5 Big Reasons Why I Won't Buy an iPhone

A number of friends have asked me why I haven't already jumped on the bandwagon and purchased an iPhone like the other 700,000+ people that have already taken the plunge:

1. Price: I don't want to strap $600 to my hip, just ready to drop into the toilet, in the street, etc. My Pearl cost me $50 after rebates, 2 year contract, etc....and who knows--I wouldn't be surprised if there are stories of iPhones being stolen right off of people's belts!

2. Blackberry server: my Blackberry automatically syncs everything (email, contacts, calendar, etc) over-the-air with a server in our corporate data center. That means I never have to sync it with Outlook, and if I do drop it into the toilet, it takes 15 minutes to get the new one operational. The Blackberry server also allows me to do cool things like create/accept meeting invitations, look up anyone in the company directory, and lots of other cool features.

3. Capacity: the biggest iPhone only has 8GB of storage. My Pearl has 2GB that I rarely use, as I rely on my 30GB iPod Video for entertainment purposes. It plays music and video, but the iPod Video is still superior for entertainment.

4. Size: my Pearl weighs only 3 ounces and is 4"x2"x0.5" in size. The iPhone weighs nearly 5 ounces and is 4.5"x2.4"x0.5" in size. I really, really like the small size of the Pearl.

5. Battery: the iPhone has a permanently installed (soldered) battery that is not replaceable in the field. In contrast, it takes about 5 seconds to replace the Pearl's battery.

I'll wait for a while and see what develops. I like a lot of the features of the iPhone, but at this point the Pearl satisfies all of my main requirements.

How to use a normal stereo headset with the Blackberry Pearl 8100

I purchased a Blackberry Pearl about 3 months ago, and have been really happy with it--with one big exception: the device has a proprietary headset jack, and the stereo headphones (earbuds) that ship with the device don't have the best audio quality--music is muffled and they don't have the greatest high-end range.

Ideally, I'd like to be able to use one of the new Jabra Bluetooth stereo headsets with the Pearl, but the Pearl doesn't currently support the required Bluetooth profile (A2DP) to make them work (hopefully a device update will fix this problem in the near future).

In the meantime, the best solution is to purchase a $15 adapter from eAccess Solutions that will convert the proprietary 4 conductor, 2.5mm Blackberry jack into a standard 3.5mm headset jack. The adapter has one other cool feature--it also has a microphone and answer button, allowing you to take calls when they come in with the same headset.

This adapter will be on my list of "must have" accessories until such a time as I can use a wireless stereo headset!

How to get out of your mobile phone contract without paying termination fees

I found out about Cellswapper.com today, which is a service that matches people that need to get out of their cell phone contracts with people that want to get into a shorter-term contract than is normally offered by the carriers. In addition, most people getting out of their contracts also throw in their phone for free.

CellSwapper does this by exploiting a little-known fact about mobile phone carrier contracts: that most carriers will waive early termination fees (which generally range from $150 to $200) if the subscriber can find someone willing to take over the contract for the remaining period of time (that way they're guaranteed that someone will pay off the contract). The company plays "match maker", matching people that want to get out of a contract with people that want to get into a contract--and charging modest fees for the service -- either a "success fee" of $14.95 after the person successfully finds a contract buyer (charged afterward), or a $9.95 "posting fee" if the contract holder pays up-front.

I checked out the Cellswapper service, and they had contracts listed from virtually every carrier, including both individual as well as shared minute plans. Some people even offered a cash bonus (like $50) if someone takes over their plans, plus free shipping for the phone. The contract lengths varied from 4 to 20 months (I'm not sure why anyone would take over a 20 month plan, especially since the person didn't offer any other incentives other than a free phone).

I think this is a great idea--I've been stuck into mobile phone contracts before, and neither the prospect of having to pay $50+/month until the contract is up or paying a ridiculous early termination fee were very attractive. It's great to know that there is another alternative. I'm interested if any of my readers have used CellSwapper--please post your experience with the service as a comment.

Apple Unveils the iPhone

OK, so I missed the date of the iPhone announcement by a day--but other than that, many of my prognostications about Apple's much awaited iPhone came true--with one big exception.

Steve Jobs announced the phone at the Macworld Conference today in San Francisco, describing it as three products in one: "a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough Internet communications device." OK, so I got two out of three right--I didn't see the Internet communications device coming, whatsoever.

