Just enter http://www.operamini.com/beta/ on your phone browser to download the new version. Some screenshots from Opera Mini on the N95 below:
jeudi 30 août 2007
Opera Mini Beta 2 Available
Opera Mini has long been a favourite app of mine, and the latest version of the new Opera Mini beta is now available for download. Opera Mini works fine on smartphones as well as many other java enabled phones. Some of the new features include browsing in landscape mode, a multi search start page and the option to choose your search engine in the same way you can on the Opera desktop browser.
Just enter http://www.operamini.com/beta/ on your phone browser to download the new version. Some screenshots from Opera Mini on the N95 below:
Just enter http://www.operamini.com/beta/ on your phone browser to download the new version. Some screenshots from Opera Mini on the N95 below:
mercredi 29 août 2007
Nokia N95 8GB
Much rumoured, Nokia confirmed today the N95 with an internal memory capacity of 8GB. Not only this, the screen size itself has been increased to a huge (in mobile terms) 2.8" QVGA affair.
The new N95 offers all the features of its predecessor, so you will still find the 5.0 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, HSDPA, built in A-GPS*, WLAN, and the two way slide option.
*The spec I have seen so far mention A-GPS, but not built in GPS receiver, which early rumours suggested was the case. To be honest, with 8GB of memory on offer, I don't see the problem using an external GPS unit in the car, and A-GPS whilst on foot. And indeed, Nokia announced a new GPS unit for NSeries phones just the other day.
Of all the handsets announced today, the N95 8GB is my favourite. Both the N81 and N95 8GB are scheduled for launch in Q4 2007.
The new N95 offers all the features of its predecessor, so you will still find the 5.0 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, HSDPA, built in A-GPS*, WLAN, and the two way slide option.
*The spec I have seen so far mention A-GPS, but not built in GPS receiver, which early rumours suggested was the case. To be honest, with 8GB of memory on offer, I don't see the problem using an external GPS unit in the car, and A-GPS whilst on foot. And indeed, Nokia announced a new GPS unit for NSeries phones just the other day.
Of all the handsets announced today, the N95 8GB is my favourite. Both the N81 and N95 8GB are scheduled for launch in Q4 2007.
Nokia N81
So, of the four handsets launched today, the two that interest me here on this blog are the N81 and N95 (Pics and info on the 5310 and 5610 will appear on 3gsm.co.uk)
First, the N81. This is going to be available in two versions. One will have a fixed storage capacity of 8GB. The other will have a micro SD memory card slot. These currently go up tp 4GB in capacity. Each is 3G enabled (I didn't yet see mention of HSDPA?) and also has WiFi. The N81 has a sleek slide design, and has a 2.0 megapixel camera. The N81 is configured to find, buy, manage and play music and games purchased from the Nokia Music Store. There is a 3.5mm connector for personal headphone use.
First, the N81. This is going to be available in two versions. One will have a fixed storage capacity of 8GB. The other will have a micro SD memory card slot. These currently go up tp 4GB in capacity. Each is 3G enabled (I didn't yet see mention of HSDPA?) and also has WiFi. The N81 has a sleek slide design, and has a 2.0 megapixel camera. The N81 is configured to find, buy, manage and play music and games purchased from the Nokia Music Store. There is a 3.5mm connector for personal headphone use.
Nokia announce new services, new phones
Big event time for Nokia today, and whilst the best in blogging were at the event or participating at the Jaiku Virtual event, I was on a first aid course. However, despite missing on all the fun, here is a roundup of the announced services and phones from todays show.
As expected, Nokia announced an online Music store, as part of Ovi. There were also some new handsets announced, amongst which the rumoured 8GB N81 and 8GB N95. Below, is the press release for Ovi, the door to Nokia's online services:
As expected, Nokia announced an online Music store, as part of Ovi. There were also some new handsets announced, amongst which the rumoured 8GB N81 and 8GB N95. Below, is the press release for Ovi, the door to Nokia's online services:
Meet Ovi, the door to Nokia's Internet services
Music, games and maps among the first Ovi services
Nokia today introduced Ovi, the company's new Internet services brand name. With the introduction of Ovi, Nokia is expanding from a focus on mobile devices to offering a range of Internet services. Ovi, meaning 'door' in Finnish, enables consumers to easily access their existing social network, communities and content, as well as acting as a gateway to Nokia services.
As part of Ovi, Nokia announced the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage, two services that make it easy for people to discover, try and buy music and games from a blockbuster range of artists and publishers, including exclusive content only available through Nokia. Also under the Ovi umbrella is Nokia Maps, a navigation service that offers maps, city guides and more directly to compatible mobile devices. Nokia aims to bring more Internet based services to Ovi in the coming months.
Speaking at the Nokia Go Play event in London, Nokia President and Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo presented Ovi and the new Nokia services for consumers, and spoke about the company's future plans as an Internet company: "The industry is converging towards Internet driven experiences and Ovi represents Nokia's vision in combining the Internet and mobility. Nokia is the number one mobile device company in the world. Looking into the future, we will deliver great devices, combined with compelling experiences and services, to make it easy for people to unlock the potential of the Internet."
"We started this journey with our navigation services earlier this year and we are now combining all our services into a single branded offering - Ovi by Nokia. Over the coming 12 months, you will see us integrate new user interface elements, service suites and web communities to Ovi," added Kallasvuo.
Ovi - one key opens every door.
Ovi (http://www.ovi.com) is the gateway to Nokia's Internet services, including the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and N-Gage games. It will also be an open door to web communities, enabling people to access their content, communities and contacts from a single place, either directly from a compatible Nokia device or from a PC. The first version of Ovi.com is scheduled to go live in English during the fourth quarter of 2007 and additional features and languages expected to go live during the first half of 2008.
Nokia Music Store - all the world's music in your pocket
The Nokia Music Store (http://music.nokia.com) offers millions of tracks from major artists, independent labels as well as a broad range of local artists from around the world. The store is accessible via a desktop computer or directly from a compatible Nokia device, such as the Nokia N81 or Nokia N95 8GB multimedia computer. Browse for new music, buy what you like or add a song to your wishlist to download later. You can easily transfer your purchased songs to your mobile device and with the built-in music player, create playlists on the go and manage your music collection.
The Nokia Music Store offers full track streaming on your PC as well as individual track and album purchase. The dynamic recommendation engine and genre-based instant playlists provide access to show you what others are enjoying. The store opens across key European markets this fall with additional stores in Europe and Asia opening over the coming months. In Europe, individual tracks cost EUR 1.00 and albums from EUR 10.00, with a monthly subscription for PC streaming for EUR 10.00.
N-Gage - mobile gaming experience
N-Gage offers an easy way to find, try and buy great quality games directly from your compatible Nokia device. Selecting the N-Gage application on your compatible Nokia device, you can preview available games, connect with your friends, read reviews or download a free demo. Buying games is easy, either with a credit card or by charging to your monthly phone bill. Companies like Electronic Arts and Gameloft are making some of their biggest brands available through N-Gage. The application is expected to be available for download from www.n-gage.com in November 2007.
