Flirting With Verizon, Google Drops 'Don't Be Evil' Pretense
The word "evil" is vastly overused these days. Here's a link to the "Top 10 Evil People in History," if you've got an afternoon to blow -- and I would never call a major U.S. wireless carrier "evil." Oligopolistic, predatory, bureaucratic, yes -- evil, no. So the idea of Google shacking up with Verizon Wireless doesn't exactly qualify as "Doing e
Business Users Want GPS In Their Smartphones
According to the latest J.D. Power and Associates survey of smartphone users, GPS tops the list of features that users want most in their smartphones. Looks like location is going to be one of the big wireless must-have features for mobile business in 2008.
What Is Google Talking To The Carriers About?
Late yesterday it came to light that Google is in talks with Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile USA regarding its big mobile plans. Are they talking about the gPhone, or something else?
Is The Web Headed For Meltdown 2.0?
In recent months I've seen a lot of anxiety in the tech marketplace. Bloggers, pundits, and industry insiders all seem to suggest that Web 2.0 is headed for Correction 2.0. Are we in the middle of another bubble?
Is Apple's Leopard Worth the Leap?
Apple is making headway in the enterprise environment. But is Leopard, the sixth major release of Apple's Mac OS X operating system, worth an IT manager's consideration?
Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map (And Please Entertain My Takeover Bid)
It's a good time to be a mapmaker. As the digital mapping industry undergoes some serious consolidation with mergers and acquisitions, today Garmin threw a wrench into TomTom's bid for Tele Atlas by offering 15% more. A sign that GPS, LBS, and navigation apps are on the verge of exploding?
Google Phone (Legend) Lives
What has become the Loch Ness Monster of the mobile phone world, the Google Phone, is once again purported to exist.
No Cash Please, We're Apple
Believe it or not, Apple has decided not to accept cash from people buying an iPhone. That's right, your money's no good at an Apple store.
T-Mobile Wants You To Jump At Its Shadow
T-Mobile's latest Windows Mobile smartphone bucks the utilitarian integument of other devices and dons some sharper duds. It's about the size of a BlackBerry Pearl, and should tempt enterprise and consumer users alike.
Microsoft Wants to Stick XP on XOs
Like an uninvited birthday party guest who shows up on the wrong date with an unwanted gift, Microsoft is "working to adapt a basic version of Windows XP so it is compatible with the non-profit One Laptop per Child Foundation's small green- and-white XO laptop."
Should You Replace Microsoft Office with an Online App?
What feels like the sudden arrival of a multitude of online app options -- like Google or Zoho -- has allowed IT managers to ponder a move they would never have even considered just a short while ago: Replace Microsoft Office with an online office suite.
Mobile Broadband Is A Mix-and-Match Affair
"The Future of Wireless Broadband" was the first session I attended at last week's Mobile Business Expo at Interop in New York And the first thing I learned was that the adoption of wireless broadband isn't going to be a simple matter of clear winners and losers.
Want To Pay Cash For An iPhone? Apple Won't Let You
In an apparent effort to curb the reselling of unlocked iPhones, Apple has instituted a new policy that forbids customers from paying cash--you know, the stuff that says "legal tender for all debts public and private"--for iPhones. And it has dropped the limit to two per person.
Facebook Is Only Warming Up
This was Facebook's week. The golden child of Web 2.0 scored a $240 investment deal from Microsoft, launched a new mobile application for the BlackBerry, and was even rumored to hav
CTIA Wrap Up. What Really Happened This Week?
The lack of real news and even any sort of buzz at this fall's CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment show was a real disappointment. While Microsoft's announcement is certainly noteworthy, nothing set the show on fire. Hell, the parties were barely fun.
Opera Ups The Mobile Browser War Ante. Again
The people over at Opera Software can't seem to stop innovating. Their latest contribution to the mobile industry is a service that reflects all your PC-based browser settings -- including bookmarks -- on whatever mobile device you happen to be using.
