Game Center: Social Network For More Than Gamers

It isn't unusual for Apple to change names of a product. And Game Center, being billed as a social gaming network, can grow beyond gaming and Apple is likely to change the name as it becomes a full fledged social network.


That's what it is going to become over time. A full network but likely much with more to offer than anything we have in existence today. You want a couple of examples? Look at what Apple has done to the mobile market. And also look at what it plans to do with iAd in advertising.

One of the reasons I started thinking about this is because I've made a couple of long distance friends while playing Chess With Friends and Words With Friends. Even with such a rudimentary set of social interactions, I come back to it again and again.

It is absolutely rare such happens now but as more developers integrate Game Center into their gaming apps, developers will discover that it is not only gaming apps that can benefit from a social network. And users will find it more useful than to keep track of high scores or tracking achievements.

Don't be surprised if Apple eventually integrate a friend list as part of the evolution of Game Center.

For those of us who are familiar with MobileMe, it would make sense for Apple to integrate Game Center into its online services. There was word that Apple will making some of the MobileMe services free for all who wants to use it.

Furthermore, I fully expect Apple to provide the option for its iTunes customers to be become MobileMe users. And by default, Game Center users as well. In one stroke, it will have more than one hundred and fifty million members just like that.

MobileMe integration will be key. Imagine being able to create a list for friends and a separate list for gaming buddies. This will afford users greater privacy. And let's not forget why Apple is doing all this. iAd will help Apple and developers make money.

Of course, all this is conjecture on my part but this is the likely course of development going forward.

Game Center is going to be huge. You just watch. It will be the backbone of anything iOS, OS X, iDevices, iTunes, and Macs going forward. And depending on how you see it, this Apple social network will have Steve Jobs as the wizard.

Note: I am sure it didn't escape Apple and Steve Jobs' attention that Facebook CEO Zuckerberg dissed the iPhone 4 on his own Facebook page. So here's message for you, Zuckerberg: Apple might look like it's got its hands full with Google. But trust me, it can fight more than one war at a time.


-- Post From My iPad

iPad: Better For Social Interaction Than Laptops

Okay, when I mean social interaction, I don't mean a hot girl at Starbucks coming over to have her with me, well, no, I mean my iPad.  No, I'm talking about the iPad as a vehicle to break people away from their laptops with its keyboard and using the iPad as a means for sharing.

Imagine trying to show someone sitting next to you a website or a doc, you'd have to turn over the laptop that may be tethered to an outlet.

But with an iPad, it's like handing over a piece of paper, book, or a notepad.  It's that easy.

Also, I imagine more games that are like digital board games where families and friends an kind of gather to play together.  This is also implied in this USA Today article and it hit it on mark.  And as the article said, it's not just about gaming.  It's about interacting.  People can flip things back and forth, handing the iPad from one person to another.

When I was in college, we used to take breaks from studying for finals or meetings by playing Boggle. And now, there is a Boggle's game from EA.  Instead of the actual game, we may play it on the iPad just as well.

And this is just the beginning.  With each passing app release, we figure out new ways to learn, share, and teach and generally be creative in the process.  Yeah, with the iPad, Apple has really changed not only mobile computing and provided the means for creative social interaction.

More at Newark Advocate.

Apple Is Out of iPhone 4s

Apple and its partners have pretty much exhausted its initial allotment of the new iPhone 4.

However, if you're still interested in getting one on launch day, stay tuned to what Apple may have to say.  I wager many of the pre-orders may have be claimed.

Furthermore, if history is any indication, there may be a limited supply of the iPhone for walk-ins.  When the iPad launched, there was "enough for everyone" who wants one.

T-Mobile in Germany suffered through the same issues in the US after seeing a 10X increase in demand compared to last year's largely popular 3GS.

T-Mobile USA.  Here's an interesting tidbit.  T-Mo announced it will be bringing HSPA+ (21Mbps) to close to 80 million users by the end of June and will blanket 180 million users by the end of 2010.  Many, including myself, strongly believe Apple will being bring the iPhone over to T-Mobile.

It would make sense now that T-Mobile has also suggested their 3G network is highly scalable and has capacity to grow.  Should Apple grace T-Mobile customers with the iPhone, it'll likely be in the fall when more of the updated 3G network is online.

Mobile Tip: Pre-Order iPhone 4 At Local Radio Shack Store

It's pretty much hit and miss for anyone trying to order an iPhone 4 online.  Mostly, it's misses as the server connection would time out.

So the best way is likely to go to Radio Shack if you're fortunate enough to live or work near one.  And if you don't but really want an iPhone 4 on launch day, drive there.

I decided to go there after having issues with both Apple and ATT's online ordering.  It's just brutal.  Then around 10AM PST, I drove to the strip mall where there was an ATT store as well as a Radio Shack.

The ATT store had a long long line.  I was in despair.  So I decided to see if Radio Shack was accepting pre-orders.  Before I left for the little iPhone pre-order trip, some folks were saying Radio Shack would not be part of the retail stores accepting pre-order.  Maybe this is why there was no line there.

