Groove on the Move: Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-903
For all those who were though that some small things were missing in their mobile phones here is some good news. Nokia, the world largest mobile phone manufacturer has decided to capture the enhancement segment of market as well. May be those modest people at Nokia will not accept this but with the aim to rule the market Nokia has introduced some new enhancements mainly for its N Series Mobiles.
Nokia’s Enhancements — Nokia Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W
It seems that Nokia is not satisfied being world largest mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia wants it all and therefore it has decided to make its mark in other segment of mobile business. Nokia has introduced some new enhancements mainly for its N Series Mobiles. The enhancement can turn in to an ultimate super power machine and a comfortable device. One of these devices is the Nokia Bluetooth GPS
Which iPod Should You Buy? iPod Comparisons and Buying Guide
Planning to purchase an iPod but cannot decide among the various iPod models like Shuffle, Nano, Classic or the new iPod Touch ? The following iPod Buying guide compares all the new iPod models to help you pick the best iPod for your needs.The very impressive Apple iPod lineup has dominated the digital music player market ever since the first iPod hit the streets in 2001. And that lead continues
iPhone Firmware Version 1.1.1 Released, Update Wisely
Apple's newest update for the iPhone, firmware version 1.1.1 has been released and includes a long list of feature additions, bug fixes, and security enhancements. As always, the new firmware can be installed on your iPhone via the iPhone "check for updates" button in iTunes. As previously reported, Apple has made it quite clear that applying the update to a modified or "hacked" iPhone can cause
Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Review
Nokia5310 XpressMusic phone is a super-slim S40 candybar handset. The handset is only 9.9 millimetre thick and weighs only 70 grams. No wonder it is called a super-slim phone. It is being said that the 5310 XpressMusic phone from Nokia is the company’s answer to Sony Ericsson’s W880 model because of its dedicated music controls on its left edge. The phone enables you to “sideload” music bought
Nokia 5610 Xpress Music
As the name suggests the Nokia 5610 Xpress Music will rock your world. The complete music phone in true sense as it features music slider for instant access to music. The unique Music Slider key takes you to your playlist with a single touch and curtain-like slide of the user interface. You can store up to 3000 songs of your choice tunes with expandable memory. The phone offers 22 hours of music
Google Reader for iPhone Now Available
Yesterday, Google released a new version of their popular RSS feed reader intended for use on the Apple iPhone. Google created the new version of the reader as an exercise in using the Google Web Toolkit to create feature-rich applications for the iPhone. The Google Web Toolkit, or GWT, is a development toolkit which allows users to avoid the many pitfalls and frustrations of Javascript browser
The Nokia N81 Review
The Nokia N81, with dedicated music and gaming keys can be called musicphone cum gaming device. The N-gage gaming platform has been revamped to with S60 device packs HSDPA, no US band support, for on-line gaming. The phone offers integrated speakers, 3.5-mm headphone jack, and D-pad navigation for the ultimate gaming experience on a cell phone. It is also called music phone as it has qualities
LG KS20 Review
The LG-KS20 is a new HSDPA smart phone with a large colour touch screen.The phone uses an intuitive touch input technology and large 2.8 LCD screen to maximize its internet usability. The size of the screen enables the user with full browsing capability. The handset, powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile® 6 software, is similar to the Prada but is more stylus by it looks. It features tri-band GSM
Who's really using web apps, and why?
In my work at Rubicon, we spend much of our time helping tech companies with strategy and product planning. One recurring theme is the impact of web applications. We help web app companies figure out their customers and product plans, and we help traditional tech companies understand web apps and what to do about them.
As we do this work, we repeatedly run into a lack of basic information about how web apps are being used -- how many people use them, who uses them, which apps they use, and so on. There's a lot of anecdotal information from individual web companies on how they're doing, but almost nothing on the usage of web apps across the industry as a whole.
So we decided to fill that hole. This summer we did a survey of about 2,000 US adult PC owners on their usage of web applications. We released the results this morning at the AjaxWorld conference. Some highlights:
--37% of US home PC owners use at least one web application on a regular basis. Usage has already spread far beyond early adopters.
--Usage varies dramatically by app category. E-mail and games are the two most popular web app categories, but some other categories (such as online word processing) have very low adoption so far.
--College students are more enthusiastic adopters of web apps than non-students. More than 50% of college students use at least one web app regularly.
To me, the study was a good reminder of the practicality of most PC users. Although we in the industry worry a lot about the technical distinctions between things like web apps and packaged applications, most users don't care. They just want to solve their problems and get on with their lives. If a web app is better or cheaper than a packaged app, they will use it. If it isn't better in some way, they won't.
If you're working at a web app company and want to create a popular service, be sure you solve a real world problem that people care about. The doors are wide open if you do that.
If you work at a traditional software company and think you're immune to competition from web apps, or that it'll take years for them to affect you, you're living in fantasyland. For about 70% of US PC owners, there are no significant barriers to adoption of web apps.
There's a lot more analysis (and graphs of the findings) in the full report on the Rubicon website. Check it out here.
And there's some interesting commentary about the study here and here and here and here.
As we do this work, we repeatedly run into a lack of basic information about how web apps are being used -- how many people use them, who uses them, which apps they use, and so on. There's a lot of anecdotal information from individual web companies on how they're doing, but almost nothing on the usage of web apps across the industry as a whole.
So we decided to fill that hole. This summer we did a survey of about 2,000 US adult PC owners on their usage of web applications. We released the results this morning at the AjaxWorld conference. Some highlights:
--37% of US home PC owners use at least one web application on a regular basis. Usage has already spread far beyond early adopters.
--Usage varies dramatically by app category. E-mail and games are the two most popular web app categories, but some other categories (such as online word processing) have very low adoption so far.
--College students are more enthusiastic adopters of web apps than non-students. More than 50% of college students use at least one web app regularly.
To me, the study was a good reminder of the practicality of most PC users. Although we in the industry worry a lot about the technical distinctions between things like web apps and packaged applications, most users don't care. They just want to solve their problems and get on with their lives. If a web app is better or cheaper than a packaged app, they will use it. If it isn't better in some way, they won't.
If you're working at a web app company and want to create a popular service, be sure you solve a real world problem that people care about. The doors are wide open if you do that.
If you work at a traditional software company and think you're immune to competition from web apps, or that it'll take years for them to affect you, you're living in fantasyland. For about 70% of US PC owners, there are no significant barriers to adoption of web apps.
There's a lot more analysis (and graphs of the findings) in the full report on the Rubicon website. Check it out here.
And there's some interesting commentary about the study here and here and here and here.
Gmail/m Updated Mobile Interface (For the Better!)
My 8525 is a must now days for me to kill the time in between waiting for the NY subways or an appointment. I am always using its 3G data connection to check my emails, news, scores and etc.I noticed Gmail has a much cleaner and user friendly interface. Prior to this screen shot, the inbox was difficult to manipulate using WM Internet Explorer. Now it has a nice display to differentiate emails from each other and a check box allows you to quickly move, or trash messages. Not a crazy update but much easier to use for users without a really nice GMail integration.
In case you thought there won’t be any special Samsung Armani headset, think again. Samsung and Armani have just unveiled the special edition of the W
In case you thought there won’t be any special Samsung Armani headset, think again. Samsung and Armani have just unveiled the special edition of the WEP-410 headset. The Armani logo is there, meaning this tiny Bluetooth accessory will cost a fortune. Wait a minute, I have the WEP-410 though without any Armani branding. Still I like it very much! I wonder why they haven’t released the Bang &
Motorola ROKR E7 Review
The Motorola ROKR E7, another Motorola phone whose picture has been leaked in the net, is said to be the answer of Nokia N95. The thing that will take away the heart of the phone lover is its extremely large 2.8 inch touch screen. The advance TFT display offers 16 million colours and has a VGA resolution (480 x 640 pixels) which will leave Nokia N95 and Apple iPhone far behind. The case is only
The deceptive allure of the sub-PC
Something I wrote for Rubicon Consulting:
The cancellation of the Palm Foleo marks the latest in a long string of failed attempts to create a market for keyboard-based devices that are smaller, simpler, and cheaper than personal computers. Computer companies have been trying to make sub-PCs work since the 1980s, but the only place I know of where they have been a major success is in Japan, where the complexities of typing in Japanese encouraged many people to buy cheap word processors instead of typewriters.
Why do so many companies keep trying to get under the PC market? And do they have any chance of success? The answer is a lesson in the right and wrong ways to think about product strategy.
Listening to the customers
Anyone who has ever done research on PC users quickly notices a striking pattern--most of the features of a PC rarely get used. Here's a typical result from a research study asking US adults which applications they use at least once a week on their home PCs...
You can read the rest of the article on the company website here. No registration required.
The cancellation of the Palm Foleo marks the latest in a long string of failed attempts to create a market for keyboard-based devices that are smaller, simpler, and cheaper than personal computers. Computer companies have been trying to make sub-PCs work since the 1980s, but the only place I know of where they have been a major success is in Japan, where the complexities of typing in Japanese encouraged many people to buy cheap word processors instead of typewriters.
Why do so many companies keep trying to get under the PC market? And do they have any chance of success? The answer is a lesson in the right and wrong ways to think about product strategy.
Listening to the customers
Anyone who has ever done research on PC users quickly notices a striking pattern--most of the features of a PC rarely get used. Here's a typical result from a research study asking US adults which applications they use at least once a week on their home PCs...
You can read the rest of the article on the company website here. No registration required.
