Archive | June, 2009
Kidlandia Helps Kids Claim Their Kingdom
Last year, a site called Kidlandia started letting kids and parents collaborate to customize fantasy maps of a kid’s world, combining place names that referenced people in the child’s life with fanciful critters designed by Kidlandia founder Brian Backus. On Monday, Kidlandia underwent renovations that make the map-designing process slicker and more interactive, letting families place characters and buildings anywhere on the map and annotate locations with lore about them. You can order handsome glicee prints of the maps to hang on the wall; prices range from $40 to $180.
In an era of 3D virtual worlds and social networks for folks of all ages, Kidlandia is strikingly old-fashioned: The maps are apologetically two-dimensional and look hand-crafted, and any socializing that goes on occurs as a family crowds around the computer to customize a kingdom’s regions and inhabitants. Backus told me that the site will also offer jigsaw puzzles, and is considering other products that could be printed with a child’s map imagery, such as clothing and placemats. Mostly, though, he wants to keep it as a place where families can have fun together and create something that can hang on a wall and stay in the family as an heirloom. But the site’s fun even if all you do is enjoy the map on-screen or print it out at home for free.
Your WWDC Predictions: Not Perfect, But Not Bad!
8. June 2009
Quick, you guys: Quit your jobs, team up with each other, and form a research firm specializing in Apple punditry. As a group, your predictions would likely be significantly closer to being on-target than those of a bunch of well-known analyst firms where serious moolah is made guessing what Steve Jobs and company are working on.
That, at least, is my conclusion after conducting an experiment that I called Technologizer’s WWDC Prediction Challenge. I invited Technologizer community members to take a survey involving WWDC predictions, then tallied the results and considered any prediction to be official if the majority of survey respondents made it. You didn’t get every single data point right–and failed to anticipate the major changes Apple made to its laptop lineup–but your iPhone predictions were very close to perfect (unlike those of many bloggers and analysts). Overall, I’m impressed–and I think I’ll repeat the experiment before future Apple product launches.
After the jump, a full accounting of how your guesses squared with WWDC reality.
The T-Grid: Palm Pre vs. iPhone 3G S
8. June 2009
So much about Apple’s new iPhone was revealed through rumor ahead of time that I prepared a provisional grid comparing it to the Palm Pre a couple of weeks ago. Now that everything’s official, I dug out that grid for an updating and to make any necessary corrections–and found that about 98 percent of the specs I filled in for the iPhone to Be Named Later turned out to accurately describe the iPhone 3G S.
After the jump. lots and lots of specs for the summer’s two most notable smartphones. As usual, I’m not claiming that you can use this list to determine which phone is better (especially since the 3G S remains an unreleased product as I write this). But it’s still fun to see how they compare.
Will iMadness Descend on June 19th?
8. June 2009
Here in the U.S., the phenomenon of iMadness has occurred twice in known history. Once was on Friday, June 29th 2007, when the original iPhone was released (and I took the photo tothe left of a very small boy dressed as a very large iPhone outside the Apple Store in San Francisco’s Union Square). The second time was on July 11th, 2008, when the iPhone 3G went on sale.
In both instances, thousands of otherwise normal people woke up at 2am and stood in line outside Apple Stores and AT&T Stores for hours simply to become among the first consumers to own a new cell phone. Even though there was no shortage of said phones, and even though other consumers were able to stroll into the same stores shortly thereafter and buy iPhones with little or no wait.
(In the case of the iPhone 3G, there were residual signs of iMadness for many days afterwards–when I happened by Apple Stores, there were usually lines (not long, but lines nonetheless) ouside of people patiently waiting to buy new iPhones.)
The iPhone 3G S goes on sale on June 19th. Will iMadness reappear? It’s an interesting question, and I’m not sure about the answer. It’s in Apple and AT&T’s interest to stoke the release for everything it’s worth, obviously. If they announce special opening hours or other out-of-the-ordinary plans for the 19th, we’ll know that they hope to strike lightning for the third year running.
