Posts Tagged ‘palm pre’
The best and worst in mobile 2010: It’s all about Apple and Android
It’s been a big year for mobile news. Android continued its strong growth in the smartphone market, Apple shook things up with the iPhone 4 and completely rejuvenated the tablet market with the iPad, and former mobile titans like RIM, Palm and Nokia struggled to maintain their relevancy.
I may be a little biased as VentureBeat’s lead mobile writer, but this year made it clear to me why mobile is one of the most exciting and vibrant areas in technology right now. The research firm IDC predicted in September that this year over last, and it doesn’t look like that will slow down anytime soon. Come next year, we can expect cheaper and more capable smartphones, and tablets that can finally stand up to the iPad.
But before we enter 2011, let’s take a look back at some of the best and worst stories in mobile news this year.
The Best
The iPad finally gets the tablet right, others follow suit
Apple’s wildly successful tablet was one of the worst kept secrets in the technology industry by the end of 2009, when multiple reports pointed to the fact that Apple was gearing up to introduce a tablet device. But not everybody was excited for yet another computing platform (). But, Apple being Apple, it managed to defy expectations , and it continued to do so as the tablet sold like crazy, .
Mere speculation of the iPad sparked an entirely new wave of tablets earlier this year, but most of those early entries failed, like the HP Slate and (more on the latter below). As it was becoming clearer that the iPad was a success, pretty much every major technology company threw their hats into the tablet arena, with the majority adopting Android as their tablet platform of choice. While is the only legitimate Android iPad competitor right now, we can expect even stronger competition next year. RIM also , which looks cool, but didn’t do much to negate the company’s failure to innovate this year (see below).
Android adoption grows like wildfire thanks to killer devices
Google’s Android platform wasn’t truly successful until the release of the Motorola Droid in November 2009, which was buoyed by a strong anti-Apple marketing campaign. Verizon apparently spent $100 million advertising the Droid, an investment which went on to help the entire Android platform in 2011. Earlier this month, Google’s every day (nearly 10 million a month), up from around 50,000 activations at the beginning of the year. In comparison, in its last quarter.
We can also point to the slew of great Android devices this year as a driving force behind the platform’s success. The year started off with the first true “Google phone”, the Nexus One, which Google attempted to sell on its own through an online store. That plan , but the Nexus One heralded other superpowered Android phones like the Evo 4G and Droid X. In the second half of the year, Samsung unveiled its ambitious Galaxy S line of phones across all major US carriers, which we’ll discuss further below.
Basically, if you were on the lookout for an Android phone this year, it was tough to be disappointed.
Apple’s iPhone 4: Its most polished entry yet
Despite the many great Android phones that hit the market this year — which brought a sexy new design, high-definition video recording, front facing camera and FaceTime for video conferencing, and a high-resolution “Retina Display.” Apple didn’t increase the iPhone’s screen size to compete with larger Android phones, but the iPhone 4’s display looks so good it didn’t seem to matter that it was still 3.5-inches.
But while the iPhone 4 is definitely one of the best phones to come out this year, it isn’t without it’s problems, as we’ll discuss below.
Samsung comes out of nowhere to become a major Android manufacturer
Samsung has been building mobile phones for years now, and it’s also released a couple of low-end Android phones. So you can imagine the surprise when, seemingly out of nowhere, featuring its droolworthy 4-inch Super AMOLED screens and its powerful 1-gigahertz Hummingbird processor. And the company didn’t just focus on hardware — Samsung also managed to bring its Galaxy S phones across all major U.S carriers.
The company’s ambition has seemed to pay off. Samsung announced in November that it , and earlier this month we reported that . Much of the hardware in the Galaxy S phones went into Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet, which has sold 1 million units two months after it launched. And of course, Samsung’s Galaxy S experience , the second Google phone and Nexus One successor.
