Archive for May, 2010:
Ever Wonder Who Has Your Old Number?
If you’re like me, you’ve probably used a bunch of phone numbers throughout the course of your life. Maybe you moved or changed cell phone providers back in the dark ages when you couldn’t bring your number with you. Ever get the itch to call one of those numbers, or maybe you just wonder who [...]
Baby Come Back
I’ve spent a few days talking about smartphones, and as I mentioned in my EVO review post, I’ve switched away from the iPhone, which I loved for three years. With the iPhone 4 on deck to wow us all with new features, I’m wondering what it would take to switch again. I’m talking about between [...]
I’m in Love with Android and the HTC EVO
I promised a review of the HTC EVO I got at Google IO (@googleio) last week. When I first started tinkering with Android on the Motorola Driod prior to IO, I had no intention of switching from my iPhone. In fact, I debated even opening the Droid, since I planned to sell it after the conference. [...]
How to Get Free Stuff
When I read Louis Gray’s EVO review, something struck me as funny. Not only did he get his HTC EVO for free at Google IO, but he also got his iPhone 3G for free by winning a contest. Hmm, we here at the ‘Lab have benefited from free phones as well, and not just at [...]
Why iPhone Will Win
So, here comes a companion piece to yesterday’s missive “Why Android Will Win.” I’ll be clear up front. I do think Android will win, and by win, I mean surpass the iPhone to challenge Blackberry as the #2 smartphone of choice worldwide. There was some question as to what “win” actually means, which is why [...]
Why Android Will Win
You probably know by now that attendees of Google IO last week received a surprise gift, the HTC EVO 4G. Thank you Google. My wife was in shock that I got not one, but two phones for attending IO. Great, right? This makes a lot of sense for Google, since they need more Android developers [...]
Square is Very Cool and Super Useful
You’ve probably heard about Square (@square) by now. I mentioned it last week apropos of Alex Payne’s (@al3x) departure from Twitter; Square is the brainchild of Jack Dorsey (@jack), one of Twitter’s cofounders. Some of the Square team was at Google IO (@googleio) last week, and I had a chance to chat with them and get my [...]
So Far, Multitasking is Annoying
A while back, I debated the utility of multitasking to most smartphone users, apropos of the announcement that the iPhone OS would soon support task switching. One of the primary selling points of Android phones, most notably the Droid, is its ability to multi-task. Now, we’re not talking about true multitasking like you seem from an OS, but rather, [...]
A Fast Google IO Recap
I’m back from Google IO (@googleio), which was a great time and quite interesting to the geek in me. I wanted to share my quick impressions, before they go cold. If you follow me (@jkuramot) on Twitter, you might have noticed I tweeted my impressions of each day’s keynote. I hadn’t intended to cover the [...]
Separated at Birth?
This has been bothering me for a while. The Android logo reminds me of something, and I finally identified what . . . Terrance and Phillip from South Park. I guess Android is Canadian. Am I wrong? Find the comments.
Mmm, Froyo, a.k.a. Android 2.2 Looks Sweet
The whole team, minus Paul, is excited for Google IO (@googleio) this week. If you’re around for the conference, or otherwise, hit us up, and let’s meet IRL. One focus for IO will be Android, specifically the 2.2 release, code-named Froyo. I’m really hoping we’ll get this update on our Droids. Two of the highly [...]
Long Live Walk Up and Use!
I bought Fruit Ninja ($0.99 iTunes), produced by halfbrick, for my iPhone last week, and so far, it’s more than paid for itself. What’s struck me most about it is its simplicity. It’s truly “walk up and use” design. When presented with the app, everyone can play the game and be successful enough to get [...]
All a Twitter about Financial Services
About an hour ago, Alex Payne (@al3x), one of Twitter’s early employees and their API Lead, announced he was leaving Twitter for a startup called BankSimple. BankSimple is very early stage and little is known beyond what Alex includes in his post. The most telling sentence has to be: Imagine, for a moment, a bank [...]
Facebook Should Go Freemium
A lot of ink has been spilled lately about Facebook and its privacy changes. Some key people have deleted their accounts, and not one, but two so-called open projects have started. This is all noise. Even if all the people who rail against Facebook’s privacy changes, do actually quit (they won’t), that will only be [...]
Iron Man Skin for WebCenter
John Sim has produced an Iron Man skin for WebCenter. Pretty slick, although I’m not sure how long I could use it. Add this to his list of other WebCenter skins.
Adventures with Android
About a month ago, Google announced they were giving away Droids and Nexus Ones to Google IO (@googleio) attendees, which is next week. Droids go to attendees registered with US addresses. Nexus Ones go to international attendees. The Droid comes with 30 days of complimentary 3G service on Verizon, so it’s fully functional. Android will be a [...]
Found Business Models
I found Cultivated Play, an essay about Farmville and why it works, absolutely fascinating. I’ve never been a fan of games on Facebook, even when all they involved were throwing sheep or biting someone. So, I’m dimly aware of Farmville and its ilk, but never really cared to know how they worked. After reading Cultivated [...]
Follow Friday: Clay Shirky
I’ve been staycationing this week, in case you were wondering why it’s been quiet here. It’s Friday, so I thought I’d extend a Twitter tradition and do a follow Friday of my own, in longer format. At SXSW in March, Paul and I both attended Clay Shirky’s keynote, “Monkeys with Internet Access: Sharing, Human Nature [...]
Innovative Features We Take for Granted
So, our changes to the internal instance of WebCenter have been live for a week now, and the feedback so far has been very positive. We did get our first rant yesterday, but it seemed to be frustration about the loss of an OOTB environment for demos. It’s Q4, so everyone in sales is running [...]
