I help businesses be found online. I need to know what in the hell Google is doing with Local SEO and Google Places. Local marketing changes monthly. So, I have a Google Android phone, an iPad, an iPod and a couple Windows PCs. This is so I can keep up with and learn about each specific OS and what it has to offer. We can then figure out how it can be used to optimize local businesses marketing dollars.

A Foot in the Android World: Samsung Charge

I just upgraded my phone with Verizon. And my first choice was the Droid X2. I had it for 24 hours and hated it. So, I took it back to the store. Verizon has a 14 day return policy. $35 fee. So, I went with the Samsung Charge. I would have preferred the LG Optimus 2x… but Verizon doesn’t have that one. And the Revolution doesn’t quite measure up.

Anyway, The Motorola Droid was my first real “smartphone”. I had a Blackberry 3300 but that was more of a feature phone. I consider a smartphone, one that has a cool app store. And let’s face it. Blackberry sucks. Unless you really, really like the keyboard of the BB. But, I digress.

iOS iAWESOME.

My first Apple device that I ever played on was in 5th grade in 1985 on an Apple 2c. We played Oregon Trail and Lenonade stand on it. After my school responsibilities as one of “the safety patrol”, I logged onto one, and thought I was hacking into Russia on the Apple 2c that wasn’t connected to any network. #winning.

Fast forward to high school, I used a Mac to construct the monthly newspaper. Then, no more Apples for me… until the iPod classic came out. I still have it, and it has tons of good educational stuff on it. I listen to little music, I prefer the humming of the sounds of my own #awesome #thoughts to be distracted by music or TV… although sometimes, I do love to jam. I play the guitar and the drums at very mediocre level, as well. #nottryingtobrag

Then, I got an iPod Touch around the time that I got the Motorola Droid. I wanted to know what was going on over there with that cool Apple OS, but I needed the SEO knowledge of Android. Then, I got an iPad… soon, I’ll get an iPad 2. I love them. The iPad has only crashed a couple of times, but that is normally because of some faulty app. And it seems just as fast today, as it was the day that I got it. I’d recommend one to anyone. The iPad2 is very thin. Gotta love that.

Windows 7 PC Comfortability

I’ve had a windows PC since the mid-90s. It’s difficult to get off of it completely. I’d probably already have a Mac PC if they weren’t sofa king expensive. But, technically, my PC that I bought in the mid 90s are about as much as a MacBook today. Maybe I will someday… but $500 PC sounds so much more reasonable. And with tablets now, I find myself using PC’s less and less.

It would probably be more convenient in some ways if I were totally compatible with all of my media operating systems, but for now, I like to keep my feet in all of the worlds, because I can learn about them, and look for opportunities within those ecosystems.

Why would Microsoft want Skype? Actually my estimation, it makes perfect sense. They have Xbox Live, in which members can communicate/talk shit on the games. What about adding a Skype element to it? They already have Kinect which allows members to use gestures instead of controllers. It seems to me, that is adding a VOIP telephone with video conferencing and Kinect gesture recognition, the way we use our computers could change.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, has mentioned, he views the Internet as an essential battleground for Microsoftwhich traditionally earns the majority of its money from Windows and office software suite. They have to figure out a way to stay as profitable as Google and Apple in the coming years.

$8 billion dollars would be the largest acquisition that Microsoft has ever done in their 36 year history.

It’s a ballsy move for Ballmer and the boys from Redmond to make buying Skype, but we could be looking at the future of communication. Merging video, audio and gestures/ motion to create a new communication experience.

This type of tool should help them integrate themselves with every operating system, because Apple and Android will most likely continue to use Skype on their OS. So, this is just another way for Microsoft to get screen space, along with Bing. I say kudos, and best of luck.

The outside of the Xoom is not that original, in my opinion.  It’s a tablet.  There were 1,231,449 just like it at CES, – 10.1” display with 1280×800 resolution, front (2MP) and back-side (5MP with flash) built-in cameras and weighing in at 1.6lbs. The back-facing camera captures video recording at 720p while the display playbacks video at 1080p.   Not too shabby.

However, the inside of Xoom is bad ass.  This is why the Xoom became the stand-out gadget this year at CES.  They crammed a powerful punch into this tablet, the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core 1GHz processor. Pow!  The Xoom also includes a 32GB hard-drive and 1GB DDR2 RAM.  Motorola is also reporting battery life of 10 hours of dedicated video which really makes it a stand-out from many of the tablets we saw this year.  Really?  10 hours of video play?  I’ll have to test this firsthand to believe that.

One reason that I think the Xoom is one of this year’s stand-out is its OS – Google’s Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) software, which has been specifically customized for tablet hardware.