First, the phone is indeed a quad band GSM "world phone" with high-speed EDGE data connectivity (OK, I nailed it so far), but it also offers WiFi connectivity (I totally missed that one!). Apple inexplicably partnered with Cingular, so you'll need to be a Cingular customer to buy the phone, and I would imagine that it will be next to impossible to get an unlocked version of the iPhone (that could be used on other carrier's networks). I believe that this is a poor move on Apple's part--even though Cingular is the largest wireless carrier in the US, an exclusive relationship automatically cuts out T-Mobile's ~23 million subscribers as potential customers (Cingular has around 42 million subscribers). If Apple had instead chosen to go with a carrier-neutral strategy, it would therefore have had access to a whopping 65 million potential users--and that's just in the U.S. The total GSM user base, world-wide, is over 2 billion subscribers in 212 countries!

The iPhone will be released in June, feature flash memory capacities in either 4GB or 8GB increments, priced at $499 and $599 respectively (no word on whether these prices will be with a contract or not--if not, then subtract a couple of hundred dollars from the price, and all of a sudden the iPhone starts to look much more appealing!). It will also feature a 2 megapixel digital camera, will send and receive email and surf full-size web pages. The big news is that the iPhone will also sport a touch screen--a first for Apple--and a beautiful 3.5 inch high-res screen. Another interesting tidbit is that the iPhone actually runs OS X - the Macintosh operating system - and not the iPod embedded OS.

My analysis of the announcement? Probably one of the most awesome engineering feats that I have seen in mobile phone handsets. Clearly targeted at consumers (no support for email attachments, for example). Severely limited market through the exclusive partnership with Cingular, by pricing the device so that it will appeal only to the high end of the consumer market. I think this actually makes sense--Apple doesn't want to sabotage their core iPod market (particularly the high end iPods).

That said, there is no doubt that legions of loyal iPod users ready to line up to get the latest and greatest gadget from Apple--and I very well may be one of them!

One more wrinkle--Cisco actually owns the trademark on 'iPhone'--expect a lawsuit to be filed in the next couple of days. Apparently Apple has been trying to negotiate the use of the name with Cisco, and ran out of time--and now they're going to have to get it through litigation or change the name of the phone. This will be an interesting case to follow.

The Apple iPhone - Why I Think it's the Real Deal

Rumors have been circulating for months (years?) that Apple will be announcing an 'iPhone' in the near future (perhaps as soon as next Monday, January 8). I believe that the time is ripe for an announcement for the following reasons:

1. Steve Jobs himself hinted last summer that some sort of phone was under development.

2. Rumors have circulated for some time of a number of iPhone prototypes that have been commissioned; one potential design appears below:



3. Apple is in a perfect position to capitalize on the convergence of entertainment devices and mobile phones, and the integration of the iPod, which already has many PDA-like features (including a calendar and contact list), with a phone is a natural. I believe that very few companies other than Apple could successfully pull this off, but Apple's history of stellar design (hardware, software and user interface), coupled with the tremendous brand pull-through of the iPod line, could very well create another smash hit.

4. Apple has already dabbled in this market with 2005's partnership with Motorola that produced the ROKR, which was the first mobile phone that could play music from iTunes. An iPod it was not, but clearly Apple was testing the waters to see if that sort of device would "play" (pun intended) in the market. While the ROKR was basically a failure, I don't blame Motorola--Apple intentionally handicapped the ROKR's music storage ability so that it would not compete with the iPod line.

I do have some tripidation about the design of the iPhone, however. Hopefully Apple thought of the following:

1. Global coverage: the iPhone should be a quad-band GSM "world phone", which will provide a global market. There are rumors that Apple may enter into an agreement to resell another carrier's service (much like Virgin Mobile, which resells Sprint)--I think this would be a serious mistake on Apple's part. They should focus on making the best darn phone they can--and let the mobile carriers do what they do best--running wireless networks and selling handsets.

2. Audio: of course, the phone needs to have audio playback capabilities. Since the device will be in constant motion, a flash device (similar to the iPod Nano) would be a necessity. Capacity should be at least 4GB, and 8-10GB would be even better.

3. Video: a screen that's at least able to display some video (vis a vis the iPod Video) would be desirable. While the device would not have a lot of memory to store video, this would leave the door open for streaming video--particularly with 2.5G and 3G data network adoption finally on the uptake.

4. PDA: the ability to store calendar and address book entries is a necessity. Since the iPods already do this via iTunes, this shouldn't be a problem. One more PDA function that the iPods lack is "memo pad" capability--the ability to store free-form notes, and ideally sync them with email programs like Outlook, would be a really good feature.