Front-facing cameras for mobile video chat
Before we knew the official specifications of the iPhone 4, it was widely known that it would pack a front-facing camera for mobile video conferencing. At the time, I argued that , something I believed would be the next killer feature in smartphones. When Apple finally unveiled the iPhone 4, its was one of the biggest announcements. Finally, we had a simple way to initiate mobile video chats from our phones as easily as making a standard phone call.
While FaceTime is certainly restricted by only working on WiFi networks, Apple made the technology even more useful and the most recent iPod Touch version (which also sports cameras).
Android phones like the Evo 4G, MyTouch 4G and Nexus S also feature front-facing cameras, and I suspect the feature will become even more common next year. The new wave of front cameras also opened the doors for , which has created mobile video chat apps that will work across the iPhone and Android.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is surprisingly cool
Perhaps it was the low expectations going in, but count me as shocked that Microsoft was actually able to make a desirable smartphone platform in Windows Phone 7 — one that offered some key difference from its competitors, as well as an attractive and refreshing user interface.
Microsoft , but didn’t until October. And by that point, it was obvious that to regain its relevancy in mobile devices. The company , and a few weeks after the phones hit shelves. Microsoft announced yesterday that , which doesn’t tell us much about actual users, but it’s a sign that consumers definitely want the phones.
Microsoft knew what it needed to succeed: Attractive high-end smartphones, a strong app community and a modern OS. With Windows Phone 7, it managed to put together all of the right pieces to deliver a platform , even if it is several years too late.
Worst
Microsoft’s Kin: The phones nobody wanted
Kin. Need I say anything else? From the moment , its misguided attempt at capturing the youth market, it was clear that Kin was an idea several years too late. They were severely restricted phones that had subscription plans just as expensive as real smartphones. So it was no surprise when Microsoft, surely with plenty of egg on its face, several weeks after the phones hit stores.
At the time of the Kin’s death, I wrote:
What started as an ambitious attempt to justify Microsoft’s purchase of Danger, the company behind the popular Sidekick messaging phones, turned into a misguided attempt at trying to figure out what young people find cool. Never mind that many teenagers and twenty-somethings had already moved on to legitimate smartphone platforms.
The Kin phones lacked an application store and seemingly basic functionality like a calendar and instant messaging software — a glaring omission for something aimed at “connected” youth. Ultimately, the Kin’s failure is one Microsoft needs to remember: Instead of trying to force-feed a lackluster product to consumers, perhaps it should devote more time on creating something people actually want — like it did with the Xbox 360.
Microsoft kills the Courier dual-screen “digital journal”
At a time when every company seemed hell-bent on taking on the iPad with tablets of their own, was a breath of fresh air. Courier was a dual-screened “digital journal” that was touch-screen capable, but also featured a stylus pen for hand written text, diagrams and more. Video demonstrations of the product made it seem like the evolution of the digital planner, combined with a personal journal and web-enabled tablet.
It was an ambitious move for Microsoft — so before the project even got off the ground.
iPhone 4 design issues: Antennagate, glassgate and the elusive white iPhone 4
As beautiful as Apple’s iPhone 4 may be, it became clear over the course of the year that Apple may have actually over-designed the phone to the point where its looks was interfering with its functionality.
The first big issue was antennagate: As soon as the iPhone 4 started getting into consumers’ hands, many began to notice that they could repeatedly kill their iPhone’s reception by holding the lower-left corner of the device. This time around, Apple made the device’s antenna an integral part of its design, and it appeared as if that allowed users to easily block reception. The issue became so widely known that to address the issue, where he mentioned that in a similar manner. Jobs , and instituted a program to offer free cases to every iPhone 4 owner.
But the iPhone 4’s troubles didn’t stop there. Several gadget sites eventually reported on another phenomenon, , where certain cases that slid onto the back of the iPhone could trap dirt and debris, eventually leading to scratches and cracks on its rear glass panel. Apple never admitted to the issue, but ended up removing sliding cases from its online stores and retail locations. The company is reportedly investigating just how widespread the issue is. It doesn’t appear to be affecting as many users as antennagate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple is keen on avoiding any further controversy with the iPhone 4.
