Blog Archives
Pricing, sale date set for Motorola Cliq
By Michelle Megna | September 29, 2009T-Mobile today issued details on the launch of Motorola's Android handset, Cliq: it costs $199 with a two-year contract and pre-sales for existing customers begins Oct. 19.
The [Cliq impressed industry observers](/mobility/article.php/3838651/Cliq+Motorola+Finally+Makes+Its+Android+Play.htm) when unveiled at Motorola's press event Sept. 10, but absent was any news of the first Android-powered handset slated for Verizon, also made by Motorola, and code-named Sholes.
Sholes, a.k.a. A855, recently passed muster with the FCC.It will support EVDO Rev A and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, but no other details are available.
Now reports are surfacing that Sholes will be dubbed Tao and released in October. That would be a good thing for Verizon, because [Sprint's HTC Hero](/mobility/article.php/3837661) goes on sale Oct.11, and today we learn T-Mobile is kicking off Cliq sales at retail Nov. 2.
October will see the culmination of several firsts for Android that have been in the works for some time.
The touchscreen HTC Hero, $179.99 after rebates, is Sprint's first smartphone running on Google's open source mobile platform. It's also the first Android phone with a redesigned user interface. Called HTC Sense, the new user interface offers a multi-panel, customizable home screen with Internet-based widgets.
The Hero is also the first Android phone to go on sale that's not under contract with T-Mobile, which sells the G1 and myTouch.
With the Cliq, Motorola debuts its first Android-powered handset as it mounts a comeback in the mobile sector with a slew of new releases in time for the holidays.
And, with the mobile rumormill in full gear with reports of Motorola's Sholes-A855-Tao coming soon, Verizon may be added to the list of firsts for Android.
(Cliq photo courtesy of: Motorola)
iPhone owners buy boat, Lamborghini with eBay app
By Michelle Megna | September 24, 2009The eBay iPhone app is proving to be profitable for eBay, with the company realizing $380 million in sales through the iPhone within the first nine months of this year, said CEO John Donahoe, during a [keynote speech at the Shop.org](http://blog.shop.org/2009/09/23/ebay-ceo-discusses-mobile-customer-feedback-and-embracing-competition/) event this week.
The eBay chief said the online marketplace is making mobile a priority as it's having a "a powerful impact on commerce and payments," adding that about 4 million people have downloaded eBay's iPhone app.
And, iPhone users aren't just buying liquidated and collectible items. Donahoe said earlier this year a Lamborghini was purchased with the iPhone app and last month a shopper used their handset to buy a $150,000 boat.
Google updates WinMo app with location, more
By Michelle Megna | September 24, 2009Google's app for Windows Mobile phones got some love today from the search giant in the form of three new features.
Designed to make mobile search of Google faster and easier, the updates include My Location, Google Suggest and Search with Maps, writes Craig Wilkinson, software engineer, at the [Google mobile blog](http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/09/google-mobile-app-for-windows-mobile.html).
The location feature provides local results without a user typing in their location. Once a user sees the blue My Location dot with the current location below the search box, he or she can search for a local query, for example "italian restaurant," and the search results will contain local business results along with Web results.
"To protect your privacy, location is encrypted when sent to the server, and only your most recent location is stored so that successive searches can use the same location. You can disable My Location at any time in the Advanced Options screen," writes Wilkinson.
Google Suggest reduces typing time by supplying suggested URLS. Search with Maps works by typing in a local query, getting suggestions, and then selecting the ones with red pins next to them to launch the search inside Google Maps.
Sybase, Siemens streamline mobile management
By Michelle Megna | September 24, 2009Sybase and Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN) Group just joined forces to provide customers with an integrated mobile and fixed-line voice and data service targeted at making unified communications and mobile work together more efficiently.
The new offering marries Sybase's mobile device management capabilities with the SEN Group's fixed mobile convergence (FMC) technology to provide a streamlined for businesses to manage diversified communications. The service will also help businesses to effectively manage operations such as inventory and expenses, logistics, mobile devices and applications.
Sybase Afaria enables the SEN Group to significantly reduce the complexities associated with managing multiple device types at a time when consumers are increasingly bringing personal smart phones into the workplace.
Afaria will be embedded into the SEN Group's technology, a platform that centralizes enterprise VoIP, VoWLAN and cellular mobility.
The new offering consists of two components. The first is the MobileConnect Appliance, located at the central site, sitting on the wired network between the WLAN and the SIP PBX, which continually monitors and manages mobile user sessions regardless of whether they are on the corporate or public network. The second part is the MobileConnect Client, software that resides on the dual-mode handset and works with the MobileConnect Appliance to navigate enterprise-cellular exchange.
