I understand heightened security measures in airports and on air planes, but at some point the rules and regulations by some airlines deserve a facepalm. Take, for instance, John Battelle, who flew on a United Airlines flight enabled with Wi-Fi recently. Since it was late at night, he wanted to video chat with his children simply to say good night. When attempting to initiate a video chat with his family, a flight attendant informed him of a flight policy: video chat communication could be used by terrorists to coordinate an attack.
Already, several airlines have banned methods of video communication such as Skype, but most notably, Apple iChat remains unblocked. The interesting part of this story is the fact that an FAA online fact sheet says video chat is frowned upon simply because it can be annoying to other passengers, not because of possible terrorist communication.
Perhaps airlines are banning video communication to keep Wi-Fi costs low and not have a lot of bandwidth. Or if video chat is actually prohibited on grounds of terrorist communications, shouldn’t Instant Messaging and email also be blocked?
Slacker Radio, one of the many online and mobile options for radio, is rumored to be adding on-demand music playback to their service. The Pandora, Last.fm, and let’s not forget regular radio competitor will soon be taking on a whole new force in Rhapsody, Spotify, and Napster by allowing users to choose what songs they want to play, when they want to play them.
Slacker Radio has almost been cast in a shadow by the wildly popular Pandora and even Last.fm. But users will actually be stunned to find that they have more playback control than Pandora provides, including the ability to request a specific song to play down the line. With the addition of an On-Demand subscription service, Slacker will become a one-stop shop for music playback on the web.
However, this does not come without backlash. On-demand music has had a tough time bringing in profit as unlimited music streaming is not greeted enthusiastically by record labels. Rhapsody and Napster both allow 25 free songs per month per user. However those services lose a tremendous amount of profit because of it (nearly $0.25 per user per month).
In my opinion Slacker is trying to tie together radio and personal collections of music like no other service has done before. And they might very well succeed.
A recent survey conducted by CareerBuilder on 5,200 mobile workers shows that over 57% of them use their smartphones in the bathroom. That’s just plain gross. Imagine this, one in two of your friendly co-workers have contaminated their smartphones while using them in the toilet. Not trying to be a hypocrite here, I admit that I DO use my phone in the bathroom, but it just doesn’t feel right when I know that others do that as well.
Other findings from this fun little survey reveals that more than half of the workers do the following while using their smartphones: while eating, while on vacation, check in bed, check in the bathroom and check while driving. The last factoid is especially disconcerting, here’s a word of advice: don’t let your smartphones get you into an accident! Via [MobileCrunch]
Adobe fires against iPad: HP Slate is where it is at “Adobe has come out swinging in support of the HP Slate, that other tablet we’ve been seeing since January. The HP Slate runs Windows 7 and handles Flash, a common slag against Apple’s tablet, the iPad. In a new video by Adobe,…” MORE »
Android killer app: Decals of the lovable little green robot ” Could it be the reason Android is doing so well is simply better marketing? Will Steve Jobs introduce a warm and fuzzy character that will become synonymous with the iPhone OS? One thing is certain: we can’t seem…” MORE »
Verizon sees opportunity in iPad ” Although the iPad's 3G version is targeted for AT&T users only, Verizon is seeing a golden opportunity in the device's upcoming release. Sales documents leaked to Engadget show Verizon is prepping it's staff to encourage customers to buy the WiFi only version instead…” MORE »
Kindle app for Android on the way? ” For awhile now Android fans have been wondering if the popular Kindle app would ever be made available to them. So far there an iPhone/iPod Touch version, a PC version, and a BlackBerry version, and it looks like at long last an Android…” MORE »
Shields Up!: Huge wave of ransomware floods net ” A new wave of scareware hitting the net has nearly taken over the field. On February 8th and 9th the attack pumped out enough malware to end up accounting for over half the total malware distributed for the entire month. In other words,…” MORE »
Google to release a “business version” of Chrome OS in 2011? ” Many know, and many are waiting for Google to release Chrome OS, which is expected to be available towards the end of the year. But now it seems as if that version of Google’s Chrome OS is not the only one in the pipeline. According to…” MORE »
You get all geared up in hopes to buy the gadget you like at a store in the city. After making your way through the hustle and bustle of the city streets and finally finding a place to park your car, you found out that the store didn’t have your dream gadget in stock. Has this ever happened to you?
