It's Here. Well, it was sure a painful wait, but today Apple released the long-rumored 2.2 update for the iPhone. Unlike past updates, which were mostly fixing bugs, this one adds some excellent functionality, including updates to Google Maps (Street View and the option of non-driving directions), as well as the unbelievably overlooked ability to download podcasts over the air.

I don't sync with my work PC (except via Exchange), so I'll be installing 2.2 goodness tonight. Let's hope it's not an all night affair again!

Labels: Apple, iPhone, Software

  ¶ 12:37 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Android...Maybe We're Still in Robot? In case you missed the Apple-like hubbub today, Google, HTC and T-Mobile unveiled the first Google Android-powered cell phone, the G1. On first glance, it looks very good: it takes cues from the successful phones on the market today, but improves. For instance, it includes a slide out keyboard, so Blackberry users who might have coveted an iPhone, but could not adapt to the screen based keyboard, should be happy. And it smartly integrates with Amazon's music store, so you can finally be free of the Apple imposed iTunes ecosystem, if you want music on your phone.

There are definitely some warning, signs, though, as illustrated in the chart from Gizmodo. For one, the price is deceptive. Yes, it costs $179, $20 less than the iPhone, but it only comes with 1GB of storage. Yes, it expands with additional memory cards, but that's an additional cost. Are you seriously telling me that you are launching an "iPhone-killer," without enough capacity to handle even the smallest library? Ouch.

Second, it does not have Exchange support, or even a migration path towards Exchange. Now, the 1st gen iPhone lasted a whole year without that, so you could argue that the market is already proven for that. But remember: when the iPhone launched, there was no other dominant media player phone. Now, launching a phone in this space, the early adopters have already gone for the iPhone; the hardcore smartphone users only started to migrate when Exchange support came. That means you have two strikes on you before you enter the market.

Finally, and this one baffles me, no true syncing. Yes, you can sync your Google contacts and calendar with Gmail and Google Calendar in a push fashion (very cool, by the way), but you can't sync the phone to a desktop. Transferring media and applications will be restricted to other cloud services or nonexistent. I'm a big hater of iTunes, but it does answer the question of how to sync to the desktop. The right move here, in my opinion, is to have Google whip up a web-based app to sync to the Amazon S3 powered cloud, ASAP. One touch backup and management. Look, you have until late October to get this done; market it as a beta, and sell ads on the space to make some $!

I haven't touched upon the fact that it's T-Mobile only, as that's too easy to pick on. I do think that the open-source nature will be the killer for this phone: watching Apple arbitrarily choke applications in the App Store with no explanation or communication will absolutely drive customers crazy. If Android offers a "Switch" campaign, with an easy way to get ported over, in 6-12 months, I see this as a way to get the early adopters onboard.

In any case, it does look like they thought a lot through. The taskbar at the top of the screen is incredibly smart and intuitive, as is the sync to Google applications. Let's hope they innovate like hell now, and bring some true market pressure to Apple.

Labels: Apple, cell phones, Google

  ¶ 12:30 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Desperadoes: iPhone App-Style ever since the launch of the Apple iTunes App Store for the iPhone, Apple has straddled the line between being an agnostic content aggregator and a fascistic controller of content that makes the Chinese government look like the Wild West. Case in point is that I now have not one, not two, but three separate applications on my iPhone that have since been removed from the Apple store for further downloads, with no explanation. Let's have a look at these insidious apps, shall we, and see what evil they have wrought.

First up, Tapulous' Friend Book. Tapulous are the makers of the Twitter iPhone client, Twinkle, that was easily one of the most popular Jailbroken applications before they went all legit. In addition, they make Tap Tap Revenge, an iPhone enabled version of Dance Dance Revolution. Friend Book delivers photo dialing, powerful contact search, but best of all, Handshake: select a contact record, hold two iPhones running Friend Book together, and shake. Voila, the contact is sent to the other iPhone. Cool, huh? It's gone. In all fairness, Apple is innocent on this one; Tapulous pulled it down, as it was not up to their expected quality. But I'm still photo dialing away...

Next, Box Office. A simple app that pulls down the movies playing near you, allows you to browse buy title or theater, shows the current showtimes and Rotten Tomatoes score, and even links to let you buy tickets. Free, powerful, helpful, and leverages the geolocation ability of the iPhone. And removed from the store with no explanation.

Finally, PhoneSaber. This app was a lark to me: it leveraged the motion sensing of the iPhone to let you swing a virtual light saber back and forth, complete with correct sound effects for the movement. Free, it was fun, but to watch the transformative effects on non tech folks, you would think it was Apple's best ad. But, alas, you can't have it. Why? Because the license holder for Star Wars content on mobiles objects. As Obi Wan said, "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."

Look, I'm all in favor of Apple trying to maintain quality, but you can't do it both ways. My iPhone continues to work perfectly with these apps on it; yours would, too. So this either needs to be an open marketplace, or a closed one with clear rules. But this halfway stuff is what makes people crazy and drives them to strip the DRM and set up Jailbreaking all over again. Even worse, now comes word that Apple may have the ability to remotely remove apps from your phone, even if you've installed them.

Apple, it's time to lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Labels: Apple, iPhone, Software

  ¶ 12:00 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Happy 2.0 Day Yep, it's finally here. As of 9AM PDT today, I was happily installing the new iTunes and, most importantly, iPhone 2.0 software. I wish I could say it was smooth and painless, but being an early adopter is not usually a well paved path.

However, I've now had all day to play with 2.0, and I must say, it lives up to most of the hype. I commented today that it was actually sad that Apple has technologically savvy fans who have all willingly paid over $300 for their product squealing in delight...at the ability to delete multiple emails at once. Sigh. That aside, there are some revolutionary improvements and evolutionary ones. The irony for me is that it took Apple and an Apple device to make me appreciate a Microsoft service, Exchange: we shifted to an Exchange system recently at work, and I was blown away at the elegant and powerful connection with the new iPhone. Push email, push calendar updates and meeting requests, and so much more...wow.

I know, you want to know about the apps. Well, eWallet didn't make the launch today, but should be there tomorrow, so I am waiting with bated breath; it looks great. I purchased my first app, Shopping List ($0.99), which looks like a good implementation. I've downloaded Twitterific and eBay, and AIM, of course. What really bothers me so far is the lack of ability to try apps before you buy; this was one of the most compelling sales tools of the Palm platform. This is really bothersome for games: I don't want to spend $5 or $10 if it sucks, guys.

In any case, tomorrow the 3G hits the streets, and the Apps store will, most likely, start to swell. I'm hoping for a Ping.fm app, myself, as well as the actual "real" launch of Twinkle on a non-Jailbroken platform. Oh, Google, how about a Blogger app? Let's see what the next 24 hours brings!

Labels: Apple, iPhone

  ¶ 9:24 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Paperless Apple Stores Great experience at my local Apple Store last night. I had to get some accessories for my iPhone, so I picked up my item, and headed to the cashwrap/Genius Bar. An intelligent employee saw my purposeful stride, and stepped out from behind the counter to ask if I was all set; I said yes, and he whipped out his PDA, accepted my card, scanned the barcode of my item, and we were all set.

