I've noted previously how Andy Abramson runs the first-rate blogger program for the Nokia N Series phones. For everything you could ever want to know about any of these phones, this is the place to go. Each N Series model has its own blog page, and the all the reviews for that model are posted in one place for all to see. For the market researcher in me, this is a motherlode for qualitative research - it's really great.
Just a quick post to say that Max's N93 review from earlier today has now been posted to the N93 blog page. Keep spreading the word, Andy - thanks!
Technorati tags: Nokia N93, Jon Arnold, Andy Abramson, Nokia blog, Max Arnold
Monday, November 13, 2006
I'm Number 31! In VoIP, that is...
Huh? That's definitely not my age, but it's my special number for today.
VoIP News just published their list of "Top 50 Most Influential People in VoIP". Doesn't that sound like a list you'd want to be on? It does to me. There are lots of VoIP-focused pubs, portals and resources out there, but I haven't come across a list like this yet. Special thanks to Brian Provost, who put this piece together.
Well, the good news is that I'm on it, clocking in at #31! I'll take it. Most of the higher entries are actually companies, not individuals, so the list is a bit of a misnomer. Individuals don't show up on the list til #13, and Mark Spencer of Asterisk is tops. Not a bad choice, and not surprising since VoIP News is clearly a fan of Open Source - the #1 entry on the list went to the "Asterisk community".
Overall, I think the list is pretty solid, actually, as it really covers the gamut. Aside from Open Source, there are the big names like Verizon, Alcatel, Avaya, Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens, Nortel - but also the disruptors/challengers like Vonage, Covad, Google, Skype/eBay, Iotum, Packet8 and Mino. And of course the usual suspects from the blogger community - Jeff Pulver, Om Malik, Andy Abramson, Alec Saunders, Rich Tehrani, etc.
I'd also like to briefly wave the Canadian flag here. Aside from myself, the red and white are well represented by Iotum, Alec Saunders and Mark Evans (who will be my podcast guest tomorrow). Whoo hoo.
Needless to say, I'm very happy to be included in such stellar company, so my day is complete. So, thanks to VoIP News for the recognition, and for anyone out there looking for a starting point to understand the VoIP space, you don't need to look any further.
Technorati tags: VoIP News, Jon Arnold
VoIP News just published their list of "Top 50 Most Influential People in VoIP". Doesn't that sound like a list you'd want to be on? It does to me. There are lots of VoIP-focused pubs, portals and resources out there, but I haven't come across a list like this yet. Special thanks to Brian Provost, who put this piece together.
Well, the good news is that I'm on it, clocking in at #31! I'll take it. Most of the higher entries are actually companies, not individuals, so the list is a bit of a misnomer. Individuals don't show up on the list til #13, and Mark Spencer of Asterisk is tops. Not a bad choice, and not surprising since VoIP News is clearly a fan of Open Source - the #1 entry on the list went to the "Asterisk community".
Overall, I think the list is pretty solid, actually, as it really covers the gamut. Aside from Open Source, there are the big names like Verizon, Alcatel, Avaya, Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens, Nortel - but also the disruptors/challengers like Vonage, Covad, Google, Skype/eBay, Iotum, Packet8 and Mino. And of course the usual suspects from the blogger community - Jeff Pulver, Om Malik, Andy Abramson, Alec Saunders, Rich Tehrani, etc.
I'd also like to briefly wave the Canadian flag here. Aside from myself, the red and white are well represented by Iotum, Alec Saunders and Mark Evans (who will be my podcast guest tomorrow). Whoo hoo.
Needless to say, I'm very happy to be included in such stellar company, so my day is complete. So, thanks to VoIP News for the recognition, and for anyone out there looking for a starting point to understand the VoIP space, you don't need to look any further.
Technorati tags: VoIP News, Jon Arnold
TalkPlus - Friend or Foe for Skype?
Very interesting post today from colleague Phil Wolff at Skype Journal.
