Video Conferencing on Your Wrist, LG Style

I’m at the LG Mobile press conference at Mobile World Congress, where an LG exec just made the first public video call from one of the company’s watch phones (or is that phone watches?). Who’s that on the display? It’s a tad fuzzy in this image, so I understand if you guess Dick Tracy…but it’s really none other than Mr. Steve Ballmer.

Samsung Goes Green With Blue Earth

I’m at the Samsung press conference at Mobile World Congress, where the company is launching a mess o’ new touchscreen phones. It’s also previewing one it says won’t ship until the third quarter of 2009: Blue Earth, a phone that’s part of the company’s ecological initative. It’s made of recycled bottles and which charges off a solar panel built into its backside. The phone runs Samsung’s own OS, and other than that, details are scarce–you can probably figure out everything that’s public by examining the images below.

Nokia: Two New Phones and an App Store

Here at the Nokia press conference at Mobile World Congress, the Finnish phone behemoth just announced two new E-series phones and–inevitably–an application store for distributing software not only to new Nokia smartphones but to millions of the company’s handsets that are already out there.

The first new phone the company introduced is the E55, which Nokia says is the world’s thinnest smartphone, and can run for up to a month in standby mode on a single charge of its battery; it sports a BlackBerry Pearl-style keyboard that puts two characters on each key and uses predictive input to figure out what you’re trying to type.  The unsubsidized price is 264 Euros ($337), and it’ll be available this summer.

The other new phone is the E75, a new model that’s supposedly a sort of descendant of phones in Nokia’s Communicator range (read: slide-out keyboard and business-y features); the company says it’s less of a brick (and yes, they used that word) than earlier versions. It’ll cost 375 Euros ($479) unsubsidized, and is due next month.

The store is the Ovi Store–Ovi being Nokia’s name for its portfolio of consumery services–and while the images we saw look very much like Apple’s App Store, Nokia says that its storefront will use information such as your location and your friends’ favorite downloads to get to know you and recommend stuff you might like–including media as well as software. (Example given by the company: If your phone noticed you were in Barcelona, it might recommend a travel guide to Spain.) Facebook, MySpace, Fox Interactive, Electronic Arts, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Shazam, and Handmark are among the content and app developers already on board.

For all the bragging Nokia did this morning about the eerie precision with which the Ovi Store will get to know you and anticipate your needs and desires, I’ll believe it when I see it: Countless software and service companies have promised me their technologies would be able to read me like a book over the years, and I can’t think of one example of an experience feeling anywhere near that magical.

Nokia’s upcoming N97 will be the first phone to include Ovi when it shows up in June, but the store will be available as a downloadable upgrade for some phones beginning in May. It’ll let developers offer for-pay and free aps, and there will be options for credit card and carrier billing payment options which will vary by region.

After the jump, Nokia beauty shots of the E55 and E75, and my own fuzzy images of the Ovi Store from the press event.

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Full-Fledged Flash on Smartphones. Most of Them, Anyhow…

It’s tempting to crack a joke about “Skip Intro” coming soon to a smartphone near you. But seriously, this is good news: Here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Adobe is announcing that it plans to bring Flash Player to phones running the Windows Mobile, Android, and Symbian Series 60 operating systems, as well as Palm’s upcoming Web OS, in 2010. This is supposed to be full-fledged Flash, not the slimmed-down “Flash Lite” technology that’s been on phoned for years and which has failed to make any impact at all.

Say what you will about Flash, it’s unquestionably a significant component of today’s “real Web,” and I’ve spent enough time being frustrated by its absence that I’m anxious to see how it translates onto a tiny screen. Even though the one significant platform that isn’t part of Adobe’s announcement today is the one I use most often: Apple’s iPhone. [UPDATE: Er, one of two--BlackBerry isn't part of the announcement either.] Adobe still says it’s working on Flash for the iPhone, but that it’s really up to Apple to decide whether we get it. Which it is, as long as the App Store is the only viable iPhone distribution channel…

Do You Think This is Sony Ericsson’s Answer to the iPhone? Idou!

