Posted by The Blogging Desk on Mon, Mar 21, 2011
A Googler:
First, Sprint customers will be able to use their existing Sprint mobile number as their Google Voice number and have it ring multiple other phones simultaneously. So now, calls to your Sprint mobile number can easily be answered from your office or your home phone, or even your computer through Gmail. Calls from Gmail and text messages sent from google.com/voice will also display your Sprint number. This basically gives Sprint customers all the benefits of Google Voice without the need to change or port their number.
Alternatively, Google Voice users can choose to replace their Sprint number with their Google Voice number when placing calls or sending text messages from their Sprint handset. This feature works on all Sprint phones and gives Sprint users all the benefits of Google Voice without the need for an app.
The future is here, crawling slowly through the door. Do you use Google Voice? Before this news, you could sign up for a number, attach your cell phone to it, give it out, and when people called that number it can ring to your home phone, cell phone, or office phone whenever you wanted it to. Very cool stuff. I forwarded my cell phone to my Google Voice number so that when calls went to Voicemail, I would get a text message of the transcribed message. You could even get an email of the message as well, or read it inside of Gmail.
This makes that whole convoluted process a little easier now that they've partnered with Sprint. If I were a Sprint subscriber, I would probably integrate fully so that I could read my Voicemails online or get the texts in a more fluid manner. Plus, it would be very slick to be able to make calls from your laptop if you felt like it. Right? Isn't this what the future is supposed to be like?
I think I read that on Wikipedia once.
Don't forget to speak with our friends over at Mosaic about Google Apps, but in the meantime, here is a handy video for your troubles:
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Thu, Jan 13, 2011
PCMagazine has graciously given their two cents on Apple's Verizon iPhone. Unsurprisingly, Personal Computer Magazine doesn't think you should be picking up this Apple product. Let's break it down for the enterprising user in you, shall we?
It has a new carrier, but this isn't a new iPhone. The CDMA iPhone that Verizon announced yesterday is the same iPhone 4 that was released on AT&T back in July. So there's no reason to believe that will change this year, or that the new handset won't be available on both AT&T and Verizon around the same time.
She's mean like a snake, but she has a point. I surely wouldn't advise anyone picking up this version of the iPhone, but that's because nobody has listened to me when recommending the iPhone for the last 4 years. They end up getting some terrible BlackBerry and complain about it to me. To which I retort, "get lost; remember when I told you to get an iPhone?" I've retired from the phone/tablet recommending game. Make your own bed! But, back to the main point; yes, Apple introduces a new phone every summer. Chances are, though, that the average consumer doesn't give two hoots about the speed bump coming in June. They want a phone that works for them, now.
Hey Verizon, how much are the plans? One of the most obvious reasons to wait: Verizon hasn't announced its service plans for the iPhone. It's been rumored that the carrier will roll out a $30 per month unlimited iPhone data plan, but at the press event, Verizon's CEO, Dan Mead, wouldn't utter a peep about plan prices.
I'm not sure what kind of a PR game Verizon is playing with their service packages, but it's not cool. Not cool at all. Still, most people won't care when they get in line just to pre-order the iPhone. Mindshare!
Let Verizon iron out the network kinks before you get there. No one knows how many people will buy Verizon iPhones next month, but a large influx of new subscribers could mean a compromise in network quality in some areas. Hey, it happened with AT&T.
Am I the only person on the planet that doesn't hate AT&T with the fire of a thousands suns? It could be due in large part to the fact that I hate talking on the phone. Just text me, sheesh.
AT&T and Verizon may not be your only choices. Now that the AT&T stranglehold has been broken, it's possible that Sprint or T-Mobile might pick up the iPhone later this year.
Ha! T-Mobile is so adorable. I mean, who wouldn't want to get on their "4G" network!? Thanks to T-Mobile and AT&T, 4G is now a meaningless term that has no bearing on speeds whatsoever.
The Android army just keeps getting stronger. I know. I know. If you're like me, you're a diehard iPhone user who wouldn't even consider switching from Apple's beloved overflowing-with-apps smartphone. Verizon's massive Motorola Droid Bionic, for example, is packed to the gills with features, and it's an LTE phone.
LTE phones are cool and all, but, what cities even have LTE right now? You may get an LTE phone and not have the actual 4G services for at least a year into the future. Don't get me wrong, I love Android; whatever makes it easier for consumers to ditch their piece of junk feature phones, I'm all for.
So, should you get the Verizon iPhone? Don't look at me. I told you I retired from those questions. Go get a RAZR and leave me alone.
...
I'm kidding! If you reply on email, calendars, appointments, and contacts, you owe it to yourself to at the very least consider the iPhone. If you need to be connected at all times to your business, it's a smart move.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Mon, Nov 29, 2010
Techcrunch:
Google TV might be in a bit of a pickle if a Best Buy and Sony sale is any indication. The platform launched a few weeks ago with the Logitech Revue and Sony Internet TV. Both are loaded with the same system and so both are suffering the fate of Big Media’s blockade. It’s a sad story, really. Google TV aimed to bridge the span between subscription-based TV and Internet content, but so far said bridge is still held up bybureaucratic red tape nonsense.
Sony seems to be solving one of the platform’s biggest deal breakers: the price. Google TV units are crazy expensive. The Logitech Revue launched at $300 and that price is still holding strong even at retailers like Amazon amidst nearly site-wide Black Friday sales. It’s the Sony set-top box model that’s uncharacteristically on sale right now even though it’s less than a month old. This doesn’t look so well for Google’s living room takeover plans.
Say it ain't so, Google TV!
For those that may have missed some stunning articles on the topic, Google TV piggy-backs onto your cable subscription and offers you a browser to view online videos and also play apps. There was one tiny problem in all of that. The networks didn't want you watching their free online content using a Google TV.
Viacom recently joined ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox as the networks that refuse to have their content viewed for free via the Google TV browser. Oops! Maybe Google should have contacted these groups before selling their product as the ultimate video viewer. Sounds like they need some work on their strategy.
So what do these price-drops mean? Is this the end of the Google TV?
I do love me some innovation, but it most likely is indeed the end of Google TV in its current form. If anything, the product will serve as an Android OS for cable providers. Before Android and iOS, most phones sold had clunky operating systems. Heck, most ran Windows Mobile. Now, carriers can throw Android on their phones for pretty much no cost. I expect the same to happen with carrier set-top boxes.
Just don't expect the innovation that Google was hoping for.
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