AT&T again proves to be less than innovative.
I swapped to AT&T when I wanted to jump into the iPhone craze and at the time they were a much better option than Verizon Wireless in my area. AT&T just announced they are getting rid of the unlimited data option for mobiles. This is a step backwards in my humble opinion. Give people freedom (or unlimited data) and then say, “Ha… just kidding. No unlimited data for you.”
I’m not terribly upset by the data limit considering I’m going to be paying $5 less per month for 2 GB of data. Especially since I usually use between 500-1000MB per month.
What really irks me, is that they are charging an additional $20 per month for tether option! This is absurd! Its the same bandwidth no matter how you split it and they want to make me spend an additional $20 per month for it. I would really like to be able to take my iPad or netbook anywhere and be able to connect via the Nexus One or iPhone. This is really a sign of a company who is less than innovative!
Just my $0.02
Photo Credit: LiuToa
I really wasn’t keeping track of the D8 conference until I saw @Jason (Jason Calacanis) wrote,
“Steve Jobs just gave mad shout out to yelp and apps. Says apps are future, and that requires mobile ads–not banners. #d8.“
MY PREDICTION… The App Model won’t exist in 3 years!!! Yes, I’m saying that the brilliant creator of the iPhone is wrong. Count it… one… two… three years. This isn’t a stab at Apple’s iTunes (as I previous have… see: Apple’s CEO Entered an Insanity Plea as the Reason for Banning Flash on the iPhone), its not a shot at Google’s Android Market… I simply think that mobile web applications are the future, not these platform dependent apps, the nasty ego contests, especially the one with fascist curating habits from certain company that is named after a red fruit.
Please don’t be confused. I’m not jumping on the HTML5 bandwagon. HTML5 is not the Holy Grail, as so many buzzword-loving tech reporters are saying it will be! As a matter of fact, its not even complete yet and won’t be for another couple of years. It is still my belief that HTML5 will have its place for a few unique uses, but it can’t and won’t replace full RIA frameworks such as Flash, Flex, Silverlight, VB, PHP, etc…
I think the future lies within mobile web applications that run extremely fast, that contains high interactive, media-rich content that looks sexy on whatever screen size, and it will built on highly optimized JavaScript, CSS, HTML & your server-side language of choice (mine just happens to be PHP).
If you are considering an Native App (iPhone or Android) project, go for it! Now its a very hot trend, just don’t be shocked if you see a shift coming in the near future.
Fresh off the digital press (or PDF)… download your copy of Flash & Flex Developer Magazine for FREE!!! Also, check out my Special Report section introducing Adobe’s AIR for Android!
Don’t forget, the AIR for Android beta is now OPEN to developers.
Just stumbled across this on Mashable: Flash Enthusiast Sends a Hidden Message To Steve Jobs
Mat Bisher came up with this clever way to send his message and as a Flash Platform Developer myself, I find this absolutely hysterical!
Keep up the good work Mat!
Day 1, the big news was the Chrome Web App Store.
Day 2, it was all about the little green dude… Android! The Android OS seems to have finally matured past the point of playing catch up with Apple’s iPhone and now seems to be setting its own agenda.
Android 2.2 (FroYo) Developer’s Note:
- Speed – faster VM & JIT compiler 2x-5x faster apps
- Enterprise – 20 new features including Exchange support
- Data Backup API
- Cloud-to-Device Messaging API
- Tethering and wireless hotspot
- A better Browser:
- V8 video.
- The Android browsers dusted the iPad browser hands down in decoding JavaScript.
- Eventually web apps will be able to access the device hardware such as the camera & accelerometer.
- Flash Player 10.1 support within the Browser.
- Android Market – Search can search within apps and removable storage.
- Apps on SD.
- Application can be set to auto-update.
- A stack trace reporting feature for developers to better help with debugging.
- Android Market account tied to devices.
- Devices will be able to download application OTA (Over-The-Air) directly from your computer.
- Music is now purchasable on the Android Market!
- Non-DRMed music purchased on iTunes will be able to play on your Android device.
- AdSense for Mobile Ads – Google’s counter Apple’s iAds I’m sure. Expandable ad formats within apps which can use maps and the click-to-call feature.
CNET’s Stephen Shankland: “Basically, Google is working to reproduce iTunes abilities with just a browser, no iTunes.“
Google TV: TV meets web. Web meets TV.
