In my previous post I discussed some of the differences between Apple’s mobile platform and Android.  It is clear that Android developers will suffer the pain of a fragmented device market.  I have had a chance to use the G1 for a bit, and while I have to say it is a good phone, it really comes down to it is ALMOST as good as the iPhone. Once more apps are out and progress is made in the amount of applications we may see it doing a little better.  Currently I struggle to say it is anything more than good.

Apple and Android are the first two areas I covered.  RIM and Windows mobile are both playing (and have been for some time) in the “smartphone” market.

Let’s start with Windows Mobile.  Microsoft is banking on the plethora of Windows .Net developers out there to extend and build upon their platform.  Up until Apple jumped into the scene, Microsoft had been battling quite well against RIM.  If you look at the trends over the past year though, Apple has significantly cut into the market share Microsoft once held.  I will see if I can dig up the actual numbers I had seen, but lets just say it isn’t looking pretty for Microsoft’s trending.  Don’t get me wrong, they are not in the doghouse just yet.

Microsoft’s biggest issue I think lies in the delay of Windows Mobile 7.  If rumors are true and the OS upgrade is pushed until 2010, this will cause major problems for Microsoft.  With the ability for the iPhone to connect to Exchange Server and RIM being king of email by also doing this, Windows Mobile is going to need to do some fancy maneuvering to make things look pretty for it’s future. Email I believe is still the number 1 use on the internet.

As far as Platforms go, Microsoft still has issues with the OS. In a past life or two I have spent time as both a developer on Windows Mobile platform (for fun) and a Product Manager of an application trying to be released on the platform.  In both cases typical Windows issues were cropping up to cause difficulty.  Memory, Slowness, Windows Management … just to name a few.

RIM is well positioned.  As I stated before they are the king for business travelers.  The SDK they offer has quite a following and is all Java based.  This make it easy for people to get up to speed and develop.  As I type this, RIM is readying the release of the Storm on the Verizon Network.  It is a great touchscreen device and has quite a bit going for it. I think the pricepoint of this device, it’s looks and business acumen will drive even more adoption of the RIM devices.  My belief is they will be pulling more Windows Mobile users than iPhone, but they will get both.

Palm, ok.. for those of you who use Palm and develop for it.  I am sorry.  It is a platform that is dwindling for support and has had no major innovations in the past.. hmm, 2-3 years?  Until I hear more from Palm, I don’t consider them a contender.  (although they do maintain SOME market share).

Symbian developers and users.  Sorry here as well.  In the US you are just NOT a factor.  Overseas you dominate, I get that.. but here you may as well take your ball and go home.

OK.  So this post was a little less about the technical details of WM vs RIM SDK, I get that. I tend not to re-write my posts over and over.  I type as I go.  Honestly if we need more digging into it, I can try in a future post.  Otherwise for now, we will wait until next time and I post about the music scene on mobile devices.

OK.. I am pretty sure I am going to break this into a multi-part post just due to the size it could get… so stay tuned.

The reason I wanted to post about SmartPhone development is the recent hype around the G1 and how people think Google might unseat apple for their slot in the SmartPhone market. I disagree.. and I know others do also.

First off, lets look at the development platforms.  Android had chosen to go open source.  Open source COULD  mean many developers building and adding to a new platform, or it could mean many developers forking code and releasing new versions of the OS tweaked per handset vendor.  How does that sound developer community?  What if HTC and Samsung both had tweaked versions of their OS and did not regression test against a known set of test cases and functionality?  You know that will mean broken applications.. or code that says “if OEM !=HTC…”  and the spaghetti begins.

If you look at the approach Apple and others have taken, it very much lines up with their thoughts around controlling hardware and software.  The Financial Alchemist points out the many issues Microsoft has with not controlling hardware, and what benefits it has for other vendors.  If you control the hardware, drivers, software and everything in between… and then focus that on a limited set of products, you are bound to be more successful than a company trying to maintain backwards compatibility over 10+ years of stuff.

The iPhone / Touch App Store is such a success because the developers who want to write applications just need to know how to use the SDK and write objective C.  Apple created an amazing set of tools to develop against their device.  Yes.. I said device. It is a single OS with a consistent set of features/capabilities and a common screen size.  The only current variance comes in the phone vs. iPod models around Camera, GPS and Network.  Very easy to program around.

NOTE: Apple’s iPhone useated the Motorola Razr for the #1 spot it has held for years.

Take a look at the future of Android.  HTC and other manufacturers are going to take a crack at releasing many Android devices.  I don’t disagree that this is a good approach, but it is going to cause some fragmentation.  Do you think that Motorolas 350 people focused on Android are going to be thinking the exact same specs per device, and comparing that with HTC to ensure they line up as well?

The answer is NO. They will look at releasing the Slider model with tactical keyboard like the G1 from T-Mobile, they will release a feature phone that is smaller and less capable, they will release multiple touch screens with varying screen sizes.. some with GPS, some with .. well, hell, it is an extensible framework.. how about a barcode scanner and printer? 

To be successful selling applications you need market penetration.  Period.  You can’t sell that many mobile applications for $250 and be successful.  You have to sell a lot at a low price point, one that is tollerable for the features and benefit your users will get.  Apple iPhone developers do not worry about these things.  They just go.. build cool stuff and release.

