Archive for the ‘Mobile’ Category

MWC: Symbian S^3 UI concept ticks all the right boxes!

by Steve O'Hear

February 15th, 2010 | Posted in Mobile | Comments4 Comments

S3The Symbian Foundation, the custodians of the Nokia-led open source mobile OS of the same name, has published a concept video showcasing the User Interface changes we can expect in version 3. The UI is seen as a major weakness of Symbian, especially as it transitions away from its S60 ‘scroll-and-click’ non-touch roots to something more finger-friendly. So how is Symbian S^3 shaping up?

Pretty darn good, if the video is to be believed.

The UI borrows plenty from the iPhone but also adds a splattering of Palm-esque app switching – similar to WebOS’ card view (see review) – as well as building on some of Nokia’s own UI ideas, such as the widgetized home screen we first saw on the N97. Only this time there are revolving homescreens – Android-style – so that a user can access many more widgets.

Check out the video after the jump…

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3's CEO talks iPad, the mobile network's 'perception problem', Spotify, and more

by Steve O'Hear

February 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Mobile | Comments7 Comments

3logo3UK’s CEO talks about how the network is planning to address its ‘legacy perception problem’ and why bidding for the iPad would be like trying to sign a premiership footballer

I’ve just got back from a fascinating press briefing with mobile carrier 3UK’s CEO Kevin Russell and CTO Graham Baxter, billed as a discussion of the “themes, trends and challenges that will shape the mobile industry in the UK in 2010.” Although the subtext was something more along the lines of: how is 3 addressing what was described as its legacy perception problem.

People still, wrongly or rightly, often associate the network with poor coverage and/or service. This despite the fact that the network’s coverage and capacity has and is improving and that in my view 3 is one of the most, if not the most, innovative of the UK networks, especially on pricing, data services and positioning.

Here’s what I learnt during two presentations and the very frank Q&A that took place afterwards:

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People keep asking… what do I make of Apple's iPad?

by Steve O'Hear

January 31st, 2010 | Posted in Audio, Mobile, Net TV | Comments2 Comments

iPadNow that the dust has settled and I’ve had time to gather my thoughts, here’s what I make of the iPad, Apple’s own take on the tablet computer.

It’s an Internet appliance not a computer

While the tablet computer is nothing new, the iPad is, arguably, a completely new product category, which appears to occupy the middle ground between a smartphone and a laptop. If, of course, such a middle ground exists.

Unlike the raft of Windows Tablet PCs, which Bill Gates once claimed would be the future of personal computing, replacing the desktop and laptop, the iPad doesn’t appear to replace anything. It’s certainly too big to replace a smartphone. And it’s not capable of undertaking many tasks for which a laptop or desktop computer – read: fully-fledged desktop OS/applications and mouse/hardware keyboard – is required. But in many situations – web browsing and consuming content – the iPad is arguably better.

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My 5 mobile trends for the next decade #m2020

by Steve O'Hear

January 6th, 2010 | Posted in Mobile | Comments2 Comments

m-trendsRudy De Waele (@mtrends), who has been tracking the mobile space for as long as I can remember, asked a number of his personal “mobile heroes” to predict five game-changing mobile trends for the next decade. Not quite sure how I made the list – there are some real heavyweights included (see below) – but I’m flattered none-the-less. Here are my 5 mobile trends for the next ten years.

As phones get smarter, pipes get dumber

In the era of app stores and handset makers launching their own Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings, mobile carriers will continue to struggle with the issue of who ‘owns’ the customer. Terrified of becoming a dumb pipe reduced to selling commodity voice and data services, some will try to innovate with their own SaaS products, most of which will fail, while the smartest players will partner and invest in innovative startups. That said, as the pipes get increasingly clogged up carrying all of this data, and with the advent of 4G, networks will start to focus on and highlight their competitiveness based on infrastructure and capacity alone.

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Review: Motorola DEXT / CLIQ – another social networking play with MotoBLUR

by Steve O'Hear

January 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Mobile, Review | Comments2 Comments

dextIt seems that 2009 is the year of the comeback handset. Palm saw its Second Coming with the Palm Pre (review). Sony Ericsson relaunched with the Symbian-powered Satio (for what good that did them) and a new slogan. And Motorola, after years in hibernation and having completely missed the smartphone boat, unveiled its first Android-powered device, the Motorola DEXT as it’s known in Europe or CLIQ in the states.

The DEXT isn’t just any old Android handset, either. Shunning the standard out-of-the-box Google OS experience, the device introduces MotoBLUR, the handset maker’s own social networking UI layer and service. A unified address book that syncs Google, Facebook and Twitter contacts, updates pushed to the home screen, support for photo sharing via various third-party sites, with all of a user’s settings and data backed up on Motorola’s own servers.

It’s closest in its thinking to Palm’s Synergy feature, but also reminiscent of INQ, HTC’s Sense, Vodafone 360, with a bit of Nokia’s Ovi Share thrown in. In fact, as 2009 draws to a close, social networking integration is fast becoming just another tick-box requirement rather than a headline feature outright. On the other hand, no one has yet to perfect the concept, Motorola included, so there’s still plenty to play for. But before we dive into MotoBLUR, let’s take a look at the phone’s hardware.