"We know that people want integrated access to great content without the constraints of having to sit behind a computer or in front of a TV. With the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage services, you can access the best in music and games directly from your Nokia Nseries multimedia computer," said Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president and general manager, Multimedia, Nokia. "We expect the mobile device to become the most popular platform - the 'fourth screen' - for enjoying your digital content. Ovi brings our Internet services vision to life, where people can create, share and consume facts, feelings and emotions wherever and whenever."
mardi 28 août 2007
The (partial) state of the mobile data market
Despite all the hype and excitement about the mobile data market, it is very difficult to get reliable data on how it's actually developing. The mobile operators don't like to release full details of their sales, and surveys of users cost a lot of money to conduct and therefore are usually available only to people who pay.
We're left to chew on anecdotes, partial information released by companies that are trying to push a point of view, and unscientific "polls" of online enthusiasts.
So I'm always on the lookout for more rigorous information. Recently I came across several fairly good sources of data, and they give some interesting perspectives on what's happening with mobile data. It is by no means a complete view, and most of it is US only. But I think it's worth sharing.
Steady, unspectacular growth
The overall picture of mobile data is one of steady but unspectacular growth. It's a bit like watching a tree grow -- you can't see anything changing day to day, but if you walk away and come back in six months you'll notice the difference. SMS continues to be the dominant service, especially in Europe, and there's no sign of some other service surpassing it.
Is the growth rate good or bad? It all depends on how much growth you were expecting, and how fast you wanted it to happen. The one thing I think is very clear is that each country market is different, and you can't classify any of them as leaders and laggards. They're just unique.
Here are the details:
Capabilities of mobile phones in the US
The Pew Internet organization has been surveying Americans on their Internet usage for years. A couple of the questions in their survey ask about the data capabilities of their mobile phones. In the most recent results, from early 2006, 75% of mobile phone users in the US said their phones are capable of texting. 63% said they can play games, and 39% said they have cameraphones. Here's the full chart:
Nothing there stands out as shocking, although I expected the penetration of cameraphones to be higher. My guess is it has gone up in the last year.
(Note that some people could have capabilities in their phones and not realize it. So the question tells us as much about awareness of features as it does about the phones themselves.)
What people do with their phones: Nothing else rivals SMS
The chart below examines the percent of mobile phone users in the US and several European countries who have ever performed various tasks with their mobile phones. The source is M:Metrics, Q4 2006, and the numbers were quoted in a presentation by Orange / France Telecom.
The figures show that there's no other mobile data service with near the penetration of short messaging service (texting). That's not really news, but it's striking to see the hard numbers. About 80-85% of people in most of the big European countries have ever sent a text message, with France lagging slightly (at about 75%). In the US, almost 40% of mobile phone users report that they have sent a text message.
The next closest service is picture messaging, with 20-30% of mobile users in the big European countries saying they have received photo messages at least once. In the US, the figure is 15%. It's ironic that photo messaging is in second place, since it's generally considered a major disappointment. What does that say about the other services? Well, none of them generally crack 10% usage.
Is the US really a laggard? The other thing in the chart that really stood out to me was that the adoption "lag" of US mobile users varies depending on service. The US is far behind in SMS, MMS, and playing music on the phone (the last one is, I'm sure, due to the strength of the iPod in the US). But in the other categories, the US is in the middle of the pack, or even ahead (somebody explain the ringtone result to me, please).
It's always fun to stereotype the US market as primitive in all areas of wireless, but the adoption numbers don't support that. It just looks different.
What does it all mean? Orange's spin was that it means we're just getting started in mobile data, and everyone should wait patiently for the good services to take off. They showed the following growth projection from Ericsson as evidence:
No offense to Orange, but that is basically a statement of faith rather than analysis. If you're a cynic, you'll point out that the chart assumes compound growth will continue uninterrupted for a decade, something that is often true for technology specs but is rarely true for technology markets.
What we really need is time-series data, so we can see what's growing and what isn't. Unfortunately, Orange didn't present any numbers like that, but the research firm Telephia did, in a separate presentation. Unfortunately, their numbers were US only, and they didn't cut the usage categories in the same way as France Telecom. But they still show some interesting trends...
Mobile data growth in the US
Telephia measures mobile data usage by analyzing the monthly bills of mobile phone users. This should give very accurate information on revenue and number of users, but it doesn't track physical usage. Because some services are billed per-use and some have monthly subscription fees, it's hard to tell how heavily people are using the services listed below.
Telephia reports that billings are growing steadily for a wide range of mobile data services. The chart below shows total US operator revenue for mobile data from Q3 2006 to Q1 2007. (These figures include anything that passes through the user's phone bill. Applications and services paid for separately by the user are not included.)
The chart is in billions of dollars, so it shows that in Q1 2007, total on-deck US data revenue was about $4.6 billion. Is that a big number or a small one? Well, total service revenue for the US mobile operators is about $32.5 billion per quarter, according to the CTIA. So mobile data is about 14% of mobile billings.
Where is e-mail? I can't find e-mail anywhere on the chart. I'm very surprised they didn't break it out separately.
Strangely consistent growth rates. The weirdest thing about the chart is that everything's growing at the same rate. In the real world, that sort of thing doesn't often happen. I wonder if a lot of the growth might be driven by people buying service bundles, where they pay a flat extra rate per month to activate a bunch of different services, and then the revenue gets allocated across the services by the operator. That would cause everything to grow in lockstep.
If that's what's going on, then these numbers really might not say much about usage -- what they'd be tracking is the ability of the operators to sell services bundles.
Anyway, the numbers show that the US operators are making pretty good revenue from mobile data. I didn't make a chart of this, but in general, the growth in mobile data billings is large enough to make up for the ongoing decline in mobile voice revenue. So the operators aren't getting rich, but data is helping to keep them from getting poor.
More details. Telephia lumps a lot of different things in the "Downloads" category. For Q1 2007, they gave more details on that category. So I can't give you a time series, but here's a more fine-cut look at how mobile data revenue looked in the US at the start of 2007:
Premium SMS is mostly ringtones paid for via SMS, plus voting for things like American Idol. Audio is downloading and streaming of songs. The other categories are self-explanatory. I feel bad about the tiny size of the applications category, but keep in mind that most smartphone apps are sold through the web and then synced onto the device, and so don't show up in operator billings.
Number of users per service. Telephia also reported the total number of users for each service. As we saw in the Orange chart, SMS has the most users in the US (although the gap between it and the other services isn't as large as in Europe).
Revenue per user. Combining the user and revenue data, we can estimate monthly billings per user for each service:
You can see why the operators like premium SMS. And look at WAP! It never lived up to the original hype that it would become the mobile version of the Web, but as a tool for getting things like sports scores and weather reports, it's not doing too bad. (Whether it's paying for all the money that was invested in it is another story.) Video's generating the most revenue per user, but with a very tiny user base. Audio revenue (which is revenue from listening to songs, not ringtones) is fairly close to what Apple gets from iTunes users (the average iTunes user downloads about 3.3 songs per month, or about $3.30) (link).
