The plummet of Palm is certainly unfortunate, but it was inevitable.  The bigger problem is that the same exact pattern of downfall can, and likely has to happen to the more competitors in the cell-phone operating system game.  If you look at why they fell, it becomes obvious that more mobile OS producers could reach the same fate.  Obviously, everybody who wanted to compete in the smartphone OS market wants to think that they are going to be the next big thing in cell phone OSs. People want to get on board with the next big thing in tech, so   obviously all OS makers can’t be right. 

As we all know, every tech company out there has been throwing their contender into the OS war. It seems that they’ve learned from the 90’s that he who makes the premier software, rules any given software revolution.  It seems, though, that one major player has recently been knocked out of the race in a big way.  Today, Palm inc’s stock plummeted. This appears to be because of their lack of ability to actually sell their phone operating system.  It seems that the smartphone OS landscape just got more treacherous.

Even though the actual success or failure of the iPad has yet to be seen, it appears as though support product developers are already banking on its domination of the market.  Third party developers are already sinking millions of dollars into making iPad accessories… and it’s not even out yet.  These prospectors seem to have jumped the gun to claim a stake in the coming iPad gold rush.  Like the real gold rush, people may be overestimating the gold in those hills.

Maybe it’s the new $99 replacement clause. Maybe it’s Steve Jobs’ admittedly brilliant sales pitch.  Maybe it is the horde of fanboys who buy everything apple produces.  Whatever the reason, it seems that iPad pre orders have exceeded 150,000.   Apple opened the digital floodgates.  It can’t be said that this was anything unexpected, but wow. Even with the mixed reviews, there are over 150,000 consumers who've said:  “you’re right, I DO need an iPhone that doesn’t fit in my pocket or make calls.”

Well, there may yet be some fight left in Google’s app war.  Google has just officially released the new Google App Marketplace.  It seems that someone in the ivory towers at Google was thinking; because this is very much what they needed.  By centralizing cloud applications under a major corporate banner and being extremely easy on third parties who want in, they are playing to all of their strengths.  For only $100 and 20% of sales, any developer can host and sell their applications through Google’s cloud network.  This way, they keep their faux anarchist hacker charm while providing us software consumers with the stability we want.  The use of the marketplace, of course, costs we the consumers nothing.

As we all know Google has been quite good at fighting and sabotaging Apple in their smartphone war. From hacking their way around app bans, to interceding on court cases that have nothing to do with them. Unfortunately, while they are remembering the first rule of competition, they seem to be forgetting another "first rule": don't forget about your own product, while you're trashing your opponent's. As some analysts are pointing out, the fragmentation effect to open source and free software is already taking hold. With just months between their releases, Android 2.0 and 2.1 are different enough that compatibility issues are becoming a major problem. We're not completely ready to give up hope for the Android platform. If it wants to be a real OS, Android needs SOME stability.

It’s official, smartphones are to 2010 what PCs were to the mid 90’s.  Apple is formally suing HTC for patent infringement.  They are claiming that the touch-screen interface of the HTC’s phone line is too similar to the apple iPhone.  Technically they are right; HTC phones and their Windows Phone OS interact with users very similarly…but this is because it’s a smartphone.  There are only so many things that can be done with a touch-screen and a cell-phone sized computer interface, but somehow apple has managed to enumerate and patent most of them.

Whether you support the increased security of the Digital economy bill or oppose its reduction of freedoms, you can’t deny that it’s a game changer.   In addition to setting a precedent of security over freedom within the internet, which was its intent, there may well be some other effects of the bill that were certainly less than intentional.  The most revolutionary and potentially disastrous of these would be an increased demand for genuinely anonymous ISP providers.

Every Cloud has its silver lining, and the Data Economy Bill is no exception.  Yes it will prevent businesses and individuals from creating free wireless hotspots.  Yes it creates an unpleasant environment for those who cannot afford their own internet.  Yes it is an affront to the entire premise of the internet and free communication. Like many Draconian measures, it will bring with it a great deal of security.

Well, it had to happen sometime, somewhere, but it is still disappointing when it does.  With the passing of the three strikes law in France last year, it was inevitable that other European countries would jump on the web restriction bandwagon.  Unfortunately sometime is now, and somewhere is the UK.  Serious deliberations have recently begun to bring the Digital Economy Bill into effect.  The bill is a massive collections of regulatory measures on the internet. The most publicized of which, is a regulation that would make free public internet hotspots illegal.

Symbian just released a preview video for their new Symbian 4 interface, and reception has been less than ecstatic. The product doesn’t look particularly bad; in-fact the interface looks like quite the balance between usability and mutability.  The showcased default settings and touch screen commands look fairly intuitive.  The picture browsing seemed easy enough.  The customization seemed easy enough.  They are even more hardcore about their open source than Google.  All of these factors .were there, and yet somehow we couldn’t bring ourselves to care.  It was fundamentally sound, but irredeemably boring.

Well, the French hyper luxury, hyper artsy tech company Celsius X VI II has just released a few small bits of information about their upcoming phone.  Unsurprisingly, both the product and the information about it seem appropriately hyper artsy, hyper luxurious, and French.  It is to be called the Papillion. What little information has been released is rather interesting, if not a bit over the top.  Like any piece of art, this one has a shtick, and this shtick is quite a doozey: a fully mechanical cellphone.

It may come as a shock to hear from this author, but the latest portable iProduct seems pretty ingenuitive, straightforward, and useful.  The recent announcement of the iTab release has semi-tech-savvy artsy types excited; and if it doesn’t it should.  It seems that these Apple copycats are finally remembering what market iStuff targets and what their products actually do before advertising.  They are making no unreasonable promises; and the product seems like something that artists who want to keep up with the tech curve (but don’t want to spend the effort to stay on the bleeding edge) could actually use.

From a technical standpoint, how exactly will the DSI-XL stand up next to the iPad?  Yes it's a big big DSI, but what does it give you that plugging a DSI into a larger screen wouldn't? Is it really a tablet substitute, or just another overgrown pocket device? Well for starters, it’s significantly cheaper, and we mean much cheaper. It starts at $190. This is less than half of the minimum price for an iPad.

In all the hustle and bustle that still surrounds the iPad (for some reason) it was inevitable that all of the big players would come up with their own iPad killers. You probably never thought that one of those big names would throw themselves into the ring. Guess who, Nintendo’s latest Pokémon platform: the DS. What got it in the mix? The combination of the pending American release of the DSI-XL, Nintendo’s announcement that they plan to offer  100 downloadable books for the platform, and there is a new big screen; or should I say a pair of big screens competing in one of the iPad’s strongest points.