Kyle Barrow wrote:
> http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-5711648.html?tag=dd.ne.dht.nl-top.0
Overblown hype, neatly summed up by the title, "Wireless snag may save
Sprint, others" -- as if the fortunes of 3G in Japan and the rest of
the world were intimately tied. 3G will soar or bellyflop on its
own merits, a month or two either way won't matter... and the real
problem is that Europe's 3G systems are way behind Japan, which
kneecaps Nokia and Ericsson pretty badly.
But the strangest part was at the end:
# In related news, U.S.-based wireless software maker ThinAirApps said it
# has partnered with Arriya Solutions to offer a way for some DoCoMo
# subscribers to access e-mail and other applications
# from any device.
#
# The software will be available in the next two weeks for a download to
# users of I-mode phones, which work on the NTT DoCoMo system, according
# to a ThinAirApps spokesman.
#
# The deal is significant because it pries open the closed set of
# software applications that users of the I-mode service have been
# subjected to, a ThinAirApps spokesman said.
A quick scan of www.thinairapps.com and an application of a magic wand of
marketspeak removal indicates that the company has developed software
that snarfs POP/IMAP mailboxes to your Palm (ooh!), but no word about
the interesting part, eg. how they propose to get their grubby hands
on i-mode email residing somewhere in the murky depths of Docomo's
servers... is this just a HotAirApp?
Cheers,
--
Jani Patokallio (jpatokal@iki.fi) / HCI Lab, University of Tokyo
[漸] What a difference indifference can make
[ Did you check the archives? http://www.appelsiini.net/keitai-l/ ]
Received on Wed Apr 25 07:18:10 2001