No iPhone Rumors, What's Up With That?

iPad this. iPad that. Magazines and ebooks. It's all anyone talks about these days. What about the next iPhone?

In the past, I've said that I would not report on rumors. But seriously, there have been a dearth of rumors regarding the iPhone lately. I'm sure things'll start trickling out once the iPad is on the market and the excitement surrounding it has some time to simmer a bit.

There have been supposed e-mails from Steve Jobs to users but mostly, they point to the OS rather than the hardware.

There is a job posting that Apple made public: they're looking for someone who can work on HSPA+ and LTE. That is hardly a surprise given that after 3G as we know it now, we can look forward to HPSA+ and LTE.

And with T-Mobile's parent company talking about selling the iPhone some time in late 2010 or early 2011, it's a good bet that Apple will try to take advantage of HSPA+ if the iPhone does come to T-Mobile USA.

Beyond that, 3G sprinkled with LTE is likely to happen. But that's 2011 and beyond. As I've said at Onxo, supercharged 3G is what AT&T has subscribers to look forward to.

So, that's where we at with anything on the next iPhone at this time. No rumors, crazy or insane.  But we'll have the iPad to look forward to.

iPad Craze: Just Warming Up

Once Apple announced iPad pre-order on March 12 and availability on April 2nd, the stock took off.  I don't understand it.  It's been known for about a month already that the Wi-Fi only iPad will be available at the end of March, and the 3G version a month after that.  So, that alone doesn't explain why the stock price was propelled to an all-time high.

I've got a theory.  There is suddenly a realization that the iPad is something special.  In the last few days, there have been a lot of talk about iPad spawning a whole new segment of mobile computing.  One or two posts even went as far as to suggest that the iPad will change the PC market for ever.

One school even made available to its students the option of getting and iPad or a Macbook.  iPad or Macbook?  Wow, and the iPad isn't even out yet.

Furthermore, a survey released suggests that there is a lot of pinned up demand for the iPad in the ebook market.  Changewave's survey suggests the iPad will likely outsell the Kindle even though it is more expensive but definitely not as revolutionary as the iPad in terms of technology, OS, and app store contents.  Over the next 90 days, 40% of respondents will buy an iPad while 28% continues to look at the Kindle.

I think that's a good sign in pointing to a potential success of iPad.  Fine, what I'm about to say may be taken as that of an Apple mobile fan but it's safe to say that the iPad will sit comfortable at the top of Amazon's best seller list, outselling the Kindle (and yet, the Kindle will magically continue to occupy the position as the single best seller at Amazon).

What's more, the same survey indicated that more than 50% of those who own an ereader will switch to an iPad or aren't so sure they made the right bet in an ereader-only device.

Plus, we're still one month away from the general public getting their hands on the iPad.  Apple's publicity machine will go into hyper-gear starting next week, drumming up a media frenzy not seen since the original iPhone's debut.

I'm almost positive we'll see a new media event to talk about the iPad as well as new features on the next iPhone OS.  And this will escalate interest in the iPad even more.

If a similar survey is conducted two or three weeks from now, we will likely see greater interest in the iPad.  I would also suggest another survey be taken after the iPad's release and see if this has also created another halo effect for other Apple products.

There was a lull the last few weeks of Apple rumors and updates.  That just ended with today's iPad pre-order news and a new party is just about to get started next week.  And we're all invited.

More at Appleinsider.

iCal Idea: Apple Should Add More Social Features

I started using Momento as a personal and private Twitter.

But what I also started doing is using iCal to document where I've been and what I've done and who was there.

But then I realized it would be great if Apple integrates Twitter and Facebook into the calendar.

Right now, I have to tweet, update Momento and iCal, and deal with Facebook. Since I've got a testy relationship with my Facebook experience, I rather deal with it by other means. For instance, I use Tweetdeck on the iPhone rather than access Facebook directly.

Hence, I thought about iCal.

Futhermore, I think it would be cool for Apple also make the other applications in its iLife suite more sociable.

Posted with altBlogger.

Will iPad Have Unannounced Features?

Tons of folks have poured through the iPhone SDK looking for indications of what new features the iPhone and iPad will have. We're about 4 months away from new iPhones (Apple traditionally announces new iPhones in the June-July time frame). So it stands to reason that Apple will be unveiling a bet of iPhone 4.0 pretty soon, right?

And what did these fine folks find? A lot and a lot of nothingness. Let's go through what they've found. After some digging, many blogs have found icons that would seem to indicate that Apple has at some point thought about adding cameras for the iPad.