Good news people! Google has just released a new feature for Product Search for mobiles. All you have to do is head over to Google.com on your mobile browser, then tap on More and select “Shopping”. Search for something you like, and if a blue dot appears in a product listing, it means that there’s a store nearby you that has the product in stock. If you click on the adjacent “In stock nearby” link, you’ll be brought to the seller’s page with more information on the product availability, whether it’s “In Stock” or has “Limited Availability”. Participating retailers include Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn or West Elm. If you have enabled My Location or manually specified a location on your cell phone, you will see how far away the store is from you.
Welcome to another week gone that you are not getting back. No matter how much we loathe the week, it's in the books and no amount of illegal narcotics is going to change that fact. For these nominees, who I suspect are on crack, this week hasn't been kind. Let's get to it:
Verizon <3's iPad?
AT&T trumpets Moto Android phone, it’s a solo, baby
Kirk Hiner vs Moshi
How to keep the riffraff from your party
Verizon + iPad = happyness?
Verizon is apparently licking its chops over the iPad plus MiFi, its mobile WiFi hotspot device. Our Sue Walsh reports, “Although the iPad's 3G version is targeted for AT&T users only, Verizon is seeing a golden opportunity in the device's upcoming release. Sales documents leaked to Engadget show Verizon is prepping it's staff to encourage customers to buy the WiFi only version instead and then pick up a MiFi and data plan It's a savings of $130 for the customer and a sweet deal for Verizon”
Only math stands in the way of this nirvana. At $60 per month for the Verizon connection, that’s 2x more than the AT&T plan. We’ll come back to AT&T networks in a sec, but just assuming all thing equal, you’ll pay an extra $720 over the life of the two-year contract, but can subtract $130 for needing only the Wi-Fi version iPad. That means you’ll only pay an extra $590 plus a two year lock in. Sweet?
Maybe. Obvi, if you’ve already got a MiFi, this is pretty moot. Or if you live where AT&T’s service is as strong as me in 7th grade, you’re excused; $590 might be something you can deal with . For those who really can’t tell the signal quality difference between carriers, it’s a big bill to swallow. I don’t see Verizon getting a big bump here, do you? It’s either wishful thinking or straight in from dropping a rock in the bathroom.
Android on a short leash, well, sucks
Yay! Android is now on AT&T. Boo! It’s locked down. Our Shawn Ingram tells us, “AT&T has made their first foray into the Android smartphone market, and it looks to be rather depressing.”
Android was supposed to be the “chosen one”, the one who would bring balance to the mobile phone OS galaxy. In this form, more chained down than Princess Leia in a metal bikini, the Backflip can only download apps from the store and is limited on what can be deleted. Can we stand for this?
Or will anyone care? I mean unsavory apps, are, well, unsavory right? Who says Android has to be the wild west? Is everyone picking up Android phones because you can do what ever you want, or do you just want some cute little robot popping up on your phone once in a while? My money is on the robot.
Appletell takes on a talking alarm clock
If you are like me, you should read Appletell more often. If only for the Kirk Hiner reviews, like the one he just did on Moshi, the simple talking alarmclock.
“The talking bit is cool, of course, but potentially troublesome. The "Time" command is bound to annoy anyone with whom you share a bed. Rolling over to see the time is not going to wake up my wife. Having a conversation with some strange female voice likely will.”
The image Kirk paints about having a conversation with an appliance while Mrs. Hiner is trying to sleep is fantastic. The best reccomendation Kirk can come up with are single folks who like to talk to things like plants and street signs or the blind. If that isn’t an editor doing his best to show some respect for the countless hours behind creating and delivering a talking alarm clock, I don’t know what is.