If you're a fan of either TalkPlus or Skype, you'll want to read this, and more importantly check out the video clip. Phil has posted a raw clip of TalkPlus CEO Jeff Black doing a live demo of him calling into Skype's echo123 number on the fly using TalkPlus.
The details are better left to Skype-o-philes like Phil to explain, but basically, Jeff demonstrates how TalkPlus subscribers can access Skype and make SkypeOut calls from their mobile phone. Remember, you don't dial phone numbers to call other Skype users. With TalkPlus, Jeff shows how a 10 digit phone number is generated on the fly, allowing you to make this call on your cell phone.
Jeff has talked about how TalkPlus has reverse engineered Skype, and if this allows TalkPlus subscribers to access the Skype network directly, without going through as a Skype subscriber, then you really don't need a SkypeIn number. You just use your existing number and interface with Skype via TalkPlus.
Am still getting my head around this a bit, but if it all holds water - and if it scales - this could put a crimp in Skype's revenue model. I don't that's what Jeff has in mind, unless there's another form of reverse engineering going on - such as becoming an acquisition target for Skype/eBay. Or how about the other big fish, like Google, Yahoo, etc.? Lots of scenarios to speculate about there.
So, kudos to Phil Wolff for this great post, but now for the hard question. Phil - you taped this clip 2 weeks ago, and TalkPlus is just getting their story ramped up this week. Why post today and not 2 weeks ago, unless you were under embargo? It's not clear to me from your post - under the Skype Journal mantle -if this is welcome news or not. Your post is totally objective - 100% neutral, and I just can't tell. What's your take? I'd say it's the former...
Quick hat tip to Alec Saunders, who posted on this earlier today.
Technorati tags: TalkPlus, Jon Arnold, Skype, Skype Journal, Phil Wolff
If you're a fan of either TalkPlus or Skype, you'll want to read this, and more importantly check out the video clip. Phil has posted a raw clip of TalkPlus CEO Jeff Black doing a live demo of him calling into Skype's echo123 number on the fly using TalkPlus.
The details are better left to Skype-o-philes like Phil to explain, but basically, Jeff demonstrates how TalkPlus subscribers can access Skype and make SkypeOut calls from their mobile phone. Remember, you don't dial phone numbers to call other Skype users. With TalkPlus, Jeff shows how a 10 digit phone number is generated on the fly, allowing you to make this call on your cell phone.
Jeff has talked about how TalkPlus has reverse engineered Skype, and if this allows TalkPlus subscribers to access the Skype network directly, without going through as a Skype subscriber, then you really don't need a SkypeIn number. You just use your existing number and interface with Skype via TalkPlus.
Am still getting my head around this a bit, but if it all holds water - and if it scales - this could put a crimp in Skype's revenue model. I don't that's what Jeff has in mind, unless there's another form of reverse engineering going on - such as becoming an acquisition target for Skype/eBay. Or how about the other big fish, like Google, Yahoo, etc.? Lots of scenarios to speculate about there.
So, kudos to Phil Wolff for this great post, but now for the hard question. Phil - you taped this clip 2 weeks ago, and TalkPlus is just getting their story ramped up this week. Why post today and not 2 weeks ago, unless you were under embargo? It's not clear to me from your post - under the Skype Journal mantle -if this is welcome news or not. Your post is totally objective - 100% neutral, and I just can't tell. What's your take? I'd say it's the former...
Quick hat tip to Alec Saunders, who posted on this earlier today.
Technorati tags: TalkPlus, Jon Arnold, Skype, Skype Journal, Phil Wolff
Max's Nokia N93 Review - Read It and See It
Regular readers here may know that Max is my 14 year old son, and is quite the techie. I try to feature him when possible for a couple of reasons. First, he's really tech savvy, and has strong, informed views that I think are worth sharing.
Second, he gets the benefit of using all the gadgets that come my way, and I'd say he gets exposed to a lot of stuff that 14 year olds never get to see. How many 14 year olds use Skype (well, a few, I'd say)? But how many of them have figured out how to use a digital camera to make Skype work? And how many 14 year olds have used the Nokia N Series phones in North America? I'd say very few, if any, other than Max.