5. Connectivity: Bluetooth is a must, both for wireless headset support as well as the ability to use Bluetooth for synchronization with iTunes. Ideally, the iPhone would support the latest Bluetooth profiles, which include support for the latest generation of combined stereo headphones and headsets like the Jabra BT620S .

6. Size and weight: based on the success of the Motorola RAZR, smaller is definitely better--and so is thinner. An iPhone should have a similar size and weight to a PDA phone, such as the Blackberry Pearl.

7. Battery life: this is of the essence. Obviously, iPhone buyers will want long talk time coupled with long listening time...and the phone should have some sort of mechanism that would prevent audio/video playback from completely draining the phone to the point where it is unusable.

8. Price: this is crucial. If Apple can price the iPhone such that the total price, with a 2 year contract, comes in around the $300 mark, then they will capture the attention of people that are considering the purchase of an iPod (and have budgeted the money).


We'll see how close predictions/advice come to reality when Apple (hopefully) announces the iPhone next week! If Apple can pull this off, the iPhone (or whatever they call it) could wind up being the hottest mobility gadget since the cell phone first hit the market!

Cheap (~$350), Hackable Linux Smartphone Due Soon

FIC introduced the "Neo1973" Smartphone at the Open Source in Mobile conference yesterday in Amsterdam. Linux Devices, in an article yesterday, reported that the company will be releasing the device, which features an open-source, Linux-based "OpenMoKo" platform. The device will also support Windows Mobile, making it one of (possibly the) first dual-OS mobile device.

The Neo1973 will also include a GPS receiver, and it is a quad-band GSM/GPRS "world phone". The main weaknesses in the device (that I can see) are is the design of the unit, which resembles a large pill, and the fact that is does not appear to have any hardware buttons--everything seems to be controlled via a touch screen, and the fact that it doesn't include EDGE data--GPRS-only data rates are going to be a serious impediment to the acceptance of this unit by early adopters, geeks, and the like.







Nonetheless, the Neo sounds like a really great idea...and hopefully the price, which at $350 is hardly "cheap," will come down as they move into volume production. The carriers, if they decide to pick up the phone, will of course offer steep discounts in exchange for a contract commitment--the key, of course, is if this phone goes mainstream enough for that to happen.

The full article on LinuxDevices may be found here.

An excellent review on one of the new crop of standalone phones that use Skype over WiFi connections. Nice idea, but it sounds like it's not quite ready for prime time--missing features like a Web browser (for authenticating with hotspots like the T-Mobile network), a keypad lock, text messaging, no support for 802.1x and WPA2 security and a high price (~$200 street) will doom this device to being used only by early adopters. Still....the ability to make Skype calls from virtually any open hotspot, without booting a PC is compelling. Perhaps the next generation of this phone will have the magic combination of ingredients, but for now I'm keeping my money in the bank.

Netgear Skype WiFi Phone SPH101 > JiWire's Review

The Greenphone - User-modifiable Linux Phone

Trolltech has introduced the Qtopia Greenphone, a $700 Linux-based GSM/GPRS mobile phone that includes an SDK so that users can easily develop their own applications that run on the phone.

From the press release:
-----------------------

Trolltech®, the company that makes software faster to build and easier to use, announced the pricing and availability of Qtopia® Greenphone™, the first open Linux mobile device for application developers.

Greenphone is offered as part of a complete software development kit (SDK) enabling application developers to utilize communication functions and features found in today’s sophisticated smartphones in developing their own innovative applications in addition to modifying those that Trolltech provides.

----------------------


Cool idea, but at that price point they will only attract serious gadget geeks (probably not their target market) and independent software vendors (ISVs) that desire a mobile phone platform that's easy to develop on (probably their target market). There could also be a market in the enterprise space--large companies that desire 100% control over the mobile phones that their employees use, all the way down to the OS.

Hopefully they come up with different colors--the Greenphone's puke green is not going to attract many people on wow factor! Of course, one might expect nasty things to come from a company called TrollTech...makes me wonder what it smells like! (?)

New Multimedia BlackBerry - The Pearl


RIM has announced its first consumer-targeted device, known as the BlackBerry Pearl. From the outside, it looks very much like the other "compact" BlackBerry devices, aka the 7100 series.

