I’m often very critical of Apple devices, mostly due to their closed approach to the software ecosystem. But say what you will about Apple and their business practices, there have always been two significant upsides to buying their products:
1. Attention to detail – Apple is famous for taking their time to fully test everything before release
2. Support – Even after your model has been replaced, Apple never makes you feel like your product is obsolete. They are famous for still offering software updates and support instead of pressuring you to purchase the next model (unlike certain other companies).
While I have never considered an iPhone for my main phone, I will admit those were two things that always impressed me, and perhaps even made me jealous. Their original iPhone couldn’t copy/paste, send MMS, multitask, or heck even allow 3rd party applications at first… but for all the things that it did not do, the things it DID do were done with elegance and style. Back then, my Symbian and Windows Mobile phones ran circles around the iPhone in both features and power (and in some ways they still do), but lacked the instant response and super smooth scrolling Apple seemed to have perfected on their first try. And when they updated the software to introduce the App store and more features, even the older models got the update. Meanwhile, I found myself scouring XDA-developers.com for the latest ported software of Windows Mobile, since HTC had decided not to offer updates to last year’s hardware.
It was a compromise I was willing to make since I found Apple’s platform too limiting, but boy did I wish Nokia or HTC/Microsoft spent that time on attention to detail. With the release of iOS4, however, it seems that Apple is trying to make me feel better.
First, we had the reports of problems with the iPhone 4 and the supposed “faulty antenna”. Honestly, I think that’s kind of silly. Sure, many phones have faults, I remember the HTC Wizard and Tornado on T-mobile would sometimes get stuck in “Searching…” if you slipped into a roaming agreement area until you reset. On my wife’s Samsung phone, if she tries to initiate a call while someone calls her, the phone will lock up and not allow her to pick up or ignore until the caller stops ringing (very annoying when we get disconnected and try to call each other back at the same time).
Honestly, I think Apple’s whole antenna fiasco really wouldn’t be a big deal except that Apple is being held to a higher standard. Heck, even Senator Chuck Schumer wrote an open letter to Apple demanding they address the issue. Really, I’m not kidding about this one. Its absolutely ridiculous. Like Apple owes everyone an apology.
Funny how lots of phones have little quirks or issues, yet no one makes such a big stink about it. But everyone expects the iPhone not to have those. Why? They’re not created by celestial beings or anything. They are consumer electronics, same as everything else.
Then there was the version of iOS4 for the iPhone 3G… This is my favorite! If you own an iPhone 3G and haven’t tried this yet, DON’T!
Not only did they leave out the goodies of iOS4 such as multitasking, its also much more demanding of the hardware and can slow your phone down to a crawl. I’m talking about the kind of crawling that iPhone users make fun of other phones for having.
Does anyone remember that first iPhone ad on TV? Everything moved so silky smooth, we all thought it was just a dramatization for TV. Well, we found a video someone made of the original commercial being remade with an iPhone 3G running iOS4.
Lets just say the “new” commercial had to be extended past the 28 seconds of the original in order to perform all the tasks.
Sometimes my phone lags like that when running too much at once. Thankfully not often, but it can totally happen. Yet, Apple fans poke fun of other devices for it. Well, look what we have here. Apparently Apple feels that this is acceptable, otherwise they wouldn’t have released it, right?
My point here is that Apple is not some “magical” company that only makes perfect products and controls their ecosystem for the sake of the user experience. Some of their hardware is flawed, and some of their software decisions could use some more quality control.
But make no mistake, I’m not saying Apple is bad for either of these things. I’m saying they are just like every other phone choice out there. Contrary to popular belief, Apple does not make products “for the good of mankind” or anything like that. They’re in this to make money, just like everyone else. They have to try only hard enough for people to trust in their brand name, then they can cut corners a little here and there.
Wired reports that DC Comics is joining the (legal) digital comics revolution, and teaming with Comixology to bring their comics to iPad and even PSP. Comixology also powers Marvel’s iPhone/iPad app.