I've been part of the Nokia N Series blogger program for a while, and Max has been a beneficiary along the way. He recently wrote a review of the Nokia N91, and now he's done one for the N93. He's been using this phone for a while, and finally I can get my shot now that he's reviewed it.
So, in this post, I'm going to share with you two reviews from Max. First is his written review, which you can read down below. Following that, you can watch his videoblog review where he demonstrates some of the cool features. It should be no surprise to readers of this blog that Max did the video review using SightSpeed. You can find the link just after the writeup below.
So, take it away, Max....
I had seen it in magazine articles before, and it was dubbed �the laptop phone� because of its ability to fold open to a 16:9 widescreen view. Having seen the entire previous Nokia �N� series (N70, N90, N91) this phone has at least one feature from each one; the N70's second lens, the N90's ability to flip around like a camcorder (and flash), and the N91's WiFi card. Its physical design (flip phone) is much like that of the N90, with one small exception; rather than being beside the screen and keypad when it is open, it is in between them, and protrudes enough so that making calls is... well... awful! You have to crank up the volume to maximum just to hear the other end, and even then it's not that easy to hear.
Not to mention that its ability to fold around like a video camera is a pain during calls, because the pivot point is only at one side, and makes the screen flip around when you're in motion � which is usually the case with a cell phone. However, a bluetooth headset may solve the problem, because if you're paying for a phone with this many features, you should be advanced enough to be using one.
This phone is also full of �because you can� features. As stated before, there is the laptop unfold feature, which, has no benefit for using the phone, other than looking good. There's also the barcode scanner where you can put a barcode (any barcode, the ones you find on cans of soup, boxes of cereal � even the box of the N93 itself!) up to the main 3.2 megapixel lens, and hold it in place while it obtains information embedded within the barcode. Rather extensive, but if you're the type of person that has showdowns between colleagues during lunch for whose cell phone has the most features, consider this $700.00 investment a free pass to the winners' circle.
Another feature that enhances the versatility of this phone is the Mini SD card slot. The phone is bundled with 128 mb, as the only source for memory (nothing built in!) but can be expanded to any Mini SD card size you can find. Seeing this, you can put MP3s on those cards, which brings me to another point; the phone lacks dedicated MP3 buttons. In this day and age it should be standard for this to be a feature, especially seeing how many other features it has. Even if it DID have such buttons (or you use the built in media player with onscreen buttons) an optical port sure would help! This is unbelievable! MP3 buttons, audio ports, voice quality, built in memory... all basic features NOT INCLUDED! I was greatly disappointed with this phone. Do not get it unless you do not listen to music on the go, and don't make calls.
Rating out of 5: 1.5/5
Wired: Slick laptop-style unfolding point. WiFi, Bluetooth and infrared make this phone a Swiss army knife for wireless data transfer. Expandable memory helps the phone feel more personal. Two lenses for those egomaniacs who take pictures of themselves a lot. Flash really helps out the pictures.
Tired: Poor voice quality when talking in noisy places, awfully laid out (the lens housing juts out too far, making it uncomfortable to talk on the phone), second lens is terrible, no optical port, no built in memory, no MP3 buttons, too many extensive features.
Expired: This entire phone.
Next steps: Place the pivot point of the screen at the center � even if it means that you sacrifice the �laptop feature� which is in no way beneficial, and too difficult to control and type with in that position. Also, the lens should be placed like that of the N90; outside of the phone rather than partially inside of it, so that it can actually be used as a phone.
Bottom line: This is the kind of phone that you see in commercials or being demonstrated somewhere where they only show you the cool features � which, are, indeed, quite appealing; but when you get 15 minutes into trying it out you realize you've wasted your money when you see the pitfalls.
