Were you still deciding whether or not to pick up that shiny new HTC EVO 4G smartphone? You may be out of luck for some time, as Boy Genius reports that Sprint’s new flagship Android handset is entirely sold out across the U.S.
We knew that the device was shattering Sprint sales records right and left, and now it appears that demand has been so blisteringly hot that the EVO is actually unavailable pretty much everywhere. If you manage to find a secret stash of these phones or to blackmail convince any Sprint employees to let you in on the next available restock date, be sure to send us a tip.
Meanwhile, the HTC EVO 4G is neck and neck with the iPhone 4 in our weekly Faceoff Series (be sure to cast your vote if you haven’t yet). If you were one of the perhaps sizable demographic waiting to see Apple’s latest phone before picking up your next smartphone of choice, are you bummed that the EVO is currently unavailable? Let us know in the comments.
Tags: android, HTC EVO 4G, iphone 4, Mobile 2.0, sprint
The new iPhone has been officially outed and details of the next phone from Apple have been shared by Steve Jobs at the WWDC. The phone is pretty much the same as the prototype that walked into a bar recently (but failed to walk out). Jobs shared all the details about the iPhone 4, and made a case for this being the best iPhone ever. He’s right about that, but having just purchased the Sprint EVO 4G I am now even happier about my purchase than before the iPhone 4 announcement. Here’s how the two phones stack up against one another.
Hardware
Software
It may seem like I’ve stacked the deck against the iPhone, and perhaps so. I do believe the iPhone 4 is a sweet smartphone, and it has the full Apple ecosystem behind it, which is powerful stuff. I also believe that the Sprint EVO 4G is the most advanced smartphone hardware available — that high-res iPhone screen aside –and it can certainly hold its own in this head-to-head comparison.
Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Will Metered Mobile Data Slow the App Market’s Growth?
iPhone 4 and Sprint EVO 4G, Head-to-Head
- Stephen B
You snooze, you lose. That’s exactly what thousands of EVO 4G hopefuls are learning today as the smartphone that smashed Sprint sales records has gone out of stock across the country. So what can we learn from all of this? While sitting outside a retailer in a lawn chair the night before sale looks absolutely ridiculous, at least it pretty much guarantees that you won’t have to deal with the heartbrake of it being out of stock after 200,000 of them are snapped up.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
HTC EVO 4G sold out across the country
- Sarah Perez
Silicon Valley blogger Louis Gray posted a great entry to his blog last night in regards to the new features that the iPhone has. Here are a few of his key points:
And here's a direct quote of his last three paragraphs, as everything he says is right on the money:
"What I was looking for today was not a device that offered feature parity or similarity to what I have now somewhere else - on a platform that isn't limiting me to the manufacturer or to the carrier. I wanted more flexibility and more functionality. An iPhone 4-only parlor trick of video calling much like that on AIM or Skype or Yahoo! Messenger from the last decade isn't what is going to make my phone buying decisions made up, but instead, a promise to create a high quality experience for all aspects of my using the device.
AT&T has failed that litmus test of quality and has done so consistently for years. Today, Apple had the opportunity to look customers in the eye, and either apologize for the poor service we have come to accept from AT&T and Apple, and the missed promises, or better yet, offer an alternative. They didn't. That tells me either they do not fully understand the magnitude of the problem, or they think they can get away with continuing to ignore it.
Apple, I didn't want a thinner iPhone that's slightly faster and better looking. I wanted a promise that the new one would make phone calls, act as a fantastic Web device, and provide 3G access to other devices. Today, you didn't do that, and it's disappointing. A smartphone can't be smart if it's married to a company as dumb as AT&T."
[via blog.louisgray]
For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides
New iPhone Features Won’t Slow Android
Did Apple’s iPhone 4 Just Kill the Flip? http://bit.ly/c74diG
Apple CEO Steve Jobs just announced the highly anticipated fourth-generation iPhone at WWDC, and the device is bound to make some people at Cisco pretty nervous: The iPhone 4 features 720p HD video recording at 30fps, an LED flash that doubles as a spotlight source for video recording and the ability to edit any video footage right on the device.
Video editing on the iPhone is enabled through a custom version of iMovie, which can be bought in the App Store for $4.99. The development of iMovie for the iPhone was led by Randy Ubillos, whose previous credits include the design and development of Adobe Premier and Final Cut Pro. The software features a number of themes and transitions and makes it possible to export video in 360p, 540p and 720p, all of which can be shared immediately via Wi-Fi or 3G networks.
Compare that to the latest Flip camera from Cisco, and it becomes clear why everyone’s favorite HD point-and-shoot camcorder could be in deep trouble: The Flip SlideHD was supposed to be the next big step for Flip, as it transitioned to a touchscreen-based interface, but it already looked outdated when it made its debut earlier this year, missing multitouch and other UI essentials to which that smartphone users are already accustomed.
Also notably absent was any kind of network connectivity. Cisco promised to bring networking to the camera when it acquired Flip maker Pure Digital for $590 million in March of 2009, but to date, Flip users still have to rely on the built-in USB port, and their desktop PCs, to share and upload videos.
Smartphone users, on the other hand, are increasingly getting used to immediately sharing their footage via their devices’ cellular network connections. iMove for iPhone just gave iPhone users another reason to skip the desktop, making it possible to do some basic editing before they upload clips to YouTube or Facebook.
Then there’s the iPhone 4 hardware. The device features a 3.5-inch screen with a resolution of 960×640 pixels that uses the same type of IPS technology as the iPad to support video-friendly viewing angles and a great contrast ratio. It also has a back-light illumination sensor that should help to capture situations with low and changing light conditions. It’s unclear at this point how much of an impact the integrated LED flash will really have on video recording, but it should help to persuade customers dissatisfied with their current camcorder’s performance under such conditions.
