Archive | January, 2011
Verizon iPhone Arrives: Is Android in Trouble?
[Note: This article republished courtesy of our pals at PCWorld.]
Ladies and gentlemen, the day has finally arrived: The Verizon iPhone is officially a reality.
No joke: Unlike the past 7.2 billion times the iPhone’s Verizon launch was absolutely, definitely confirmed to be imminent, Apple’s prized product is actually making its way to Big Red this go-round. The iPhone 4 will become available to current Verizon Wireless subscribers on February 3, with orders opening up to everyone else a week later.
Naturally, the Internet is brimming with reactions and predictions, many of which include the inevitable cries of “Sayonara, Android!” — a suggestion that the iPhone’s expansion will mark the end of Android’s impressive growth streak in the U.S. mobile market. Now, I know the tech world loves nothing more than finding a new reason to toss the hyperbolic “killer” label around (I’m still waiting for Facebook’s messaging service to deliver that final deathblow to Gmail, by the way), but let’s take a moment to put things in perspective.
Yep, the Verizon iPad is Also Happening
11. January 2011
With Apple and Verizon Wireless sharing a newfound affection for each other, we kind of assumed the iPad would follow the iPhone 4′s tracks and wind up on Verizon’s CDMA network.
Assume no more. Quoting Francis Shammo, Verizon’s chief financial officer, Bloomberg reports that the iPad will eventually get an embedded chip to run directly on Verizon Wireless. Currently, Verizon sells an iPad and Mi-Fi hotspot for the same prices as AT&T’s iPad with 3G built in, along with data plans starting at $20 per month for 1 GB.
But Shammo didn’t say when the Verizon iPad would happen, and it’s certainly not an official announcement of any kind, so the news raises more questions than it answers.
Verizon iPhone Won’t Fit Many Existing iPhone 4 Cases
11. January 2011
[Note: This post republished with permission from our pals at Macworld.]
Although the iPhone offerings from AT&T and Verizon may look the same, they’re just different enough that you’ll need to be careful when buying a case or similar accessories.
The big news of the day, of course, is that Verizon Wireless customers will soon—finally—be able to get the iPhone on their carrier of choice. And during Verizon’s big media event announcing the arrival of the iPhone, both Verizon and Apple emphasized that this was the same iPhone we’ve all come to know so intimately—thanks, in part, to controversies over the iPhone 4′s antenna design and back surface.
But it turns out there are a couple minor physical differences, and those differences are just enough to affect the Verizon iPhone’s compatibility with some of the thousands of iPhone 4 cases out there.
The Phone of the Future is Still Broken
11. January 2011
On my way home from Verizon’s iPhone event in New York–I returned to the John F. Kennedy International Airport seven hours after I left it–I wanted to sit down for a moment at the international terminal. Once again, the most convenient place to perch was at a fancy online-enabled pay phone from 1991 which I discovered during a trip last August. Back then, the phone had AT&T signage, was missing most of its keys, and didn’t work. I wasn’t sure if it had been in operational condition anytime this millennium, in fact.
This time, the phone showed signs that it wasn’t an orphan. The AT&T branding was gone, replaced by that of GTL (a company which appears to specialize in providing phones to prisons). And the keyboard had been repaired (mostly: the “3″ and “5″ keys were missing)
But the phone still didn’t work–no display, no dial tone, no nothing. I wonder when anyone wanted to use it–at least for a purpose other than making a voice call–and was frustrated by its sad condition?
What’s the Difference Between the AT&T and Verizon iPhone?
11. January 2011
[Note: This article republished courtesy of our pals at PCWorld.]
It’s official: Apple and Verizon announced the iPhone 4 will finally land on the country’s largest carrier starting February 10. The Verizon iPhone costs just as much as the AT&T iPhone, and the phones have virtually identical feature sets. However, there are a few differences you should keep in mind when choosing an iPhone from one of the two carriers.
The basic difference between the Verizon and the AT&T iPhone is the antenna inside. The Verizon iPhone is compatible with the 3G EV-DO standard (not 4G LTE despite the carrier’s huge launch of 4G-compatible devices at CES), with data download speeds of up to 1.4Mbps. The AT&T iPhone is compatible with the UMTS standard, which can achieve download speeds of up to 3Mbps. Check out the differences between the AT&T and Verizon iPhone at a glance < on the chart below.