This experience is not new; Apple has intelligently deployed these mobile checkout units for some time now. What happened next was a delight: the employee handed me my card back, and asked if I would prefer a printed receipt, or would I like it emailed to me? I happily replied that email was preferable, and he looked at his screen. "Well, looks like we don't have your email address on file; if you give it to me, I'll make sure we can send this and all future receipts to you." I did, and he associated it with the credit card I used. Within moments, my receipt appeared as a PDF attachment to an email in my inbox. Wow.

Why is this so great? First, you all know my particular hatred for the antiquated reliance on paper receipts. Second, I use Google Apps for Domain for my email; that means this receipt is now searchable in Gmail. If I ever need it, instead of groping around piles of yellowing paper, or trying to look through thousands of scanned images, I can just use Gmail to look for the very thing I want, and find my receipt in a second. Not to mention it finally brings physical retail to the level of convenience of ecommerce.

Another great innovation in Apple Retail. Well done, Cupertino.

Labels: Apple, business, Google

  ¶ 6:24 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Rapture Averted: JesusPhone2 Fails To Appear Let me start by saying that Apple is the kind of company you love. When they swing, they swing for the fences. Sure, they may strike out from time to time (Uh...Mac Cube? Newton?), but more often than not they connect, and they send it out of the park. Think of the iMac, OS X, The Powerbook. But go beyond: think of Apple retail stores and how they redefine shopping, or the marketing campaign that started it all, Think Different. The iPhone was, arguably, their greatest hit to date, and millions of customers later, we hungry hordes were desperate for another home run.

Waaay back in February, the rumors started of an iPhone software update that would allow you to run applications on the JesusPhone. When Apple scheduled a keynote in March, it was all but done. And then the first letdown of the young iPhone's existence was revealed: rather than keep to the previously inviolable mantra of Apple's "Announce today, get today," His Steveness took the stage that rainy March morning to proudly announce the iPhone 2.0 software and SDK...available in June. Crestfallen, the throngs consoled themselves that the timing was just about right for a new version of the iPhone, so perhaps we'd see the ultimate JesusPhone, along with the new apps and the backwards compatibility, and...and....

You get the picture.

So, today was the day: Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference. Steve on stage, the June timeframe, mysterious Apple online store offline (as usual with new hardware), and the scarcity of JesusPhone 1 in any retail locations. Yes, the stars were aligned. Add to that the frenzied examination of any clue (smaller LCD's? Dual sizes?), and we were ready to go. Sure, we knew the basics of any new iPhone: 3G speeds, GPS tracking, and a price cut. After all, those are not only staples of any sequel Apple product, but address the lack of those features in JesusPhone1, while the rest of the phones on the market have that all built in.

This is the JesusPhone, after all. It's not a phone; pfeh. That could be done (and has) by anyone. No, the JesusPhone transforms the way we use technology, establishes a new paradigm. Before JesusPhone, using the web on your phone was a novelty; after, it's the standard. Music on your phone? Hell, before JP1 it was a painful experience; after, it's the only experience. Watching movies on your phone? Never before even considered. These were not features; they were conscious lifestyle choices to make a device that fits with the desires we have to consume communications and media, and the time in which we have to do them. So, it was clear we were in for a patented "Oh, just one more thing..." from Lord Steve today. The rumors were rampant, including:
- 2 way video calls, thanks to a front-facing video camera and 3G
- An iPhone Nano, for the smaller form factor
- Wireless iTunes syncing, wherever you are
- Subsidized by AT&T, the price would be astronomically lower
- A new Project RED version

So, our stage was set. The timing was right. The signs were there. It was time for Apple to redefine our world again. The lights lowered, the black turtleneck was seen, and we all refreshed our browsers (or used Macrumors.com) to learn what universe we now lived in...

And Apple announced 3G, GPS, and a price cut. Oh, the one more thing? That iPhone 2.0 software, as well as JesusPhone2? Mmm...forget that June thing. Early July.

Yup, that was it.

Sure, they tried to dress it up with some announcements of new apps for the forthcoming App Store, as well as some interesting infrastructure improvements (back-end connectivity, sync with the cloud with Mobile Me, etc.), but this was it. This could have been a Samsung keynote. Or, more to the point, a Microsoft one. Apple's stock plummeted in real-time with every new non-revelation. And the delay, when we all expected in March, and were told June, and now are hopeful for July, should pummel them.

Today's the day that Apple came down from the stratosphere. The legendary Jobs, understandably weakened by pancreatic cancer, was not able to make this new revelation in the timeframe we expected. Instead, he exposed Apple as a company that misses deadlines, fails to dramatically innovate on a successful product, and outsources his future success on 3rd parties. Might as well change the name to Palm, and be done with it.

Do I sound bitter? You bet I am, and it's Apple's fault. They trained us this way: before Apple, we never would have looked at today's keynote as anything but a dazzling vision of the future. Instead, thanks to their own expectation setting, we are reduced to pedestrian concerns. No game changers, no game breakers, no new game level: just being played.

I shed a tear for today: the day that my Apple vision innocence was lost. Bring on July...

Labels: Apple, iPhone

  ¶ 12:37 PM (0) comments links to this post

  How To Make Your Own iPhone Ringtones I do love my iPhone, but sometimes the restrictions are asinine. Take ringtones, for instance. Can you ask for a more prefect device for ringtones? And yet, Apple insists the only way to have ringtones is to buy them from iTunes. Period. Now, I grant you, the ringtones they ship with are exceptional, but I have some ones that are quite specific and highly unlikely to be on iTunes. What to do?

Leave it to the power of the Internet. In browsing this forum, I found one solution that actually did work:

1. Take any song in iTunes and if you don't want to mess with the timing, right click and choose "convert selection to aac" and a new version of the song will appear just below the old one.
2. Right click the song, select Get Info, and go under "Options" and "Start Time" as well as "End Time" and pick which part of the song that you want to make into a ringtone. (It seems the general consensus with this is under 30 sec.)
3. Once you've selected what part of the song you want, click OK. After this you need to again "convert selection to aac" for the new version of your shortened song.
4. With the new clip, right click and select "Show in Windows Explorer."
5. Once the file is shown in Windows, rename the file from ".m4a" to ".m4r". (It was stated above how to enable windows to show file extensions.)
6. Once renamed, double-click on the file and the new ringtone will beging to play in iTunes and you are ready to sync and enjoy your new tone.

Yup, sure enough, worked like a charm. I'm free of The Man's restrictions. Um, at least until the SDK comes out...

Labels: Apple, iPhone, lifehacks

  ¶ 12:56 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Audible: Louder Than Ever One of my old favorite companies, Audible, has entered into an agreement with Amazon to be acquired for $300 million. While this represents a slight decline in their perceived value from their all time stock high, it assures the future for this pioneer.

I own dozens of Audible books. Not familiar with Audible? Think "books on tape," but digital. Years ago, before MP3's really took off and long before the advent of podcasts, Audible led the way by digitizing thousands of books, and offering them for download. For folks who had long commutes, this was a dream come true. Better, Audible also offered discounted players; my first MP3 player was a Nomad, thanks to Audible. Their file formats were not quite MP3's, but were much smaller; before the iPod, we actually considered file size! They went on to introduce dozens of innovations, including a subscription service (2 books a month for $20!), and multiple file formats, so you could choose audio quality over file size, and more.

They really hit the motherlode with three major advents:

- First, they recognized the demographic of their customer probably overlapped with NPR listeners, and capitalized by offering subscriptions to popular NPR programs, such as Car Talk and Fresh Air. This enabled Audible listeners to, in essence, time shift their NPR listening. Until mid last year, this was the only option for listening to Car Talk, other than real-time. VERY smart.

