BostonPocketPC

Each year we try and make some predictions on what will be the hottest technology at CES. There are a lot of electronics introduced each year that don’t make it to the store shelves until around the September time, others are soon right after CES, and others fail to make it out of the gate. Most technology has been around for a while, but it takes a while for it to gain market acceptance and become a consumer electronic staple. Last year it was the year of the GPS. For the year 2009 I think this will be the year of the mini-notebook.

Mini Notebook

Many of us have been using them for years, but now consumers have found their value as well as price range very acceptable for a portable machine on the go that allows for email, web browsing and occasional document creation and viewing via presentation. This what most consumers want and have been desiring for a while and manufacturers are now starting to listen like Acer,Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Other manufacturers like Fujitsu and Toshiba have been doing this for years, but they weren’t affordable(under $500) and came a high cost premium for miniature computing. People will see these not as main PCs, but more like companion PCs for travel and occasional computing that they can’t do on handheld devices and smartphones. Small screen-size is what people desiring portability want. The sweetspot of screen size varies from user to user some like 9-inch display for ultra-portability and others like a 12-inch screen for portability and a comfortable viewing size for extended periods.

Other innovations will be in the computing space that we will see more on both the desktop and notebook computers.

USB 3.0

It has been a while since this technology was mentioned and USB 2.0 just seems to have taken hold as the standard interface for data with devices leaving IEEE 1394 aka Firewire on only a few video cameras, which are a rare find even today. USB 3.0 is set to multiple the 480Mb/s (peak) of USB 2.0 a tenfold.It does this by adding 5 new lines (two for receiving data, two for sending data and an additional ground) on a new plane to USB 2.0’s existing 4 lines so it will still be backwards compatible. Hopefully we will see more support for devices and computers this year, but I wouldn’t hold my breath until late 2009.

Display Port

Some newer laptops are shipping with this new connector that is smaller than your standard 15-pin VGA connector and beefier DVI connector making for a smaller footprint in laptops, video cards and built-in video display. However, monitors will also need to accept that connector, which are currently rare and in-between. If anything people will be purchasing adapters to go with their Display Port enabled computers.

OLED

Hopefully this will be the year that we will be seeing the long-waited clearer image and energy savings of OLED displays will hopefully hit mass production in laptop and desktop displays. We are still waiting for OLED to hit televisions as well that are larger than a total foot diagonally.

802.11n

Will this version of WiFi ever settle on their standards. Hopefully the draft standards will become standard. Personally it works well with what devices I have that utilize the n standard and it would be nice to see it become standard will all new computers.

WiMAX

WiMAX is finally coming and some people have been using it small areas with companies like Clearwire delivering it into select markets in the country. This technology has been around quite a few years and I think it will start to reach consumer acceptance, much like 3G has with phone and cellular data modems with the help from Intel and Sprint with their new Sprint 4G network.

Blu Ray Disc

Well the format war is over, but Blu Ray still hasn’t won the hearts of the consumer’s wallet, DVD sales are still strong and many people are waiting for player prices to drop as well as the Blu Ray Media Price like DVDs did, which I have noticed is happening – DVD prices are going up and BRD prices are dropping. BD Live is some cool technology and we are seeing players coming equipped with a network connection to get you a little more out of your HD media with new content updated frequently. LG even released a player that supports NetFlix HD streaming, like TiVo and Xbox 360’s. Currently BRD should be making moves a bit faster than DVD did with online distribution services of HD content winning consumer’s dollars faster due to ease of use and price point. Digital copies does help, but for Home Theater enthusiasts storing and distributing it is still a huge hurdle. Also its about time they now have BRD with THX certification, well one Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls. Hopefully we will also see more titles that move beyond the aged 5.1 surround sound and move to at least 7.1 or heaven forbid 9.1 and TrueHD for sound that is normalized and is heard like it should be heard as the director intended it to be.

Green and Energy Star

I have been asking many manufacturers about this for years and it looks like last year it started to become a great marketing and good for the environment move by many companies as well as many new laws and regulations setup by other parts of the world. More electronics will be green and Energy Star compliant, but I would like to see some products own up to the actual carbon footprint left behind in the manufacturing process and disposal of the device. Its crazy to think that the carbon foot print of a Toyota Prius battery tray which is made from material in Canada, that is shipped for processing in Europe, then shipped to China for final product manufacture of the batteries and then shipped to Japan is larger than two Land Rover Discoveries. People looking to be energy conscious isn’t just at the plug-end, but also the whole cradle to grave existence of the device. It would be nice if a new standard was developed to show this. At least more manufacturers are moving toward this.

