Is there still hope for BlackBerry? Can Lenovo make a dent in the tablet market? We don’t know the answers to these questions, but are willing to speculate wildly. This week Andy Hadfield, Simon Dingle and Steven Ambrose discuss the Lenovo K1 tablet, Samsung pulling the Tab 7.7 from its stand at IFA, the Amazon tablet, app stores and operators, iOS 5, the launch of Telkom Business Mobile, Evernote acquiring Skitch, Google shutting down old projects, and more…

I have just finished a column for Fin24 on the performance of Microsoft since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and how its mobile strategy may elevate the stock for the first time in a decade. If you like numbers then look for the article on my columnist’s page. Here we’ll stick to why I think the mobile market needs Microsoft – but we need to look at some numbers.

The current status quo in mobile is represented by the pie chart attached to this post. It shows the market share of leading smartphone platforms in the second quarter  of 2010.

Nokia is still the market leader with its Symbian platform and ships more smartphones every day than any other manufacturer. Android is the fastest growing mobile platform and Research in Motion is losing ground with BlackBerry – although it is doing the right thing by opening up to developers. Apple is happily occupying 14% of the market and is making more revenue from that slice than Nokia does in its entirety.

Microsoft has a relatively tiny 5% of the market despite having one of the first “smartphone” platforms with Windows CE that presented itself as Pocket PC in 2000 and since rebranded to Windows Mobile and now Windows Phone.

Too many technology enthusiasts are dismissing Microsoft and writing off Windows Phone 7 before it is even available. I’m not suggesting that Microsoft is guaranteed success in the market, but I don’t believe you can write it off. And whether Windows Phone 7 makes it or breaks it, I believe it will introduce a healthy dynamic.

For one, it will offer a true convergence of Microsoft services, bringing together the Zune Marketplace for content, Xbox Live gaming division and Microsoft’s productivity offerings. This is a win if you use these services and holds promise for gaming. Xbox Live is launching in South Africa before the end of the year and I suspect Microsoft will unleash Zune in the local market soon too – especially if it wants to meet and beat Nokia that already has its Ovi services, including music store, up and running in SA.

Love or hate Microsoft most of the market uses its products and services and will welcome a mobile platform that integrates with these. We get caught in bubbles like universities or tech fraternities where Apple is ubiquitous, for example – but in the real world Microsoft still owns over 90% of the computer operating system market. It also has the second biggest gaming console brand and dominates productivity software.

The ecosystem play by Microsoft is going to force its competitors to think about how they integrate with customer’s existing environments. Not that they aren’t playing that game already – but they’re about to be schooled.

Nokia has maps and music. RIM has BlackBerry Enterprise Server and Messenger. Apple has the lion’s share of applications and content retailing. Microsoft has its Live services, including mapping, it has Exchange, Xbox, Zune with music and video – and the list goes on. We all know the market is currently about service integration and nobody has more to integrate than Microsoft.

The Redmond giant knows how to convert and retain developers and has more experience with third party supporters than any of the other mobile players. Windows Mobile was open to apps years before the app store was invented and allows for development in one of the most familiar environments in computing with its Microsoft Visual Basic CTP for WindowsPhone Developer Tools.

RIM recently opened up the BlackBerry platform to a rang of development environments, including a very competent take on web applications that plug into the BlackBerry API stack with WebWorks – it’s a great move and don’t doubt that it was, at least in part, prompted by the loom of Windows Phone.

The race is on like Donkey Kong when it comes to enticing developers. Apple has nothing to worry about in this department thanks to the ridonkulous revenues it has shown via iTunes. Microsoft has already cleared the biggest hurdle – getting them trained on the tools.

Mobile platforms are going to have to open up and innovate in the race for developers if they want to stay ahead of Microsoft and this is all good news for consumers.

Microsoft is going to get the competition on their toes and keep them there – hell, it’s already started doing this. It will take the fight for developers to a new level and will further educate the market in terms of smartphone usage models.

