- Nokia N96 pictures leaked to Net
- Zune needs women (and men)
- Interoperability key in 'iPhone' talks
- Bids for Boston bomb scare promo top $5,000
- Apple miffed over faux iPhone icons
- Hone-in on the Wii, PS3
- Nintendo Wii gets browser, we win
- Zune patch to add Vista link
- Palm buys rights back to own OS
- Update: PS3 able to run Office?
December 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Nokia N96 pictures leaked to Net
Corporate ploy to steal iPhone pulpit thunder from Steve Jobs' pre-Macworld 2008 or some kind of Think Smart-esque Nokia lawsuit in the making, who cares?
I mean, is that a Carl Zeiss lens?
That's right, leaked photos of the forthcoming Nokia N96 smartphone are available for drooling over on the Net. And this, only a few days after the first Android prototype was spotted in the wild.
Of course, until fruition, such toys remain figments. In the meantime, there's always Tom Yager's comprehensive smartphone comparison to help you make the most practical tide-me-over choice.
As for the iPhone, which Yager declared the $1,975 iPod in his July InfoWorld Test Center review, the six-month mark has InfoWorld colleagues Kevin Railsback and Eric Hill waxing familiar on this year's gadget darling -- check out Two geeks and an iPhone Part 2 and Part 3 for their deep-dive video foray into the functionality of the iPhone six months since their first-look Two geeks and an iPhone Part 1.
Railsback, who has already MS Exchange-ified head honchos' iPhones, knows a thing or two about the impact of mobile devices worming their way into the enterprise. And with Avaya's announcement that it will bring its one-X Mobile platform to the iPhone early next year, the din from execs clamoring for IT iPhone support will only grow louder.
Whatever you do in 2008, don't step into the personal iPhone support jockey role at your enterprise uninformed. After all, mobile workers – and those bringing unsanctioned devices into the enterprise, in particular -- continue to be a top security concern.
Additional resources
Review: Supersmart phones for extreme mobility
We pick seven serious business phones with all the bells and whistles, plus the power and flexibility that real mobile professionals need
Review: iPhone: The $1,975 iPod
Apple's and AT&T's high-price gadget is a heartbreaking triumph of greed over genius
Video: Two Geeks and an iPhone: Part 2
Tips and tricks for e-mail, safari, and more
Video: Two Geeks and an iPhone: Part 3
How to add third-party apps to your iPhone
Posted by Jason Snyder on December 20, 2007 11:31 AM
February 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)
It's hiring time over at Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division (E&D), which has a pile of job openings in its Zune division. According to the Microsoft Web site, there are 34 openings for Zune, almost all posted since the beginning of January. Among the positions Microsoft is looking to fill:
Program Manager ("Seeking a talented and highly motivated program manager to help us deliver systems to take in various forms of content (audio and video), encode and package them in the right format, and serve them up to the user with the appropriate DRM licenses.")
Development Manager ("This individual will lead a group of developers by providing technical leadership, project and schedule management, and at times strong individual contribution towards product development. This individual will work closely with the Program Management, Hardware Development, and Test teams to deliver the product.")
As well as any number of hardware engineering, software engineering, Q/A, marketing and channel operations help.
This has "exodus" written all over it, but that could be dead wrong. It's also possible that Microsoft is in the midst of a major build-out of the Zune team and throwing more resources at the product.
The only ones who know for sure are current/former Zuners. Techwatch has its feelers out, but if you've heard anything, we're all ears!
Posted by Paul Roberts on February 13, 2007 02:45 PM
February 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Interoperability key in 'iPhone' talks
The Cisco-Apple iSaga took a conciliatory turn today as the companies returned to the negotiation table to hash out an agreement over the coveted iPhone moniker.
In a tersely worded joint statement, the companies stated "Apple and Cisco have agreed to extend the time for Apple to respond to the lawsuit to allow for discussions between the companies with the aim of reaching agreement on trademark rights and interoperability." (The emphasis is mine; more on that in a moment.)
As you may recall, the captain of the iPod Mothership (i.e. Steve Jobs) announced plans [Video] at MacWorld to beam down an iPod cellular phone called the iPhone.
Shortly after, Cisco cried foul and filed a lawsuit against Apple for copyright infringement, arguing that it has held the trademark for the name iPhone since 2000. The company released VOIP phones with that name through its Linksys brand last year.
Cisco argues that Apple was well aware that it owned the iPhone name and noted that prior to Apple announcing its own iPhone, it had approached Cisco on several occasions to discuss usage of the moniker.
