My Thoughts on the iPad Announcement Party

Well there it is. The iPad is born and while I’m impressed with the product, it’s still just what I thought it would be, a big iPod Touch. I was really disappointed in that they didn’t really go over anything that I wanted in terms of the iTunes update, AT&T exclusivity, 4.0 update.

They have made a great new product that will be really useful in schools I feel. But I have a hard time thinking that most people with an iPhone or iPod Touch will find it necessary to get an iPad. Seems like one extra thing to carry around and it won’t even fit in a pocket.

I absolutely loved the MLB app as well as the Need for Speed game demo. They both looked solid. The video quality on the MLB app seems like a must have for any baseball fan.

I also liked the iBook app. While I’m not that much of a book reader, I can see that this is Apple’s answer to the Kindle and will probably cause Amazon to make some changes. The book store is really nice.

But I still can’t get over the disappointment of really nothing else coming out. I don’t have iWork so I’m a bit biased there as I don’t care about that. But I guess most of the rumors other than the iPad were just that. Cool stuff but nothing materialized.

Today’s Apple Announcement Including My Rumors

So today is the big Apple announcement of the super, over-hyped Tablet, iSlate, iPad, iHypeMachine… I’m actually less concerned over that as I already have an iPhone and an iPod Touch. What is super interesting to me is the iPhone exclusivity coming to an end. As a iPhone jailbreaker with T-Mobile, I would love to hear that I can’t unjailbreak my iPhone and not have to worry about it bricking anymore.

I am also curious as to the rumors of the iPhone 4.0 software being announced. I’m hoping that it includes the ability for apps to run in the background. That is something huge and I’m okay with taking a hit to the battery if that’s what it takes. I have a charger that I use everyday.

There’s also the tablet. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not really all that interested in it but I am curious as to what it will be other than a huge iPod Touch.

So as to my rumors about the event:

• The tablet of course will be announced. It will essentially be a huge iPod Touch with at data plan and GPS. I agree with the other rumors that it will need a contract with Verizon for 3G connectivity. I don’t think AT&T will be a provider for this.
• Apple will move away from AT&T and open its iPhone to multiple carriers but only announce a partnership with Verizon today for the iPhone and the tablet.
• Announcement of iPhone/iPod 4.0 firmware update. This will include background apps and better memory usage.
• Twitter will go down about 28 minutes into the announcement. Facebook will soon follow.
• New Macbook Pros will be announced using the new Intel i5 and i7 chips. Usual upgrade of features while staying at current prices.
• Updated iTunes.
• Updated Apple TV firmware update.

Those are a few of my ideas/wishes. I guess I’ll find out if I’m right or wrong in an hour or so. What do you think?

Gearing up for WWDC Today

Today is the first day of the WWDC in San Francisco and the web world is all abuzz about what might come out.  I’m really looking forward to hearing what they have to announce as I have recently joined the ranks as a Mac user.  I still have my Blackberry Curve and I love it but the iPhones are just so damn sexy that I want one of them too.

Hopefully today they announce a way for me to get one.  I doubt it but I can dream right?  I just read a rumor that the new iPhones might just be available today after the keynote so that would be pretty cool.  With all the buzz surronding this, I can’t tell what might happen.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what the next 2+ hours brings.

Let me know what you think and I’m surely going to post my thoughts post-keynote as well.

T-Mobile’s G1, the First Google Android Phone

Today T-Mobile announced the long awaited G1 phone. The first one using Google’s Android platform. I’m actually really excited about this because as a lowly T-Mobile customer, I feel that I have missed out on all the cool phones, especially the iPhone. For once, it’s nice to have my company be the big dogs everyone is talking about.

So right around 9:00 this morning, I get the news that the phone is $179 for existing customers. Not a bad price but I just did spend a few dollars on a new Blackberry Curve just 6 months ago. After the site being down all morning, I finally got in and checked out to see this $179 price for myself. Only it wasn’t $179. For me, I was lucky enough to get a price of $299. Not exactly what I had in mind. T-Mobile has a upgrade policy where you get the best rate after you are 22 months or more into your current contract. With me being only 6 months in, I am not a good enough customer. T-Mobile would rather me wait 22 months rather than get a 2 new phones in that span. Seems weird to me but what do I know?

But regardless of my troubles, I am still excited about this phone. It has a very open platform that will allow for users to improve things as they see fit. iPhone frowns upon that with the exception of the App Store. Also, rather than see this as a phone, they see it at an internet experience. Andy Rubin of T-Mobile said today that “This will transform how and where people can use the internet. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it!” I think this is cool because with the iPhone, there is a movement to move the internet outside of just the desktops and laptops to allow internet access anywhere you are.

Also, the G1 will have copy and paste, something will more than likely make iPhone users very jealous. Also, in place of iTunes, the G1 will use Amazon’s music service which offers 89 cent songs so that is nice too. One of the coolest features is the tie in with the Google Maps especially with the street view. You can stand on a street that is in Street View and as you look around, the screen will show where you are facing using it’s internal compass and GPS. Pretty cool indeed. And of course it has all the bells and whistles that we expect from Google with Gmail, Gtalk, Gmaps and the rest of their suite of cool. Oh and it’s going to work on T-Mobile’s new 3G netwok. Wish my new Curve did that.

Overall as I’ve already said, I am excited about this phone and how it takes the mobile phone another step forward. Google and T-Mobile have teamed up to deliver what I think is a step in a great direction. I really like the sound of this quote from the announcement today, “It’s completely open… no one says ‘you can’t do that’.” That’s a big step from the rules of Apple’s SDK.

So basically we’ll see if this is the phone that is the Apple killer. I don’t think it will be but it will be a solid #2 for a while. After that, who know? I’d like to know what you think about it so leave you comments below.

iPhone 2.0 Thoughts

So it’s been about a week since the newest iPhone was announced and I’ve had time to think about the good and bad now. In previous posts, I’ve mentioned possibly getting an iPhone in place of my T-Mobile Dash. Well I decided a couple of weeks ago to get a Blackberry Curve and I love it. And now, looking back, I’m glad that was the decision that I made.

When I first heard about the iPhone possibly being $299 for a 16gb model, I thought that this might just work. But then reading up on the fact that you had to sign up with AT&T for 2 years made this not that attractive for me.

I really love the idea of the GPS included in the newest version. I like it more that the addition of the 3G network. To me, if the 3G is only 2 times faster, it’s not worth the extra hassle. But I am very interested in the GPS.

I also think that the quality of apps will greatly increase due to the iPhone SDK that’s been out for a while now. I’m also a fan of the Application Store. Gives the developers a chance to see some return on countless hours spent developing apps. It also gives them a wide user base to potentially sell their apps to. I think Apple did well with this.

But the one stopping point for me is the fact that you have to get the iPhone activated in an AT&T store, thus removing any reason to jailbreak it. That is unless you don’t mind sending AT&T a check every month for services you might not use if you switch to a different network. That makes it really hard for people like me who might be locked into contracts with other carriers.

Overall, I really like the changes made to the new iPhone 2.0 but I think that the lock downs make it more unattractive to me as before. What do you think?