the Killer is back!

Last year there was quite a bit of hype gathering around rumours of the iPhone killer from Google. When in October it was revealed by an insider at the International Herald Tribune that it was actually a mobile OS, it was pupoted to be Windows Mobile killer. People really seem to love the killer term, or they really wish some things to be killed (I know I do too).

But iDoubt that iPhone would be killed and iHope it isn't. Thanks to Apple, this toy finally made smartphones come out of the dull boardrooms and made them fashionable! Remember the saying "All work and no play makes a phone a BlackBerry"? As for Windows Mobile being killed, while it has amounted to little outside the limited US market, Symbian totally dominating the rest of the world, given WM's weak market position (and its built) it really wont matter if it gets killed or not. Just when the smartphone market has started to heat up a little, already some of the big names supporting Windows Mobile, like Motorolla is doing pretty bad, and Plam, the new Windows Mobile player, is closing shop.

And now... they say the iPhone killer is back. Thats right, the Android is back. This time its rumoured that Dell and Google are partnering to build the first "Gphone" running on Android. Like I had said before, this is not good news for the already shaky Windows Mobile. Android is open source. Developers take note.

There are couple of fake pics of the Gphone circulating on the net, but still interesting concepts.



Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

Windows Mobile latest vapour

Well a startup is giving a to go to tactics that are made famous by Microsoft itself; cheap vapourware tactics. As in touting software that doesn't exist. Their latest attempt for Windows Mobile: Skyfire... err... note to Microsoft and its affiliates: if you can't stop copying everyone else's products, can you try being original in at least naming the copied products? you know... just to differentiate yourself from software pirates.

ok so what is Skyfire? well its a browser for Windows Mobile, akin to one Microsoft had promised in December it will kick iPhone's butt (laughing already? waite, there's more to come). Ok so couple of questions:

Q: Why does Windows Mobile need Skyfire?
A: cuz its current browser sux.

Q: So what makes it so cool?
A: well it can browse the web that will support features which... umm... well some of the other smartphone browsers already support and have been in the market for a while. (check S60 based smartphones for instance)

Q: So its like a normal web browser?
A: Not really, normal browsers download webpages direct to your phone as opposed to Skyfire's approach which uses a proxy-server to send out web content to your Windows Mobile phone. Meaning, another computer does the browsing then sends out supposedly cached content to your Windows Mobile based smartphone (Ahem! does anyone else hear several alarm bells ringing?)

Q: So if the actual processing is done on some other server not my phone, they can see what I am browsing?
A: Interesting question, and here is some really interesting read from Skyfire's private info:

""When you use the Browser, Skyfire has access to, and in many cases will monitor, your Browser Usage."

"Browser Usage Information includes such information as which websites and programs you access or download on your Device, how long you visit such websites and use such programs, your activities (such as products purchased or advertisements viewed) on such websites, which specific areas of a website or webpage you use and for how long, websites you bookmark, search terms you use, referring/exit pages, browser and platform types, the geographic location in which your Device is being used and information you provide on third party websites."

Whoa.... like are you serious? Sounds to me if the US government had gifted Osama with a Windows Mobile phone running Skyfire, he would be long caught and dead by now, they could have monitored his every move! With this kind of browser, who needs spyware or viruses??

But wait, there is one more question...

Q: Where is Skyfire?
A: At the moment, nowhere actually. Like no one has seen it or used it, or download it or allowed to test it or know if it really exists. OK of all the people, even the staff of msmobiles.com, which provides daily news and information to help Windows Mobile users make better use of their devices, has to say this "...we must conclude that it is just another vaporware product ... that in reality may never materialize as a commercial product." - 28 Jan 2008.

not laughing yet? well neither are the Windows Mobile users. So what about the one that Microsoft had promised in December? Here is some interesting buzz their announcement is creating like from electronista.com:

• Pfft. More like, "Microsoft copying iPhone Safari in next WinMobile."
• Always, MS is saying their next version of vapor/crapware will attempt to copy what [already] works now, except to add 10 steps and requires help from IT department.
• more vaporware from Micro$oft..... Promising tomorrow what already exists on the market today.
• Ha Ha Ha... "Microsoft has not issued a schedule for when it expects any of the updates to appear", oh that brings tears to my eyes .. good luck with that Microsoft..

Umm... what can I say.... they've already said it all.

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

MS Office on smartphones

Folks you might wanna pay a bit closer attention to this one and why I say Windows Mobile is bit of a warning lable if you expect to make good use of your smartphone. Thats right! I said it: its a warning label!

