iPhone nano for the holidays?

This article suggests there is evidence Apple will indeed release another version of the iPhone that is smaller and less expensive. The rumor says it will have to have a different input technique because it would be much smaller. I even saw on yet another site that Apple was planning to hit the holiday shopping season with a blitz of new products. It's getting exciting!

iPhone nano 2

Universal wants a piece of the iPod!

There has been a lot of talk on the internet about Universal's move not to renew a multi year deal with iTunes. This article discusses the idea that it could be related to Universal wanting a cut of the iPod and iPhone hardware sales. I know it's speculation, but I mentioned earlier that Universal has such a deal with the Zune. The article notes that Universal would make some big bucks given the volume of iPhone and iPod sales. I know we don't know it for sure, but if Universal expected and got this deal from Microsoft, I don't know why they wouldn't want the same deal from Apple. I think that would be outrageous, and this article lays it out very well:

Universally Greedy!

2nd Gen lower cost iPhone?

The rumors are swirling about another generation of iPhone that is cheaper than the current! It's hard to assess the reliability of a lot of these reports, but it sure would make sense for Apple to appeal to a broader price range of consumer on the iPhone. What do you think?

Low Cost iPhone

Apple to become its own label?

Rumors suggest Apple may become a part of its own label in association with rapper Jay-Z and Beyonce. Word is that they would run the record label and bring some big names with them. It's so far out there it seems pretty hard to believe, doesn't it? I just think this kind of a thing carries so much risk, and it's outside of Apple's expertise. What do you think?

Apple Records?

Why Apple chose Edge over 3G

In a word - battery life! The 3G network, while being much faster, runs down the battery much quicker. Here is an article with hard numbers in a comparison with the Blackjack:

3G vs. Edge

The article suggests the 3G network impact talking time dramatically, so Apple made the right tradeoff. Comments?

Have you touched an Phone yet?

This weekend I was passing an Apple store and decided to check out the iPhone in person. The store was all iPhone. All of the large murals had iPhone related pictures and the front of the store had two 4 foot high iPhone replicas with moving video simulating the features of the iPhone. My first impressions were, Wow. It is not much bigger than an iPod. The keyboard was surprising easy to use as long as you are typing regular words. I could not find the Tab key to switch between fields on a web page. The touch screen is super cool. The best feature of all in my opinion. Surfing the web was really cool with the zooming in and out. Not having Flash support is a major oops. It is too prevalent to ignore. Using it as an iPod was the best iPod ever. But for me. The cost is the main hinderance. Both on the phone itself and the plan. Why don't cell phone plans ever get cheaper. The carriers keep just adding minutes but never lower there prices. The phone towers should be payed off by now. Innovation should yield lower costs. The iPhone plans just add to the cost inflation. One last flaw I see is not allowing outside developers to have apps outside of Safari. Over all, quite a product, and looking forward to cheaper and better versions down the road. Then I might buy.

Yellow Submarine iPod?

The rumors are swirling of the next generation of iPod coming out for the Fall/Christmas season! Naturally they will be touch screen kick-butt! A stranger rumor is that Apple will release a "Yellow Submarine iPod" to coincide with Beatles music coming available on iTunes. I've become a bit wary of these wild rumors! What do you think?

Yellow Submarine

iPhone Hack attack

Have you heard how the computer hacks are having a field day trying to crack the iPhone operating system? They are trying to find flaws in the OS so a hack can take control of the phone. And trying to hack the phone to work on any network. I read that a bug in Safari was found but it was actually on the new Windows beta version.
My work has issued a statement saying that the security of the iPhone is questionable and they forbid using it for company business. One complaint was that you could not install a firewall on the iPhone. And that the browser could be hacked and allow calls to be make by the hacker. Yet we use the ever stable Windows operating system. Sounds like an over reaction from the reports I have heard about security. How secure is a Blackberry, or is it just not in the spotlight. Any thoughts?

Universal plays hard ball with Apple

Check out the article:

Universal

In effect, Universal did not renew a multi year agreement. They instead are opting to renew Apple's license for month to month, and the article says they could do exclusive deals with other online music vendors. They are also the music company that demands a cut of the hardware revenue. That is, they would want a cut of each iPod sold, regardless of whether the iPod will have music by Universal or not. They do that with the Zune.

