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Four Reasons to Buy the Nokia Booklet 3G

Michael Gartenberg — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:44:12 +0000

Nokia’s first PC (as opposed to the phones they refer to as multimedia computers) got a lot of hype when it was announced and is getting a lot of mixed reviews from folks who complain mostly about price/performance and that you can get better specs in a netbook for less money. After spending some time with a Booklet 3G, I’m once again reminded that there’s more to a purchase than speeds and feeds, and that value, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. So I’m not going to discuss the relatively slow processor or hard drive. We can agree that the Booklet isn’t a speed demon. It is, however, how a good PC experience should be and that’s worth paying for in my opinion.

1. Style. The Booklet’s got style. It’s small, thin elegant and doesn’t feel like it’s made out of plastic. The metal construction of the body, the solid heft and firm click of the keys make it feel like it’s a product that came from Cupertino, CA not Finland. In fact using it at Starbucks, several people asked me if I was using an Apple (even though the lid CLEARLY says Nokia). If your product gets confused with something made at 1 Infinite Loop, that’s a good thing. Almost every other netbook on the market feels cheap and toy like by comparison.

2. Quality. The quality of the Booklet is excellent. Nokia has really worked hard to make everything from the beautiful blue packaging and out of box experience to using the Booklet a delight. There’s very little bloatware installed and no need to spend hours “flattening” the hard disk and trying to either remove junk or just re-installing Windows from scratch. The 3G experience was a delight. I just popped an AT&T SIM into the Booklet and it immediately recognized it and connected to the network. No configuration or ATT connection software required.

3. Indulgence. Yep, it’s a little indulgent to spend $599 for an un-subsidized Booklet but that’s not a bad thing. The best products we purchase should feel a little indulgent; the Booklet’s quality of materials and overall build justify that feeling.

4. Battery Life. Battery life is excellent. With the screen on 40% brightness and WiFi or 3G on, the Booklet can easily go for 8 hours or more. That’s a full day of computing with no power adapter, or enough juice to get you from the east coast to west with enough battery life left to still check your email when you land. Sorry, 2-3 hours just doesn’t cut it these days and the Booklet delivers.

The Booklet is a product with a lot of contradictions. On one hand it’s fairly slow, booting took me a good two minutes (but once booted, sleep and/or suspend take very little time) but on the other hand has amazing battery life. There’s an HDMI connector but no way to connect a VGA projector out of the box. It is a netbook class PC but carriers a pretty hefty price tag. On balance, it’s not a machine for everyone but there’s a lot here to like. If I were looking for a small, light companion machine to take on day trips and cared about form factor, build quality and battery life, I’d probably spend the extra money and go for the Booklet and not a cheaper netbook. I could also take some comfort in the fact that Booklet isn’t the most expensive Atom based device on the market. I could by two Booklets for the cost of one Sony VAIO X and still have enough money left over for a smartphone, an eBook reader or one of those cheap, plastic netbooks.

Want a second opinion on the Nokia Booklet 3G? Check out the SlashGear review.

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Social networking and the mobile context

Chris Davies — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:23:51 +0000

There’s a growing call to deliver desktop experiences on mobile devices, and in general that’s a good thing. I don’t want to be limited to cut-down, plain-text “mobile” versions of websites when I have a large smartphone display and speedy 3G connection that could readily handle the full version, and the push for full-HTML browsers (and things like Flash support) has already trickled down from a must-have on smartphones to a common feature-phone element. What’s lagging behind, it seems, is an understanding of how mobile device use differs from desktop use, and nowhere is that more evident than in social networking integration. Several devices promise to bring your online social life to the screen that’s always with you, but the experience is patchy at best.

I’ve been playing with the Motorola DEXT for the past couple of weeks, the European version of the CLIQ (you can read our review here) and the first device to feature MOTOBLUR, the company’s attempt to corral social networks into one easily-consumed stream. Unlike HTC Sense, MOTOBLUR keeps network updates – which it calls “happenings” – front and centre, with a main feed of news together with individual widgets and inboxes for consuming them separately.

MOTOBLUR’s strength is its integration and breadth, or at least the promise of it. Like Sense, contacts using various different networks are combined into single address book entries – either automatically or manually – but there are far more platforms supported and Motorola are promising to add further networks (such as LinkedIn) as the system matures. Conversations started via one medium can, in theory, be continued from any other, and the record of “recent contact” for each person is carrier agnostic.

Unfortunately, there’s a feeling that the people who designed MOTOBLUR aren’t heavy users of the various services. Take the two networks probably most commonly used, Facebook and Twitter: any updates – including profile photo changes, status changes and new galleries – are thrown into the happenings stream with no thought about their relative value. Only the most obsessive of users will keep up with all the new news, and there’s no way to prioritise certain people or themes. MOTOBLUR pulls out direct messages (DMs) from Twitter to include in its “universal inbox” – which also features regular email, Exchange account messages and Facebook messages – but treats @-replies, more frequently used than DMs, just the same as regular tweets. Given how most people use Twitter, that means it’s all too easy to miss replies from the people you follow, and since there’s no searching across the rest of the Twitterverse for mentions of your username (as even the basic web UI offers) you’ll definitely miss comments from people you’re not following.

There’s also no thought to the relative load of each network. Sticking with Twitter and Facebook as our examples, there’s no way to tell MOTOBLUR that you’re more interested, say, in Facebook updates than you are tweets. I follow a few hundred people on Twitter but have kept my Facebook friends more sparse; it’s pretty easy for a status change from the latter to be lost among the flood from the former, when arguably it’s the close contacts on Facebook that I’d be more interested in hearing about. Other people might have the ratios reversed, or use other networks, but the overarching problem is the same: MOTOBLUR only uses time to organise content.

To be fair, it’s a problem shared by pretty much all of the “integrated” social networking aggregators on smartphones right now. Palm’s webOS and HTC Sense each deliver some degree of the same functionality (only Motorola attempt to throw everything together in one stream) but haven’t addressed the relative value issue. I raised it – separately – with Motorola at the launch of the DEXT and with HTC CEO Peter Chou at the launch of the HD2 (the first Windows Mobile device to feature HTC Sense), and their responses were pretty similar. Motorola pointed out that MOTOBLUR is a first-generation attempt at the mobile social networking issue, the undertone being that, like further platforms, they’d look to add in better handling of news later. Chou, meanwhile, admitted that the issue was something HTC engineers were aware of, and that iterations of Sense down the line would look to more intelligently manage social networks.

Neither could tell me exactly how it might be achieved, however, and in fact the most promising attempt I’ve seen so far has been from Nokia. Tucked into a corner of the Nokia Research showcase at the company’s The Way We Live Next 3.0 conference a few weeks ago was their Linked Internet UI Concept, a prototype software platform which attempts not only to funnel in social networking content but to recommend the information most relevant to the individual user. Running on a modified N900, the system both forms contextual links between content – so photos taken by, or featuring, the same person will be linked to the appropriate individuals, as well as geographically with other images taken in nearby locations – as well as learning the user’s habits and, over time, percolating the information it believes will be of the most interest to the top of the homepage.

Guido Grassel, leader of Nokia Research’s Web User Interface and User Experience team, explained that there are two main types of usage paradigm: either users take the time to flag up or “favourite” their key contacts, or they simply leave the system to handle them themselves. The Linked Internet UI Concept can cope with both: starred contacts are automatically given higher priority, or you can leave the device to learn what sort of information is of most use. Status updates from my Facebook friends, therefore, would gradually be given more priority than tweets; however the phone might also learn that certain people I follow on Twitter, or certain hashtags or geographical locations mentioned, are also of greater importance to me, and so make those more visible too.