Speaking of customers, one of Flip’s big selling points has always been its low price point; a dead-simple HD camcorder for less than $200 is hard to beat. However, the new Flip SlideHD costs around $280 for 16GB of memory. Apple announced today that the iPhone 4 will start selling at $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB.
Expect Cisco to slash Flip prices any day now. However, one has to wonder whether that’s too little, too late to save the device.
Related content on GigaOM Pro: The Nano & Flip: Join the Conversation (subscription required)
Shared by louisgray
Quote: "Do I think the iPhone 4 is sexy? Absolutely yes. It has so many things going for it but AT&T’s shoddy network is holding it back." YUP.
Hot on the heels of my quick review of the Sprint HTC EVO 4G, I’d like to take a minute to share my thoughts on the latest iPhone announced at WWDC today here in San Francisco. There seems to be two camps when it comes to the iPhone 4 — those that love it and those that hate it. Actually, it is more like three; love, hate and those that aren’t exactly sold on it but will buy it anyway. I have been onboard with the last 3 iPhones and waited in long lines on launch day to get most of them. However, I won’t be getting the iPhone 4 this time around.
If you’re just catching up with all the news today, below is a quick summary of what was announced. If you want juicier details head over to Engadget, Mashable, ArsTechnica, et cetera.
The hardware looks rather spiffy for the most part — great display, dual cameras, faster processor, better battery life… sounds like what dreams are made of. But I don’t think I can stand being with AT&T for another year. I had 107 dropped calls in the last 270 days with AT&T. Considering I don’t talk on the phone every day, that effectively means I have dealt with a dropped call once per call session.
WTF!
I have only been okay with AT&T for the last year with my MicroCell but now that I have moved to San Francisco and explored it I just can’t stay on this network any longer. AT&T service especially sucks in San Francisco. Even times when I do have a few bars, it is deathly slow.
Colin Ake’s post summarized most of my thoughts on the iPhone 4 announcement:
Yes, iPhone 4 looks nice. Nice screen, dual cameras, HD video, I get it. [...] And you didn’t even throw us the bone of getting rid of AT&T or upgrading to LTE.
And it’s not like there are better options. Sure, I could go with the EVO 4G. Then I’d have fast connectivity, right?! Right! Unless you’re in a building! I mean, seriously, go look at the Clear reviews and see how sporadic it is and how much it sucks. [...]
So here’s the recap. There’s a huge market for a phone that does all that, is on a platform that’ll upgrade easily and have a seamless UI and uses a real network like Verizon.
Do I think the iPhone 4 is sexy? Absolutely yes. It has so many things going for it but AT&T’s shoddy network is holding it back. There are blocks in my neighborhood where I get absolutely no service at all and it’s not like there are tall buildings surrounding me like in the Financial District, where horrible service is at least somewhat justifiable. How am I supposed to partake in all of the cool features of the iPhone 4 when I don’t have access to the Internet when I’m out and about. This is a mobile phone — requiring me to stay within earshot of my MicroCell or a Wi-Fi access point is like selling me a ball and chain (or if you prefer this metaphor: a supercar with a high-compression engine that requires 110 Octane gas when I can only find 91 Octane here in California, aside from being trackside at Infineon).
So what phone will I end up with? I’m not sure if I want the EVO 4G, but I know my next device will be Android-based. I think I’ll wait until the next big Android hyperphone gets announced later this summer and then I’m off to Verizon or Sprint. Oh and I almost forgot why I love Android so much — native Google Voice integration. This is a really, really big deal for me.
Thoughts? Will you be pre-ordering your iPhone 4 on June 15th and waiting hours for it on launch day? Will you pick one at your leisure later this summer, or at all? What is your current phone and provider?
Unrelated: on the upshot, I think the Reader feature in Safari 5 is fantastic. Granted Chrome has been my primary browser for several months now, I might end up doing my reading within the confines of Safari 5. I’m also curious to see what happens with Safari Extensions. Panic showed off how easy it was for them to add a new feature to Safari with their extension.
RSS ads (for the student loans, I promise!): PaulStamatiou.com runs the Thesis theme. View my usenet downloading how to then checkout my usenet host Giganews.
Why the Apple iPhone 4 Isn’t for Me
© Paul Stamatiou 2005-2010
People: Steve Jobs
Related posts:
Quote: "Do I think the iPhone 4 is sexy? Absolutely yes. It has so many things going for it but AT&T’s shoddy network is holding it back." YUP.
- Louis GrayIf the iPhone 4 were not limited to AT&T, would you be giving up your EVO to return to the iPhone?
- JandyJandy, options beyond AT&T are good, but no, it's more than that at this point. I feel the iPhone 4 practically caught up to the EVO, but Android is being improved at a much faster rate, has a wider range of handsets and is on more carriers.
- Louis GrayLouis, thanks. Most of what I hear against the iPhone is bitching about AT&T; I've been wanting to hear some purely software/hardware comparisons without reference to the network, but those are hard to find. :)
- JandyApple chief executive Steve Jobs announced a number of improvements to the iPhone on-stage today at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco — improvements that should help the iPhone fend off competing smartphone. But a number of the rumors about what Jobs might share today turned out to be wrong.
Even more than past WWDC keynotes, today’s event was really all about the iPhone. It’s possible that Apple may have other news up its sleeve for later in the conference. However, since this morning’s session was the only event open to the press, it’s more likely that any big, unconfirmed rumors either aren’t happening, or are being saved up for an Apple event this fall or later.
Here’s a list of some things Jobs didn’t talk about today:
iPhone 4 on Sale June 24th is a post from Chris Pirillo
Even though I couldn’t be there in person to witness the goodness at the WWDC today, I was able to listen along live in my car via Twuner. This is a talking Twitter app that lets you actually hear the tweets you want to follow. I was traveling during much of Steve Jobs’ keynote and was to hear what was happening almost as quickly as Steve was saying it. My assistant Kat was sitting in her office at home following the updates via the live blog at MacRumors and taking notes for me.
