I remember sitting in this same building in the beginning of 2007 and feverishly refreshing a plethora of sites live blogging that year’s MacWorld Stevenote. And then the iPhone came out and we all know how that turned out (my and my iPhone are inseparable). And now it’s happening all over, only this time I’m waiting for a tablet – a device that is very mysterious to many, myself included.

As many have posited, the soon-to-be-announced Tablet (or whatever it ends up being called), will have to be revolutionary in more ways than one – and that’s why it’s so mysterious. Apple simply can’t take an iPhone (or an iPod Touch), increase its screen size, and call it a day. I have a feeling that this device will hail the introduction of an all-new interface (be it touch screen or otherwise) that will make everyone think, “Why didn’t we think of this before? It’s so obvious.”

In essence, the beauty of the iPhone lies in its proportions – the ability to use the device with one hand and one thumb (on that same hand). In fact, I can touch any corner of the screen with my thumb while holding the iPhone in just one hand. But when it comes to a tablet-style device that has a much bigger screen (we’re talking 8-10 inches here), single-handed navigation becomes difficult. And that’s the reason, in my opinion, Apple will hail a new set of technologies that will make using a larger-screen tablet intuitive, easy, and unique (whether it will be one handed is up in the air). And that’s not to mention the content magnet that this device will become – ebooks and magazines, videos and podcasts – the Apple tablet will undoubtedly work to increase content consumption exponentially.

And so I (im)patiently await 10 am PST for the Steve Jobs to take stage at today’s Latest Creation media event. Let the refreshing begin self-refreshing javascipt magic do its thing on the live streams (and let’s hope Twitter doesn’t go down). I’ll be here during the live stream.

Some of us have been using Google Voice (GV) for the last few months and loving it! All the while, the GrandCentral service – the precursor to GV – was still alive and well. Today, however, GrandCentral account holders began receiving emails informing them that the service will be closing its doors December 31, 2009. To us this means Google thinks enough GrandCentral users have migrated to Google Voice that it can safely wind down the old service. Here’s the full email from GrandCentral:

Dear GrandCentral User (alexluft16):

We’re writing to let you know that we will be closing down the GrandCentral website as of December 31, 2009.

All GrandCentral accounts were upgraded to Google Voice earlier this year, but since that time, you’ve still been able to log-in to your GrandCentral account and listen to old messages there. You will no longer be able to log-in to your GrandCentral account after December 31. Because of this, we strongly suggest downloading any messages or contacts that you want to keep in the next 43 days.

We will send you another reminder before closing down the site, but we suggest you take action now to download any information you want to keep.

- The Google Voice Team

For anyone who needs invites to Google Voice, we have a few left – so please leave a comment and we’ll send them out on a first-comment-first-served basis.

We’ve just discovered a new Windows 7 ad by Microsoft featuring a little girl, Kelly, talking up the new OS. In the ad, Kelly finds Windows 7 reviews on her dad’s Sony Vaio notebook and proceeds to make a slideshow about the awesome new operating system, complete with a unicorn, a kitten, and a piggy with huge ears. If you look closely, the slideshow displays four quotes from positive Windows 7 reviews (Gizmodo, Maximum PC, CNet, and ZDNet) all to the tune of Europe’s The Final Countdown.. The ad concludes with Kelly saying, “I’m a PC and more happy is coming.”

Perhaps that last part is referring to the Zune HD and a the much-anticipated Windows Mobile OS?

Check out the ad after the break!

With Windows 7, Microsoft has delivered on the “product” end of things. Now it’s time to market the great new product. Microsoft needs to change consumers’ (undeservedly) negative perception of Windows Vista with Windows 7. This ad is a great step in that direction. In fact, this is an example of a perfect advertisement – one that doesn’t bash the competition (cough, Apple) but endears the company in the ad. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of these “happy,” ads.

It seems to be an agreed-upon point of view within the Digirati crowd that AT&T is killing the iPhone. If “killing” is not your bowl of soup, then we can substitute “is highly detrimental,” “the Achilles heel,” or “the main reason I switched to another smartphone.” But aside from the few high-profile and outspoken members of the Digirati community, what real reasons exist to prove that AT&T is really the “dark side” in the relationship? In this article, I dissect the great plethora of FUD, bogus, and unfounded claims about AT&T wireless as it relates to the Apple iPhone.