LED Lights

Well this isn’t big on the tech side of things, but reinventing the light bulb has been a topic of conversation for many years since Edison. Newer replacement LED bulbs yet have to reach the same lumens output as current Halogens, but they don’t cost as much to operate as well and don’t waste energy in the form of heat. I am hoping this year more LED based lighting options are available in 2009 from leaders like Philips, Sylvania, and GE that are also affordable for the average consumer that will reach the similar light output of current bulbs they are replacing.

Software

How come no one really talks about this at CES? In the current economic client we will see companies and VC cutting back funding for new hardware and focusing on software and services for their new products. More products are now interfacing with existing online services making devices more connected. Microsoft and Google should be meeting with partners and resellers and selling and informing resellers what to expect in the coming months.

Again this year I don’t think any huge announcements made in the CE space, but many soft launches of some newer technology as evolutionary, not revolutionary from current electronics, still its enough to make me say “Gimme” and feed my Technolust. Still I can’t wait for CES to begin, I am as giddy as a child during the holidays. I can’t wait…

On the heels of friend Chris Leckness' post at MobilitySite regarding recent iPhone issues (Chris, BTW, references another great article by Matt Miller on the same subject), I thought I might chime in with some observations made through all of the recent events.

What has transpired with regards to the iPhone, and MobileMe over the past weeks has, in my opinion, been very uncharacteristic for Apple as an organization. Let's face it - like it or not, Apple may understand the concept of "user experience" better than any software or hardware vendor in history. I regularly reference Apple as the standard-bearer for insuring that any given user experience is complete, well-defined and thoroughly tested before public consumption. It is this mindset that plays a large part in Apple's brand loyalty. The iPhone 2.0/MobileMe issues seem to fly directly in the face of these very principles.

I sincerely believe many of the issues related to the iPhone were avoidable if not for another aspect of Apple corporate culture; unbridled secrecy. Most are familiar with Apple's zealous approach to "keeping things under wraps" until product launch. Few are ever given access to Apple development in its earlier stages, and are sworn to eternal secrecy if they are. While this approach works well in scenarios where the number and diversity of testers are not critical to true validation of the product, it can be the "kiss of death" in scenarios where diversity and number of testers makes all the difference in the world. Keeping that in mind, let's look at some of the issues and how a limited testing group can be a major factor -

• Cellular signal strength/quality issues. While we all often laugh at the Verizon "Can you hear me now?" guy, there is an important principle here. Anyone who works in or around the cellular industry or is tied to a mobile phone while traveling extensively can tell you - what works in one area doesn't necessarily work in another area. The more geographically diverse a testing base, the better the gauging of a cellular radio stack. And no, you can't cover every square foot of North America, Europe and all of the places which have access to the iPhone, but a large testing group is statistically going to be better than a small one. Remember also that with varying geography comes varying carriers and varying cellular networks. Again - the more diversity, the better.
  
  Some recent finger-pointing in all of this is now blaming the radio chipset as the culprit. Even if so, more extensive testing results in more reported issues which results in identifying the culprit - before product launch. Whatever or whomever the final cause is regarding this issue, the bottom line is that a primary user experience with a cellular phone - using the cellular radio - has been far from desirable for many users.
  
• Third-Party application issues. there have been any number of issues reported with the running of third-party applications on the new iPhone. As Chris L. pointed out, many quickly blame the developers. If "bad code" is truly to blame, then so be it. However, with all of the restrictions placed by Apple in relation to third-party developers and the AppStore, a testing/certification process should catch the most flagrant issues. I cannot help but believe that Apple was either unprepared for a large number of applications being submitted or simply did not test the applications as thoroughly as they should have (if at all). What strikes me as most surprising in all of this is the fact that Apple gave a strong impression that a primary reason for the AppStore approval process was to ensure quality control was in place. That being said, a larger testing base may once again have facilitated any QA process.
  