Usage doesn't follow capability. And now for the "big" mashup. We can combine Pew Internet's figures on phone capabilities with Telephia's numbers on service usage to figure out roughly what percent of US mobile customers who know they have a given feature on the phone ever actually use it. The results are interesting:
For communication-related services, the percentage of users is quite high (although remember that we don't know how heavily the features are being used). But most mobile users are not adopting the entertainment features in their phones. That's exactly what you'd expect if only a limited percentage of the population were interested in using their phones for entertainment, which is what a lot of user studies have shown (link).
The lesson: If you're an operator or handset vendor, be careful about pushing phones that are a kitchen-sink collection of expensive features. The odds are very good that you'll spend a lot of subsidy money on people who won't ever adopt the underlying services that were supposed to justify the subsidy. It's much better to offer a variety of phones specialized for different types of user, and let them pick the ones they want.
=====
As I said at the start, it's an interesting collection of tidbits, but far too US-centric. If you live outside the US and have information to add on your market, please post a comment.
Sources:
Total revenue of the operators: link
Orange's presentation at the Global Mobility Roundtable: link
Telephia's presentation at the GMR: link
Pew Internet: link
We're left to chew on anecdotes, partial information released by companies that are trying to push a point of view, and unscientific "polls" of online enthusiasts.
So I'm always on the lookout for more rigorous information. Recently I came across several fairly good sources of data, and they give some interesting perspectives on what's happening with mobile data. It is by no means a complete view, and most of it is US only. But I think it's worth sharing.
Steady, unspectacular growth
The overall picture of mobile data is one of steady but unspectacular growth. It's a bit like watching a tree grow -- you can't see anything changing day to day, but if you walk away and come back in six months you'll notice the difference. SMS continues to be the dominant service, especially in Europe, and there's no sign of some other service surpassing it.
Is the growth rate good or bad? It all depends on how much growth you were expecting, and how fast you wanted it to happen. The one thing I think is very clear is that each country market is different, and you can't classify any of them as leaders and laggards. They're just unique.
Here are the details:
Capabilities of mobile phones in the US
The Pew Internet organization has been surveying Americans on their Internet usage for years. A couple of the questions in their survey ask about the data capabilities of their mobile phones. In the most recent results, from early 2006, 75% of mobile phone users in the US said their phones are capable of texting. 63% said they can play games, and 39% said they have cameraphones. Here's the full chart:
Nothing there stands out as shocking, although I expected the penetration of cameraphones to be higher. My guess is it has gone up in the last year.
(Note that some people could have capabilities in their phones and not realize it. So the question tells us as much about awareness of features as it does about the phones themselves.)
What people do with their phones: Nothing else rivals SMS
The chart below examines the percent of mobile phone users in the US and several European countries who have ever performed various tasks with their mobile phones. The source is M:Metrics, Q4 2006, and the numbers were quoted in a presentation by Orange / France Telecom.
The figures show that there's no other mobile data service with near the penetration of short messaging service (texting). That's not really news, but it's striking to see the hard numbers. About 80-85% of people in most of the big European countries have ever sent a text message, with France lagging slightly (at about 75%). In the US, almost 40% of mobile phone users report that they have sent a text message.
The next closest service is picture messaging, with 20-30% of mobile users in the big European countries saying they have received photo messages at least once. In the US, the figure is 15%. It's ironic that photo messaging is in second place, since it's generally considered a major disappointment. What does that say about the other services? Well, none of them generally crack 10% usage.
Is the US really a laggard? The other thing in the chart that really stood out to me was that the adoption "lag" of US mobile users varies depending on service. The US is far behind in SMS, MMS, and playing music on the phone (the last one is, I'm sure, due to the strength of the iPod in the US). But in the other categories, the US is in the middle of the pack, or even ahead (somebody explain the ringtone result to me, please).
It's always fun to stereotype the US market as primitive in all areas of wireless, but the adoption numbers don't support that. It just looks different.
What does it all mean? Orange's spin was that it means we're just getting started in mobile data, and everyone should wait patiently for the good services to take off. They showed the following growth projection from Ericsson as evidence:
No offense to Orange, but that is basically a statement of faith rather than analysis. If you're a cynic, you'll point out that the chart assumes compound growth will continue uninterrupted for a decade, something that is often true for technology specs but is rarely true for technology markets.
What we really need is time-series data, so we can see what's growing and what isn't. Unfortunately, Orange didn't present any numbers like that, but the research firm Telephia did, in a separate presentation. Unfortunately, their numbers were US only, and they didn't cut the usage categories in the same way as France Telecom. But they still show some interesting trends...
Mobile data growth in the US
Telephia measures mobile data usage by analyzing the monthly bills of mobile phone users. This should give very accurate information on revenue and number of users, but it doesn't track physical usage. Because some services are billed per-use and some have monthly subscription fees, it's hard to tell how heavily people are using the services listed below.
Telephia reports that billings are growing steadily for a wide range of mobile data services. The chart below shows total US operator revenue for mobile data from Q3 2006 to Q1 2007. (These figures include anything that passes through the user's phone bill. Applications and services paid for separately by the user are not included.)
The chart is in billions of dollars, so it shows that in Q1 2007, total on-deck US data revenue was about $4.6 billion. Is that a big number or a small one? Well, total service revenue for the US mobile operators is about $32.5 billion per quarter, according to the CTIA. So mobile data is about 14% of mobile billings.
Where is e-mail? I can't find e-mail anywhere on the chart. I'm very surprised they didn't break it out separately.
Strangely consistent growth rates. The weirdest thing about the chart is that everything's growing at the same rate. In the real world, that sort of thing doesn't often happen. I wonder if a lot of the growth might be driven by people buying service bundles, where they pay a flat extra rate per month to activate a bunch of different services, and then the revenue gets allocated across the services by the operator. That would cause everything to grow in lockstep.
If that's what's going on, then these numbers really might not say much about usage -- what they'd be tracking is the ability of the operators to sell services bundles.
Anyway, the numbers show that the US operators are making pretty good revenue from mobile data. I didn't make a chart of this, but in general, the growth in mobile data billings is large enough to make up for the ongoing decline in mobile voice revenue. So the operators aren't getting rich, but data is helping to keep them from getting poor.
More details. Telephia lumps a lot of different things in the "Downloads" category. For Q1 2007, they gave more details on that category. So I can't give you a time series, but here's a more fine-cut look at how mobile data revenue looked in the US at the start of 2007:
Premium SMS is mostly ringtones paid for via SMS, plus voting for things like American Idol. Audio is downloading and streaming of songs. The other categories are self-explanatory. I feel bad about the tiny size of the applications category, but keep in mind that most smartphone apps are sold through the web and then synced onto the device, and so don't show up in operator billings.
Number of users per service. Telephia also reported the total number of users for each service. As we saw in the Orange chart, SMS has the most users in the US (although the gap between it and the other services isn't as large as in Europe).
Revenue per user. Combining the user and revenue data, we can estimate monthly billings per user for each service:
You can see why the operators like premium SMS. And look at WAP! It never lived up to the original hype that it would become the mobile version of the Web, but as a tool for getting things like sports scores and weather reports, it's not doing too bad. (Whether it's paying for all the money that was invested in it is another story.) Video's generating the most revenue per user, but with a very tiny user base. Audio revenue (which is revenue from listening to songs, not ringtones) is fairly close to what Apple gets from iTunes users (the average iTunes user downloads about 3.3 songs per month, or about $3.30) (link).
