Would you get a Nokia N97? Personally, I was never into Nokia’s kitchen sink phones. Aside from the high cost of (usually unsubsidized) ownership, N9Xs were never known for their responsiveness. On top of that, you’ve also got usefully multi-functional models like the E63. That’s available at a much lower price point, yet literally has enough functionality for practically any mobile task.

I might change my tune if this phone meets my responsiveness standards. Here’s to hoping for quick dibs on a review unit!

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The market is experience two major trends, said In-Stat. Modem form factors are increasingly moving away from PC Cards toward USB modems, and embedded modems are becoming more popular. The firm predicts embedded modem shipments will exceed external modem shipments by 2011, following a peak year in 2010 when external modems will generate $2.6 billion in revenues.

This trend seems to be a rewarding one for those who invested in 3G services and infrastructure, as “investment in good times are paying dividends in lean years.” The study further reports that providers continue to increase the number of their 3G subscribers.

Unfortunately, what does this increased demand mean for the 3G consumer in general? Are service providers increasing their capacity at the same time, while attracting more customers? Will they try to support more users with the same bandwidth? Hopefully that won’t be the case. My experience with wireless broadband has been less than stellar; the consistency of a 3G signal seems more about the time of the day and your location, and less about who’s providing the data coverage.

(Image from notebookreview.com)

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So you come out with a new ad, in response to your competitor’s attempts to change perceptions over a much-maligned product. Do you concentrate on your strengths, re-highlight your competitor’s weaknesses, or simply go with a cleverly-worded lie?

Reportedly, Apple decided to go for the latter. In a recent ad, they implied that Microsoft spent more money on marketing their products, rather than improving them. According to WinGeek: “…since Apple brought it up, they spend only .7 cents less per sales $1 on Advertising than Microsoft and spend a fraction of what Microsoft spends on improving its products.” For every dollar Microsoft makes, it spends 13.9% on R&D, compared to Apple’s 3.3%.

The full dirt—as well as the sources of WinGeek’s research—are available here.

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Three years ago [2002], a jury decided against the maker of the wireless e-mail device, Research In Motion Ltd., but Spencer held off on an injunction that threatened to shut down BlackBerry service in this country. Now the suit — along with its 40-page docket — is back in his courtroom after a round of appeals.

This time, the judge is clearly running low on patience.

Turns out NTP, painted as a patent troll for suing RIM, even though it did not contribute to the BlackBerry’s success, was somewhat undeserved. Read the full article to see why.

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The online publication tries to elicit some sweet revenge by publicizing his email address here.

Review freebie scams are definitely nothing new—just ask the nearest review writer and restaurants who’ve given free meals to critical nobodies. What’s interesting though is that the game’s moving online, perhaps indicating that online brands already carry the same—or even more—clout as their paper counterparts do.

Can you really condemn people like Paul Deery? After all, they see the writers of big-time blogs and websites basically get stuff for free. Who wouldn’t a piece of that action?

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After the conference, I approached him and asked him why the comparison has to be made to the iPhone all the time. I interjected that mentioning a competitor’s product during your own press conference made it sound more like a fit of desperation on your end. The truth is, the iPhone and his product are two different things.

It’s so easy to agree with this! While Jayvee makes a case for the apparent non-idiocy of tech and lifestyle journalists—who know that there are other products out there, it’s also fitting to concentrate on the economics of mentioning the iPhone.

From personal experience, gadget manufacturers (and companies in general) spend a lot of money to wine and dine the media. Not to bribe them with free gadgets and all-expense paid trips mind you, but to make them feel comfortable as they present their products for the first time.

This profligate spending indicates two things: PR flaks (or at least those who are supposedly competing with Apple and the iPhone) don’t understand how to maximize the free exposure possible with the internets, and don’t really know how to maximize their valuable funds.

The point is that, why mention a competing product at all? You’ve spent so much money to rent a venue, send out invitations, and prepare some food. Not to mention the expense of setting aside review units for distribution to media, instead of selling them for a profit. Do you want to waste your budget on helping a competitor? Probably not.

It’s as if pr companies and marketing managers are buying into Apple’s line that the iPhone is the best smartphone out there, and that competing with it is like scaling a sheer cliff to escape from rising lava; nearly impossible, but still required nonetheless. Talk about having faith in your own offerings!

Indeed, product managers should maximize what they’re paying for. Their events are all about their product, their competitive advantage, and their brand. And that’s what they should keep it about. Why mention a competitor, no matter how apparently prominent it is, and leave people-in-the-know sighing as they enjoy the free food and drinks?

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Studio execs argue that piracy will kill the movie business. So how do they justify the raging success of The Dark Knight [and I am Legend]?

“It looks like another indicator that although piracy does hurt business, on a title-by-title level, it’s a more complicated effect,” says Eric Garland, CEO of BigChampagne, “Many top-selling titles are among the most-pirated, but they don’t necessarily underperform in the marketplace just because they’re the most pirated.”

Check out the whole article here.

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What do you get a woman who has everything ? (Think Ivana Trump or Paris Hilton). The diamond encrusted Motorola Motopure H12 Bluetooth headset of course.

I’ve heard that a lot of men have beaten down Alexander Amosu’s door to get one of this luxurious Motorola’s diamond encrusted MOTOPURE H12 Bluetooth headsets.

This limited edition headset, is made from 18k gold and has over 180 brilliant cut diamonds, totaling to a decent 3.47 carats. Now that’s more carats than my wife’s diamond ring. You get an option to choose between white and yellow 18k gold and there is even the option to customize with white, pink or even black diamonds.

Motorola Motopure H12 Bluetooth headset tech specs

# Weight: 12 grams
# Dimensions: 41mm x 18mm x 12mm
# Talk Time: up to approximately 5.5 hours
# Standby Time: up to approximately 200 hours

# Connector: Contact charging, Micro USB located on charging solutions
# Easy Pairing Technology: Exclusive technology simplifies connecting to your compatible Bluetooth® enbled device
# Automatic low power mode
# LED light indicates battery life
# Volume orientation
# Dedicated power switch
# Call button: answer, end, reject, mute and hold
# Bluetooth Class 2 wireless technology offers a wireless connection up to 10 meters (33 feet) away

Diamonds on Motorola Motopure H12 Bluetooth headset source

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Finally the truth is out: the service was marred by a “flood of login attempts” after users downloaded a routine set of patches through Windows Update and rebooted their PCs. Coupled with no P2P network resources and a “previously unseen bug within the network resource allocation algorithm which prevented the self-healing function from working quickly”, the login attempts rendered the Skype network inaccessible by many users.

Most users are not disgruntled enough to stage a protest, but it might pose a problem for eBay as they utilize Skype in their premium service, which includes outbound/inbound calling to wireline/wireless phones.

Windows Update Killed Skype? source

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