Mobile Devices

I was recently lamenting to a friend of mine that I couldn’t go for a walk, because I’d inevitably end up at a Starbucks, where I would then buy a mocha that negated any benefits of the walk. My friend sensibly suggested that I leave my purse behind and just take my phone.

I’m always amazed by the technology available in today’s smartphone, like video calling or playing games in 3D. The stuff you can do with a device that fits in your pocket is amazing.

One of the primary draws to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is the ability to download and install apps on the device. The paradigm of an application storefront began in early versions of Apple’s iOS, and has since been adopted by all smart device operating systems. Now what interests me the most about these storefronts is how people use them.

Mobile consumers these days are demanding faster browsing experiences. This study shows that a good number of users expect web pages to load on their mobile devices at speeds comparable to desktop browsing.

It seems like there is a constant debate amongst smartphone users. You've got the touchscreen enthusiasts who pride themselves on the sleek, minimalist design of a touch-only device. Then you've got the two-thumb texting machines that will not touch a phone that doesn't have a physical keyboard.

According to the press, Microsoft will be supposedly releasing a minor update to their new mobile OS, Windows Phone 7, sometime in the next few days. The update, which has been referred to internally as "NoDo", will bring some minor software fixes and the highly anticipated copy and paste feature. Microsoft is also working on a more large-scale update they are calling Mango.

The big news for me out of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) has been the number of new Tablets introduced. It is an exciting time for tablet enthusiasts, with tablets running Android, Windows, and QNZ (from RIM) introduced. So, along with the iPad, you can now have a tablet running your favorite operating system.

One of the things I am most intrigued by in the world of portable technology is the explosion of mobile social networkers. With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Myspace all available on the latest mobile devices, it is now possible to broadcast all of life’s happenings in real-time from the convenience of a portable handset.

Smartphones are all the same. It’s not surprising. Most phones have a very similar touchscreen interface, physical buttons (give or take a few), they have similar features: camera, GPS, Internet access. The building blocks are the same.

Much buzz has been generated about two new e-reader technologies announced at the cusp of CES 2010.