Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Ultralight Computer or Heavy SmartPhone?


The lines are merging between today's ultra-light computers and some SmartPhones. Sony Ericsson introduces their beautiful new Xperia SmartPhone at a price of $800 USD with no subsidies available from any carrier.
The Symbian operating system has not proven as popular as developers had hoped with the main players BlackBerry and Windows Mobile holding their own. Newcomer, Apple has also eaten up a big chunk of the pie that once belonged almost exclusively to BB and WM.
Meanwhile Sony Ericsson and giant Nokia, stumble along trying to crack the North American market for SmartPhone PDA's. There's no logic to their lack of sales as their devices are top-notch in every category. The Symbian OS is mature and stable but they just can't seem to get the carriers on side, to support sales with subsription incentives (subsidies).
There are some great choices out there among ultra-light computers that with the addition of an "Internet stick", give users their entire desktop, anywhere they go. The real factor that seems to determine who prefers what device for which activity is user input. Until voice recognition enters the mobile space, keyboards either virtual or physical are going to remain the input mode of choice. Leaving consumers...with an ever increasing variety in choices.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Canadians check your data plan rate!

Our readers in Canada should be aware that data rates are changing dramatically. You can't blame them, but you'll need to reach out to your wireless carrier to learn about the newest data plan rates.

Not only are rates dropping like a stone off a cliff, but the amount of data allowed is also increasing exponentially! My own plan with Rogers went from $90 a month for 250 minutes of voice and 25 MB of data...to 550 minutes of voice and 1 GB of data...for only $70 a month.

Telus just announced an "unlimited personal email, text and web" plan for only $30 per month.

No more overages in data will save you a fortune. When's the last time you checked on updating your wireless data plan?