DC’s initial foray into digital comics, while big news, is very conservative, with a smattering of “about 100 titles,” according to Jim Lee. Then again, the percentage of Marvel comics available in their own app is hardly huge. Still, DC’s very late to this game, with Marvel already having an established relationship with Apple and the iPad.
What’s interesting about the future of digital comics is how iPad-centric it looks. There’s a ton of people who want digital comics (as any torrent search would tell you, assuming you’re naughty), and the digital experience is a heck of a lot better on a tablet than on a desktop (and yes, Comixology does have a desktop reader last I checked, so I’m not just talking illegal downloads) and let’s be honest – when you talk tablets to a general member of the public, you mean the iPad. It’s huge. If I were a developer, I would absolutely focused on that. Except…
One of my big beefs (with not just the iPad, but products like the Nook and the Sony e-reader line) is how content is becoming chained to devices. Buy a copy of “The Dark Knight Returns” for my an iPad, and then want to read it on a desktop? You can’t. Want to switch from the iPad to one of Dell’s upcoming Streak tablets (or to a future Windows Mobile or WebOS device), and want to take your content with you? Again, you can’t… not without buying the same content again.
It’s a problem with a lot of devices these days, with differing devices, formats and providers.
On the topic of formats: Even on the iPad, one has multiple comic readers to chose from, each with a different batch of content. None of those apps can open the other apps format. Imagine if Microsoft never made a plugin for WordPerfect, and the only way to open a WordPerfect file in Word was to buy WordPerfect, in addition to already paying for Word, and vice versa. It’d be madness. Sony’s lame attempts at their own digital music format failed for this very reason.
I’m intriguer by Digital Longbox’s product, especially with their sub-account focus, openness to indie creators, and the idea that your comics can live on your device or in the cloud, and be accessed by their client on multiple devices… but that still leaves someone switching from another provider without their old content. Still, I’ll be watching them (and hopefully at NY Comic Con for their product launch)
I absolutely think tablets are the future of digital comics, and that digital comics are the future of monthly “pamphlet style” comics (practically a loss-leader for collections sold at bookstores by now). I like that creators don’t have to deal with minimum orders, and that it gives smaller companies a level field with the big boys. I love that non-superhero stories get a big chance to shine with these.
I just don’t like how it’s shaping up to be a platform/provider issue.
According to the Gizmodo’s telling of the story, the person that found the phone realized it might be something important, and tried to return it to Apple.
However the customer service representatives who spoke to him took it for a hoax- obviously, the folks answering phones at a company with as much secrecy as Apple aren’t privy to confidential information such as a missing prototype (or even what the prototype would look like should he describe it).
Assuming it was a chinese knockoff or hoax, they turned him away.
So, our lucky finder took the next logical step… tell the media.
Gizmodo offered to pay $5k for exclusive rights to review it (and help the finder return it), and went on to throughly examine, photograph and report on the alleged new iPhone. They admit, the prototype seemed pretty legit, however they had their doubts. That is, until Apple sent an official letter from their legal team and asked for their lost device back.
Well, that ends the story. Apple got their device back, Gizmodo got an exclusive scoop, and some lucky guy got $5k for sharing it after trying to return it to its rightful owner. They all lived happily ever after, right?? Wrong.
The story continues, and gets considerably uglier from here. Apparently, Apple is furious about what happened, and things are just getting started. Around dinner time last Friday, Gizmodo editor Jason Chen found his home being raided by the police, who were issued a warrant break in and confiscate his computers. On top of all that, Wired.com reports that the original finder of the phone (who has remained anonymous as of yet) may be under investigation as well.
And as if that isn’t enough, I’m sure that Gray Powell (the Apple engineer who apparently lost the prototype in the first place) is in a world of pain right now. Its no secret that Apple is very protective about its devices, often aggressively so. Does anyone remember Sun Danyong, the Foxconn employee who committed suicide after accidentally losing one of Apple’s prototypes in China last July? Yeah. They tend to not just let things go.
