Android's G1 Hits the Street

Yesterday Google's first Android phone went on sale at T-Mobile stores in the US moving Google gracefully onto the mobile chess board. The early reviews are good and if you are one of the tens of millions of Gmail/Googe Apps/Google Search users this one could be for you.

The G1 looks similar to Blackberry's about to launch Storm, forcing Blackberry to scramble out their app store to stay in touch with Android's - that's the real competition. The smartphone space now looks likely to be dominated by Apple, Blackberry and Google - leaving Nokia... Yep, dangling. So who's gonna buy Blackberry? (Microsoft). Mmm.

EveryZing Launches MetaPlayer

Check out EveryZing, a media indexing company, which has just launched a media player that lets people search for spoken words within videos. Cool.

The media player is aptly, unexcitedly, called MetaPlayer and is provided to EveryZing customers alongside their other back-end tools. Stay with me. On sites that support it (first up Dallas Cowboys), folk will be able to type in a query in the video player and see where on that video (and other videos on the site), the term entered comes - they can then jump right to that spot.

Nifty, neat and a useful segue to another interesting Euro-tech company we'll be covering next week - textic. Movers in text to speech.

Squace Squeeze into Mass Market Cell Phones

Seeing as we've been focused on the mobile space the last few days, with a particular slant on the high profile Smartphones, we thought we'd mention a company that has recently bounced off our windscreen - Squace.

Expect TechBoard to unearth many more such Euro-tech jewels now that we're centered out of London. Squace is a classic new generation Swedish mobile play. Great, nifty technology gathering rapid, below-the-radar-screen traction.

So Squace appear to have squeezed the benefits of the iPhone and next generation mobile UI's into mass market, mini-screen devices. They have invented a nifty square and grid approach to mobile UI's that is catching on.

Even small screens can handle 50 plus squares, each one click away from a contact, web link or more and all just another click away to sharing any of your Squace links (squares) with whoever. If these guys can do (for mass market devices) just a fraction of what the iPhone has done for Smartphone data usage stats - they could be in for quite a ride. We'll keep you posted.

Blackberry Storm iPhone

Ever since Apple launched the iPhone, Blackberry have been working on the Storm - appropriately named as their iPhone killer. Specs are now out - pictures available and Vodafone/Verizon lined up with Apple-like exclusive deals to take it to market. The Storm's got the iPhone bells and whistles - full touch screen, media mania, almost real Internet and app store en route.

Will it work - will they roll back the Apple wave? Probably not. But they should hold their own as Apple dig in and grow the smartphone pie for everyone by taking it to mass market, fashion conscious, middle class consumers around the planet. Whether the iPhone can nudge into the corporate (Microsoft) market remains to be seen. Blackberry should still dominate this category.

But, the iPhone continues to be the Smartphone pin-up to own and the Storm looks unlikely to shake that. And if Apple change the smartphone game again next year as they did in '07 - then Blackberry will be chasing again. With the Horn?

7 Million iPhones

Apple just announced that they sold 7 million iPhones in their latest quarter. So, in 5 short quarters Apple have gone from a complete standing start in the mobile space to a quarterly run rate approaching 25 million iPhone sales per annum.

Analysts will pour all over these numbers because they probably prove the following:

- Apple will sell over 10 million iPhones in Q4,

- Apple will sell over 50 million iPhones in 2009,

- Apple could sell 100 million iPhones in 2010,

- Apple is set to overtake Blackberry as the No1 smartphone vendor,

- speculation will now go into overcharge re an iPhone Nano and iPhone 4G(?) for 2009,

- every other mobile phone vendor and their dog will launch iPhone killers with full touch screens and the real Internet,

- Apple will be forced to change the game again next year with the iPhone 4G/Nano,

- the iPhone will drive the next wave of halo effect overcharged sales of apple laptops and computers,

- even more folk will kiss Jobs' ass.

Does the Blackberry Storm have a chance? Maybe not, yet, quite... almost.

TechBoard Connects From London

TechBoard shifts the tech and digital media scene - now centered in London, with a view on the world. We want to end 2008 examining technology and its effects going into the next decade - the 'digital big bang' era. With Convergence the overarching theme.