Because the Verizon iPhone is not based on the latest 4G LTE standard, the AT&T iPhone can theoretically achieve faster download speeds than the Verizon model. However, AT&T’s network is not as reliable as Verizon’s in many places across the country, so the speed you would actually get on either of the phones depends mainly on where you live and how good the coverage is in your area.
Slowly, Windows Phone 7 Games Start Talking to the Xbox 360
11. January 2011
One of Windows Phone 7′s most tantalizing hooks is Xbox Live, an offshoot of Microsoft’s online video game service, but so far the interaction between mobile and console games has been limited.
Slowly, that’s starting to change. At a CES press event, Microsoft was showing off Full House Poker, an upcoming Texas Hold ‘Em game for Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7. Although the games differ on each platform, and you’ll have to buy each one separately, your performance in one game affects the other.
Microsoft has done some tie-ins before — Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst, for instance, unlocks an achievement in Crackdown 2 for Xbox 360 — but Full House Poker is the most closely linked game I’ve seen yet.
The Verizon iPhone: It’s a Verizon iPhone!
11. January 2011
In the end, today’s Verizon “Latest News” event was pretty much what just about everybody expected it would be: the launch of the iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless’s CDMA network. (My best guesses about the event were mostly accurate, although I said I thought Steve Jobs would be here–Apple COO Tim Cook was instead–and Verizon hasn’t announced anything at all about data plan pricing, let alone whether unlimited data will be available. And the predictions of late-January availability were a tad off: Current Verizon customers will be able to pre-order on February 3rd, and everyone else will need to wait until the phone goes on sale on February 10th.)
Me at Macworld Expo
11. January 2011
About twenty years after I attended my first Macworld Expo, I’m tickled to be speaking at one. Week after next, I’m part of a new Macworld feature called the Industry Forum, which consists of quick presentations by a bunch of folks–other speakers include Macworld Editorial Director Jason Snell, Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, Mac founding father Bill Atkinson, and others.
As usual, Macworld is at San Francisco’s Moscone Center; I go on Wednesday, January 26th at 10:40am. (The conference sessions run from January 25th-29th and the show floor opens on the 27th.) My topic is “Thoughts on Mobile,” and I plan to spend twenty minutes exploring the current state of competition between iOS devices and their competition and mulling over where it may lead in the months and years to come.
Hope to see you there!
AT&T vs Verizon Wireless: The Imminent iPhone Showdown
11. January 2011
I’m hanging out at a Starbucks across from the Verizon event until I can begin my live coverage (11am ET/8am PT). Let’s kill time with a silly little poll on how the existence of a Verizon iPhone would affect AT&T’s currently-thriving iPhone business:
HTC’s 3 Android 4G Phones for Sprint, AT&T and Verizon
11. January 2011
HTC Shift 4G
HTC chose CES as the launchpad for three new Android 2.2-enabled smartphones for 4G networks. One of these phones, the EVO Shift 4G, is a slider that will complement HTC’s original EVO and Samung’s Epic 4G on Sprint’s WiMax network. Rounding out the trio are the Inspire 4G for AT&T and the ThunderBolt, one of 10 new phones and other devices from various vendors now announced for release for Verizon’s 4G network.
At 5.8 ounces, the new Shift is a bit lighter in weight than the original EVO 4G, HTC’s existing Sprint phone. The Shift also adds a slideout keyboard, said HTC officials, speaking with me at the show here in Las Vegas.
Verizon Event Live Blog Coverage This Morning
11. January 2011
Greetings from a taxicab in chilly New York. I’m on my way to Verizon’s “Latest News event,” where the company will stun the world–if it doesn’t announce that Apple’s iPhone is coming to its network. Live coverage of the event begins at 11am ET/8am PT at technologizer.com/verizon. (Pssst: I’ll try to be there a few minutes early.)
I’m happy to report that we’ll have two special guests providing color commentary from San Francisco: Macworld Editorial Director Jason Snell and PCWorld Assistant Editor Nick Mediati. They’ll share their thoughts on the news as it develops as I report from the scene here in Manhattan.
If you’re reading this before the event kicks off, feel free to share any last-minute predictions or other thoughts. It’s going to be a weird feeling if nobody ever writes or reads another article longing for a Verizon iPhone or reporting (rightly or wrongly) that one is imminent. Pining for a Sprint iPhone or a T-Mobile iPhone just isn’t going to be the same…
E FUN Readies Android 2.2 Tablet for Young Geeks, Old Newbies
10. January 2011
A start-up named E FUN is planning a new Android 2.2 tablet for its already established, unusual hybrid market, which combines twentysomething (and younger) tech geeks with senior citizen tech neophytes.
