Android-Based iPod Competitor Wanted

Android-Based iPod Competitor Wanted

I have noticed a trend in the market consisting of people telling me they are waiting for an Android-based iPod competitor which works with WiFi and has a microphone. While many contemplate the Google business model for their new Nexus One phone I can tell you that sales of this device without GSM connectivity are likely to be strong.

The obvious question I have asked people looking for such a device is - well, why not buy an iPod. In some cases the lack of multitasking is the issue. In others it's the lack of microphone or the dislike of a closed app store which is controlled by Apple.

To me this shows that the iPod Touch will likely have to have a camera and microphone going forward or Cupertino risks losing marketshare. And perhaps the company will even begin to allow multitasking if we continue to ask politely.

When I told some people that they can take a Barnes and Noble Nook and convert it into an open Android Tablet they seem very excited about the idea.

Ironically these same people don't seem to want an Android-powered laptop - preferring a Microsoft OS.

Google does not need help taking over the world but if they are smart, they will consider getting an iPod competitor on the market and do so quickly. Apple for its part is no slouch and they realize the challenge ahead.

Apple's superiority comes in part from their App Store which is powered by the largest mobile developer community in the world. Ironically, the company continues to really piss off these same developers who continue to complain to me about the arcane rules and regulations which keep programs from being approved.

The logical thing for Apple to do is to continue to loosen up App Store restrictions. I sense more and more people are seeing Google as a serious enough alternative to Apple's products for them to consider evolving.

One final note worth sharing is the PDA market was effectively slain by the smartphone. This is coming from the Chairman of a show called Planet PDA. Moreover the iPod Touch is the PDA of today and the Android-powered tablet effectively becomes the PDA of the new decade.

Palm execs once told me the PDA is not where the action is -- it is the smartphone market that they need to be in. Sortly thereafter they purchased Treo. It is so interesting to see that both markets seem to be doing very well but Palm is not a major player in either. While Palm was laser focused on competing with RIM, Apple introduced a pocket-sized media player which eventually allowed them to take away Palm's existing and future smartphone business.

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Source:Android-Based iPod Competitor Wanted

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How To Set Up Your Voice Mail on the iPhone

How To Set Up Your Voice Mail on the iPhone

Have you just bought a new iPhone and are having a hard time getting the voice mail set up? You may have spent hours on the phone with customer service and gotten nowhere. Here, you will find the help you need to get your voice mail set up easily.

The first thing is not to put the SIM card from your old phone into your iPhone. Everything else will work but you voice mail and visual mail will likely not work. If you go to an AT&T store, you can get a new SIM put in your phone and help with getting everything from your old SIM card transferred to it.

Now you are ready for the next step. Call customer service at AT&T (the exclusive iPhone service provider in the US) and tell the representative that you need to setup voice mail. Be sure to tell him or her to check to make sure the forwarding feature to forward calls to your voice mail is turned on. This is something that is often overlooked by customer service representatives. Once this is done, you are ready to actually setup voice mail.

Before you begin, it is a good idea to know what password you want to use. Might write down what you want to record as your outgoing message, too. Doing this will save time and make the process to setup voice mail go smoother.

Your password should be between 6 and 15 characters. Make sure it is something you can remember but others will find impossible to guess. Now you tap the voice mail icon on your iPhone. You will be asked to create a password at this point. Enter the password you have created and then you will be asked to record a greeting. You will have the option of using a default iPhone voice mail greeting that will include your phone number or you can record your own. You can change your greeting at any time by tapping voice mail, greeting, custom and then record. Do not forget to save your greeting once you are satisfied with it.

Students at Penn state who subscribe to Penn iPhone can log in to My iPhone and setup voice mail for their iPhones. PennKey authentication will be required. Once on the home page, look for Features and Voice Mail and go to that page. Here, you will put in the password you have created. You can change this password at any time by logging in on My iPhone or through the voice mail icon on your phone. After you have entered your password, re-enter it is the field, Confirm Password. After up press the submit button, your account will be updated to include it.

To record your greeting, press the 'messages' button, it will be to the right of the keypad. Press '0' to bring up the mailbox options. From there, you will be prompted to choose the type of greeting you want, such as busy, unavailable and name. Then you will get a prompt from the system to record your greeting. When you are finished, choose accept, listen and, if you desire, re-record. When you are satisfied with your greeting, press * or # to go back to the menu or exit.

Learn about other iPhone features by checking out our website. You can also download your free iPod report while you are there.

Source: How To Set Up Your Voice Mail on the iPhone

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Affordable Nokia 5235 Arrives

Affordable Nokia 5235 Arrives

Soon after the announcement of the Nokia 5230, it's time now to welcome another Music oriented phone from Nokia. Say hello to the just introduced Nokia 5235. Note that the 5230 was not an XpressMusic branded phone, neither is this one. However, it does come with the "Comes With Music" service loaded.

The 5235 is being marketed as a "Comes With Music" phone - which means the device will come preloaded with quite a few free audio tracks and will come with a 12 or 18 month subscription for Nokia's Comes with Music service - all for free. This service allows users to access Nokia's Music library and download tracks for free. The phone is similar to the 5230 and boasts of a decent spec sheet that should keep most users happy.

The phone features a 3.2-inch resistive touchscreen that displays the Symbian S6- V5 standard resolution of 360*640, 3G connectivity and full GPS support with Ovi Maps. Being a music oriented device, there is a very much needed 3.5mm jack provided as well. The camera is not a very impressive 2-megapixel unit. The phone supports memory expansion with microSD cards and can take upto 16GB of external memory. A 1320mAH battery should provide enough power to last 33 hours of continuous music playback.

The 5235 is expected to be out by the first quarter of 2010 and will retail at around 145 Euros (Rs. 10,000).

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India has Almost 500 mln Mobile Users

India has Almost 500 mln Mobile Users

The ever swelling number of wireless connections in India will cross the 500 million mark sometime this later this (or by early next year) month, as The Times of India reports. With the country inching towards crossing the 500 million mark once an unthinkable number, India has reaffirmed its place as the country with the second largest number of mobile phone users in the world, right behind China.

Note that the figure of 500 million is for the number of mobile subscribers only. The overall number of connections (including that of fixed line) has already crossed a staggering 550 million in the country. The teledensity in the country has reached a very respectable 45 percent. In urban centres, it is almost 97 percent. The rural teledensity is still low at just 18 percent. India was at 488.40 million (wireless) subscribers at the end of October 2009 and the current projections are calculated guesses taking into account the rate of growth observed for the past few months.

While it's a rosy picture on the wireless front, the wireline sector is facing a continuous drop in the number of users. It is down to 37.25 million now. India's broadband penetration too stands embarrassingly low with just 7.5 million people having access to broadband Internet! Bandwidth IS a major issue in India, it seems! It is remarkable that India continuous to grow at amazing rates even though the telephony sector has been in a mess for the past few years owing to licensing, spectrum allotment and all other controversies.
Source: Techtree.com

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