Another Tech Blog

Apple approved Opera Mini, an alternative browser for the iPhone.  Cool!

It’s not really a browser in the truest sense of the word, since it doesn’t actually render web pages.  The pages are rendered on Opera’s servers, then the results are transmitted to the iPhone via OBML.  This should make browsing very fast, so it should be a nice improvement over Safari.

I’ll download it shortly and report, but I’m optimistic!

Couple of articles on the subject:

PC Mag

CNET

BOOOO!!

reMail is/was a great email search app for the iPhone, and now that Google has purchased the company.  I have to believe this is strategic for Google and they will use the technology exclusively on Android phones, but from a consumer’s point of view, this sucks.  I hate it when anyone is proprietary about useful technology!

Apple’s big reveal of the iPad today had the tech world on the edge their seats, ready for the “next big thing” from Mr. Jobs and the Cupertino crew.  Does the iPad live up to the hype?

Here are the basic specs:

9.5 inch x 7.5 inch multi touch capacitive display

.5 inches thick

1.5 lbs

1024 x 768 pixels at 132 ppi

1 Ghz Apple A4 processor

Available with 16, 32 or 64 GB flash drives

10 hour battery

WiFi by default, 3G models available too

Price starts at $499 for the base WiFi model, runs up to $829 for the 3G 64 MB model

I have not had one in my hands, but the device looks impressive on the surface.  It runs the iPhone OS, so all of the iPhone apps you know and love are there, plus some tweaks and additions, notably the addition of iBooks.  Sort of iTunes for books.  I like the idea of books on demand (I’m a big fan of the Kindle app for iPhone) so the addition of e-Books on the iPhone platform is welcome.  Several apps look like they have been upgraded – mail has many more options, contacts, calendar, maps all have much needed upgrades that make use of the additional real estate on the iPad.

The iPad also builds on the iTunes store in the video arena.  Movies and TV shows will look great on the device, as will You Tube and streaming web content.  There are a couple of downsides – it looks like the display is only 720p, and for Apple only knows why, they STILL won’t display flash.  That said, given the display size video will likely look great.

Is it a game changer?  I’ve been thinking about that since the demo ended and honestly I just don’t think that it is.  I do think that in its category it will be the clear leader, and its competitors will be scrambling to follow.  That is the key though – in its category.  The iPhone was a game changer because it dominated its category (cell phones) with must have added features.  Web browsing, music, video, maps and of course, the app store.  It was revolutionary because it brought all of these things together on a device that everyone already used every day, their cell phone.  I don’t see the same demand for what is essentially a really big iPhone.  Sure there are people for whom this device will be the end all be all, I can’t live without it, greatest thing since sliced bread.  Commuters, techies, travelers will benefit from this device.  Most people though just don’t need it, and there was nothing in the demo today that makes me think people are going to look at the iPad and say – OMG I NEED THAT. 

Is it cool?  Yes.  Is it great technology?  Absolutely.  Is it great design?  Sure, but really just more of the same iPhone design.  Is it going to be as big as the iPhone?  No way.  Will it “change publishing as we know it”?  I really don’t think so.  It’s hard for me to believe that a device as costly as this is will be ubiquitous, or even really popular in the average household.  People like to read papers and books, share them with friends, leave them on trains.  Yes, the content you can get from an eReader is way beyond what a magazine or newspaper can deliver, but I don’t see people paying $500 for the privilege.  Especially when you throw netbooks into the mix.

Think about the average household and what people’s computing needs are.  Email, web browsing, games, some word processing (homework, letters), spreadsheets, pictures.  I can do all of this from a netbook for $299, almost half what the iPad will cost.  Also, the netbook will likely be windows based, so will use MS Word and Excel, not iWorks (eeeww), so I can edit documents for school or work without an issue.  If iPad can run Office for Mac, that would be great, but there is no indication that this is possible.

Here’s another measure I use for the iPad.  If I am going on a trip for a week, can I get through the trip with only the iPad?  For me, the answer is probably not.  I’m going to need a device I can edit word/excel on.  I can view the docs on the iPad, and iWorks allows me to save MS Office documents, but will specific formating in Excel and Word save too?  I don’t know the answer here, and it’s important.  If I can safely edit anything that Office throws at the iPad in iWorks, then I’m all set.  If, as in the past, the formating gets messed up, that means I have to take either a netbook or a laptop with me which means I’m not likely to take the iPad with me – too many devices.  Which in turn means that I probably wouldn’t buy it if I can’t use it on trips.  Oh I wish there were open standards for documents.  Oh wait, there is.

