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Optus to launch the Motorola CLIQ/DEXT?

Lucas Burnett — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:24:21 +0000

Optus have started to roll out training for what they describe as “Project Revolution” which in their words is an exciting new Smartphone device that will be exclusively available to Optus. Due for release early next month, could this be the Motorola DEXT?

After some digging, i found that Optus had been also being referring to the project in different materials as “Project Revolution MotoBLUR”, which got me thinking. MotoBLUR of course is Motorola’s Social Widget UI that is pasted over the top of selected Motorola Android devices, eg the CLIQ/DEXT. So i did a search for MotoBLUR which led me to the CLIQ/DEXT Wikipeida page, which in turn had this lovely piece of information about release dates: “On 23th January 2010, Motorola sold CLIQ/DEXT to Singapore in Asia exclusively and it was also sold to Singapore Telecom, Singtel exclusively.” BINGO!!!

So from a little bit of digging, i would assume its safe to say that Optus will be bringing to Motorola DEXT to Australia early next month, however is it really going to be revolutionary?

LG BL40 “Chocolate” shows up in the Allphones catalogue

Lucas Burnett — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:41:33 +0000

LG’s newest addition to the “Black Label” line of handsets, the BL40, has shown up in Allphones Buyer’s Guide. Sporting that extra long 4″ HD screen and 21:9 aspect ratio, this has to be one of the strangest forms made by a mainstream company. With pricing and availability still to be confirmed, let’s hope it’s not another shocker for LG, much in the same vain as there other Chocolate handsets…. yes i’m talking to you KG800.

Nokia X6 to come Down Under sooner rather then later and the N97 mini has been delayed

Lucas Burnett — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:03:44 +0000

It seems as the trouble Nokia have been having with the N97 in regards to software issues has forced the delay of the “mini” Apparently this delay is to make sure that the issues that have plagued the N97 don’t also plague it’s little brother. While all this is going on Nokia have released another update to the N97 software, increasing the version from 20.0.0.019 to 21.0.0.045, Nokia have noted that this update improved scrolling, and call reliablity. As of yesterday this hadn;’t filtered through to Australian’s N97 variant.

Nokia’s latest XpressMusic range, the X Series, is coming to Australia. At this stage it is currently being tested by networks and is planning for a first half of the year release. Network availability and pricing is yet to be confirmed and also will depend on whether the Comes with Music version is taken or not. As more information comes to hand, I will update with details.

Editorial: Apple’s iPad – The Good and The Not So Good

Lucas Burnett — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:26:37 +0000

So this morning Apple announced their highly anticipated tablet, The iPad, strangly enough, Apple don’t actually hold any trademarks or domains featuring iPad name, but like the iPhone, which was owned by Cisco, that should change fairly soon. So onto the device, the iPad itself is an extremely polished device in way of design, very much in the Steve Jobs vain, sporting a 9.7″ Multi-Touch, multi angeled IPS LCD screen, 16GB-32GB-64GB variants, WiFi only or WiFi and 3G. It comes in at 9.56 inches (242.8 mm) High, 7.47 inches (189.7 mm) Wide and 0.5 inch (13.4 mm) Thick, which is really amazing considering its power and speed. Under the bonnet of the iPad is the Apple A4, a 1Ghz Samsung made, Apple designed SOC that contains the Processor, Graphics, IO, Memory all on the chip, this allows the iPad to render 720p HD video with ease and also flick through photos, play 3D games and change orentation with breaking a sweat, it’s also extremly low power, giving the iPad 10 hours battery use with 30 days standby. Positioned to take on netbooks head to head, this could speel the end to the netbook category that has helped a number of PC manufacturers capture a significant portion of market share in the portable computing space. Can Apple again dominate a market with it’s first product in a new market? Their track record certainly seems so.

So onto what i believe is the “Good”. With this new entry into portable computing, it brings a whole new world of what can be done and could quite possibly redefine this portable space, just as they did with music and mobile phones. During the keynote many of the big App Store publishers showcased apps they had created with just a short amount of time to really take advantage of the new processing power and screen real estate. with it’s intuitive UI and running a modified version of iPhone OS, namely 3.2, if you have ever used an iPhone this will be no problem, you dont have to learn yet another system, which has been a huge downfall for many manufacturers building tablets of this sort.