Unfortunately there’s no real timescale to get the Linked Internet UI Concept off the prototype and into a shipping device. In the meantime, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that manufacturers and software developers realise that just because users demand the desktop experience on their mobile devices, it doesn’t mean a straight port across is sufficient. At the very least we should be able to flag up keywords – whether that be our own username, the name of our employer or the blog we write for, or the school or college we attend – as something we want highlighted. I want to be able to weight certain people or companies – either manually or, preferably, automatically – the news from and about which I’m most interested, and I don’t want to have to consciously shift between applications to consume, save or share that information.

MOTOBLUR – and HTC Sense, and webOS, and the rest – will get better, and platform developers themselves are learning that social networking integration is of growing importance to device users; Android 2.0, for instance, links address book entries with Facebook profiles, functionality that Google seems to have learnt from HTC and the rest but which now is baked into the core OS. What’s important is that while we use the same networks while mobile as we do while on our desktops and laptops, we do so in a different way. A straight port across isn’t good enough, and if we want use of these tools to spread beyond the power-users and the social-obsessed, they need to better cater to the bite-size demographic who aren’t willing to invest hours of eye-time into their phones.

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Give A Little Bit… Of Tech

Joanna Stern — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:26:21 +0000

“Wow! So you just pull two fingers apart on the screen to zoom in on the site?” This was my mother’s reaction last week to seeing the power of pinch-to-zoom on her new iPhone 3GS. Yes, just last week my mother, a successful business woman but a technophobe at heart, discovered that the iPhone has a little thing called multitouch! You know, that small feature that made Apple’s first phone go down in cellphone history. And her amazement didn’t stop there; she was blown away by every phone feature from the Notes application’s “cute” handwriting font to the “cool” animation of the trash can that sucks down messages like a “garbage disposal.”

I am recounting my mom’s first experiences with the iPhone not only for your amusement—though it was incredibly funny—but also to share with you how her wonderment and reactions triggered a set of thoughts and feelings. Perhaps being in the throes of Thanksgiving and the holiday season intensified my response, but as a technology journalist and gadget fanatic I found myself reflecting on the impressiveness of our technology today and how much I take it for granted. It surely was a change from criticizing operating systems and the maker’s of the BlackBerry!

While my mother was elated about the ease-of-use and animated features of her new phone as well as what she could now do on-the-go, I was equally excited to teach her how to use the iPhone and open this undiscovered world to her. Rarely, if ever, do I stop to think about people who stick to the simplest functions on their desktops or cellphones because they are fearful about venturing into new technology territory or those who don’t even have access to the Internet or the money to buy a computer.

One of my favorite holiday technology gifts for the past two years has been One Laptop per Child’s (OLPC) Give 1, Get 1 program. The program, which is not been continued this holiday season, offered individuals the opportunity to buy the non-profit’s XO laptop for $399, while at the same time giving a child of the developing world an XO of their own. OLPC also allowed those who wanted to just give a laptop the ability to do so by donating $199. One of the most personally rewarding experiences of my life was starting a pilot project in Mali, Africa when I worked at LAPTOP Magazine. The bright green, educational XO laptops brought incredible smiles to children’s faces that had never seen computers before and, even more importantly, put a connected and digital learning tool in their small hands. This holiday season, you can still make a donation to OLPC or to another program that helps provide computers and technology to kids in need such as LittleGeeks and GeekCorps.

Technology adds new dimensions to my life on a daily basis and enabling it to do the same for others is an incredibly rewarding experience. Teaching someone how to do more with their phone or laptop or buying a low-cost computer for someone who cannot afford one is a wonderful way to give and open the digital world we cherish so much to others that may be more timid or underprivileged. So, beyond hopping onto the next new app or buying that new gadget you are lusting for, try giving a bit of your tech know-how to someone or make a small investment in bringing the digital to someone you don’t even know. Believe me, you will be glad you did; and may even get a few laughs in the process.

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Should Nokia Abandon Symbian S60 for Maemo Linux?

Avi Greengart — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:00:25 +0000

Nokia has a problem: it is both the largest handset vendor in the world, by a significant margin, and the largest smartphone vendor in the world – again, by a significant margin. Yet it has never managed to crack the U.S. smartphone market, and it has begun losing market share even in its European strongholds, primarily to Apple, though RIM, Samsung, and HTC are also threats. Nokia admits that it was caught sleeping while Apple first redefined the mobile user experience with the iPhone, and then again when Apple reenergized app development with the App Store. Nokia’s initial response has been lackluster: adapting its existing Symbian S60 OS to support touch, applying that to a few phones (the 5800 and the N97), and stumbling in its initial launch of the Ovi Store.

Despite shortcomings in Symbian S60 (where apps and settings are located appears to have been chosen at random) and a wildly inconsistent touch experience, the 5800 and N97 have sold over 10 million units. Nokia has sold well over 100 million Symbian S60 phones overall, which puts it in a classic case of what Clayton Christensen calls the Innovator’s Dilemma: Nokia’s existing customers are happy with S60, so Nokia has resisted cannibalizing it. However, the iPhone may have launched without 3G or corporate email, but Apple keeps adding features with each new version, so when S60 users are ready to buy a new phone, they are increasingly picking one from Apple or one of Apple’s competitors. (It is also worth noting that arguments against cannibalizing S60 can only be made for Europe – in the U.S., S60 has never had any traction whatsoever.)

The solution to the Innovator’s Dilemma is to fund skunkworks development or a spin-off that attacks the new technology on its own terms. While initially planned as a way to get Nokia’s feet wet in open source software, Nokia does have another OS, Maemo Linux, that it has been quietly using for its line of Internet tablets (770, N800, and N810). At Nokia World in early September, Nokia announced Maemo 5 and the N900, the first Maemo phone. When I first saw Maemo 5 demonstrated just ahead of Nokia World, my first reaction was to question why Nokia would limit Maemo to pricey, high end devices. After all, S60 isn’t competitive, and Maemo looks really, really cool. Why not just kill S60 and switch to Maemo?

After playing with a production N900 for the past couple of weeks, I have discovered the answer: Maemo is nowhere near ready for mainstream consumers.

There was reason for my initial optimism: the OS has power to spare; it is basically a desktop Linux system in a tiny package. Maemo can handle multiple live apps minimized to little cards (similar to Palm’s webOS); the browser is unadulterated Mozilla code and includes support for a full implementation of Flash 9. The N900 has a high resolution 800×480 screen, TI OMAP3 (Cortex A8) processor, 32 GB flash storage plus an empty microSD card slot, forward facing VGA camera, and 5 MP camera on the rear with dual LED flashes and Carl Zeiss branding. There is a sliding physical QWERTY keyboard, and, for watching media, a pull out kickstand. The N900 has WiFi, quadband GSM and Triband HSPA 900/1700/2100, making it perfect for T-Mobile’s 3G network in the U.S.

Unfortunately, the whole is much less than the sum of its parts. The user interface is maddeningly inconsistent and opaque, and while you can learn to live with its quirks after a while, why should you have to? Nearly every mobile OS does a better job of making it easy to navigate; the iPhone is the easiest (at the expense of efficiency) and Palm’s webOS is the most elegant. Nokia needs to add hard buttons or dedicated screen real estate for navigating and launching options menus. For example, touching the top left corner is usually the “go back” area. Except when touching the blank space in between app tiles backs you out. Except when you’re in a web browser, and a link is occupying the top left, then there’s really no way to get back at all without first minimizing the view. The resistive touchscreen is another problem – even when you push in the right spot, it doesn’t always register. I find myself repeatedly pulling out the stylus, and that should simply never happen on a modern smartphone.

There are no SEND or END keys (Motorola’s DROID has this problem, too), and there is no permanent place for the soft keys – depending where you are in the UI, it can be awfully hard just to find the dialer. This is the first phone I have used in a while where making a phone call isn’t just a secondary use case, but is barely a use case at all.

