I think it’d be a good idea and it would interesting to see how far i go every day and how many calories i’m burning through. Of course the application would have to be running at all times which could crush battery life, but still, it’s a great idea.
An Ottawa paper suggested it and i love the idea.
Granted, i haven’t seen it in person or used it, but i watched the Macworld speech by Steve Jobs about it and let me tell you – the phone looks incredible. The phone looks awesome but more than that, it is over-delivering. Again, Apple is taking everyone’s expectations, throwing them out the window and giving us something that we didn’t even dream about. There were months of speculation and NONE of them were even close to this. It was never a question of whether or not mobile phones would replace iPods, but rather a question of when. Apple knew this and made the most rockin’ mobile phone one could imagine. Here’s what it’s got….
Some other specifics: $499 (4GB) or $599 (8GB) avaialble in June with 2 commitment from Cingular.
I just read this on CNN that Emeritus Airlines will allows people to talk on their cell phones throughout a flight. I think this is great although it would be pretty annoying when you’re trying to sleep and the person next to you is fighting with their mom.
I saw the annoucement last week (and news stories) of the new AOL CEO, Randy Falco, and got to wondering, if I’m in charge of running AOL which is now in the business of monetizing traffic to AOL.com and other pages, how would i do it? A few thoughts came to mind….
First, i would buy the best, more user-friendly and one of hte most popular social networks around – Facebook. With facebook, you not only get a great social network, but you also get one of the best photo-sharing applications on the internet. Then i would merge it with AIM, change all AIM-pages to be facebook pages, and place the mini-feed on every users home AOL.com page. That would drive traffic. Granted, it would take a long time to get everything on the same platform (calendar, aim, mail, etc.) but facebook’s interface and features are much, much better than AOL’s. Everyone’s speculating about Yahoo buying facebook, why not AOL? AOL has just as much cash and just enough desire to monetize their traffic. It’s almost as if everyone assumes AOL is dying and isn’t going to invest in their future.
Buy Meebo
AIM is one of the most precious assets AOL has and it is being threatened by Meebo. I would buy it immediately and make all meebo-me widgets become AIM widgets and place them all over the web and inside the recently purchased AOL-facebook pages.
Streaming Music Locker
Subscription streaming. AOL should abandon the WMA format and go for only streaming. In an iPod world, the only way to play is to make your server compatible with iTunes and that means abandoning DRM and/or simply abandoning any local download. A service like last.fm + mp3tunes would go a long way.
Video
Go all-flash as DRM instead of Windows Media so mac users can play. Have it all hosted so you can access anywhere and watch anywhere.
Mail
Build, Buy or do whatever it takes to do a SERIOUS upgrade to your mail application. Mail is the largest driver of ad inventory and if you’re service is completely ad-based, this should be your #1 priority. It’s been over 2 years since Gmail launched, you would think someone at AOL would have noticed how to please mail users. Where is unlimited storage, where are ajax-features to reduce latency, where? AOL mail is by far the worst webmail application on the internet. It needs to be fixed.
Voice
AOL bought 3 voice companies between 2000 and 2003: eVoice, Quack, and another one from Canada (i’m forgetting the name). AOL made serious investment in voicemail, voice recognition and other voice services. From what i can tell, all that has been completely abandoned. I would restart this effort and do more click-to-talk services, similar to Google’s. However, all of AOL’s services are tied into mail and AIM making them more attractive. For instance, it would be easy to do click-to-talk and then save to mp3 which would be put into your music streaming locker.
These are just a few of the things i’d do. What do you all think? I think Randy’s in for a tough job and i’m not bullish on AOL’s chances. I think the most successful internet companies are run by those who understand the technology and can see the trends coming. Google embraces technology and let’s it unlock new opportunities and i don’t see somewhat who’s entire background is in TV and TV ad-sales pushing AOL into new models and opportunities. That’s just my initial reaction. Then again, Terry Semel’s done a good job at Yahoo, so who knows.
This is the guy that Apple sued because he always get it right. So this is probably the real deal:
Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch
By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor
September 26, 2006 – Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US’ largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple’s forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple’s iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release.
As previously reported, Apple’s phone will feature a candy-bar design with a 2.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera. Robust iTunes and iSync support will also be delivered with the phone.
Apple’s exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an exclusive on the Motorola ROKR—the first phone to feature iTunes—when it launched last year.
Sources say Apple is in talks with providers in other parts of the world on exclusive deals, but are short on specifics. O2 had the exclusive on the ROKR in Europe, however, suggesting that provider may again be tapped to launch Apple’s phone.
Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola’s RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple’s iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them.
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0609cingulariphone.html
I’m a huge cell phone fan. I probably buy 2 new phones a year. But at the same time, i’m very picky. I need the interface to be easy to use but yet powerful. I like to text a lot and keep LOTS of addresses. I actually bought a Razr earlier this year and then abandoned it for my old T-Mobile Blackberry. The Motorola software was archaic and slow.
Nevertheless, i came across 3 new phones coming out soon that got me excited:
Motorola KRZR
Following months of unofficial photos and leaked info, the Motorola KRZR has finally been announced to be release in the fall this year. The KRZR will be Motorola’s new flagship phone, sporting a design that’s narrower and sleeker than the RAZR. The phone combines a metallic gloss finish, magnesium, and polished chrome and hardened glass, (available in both GSM and CDMA). It features a 2-megapixel camera (sweet), stereo Bluetooth audio, an updated phone directory, new messaging applications, expandable memory up to 1GB, and integrated music players (no iTunes, though). The word on the street is also that the CDMA version has touch-sensitive music controls, advanced EVDO data services, and location-based services capabilities.
Motorola RIZR
This phone is badass. Formerly known as the Capri, the first Motorola GSM slider is here: Motorola RIZR . It is GMS, a two megapixel camera, 20MB of internal memory (expandable w/ microSD), USB 2.0, stereo Bluetooth, and silhouette that matches the Motorola KRZR (above). Perhaps most importantly though (for me), it also sports Moto’s new phone book software, replacing the archaic (read: super-duper sucky) version in the current RAZR. This phone looks awesome and could be the thing that leads me back to Motorola.
Wi-Fi Phone For Skype
I’m a big Skype user. We use it for business every day to call Romania and Slovenia. But it’s also easy to use to call anyone in the US. With this new phone i’ll probably get rid of my Vonage, get this phone and just use my internet
connection in my home for everything. This phone (Wi-Fi Phone for Skype) will cost about $180 and will be out Aug. 31. You can make free calls to anyone using the Skype. I could use it in my house or take it with me and connect to any wi-fi area allowing me to access your Skype account. All US incoming and outgoing calls are free to any phone.