Pulse...Yahoo Style? I've bitched about how I don't really like Facebook here before, as well as embracing Twitter and Plaxo. The latter is really great to me, as I can see a consolidated view of my friends' updates, sparing me from having to log into separate sites. Although Plaxo has an iPhone-enabled web version, it has not been quite as easy to catch up on the road, though.

Yahoo, of all people, has actually taken a pretty good first step, with Yahoo oneConnect for the iPhone. Simple, actually: download the app from iTunes, and it scans your iPhone's address book. Then, enter your credentials on sites like Flickr, Twitter and Facebook, and it pulls all of the updates from those sites into a single consolidated view. Nice.

My only complaint? The consolidated view is called "Pulse." Um...this is clearly the trademark that Plaxo has claimed, so we are headed for some legal wrangling. Worse, this naming puts Yahoo in an adversarial position with Plaxo, so I won't see Plaxo Pulse updates on oneConnect anytime soon. C'mon, Yahoo: I know you've lost a ton of execs lately, but you couldn't come up with a new word? Flow? Stream? Even Lifeline? Sheesh. Glad the technology exceeds the poor imagination.

Labels: iPhone, social networks, Yahoo

  ¶ 12:21 AM (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

  A Tale of Exchange, Gmail and the iPhone With iPhone 2.0, you now have Exchange support. For folks like me, this is great, but has some side effects.

First, I use Outlook to pull down mail from my personal email accounts during the day. With Exchange, those emails show up in my Exchange box with no issues. However, on my iPhone, I also have my personal email set up: I use Google's Apps For Domains, and it's set up as an IMAP account. The side effect is that, even though I am reading my personal email through Exchange, I am also constantly notified that I have 25 emails through my personal account. Annoying. Sure, I could just delete my personal account from the iPhone, but I want photos and notes sent from the phone to come from my personal email, not a work one. What to do?

It's complicated, but here's how I solved it:
1. Go into your Gmail. Create a new Filter, in your Settings.
2. In your filter, look for the words "is:unread" (without the quotes), and choose to mark any with those words as Read.
3. Apply the filter to all unread emails already there.

Now, all of your current emails in Gmail will be marked read, as well as new emails. However, the mails will continue to be retrieved by Outlook just like before, and the emails will show up as new in your Exchange mailbox. Best of all, your iPhone will now truly show the number of unread emails.

Note this only works if you are using Google Apps for Domains for your email or Gmail; IMAP setup on the iPhone for your Gmail/personal mail; and you don't want new mail to be unread on the web version of Gmail. My tests were, after this setup:
A) Does personal mail show in Outlook as Unread?
B) Does personal mail show in Gmail as Read?
C) Does personal mail show up in both places?
D) Does the iPhone now not show # of unread for personal mail? In other words, only showing the number of unread emails for my Exchange mailbox?
E) Can I send photos from the iPhone on my personal mail account, by default?
Maybe pretty specialized, but hope it helps!

Special thanks to this post for the filter tip.

Labels: Google, iPhone

  ¶ 7:45 AM (0) comments links to this post

  Evolution Of An Icon Just installed Tapulous' Twinkle, which is an amazing location-aware Twitter client, on my iPhone. Of course, as expected, Twitter was having access issues. If you have ever encountered these issues on Twitter itself, they usually put up a cartoony picture of a whale, which has inevitably lead to the name "fail whale." So imagine my amusement at seeing this clever icon in Twinkle:
Yep, the fail whale is now a slick looking icon. Bravo, Tapulous. Bravo.

Thanks to Pete for pointing out the new way to take an iPhone screenshot!

Labels: iPhone, social networks, Software

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

  iPhone App Review Orgy Since the new iPhone apps don't have a "try before you buy" option, reviews become critical. Unfortunately, the reviews in the App Store seem to be more focused on declarations of how proud the reviewer is that he/she got their review done first, or complaining about the iPhone 3G, rather than extensive reviews of the applications, so it becomes even more frustrating.

Luckily, Gizmodo has a "marathon liveblog" going, where they are reviewing all the apps they can get their hands on and updating constantly. True, it still has the typical Gizmodo smart-ass attitude mixed with childish humor, but the reviews are actually quite helpful, and already made me pull the trigger on a game I was considering. Nice job, guys.

