Last week both CrackBerry.com and WMExperts found themselves on the cusp of major releases — the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold on AT&T, the HTC Fuze on AT&T, not to mention a few others on the Windows Mobile side. So while everybody has been anticipating new devices, all of the editors at SPE are anticipating something else that will be starting on November 17th. The hint is right up there in the picture!
Read on for the full skinny on what’s been happening around SPE!
What’s the big news in the Smartphone world this week? It’s a mix, really. Android’s looking like a viable platform to more and more people, there are a ton of Windows Mobile devices on the way, and both CrackBerry.com and the iPhone Blog are running contests that ought to spark your interest. Read on!
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You may not realize it, but the site you’re reading right now is a part of one of the premier networks of smartphone news and review sites. We call it the ‘Smartphone Experts Network’ and if you haven’t heard, we’ve recently added a new member to our family, Android Central. That brings the number of our smartphone communities up to five sites. You can find links to these sites and to their latest stories either in the sidebar or footer of every SPE site.
I thought now would be a good time to introduce a new weekly blog post I’ll be putting up at each of our sites called ‘Around SPE,’ which will give you a very quick roundup of the biggest stories at each of our sites. Now, ‘big stories’ are just a tiny part of what we offer, as each of our sites also feature vibrant communities, engaging podcasts, and also accessory stores if you’re looking to make your smartphone a little better.
In addition to our new sister site, there’s also some other SPE Network news to share, so follow me after the break to learn more!
Whoabuphew! Tell Buffy to stand down, Giles to close the books, and Willow to de-dark — for the moment-ish. Turns out the above travesty video of what we first thought was Windows Mobile running on the iPhone may just have been viral marketing much.
But you can’t un-raise that demon, now can you? The Hellmouth has been harshened, and it’s only a matter of time before someone gets all Voldermorty with it and tries to conjure up some Windows Mobile — or Android — style iPhone possession.
Sure, some people may be looking forward to that. Be we’ll just keep the crosses, garlic, and holy water at the ready. B’okay?
Taking a break from not buying Yahoo! and single-handidly driving the internet Monkey Boy dance phenomena, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer decided to throw a little advice Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ way: Break up the iPhone! (Please!)
Right now, of course, Apple tightly integrates both the iPhone hardware and software, just like they do with the Mac. This gives them unrivaled fit and finish and ensures developers (and consumers) a unified platform, end to end. It also ensures Apple — who makes their money on hardware, not software — very good margins and, thus far, very profitable business.
Enter Steve Ballmer’s plea, according to Ars Technica:
[Ballmer]’s expecting Apple to do poorly in both the smartphone and notebook markets over the next five years, mostly because the company continues to stand by its rather un-Microsoft-like integration of both proprietary software and proprietary hardware.
For a reality check, see how the current iPhone model has rejuvenated an industry and led to a bevy of iClones, while Ballmer’s Windows Mobile 7 has been pushed back to 2009, meaning we won’t even begin to see a 2007 iPhone competitive device running anything Microsoft until 2010…
So, yeah, we’re sure Jobs will get right on that…
But what do you think? Should Apple scrap the iPhone model and go the Microsoft route?
Yeah, A-Day — it’s like that. No sooner did Apple announce the iPod Touch as the “funnest” ever (yet apparently didn’t tell OS X’s built in dictionary not to take issue with that obscure, yet valid usage…), then Google and T-Mobile decided to have a little, er, “fun” with it themselves:
The friendly feel of Google but funnerer, smarterer, and conecteder
No, they have to go and get with the Funnererer…er…
Well, with Windows Mobile 7 delayed until late 2009, which may be before Palm OS 2.0 even sees the light of day, and Blackberry still not even on the next generation OS radar, it’s nice to see someone taking it to Apple (even if they, with a CEO on the board of Apple, and services linked to the iPhone, may be more about complementing than competing at the moment).
Still, when the dust settles, and Steve takes the stage at Macworld 2009, we’ll just see who’s the Funnererer…est!
We agree with Crackberry Kevin getting this and WMExperts blogging about it, and you know how crazy that makes us…
Why so? Google is playing a cagy game of supplying services to all major platforms while simultaneously deploying their own smartphone OS with Android, browser with Chrome, and likely in the labs, computing OS with gLinux. Gotta keep the existing big players happy; gotta have their own backups in place just in case same big players get unhappy (or unruly). Smart strategy, equal parts Microsoft and Apple.
And it will benefit iPhone users in the short term, perhaps more than any other platform base. See, we already get helpful Google web services, and maybe some Chrome innovation will filter down to WebKit and get picked up for MobileSafari (minus the troubling security and privacy issues, of course). But here’s the thing: The iPhone didn’t get location aware Google Maps until firmware 1.1.3 was shown off at Macworld 2008, which if memory serves was after other smartphone platforms announced it (and after people complained about the iPhone not having it). Heck, other smartphones had Google Maps before there was an iPhone. But their UE (User Experience) wasn’t very good. Early soviet design comes to mind.
In his joint talk with Bill Gates at D All Things Digital, Steve Jobs talked about the iPhone Maps App, and how it “blew away” every other maps app. And he was right. If you haven’t watched the video above, watch it. Forget Street-View and look at the UE. Yes, Blackberry users really have to experience that only a daily — or hourly — basis. Then tap open Google Maps on the iPhone. Now imagine that with Street-View carefully, expertly — beautifully integrated, because that’s likely the next addition to that particular app.
Are we jealous? For now, you bet. But we’re also grateful to our Crackberrian and WinMobile friends for putting up with that kludge until Apple wraps it up the way it’s meant to be wrapped — in just the precisely proper Jobs’-approved shade of gray, no doubt.
(That is, unless they keep the good stuff for Android from now on…)
Not evil twin to theiPhoneBlog.com Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple’s current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place — best not to linger…). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!
This week: Zilch again. Nadda. We’re too busy getting ready to cover the no doubt universe denting news Apple will unleash at “Let’s Rock” on Tuesday. And, frankly, so is the competition. Face it, they’ve been quiet as little blue-OLED mice lately.
Blackberryboss Lazeridis is all dressed up like Leo Laporte and is already lining up in San Francisco to find out what Apple’s releasing this year… so he can release it next. Palm-Top Colligan’s not releasing anything new until Nova ships sometime in 2012, and Larry and Sergey have shifted the focus off Android and onto their new Chrome browser, which we just know they’ve been running on gLinux in-house for years but is somehow only released (in what will not doubt be perpetual Beta) for Windows.
And speaking of Windows, Steve Ballmer’s off preparing an extra-special CES-sized Monkey Boy dance (YouTube it) for his first adult Keynote since Bill Gates retired to make $10,000,000 mockumentaries with Jerry Seinfeld (Wikipedia him).
No doubt they’ll return to their usually scheduled schedules next week, and so will we!
Not evil twin to theiPhoneBlog.com Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple’s current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place — best not to linger…). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!
This week: Boldly browsing (or not), AppClones, HTC’s dreaming, and Treo requiem.
Not evil twin to theiPhoneBlog.com Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple’s current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place — best not to linger…). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!
This week: A day late but sadly no jokes short, Boldly browsing, unboxings galore, big love from HTC, who does Rubenstein really work for, and ZOMG! a new Android beta!
