Rather than writing a review on E-Readers (there are hundreds of them on Google already) I thought I would share my personal E-Reader story with you.

The two big questions around E-Reading are: Should I use a dedicated E-Reader or use a Tablet device running an E-Reading application? And will the latter kill the Dedicated Kindle Device?

In 2010 a raft of second generation dedicated e-readers were launched giving consumers access to a device designed specifically for reading on the move. Like most, the two most popular e-readers – Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader – are based on e-Ink technology which has two important capabilities; firstly they require no backlighting and therefore can be read in direct sunlight and secondly they have extremely good battery life. In my opinion, the best of these e-readers is the Amazon Kindle 3G which links up to the Amazon store, enabling customers to purchase content directly from their Kindle using their Amazon account. The device comes with a built in SIM card enabling the content to be delivered straight to the device whilst on the move without requiring Wi-Fi access. The Kindle is a low power device – both from a battery and processor perspective and after reading several magazine reviews I purchased one of these devices in late 2010.

When I first powered the device up and looked at the screen my thoughts drifted back to using an Etch-A-Sketch as a child. This may seem a little unkind, but the biggest issue I found with the current E-Ink displays is the refresh time – ie: the time it takes to change the image on the screen to a different image which is approximately half a second, my second bug bear, is that there is no colour.

Now don’t get me wrong, the Kindle is great if all you want to do is read text and this device lasts for at least a week on a single charge.  But I don’t just want to use a device for reading; I want colour pictures and videos and applications and games.  Granted, the Kindle has some extra applications on board, like a compact web browser – but in my opinion it’s not a good experience.

At the end of the day if I must carry a tablet device it needs to be flexible, so I want it to be a jack-of-all-trades not a master of just one.  My Kindle has been consigned to the bed-side drawer and my iPad is now used for all of my e-Reading activities.

Amazon must have seen this coming, predicted my behaviour, because they have built a Kindle App available for the iPad. Now I have the best of both worlds’, my favourite tablet device – iPad – and my favourite reading device in software on the same physical device.

Now my e-Reader is in colour with fast screen refreshes, has back-lighting so I can read in bed with the light off and because it’s touch screen I change the page by swiping my finger across the screen just like a real book. I can still order my ebooks from Amazon just like before, but now I also have access to iBook – Apple’s answer to the Kindle App which has a better search facility. That said, I still prefer the Kindle App, but guess what – I don’t have to choose between the two – I can use both if I choose; now that’s real flexibility.

There are dozens of Tablets on the  market now that can operate as an  E-Reader; in my opinion the iPad  is still the best by a considerable  margin.  So if you have an iPad and  want to use it to read then  download the excellent Amazon  Kindle App from the AppStore and  if you want to purchase a future  proof e-Reader – buy an iPad and  get the Amazon Kindle App.

So what do I think of the future for the dedicated Kindle Device?  R.I.P it was fun while it lasted.

This week Smartphone history was made. In response to Nokia’s declining  market share, Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a historic strategic partnership which involves Nokia adopting the Windows Phone 7 operating system and integrating Nokia’s own applications into the Microsoft Marketplace.

Nokia has always been very good at making hardware but has struggled to transform the company to meet the challenges of new rivals in the form of BlackBerry, Apple iPhone and Google Android.

There is no question that Nokia was, and is, good at making mobile phones. But the internet has transformed mobile devices into handheld PCs, and more recently the game has changed again with smartphone application ecosystems and usability becoming key factors for success.

3 years ago Apple changed the face of Smartphones with the introduction of the iPhone, but Nokia seemed unable to respond until late last year with the hiring of their new CEO and Microsoft Veteran Stephen Elop.

Indeed it wasn’t just Nokia, even Microsoft was facing Smartphone market share decline but the difference is that Microsoft is a fighter, seemingly incapable of defeat and very good at rapid change even at an Organisational level. Microsoft recognised they needed to up their smartphone game and responded last year with the great new Windows Phone – essentially dealing them back into the game.

You just need to look back at the monumental change Microsoft faced in the 90’s when they nearly missed the Internet wave – once they recognised that fact, change was swift. Microsoft ended up winning the web browser wars and securing their future.

The big question is: Can Nokia change, or more specifically, can Mr Elop change the culture of Nokia to make it adaptable to rapid change at an organisational level?  The bottom line is that Nokia needs to launch a device soon, not a year from now.

Strategically they have a great plan with both companies benefiting and plenty of synergy. Microsoft benefits more in my opinion as it gets the Bing search and Marketplace platform on many more devices plus some useful applications for its Application Marketplace which help it compete with Apple’s Appstore. Other companies benefit also: the mobile carriers, dealers, resellers, distributors and application developers all have a good opportunity.

So all in all it makes perfect sense – Microsoft is great at software, Nokia is great at hardware, put the two together and bish-bash-bosh you’ve potentially got a great consumer and business device. Nokia will have more challenges in the months and years ahead but I think with great leadership, Nokia could turn this around and prosper again in the long run.

Two Facts: Smartphones are a key component in business productivity and Smartphones are the first truly converged device offering both telephony and software capabilities in a single device.