Web browsing is good, though navigating around a web page is not as smooth as Apple’s Safari. Still, this is one area where the N900 can do things no other phone on the market can do, at least until Adobe rolls out Flash 10 support broadly next year. YouTube videos play smoothly, and navigating around Flash-heavy sites is possible. (Theoretically, you should even be able to watch Hulu on the N900. Practically, it doesn’t work, even over WiFi – the video loads, slowly, then… stops.)

While I encountered system messages that would terrify non-technical users (do you want to update your phone’s SSL sockets? Who knows?), the N900 is better than previous Maemo Linux devices. For example, downloading and installing applications is a simple process now. But there aren’t that many apps yet, and Nokia’s Ovi Store still has a “Coming Soon” banner. Nokia is providing for cross platform (Symbian and Maemo) development with upcoming versions of its QT tools, but Nokia’s focus with developers is still on Symbian.

This leaves Nokia with some tortured market positioning: Nokia told me it is firmly committed to Symbian as its smartphone platform of choice, while Maemo will be relegated to high end devices and aimed at consumers who want more of a computer and less of a phone. The latter description fits every iPhone, Android, and webOS user (and those handsets start at just $100 after carrier subsidies). Nokia needs something better than S60 with touch. Maemo Linux could be that thing, but it isn’t yet, and it doesn’t look like Nokia really wants it to succeed broadly.

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Citizen Gadgetry

Michael Gartenberg — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:01:40 +0000

I love watching excellence in motion. Watching Fred Astaire dance, reading a poem by Robert Frost, watching Michael Jordan play ball, Tiger Woods play golf or opening new products that have the ability to bring a smile to my face. They all share one thing, these folks make it look so easy. The result of hard work and tireless practice is that the performance appears almost effortless. Of course, that’s never the case.

I’m constantly amazed at the number and the degree of badly designed products out there that come to market. I’m talking bad stuff. I mean stuff that had to go from concept, to design, to prototype and eventually make it to the retail channel. Stuff so bad that it’s impossible to imagine that anyone in their right mind signed off on the process and the steps along the way. The stuff that makes you scream…”what were they thinking?” You don’t need to be a genius to know that some of this stuff just won’t work. It isn’t rocket science, it’s just focusing on the basics and this is why much of the criticism is warranted.

If it takes three days to configure a music phone to get music on it, or if your media player deletes all the content on your hard drive, you don’t need to be an engineer to critique the process that allowed that product to come to market. I understand hitting the mark of super excellence is hard, but it is possible and reasonable to get the basics right. Maybe if more vendors just spent time on the basics, they would do better overall and perhaps other players would shine less by comparison. I’m also tired of mediocre stuff that gets the table stakes stuff wrong that comes from vendors that, in theory, should know better.

There is, however, another side of this discussion and over the last few weeks I’ve had a recurring set of conversations of users critiquing product designs and the suggestion that the user should become the product designer. Think of it as “citizen gadgetry” Sorry, I just don’t agree with the concept of end users as designer. It’s simply not as easy as it appears (as we’ve seen with the difficulty of getting devices like the CrunchPad to market). There’s a complex iteration between features, form and cost that is more than just trivial.

It’s easy to create niche products that are only designed for a few users. You all know my longstanding view that there’s a market for about 50,000 of anything (except perhaps MIDs). Designing something for the mass market of fifty million or more though requires lots of work. It also requires talent, training, thorough understanding of the market and retail channels and more talent. Perhaps not necessarily Jonathon Ive level talent in every case, but real talent nevertheless. As a user and a pretty technical one at that, I can appreciate good design and I can tell you what works and what doesn’t work and why. The idea, however, that people can go from user to creator in one small leap is an entirely different story. The notion that the majority of people in our society enjoy the creative talents of others and don’t create their own work is so prevalent we have a word for it. We call these people consumers and the gadget industry is more formally known as consumer electronics. The democratization of gadgets might sound like a good idea but I highly doubt we’ll see it happen any time soon or any great gadgets that do eventually come from these sources.

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RIM: Time to Bend the BlackBerry to the Consumer Curve

Joanna Stern — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:18:52 +0000

Last week the trackball on my BlackBerry Curve decided to quit on me. The thing couldn’t roll down a hill if it tried and, well, the phone’s dated version of the operating system was starting to make me look like a mobile T-Rex. (I always thought if I were to be a dinosaur, I’d be a T-Rex.)

As a true CrackBerry addict, I had opted to replace my Verizon Curve 88330 with the new Curve 8530. Yes, rather than a Droid, I went with the BlackBerry because I am a Blackberry Messenger fiend, love the speed of the e-mail and my fingers can’t live without the physical keyboards. However, within a few minutes of using the new trackpad equipped Curve, I was just downright disappointed in the Canadian smartphone pioneers. What used to be a groundbreaking mobile operating system a couple of years ago, has been minimally updated with only new skins and a slightly improved interface. The attempts to catch up to the Apple iPhones, Palm Pres and Motorola Droids of the world haven’t been executed correctly.

Take RIM’s shot at its own application store. Deemed Blackberry App World, the application store is not even preloaded on the brand new device! In order to get the application portal on the smartphone I had to search for it via Google, and download the application. Yep, I had to download the application to get applications. Counterintuitive, much? I’m not sure how RIM expects its customers to know this store is even available and that it contains hundreds of applications, nonetheless that it compete with application-centric phones like the iPhone and Android that have simple, preloaded application marketplaces.

Once running, the store is actually quite nice and easy to navigate but its inventory is a different story. I couldn’t find a number of applications for my phone, including TweetGenius and TwitterBerry. And don’t think it is just a coincidence that the two missing applications were social networking based.

Sure, Facebook makes a decent application for BlackBerry, but unlike the Palm Pre or the iPhone it lacks social skills. There is no integrated contact management with the option to fill in your current address book with different social networking information (though the Facebook app does have an option for that it isn’t integrated in the OS or within other social networking applications). Even when new and promising features like visual voicemail seem to be preloaded, they end up requiring a download and what feels like a 10-step process to configure. Unfortunately, while RIM is attempting to bring these newer features offered by its competitors and the social Web ecosystem to its own operating system, the implementation is halfhearted.

RIM, what worked a few years ago just doesn’t anymore. Although you may continue to attract enterprise customers with superior security and e-mail, to compete today in the consumer game you need products that add simplicity, engage with Internet integration and offer easy access to compelling third-party applications. Yes, there remains a dedicated group of consumers (eh hem, me) that are still looking for the BlackBerry bread and butter – the strong email support, the speed of services like BlackBerry Messenger and good hardware – but they aren’t willing to deal with lagging features and incomplete experiences. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel (seriously, we don’t want the scroll wheel anymore), but continuing to drop the ball isn’t going to work anymore. Please, get it rolling again.

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Chrome OS: Waiting Is The Hardest Part…Though Necessary

Joanna Stern — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:33:51 +0000

Google has more than emphasized that its Chrome operating system will be super speedy; it will boot in only seven seconds and surfing the web will be just be quicker. The irony is that you will actually have to wait for Google’s OS to arrive and for a pretty long time in the technology world. After giving a preview yesterday of what is in store from the Internet giant’s computing platform, Google’s Sundar Pichai said that they are “a year away” from releasing products with the operating system. Yep, we are going to be waiting for a solid 365 days!

When it comes to technology I’m an instant satisfaction type of girl, so naturally I was less than thrilled about the long wait before we start seeing new laptops with Google’s Chrome OS preloaded. (By the way, the fact that you cannot download and install the OS yourself is total BS and a subject for another column.) But, I am resigned to accepting the product delay not only because it relates to Google geeks’ needing sufficient time to work on the back end of the OS and on other techy stuff for quality assurance, but also because other improvements and developments in mobile technology over the next year or two will make the Chrome OS worth waiting for and make it an overall better experience.

