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Aiming for third

3

Lt. Aldo Raine: Well, I speak the most Italian, so I’ll be your escort. Donowitz speaks the second most, so he’ll be your Italian cameraman. Omar speaks third most, so he’ll be Donny’s assistant.
Pfc. Omar Ulmer: I don’t speak Italian.
Lt. Aldo Raine: Like I said, third best. Just keep your f*ckin’ mouth shut. In fact, why don’t you start practicing, right now!

via IMDB

Being 3rd can only be seen as a concession.  It’s never an actual goal.  If you’ve competed in sports you know getting third is because you weren’t the best or even the next best.  It’s certainly an achievement particularly in things like the Olympics, but if you are going into a big tournament thinking you’ll only get 3rd place, it’s because you aren’t mentally or physically able to compete for the title.  In mobile it looks a little different … no one is even trying for second.

It all seems to have started with this …

Such technology platforms are often called ecosystems, and Mr. Elop described Nokia’s strategy in those terms. Mobile network operators, likeAT&T and Verizon, would welcome more smartphone competition. “They want a third ecosystem,” Mr. Elop said.

Nokia competes with other handset makers, like Samsung, HTC and LG. But Mr. Elop made it clear that was not his greatest concern.

“The highest priority for us is to beat Android and Apple,” he said. “This is an ecosystem to ecosystem battle.” [NYT NOVEMBER 8, 2011]

An interesting perspective and clearly now, over a year later there’s still a rather MASSIVE road ahead to even come close. However an interesting thing happened along the way …First in January:

BlackBerry, formerly Research in Motion, has made no secret that it’s got its eye on the bronze medal of the smartphone market, behind Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Taking on either of the big two would be an impossible, demoralizing goal for the once-dominant Canadian smartphone maker, but holding on as a solid third choice is an achievable goal. [Washington Post Feb 7,2013]

And now in March:

Sony Corp said it aims to win third place in smartphone markets around the world behind Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, pitting it against Chinese companies Huawei Technology and and ZTE that are looking to become the third big player in mobile devices. [Reuters March 4, 2013]

Granted Sony and Blackberry are talking about the exact same thing since Blackberry believes it’s really selling an ecosystem and they are vs Sony which is offering an Android powered smartphone.

So who has the likeliest chance of success? All bets are off once Huawei takes the crown for first of course.

 

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Where’s the Gmail on Blackberry experience?

Email and PIM functions on the Blackberry are stellar. Dare I say the best actually. I’ve used a slew of mobile devices and the sheer speed with which you can cut through inbox clutter is unparalleled.

I should qualify that point by saying I use a corporate issue device running on BES, not the consumer version. When it comes to the consumer mail experience I’ve consolidated my email within Gmail and sadly that’s where I’m finding some cracks in the foundation … I can’t tell whether this is a Blackberry or Google issue, but Gmail on the Blackberry is lacking thanks to one substantial detail – there’s no IMAP.

Gmail easily pushes to my device and often arrives before the Gmail screen even has a chance to refresh. The problem is that there is no reconciliation … at all. Thanks to POP3 access I have to manage my mail in two places which I’ve been tolerating because I want my mail, but loathe.

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Currently trending on Foursquare

@foursquare Trending Now

This is a very cool new way to show the live nature of the service …

This used to be what I had done in a particular area but seems to be
expanding quite nicely to include the broader population.  With a check-in happening  every second, this really becomes a real-time view into the world around you.

Foursquare currently works via app on iPhone, Android, Maemo and soon Blackberry. You can check-in via mobile web as well if you like. The latest update even let’s you (finally) check-in via GPS, so you no longer need an exact address.

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Symbian Foundation confirms Nokia’s focus

I just caught a very interesting and revealing post over on the Symbian Foundation’s Blog … The key quote for me was the following:

Nokia’s endorsement of Symbian specifically marks out our future as a mobile computing and communications platform for the masses, globally marketed in smartphones costing $150 and under, and being an essential ingredient for helping others embrace the power of new types of communication.

Symbian will maintain it’s role as the smartphone for the masses which is where such a powerful, flexible platform belongs. An exciting aspect of this is that it also means that the offering will continue to have a huge impact on the lifestyles of people around the world.

This essentially confirms Nokia is done with the high end market for Symbian and I don’t care what the public talking heads keep saying about Symbian being their core smartphone OS.  The cues have all been there, but now stated publicaly, we see that Nokia’s smartphone for the masses truly does indicate a focus on mid-tier products given the price points and certainly retains Nokia’s focus on emerging markets as well.

It’s great to see that what we currently define as smartphones will be moving downstream to offer more capabilities to more people.  It’s also quite sad though that Nokia has yet to make a real move on the upper end to attract and retain interest in both developer and prosumer markets.

