Motorola Droid Pro — What the Blackberry Torch should have been

Posted by on October 6, 2010 Comments Off

Yesterday Motorola announced the upcoming release of the Droid Pro – set for a November launch on Verizon Wireless.  The form factor is a shot across the bow at RIM.  This device looks very similar to the standard RIM QWERTY devices.  Full keyboard, touch screen, 1 GHz processor, 3.1 inch HVGA screen, 5 mega pixel camera, global support and Android 2.2.  This is exactly what the RIM / Blackberry Torch should have been.

RIM needs to speed up their new product development.  They’re being left behind.  RIM devices are few and far between now in the company where I work.  Overrun by iPhones and Android devices.  With lackluster products and new sales ARPU declining, RIM had better act quickly.

Samsung Galaxy S Review

Posted by on October 5, 2010 Comments Off

I purchased a full price Samsung Galaxy S phone on August 10, 2010 from a corporate AT&T store.  Prior to the Galaxy S, I’d been using the Google Nexus One as my primary business phone.  Google’s Android operating system has its quirks, but works extremely well for what I use a phone for.

AT&T’s network aside, the phone performs amazingly well.  The Super AMOLED screen is brilliant and remarkablyvisible in direct sunlight.  The touch sensitivity of the screen is just right and extremely accurate.  And including the Swype keyboard is a life saver – you can hold your finger down and move between individual letters on the screen rather than hunting and pecking for each individual letter.  Swype is perhaps one of the best virtual keyboards available on the market today.

Battery life is great.  With moderate daily use, I can get about 12 hours of life out of the phone before needing a recharge.  The internal storage is more than enough for what I need (mp3s, videos and photos).  And the Google Voice integration is exceptional – this has allowed me to get away from carrying multiple phones.

I’ve sold several people in the office on this phone – most purchased them from Costco where you can get an additional discount over an AT&T store.  There are several downsides that I warned everyone about:

- Android 2.2.  Where is it?  It should have shipped with this phone.  We’re into October, several months after release, and it still isn’t available.  This isn’t good.  Early adopters and technically savvy consumers purchase this phone.  Samsung should be more on top of this.

- AT&T bloatware.  AT&T has loaded the phone up with their own software – completely useless software for most people considering the included Google applications and the Android Marketplace.  The AT&T applications take up space, clutter the screen and slow the phone down.  And without rooting your phone, it is impossible to remove these applications.

AT&T needs to realize that their proprietary applications are not wanted and are doing more harm than good.  Consumers shouldn’t have to put up with this.  If I could have purchased this phone separate from AT&T, I would have to avoid their bloatware.

- Multiple microphones.  The Galaxy S doesn’t have multiple microphones to help with noise cancelation when speaking on the phone.  The Nexus One did and they worked remarkably well.  The noise canceling that’s employed on the Galaxy S works well – just not as well as two microphones.

- USB port. Samsung put the USB port / charging port in an odd place – on the top of the phone.  This makes for speaking on the phone when plugged in feel odd.  You expect to connect power to a phone on the bottom of the unit.

The few caveats aside, I recommend this phone to anyone looking for an iPhone or Blackberry alternative.

Producer Price Index Inflation On The Rise

Posted by on November 17, 2009 Comments Off

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their monthly Producer Price Index statistics that have been seasonally adjusted.  What becomes overly clear is that Crude Goods, items in the earliest stage of production / completion, have all been experiencing inflation since the beginning of this year.

What this begins to setup is that manufacturers are willing to spend more for raw goods, meaning that end user goods will eventually see price increases.  We should be prepared to see continued inflation of basic goods.  Milk and butter have seen increases of 30+% year to date.  When milk is more expensive than fuel on a retail per gallon basis and we continue to experience inflation, we’re in trouble.

Whether or not the Producer Price Index is a true leading indicator of inflation of the Consumer Price Index; that remains to be seen.  Historical data from past recessions looking at leading and lagging indicators provide anecdotal evidence that mass inflation is on the horizon.

PPI-BLSData Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Did The Fiscal Stimulus Fail?

Posted by on November 15, 2009 Comments Off

Unemployment Rate with and without recovery plan

What does this mean? One interpretation is that the fiscal stimulus has failed to achieve what Team Obama thought it would. Another interpretation is that the baseline was worse than they believed at the time.

Rather than pointing fingers we need to drive overall government accountability. In light of the shifting baseline, it’s impossible to hold the administration accountable for whether its policies are achieving their intended effects.  To be clear, this lack of accountability is not a feature on this specific administration but is, instead, a reflection of the inherent uncertainties associated with macroeconomics.

The administration, however, has not been particularly forthright in admitting to this lack of accountability. Indeed, the act of releasing quarterly reports on how many jobs have been “created or saved” gives the illusion of accountability without the reality.

There are two significant points we need to focus on; neither of them are partisan:

- First, as much as we’d like to point to one political group or another, incalculable macroeconomic consequences have played a substantial role in undermining the global economy; regardless of the party in office.

- Second, we must radically increase government reporting transparency and continue to make additional raw data available to allow for third parties to validate conclusions and assumptions.

If we must assign blame, assign it to variable change (Bayes’ theorem). We’ve always had several options available to combat the recession. However, due to the complexity of the solutions, financial burden and time to implement, we haven’t had the luxury to eliminate solutions after a short period allowing us to increase the probability of achieving the greatest success.

Third Quarter 2009 GDP Growth is a Red Herring

Posted by on November 14, 2009 Comments Off

United States GDP for the 3rd quarter grew at 3.5% according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  The third quarter being the first to see growth since the economic decline about a year ago.  Sounds great — but there’s a red herring.  Cash for Clunkers provided massive unseasonal auto industry demand.  Motor vehicle output grew by a seasonally adjusted 158%.  This growth is clearly unprecedented and we should expect it to decline like a waterfall next quarter — growth never to be repeated again without this type of government incentive.

United States GDP

With Cash for Clunkers providing 1.66% GDP growth, net growth for the quarter was 1.89%.  Still maintaining growth and that’s a good sign.  The one problem with that.  Cash for Clunkers stripped out an unknown amount of future demand for the auto industry; perhaps mostly from the fourth quarter but likely beyond that.  So while the short term gains have been exceptional, the lasting effects of Cash for Clunkers may actually have a negative impact on GDP in the fourth quarter.  Hold on, the ride isn’t over.