More ubiquitous wireless connectivity. Given Google’s deep roots in, you know, the Internet it makes sense that they have built an entire operating system on top of the web browser. Not only will you have the main functionality of a browser, but you will be able do more through web applications that are to be developed over the next year. Point is Google wants you to spend your time online and it is clear that there will be very little functionality (details are few and far between on this) to the OS if it isn’t connected to the Net. With WiFi being spotty at best, I would assume that most Chrome notebooks will have some sort of 3G technology. However, beyond 3G’s kick to the wallet it is also slow.

The fourth generation of cellular wireless is beginning to be rolled out with sporadic WiMax coverage areas, but that uptake will be a lot wider over the next year or so. In addition, Verizon’s 4G LTE network which promises even faster speeds is slated to be rolled out during 2010 and into the next decade. With the evolution of 4G in the coming years, Google Chrome OS netbooks will be a lot more useful and powerful than they would be if introduced at this moment in time.

Improved netbook, notebook form factors. In the last year alone we have seen the physical evolution of the netbook. What started out as a notebook with a 7-inch screen has now evolved into almost a real size laptop. With 10 to 12 inch displays that can accommodate better ergonomics and longer usage, netbooks are not only better in terms of function, but have improved in design and style. And this is only going to get better in the 2010 with companies designing and releasing smartbooks that can accommodate different types of form factors because of the smaller and fanless processor architecture. By mid-2010 we will have even better looking and more interestingly crafted mobile computers that will have hardware, as we are told by Google, that will be optimized for the new OS.

Web applications with more functionality than ever before. Apple released its application SDK a few months before it actually rolled out its application store, giving developers time to create some of the most impressive applications around. It will be the same with Chrome OS. Similar to the way Adobe Air has provided a whole new crop of connected applications for the desktop, developers will be hard at work for the next year figuring out services and features to bring to the new platform, including many that will support hardware graphics acceleration and multithreading. I have no doubt that Google’s web applications will surprise us with their capabilities, just as Android and iPhone applications have during the last year. The more time for those to brew the better.

Chrome OS netbooks and notebooks if released today just wouldn’t be as compelling as those that will hit the market a year or two from now. (In fact, I actually think that the end of 2010 may even be too early for Chrome OS given the wireless ubiquity issue.) As Google has said, it is working on the future of computing and, as always, we must wait for the future to arrive, just as we must wait for our operating systems to boot up.

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Apple is no longer the Nordstrom of Tech, they’re the “New Nordstrom”

Michael Gartenberg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:38:25 +0000

This past week I was at the opening of Apple’s latest store in NYC. It’s a work of art with a forty five foot glass wall, an all glass ceiling and marble walls. Along with that there’s the now iconic glass staircase. In many ways, it’s more a community gathering place for Apple customers and potential customers than it is a retail store. The beauty of the stores are effective but that’s not what’s ultimately driving sales. At the end of the day, the physical store is merely the visible manifestation of the Apple customer experience. Exercise if you’re Michael Dell. Build a store with a forty five foot glass wall and ceiling and see if you sell more PCs.

Consumers don’t really care about things like Snow Leopard, Macintosh, iPods or iPhones. They care about music, web browsing, e-mail and the associated services that go with them. The platform is a means to that end, as is the store. Consumers do care a great deal about the experience they go through in buying these products and they care about the customer service they receive after the purchase.

Over the last year I keep hearing more and more anecdotes about Apple’s customer service and particularly the experience at retail. All the stories were tales that bordered on the stuff that urban myths are made of. They were repeated over and over to groups of people. They dealt with things ranging from MacBook keyboard problems, iPod failures and customer service during the purchases of back to school systems. In each case Apple did not please these customers, Apple delighted them. Even more interesting, none of the people who told me their story fit the traditional Apple customer demographic, none were die-hard techies nor Apple fanbois. They were all just customers trying to work with the devices they purchased or trying to purchase technology to solve a need. The funny thing is that they’re not customers anymore, each and every one of these folks is now an Apple fan. To the core, if you will.

Apple has made the technology buying experience something that rivals the best consumer retail experiences. I used to postulate that Apple had become the Nordstrom for technology retail. Ever shop at Nordstrom’s? If you haven’t, you should just for the experience. In fact, if you run a support organization, you should go to Nordstrom’s and shop for training purposes.

I don’t think Apple is the Nordstrom of technology any more. I just think they’re the new Nordstrom as defined by level of service. I mean, why don’t GAP salesfolks have little handhelds to let me check out wherever I am in the store? How about the idea of going into Eddie Bauer and the ability to get the coat I bought there cleaned and pressed?

Apple’s retail experience is one major reason why Apple is a real threat to many folks and it’s also the reason why Microsoft is working hard to emulate the model Apple has created.

What’s making the difference is just how much mindshare Apple is building as a result of these types of tales of support love. There’s a great urban legend about Nordstrom’s that they actually took a return on snow tires. Years ago, I did a presentation for Nordstrom’s in Seattle and had a chance to chat with some of the family members who still are active in running things. Of course, I had to ask the question: is the story about the snow tires really true? There was a pause in the room and folks looked at each other and smiled. Finally, one of the family responded. I won’t tell you if it’s true or not, but here’s the thing, they’re not telling that story about Macy’s.

They’re also not telling them about Dell, Sony or Microsoft. Regardless of whether they’re exaggerated over time or not, these stories help further build mindshare today, and mindshare today leads to market share tomorrow.

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Can Anything Replace Windows XP As the Best Netbook Operating System?

Joanna Stern — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:13:58 +0000

As someone who has been running Windows XP as a primary operating system for the past eight years and has seen more netbooks with the dated OS in the last year or so, I was probably more excited about the arrival of Windows 7 than Twilight fans are about the upcoming release of the vampire packed New Moon movie. However, the last two netbooks I have gotten my hands on run the lower-end and feature-missing Windows 7 Starter edition. Although it pains me to admit it, I miss the rolling green mountains and blue skies of Windows XP.

Netbook manufacturers, including ASUS, HP and Toshiba, have chosen to put Windows 7 Starter on the newest crop of netbooks and, without a doubt, did so with a push from Microsoft. (Don’t forget about the higher profit margins on Windows 7 netbooks.) In fact, Retrevo.com, which is similarly evidencing dissatisfaction with Win 7 Starter, reports that 23 of the 28 netbooks on sale at Amazon.com right now are preloaded with Starter edition. And it doesn’t surprise me that Retrevo’s survey on netbooks with Windows 7 Starter found that 54 percent of consumers would be unsatisfied with a new netbook equipped with Windows 7 Starter Edition because of limitations in the OS. I am, without a doubt, in the same camp as that 54 percent.

Though Microsoft lifted the three-application limit before releasing the slimmed-down version of its operating system in October, it managed to include a number of restrictions including lack of support for DVD playback and the graphical Aero Peek interface. My major gripes, however, lie with the following shortcomings of the OS, which are far greater than dealing with the aging Windows XP.

Locked desktop background – You cannot change the desktop background on any Windows 7 Starter system. That’s simply ridiculous. I have been changing backgrounds in Windows since my very first desktop that ran Windows 95! Can I live with a blue Windows logo on my netbook’s desktop? Sure, but why should I? Yes, Windows 7 may be more aesthetically appealing than Windows XP, but who wants to look at a blue shaded Windows logo forever?

No multi-monitor support – Last week I discovered the hard way that the Nokia Booklet running Windows 7 Starter wouldn’t let me extend its 10-inch desktop to an external monitor. Since you can only clone the desktop in Windows 7 Starter, don’t plan on keeping an email client open on the 10-inch display and your browser open on a larger monitor. (Yes, that’s my netbook setup and it’s too good to part with.)

