"Locator" is Major Component of Visa Mobile (for Android)

T-Mobile subscribers with Chase Visa's and a G1 can check download the Visa Mobile application designed to deliver "near real time alerts", such as when a subscriber is approaching a designated credit limit or if Visa has detected potentially unauthorized use of the one's credit card; "offers", which amount to promotions from participating retailers, restaurants or service providers; and "locator", which illustrates nearby merchants th

Accenture: Higher-End Mobile Applications Underutilized by US Consumers

A couple weeks ago consulting firm Accenture released the results of a US consumer survey (n=5,047 adults, 12/07) focused on consumer electronics buying behavior and attitudes. Among other things, the research found most cellphone users don't do lots of things with their phones.

The majority "never" do these things:

Mixed Reviews for Android G1

Over at Search Engine Land I round up most of the major reviews of the T-Mobile G1, the first Android phone. If you want to see all of them for yourself, you can find them on Techmeme.

Search at the Center of Android

I've argued that search is not at the center of the mobile experience as it is online. Voice interfaces and auto-complete/predictive text (now being used by all the major competitors) try to compensate for the challenges of keystrokes and search in mobile. But on the iPhone, search is plainly a secondary tool. Apps icons and bookmarks are the primary navigational mechanisms. 

To some degree this is not good for Google, despite the debt it ows to the iPhone. 

Microsoft to Maintain Windows Mobile Fees Despite Pressure

Amid growing competition and pressure from mobile Linux, a forthcoming open-source Symbian and Android, Microsoft has said it will maintain licensing fees for its Windows Mobile OS. Reuters reports those fees amount to about $8 to $15 per phone.

Previously Microsoft said it would potentially delay the new, Windows Mobile 7 version of the OS until 2010.

Is Android a Threat to Windows Mobile?

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was interviewed (video) last week by VC Ann Winblad at the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley (I wasn't present). Among the many topics he discussed was mobile. Mobile is an increasingly strategic category for everyone -- especially the big search/portal players online.

RIM to Remain Dominant Smartphone in US Enterprises

In the wake of the T-Mobile Android launch today there's the expected speculation about whether it will affect iPhone sales or the sales of other smartphones. Android is and will remain primarily a consumer device for some time. It's likely that RIM will remain unchallenged as the leader of the enterprise segment of the smartphone market.

Previewing Google's Android

In the past week, we've written a good deal about the imminent launch of the first Android phone from T-Mobile. Today, at Search Engine Land, I preview the Android release and discuss a broad range of issues and data that will be familiar to the readers of this blog. I anticipate that the device will have its warts and detractors, but that it will be successful.

At the very least it will contribute to a mobile Internet ecosystem that is gaining strength and momentum.

AOL's Platform A Optimizes Ads for the iPhone

AOL's consolidated ad serving and technology unit, Platform A, has introduced ad optimization for the iPhone. According to a press release out this morning:

Chrome and Android Browser Share Elements, Code

At this point only those living under rocks are unaware of Google's new Web browser Chrome. So I won't go into a long discussion of its features or my impressions of the browser.