Current Analysis clients (and journalists with press accounts - contact me if you need one) have access to reports and competitive assessments on mobile devices through the Current Analysis Wireless Portal, which also includes pricing, availability, features, and trending data on nearly every handset in the U.S. market.

6/29/09

I'm finishing up a full competitive analysis on HTC and then I hope to loop back and write up a whole bunch of phones that have shown up here over the last few weeks. We're also working on a Digital Home report looking at how HTIB (Home Theater In a Box) systems are starting to gain connectivity.

Recent reports:

HTC Hero Gives a Sense of What Android Can Do

RIM Tour to Visit CDMA Carriers This Summer

Apple’s WWDC Announcements, $99 iPhones, and the Age of Apps

LG BD390 Blu-ray Player Comes with Online Access to Netflix and CinemaNow Movies

Palm Pre Launch and Hands-on Analysis

6/7/09

I'll be on the road this week and posting here on greengart.com will be light; my report on the Palm Pre: Hands On, Launch, and Analysis will be posted at Current Analysis early Monday morning.

I'll be at the Apple keynote at WWDC on Monday and will aim to have a report on anything announced there on Tuesday. Clients and journalists seeking comments should email me at agreengart ~at~ currentanalysis ~dot~ com or call 703-788-3788.

6/4/09 

Clients and journalists looking for insights into the Palm Pre launch can email or call. I have a Pre and my hands-on report will be posted either tomorrow afternoon or Monday morning (just ahead of Apple's WWDC keynote. I'll be there covering that, too). 

Our E3 coverage is all wrapped up, with two Digital Home reports on news from Sony and Microsoft, and a Mobile Devices report on the Sony PSPgo:

In addition to the Google I/O Show Update noted in the last post, I also managed to get a full report done on Sony Ericsson's big news from late last week: Sony Ericsson’s Q4 Lineup isn’t Enough for Europe, May Not Even Show Up in the U.S.

6/1/09 - There's a LOT going on in the industry right now...

T-Mobile began pushing out Android 1.5 updates late last week; I downloaded it and have been testing it. My coverage of that along with all the Google news late last week has been posted as a Show Update: Google I/O 2009: Android 1.5 Ships, Android 2.0 Previewed, Android Momentum Surges.

At D7, Palm showed off iTunes media sync for the Palm Pre, and both AT&T and Verizon Wireless execs formally talked about the length of the Palm-Sprint exclusivity period (I've known that under NDA for quite some time now). I'll cover all this and more in my hands-on/Palm Pre launch report next week.

On Thursday night in London, Sony Ericsson launched a cellphone movie service and three Q4 phones it hopes will pull it out of its misery. I may not get a chance to write this one up, so if clients or journalists want to talk about it, email or call directly. [I did manage to get a full report done on this: Sony Ericsson’s Q4 Lineup isn’t Enough for Europe, May Not Even Show Up in the U.S.]

Nokia launched the 6730 Classic for Vodafone. It’s got a minimalist white candy bar design, S60, 3.2MP camera, GPS. It may sell reasonably well in some markets, but doesn't significantly impact the mobile device landscape, so I’m ignoring it.

Verizon Wireless announced three new phones from LG: the Glance, enV3, and enV Touch. I'm expecting review units of each of these shortly and we'll get to them as Product Assessments.

Microsoft announced Zune HD with ties to XBOX 360. We’re expecting a follow-up announcement today at E3, and Bruce McGregor will be there live covering that. 

Engadget has leaked information on Sony’s PSP Go. It’s hard to fake a Veronica Belmont interview, so I’m assuming this is legit. We'll cover it if it formally launches (presumably this week at E3).

Verizon Wireless finally posted an update to the BlackBerry Storm late yesterday afternoon. I’ve downloaded and installed it but haven’t had a chance to form anything other than initial impressions (it's more stable, and some of the software touches are definite improvements, but the Storm's fundamental problem - the virtual keyboard - remains unchanged).

Qualcomm has formally launched its smartbook concept based on its Snapdragon chipset out in Taipei at Computex. I am planning a full report on the whole smartphone/smartbook/MID/netbook market categorization.

5/28/09 - After several weeks on the road (and with more travel planned in a couple of weeks) I couldn't make it out to Google I/O or D7 or Sony Ericsson's product launch this week, so I'm following them remotely. I won't be at E3 next week, either, but my Digital Home analyst, Bruce McGregor, will be there for press conferences and meetings.

T-Mobile has finally started pushing out the Android 1.5 update. I've downloaded it to my G1 and will have analysis ready shortly.

In the meantime, I've been testing Verizon Wireless' HP netbook, an HTC Touch Diamond2, and the new Sidekick LX. I've actually been testing various netbooks since the original Asus EEE PC, and I wrote about netbooks in my 2007 and 2008 holiday gift guides. However, I had been waiting for a subsidized netbooks to be launched before writing a formal Current Analysis report. That report can be found below, along with updates on Palm's Pre pricing/availability and Nokia's E71x:

5/17/09

In addition to the report updates on Moto, Sony Ericsson, and RIM, we got a couple of new reports up last week:

I have an HP Mini 1151NR netbook in from Verizon Wireless, look for a report on it to go live on Monday.