Usage doesn't follow capability. And now for the "big" mashup. We can combine Pew Internet's figures on phone capabilities with Telephia's numbers on service usage to figure out roughly what percent of US mobile customers who know they have a given feature on the phone ever actually use it. The results are interesting:
For communication-related services, the percentage of users is quite high (although remember that we don't know how heavily the features are being used). But most mobile users are not adopting the entertainment features in their phones. That's exactly what you'd expect if only a limited percentage of the population were interested in using their phones for entertainment, which is what a lot of user studies have shown (link).
The lesson: If you're an operator or handset vendor, be careful about pushing phones that are a kitchen-sink collection of expensive features. The odds are very good that you'll spend a lot of subsidy money on people who won't ever adopt the underlying services that were supposed to justify the subsidy. It's much better to offer a variety of phones specialized for different types of user, and let them pick the ones they want.
=====
As I said at the start, it's an interesting collection of tidbits, but far too US-centric. If you live outside the US and have information to add on your market, please post a comment.
Sources:
Total revenue of the operators: link
Orange's presentation at the Global Mobility Roundtable: link
Telephia's presentation at the GMR: link
Pew Internet: link
lundi 27 août 2007
A new way to measure the popularity of the iPhone
True story: Back when I was working at Apple, we received a report that there had been a burglary at a company that had a lot of Macintosh computers. The thieves took every one of the Macs -- and left behind all the Windows PCs.
We were delighted. Not about the burglary, mind you. I'm afraid we were pretty callous about that, and besides we figured the company was insured. But we loved the idea that even criminal lowlifes knew which was the better computer.
In fact, we loved that idea so much that we made a commercial about it. It was cool -- deep blue lighting, lots of shadows, and two silhouettes moving silently through the office. One of them starts to pick up a PC, and his companion hisses, "not those, just take these." And he points at a Mac.
The Computer for the Rest of Us, indeed.
At the last minute, somebody in the company realized that the commercial might just possibly be viewed as an endorsement of crime, besides which it made us look like complete mercenaries. So I don't think the commercial was ever aired. We just watched it a lot at communication meetings.
I thought of that old commercial today when I was in an AT&T (formerly Cingular) mobile phone store. There was a big video display for the iPhone, but no phones on the counter. "Did they sell out?" I asked the clerk.
"Nope. Someone broke in and stole them," he said. "We saw it on the surveillance video. They were in and out in 30 seconds. They ran over to the iPhones, cut the cables, and left."
"Did they take anything else?" I asked, thinking I saw a new commercial in the making.
"Oh yeah, they took the Treos too."
Sorry, Apple. No commercial.
And sorry, RIM. They left the Blackberries. Personally, I would have grabbed a Pearl on the way out.
By the way, if you're thinking of buying an iPhone on eBay, keep in mind -- the other thing the AT&T guy told me is that the iPhones are all serialized, and Apple can permanently turn off the ones that were stolen.
We were delighted. Not about the burglary, mind you. I'm afraid we were pretty callous about that, and besides we figured the company was insured. But we loved the idea that even criminal lowlifes knew which was the better computer.
In fact, we loved that idea so much that we made a commercial about it. It was cool -- deep blue lighting, lots of shadows, and two silhouettes moving silently through the office. One of them starts to pick up a PC, and his companion hisses, "not those, just take these." And he points at a Mac.
The Computer for the Rest of Us, indeed.
At the last minute, somebody in the company realized that the commercial might just possibly be viewed as an endorsement of crime, besides which it made us look like complete mercenaries. So I don't think the commercial was ever aired. We just watched it a lot at communication meetings.
I thought of that old commercial today when I was in an AT&T (formerly Cingular) mobile phone store. There was a big video display for the iPhone, but no phones on the counter. "Did they sell out?" I asked the clerk.
"Nope. Someone broke in and stole them," he said. "We saw it on the surveillance video. They were in and out in 30 seconds. They ran over to the iPhones, cut the cables, and left."
"Did they take anything else?" I asked, thinking I saw a new commercial in the making.
"Oh yeah, they took the Treos too."
Sorry, Apple. No commercial.
And sorry, RIM. They left the Blackberries. Personally, I would have grabbed a Pearl on the way out.
By the way, if you're thinking of buying an iPhone on eBay, keep in mind -- the other thing the AT&T guy told me is that the iPhones are all serialized, and Apple can permanently turn off the ones that were stolen.
Nokia dresses up the NSeries
Nokia have sent out a press release, announcing some new accessories for enhancing your NSeries phone. Details below:
There has never been a better time to accessorize your multimedia computer or mobile phone, now that Nokia has introduced the ultimate enhancements in design and functionality, optimized to transform your device into a super power machine. The iconic Nokia Nseries design is reflected in these sleek new enhancements, ready to complement your multimedia computer.
Morph your Mobile into a GPS: Nokia Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W
The Nokia Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W combines Nseries style in a slim and attractive core with navigation, so you can find your way around easily with your compatible mobile device. Continuing on our mission to bring location based services to even more people, this GPS module is compatible with a wide range of Nokia devices and Nokia Maps. Take your time getting to your destination - this lightweight (31 g) GPS module has up to 10 hours of operating time. The sleekly designed black and metallic module comes with a LED indicator to alert you to GPS activation, power and battery status, and Bluetooth connectivity status. The GPS module will be available globally and cost an estimated 125 euro without taxes.
Groove on the Move: Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-903
A high quality, sleekly designed stereo headset - the Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-903 is the complete package for your music enjoyment. The headset is Bluetooth compliant, supporting compatible devices with Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, PBAP, HFP and HSP profiles*, so you can conveniently pair it with a compatible mobile device or other music player. It acts as a state-of-the art remote control with an OLED display, so while you're rocking away you can control your music and your calls. If a call interrupts your favorite tunes, the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-903 will switch automatically to talk mode and return to the music after the call. Weighing in at 32 grams, the headset is a multifunctioning companion to your life on the move. Enjoy up to 15 hours of talk/music time. The Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-903 will cost an estimated 200 euro without taxes and will be available globally.
Take the Talk Out: Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-902
Enjoy crisp and clear conversations while you're on the run with the Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-902. Packaged in a sleek design with an OLED display, this headset brings you superior audio quality thanks to enhanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP). Designed with you in mind, the OLED display is intuitive to use for easy call and connection management straight from your headset. The OLED display even conveniently indicates when you've received a MMS or SMS message. With an in-box neckstrap, clip and flexible in-ear earplugs, the Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-902 is accessible when you need it the most without compromising on comfort. Talk to your friends and colleagues for up to eight hours with this headset, weighing in at 18.2 grams. The Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-902 will cost an estimated 115 euro without taxes and will be available globally.
Big Sound, Small Package: Nokia Bluetooth Speakers MD-7W
The crystal clear, powerful stereo sound of the Nokia Bluetooth Speakers MD-7W will keep you pumping up the volume on the go. Big sound is a promise these speakers can keep - 3D stereo widening sound and dynamic bass control equals a strong bass performance. The speakers are developed in cooperation with D & M Premium Sound Solutions and styled in the premium finish of Nokia Nseries. This compact package comes with magnetic attachments for easy portability and a LED indicator for on/off, pairing mode and battery status. Available globally, the Nokia Bluetooth Speakers MD-7W will cost an estimated 130 euro, without taxes.