When I walked in there was one guy in front of me.  He had just came from being the second to the last person at the ATT store.  Now it was first at Radio Shack. And Radio Shack was accepting pre-orders.

What's also cool was that the folks there were very knowledgeable and had me all set to go.  I left before they were able to get through the pre-order process but the guy who helped me called me an hour later telling me that my order went through and that they would call me to set up an appointment for activation.

So give Radio Shack a go.

Analysis: Apple Should Allow iPhone Apps on Mac, But Need To Own iPhone To Use

In reading a CNet article about how iOS features can make it on to the Macs, I thought of how Apple can use the iPhone to sell more Macs than the halo-effect the iDevices have already generated for the rest of Apple's business.

Allow anyone who owns an iDevice, including the iPhone, iPad, or the iPod Touch, to use their apps on the Mac and only the Mac. For the hundreds of thousands if not millions of Macbook owners, wouldn't it be great to use our apps with our Macbooks with the multitouch trackpads?

This would sell tons of Macbooks.

But hey,I don't to leave out iMac, Mac mini, and the Mac pro either. There was talking last week of some sort of a multitouch pad for the desk-bound Macs. This pad will enable every Mac to use iOS4 apps.

Once more, Apple will be smart to make this a Mac specific feature.

The question is how likely is this to happen? Not likely. But as the saying goes, improbable but not impossible. At D8 and during his WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs seems to imply that the era of PCs (including the Macs as many bloggers and tech watchers seems to believe Apple's focus is no longer on traditional computing) is over.

Having said that, the Macs remain a viable business and growing at a faster rate than at any other time in the past. With Apple, never-say-never isn't something you want to associate with Steve Jobs. And the perfect time for this special feature would be with the next Mac OS update - ability for owners of both an iDevice and a Mac to share and use iOS apps.

More at CNet.

iPhone 4 To Get VGA Out! Almost There

In the title of this post, what is almost there?  Well, I'll get into that a bit.

Right now, Appleinsider is reporting that the iPhone 4 will be getting VGA-out just like the bigger brother (or cousin).  And as the article aptly pointed out, there is no HDMI support.  Yet.  I'm sure Apple will get it to eventually once whatever it is that is holding things back for Apple are worked out.  I'm guessing it might have something to do with the power use.

Of course, I don't have a device that supports HDMI and even if I did, I don't have an output device (HDTV) to use it with.  So, I can't attest to how well such a device might work or how the battery life will end up being.

Having said that, this is a very incredible development.  This is where I get to the "amost there" part.  And for Mac campus, relax.  Take a deep breath.  Here goes.

The iOS4 and iDevices are progressing towards the natural mobile evolution of becoming computing units much like what the Mac Mini is.  And to go a step forward, they can totally become desktop replacements.

Imagine only having displays at work and home and all you need to do is to take your iDevice with you and use it wherever you happen to be working or playing.  This isn't just for TV or video.  The ability to display and extend the iDevice display is just as import for work.

With a VGA monitor and a Bluetooth keyboard and apps like Pages and Numbers (as well as Documents-To-Go), you literally become a true mobile warrior.

Of course, Mac folks will be happy to know that we are at least two or three iDevice refreshes away from the iDevice to become a threat to the Mac or a PC.  Many things still need to happen for this to work.

For one as I mentioned above, how is the battery life for just such a use?  Right now, you cannot charge the iDevice will simultaneously using it to project its screen into a screen for the iPhone 4.  Well, not easily.

Second, the ability to be able to print with the iDevice is still missing.

Third, the iOS4 just got the ability to multitask and I imagine it'll take iOS5 or IOS6 for the iDevices to be more desktop or laptop friendly.

Still, knowing the iPhone 4 can do VGA-out is still exciting.

More at Appleinsider.  There is more in the post about the iPhone's Retina Display with its 960x640 display allowing developers to display apps between iPhone 4 and the iPad without modification.  Please read if you're interested in those details.  I'm a mobile warrior, not a mobile developer. As long as the apps "just work", I don't need to know how it works.

Steve Jobs Emails Chinese Developer Mugged in SF, Likely Generated Lots of Postive PR

A developer from China goes to Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference at Cupertino's invitation.

So he comes to SF and ends up getting mugged and his IPad gets damaged during the commission of the assault. So what does Apple do? They hooked him up with a new iPad never mind that the iPad isn't even officially available on the Chinese market.

That right there is create PR. I am sure this was leaked to the Chinese and international media. Great for the developer and even better for Apple right? It's not over.

Steve Jobs emailed the guy to wish him a safe journey home. Contrast this to when an ATT subscriber emailed ATT's CEO and got a cease-&-desist letter for his trouble.


So, Chinese developer dude, on behalf of all peace-loving and mild-mannered Americans, I apologize for your experience. But you certainly picked the right mobile platform to develop for and, while I rather see no one s victim of this kind or any other kind of crime, I am glad this happened in SF and not LA.

More at 9to5Mac for this incredible story.


-- Post From My iPad