Did Steve Ballmer really call free speech laws in the U.S. “extreme” and draw parallels between anti-child pornography laws and China’s suppression of information relating to human rights? Or is Forbes’ account of his speech before oil industry execs an unfair recap of what he said?
Archive | Original Site
Windows Mobile 7 to Debut at WMC 2010
You may have remembered our reporting about two weeks ago putting the future of Windows Mobile 7 into doubt, and pushing its release further into the future. Enter DigiTimes, who its refuting some of that reporting saying Microsoft is ready to debut WM7 at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona complete with a release date.
DigiTimes says that Microsoft will announce an OEM availability in September, translating to a retail availability by the end of the year or early in 2011. This would be for English and European languages: Asian translations will come later, probably in 2011.
So who’s right? DigiTimes is probably a more reputable source than whomever Bright Side of News is, but their track record in accurate scoops isn’t much better. Guess we will see…
3 comments
The People Have Spoken
I’m not sure if this is expected enthusiasm for the iPhone or unexpected enthusiasm for AT&T or what, but when I asked you guys whether I should stick with my iPhone 3GS on AT&T or jump ship to another handset and carrier, a plurality of you told me to stay where I am. On the other hand, even more of you told me to switch to a Nexus One, on either T-Mobile or Verizon.
I didn’t give you one option that I probably should have: waiting until an iPhone is available on Verizon, and then switching. Wanna bet that a lot of you wold have voted for that?
2 comments
Last Call for Apple Tablet Predictions
Final note: If you go here and spend a few minutes helping us guess what Apple’s tablet will be like, we’ll enter you in a drawing for a $100 Apple gift card. We’ll tally up your entries into an aggregate tablet prediction, and publish it next week before Apple’s event (which we’ll be covering live).
One comment
5Words: Nexus One Gets Multitouch Hack
Multitouch hack for Nexus One.
Twitter improves suggested users feature.
Lenovo’s Android phone for China.
YouTube builds a music player.
_______________________
Like 5Words? Subscribe via RSS.
No comments
Nokia: Free Navigation for All!
That Nokia event I liveblogged Thursday morning? The cryptic invitation made it look like it might involve some major new product, which it didn’t. But it did bring some good news: The company is bringing free GPS navigation–for drivers, pedestrians, and takers of public transportation–to users of its Symbian-based smartphones. The navigation offering covers 74 countries, and lets you download the necessary maps onto your phone so you don’t need a live Internet connection to route your trip–a particularly useful feature if you’re roaming in another country where you don’t have all-you-can-eat data.
The Symbian user interface still has some odd, outdated artifacts–you must scroll through lists with Windows-like scrollbars, not by merely swiping the list itself–but the OVI Maps application looks full-featured and fun. Pedestrians get some particularly nice features, such as shortcuts that drivers can’t take, and there are 3D models of landmarks.
The no-cost navigation is an obvious rejoinder to Google’s version of Google Maps for Android–as seen on the Droid and Nexus One–which also includes navigation with spoken turn-by-turn directions for free. Let’s hope everybody else in the smartphone biz feels like they need to match the Nokia and Google freebies…
One comment
Firefox 3.6 is Here
Today, Mozilla released Firefox 3.6, a new version of the world’s most popular alternative browser. (Come to think of it, though, the concept of “alternative browser” is stale–for one thing, on many sites, including Technologizer, Firefox is the most popular browser.)
On the grand continuum from inconsequential bug fix to massive upgrade, Firefox 3.6 isn’t a biggie. But it could be very worthwhile: Mozilla is claiming a 20 percent speed increase (including faster startup and JavaScript improvements) and more stability. I haven’t played with 3.6 enough to form my own conclusions other than “so far, so good,” but just about the only things I don’t like about Firefox are that it feels slow to load, sometimes seems to bog down, and freezes and/or crashes more than it should. A smoother-running Firefox could get me back on that browser more or less full time.
9 comments
The Press Tries OnLive, Results Not Stellar
Almost a year after OnLive promised to uproot everything we know about game consoles and PC rigs, a journalist broke into a closed private beta and reported his findings. The results leave something to be desired, but they also don’t give OnLive a fair shake.
OnLive shocked the games industry last March by announcing a cloud gaming service that could run even the most demanding PC games. The idea was to process games on remote servers, equipped with the latest technology, then send compressed data to the player, who would need only a low-end PC. Since then, no one in the press has been allowed to try the service, but PC Perspective’s Ryan Shrout gained unauthorized access through “a friend of a friend of a friend.”
The bad news? Games don’t look as good as they would on a high-end PC. Resolution topped out at 1280-by-720, and games looked sharper and cleaner on the local system than they did over OnLive, even when reduced to that resolution.
The really bad news is latency, which Shrout said was noticeable at best and terrible at worst. While the racing game Burnout: Paradise felt okay, the first-person shooter Unreal Tournament 3 was unplayable due to its reliance on lightning-quick reflexes.
