New Toshiba NAND Flash Memory Means Two Things - Good And Maybe Not So Good

It's been two cycles where the iPhone has not been upgraded to a higher capacity.  And with the just released iPad 2, the maximum storage capacity remains 64GB.  However, with the just released NAND flash memory, we could be looking at the next iPhone with increased capacity.  

If patterns hold, we could be looking at a low-end 8 GB iPhone 4 and a 32 GB and 64 GB iPhone 5 (I like iPhone 4G better).  And it also possible that we can see a midway upgrade with the iPad 2 in the fall or just before Holiday Season with the capacity of the iPad 2 increased.  

With the new memory, it affords Apple a greater flexibility than its competitors.  How would you like the  8GB iPhone 4 at $49 or $99?  Or with Apple possibly increasing the iPad 2 storage capacity while keeping the same price points, Apple can add a newer low end model with 16GB for $449 or even lower at $399.

And this, as a happy iPod touch owner, I do look forward to a 128GB model.  It'll go nicely with my iSpot should I decide against the next iPhone.

Those are the good news, albeit speculative on my part.  Now the possible bad news, depending on what you think.  

If the iPod touch does get an upgrade to 128 GB, we can be looking at the end of the iPod Classic.  The possibility is there because the Classic has not been updated since 2009.  After all, the iOS is the future.  The general target for the iPod touch are kids who want the iPhone and all the greatness of the iTunes ecosystem without paying for a hefty monthly fee.

My hope is that Apple will keep the Classic around with a higher storage capacity - there is a new 1.8" hard drive, also from Toshiba, with 220 GB.  Apple already pretty much owes the music player market and the Classic is important to make sure it continues to dominate the market.  But Apple does have a way of keeping off the old and obsolete.

Again, good news for the iOS devices and maybe bad news for the Classic.

More at MacNN.

Note:  I've set the future lower end iPhone at 8 GB because this will allow Apple to continue to differentiate the high-end iPhones and possible lower the price to $49 to attack its competitor at the low-end.  Perhaps, we'll see a 8GB iPhone 4 at $49 and a 16GB model at $99.

iPhone 5 Line May Continue To Be Long

Interest among kids, rather teens, could make the lines this summer, or fall, things to expect upon the release I'd the iPhone 5.

Currently at an all-time high, a survey by a Wall Street outfit has teens ready to march to Apple's mobile tune.

I guess the lines are pretty bad now for the iPad 2, I really don't want to see what the iPhone 5 lines are going to be in the US at Apple stores now that Verizon is expected to join AT&T in the iPhone rush (I still don't expect Sprint and T-Mobile have the iPhone this year).

Other than positive news about this survey, Apple should actively cater to this demographics. After all, the halo effect from the iPods and iPhones from the youth will mean sales for other Apple products and services.

Whether the future is the iPad or the Macbook, or a future MacPad someday, Apple should make sure iOS updates include youth-friendly functions. Twitter, Facebook, or double down on it's own social efforts.

Regardless, get ready to wait in lines once again.

More at Appleinsider.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Slow News Day At CNN or Mention Of iPhone Is Good For Clicks

CNN has a post dedicated to the iPhone 5 rumors on its frontpage.  Maybe I'm nearly the end of my work day and I'm tired so I'm not thinking clearly but I don't think there's anything wrong with that.  Just wanted to note it.  Maybe the mention of "iPhone 5" is a click-bait and I want in on it. 

Well, that's what I think why CNN put the post and link front and center.  Seriously.  That or it's really really slow news day and that the impending shutdown of the federal government isn't big enough of a draw (pushed to the left of the website) or that CNN sources doesn't think it'll happen.

Whatever the reason, what is not amiss is the fact that Apple's mobile strategy is now mainstream.  Technology, especially mobile tech, is no longer the domain of geekdom but that it belongs to society as a whole.  It's why there are long lines a month after the iPad 2 was launched, why it's sold out everywhere in the countries Apple has launched it, and why its updated tablet is the most sought after device on the Asian tech black market.  

Android may command the largest market share and RIM just barely continues to be ahead of the iPhone, but make not mistake that it is Apple that commands the mobile revenue and it is Apple's mobile vision that is and will dictate where mobile is headed.

More at CNN.

Virtual And Multi-Touch Keyboard - I Can Get Used To That

I fully expect for the keyboard to go away one day when someone develops an even better input apparatus to replace it.  Obviously, I'm not that someone so I have no idea what it is.  Can a multi-touch platform capable of displaying a virtual keyboard be it?  I know a lot of people will hate it but I think I can get used to the idea.

If you have an iPad or a smartphone like the Droid X or the iPhone that does not have physical keyboard, you're already using it.  Some people like it. Others don't.  I'm okay either way.  I'm faster on a regular keyboard but I grew up using a typewriter.  Lots of kids today will only know about multi-touch, like my nephews.

And Apple has been granted patents just to create a virtual keyboard of sort.  And one that could change patterns and shapes to the needs of the user.

One of the strange things, years after the various newer generation Star Trek shows went off the air, the glass displays that gave the officer control stayed the same.  If Star Trek the Next Generation was on the air today, each control panel or pad would work like today's tablets like the iPad that allows display of control based on the needs of the user.

That's what Apple is trying to achieve and something similar could well be the next Holy Grail to data input.  That would make mobile computing, especially tablets, another advantage over laptops and netbooks.

More at Patently Apple.

Futurize Your Macbook By Replace Optical Drive With SSD

One of the things I expected from Apple's fresh of the Macbook Pro in March was the exclusion of the optical drive, the DVD reader/burner, with something else that is more aligned with Apple's mobile vision. That did not happen.

However, GIGAOM has a cool post for those good with tools and taking apart computers to mess around with. Replace the drive with an SSD.

