Smalltalk with James Robertson

This is interesting - it makes it far easier for individuals to clear checks into a business account (and safer too, as there's no run to the bank with a bundle of money):

Last week we told you about the upcoming check capture feature in the iPhone PayPal app. This new feature uses your device’s camera to capture checks so they can be deposited into your PayPal account. This feature is similar to the Chase banking app and snaps the front and back of the check you want to deposit.

You wouldn't want to use your iPhone to process a huge number of checks, but this would work for small scale stuff.

Technorati Tags: iPhone, check clearing, paypal

Engadget Reports that Skype has found its way to Android, but with limits:

Finally, at long last, after so much waiting, Skype has made its debut as a full-fledged Android app. There are no Verizon-related limitations anymore, but Android Police reports that calling through the app is only available via WiFi, you can't use your mobile's data connection -- not yet, anyway.

I wonder how much of a hand the carriers have in that. When Skype first arrived on the iPhone, the same limitation was in place. It was lifted later, but there it is. I can't imagine that Verizon would be cheery about this.

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The iPad has been penetrating the consumer market at a faster clip than the DVD player did when it first launched:

iPad sold three million units in the first 80 days after its April release and its current sales rate is about 4.5 million units per quarter, according to Bernstein Research. This sales rate is blowing past the one million units the iPhone sold in its first quarter and the 350,000 units sold in the first year by the DVD player, the most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product.

My memories are a bit foggy, but I think DVD players started out pretty expensive, whereas the low end iPad is under $500. The article touches on that fact - read the whole thing.

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A lot of people - myself included - thought MS had lost the mobile space, but they are getting their latest entry out ahead of HP (Palm) - so maybe they can challenge for the third space behind Apple and Google:

Steve Ballmer will be the keynote speaker at Microsoft's New York launch event for Windows Phone 7. He'll be joined on stage by AT&T's Ralph de la Vega and when the pep rally is over, we're promised opportunities to finally handle the official incarnations of retail Windows Phones for ourselves.

I've read generally positive reviews for the Windows Phone, so we'll see.

Technorati Tags: windows phone, microsoft

Microsoft is ready to get back into the mobile game, and it looks like they'll get there before HP does anything new with Palm:

Microsoft Corp. will unveil a lineup of smartphones using the revamped version of its mobile operating system on Oct. 11, and AT&T Inc. plans to begin selling them in early November, according to people familiar with the launch plans.

Some of the reviews have been positive, so maybe MS isn't completely out of this game after all.

Technorati Tags: windows, phone

PCWorld reports that tethering may be on the way for the iPad:

Well that sure didn't take long. iOS 4.2 Beta 2 is barely a day old and folks are already finding some interesting nuggets. As you can tell from the screenshot below, the new beta includes an option for Internet tethering, a feature that will allow iPad 3G owners to share their Internet connection with any ole' laptops they have lying around.

That could be useful for lots of reasons. When I was on vacation last summer, I broadcast a wifi signal from my laptop for both my iPad and my wife's iPad to use - but what if we had been in a wifi only hotel, where you pay for each device that gets on? Have a 3g iPad get on, and share a wifi signal. You would have to be careful about the b/w usage, given the charge models, but it would work.

Technorati Tags: iPad, tethering

I didn't think Apple was going to put the iPhone on Verizon anytime soon, and Verizon's execs are putting that message out there:

Speaking to investors at a Goldman Sachs conference, Seidenberg said nothing about an iPhone for the company's current network, but said he hopes Apple Inc. will come around and allow Verizon to sell the phone for a new network it is building. The "4G" network hasn't yet opened for service and won't be complete next year.

Even once LTE is ready, there's still the whole issue of Verizon's VCast store and their relentless desire to put Verizon branding on all devices - things I simply can't see Apple being ok with...

Technorati Tags: apple, verizon, iPhone

Paul Thurott gushes about the joys of Android based phones before noting two pretty glaring flaws:

Where the DROID X--Android, really--falls apart is on the services side. As with Apple and, soon, Microsoft, Google supports Android with an online marketplace, in this case the Android Market. It's horrible. And I don't just mean it's lacking in some vague way, I mean that it is an absolute disgrace.

...

This is perhaps less dramatic, but because Google doesn't (yet) have an online store to match Apple's iTunes Store, the Android experience for loading, syncing, finding, and playing media (music, movies, and other content) is truly second rate and, I suspect, must vary from phone to phone.

So.... finding apps is a chore, and getting media on the phone sucks a lot - and yet it's a "great" device. Sure Paul, sure. The bits many people would call core functionality suck, but it's a marvelous device.

Thurott goes on to say that this could be "easily fixed", but here's the thing: I doubt Google will do that. Why? Look at their hit or miss software development. It's all about throwing stuff against a wall and seeing whether it sticks (and, most of the time, it doesn't). Google doesn't really care about user experience - like the old Microsoft, they are an engineering led company. Sometimes that works (Gmail), but usually it doesn't (Wave).

Ultimately though, Thurott is looking at the wrong metric. Apple never looks at killer market share - they look at margins. A quick look here tells you everything you need to know about who's winning that battle. Beyond that, Google has major carrier problems that Apple really doesn't have. Android probably will end up with a larger share of the smartphone market than Apple, and analysts will call that a win. Meanwhile, Apple will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Technorati Tags: apple, google, android, iPhone

I'm skeptical, but here's what Michael Arrington is reporting:

Facebook is building a mobile phone, says a source who has knowledge of the project. Or rather, they’re building the software for the phone and working with a third party to actually build the hardware. Which is exactly what Apple and everyone else does, too.

Here's the thing though - I don't think this is a game they want to play. They would be much, much better off getting someone to work on their Facebook app for the iPhone (and, for that matter, releasing a native iPad app). I just can't see any upside to sinking money into this - unlike Apple, I doubt they'll get full control of the device, leaving them with the glorious diversity that Android suffers with.

Technorati Tags: facebook, phone, mobile

TechCrunch talks about the theory - Android phones should be more open - and the sad reality brought to us by the carriers:

the last couple of Android phones I’ve gotten as demo units from Google: the EVO 4G and the Droid 2, have been loaded up with crapware installed by the carriers (Sprint and Verizon, respectively). Apple would never let this fly on the iPhone, but the openness of Android means Google has basically no say in the matter. Consumers will get the crapware and they’ll like it. Not only that, plenty of this junk can’t even be uninstalled. How’s that for “open”?

This looks a lot like the situation you have in the PC space - you can buy a Mac, and get a somewhat more limited selection of software, and higher prices. or you can buy a PC, save some money - and have a ton of crapware pre-installed for you. I wonder how soon we'll see a free for all in malware coming to the Android space - that would just complete the circle.

This article really, really makes me doubt that we'll see an iPhone on Verizon. Verizon wants the V-Cast store front and center, and Apple just has no interest in that. Google can't stop it, because Android is open for carrier customization. Another thing, and this harks back to someting Gruber said awhile back - the branding thing. Whenever you see a Verizon ad touting phone selection, look carefully: every single phone, regardless of the hardware vendor, has Verizon branding on it - prominently. You think Apple wants any part of that?

Technorati Tags: apple, iPhone, android, google, verizon