The news of the day, of course, is iPhone 4. Pre-sale orders begin very soon: on June 15th! The device will be available for purchase on June 24th. The pricing is about what was expected with a new two-year contract: $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model. Although you’ll have to choose between black and white as the basic color, you’ll be able to use one of the new “bumper” cases to change things up. They will sell for $29.00, and come in six colors: black, white, pink, light blue, orange and lime green.
Steve spent more than an hour discussing what he feels are eight of the most important features of iPhone 4. He chuckled about the fact that we “saw” photos already back when Gizmodo had one of the devices in their hot little hands. He was quick to point out, though, that we hadn’t really seen it. The design is completely new and is “beyond a doubt the most precise things, one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever made.” There is glass on the front and rear of the phone with stainless steel running around the side. The top features a headphone jack, a second mic for noise cancellation and a sleep/wake button. The bottom has another mic, a 30-pin connector and a speaker. Jobs boasts that this is the thinnest smartphone on the planet at only 9.3mm thick… 24% thinner than the current iPhone 3GS model.
The first audible gasp from those assembled came when Steve grinned almost smugly as he described the display. Retina display is a brand-new technology that dramatically increases pixel density. 300 pixels per inch is the limit of the human retina when held about ten inches away from the eye. The display on the iPhone 4 features 326 ppi – which is four times as many pixels as before in the same amount of space! Text will appear on the screen just like you were reading a “fine printed book.” The screen resolution will be 960 x 640 pixels with an 800:1 contrast ratio.
Next up, Jobs reiterated what we already knew about how the phone will be powered. iPhone 4 packs an Apple-developed A4 chip which is incredibly small – yet incredibly powerful. The bigger battery coupled with this chip means 40% more talk time. Steve estimates you’ll get 7 hours of talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of both WiFi browsing and video consumption, 40 hours of music listening and about 300 hours of standby time. This is absolutely incredible, and is a development that we’ve long hoped for. Thanks to this chip, the device will have 32GB of storage and will be capable of 7.2 Mbit down and 5.8 Mb up – as soon as carriers support those types of speeds.
The next announcement was met with raucous cheers. iPhone 4 will have a Gyroscope included! The Gyroscope coupled with the accelerometer gives you six-axis motion sensoring. Steve demonstrated by playing a game that looks quite similar to Jenga – he lost the game, by the way. With the Gyroscope enabled, rotation is insanely better. Rotation of 3D objects is unbelievably smooth.
The new camera system had me pumping my fist in the air… right in the car as I was driving. You already know that I use my current iPhone 3GS to take a lot of pictures and videos. The new iPhone is going to make this about a gazillion times better. With both front and rear-facing cameras, you’ll never miss the perfect shot again. The camera is 5 megapixels, and Jobs is quick to point out that a good camera has nothing to do with megapixels – it’s all about the actual photo quality. Even better news is that I will be able to use my iPhone to record HD video in full 720p at 30fps! The quality shown in the demonstration was honestly incredible by all accounts. You’ll be able to tap to focus your video and have built-in video editing. One-click sharing makes life much easier. The LED flash can even stay on during recording.
Insert drum roll here!
Along with that HD recording goodness comes the announcement that iMovie will now be available for the iPhone! You’ll be able to record directly in to your timeline or choose from previously recorded clips and videos on your device. The workflow is very similar to the desktop version… just on a smaller screen. You can edit your movies with themes, transitions and titles. Change the scale of your timeline by pinching the screen, much as you would on the iPad. You can easily add music, switch themes and use geolocation data. Export your creation to 260p, 520p or 720p. The app will be available for only $4.99!
The iPhone OS has been renamed to iOS 4. There are more than 100 new user features. This update will be available for FREE beginning June 21st for your iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G (with not all features supported) and your iPod Touch (again – not all features supported, and not on first generation devices). That’s right – this update will finally be free! Steve went over all of the features that were previously released. iOS4 has multitasking, folders, retina display technology, enhancements to mail, camera and photo apps and much deeper Enterprise integration. Microsoft Bing was officially named as the third search option for iOS4, with Google still being the default option.
iBooks and iAds were discussed for a few moments, and then Steve unveiled the last big surprise of the day: FaceTime. FaceTime will be face-to-face video chatting from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4. The video demonstration showed a grandparent chatting with their grandchild, a dad traveling on business chatting with his children back home and two people conversing via sign language. This was met with many loud cheers and wild clapping from the audience.
My iPhone 3GS has served me well in the time I have had it. However, it is currently whimpering and cowering in a corner. I think it already knows what its fate is going to be come June 24th. What are your thoughts on all of the announcements made during the WWDC keynote? Are you counting down the days until you can officially have an iPhone 4 in your hands, or are you still not convinced you need an iPhone?
Credit for all of the photos in this post go to MacRumors.
HP has announced a major new initiative and a slew of new devices that enable users to print from any device to a web-enabled printer by simply using email.
The idea – which builds off the Google Cloud Print announcement we saw back in April — starts with giving each printer its own unique email address.
That printer’s owner (and their designated family, friends, and colleagues) can then print documents by sending it an email from a smartphone, from a tablet, or any other device that allows it. Called HP ePrint, the technology eliminates the need for installing drivers and enables a variety of new apps and services.
The new printers that HP is unveiling today along with ePrint can connect directly to Google Cloud using their touchscreen interface. That means users can print Google Docs directly from the cloud without using their desktop computer, as well as scan documents directly to their Google Docs account. Other Google services like Calendar and Picasa for photos are also supported. Similarly, Box.net and Docstoc users can also retrieve and push documents to and from the cloud through new print apps.
