Bwana.org » cellphone

Apple: There Is A Storm Coming

Bwana — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:53:16 +0000

Hurricane flags are popping up over Cupertino, namely, at Apple‘s headquarters. Why? The RIM-pire is at it again with a sweet new device that’s coming out soon for Verizon called the Blackberry Storm.

This will be RIM’s first touch screen device that is obviously built to compete with Apple‘s widly popular iPhone. Recently, Google, T-Mobile and HTC were in the news regarding their iPhone competitor, the T-Mobile G1. I went on record to state that I was semi-impressed with what they had, but if I were to decide on what to buy today, I would pass on their model for various reasons. I also stated that I’m more excited about the Blackberry Storm than I am about the T-Mobile G1. Here are some reasons why:

RIM is serious business. These guys pretty much own the smartphone market and there’s a big reason why. They are adamant about making your device productive. While that may deter a lot of casual users of smart phones, the hardcore business users love it to pieces.
If anyone can stop the iPhone, it’s RIM. Not to take anything from Nokia, but it is my personal belief that RIM has a better chance of slowing down the iPhone’s momentum than Nokia. As I stated in my iPhone 3G review, Apple is serious about making inroads into the business market. When executives are approached about solutions, I guarantee RIM will be on the comparison sheet. They are capable of doing it.
Verizon has a great network to kick start the launch. Apple’s iPhone launch was very successful in some eyes, but was tainted by AT&T’s network. Obviously, AT&T is having scaling issues with all of the new users that the iPhone is bringing in. I believe Verizon has a better backbone for a huge Blackberry Storm launch. Their EVDO/CDMA system is largely touted as one of the best in the nation in terms of coverage and speed.
All other offerings are lackluster. Let’s face it, the touchscreen competitors of the iPhone are not up to the task of slowing down Apple’s momentum. This is solely my opinion with no real facts to back it, but I still believe it to be true.

AT&T is already preparing for the Storm with propaganda the same way Verizon did at the iPhone launch. Duncan Riley, of the Inquisitr, states the Blackberry Storm is the “new hotness” and I must agree. If you’re not excited about the Blackberry Storm yet, check out these photos that I found over on Electronista:

T-Mobile G1: Beware Of The Limitations

Bwana — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:50:47 +0000

Today, the Google Android platform had its coming out party, and the first phone to use Google’s new mobile software, is the T-Mobile G1. Rather than bore you with all the details you’ve read about one the web already, I’ll summarize some limitations of the T-Mobile G1:

No 3.5mm headphone jack. (Update 09/25/08 – T-Mobile will eventually ship adapter but not in first shipments)
No modem tethering
Includes only 1 GB Micro SD memory card (expandable to 8GB)
~~Data transfer limited to 1GB/month~~ (Update 09/25/08 Lifted by T-Mobile)
Lack of Microsoft Exchange support out of the box
No desktop/computer sync option. All data in the cloud!
No A2DP/Stereo Bluetooth
Google Account required to use
No video capture
Update Copy & paste is limited to form fields. It is not global.

Granted this is the first release of many Google Android supported phones, some of these limitations can be taken with a grain of salt. The major limitation I can see at this time is that Google Android is all about cloud computing, and I don’t think adoption rate will be swift with that limitation. Not everyone is ready to completely move to the cloud. Since I haven’t had first hand use of the device, I can’t really recommend it or not, but on paper, if I were to make a decision today, I would pass on this model.

Jazz Ringtones For Your iPhone

Bwana — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:17:02 +0000

On my podcast, I utilize many promotional tracks for my show from IODA. I’ve gotten great feedback from my listeners and I know why: Independent music is great. I love jazz music and I thought what better way to promote some jazz music than to create some iPhone ringtones! Here are two of my favorite songs in .m4r format to import into iTunes.

Both Sides of the Fence by Thomas Marriott
57th Street Mambo by Bobby Sanabria

Naturally, I want you to support these artists and buy their music. Here is their information.

Thomas Marriott

“Both Sides Of The Fence”

Buy at

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Stream from

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