Mobile Phone Money

Can the iPhone Be Dethroned?

Multi-touch, high-resolution, pinch and swipe simplicity...for all its deficiencies, these few qualities have made the iPhone king of the consumer mobile phone market. With the latest 3G model, third-party applications, and synchronization with business email, will it be long before the iPhone becomes King of All? Mobile Magazine has more on Why Competitors Have Failed to Usurp the iPhone 3G.

iPhone Beware: Full Facebook Functionality Comes to Windows Mobile

Friend Mobilizer is a fully integrated mobile version of Facebook that you can install on your Windows Mobile phone. You'll need Windows Mobile 6 and once installed, it's about as good to having Facebook immediately available whenever and wherever you have your mobile phone.

Mobile Advertising that Let's You Avoid Talking to People?

Yeah, that's exactly the point of a new service called Slydial where you call someone that you really don't want to talk to, listen to a brief ad, and go directly into their voicemail box. We've all wished that someone wasn't available for a call or tried to call at a time when they weren't available so that we could leave a message and put the ball back in their court. Well, now advertisers can pay so that we have the privilege of formally avoiding others. Sad, but this will probably take off and spread like wildfire.

Damn Apple...and their Little iPhone Too!

I've been using two mobile phone for several months now trying to decide whether to ditch the Apple iPhone in favor of the AT&T Tilt. Although I love the iPhone, it lacked the ability to interface with my corporate email, lacked cut and paste functionality, has an excellent keyboard except for longer, extended document typing, and lacked high-speed network access.

Now most of what it lacked has been eliminated; however, cut and paste and extended document typing remain concerns of mine. With a tweak in the internal programming of the Tilt, I can access HSDPA networks which are still faster than 3G on the new iPhone although anything is better than EDGE on the first iPhone model.

So what to do? The new iTunes Store iPhone applications make finding new software a snap. At half the price of what I paid for half the memory, $299 for the 16MB model still isn't the space that I had with a 30GB iPod but when you consider the unparalleled internet experience, and integrated video iPod, fantastic phone and multimedia workhorse/pseudo productivity device, I may just hold onto my old iPhone a little longer and maybe even consider ditching the Tilt for a new iPhone.

Apple never makes things easy for first adopters. Decisions, decisions. What do you think?

The First iPhone Reviews: There Will Surely Be More

As one of the first people to buy the initial iPhone, I'm intrigued and disappointed by the new 3G release but curious about what others might have to say about it. I've told myself that I cannot justify getting the new phone given the cost difference (half of what the original cost) and speed without additional features that still haven't been added like cut and paste functionality. The heavy-hitters have weighed in early on their thoughts about the new phone and I'm sure that many more reviewers, both professional and amateur, will follow suit.

Using Text to Connect: Mobile Phone Must-Have Features

Amplitude Research has released a study that finds that text messaging is among the most-desired device features of 73 percent of mobile phone buyers. Built-in camera and email follow at 2nd and 3rd highest rated features.

As 4G technology, productivity applications and long battery life become the norm, mobile marketers are poised to do well with handsets becoming a new marketing platform.