A lot of people have made the assertion that MeeGo could thrive without Nokia’s presence in the collaboration. And, there’s some potential for traction there as Android lawsuits and patent claims mount. However, as they mount, Google has shown their willingness to acquire as many patents as possible to thwart those lawsuits.

In short, those that think that Samsung and LG will dump Android for MeeGo due to patents and licensing… well, are wrong. It isn’t going to happen, probably even if MeeGo bundles a Dalvik runtime, enabling full Android app compatibility.

So, is MeeGo dead? In its current form, yes, I think it is. But, then there is Canonical. Canonical’s efforts in mobile have had far worse failures than MeeGo, however they are the undisputed champion of desktop Linux today.

And therein, we see a solution. Make MeeGo part of the Ubuntu family, and make everyone happy.

I realize there is a lot of motivation around the Qt community to keep MeeGo as-is. However, these Qt attractions lack one focus; a product to sell to consumers. Qt alone does not sell products. And while Canonical’s market share in desktops is fractional, they get Linux, and they know how to foster a product that rivals Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

I think the future of MeeGo rests on a deal being cut, and sadly, I’d say the odds of it happening are only 50/50. Today, there is not one successful real-time OS that lacks restrictions. iOS is real-time, but trapped in a walled garden. Android and Windows Phone 7 are not real-time, and webOS has suffered from being jailed in HP’s devices… where it has rotted.

MeeGo as a platform, I believe can work, however, I believe just as strongly that it will require the embrace of the entire Linux community to catapult it to success in a mainstream consumer audience. Let’s work together to have one true Linux platform become a success across mobile, desktop, and embedded. The Ubuntu umbrella can be one that encourages all other forms of Linux to thrive, even if Ubunutu isn’t how you roll.

And, as you may have noted, PhoneNews.com will be suspending the display of advertisements from Google AdSense.

We took a careful look at CTIA this year, and it wasn’t an easy decision to not send anyone. However, short of a few 3D Android phones, the news will be pretty mild this year. It may be the least newsworthy CTIA in terms of proportions since we started covering CTIA expos.

Based on those factors, we decided it wasn’t the best idea to attend CTIA over on PhoneNews.com. So, I won’t be there and nobody else from the team will be either. You can bet safely that coverage will continue of anything that develops of note at the show.

My point to this post is that, like elections, Google changes have consequences to small publishers and large alike. PhoneNews.com is intentionally sitting this one out to shift our resources to overcoming inequalities in the new PageRank system, and to better realign towards direct advertising.

There are a lot of angles to the debate of the last Google shuffle, but I’m avoiding that fray in this post. Clearly, those who ignore those changes and continue with business as usual, are the businesses that are most likely to fail.

In the end, taking a step back this year will help us be better than our competition, despite unfair bonus points that some search engines may be giving them. And, it will allow us to continue doing what we do best; give people into phone news, the best phone news possible.

Fast forward to last week. SmartView 2.28 was released, and I fired it up in hopes that the demo units finally worked.

The result? They do. Download it and finally enjoy your 4G freebie.

Here’s the long and the short of it. Take an SD card, format it on your (Snow Leopard) Mac for MS-DOS (FAT32). Now, insert it into a Windows Mobile device.

As I’ve found, Windows Mobile won’t read the card. I’m trying to figure out if it’s a Mac OS X bug or a Windows Mobile bug. Discuss.

The reason is that Vista SP2 and Windows 7 are not compatible with the older Sprint SmartView included on the demo CD. That version of SmartView is custom-coded to these Sprint 4G Franklin U300 cards. And, to add to that, these U300 cards carry a different firmware (likely so they can all be deactivated at once when the trial period is over at year’s end).

I have been told that they are working on a solution, but it is difficult since these cards are “in the wild now.” Sprint did tell me that it is also difficult to solve because they have to coordinate with Clearwire and Franklin on a fix.

The best advice I have been given is to call the WSTS team in a few weeks, using the phone number included in your Sprint 4G demo kit. I would suggest calling now as well as in a few weeks, if you are in that situation. The more people that report to Sprint that their apps require Vista SP2/7 (or have already upgraded all their systems… like me…) the more likely they’ll implement a fix.

And, of course, if you can, hold off on updating to Vista SP2 and/or Windows 7 until this gets solved. Updating SmartView to 2.27 from sprint.com will not fix the issue, as the public version of Sprint SmartView will not communicate with your demo card.

Presumably, after the trial period ends, this will be solved anyways as the cards will no longer be on a demo period. I expect Sprint will issue an updated SmartView that flashes the firmware on these cards to the same firmware as a standard-issue U300.

In case you didn’t hear, Sprint was handling out Sprint 4G cards (with free service until the end of the year) like candy at the Open Developers Conference… much better than Halloween treats.

Not bad considering that Woot sells 4.3-inch GPS units for just $15 more, including shipping. And yes, today’s Woot offering is exactly that… made by TomTom.

I’ll be getting back to work tomorrow. Vacation is almost over…

Keeping my car working is important right now, I’ll be driving around considerably over the next few months. So, I’ve been proactive in getting it a tune-up when it started to need one, and not waiting for something catastrophic.

Well, that hour long job has turned into a five hour debacle (edit: and counting). Pepboys may be hundreds less, but the five hour duration has cost me hundreds in time. And, when they forgot to do the courtsey brake inspection… which I made them then do… they found problems.

