Microsoft Kin: Fast Product Life Cycle

Product cycles are quite fast these days, sometimes not by design. Engadget reports that Microsoft's "Kin" is being killed, essentially, after a couple of weeks on the market.

Apparently the Kin development team has been rolled into the Windows Phone 7 team and Microsoft does not plan to launch the device in Europe this year.

Microsoft Kin is dead -- Engadget

Coding for Android Device Battery Life

Most of us have to pay attention to battery life these days. And as a dumb end user there is only so much I can do to regulate battery life. Turning devices off, dimming screens, shutting down wireless connections and, in general, just not using my devices are the sorts of things end users can control.

Of course, that sort of defeats the purpose of having always-on devices, doesn't it? Application developers can do some things to help when they create apps, and hardware engineers can do some things when they design devices.

Ironically, we are so "digital" these days that radio frequency engineering is almost a lost art, as you might infer from the antenna issues the iPhone 4 has been having.

But Android developers can do some things when they develop code that has a direct bearing on power consumption.

Where Touchscreen Mobile Users Visit

On a global basis, shopping and other services sites are the top destinations for users of touch screen smartphones and feature phones, according to Taptu.

Can Telx Outshine Industry Leader Equinix?

http://seekingalpha.com/article/212589-can-telx-outshine-industry-leader-equinix?source=feed

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What in Media is Growing; What is Not

Just about anything touching the Internet grew in 2009, as did professionally-produced video, Internet advertising and video games, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Just about everything else shrunk in 2009.

Consumers Use the Web, Companies Should Do the Same

If consumers are using video, social applications, wikis and other web applications to get and share information about companies and products, shouldn't companies be doing the same?

Consumers, App Providers and Service Providers All Lose from Net Neutrality, Stratecast Argues

Some network neutrality proponents say users will benefit if all forms of packet priority are prohibited. In this view, more innovation and value will be produced if no applications can be given  favored use of the access pipe.

That would include streaming video, voice or any other real-time service.

Analysts at Stratecast do not believe the argument. Their analysis suggests application providers themselves, as well as end users and service providers, will be harmed if such policies are adopted.
In truth, nobody knows what might happen if all ability to prioritize bits were prohibited. The key thing, says Stratecast, is that there would be so much uncertainty that service providers would likely behave as though the downside were quite large in magnitude.

Higher prices for end users, less movement towards higher-speed access and ultimately even application experience degradation would occur, long term. The main reasons are the higher costs to "over-provision" physical networks, lower returns for such investment and less robust development of new services and revenue streams, Stratecast argues.

read the full position paper here