I’m in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest show on phones and other things wireless and portable, and while the conference doesn’t get underway until tomorrow, the town is already bristling with parties and product launches. I attended Sony Ericsson’s bash, at which it unveiled a new Walkman phone called the W995 and a “just one more thing” which is code-named Idou. The latter (which I keep wanting to spell iDou) won’t show up until sometime in the second half of this year, and it’s an iPhone-like critter with a 3.5-inch touch screen, an emphasis on entertainment, and–this feature isn’t the least bit iPhone-like–a 12.1-megapixel camera with flash.

The Idou (which will be called something else when it appears) runs the next-generation open-source version of the Symbian OS, and part of an initiative Sony Ericsson calls “Entertainment Unlimited”–the details of which it was vague about, except to say that it represents “the true fusion of communication and entertainment.” Other than that, the company wasn’t talking much about specs and features tonight. (No word on whether the interface is multi-touch–a S-E rep called it “full touch.)  After the jump, one photo by me of a Sony Ericsson exec onstage, just to prove I was there, and some beauty shots provided by the company.

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A Microsoft Store? Um Isn’t That Kind of Like a Procter & Gamble Store?

My colleague David Worthington reported on Thursday of Microsoft’s plans to open retail stores. I wanted to mull over the prospect before I said anything. It’s tempting to make fun of the concept–my PC World buddies and some PCW readers did a good job of that here–but I didn’t want to be impulsively snarky, or to come to any definitive conclusions about an idea that nobody (including Microsoft) knows all the details of just yet.

But as I’ve thought it over, I keep coming back to one thought. The Apple Stores work because Apple makes a limited, consistent, well-integrated set of products that make sense sitting on one set of store shelves. Microsoft doesn’t–its wares are vastly larger in number, far broader in mission, and less tied to each other. The company is a technology conglomerate in a way that Apple isn’t, and the notion of an all-Microsoft retail establishment makes me think of a Procter & Gamble store that sells Charmin, Pampers, Tide, Crest, Gillette Fushion razors, and Pringles chips under one roof.

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Apple: Jailbreaking Your iPhone is a Crime

The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Fred von Lohmann has published a post saying that Apple has filed comments with the Copyright Office contending that jailbreaking an iPhone is a violation of its copyright on the iPhone’s software. Jailbreaking–the act of modifying your iPhone’s OS to allow the installation of any software you want, rather than only what’s available from Apple’s iTunes Store–is the only way to get some software, such as turn-by-turn GPS and videostreaming tools.

I don’t know if Apple’s stance is a reasonable interpretation of the law as it stands–although if the company was correct that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes jailbreaking illegal, it wouldn’t be the first time that the DMCA enabled anti-consumer, anti-competitive behavior. As terrific as the iPhone, the iPhone OS, and the App Store are, I’m bothered both by Apple having a monopoly on iPhone app distribution in principle and by some of the actions it’s taken. It’s been cryptic and inconsistent about the apps it will and won’t approve; it’s told developers they’re not allowed to compete with functionality in Apple’s own programs; it’s taken a ridicuously long time to approve software for sale in the App Store.

I’m an optimist, so I think Apple will eventually get iPhone software distribution right. But I believe it’ll do so much faster if alternate means of iPhone software distribution exist, even if very few iPhone users take advantage of them.

While I don’t always agree with von Lohmann and the EFF’s take on things, I do like this quote in his post:

One need only transpose Apple’s arguments to the world of automobiles to recognize their absurdity. Sure, GM might tell us that, for our own safety, all servicing should be done by an authorized GM dealer using only genuine GM parts. Toyota might say that swapping your engine could reduce the reliability of your car. And Mazda could say that those who throw a supercharger on their Miatas frequently exceed the legal speed limit.

But we’d never accept this corporate paternalism as a justification for welding every car hood shut and imposing legal liability on car buffs tinkering in their garages. After all, the culture of tinkering (or hacking, if you prefer) is an important part of our innovation economy.

