Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...
Droid Does. That’s the slogan that Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s ad campaigns for the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid have been hammering into our heads for the past several weeks. With $100 million reportedly invested into the marketing push to turn struggling Motorola’s Droid the de facto alternative to the iPhone 3GS, Verizon and Motorola are betting big on the new Android phone. Turns out, the Motorola Droid did damn well in its first week of sales. A new report estimates Droid sales hitting 250,000 during its launch week!
The analytics gurus at Flurry track over 10,000 iPhone and Android apps, which Flurry says gives it an eye into usage patterns for two out of every three iPhones on the planet. They used that data to estimate that a quarter million Droid handsets made their way into customer pockets this past week. Thanks to the power of a $100 million advertising campaign, Verizon’s 90 million-strong subscriber network and a far-reaching 3G network, Flurry says the Droid is the “fastest-selling Android phone to date.”
Droid nay-sayers will be quick to point out that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) pushed out 1.6 million iPhone 3GS units in the first week of sales, but it would be good to remember that Apple launched the iPhone 3GS in eight countries around the world. There were also 27 million installed iPhone users around the world pushing the iPhone 3GS on their friends. The Droid obviously can’t live up to the iPhone’s numbers, but 250,000 handsets sold in the first week is still an impressive number.
It’s not going to stop there either. The Droid may be the most visible Android handset of late, but there are some incredible Android offerings coming down the pipeline in the near future.
No one likes poring over spreadsheets, especially on the iPhone’s relatively small display. It would be nice if there were some way to break down spreadsheet information into visual representations that actually make sense. Thankfully, there’s an iPhone app for that. Roambi Visualizer turns your iPhone into a handy spreadsheet cheat-sheet that converts your information into simple-yet-informative charts and graphs that look as good as they are helpful.
To use Roambi Visualizer, you’ll first have to sign up for a Roambi account on the company’s website. Then, simply upload your data-packed spreadsheet through the web-based interface and choose the type of chart/graph you’d like to use to display your data – from sales reports to employee profiles to demographic data, Roambi will probably have a graph to fit your needs. Then, when you’re satisfied with Roambi’s analysis of the data, you can push the eye-catching charts and graphs to your iPhone.
Roambi Visualizer is an incredibly useful app if you deal with spreadsheets often. If you deal with obscure or ridiculously complex data, don’t expect Roambi to turn all that noise into pretty graphs, but most people probably won’t run into that problem. Best of all, the app is free on the iPhone AppStore.
The latest Android platform, codenamed “Eclair” (like the delicious pastry), features support for multiple gmail accounts, exchange support, support for Bluetooth 2.1 and improved media playback, just to name a few. Armed with the source code, developers are going to have the tools they need to bring at least some of these new features to other Android smartphones.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) isn’t backing off its advertising push to point out the inadequacies in AT&T (NYSE: T)’s 3G coverage. Despite AT&T’s lawsuit seeking to stop Verizon’s allegedly misleading ads, Verizon continues to release new commercials that poke fun at AT&T. In response, AT&T has released a statement that they hope “sets the record straight on Verizon ads.”
In the statement, AT&T points out that their 3G network coverage 233 million US residents – about 75% of all Americans. When combined with AT&T’s 2G EDGE network, the carrier boasts 97% coverage in the US. AT&T continues to explain that customers can surf the web and use wireless data services on both the 3G and 2G EDGE networks, contradicting Verizon’s allusions that a 3G network is required to surf the web.
One thing that Verizon doesn’t mention, is that AT&T’s 3G network allows simultaneous data and voice services. Verizon Wireless can’t make that claim. AT&T customers can hop on a voice call while checking their email or surfing IntoMobile.com, while Verizon customers will have to choose between voice or data. AT&T also notes that they have the iPhone on their network. So there.
Shopping malls are a staple of the frenzied holiday shopping season. Unfortunately, a lot of malls in the US are winding mazes of retail stores and kiosks that don’t seem to have any logical layout to them. We swear shopping mall designers do that on purpose. But, with an iPhone in hand, your next trip to the mall a bit more convenient. Mall Maps for iPhone puts shopping mall floor plans and store directories within easy reach.
The app uses GPS to determine your location and bring up a list of nearby malls. Or, if you know where you’d like to waste hours searching for that “perfect gift,” you can search for malls by name. The app will offer an alphabetical list of stores in a particular mall, or give you the option to search for a specific store.
Mall Maps isn’t free, but at $2.99, it’s not going to break the bank. For us, the price is worth not having to hunt down a mall directory kiosk amidst the hustle and bustle of this peak shopping season.
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is really pushing hard to get their Windows Mobile app store, called Windows Marketplace for Mobile, out to every corner of the smartphone world. Windows Marketplace first launched with Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, giving WM6.5 fans an exclusive look at the Marketplace. Now, Microsoft is bringing the Marketplace to older Windows Mobile 6.0 and Windows Mobile 6.1 phones as well as desktop PCs.
Microsoft launched their online Marketplace portal last week, allowing anyone to browse the Windows Mobile applications store from their desktop PC. Anyone with a compatible Windows Phone can visit the Windows Marketplace for Mobile website on their desktop computer to browse, buy and download apps they’d like to use on their handset. Purchased apps are automatically synchronized with the Windows Phone and will install the next time Marketplace runs on the device.
And, to expand compatibility with Marketplace, Microsoft is today announcing that their app store will be available to customers running Windows Mobile 6.0 or Windows Mobile 6.1. To download the Marketplace app to your 6.0 or 6.1 phone, simply point your smartphone browser to mp.windowsphone.com and follow instructions to install the app. Desktop users can click here to download the app and install on the Windows Phone via the desktop.
