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Why Motorola’s Xoom Won’t Threaten The iPad

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After weeks of anticipation it looks like Android fans will finally have a worthy iPad contender from Motorola that can challenge Apple for tablet supremacy.

Unfortunately Motorola’s Xoom just made one major mistake that may convince consumers to overlook the Android tablet and instead choose iOS instead.

The first device to run Google’s new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, the Motorola XOOM will be available for purchase from Verizon Wireless for $599.99 with a new two-year customer agreement or $799.99 without a contract. Wireless 3G data service for the Motorola XOOM will begin at $20 monthly access for 1GB. The Motorola XOOM will be upgradeable to 4G LTE service at no additional charge in the second quarter of 2011. (via Android Central)

Note: Emphasis mine.

While the Xoom does look impressive and is cheaper than the iPad 3G (the latter which starts at $629), the fact that you have to sign up with a 2 year contract will probably be a turn off to the masses (who may already have a contract via their smartphone).

Although users can pick up the Xoom for about $800 contract free, that price range will put it out of reach for the masses who may simply opt for a less expensive Wifi iPad instead.

With iPad 2.0 expected to debut this summer, Motorola better hope that Apple doesn’t launch a less expensive iPad as that could result in a lot of Xoom tablets rotting away in ware houses over the summer.

Originally posted on February 22, 2011 @ 7:00 pm

Windows Phone 7 Embraces IE9, Attacks iPad?

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It looks like Microsoft has announced a Valentine’s gift for Windows Phone 7 fans which should make it easier for them to view the web without envying their iOS friends.

As far as iOS rivals go however, Microsoft had a few words regarding the browsers of their competitors.

As a result, when you compare different browsers side by side using official W3C standards tests, for example here, you can expect very similar results for IE9 on Windows Phone and the Windows desktop. […]

Our approach to sharing code involves using the same engine and the same highly-rated SmartScreen services. Using different engines—even subtly different engines—results in making developers do a lot more work and re-work to accommodate the differences. Articles like The WebKit Lie and the Future of Web Standards and iPad is the new IE6 reflect the problems in fragmented nightly builds and forks. (Official IE Blog)

Although it’s good to see Microsoft finally release a decent browser upon Windows Phone 7, they may want to hold off on attacking the iPad until the company can come out with a superior browsing experience (as IE on Windows Phone 7 is not exactly that great).

Later on in their post Microsoft did announce support for HTML5 which should make it easier to use mobile sites on the go (like Weebly and Tumblr) without having to fire up the notebook.

(Image via Top Tech Reviews)

Originally posted on February 14, 2011 @ 3:29 pm

YouTube Live Streaming Sports Soon?

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It looks like Google is on the verge of slaying another industry with reports that the search giant is attempting to live stream sporting events which include one popular sports league.

Google Inc.’s YouTube is in talks with the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League to show live games, building on the popularity of cricket’s Indian Premier League last year.

YouTube aims to show more live sports in the second half of the year, said Gautam Anand, Google’s director of content partnerships for Asia Pacific, in an interview in Seoul yesterday. Google is in talks with “most pro sports leagues” including NBA and NHL, as well as soccer leagues in Europe, Brian Suh, head of YouTube Partnership at Google’s Korean unit, said separately. (Bloomberg)

Thanks in part to services like Hulu, Netflix and online live news (at least on CNN and Fox), I barely watch television as it is with the exception of American Football (which you have to see live in order to enjoy the game).

There is no word on whether YouTube will live stream events upon mobile devices and large touchscreen devices (at least upon Android tablets), which would make it easier to watch ones team when a TV isn’t readily available.

While live streaming games online will not kill off television entirely (as there are probably more people with TV’s than internet service, at least within the US), it could help sporting leagues reach a larger audience, not to mention generate more revenue via mobile ads as well.

Originally posted on February 23, 2011 @ 12:50 pm

Why Is Blackberry Courting Android?

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Could it be that RIM is giving up on the Blackberry OS and is about to pull a Nokia by courting a rival? Probably not, but apparently the ailing smartphone giant is courting Android (or at least apps running upon Android Market).

Well according to ShopSavvy’s flurry logs someone in Waterloo, Ontario (Canada for the geographically challenged oh and BTW it wheres RIM is based) has been running ShopSavvy for Android on various BlackBerry devices. Here are the details:

• BlackBerry 8300 ran ShopSavvy on January 31, 2011
• BlackBerry 8600 ran ShopSavvy on January 17 and 24, 2011
• BlackBerry 8520 ran ShopSavvy on February 7, 2011

Earlier this month Rachel King wrote a ZDNet story suggesting that BlackBerry’s new PlayBook tablet is going to support Android apps. This makes sense since BlackBerry OS can support Java Virtual Machines  and it would be pretty easy to compile Android in one of the them. (Official ShopSavvy Blog)

Blackberry App World already boasts 20,000 apps (and counting), although with Windows Phone 7 catching up (Microsoft just surpassed 8,000 apps), RIM is probably worried about being surpassed and being viewed by consumers as “limited” due to a lack of third party apps.

While making Blackberry “Android friendly” would help boost RIM’s appeal to the masses, it would also kill off Blackberry App World as developers would have little incentive to create apps for RIM.

If RIM does court Android while “retaining” its app store, it would signify a huge win for Google as well as developers, as Blackberry lovers might be more open to purchasing Android apps.

(Hat Tip: BGR)

Originally posted on February 24, 2011 @ 6:32 pm

Another Reason Not To Buy Android: Netflix

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If the draconian rules upon iOS are Apple’s weakest points, Android’s can be summed up in one word: apps.

Despite the fact that Android is going to dominate the mobile verse, it looks like Google’s hack friendly OS will not have the privilege of carrying one important app.

The good news is, manufacturers were showing off Netflix on Android devices this past week at the Mobile World Congress and it looks as good as you would expect. What’s the bad news, then?

If you already own an Android device, Netflix likely won’t work on your device. As a matter of fact, it will only work on new devices and possibly not all of those. We’re placing a bet right now that “Netflix included!” is the tagline of the next successful generation of Android phones. (via RWW)

Since Netflix is in the streaming movie business, they probably are avoiding creating a universal Android app due to the fact that the mobile OS is “DRM unfriendly” (as hackers are constantly manipulating the software).

Either way, Google needs to find a way to discourage companies from embracing select Android’s devices again, as it not only fragments the ecosystem (something Steve Jobs argues), but encourages people to seek rival platforms like iOS and Windows Phone 7.

Hopefully Netflix will change their mind and embrace the Android Market overall as excluding devices based upon the lack of DRM is not only silly, but reduces their overall reach.

Originally posted on February 17, 2011 @ 5:43 pm