 Movie Trailers Now in Google Search List Results for iPhone, Android & Palm Pre
Thanksgiving in the U.S. is the precursor to two time honored traditions: Retailers everywhere rejoicing in the hopes of making a profit due to the holiday gift buying/giving season and the start of the winter holiday blockbuster movie season. If you have an iPhone, Android, or Palm Pre, Google has a new tool to help you decide which of these blockbuster movies to see over the next month or two... Get movie trailers and more with Google Search for mobile I tried it out for myself. And, here's my quick tutorial on how to use this new feature: - Point your mobile browser at google.com That's it! Amazon Kindle Firmware Upgrade Boosts Battery Life & Provides Native PDF ReaderAmazon says... Amazon Extends Battery Life of Newest Kindle by 85 Percent and Adds Native PDF Reader Good news for Kindle owners. The battery life increase translates (so Amazon says) to up to a week of Kindle uptime even with its 3G radio turned on. This goes up to two weeks if you turn wireless service off. Kindle users can email PDf files to their @kindle.com email address or use a USB connection to transfer PDF files. I'm still not interested in buying a Kindle myself though. The combination of Kindle for iPhone and Kindle for PC (beta) satisfies my Kindle ebook reading needs just fine. But, if Amazon would produce a Kindle or Mac and Kindle for Android ebook reader, I would be very happy to try those out too. Time Warner Cable Modem Service Requirement for WiMax Service Defeats the WiMax PurposeDSLreports.com provides a nice concise summary of Time Warner's WiMax (wireless broadband) offering (a reselling of Clear/Clearwire service)... Time Warner Dallas Customers Get WiMax December 1 But, here's the thing. I think Time Warner's offering defeats the whole purpose of WiMax as a wireless broadband alternative to wired broadband like cable and DSL. All of Time Warner's WiMax offering (they call it Mobile 4G) requires a subscription to their wired cable service. This makes sense from a business point of view. But, it does not from a customer's point of view. And, then, look at their price tiers! $79.95 per month for WiMax plus Sprint's 3G network. And, oh yes, you need to be a Roadrunner cable subscriber Time Warner's 4G rollout is scheduled for January 2010 in my area with the same price structure in effect. I may give some thought to the WiMax-only service for $49.95 per month if it is truly unlimited and not capped at 5GB per month. Otherwise, I'll wait to see what Verizon charges for 3G tethering to my Droid phone. Awesome Popular Mechanics Cold Temperature Phone Torture TestingIt doesn't get much below 65 F where I live these days. But, I lived through a couple of winters that hit-50 F in days of old. So, I found this article in Popular Mechanics (of all places) fascinating! Does Cold Weather Injure Cell Phones? Abusive Lab Test Popular Mechanics went to Environ Laboratories in Minneapolis to torture a group of poor defenseless phones in a temperature controlled chamber capable of reaching -100 F (Brr!). Their findings might be a useful guideline for anyone traveling to (or living in) sub-zero temperatures. 10 F : Slight screen dimming But the, um, "good" folks at Popular Mechanics had "one more thing" to try. The video below was taken by a Motorola Krzr as it was dunked in liquid nitrogen (-314.7 F)...
Google to BlackBerry Business Users: Resistance is Futile, You Will Be Assimilated by Google Apps ConnectorGoogle's quest for world domination continues. Back in August, they provided a Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server which typically involved firms with hundreds of BlackBerry devices. This week, they have come back to get the rest of the BlackBerry server market. The Google App Connector now also works with BlackBerry Professional Software which supports smaller groups with up to 30 devices... Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server now connects businesses of all sizes Note to World: Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated... by Google. More Inferences from AdMob Reports-iPhone Accounts for 50% of Smartphone Mobile Data? HmmI described why... AdMob Droid Metrics Reported in GigaOn Don't Make Sense ...yesterday. Now, let's take a look at another claim based on AdMob data. This one is from AppleInsider... Apple iPhone eats up 50% share of all mobile data traffic globally First, AdMob's report only addresses smartphones. AdMob names these platforms and even "other" is defined as (Palm, Linux). So, AdMob is clear on this. So, it can't be the case that the iPhone uses 50% of all mobile data traffic because not all mobile data traffic is generated by smartphones. The so-called "dumb" feature phones are actually very smart these days and can take advantage of email and web service just like smartphones. But, they do not appear in the AdMob report because they are not smartphones. So, let's be a bit nit-picky and say the iPhone accounts for 50% of data used by smartphones. But, AppleInsider itself notes this distinction in the article, so "no harm, no foul" :-) The article itself takes a very interesting look at how AdMob itself approached reporting its data. AppleInsider notes that the report ignores the iPhone despite the iPhone's dominance in data use as measured by AdMob. I'm still skeptical of many (perhaps most or even all) of the smartphone analysis I've seen recently even if I agree with the reports' various conclusions. I just sent email to AdMob asking if anyone there might be interesting/willing to discuss this on a podcast. They may be in a "no talk" period since Google is acquring them. But, if someone is available, I'm looking forward to learning exactly what inferences AdMob makes of their data. GooglePhone Makes No Sense. But, a Google iPod touch Killer MightFrom the Times Online in the UK, we hear (again)... The Googlephone: Google gears up for attack on mobile-phone market I keep reading quoting various analysts that Google is getting ready to product its own branded Android phone. This article speculates that HTC might be the hardware manufacturer (HTC created the first Android phone, the G1, as well as the current T-Mobile Android phone, the myTouch 3G). If HTC were the only Android phone manfacturer, I might believe this speculation. But, there are several hardware partners with Android phones available for sale today. Why would Google alienate these partners by producing its own branded phone. This doesn't make any sense to me. Unless... It is not a GooglePhone at all but some kind of iPod touch competitor without a GSM (or CDMA) radio. Now, that would be interesting and make sense. Pundits Give Apple Points for Verizon Counter-Attack Ads-But is it Realistic?
