The State of the Mobile App

The current state of Mobile applications are in a catch 22. Currently, there are so many platforms to design applications for the WebOS, the iPhone OS, Android, Symbian, WinMo, and Blackberry. Many of these OSes have their application stores. The Apple App store, is flooded with over 80,000 applications, how is one to find an app? This is state of emergency for the mobile application, how can it survive on a 3.5 inch screen when it does not pop up in a search result or in the Top 10 or 100 applications. In the Apple App store, developers have resorted to making multiple applications of the same application with slight variations, thus inflating the Apple App store. The Palm App Catalog, has come up with an innovative method of giving each App it own URL, with this URL an application can be distributed outside the App Catalog. Which is an innovative approach to solving this problem. Luckily, there are only 300 apps in the Palm catalog. Palm is the only manufacturer looking out for the developer.

The Future of Mobile Teleco

Just announced today, T-Mobile will start offering reduced plans with no contracts or no commitments. What is the catch now? They want you to a bring your old phone to them, and use it on their network. No longer are the days where carriers will provide a highly subsided phone in exchange for a one or two year commitment. Is this a new way the mobile / wireless industry is going, or is it just competition for the lowest rates, and how to survive in this economy.

What a week!

This is a gadget's boys week come true. So many gadgets released this week, as well reliable rumors. To start off the bat, Blackberry Bold 2 was announced this week. Windows 7 was made public, finally a version of Windows that deserves the hype. The Barnes and Nobles Nook was announced, I like their Web 2.0 naming approach, but ebook readers to me seem like luxury items. The Droid campaign got more intense with the Moto Droid leaks, and this device gives the HTC Touch Pro 2 a run for its money. Then there is Apple, the small company in Cupertino, CA with their their best quarter ever, and the new Magic mouse, which takes a step back from the multi-touch on the macbooks. They also had a silly product launch for the plastic unibody macbook, which is just silly.
Anyways, waiting for another week like this, will it be before CES?

The New Wave of Smartphones

It is very interesting to hear about the new wave of smartphone devices coming out this year. A majority of these phones run on Android or Windows. It is even more surprising to see a Manufacturers like HTC and Samsung to make multiple devices with roughly the same hardware, but loading different mobile operating systems like Windows Mobile, custom roms of Linux Mobile, and Android. HTC started making Windows phones, but has expanded to Android. Samsung makes phones using Linux Mobile, Windows, Android, and their own OS for their non-smartphones. Now Dell is coming into the game selling a phone running on Android. There is also ASUS/Garmin that is selling a phone that runs on Windows. Motorola is selling their DEXT with Android. The market is flooded with devices running on Windows Mobile and Android.

The next interesting point is all these phones are particular made in the same factory. All these manufacturers outsource their manufacturing to Foxconn or another company all located in the same city. It really doesn't matter which device you buy it is being built by the same people. Normally you could compare devices by saying it's a Dell and it's built in Texas, but that is no longer true (Dell just announced they are closing a manufacturing plant in NC).

Pre-G20 @ cmu

The G20 is coming to Pittsburgh, but how does it affect the average Carnegie Mellon student like me? Well, not that well. Midterm season starts this week, and professor's are ignorant that the G20 is interfering with student's schedules. My schedule this week has 2 exams, and 2 quizzes this week each one on a different day. It makes it impossible for me to attend any of three the guest lectures this week. Even though theses lectures are probably a once in a lifetime opportunity, the school is not encouraging these opportunities nor are giving students a break. Instead, the G20 is creating more annoyances such as shutdown the library, buildings, and local roads. Increasing security to high levels. These are inconveniences, but we are expected to perform at the same levels regardless the lack of resources such as the library or easy transportation.

ZuneHD: my thoughs

The ZuneHD came out this week. Even though the launch was quite quiet. This gadget has been echoing all over the blog-o-sphere. I really like the UI, they have fixed all the issues that I find annoying with the iPod touch. The ZuneHD is a true media player, unlike the iPod touch which is more focused on being a small web app tablet. The true media junkies have been waiting for the ZuneHD because it is made of better components unlike the iPod which is now a big brand name, and Apple is known of being the master of cheap components. It is no surprised the ZuneHD is already sold out at many online stores, and B&M's. I don't really expect an MP3 player to be a web-browser. I want my media player to play media in an easy fashion, be cool, be able to share my media via HDMI or to another zune, and play the radio if I get bored. By the way, the zune music player is awesome! iTunes is the worst music app ever, it uses so much memory, and how it organizes music on the local disk of the ipod is indescribable. CNN says the zuneHD is no ipod killer, I disagree with them. The ipod touch is not a ZuneHD killer. The only problem I have with the ZuneHD is it should have been launched last year. Apple is already on their THIRD gen ipod touch, and this Zune's first gen touch player. Also, the launch of ZuneHD should have been earlier in the summer like in July or June before the back to school shopping period. I'm really wondering what took zune so long, the iphone/ipod touch interface was announced 2 and half years ago. Most the zune interface was made back then, and ZuneHD UI is just minor tweaks for a touch interface. I'm still puzzled why this is coming in 2009, when it should have came out in 2008 or 2007.