IBM-RIM mobile service gets subscription model
By Michelle Megna | September 24, 2009IBM today released a new subscription-based management service for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution platform aimed at helping companies to budget their mobility costs more efficiently.
The newly unveiled IBM Mobile Enterprise Services for the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is a service designed to simplify management, technical support and cost of a client's BlackBerry deployment, while making it easier for them to scale the solution to meet their business demands.
It consolidates the technical, administrative, licensing and support costs of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution with pricing on a monthly, per-user basis. The new subscription-based pricing model is designed to help organizations better project and budget mobility costs and minimize their upfront investment.
The new managed service offering will be provided by IBM professionals certified through the BlackBerry Certification Program.
Study: Palm Pre Cool, BlackBerry Not So Much
By Michelle Megna | September 24, 2009In just over four months, the Palm Pre is making progress in mindshare, second only to the iPhone 3GS, says a study out today.
While the iPhone and its apps are nothing less than a cultural touchstone, it appears that the Palm Pre is also getting some of those warm-fuzzy feelings consumers attach to Apple's handsets. What's more, the Pre is beating out BlackBerry Curve and Storm and Android G1 in the cool quotient.
"Palm has seemingly demonstrated that other brands can successfully launch smartphones that not only match the iPhone's glow, but can stand alone in their own right," says the [report](http://podcasts.aolcdn.com/engadget/files/August2009MDPSignatureSmartphones.pdf), "Signature Smartphones: Gaining Mindshare in Order to Gain Market Share," by consultant group Interpret LLC.
The top three factors consumers weigh when deciding which smartphone to buy are, in order, how "smart," "hip/cool" and "productive" it makes them appear to be, according to the study, which does not indicate how many people were polled.
Proving marketers should never underestimate a consumer's need to project a flattering image, the study says people are willing to pay more for smartphones that, in their minds, do so.
"It appears the most highly publicized signature smartphones are no longer expected to simply accomplish advanced tasks, but they must also project three key attributes of their owners to others," says the study. "Consumers are so pressed to portray these traits that they are demonstrating a willingness to accept phones that accomplish this undertaking at a higher price tag."
While the Pre is faring well in terms of how consumers perceive the Palm brand, placing second to the iPhone 3GS, RIM's BlackBerry is still not in the V.I.P tent of cool, ays the report.
"Interest in projecting a hip or cool image was so prominent (at 48 percent) that it is crucial that vendors put more focus in connecting with this sentiment in their marketing collateral and campaigns. Although RIM has focused on exceptional e-mail functionality with its BlackBerry portfolio and Google has emphasized its advanced operating system with the Android OS, they have not leveraged these capabilities in such a way to necessarily embody 'coolness' with the general public."
Is it time for Time Inc. to enter e-reader market?
By Michelle Megna | September 11, 2009Time Inc. wants a slice of the burgeoning e-reader market, though it remains to be seen exactly how the magazine publishing giant will go about it.
After an [internal document was leaked to a news outlet](http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/tech/Time-Inc-Time-for-a-New-E-Reader-58563707.html), reports circulated speculating that the company may be considering offering an e-reader device by the end of the year.
From the sidelines, it would appear that moving into the nascent market by licensing content or through some other type of content-delivery deal would make sense for the magazine publishing empire. But getting into the hardware aspect of the business? Not so much. It's a daunting challenge, and one that's already being undertaken by stalwarts in the electronics, book publishing and e-commerce industries.
Amazon's Kindle currently rules the e-reader roost, but challengers are jumping into the mix. [Sony's new wireless e-reader](/ec-news/article.php/3836106/Sony+Unveils+3G+EBook+Reader+Library+TieIn.htm) aimed at taking on the Kindle goes on sale this holiday season. Not far behind is Barnes & Noble, which [will debut a wireless e-reader ](/ec-news/article.php/3830966/Barnes++Nobles+Reply+to+Kindle+to+Debut+in+2010.htm)early next year in a partnership with hardware maker Plastic Logic.
Taiwan-based netbook maker [Asus is also considering rolling out two new e-readers](/hardware/article.php/3838086/Asus+Angling+to+Bring+Netbook+Cred+to+Ebooks.htm), one for about $160, that would seriously undercut the competition.
For now, Time Inc. isn't disclosing what approach it will take, though it appears it is keen on licensing the content from its stable of magazines, which includes *Sports Illustrated*, *People* and *Entertainment Weekly*.
"We're speaking with a number of hardware and software companies, as well as other content companies," a Time Inc. spokeswoman told *InternetNews.com*.
