Google Wave had developed a fairly loyal following in its short life, but there never seemed to be universal understanding of just what it was meant to do. When asked, many thought it was to be a chat platform, others a document sharing application. It didn’t help that Buzz came about and offered some overlapping capabilities.And it seems even Google wasn’t sure how to promote it.

Today  Urs Hölzle, Google senior vice president for operations, posted the announcement in the official Google Blog that they were throwing in the towel on Wave and would not be developing it any further as a stand alone application. Since parts of Wave were popular, I wouldn’t be surprised to find Google incorporating what they learned into other Google products.

Many people have already found that the Windows 7 experience is tremendously improved when compared to Vista.  Now, as Microsoft launches the beta for Windows 7 service pack 1, what do we see that could be improved or fixed?  For now, I haven’t found any release notes despite the fact that I joined the beta testing 2 days ago.  According to Softpedia, there are no new features for Windows 7 and only fixes.  So, far after the service pack, my normal everyday activities remain normal…with the exception that my Windows now bears evaluation marks….

Evaluation?!  Well, one thing for sure is that my copy is not an evaluation copy.  But apparently if you apply the beta SP1, you end up with a an evaluation which makes me wonder – will my legally licensed version of Windows now expire?  Oh boy.  I wish I backed up ahead of time before running this.  If any of you are daring enough to want to join the beta, go sign up but be warned, betas are not for the faint of heart or for the general consumer public.

Today, Blackberry and AT&T announced the new BB Torch.  You can check out the specs here.  The biggest part of this announcement has to do with the release of Blackberry OS 6.  The new OS really focuses on enhancing the social aspect of smartphones.  It talks about improved internet experience, integrated messaging, and a social experience to merge twitter, facebook, and myspace into one view.  Now this is a pretty different shift in focus from Blackberry’s all business approach.  When I think of ‘Crackberries’, it is all about e-mail, e-mail, e-mail.  Our sales and customer support departments have their eyes glued to them at all times.  This is obvious a push by BB to compete with the iPhone and Android.

Personally, I feel like BB is a bit behind, and I don’t know if this change will really cause a big uptick in sales for them.  Of all the users I know on the business side, I would say about 75% of them could care less about social networks and barely use facebook and twitter.  Plus, I doubt any iPhone or Android users are going to want to switch unless there is some revolutionary aspect to this OS.

So, what do you think?  Is Blackberry on the right track to catch the iPhone and Android?  Will this backfire, and find that they have ignored their key users?

The iPad has taken the world by storm.  The price tag still is a bit high.  What alternatives are there?  The HP Slate fizzled before launch.  What’s left?  There are quite a few options, according to Network World.  From Windows 7, Linux, and Adroid flavors, one of these is bound to get your attention.  Starting with the JooJoo by Fusion Garage which is available to now to MSI’s WindPad 100 / 110, there are a total of 9 iPad alternatives heading your way.  Want to find out more such as screen size and communication options?  Go check out Network World’s slideshow and prepare to be dazzled by the upcoming new devices!

Apparently, Sprint has changed its strategy regarding firmware updates for its line of Android-based phones.  In the past, Sprint has typically been among the last to get around to the Android firmware updates, often waiting until its message board reaches the breaking point, before dangling the merest hint of an upgrade.  From that point, it is usually another couple of months before that highly sought update hits your actual device.  Which is why I was so shocked to learn today that Sprint was officially releasing Google’s newest Android release, Froyo (Android OS 2.2), for the HTC EVO 4G, Sprint’s new flagship phone.  With this release, Sprint has become the first carrier to offer a mass market Froyo device, earning it slings and arrows from the jealous eyes of HTC Hero owners, who only recently received an update to Android 2.1.   In addition to Android 2.2, the new update also includes numerous enhancements to HTC Sense, as well as the highly anticipated support for  Flash 10.1 support.  Here is the complete list of improvements from the new maintenance release:

The software upgrade available for your HTC EVO 4G provides several key enhancements: 

• Android 2.2 FroYo OS, including:
  • Ability to install applications to external storage
  • Improved Bluetooth device support
  • Bluetooth Voice Dialing
  • Flash Player 10.1
  • Improved OS performance
• New version of HTC Sense, including:
  • Ability to view and add comments to Facebook images in the Gallery
  • New Dialer which includes the caller’s Facebook updates and upcoming events
  • Improved Facebook calendar integration
  • More pre-loaded HTC Widgets
  • App Sharing
  • Flashlight application
  • Improved keyboard and text entry options
  • LED flash can be enabled while video recording
• Various minor bug fixes

HTC EVO owners can download the maintenance release immediately from HTC’s website.