Posts from — July 2008

Users of MSN Direct-enabled GPS devices-like those currently offered by Garmin, Pioneer, and Alpine-can now send location information from web sites to compatible GPS devices, all thanks to a new API released by Microsoft.  The API for the MSN Direct Send to GPS can send addresses, business listings, and other POI’s directly to your GPS unit eliminating the need to re-enter information already found on a website.  The feature can be used either wirelessly or through a USB connection.  A list of compatible devices can be found here and and user instructions can be found at MSN Direct’s website.

via pc world

Like GPS chipmaker SiRF, Garmin seems to be taking a battering in a tough global economy.  The company’s Q2 earnings call today showed revenue increases virtually across the board in every sector except the marine category thanks to high fuel prices.  And despite double-digit growth in both revenues and shipments year-to-year and quarter-to-quarter, Garmin still fell a bit short of Wall Street estimates and have downgraded their outlook for the remainder of 2008.  Year-to-year, the PND maker posted revenues of $3.98 billion and profits before a one-time gain of $3.86/share.  Wall Street expected revenues of $4.13 billion and profits of $4/share.  Quarter-to-quarter, Garmin took in $912 million before expenses resulting in profits of $0.93/share compared to Wall Street’s forecast of $956 million and $4/share.

And so despite impressive growth in a tanked economy, Garmin’s stock fell.  But it wasn’t just the missed earnings estimates which took their toll.  Garmin also announced today that the company’s entrance into the mobile phone market, also known as the nuviphone, would be delayed until early 2009.  This is a far cry from the nuviphone release originally slated for this quarter and the third delay overall.

The company says that the issue now is in meeting carrier-specific requirements.  Exactly what those requirements are is unknown as are the carrier’s that’ll carry the Garmin nuviphone in the United States.  It’s widely believed AT&T will carry the GPS-enabled mobile phone, but rumors also have T-Mobile as a possible partner despite the fact that the wireless provider doesn’t yet provide 3G coverage across the entire nation.

At the close of trading today, the combination of announcements resulted in a closing price of $35.19, down almost $10 or 22% in regular trading.  That’s another 52-week low for the company spurring on all kinds of conversation regarding the intelligence in purchasing Garmin stock over the next couple of days.  Despite the fact the remainder of 2008 looks weak for Garmin, that’s a function of the economy rather than an issue with company strategy or management.  I think if earnings estimates are adjusted in accordance with today’s announcement, we’ll see the stock rise again and smart investors will find themselves very happy.

What we are beginning to wonder though, is whether or not focusing on releasing a branded handset is the best way to go for Garmin.  Can the nuviphone compete with the iPhone’s of the world?  We don’t particularly think so.  Would Garmin be better off focusing on developing software and applications for existing mobile manufacturers?  We think so, but what we really want to know is what you think?

Update: It looks like T-Mobile will be going 3G nationwide October 1.

The rollout of the 3G iPhone has been a tough one for Apple, plagued by issues ranging from overwhelmed update servers to applications causing browser crashes.  Fair enough–though Apple has taken all kinds of heat for the flubbed product launch, if they can’t do it no company out there would have.  But the latest problem, if it turns out to be widespread is more than inexcusable.

Owners of the white model 3G iPhone have noticed cracks appearing in the handset casing.  Exactly how many owners have had this problem isn’t known yet, but several have come out of the woodwork over at the Mac Rumors forum.  Chances are that if this is happening to the white models, black models are also affected though it’s obviously not as easy to tell.  The problems started appearing only a week after the July 11 launch and so far Apple hasn’t responded in any way to the issue, so your best bet at the moment is to take your phone back to where you got it if cracks appear and get a replacement.  We’ll keep you updated.

Verizon’s latest offering is the Casio G’zOne Boulder.  Rugged and built to survive the harshest of environments, the G’zOne Boulder runs on the EVDO Rev A networks and features push-to-talk, an integrated compass, VZ Navigator support, V CAST multimedia, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and a microSD card slot.  Available in orange and black/silver, the Boulder will set you back $179.99 before a $50 rebate when you sign a 2-year contract.

via engadget mobile

RunKeeper, an upcoming iPhone app developed by Jason Jacobs of FitnessKeeper, is a fitness tracker that utilizes Google Maps to track your running route via GPS, tally your overall distance, and then puts all of the compiled info into a database. Previous run stats can be pulled out of the database so you can compare runs and chart your fitness progression.

Jason Jacobs says that this demo RunKeeper is only the beginning of the functionality the app will offer. No word yet on an official release date.

via crave

It’s always nice to see a unique take on location-based social networking and Moot from Oslo-based Ground Control Labs fits “unique” to a tee.  The application runs on 32-bit PC’s running Windows XP/Vista and mobile phones sporting the Windows Mobile 6.0 OS and uses WiFi hotspots rather than GPS to connect you with others.  Other Moot users that find themselves located in the same wireless location as you will show up on your screen in the Moot Arena.  From there you can click on a person and access content attributed to their profile including text, video, and pictures.  When it comes right down to it, Moot describes its core functionality as this:

• Local discovery of people, content and expressions
• Local expression by the individual, their content and self-expressions
• Local file sharing
• Local communication
• History of encounters
• Ability to make local transactions

Part of Moot’s mission is to provide the service free to the end user–completely free.  Not only is the downloadable application free, but because the service runs on its own local network you won’t pay any network fees to your wireless provider, a definite plus.  Backed by TeleVenture, another Oslo-based company, Moot is being developed to work on a variety of other devices and operating systems, and Apple products will likely take priority.  Demand for iPhone compatibility has been high according to the company as has compatibility with Mac OS X.

