Smartphones and Cell Phones

November 6th, 2009

MobileTechRoundup show #189; Verizon DROID choices, Moblin 2.1 for netbooks

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:55 am

Categories: Android, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, Linux, Podcast, RIM, Verizon

Tags: MobileTechRoundup, High Tech Computer Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., Netbook, HTC HD2, Kevin, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Hardware, Matthew Miller

Listen here (MP3, 33.1 MB, 36:05 minutes)

Subscribe to the show with this link (RSS)

Today we see the launch of the heavily advertised Motorola DROID on Verizon along with the HTC DROID ERIS. As James mentions at the start of MobileTechRoundup show #189 he is the only one of the three of us with the Motorola DROID in hand. If you are a Verizon Wireless customer it seems like almost a no-brainer to pick up a DROID or DROID ERIS today at $200 or $100, but Verizon’s very expensive plans are keeping me at home today. The HTC HD2 has a couple of us quite excited with that 1GHz Snapdragon processor and we will see it on some unnamed carrier in early 2010. Kevin is triple booting his netbook and after chatting I am also going to go install the new Moblin 2.1 OS that is optimized for netbooks. We ended by chatting about smartphone market share and the fact that integrated platforms seem to be doing better than licensed ones.

November 5th, 2009

Verizon's HTC DROID ERIS may be the best $100 smartphone

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:16 am

Categories: Android, Google, Linux, Verizon

Tags: High Tech Computer Corp., Smart Phone, Verizon Communications Inc., E-mail, Keyboards, Advertising & Promotion, Online Communications, Hardware, Peripherals, Marketing

Readers here know how much I enjoyed using the HTC Hero and now we see HTC coming out with its 3rd version of the Hero and IMHO the third time is the charm. I had a chance to hold and play a bit with the HTC DROID ERIS (Verizon’s version of the HTC Hero) and I could not put it down because the form factor is so compelling. It is wrapped in black soft touch material, it is narrow so it feels like a phone, it is thin, it is dense, and it has curves that make a supermodel envious. I have not yet used a Verizon DROID, but every review I read stated the keyboard was not that great so the HTC DROID ERIS without a keyboard and much more pocketable form factor may be the Android device of choice on Verizon. Amazingly, HTC was able to pack in their awesome Sense UI into the ERIS at this low $100 price point and you may just see me at Best Buy tomorrow, 6 November, picking this one up and adding a Verizon line to my mobile collection.

Even though the HTC DROID ERIS is available for only $100 HTC did not skimp on the specifications as you can see below:

• Qualcomm MSM 7600 528MHz processor
• CDMA/EV-DO Rev A. support
• 3.2 inch 320×480 HVGA capacitive touch screen and trackball interface
• 5.0 megapixel auto focus camera
• Expandable memory with pre-installed 8 GB microSD card
• Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3.5 mm headset connectivity
• Integrated GPS and a digital compass with a sensor that enables the phone to know what direction it is facing
• Smart dialer for simplified dialing by name, number or initials
• Dimensions of 4.45 x 2.19 x 0.51 inches and 4.23 ounces
• 1300 mAh Li-Ion battery

DROID ERIS by HTC will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com on Friday, 6 November, for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a voice plan with an e-mail feature or e-mail plan. If you visit a Best Buy Mobile location you can get the rebate applied instantly too.

Compared to the Motorola DROID, we see this device with a sleeker form factor, mult-touch web browser, better performing camera, and the Sense UI (with all the great HTC widgets and customizations) while the DROID has the a slightly faster processor, larger higher resolution display, hardware QWERTY keyboard, and vanilla Googla Android experience with support for the new Google Maps Navigation beta. The Motorola DROID runs Android 2.0 while the HTC DROID ERIS runs Android 1.5. HTC has stated they will be skippping 1.6 and putting Android 2.0 on Hero devices so the ERIS should also get the upgrade eventually, but there has been no confirmation of that yet.

Which Google Android device do you find more compelling on Verizon?

November 5th, 2009

Review: OtterBox Commuter and Commuter TL Series for iPhone 3G/3GS

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 4:49 am

Categories: Apple, Mobile accessories, Review, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., Commuter TL Series, Commuter TL Case, OtterBox Logo, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

I have tried cases with my iPhone devices in the past, but kept going back to an InvisibleShield or BodyGuardz plastic skin because I didn’t want anything adding bulk to my iPhone 3GS. Silicone cases are very popular today, but I have never been happy with them since I carry my phone in my pocket and they tend to cause the phone to stick in my pocket and gather lint. OtterBox recently launched a couple of new hybrid silicone cases that add a hard plastic shell to a silicone case so you can slip your iPhone in and out of your pocket while also gaining a decent level of protection with minimal addition of size. The OtterBox Commuter and Commuter TL series cases are available now for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Their Defender series adds the most protection, but add too much bulk for me to accept for daily use. Check out my image gallery of the OtterBox Commuter and Commuter TL Series cases.

