Internet Access or Sex? Clever Question

The tagline “Intel Inside” and the Blue Men Group were once the way to position computer chips, a pretty dull topic. 
Intel, via Harris Interactive, has found another way: Conduct a survey where you ask respondents to choose: Internet access or sex.
The results may surprise you.
Intel’s survey, “Internet Reliance in Today’s Economy,” is a pretty slick story [...]

Making Room for Old School Disruption

This post on HBR’s business blog is a great reminder.
Any company–not just startups–can change the game. Terabeam in the early half of the decade burned through $500 million of  VC money and equity trying to change the wireless networking game. 
It’s now Sprint’s turn with Clearwire to try. No easy gig, but who said disrupting the [...]

Nokia N97 Colors Itself Different

Did the tech press and bloggers doubt that Nokia, the number one cellphone maker in the world, would come up short on its latest smartphone? Lots of technical muscle, for sure.
Yes, Apple’s iPhone is synonomous with hip, intuitive user experience, not to mention a selection of optional applications already a year ahead of the competition.
But [...]

Citizen Journalism: The Experiment Continues

Much has been made about “citizen journalists” on the ground in Mumbai typing 140-character dispatches over Twitter and snapping images with their Nikons or cellphones.
Social media, no doubt, has changed how we receive information and watch stories unfold. Om Malik watched Twitter and yearned for context. 
The volume of words sent over a “Twitter #Mumbai” feed the [...]

Cellphones, Buttons and Steering Wheels

As I wound through Rancho Santa Fe during a nice training ride before sunset, I noticed the same thing over and over yesterday: drivers talking on cellphones. Talking in sports cars. SUVs. Sedans. You name it, they were on the cell talking in it.
Multi-tasking is no big deal. We all do it (I’ve seen plenty [...]

PowerPoint on Blackberry

PowerPoint is part of life on the road pitching audiences. Your laptop carries the slides that are run through a projector. You lug your laptop (and power supply) through airport security checkpoints, in your briefcase, on your shoulder. 
What if you only had to bring your sleek Blackberry and a small Bluetooth-enabled adapter (3.5″ x 2.5″ x 1″) with USB port?
Check out Impatica, [...]

Winter Thaw for Facebook?

A 5% drop in Facebook members, according to Nielsen Ratings, may be a temporary blip, due to user fatigue. 
What will be the most telling is this summer when users are outdoors. Facebook’s recent IM testing shows how much it needs to be embedded in desktops to keep users tethered. The company would do well to invest more into its mobile offerings [...]

Connectivity is Collaboration

This talk at TED just posted is worth the 20-minute investment of time. As we move more toward work produced through ”collective actions” otherwise known as work by groups, Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs shares: “Every desktop is now a printing press, a broadcasting station, a community or a marketplace.” 
Rheingold predicts a day when the majority of us will be holding, carrying or [...]

How Green is Your Cellphone?

Since the most “gadget conscious” cellphone users buy a new device every 9 months, use of recyled materials for these products makes perfect sense. Nokia has announced a prototype (not yet in the market) called Remade. The company is sending environmental signals in advance of the product launch. Blue no longer dominates Nokia’s website. The carefully selected image of a woman, [...]

The Price of Popularity for Apple’s iPhone

The days of 2-year wireless contracts and exclusive carrier deals are under assault from global black market forces. Apple has admitted it can’t account for a chunk of iPhones (not on AT&T service plans) that should be producing revenue.
This New York Times article in Monday’s edition provides human texture to what happens when when marketing and product design are hot, [...]