On the other hand, the 3G S is neither the first iPhone nor the first affordable high-speed one. It’s a nice new phone. (It’s also the first iPhone not to benefit from a Steve Jobs demo–Phil Schiller simply made it feel like a neat upgrade with some cool new features, not an Important Moment in World History.) Many of the folks who wanted an iPhone have one now, and relatively few of them will ante up to buy a 3G S. And some of the people who want iPhones but don’t yet have them will opt for a $99 iPhone 3G, which is available right now. And some of the people who do want the 3G S will figure out that they can probably buy one on day of launch without much waiting by sauntering in someetime in the late afternoon or early evening.
My guess is that there will be scattered outbreaks of iMadness, including people with beach chairs hanging out at Apple Stores at midnight. Maybe even little kids inexplicably dressed as smartphones. But this will be the most sane iPhone rollout to date. Probably. Any other predictions?
WWDC’s Big Loser: AT&T
8. June 2009
I’m used to hearing whoops of delight from the crowd at Apple product launches. Even the occasional gasp of blissful disbelief. Snickers of derision, however, are not a standard feature. Yet that’s what AT&T, the iPhone’s sole U.S. carrier, prompted this morning at Apple’s WWDC keynote.
During the discussion of the iPhone 3.0 software’s new support for MMS messaging, we were told that 29 carriers would be ready at the software update’s launch–nine days from now–to support it. But we were also told that AT&T would not be among them–it’ll support MMS only at some unspecified date later this summer. Initial signs of discontent from the audience.
Next, we heard about 3.0′s eagerly-anticipated support for tethering as a wireless modem. The logos of 22 carriers who are ready to go appeared on-screen. The audience scanned them for the AT&T logo, and when Ma Bell wasn”t even mentioned, it knew that the company wasn’t among them. Despite the fact that it said tethering was coming “soon” seven months ago.
By the time Phil Schiller talked about how the iPhone 3G S would let you share video via MMS if your carrier supported it, a rueful chuckle rolled through the audience, and it was extremely obvious why.
AT&T’s network has been commonly regarded as the iPhone’s weakest link for as long as there have been iPhones (especially 3G ones): High-speed coverage remains spotty, tales of the network being brought to its knees by too many iPhones in one place are common, and both dropped calls and inexplicably slow browser performance are common. It’s conceivable that some problems that folks tend to blame on the network are in fact Apple software glitches, and the fact that the phone is on AT&T at least means that it’s usable almost everywhere in the world. But I’ve met lots of iPhone users who see AT&T as a problem, and few if any who have mentioned the carrier as a principal virtue.
At this morning’s event. the fact that AT&T is the sole U.S. carrier was downright embarrassing–even if there are legitimate reasons why it’s not ready to support two key features of the iPhone’s new software.
It all reminded me a bit of where the Motorola/IBM PowerPC processor stood right before Apple announced it was moving to the faster, more power-efficient Intel architecture. The chances of Apple leaving AT&T are zero. But you gotta wonder whether the carrier’s inability to keep pace with Apple and dozens of other carriers, and the response from the public as represented by the people in the WWDC audience, is a prelude to the iPhone–or some iPhone, at least–showing up on Verizon relatively soon. I mean, if you ran Verizon, wouldn’t you see this as a gigantic opportunity to lure Apple’s business and make your customers happy?
No More Coffins for Red Ringed Xbox 360s
8. June 2009
If you own an Xbox 360, consider hanging on to any box that might fit your console, just in case you get the Red Ring of Death.
Joystiq reports that Microsoft will no longer ship out its custom-fitted “coffins” — somehow I don’t think this is the company’s lingo — in which to return broken Xbox 360s. Customers can still print out shipping labels on Microsoft’s dime, but they’ll have to find a suitable transport container themselves.
Microsoft’s confirmation is a change of course from what Joystiq learned in March, when a representative denied that customers weren’t getting the option of a coffin. All customers from every region around the world got to choose a prepaid label or a container with the shipping label appended, the representative said back then. The new policy went into effect on May 26.
A Microsoft representative told Joystiq that this move will “expedite the shipping process” because there’s no need to wait for Microsoft’s packaging, but you should be able to recognize the spin from a mile away. If killing the coffin is meant to help the customer, some sort of box should at least be optional for people who don’t have one sitting around. Its more likely that this is a cost-saving measure.