Unofficial iPhone SDK Released, Includes Tutorials and Examples
As most everyone knows by now, Apple's official stance of not allowing third party software to be developed for the iPhone hasn't done much to stop it. At the time of writing this article, there are already third party IM clients, an iPhone OS X terminal, spanking new GPS software, and much much more. Though third party software packages have been streaming in by the dozens, initially there was
Motorola ROKR E8 Review
Motorola ROKR E8, the new music-centred proposal by Motorola, is an ultra thin handset with Java/Linux based interface. The handset, whose pictures have been recently leaked in the net, has a touch sensitive keypad with an “Omega wheel” which is being a called a huge navigational solution? There is a small bud for every key which helps tactile orientation. But only few like those touch sensitive
Samsung’s new Ultra edition range II the U600
For those who are fervent about slim slider phone U600 is a wish come true. Part of Samsung’s new Ultra edition range II the U600 has 11mm thick casing and weighs only 81 grams.Although U600 is only 2 mm thinner, 2 gram lighter than Samsung’s last ultra thin slider D900, a visual makeover makes it look completely different. The best part of its features is its camera which has been changed from
BenQ E81 Review
BenQ Mobile has banged the market with the launch of its three new models E71, E81 and SL91. E71 though is a music phone that has a shiny casing where the fingerprints are invisible. The next model E81 is an extremely small phone with performance. Last but not the least, is SL91 where BenQ Mobile incorporated lots of features in an impressive design, which includes 3G support and 3.2-megapixel
GPS for the iPhone is Here - and Free!
There has been a great deal of skepticism at numerous reports iPhoneFAQ has published which have revealed a couple of different ways to add GPS to the iPhone without hardware changes, either via the addition of a GPS chip embedded on a SIM card or by utilization of the E-911 mandated positioning abilities native to the iPhone. Regardless, news out of Engadget this morning has revealed that the
iPhone v1.1.1 Firmware Update to Bring Video Out
There was some information drifting around last week which suggested that Apple had muffed and mentioned the existence of video out cables with an iPod connector at one end which were iPhone compatible. At the time, it wasn't all that exciting. After all, just because a particular cable is compatible with the iPhone from a hardware perspective doesn't mean that in the long run it is actually of
Apple to Add 3G and GPS to New iPhone in Q1 2008
As we all know, there's never a shortage of rumors spewing out of the "iPhone 2" rumor mill. Usually, they're worth little more than ignoring. Occasionally, however, a report or rumor comes along that's worth talking about. The latest on iPhone 2 seems to be worth a note. Originally out of TheStreet.com and later circulated by various outlets such as AppleInsider and Gizmodo, a new reports
UK iPhone Announced on O2, no 3G
The iPhone was announced in the UK today an Apple press conference held in London at the Regent St. Apple store. Though there was a great deal of speculation as to what iPhone would be announced, the reality is that folks in the UK are getting the same version of the iPhone that was released earlier this year in the United States. The most anticipated news was of course whether the UK folks would
5 common myths about Second Life
Recently, I've been spending a lot of time in Second Life talking to new users, and also talking to companies/institutions that want to get into Second Life. And one thing my colleagues and I have noticed is that some Second Life myths are still very popular among people. That is why I think that it's important to talk about what Second Life is and what Second Life isn't with a good dose of realism. So, here is our list of some of common myths that should in our opinion be addressed in any serious meeting/discussion about Second Life (and other virtual worlds):
Many real world limitations don't exist in Second Life. For this reason, the Second Life users have the freedom to behave differently than in the real world, satisfy different needs (for example, the need to have fantasy outfits) and literally take the world into their own hands. Therefore it should come as no surprise that many established real world business and marketing models simply don't work in SL. Real companies entering Second Life must get to know the virtual world and prove their value to the users.
Second Life residents are not in SL to receive the same kind of content in 3D as they could on the web. They are there for new experiences, not links to web sites. There is nothing worse for Second Life users than clicking an advertisement and being moved out of Second Life into a new browser window. Established web privacy/value trade-offs (for example, letting a company know your e-mail in exchange for a discount) must be re-evaluated and set based on specific usage.
Yes, we do have money trees in Second Life, but don't expect to get rich in SL with no effort. To make money, an individual or a company must be even more innovative and adaptable than in real world because of larger competition and a level playing field. Success requires time and effort. And don't get in SL just with the vision of making money. Get in, enjoy the ride, and be inspired by what other are doing.
Nobody has a Second LIfe crystal ball, which can tell us SL best practices and future developments of virtual worlds. You can't even guarantee that Second Life will work when you've got an important demo scheduled! It is important to remember that virtual worlds are still in early development stages - think of the state of the world wide web in 1995. Don't trust people that claim they've got all the answers, and check the figures; Second Life doesn't have 10 million unique users! And just as we're all still finding our way around Second Life, nobody can predict for sure what virtual worlds will look like in 5 or even 10 years. Could anybody predict BitTorrent, Facebook, YouTube or Flickr in the Mosaic age?
After the initial stages of experimentation, Second Life and virtual worlds will likely become a new way of communicating with colleagues, business partners, customers, friends and family and enable us a new way not only of doing business, but of living - just like mobile phones and the web have done in the past. Forward-looking companies/institutions and individuals that start learning about virtual worlds now will have an advantage in future. As I always say: there is no better way to understand a new technology than by trying it yourself. And I'd also suggest you to try different usages of Second Life. I might be spending a lot of time in Second Life for business/networking purposes, but I still find time for fun explorations with friends.
I'd like to finish this post by adding some links to articles/resources that can also be useful when discussion Second Life and virtual worlds:
And what are in your experience the most common myths and misconceptions you have to deal with when talking about Second Life?
- Second Life = Real Life. Second Life is a just a virtual version of the real world with the same business models, customer needs and behavior. WRONG
- Second Life = the world wide web.
Like on the web, users in Second Life will visit my island to get information about my company/institution. WRONG
- It's easy to make money in Second Life. Second Life will, in a short time, grow my company profits or allow me a comfortable side income. WRONG
- We know what works in Second Life and in what direction the future will take it. WRONG
- It's useful for me/my company/my institution to start getting acquainted with Second Life. RIGHT
I'd like to finish this post by adding some links to articles/resources that can also be useful when discussion Second Life and virtual worlds:
- Information Week: Five Rules For Bringing Your Real-Life Business Into Second Life
- Eight questions your company should ask when entering virtual worlds
- Second Life: What Do We Learn If We Digitize EVERYTHING?
- MPK20: Sun's virtual Workplace
- IBM in the Metaverse
- Metanomics
- Virtual Entrepreneurship in Second Life: the New Pioneers
And what are in your experience the most common myths and misconceptions you have to deal with when talking about Second Life?
invisibleSHIELD Screen Protector for iPod Touch, iPod Classic, and 3G iPod Nano
ShieldZone (ZAGG Inc), makers of the invisibleSHIELD line of premium screen protectors, have released what they are calling the "first accessories for the new iPods". In reality, this means that they're releasing new invisibleSHIELD screen protectors for the recently announced iPod Touch, iPod Classic, and the new third generation iPod Nano.For those of you who aren't familiar with the
iPhone in France on November 29th Sans 3G
Everyone expects the first iPhone to be sold in Europe this Tuesday, September 18th, at the Apple press conference being held at London's Regent Street Apple Store. There have also been rumors that the iPhone will be released in Germany on November 12th. The latest in Euro-iPhone news suggests that the iPhone may be available in France as of November 29th, but perhaps not exactly how our
New iPod products in Korea market
Apple presented its new iPod products in Korea market. Those products are iPod Touch which is adopts Wi-Fi and 3G, iPod Nano videos, iPod Classic equipped with 160 GB and also iPod Shuffle that offers five colors selection.[Via]
Apple iPod Touch in Korea
Apple presented 3.5-inch touch screen LCD iPod Touch in Korea market, which adopts Wi-Fi function and also lets user to play YouTube. User can plays music up to 22 hours and 5 hours of video play.iPod Touch to be released in end of this month, and suggested price is 324,000(KRW) for 8GB and 434,000(KRW) for 16GB.[Via]
The stunning new Sony Ericsson T650i
Sony have announced an impressive looking device called the T650i, a phone that hints at the styling of the recent W880i and the K810i, but that is clearly a very attractive model in its own right. Available in a choice of Midnight Blue or Glowing Green it has a stainless steel body that should give the LG Shine a run for its money. The dinky little metal buttons seem to be a feature of new Sony
Nokia 7500 Prism
We got our first glimpse of the Nokia 7500 Prism last month, when the handset was announced by Nokia China.As ever, the Nokia 7000 series are for "fashion phones", and the Nokia 7500 (and its sibling the 7900) certainly fit into that category. The unusual angular design and repeated triangular pattern across the Nokia 7500 may not be to everyone's taste.. but it is certainly a highly distinctive
Random thoughts about the future of Moodle
Lately I've been spending a lot of time in Moodle; mainly of course as part of my Moodle Teacher Certificate (MTC) program (which I successfully completed last week), but also because of the Austrian Moodle conference, which I attended on Thursday and Friday in Graz (I had a presentation about the Sloodle project). I've been using Moodle in different roles (admin, tutor, user) for quite some years now, and I believe that Moodle is a great platform for e-learning because it's powerful, relatively easy to use, and also expandable and customizable for different needs. What is also great is the fact that the Moodle developer community is very active and always making sure new versions have useful new features and improvements of previous standard modules.I had the pleasure to attend Martin Dougiamas' virtual presentation about the future of Moodle at the Austrian Moodle conference a few days ago, and I'm really excited about some of the features we'll be soon seeing in version 1.9, and also the roadmap for Moodle 2.0, which in my opinion has the potential of making Moodle 2.0 a great member of the Web 2.0 family. In this post I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts on the future of Moodle. I believe that Moodle has a sustainable future, so I'll focus mainly on discussing upcoming Moodle features and possible future developments.
Among Moodle 1.9 features that Martin presented on Thursday, I was most impressed by the added social networking features. I think it's a great step towards making Moodle even more flexible and user friendly. If you're a Moodle.org site user, make sure you edit your profile and add your interests and try finding users with common interests (check out the page for the tag "moodle" - cool, isn't it?). Right now I sometimes feel limited by the rigid course structure in Moodle, and I really can't wait to have a better way to connect with other Moodle users through tags and shared interests (similar to what Elgg offers). And one of the next steps is hopefully the ability to mark Moodle items (forum posts, resources etc.) as favorites, so each user could create his/her own library of favorite resources.
