Would You Want an HTC One Tab?

The reviews are pretty much in and fairly unanimous. The HTC One smartphone is a sexy, gorgeous, device. Some reviewers can't stop staring at or holding it. It's like the Android holy grail of beautiful design. The question is, now that HTC seems to have really fine-tuned its design mojo, should it consider releasing a companion device? An HTC One Tab?

HTC has been out of the tablet game now for some time. Admittedly it is a tough market, dominated by sleek, ubiquitous iPads. Apple crushed the category before most people could figure out what they wanted to do with a tablet. However, the market has now matured. More people are seeing "the point" of a tablet.

Tablets are designed, and are primarily used for consumption. With its latest hero smartphone device, the One, HTC seems to get how its users are using its device more and more. Between BlinkFeed, a news aggregator built into the Sense user interface, and BoomSound, stereo front speakers powered by Beats, HTC is definitely looking to really facilitate, and enhance the consumption experience. Why not bring those killer features to a 7 or even 10 inch mobile device, with some hardcore specs and killer design?

While I wouldn't want to see a phablet version of the One, I think an HTC One tablet, would complement HTC's lineup, re-establish them as a mobile force, and keep the media buzz going. Unifying its branding under One could lead to much better results for HTC this time around in the tablet market, especially if its highly anticipated smartphone is truly a success. I'd love to see cool things like BlinkFeed syncing across devices, or being able to share a Zoe via NFC to my One tab. The tablet market is much stronger now, but still has opportunities. If HTC is calling this a comeback, might as well go all in.

So what do you think? Is this HTC's moment? Can it steal some thunder from the iPad, Nexus, or even Galaxy Note tablets out there? More importantly, would you throw your money at HTC for One?

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Google has infiltrated iOS

Google is killing Apple with apps not Android. I know that’s a very strong, and over-simplified first statement, but I’m starting to think it’s true. The nature of the battle over being the pinnacle of what a great smartphone should be is often narrowed between these two corporations. Apple set a new standard with the first iPhone, and Google has countered with Android evolving into a formidable force of its own.

I would ultimately argue that Google has sneakily won the battle with a great suite of mobile apps rather than Android adoption. The turning point of every war is when an invading force is able to overtake and occupy the opposing nation’s territory. This is exactly what Google has done on iOS.

Gmail is consistently one of the top applications installed in the Apple Store. People were not happy with the default Apple email app, and Google responded by porting their great Gmail app over to iOS. Within the first few weeks, the Gmail app gave users the experience they expect from Google inside the walls of Apple’s mobile OS.

Next came the debacle that is iOS Maps. Apple made the decision with the iPhone 5 that it would cut their partnership with having Google Maps as the default offering in iOS. The result was a very premature maps solution from Cupertino. Users were disappointed, and literally lost, using iOS Maps. Google again responded by submitting their Maps app to the App Store. iOS users flocked to Google Maps and left iOS Maps in their rearview mirror.

Two of Google’s top two applications on Android are now top-tier iOS apps as well, and I don’t think Google plans to end there. The recent leak of Google Now for iOS shows that Google understands real mobile dominance is in becoming vital inside your rival’s OS, not ignoring their existence. Google Now could challenge another default Apple tool in Siri. The personal assistance of Google Now is similar to Siri in many ways and exceeds it in some areas.

Gmail and Maps are not the only current apps available by Google, Inc. either. They offer a handful of popular apps for iOS. Chrome, Currents, and Google+ are just a few, and let’s not forget about YouTube. Google's presence is very real on iOS.

Google is knocking it out of the park with monster sales numbers around Android. They have overtaken Apple in overall sales of smartphones in the last few years, but their real market strategy may indeed be applications. They have recognized the popularity of iOS as a business opportunity rather than a threat. Now, don’t get me wrong, these two giants are still bitter rivals, but Google is taking a very open-minded approach to how they counteract their biggest competitor.

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Goodbye Google Reader...Hello BlinkFeed?

As word spreads like wildfire across the tech web that one of Google's most popular, yet underrated applications, Google Reader, is getting the ax come July 1st 2013, competing RSS readers/news aggregators like Flipboard, Pulse, Feedly, and Press are popping bottles. Ironically, you may be reading this through Google Reader, and I just punched you in the stomach. Sorry.