Previous versions of the Android OS have relied on physical buttons embedded in the hardware to navigate menus within the OS but Honeycomb eliminates that in this OS build as the main navigation buttons – Home, Back, and Menu – have become part of the touchscreen. This is a crucial improvement for the OS as it makes it a more universal OS that will give hardware manufacturers a bit more liberty to innovate.

One of the highlights is the way that Gmail widget works. It’s been a long time coming and is accompanied by new widgets for calendar, contacts, browser and a YouTube links. The Xoom also comes with a barometer, along with the accelerometer, magnetometer, ambient light sensor and gyroscope.

The Xoom will launch on Verizon 3G in Q1 of this year but will be upgradable to 4G LTE in Q2 which we think is great.

Motorola came out swinging… let’s see how consumers react to this great device.

No details about Motorola’s tablet are shared in the video, but we already know that it will feature NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor inside and should run on Verizon’s network.

At the end of the video we see a bee which is buzzing around the Motorola logo to hint at Honeycomb, teasing that this will be the first tablet to utilize the Honeycomb Android OS which has tablet specific functionality.

The video goes through time and talks about the most important tablets of all time, Egyptian Hieroglyphic tablet, the Rosetta stone, the ten commandments, a mayan tablet, a GRidPad, an iPad and a Samsung Galaxy. Great visual tease.

Mobile Local Social will be out at CES and we will demo this badboy and give you our thoughts.

This new LG Optimus2X is being billed as the world’s first smartphone with a dual-core processor. That is pretty sweet. My Motorola Droid seems REALLY slow now that freaking DUAL CORE Android devices are coming out. Love it. Plus, since I’m going out there, they are giving me a device to try out while Im at CES and give the new device a spin. Not sure if we get to try the Optimus 2X or their Windows 7 phone. I’ve never tried out a Windows 7 smartphone yet, so that would be interesting.

Along with more powerful multimedia features, the LG Optimus 2X’s high-performance Tegra 2 processor is going to make for faster, smoother web browsing and applications and lets users multitask with virtually no screen lag. Screen lag is my least favorite thing about my Droid… this is the one area that keeps me from wanting to stay with Android. iOS is sooo smooth. But I really love Android, as well. This phone sounds smokin’ fast.

My only complaint is that the screen could be larger.  I’m a big fan of the Droid X and EVO sized screens.  It makes my Droid look puny and pathetic, though.

“Dual-core technology is the next leap forward in mobile technology so this is no small achievement to be the first to offer a smartphone utilizing this technology,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, CEO and President of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With unique features such as HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) mirroring and exceptional graphics performance, the LG Optimus 2X is proof of LG’s
commitment to high-end smartphones in 2011.”

The NVIDIA dual-core Tegra 2 system-on-a-chip found in the LG Optimus 2X runs at a clock speed of 1GHz and boasts low power consumption and high performance for playing video and audio.

LG Mobile states that users will experience faster web browsing and smoother gameplay compared with single-core processors running at the same speed as well as instantaneous touch response and seamless multitasking between applications.

The LG Optimus 2X offers 1080p HD video playback and recording with HDMI mirroring that expands content on external displays to full HD quality. The LG Optimus 2X can connect wirelessly to any DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatible digital device such as HD TVs for a console-like gaming experience taking full advantage of the phone’s HDMI mirroring, accelerometer and gyro sensor.

The smartphone also includes both rear- and front-facing cameras, microSD memory expandability, Micro-USB port and a hefty 1500mAh battery.

The LG Optimus 2X will be available in Korea next month with countries in Europe and Asia to follow. The phone will initially be released with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and will be upgradeable to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The upgrade schedule will be announced in local markets in due course.

Key specifications:
1Ghz Dual-core Processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2)
4-inch WVGA screen

8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD)

1,500 mAh battery

8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera

HDMI mirroring

1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording

Full Press Release here

This is completely true and changing the world as we know it.  The folks over at Cognitive Media created this visual art transcription drawing.  Here is what they had to say:

“Here’s our latest effort in the video Scribing arena. I say arena, but there seems to be very few of us doing this sort of thing. This is for the RSAnimate series we are doing. We are getting a great response from it and we are fortunate to have great sponsors at the RSA. We thank them and the great speakers we get to listen to and translate. If it wasn’t for the rich content they provide, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.  Anyway, Dan Pink gave great talk at the RSA in London about what motivates us and here’s how we translated what he said. We are just about to start work on another two ‘animations’ and they should be up very shortly.”

As a part of the community of Android users that are constantly innovating beyond what Google issues as the stock operating system, I can see this concept coming to fruition all the timer.  With new innovations becoming a reality on a daily basis, simply because of developers that work to give back to the community of their knowledge freely, compliments being their only compensation.

Back in November we had a post about this.  I am re-posting as I really enjoyed the video.

