Here's last week's smartphones roundup, based on some leading mobility sites all around the world!
1800PocketPC: This week we look at the Sony Ericsson Aspen which is a front-facing keyboard device running WM6.5.3. It is kind of disappointing to see a QVGA Screen on the device. We also look at some Windows Mobile Games and Apps. In the WM Apps category we have the Resco Explorer 2010 and a fantastic apps from XiMad (these guys make apps with great UI) 3001 Wisdom Quotes and to keep you mobile gamers happy we take a look at Resco Sudoku Touch and a colorful puzzle game called Jumba.
Windows 7 has been out for about 3 months now, and has already gained 10% market share for operating systems. Has it washed out the bad taste of Windows Vista and has it been as successful as we expected? We talk to Chris Spera from JustAnotherMobileMonday and Eric Sandine, contributor here at TechVi about this on today's edition of the Bottom Line.
I've got an interesting article on JAMM on Apple choosing AT&T for the iPad's data carrier. I think it's worth a read; but I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.
Motorola has the full specs to their latest Andriod powered device on their website. The Motorola Devour is a Cupcake device (Android 1.6) with MotoBLUR, and will be on the Verizon Wireless network.
It looks like Moto and VzW are a little more than kissing cousins, as they appear to have fully gotten into bed together. It will be interesting to see how well the two do together...
I’ve got tons of retail management experience. I was managing computer retail stores between the ages of 16 – 18. I’ve been a gadget geek all my life.
One of the things that I usually advise people against when purchasing electronics, though is purchasing an extended warranty. Unless you are going to be taking said electronics into a somewhat less than hospitable environment (like my family room, with my boys and most of their toys), the only thing that purchasing an extended warranty plan does is increase margin dollars for the store. Most products, if they fail, usually fail during the warranty period, and the manufacturer’s warranty is usually sufficient to cover the loss or needed repairs.
Is AppleCare worth the price..?
All of that changed when I started buying Apple products, though.
AppleCare is more than an extended warranty program. Its an engraved invitation to a better customer service experience should you have trouble with your Apple stuff. Depending on what Apple product I am purchasing (and who I’m buying it for), I won’t buy it without AppleCare.
Here’s what I’d purchase AppleCare for:
MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro – Yes, during purchase
iMac/Mac Mini/Mac Pro – Yes, during purchase
Apple Display – Yes, during purchase
iPhone – Yes, during first year
iPod Touch/Classic/Nano – Depends on who its for; but if not necessarily during purchase
Apple Tablet – Yes, during purchase
Please take notice of the last bullet there. If Apple does release a tablet, AND it is available for purchase immediately following the press event. The first thing you should buy for it is AppleCare. I don’t expect things to be problematic for the product, BUT as this is a new product class, and as no one is certain how successful it will be, having a care plan for it for the next 3 years will be key in insuring that your investment is protected.
Aside from hardware and software replacement for the contents of the box, you also get preferred treatment from Apple Geniuses and customer service when you call for help. As this is going to be a new product class for Apple, having preferred status on your side when you bump into problems won’t hurt. I don’t expect it to have problems, but as its untried, I think its going to “more prone” to “issues” and “opportunities for improvement” than other well established products like the iPod (in all variations).
If Apple does release a tablet tomorrow, will AppleCare be the first thing you buy for it? Why not chime in and let us know!
Late last year, I ran into a lot of trouble with my MyBook World Edition 1TB NAS. Installing Mionet 4.0 Beta seemed to kill the drive. Shortly after the drive itself was updated, it began to run hot and eventually both drives in the RAID configuration died. Luckily, I was able to get most of my data off (though it took me almost a month to do it); and Western Digital did a very good job of making good on the then 13 month old drive.
If you have a WD MyBook World drive, you'll be interested to know that their universal access utility, Mionet 4.1 enters a beta period as of 26-Jan-10. If you're using either 64bit Vista or Windows 7, then you really should check it out, as support for 64bit is mostly what this release is about.
Click the "via" link above to check out the article!
There’s a great deal of speculation about what is going to be revealed at Apple’s press event on Wednesday 27-Jan-10. I saw an interesting article early this morning, and wasn’t quite sure how to take it. I started poking around the internet a little and found other articles supporting it and still other articles mentioning it. While that certainly doesn’t make the article either news or the truth, it certainly is reason to scratch your head.