Before anyone jumps all over me for not bringing up Maemo …

The N900 is a nice device, but it’s still way to hyper focused on the geek, and not ready for a mass market audience.  I’m sure there are more steps in the master plan for how Maemo will evolve, but they have yet to be revealed on any level  and whatever rumors have trickled out have yet to be stated boldly enough to instill confidence.  Nokia did not even have the courage to market it against the N97 (a vastly inferior S60 product) last year.  All the current efforts for Maemo are still largely based in WOM … no real push upstream to a broader market.

What a difference a year makes!  Last year, I carried two Symbian devices, had my N810 in my travel bag and regularly rotated through devices as the situation warranted.  I probably had between 3-5 additional Nokia devices within an arm’s reach.  Today, I am not carrying any Symbian devices and there is no Nokia gear in my bag either.  I’ve got an iPhone 3GS and a Blackberry Bold 9700.  I don’t feel like I’m missing anything … in fact just the opposite.  While I was so hyper focused on supporting Nokia, I failed to notice how quickly the Blackberry platform had evolved and though I tried to ignore it, was all to aware of what was happening with the iPhone.

Nokia has yet to actually change their game though we all know the rules changed a few years ago.  Perhaps there’s still a surprise waiting, though it looks like the same show has simply traveled to a new town.

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A small wishlist for the iPhone in 2010

The more I use a a variety of mobile devices I keep coming back to a few seemingly arbitrary limits of the iPhone. I’m hoping the following issues are resolved in a future release:

If I can’t have all apps multitask I would prioritize media playing apps. There is no reason why listening to audio needs to monopolize a device – ever. This is not a radio, it’s a pocket computer come on!

While on the topic of media, it also seems quite abitrary that Apple’s core app functions are not available to things like Pandora or Last.fm. Why can’t I see the album art like from the ipod when waking the screen? Why can’t the remote button on our headphones also control these 3rd party apps.

These are details but severly limit how the iphone works.

One final nit I have is regarding voice control. I’d like to know what genius thought it should just be on all the time with headphones?! As a result my music is constantly interrupted by the iphone’s expectation of a voice command. This only seems to happen with the standard headphones but happens both indoors as well as out.

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BlackBerry Bold 9700 initial thoughts

I’ve been using the new BlackBerry 9700 for a bit over a week and it’s an impressive device. The last BB I used was a curve from about two years ago and it is immediately clear that the platform has matured to accommodate applications and multitasking.

In the past my experience aside from email and ota sync of exchange, was pretty negative. The curve was a very underwhelming device once you started to consider it a smartphone. Multitasking brought it to its knees and made anything in addition to email rather unpleasant.

The new Bold 9700 is a refreshing change. I really find the experience to be solid. The 9700 truly excels as a communicator which clearly remains the core blackberry sweet spot. The unified inbox is a very smart idea and let’s you focus a great deal of attention in a single streamlined place. Multiple email inboxes, gtalk chats, facebook notices (which open contextually in the app!) blackberry messenger chats and sms messages all in one place really rock. I still like to move between the various comms modes but staying connected cross channel in one place is awesome.

While the 9700 is my main work device I am still exploring apps and getting a rich feel for the platform and app ecosystem. I have yet to purchase any apps, but have spent a fair bit of time with BB App World. Its easy to see where it is heading and the initial roll out is admirable but there are quite a few issues … To name a few:

Even after sharing my imei and specific device on the web I still get apps that are not compatible. Fail.

App World is a bit tedious. Its nice that you can download multiple things but navigation requires too many steps. If you find an app online either from the desktop or mobile you often find a page that gives you a choice of downloading within app world or actually downloading app world itself. Why wasn’t the store even on my brand new flagship by default??

Back to the device itself…

The keyboard takes a bit of getting used to but once you have a feel its super to type on. I can type much faster than I ever did on either the Nokia E71 or E75. No contest really.

The speed at which you can process incoming messages as well as crank out what you need on the go is outstanding. Mobile productivity is way up compared to both Symbian and iPhone usage. Exchange integration is amazing with BES. I realize that’s quite a premium compared to the more standard consumer facing BIS but it truly is a robust solution. I know Nokia is trying to compete with this via Mail For Exchange but in the past few years I have experienced far too many halted syncs and errors to believe that’s really an appropriate enterprise solution. On the consumer side perhaps there is more tolerance but I’ve lost some faith after so many hiccups.

I’ve started to use BB Messenger with some teammates and see that really in the same way that Nextel offered Direct Connect (sans voice). It’s a solid choice for chatting in either one to one or groups on the go and is an sms beater (with threads!) If everyone is on the platform.

The browser has improved and is tolerable. At best it gives S60 a run for the money but has nothing on the webkit offerings from Android and iphone. For me it gets the job done as needed but it is not my goto browser. I do really like the use of keyboard shortcuts and how easy it is to initiate a new page or search. Tabs would be excellent and I am unsure why this was omitted …

Call quality, camera (with geotagging) and memory usage are all solid. It seems impossible to understand what apps are currently running vs recently run in the task switcher but as I have yet to run out of RAM this seems like a minor point.

I will probably have some additional points soon but thus far the current Blackberry system is quite solid and something I would definitely recommend.

