Why FacePhone and FaceDroid will fail

The latest rumours to surface is Facebook releasing its own smartphone..  
According to various different reports Facebook will introduce its own version of Android running on a phone with a ton of Facebook features. HTC is on board with Facebook and most likely offer "FaceDroid" on its phones. Facebook is reportidly looking for other manufacturers to join. As for further technical specifications not much is known.


Is this the latest sign of innovation?  
Nope, all Android and iOS phones come with Facebook baked into it. Whether it is chat, call, photo, poke or "Like It" it is available. 

The last time Facebook tried to enter the Smartphone market (with HTC ChaCha) it was not an experience to remember. The smartphone developed and manufactured by HTC flopped badly.

The Facebook name or brand alone simply is not going to drive people to buy a device based on its brand (Unlike Apple), especially Facebooks' trackrecord with its users privacy is doing the company not any favors. 

I just don't see the "FacePhone" on "FaceDroid" being any different from any other current smartphone. Only if Facebook is able to offer something completely new and innovative their FacePhone has a chance to succeed, so a powerfull camera is not going to cut it. 

Let me know what you think

StormFly: One to Watch or Not

In  a nutshell: StormFly is a super-fast storage device with an Open Source Operating System (bootable in most modern PC's and Macs and powered by our smart-boot technology) embedded in a cool wristband. Inserted into any computer and rebooted, the computer runs directly from the Operating System that is on StormFly, allowing you to take your Operating System and critical data with you wherever you go and use it in whatever PC or Mac is available.
The company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign hoping to raise $100,000 in crowd-funding to go from prototype to ship-worthy bracelet, and that goal was achieved.

You can watch the demonstration of the prototype here

What makes StormFly different from a USB stuck on a wristband? 

1. It is an encrypted storage device (USB 3.0) and operating system in one (PC/MAC)

2. It backs up automatically losing it would not be the end of the world

Even with the above stated it is not so much an innovative product, it will provide a unique feature to the mainstream public with it's encrypted, autobackup feature and it correctly targets the mainstream public.  

One other possible challenge it realized it has is the fact that StormFly is operating on a Linux Operating System. LOS will "take over" any MAC or PC hardware during the bootprocess. Technically whatever software a machine is running on. StormFly's challenge lays in the hardware, can it communicate with a wide range of different hardware (LAN, Graphic, Wifi, etc).

 Stormfly sets itself a target of usability of 90% of PC's and MAC's sold over the last three years and it recognizes the challenge to keep up with rapidly changing Software and Hardware developments

My opinion:

Stormfly is targeting a market of PC's and MAC's which is shrinking. Tablets sales are about to pass PC's and MAC's. Does StormFly expect to expand into those markets? If not, it could be a great add-on to Tablets and Smartphones, but unlike these devices Stormfly does not come with a screen..

All-in-All however much I like the buzz surrounding StormFly I am not sure it will be around for long. Given the rapid changing technology environment I have trouble seeing them in the future. 

Still great to see Kickstarter.com work its magic!