The silly thing about all this is that the original finder of the phone actually TRIED to return it! Even Gizmodo sent it back, very politely, without even a hesitation once it was confirmed to be an Apple product. As far as I can tell, they did nothing wrong! If anything, the original finder should be commended to trying to return a valuable product, when so many people might just pawned it off on ebay!
Apple may be upset, but they appear to be taking it out on the wrong people!!
The uglier side of Apple has managed to stay below the radar mostly, but it seems people are taking notice this time. Even the Daily show had something to say about it:
This’ll teach me to go to bed at night – turns out the delightfully spec’ed Dell Lightning (the first Windows7 phone I can honestly say I’d like to try on a day-to-day basis) is just the tip of a very cool iceberg.
Next up, there’s the Thunder (Anyone else seeing a theme here? Too bad Blackberry already snatched “Storm”). It’s a GSM Android 2.1 device with a custom UI called “Stage” (which includes Facebook integration, apparently). There’s no slide-down portrait keyboard like on the Lightning, but there is allegedly full Flash support including a Hulu player. Now that’s a heck of a selling point. There’s also an 8 MP camera, as opposed to the Lightning’s 5 MP.
Wait, we’re not done yet! Dell has more Android sets to leak out. There’s the “Flash” (It’ll save every one of us!), with a smaller 3.5 screen than the Lightning or Thunder’s 4.1, more “Stage UI” goodness and probably most interesting to the techs out there, a Qualcomm MSM7230. This is Qualcomm’s “snapdragon” class device, and I can’t wait to see how this thing handles the demands of an “always on” OS like Android. Of the devices leaked so far, this seems more like the “fashionable” device. Unless you count…
…the Dell Smoke. With only a 2.8 QVGA screen, a dedicated hardware keyboard, Dell’s leaked documents indicate this is going to be more “corporate” targeted, but if this thing is a “suit and tie” phone, it’s a designer suit and tie. Simply stunning to look at.
The final phone leaked is the US version of the Areo. It’s got a comparatively anemic processor, and not a ton that catches my eye. Yes, it’s got handwriting recognition and a “special” capacitive stylus… but surely I’m not the only one who far prefers a stylus free device? Yes, there’ll be a Webkit browser and some kind of Flash support, but I can’t say I have any interest in this, knowing that the Lighting, Thunder, and Smoke are coming down the pipe. The Areo does have the advantage of launching first, so expect people who don’t follow tech blogs to plunk down a pretty penny, and then later be upset that they used up their upgrade.
While I’m done with phones, that’s not all Dell has slated (sorry for the pun). They’ve given more info on their “Streak” tablet. It’s now launching with Android 2.1 and still coming “this summer” but the big deal is what it’s being compared to, which is the Dell “Looking Glass”. I fell in love with the name right away. While at the surface the LG is just a “blown up” 7” Streak (Dell – there’s no excuse for putting a mere 800×480 resolution on this thing, or an anemic 1.3 megapixel camera!). Crack it open and you’ll find a Tegra2 chip inside. Throw in the fact that it has actual expandable RAM and you have the first Android tablet I’m interested in trying out.
Those are the devices – and you can get more details at Engadget – and now here’s the commentary: Dell is a powerhouse brand, with tons of presence in every segment of the computer market. The one notable exception has been handhelds. There was a time when the Dell Axim was a great device line – I had an X5 and it was one of the first “pocketable” PocketPCs. Sure, you needed a big pocket, but it was pocketable. However, that line faded into obscurity, and they’ve had a small hole in their lineup since. With this sudden spate of phones and tablets, running multiple OSes and targeted at multiple market segments, Dell seems ready to make a serious attempt at the one area where Apple and “upstarts” like HTC and others are firmly entrenched. Nothing here screams “iPhone/iPad killer!”, but on paper they certainly seem like viable alternatives to it, and they certainly have the market presence to leverage these devices. I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
About a month ago, the NY Times printed a fascinating article about the now infamous tension growing between Google and Apple.