I wrote a cool article about today's Apple Event and AT&T over at JAMM that you might find interesting. Will Apple and AT&T part ways today? Time will tell, but until the cat's out of the bag, it might be cool to speculate before the fireworks kick off later this morning.
I've got a nifty little write up on JAMM regarding the recent release of Apple's Boot Camp 3.1 with specific updates for Windows 7. If you haven't read it yet, you really need to check it out!
The "via" link above will take you right to the article.
Updates can be seen at the end of the original article.
A mocked up version of Apple’s rumored tablet PC…
There’s been a great deal of speculation over the past few months regarding the existence of an Apple tablet PC. Will it have the same form factor as a traditional convertible tablet, with its swivel screen or will it be like a giant iPhone? Will it run the iPhone OS, or a full version of MacOS X? Does it even exist? Best question ever – will you buy one?
There are a lot of people who say that an Apple tablet is going to be an eBook winner and an Amazon Kindle killer. I however am not convinced and it goes back to the EXACT same thing I said just over 18 months ago on Gear Diary regarding the iPhone 3G, unless the cell coverage is there, its not going to make a bit of difference what kind of device and what kind of features it has. The iTablet (or iSlate, as its rumored to be called) isn’t going to kill anything if it sits on AT&T’s 3G network, especially here in the Chicago-land area.
Devices like the Amazon Kindle with WhisperNet (which runs on Sprint’s wireless network), the Nook, and yes even the iPhone 3G/3G S, aren’t successful unless there’s network coverage around to make them usable as a wireless device. While I hate to say it, there IS a map for that, and there IS something to what Verizon is saying – coverage and the reliability of that coverage make, or break a wireless device.
Apple’s new tablet device is supposed to function as an eBook reader, and as a portable touch-based computer. In other words, simply a 10 inch version of the iPhone. Will it have more Mac like functionality? Good question. Will it just be a bigger and perhaps clunkier iPhone? Another good question. Will it also run on AT&T’s network? Man, the good questions just keep on coming! Let’s tackle those one at a time.
Will Apple’s tablet be a Mac like computer? There’s been a great deal of speculation on what the next Apple device would be – netbook, tablet, eBook reader, perhaps all three. The jury is still out on what the device will actually do, (or if it will even be introduced at all) though there’s a great deal of speculation out there.
Will it be a larger version of the iPhone? This is, in my opinion possible, but very unlikely. The device WILL be cellular based like the iPhone, but its not going to be a “giant” iPhone. Apple is too smart to create confusion with its products and introducing a tablet device that is simply a giant iPhone with a $400-$600 price tag will do nothing more than flop. The unlocked iPhone is in that price range, and Apple isn’t in the habit of introducing products/devices with overlapping feature sets.
Will Apple partner with AT&T for the iTablet/iSlate? Again, this is possible, but very unlikely in my opinion. Amazon chose Sprint for WhisperNet for a specific reason – Sprint rides on a lot of Verizon’s 3G towers through roaming agreements, and they’re cheaper than Verizon itself. AT&T has taken a great deal of bad press recently claiming that they’re going to charge large bandwidth consumers a higher data plan rate. They’ve also been rumored to have stopped selling the iPhone 3G S in the New York area because of complaints and problems with their network coverage. AT&T has taken a huge hit with their network, the bad press, etc., and Apple would do very well to rethink their partnership with the number 2 wireless carrier in The States.
There’s supposed to be an Apple event some time in January where the tablet will be officially introduced. Many of us are watching for some kind of official announcement from Apple on the event; but nothing has been set in stone as of this writing. I’ll get keeping my eyes and ears open; and if something does turn up, you’ll see something here as well as at iTechGear.org.
Apple’s official event graphic for 1/27/10…
UPDATE: Apple has scheduled a media event for Wednesday January 27, 2010. The title of the event, “Come see our latest creation!,” really begs the existence of the Apple Tablet. Recently, Fox News let the cat out of the bag right after Apple announced the event. The Boy Genius Report recently posted on what they thought were going to be four big announcements related to the tablet. We commented on this on JAMM -
There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
“A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.
Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed home screen, etc.
The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the Smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.
There are rumors of a few different names for the device – the iPad, the iTablet and the iSlate. Apple seems to be behind most, if not all, of the copyright and patent applications behind the names here in The States and worldwide. So it will be interesting to see what happens next week.