Only made it to level one Granny? You’ll be missed.
While I am sharing some love with sister sites, over at Gamertell, Christian Morlotte found a wedding invitation that requires invitees to play and beat a game to even get to the invitation. Fantastic stuff.
As Christian explains, “The game, called Darina and Niko's Incredible Adventure, is presented in a vintage-8-bit style and features a couple of stages where players can choose either the bride or the groom to rescue their significant other. The game takes inspiration from Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong and the reward for completing the game is the invitation to the wedding itself. As an ending, players get the date and directions to the wedding.”
I assume, since the happy couple seems to be real gamers, if you don’t beat the final boss you don’t get to come. Sorry granny, sorry near-blind Uncle Bill, you’ll be missed at the wedding. How soon do you think before a “Darina and Niko Incredible Adventure” forum popped up? On the forum I suspect they’d be trading cheat codes, sharing leads on hidden Easter Eggs in the game, competing for fastest time and making wild prediction on the inevitable sequels: “Darina and Niko’s Amazing Race to the Delivery Room” or for the more pessimistic “Darina’s escape from the controlling and oft drunk Niko”.
ZD Net has declared, “Google’s online-only phone selling model has failed.” Today, Goldman-Sachs announced they will slash estimates for Nexus One sales by 70%. Can we call the experiment a failure?
The Google store was supposed to revolutionize how we bought phones, free from the high pressure sales of tiny phone stores across the country. The store may have opened with excitement from the blogging media, but poor customer support limited how much love was shown. to be fair, many in the blogging world picked up the Nexus One.
Is it fair to call it a failure? I don’t think so, and here is why: they’ve had one phone on one network. T-Mobile was the opening network way back when Android was a baby. It isn’t the most popular, nor is it the most robust. But T-Mobile is only part of the problem.
The other is advertising. Consumers buy phones based on advertising and putting some fingerprints on one in the local phone store. Who among us have the confidence to commit to 2-years on something we’ve never held (or seen if we have an allergic reaction to)? The answer for the most part is bloggers and uber-techies.
A coming Verizon variety of the Nexus One might solve a lot of this issue and could possible make Goldman-Sachs turn red. If Google puts some TV time behind the phone and Verizon lends a hand with yet more Android love, the Nexus One could ride into the spotlight again.
Will the Google Store be as successful as your local phone store? Or even discounters like Firefly or LetsTalk? No. We do see it becoming a place where those “in the know” can get the top tech. Anything beyond that is wishful thinking. We can’t help wondering how well the Nexus One would do in Verizon’s store.
Google Voice is turning 1 year old today and celebrating complete with birthday cake and all. Personally, it seems as if Google Voice has been around for longer, but maybe that is because I had been using the service as GrandCentral. And at the same time, Google Voice has grown into a service that I use on a daily basis. In fact it has become my phone number, or maybe I should describe that as my phone service. Either way, with Google Voice combined with Gmail you have a powerful combination. A few examples include being able to have my voicemail sent to my email with both a transcription and also a copy of the message as well as using SMS by email. Of course, lets not forget the nice HTML5 based web app as well as the wonderful integration with Android. Plus, as a tech blogger it makes reviewing phones much nicer.
The JooJoo, while not the iPad, is potentially one of the most interesting tablets, if only for the story behind the device. When it was the CrunchPad, it was often accused of being vaporware, and now as the JooJoo it has a lot of that to overcome. Today, however, the tablet is one step closer to being released in the US.
The JooJoo has passed through the FCC, bringing a future release closer. That in itself is good to hear, but the specs of the JooJoo are actually a bit exciting. There should be no surprise that the tablet is running the Intel Atom CPU (N270 to be specific), the good part comes in the graphics. It looks as if the JooJoo will feature the Nvidia Ion GPU, potentially even the second generation which should ship within the next few weeks. This is why the JooJoo will be able to handle HD video with no problem, though it will likely not be great for the battery life.
