On Google and Jaiku

If you haven’t heard, Google has bought Jaiku - the Finland-based mobile IM and presence company - which happens to be the direct competitor to Twitter.

I won’t go into the details of why Jaiku over Twitter because that really doesn’t matter at this point.

What I do want to discuss is how Google will integrate this service. Nathan and I had a brief discussion today (ironically via twitter) on Google’s *secret* plans for Jaiku.

My guess? Tight integration with the Google Phone.

Any bets?

If you think like me you must naturally take the next step into what this inevitable integration really means. They said it best over at Loose Wire:

“All this information outlined above would be available to Google, to let them fire ads at us. For the first time, as far as I know, an advertising company not only has access to what we’re doing (our presence message), they have access to where we’re doing it (the cell ID etc), what we’re doing next (the calendar), how long we’ll be doing it for (the duration of the event), whether we’re focused on something else (indication of whether we’re on a call), as well as the usual preferences we may have registered in our profile (gender, age, interests, etc.)”

Oh, and not to mention what we search for (Google Search), say in our IM’s and VOIP (GTalk), email to our friends (Gmail), what products we want (Froogle), and what we read (Google Reader).

Interestingly disturbing eh? Can anyone say Skynet?

Tags: Google, Google Phone, Jaiku

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Jobs Issues iPhone Credit

And then you totally redeemed yourself… Well, not quite. But a day after an uproar from the iPhone’s early adopters Mr. Jobs announced in an “open letter” to iPhone buyers that they would receive a $100 credit… towards a new Apple purchase online or in their Apple store.

So basically what he did here was a brilliant business move. In order to appease the masses he gives away a coupon… that can only be used to buy Apple products… directly from Apple. So now you can go buy some overpriced accessories and Apple has just made more money off you. Congratulations.

Steve - excellent move. Very Bill Gates-esque.

Read - NY Times - Apple Offers a Credit to iPhone Buyers

Tags: iPhone, Apple, Credit, Steve Jobs

flickr photo from josiahq

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Google Phone - Vaporware or Next Big Thing?

Screw the iPhone - get me a Google Phone. Although rumors began late last year we’ve been hearing more and more developments over the last few months, and especially since the iPhone was released. So, here are some preliminary specs of the much anticipated Google Phone (if it exists).

Manufacturer: HTC. Since Google does not want to get into the hardware manufacturing and design game they outsource this to the up-and-coming HTC, who is responsible from some of the coolest phones being released.

Form Factor: It’s been said there will be many different form factors (meaning different styles) but all will have QWERTY keyboards and look kinda like a Blackberry / Treo / BlackJack with a touchscreen interface.

OS: Linux variant supposedly co-developed with Android, whom Google acquired in late 2005. It will also run Java Virtual Machine, so it is likely the platform will be open to third party developers.

Browser: Safari / iPhone like browsing experience with pan-and-browse.

There is still much speculation out there. One thing we know for sure is there will be very tight integration with all the excellent Google Apps out there.

Want more info?

Read more

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NES on Mobiles

I just stumbled across a video of the iPhone running an NES Emulator…

I have been running an NES emulator on my Blackjack since I got it.

There’s nothing cooler than playing Nintendo on your cell phone while you wait.

Tags: iPhone, NES, Emulator

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Free Idea for Apple

As hackers begin to gain more and more access to the core functionality for iPhone a critical juncture has been created for both the hackers and for Apple. As we’ve come to find out Apple does not condone these *hacks* but has yet to do anything about it. From what I’ve heard they are backing off until there is clear and present danger of the phone being unlocked causing AT&T, their partner, to lose money.

My free idea for Apple is to create an “Application Marketplace” for the iPhone and build it into iTunes (or just make iApps). The idea is not new - Microsoft does it with the Xbox Live Marketplace and there are other systems like this. Essentially instead of having rogue hackers create third party applications Apple can create a marketplace where these applications can be sold (and monitored) by Apple much like selling MP3’s in iTunes. The possibilities are quite limitless. And using an intuitive system Apple can create an environment where users can 1-click install cool applications rather than following l33t instructions.

And maybe with an Apple marketplace for application and platform development we can get people to quit talking about Facebook as a platform and start building applications for real platforms.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Application Development

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