Wireless Stuff By Joe Walsh

On my way back from CTIA I was able to share a cab with a product manager from Microsoft working on Windows Mobile Series 7. All of the press reports on this new platform seem positive, but I wonder if it isn’t a little too little too late. Apple, Google and RIM (yes RIM) have sown up a lot of the smartphone market while Microsoft has been largely dormant. My assumption is that this is largely due to their lack of ability to think outside of the box and their apparent corporate strategy to be a follower instead of a leader. (Can you think of one feature or platform where Microsoft is truly an innovator any more?)

Microsoft does have a lot going for it, however. Mainly the large number of business customers who run Windows servers and computers as well as a decent installed base of Exchange. In the past, they have simply developed products and features similar to other companies who have innovated and then made it easy for IT administrators to incorporate the product into their networks. Ironically, however, Microsoft seems to be bypassing the corporate market on their first pass and the first phone out the gate will be very social networking friendly. This may be because even corporate end-users are revolting against the boring IT provided phone. You can easily step on the line workers when they ask for a cool phone, but when the CEO, COO, CMO and CFO all want to carry iPhones, it is hard for the IT manager to say “No” and keep their job. Even the IT manager wants to carry an iPhone or an Android device.

The new competition will be welcome into the market. Microsoft has the financial wherewithal to go through an iteration or two (unlike Palm) until they get it right. Back to my cab ride with the product manager. I found three points very interesting:

1. He considers Apple to be the big competitor in this space. He was almost dismissive of Android even though industry projections show Android taking the market share lead in a few years. I think they believe that Android will implode under its own weight with many different versions running on different handsets. He pointed out that each manufacturer will tweak its Android version for their platform which will make upgrading versions on phones very difficult if not impossible. (I didn’t point out that MS itself doesn’t really have a good track record in this area but perhaps this experience allows him to speak with authority…) He also correctly points to Google’s lack of experience with providing end-user support as another reason not to fear Android. That being said, Google, like Microsoft, has deep pockets and a lot of business models to make money from mobile. They are in it for the long haul and have the pockets to get it right eventually.
2. He never mentioned RIM at all when discussing major competitors. This could be because they feel that they are going to take market share away from RIM. This is likely, not only with the smart phones but also with the cash cow Blackberry Enterprise Servers (BES). I can see a point where MS buys RIM after the loose enough market share and the value drops enough.
3. The most disturbing learning, however, was that MS is going to lock-down the phone so that you MUST GO THROUGH THEIR APPLICATION STORE… This is very different from the current Windows Mobile phones where users can load any application they desire on the phone. No certification necessary. His point is that this is a requirement to “protect” the user experience. This is a believable argument, however I think the bigger argument is that it allows Microsoft to take a piece of the action for any applications sold…

If you are like 75% of the world, you are currently looking for a holiday gift for that special someone. This posting is all about a great new toy that my wife gave to me for our anniversary. It is the Logitech Squeezebox Boom. This is a replacement for our Bose Wave Radio that we have had in our bedroom for almost 15 years. I loved the sound on the Wave Radio, I find that Bose is behind the times for adding mainstream features. This was true 15 years ago when I could not purchase a Wave Radio with a CD player while several less expensive similar devices had integrated CD players. They were slow to add MP3 support for their CD players and just now have iPod Docks for an additional $50. It is as if Bose thinks that all you need is good speakers and what you will listen to on those devices is an afterthought.

Hence my drive to look for a new radio. You know my love of Slacker and I really wanted one that had streaming music support from the Internet. A quick search on Amazon and BestBuy.com lead me to the Logitech Squeezebox Boom. The basic premise is a clock radio with decent speakers and built-in WiFi support. But that just scratches the surface. Out of the box, it is a little clunky to set up by entering in your WiFi access point and security key. However, at that point, I suggest doing everything from the web at www.mysqueezebox.com. From there you can browse “applications” that you can download to your device and configure just about everything.

My first download was Slacker of course, but if you prefer Pandora you are in luck as it is supported as well. There are lots of applications ranging from Classical.com to Last.fm. If you are a podcast lover, you can download the Media Fly application that allows you to stream podcasts to your radio. I quickly set it up for one of my favorite Podcasts - This Week in Science. You can also download and install the Squeezebox Server to your computer to be able to stream MP3′s from your computer. I believe that this should work across network boundaries, so theoretically you could have the Squeezebox in your office and stream music from your home computer as long as it was also turned on and connected to the Internet. I must admit, I love Slacker so much, I don’t listen to my MP3s much any more so I have yet to fully explore this feature.

It appears that Logitech publishes an application programming interface (API) for developing new applications so hopefully new applications will be added over time. They have an interesting “application” from Queen which is really just an audio commentary off of their new best of CD but an interesting listen. Amazon also has an application that I haven’t tried yet that appears to make it easy for you to purchase CD’s directly from the Squeezebox.

The sound on the device is decent. It does not have the rich bass tones that the Wave Radio has, but it is also about 1/3rd less and has much more functionality. It has a port for an external woofer which I suspect will greatly improve the sound and will likely be on my shopping list in the near future. As far as serving as a clock radio, it allows you to set multiple alarms and schedule the days of the week to be active. You can also select the sound from a library of sounds that come with the device (nature sounds, trains, musical tones, etc.) or any other source such as MP3s, podcasts or Internet radio station. One word of caution, I set it for rain one morning and spent five minutes listening to the downpour outside, cursing the weatherman for predicting a sunny day until I realized it was my alarm… Oh and forget about setting the clock – it gets the time automatically from Internet time servers.

One of the coolest features, however, I didn’t discover until about two weeks after I had been using the device. The Boom does not come with AM or FM radios! However, it receives all of the local radio stations in perfect sound. By searching through the local radio stations you will see a list of all of the streams from local radio stations. I was struggling to listen to the Redskins game on the local ESPN station through the FM radio in my kitchen but received PERFECT sound quality on my Squeezebox through their Internet feed. I also really like to listen to WRBS out of Baltimore (My buddy from junior high Mike Alley is on the morning show). I can barely get it in my car while driving in certain areas but get it perfectly through their stream. I’m assuming that if I were a transplant, I could program in radio stations from other parts of the country if I so desired but haven’t yet tried that.

There are a few down sides to the Squeezebox. First, as a clock radio, it doesn’t display the time when listening to music. It does show you artist/album/track information and have a graphic indicating how much of the song has played. I am still exploring how the volume level is set on the alarms. Because of the number of features that are included there is a significant menu structure that can also be daunting for the technically challenged. It would be nice to have a built-in iPod dock, but can’t say that I really miss it as I spend so much time listening to streaming music instead.

There are three basic versions available from Logitech. I’ve put in links to Amazon, although Best Buy also has great prices if you want to pick it up.

Logitech Squeezebox Boom All-in-One Wi-Fi Internet Radio	This is the version that I purchased. It has stereo speakers and a basic remote. Perfect for a kitchen or as an alarm clock.
Logitech Squeezebox Duet Wi-Fi Internet Radio	This is a great addition to a stereo system. Includes are really cool wireless remote control that also shows album art. Haven’t tried this as I just haven’t had the disposable income for a nice stereo system since kids…
Logitech Squeezebox Radio (Red)	A more basic model also good for the kitchen where counter space is at a premium. Includes album art on the color screen.