Archive for October, 2008

Motorola, the Recession, Android, what about MIDP3, and the potential for good things to come

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

From Recession Delays Motorola Cellphone Spinoff, More Cuts Coming (MOT) (Sillicon Alley Insider):

8:24 Have had too much complexity. Today over 20 combinations of software, silicon, and UI platforms. This has resulted in high costs and portfolio gaps in 3G, smartphones, very low tier.
:
No longer planning to develop certain OSes. Will focus on Android, Windows Mobile, and P2K. ODM solutions for low and very low tier. Will no longer offer new OSes on internally developed Linux Java or Symbian UIQ. $370 million of charges on inventory write down.

The above is actually a very good thing. Focus, focus, focus. Less OSes translate to less maintenance overhead. And leveraging Open OSes mean leveraging others (i.e. cheaper) to build a high-quality product.

I think Android has fallen from the Sky and just at the right time for Motorola.

Motorola can focus on creating strong H/W pieces based on Android, while riding the Android wave and making things cheaper.

If I was Motorola, I would design a common platform, a foundation for all of their handsets, and drop all OSes except for one, Android, as it is (or should be) cheaper, it is based on Linux (and Motorola likes Linux), has a great UI (Motorola is not great at UIs), and leverages the Google infrastructure (GMail, Contacts, Maps, etc) allowing for highly functional handsets right out of the box. I would also use a powerful design company such as Frog Design for their industrial H/W design, and then concentrate on the manufacturing aspects.

I’ve the feeling positive things will be happening for Motorola, if they continue working on the right things: re-organizing and cutting costs/expenses, working on the right technologies, taking advantage of their strengths (manufacturing) and culture, and focus, focus, focus.

Last but not least, all of this begs the question: what is the future of MIDP3? Motorola is the MIDP3 spec lead, and the spec is pretty much ready to go, complete. But it seems for obvious reasons that MIDP3 is not on Motorola’s top/high priority list. Will Motorola drop MIDP3 or will Motorola have a MIDP3-runtime on top of Android? That would be interesting. Let’s wait and see.

ceo

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Mobility | 4 Comments »

(Android G1) 3G’s main weakness: power usage

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

Call it 3G’s weakness, its Achilles’ heel, or 3G’s worst enemy….

==> Power consumption

Ironic it is, having a 3G device, but forcing it to 2.5G, to have a usable handset over time…

After a 1-day test running on EDGE vs. 3G/UMTS on my new Android G1, the battery did last much longer: the whole day and whole night…

The power consumption/management issue on Android really has to be addressed soon, as it makes 3G kind of impractical. In the meantime, if you’ve access to power sources, use it 3G, but if you are not sure, maybe because you on the road, force it to EDGE:

Go to “Settings” => Go to “Wireless Controls” => Go to “Mobile Networks” => Select “Use only 2G Networks”

I am hoping that very soon, we get a future Android S/W update that improves on power management so that we can use the handset on the 3G network without fear of ending up with a dead handset when we need it the most.

ceo

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Posted in 3G, Android | No Comments »

Mobile 2.0 Event on Nov 3rd in San Francisco

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Mobile 2.0 Event Logo

A reminder that next Monday Nov 3rd is the 2008 Mobile 2.0 event in San Francisco. The event has two tracks, a day long Business/VC-oriented track and a Builder Track in the afternoon. I’ll be charing the first panel of the Builder Track titled “Mobile Web vs. Applications vs. Widgets”.

The online registration is open, and I hope to see you there!

ceo

Posted in Mobility | No Comments »

Android G1: First Impressions

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

So I got an Android G1 handset. Cool. I’ve been using it for 2 3 days now. Overall I think it is a fine handset and mobile environment with great potential. Below are my quick first impressions: the good, the bad and the ugly; if you are looking for a full detailed review just search the web where you will find lots of review articles already.

The Good

  • The software in general is pretty good and complete; you will find all you would expect from Google: email, SMS, contacts, browser, maps, plus the other stuff such as alarm, calculator and so on. The maps compass mode works well and is very cool.
  • The user interface, colors, visual feedback, workspaces, and its fluidness is neat, I like it.
  • The browser windows feature, which allows you to have multiple active browsing windows is neat.
  • Great integration to/with rest of Google software: the email, the contacts, IM (GTalk), the calendar, the reader, YouTube. The integration is so good that I ended up moving all of my contacts to Google Contacts and have them synchronized with the handset. And I also consolidated all of my email accounts via Gmail so that I’ve a single place to go to check for emails, both on desktop and handset. I’ve been using this a lot; the integrated apps are really great. Many of these apps are Android/local apps which is fine with me as they run fast and have background processing, for example the Gmail client.
  • Having touchscreen and keyboard is great; I always have been a touchscreen and keyboard kind of person.
  • The handset comes with support for WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, accelerometer.
  • I feel it is a great development platform, allowing me to experiment and create neat applications.
  • There are many other goodies that I haven’t played with yet. And of course things like having a concurrent OS (Linux) with support for concurrent application execution, etc. is great.

