Microsoft’s Courier Delivers Where Apple’s iPad Falls Short

I’ve been a tablet user for a number of years now thanks to my Fujitsu T4215. While I’ve truly enjoyed the tablet and everything it offers, there is room for improvement in form factors, usability, and of course, functionality. The world looked to Apple in hopes their tablet device announcement would forever change how they looked at tablets. At this point, I think it’s fair to say that most people, myself included, are underwhelmed with what the iPad has to offer.

Enter Microsoft’s Courier device. This dual screen, foldable journal type device is amazing. According to the details leaked on Engadget, this device will be about 1 inch thick, sport two 5×7 LCD panels, and weigh in at about 1 pound. The screens support multi-touch as well as pen based input to provide the best experience for everyone.

Engadget has some really cool video’s on the Courier showing how it works and what you can expect from this device. In my opinion, this device connects with the tablet world far better than what Apple has done. Of course, there will always be people who say Apple has done it right and that the iPad is the be all and end all of tablet devices. For me, the Courier has much better potential. Only time will tell, but I’m looking forward to playing with a Courier much more than an iPad. Check out the video’s on Engadget and let us know your thoughts.

Apple’s Sizzle Turns to Fizzle as iPad Launches

The majority of the tech world gathered around monitors yesterday to watch Apple announce their latest creation. From the hype that was brewing around the internet, many expected a game changing product. Something that would create an entire new market and lead the company down a path that has never been traveled by any company before it.

The truth is that Apple released a slate computer. Very similar to what Microsoft and HP showed off at CES during the keynote. Also very much like the tablets sold by companies like Fujitsu, LG, HP, Lenovo, etc.. When I look at the specs and details, I’m having a hard time seeing what makes the iPad so much better than what we already have. In fact, it seems like it’s somewhat limited when you compare it to the ink functionality of todays existing tablets.  The iPad has no ink support – not a good thing for enterprise customers. I’ll agree that they have lived up the typical Apple style elements, as it’s a pretty nice looking unit. But looks aren’t going to make it a success all by itself. It will come with 16GB or 32GB memory capacity, 9.7 inch multi-touch screen, 10 hours battery life, and support for WiFi and 3G (using a new micro SIM). There’s also a small dock with a keyboard attached – that’s the coolest part of this product for me.

Image from of GDGT’s live coverage of the launch.

What are you thinking about this new product from Apple? And the most important question, are you going to stand in line for one?

Apple Tablet…Enough Already!

The Apple Tablet is coming! The Apple Tablet is coming!

I don’t know about the rest of you but I can’t wait for Apple to introduce the world to their much rumoured tablet. It’s not that I can’t wait to get one, just that I’m tired of hearing about it!

Of course, Apple will probably do a great job with it but is there any chance it can live up to the hype? Can it really bring world peace, solve hunger, cure deseases and resurrect Kanye’s carrier? Well, maybe the first 3 are in reach…

I’m not saying I won’t want one when it comes out, just saying that this has been the most hyped unofficial product I can ever remember. Apple’s biggest challenge is going to be to live up to that hype. Unlike the original iPhone (which no one really knew about) the iTabletslatepad has been THE tech topic for a while now.

Of course, Apple could shock us all and skip the iTabletslatepad altogether. Nah, not going to happen.

CES: New iPhone Cases and Speaker Docks

I’m sure that you’ve heard of this new smartphone from Apple called the iPhone.  You’ll be happy to know that a couple manufacturers have decided to built cases, docks, and external speakers for this device. Each manufacturer had a radically different accessory design and function. The good news is that if you don’t like how one looks or works, there is another manufacturer just a couple booths away with another design.

Now, I may be exaggerating a little. There are a lot of booths with cases, docks and accessories for your favorite Apple mobile device. What really gets me, is why even enter that market at this point? There are so many companies making accessories, that you don’t really stand a chance of being in the top 10 unless you’re doing something so radically different than everyone else and from what I’ve seen, that’s just not happening.

Consumers are sitting in a great position as the price of accessories is only going to go down. Unfortunately, so will the quality and the manufacturers will struggle to make money and provide for their employees.

Anyway, I hope you’ll forgive me if I neglected to visit or take pictures of any of these companies and their products.

The Dominant Mobile OS in 3 Years Will Be…

Every now and then a new forecast will be released that claims some sort of radical change in the overall market share of product X will occur in the next 3, 4, or 5 years. The latest Gartner study fits perfectly into that template. Gartner is saying that Google’s Android OS will rocket to second place among the mobile operating systems by 2012, behind Symbian. It sounds shocking and almost scary for those that make their living off Apple or Windows phones.