There is, however, a big caveat to this experiment: Shrout was playing from outside the southern California area, where beta testing is happening, and OnLive showed a warning message saying he was experiencing high latency. He claims that lag measured 85 ms. OnLive once said that 35 ms to 40 ms is typical, and 80 ms is on the high-end.
Shrout also acknowledges that lag becomes less noticeable when using a game pad instead of the mouse and keyboard. Combine that with lower latency, and you might have a service that passes muster.
Though I’m somewhat skeptical about lag, OnLive’s business model has always worried me most. Word is that the service will combine a base subscription with individual game purchases, but we’ve yet to see actual numbers. Until we can measure how OnLive’s price measures up to the status quo, I’m not convinced it’ll revolutionize anything.
2 comments
Should I Dump AT&T? And if So, What Next?
Earlier this week, I sought your advice on whether I should get rid of cable TV, and many of you responded with useful feedback. Now I need your thoughts on an equally major dilemma: Should I dump AT&T and give up my iPhone 3GS?
So help me, I’m not an AT&T hater. My iPhone is my primary phone, and it works fine most of the time–including at home, where audio quality is good and calls rarely if ever die. I’m aware that AT&T 3G, when it works, is speedy, and that simultaneous voice and data is a benefit. I also understand that other carriers are far from perfect, and that it’s not a given I’d be happier with something else.
But…
This morning, I was on an important call that went fine until the significant part started. Then the connection died. And no matter how many times I redialed, it died again without getting through. Even though the phone claimed it had a full five bars of coverage plus 3G. Eventually, I lunged outside (into the pouring rain) and ran to my car. Sitting in there, I was able to get through.
I wasn’t really surprised: I spend a lot of time in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, and for the most part, my AT&T iPhone is an outdoor phone there. Indoors, it’s an utter crapshoot whether I’ll be able to make and take calls. I’ve lived with the situation for a year and a half, but I’m growing weary, and I have no idea when or if the situation will improve. (We know that AT&T Mobility President Ralph De La Vegas is not a reliable source of information on what to expect.)
(I also have no idea whether the iPhone itself deserves any of the blame–there are those who say that poor reception is at least partially the phone’s fault.)
Anyhow, for the first time, I’m seriously considering switching to another carrier–which most likely means using another phone as my primary handset. (Full disclosure: The iPhone is one of the most newsworthy platforms of any type we cover, so I’d keep the phone and wouldn’t cancel my AT&T account…but when I just wanted to get stuff done, I’d use a different phone.)
Here are the options I’m currently contemplating:
Verizon Wireless: I’d buy a Droid or the soon-to-be-available Palm Pre Plus. The Droid, however, is no longer the coolest, most advanced Android phone– the Nexus One, which is really a T-Mobile phone, is. The new Pre Plus, on the other hand, is the newest Web OS phone, and WebOS is an OS that speaks to me. It also works as a MiFi-like wireless router, which might let me get rid of my EVDO adapter. On the other hand, the WebOS app library remains skimpy, and Engadget’s review of the Pre Plus leaves me worrying about its battery life. And the Pre, like the iPhone, now feels like a last-generation phone when it comes to screen resolution and camera specs.
Sprint: I could buy a (no longer the latest and greatest) Pre from these guys, too, and their service-plan pricing is aggressive. I also know of folks who are fans of Sprint’s coverage and reliability.
T-Mobile: I’d get the Nexus One. (Actually, I’d spring for the $529 unlocked model so I wasn’t committed to T-Mobile for two years, and could use it overseas for cheap with a pay-as-you-go SIM card.) It’s a good phone with a good OS and lots of apps (including Google Voice!) and its future seems bright.
Wild card: I could unlock my iPhone and use it on T-Mobile, right?
Weird wild card: I could get a MiFi pocket router from Verizon, use it with my iPhone, and make calls via Skype over Verizon’s network, right?
None of these options is without its pitfalls, but if I had to do the deal today, I’d get a Verizon Pre or a T-Mobile Nexus One.
Or I might just stick with the iPhone and AT&T. If carrier support wasn’t an issue, I’d still choose the iPhone. And like I said, AT&T works fine most of the time. It’s just that when it doesn’t, that “More Bars in More Places” tagline feels more like mockery than a promise.
What would you do?
[UPDATE: Let’s turn this into a poll!]
31 comments
Envision Apple’s Tablet, Get a Shot at a $100 Apple Gift Card
With less than a week to go until Apple (probably) tells all about its tablet, time is rapidly running out to discuss it without really knowing what the heck we’re talking about. So while you still can, please participate in Technologizer’s Apple Tablet Prediction Project. Just spend a few minutes answering multiple choice questions about what you think Apple is geting ready to announce. We’ll tally up the responses into an aggregate prediction, and compare it to the real thing next week–assuming it shows up. And we’ll choose a name at random from the entries and award that person a $100 Apple Store (U.S.) gift card.
We were originally going to wrap things up at 5pm PT today, but what the heck–let’s leave the survey open until 5pm PT tomorrow. Please enter, tell your pals, and have fun!