- Second, they baked themselves into the iPod from day 1. How they got Steve to sign off on that, I have no idea, but it ensured their content was compatible with the most popular MP3 player ever. Even today, it's baked into every single iPod model. That meant they attracted new subscribers with every iPod purchase.

- Finally, they did an amazing deal with Amazon to be the exclusive audiobook provider. Looking at those bestsellers? Wait, an audio version, and I can get it right now? Sign me up! The fruits of this last deal were clear to both parties, and easily led to today's deal.

This is practically a case study for effective business development, and looks to be a win for both parties, as Amazon wants to strengthen their transition to digital media, and Audible is under increasing pressure for earlobes with the podcast revolution, XM/Sirius, and HD Radio.

So what's next? Well, the Audible acquisition nets Amazon a nice native port to the iPod. Potentially, Amazon could expand their media through that pipe, but Sir Steve is sure to crack down if they do. More likely, Amazon will leverage their recent Kindle success with publishers to encourage more content than ever to be available; listen on your Kindle or iPod. I also expect Amazon to tout the lesser known gems of Audible's content library: a daily recap of the NY Times and Wall Street Journal; live performances and lectures, and more.

My applause is Audible.

Labels: Apple, business, news

  ¶ 11:07 PM (0) comments links to this post

  iPhone vs. Treo: This Time It's Personal Ok, gadget fans. With the acquisition of the iPhone, and a few days to play with it, it's time to revisit the "What's Stopping Me From An iPhone" post from last year and see what, if anything, has changed. The rules remain the same: rank each of the day to day functions I use(d) my Treo 680 to do on a scale of 1-10 and compare the score with the iPhone. Got it? Great, then let's get ready to rumble!

Contacts. My biggest concerns were how the iPhone, with it's lack of search functions, would handle the over 8K contacts I have. Verdict: not a problem. The flick of the finger interface is complimented by an "Add to Favorites" that makes it easy to distill the most important contacts. The speed of finding a contact is roughly the same as using the Treo, as the unreal lag of the Treo in searching such a large contacts database was about the same. I would still prefer a real search, but the elegant browse interface makes it more than tolerable.
Old score: Palm: 10, iPhone: 2.
New score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 6.

Calendar. My old review said: "as a view only for my Outlook data, it'd do the job...but that's it." Uh, not sure why I thought that; you can easily edit and create appointments with a very cool analog dial interface. And Outlook synchronization with iTunes is actually flawless. The only feature I miss is a very minor one: the ability to have different colors on the appointments, depending on the category. However, the graphical display is so much better, it more than makes up for it.
Old score: Palm: 10, iPhone: 3.
New score: Palm: 10, iPhone: 10.

Tasks. Well, no change here: the feature does not exist on the iPhone. However, to be fair, I have used a total of 10 tasks in the intervening months since I wrote the last review. I'd say that this is kind of a dead feature for me, but I'd still like to have it.
Old score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 0.
New score: Palm: 2, iPhone: 0.

Podcast Player. If anything, I was way too generous to Pocket Tunes for the Treo. Since that review, it has repeatedly had a problem with skipping and freezing: nothing intolerable, but compared to iTunes and the iPod experience, I can't believe I suffered so long.
Old score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 10.
New score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 10.

Music Player. Uh, ditto.
Old score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 10.
New score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 10.

Movie Player. Wow, the iTunes interface and the big iPhone screen makes a pretty dramatic difference. And no audio sync issues. The biggest change? In the Treo, all applications have a 1 pixel white border around the screen, but in the iPhone, it's all one gorgeous glossy black surface, making it extremely easy to immerse in the video. Of course, not everyone feels the same, including noted director David Lynch: (note: he drops the f-bomb in this clip, so not all that SFW):

I, however, disagree entirely, and am absolutely floored by the capabilities here. The difference between the two is the different between YouTube and HD: yes, you can watch video through either, but what a difference. And the iTunes interface for video podcasts, etc. makes a whole world come alive. The only downside? No DiVX/Xvid support, so I have to reconvert the movies I have. That's aggravating.
Old score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 10.
New score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 10.

Calculator. No change here: still a wash.
Unchanged score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 5.

eWallet. Here's the biggest pain point so far of the iPhone. The Treo offers seamless, encrypted local data access for all of my passwords, etc. The iPhone offers a web-based sorta-solution, but, while security is perfectly fine, getting the data in there is a pain if you are not using SplashID. Plus, I need that info ASAP, not just when I have a web connection. This is the single biggest pain point, and will hopefully be solved with the new SDK in February. There is some hope on the horizon: Ilium, makers of eWallet, are doing a web-based version, but I still want it locally.
Old score: Palm: 9, iPhone: 1.
New score: Palm: 9, iPhone: 3.

Memos. Notes on the iPhone don't sync with the PC. What the heck? Annoying. I can still get all of my Outlook notes through Plaxo's iPhone optimized web interface, but that's just aggravating. However, aside from taking notes in meetings, I really only used Memos for blogging. With the iPhone keyboard, that could be a problem. Still, that interface is SO sexy...
Old score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 5.
New score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 5.

Games.. Yep, it's just that bad. As noted before, sure there are web based ones, but they are all pretty primitive and foolish. The iPhone supposedly runs OSX; you're telling me I can't play games? I've seen Jailbroken iPhones playing a full Nintendo emulator; this HAS to be addressed.
Old score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 0.
New score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 1.

Email. Ok, hang on, here. First, the iPhone keyboard is no tactile Treo, but it's definitely getting better. But the iPhone's email client is...OK. It has some notable lacks:
1) The fact that you can't multiple delete items at once is simply silly.
2) It tries to configure POP email accounts through SSL by default; that's not a usual setting for most POP accounts.
3) It does a good job with Google, but, while there is a default set up for Yahoo, they don't tell you you need a Yahoo Plus! account for it to work.
4) Um...I have yet to successfully configure it for my office. I hear tell from coworkers that there is a way, but the lack of configuration option detail in the iPhone makes me concerned.
5) You can't save emails. Strangely, the iPhone has an interface to file emails, but only to Sent, Trash, or Inbox: you can't add a folder? Well, you can if you use Yahoo or IMAP, but it seems there is only a way to create folders through a Mac or iTunes (haven't even verified if this is possible yet). Only way to save them is to keep them as unread.

Look, this is simply unacceptable. I'm expecting a LOT more here. This will be fine for me to browse email while on the road, but to use as a laptop replacement as I did with the Treo? No way.
Old score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 5.
New score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 4.

Bluetooth. Pairing my Jawbone was painless, unlike the kind of kludgy way the Palm does it. Surprisingly, I don't miss the Bluetooth headphones: the volume on them was definitely not loud enough in my downhill bike runs, and they are a little big. Plus, the A2DP solution I was using was repeatedly failing, making me very frustrated. And let's not talk about the fact that the Treo was simply losing the ability to send the audio anywhere, especially with a Bluetooth headset. The iPhone earbuds, by contrast, are light, loud, and comfortable. I still hate wires, but it's not noticeable.
Old score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 4.
New score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 6.

