Archive for September 2005
Google is making a bid to build a San Francisco-wide free wifi network, according to company officials. The company today filed documents in response to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s request for information for the city wide network. Google’s WiFi plans were first reported by … Read More »
Microsoft-Google spat is so yesterday. The latest flare up in Silicon Valley is between Yahoo and Nuance Communications. Nuance is accusing Yahoo of stealing trade secrets in the VoIP business. As you might know, Yahoo is pretty serious about this whole VoIP thing, and wants … Read More »
Verizon VoiceWing fine-print on unlimited plans.
Verizon reserves the right to monitor usage for possible abuse of service. For packages with unlimited calling, more than 5,000 minutes a month is considered beyond normal residential use and may be investigated, resulting in potential termination of service. … Read More »
San Francisco (CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment Exposition) September 27, 2005 – SplashData, Inc., the leading developer of “virtual wallet” applications for mobile devices, announced that its award winning SplashBlog photoblogging solution is now available for additional mobile devices—Windows Mobile and Symbian Series 60 … Read More »
There is nothing worse for me than running out of battery juice when I am mobile. To help prevent that I have two standard batteries for my HP tc1100 Tablet PC which gets me between 6 and 7 hours of total battery life with power management … Read More »
I am having a blast at the MVP Summit in Redmond this week and have seen some really cool stuff. The very best part of the Summit for me is finally getting a chance to meet so many people I have been talking to online and … Read More »
I am taking rest of the day today and tomorrow off…. writing for the magazine and also plan to have a lot of drinks this evening… starting my 365 day countdown to 40…..
Update: Thank you all for kind and warm wishes. Russell sent me a … Read More »
There were some curious movements in the eBay stock just before the Skype deal was announced. Hitchhiker’s Guide to 650 points out
When the rumors came out last thursday on the Skype acquisition, eBay stock dropped 3.8%. With 1.35B shares outstanding and each share losing … Read More »
Folks Skype 1.4 for Windows is available for download, and among the new features include much improved call forwarding to your land/mobile numbers. Think of it as a way to boost Skype’s SkypeOut sales. There are many more personalization options, including ability to add ringtones … Read More »
The F2K FlashPhone is a “personal communicator” that allows you to make VoIP calls from a little USB memory stick. Just plug the F2K into any computer’s USB port and instantly make calls with Google Talk, MSN, SIP or Skype. The F2K has the following … Read More »
More Must Reads
By Chancey Mathews
Sep. 29, 2005, 5:07am PT
mobile.review has published a preview of the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N520. Expected to be released at the end of next month (October 2005) this Windows Mobile 5.0 device sports GPS, 802.11g (yes G) and Bluetooth. Estimations put the release price of the … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 28, 2005, 5:57pm PT
With the housing bubble going strong, consumers willing to take on debt and houses in short supply, Jeff Clavier says vertical search is moving into real estate domain, thanks to Trulia. (The name doesn’t make sense) The Google Maps mash-up with real estate listings … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Sep. 28, 2005, 5:28pm PT
Grainy cell phone photo of the Channel 9 guy doing the Tablet PC.
Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 28, 2005, 1:23pm PT
Last night, I was at a dinner, where one of the topics of discussion was Web 2.0. More appropriately, what is Web 2.0? It is a damn fine question, and difficult one to answer. D. Keith Robinson writes, “Depending on who’s using the term, you … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Sep. 28, 2005, 12:18pm PT
Tatung has announced two new Tablet PCs that are designed to be ultra-thin and light. The TTAB-A12D is a 12 inch slate with a either a Pentium M 1.6 GHz processor or a 1 GHz Celeron and only weighs 3.08 pounds. It is designed for professionals … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Sep. 28, 2005, 11:41am PT
Pocket PC magazine (soon to be renamed Smartphone & Pocket PC) announces Finalists in its Fifth Annual Best Software Awards at www.PocketPCmag.com/awards/
Over 80 Windows Mobile experts have cast their on-line ballots to determine the best Pocket PC and Smartphone software. They voted on over 700 … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 28, 2005, 11:41am PT
Two out of five US residents have Broadband at home, according to the findings of a recent report by Nielsen/NetRatings, a market research firm. The number of Americans with broadband access reached 42 percent of the U.S. population in August, increasing 16% to 120.8 million. Much … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Sep. 28, 2005, 11:34am PT
Met up with a group of Mobile Devices MVPs at a Starbucks this morning. It was great finally meeting Steven Hughes, Don Sorcinelli and Jack Cook in person. They are much uglier in person than I thought they’d be. Seriously, these are all great guys … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 28, 2005, 9:36am PT
Interesting photos and news of iTunes running on Windows Mobile have emerged on a European Blog. The authenticity is highly suspect, but you can decide on your own. If it is true, well looks like this could finally give people another reason to buy Windows … Read More »
By Chancey Mathews
Sep. 28, 2005, 7:47am PT
It seems that engadget has the scoop on the new Blackberry 8700 and anticipates the official announcement to take place any day. It’s another brick form factor, instead of the phone factor of the 7100 series, though supposedly thinner and narrower than the 7200 series. … Read More »
By Chancey Mathews
Sep. 28, 2005, 5:06am PT
RIM announced that future Blackberry’s will be using Intel’s new chip, code named ‘Hermon’, that adds EDGE technology. Based on other features and past reports the ‘Hermon’ should support 3G and WiFi. Now all that’s left is to wait for the announcement of the new Blackberry’s.
