Solar Kit for the Mobile Crowd

I've thought about getting a solar backpack for a while now.  I haven't figured out what's the best one on the market for me.  And let's be honest, it'll hit your wallet a bit too.  Now, there's the solar globetrotter kit from lazybone (courtesy of Coolest Gagdets).

Simply mount this onto your backpack, bike, or car dashboard and you're set to go.  Whether you're a mobile warrior or an outdoor type who wants a reliable power source, I find this to be a very compelling buy.



Also, if you're a mobile warrior travel a lot internationally, you like carry with you a travel kit to make sure that all your laptop and other wireless gadgets have enough juice and the right plug.  This makes sure you don't have to worry about that.  (Note:  it's not powerful enough to provide juice for a typical laptop I'm afraid.)



Take it a step further.  It comes with a freeloader which acts like a battery.  It's compatible with most devices such as the iPhone and iPod.  Here are some highlights:

• Freeloader can be charged in 4 hours.  Can be charged multiple times during the day.


• Power the iPod for 18 hrs, phone 44 hrs, PSP 2.5 hours, PDA 22 hrs.  iPhone/Blackberry not provided but I'm guess 10-15 hours.  I will let you know when I tested mine (yes, I will be getting one.  A sacrifice I'm happy to make :)


• Specifically mentioned adapter for the Apple line of mobile devices (not Macbooks).


• Very tough and works so long as the sun still shines.


• Comes with Velcro attachment and weather resistant.


• 200 grams (7 oz or .45 lb).  Very light weight.


• $98.65 (£49.99)

Once mine arrive and I've gotten a chance to play with it, I'll give you a review with a wide range of devices.

But you don't want to wait, get one now and do your part for climate change (in a good way)!

iPhone Commercial But Not From Apple

This is too funny!  Enjoy!



Came by way of The Unofficial Apple Blog.

This is why I'm sticking with EDGE

According to user reports on 3G uses for the new iPhone 3G (is it still new?  Okay, we'll stop calling it "new" after 30 days), there have been a wide discrepancy in what people are able to get from their 3G network on the AT&T.  

No one should be surprised.  A year ago, people started noticing how much more mobile Internet mileage iPhone uers were putting on.  Google could not believe the amount of search queries coming from the iPhone platform.

As far as the "next" generation mobile speed is concerned, T-Mobile has yet to get their act together and AT&T has not really been that much better.  And in the last months while AT&T worked to beef up their 3G network in preparation for the iPhone 2.0 launch, it's not surprising to hear the increasing number of iPhone users putting a very big strain on it.  And it's only been three to four days.  

This will get uglier.  Check out Howard Forums and Macrumors if you want to avoid 3G black holes.  Allegedly, some EDGE speeds are comparable or faster than 3G right now.

I don't know what the actual speed are between AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless, Engadget has AT&T coming out on top but Verizon still has the lead in terms of coverage.  The era of 3G will not truly arrive until 2009.  iPhone and other 3G phones will not benefit from the technology until the wireless guys put their acts together.

One user surmised that AT&T did the bare minimum to maximize coverage just to say that it has 3G and faster speeds will only come much later.  Until I see a big improvement, there is no need for 3G phones unless you happen to live or work in an area where it is a known fact that 3G coverage is strong.  

No iPhone 3G or any other 3G phones for me just yet.  I managed to test drive the iPhone's 3G speed in my area and it was not noticeably faster than my current iPhone.  GPS alone is not worth the upgrade.  Memory is not an issue.  And I love the aluminum back cover on my phone.  And with the App Store, I'm good to go.  


Note:  WiFi is still the answer to wireless access.  And WiFi access points are everywhere today.  For mobile warriors, make sure whatever smartphone you buy in the future has WiFi functionality in it.  It is definitely not going away any time soon.  Doesn't matter if we suddenly get WiMax access.  I'm amazed some smartphones like the Instinct that don't have WiFi in this day and age.  

Busy Second Half of 2008 For Mobility

This just in from Crunchgear.  A new Kindle from Amazon.  I'm especially encouraged about Amazon "skipped three or four generations" comment.  No one really knows how many units Amazon has sold thus far but like everyone else, we think not many.  I hope Kindle 2 pans out.  