In the lawsuit, Cisco asked for Apple to cover its legal fees and to surrender all profits eventually made from iPhone sales. The lawsuit also demanded that Apple eradicate all promotional materials associated with the iPhone.
However, since filing the lawsuit, Cisco CEO John Chambers has said the company is not looking for money; rather, it seeks "interoperability, or the ability of the Apple phone to work smoothly with Cisco product," according to bizjournals.com.
Interoperability, of course, is the operative word here; you may recall, it was part of Cisco and Apple's carefully worded press release. While all the hype about the iPhone has drawn attention to Cisco's Linksys-branded version (a product I'd wager few people had been aware of prior to the skirmish with Apple), the promise of having compatibility with Apple's oh-so-juicy end-user iBlank line is potentially more lucrative to Cisco than simply having Apple's iPhone disappear (or be renamed) all together.
Specifically, as noted by Stephen Lawson of the IDG News Service:
According to published reports, Cisco would have been willing to license the iPhone name in exchange for Apple making the handset interoperate smoothly with Cisco's products. Linksys is the biggest seller of consumer Wi-Fi access points and is expanding its home product line into the voice and entertainment realms. Apple's iPhone is equipped with Wi-Fi and includes audio, photo, and video player software.
Posted by Ted Samson on February 1, 2007 11:48 AM
February 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Bids for Boston bomb scare promo top $5,000
You all heard about the Turner Broadcasting promo for Aqua Teen Hunger force that went horribly wrong in Boston yesterday, prompting city-wide bomb scares and bringing roads and public transit to a standstill? Well, through the magic of the Internet you -- yes you -- can now own a piece of what will surely go down in the annals of PR as one of the worst gaffes ever, and a shining example of guerrilla marketing gone bad. One of the cartoonish, illuminated signs, which were placed throughout the city, is on auction at eBay. Current high bid: $5,000.
The signs depict a Mooninite, one of the characters from Aqua Teen Hunger Force a late night animated special. As part of the promotion, the illuminated objects were placed on bridges and other infrastructure across the city, sparking concern...no...panic that they were explosive devices (in fun, day glo colors, no less).
The eBay user offering the sign says it was a posted on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, is "not a bomb, sorry :[" and that he's going to use the money from the sale to fund more public art in Boston. "it shouldn't take guerrilla advertising to make our public spaces more exciting."
Posted by Paul Roberts on February 1, 2007 08:58 AM
January 15, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Apple miffed over faux iPhone icons
The iSaga surrounding Apple's iPhone took another turn over the weekend as the company's lawyers sent out cease and desist letters not only to Web sites hosting iPhone-like theme and icons for Treos, Pocket PCs, and other mobile devices -- but also to bloggers who had merely linked to said sites, according to reports.
Over on XDA-Developer, for example, a user called hanmin posted a Pocket PC screen emulating the iPhone. Soon after, hanmin received a request from Apple's iLawyers that he remove all the "copyrighted materials" from the forum (which he did).
But Apple also sent a cease and desist letter to blogger Paul O'Brien, asking him to remove a link in his blog to the aforementioned forum, as well as a screen image comparing the iPhone screen to the Pocket PC emulation.
O'Brien complied, but posted in his blog: "A bit excessive IMHO... and although I can accept that they can get upset over the screenshot, can they really demand I remove the link too? :-S"
iPhone-esque icons developed for Palm -- called iPhony -- suffered a similar fate over on Brighthand.com. As I write this, though (at around Tuesday, midnight PT), The Unofficial Apple Blog (tuaw.com) still has a link to the forum as well as a screen image posted.
Indeed, Apple may have its work cut out for it if it aims to clamp down on both developers of free iPhone-like icons and themes (such as one currently available for the Sony Ericsson on Atacama.com), as well as blogs that talk about them.
The iPhone emulations, of course, are indicative of just how popular Apple's technology is -- both in look and functionality. Perhaps the company could take that emulation as a high form of flattery, rather than a cause for saber rattling. After all, we're not talking about other companies cranking out arguably cheap knock-offs of Apple wares here. I really don't see this costing Apple anything.
Now, as to Apple's attack on blogs that are doing nothing more than reporting the news, well, we all know what happened the last time the company attempted to stifle the blogosphere.
Posted by Ted Samson on January 15, 2007 11:35 PM
December 27, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Feeling left out of the must-have craze of Xmas 2006? Gizmodo has honed in on a site the helps you locate a Nintendo Wii or Sony PS3 in Web 2.0 glory, via live maps.
Anecdotal reports from family is that the Wii is all that, with Opera boosting it with a Web browser in extra Christmas cheer.
