Oct 18
Verizon Wireless is planning a new version of its femtocell that adds 3G data access.
Originally posted at Dialed In
Oct 18
Steve Jobs drops knowledge on earnings call: calls out Google and RIM, says 7-inch tablets are ‘DOA’ (Update: complete Jobs audio!)
Posted in: Android, Apple, earnings, ipad, iPhone, RIM, steve jobs, SteveJobs, Today's Chili
Steve Jobs hit today’s earnings call with the power of words. In a tone that could be described as “righteous anger” or perhaps just “reppin,” Steve launched into a five minute rant that hit hard against RIM’s entire business model, Android sales numbers and software fragmentation, and the impending wave of Android tablets. With the iPhone surpassing RIM, Steve says that he “[doesn’t] see them catching up in the foreseeable future.” As for Android sales, Steve takes issues with the market share figures that are currently floating around, saying that 275k iOS devices were activated on average per day last month, compared to Android’s most recent estimate of 250k per day — though he does admit that Android outshipped iPhone in the June quarter, during the “transition” to iPhone 4. That wasn’t Steve’s only problem with Android, he takes major issue with the fragmentation and the onus he believes it puts on the user: “we believe integrated will trump fragmented every time.”
Oh, and 7-inch tablets? You’re in for a bag of hurt. Steve pretty much outright killed any potential for 7-inch iPad rumors, saying that the software just isn’t right for that size (“This size is useless unless you include sandpaper so users can sand their fingers down to a quarter of their size.”), and that users have no need for a pocket sized tablet when they already have a smartphone. He called the iPad’s upcoming competition in the space “DOA.” After he calmed down a bit, the call entered a Q&A period, where Steve was happy to point out that the iPad has already surpassed Macintosh in sales, and that it’s going to affect laptop computers: “it’s not if, it’s when.” We’ll get a copy of the audio and put it up as soon as possible… like most CEO outbursts, this is not one to be missed. Hit up our liveblog of the call for a bit more context, and you can try the source link for Apple’s stream of the entire earnings shindig.
Update: We just ripped the first part of the call, which featured Steve’s prepared remarks — we’ll have an edited version of the Q&A session in just a bit.
Update 2: And here’s an edited version of the Q&A with just Jobs’s answers — hit the source link for Apple’s archive of the whole thing with Peter and Tim’s answers as well.
Update 3: And just for the completists out there, here’s an MP3 of both segments combined.
Steve Jobs drops knowledge on earnings call: calls out Google and RIM, says 7-inch tablets are ‘DOA’ (Update: complete Jobs audio!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 18
Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect, is calling it quits
Posted in: cloud, Microsoft, Today's Chili
Microsoft has just announced that Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie is leaving the company, in the form of an open letter from Steve Ballmer to Microsoft employees. Ray, who succeeded Bill Gates in his currently held position, is famous for his focus on moving Microsoft into the cloud. As recently as June we saw Ray on stage at D8 with Steve Ballmer, and there’s no indication given in the open letter as to Ray’s reasons for leaving, though Steve does point out that much of Ray’s vision for the cloud is already in progress at Microsoft. Ray will stick around for a transition phase of unspecified length, and Ballmer doesn’t plan to fill the “unique” role of Chief Software Architect when he’s gone.
Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect, is calling it quits originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 18
The PS3 received an update this morning that allows Netflix streaming without a disc, and CNET takes a hands-on look at the new user interface.
Oct 18
Apple TV hits 250,000 in sales, says Steve Jobs
Posted in: Apple, apple tv, sales, steve jobs, SteveJobs, Today's Chili
Deep within the heart of Apple’s fiscal earnings call Q&A session, straight from the mouth of CEO Steve Jobs: “I can report that we’ve sold a quarter million Apple TVs.” Quite an impressive number for a device that’s only been out for 18 days but by no means on par with the likes of some other Apple debuts (the iPad, for instance, sold 300,000 on day one). Still, not bad for the once (and possibly still) hobby.
Apple TV hits 250,000 in sales, says Steve Jobs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 18
The new Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is the latest and best example of a passenger car that, oh, by the way, uses a hybrid gasoline-electric powerplant, with breakthrough lithium-polymer batteries, no less. The six-speed automatic transmission makes it drive like a normal car that also gets 40 mpg in highway driving. If you need to impress hybrid-fanatic friends, it also spins up to 62 mph in electric-only mode. And it will probably sell for about $25,000-$27,000. The mainstream hybrid market has a new standard-bearer: Hyundai.