Lets look at the UI in a bit more detail. The onscreen keyboard is nice and large, and looks easy enough to type on, much like you would a standard keyboard, and with multi-touch, typing at a fast pace should not be a problem either. The home screen now allows you to use custom backgrounds if you want rather than just on the lock screen like the iPhone. It now also uses “panes” to showcase things, for instance, Email, see a list of emails on the left, touch one and it comes up on the right, similar to outlook and other email programs. One pane for your inbox and another for reading the mail. However this isn’t going to be and shouldn’t be available to iPhone due to the restriction in the screen size, it just wouldn’t scale correctly.

Now for the “Not So Good”.

First cab off the rank, No camera, this was one of the first things that sprung to mind, not that it’s a huge loss, especially for actually taken photos, but for video conferencing or webcam use this is a big drawback for me. Why not put on in for Sykpe calls or if Apple ever bring iChat to the device?
The next thing was it’s resolution, the screen is in a 4:3, 1024×768 resolution, so that means, no widescreen, strange considering its target is for comsuming media such as TV and movies.
No background processes, say WHAT???? Now again, this may not be needed but sure would have helped. here we have a new processor which is better on battery life, so why not add background apps, the iPhone has never allowed third party apps to run in the background because of battery life issues, well now we have a unit with a much better battery life thanks to this new beaut chip but still no background processing, go figure.
Next is the web experience, no Flash!, again no Flash, Steve Jobs said this is the best web experience you can get, huh? say what? you can’t use it to watch flash videos that aren’t via YouTube, and webpages that use Flash or elements of Flash will just give you that lovely blue Lego brick, come on Apple, this is important.
Now this is quite possibly the strangest, the iPad will utilise a new GSM Sim format called Micro SIM. Now in the US, AT&T will have it for the iPad’s launch and T-Mobile is also working on the format. Australian networks at this stage have made no announcements in regards to the format that i’m aware of even though they have expressed interest in thedevice. So in regards to Micro SIM, if other networks don’t start to support the format, the iPad will then even though it’s going to be sold unlocked, will still be restricted to a very few networks due to the hardware limitation in regards to the sim used. it has also been reported via Engagdet that O2 and Orange have orders in the pipeline for the new format SIM.
The Lock screen. The massive amount of wasted space on that lock screen, why not have some news tickers or a weather app, or some information in regards to calender entries or Twitter and Facebook notifications? Just a big blank screen with a tiny unlock slide. Hmmmmm maybe a software update will change all that.
And my last gripe is in regards to design, that bezel, well it seems very big, it seems like a large LCD photo frame, why couldn’t they make it smaller? Manufacturing limitation? who knows?

Now onto pricing and availability. With pricing starting at $499 US for the base Wi-Fi only, 16GB and going all the way up to $829 US for the WiFi + 3G, 64GB model. International pricing is to be announced at a later date and ZDnet has confirmed that the WiFi only model will definitely ship to Australia in March but Apple decline to say if the 3G model would also ship, hopefully it will. All Australian networks have however, expressed interest in bringing the 3G version Down Under.

Time will tell if Apple makes this market it’s own, much like it has with all the other markets it’s entered into. Only 9 years ago Apple introduced the iPod and almost overnight smashed every other competitor in the space and brought hard drive based music players to the front and everyone else was thrown into catch up mode, and many still are to this day. Music however, was an already established market when Apple got into it. Another example was 2007, when Apple entered the Mobile phone market with the iPhone, they revolutised the mobile space, noone had ever seen or used a mobile phone with the sort of capibilites the iPhone had in regards to it’s UI and design. Then along came the App Store, that really changed the way the mobile phone market operated, and again everyone was thrown into catch up mode. But as with music, the mobile space was also, an already established market. Can they bring this same dominatation to the portable computing market? I think they can, they just need to convince people they need one, and with more software updates and added functionality, some things just look a little underdone, feature wise. However I do believe it could be a winner with a little more baking, iPhone OS 4.0 anyone??

So after all that, do I want one? Yes, will I get one? Yes. But the big question is, do I need one? Well the jury is still out, I could definately find a use for it, it would replace my iPhone for alot of the stuff I do on my iPhone before I hit up my PC. Although It still has some ways to go though in my opinion, hopefully those things are answered in the iPhone OS 4.0 release….fingers crossed.

We Were Down But Now We Are Back!

Lucas Burnett — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:05:51 +0000

As you may have seen, we were down for a few days due to issues we have been having with our server. Hopefully these issues have been sorted and if not we will be switching hosts. Some things are a little different but we should be back to normal in no time. Thanks very much More > No related posts.

