Bad news for iPhone fans - Macrumors have an article which suggest that Apple won’t be allowing the Opera browser into App store. Various rumours are circulating as to why Apple have made this decision but the most credible would be one of minimising the competition to the Safari browser. The Opera Mini can run on the iPhone so it’s a real shame this browser won’t make it into App store.

Apple has been widely criticised for its refusal to allow competing apps into App Store and this latest decision is a prime example of the stranglehold they have over users decisions. Therefore, don’t expect to see any other freebies like Firefox being made available through App Store.

There is one option available; buy yourself a G1, the Android based Google handset. Although the G1 has a supposed ‘kill switch‘ (just like the iPhone) you’re likely to find all your favourite free applications being made available to download. Hey, the choice is yours!

Popularity: 43% [?]

It’s hard to believe the ASUS Eee PC is only a year old especially when you consider the netbook that spawned a new genre in mobile computing has sold around 4 million units to date. Asus are reportedly hoping to push this figure to 5 million by the end of 2008. Jerry Shen, CEO of Asus, doesn’t appear to be too worried about competition from the likes of Samsung, Lenovo and Dell and who can disagree with him? Every time we think the netbook market is getting jaded Asus launches an even more exciting device such as the Asus Eee PC 101.

Probably the biggest news on the Asus horizon is the launch of a touchscreen Eee PC. This netbook is expected to be with us early 2009 but Shen wasn’t prepared to give away too much information. Another noteworthy statement is that Asus will never ship their netbooks running Microsoft Vista. Shen stated that Asus will continue to ship Linux and Windows XP devices moving to Windows 7 sometime in 2009 - good to see Asus keeping the memory hog at bay!

Interestingly, it would appear that Asus has no ambition to go large just yet so it appears that 10″ screens will be the largest netbook to ship. Shen believes that by putting bigger screens on these devices they’ll then slip into the notebook market which Asus is keen not to do.

Unfortunately, Asus don’t really seemed to have pushed the EeeBox - the low cost desktop. The target figure for sales has only been a few hundred thousand units. Expect Asus to start eating into that market once the Eee PC dominates.

Asus has been blazing a trail for some time now. The key to their success has been low prices with reasonable performance. Until competing vendors can match these offerings expect Asus to stay on top.

Popularity: 58% [?]

T-Mobile has the Android G1 handset but did you really think that other manufacturers would sit back miss out on a big slice of pie? It was only recently that Motorola announced plans to beef up the size of their Android developers team so Motorola’s Android handset comes as no surprise. The only problem here is that Motorola’s handset might not hit the market until mid-2009 - enough time for T-Mobile to take a huge lead!

Rumour has it that Motorola handset will feature a touch screen, a slide-out qwerty keyboard, and a whole range of social-network-friendly things plugged into it. Errr, pretty much like the G1, although the device could have a flip screen like the Krave ZN4. A number of images of the Motorola handset have been circulated with viewers suggesting that it looks pretty much like a high end HTC handset.

A number of industry analysts have suggested that Motorola will deliver an Android handset in order to try an recapture lost market share - believe me when I say that they have a long, uphill fight on their hands (current share prices are almost at a 16 year low).

In particular, Motorola is hoping that their Android handset will have some resonance with the social networkerss of the world as mobile social network users are predicted to to rise to as high as 23% of mobile phone users by 2012.

Rumours have it that Motorola will be selling this handset at a very low price; around $150 with a two year contract. Ok, it’s like ly to be cheap so let’s wait and how good it really is.

Popularity: 96% [?]

Remember when you found out that Apple had implemented a kill switch on the iPhone? Many iPhone fans weren’t overly happy that Apple could remotely remove apps and software that they thought inappropiate or just downright malicious. Yeah, I admit it takes some of the fun out of owning the iPhone but at the same time Apple were minimising the risk of lawsuits along the lines of “iPhone ate hamster”.

The Apple kill switch is old news. The Android kill switch is new news.