Just a few suggestions.  I love to see more Web features and PDA funtionality.  For a $400 reader (now for $359), it's not a lot to ask.  And ebooks that already on paperbacks should be cheaper than the paperback price.  I only makes sense, right?



So, what else is new?  Well, we just had the dual launch of the Sprint Instinct and the iPhone 3G, so we are waiting for RIM to put the finishing touches to the Blackberry Bold and Thunder.  Both very capable smartphones and should compete very well against Samsung and Apple.  Remember, this market is capable of supporting multiple players.  



Oh, let's not forget the triumvirate of HTC, Google, and T-Mobile with what they've got up their sleeves in October.  Or was it November or December?  Depends on who you listen to, it may be 2009 when the HTC Dream is finally out.  WSJ has said things are falling behind schedule with Android.  However, I'm taking Google at their word that Android is not delayed and we'll see the first Android-powered phone in the fourth quarter.  



The latest rumors has an October launch when T-Mobile goes live nationally with their 3G network (I recently tried buying a new Blackberry Curve and I had asked what 3G phones they have available because I want to future proof my investment.  On two separate occasions, they said they have no 3G phones in their lineup but they themselves are waiting a bit before upgrading their own phones.  But they confessed they know nothing about T-Mobile plans for the remainder of the year. Simply wait they said.  Riiiight).  







If that is true, it'll be sharing the spotlight with refreshes of iPods from Apple.  It'll be sweet to see the two titans, Apple and Google, go at it for the attention on the Internet.  



And let's not forget Sony.  PSP 2!  Nah, just kidding.  XPERIA X1 will making it's debut in mid-September.  Sony will need to put a lot of marketing muscle into this one.  It looks great but the other mobile players will have had been in the market for a while.  







This is becomes ever more enticing as you keep watching the video.  



There are a plethora of other phones and mobile devices that will be flooding the market.  MP3 players, straight-up phones, UMPC (mini-laptops - I mean where do you begin?!), and ebook readers.  I am waiting for this:

It can't get here soon enough!  Amazon. Apple.  You see that?  



I'm sure there's more stuff that's coming out.  In the next segment, we'll get into laptops.  

Mobile Warriors DO Read

Awhile ago, a certain CEO of a former fruity computer-oriented company turned fruity consumer-electronic-oriented company proclaimed that Americans just do not read anymore.  When interviewed by NYT in January after he introduced the Macbook Air at Macworld, Steve Jobs was quick to dismiss the concept of Kindle.  

In fact, so quick that he pointed out that forty percent of Americans read only one book or less a year.  I don't know but knowing one hundred and twenty million Americans read no more than one book a year isn't something I keep readily in the back of my mind unless I know I was going to be asked about that.  

Unless Jobs and Apple had thought about it.  My money is that they've thought about it a lot.  Only a year before Apple came out with the video iPod, Jobs had said no one was going to be watching video on a little screen.  Personally, I did not think people bought it the first time and no one is buying Jobs' thoughts on ebooks either.  



Apple is planning something for the reading public.  What I want to know is what the other sixty percent of Americans are doing?  I'm willing to bet that some of that sixty percent don't read at all and that some of the same sixty percent (one hundred and eighty million) read quite a bit.  



I REPEAT:  Apple is planning something for the reading public.  At part of the launch of the App Store for the iPhone 2.0, a few of the apps were actually ebooks that were being sold for $0.99 each.  In fact, that may be what Apple has planned.



Selling individual books as an app through the App Store is certainly a good idea.  Publishers will have the ability to create their own app and sell it as an ebook.  Apple would get their thirty percent cut of the ebook and no negotiation with publisher/author may be necessary.  Treat everything as an app.  Let the market settle on the price.



As time goes on, we'll see an entire section of the App Store dedicated to ebooks.  



I think it can work.  I don't know how many people actually enjoy picking up a book or a mobile device to read a book but I'm guessing quite a bit of iPhone owners do read.  How do I know that?  Fictionwise servers have been slowed to a crawl as iPhone owners download previous owned ebooks (which I will be doing) and likely bought new ones as well (which I will also be doing).  



So, Mr. Jobs.  There are quite a few of us who still do read.  Make it as easy to buy ebooks as it is to buy music from iTunes and you've got another market to dominate.