Also, it would also seem to indicate that Apple is allowing for some type of voice communication. Since the iPad doesn't have traditional telephony features like the iPhone, we're on firm ground to say Apple is doing something VOIP-related.

Now, here's where it's possible all this means nothing. What folks are digging through are iPhone 3.0 features. So, had folks been digging through the same SDK, can't the same claim be made that these VOIP evidence are as much for the iPod Touch as it is for the iPad?

Evidence or not, there is a more important question. At the iPad unveiling, did Apple show us everything there is to know about the iPad or was there more? Common sense says that if there are additional features that will make its way to the iPad, Apple will not make them known until iPhone 4.0 is available because some of those features may make their way to the iPhone and iPod Touch. And not to disappoint some conspiracy theorists, Apple would not exclude features on the iPad in the initial Jan announcement just to obfuscate its competitors.

On the other hand, timing can tell us a lot. First is the pre-orders for the iPads. I don't know if there will be pre-orders. Steve Jobs has indicated that the WiFi version will be available 60 days after the initial announcement while the 3G version 90 days after that.

As time slows, and it always does when you're waiting for something you desire greatly, and creep towards the end of March (around the 60 day wait), Apple may schedule a special event to showcase the next version of the iPhone OS. A couple of things may happen. Apple will unveil additional features for the iPad, iPhone, and the iPod Touch.

What many, including myself want to know is if Apple will add a frontal camera at the last moment to allow for the eagerly awaited video conferencing feature.

So, Apple allowing for preorders will be critical in tell us about any hardware add-ons like the frontal camera. It would not make sense for Apple to initiate iPad preorders without telling people that they're getting an iPad with a webcam. Personally, I think that would be a welcoming thing but I'm not sure it's a wise thing from a business and image standpoint.

However, if Apple doesn't say a word until the availability of the WiFi-only iPad and couple it with a press event for the iPhone 4.0, Apple can say they decided to add a webcam at the last minute. Everyone walks away happy.

How likely is this? Unlikely because it would mean Apple also plans on adding a frontal camera to the next version of the iPhone. It would really hurt sales between the end of March and until the end of June, the period between surprising everyone with an iPad equipped with an iSight and when an iPhone with iSight is unveiled. Why get a 10-month old 3GS when they can wait two more months and get something better? The only way this can be remedy is if Apple moves up the release date of the next iPhone.

That certainly is not going to happen. Either way, I'm looking forward to the iPad as it is now. If there are additional hardware enhancements like an iSight, I am certainly not going to complain about it.

Hoping for iPad Surprises

You already saw the iPad unveiling video from Apple's Quicktime site like fifty times already. Once each day since the release and 25 times more the first day. Okay that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but you know what I'm talking about.

Personally, I've only seen bits of it here and there and I have no interest in sitting through the whole thing. But I'm just as expected as any Apple and mobile fans about the iPad. Only those anti-Apple jihadists are dead set against the iPad. And they're against anything Apple anyway.

But I'm hoping that Jobs left out a few things because the iPad can be so much more. I'm guessing what we don't see in this version of the iPad, we'll definitely see in the 2nd or 3rd version.  Here's what I'm looking for:

• Battery Life:  10 hours is great.  But I was expecting something in the range of 12 hours.  There is hope that this can still happen.  In the past, reviews have shown that the iPhone and iPod batteries have better staying power than Apple's official numbers.
• Gaming changing OS update.  More than just the iPad, it's also the iPhone 4.0 OS that is important.  Already, devs have found stuff that Apple hasn't talked about in public.  With good reasons - timing, competitors just to name a few.  I'm betting (hoping) on something that will change the game again.  It'll be the 4th edition of the mobile OS and it's time for Apple to blow everyone else away again.  
• Webcam.  It makes sense for tablets or slates to have webcams.  After all, this new class of devices are about being mobile.  It means mobile communications - voice and video.
• Those sides around the screen are more spacious than necessarily.  Maybe Apple has special plans for them.  Something we're not seeing.  Touch related?

Those are what I like to see happen at the next Apple event when Apple affirms the existence of iPhone 4.0 and any added features that pertains to the iPad.  

Here's hoping for more iPad surprises.

Mobile Convergence Starts With the iPad

It was only last summer that I was sitting at a local supermarket's deli section hacking away on my Macbook. I was too cheap to go home and turn on the air conditioner. I did that often. And if you think about it, the market was already cool. Why waste energy? Plus, I was spending money whenever I go. Now, there was a few instances when I wished it had 3G connection so that I could do some spur of the moment research.

At the time I had not rooted my G1 so that I can tether my laptop to it. I was able still able to get the information I needed because of the G1. Still, I thought, "why Apple? Why no 3G?"

