iPhone Craze

I took advantage of a great day and went for a bike ride all over Pasadena and Arcadia in Southern California. I figured I may as well see for myself what this "iPhone 3G" thing is about. And I started to wonder if this is going to be an annual ritual. Of course, this is nothing compared to the 1,500 folks who lined up outside a Softbank store with a Star Wars stormtrooper to keep them from getting too rowdy.

The Apple Store on Colorado Blvd was about 100 people deep and a few of them were ready to came ready to make this a day thing if the troubles Apple experienced yesterday repeat itself. However, it's likely they worked out the kinks and judging by the large number of people who were finally able to activate their iPhones yesterday evening, the line today should move along quite faster.

If anyone who isn't within driving distance of an Apple store and are forced to visit an AT&T store, my suggestion is to call ahead. That's what I did yesterday and, sadly, they ran out early in the day. Two stores I visited on my bike ride today also had lines. Amazingly, the people I spoke to knew the store did not have any iPhones in stock but they wanted to see if they could be put in a waiting list.

The larger issue, I hope, is the awareness that being mobile is increasingly a necessity in every aspects of life. I don't know what people will be doing with their iPhones, Blackberry Curves or Thunders, or Android phones outside of work but I do see a convergence of every aspects of mobility merge with life in general.

And I also subscribe to the idea that the smartphone market is big enough for many players. But I simply do not see this kind of excitement for any other phones right now. This should be a worrying sign to other manufacturers. I hope this will truly get them to start innovating and stop focusing on idea of killing the iPhone and take hold and embrace the idea that their smartphones has to make the lives of the mobile users easier and the information they need literally at their finger tip.

Apple,the new kid on the block that no one thinks will make it in a market with entrenched players, has brought the ease of use of the Mac, focused on the simple things that made the iPod a success, embraced the idea of Life 2.0 and put all that into the iPhone.

Whether you're a mobile warrior who care for the iPhone or not, the attention Apple has brought to the smartphone industry benefits everyone and quickens the pace of innovation.


One last thing, please call ahead to make sure your local AT&T store has the iPhone in stock or not. I do not anticipate the kind of shortage the iPod experienced in the past. Personally, I think it's good to wait a couple of weeks to let this first batch of iPhones fly off the shelf. There's already reports of a warm tint on some of the screens.


UPDATE: The warmer tint on the new iPhone was purposely done. See
Gizmodo/Engadget/Appleinsider for more information.

Blackberry Thunder Rumors May Spark First Internet War

Maybe not a war. Just lots of Internet traffic for each other. And that's a good thing.

In a very detailed blog yesterday, Crackberry from their mobile spies deep within the skunkwork laboratories at RIM reported great progress on the Thunder, the first touch-screen (not sure if it's multi-touch but from the now suspect rumors, it could be) Blackberry.

I had only followed up with a blog on what this could mean for mobile warriors. But then...

This morning, BGR is reported the Thunder is not quite ready for a showdown with the iPhone 3G. The update from BGR was a bit confusing to read. The gist of it is that the Thunder is far far from ready. Four to five months to be exact.

In a friendly response, Crackberry defended not the rumor but their journalistic methodology. To be honest, I find it more assuring than what Fox News (as entertaining as they are) allow their news folks to do.

In a show of confidence with their sources, Crackberry also revealed that the Thunder is multi-touch and the screen is indeed glass. Also just as interesting, RIM is feeling pressure from the iPhone 3G, thus ramping up their efforts to get it into the hands of mobile workers.

For mobile warriors, what does all this mean to you and me? It's not to say that one rumor is wrong and the other is right. Boy Genius's sources could have had an earlier look at the Thunder when implementation with the UI was "a joke" but RIM has since then made great strides as reported by Crackberry.

For now, I'm willing to give Crackberry the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Others have weighed in or at the very least reported on the conflicting reports. Gizmodo wants to believe Crackberry and is willing to place their bet with them. Engadget gave a more pessimistic tone after reporting on the Thunder breakthrough last night. Other Apple-centric sites have weighed in with their pro-iPhone opinions as well.

Unlocking iPhone 2.0 (latest update)

Or lack of. It's been kind of quite on the unlocking front. It's understandable because after 1.1.4, Apple has not implemented a new update (still waiting for cut/paste, Cupertino).

The latest entry I was able to find on Google, is this one. Ziphone developers boasted that it is "so easy a caveman can do it". I unlocked/jail-broken my iPhone with Ziphone so I think they've done a great job making so easy that simple-minded homo sapiens like myself can do it.

The date on this Macnn.com article was from June 13. Before that, the iPhone Dev Team had the honor of unlocking the 2.0 firmware in March.

Since then, it's been a bit quiet with the Apple/iPhone-centric blogs but the Ziphone update showed that the latest beta has also been unlocked. Will the final version be this easily cracked? As someone who plans on staying with T-Mobile, I hope so.

Here are a few links you can distract yourself with until Friday when the iPhone 3G goes on sale.

• Ziphone Update - updated June 30th
  
• Update from Gizmodo- iPhone Dev Team is claiming more challenges from Apple. Okay. Okay. Time for another donation. I get it, guys.
  
• iPhone Dev Team Portal - no update since May 17. I hope it's because they're trying to be quiet and not give anything away to Apple.
  

My money's on these ingenious and resourceful individuals. Anyone who use their tools in the past/future should consider donating and rewarding their efforts.