Imagine your computer, mobile phone and TV viewing experiences all being blurred together. This is exactly what Google is doing! Its a fact a large quantity of people spend hours of time watching YouTube on their computers and mobiles, now imagine watching that on your 1080p HD TV. Lets take it one step further, how about watching that YouTube clip and then sharing it with your buddy from your TV. Its no longer a dream, its coming later this year (Fall 2010) to a BestBuy near you.
What you need to know about Google TV:
- Running the Android OS + Chrome Browser
- Will be integrated with with Sony TVs that are coming out.
- Will be available as a standalone box (thanks to Logitech) and will work with your current TV. Will require a keyboard & pointing device.
- Better searchability of the program you like.
- More interactivity with your favorite programs.
- Allows your to record future episodes of your favorite shows and ties directly to Amazon Video so you can purchase previous episodes.
- Access to Android Apps! You will be able to login to your Android Market account, buy an app on your phone or computer & have it automatically downloaded to your Google TV.
- You can watch YouTube directly on your Google TV.
- Will be able to interact with Facebook, Pandora, Flickr, etc…
- NOTE: your Android phone can be used as a remote control.
- You will be able to login to your Android Market account, buy an app & have it automatically to your Google TV.
- Watch & listen to your podcasts directly on you Google TV. Podcast via Google Listen (http://listen.googlelabs.com/).
- Notably: the NBA.com has create a Google TV site that allows for more interactivity while you consume sport. This is the future!
Google TV Developer’s Note:
- Developers will be able to build both Android apps as well as Web apps and access them on Google TV.
- Google TV currently runs on Android 2.1 & has the Google Chrome browser & Flash Player 10.1.
- The SDK will be released early 2011.
- Best part… its all OPEN SOURCE! This will happen late 2011.
Adobe AIR for Android Developer’s Note: its nice having a little green guy and Google as friends!
- You can develop Android apps using AIR for Android which is now in beta (developer access only). SIGN UP HERE!
- As a Flash Developer, you can develop Flash Apps and content (720p & 1080p videos) for Google TV. READ MORE HERE…
- AIR for Android will work on Google TV eventually. Top priority is optimizing AIR for Android on mobiles.
- General tips for designing websites to work on Google TV
I’m sure if this is not what Hugh intended, but it sure it applicable to traditional newspaper and media companies as well.
Today, Adobe has launched an advertising campaign, “We HEART Choice” to counter Steve Jobs’ missive, “Thoughts on Flash”.
Lets first take a look at “The Truth about Flash“…
Adobe really did a nice, concise job with this counter in the way they addressed all of the issues: touch, video, performance, security, & openness.
Read the entire article “The Truth about Flash“…
The Co-Founders of Adobe wrote a nice letter about the internet and openness…
They really have a fabulous point…
“If the web fragments into closed systems, if companies put content and applications behind walls, some indeed may thrive — but their success will come at the expense of the very creativity and innovation that has made the Internet a revolutionary force.”
Read the entire letter “Our thoughts on open markets“…
Future of Flash…
Flash is not only available on the computer, but shortly it will available on Android mobiles & tablets and TVs as well. I’m a part of both beta testing for AIR for Android and Flash Player 10.1 for Android and its really exciting to see a mobile device handle Flash & Adobe AIR apps so well!
Check out a few exciting videos about FP 10.1 & AIR for Android:
There is no unified way to update the Android OS & users are getting frustrated with these carrier-customized Android Operation Systems. Version 2.1 was released officially January 12, 2010 and Sprint still doesn’t have their act together. I know Verizon had similar issues when they were trying to update the Droid.
http://phandroid.com/2010/05/07/sprint-hoped-youd-get-your-2-1-update-by-now-but-youll-have-to-wait-longer/
With Android OS v2.2 (Froyo) more than likely being released this summer, there may be a number of Android users may have just received the v2.1 updates or not at all. If this does in fact happen, this will generate a good deal of negative buzz about this new, kickass alternative to the iPhone.
I think this is probably going to be the largest issue with people adopting to Android when they compare it to iPhone. Granted I’m sure Google will do these updates in a timely fashion for my Google Nexus One, but Sprint & Verizon are falling way behind.
This is where Apple does have the upper hand and its a serious selling point.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m really digging Android. I took my SIM out of my iPhone and I’m using the Nexus One daily. Its kickass! I stated everything above as just a heads up into possible future issues.
QUESTION: Should Google intervene? If so, what are their options?
I was just surprised to see when I was downloading the latest edition of Flash & Flex Developer Magazine, that the Special Report I wrote became the title of this month’s edition: The Flash on iPhone War
