Linked List: May 3, 2011

Tuesday, 3 May 2011

Justin Williams:

To make a dent in Apple’s market lead, Google, Microsoft, Blackberry and HP (eventually) need to focus less on the hardware specs or openness of their platform, and more on getting software updates to their existing user base on a regular basis. Hardware specs are porn for the gadget blogs, but software and apps are what sell tablets and phones to regular users.

It occurs to me that valuing hardware specs over software fit-and-finish is one reason why so many gadget review sites grade these things on a curve compared to Apple’s.

Bing Announcement at BlackBerry World in Orlando ★

The Bing Blog:

This morning at RIM’s annual Blackberry World, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced on stage a new alliance between Microsoft and RIM, outlining how the two companies can work together to help people make better decisions with Bing on BlackBerry devices.

Central to this collaboration, Blackberry devices will use Bing as the preferred search provider in the browser, and Bing will be the default search and map application for new devices presented to mobile operators, both in the United States and internationally. Also, effective today Bing will be the preferred search and maps applications with regular, featured placement and promotion in the BlackBerry App World carousel.

Well, that changes everything.

Google Allows Carriers to Selectively Block Tethering Apps From Android Market ★

Insert your own “open” joke here.

New iMacs Are Out ★

Highlights include Thunderbolt ports, FaceTime HD cameras, and Quad-Core CPUs. Adam Engst has the details.