So thanks to Google, since Thursday I have been playing around with an HTC EVO on the Sprint network. I have come away impressed and it has nothing to do with the EVO theoretically supporting 4G. I have mostly had 4G turned off - apparently it is a huge battery hog and the few times I did turn it on, I did not seem to be in a 4G coverage area. In any case, 3G speed has been fine for me on my new BlackBerry Bold on T-Mobile (my old one got wet). The first reason I am impressed is that the EVO ...

So thanks to Google, since Thursday I have been playing around with an HTC EVO on the Sprint network. I have come away impressed and it has nothing to do with the EVO theoretically supporting 4G. I have mostly had 4G turned off - apparently it is a huge battery hog and the few times I did turn it on, I did not seem to be in a 4G coverage area. In any case, 3G speed has been fine for me on my new BlackBerry Bold on T-Mobile (my old one got wet). The first reason I am impressed is that the EVO ...

“ The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger. I hate it. ” - Tim Bray in his post on joining Google

“ The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger. I hate it. ” - Tim Bray in his post on joining Google

Recently, someone (I believe it was Nicholas Carlson) said to me: “what most people forget about the iPhone is that it is also a very capable iPod." This was said in the context of a discussion of how successful Android will be this year. Now this is an interesting alternative view to Bill Gurley’s assertion that the head-on comparison is wrong because Android aims at the much broader market of folks who have feature phones today. But: for everyone who wants to upgrade from a feature phone an...

Recently, someone (I believe it was Nicholas Carlson) said to me: “what most people forget about the iPhone is that it is also a very capable iPod." This was said in the context of a discussion of how successful Android will be this year. Now this is an interesting alternative view to Bill Gurley’s assertion that the head-on comparison is wrong because Android aims at the much broader market of folks who have feature phones today. But: for everyone who wants to upgrade from a feature phone an...

As a teenager, I was a die-hard Apple fanboy. The boy part is obvious. The fan part was the result of having and hacking an Apple II. Naturally, I was hugely excited about the arrival of first the Lisa (remember those?) and then the Macintosh. While I enjoyed programming the Macintosh – all the way through college – I was frustrated with its unfriendliness towards hackers. My Apple II had been heavily modded with all sorts of extras. This was easily possible because the lid of the computer wa...

As a teenager, I was a die-hard Apple fanboy. The boy part is obvious. The fan part was the result of having and hacking an Apple II. Naturally, I was hugely excited about the arrival of first the Lisa (remember those?) and then the Macintosh. While I enjoyed programming the Macintosh – all the way through college – I was frustrated with its unfriendliness towards hackers. My Apple II had been heavily modded with all sorts of extras. This was easily possible because the lid of the computer wa...

Andrew Parker and I recently wrote a post on the USV blog about “The Mobile Challenge” – looking for apps that make use of the unique capabilities of the latest (smart)phones to deliver experiences that were previously impossible. Since writing that post, I have become fascinated with augmented reality apps, such as Wikitude by Mobilizy (Austria), Layar by sprxmobile (Netherlands) and Sekai Camera by Tonchidot (Japan). I have no idea how well any of these actually perform, having only experie...

Andrew Parker and I recently wrote a post on the USV blog about “The Mobile Challenge” – looking for apps that make use of the unique capabilities of the latest (smart)phones to deliver experiences that were previously impossible. Since writing that post, I have become fascinated with augmented reality apps, such as Wikitude by Mobilizy (Austria), Layar by sprxmobile (Netherlands) and Sekai Camera by Tonchidot (Japan). I have no idea how well any of these actually perform, having only experie...

The post on the USV blog about the challenge of creating native mobile apps (meaning ones that can on exist on the mobile platform) has created a lively discussion with by now over 60 comments. A good chunk of that discussion was about the relative merits of just sticking with the mobile browser versus developing apps. For instance, Fred observes:I’m a big fan of the mobile browser too but it does seem like the prevailing delivery package today is the mobile app, not the browser.That and a co...

The post on the USV blog about the challenge of creating native mobile apps (meaning ones that can on exist on the mobile platform) has created a lively discussion with by now over 60 comments. A good chunk of that discussion was about the relative merits of just sticking with the mobile browser versus developing apps. For instance, Fred observes:I’m a big fan of the mobile browser too but it does seem like the prevailing delivery package today is the mobile app, not the browser.That and a co...

There are quite a few studies that have come out recently showing that multitasking is bad for performance in humans. For instance, driving your car while talking on your cell phone significantly increases your accident risk. In machines, however, we have come to love multitasking because it enables better CPU utilization. Much discussion has therefore revolved around the iPhone not having multitasking, whereas Android supports it. For starters that simplistic characterization is of course wr...

There are quite a few studies that have come out recently showing that multitasking is bad for performance in humans. For instance, driving your car while talking on your cell phone significantly increases your accident risk. In machines, however, we have come to love multitasking because it enables better CPU utilization. Much discussion has therefore revolved around the iPhone not having multitasking, whereas Android supports it. For starters that simplistic characterization is of course wr...