However, it occurred to me that a certain flagship device on the horizon may have an opportunity here like none other. One of the primetime features of HTC's newly announced hero device, the One, is BlinkFeed, which is essentially a news aggregator like Flipboard built into the platform right on your home screen. Granted, it's no Google Reader by any means. It might not be as robust as Flipboard either, but HTC has hinted that more functionality will be coming down the road, including the ability to customize your feed with your own sources. HTC already has major partners lined up to provide content you can access without launching an additional application.

If HTC is smart, they will capitalize on the loss of Reader. Who knows? Maybe they saw this coming. Some people may hate the idea of BlinkFeed, and its departure from the "pure Android" experience, but HTC might have just been given an assist by Google to justify this new feature. If it can get its ducks in a row, this will just help HTC's marketing efforts.

What do you think? Can HTC use the pending death of Google Reader to its advantage, and push BlinkFeed as a selling point for its new hotness, the HTC One? What will be your new aggregator of choice?

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Google Plus...your time is now.

We have all seen the headlines of the unrest over recent API changes for Twitter. TFX has had a couple ourselves in that regard. The one thing that has surprised me is that Google has not seized this opportunity to grow their homegrown social network. Google Plus is ripe for the challenge. Google just needs to open the gate.

The thing that Twitter has seemed to forgotten, is that 3rd party developers flocked to their API when it was first released and built some very solid clients for the network. Twitter was a small company in the beginning and needed these engineers to solve the problem of getting on every platform, as well as challenging Twitter on what a good client for their service was capable of looking like.

I don’t understand why Google has not released a fully public API for Google Plus to date. They could capitalize on the missteps of Twitter and truly challenge Facebook for the top social network. I know Google has done a decent job of selling Plus as an Android experience, but Google is a data company at heart. To offer this on multiple mobile operating systems would help their bottom line.

I can see Google not wanting to be challenged on Android, but the need for good clients on Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry are ever present. Just because users haven’t chosen Android should be no reason to not offer the service. Google could open up the API and allow 3rd parties to fill this void for them. It’s still using their backend services with a little help on the front end.

New ventures like AppDotNet have shown that people are growing concerned with Twitter and searching for an alternative. While I like where ADN is coming from, and they have already spawned some pretty great clients, they don’t have the brand recognition of Google. People are more apt to gravitate towards a name like that.

All you have to do is open the gate Google. Allow the devs in these great communities to make Google Plus what you want it to be.

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Jelly Bean 4.1 Rolls out to Moto Droid RAZR and RAZR Maxx

Owners of the Verizon-branded Motorola Droid RAZR and RAZR MAXX can now enjoy Android 4.1 as the carrier rolls out its Jelly Bean update over the next few days. There's no confirmation just yet on whether or not the usual bloatware is on board, but users can now enjoy the following Google goodies:

• Google Now – We could all use a good planner to keep track of our busy lives. With Google Now you get notifications generated automatically and in real-time even before you ask. Now your DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX can deliver sports scores, stock updates, weather reports and traffic updates so you have all the information you want even before you’ve had your morning coffee.


• Expanded Notifications – You should be able to call or text someone back right from your missed call notification. With Android™ 4.1 Jelly Bean you have the ability to do that and more. When you get a reminder about a meeting you can either tap once to snooze or even email participants to say you’re running late.


• Voice Search – Ask a question and get back the answer you’re looking for, ranging from “When is the next bus?” to “Where can I find a great Mexican restaurant?” You’ll either get a spoken response back or search results that answer your query.

Jelly Bean will make a great fit on this pair of Motorola's more powerful phones with great battery stamina on board to boot.

Source: Engadget, Motorola

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A Legit First World Problem: Americans are Being Ripped Off for Internet Access

Every day you're being taken advantage of by a flawed system that allows the big internet service providers to price gouge you in the United States. Some will argue that internet access isn't exactly a life or death issue, but there are a number of issues that affect the average American.

Here are 3:

The Wallet Issue:

Compared to other parts of the world, such as Hong Kong or Korea, Americans are paying astronomical prices for much slower speeds. In Hong Kong you can get a 500Mbps symmetric connection for $25 per month. Now, go compare your internet plan. Feels like you got kicked in the stomach, huh? Even if you don't care about how fast your internet access is, you should care about how much you are getting swindled for the access you are getting. There aren't too many people I know who wouldn't mind having an extra $25-$75 bucks or more per month to put towards groceries, gas, bills, or savings.

