Smartphones

[Bill Brasky]

I still haven't decided what to get.

I liked the Driod, but plans I looked at are expensive. I need to start looking around at plans again.


It looks like HP is trying to get into the business.  HP is going to acquire Palm.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/29/cnet.hp.palm/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Then they should meet head on at the door, because it looks like Palm will be going OUT of business.

HP is acquiring Palm for $1.2bn because they already have an existing mobile platform and all the necessary in-roads in development.  They're buying the browser, basically.  Palm is pretty well regarded in the tech aspect, they just made some shitty business decisions and suffered badly in the shadow of the iPhone, which isn't really all that buzzworthy anymore. 

I think HP would make a pretty decent phone or tablet, I like their products.   

I agree on all counts of that assessment.  My dad has been using Palm smart phones since they came out.  He didn't want to leave the Palm atmosphere until this month because it looks like Palm is behind the competitors due to bad business decisions.  He just got one of the Droid phones to replace his dated Treo.  I've always liked HP products too, so I'm sure they'll be able to turn Palm around and get them back on top.

On the business end, their most recent flub was a underperform on sales of units.  They projected a certain number for the past quarter and came in way, way under it.  So their share price got totally crushed on an exodus and the shorts piled on.  This spills over into the public eye as a holy fuck! moment, and gives them a really bad rep, the typical citizen will take one look at the chart and assume everything is falling to shit internally.  But its not, the tech side is what it always was - a quality product.  The Droid is attracting customers, iPhone is doing well, etc etc.  That doesn't mean their product is junk, it just means right now people are fascinated by new products that (deservedly so) are gaining popularity. 

I've never heard anything bad about Palm.  Its just that they're not really cool, and the younger customers with disposable income who change phones often are ignoring them, because they're considered a boring product. 

But, yeah.  HP wants to enter the mobile device arena, and its probably a good way to do it.  Its a proven product, all the bugs are worked out.  You can skin it to look like anything.  So why not?  Its probably better than designing from scratch and then damaging their reputation by putting out a buggy product.  They could have shit on the shelves in six months if they want, and catch the wave of popularity by offering a full range of devices under the HP brand.  Slam dunk. 

[ForumTroll]

I pay $70 a month with unlimited data and 450 minutes with Sprint on my Samsung Moment Google phone.

[Bill Brasky]

Thats a good deal. 

Hey, can you use any of these phones as a wireless hotspot, like your little Sprint doodad? 

[blackie]

Sometimes it's not wireless, and some plans charge more if you want to do that. Usually they call it tethering.

[ForumTroll]

Hey, can you use any of these phones as a wireless hotspot, like your little Sprint doodad?

Yeah, but it's a pain in the ass to do:

http://blog.7touchgroup.com/tag/make-android-wifi-hotspot/

The last option only supports connection to your computer via Bluetooth or USB cable. So you can't share it with others, but you can use it on its own.

[Bill Brasky]

BALLS!

[error]

After actually having used a Palm Pre, I can tell you that Palm really has gone downhill. I wouldn't subject anyone to one of those pieces of shit. Even the iPhail is better.

[Bill Brasky]

After actually having used a Palm Pre, I can tell you that Palm really has gone downhill. I wouldn't subject anyone to one of those pieces of shit. Even the iPhail is better.

These guys disagree.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/03/palm-pre-review-part-3-data-speeds-backup-battery-bluetooth/

[blackie]

But, yeah.  HP wants to enter the mobile device arena, and its probably a good way to do it.  Its a proven product, all the bugs are worked out.  You can skin it to look like anything.  So why not?  Its probably better than designing from scratch and then damaging their reputation by putting out a buggy product.  They could have shit on the shelves in six months if they want, and catch the wave of popularity by offering a full range of devices under the HP brand.  Slam dunk. 

