Filter looks at the day's top technology news through snapshots and analysis of what the world's media outlets are covering. Washingtonpost.com's new Mon.-Fri. feature is penned by technology reporter Cynthia L. Webb. If a technology story breaks, a company falters or triumphs, or there's a new trend in technology, Filter wants you to know about it.
The Financial Times piece also included some statistics. "Sony had a 9.3 per cent worldwide market share in the first quarter of this year, but has faced growing competition in some markets, particularly the US, from cut-price machines from rivals such as Dell. Analysts believe the market for handheld devices is beginning to change. After growing rapidly in the late 1990s, sales of basic handheld devices have showed signs of stalling recently, leading some analysts to predict that ultimately all handheld devices will need to be 'connected.' Recent figures from IDC show that the worldwide market for handheld devices fell 12 per cent in the first quarter to 2.2m units. The decline reflected several factors, including a shift away from standalone PDAs towards connected devices and personal communicators such as the Treo 600 and Rim 'Blackberry' machines, which combine the features of PDAs and mobile phones."
The San Jose Mercury News further explained how Sony's changed PDA plans impact the Palm Pilot brand. "PalmSource's sister company, PalmOne, makes the Treo smart phone, which integrates some of those features. But the expensive device, as well as similar machines based on Microsoft software, have been slow to catch on with users. 'This was a wake-up call to PalmSource,' said Richard Doherty of Envisioneering Group, a New York technology consulting firm. 'Sony likes to have partners who keep advancing things.'"
More from the Merc: "Even PalmSource seemed to acknowledge the shift away from organizers to all-in-one devices. 'The market that's picking up in transition from the PDA business is the smart-phone business,' said David Limp, PalmSource senior vice president of corporate and business development." • The San Jose Mercury News: Clie Maker Sony Moves Away From Palm Operating System (Registration required)
In another Mercury News article, technology columnist Dan Gillmor said "it would be premature, at best, to assume that the Sony move is a sign of doom" for the Palm operating system. "The Palm OS has had a large and devoted following among software developers for years, with thousands of applications available for various Palm-based handhelds. PalmSource has been working hard to keep the developers' interest," Gillmor wrote. "The market for traditional handheld organizers may have flattened, [PalmSource chief executive Dave] Nagel said. But PalmSource has customers that are using the operating system to power other kinds of specialized devices, such as a handheld with global positioning satellite mapping built in and another created as a game machine. In the U.S. smart-phone market, he said, PalmSource has a majority share and is 'gaining traction' in other parts of the world."
• The San Jose Mercury News: There Still May Be Help For Palm OS (Registration required)
One for the Speed Freaks
Add this to the cell phone arsenal -- handsets that can tap into the Internet at Superman-like speeds. OK, maybe not quite that fast, but check this out: "T-Mobile International and Vodafone Group, Germany's largest wireless companies, each plan about five phones for faster Internet access by the end of the year after 'positive' consumer response in the first month of the service," Bloomberg reported.
• Bloomberg via The Los Angeles Times: T-Mobile, Vodafone Plan Faster Phones (Registration required)
Into Thin Air
Nokia has a fancy phone planned worthy of magicians and airplane skywriters. The company "is making a mobile that lets you write short text messages in mid-air. The messages are written using a row of LEDs fitted on the rear cover of Nokia's forthcoming 3220 phone. A motion sensor in the phone makes the lights blink in a sequence that spells out letters when the handset is waved in the air," BBC News reported. "A trick of human vision turns the sequence of letters into a message that hangs in the air. The phone is due to go on sale in the summer of this year."
• BBC News Online: Nokia Unveils Mid-Air Messaging
Can You Clear Me Now?
Telecom industry pioneer Craig McCaw today is expected to announce his new wireless broadband service at the Wireless Communications Association International conference in Washington, The Wall Street Journal reported. The service will "compete with the high-speed Internet access offered by cable operators and telephone companies," the Journal reported. "His company, called Clearwire Inc., aims to offer wireless Internet access to consumers in roughly 20 markets over the next year, according to Gerry Salemme, the executive vice president of Clearwire and a longtime executive at various ventures of Mr. McCaw's. It will launch service in two cities this summer -- Jacksonville, Fla., and St. Cloud, Minn."
• The Wall Street Journal: McCaw Is Expected to Launch Wireless Broadband Service (Subscription required)
Searching for the Next Move
Google is in a quiet period as it readies for its public stock offering, but the search engine company continues to generate buzz with its new (or improved) products. The latest news? Google is boosting the services it already sells to companies to mine search queries from their own sites. "The Mountain View, Calif. company first launched the Google Search Appliance, a yellow computer server loaded with its software, in February 2002. It says it has sold several hundred of them, with list prices starting at $32,000 each, to customers ranging from Procter & Gamble Co. to the U.S. Army. The product represented less than 5% of Google's $962 million in net revenue last year, according to recent regulatory filings related to the company's planned initial public offering," The Wall Street Journal said. "The latest improvements to the Search Appliance product line include increases in the number of documents the systems can handle and the number of search queries they can respond to per minute."
• The Wall Street Journal: Google To Upgrade Software Packages (Subscription required)
CNET's News.com said "Google is also said to be developing separate search software for PC desktops, as it seeks to prepare for expected competitive clashes with Microsoft and Yahoo, both of which are busy developing and expanding search products." David Girouard, the general manager of Google's enterprise division, "declined to discuss business prospects for the new appliance, citing a quiet period in advance of an initial public offering slated for later this year," CNET reported.
And from The Washington Post: "Dubbed 'Google in a Box,' the commercial product, formally known as the Google Search Appliance, runs on the same basic set of algorithms and search technology that has made Google popular with consumers looking for fast, relevant information on the Internet. In the Washington area, a number of organizations already use an earlier version of Google's commercial search product, released in 2002. For example, the World Bank has about 10,000 employees in offices around the world who use the Google technology. At Nextel, the product is used by call-center operators to find information needed to answer customer questions about cell phones."
• CNET's News.com: Google Updates Enterprise Search Appliance • The Washington Post: Google Releases Faster Search System for Organizations (Registration required)
Filter is designed for hard-core techies, news junkies and technology professionals alike. Have suggestions, cool links or interesting tales to share? Send your tips and feedback to cindyDOTwebbATwashingtonpost.com. (Yes, those spammers have been having a lot of fun with my e-mail address lately.)