Now, this isn't like the older Powerbooks that Apple used to make in the 90s when you can just swap out one expansion solution for another. It doesn't quite work that way. This solution presented, for someone like me, is like brain surgery.

But I am sure many of you can give this a go. The total cost is about $400. At the end of the day, you get extra storage space, speed, and, as the writer said, great for developers. Me, I just like having more room.

THE FUTURE. Repeating what I said at the top, I thought Apple would have and could have replaced the DVD drive and use the space for something else. A natural option would be another drive.

Me? I would have loved to see another battery in its place. Yeah, I'm a total battery life guy. Longer the better. You can never have enough battery power.

For this option, there is no DIY solution like the SSD solution presented here. For the battery option, well, we'll just have to wait and see if Apple thinks battery life is as important as I think it is.

I'm guess Apple's more likely to replace the optical drive, and they will one day (probably next year), with more storage than battery. Hey, I'll take that too.

Until then, this is a DIY SSD solution looks pretty good.

More at GIGAOM.

First Post From IPad 2 And Initial Impression - Awesome!

This is the very first post I've sent from from an iPad 2. Feels and looks the same as any old iPad. Well, except for the camera facing me from the right and the Smart Cover that is propping up the iPad 2 at an angle for easier typing.

It's overcast in Pasadena, city about 10 miles or so northeast of Los Angeles. You know, where those Rose Parade is held each and every single year.

While this isn't a review, I can say that the screen is very good despite sitting here in the outdoors where I am at at a coffee shop. The overall feel of the screen does seem to be brother than the original iPad with the setting at 50% brightness.

Since I've passed along my iPad to my nephew a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would need to get reacquainted with the layout of the virtual keyboard but it's all second nature to me at this point.

And I only was able to get my hands on the iPad 2 yesterday, I cannot say just how fast it really is. With the original iPad, it was loaded to the rim with apps, musics, and video. So it's possible that it might have had an influence on the performance a bit. I did notice that the iPad 2 felt more responsive than the original iPad. And I thought it had been plenty fast already. In fact, I think both models felt more responsive than the beta-ish Honeycomb on the Motorola Xoom that I played with over the weekend.

And, with the extra memory, I like the fact that Safari is able to load websites in the background, and fast. Unlike the iPad, there is no delays in waiting for some of the more complicated website to load.

All in all, the iPad 2 a worthy upgrade. The extra memory and speed is going to make a big diff once Apple and developers come out with more features and productivity apps in future iOS releases.

For original iPad owners, my short time with the iPad 2 is telling me that upgrading from the iPad might not make a lot of sense unless you want to do a lot of FaceTime chats. The extra speed is nice but I don't know much noticeable it'll be for day to day use.

If you can find someone to pass off the iPad, like a child or spouse, and have some extra money to burn, sure, why not.

And if you want to jump into the tablet market, this is the iPad to get. But aren't sure or is intimidated by the perpetual line at the Apple Stores that you keep hearing about, Go after 10am when most of the Apple Stores are opened and the lines will be gone by then. Check it out. Play with it and changes are, you'll either be joining the lines or going home to order and wait 3-4 weeks for yours.

I don't know what Apple is going to do to top this with iPad 3. Retina screen? You might have heard that Apple might release an updated iPad in the fall. Not a chance. The iPad 2 is just this good. There simply is no iPad competitor that will come onto the market and give users the same experience and dazzle you with the magic.

I am first a foremost mobile tech fan and I do like Android but 2011 is all iPad 2.

Sent from my iPad 2

iWeb For iPad: It Would Blow the Roof Of For Mobile Users And Open Up A New Front In Tablet Productivity

iWeb is the way to go for simple folks like myself who want to create our own sites and manage it ourselves.  Apple has made that such easy, albeit a bit more restrictive than I would like.  It's why I also use Rapidweaver.  Now, news come that Apple has patented iWeb for the iPad.  The question I'm sure many are asking is if such an app will ever see the light of day.  Heck, I'll settle for even a glimpse of it in the darkest of alley.  Okay, makes no sense but you know what I mean.

I'm hoping Apple will make this happen.  There are a few things Apple has to do to make sure it works on the iPad as well as on the Mac.

I've been using iWeb in conjunction with MobileMe to run my Greenjava website, a depository of relevant news on politics, economy, mobile, and coffee.  It works.  Not great but much better than anything that I've come across. But I cannot do that on the iPad.  The thing that is so robust about other web and blogging platforms are that they are so versatile.  You can update blogs from anywhere on just about any platform.  I hope Apple provides a means for iWeb to do just that.

I thought that would come with version 3 of iWeb but as many people who use it as their main tool for Web work, we were sorely disappointed.  Very disappointed.  

And Patently Apple's news about iWeb patent is a good sign.  These days, any news about the iWeb is good news.   I don't know how this is going to work for the iPad.  My hope is that all iWeb files will reside in the cloud and we will be able to work on the files and update it on the Mac, iPad, or any other iOS devices like the iPhone.  A lot of times, I just want to update and post blogs.  I think it would be a no-brainer function for Apple to add to the next version of iWeb, be it for the Mac or iPad.

iWeb would be a very important app for the iPad.  It would be an important productivity tool that so far does not exist anywhere in the app store, as far as I know.   One of the thing that Apple doesn't have to do that Google has to is to create a model device for others to follow.  Just as Google has created the Nexus One and Nexus, and probably a Nexus tablet, Apple should create model productivity tools for other developers to follow.  

The iWeb would be a very important step in that direction.  

I like to see Rapidweaver come to the iOS devices, particularly the iPad.  What other Mac OS tools would you like to see come to the iPad?  

More at Patently Apple.