Well said–and I support the EFF’s attempt to get the Copyright Office to officially state that jailbreaking doesn’t violate copyright law. Even though I own an unjailbroken iPhone, and I’m still going back and forth on whether I wanna go for it…

Google Docs Get Editable on Phones–or at Least a First Step in That Direction

Google Docs has added some features for doing basic spreadsheet editing and wrangling on a phone–you can use T-Mobile’s G1, the iPhone, or Nokia S60 devices–and I’m not sure whether to be impressed that it’s working at all, or fixated on how rudimentary it is to the spreadsheet tools that the full-blown Google Docs provides when you’re in a desktop browser.

The good news is that you can filter and sort rows in spreadsheets you’ve created in Google Docs. (As far as I can tell, there’s still no way to create a spreadsheet from scratch on a phone–these new features are for working with sheets you’ve created in full-strength Google Docs.) But while Google Docs’ slick use of AJAX techniques makes it feel much like a piece of desktop software when you run it on a computer, the phone version is nowhere near as zippy and interactive. It’s kind of like how the desktop version of Docs’ spreadsheet might have turned out if Google had tried to create it in 1996 or so. Each time you make a change, Docs needs to send your instructions back to Google’s servers, which then send updated data back.

Sorting and filtering work reasonably well, but editing data is clumsy. Rather than just clicking in a cell to enter data, you click an Edit link for an entire row, then slide your way over to the cell you want to change. The iPhone on-screen keyboard eats up half the real estate, and it can be tough to identify which column you’re in without a lot of panning back and forth. All in all, it might work for some quick spreadsheet tweaks, but you wouldn’t want to do any serious number crunching this way.

Did I say that the issue with Google Docs on phones is that you needed to wait for Google’s servers to send data back? I lied–my biggest issue that they apparently don’t send data back in some cases. I tried out Docs’ new phone features using a real-world example I’ve implemented on multiple phone and PDA spreadsheets in the past: A simple little sheet for scoring miniature golf games, with a formula that keeps score as you enter scores for each hole. When I used the Edit links to enter scores hole-by-hole, the cells that tallied the scores didn’t update–making this incarnation of Google Docs perhaps the first spreadsheet in the history of spreadsheets without autocalc. I had to back out of the sheet then go back in before the formulas did their work–even though if I left the same spreadsheet open in Firefox, the scores autorefreshed as I made changes on the phone.

Some or all of Google Docs’ editing limitations may stem from basic issues with trying to do this fairly ambitious stuff on the still relatively crude browsers you get on phones. (I haven’t checked out the iPhone version of EditGrid, another Web spreadsheet, that’s been around for quite awhile now.) I’m still hankering for a word processor and spreadsheet on the iPhone that are as good as the ones I’ve had for years on Windows Mobile, Palm, Psion, and other pocket-sized platforms; I’ll keep an eye on Google Docs’ phone features, but for now, I’m more eager to see the iPhone versions of venerable mobile suites Documents to Go and QuickOffice. Both have been announced, but neither is available just yet.

Zune Team Re-org Indicates Refocus

Ina Fried over at CNet has the scoop on the reorganization of the Zune team, which would now be split into two groups. From her post, this is how it will go down:

The software and services portion of the Zune team–the bulk of its staff–will be added to the portfolio of Enrique Rodriguez, the vice president who currently runs Microsoft’s Mediaroom and Media Center TV businesses. The hardware team, meanwhile, will now report to Tom Gibbons, who also leads the hardware design efforts within Microsoft’s Windows Mobile unit.

Clearly, the positioning of the team provides a lot of clues as to the future of Zune. It’s not going to be in the player itself, and this is probably a smart move. Zune has not taken off, and is well behind even other Apple competitors in the space.

Microsoft is wise to leverage its strengths elsewhere — in this case the mobile and multimedia segments of the electronics industry — to generate some interest in Zune. Of course Rodriguez is not saying that the Zune player itself is no longer its focus, but lets not beat around the bush, the writing has been on the wall for some time.