It’s the network, huh?

Those who have voiced and continue to voice their opinions about AT&T’s quality of cellular service as it relates to the iPhone seem to be focusing their attention on one falsely-conceived assumption: that the iPhone would be better off on a different network, such as Verizon Wireless. However, those who think so haven’t thought it all the way through. Here’s why: the iPhone is the kind of device that is extremely easy to use. It makes many features very user friendly – SMS, email and web browsing all shine on the device thanks in part to its awesome user interface. Remember when those features were completely not user friendly on other phones? Both of my parents (who have never used mobile web browsing, SMS, or email on their Motorola RAZRs) now use SMS, email and the browser regularly on their iPhones. In that regard, the iPhone – by its very nature – increases the usability of data by an enormous amount! It’s a device that takes what have been “geek only” features and brings them to the mainstream.

Knowing this, we can conclude that iPhone users consume exponentially more data than non-iPhone users. So here is my question to all those who think that the iPhone would be better off on Verizon/another carrier: do you really think that another carrier would be able to handle the exponentially greater data load brought on by the iPhone any better than AT&T does?

Think about it before you answer. Seriously, keep thinking. If you think that GSM/HSDPA (AT&T network technology) is in some way inferior to CDMA (Verizon network tech) and you are not a wireless network engineer, you have no idea what you’re talking about. There, I said it! I’ve spoken to dozens of cellular network engineers around my area from all four major carriers, and all of them state that while the underlying technologies differ greatly, what really determines the quality of the network is its implementation and the quality of the backhaul.

So who is to say that Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile would do a better job than AT&T is doing with the iPhone, given the increased data load the device brings on the network?

Personal experience

Everyone has a personal experience with their cellular device. You hear these stories all the time: “I hate (insert carrier name here) because when I step into the very South East corner of my apartment, put on my cowboy hat, place my left hand on my right ear, and then stand on my tippy-toes I lose service.” Know what I’m talking about? Sure you do! Let me tell you my experience with iPhone 3G S: ever since it fell into my hands on June 19, 2009 (launch date), I have not had one dropped call and have never lost service (had zero bars). You read that right – it has never happened to me. Sure, I’m not in the Digerati capital of the world (San Francisco area). But I’m not in the boonies either – I live less than five minutes driving distance from Boca Raton, FL. Sure it’s not as densely packed as an urban conglomerate such as New York City or San Fran. But everyone I know has a cell phone and so do their 10 year-old kids (iPhones, even).

Show me the evidence!

Having said that, I see absolutely no reason to wish that the iPhone be available on a different exclusive carrier in the U.S. So after thinking it through, you should be careful what you wish for – as the saying goes. Actually, there is one reason that I want the iPhone to be available on multiple wireless carriers: competition, which can happen on multiple levels: plan price, quality of service, or device price, among others. But let me be clear: competition is good for the consumer (and in some cases, for the companies). I’m in no way dissatisfied with AT&T wireless when it comes to the iPhone.

Really?

Perhaps I’m not understanding exactly what is going on here and iPhone users in San Francisco are suffering terribly from dropped calls and poor service. If that is the case, AT&T should look into fixing its service in that area. But – again – let me point out that the dissatisfaction with AT&T as it relates to the iPhone is overblown, overhyped, and – in my experience – only affects the (very) outspoken few. So leave AT&T alone!

In a future post, I will discuss the technical reasons why it’s not in Apple’s best interest, or the interest of me as a consumer, to switch iPhone exclusivity from AT&T to another carrier.

The latest development channel release of Google Chrome contains the ability to sync the browser’s bookmarks. The feature will let you keep the same set of bookmarks on multiple machines as well as store them in your Google Docs. Interestingly enough, Google already has a web-based bookmark service that goes by the name of Google Bookmarks. I wonder whether the plan is to eventually use Google Bookmarks as the back-end sync destination instead of Docs (a much better fit, wouldn’t you say?). If that is the strategy, then it is my opinion that we should get ready for a huge overhaul to the Google Bookmarks service.