	Image Gallery:A look at the new iPhone OtterBox Commuter and Commuter TL cases.

Both of these new iPhone case lines are similar in that they are composed of two pieces; a silicone inner shell and a hard plastic/polycarbonate out shell. You also receive a self-adhesive screen protector in each package and I found the protector gives you a feel very much like the oleophobic finish on the iPhone 3GS device. The inner silicone shells are almost exactly the same on both cases with just a slightly different back (designed to fit the plastic shell) and ribs on the inside left and right sides of the Commuter TL Series. The plastic shells are quite different, but they weigh almost exactly the same (0.74 ounces and 0.75 ounces) and have almost the same dimensions. The Commuter TL Series is available in seven different colors so it has a bit more personalization and as you can read below there is another main reason I prefer the Commuter TL Series.

OtterBox Commuter TL

The Commuter TL Series is available in black, blue, green, pink, red, white, and yellow. At the time I was sent an evaluation unit the black model was the only one available, but I may have to pick up a colored one soon. I was reluctant to place the screen protector on my iPhone 3GS because I love the oleophobic feel of the display and was worried the screen protector would take away from that experience. I was pleasantly surprised to find it felt much like the default display and decided to keep the protector on since it protects the display from scratches.

I then wrapped the silicone shell around my iPhone 3GS and found openings for the Apple logo, camera, silent/ringer switch, stereo speakers, bottom Apple iPhone port, and headset jack. There are covers for the headset jack and bottom connection port designed to help keep dust out of these open ports. There are rubber protrusions over the volume rocker and power switch so you can operate these through the silicone case. The Commuter TL also has Read the rest of this entry »

November 4th, 2009

The iPhone is one of the best phones in the world, carriers with it are the problem

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 5:34 pm

Categories: AT&T, Apple, T-Mobile, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Phone, Carrier, Smart Phones, Telecom & Utilities, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

I try not to link to posts I completely disagree with that reach conclusions that don’t seem fully backed up, but I just had to respond to this UK Crave blog post titled, The iPhone is the worst phone in the world. After reading the post and then thinking about my experiences with my iPhone 3GS on both AT&T and T-Mobile I really think the author meant the iPhone/carrier combo is the worst in the world. Every issue, other than battery life, that they mentioned was carrier related and not due just to the device. You see, with AT&T I too experienced constant dropped calls in full signal areas and massive data issues in areas saturated with iPhone users. Then, with T-Mobile I never have had a dropped call on my iPhone and data has been solid, although it is only EDGE data on T-Mobile.

The iPhone is actually a pretty incredible phone that offers the consumer an experience not ever seen before. While we all acknowledge the iPhone rocks at web surfing and media consumption I honestly think it does quite well as a phone too for several reasons as I have listed here.

• Answering calls is as easy as a swipe across the screen.
• Controlling how your call is handled couldn’t be easier. By this I mean the options for a Bluetooth headset, speakerphone, or headset speaker.
• The proximity sensor turns off the display so nothing is accidentally pressed.
• Voicemail appears in a visual list so you control what messages you want to listen to.
• Starting a conference call or swapping calls just takes a screen tap.

I am not saying the iPhone is the perfect phone, but it sure makes all these tasks above easier than I have ever before experienced on a phone before. We now see others copying these exact same interface elements. For example, the Nokia N97 and Touch Pro2 have swipe to answer actions.

There are MANY other phones that are much worse than the iPhone and I completely disagree with the CNET UK post. Do you agree that the iPhone is the worst phone ever or do you think it actually is one of the best phones?

November 4th, 2009

HTC HD2 coming to major US carrier in early 2010

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:34 am

Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: High Tech Computer Corp., T-Mobile, AT&T Corp., Carrier, HTC HD2, Keyboards, Monitors & Displays, Smart Phones, Handhelds, Hardware

I know the latest smartphone market share data shows both Windows Mobile and HTC down over the last year, but there is one HTC Windows Mobile device that has me quite excited and if it comes to the US with support for T-Mobile then I will buy it. HTC today officially announced the HD2 for Europe and Taiwan with a US major carrier release (unnamed) to occur in early 2010. Rumors have this going to T-Mobile USA, which would be great for them to have another touchscreen device as an alternative to the iPhone (they have the myTouch 3G now).

