Showing posts with label Smartphones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smartphones. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Landlines a thing of the past?


Most churches have their own landline, but the folks in the church have rid themselves of the landline phone for cell phones. Many of our church members have opted to do just that. My wife and I have chosen not to have a landline and solely rely on our cellphones. If we have a babysitter, we leave them my wife's phone in case of emergency, but some of the sitters say don't bother they already have their own cellphone with them. Again we are living in the age of the mobile phone. It has been a huge success and you would be hard press to find a store, mall, restaurant that doesn't have someone talking on their mobile phone. So is the landline a thing of the past? Foxnews surveyed some homes to answer that question. Here is the article about it:


"It's official: There are more homes in the U.S. with cell phones and no land lines than with land lines and no cell phones.

In a survey of 13,000 homes, Mediamark Research, a firm that has been tracking such data since the mid 1980s, found for the first time that cell-only households outnumber land line-only homes, boasting 14 percent of homes to land line-only's 12.3 percent.

The shift, study authors say, is the synthesis of two trends: the slow decline of household land line phones since 2000, and the meteoric rise of the number of households with (one or more) cell phones in that time. Of the surveyed households, 86.2 percent have at least one cell phone, compared to 84.5 percent that still have at least one land line phone.

The separation of the two groups is likely to continue and further widen as more and more households lose land lines and gain additional mobile phones. Study author Andy Arthur did point out to the New York Times though, that there is an older group, who will never give up their land lines in favor of newer technology."

Friday, July 20, 2007

Motorola feeling the effects of the iPhone?


The New York Times is reporting that Motorola has posted a $28 million loss. I wonder if the iPhone had anything to do with this loss? Maybe... maybe not. I am sure that many handset makers will start feeling the iPhone effect in their pocketbooks. Most of them will no doubt release a competing device to the iPhone. Motorola is counting on the Razr 2 and the Z8 to get them back on track. If Apple does release an iPhone nano, it may not work for them.


"CHICAGO, July 19 (AP) — Motorola reported a second straight quarterly loss Thursday after another quarter of subpar sales. The latest deficit, $28 million, raises pressure on the company and its chief executive, Edward J. Zander.

The company promised financial improvement in its cellphone division in the second half but steered clear of estimates after weak international sales contributed to back-to-back losses for the first time in five years.

Its hopes for recovery, put off until next year, hinge on the reception of new phones like the Razr 2 and the Z8 that are just being shipped."

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

A Blackberry with Wifi- SWEET!


For all you Blackberry users, you can now rejoice. RIM is releasing later this summer the BlackBerry 8820 which will have built-in WiFi. I think with the release of the iPhone, more smartphones will have WiFi as an option. The cell providers need not to be worried about this kinda of phones steal from their data network. Charge a flat low rate for unlimited internet and those that use a lot will be balanced out by those who are occasional users, but could not afford the higher rate package. So, I'm glad to see another phone with WiFi coming out. Unfortunately, it is coming out on the At&t network and I know that may disappoint some of you.

"TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. announced a new model of its ubiquitous smartphone on Tuesday, this one able to operate on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

The dual-mode BlackBerry 8820, as the device is known, will be launched by AT&T in the United States later this summer, the company said.

"The BlackBerry 8820 complements our carrier partners' cellular networks with the added ability to stay connected via Wi-Fi at home, through hotspots and corporate campuses," RIM co-Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis said in a statement."

Friday, June 29, 2007

Live from the Apple Store in Buffalo, NY

The Apple store is now closed here and rumor has it that our store has about 1,000 iPhones. Everybody in line is quite excited and we've all been swapping stories and such. Apple folks are quite friendly folks and being a new Apple user, I must say that they really love their Macs. Surprisingly, there are not many folks in line at our store. I've counted about 50-60 people in line and the At&t store has only 6 people in line. Could mean the iPhone won't be selling like hotcakes as so have thought. Although, it may just be the Western New York area. We'll see tomorrow how well they have sold.

Live from the Apple Store in Buffalo, NY


OK, I'm here at the Apple Store in Buffalo, NY awaiting the iPhone's arrival. What can I say, I'm a geek and a pastor. One of my teens thought that I was crazy and so does my pastor, but I explain to them that I am doing it for my The Gadget Pastor blog and my readers. For some reason, they don't share my same zeal for gadgets. So folks, I'll be here until 6pm and then I'll be walking away with an iPhone and I cannot wait. It feels like Christmas day for me like when I was a kid.
There are about 15-20 people inline as of 9:41am eastern time. I've already met George, my line buddy, and we've already been talking about the iPhone. I don't think we'll start seeing a lot of people until later this afternoon. We drove by the At&t store on our way in and the same people I saw last night were the only ones there today. Lots of comments are being made as people pass by and security guards are walking about as well. So, I'll do my best to keep you inform and let you know any other details.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The verdict is in: iPhone the good and the bad.

