Asylum http://www.asylum.com Asylum http://www.asylum.com/media/feedlogo.gif Asylum http://www.asylum.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Palm vs. Pre -- Bring the Apple Hatershttp://www.asylum.com/2009/06/01/five-reasons-the-palm-pre-will-triumph-2/http://www.asylum.com/2009/06/01/five-reasons-the-palm-pre-will-triumph-2/http://www.asylum.com/2009/06/01/five-reasons-the-palm-pre-will-triumph-2/#commentsFiled under: ,

1. Apple Haters

There is a large portion of the population that just hates Apple. (Easily spotted carrying a first generation Zune MP3 player.) If there is enough pre- and post-release buzz proclaiming the Pre as the new king of mobile, there could be a surge of sales that propel the device to the top.

But, Hold the Phone ... Never underestimate the cult of Steve Jobs. No matter what happens, or what device may or may not be superior, there will be tens of millions of dough-eyed people lined up at local Apple stores, dollars bills in hand, waiting in line for weeks just to get their hands on the next gadget born from the man-genius. In fact, we just wrote this while leaning agains the local Genius Bar -- now, please take our money, Mr. Jobs.

 

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]]>Gerasimos Manolatos2009-06-01T11:02:00+00:00Five Reasons the Palm Pre Will Triumphhttp://www.asylum.com/2009/06/01/five-reasons-the-palm-pre-will-triumph/http://www.asylum.com/2009/06/01/five-reasons-the-palm-pre-will-triumph/http://www.asylum.com/2009/06/01/five-reasons-the-palm-pre-will-triumph/#commentsFiled under: ,

(Or, five reason that Palm may become the Netscape of computer hardware. Either way, it will be bloody.)

We're going to spare you all of the hot and heavy techie huff and puff and get straight to the point. There are five -- and only five -- reasons why the Palm, with its newly released Pre, will once again ascend to the throne of handheld gadget supremacy ... or at least die trying.

5. Awwww, It's So Cute!

Yes, you heard that right: The device is cute, almost to the point of obnoxiousness. It's nearly an inch shorter than its iPhone competition when closed and fits snuggly into most pockets. Don't be surprised if Oprah gives away hundreds of these at an upcoming show.

But, hold the phone ... the iPhone is actually more than 25 percent thinner and has all of those snazzy commercials touting its incredible design. Also, don't count out Apple that showed off a new, more ergonomic version of their handset at the Worldwide Developer Conference on June 8.

Find out how connections, keyboards and plain old hate may help the Palm Pre, after the jump.4. Supreme G-Force

If you can't tell a 3G from Mr. G, you probably won't care about this. The Pre will come 3G-enabled out of the box, and some consumer will have access to Sprint's superior and already deployed 4G network. AT&T, the iPhone's main telephone-service squeeze, won't be taking the wraps off their network until late next year.

But, Hold the Phone ... Sprint is lagging behind AT&T and Verizon, mostly because of their nearly lethal merger with Nextel. They have yet to rebound and have not offered anything to customers to entice them to switch over. A new phone might do it for them, but only time will tell.

3. We're All Connected

Synergy -- it's not for chemistry class anymore. The Pre will come equipped with the ability to sign into all of your major networking accounts, such as Gmail, Facebook, and MS Exchange, and manage all of your contacts from one singular place. You'll also be able to combine all of your instant and text messages into one chat window, which cuts down on having to jump around from program to program. Currently, you can't receive picture or instant messages on your iPhone without downloading a separate application.

But, Hold the Phone... If you haven't heard, Apple just surpassed the "one billion apps served" mark. That's what we call support. Everybody is on the iPhone bandwagon, offering thousands of applications and games, many of them free, to customize the iPhone to your liking.

2. QWERTY Personality

If you've become accustomed to tactile feedback, the Pre has you covered. It comes with a full keyboard -- even the letter Z! -- and can be stored away using the phone's sliding ability.

But, Hold the Phone ... It's compact. It's so cramped, you'll be asking the Return key to move over a little bit. It's a shame that only the number keys made the transition over to the touchscreen because now we're going to have to endure text messages from Rotundy McFatFingers like "Dide, lets gp to thw mall!" The iPhone has no keys, which takes away all the fun for all of you with button fetishes, but still delivers quite effectively.