The Social Issue:

By putting high prices on the cost to access information, it puts those who are economically constrained at a serious disadvantage. It's not just about getting access to Facebook. In many cases, you can't even apply for a job without internet access. About 1/3, roughly 100 million Americans, are facing this digital divide, because it's not in the best interests of corporate profit.

The Global Issue:

Countries with cheaper access, and much faster speeds are leap frogging the United States in areas of technology and education. You can't lead the world in innovation if you're hamstringing your own people. While other countries are aiming for 1 gigabit symmetric connections to everyone's home, the U.S. is shooting for a paltry 4 megabits. The divide isn't just here at home, it's with the rest of the world as well.

The big ISPs have no incentive to address any of these issues. With no competition or regulation, they are free to charge as much as they wish for subpar service. Google has stepped up to tackle this with its Google Fiber project, but faces many challenges from the heavily entrenched ISP incumbents. No one is saying internet access should be free, but the growing inequality the exorbitant costs, slow speeds, and lack of access, are causing calls for serious changes to be made across the board. Our standards need to be higher.

Susan Crawford is on a crusade to right this wrong. However, she can't do it alone. Watch her interview. Then exercise your voice.


Susan Crawford on Why U.S. Internet Access is Slow, Costly, and Unfair from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.


Source: Bloomberg
Source: The Verge

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Come on LG...surprise us.

LG and HP announced yesterday that they have partnered with LG to take over the development and production of all things webOS related, with a few caveats. HP will keep the cloud end of the deal (App Catalog, Profile information, etc.) while LG will continue on with the operating system, both in proprietary form and OpenwebOS. All the Palm patents will stay inside the HP portfolio, but have been licensed to LG for an undisclosed amount.

LG has publicly said that this bold, new move is to replace their aging smart TV platform with the nimble web-based platform we have all come to love. CEO and President, Scott Ahn, has also stated that this is just a start and that LG will explore implementing webOS on various smart devices. Now, with a corporation the size of LG, smart devices could be mean many, many things. So, my question to LG is simply this: Why would you not make a webOS smartphone and tablet?

The market is currently screaming for something to rival Android and iOS. I know BlackBerry and Windows are both making big swings at it, but neither has knocked it out of the park yet. Android is evolving into a two man race between its “creators”, Google, and its “champion”, Samsung. Everyone else is just looking for scraps inside the profit margin. Apple is Apple.

Android still kinda sucks on a tablet. There, I said it. The UI just doesn’t seem to flow on a screen meant to be in landscape or portrait. The larger the screen, the poorer the experience. You know what works amazingly well on a tablet? webOS. If you don’t believe me, grab a TouchPad from one of your new employees and enjoy the ride. Yeah, the hardware is bland, and the apps never really made it there, but the core OS is still the best I’ve personally experienced on the tablet form factor.

Phones are harder, I know, but I still think you can succeed there as well. People still want to see a webOS phone running on Nexus 4 quality hardware. Hell, we would settle for the WindsorNot we only saw after HP crapped on us. I have never seen another OS that people were absolutely dying to get there hands on that companies are afraid to take the leap. Just do it LG.

You have stated that you will not launch your first TV running webOS until CES of 2014. I know that revamping your whole TV system will take time and resources, but couldn’t you reserve a small team to make a smart phone and tablet happen in the mean time? Give the faithful a chance to prove the OS is worth the effort.

Take the leap. Build us 200,000 webOS Nexus phones and the same in a 7 inch tablet at a reasonable price. Set the phone unlocked for $299 and the tablet at $199-250. See if they don't sell out in a week and make you scurry for more manufacturing.

LG, you have apparently seen enough of webOS to want to invest in it. All I'm asking is you reward all those that championed the software while HP drove it in the ground. This community is down, but they have not left. We lost any faith in HP to deliver, but not webOS.

We still believe, and we still want it. So, surprise us.

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Would You Buy a Chromephone? I Would.

Android is the smartphone marketshare leader. Whether you like other mobile OSes or not, that's still a fact. iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and soon Ubuntu, are all battling Android for that marketshare. However, what if Google headed in another direction all together? Or at the very least, gave its users another option for the smartphone market: Chrome OS.

Google's "other" OS is still a relatively new, but growing, contender for the desktop market. While Google is on the record for saying Chrome OS will only be for desktop/laptops, and Android for smartphones/tablets, I know I'd strongly consider a Chromephone. Why?

1) Apps - The majority, if not all, of the daily driver applications I use have a web equivalent. Google+, GMail, GTalk, Google Reader, Google Maps, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and Yelp just to name a few.