The current implementation of Google Bookmarks is – simply put – outdated. The feature that’s most prominently missing is the ability to share and make my bookmarks public. For a company that’s all about making the next generation communications platform (Google Wave), that’s kind of embarrassing. One of the biggest advantages of keeping my bookmarks on the web with services such as Delicious and Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) is discoverability: I am able to see what tags (labels) others used for a web site and pre-fill their tags to my bookmark, the comments they used for it, as well as related sites that others bookmarked. Google Bookmarks also lacks browser-side import/export functions and doesn’t exactly have the best user interface in the game.

Assuming that the end-game is to use Google Bookmarks as the back-end for Chrome bookmark sync as well as for web access of bookmarks, I think it’s safe to say that the currently outdated service will get a very big revamp in the months ahead. Hopefully we’ll be able to get our hands on an official Chrome for Mac release before then. That, or we’ll see Google Bookmarks dropped and the bookmark functionality folded into Docs.

As a member of the geek community, I tend to get asked a lot of tech questions. As soon as people see the screen on my iPhone, the first question I get is “Wow! How did you do that?” I have non-standard icons, an awesome unlock screen, and the ability to answer texts without unlocking the phone. Should you jailbreak? What is jailbreaking? Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Jailbreak

In geek-speak, a brand new iPhone is in jail. Jailbreaking would set it free from Apple’s tight grip. The benefits?

You get full access to the phone. Jailbreaking was developed after the release of the original iPhone in order to allow for third party applications, since – back then – the iPhone SDK* was not available, the App Store did not exist, and only “web apps” were able to run on factory iPhones. Developers and hackers wanted to enable the user to use the iPhone in ways that other smartphones were being used – with a myriad of third party programs. They developed such programs as WinterBoard (to change icons and background), SBSettings (to allow one-touch access to commonly used settings), and even found a way to get custom ringtones on the device (would anyone buy any other phone that didn’t allow for custom ringtones?). Due to Apple’s unrelenting control in the way third party applications interact with the device, the iPhone is severely hampered. Jailbreaking fixes all that. Here are three specific examples:

1. My biggest complaint with the iPhone is the inability to run background apps. There are exceptions to this rule – such as Apple’s few “chosen apps” (you can listen to the iPod while surfing the Internet, but not to Pandora). You can’t record video screencasts of apps in action. You have to quit an app to send a text message. Jailbreaking has solved all of these: no longer do I have to quit an app to send an SMS – iRealSMS (our review here) allows me to text from any open program. In fact, I can even reply or send a text while the phone is locked. While this seems like a small change, for me and for many others that text alot (I hear Alex is a big fan), this one change completely turned my opinion of the iPhone OS around.
2. My second biggest complaint with the iPhone is battery life. Jailbreaking doesn’t have a direct effect on this, but many jailbroken apps do. One of the popular apps that jailbreakers download is SBSettings. It allows the user – from any screen on the phone – to touch the status bar (the one at the top with the time, battery life, etc) and drag down, which displays a list of commonly used settings. The user is presented with such options as to turn on/off 3G, Bluetooth, phone mode, and WiFi. There are options to change brightness, respring (restart the OS without a hard shutdown), and even change the look of the program itself. Turning off active radios can lead to a dramatic increase in battery life, and SBSettings makes these settings much more accessible.
3. After I purchased my first iPhone, I (ironically) began to appreciate Windows Mobile. The fact that I couldn’t see a list of upcoming calendar events from the lock screen was one of my biggest gripes with the device. Jailbreaking solved that. Intelliscreen, by Intelliborn, is an app that displays items such as recent mail, news, and weathero on the lock screen.

There are many more apps that I could describe. However, the aforementioned jailbreak applications are the most important to me. Satirically, Apple has removed apps from its App Store, only to have them reappear as jailbreak apps. Some of these include PodCaster and Google Voice. There are also emulators for the PSX, Super NES, GameBoy, and other gaming consoles; MXTube allows you to download YouTube videos and keep them on the phone. There are hundreds of non Apple-approved apps and at least two full non-Apple app stores (Cydia, Rock Your Phone) for you to explore once you open this Pandora’s Box of awesomeness. While the sandbox that jailbreaking provides is really cool, the real beauty are the many new and ultra-cool toys (apps) in the playground.

