storm

Tracking 10 Hurricane Stories Across the Web

Chris Dannen — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:32:59 -0400

It's hurricane season, and that means freakish weather even thousands of miles from the eye of a storm. Trace back the ripple effects of hurricanes, and you'll find a lot more than just rainy days. Just a few degrees away from Katrina and Jimena are stories about humanity: displacement, re-invention, evolution, art, and even bureaucracy. Here is one trail of Web breadcrumbs that has billowed in with the storms.

BlackBerry Storm 2 Photos Leak: Much the Same as Original?

Kit Eaton — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:15:51 -0400

Just a week or so after RIM's CEO confirmed that the company is working on a successor to its BlackBerry Storm, several images of the phone have leaked. It looks complete, one might say almost ready for launch, and borrows heavily from the original's design.

What Ever Happened To Garmin's NuviFone? [video]

Chris Dannen — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:58:12 -0500

It looked like it could be the ultimate iPhone-killer, but delay after delay has kept it from market. Some reports say it will be ready soon, while others suggest it's been abandoned all together. Will we ever see Garmin's [GRMN] nuvifone?

RIM's [RIMM] BlackBerry Storm, T-Mobile's [DT] G1 and other contenders have already taken their shot at dismounting the iPhone from its pedestal, but Garmin's nuvifone has always looked like the most disruptive of the group. It boasted an ultra-thin form factor, 3.5-inch display, and an easy-to-use touch OS (see a demo video below). It was plagued by none of the dumb gimmicks of other phones: folding keyboards, clicking screens, and so on.

The nuvifone seemed ready to ship as far back as January of 2008; back then it would have been an industry leader, with 3.5G connectivity, full GPS navigation and all the usual tricks: Internet, email, and text messaging.

Then July 2008 rolled around, and there was still no nuvifone. In a statement, Garmin said that it was taking longer than anticipated to fulfill some "carrier-specific requirements," and that the company was working to resolve the problems.

It's nearly 2009, and Garmin has said that it will finally launch the nuvifone in the first half of next year. But Garmin has also recently joined Google's [GOOG] Open Handset Alliance, spurring speculation that it will release an Android phone next year. The original nuvifone, which is now purportedly being released on AT&T's network, pre-dated Android; it ran a Linux-based operating system all its own. Does this mean that Garmin scrapped the original nuvifone OS and switched to Android? Or will it release the nuvifone as is, and then make it obsolete a few months later by shipping an Android edition?

According to several reports, Garmin has claimed that the nuvifone it will release next year won't be an Android device, but that seems hard to believe. The existing nuvifone OS is a proprietary platform with no third-party software ready -- meaning that even if it's a great device, the nuvifone will already have a handicap against devices backed by the BlackBerry, Android and iTunes application stores. Sure, it might have map-based GPS to boast about, meaning it won't need a cell signal to give you directions. But that's about it. It'll flop.

And the few people who buy the first nuvifone will be mighty pissed if Garmin later releases a nuvifone based on the Android platform, which can load up all the Android apps. Only Apple [AAPL] has the gumption to do that kind of thing to their customers.

So what's more likely? Garmin might be taking a page from Apple, but not the screw-the-customer one. It's flatly denying a product that is very much under development. It's a PR move only Steve Jobs could love.

The nuvifone, when it is released next quarter, will probably be Android-based but look like the nuvifone of yore, with Garmin's own proprietary interface. Garmin can't openly say that the nuvifone has jumped to the Android platform, because if it does, everyone will assume it means more delays for a product that already seems near-mythical. That would hurt the company's stock price as well as its credibility. As it stands, there probably isn't a firm deadline for release, so setting one in public would be nothing more than a Microsoftian move of self-flagellation.

Whenever we do see the nuvifone, it will have the power of the Android marketplace behind it, along with the same smaller-than-iPhone body and big-screen beauty. Oh, and it won't have any of the stupidities that hamstring the iPhone: the inability to multitask, or the stupid SDK regulations that prevent things like software-driven maps. For once, Apple might meet its match in the mobile marketplace, if Garmin can ever get it out the door.

Sprint's Golden Hour Cometh

Chris Dannen — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:03:54 -0500

AT&T [ATT] and Verizon [VZ] are today's behemoths in the mobile service provider marketplace. But with its fast network, forward-thinking technology, and value-oriented plans, the next decade of cell users could all belong to the number-three carrier -- Sprint [S].

ChaCha's Mobile Text Search on AT&T One-Ups Google's

Chris Dannen — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:01:57 -0500

AT&T [T] announced on Wednesday that it would partner with human-powered search engine ChaCha, whose natural-language search application has found its niche among text-message users. The two companies will engage in cross-promotion, but no other technological initiatives have been announced.

Tech Watch: Who's Afraid of the Touchscreen BlackBerry?

Chris Dannen — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:30:05 -0500

On Thursday, RIM and Verizon announced the details of their forthcoming touchscreen BlackBerry 9530, dubbed the Storm. Before getting into its feature-set and specs, here's the straight dope: it'll cost you $200 from Verizon when you sign up for a two-year voice and data plan, and it'll be available nationwide on November 21.

Big News From BlackBerry

Chris Dannen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:17:42 -0400

Today we have the privilege of recognzing two signifcant achievements for RIM [RIMM], the maker of BlackBerry devices. Both are long in coming, much-needed, and potentially dangerous for companies trying to dominate the touchscreen device market (Apple [AAPL] and Google [GOOG], take note).

Nokia Planning More Touchscreen Phones?

Chris Dannen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:34:31 -0400

Consumers that checked out a Nokia [NOK] podcast on its new S60 Symbian operating system this week might have noticed that it featured press photos of an as-yet-announced touchscreen device. On the heels of the release of the Finnish company’s first true finger-operable touchscreen phone, the Tube, this news might suggest that Nokia is investing more R&D in the touch format, and perhaps looking into a combination touch/clamshell form factor like the one seen in the press photos.

Whoa! Touchscreen BlackBerry Leaked

Chris Dannen — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:22:06 -0400

Technophiles have been making a big to-do about RIM's [TSE:RIM] forthcoming BlackBerry Storm, the first touchscreen 'Berry and potential Apple [NASDAQ:AAPL] iPhone 3G challenger. Speculation has run rampant, as it usually does with breakthrough product development, with a whole range of rumors: some sources have leaked that the phone's development has hit ineluctable roadblocks, while others claim the device's progress is cruising smoothly toward its planned date of release. Whatever the truth is, it's perhaps best told in pictures -- and today, that's exactly what we've gotten.

Touchscreen BlackBerry "Storm" Progressing Well

Chris Dannen — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:59:19 -0400

The COMcast ic forecast -- chance of storms

Carter Smith — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:23:44 -0400