What I don’t like about these predictions is simple – no one can see the future.  In the tech industry, every time there’s a major challenge produced, the analysts come out with these wild predictions about how the world will change because of this new challenge. For the most part, it never happens. There are some times when it does come true, but that’s so rare. I can recall when IBM launched OS 2.1, the analysts predicted that it would capture some ridiculous share of the market in the next 2 years.  They had pages and pages of reasons why this was going to be the case.  I think we all know how that turned out. This is just one example.  Tech history is littered with failed predictions.

So will Google manage to move all the way to second place in 3 short years? If the competition doesn’t change and role with the tide, then sure.  But I really don’t see Palm, Apple, Microsoft, and RIM sitting still over the next few years.  Right now, in the mobile space, you need to be moving forward at a aggressive pace or risk being left behind.  Microsoft was caught taking a nap recently and are already reacting and pumping things up to the level where is should have been. A couple years ago, Palm was caught napping and came very close to losing everything.  They’ve finally started to turn things around and with any luck they could have some serious market share in a couple years.

Apple and Google are here to stay.  And for that matter, so is Microsoft, RIM, and Symbian. All of these guys will have a significant share of the market in 3 years time. I’m not so sure about Palm and Linux but that’s a rant for another day.  Unfortunately, these forward looking statements are not about to go away.  The public and the press need to remember that the future has not been decided yet and that anything can happen.

(source = PPCGeeks)

Apple’s iPhone is Dominating the Mobile Market – Or Is It?

“Apple’s iPhone has 40% of the mobile market, surpassing that of Symbian. Windows Mobile drops to just 4% which is exactly where Palm’s new WebOS debuted.” – This exactly what someone was trying to tell me this morning. Now, I have a hard time believing these numbers, so I asked them to send me a link to their source. The story comes from a CNet News article called “AdMob: iPhones, Android Phones on the Rise”.

The article has this really graphc that shows iPhone at 40%, up 7% from last month. And Symbian drops 9% from 43% to just 34%. There’s lots of conclusions that someone could try to make from this chart. However, I think the most important thing to understand is where these numbers are coming from.

As I mentioned already, it’s important to know where the numbers are coming from. In this case, admob specializes in placing ads on mobile friendly sites. So their vision of market share is going to be different then the rest.

In this chase, admob gets their numbers from websites, ad impressions, ad requests and of course, clicks. But wait a second, that’s not an accurate representation of devices sold in the market! All that means is that more iPhone users are using the web than Symbian and Windows Mobile. That doesn’t mean that Apple has shot like a rocket to number one. When you think about it, these numbers aren’t even surprising. Windows Mobile devices have been available for years, but very rarely were they bundled with attractive data plans. With the iPhone, it’s a requirement when you buy the phone. Furthermore, this only looks at web traffic on sites monetized by admob. They aren’t capturing the number of people getting email on their device, browsing RSS or Twitter, or whatever the hot new mobile application is. This is just web traffic and just on sites that have signed up for admob.

Hey, I’m happy to see that more and more people are doing it the mobile way. But that’s not the same thing as market dominance.

Top Applications of 2008 for Windows Mobile

“2008 marks the 5th year that I have published a end-of-the-year Top 10 applications for Windows Mobile. I enjoy doing this little round up each year as it allows me to take a look back at all of the new and exciting applications that came out in 2008 and narrow them down to the ten applications that I think every Windows Mobile owner should have on their device. The trick, however, is narrowing it down to 10 applications! 2008 marked a banner year for many developers in the community as virtually every major application available at the beginning of the year had been updated once if not twice by the time December rolled in.”

Clinton Fitch has posted a list of the top 10 applications released this year for Windows Mobile. It’s a pretty interesting list when you consider that the list is dominated by 3 different companies. There are 4 applications from Spb, 2 from Vito, as well as 2 from Illium. Resco and Astraware both have just 1 application. There’s no question in my mind that these companies make top-notch applications. I do wonder what’s happened to the software marketplace for Windows Mobile. Have all the small guys packed up shop and moved on to Apple or Google’s mobile platform? Or is this just a result of the best getting better?

[ ..Read More.. ]

It’s All About Touch, Or Is It?

Apple changed the market a couple years ago with the initial release of the iPhone. I’m not talking about releasing a revolutionary phone, because I don’t think the iPhone is that. But that’s a topic for another article. What Apple managed to do was re-energize the mobile touch screen world. Before the release of the iPhone we were seeing a steady increase in non-touch screen devices as manufacturers tried to copy RIMs approach and market share.

