Another Dell Laptop Explodes!

Holy cow! I own one of these Dell models and take a look at the photos.

Yahoo Staking Out Mobile Territory

Yahoo may not have maps with live traffic on cell phones yet, but that doesn’t mean they are any less agressive than Google on the mobile front. Yahoo has reached an agreement with Motorola to put Yahoo Go for Mobile on Motorola cell phones. Yahoo has already done a similar deal with Nokia. Yahoo Go gives customers a suite of Yahoo services as an application pre-installed on certain cell phones. This gives Yahoo some awesome exposure in the cell phone space as Nokia and Motorola and the #1 and #2 cell phone makers in the world.

Google Maps With Live Traffic On Cell Phones

I don’t think we’re there yet, but maybe the cell phone will become the true ultra mobile computer some day. Google has announced today Google Maps for cell phones and with the very nice feature of providing live traffic information. I still like Yahoo maps better, but Yahoo has no mobile component yet. Score one for Google.

More Hints Of Apple Phone

Apple Computer CFO made some tasty comments about cell phones and music. It’s getting everyone hot and bothered again about the Apple cell phone people have been expecting. I think the Apple Phone is for real but I’m not sure what impact it will have. The primary thing I always want my cell phone for is calling so the question is what is the most valuable second feature. Music? PDA functions? GPS? I guess the answer is different for everyone. Personally I look for the PDA features, which I why I am waiting for the Treo 700P when it comes out for Cingular. But of you are a music freak, maybe the Apple Cell Phone will be a dream come true. I would rather have a separate iPod that had widescreen video playback. To each his own.  Good luck Apple. The cell phone market is crowded and tough.

Cell Phone Mini Movies – A New Trend

Cingular has announced a deal with HBO to provide a mobile mini-series based on the HBO show Entourage. Similar mobile mini shows are being done for the hit Fox show 24 as well as a mobile mini series for ABC’s Lost. Cell phones are too small to be viewing full length tv shows or movies, not to mention the bandwidth required. But short mini shows that extend the brand of a product or existing tv show is perfect. Unfortunately, to get the Entourage mini show you have to signup for the Cingular media plan and a second charge for its HBO premium service. The data plan you would have to have anyway, but that additional HBO charge I don’t think will fly with many people. I certainly would not sign up for it. That kind of extra charging will cause people to take that video and put it on YouTube and other video sharing services. That’s not legal, but when people feel they are being overcharged, they will do this kind of thing. These video shorts should be viewed as a promotional tool to get people into the show. Then they will sign up for HBO for their cable service. Cingular wins by getting more people to sign up for the data service. There is just no need for that extra charge. Get your greedy hands out of my wallet!

More Details on Microsoft Portable Music Player

News from Engadgt on the Microsoft Music Player. The unit will come with wi-fi and a social network. Sounds pretty cool. But here’s the really interesting part:

To attract current iPod users Microsoft is going to let you download for free any songs you’ve already bought from the iTunes Music Store. They’ll actually scan iTunes for purchased tracks and then automatically add those to your account. Microsoft will still have to pay the rights-holders for the songs, but they believe it’ll be worth it to acquire converts to their new player.

Wow, now that’s a bold play, if it turns out to be true. I love the fact that this will put pressure on Apple and I can’t wait to see how they will respond.

Nick Jr Gets It Too

In the continuing television revolution, Nickelodeon's Nick Jr network is utilizing the net and cell phones to distribute content including short character segments. Again, props to Nick Jr, it's great to see a major cable network embrace new media. I'm not sure how many preschoolers have cell phones to get this stuff, but I guess they are counting on mom or dad.

Disney Launches Family Mobile Service

As an example of just how far mobile technology has pushed into our lives, Disney announced the availability of it's mobile phones and service in the US. These phones have GPS built in specifically for tracking your kids and knowing where they are. There also also other family friendly features like restricting the phone to certain hours and numbers that can be dialed. 

It's not the first mobile phone designed for kids. My daughter has the Firefly phone for example. But these phone are the most sophisticated and feature packed however. I am not sure if this is going to work, however. First of all, family plans start at $159.99 for two phones and go up from there. That's much more expensive than similar family shared minuets plans from Cingular or Sprint. Also, the phones themselves are fine, but not as cool as other phones popular with teens today. And what cool teen would be caught dead with a Disney phone. It works well for kids 7-10 or so, but much older than that and they won't want to use it. Maybe 7-10 is a big enough market. Or maybe they can come up with a cooler teen phone.

At first I thought the GPS capability was a little too much but if a kid was kidnapped and the bad guy did not see or realize the phone had GPS, that could be a great way to track them down. That alone might sell people on that higher service price.

MLB and Sling Media Disagree on Mobile Content

Major Leauge Baseball is not happy with streaming media products like the Sling Box from Sling Media. This great piece of technology lets you view content from your set top box or Tivo from any connected computer anywhere in the world, including certain mobile devices. MLB says this is hurting local cable companies who have paid for the rights to broadcast local games. According to MLB, you are only supposed to be able to watch baseball from where ever you are. If I am on a trip to New York, I have to watch whatever the New York cable company is serving up. I can't watch my recorded game from Los Angeles. 

This is yet another example of a large corporation just not getting it. I am so sorry your business model has been blown to bits by technology, but you're not alone and you had better get used to it. Technology will not be constrained to meet your outdated business needs. You must change, and fast, to technology. You must find a way to take advantage of the new world order rather than trying to preserve what you have. Your boat has a gigantic hole in it, stop bailing and get yourself a new boat.  

Monster Laptops Doomed To Fail

I am not buying the latest trend from PC manufacturers trying to sell big, heavy laptop computers. These so-called portable computers are larger than ever, some sporting 20 inch screens. They are also heavier and start at around $2,700. PC makers are trying to bill these machines as desktop replacements, but who wants to carry around a desktop. That's not really the point of mobile computing. This is a bad idea and is doomed to fail.