Motorola has come out with a phone, the Cliq, targeted at a specific market and utilizing the power of Google’s Android platform. It is the first of a family of new Motorola phones, where the Cliq stands at the patronymic fore.
As far as features go, Cliq is doing all right. The phone is complete with a decent camera (5 megapixel), video capability, sweet media tools, a spacious allowance for microSD memory, voice-activated search features, and easy access to Google Maps (street view), Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Picasa, Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and all the rest. It comes with a (teeny) Qwerty keyboard, a thankfully accurate touchscreen, and an eye-catching titanium body.
But the way that those features are bundled is what makes the Motorola Cliq standout. It uses Motoblur, which is Motorola’s catchy name for a new cloud-based social-everything service. Motoblur tries to lasso everything social in someone’s life and put it into one snazzy portable format. According to one of Motorola’s marketing slogans, “You can stream your music, why not your friends?”
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For a while, gadget-lovers have been awaiting Sprint’s acquiring of the HTC Touch Pro2, a feature-packed smartphone that was formerly only available on through the T-Mobile network. Sprint announced that they plan to host the phone on their network beginning September 8. With Sprint behind it the HTC will probably increase in popularity, but Sprint won’t do so bad, either. The HTC Touch Pro2, enjoying a sudden wave of popularity, is probably eventually headed for all four of the U.S.’s major carriers.
With Sprint now carrying the HTC Touch Pro2, the smartphone enjoys wider usability via Sprint’s fast and vast 3G network. Along with all the other features (read below) the device will be preloaded with Sprint’s GPS, the Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, and the other assorted Sprint software. That’s what sets apart Sprint’s HTC Touch Pro2 from the same phone offered through T-Mobile.
What hasn’t changed much is the price. And consumers probably wish it would change. While the HTC Touch Pro2’s features and functionality may outstrip the competitors, so does the price. The device is available for $349.99 (with a two-year Sprint contract), and that price is inclusive of the $100 rebate.
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Offering video to mobile users hits the spot.
July saw a new mobile traffic record set for MSNBC.com’s properties following the introduction of video into their mobile web offerings.
Monthly video views increased 207% since MSNBC.com launched mobile video, according to a consumer research survey conducted by InsightExpress for Transpera , the largest mobile video delivery and ad network in North America, trebling video views in just over 4 months.
“Consumers are responding enthusiastically to the ease and convenience of consuming information and entertainment on their mobile devices,” said Transpera CEO/founder Frank Barbieri. “As more and more powerful devices are bought on more and more powerful networks, mobile will become a dominant day part of consumer’s consumption habits, and it will do so with consistently better performing advertising, that we’ve shown continues to deliver great results to highly engaged audiences.”
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For Microsoft Outlook users unfamiliar with Xobni, pay attention. The venture-backed company’s first piece of software, not even two years old, is a powerful advancement for e-mail organization, Outlook style. Wednesday, the new version of the tool is available, Xobni1.8 which provides additional power. In addition, the previously free plugin is offering an advanced version, Xobni Plus, which costs $29.95.
Xobni, which is “Inbox” spelled backwards, is still ultimately a free program. The free version, obviously, is a lightweight version of the tricked-out version of Xobni, which gives high-level e-mail users complete control over their inbox. As a VC-backed organization, Xobni needed something to build revenue. Jeff Bonforte, CEO of the startup explains that a paid service helps people “feel better that money is coming in because they know that you’ll be there tomorrow to support them.” What he may not realize is that money coming in to his company means money coming out of consumer’s pockets-an experience that trumps warm and fuzzy feelings of support. However, Xobni Plus is a handy tool that may be worth the $30.
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Just in case iPod Touch users were getting a little jealous of the new iPhone 3GS, there is rumor of change. Pinch Media is a mobile analytics firm, which “helps mobile application developers grow their businesses and make more money.” They were the first to blog about actual evidence of an iPod 3.1 on the horizon. According to the entry, “we’ve been noticing an ‘iPod 3.1′ string appearing in our version reporting, signifying what we believe to be a new yet-to-be-released version of the iPod Touch.”
To corroborate, they posited their pieces of evidence. First, in April, they detected that one of their applications was run by an ‘iPod 3.1′ Interestingly enough, Pinch Analytics apps picked up some additional 3.1 data in May, and have clocked “a few dozen” so far.
iPod Touch 3.1 ’sightings’ began as early as the beginning of the year. Some reported seeing entries for publicly released models of unreleased products, including an iPod 3.1 along with the new iPhone. Now that the iPhone 3GS has hit the shelves, hopefully the new iPod touch will follow suit.
