There have been a lot of so-called iPhone killers hitting the market since Apple launched its smartphone. None has lived up to its billing.

Now comes the Droid – and while it almost certainly will be just as ineffective at ‘killing’ the iPhone as the Pre and any other challenger, there’s a definite buzz building around this new device from Verizon and Motorola. More importantly, that buzz extends beyond the tiny world of cell phone geeks.

Running Android 2.0, an updated version of Google’s mobile operating system, the phone blends a physical keypad with a touchscreen and offers one of the most impressive screens yet for a cell phone. It also comes with a 5Mp camera and flash. And, the key selling point, it has Verizon’s reliable network backing it up, rather than AT&T’s spotty 3G coverage.

It sets a high bar, but is it enough for you to buy one? If you’re a Verizon customer approaching the end of your contract, are you going to renew with the carrier and give the Droid a shot – or hop over to AT&T and join the cult of iPhone? Sound off in the comments. 

Well that didn’t take long.

AT&T CruiseCast – an in-vehicle TV service the company created with RaySat Broadcasting Corp. – has halted new activations and it current customers will soon be able to get a refund for their installation (and de-installation) costs, as well as equipment and service.

CruiseCast launched in June at the rather staggering price tag of $1,300, plus a $28 monthly charge. It had promised customers 22 satellite TV channels and 20 satellite radio channels.

Live video in the car is a boon for parents, but with competition from portable media players (not to mention the still weak economy) and the high up-front and monthly charges, this one faced long odds from the beginning.

Verizon may finally have a phone that can compete feature-wise with the iPhone. The Droid made its official debut today following weeks of Internet buzz. Made by Motorola and running Google’s Android software, the system is an amalgamation of many smartphone trends.

The Droid will go on sale Friday, Nov. 6 for $200. It comes with a touchscreen, physical keyboard, the ability to simultaneously run several applications and a 5MP camera- with flash.

Beyond the usual social network synching, there’s also a free GPS program on Droid that offers turn-by-turn directions and live traffic updates. That’s a big advantage over the expensive GPS apps on other systems.  Unfortunately for Verizon, it won’t be exclusive to Droid for long – and may eventually appear on the iPhone.

Best Buy is already taking orders for the phone (allowing you to skip the rebate process at Verizon). And Engadget has a quick first-impressions piece up about the system after a few hands-on hours with it.

Microsoft was hoping to put to make a fresh start in the cell phone world last week. It introduced a new operating system and held lavish launch events in Europe and New York to help promote Windows Mobile 6.5.

But, out of nowhere, the past and future collided to give the company a one-two PR punch.

Mobile 6.5, it turns out, was given a resounding raspberry by the critics, who said it still lags well behind the systems from Google and Apple. Now, the headache that comes from the company’s ties with the existing Sidekick model is quickly turning into a migraine.

To catch up those who haven’t heard, a massive hardware failure last week resulted in some customers permanently losing their email, contacts and other data. Users and the tech media have been vilifying the phone and now T-Mobile is getting in on the act, suspending sales of all Sidekick models.

Microsoft owns the company that makes Sidekicks – ironically named Danger. It bought it last year as it attempted to expand the Windows operating system’s presence in the mobile market. 

FLO TV, which has established itself as the go-to player in cell phone television viewing, is branching out.

The company has introduced a dedicated standalone device letting people watch programming from CBS, NBC, ESPN, CNN and more. Due out this holiday, the device will cost $250 and carry a monthly fee of $9 (if you’re willing to commit to a three-year subscription).

The FLO TV Personal Television, as it’s called, sports a 3.5-inch touchscreen, weighs 5 oz. and has a built-in stereo speakers. The battery life will reportedly last for 5 hours of viewing and 300 hours of standby. The company plans to sell the devices both online and in big-box retail stores, though it won’t say which ones until it’s closer to launch.

This is the third prong of FLO’s tripod approach to portable television. Beyond cell phones, the company also recently announced a partnership with AudioVox to include FLO TV in cars.

Jonathan Barzilay, senior vice president of programming and advertising of FLO TV, won’t disclose how many people currently subscribe to the service, noting that the customer information belongs to Verizon and AT&T. He did say, though, the company is expecting big things from this personal TV (PTV) product.

“We anticipate that the PTV consumer and automotive consumers will each make up a healthy subsection to our installed base, but we are fiercely committed to the mobile communications channel – and continue to invest in that market,” he said.

Sure, the media loves its iPhone (my own review of the 3GS is forthcoming), but when you get down to brass tacks, the mighty Blackberry is holding its own just fine these days.

Fortune Magazine named Research in Motion, the maker of the Blackberry, as the fastest growing tech company in the world. The company posted an 84 percent growth in profits over the past three years, as well as a 77 percent surge in revenues.

Remarkably, this is RIM’s first time on the list – but that’s only because Fortune did not include non-U.S. firms in the past.

The Blackberry Curve actually outsold the iPhone in the first half of the year – and a follow-up is on the way, which could give the 3GS a run for its money.

Apple, by the way, came in at number nine on Fortune’s list.

The future of Skype, arguably the most popular Internet telephony program around, could be in jeopardy, due to an ongoing legal battle.

In a quarterly filing, parent company eBay noted it would be forced to discontinue the service if it loses the right to use part of its peer-to-peer VOIP (voice over IP) software and can’t find a replacement. As CNN, which first reported the filing, points out, though, there’s no immediate danger of Skype going away.