Another area HP is exploring with the ePrint concept is scheduled delivery. This allows users to get content printed at specific times – for example, getting a customized daily newspaper printed out every morning that they can take with them on the train. MSNBC has signed on as a partner to pilot this concept, and HP has teamed with Yahoo to sell the ads, which, you can imagine could include a mix of contextual advertising and locally relevant promotions and coupons.
Beyond productivity and news, initial apps include Facebook for printing photos and events and MapQuest for printing maps and directions. HP also sees a big opportunity for providing different types of activities for parents and kids, and to that end has signed on Crayola for coloring pages and PBS for a variety of education-driven printing. As for the market size for developers here, HP says it expects to ship, “tens of millions of web-connected printers” by the end of next year. Currently, developers interested in building apps need to apply for access to HP’s SDK.
Beyond selling printers, HP needs to sell ink. With more and more types of documents getting digitized and smartphones replacing former functions of printers (think coupons and tickets), HP needs new ways to drive printer usage.
Web-connected printers fill this need in a few ways. First, they connect to the ever growing cloud for business users and make their lives easier. Second, the email-to-print concept clearly has the potential to drive new kinds of usage, both from business users and consumers who do things like print photos and news. Finally, there’s also opportunities for developers to create sticky apps – perhaps not on the scale we’ve seen in mobile, but with HP betting the future of its printers on web connectivity, you can bet we’ll see some big winners emerge from the developer community.
HP will dive into these topics at a press conference this morning to kick off Internet Week NY, where I’ll be moderating a panel with a number of the players involved in the new ePrint initiative. We’ll try and bring you video of the discussion later on.
Tags: eprint, Google, Google Cloud Print, HP, printers
HP Looks to Change the Way We Print
- Rob Diana
We get the feeling that there will be lots more details on this whole announcement during Hewlett-Packard's forthcoming press event, but for now, all we know is that HP's next generation of web connected printers will have something that no other consumer printer has had before: an email address to call their own. As the need for printing declines with the broadening availability of cloud access, HP is having to rethink its strategy in the business. According to a report over at the New York Times, the answer lies in giving each new connected printer a dedicated email addy, which would enable users to fire off an image snapped on their smartphone and have it waiting for them when they get back home. We're also told that printing from Google Documents and Spreadsheets will be easy enough, and we wouldn't be shocked to see Picasa integration as well. We're guessing that the new devices will have a robust security suite that'll filter who can and can't dictate the print function via email (but then again, HP does enjoy moving ink), and considering that they'll be priced from $99 to $400, just about everyone will be able to buy in. Conveniently missing from the story? Any mention whatsoever of webOS. Bollocks.HP teams with Google to give connected printers their own email address originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
New York Times | Email this | Comments
now that is interesting.
- felix
If you’ve been following me on Google Buzz or on Twitter you can skip this, but it’s useful to wrap up some of the conversations we’ve been having online. Last night I got together with my friends Luke Kilpatrick and John Poore. Between the three of us we have nearly every cool smartphone known to mankind. Palm. Apple. HTC. All that.
Anyway, we met just to see if there were any more pros or cons we could add to the list between Android and iPhone that I started a few days ago on Google Buzz. This is the most complete back and forth I’ve seen so far on the topic.
Living without the iPhone has been a lot easier than I expect, here I show you the devices I’m using and talk about what the advantages are to both iPhone and Android (the video plays here, while on my computer the embed doesn’t play well).
SocialMash:> Facebook and Google Maps Dominate Smartphone App Usage [STUDY] http://ow.ly/17AiWX
Nielsen has released a new mobile application report and its findings showcase not only the increase in smartphone usage, but also what applications are most popular. For its report, Nielsen surveyed more than 4,200 people who had downloaded a mobile application in the last 30 days.
The survey really highlights just how much smartphone ownership trails traditional feature phone ownership, at least in the U.S. Nielsen’s study shows that 21% of American wireless subscribers have smartphones.
Still, even non-smartphone users have heavily embraced mobile apps. Nielsen’s survey indicates that the average number of apps that a feature phone user has on his or her device is 10, while the average number of apps a smartphone user has is 22.
Broken down even further, the average number of installed apps based on smartphone OS looks like this:
While the specific applications vary from platform to platform, the most popular apps across smartphones were pretty consistent in this report: Maps, weather, Facebook and music all had strong showings.
Check out this chart which breaks down the five most popular apps by smartphone OS:
It’s interesting to see just how much Facebook dominates the mobile app space; it’s one of the top five apps on each of the platforms highlighted. Still, Nielsen notes that broken down by demographic, MySpace is still very popular among teens and that LinkedIn is strong in the 25-44 demographic.
Do any of these findings surprise you or does this align with your own mobile app usage? Let us know.
Tags: facebook, Google Maps, mobile apps, Nielsen, smartphones, trending
SocialMash:> Facebook and Google Maps Dominate Smartphone App Usage [STUDY] http://ow.ly/17AiWW
- Jim WilkersonTurn by Turn Augmented Vision Coming Soon with Wikitude Drive http://bit.ly/cgDSdf
Augmented reality (AR) developers Mobilizy, makers of the Wikitude World Browser, are close to releasing their latest creation, Wikitude Drive, an app that combines AR technology with turn-by-turn driving directions. The app works by taking live video of the road captured by a smartphone mounted on the dashboard or windshield and super imposing the direction data onto it. The company announced late last week that beta testing with 2,000 volunteers had been concluded, signaling that the company may be close to publicly launching the app on the Android marketplace.
Sponsor
As the company points out, taking your eyes off the road to look at a 3D map on your GPS device can be dangerous. With Wikitude Drive's directions (provided by Navteq) placed onto a live video of the road, the dangers of glancing at an illustrated map are reduced. To get an idea of how the app works, check out the video below released by Mobilizy last week showing some road tests.