Inside, however, it sports two firsts for a BlackBerry: an MP3 player and an integrated 1.3 megapixel digital camera. It also has a new slot for a microXD memory card, which can be used for storing photos and music. Also very important: this unit supports both GPRS and EDGE data standards, the latter of which provides data rates up to three times faster than GPRS. As far as I know, this is the first BlackBerry in the "compact" form factor to support EDGE.

I haven't seen one of these units up close yet, but it looks like RIM could very well have a runaway hit on its hands. With a street price of $200-$300 (depending on plan and carrier discounts), weighing in at only 3.1 ounces and with a form factor that is as thin as a closed RAZR and as narrow as a normal "candy bar" phone, this unit sounds like a winner to me.

It does not appear to be available quite yet--T-Mobile, for example, it taking pre-orders at this time, but I'm sure we'll be seeing Pearls all over in a very short period of time.

RIM BlackBerry Pearl review by PC Magazine

Netgear WPN824 WiFi Router with MIMO

I acquired this unit for my office about two weeks ago from Office Depot for $89, and so far I am very pleased with it. This is an 802.11b/g WiFi router that features MIMO (Multi-In/Multi-Out) technology, which selects a combination of seven different internal antennas to provide the best coverage, depending on environmental factors such as the location of the wireless client devices. The router continuously monitors the environment, choosing the right channel and antennas to provide the best coverage.

Anecdotally, the new router does seem to provide better coverage in our office, with stronger signal in the furthest corners. An additional challenge of our office is the fact that we're in a highly dense area (downtown Denver), with many different APs from many different companies in the same area. Since this device automatically picks the best channel, it can dynamically change its configuration as the wireless dynamics in our building change.

So far, I am very pleased with the device and would recommend it to others. The price is a bit high, but it seems to be worth it for people that have coverage problems. My only complaint so far is the configuration of the unit, which required installation of a CD on the PC, along with a hard-wired connection to the router. While this wasn't a big deal for the initial configuration, I have been unable to manage the unit over the wireless, which is annoying--the last thing I want to do is to have to walk a laptop over to the unit to connect to the wired Ethernet just to be able to manage the device. Hopefully it will be very stable and I won't have to manage it!

Oh, and one more benefit--the unit has a very cool array of blue LEDs that shows which antennae are in use--a definite "thumbs up" on the geek factor!

A new generation of ultra-mobile PCs

There is a great slideshow on the eWeek Web site that depicts the new generation of ultra-mobile PCs from Sony and OQO which run Windows XP and typically weigh 1-2 pounds. Some have slide-out keyboards, and a number of people that have reviewed these devices have been none too pleased with them...that said, I'm sure there is a market for these devices in sales and executive types that are always on the search for the smallest, lightest laptop that still runs XP.

My main problem with these devices is that the keyboards are usually just awful--like trying to type on a bunch of chiclets--and the manufacturers often compromise sturdiness (and roadworthiness) in lieu of weight and size. As always, it will be very interesting to watch these devices hit the market, and to see who is buying them.

Attention Crackberry Addicts: Nasty Bug in Blackberry Desktop / Intellisync

I recently discovered a really nasty bug in the Blackberry Desktop/Intellisync (version 4.1.1.9, dated February 2006) that you might want to be aware of. A couple of times over the past six months, Intellisync has crashed during calendar sync, leaving absolutely no trace as to why it crashed and taking Outlook down with it for good measure. About six months ago I was able to work around the problem after many hours of tinkering by figuring out approximately which range of calendar entries was causing the problem and “brute-forcing” a solution by deleting all calendar entries around the problem date.

The problem occurred again today, and fortunately I was able to remember a particular change that I made to my calendar, which as it turns out, was the cause of the problem. I had pasted a graphic image (JPG) (a map, actually) into the calendar entry notes page, after which Intellisync crashed over and over again, repeatedly on the same calendar entry (which of course was only shown as 'now reading calendar entry xxx').

After remembering that I had created the calendar entry with the image in it earlier today, I decided to remove the image from the notes page and re-sync--and wha-la! Everything worked OK again.

So—don’t paste graphics into your calendar notes!

For the record, I have a T-Mobile Blackberry 7105t with the latest OS and Desktop Sync patches installed.

roofnet - DIY Open Source ISP using 802.11 Technology

This is really awesome--a group at MIT has created a public domain, open source mesh network based on standard 802.11 b/g technology. A mesh network enables a single node with Internet access, such as a house, to share that access with a number of adjacent locations. The mesh involves packets being able to hop from 802.11 node to node, and so long as each node is within the standard range for 802.11 (which is around two miles, if memory serves), there is no conceivable limit to the size of the mesh other than the fact that propagation delay would make performance at the end nodes intolerable after a certain number of hops.

