91Èȱ¬

Boy, its nice to know you are working hard.

Pity us website designers. Over 150 handheld devices with a dozen different operating systems, screen sizes from 2.8 to 10 inches, a tiny number of pathetic mind-bending device emulators to test them on; this together with an ever changing backdrop. How are we to design websites for handhelds? Most of us have decided to stick to websites for desktop, laptops and the larger handhelds with 6 to 10 inch screens.

Adrian West

This is quite possible the worst coverage of technology I've seen. The only reason that this is still working is because of the giant 91Èȱ¬ News coverage. I cannot post links here but you need to look around you, technology is the way forward and there are proven better ways to show that.
A reporter should know enough before he goes to something like the MWC and you do not even know what Honeycomb is. I knew this months ago and I'm not even a reporter/blogger for that matter.
Moreover there is so much going on at the MWC (a huge variety of tablets from different companies for example) that the Technology section has failed to keep up with.
The excuse of bad 3G coverage doesn't cut it because all the other websites have had live coverage (Real-time) updating throughout.
91Èȱ¬ has a lot of potential and I'd like to come here to get all my news (including technology) an it can start with being more proactive on technology.

I have to agree with Hamxa. This is the poorest effort at coverage I have seen. Covered one product that was already announced weeks ago and does not even understand what android honeycomb is!
We should be seeing a demo or a perhaps a review against the other tablets such as newly announced HP webOS tablet and Blackberrys Playbook?
Complaining about 3G but not saying anything about the new tech that will be superseding it, such as the new 4G dongles coming out in the USA. Shockingly poor journalism.

"I see a message on the Android phone I've borrowed for the week. Unfamiliar with the system, I can't work out how to read it."
Tech reporter who cannot work out how to read a text on a 3+ year old software!

It's not my place to defend Rory and his 3 hour dinners, but this is a blog, not a Technology review.

I'm sure more detailed and structured reviews will follow when the MWCWA* is over.

*Mobile World Congress Without Apple

@6 MyVoiceInYrHead

But the 91Èȱ¬'s chief tech correspondent should be up to speed on current mobile tech, particularly before visiting and reporting on a mobile tech conference, don't you think?

There really are some nasty people commenting on Rory's blog. It is a blog, not a review. The 91Èȱ¬ already has reports from Jane Wakefield and Jim Taylor on the Barcelona show and I'm sure more reviews are on their way. Given the 24 hour nature of news programming it would seem impossible for a journalist to take time to research a story and present his/her findings in an edited manner. There is a constant demand for more.

So many of the technology websites simply present rumour and gossip with the odd press release thrown in and little in-depth analysis of the issues.

And, with reference to the Android text issue: if a seasoned technology correspondent is unable to work out how to read a message on the phone, what chance do normal customers have? Surely, this is the fault of the phone or software designers and not the user.

I thought it was an interesting piece detailing a 'day-in-the-life-of' a reporter at a foreign trade conference.

"I see a message on the Android phone I've borrowed for the week. Unfamiliar with the system, I can't work out how to read it."

I had a similar experience about six months ago. I picked up a friend's HTC [something] Android phone to see what it was like to use. My experience went like this:

Push the button on the front at the bottom of the screen to try and unlock it. Nothing happens. Push it again, still nothing. Push each of the buttons on the side in turn, randomly tap screen. Still nothing. Concede defeat and ask how to unlock it. Told to try the button on the top (hidden out of sight when looking at it face on). Ok, so now the screen is on and I try to interact with it. Nothing's happening, so I ask again, and apparently I have to pull some sliding console down off the bottom of the screen (there’s no visual clue to do so…). I can now see icons for apps, but see there are hardly any on there, so ask if she has any cool apps. Apparently not, because she hasn't worked out how to download them. She'd had the phone for about six months at this point, constantly moaning about "how stupid it is" (direct quote).

That said, I expect Android has improved in ease of use since then.

As has been said, this is a blog, not a review. And if you read the link title it is clearly a quick diary of how poorly the event is serviced from a connections point of view. Jeesh, tough crowd.

How are we to design websites for handhelds?

By writing good, standards compliant structural markup and letting the browsers worry about the rendering. Get over the idea that you control how people view the content and just give them the content.

Rory I think you need to explain what Android phone you were using with a custom skin and advise against using it, as even my three year old niece can open new messages on Android!

"see a message on the Android phone I've borrowed for the week. Unfamiliar with the system, I can't work out how to read it. When I call the 91Èȱ¬ sound operations room in London the engineer who answers turns out to be an Android fan" lol Rory you are an Apple fanboy :) I am neutral and i can read all types of messages from all plaforms

@probritish

Most mobile browsers now are built on (apple's) Webkit - iOS, Andriod, RIM (going forward) webOS, Symbian (now dead!), of which there are variations, but as things move so fast this will stabilise more in the near future.

For different screen sizes and resolutions, thats were the beauty of media queries comes into play.

Then again, it is a featured blog in the Technology section of the 91Èȱ¬ Website. More importantly, I am comparing this with other Blogs out there. They are all blogs and not reviews (and they are all updated in real time).
Please don't call us nasty for being honest.
In no way are these comments supposed to be taken personally. Its rather an opinion compared to what is out there. I do apologize if it touched anyone's nerve.

So to sum it up:

Technology Journalist has Trouble with Technology.