All in all, if you don't listen to music on the go, do a lot of photography, data transfer on the go with bluetooth, infrared and WiFi, have a Bluetooth headset (so you can actually talk) and want to be able to turn heads, this phone is for you. If you do not fit the above bill, do not get this phone. Putting it all in three words: Ewww huuu huuu!
Max Arnold
Thanks son! Pretty candid review, huh? D'ya think Nokia will want to hear from him again? Actually, I'd say YES. He doesn't mince words, and to be market leader, you have to know how to get inside the heads of the youth market. He's all yours if you're game, Nokia.
To me, his review seems a bit harsh, and so far, I have found the voice quality to be fine. And I haven't threatened to send him to his room for being so tough! He's bigger than me, and he never comes out of his room anyway, especially now that he's into building computers. More on that in a moment.
So, it's my turn now to try out the N93 and you can look for my review soon. Now Max will have to go back to the N70, or maybe even my N90 for a while. Poor guy... he's still light years ahead of anyone in his school for having a cool phone....
For what it's worth, here's a photo Max took of our cat with the N93. Looks like something out of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, for any of you silent film buffs like me - if there are any left! I digress, but couldn't resist - that's another blog post altogether, but you'll have to ask me for that one. I'm going to do some N93/N90 photo comparisons in my review, so stay tuned.
If you've made this far, here's your reward. Max did his video-based review/demo using SightSpeed over the weekend - hope you like it!
And finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't put a small, shameless plug in for Max's custom PC business - MACC Canada. Have a look at his website, which of course, he put together himself. So, if you're in the market for a custom-built desktop (can't do laptops...yet) or need troubleshooting help, Max would love to hear from ya...
Technorati tags: Nokia N93, Jon Arnold, Max Arnold, SightSpeed
Second, he gets the benefit of using all the gadgets that come my way, and I'd say he gets exposed to a lot of stuff that 14 year olds never get to see. How many 14 year olds use Skype (well, a few, I'd say)? But how many of them have figured out how to use a digital camera to make Skype work? And how many 14 year olds have used the Nokia N Series phones in North America? I'd say very few, if any, other than Max.
I've been part of the Nokia N Series blogger program for a while, and Max has been a beneficiary along the way. He recently wrote a review of the Nokia N91, and now he's done one for the N93. He's been using this phone for a while, and finally I can get my shot now that he's reviewed it.
So, in this post, I'm going to share with you two reviews from Max. First is his written review, which you can read down below. Following that, you can watch his videoblog review where he demonstrates some of the cool features. It should be no surprise to readers of this blog that Max did the video review using SightSpeed. You can find the link just after the writeup below.
So, take it away, Max....
I had seen it in magazine articles before, and it was dubbed �the laptop phone� because of its ability to fold open to a 16:9 widescreen view. Having seen the entire previous Nokia �N� series (N70, N90, N91) this phone has at least one feature from each one; the N70's second lens, the N90's ability to flip around like a camcorder (and flash), and the N91's WiFi card. Its physical design (flip phone) is much like that of the N90, with one small exception; rather than being beside the screen and keypad when it is open, it is in between them, and protrudes enough so that making calls is... well... awful! You have to crank up the volume to maximum just to hear the other end, and even then it's not that easy to hear.
Not to mention that its ability to fold around like a video camera is a pain during calls, because the pivot point is only at one side, and makes the screen flip around when you're in motion � which is usually the case with a cell phone. However, a bluetooth headset may solve the problem, because if you're paying for a phone with this many features, you should be advanced enough to be using one.
This phone is also full of �because you can� features. As stated before, there is the laptop unfold feature, which, has no benefit for using the phone, other than looking good. There's also the barcode scanner where you can put a barcode (any barcode, the ones you find on cans of soup, boxes of cereal � even the box of the N93 itself!) up to the main 3.2 megapixel lens, and hold it in place while it obtains information embedded within the barcode. Rather extensive, but if you're the type of person that has showdowns between colleagues during lunch for whose cell phone has the most features, consider this $700.00 investment a free pass to the winners' circle.