Joystiq recommends using any old box to ship a red ringed Xbox 360, but that raises more concerns. Are customers then expected buy packing peanuts or bubble wrap to keep the console secure? If not, what if some other component of the console breaks in transit? I’m going out on a limb here, but Microsoft could face either higher costs to repair additional parts or another PR nightmare when customers have to pay more to take care of a problem they didn’t cause.
The big takeaway? Either Microsoft is getting really stingy, or the company has been shipping a lot of boxes.
Sixteen Random Questions Prompted by Apple’s WWDC Keynote
8. June 2009
In the end, predicting what Apple wll announce at a press event isn’t nearly as difficult as some folks make it. If you’ve been listening to scuttlebutt over the past few months, nearly all of the stuf you heard that was basically plausible came true today. Snow Leopard is indeed a minor OS X upgrade focused on under-the-hood improvements. The new iPhone is in fact a faster model with double the memory and a better, video-capable camera, but otherwise not a radical departure. There were new Macs, and their newness indeed consisted mostly of bringing features from the 17-inch MacBook Pro to its small cousins. And Apple finally lowered the price of the current iPhone to $99, an idea that’s been in play in the blogosphere for many months.
Rumors that were either less plausible or supported by fewer convincing details turned out to be groundless, at least for now. There was no tablet, and no iPhone Nano. And, of course, no Steve Jobs.
As for out-of-nowhere surprises…well, you know that an event is short on them when the two biggest ones may have been the introduction (at last) of Macs with SD slots, and the return of FireWire on the 13-inch Mac.
As usual, the event prompted as many new questions as it answered. After the jump, the sixteen that leap to my mind most immediately.
iPhone 3G Gets a Reboot, Price Drop
8. June 2009
As expected, Apple introduced a new 3G iPhone, called the iPhone 3GS. “The S stands for speed,” says Phil Schiller. Most of us have experienced the iPhone slowness — this new phone aims to try to solve that. Overall, the device will load applications about twice as fast as the previous 3G model.
7.2MBps HSDPA is built into the device, also speeding up the data side of things as Apple’s carriers build out their 3.5G networks. A new camera as expected will grace the 3GS, providing 3-megapixel resolution and autofocusing capabilities.
It also captures video, which was also highly rumored of the new device, along with rudimentary editing features: think an iMovie of sorts for the iPhone. Also added is voice control, allowing the device to do what many others have done for awhile.
It will also allow apps to respond to you with informtion, such as the iPod app speaking the song playing when you ask what it is, and the like.
The rumored compass feature is a reality, and integrates with maps. Thus you can follow a map easier without having to reorientate the phone.
Improved battery life is another plus, with 12 hours of 2G talk time, and 5 hours at 3G. Users would also be able to surf the internet for up to 9 hours, listen to music for 30, and watch videos for 10.
Pricing will not change, and would stay at $199 — that is for the 16GB. A 32GB model would also be made available for $299. But the 8GB is going nowhere: yep, it’s now $99. Existing standard 3G iPhones will now drop to $99.
The iPhone 3GS is set to debut June 19.
Want MMS, Tethering? Wait if You Have AT&T
8. June 2009
Yep, once again AT&T has shafted the iPhone public. While 29 carriers will support MMS at launch, if you download iPhone OS 3.0 you’ll wait until “later this summer” for it. Oh and tethering, which Apple is now mandating that all carriers support? 22 at launch, AT&T is again not one of them (at least not on the list shown at WWDC).
It’s making more and more sense why we’re hearing Apple may be ready to broaden the iPhone’s reach in the US, no?
Note: We have a request out for comment with AT&T. I will report back with what they share.
Update (11:30am PT): Mark Siegel, AT&T spokesperson: “We won’t be commenting until after the event is done.”
Apple Details Snow Leopard, and it’s $29
8. June 2009
After wowing us with a little hardware, Apple turned its attention to Mac OS X, and its next release called “Snow Leopard.” As it has repeatedly said in the past, this version would be more of a tune up than anything, and Apple’s announcements at WWDC seemed to follow that pattern.
Best yet, you’ll get your hands on this in September for an upgrade price of $29. No, that’s not a misprint. Take that, Microsoft ;)
Installation of the OS will be 45 percent faster, and Apple claims you will regain up to 6GB of lost hard drive space following installation due to better compression
Over 90 percent of the code behind the OS has been rewritten to focus on speed. While the overall design of Finder has not changed much, the code behind it has.
