thegeekchannel.com » Featured

Is the Gizmodo iPhone 4G Real or Marketing?

geek — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:49:48 +0000

Honestly, I am not sure what to believe. On one hand it’s highly likely that an engineer got drunk on his birthday and left his next-generation iPhone at the bar for some ~~unscrupulous~~ lucky soul to find and release to the world. At the same time, it’s very likely that this is Apple’s PR/Marketing machine trying to learn how the world will feel about their possible changes to the phone that has nearly spawned a religion.

There, I said it, Gizmodo may have found the holy grail or created the best marketing stunt ever known, and it is likely that we, the consumers, will ever really know the truth. In the meantime, I recommend trotting over to Gizmodo.com and reviewing their review of what may well be the next iPhone available to the masses.

~geek

Is there a market for Apple’s iPad?

geek — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:36:49 +0000

Apple’s recent announcement of the long-awaited and soon to be released Apple tablet – which they have dubbed the iPad – brings with it more questions that answers. They’ve done a decent enough job of telling us what the iPad brings in the form of new technology (I see it as a great big iPhone… er, without a real phone), but it would seem, like the Newton before it, that this is more of a product in search of a market than a solution to a problem that we all share. Even as an evangelist for technology I question how useful this is compared to my traditional or ultra-light notebook computer.

So while all of these are opinions, my reasons for giving this a great big fail are as follows:

No keyboard: I’m not sure that I believe there is a better (currently available and feasible) input device than the traditional keyboard. That is absolutely personal opinion, but one that I’d be happy to reconsider the next time my flight encounters turbulence. And, yes, I know that an external keyboard will be possible, it just doesn’t seem practical to carry along.

No camera: it’s a digital world, Apple, and your products are supposed to be opening doors and windows – not closing them. This should be as powerful as something like the MacBook Air and that said users are going to expect to be able instant message with tools like iChat and Yahoo Messenger with cam. Not to mention photograph things. Just looking at this from a purely business perspective it sure would be nice to be able to take a picture of someone’s business card and have it dropped into contacts like I can do on the iPhone.

Weight. So depending on what you have to carry with you this could be good or bad, but generally speaking I don’t think that people are going to want to lug around a notebook sized tablet and power and the other crap that they need to make it through their day – they may as well be carrying a notebook computer.

Size and durability. So I get that it’s relatively small and thin and easy to hold and pretty on the eyes, but there are two immediately obvious flaws to me. First is the bezel – does it really have to be that thick? Okay, so assuming it does, isn’t this also something that looks like it will break on the first drop or the first time something like my keys are dropped on it?

CleanlinessMaybe I’m just a pudgy geek with sweaty palms, but keeping my iPhone as clean as I like it has been difficult enough. I can’t imagine how difficult this is going to be to keep clean. Looks to me like it could be more work than it’s worth.

So those are my rants – at least for now – and I am planning a follow-up to this with why I think that this is a game-changer, if only for what it might do for mobile computing and the iPhone platform. As always, your comments are welcome.

My iPhone Praises and Rants

geek — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:01:13 +0000

With so many people jumping on the Apple iPhone bandwagon, it was only a matter of time before I felt compelled to at least try one out. The decision was made much easier with the introduction of the 3GS model, because it allowed for video-recording right on my phone. As someone that was carrying a phone and a Flip video camera, the seamless integration of the two was a no-brainer. So… I bought an Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB and have been in a love/hate relationship ever since.

First – the love – the iPhone really is an easy to use and functional device. The real game-changer is the App Store, which seems significantly better than Blackberry’s recently released App World (I am still carrying my Verizon Storm, too) and more complete then what Android has to offer. On the iPhone, when you say “there’s an App for that” you’re generally not kidding. If only the Mac had such great development community. The iPhone is also a nice phone from a design perspective. For me it fits pretty well – not quite thick enough to put between my shoulder and ear, but generally comfortable to use. It also goes well in a pocket without looking like you’re carrying around a small paperback novel.

Next – the hate – and this one is easy, too. AT&T and by association the iPhone has the worst phone service that I could ever have imagined. I’ve had cell phones for a long time, and as a Verizon customer in recent years I’ve become accustomed to treating my cell phone the same way that I would treat a land-line. I just expect it to work. With AT&T… not so much. I have come once more to the point that I am frequently apologizing for being on my cell phone. It’s embarrassing. And it’s not like I live in an unpopulated area – I live in Silicon Valley – a few miles from Apple – something tells me that it must be much, much worse in other areas.

Just my thoughts, but important to know as the next article I have in mind will include which apps are on my iPhone and why.

geek

Apple Advertises iPhone – Committing to AT&T?

geek — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:23:45 +0000

In the ongoing battle between AT&T and Verizon, it would seem apparent that Verizon is winning hands down. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, AT&T still has the iPhone, and Verizon simply can’t compete with that success or the draw power that Apple has created with their best-in-class smartphone.

Yesterday, though, Apple sent their message to the Apple faithful and AT&T haters by asking if their network and phone would allow them to be on a call and simultaneously use the best features of their smartphone. For most, the answer would have to be no. Unfortunately, the part that Apple left out is the simple fact that on the AT&T network that is only possible when you have 3G access and AT&T’s network just isn’t that great when it comes to 3G network coverage. Small omission, but problem. Oh well, that’s not really the point, is it. The truth is nearly irrelevant – people are going to buy the iPhone regardless of whether or not it’s on AT&T or Verizon – even though they might actually prefer Verizon.

You can see Apple’s newest advertisement below – and of course this comes from YouTube where you can also find the other advertisement that delivers basically the exact same message.

~geek