Michael Martin asked me last week what the name of the Android ‘guy’ was – I told him we called him Mike. He claimed the Google guys call him Droid or Bug Droid, but clearly he needs a name and since no one else came up with anything I am declaring his official name is now ‘Mike’. Say hello Mike:
Rylan is in Spain today representing ShopSavvy at the Mobile World Congress. Hopefully we win one of the peer awards this year. Check it:
Vodafone, the largest mobile network operator in the world (doing business in more than 25 countries), announced they will exclusively launch the G2 (now called HTC Magic). Very good news in deed! According to Michael Bettiol, “An exclusive to Vodafone in Europe, the Magic is of debatable sexyness when compared to the T-Mobile G1 (and looks very Sony Ericsson, does it not?) and just happens to be one those phones that we’re just dying to know more about. But for now we can safely say that the Magic will feature HSPA, WiFi and GPS connectivity along with a 3.2 megapixel camera — sans flash — and of course come with a healthy dose of that sweet, sweet Cupcake that so many of you G1 users are clamoring for. Now we can’t say with absolute certainty when this thing will released or even announced, but since MWC is going on and with CTIA just around the corner, now is as good a time as ever to steal the spotlight from those damn pesky competitors. Oh, one more thing… don’t be too shocked if the name Magic is replaced with Pioneer.”
Okay, so here is the problem: Some retailers (including Amazon) have multiple items for one UPC. In these cases their data is inaccurate. In other cases some people poison various UPC databases with BAD information. Today we take the results from ALL of our retailers for an item:
UPC: 733792422827
Buy.com thinks it is: Farstar – Broken Down and Wandering
Amazon.com thinks it is: Farstar – Broken Down and Wandering
Barnes & Noble thinks it is: Farstar – Broken Down and Wandering
Walmart thinks it is: Trojan Condoms – 500 pack
In our current version of ShopSavvy we assume retailers have accurate information. This assumption has prove to be wrong in a small number of well publicized cases. We will return the picture and description of the item from the source that responds first. So if Buy.com responded first we would get the correct item and result (Walmart’s item and price would be wrong if you clicked on it, but you might never notice this). If Walmart responds first we will think you scanned condoms (the other retailers listed would have the right item and right price, but you might not notice this either).
Our next version of ShopSavvy will average the results using ambient information. Ambient information is the info returned by retailers that includes a) title, b) supply chain data, c) picture and so on. In our next version we dump the results of the outliers. If 80% of the results for the UPC are Farstar we will assume anything else, including the condoms are delivered in error.
Our contacts at Google provided some information a few weeks ago RE how the GPS on the G1 doesn’t impact battery life. Several pretty informed people explained that the information we had was wrong. I tried to get to the bottom of it and here is what we learned (I am still waiting on more details):
Comparing prices is cool, but once you find the best deal what if you could actually buy it without pulling out your wallet? Our new QuickPay feature will allow you to do just that in three quick and easy steps. Check it out:
The service is called Google Sync (beta-of course). Microsoft broke the news:
“Earlier today Google announced Google Sync, which is made possible by a patent license they obtained from Microsoft covering Google’s implementation of the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol on Google servers.
Of note, Microsoft recently announced an expansion of its Exchange ActiveSync Licensing Program, and licensees currently include partners and competitors Apple, Nokia, Palm, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson, among others.
Horacio Gutierrez, Deputy General Counsel and VP, Intellectual Property & Licensing, Microsoft:
“Google’s licensing of these Microsoft patents relating to the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol is a clear acknowledgment of the innovation taking place at Microsoft. This agreement is also a great example of Microsoft’ s openness to generally license our patents under fair and reasonable terms so long as licensees respect Microsoft intellectual property. This open approach has been part of Microsoft’s IP licensing policy since 2003 and has resulted in over 500 licensing agreements of the last five years.”
Of course it isn’t available for Android, but you can bet it won’t be far off.
Download it here. Via the developers blog. Changes:
I had the honor of accepting the 2009 Netexplorateur Prize in Paris last week on behalf the Big in Japan team. Check it out:
Big in Japan, a Dallas-based idea factory for mobile applications, announced that its ShopSavvy personal shopping assistant has been named one of 10 global winners of the 2009 Netexplorateur of the Year award, honoring the year’s most promising digital innovations. The award is presented annually by the Forum Netexplorateur, organized by the French Senate.