As you can see, the app quite skillfully places the directions on the live video of the road, but the size of the path and arrow still leaves a large blind area for drivers. You can also see the directions jitter a bit when the car is in a tunnel, a problem with the GPS signal weakening in the tunnel. What this also tells us is that the app is not yet able to take advantage of the live video feed as much as it would like to.
Due to platform limitations, the app cannot digest the live video and map the directions more accurately to the road. While it does a fair job of guessing where the road is, the ability to process the road and run it through image recognition technology would make it much more accurate. Mobilizy says they are working on an iPhone version of the app as well - a platform that will soon support live video processing with an upcoming OS update.
With Wikitude Drive, users can quickly switch to a traditional elevated 3D map view by touching the screen, but which perspective will drivers use? Depending on the price of the app, Android users may download the app for the basic directions to save some money. The other common concern with these apps is what happens when a phone call comes in while providing directions? Can users easily answer and call and continue to receive directions? Or will they be interrupted and forced to later relaunch the application?
Either way, Wikitude Drive seems like a great use of augmented reality and a logical next step for the platform. Mobilizy says it plans to integrate the Wikitude World Browser, and it's database full of points-of-interest, into Wikitude Drive in the future. Combine this type of direction capability with GM's idea for an augmented reality windshield and a fascinating future of cars with heads-up-displays could be just around the corner.
Discuss
iPad: $1 Billion Later, What Do You Think of It Now? http://bit.ly/b1CVU3
The iPad has passed $1 billion in sales, according to simple multiplication of the company's 2 million announced sales of the product after a mere 2 months of availability.
Earlier this month Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe predicted that the iPad would become the fastest consumer product to hit $1 billion in sales. While that's a tough call to make definitively, it is undeniable that the iPad has surpassed mere hype and made at least a commercial splash. Some analysts believe it is changing the nature of personal computing, too. What do you think?
Sponsor
Here are some of the most interesting opinions I've come across lately. (Including one from my wife.)
"The iPad is a new kind of PC. It ushers in a new era of Curated Computing -- a mode of computing in which choice is constrained to deliver more relevant, less complex experiences. Curated Computing is necessary to empower alternative form factors, such as touchscreen tablets, wearable and ambient devices, game consoles, and connected TVs. The iPad's Curated Computing experience makes the tablet form factor viable for the first time since it was introduced commercially more than two decades ago."
- Forrester's Sarah Rotman Epps, Apple's iPad is a New Kind of PC. (Brings to mind Chris Messina's Death of the URL.)
"In my initial review, I focused on capabilities. And tablets are stuck between the power and utility of the notebook and the size and features of a smartphone. But they also create a middle place in terms of usability. And that is what I missed in my first day with the iPad. It feels less like a computer than any computing device I've owned. It's easy on me in a way that the other devices are not. So I'm now convinced that tablets will have an important place in our homes and our lives."
- Tech investor Fred Wilson, I've Changed My Mind About the iPad. Wilson has also said that he prefers reading content in mobile Safari over content-centric apps. Take that, curated web.
Wilson's appreciation of the iPad's usability contradicts with usability expert Jakob Nielsen's assessment :
"iPad apps are inconsistent and have low feature discoverability, with frequent user errors due to accidental gestures. An overly strong print metaphor and weird interaction styles cause further usability problems."
Personally, I love mine. I wish there were more apps, but I really enjoy using Facebook, YouTube, Twitterific and a number of other apps on it. It feels casual, efficient, enjoyable. It helps me get my laundry folded and my dishes done. I like it, a lot.
My wife says it doesn't feel crazy, novel and magical anymore - now it feels indispensable and integrated into our lives. "It's like finding a lover," she says. "At first everything they do is exciting, but over time a good lover becomes more of a real person. Some of the initial fascination is gone, but it becomes a super important part of your life." I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that, but I appreciate her letting me quote her saying it in this post. So far at least, I do not feel jealous of the iPad.
What's your take on the iPad?
Discuss
iPad: $1 Billion Later, What Do You Think of It Now?
- Rob Diana |
According to AdMob, the iPhone operating system makes up 50% of the worldwide smartphone market, with the next-highest OS being Android at 24%. Sales projections for the Apple iPad run anywhere from one to four million units in the first year. Like it or not, the iPhone OS, and Safari in particular, have become a force to be reckoned with for Web developers. If you haven’t already, it’s time to dive in and familiarize yourself with the tools required to optimize websites and Web applications for this OS.
Thankfully, Safari on iPhone OS is a really great browser. Just like Safari 4 for the desktop, it has great CSS3 and HTML5 support. It also has some slick interface elements right out of the box, which sometimes vary between the iPhone and iPad. Lastly, because the iPhone OS has been around for quite some time now, a lot of resources are available.
I know that most discussion about the iPhone OS platform centers on native applications. But you can still create powerful, native-looking applications using HTML, JavaScript and CSS. This article focuses on three phases of building and optimizing your website: design, coding and testing.
Before we get into the three phases, let’s look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of building a Web app rather than a native app.
Advantages of building a Web app instead of a native app:
Disadvantages of building a Web app instead of a native app:
[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has one of the most influential and popular Twitter accounts? Join our discussions and get updates about useful tools and resources — follow us on Twitter!]
Designing a Web app for this platform is much like designing a native app, so you’ll have access to some really great tools. Whether your wireframing tool of choice is pencil and paper or desktop software, you’re covered.
Not many people know that Apple has a “Web apps” section on its website, which is dedicated to showcasing optimized websites.
Featured Web app on the Apple website
There are also some galleries elsewhere that showcase the finest in mobile Web design:
Paper prototyping has long been my tool of choice for wireframing new ideas or websites. What I really like about the tools below is that they provide perspective on the size and dimensional constraints that you’re dealing with. To successfully optimize a Web app for the iPhone OS, you have to cut things out. I suggest keeping the design minimal by wireframing with a sharpie and one of the tools listed below.
