MobileViews Blog

Author: todd

  • Will the Amazon Kindle DX Abandon Sprint’s WhisperNet for Pure WiFi Connectivity?

    s_t_vz_090505
    Chart courtesy of Yahoo Finance

    Larry Dignan’s ZDNet item…

    The big Kindle: Pondering Wi-Fi; Netbooks; Market implications

    …got me wondering about two things…

    1. Will Amazon abandon the Sprint 3G wireless network powered WhisperNet for the Kindle DX and, perhaps, the successor to the Kindle 2 (assuming the Kindle 2 and DX are separate models for different market segments)? None of the big U.S. telecom providers have been doing well. But, as you can see in the dramatic two-year stock chart above comparing Sprint (S), AT&T (T), and Verizon (VZ), Sprint has appeared to have fared far worse than AT&T or Verzion in the past two years based on their stock share price performance. Could Amazon be preparing for a Sprint meltdown by moving away from WhisperNet to pure WiFi access?

    2. I’ve always assumed (but have not verified) that part of the Kindle 2’s and ebooks’ relatively high costs were due to a percentage payout to Sprint for the “lifetime” wireless 3G data access. Would dropping Sprint 3G data service allow Amazon to keep the Kindle DX price down? And, if a 3G-less Kindle 3 emerges, could it be priced closer to the magic $200 price-point?

    I guess we’ll know more after Amazon’s press event tommorow.

  • Can a Big Screen Kindle Save Local Newspapers?

    There’s a lot of speculation that Amazon’s press conference scheduled for this Wednesday will be used to introduce a big screen version of the Kindle ebook reader…

    New Amazon Device Debuts Wednesday (All Things Digital)

    The Big Screen Kindle Hail Mary To Newspapers Will Fall Incomplete (TechCrunch)

    TechnCrunch’s MG Siegler seems especially pessimistic about a large screen Kindle in general. He points out that the current Kindle 2 is overpriced (something that has held me back from buying one given my current book reading habits and pace) and that a larger Kindle would be too inconvenient to carry (I was thinking the same thing after reading the initial flurry of announcements).

    But, here’s a thought: What if Amazon prices the new large screen Kindle at $369 (the Kindle 2’s current price) and pushes the Kindle 2 price down to $199. Personally, I don’t think this is realistic given that the Kindle 2 just came out itself. But the Kindle 2 at $199 might convince fence sitters like me to buy one. And, it might even save local newspapers from going under if (and this is a big “if”) local papers can sell the Kindle 2 as part of their subscription and if (another big “if”) local newspapers can go truly hyperlocal (including advertisements and e-coupon technology).

    I would switch my subscription to an electronic one if my local papers moved to a good (keyword “good”) e-format (their current ones are ok, but not good). I’m not sure what pet owners who depend on newspapers would do if they went 100% e-newspaper though. Perhaps, newspapers could keep printing the Sunday editions for pet owners? 🙂

  • Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor Rank Orders Smartphone Platforms After Apple Rejects iPhone App Update

    Engadget summarized commentary from NIN’s forums and found NIN’s own Trent Reznor essentially rank ordering smartphone platforms with a brief commentary on each one.

    Trent Reznor rips Apple, rates smartphone OSes

    End result, despite the app battle with Apple, he still thinks the iPhone is the number one platform.

    1. Apple iPhone
    2. Google Android
    3. RIM BlackBerry
    4. Microsoft Windows Mobile

  • Windows 7 Release Candidate Boot to Login Screen Time on a Netbook (video)

    Like Windows 7 Beta, Windows 7 Release Candidate took just under 35 seconds to boot from a cold start to the login screen.

  • Turn on WiFi LED on Aspire One Running Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix

    Here’s a handy pointer that is a comment to a UNR blog item I wrote over on MobileContentToday…

    You can fix the led issue by installing the linux-backports-modules-jaunty package and restarting.

    Originally posted as a comment by heggied on mediabistro.com: MobileContentToday using Disqus.

  • Podcast 24: Conversation w/Nokia’s Ira Frimere and Joseph Gallo

    I spoke with Nokia’s Ira Frimere (Portfolio Manager for North America) and Joseph Gallo (Communications Specialist) about Nokia smartphones (what else?) in this podcast. ZDNet/NokiaExpert.com’s Matt Miller was scheduled to join us but was unable to because of technical issues.