2) Google Now - Google is really starting to push Google Now and its capabilities. We're seeing this in their rare, but increasingly frequent, TV ads. Google keeps adding functionality to the service that can not only deliver search results, but weather, sports, travel, appointment, nearby location, translation, flight, and transit info. The Google Now service would be the heart of a Chromephone.

3) Speed - One of the many things Chrome OS has going for itself is the speed. Boot up times for Chromebooks are roughly 10 seconds. I'd want that on my smartphone. If there's a new update, then BAM, it's there when you log into your Chromebook. Imagine Google being able to do this across its smartphones and tablets? Fragmentation be gone.

4) The Cloud - Whether you are using Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or Evernote, you've already embraced the convenience of the cloud, home of Google and all its services. My music collection is in the cloud, and while I still keep my collection offline, it's a relief knowing it's being backed up day in and day out, and I can access it from anywhere, from any internet connected device if I needed to.

5) Costs - You can buy a Chromebook for as little as $199. Imagine how inexpensive a Chromephone could be? Not that you can't find a cheap Android phone, but I'm sure Google could flood the market with even cheaper phones. They wouldn't need the same specs and processing power. Microsoft and Apple are making attempts to converge their desktop and mobile offerings. Both are high priced options. Apple doesn't do cheap. Microsoft is charging 3 arms and 5 legs for a Surface Pro to get the full Windows 8 "experience". Google could easily beat them to price sensitive consumer wallets. Google's been trying to drive down the cost of its Nexus devices as it is.

I understand it might totally confuse things for some people. All these years of Android development might seem like a total waste if Google did this. It also wouldn't be an answer for hardcore gamers.

I think Google has an opportunity here though to serve a low cost market. To me it's just another option. It's defending its territory against competition like Mozilla. It's going where webOS should have gone, but didn't have the resources. It's bringing simplicity to the mobile market. Google's known to tinker. It's been willing to innovate and take chances on products even if they eventually fail. Why not this?

Google can justify a Chromephone the same way it justifies its Chromebooks: For no more hassles; Best of Google built-in. Cloud storage built-in. Speed built-in. Upgrades built-in. Connectivity built-in.

I'll add total compatibility with a Chromebook to that reason list which would in turn drive overall Chrome OS adoption. Google also wouldn't be competing with its Android partners, and could continue to license Android to them. Perhaps the market could be split into premium Android specked out mobile computing and budget friendly Chrome mobile devices. Either way, Google I think wins.

These are all things I'd want for my use case. What about you?

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BlackBerry should drop Android support

BlackBerry 10 is now here and the formerly Research in Motion team should be proud that they have brought their Berry-lovers the next generation of mobile. Thorsten Heins did a marvelous job of bringing the QNX-based OS to the stage this past week, and brought with it a pretty surprising amount of name-brand developer support. However, one aspect of the development front has me worried. Android apps are not the answer.

For those who don’t have a PlayBook, or lucky ones with a Z10, BlackBerry has added an Android runtime environment to the QNX system that allows for Android apps to run on the devices. While this does a decent job of allowing for quick “porting” for Android developers, it doesn’t send a clear message of how developers should approach BlackBerry 10.

BlackBerry, and 3rd party devs, have proven, on both the PlayBook and Z10, that a great native app is possible. This should be BlackBerry’s focus. Android apps are a bandaid, and a poor one at that. I cannot speak on the Z10, but on the PlayBook, while they work, the experience is not very clean.

Android apps run inside a walled environment in this situation, and is very disjointed at times. You are truly inside Android when you run these apps. The buttons, navigation, and general feel are all Android.

This is not what BlackBerry needs. The gesture-based OS has a learning curve just to use it, so while it shouldn’t be a problem after five minutes of use, the additionally confusion of the Android emulation is an unnecessary hassle. BlackBerry needs to persuade devs to build a native app ecosystem, and not one that can be “functional” in five minutes.

BlackBerry 10 shows a lot of promise and has a legitimate chance to become the number 3 platform in mobile, but after waiting this long to come to the table they have to make the experience a truly great one. Bringing the big-named apps will make a splash, but quality niche apps will make the platform succeed. BlackBerry needs to make the hard choice and drop Android support and focus on the native experience.