• MobileMe. Honestly, I believe many of the issues here exemplify how any company can struggle when leaving their "comfort zone". While iTunes shows that Apple can managed large-scale connectivity and distribution models over the Internet, synchronization of thousands (if not millions) of computing devices is a far different beast (remember - MobileMe is not an iPhone or even Apple-exclusive technology). MobileMe likely should never have been launched until after the iPhone was launched, and then only in controlled testing modes to ensure reliability and scalability.

There have been other issues surrounding the iPhone floating around the Internet, but I think I'll stop here. The point that I am trying to make is that Apple appears to me to have drifted from what has always made it such a vastly popular company -

User experience took a back seat to a product launch date.

As someone who has worked with and for companies that take this approach to doing business on a regular basis, brand loyalty will only last as long as a new or cheaper competitor doesn't arrive on the scene. In Apple's case, recent events are an exception, not the rule. Moving forward, Apple can (and likely will) return to its tried and true ways. If not, "unApple-like" practices will really test the patience of what is arguably the most loyal customer base in technology history. In addition, people and companies new to Apple (iPhone and the enterprise, for example) are definitely being given an initially unfavorable impression of Apple. To these folks, there is no "unApple-like" thought process; there is only a "bad product launch" thought. Gaining trust with this market is probably going to be even rougher than first thought.

I believe that Apple will correct many of the issues around the iPhone and MobileMe. History proves they are responsive. What will be interesting to see, however, is whether or not Apple is willing to accept the fact that venturing into new businesses and technologies may require a change in corporate culture. In the case of the iPhone, third-party applications and MobileMe, that change may require steeping away from the isolated and limited world of product testing and moving towards more open and expansive testing programs. This would definitely be the most "unApple-like" thing that Apple could do, but likely would allow them to be most "Apple-like" in terms of customer satisfaction.

Last Month I received an extended battery from Mugen Power . This extended battery is 3000mAh compared to the standard 1350mAH that comes with the HTC Kaiser.

Top view comaprison battery and cover

What attracted me to this battery was not only to have more juice available to me, but also the nice looking battery cover that comes with it. The battery cover is not like any others where you have a bulging top or bottom on the device. No, this cover was straight from top to bottom. The cover has many features as the original cover has as well. The opening for the camera is in a chrome finish with an opening for the lens and a speaker like shield for the speaker.  The only thing I am missing is a clear lens cap that covers the hole for the camera. Now dust can get on my original lens easily and also into my device. The cover has a nice shiny black finish to it and also a WiFi and Bluetooth logo printed on it. If you use an external GPS antenna, you still can with removing the rubber cap also in this cover. Since that the cover is straight al over the device you will have some empty space under the cover where the battery is not located.

Original battery and cover compared with Mugen Power solution

Now the performance! They clearly make a statement that you have to use it to drain the battery as much as possible before recharging. You have to do this a couple of time to reach the maximum capacity.

In the first couple of days of using this battery it indeed didn’t give me the 3x more power as I had hoped for. However this started to increase dramatically after a couple of days. I have Emoze (Push E-mail) constantly running on my device and I use my phone heavenly many other ways in receiving data. Now instead of really only 8 hours of use, I can go to a trade show early in the morning and continue on to late in the evening without any worries.

Extended battery placed in device

This extended battery makes your device a little heavier and clunky, but for those long days I really need it. The unit still fits in the original holster but unfortunate it does not fit in my custom car holder due to the extra thickness all over the length of the device.

Device with the cover of the extended battery

Original height of the device

Recently I have upgraded my device with a new radio and the drain of my battery has dramatically been reduced. I am now able to go 2 full days with my original battery and almost a week with this extended battery from Mugen Power Batteries.

Mugen Power Batteries is your source for the extended battery of your device. Please check out their website and see their whole line up of extended batteries for most mobile devices.

Many thoughts are going through my mind after returning from the CES in Las Vegas. But as Steven Hughes here at BostonPocketPC is recapping the show in a few words that says it all.

"Evolutionary but not Revolutionary"

With many things to see nothing was that exciting that would give the vibes. A Lot of the technology out there was put towards new and good uses.

For example:
- Live HD radio captioned for the hearing impaired.
- Live video conferencing for the hearing impaired. Maybe next year they will probably be joining together and the hearing impaired will be able to conference with anyone in any way and it won't be a handicap anymore.

