Communication Breakdown
Communications from the world of, er, communications. And other stuff.
Monday 12 February 2007, 2:45 PM
More on Windows Mobile 6
Windows Mobile 6 got officially announced today, although everybody's known about it since last week at least. I'm currently sitting in a Microsoft press conference all about it, and I have to say it looks pretty cool.
Full integration with Windows Live - that means Hotmail (as they've decided to call it again, having given up on the "Windows Live Mail" moniker), Windows Live Messenger are both accessible from the homescreen with one click. The calendar function is greatly improved, as you'll now be able to see who's confirmed attendance for a meeting and all that sort of thing. You can also use the new quick find function to search server-side emails, for those push-email users out there.
Looks like Orange will be rolling out a new HTC smartphone, by the way - slider qwerty keyboard, WM6 of course.
And the bad news - shiny new DRM in the form of "PlayReady", to protect the assets of the operators apparently. This really is Vista gone mobile... we'll have plenty more for you, soon!
Continuing with the running commentary now. Seems BT is a partner now, particularly re the integrated WiFi and VoIP capabilities. Good grief - it looks like BT will be introducing HTC devices into the UK market!
I would continue, but - as could only be expected - my battery's on the way out! Again, more soon.
I'll leave you with an iPhone-related put-down from Microsoft exec Pieter Kanook, vice president of mobile embedded devices at MS: "We know how to partner with both device makers and operators". Hmmm...
Full integration with Windows Live - that means Hotmail (as they've decided to call it again, having given up on the "Windows Live Mail" moniker), Windows Live Messenger are both accessible from the homescreen with one click. The calendar function is greatly improved, as you'll now be able to see who's confirmed attendance for a meeting and all that sort of thing. You can also use the new quick find function to search server-side emails, for those push-email users out there.
Looks like Orange will be rolling out a new HTC smartphone, by the way - slider qwerty keyboard, WM6 of course.
And the bad news - shiny new DRM in the form of "PlayReady", to protect the assets of the operators apparently. This really is Vista gone mobile... we'll have plenty more for you, soon!
Continuing with the running commentary now. Seems BT is a partner now, particularly re the integrated WiFi and VoIP capabilities. Good grief - it looks like BT will be introducing HTC devices into the UK market!
I would continue, but - as could only be expected - my battery's on the way out! Again, more soon.
I'll leave you with an iPhone-related put-down from Microsoft exec Pieter Kanook, vice president of mobile embedded devices at MS: "We know how to partner with both device makers and operators". Hmmm...
Friday 9 February 2007, 3:38 PM
To "n" or not to "n"?
I recently had to buy a new laptop, and I chose a certain popular manufacturer/retailer. One option I faced in the ordering process was whether to take a chance on 802.11n for my Wi-Fi connectivity. Bearing in mind that this is only "pre-certified" (certification will happen later in the year), I decided to stick with the "g" standard instead.
Yesterday I found myself chatting with Frank Hanzlik of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the certifiers in question. I asked what he thought of the manufacturer offering consumers 802.11n pre-certified kit, and he said it was a "very personal decision".
Now, the Wi-Fi Alliance have to be pretty neutral in this stuff, except to say that, obviously, certified is preferable. "Some people buy a router every year, others want it to last 2 or 3 years," was what he was prepared to say. Perhaps I was reading something into that incorrectly, perhaps correctly, but I'm glad I stuck with the certified standard this time round. It's not like I even use the full capabilities of "g" anyway.
Yesterday I found myself chatting with Frank Hanzlik of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the certifiers in question. I asked what he thought of the manufacturer offering consumers 802.11n pre-certified kit, and he said it was a "very personal decision".
Now, the Wi-Fi Alliance have to be pretty neutral in this stuff, except to say that, obviously, certified is preferable. "Some people buy a router every year, others want it to last 2 or 3 years," was what he was prepared to say. Perhaps I was reading something into that incorrectly, perhaps correctly, but I'm glad I stuck with the certified standard this time round. It's not like I even use the full capabilities of "g" anyway.
