Apr 30

Motorola Handset Sales Plunge, Bets on Android

Posted in: motorola, Smart Devices, smartphone, Today's Chili

Motorola_Q9c_2.jpgMotorola has announced it sold 14.7 million phones
in the last quarter, down from 27.4 million a year ago, according to Reuters–an almost 50 percent drop from the same time last year, and one that brings the manufacturer to just six percent of global market share.

That’s no surprise, since the company has lacked a strong handset line-up for ages now. The lone bright spot, at least in terms of the struggling handset division, is its strong commitment to the open-source Google Android smartphone platform.

Several new Android-powered handsets would be welcome in 2009, especially considering that the Palm Pre and a third-generation iPhone loom over the horizon, and that Android seems to be off to a slow start otherwise.

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Apr 29

Rumor: Will Palm Launch Pre Day Before WWDC Keynote?

Posted in: iPhone, palm pre, Smart Devices, Today's Chili

There are few things in the world we like more here at Gearlog than a gadget throwdown, and if the latest rumors about the Pre are correct, Palm is going to give us one. According to purported leaked Sprint memos, Palm is launching its eagerly awaited touchscreen smartphone on June 7th, the day before Apple’s keynote–when a newly returned Jobs is expected to launch the latest iPhone.

Who wouldn’t like to see a real good old-fashioned phone brawl–followed, perhaps by some executive arm wresting? A gadget blog can dream…

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Apr 22

Video: Sidekick LX (2009)

Posted in: Smart Devices, t-mobile, Today's Chili

 

Here’s some fresh video of T-Mobile’s new Sidekick LX (2009) taken at last night’s launch event in Manhattan.  The user interface walkthrough was assembled by PJ Jacobowitz and narrated by our Mobile Analyst, Sascha Segan. We give you a look at the good stuff: the Web browser, Facebook, and Twitter applications.  Check out Sascha’s article on PCMag.com for an in depth look at the new device. 

T-Mobile really launched this thing with the youth-oriented respect it deserves by throwing a slammin’ party: They had an open bar, a tremendous nacho bar, a hot dog/sausage cart, a giant electric toy racecar track, Pac Man and NBA Jam Arcade games and a really good looking crowd (probably since the lifestyle publications were invited).  Here’s to looking forward to the next Sidekick launch party!
PJ Jacobowitz
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Apr 21

Ask an Analyst: SlingPlayer for the iPhone

Posted in: iPhone, Smart Devices, Today's Chili

SlingPlayer_iPhone.jpg

This question came from reader Parm:

I was reading your article below over at PC Mag and linked over to your
Smart Device Central website. Wow, great site! And lots of valuable
reviews and articles. I have bookmarked it as a daily favorite! 
Thanks and keep up the great work!

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2337875,00.asp

Also, in your article mentioned above, you mentioned that Slingbox
owners can log onto the iPhone version using their online accounts. 
However, I couldn’t find a link there. Could you please direct me in
the right direction? Is there somewhere else I can test the iPhone app?

My reply after the jump.


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Apr 13

Rumor: No One Wants Dells New Handset

Posted in: Smart Devices, smartphone, Today's Chili

Dell has been dropping more than a few not-so-subtle hints about an upcoming smartphone, and while tech rags have been buzzing about the possibility, word is that American and European wireless carriers are a touch less excited. Dell reportedly shopped the phone around to providers last month at the Mobile World Congress, but was unable to find any takers.

“The carriers, who see products from all the leading handset vendors, have decided to pass on Dell’s handset,” Collins Stewart analyst Ashok Kumar said today. “Some carriers are citing a noncompelling product with a road map that lags competition.”

The company is apparently looking for an alternative method for selling the phone, perhaps in a full-price, unsubsidized form.

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Apr 10

Sprint Training Employees on Palm Pre, Release Rumors Abound

Posted in: palm pre, Smart Devices, Sprint, Today's Chili

Sprint recently sent out an internal e-mail stating, “Employees can expect training to start in April as well as multiple communications to get them excited and ready to help our customers.” The Pre-centric blog, PreThinking got a hold of the memo and asked the wireless carrier to confirm that employees had in fact begun training had in fact begun training on the eagerly awaited Palm smartphone.

Sprint responded with the following oddly worded statement,

I would like to inform that Sprint is in the process of providing the training for the new Palm Pre. Once it’s launched, Sprint will be ready to serve their valued customers regarding the Palm Pre.

