Palm webOS, Palm Pre, App Catalog, Palm has managed to create a strong buzz at CES 2009 and seems back in business with a updated and complete range of products.

Wi-Fi, GPS, keyboard, connected applications, calendars and contacts, and so much more, Palm Pre has all the features expected in the product category created by Apple’s iPhone.

Palm webOS applications are easy to write using Mojo, a new application framework based on the HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript standards. WebOS applications are installed and run directly on the device and have access to a wide range of device services.

Last but not the least, Palm will provide an App Catalog, on-device application catalog to deliver your apps directly to users. No doubt App Catalog will grow rapidly.

More about Palm Pre on the Palm Pre product page.

Is the community of Palm lovers still strong enough for a real Palm revival?

Tags: CES 2009, Palm / Topics: mobile phone, mobile web

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At CES 2009, Blaupunkt and miRoamer have announced a partnership that will put internet radio into car dashboards for the first time.

Blaupunkt has put together two prototype devices, the Hamburg 600i for single-height dash configurations and the dual-height New Jersey 600i. The devices use the 3G phone’s Bluetooth connection to get online and access miRoamer’s thousands of internet radio stations. In addition to these stations, the devices can pull playlists put together and hosted online, pointing to MP3s and other music files found across the internet. Embedded 3G connectivity will probably be the next step…

Internet radio really looks more and more as the future of digital radio.

Tags: CES 2009, radio / Topics: Internet, automobile, mobile phone

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We’ve seen this initiated in the Iraqi war and in the recent attacks in Mumbai but in the on going conflict on the Gaza Strip, Web 2.0 methods are widely used to communicate as much as possible on each side. Two examples ; Israel demonstrates how precise Tsahal’s bombings are but posting videos on YouTube. On the other hand, AlJazeera has open an AJGaza twitter to communicate on-the-fly on the most recent events.

But in the end, does all this help to really understand the conflict, its reasons? Does it show the path to its possible solutions? I’m afraid not. More, it looks like a more and more common way to criminalize the conflict in order not to seek a solution. A strategy more and more encountered all around the world. Unfortunately, a war has never been won by lack of combatants.

It is just another illustration about the difference between information and communication. True independent journalism gets more and more difficult but biased information does not help solving issues. What is the solution? And how many innocent people will die before we have one?

A must read: Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press by Kristina Borjesson

Tags: twitter, YouTube / Topics: web 2.0

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Do you twitt?

A recent study provides some interesting insight of the State of the Twittersphere based on about 500,000 accounts tracked by Twitter Grader.

• Twitter has lots of newer and less active users
  • 70% of Twitter users joined in 2008
  • An estimated 5-10 thousand new accounts are opened per day
  • 35% of Twitter users have 10 or fewer followers
  • 9% of Twitter users follow no one at all
• There is a strong correlation between the number of followers you have and the number of people you follow.

Check out the whole study:

Twitter is currently a free and ad-free service but is now hiring a product manager to find a business model and revenus. Interested? Read their job description.

Tags: twitter / Topics: microblogging, social networks

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Here is the 2008 version of “Did you know?” now in video mode.

Topics: general, odd

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Wired launched its first free iPhone application “Reviews” available from the iPhone App Store. All their reviews on your iPhone; automobiles, camcorders, desktops, digital cameras, gaming gear, home audio & video, household, mobile phones, notebooks, portable media players, sports & outdoors and televisions… Just to make sure you will always be busy with your iPhone.

Features:

• Authoritative reviews from trusted Wired editors
• Latest, most innovative products
• Concise rating system cuts through the hype
• Search or browse 12 product categories
• Sort by product name, date, price and rating
• E-mail reviews to a friend

Unfortunately, there is some advertisement when you enter a category.

Download the application for free on the iPhone App Store.

Enjoy!

Tags: iPhone, Wired / Topics: magazines, mobile web

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Is Nokia willing to release the ultimate phone?

Nokia today unveiled its latest generation of its multimedia range of mobile phones, the feature packed Nokia N97.

The Nokia N97 is often presented as been a serious Apple iPhone killer. It supports up to 48 GB of storage, including 32 GB of on-board memory, expandable with a 16 GB microSD card for music, media and more. This is complemented by music capabilities, full support for the Nokia Music Store and continuous playback time of up to 1.5 days. The Nokia N97 also has a 5-Megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics, 16:9 and DVD quality video capture, and support for services like Share on Ovi for immediate sharing over HSDPA and WLAN.

The Nokia N97 is expected to begin shipping in the first half of 2009 at an estimated retail price of 550 € before taxes or subsidies.

“From the desktop to the laptop and now to your pocket, the Nokia N97 is the most powerful, multi-sensory mobile computer in existence.” But is the Apple iPhone really only a collection of features?

Read the Nokia press release.

Tags: iPhone, Nokia / Topics: mobile phone

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A Facebook group calls for a one day Facebook blackout on december 15th. This group has a quite strong momentum as it is reaching 900.000 members, 700.000 members planning to “attend”.

Why? A protest against the Facebook administrators: “Friends account deleted, limited in sending message or poking, stupid new layout”.

How many members will this group reach? Is a one day really relevant? Will this change any thing?

Probably not as it looks more as many other groups creating a short term buzz.

Tags: Facebook, facebook-blackout / Topics: social networks

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Seventy years ago, Orson Welles aired The War of the Worlds. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the Mercury Theatre on the Air series on October 30, 1938 and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network.

Directed and narrated by Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds.

The first two thirds of the 60-minute broadcast was presented as a series of simulated news bulletins, which suggested to many listeners that an actual Martian invasion was in progress.

Link:

• The War of the Worlds (wikipedia)

Tags: Orson Welles / Topics: general

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As the first Google Android phones hit the market, a new Google application finds its way to the iPhone: Google Earth.

Google Earth for the iPhone obviously packs the power of its parent application. But it also makes good us of all of the iPhone resources, the multipoint touch screen, the GPS positioning system, the motion capture, making it a very slick application. The navigation in a 3D environment is really impressive.

Make sure high bandwidth is available as Google Earth is as data savvy as it is in its desktop version.

Gmail, Google Maps, now Google Earth, the boundary between the iPhone and Android based phones gets thinner everyday. In the end, who is the winner if not Google?

Needless to mention that Google Earth is available free of charge from the AppStore.

Tags: Google, iPhone, smartphones / Topics: mobile phone, mobile web

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