And it might fail. But I doubt it will. Even if it does – it will have an overwhelmingly positive effect before it fizzles out.

iPhone versus Windows Phone 7

Research in Motion (RIM) has released another video for the upcoming BlackBerry 6 operating system. The video clearly displays a touch interface, something which we saw for the first time in April 2010 when the company showed initial glimpses of the new platform at its annual Wireless Enterprise Symposium conference in Florida. I spoke to the company’s CTO David Yach about the interface and he confirmed that touch was a big part of it, but wouldn’t be cornered on what was planned from a hardware perspective. Rumours abound of an announcement of a new device to supersede the Storm platform forthcoming from RIM in the next couple of months. BlackBerry 6 will also be compatible with most of the brand’s current models.

This morning Mike Lazaridis, the CEO of Research in Motion showed us this video during his keynote at BlackBerry WES 2010. It’s a sneak-peek at BlackBerry 6, the new version of the operating system that is expected to be launched by July 2010 for all BlackBerry users.

The new OS is an impressive evolution from the current look and feel of the BlackBerry interface and includes BlackBerry’s new WebKit-based HTML5-supported browser and tight integration with social media via a system called Social Feed that brings together all of your social networks in one, integrated view. The use of pop-up menus is also intelligently incorporated to allow for quick access to functions in an intuitive way.

Search has also been built into the home screen, with the ability to search either the internet or your device.

If the video is anything to go by BlackBerry 6 is going to be a big deal, but I’ll reserve final judgement until I’ve actually used it.

Nokia says that their Messaging service is easy to set-up and use with push e-mail services that support up to ten personal e-mail accounts on one device.

Nokia Messaging supports all leading consumer e-mail solutions including Gmail, Windows Live, Hotmail and Yahoo! mail as well as local email services from MWEB, MTN Play and Webmail.

Says Sarah Crowe, head of marketing at Nokia South Africa, “The Nokia Messaging Service is the consumer pillar in Nokia’s overall messaging strategy … also includes Ovi Mail for free emerging e-mail services and Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Traveler for corporate e-mail mobilisation. This three-pronged approach positions Nokia well to provide quality messaging solutions to all of our consumers”.

Sounds good – but I don’t see how it plans to compete with other mobile platforms that offer much of the same for free, or as part of a service agreement, ala BlackBerry. There also isn’t much incentive to upgrade from the free beta to the paid-for service. And if you’re on another network, say Vodacom or Cell C, then you can continue to use the beta.

As for ease-of-use and partnering with local email providers – setting up email on a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android device is already a simply process of inserting your username and password. It doesn’t get simpler than that, surely?

As part of its agreement with MTN, Nokia will be offering the Messenger service as a bundle on the Nokia E63 combined with a 10MB data plan. The E63 is pretty sweet, although its S60 operating system is getting seriously long in the tooth. And 10MB? In 2010? Seriously?

The Nokia E63 Messaging bundle will be available at participating MTN stores from the end of April 2010 at an approximate retail price of R119 per month on MTN AnyTime 100.

Nokia has shown strong prospects in the smartphone market with the N900 and the move to make Ovi Maps an entirely free service. I also think the agreement with Intel to co-develope the MeeGo platform is a step in the right direction.

But the Nokia Messenger announcement is underwhelming.

For, like, R20 more than the MTN deal you could get the BlackBerry 8520 on contract, with unlimited connectivity (which is quite a bit more than 10MB), including messaging and simple set-up.

Even at the low-end of the market this service and, more so, the contract from MTN makes no sense. Unless I’m missing something?

The UK press are smoking something serious when they publish kak about machete gangs roaming the streets of South Africa. But an epic fight is about to break out all over the country – albeit a virtual representation thereof.

Legends of Echo is a new location-based mobile game developed by the guys at The Grid (a Vodacom subsidiary). It combines massively multiplayer online gaming with location-based services and runs exclusively on mobile phones.

The game is set in the world of Echo, which you could think of as another dimension. The online world has the same basic geography as South Africa and is loaded with real locations all around the country. Your character in the game travels around Echo either by teleporting to locations or as you travel around with your mobile phone.