A report from Computerworld suggests that Android software has a very similar feature built into it. The article states that Google expressly says that they reserve the right to remotely kill off apps running on a users handset. A little bit too Big Brother for you? Reading into the article it appears the kill functionality is designed to protect Google and users alike - in the same way as the iPhone kill switch. In practice, Google is likely to remove apps that infringe on licensing or development agreements rather than removing your will to browse!
Interestingly, once the kill switch info was publicised, Google didn’t seem to receive much in the way of consumer vitriol; unlike Apple. Then again, it’s a fairly recent news event - it’ll take time for the information to filter down. At the end of the day, open or closed source doesn’t mean a thing. If you want to keep customers sweet tell them the truth from the outset.

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Engadget have produced a complete review of the Android based G1 handset. Overall, the handset received a massive thumbs up from the Engadget reviewers, Joshua Topolsky and Chris Ziegler. The most important point to come out of the article is that the G1 is that the device isn’t about hardware - the look and feel is ‘ok’ but the software features are the jewel in the crown for Google.

We’ve listed some of the reviewers high, and low, points below:

• handset design has a slightly retro feel
• not be the lightest of phones (weighs in at 5.57 ounces)
• it would appear that the flip out screen doesn’t give the reviewers the solid confidence of other handsets. When opened the screen felt a little loose and rattled when receiving calls/texts
• the 480×320 screen got a huge thumbs up. Outstanding colours and crisp text went down well. One minus point here - the G1 doesn’t utilise multi-touch; if users shout loud and long enough it’ll probably be added to future versions
• speaker performance could be better - it’s not as good as the Blackberry
• 3G speed tests were surprisingly poor - this has been attributed to T-Mobile relatively new 3G network which is still experiencing some issues alongside poor coverage
• GPS got a real panning - you can follow the link at the end of the article if you want the full details
• no support for VPN, Microsoft Exchange, and BlackBerry Enterprise Server
• the G1 had problems distinguishing between a long press and a scroll motion - the handset detects that your finger has moved, it kills the notion of the long press in progress until you lift your finger off the screen and try again
• the device has copy/paste between any two text fields - at last, a manufacturer listened to what we want!
• attractive home screen with plans to add widget support
• Google’s Calendar, Contacts, Gmail, and Google Talk support out of the box - although the reviewers weren’t overly impressed with all these features (but the GMail client has a ringing endorsement)
• no Flash support

As I said, on the whole the G1 is a real winner (in the eyes of the review team). It seems like Google has listened and implemented what users want. Admittedly, there are some annoyances but it’s early days right now.

Here’s the link for the G1 review

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Behold the Sony PS3 - It took a long time to come to market and when it did the price was outrageous! There were many rumours circulating that suggested Sony had produced a white elephant but this didn’t deter games fans who threw their lot in with the PS3 (or, for want of a cheaper console, simply bought the Xbox). Now you’d think that being the mature games console that the PS3 is and considering its strong market share that Sony would be ready to cut the price ready for Santa to pop one in your stocking. Yeah, that’s what you’d think but it ain’t going to happen. Sony has ruled out a price cut by insisting that the PS3 is better value than rivals half its price. Err, I’m not sure how you answer that!

There is method in their madness. Figures show that around half of all video game sales are made in the build up to Christmas and Sony is betting that consumers will plump for fat goose that is the PS3. If Sony pull this off it will be a master stroke however they shouldn’t be too complacent. Yes, fans of games consoles always manage to find that little extra to get the best games on the market but that doesn’t they’ll pay through the nose for a console. The Nintendo Wii is a fantastic console and, on top of some really addictive games, it’s less than half the price of the PS3. Even the entry level Xbox 360 is cheaper than the PS3!

Interestingly, Sony has decided that, rather than dropping the price, they will instead offer more for your cash. The main model now being sold comes with 80Gb disk and a bundled game. Sony are hoping that features like this and the inclusion of ‘Home’ (the Sony online community) will draw in more buyers.

Sony are gambling a hell of a lot on the turn of an economic dice - if this tactic fails they’re going to suffer - badly.

Popularity: 58% [?]

Ok, I think most people agree that the the Yahoo saga is dead and buried. Yahoo is actively seeking a tie up AOL. This effectively prevents Redmond getting their hands on the pioneering internet company. Actually, no!