Labels: blogs, iPhone, Software

  ¶ 10:43 AM (0) comments links to this post

  iPhone eWallet: Not Complete Until August Sigh. Even though the iPhone app for eWallet is due in the iTunes app store today, Ilium has disclosed that sync will not be part of it until August. Given that they have had sync between eWallets on multiple computers for some time, as well as the iPhone web beta client, this is a real shock and letdown.

Having said that, I would very much like to call attention to the post where they explain why. It addresses the feelings they know this causes in their users, and attempts to explain why. It also acknowledges that this is a letdown, for both them and us. It's an excellent case study of how to communicate with your customers an unexpected delay. Folks like Apple could take notes.

Labels: iPhone, Software

  ¶ 10:38 AM (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

  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

  iPalm As an iPhone owner, I am one of the thousands waiting anxiously for the June 9th unveiling of iPhone 2.0, and the applications it will bring to the iPhone. Sure, I've enjoyed unlocking my iPhone, and using some interesting apps, but, as the commercial says, ain't nothing like the real thing, baby.

However, today brought a new announcement that add even more anticipation. StyleTap will bring it's Palm OS emulator to the iPhone. Why is this good? I have invested literally hundreds of dollars over the years in Palm apps, and some I miss every day. Sure, iPhone 2.0 will open the floodgates for many (eWallet among them), but there's some great Palm OS games and apps I would dearly love to have again, and it looks like WWDC will bring me both new native iPhone apps, and restore some of my beloved Palm ones.

Of course, this is wonderful for me, but essentially kills Palm. Why would you spend for a Treo, when you can have an iPhone with a Palm in it, as well? It's already the most popular phone since...well, ever. But add the library of thousands of Palm apps? And all of this while Palm's big innovation has been the Centro? Uh, for anyone holding Palm stock, now would be the time to short it, I'm afraid.

So, goodbye Palm, hello iPhone 2.0.

Labels: cell phones, iPhone, Palm, Treo

  ¶ 1:19 AM (0) comments links to this post

  Charge Your iPhone, Wirelessly I've been waiting for this one for a while: WildCharge has finally released their pad-based charging system for small electronics: simply lay your device on the pad, and, courtesy of a special case, it immediately starts charging. No wires, no cords: Nada. and, of course, the next device it will work with? Yep, you guessed it: the iPhone.

The $100 or so it costs ($60 for the pad; $35 for the case) is a bit steep, but I have to think it will come down. And, of course...how cool is this?!??!? For more, check out WildCharge.

Labels: gadgets, iPhone

  ¶ 12:50 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Jailbroken...and Happy I have a confession to make: I am now officially a fugitive. Last weekend, after a cross-country trip, I vowed to Jailbreak my iPhone. Not familiar with the term? It refers to a process that unlocks your iPhone so you can install programs on it, extending the functionality. Now, Apple is already moving this way with the release of the SDK, and I will be very happy to reap the benefits, but I'm a tinkerer at heart. My PC's always have custom skins, I have hacks and shortcuts in my browsers, and more. That, combined with the need to have local games (not a lot of WiFi at 30,000 ft.), sent me on a collision course with Steve & Co.

First, how do you Jailbreak an iPhone? It's surprisingly simple. First, I downloaded ZiPhone, a Windows application that made it as simple as double clicking. A couple of iPhone restarts, and I was free as a bird. The unusual part of Jailbreaking is how you get the applications after you've Jailbroken: you can really only download them with a new program on your iPhone, called Installer. It allows you to browse the applications out there, even see previews, and then download and install right from your iPhone. You can multiple sources to browse, but the ones it comes with are pretty comprehensive. Ok, so what's now on my iPhone?

- Twinkle. It's a Twitter client for the iPhone. "A Twitter client?" You say? "Why would you need that, when you can just use Twitter's spiffy iPhone online interface, or just use SMS?" All true. But Twinkle does a couple of nice things. First, it uses the iPhone's Locate Me functionality to determine where you area, and tags your Tweets with your location. You can also see people who are tweeting nearby. This was really fun when waiting for the ferry this week, and seeing tweets from other Twinklers expressing the same frustrations. Also, Twinkle allows you to upload a photo with your tweet; of course, only other Twinklers can see them, but still, there's hope for the future.