Subpar battery life – According to reports from LAPTOP Magazine and Liliputing, Windows 7 Starter edition is getting an average of 40 minutes less battery life than netbooks running Windows XP. That is quite a bit of wasted juice. Given that battery life is one of the best selling points of netbooks, I’d prefer to get some extra run time and sacrifice some of Windows 7’s features.

Don’t get me wrong; there are a number of things better about Windows 7 Starter than Windows XP, like the ability to connect to multiple networks and connect quickly. But, as I’ve said before, I’d rather have function over form and losing the core functionality of an operating system just rubs me the wrong way. While I am aware that most of my complaints can be solved by paying $80 and upgrading to Windows 7 Home Premium, adding 80 bucks to a netbook isn’t an insignificant cost and, in some cases, that’s as much as a quarter of the cost of the system itself.

So, big deal that Windows XP looks outdated, it provides me and other netbook users with the right price along with the essentials — the ability to change the wallpaper to an image of choice, longer battery life and the capability to extend the desktop to another monitor. Of course, word is that Microsoft could be finally pulling the life support on Windows XP before the end of the year on netbooks. Maybe the threat of Google’s Chrome OS, which is supposed to be shown in an early beta form this week, will be a viable alternative or perhaps scare Microsoft from pushing Starter onto netbooks. Until then, I am continuing to name Windows XP my netbook operating system of choice.

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Hey, Premium Notebooks or Netbooks, Get the Basics Right!

Joanna Stern — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:58:48 +0000

I wrote this column on the Nokia Booklet 3G which is, in my opinion, the most luxurious looking netbook on the market. And for its $600 ($299 with a pretty expensive 2 year AT&T contract) it sure as heck should be. The aluminum unibody design feels as solid as a freshly pumped up tire, and its brushed metal palm rest isn’t only minimalistic but is also smooth on the hands. The plastic coated keys are soft to the touch and the higher 1280 by 720 resolution screen is sweet on the eyes. And don’t forget the built in AT&T 3G that kept me connected as I wrote in different coffee shops around New York City.

Aesthetically the Booklet has got the goods, but performance wise not so much. While using the Booklet for the last week or so I had to get used to the netbook taking at least a minute to boot up Windows 7 Starter (thanks to its slow 4,200 rpm hard drive), and stalling at times when trying to open an application or simply loading a Flash video (thanks to its sluggish Atom Z530 processor). The Booklet 3G is like the stereotypical blonde — pretty but slow.

But Nokia isn’t the only offender of making “luxurious but laggard” notebooks; Sony, HP, ASUS and Dell are similarly guilty of creating high end notebooks (or netbooks) with shoddy internal specs. Take Sony’s new $1,300 Vaio X Series notebook. Sure, the carbon fiber clad notebook is the lightest in the world and it is pretty darn thin but its got the same slow and underpowered Atom Z530 processor as the Booklet, and it actually costs more! Apparently, Sony learned nothing from its mistakes with the P Series. It was the same story with the Dell Adamo that cost plus two grand. The notebook’s machined-aluminum chassis is incredibly svelte and thin, but it has a sluggish ultra low voltage processor with only 2GB of RAM. (Luckily, Dell seems to have tweaked a few things with the revolutionary designed Dell Adamo XPS that is due out soon).

Offering less computing power for more money is one issue, but the same happens in the ergonomics realm. Placing form-over-function, HP mucked up the touchpad on its super attractive and made of premium materials Envy 13. The same happened with its budget Pavilion dm3 touchpad; it is basically a pocket mirror implanted on a palmrest. In both cases, it is an understatement to say that it is frustrating to move the cursor around the desktop. At the end of the day, we use our laptops to access digital content, not to attract onlookers. Don’t get me wrong, I love attractive technology and love the feel of using premium equipment, but not when it hampers the intended purpose of the product.

Beauty, dear notebook manufacturers, isn’t skin deep. Premium notebooks and netbooks have a position in the marketplace amongst those that value quality and are willing to shell out more for nice looking and feeling products, but sacrificing performance and power — the basics of a real laptop — shouldn’t have to be part of the equation. I’m crossing my fingers that the next column I type on a premium netbook or notebook isn’t muddled by poor performance, a slow hard drive and a sub-par version of an operating system.

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HTC HD2: What WinMo Can Do In the Right Hands (First Take)

Michael Gartenberg — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:42:25 +0000

Last week, the buzz was clearly on the DROID (see my first take here) but there was another device that was also getting a lot of attention, albeit somewhat more restrained as few folks had one to work with. A few weeks ago, I wrote a column that emphasized people shouldn’t dismiss Windows Mobile. Over the last week I’ve been using the phone with the quiet buzz that proves that assertion. Sadly, it’s the best Windows Mobile phone that you can’t buy in the US yet. What device am I talking about? None other than the HTC HD2.

The HD2 is marked by two features not usually found on most Windows Mobile phones. The first is a capacitive touch screen. This is the first Windows Mobile device that has no stylus and is totally designed for input by touch alone. The second is a 1GHz Snapdragon processor that makes Windows Mobile and especially the HTC Sense UI fly. Finally, add in a gorgeous 4.3″ screen and you realize this is not your father’s Windows Mobile device.

While all the goodness of Windows Mobile 6.5 is there, HTC has taken thing to a new level with this latest version of their Sense UI. The ability to see quick information such as Twitter updates, stocks, weather, email etc without the need to go into an app is wonderful, and the speed with which one can move from screen to screen is amazing. Even better, the HD2 fully supports multitouch so zooming in and out of web pages, photos and word documents is simple, fast and fluid (it’s getting harder and harder for me to use a touchscreen device that lacks multi touch). HTC has replaced the stock Windows Mobile keyboard for their own and, combined with the large screen and fast processor, typing was easy and fast. I was able to get about the same speed as I get using the iPhone, something that I’ve not been able to do on any other devices.

Media is fantastic and HTC offers a cool music player (with an Apple-esque cover flow that’s smooth and fast) and of course the photo and video viewing. There’s also Windows Media Player for those looking for Microsoft sync from the desktop. The default browser is Opera which is fantastic and supports multi touch. (IE is much improved but pales next to Opera).

I did run into some legacy issues. One odd missing feature is there’s no way to add a user name to the device as in prior versions of Windows Mobile (including stock versions of 6.5) That’s an issue as that’s a vehicle older apps use to register and validate. No user name, no registration. Word is there will be a fix for this sometime shortly. There’s also no d-pad buttons so older titles that depended on physical buttons won’t work well or work at all. The good news is that I had no problems downloading new titles from Marketplace that all worked fine on the device, including classic games such as Galaga and Tetris. Finally, given that this is a European device, there’s no 3G here in the US which tends to slow everything down including web browsing. Using WiFi or MiFi fixed that problem and of course, any device that makes it to the US will likely have 3G on board.

HTC proved an important point with the HD2. It’s possible to take Windows Mobile 6.5 and make it a tier one mobile experience. No doubt it was hard work (for example, HTC had to implement multi touch on its own as there’s no native support for it in Windows Mobile). Oddly, despite all the buzz this device has garnered it seems the only people not talking about it are Microsoft folks. One reason for that is the HD2 is only available in Europe (and remember if you’re thinking about finding one and bringing it to the US note you’ll be stuck on EDGE as there’s no US 3G support). The good news is HTC says it’s bringing the device to the US early next year (no carrier was named as of this point) and perhaps we’ll see Microsoft start promoting it properly as they should. HTC has done an amazing job showing what one can do with Windows Mobile. The question is will see other licensees getting in the game and raising the bar higher?

Want a second opinion on the HTC HD2? Check out the full SlashGear review with hands-on video.