With the technology out there that we always wanted, this was the show where the applications using these technologies were able to catch up before a new technology will replace it and everyone can go back to the drawing board

The talk of the Internet yesterday was Apple's announcement of the new iPhone. I will leave the buzz to the rest of the Internet at this point (Gizmodo does have the official specs and press announcement in one place, if you're interested).

What amazed me out of all of the news and discussions regarding this new device was the "coronation" of the device as a complete success. It reminds me of a recent event...

For the past month and a half, I have followed the sports media and pundits here in the US as they essentially "crowned" a national champion in college football. Funny thing - the fact that a winner would be determined in an actual game on an actual football field on an actual game never seemed to get in the way of this coronation. By January 8th (the date of the actual game), many made it sound like the game was more of a nuisance and waste of time.

On Monday, January 8th, 2007, the Ohio State University Buckeyes actually played the University of Florida Gators for the national championship. Final score - Florida 41, OSU 14. By the way - OSU was the team that had been handed the championship by the press. The moral of the story - don't predict a winner until the game is played.

The iPhone has the potential to be a runaway hit. Notice the word potential here. I don't consider raw number of gross units sold to be the ultimate determination of success, either (more on why in a minute). To get there, however, the iPhone actually has to "play the game", and with it prove some things to me -

• From Apple's perspective, the iPhone is very new to them in a number of areas. Moving into new markets, using new technologies, targeting both new and old users. Apple is very good at overcoming all of these obstacles when everything else goes well. There is a lot in play, though, which leads to...
• The iPhone has a lot of "moving parts". New touch-screen technologies, accelerometer, cellular radio stacks, etc. Bringing this all together and making it work in mass-produced, heavily-used, real-world situations without failure is going to be a huge challenge. For those who think this is a "no-brainer" for Apple, simply look to all of the issues with the MacBook/MacBook Pro as proof of "nothing is full-proof".
  While sales of the Apple hardware have been good, customer dissatisfaction with issues and lack of response are way up. I do not ever recall a time when I have heard so many friends who are Apple loyalists frustrated and upset. If this starts to happen in the cellular space where the carriers are the front-line tech support, trust me - the carriers are going to get nasty pretty fast (anyone remember the T-Mobile/HP row with the 6300 series).
• Apple gets to play in the cellular space. Long-time Windows Mobile developers, enthusiasts and partners all know how challenging the cellular marketplace can be, especially here in the US. While being both the OS and device manufacturer (unlike Microsoft's model) can have some advantages for Apple, it can also prove to be a challenge for cellular providers who are keen on being in control. Success in the cellular space is not a given, nor is it instant. Apple needs to be prepared to not be the one running the show here. This is something that they have not had a good track record with recently, with iTunes and the various industries (music, TV, movie).
• The iPhone and price points for a phone. While this is not a major issue, Apple (and the public and press, for that matter) cannot compare sales of the iPhone to the iPod as a measure of success or failure. As far as phones are concerned, comparing these two is like comparing apples to oranges (I just *couldn't resist ). Nokia, SonyEricsson, Motorola and Microsoft have proven time and time again that making a phone "feature-rich" is not enough to justify high price-points. The true success of such devices has been the combination of manufacturers and cellular carriers subsidizing the cost of the device enough to make it reasonable. This means Apple working closely with the carriers (see point above). I do not see every iPod owner buying an iPhone, if for no other reason than the ability to actually pay for it at the current starting MSRP of $499. This is what hurt the SE P800 and early Pocket PC Phone Edition devices.

None of this means that Apple cannot be successful with the iPhone, folks. If one company has a track record for brand loyalty and making things happen, it's Apple. However, walking around telling the world that this is already a smash success without a unit hitting the streets is a bit premature. Just think about all of those sports journalists waking up on Tuesday, January 12, 2007 and thinking "How do I explain this?"  

Light the candles and sing the songs - BostonPocketPC.com turns 5 years old today! Our official launch was January 1, 2002. Where does the time go?

It really does not seem like it is 5 years already. In that time, we've seen so much happen in the world of mobility that I really cannot believe the timespans are so short. This really hit home for me earlier this year during a business trip. I went on a trip to Chicago for the first time in over 6 years. All of the "routines" regarding the trip (travel, hotel, office) were the same, but the use of mobile technology 0 totally different. Some examples -

• We used notebook computers, but connecting to the Internet was via dialup from a hotel or business. WiFi was still an "emerging technology".
• Hotspots? What are those?
• I had a cell phone, but it was used for - calling people. No e-mail, no Internet browsing.
• I had a PDA (a Palm V, to be more precise), but "content" was entirely via sync (unless you had high-end modems designed for the platform).