The FCC’s JooJoo looks to be running Windows, and not the new-and-improved UI, though that’s likely just for testing. Why anyone would want to install a desktop OS on a tablet is questionable, though its nice to know the option is there. Fusion Garage needs to do something to make the JooJoo appeal to some people over the iPad, and perhaps that’s one way to go about it.
It feels like it has been a while since we last saw any Kindle commercial, but based on the recent posting over on the Kindle Facebook page there has been a total of two. Both are done in stop-motion style and the latest has just recently been released. I have yet to see this one live on television, however according to Amazon it is “now airing.” Of course the reasoning behind not seeing it could be as simple as never watching live television. Thankfully though, we still have the Internet, a place where I can catch the television commercials that I miss on television. That makes sense, right?
At 8:30 this morning, Apple is expected to give the iPad an advantage the iPhone never saw, pre-order. In fact, the Apple Store is down right now. By allowing pre-orders, is Apple cashing in on the buzz or setting itself up for failure?
Apple is taking pre-orders for iPads, their “magical” tablet computer based on the iPhone OS, that will ship on April 3rd, launch day. Customers can also choose to pick up their pre-order at the Apple Retail Stores on launch day. Only the Wi-Fi versions will be available on April 3rd, the 3G versions will follow in late April, according to Apple.
The buzz is still pretty loud for the iPad. By allowing pre-orders, Apple could be grabbing cash from hopeful users before they can be tempted by other tablets like the JooJoo. iPad posts do well here at Gadgetell, and that is a pretty good gauge of how much people like this thing, but is pre-order the way to go?
Or is Apple hurting themselves by limiting the all the “line forms outside Apple Retail Stores” free media coverage as fans take to the streets to get their hands on Apple’s new shiny thing? One of the most memorable parts of the original iPhone launch is the image of folks lining up around the country. Sure you saw it here at Gadgetell, but traditional media like your local news also jumped on giving Apple loads of coverage. With pre-orders, there should be less folks in the street; and fewer people mean less interesting coverage.
Does Apple have doubts on the success of this one? Why haven’t they added “iPad” to the overhead navigation bar on their site? Will pre-orders hurt or help Apple?
I understand heightened security measures in airports and on air planes, but at some point the rules and regulations by some airlines deserve a facepalm. Take, for instance, John Battelle, who flew on a United Airlines flight enabled with Wi-Fi recently. Since it was late at night, he wanted to video chat with his children simply to say good night. When attempting to initiate a video chat with his family, a flight attendant informed him of a flight policy: video chat communication could be used by terrorists to coordinate an attack. 
A recent survey conducted by 
ZD Net has declared, “Google’s online-only phone selling model has failed.” Today, Goldman-Sachs announced they will slash estimates for Nexus One sales by 70%. Can we call the experiment a failure?
Google Voice is turning 1 year old today and celebrating complete with birthday cake and all. Personally, it seems as if Google Voice has been around for longer, but maybe that is because I had been using the service as GrandCentral. And at the same time, Google Voice has grown into a service that I use on a daily basis. In fact it has become my phone number, or maybe I should describe that as my phone service. Either way, with Google Voice combined with Gmail you have a powerful combination. A few examples include being able to have my voicemail sent to my email with both a transcription and also a copy of the message as well as using SMS by email. Of course, lets not forget the nice HTML5 based web app as well as the wonderful integration with Android. Plus, as a tech blogger it makes reviewing phones much nicer.
It feels like it has been a while since we last saw any Kindle commercial, but based on the recent posting over on the Kindle Facebook page there has been a total of two. Both are done in stop-motion style and the latest has just recently been released. I have yet to see this one live on television, however according to Amazon it is “now airing.” Of course the reasoning behind not seeing it could be as simple as never watching live television. Thankfully though, we still have the Internet, a place where I can catch the television commercials that I miss on television. That makes sense, right?
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