Or Jailbreak Not

If Apple is the cool kid that owns the playground, you would be upsetting it if you started to play with toys it doesn’t want you to play with. Truth be told, the official Apple App Store is getting better – with more APIs being available to developers with every iteration of the iPhone OS. That makes many question the relevance of the jailbreak: as Apple makes the iPhone more open, the value of jailbreaking drops significantly – especially with the baggage that comes along with the process.

A jailbroken iPhone is a very fragile creature: install the wrong set of programs and BAM!, you are looking at a phone with a corrupted OS. I go through this about three times per month, and I am very careful about what I install. This is not that difficult to deal with, but seeing an iPhone screen with a sad face on it can be scary if you are not used to hacking technology.

Perhaps the biggest inconvenience with a jailbroken iPhone is the fact that you don’t get to install software updates immediately after they leave Apple’s headquarters. That is, not until the jailbreaking community finds a way around whatever new safeguards Apple has put included in the latest software revision. This process usually takes a few days for point revisions and can be months for a whole new OS (if at all). The newest jailbreak for the 3G S requires certain files to be saved so that the phone can be further jailbroken – not the most user-friendly of tasks.

Security also takes a back seat when you jailbreak. When you bust down the sandbox walls to play on the swings, you allow the ants in. Due to its severe limitations, the iPhone remains one of the most secure phones on the market in factory conditions. It has had a total of two bugs that are real security risks – which is simply awesome given that the device has been out for nearly three whole years. How can it be so secure? It’s the same reason apps can’t run in the background or have command line access: it’s a sandbox that keeps the user safe. Once jailbroken, however, it is much easier to run malicious code on the iPhone. While no major exploit has been discovered for jailbroken iPhones, this is still a very serious risk. So for the time being, security when it comes to the jailbreak is a double-edged sword.

What about the legal side of things? As of right now, the jailbreak stands on very shaky legal ground. There is no law that says it is illegal, and even the DMCA kinda-sorta supports it (search DMCA, reverse engineering for interoperability). So why worry? Apple is actively trying to curb the efforts of any and all exceptions to the DMCA that expressly allow jailbreaking of phones to be legal. The long and short of it is that it’s not illegal… but it’s not legal, either.

There is no try…

Jailbreaking is not something you should do if you are inexperienced with technology. I jailbroke a friend’s iPod Touch; it didn’t take the first time around and the iPod got stuck in a restart loop. Even though I fixed it, the owner freaked out. These are very valuable devices that can be irrevocably damaged. Seeing as how the price tags display several hundred dollar amounts, it’s a risk to say the least. If you are at all nervous about ruining your device, do not do it. I have yet to lose an iPhone or iPod to a jailbreak, but I know it is a possibility. Here’s my easy-to-follow recommendation: if you are comfortable with running beta software on your local machine (not of the Google Beta variety), you are most likely going to be comfortable, if not happy, with the jailbreak. If you are a person that does not know what version of the browser you are using, the jailbreak is not for you. While it is simple to use, the potential problems you may face could be well over your head.

*iPhone SDK: a software development kit (SDK or “devkit“) is typically a set of development tools that allows a software engineer to create applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform (Wikipedia). In a nutshell, it allows developers to easily write native applications for a device. In our case, the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Just one month after GM emerged from bankruptcy, the automaker has made some big news. We speculated about what the company will announce during today’s presentation by CEO Fritz Henderson as well as what’s behind the 230 marketing campaign. Turns out we were half right – here’s the scoop!

• The biggest news to emerge from the announcement is that the catchy “230″ marketing campaign that has been in play for the past week is related to the Volt: the EPA has released a new set of practices for determining a fuel economy standard for cars like the Volt (extended-range EV). Under the new methodology, the Volt will achieve a combined fuel economy rating of 230 mpg! That makes the Volt the first vehicle ever to pull of a triple digit fuel economy rating. Electrically-speaking, the Volt will consumer 25 kW/hour per 100 miles.
• Henderson also announced the new GM FastLane blog, which the automaker will use to collect customer feedback on new designs. During the course of the next two years, GM will be launching 25 new models between its four remaining brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac).

As soon as the webcast is finished, the media will be shown previews of the rumored new Cadillac XTS and small ATS sedans. The ATS will slot under the current CTS and will be aimed squarely at the BMW 3-series, with rear-and all-wheel drive. The XTS is the replacement for the outgoing large Caddy DTS and will be built atop the same platform (Epsilon II) that underpins the awesome new Buick LaCrosse.