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Don’t Do It Dell: Think Tablets, Not MIDs

Joanna Stern — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:52:39 +0000

It looks like Dell is planning to release a mobile internet device, or a MID. The details are few and far between but the product—code-named Streak—looks like it packs Wi-Fi, 3G and Android 2.0 all into one. It is exactly what Intel has been calling a mobile internet device for the past few years: larger than a smartphone, primarily for accessing the Net, and featuring multimedia and even GPS functionality. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet and the leaked video of the Dell device gives us a better glimpse of what is to come and what it can do. Ironically (and you will see why later), when I watched the video I immediately thought: ah, so Dell wants to make an iPhone with a larger 5-inch screen!

Don’t tell Dell, but Apple also seems to have another mobile internet device brewing in Cupertino. That would be the rumored Apple tablet that is expected to have a larger screen than the iPhone (talk is about 10.2 inches ) and, if you think like an Apple diehard, it will completely change the way we look at the future of the tech universe. Truth is we don’t know what the Apple tablet does or what it looks like. We don’t know a thing about its connectivity or its main purpose, but we do know that, unlike the MIDs that Dell and others are releasing, it won’t try and compete with the iPhone or the iPod Touch, for that matter.

Of course, Apple makes the iPhone and wouldn’t want to compete with its own product but, luckily for the company, there is no need to try and compete with it. The popularity of the latest generation of smartphones, including the iPhone, Palm Pre and now the Motorola Droid, has confirmed that people prefer having a single device – a phone bred with ubiquitous Internet connectivity and applications. Consumers want to be able to get the information they need on-the-go without having to carry multiple devices. We left our PDAs back in the 90s!

As far as I am concerned, people want either a smaller phone or an accompanying device that is more versatile and can be used for the jobs their phones cannot handle. Not tweener devices. This is what netbooks have taught us. And though we don’t know much about Apple’s tablet I am fairly certain it will follow similar thinking. Sure, it won’t be a netbook as we know it today, but it will fill a void between Apple’s iPhone (and Touch) and its Macbook line. The larger screen device will be for content consumption, including the ability to visit Websites and read content. (Rumors are that Apple is teaming up with media organizations and publishers). It will likely run applications, whether on an iPhone OS or a full fledged version of OSX. I suspect that will allow for light content creation and sharing, like editing pictures with multitouch gestures or typing using the virtual keyboard. But this column is about what I think about the Apple will and won’t do.

Funny enough, it has been reported that Dell and Intel were actually working on a similar tablet-like device that would also be focused on digital content and Internet connectivity. While it is too early to say what the core purpose of these tablets will be, they will fill the void between smartphones and laptops much better than the mysterious MIDs. What I know is that Dell, you seem to be on a winning streak with the Dell Adamo XPS. Let’s not mess that up with a losing “Streak” or with a MID that’s reminiscent of the unsuccessful kinds we already have today.

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Technology should be aspirational not confrontational

Michael Gartenberg — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:59:42 +0000

I had lunch recently with someone who was a recent transplant to NY from Silicon Valley. They commented on what a great thing it was to finally ditch their car for getting around as it’s a bit of a hindrance to own a car in Manhattan. I thought about this for a while afterward, mostly remembering the few years I lived in NY when I owned a car and kept it in NY. I never drove it anywhere for fear of losing the most sacred of things in NY, my parking space. As a result, it mostly sat unused except to move it from one side of the street to the other, twice a week. (I initially had dreamed of just garaging it until I discovered that for the same money, I could have gotten it three bedrooms and a 2 baths in a nice area in NJ). The key was, I had the potential of using it anytime I wanted to. Today, I live in the NJ suburbs, no more than 15 minutes from Manhattan without traffic. Ask me why, and I’ll tell you it’s to have the advantages of the suburbs but still be close to the great museums, theater and culture of NY. Of course you might want to ask me when the last time I went to one of the great museums or saw a show on Broadway. There’s an aspirational theme associated with all this. It’s not what I do. Rather what I could do.

And that brings me to the point of today’s post. Technology should be aspirational, because the ability to aspire is what causes consumers to spend. Nike understands this. It’s not a subtle message, the only thing separating you from Michael Jordan and his ability is a pair of Nike shoes.

In days gone by, PCs were sold with a programming language, the notion being you could use this tool to create great things. Later, it was HyperCard with Macintosh that took the creative paradigm one step further. Apple’s CEO at the time, John Sculley, was reported to have said when he saw HyperCard for the first time, “at last, I can program”. Programming computers might not be what most aspire for these days.

Today, the most that many folks aspire to is to create playlists of their favorite songs or lightly edit a photo. It’s good to see both Microsoft and Apple extending their platforms with tools that can do more. There’s a reason that Apple ships iLife with all of their Macs (Hypercard itself is alas, no more) and Microsoft offers Windows Live Essentials. It’s to help create the inspirational environment.

I’ve often argued that consumers consume content and don’t create it, that’s why they’re called consumers. It’s true, but that doesn’t mean that the industry shouldn’t strive to create products that fire the imagination and further spark creativity. Many may never care, others may aspire to the goal and in the end, never take advantage of the power to create and others may come up with the next big idea. Aspiration is good even if potential is never totally unleashed and frankly, I’d rather see more about companies telling me why their stuff is good and what it enables me to do as opposed to why their competition is bad or overpriced or hurts puppies and kittens.

As the poet Robert Browning said, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or else what’s a heaven for?” Let’s think the same way about consumer tech. So tell me, what do you aspire to?

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Enough Already with the Subsidized Netbooks!

Joanna Stern — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:26:54 +0000

With the holidays fast approaching cell phone carriers are stocking up on inventory and amongst the new Motorola DROIDs, HTC Heroes, and Palm Pixies are a slightly larger, yet unfamiliar crop of devices – netbooks. AT&T is all giddy about its exclusive availability of the Nokia Booklet 3G and Sprint announced just yesterday that it will be selling the Dell Inspiron Mini 10V. Verizon already has three netbooks in its arsenal, including HP’s new powerful Mini 311. Clearly, lining up the selection isn’t a problem, but what the carriers haven’t figured out yet is that selling netbooks requires a totally different approach than selling phones. The deals and the subsidized model, in my mind, make as much sense for netbooks as building and then plowing a virtual Farmville farm!

Let’s take AT&T’s Nokia Booklet 3G. The Booklet 3G, which is one of the nicest feeling netbooks I’ve ever gotten my hands-on, costs $599. Now that is a boatload of money to spend on even the nicest netbook (the average price is $350) which is why Nokia intended it to be subsidized by a carrier. (Get it, Booklet 3G!). Here in the U.S. it will be $299 with a two-year data contract ($60 per month) on AT&T. That sounds better than the $599, like $300 better. But when you do the math, it isn’t really cheaper at all. Not only will you pay $299 up front for the netbook, but you also have to add in a whopping $1,440 for data charges over two years. Total cost: $1,739. Woah! That is one freaking expensive netbook.

But do people really use the 3G connection on their netbooks frequently enough to justify purchasing another cell phone? Given that netbooks are generally used for no more than a few hours at a time, it’s highly doubtful. At least in the case of the Nokia 3G you can remove the SIM card associated with the 5GB per month data plan and use it in a different device, but netbooks on both Verizon and Sprint are horses of a different color. Once you buy a subsidized netbook from one of these CDMA carriers you can only use that data plan on the secondary notebook. See where I am going with this? You may end up spending $60 a month for Internet connectivity on a notebook that isn’t regularly used. It’s like buying an expensive pair of shoes you will only wear once or twice, you just don’t get your money’s worth.

My simple answer for those of us who don’t like to rely on WiFi but prefer a mobile broadband connection for our netbooks is to buy a MiFi or a mobile broadband card. This solution links the cellular plan to a portable and swappable card that can be used with multiple laptops or devices (with the MiFi up to five at the same time!)

