Has Palm done its dash?

Palm seems to have been around for ever. They put the S in smartphone back in the day. I could never really afford their phones but I longed to have one. Now I use the Apple Iphone 3GS and can't really see myself switching to Palm and their not so latest Palm Pre. The Palm Pre never really took off. They launched it in the US and then took their time getting it out to Europe and the rest of the world. It arrived too late for most places and the consumers didn't really pick up and run with it. The design in my opinion was flawed by the tacky keyboard that slid out. One thing I was impressed with was their new Web O/S. If I was them I'd build on this platform as it's bloody good! They need to focus more on the hardware aspect of the phone. Get out there Palm and ask the consumers what they want and what designs they like. I for one think there's definitely a place for Palm in the smartphone market. I think they need to get the design of the next phone right and they'll be away laughing. Otherwise sayoonara Palm...

Symbian Mobile OS

Now that Symbian is Open Source it looks like we're going to get a better quality OS. I spied this over at GSM Arena about Symbian 3 which we can expect this year. It looks pretty similar to the current Symbian OS in my opinion however the performance and graphics have been improved 3 fold. I've always been a fan of Nokia devices but Symbian has alsways been laggy and somewhat unresponsive compared to the Apple Iphone and even HTC's Sense UI. What this means is we may see consumers return their faith to Nokia running symbian as the handsets such as the Nokia N97 mini have overall been great devices. I look forward to seeing a demo of the new version of Symbian running this year. A much needed upgrade to the Symbian smart phones.

Luxury Phones - ridiculous

Is there a place for luxury phones? In my opinion NO! The latest Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness is a bit of a joke. It has its own concierge service which is somewhat laughable. Hey look at me, I have this pretentious phone and I can call someone 24/7 and get them to book hotels for me, even tickets to a game. These phones are extremely expensive and all you get is the gimicky service. The phone reeks of cheapness and the quality of the screen and other applications makes me laugh. If you want to show that you're super rich why not just get a normal smartphone like an Apple Iphone 3GS or a Nokia N900 or even a trustworthy Blackberry. You don't have to go all out bling. Sony Ericsson need to have a look around and create some good looking phones. Look at the success of Nokia and Apple. I do think they're on the way back though for some of the other Xperia models. About time!

GPS in NZ

In the UK you will almost see a GPS Satnav in every second car. They're getting as popular as mobile phones and with all the ring roads they're a must. Popular satnav models such as Tom Tom and Navman have been available in New Zealand for a number of years. I'm not sure they offer the same value that people get out of them in the UK. I can definitely see how you would want to have one if you're a courier driver. Afterall you're going to be driving to places that you are not familiar with. I can also see the value for sales people. But for every day use in NZ I can't see the need. As long as you know the main roads and can get from one district to the next you'll be fine. Would be interesting to find out how well they sell in NZ. I see them as more of a "I want that gadget" than a need. Will this area of gadgetry grow in NZ?

NZ's reluctance to embrace online shopping

This post discusses New Zealand's reluctance to embrace online shopping and the power of the internet for product research. It is my belief that only the minority of the New Zealand internet community uses the internet for product research and for purchasing.

New Zealand consumers have been used to going to shops for years to purchase televisions, mobile phones, household appliances, computers and other items. It's the need to see the item in the flesh that drives us out to all the shops. The internet online shopping community has been slow to build but I think we're getting there. We don't have some of the huge online portals that the overseas internet community have, such as Amazon. In the UK you can jump on the internet and find hundreds of sites that will sell the product that you are after. The fact that there are so many sites means that prices are being driven down. Basically you can find a product far cheaper on the internet than you ever will in a shop.

Ok lets be honest here, you don't want to buy everything on the internet. You want to see such items as furniture. But there are a lot of products that you can buy on the internet and be assured that you are getting the product you have paid for. Lets list some of the products that can easily be sought on the internet. They are mobile phones, televisions, MP3 players, cameras, camcorders, computers, laptops, netbooks, gaming, baby products, dvds, box sets, books. This list is not exhaustive. There are plenty of other products that you should look online for. The introduction of price comparison sites in NZ have come a long way to helping consumers find a deal online. Anything you see in a shop, you should be thinking is it available on the internet? Also the internet is a great place to do product research and there are numerous sources for Product Reviews. You should use these and take advice from other consumers. This is invaluable.

I look forward to watching the NZ online community grow.

Video Piracy

Very difficult to police video piracy. A lot of material is readily available over the internet for free. Have you ever been sitting at the pub having one of your favourite gold beverages when someone tries to sell you a DVD? It's happened to me on a number of occassions.

It's reported in the UK that the movie industry loses over £400 million a year. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not going to sit on my high horse and say I've never done it.

One thing a lot of people think is that the movie industry makes enough money so what does it matter if I download a copy of a movie for free. The simple fact is that as video piracy grows, the studios make less. When the studios make less that means less movies get made.

Perhaps the movie industry is partially to blame looking to make Mr or Mrs Consumer pay high prices for their movies. Maybe the answer to reduce piracy is charge less for a film? I strongly believe that the latest introduction of 3D movies such as Avatar is an attempt to stem the flow of pirated movies. They might also look to introduce some of the new LED televisions with 3D capabilities. One thing for sure is that when the industry adapts to protect itself, you can bet on it that the pirates will also adapt.

Lets no forget that now the computer gaming industry is also being attacked by piracy. PC Games are available over the internet and have been for some time. Many of the manufacturers have made some giant steps in protecting their line of games. However the battle will always contine.

Some food for thought...

New Zealand Product Reviews

Computer with Cable TV

Instead of just a plain old sky box hooked up to your TV, would it not be better to have a box/PC that does your cable TV and internet requirements? There are some cable TV possibilities out there via your PC. I just don't think they're there right yet. I know for a fact that SKY TV users in the UK can watch SKY via the internet. This is however an additional paid service on top of your normal SKY service.

What I'm talking about is watching SKY then pressing the internet button, opening perhaps a windows session with a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse etc. I currently have a PC hooked up to my TV and I switch between SKY and that. I just don't think I should have to.

The introduction of the LED Televisions with built in wireless could well be the way. However the processes in the TV's are still far from being up to it. I know there is work being done with hard coded widgets that are available thanks to some pioneering work by Yahoo! For example in the UK you will be able to bring up a betting widget (provided by Betfair) during a football game and bet on your team!

Something to think about. I'm sure there'll be some good options soon.

New Zealand Product Reviews