You can then fight, exchange items or hang out with other characters, build your own virtual home in Echo, create and sell items, go on quests and other stuff.

Says the official launch release, “Echo is a parallel virtual universe based on the South African map. Instead of cities and skyscrapers, however, players will find rolling green fields, rocky outcrops and valleys to explore and establish their base.”

“The Echo is entirely populated by players of the game, as well as their bases. Real-world place names are still used to navigate, e.g. a player can teleport from Belville in Cape Town to Randburg in Johannesburg to battle another player.”

“The objective of the game is to become a legend of the Echo (i.e. gain enough Legend Points to appear on the high score sheet). To do this, players need to battle other players, obtain advanced weapons and other items by exploration or trade with other players.”

“The game is unique in that it mirrors real-life locations in a multiplayer environment. Interaction is always location-bound i.e. a player is battling a player in close physical proximity to him/herself.”

More details are available on the Legends of Echo website.

Legends of Echo can be played from any cellular network – although you’ll want to be in SA while playing since the game is at it’s best when you combine it with actual location. To play SMS ‘ECHO’ to 33313 (50c/SMS) or visit http://www.legendsofecho.mobi/ on your phone.

In terms of devices, Legends of Echo is currently available to S60 Symbian phones – so no BlackBerry, iPhone or Android. Yet. But it will run on most Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other Java-enabled devices.

Vincent Maher and Nic Haralambous are the clever f**kers behind Legends of Echo and I’ve invited them to (tech)5 on 5FM this Thursday to come and tell us more – so listen out for it just after 14:00.

Nokia Maps was an early play from the Finnish mobile giant that has put it ahead of the pack when it comes to affordable mapping and navigation on your phone.

The service has been mostly free for some time, offering maps of the world and their updates to Nokia users for gratis. Voice navigation and a few other bits and pieces were levied via subscription, however – but these are now free as part of the re-branded Ovi Maps product announced by Nokia this week.

Lonely Planet and Michelin guides, which are solid gold to travelers, are part of the deal.

It’s an unbeatable proposition, especially for someone who travels perpetually like I do. For one you get the navigation, which includes walking and driving, plus the guides and other features. But, and perhaps more importantly for international travelers, the Nokia map data is actually stored on your mobile, whereas Google Maps streams map data to your device which can be really expensive if you’re roaming.

The zero-rating of the entire service is going to be an expensive step for Nokia, but it won’t be the last drastic move we see from the company as it fights to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive smartphone market.

Nokia knows that battles in the war for mobile domination are fought and won on services; having solid devices is one thing, but it’s services that convert users. Ovi Lifecasting is another project Nokia will soon launch as part of a group of new services that are going to add weight to the company’s proposition.

Ovi Maps is available in the Ovi Store for a number of Nokia models, but isn’t available for all GPS-fitted Nokias yet. The N900, for example, is not yet supported.

The 9700 is Research in Motion (RIM)’s flagship device sporting a 624 megahertz processor, 256 megabytes of flash memory, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi, a 3.2 megapixel camera and the new mini trackpad for navigation. It’s less bulky than its predecessor and replaces the leather back of the 9000 with a textured pad that is flush with the rest of the casing.

“The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone builds on the success of the original model with new, top-of-the-line features in a smaller and lighter design,” said Deon Liebenberg, regional director for Sub-Sahara Africa at Research In Motion.

The 9700 also ships with BlackBerry OS 5.0 that offers several enhancements, including faster JavaScript and CSS processing as well as built-in integration with Gmail for contacts syncing, an enhanced calendaring application, and other improvements.

I’ve been playing with the 9700 for two days and have been impressed with the speed and responsiveness of the device. The keyboard is great, as was the 9000′s, with the angled-keys that made the Bold ridiculously popular with BlackBerry users.

It’s too early for a comprehensive review, but look out for Finweek Magazine next week where I’ll be running an extended review.