VoIP Blog - Tehrani.com

November 21, 2007

I may have really screwed this prediction up. You remember yesterday when I said nobody wants the Kindle, the e-book reader from Amazon. Well apparently Amazon has announced today that they sold out of the units in stock. Normally this would mean I am way off with my prediction from about 24 hours earlier. The only catch? Amazon won’t say how many devices they had to begin with.

 

It is obvious the company is embarrassed to tell us the real number they sold out of so either two things are at play here.

 

 

1)      The early adopters purchased one of these and sales will slow down once the units are back in stock

2)      I am so wrong on this call and will be apologizing to my readers (and Jeff Bezos) soon.

 

Why do I think this device is a stupid idea without even seeing it? I am not sure really. Perhaps because it isn’t as functional as a cell phone or PDA? Perhaps because it seems to be a product which does less for consumers – not more. Perhaps because e-book readers have been around for a while and haven’t caught on?

 

Could I be wrong on this prediction? Yes. But Amazon not releasing numbers is not really such a good sign. Apparently someone at the leading online retailer didn’t think too highly about the demand for this product either.

 

See also:

November 21, 2007

Tom Keating has an excellent review of the Nokia N810 and although I haven’t seen this gadget yet, based on the Nokia N800 experience I have, this could be a real killer device.

 

I must say that the amount of typing I do every day requires a real keyboard which means the N810 could be the best of all worlds – having a better screen than an iPhone and the ability to run Flash and AJAX applications.

 

The downside to this gadget could be size and weight and of course lack of access to a cellular network.

 

So if you are looking for an iPhone on steroids with solid WiFi access, check out Tom’s blog for details.

November 21, 2007

Recently I posted an article regarding the strategic advantage afforded the country with the most wireless device choice. In summary – if mobile devices increase productivity then having the best mobile device for your particular application means a higher likelihood of maximal productivity.

 

This recent post came to mind when I learned Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit said Wednesday it will offer Apple Inc's iPhone without a contract in Germany to comply with a court injunction issued after Vodafone challenged its exclusive lock on the device.

 

It seems this ruling will change the way Apple will be selling the iPhone in various countries as it will likely be impossible to lock these devices in many parts of the world.

 

While I think telephone companies should be free from as much regulation as possible I also know the more locks and other techniques phone companies use to eliminate competition, the worse it is for consumers everywhere.

 

There needs to be some balance between the needs of a society – to be as productive as possible – and the needs of service provider shareholders. In Europe it seems the needs of the citizens of the EU win out. I wonder if this will ever happen in the US.