When Google’s Latitude location service launched, one of the main problems users experienced was that the service only located users’ Google contacts — it didn’t include access to the most popular social networks, through which many users connect with friends. Therefore, it was only natural that someone would use Google’s Maps API and build a location service around social networks.

In Real Life (IRL) Connect, based in Amsterdam, opened a private beta this month that allows people to locate their Facebook and Twitter contacts on a map and interact with them on the social network from the map interface. I checked out the service, and my early verdict is that it has potential but maintains the same limitations as other location-based services — mainly, people need to opt-in in order to maximize its usefulness. Continue »

Multimedia-based mobile phones with independent apps are all the rage these days, thanks in large part to the iPhone and its successful, market-equalizing App Store. It seems like every new product touts an open SDK, hoping a killer app will herd consumers and lead it to a den of riches. But as the number of apps grows, the more detail is needed as to how, exactly, they’re being used. That’s where mobile application analytics provider Flurry comes in.

Today, Flurry has unveiled an update to its free analytics service that adds user path (flow) tracking and “dynamic parameter” settings, both aimed at helping developers better understand detailed user-generated actions. If a developer builds an app that includes a search engine, for example, integration with Flurry will allow her to know every word entered and when, and which of them are the most popular. In this way, it’s similar to web analytics’ “click streams.” And just like it, the program creates easy-to-read charts of this data that can be used to evaluate key structural app trends. Continue »

Earlier today, the LG Spyder 830 cell phone was recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which said it presented a hazard to the public because it doesn’t hold a connection and has poor voice quality during 911 emergency calls. The recall stems from a report of a trapped motorist who tried reaching 911 from a disabled car but whose call was dropped because the network couldn’t establish a signal. That person, thankfully, turned out to be uninjured. The commission has ordered the removal of some 30,000 LG Spyder 830 phones that were sold in nine different states.

Phone recalls are not common, but connection problems are more than a blue-moon nuisance, as Om recently noted when he quit his iPhone due to At&T’s service. This recall is a reminder that we need better communications standards and oversight on safety features from both phone manufacturers and telecoms. Continue »

Earlier today, Motorola announced it was selling Good Technology, the wireless email software division it bought for $400 million only 2 years ago, to Visto technologies, the leader in enterprise push email.

This move signals the end of Motorola’s attempt to build a business-specific phone to compete with RIM’s Blackberry (RIMM) and Palm. To some, this is an admission of failure, a sign the company is down for good, but I think a renewed focus on media features, good design, and a new OS could propel Motorola back to a respectable position. Continue »

A provision in the economic stimulus package may funnel up to $2.5 billion through the Department of Agriculture to provide broadband service to people who live in rural areas and lack access to high-speed Internet. But any money spent on Broadband Over Power Lines, or BPL, technology, will be wasted. BPL provides seriously slow web access through old power infrastructures.

Continue »