**As published at RCR Wireless News**

Nokia Corp. continues to buckle under the increasing might and will of its competitors in the smartphone space.

In a note to investors , the company downgraded the financial outlook for its devices and services division for the second (current) quarter and full year of 2010. The company said “multiple factors are negatively impacting Nokia’s business to a greater extent than previously expected.” While that may be true, it would be difficult to conclude that most of these “factors” have come as a surprise to the world’s largest manufacturer of cellphones. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

SAN FRANCISCO – Although millions of fanboys and industry watchers have already seen what turned out to be the new iPhone 4 today, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs still had a few surprises up his sleeve to share during his keynote at the company’s annual developer gathering.

If there is any less excitement or anticipation for Apple’s game-changing mobile device, that sure wasn’t apparent this morning. Lines began forming around the building at 6 a.m. this morning and when the gates to the main hall were finally raised for Jobs’ keynote there was a mad dash for seats (press included). The whole experience felt very rock concert in typical Apple fashion. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

LOS ANGELES – The mobile quotient during the first day of the National Cable & Telecommunications conference was disappointingly light. Particularly light, considering telecommunications is right there in the name.

Mobility plays an important and mostly dominant role in telecom but if this industry gathering is any sign, it still has a long way to go before it comes into the spotlight for cable. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. – For all the momentum Google’s Android operating system is enjoying of late, there are some key areas that many executives believe Apple has it beat on with the iPhone OS. These differentiating features – billing, user interface, development ease and scale (for at least the time being) — are nothing to scoff at either.

Now, with the iPad already surpassing 1 million units sold in as many months, there’s a reinvigorated sense of interest and easy-to-understand business reasons for placing more focus and investment in Apple’s mobile flavor.

A crowded panel of eight representing big media and publishers at Digital Hollywood yesterday spent considerable time heaping praise and wonder on Apple’s latest gadget. Later on, the OS offerings from BlackBerry, Google, Microsoft and HP-Palm got their fair shake, but Apple kept cropping up as the main draw. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. – Throughout the LA Games Conference, two names kept resurfacing whenever the topic of mobile was broached – iPad and Android.

It should come as no surprise why the iPad is almost universally seen as an opportunity for game makers. Just look at the prices developers are charging for apps on the iPad and compare that to the so-called sweet spot app price of 99 cents on the iPhone.

From the tone of at least a few developers represented at the annual conference, the iPhone may be left behind as the path to greater profits per app gains momentum on Apple’s latest gadget. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. – The late afternoon panel dedicated to mobile at the LA Games Conference didn’t get as deep as it surely could have, but there were at least a couple interesting debates that solidified the continuing uncertainty that surrounds the platform.

In an industry that’s built fortunes on console- and PC-based games, there’s an obvious disconnect between what successes are being achieved on mobile today and what can be made of the promising platform down the road.

Stephen Saiz, director of marketing in the digital publishing group at Disney Interactive Studios, said although the company is mentally prepared, it’s not physically prepared to keep up with how rapidly things are shifting in the space.” Continue Reading

**As published in digiday:DAILY**

Publisher: Sony Pictures Price: Free Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Advertising: None
Functionality: B+
Fun Factor: A-
Overall: A-

For kids that grew up in the 1980s — call them Gen Y or Millenials — there are a few quintessential films from those years that help define that period of innocence and wonder. For me, that list includes The Karate Kid. The 1984 classic hit all the right notes – geeky, scrawny kid defies the odds, goes up against his bullies and wins.

With the remake slated for a premiere on June 9, Sony Pictures is using a new game app to market it. And when I discovered the app, I didn’t hesitate to hit install. The studio does a great job of not taking over the application with plugs for the film. Users that want to know more about the movie can simply click on the “about the film” button; at other times, recorded lines are woven into the app.

While I may not exactly be the target demographic for the remake of the film, engaging longtime fans and/or potential fans with the opportunity to become a virtual karate kid in their own right couldn’t be more right on the money. Continue Reading

**As published in digiday:DAILY**

Publisher: GameFly
Price: Free
Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Advertising: None
Functionality: A-
Fun Factor: B
Overall: B+

Backed by GameFly – the Netflix of gaming – when the GameCenter app recently updated to version 1.2.1, I decided to give it a spin. The app stepped up its game, so to speak, by better integrating GameFly customers’ access to GameQ.

This app has almost everything I’d expect – functioning as a conduit to customers’ GameFly accounts and providing relevant news and information services. Admittedly, I’m a non-gamer by most measures, but after signing up for the free GameFly trial, my wife and I were having fun battling over what games to add to our GameQ or Q first. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

For a community that clamors around the word “open” like a proverbial up-for-grabs ticket to the next Super Bowl, there are some surprisingly closed aspects of the world of mobile app development. With an equal mix of the-sky’s-the-limit mentality and hesitation, there’s an uncertainty surrounding the mobile developer community for good reason.

The incredible, ongoing success stories built on the shoulders of giant business models online – think Google, eBay, Amazon, Salesforce.com, etc. — have not be replicated several times over yet on mobile. Missing from mobile still are the several revolutionary business models and teams of successful entrepreneurs and developers who follow. With large purses following online ad networks moving to mobile, for example, like AdMob and Quattro, mobile has had its share of success stories of late, albeit they are more limited and evolutionary. Continue Reading

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

LAS VEGAS — Fresh off its announced plans to bring the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus to AT&T Mobility, RCR Wireless News met with Palm Inc. to discuss its ongoing strategy in the face of an increasingly crowded smartphone market.

While there has been stronger sales and interest in the Palm Pre Plus initially, Kimberly Sauceda, product manager of smartphones at Palm, said the company is promoting the sister devices equally and focusing on finding the right target audience for each device. Continue Reading