Apple has claimed that Google stole ideas and concepts from the iPhone to fuel Android’s success. Not only that, but Google’s presence on the iPhone may continue to be a liability.
Since Google is the default search engine for the iPhone, they can collect data on the search habits of users. This means they’ll know what iPhone users search for, what they want and what they like, and even know where they do it using Google Maps. This, according to sources, can give Google a competitive edge to use that data and create solutions before Apple can.
The solution? Remove Google from the iPhone.
There has been speculation that Apple will consider using Microsoft’s Bing, since they offer a competitive search and mapping engine to Google. Oh, the irony!
Once upon a time (back in the glorious Bill Gates days of Microsoft), one of the big reasons Apple and Google became allies was to rise up against monopolistic companies such as Microsoft. However, it was immediately apparent that there is a considerable difference in their philosophies. Google is famous for being open and pushing for standards, whereas Apple has always pushed for proprietary and closed models to protect their user experience. The only way these two could possibly work together was to unite against a common enemy. However, what happens when your ally appears to be more of an enemy than your common one? Partner with the “other” enemy?
All this has been met with a considerable amount of speculation from analysts and fanboys alike.
There is a second, more far-fetched theory however. According to Business Insider, top Apple analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray says that there is a 70% chance Apple will create their own search engine in the next 5 years.
That’s a bold prediction. Does anyone think this would be a good idea? I mean, Apple has ZERO experience in search engines, and the market has evolved so much, it would be kind of late for a newcomer to enter the area. Even if Apple makes their own search default, why wouldn’t users just switch to the familiar Google to do their searching (just as a majority of Windows users don’t use the default Bing)?
Unless… Perhaps Apple is really so driven to keep Google off the platform that they actually actively BLOCK access to it.
Would Apple do that? I would like to say no, but then again this is the same company who enforces the rigidly ruled App store. Apple is all about control, and I’m not sure I can say this is beneath them. On top of that, what if Apple decides to enforce a similar set of rules to filter your web searches?
Apple has famously denied App submissions as harmless as a dictionary due to objectionable content (curse words included in the definitions). Can you imagine a search engine that only showed you results pre-approved by Apple?
Ok, perhaps that is going too far. Apple can not be that controlling, can they?
My personal opinion in all this?
Let it go, Mr. Jobs. Competition is good, as we all know, since it drives innovation and keeps technology affordable. Stop being so defensive about your products and go back to innovating like the Apple days of old. I miss the Apple of the 1980’s.
A couple of months back, Opera announced an upcoming iPhone-version of its popular mobile web browser, Opera Mini. As I mentioned then, this was a surprising and bold move from Opera.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, Opera Mini (not to be confused with Opera Mobile) is a lightning-quick low-profile web browser that can pull down and display web pages in a fraction of the time that a standard mobile browser can. This is achieved by first having the images and content compressed by Opera’s powerful servers, then sending the simplified compressed stream to the device to display. The end result is a claimed 90% reduction in data transfer, which translates into significantly faster page loading and less bandwidth required (for those on limited data plans).
The announcement to bring the already popular browser to the iPhone, however, was met with much speculation: Apple is notorious for rejecting “Duplication of Services”, which means any app which could potentially compete with any of their own products. That includes alternative dialers, media players, and of course web browsers.
Yet, somehow, Opera managed to squeeze the lightning quick Opera Mini browser right by Apple’s draconian App store gatekeepers, despite the direct competition with Safari. How the heck did they manage that?! (more…)
I’m not at Apple’s press event for iPhone OS 4. I wish I were. I’m an equal part pleased and disturbed by the seven “tentpolls” (note that I am reading other site’s liveblogs.
1 – Multitasking. At last. The “tapping home for the multitask dock” sound a heck of a lot like the switcher in WebOS, but really, how many ways are there to do task switching that works? Still, I’d be surprised to see the Palm faithful reaction (you know, the other two guys out there).