Packed with Power: Nokia Power Pack DC-1
A busy lifestyle means you may not always be conveniently near a power outlet when you need one - but now you can be. The Nokia Power Pack DC-1 has reserve power in a pretty and portable package, so you can take the equivalent of up to three batteries** with you and recharge your mobile device when you most need it. Compatible with Nokia 2mm charging interfaces, the power pack has two charge output cables so you can easily charge two devices at the same time. Available globally, it will cost an estimated 105 euro, without taxes.
These enhancements will be available globally from the fourth quarter of 2007.
*When supported by a compatible mobile device
**with battery capacity of 950 mAh
jeudi 23 août 2007
Windows Live officially available to S60 phones
Nokia today have announced that through an agreement with Microsoft, they are bringing Windows Live services to their handsets. Currently, owners of the N73, N76, N80 Internet Edition, N93i, and the N95 can access the service through the Download! application on their handset.
Now myself, and a lot of people I know, have had Windows Live on their handset for a couple of months now, but it's great to see the application officially available and supported.
Click the link to find out more
Full press release below:
Now myself, and a lot of people I know, have had Windows Live on their handset for a couple of months now, but it's great to see the application officially available and supported.
Click the link to find out more
Full press release below:
Nokia and Microsoft to deliver Windows Live services to millions of mobile customers
Industry leaders join forces to bring Web services to Nokia devices
Nokia, the world's largest mobile device manufacturer, and Microsoft, a global leader in online communications and communities, have joined together to provide customers with a new suite of Windows Live services specifically designed for Nokia devices. Starting today Nokia customers in eleven countries with compatible S60 devices can download the new suite enabling access to Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Contacts and Windows Live Spaces. Starting next year, customers who purchase compatible Nokia Series 40 handsets will also have access to these popular Windows Live services.
Nokia and Microsoft are empowering the "mobile lifestyle," by providing mobile customers with easy access to their world of online relationships, information and interests. By enabling access to Windows Live services on both the Nokia S60 and Series 40 platforms using standard web services protocols our mutual customers will have the power to seamlessly move between contacts, mail, messenger, phone calls, text messaging, camera, gallery and browsing all in an integrated way.
"By taking advantage of the extensive and agile distribution network that Nokia has, we have the opportunity to bring the power of Windows Live services to Nokia devices, thus ensuring our customers can take their most important online information with them on the go," said Jari Pasanen, vice-president, Strategy and Technology, Nokia Multimedia
Nokia customers who own the Nokia N73, N76, N80 Internet Edition, N93i, and the N95 multimedia computers can get the Windows Live services via the Download! application in the following countries; Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, UK, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Customers can visit http://www.nokia.com/windowslive to learn more, and check if their country is on the availability list. Initially the service will be available as a free trial and then customers in select markets wishing to continue using the service may be asked to pay a monthly fee.
"The availability of Windows Live services for Nokia's devices demonstrates our commitment to delivering great mobile experiences and extending people's online lives - taking it from the PC to the device," said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Business from Microsoft. "The alliance will enable a much broader group of consumers to experience the benefits Windows Live has to offer, easily connecting them to the information and people that matter most from virtually anywhere."
Today's announcement builds on the existing co-operation between Nokia and Microsoft, which integrated Microsoft's Live Search for Mobile into the Nokia Mobile Search application. Nokia also plans to extend this service onto the Series 40 platform to enhance the search experience across a greater range of devices.
mercredi 22 août 2007
N73 Special Edition for Arabian/African Market
Nokia announced the launch of the Nokia N73 Special Edition which will be initially exclusively available in the Middle East and North Africa markets.The launch coincides with the Holy month of Ramadan and the offer includes a full range of applications, carefully tailored to meet the needs of consumers in the Arab world.
The Nokia N73 Special Edition is available in an elegant new soft white colour with subtle highlights.
The fully featured sales package includes a 2GB mini SD memory card, matching leather pouch and high performance stereo headset.
The new Nokia N73 Special Edition includes a unique portfolio of pre-loaded applications including a collection of Azkars for the morning and the evening, an Islamic Organiser with audible alarms for the five daily prayers, a Qibla direction indicator and a Hijri calendar.
The Hajj and Umrah application provides simple step-by-step descriptions for the Hajj and Umrah, while the Ramadaniat application explains all the instructions and rules for the Holy month of Ramadan.
Also included with these on the 2GB miniSD card are two Islamic e-books and a Universal Dictionary application which supports English, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and French.
“In addition the Nokia N73 Special Edition offers unique Ramadan Greetings, a very special customized e-card application that enables families and friends to send greeting cards through SMS or MMS in celebration of this Holy month” said Neil Gordon, vice-president for Multimedia, Nokia, Middle East & Africa.
“This new edition is a reflection of Nokia’s commitment to continuously provide consumers with tailored services, based on their needs and requirements.”
In addition to the pre-loaded content consumers using the Nokia N73 Special Edition can also download other additional applications directly from the Download! feature on the device.
Downloadable content includes the Name of Allah application, exclusively available for Nokia users as well as a third e-book.
mardi 21 août 2007
Win a Nokia N95 with AAS and Truphone
Those good guys over at AllAboutSymbian and Truphone are offering lucky readers the chance to win a Nokia N95 and a years free mobile calls from Truphone!
For the chance to win, click this link and follow the instructions.
The competition is open to residents of the UK and US only. Good luck!
For the chance to win, click this link and follow the instructions.
The competition is open to residents of the UK and US only. Good luck!
lundi 20 août 2007
N95 8GB confirmed?
According to this post on AllAboutSymbian, there is detail about the N95 8GB in black on the FCC website.
Click on the link for more info and pictures
Click on the link for more info and pictures
jeudi 16 août 2007
8GB N95 due in UK before Christmas
.jpg)
It is rumoured that the N95 8GB version is going to be available to consumers in the UK before Christmas.
Although Nokia are going to be releasing the 8GB N81, sources claim Nokia are desperate to get the 8Gb N95 into the shops for the Christmas rush. The information apparently comes from one of the UK networks, although Nokia are yet to confirm.
Source
mercredi 15 août 2007
Nokia N95 Voted European Media Phone 2007-2008
Nokia today announced the Nokia N95 multimedia computer has been voted 'the European Media Phone of the Year 2007-2008' by the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA), Europe's leading association for consumer electronics.
Commenting on the award, EISA praised the Nokia N95 as containing "practically every feature one could imagine in a mobile device." Additionally, the award citation of the EISA jury goes on to say: "It's no mere mobile phone and no mere status symbol. Pick up a Nokia N95 and you hold in your hands a state-of-the-art communication tool - the ideal way to remain permanently in touch and on track with the world that surrounds you."
The judging panel cited Nokia N95 features such as GPS, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and MPEG4 video capture of up to 30 fps. EISA also highlighted the device's data access of up to 3.5 Mb/s, advanced web browser, Wi-Fi, microSD slot, and audio reproduction of multiple audio formats.
