Announcements coming: stay tuned

It’s always fun waiting for tech events because you never know just what fun device companies will roll out with. Well, you’re never positive. People were speculating for months and predicting before Apple’s January 27 event that a tablet computer would be revealed; but no one knew for sure. They were all right, but they could have been wrong.

I bring this up because Apple will have another event on April 8. This time there is no speculation needed since the invite clearly states “Get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS.” So the new iPhone will be revealed. There are rumors about the specifics of the phone, like multitasking.

Just a few days after the Apple event, Microsoft will hold its own event on April 12. The mystery was quickly cracked and sources are all reporting that Microsoft will reveal new phones, which are social-networking centric and will be on Verizon. The real iPhone competitor is the Windows Phone 7, but this event doesn’t deal with them because they aren’t expected until later in the year.

These events are fun, but what I’d like to see is a company that can really keep a lid on what’s going on at its events. Imagine if the Apple event revealed something no one speculating Apple to talk about. What if the media show up at the event and Steve Jobs says, ‘yes, the iPhone will be available on Verizon.’ Everyone would go crazy.

The fun is sometimes in not knowing.

More iPhone rumors with no hard facts

People love rumors and gossip. Even though the newspapers are honestly supposed to stay away from rumors and conjecture, the Wall Street Journal must feel strongly enough that its anonymous sources are trustworthy enough for the major story the Journal ran.

Of course, I’m alluding to the supposed iPhone that goes into production at the end of the year and will be released for Verizon. The one catch is that no one is officially talking: Verizon, Apple, the Taiwanese manufacturer of iPhones and the company that will allegedly be making the Verizon iPhone have all declined to comment on the matter. AT&T is talking, but it’s the equivalent to a “no comment.”

Still, it’s not just the Journal buying into iPhone-Verizon fervor, there are plenty of others reporting as well. The idea is that Apple is making an iPhone for CDMA networks, aka the network that Verizon (and a few others) are on. The current iPhone is a GSM network because that’s what AT&T is on.

Never fear, AT&T will still have the iPhone. In fact, there is supposed to be a new one coming out this summer — the same time a new one has been released for the last three years. But partnering with Verizon just makes more sense for Apple. The network is better and far larger, with at least 6 million more wireless customers, according to Reuters.

Just the mere speculation had Verizon’s and Apple’s shares rising while AT&T’s dropped.

I think it’s a great move, and not just because I’m a Verizon customer. The fact of the matter is that AT&T drops far more calls and can’t handle so many iPhones. Now, Verizon can also take some of the burden and that might even lead to AT&T having a more reliable network.

What slipped between the cracks, 3/22 to 3/28

I unfortunately missed two weeks of the weekly round-up, but, luckily, this week there was some really interesting stories to sink your teeth into.

The future of Sprint is a different type of billing. With people using phones for more than just making calls, the company believes it makes more sense to bill based on amount of data used and not minutes.

By the end of 2010 one-third of the U.S. will be covered by Verizon’s LTE network. Another projection Verizon made is that its 4G coverage will be at least equal to its 3G covered by 2013. Sure, that’s not exactly any time soon, but the company also assured customers that while it expands 4G coverage, it will also continue working on expanding 3G coverage.

AT&T was also busy this week with an announcement on the roll out of its 3G MicroCell. Basically, if you are on AT&T and are sick of it’s dropped calls and shoddy coverage, you plunk down $150 for what amounts to a mini-tower and coverage for up to 10 AT&T phones, while in range (5,000 square feet), is better.

Google had an interesting bug to fix when some of its corporate site was in Chinese. Some immediately assumed that the site had been hacked because of Google’s recent issues with China, but the company denied that and said the issue was a bug, not a hack.

Google's site resulting from a bug.

Want an iPad? You’re definitely not alone. Even if people don’t know the exact figures of pre-sales, one thing is for sure: there were enough that any new orders placed wouldn’t be received until the second week, April 12. Also, in-store pick up isn’t an option any more.

Now that my semester is half over, I’ll (hopefully) be a bit more regular with updates.

The phone market gets smarter

Although the majority of Americans still have regular “feature” cell phones (i.e. not a smartphone), Nielsen Wire is reporting that the number of smartphone users is growing so much so that by the end of 2011, half of the country will be smartphone users.

This probably isn’t a surprise to anyone. Smartphones are a newer a better technology and the longer it’s around, the more people are going to buy. What Nielsen doesn’t report on is how many smartphones are being made. After all, 21 percent have smartphones right now compared to 14 percent a year earlier. But how many more different types of smartphones are available now as compared to a year ago?

Not only is quantity contributing to the ever-increasing rise of smartphone users, but price is a huge factor. I’m a Verizon customer (thus, no iPhone for me), and if I’m going to buy a smartphone I can get the Samsung Omnia from as low as $9.99. The Droid Eris is $79.99 and the BlackBerry Storm 2 is $99.99. Overall there are 14 Verizon phones for under $100 (all of these prices include two-year contracts).

My next phone (when I get the money for it)

And other carriers aren’t skimping on smartphones for under $100: Sprint and AT&T both have nine each. The more inexpensive smartphones get, the more people who are going to buy them. The option is basically buying a smartphone for, say, $49.99 where you have the option of downloading apps and browsing the Web, or spending the same amount of money and not being able to do that.