HP has been trying to get into the smartphone market for a while, but they have always used Microsoft software, and never done well. HP has had the iPaq line of crap since the Compaq acquisition. I wonder if they will use the Palm brand for a while. HP is still using the Compaq brand for some consumer products, and that acquisition happened in 2002. I think it is probably a good move for HP. They really should have products and market share in that space. And HP needs the OS for the tablet crap.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/28/hp-were-doubling-down-on-webos-palm-that-was-the-whole-po?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_engadget

We just spoke with both Brian Humphries, HP's Senior VP of Strategy and Corporate Development, and Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, and came away with a pretty positive picture for the future of Palm. The money quote is that HP plans to be "doubling down on webOS," and that was confirmed in speaking with Palm's honcho, who says that "that was the whole point." Not only that, but we've confirmed on both ends that Jon will be staying on with the company, along with much of the existing Palm hierarchy. There are plenty of transition details to work out, but Jon says there will be lots of time for all that during regulatory and shareholder approval. The word is that Palm's existing hardware roadmap is basically untouched at this point by this acquisition, but the good news on the HP end of things is that the company sees webOS as a "prized asset," and they intend to "scale it across multiple connected devices." That sounds like tablets to us, and HP didn't beat back that assumption. On the Palm hardware end, Jon is very fond of saying "scale," referring to the money and manufacturing resources at HP's disposal, but he also says that he sees Palm working hand in hand with HP on devices. One point that both companies were less clear on was the Palm branding itself -- you know, whether Palm will stay Palm. Both Brian and Jon said those kinds of details would be worked out as the acquisition went forward, but offered no concrete comment on it otherwise.

Money-wise we asked if Jon thought HP could provide the sort of "ammunition" to beat Apple, Google, and Microsoft at their own mobile game, and Jon says "I don't think HP would do this unless they were willing to make the kind of investment necessary to win." HP calls webOS a "compelling operating system," but that Palm didn't have the money to compete and "scale it across multiple form factors," and that it's exactly HP's financial wherewithal, brand, and corporate culture that it brings to the table. HP and Palm won't comment specifically on the forthcoming device roadmap, but HP did confirm that it had tested the platform "to make sure it scales." They keep saying "scale," but all we're hearing is "tablet."

[Cognitive Dissident]

I have a Treo 700.  It's crap.  It's the best I can do with Sprint, though.

[The Green Bastard]

Thats a good deal.  

Hey, can you use any of these phones as a wireless hotspot, like your little Sprint doodad?  

This...

http://www.cradlepoint.com/products/ctr500-mobile-broadband-router

I am going to get one of these in the near future so I can play counterstrike while driving. It supports many brands of phones.

[ForumTroll]

Thats a good deal. 

Hey, can you use any of these phones as a wireless hotspot, like your little Sprint doodad? 

This...

http://www.cradlepoint.com/products/ctr500-mobile-broadband-router

I am going to get one of these in the near future so I can play counterstrike while driving. It supports many brands of phones.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobilebroadband/?page=products_mifi

[The Green Bastard]

Would you need a 2nd data plan with that verizon router?

I like the cradlepoint because I can just use my phone's data plan. Just picked up the CTR500 at best buy for $99 and am using it in the car right now to type this

These portable routers in combination with a flipcam or some other video camera that can save to a wifi SD card should be an activist's dream. Get a cheap hosting account on godaddy and set the SD card to save to your FTP site. Then connect the camera to the cradlepoint in your pocket and your videos will automatically save to the internets. No more worries about gang members stealing your cameras and deleting your video and porn.

[ForumTroll]

How exactly are you able to use it with your phones plan?

[The Green Bastard]

How exactly are you able to use it with your phones plan?

The cradlepoint has a USB port I just plug my blackberry in to the usb port and, VOILA...  Open the laptop up, connect to the cradlepoints access point and it uses the phone as the WAN link

There was no configuration nessecary. Just took the cradlepoint out of the box, plugged in the phone, my laptop associated with the cradlepoints AP and I was off and running on the internet. No extra monthly fees or nothing, just 99 bucks for the router and I now have wireless internet wherever I go


Look on the "supported devices" tab on the CTR500 page. It has a list of compatable phones you can use via USB.