Nice demo of Google Maps working on Android. I'm still not sure I get the compass mode. After all, if I'm in that location, can't I just look around myself? Super cool but not sure how useful it is.

It's been nearly seven years since I first started talking about ubiquitous computing and the effect it would have on users.

Today, we're seeing the rise of a technology that meets these criteria: ubiquitous computing. Ubiquitous computing is the ability to access useful digital content, both personal and business-related, through a variety of digital information devices.

At the time when I wrote that, the ability to do so seemed as magical as the idea of my beaming aboard the starship Enterprise. While the ubiquitous computing did not displace the desktop PC entirely, a new generation of mobile devices have emerged in the guise of netbooks and smartphones that are outpacing desktop sales in a big way. This wave is also being driven by end users (aka, consumers) and not Enterprise interests.

Today, we're at a point where every song ever recorded, every movie ever filmed, every TV show ever broadcast and any book ever written could be delivered to any device a user has. We're past the point of tech as the barrier. Now it's time for the content companies to deliver. Technology must be used to create new business models and not protect old ones.

It's time to unleash the real power of digital ubiquity and see what happens next

I like the idea of devices that can be bundled with music, especially if it's music I choose. (I'm more skeptical about devices that come pre-programmed, i'll bet the music is anything *but* what I like). So the whole idea of Nokia's "Comes with Music" makes sense. Except for one thing.

No one really seems to understand what consumers are getting, what the terms are and what the long term value is.

This is a basic problem that's plagued the idea of subscription music services from day one. No one bothered to explain the value to consumers and how the idea of this content can co-mingle with content I already know and like. Consumers understand that about movies, they understand it about TV shows. Just no one has bothered explaining it beyond the digerati to the consumer when it comes to music.

Nokia's success with this isn't tied to a handset or two. It's tied to changing the way consumers perceive the value in this offering and so far, the marketing message is falling flat. Just about every reporter I've spoken to has a different idea as to what's being offered. In one of the largest changes to the digital music landscape, Nokia's getting less attention than a new version of the iPod.

It's time for Nokia to start talking clearly about "comes with music", the benefits of the service and how it plays into the rest of the consumer eco system. If they don't, it will simply end up being a great idea that was never embraced.

News from NPD that 30% of iPhone buyers are switching from other carriers.

This is very important and shows the inroads that Apple has made in getting into the hearts and minds of consumers. Yes, it's about having a great product but it's also about the job that Apple has done marketing the product and explaining the product to the mass market.

We're at the point where the mass market of feature phone owners is starting to make the move to higher function devices. Given that large and upgrade cycle, the fact that Apple is getting consumers to not only move to their platform but embrace their carrier of choice is going to put pressure on other carriers make sure there's a cadre of cool devices they can offer their customers.

Makes the G1 launch even more interesting to watch. And makes that 10 million + number bandied about pretty reasonable to me.

9 to 5 Mac says the mystery Apple "brick" that's been buzzed about lately is a process not a product.

The company has spent the last few years building an entirely new manufacturing process that uses lasers and jets of water to carve the MacBooks out of a brick of aluminum.

They're also claiming we'll see new Macbooks using the new process next week on the 14th. I'm past the point of speculating on what Apple might or might not do on a given day but I will say next week is about as late as Apple usually gets for launching products in a given calendar year. With less than a week to go and no announcements about an event next week (which thus would surely merit) call this one unlikely, at least as far as a new product is concerned.

News that the EU is thinking about mandating that all devices have batteries "readily removed". AppleInsider notes this would affect iPods and iPhones but the reality is it would affect quite a few devices, the Zune included.

Fun video of Anderson Cooper responding to Gizmodo's coverage of an analyst who spent time on air watching a playoff game on his laptop.

Pretty funny.

Is it a big deal? No, but it's a reminder of the fact that there's so much we can do on these devices and perhaps more importantly, it's us, watching them, watching us as Dave Winer likes to say.

Besides, if he was going to really want to watch it, he should have used a sling box pro hd.

I spent only a few minutes with one but it was amazing how much HTC packs into the Touch HD. Sadly, HTC confirms it's not coming to the US in a twitter post. Can anyone say "gray market"?

sad news, US. we looked into it- by the time we could bring Touch HD to the states, it would be old news. we do have other cool stuff coming

Confirmed that Nintendo will be locking DSi software and the apps store content via region. So, don't think of going the gray market route unless you've got a good command of Japanese.