- Fring. What's the iPhone painfully missing, besides an installed version of eWallet? An IM client. Well, Fring claims to be that, and to be fair, it is. It does AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk, Skype, ICQ, Twitter...the list goes on. And, it also supposedly handles VOIP calls through SIP or Skype; I haven't tried it. The interface is OK, there's definitely a lag on sending and receiving, but it's free and it works. However, I've actually disabled most of this now, for one major reason: there is no way to control the volume of the notification when a new message comes in. As a result, when I'm riding the bike, listening to a podcast, suddenly there is a sharpened steel spike being shoved through my eardrum as Fring helpfully tells me that a new message is here. Of course, I can't read it, as I have crashed on the side of the road, gripping my skull in agony, convulsing...but hey, minor details. ;-) I do keep it on the iPhone for emergencies, though; you never know when you might need to IM.

- OK, let's talk about the best one: Genesis4iphone. Yep, travel back to the late 80's/early '90's with a perfect emulator of the classic Sega Genesis videogame system, right on your iPhone. With helpful links to ROM's, you have the entire catalog of games available. Installing them to the iPhone is not so easy; you need to download what is essentially an FTP client for your computer to install them; this video walked me through every step of it, while this video walks you through installing the games. Now, I have such classics as Lakers Vs. Bulls, Sonic the Hedgehog, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and both X-Men games at my fingertips, with hundreds more available. Oh, I bet you're worried about memory, right? Don't: the games are usually less than 500K, so you could install them all and still have days of music and video.

- I love skins, and even though the iPhone UI is probably the best ever, I can't resist making it better. Summerboard lets me load in custom skins, like the Time Machine one on the left (it's the one I have running right now). There are tons more, ranging from the typical "make your iPhone look like Windows" variety, to the truly sublime, like this one.

- Wouldn't you love to manage your Netflix queue with an iPhone interface? Drag movies up, shift them around, etc? iFlix has your back, and makes queue management cool.

- Volume Boost 1.1.4 lets me finally make my iPhone a little louder at the top end. When you are bombing down a hill at 40 mph on the bike, and the wind is roaring, sometimes you need a little boost to hear those Buzz Out Loud folks.

Of course, there's far more, but I can honestly say that, while I'm happy to have Jailbroken my iPhone, I expected more. Here's a note to Apple: all you would have needed to give me was an eWallet interface, a shopping list application, and games, and I probably would have stayed a happy prisoner. As it is, I'm footloose and fancy free, and browsing my Installer to see what's next.

Labels: 80's, iPhone, Software, Video Games

  ¶ 9:18 AM (0) comments links to this post

  Mobile TripIt...Just In Time Great news, just in time for my upcoming trip: instead of the innovative, but practically dubious, previous "mobile" TripIt access, TripIt itineraries are now truly mobile. Great news, following right on the heels of my installation of Remote Calendars, allowing me to sync any iCal feed to Outlook; I was using it to sync my TripIt itineraries.

If you are a TripIt user, head on over to m.tripit.com and see for yourself.

Labels: iPhone, Software, travel, Web 2.0

  ¶ 8:55 AM (0) comments links to this post

  Tretakoff.com, iPhone Style Oooh...I've written about MoFuse before, and the seamless free way you can create a mobile version of your own website/Blog. Looks like they took it up a notch, now offering a free iPhone ready version of the same, automatically available:

Labels: free, iPhone, Web 2.0

  ¶ 9:13 AM (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

  iPhone Favicons Remember Favicons? Or did you ever wonder why some websites have a little icon in the address bar? Those are favicons. Firefox lets you drag them to your bookmarks bar, and it keeps the favicon. If you like a lot of bookmarks, you can edit the bookmark to lose th text, and just keep the favicon. After all, you know that miniature eBay icon is not a symbol of their diminished earnings in the wake of overpaying for Skype or Meg Whitman's retirement: it's the eBay logo.