(Thanks for the tip Rick)

Here is the full list.

send text to [contact] [message]
listen to [artist/song/album]
call [business]
call [contact]
send email to [contact] [message]
go to [website]
note to self [note]
navigate to [location/business name]
directions to [location/business name]
map of [location]

Looks like Engadget has the scoop on a possible (probable?) Android/Sony gaming phone.

Here’s some info:

“Here’s what we can tell you about the hardware: if you’re a gaming fan, this is exactly the kind of phone you’ve been waiting for. The device is described as cross between the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go — in other words, it’s a landscape slider with game controls in place of the typical QWERTY keyboard. The D-pad is here, but instead of the small joystick, the device will have what was described as a “long touch pad” for analog controls, along with standard PSP buttons and shoulder buttons. The phone has a large display, described as being between 3.7 and 4.1 inches with WVGA or better resolution, a 5 megapixel camera that we’re told might not be final, and it’ll likely have a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU on board. The phone is mostly black with some silver highlights, and the gamepad area is white / silver in color. Apparently it’s currently branded as a Xperia device, but it looks like it will carry PlayStation branding as well. Those who’ve seen the phone say it looks “pretty damn sexy.” The mockup above probably doesn’t do the actual hardware justice, but it should give you an idea of what you’ll be dealing with.”

On the software side, it looks like the device will be running Gingerbread (Android 3.0) with a phone-specific skin, and there will be a new area of the Android Market specifically for the games.

Jump over to Engadget for the entire article and the massive ” Android + Sony + Gaming = FTW” and “Heeeeellllzzzz yeah” commentary.

Gizmodo mock up:

Beyond the shot above and the one after the break, we don’t know much about the HP Slate-looking tablet — although, Stephens tweeted later that it’s a “form factor proto” with no guts inside.

He had also said about a month ago on Twitter that “the tablet has a front facing camera….runs Froyo 2.2.” We’re assuming that he’s talking about the same tablet you’re peering at above, but we never know what those blue shirts are up to.

Obviously, we started following Mr. Stephens already and will be keeping a close eye on him and his new, apparently non-functioning gadget.

Maybe the iPad will have some competition, sometime, eh?  Probably not for awhile.  How big of a jump start will Apple end up getting on the next company in the tablet ring.

Samsung is full of win.

Want to try it out?  Here’s what you have to do:

1. Download and install the Tether PC software.  We strongly recommend if you were using TetherBerry or a previous version of Tether to uninstall before installing this version.
   http://tether.com/a/setup.exe (If asked to reboot, wait until the installer is fully finished)
2. On your Android phone go to Settings->Applications->Development and check USB debugging.
3. Download the software onto your Android by visiting the following URL in your browser:http://tether.com/a/tether.apk Then run the file.  It may ask you for permission to run software from outside of the Android Marketplace, make sure to give it permission.

Run Tether on the PC and select Android, then USB for the connection method.  Then connect your Android to the computer with a USB cable and run Tether on your Android.  The two should establish a connection and you should see data being sent and received on your PC.

Enjoy!

Specs:

Samsung Galaxy 2 Leaked Specs:

• 3.7 inches AMOLED display
• 1 GHz Snapdragon processor

• 90 Million Triangles per second GPU  (PS3 does 250)

• Android 2.1 Operating System
• 5 megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi
• 3G connectivity
• Bluetooth 2.1
• A-GPS
• 32GB internal storage
• 3.5mm audio jack
• microSD card slot
  

Now if all Android devices could do this and had better video codec support I would be even more smiley.

Check out Sven’s instructions HERE on how to do this yourself.

You will need:

• Hardware
  • Nexus One
  • Micro USB OTG cable (e.g.)
  • USB Dual Power Cable (e.g.) to provide power to the hub chip through the uplink port, since the Nexus One doesn’t provide bus power (yet)
  • Powered USB 2.0 hub (will charge the Nexus One) (e.g.) and optionally a battery pack for mobile use (e.g.) (some power calculations)
• Software
  • Android 2.2 Froyo (2.1 may work, too)
  • ConnectBot
  • Download binaries…
    • boot.img or zImage
    • Modules
  • …or build a Nexus One kernel from source
    • # Fetch msm kernel tree
      git clone git://android.git.kernel.org/kernel/msm.git
      cd msm
      # Switch to Nexus One 2.2 Froyo
      git checkout origin/android-msm-2.6.32
      # Get config
      wget http://sven.killig.de/android/N1/2.2/usb_host/.config
      # Patch (No device mode, Andrew de Quincey’s work not ported yet.)
      wget http://sven.killig.de/android/N1/2.2/usb_host/android-kernel_msm-v2.6.30-rc2-27223-g248970b_Nexus-One_usb-host.patch
      patch -p1 < android-kernel_msm-v2.6.30-rc2-27223-g248970b_Nexus-One_usb-host.patch
      # Build
      make -j2 ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=/android-ndk-r4/build/prebuilt/linux-x86/arm-eabi-4.4.0/bin/arm-eabi-
  • Install kernel
    • # Boot from RAM (till next reset)…
      fastboot boot arch/arm/boot/zImage
    • # …or write to flash (boot.img from a nandroid backup)
      /getramdisk.py boot.img
      /mydroid/out/host/linux-x86/bin/mkbootimg --kernel arch/arm/boot/zImage --ramdisk ramdisk.img --base 0x20000000 -o boot_usb-host.img
      fastboot flash boot boot_usb-host.img
  • Start ConnectBot and connect to Local
    • su
      insmod drivers/usb/core/usbcore.ko
      insmod drivers/usb/host/ehci-hcd.ko
      insmod drivers/hid/usbhid/usbhid.ko
      insmod drivers/usb/storage/usb-storage.ko
      # Wait for usb-storage to enumerate partitions
      mount /dev/block/sda1 /sdcard/usbstick
  • To use adb over WLAN
    • adb connect IPAddress:5555