Notepod is great for sketching out rough ideas for the iPhone and iPad.
Once you know exactly how things will lay out in your design, we can move to the desktop and get specific. I really like wireframing with OmniGraffle, but sometimes diving straight into Photoshop makes sense. Either way, these tools are a huge help in making it happen.
iPad GUI preview from Teehan + Lax.
Hungry for more? This article has a good rundown of additional design tools.
When you start coding for Safari on the iPhone OS, understanding how the browser works is important. Also, there are subtle differences in the iPhone and iPad’s browsers, such as how form-select boxes work. Most importantly, Safari has great CSS3 and HTML5 support, so you can use modern code without having to worry about cross-browser compatibility.
Apple actually does a really good job of documenting Safari for the iPhone OS. The only shortcomings in my opinion are a lack of help with browser detection and window orientation. Read each of the articles below for everything you need to know about coding for this browser.
iPhone Human Interface Guidelines for Web Applications
This is a good overall summary of how Safari for the iPhone OS works. It’s certainly worth scanning through, because it has some good advice, although no specific coding examples.
iPad Human Interface Guidelines
This document does a good job of distinguishing iPhone elements and iPad elements. This is also worth scanning through, because it has some great advice on designing for the iPad.
Safari Web Content Guide
This document gets specific about the viewport, webclip icons, unique meta tags and event handling, among many other topics. Code examples are provided. I recommend reading it cover to cover before getting started.
Preparing Your Web Content for the iPad
This document provides tips on testing your website on the iPad, but its discussion on browser detection isn’t as detailed as I would like.
Browser Detection
David Walsh provides good examples of proper browser detection for the iPad and for the iPhone on his blog. Options for PHP and Javascript are included.
Detecting iPhone Window Orientation
This iPhone development tutorial from Nettuts provides a good example of how to vary style sheets according to the iPhone’s orientation.
Detecting iPad Window Orientation
Detecting iPad’s window orientation is much easier. Here’s what the code looks like (no JavaScript required):
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all and (orientation:portrait)" href="portrait.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" media="all and (orientation:landscape)" href="landscape.css">
While the iPhone has a few mobile development frameworks, jQTouch is far and away the best. jQTouch gives you all of the tools to make your mobile Web app look and feel like a native one. Visit the website, and go to the demo website from your iPhone to get a feel for it.
My only complaint when building my first website with jQTouch was a lack of documentation and tutorials. I had to figure it out by playing with the demo website’s code. Here are some jQTouch articles that proved helpful in coding my first website:
A crucial and somewhat tricky part of building a website or Web app for the iPhone OS is testing. It’s a little more complicated than testing in a web browser, but familiarizing yourself with a couple of tools should make the process simple.
Liveview is a really clever testing tool for when your app is in the design or initial coding phase. It allows you to broadcast an image from your desktop onto your phone so that you can see what it looks like. This is useful for getting text size and the visual specifics just right, because sometimes visualizing from Photoshop is hard.
In my opinion, no good iPhone or iPad emulators are available. The ones that are available are a waste of time. Much better is to download the latest version of the SDK and use Apple’s official iPhone OS simulator, which of course supports the iPad as well.
Setting up the SDK and a local testing environment takes a few minutes but is well worth the effort, rather than depending on unofficial and often inaccurate emulators. I’ve written a step-by-step tutorial about setting up a local testing environment that’s worth a read. One great thing about local testing is that it’s faster and does not require an Internet connection. I highly recommend going this route until you are ready to launch.
PhoneGap is a game-changer for Web developers. If you would rather create your app in HTML, CSS and JavaScript but want it to run natively and have it be available in the App Store, then PhoneGap is the solution. It’s an open-source development tool that not only compiles your code for native use on the iPhone OS but also works for Android, Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices.
PhoneGap also steers clear of the recently controversial 3.3.1 clause of Apple’s terms of service. In other words, apps compiled with PhoneGap will still be approved. Check out the list of apps that are built with PhoneGap to learn more.
If you are, then some good hosted services will make it easier to optimize your website for multiple platforms without having to start from scratch. There are various levels of flexibility available, but all the services use a WYSIWYG-like editor to help you create mobile websites on the fly. Depending on your Web app and client, one of the following may be a good fit:
Mobify is a great alternative if you don’t care to build from scratch.
It’s a great day to be a Web developer, because non-desktop platforms like the iPhone OS open up greater possibilities for us to express our creativity and entrepreneurial savvy, while allowing us to adhere to modern Web standards. All of the tools you need to create great a Web experience on the platform that’s currently dominating the mobile space are out there. It’s up to you to make the most of them!
(al)
© Nick Francis for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: ipad, iphone, mobile
Web Development For The iPhone And iPad: Getting Started - Smashing Magazine
- Rob DianaSmashing Mag with a great overview of web dev for mobile and some great links too.
- Rob DianaSmashing Mag with a great overview of web dev for mobile and some great links too.
- Rob DianaSharing: Web Development For The iPhone And iPad: Getting Started - Smashing Magazine http://bit.ly/buftxr
- Rob DianaWeb Development For The iPhone And iPad: Getting Started
- Chuck ReynoldsWeb Development For The iPhone And iPad: Getting Started - Smashing Magazine
- Mike HochanadelOne of the things Sprint didn’t have ready in time for our HTC EVO 4G review was Qik video chat functionality, the ability to make video calls to other Qik users via the smartphone’s front-facing camera. Now, according to a leak to AndroidGuys, it turns out the functionality may add even more on top of the EVO 4G’s basic monthly costs.
They’ve received a leaked screenshot purportedly from inside Sprint, which tips a $4.99 monthly service charge for the Qik video call system. That would be paid via Paypal rather than included in your monthly Sprint bill.
With Skype video calling for Android expected later on in the year, we’re reluctant to start paying Sprint (or Qik) $5 a month for the same service.