However, another problem I've been seeing with Moodle for some time now from the perspective of a common user (i.e. student role with no editing rights), was not just being closed in courses, but also being closed and limited to a certain Moodle site. I often found the thought that students lose access to their Moodle resources/activities/data after a course or study year is over disturbing. Of course, teachers have many options to export/import content and date, and move content/data among their courses and among Moodle sites. But the students don't have any easy way to export their work and move it to a new Moodle site or to their personal archive somewhere else. So, I think one of the next steps in Moodle development should also be empowering users and enabling them to create their library of resources and also their Moodle portfolio that they (the students, not the teachers or administrators!) could take to another Moodle site (when changing schools for example). The Moodle development roadmap shows plans of enabling easier connections between different Moodle sites through the Moodle Network, which plans to provide a Moodle Community Hub for sharing content, user info, and enabling better peer interaction. However, I think that moving between Moodles should also be made easy for students, and not just for the teachers.
What I'd also like to see, is improvements in helping students getting around their Moodle courses. Moodle provides a block, which shows recent activity since the last login for each course, and also an overview of your course through the My Moodle page (though I really wonder how many administrators/teachers/students are aware of this option?). Still, I think the overview of my courses pages could and should be further improved by adding more flexibility and customization options. This could be very important for large Moodle sites with a lot of activity (like the moodle.org site, which I find very challenging to follow!). What I would like to see on the overview page is something closer to Facebook News feed page. Students should be able to control what appears on this page, in what order, and in how much detail. Some sort of personal dashboard with more user-centric widgets. Now you can of course add some standard blocks to the overview page, but I miss more tools to help the users organize and plan their learning activities and perhaps an option to set up custom e-mail alerts that relate to specific course events. I really don't like to receive e-mails for every Moodle post in a certain forum (especially for the most active ones), but I think it'd be useful to be able to add a rule to receive an e-mail update whenever a new resource/activity is posted (in any of courses you're enrolled in) or when new topics that match your interests (keyword watcher) are started.
All in all I'm really excited about Moodle adding more social networking features and establishing better connections between different Moodle installations and also the rest of the web. With all these improvements I'm beginning to wonder if in the future we could see Moodle also become a standardized personal learning environment with users in control of their learning data and the ability to move from one Moodle site to another (of course with the choice of moving only necessary portions of your Moodle profile data/library/portfolio)? We'll see what future Moodle development brings us. I certainly think Moodle is worth keeping an eye on, and I can't wait to get my hands on the upcoming Moodle versions :)
Two New Stylish LG EV-DO Mobile Phones Released
LG has just released two more evolved handsets, packed with support for EV-DO Rev A (Evolution-Data Optimized). LG LH2000 and SPH-W3150 are two powerful devices that manage to handle a wide variety of multimedia files and bring the best of entertainment to its user.These two latest mobile phonescoming from LG are among the most evolved ones that this company has to bring. Unfortunately, there are
Sony Ericsson K770 – 3G Clamshell
Sony Ericsson cell phones are known for their music and camera quality. Well, this is quite obvious as Sony is famous for its Cyber Shot series of cameras and you can find the same lens camera in the Sony Cyber Shot camera phones. This works like a magic wand for the manufacturer. If you look in to the sales of various phones then you can see the graph as how the manufacturers have influenced the
BlackBerry Curve 8310 – Berry Attractive
In past few days we have reviewed various unique mobiles which are unique in their own special way. But when it comes to brands like BlackBerry then there is very little to differentiate. These are the mobile phones which are especially targeted to the high end users. If you want to expedite your work and want to have a miniature of your laptop then a BlackBerry would be a good suggestion. These
Free iPhone Software Unlock is Here - iUnlock
"You wanted it, we have it. Enjoy your free iPhone." Such was the announcement on the iPhone Dev Wiki team's website when their ultimate goal - a full software unlock of the Apple iPhone - was acheived. Simple as that.Hot on the heels of the troubled release of the iPhoneSIMFree Unlock solution, the iPhone Dev Wiki team - who has been responsible for virtually every publically available
Samsung SGH-G600
When I reviewed Samsung's SGH-U700V, I made no bones about the fact that I was really waiting for the SGH-G600. Now it has arrived, and while I rarely go overboard about a mobile, this is one I really like. There was a time when a slider would have been well down my list of formats to swoon over. But I have come around, and the quad-band 2G SGH-G600 is simply divine. The ergonomics just work
Numerous Problems Reported with First iPhoneSIMFree Unlocks
After weeks of anticipation, yesterday the iPhoneSIMFree software unlock solution became the first software of it's kind to become publically available. Gizmodo had exclusive access to some of the experiences of the first customers to purchase a retail copy of iPhoneSIMFree and attempt to use it to unlock their iPhones. Unfortunately, the news wasn't very good.Based on the experiences of three
iPhoneSIMFree Software Unlock Now For Sale
Though many people thought that purported legal pressure and/or simple fear was going to prevent the iPhoneSIMFree software, which performs a full software unlock on the Apple iPhone, from ever seeing the light of day - think again. After reports earlier in the week that the iPhoneSIMFree program was purchased by third party, the software is now available for purchase worldwide.Currently, four
Samsung Z560 – New block in market
The new Samsung Z560 is the new glamour cell from Samsung. This phone has various features which makes it a glamour clamshell. This new handset is now in market which can provide you some unique systems in your mobile. This mobile can be called an experimental gadget which follows some important and basic features of mobile technology. This mobile features a 2 mega pixel camera and the HSDPA is
The war between Nokia and Apple
"When two elephants fight, the loser is the jungle." --Ancient proverb
And so it begins.
The Apple-Nokia war finally got underway on August 29, when Nokia announced an array of new music-capable phones and an online music store. The two companies had been eyeing one-another like wrestlers outside the ring for more than a year. Apple entered the mobile phone market, but only in the US, where Nokia is a non-factor. Nokia openly declared that it's a computing company (link), but its non-phone products so far have been different flavors of lame.
But the August 29 announcements put Nokia and Apple on a path to direct confrontation. I haven't seen a lot written online about the importance of this conflict. I think that's probably because many of the people who follow Apple's business closely are based in the US and have trouble taking Nokia seriously because it's a secondary player here. Meanwhile, Nokia's most ardent followers are in Europe, and look at Nokia's actions in light of its regional conflicts with SonyEricsson and the European mobile operators.
But when you stand back and look at what's happening in the industry worldwide, it's clear that Apple and Nokia both want very badly to be the dominant mobile computing company for young adults. That makes a huge, relentless conflict between them inevitable. They're like two armies trying to take the same hill. One's coming from the west, the other from the east, so there's not a lot of fighting at the moment. But as soon as they reach the hill, there's going to be an explosion.
I don't know who will win, but I'm pretty sure that the main losers will be all of the other device companies and mobile operators who happen to be hanging around on the hill.
My advice to them: Run.
What Nokia announced, and why it matters
On the 29th, Nokia announced four phones, two new data services for its phones, and a new brand. Let's start with the services.
The Nokia Music Store is just what the name says, an online music store run by Nokia. It'll be accessible by both PC and selected Nokia phones. The N81 and N95 will be able to talk to the store directly, while for a number of other Nokia phones you'll be able to buy music on your PC and sync it to your phone (Nokia calls this process "sideloading").
Nokia will offer more purchase options than iTunes does. You can either buy and download individual titles (for one euro a song, a euro cent above iTunes), or you can subscribe to the store and stream all the music you want to your PC (but not save it) for ten euros a month.
Nokia positions the streaming service as a way to discover new tunes, after which you're supposed to buy and download the ones you want to keep. I can understand the practical reasons for not streaming from the store directly to phones -- there would be issues with data charges, network capacity, latency, and so on. But I don't know how users will feel about that. If I had a streaming account on my PC, I think I'd expect to have the same service on my Nokia phone. And why wouldn't you want to discover new music while you're on the go?
The bigger problem is that the 120 euros you pay a year for a streaming service is 120 songs you could have bought and kept forever. That's one new song every three days. For comparison, the average iTunes user buys three songs a month. A music subscription service is a great way to get access to a lot of music quickly, but unless you want a colossally large music collection, it's a huge financial drain in the long run (I wrote more on the economics of it here). No wonder the music industry loves the idea of subscriptions (link).
The re- rebirth of nGage. The other new service Nokia announced was a mobile game store. You'll be able to try games for free on your Nokia mobile or PC, and then after purchase you can use them on the PC or sync them to your phone (curiously, Nokia calls this process "installation.") Nokia also promises multiplayer and community features.
Price per game will be six to ten euros, and Nokia says you'll be able to pay by credit card or through your phone bill if the operator enables that. No word on what the revenue split is.
The service sounds pretty interesting to me. The most confusing thing about it is the name. The nGage service won't work with all of Nokia's N-series phones. I know there's no official tie between N-series and nGage (the names were apparently chosen separately), but try explaining that to a typical customer in a store. Nokia has struggled and failed for years to explain to customers the S60 platform that it uses in a lot of its phones; picture adding yet another layer of confusion on top of that (link).
I think the other important challenge to nGage is flash. There's a huge supply of free flash-based games on the web, and a lot of them are the sort of quick-reward, easy to use games that seem to do well on mobile devices. The biggest barrier to using them on mobiles is that Adobe charges for the mobile flash player, and so relatively few mobile phones have it installed. A small installed base of phones means that most developers don't target mobile flash. If Adobe ever drops the charge for the flash player, or if a free flash-equivalent comes along (perhaps a mobile version of Microsoft Silverlight), it might become very difficult to convince people to pay for nGage games.
I know nGage provides a higher-quality gaming experience than flash, but I'm not sure most mobile users will care enough to pay.