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Then There Were 3: BlackBerry 10 is Legit

Took me a couple of days to gather my thoughts on everything I saw at the BlackBerry 10 event a couple of days ago. I went in with an open mind, excited about the possibilities, and I came out still pumped up. Here's what grabbed me:

1) The BlackBerry Hub - BlackBerry stayed true to its core. It's a communication device first. This one feature, the BlackBerry Hub, has me geeking. Why? It's one place for all your messaging, from email to social networks, and it's easily accessible. Currently I have no less than 7 apps I have to use on Android to communicate with everyone I know. I have to open each app, and have each take up space on my phone to be able to keep my lines of communication open. If I'm going to stay with Android, I'm going to need some GUM.

2) The Keyboard - I think it's a given the BlackBerry Q10's keyboard is going to rock, however, the Z10's predictive type is what I'm anxious to give a spin. The fact that it recognizes multiple languages as well, for those of us who are multi-lingual like that, is awesome and a well thought out feature. For business users communicating with peers and clients globally, it's a godsend.

3) BBM with video AND screen share - BlackBerry could have stopped at just pairing BlackBerry Messenger with video conferencing capabilities, but decided to take it up a notch by offering the ability to share your screen as well. This proves BlackBerry can throw in some innovation besides a 4th row of icons.

4) Screen size - BlackBerry had the opportunity to follow Android handset makers into the realm of the phablet world with 5+ inch devices, but exercised restraint, at least for now. With the 4.2 inch Z10, it's nestled itself between the larger 4.5 inch+ Android devices and the smaller 4 inch iPhone 5.

5) Apps - Skype, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Kindle, just to name a few, are some of the major apps moving forward to support the platform with many more to come. That's extremely encouraging. When Palm launched webOS, how many of those top app developers were officially onboard?

6) Carrier support - Getting a large number of carriers to support a device is a daunting task. If they don't see the demand, then might as well take your dog and pony show elsewhere. In the U.S., where carriers can make or break devices, all four major carriers are onboard to carry BlackBerry 10 smartphones. This effective strategy made the Samsung Galaxy S3 immensely successful. No matter what carrier your friends are on, they can BBM with you.

7) Last, but not least, specs - BlackBerry 10 devices are armed with the latest and greatest specifications: 2 gigabytes of RAM, dual core processors, 16 gigabytes of internal storage which can be expanded with a memory card, LTE, removable batteries (hallelujah), NFC, HDMI Ports, 8 megapixel rear cameras, 2 megapixel front facing cameras, 1080P video recording, and gorgeous 1280 x 768 resolution, 356ppi displays. Yes they can compete in 2013.

Am I switching? I don't know yet. I need to get my hands on one before I can make that final decision. For me, as I mentioned before, there are key apps that I use from Google. My gut feeling is though, if the sales numbers are there, Google will show the BlackBerry 10 platform some love as it has for iOS. The Crackberry addicts deserve that. I know if I did switch, one other thing I would definitely look forward to is consistent OS software upgrades across all devices, something iOS owners have enjoyed, and Android owners have struggled with.

So far iOS and Android have dominated the market, but there's been a strong sense that the market needs at least a 3rd viable alternative, and BlackBerry 10 has all the potential to be that. I've been an Android fan for 3 years, but there's just something about that blinking red light that makes me want to checkout BlackBerry 10 for myself.

BlackBerry 10 Devices in black and white:

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Is This the Future of the Smartphone QWERTY?

Over the last several years, most smartphone users have had to adapt to all-touchscreen phones made popular by the iPhone and legions of Android devices. While you might find some qwerty keyboard options in the Android world, many have been mid-range sliders adding bulk. BlackBerry faithful have held on to their aging phones, because, to them, the keyboards just rock. Countless iPhone auto-correct memes can be found across the internet poking fun at the fact that, when it comes to typing without a physical keyboard, some people have two left thumbs.

Well, Tactus Technology, headquartered in Fremont, CA, is introducing some seriously cutting edge, smart device keyboard tech to attempt to put an end to the embarrassing text messages to mom. Imagine if you will, hitting the keyboard on-screen button or selecting a text field, and a physical keyboard permeates through the screen so you can begin typing. I did say seriously cutting edge.

The Tactus microfluidic technology is what will allow device makers to keep future devices slim and trim, but improve the experience of typing on mobile devices. For gamers, other potential applications could be controls that rise up and sink back into the screen when you're not fighting off the armies of evil.