Of course the real (almost) news here is that, if Sprint has begun training employees on the handset, then the sale of the Pre is no doubt imminent–say, the late April/early-May dates everyone’s been tossing about…


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Apr 06

No Pre: Howard Stern Dumps Palm for BlackBerry Bold

Posted in: iPhone, palm pre, Smart Devices, Today's Chili

The future of Palm is widely considered to hinge on the success of the Pre, so the company is naturally doing all it can to ensure that the forthcoming smartphone, first announced at CES, is a hit. When the self-proclaimed king of all media, Howard Stern, announced that he was in the market for a new phone, the company jumped at the opportunity. After all, Stern is a Palm fan, looking for a replacement for an old Treo.

Palm set up a briefing with the DJ, showcasing the new handset. Stern, who had already written off buying an iPhone, due to its lack of keyboard, was looking very closely at the purchase of a BlackBerry Bold.

According to ZDNET, Stern liked what he saw of the Pre, but due to the handset’s lack of Lotus Notes compatibility, he ultimately chose the Bold. Looks like BlackBerry’s got the Fartman seal of approval. Insert your own RIM jokes below.

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Apr 06

OpenMoko Phone is Now Dead

Posted in: Smart Devices, smartphone, Today's Chili

OpenMoko_Neo_FreeRunner.jpgOpenMoko executive director Sean Moss-Pulz has announced at OpenExpo in Switzerland
that the company will be discontinuing its open-source Neo FreeRunner smartphone, according to Slashdot. Moss-Pulz also plans to reduce the number of staffers in order to stay in business supporting the existing units sold, and “hopes the
community will support the FreeRunner.”

This is a sad but unsurprising end for the OpenMoko phone. When we first saw it at PC Mag headquarters a couple of years ago, it showed tremendous potential. OpenMoko looked to be a way to give developers–and therefore, end users–much more control over the software running on cell phones, and therefore reduce the tight grip that wireless carriers exercised on mobile OS platforms.

Since that time, though, we’ve seen all of the carriers make overtures toward more open environments. Plus, the iPhone, Google Android, and other efforts have brought smartphone apps more into the mainstream, leaving OpenMoko less and less room to maneuver. And all of the usual caveats about open-source development applied–meaning, corralling the necessary resources and just getting the damn handset finished. Unfortunately, it all came together too late for OpenMoko.

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Apr 06

Nokia E75 Now Shipping

Posted in: nokia, Smart Devices, smartphone, Today's Chili

Nokia_E75.jpg

Nokia’s E75, the company’s latest dual-keyboarded, unlocked slider smartphone, is now shipping. The E75 features advanced e-mail aggregation, which lets users consolidate all of their business, personal, and Web-based accounts into one interface. It includes support for expandable views, folders, and HTML messages.

The E75 also works with Ovi Files for over-the-air file sync and Nokia Maps for voice-enabled turn-by-turn GPS navigation. It also works with Nokia’s N-Gage gaming platform, which marks the first E-series business smartphone in Nokia’s lineup to do so.

The handset includes a 2.4-inch QVGA LCD and a 3.2-megapixel camera (with LED flash and auto-focus) that can also record 640-by-480 videos at 30 frames per second. The E75 is available direct for $529.99 at Nokia stores and online at www.nokiausa.com.

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Mar 31

Palm Giving Howard Stern Top Secret Pre Demo

Posted in: palm pre, Smart Devices, Today's Chili

howard_stern.jpgSay you’ve got a snazzy new smartphone coming out that can make or break your company. Who’s the first person you’d go to to help plug the device? A distinguished actor? Some titan of industry? A former, preferably non-disgraced politician? How about a loud-mouthed drive-time radio host?

Palm is hoping that its upcoming Pre phone will win over the Fartman, Howard Stern. But it seems that Stern himself initiated the potential relationship. A diehard Palm-user, Stern is very publicly looking for a handset to replace his long-outdated Treo. “I’m embarrassed to hold up my phone right now, it’s so old-school,” he announced on his show.

According to CNET, Palm has since approached Stern–who has ruled out the keyboardless iPhone and is looking very seriously at a new Blackberry–about giving him a secret demo.

“They’re going to show me the Pre and then take it away. They’re trying to build excitement for this thing. If people don’t buy this, I don’t see how Palm keeps going,” said the radio host turned tech pundit.

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