Apple’s Tablet to finally see the light of day? Or iPhone 4.0 to take centre stage?

Lucas Burnett — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:45:13 +0000

Invite to Apple’s rumoured Jan 27th event were sent out this morning, confirming the event and also sparking massive speculation that this is going to be the date that Apple reveal it’s much hyped Tablet. There have been reports by Clayton Morris that the event will showcase the much anticipated Tablet, iPhone OS 4.0 and iLife. In all of this the only thing I’m really interested to see is the iPhone OS 4.0, I’m excited to see what news features or tweaks Apple are looking at adding to the iPhone platform. Dont get me wrong, I’m extremely interested to see what Apple have done with this Tablet of theirs, but knowing the price range its going to be in I’m extremely confident I wont be getting one any time soon, plus I already have a iPhone 3GS so, the announment that seems most relevant to me of course is the iPhone OS update. I’ll be up at 2am my time ready and waiting for all to be revealed.

The 5800’s little brother – 5530 XpressMusic touches down in Australia, along with the E72

Lucas Burnett — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:06:52 +0000

The little brother to Nokia’s 5800 has finally landed in Australia. This nice little handset has already got the “kinetic scrolling” software on it, like what the N97 got in an update not long ago, and the same update the 5800 is yet to get. The update in question, changes the scrolling to be more iPhone-esque and in turn more accurate and easier to use. The 5530 XpressMusic on first glance is quite a nice handset, it has a great finish which shows good quality, something the 5800 lacked. Sporting a 3.2 megapixel camera + video, WiFi, 2.9″ resistive touch, built-in Facebook app and 4GB MicroSD included, it comes in 2 colour variants, White with Blue and Black with Red. The only downside of this handset is, it’s only 2G. Look for these to be south of the $250 mark. Definitely a good handset for a Christmas present.

Next is the E72, successor to the popular and well received E71. The handset is coming in 2 colours, Gold and Black, with the Gold colour being exclusive to Allphones for release. Packing a 5 megapixel camera, GPS with compass, 3.5mm stereo jack, WiFi, HSDPA 10.2Mbps, 4GB MicroSD included, optical track button instead of standard D-Pad (works exceptionally well BTW) and the standard S60 suite of apps, it also has a redesigned QWERTY keypad, borrowing heavily from the E63 which means, bigger keys. Virgin are really headlining this handset, bringing it out for $0 on the $49 Rollover Cap, this is cheaper then any of the major networks in Australia, all charging extra for the handset.

Nokia’s “Booklet” netbook and N900 not coming Down Under

Lucas Burnett — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:26:17 +0000

It has been heard that Nokia’s netbook, the “Booklet” and its Maemo touch handset, the N900 will not be making their way to Australian stores due to lukewarm support from networks. The major factor for the Booklet would have to have been lacklustre sales and poor public reception of the netbooks deals currently offered by carriers now, including Optus’ Samsung NC10 and Vodafone’s Dell Inspiron mini 9. If the networks could get the Booklet down to free, which at the moment is a big ask, considering Optus charge you extra for their premium modem which doubles your accessible speed from 3.6Mbps to 7.2Mbps with 2Mbps HSUPA, I certainly can’t see them providing a netbook at a free price. But this is what the market needs for these things to be viable. They can subsidise a $500 handset and give it away for free on a $30 plan, but can’t get a netbook for less than $20 on top of existing wireless broadband plans that start at $40. Crazy!

The N900 on the other hand, I have no clue as to why Australian networks don’t want it. This just seems absurd, it would run on both Vodafone’s and Optus’ dual band 3G networks without an issue, it’s a full touch handset with sliding keyboard in the same vain as the Motorola Droid, it runs Maemo 5 – Nokia’s platform of the future, 32GB internal memory with support for up to 16GB via MicroSD, 5 mega pixel camera with video. This thing is a beast, a far better handset then the current flagship, the N97. Maybe cost was an issue, maybe it had to be subsidised too heavily to appeal to the masses, either way, I’m still holding out for this to all be a dream and to hopefully wake up and be able to get one of these and the Booklet in Australia, guess we will have to wait and see.