Song of the Week: MSTRKRFT ft. John Legend - Heartbreaker

Nice music video, it's fun to watch, and it features the great John Legend (Green Light).

How to beat the iPhone

There has been a media uproar with the iPhone and ATT service in the recent days. If Sprint and Palm are smart, they should take this to their advanatage. iPhone users are complaining about lousy service, poor 3G speeds, dropped calls, delayed text messages and voicemails. Palm could use this opportunity to switch over these iPhone users to Pre, but how? Give them a deal, that they can't refuse. Simple as "Having problems with ATT? Do you want America's most reliable 3G connection? Then, trade in your iPhone for a Palm Pre." Sprint and Palm would then have to take old iPhones, and give out free Pre's. This would increase the Pre userbase to high number, and get very good publicity.

Song of the Week: Kambakkht Ishq - Om Mangalam

This a fun hindi song to watch and to hear. Also, a fun movie to watch.

Summer Media Coverage

School is out during the summer, but is main stream media out as well. It has been a trend over the last 10 years, that the really big stories come out during other times of the year. During the summer, the same stories tend to lag out for weeks, and are repetitive. Do news networks think that people are out, and are tuning in less frequent or are news agencies just slacking off?

Swine Flu: Do dust masks really protect someone?

If you haven't heard about the swine flu, just redirect your browser to the CDC or CNN. The flu is being spread by pigs originating in Mexico possibly. The Mexican government is taking harsh precautions, so is the United States. In all the pictures you see people wearing dust masks, but does that really protect one from a 2 micron virus that can pass through those pores. What is really worse is the humidity on the mask which nurtures viruses to grow. Currently, the only precaution one can take is to wash their hands constantly. Currently, the lessons being learned from swine flu is our society can't really handle a pandemic. We can't control the quarantining the disease, we currently don't have the technology to stop the disease or any type of preventive care. If we lived in HEPA filtered environments, and find ways to block airborne viruses either by odor, light, or sound?

Song of the Week: Soft Shock by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!

Who will be the next Twitter?

I just came back from a conference, and the word twitter and tweet was overused to a high degree. I believe that Twitter is going to join the exclusive club of High Traffic of MySpace, Youtube, Facebook, Meembo, Yahoo, Digg, Flickr, and Google. The real question, who is next? It will have to be new and simple, as any of these projects have shown, they at first only have 1 feature, either telling you status or sharing a picture or video. It is surprising google hasn't made a Flickr killer, maybe they want Yahoo to survive, and have a community of internet gurus. I think the next member of Web 2.0 will be on mobile sites being converted to online sites. I think Food has to be explored, and local events calender site that tells you what is going down in your zip code. Similar to Craigslist, but only one mission.

Sprint's new commericals might be working

I think Sprint is turning around this year, even though each quarter they post negative numbers, this might be their year. The Palm Pre is coming out this year, which is gonna be the gadget of the year, making the iPhone a thing of the past. Sprint's new innovative commercial really does tell the power of wireless and 3G, and what your missing without having a smartphone. It is much better than Dan Hesse running around NYC telling people to switch to Sprint, he looked desperate, and this time when the ratings of CEOs are at an all time low, I think he might have just brought the economy down.

Stores are going out of business, but are they really?

In the recent months, it said that each mall in America 1 out of 5 stores will go out of business during this time. This is hurting the retail leasing sector, but are these businesses really going out of business? My answer is no, these businesses are changing their strategy. The old days of driving to a store, asking a clerk for a recommendation, and paying the cashier does not need to apply to each store. Circuit City today announced that it will be selling their website to TigerDirect. A similar purchase was made last year, when TigerDirect brought the CompUSA name and website.
It appears that this investment payed off. When people first think of buying a new computer, they think CompUSA, and many people do price shopping online. The same goes with CircuitCity, when people first think of buying a new television, they think Circuit City or Best Buy. Also, in the past year people are more confortable with buying big purchases online. People are used to ordering a new plasma off Amazon or getting a new computer from Dell's website. Even though Circuit City is no longer in your neigbor hood shopping district, you can still do business with them and get a better deal than before. There will be no need to pay hourly sales employees, no need to pay monthly leases on bick stores, or the other costs such as newspaper advertising or possible sales tax.

