Category: General Tech

‘In the Meantime’

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T-Mobile chief marketing officer Cole Brodman:

We’ve heard from many customers who love their T-Mobile service, but are disappointed that we don’t carry the iPhone. To these customers, first, thank you for your business. Please know that we think the iPhone is a great device and Apple knows that we’d like to add it to our line-up. Today, there are over a million T-Mobile customers using unlocked iPhones on our network. We are interested in offering all of our customers a no-compromise iPhone experience on our network.

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Positioning

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Screen Shot 2011 09 24 at 4 33 21 PM

This image is from AT&T’s page describing Internet speeds available to home users in my neighborhood. I know the descriptions are marketing BS, but to the average consumer, its confusing. AT&T is trying to position that middle options as the lowest possible connection speed required for Facebook. Terrible.

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‘Not with a Bang but a Whimper’

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Darren Murph at Engadget, reviewing a phone that was cancelled before it went on sale:

The harsh reality is this: even if HP would’ve gone ahead with the Pre 3’s launch on AT&T, moving ’em would’ve been tough. The company showed minimal interest in moving the TouchPad (well, until they showed nothing but interest in moving the TouchPad), and attempting to hawk a tired, understated design for an on-contract price that aligns with the iPhone 4 and a vertible plethora of tremendous Android phones would’ve probably led to even more tears. HP stepped it up with the Pre 3’s processor and panel, but almost everything else looks like it was directly ripped from a phone that first launched over two years ago. When you’re the underdog, those kind of tactics don’t do anything to further your cause.

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Embarrassing

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Neil Armstrong isn’t thrilled with the state of NASA. In a talk to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the first man on the moon said:

We will have no American access to, and return from, low Earth orbit and the International Space Station for an unpredictable length of time in the future.

For a country that has invested so much for so long to achieve a leadership position in space exploration and exploitation, this condition is viewed by many as lamentably embarrassing and unacceptable.

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Recipe for Any Android Phone Review Ever

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Unlike Apple’s once-a-year release cycle with the iPhone, Android OEMs and carriers have gone crazy, releasing as many new phones as possible, as quickly as possible.

As a result, there are a ton of Android phone reviews written. I want to make it easier for tech writers, so I’ve created a list — a recipe, if you will — to help make this easier.

  • The screen is better, brighter and bigger than on previous devices.
  • It’s thin, but not iPhone-thin.
  • The OEM’s Android skin isn’t awesome, but in some places, it could be.
  • The new launcher comes with lots of widgets that do things.
  • 4G is cool, unless you like battery life. But damn, those 28 seconds of browsing are fast!
  • The camera software still sucks. Also, FRONT-FACING CAMERA! Note: This can be swapped for “3-D!!!!” if the review requires it.
  • While Android is open, there’s lots of crapware on this phone. Hello, VZContact Manager FREE!
  • This may be the best Android phone yet, but if not, just wait a week or two.
  • The current version of Android lacks some polish, but the next version of Android will be the one to have, we promise. It’s going to rival iOS. Granted, this phone probably won’t ever get to run it.

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Second Place in a Losing Race

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Maija Palmer:

Unlike HP, which last month announced plans to spin off its personal computer line and pull the plug on tablet computing, Mr Dell still believes in selling hardware, despite slowing growth and slim margins. “We are very distinct from some of our competitors,” says Mr Dell in a video interview on FT.com. “We believe the devices and the hardware still matter as part of the complete, end-to-end solution.” The scale of its PC operations, he says, gives Dell an advantage over competitors in the smaller but more lucrative server market.

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