Now, fast forward to the iPhone. With the latest firmware release, you can create "web clips," which are just Apple's way of saying bookmarks, right on the Home screen. Easy to do: visit a website on your iPhone, click the "+" button, and it prompts you if you want to save it as a bookmark or Web Clip. Problem? The icon of the Web Clip is often a mini snapshot of the page. Some sites, like Plaxo Mobile, are smart enough to pass along the magic icon resource, so the Web Clip is the Plaxo logo, rather than a snapshot of the login page. But what to do about the other sites?

Enter Clipalizer. You can create your own 57 x 57 PNG images, and tell Clipalizer what URL they are for. Clipalizer then gives you a special URL to visit on your iPhone. Visit it, and you are prompted to add the page as a Web Clip. Voila, your icon, with a direct link to the site you specified. The image on the left is my quick and dirty TripIt icon, thanks to Picnik letting me edit it down.

Oh, did I mention it's free?

Labels: free, iPhone, Web 2.0

  ¶ 2:05 AM (0) comments links to this post

  Divx on iPhone? One of the minor pain points of switching to the iPhone was the loss of the ability to watch Divx movies on my portable media solution. Not familiar with Divx? Can't say I blame you: it's a video codec that allows you to encode a video is a very compressed format without too much evidence of such on playback. Why does that matter? Well, your average DVD is about 6-8 gigabytes. Your average blank DVD is 4.7 GB. Your average CD ROM? A measly 650 MB. See the need to compress? You get the picture: if you want to build a library of your own videos and keep the space under control, being able to compress the video is a big plus. As a result, I have a significant amount of Divx movies that I can watch on my Divx-capable DVD players, but not on my iPhone. What to do?

Courtesy of RegNow, a division of Digital River, who frequently sell software that can be immediately downloaded and used, I was introduced to the Movavi Video Converter. Yep, it does just what it says: it takes any video format you have, and converts it to the video type of your choice. It also claims to be able to rip DVD's, although I have not put it to the test (I have another solution for that), I am happy to report it does work. Flawlessly and fast.

Best of all, courtesy of RegNow, I (and now you, dear reader) was offered the ability to pick up this handsome utility for less than one Andrew Jackson: $19.95. In other words, for the price of a typical DVD, I can now convert all of my library to formats I can watch on my iPhone. I debated doing so for all of 30 seconds, and I can honestly say I am quite pleased with the results. Note: if you plan to take advantage of this, make sure you remove the "Extended Download Service" they throw in the shopping cart if you don't want it; it adds another $7 to the price otherwise.

iPhone users, the rejoicing can now officially begin.

Labels: iPhone, movies, Software, video

  ¶ 2:21 AM (0) comments links to this post

  One Step Closer Thanks to the good folks at Iliumsoft, I am now a beta tester of their new eWallet Web Companion. If you are not familiar with eWallet, I've mentioned it several times before: it's the most elegant, secure, and useful program for managing sensitive information, such as passwords, PINs and the like. I have been a grateful user since version 2.0; they are up to 6.0 now, which I happily paid $10 to upgrade to for the access to the Web Companion.

Why am I so happy about this? Well, the iPhone has proved to be a great device, but it severely lacks the ability to access my passwords and sensitive data on the fly, as you can not, yet, load programs on to it without Jailbreaking it. Hopefully, with the SDK releasing next month, that's a temporary condition, but it, along with my old Texas Hold'em game, are the two biggest pain points I feel since moving from my Treo. With Web Companion, I get some relief: it offers secure web access to my data, and even provides a slick iPhone interface for access on the go.

I was lucky enough to get into the beta, and I have been very impressed with the attention to detail so far. For one, they clearly indicate where the current lacks are upfront, such as the ability to change your Web Companion password, which helps set expectations. For another, the online syncing ability between the Windows application and the Web Companion is smooth, seamless, and very slick. In other words, just what I would have expected from the folks at Ilium Software.

I look forward to the future revisions, as well as the refinements they will bring. Of course, I'm sure that the brilliant folks are already hard at work on the SDK-ready version, so I'll be ready!

Labels: iPhone, Software

  ¶ 1:03 AM (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

  Kicking the Outlook Habit As a professional with over 8K contacts and over 2K appointments, I am a hopeless Microsoft Outlook addict. However, as any power user of Outlook will tell you, it becomes massively bloated, slow as molasses, and utterly frustrating with even the slightest extended usage. Worse, there is no way to make it go back to even resembling a responsive application once the damage has been done. Why, then, you ask, do I continue to use it?

