Gadgetopolis » Telephony

Updating to Android 2.2 (Froyo) for the Impatient

George Thiruva — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:42:09 +0000

There’s been lots of buzz on Twitter, TechCrunch, Engadget and everywhere about Nexus One owners beginning to receive the much anticipated “Froyo” release of the Android operating system. Apparently, it’s on a very slow release schedule. For some users, it may take up to three weeks before they receive the update “over the air”. But [...]

Google/HTC’s Nexus One is only $49 (in a manner of speaking)

George Thiruva — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:59:01 +0000

Would you like to get the Google/HTC Nexus One Superphone for a cool $49?

What if I also threw in the unlocked version of the phone?

Now what if I also said you don't need to sign a two year contract?

And no - it's not stolen. Perfectly legit!

How is this possible? Let's do some math ...

Google’s Nexus One Sales Model Isn’t Quite the Barrier Buster

George Thiruva — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:53:03 +0000

In the days preceding the release of the Google Nexus One (a.k.a. The long awaited gPhone), the talk of the web was that Google was going to break down some sort of Berlin Wall in the way the phone was sold. Whereas most phones are sold by the wireless carriers in conjunction with a 2 Year jail sentence and are locked to that carrier, Google was (and did) sell the phone both direct to customers, unlocked to a carrier, and without the need to put handcuffs on.

Q. But did it really accomplish that result?

A. Sort of.

Q. Did it shake things up and change the way wireless phones are (and will be) sold?

A. Hopefully, but probably not.

Q. Did the company that pledges to "Do No Evil" really free customers from the tyranny of the wireless carrier oligopoly?

A. Doesn't seem that way.

Let's take a look at Google's cell phone math and see how things really turned out ...

Overlooked at CES: Femtocells – Marketing Opportunity Missed

George Thiruva — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:30:15 +0000

When I went to CES last week, I went with some colleagues and we went our separate ways. We expected to be able to call/text each other at later times to meet up for lunch and other events. Seems like a simple enough idea. But it was doomed to fail.

You might have heard about AT&T's CES meltdown. Well, it turns out all of my colleagues were using iPhones on AT&T. Apparently, AT&T's cell towers within proximity of the convention center were just overwhelmed. I didn't hear too many complaints from users of other networks.

But at least for those disgruntled AT&T customers, Femtocells could have saved the day ...

It’s App Overload at CES!

John Hong — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:17:13 +0000

The two big topics at CES this year seem 3D and Apps. But app-mania (really app platform mania) seems to be a faster spreading disease than swine flu. And it seems liket every CE manufacturer has now caught it. We're not just talking about apps on cell phones platforms like iPhone and Android. Samsung, Vizio, Boxee, Roku, and even the Ford Motor Company. The real trouble with all of these new app platforms is many of them are all new platforms - incompatible with iPhone/Android. Are these companies really thinking that they can all attract thousands of developer to write to their API just because they said the magic word?