Nokia N97 mini & 6760 Surge hitting Aussie shores…

Lucas Burnett — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:39:13 +0000

Nokia N97 mini is due to hit our shores in February of 2010. It has been approved for use by Australian networks and pricing as well as availibility should come closer to that date. I have had a play with a “mini” and the build quality is very nice, it seems to be a much more refined and robust product then its bigger brother. Size wise there isn’t a great deal of difference but the “mini” will seem to appeal to those who want a full featured handset like the N97 but without the price tag or the extra bulkiness. Sporting the same hardware as the N97 except for it having 8GB of internal memory rather then 32GB, it also has a smaller screen and no FM transmitter. With 3G operating frequencies of 850/900/1900/2100mHz, this handset will work on all networks in Australia including Telstra’s Next G. Whether that means it will be a different variant of the ”mini” we will just have to wait and see.

The Nokia 6760 Surge on the other hand is now starting to hit Australian shops, starting out on $29 Caps across a few carriers and for $399 AUD outright. This handset is quite pleasing to operate, although at first glance not the most pleasing to look at. The slide is of excellent quality with a nice fluent gentle motion unpon first use, running S60 and shipping with the standard range of Ovi apps such as Maps, Store and Email along with Facebook. Packing HSDPA 900/2100mHz which makes the handset suitable for Optus and Vodafone’s Dual Band 3G Network, 3.2 Megapixel camera with video, expandable memory upto 8GB and FM Radio.

Jason Calacanis – A Man On A Mission

Lucas Burnett — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:52:30 +0000

A number of weeks ago Jason Calacanis laid down a challange to angel groups (Keiretsu Forum in particular) who charge start-ups to pitch, to drop the “Pay-to-Pitch” busisness model within 30 days or he would start a competitive angel group that would not only be free of charge for start-ups to pitch but would also quite possibly run and operate on the same days and in the same venues as its competitors. That deadline expired on the 16th of this month and surprise surprise, this practice had not stopped and the wheels started to turn. Jason asked for logo and website ideas to be submitted to him for the Open Angel Forum via his Twitter account and within minutes logos started knocking on his door for free and the #oaf Twitter tag began to run wild.

This all seemed to start when Jason found out that participants of his and Mike Arrington’s, TechCrunch50 Event had been approached by Keiretsu Forum and others to pitch to them. They expressed that this angel forum had told them of the fees to pitch, charging start-ups upwards of $6000 to pitch their company/ideas to whom they thought was a room full of investors. This turned out to be incorrect with the room being made up of service providers and the like eg. laywers, bank managers, HR etc etc. This in my opinion is absurd, almost all the big internet companies we now use everyday started because they were helped by Angels and Venture Capitalists. Google, Facebook, Twitter and they are just the really big names, i can alomst guarantee they were not charged to pitch their company to Angels or VC’s. Angels and VC’s make money by investing, by making smart decision and investing money in companies and ideas that will change the way we do things or make the things we do better and easier. Thats how REAL investors make their money.

So seeing what kind of a guy Mr Calacanis is from his podcasts, its evident that he never takes anything lying down, never one to back down or let things close to his heart get troden on. This is a trait of a very successful entrepreneur, he was the co-founder of the highly successful Weblogs Inc, which created blogs like Engadget and AutoBlog, which was sold to AOL, he was also the GM of Netscape and now is the CEO of Mahalo, which is a human powered search engine now hitting 10 million or more uniques a month. I remember listening to his podcast, This Week In Startups and hearing him talk about how he poached Peter Rojas from Gizmodo to help him built his new tech based blog Engadget for Weblogs Inc and in turn giving him equity in the company. When Jason says he’s going to do something it’s not done in halves. This is a worring sign for angel groups who “prey” on start-ups for money to pitch ideas. When interviewed over email in regards to setting the Open Angel Forum up, he said he would give 60 days before Keiretsu Forum were out of business – them be fighting words.

So with Jason’s Open Angel Forum in full swing of planning and start-up, first starting in Los Angeles, where Calacanis lives and has connections with many angel investors, then progressively rolling out to over 20 cities across the US and the world according to his signup pages, this is an exciting time for Jason, who has now retired from both blogging and public speaking recently, to really give back to the community, and help young entrepreneurs make their own way in the world, much the same way he did as a young entrepreneur. I wish him and the Open Angel Forum and all start-ups pitching the best of luck. Hit em where it hurts Jason!

If you are interested in pitching to the Open Angel Forum, or are an Angel Investor yourself, or a Service Provider, sign up pages have been created for you, as well as a new Open Angel Forum website. Please check the links below for more details. If you liked this article, you can follow me on Twitter @lucasburnett or by using the follow buttons up top for this site.

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