Haptic Responses (Latest From RIM)

It's no secret I'm an iPhone user and Apple fan. Nevertheless, I would not want them to get too full of themselves. With Sprint's Instinct just the latest iPhone killer (it's all a matter of opinion, isn't it?), it stands to reason that the iPhone's year on top can just as easily be toppled by any of the more entrenched smartphone manufacturers.

According to Crackberry.com, Blackberry Thunder's haptic keyboard could be just the feature that out APPLE the iPhone. So far, things have been quite on the Canadian front as far as what the Thunder's features are and how it will compete against iPhone and other smartphones (yes, iPhone isn't the only player in town).

I'm hoping everything said in Crackberry's blog entry is correct because honestly, there's only one man I know with a real "reality distortion field" and he's not the CEO of RIM.

Whether Apple's view on haptic implementation for its virtual keyboard will go the way of the one-button mouse is uncertain. Only time will tell. Of course, there is rumor of an iPhone with a slide-out keyboard in the wild as well. That too, only time will tell.

iPhone 3G (or iPhone Next), Android phone, Thunder. I can't wait. Nor am I looking forward to having to chose between the three. Great haptic keyboard implementation or not. iPhone killer or not. As a mobile worker, I say "bring it on"!

The smartphone market is in its infancy. It has the capability of support multiple winners. So the more the merrier.

Cowboys Have Their Horses, Mobile Warriors Have...

Mobile Warriors! This is your ride.

First off, it’s strange how all these new green cars are suppose to be available in 2010. Have you noticed that?

Now, this VW. Yes, I would drive this around town. 280+ miles per gallon and you may even use algae-based diesel if research is as promising as the media reports it to be.

Reported to be 20K to 30K euros (I’m not putting a dollar figure given the dollar to euro rate is a moving target right now), it could be worth it since gas has nowhere to go but up in the short-term.

It’s small frame may be a turn-off for some mobile workers but according to Canadian Driver, this little roadster has safety of the driver built in mind: air bags, stability controls, anti-lock breaks – ejection seat too (just kidding about the ejection seat).

I’m sure a bigger version will come soon thereafter. If VW can create one with more room and even as the expense of the mileage per gallon, it would be worth the sacrifice (280 to say 150 miles per gallon).

We’ll keep an eye on this one for you.

MacPad Or MacTablet

There is speculation reported by DigiTimes regard a large Apple order from Samsung for NAND chips.

50 Million chips to be exactly. Speculations on the Internet points largely to the iPhones that Apple will be selling over the next few quarters that will be using these chips.

In the report, 25 million ships have already been provided to Apple for the buildup of iPhone 3G for the global rollout. Twenty-million or so iPhone 3G waiting with another fifty million on the way? That's a lot of iPhones.

This not to mention the fact that iPod Touch stock has been dwindled in light of Apple's back-to-school deal and a reboot of the iPod line-up in this fall.

I think it is more likely these chips are for the new iPods.

Still, that's a lot of iPhones, iPod Nanos, and iPod Touches. Maybe there's more.

It's entirely possible a new device could be introduced in the next six months (likely Macworld 2009), the long-rumored Mac tablet every Apple-centric websites have been talking about for the last couple of years.

There are some roundabout ways for us to get confirmation. All we need now regarding this Mac tablet are more information about larger screens (preferably the 6"-8"flavor) from the folks to make the screens now for the iPhone and a chip company specializing in mobile telling their investors they're going to have a great fiscal 2009.

I'm willing to wager that if additional Apple NAND orders is forthcoming, a large order towards the end of the year, Macworld 2009 will be something bloggers will be talking about for years.


NOTE: I want folks to know that my own speculations come from years of watching Apple, joining in the delights of new product launches and suffering through the disappointments of failed rumors, and how generally Apple like to string consumers along with revolutionary products to be followed by evolutionary improvements of the products. With that said, my guess is as good/bad as those financial analysts who have been more wrong than right (I was right when I did not think we would see anything more than an iPhone-dominated WWDC keynote from Steve Jobs but I was wrong about the GPS in the iPhone).

Mobile Gaming on Company Time - Yes, it should be okay.

Is mobile gaming a good thing to have on handhelds and smartphones that are meant for work?

It really depends on the function of the person and how much self-control he or she has but on the whole it is a good idea.

Now, I know a few doctors who are really excited about using the medical programs that will be available on the iPhone (stop calling it the iPhone 3G, folks). But I wouldn't want them to be playing Crash Bandicoot or getting too wound up playing Doom or something like that just before a surgery now would we?

But for everyone else, a bit of unwinding can go a lot way towards relieving stress and increase or maintaining productivity. I have been writing on the iPhone quite a bit more and once in a while when I hit a block, it helps to be able to surf the web or play one of the few games available via jail-break.

I hope employers who plan on giving their mobile warriors iPhones (or any other phones) to do battle allow them to have nearly full access to the phone's functionalities and not hinder what can be an efficient member of the company.

I recently played with a Blackberry my cousin got from her work. It was a great device for work - checking e-mails and keeping in touch with what's going on at her office when she does to work from home or Starbucks. But it annoyed the hell out of her knowing that they purposely crippled the device just to keep her from surfing the web from time to time. I want to give the company the benefit of the doubt in saying that it may have to do with data charges. But knowing her company and who her employers are, that is not the case here.

So, mobile entertainment is a good thing if kept in check. Annoying mobile workers by treating them like children is not. And with the plethora of smartphones like the iPhone and Android phones coming out later this year, it would be a shame to see mobile warriors given the equivalent of sword but no shield.