This concept brings high-speed Internet access to many areas that could otherwise not receive it, such as mountainous areas that don't have access to cable modem or DSL and that do not have the exposure needed for satellite Internet. I have heard of some communitities doing this as "homebrew" experiments, but I have not run into an open source alternative until now.

Kudos to the roofnet group--keep up the good work!

T-Mobile BlackBerry 8700g

This appears to be the latest-and-greatest BlackBerry offered by T-Mobile. At present it shows as being out-of-stock, with no price, but it looks like a great machine--enhanced 3G data speeds thanks to EDGE support, and even though it's the classic "brick" form factor, it appears to be somewhat narrower than its predecessors.

The the other recent BlackBerry devices, it supports Bluetooth, has an HTML Web browswer, and includes instant messaging software. Now if they'd only make one that could use WiFi and would run Skype....!

Downtown Denver Partnership Free WiFi Zone

The Downtown Denver Partnership announced yesterday that it has created a free WiFi (as in wireless 802.11 network) zone that stretches along the 16th Street pedestrian mall from the "top" (Civic Center Station) to LoDo (Union Station), including Skyline Park at 16th and Arapahoe (which happens to be next Green Fine Salad Company, one of my favorite restaurants!). Interestingly enough, I had a very hard time finding any further information on it (including no mention whatsoever on the Partnership's web site) until I stumbled across an article in the Denver Post (from which most of this information came).

The free WiFi is limited to two hours out of each 24, and according to a report in the Denver Post, the coverage and signal strength is excellent--one person reported a very strong signal while using it inside of Starbucks at 16th and Court Place.

The network, which was designed, implemented and will be maintained by Kiva Networks out of Broomfield, CO, is being provided free to the city. Kiva will reportedly earn some ad revenue from a Web page that displays when users first log on (and they are quite obviously getting some serious free PR out of the deal too!).

The network is based out of the Downtown Denver Partnership's HQ at 16th St and Glenarm Place, where Kiva has located a central server and a wireless antenna. Antennas are located atop 16 light poles along the mall, along with a solar powered access point at the Denver Pavilions mall.

This is a great way to make the city much more traveller-friendly, IMHO--instead of paying $10-$20/day for wireless access at places such as Starbucks, people can get access for free (even while still buying Starbucks coffee!). The only losers in the equation are the WISPs (Wireless Internet Access Providers) that stand to lose out on the revenue they would otherwise be getting from those users.

I applaud the move, which follows on the heels of a similar move made by Boulder's Downtown Business Improvement District, which provides free (entirely solar powered--it's Boulder, after all!) WiFi access along the Pearl Street Mall.

For what it's worth, the network name (SSID) of the Boulder network is 'PEARL', and I will post the 16th Street network information when I get it. Curiously, the Kiva Networks Web site has to be one of the most content free that I've run into--seems they're keeping themselves busy putting in free networks or something. :-)

Update (4/19/06): I tried to connect to the free Denver network today from the Starbucks at 16th and Blake; nothing showed up on my network list other than the Starbucks T-Mobile network--and this was sitting by a window right on the mall. Hmm....seems they might need a few more APs, as the coverage is clearly not seamless from one end of the mall to the other.

Dell Latitude D620: my new laptop

After an exhaustive review, we recently made the decision to go with Dell again to replace a number of aging "power user" laptops. The unit of choice is the Latitude D620, which is a brand-new corporate quality laptop designed for road warrior power users.

As spec'ed, the D620s we've ordered have Intel Core Duo 2 GHz processors, 2GB RAM, 80GB hard drives, wide screen 14" SXGA+ screens and DVD+/-R drives. Weight should come in around 5.5 pounds with the extra life 9 cell battery, which is reported to provide around 7 hours (!) of battery life.

eWeek recently reviewed the D620 and gave it very good marks, especially for the price, which came in at $2,119, including all of the options mentioned above plus a 3 year next business day service plan, accidental damage protection, shipping and tax.