Unlock Your Hotel Room with Your Cell Phone is a post from Chris Pirillo
I hate traveling. I love the places that I visit and the people I interact with when I get there. It’s the actual travel part that gets to me every time. There’s always such a rush to do everything, you know? Checking into my hotels is probably my least favorite task. God love ‘em for what they do, but the desk clerks always make me batty. They’re always so helpful and happy. I know, it’s a good thing that they’re good at what they do. But when I check in, I’m usually frazzled and just want to pass out on my bed. Like all of you, though, I have to stand in line and then go through the entire process while talking to someone who is entirely too perky. InterContinental Hotels understands my frustrations, and is working on a plan to change things drastically.
Next month, InterContinental Hotels Group will start testing new technology at two of their Holiday Inn locations which allows guests to use their smartphones to unlock the doors to their rooms.
IHG exec Bryson Koehler thinks that the phones may be the perfect answer for weary (and harried) travelers. “The proliferation of smartphones is growing in such a way that we have to look at what people are already bringing with them to make their stay more enjoyable,” he said. “We don’t need to burden people with additional items; it just clutters up their lives. The beauty of the smart phone is that they’ve already got it.”
The test will begin in June at the Holiday Inn Chicago O’ Hare Rosemont and the Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown Convention Center. To join the trial, participants will need to download an Open Ways app to their phone. Guests will call up the confirmation email on their screen and hold it up to a sensor on the door which will automagically unlock it.
What are your thoughts on this? If you have a smartphone and travel often, is this something you feel you would take advantage of?
You won’t need a smartphone OR a hotel stay to grab the hottest software and apps for your computers and mobile devices.
Dell Streak Tablet Computer Will Hit Stores This Summer is a post from Chris Pirillo
We first heard of the Dell Streak tablet computer in January during the Consumer Electronics Show. Today, Dell has officially announced that the device will be available this summer. Additionally, the company says that the tablet will get an upgrade to Android 2.2 with Flash later this year. The Streak will launch in the UK early in June and the U.S. later this summer. Dell didn’t provide specific launch dates for either country, nor pricing and carrier details.
The Streak will have a 5 inch WVGA touchscreen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm and 2GB of internal storage. There will be a maximum allowable 32 GB of external SD storage, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and a front-facing camera for video recording. The Streak will come equipped with 3G capabilities, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options.
Dell is hoping to attract consumers who need a bigger screen than most phones carry – yet is smaller than a netbook. “There’s several places where a smartphone isn’t enough,” Neeraj Choubey, Dell’s general manager for tablet devices, said recently on the Direct2Dell Web site. “I think many users will see it as a useful media consumption device.” The Streak has been referred to as a tablet computer, but it’s much smaller than what you would think a tablet should be. However, Dell IS also reportedly working on larger versions which will boast seven to ten inch screens.
It’s possible that the Dell Streak may hit that sweet spot between phones and large-screen devices (such as the iPad). According to Ron Garriques, president of the Dell Communication Solutions Group, “Its unique size provides people new ways to enjoy, connect, and navigate their lives.”
I guess "losing prototype phone" is the new corporate "leak".
- felix
Before Google ever breathed a word about Google Chrome OS, the company's forthcoming lightweight computer operating system which consists of nothing but a web browser, there was Jolicloud. One of the original standouts in the field of "cloud-based" operating systems (referring to the way data and apps are available online as opposed to on the desktop), Jolicloud has continued to innovate and grow, despite the very real threat of having to compete with a computing giant like Google.
The company's latest efforts? An expansion of their so-called "Joliplatform," the Jolicloud version of a Web App Store, but one where apps can access both web-based and local resources. Yes, "local" as in the files and folders you had on your computer prior to upgrading to Jolicloud.
Sponsor
Earlier this year, the company transitioned its operating system's back-end from Mozilla prism to Chromium, the open source web browser on top of which Google built Google Chrome. Jolicloud also embraced HTML5, the upcoming web standard that will allow, among other things, applications running online to perform more like applications stored to a computer's local hard drive.
Soon after, another change followed, allowing users running Jolicloud Express the ability to access their Windows data from within the Jolicloud operating system. (Jolicloud is targeted at users of Windows netbooks).
Now the company is innovating once again, this time with an updated HTML5 launcher where all your favorite web applications are available. To get started, you sign into Jolicloud via Facebook or with a username and password combination. You then have access to a scrollable dashboard where apps can be re-arranged and organized much like how apps on a smartphone can be moved around.
You'll notice here that Jolicloud not only offers a wide array of web-based applications, but many popular desktop-based apps as well, like Skype, Open Office and even alternative web browsers.
This in-OS "app store" is now available to application developers by way of APIs that can call on both cloud and local system resources. And through a new partnership with Joyent, developers can host their Joliplatform applications for free. Joyent will provide a development sandbox, sample applications, APIs and a complete set of web and graphical tools to build HTML5 Web apps to all Joliplatform developers.
Also worth noting is that Jolicloud OS provides local access to Windows files and folders like documents, music, pictures and videos - an important feature that makes transitioning to the cloud more feasible for many potential users. In the future, Jolicloud aims to help new users move their local files to the cloud by way of a setup process or wizard that prompts them to upload local files to online storage sites like Box.net, for example.
The updated interface to Jolicloud, seen in the video available here, will roll out to testers in the coming weeks.
Discuss
Sneak Peek at Jolicloud's Latest Update
- Sarah PerezSneak Peek at Jolicloud's Latest Update
- Niklas SjostromI've got an extra brand new nexus one, if you'd like your smartphone to have easy tethering. http://goo.gl/eiov
[Direct Link]"Who's winning the smartphone wars? Android, Apple and Blackberry - according to new figures from the research firm Gartner. Its figures for the first quarter of 2010, shown below, will be immensely cheering for most makers of high-end phones - though they may cast a pall over Microsoft's Redmond headquarters."