Ovi is a new brand that Nokia will use as a wrapper for all of its mobile services, including games, music, maps, photo sharing, and presumably more to come (link). I guess that makes sense from a convenience standpoint -- there will be one website (ovi.com) where you can go to discover all of the Nokia services (Nokia employees say that it will also be a gateway to the services of other companies as well ). Unfortunately, Ovi apparently won't work as a compatibility mark: the phones that can use one Ovi service can't necessarily use another. For example, many of the phones that can run nGage games can't directly connect to the music service. A brand is most effective when it represents a coherent idea or consistent product. I think Ovi creates an expectation of coherence but doesn't deliver it. It just says that Nokia's in the service business, which Nokia cares about but is not something that concerns users
If Nokia doesn't make all the Ovi services work on all its data-capable phones quickly, I think the varied incompatibilities between the Nokia services and devices are going to be a nightmare to explain at retail.
The four new phones
The N95 8GB adds more memory to Nokia's flagship Swiss army knife phone, which includes a 5 mp camera, improved 3G, WiFi, and GPS. This is the one that online reviewers always compare to the iPhone. It works with both nGage and the music store, and its base price is 580 euros before subsidy.
The N81 is a slider phone with WiFi and 3G, and has dedicated buttons to access both nGage and the music store. It'll sell for 430 euros pre-subsidy.
The 5310 is a slimline candybar phone that can play music synced from the Nokia music store. It cannot access the music store directly. It has dedicated music controls next to the screen, and its base price is 225 euros.
The 5610 is similar to the 5310, but adds a slider and built-in camera. Its base price is 300 euros. A lot of online reviewers have been comparing this and the 5310 to the SonyEricsson Walkman phones, and I think that was probably Nokia's thinking. But hold that thought because it's not necessarily how things will work out.
What's the impact? A huge amount depends on execution. How well will Nokia's new services integrate with the phones? How easy will it be to play songs and games? How many titles will be in the Nokia stores, and how good will they be? Services and mobile devices often live or die on the little details of usability, and we can't judge that for Nokia yet because we can't play with the new products and services.
But Nokia's direction is very clear. It wants to be in the mobile Internet services business, as both a developer and publisher of content and services. It's going to tie those services directly to its phones. And knowing Nokia, it'll keep iterating on both the phones and the services until it gets them right.
That's why Apple and Nokia are now at war. Even if Nokia's current products turn out to be lame, it's going straight into the territory that Apple has been pursuing ever since the first iPod shipped.
Apple's new products. I should add a little context on Apple's recent product announcements. In September, Apple made a lot of changes to the iTunes and iPod lineup. The move that got the most attention was the price cut of the iPhone from $599 to $399. I'll write more about that below. The other changes that stood out to me were:
--iTunes can now be accessed via WiFi on the iPhone and iPod Touch. This corrects a glaring weakness in the original iPhone. It's interesting that Apple apparently hasn't enabled the iPhone to talk to the store over a cellular connection. That may be because the network the iPhone uses in the US is too slow to easily download music, or it may be that AT&T doesn't want a lot of data traffic going over its network when the phone's data plan is flat-rate.
--The video version of the Nano, starting at $199, is a heck of a lot of technology in a very cute little package.
--The iPod Touch is basically an iPhone without the microphone and cellular radio. It makes a really interesting PDA for people who want to buy a basic voice phone and carry their entertainment separately. It's priced at $299.
(As an aside, I have a request: Once the iPod Touch starts selling like gangbusters, would someone please go find the person at Sony who decided the Clie handheld business was a dead end, and kick them in the shins?)
Relative strengths of the competitors
Or, how to piss off both Apple fans and Nokia fans in the same post.
Apple and Nokia are very different companies. Here are their relative strengths:
Resources. No contest. Although Apple is a very successful company, Nokia has vastly more financial resources.
Logistics. Nokia is one of the greatest logistics companies on the planet. It churns out hundreds of millions of phones, changes models frequently, and almost everything works properly. If Nokia were running the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, New Orleans would be 20 feet above sea level by now. Apple, by contrast, does a very competent job of managing contract manufacturers in Asia. Advantage Nokia.
Telephony experience. Another huge Nokia advantage. Designing phones and getting them qualified on networks is really tricky, and Nokia knows how to do it better than anyone else.
System design skill. This is Apple's core competence; it knows how to design hardware and software together to create a beautifully integrated system. Nokia's phones often appear as if their hardware and software were designed by completely different groups and slapped together at the last minute (because, in many cases, that's exactly what happened). This works great in commodity phones, but if the competition is for who can create the most elegant data experience, Nokia is at a huge disadvantage.
Brand power. Wow, this is a tough one. Apple has one of the coolest brands on the planet. Nokia's brand is beloved in Europe, and in most of the world it personifies upward mobility (except in the US and Japan). I call this one a tie.
User interface. Apple knows how to design these. The kindest thing you can say about Nokia's interface designs is that they're better than many other phone manufacturers. But that's like comparing a three-legged dog to a two-legged dog. Nokia's trying to get better -- at the announcement event, it showed video of a forthcoming device with an iPhone-style touchscreen (link). But for now, this one's clearly a strong Apple advantage.
Cleverness. Hey, it's Steve. Nokia's management is extremely smart, but you look to them for great operational execution, not brilliant strategy. After all, this is the company that brought us the original nGage.
Industrial design. I'm going to get flamed by the Nokia fans for this, but Apple has a clear advantage in design. The comparison: Nokia sometimes creates a great design. Apple rarely creates anything less than a great design.
Music solution. You'd think this would be an overwhelming advantage for Apple, but its arrogant handling of the music companies has made them even more desperate to tear Steve Jobs' throat out. They're anxious to work with someone like Nokia. Apple still has an advantage, but it has opened the door to competitors more than it had to.
Breadth. Nokia can fight on more fronts, and might be able to outflank Apple. For instance, Nokia's revived nGage game service gives it a second interesting offering for young people, whereas Apple is limited to just music and video. This is why I think Apple's decision not to open the iPhone to third party app developers is a huge mistake. If Apple had the help of third party developers, it could more easily fill out its software portfolio.
How they'll fight
Nokia wants a war of attrition. It will try to force Apple to compete on more fronts than it can afford to cover. I think we should expect to see a broad array of services added to Ovi quickly, aimed at enticing young adults in all sorts of different ways. Nokia will probably also launch a blizzard of media and entertainment phones with varied features, in the hope that a couple of them will hit sweet spots in the market.
Apple's game is to keep Nokia off balance and grab the most important opportunities. Think of a fencing expert: dodge, feint, and then stab the other guy in the heart. Apple currently has a product advantage -- its music service is already working. So it will try to capture as many customers as it can before Nokia gets its act together.
Apple can also use Nokia's size against it. Nokia has a huge product line and has to position each product carefully within it. Apple has only one phone, so it doesn't have much to protect. That's where the iPhone price cut comes in. The iPhone had been positioned against the n95, at the top of Nokia's product line. With the price cut, the iPhone is now looks much closer to the middle of Nokia's line, the phones that were supposed to be aimed at SonyEricsson.* Nokia can't slash the pricing of the n95 without screwing up the prices of its entire line, so with one price action Apple accomplished two things -- it can reach a lot more customers, and it forced Nokia to go back and rethink its competitiveness.
We should expect more surprise moves from Apple. It's more important for them to keep Nokia off balance than it is to please every customer. I think that's why Apple was willing to piss off the iPhone loyalists with a sudden, large price cut.
*Because of varying subsidies, it's hard to tell what the actual street price comparison between the new n95 and iPhone will be. The current n95 sometimes gets subsidized down by several hundred dollars if you buy a multiyear service contract. Maybe the new n95 will be subsidized down below iPhone prices. Maybe the iPhone will be subsidized too. Or maybe now that Nokia's offering its own services the operators will refuse to keep subsidizing the n95. We need to wait until the iPhone and Nokia's new services premiere in Europe this fall.
Impacts of the war: Alas, the innocent bystanders
The common denominator between Apple and Nokia is the imperative to move quickly. Nokia wants to broaden the competition fast, Apple wants to keep surprising Nokia with new features, products, and other changes. That's going to accelerate the pace of change in the mobile industry. And the accelerating pace of change, rather than anything in particular that Apple or Nokia have done today, is the biggest challenge to the rest of the industry. The other players have been struggling to keep up with the current rate of change; what will they do when Apple and Nokia step on the gas?
I've seen these situations before. You think you're just about keeping up with a competitor, and suddenly they disappear in a cloud of dust. I believe that's about to happen in mobile phones.
A shift from hardware design to systems design. Let's look at which companies have been most successful in smartphones: RIM creates e-mail phone systems that combine hardware, software, and services. DoCoMo and the other Japanese operators drive systems designs that combine hardware, software, and services. The iPhone does the same. Previously, those competitors were confined to particular countries or relatively small vertical markets, but now the world's biggest phone company is trying to do the same thing. That raises the competitive bar for everyone else in the industry.
What are companies like Samsung and Motorola supposed to do? They don't know how to create their own services, let alone integrate one well with a phone. In the music market, there are a lot of third party services out there, but none of them have been effective so far at challenging iTunes. I think they're not strong enough to change the competitive situation. Same thing for the operator services.
So the music phone market looks ugly. What's worse, if Nokia and the systems companies extend their new design approach to other data markets, the traditional mobile phone companies might be cut out of most of the big growth opportunities. They need to learn a new set of skills instantly, and they're far behind the curve.
The interesting potential exception to this situation is SonyEricsson, the leading vendor of music-enabled phones in Europe. Their hardware's nice, and they have a clean user interface that looks inspired by the iPod. Because I'm in the US, I don't have a good read on how smoothly the SonyEricsson phones integrate with operator and third party music stores. Is the experience as easy as using iTunes?
The Register says that Omnifone's Music Station is a promising possibility (link), but it's a subscription service costing 3 euros ($4.11) per week. For that same price you could buy 216 songs on iTunes per year, and at the end of the year you'd actually own something.
I really have trouble seeing the long-term economic benefit of a music subscription service for a user. If you subscribe to one, please post a comment and educate me.
SonyEricsson's management hinted to Time Magazine that it may create its own music service (link). If so, it had better hurry up. I have a lot of respect for SonyEricsson's hardware designs, but if it's limited to music stores with weird business models and ones that don't integrate seamlessly with its phones, it's going to have a very hard time outcompeting an accelerating Apple and a Nokia that's learning to integrate solutions.