The Bad

  • The battery utilization is bad. And I don’t have GPS, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth active! Just idle, browsing, texting and reading email will eat your battery I would say in 5 hours or so. They need work on that.
  • The keyboard feels a bit weird. I attribute this to its non-symmetrical design where you have to the right the trackball and buttons, taking maybe around 1 inch, but not having the same on the left-side. So while having a keyboard is great for me, the way it was implemented is not the best way. Symmetry is at the center of usability and beautiful design; it is a bummer they failed on this one. Over time with practice this may become a non-issue, but that is not the point; why fail to create a beautiful piece when you have the opportunity?
  • I’m afraid that if I drop this baby that it won’t survive… Insure it!
  • The hinge. This this is going to be a very weak spot for the handset. And it already started making (rubbing or friction) squeaky noises.

The Ugly

  • Did I say the battery is bad? Well, the battery is worst than bad, and it is the true ugly part. This can be fixed with better software, better power management. Being the G1 the first Android model I understand they didn’t get it perfect, but the software and power management must be revisited (same happened with the first generation iPhone).

My Wishlist

  • Better power management!
  • The keyboard symmetry spacing issue mentioned above.
  • A camera flash; check out the BlackBerry Curve as an example.
  • S/W-based keyboard (already on the road-map) for when I don’t want to flip/open the handset to type.
  • Infrared port.
  • NFC.
  • Headset Jack!
  • (More as I find more wishes)

See the Android G1 handset specs (cellubration.com).

ceo

Tags: ,
Posted in Android | 5 Comments »

New Android Dev Austin group

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

Android

I’ve created a Google Group for Android Dev Austin.

If you are interested in Android you should register.

This list will be used for Android Dev Austin related news and events, including future AndroidDevCamp for Austin.

Here is the info:

Stay tuned…

ceo

Posted in Android | No Comments »

Paul Graham on Why Start a Company in a Bad Economy

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Great read Why Start a Startup in a Bad Economy by Paul Graham.

Which means that what matters is who you are, not when you do it. If you’re the right sort of person, you’ll win even in a bad economy. And if you’re not, a good economy won’t save you. Someone who thinks “I better not start a startup now, because the economy is so bad” is making the same mistake as the people who thought during the Bubble “all I have to do is start a startup, and I’ll be rich.”

You have to agree. If the entrepreneur has what it takes, he/she will succeed anyhow in good and bad economies. If he/she don’t have what it takes regardless of the economy, will fail anyways.

But it is not just about the entrepreneur having what it takes; it is about the whole package: the ideas + monetization plan for it + the people/team + the reality of things + timing.

We are in some bad times, but there is money out there. Funds will continue to be distributed, yes very carefully, but will continue. As long as your solution goes beyond cool, provides value and again there is a monetization plan and reality, and the company doesn’t kill itself from the inside, you will be fine.

It is not the external forces your worst fear, your worst concern. But the internal forces is what you must watch out for; the forces from within. I’ve learned that the hard way. The people and the principles are the foundation of the company. The technology is the easy part.

There is always something new to learn. And remember that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

ceo

Posted in Entrepreneurship | 2 Comments »

Two quotes from Texas Wireless Summit that I can’t disagree with

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Following Dean Terry (therefore) via Twitter, two interesting quotes caught me eye… as I couldn’t agree more:

Mark Louison (Nokia):

…user friendly, useful, beautiful applications will drive the entire mobile space – not hardware, bandwidth, etc.

Roland Shah (Ericsson):

…the power in the mobile space is moving to the consumer.

ceo

Posted in Mobility | No Comments »

This week is 2008 Texas Wireless Summit ==> $200 Discount for Friends of MobileMonday

Monday, October 13th, 2008

This week is the 2008 Texas Wireless Summit.

OCTOBER 14-16, 2008
AUSTIN, TEXAS USA
www.twsummit.com

Friends of MobileMonday get $200 discount.

REGISTER NOW at http://www.twsummit.com/register/ to attend and use discount code TWS08200D to get the $200 discount.

