A week of one-upsmanship in the technology world
Websites get a little more social
On Thursday, MySpace announced its “Data Availability initiative,” which would allow users to share information from their profiles on the popular social networking to other websites outside of MySpace, such as Yahoo!, eBay, or Twitter (which were all announced as partners for the service at launch).
Not to be outdone, Facebook on Friday announced its own “Facebook Connect” program, which would allow developers to let Facebook users “connect” their Facebook identity information to any website in a similar fashion to the MySpace program.
Finally, Google announced on Monday that it too would be releasing a program to bring elements from social networking sites to other places on the web. Google’s program, call “Friend Connect,” is probably the most comprehensive of the three, allowing users to share their information from a variety of sites (instead of just one), including Facebook and orkut.
The timing of the three major companies each announcing such similar programs in a matter of days is admittedly eyebrow-raising. However, when Google director of Engineering David Glazer told a reporter from C|Net News, “People will speculate a lot in that direction. We didn’t create this code in three days.”
Blackberry takes on iPhone
This week smartphone supplier Blackberry announced a brand new model in their lineup, one that appears to take aim directly at the Apple iPhone. In addition to syncing with Apple’s popular iTunes software, the Blackberry Bold also boasts built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, and will work with Windows Live programs, such as Messenger and Hotmail. The device will also run on a faster high-speed network, allowing for faster download times.
Approximately 14 million people around the world use a Blackberry. By contrast, over 5.4 million iPhones have been sold since launch last summer… with Apple predicting 10 million iPhones total will be sold by the end of 2008. Whether or not this goal is achieved is yet to be seen, though it is clear that Blackberry is threatened enough by Apple’s gains into the smartphone arena to bring in its own heavy contender. The Blackberry Bold is expected to cost between $300-400 and should be released in the coming months.
Apple: iPhone sold out
Speaking of the iPhone, Apple Inc. said on Monday that its online stores in both the United States and the United Kingdom had completely sold out of the iPhone. Many analysts take this to mean that Apple is unloading its current supply of iPhones as fast as possible to make way for inventory of an upgraded version of the popular smartphone. Apple has a history of routinely clearing out its inventory on a product just prior to a major upgrade. Apple is already expected to introduce an upgraded version of the phone over the summer, though details about its features, aside from running on a faster data network, remain sketchy at best.
Originally Published: Issue 648 - May 14, 2008
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