Android WILL be successful in many ways, but not around helping developers and carriers succeed.  If Google gets a piece of every app sold then they are doing fine, however the individual developers will struggle to have the success some of the iPhone devlopers have seen.

Later we will talk about RIM and Windows Mobile, and then the music side of things.

I have to admit, I was not an early adopter of VOIP services.  If you are not familiar with VOIP, it stands for Voice Over IP.. in short, phone calls over the internet.

Skype is one of the biggest VOIP players out there from a computing platform standpoint.  You can also do VOIP home installs on most major companies now like Comcast, Verizon and even more stand alone players like Vonage.  It is becomming mainstream, people just don’t know they are using VOIP.

It struck funny today that the EU is looking into anti-competition laws where telecom providers are blocking the use of VOIP services.  The telecoms are concerned about the VOIP calls cutting into the margins they have on voice calls for their own networks.  It seems to me that if you are going to sell services such as data services (ISP) and also voice, you need to realize people want control, and you are a pipe.  I see no difference if I buy my internet and tv from Comcast but choose to use Hulu to watch my TV, why should you care.  I am paying for the pipe on TV and the Intenet Connection… let me use it.

I don’t have time tonight to dig around any more on the financials and the margins around Voice and Data services.. maybe another time.  I will say that Telecom partners need to let people have the control they want or provide the value added services their customers so desire.

One final note.. this comes into play the same day Google Gmail released a video and voice chat integrated into GMail.  Nicely played.

VOIP is here to stay, from Skype and Gmail type apps, Yahoo, AIM, Vonage or your new “triple play” phone service that REALLY is VOIP.. it is going to put the squeeze on voice margins at the telecoms.  (less so in mobile)

For those who do not know what the Sonos Music system is, think of it as an internet connected play all music device for your home.  It can stream internet radio, local radio, your local music and subscribe to sources such as Rhapsody, Napster and Pandora.

Over time they just keep adding more and more to Sonos.  I can’t help but keep falling back in love with this device.  The latest addition they added is the ability to control the Sonos system from you iPhone.  (or iTouch)

The big controller you see in the gallery below is the standard controller that goes for $400.  The iPhone edition is free, and does everything I need it to.  Heck, I dont even go back to the big white one anymore.  The pics you can see below are showing the standard browse for music screen, the Now Playing screen and the Zones section.  I currently have 3 zones in my house and I a finding that to be adequate.

Seriously, this gadget isn’t cheap at around $1,000 to start, but you will never regret getting it.

This was a shot from Golden Gate park down by the bridge.  I had gone there for a conference with work (CTIA) and for the weekend I had Michelle come down.. Since she was going to be there a couple of other friends came down and it was a good little mini vacation afterwards.

This was my first time really to the bridge, and it is truly awe inspiring.  If you have not gone, I’d say get down there.  That city is great.

If you notice in the sidebar there is a play button for a song.  Groove Shark is allowing you to search for and build up playlists for your own listening.

If you like music and are looking for a new fresh way to get access to stuff, this is worth a shot.

The interesting thing to me is that the music labels are coming down on people for sharing music.  I always thought the one way to get around that for sites like Shoutcast, Launch, etc.. was that you could not pick your songs.. only stream like a radio station. Now it seems as if there are many sites out there now that allow you to do a lot more with playlists.

The othes ones that have been shut down recently like muxtape, 8track,etc.. are all similiar to this.  Lets see what happens.

http://www.grooveshark.com

Ever have the large files that don’t seem to want to email?  Too often you are limited to large files being sent via email… and take away the fact it is not “nice” to email someone a 10MB file and not tell them ahead of time.  That is where file sharing sites come in.

Drop.io is a great site for uploading a large file (or files) up to 100MB per drop.  Then from there, that is where Drop.io is unique.  You can Email to the drop, fax to it, call and leave a voice message on it.. You can see it is not your average drop spot.

On the right side of this site you can also see a widget.  That is a way to allow people to drop files to you.  Quite convenient.

I loved the comic application for the Mac that Plasq had come out with. I also love Skitch. So, when I saw Comic Touch, it took about 2 minutes looking at their site before I was ready to buy it. This really is a cool little app for making comic book photos on your iPhone or Touch.

For years I have been one to keep notes in varying formats.  Sometimes in text files, sometimes in tools such as the OLD evernote, Tiddlywiki, Journal, Yojimbo, etc.  The problem is I was never satisfied with any one of them.  Something was always not quite good enough.  Then.. along comes what should be in everyones tool belt.  Evernote.

I have no tie to Evernote, but MAN.. I love this thing.  No matter where I am, I can add to my notes via my iPhone, or email, or a client on my computer.  Heck, I can even snap a pic and have it go right in to Evernote with my web cam.

The basic service is free, and it is enough for me.  I went ahead and paid for the premium account just because I want this thing to last.  It is amazing.  Oh yeah.. did I mention it does OCR?

Here is a shared note to show what you can do.

A while back I was product manager for a product called InfoSpace Find It!  It was a mobile Local Search application that used GPS and or locations typed in to find things around you.  There are many pieces of software doing this now, but back then it was not as popular.

Anyway, here is an interview I did while holding this job.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/60887.html?welcome=1215502573