As I noted on Twitter, you should still shop around for repairs. Midas quoted me a whopping $400 for a tune-up. Pepboys did it for $167 out the door. All it took was two phone calls… and Midas tried to compete by dropping their price $150. These companies know enough consumers don’t shop around.

So, back to Midas later today for under-warranty brake repairs… and then the dash panel lighting blew, so it needs to go to the dealer for a dimmer switch replacement later this week.

Sorry folks, but I have coined a new acronym (which totally beats TMI). DTFBOC: Due To Factors Beyond Our Control.

Now, I will point out that this guide takes into account some assumptions. It assumes Bob Lutz’s most recent Volt pricing projections are correct. Second, it assumes legislation that has not yet passed Congress, will indeed pass.

Essentially, we’re going to combine multiple government welfare (oh snap, I said welfare) programs, to bring the Volt down from its $39,999.99 price tag (they’d tack on a 9/10th of a cent if they could).

First, we’re going to take the government’s $7,500 tax credit for the Volt into account. GM doesn’t yet know how this is going to work with financing. It’s possible that they’ll write up two loans, one of which being a $7,500 loan at 0% interest… which would be due upon receiving your tax refund check. That would keep the loan for the car, separate from the loan for the tax credit.

The price is now $32,750. How do we get to $28,000? Cash for clunkers.

Cash for Clunkers (you may have heard of it in the past) is a government welfare program, aimed at getting clunkers off the road, to cut pollution. It uses about $4 billion of that $787 billion TARP bailout (which again, was for banks… to save the economy… from evil, dirty, inequitable capitalism…). Basically, it requires that you have a car which gets an EPA city/highway combined estimate of under 18 miles per gallon.

Plus, the new car has to be under $45,000. That’s fine for the entry-level Volt buyer, but options can easily push the price tag up a few thousand. Be careful, I doubt dealers will negotiate on a car that, if there was a sales line for early-adopters, would resemble an iPhone launch.

Oh, and the clunker has to be registered for over a year. That means if you have a car collecting dust, now is the time to pay a few hundred bucks and get it registered. I can’t promise the law won’t change in Congress before it’s passed, but as it stands now, all the car has to be is registered for 365 days.

So, when it comes time to buy the Volt… well, there’s a problem there too. See, Cash for Clunkers only lasts for a year, from when it is signed into law. Let’s say it gets signed into law in two months (it could get passed sooner, or later). That’s mid-August. How many Volts are going to be in-stores in mid-August 2010? Zero. No, GM doesn’t expect to have them shipped to customers until late Q4. And those will sell out almost instantly. Most people who want Volts, will have to wait until 2011 for their orders to be filled.

That’s the one unknown about Cash for Clunkers. If we “buy” a car, which hasn’t been built yet, does the program apply? Or, do we have to actually take ownership of the car within the program’s period… in order to get the discount? I think this will depend on how much GM pushes for it. Remember, the car makers support this program because they claim it will help sell new cars. But if the world’s first mass-production electric car can’t benefit from the program, then this is just going to push people into cars on the lots right now.

In fact, GM had better be careful with Cash for Clunkers. Let’s say the bill gets tweaked, and the Volt is somehow exempted. If I can get $4,500 now for my clunker, I might as well go get a Kia (from the car company for hamsters), and get the Volt after that car dies. Why waste a $4,500 bailout credit welfare check, especially when the Volt will only go down in cost later on?

Obviously, Sprint wants to keep Relay under the radar of most customers, so you won’t see it as an online activation option. You apparently need to know the plan code, and have your plan already on Relay (just like how non-SERO customers couldn’t switch to SERO). And, once you’re on that tier, only then can the (hidden) plan code be applied.

Bottom line, Relay Data-Only may or may not be an under-the-table offering, or Sprint could be intending it only to be for the hard of hearing. I don’t know, either way, they’re quite happy it’s me being the crash test dummy… than someone else (like, a normal customer).

I’m sure you’re wondering, on the Pre Data-only configuration, if Sprint traded Sprint TV and Sprint Navigation for the Phone As Modem offering (5 GB PAM is normally included on the Relay Data-only plan). I don’t know yet, but I suspect the answer is yes from the preliminary info I’ve been given. As soon as I do, I’ll pass the info along.

Update: Sprint just informed me that the Relay Data-only plan codes for the Pre are not in their system yet. They’re coming though, they told me “(not to expect) any extended delays.” But, since it’s 4 PM on Friday (Overland Park Standard Time), I don’t think it’s going to be up and running until next week.

Update 2: The Sprint Relay Store web site has moved the Palm Pre to a pre-order page. Hopefully I’ll know more next week, as to if people who already got the device will have to wait even longer for the plan to be available.

But, I still have a Touch Pro on Verizon (my main voice phone), and an iPod touch (sipping Wi-Fi from said Verizon phone).

So, now I have to somehow fit a Palm Pre on me. Aw, shucks, poor me (yeah, I know you’re saying that right now). But, I do have all of this technology for under $100/month (which makes the Simply Everything plan sound really “valuable” right now, doesn’t it). Thankfully, it’s a small device, it can actually sit on top of (or, rather, behind) an iPod touch and not stand out above a typical HTC phone.