• 28May

    5000 Android Apps

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    Google's Android Market now offers more than 4,900 applications for smartphones powered by the Android mobile operating system, according to the web services giant's vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra.

    Speaking Wednesday at Google's annual I/O developer event in San Francisco, Gundotra said Android users have downloaded an average of more than 40 applications per user, adding that Android smartphones are now second in the U.S. in mobile web browsing, behind Apple's iPhone.

    5000 apps is a pretty good number. We (Movaya) are about to launch our first premium app in the Android Market next week so we'll see how that goes.

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  • 28May

    ARTICLE: Why I think Sprint needs more than the Pre

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    Like most others in the technology industry, when I heard about the Palm Pre, I was excited.  Destined to land on Sprint, it would be a great device to market their Simply Everything plan, and if successful, would result in a boost in Sprint's customer base.  But after months and months of hearing "Pre" come out of every Sprint representative's mouth at every possible opportunity, I became a bit concerned.

    Don't get me wrong; I think Sprint has a great deal of potential, and I am pleased that they signed on for the Pre.  It's a fantastic starting point for the company, and if executed properly, will be a successful launch.  But I feel as if Sprint is overlooking the bigger issue: it will require much more than a device to turn around a company that lost 4,591,000 customers and $2.79 billion in 2008.  Despite the feature similarities, this device is not the iPhone.  Before Palm Pre die-hards bash me on this point, I'm not referring to the actual functionality of the device, but rather the large exclusivity period difference between the two phones, and on a larger scale, the vital stats of the company in question.  As unfortunate as it may be, Sprint doesn't have the luxury of a five-year agreement with Palm; rather, they have six months to push as many out the door as they can before Verizon and AT&T launch it next year.  

    With the launch of the iPhone, the five year exclusivity agreement effectively forced everyone that wanted the device onto AT&T.  After all, you could either purchase the device in 2007, or wait until 2010, when the supposed exclusivity agreement expired.  Three years for anyone is a long time, technology nerds and normal consumers alike.  Six months, on the other hand, is only going to sway technologically savvy people; in other words, those that want the device immediately.  Thanks to the recent press coverage about Verizon and AT&T picking the Pre up, I'm concerned that the rest are going to wait until their carrier of their choice adopts the device.  Think about it this way: the sacrifice between "network I like" and "phone I like" is more of a reality when there is three years in between versus six months.

    What's worse, recent reports of supply issues lead me to believe that the carrier won't even have a full six months to effectively market the Pre.  The nightmare scenario goes like this: Sprint launches the device on June 6th.  They sell through their estimated 30,000 available devices in the first 48 hours.  Then the supply kinks, which Dan Hesse has spoken of, take place.  True availability comes in late July or early August.  From that point, Sprint has four months to market the Pre until another carrier picks up the phone.  Regardless of how they approach it, four months isn't enough to sway the general population from a carrier they are pleased with to a new one simply for a device.  Five years, yes.  Four months, no.  They'll wait it out on their current carrier.

    The Pre is a fantastic prescription for Sprint, but they're going to need much more to return their vital stats to normal.  Most importantly, Sprint needs to continue their focus on improvement of customer service and other internal methods that benefit their existing client base.  After all, when you have a bathtub that leaks, ideal success often comes when you repair the leak before adding more water.


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  • 28May

    ARTICLE: Enjoy it while you can, Sprint: Verizon and AT&T to get Pre

    Industry, News No Comments


    No, I'm not talking about anytime in the immediate future, but we all had a feeling it was coming: in separate announcements, both Verizon and AT&T have confirmed that they have the intention of picking up the Palm Pre once its six month exclusivity period expires with Sprint.

    In an interview with Reuters, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed that "over the next six months or so you will see devices like Palm Pre and a second generation Storm" land on the network.  In a separate statement, he also announced that the year would be filled with launches from the carrier, as the company sought to launch several devices instead of focusing on one blockbuster item.  "You can expect to see us launch a steady stream of new devices from multiple vendors," he said.

    During a conference on Wednesday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson also indicated that the number two wireless provider had intentions on picking up the device once the exclusivity period with Sprint ends.  Though the current Pre is a CDMA device, Palm has admitted that a UMTS version is in development.

    Shares of Sprint were down 2 percent after the comments from McAdam, as the device is expected to be a major player in Sprint's turnaround efforts.  The company's exclusivity period is expected to expire at the end of 2009.

    Source: Reuters


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  • 28May

    ARTICLE: Ions - get your fresh hot Ions

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    Engadget titled this story Google's altruistic Ion giveaway instantly rewarded with blind greed. And while I can understand the angle, I identify pretty strongly with the geek who overextended himself in order to indulge in techy vice - only to sober up and realize that he has bills to pay. (Yes, it's sexist. But the sentence was painfully awkward when egalitarianized.)

    For those of you with some change to spare, you can begin bidding on the first (but not likely the last) Ion to sell on ebay right here. You could probably take it for a spin and sell it at a 5% loss. I know I would if I could. Heck, it might turn out to be a collectable. The box might even be worth something in a few years. And If ebay gets flooded with these and the price drops, it could be a great investment for resale in a few months.

    If you scrounged, borrowed and sold your way to I/O - here's one way recoup that cash. Whether or not you can recover grandma's golden tooth is another matter. Gizmodo's review of the phone is here.


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  • 28May

    ARTICLE: Palm Pre default ringtone leaked

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    Thanks to my palmpre buddy on twitter, I noticed that a post went up with a link to the default ringtone for the Pre.  The sound was leaked by an "anonymous tipster" so don't be mad @ the messenger if this is not what is really loaded on the phone when it is released. 