The other bits of their multi-tasking, push, ability to control, etc, are just like what every other smartphone OS has had, including Windows Mobile which had it from the start (and is now removing it, because they Hate Freedom).
Note that Multitasking won’t work on the models prior to the 3GS, which makes perfect sense. Those of you who’ve been waiting for a friend’s hand-me-down iPhone 2g, now’s probably the time. Those of you who just got an iPad can enjoy your wait till Fall (ah, the curse of the early adopter).
And for the record, I can’t wait to see how the inevitable multi-tasking of network apps slams AT&T’s already strained network.
2 – Folder. This is a mix of Spaces & Stacks for the desktop, ported down to the iPhone OS, and it’s honestly brilliant. The “hold to move your apps” thing is now on just about ever phone too, but melding to make folders? Almost perfect. Intuitive and slick.
3 – Unified Inbox . This is absolutely my favorite, more than multi-tasking. This is the feature that sold the Pre for me, and is having me go back. Add to that the multiple Exchange servers, attachments, and this is insanely useful… especially on a device like the iPad.
4 – iBooks. A great feature, but a “tentpoll”? Really?
5 – Enterprise stuff. The stuff average users don’t realize they need, sounds totally unsexy, and is Serious Business. That is, assuming your smartphone is for work and not just a toy, and you work in a corporate environment that doesn’t insist on Blackberries.
6 – Game Center . Like the Xbox live app for Windows Phone 7, but not. WP7’s app is a way to access/update stats for your console device on your handheld. Gamecenter is more like actually having Xbox live on your mobile device. Imagine if a Nintendo DS or PSP had this. Insane amounts of potential for gamers.
7 – iAds. And now comes the part where I want to wash my brain out with bleach. This is arguably a better way to serve advertised content on the iPhone (which I get is a necessary evil), but the demo they did of the Toy Story 3 App is less an “ad” and more a “cool mini app that you can download paid content in”. That’s insanely cool, but it’s more than just an “ad”.
It’s a good example of a Solution in Need of a Problem, from an end-user’s perspective. Just enable the ability to buy things within apps, call them apps, and lose the stupid naming scheme. As a friend of mine said “I can’t wait for the Viagra iAds.”
As all but the people waiting for their Magical iUnicorns suspected, no Flash, Java, or Verizon (for that, you can get a Pre Plus or an Android phone).
Frankly, iAds as a concept sullies all the other good stuff for me, and it’s not that sullied – I just think it’s nothing widely different from a traditional App. But what do I know?
I’m going to do my best to get some Hands On time with this as it gets closer to launch date, but as always, I am at the mercies of a limited budget.
If you haven’t heard of Grooveshark yet, you really should check it out- Unlike other streaming music services such as Pandora and Slacker Radio, Grooveshark will let you pick any songs you like in their extremely extensive database, and create your own playlists. Since there is no restriction on playback, its like having a limitless library of MP3’s at your disposal!
The advantages of a mobile version are obviously appealing. Imagine being able to play any song you want, any time you feel like it, wherever you are, and without worrying about the limits of your storage space… as long as you have a data connection, that is.
Enter Grooveshark Mobile, the official application for Android, WebOS and Blackberry phones. Grooveshark, however, was denied access to Apple’s App store, so there will be no official iPhone version (unless you wish to Jailbreak, in which case they DO supply an at-your-own-risk version to show Apple what you think of their policies). Also glaringly absent is Microsoft’s platform, Windows Mobile.
Not to fear, all you WinMo fans out there. The development community has stepped up to the challenge and created their own Grooveshark applications to fill the need. The best of the bunch is undoubtedly Nanogroove, which has playlist support and album art.
The best bit of NanoGroove? Its free! Well, sort of- they offer 5 minutes of use each time you run it if you don’t register. Registration costs a one time fee of $5, and after that you are free to use it as much as you want. A worthwhile investment for unlimited music, if you ask me.
But wait, isn’t GrooveShark also free?