Check out this and rockstar billing:

• Tim Armstrong | Chairman and CEO of AOL
• Steve Ballmer | CEO of Microsoft
• Steve Burke | COO of Comcast
• James Cameron | Director, Producer, Writer
• Steve Case | Chairman and CEO of Revolution
• Peter Chou | CEO of HTC
• John Donahoe | President and CEO of eBay
• Julius Genachowski | Chairman of the FCC
• Steve Jobs | CEO of Apple
• Jeffrey Katzenberg | CEO of Dreamworks Animation SKG
• Alan Mulally | CEO of Ford
• Ray Ozzie | Chief Software Architect of Microsoft
• Vivian Schiller | President and CEO of NPR
• Mark Zuckerberg | Founder and CEO of Facebook

Look at this list, it’s a veritiable who’s-who of technology executives. I think it may just be missing a twitter c-level.

So, Steve Jobs took the stage tonight with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg and was asked a ton of questions about the State of Apple, the genesis of  iPad & iPhone, Gizmodo, Foxconn suicides, the death of the PC, Future of TV and much more goodness.

There was so much talked about, where do you begin?

According to Jobs, the iPad was thought of before the iPhone.  He envision a glass tablet and had his top UI guy develop something for it, and he thought, “holy shitballs!”  This could become a phone.  The rest is history.

He also mentioned that they reimagined the tablet, whereas Microsoft tried to put the Windows OS on the tablet.   It had the battery life, the weight, but it needed a cursor like a PC. Without a stylus, you have no precision with your finger, so you really can’t use a PC OS. Thus, Apple created a new mobile OS from scratch.

These conversations are amazing.  They are candid and very informative.  In my opinion, the Wall Street Journal should make All Things D, a Pay Per View event… Certainly, Ruppert Murdoch could find some way to stream this great content and charge for it.  Seems like a wasted capitalistic opportunity.

I’d love to watch this conference.  It’s sold out, but you could have made tons of money by offering this to the public.  If this were on television, the ratings would have been through the roof.

They should stream the keynotes like Google did for their I/O conference, but I digress.  Once these videos are out in the next few days/months… check them out.  They will still be relevant.

In parting, here is Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at All Things D 5 in 2007.

What we have here is the very first podcast / experiment of this project. On the call, which is led by Vince Vaughan AKA @banky who writes at The Vaughan Practice. We have Dan Brady, AKA @ZenInsight who is blogger extraordinaire at MobLoSo. Also rockin the call is The Geek… Jeff Smith, AKA @jeffisageek, who blogs at MobLoSo as well as Jeffisageek.net. [IMO if he was REALLY a geek, he would have snagged jeffisageek.com, but I digress.] Michael Robinson, AKA @michaelr, and who blogs at his personal website, MichaelCRobinson.com. I was also on the call, @teedubya. All you need to know about me is written on a bathroom stall somewhere.

Ok, so this past Monday, we got together to figure out our direction of the podcast… we wanted to talk about how Businesses need to use mobile, local and social technology better to assist them and their business.

If you want more customers, you need to be in more places that these customers can find you. And from the panel’s personal experience, most businesses just don’t get it.

Without further adieu, MobileLocalSocial.com Podcast 001, Introducing Mobile Media Club. 50 minutes and 5 seconds of pure awesomeness.

[podcast]http://mobilelocalsocial.com/assets/podcasts/MobLoSo001_MobileMediaClub.mp3[/podcast]

Again, we are looking for the brightest minds in mobile technology, local geo-targeting and social media, and are creating a mastermind group. We look forward to meeting you and discussing the future of tech with you over the next coming months.