Another feature that enhances the versatility of this phone is the Mini SD card slot. The phone is bundled with 128 mb, as the only source for memory (nothing built in!) but can be expanded to any Mini SD card size you can find. Seeing this, you can put MP3s on those cards, which brings me to another point; the phone lacks dedicated MP3 buttons. In this day and age it should be standard for this to be a feature, especially seeing how many other features it has. Even if it DID have such buttons (or you use the built in media player with onscreen buttons) an optical port sure would help! This is unbelievable! MP3 buttons, audio ports, voice quality, built in memory... all basic features NOT INCLUDED! I was greatly disappointed with this phone. Do not get it unless you do not listen to music on the go, and don't make calls.
Rating out of 5: 1.5/5
Wired: Slick laptop-style unfolding point. WiFi, Bluetooth and infrared make this phone a Swiss army knife for wireless data transfer. Expandable memory helps the phone feel more personal. Two lenses for those egomaniacs who take pictures of themselves a lot. Flash really helps out the pictures.
Tired: Poor voice quality when talking in noisy places, awfully laid out (the lens housing juts out too far, making it uncomfortable to talk on the phone), second lens is terrible, no optical port, no built in memory, no MP3 buttons, too many extensive features.
Expired: This entire phone.
Next steps: Place the pivot point of the screen at the center � even if it means that you sacrifice the �laptop feature� which is in no way beneficial, and too difficult to control and type with in that position. Also, the lens should be placed like that of the N90; outside of the phone rather than partially inside of it, so that it can actually be used as a phone.
Bottom line: This is the kind of phone that you see in commercials or being demonstrated somewhere where they only show you the cool features � which, are, indeed, quite appealing; but when you get 15 minutes into trying it out you realize you've wasted your money when you see the pitfalls.
All in all, if you don't listen to music on the go, do a lot of photography, data transfer on the go with bluetooth, infrared and WiFi, have a Bluetooth headset (so you can actually talk) and want to be able to turn heads, this phone is for you. If you do not fit the above bill, do not get this phone. Putting it all in three words: Ewww huuu huuu!
Max Arnold
Thanks son! Pretty candid review, huh? D'ya think Nokia will want to hear from him again? Actually, I'd say YES. He doesn't mince words, and to be market leader, you have to know how to get inside the heads of the youth market. He's all yours if you're game, Nokia.
To me, his review seems a bit harsh, and so far, I have found the voice quality to be fine. And I haven't threatened to send him to his room for being so tough! He's bigger than me, and he never comes out of his room anyway, especially now that he's into building computers. More on that in a moment.
So, it's my turn now to try out the N93 and you can look for my review soon. Now Max will have to go back to the N70, or maybe even my N90 for a while. Poor guy... he's still light years ahead of anyone in his school for having a cool phone....
For what it's worth, here's a photo Max took of our cat with the N93. Looks like something out of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, for any of you silent film buffs like me - if there are any left! I digress, but couldn't resist - that's another blog post altogether, but you'll have to ask me for that one. I'm going to do some N93/N90 photo comparisons in my review, so stay tuned.
If you've made this far, here's your reward. Max did his video-based review/demo using SightSpeed over the weekend - hope you like it!
And finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't put a small, shameless plug in for Max's custom PC business - MACC Canada. Have a look at his website, which of course, he put together himself. So, if you're in the market for a custom-built desktop (can't do laptops...yet) or need troubleshooting help, Max would love to hear from ya...
Technorati tags: Nokia N93, Jon Arnold, Max Arnold, SightSpeed
Friday, November 10, 2006
TalkPlus Gets the TV Treatment
I recently posted about TalkPlus and how they're a very Voice 2.0 kind of offering. If you read about them and liked what you saw, now you can see for yourself on TV. Bay area KTVU TV just did a nice 2 minute segment on TalkPlus, including a fair bit of interview footage with their President, Jeff Black. They do a nice job of explaining what TalkPlus is all about in plain English, and anyone who uses their cell phones a lot will get it right away.