"The Nokia N95 has evidently raised the bar for mobile devices and we are thrilled to receive this accolade from consumer electronics magazines across Europe," said Jonas Geust, head of Nokia Nseries Players Category, Multimedia, Nokia. "This award is an endorsement of the strategy behind Nokia Nseries - to bring to people's hands high performance multimedia computers which make digital convergence a reality."
EISA is a consumer technology awards association, and comprises of nearly 50 prominent Photo, Video, Audio, Home Theater and Mobile Electronics magazines from 18 European countries.
Commenting on the award, EISA praised the Nokia N95 as containing "practically every feature one could imagine in a mobile device." Additionally, the award citation of the EISA jury goes on to say: "It's no mere mobile phone and no mere status symbol. Pick up a Nokia N95 and you hold in your hands a state-of-the-art communication tool - the ideal way to remain permanently in touch and on track with the world that surrounds you."
The judging panel cited Nokia N95 features such as GPS, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and MPEG4 video capture of up to 30 fps. EISA also highlighted the device's data access of up to 3.5 Mb/s, advanced web browser, Wi-Fi, microSD slot, and audio reproduction of multiple audio formats.
"The Nokia N95 has evidently raised the bar for mobile devices and we are thrilled to receive this accolade from consumer electronics magazines across Europe," said Jonas Geust, head of Nokia Nseries Players Category, Multimedia, Nokia. "This award is an endorsement of the strategy behind Nokia Nseries - to bring to people's hands high performance multimedia computers which make digital convergence a reality."
EISA is a consumer technology awards association, and comprises of nearly 50 prominent Photo, Video, Audio, Home Theater and Mobile Electronics magazines from 18 European countries.
Share Online 2.0 for NSeries
Posted by Carol over at the S60 Blog there is an update available for the Share Online app for NSeries phones.
The download for the app is available here
Changes include allowing you to use your Yahoo login when creating Flickr accounts, plus tagging support, including an on-device tagging database.
Note, when you install the update you will lose any settings for pre-installed Flickr and Vox accounts.
The download for the app is available here
Changes include allowing you to use your Yahoo login when creating Flickr accounts, plus tagging support, including an on-device tagging database.
Note, when you install the update you will lose any settings for pre-installed Flickr and Vox accounts.
lundi 13 août 2007
N95 for the US
Darla has got some pics and information on the N95 model being released in the States. A few cosmetic differences, and a larger capacity battery. There are also (as yet unconfirmed) rumours that the screen size is different. Will be interesting to see if that is true.
Pop over to Darla's site for pictures and info.
Pop over to Darla's site for pictures and info.
mercredi 8 août 2007
Impact of Amazon Flexible Payments Service: Computing as a utility
The announcement of Amazon FPS made my whole week, on a lot of different levels. I'm excited about the service itself, I'm excited about what it means for the development of web applications, and I'm excited about what it'll eventually do for the mobile data world.
Okay, I'm just excited.
About FPS. Before I talk about what it means, I should give a quick overview of what it is. FPS is a web service, meaning it's a set of online APIs that the creator of a website or web application can use to perform tasks. What FPS does for you is billing -- you can use it to accept payments for something you sell online. Basically, you transmit the customer's info to Amazon, and they take care of the credit check, credit card processing, billing, and so on. They send you the money, less a percentage cut that they take.
That's not at all revolutionary. PayPal and Google Checkout offer the same thing already. Amazon's cut is about the same as PayPal -- about 2% to 3% of your revenue, depending on the amount of business you do, plus 30 cents per transaction. Google is a tad cheaper, plus you get AdSense credits for using it.
(For more information on FPS, there are good articles here and here).
What impressed me about FPS is its flexibility. Amazon says you can set different payment terms for every customer, set up subscriptions and multiple payment schedules, manage a store in which you pass payments from a customer to your suppliers, set up either pre- or post-payment systems, and most importantly you can manage micropayments down to a couple of pennies per transactions (link).
The competing systems either don't offer this at all, or do it badly. I think FPS is a really important change to the competitive situation in payment services. And, because the payment services are all available to any website, that means it's an important change to the whole web platform.
New forms of online business. So far, e-commerce online has been limited mostly to selling things that we could already get through regular stores -- books, clothing, software, etc. One of the main culprits for this was payments. The current credit card system, with its strong discouragement of small transactions, makes it very hard to sell anything priced below a few dollars online. I think the most interesting use of online commerce will be the creation of markets for things that we can't buy through stores today. Most of those things are intellectual property of various sorts, and the natural market for them is a buck or less a copy. So the payment system is a big barrier.
I won't recap my whole argument for minipayments; I wrote about it recently, and you can read it here. Minipayments have already changed the world in music, where Apple's proprietary minipayment system in iTunes has revived the market for music singles, something that was virtually dead in stores. Another example: iStockPhoto has created a market for low-cost stock photography. By creating an easy system of practical minipayments, Amazon FPS will help to enable the creation of lots of iTunes and iStockPhoto equivalents for other products and forms of intellectual property. Think short stories, art, games, and probably a lot of other things we haven't even thought of yet.
I know FPS isn't perfect -- for example, small payments have to be aggregated and then billed in a single larger transaction. But it advances the state of the art dramatically, and more importantly it challenges Google and PayPal to improve their own minipayment handling. That competitive dynamic should eventually result in a truly great minipayment mechanism online, no matter who makes it.
Amazon vs. Google: A contrast in strategies. I think Amazon's approach to web services makes Google look bad. Both companies are taking on PayPal, but Google's approach so far has been pure blunt force -- duplicate PayPal's features, underprice them a bit, and tie it to another Google product (you get AdSense credits for using Google Checkout). Let's see...you compete by duplicating someone else's features, underpricing, and tying back to your dominant product. Does that remind you of a certain company in Redmond?
In contrast, Amazon has been trying to find holes in the infrastructure that nobody has filled yet. Its storage and compute services provided very important infrastructure that helped accelerate the growth of Web 2.0 companies. Although its payment system is not as unique, the emphasis on minipayments is, and I think it too will play an important part in the online ecosystem.
Bottom line: Google is often copying, Amazon innovating. I'd say that I'm disappointed in Google, but actually given their size they would crush everyone else if they were also innovative. So maybe we should be grateful.
What will Amazon do next? Their pattern is clear -- they're picking out things that they know how to do well (because of their retail operation) and turning them into services for other developers. A logical next step would be if they offered developers the infrastructure needed to set up an online store -- order tracking, support request tracking, inventory, displaying merchandise, etc. That would work with their other services, and would put them in a position to start draining business from eBay.
I'd also love to see them offer some sort of unified product and content discovery system. One of the things missing from the online ecosystem is an easy way to find goods and services that are for sale online, and comparison shop between them. You can use search for it, but it's not very well organized, and comparisons are difficult. eBay kind of does that, but you have to be registered as one of their sellers, and eBay does the billing. I'd love to see a looser directory than eBay that doesn't take the payments directly, but just points you to things you can buy.
That's what I thought Google Base would evolve into, but Google hasn't made the move yet, so there's still time for Amazon to seize that territory.
