So apparently, T-Mobile owns the color Magenta.

As Adverganza reports, T-Mobile/Deutsche Telekom sent a cease-and-desist letter to Engadget Mobile for using the color magenta throughout the site.

Really? Isn’t this being just a bit over-litigious?

You’ve got one of the most popular blogs on the planet, using a color that is similar to yours. Maybe it’s even the exact same color. But I know media planners that would pay pretty good money to get this to happen. Instead, T-Mobile is alienating one of the most powerful voices on the web. And you know what? There’s going to be a lot of solidarity rising up in support of Engadget — and against T-Mobile in the process.

This is sure one way to get removed from a fave 5.

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So just saw a Sprint ad on TV featuring Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint, telling me about how Sprint is revolutionizing wireless networks and communication.

At the end of the spot, the flash Mr. Hesse’s ‘email address’, dan@sprint.com. I’ll save you the time wondering what happens if/when you email that address. Here’s the response you get:

Thank you for taking the time to write to me. There are a lot of exciting changes going on here at Sprint. To really revolutionize wireless as we know it, we need your input. It’s so important that we hear from the people out there who are using our phones every day so we can provide the best service.
I would like to take the time to read your email carefully and respond. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to check out the details of our new Simply Everything plan at www.sprint.com/everything. A representative from my office will be contacting you in about a week.

Thanks again,
Dan Hesse
CEO Sprint

And what kind of response does this generate? I’ve been checking the interwebs for people’s reactions, and this one seems to be representative of the general sentiment:

Granted, it would have been at least a nice touch to use my actual name as the salutation…or to even at least have a salutation. Would have at least created the illusion that another person was on that side of the email, rather than some stupid computer program.

Ah well…just like Sprint. They take one step forward with their advertising, but 2 steps back when it comes to actually responding to people directly. I guess the saying is true: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The only thing worse than not moving towards a more transparent relationship with your customers is only going part of the way.

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MIT’s Technology Review just published it’s list of 10 Emerging Technologies for 2008. The one piece that resonated with me is Sandy Pentland’s exploration into Reality Mining especially in relation to social networking, new media and interactive.

Reality mining “is all about paying attention to patterns in life and using that information to help [with] things like setting privacy patterns, sharing things with people, notifying people–basically, to help you live your life.”

This becomes a hot topic for a few reasons. First and foremost is, once again, privacy issues. Data capture is part of our daily lives – credit card usage, cookies on sites, social network profiles, company swipe cards – and as technology continues to slowly infiltrate more of our lives, we become more tolerant and accepting of what information is divulged and distributed. Everyone has see the movies with the FBI trying to trace the criminals phone call with the criminal hanging up just before being caught. However, most people don’t think about that even with mobile phones being on all the time A simple Google search on his/her name would surprise a lot of people.

Reality Mining has been a reality for years. And as mobile phones become more prevalent with WI-FI, Bluetooth and GPS-type systems (ala iPhone,) in addition to the laptops we carry around and use, the continual social network is our daily life. And as mobile technology advances, our blip on the grid becomes more prominent. The Human Cyborg ideal continues to press forward. Professor Kevin Warwick first started research into this in 1998 by planting microchips in his arm for recognition of systems in his lab.

The major benefit of Reality Mining is from an anthropological standpoint. How people interact, where they are and when they are. Tying this information into disease outbreaks, advertising models (when a person sees an ad, what do they do right afterwards?) and general healthcare and “human maintenance.” Smartex in Italy is working on clothing that does just that.

It’s a bit of the God factor (being omnipotent and omniscient) that is also fascinating. Knowing where your friends are at any time, knowing what they’re doing, where to get the food your phone knows your craving. It’s bringing the idea of Facebook, Google Maps, Dodgeball and other sites into the physical space. The ultimate social network. Maybe even a step closer to SkyNet.

Real-time in real-time. Very meta.

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Ok. So I just saw an iPhone commercial solely focused on its Facebookability.



Anyone else see this? Anyone know if/where it is online? This is as close as I could get.

UPDATE: Video below.

Are mobile utilities finally going to start catching on? Is Facebook usage going to spike because of this commercial?

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Omar Minaya, you’re my hero. Yes, I know this has nothing to do with marketing or advertising, but as far as I’m concerned it’s the biggest news of the week.