With the release of the iPhone, many manufacturers are now releasing touch screen devices and the non-touch screen phones releases are dropping off. Is there a different demand from the public now versus before? I’m not so sure. I think that manufacturers are worried about Apple and feel that a device with similar specs and design would be the best way to mitigate that risk. When, in reality, the best solution would be to innovate and release a unique phone with new and exciting features that takes the market in a whole new direction.

Take a look at the latest release from Nokia; The N97 is loaded with all the bells and whistles that Apple loaded on their iPhones while adding a QWERTY keyboard and of course, S60 for an operating system. Another great example is the Samsung Omnia which has a very similar form factor to the iPhone with a stylish and eye-catching face lift for the underlying Windows Mobile operating system. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the looks, design and features of these phones, but I would rather spend my money on something different and exciting. Both Nokia and Samsung have built great phones with no touch screen in the past. But the latest releases from these, and other companies, are all focused on touching the screen.

So what’s the appeal with touching your device? For me it feels so “1990’s” – back when mobile keyboards were big and bulky. Most were add-ons that you had to unfold or plug the device into. And when it comes to everyday usage of a touch screen device, typically I find it’s slower and more awkward to navigate and enter data on the device. Maybe that’s just me, but I can move around my BlackJack II much faster than the Touch. And there’s no comparison when it comes to typing emails or entering data.

The other big drawback is the one-handed factor. There’s so much more I can do and access with a non-touch screen device using just one hand, than I can on most touch screen devices. It doesn’t take long on a touch screen before you have to put down whatever you have in the other hand and pull out the stylus or lick the ketchup off your index finger so you can poke away at the screen. Who wants to do that?!

Much like the rant I posted the other day in regards to flip phones; There is a demand for non-touch screen devices, but manufacturers are so caught up in coping Apple that they are losing out on other parts of the market. Here’s hoping that the manufacturers wake up and start to offer new and innovative products once again.

Windows Mobile on an iPhone – Why?

A number of web sites recently posted about a new video that appeared to show an Apple iPhone dual booting Windows Mobile with Apple’s OS-X for the iPhone. A lot of people seemed to get excited at the thought of running both operating systems on the iPhone hardware. As it turns out, the video is a fake, but that doesn’t change the reaction of the community. Why do so many people want to see Windows Mobile on the iPhone hardware?

First off, the licensing for this would be nothing short of a mess. Does anyone here recall the PocketPalm emulator from way back in 2002? Great idea, but licensing issues kept it from really taking off. This won’t be much different and I can’t see Apple or Microsoft letting this happen.

Next up – do some people still think that the iPhone is somehow more stable and secure? There’s been lots of talk about how both are not the case now that 3rd parties are available to develop for the platform. Let us not forget that the Windows Mobile has been extremely stable for those participating in the No Reboot Challenge.

User Interface? A lot of people comment about the user interface on the iPhone being significantly better than Windows Mobile. It’s no secret that Apple has always been better at the user experience. But I don’t see how that is a factor in an application that allows you to dual boot your phone. What good is the interface if you’re going to dual boot it all the time? Besides, it’s twice the configuration as you would have to configure email and everything else on both operating systems. I would think that an emulator would be a much better choice. However, that doesn’t change the first 3 points I’ve talked about.

What’s next – Style? I guess some people would want to switch phones just to have a more stylish device. But do these people really care what OS is running on the device? Typically, they are the kind of user who buys the latest device just to say they use whatever the current fad is. Something like this might save them a fair amount of money because they wouldn’t have to re-purchase applications every time they switched devices.

I don’t know. Perhaps I just don’t get it. I’m all for mobility and choice in mobile operating systems. However, for me there’s no value in an applications like this.

In case you are interested, check out the video over at the Engadet Mobile web site .

More Security Issues Surface with Apple’s iPhone

It seems that Apple is having a fair amount of problems when it comes to security on their iPhone devices. At the end of September they released an update addressing 10 different security issues and now word comes out about a couple more issues that Apple has been aware of for a couple months, but neglected to address in any of the updates released since these were found.

Of course, security issues by themselves, do not relate to your device getting hack. It does however, indicate that there is a greater risk that a exploit could be released into the wild that would leverage these vulnerabilities and put your device and the data it contains at risk.

While others have learned from Microsoft’s past mistakes when it comes to speed of addressing these issues, Apple doesn’t appear to be as concerned. What makes this even more concerning is that Apple has the means to release updates quickly and easily. While Microsoft is slowed due to their business model of selling to manufacturers and carriers. Which means we need to wait for the manufacturer to approve the patch and then release it to their customers.

If you own an iPhone, you need to be extra vigilant about the sites you visit and the emails you read on your phone. I would hate to see a nasty cellular bill caused by a rogue application that’s ringing up excessive data and voice usage.

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