Communication Breakdown

Looks like those PS3-toting folks at Sony aren't the only ones to be ripping off Nintendo's motion-sensor tilting tech from the Wii. BT's now in on the act too, but it's OK - it's all in the name of accessibility.

Bearing in mind that mice and keyboards can be a bit fiddly for the disabled and elderly, BT has created an accelerometer chip-based adaptor called BT Balance, which plugs into a laptop or tablet PC to add motion-based functionality. The user can then configure it how they like - maybe a certain tilt of the laptop could turn a page on an e-book, or tipping it back could connect an incoming VoIP call.

It sounds awesome. I am, though, a bit skeptical about how the thing could malfunction if the laptop teeters on the side of a desk or gets bumped. It would need to be fairly carefully configured... but hey, maybe it's the future. So, at the risk of one day looking like the guy who dissed Fred Astaire before he found fame, I'll reserve my judgement until I get a closer look.

Well, in a couple of days I'm toddling off to Paris to go listen to Dell executives explain the "mobile world of Dell". I'm anticipating quite a lot of explaining, seeing as Dell supposedly doesn't do handhelds anymore. Or does it?

Questions abound, and I'm sure you good folks have a few to lob in Dell's general direction. As I would be more than happy to ask awkward questions on your behalf, please let me know your most burning thoughts on the subject of Dell+mobility.

I'm sure we'd all like to know the answers.

To lose one Windows Live Search exec may be regarded as a misfortune, but losing two looks like something worse...

Poor Microsoft (words I never thought I'd type) - the struggle to catch up with Google and Yahoo in the search stakes really does seem doomed to failure. Last month Chris Payne - the VP in charge of the catch-up - ran away almost immediately after Windows Live VP Blake Irving announced his impending retirement, and now it's the turn of general manager Dane Glasgow.

Apparently he wants to "spend more time with his family before taking on a new entrepreneurial challenge". This can't bode very well for Microsoft's search effort, despite a spokesperson's claim that plans are nonetheless "marching forward".

AT&T over in the States are reportedly talking about bringing out the iPhone for enterprise users. The analysts quoted in this piece certainly don't seem to think it's the brightest idea, because:

a) It's touchscreen so you can't use it while driving (er, so's a Windows PPC, and you shouldn't be using it while driving anyway).

b) It doesn't have a removable battery (not an issue for everyone, but fair point).

c) Apple hasn't built a phone before (true-ish - but why do you think it briefly teamed up with Motorola for the ill-fated, storage-challenged, iTunes-centric ROKR phone? Ahhh....).

d) Enterprises won't be able to write so many apps for the OS X-based operating system (a valid point).

I haven't done a Press Release Of The Day for a while, but this grabbed me by the neck and demanded it. It's from a PR company called (god have mercy on my soul) *kulow kommunikation. Daft enough, you might say, but wait, there's more...

*kulow kommunikation were trying to alert me to the activities of one of their clients, Smaato. The Smaato-team (again, their words) have announced a partnership with someone called Third Screen Media at ad:tech San Francisco (a conference for the case-challenged, no doubt). It's all about selling mobile advertising, which pushes precisely none of my buttons, but the real hilarity sets in when you get to the name of Third Screen Media's network, or rather the difficulties it creates for *kulow kommunikation and the Smaatipants-team - who had to stick this on their release:

"*Please note: 'There is a 'pipe' in the product name 'TSM|Network'
between TSM and Network. This symbol may not appear properly in some systems."

There is a solution to this, as any sane person with the most rudimentary grasp of marketing would tell you: change the ******* name. There's a reason why O(+> gave up and went back to "Prince"...