Camera. I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality here: far better than I expected. And the UI is slick. I would prefer a one-touch button like the Treo, but it's workable.
Old score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 7.
New score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 8.

eReader. Ok, I'll admit it: I will miss this one. However, with the video capabilities and iTunes sync, I think I can find other distractions. Still, I REALLY want an iPhone eReader. On the other hand, I have been reading books on the Treo less and less, and more using Google Reader to keep up with blogs, etc, so the overall impact is much lower. Finally, Amy has a Kindle on the way, and I'm sure it will make my eReader look like stone tablets.
Old score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 0.
New score: Palm: 2, iPhone: 0.

Google Maps. iPhone has the edge right now, with a slick UI, but the lead will be getting better with the new firmware update, which adds cell tower triangulation to Google Maps.
Old score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 7.
New score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 8.

GPS. Hoo boy, this is a tough one. I REALLY love the idea of convergence devices: one device to do it all. However, with the Tro and GPS, there were...issues.
1) If a call came in while using the GPS, the Treo forgot to talk to the GPS unit while I am on the call on my Bluetooth headset. As a result, it doesn't update the map...real helpful.
2) Listening to podcasts while the GPS was on was pushing the Treo to it's limit. Lots of skips and stutters.
3) Like the rest of the Treo, the TomTom software sometimes forgot how to handle audio, so the voice would just...stop. No way to get it back.
Having said all of that, I still REALLY love the convenience of it, but I always had to take a power cord and the GPS unit (about the size of a pack of cigarettes); I might as well take a separate GPS. Still, hope is on the horizon for GPS on the iPhone, soon.
Old score: Palm: 9, iPhone: 0.
New score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 0.

Travel Tracker. Haven't touched it since TripIt allows iCal feeds of your itinerary. Why? I added it to my Google Calendar, and Plaxo picked up the changes, and added to my Calendar. Voila.
Old score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 6.
New score: Palm: 1, iPhone: 6.

The Web. I called this one perfectly: while the minimalist approach of Blazer helps on the Treo, Safari is a FAR superior experience. I wish it supported Flash, and yes, I wouldn't mind some 3G action when I'm out in the Bay, but WiFi everywhere else more than makes up for it.
Unchanged score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 9.

The final tallies:
Old scores: Palm: 124, iPhone: 81.
New scores: Palm: 100, iPhone: 91.

The interesting part here is that parity is much closer, not so much for the iPhone being better than I previously estimated, but for the Treo getting so much worse since the last time I did this exercise. Again, these results are massively subjective, but the gist is that, with some email improvements and the ability to have applications locally on the phone, the iPhone blows away the Treo. Until then, it's a close call. Business users probably want to stick to the Treo for a month or two more until the SDK starts yielding good applications. If you don't care so much about Blackberry type of emailing, it's a no brainer.

Labels: Apple, cell phones, Google Maps, iPhone, Palm, Plaxo, Treo

  ¶ 2:27 AM (0) comments links to this post

  iTunes on Treo I've been a podcast consumer since before they had a name. While this is not quite as outrageous a statement as recent Nobel Prize winner Al Gore's claim to have invented the internet (which, ironically, is almost true), I used to commute 120 miles, each way, 3x a week. At that time, podcasts were the exclusive property of Audible.com, using DRM-wrapped MP3's, but I consumed programs like the WSJ, Car Talk, and more. With the podcast revolution, the landscape has exploded with amazing timely content, and I bask in the glory of CNET's Buzz Out Loud, Bill Maher's Real Time, and more.

As my biking has ramped up, I have relied heavily on podcasts to keep me company. As I am loathe to have multiple devices, I use my Treo 680 with Pocket Tunes, streaming wirelessly over Bluetooth to my Motorola HT280 headphones. All good, but updating podcasts on the 680 with QuickNews has proved to work, though much slower and more cumbersome than is really practical. On the other hand, the best podcast manager application, in my opinion, is Apple's iTunes: subscriptions are easily managed, new subscriptions easily browsed and found, and Smart Playlists allow rules-based playlists (i.e. 5 most recently updated podcasts). The downside: it lives in the Apple ecosystem, so it syncs only with iPods. So, how to get iTunes to manage podcasts on my Treo?

Enter the Mass Storage Synchronizer, a small macro-based program that does just this...sorta. It allows you to define a playlist in iTunes, named "Treo smartphone," and add the content of your choice. Yes, it can also be a Smart Playlist. Now, here come the useful, if not slightly kludgy, step. Got an SD card reader? Good, you need it. Pop your SD card in, and make sure there's a folder named Audio on it. Double click the Mass Storage Synchronizer icon, and up comes a window, suspiciously DOS-looking. It protests a few times; just keep clicking Continue. Finally, it quietly thinks for about 10 seconds, and the alerts you everything has been updated. Yep, the contents of your playlist are now on the SD card.

Note I said "contents." That means that the actual playlist did not transfer, so you are left to your own devices (ahem) to create the Playlist on the Treo. For me, I use this tool to get podcasts on my Treo, so it's a simple matter to use Pocket Tunes to just create or edit a playlist on the Treo and add in all the content with the genre "podcasts." Then a little reordering, and I'm good to go.

Overall, this solution has a lot going for it. For one, it works, which is more than I can say about Pocket Tunes' Windows Media integration (works once, but never again). For another, it's fast: mere seconds to transfer big podcast files. And finally, it's got the magic price point: free. Who can argue with that?

Personally, I think Apple's got to eventually expand iTunes to non-Apple devices to continue adoption of their leadership role in digital content. I'm not saying this year, or even next, but as NBC recently showed, without critical market mass, the whole inexpensive content supply dries up. Apple can sell as many iPods and iPhones as they can, but if they want to continue dictating pricing and terms to big content providers, they have to show they are the only game in town. That means playing nice, at least in a limited fashion, with Zunes, Sansas and the like, or risk Amazon or Microsoft stealing their thunder.

For now, I'm happy with this workaround. That iPhone keeps looking better and better...but, for instance, this is just one of many blog entries written entirely on my Treo. I'll stick with the keyboard...and the poor man's iPod for that alone.

Labels: Apple, podcasts, Software, Treo

  ¶ 9:23 PM (0) comments links to this post

  What's stopping me from an iPhone? So…the obvious question I get, being both a big fan of Apple's design, and my obvious lust for the ultimate mobile convergence device is: will I buy the iPhone? Obviously, with the recent price cut, I continue to get these questions in ever increasing frequency. Instead of giving my regular "Well..." answer, I've decided to take a critical look if I can be an iPhone user by looking at the applications and functions I use every day in my Palm Treo 680, and see how my current solution set stacks up. I'm going to score each of these, and, at the end, if the iPhone has a high score, I'm headed to the Apple store for a test drive.

Contacts. I have over 6000 contacts in my phone. I know, it seems insane, but I'm like the packrat of all time when it comes to contacts. Plus, I keep notes on each, photos, etc. Finding a contact in the Palm is easy: just start typing. With 6K+ contacts, it can be a little laggy, but generally not an issue. With the iPhone, while you can easily sync with Outlook, the only way to find a contact is either in your Favorites, or to use the scroll and flick method: no direct typing. Yikes. Score: Palm: 10, iPhone: 2.

Calendar. My lifeblood. I've got so many meetings and calls to keep track of, I'd be lost without it. The Treo is a champ: multiple views, including one I can see openings; different colors for different categories, and perfect Outlook sync; even time zone adjustment. The iPhone does a pretty good job, as long as you are not really interested in entering new appointments on the phone itself too often. In other words, as a view only for my Outlook data, it'd do the job...but that's it. Score: Palm: 10, iPhone: 3. By the way, great video review on this:


Tasks. Well, no contest here: no iPhone equivalent. However, to be fair, I rarely use tasks on the Treo, as I track and check off either in Outlook or Salesforce. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 0.

