Where do we start?

So in the past few weeks we've seen the game changing once again. Firstly I'll pay my respects. Despite personal opinions about Steve Jobs it's hard to argue with the huge impact he had on the mobile phone industry and the home computing industry. He might have wanted things done his way and only his way but lets be honest it's his way that changed things, it's his way that paved the way for everyone else and whether you are Richard Stallman, Bill Gates or just the everyman on the street you'll have your views on Steve Jobs. The guy was a visionary and has forced the world into change in the last 20 years. So with that said RIP Steve Jobs.

Now we'll look at one of his many babies, the iPhone, or rather the iPhone 4S the device that was meant to make Google's "Android" system (and phones running Android) really need to step up. Instead of really changing the face of the phone industry once again it seems Apple have stalled somewhat, the device seems to be one that rather than reinvents the market again is merely limping to catch up with the top Android phones. The camera was one of the few noticeable upgrades going to a 8MP camera, the same as many of the Androids (and actually only as good as some of the older Sony Ericsson's) and with Siri aside (if it's as good as advertised) it's not really an upgrade that will have Samsung, HTC, Sony or Google worried in the slightest.

Of course Apple are also bringing "iMessage" to the table a clear "copy" of BlackBerry Messenger (funny how Apple want innovation when it suits them then copying when that suits them). It's with BlackBerry Messenger that we end this blog. BBM was seen as a quick reliable way to send messages for free. Rather than using up text messages (does anyone even have a limit on texts now a days?) people would just send BBM messages, and as we all know now the BBM system has been down around large parts of the world for much of the past few days. We've seen people like Alan Sugar tweeting about the issues that have plagued BBM over the past few days, though it's odd how foolish some folk are in thinking BBM was the only way of doing things. Whatever happened to the good old calls? Texts? And even the popular BBM alternatives such as Ebuddy XMS and Whatsapp?

Sadly Blackberry are a company on their last legs, it really won't be long until they do a HP and drop out of the market. RIM (the parent company of Blackberry) have seen their shares dropping through out the year and if this continues through next year the company may well need to completely change it's game plan. The past few days have shown that the company has problems and if these problems continue we can only guess how long they have left.

Whilst all this is going on we still have some major days in the phone world to come before the end of this year. Firstly the iPhone 4S is released TOMORROW! The Nexus Prime (and Ice Cream Sandwich) are also expected in the next few weeks and Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) is expected to to make Microsoft a bigger name on the scene. Although the Samsung Omnia W has been out for a little while it's been over shadowed by the other news, the next batch of phones running Mango will be out soon and could easily make a mark.

What a time to be involved in this brilliant industry!

Why Googorola won't go alone (part 2)-Avoiding the HP road

Yesterday I posted an entry explaining my thoughts on the Google buy out of phone manufacturer Motorola and explained why, personally, I don't think Google are going to run solo with Android. In the past few weeks we've heard the other big story in mobile industry, the HP news. For those who haven't heard (are you living under a rock?) HP are discontinuing webOS, one of the rivals to Android, iOS, Windows Mobile 7 and Blackberry. This has seen HP cut the prices on HP Touchpads (Tablets) significantly, in fact if you can still find one anywhere snap it up, it's a complete bargain, and announce a cut on the price of Pre 3, the newest webOS phone. In fact the phone, which was going for £30 a month on 24 month contract (or just shy of £500 on a Sim only deal) is expected to be sold at £50 as stores try to clear their stock.

Where HP went wrong with the webOS is difficult to really break down, though their is a number of clear reasons. Despite actually being a good rival, software wise, to Android HP did a number of things "wrong". Firstly they took on Apple head to head, they were the only company making webOS phones this was foolish. If you're the only company making devices with the operating system you will get pounded out of the market no matter how good the OS is. I'm sorry to tell you, but at the moment you cannot take on Apple directly, and Google know this that's why they license Android for free, HP went directly against Apple with their own handsets and tablets

As well as going solo against Apple they also charged like Apple. £500 for the Pre 3, no matter how mind blowing it might have been, was simply too much. Lets be honest it is a wonderful piece of kit. The processor is either a 1.4ghz or a 1.2ghz dual core (sources seem to contradict each other, though both would be swift), the screen is 3.58" as well as having a qwerty keyboard (so a huge screen for a qwerty phone), a huge 8GB of internal storage, a very solid 5MP camera on the back and the wonderful webOS 2.0 operating system. Despite how good it is (and was, if you prefer) it was simply over priced and as a result went directly against Apple's iPhone's rather things like Androids and Blackberry's.

There is currently a "bounty" put up online for people to find a method of putting Android on both the Pre 3 and the HP Touchpad meaning that if you are one of the lucky ones who do snap a bargain (and trust me at the prices they've been cut to, you have got a considerable bargain) you will end up being able to run Android on it in the near future.

The HP road won't be one Google wish to follow, Google have seen what happens when you attempt to take on Apple head to head and will almost certainly continue to license out the Android operating system rather than try to take on Apple. HP's white flag perhaps came too early for some though it should act as a warning, you can have a great handset and a great operating system, but take on Apple directly at your own peril. We might see "Googorola" phones by the end of 2012 but don't expect them to be high priced, that's simply not the Google way. Don't lose sight of the fact Google are an advertising company, they want everyone to have an Android even if it costs them to begin with, HP were never an advertiser.