"mobility" entries
Ruminations on iPhone 4, iOS and mobile video
We're on the cusp of the post-PC era, and Apple is pushing us there.
Follow the path that Apple has forged in creating a 100-million-device-strong iOS platform and ecosystem (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad). Next, watch the seamless flow of tens of billions of consumer downloads from an iTunes and App Store marketplace that is backed by 150 million active credit cards. Whether you consider the emerging "it" a phone, a computer, a media player, a netbook or a gaming device, is it even a stretch to argue that Apple is on the cusp of completing the last mile to the Post-PC era?
Location in the cloud (part 1)
I’m a guest blogger this week at the 2010 Where 2.0 conference. I’ve been working with mobile location services and systems since 2000. In lieu of a heavy focus on mobile at Where 2.0 this year, Brady Forrest invited me to write a few words and offer insights into a theme around two emerging areas of mobile location data access—Wireless…
Who's Winning the Smartphone Wars?
The short answer – Microsoft and Nokia are slipping, RIM and Apple are gaining. It’s too early to tell with Google. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Last week, UK-based analyst firm Canalys, released its findings on smartphone market share based on Q2 2009 unit shipments (see “Smart phones defy slowdown“). Before sharing Canalys’ findings, it’s important to understand how an evaluation of market share and profits relate to the players involved.
Touch Traveler: London, Paris and only an iPod Touch
Recently, I spent two weeks vacationing in London and Paris with only an iPod Touch for communications and connectivity. Mind you, I am not suggesting that this was a wise thing to do, but it's what I did, and this post captures the good, bad and ugly of the experience. First off, the revelation (for me) was how much the Google Mobile Maps App on iPod Touch completely changes the equation when traveling. Moreover, Maps allows you to visually navigate in Real-Time (very different from the experience on my Blackberry), all the while push-pinning favorite destinations, and determining routes in just a few clicks. It is the consummate reality augmentation application for travel, a sort of "magic compass."
The Mobile Broadband Era: It's About Messages, Mobility and The Cloud
“Listen to the technology; find out what it is telling you.” – Carver Mead The DOS-era was marked by a certain style of computing. It was primitive, largely devoid of graphics, and for developers, an exercise in scarcity management. In fact, the scarcity mindset was so endemic to the time that it gave rise to the urban legend that Microsoft’s…