Odd words from John Wang. CMO at HTC.

"T-Mobile G1 manufacturer HTC plans to develop more handsets based on Android. It maintain this will not affect its Windows Mobile business - the Google platform and Microsoft's are 'complementary', it claimed. According to a report by DigiTimes, John Wang, Chief Marketing Officer at HTC, said that both systems have their merits, and so handsets based on either platform will appeal to different users."

I understand why HTC is building Android devices. And I understand that Windows Mobile is important to them (HTC is branded or building almost every major WinMo device on the market, including the Treo Pro and the Xperia)as well. But the two platforms do not compliment each other in any way, shape or form. In fact, they directly compete with each other in ways that will only grow.

These days it feels like there's a new netbook being released on the hour and they've come a long way since Asus launched the EEEPC a year ago. Today, it's all about Atom processors, 10" screens and decent size hard drives (although I'm still seeing too many 8-16 GB SSD units on the market).

This week I'm looking at Lenovo’s S10, which is a solid offering. My unit came with perating System: Windows XP, 1GB of RAM a 5400 RPM 160GB HD and a 10.2" screen running at 1024 x 600. Sticker price is $449.

There's two USB ports, VGA, a card reader and Express card (which is unusual in this class of machine). WiFi and Bluetooth as well.

First impressions are nice. Keyboard is claimed at 85% full size and I had no problem typing on it, but it's not quite as comfortable as the HP 2133 with a 92% keyboard. Battery is a standard 3 cell (Lenovo says there's a 6 cell option coming). I haven't tested battery life but I suspect it will be in the range of typical three cell batteries and get about three hours or so.

The design is nice, a muted white case that looks like something Apple might have designed. No accessories with the unit and no backup disks are included.

Bottom line? A nice entry in the netbook category from a name brand at a reasonable price point. Full review coming but this is one that would be on my short list.

Microsoft's Origami project, later known as UMPC for ultra-mobile personal computer was launched two years ago. The concept was simple, take a small 7" touchscreen and build a small PC that would be based on touch (remember, this was long before the world saw an iPhone) and could be ubiquitously carried. It had a new UI built on top of XP and later Vista that made it easy to access functions. The idea was it could replace the need to carry a laptop or smartphone, combining the power of the PC and the ubiquity of the phone.

It didn't quite work out that way. Units were expensive, well above the $500 target price. They were also underpowered and too large. The net was they were unable to displace either phone or laptop and ended up in the nebulous "tweener device market. It's not to say some folks didn't embrace them. Kevin C. Tofel is still a big fan of the Samsung Q1 but I agree with Joe Wilcox's analysis, the market for these device is dead and the heir to them is the netbook.

The netbook is what MSFT should have aimed for. A clamshell device with a keyboard, not a Tablet UI and a enough power to run XP for a days worth of use. The reason they didn't is easy, like many Microsoft projects, it was simply too far ahead of its time. The vision was there but the technology needed to make it happen at low cost was not.

MSFT needs to embrace the netbook in a big way, more so than just making XP available for vendors. MSFT must provide a more modern shell for XP, much as it did for UMPCs to make their use easier and allow for task centric operations.

While the netbook was not part of the MSFT vision, it is an opportunity for them to keep more users on Windows and to broaden the Windows hardware eco-system.

A little late to the party but still showing up, Ryan Block of gdgt.com takes a look at the G1 and offers some first impressions.

His views are pretty close to mine.

It's tongue in cheek for sure and not meant for the mainstream public but... something about this just feels off. It's like they're trying hard to re-capture something of days gone by, without really doing it. What do you think?

4 Softies and a Pizza Guy: PDC 2008 from Max Zuckerman on Vimeo.

According to the good folks at T-Mobile, the first run of G1 phones is now sold out for pre-order.

"Given the great anticipation and the heavy pre-sale demand for the T-Mobile G1, T-Mobile nearly tripled the number of phones initially available for delivery on the Oct. 22 launch date, and have sold through them all. However, to accommodate additional T-Mobile customers who want to pre-order a device, they now have the opportunity to place a pre-order through Oct. 21, for delivery at a later date."

That sounds impressive. Or not, as T-Mobile hasn't actually said how many that tripled number is. I'm still thinking that they could seel as many as 450,000 of these things by YE if early reviews are good and marketing is excellent