Microsoft: Reverse course, again. This is the situation in which Microsoft could have stepped in to offer a music service to the phone companies challenged by Nokia. But in an exquisitely ironic move, Microsoft basically shot its licensed music store initiative last year in order to support the proprietary Zune. Now it can't step up to the opportunity.
Oops.
Microsoft is probably too late to recover in music, but as Nokia adds new services there should be a lot of opportunities to license equivalents of them to Nokia's competitors. Microsoft should focus less on selling its own OS, which scares the phone companies, and more on delivering services they can build into their phones.
And oh by the way, it's time to bury Zune. The iPod Touch just lapped it. If Microsoft wants to lose money on proprietary hardware, it should focus on Xbox. At least there it's buying market share for its money.
The operators lose control. They were struggling to establish their own services suites back when things were moving slowly. Now that Apple and Nokia are shifting into high gear, I don't see how the operators can keep up.
You can find very different scenarios online for where this will lead. Andrew at the Register predicts that the operators may strangle Ovi by refusing to sell any phones that support it (link). He has a good quote from someone who knows both Nokia and the operators:
On the other hand, Richard Windsor, the excellent telecom analyst working for Nomura Securities in London, said in an e-mail brief that the operators are doomed:
Who will be right? It depends on Nokia's ability to generate user demand for its services. If the users want the services, the operators will have to go along with it. I assume Nokia understands this and is prepared to do a big marketing push. Unlike Nokia's previous efforts to set up content portals, this time it has to succeed or it surrenders the future to Apple. So the conflict with Apple also locks Nokia into a war with the operators.
Isn't this fun?
If I were running a mobile operator, I'd stop trying to create my own services bundle, and focus on enabling as many Internet companies as possible to deliver services on my network, in exchange for a small cut of their revenue. An operator with the innovation of the open Internet behind it might be able to keep up with Nokia and Apple. But an operator working alone will be very lonely indeed.
What does it mean for users? You'd think that all this new competition would be good for users, and in many ways I'm sure it will be. But Apple and Nokia are both showing a disturbing tendency to keep everything proprietary. The iPhone is not open to third party developers, and at this point Ovi appears to be about marketing Nokia services, not opening up the richness of the Internet. (To be fair, Nokia employees say that will change, but I'm not sure if they mean that they'll offer access to any Internet service, or just to some selected ones that they cut a deal with. I suspect it'll be the latter.)
Welcome our new Apple and Nokia overlords. There's a disturbing possibility that we may end up exchanging one set of walled gardens for another. They'll be lavish, beautiful gardens, far better than the operators' truck farms for data. But we may not get the open data marketplaces that a lot of people have been hoping for.
If you want to read other perspectives on Nokia vs. Apple, check these out:
-A confident view from Finland (link)
-A cautious view from Jupiter Research (link)
-An outstanding article by Mark Halper at Time, with quotes from Nokia and SonyEricsson (link).
And so it begins.
The Apple-Nokia war finally got underway on August 29, when Nokia announced an array of new music-capable phones and an online music store. The two companies had been eyeing one-another like wrestlers outside the ring for more than a year. Apple entered the mobile phone market, but only in the US, where Nokia is a non-factor. Nokia openly declared that it's a computing company (link), but its non-phone products so far have been different flavors of lame.
But the August 29 announcements put Nokia and Apple on a path to direct confrontation. I haven't seen a lot written online about the importance of this conflict. I think that's probably because many of the people who follow Apple's business closely are based in the US and have trouble taking Nokia seriously because it's a secondary player here. Meanwhile, Nokia's most ardent followers are in Europe, and look at Nokia's actions in light of its regional conflicts with SonyEricsson and the European mobile operators.
But when you stand back and look at what's happening in the industry worldwide, it's clear that Apple and Nokia both want very badly to be the dominant mobile computing company for young adults. That makes a huge, relentless conflict between them inevitable. They're like two armies trying to take the same hill. One's coming from the west, the other from the east, so there's not a lot of fighting at the moment. But as soon as they reach the hill, there's going to be an explosion.
I don't know who will win, but I'm pretty sure that the main losers will be all of the other device companies and mobile operators who happen to be hanging around on the hill.
My advice to them: Run.
What Nokia announced, and why it matters
On the 29th, Nokia announced four phones, two new data services for its phones, and a new brand. Let's start with the services.
The Nokia Music Store is just what the name says, an online music store run by Nokia. It'll be accessible by both PC and selected Nokia phones. The N81 and N95 will be able to talk to the store directly, while for a number of other Nokia phones you'll be able to buy music on your PC and sync it to your phone (Nokia calls this process "sideloading").
Nokia will offer more purchase options than iTunes does. You can either buy and download individual titles (for one euro a song, a euro cent above iTunes), or you can subscribe to the store and stream all the music you want to your PC (but not save it) for ten euros a month.
Nokia positions the streaming service as a way to discover new tunes, after which you're supposed to buy and download the ones you want to keep. I can understand the practical reasons for not streaming from the store directly to phones -- there would be issues with data charges, network capacity, latency, and so on. But I don't know how users will feel about that. If I had a streaming account on my PC, I think I'd expect to have the same service on my Nokia phone. And why wouldn't you want to discover new music while you're on the go?
The bigger problem is that the 120 euros you pay a year for a streaming service is 120 songs you could have bought and kept forever. That's one new song every three days. For comparison, the average iTunes user buys three songs a month. A music subscription service is a great way to get access to a lot of music quickly, but unless you want a colossally large music collection, it's a huge financial drain in the long run (I wrote more on the economics of it here). No wonder the music industry loves the idea of subscriptions (link).
The re- rebirth of nGage. The other new service Nokia announced was a mobile game store. You'll be able to try games for free on your Nokia mobile or PC, and then after purchase you can use them on the PC or sync them to your phone (curiously, Nokia calls this process "installation.") Nokia also promises multiplayer and community features.
Price per game will be six to ten euros, and Nokia says you'll be able to pay by credit card or through your phone bill if the operator enables that. No word on what the revenue split is.
The service sounds pretty interesting to me. The most confusing thing about it is the name. The nGage service won't work with all of Nokia's N-series phones. I know there's no official tie between N-series and nGage (the names were apparently chosen separately), but try explaining that to a typical customer in a store. Nokia has struggled and failed for years to explain to customers the S60 platform that it uses in a lot of its phones; picture adding yet another layer of confusion on top of that (link).
I think the other important challenge to nGage is flash. There's a huge supply of free flash-based games on the web, and a lot of them are the sort of quick-reward, easy to use games that seem to do well on mobile devices. The biggest barrier to using them on mobiles is that Adobe charges for the mobile flash player, and so relatively few mobile phones have it installed. A small installed base of phones means that most developers don't target mobile flash. If Adobe ever drops the charge for the flash player, or if a free flash-equivalent comes along (perhaps a mobile version of Microsoft Silverlight), it might become very difficult to convince people to pay for nGage games.
I know nGage provides a higher-quality gaming experience than flash, but I'm not sure most mobile users will care enough to pay.
Ovi is a new brand that Nokia will use as a wrapper for all of its mobile services, including games, music, maps, photo sharing, and presumably more to come (link). I guess that makes sense from a convenience standpoint -- there will be one website (ovi.com) where you can go to discover all of the Nokia services (Nokia employees say that it will also be a gateway to the services of other companies as well ). Unfortunately, Ovi apparently won't work as a compatibility mark: the phones that can use one Ovi service can't necessarily use another. For example, many of the phones that can run nGage games can't directly connect to the music service. A brand is most effective when it represents a coherent idea or consistent product. I think Ovi creates an expectation of coherence but doesn't deliver it. It just says that Nokia's in the service business, which Nokia cares about but is not something that concerns users
If Nokia doesn't make all the Ovi services work on all its data-capable phones quickly, I think the varied incompatibilities between the Nokia services and devices are going to be a nightmare to explain at retail.
The four new phones
The N95 8GB adds more memory to Nokia's flagship Swiss army knife phone, which includes a 5 mp camera, improved 3G, WiFi, and GPS. This is the one that online reviewers always compare to the iPhone. It works with both nGage and the music store, and its base price is 580 euros before subsidy.
The N81 is a slider phone with WiFi and 3G, and has dedicated buttons to access both nGage and the music store. It'll sell for 430 euros pre-subsidy.
The 5310 is a slimline candybar phone that can play music synced from the Nokia music store. It cannot access the music store directly. It has dedicated music controls next to the screen, and its base price is 225 euros.
The 5610 is similar to the 5310, but adds a slider and built-in camera. Its base price is 300 euros. A lot of online reviewers have been comparing this and the 5310 to the SonyEricsson Walkman phones, and I think that was probably Nokia's thinking. But hold that thought because it's not necessarily how things will work out.
What's the impact? A huge amount depends on execution. How well will Nokia's new services integrate with the phones? How easy will it be to play songs and games? How many titles will be in the Nokia stores, and how good will they be? Services and mobile devices often live or die on the little details of usability, and we can't judge that for Nokia yet because we can't play with the new products and services.
But Nokia's direction is very clear. It wants to be in the mobile Internet services business, as both a developer and publisher of content and services. It's going to tie those services directly to its phones. And knowing Nokia, it'll keep iterating on both the phones and the services until it gets them right.
That's why Apple and Nokia are now at war. Even if Nokia's current products turn out to be lame, it's going straight into the territory that Apple has been pursuing ever since the first iPod shipped.
Apple's new products. I should add a little context on Apple's recent product announcements. In September, Apple made a lot of changes to the iTunes and iPod lineup. The move that got the most attention was the price cut of the iPhone from $599 to $399. I'll write more about that below. The other changes that stood out to me were:
--iTunes can now be accessed via WiFi on the iPhone and iPod Touch. This corrects a glaring weakness in the original iPhone. It's interesting that Apple apparently hasn't enabled the iPhone to talk to the store over a cellular connection. That may be because the network the iPhone uses in the US is too slow to easily download music, or it may be that AT&T doesn't want a lot of data traffic going over its network when the phone's data plan is flat-rate.
