Results tagged “phone”

This could be awesome -- at least as far as cool personal communications go. Google and Verizon let it out today that they joined in a strategic partnership "to deliver leading-edge mobile applications, services and devices" based on Android.

This could work out really well for consumers and, actually, for developers and for Verizon too. It's not going to hurt Google either, of course, as it looks like a huge boost for the Android OS.

Verizon has been missing out on the app store action that Apple created and has been trying like the dickens to encourage developers over to its network and devices to help Verizon close the app gap.   It's already lined up to bring out a set of Android devices from Motorola, but that's not seen as a great leap forward for Verizon so much as just catching up with everybody else.

This partnership with Google, though, committing resources directly from Verizon into the Android cauldron and getting Google to commit to work with them -- this looks like the start of a whole new attack on the smart-comm device opportunity. That includes all of the possibilities: phones, netbooks, readers, streamers and the who-knows-what's-next.

For Google; having this committment from Verizon and its giant mobile network is a key -- perhaps the key -- to  moving Android beyond the "has potential" stage and into the actual consumer battleground with Apple.  This really could be game changing for the whole smart-comm world.

There is potential here to force Apple to actually modify its action plans to stay in the lead in this huge market.

Fantastic.

Just came across this story in the NY Times, "Gadget Makers Can Find Thief, but Don't Ask". The gist of it is that Amazon won't help track or recover a lost or stolen Kindle even though the ability to do that is built into the Kindle technology.

What a let down, Amazon.

Amazon says that they'll lift a virtual finger if they get a court order; other wise they won't even shut down network access for the lost device.

All they'd have to do is so trivial that it's really kind of goofy that Amazon wouldn't want to do it just to give the appearance of caring about Kindle customers. I mean, Amazon is an OK company, isn't it? Green? Good service? Good deals? All that?

So why not, when a registered owner of a Kindle -- because you have to be registered to make it work; and it is a specific machine to a specific user -- calls to say that their Kindle is lost or stolen, why not just throw a switch in the database that makes that particular kindle only show a mailing address.  That effectively makes the Kindle unusable until it's returned and makes Amazon a hero instead of -- once again, coming across as an accidental creep.

The article says that Sirius Radio in the US has the same wrong attitude, but that Sirius in Canada has figured out how to do the right thing. If a Canadian registered owner signs a form saying that their radio has been stolen then Sirius will deactivate the radio. Can't sell a radio that doesn't work, so no point in stealing a radio that you can't sell. Right? 

The article also says that phone companies in Europe keep a list of stolen phones and won't activate them. Cool.

Or really... duh!  Maybe we should ask Congress to pass a law to make this happen here.

Would you drive under the influence? Would you want to be on the road when 5%-10% of the other drivers are drunk?

Newly released testing results indicate over and over that using a cell phone while you drive, even with a bluetooth headset, is the same as driving drunk.

The data has been hidden from us for awhile, but it sppears to be unassailable: using a cellphone while driving is just like driving drunk. Sometimes it's even worse than driving drunk.

The data comes from multiple sources and there are tests online where you can show yourself how it happens.

Your powers of observation are impaired and, for the hazards that you do see, your reaction time is completely shot.

Another NYT article says that drivers don't want to know about the dangers. Oh great. 

Scary stuff. Where we live the roads are all two-lane country highways.  55 MPH on a two-lane road means that many -- if not most -- are going 60 or 65 MPH. Saturday night was bad enough with just a few drunks. Now you've got to be watching every minute of every day and suspect every single car of carrying an "open" cell phone.  

Here: take a sample test yourself at the New York Times technology section. 

WiFi and Cordless phones can get along just fine.  Yes; there can be snags but they can be worked around and, in general, with a little care it will just work.  In any case, none of the snags are fatal and all can be solved.

The brief how-to for WiFi & cordless is below but first just a brief note about our good friend Comcast.

The instigation of this post is a notice posted on Twitter.com (aka, a "tweet") reporting that a new Comcast telephone service customer was told by the service installer that it is "not an option"  to use her cordless phone and a wireless WiFi router together. 

That's not correct.