New Media Reflections

According to a recent article in VentureBeat Google will be offering a free GPS system on any phone that uses their Android 2.0 operating system. Just think, the money you save by not having to buy a discreet GPS unit will probably get you a smart phone that can do the same thing plus everything else a smart phone does. This is appealing, and should convert a lot of people to the Google products. I know if I was planning to purchase a GPS, I would scrap that plan now and buy a phone. What a great marketing tool this will be. Apparently the GPS request is downloaded to your phone so even if you lose your connection, the downloaded directions will still be available for the particular route you inquired about. Since this is actually a version of Google Maps, you can switch views and even go to street view to see the actual intersection.

Since there aren’t any Android phones available yet, here is a video from Google that shows what we can expect:

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The New York Times recently ran an article about fashion in virtual worlds, especially Second Life. It seems people are spending alot of money in-world despite the sad state of the economy. This doesn’t surprise me, after all, the whole intent of a virtual world like Second Life is just as the name indicates. You go there to try things out, experiment, try things you wouldn’t try in real life, and buy things you can’t afford in real life. Consider that for a couple of US dollars you can buy a gorgeous evening gown, or tux and go out dancing all night to wonderful music in a visually rich setting.

I think the ability to do such things functions as a release for people who are stressed or depressed in real life. Oh, and I guess I could just call that fun. Instead of anaesthetizing themselves with alchohol, or turn their brain to mush in front of the TV, some people choose to go into a virtual world and be creative and social and have a good time.  I see nothing wrong with that. I think Second Life should advertise itself that way: “Come and escape the drudgery of your life. Have a second  life that is fun and interesting”.

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I read an article in ADWEEK about Microsoft’s announcement of a new smart phone that is intended to replace Blackberry and iPhones. This is an ambitious attempt by Microsoft, and an outrageous claim. They proclaim there should be: “One phone for work and play.” Actually, I like the idea of this. Why should I use an iPhone for social contacts and entertainment, and then pick up a Blackberry to handle my work tasks? It seems that the holy grail of media, the Black Box, the one device that will run all things electronic for us, is still the quest that directs new technology.

Unfortunately, although I have nothing against Microsoft per say, these are the people who spent years developing Vista and cast that upon us as a fantastic new operating system. I hope they can do better with this device. I don’t think they actually have a chance, but I applaud them for at least identifying what is probably the next integration of mobile devices. Most likely Apple and RIM are already looking at this type of integration. One advantage that Microsoft does have though is that their new phone will run MS Office apps. That should be a good counter to the competition. Who knows, they may be first in with an integrated purpose phone and do well with it.

I notice from the picture that there seems to be an included keypad. I like that concept instead of trying to use a primarily numeric keypad. Unfortunately, neither is designed to be functional for those with “over 50 eyesight” meaning we can’t see those tiny numbers and letters without resorting to magnifiers and such. I know this has some effect on why I don’t text message from my phone. I think a nice addition to these devices would be one of those portable fold-up, flexible keyboards. Then I could actually use one of these.

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