Convergence of everything from PC's to TV's, phones, cars, games machines and beyond. Convergence of people, culture, economy and invention. Convergence of design on everything and the tech industry as a whole finally blending with the 'creative industries'.

Where are those YouTube ads?

OK so there's a special prize for anyone smart/YouTubed-up-enough to report a YouTube video running one of their supposedly dinky new ads.

Beats me!

Apple launches new versions of iLife, .Mac & Pages

Well Apple has kept busy (even given the launch of the iPhone) as they have recently announced new versions of iLife, .Mac and Pages.

iLife 08 updates all the applications that reside within and shows the power of Apple's partnership with Google thanks to integration with Google Adsense and Maps with iWeb 08.

Pages starts to take on Microsoft Office with a word processor and spreadsheet (numbers).

And .Mac gives you loads more storage - which lets face it we're all going to need if we use even half the new features in the above mentioned!

Apple sells 3 billion songs topping Amazon

Apple has just announced selling their 3 billionth song through iTunes. And while they're chucking numbers about - their library now offers 5 million songs, 550 TV shows and 500 movies. What's with all the 5's?

Oh and apparently they are no longer the 5th (again) largest music retailer in the US - they've just overtaken Amazon and Target to become the 3rd. I guess that makes them about a year away from becoming number 1!

Facebook - going, going, gone!

Who's gonna buy Facebook?

Given that today they announced hiring Youtube's CFO who joined them right before they got bought buy Google - you've gotta ask yourself who's gonna snap up Facebook?

Well its between Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Yahoo gets the prize for the most desperate. Microsoft the most confused and Google the most powerful. So, if its cash their after Facebook will go with Microsoft. If its partnership/merger status then Yahoo and if its sheer cool and stock WOW its gonna be Google.

My money's on Google.

Major iPhone bug!

Do not try sending a Youtube video by email in your iPhone.

It'll crash, freeze and do nothing else (including powering off or syncing) until the battery is discharged.

Bug or what?

Come on guys. I can't even make a call...

Emergency? Yeah.

Apple launching a Nano size iPhone

It looks like Apple is planning a follow up cellphone to the iPhone (which is a marvel of form and function) based on the iPod Nano. Apparently it'll cost around $300 and offer more limited functionality than the iPhone.

Will it be called the iPhone Nano?

Apple sure are serious about the mobile space. Mind you, given how well the iPhone is selling - so they should!

Day 6 with my iPhone - I'm hooked!

I realize now that after using my iPhone for 3 days I'm hooked. Early connections stresses and strains are slowly fading from my newly organized ego.

Actually this is the device I have been waiting for for 20 years. I'm not that old! I was interviewed on prime time British TV in the early 1990's (it's a long story) and I pronounced the future of the 'digital diary' (well it sounded good then).

A device that effortlessly takes care of your life, wife and strife all from the inside of your over-tight denim pocket. Organizer meets diary, Filofax, calculator and one day even phone. And since those early days a stream of digital organizers, PDA's and then Smartphones tried and failed.

And I should know for my great, great... grandpa invented the worlds first ever commercial diary. Then I ran one of the leading Smartphone software companies etc etc. (Obviously before becoming the professional photographer that I am today).

So now I feel like I have finally arrived - or at least my pocket organizer nirvana has. Welcome iPhone - good job Apple.

Why? Find out in the upcoming days... And I even have my portfolio in my pocket (photography not stocks dozo!).

4 Million iPhones sold on Friday!

Given that I broke the records for time with AT&T customer care over the weekend they handed me the following scoop this morning.

Apple shipped 6 Million iPhones to Apple and AT&T stores on Friday and 4 Million were sold.

Yep, 4 Million! On Friday alone.

Day 3 with my iPhone

After another hour on the phone bounced between AT&T and Apple I decided to stuff trying to set up a family plan and went ahead and registered my phone as an individual account and separate line.

Bingo, I'm provisioned. 3 days later and no family plan.

Now I have to talk to AT&T yet again to convert my new line to a family plan. AAAH!

Pray for me...