When E FUN introduced an initial 10-inch Android tablet last year, the device sold out within three days on the Home Shopping Channel, an EFUN employee said, speaking with me during the ShowStoppers press event at CES.
“Interestingly, the tablet turned out to be especially popular with people of Baby Boomer age and older, who’d wanted to start using computers but were afraid,” she noted.
The oldsters liked the 10-inch Next tablet due to its easy-to-use touchscreen, according to the booth rep.
Among the younger tech set, Android was the big draw, along with the unit’s slick engineering. “They wanted to see how far they could push things,” I was told
The follow-on 10.1-inch edition, called the Next4, will feature Android 2.2 with Flash support, a capacitive touch screen with 1024-by-768 resolution, 8 GB of internal memory (as opposed to 4 GB on the earlier 10-incher), Wi-Fi, and built-in access to the Borders eBook Store. Availability is set for Q2 or Q3. MSRP is $349.
Eleven Questions About the Verizon iPhone. Assuming There is, Indeed, a Verizon iPhone
10. January 2011
As I’m getting ready to liveblog Verizon’s “Latest News” event tomorrow at 11am ET/8am PT–join us at technologizer.com/verizon–I have a few questions about what we’ll learn. And a few semi-educated guesses, too.
CES 2011: Hands-on with Dell’s Venue Android Smartphone
10. January 2011
Dell’s fourth smartphone, the newly unveiled Venue, uses the same Android 2.2-based and Dell Stage user interface as the larger Streak 5 phone/tablet. The Venue’s good-looking hardware, however, is similar to that of the Windows Phone 7-driven Venue Pro, although without the Pro’s slide-out keyboard. That’s the start of what I discovered during a hands-on session at a Dell press event this weekend in Las Vegas.
As Dell delves more deeply into smartphones, the veteran PC maker is aiming its Android phones mostly at consumers, said Matt Christiansen, a Dell senior training analyst, in an interview at the event. The Venue Pro, on the other hand, is targeted at businesses, as well as at long-time RIM BlackBerry customers, other major users of texting, and anyone who is brand new to smartphones.
In checking out the Venue, Streak 5, and Venue Pro side-by-side, I found that the Venue is meaningfully lighter to hold and carry than either of the existing phones. Indeed, the lack of a keyboard subtracts extra baggage of around 30 grams, leaving the Venue with a total weight of around 160 grams, or about 5.6 ounces, Christiansen estimated. In contrast, the Streak 5 tips the scales at about 220 grams, or 7.8 ounces. Dell’s display at the event didn’t include the company’s first phone, the Android-driven Aero.
Yurbuds’ Ironman Headphones are Great. If You Don’t Do Anything Athletic
10. January 2011
David Spark (@dspark) is a veteran tech journalist and the founder of Spark Media Solutions. Spark blogs regularly at Spark Minute. Read his recent article 16 Annoying Communications that Must End in 2011.
I go through earphones like crazy. I abuse them. I yank the cables by accident, I sit on the ear buds, I step on them. I’ve broken so many earphones that I purposely never spend that much on them. I usually can find decent ones for about $20.
At the ShowStoppers event at CES I saw a new set from Yurbuds from their Ironman Series (retail $49.99). To promote the headphones’ athletic usage, Yurbuds had two Ironman athletes in their booth.
In addition to promoting them for athletic usage, Yurbuds advertises its headphones as soft, comfortable, and guaranteed to not fall out. I’m in agreement with two out of three. They are soft and they won’t fall out, but they’re not hugely comfortable. In fact, they’re kind of painful. After having them in for just an hour, my ears became rather sore. Were my ears working out?
Sony’s Playstation Move Rifle Literally Changes the Game
10. January 2011
With 3D glasses around my head and a big, plastic, fake assault rifle in my hand, I did something that seasoned gamers might consider sacrilege: I played Killzone 3.
Understand, Killzone is the Playstation 3′s answer to Halo. It’s a loud, violent shoot-em-up against enemies with gas masks and glow-in-the-dark eyes, and a multiplayer mode with all the classics, like capture the flag and team deathmatch. And with the Playstation Move stuffed inside a $40 gun-shaped accessory, Killzone 3 is also Sony’s attempt to prove that motion control is for serious gamers, too.
But really, it’s not. Playing Killzone 3 with the assault rifle peripheral was a blast, but it was also an entirely different game than the one you play with plain old thumbsticks. Continue reading this story…
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11. January 2011
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