Overall, the focus seems to be on speed, making applications faster. Preview is twice as fast, Mail 2.3 times faster. It seems the only real major change in UI is to QuickTime, which has been redesigned to focus on the content. Controls will fade away to leave just a video window, and sharing features will allow you to select portions of a video that you want to share with others.
In addition to all this, the company is also announcing Safari 4 for Mac and Windows, which is releasing in final form today. It would obviously be included as a standard feature in Snow Leopard.
Price Cuts for MacBook Air
8. June 2009
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It now appears that the white MacBook is going nowhere anytime soon. Instead, the new unibody MacBooks will now be the MacBook Pro line across the board. Makes sense considering there wasn’t a whole lot of difference anyway. More interesting is the price cuts: MacBook Airs are now $1,499 for the standard configuration and $1,799 for the SSD model — huge price cuts for both.
Apple’s getting aggressive price-wise, don’t you think?
MacBooks Now in 15-Inch Flavors, Now Pros
8. June 2009
The first announcement from WWDC is in, and its a 15-inch MacBook. Like the MacBook Air, the device sports a sealed battery, however it will provide up to 7 hours of charge, about 2 hours more than previous models. Apple is claiming the battery should be good for about 1,000 recharge cycles, equaling about 5 years of life for average use.
Interestingly enough, Apple has done away with the ExpressCard slot, instead opting to include an SD slot. This puppy will also be blazing fast, with a 3.06GHz option and capability for 8GB of RAM, the most ever for a Mac portable. Hard drive capacities of 500GB in standard drives and 256GB in SSD would be offered.
The 15-inch models would start at $1,699.
13-inch models are also being updated with an improved screen, sealed battery, and SD card slots. It’s also been upgraded to a MacBook Pro… hmm one begins to wonder…
Apple WWDC Live Coverage
8. June 2009
Please join us for instant, ongoing, live coverage of Apple’s WWDC keynote event. We’re live now!
5Words for Monday, June 8th, 2009
8. June 2009
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Special pre-Apple WWDC edition:
China mandates Web-censoring software.
Are there Pre screen problems?
Panasonic’s new featherweight HD camcorders.
The Truth About Physical Keyboards
7. June 2009
If you wanted to place a bet on tomorrow’s WWDC keynote news (which we’ll cover live) that was such a longshot that it would pay off spectacularly if you turned out to be right, it would make sense to put money down on the possibility that Apple will unveil an iPhone with a physical keyboard. It’s not just that Steve Jobs snarked at the very idea of “tiny plastic keys” when he first announced the iPhone. It’s also that the phone has sold so spectacularly without one. Whatever you think of the iPhone’s on-screen keyboard, it’s hard to make a case that it’s stood in the way of sales.
And yet smartphones with physical keyboards also remain popular–such as the Palm Pre, the most interesting iPhone rival so far–and there’s no sign that the iPhone’s massive popularity will lead anyone to declare real keyboards to be obsolete anytime soon.
I thought about this as I read John Gruber’s thoughts about the Palm Pre on Daring Fireball, in which he contends that the only people who are likely to opt for a Pre over an iPhone because of the physical keyboard are those who already own phones with QWERTY keyboards (such as BlackBerries). John’s take: Both real and virtual QWERTY keyboards are much better than trying to enter alphanumeric characters via a phone dialpad, and the iPhone’s keyboard is far from lousy. As usual, his rational is well-reasoned and clearly explained.
I do, however, think he’s selling the virtues of tiny plastic keys a little short. They’ve got at least four benefits, two of which are pretty obvious and two of which are less so.
Apple WWDC Live Coverage Tomorrow
7. June 2009
Enough with the rumors, speculation, leaks, and spy photos–less than 24 hours from now, Apple will be kicking off its WWDC conference with a keynote address. Even in a worst-case scenario, there will be news about new stuff, and it will have one overriding benefit compared to the scuttlebutt to date: It’ll be factual!.
I’ll be in the audience at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, providing lickety-split live updates of the proceedings as they happen at www.technologizer.com/wwdc09. I hope you’ll join me at 10am PT, since I’m already curious about your take on the event and the revelations that come out of it, whatever they may be…
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9. June 2009
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