When buying a smartphone, users often presume that getting a Windows Mobile based phone means they would get better usage and support for their MS Office files. Its probably one of the worst myths in the world of smartphones. You cant entirely blame them for this faulse assumption. One would expect "Windows" based smartphone to give better functionality for Word documents, Excel sheets and Power Point presentations. Unfortunately, it doesnt work that way. If only people could google a bit more before investing in a smartphone or better still... read my blog!

Most people would find it strange or might even be reluctant to believe that the first generation of ESeries smartphones came with Nokias own application, Documents, for accessing MS Office files, was so good that not only it was better than any 3rd party software, it was actually better than Microsoft's own devices! Its not just Mobile Review who declared Nokia's MS Office capabilities to be superior to Microsoft's proposition, others have been expressing their frusration with even with just document viewing on Windows Mobile. funny huh? well if you use Microsoft Windows (and most likely you do), its not that hard to believe.

But come on! how hard is it to have a quick browse on the net to find out the most suitable software or using MS files on any smart phone? to figure that Quick Office is probably currently the most popular solution. Until recently, Office 2007 files were not supported by any smartphones, and yes not even for Windows Mobile. But now finally this has been fixed and solutions are availble for most devices. QuickOffice has also just released Premier 5.0 now supports Office 2007 on Symbian smartphones.

Better than that! the ESeries phones like E61 and E62 both come with excellent and comprehensive a built- in full Office suite which allows you to view, edit and create Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. For both these devices, contacts, calendar, tasks and notes, all of them easily sync to Microsoft Outlook using the included PC Suite. And if you're a power user, you probably already own or at least eyeing the E90.

E61 Screens

The lesson learned? Windows Mobile does not mean it gives better support for MS Office, in fact you might even wanna treat "Windows Mobile" as a warning lable (indulge me a little), specially if you wanna use your Windows Mobile device with Vista.


Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal

New grid comparison of smartphones

I was going through some message boards and came across a posting from someone about this really cool grid that calculate the scores of smartphones based on your own preferences.

http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/grid.htm

ok it may not be REALLY cool, cuz of some of the models *you* would want to be see in there may not be there. but think again! there may be a reason why such a model was not put in there in the first place!

I'm not surprised at all about the winner and runner-up in that grid if all criterie are set to preference.

Bilal
http://elanist.com/bilal/

Smartphones showdown

any of you read Wired magazine? well... neither do I. well on occasion. but its probably the best known technology magazine, specially in terms of culture and economics.

Anyway! The good old Wired magazine had a smartphone show down last week. To be frank I would not really have guessed who came on top, with so many models coming out nowadays and its not so easy to pick a "winner". But from the best of the lot, Wired Mag has picked Nokia E61i. most notably for its fast and effiecient Symbian OS, which according to the mag "puts Windows Mobile to shame by loading apps almost instantly". Actually the phone comes on top in terms of internet connectivity, collection of business and media apps, and 11 hours, thats right ELEVEN hours of talk time!... on a smartphone!



There is some interesing stuff to read about the other smarphones too, and why they didnt take the spot from Nokia, including BlackBerry. My favourite quote from all the reviews there would be "All work and no play makes a phone a BlackBerry", haha! you said it Rick!

Interestingly but not surprisingly, the magazine has noted Windows Mobile 6 and its sluggishness, and cumbersomeness wherever used.

Bilal Zaheer
http://elanist.com/bilal/

Buying a smartphone - battery life

one of the things that can be a pretty important factor in choosing the right smartphone could be the battery life. Specially for someone who is not a light user or travels a lot. I had heard before that windows mobile phones do have some battery life issues, which is not a surprise considering they can be quite resource hungry even on standby. But I did wonder how symbian phones would generally fare in a test of battery consumption. I am sure other people must have tried testing too, but I came across this comparison which seems kinda popular amongst the msg board junkies. The guy had compared battery stand by time for K-Jam (Windows Mobile 5) and Nokia 9500 (Symbian OS 9), with all comms distabled for both phones (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)

Nokia 9500

K-Jam

	K-JAM (Windows Mobile 5)	Nokia 9500 (Symbian OS 8)
After 12 hours	94%	7 bars (out of 7)
After 24 hours	78%	7 bars
After 36 hours	72%	7 bars
After 48 hours (2 days)	62%	7 bars
After 72 hours (3 days)	50%	7 bars
After 96 hours (4 days)	40%	7 bars
After 120 hours (5 days)	15%	6 bars (phew, a change at last!)

I think the difference is really marked! But I wonder how significant is the difference in battery life in recent models. Anyone wanna share their experience with their device?

Bilal Zaheer
http://elanist.com/bilal