From Gizmodo:
Just scan the map and you can see how many they have in stock or when the next shipment is. For some reason Circuit City and Target aren't reporting their numbers, but Best Buy is. At the very least, you can easily see the store's phone numbers so you can ring them up and ask.
How high-tech is that?
Posted by Mike Barton on December 27, 2006 04:51 PM
December 22, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Nintendo Wii gets browser, we win
The announcement that the Nintendo Wii game machine which allows players to use a remote control device to play games on their TV will get the Opera browser is very big news.
If you've ever tried to access your email on a hotel tv which had built-in Internet access you know what a pain that can be. But with an easy to use remote, rather than a cordless keyboard, access becomes far more comfortable and natural, especially to gamers in whose hands the future of high tech rests.
The browser on Wii also puts yet another obstacle in the way of Microsoft's strategy to become the center of the universe in the family room.
Yes, you can browse the Web with Xbox if you are technical genius and can figure it out. But it takes a consumer electronics company like Nintendo to make it simple.
In the battle for dominance in the home, PC versus TV, or who controls the home entertainment center, this is yet another example of how the TV will reign supreme.
Apple had a better chance than Microsoft at dominance but at the end of the day I would put my money on the consumer electronics companies.
After all didn't Comdex, the giant computer show of yesteryear disappear while the Consumer Electronics show is bigger than ever.
Of course, the TV of the future will have processors built in, along with Wi-Fi and maybe a VoIP phone hanging off the side [I'm speaking figuratively here] with a video VoIP call displayed on the screen.
On the inside it won't look like your father's TV. But on the outside it will look just about the same.
And we won't call it, HD TV, or flat panel TV or a Computer TV, we will just call it TV.
Posted by Ephraim Schwartz on December 22, 2006 03:04 PM
December 19, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft's Zune player has been battling for street cred amid nagging reports of lackluster sales and all around ineptitude in the design and launch of the new MP3 player. But Microsoft may be ready to bury one of its biggest launch blunders: Zune's incompatibility with Vista.
According to a post on zuneinsider.com, a company blog run by Cesar Menendez, Microsoft will issue a 22 MB patch for the Zune player today that will fix a host of bugs and other glitches, and make the new players compatible with Vista.
The update is expected to be released at 10:00AM PT. The official Zune Web site still says that Vista support is pending. Zune users who don't run Vista are advised to install the patch as well to obtain the useability fixes included in it, Menendez said.
Unclear is whether the update will make Zunes compatible with official Vista releases, or the millions of beta versions of the OS currently running.
Posted by Paul Roberts on December 19, 2006 09:46 AM
December 07, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Palm buys rights back to own OS
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a genius when it comes to business. But MBA or not, the latest news out of Palm has to leave more than just me scratching my head in bewilderment.
Palm Inc, formerly known as PalmOne, formerly known as Palm Inc., announced today it is buying a perpetual license for the Palm OS from Access, a company that bought PalmSource last year which owned the license after splitting with Palm Inc in 2003, for $44 million.
Do you follow?
So in essence Palm Inc. is paying $44 million to buy back a
technology it gave away three years ago.
What does this all mean?
With Palm Inc. already running both the Windows Mobile OS and Palm OS one has to wonder if either sales of the Windows version are not going well or despite the best efforts of Access to botch up the purchase of practically a household name in handhelds, the darn OS is still doing well on the original Palm. Go figure.
What should you or your company do?
Buy smart phones.
Posted by Ephraim Schwartz on December 7, 2006 01:55 PM
November 21, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Update: PS3 able to run Office?
Sony's new game console may not just be for gaming, and you might even be able to claim your new "toy" as a business expense, writes InfoWorld Test Center's Ted Samson.
This is thanks to Sony being good enough to make available Open Platform for PlayStation 3, which has allowed Linux enthusiasts to load their new PS3s with Fedora Core 5 OS.
Samson writes:
Intrigued? Well, QJ.net has some instructions on how to go about doing the installation, and videos are popping up on sites like YouTube showing how it's done.According to QJ.net, once you've put Fedora on your PS3, "you will be able to install any app as long as it has a PPC build of it. That includes most major applications like Mozilla Firefox, VLC player, and more."
Update: Well, So, Codeweavers CrossOver Linux software does run Windows apps on Fedora 5, but not a PS3 with because it runs on a Cell processor..
According to one blog entry found in this Google search, Codeweavers works pretty well.
But could not virtualization software do the trick? Just not sure if any is done for Cell. According to IBM Research, Cell does virtualization.
Is it possible?