--The video version of the Nano, starting at $199, is a heck of a lot of technology in a very cute little package.
--The iPod Touch is basically an iPhone without the microphone and cellular radio. It makes a really interesting PDA for people who want to buy a basic voice phone and carry their entertainment separately. It's priced at $299.
(As an aside, I have a request: Once the iPod Touch starts selling like gangbusters, would someone please go find the person at Sony who decided the Clie handheld business was a dead end, and kick them in the shins?)
Relative strengths of the competitors
Or, how to piss off both Apple fans and Nokia fans in the same post.
Apple and Nokia are very different companies. Here are their relative strengths:
Resources. No contest. Although Apple is a very successful company, Nokia has vastly more financial resources.
Logistics. Nokia is one of the greatest logistics companies on the planet. It churns out hundreds of millions of phones, changes models frequently, and almost everything works properly. If Nokia were running the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, New Orleans would be 20 feet above sea level by now. Apple, by contrast, does a very competent job of managing contract manufacturers in Asia. Advantage Nokia.
Telephony experience. Another huge Nokia advantage. Designing phones and getting them qualified on networks is really tricky, and Nokia knows how to do it better than anyone else.
System design skill. This is Apple's core competence; it knows how to design hardware and software together to create a beautifully integrated system. Nokia's phones often appear as if their hardware and software were designed by completely different groups and slapped together at the last minute (because, in many cases, that's exactly what happened). This works great in commodity phones, but if the competition is for who can create the most elegant data experience, Nokia is at a huge disadvantage.
Brand power. Wow, this is a tough one. Apple has one of the coolest brands on the planet. Nokia's brand is beloved in Europe, and in most of the world it personifies upward mobility (except in the US and Japan). I call this one a tie.
User interface. Apple knows how to design these. The kindest thing you can say about Nokia's interface designs is that they're better than many other phone manufacturers. But that's like comparing a three-legged dog to a two-legged dog. Nokia's trying to get better -- at the announcement event, it showed video of a forthcoming device with an iPhone-style touchscreen (link). But for now, this one's clearly a strong Apple advantage.
Cleverness. Hey, it's Steve. Nokia's management is extremely smart, but you look to them for great operational execution, not brilliant strategy. After all, this is the company that brought us the original nGage.
Industrial design. I'm going to get flamed by the Nokia fans for this, but Apple has a clear advantage in design. The comparison: Nokia sometimes creates a great design. Apple rarely creates anything less than a great design.
Music solution. You'd think this would be an overwhelming advantage for Apple, but its arrogant handling of the music companies has made them even more desperate to tear Steve Jobs' throat out. They're anxious to work with someone like Nokia. Apple still has an advantage, but it has opened the door to competitors more than it had to.
Breadth. Nokia can fight on more fronts, and might be able to outflank Apple. For instance, Nokia's revived nGage game service gives it a second interesting offering for young people, whereas Apple is limited to just music and video. This is why I think Apple's decision not to open the iPhone to third party app developers is a huge mistake. If Apple had the help of third party developers, it could more easily fill out its software portfolio.
How they'll fight
Nokia wants a war of attrition. It will try to force Apple to compete on more fronts than it can afford to cover. I think we should expect to see a broad array of services added to Ovi quickly, aimed at enticing young adults in all sorts of different ways. Nokia will probably also launch a blizzard of media and entertainment phones with varied features, in the hope that a couple of them will hit sweet spots in the market.
Apple's game is to keep Nokia off balance and grab the most important opportunities. Think of a fencing expert: dodge, feint, and then stab the other guy in the heart. Apple currently has a product advantage -- its music service is already working. So it will try to capture as many customers as it can before Nokia gets its act together.
Apple can also use Nokia's size against it. Nokia has a huge product line and has to position each product carefully within it. Apple has only one phone, so it doesn't have much to protect. That's where the iPhone price cut comes in. The iPhone had been positioned against the n95, at the top of Nokia's product line. With the price cut, the iPhone is now looks much closer to the middle of Nokia's line, the phones that were supposed to be aimed at SonyEricsson.* Nokia can't slash the pricing of the n95 without screwing up the prices of its entire line, so with one price action Apple accomplished two things -- it can reach a lot more customers, and it forced Nokia to go back and rethink its competitiveness.
We should expect more surprise moves from Apple. It's more important for them to keep Nokia off balance than it is to please every customer. I think that's why Apple was willing to piss off the iPhone loyalists with a sudden, large price cut.
*Because of varying subsidies, it's hard to tell what the actual street price comparison between the new n95 and iPhone will be. The current n95 sometimes gets subsidized down by several hundred dollars if you buy a multiyear service contract. Maybe the new n95 will be subsidized down below iPhone prices. Maybe the iPhone will be subsidized too. Or maybe now that Nokia's offering its own services the operators will refuse to keep subsidizing the n95. We need to wait until the iPhone and Nokia's new services premiere in Europe this fall.
Impacts of the war: Alas, the innocent bystanders
The common denominator between Apple and Nokia is the imperative to move quickly. Nokia wants to broaden the competition fast, Apple wants to keep surprising Nokia with new features, products, and other changes. That's going to accelerate the pace of change in the mobile industry. And the accelerating pace of change, rather than anything in particular that Apple or Nokia have done today, is the biggest challenge to the rest of the industry. The other players have been struggling to keep up with the current rate of change; what will they do when Apple and Nokia step on the gas?
I've seen these situations before. You think you're just about keeping up with a competitor, and suddenly they disappear in a cloud of dust. I believe that's about to happen in mobile phones.
A shift from hardware design to systems design. Let's look at which companies have been most successful in smartphones: RIM creates e-mail phone systems that combine hardware, software, and services. DoCoMo and the other Japanese operators drive systems designs that combine hardware, software, and services. The iPhone does the same. Previously, those competitors were confined to particular countries or relatively small vertical markets, but now the world's biggest phone company is trying to do the same thing. That raises the competitive bar for everyone else in the industry.
What are companies like Samsung and Motorola supposed to do? They don't know how to create their own services, let alone integrate one well with a phone. In the music market, there are a lot of third party services out there, but none of them have been effective so far at challenging iTunes. I think they're not strong enough to change the competitive situation. Same thing for the operator services.
So the music phone market looks ugly. What's worse, if Nokia and the systems companies extend their new design approach to other data markets, the traditional mobile phone companies might be cut out of most of the big growth opportunities. They need to learn a new set of skills instantly, and they're far behind the curve.
The interesting potential exception to this situation is SonyEricsson, the leading vendor of music-enabled phones in Europe. Their hardware's nice, and they have a clean user interface that looks inspired by the iPod. Because I'm in the US, I don't have a good read on how smoothly the SonyEricsson phones integrate with operator and third party music stores. Is the experience as easy as using iTunes?
The Register says that Omnifone's Music Station is a promising possibility (link), but it's a subscription service costing 3 euros ($4.11) per week. For that same price you could buy 216 songs on iTunes per year, and at the end of the year you'd actually own something.
I really have trouble seeing the long-term economic benefit of a music subscription service for a user. If you subscribe to one, please post a comment and educate me.
SonyEricsson's management hinted to Time Magazine that it may create its own music service (link). If so, it had better hurry up. I have a lot of respect for SonyEricsson's hardware designs, but if it's limited to music stores with weird business models and ones that don't integrate seamlessly with its phones, it's going to have a very hard time outcompeting an accelerating Apple and a Nokia that's learning to integrate solutions.
Microsoft: Reverse course, again. This is the situation in which Microsoft could have stepped in to offer a music service to the phone companies challenged by Nokia. But in an exquisitely ironic move, Microsoft basically shot its licensed music store initiative last year in order to support the proprietary Zune. Now it can't step up to the opportunity.
Oops.
Microsoft is probably too late to recover in music, but as Nokia adds new services there should be a lot of opportunities to license equivalents of them to Nokia's competitors. Microsoft should focus less on selling its own OS, which scares the phone companies, and more on delivering services they can build into their phones.
And oh by the way, it's time to bury Zune. The iPod Touch just lapped it. If Microsoft wants to lose money on proprietary hardware, it should focus on Xbox. At least there it's buying market share for its money.
The operators lose control. They were struggling to establish their own services suites back when things were moving slowly. Now that Apple and Nokia are shifting into high gear, I don't see how the operators can keep up.
You can find very different scenarios online for where this will lead. Andrew at the Register predicts that the operators may strangle Ovi by refusing to sell any phones that support it (link). He has a good quote from someone who knows both Nokia and the operators:
The operators own the relationship with the customer. They're not going to allow Nokia to own it.
On the other hand, Richard Windsor, the excellent telecom analyst working for Nomura Securities in London, said in an e-mail brief that the operators are doomed:
Through their inaction, mobile operators have squandered the opportunity to be the service integrator for mobile and are left with the prospect of offering nothing to users except commodity data packets.
Who will be right? It depends on Nokia's ability to generate user demand for its services. If the users want the services, the operators will have to go along with it. I assume Nokia understands this and is prepared to do a big marketing push. Unlike Nokia's previous efforts to set up content portals, this time it has to succeed or it surrenders the future to Apple. So the conflict with Apple also locks Nokia into a war with the operators.
Isn't this fun?
If I were running a mobile operator, I'd stop trying to create my own services bundle, and focus on enabling as many Internet companies as possible to deliver services on my network, in exchange for a small cut of their revenue. An operator with the innovation of the open Internet behind it might be able to keep up with Nokia and Apple. But an operator working alone will be very lonely indeed.
What does it mean for users? You'd think that all this new competition would be good for users, and in many ways I'm sure it will be. But Apple and Nokia are both showing a disturbing tendency to keep everything proprietary. The iPhone is not open to third party developers, and at this point Ovi appears to be about marketing Nokia services, not opening up the richness of the Internet. (To be fair, Nokia employees say that will change, but I'm not sure if they mean that they'll offer access to any Internet service, or just to some selected ones that they cut a deal with. I suspect it'll be the latter.)
