Friday 17 September 2010

European Networks Planning Their Own OS?    [ 17-09-2010 19:31 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: Engadget     Translation by: Paul Smith     

In one of those 'oh please no' moments it looks like France Telecom, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom are getting together over coffee in Paris next month to see if they can't come up with their very own smartphone OS. Seriously.

At the risk of editorialising mobile network operators don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to creating and pushing their own operating systems, one need look no further than Vodafone's 360 efforts to see the truth in that. Why they would want to pump more resources into the same strategy is a bit baffling. Then of course there is the very pertinent question of whether the market needs, and indeed can support, yet another operating system? We already have Android, iOS, Symbian, Blackberry OS, MeeGo, Bada, Windows Mobile and the forthcoming Windows Phone 7. Consumers aren't exactly stuck for choice.

Of course this probably has more to do with the networks wanting to regain some control rather than increasing consumer choice. For years the networks were able to dominate handsets with their own branded content and services, but iOS, Blackberry and Android have been eating into that control. Maybe the networks would be better off trying to support those platforms more fully rather than dipping their toe back in the dangerous waters of OS Lake?

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Win Phone 7 App Rules: No 'Nipples', 'Bondage' or 'Decapitations'    [ 17-09-2010 18:35 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin   Source: Electricpig     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Microsoft has brought out its app development guidelines and like Apple there is a focus on family friendly content. In particular violent and sexual content is a big no no and they are pretty specific about what that entails:

"Sex/Nudity - Images that are sexually suggestive or provocative (eg sexually provocative touching, bondage, masturbation); provocative images that reveal nipples, genitals, buttocks, or pubic hair. Content that a reasonable person would consider to be adult or borderline adult content (images, text, or audio."

Yes they really do say 'pubic hair', 'bondage' and 'nipples'.

Violent content doesn't fare any better with the guidelines stating that the following won't be permitted:

"... realistic or gratuitous violence, including depictions of ... decapitation, impaling, blood splatter/blood spurting/blood pooling ... guns/weapons pointed towards user/audience."

I didn't realise that depictions of decapitations and impalments were such a big problem for app stores. Looks like there will be no graphic novel version of the story of Vlad the Impaler then!

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Microsoft: "No More Microsoft Phones"    [ 17-09-2010 18:08 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: IntoMobile     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Microsoft has gone on the record as saying that they aren't planning on their own handset any time soon. The comments came from CFO of mobile communication Tivanka Ellawala during a conference call: "We are in the software business nd that is where our business will be focused". The move isn't all that surprising really given Microsoft's failure with their much publicised Kin devices. That little venture pretty much crashed and burned before it had even gotten off the ground and reportedly cost Redmond a not very cool $240 million.

Contrast this with other companies in the smartphone space who are increasingly taking on both hardware and software roles. Most famously of course there is Apple, but even HTC is paying more attention to their UI and related services these days. Microsoft then is going in the opposite direction and it is in the fact the exact same direction they took with regards to the desktop computer market back in the 80s and 90s.

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