But I do understand that a standalone device, even if bundled with a netbook, doesn’t have the same appeal as an integrated option. That’s why carriers should design netbook plans differently. Similar to the way HP netbooks are being sold in Japan, a pay-as-you-go service would hold water here in the U.S. Instead of customer contracts, the netbooks would come with SIM cards that could be refilled as needed. This would alleviate the $60-a-month data plan and you’d only pay for the minutes or mega/gigabytes that you use. How would customers monitor their usage? Just like with a pay-as-you-go cell phone plan, you would be alerted to the amount of dollars or GBs (or maybe even time) you have left to use.

Although this concept may at first appear like a hit for carriers since customers would not be locking into contracts, the possibilities for this model would become increasingly profitable as more devices become available. It also opens the door to customers who previously would not consider spending money on a 3G connection because of the fine-print contracts and the monthly cost.

So dear carriers, as you polish up those holiday lines with more shiny netbooks, please consider sprucing up the plans too. You can’t pull the merino wool over our eyes this holiday season: that $299 netbook isn’t $299 at all!

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Not Just Another Best Buy, Microsoft’s Stores Are Long Overdue

Joanna Stern — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:53:08 +0000

Some people go to the park or Starbucks to people watch, I prefer an outing to Best Buy. I love checking out all the newest gadgets and tech under one roof (more than I should even let on), but I often get distracted by watching people who seem totally confused about which PC to buy. More often than not, I see them peruse the notebooks and desktops on display and struggle to figure out the difference between, let’s say, a netbook and a full-size notebook. And when they approach a Blue Shirt, the answers I have heard can be quite comical. No kidding, it’s the size of the netbook that makes it different!?

I’d argue that Best Buy is one of the worst places to buy a PC, but this isn’t an expose on Best Buy’s service or a piece to give myself props for knowing a bit about new computers. A new PC store is in town – one that may fill the void in providing real service and product knowledge for all those weary, non-online shopping computer seekers.

Coinciding with the mega Windows 7 launch last week, Microsoft opened its new retail store in Phoenix. It is the first of many that will be opening nationwide and, frankly, it is a concept that is long overdue. The store is jam packed with Microsoft’s latest consumer technology feats, including large Surface tables, walls of mega-LCD screens and Zune HDs, but the retailer provides something more valuable than just eye candy.

1. Answers. Each of the stores will be home to a Microsoft Answer Desk. Sure, it sounds like a total rip of Apple’s Genius Bar, but making a list of the things Microsoft is pulling from Apple is a book unto itself. Not only will customers be able to approach the Answers Desk for, lack of a better word, answers but they can also ask for advice in selecting the best PC to meet their specific needs. And if your aunt and uncle require some more attention after the purchase, they can even sign up for a class at the store to learn more. Yep, just like Apple’s Workshops.

Did I mention that the store will take care of repairs too? Unlike Apple and Sony who manufacture the hardware they sell in their stores, Microsoft works with its partners to bring PCs to market (Microsoft Stores will carry PCs made by HP, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, etc.). But apparently that doesn’t mean they don’t know the ins and outs of why a product may malfunction. I’ve been told that the Microsoft-certified technicians will not only be well educated on all aspects of the hardware sold in the store but will also be capable of repairing products (regardless of where it was purchased) on site.

2. Understanding of the Microsoft ecosystem. Sometimes I even forget that Microsoft makes a lot more than computer software, including some pretty popular consumer electronics devices like that Zune and Xbox. One of the most interesting parts of Windows 7, though not so obvious, is the fairly seamless support for peripherals in Device Stage. With demos of Xbox streaming and Zune and Windows phone syncing, the retail store aims to aid end users in understanding how all that technology can work together. Hell will have to freeze over before a Palm Pre, Apple iPod or any of the Google Android phones are demoed with a PC in the store, but it is a start to simplifying and explaining processes for users.

3. Oh, and crapware free PCs. Windows PCs at the retail stores have been purged of crapware, or the third party applications that are typically preinstalled by manufacturers. Can I get a Hallelujah!? Regardless of the brand, the so called Signature PCs that are sold from Microsoft won’t include any unnecessary third-party software that clogs up the system tray and clutters the desktop. Again, what is achieved is a simpler and less confusing initial setup for the PC user and less perplexed faces when it takes two minutes to boot the computer.

It is a no-brainer to compare certain aspects of the store to what Apple provides in its retail locations. Many of the first Phoenix Microsoft store goers claim the general atmosphere feels the same as Apple’s as well. And who cares? I’m really not sure why it has taken Microsoft this long to figure out what Apple did years ago –face-to-face service and interaction with someone on the floor who is really knowledgeable about the software and hardware choices. Let’s face it, if we knew exactly what we wanted to purchase we could just go online and save ourselves considerable hassle. Fingers crossed that Microsoft can live up to its promises in its retail shops and that I can spend more of my time drooling over products rather than people watching.

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Verizon introduces the leader of the DROID army – First Take

Michael Gartenberg — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:04:17 +0000

Recently I asked, if a DROID could take on the Death Star? Now, Motorola and Verizon, along with some help from Google launched DROID. I’ve spent the day with a device and here’s what I think so far. First, Verizon was clear that DROID is going to be a family of devices running Android, Motorola’s device will be the only one called DROID, others will be known as the DROID-XXX. DROID is the first Android 2.0 device and the Google branding points to the fact that this is stock Android. And I do mean stock Android: there are zero Verizon services on this device (with the exception of a non-branded visual voicemail app). No VCast. No nothing. One wonders if Verizon were willing to go to this length a few years ago, would the iPhone have landed on Verizon? Android 2.0 is a great update and finally is starting to feel complete. Compared to V1 Android running HTC Sense, it’s a mixed bag. HTC’s UI is lightyears ahead of stock Android in my opinion but the DROID performs so much better than any Android V1 phone I’ve used and is nearly feature complete that it’s hard to recommend a V1x device at this point.

The hardware itself is unassuming with a slider keyboard (MOTO says it’s the thinnest slider on the market) and nice capacitive touch screen. The keyboard itself is a bit of disappointment. I kept making errors (that’s what happens when you aim for thin). Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad. It’s just not best of breed IMHO. The capacitive screen worked great and the processor is clearly up to the task. Apps launched and switched quickly and in general, there’s none of the usual lag associated with Android. This device is clearly how Android was supposed to perform. There’s a 1,400ma battery inside, although it’s too early to tell what real world battery life will be. Google’s app catalog is here. There’s a decent selection of applications but it comes down to a simple fact, is the app you want here or coming soon? What ultimately will decide platform success is the exclusive apps, deepest and widest app catalog and best of breed apps. Right now, the mobile application center of gravity is elsewhere.

Voice calls sounded great. In Manhattan and Northern NJ where I live, I never dropped a call and 3G worked flawlessly. Charging is via micro USB and there’s two docks available. One will turn the device into a bedside clock/radio/weather companion. The other is optimized for Google Maps. Why Google Maps? Starting with Android 2.0, Google now offers turn-by-turn directions as part of Google Maps. It’s a free service with no charge for use. I used it to get home from the launch event and it worked as well as the dedicated device in my car. This is huge news. Google has totally changed the economics of the GPS market in one fell swoop. No word whether other versions of Google Maps – such as for iPhone or BlackBerry – would get this feature.

The other hot feature in Android 2.0 is Exchange support at last. Once I figured out the slightly cryptic way to enter Exchange information, I had all my calendar, contacts and email on the device. Google integrates contacts into one large contact view (which can also include Facebook contacts as well, but not LinkedIn) but if you use Gmail or Google Calendar, those apps are separate from the core programs. Google does let you connect to more than one Exchange source at a time. Overall, though, Palm’s Synergy is better integrated and more powerful.