Developing for other platforms will be key to Moot gaining any kind of traction.  As Techcrunch UK points out, owners of mobile phone’s running Windows Mobile 6.0 tend to rely on their phone’s for business use rather than social networking.  The next step in our opinion would be to get an iPhone app on the market, as well as developing for Android and Symbian.  Once Moot has done this, then they’ll have a chance.  At the moment though this is easier said than done, although they are already working on an iPhone version and a geotagging feature.  André Mlonyeni, co-founder of Ground Control Labs, says that at the moment the startup employs only five people and there are technological issues facing Moot as well, namely that most smartphones aren’t quite powerful enough to run the WiFi app the way it’s meant to be.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this startup in the future.

The fine folks at Mobile Mentalism have written up a comprehensive review of Nokia’s E90 Communicator smartphone concluding that every feature performed exceptionally…except for the assisted GPS.  That’s right, the E90 which uses Nokia Maps finds your location easily enough no matter where you are in the world (it was tested in both the UK and San Francisco), will calculate a route for you and even guide you to your destination by voice (for a little extra coin), but in the end it’s just plain slow.  In fact, says Mobile Mentalism, “horribly slow”.

If you’re familiar with the Nokia E90, it’s something like a UMPC.  When closed it looks like a typical mobile phone with a small screen on the outside; when opened it looked like a mini-laptop with a larger screen inside.  The GPS and Nokia Maps is a little faster on the small screen, but that’s the thing-it’s small.  On the large screen, Mobile Mentalism says it’s “so slow…as to be unusable”.  If anything the E90 Communicator’s GPS is useful for finding POI’s that you know are in the general vicinity or for geo-tagging pictures thanks to a downloadable application, but as for real-time navigation-absolutely useless.

via mobile mentalism

Despite the fact that GPS shipments are expected to have double-digit growth rates for at least the next 4 years, the world’s biggest GPS semiconductor company SiRF continues to take a beating.  In the first quarter of 2008, SiRF lost all kinds of money, closed a couple of offices and announced they’d be downsizing their workforce.  Investors obviously weren’t too happy and CEO at-the-time Michael Canning resigned.  Things haven’t changed too much for the company though; if anything they’ve gotten worse.

Last Thursday, SiRF announced a net loss of $332.6 million for the second quarter ending June 30, 2008.  While revenues were down about 10% compared to 2007’s second quarter, what’s really astounding is the difference in gross margins from year to year.  In the 2nd quarter of 2007, SiRF still had a fairly healthy 53.9% gross margin.  This year it’s dropped all the way to 21%.  Unfortunately this means SiRF will have to downsize once again.  Right now they’re sitting at 710 employees and they’re due to downsize another 7-9%.  How much will that cost? Anywhere from $500, 000 to $1 million.  Anyone think SiRF’s 3rd quarter earnings will be any better?

Samsung’s Blackjack III (SCH-M480) is apparently available in Korea priced at $600 and available through SK Telecom, and while that’s great many of us on the other side of the world are wondering if it’ll be coming our way.  Rumor has it that it will, hitting the United States in October carried by AT&T although we doubt you’ll have to pay $600.  The assisted GPS-enabled Blackjack III runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and features 3G HSDPA high speed connectivity, a 2.6-inch touchscreen, 802.11b/g WiFi support, Bluetooth, microSD, QWERTY keyboard, a 2 megapixel camera with VGA resolution, video and audio playback, and Microsoft Office access.

via phonearea

There was some other Loopt news last week that we didn’t fill you in on, but if you’re a fan you definitely need to know.  First of all, Loopt has joined Facebook Connect allowing users of the mobile social network to bring their Facebook friends to their Loopt network.  Not only will you be alerted when your Facebook friends are near, but you’ll also be able to share and find recommendations for nearby businesses, restaurants and other related points of interests.  You’ll also be able to feed your location to your Facebook profile.  It’s all permission-based of course, so how tightly you restrict your privacy is completely up to you.  This is an excellent strategy on the part of Loopt because not only does it exponentially increase its own user base indirectly, but it aligns the service with one of the most popular social networks on the traditional web.  The Facebook Connect integration will initially be available as an iPhone app when it debuts later this summer, followed by Blackberry support on the Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and Boost Mobile networks.

If you’re a Facebook junkie, chances are you’ve also tried microblogging service Twitter.  You can already “tweet” as they call it, using Loopt on your mobile phone, but now each time you comment using Loopt on Twitter it will be followed by a link to a Google Maps-supplied map pinpointing your location.  While this is definitely a useful new feature, more than anything it shows how user-focused Loopt’s developers are.  How did the company know this was a wanted feature?  They noticed Loopt users would often talk about it when messaging each other using Twitter.

Collectively, this integration of web-based social networks and Loopt will be called Loopt Link and we know for sure it will also include RSS subscriptions in the near future.   What other web-based social networks would you like to see included?