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.

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?

So as I’ve talked about before, I have an iPod Touch that I have had since November of last year I think. I love that thing. One of the best toys that I have ever bought. Of course right as I took it out of the box, I did the old 1.1.1 jailbreak and have been jailbroken ever since. I’m currently on version 1.1.3 as I never found a use for upgrading to 1.1.4. Well that was until today.

Today I finally bit the bullet and am going through the upgrade to 2.0 with a stop at 1.1.4 as I’m reading is necessary. I did a backup of my iPod earlier today through iTunes. Not too sure as to what that actually backs up.

I have no problem going “legit” with my iPod Touch. All along I wanted the installer and the apps that come with it as well as the ability to have email on it. I had those via jailbreaking it but now with 2.0, I really don’t feel that I need to jailbreak it anymore. I’ll still investigate what a jailbroken 2.0 iPod can do and maybe I’ll do that too.

Here’s the timeline:

9:30pm – I begin the upgrade to 1.1.4. I have already downloaded the file so it’s pretty fast.
9:36pm – It’s done and I’m happy that I still have my music on there. My home screen is weird because there is only 8 icons on there.
9:38pm – About to start the 2.0 upgrade. Again, I have already downloaded the file and all I have to do is run it.
9:44pm – Uh oh, An unknown error occured (6). Wonder what that means. It’s having me do a restore. I think I read about this a couple of days ago.
9:47pm – Wish I could have stopped it from trying to download the 1.1.4 update. Oh well. I guess I have an extra 5 minutes.
9:51pm – Apparently I should have restored it to 1.1.4 first before going to 2.0 I’ve read. Oh well, maybe others who read this won’t follow my errors.
9:52pm – Restore is going down.
9:58pm – Just was asked about the 2.0 Software Update in big iTunes window. Didn’t see that the last time. Also restoring the backup I did earlier today.
10:00pm – Restore complete now loading back up. Get asked about 2.0 again. Music’s gone.
10:04pm – Going to try the 2.0 update again. While this is going on, anyone subscribed to MobileMe on an iPod yet?
10:11pm – GRR Unknown Error #6 again. I’m stuck in a perpetual screw up/restore loop. At least it knows not to download the 1.1.4 file again.
10:20pm – It just finished its restore and this time my home screen looks a lot cleaner. I still think that I won’t restore from the backup I did this morning.
10:22pm – Didn’t restore from old backup this time. Started fresh. Syncing photos from my computer.
10:26pm – Third time’s the charm right?
10:35pm – I think it did work this time. It’s restarting my iPod. I’m being asked to set it up again or restore it.
10:37pm – It’s even syncing the Twitterific app I downloaded on Thursday for fun. Cool.
10:45pm – Got work email setup with Exchange. Pretty easy. Time to play with App Store.

Overall, this wasn’t a hugely painful process. Sure I had to redo a couple of things a couple of times but I’m happy that I’m legit now with it. I don’t know if I will go back to the pre 2.0 days but if I do, I’ll use this link here from iPod Touch Hacks. They seem to know what they are talking about.

If you have any experiences with upgrading to 2.0 on your iPod Touch, I would love to hear them or share more about what I did.

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?

I’ve written a couple of times about iPhones and my desire to have one. I’ve actually been doing a lot of research about them lately as I would like to replace my Dash with one. Thing is, I am currently with T-Mobile and I really don’t want to have to make a switch to AT&T right now. What I would like to do get an iPhone and then jailbreak it and hook it up with my T-Mobile sim card.

I have no worries about jailbreaking the iPhone as I’ve done it with my iPod Touch several times. What I want to know is how it works afterwards. I’ve seen a dozen videos that all end with someone calling their newly jailbroken iPhone. That’s all good and nice but how does it hold up? Is it as easy to send and receive text messages? Does voicemail work as it should? I just want to make sure that if I do jailbreak an iPhone that it works for me like it should. I haven’t really seen anything about those things out there. If there is something, please let me know. I’m definitely interesting to getting one after Apple releases the second generation iPhone in June.

So if you have jailbroken an iPhone or know someone who has, let me know how the experience is. I appreciate any comments.