“What happened to iMated 1, and why don’t I see an update in my queue?” you may ask. Well, its a bit of a long story, but what it all comes down to is a minor flaw in the iTunes system, not allowing one developer to show apps under different artist names. So, we had to hop into a new dev agreement with Apple and re-release iMated (with a few new features, mind you) under this new account. We’ve got some new, fun things brewing on the iMated front, so get your app up to date and expect that updates to start coming real soon!
They’re back at it again, only this time it looks like there’s nothing Apple can do to stop Google from making Google Voice available on the iPhone. If everyone remembers last summer’s debacle where the Google Voice app was rejected from the App Store, and the FCC got involved, and lots of people got all up in a fuss over it, then forgot it ever happened. Well Google didn’t forget, and today will be unveiling a new user interface that will allow users of the Palm Pre/Pixi and iPhone to be able to use their Google Voice accounts directly through the web browser.
Again, another bold step forward by Google (through a loophole, however) in an effort to make technology better. Exciting stuff.
Apps are all the rage these days, right? Of course they are! Mobile devices are rapidly becoming the primary mode of communication (who has a home phone these days), computing (when was the last time you popped open your laptop at a starbucks to connect to their WiFi and check your email) and even social interactions (you know you just updated your status while reading this.. don’t lie to yourself). Of course this leads to the ever present argument of who’s phone is doing it better than the other… which will continue to be a never ending argument for as long as we live (which I’m fine with, as it’ll keep driving competition, right?). But lets get back on track here. Apps. Ah yes, today’s biggest marketing buzz word. At first, just being in the game was enough. Every brand and their mother had some sort of branded app out there, whether it was actually worthwhile or not (Target’s Snow Globe anyone… hey, at least they got in the game early). Then things changed, and for the better. Now people actually expect your app to DO something for you, and rightfully so.
So that leads me to today’s point (finally… get on with it): Android and its home screen. Now Google’s approach has always been one of “Let the users have at it,” which is all fine and good, but what about the folks out there who just want a clean, organized, precise home screen. Something that just delivers what they want in a concise manner? This whole notion was rumored on the iPhone about 4 months ago, but we all know it’ll never come to life as Apple will never approve an app that alters its user interface (both a good/bad thing. There’s some great things in the iPhone UI, but there are a handful of downsides, too), but Larva Labs has actually taken the initiative to make it happen on the Android platform. Their newest app, SlideScreen, does exactly that. After completing the setup, SlideScreen ties into much of the Android core, by bringing calls, SMS, email, weather, twitter, Google Reader, Stocks, etc to your home screen in a nifty little slide up/down interface. Soft clicking opens the item either in the SlideScreen interface (in the instance of tweets, also allowing for native retweet/reply/share functionality) or in the phone’s native app (in the instance of Calendar events and email). Long clicks allow you to add new items to the list in their respective category. The menu button now serves as a device to trigger the old menu drawer and brings up the apps you otherwise had stored on your home screen in a neat little overlay.
Larva Labs offers both a free and paid version of the app. So far we’ve only played with the free version, but will be upgrading to the Pro version shortly to get a feel for what additional features it bring to the table. Either way, its pretty impressive so far and seems to work nicely on all the different devices we have floating around here.
Unless you’re living under a rock, you all know the big launch of the Google Nexus One happened this week. Exciting news as the world of smart phones gets better and better. But what’s even more exciting than simply the launch of its own device from mega-power Google, is the quiet unveiling of their online store.
So what, you say? Well, on first glance, yeah, so what… So Google is selling their phone themselves, unlocked. WELL, the big picture here is that THEY are selling the phone, THEN you pick the carrier you want. To date, the traditional protocol is to sign up with a carrier, then pick what device that carrier sells. They may have what you like, or they may have something that suits you, if not, you need to switch to a new carrier, which is often difficult to do because you’re locked into a long term (approximately 2 year) contract every time you buy a new phone. Well that’s all about to change.
Apple really laid the ground work here, and I don’t think anyone will dispute that. Prior to the iPhone, no one really got overly excited about a device. Every carrier had some form of Blackberry and that seemed to fill anyone who needed a smartphone’s needs. Well when the iPhone hit, overnight millions of people dropped their coverage and flocked to AT&T to get it… because lets be honest, it wasn’t for the AT&T service, that’s for sure. So now the idea that was initially paved by Apple, however still executed in a somewhat traditional fashion (carrier provides device) is not being capitalized on by Google… and rightfully so.
Google has always been a game changer, whether it be search (RIP Webcrawler), Mapping (RIP Mapquest), Email (RIP Hotmail), web browsing (RIP Firefox… to be noted, the jury’s still out on this one, but we’ve got a good guess at the outcome) and now Mobile operating systems and devices (RIP RIM/Blackberry), Google has always been out to reinvent. So who better to take the concept of “Pick your phone, THEN pick your carrier” and run wild with it.
Ultimately, this represents a huge shift in the dynamic of the mobile model in the US, as well as the rest of the world. Its exciting to see such a dramatic shift as it now places greater emphasis on the carriers themselves to provide a better service as opposed to just lure you in with whatever the hottest device is. Should make for an interesting next couple of years as more manufacturers adopt this model and the carriers make moves to accommodate.
Great little video walkthrough from the folks at TechCrunch from CES. Also sounds like Flash 10.1 will be officially available in the next two months and is not currently installed on the devices.
Today, the mobile landscape changed. And it changed in a good way. Today, Google took a bold new step (as they always seem to) by releasing their first mobile device, the Nexus One (manufactured by HTC). So its another Android device, right? Wrong… Its not only the newest Android 2.1 operating system, running on a 1gHz processor (that’s right, its almost as powerful as a small desktop computer), 4gb storage (through Micro SD, expandable to 32gb), 5MP Camera… UNLOCKED. There it is… the first major phone release to come carrier free. You can still get your device through T-Mobile subsidized by a 2 year term contract to lower the price, with Verizon and Vodaphone hot on their heels to release shortly, but their primary focus is on selling the device unlocked, carrier free, thus expanding the reach of the android platform to virtually ANY carrier.
So what does this all mean. Well, here’s how we’re thinking. All things start proprietary. Its a great way for invested parties to make a buck on an exclusive service or product (or combo in the case of cell phones/data networks, like the iPhone and the AT&T 3G network prior to anyone else effectively releasing any 3G smartphones). That’s how it always starts. Lots of people buy in and someone makes a ton of money. But things get stagnant as there’s no real incentive to push the limits because you’ve got your audience locked in. In this story, we’re at that breaking point. The cell phone industry is changing as technology moves forward. The concept of device exclusivity to a network is becoming a thing of the past. People have been unlocking devices for a few years now and Google is the first to genuinely embrace that concept and say “No Carrier Required.” We now have the ability to have the device we want, and pick the service we want. No more being stuck with a sub-par network to get the hottest new device.
So 2010 is off to a big bang with the unleashing of a new mobile standard. If we had to take a guess, we’ll see much more of this happening throughout the year as more and more device manufacturers begin to compete for that top slot.