Thursday 8 February 2007, 3:14 PM
If you can't beat 'em... Part II
Vodafone is pretty much doing a "3". As I was saying yesterday, the operator seems to be getting its act together, in that case by partnering with MySpace.
Today, it's eBay, a mobile version of which will be arriving on Voda handsets later this year (Italy gets first dibs). O2 partnered with eBay a good while ago for i-Mode handsets, but - that said - today's announcement shows again that Arun Sarin and his team are accepting the new reality: operators won't win if they take on the Web giants, so the smart ones are hitching a ride instead.
Today, it's eBay, a mobile version of which will be arriving on Voda handsets later this year (Italy gets first dibs). O2 partnered with eBay a good while ago for i-Mode handsets, but - that said - today's announcement shows again that Arun Sarin and his team are accepting the new reality: operators won't win if they take on the Web giants, so the smart ones are hitching a ride instead.
Wednesday 7 February 2007, 4:47 PM
Skype, meet Symantec. Symantec, Skype.
News just in from Skype: the VoIPsters' business customers can get a "special promotion" if they click through to a Skype/Symantec co-branded website via skype.com and download Norton Internet Security and other Symantec Norton products, which are now Skype certified! So there you go.
In other breaking news (boom boom), a boy tries to destroy a supposedly indestructible phone...
In other breaking news (boom boom), a boy tries to destroy a supposedly indestructible phone...
Wednesday 7 February 2007, 12:54 PM
MySpace Mobile: If you can't beat 'em...
Yesterday I popped along to a briefing with O2, who have just launched their latest "50 to watch in mobile" list. Top of the pile is Yospace (not be confused with Mytube, I suppose), a mobile user-generated content company not a million miles away from the MySpace/YouTube concept (except users pay to download clips, and the uploader gets paid each time).
It will be very interesting to see how companies like Yospace fare in the coming years, actually. Will the punters go for a mobile-centric service like theirs, or do they want to use their favourite web apps on their phones? Another example is search - do these gazillion upstart start-ups really think they can beat the mighty Google on handsets?
Some would say the smart money would be on the big web brands conquering the mobile empire. People know them already and - crucially to the whole user-generated content thingy - would quite like to have a "seamless" experience whatever system they're running the app on.
Hence, today's announcement of an exclusive partnership between Vodafone and - you guessed it - MySpace. According to the press release, "the partnership will enable millions of Vodafone customers to access MySpace Mobile, allowing them to edit their own MySpace profiles, find and add friends, post photos and blogs and send and
receive MySpace messages while on the move".
MySpace Mobile will even be pre-loaded on certain future Vodafone handsets, so this is a serious tie-in. And, in my humble estimation, a pretty smart move on the part of Vodafone. If there's one lesson to learn from the IP Revolution, it's that you can't tell the punters what they should use - you have to listen instead and take it from there.
It will be very interesting to see how companies like Yospace fare in the coming years, actually. Will the punters go for a mobile-centric service like theirs, or do they want to use their favourite web apps on their phones? Another example is search - do these gazillion upstart start-ups really think they can beat the mighty Google on handsets?
Some would say the smart money would be on the big web brands conquering the mobile empire. People know them already and - crucially to the whole user-generated content thingy - would quite like to have a "seamless" experience whatever system they're running the app on.
Hence, today's announcement of an exclusive partnership between Vodafone and - you guessed it - MySpace. According to the press release, "the partnership will enable millions of Vodafone customers to access MySpace Mobile, allowing them to edit their own MySpace profiles, find and add friends, post photos and blogs and send and
receive MySpace messages while on the move".
MySpace Mobile will even be pre-loaded on certain future Vodafone handsets, so this is a serious tie-in. And, in my humble estimation, a pretty smart move on the part of Vodafone. If there's one lesson to learn from the IP Revolution, it's that you can't tell the punters what they should use - you have to listen instead and take it from there.
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