- It is still the best email application, with it's MS Word integration with the only true inline spell correct on the market.
- It is the defacto standard for corporate mail and appointment requests.
- It is the best all in one application.

However, like any Outlook power user, I have found that I need to add things on to it to make it usable. This is where it gets fun: each of those add-ons makes Outlook massively harder to use. For instance:

- Spam control. Outlook's spam filters are laughable. I could use our server's draconian spam controls, but would easily miss emails from my clients.
Instead, I happily subscribe to Cloudmark Desktop: for $5 a month, I get incredibly intelligent spam protection, with built in crowdsourcing from over half a million users. The first user who gets a spam email marks it as such in Outlook, using the Outlook-integrated Cloudmark Desktop. The next person does the same. If a few more do, every other person who gets that email will automatically have it thrown in the spam folder. Using Cloudmark, I went from over 100 emails a day I had to delete as spam to less then 2. It works, period.

- Syncing. I sync my contacts and tasks with Salesforce, so I can keep up with my organization's workload. I sync everything with Plaxo, so I can have my information synchronized across Google, Yahoo, etc. Until last week, I synced with Palm for my Treo. Each of these require a little add-on to Outlook.

- Lookout. Though no longer made, and no longer available (Microsoft acquired the company, and replaced it with the far more bloated Windows Search), it can still be found, if you know where to look for it. It adds a powerful search, Google-style, to Outlook that makes it easy to find any email or contact, ever, in your Outlook. Outlook's own built-in search is so woefully painful, Lookout is simply a must-have.

However, time has marched on, and ever so slowly, there have started to appear a crop of combinations that tempt me to finally break my Outlook addiction. First, let me say it: I would LOVE to switch to Gmail exclusively. The calendar functions are perfect (actually, superior to Outlook by far), and play nicely with Outlook meeting requests. Their email interface is incredibly powerful, with integrated Google search that is truly the gold standard, and their spam detection is incredibly good, with almost no errors. With Plaxo integration, it even satisfies most of my syncing habits. However, the biggest Outlook withdrawal I would feel is the lack of realtime inline spell correction. I've written about this before, but it amazes me still this hasn't been solved. I've recently given As-U-Type a more thorough try, and, with some tweaking of the settings, it actually seems to do what I want without annoying the hell out of me. So, it seems possible this might be my Methadone.

Syncing? Well, Plaxo does 50% of the work. However, it lacks 2 major sync points: Salesforce and my new iPhone. For Salesforce, the picture looks pretty bleak: while there are definitely tools coming to sync Salesforce's Calendar to Google Calendar, I have found nothing for the contacts. Ouch. Given the announced partnership between the two companies, I expected something, but so far it's only seemed to yield AdWords and Google Maps integration.

For the iPhone, the future looks much brighter. First, there is Yahoo Contacts syncing built into iTunes. However, it means either dealing with Yahoo's abominable mail interface (uh...can I actually see my mail, or are there only ads in there?), or ponying up $20 for a Yahoo Plus account. Alas, the Plaxo/Yahoo sync is offline for now, and importing my contacts from a CSV seemed to top out at 1K or so, leaving me with no contacts past the letter "C." Not a real confidence builder, but the built-in iTunes sync is pretty tempting...

Even better, GooSync offers over-the-air based synchronization of Google Calendars, for free, and it even works with the iPhone. A paid version gets you more bells and whistles, but, alas, still no contact syncing. The problem seems to lie with Google, not providing an API for Gmail Contacts like they do for Calendar. There are some promising developments coming, not the least of which is Apple's February release of the iPhone SDK, but there is also the tantalizing temptation of Funambol, which claims they will have an over-the-air mobile contact sync soon:

"Compatible with Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL, Microsoft Outlook as well as other email systems, the software interfaces with the free myFUNAMBOL portal which stores the most up-to-date collection of your PIM data. By the end of this year, Funambol expect to have a basic, contacts-sync’ing version available."