The HTC HD2 has a large 4.3 inch capacitive touchscreen and brings the Sense UI to the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform. It is powered by a speedy 1GHz Snapdragon processor and the device is beautiful. I have seen it a couple of times in person and think it will be a popular device for HTC when it is released. It is shipping in Europe and will be available in mid-November for Taiwan with further Asia availability over the next month.

AT&T and T-Mobile both have the HTC Touch Pro2, but AT&T also has the AT&T Pure Windows Mobile 6.5 touchscreen device so do they really need another? AT&T also has the iPhone 3GS and this device has a look and feel similar to that device so AT&T may not want to have HTC and Apple compete directly for the same customer. AT&T is also good at ruining smartphones with all of their crapware while T-Mobile is very good about minimizing these intrusions so HTC would be able to release a better experience with T-Mobile. OK, did I justify it enough HTC? Let’s please bring the HTC HD2 to T-Mobile.

November 4th, 2009

Q3 09 Canalys smartphone data shows RIM increasing 40% over 2008

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:14 am

Categories: Android, Apple, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, Microsoft, Nokia, RIM, S60, Windows Mobile, iPhone

Tags: Research In Motion Ltd., Platform, Smart Phone, Apple Insider, Mobile Operating Systems, Smart Phones, Handhelds, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Cellular Phones

Canalys posted their 3rd quarter 2009 figures and as you can RIM had an amazing year going from 15.2% to 20.6% of the global market share (an increase of 40.8%). A bit surprisingly to me, Nokia actually saw a 6% increase in its market share too while Apple predictibly increased 6.7% over the year with the iPhone 3GS release helping. Windows Mobile suffered quite a bit with a 33.1% drop in market share over the past year and with the release of the minor 6.5 update I don’t see that trend changing much over the next year either. Google Android finally popped up in the data at 3.5% and hopefully this continues so that HTC bounces up after showing a 5.6% decrease over the last year.

Apple Insider has presented the data in pie charts so you get an even better picture of what is going on by platform and hardware maker. They also give an interesting perspective on the data and group the platforms into integrated ones (Apple and RIM) compared to licensed ones (Windows Mobile and Google Android). Symbian is licensed too, but Nokia is the primary licensee so they are more of an integrated platform than a licened platform. It looks like the integrated platforms are doing better than the licensed platforms, which is not necessarily what the analysts all predicted.

The integrated platforms do give the hardware makers better control over a consistent user experience and upgradability of the platform, while also locking down more functions. It seems that the consumer cares more for the experience and UI than the ability to customize and tweak their device.

November 4th, 2009

Motorola and Palm; will 2009 be designated as a comeback year?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 4:37 am

Categories: Android, Google, Linux, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon

Tags: Device, Palm Inc., Motorola Inc., WebOS, Motorola DROID, Palm Pre, Smart Phones, Advertising & Promotion, Cellular Phones, Telecom & Utilities

Many of us believed that Palm was on the ropes and getting ready to go down for the count at the end of 2008, but they came out swinging at CES with the announcement of the Pre and WebOS. Motorola was a leader in the mobile phone business for years, but has not done well in the smartphone space and in early 2009 we heard they would be looking to Android in the future. The Motorola DROID is the talk of the town at the moment and the Motorola CLIQ just started selling at T-Mobile this week. Will 2009 go down as the year that Palm and Motorola showed us all they were back and ready to compete?

Palm

I began my mobile device career with a Palm Pilot 1000 (actually US Robotics then) in early 1997 and they have always had a special place in my heart. Even my online name, palmsolo, reflects my usage of their devices from way back in the day. I still use my Palm Treo Pro and think it is one of the best Windows Mobile devices I have ever used. I was blown away like everyone else with the Palm Pre and WebOS announcements in January and cheered that Palm was back in the game.

However, the Pre and WebOS hasn’t really taken off yet and as I posted recently I really wonder if Palm can make it through 2010. I want to see WebOS devices on other carriers and much more development and available applications in the Palm App Catalog, but am not that hopeful.

Motorola

One of the first mobile phones I used while in the USCG was the Motorola StarTAC. That was one rock solid phone that performed quite well and survived drops and falls. A bit later we saw the highly successful RAZR phone, followed by the huge failure in the Motorola MPx smartphone that was never released. That device could have been hot, but was hampered by an extremely small amount of RAM that killed it before launch. We then saw the launch of the Motorola Q that showed how thin a QWERTY smartphone could be, but the battery life and stability killed enthusiasm for that device. There were some solid Motorola Q models that followed, but I think the issues with the first one kept people from buying these. Motorola then decided to stop releasing Windows Mobile phones.