The fight is with a company called Joltid, which claims Skype broke a licensing agreement to use the software. EBay, predictably, said it believes it can win the court fight, but it is developing its own replacement peer-to-peer VOIP as a precaution. There is, of course, no guarantee that development will be successful.

Beyond the potential shutdown of the company, the legal fight creates an additional pair of headaches for Skype. EBay has been eager to spin the company off publicly, with a target of the first part of next year. Looming legal problems could delay that.

In the meantime, Google is in the midst of a closed beta test of Google Voice, which will send calls to users' mobile, home and work phone numbers to a singly number, offer cheap international rates and offer other features, which could be a threat to Skype regardless of its legal situation.

At present, Skype boasts over 480 million registered users, who use the service mostly for video and telephone conversations.

Looks like Microsoft is taking its fight with Apple to the next level.

The company today began accepting app submissions from developers for its Windows Mobile Marketplace. Certification, it says, will take roughly 10 business days initially – and should an app be rejected, developers will get a detailed report explaining exactly why it was passed over.

Apple, of course, is the leader in user-generated apps, with over 71,000 different offerings.  Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do, but it does have a huge user base already installed in phones like the Samsung Blackjack and others.

“Our strategy for all of this is pretty straightforward; we want to create a global marketplace for Windows Phones where developers and users meet to sell and buy high quality and high value applications that make work easier and life more fulfilling,” said Microsoft on a company blog. “We’re creating a clear process and new opportunity for developers and ISVs to make money from their investment in innovation.”

Juniper Research predicts mobile application downloads will hit 20 billion by 2014, so Microsoft’s growing interest in the market is hardly a mystery. The interesting thing to watch will be how Windows Mobile apps will differ from those on the iPhone. Apart from the expected slew of games and productivity apps (like tip calculators or GPS offerings), will they veer more to the professional arena or the flatulence simulators that run amok at Apple?

More importantly, will Hollywood techies come up with apps that directly serve the film community?

The rumors started in April: Dell might be looking to expand beyond its computer roots into the smart phone space. The company said nothing.

Then came the leaked pictures. Blurry, but they had a taste of reality to them. The company said nothing.

Now the company’s talking – but it’s stopping just short of saying “we’re doing one”. What’s the holdup?

"What operators want from us is a [smart phone] solution that's about supporting their technology...and their value-added services," Ron Garriques, president of Dell's consumer division, told analysts at a gathering last week.

 Here’s what’s suspected about Dell’s smart phone plans:

• It will be touch-screen centric, like the iPhone.
• It will use Google’s Android operating system
• It probably won’t be limited to a single cell phone provider. (Garriques hinted the company has been talking with the top three or four carriers to assess their needs and desires)
• It may not launch in the U.S. (At least one analyst believes Dell may use China as a test market.)

Other speculation, including launch dates, is completely unreliable at this point.

Garriques came to Dell from Motorola and his non-compete agreement reportedly expired earlier this year, which has added fuel to the smart phone fire. Add it all up and it’s pretty obvious Dell is gearing up to make a move. So why won’t it just come out and say so?

Well, it’s possible the company may reverse course. It wouldn’t be the first company to build out a prototype of a new sort of hardware only to change its mind. (Nintendo has done so several times, including a scuttled handheld gaming system that was developed after the launch of the DS.)

That seems unlikely, though. It’s more likely that Dell wants to manage the release of the announcement. But as interest in its smart phone plans continues to grow, that’s going to mean more and more leaks – reducing the impact of the announcement when Dell makes it official.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since portable music made its big splash, but it was on this day in 1979 that Sony unleashed the Walkman on the world – setting in motion changes that would fundamentally alter the way the music industry works.

A portable cassette player might seem commonplace, even quaint, these days, but it was revolutionary at the time. Previously, music could only be enjoyed on a home stereo system or in a car. The Walkman set it free.

That freedom came at a cost, though. The first Walkman sold for $200. That’s just shy of $600 in today’s economy.

The system’s headphones became an iconic look throughout the 1980s. Competitors quickly began churning out similar products, but none had the cachet  (or staying power) of Sony’s product.

The original Walkman, the TPS-L2, was something of a giant by today’s standards, weighing in at 14 ounces and covered with clunky buttons and a leather case. Originally dubbed the “SoundAbout” in the U.S., it came with an orange “hotline” button allowing users to fade the volume to the background so they could hear people talking to them and a second earphone jack, so they could share their music.

No one – including Sony executives – expected too much from the device saleswise. But that skepticism vanished less than two months after launch, when initial projections were blown away.

It was, in fact, the Walkman that marked the beginning of the end for vinyl records. By the mid-80s, cassettes were outselling albums. The entry of the CD in 1985 sealed the format’s fate.

Over the years, Sony has evolved the Walkman lineup, morphing it into everything from a portable CD player to a MiniDisc player to the MP3/multimedia player it is today. All along, though, the company has continued to make a cassette-only model.

There’s something kind of refreshing about that. Too many companies innovate to the point of forgetting their heritage. Whatever Sony’s faults today (and, to be certain, those are plentiful), you have to respect it for honoring the original product that made it a true leader in the music market.

Of course, these days, the Walkman plays second fiddle to the iPod and the music industry has changed dramatically, but on today’s anniversary, it’s worth saluting the gadget that got us all to where we are today.

Got a Walkman memory? Share it with us in the comments.