It seems that Mithras Capital, which holds 1.9 million Yahoo shares , would like Microsoft to buy Yahoo at $22 per share, according to Reuters. Once an acquisition is complete, Microsoft could then shed the non-search aspects of the businesses leaving them with a significant stake in the world of search.

Mithras Capital partner Mark Nelson seems to think that is a realistic proposition! Does anyone think that Microsoft will bother responding? Ballmer and co. are probably chuckling to themselves over the apparent chaos that currently reigns supreme inside Yahoo. Time for Yahoo to make a stance, get rid of Jerry Yang (I do like Jerry Yang, but it’s time to move on), appoint a new CEO and get back into the saddle.

Mithras Capital have obviously lost the plot - I wonder if they’ve noticed that the world economy is facing armageddon? If they have, why would Microsoft even consider a deal at a time like this? Sure, they’ve got lots of money in the bank but I’ve a feeling they maybe be needing a lot of this ‘loose change’ to shore up the company in the next few years.

Final note: Yahoo were down another 8.1% today, to $12.65, from yesterday’s close of $13.76. Ouch!

Popularity: 58% [?]

Apple is synonymous with cool software backed up by stylish hardware and…a pretty hefty price tag. To most fans of all-things Apple this is a fairly moot point but, in my opinion, the price alone has probably been enough to put off new buyers. Look at it another way; MacBook Pro - about £1300, PC with Windows that, in the eyes of many, does the same thing - £350 upwards. Bit of a no brainer for many buyers.

The latest news to come out of the US suggests that Apple are about to give everyone the chance to own a Mac by launching an $800 notebook.

The information isn’t official. According to the source, Apple retail stores have been given price sheets that list prices between $800-$3100. There aren’t any tech specs either. What does this mean? It could be something as simple as a price reduction on the MacBook range, a stab at the netbook/sub-notebook market or even an entry level device. Personally, I’d say we’re looking the entry level model (although I’d like to see an Apple netbook). This may not appeal to many hardcore Mac fans but it should be enough to convince potential buyers to have a look at what Apple has to offer. Pretty much the same way that many other OS vendors work - give them basics, get ‘em hooked, reel ‘em in.

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YouTube now lets you buy your favourite tracks direct from the site. This new offering allows site users to buy games and music through a number of YouTube partner companies. No more asking where you can get track x or when the latest game will be on release - click, pay and download. Sales links will be made available on the watch page below the viewed video.

Music and games lovers will be able to choose from links to sites such as iTunes and Amazon.com. It looks like it’s YouTubes intention to target “…partners across all industries — from music, to film, to print, to TV”. This should mean an almost limitless source of media for YouTube users.

Currently, the retail links are only available to US customers but YouTube are planning to slowly expand the offering globally. Google looks to be really ramping up their battle for the hearts and minds of…everyone. Add the YouTube announcement to the Adsense for games news and I think you’ll come to the conclusion that internet based revenue will probably drive Googles profits for the forseeable future.

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Goolge has had their beady little eye on the gaming market for some time now - paying $23 million for an in-game advertising platform sort of gives the game away. But things have been quiet since the acquisition until today, that is. Behold, Adsense for Games.

The technology is still in BETA but the announcement shows that Google knows where the money is (well, a lot of the money). In-game ads have been around for some time now but they’re not very popular - a News.com poll  found that the ‘I hate in-game ads’ clan currently lead the track. Amazingly, 5% of respondents stated that ‘I like them because it’s more realistic to have them.’ - hey, it’s Armageddon, have a Coke!

The announcement comes at a logical point; the world economy is in meltdown (I’ll have that Coke now!) and companies will either pull their advertising or looks for more ways to reach the masses. Google are ensuring they has many avenues covered.

Google are expected to concentrate on casual and online games but this is likely to expand to all areas once they get a taste for gamers hard earned cash.

The New York Times has also suggested that Google will be launching more ad products in the near future. A bit too much you may think - not in Googles eyes; 40% of their $40 billion annual revenue comes from advertising so expect to have your eyes pummeled with more and more ads in future.

Popularity: 60% [?]