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My Nokia e71 has been through alot, it is without a doubt one of the best phones I’ve ever had, surviving an underwater adventure in Mexico which knocked it out for three weeks but coming back and working like a champ.    It’s been almost two years since I got it however, and since submerging it in the swimming pool at Puerto Vallarta I have been looking at options for upgrading.    For a time, I was ready to jump ship from TMobile to Verizon and get a Droid or a Droid X, and even considered an iPhone on ATT’s shady network  (shudder).   When I found out about the TMobile G2, momentum swung back to TMobile, and remained that way as news broke of the Nexus S.   Yesterday, while reading about the buzz created by dual-core devices at the recent 2011 CES, I discovered the LG Optimus 2X, and was sold almost instantly.   The decision has been made – although I will have to wait 4-8 weeks, I am officially holding out for this one.

First, I’ll break down what I perceive as the weaknesses/dealbreakers for the (now former) contenders:

iPhone 4 on ATT – well that’s easy.   After briefly owning an iPhone 3g in 2008 (which turned out to be a lemon), and having what was undoubtedly the worst customer service experience of a lifetime, there is no way I will ever patronize ATT again.

iPhone 4 on Verizon – two reasons:  a)  CMDA vs GSM is a no-brainer, and b)  long term  contract + outrageous monthly fees

Droid / Droid X / Droid Pro on Verizon – long term  contract + outrageous monthly fees

HTC Evo on Sprint – long term  contract + this phone just seems too big

TMobile G2 on TMobile – I was really tempted to get this one and would have paid full price to have an unlocked, contract free set, but ultimately decided against it due to the lackluster processor (Qualcomm MSM 7230 at 800MHz)

Google Nexus One – when I found out about the lame processor in the G2, I seriously considered getting a new Nexus One by becoming a certified Android Developer ($25), however I just couldn’t bring myself to get this as it is now one year old technology.

Google Nexus S – Really nice phone, however it is lacking some key features – HDMI, removable SD card, and by the time it hit the market I had my eye on dual core processor phones, which brings me to the winner:

LG Optimus 2x – this thing is just a beast: dual-core Tegra 2 1Ghz processor, full 1080p TV-out via HDMI and video capture through an 8 megapixel primary camera plus a 1.3 megapixel cam for face-to-face calling, 4-inch WVGA display, 8GB of on-board storage (expandable with up to 32GB of microSD) and a 1,500mAh battery.  Battery capacity is a potential issue given all the aforementioned shizzle this phone is running, but that’s a risk I am willing to take.

I’m sold.  Only question is should I hold out for the rumored launch on TMobile in February, or pre-order now from CellHut.com, unlocked for $519?

Google now includes site speed as a ranking factor in its algorithm, as reported on Friday by Searchengineland.    Successful Interactive Marketers is determined to a major extent on striking the right balance among creative, strategic and technical considerations.   Achieving optimal site performance and page load time depends on these factors as well.   While this has always been a factor, it just got a little more important.

It is not uncommon for key stakeholders to be unaware of the impact that site performance has on their online presence, particularly for online marketing efforts for which global performance is key to success.   Last month I wrote about the Alertsite performance monitoring system, and how one company has used it to improve user experience and in turn generate a greater number of leads from Asia and Europe.   With Friday’s announcement of the inclusion of site speed in the Google ranking algorithm, the stakes have been raised.   If you haven’t considered utilization of Akamai or one of its competitors in the site acceleration / content distribution space, perhaps now is a good time to revisit.   To validate what you are seeing from the Google Labs site performance toolset, try a free 30-day trial of the Alertsite service to gain knowledge and insight as to how your site measures up.