The iPhone 4’s design was . Apple showed off white iPhone 4s when it was first announced, but that version never found its way to stores. Apparently, the white iPhone 4’s glass back was leaking in light — to the point where it was washing out pictures taken by the device’s camera. The issue was apparently discovered at the last-minute by Apple. The company ended up delaying the release of the white iPhone 4 three times without explanation– now .
HP buys Palm … and does nothing with it
Following lackluster sales of the Palm Pre and Pixi, former mobile leader Palm was in a tough spot at the beginning of the year, and it quickly became obvious that the company was looking to sell. after from four other major companies. The acquisition showed that HP was serious about becoming a player in the smartphone business, and we argued .
That may still happen eventually, but for now it doesn’t look like HP has done much with Palm. In October, of Palm’s innovative webOS operating system, but at the same time it revealed the Palm Pre 2, which was nothing more than a speed upgrade to the original Pre. At a time when killer Android phones were coming left and right, it seemed downright crazy that Palm still didn’t have a major new handset. At least early next year with the “PalmPad.”
RIM and Nokia continue their downward spiral into irrelevancy
I suppose it was too much to ask to see some spark of innovation from either Research in Motion or Nokia this year. Both companies managed to release new flagship devices that somehow feel several years too late.
, it’s first attempt at combining a multitouch screen with its beloved BlackBerry hardware keyboard, which ran its new BlackBerry 6 operating system. Unfortunately, the new OS wasn’t the major upgrade that RIM needed to compete with more modern competitors, and the Torch was hampered by a slow processor and low display resolution. In the end, it was a minor release when RIM needed something major. Next year RIM may release a phone featuring the next-generation OS on its PlayBook tablet, but who knows when that will actually happen.
Nokia faced similar software problems with its N8 smartphone. In my review, . Nokia too is gearing up to release a next-generation OS next year, dubbed Meego, together with Intel. But Meego has seen some serious delays, and unless it comes out early next year, it risks being too little, too late, for Nokia.
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Oh Pre, we barely knew ye: Sprint axes the Palm Pre
It that Palm made a last-ditch effort to take on the iPhone with the Palm Pre. What we got was a pretty slick phone with multitasking and a mobile operating system, WebOS, that wasn’t quite a match for the iPhone but which would .
Now things have come full circle, and Sprint — which at one point heralded the Palm Pre as its flagship device — has and signaled the end of its life.
Palm said it expected thousands of developers to quickly begin making applications for the platform. The unfortunate truth was that all those developers flocked first to the iPhone operating system, and then to Google’s Android operating system. To date, there are around .
Now that Sprint has all but killed support for the Pre, the major damage may come from a lack of developers. Most Pre users ended up on Sprint, and Sprint’s move could serve as a signal for them to upgrade to a more powerful phone. With a smaller user base, more developers will likely end up turning to the iPhone operating system, iOS, or Google’s Android to remain relevant.
A slightly upgraded Palm Pre and Palm Pixi — it’s smaller, underpowered sister — have found their way to Verizon but have been more or less unnoticed. That’s prompted Verizon to to $49.99 for the Pre and $29.99 for the Pixi — both with two-year contracts. So developers probably won’t be getting any help on Verizon’s end, either.
And Palm has suffered a slew of high-level departures. WebOS user interface designer to work on Android at Google, WebOS notification mastermind , and former senior VP of product development . Peter Skillman, , then decided to take off.
Sprint Nextel’s highly publicized launch of the Palm Pre smartphone failed to turn around losses in the company’s subscriber base yet. In the quarter after the Pre’s launch, — compared to $344 million loss in the same time a year ago. Part of that probably had to do with Palm waiting to launch the phone until after Apple .
