Where’s My iPad?
The start of April gave the USA the iPad, Apple’s brand new tablet computer running off the iPhone OS, especially modified for the iPad’s 9.7″ screen, but the international Apple fanatics and general public have been waiting, in vain, for the end of April for the time to get their hands on the iPad.
Image Courtesy: Wall Street Journal
But unfortunately, Apple have delayed the international launch for the iPad, including the UK launch dates, until the end of May. Yes, I did say May there. Rumours are saying that the iPad’s delayed shipping is to tie in with the release of the 3G version of the device, which has been rumoured to be carried by Vodafone & Orange in the UK. All we know so far is that the iPad will be up for Pre-order on May 10th, which is also when the pricing and availability for the rest of the world will be specified.
XML Creator takes sides in on-going iPhone/Android Clash
Cnet reports today that Tim Bray, notable as the co-inventor of the technology XML (Extensible Markup Language), joins
the Google team working on Mobile operating system Android.
In doing so he re-affirms a long standing dislike of the Apple iPhone. He had this to say about the smartphone sensation and its creator:
“… a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger.”
This hiring by Google coincides with a distinct hotting up of what is becoming a very personal confrontation between the two companies. With Apple suing Android handset manufacturer HTC over numerous patents, and Google issuing statements to the effect that it will support its manufacturing partners.
Whether you are a fan of Android and Google, a staunch iPhone user, or just an interested consumer sitting on the sidelines – this particular competiton is and will continue to be one to watch.
After all, with Android based devices gaining almost 2/3 of the iPhone’s daily sales figures, the boys over in Cupertino must be feeling the heat.
Tweetie – Twitter in style ?
Tweetie is a new twitter client for Mac OS X & the iPhone, provided by the folks over at atebits.com. There is both a free (ad-supported) version of the client, and a premium one, which weighs in at $19.95 . That is quite a lot just to get rid of some very discrete ads, so I personally didn’t bother.
Upon first installing the program I’ll admit that I was very impressed with the look, feel and simplicity of the thing. Most mac users will agree that installed 3rd party software can often feel clunky, out of place, and unfinished when placed alongside the clean, brushed metal approach of OS X. This is emphatically not the case with Tweetie.
Perhaps it is because it is specifically designed for Mac that its user interface is well … more Apple than Apple! Whatever the reason though, my proverbial hat comes off too the designers behind tweetie – its stunning. What is more they have been able to capture some of that mac simplicity.
I hate to quote (often dubious) testimonials, but Wired magazine didn’t get it far wrong when they said “Tweetie’s interface is so clean you would think it came straight out of Apple headquarters.”
Click here to continue reading
Trouble at mill for latest member of “Cloud” family…
Swedish company Spotify has recieved much critical acclaim for its music streaming service over the last few months. With a new round of investment valuing it at $250 million, the start-up goes from strength to strength. 
I’m an unashamedly huge fan of spotify, which (for those of you who don’t know) is an itunes-esq desktop music client that uses a mixture of P2P/Direct streaming to place a library of over 3.5 millions tracks at the user’s disposal … virtually instantly. I’m not alone in this opinion either, and spotify has been widely welcomed, both by an internet community sick & tired of fighting the outdated business models and practices of Industry labels, and by proponents of the “Cloud” computing model that has gained so much media focus recently.
Perhaps the music labels too realise that spotify is a way of angling across the current of the increasingly powerful anti-copyright lobby ? The significant shares owned by labels such as Sony would seem to support this theory.
Click here to continue reading
Be BOLD, shun the iPhone to save your wallets.
What with all the hype over the new iPhone 3GS which was announced at Apple’s latest WWDC, and the $99 iPhone 3G, you are probably all waiting with
baited breath to get your hands on the latest sensation to hit the smartphone market.
And at $199/$99, who can blame you right ? That’s certainly better pricing than you’ll find for a lot of smartphones out there.
Well no …not exactly…
See the thing is, as fantastic as the iPhone may be, in the long run I Guarantee you it will make your wallet squirm. Here’s how:
- Apple may carry on touting its price cuts, but $99 is actually still $99 more than anyone else is asking. I don’t know how it is for you guys in the US, but over here the carriers predominantly cover the entire cost of their smartphones as a part of the contract. My ‘Blackberry Bold’ for instance, didn’t cost me a single cent.The reason you still pay money for your iphone then, is that the true cost of the device is much more than is let on. This would perhaps be easier to excuse if the iPhone was on a different playing field to all its competitors, but it isn’t. Devices such as the Bold, Storm or HTC Magic all offer comparable experiences, so there really isn’t any excuse for the charge.
Click here to continue reading