So, what do I make of all this?  I love that the iPad exists.  It means that people are thinking about how we look at our online universe.  It didn’t WOW me, but something will.  Maybe it will be an app for the iPad, or some yet to be released feature, but it’s not there yet.  C’mon Steve, make me NEED THS!

NICE!!

If you have not yet heard, AT&T announced today that they will be lowering the cost of unlimited voice and data plans for the iPhone  by $30/month.  You can sign up for the new plan on Monday with no penalty.  I wish this were something that AT&T come up with on their own, but no, it is in response to Verizon’s similar price move today.

Article on the changes here, AT&T’s statement here.

Engadget posted pics of the Nexus One. I’m really excited by the slew of Android phones out now, enough that it is making me rethink my iPhone 3GS. Oh, there is that nagging two year contract I just purchased, but good tech trumps cost, right? Well, no, not in this economy, but I digress.

Here’s a link to the article, the phone looks great!

Finally, but do I really care?

AT&T announced yesterday that MMS will be available for US iPhone customers on September 25th.  On that day, a software update will be released that will enable the feature.

What is MMS anyway you ask?  MMS stands for Multimedia Message Service, and is an upgrade to SMS (Short Message Service).  Both are ways to send messages between compatible cell phones.  In short, SMS is text messaging, MMS is the ability to send text, video, pictures, audio clips etc between cell phones.

I’m old enough to have largely missed the text message boom, so I’m not all that excited about this.  That said, the fact that AT&T couldn’t get their act together to coordinate this with the release of the 3GS months ago is borderline criminal.  There are a couple of lawsuits against AT&T regarding the false advertising that went along with the release of the 3GS that I’m sure will go nowhere, but make a good point.  If you are the exclusive vendor for arguably the most popular cell phone in history, you owe it to your handcuffed customers to have your network in order before the phone is released, especially since the phone was heavily advertised as being able to handle MMS.

Good news for MMS users, but an embarrassment for AT&T.

Independence day for iPhone 3GS users is here.  George Hotz has released an application that will unlock the 3GS so that you can install whatever applications you want, not just what Apple wants you to have.  The blog post with instructions is here.  You need Windows (but not windows 7), itunes installed on your machine, and you need the 3.0 OS on your iPhone.  Be careful, once you jailbreak your phone, you void the warranty and Apple won’t help you if the phone gets messed up.  Be sure to back everything up before you start too –

I’ve been using the iPhone 3.0 software for a couple of days now and other than a minor installation glitch (my fault) the upgrade was painless.  Everything seems to work as advertised, and so far, I like what I see.

• WiFi improvements – One of the things that really bugged me about the 2.0 OS was the way the iPhone reacted to WiFi spots.  If, for example, I go to my local Starbucks, the phone will attempt to connect to the local router.  The phone will connect and get an IP address, but since I haven’t logged in to the hotspot, the phone gets no Internet service, effectively making any Internet reliant service useless.  The only way to “fix” this is to either turn off WiFi, or open Safari and enter login credentials for the hotspot I’m connected too.

  The 3.0 OS fixes this annoyance.  The OS will recognize when you have come across a hot spot that requires credentials and give you the login screen after is connects to the router.  These credentials will be stored on the device so that you can connect automatically when you return to the hot spot.  I have yet to extensively test this, but it seems to be working well.

• Search – Search text entry bars are everywhere, and I couldn’t be happier.  Searching email gives you options to search From, To, Subject and All.  Not only are you able to search mail on the device, but there is an option to “continue search on server”.  This can be a little slow if you have a lot of stored mail, but I’m very pleased that the option is there.
• Landscape – Do I need to say anything here?  It’s there, it works.  Ironically, I’m pretty adept at typing in portrait mode, so I’m not sure how much I’ll use it for typing, but being able to view mail in landscape is great.
• Cut and Paste – WORKS.