Android 2.0 isn’t perfect; for one thing, there’s still no native support for multitouch. That’s just silly with a screen as good as this one. Microsoft, HTC and Palm have added native multitouch support for their devices. It’s silly for Google not have it at this point. There’s other little niggles as well. Contacts can’t be sorted in last name order (as they can in every PIM built in the last 25 years). There’s also still only three screens for apps and widgets (licensees like HTC upped this already). Overall, much improved over V1 but there’s a lot more to be done.

Worst feature is that there’s no way to sync media directly from either iTunes or Windows Media. At the moment, this is a drag and drop solution. C’mon? Control sync, control the world and that includes media. Every other platform offers this feature. It’s a major oversight for all parties. TIP, if you do have a DROID, I’m told Double Twist will have DROID support on Macintosh sometime today. Still. This needs to be native.

Bottom line? DROID is a compelling device, at least at this moment in time. The combination of performance, updated Android OS and the Verizon network make a strong combination for users looking for a high end device on the Verizon network. Likewise, Android aficionados will be pleased with the latest version and the best performing version of Android on the market. There’s a lot, however, I miss about HTC’s Sense UI and better Exchange setup, onscreen keyboard, and custom widgets that I’d love to see on Android 2.0 running on faster hardware.

The end result is a device that will likely please consumers that are only considering Verizon’s network (at least until we see more of the DROID family and what it looks like). Despite the hype of the initial iDon’t campaign, it’s not likely to win many converts though from other platforms. Google needs to continue to evolve the OS forward and at the same time build out the app catalog with more apps that are unique to the platform or are showcased best of breed. For now, what we have is a very capable DROID that needs some other family members to keep it company and create a DROID army that could become more platform competitive over time.

Looking for more Verizon DROID by Motorola information? Check out our hands-on report.

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The FrankenBook: A Creation that Cannot be Killed

Joanna Stern — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:27:01 +0000

Leading computer manufacturers along with Intel and Microsoft have inadvertently created a monster. And like Frankenstein, it is a monster they’d like to destroy. Although the industry’s hot-selling brainchild is physically quite small –perhaps more analogous to a gremlin in scale— with its small 10-inch screen, underpowered Intel Atom processor, cheaper version of Windows and under $400 price, netbooks are devouring corporate profit margins.

And if only words could kill. Last week at the launch of Windows 7, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke about the dreams of the new operating system and showed off a group of new notebooks that ran the improved Windows, but none were netbooks. He remarked that many have been disappointed in the poor performance and graphics of the mini laptops, echoing almost exactly what Michael Dell had to say a week earlier. The CEO of the corporation that has a complete line of Inspiron Mini netbooks indicated that users are dissatisfied with the small screen sizes and limited power of them after 36 hours of usage. Bottom line: users would rather use a larger sized notebook, according to Dell. (Funny, I’ve been using the same netbook during travel and couch surfing for the past 18 months and I get far more mileage out of my netbook than that, Mr. Dell.)

Clearly, Dell along with Intel and Microsoft want to promote the sales of more profitable machines with full priced operating systems (not a cheap, eight-year-old version of Windows) and a higher powered processor and chipset. And can you really blame them, especially when we heard last week that Apple’s high-priced MacBook line is selling better than ever? When consumers choose a netbook over a more expensive notebook with a higher-priced processor and full $100 version of an operating system, the manufacturer takes a hit and makes little to no moolah.

The phenomenon isn’t new, however. Author of Disrupting Class Clayton Christensen refers to it as over servicing the customer base or “disruptive innovation.” If the vast majority of consumers simply do not need or use the amount of computer power in a typical notebook, then the innovation of the netbook appeals to them, thus fundamentally disrupting industry. And that is exactly what has been happening according to DisplaySearch’s latest numbers. The revenue of notebook sales has gone way down, while netbooks are up by over 200 percent.

But will Michael Dell and the other would-be netbook killers really destroy their own invention? Will they take the knife to the throat of the 10-inch, Intel Atom powered, Windows XP netbook knowing full well that customers are craving the product? They are trying to by releasing, with the help of Intel, a new crop of notebooks with larger sized screens that still maintain the long battery life of netbooks yet pump out more performance. Powered by Intel’s ultra low voltage processors the new products are about $200 to $400 more expensive than a netbook.

No doubt, consumers will buy these new thin and light laptops. The $800 13-inch ASUS UL30 has been getting rave reviews for its mix of battery life and portability. But those 10-inch netbooks will be hard to kill off. They line the shelves of Best Buy and continue to be the bestselling consumer electronics item on Amazon. And believe me, this upcoming holiday season that won’t be changing. People like the attractive price point and when they are living in the Cloud and enjoying the portable form factor it doesn’t seem to be a big issue that they are only useful for only a few hours at a time.
Netbooks struck a cord, which is why the Frankenbook will still be haunting Mr. Ballmer and Mr. Dell come next Halloween.

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Can a Droid take on the Death Star?

Michael Gartenberg — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:36:12 +0000

Since it’s introduction, the AT&T logo has reminded many users of the Death Star. Sure, that’s not what it’s supposed to look like but no matter how many times they tweak it, I just see the Death Star. So it was amusing to me when over the weekend the first leaks (or release depending on your point of view) came about Verizon’s latest campaign about a phone called the Droid that’s poised to take on the iPhone.

The teaser campaign is somewhat an extension of Verizon’s ads over the last few weeks, in which it’s been touting the strength of its network coverage to the refrain of “there’s a map for that”. This new campaign isn’t nearly as subtle and takes aim at Apple with a whole series of “iDont’s” all pointing at perceived weakness of the iPhone. Well, one thing’s for certain, it doesn’t appear that there’s going to be a Verizon iPhone anytime soon unless you take an iPod touch and pair it with a Verizon MiFi.

I haven’t seen the Droid but I’m little skeptical. Rumor has it as a MOTO based Android device, and even running on Verizon’s network there’s a lot that it’s going to need to do. I also don’t love the campaign. Going head to head with Apple over issues like removable batteries and other features has failed for every vendor in the iPod space (SanDisk and Creative both tried similar approaches). Consumers are clearly OK with Apple’s feature set so it’s going to take a lot more than going negative to gain some ground. Here are the big issues that the Droid needs to be able to showcase.

Network vs. Network. It’s a perceived issue but perception is reality that AT&T’s network is the iPhone’s weak link in the US. Granted, I’ve had issues (over the summer at Kennedy airport in NY I needed to make an urgent call and no matter how many bars the phone told me I had, the call would not go through. I finally had to hop on airport WiFi and make the call over Skype). Over the last few months though AT&T has beefed up their network and I find in the NY area it works about as well as anyone else’s, which means I still drop calls and have some connection issues, the same issues I have with every network

Media centricity and sync. This is critical. Palm gets it. Microsoft gets it, RIM gets it. Only Google doesn’t seem to understand the importance of syncing content to a device from a PC and not just dragging and dropping. Right now the iPhone is the only device where media functionality drives purchases. Without a better Android solution for getting content on a device, it’s not a contender.

Cool factor. iPhones are as much about style and cachet and, like the iPod before it, transcend gender, age and other demographic tenures. Younger folks don’t mind using an iPhone even though older folks might use them too. Sort of the same way they feel about things like BMWs. This better be one hip Droid.

App catalog. It’s a different world. Apps matter and the depth and breadth of a platform’s catalog is going to help decide in a big way who wins and who loses. Largest selection and most exclusives win. The Droid better have some apps and functions I can’t get anywhere else and those had better be ones that matter.

At the end of the day, no one is going to out iPhone the iPhone. Handset vendors and carriers must change the game, much like Palm did by introducing Synergy and changing the way apps are approved and sold, or HTC by providing new degrees of features in a UI not available on other platforms. Attacking the iPhone head on is a little like trying to fly directly at the Death Star in an X-Wing.

This Droid had better find a better weakness or it’s going to end just another used phone for sale in a Jawa flea market.

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