Podcast player. I listen to podcasts on my bike rides, and rely on them for primary entertainment. With the Palm, I use a combo of pTunes to play them, and Quick News to automatically download direct to the Palm, late at night. The results are pretty good: pTunes is an OK media player with clever functions like skip ahead 10, 15, 30 or 60 seconds, but playlist management is a bit kludgy. And Quick News, while great, can sometimes not download a podcast for any one of a dozen reasons. Not to mention it's slooooow, as it's doing so over AT&T's network. The iPhone, on the other hand, shines, thanks to iTunes integration. I'm hopeful that the new improvements to the iPhone will allow downloads direct to the iPhone over WiFi, but even without, syncing is blazingly fast, and there's no arguing with the iPod UI. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 10.

Music player. Occasionally, I prefer music to podcasts. My 4GB SD card usually holds a bunch, and I can swap out for another with most of my music on it. pTunes handles the player duties. But let's not kid ourselves: Apple's got this one locked. And with 8GB onboard, I think SD cards are a thing of the past. Score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 10.

Movie player. Yep, I watch movies and TV shows on the Treo. While I miss my old Palm TX's large screen, the Treo is actually a little better performer. TCPMP handles the Treo movie playing, including Divx and Xvid codecs, but it chokes a little on MP4 content, so I'm limited to ripped movies sans DRM. The iPhone totally gets the nod here: big screen, lots of content, vibrant display, and great battery life. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 10.

Calculator. Sad, ain't it? Maybe I need that Nintendo DS Brain Age thing. In any case, it's a wash here: both the Treo and iPhone have one. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 5.

eWallet. Passwords, codes, numbers: everything goes into eWallet with it's special encryption, easy recall, and perfect PC sync. I'd be lost without it. With the iPhone, there's no app for this, so I'd have to rely on a web based app for this. And web based apps for this kinda data...not so good for security. Plus, ubiquitous web access ain't quite here. Score: Palm: 9, iPhone: 1.

Memos. I use it for writing blog entries on the go, jotting down a note, or recipes. Pretty much a wash here, but the Treo gets a slight advantage because of the tactile keyboard. If only the iPhone's memo app wasn't so damned pretty...Score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 5.


Texas Hold 'em Poker (and other games). Yep, got to have something to do in those idle moments. The Palm one is pretty decent, and keeps me entertained. iPhone one...wait...what's that? There are no games for the iPhone? You have to be kidding. Yes, I see that there are some web-based ones, but that, again, requires connectivity. And how can I say this...theres not a lot of signal strength usually in most restrooms. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 0.

Email. Using SnapperMail (not the included VersaMail, thank you), I can manage all of my email, from multiple accounts, while traveling. No Blackberry push, or course, but extremely powerful. iPhone's mail app has been pretty much derided as too lightweight for real emailers. For instance, Engadget's comments:

"There's no other way than to come out and say it: we are extremely disappointed in the iPhone's email app. So much so, in fact, that despite the keyboard and the rest of the things the iPhone lacks in the features department, its mail support may be the largest factor in killing its status as a productivity device. Don't get us wrong, the application is just fine for anyone who wants to do light email, but it lacks the power and convenience that frequent-emailers require."

Still, it does support Yahoo push email and Gmail's full Ajax interface, so you get some definite upsides. But for a device that is all about all in one for mobile professionals, this might be the Achilles heel. Oh, and remember: the keyboard is screen based, not tactile. Score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 5.

Bluetooth. Yes, both have it. But the Treo lets you use any cell headset, sync wirelessly, beam data, and, with the help of Audio Gateway, even streams audio to my Bluetooth headphones. The iPhone? Talk on a BT cell headset. That's it. Ugh. Score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 4.


Camera. Edge to iPhone here, but barely. Quality is certainly better than the Treo's, but you can only send as an attachment to an email from the iPhone: no MMS. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 7.

eReader. I buy and read ebooks all the time on the Treo. Great for traveling. On the iPhone, there is no option. None. Ugh. And, even if there were, even with that great screen, you'd have to read them two handed: turning the page would require a flick of a finger, instead of a one handed hold and click operation. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 0.

Google Maps. Available on both, but no question it's sexier on the iPhone. Better integration, as well, not to mention faster over WiFi. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 7.

GPS. My Treo uses TomTom software and Bluetooth to talk to a small receiver. When I'm in a new city, I pop out the GPS, fire up TomTom on the Treo, and I'm driving like a native. iPhone: did I mention it's got Google Maps? Hope that'll keep you happy, 'cause there's no sat nav happening here. Score: Palm: 9, iPhone: 0.

Travel Tracker. Venerable champ on the Treo, but requires entry of data on the Treo, which is painful. It does, however, seamlessly sync with the Calendar app, so my appointments and flight show up already integrated. iPhone has nothing in this regard, but it's implementation of the Safari web browser means I can use TripIt, which blows away Travel Tracker. Downside: requires a connection, of course. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 6.

And finally, the Web. I read the news, catch up on the NY Times and SFGate, check out Yelp...you name it. The Treo advantage is that I can turn off images when the connection is slow, and that sites with a mobile version automatically detect my browser and redirect me to that optimized view. The experience is definitely limited, though. The iPhone has the Web down cold, with Safari, tabbed browsing, and Ajax support. All great when you are on WiFi, but I'm guessing a little painful on EDGE. Still, how can you argue with a full browser? Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 9.


Final score: Palm: 124, iPhone: 81.

Now, this is completely subjective. And, it does not take into account the other iPhone-only functions, like widgets or YouTube. This is meant to see how much I lose by going to the iPhone, and if I can stand the loss for the increase in sexiness. Based on the above, I think I'm still staying with the Treo. If the iPhone gets it's email in gear, and offers a solution for an eReader, and, critically, adds some games, we might be talking again.

Labels: Apple, cell phones, iPhone, Palm, Treo

  ¶ 1:49 AM (0) comments links to this post

  A Tale Of Two Companies And Loyalty Publishing this in both of my blogs.

Two very interesting things this week happened that illustrated how two consumer electronics companies view being loyal to their customers...with surprising differences.

The first is Palm. Now, I'll preface this by saying I have been a very loyal Palm user for many years. I was entranced by the Palm III, years ago, and I have stuck with it: A Palm V, a Palm Vx, Handspring Visor, Handspring Visor Prism, VisorPhone, Tungsten T, Palm TX, and now my Treo 680. Through them all, I have always marveled at Palm's singleminded focus on usability and features: I have looked at alternatives every time, and settled on Palm's offering. Yet there's no denying that Palm has clearly lost any shred of a leadership position: the Danger devices, the ever improving (but still painful) Windows Mobile, and now the iPhone have all eclipsed Palm's innovation. Heck, even the new Blackberrys are getting in on the act.

Palm's answer? The Foleo, which was a device in search of a need. Basically a stripped down laptop with some interesting sync capabilities, was recently announced with near universal derision. This was Palm's big attempt to become relevant again? Releasing an overpriced, underpowered laptop that gave you all of the overhead you hoped to leave behind with your Treo, and none of the benefits (no movies on the Foleo; GREAT for those cross-country flights)? This was a major disappointment.