Another Nokia phone showed up late last week, too: a U.S.-spec E75. The form factor on the E75 is pretty close to ideal - narrow for use as a phone, slideout QWERTY for messaging (where have I seen that before? Oh, right. Half of HTC's line). It's got 3G (for AT&T and/or Europe on this version), WiFi, GPS, and a 3.2 MP camera. The numeric and option keys are a bit small, making the lock/unlock process painful, but the QWERTY keyboard is terrific, and the metal case is classy. The final touches: a standard 3.5mm headphone jack (yay!), charging over microUSB (yay!), and a leather case stolen from the 8800 line - pulling the tab raises the phone out of the case (oooh!). But the real news is that Nokia finally has a decent Exchange client integrated into the E75's messaging. You can see enough of each message to know whether to read it or delete, and you can customize the display somewhat. There are only three problems:

1. This client is not available yet for the E71x - the QWERTY smartphone which actually has U.S. carrier distribution
2. I ran into consistent "out of memory errors." I still can't figure out what the issue is - it shows over 20 MB free - but I sure got frustrated trying to fix the problem. Without a dedicated "file manager" program, figuring out how to free up memory was difficult. Symbian S60 has memory viewing built into the menu structure, but you can only view from there, not move or delete stuff. There's another spot where you can manage media files, but not applications. There's a separate place to see and remove apps. This isn't Symbian's fault, either, it's Nokia's. 
3. The Exchange client has the least intuitive setup process of anything I've ever used. Configuring mail is fairly straightforward as long as you have your server and domain information. However, to find how (where) to set up synchronization of calendar and contacts, you'll need a Sherpa to guide you. It's really, really buried, and I believe that it may be impossible to find it during the initial email setup. Symbian S60 has always had the worst organizational structure of any mobile OS, but this is really getting ridiculous. Has anyone at Nokia ever used an iPhone or even Windows Mobile?

5/12/09

I've been working on updated Company Assessments on Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and RIM which should be posted late this week or early next week.

Nokia sure took its sweet time bringing the E71 to a U.S. carrier. The E71 is a terrific device; I had been using an early European model a long (long) time ago, and an AT&T-spec E71x finally showed up yesterday. The E71x supports AT&T's 3G frequencies and the default apps for ringtones, music, and navigation are now all AT&T-approved (you can still use Nokia or 3rd party options if you prefer). The big change is to the color scheme: it's black instead of silver. I had been worried, as the E71x looks just awful in photos, and part of the E71's charm was superb style. Fortunately, in real life, the E71x is actually nicer than the original. The glossy black paint on the metal case looks like a new car or premium kitchen appliance, not like black painted plastic. The E71x also appears to have Nokia's latest much improved email client. I'm taking the E71x with me on the road, and a full report will follow.

Not a new product, but a new price point: T-Mobile's Cameo photo frame has dropped dramatically in price. At $99 + $10/month it made no sense. At $39 + $2/month, it's pretty awesome. I've been using one to send my kids at home instant digital postcards from wherever I'm traveling.

Big props to ClickFree, which sent over a no-muss-no-fuss backup hard drive that worked out of the box with no muss and no fuss. (You'd be shocked at how infrequently that happens.) A similar product from a different company required three software updates, two computer reboots, and then in the end it didn't automatically back up email files. That product also doesn't appear to allow restoring data backed up from one computer onto another. In contrast, ClickFree started working within seconds of plugging in its USB cord, backed up email automatically, and had no problems restoring to a different PC. Joy!

I never did write the "Debunking Apple Rumors" report. Maybe later. In the meantime, clients are encouraged to set up inquiry calls any time you see sensationalist journalism masquerading as reporting and want to get your bearings in a world suddenly awash with Verizon Wireless Apple iPhones, mini-iPhones, Apple tablets, Microsoft "iPhone killers," and flying cars.

5/5/09

At Current Analysis we don't comment on rumors, but the Apple-Verizon Wireless-Microsoft tempest last week may be an exception. I'm tentatively starting a report, "People Close to the Matter: Debunking Stupid Apple Rumors." Speaking of Apple...

Apple's "There's an app for that" iPhone TV commercials are generally brilliant, but the one pushing Compass Go this week is a terrible mistake. The iPhone 3G doesn't have an internal magnetometer, so all compass-like applications use GPS (and require you to be outside and walk in a straight line), or solar position (look up at the angle of the sun to)... in short, they don't work. Compass Go is no different. We have recommended that Apple add an internal magnetometer and half expect that the next generation iPhone will have one next month, but why Apple would highlight a core hardware deficiency today is completely beyond me.

Recent reports:

Prior month's entries: May09, Apr09, Mar09, Feb09, Jan09, Dec08, Nov08, Oct08, Sept08, Aug08

Product Reviews

RCR Wireless "Analyst Angle" (2007)

As part of a rotating group of analyst contributors I was asked to write a column for RCR Wireless. An index can be found here.

Current Analysis Spotlights (2005 - 2007)

Most of my reports on mobile devices are for Current Analysis clients only; however, Current Analysis Spotlights was a report format that was free for all from 2005 - 2007. An Index to my Spotlight reports can be found here.

AskAvi Columns (2001 - 2004)

I spent most of the 1990's in marketing and product management; while I was still at Intel I began writing weekly columns on consumer electronics. Those AskAvi columns are archived here.

Current Analysis Spotlights are copyright Current Analysis, Inc. and are reprinted with permission. All submissions to Greengart.com become the property of Greengart.com. For AskAvi submissions, Greengart.com retains all copyrights to both the questions and answers - don't send us anything you intend to copyright or patent. Not all submissions will be answered.

© 2002-2006 Avi Greengart