So I am going to try and post a weekly wrap up on what is going on in the world of mobile computing. Here is issue #1:
Openmoko FreeRunner looking good for early July release
from Engadget Mobile by
Unless you're very, very special, you haven't yet had an opportunity to run your hands over Openmoko's latest open-source creation, the FreeRunner, which was announced several months back with the hope of a spring release. Unlike the Neo1973 before it, the FreeRunner's said to be chock full of enough spit and polish to take on an audience larger than the original's hardcore developer base, and while a springtime date with destiny is now out of reach, it looks like they'll only miss the mark by a few days. A recent message from Openmoko's VP of marketing on the community listserv said that the retail phones should be packed and shipped by tomorrow and -- if all goes well, of course -- should clear customs by the first of July, meaning buyers should be able to get them delivered in the first week or two of the month. If they'd been able to squeeze in 3G, we'd hardly be able to contain ourselves, but even as it is, we suspect there's enough buzz to get units sold; let's just hope they're already hard at work on version three.
iPhone apps won't be bigger than 2GB or cost more than a grand
from Engadget Mobile by We were really counting on heading straight to the bank with our $1,500, 3-gigabyte... uh, "application" on the App Store next month, but Apple just went and threw a wet blanket on those meticulously thought-out plans of ours. Current intel suggests that Apple intends to allow developers to charge between 99 cents and $999.99 for programs sold through its portal -- those that aren't offered for free, anyway -- in tiered increments depending on the price range. No single app will be allowed to exceed 2GB in size, though it's not clear whether that's for technical or business reasons; at any rate, the sheer torture of attempting to download and install anything close to that size over WiFi will be giving us nightmares for weeks to come. AppleInsider points out that the limitation could put the kibosh on business apps that rely on large integrated data sets to function, so we guess that means you'll just have to play more Super Monkey Ball in their stead. Shucks!
Android Handset’s Could Be Delayed Until 2009
from Google Android News Android Forums
According to a report published in the Wall Street Journal, many Android manufacturers are expected to delay the launch of their Android powered devices - in some cases into 2009.
Citing a number of anonymous sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said that T-Mobile expects to deliver an Android-powered phone in the fourth period, while Sprint Nextel won’t be able to launch such a device this year. China Mobile will also likely have its Android launch delayed until late this year or early 2009.Google had previously stated in November that the first of the Android powered phones would be made available by the second half of 2008.
Microsoft to Acquire Mobicomp: Watch for These Cool Mobile Features
Written by Marshall Kirkpatrick
Microsoft announced this morning that it plans to acquire Portugese mobile application company Mobicomp, makers of some very cool mobile tools that we're excited to get our hands on. Microsoft watchdogs Liveside saw the news first and have a good description of the Mobicomp offerings, which we'll discuss below.
One thing's for sure, though - the iPhone is not the only mobile game in town. We continue to see things that Windows Mobile phones can do that iPhones cannot and we expect that to continue after the launch of the iPhone app store. Check out what Mobicomp offers, presumably a feature set that will be included in all Windows Mobile phones in the future.
Android And Symbian Force LiMo And LiPS Merger
from Google Android News Android Forums
In an effort to stem growing competition from the likes of Android and Symbian, the LiMo Foundation and LiPS Forum members have joined forces in their battle for marketshare.The LiMo Foundation announced on Thursday that they will be merging with LiPS (Linux Phone Standards) in July, it is hoped by both that this merger will help to create a stronger entity for pushing mobile Linux.
LiPS Forum president Haila Wang had this to say:
“LiPS Forum is proud of our standardization efforts, development activities and other achievements of the last three years.” Wang then added “Our membership agrees that LiPS’s greatest impact can be realized by adding our members’ expertise and resources to LiMo Foundation. Together, the member companies can better strive for a unified and ubiquitous Linux-based mobile platform.”
The LiMo Foundation are expected to beat Android in getting their handsets to market, with the first wave expected within a few months.
New Google search results pages for BlackBerry users
Thursday, June 26, 2008 4:35 PM | Posted by Rob Stacey
Two weeks ago we updated our mobile homepage in the US so that it would load more quickly. Today, we're releasing in the US a number of improvements to our mobile search results pages for BlackBerry browsers. These new improvements are designed to help you find the information you want more easily.
- Improved comprehensiveness: Our mobile search now incorporates results from Product Search, Blog Search, News archives search, and more.
- Blended results: Instead of showing you web, image, local and news results in separate sections, we now combine them to improve relevance. We've also made it easier for you to focus your search on any one of these categories -- notice how the links are now placed at the top of the results page.
- Longer snippets: Web results include longer snippets so that your answer may be right on the results page.
- Related searches: At the bottom of the search results page, you'll find a list of related searches to help you refine a query.