The olive branch finally came when Hewlett-Packard . During a conference call discussing the acquisition, HP executives emphasized that was about more than phones. Executive vice president Todd Bradley described Palm’s WebOS operating system as something that can also power tablet computers (or, as HP prefers to call them, “slates”) and the low-end laptops known as netbooks.
There’s obviously a lot of potential for WebOS as is evident in the price HP paid to get it. HP also recently announced the next iteration of WebOS, as well as a new version of the Palm Pre that . But it might be too little, too late, with Android and Google clearly leading the pack in terms of App developers.
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Palm lands former Nokia Meego chief Ari Jaaksi, plus Samsung, HP talent
For once Palm is gaining talent since its acquisition by Hewlett-Packard, instead of losing it.
Ari Jaaksi, former head of Nokia’s next-generation Meego platform, is headed to the company, . He’ll be joined by new hires from Samsung and within HP.
We have confirmed with Palm that Jaaksi has joined up as senior vice president of WebOS, the company’s mobile operating system. He’s relocating to the Bay Area, starting at the company in November, and will lead the WebOS engineering team.
His hire is a rare bit of good news for Palm, which has been losing high-profile employees for the past several months. Most recently, Palm Pre designer Peter Skillman and as head of Meego user experience.
In April, , its senior vice president of software and services, to Twitter. He was viewed as a key force behind WebOS’s software-development tools, which were popular with a small but vital set of mobile-app developers. Palm offered stay packages to other key employees to keep them from straying. Shortly after that, for $1.2 billion.
WebOS user interface designer to work on Android at Google, WebOS notification mastermind , and former senior VP of product development .
In other news, Palm also gained Victoria Coleman, former head of Samsung’s research and development center in San Jose, Calif. She’ll be spearheading app development for future versions of webOS.
Perhaps as a sign of Palm’s importance, talent from HP will also move into the company: Former SVP of HP consumer applications Steven McArther will lead product marketing for Palm; Enrique Lores, SVP of HP’s Personal Systems Group sales, will oversee Palm sales; and HP SVP of product development Steve Manser will head up product management.
Palm could certainly benefit from the new talent, because it has a lot to prove. New versions of webOS need to compete with quickly evolving competitors like Android and the iPhone OS, and the company desperately needs new devices — its apparent certainly isn’t enough to remain competitive.
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Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. Join us at and hear secrets from top industry executives about how to break through and profit in the new cross-platform app ecosystem. From metrics to monetization, we’ll take an in-depth look at the best discovery strategies and why they’re working. See the full agenda . The conference takes place on October 18 at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. To register, . Hurry though. Tickets are limited, and going fast.
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The Palm Pre 2: Faster specs, same design?
Is this the Palm Pre 2? French carrier SFR has , which looks to pack sportier internal specs while keeping the same overall design as the original Pre, .
The Pre 2 will apparently run a 1GHz processor and feature 512MB of RAM (the same as ). SFR says it will pack a “flatter screen” and a “more refined” design. Finally, it will run Palm’s new webOS 2.0 software, which will offer faster boot times.
I’m personally hoping that the carrier is just running an old shot of the Palm Pre to advertise the new phone, because I was definitely expecting Palm/HP to revamp the device for its next iteration. At the very least, I hope the Palm Pre 2’s screen is around 3.7-inches — which would let users take better advantage of webOS’s delectable user interface than they can on the current Pre’s 3.1-inch display.
SFR also says that the Pre 2 will bring more push functionality than the original phone — specifically with Facebook push integration for messages, events, wall posts, and chat. Hopefully the device will see more push integration than just Facebook.
Surprisingly, SFR hasn’t removed its online entry for the phone, despite all of the attention it’s been getting. Either the carrier simply doesn’t care, or Palm/HP will soon be making an official announcement about the device (and ). Hopefully the company will wait until next week to let die down.
Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. Join us at and hear secrets from top industry executives about how to break through and profit in the new cross-platform app ecosystem. From metrics to monetization, we’ll take an in depth look at the best discovery strategies and why they’re working. See the full agenda . The conference takes place on October 18 at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. To register, . Hurry though. Tickets are limited, and going fast.