I am predicting that Apple have spoken with or are in discussion with publishers on bring their material over to the App Store.  Look for a way in future versions of the iPhone SDK for publishers/authors to add ebooks with just a click or two.  



Note:  I have been downloading and buying ebooks on my Zire and Windows Mobile devices for years.  It's time for the publishing market to focus on the smartphones and millions of mobile users who will read if the books and other works are easily accessible.  



Another Note:  More and more Americans are taking public transportation as energy prices increase.  That means more time on buses and trains.  It also mean more time waiting for the buses or trains.  I'm sure a few of them will give reading a try.  

AMERICA: We're No. 1 (I think...)

In a study by Neilsen, via WSJ, more American mobile users accessed the mobile Internet than any other nation on Earth. That's right, baby!  





As far as anyone knows, maybe the state of Internet mobility is not as bad as people normally characterized it to be.  Hey, something else we're still no. 1 in (I think we'll always be number in guns too).  





While promising, two things wrong with the study. First, Japan was not included in the study. Why? It's a good question given that mobile penetration is greater (unless that's a myth) in Japan than the United States. After all, a lot of mobile Japanese use their phones for things we have no even started doing in great numbers. Watching television, paying for train tickets, and reading novels on their phones is something the Japanese have been doing for years. All this and not to mention that the multiple phones that some Japanese youth own. Of course, each user really only carry around with them one phone at a time.  I hope.





Nevertheless, I find the 16% of Americans, an increase of 10 million from May 2007, accessing the Internet with their mobile devices an encouraging sign. Yahoo dominated with Google and Weather Channel trailing.  





A majority use the Internet for e-mails (not particularly surprising) and check of weather and headlines.  The study also concluded that mobile users visited no more than six sites a month while an user access more than 100 sites a month on their computers.  





Other thoughts:

• I wonder what Google's numbers will be if not for a significant number of searches from iPhone users and what it's number will be when Android phones are released in the fourth quarter.


• I would like to know the average time users spent on the Internet with their phones.  


• I'm sure Blackberries would dominate as the device of choice for e-mail access.  But I would like to know what devices people are using to access the Internet.  


• It would be good to know if this study including Internet devices like the Nokia 810 and the iPod Touch or just phones.  


• Given the disparity between the number of sites visited by a mobile user versus a computer user, more effort is required to advertise the existence of WAP or mobile sites.  More than that, a different thinking is required to provide content to mobile uers that is easy and quickly.


• Along the line of the disparity between mobile and computer users, greater efforts must be spent to increase the deployment of 3G or WiMax access.  
  
  
  
  
  
  Some uses of mobile Internet that operators can encourage over time:  blogging, file sharing, text-based entertainment (novels), and financial activities (banking and using devices to make payments).  Google, if you want to beat Paypal, make financial payment a part of Android.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

16% Isn't a lot but it's a start.  I think a more comprehensive study is called for to determine more in depth what people are using the mobile Internet for and where efforts are needed to encourage more uses.  Again, it's a start and encouraging.  









Lighter Note:  I did say two things that may be flawed with the study and I already mentioned Japan. The second? Porn. Really? I guess Nielsen blushed and decided not to ask it. I would have though mobile porn would be huge. Something for VCs to look into I guess.

Blackberry Thunder - Getting There

CrackBerry has exclusive pictures of the much talked about tactile response and the virtual keyboard layout of Blackberry Thunder. RIM had previously said no one will use the virtual keyboard that the iPhone uses.

Still, given the back-and-forth between CrackBerry and Boy Genius and other gadget sites, it still remains to be seen if they actually can ship the product sooner rather than later.

On with the details. Quite a lot of room to fit a keyboard and space to see what you're typing in landscape form.
In portrait mode, Blackberry has opted to use SureType instead of the full QWERTY layout used by the iPhone.

I've put together a comparison. In all fairness to the Thunder, the pictures were likely smuggled out and not officially sanctioned.




A few of the comments seem that most users are willing to hold off judgment until they see the phone in its release form. I tend to agree. So far, the layout look a bit plain. However, that will not matter if typing works as good as Crackberry's sources indicated.

Yes, you probably noticed that I tossed in a comparison or two between the Thunder and the iPhone. One has been released and the other one is likely still in development. This exercise is only to provide a frame of reference. Comparison between the two smartphones is natural and we'll see more of it in the coming weeks and months.