Note from Jason Flick

So I’m sure you’ve all heard that Google announced its own OS, Android.
Otherwise, November is always a slow month for new technology as December will have its big influx of hot Christmas gadgets.   One interesting thing I did notice this week is that Best Buy and Future Shop have completely cleaned out their PDA sections.  Certainly proof that Smartphones are where it’s at—but at the same time they now have a section three times larger than the old PDA section with single-purpose touch screen GPS devices, and three times that again for MP3 players (of which many have PDA-like features).    I think in a year we’ll start seeing GPS, MP3, web surfing, open O/S (MS, symbian, linux, android, etc) non phone-based devices making a comeback.  The real question is in what form factor?  UMPC, handheld, flip/slide keyboards??  For now the Handheld market is going to be owned again by the industrial device companies like Symbol (now Motorola), Intermec, DAP, etc.

Cheers,

Jason Flick,
President
Flick Software

Google's Android platform and the Open Handset Alliance:
a quick round-up
By Chris Ziegler
November 5, 2007
Carefully orchestrated announcements for broad, sweeping initiatives like the one staged by Google today don't always do a great job of diving straight into the meat and telling it like it is, so we thought we'd boil down the Android and Open Handset Alliance sitch as best we could into a tight, easy to digest series of bullets. If this list is still wider than your attention span, though, just know this: you can pick up your Google-powered phone in the latter half of 2008.
At its core, Android forms the basis for Google's operating system and supporting software for phones. In Google's own words, it's a software stack.
Two separate but related entities form the basis for today's announcement: the Linux-based Android mobile platform (a result of Google's 2005 acquisition of a start-up of the same name) and the Open Handset Alliance, a 33-strong group of device manufacturers, component manufacturers, software companies, and carriers that have committed to working with Android.
There is no cut and dried "Gphone" and Google doesn't intend (or at least it hasn't indicated an intent) to enter the hardware business. Instead, it'll leave that to established players like HTC, LG, and Samsung -- and theoretically, anyone else that wants to have a go at it since the Android platform and its code base is wide open.

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BlackBerrys Score High in Customer Satisfaction
November 1, 2007
On a scale of 1 to 1,000, BlackBerrys scored a 702 among participants in recent survey

BlackBerrys ranked the highest in overall customer satisfaction among business smartphone users, according to a new study released by J.D. Power and Associates on Wednesday. In the 2007 Business Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study, which surveyed 1,089 business smartphone users, overall satisfaction was measured based on six key factors: ease of operation, operating system, physical design, audio, battery aspects, and utility features.
BlackBerrys, which are manufactured by Research In Motion, ranked the highest in overall customer satisfaction with a score of 702 points on a 1,000-point scale. Business users were particularly satisfied with the BlackBerry operating system, including attributes like the ability to move between applications quickly and the fast speed of sending and receiving e-mails.
Business users also were satisfied with the battery life of BlackBerry smartphones. Palm Treo and Samsung smartphones ranked second behind RIM, both with a customer satisfaction score of 698. Motorola ranked below the industry average with 658 points. The industry average is 696 points.
According to the study, the average price of a smartphone is $261. Palm smartphones cost the most, with an average price of $313, while Motorola smartphones cost the least, with an average price of $194.

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HTC Cruise
HTC Corp., the world’s leading provider of Microsoft Windows Mobile smart devices, today launched the HTC Touch Cruise, the third member of the HTC Touch product family and the first to feature built-in GPS for personal navigation. Building on the popularity of the HTC Touch and the HTC Touch Dual, the Touch Cruise also includes 3G-HSDPA wireless connectivity. The new Touch Cruise boasts of super fast HSDPA/3.5G connectivity plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, making it a highly connected device for consumers on the move. Its 2.8” screen is great for enjoying mobile multimedia and because it runs on Windows Mobile 6 Professional, the built-in Windows Media Player is ideal for music and movies.

No matter where you are the HTC Touch Cruise™ helps you navigate seamlessly through your life. With all the functionality you require in a fully featured phone, the HTC Touch Cruise has all you need and more with inbuilt GPS navigation and TomTom® software.
By putting your fingertips firmly in control, you can quickly set your route using the unique touch screen. With both landscape and portrait views supported, you can view the route information in a way that best suits you.

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Opera Mini 4 Available for Phones
By BetaNews Staff
November 7, 2007
After nearly 5 months of beta testing, Opera Software has released version 4 of its Opera Mini Web browser for mobile phones. The update includes iPhone-like capabilities that enable users to see a full overview of a page and zoom in to specific parts. When zooming, Opera Mini snaps to content so scrolling is smooth. A virtual mouse cursor aids users in moving down a page and selecting links, although the software resizes text and images to reduce the amount of scrolling required. These features were originally developed for Opera's browser on the Nintendo Wii.
After nearly 5 months of beta testing, Opera Software has released version 4 of its Opera Mini Web browser for mobile phones. The update includes iPhone-like capabilities that enable users to see a full overview of a page and zoom in to specific parts.
When zooming, Opera Mini snaps to content so scrolling is smooth. A virtual mouse cursor aids users in moving down a page and selecting links, although the software resizes text and images to reduce the amount of scrolling required. These features were originally developed for Opera's browser on the Nintendo Wii.

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Skypephone Set To Disrupt Wireless Market
October 31, 2007
The 3 Skypephone will cost about $100 and be
available in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong,
Italy, Ireland, Macau, Sweden, and the U.K.
Skype has introduced a mobile phone that will enable callers to dispense with their computers and make free calls to other Skype users as they move about nine countries including the U.K. Skype, a unit ofeBay, teamed up with mobile operator 3 in the effort. Unveiled Monday, the 3 Skypephone will be available for about $100 and won't incur additional service provider charges from 3. In addition to the U.K, the service will be available this year in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden. The 3 mobile operator provides service in those countries. The service won't be offered at first in the U.S., although Skype users in the countries cited will be able to call Skype users for free in the U.S.
"You can put it in your pocket and take it with you," said Eric Lagier, Skype's director of business development, in an interview. "This will be important for new Skype users, who won't need a PC. Now they will be able to call using just the phone."

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WiMAX dealt another blow
By Sue Marek
November 9, 2007

The WiMAX ecosystem was dealt another blow today with the news that Sprint and Clearwire are terminating their plans to share the costs and build a joint WiMAX network that would reach 100 million people by year-end 2008.
The companies said that the reason for ending the proposed deal was that they were unable to resolve complexities and reach a final agreement. Even though Sprint has reaffirmed its plans to soft launch its Xohm WiMAX service later this year in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington with a commercial launch in 2008, the news has caused many to wonder whether WiMAX will ever be more than a niche play. In a research note, Walter Piecyk of Pali Research said that his firm believes the termination of the Sprint deal will result in fewer WiMAX networks being built in 2008 and will likely slow down Clearwire's transition to building WiMAX networks from its current construction of Expedience networks. "As a result this is clearly a negative development for the roll-out of WiMAX in the United States and the vendors selling that equipment," Piecyk wrote.
Clearwire and Sprint found out that leveraging each other's WiMAX networks wasn't as easy as they initially thought. Sprint was taking a risk in joining forces with Clearwire, which has suffered extensive financial losses as it builds out its network. Today, Clearwire reported that it had added 49,000 new subscribers in third quarter 2007, which was lower than some analysts expected.

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