Question: Is recognization the key to success?

This my first blog question where I invite the readers to participate. Is recognization the key to success? Is being pointed at and told that person will suceed the real success? In somewhat, yes since it is motivation and other types of synergy that is involved. I personally don't believe that is correct way to measure one's success. I believe it is difficult to imagine and log the many hours it takes for a project or an idea to become a reality. Since being recognized has certain factors such as exclusivity, and certain commonalities. I believe every person has a different definition of sucess, either to ride a bike or to fix a computer.

Kush has a .TEL

I jumped on the bandwagon and got my first .tel . It is the first "kush" dot something that I got. It is really hard to get your first name as a domain these days. dot Tel is perfect for my needs I need a way to list all my online presences such as my blog, facebook, linkin, medgdgt url, google talk, AIM address, and other online accounts. It is new standard of business cards since everyone has iPhones these days and other mobile devices. Check out my .tel at www.kush.tel

If all contests were like this

Song the Week: Pet Shop Boys : Love Etc.

I have been listening to the Pet Shop Boys all week, and it gets the Kush award for best song of the week.

Dubai to host the world's largest skyscraper

A topic which has lost popularity in the West has been the race to build taller buildings. It is apparent this is not so in the East where Tawian, and China have made their attempts. Currently, the Tawian has the world's largest completed skyscraper. The Burj when completed in September 2009 willl be the tallest skyscraper. The tower will have a hotel, to share the glory of spending a night in the world's tallest building, and other luxieries.

Link: http://www.burjdubai.com/

Levitation Toys Really Test Brain Power

Mattel is releasing a new product that allows a kid to use their brain waves. This is the first type of toy that allows a brain waves. In the future, should we use using brain waves to turn off the lights, is the Universal TV remote going to be on the endangered species list in the future?

source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102472655 (thanks Nina for sending this in)

This World Is Watching Me (vs Rank 1 ft. Kush)

Armin Van Buuren and Rank 1 ft Kush- This world is watching me from dudikd on Vimeo.

Found a music video online Featuring me (Kush)

Kush wrote for the Tartan this week

Kush wrote for the SciTech section of the Tartan this week.
Many of the articles with images are echoed on MedGdgt and KushMangal.com .

http://www.thetartan.org/2009/2/9/scitech/briefs

Animals fossils older than 635 million years old discovered

Fossil traces were found in an oil field in the Arabian peninsula are considered to be the oldest evidence of animal existence. The fossils found can confirm that life existed more than 635 years ago. The fossils found don't look like traditional fossils, but they look more like fossil echoes which are chemical traces of a compound. The chemical traces were similar to the demosponge, which is considered to be the last common ancestor for all animals. "It is, definitively, the earliest evidence for animals," said geochemist Gordon Love of the University of California, Riverside.

Source: Wired / Nature

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/earliestanimal.html

Google allows you track your friend's position online

Google has launched software to track users of mobile phones and other wireless devices. This allows one to share their location with family and friends in 27 different countries using Google Latitude. The user can select who receives the information, and when they determine to go offline. "Fun aside, we recognize the sensitivity of location data, so we've built fine-grained privacy controls right into the application," said a Google representative. Friends can be tracked on a google map using a computer or a phone that supports google maps.

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5131Z620090205

Cool Resolution Image

This is a 1,474 megapixel image of the presidential inauguration from last week. This image was made by collecting multiple images. This super-resolution image is hosted on a CMU project site called gigapan.

Source: http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=15374

New greenhouse gas emissions satellite launched today

Today the first green house gas emissions satellite was launched from Japan. This satellite will allow to find which exact areas are the most congested. The findings from the satellite will most likely change public policy when the G8 meets up later this year.

Is Marketing over Hyped?

Is Marketing in our society over hyped? Do people actually buy stuff that they see in commercials or in magazine ads? I think marketing helps for new products that are being released into the consumer ecosystem, but for pre-existing products like Coke and Pepsi I don't think marketing makes a difference. I think their marketing dollars are the backbones to many publications and television networks, so they ads are more of a public service for cheaper mass media.

Marketing is everywhere in multiple formats. Video Ads on websites, pull-outs in magazines, television ads, e-mails, on Hulu and other video services, the radio, billboards, and with the help of Google all over the search engine and in Gmail.

Sony Webbie to change online blogging?

Sony has released affordable portable high definition video cameras that can easily fit in someone's pocket. In the current YouTube era, will more blogs post more videos of current and local events with this easy to use and colorful camera. The people at KushMangal.com really like the orange Sony Webbie Camera. If you see more videos in the future, thank the Sony Webbie.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Kush Mangal .com !
Our resolution is provide an unparalleled experience to our readers.