    I really like the tone, so I hope they are right!  Tell us what you think by leaving us your comment below.   


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  • 28May

    VIDEO: SprintGurus.com exclusive look @ Palm Pre Calendar

    Industry, News No Comments
    Only 8 days 11 hours 22 minutes 15 seconds or something like that, until the launch of the Palm Pre with Sprint.  I found another exclusive video from SprintGuru.com.  This clip highlights how to use the calendar.  Enjoy.


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  • 28May

    ARTICLE: 3 LG phones heading to Verizon

    Industry, News No Comments

    As Aaron mentioned last night Verizon joined the summer launch season with the announcement of the Motorola Rival and Casio Exilim.  Well our Verizon fans didn't have to wait long for more news to surface. LG and Verizon confirmed today that the enV3 will be available this Friday along with the enV Touch and Glance coming June 5th.

    All three devices offer great messaging features, Bluetooth, GPS, Mobile email, Mobile web and more of your favorites.  Find the Verizon press release from here.  And stay tuned to PhoneDog as we will update specs, add images, and much more for all new Verizon phones as soon as the information is made available.

    Verizon customers will be able to purchase the LG enV3 for $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. LG enV TOUCH will be available for $149.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. LG Glance will be available for $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

    LG enV3

    LG enV Touch

    LG Glance


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  • 28May

    ARTICLE: NYT: Texting may be injuring kids

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    According to The New York Times, the proliferation of texting among teenagers "is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists." I thought they were referring to the recent explosion of "sexting" incidents in the media, but these medical professionals were talking about stuff that was far more mundane — and even more likely to put parents into nagging mode.

    The doctors apparently are concerned that all of that the messaging induces anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, sleep deprivation, and repetitive stress injuries.

    For many parents, when they hear about teens sending around naked pics, it inspires a serious talk. Maybe some a mandatory viewing of some sort of afterschool special. Or, if the kids are lucky, a case of denial, å la "MY daughter would never do that." But with this kind of fear mongering, it just gives another reason for moms and dads across America to freak out about their kids' texting behavior.

    Don't get me wrong — In some ridiculously extreme cases, texting probably could be detrimental to people (not just kids). But, come on! It always seems like the establishment freaks out a little whenever something new arrives on the scene. It happened with rock and roll. (Fer cryin' out loud, it happened with The Waltz a couple hundred years ago. Here's your history lesson: Back then, the squares were upset because couples actually had to embrace each other to do the steps. They thought it was dirty and unseemly.) It also happened at the advent of TV, as well as the personal computer.

    Now it's texting's turn, I guess.

    If I were a parent, I'd probably be more concerned about my kid's social skills waning. I recently saw a couple of kids texting on a park bench in New York City. What's scary is that they were sitting right next to each other and texting — well, each other.

    As far as the article goes, there was one point I was actually intrigued by this part:

    Psychologists expect to see teenagers break free from their parents as they grow into autonomous adults, Professor Turkle went on, "but if technology makes something like staying in touch very, very easy, that's harder to do; now you have adolescents who are texting their mothers 15 times a day, asking things like, ‘Should I get the red shoes or the blue shoes?' "

    Really? I posted this item about a kid who texted 14,528 messages, and I bet most of them weren't to her father. (She's limited to 5,000 messages a month now, poor thing.)

    This NYT passage above suggests that the new apron strings between kids and parents is made of texts. I find it hard to believe, but hey — I've seen stranger things. What do you think? Are kids actually staying in touch with parents too much?

    [The New York Times via TechDirt]




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  • 28May

    Palm News Galore! New Eos Spotted, o2 Grab the Pre.

    Industry, News No Comments

    Palm SmartphonesPalm may be enjoying the media attention at the moment, but wait until we get to Apple’s WWDC and the potential Storm 2 release, then we’ll really have a fight on our hands!  The latest Palm headlines revolve around a previously hinted at device named the Eos, which appeared to be a BlackBerry-esque QWERTY version of the Pre.

    Now, thanks to a leaked document from US network AT&T, it’s all but been confirmed the phone is real and is likely to be on sale in the USA during the second half of this year, at a slightly higher $350 price point, minus a $50 mail-in rebate - a common practice when buying a phone in America.  The stylish casing is just 10.6mm thick and the phone boasts HSDPA, A2DP Bluetooth, 4GB internal memory, a 2 megapixel camera and despite appearing bigger in the picture, a 2.6″ touchscreen.

    With the Palm Pre all ready for its US launch, details printed in the Guardian suggest o2 will be exclusively bringing the phone to the UK before the end of the year.  This is interesting as o2 currently have the contract to sell the iPhone 3G here too, so does this mean they already expect Apple to do away with exclusive deals when the next incarnation is released?  Pricing has not yet been mentioned.

    Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

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  • 28May

    Texting Trashed Our Teens!

    Industry, News No Comments

    texting-kid.jpgThe latest installment in the “Modern Technology Causes Everything Bad” saga comes from the New York Times, where an article describes mobile phones in a tone somewhere between invading aliens and the omnipresent evil from a Stephen King novel.  Texting is being blamed for everything from depression to poor grades, because there’s absolutely no other reason teenagers would suddenly start acting differently.

    The article describes baffled parents absolutely unable to deal with these mobile phones.  After all, these parents only bought the phones, paid for the contract, and inherited the duty of actually raising the children.  One brave parent in the story took the bold stand of limiting her daughter to five thousand texts a month (we wrote that in words so you’d know it wasn’t a typo).  Five thousand a month!  That’s not a limit, that’s a syndrome!

    But what is a parent to do?  Other than, you know.  Parent.

    (That’s also a verb, in case - as is becoming clear - some people need reminding.)

    Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

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