Challenge, or Game in this context, is on...
Posted by Mike Barton on November 21, 2006 04:40 PM
November 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Is Microsoft's Zune turning into Bob? According to early press reports following the launch of Microsoft's iPod Killer, it may well be.
We all remember Microsoft BOB -- right? That disastrous effort to change the whole desktop GUI metaphor to something more cute and family friendly? Well, Bob didn't go over so well and the project, plus its "shoot me in the forehead, please" smiley face logo have become synonymous for ambitious Redmond projects that flopped. Barring a major re-think from Microsoft (something they didn't give to Bob) Zune may be a Bob for the gadget world.
Zune's problems started even before the device hit store shelves. Most reviewers -- many of them iPod owners -- couldn't help but compare the device to Apple's megapopular MP3 player and find it wanting. While the device did get high marks for it's UI and look and design,the close feature similarities and prices between the 30GB Zune and similar iPod models, as well as iPod's greater number of model and size options, and iTunes franchise have made the Zune seem a tough sell.
Hint to Microsoft: If you're making a gadget that's supposed to replace a gadget that most of your likely customers already own -- don't play it conservative!("Buy my new Potato peeler. It's almost exactly like the one you already have, but it comes in brown!")
The tepid reviews seemed to have dampened the public's appetite for the player, and early reports were that the devices were hardly moving in many retail outlets.
A couple days out, there are stories about problems with music discovery and other features.
Already facing a steep hill to climb against the iPod, however, Microsoft may have really "BOBed" the Zune with decisions that were largely avoidable. Most importantly, the company decided to stick a knife in the back of the media and retail partners it had (AOL, MusicMatch, Napster, WalMart) by not supporting PlayForSure, a music download initiative based on Microsoft's own Windows Media Player DRM format. Nor did the company decide to leverage the PlayForSure.com store to purchase tunes for the Zune. Instead, Redmond ditched the whole Playforsure operation to set up it's own Zune Marketplace music store and Web portal, a la iTunes, but with a smaller library of music. Adding insult to injury, the company struck a sweetheart deal with Universal that gives that media giant a cut of all Zune sales, and there's already speculation that other labels will line up for a similar cut of the Zune take -- making profitability even tougher.
More recently, it's come out that -- hold on to your hat -- Zune players do not work with the Vista Operating System, Microsoft's next version of Windows, which is due out to consumers in January. So far, Microsoft is just saying "check back for updates" on Vista-Zune compatibility. The lack of a clear upgrade path for an OS that's already out the door is just NUTS.
Microsoft has a long history of making slow, incremental improvements to its products. The company can still salvage Zune (as it could have BOB), but it will take modest improvements in features, price and options. (Hint: double down on the Wi-Fi stuff.)
More fundamentally, though, Microsoft's whacky DRM and music sharing restrictions show that it still hasn't proven that it "gets" the revolution that's happening in the media business and among young, gadget savvy consumers. Three plays for three days? Please.
But lets face it, unlike operating systems and desktop software, there are already a slew of well funded competitors in the Zune space who aren't about to sit by and be the next WordPerfect. For now, I'm passing on the Zune.
Posted by Paul Roberts on November 16, 2006 09:18 AM
October 18, 2006 | Comments: (0)
MS' Zune no sweet tune in Hebrew
Microsoft's iPod killer, Zune, may sound like hip branding to some, but older Hebrew speakers will probably do a second take when they come across the players at Best Buy while shopping for Bar Mitzvah gifts.
The name for the device -- which will take on the Apple iPod when released later this year -- sounds like a vulgarity, specifically the "f" word, in Hebrew, IDG News' Jeremy Kirk reports.
Why do I say it may only offend older Hebrew speakers? Well, heard of fcuk, or French Connection? Microsoft may be going after just the same twist on the new cool in getting warm on the f-word with the youngins.
Kirk reports that the tech industry continually creates goofy product names, er Google, but the companies usually hire branding consultancies to extensively research product names, including translations in other language.
Seems Redmond had a day off on brand name research, but Hebrew linguists are divided over Zune anyway. Tsila Ratner, the head of Hebrew courses in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College London, says Zune is an unsuitable name for a product. However, Haggit Inbar-Littas, a 30-year veteran Hebrew teacher with the London Jewish Cultural Center, says while the name is "ridiculous" and close to the bad word, it's unlikely to be mistaken.
Microsoft breaks the controversy down to pronunciation. "While we do acknowledge the similarity in pronunciation to Hebrew zi-yun, that is not the intended meaning of the name Zune," according to a Microsoft statement.
