ComScore reported that Apple iPhone ownership has surpassed Windows Mobile ownership for the first time in the US, despite Microsoft having many more years of being in the mobile space.
But is anyone really surprised? Both sales and browser usage of iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices have long surpassed WinMo. As users ditch their old devices and choose new ones, they are not choosing WinMo any longer, so it’s just natural to expect this to happen.
Without a lot of fanfare, Google launched Google Goggles earlier this week in Google Labs. Google Goggles allows users to take a picture of a physical object, and get relevant information about that object almost instantaneously. Right now, you can do this for landmarks, books, business cards, artwork, places, wine and logos.
Google Goggles has the promise to become something HUGE. It currently represents a better way to do contextual search – without having to open a web browser and type in a search query. It makes a lot of sense and plays to Google’s strengths, since it has all of this information indexed already. As image recognition technology improves, this will become a major way for people to obtain contextual information. We have no doubt that one day, you can get all the relevant information you want pertaining to an object you are looking at, without even the need to search or point your smartphone at it. Google is on a good path to be the pioneer in this vision.
Google Goggles is currently only available on Android 1.6+ smartphones, and you can get it directly from Android Market.
So many mobile devices and music players these days use standard USB ports for charging now. Wouldn’t it make sense to start building USB ports into power outlets so we can all charge our devices?
That’s exactly what FastMac thinks and they are shipping the “TruePower UCS Power Outlet with Built-in USB Ports”. You can pre-order today for $9.95 each.
Next time I am moving, I will make sure my new home comes with these babies.
The holiday season is quickly approaching, and Smartphones are expected to be one of the most popular stocking stuffers this year.
We don’t like being ripped off, so we want to make sure you get the best deal possible this holiday. Most people don’t know this, but one of the cheapest places to buy phones is actually at Amazon. They offer amazing rebates and bring prices down substantially compared to the prices directly from the mobile operators.
This week, TechCrunch reported that Google is working on its very own Google-branded, no-compromise Android phone. The phone will be produced by a major phone manufacturer, but will only be Google branded. A follow on update to this report also stated that the device could be data-only with no access to traditional circuit switched voice network.
We need to hand it to Verizon for having some of the most fun-to-watch commercials in recent memory. We were just looking at our own site today and we saw an AdSense click that actually consolidated all of them into a single place.
Now you can see famous “Misfit Toys”, “Verizon Elves”, “iDon’t”, and other fun videos all at one shot!
It looks like users across the country will have a lot of free WiFi available to them this holiday season.
Google announced yesterday that it will provide free WiFi at 47 major airports in the U.S. This is in addition to Google’s previous announcement of offering free WiFi on all Virgin America flights. You can view the complete list of airports at FreeHolidayWiFi.com. The free WiFi offer at airports ends January 15, 2010. The free WiFi offer will continue beyond “indefinitely” January 15 for Seatac and Burbank airport.
Not to be left out, Microsoft has also partnered with JiWire to offer a free Ads for Access promotion. Users just need to do a Bing search to get access to JiWire’s WiFi hotspot. The list of free WiFi hotspots have not been announced.
And for Yahoo!, starting yesterday, Yahoo and the Times Square Alliance is providing free WiFi service to the more than 500,000 people who visit Times Square daily.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the DROID is probably the most anticipated Android phone of the year. The Motorola phone lands tomorrow at Verizon, and it is the first smartphone to don the spanking new Android OS 2.0.
Motorola dumped Windows Mobile earlier in the year and decided to focus all their energies on Android. Given the state of the world, we have to say that it was a smart move for them. Make no mistake, Motorola is betting the farm on Droid and other Android devices for a come back. And to their credit, Droid looks absolutely promising and is definitely one of the best devices on the market in terms of hardware, software, and features. Among our favorites are its beautiful 3.7” high-res display (480×854), Google’s new internet-connect turn-by-turn navigation, car dock and multimedia dock modes, Dual LED Flash, 5 MP camera and Exchange support. Motorola has put together a fine piece, and it offers a great alternative for Verizon customers. You can read all about its features and specs on Motorola’s Droid site. Here is also a good summary of the early reviews for major enthusiast sites.
PC World recently gathered some independent design concepts from various sources of Apple product designs that individuals have dreamed up. You will probably never see any of these productized (ever), but it’s fun to just take a look at these concepts and appreciate the creativity of these individuals.
From next-generation fuel-efficient cars to wearable jewelry and toaster oven, there is guaranteed to be something here for you to salivate over.
Our favorite concept? It has to be Chimera, a super-souped up iPhone of the future, featuring wireless headset, 1TB of storage, HD large screen display and 4G network support.