Motorola kicked off their Android devices with the Motorola CLIQ that has some innovative social networking integration in MotoBLUR. The hot news though surrounds the Motorola DROID on Verizon Wireless that seems to be grabbing lots of attention. Motorola plans to launch many more Android devices in 2010 and will be rolling out devices across carriers so they have the ability to affect more consumers.

2009 closing thoughts

Unless Palm makes moves to roll out on other carriers with their WebOS devices I don’t see them making a full comeback. The upcoming Pixi looks like a decent device, but it will be selling at the Palm Centro price of $99 and we saw that this is not the way to profitability and success even with millions of units sold.

Motorola is ending 2009 on a high note and has lots of momentum going into 2010. I do think 2009 will mark the year of Motorola’s comeback and look forward to seeing more of their offerings in 2010.

What do you think, will 2009 be the year of the comeback for both of these companies?

November 3rd, 2009

T-Mobile experiences voice and text outage across the country

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:40 pm

Categories: T-Mobile

Tags: Voice, T-Mobile, Outage, Manufacturing, Matthew Miller

I was spending the day at the Ferries 2009 conference in Seattle and towards the end of the day tried to send some text messages and make calls home to pick up my daughter, but nothing seemed to work. My T-Mobile data connection worked just fine, but both voice and text services were down. I then checked out Twitter and heard from others around the US that were experiencing the same thing. This service outage appeared to last for about three hours for me and everything is back up and running just fine.

Ina Fried also reported on the outage and you can see it affected many people. I have yet to see a statement from T-Mobile about what caused this outage and will post it if anything is revealed. This isn’t the best news for T-Mobile following the huge Sidekick data outage. Personally, it was a minor inconvenience for me and given that I have always had outstanding service and connectivity through T-Mobile I am just happy to have all of my services back up and running.

There may have been businesses affected by the outage though so there is a possibility that some may not be as forgiving as me.

T-Mobile confirmed that this outage affected about 5% of their customers (I guess I was one of the lucky ones) and has fully been restored now.

November 3rd, 2009

Sony Ericsson announces XPERIA X10 Google Android device

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:40 am

Categories: Android, Google, Linux

Tags: Google Inc., Google Android, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Mobile Operating Systems, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

Sony Ericsson has been known to make some compelling smartphones that had sleek, solid designs at high prices, like the XPERIA X1 I purchased and then returned earlier this year. Today we see the announcement of their first Google Android device, the XPERIA X10 and I have to say this device is lustworthy with its 8 megapixel camera, custom Mediascape interface that is highly focused on media (a weakness in all other Google Android devices), Timescape technology that recognizes connections between contacts, content, and media, and much more.

The SE XPERIA X10 won’t be available until the first half of 2010, but it shows how awesome Google Android devices can be and I think 2010 will be the year of the Android revolution and I can’t wait. I loved seeing that the X10 will have a model supporting T-Mobile USA’s 1700 MHz frequency and I hope to see it released sooner rather than later.

Specifications of the XPERIA X10 include:

• 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250
• Up to 1GB integrated memory
• 4 inch 480×854 pixel resolution touchscreen display
• 8.1 megapixel camera with face recognition and stabilization
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 3.5mm headset jack
• microSD card slot with 8GB card included
• microUSB for syncing and charging
• Support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync

Engadgets has a full hands-on look at the XPERIA X10 and this will definitely be one that I will find hard to resist. It has no hardware keyboard so it will have to be priced right for me to go for it though.

November 3rd, 2009

Do you really want to carry another device just for Twitter?

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:24 am

Categories: Mobile services

Tags: Twitter Inc., Twitter Peek, E-mail, Smart Phones, Cellular Phones, Handhelds, Online Communications, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Hardware

I stayed up late last night and watched Josh reveal the Twitter Peek device on the Late Night show with Jimmy Fallon. The new Twitter Peek has the same form factor as the Peek email device, but it only does Twitter. The Peek Classic cost $19.95 and has a monthly cost starting at $15 for email while the new Twitter Peek will cost $199 and includes lifetime Twitter service or $99 for six months followed by $7.95 per month after that. I guess if you are a die hard Twitter fan and don’t have a cell phone that supports a Twitter client (every smartphone has clients) then this may be something to look at.

I read that the Twitter Peek doesn’t really offer anything better than what you get on a smartphone and you have to click through to read full Tweets as only summaries appear in the main interface. I wonder if the device will support Twitter lists and be upgradeable with possible changes to Twitter as the service evolves. Any readers interested in a dedicated Twitter device like the Twitter Peek?