Al Sacco's blog

CES 2009 Preview: Why Mobile WorkHorse is THE Blog for CES Coverage

Al Sacco — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:33:15 -0500

This Thursday, January 8 marks the start of the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), running in Las Vegas through Sunday, January 11. And while there will certainly be no shortage of blogs and news outlets covering the plethora of tech news that will emerge, there's only one destination for the kind of mobile specific, in-depth analysis you've come to expect from my CIO.com blog: The Mobile WorkHorse. Here's why.

New Palm "Nova" Smartphone: Full QWERTY Slider with Touch Screen?

Al Sacco — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:46:52 -0500

Ye olde rumor mill never does stop churnin', does she? Today, all the fuss is over information that suggests Palm's latest smartphone, which will reportedly run the company's much-anticipated—and long overdue—"Nova" operating system, sports a full-QWERTY slider-keyboard and a large touch screen, not unlike the popular Android-powered G1.

BlackBerry Storm Gets TeleNav GPS App: Move Over VZ Navigator

Al Sacco — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:36:11 -0500

Despite a notable lack of Wi-Fi, Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry Storm packs internal GPS. But until today, pickings were slim when it came to full-fledged GPS navigation apps for the Storm; Verizon Wireless's own VZ Navigator was the only option. Thanks to GPS software vendor TeleNav and its TeleNav GPS Navigator for Storm, that's no longer the case—and the company's giving away free 30-day trials.

RIM BlackBerry Storm: Hot, Hot or Tempest in a Tea Pot?

Al Sacco — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:15:13 -0500

Since its release last month, users of Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry Storm have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the device. Early Storm adopters either saw promise in the smartphone immediately, despite the poor quality OS code Verizon Wireless sold it with. Or they blasted the BlackBerry maker and cursed the carrier for shipping a smartphone that simply wasn't ready for the masses. This week, conflicting news reports raise the question: Has the BlackBerry Storm been a success for RIM and Verizon or a slow failure?

First Look: Android Virtual Keyboard on T-Mobile G1 (Video)

Al Sacco — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:33:58 -0500

No smartphone is perfect. There are always features that could be added to even the highest-end devices to further their functionality. For the iPhone, cut and paste likely tops the list of most desired features. The brand new BlackBerry Storm? Wi-Fi. T-Mobile's G1, the first handset powered by Google's Android mobile OS, lacks one of the most basic features for a touch-screen device: an on-screen virtual keyboard. But according to reports, that's going to change in January 2009—and the upcoming Android virtual keyboard has already been caught on video.

RIM Releases BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac (Preview); More Mac Tools for BlackBerry Due in ‘09

Al Sacco — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:17:29 -0500

Macintosh users with BlackBerry smartphones just got one step closer to being able to use theirs Mac to fully manage Research In Motion (RIM) devices. That’s because RIM has quietly released a “preview” version of its BlackBerry Media Sync software for Mac, which lets BlackBerry owners sync their non-DRM protected iTunes music files to their smartphones.

Happy Holidays from the Mobile WorkHorse!

Al Sacco — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:13:55 -0500

As CIO.com's New England office slowly empties out for the holidays—and we batten down the hatches in preparation for an impending nor'easter—I wanted to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a safe and merry holiday season.

Palm Launches Software Store, Fails to Wow Users; Bad Omen for "Nova" OS?

Al Sacco — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:01:25 -0500

Palm, a former smartphone leader that has come upon particularly tough times, is making one more ploy for resuscitation, and the company wisely isn't pulling any of the stops; this week, Palm launched a brand new on-device mobile application shop to rival similar offerings from Apple, RIM, Google and others. However, early negative reviews of the app store may not bode well for Palm and its upcoming handheld OS, code named "Nova."

Android Getting More Biz Friendly with Docs to Go, RoadSync in '09

Al Sacco — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:38:30 -0500

The Android mobile platform is about to become better-suited for business use, thanks to two upcoming software offerings from DataViz due in 2009: Documents to Go, a Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint viewing, creation and editing program; and RoadSync, a Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync program.

BlackBerry Virtualization Video: BlackBerry OS In Action on Windows Mobile

Al Sacco — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:48:35 -0500

Yesterday, a collection of images showing RIM's BlackBerry operating system (OS) running on a Windows Mobile-powered HTC Fuze surfaced, sending bloggers and tech writers into a tizzy over the possibilities of being able to run the BlackBerry OS on non-RIM devices.