Now, take for a second the contrast with Apple, the second company in my discussion here. Everyone knows the story: after being beaten down to inches of their life, and having to take a bailout from Microsoft just to survive, visionary Steve Jobs proceeded to start to take bold risks with devices that filled needs for the customer base. It started with the iMac: an all-in-one computer that showed style, class, and affordability. But the really big hit came with the iPod; sure, there had been MP3 players on the market for years, but nothing like this. Easy to use, powerful, and paired with a real application to manage your media, the iPod became ubiquitous. In a short amount of time, every other company combined could not compete with Apple's iPod sales.

They continued to listen to their customers, and innovate with devices they wanted. Watch movies on the iPod? Got it, and, oh, by the way, a whole digital movie and TV store to go with it. Want smaller? Welcome to the Nano and Shuffle. And yes, unless you have been living under a rock for the last 3 months, the iPhone arrived to great fanfare and awe inspiration, outselling all other smartphones in the US in just its first month of existence, at almost twice the price of others. In short, the iPhone represented the crowning moment of Apple's recovery: they completed one of the greatest corporate comebacks of all times, with fanatically passionate customers and incredible innovation.


Now, what if I told you that this last week:
A. One company listened to its customers, focused on its amazing tradition of innovation, ruthlessly pursuing its focus, and was willing to take a financially risky move to try to ensure its continued success.
B. The other company continued to alienate its core customers, pushing away from true innovation, and selling itself out to a technology that had already been panned by many critics and leaves core users with a sense of unease about the future and if the company can be trusted.

Your answer to A. would be, instinctively, Apple, and B., Palm, right?

Wrong. Exactly the opposite.

Let's look at A. Palm heard the early reviews of its core customers to the Foleo, and decided to kill it before it ever reached the market. Period. The CEO announced the decision in his blog, as well as the estimated $10 million it cost to develop. He knew that he could not afford a flop, and could not afford to alienate the loyalty of his core customers. Instead, he not only killed the Foleo, but announced a refocusing of efforts around the Palm platform, reducing their involvement with the ever diluted Windows Mobile space. Palm knows that, without loyal customers who feel the company is responsive to their needs, and focused on the great devices, it will die. In truth, it may die even so, but releasing the Foleo would be the albatross that would pull down any hopes of a recovery. It took guts, determination, and was a direct reflection of the responses of loyal customers, and it was cautiously applauded by all.

As to B., well, you might have heard by now. Apple introduced the iPhone 2 months ago at $600 and, by all accounts, it continues to sell faster than any other smartphone. With no truly groundbreaking follow up, Steve Jobs decided to cannibalize his loyal customer base by announcing an unprecedented price cut: a full third of the price lopped off the phone, 60 days after it was released to, arguably, the greatest hype ever. Yes, there were some other variations on the iPod theme too, but the real story has been the absolute smack in the face Apple delivered to the thousands of customers who camped out to get their hands on a $600 phone that is, well, beautiful, but not meeting the expectations of the target audience it was priced for.

After days of uproar, his Steveness issued the most backhanded apology, mollifying as best he can those that saw $200 wasted with a promise for a $100 credit on iTunes media. Now, is this the way you apologize to your most loyal customers?:

"There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced."

Worse, language like the above was paired with a a promise that the details of the $100 credit would be worked out soon ("Stay tuned."). How did a company that built itself back from death's door not realizing by throwing their best customers under the bus that they better have a medical team standing by to assist? They are "working it out?" This should have been anticipated and announced at the same time as the $200 price cut.

We've seen two companies who rely on loyalty from customers take very different approaches this week, and we have seen the results. Taking your loyal customers for granted is extremely dangerous, and both these companies should know: both had over 80% of their respective markets at one time, and both fell to disastrously smaller levels. One rebounded, but has not seemed to learn from the mistakes; the other is just beginning. There is only one sure thing here: both made very grave errors with their loyal customers, and the responses usually dictate the future.

Labels: Apple, business, gadgets, iPhone, Loyalty Lab, news, Palm, Treo

  ¶ 9:36 PM (0) comments links to this post

  iPhone: first impressions In case you had not heard, the folks who camped out for days to get their hands on the new iPhone sort of wasted their time: unlike the Nintendo Wii, Apple was prepared for the demand. So much so, that today, I wandered over to the Apple store, where I was easily able to get my hands on an actual iPhone to play with (along with dozens of other people).

The good:

• This thing is the ultimate of small and large. The body is incredibly slim and the size is extremely small, smaller than my Treo, or even my old Palm TX. The screen is startlingly large, especially for movies. There is no obvious bezel, so this baby is all screen.
  
• The UI is amazing. The perfect Apple UI, it's sexy, responsive, and unbelievably cool. Transitions, scrolling, fonts: this device just screams craftsmanship.
  
• The phone is extremely great. Call quality is excellent, UI is superb, and address book integration is stunning. And that's not even mentioning the elegant touch of blanking the screen when you hold it to your face while calling.
  
• The screen cannot be believed. Bright, vibrant, and everything practically pops. with no reflections. Images are perfect, movies and Cover Flow ache to be savored.
  
• Just incredible UI touches. The dropping of the pins on Google Maps, the speed sensitive flicking of your finger in Cover Flow, the intuitive interface. Magnificent.
  
• LOVE the widgets. Yahoo Weather is unbelievably sexy, though strangely you can't reorder the cities you are looking at, just delete or add. Stocks was very cool. And Google Maps was delicious. Even Notes were DAMN cool, with a miniature yellow legal pad and sketch like font.

OK, enough gushing. Let's talk about the bad.

• The keyboard is as bad as the Newton's handwriting recognition was when it first hit. Yes, the iPhone tries to automatically correct your typing issues, and does an OK job, but this is clearly a device that can only be typed on with a single finger; two thumbs are out. The sensitivity of the keyboard is wonky, and it only takes advantage of the optional horizontal orientation when in web browsing mode; what a mistake. I can see Doonesbury cartoons making fun of this anytime now.
  
• Web browsing is slow, even on WiFi. This surprised me, as we're talking about Safari on a closed OS X environment. Why so slow? There are no other apps to slow it down? In contrast, the YouTube app was extremely slick and responsive. I was pleasantly surprised to see NetVibes load smoothly with no issues, but signing in was a strange experience on navigation controls that were hidden under translucent menus.
  
• Email was a pain. Sure, reading was actually cool and sexy (especially loved the inline photos, etc.), but writing only was good if you were replying or emailign someone in your address book. Typing the address in the To field was an exercise in frustration (see the keyboard issues).
  
• Orientation changing sometimes worked. Worked great in iPod mode for music, but video stayed stubbornly widescreen. Not that I'm complaining, but still... And the orientation change only works for some apps, not all.
  
• What the heck is up with Bluetooth? Bad enough they shipped a multimedia device without Bluetooth 2.0 (2.0 lets you stream audio to headphones wirelessly), but there seemed to be no obvious way to set the iPhone's Bluetooth name. Normally, not a huge problem, but in an ever increasing Bluetooth world, you better know what you are pairing with!