Technology Journalist has Vision Restriction Meaning he's Unable to Appreciate 3D.

Technology Journalist Dismisses Clamshell Docks for Tablets as he has no Personal Need for one.

Technology Journalist has Dinner at which he Demonstrates Scepticism About Using Mobile Devices as Payment Devices with no Evidence Other Than: "It's Never Happened Before".

Technology Journalist's Piece Dropped from the Schedule.

Must do better.

Stick to twitter Rory.
Kinding! Great blog. I was able to visualise your day and the people you were meeting (orange's exec and the like) give an idea of what this is about and how difficult it must be to read through the propaganda. Some nice opinion too.

Basic user and tech boffins can relate to it

As for Android, I got to admit being a fan but it did take me a few months and I am still discovering about it. The more I use it the more I like it. Very much like a long term relationship, and less like a one night stand.

PS any blog on Audio/ video streaming in the pipeline?

As soon as I heard this beano was on this week I thought "Cellan-Jones will be off on his annual jolly". There are so many better things to do in the Catalan capital than mooch around in an anorak's exhibition.

Rory'scandid approach is refreshing. We could have been bored with the latest offering but decided to just ignore it until it’s over. Good.
Or is it that as an apple fan Rory can only cope with one product release at a time?

Regardless. the amount of choice is confusing.

I think a couple of the people who have commented on this post have misunderstood what it is about - and what the 91Èȱ¬'s technology coverage is here to do. I have been sent to Barcelona to report on the latest trends in mobile technology for TV, radio and this blog. All of those services are aimed not at an ultra-specialist audience but the mass of licence-fee payers who may have a vague interest in the subject and want to know a bit more.

So, yes, I do happen to know what Honeycomb is - but I'm sure that 99% of my audience do not. So when an interviewee uses a term like that I step in and ask for an explanation - on behalf of the audience. I used to do the same when I was a business correspondent, asking city economists to avoid terms like leverage which many viewers might not understand.

If you are looking for detailed reviews of new products, then you have probably come to the wrong place.
Oh, and now I'm using the Android phone while awake, I'm getting along just fine, thank you.

Keep the candidness. thumbs up

My first time on the site - interesting blog but I won't waste my time on most of the comments.

@hamxa, LondonBoy & other critics of the coverage; if you're critical of the way this coverage is done, and you don't try to improve it, I guess your imput is simply no better than the subject of your critics... I suppose you didn't attempt to provide any additional information that might improve this coverage?! In that case I'll make a kick-off; here're some more specs on at least some of the devices introduced on the MWC;

- The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 specs; 1 Ghz dual core processor, 10.1 inch (WXGA TFT LCD) display with crystal clear resolution (1280 x 800), 8 MP rear facing camera with LED Flash, 2 MP front facing camera, Record/Play HD quality videos of 1080p resolution, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 Source:

- The Samsung Galaxy S II specs: Processor: Samsung Exynos 1 GHz dual core processor, 4.27 inches SuperAMOLEDplus, 800×480 pixels, Camera: 8 megapixel camera, 1080 p HD video recording, 2 megapixel front Operatingsystem: Android 2.3 Gingerbread, TouchWiz 4.0, Memory: 1 GB RAM, 16 or 32 GB internal storage, SD card slot, Dimensions: 125 x 66 x 8.49 mm: the slimmest smartphone on the market!, Connections: HSPA+, NFC, WiFi direct. Source:

Hopefully this is a head start in providing some addditional information to improve this coverage somewhat. :-)

Cheers!

A QUESTION FOR ALL YOU MORE EXPERIENCED WITH MOBILE TECHNOLOGY...

...after re-reading George Orwell's iconic book "1984" & following the coverage of 'the War on Terrorism', it occurred to me that a mobile 'phone had all the components to act like a 'bug' & relay your conversation to any interested security service.

Unlike conventional 'bugs', the advantages from the perspective of the security service are many but a few that sprang to mind were:

* All that would be required to use a mobile 'phone as a 'bug' would be a re-design for this purpose at the manufacturing stage (such a re-design would of course be highly secret no reason to suppose the rest of us would know anything about it - though we might work it out).

* There's no reason to suppose that the 'bug' wouldn't continue to work, even if the 'phone were apparantly switched off.

* Unlike a conventional 'bug' (or 'eavesdropping device') the user replaces / recharges the battery for you & keeps the device where it can hear everything.

* The way mobile 'phones are developing they will be able to tell the security services where the person being monitored is (using GPS technology) & what they are spending their money on (as mobile 'phones gradually replace cash & cards for making payments).

I did pause to wonder if I was just being paranoid then I considered 'the Patriot Act' passed in the United States & all the developments in 'the War on Terror'. My conclusion was: if this hasn't happened yet it soon will. The security services have the power, the motive & access to the tehnology.

So, my question is:

WHAT DO THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW FAR MORE ABOUT MORE ABOUT MOBILE 'PHONE TECHNOLOGY THAN I EVER WILL THINK OF THE IDEA OF A MOBIL DEVICE ACTING AS A BUG? DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY REASON TO BELIEVE THIS HAS ALREADY HAPPENED? OR, IS THIS A DEVELOPMENT IN THE PIPELINE?

Do hope I haven't put you off your shiny new toys.

All the very best to all of you.