And how did I find out? By SMS. And Facebook. And via blogs. So maybe it does have to do with digital media after all. As a matter of fact, what I’d love to hear is if (and how) social media actually impacted this decision by either the Minnesota Twins or the New York Mets by putting pressure on the involved parties.

There. I made it about digital media.

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Do not underestimate this news.

Verizon Wireless will be opening its network to any phone or software application by the end of 2008. It will be the first carrier in the US to do this.

It will probably mean the other carriers will follow.

In simple terms, this means that technically, any mobile phone can be used on the Verizon Wireless network, as long as it is not locked by another carrier.

This is the move we’ve all been waiting for. We will begin to see tremendous leaps in innovation and software as a result of this. It will essentially remove the artificial limits placed on handset development by the tight self-regulation imposed upon manufacturers by the carriers.

And of course, this opens the door wide open for a Google mobile OS.

The iPhone is just the beginning folks. Start preparing for this NOW.

Next up? Set-top boxes. Trust me.

(news via MarketingVOX)

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Check out this video of Sergey Brin demonstrating a mobile phone using Google’s Android mobile phone development platform:

As TechCrunch reported yesterday, the software development kid (SDK) is now available, and Google is even launching a $10 million challenge to incentivize developers to build apps on the platform.

Excited yet?

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For a detailed explanation, visit TechCrunch, who cover’s Google’s announcement quite nicely.

But summed up in a simple, easy-to-read/understand way? Here you go.

Speculation about a Google-powered mobile phone has been swirling for quite some time now. An official announcement came today about what exactly Google’s mobile plans are. While many will be disappointed that Google is not necessarily launching a Google Mobile Operating System, what they are really doing may be even more important.

You see, Google is launching a development platform (named, ominously, “Android”) that will be ushered into the wild via an initiative called the Open Handset Alliance. All those phones you have in your pockets right now are closed systems. With the exception of maybe a few (including Nokia’s N95, actually operating on a competing platform), they operate within environments that are on a carrier lockdown, meaning that while third party developers may be able to build software for them, they are likely not going to be interoperable. What Google is aiming to do is create a platform that can work on any mobile device that will allow developers to create applications that operate universally, sharing information with each other, essentially unlocking the full creativity of these developers. The Web 2.0 explosion was made possible by web-based applications that speak to each other, allowing independent, third-party programmers (and even consumers) to take advantages of those connections and build applications that fulfilled a need that they had. YouTube is the perfect example of this, and “Android” may be what eventually undoes the carriers’ overlordship over handset technology.

Some US carriers are participating in the Open Handset Alliance (T-Mobile, Sprint), and obviously see this as something that can help eat away at their competitors’ market share.

So to make a long story short, Google’s announcement was not about a piece of hardware, nor was it an actual piece of software, per se. It was a platform (yes, like Facebook, and like OpenSocial) that will enable and empower developers to create powerful new applications that evolve our mobile handsets quicker and cheaper.

Here’s a little video that speaks to this, complete with dog-cuteness to make it seem more, well, human. Google will try anything to not be evil.

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So I’ve been tinkering with Facebook for Blackberry smartphones. My 8830 is humming along with the new Facebook mobile application.

It’s actually very cool, and seems to be bug free. If you’ve got a Blackberry and a Facebook account click here to find out how to install it on your phone.

Great move, RIM and Facebook.

Here’s a video that shows it in action:

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I’m seeing the rumor mill pick up some serious steam on the oft-talked-about gPhone (real name TBD) to (possibly) be released by the Google.

The Wired Blog Compiler has a nifty little post hinting that an official announcement may come as early as September. Here’s what you need to know:

According to Rizzn’s source at Google, the device runs a modified version of the Linux kernel and has GPS built in. The positioning system will be used to power a Google Maps application, and the phone will also have tight integration with other Google apps like Gmail, Calendar and Docs. The source for Rizzn’s post notes that the company will announce the device in two weeks, and that a North American version will be available soon, possibly by the end of the year.

Rizzn also notes that Google’s mobile device “is less about beating the iPhone and more about beating the $100 Laptop” made by the OLPC project. He speculates that Google will sell the phones for cheap and then reap ad revenue from targeted, text-based ads served to the phone. This isn’t entirely new information, but it’s interesting to hear the comparison with the OLPC — at the least, we’ll see an inexpensive, accessible device that uses open-source software.

Read the rest here.

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