These are very exciting announcements in the automotive world! As such, they should at least tickle the fancy of some non-gear heads. Stay tuned for pictures of the new models!

Maybe you’ve seen some form of the 230 ads. If you haven’t, we’ve embedded it below. The ad – in its various forms – features a bouncing, smiling, and winking electrical outlet that ends up representing the number “zero” after numbers 2 and 3. All of these appear above the numbers “8-11.”  So what the heck is it all about?

General Motors (GM)

What could be the relationship between an electrical outlet and the number 230? In the U.S., heavy-duty electrical outlets that run heavy appliances such as air conditioners and washing machines produce 230 volts. Also, we have figured out that GM is behind the campaign. Meghan Winger, a staffer at Chicago agency All Terrain, is the creator of the What Is 230 Facebook group. She is also the one who posted a teaser about the campaign to the “What is 230?” YouTube channel. All Terrain describes itself, among other things, as a “social-media expert” on its website and lists Chevrolet at the top of its client roster. So what can GM possibly mean with the number 230, and what’s supposed to happen on August 11?

2011 Chevy Volt

After some thinking, I narrowed the meaning of the viral campaign to two possibilities:

1. Could the 230 campaign be related to the upcoming Chevrolet Volt – the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that the company has been developing? It will most likely plug into these types of heavy-duty outlets to achieve its charge. For anyone who’s not up to snuff on the latest car news, the Volt is a breakthrough product in that “unlike most current commercially available electric hybrids, the actual propulsion of the Volt is accomplished exclusively by the electric motor. The internal combustion engine is used as a range-extending electrical source, powering the on-board 53 kW generator (which sends power to the electric motor and charges the batteries simultaneously).” With fully charged batteries, the Volt will be able to achieve a range of 40 miles – enough for the daily commute of 75 percent of Americans. After the initial 40 miles, the car’s small 1.4 liter 4-cylinder internal combustion engine kicks in, extending the Volt’s potential range to 640 miles on a single tank of gas. On top of all that, the Volt simply looks cool  – unlike other environmentally-conscious vehicles (read: Prius).
   Since the Volt is scheduled to be available for purchase in the end of 2010, it appears too early to launch a promotional campaign for the vehicle.
2. Late last week, GM announced that Buick (a brand of GM) will release a five-passenger hybrid CUV that will be followed by a plug-in version in 2011. The General expects the soft-roader “to be the first commercially available plug-in hybrid SUV produced by a major automaker.” And it looks like the manufacturer is going full-out on this one: the gas-electric Buick will use LG Chem lithium-ion batteries powering a reworked version of GM’s 2-Mode hybrid drive train. The battery can be recharged in four to five hours. Interestingly enough, the supposed market leader in hybrids – Toyota – doesn’t have a hybrid vehicle in the same class, let alone a plug-in… period. Perhaps this is a sign of the new GM, post-bankruptcy, coming out in full force.
   The Buick brand has also been repositioned in the GM product portfolio: it will now compete in the pure luxury segment with the likes of Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo; GM’s other luxury division, Cadillac, will take on the performance luxury segment of BMW, Audi, and Infiniti.  Perhaps the 230 will be an ad campaign to launch this new Buick vehicle?

So which of these two possibilities is the right one? The Volt is too far out for an ad campaign. That makes the Buick plug-in hybrid CUV more likely… until we realize that the vehicle itself hasn’t even been unveiled! Behold another twist in the road! On Monday, it was revealed that GM hosted an event that involved the GM’s CEO, some members of its PR team, around 100 members of the public, and a few social media junkies. Some of the tech-savvy attendees have revealed a few exciting details about GM’s new product plans. Here’s straight from the Twittersphere (via Autoblog):

• GM unveiled a new Cadillac concept dubbed the ATS, a compact BMW 3 Series fighter that will be available in both coupe and sedan forms.
• The Cadillac DTS’ replacement – currently named the XTS – will be built atop the Buick LaCrosse’s underpinnings and will be available with all-wheel drive.
• The CTS Coupe is due to arrive this May, and there’s still talk of a V version (duh). Apparently GM has a working CTS-V SportWagon on premises and it could arrive as early as next year.
• New Chevrolet Malibu unveiled, but it supposedly won’t reach production until 2012.
• All-new midsize Buick model coming within the next 24 months.