What it means for mobile. You can probably guess what I'm going to say here. The operators consistently charge up to about 50% of revenue for any songs, games, or other content sold through their networks. The mobile software stores like Motricity and Handango charge about the same. Amazon, Google, and PayPal each take about 2-3% of revenue, and that cost is likely to decline due to competition. As the wireless Internet takes hold, how many users will be willing to pay 50% extra just for the pleasure of having a game appear on their Sprint or Verizon bill rather than their Amazon bill?
If an operator bit the bullet now and priced competitively, they might be able to hold onto about 10% of revenue in exchange for the greater convenience of running content purchases through the mobile bill. But a 50% cut is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. There's no way Amazon and friends will be able to resist the temptation to target the mobile web. The question is not if, it's when.
The name of the game is infrastructure. In an open, decentralized computing environment like the Web, the best way for a software company to succeed is to create a control point -- to offer a piece of critical infrastructure that others need, and build a franchise around it.
Google understood that concept with search + advertising, and did well with maps, but has been remarkably inept at creating other strong points. I think that's because, to be blunt, engineering PhDs don't necessarily make the best business strategists. Google, if you want to go to the next level, ya got to hire business people who are as smart as your technical people. And you have to give them some authority.
Microsoft seems to get it, but is still trying to retrofit its applications into services rather than really thinking through what's needed in an online ecosystem. Apple seems to understand, but so far hasn't been interested in opening up its services to others (it could easily have turned iTunes into a content discovery and billing service, long before either Google or Amazon hit the market). Some other big Internet companies, like Yahoo, don't seem to really understand yet that this is the competitive battleground of their future.
Amazon is the one major web company that seems to both understand the situation, and be able to consistently come up with good new services. They already have two strong points (computing services and storage), and payments looks to be the third. If some of the other players don't wake up soon, Amazon's going to end up in an extremely powerful position online.
Okay, I'm just excited.
About FPS. Before I talk about what it means, I should give a quick overview of what it is. FPS is a web service, meaning it's a set of online APIs that the creator of a website or web application can use to perform tasks. What FPS does for you is billing -- you can use it to accept payments for something you sell online. Basically, you transmit the customer's info to Amazon, and they take care of the credit check, credit card processing, billing, and so on. They send you the money, less a percentage cut that they take.
That's not at all revolutionary. PayPal and Google Checkout offer the same thing already. Amazon's cut is about the same as PayPal -- about 2% to 3% of your revenue, depending on the amount of business you do, plus 30 cents per transaction. Google is a tad cheaper, plus you get AdSense credits for using it.
(For more information on FPS, there are good articles here and here).
What impressed me about FPS is its flexibility. Amazon says you can set different payment terms for every customer, set up subscriptions and multiple payment schedules, manage a store in which you pass payments from a customer to your suppliers, set up either pre- or post-payment systems, and most importantly you can manage micropayments down to a couple of pennies per transactions (link).
The competing systems either don't offer this at all, or do it badly. I think FPS is a really important change to the competitive situation in payment services. And, because the payment services are all available to any website, that means it's an important change to the whole web platform.
New forms of online business. So far, e-commerce online has been limited mostly to selling things that we could already get through regular stores -- books, clothing, software, etc. One of the main culprits for this was payments. The current credit card system, with its strong discouragement of small transactions, makes it very hard to sell anything priced below a few dollars online. I think the most interesting use of online commerce will be the creation of markets for things that we can't buy through stores today. Most of those things are intellectual property of various sorts, and the natural market for them is a buck or less a copy. So the payment system is a big barrier.
I won't recap my whole argument for minipayments; I wrote about it recently, and you can read it here. Minipayments have already changed the world in music, where Apple's proprietary minipayment system in iTunes has revived the market for music singles, something that was virtually dead in stores. Another example: iStockPhoto has created a market for low-cost stock photography. By creating an easy system of practical minipayments, Amazon FPS will help to enable the creation of lots of iTunes and iStockPhoto equivalents for other products and forms of intellectual property. Think short stories, art, games, and probably a lot of other things we haven't even thought of yet.
I know FPS isn't perfect -- for example, small payments have to be aggregated and then billed in a single larger transaction. But it advances the state of the art dramatically, and more importantly it challenges Google and PayPal to improve their own minipayment handling. That competitive dynamic should eventually result in a truly great minipayment mechanism online, no matter who makes it.
Amazon vs. Google: A contrast in strategies. I think Amazon's approach to web services makes Google look bad. Both companies are taking on PayPal, but Google's approach so far has been pure blunt force -- duplicate PayPal's features, underprice them a bit, and tie it to another Google product (you get AdSense credits for using Google Checkout). Let's see...you compete by duplicating someone else's features, underpricing, and tying back to your dominant product. Does that remind you of a certain company in Redmond?
In contrast, Amazon has been trying to find holes in the infrastructure that nobody has filled yet. Its storage and compute services provided very important infrastructure that helped accelerate the growth of Web 2.0 companies. Although its payment system is not as unique, the emphasis on minipayments is, and I think it too will play an important part in the online ecosystem.
Bottom line: Google is often copying, Amazon innovating. I'd say that I'm disappointed in Google, but actually given their size they would crush everyone else if they were also innovative. So maybe we should be grateful.
What will Amazon do next? Their pattern is clear -- they're picking out things that they know how to do well (because of their retail operation) and turning them into services for other developers. A logical next step would be if they offered developers the infrastructure needed to set up an online store -- order tracking, support request tracking, inventory, displaying merchandise, etc. That would work with their other services, and would put them in a position to start draining business from eBay.
I'd also love to see them offer some sort of unified product and content discovery system. One of the things missing from the online ecosystem is an easy way to find goods and services that are for sale online, and comparison shop between them. You can use search for it, but it's not very well organized, and comparisons are difficult. eBay kind of does that, but you have to be registered as one of their sellers, and eBay does the billing. I'd love to see a looser directory than eBay that doesn't take the payments directly, but just points you to things you can buy.
That's what I thought Google Base would evolve into, but Google hasn't made the move yet, so there's still time for Amazon to seize that territory.
What it means for mobile. You can probably guess what I'm going to say here. The operators consistently charge up to about 50% of revenue for any songs, games, or other content sold through their networks. The mobile software stores like Motricity and Handango charge about the same. Amazon, Google, and PayPal each take about 2-3% of revenue, and that cost is likely to decline due to competition. As the wireless Internet takes hold, how many users will be willing to pay 50% extra just for the pleasure of having a game appear on their Sprint or Verizon bill rather than their Amazon bill?
If an operator bit the bullet now and priced competitively, they might be able to hold onto about 10% of revenue in exchange for the greater convenience of running content purchases through the mobile bill. But a 50% cut is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. There's no way Amazon and friends will be able to resist the temptation to target the mobile web. The question is not if, it's when.
The name of the game is infrastructure. In an open, decentralized computing environment like the Web, the best way for a software company to succeed is to create a control point -- to offer a piece of critical infrastructure that others need, and build a franchise around it.
Google understood that concept with search + advertising, and did well with maps, but has been remarkably inept at creating other strong points. I think that's because, to be blunt, engineering PhDs don't necessarily make the best business strategists. Google, if you want to go to the next level, ya got to hire business people who are as smart as your technical people. And you have to give them some authority.
