Posts for Tag: iphone

Touchscreen Netbook from Apple?

Based on this new information, it appears that Apple is targeting a ~10 screen size for this Netbook. The addition of a multi-touch screen adds an interesting twist to the concept of a netbook which is traditionally a clamshell miniaturized laptop.

MacRumors, one of the best Apple reporting sites, discusses the possibility of a Apple Netbook based on a flurry of information floating around the Interwebs.  I'm not sure a Netbook would make sense since it would obviously cannibalize sales from the more profitable MacBook line.  What would make sense to me is actually a tablet style device.  Imagine an iPhone that was twice as long and three times as high (or basically 6 iPhones in a Brady Bunch-esque configuration).  It makes me think of the tablets they had on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Way too cool.

BTW, much thanks to Garry of Posterous for showing me how to do the block quote and using the Posterous Bookmarklet app.  Also, way too cool.

Palm Pre - Pretty cool, but so what?

CrunchGear has a demo video from CES of the Palm Pre. Overall, I think it looks pretty cool. Definitely a huge step up from where the PalmOS was before, but I can't help but feel like it's a very "Me, too" product. The Card View method of viewing applications is nice and there are some pretty nice innovations on the Contacts side of things. If you don't currently own a touch screen smart phone, I think the Pre is a very viable alternative to the iPhone, Blackberry Storm, or anything from HTC.
 
Rumor has it that they are going to price the phone at $399 SUBSIDIZED, which would put it at the high end of touch screen smart phones. A quote from Palm CEO Ed Colligan, as reported by Peter Kafka, when asked if Palm considered pricing the Pre at $200 or below to compete with the iPhone was "Why would we do that when we have a significantly better product?" Well Ed, you don't really have a significantly better product. You can make the argument that the Pre is as good, at best slightly better than the iPhone (though I wouldn't). In other words, I wouldn't switch to the Pre from my 1st generation iPhone because there's nothing that much better in the Pre. And let's not forget that anything that can be claimed to be better on the Pre can easily be copied in future iPhone software updates.

As someone who has had a litany of smart phones, it took a significant feature or service improvement from one device to another for me to make the switch. I started with the original Sidekick, moved to a color Sidekick (for the color, of course), then to a T-Mobile MDA (Edge performance increase plus more flexibility in adding apps on Windows Mobile), and finally to an iPhone (my first video iPod plus all the amazing UI features). I even bypassed an upgrade to the 3G iPhone because faster data speed wasn't enough for me to pay extra for essentially the same UI. Suffice it to say, simply being a little bit better (if at all) is not enough for someone to want to pay $100-$200 more for a Pre than a 3G iPhone.

Happy New Year and good-bye meat

I'm a couple of days late on this but a hearty Happy New Year to everyone! Hope 2009 is more prosperous for us all versus 2008 (though I doubt it).
 
As is my 4 year old tradition, I'll be giving up meat for the first 3 months of the year. This started back in 2004 when I went vegetarian for a month. Since then I've added a few weeks every year with the ultimate goal of going vegetarian 100% (as every good Buddhist should). It'll probably be a long time before I get there but it's partly about the journey and not just the destination. My last animal protein meal was a bowl of fish cake noodle soup made by mom. This is in contrast to last year's last hurrah meal of all you can eat meat at Espetus in the city. I used to have the impending feeling of meat withdrawals leading up to the New Year but have found that over the years, I start looking forward to taking a break from normal food. There are still certain foods that I absolutely crave like pho, but after the first few weeks, it gets easier and easier.
 
In the past, my vegetarian lifestyle didn't actually result in me losing weight. This is probably due to the extra carbs I eat to compensate for the lack of protein but this year, I'm gonna try to make an effort to use this time to get in better health. Got a recent blood test before the holidays and could definitely improve on my cholesterol, sugar, and fat levels. I'm also going to try and lose 20 pounds over the next three months. One cool iPhone app I saw was Weightbot which helps you track your weight each day. Definitely worth $0.99 for a clean and easy to use weight tracking app. UI is superb. I'll be posting my progress over the next three months so wish me luck!

Cool feature on iPhone

So I figured out how to take screenshots of what is on my iPhone. You need to have the 2.0+ software upgrade, then press the power and Home button at the same time (don't hold or it will reset the phone). The screen flashes and then you'll hear the camera click. Whatever you had on the screen will be in your Camera Roll.
 
Here's a screenshot of a new game I'm playing called Strategery. One of the developers used to do some work for us (Sumul, he's great!). The games pretty simple to learn but hard to master, especially on the harder settings. I'm about to crush the computer in this screenshot.
 
Click here to get the game from the iTunes App Store and here's the website for the game itself.

Touch screen love!

I'm watching the CNN and NBC coverage of the election and I'm amazed with the new huge touch screen interfaces. Very impressive and I can't help but think that this is the next wave in user interface designs kicked off by the iPhone. The two point pinch is in full effect! Also, if you're in Cali and you haven't voted, do so now! It's more than just the Presidential election (which is pretty much set already for Cali) - there are a few very important ballot initiatives that are definitely not yet decided. Regardless of which side you fall under, it's important to make your voice heard. The only wasted vote is one not made.