Redmond needs Zune to be profitable, especially in economic conditions such as what we’re seeing these days. Investors have little tolerance for companies that aren’t making money, or wasting it on wild goose chases.

Whether the Microsofties like it or not, thats pretty much what the Zune effort has been up until now.

The Internet on Your TV: Finally Ready For Prime Time?

Many years ago–I think it was 1998 or thereabouts–I wrote a big feature story for PC World on a bevy of new devices that aimed to bring the Internet to America’s TV sets. I spent weeks living with Microsoft’s Web TV, Gateway 2000′s Destination living-room PC, and other gadgets. They were the first spawn of the technology industry’s irrational exuberance over the idea that the Web and TV were a match made in heaven. I didn’t fall in love with any of them. (I do, however, remember enjoying playing games on the Destination’s giant screen–as I recall, it was all of 32 inches.)

Almost all the devices I tried flopped–Web TV was the closest one to a modest success, and it was embraced by an unexpected audience: senior citizens who wanted to stay in touch with family but who didn’t want to bother with the complexity of a full-blown PC. For close to a decade, the whole notion of putting the Internet on a TV mostly disappeared; even computers built to live in the living room have never really caught on. It wasn’t all that clear that very many people particularly wanted the Net on a TV.

Lately, though, the concept is back, in a bevy of incarnations. Not only am I writing about my experiences with watching Internet TV on a TV via Boxee’s software on an Apple TV, but I’m at work on a new PC World story about gadgets that bring Net TV and other Web content into the living room. And this time around, the whole idea seems more plausible.

Continue reading this story…

5Words for February 13th, 2009

Howdy from Paris! Morning news:

Boing Boing Designs the PSP2.

New iPhones sport matte finish?

Microsoft’s bounty on Conficker author.

Microsoft divvies up Zune team.

Apple releases Mac security patch.

Have a Windows 7 Christmas.

More evidence plasma is dying.

Twitter’s increasingly popular? Who knew?

FTC chief warns online marketers.

Microsoft to Open Retail Stores (Really)

Just as giving wasabi ice cream to children is a bad idea, the notion that Microsoft could actually duplicate the success of Apple’s retail stores might be equally unpalatable. But damn the torpedoes, it is going ahead and trying it anyway and has recruited a new executive to head the charge.

Today, Microsoft announced that it has plans to open branded retail stores as part of its marketing mix to promote Windows 7, and its Windows Mobile and Windows Live offerings. “The purpose of opening these stores is to create deeper engagement with consumers and continue to learn firsthand about what they want and how they buy,” a company press release stated.

Redmond has charged David Porter, a new Microsoft corporate vice president, to head up its retail store efforts. Porter will draw on his retail experience as a 25-year Wal-Mart veteran as he attempts to “transform” the PC and Microsoft buying experience by engaging directly with customers and demonstrating Microsoft’s “innovation and value proposition.”

The retail push will be part of a long-term effort that the company says will be sustained by Porter’s “deep retail roots and distribution understanding.” Porter will work in close partnership with leaders of existing retail programs in Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, and he’ll need all the help that he can get.

Microsoft’s core business is software whereas Apple sells complete systems (and Apple Stores provide an experience). Selling software in retail stores should be about as successful as opening a video rental business in 2010.

When I randomly pinged a friend to solicit his opinion, he said, “I don’t get the point of that, what are they gonna sell–Xboxes?” and another said, “That’s a company that has no grasp of their brand image.” The opinion of two people is not exactly gospel, but it does underscore the challenges that Microsoft faces. It simply does not have the same customer affinity as Apple does.

It makes sense for Microsoft to open online stores to sell its stuff, but incurring hefty operational expenses for what sounds more like a marketing initiative than a successful business model is a dog that just won”t hunt.

Midway Files for Bankruptcy

This is no surprise, seeing as the company was looking at $150 million in debt last December with just 50 days to pay it, but today Midway Games filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

Chairman, President and CEO Matt Booty called the filing “a difficult but necessary decision,” adding that it buys the company time to figure out how to proceed from here. For now, business continues as usual, and Midway has filed several First Day Motions in hopes of keeping it that way as restructuring takes place.