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Nokia E72 in the house!

by Steve O'Hear

December 14th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | Comments16 Comments

17112009021Regular readers of last100 will know how much I like Nokia’s QWERTY touting E71, with it superb keyboard and BlackBerry-esque – only more svelte – form factor. I was therefore really looking forward to the E72 (see ‘My favorite smartphone just got superseded‘)

The E72 keeps much of the same design as the classic E71 but adds a slightly faster processor, an updated version of the operating system – Symbian S60 3rd edition feature pack 2 – better camera and a mini track pad for “easier” scrolling through web pages and email (luckily it can be turned off). The wait was a long time coming, however, as the E72 got delayed and delayed.

It finally went on sale last month in the UK and, shortly after, Nokia kindly sent me a loan unit, which I’ve been using as my main device for a few weeks and hope to write full review very soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the device, leave a comment and I’ll answer as best I can.

The Guardian newspaper's iPhone app offers off-line mode – mobile Internet's killer feature?

by Steve O'Hear

December 14th, 2009 | Posted in Audio, Mobile | Comments1 Comment

guardian-iphoneThe Guardian has released a paid-for iPhone (and iPod touch) app that makes reading the UK newspaper on Apple’s device a truly smartphone experience.

Along with features such as the ability to customize the newspaper’s ‘front page’, support for audio, finger-friendly navigation, including ‘swiping’ through photo galleries, the feature that really stands out is off-line browsing.

As I write over at TechCrunch Europe, the functionality…

… works in a similar way to music streaming service Spotify’s own iPhone app. Sections of the newspaper can be ‘cached’ in advance to enable access when outside of a WiFi network or mobile signal. As with listening to music, this is particularly appropriate for reading a newspaper on-the-go, such as when commuting on London’s Underground or any other subway for that matter. The app also offers access to the various Guardian podcasts, which can be downloaded in advance or streamed.

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Review: HTC Tattoo (vs HTC Hero) – Android's mass-market future?

by Steve O'Hear

December 4th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile, Review | Comments4 Comments

htc-tattooFirst, a quick confession: I had no intention of reviewing the HTC Tattoo. Why? On paper at least, it’s a poor man’s HTC Hero. Yes it does feature the same HTC Sense UI, which greatly improves on the stock version of the Google-led operating system, but the Tattoo lacks some of the hardware features to match. However, following a mix up with a courier and a serendipitous email from HTC’s PR firm, a Tattoo for review was sent my way.

What I’ve come to realise in the few weeks that I’ve had the device on loan is that the HTC Tattoo, while not especially exciting in itself, points to Android’s mass-market future, and why rival platforms, along with the plethora of dumb-phone OSes, need to sit up and take notice.

What’s different and/or missing

Screen size. Gone is the Hero’s 3.2 inch screen. Instead, the Tattoo uses a smaller 2.8 inch display. It’s considerably lower resolution too. Down from 320 x 480 (HVGA) to a more feature phone-like 240 x 320 (QVGA) resolution. The most noticeable difference is that web pages and lists require more scrolling because of the reduction in vertical screen real estate. Images also look less sharp. The upside – and this shouldn’t be underestimated for some users – is that the device is smaller and more pocketable. In other words, it feels more like a phone! As a result, it’s a little more comfortable to hold too and that bit easier to operate one handed.

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No native iPhone BBC iPlayer app – yet (blame PowerPoint)

by Steve O'Hear

December 2nd, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | Comments1 Comment

iPlayer-iPhone2

In case you didn’t hate PowerPoint presentations enough already, here’s another reason. The native iPhone app for iPlayer – the BBC’s TV catchup service – was a mockup. It doesn’t actually exist outside of PowerPoint, reports Macworld UK.

BBC blogger Nick Reynolds has responded to speculation based on a press pack issued by the Beeb which appeared to feature images of the app by saying that “the images are old images and should not be taken to mean that anything is likely to happen soon. Since the images seem to have provoked unnecessary speculation we’ll probably update the pack later today and remove them.”

So there you have it, no iPlayer app for iPhone – yet.

Or presumably anytime soon.

BBC iPlayer downloads coming to iPhone?

by Steve O'Hear

November 29th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV | Comments1 Comment

iPlayer-iPhoneIt looks like a proper iPlayer app for the iPhone (and iPod touch) is on its way. A recent press pack issued by the BBC includes images of a dedicated iPhone app for the TV catchup service.

Of most interest is that unlike the current browser-based offering for Apple’s iconic smartphone it appears that the new app will support both streaming and downloads. This was thought to be near-impossible given the iPhone’s lack of support for any ‘standard’ form of copy-protection, a necessary evil given the way the Beeb licenses third-party content, and will bring it in-line with existing versions of iPlayer for Symbian and Windows Mobile.

As it stands, when asked to recommend a smartphone I usually try to ascertain if iPlayer support is a priority. If it is, and downloads are in particular (better battery life, off-line playback), I’ll more often than not point them towards a Nokia.

Soon that may no longer be the case.

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