eat” to begin with. NY’s Attorney General pointed this out rather aggressively in late 2007 that their “unlimited” service actually came with a 5GB monthly cap. For those that don’t mind the impending increase in prices, the new 4g LTE networks will offer 5-12Mbps speeds initially and will launch in 25 to 30 markets. Caps and pricing on the new LTE networks are all speculation at this point, but it doesn’t seem to fare very well for the average consumer. With even further losses due to the migration to open networks, mobile VoIP, push IM clients, and smartphones I don’t blame the titans for the chance to increase wireless data rates, but I certainly hope it does them more good than bad as this could perhaps lead down a dark path for the nations largest wireless providers.
By Mitchell Seholm - 11 March, 2010, 4:22 pm
Last December Vic Gundotra, VP of Engineering for Google demonstrated a preview of Product Search for mobile devices with up-to-date local inventory which informs you about available stock based on your search results at local retailers. Well the wait is over shoppers, the ability to view stock live from your Google based web browser is now here. Retailers currently participating include Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery barn, and West Elm. If you see a blue dot(s) in your search results it is alerting you that the item is either in stock or has limited availability nearby. From this point it will provide you with the retailers location and number and you can proceed from there without spending valuable time checking endless stores via calling/driving around searching. If you have active GPS it will even show you how far you are from your shopping destination. This new feature is available on any iPhone, Palm webOS, or Android-powered device in the US. To access this feature you just need to go to Google.com, tap “more”, then tap “Shopping” and voila! If you’re a retailer that would like to participate in this program, just fill out [this form] and let them know you would like to be considered.
By Mitchell Seholm - 11 March, 2010, 3:45 pm
This week at the annual Game Developers Conference, Palm and Epic Games have teamed up to demonstrate the Unreal Engine 3 on Palm webOS. The Unreal Engine 3 graphics engine powers Unreal Tournament 3 and Gears of War along with several other titles from leading game developers. Just imagine having graphics on your Palm resembling the screen-shot to the left. I’d say that for some this more than makes up for NFL RedZone not being offered on the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus. In the very near future developers that are licensed will be able to build games utilizing the Unreal Engine 3 for Palm webOS. Combined with Palm’s announcement earlier this week about the Plug-in Development Kit (PDK) for developers it seems there are an abundance of tools at their fingertips to begin creating some long awaited aesthetically pleasing games to Palm webOS. Developers can download Unreal Engine 3 here. More information about Palm’s PDK can be found here.
By Mitchell Seholm - 11 March, 2010, 2:32 pm
Better late than never as it seems to have been worth the wait. Novothink has finally announced the long awaited (Promised to arrive November ‘09) Solar Surge charging cases for the iPhone/iPod are available. Surprisingly affordable I might add considering the nifty technology, running at $79.95 for the iPhone 3G/3GS version and $69.95 for the iPod touch (2nd gen only). So far the cases are only available in black and white, but additional colors will be arriving soon. The Solar Surge will add between four to eight hours of talk time, or up to 20 additional hours of audio playback when fully charged. Novothink stated that 30 to 60 minutes of talk time should be expected after just 30 minutes of exposure to direct sunlight. Quite the “Green” conversation starter in my opinion.
By Mitchell Seholm - 11 March, 2010, 1:57 pm
With the addition of 19 more airports accepting mobile boarding passes, American Airlines has brought the total amount of airports in participation to 27. The boarding passes work with both mobile phones and PDA’s and display a scannable 2D bar-code, allowing the user to bypass the check in desk or having to print your boarding pass from home and proceed directly to security. Participation is not a complicated procedure, all that needs to be done is for the customer to simply choose “E-mail for use on Cell Phone or Other Device” option and then you can retrieve the boarding pass from your email on your handset. The 19 new airports include Albuquerque International, Charlotte Douglas International, Cleveland Hopkins International, Denver International, El Paso International, Houston George Bush Intercontinental, Jacksonville International, Little Rock Adams Field, Memphis International, New york La Guardia, Oklahoma Will Rogers World, Orlando International, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Salt Lake City International, San Antonio International, San Diego International, San Francisco International, Tulsa International, and Washington Dulles International. Those join the first airports, which included Austin-Bergstrom International, Chicago O’Hare International, Dallas-Fort Worth International, Los Angeles International, John Wayne Orange County, Las Vegas McCarran International, Jackson Atlanta International, and Minneapolis-St. Paul International.
By Mitchell Seholm - 11 March, 2010, 12:12 pm
The Swiss Army Knife of the mobile world has arrived. Verizon Wireless and CASIO have released the extreme-condition resistant CASIO G’zOne Brigade (water, dust, and shock resistant). The Brigade is the jack of all trades mobile device that can be perfectly utilized by all business professionals in industries such as construction, public safety, and utilities that need both extensive functionality and sturdy durability. The Brigade offers high performance mobile technology, including not only a numeric keypad on the front with dedicated music and messaging keys as well as a full QWERTY keyboard, but also an abundance of other excellent features such as; microSD card support, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, 2.5mm headset jack, Blue-tooth and 3g, and let’s not forget the push-to-talk capabilities. The Brigade also supports business based applications such as the Document Viewer and Verizon’s Field Force Manager software, and of course complete support for VCAST services. This rock solid all-in-one phone can be yours for $250 after rebate with a two-year agreement.
By Mitchell Seholm - 11 March, 2010, 11:38 am
It is a sad day for Sprint users and their beloved NFL app. Verizon has bought out the rights to the popular NFL RedZone by offering 50% more than Sprint was paying the NFL. Verizon users can now satisfy all of their NFL needs thanks to the four-year contract they have just signed with the NFL for exclusive rights to many special features such as live video and audio. The deal was made at $720 million dollars and thanks to that Verizon users are going to get even better access than Sprint previously did now having access to EVERY NFL game and enough content to satiate any football lovers appetite. Sprint users may not be at the top of the food chain anymore when it comes to exclusivity in the mobile NFL arena, but there is no need to panic as Sprint will be launching a new app called Football Live to replace the previous NFL RedZone. They’ll be able to obtain live coverage of the NFL draft, games, and more, but in the form of raw data, news, and commentary. Sprint Football Live is scheduled to launch by the end of the month and will likely be implemented with the next webOS update for all Sprint mobile devices. Bad news for Pre Plus and Pixi Plus users though as Verizon’s marketing chief John Stratton stated the new NFL service will only be available on Android and BlackBerry devices. A win for Verizon, Android, and Blackberry users and tough luck for Sprint, Pre Plus, and Pixi users.