Welcome our new Apple and Nokia overlords. There's a disturbing possibility that we may end up exchanging one set of walled gardens for another. They'll be lavish, beautiful gardens, far better than the operators' truck farms for data. But we may not get the open data marketplaces that a lot of people have been hoping for.
If you want to read other perspectives on Nokia vs. Apple, check these out:
-A confident view from Finland (link)
-A cautious view from Jupiter Research (link)
-An outstanding article by Mark Halper at Time, with quotes from Nokia and SonyEricsson (link).
Leaked Ad Shows 3G iPhone in Germany as of November 12th
There's been a lot of speculation about whether or not the iPhone would come to Europe in updated 3G form or as just the same old EDGE model available in the US. There were even rumors that Apple was going to announce the 3G European version of the iPhone at it's September 5th media event. Though the media event provided no such revelation, we've got our latest item stoking the fires of the 3G
iTunes 7.4.1 Removes Free iPhone Ringtone Loophole
Shortly after iTunes 7.4 was released, users were greeted by the discovery of a MacRumors forum user which revealed a way to sync custom ringtones to your iPhone for free, simply by renaming files. Immediately following was a great deal of speculation as to whether this "loophole" was left open by Apple intentionally, or if it was a rookie-like mistake.Unfortunately, the latter seems to be the
Jobs Offers Apology, $100 Credit to Existing iPhone Owners
When Steve Jobs announced, at the September 5th Apple media event, that Apple was cutting $200 off the price of the iPhone, many a cheer was heard across the US. However, almost as resounding were the jeers of early iPhone adopters who had essentially paid $200 for the privilege of owning an iPhone for two months or less. Though penalizing early adopters financially isn't a foreign concept to
Samsung G800 – The new Hi-Five
Here is the new high end wonder from Samsung. It seems that the manufacturer is busy in observing the trends of the market and making conglomeration of various features in a single device. Well, whatever be the motto, it’s always the end result that matters. And as long as Samsung is producing good design and feature loaded phones it’s always welcome. Samsung has recently launched Samsung G800
Samsung P520 - Now three is company
It seems as if Samsung is launching various phones with different camera resolution. Till now we have already reviewed phones with 1.3, 2, 2.1 mega pixel camera and now is the turn for the 3 mega pixel camera which is there in the newly launched Samsung P520.This phone has some of the contemporary looks and seems the designers have spent many hours designing this phone. There are various design
Apple Discontinues 4GB iPhone, Slashes 8GB iPhone Price $200
After some technical difficulties yesterday, we're back online and are going to endeavor to update readers throughout the day on some of the more interesting items that came out of yesterday's Apple media event. We'll start with the price slashing Apple announced to close the media event (yes, sort of backwards, but so be it). Jobs announced that Apple would be discontinuing the production of
This is what happens in technology price cuts
I want to write some more about all the recent mobile product announcements when I get more time, but tonight I have a chance for only a brief comment on Apple. I can't speak for Apple's motivations, and I know they pride themselves on thinking different, but no one I know in the tech industry -- and I mean no one -- cuts the price of a consumer tech product two months after launch unless they're seriously worried about demand. It's just not done, because it pisses off your early buyers, trains customers to wait a few months before they buy, upsets the channel, produces a lot of returned products, and distracts people from your other announcements.
If current iPhone sales are okay, the only other reason I can think of to cut prices this soon would be if you're worried about a competitive situation. Let's see, what competitive announcement could have possibly spooked Apple? Could it be Nokia's announcement last week of a music phone priced at 225 euros ($306)? (Link)
If current iPhone sales are okay, the only other reason I can think of to cut prices this soon would be if you're worried about a competitive situation. Let's see, what competitive announcement could have possibly spooked Apple? Could it be Nokia's announcement last week of a music phone priced at 225 euros ($306)? (Link)
New iPhone in Feb, 2008?
Yesterday, Apple broke the news on a series of upgrades to its iPod family. Outside of launching a touchscreen based iPod (iPod Touch), new video Nano and update to the classic iPod to 160GB, the biggest shocker was the dropping of 4GB iPhone and lowering the 8GB iPhone to $399 (a $200 drop from the previous $599).I went to the AT&T site this morning to see if there was an update and found the $399 pricing for the 8GB iPhone AND a reduction in price for a 4GB iPhone ($299). This was a surprise because no one knew what would happen to the 4GB units.
The one thing that draws my attention is that AT&T calls this a “Special Pricing! Now through January 31, 2008”. We all know that Apple has permanently lowered the pricing, so its not a special pricing by any means. Therefore, I am guessing by February 1st 2008, a new iPhone is to be expected. Or, AT&T can just extend this BS special pricing longer. Only time will tell.
How To Get $200 Back If You Just Got An iPhone
Did you just buy an 8GB iPhone and paid full price? And are you feeling upset over the $200 dollar price drop that Apple (AAPL) just announced? Well there is a way you can help yourself and get $200 back. Apple’s store return policy states: Should Apple reduce its price on any Apple-branded product within fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of purchase, you may request a refund of the
Samsung L600 – Color my dreams
Samsung has released the new Samsung L600 mobile phone which is one of the most stylish and colorful low end handset I have ever seen. Though there are various features in this phone which can be related to various other handsets but the color of this phone makes it really attractive and very girly. Among the various style experiments done by Samsung recently, this one can be the weirdest of them
BlackBerry 8820 – Berry Good Idea
What else can you call a BlackBerry phone other than the most decent and corporate focused handset. Well, that’s very true to say for BlackBerry phones because these phones are famous for their features and durability. Your one blackberry can be your palm top, laptop and calling device. BlackBerry is famous for its mobile features as the best possible communication device. Now the company has
Sony Ericsson K850 Cyber Shot
Tired of those plain handsets and want to have something new. Then get hold to the new Sony Ericsson K850 Cyber Shot. This is the latest venture by Sony, famous for its unmatched camera quality. We have reviewed almost every Sony Ericsson model, and believe us this model is not only stylish but has numerous features along with the 5 mega pixel camera. This bar phone is sleek and very trendy. This
Pantech U 4000 – It’s different
Many of our readers kept us asking about Pantech phones and they want us to review more Pantech phones. So this review is dedicated to our readers who always wanted to read about Pantech phones. Recently came across the Pantech U 4000, so here is your review by our team of gadget experts. Undoubtedly this phone instantly caught our attention with its looks and style. This sliding phone has a
HP iPAQ 514 – the bar mode
HP has launched its new smart phone HP iPAQ 514. This cool cell phone has a number of features adeptly fitted inside its well designed body. The outer design of this phone is quite simple. This is a bar phone with well carved keys and a wide screen. This smart phone is quite durable compared to other HP phone. The best part about this phone is its weight. This phone isn’t a heavy miniature
LG KU 950 – the 360 connection
LG has recently launched its innovative range of cell phone which has some of the unique features. The latest LG KU 950 enjoys the new bandwagon of stylish phones from LG. this phone has a seamless design which is unique and very innovative. The new LG KU 950 is waiting for its worldwide release. The specifications and design of this phone is already making news and I am sure some gadget lovers
Foleo, we hardly knew ye
A quick note on Palm's decision to cancel the Foleo. To me, the most surprising part of the announcement was Palm's explanation that it couldn't afford to create two different software platforms (link).
To translate that from Silicon Valley speak, Palm was building two substantially different versions of Linux, one for future Treos and one for the Foleo. That was a huge surprise to me -- I had assumed the company was doing a single version of Linux for both product lines. The overhead cost associated with maintaining multiple platforms is enormous. Even huge companies struggle with it, so in my opinion there's no way in the universe that Palm was going to be able to afford it.
So it turns out the Foleo was almost doomed from the start. Unless it was a raging success from day one, it wasn't going to be sustainable economically. When the Foleo announcement failed to set the world on fire, the end was probably inevitable.
To translate that from Silicon Valley speak, Palm was building two substantially different versions of Linux, one for future Treos and one for the Foleo. That was a huge surprise to me -- I had assumed the company was doing a single version of Linux for both product lines. The overhead cost associated with maintaining multiple platforms is enormous. Even huge companies struggle with it, so in my opinion there's no way in the universe that Palm was going to be able to afford it.
So it turns out the Foleo was almost doomed from the start. Unless it was a raging success from day one, it wasn't going to be sustainable economically. When the Foleo announcement failed to set the world on fire, the end was probably inevitable.