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Android phone users have a nice surprise coming to them-in the form of Flash. Bsquare Corporation is putting the finishing touches on Flash Lite 3.1, and porting it to ARM-based phones. The player will enable Android phone users to play videos, and enjoy other websites that require Flash Player. Because it’s “Lite,” however, the player will not have the same capability that your computer does when encountering Flash features.
Flash, the multimedia platform designed by Adobe, is standard-fare on most websites. Flash 10 is the most current Flash player designed by Adobe. On mobile devices, however, Flash capabilities through the new Flash Lite 3 will be able to render websites up to Flash 8.
Bsquare, identifying themselves as “the mobile and embedded systems experts,” has development-stage partnerships with software producers and device designers. They assist these larger firms, firms like Microsoft and Adobe, in creating and implementing mobile technology.
As of right now, Microsoft has completed the plans for a Windows 7 overhaul. Although the official release date for the Microsoft’s new operating system is a few months in the offing (October 22), marketing execs at Microsoft thought it prudent to release the beta version of the upgrade software prior to the official launch. The move will allegedly bring in bulk orders prior to the official launch date, as well as boost excitement for the new OS.
The upgrade software, found at Microsoft’s TechNet site, is better known as MAP: Microsoft Assessment and Planning toolkit. Essentially, the tool gives anyone from a small business owner to a corporate network administrator the ability to determine and plan for system upgrades.
Although the toolkit is still in its beta version, a new version will come out soon. Microsoft has set hopes high for Windows 7, and the MAP toolkit should advance hopes and drive sales.
The buzz of recent rumors floating from Cupertino wouldn’t be complete without the prediction of the Nano and Touch being equipped with a camera. Experts are leaning more toward the rumor that the Nano alone would gain the embedded picture clicker, and would hopefully have better resolution than just 2.0 megapixels.
The prospect of having a camera on your MP3 player may seem a bit unnecessary. That is one argument that casts the rumor toward the ’suspicious’ category. However, Apple is always one to surprise. Cameras on telephones seemed a bit over-the-top at first, too, until every phone came out with them. Some have begun suggesting that iPhones will next have a video feature, which could place them a notch above the Nano camera capability. That would still keep the iPhone in the always-better category of Apple’s products.
One feature of the discussion that elicits curiosity is the close relationship between the iPhone and the iPod, not to mention the Touch. Since the iPhone can do everything that the Touch and Nano can do, why add features to either one that makes them more like each other? Will there be a middle ground where they twain shall meet in one device? It’s too early to predict. Other tech rumors, surveyed elsewhere, suggest the birth of a new iPhone in the not-so-distant future.
Somewhere along the line, someone called it “Pink.” Nobody is really sure why. For the ill informed, “Pink” is the codeword arbitrarily assigned to the latest Microsoft rumor. The rumor? A brand new phone produced by none other than Microsoft + Verizon.
Is the rumor valid? It certainly has some valid points. One has to admit that the number one tech company plus the number one phone company equals a winning combination. With the runaway success of the iPhone, someone has to wage competition. No one is better suited to the job than Microsoft and Verizon.
Microsoft has been left in the lurch when it comes to smart phones. Sure, they have some nice software and it’s gotten a lot better. Yes, they made a valiant effort when they signed a deal with Verizon to make LiveSearch the default search engine for all new Verizon phones. But these were only steps in the right direction. All along, the iPhone was selling like crazy, and the App Store, crossed the 1 billion threshold. Who cares about Live Search when users have already downloaded over a billion apps and consumers have bought more than 30 million iPhones?
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Prolific iPhone game developer (and self-proclaimed “first-party” developer) Ngmoco has been busy lately. The company is working hard on developing Star Defense, which is expected to be their next big blockbuster hit. At the same time they’ve had the time to develop and release more bonus levels for their previous hit Rolando.
Star Defense is a hybrid RTS/tower defense game, and it looks gorgeous. While the “fighting bugs in space” theme calls to mind the visual look of Blizzard’s original StarCraft, the gameplay is entirely original. Endless hordes of aliens run across the playing field, which isn’t the flat square of most TD games but instead a sphere or cube that players must rotate in order to see the entire playing field. Graphics and sound effects are top-notch, and show tremendous amounts of polish — this truly does look like a “first-party” game.
Touch Arcade has a new hands-on look, complete with video. They note that the graphics (planets, units, and background stars and nebulae) are “impressive” and also that the gameplay “feels very solid. Make no mistake, tower defense fans are in for something special.”
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