Microsoft seems to get it, but is still trying to retrofit its applications into services rather than really thinking through what's needed in an online ecosystem. Apple seems to understand, but so far hasn't been interested in opening up its services to others (it could easily have turned iTunes into a content discovery and billing service, long before either Google or Amazon hit the market). Some other big Internet companies, like Yahoo, don't seem to really understand yet that this is the competitive battleground of their future.
Amazon is the one major web company that seems to both understand the situation, and be able to consistently come up with good new services. They already have two strong points (computing services and storage), and payments looks to be the third. If some of the other players don't wake up soon, Amazon's going to end up in an extremely powerful position online.
samedi 4 août 2007
Why I work in the tech industry
Because of the cool toys, of course. But for me, there's also something else: Making a difference in peoples' lives.
I'm sure that sounds corny, and not everyone feels the way I do, but for me there's something very compelling about the ability of technology done right to improve the lives of lots of people, in ways you don't expect and can't plan for. I got my first taste of that years ago, when I was a Mac software developer in the early days of desktop publishing. I was mostly creating PostScript fonts, which is a thoroughly commoditized process today but was difficult back then, before third party font-creation products were available.
There was a lot of demand for fonts, so I would go to Mac trade shows and sell the fonts from a booth, $30 or so a pop. I didn't get rich, but it was fun and I learned a lot. One of the things I learned was that you have to take the work really seriously, even on something as trivial as fonts. A man walked up to me at one of the shows. He didn't look like one of the technophiles there, just a normal guy in his 30s, someone you might run into at the gas station. He spoke with a slight southern accent.
"I like your fonts," he said, and smiled.
"Thanks!" I said. One of the coolest things about those shows was that you got to talk to customers.
"Especially that one." He pointed to a font that imitated calligraphy, lots of curves and soft angles. "When my niece died, we used it to make the engraving for the tombstone."
I thanked him and expressed my condolences, as politely and gently as I could. But I was in shock the whole time. I thought my fonts were for throwaways, things like flyers or newsletters that people glanced at and then tossed. It was fun to make them, and a good learning experience, but I wasn't expecting anyone to use them for anything serious. Certainly not as serious as saying goodbye to a loved one who died young.
What it taught me was that making a new enabling technology is a trust. You don't know what people might do with it in their lives, and so you should always take it very seriously and make sure it really works the way you promise it will. Because chances are, in a world this big, someone will depend on it an awful lot.
That lesson came back to me a few weeks ago, when I saw a photo essay in the New York Times showing real-life people with the avatars they use to represent themselves in computer games (link; you can read about the underlying book and exhibition here). There were the examples I expected -- the chunky geek guy who shows himself as a red-haired ninja girl, etc. But most of the avatars looked a lot like the people who made them -- thinner maybe, or with better hair or bigger, uh, appendages. But quite recognizable.
And then there was the photo of Jason Rowe, a young man in his 30s who has muscular dystrophy (link). He's in a wheelchair, with a breathing mask on, and a report by NPR said he can move his hands just enough to control a character in Star Wars Galaxies, which he plays about 80 hours a week (link).
His avatar is a huge husky guy in armor, waving politely at the viewer -- something that you imagine might be difficult for the real-life Mr. Rowe. In all of the other pictures, you get the impression that the real person is saying to you, "here I am in real life, the avatar is my mask." But Rowe's avatar seems to say, "this is the real me over here where I can move around, don't judge me by my physical shell."
I've never met Jason, and I may be reading way too much into his picture. But if he's not thinking that, I know there are a lot of other people on the Internet who are. I doubt the folks who wrote Galaxies or Warcraft or Second Life were expecting to have this sort of impact on peoples' lives, but that's what happens when you work in tech.
And Jason, thanks for posing for that picture. You reminded me what this industry is really about.
I'm sure that sounds corny, and not everyone feels the way I do, but for me there's something very compelling about the ability of technology done right to improve the lives of lots of people, in ways you don't expect and can't plan for. I got my first taste of that years ago, when I was a Mac software developer in the early days of desktop publishing. I was mostly creating PostScript fonts, which is a thoroughly commoditized process today but was difficult back then, before third party font-creation products were available.
There was a lot of demand for fonts, so I would go to Mac trade shows and sell the fonts from a booth, $30 or so a pop. I didn't get rich, but it was fun and I learned a lot. One of the things I learned was that you have to take the work really seriously, even on something as trivial as fonts. A man walked up to me at one of the shows. He didn't look like one of the technophiles there, just a normal guy in his 30s, someone you might run into at the gas station. He spoke with a slight southern accent.
"I like your fonts," he said, and smiled.
"Thanks!" I said. One of the coolest things about those shows was that you got to talk to customers.
"Especially that one." He pointed to a font that imitated calligraphy, lots of curves and soft angles. "When my niece died, we used it to make the engraving for the tombstone."
I thanked him and expressed my condolences, as politely and gently as I could. But I was in shock the whole time. I thought my fonts were for throwaways, things like flyers or newsletters that people glanced at and then tossed. It was fun to make them, and a good learning experience, but I wasn't expecting anyone to use them for anything serious. Certainly not as serious as saying goodbye to a loved one who died young.
What it taught me was that making a new enabling technology is a trust. You don't know what people might do with it in their lives, and so you should always take it very seriously and make sure it really works the way you promise it will. Because chances are, in a world this big, someone will depend on it an awful lot.
That lesson came back to me a few weeks ago, when I saw a photo essay in the New York Times showing real-life people with the avatars they use to represent themselves in computer games (link; you can read about the underlying book and exhibition here). There were the examples I expected -- the chunky geek guy who shows himself as a red-haired ninja girl, etc. But most of the avatars looked a lot like the people who made them -- thinner maybe, or with better hair or bigger, uh, appendages. But quite recognizable.
And then there was the photo of Jason Rowe, a young man in his 30s who has muscular dystrophy (link). He's in a wheelchair, with a breathing mask on, and a report by NPR said he can move his hands just enough to control a character in Star Wars Galaxies, which he plays about 80 hours a week (link).
His avatar is a huge husky guy in armor, waving politely at the viewer -- something that you imagine might be difficult for the real-life Mr. Rowe. In all of the other pictures, you get the impression that the real person is saying to you, "here I am in real life, the avatar is my mask." But Rowe's avatar seems to say, "this is the real me over here where I can move around, don't judge me by my physical shell."
I've never met Jason, and I may be reading way too much into his picture. But if he's not thinking that, I know there are a lot of other people on the Internet who are. I doubt the folks who wrote Galaxies or Warcraft or Second Life were expecting to have this sort of impact on peoples' lives, but that's what happens when you work in tech.
And Jason, thanks for posing for that picture. You reminded me what this industry is really about.
vendredi 3 août 2007
New NSeries rumours
The rumours of new NSeries devices, such as the N81 and N82 pictured have been around for a while now. There's an event in London on the 29th August, at which Nokia are expected to announce a new online music store. It is also expected that Nokia will announce some new NSeries phones, with the N81 and N82 and possibly the 8GB N95, too.
A viral marketing website has appeared here, hinting at what may come
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)