Mobile Business Expo: Tips For Building Business Mobility Strategies
While everyone talks about mobile strategy plans, it seems we all need help when it comes time how to craft them. In an attempt to help CIOs and IT managers better think about mobility I sat down with Philippe Winthrop, Research Director -- Wireless and Mobility, Aberdeen Group, at Mobile Business Expo to come up with some useful tips for this special edit
CTIA Offers State Of The Industry Snapshot At Confab
If you believe everything CTIA, The Wireless Association has to say about the wireless industry, it would seem like it is firing on all cylinders. However, the rosy statistics don't quite cover up all the thorns.
Mobile Business Expo: Applications Lead Way In The Verticals
This week I am blogging from Mobile Business Expo, the mobility component of Interop in New York City. My colleague, Eric Zeman, this week will be blogging from CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment on the other coast in San Francisco. Earlier this morning, we kicked off MBX with a panel on mobility in the verticals.
How Steve Jobs is Like Tom Brady
On Monday, Apple announced that profits for its last fiscal quarter exploded to 67 percent. "They are the New England Patriots of the tech world, appearing to be an unstoppable force," Samir Bhavnani, analyst for Current Analysis West told InformationWeek.
Small and Medium Businesses Go Mobile
Who needs a company headquarters today? The reality is that employees spend a significant amount of time outside the office, so the smaller the headquarters, the better.
NYC Cab Drivers Need To Grow Up
Hear this, NYC cab drivers! Mobile technology is a good thing. Maybe the cab drivers -- who are striking in protest of plans to install GPS units in their cabs -- should talk to mobile field forces who use GPS day in and day out to get their jobs done. Or maybe talk to the customers they're supposed to be serving.
Story About Man Who Limps To Apple Store After Recovering From Coma Revealed As A Hoax
It's a heart-tugging story: Geoff Evila was planning on camping out to buy an iPhone when it went on sale June 29, but instead a near-fatal car accident left him comatose. Four months later, he regained consciousness. At the prompting of his best pal, the local Apple Store re-created opening day for Geoff, who limped through the store proudly carrying his iPhone to the cheers of store staff.
Take a Sober Look at Linux
Last week's release of Ubuntu 7.10 marked another milestone on Linux's path from basement wonkitude to businessplace respectability. But the accolades for open source in general, and Linux in particular, often feel like a boozy lovefest.
Please Speak S-l-o-o-w-w-w-l-y and Dis-tinkt-lee
I wrote recently about Web-based services that capture your cell phone voice mail, transcribe it to text, and deliver it to your e-mail ("Voice Mail Driving You Crazy? Get It In Writing"), and in the article I rated the quality of the transcription -- how accurate the text was. I got some e-mail expressing polite surprise at my conclusions.
Business Spending On Mobile Data Set To Surge
While consumer content has taken its fair share of dollars, enterprises are still spending about 23% more on mobile data services than all the teenagers in the U.S. put together. And ABI Research says those figures are about ready to ramp up.
Google's Search Business Runs On 75% Profit Margin
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the ocean, someone reminds us just how deadly the shark out there really is. In this case the Great White in question, Google, is even more profitable than many of us had dared to consider.
Virginia Woman Demands Customer Satisfaction From Comcast With Hammer
It's just not Comcast's day for good PR. As if the hoopla surrounding the cable company and Net neutrality wasn't bad enough, now this: Mona Shaw of Bristow, Va., was so fed up with her poor customer service from Comcast that she went after the company with a hammer. Literally.
Shocker: The iPhone Is AT&T's Top-Selling Handset
I don't know about you, but I am stunned. Strategy Analytics put together some statistics to show that the iPhone (you know, the sort-of revolutionary device no one can shut up about) is AT&T's best seller and the fourth-best selling mobile phone in the United States. You'll never guess what is No. 1.
Verizon's 2-Door Proposal Leads To The Same Old Closed Networks
Speaking yesterday at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Verizon's executive VP for public policy, Thomas Tauke, said Verizon is pushing for a so-called two-door policy where customers can either choose an unlocked device or a locked device that's subsidized by the carriers. Well, Monty Hall, tell us what's be
Tired Of Smudges On Your iPhone? Get Phone Fingers
If there was an award for the strangest iPhone accessory ever invented, it would go to the makers of Phone Fingers, hands down (no pun intended). The latex fingers were created specifically for the iPhone's touch screen to prevent smudges and fingerprints. And no, this is not a joke.
|