Droid - the good, the bad and the ugly

November 6th, 2009 10:24pm

Droid, the most hyped Android phone to date - even Google promoted it on its home page today - is finally available to buy in Verizon Wireless stores.

More than 100 people queued at midnight outside a midtown Manhattan store to be among the first members of the public to get their hands on one.

I’ve been lucky enough to have one on loan for more than a week now, so here’s my assessment after the jump of whether it has been worth the wait and queues. Continue reading "Droid - the good, the bad and the ugly"

FT techtalk - the boys in the bubbles

November 6th, 2009 5:32am

In this week’s FT techtalk, we discussed how the dotcom world is bubbling along again, the tech industry is rebounding and the video game sector is about to be lifted by a rocket-propelled grenade or two.

We also took a peek at a new Twitter device, looked at the newest phones and brought you the breaking news on the resolution to the Skype dispute. Read our multimedia transcript below and join us next time live for FT Techtalk. Continue reading "FT techtalk - the boys in the bubbles"

Qualcomm sees falling phone prices in 2010

November 5th, 2009 7:16am

The growth of the smartphone category is causing intense competition among operating systems, handset makers and the chipmakers that supply them.

Paul Jacobs, chief executive of Qualcomm, the biggest wireless chipmaker, sees that competition intensifying over the next year in smartphones and other handsets, which will translate into lower prices. Continue reading "Qualcomm sees falling phone prices in 2010"

Android Market remains baffling bazaar

November 4th, 2009 10:41pm

Backers of the Android mobile operating system today acknowledged they needed to do more to promote applications, as Apple extended its lead with the iPhone to more than 100,000 apps now available in its App Store.

That’s 15,000 more than the last update of 85,000…and the growth is more than the total number of Android apps - 12,000 - created in the past year.

At the Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco today, Cole Brodman, T-Mobile chief technology officer, said discoverability of apps on Android represented a challenge for consumers. Continue reading "Android Market remains baffling bazaar"

Linden Lab’s work-Second Life balance

November 4th, 2009 6:55am

The Second Life virtual world has suffered the reality of company firewalls in its attempts to break into the corporate world.

But not for much longer. Second Life Enterprise, announced on Wednesday, is a version of the virtual world for business, packaged as an appliance that can be plugged easily into a corporate network.

This behind-the-firewall product should give a second enterprise life to Second Life, satisfying the reservations of businesses who feel the consumer-driven open world does not have enough security, controls and content for their needs. Continue reading "Linden Lab’s work-Second Life balance"

Alex v Nook, legal duel for dual-screen eReaders

November 3rd, 2009 11:50pm

We did wonder about the timing two weeks ago, when the first eReader with dual screens, one of them colour, appeared 24 hours before another eReader, also with dual screens, one of them colour.

Draw your own conclusions, but Spring Design, which launched the Alex on the eve of Barnes & Noble’s Nook, now says it has filed a lawsuit alleging “Barnes & Noble misappropriated trade secrets and violated the parties’ non-disclosure agreement when it copied Alex’s features into its recently announced Nook e-book.” Continue reading "Alex v Nook, legal duel for dual-screen eReaders"

Ribbit Mobile offers Google Voice alternative

November 3rd, 2009 11:00pm

Ribbit, the software-based Silicon Valley phone company, has launched Ribbit Mobile, a Google Voice-type service with some useful extras thrown in.

The start-up,  which was bought by BT of the UK last year, adds “social address book” features to its service and allows users to keep their own mobile number. Continue reading "Ribbit Mobile offers Google Voice alternative"

Valley View: Google’s Android in the oven

November 3rd, 2009 7:55pm

From this week’s Digital Business edition:

The arrival of a giant chocolate eclair on the front lawn at Google last month had an extra significance, other than as the latest example of outlandish artwork installed at the headquarters of the world’s biggest internet company.

It joined a huge cupcake and a well-rounded doughnut, both sitting under the watchful eye of a large green robot.

Continue reading View from the Valley

AudioBoo gets amplified funding

October 26th, 2009 9:10pm

AudioBoo should soon be making a bigger noise in the US after a fresh funding round today.

The UK-based service is the best technology I’ve encountered for creating and instantly publishing high-quality mini-podcasts while on the go. Continue reading "AudioBoo gets amplified funding"

User-generated Wi-Fi hotspots

October 25th, 2009 9:02pm

Finding that elusive open Wi-Fi connection just got easier this week with the launch of a new application that is building a world Wi-Fi map from its users connections.

Devicescape, a Silicon Valley startup, had previously offered a simple program called Easy Wifi that enabled automatic logons to Wi-Fi networks - walk into a Starbucks and the iPhone app would immediately connect you to the AT&T hotspot there. Continue reading "User-generated Wi-Fi hotspots"