For now, it appears I am still stuck sucking on the Outlook glass pipe while Google and Apple chortle at a new addiction they are cooking up. Hey, I'm open to ideas here: anyone??

Labels: Google, iPhone, lifehacks, Plaxo, Software

  ¶ 1:16 AM (4) comments links to this post

  iPhone Acquired. Palm Weeps. Yep. After suffering yet another Treo meltdown on my recent Tucson trip, I resolved that this New Year would be free of such frustrations. And thanks to AT&T, I not only did it, but came out ahead.

For those who are not familiar with my recent Treo issues, it's developed an exasperatingly unpredictable habit of forgetting how to put audio through. The built in earpiece? Nope. The speakerphone? Nah. The Bluetooth headset? Ha! No, in fact it simply removes the icon from the screen that lets you control where the audio goes to, leaving your caller in limbo: they can hear you, but you can't hear them. Ever. More disturbingly, when I hard reset the phone, it still did it. Randomly, a day later, it stops. When I called AT&T about this, they immediately offered to send me a new unit, at no charge, and had me send back the defective one; extremely great service, as it was past warranty. The new Treo came, and within weeks, the same problem started. Enough was enough: I love the multifunction of my Treo, but sound is pretty key. So, how to get the iPhone?

I started by calling AT&T again. I explained the situation, and the CSR asked me what I'd like to do. I asked if I could receive a credit; she said yes, towards an equal or lesser phone. I asked if I could get an iPhone and pay the difference; she immediately pointed out that Apple will not let them discount the iPhone. However, she offered a credit of $200 for my Treo. In fact, without prompting, she also offered to waive the $50 fee this would normally incur, AND give me an extra $50 credit for my aggravation. This is just stunning customer service: I would get $250 in credit towards a $399 phone. How to execute this deal? Simple, she said: head down to the nearest AT&T Wireless store, have the sales rep pull up the notes, and they'd take care of it.

I headed down to the local store, where the helpful sales rep looked over the notes on my account with astonishment: he had no idea how to do this, as it would mean discounting the iPhone, which is a major no no. The manager joined us, and HE looked over the notes, sure to find something wrong, and he was astonished as well. After stuttering that he couldn't do it, I asked him a simple question: as the manager, put himself in my position as the customer; what would he expect and be satisfied to hear at that moment? To his credit, he laid it out: I could buy the iPhone at full price, knowing I could return it (unopened) within 30 days for a full refund. I could then go back to my office and call AT&T to discuss how to address it. Good plan; I paid with Amex (to protect against anything going wrong), and headed back, iPhone in tow. Note I still have my Treo at this point.

Back in the office, called and spoke with another extremely helpful CSR. She looked over my notes, called a supervisor, who authorized crediting my AT&T account $249. They asked for the iPhone's IMEI and SIM numbers, and processed the credit. I was skeptical; she suggested I log into my online account to prove it. I did, and there was my $249 credit. I asked to speak to the supervisor, thanked her and complimented her on her staff, and took the iPhone home.

So, here I sit, blogging while my iPhone syncs to my new Dell, happily. My Treo, sensing it's end, decided to spontaneously reboot twice on the ride home today, the last blowing away all software registration info. Note that I still have the Treo: potentially, I could sell it on eBay for $150; more, with the accessories I have bought, and come out AHEAD, with the AT&T credits. I cannot offer enough kudos to AT&T for not putting me through a lot of hoops and addressing the issue head on. Well done, folks.

So, look for the iPhone posts soon!

Labels: ATT, iPhone, Treo

  ¶ 8:04 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Your Blog/Page, Mobile Ever wanted to have a version of a page or site that you could browse on a mobile screen, but you weren't into the complex programming it requires for it? Welcome to Mobile for Dummies, courtesy of MoFuse. As Download Squad puts it:

MoFuse lets you make a mobile version of pretty much any site. The entire process basically boils down to:

1. Create an account
2. Name your site
3. Enter the RSS feed
4. Tweak if you like

And man, does it work. In just seconds, I created a mobile version of this blog! Check it out here on your mobile device.

I love it when technology gets reduced to brain-dead simple. If Linux was like this, we'd be Windows-free already.

Labels: cell phones, free, iPhone, Web 2.0

  ¶ 3:27 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.