mobilize

Sony BMG signs mobile-marketing deal with Mozes

Sony BMG, one of the top four recording companies, has signed a deal with Mozes, a start-up that connects communities through mobile phones.

Mozes will hand Sony BMG music artists a way to communicate with fans through text and voice messages. Right off, this isn't spam, says the company's CEO Dorrian Porter.

He says Mozes only sends messages to people who have opted into the program. If you're a hard-core fan of musician Teddy Geiger, Porter says, you'll want him texting you with his next concert date or leaving a voice message about an upcoming release (… Read more

Firefox Mobile concept flaunted in Mozilla video

Firefox Mobile Concept Video from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Update 10:20 a.m. PDT: This was updated to clarify the point about mobile browser alternatives.

The buzz about Firefox these days might be focused on the impending Firefox 3, but the folks at Mozilla are already thinking beyond that browser--and beyond the PC. A blog post on Wednesday from Mozilla Labs' head of user experience, Aza Raskin, shows off a video of a conceptual Firefox Mobile.

Designed for touch-screen interfaces--not multitouch, like the iPhone--the mobile Firefox browser opens up to reveal a bookmarks list and a "plus&… Read more

Dial2Do: Speak your Twitters, e-mails, SMS messages and more

In about six weeks, Dial2Do will launch its mobile phone platform for dictating commands to various Web services. (we have a limited supply of early beta invites; read to the end). It's an interesting play to make users more productive during their commutes.

When you sign up for Dial2Do, you'll be able to immediately use it to dictate yourself reminders. After a brief address book set-up you can also speak SMS and e-mail messages to others. The service transcribes your speech for its messages.

You can also use the service to control various Web 2.0 sites. On … Read more

The Real Deal 114: Macs

Tom and Rafe talk about Mobile Me from Apple, a bit about Snow Leopard,a.k.a. OS X 10.6, and of course they touch ont he iPhone too. Listen now: Download today's podcast Mobile Me http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9963504-2.htmlLive Mesh competitorSnow Leopard - No new MacBook Pro?Techriest - Mac as a development platform - http://www.acrossthepod.dreamhosters.com/?p=15iPhone - Apps!The SDK, core services, what it can and can't doDifference between the apps and web appsHow to buy the appsEMAILkwsanders - I cannot remember how long Steve Jobs … Read more

HP iPaq 900 smartphone to finally ship June 30

In addition to a flurry of new PCs, HP also announced this week that it would, at long last, start shipping the HP iPaq 900 smartphone on June 30. First introduced back in September 2007, the iPaq 900 is a business- and messaging-centric smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard; Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition; a 3-megapixel camera; and integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) smartphone also has tri-band UMTS/HSDPA support.

Currently, no U.S. carrier has picked up the device, though, according to HP, that may change in the future. (AT&… Read more

Apple's MobileMe vs. Funambol's myFUNAMBOL: An open sync?

Apple introduced a successor to its .Mac product which looks interesting, though not revolutionary: MobileMe. Dubbed "Exchange for the rest of us," MobileMe offers "push e-mail, calendars, and contacts for users, keeping that information up-to-date whether they're viewing it at a computer or an iPhone."

In other words, exactly what Funambol already offers for free (as in cost and as in source code), except Apple is charging $99 per year. What a bargain!

Even worse, Apple inexplicably opted to use closed standards to offer the MobileMe service, as Fabrizio laments:… Read more

Business travelers: Find a printer easily

Have you ever been on the road for work and gone through the hassle of trying to use a local printer? Don't worry, you're not alone. When traveling on business, people often need a printout for the latest version of a project to have in the big meeting. The last thing we want to go through with 10 minutes until showtime is the struggle of installing new drivers, trying to locate a usable printer, and everything else associated with getting a hard copy of our work.

Fortunately Xerox came out with a universal access printer driver which solves … Read more

Opera sings about 9.5 release candidate

The cult favorite Opera browser is moving into the next cycle of "the browser ring." After beta testing, and before the final version, we get the release candidate for Windows and Mac OS. What does this mean for fearless Opera fans?

There's a massive spate of bug fixes in this update, so if stability issues kept you from using previous 9.5 betas, this version should be much more appealing. Other improvements include fixes for downloading e-mail message bodies from all POP accounts, the introduction of a new skin, and smoother upgrading from Opera 9.2. Mac-specific … Read more

Video roundup: New apps coming to the iPhone

In March, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced an upcoming system for downloading third-party applications for the iPhone. At the Worldwide Developers Conference on Tuesday, he brought a parade of developers onstage to show off exactly what those new apps can do.

The apps range from monkey slinging to medical imaging and should be available sometime in early July (along with the iPhone 2.0 software required to run it), according to Apple representatives. Follow the jump to check out demos of each of the applications announced during the keynote speech. We'll update this post with more video demos as they come.… Read more

Apple launches Web 2.0 infrastructure: MobileMe

At the WWDC on Monday, Apple announced the next evolution of its .Mac service, MobileMe. A cloud storage solution that handles e-mail, calendar items, contacts, photos, and other documents, it will arguably compete with Microsoft's Live Mesh, as well as several other data synchronization start-ups like SugarSync (download).

MobileMe will replace Apple's consumer Web site service, .Mac, and adds to that service additional storage (.Mac's 10GB gos to MobileMe's 20GB), plus support for the new iPhone and for Windows PCs.

The big pitch for the new service is its synchronization capabilities. E-mail to your MobileMe account … Read more