But enough of that business talk. As various publications covered the news today, they unwittingly pointed out the publisher’s biggest flaw. “Midway Games Inc., the creator of the Mortal Kombat video-game series … ,” wrote the L.A. Times. “Midway, famous for its ‘Mortal Kombat’ franchise … ,” Reuters noted. “The long-struggling publisher of Mortal Kombat filed for bankruptcy this morning,” Kotaku wrote.

See the pattern? Now, try to think of another major publisher whose entire existence is defined by one franchise. EA’s got Madden, but it also has The Sims and Spore. Activision has Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and — after becoming Activision-Blizzard — World of Warcraft. Ubisoft has several successful franchises under the Tom Clancy umbrella.

You could argue that Take-Two will be remembered most for Grand Theft Auto, but that just proves my point. GTA seems to reinvent itself as something new and exciting with each generation, but Mortal Kombat is no longer revolutionary. Cartoonish blood and gore, once a novel concept, is old hat now. Without that trick up its sleeve, the franchise became a follower of better button-mashers like Soul Calibur, Tekken and Virtua Fighter. To be fair, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is doing well, but that idea is more of a gimmick than a long-term cash cow.

The sad thing is, Midway was once a glorious game publisher. It put out Space Invaders and Ms. Pac-Man, for goodness sakes. And who could forget NBA Jam?

Apparently, everybody. I could go on about why those games aren’t viable anymore, but the point is that Midway has done little to stay relevant. While other companies have figured out how to milk their best franchises through the years, Midway seems like it never grew out of the arcade era.

YouTube Goes Downloadable

Some observant folks noticed last month that YouTube was dabbling with letting users download videos from the site to their hard drives. The YouTube blog just made it official: The company is permitting content providers to allow their videos to be downloaded, either for a fee (via Google Checkout) or for free.

It still sounds fairly experimental: YouTube is only working with a few content sources, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Khan Academy, HouseholdHacker, and PogoBat. And even with them, the download option isn’t universally available–actually, I’m not seeing it on any of the first half-dozen videos I’ve checked.

This isn’t earthshaking news–for one thing, tools like KeepVid have allowed YouTube fans to snag videos and save them for a long time. The YouTube videos are in unprotected MPEG4 format: I assume this means that YouTube isn’t going to enable downloading on the massive amount of stuff it offers that consists of short, unauthorized clips of copyrighted material. And while YouTube is also experimenting with streaming official versions of Hollywood content, it seems unlikely that the entertainment industry is ready to allow DRM-free downloads of current shows. At least right now.

New Post-Beta Windows 7 Build Leaks

A new working build of Windows 7 has been spotted on BitTorrent. It is build 7022, with the ISO date-stamped for January 15. Adrian Kinglsey-Hughes over at ZDNet has had some hands-on experience with the build and reports that overall, the changes appear to be minor. A few user interface tweaks are present, and overall performance is comparable to the official Beta release. Internet Explorer 8 RC1 is included with the release, according to sources.

Free POP3 Hotmail Access Returns in US

Several years back, you could access your Hotmail accounts via POP3 access. Then spam became a big problem, and Microsoft pulled the functionality. It would return, although as part of the $19.95/yr Hotmail Plus package introduced two years ago.

The company has already rolled out POP3 functionality to users in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Japan, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands late last month.

Users in US and Brazil have been added to that list as of this week, with still more markets to come throughout the year.

Here’s the settings you need:

POP server: pop3.live.com (Port 995)
POP SSL required? Yes
User name: Your Windows Live ID, for example yourname@hotmail.com
Password: The password you usually use to sign in to Hotmail or Windows Live
SMTP server: smtp.live.com (Port 25)
Authentication required? Yes (this matches your POP username and password)
TLS/SSL required? Yes

My MS friend who sends me this stuff tells me if you have the redesigned “Wave 3″ user interface, POP3 should work.