Smartphones are on the rise, but dumbphones dominate
We've seen some great choices for cell phones this year... on virtually all carriers. And whether you're into the Palm Pre, the iPhone 3GS, or any flavor BlackBerry, the era of smartphones that actually do what users want is finally upon us... but in our case "us" is a relatively small minority. 72% of phones sold are still dumb featurephones, according to NPD, and while that's not a huge shocker... what's preventing everyone from getting a truly smart phone? We ask Harry McCracken from Technologizer, and Jeremy Kaplan from PC Mag.
Guests:
Is Apple’s rejection of Google Voice a step toward a true monopoly?
Google Voice, the service that aims to "Googlify" the traditional telephone, has a problem: It can't get accepted on the largest modern smartphone platform in existence today... the iPhone. Why? Apple says the software duplicates too much of the iPhone's core features, most notably SMS and calling. It's Apple's party, so they can realistically do whatever they want, but is the Cupertino-based company getting to the point of a mobile monopoly? We ask Jeremy Kaplan of PC Mag and James Papadopoulos of TechSpank, and they don't hold back.
Guests:
Liver transplants and one million iPhone 3GS(es)
So what's the real reason behind Steve Jobs' medical leave? If a Wall Street Journal report is accurate, it's because the Apple CEO underwent a liver transplant in Memphis a few months back. That's not the end of the story, though, the weird revelations were oddly revealed Friday night at midnight, a perfect time for Apple. Should we believe anything Apple has to say? Should people look at Cupertino with an even more skeptical eye? We ask Executive Editor of PC Mag, Jeremy Kaplan, and JKOnTheRun.com's Kevin Tofel.
Guests:
- Jeremy Kaplan , PC Mag
- Kevin Tofel , JKOnTheRun.com
Voice commands don’t change the iPhone game, could Windows Mobile 6.5?
Like any Apple rumor, Ars Techinca's latest rumor about the iPhone OS 3.0 sporting voice commands isn't from a super reliable source, but could the addition of speech commands help the iPhone out? Jeremy Kaplan from PC Mag says if anyone can take a technology that's been found on numerous other devices and make it interesting, it's Apple. Rana Sobhany from iPhone metrics company Medialets weighs in that more impressive than the actual voice commands for phone functions might be the voice command support for application developers, enabling new and creative applications without needing to write a complex speech to text engine.
On the other side of the coin, Windows Mobile 6.5's impending launch is coming soon, with some sources reporting May 11th. So far, the release candidates that we've seen aren't exactly a game changer, but Microsoft does have a chance to learn from some of the successes of the iPhone, and Android devices. Will they get it right? Our panel isn't sure, but they are sure they Microsoft has a lot to prove in the mobile space, despite its big install base.