O2 Cocoon
The quad-band 3G Cocoon is not the first own-branded whiter than white handset I've seen from O2. That accolade went to the Ice. The Cocoon though, is a uniquely oddball mobile in several respects. It certainly looks different enough to be an eye catcher and apparently if you take your Cocoon to the O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) in London, the phone knows what you are doing and will
O2 XDA Zinc Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA Zinc is the next in the series of O2 XDA Smartphones which are starting to make a name for themselves in the smartphone market. Sleek, easy to use with an impressive polished finish, the handset looks the part and holds a vast array of the latest services required for a life on the move.The O2 XDA Zinc combines a traditional mobile phone offering with the latest PDA technology, and is
O2 XDA mini S Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA mini S mobile phone is a Quad Band GSM phone from O2, which is now available for a price of about $450. The phone weighs about 160 grams and features a full format QWERTY keyboard. The phone opens like a slider phone but horizontally not vertically. The O2 XDA mini S mobile phone measures about 108 x 58 x 23 mm and comes with a 65k color TFT touch screen which also measures a good 42 x
O2 X2i Mobile Phone
The O2 X2i mobile phone is a Tri band GSM clamshell from O2 which weighs about 95 grams and measures close to 89 x 44 x 22 mm. The phone comes with a 65k color TFT screen with a 128 x 128 pixel resolution display. The O2 X2i mobile phone has a very ordinary OLED external display.The O2 X2i mobile phone is basically an entry level phone with limited number of features. The battery of the O2 X2i
O2 XDA Exec Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA Exec mobile phone is an UMTS cum Tri band GSM phone from O2, very similar to the i-mate JASJAR Mobile Phone. The phone is extremely bulky and weighs a massive 275 grams. It measures close to 127 x 81 x 25 mm. The O2 XDA Exec mobile phone comes with a 65k color TFT screen which is ofcourse a touch screen and has a display resolution of 640 x 480 pixels.The O2 XDA Exec mobile phone runs
O2 XDA Trion Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA Trion mobile phone is a UMTS and Tri band GSM phone released this May and will be available soon in the retail market. The phone has a QWERTY keypad which is really good, but that does not help with the weight of the phone at all. The O2 XDA Trion mobile phone weighs 160+ grams and it’ heavy! The phone measures close to 113 x 58 x 22 mm. On the other hand, the O2 XDA Trion mobile phone
O2 X7 Mobile Phone
The O2 X7 mobile phone is a Tri-band GSM phone announced late last year. The phone is a pretty light slider phone from O2. It weighs only 80 odd grams and measures approximately 85 x 41 x 21 mm. The phone can easily be labeled in the entry level category by the number and quality of the features it offers. The O2 X7 mobile phone does not provide you with the luxury of a memory card slot, so you
O2 XDA Orion Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA Orion mobile phone was released earlier this year and works with Quad-band GSM networks. The phone weighs close to 106 grams and measures approximately 107.5 x 46 x 17.5 mm. The O2 XDA Orion mobile phone comes with a good 65k color TFT screen with a display resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. The screen measures about 34 x 45mm in size.The O2 XDA Orion mobile phone comes with a miniSD card
O2 XDA Atom Exec Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA Atom Exec mobile phone is a Tri-band PDA from O2 which works with GSM 900/ 1800/ 1900 networks. The phone weighs close to 140 grams and measures about 102 x 58 x 18.5 mm. The O2 XDA Atom Exec mobile phone houses a wonderful 256k color TFT screen with a display resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. The O2 XDA Atom Exec mobile phone is powered by an Intel XScale PXA 27x 520MHz processor which
O2 Jet Mobile Phone
The O2 Jet mobile phone is an entry level Quad-band GSM phone from O2. This one is not the traditional O2 phones with PDA features and touch screen but it’s a candy bar handset with no thrills or frills. The O2 Jet mobile phone weighs quite a lot at 121 grams and measures about 117 x 47 x 20 mm. The O2 Jet mobile phone is capable of storing good quality Polyphonic and mp3 tunes. The O2 Jet mobile
O2 XDA Stealth Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA Stealth mobile phone is a very different handset from the usual O2 line-up. It is ofcourse a PDA but designed in the form of a slider phone too. The phone was announced last month and is scheduled for a 2007 release. It weighs about 140 grams and measures 110 x 53 x 22.5 mm. The O2 XDA Stealth mobile phone also comes with a 256k color touch screen with a handwriting recognition
O2 Orbit Mobile Phone
The O2 Orbit mobile phone is a Quad-band PDA phone which works with GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 networks. The phone was recently announced last month and is scheduled for a 2007 release. It weighs about 127 grams and measures close to 108 x 58 x 16.8 mm.The O2 Orbit mobile phone comes with a 65k color TFT touch screen with a display resolution of 240 x 320 pixles. The phone runs on an OMAP 850,
O2 Ice Mobile Phone
The O2 Ice mobile phone is a sleek candy bar phone from O2 which works with both UMTS and GSM networks. The phone weighs just over 90grams and measures close to 117 x 49 x 14 mm. The O2 Ice mobile phone comes with a microSD card slot and 32mb of internal memory. The O2 Ice mobile phone has a good 256k color TFT display with a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels. The phone supports Polyphonic as well
O2 XDA Atom Mobile Phone
The O2 XDA Atom mobile phone is a neat Tri-band GSM PDA phone from O2 which was announced last year and is now available for an approximate price of $600. The phone weighs 140 grams and measures about 102 x 58 x 18.5 mm. The display of the O2 XDA Atom mobile phone is touch screen 256k colors with a display resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. The phone has an in-built handwriting recognition software
Vodafone 710
The 710 is Vodafone’s first attempt to produce an own branded 3G handset aimed squarely at consumers. It isn’t available on Pay Monthly tariffs, only on Pay As You Talk, will set you back £72 and incorporates tri-band GSM. As such the Vodafone 710 might have its greatest appeal among those for whom 3G is uncharted territory, who aren’t sure whether they really want or need the speed and
Sagem my850v
Sagem isn’t one of the best known handset producers, but it does churn them out at a steady old rate. Most recently I looked at the my215x which, while it didn’t pack in the features, was an absolute bargain for £20 on Vodafone Pay As You Talk. Vodafone also has the scoop on this week’s handset, the Sagem my850v. It’s a 3G mobile, and a flip phone. Online you can find it at Vodafone’s business
Sagem My215x
If you were asked to name five mobile phone manufacturers, I bet Sagem would not be among your list. The company doesn’t have the sheer presence of many others, and it can easily slip under the radar. But for all that, Sagem’s mobiles are often pretty good. The last one I looked at was the 3G enabled My600v. I found that to be a neatly designed and efficient handset. Not at the leading edge,
Sagem My600v
Of all the many handsets I see from day to day, I find Sagem’s to be one of the most aesthetically appealing and the my600v is a good example. The design isn’t groundbreaking by any means, but it does have something that makes it stand out from the crowd - a simplicity that makes for a refreshing change. The my600v is available exclusively on Vodafone with a pay-as-you talk tariff. The handset
Motorola RAZR2 V9 - Style With Distinction
Motorola, keeping in its tune of providing a mobile with nice features in sleek designs, has this time, come up with a new model RAZR2 V9. Though it’s officially unveiled, the new model is all set to hit the mobile world in the Q3 of 2007. It is to be remembered that this model is the descendants of the popular Motorola RAZR V3 that paved the way for the ultra slim trend in the world of mobiles.
Motorola RAZR2 V8 – a smart spiky-shooter
After setting a trend of ultra slim models in the mobile world, the popular Motorola RAZR2 V3 is now back in the market with its descendent RAZR2 V8. This version has quad- band GSM/EDGE network support. It has come equipped, in the dimension of 103X53X11.9 mm with weight of 117g. At display level, this model is in the type of TFT, 256K colors. Design-wise, the RAZR2 V8 model has received a
Motorola MOTORIZR Z8
Motorola’s fondness for using capital letters in its handset naming shows no signs of letting up if the title of the new quad-band, 3G, HSDPA toting MOTORIZR Z8 is anything to go by. What’s new is the when you open this slider mobile, the phone curves a little. The back of the phone is in two sections and as you slid the screen upwards the keyboard angles forwards. This means that when you hold
Motorola MOTOKRZR K1
Before opening the box containing Motorola’s MOTOKRZR K1 I felt a slight sense of foreboding. Motorola may have rocked the world with its original flat keyboarded handset the RAZR, and followed up with the similarly flat SLVR and PEBL, but there was a thought going round and round in my head that the format, and indeed the naming convention, had been overplayed, and the MOTOKRZR K1 couldn’t
Motorola RIZR Z3 Mobile Phone
The Motorola RIZR Z3 is a lustrous appearing mobile handset, which comes in the midst of a tremendous smooth & fashionable slider mechanism. The lustrous slider mobile phone comes in a selection of fashionable colours & has a slender, constricted casing. The Motorola RIZR Z3 is 16 mm in depth, 106 mm in length & 46 mm in width that is compressed & straightforward to hold. The mobile phone can be
Motorola RIZR Z6 Mobile Phone
Motorola have announced the forthcoming launch of the Motorola RIZR Z6, which is the next in the Motorola RIZR Z series, and an upgrade on the popular Motorola RIZR Z3. While retaining many of the original features of the Motorola RIZR Z3, the Motorola RIZR Z6 slider phone has a polished finish to the jet black handset, is very easy on the eye, and sure to prove popular. The phone covers the
Motorola ROKR E6 Mobile Phone
While there are many new phones released each year, it is not very often that you see a phone which really makes you stand up and take notice. The Motorola ROKR E6 is a phone which really does catch you attention and there is only one word to describe it - wow !While it is part of the earlier ROKR family of phones, it bears little resemblance to earlier additions, with Motorola having taken
Motorola Adding a PEBL To The ROKR Lineup
After adding music to the RAZR, SLVR, and most recently the RIZR, a source has confirmed that Motorola will soon announce a PEBL style clamshell for music. The ROKR U9 follows in the footsteps of the Z6 by taking on the ROKR model name and appears to add an external color display with music controls similar to the RAZR2 to the curvy model. So far no other details are known about the handset,
LG LC3600
This basically looks like the LG KG77 Shine. The phone features a 1.3 mega pixel camera, microSD support, 1.8 inch 260K color screen, measures 105.2×46.3×9.9 mmand weighs 90 grams.
V-Moda to Release Improved Vibe Duo Control Earbuds for iPhone
A V-Moda spokesperson speaking with iPhoneFAQ has indicated that the makers of the popular Vibe Duo earbuds for the iPhone will release an updated version, likely this month. Though the current Vibe Duo model was made with the iPhone in mind and geared towards iPhone owners, they are compatible with other mobile devices as well. The new addition to the Vibe lineup, called the Vibe Duo Control, is
iPhone Unlocking Software Release Blocked by Legal Warnings
t was announced yesterday that a second company was preparing to provide software that would unlock the Apple iPhone and allow it to be used on any GSM network worldwide. The announcement, which came from mobile phone unlocking company UniquePhones, promised the software would be available to consumers today (August 25th), for a price between $25 and $50. The initial team, which proved their
Nokia gets official with the Nokia N81 N-Gage gaming phone
So, after yesterday’s time-traveling escapade to the Nokia N81 and N95 8GB launch today, we aren’t really surprised to see these pics. But, it’s nice to finally catch up with the future - we call that “temporal sync.” The Nokia N81 has hit the market as a revamped 3G N-Gage mobile gaming platform and packs a 2 megapixel camera, front-facing video calling camera, integrated speakers, and HSDPA to
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