Communication Breakdown
Communications from the world of, er, communications. And other stuff.
Wednesday 21 February 2007, 4:55 PM
Nicely optimised supply chain you've got there...
Whoops - it seems O2 and Phones4U have untied the knot, in an echo of last year's tragic Voda/Carphone breakup. Voda's even congratulated O2, "you go girl"-stylee, for breaking free of its loveless marriage.
Let's hope we don't have a repeat of that occasion's terribly mean-spirited accusation-fest... although on second thoughts that was pretty entertaining, so what the heck! Gizza call, dish the dirt, you know the number etc.
Thursday 15 February 2007, 11:07 AM
That was the 3GSM that was
Well, here I am sitting waiting for my plane back to London. My lasting impression of 3GSM (aside from Barcelona's unseasonably warm weather), has been that there was no big announcement, no killer handset that made everyone slip in their drool.
Maybe it's the iPhone factor - Apple's toy wasn't to be seen, by the way - but no-one seemed to produce anything unexpected. The new BlackBerry's nice, the new Windows Mobile is nice, but... no wow. As I say, perhaps we can blame Steve Jobs for setting the bar so high, but I can't help but feel slightly disappointed despite all the extremely cool stuff that was on show. C'est la industry...
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...
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.
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.
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