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If you’ve followed the mobile scene in the last 6 months, you probably heard about Android--the first complete, open, and free mobile platform. Android offers a free software development kit (SDK) for Java developers with key built-in features such as an integrated browser (Webkit), SQLite datastore, GPS, and a full stack of platform essentials missing from many mobile systems.
Today was a big day for Sprint at Las Vegas trade show CTIA Wireless 2008. CEO Dan Hesse announced several new devices. The most significant of these reveals is the Samsung Instinct.
Look Familiar?
A new Pew Internet study shows people would have a more difficult time giving up their cell phone than any other technology. As the table at right shows, cell phones are followed by the Internet, television, and landline telephones as the toughest to do without.
There are some big changes in the 2007 results. Cell phones have replaced landline phones at the top of the list and the Internet has moved ahead of television into second place. Landline phones have seen the most precipitous decline in the last five years, and Blackberries or other PDAs have seen the most significant rise in the chart.
Starbucks reported last week on its ambitious plan to provide free Wi-Fi at more than 7,000 company-owned locations across the nation beginning this spring. That means you can get your fill of a double-tall non-fat no-whip half-the-mocha mocha plus a serving of free broadband to boot.
I can’t think of any other product story quite like this. Can you? In just six short months, Apple has grown from a non-player in mobile to 2nd in the marketplace for smartphones. And that’s with limited availability.
I don’t have an iPhone (they are not available in our area), but I have its almost identical non-phone cousin, the iPod Touch. I can tell you that device delivers a brand experience that is refreshing in its form, simplicity, usability and usefulness. The difference between the iPhone and iPod Touch is a matter of feature/benefits. To me, what Apple is really selling here is a wonderful new interface to harness a crossroads of technologies, wants, and needs. The iPhone is like having a remote control for your digital life, and I am sure that is where Apple and the consumer will continue to prosper from this interface in the future.