March 3rd, 2010
Sorry, it’s been a while. Sometimes life just gets in the way….
Some random thoughts that have been piling up:
- Statistics show that Android phones appeal to men more than women by a big margin. Funny, all 5 of the Droids I’ve seen have been owned by women. Women, what do you think? Droid? Apple? Something else?
- OK, we can all start breathing again. Apple announced the iPad. After rampant speculation by a lot who knew very little, now we know its name. Looks like more cool technology, looks like lots of players are trying to catch up. So what else is new? (Yes, I want one, but I’ll wait till the fall. I want a late first-gen product when the bugs are worked out but corners have not yet been cut to save money in production.)
- Google is finally on the radar at the EU: regulators are worrying about Google’s monopolistic practices. (I’m sure Steve Ballmer is enjoying this.) At the risk of repeating myself, Google is the company I love to hate. (Great products, but….) They’ve got a lot of money and more PhDs per square inch than anyone but the old Bell Labs. And they may finally have stuck their hands into one too many pots. Time will tell; they haven’t hit many home runs outside of search and the new phones. But I wouldn’t bet against them; one of these days the spaghetti will stick to the wall.
- After an unfortunate bout working with Excel and PowerPoint, I think the geniuses at Microsoft have designed the most arcane, unnecessarily complex user interface ever seen by the human race. Guys, could you please just forget you had to paper over DOS and redo the damn thing? I mean seriously, it’s 2010, not 1982! (I routinely use Apple’s iWorks: simple, straightforward, plenty robust enough for what I need, and easy to use. Can read MS files and export to those formats. Love it.)
What about you? Any preferences?
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January 20th, 2010
Knowledge@Wharton had some interesting comments about Google’s attempt to enter the smart phone market and take on Apple. Main points: Google may be redefining an industry but Nexus One’s software needs some work, but Google is clueless about customer services because they don’t offer the option to talk to a live human.
Google is the company we love to hate. Say what you will about them, their products are clean and functional. No cool design, they’re not sexy, and they’re certainly not slick like Apple’s, but they work. And you even get to play with beta apps from Google Labs.
Maybe Google is redefining more than one industry….?….
Tags: Google, mobile, Nexus
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January 5th, 2010
There’s a lot of hyperventilating today about Google’s new phone, the Nexus One. From early pictures it looks slick; I’ve heard it described as “an iPhone on steroids.”
The biggest news: you can buy a Nexus One that isn’t tied to any particular carrier. This may shift the ground underneath telecom market in the US, where we’re used to buying phones tied to specific carriers. And I guess it’s good news for AT&T, who at least shouldn’t have to worry about too many more self-induced PR fiascos.
But there’s more great news, and I haven’t heard any of the pundits address this in any detail. Finally, it looks like there’s serious competition for the iPhone. And that’s wonderful because much as I love my iPhone, there are many ways the software could be even better. It could be easier to run multiple apps and navigate directly to them once they are running. I wouldn’t mind some simple shortcuts that get me straight to my frequently used apps without having to bounce back to the home screen, either. (For example, let me navigate right from email to a contact so I can grab their phone number and add it to the message.)
What about you? Are you craving a Nexus One? Do you love your Droid? Would you switch from an iPhone?
Tags: Apple, Google, iPhone, mobile, Nexus
Posted in Uncategorized | 266 Comments »