Most of my major issues with the OS have been resolved now.  I’m not saying I have no complaints, but things are way better!

CNET is reporting that ARM, the company responsible for designing the architecture behind most mobile comuting CPU’s said  that mobile phone makers will be delivering devices that run on ARM”s latest dual core CPU’s as early as next year.

They are referring to the ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore application processor.  According to the ARM site, the new chip deisgn will provide faster processing with lower power consumption for all but the most CPU intensive applications.

“The Cortex-A9 MPCore processor is the first ARM processor to combine the Cortex application class architecture with multiprocessing capabilities for scalable performance and provides enhanced multicore technology that includes:

• Accelerator Coherence Port (ACP) for increased system performance and lower system power
• Advanced Bus Interface Unit for low latency in high bandwidth devices
• Multicore TrustZone® technology with interrupt virtualization to enable hardware based security and enhanced paravirtualization solutions
• Generalized Interrupt Controller (GIC) for software portability and optimized multicore communication“

source: AMD product description

White paper on the Cortex-A9.

There are already phones on the market that make use of the ARM A9 single core chip, namely the LG Renoir shown at CES in January (video here).  The phone looks great in the video; the ARM Mali-55 GPU really makes the user interface smooth, with Vista like windows features.  Without the phone in hand I can’t comment direcltly, but I imagine streaming video would look very nice on this phone.  Of course, this phone is not available in the US (why would it be?) but it has some amazing features – 8 Megapixel camera, touch focus, several still shot modes, Dolby Mobile, DivX playback, Slow-Mo video recording, GPS, 3G, WiFi and will play Flash.  It is so irritating the the US mobile companies are just shamefully behind the curve with mobile devices.  I have to believe that most people don’t know what they are missing, so they don’t know to complain.

Since ARM is just the chip designer and not the manufacturer, it’s difficult to tell exactly when these chips will hit US phones, but if CNET is correct, we could see the chips in new phones next year.  If true, then I will NOT buy a iPhone 3GS until I know what Apple is doing with regard to the new ARM design.  Why would you invest in another 2 year contract when you know that the new chip is out there?  If they combine the CPU with the updated GPU chips, then the iPhone’s sluggishness could go away completely.  Now that might be worth $199.

Here are 10 things you may not know how to do on the iPhone.

1. Web Clips:You can create a short cut to a web page as an icon on your iPhone.  To do this, tap the “+”  when on a web page, then tap “Add to Home Screen.”  This will create an icon on your iPhone that you an treat (move or delete) as any other application.  Web Clips are not bookmarks per se, so they are NOT synced by MobileMe or iTunes.
2. Scroll to Top of Page:
   
   In any application you can scroll to the top of the page by tapping on the status bar at the top of the iPhone screen.
   
   
3. Domain Suffix:

   When typing a URL in safari, you can use the .COM key to choose other domain suffixes.  Tap and hold the .COM key to bring up a list of the other choices (.net, .edu, .org, .com).  Slide your finger over the one you want to select.

4. Alternate Characters:

   If you need to type non standard letters (letters with non-english annotations like a tilde) you can tap and hold the letter to bring up a list of available alternatives.

5. Screenshot:

   You can take a screenshot by holding the home key then the sleep button on the top of the phone.  The image will be stored in your camera roll.

6. Save an Image from Safari:

   You can save just about any image from a web page to your camera roll.  Just tap and hold on the image to bring up a menu that will give you the option to save it.

7. Double tap to zoom:

   This is really helpful.  In Safari, or in an email, double tap the text you want to zoom in on and the iPhone will resize the text to fill the screen.  Double tap again to go back to the original size.

8. iPod Playback Controls:

   You can bring up the iPod controls when you are in any application or when the phone is locked by double clicking the  Home button.

9. Setting a Sleep timer:

   You can set the iPhone to stop playing music or videos after a period of time by using the sleep timer function.  From the clock application, choose the timer function.  Set the number of hours/minutes you want, then tap “When Timer Ends” choose “Sleep iPod”.  Finally, tap Start to start the timer.  When the timer ends, the iPhone will stop playing, close open apps and lock.

10. Soft Reset:

    To reset yout iPhone if it freezes, click the home button and the sleep button at the same time and hold them both down until you see the Apple logo.