I think this is totally outrageous! But business is business, and I think this puts Apple in a very difficult position to stay competetive. It will be interesting to see what Jobs can do to get out of this one. The article claims Universal publishes one in three albums these days. What do you guys think?

Are you waiting in line?

McFan, I know you can't read this right now because you are obviously waiting in line for the new iPhone. Maybe you could check MacNight out on your new iPhone with the advanced browser capabilities. It would be a great test for the iPhone. No Apple has not paid me for every time I use iPhone in this post. But the iPhone is a revolutionary new device. The iPhone is one of the coolest gadget's to come along in a long time. The iPhone is..... so frickin awesome!

Check out Henry Winkler talking iPhone!

Funny YouTube of Henry Winkler on the Late Late Night Show talking about the iPhone:

Fonz

iPhone lines already beginning?

I heard that there could be lines already forming for the new iPhone! This is certainly a far cry from the debut of the iPod, isn't it? The iPod took 3 years to really get momentum, and the iPhone will hit the ground with incredible momentum! The new 20 minute video is very impressive. Will I be able to hold back on June 29?

Can't live up to the hype

This weekend I read an article about the iPhone quoting some analysts saying that Apple is betting the company on the iPhone. And that there is no way that Apple could meet all of the hype around the new gadget. One quote said that Apple would be in trouble if it turns out to be another Newton. I am hoping that articles like this tone down some of the hype. But is hard not to get too excited about the iPhone when it has so many super cool features! Is it true that Apple cannot live up to the hype? I think not. If anything, the iPhone will probably be even more than people imagine it to be.

YouTube Streaming to iPhone

Did you hear that the latest added feature to iPhone is YouTube streaming to the device. I don't know - I guess I'm just not the type that wants to spend hours looking at other people's videos. Now SNL skits - that's a different story! Do you think this is a significant feature addition?

The Blockbuster Decision!

Gentlemen, Did you hear that Blockbuster has said they would carry Blue Ray DVD titles exclusively in most of its stores? The reasoning was that in the 200 or so stores they were using as an experiment, customers chose the Blue Ray over HD-DVD discs 70% of the time! I tend to think that this could indicate Blue Ray's eventual victory in the High Def DVD wars. What do you think?

WWDC Note

I've had some time to digest the WWDC announcements. I now feel that Jobs shouldn't have said there were "secret" features of Leopard before. I mean, it would have been better to just reveal the stuff he did at the previous conference, and he didn't have to mention that there were "secret" features of Leopard that he didn't want MS to copy! I think that I agree with the commentary that the Finder isn't "new" - he shouldn't have presented it like that! Only if it's new "under the hood" can it be truly considered a new Finder. I also don't think the "stacks" are a big enough deal to label as a "secret feature". Even "cover flow" is just eye candy, although I think I'll enjoy using it. Cover Flow certainly isn't indispensible. Now Cover Flow on the iPhone will be nice! What do you think?

Safari for Windows

I'm sure you guys have heard that Apple released a beta of Safari for Windows. Now why would Apple release a piece of free software for use on Windows? Now you have two browsers you need to maintain and make sure is secure. I heard that Apple gets good revenue from the Google search bar - is that enough to release a previously Mac only browser for Windows? What's your take?

No New iLife!

I guess the developers conference is not the place to introduce the new software applications, but it sure would have been nice to see or hear some news about the next versions of iLife and iWork, which I make use of frequently! I'm wondering how much different they'll be! Will Leopard make things totally different in these applications?

iPhone open to developers!

On the plus side, Jobs used the WWDC to announce that iPhone will be open to developers! That's pretty big, and takes away the criticism that the apps would be limited. To me, that's the big announcement.

WWDC Disappointment?

I wasn't as blown away by the "secret" features of Leopard as I thought I'd be. I wasn't surprised that the rumored ZFS file system didn't debut, but the new finder features were definitely not revolutionary in my opinion. The new Finder window is simply an extension of the iTunes way of doing things. I do like the idea of "stacks", but again I don't think it's revollutionary. What's your take?