Yes, smartphones do cost more per month. That’s where they get people. I’ve seen it happen to myself and my friends. What happens is that you get hooked on using those extra features.

While smartphone growth has been steadily increasing, Nielsen is showing that the country is getting hooked on smartphones. It’s expected that the amount of smartphone users will start growing more rapidly.

By 2012 there will be more smartphone in the market than feature phones.

The phone company worth $0

Things aren’t looking too good for Palm. Things are looking so grim, that two analysts have actually lowered the target price for Palm’s shares to $0. Ouch. The problem with Palm is that major carriers, like Verizon, just can’t get Palm’s phones off the shelves. No one is buying them.

According to Engadget, Palm made a number of missteps that led from the company’s bright future in 2009 to probably a year left. Palm has said that marketing needs to be better. The reason why Verizon and Sprint can’t sell Palm phones is because the salespeople aren’t trained well enough with Palm phones.

If marketing is so important, then Engadget would like to know what was up with Palm’s odd commercials. Remember the eery, washed out woman, talking softly and dreamily with elevator music in the background? Snore. Or the Valentine’s Day commercials with moms from the ’80s going on about the tacky gifts they loved back then (by the way, people still love boxes of chocolate).

Engadget has a simple piece of advice: show commercials that actually show how the phone works and why it’s good.

Also, another issue that would drive me up the wall is when there are hardware issues “with no outward acknowledgment or rush to correct.” That right there will kill a company. In the age of Twitter, where Kevin Smith can tweet angrily about an airline and thousands immediately see it, companies are doing all sorts of quick damage control when something goes wrong. The company that doesn’t is stuck in the past and will get passed over for companies that do listen and correct issues.

So what’s up with Palm? Unless the reboot their company, their image and some of the phones, it won’t be around in a year, which means more iPhone domination and less competition, unfortunately.

What slipped between the cracks

Here’s a quick round up of some other stories that happened this week:

Twenty-four global phone carriers have come together to combat Apple by creating one large app store that can deliver applications to all mobile users.

The Mobile World Conference was held on Monday in Barcelona, Spain and there was an Android tablet.

Also at the MWC was the announcement that Verizon is bringing Skype to its users in March.

TechCrunch brought to light the Web site called Please Rob Me, which uses location-based services, like Foursquare, to see who is not at home. Basically, if you check in somewhere that isn’t at your house, it streams to this site.

Lastly, if you like fashion with your tech, fashion designer Vivienne Tam has designed in-ear headphones that will put you back $200.

Smartphone no brainer

Really only one phone comes to mind when I think smartphone: the iPhone. I don’t own it, I think it’s a bit pricey, but let’s face facts: it’s the best out there and although Droid is cool, at this point it’s too new. But, while the iPhone makes up just over half of the smartphone market, Android smartphones, which have really only been out for two months, already make up one-fourth. That’s right, these two operating systems combined are 75 percent of the U.S. smartphone market.

I’m not terribly surprised. But I did find it interesting just how quickly Android’s numbers are building. I suppose that partly has to do with the fact that initially there was only one Android phone out and then just two weeks ago two more were added and onto the Verizon network to boot.

But speaking of Verizon and Apple, I missed the little tidbit that Apple is interested in bringing the iPhone over to Verizon as well when the exclusivity contract with AT&T expires. It’s an incredibly smart move. Just based on my own actions I know that if I had a job (student life is tough) and the iPhone was on Verizon, I would buy it. But I’m not switching over to AT&T, which I kind of hate based on what I’ve seen from friends who are on the network, just for a phone. That would be ridiculous. But if that phone came to me…

Fun fact: worldwide two systems also account for 75 percent of smartphones but the two are the iPhone and Symbian. Android has sold considerably less worldwide with only 11 percent of the market.

Android Anticipation

When I bought a new phone a year ago I opted not to get the nicer phone I was eyeing because I didn’t know if I was going to get frustrated with using a touch screen. So I went with the upgraded version of the phone I already had. See, I’m an impatient texter and an English major and the QWERTY keyboard that came with the phone I ended up choosing made it all easy. I’m that person who sends texts with apostrophes.

Right now, the new Motorola Droid is looking like a godsend. And not just to me. With Verizon’s profits considerably down and AT&T’s up, it was clear the company needed something to compete with the iPhone. It doesn’t hurt that Droid also has a QWERTY keyboard just in case I get frustrated with the touch screen. I was ecstatic when I first caught wind of Droid, because I’ve been seriously coveting my friend’s iPhone, but I was reluctant to leave Verizon just for a phone. Now, I don’t have to.

A lot of people probably saw the teaser commercials for droiddoes.com. With the launch date just over a week away the site now has actual information about the phone’s capabilities: such as a GPS using Google Maps.

But will the Droid actually deliver on its attacks on the iPhone? Will Droid actually be better?

I believe the hype has been so great that, at least initially, the release of Droid will help Verizon. It’s the months after that initial wave of buyers that will be the real test. Once people buy it and try it will they like it enough to keep it? Will it become a new phenomenon? After all when watching movies and television shows I often notice the iPhone is the phone of choice.

Will we begin to see Droid creeping into the media? Droid comes out Nov. 6. By Jan. 1, just after the holiday season, we’ll probably know.