Today is one of those days where it feels really, really good to be a journalist covering the mobile computing market. Today is one of those days, that if things work out the way Mr. Jobs envisions them, which suggests that there can be a future and that science fiction is getting a lot closer to fact. Today’s Town Hall meeting at the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA was more than just a press release for Apple’s software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone and iPod Touch, it was an affirmation of the wakeup call Apple is delivering to the rest of the mobile computing industry on an almost daily basis.

First up, the iPhone now holds a 28% marketshare of the smartphone market. RIM holds the largest segment at 41%. The cost of these devices is what keeps them out of the average user’s hands, though, so the iPhone hasn’t made much headway into the standard handset market. However, Jobs claims that iPhone traffic accounts for a ridiculous 71% of mobile device web usage. Bwah! That’s mind boggling, though I Jobs didn’t mention the metric used to make that determination (though I’m sure it was a market research firm). Read on for a lot more. Believe me, its worth it. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

Dell has been a tad reserved of late, while at the same time HP has been tearing around the place like a cat on speed, spewing out quality new hardware left and right. Now, it appears to be Dell’s turn, and this one is very interesting. Dell has announced the availability of their new XFR D630 ruggedized lappy which will compete directly with vendor standards like Panasonic’s ToughBook line-up. Dell has a habit of entering markets at dramatically lower prices, but in this case they don’t, so don’t expect a wicked deal. The new XFR D630 prices in at US$3,899 which places it in direct competition with Panasonic’s ToughBook CF-30. In fact, Dell even mentions it directly as a feature competitor. The unit is D630 hardware compatible and they offer a touch screen option.

written by Tyler Regas

In yet another super cool and open gesture, OpenMoko has announced that they have made the CAD files for their Neo handsets and hardware available to anyone who wants them. The aim is to promote the growth of open source products and to allow anyone to bring advancement and innovation to their system. The CAD files and associated data are available under the ShareAlike Creative Commons license and you can grab them here (NOTE: No registration required, just download!).

written by Tyler Regas

The Dojo doesn’t generally cover radar detectors, but they are small, portable, and gadgety, and that’s what we cover. This particular unit is a Fuzz Buster from Hell called the KAT-600 from Rocky Mountain Radar. Depending on whether they are “legal” in your state, the KAT-600 offers radar and laser detection and laser scrambling capabilities for US$149. If you don’t want to scramble the fuzz, you can get the scramble-free version, the KAT-500, for US$99.

written by Tyler Regas

I don’t know how to say it any better. SyncWizard, a new service which is in free beta (what isn’t!) at the moment, securely syncs your data to its website, then makes it available through various specialized interfaces depending on which device you use to access it. They’re pretty progressive, too, as they claim to support both the ASUS Eee PC and Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader. The service works by using a range of services like Zoho Office for documents, Picasa for images, and ScheduleWorld for calendars. I created an account and clicked SyncIt, and it just started syncing… what I’m not sure yet, but it does work with existing accounts or it creates accounts for you on certain services. The jury’s still out at the moment, but this may turn out to kick some ass.

written by Tyler Regas

I’m sorry, but I feel it important to post regarding this issue. Gizmodo has recently published what they are calling an “Advertorial”, paid advertising which takes the form of a story or feature in an effort to trick the reader into thinking its really written by the staff of the publication. Aside from the fact that The Dojo sees this as being irresponsible to its readership, selling lies as fact, and not clearly informing the reader that it is engaging in this kind of shady advertising, its not even an advertorial. It is, in fact, a survey from an online marketing group asking questions about the quality, penetration, and effectiveness of certain ads featuring new cars. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

Based on the 65nm processor in Apple’s MacBook Air, Intel’s new 45nm Atom and Centrino Atom chips is the chipmaker’s new line-up in what it expects to the coming mobile computer war. Intel expects to put these in Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and some of those cool device mockups Intel was showing at CES. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about these sometime soon.

written by Tyler Regas