Btw – I wrote this post on the 9700 while on the train home. Pandora was streaming nicely in the background the whole time.

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Hoping Nokia Listens and Takes Action

Thanks to IntoMobile, I’ve discovered this video which captures so many excellent critical points about the N97 …

The N97 represents so many things that are just plain wrong with how Nokia typically brings a product to market.  Instead of waiting until the all pieces are in place they ship and expect that customers will be fine with a firmware update (or three) until the dust settles and you finally have the product you thought you bought in the first place.

What Nokia seems to have failed to recognize is that the market has shifted and consumer expectations are considerably greater thanks to the competitive spirit driven by the iPhone and quickly followed by Android, Blackberry and Palm.   You can’t keep pretending to get it right and then fix it later.  There are simply too many other products available that suit the needs of quite a few customer segments.  As you might notice from this helpful chart Apple is quickly working it’s way into the business set as well …

SAI chart_of_the day

Things have to change at Nokia and in a substantial way or sadly we’ll just continue to see the market share numbers drop … complacency is not the answer. As a long time loyal user and fan, I find it frustrating that so little has changed since the arrival of the iPhone – which is clearly the marker by which the shift in consumer understanding and usage changed considerably. It seems so clear to everyone, yet Nokia continues to do it all over and over again.

Don’t even get me started on services …

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A Mobile Challenge!

Calling all mobile device manufacturer’s, carriers and anyone else who wants to play!

This is your chance to prove just how reliable your high end devices are!  I’m tired of seeing low battery warnings on my mobile devices before the end of a business day and am looking to you to prove me wrong — that there is actually at least one power device that can handle this seemingly simple task.  My normal usage is probably more aggressive than the average consumer and I’m looking to find the most robust smartphone on the market.

Here’s what you can expect your devices to have to survive …

  • I wake each day around 5am using the phone as an alarm.  It is then, that I unplug and really begin my day on battery.  I’ll check email from multiple accounts, take a peak at the weather, twitter and facebook.
  • I typically then work out and use my mobile for music.  I’m open to tracking the workout as well via whatever app you recommend, but typically use my Garmin to capture sports telemetry.  Post workout it’s back to check in with my various feeds as above and then off to the train …
  • On the train is where your device is going to experience some heavy usage and my commute is 90 minutes total in both directions.  The train itself is an hour and during that time, you expect the following type of usage: email (mulitiple accounts), twitter, facebook, extensive web usage (mainly google reader), ebooks and multimedia (music mainly).  I’ll probably check in on foursquare at both ends as well … I’m usually at the office by 9 though sometimes later like today.
  • During  the course of my business day I make a few calls, stay on track of upcoming meetings (exchange sync), and check-in occasionally with Foursquare (lunch), twitter, facebook and google reader.  Much of my information flow switches to the desktop during the day, but as I move between meetings mobile usage does come into play.
  • I’ll probably snap some pictures and upload them to various services as well … just part of a normal day.
  • The return commute is much like the morning.  I tend to take a train anytime between 6 and 8pm so your device needs to be able to last until 9pm.

In my experience the only device that has come close is the Nokia E71.  The iPhone 3GS ranks among the worst performers … requiring multiple top-ups throughout the day.  Other failed devices are the Nokia N80 and T-Mobile G1.

Here are the basic rules:

  • I’m happy to use my SIM card, but only have a personal account on AT&T so if you want to submit a device to this test, I’m requesting that you cover the data and call plan during the trial.
  • All devices must have 3G service in NYC.
  • All devices must fit into the “smartphone” category.
  • I’d like to test all devices submitted over a few days to understand what’s normal and to make sure they all get a fair shake.
  • All devices will be loaner.  I’m not looking to take your phones … just test them.
  • There’s no prize other than bragging rights.  I’m an individual not a company and can’t offer anything other than that.

If you are interested in participating, please leave a comment with an email in the contact field so I can reach out with an address to send things.  If you have any questions, please also leave a comment so others can benefit from the shared knowledge.

I’d like to test a good range of products, but what gets put into the ring will be up to you … I expect this to take a few weeks if all goes as planned and hope it’s fun for everyone.

Let’s get it on!

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Average person will soon have two mobile phones

In my regular commute on the train it’s not uncommon to see people with two phones – and like the cited UK survey notes one is the typical work Blackberry. The other varies from a freebie looking flip to an iPhone.

The average mobile phone owner now has an average of 1.8 handsets and the figure is expected to rise to two mobiles for every person soon.

The rise in ownership is thought to be because more people have one mobile for personal calls and another for work as companies give employees Blackberry devices to keep in touch out of hours. [via Telegraph]

Initially my (non-standard) usage was one for personal and the other as a work-issue, though over the past couple of years that’s evolved to be two personal devices. I do use a work-issued SIM so they pay the airtime as well as my international roaming and data – I’m traveling for work after all.

Interestingly now I ‘m at the point where I’m considering a second plan for my personal consumption … only be for data though my third independently connected device.