I found myself feeling strange doing "routine" things in an entirely different way. The trip did give me some perspective as to how far we've come, as well as where we continue to go.

When we started BostonPocketPC.com, there was so much of a world still in front of us. More manufacturers, more hardware types, more underlying technologies. We watched as Windows Mobile played "catch up" with Palm, then watched as Palm changed (time and Time again), and then watched as Palm and Microsoft became partners. We watched the introduction of the Smartphone platform, it's slow initial adoption, and it's rise to prominence and a mainstream staple in our lives.

"Mainstream" - maybe that is the greatest change we have watched unfold over these 5 years. I still remember the constant need to explain a Pocket PC device, and how it was *not* a Palm PDA. Now, it seems as though people tend to look at the hardware branding and are not as surprised when it is Windows Mobile "under the hood". With all this said, where do we go from here?

I see 2007 as another year of evolution for the Windows Mobile platform. For all of the complaining I hear from people at times about how the Windows Mobile platform "never changes or revolutionizes", I respond with "evolution eventually results in revolution". You have to take things into perspective and realize that change does not have to be massive and instantaneous to be effective. I think we will continue to see device manufacturers try to "think outside the box" in terms of industrial design. Some will be successful, while others will not. That is what happens when you experiment, right? I think we will continue to see improvements in performance (thanks to a new generation of Xscale processors and increases in onboard storage). In the end, all of this will lead to more consumer choice.

Consumers will also play a role in 2007, as I expect to see a continual increase in platform adoption. This will happen in two areas. As wireless carriers provide more and more choices for Windows Mobile devices, standard consumer purchases will continue to grow. Do not expect huge percentage increases, however, as price and complexity still keeps Smartphone adoption confined to a more "tech-savvy" demographic. The second area of adoption which may be more significant is in the enterprise. More and more Exchange Server-based organizations are discovering that the total cost of ownership for mobile messaging can be reduced by deploying Windows Mobile devices. Interestingly enough, the enterprise adoption curve may in the long term fuel overall adoption. Anyone remember why they started using Microsoft Office at home? For many, it was because it was their workplace standard.

In the more generalized world of mobility, 2007 will be yet another year of new products, platforms and technologies. The public launch of Microsoft Windows Vista is only days away, and Vista provides functionality oriented towards the mobile user. We will continue to see new products oriented towards mobility and travel - the Sling Media Slingbox's success in 2006 was (I believe) just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The use of the Internet as a content-distribution medium exploded this year, with major US and worldwide media organizations bringing programming to the Internet. Expect more of this in 2007, although the continual thorns-in-the-side that are DRM and IP debates will likely still affect the general public.

What about us at BostonPocketPC.com in 2007? Well, there will definitely be plenty to keep us busy in the coming year :) One of the things that has changed for us over time is that we have evolved much in the same way that the technology we cover has. Expect us to still be "up to our neck" in coverage of Windows Mobile-related topics. Also continue to expect us to cover the issues and technology around mobility that affect us all. I also hope that this year I can provide more coverage and exposure to those companies in the New England area that are using and/or producing solutions in the mobile arena. We have always tried to be close to our home community here at BostonPocketPC.com, and I am putting the call out to our local community - contact me if you have a story to tell the world.

I am still amazed at the diversity of readers to our site. We still receive visits from all around the globe, and I have received e-mails from citizens of countless countries over the years. I hope that 2007 keeps that history in place. Of course, none of this would be possible without the people that make up the BostonPocketPC.com team. It goes without saying that the dynamo that is Steve "fyiguy" Hughes has been the lifeblood here over the years. His knowledge, passion and willingness to share make him an invaluable asset to any community. There have also been so many others over the years who have helped make this a wonderful site. Here's to their continued involvement in 2007, as well as (hopefully) the addition of some new faces in the coming year.

I am looking forward to the coming year. I find myself with a renewed excitement and commitment to the Windows Mobile and mobility communities. I hope that you feel the same way, and that we will see much more of each other in the months to come.