"Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies Opportunity." - Albert Einstein

Skype tells Windows 7 talk to the hand?

Posted: May 14th, 2010 | Author: Charles West | Filed under: Mobile, Tech Stuff | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Apparently, Skype is set to give Windows 7 the cold shoulder with their upcoming platform and is instead focusing its efforts on the iPhone, Symbian, and Android OS. Skype removed its Windows Mobile version due to the product’s less than stellar UI and poor user experience.

But we can’t really be surprised Microsoft is that old man that hangs out in young crowds in efforts to try to rekindle its long lost sense of cool, sad but true. Although I believe eventually Skype will rejoin the Windows 7 platform this abrupt disconnect from Skype isn’t a good look for them.

TTH’s Spin on HP Buying Palm

Posted: April 29th, 2010 | Author: Charles West | Filed under: Just A Thought, Mobile, Tech Stuff | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

First and foremost: Tip your hat to the board of Palm for making a business savvy move that will atleast sooth the fears of shareholders and consumers of their products (phones). But as a good buddy of mine said  @Rizzotees – “I think the surrender by Palm is a smart move” and I would have to agree.

What’s The Deal?

Palm has been in and out of the grave for some years now but they seem to always show some resiliency avoiding death and demise. They exhibited this when PDA’s played out and Treo and Handspring came in to momentarily fill the void for businesses abroad of course until Blackberry began kicking their asses. Then of course Palm’s savior was supposed to be their highly touted mobile operating system called WebOS. Although respected by many (if you read most popular tech sites or forums) WebOS hasn’t quite panned out like Palm had hoped in efforts of resurrecting the company.

So, in months of speculation far as who will eventually step up to buy Palm, HP announced on April 28, 2010 that they’re acquiring the struggling phone company for somewhere from $1.2 billion or $1.4 billion. The deal is expected to close by July 31, the end of HP’s third fiscal quarter.

This deal would allow HP to become a major player in the smartphone business and everybody who knows tech knows Palm has lots of patents that wouldn’t effect them in a potential Apple or Microsoft lawsuit over patents like what HTC is currently experiencing.

The Foreseeable Future

HP will benefit in all of their markets they are currently aggressive in such as:

  • Phones
  • Computers
  • Tablets

Let’s face it HP hasn’t been able to hack it in the mobile phone business, but with the acquisition of Palm this will allow them to come out the gate with a pre-made, well-respected mobile division into their company and display it in future handsets. Hardware was an issue for Palm with users, but with HP it will no longer be like Brian Barrett and John Herrman said at Gizmodo “Imagine a webOS phone with WVGA resolution; with a Snapdragon processor; with a genuinely responsive interface. That’s what we’re talking about here. Forget the Pre Plus—it’s time to start waiting for the Pre II”.

This purchase also benefits HP’s TouchSmart line because with their aggressiveness with touch screen technology they could surely use or incorporate WebOS’s clever tricks into their sometimes dull software.

By in large most techies out there expect for this purchase to really improve HP’s upcoming tablet products. I believe the tablet will be the wild card for HP in them becoming a true player in this market. Just think they don’t need to license software from the likes of Microsoft or Google anymore they can go straight exclusive with their tablet products much like what Apple does with their products, maybe a game changer, hell I might buy if the product is right!

In The End

I believe this was a good purchase for HP whether they capitalize on the opportunity in becoming real playa’ playa’s or just blow it all by being way over their heads. I must say though, as an Android fan (I own a Moto Cliq for the record) I am a little disappointed Google seemingly didn’t take a look at the purchasing of Palm. I mean just think Google could have really helped their Android OS by purchasing Palm for it’s patents and sleek interface design to integrate into their software improving the downfalls of Android OS, but I guess they didn’t feel the need to have those assets.

Although I feel this was overall great for HP and us the consumer it is still meant to be seen if this will have any wings for being a success. Until then our eyes are open and so will our pockets if HP can get it right.