Speakers include:

  • Michael Bayle, Senior Director, Global Mobile Advertising, Yahoo! Inc
  • Arun Bhikshesvaran, Vice President Strategy & CTO North America, Ericsson Inc.
  • John Donovan, Chief Technology Officer, AT&T
  • Dr. Brian L. Evans, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Anthony (Tony) A. Lewis, Vice President of Open Development, Verizon Wireless
  • Mark Louison, President, Nokia Inc.
  • Yoram Solomon, Senior Director, Worldwide Standards and Technology Strategy, CTO Office Wireless Terminals, Texas Instruments

The Texas Wireless Summit is the premier conference for industry leaders to discuss and plan for the business models and disruptive technologies that will define the future of the wireless industry. Now in its fifth year, the Summit is hosted by the Austin Wireless Alliance with the support of the Wireless Networking and Communications Group at The University of Texas at Austin.

This year’s Summit has been designed to facilitate networking and interactive discussions that will stimulate your thinking and provide you with key insights on the future of the wireless industry. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Open” and keynote presentations and panel discussions on the topic will address the shift that the industry is experiencing towards open networks, platforms and operating systems, applications, and new open business models. In addition, 2008 Texas Wireless Summit will address the critical political and regulatory environment that underpins many of the opportunities and challenges that the industry will face as a result of this shift.

**********************************************************

Also for the Second Year – the Texas Wireless Summit is proud to present the Wireless Seed Stage Forum (WSF). This exclusive funding event will be held on Tuesday, October 14. The WSF requires separate registration and is open to qualified startup companies and investors only. Please visit the WSF website at http://www.seedstageforum.com for more information.

ceo

Posted in General | 2 Comments »

Richard Garriot: Austinite, Game Designer, 2nd-Generation Space Traveler

Monday, October 13th, 2008

Richard Garriot, a big name in Austin tech and gaming community, and gaming industry worldwide, founder of Origin Systems and other gaming companies, and creator of titles such as Ultima Online and many others, British citizen by birth, who is son of Owen Garriot, former US Astronaut (Skylab, Space Shuttle), a self-made millionaire, and now second-generation space traveler, made it safe to space on October 12, 2008 together with his crew mates on board a Soyuz-FG rocket. The mission is the Soyuz TMA-13 and they’ll dock with the International Space Station on October 14, and return to Earth on October 24, 2008.

Very cool and Godspeed!

ceo

Posted in Space | 1 Comment »

Video of the successful SpaceX Falcon 1 Launch #4

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

Pretty awesome video of SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket Launch #4.

As I understand it, SpaceX is the first private company (non-government involvement), to reach true orbital flight.

Listen to the team cheering in the background as each major phase of the launch occurs… very exciting… Congrats to the SpaceX team…

A am a true believer that The future of the USA space program is the private sector…

Video via SpaceVidcast.

ceo

Posted in Space | No Comments »

Carnival of the Mobilists No. 144

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

CoM144

Visit Xen’s Xellular Identity blog for this week’s Carnival of the Mobilists #144. Great set of posts from the mobile blogosphere. Thanks to Xen for including my piece of Mobile Context, Interactions and Data.

Good to see Xen, who has been very busy at work, hosting this week… ;-)

ceo

Posted in Carnival Of The Mobilists | No Comments »

Google Apps on Android

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

Google Apps for Android, which includes YouTube, Search w/ suggestions, Mail, Calendar, Maps, Contacts and Talk, all seem very well implemented and very well integrated with the web and their corresponding web-based applications:

The Android platform is looking good…

ceo

Posted in Android | No Comments »

Texas Wireless Summit 14-16 October 2008 – Register now and get $200 off

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

TWS 2008

The Texas Wireless Summit, organized by the Austin Wireless Alliance is in two weeks, October 14-16, 2008.

You can register at http://www.twsummit.com/register/ to attend and interact with industry leaders and learn about the future of the wireless industry.

As a special offer to friends and partners of the Austin Wireless Alliance and the Wireless Networking and Communications Group you are eligible to use code TWS08100 to receive $100 off of the standard admission rate!

The theme of this year’s Summit is “Open” and keynote presentations and panel discussions on the topic will address the shift that the industry is experiencing towards open networks, platforms and operating systems, applications, and new open business models.

In addition, 2008 Texas Wireless Summit will address the critical political and regulatory environment that underpins many of the opportunities and challenges that the industry will face as a result of this shift.

Visit http://www.twsummit.com for more details on the Event Program and Sponsorship Opportunities.

Confirmed Keynotes

  • Arun Bhikshesvaran, Vice President Strategy & CTO North America, Ericsson Inc.
  • John Donovan, Chief Technology Officer, AT&T
  • Dr. Brian L. Evans, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wireless Networking and Communications Group, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Dr. Edward Knightly, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University
  • Tony Lewis, VP of Open Development, Verizon Wireless
  • Mark Louison, President, Nokia Inc.
  • Yoram Solomon, Senior Director, Worldwide Standards and Technology Strategy, CTO Office, Wireless Terminals Business Unit, Semiconductor Group, Texas Instruments

ceo

Posted in Mobility | No Comments »