Most of these news mean something only to a gear head. What is significant, however, is that details are leaking and GM appears to be firing away on all cylinders. And here’s the final straw: Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM EST, General Motor’s President and CEO – Fritz Henderson – will be hosting a webcast to update the public and the media on the automaker’s turnaround efforts. During the event, Henderson is expected to make a new product announcement.

Now that’s real, juicy details! So perhaps this “new product announcement” will be related to the Buick CUV or any of the leaked details from Monday’s press conference? Time will only tell – and there are only a few hours remaining before the webcast kicks off. You can be sure TNR will be watching with eagle eyes and reporting on the developments (be sure to follow our Twitter feed for up-to-date news).

For now, we can commend GM and/or All Terrain for putting out the 230 campaign that made us wonder what the heck it’s all about. Even though the campaign might not have become the next true pop-culture phenomenon, great job on the social media marketing front!

Here is the full press release about the Buick CUV:

[Source: General Motors]

Facebook has announced its acquisition of real-time social network site FriendFeed. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

This is unmistakably a move to become more “real-time” and more competitive with Twitter. FriendFeed never caught on with the mainstream public like Facebook has, instead being used by passionate tech fans the world over. The social network was the first to deploy true real-time updates – which didn’t require a page refresh to update information. It did so all while maintaining a very clean interface. Sites like Facebook regularly “adopted” (read: aped) these features.

As part of the deal, FriendFeed will continue to operate on its own and all FriendFeed employees will join the Facebook team. Most importantly, Facebook will be able to call on FriendFeed cofounders — ex-Google executives – Bret Taylor and Paul Buchheit. As Facebook realized the true power of real-time networks (real-time search), it tried to acquire Twitter. That deal fell through.

I expect FriendFeed to operate independently for the next six months to a year, at which point the stand-alone service will be discontinued and FriendFeed’s features be rolled into those of Facebook. To become more relevant in the land of real-time, however, Facebook will need to do much more on the side of mobility, giving users a bigger incentive to plug information into the social network on their cell phones. Currently, Twitter dominates that space, with an abundance of mobile apps for multiple mobile platforms.

Full press release:

Facebook Agrees to Acquire Sharing Service FriendFeed

PALO ALTO, CALIF.—August 10, 2009—Facebook today announced that it has agreed to acquire FriendFeed, the innovative service for sharing online.  As part of the agreement, all FriendFeed employees will join Facebook and FriendFeed’s four founders will hold senior roles on Facebook’s engineering and product teams.

“Facebook and FriendFeed share a common vision of giving people tools to share and connect with their friends,” said Bret Taylor, a FriendFeed co-founder and, previously, the group product manager who launched Google Maps. “We can’t wait to join the team and bring many of the innovations we’ve developed at FriendFeed to Facebook’s 250 million users around the world.”

“As we spent time with Mark and his leadership team, we were impressed by the open, creative culture they’ve built and their desire to have us contribute to it,” said Paul Buchheit, another FriendFeed co-founder. Buchheit, the Google engineer behind Gmail and the originator of Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto, added, “It was immediately obvious to us how passionate Facebook’s engineers are about creating simple, ground-breaking ways for people to share, and we are extremely excited to join such a like-minded group.”

Taylor and Buchheit founded FriendFeed along with Jim Norris and Sanjeev Singh in October 2007 after all four played key roles at Google for products like Gmail and Google Maps. At FriendFeed, they’ve brought together a world-class team of engineers and designers.

“Since I first tried FriendFeed, I’ve admired their team for creating such a simple and elegant service for people to share information,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO.  “As this shows, our culture continues to make Facebook a place where the best engineers come to build things quickly that lots of people will use.”

FriendFeed is based in Mountain View, Calif. and has 12 employees.  FriendFeed.com will continue to operate normally for the time being as the teams determine the longer term plans for the product.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.

Back in 2008, Microsoft announced Office Web Applications – the web-based version of its ever-popular productivity suite – Microsoft Office. We’ve come across more details recently, with the beta release of Office 2010: the online suite will be made up of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, will be capable of synchronizing with the desktop, will be platform and browser-independent, but will contain less features than the desktop versions of those programs. That should not be an issue, however, since most Office users use very few features in Office.