[via … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 27, 2005, 11:49pm PT
Musicgiants, a high-def digital music download service is all set to launch on Wednesday. Billed as a download service for audiophiles, the 15-person company will offer songs that are uncompressed and are encoded using windows media technology at 1100 kbps. In comparison, Apple’s iTunes and … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 27, 2005, 6:32pm PT
By Om Malik
Sep. 27, 2005, 3:01pm PT
By Om Malik
Sep. 27, 2005, 12:32pm PT
A few months ago, I had written a piece about the coming of mobile television, (which is different from what folks like MobiTV already do) and the competition between Nokia and Qualcomm’s MediaFLO. MediaFLO essentially is a parallel wireless network that uses 700-Megahertz spectrum to … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 27, 2005, 8:10am PT
Five months after calling it quits, and with FCC approval of the Verizon-MCI merger on cards, Qwest is reconsidering making a hostile bid for MCI, reports Denver Post. The new interest is prompted by hedge fund Deephaven Capital Management which is lining up support … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 27, 2005, 7:31am PT
You may have heard the argument: When talk turns to converged consumer electronics devices, many tech industry observers point to the clock radio as one of the few success stories. Everything else, no matter the maker, tends to sacrifice usability in the name of feature-lust. So … Read More »
By Chancey Mathews
Sep. 27, 2005, 5:41am PT
OQO announces Windows XP pocket computer, the Model 01+. Sporting a 1GHz Transmeta Crusoe it measures in at 4.9” x 3.4” x 0.9” and weighs in slightly under a pound (14oz). The Model 01+ has built in WiFi, Bluetooth, USB2.0 and FireWire, everything you’d expect … Read More »
By Chancey Mathews
Sep. 27, 2005, 5:03am PT
I guess we could have filed this under “immobile tech” or “thankfully something other than the Treo 700w” but that might have been pushing just a little too far. Spotted this originally on Gizmodo but a trip out to the HotSeat site shows this is … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 11:07pm PT
San Francisco is playing host to the CTIA trade show, an annual event that celebrates the wireless industry in the US. Ironically, in the week when mobile world’s high-and-mighty do a show-and-tell, Computer Industry Almanac projects that China will be the #1 mobile country … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 11:07pm PT
Some notable broadband links from around the web -
Indian mobile consolidation continues, as Hutchinson Essar gobbles up smaller rival, BPL Mobile. Expect Hutch to go public in the near future.
Economist, a week after applauding the Skype-EBay deal, does a 270, and frets about Bubble … Read More »
By Andrew Peterson
Sep. 26, 2005, 8:49pm PT
FIRST EXPOSURE
It doesn’t quite rank with presidential assassinations or exploding space shuttles, but I still remember when I first saw Microsoft Word demonstrated, at a store called ComputerLand back in in the mid 80s. It’s hard to believe there was actually a time when Word wasn’t … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 5:52pm PT
Motorola CEO Ed Zander was fairly dismissive of iPod Nano. His comments got widespread play, and well he has been doing some damage control since then. However, I think there is something Moto should learn from Apple: if you are a one product company – … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 4:03pm PT
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 3:51pm PT
Force 10 Networks, the heavyweight in the 10 gigabit networks space, got some serious cash infusion today – about $40 million – which brings the total to about $300 million in five rounds of funding, with hopes to go public next year. Much of the … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 3:06pm PT
Homeland security folks might be based in Washington DC, but they are not doing a good job of monitoring the government-wireless networks which are open for anyone to peruse, according to Boston-based Newbury Networks. They went on a war drive and found in-securities, literally at … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 1:04pm PT
Palm, the company that ignited the handheld computer market, capitulated today, and switched away from its own house OS to a Windows Mobile operating system. In other words it has just become yet another Windows-handheld device maker, and lost its “unique selling point.” Proof, that … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 10:16am PT
Over past few weeks I have been in talks with many mesh networking and muniWiFi companies, such as SkyPilot and Tropos Networks. My question to them: what is the growth potential for this market? Many executives said that they believed it was a market with high … Read More »
By Chancey Mathews
Sep. 26, 2005, 9:48am PT
Shortly after the announcement, maybe verification is more appropriate, of the Treo 700w Motorola announced that it’s Q Smartphone will be ready by Christmas instead of Q1 2006. Both phones are Windows Mobile 5 devices with moderate displays (the Q is 320×240, the 700w … Read More »
By Om Malik
Sep. 26, 2005, 8:33am PT
Ever since Opera went free, it has been downloaded 1.6 million times, which tells me the strategy is working. I wonder if this will result in a big market share gain, and more referral dollars from Google. Still, I feel happy that there is more … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Sep. 26, 2005, 8:29am PT
No, not the Hipster PDA you’ve probably heard about- this is the Hipster Personal Trailer. No, not trainer, trailer. It will get all your gear from here to there, you’ll just get beat up repeatedly during the trip.
(via TRFJ)
Read More »
By James Kendrick
Sep. 26, 2005, 8:13am PT
Tomorrow I am heading off to the MVP Summit in Redmond and will be gone for the rest of the week. I will still try to find time to post some interesting stuff but it may be spotty. Bill and Jeff are going to step in … Read More »