There's far more, but check out this accurate rant from another user:

1. Bluetooth is ONLY good for connecting a headset. That's it.
2. There is no file browser on the device at all. Data must be organized (if at all) in the appropriate application.
3. The camera is a simple application that has ONE button: the shutter. Pictures come out okay on the device, but nothing too fancy on a monitor, especially if it was an attempt at a macro shot.
4. SIM card is damn near impossible to open, if at all. I didn't look into it extensively.
5. Web browser is slow, even over WLAN. Even the simple OneList web app that was created takes around 20 seconds to load over WLAN. You can not highlight, cut, copy, or paste and text from a website, and you can not save any images you find from a website either. The only nice thing about it is the tabbed browsing, which crashed on me when I went to Engadget and YouTube on two tabs. This is the only application that allows you to use the keyboard in landscape mode.
6. The keyboard sucks. It gets slightly better after the iPhone "learns" you, as the employees said, but even then, it's not a device you can use with one hand comfortably, much less without looking.
7. You can only send one picture at a time in an email.
8. No custom ringtones (yet, as we were being told) and the alert tones can not be changed whatsoever.
9. The default ringtones are incredibly lame.
10. The only form of customization outside of a lame default ringtone is the wallpaper, which you'll only see when you need to unlock the device or when you get a phone call.
11. "Picture pinching" or using two fingers to zoom on any content is certainly fun to play with, but not practical whatsoever. This operation depends solely on using the device with two hands.
12. No document editor or native viewer. You can not store documents on the device to be viewed, they can only be viewed as attachments when they're sent to your in an email.
13. Visual voicemail is laggy and reacts about the same way as pushing the fast forward and rewind buttons on traditional voicemail systems. The only advantage is for those that get that many voicemail messages a day that they need to sort them according to priority.
14. NO games. None.
15. No voice dialing.
16. No speed dialing (which can be made up by the "quick list", but getting to that quick list isn't as fast as holding a single key on a real keypad).
17. No video (capture).
18. No MMS.
19. It's still <4GB for $500 and <8GB for $600
20. It only takes around 2 hours to explore every menu without any options for expandability except to scrounge around for new web apps that will load slowly and nowhere near as smoothly as the native apps.

The Apple Store I was at sold out of the 8GB versions by 2pm again, but the 4GBs were still available. And they said they expected more in tomorrow. So, I don't expect this to be a rarity. What I think I'll be doing is waiting to see what happens with three things: addressing the email/keyboard issues; looking at expansion to 3rd party apps and widgets; and definitely finding out how the synchronization with Outlook goes, as that's my life right now.

Still, definitely a game-changer, and a whole new class of device, but right now, the price keeps me away for the tradeoffs I mentioned. As the late-30's mother next to me breathed, nearly orgasmically, "I so need this," I would suggest you try for yourself, and make your own conclusions.

Labels: Apple, cell phones, Google Maps, iPhone, Palm, widgets, youtube

  ¶ 5:51 PM (0) comments links to this post

  We now live in an iPhone world Yep, it's official: Mr. Jobs owns our souls. After yesterday's frenzied national campout, the iPhone is no longer a fantasy. Rather than regale you with a recap of the festivities, check out Google News' coverage.

And no, I did not wait in line for one. I might peep one today, but we'll see.

Labels: Apple, cell phones, iPhone, news

  ¶ 10:56 AM (0) comments links to this post

  Make your Smartphone Smarter This week, Palm attempted to prove they are still relevant in the mobile computing space with a newly announced device. Foleo is, in essence, a halfway device: it's not a laptop, nor is it a smartphone. Instead, its a slim, sleek instant-on device that is designed to pair seamlessly with your smartphone to provide laptop-like functionality. The idea is that there are times you need a full keyboard and a larger screen to use, but rather than invest in a separate laptop (with Windows bloatware and laptop weight), this device relies on your nearby smartphone to provide it with connectivity.

Positives:

• The "instant on" is immediately appealing. Hell, most of the time, my laptop at work stays on the desk, as waiting for it to come out of sleep mode in a meeting seems to make Windows behave like a bear roused early from hibernation.
  
• It is definitely a minimalist device: good for travelers, for instance, who just want to watch a movie, catch up on email, or take notes in meetings.
  
• The Linux-based UI seems to be a hybrid of Palm's legendary ease of use and the familiar Windows interface.
  
• WiFi is built in, so you have the option of using your smartphone's connection or a handy hotspot.
  
• In a clearly desperate, though savvy, bid to remain relevant, the Foleo is designed to talk to lots of smartphones, not just Palm ones. That means Blackberrys, Windows Mobile devices, and...yeah, you guessed it...iPhones.

Negatives:

• 5 hours of battery life? C'mon, while that's good, it's not great, especially for cross-country flights.
  
• The price is ridiculous. At $500, you can get a cheap laptop with tons more power and flexibility. This needed to be $299.
  
• 2.5 lbs of weight? Remember, we're not talking about a full laptop here. High end notebooks are around that weight. Needed to be under 2 lbs, minimum.

See for yourself:

It's an interesting play. Foleo does fill a niche: the trend towards convergence is clear, but there are times you simply need the full keyboard and larger screen. It's not a groundbreaker, but it is intriguing. My prediction is a failure (see the Palm LifeDrive, for instance), but it will gain a surprising audience of hackers who figure out how to use the hardware to run Ubuntu and turn this into a full fledged ultralight network laptop.

The truly interesting part of the announcement is how it focuses on the cyclical nature of the computer business. See that photo to the left? It's the Apple PowerBook Duo 280c. It was my mainstay, a decade ago. Designed to bridge the gap between a desktop and a laptop, it offered an ultralight body with decent power and expandability. It's true value, however, was in the office: slide it into the dock, and seamlessly small motors pulled it in, making all of the necessary connections, and you had a full desktop machine, complete with additional hard drive space and power. To this day, while laptops proliferate, there is nothing like it: you still have endless cables and connections. Even the docks they sell are simply brute stands, that you have to fumble with connectors and wires to make work. Apple, as always, was ahead of its time.

The Foleo is taking a cue from the same philosophy, but going a different way. while I applaud the sentiment, I can see myself picking one of these up...after the price cut has happened and the happy hackers have started to make this the device it's meant to be.

Labels: Apple, gadgets, iPhone, Palm, Treo

  ¶ 11:52 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Speaking of Apple and Superbowl weekend... While this year's Superbowl is not a major attraction for me (Colts vs. Bears? Yawn.), I am looking forward to the commercials. The buzz is that Apple has a special commercial planned this year, possibly Beatles-related, so that's will be the Easter egg I'm hunting for.

These commercials have become amazing, in their technical detail, their story, and their originality. For instance, I give you Michael Jordan, king of the commercial/sports pitchmen. Already a legend in basketball, sports, clothes, and commercials ("Gotta be the shoes" "Nothing but net"), Gatorade produced this stunning Superbowl commercial for his last major appearance, entitled simply 23 vs. 29:


Some commercials have used famous directors, of course, but never made it to the screen, even for the Superbowl. Take this absolutely brilliant Spike Jonze-directed Gap masterpiece:

However, this year's hype king is also the master of the Superbowl commercial. Let's not forget: it was Apple who brought the idea of the Superbowl commercial to the mainstream as a pop-culture icon, with the original, Ridley Scott's 1984. I leave you with the iconic genius of pop culture it is:

Labels: Apple, commercials, sports, TV, video, youtube

  ¶ 12:42 AM (0) comments links to this post

  Why my next PC will be a Mac At the office, we have some seriously hardcore developers. Recently, I've noticed a strange phenomenon spreading among them. No, not the sudden burst of social skills or normal working hours (though those are eerily appearing, as well). It's the sight of monstrously oversized Dell laptops disappearing, being replaced with sleek, slim silver...Macs. How is this possible, in the hallowed ground of development, that the ultimate computer, forever associated with designers, is now a hardcore development machine, you ask? One word: Parallels.