AT&T's response to Verizon's 3G network attack ads have been, to say the least, the source of much amusement by many commentators (including myself). The source of this amusement (ok, snickering) is that AT&T has not really addressed the core criticisms of lack of 3G network coverage (I'm sitting looking at "No Service" on my iPhone 3G at the moment). Apple's counter-ads, on the other hand, do not address the 3G network coverage issue but do address the fact that AT&T's GSM voice service can be used at the same time as its 3G service. Verizon's CDMA voice service, on the other hand, cannot be used at the same time as its 3G data service. PC World and other commenters have given the point to Apple for this tactic... Apple iPhone Ad Succeeds Where AT&T Fails While I agree it is a more successful approach, I wonder if it is something people actually do on a regular basis? When was the last time you used a data service (say web browsing or sending email) while on a voice call? I've had my iPhone for a bit over a year now and I can't recall a single time I've done that (use wireless data while on a voice call). Podcast 38: Android App Recommendations Discussion with Frank McPherson
In Podcast 38 Windows Mobile expert, and now Android enthusiast/expert, Frank McPherson joins me once again to "talk Android". The focus of this 31 minute 7 second long podcast is Android app recommendations. I also took the opportunity to ask Frank to describe the process of purchasing an app from the Android market. We discussed the following apps: Frank's paid app recommendations: Frank's free app recommendations: Todd's free app recommendations: Finally, Frank and I discussed our Android app wish list. You can find Frank's website at: http://frankmcpherson.com - You can listen to the podcast right now from your web browser by using the embedded player above. Google Local Search Providing Mobile Coupons in the U.S.Here's something I thought should have be available years ago. From the Google Mobile Blog... Get mobile coupons through Local Search I couldn't find any coupon offers in my area after trying a couple of local searches using terms like "electronics" and "frozen yogurt". But, if it is available in your part of the U.S. (this is a U.S. only service right now), let me know how it works for you. The Google Lat Long Blog provides more information about this for both retailers (coupon providers) in this blog entry... With coupons on your phone, it doesn't matter where you left the scissors Information about both electronic mobile coupons as well as enhancements to the printable coupons are available there. LG X120 Netbook Sold by AT&T Running Windows XP: Could Someone Tell Them Windows 7 is Available?Is $180 for a netbook worth it if tied to a two-year AT&T wireless data contract? LG outs first netbook in the US, adds AT&T 3G Let's look at its specs: - 10.1-inch LED backlit screen. Like everyone else... So, with the exception of the SmartOn Linux quick access feature, there's nothing there to write home about. And, what is the deal with running Windows XP? Windows 7 is a good platform, perhaps the best version of Windows I've used since Windows 98SE. There's no reason to run Windows XP anymore. jkOnTheRun Says Windows Mobile Outpoints Android - I Give Android a Slight EdgeOver on jkOnTheRun, James Kendrick compares the often forgotten Microsoft Windows Mobile smartphone platform with the Android (which is gaining mindshare recently)... Windows Mobile vs. Android: WinMo Is Better Than You Think Here's James' scorecard along with my own for comparison. Let's see how this turns out. Multi-tasking: James give a point to Windows Mobile and so do I (1-0 for both of us). Windows Mobile still has a lot of issues with multi-tasking and memory manangement. But, it does seem to do a better job than Android from what I've seen so far. App installation location: James doesn't actually break this one out. But, it is important since Windows Mobile lets you install apps on, for example, a flash card. Android forces all apps to be installed in the smaller system memory limiting the number of apps that can be installed and reducing available working memory each time an app is installed. On the other hand, I noted that the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile seems to install all apps in system memory removing this advantage. So, let's give Windows Mobile two half-points from each of us to bring the score to 1.5-0 for both of us in favor of Windows Mobile. Available apps: James gives Windows Mobile the point here. And, with well over a decade of existence you would think Windows Mobile would have a lot better app story to tell. And, with well over decade of Windows Mobile experience myself, you would think I could tell that story. But, honestly, the Windows Mobile app story is an extremely narrow one with a number of standout apps but nothing really exciting to report in years. I give the point to Android here. So, James' score is 2.5-0 while My score is now 1.5-1. User Interface: James gives this one to Windows Mobile. I think Windows Mobile still has a couple of good UI features. But, it has become fragmented by things like HTC's Touch Flo3D (which I disabled on my Touch Pro2). Despite a number of issues I have with Android's UI, I'm giving it the point because Android seems to have a more unified UI story. Of course, it is seeing fragmentation too coming from HTC in the form of SenseUI as well as Motorola's Blur. I'll give Android the edge here with half-a-point. James: 3.5-0. Me: 1.5-1.5. Computer Desktop Integration: In my opinion, the issue is not with Outlook vs. Google. The problem is that Microsoft's ActiveSync/Windows Mobile Device Center is a severely broken story. In fact, it is so broken, I stopped using it. I exclusively use Google's Exchange ActiveSync (licensed from Microsoft) to sync my contacts and calendar with Google's cloud. I also one-way sync that data form Google's cloud to Outlook. The reason the sync is one way is because Outlook has messed up synced data so often, that I no longer trust it to update data back up the stream. James says it is a tie while I give Android the full point: 4-0.5. Me: 1.5-2.5. So, there you have it. James Kendrick (who I consider to be a trusted source in mobile technology) gives Windows Mobile a clear win with 4 points to Android's 0.5. On the other hand, I give Android a slight edge over Windows Mobile with Android having 2.5 points and Windows Mobile 1.5. What do you think? |
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