Fast forward to today. By this summer, I'm sure I'll head out to the same deli but there will be some difference. I'll be working away on my portable device but instead of my Macbook, this device will likely be an iPad with 3G connection.

I can totally see that happen. And likelihood of this happen will increase greatly when the iPad starts to ship. The reason for this is that I'm in the camp whose opinion is that Steve Jobs did not show us everything the iPad is capable of. I can surmise what those reasons are but it's pointless since we'll know if I'm write in 50 or so days.

But the point is this: mobile devices, whether it's laptops, smartphones, or iPad or tablets like it are meant to be linked wirelessly to the Internet. So don't be surprise if the iPad is the first step of Apple adding wireless Internet access beyond just Wi-Fi.

Imagine Apple and AT&T offering a special iPod Touch model with 3G, possible dubbed "iPod 3G". Wouldn't that be something? Obviously, this is all speculation on my part. However, I don't think it's all that far-fetched. As a matter of fact, maybe people believe the killer app of the iPad isn't the bigger screen or what new features Apple offers but it's the fact that you can get 3G on the device without signing a multi-year contract.

So, we're less than 75 days from the release of the iPad 3G versions. Two months after that, It'll be summer again and I can't wait to be there at the moment when I can look back at a year ago and think how much mobile computing changed.

Revolutionary or evolutionary?

Subsizided iPads - A Solution For Wireless Providers

You want an iPad but you can't get it? What do you do?

Oh, I'm talking to the wireless carriers out there. Not us regular mobile warriors. But if you're T-Mobile and you want your users to have the iPad but Apple isn't looking to make a deal with you, what do you do? You can go with an Android option. I'm sure HTC or Motorola will be happy to hook you up.

But it's not the iPad after all. No app store or anything like that. Well, I've got a couple of options for you. Neither is as perfect as having AT&T provide the 3G with Apple's blessing. But it'll work.

Option One. Stick with EDGE. Just like what I've got going on with T-Mobile, I continually switch between my G1 and my iPhone. I get 3G speed with the G1 and I often use it to provide wireless connection to my iPhone or Macbook through tethering, thereby, turning my G1 into a Wi-Fi access point.

But when I switch out my SIM card over to the iPhone, I'm instantly downgraded to 2G speed. It's fine by my needs. And it was fine for millions of the original iPhone users as well before the iPhone 3G came along and millions of the original iPhones are still in use.

It might not be a detriment for some iPad users to suffer through EDGE. T-Mobile can sweeten things somewhat with a cheaper data plan. Say, $20 of unlimited use. That can work. T-Mobile can then provide subsidies as well. Maybe something between $100-150 for folks who sign up for a multi-year data plan. These folks would need to buy the 3G version of the iPad and after tax, say in California where sales tax is about 10%, it comes out to about $150 more than the iPad with Wi-Fi only. So, it'll be gentleman-like of T-Mobile to lessen that pain by provide a rebate in exchange a two-year contract.

Why pay $20 for EDGE from T-Mobile when you can get a plan from AT&T for $15 a month? Well, the $15 a month plan limits you to 250MB a month. Slower speed but unlimited or faster speed, cheaper but a real cap. Your choice.

Now, what's more is that in some countries that offer 3G access using the same frequency as AT&T, they can offer 3G speed at whatever price they want.

Option Two. I like this option only because it precludes you from having to buy the more expensive iPad 3G. And unlike option one, option two allows just about any wireless provider support the iPad. Instead of the EDGE option, 3G speed is possible.

All the wireless provider has to do is offer a 3G modem. And there are two ways to do this. The mobile user can buy the modem along with a monthly data access plan or receive the modem for free in lieu of a contact. I like this plan very much because you get a modem along with faster wireless access. Similarly, getting a 3G plan from AT&T provides fast Internet but there is no tethering allowed.

The two drawbacks to consider. One is that you'll end up having to carry around another device. And second, it's a device that relies on an energy source. You know, a battery. And I've yet to come across a battery that doesn't die yet.

Both of these two options aren't limited to T-Mobile USA. As a matter of fact, 3, an Austrian carrier, plans just that by provide a 3G modem along with an iPad along with a two-year data contract. A pretty good deal as the 3G modem allows you to share the connection with other devices within range.

As a matter of fact, just about anyone can provide subsidies on any device by going with the second option. All you need is a 3G modem.

So, for any provider who are feeling down that Apple didn't select you to be an official wireless provider for the iPad or Steve Jobs is currently making you jump through hoops, let him know that you're determined to provide support for the iPad, with or without his blessings.