Does Moto Droid Handle Multi-Touch Better Than Nexus One?

WW Handset Metrics Q4 2009

Check out the full story on FierceWireless

Key Takeaways CTIA Fall 2009

So I survived another CTIA, this time with my voice and (obligatory liver damage aside) my health intact. I was unsure how well San Diego was going to work out for the show, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Gaslamp District seemed cleaner and nicer than I'd remembered it... with just enough grit to keep it entertaining. While enjoying vodka martinis alfresco at Greystone Steakhouse a friend and I were treated to several rounds of hobo-karate street theater. But, overall I like San Diego better for CTIA than SF (and much better than Orlando)... plus it's drivable from LA. So what did I learn? Uh, not that much frankly... but here are a few morsels that you all might find interesting:

• There was a significant amount of heat around Android, both from a device and content publisher standpoint. That said, publishers continue to have concerns about the lack of carrier-integrated billing.
• Windows Marketplace for Mobile running on Windows Mobile 6.5 looked pretty slick and worked pretty well on the HTC Pure (AT&T). The application catalog is still kinda light, BUT this store does have carrier billing.
• The Motorola CLIQ with Motoblur running on Android was my favorite new handset at the show. I spent a bunch of time with this device and was really impressed with the form factor, user interface and user experience. It looks kinda like an N97, only smaller and lighter. Motoblur is the best execution of desktop widgets that I've ever seen on a mobile device. For Moto's sake I hope that there's no hidden lameness.
• There was a lot of buzz about the departures of respected mobile games industry veterans Greg Ballard and Jill Braff from Glu Mobile and about who their replacements might be. The general consensus is that management and the board have been at odds over the path forward for the publisher.
• The rooftop bar at The Ivy hotel is definitely the best hangout spot in San Diego. But 207 @ the Hard Rock Hotel was the true hub of the show... SD's version of the W Bar in SF. BTW - almost nothing was happening on the actual CTIA show floor.
• Billboard's Mobile Entertainment Live! should be re-named Mobile Entertainment Dead!... the event was a pathetic shadow of its former self.
• Apparently, I need to revise some of my Top 10 Mobile Games Publisher WW numbers down... and if Sony Pictures' claim to mocoNews.net that they are the fifth largest games publisher in terms of downloads is to be believed, then perhaps I need to include them on the list (...but I suspect some more diligence is required).
• I was distressed by how many industry veterans discussed leaving mobile. Many others were re-focusing their mobile efforts on the un-sexiest, most established mobile services (where there's actually some money to be made).

That's all I have for now, if I remember any more as I come out of the post-show fog I'll add it. Did anyone out there see anything mindblasting at the show that I missed?

Moto Cliq Coming Soon T-Mo USA Looks Like An Android N97

Industry Has A Microsofty For Windows Mobile OS

There were a lot of posts this past week about the world's un-sexiest mobile OS...Windows Mobile. This is a product that gets absolutely no love despite being pretty solid from a technical and UI/UX perspective. Some of this can be attributed to the favorite sport of the tech press, Microsoft-bashing. Some of it is simply the curse of being an OS that's been around the block a few times (its roots are PocketPC 2000)...so for many it's associated with non-phone PDAs like the HP iPAQ (about as cool as grandma's socks). Some of it has to do with unfortunate partnership decisions MS made with handset manufacturers...most notably by taking their first big jump into the smartphone fray with the super-suckilicious Motorola Q. Company president Robbie Bach basically fessed up to this, according to a story in The Business Insider, at an analyst day event in Seattle earlier this week. And then of course there is the new mobile OS hotness, Android which is hooking up with all the sexy handsets (and some Moto devices as well). Om Malik, who has never been a fan of Windows Mobile fan, reported on GigaOM that Google's Android OS is beginning to pose a real threat to Microsoft despite having a fraction of its install-base (11% in US). My feeling is that Windows Mobile still has a lot of potential game, but the key to getting consumers and the industry re-interested will have a lot to do with how they execute on a number of key events in the next couple of months. First they need to get the delayed Windows Mobile OS 6.5 (which MobileGamesBlog is reporting may be re-branded Windows Phone) launched in early Q4 and complement it with the simultaneous launch of a well stocked (they plan 600), well designed Windows Mobile Marketplace app store (think Xbox Live Arcade). Next they need to hit their April 2010 launch target for Windows Mobile 7 (by which time they should have thousands of apps in their store) and announce a bunch of key handset relationships. Then they need to buy RIM.

Moto's Mojo Handset Photoshop Fantasy?

My favorite Lithuanian mobile blog UnwiredView is theroizing that pics, videos and specs for the Motorola TouchZINE HD handset posted by a Yury Cassini in Brazil are pure Photoshop fiction...which is a damn shame considering that this is exactly the kind of handset Moto needs to make it relevant/competitive again. Cassini had claimed that the device had the following superjuicy specs, so you can understand why the community (caveat: it's a nerdy community) was in a frenzy over the handset:

• Android OS
• NVIDIA Tegra chip
• HDMI connectivity
• 1080p HD video playback
• 5 megapixel camera with HD video recording
• 16GB of memory
• Only 4 physical buttons (volume, camera and lock)
• Motorola apps: MotoVideoMaker, MotoMusicMaker, MotoImageMaker

I must say that the misspelled copyright line on the attached YouTube video gave me more than a little pause. But that said, I hope that Moto announces in the next couple days that it's all true.

MOTASTROPHE!

Q4 earnings released today indicate that the once mighty handset division of Motorola (MOT) continues its sad and spectacular free fall.

· Sales plummet 51%
· Marketshare is down to 6.5% (from 12.4% a year ago)
· Q4 Operating Loss of $595 mil
· Moody's cut Motorola's debt rating to Baa3 - the lowest investment grade level
· Dividend suspended

...but the analysts quotes sum it up best of all:

“They better hurry and fix mobile devices or it will become irrelevant” Mark Sue (RBC Capital Markets)

"...their luxury line-up is a hot mess” and "gruesome" Tero Kuittinen (Global Crown Capital)

“I feel their position in handsets is awful and will get worse” Simona Jankowitz (Goldman Sachs)

“Their handsets right now are stagnant, and there’s no sign of a new product cycle coming until maybe the end of the year” Samuel Wilson (JMP Securities LLC)