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HP/Palm commits to new webOS phones in early 2011
HP hasn’t given up on new phones featuring Palm’s webOS software. The company is aiming to release new webOS devices early next year, an .
The news isn’t a huge surprise: We’ve been that HP is actively working on new webOS phones. When HP announced that , it was also readily assumed that HP’s massive resources would ensure that more webOS devices would see the light of day.
As we reported a few days ago, one of the new webOS devices . HP is also gearing up to deliver , potentially dubbed the “PalmPad”, early next year as well.
The more surprising news would have been if HP decided to delay its new webOS phones until later next year. Right now, the company desperately needs new devices — both the Palm Pre and Pixi are showing their age when compared to newer devices with bigger screens, video conferencing cameras, and better app ecosystems. HP could also stand to bring the webOS devices to carriers other than Verizon and Sprint, although that would entail making sure that they’re compatible with CDMA cellular networks.
Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. Join us at and hear secrets from top industry executives about how to break through and profit in the new cross-platform app ecosystem. From metrics to monetization, we’ll take an in depth look at the best discovery strategies and why they’re working. See the full agenda . The conference takes place on October 18 at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. To register, . Hurry though. Tickets are limited, and going fast.
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Nokia loses chief of new mobile platform, MeeGo
Nokia’s executives keep dropping like flies. Ari Jaaksi (pictured right), the head of Nokia’s next-generation MeeGo mobile platform, confirmed that he resigned last week. He made the comments in a conversation with .
The news follows some major shifts in Nokia’s management: in September, and a few days afterward its . We later learned that Nokia’s chairman, .
The management shakeup is to be expected. With new leadership, Nokia needs to take a hard look at its current executive and creative lineup to stay fresh and compete with the iPhone and Android. It also means that we should expect more inspired hires like , who was recently brought on as the head of user experience and services for MeeGo.
Noka just recently , which runs on its new Symbian^3 platform.
What does this mean for MeeGo? Nokia that it expects to release its first device featuring the next-generation operating system — which is being developed in conjunction with Intel — this year. But now it doesn’t seem like the company will be able to keep up with that timeline. Nokia says that it will have further updates on MeeGo before the end of the year — something which seems to foretell of a 2011 delay.
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Is HP/Palm readying a keyboard-less webOS device?
HP/Palm is apparently working on a touchscreen-only phone with a high-resolution screen, and it’s going by the codename “Mansion”, .
The news doesn’t come as a huge surprise. While Palm spent a lot of time hyping up the Pre’s keyboard before its launch, there’s still room for a webOS device that only rocks a touchscreen. The many consumers choosing to pick up iPhones and touchscreen-only Android phones certainly prove that users today aren’t as skittish about virtual keyboards as they once were. And besides, many likely don’t even have any experience with a keyboard-equipped smartphone.
Palm also sorely needs a device with a larger screen than the Pre, which is stuck with a tiny (by today’s standards) 3.1-inch screen. WebOS is a gorgeous and touchscreen-friendly operating system — if Palm managed to bring out a 4-inch webOS device, it would certainly be a head turner.
The Mansion’s rumored high-resolution also points to a bigger screen. The Pre has a diminutive 480 pixel by 320 pixel resolution, whereas the tipster says the Mansion runs at 800 by 480 — putting it on par with large-screened Android devices like the Droid X and Nexus One. It’s also close to the iPhone 4’s “Retina Display”, which runs at 960 by 640.
There’s not much else to this rumor yet, though it’s worth mentioning that the Palm Pre’s original codename was “Castle” — which seems to fit the Mansion naming motif. At this point, I’d be more surprised if HP/Palm wasn’t working on a touchscreen-only webOS device. We know that a webOS tablet is on the way, so it makes sense for the company to explore other touchscreen-only options. Plus it now gives HP/Palm a way to entice users who never cared for the Pre’s hardware keyboard.
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