thegeekchannel.com » Opinion

More Late than April – iPad 3Gs are Prepared for Shipping

geek — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:52:03 +0000

When Apple says “late April” – as in their project delivery date for the new Apple iPad 3G + WiFi – they apparently mean much more of the late and much less of the April, with deliveries and availability expected on April 30, 2010. Appearing almost everywhere today are messages from people like me that the status on their order has been changed to Prepared for Shipment, leading me to believe that the promised Friday date will be met. What time Friday is yet to be seen, although I’m not holding my breath. At least people that haven’t pre-ordered already know that they may be able to buy one in the retail store after 5:00PM.

Not sure how I feel about that, either, as it would seem to me, as is so often not the case with Apple, that people that took the time to pre-order and offer up their first born and credit card should get some benefit of having ordered before the masses. If that’s simply that Federal Express shows up at some point early in the day on Friday… I’m not sure that’s enough for to truly consider pre-ordering in the future. Of course, I really feel sorry for people that are using the Apple store to order today with an anticipated delivery on the 7th of May at the earliest, then knowing that they can probably go buy one in the store after 5:00PM.

Did you pre-order your iPad? Do you have any more information? When are you expecting your new iPad to arrive on Friday?

~geek

Amazon Kindle Goes to Target

geek — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:23:19 +0000

Sunday is going to be an interesting day for internet giant Amazon.com and retail giant Target. For Amazon it’s an admission that sometimes consumers really do want to touch and feel a product before making a decision and for Target it’s the chance to market a product that has until now only been available from a web retailer, the Amazon Kindle. Personally, this seems like a win-win to me, even if it goes against everything Amazon stands for.

Unfortunately for most Americans, Sunday won’t be the day that they can run out to Target and grab their Kindle as the initial launch (in store and online at target.com) will be limited to Target’s Minneapolis store and 102 stores scattered throughout South Florida. Why Florida, I’m not sure, but it would seem like there are areas more likely to buy high-technology products. Current pricing on the Kindle will remain competitive with Amazon at $259.

As this is a purpose built device – reading books, magazines, newspapers, etc. – I believe that ultimately this represents a much better opportunity for Amazon than it does for Target. What was once something that had to be thought through and ordered will quickly become something that for many could be considered an impulse by. After all, why buy three hardbacks for $70 when you could buy those same three books on Kindle for $30? Sure, fuzzy math, but over the life of the product it’s a good deal for Amazon and a good deal for the consumer.

Unfortunately, as is so often the case, there might well be a loser in this story, too, and at this point that sounds like Sony might be the biggest loser here. Why Sony, you may be wondering? Well, if you haven’t already noticed, Target has been selling the Sony Reader ebook for some time now and some might say that the Sony product offers less functionality at a sometimes more significant price. Will Target be phasing out Sony from their offerings?

~geek

Apple Cuts it Close with Late April Deliveries

geek — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:40:46 +0000

When I originally ordered my 64GB WiFi + 3G iPad from Apple’s online store, I wasn’t too worried about the “late April” ship date, assuming incorrectly that the release of the WiFi only models meant that those with 3G couldn’t be all that far behind. My mistake was assuming that late april meant sometime after the 15 – not the last day of the month as Apple has just announced.

Am I disappointed? Frankly, I am, even though I guess I don’t really have the right to be. I’m just left wondering, what in the world is going to happen to my order if they don’t make that delivery date? After all, part of the reason I even chose to wait was because the delivery date was as early as it is. If I had known that it would truly be months I might have considered other options.

I’m wondering, how do others feel about this hail-Mary delivery promise from Apple?

~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

Starting Over – Sort Of

geek — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:38:57 +0000

A new look, a new idea, and even a bit of new content to spice up the blog and give me something that might even be sustainable over the long-haul. That’s right, I’m starting over and this time I think that leaving myself room for posting my opinions on technology and what’s going on in the world will make is possible for me to regularly contribute and continually add value for my readers. Wouldn’t that be nice…?

So here we go, post one for a new era – welcome to thegeekchannel.com!

~geek

Black Friday is Coming

geek — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:28:35 +0000

Everywhere you look retails are starting to prep for the make-it or break-it Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, that, for many, will be the deciding factor of their profitability this year. Clothing, household, electronics… even online vendors are preparing what may well be the best sales day of 2009.

Of course, this isn’t the place to find out about the best sales on the internet, but I would be interested in comments on what you’ll be doing to participate in this event. Please comment below and let me know – will you be spending your wad come Friday?

~geek

Is AppleTV the Worst Tech Product of 2007?

geek — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:15:34 +0000

Is AppleTV the worst product of 2007? My opinion – yes and no. Yes, I think that the implementation is very un-Apple, because it’s not unique enough to compel Apple devotees to purchase one. After all, most of these users already have a TiVo (or equivalent) and aren’t going to buy something just to watch iTunes content. MTV, for the most part, already covers much of that market.

On the other hand, I think that there is promise here if Apple can get past where they are today and add content for television with the same success that they’ve managed to get musical content. Imagine, if you will, you could go to AppleTV and buy first-run movies electronically instead of on DVD. Perhaps, because you’re purchasing digital content you can even burn that out to a DVD and have the best of both worlds? I believe that people are going this way and that some company will win the battle. Perhaps it’s not too late for Apple, but they need to get moving and promoting with the same passion that they do their other products.

~geek

Apple and ThinkSecret.com Settle Their Lawsuit

geek — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:12:41 +0000

Chalk another one up for the Apple legal team. A press release was issued from Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret’s publisher today. It read as follows:

December 20, 2007 – PRESS RELEASE: Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret’s publisher, said “I’m pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits.”

My thoughts are pretty simple – someone gave him some information that they shouldn’t have and pissed off Apple. He lost. Too bad, so sad.

Geek

Verizon Gets Palm Treo 755P (Finally)

geek — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:00:29 +0000

I will admit to being a fan of Palm. Despite everything, I want them to succeed, because I think that they were ten years ahead of everyone else in their thinking. Unfortunately, I also believe that they’re now years behind the competition and that sticking to their form-factor has limited their success in some senses because they haven’t gone away from the style that made them successful in the beginning. Changing the color just wasn’t enough for most die-hard techies.

On the plus for them, though, Verizon is now carrying and marketing their 755P smartphone that will allow Verizon users to get their fix of this now aged phone. Thanks, but no thanks. Too little, too late in my mind.

~geek