photo credit: MobileBurn
I’ve come to the realization that I desperately want the T-Mobile G1. Last year I was itching for a new phone, and ended up grabbing a Helio Ocean in November. But, let’s face it, the Ocean is so 2007 by this point–not to mention that Helio has since been bought out by Virgin Mobile, which makes their future (along with that of a potential Ocean successor) somewhat murky. Along comes the G1–which retains the Oceans oh-so-necessary QWERTY slider keyboard–and, conveniently enough, seems to improve on all the features of the Ocean.
Evolving from Dual Sliders
The defining characteristic of the Helio Ocean is the phone’s dual slider configuration. Slide up vertically and the phone reveals a standard number pad. Slide horizontally, and you get a QWERTY keyboard. While ingenious (it required the invention of a new type of triangular spring), this configuration also makes the Ocean a bit bulkier than some other phones. [Technology Review ran a large feature covering the Ocean's design in 2007, and it's well worth their site's annoying registration.]
The G1 improves on this design by foregoing the number pad (which I never use anyway), and instead relies on a larger, touch-enabled screen. Unfortunately for Helio, the first generation iPhone was released only a few months after the Ocean, which rendered the Ocean’s slider configuration almost instantly obsolete. Since the iPhone, touch screens have become the new milestone for cellphone manufacturers. Word is that the Ocean 2 is retaining the dual slider configuration, and won’t feature a touch screen. If that’s the case, then Helio has truly learned nothing from the iPhone’s success. Read More
My Thoughts on the Palm Pre
Okay, so it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I’m working on remedying that right now. Without revealing too much, let’s just say I’ll be making some time to do a lot more tech writing in the near future. If you’re interested in what I’ve been working in for the past few months, check out my work on the /Filmcast podcast, /Film, Twitter, and my Tumblog.
It’s scary how quickly things change in the tech industry. Just a few months after I wrote about my technolust for the T Mobile G1, Palm came out of nowhere to deliver one of the most surprising CES presentations ever with their unveiling of the Palm Pre. It was perfect timing, especially given Apple’s limp and Jobs-less Macworld 2009 presentation just a few days before. By then, I was well aware of all the problems people have had with the T Mobile G1, and my unbridled enthusiasm for that phone was a bit more tempered as I waited for a revamped model with better battery life and design.
Along came the Palm Pre–a phone I like to refer to as the first real “iPhone killer”. I know that’s a loaded statement, but in this case I think it truly applies. The Pre is of course building on the iPhones success, but its improvements over Apple’s platform are fairly significant. Whereas the iPhone is media and gaming focused, Palm is taking things back to what made them famous with the Palm Pilot–productivity.
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