- Kol Tregaskes
So, we all know that Apple will be releasing the next version of the iPhone sometime this summer which usually means that a whole bunch of people are going to want to upgrade when that happens. The unfortunate part of that deal is that they end up having to pay some sort of early termination fee for their existing iPhone. Now as much as that sucks and really speaks badly of AT&T it seemed to be a price people were willing to pay.
Well that may change – drastically.
Word is, via the Wall Street Journal, that AT&T is going to jack up the price you will have to pay for that early termination (ETF) to an almost ridiculous price.
AT&T Inc. (T) plans to raise the fee it charges customers trying to get out of their smartphone wireless contracts early, a move that comes amid expectations that the carrier will lose exclusivity on the iPhone over the next year.
The Dallas telecommunications provider will raise its early termination fees to $325 from $175 on contracts signed for smartphones, as well as cellular-connected netbooks. But for contracts on feature or messaging phones, AT&T will drop the fee by $25 to $150. The changes, which don’t apply to current customers, take effect for new and renewing customers on June 1.
Victor Godinez at the Dallas Morning News Technology Blog has gotten confirmation from AT&T on this.
UPDATE: I just spoke with AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel, and he confirmed the numbers in the Journal report.
“The idea is, and we think that it’s fair approach, that if you spend less on a device, your early termination fee should be less,” he said. “If you spend more, your early termination fee should be more.”
He said the decision to implement the higher fee was unrelated to the iPhone or any other single phone.
I wonder if anyone truly believe that crap.
What? WTH IS WRONG WITH AT&T? Can they actually be this stupid? Are they going out of their way to make their most loyal customers hate them as much as possible?
- felixRegularGeek post: Android vs Apple, We Have Seen This War Before http://bit.ly/dq9nN0
With Google I/O several days behind us, you are starting to see fewer posts about the announcements. Now, you are starting to see some personal blogs with their personal analysis of various products and competitors. This post will be no different in that respect. However, I am taking a view that may not be too popular, at least for the Apple fanboy crowd.
Google announced several products and upgrades during the conference, and they are attacking competitors on various fronts. There were tons of upgrades to Google Apps to compete with Microsoft, they announced Google TV which will compete with Apple TV, and they announced Android 2.2, codenamed Froyo, to compete with the iPhone. This last bit, the Android 2.2 release, is what I want to focus on.
With the most recent release of Android, Google is trying to spread its mobile operating system as far as possible. They are trying to get as much marketshare as they can if you are selling a smartphone that is not an iPhone. People are seeing this trend already, in particular Cedric Beust has needed to respond to John Gruber because of his heretical opinions. You will need to read the two blogs to get a little history, but Cedric has an interesting second response yesterday. In particular he has two opinions that will likely be repeated or complained about several times in the next few days:
2010 will go down in history as the year where the iPhone was dominating the phone market. 2010 will also go down in history as the last year that the iPhone was dominating the phone market.
This may be a bit drastic, but he does have a point. He mentions that Android has more marketshare than the iPhone already. Granted, this is for all versions of Android, but in the long term that does not matter. Gruber has not responded to this yet, but he has some post I/O thoughts:
Google’s competitive focus on the iPhone at I/O was intense and scathing. But it’s Microsoft’s lunch they’re eating. Apple’s and RIM’s game is selling the integrated whole — their own devices, running their own software. Google is playing Microsoft’s game — licensing a platform to many device makers.
Gruber focused on the right points, but came to an interesting conclusion. He does not see Google’s Android efforts as really affecting the Apple and its iPhone. He also mentions a key point in the Google plan, “Google lets carriers and handset makers license Android for free.” He mentions this in support of his argument against Microsoft’s chances in the smartphone market. However, I think he may be missing the bigger picture.
We have seen this war before. Back in the early to mid-nineties there were really two platforms fighting for personal computing supremacy, Windows and Macintosh. Windows was making good progress in the corporate world, while Macintosh owned education, graphic design and desktop publishing. In order to accelerate their growth, Microsoft released the Windows SDK which made it easier to create programs for Windows. Apple had the Macintosh Toolbox, which was similar in concept to the Windows SDK, but was known to be harder to develop on.
Overall, the tools did not really make the difference, the applications that were developed helped Windows a little, but the real difference was just marketshare. Windows could run on PCs from various different manufacturers. Apple took a purist view of their platform and only wanted the Macintosh OS on their own hardware. They continued this idealism by suing various companies that tried to make a Mac-clone.
Fast forward fifteen years and you see that the iPhone is a superior user experience and runs only on Apple made hardware. Apple is making life difficult for developers by needing to approve every application in its app store, using a somewhat niche programming language in Objective-C, and rejecting applications they see as cloning functionality provided by Apple. Android is trying to get as much marketshare as possible, has an app store of its own and uses one of the most widely used programming languages in the world.
Apple is following the same path it did all those years ago, and fully expects to have a different outcome. Macs still have a superior user experience when compared to Windows, but Windows has the developer mindshare. iPhones also have a superior user experience, but they are rapidly losing developer mindshare due to their somewhat draconian approval processes. Unless Apple decides to open up their platform a little more, they are destined to the same fate as the original Mac platform. Apple may out-design and out-innovate their competition, but they never did learn that companies can create something a little similar that is good enough. The mass consumer does not care about how beautiful your design may be or that you were innovative, they only care if it works good enough.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=4e0300ff-fed6-4911-b30f-e79c9f0264e6)
Related posts:
Android vs Apple, We Have Seen This War Before
- Rob DianaAndroid vs Apple, We Have Seen This War Before
- Louis GrayGooglezon come forth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPIC_2014
- Thomas PowerAndroid vs Apple, We Have Seen This War Before
- Sarah PerezAndroid vs Apple, We Have Seen This War Before
- Cristi