What I was doing at 15..Rock N Roll baby!

I have been into music almost all of my life but unfortunately had to make the choice of music or computers to make a living and obviously I chose the later. I recently found some old tracks from the studio of the band I was in called "The Cockles". Before you ask yes that is me singing and guitar. Let me know what you think. Did I have a shot?
 

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Would you want a Nexus One with a keyboard?

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The rumor mills are full with the talk of a revision of the Nexus One coming out with a full qwerty keyboard. The rumor is this will be called the enterprise edition and could possibly be a world phone. Would you consider moving to or purchasing the Nexus One if it had a full qwerty? I wouldn't hesitate to jump ship and fast if this does indeed show the light of day.

Will Google own the smartphone market?

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In the end, Google and Android will own the smartphone market. It won’t happen this year and it may not even happen in 2012 but the day is coming when the de facto standard for smartphones.

Multiple manufacturers have reported that Android phones are on the way including up to five from Motorola this quarter and a number from Samsung this year. Google also has a number of handsets in for testing and should be rolling them out after the Nexus One.

While product in pipeline is also nice, I think the real value is in the software. At CES we saw Dell and Lenovo releasing Android phones running Android but without – and this is important – major Google branding or applications. This is, in the end, why Android will soon rule the roost: carriers can remove functions as it sees fit, thereby creating entirely new versions of the OS and UI for their own purposes.

The only problem? Google’s control of the OS pipeline. Various sources have complained that Google controls which OS version various manufacturers are allowed to use and the result is a segmented market with potentially fractured OS trees. However, in the end, the carriers and the manufacturers have control over the OS.

What’s going to happen to also-rans like Windows Mobile? I suspect manufacturers will roll mobile features into future desktop/laptop OSes, leading to a convergence of functionality for mobile Windows devices into Windows 7. Why have a dumbed down Windows Mobile when most devices are powerful enough to run a version of Windows 7? Microsoft is not out of the game, but as a mobile OS provider their days are numbered.

After reading the article by John Biggs over at MobileCrunch I couldn't help myself from posting a short follow up to get your opinions. Lets take a quick look at where Android is going and what I feel is the major problem for the rapidly growing mobile operating system.

As you know Android handsets are popping up left and right from manufacturers almost too fast to keep up with. This does prove that adoption levels are high and like John Biggs states, the Android market share is booming. So what is the problem you may be asking? The problem is that Android is facing major segmentation problems which are causing developers to struggle to keep up with making sure applications are compatible. Like Symbian and Windows Mobile, manufacturers are adding their own user interface look and feel, which I have no problem with. This does cause confusion with consumers but is not an underlying problem. The real problem is that applications are not working on all phones even though they could be running the very same version of Android.

Anytime a platform is tweaked to the point that it's core has fundamentally been changed and this breaks application compatibility there is a big problem. Nokia has had this problem for years and to this day is a very sore spot for many Symbian fans. When we buy a smartphone with a mobile OS we expect to be able to run any applications that were written for that mobile platform. We don't however expect to have to check to see if our phone model is on the "supported phone" list. When I refer to segmentation this is exactly what I mean. While I may be alone with this feeling I would love to hear what you have to say. Is this a problem at all or will Android continue to grow and take over the mobile industry as everybody seems to be forecasting?

The gates are open.

The apps begin to flow for the Nokia N900 with the Ovi store (beta)

If you are a Nokia N900 owner get ready to have even more applications readily available for your device through the Ovi store. The Ovi store is still in the beta stages but shows great promise and is a great step forward for the Maemo platform. With the Ovi store coming to more and more Nokia devices it is providing a consistent experience on loading applications to your devices. Consistency is an important thing because it allows users to move between devices and feel at home. Even more important is that it will create customer retention if the experience is a good one, creating a demand for future devices.

Have you tried the Ovi store on the N900 yet? If so what are you thoughts?

How much are you influenced by brand?

This morning I woke up to several conversations on Twitter going back and forth regarding the best of this and that. Clearly the word best is almost always associated with opinion and with that comes the understanding that opinions are that of the author which doesn't mean that best will be best for you. With that said I have to express "my" opinion on brand influence and what role it plays on making purchasing decisions.

Each of us tends to stick with brands we know and trust for the important things in our lives. For instance if you are a audio/video enthusiast the chances of you buying a non name brand item is slim to none. Being an enthusiast almost guarantees that you will have a brand you think is better than all of the others. The chances are that when that brand releases a new product you will upgrade to it before looking at the competition because you trust them and you feel they are superior to all other like products, even in some cases if this is the farthest from the truth.  What is it about brands that keep us going back for more? For me it's the consistency of quality and service provided by the brand.

I have brands I trust in each category of my entirely too many hobbies. While I openly admit to always keeping my eye out for those brands latest toys I feel that I am open to new and innovative products from anybody. As the saying goes "if you build it, they will come". How influenced are you by your brands?