Too late? Is Zune is dead in the water with this oversight? Talk back below.
Posted by Mike Barton on October 18, 2006 02:27 PM
August 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)
As mobile phones become increasingly vital tools for corporate and social communication, savvy and malicious hackers are finding new ways to exploit both the security holes of devices as well as the, well, gullibility of some end-users.
Case in point: McAfee today announced a new type of phishing attack. Called "SMiShing," a marriage of phishing and SMS, this attack sends a message to the phones of unsuspecting users reading, "We're confirming you've signed up for our dating service. You will be charged $2/day unless you cancel your order," writes McAfee Mobile Threat Researcher David Rayhawk in the McAfee Avert Labs blog.
Included in the text message is a URL that some unsuspecting users will very likely click. From there, Rayhawk writes:
"[Users] are prompted to download a program which is actually a Trojan horse that turns the computer into a zombie, allowing it to be controlled by hackers. The computer then becomes part of a bot network, which can then be used to launch denial of service attacks, install keylogging software and steal personal account information and other malicious activities. Because monitoring botnet activity is complex, it is challenging to know the current scope of the problem."
Meanwhile, CBS recently announced plans to push TV clips to mobile devices via Bluetooth. The idea is, a user would see a billboard at Grand Central Station in New York City urging him or her to enable Bluetooth. Doing so would let the user connect with a Bluetooth system on the billboard and download video files.
Clever? Certainly -- perhaps from a marketing perspective. But urging users to enable Bluetooth in a public place like that could result in leaving them susceptible to a virus like Cabir.
Mobile insecurity shouldn't just concern individuals who fear for their phone bills, of course. Mobile devices can be overlooked and poorly protected gateways to your enterprise network.
McAfee's Rayhawk urges enterprises to revisit (or create, in some cases) mobile security policies: "Enterprises would be wise to keep a close eye on this issue and think about policies for securing their mobile devices ahead of time, rather than playing catch up when it hits them, and begin to educate their employees about the potential risk now."
Posted by Ted Samson on August 28, 2006 01:28 PM
August 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Apple reaches Creative resolution
Creative Technology has taken a $100 million bite out of Apple as a result of settled litigation over a patent dispute.
Last August, Creative was awarded a patent for the digital interface and file organization employed by various MP3 players - including Apple's iPod line. Last March, Creative sued Apple for infringing on its patented technology.
Apple today reported that it will pay Creative $100 million for a paid-up license to use Creative's patent in all Apple products. If Creative succeeds in licensing the patent to other companies, Apple will recoup an undisclosed amount of that settlement, according to a statement from Apple.
"Creative is very fortunate to have been granted this early patent," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in the statement. "This settlement resolves all of our differences with Creative, including the five lawsuits currently pending between the companies, and removes the uncertainty and distraction of prolonged litigation."
Additionally, Apple announced today that Creative has joined its Made for iPod program.
Creative Chairman and COO Sim Wong Hoo foresees "significant new opportunities for Creative," now that it's participating in the Made for iPod program. "We are very excited about this new market opportunity for our speaker systems, our just-introduced line of earphones and headphones, and our future family of X-Fi audio enhancement products," he said in the statement.
Posted by Ted Samson on August 23, 2006 02:41 PM
July 11, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Tuning in to Microsoft's iPod killer
Information is finally starting to come in about Microsoft's forthcoming wireless media player, reports Engadget.
The project, called Argo, will apparently spawn at the very least one device, which Engadget reports it saw yesterday.
Microsoft faces an uphill battle in its efforts to take on Apple Computer, which shipped 8.5 million iPods in the second quarter of 2006 alone, marking a 61 percent increase from its sales for the same quarter in 2005, we've reported.
But to get people to trade their iPods in for Microsoft's Wi-Fi enabled media player, Microsoft says it will let users download for free any songs they have already bought from the iTunes Music Store.
"They'll actually scan iTunes for purchased tracks and then automatically add those to your account," Engadget reports.
So Microsoft shoulders the cost for the songs, but how else to pry an iPod out of Gen X and Y's fingers.
Microsoft's new player sounds promising, but what is even moreso is some competition, what with Apple simply dominating players much like Microsoft does with Windows.
If Microsoft is successful in stealing away any masses with its next big thing in digital music, Apple may have to come out with the next, and so on.
I'd be happy with my OS X-powered iPod dream gadget.
But will the masses? With the verdict still out about converged devices vs separate phones, PDAs etc, for example, would converging a music player and mini PC all-in-one even fly?
Talk back to us...
Posted by Mike Barton on July 11, 2006 02:38 PM
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