Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Computers, Mobile Computers, Hardware, Wireless
Had enough of how great the iPad is? Itching for some news that restores your faith in your trusty BlackBerry. Well this could be it: rumor has it BlackBerry’s been working/thinking/considering building a tablet.
There are many that might appreciate a larger screen that brings the security and functionality of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to a touchable, portable, even lovable form factor like a tablet. With BlackBerry’s success in the corporate marketplace, it might just be a winner. A winner, if that is where RIM, maker of BlackBerry products, were considering this market.
However, the rumor mill says it is looking at a consumer focused tablet. Huh? A consumer focus tablet would move away from RIM’s core strength (BES) and push them to compete on entertainment, a realm that BlackBerry’s can’t seem to master (see Storm and Storm II for reference). Could a consumer device take hold?
“As we mentioned previously, no one really knows what is going on with the Research In Motion tablet. I’d personally go so far as to say not even Research In Motion knows at this point what is happening.” -Crackberry.com
Further mucking up the picture, the Street was quoted as saying RIM was looking to an Android-powered tablet to be released later in the year. RIM’s put a lot into the BlackBerry OS and I don’t seem them jumping ship to offer a me-too Android tablet that will surely flood the market come the holiday shopping season. I am not sure how this makes sense to anyone.
Anyone see a way for RIM to do something exciting here? Let us know in the comments.
Read: [Crackberry]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers, Hardware, Wireless, Gadgets / Other, Features, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack
Welcome to yet another installment of the only blog post sober enough to suggest that illegal narcotics fuel far too many of this weeks moves in the tech world. Who’s got white powder smeared on their face? Let’s get to it:
- AT&T pushing Palm
- KIN flops on Data like a fish on deck
- Couriers dead: sneaker makers weep
- Kindle, trying to remain relevent, drops 2.5
AT&T loyal Palm fanatics finally get their day in the sun.
And that is about how long any kind of joy will last about AT&T offering the Palm Pre at a rumored $150. If you look around, you can find the phone for much, much less, heck even free. How does AT&T believe they can sell this phone, without a free mobile hotspot (that is the bee’s knees in my opinion)??
Answer? Drugs. Lots of drugs. It seems AT&T is operating under the assumption that they are on the cutting edge with the Pre Plus. Adding a word to the name and removing a button is lazy updating and we’ve seen this device for a year now. Time for some changes. End result: AT&T isn’t ordering too many of these from Palm.
The device has become a bit like a ‘72 Pinto left on the car lot after all these years. “Why are you trying to sell me last year’s phone?” says Mr. Consumer, “I want something new.” Why is AT&T doing this? Does it fear the lineup isn’t smartphone friendly enough? This smacks of a me-too move in the worst way, worse (leaving network quality issues aside) because the phone becomes more valuable on Verizon - highlighting data network fears.
Even our Palm Pre Plus - toting Editor Robert Nelson says, “ah, AT&T, somehow I think you are going to be on the losing end of the Palm Pre Plus.”
KIN killed by Verizon
You can get away with sub par devices, if the price is right. Unfortunately, Verizon borked that one right and good by making the data charge a full one at $30 destroying what we expected would have been a new niche. I suspect the meeting went like this:
MS: We’ve got this idea - we will create a new niche in between dumb and smart phones. We call it KIN.”
Verizon: “Sounds awesome, hey thanks for borking our sales the past few years with Windows Mobile”
MS: “this is KIN and it isn’t Windows Mobile.”
Verizon: “company who’s not selling a lot of phones says what?”
MS: “what?”
Verizon: “exactly..”
Nothing like a swift Verizon knee to the MS crotch. Putting a full charge for Data on these sub-par devices is going to sink them faster than an overweight rock. With Android’s apps, a $50 iPhone, and the lack of advertising support behind KIN, who in their right mind would pick these up? Kids on dope, maybe.
Death to MS Courier means our future shoes will likely suck
Our Hunter Clarke wrote up a great opinion piece on what he believes the market, nay, the world lost when MS decided to ax the project. Says Clarke, “The Courier's death was a disappointment not only for the consumer, but for the market itself. The Courier resembled competition. It resembled the very fire that the market needed to push out a remarkable device.”
Clarke goes on to state the difference between the iPad and the Courier is consume vs create and it’s a valid point. You can try to make the iPad stretch into creation but run afoul pretty quick. The Courier, in contrast, was all about creation for creatives. In the footwear business. Where sketching, swatching, and journaling still happens.
The rest of us won’t miss a thing. Stylus are relics of a broken past and have no business in todays touch-centric universe. There is more than enough competition headed for the iPad in the next 3 months than there should be. Android, webOS and even Windows (chuckle) will push the iPad to do more. The market will live on.
And besides, Microsoft wouldn’t have launched this thing inside of a year. And when they did, Verizon would have borked their data charge anyway.
[+1 to anyone who smirks at the Mars Blackman image on the Courier image above]
Popular eBook reader gains 2.5 update
You’ll recall the Amazon Kindle? The quirky e-ink reader that allows you to download books on the go, no data charges, with a simple - almost elegant design. It’s got new software that move away from it’s book, books and/or books. Our Robert Nelson details the update: “the update, which is 2.5 contains a few new features which include the addition of Facebook and Twitter integration. Yup, you can now fill up your social media stream with more junk, err, I mean "share book passages with friends on Facebook and Twitter directly from your Kindle."
The best part of Nelson’s post? The last line: “...mine has been sitting on the corner of my desk untouched since I picked up an iPad this past Friday.” Snap. Zing. Hey-Ohhh!
The iPad continues to capture the imagination of users who have seemingly no issue shelling out a couple of hundred dollars more for an iPad plus connectivity charges. The casual reader now weighs a Kindle vs. an almost infinitely changeable (via apps) device that is the iPad. All over the US, stories are told of how families are falling in love with the iPad and now it seems, Amazon’s response is to become more like the iPad by broadening it’s feature list.
Sure the update did more than just add Facebook and Twitter; but the addition of these two in particular is interesting. Did Amazon risk confusing it’s loyal customers and potential ones by moving out of “just books”? Will the Kindle 3 be an iPad copy? Or will it become the Palm Pilot of the 2000s; an artifact that was fun at the time but got steamrolled by something else.
Damn, I miss my Palm Pilot.
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
It looks like that previously rumored release date of May 14th was pretty close, in fact it seems that it was only off by two days. Well, it was off by two days according to this latest leaked image to surface, and yes that means this is not an officially announced release date.
Anyway, it looks like those waiting will be able to pick up a Palm Pre Plus with AT&T on May 16th.
Still, we wait to see what the price will be, because with all of the slashing that Verizon has been doing as of late, this may end up being a hard sell for AT&T. Lets hope, for the sake of Palm that they are competitive.
In addition, AT&T is giving access to the 20,000 plus available Hotspot locations, but somehow that does not seem to be an even offer when compared to the free 3G mobile hotspot app that you get with Verizon.
Ah, AT&T, somehow I think you are going to be on the losing end of the Palm Pre Plus.
Via [Engadget]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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