Hasta La Gadget!

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Last week’s Switched On looked at some of the reasons that a Verizon iPhone might not bring seismic shifts to the cell phone market or the balance of power between the two largest carriers in the U.S., focusing more on the AT&T incentive. This column discusses the carrier’s current CDMA network and its multi-year transition to LTE, which could lower some obstacles to a Verizon iPhone.

While reports have asserted that a Verizon iPhone may ship as early as January and that a CDMA version of the phone will go into production in September, there are reasons to doubt that Apple will create a CDMA iPhone for Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless is a large carrier, but it’s subscriber base is relatively small compared to the one that is served by having a single GSM device that Apple can sell around the globe. That massive audience creates certain scale advantages for Apple.

Continue reading Switched On: Getting real about a phone that’s not (part 2)

Switched On: Getting real about a phone that’s not (part 2) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

When Apple refreshed the latest version of the iPod nano, the combination of the square form factor, touch display, clip and cool clock app made me think it would make a great watch. I was not alone. I’ve already seen a number of vendors scrambling to create straps and wrist cases for the nano. While Apple stopped well short of calling it a watch replacement, there’s no doubt Cupertino will be looking carefully to see if there’s an iWatch in your future.

From Microsoft’s Smart Personal Object Technology devices to watches that ran Palm OS, vendors have tried and failed to push high-tech watches every few years. I personally think the watch space and the larger invisible space hasn’t been exploited properly beyond the core feature of telling time. Here’s why.

Continue reading Entelligence: Putting a spotlight on the invisible

Entelligence: Putting a spotlight on the invisible originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

It’s an unfortunately familiar phenomena — PC vendors suffering from razor thin margins load their devices with more stickers than a stock car and install gigabytes of useless applications that serve only to take up space and use system resources. Sony was perhaps the most egregious in 2008, offering to remove the offending bloatware for a $50 fee. It’s as if Tony Soprano went into tech — “Pay us and we won’t mess up your computer.”

It’s deja vu all over again for mobile phones. More and more devices I look at are coming installed with applications I don’t want, often popping up messages to try and upsell me on services I have no interest in. Even worse, unlike PCs where offensive applications can be removed or the OS reinstalled cleanly, there’s often nothing that can be done to get rid of unwanted mobile software without arduous work. It’s not limited to Android devices, but it seems that increasingly Android more than other platforms is shipping with the worst mobile bloatware. It’s a bad trend that’s going to lead to consumer backlash and it’s destroying the credibility of Google’s Android vision.

Continue reading Entelligence: Will carriers destroy the Android vision?

Entelligence: Will carriers destroy the Android vision? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

This week at what’s become Apple’s fall music event the company unveiled a revised Apple TV. The small $99 device delivers a new rental model and support for Netflix, but there are no apps, contrary to much of the speculation leading up the event. That’s in stark contrast to the Google TV project announced at I/O last spring. Unlike Apple, Google is looking to provide DVR functionality, search, and an app marketplace. Some say Apple isn’t being bold enough, but I think Apple might be right.

Google wants input one on your TV. Apple wants input two. The difference? Input one is where your cable box goes. Input two was where your VCR or DVD player used to live. It’s a port that’s up for grabs.

Continue reading Entelligence: A tale of two TVs

Entelligence: A tale of two TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We are all familiar with Moore’s law. The observation made by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore that the density of semiconductors doubles roughly every eighteen months. The net result? It’s always going to be better faster and cheaper. Certainly that’s been true of the phone space, with large screens, fast processors and lots of storage.

In the last few weeks alone I’ve looked at new phones with 1Ghz processors, the latest and greatest software platforms from Google and RIM… but it’s been one little gadget that’s caught my attention and it totally bucks the trend. What device? It’s the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro — which is a lot of name for a small phone — and it shows some very different thinking about what a smartphone is. In theory, this isn’t a phone that I should like. Instead of a large 4.3-inch screen, it’s running a 2.55-inch screen at 240 x 320 resolution. Don’t look for a 1Ghz processor here. It’s got an ARMv6 revision 5 processor at 600Mhz. Finally, forget Froyo or even Eclair. This thing’s got Android 1.6 on it and may never get updated to the latest and greatest. Despite all that, I think Sony Ericsson has a potential hit on their hands if they decide to bring this to the US later this year as they said they plan to. Why am I so enamored?

Continue reading Entelligence: when less beats Moore

Entelligence: when less beats Moore originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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