HP webOS TouchPad First Thoughts

HP held their big webOS event today, in which they detailed how the computer powerhouse intends to leverage their Palm acquisition in 2011. As expected, they’re taking the luscious webOS experience beyond the smartphone… to printers, tablets, and computers (!). But what interests me most is that tablet play. The newly announced webOS TouchPad not … Read more

Which Box is Making All Those Netflix API Requests?

The folks at Netflix ran a most interesting post yesterday on the company’s technical blog (via ReadWriteWeb). According to the director of engineering, one Netflix device is responsible for roughly 50% of total API calls. The same device, however, isn’t responsible for a comparable level of streaming traffic. In order to cut down on the … Read more

Anatomy of a WSJ Apple “Leak” (iPad 2 Cometh)

The Wall Street Journal has an uncanny knack for getting Apple rumors right (said people familiar with the matter). Perhaps that’s because these aren’t actually leaks. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that Apple and the WSJ have a cozy relationship, enabling Apple to get its message out in a controlled fashion to a broad … Read more

Amazon Forsakes Older Kindle Hardware?

It looks like Amazon continues to draw the line in the sand when it comes to (not) providing software updates for older Kindle hardware. While third generation Kindles have just been treated to true page numbers and improved periodical layouts, v2 owners are stuck at software that predates the Kindle 3 experience. And first gen Kindle … Read more

Debating the Future of Broadband

Everybody agrees. Let’s have bigger broadband and more of it. But who pays for greater access, how networks will get updated, and what aspects of the industry should be regulated are much gnarlier questions. These were some of the central points of debate in a New America Foundation event yesterday featuring Blair Levin, former FCC commissioner and project lead on the national broadband plan, and industry analyst Craig Settles.

The panel discussion was a lively one, moderated by GigaOM‘s Stacey Higginbotham and The Wall Street Journal‘s Amy Schatz, and it led me to several new thoughts on government broadband strategy. First, I gained new appreciation for the care and consideration that went into crafting the broadband plan. There are a lot of trade-offs that have to be made, and – whether or not you agree with the results – the options appear to have been examined carefully as the plan was drafted. As one example, the plan aims for speeds of 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream everywhere. Beyond financial and application considerations (which are significant), part of the rationale for this is because it makes mobile broadband a viable service competitor in rural areas. The more providers you have, the more downward pressure there is on prices.

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TeleNav Coming to Verizon iPhone

TeleNav, my favorite iPhone navigation app, is headed to Verizon. And, unlike its AT&T brethren, it’s coming in at a reasonable price point. Assuming I make the jump in the next week or so, this will be one of my first purchases. The AT&T Navigator branded TeleNav app currently runs $10/month or $70/year, whereas an … Read more

My Next Camera? (Canon Elph 500 HS)

Canon’s announced several new digital cameras, both of the dSLR and compact point & shoot varieties. Regulars are probably familiar with my portability prioritization at the expense of some quality. Which is why only models from the P&S lineup would appeal to me. If a camera doesn’t fit in my pocket, it’s not coming with … Read more

Android 3.0 Honeycomb Lands Video Editor

Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb is expected to hit the street soon, with Motorola XOOM as one of the first devices to run the tablet-optimized operating system. The folks at TechCrunch recently spent some time playing with the XOOM, and one of the apps they foun don the tablet which I hadn’t really seen much of before … Read more