Read the #1 Reason the Pre May Beat the iPhone

 

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]]>iphonepalm prePalmPreGerasimos Manolatos2009-06-01T11:00:00+00:0013 Disappearing Gadgets and What You Need to Replace Themhttp://www.asylum.com/2009/05/21/13-disappearing-gadgets-and-what-you-need-to-replace-them/http://www.asylum.com/2009/05/21/13-disappearing-gadgets-and-what-you-need-to-replace-them/http://www.asylum.com/2009/05/21/13-disappearing-gadgets-and-what-you-need-to-replace-them/#commentsFiled under: ,

Purchasing anything that consists of mechanical parts or requires electricity is like dating: As soon as you pick out the one you want, a better one comes along. (And it's a helluva lot cheaper to maintain, too.) So, you ditch that one to go to the next, only to have the same thing happen once again. When does the madness end?

This kabuki dance -- catalyzed by Apple, Best Buy and your wallet -- is not a one-time occurrence either. Below you'll find 13 of the latest gadgets, gizmos, and doohickeys to get kicked to the curb and the newer box of lights and wires that replaced them. Quickly read it before the Internet becomes obsolete.

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Disappearing Gadgets
Hang on to that razor, it could be gone before you know it. Click the image above to find out what other gadgets are going away and what you need to replace them.
Getty Images (2)

Disappearing Gadgets

    Zip Drives
    We're not sure what exactly killed this former computer storage rockstar, but it's as good as dead now with the proliferation of flash drives capable of holding gigabytes of data. However, if you're in the market for cheap paperweights, it's your lucky day.

    Wikipedia (2)

    Fax Machines
    A staple of the work office, the only people still using this contraption are people who are actually employed, which, with rising jobless numbers, is becoming a rarity itself. And, frankly, "Fax me the jpeg!" just doesn't sound efficient anymore.

    Wikipedia (2)

    Crossbows
    Unless you're living in the Amazon rainforest or are filthy rich, you're probably relying on a regular ol' handgun for protection nowadays. Probably all the better: While shootings are up, drive-by bowings are way down.

    Getty Images (2)

    Telephone Modems
    Sure, your snazzy high-speed Internet may be a breath of fresh air now, but you were the shit when dad brought home that shiny new 28.8 baud modem. Not only did that new Boyz II Men song only take 45 minutes to download, you could open up more AOL chat rooms windows and your favorite GeoCities site loaded up twice as fast. Whoa!

    Wikipedia (2)

    Film Cameras
    The YouTuberati culture has demanded that their media be easy to digitize and companies have been happy to oblige. Handheld gadgets like the Flip Mino HD are fast becoming the norm for taking those embarrassing videos that help you remember what happened between the hours of 2 and 5 AM during the latest house party.

    Getty Images (1) / theflip.com (2)

    Muscle Cars
    GM is on a respirator and Pontiac is getting the boot in favor of slick-handling import tuner cars straight out of Fast & Furious. Yet, another industry Vin Diesel has ruined.

    Getty Images (2)

    Dustbusters
    That thing your mom used to break out now and then to clean up all of the Frosted Flakes that somehow made it under your bed is very nearly a thing of the past. In its place, iRobot's Roomba robot vacuums are sucking up the competition. (But your mom is already plotting against it.)

    Wikipedia (2)

    DVDs
    Yes, it is in fact going away, no matter what anyone says. Blu-ray sales are growing and GE's new holographic storage technology, capabale of holding up to 500 GB of data, is in the works.

    Getty Images (2)

    Manned Military Aircraft
    One reason why we're not incurring World War II-type losses in recent military operations is new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like Predator drones that are used for both intelligence gathering and bringing the pain. The other reason is because France isn't fighting.

    Wikipedia (2)

    Single-edge Razor Blade
    C'mononly poor people use these! Why not switch over to the new Gillette Fighter Jet 45, complete with 53 sharp blades ready to take all of the hair, cellular membrane, and cheek muscle off of your face. Replacement blades only cost 73 dollars each!

    Getty Images (2)

 

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