Linked List: August 4, 2010

Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Walt Mossberg on the BlackBerry Torch ★

Walt Mossberg:

But there is still one big downside: third-party apps. While the iPhone boasts 225,000 of these downloadable programs, and Android claims 70,000, the BlackBerry platform is still stuck at a measly 9,000.

I know space is limited in newspaper reviews, but this “how many apps are in the respective app stores” metric is being given too much weight — not just by Mossberg, either. I’ve said this before, but by this metric, we’d all be using Windows, not the Mac. Which platform has the most apps is interesting, but which platform has the best apps is more important. I say the answer to both questions is iOS, but what if Android gets to 300,000 or 400,000 apps or whatever before iOS does? Would that make Android better?

Put another way: is it a bigger problem that RIM’s App World has only 9,000 apps, or, that the typical quality and polish of their apps is beneath that of the apps in Apple’s App Store? A simple app count is nice and comfortable because it’s not subjective (like my statement in the previous sentence about quality and polish), but it’s potentially misleading.

Google Shitcans Wave ★

Glenn Fleishman on Google’s pulling the plug on Wave:

Wave’s primary problem is that it was a mishmash of too many separate elements crammed into one bulging interface. Was Wave email? Not quite, although it could handle notifications. Was it an annotation system used to mark up documents? Yes, but in an odd way that was hard to follow. Was it a wiki or a simultaneous editor? Yes and no. And so on.

It’s always seemed remarkable to me that they even shipped Wave in the first place. Interesting technology? Sure. But as a product, it was almost impossible to describe. When has a new product been successful when no one knows or understands what they’re supposed to use it for? It was the most Google-y product ever — no other company would have or could have shipped it.

How Many College Freshmen Are Bringing a Mac? ★

From an AP report on Microsoft’s stock price going down after analyst Trip Chowdhry downgraded them:

To boot, Chowdhry said 70 percent of college freshman are entering school with Macs, up about 10 percent to 15 percent from a year ago.

Is that true? I haven’t seen it reported anywhere else. That’s a stunning figure, if true.

U.S. Court Overturns California Same-Sex Marriage Ban ★

The New York Times:

A federal judge in San Francisco struck down California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, handing a temporary victory to gay rights advocates in a legal battle that seems all but certain to be settled by the Supreme Court.

Why Clear’s 4G iSpot Is Cheap: It’s Limited to iOS Devices ★

Jacqui Cheng:

The iSpot can share Clear’s 4G WiMAX connection via WiFi with up to eight different devices simultaneously, and for an “initial” monthly service price of only $25 with no contract. Comparable plans from Verizon and Sprint, for the MiFi and Overdrive 4G, respectively, (both of which offer only five simultaneous connections) are $60 per month with a two-year contract. […]

The major catch, however, is that the device only works on the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad—unlike its competition, the iSpot can’t be used to share a connection with a laptop or another non-iOS device unless a Clear rep unlocks it and bumps the service fee to the standard $40 monthly CLEAR Spot 4G plan.

Fascinating business model.

Wad City: ‘Why I Miss the Blinking Red Light’ ★

Dissent of the day, from “Wad City”:

I still miss that blinking red light. I remarked as such to a colleague earlier today, when it took me a half-hour to realize I’d missed his call because I’d stepped out of my office for a few minutes. This would never have happened with my BlackBerry, because the minute I’d have sat back down at my desk, the light would blink and I’d know to check it.

Even if we concede that it’s a good feature, though, is it really one of the top three reasons to use a BlackBerry today?

RIM Still Working on Flash for BlackBerry Devices ★

Agam Shah, reporting for Macworld UK:

Research In Motion executives on Tuesday said the company isn’t ignoring Flash, but continuing to work with Adobe Systems on bringing support for the multimedia platform on its mobile devices.

I’m sure it’ll be here soon.

Why Do People Still Use BlackBerrys? ★

John D. Sutter, writing for CNN.com, offers three reasons:

The keyboard.
The blinking red light on top.
Their employer mandates it.

1 and 3 make sense. 2 is just nutty, though.

(Via Justin Horn.)

600 ★

See ya.

RIM’s Week Just Keeps Getting Better ★

And it’s only Wednesday:

This is turning out to be a rough week for BlackBerry maker RIM when it comes to international relations: the latest blow is that the European Commission has opted for the iPhone and HTC handsets over the BlackBerry to roll out to its employees.

Library of Congress: Virtual Tour for iPhone and iPod Touch ★

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it’d be sweet if there were an iPad version too.

The iPad Is for Consumption, Not Creation ★

Corliss Blakely didn’t get the memo. (Via Rex Hammock.)