Section: Communications, Computers, Gadgets / Other, Features, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack
What's the most common phrase heard around the Gadgetell newsroom? Is it "I love Apple?", "that's cool!" or "sweet!"? Answer: none of them, it's "they are on crack." This week we take a look back at the things that made us chuckle in the tech world. This week, it seems there were more folks on dope than not. Lets get to this week's accused:
Microsoft KIN phones back from the dead?
Microsoft App count is generous, to say th least
Sprint realizing Apple’s got something with this whole iPod thing.
Whoa, there’s an app for that? I refuse to pee on my phone.
Say hello to your KIN, again.
Everyone loves second comings. From the highs of X-Men Second Coming to the lows Stone Roses follow up album by the same title, the phrase familiarity breeds contempt often preempts how we’ll feel at a second coming. To borrow from Yates in his poem titled, Second Coming, ” The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere, The ceremony of innocence is drowned.”
That about sums up how we feel about the news that Microsoft Kins will be taking a victory lap over at Verizon. The pair of psuedo-smart phones offered the fantastic data charge coupled with subpar phones. We hated the idea and so did most Verizon users; I wrote the phones were an “insult to consumers”.
Verizon must be hopped up on some industrial grade crack when they came up with this one. Our Robert Nelson reports, ” In other words, while they are going to be capable, they are not going to be married with full-on data plans. Basically the KIN One and KIN Two are coming back and they will be competing in the feature / quick messaging device lineup as opposed to the smartphone lineup. Sounds like something that should have happened from the beginning.”
So, it looks clear that Verizon agreed that the crippled phones should not get a full data charge. Only they threw the baby out with the bath water. No data makes the phones even more useless than with an overpriced data plan. I think it is safe to say that the “ceremony of innocence” Yates referred to involved Verizon and their crack rocks.
Microsoft app count should have a disclaimer
Windows 7 phones launched in the US after selling out across the globe. Is it all good news? Well. Um. No, the selling out seems to be caused by supply problems. And the app number marketing throws around, well, it seems that’s a bit off too.
Our Robert Nelson again spills the beans, “Basically, one person is responsible for 76 of those 1658 apps. And they are not even necessary apps, they are all currency converters (apps that convert currency from ONE SINGLE currency to ANOTHER SINGLE currency) each of which are selling for $0.99…I guess the blame ultimately falls on the people behind the Marketplace. Lets keep this clean Microsoft, because otherwise, you seem to be off on a good start with Windows Phone 7.”
Nelson reported on this just days after writing, “[g]ood news for those who refuse to settle on a mobile platform that does not have a large amount of available apps—the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace is already at 2,000.”
The funny part of this must be that folks buying Windows Phone 7 devices probably don’t care a lot about apps. Perhaps, those corporate customers would be even more happy if the app store count was lower! As commenter Bobby wrote, “another issue mentioned but not quantified is the "toy" aspects of all the apps and the working time that can be waisted on these.”
Perhaps Microsoft Windows Phone would do better marketing, “Hey! We’ve got a limited number of apps.”
Sprint waking up to iPod touch popularity
Over at Sprint, it is 2007 all over again. Or at least, that seems to be the thinking behind the new ZTE Peel. Our Natesh Sood relates the data to us, “the ZTE Peel fits like a case for the iPod Touch, as you simply slide the iPod Touch into the ZTE Peel and press the power button to activate the device. The ZTE Peel creates a WiFi network of which the iPod Touch connects to.” Flippin fantastic right?
Imagine the possibilities: have VOIP cell possibilities, ditch your pricey voice+data bill. Live for data!
Only, the iPod touch was ready for this back in 2008 (when the ability to connect a microphone was introduced). Had Sprint become an early adapter, things might have become really compelling really quickly with 3rd party apps that could be designed for an always-on iPod touch. Advancing the clock back to present day, it seems a bit late to the party.
Personally, I like the idea. Heck, I might even love it. No monthly commitment, $30, WiFi network I can connect other things to. There’s a lot to love right there. Is it too late? Well who cares, I am off to a “300” movie screening dressed in traditional Sparta robes. Oh, wait. It isn’t 2007 anymore.
STD apps coming to your phone, ewwww.
“In an effort to cut down on the increasing rate of sexually transmitted diseases running rampant in the UK, doctors and techies are developing small devices, not unlike emergency pregnancy tests, that will let users know whether or not they have been infected by one of the few glorious sexual diseases. By placing urine or saliva samples onto a small chip and plugging it into their phones/computers, people will be notified as to which STD they have acquired within the matter of minutes.” - Gadgetell’s Tarun Kunwar.
Replace “you’ve got mail” with “you’ve got herpes” and you get the idea. I don’t know, if you are thinking of putting your pee into a cell phone, there’e a good probability you’ve got an STD. Just sayin.
But moreover, yes the tech can do this. The question becomes should we? Without being physically in a doc’s office, will users deny the issue? Seek treatment on Wikipedia, which may or may not have answers you can trust? Can we trust users without a 3rd party involved (or for some adventurous lovers, a 4th party)?
Too many of us avoid listening to voicemails now. I would have to presume getting STD thumbs up or thumbs down would have to take top honors in responses you really don’t want to look at. Unless something really itches, that is.
Straight up crack.
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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