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Journalists Cover Microsoft, Using Macs

It’s not an easy time for Microsoft — with Steve Ballmer having to field questions about being “buffoons” and an “evil empire”  at the shareholder’s meeting (.doc) — so when they get together “the world’s most influential technology pundits and online writers” (nb: we weren’t invited) for Mobius to discuss super-secret mobile tech you’d think [...]

Guide To Black Friday Apple Bargains: Cheap MacBooks, iPods and Accessories Galore

Here’s a guide for finding the best bargains on Apple-related gear during the infamous Black Friday sales on November 27. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of gear from leaked photos of sales flyers and descriptions of sales.
The bargains include a 2.26 GHz MacBook + $150 gift card at Best Buy for $999.99 ; a 32GB [...]

Review: Voices Is Today’s Best Thing Ever, Grab It Now While It’s Cheap

New on the App Store is Voices from the clever folk at Tap Tap Tap. You can guess what it does.

Open it up, pick a silly voice. Helium is pretty silly. A microphone appears and the app even clears your throat for you (try it, you’ll see what I mean). Now speak your brains, and [...]

Review: Sony Walkman S540 Series Video MP3 Player

Press releases, you will hardly be surprised to hear, are rarely very interesting. But one arrived in my inbox a couple of weeks ago that made me double-take.
“Sony’s S Series Walkman,” it chattered, “is a serious challenger to the iPod Nano.” Gosh, really? Perhaps the Cult had better have a look at one, then, despite [...]

Nokia N97 is The Most Attractive iPhone Competitor

Today in Europe, Nokia introduced the N97, its first serious effort to combat the iPhone’s rapid rise in the smartphone market. And I have to say, I’m pretty impressed. It’s chock full of features the iPhone can’t match (twice the storage, higher-res screen, 5 megapixel camera with a real lens and a good flash), and it’s actually attractive, too. Even better, it doesn’t run Windows Mobile, and the S60 OS seems to have been much better adapted to touch form than the BlackBerry OS on the unfortunate Storm. Plus, it has a really nice QWERTY keyboard, for those who are into that kind of thing.

On the downside, it’s thicker than an iPhone, doesn’t sync with iTunes, doesn’t run OS X and can’t run AppStore apps. Precisely the actual competitive advantage that Apple has built in. It also doesn’t appear to use an on-screen keyboard in portrait mode (favoring T9 text entry), which is pretty obnoxious when browsing with one hand (at least until your bookmarks get set).

Still, this looks like a heck of a phone to be reckoned with for Apple in the European market. No North American release announced at this time, but it does support the 3G network already deployed by AT&T and it will be sold unlocked, so enthusiasts can grab it in the first half of next year.

Via SlashGear and PhoneScoop

About the author

Petemortensen

Pete Mortensen is the communications lead for growth strategy firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete's particular Apple avocations are both around design--interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!

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2 comments

    But it’s not out until the first half of ‘09… I don’t give any credit to vaporware “iPhone Killers” until they come out. By then, of course, there will be a new iPhone.

    Do your research Symbian does Sync with Itunes you are putting out false information. As well there are plenty of Apps to run on Symbian.

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