Microsoft says that 90% of all Windows Mobile apps should be compatible with 6.0/6.1 smartphones, which will bring most of the Marketplace’s apps to some 30 million Windows Phones around the world.
Windows Mobile 6.5 might not be the most compelling smartphone platform out there, but a new rumor could give potential Windows Mobile users a good reason to choose Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) to run their next smartphone. Word has it that Redmond is planning to launch Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 for Windows Phones running the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS. What’s more, the latest version of Office Mobile is expected to work only with Windows Mobile 6.5 – previous versions, like Windows Mobile 6.1, aren’t going to be compatible.
A Microsoft FAQ mentions that Office Mobile 2010 can be launched from the Windows Mobile 6.5 Start menu and will feature compatibility with Open Office files, will be able to open documents attached to emails or stored on the phone, and will work with SharePoint Server 2010 and Windows Live services.
Windows Mobile has been losing market share to the likes of the iPhone and BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM). Consumers are flocking to the iPhone platform and its hundred thousand-strong AppStore. Business users are looking to the BlackBerry platform for productivity. In a bid to regain mindshare, Microsoft is pushing their consumer-friendly “Windows Phone” brand as a smartphone platform to help you stay productive in both your business and personal life. It’s not clear how the consumer push will fare, but making Office Mobile 2010 exclusive to Windows Mobile 6.5 could help bring in more enterprise customers.
By Will Park on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 12:09 PM PST In Random
There aren’t too many things super-exotic sports cars, like the $1+ million Bugatti Veyron, hate more than being sentenced to a life of grocery-getting and night-on-the-towning. Salt water is high on that short-list. Being driven by a cellphone-distracted driver also makes that list. Combine those two super car pet-peeves, and you’ve got the makings of a disaster… the kind of disaster that ends with a Bugatti Veyron half-submerged in a salt water marsh Texas.
Rather than let his super car of super cars wind out its four turbo-chargers on some smoothly-paved track or a private airstrip, the Lufkin, Texas man took his million-dollar car for a drive on I-45 in La Marque. He tells police that he was startled by a low-flying pelican that caused him to drop his cellphone. He could have let the cellphone sit there until he pulled over, but apparently decided to reach down and retrieve the mobile phone while driving. The result? He took the Veyron off-road and into a briny marsh.
A driver on an adjacent highway lane managed to record footage of the accident as it happened. The video isn’t all that clear, but we can’t see any pelicans flying anywhere near the Bugatti Veyron. There does, however, seem to be an abundance of dumbass-ness surrounding the car at the time of the accident.
The cops say the Texas man wasn’t injured, but we beg to differ. Broken bones heal, bruises go away, but this guy is never going to live down the fact that his mobile phone distracted him enough to drive into a marsh. There’s also a lesson about not using your cellphone while driving somewhere in this story. If you find it, let us know.
If you’ve got a thing for scoping out mobile technology start-ups while they’re still young and in the “up-and-coming” stage of their business, you’ll want to make sure you get yourself to the “Under The Radar” conference in Mountain View, CA. this week. On November 19, 2009, mobile start-ups will take the stage at the Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Conference Center to pitch their ideas to mobile-minded attendees. You’ll get to see what’s hot in the mobile space, what’s going to be hot in mobile, and maybe even catch yours truly on stage as a judge at the FAST PITCH mobile app talent search. And, to make it even easier for you to attend, IntoMobile is proud to give our readers a special $100 discount to the event.
Just follow this link and register as a “VIP” to get your $100 discount on “Under The Radar” show passes. It really doesn’t get any easier than that. See you at the show!
The Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pixi is due to hit market on Sunday, November 15th. Following on the slider-style Palm Pre, the Palm Pixi will launch as Sprint (NYSE: S)’s second webOS-powered smartphone. It’ll feature the same touchscreen and gesture-support we first saw on the Palm Pre, but trades screen size for a slate-style QWERTY keyboard and does away with WiFi. Big Yellow will be asking $100 for the Pixi when purchased with new 2-year contract, but savvy webOS fans like you won’t have to pay full retail. LetsTalk.com is offering the Palm Pixi (with new contract) for just $30 on pre-order. If you’re willing to put up the money on pre-order and wait for the Pixi to ship to your door, this is one hot deal.
There’s a lot competition in the smartphone space right now. Android phones abound, and the iPhone is still going strong. webOS has yet to really hit it big in the US, but at just $30, the Palm Pixi makes a strong case for picking the webOS as your next smartphone platform of choice.
The Palm Pixi features a 2.6-inch capacitive touchscreen, 2-megapixel camera, GPS, 3G data, 3.5mm headphone jack, and 8GB of onboard storage. You don’t get WiFi, but as long as you’re within reach of Sprint’s network, you’ll get 3G data speeds. It’s a tradeoff that might be worth the discounted $30 entry fee.
Droid Does. That’s the slogan that Verizon (
No one likes poring over spreadsheets, especially on the iPhone’s relatively small display. It would be nice if there were some way to break down spreadsheet information into visual representations that actually make sense. Thankfully, there’s an iPhone app for that. Roambi Visualizer turns your iPhone into a handy spreadsheet cheat-sheet that converts your information into simple-yet-informative charts and graphs that look as good as they are helpful.
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Shopping malls are a staple of the frenzied holiday shopping season. Unfortunately, a lot of malls in the US are winding mazes of retail stores and kiosks that don’t seem to have any logical layout to them. We swear shopping mall designers do that on purpose. But, with an iPhone in hand, your next trip to the mall a bit more convenient. 
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Windows Mobile 6.5 might not be the most compelling smartphone platform out there, but a new rumor could give potential Windows Mobile users a good reason to choose Microsoft (