Get a sneak peek at the future here:


Tactus Technology - CES 2013 from Tactus Technology Inc. on Vimeo.
Does this kind of keyboard tech get you excited or are you totally adjusted to the touchscreen experience?

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I Might Leave Android For BlackBerry...Maybe.

The Past

I used to be a Palm OS guy. Owned several devices over the years. Anyone who knows Palm history well enough, knows they did very little to modernize the Palm OS, and lost their grip on the smartphone world to the likes of RIM, Apple, and Google with their respective OSes.

I'm a fan of hardware and software being made by the same vendor. I thought about an iPhone back when it was first released, but they were locked in with AT&T, and I was locked in with Sprint. I didn't want a BlackBerry. Just never grabbed me with all the menus and trackball. Palm tried to make a comeback with webOS. I was standing on line day 1 waiting for this new chapter in Palm's life. Those were happy times. Really thought webOS was going places.

Then Sprint turned its back on Palm, and wouldn't pick up any new webOS devices. I was crushed. I didn't want to switch carriers, but I wanted new, advanced hardware.

That summer, Sprint introduced the original HTC EVO. I took a dive and discovered Android. It wasn't as elegant as webOS when it came to multitasking and gestures, but between the hardware and the app selection, I was sold.

The Present

Almost 3 years later, and 3 Android devices later, I'm an Android fan. Maybe not fanboy status since I'm writing this, but definitely a big user of Google products: Google+, Voice, GMAIL, Calendar, Maps, Chrome, Drive, GTalk, etc, etc. Three years into the ecosystem, and you could say I'm pretty locked in. Or not. There's still something missing in my Android experience even after almost 3 years.

A lot of the things that make Android great also work against it. Openness, customizations, cutting edge, and choice are all hallmarks of the platform. They also bring inconsistencies at almost every level of the experience. Depending on what version of the OS, which hardware vendor, and which carrier, your Android mileage may vary. While the Nexus program/brand might be the future for Google to bring some consistency to the Android customer experience, it's not a one size fits all solution for everyone. For example, only one carrier in the U.S. has the latest iteration of Google's Nexus smartphone as of this writing.

So given my dissatisfaction with the disjointed experience one sometimes gets with Android, you would probably think I'd be headed towards iOS now that it is available on my carrier. However, I have owned an iOS device. An iPad 2. After a year of use, and running it side by side with Android Ice Cream Sandwich on my dual-booted HP TouchPad, I realized iOS just didn't work the way I worked. Just didn't have the same flow. Speaking of flow…

The new re-designed, re-engineered, re-invented BlackBerry 10 has been on a tear in the news lately. Admittedly, a year ago when there were rumblings of a comeback, I was truly skeptical. However, all of the recent image leaks, specs, talks about major carrier support, number of apps that will be available, and videos showing off the gestures and integration supported, have had me really intrigued. RIM also makes the software and hardware, something I've always been biased towards. From what I can tell, RIM has developers fired up and aims to market the hell out of the platform. Also the BlackBerry, like the iPhone, is iconic and has its own mystique amongst its fans. Even though I was never part of that collective, I was, however, a webOS fan. I can see some of the similarities between RIM's attempt at a revival and Palm's. On that note…

The Future

Recently, RIM's CEO, Thorsten Heins, told the media he would be open to selling off the hardware unit, and licensing the BlackBerry OS. That sort of talk gives me flashbacks of Palm, and I would hope Mr. Heins would look back in the not too distant past to see how that worked out for Palm. It makes me uneasy to think about jumping into the BlackBerry World if they are unsure about what direction they want to take the company long term.

My other concern with RIM is how long it's actually taken them to arrive at this point. To be on par with iOS and Android. Can they innovate rapidly going forward, or will they end up like Palm?

There's also the fact that I use so many Google apps, and so do millions of others. Will Google provide a level of support with applications for the new BlackBerry platform as it has with iOS, or see it has a threat to Android? Even if Google doesn't see BlackBerry 10 as a threat to Android, because of a smaller user base, will it think it's worth developing for? Maybe. If all the other big names are there it might follow. Or it could ignore BlackBerry, essentially crippling the platform, since Google apps are some of the most widely utilized apps. Just check the iOS App Store for most popular apps downloaded and many of Google's apps are listed.

In reality it's not life or death. I could try out BlackBerry 10 for a while and love it. I could also hate it, just rejoin the legion of Android users, and hope Android gets its act together by then. Either way, the industry's future looks a bit brighter now that there actually may be other viable choices on the horizon.

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