My recent post about the Kendall Square Starbucks Clover Coffee Machine generated alot of interest, particularly from outside the Boston area.  (Currently Clovers are only operating at Starbucks locations in Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco).  Well today I got word from the manager at the Kendall Square Starbucks that baristas from New York City and Chicago have been at her store the past few days training on the Clover in preparation for the rollout of Clover in those cities sometime in April.

http://starbucks.com/clover

I’ve been using uptime and performance monitoring services for 11 years, starting in 1999 with RedAlert (now Keynote RedAlert) and recently completed implementation of Alertsite’s Deja Click product.   Not only does Alertsite tell you whether or not your site is up, it also provides insight as to how long it takes to respond to requests from users around the world.   For online marketing to global audiences, this is a crucial set of metrics.   Take for example a business selling services not just in North America, but to global markets including Asia-Pacific and Europe.   A site hosted at corporate HQ in New York City may respond well for users in the United States, but what about response time across the globe?

To make a business case to my colleagues that we needed to make investments in and upgrades to not just our own hardware, but that we also need to consider contracting with a Content Delivery service such as Akamai, I needed hard numbers to provide justification for the expense.    Soon after implementing Alertsite’s global monitoring solution it was clear that the site in question had serious response time deficiencies for audiences in Asia and Europe, and we are now weighing our options for either a DYI CDN or contracting with a service.

In addition to response time/uptime, Alertsite has a feature called Deja Click which simulates a real-life user experience by hitting a monitored site through Firefox, examining each element of a page – images, scripts, forms, etc.   The bottom line?  For short money, interactive marketers can achieve a very high return on investment by gaining knowledge and insight as to a site’s performance across a broad, global spectrum of user experiences.  It’s well worth it.

http://www.alertsite.com

I spent five days in Austin at SXSW Interactive and plan on returning next year.  From both personal and professional perspectives, this is an event worth attending.  I was able to reconnect with many old friends and make many new ones, while also establishing many professional connections.   Highlights for me were the panel discussion on Google’s options in China, in which Beijing author Kaiser Kuo spoke of Beijing’s aggressive censorship of online information, coined “the great firewall of China”  Kristina Halvorson’s presentation on Content Strategy, and Mashable’s “Mashbash”.

Special shout outs to @rmmdc, @brianreich, and @fififoum it was great to catch up/meet!

My friends at Metalink launched Loudtalks Cloud today.   If you haven’t tried Loudtalks yet, you should.  What is Loudtalks?   A groundbreaking online push-to-talk service.   Think of it as a combination of a Nextel phone, Skype, and Google Talk.   Loudtalks allows users to communicate with each other by voice, in sound bites which can be stored and replied to on demand, just like a standard IM client, only with sound.  Loudtalks is an open network, where anyone can speak to anyone. Loudtalks Cloud is a closed network for your group or organization only.

Read more at the Loudtalks Blog

An overabundance of online impressions on major content venues alongside the effects of a recession-induced advertising slowdown have resulted in a precipitous drop in CPM rates.   While some in the industry have been adversely affected, others see opportunity in a reshaped price structure and online advertising landscape.  Read the full story from Advertsing Age.

CMS powerhouse Interwoven has been acquired by Autonomy for $775 million USD.  According to Autonomy’s web site, “…The combination of the two companies will redefine how global 2000 corporations, leading law firms and government regulators will discover, analyze and manage information and interactions…”

Read the full story from Information Week.

The tenuous relationship between YouTube and “big media” took an interesting turn yesterday with the exclusive announcement on TechCrunch that YouTube will soon allow major content partners to serve their own ads within YouTube.   Up until now, this capability has been available to only a handful of content providers such as CBS.  Read the full story at TechCrunch.

Not long ago I switched from XP Pro to Windows Home Premium, not so much by choice but because it came pre-installed on my new laptop.   On the first day I used it, the planning for a switch to Vista “Ultimate” (whatever that means   ) got underway..and having accomplished that over the Christmas/New Years lull I am now planning on trying out Windows 7, which is now in available in beta.

Given the fact that Microsoft layed off 5,000 this morning, they could definitely use some positive buzz, maybe Windows 7 will help them put the shine back on to some degree.  Developing….

Windows 7 Beta is available here.