Yes, technically, however they reserve their latest-and-greatest features for VIPs only, which costs $3 a month for membership to. All the mobile apps are VIP access only, which means your unlimited music is going to cost a monthly subscription. Three bucks a month isn’t anything major, however compared to nanogroove’s $5 one time fee to register, it seems like Windows Mobile users come out on top this time!
If you read any other tech blogs (which you of course don’t, you loyal things you), you’ve probably heard all about Apple’s lawsuit against HTC.
I’m not a lawyer, but just to bullet point it – Apple is saying HTC is infringing on several Of their patents. What’s so fascinating (aside from just the drama) is that the patents are not only insanely broad (as many conceptual patents can be), not only do they sometimes apply to just about any OS (phone or desktop) currently in use (and some classics as well), but a ton of the patented behaviors are things that happen on the OS level, not the hardware level.
This has led many pundits to posit that Apple is really targeting Google via HTC. Google’s already come out with a statement saying they support their partners, so they’re certainly not ignoring it. Still, I believe there’s more to it than just coming at Google sideways…
Opera is a name familiar to the mobile world for bringing desktop-style browsing to a wide variety of phones.
In some unexpected news, Opera just announced that they have developed a version of their “mini” browser for the iPhone, and will be showing it off at Mobile World Congress next week as they wait for approval from the App store.
Now, this is very odd news for a variety of reasons.
To start, Apple is infamous for their strict “duplication of services” policy on the App store… it seems kind of arrogant of Opera to think that Apple would approve them, when they have denied every other browser, music player, etc that offers some sort of alternative to a key feature of the device.
Beyond that, Opera’s choice of using their “Mini” app seems confusing as well… Their browser traditionally comes in two flavors: Opera Mobile, and Opera Mini.
For phones that are powerful enough to support it, Opera developed the Mobile version, which is a native app based on their desktop rendering engine (Yes- they do in fact have a desktop browser, a lot of people seem to not know that). It comes pre-installed on many current Windows Phones, supports many browser plugins such as Flash, and can easily be made the default browser on the device.
The “Mini” version, however, is a solution for standard phones that are otherwise deemed not powerful enough to have anything resembling a desktop browser experience. Using a clever trick that resembles remote desktop access, Opera Mini doesn’t actually connect directly to the internet. It connects to Opera’s servers (located in the Netherlands, I believe), which load and render the page, then send a snapshot of it to the handset which can be viewed, scrolled, and clicked just as if they were using it locally. Since this server side compression takes the bulk of the work off the handset, the end result is a page that loads in seconds, and looks like a desktop browser- even on something as simple as a Motorola RAZR.
The lightweight mini version is also not traditionally a native app, preferring to exist as a device-agnostic Java application so it can work on almost any legacy phone out there.
So why does Opera think they can get through the store this time, and why did they choose the “Mini” version as opposed to the Mobile? Clearly, the iPhone is capable of running a full blown desktop browser experience as evidenced by Safari?
I think the two questions together may yield the answer: Opera Mobile on the iPhone would clearly be a duplication of services, since it works so similarly to Safari. However Mini, with its unique server-side compression, is a completely different animal. The result to the user may be a fast loading webpage, however since it doesn’t actually connect directly to the site, some interactive elements of web pages do not respond as expected (sort of like browsing a super fast cached version). Therefore, it could be seen as an interesting web application for large sites that bog the iPhone down, but perhaps not a replacement for Safari.
Could that be their reasoning? And better yet, will Apple buy into it?
I’m often very critical of Apple devices, mostly due to their closed approach to the software ecosystem. But say what you will about Apple and their business practices, there have always been two significant upsides to buying their products:
If you haven’t heard of Grooveshark yet, you really should check it out- Unlike other streaming music services such as 
If you read any other tech blogs (which you of course don’t, you loyal things you), you’ve probably heard all about Apple’s lawsuit against HTC. 
Opera is a name familiar to the mobile world for bringing desktop-style browsing to a wide variety of phones.
