J. Rhoads Research / formerly MobyApp

This just in from CNN (CNN) – “Nokia, the world's largest-volume cell phone maker, and software giant Microsoft are joining forces”. The Symbian OS from Nokia has shown versatility, but it hasn't aged well. The system is criticized for being clunky and especially awkward in an increasingly touchscreen-focused environment. As part of a new agreement, Nokia will adopt the Windows Phone OS as its choice smartphone platform, and Bing will become the default search engine on all of Nokia's phones. Nokia will provide services such as mapping programs and other software to help flesh out Microsoft's offerings, as well as leverage the handset giant's relationships with cellular carriers. Looks like Microsoft has given up on taking on Google Search on the desktop and moving after Mobile search. I think moble computing is going to heat up over the next few years --not like its hot enough!!!

Hello All, Been a while since I posted --I am still alive. Soon MobyApp . Mobi will have a very important announcement . Jerry

The Google-developed Android mobile operating system is an alternative to the Apple iPhone, Blackberry and Palm. Even though the Android operating system is relatively new to the market, the popularity of Android phones such as the Evo 4G, Droid Incredible and Motorola Droid suggests that these multitasking feature-rich smartphones are coming in line with what we want our mobile devices to be. Here's a roundup of some of the best Android smartphones on the market today. Motorola Droid For those who must have a physical keyboard, the Motorola Droid is definitely a phone to consider. Despite the fact that the phone has a slide out keyboard, the phone is still relatively thin; actually it is only marginally thicker than the iPhone 3G. The 5 megapixel camera and dual LED flash also allow the phone to take surprisingly good photos – considering that this is actually a phone. While you have to save apps to the phone's internal memory (512MB ROM and 256MB RAM), a memory card will stor...

What happened to customer service, more importantly good customer service? This morning on the way into work I had a conversation about Verizon’s customer service. My friend was very upset with how they have been handling her over the years. She was a loyal Blackberry user and she really used the heck out of those BBs . The problem was that batteries didn ’t hold a charge. Very odd for a BB –I wish my iPhone held a charge like a BB. So my friend called Verizon to replace the phone and they gave her the run around. She asks for a manager and is told by the customer service representative that a manager will call her back. The manager never does. My friend calls back and the vicious circle was afoot. Wow! Once upon a time, I worked for United Airlines and my job was working in huge call center. Whenever we had customers ask for a manager, we had someone to hand them off to. They were known a TSRs or technical service reps –they made a $1 more an hour! Hence you never speak to a real man...

Here is a great analysis by Google employee Tim Bray on the the scope of the Smartphone Game ( via Daring Fireball ). "The Numbers Are Really Big. Insane, I mean. The billion-plus phones sold per year. The number of active subscriptions, which is greater than half of the human population. The number of new Android devices that check in with Google every day. The line-ups outside Apple stores for every new iOS device. The hundreds of thousands of apps. The ridiculous number of new ones that flow into Android Market every day. Everywhere I look, I see something astounding. This is the big league; bigger today than the computer industry ever was, and growing fast. This is as fierce a concentration of R&D heat and manufacturing virtuosity and distribution wizardry and marketing mojo as humanity has ever seen."

I have been reading Tribal Leadership on the iPad, and it is an awesome book. It describes so many things I have seen in my 18 year career. You do not need to be fired to have experienced the blog post below. It is a good read because so many companies treat their employees badly. I recommend checking out this book at the Tribal Leadership website. Reposted from http://www.triballeadership.net/blog Worst Five Ways to Fire Someone If you have never been fired, then you either work at a Stage Two company where under-achieving is rewarded, or you’ve chosen not to be completely honest when your boss says, “Do you have any feedback for me?” Odds are that at some point you: • “Did not see eye-to-eye with management.” • “Chose to go freelance” • “Wanted to spend more time with family” • “Were unware the sexual harassment laws had changed.” But if you’re lucky, you’re the person on the other end of this conversation. And for you, we would like to offer the top five worst ways to let people go,...

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."-- Albert Einstein