Given both these facts it is a logical assumption, choosing the correct Smartphone device for your workforce is becoming a critical IT decision.

Historically the company mobile phones were handled by the phone guy, or the telecoms department within an organisation. However because of this convergence, the buying process needs to be treated with the same care and due diligence as purchasing an expensive CRM System.

Within the last few months the BlackBerry Torch, the Windows Phone 7 and the Nokia N8 have been launched to the general public. All three phones are designed to eat into the dominance of Apples iPhone and Google’s Android platform and the question is whether any of the three will be successful enough to make inroads against the might of Apple and Google.



Phone 7

From a business perspective, both Microsoft and Nokia have been historically strong but their market share have weakened lately, however RIMs BlackBerry devices have seen continued success within the business market – their Smartphones are outselling others in the business space.

Many business people do question whether an employee needs a BlackBerry phone to try and compete with their personal iPhone or Android as typically businesses want their Smartphones to access to their business applications on the move, great battery life, ease of use and reliability of the phone in general. Currently it seems that the smarter the phone the poorer the battery.

In fact, all three phones (Nokia N8, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry Torch) do have something in common: their new features and capabilities are primarily designed to attract consumers away from iPhone and Android and extending their business specific capabilities seems to be second place with more modest changes apparent in all three devices.

The iPhone and Android went the other way first by launching consumer devices and later adding business capabilities.

Granted, the Windows Phone 7 will be able to edit SharePoint (Microsoft’s web portal technology) documents on the fly but there is no Unified Communications software capability for Microsoft’s own Unified Communications products currently available. However, my spies at Redmond tell me this is scheduled for this year – along with multi-tasking and some other great features.

Windows Phone 7 may not quite be the finished article, but it is innovative, fresh and a great new Smartphone start for Microsoft.

In fact, most of the new features of this phone are around consumer multi-media capabilities and consumer software applications linking the phone with Microsoft Live Microsoft’s consumer web platform – pointing to Microsoft’s firm belief of the Consumerisation of IT where home and work software is shared on the same hardware – be it Smartphone or Computer. Because of this, most of the new features are heavily skewed to consumer activities as opposed to business ones.

The Nokia N8 is powered by the new Symbian 3 software and does have the Unified Communications software pre-installed which is a boon for businesses wanting to use Microsoft’s Unified Communications Technology and also has improved multi-tasking, however, many of the new capabilities are targeted at the consumer such as improved graphics, multi-point touch and multiple home screens.

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 runs the new OS 6 and again has many improved consumer features such as an improved 5MP camera and integrated social networking and although it features a slide out qwerty keyboard, the touch screen interface features heavily. The jury is out as to whether this device will be the best of both worlds in terms of tactile keyboard and touch screen or whether it will end up as the jack of all trades – time will tell, but given the vast amount of TV Advertising being thrown at the Torch by RIM – it is sure to sell in volume.

It will be interesting to see whether the power of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android brands will win over the new advanced features of these three new devices.

As far as the next killer mobile application – it may well be video conferencing but currently there are very few Smart Phones on the market that support this feature and more importantly no UK Mobile networks can reliably carry a video call over 3G.

So it seems that Smart Phones have caught up with the current capabilities of the mobile networks and until 4G networks are launched we may find that real-time applications such as Voice over IP and video calling are confined to company wireless LANS.

Within the next month the BlackBerry Torch, the Windows Phone 7 and the Nokia N8 will be released to the general public. All three phones are designed to eat into the dominance of Apples iPhone and Googles Android platform and the question is whether any of the three will be successful enough to make inroads against the might of Apple and Google.

Phone 7

From a business perspective, both Microsoft and Nokia have been historically strong but their market share have weakened lately, however RIMs BlackBerry devices have seen continued success within the business market.

Many people do question whether businesses need a BlackBerry phone to try and compete with the iPhone and Android as typically businesses want their Smartphones to access to their business applications on the move, great battery life, ease of use and reliability of the phone in general.

In fact, all three phones (Nokia N8, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry Torch) do have something in common their new features and capabilities are primarily designed to attract consumers away from iPhone and Android and extending their business specific capabilities seems to be second place with more modest changes apparent in all three devices. The iPhone and Android went the other way first launching consumer devices and later adding business capabilities.

Granted, the Windows Phone 7 will be able to edit SharePoint (Microsofts web portal technology) documents on the fly but there is no Unified Communications software capability for Microsofts own Unified Communications products available at launch. In fact, most of the new features of this phone are around consumer multi-media capabilities and consumer software applications linking the phone with Microsoft Live Microsofts consumer web platform.

The Nokia N8 is powered by the new Symbian 3 software and does have the Unified Communications software pre-installed which is a boon for businesses wanting to use Microsofts Unified Communications Technology and also has improved multi-tasking another business feature, however many of the new capabilities are targeted at the consumer such as improved graphics, multi-point touch and multiple home screens. The

BlackBerry Torch 9800 runs the new OS 6 and again has many improved consumer features such as an improved 5MP camera and integrated social networking and although it features a slide out qwerty keyboard, the touch screen interface features heavily.

It will be interesting to see whether the power of Apples iPhone and Googles Android brands will win over the new advanced features of these three new devices.