Suffire.com | Geek Stuffs, Technology Related

It’s going to get a lot worse for Motorola before it gets better.

Slipping into a loss this quarter, the company said its first Android-based smartphone won’t be on the market until the holiday season — in 2009. 

The bet on Android (the Google-backed open source operating system) could put Motorola out of the game for the coming year, because consumers won’t be willing to wait that long, says Pablo Perez-Fernandez, an analyst at Global Crown Capital.

"There are alternatives out there that are increasingly making Motorola irrelevant," he says. "When consumers go to the store and see Motorola’s ugly phones they they just are going choose something else. Bringing them back to the brand will be difficult," says Perez-Fernandez.

Motorola is up against the wall, with declining revenues from its major line of business, consumer cellphones. The company has been criticized for a lack of innovation and has been slow to react to the success of the iPhone and of Android. Now Motorola says it is shelving its earlier plan to split in two, and says it will focus its mobile phone efforts on three software platforms: Windows Mobile, Android and its own P2K operating system.

Though the first handset will be out late next year, the company plans to offer many more based on Android OS in 2010, say company executives.

But by then Motorola is likely to find itself playing catch-up to its rivals. HTC’s first Android-based phone, the T-Mobile G1, was released last week, even as LG and Samsung are reportedly developing handsets based on the platform for launch early next year.

Motorola’s long lead time is in some ways typical of what it takes to bring new platforms on to a new handset, says Perez-Fernandez.

"Their (Motorola’s) decision to use Android has been a relatively new one," he says. "Typically it takes 18 months to market when you are using a new platform from scratch."

But Motorola may not have that kind of runway. The company is already gasping for breath. It announced Thursday that it will lay off 3000 workers and put off the planned spinoff of its cellphone division.

Motorola also reported a loss of  $397 million, or 18 cents a share during the last quarter, compared to a profit of $60 million, or three cents, a year ago.

Also see:
Motorola Springs For Android

Photo: (veintecerodos/Flickr)

One of the great things about the iPhone is the regular software updates. Free and automatic improvements are piped, hot and steaming, to your pocket computer.

We don’t know exactly when the next version of the iPhone operating system (v2.2) will arrive, but the leaks are springing fast, and the new OS looks like a useful update — full of new toys.

Here’s what the rumors say so far.

Google Street View

Screenshots have emerged since the first October rumors that more or less
confirm that Google’s Street View will be added to the Maps
application. The iPhone doesn’t have the built-in compass of the
T-Mobile G1, so we won’t be getting the nifty live detection that lets
the Android phone overlay a picture of what’s in front of you over
what’s actually in front of you, but then what’s the point of that anyway?

More useful is the addition of public transport information, seen in
the picture at the top of the post. We should also be getting walking
directions in addition to the driving directions now available.

Direct Podcast Downloads

The screenshot above shows us an option to grab more episodes of a subscribed podcast (which we covered in depth yesterday). This is great news. Apart from charging, the only reason I connect my iPod Touch to my Mac so often is to update podcasts. Couple this with a way to delete the podcasts you’ve already heard, like you can do with video files, and the iPhone is one step closer to being an independent computing platform.

We also see a new Video icon at bottom right. Does this mean that video podcasts can be watched without using the video player, or that a separate video player has been abolished altogether and simply merged with the iPod?

Rating Applications on Deletion

A report from the iPhone Hellas forum tells us that, upon deleting an application for the iPhone’s home screen, we’ll be presented with the rating dialog above. This, combined with the App Store’s new policy of limiting comments to those people who have actually bought the application, should improve the accuracy of those ratings. It could also be a big pain in the butt if you are constantly testing new apps, like we do.

Line-In Support

The Apple Blog reports that the 2.2 software will support "manipulation of line-ln audio accessories." The iPhone and the 2G iPod Touch already support input through the headphone jack. We’re not sure if this new feature applies to signals coming through this jack, or to audio coming in through the dock connector — currently third-party applications don’t get access to that part of the hardware. If the latter is true, it could lead to clip-on mics and speakers like the Griffin iTalk, and it could also explain why Griffin has released a recording application to the App Store.

Emoji Emoticons

Do we really need this?

Location Sharing

The post at the iPhone Hellas forum also gives us this screenshot. You will be able to share your location details via e-mail, and when another iPhone owner clicks on a link in that mail, they’ll see a map of your location in the Maps application. Sounds kind of basic, but it could be a killer feature when your friends want to know just which dark, seedy bar you’re drinking in, and you can’t muster the strength to stand up and take a look outside.

Safari Tweaks

Way back in September, we pointed to this shot of a redesigned Safari interface, a slightly cleaner layout where Google gets its own spot in the search bar, the loss of the search icon and the relocation of the reload arrow to inside the URL bar. Expect more interface tweaks across the whole OS.

Copy and Paste

Kidding! You didn’t fall for that one, did you?

Apple releases iPhone Firmware 2.2 Beta 2 [iPhone Hellas forum]

Apple Seeking to Increase Participation in App Store Ratings? [MacRumors]

Rumor roundup: iPhone 2.2 firmware details [TUAW]

New Features in iPhone Software 2.2 [The Apple Blog]

The intricate workings of Thorsten van Elten’s non-lethal mousetrap are neatly summed up in its name: “Mouse in a Pint”.

It works thus: pop a breadstick (supplied) into the spring and use it to prop up the pint glass (the trap is priced in UK Pounds Sterling, so we assume it’s the proper 20oz pint and not the wussy 16oz US version). When the mouse comes a’nibbling, the glass drops, trapping the rodent until you arrive with a piece of card to complete the operation.

The trouble is, humane mouse disposal gets old quick. I used to have a rat problem, actually caused by my cats — they’d bring the things in as “gifts” and then lose them under the sofa, usually after they’d ripped off a few limbs. I got sick of picking the rats up by the tail and hurling them out the window so I developed a new method, inspired by Tom & Jerry. Here it is:

1: Throw an old towel or t-shirt over the rat.

2: Quickly find a frying pan (cast iron is best for both heft and the excellent “Clong!” sound it provides).

3: I think you can guess.

Lest you mistake this method for a hastily-concocted gag with which to end this post, I can assure you that it is both real, and extensively tested. It’s also cheaper and a lot more fun than the £10 ($16) Mouse in a Pint.

UPDATE: It looks like step three wasn’t clear enough. I don’t fry the things: that would be disgusting. I whack ‘em with the frying pan, clang, clang, clang! That’s where Tom & Jerry reference comes in.

Product page [Thorsten van Elten via Uncrate]

No, not that kind of digital. Here we’re talking about fingers, and some plastic wraparound spanners to strap to them. The mini wrenches attach with (presumably removable) cable-tie style ratcheted strips.

It seems like a good idea, especially for low-torque applications, but I have a feeling that twisting nuts with a fleshy finger is going to be painful, especially as the edges of those straps dig in to your digits with every turn. That said, with 10 each of both metric and US sizes (the 21st piece is the holder), you could strap an entire country-specific range to your knuckles and head out like some nerd cross between Bicycle Repair Man and Edward Scissorhands.

Consider that the only Hallowe’en tip you’ll be getting from me. $20

Product page [Whatever Works via BBG]