While I write this, I have several actions going on at ebay right now of my gadgets trying to raise money for an iPhone. I want one really bad. So one of my most important items to know was about the service plans for the device, well, that was released today and they look great for me. The next thing I wanted to know was it worth the price and did it perform as Apple said it would, especially the battery life. Well, David Pogue and Walt Mossberg have reviewed and published their thoughts on the iPhone. There is also a highlight video of these reviews which you can view below:





Engadget has collected facts from the many reviews that have been posted. You can view them here. It does look like one of the biggest complaints will be the Edge data network from At&t. It sounds slow, as bad as dailup in some cases. 
So far much of the reviews have been postive and the iPhone sounds like it will live up to its hype. Undoubtedly, the consumers will have the last say and it will be those early adopters that will be voicing their thoughts over the next days and weeks to come and as they do, we will know more about the iPhone in real life experiences.

I'm off to check my ebay auctions... by the way, take your time to view my Google Ads as they too are helping me raising money for my iPhone. ;)  

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Apple iPhone's compromise.


Yesterday, it was announced that software developers would be able to write applications for the iPhone that only Safari could open. That means Web 2.0 apps and AJAX apps. What does this really mean? We're not getting a device that would have 1,000s of applications for it like a Palm or Nokia device. I like to have the Bible on my handheld devices, but if I cannot do that with my iPhone or I have to go to a website to open the Bible, I'm not likely to get an iPhone. OK, so maybe that is going to far, but I would really think that Apple could do better here with 3rd party developers. I think the iPhone will be a great extension of your Mac or Windows computer, but think of it as a glorified datebook/cellphone/iPod. So that customizing of software on your iPhone will be limited at best. For a really good read on this, check out CNET's article "Apple opens iPhone to developers- kind of."

Monday, March 19, 2007

Google Phone is in the works, say insiders


Now that the iPhone has been announced, it seems folks are now waiting with baited breath for the Google Phone. It has been rumored for sometime now and apparently there are some "insiders" that have now confirmed this. However, Google has yet to confirm official this "insider" news and officially report on a Google Phone. What is exciting about this phone is that it is rumored to have a low cost to it.

"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc. is developing its own mobile phone, according to industry insiders and analysts, while a Google official in Spain last week acknowledged the company is "investigating" such a project.

Google isn't commenting directly on leaks from Europe and the United States which describe a low-cost, Internet-connected phone with a color, wide-screen design. Newspaper and blog reports in recent months have Google shopping its phone design to potential mobile phone manufacturing partners in Asia.

"Mobile is an important area for Google," Google spokeswoman Erin Fors said on Friday. "We remain focused on creating applications and establishing and growing partnerships with industry leaders to develop innovative services for users worldwide. However, we have nothing further to announce."

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Apple, Cisco reach agreement on iPhone name


The iPhone name will be used by both companies. That's right- everybody is winner with Apple and Cisco! Well, I guess Cisco realized that their iphone looked nothing like the iPhone. I'm just glad this saga is over. Time to move on!

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. and Apple Inc. on Wednesday said they have reached an agreement that allow both to use the "iPhone" name, after Cisco sued the iPod maker for using it for a new multimedia phone."

READ MORE

Saturday, February 17, 2007

iPhone's latest rumor, leaked information, or faked info?


Well, this sure does look interesting. Apple iPhone Review is reporting that the Apple iPhone might be discounted with a 2 year contract. The 4 GB model would sell for $300 and the 8 GB for $400 respectively. While this may sound too good to be true, it may just be. The picture that this information is based on looks fake. It looks like a very bad photoshopped job. However, according to Apple iPhone review the image has been pulled at the request of the Pinecone Research. Macrumors also had to pull the image from their site. Engadget Mobile still has the image up at the time of this posting.
Could this mean that the image is true? Possibly. It would be nice to have an iPhone for $300. Also mentioned is the rate plans of the iPhone. Of particular interest is the cost of the data plan at a mere $19.99 with 200 messages plus unlimited Internet and Visual Voicemail. Now if this is true, you'll find me lining up with other iPhone wannabes. My biggest hope is that the cost of the data plan is true. I'm not interested in paying $40+ a month for a data plan.
As this could be a rumor and a photoshopped job, please take this with a grain of salt. True or false, it would be known in the next few months I'm sure.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Some pictures of the best cellphones coming shown at the 3GSM conference


If you are interested in seeing some of the latest phones to soon hit the mobile market, you can over at Wired News. They got pics of some of the hottest phones to be coming to a cellphone market new you. A lot of phones will be more of the smartphone nature and I think consumers will begin buying and using smartphones over the basic cellphone. Personally, I'm looking at buying a smartphone so I don't have to carry around my Lifedrive and my Motorola v557. While they work together well, I think having a device that could do both would be more practical. I've shun a convergence device for some time, but I've been changing my tune lately after seeing some of the upcoming devices in the next few months. (i.e. Windows Mobile 6, iPhone, etc.)

Source: Wired News