While Microsoft releases Vista and it's more refined UI, and Mac tries to shove more and more into the amazing OS X, the quiet revolution comes from an unlikely pair: Mac's switch to Intel chips and Parallels, which lets you run Windows in a window of your OS X machine, with no seeming loss of speed or quality. Sure, Apple's Boot Camp lets you run either Windows or Mac OS, but Parallels allows the simultaneous approach. While this has been done before with emulation, to watch it in action on the high powered Macs is truly staggering. The seamless movement, the perfect OS X icon treatment, the copying and pasting between the two OS'es...wow.

I'm a longtime Mac fan, but had to give them up with the lack of support. But watching one of my coworkers run both OS's, then switching between the two with eerie speed and gorgeous Mac effects, then watching him hook up his Windows Mobile smartphone to the frankenbox...jaw dropping. There is seriously NO reason that your next full computer or laptop should be anything but a Mac. It is, without question, the best of both worlds. Bravo.

Labels: Apple

  ¶ 12:07 AM (0) comments links to this post

  My Palm Is No Longer Top Dog Yep, it's official: Steve Jobs has been reading my blog on the ultimate device, and went ahead and created it. This will serve as an epitaph for my Palm: ladies and gentlemen, I humbly yield my evangelism of my Palm TX as the ultimate multipurpose device, and give you the iPhone.

Why is the iPhone the perfect device? Let me count the ways:

- Apple (no longer Apple Computer; now just Apple, inc. - nice touch, Steve) understands that the killer app for a cell phone is...the phone functions. With Apple's clout, they were able to make the largest cell carrier innovate (visual voicemail: click what messages you want to listen to, rather than be forced to listen to them all), and promises more. Hell, they make making a phone call look sexy on this thing.

- Perfect form factor. Slimmer than any other smartphone, to appeal to the sexy crowd. All screen: you can't mess up the buttons on this thing. The right size to talk on, watch movies...just perfect.

- It runs Mac OS X. Read that again. Not some stripped down version of Linux, or a proprietary OS: the real Mac OS. You want a platform to innovate on or get apps to run on? This is the most robust possibility, ever.

- It syncs with all of the Apple apps, seamlessly as your iPod syncs with iTunes. Music, video, podcasts, contacts, calendar...effortless.

- It ships with 4 or 8 GB of flash memory. Not a hard drive: flash. That means FAST, and no moving parts. Sure, on a music player, that might be not news, but as a phone as well?

- Widgets. This is the ultimate platform for widget displays, all with the whole Apple Dashboard library to choose from.

- Video. I finally have a reason to buy TV shows from iTunes. No more ripping, and dithering down: this sucker will play them all. And you KNOW the integration with FrontRow is coming...can you say Apple TV DVR?

- Music. It's an iPod, the gold standard of MP3 players. And it uses the same connector, which means the accessories are amazing.

- Elegant design. An integrated accelerometer "knows" when you turn it to see it in widescreen, and changes the display to match. A sensor "knows" when you bring it to your face, and turns off the screen, so the light is not on and you can't hit any buttons by accident.

- Connectivity. WiFi built in and Bluetooth 2.0. The phone "senses" when you are near a WiFi connection and uses that; if unavailable, it falls back to the EDGE connection.

- Battery life: it was called out as a feature, not a drawback. The talk time and usage is clearly a focus.

- Price: $599 for the 8GB version. Top smartphones cost close to that, and don't begin to offer the features this does.

- Yahoo push e-mail and Google Maps, built in. Oh my goodness.

I could go on and on, but as great as this device (it's impossible to consider this just a phone) is already, it's real secret weapon is that the potential has not even begun to be explored. 3rd party apps on Mac OSX. Video games. GPS. The mind boggles.

So, are there any flaws? Yes.

1) No camera. It took me a full day to realize that omission. As I have mentioned before, this is a surprisingly popular feature. People will not be thrilled about giving this up, especially with such a capable device to send the pictures from.
UPDATE: Uh-oh, it just got even better. According to the iPhone specs page, it comes with a 2.0 Megapixel camera. Wow.

2) Battery. iPods are notorious for having "closed cases:" you cannot pop a new battery on, when the old one dies. While this may be ok for iPods, phones are critical: let's hope when June comes around (when the release is), it allows for the end user to change the battery.

3) Price. Yes, it's a hell of a deal for all of what you get, but it's still the elite of elites. Will I buy it? Of course. But the iPod took a while to get fully entrenched because of the price.

4) It's wedded to Cingular. Some people tolerate Cingular, others hate it. IMHO, all of the companies are the same, but it will turn off some folks. Your iPod is individual; this attaches you to Cingular for at least 2 years.

5) Memory. 8GB sounds like a lot, until you load all your music, photos, videos and contacts on it. No expansion I saw. This allows Apple to intro the 10GB, etc., later, but it means Flash memory needs to keep up with the demand. Plus, how happy will people by having to spend another $600 every year or two?

6) 3G connectivity. EDGE is the least acceptable cellular data rate. Cingular's HDSPA is much more DSL-like, and rolls back to EDGE. Not a big deal, until you remember: Steve Jobs hates compromise. The browser is Safari, a full web browser. Reading the NY Times on EDGE on a real web browser is like using a 14.4 modem instead of broadband. I didn't see any scaled down version there; that will be my prediction of the first app that makes it's debut, so people can read pages fast. I LOVE WiFi on this device, but HDSPA should have been the cellular standard.

6) Outlook connectivity. Look, the world still runs on Outlook. There needed to be a seamless integration, day 1. OK, no Outlook? How about GMail & Google Calendar? It's still fuzzy how the contacts and calendar apps will sync. Will it only be with the .Mac apps, or will Windows users have an option?

All this aside, this is a truly landscape changing device. Companies that will be affected:
- Nokia. Dead within 3 years, or Europe only is my prediction.
- Motorola. Their design team had been in the lead...they just lost it, and it won't be coming back.
- Blackberry (RIM). Push e-mail from Yahoo? It'll become a tool for the IT executives only.
- Microsoft. After watching Windows Mobile make huge inroads, the sexiest BlackJacks and Q's will look like Newtons compared to this.
- Sprint. 5000 layoffs, same day as this announcement. Connection? No, but expect the 3rd cell carrier to abandon the consumer market and stick to the Nextel business needs.
- Palm. The Palm OS is already a dead OS; now, their legendary ease of use and hardware is antiquated. This device is what Palm should have introduced, not Apple.
- HTC. They make most of the smartphones on the market today (Q, BlackJack, Wizard, etc.), and now they are reduced to a 2nd tier player.

Finally, I leave you with this: not only was this the greatest Apple product yet; not only was this the best keynote yet; not only is this product a world-changer. Even better, check out the dining option Steve and Phil Schiller of Apple decided on in the keynote, while demoing the SMS messaging of the app:


Yep, the best phone, from the best company...at the best Sushi in the state. As a card-carrying Sushi Ran Sushi Love member, I salute you, Steve. The 49er Roll is on me.

Labels: Apple, cell phones, favorites, gadgets, iPhone

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