As mentioned during the interview, you can sign up now for a free Beta trial - just go to the website - it's all there. Cool!
Hat tip to Andy Abramson for the heads up on this.
Technorati tags: TalkPlus, Jon Arnold, Andy Abramson
As mentioned during the interview, you can sign up now for a free Beta trial - just go to the website - it's all there. Cool!
Hat tip to Andy Abramson for the heads up on this.
Technorati tags: TalkPlus, Jon Arnold, Andy Abramson
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Canadian IP Thought Leaders Series - Mark Goldberg on Canadian Income Trusts
On this week's Canadian IP Thought Leaders podcast, I spoke with Mark Goldberg about the impact of last week's Income Trust Decision on the Canadian telcos. For those of you outside of Canada, this story got very little attention, but believe me, if this happened to Verizon or AT&T it would be front page news every day, just like it was here. For the basic story and my own take, I'll steer you to my posting about it last Tuesday.
This was Mark's first podcast with me, and he brings a long history of telecom experience to bear on the topic. Like me, Mark is an independent consultant, DBA Mark H Goldberg & Associates, and has a blog, titled Telecom Trends. Mark also co-produces the annual Canadian Telecom Summit, which by most counts is Canada's biggest telecom conference.
You can download the podcast here, as well as read more about Mark's background.
Technorati tags: income trusts, Jon Arnold, Mark Goldberg, VoIP podcasts, Pulvermedia Podcast Network
This was Mark's first podcast with me, and he brings a long history of telecom experience to bear on the topic. Like me, Mark is an independent consultant, DBA Mark H Goldberg & Associates, and has a blog, titled Telecom Trends. Mark also co-produces the annual Canadian Telecom Summit, which by most counts is Canada's biggest telecom conference.
You can download the podcast here, as well as read more about Mark's background.
Technorati tags: income trusts, Jon Arnold, Mark Goldberg, VoIP podcasts, Pulvermedia Podcast Network
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Fierce 15 Winners - Some Familiar Faces
I've been a regular reader of Fierce Markets for some time, and just got their Fierce 15 2006 winners list. Am not familiar with how they select these top VoIP companies, but I give credit to anyone who makes the effort to try. There are so many companies in this space now, and a lot are good ones, and there's a lot more that hardly anyone hears about who are also good. And of course VoIP is in the fabric of so many things now, the space is just so broad with lots of grey areas for defining what's VoIP and what isn't.
Enough rambling. Here's the link to the full writeup, where you can read a bit more about each company. It just came out this morning.
All I wanted to say was how nice it was to see so many familiar companies on the list, namely NexTone, FirstHand, Iotum, Ingate, SIPPhone, SunRocket, Jajah, Grand Central, Airvana, Empirix and Nominum.
And of course, it's great to see two Canadian companies - Iotum and FirstHand - neither of which are strangers to my blog.
I'd also like to extend kudos to Fierce Markets Editor, Dan Rosenbaum for drawing attention to so many companies focused on Voice 2.0 applications, especially those catering on the mobile market. These are the kind of companies I expect we'll be hearing a lot about in 2007.
Technorati tags: Fierce VoIP, Jon Arnold
Enough rambling. Here's the link to the full writeup, where you can read a bit more about each company. It just came out this morning.
All I wanted to say was how nice it was to see so many familiar companies on the list, namely NexTone, FirstHand, Iotum, Ingate, SIPPhone, SunRocket, Jajah, Grand Central, Airvana, Empirix and Nominum.
And of course, it's great to see two Canadian companies - Iotum and FirstHand - neither of which are strangers to my blog.
I'd also like to extend kudos to Fierce Markets Editor, Dan Rosenbaum for drawing attention to so many companies focused on Voice 2.0 applications, especially those catering on the mobile market. These are the kind of companies I expect we'll be hearing a lot about in 2007.
Technorati tags: Fierce VoIP, Jon Arnold
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