The suite will be available to everyone for free via Windows Live and to corporate users through different distribution channels. Since the announcement, such questions as “How would this affect Google Docs/Apps and the Zoho office suite?” have been widely discussed topics. Let’s take a pragmatic look at what we should really expect from Office Web Applications.

Office Web Applications vs. Google Docs/Apps

Microsoft Office is the 800 pound gorilla in the room, with a market share somewhere between 80-90 percent in the productivity software space. Google has been hard at work chipping away at those numbers, although we don’t have exact market share figures.

From a product perspective, not many people know about Google Docs. Before you write your emails, I understand that tech fans the world over would disagree. The reality is, however, that the mainstream consumer has no idea Google is a whole lot more than a search engine. Whenever I do consulting work and introduce organizations to Google Apps, they are amazed that Google has such awesome services with its Apps/Docs. And here is where Microsoft has the upper hand: from a brand name recognition standpoint alone, consumers are much more familiar with Microsoft Office than they are with Google Docs. This can be attributed to a generational factor in perception: Office has simply been around longer and Microsoft has had more time than Google to let people know about it, as well as for the people to get to know (and use) Office. Google understands this and has recently begun aggressively advertising Google Apps – all in an attempt to convert a few more users to the product before the other leg of the 800 pound gorilla makes its landing (the general availability of Office Web Apps, of course).

In that regard, the Office brand name will carry over to Office Web Applications in being an instantly-recognizable player in the productivity software space, leading consumers to try it out at a rate that – in my opinion – will be higher than the adoption rate of Google Docs. This is a perfect example of leveraging the immense power of an already-existing product (Office on the desktop) and carrying it over to the web – a move that should be commended. At a time when everything seems to be moving to the web, Microsoft’s software plus services approach looks like a surefire method to fuse the social collaboration features of web apps with the full-featured functionality of desktop programs.

Unfortunately for Google Docs and Zoho, brand name familiarity will drive many current Microsoft Office users to try Microsoft’s Office web suite. Something tells me that if one percent of the enourmous Microsoft Office user base would sign up for Office Web Applications, that number would trump the amount of users Google Docs and Zoho have, combined. And that’s not taking into account that Office Web Apps will be available to anyone using a Hotmail/Live email account (which trumps the amount of Gmail accounts).

Interface

Office 2007  as well as Office 2010 users will feel right at home using Office Web Applications, since the web-based version of Office will employ the Ribbon UI that has come to define the desktop software package. After using Office 2007 and a beta version of Office 2010 on the desktop, the Ribbon is a far-superior interface element than traditional menu-based layouts. This is yet another reason for users to turn to Microsoft’s web-based solution instead of those by Google or Zoho.

Cost

Microsoft has announced that it will initially provide the web-based suite free of charge to all users via Windows Live (rather than Office Live, which is being discontinued and rolled into Windows Live). That falls in line with what the competition is doing: Google Docs and personal versions of Zoho apps are also free. For organizations that require more than 50 users, Google charges a per-user fee for Apps; Zoho charges for corporate use as well.

Companies will have the ability to use Office Web Applications in two ways:

1. Host the Office Web Apps on-site
2. Access a hosted version as part of their Microsoft Online Services (MOS) subscription

That’s a solid strategy for Microsoft that makes a clear split between home/non-corp users and corporations, similar to Google Docs and Google Apps. Will organizations pick the lower-priced Google Apps over the more expensive Microsoft hosted solution? Common sense says “yes.” But it still remains to be seen.

Concluding Thoughts

There is no question that Office Web Applications will prove to be a strong competitor to Google Docs, Google Apps, and Zoho apps. As such, Office Web Apps will compete for two markets – the home (non-corporate) user as well as the business (small, medium, enterprise). With a very well-known brand name that has come to define the world of productivity software, Microsoft is sure to lure many new users to its web-based version of the suite. And if Zoho and Google apply each apply their marketing prowess, they can ride off the coattails of Microsoft moving Office to the web.

One important question remains: what’s the long-term strategy of Office on the web? Will Microsoft eventually charge all users to use the product, introduce a “fremium” model, or use the web version to entice consumers to purchase the desktop version of the software? In the long term, this blogger thinks that it’s more likely to be the former rather than the latter.