As far as what iPhone OS 4.0 will include, I’m actually not surprised with anything that BGR cited. If a tablet is going to be introduced (and no official information has come out EITHER WAY, supporting or refuting the rumor) it would have to support multi-touch throughout the operating system. There isn’t going to be a built in touchpad. The screen’s the thing…
Apple has pushed pretty hard against the idea of native multitasking in the iPhone from the word go. Their take – it takes away from the overall device experience, and we’ve given you multitasking capabilities on everything we feel it should multitask. For Apple to turn around now, and reverse that decision and enable OS-wide multitasking would be a huge surprise. Its unusual for Apple to back track on its publically announced decisions (including the denial of a netbook or a tablet…) so go figure.
The last bullet, specifically related to a new synching ability for contacts and calendar apps really points to Apple’s licensing of Exchange ActiveSync in Snow Leopard. Have they really embraced Exchange ActiveSync at the OS level? Will OSX 10.6.3 bring updates to this ability for everyone? Will iPhone OS 4.x enable the use of the iPhone 3G (S) as a business tool, or will there still be holes to fill?
Yesterday, I was asked to be a guest on the TechVi Bottom Line, hosted by Iyaz Atkhar. I was joined by Dana Wollman from Laptop Magazine and was representing JAMM. The topic for the show..? You guessed it – the Apple press event on 1/27. Specifically, will there be an Apple tablet or not. You can see the video show below.
I love working with Iyaz and Randall Bennett. TechVi shows are short, sweet, very informative, and usually cover some very topical issues. I was thrilled to be contacted on Monday and asked to represent JAMM for the show! The thing I liked the most about THIS particular show was some of the behind the scene discussions that we had before and after the taping.
While I won’t assign specific comments to any one person, suffice it to say that no one REALLY knows just what Apple is going to introduce as its” latest creation.” There’s a great deal of speculation out there. Will it be a giant iPhone (a GiPhone, as I like to call it), a tablet PC with Bluetooth so that it can connect with Apple’s wireless keyboard (effectively adopting a true slate tablet PC form factor)? Will it have e-ink support and allow the user to write on the screen (like a standard tablet PC)? Will it run OS-X, iPhone OS (OS 3.x, OS 4.x??), dual boot both so it can couple with Amazon’s Kindle software for the iPhone/iPod Touch and be an Amazon enabled, Macintosh-esque eBook reader as well as a tablet PC?
All of these are great questions; and NO ONE in the industry is willing to say definitively what will happen, as official word from Apple hasn’t leaked, and won’t come before the event on the 27th. This one has the potential to be huge, and no one, myself included, wants to be wrong.
I also saw an interesting article on Apple Insider related to AT&T’s needed investment to make its wireless network equivalent to Verizon’s. The cost – a mind numbing $5-7 BILLION dollars (yes, that’s Carl Sagan “Billions”). In Chicago-land, this is key and critical.
Even though Chicago is already covered by 3G service, the coverage, well…well, it sucks. Not only would they have to cover more of the country, but AT&T would have to even out and plug holes in their coverage to insure tower hand-offs didn’t kill calls and data connections (a chronic problem experienced by me and nearly EVERY iPhone user here in Chi-town).
AT&T should have been reinvesting in its wireless infrastructure during its iPhone exclusivity. If it had, bringing the GiPhone or Apple Tablet to AT&T could have been a no-brainer. Now, because there *IS* a map for that, not only is Verizon Wireless (or nearly any other major US carrier) a better choice, AT&T is so far behind, that this Herculean effort will not only be costly, but painful for employees and customers alike.
What do YOU think? Will Apple announce its tablet on January 27th? Will it be tethered to AT&T? If not, will it be VzW, some other carrier or truly unlocked(GSM/CDMA/LTE compatible)? Why not join me in the discussion below, and give me your thoughts?
In an effort to minimize the apparent scope of the problem faced by at least a sizable plurality of Nexus One customers this week, Google has issued a statement to the press. It essentially acknowledges what we've all seen with our eyes, that users are experiencing widespread 3G connectivity issues, but it offers no information as to what measures are being taken to address those concerns.
"We are aware of the issues that have affected a small number of users, and are working quickly to fix any problems," reads the statement from Google to Betanews this afternoon. "We hope to have more information soon. When we do, we will post it to the user forum."
It looks like my initial suspicions have been confirmed. There is a radio ROM problem with some, not all, of the N1's that Google sold. If this is TRULY the case, a radio ROM upgrade should fix the problem, once the differences between them have been identified and resolved.