Oct 18
“World’s Smallest” Waterproof Camera is Smaller than a Golf Ball
Posted in: camcorder, Today's Chili 
I’m always a little wary of any company calling its product the “world’s smallest” anything. It seems hard to believe that the CamBall is, in fact, the “world’s smallest personal camcorder,” but the thing is, in fact, pretty freaking small. It’s roughly the size of a ping pong ball.
The diminutive camcorder shoots 320 x 240 video at 25 frames per second. The Camball has a built-in mic and MP3 player and motion detection, for sneaky surveillance. The battery should last about 2.5 hours on a charge. Best of all, the thing is waterproof.
The camera itself runs $199. The company offers all manner of accessory packs, including a Surveillane Pack for “nannycam” needs, a Sports Pack that can be attached to motorcycles, and a Vehicle Pack for cars. All three packs run $39.99.
You can check out some captivating video from the Vehicle Pack, after the jump.
Oct 18
They look ordinary at first glance, but the end of one chopstick contains an Evangelion pilot mimicking the entry plug from the 1990s anime series.
Oct 18
Mobile Plans Too Expensive in America, Says Group
Posted in: cellphone, Phones, plans, Today's Chili
If you think wireless carriers in North America charge too much, you are right. An analysis of cellphone plans worldwide found that consumers in the U.S., Canada and U.K. pay the highest for voice and text service on their phones, while those in India, Hong Kong and Japan pay the least.
Receiving phone calls is free in most countries, except U.S. and Canada–that’s why the rate per minute is doubled for these two countries, say Chiehyu Li and Bincy Ninan in a paper published by the think-tank New America Foundation.
The cheapest postpaid voice plan is available in Hong Kong at $8.50 for 600 minutes a month (a penny a minute), while in Canada the cheapest plan is $38.70 for 250 minutes. By comparison, the least expensive postpaid voice plan in America costs $39.99 for 450 minutes.
Even when it comes to texting services, American and Canadian consumers pay more than almost every one else worldwide.
“The United States tends to fall in a band of countries that charge higher prices to individual wireless consumers for everything except pure voice service where prices are comparable,” say Li and Ninan in their report. “It is essential we consider steps that could be taken to encourage competition or impose regulation such that the U.S. becomes an engine of innovation for better and more competitively priced service offerings.”
This is not the first time that an analysis has shown that American users pay more for service on their mobile devices. In July, an analysis by Tableau Software showed American users pay some of the highest prices in terms of dollars per gigabyte (GB) of data on the iPad. (Check out their amazing interactive chart here.)
The New America Foundation’s analysis threw up some surprising results with respect to texting and data services.
Texting is Expensive But Data is Not
Texting is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. but it comes at a stiff price–though if its any help, U.S. consumers can take heart that their counterparts in the U.K. pay more.
For postpaid text plans, the U.K. provides the most expensive plan at $7.70 for 75 texts a month (10 cents a text). The U.S. is a close second at $5 for 200 texts a month.
The cheapest text rate offered is in Sweden at $17.80 for 5500 texts. India and South Korea charge only a penny for every text sent.
Not surprisingly, when it comes to unlimited data plans on mobile phones, the U.S. does much better –landing in the middle tier of service rates. American users can get $30 a month plan, which is cheaper than Canada’s $72.90 a month for unlimited data.
But Sweden’s unlimited data plans are among the best, coming in around for $13.80 a month, followed by India at $19 a month.
If you want a detailed breakdown of how countries compare for voice, text and data, check out the analysis on New America Foundation’s web site.
See Also:
- How Google Could Have Changed the World With Nexus One — and Still
- Virgin Mobile Offers Unlimited 3G for $40
- Five Ways To Slash Your Cellphone Bill
- Is It Possible to Live Without a Cellphone?
Charts: New America Foundation
Oct 18
We all adopt technology at different rates. There’s nothing wrong with being a little slow on the uptake–heck, sometimes it can be to your advantage. It means missing out of a lot of failed technologies, for one thing.
When it comes to landlines, however, the era of the early adoption is over by roughly a century, so if your community hasn’t already gotten on the telephone bandwagon yet, now is probably a pretty safe time to do so.
That’s precisely what happened in Iowa Hill this week. The small California town got phone service–for the first time, ever. There has been cell phone service in the town, but it was spotty at best.
The service has finally hit the town thanks to a $2.5 million grant from the state’s Public Utilities Commission. Service was supposed to kick in over the weekend, but all of the necessary towers weren’t erected in time.
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