As far as reliability, ComputerWorld Australia recently stress tested one of the new Latitude models (not sure exactly which one), but they came through with shining colors. Their tests included dropping the unit onto carpeted and hard floors (from desktop height, both open and closed), as well as standing on the unit and actually pouring an entire cup of coffee on the keyboard. The unit survived all tests with flying colors due to the magnesium reinforced case, liquid resistant keyboard and hard drive "shock zones" that protect the drive if the unit is dropped. While this falls short of Lenovo's "air bag" technology, which relies on a motion sensor that automatically parks the hard drive, and liquid drain channels under the keyboard, the price of the unit came in much less than a similarly configured ThinkPad T60.

Dell estimates that we will receive the units in about 2 weeks, and I will post an evaluation of my unit after I've had a chance to use it for a few weeks. Compared with the cranky, heavy (8.5 pound) Dell Inspiron 8500 that I'm currently using, the new D620 promises to be a vast improvement. Hopefully Dell's new US-based support and overall system reliability have improved beyond the current unit!

Aruba Networks: Secure WiFi/VPN Solution in One

I attended Forrester's IT Forum 2006 this week in Las Vegas, and one of the vendors exhibiting there is Aruba Networks (http://www.arubanetworks.com).

Aruba, which calls themselves the "Mobile Edge Company" have a line of VPN/wireless “switch” appliances that are really cool. You buy a "mobiliy controller", which is a switch-like device that can control between 6 and 512 Aruba access points (which are very small, 802.11 a/b/g devices).

The mobility controller is much more than just a switch, however. The idea is that you place the controller in the data center, and it then not only controls the access points, but it also serves as an identity-based security gateway (wired and wireless), plus a VPN server.

After you configure one or more wireless access points with private IPs, you can plug them in virtually anywhere with connectivity to the Internet (like mobile users, branch offices, or even locations in the same building). The APs connect back to the "mother ship" (mobility controller) via an encrypted VPN tunnel, providing a secure connection from virtually anywhere (like hotel rooms, for example). The access points also support WiFi security like WPA, so in effect, you get fully secured end-to-end wireless communications from virtually anywhere....and once it's set up, it's virtually plug-and-play.

This solution solves a multitude of remote access problems, including the classic problem where an employee connects back to the corporate network with a VPN tunnel from home, and yet since they have an unsecure (or improperly secured) access point, they've just created an opening into the corporate network that is virtually impossible for the IT organization to detect.

I especially like the remote office / mobile worker aspects of this solution. An IT department could send the smallest AP (around $200 if memory serves) to these users, and they only need to plug the unit into a network connection to gain instant secure wireless connectivity to the corporate network. Super cool!

The total solution scales very well also--they have controllers that scale up to the largest of deployments, and they also have a very good line of access points that even include outdoor environments. I have recommended that our IT person take a look at their solution--it could solve a multitude of problems for us with not a large amount of work and for just a few thousand dollars' investment.



Not only do the APs provide a secure plug-and-play VPN, they also provide secure wireless access that will work in our various office locations as well as home offices and even hotel rooms. Cool idea!



The price doesn’t look too bad—the appliance starts around $1,700 (US) and the APs are around $200 (if memory serves).

Wi-Spy: $99 USB 2.4GHz Spectrum Analyzer

While this isn't everyone's cup-o-tea, those of us that are radio geeks could have a lot of fun with this. It shows frequency activity in the 2.4 GHz band, which can be useful in troubleshooting interference problems between WiFi, Bluetooth, Microwave ovens and the like.

If it was around $50, I'd think about getting one, but $99 is a little too steep for just a toy. This would come in useful for those of you that have a need to do some troubleshooting at work, however.

New phone uses world's smallest disk - vnunet.com: "Toshiba has designed a mobile phone using the world's smallest disk drive, according to Japanese sources. The 2.1cm drive, also made by Toshiba, is so small that six would fit on a business card."

Wow--that is amazing. The article has a photo of the disk next to a six-sided die; it's just barely bigger!

Supreme Court rejects BlackBerry patent appeal - Wireless World - MSNBC.com: "WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from the maker of the BlackBerry in the long-running battle over patents for the wildly popular, handheld wireless e-mail device.

The high court’s refusal to hear Canada-based Research In Motion Ltd.’s appeal means that a trial judge in Richmond, Va., could impose an injunction against the company and block BlackBerry use among many of its owners in the United States."

This isn't good for the ~4M Blackberry users out there--if RIM doesn't ante up an estimated $700M-$1B to NTP, it looks like there very well may be a shutdown of their network. Even though RIM claims to have implemented a work-around if that happens, I'm pretty skeptical that it will be as seamless as they say--otherwise, why wouldn't they have already done it?