Hands-on: Cool-er eBook reader review

We get our mitts on the latest electronic book on the block

British start-up company Interead is set to launch the latest electronic book (or 'eBook' as we've all taken to referring to them) at the massive publishing industry shindig that is Book Expo America in New York later this month.

TechRadar is the first media outlet to get hold of a sample of the new device, which you can see pictured right here. We'll bring you our full in-depth review of the Cool-er eBook on Friday of this week, after we have had a couple of days to properly play around with the thing and read a (short) story or two on it.

First impressions are that it is very light and noticeably smaller and funkier-looking than the only other decent eBook currently available in the UK – the Sony Reader. A couple of minutes of tinkering with the Cool-er and you immediately realise what the company is trying to achieve. It is trying to market the idea of the electronic book as a fun entertainment device and, as such, in comparison it makes Sony's poor old Reader seem rather dull and overly serious-minded.

Interead founder Neil Jones says he was tired of readers that were unwieldy, expensive and restrictive in terms of their ability to let you choose and share a wide range of eBooks (read: the Amazon Kindle). In addition to that, the Cool-er is both PC and Mac compatible – a major failing with Sony's fuddy-duddy and clunky-ish old Reader.


Cooler ebooks certainly take design inspiration from apple

So Jones set out to produce a device which was affordable (and at £189 it is well priced), smaller, faster and lighter than the Kindle and the Sony Reader and from first impressions it looks very much like he's achieved that. If anything, from first hand testing in the office, the Cool-er is 'too light' – being around an ounce lighter than a typical paperback. We're not yet sure if this is an altogether good thing, but provided the device is rugged enough to throw in a bag or take to the beach, we're sure it's not a deal-breaker.

The company's line is that its funky and affordable new electronic book - in association with its new, comprehensive electronic book download store at coolerbooks.com with over 750,000 titles available at launch - is set to usher in the "iPod moment that e-readers have been waiting for," by setting up the "iTunes of online bookstores" which they hope will appeal to the non-technologically minded. Interead is already claiming that coolerbooks.com is set to be the biggest e-bookstore in the world. But will it be the best or the most profitable?

Customers that have Kindles or Sony Readers or BeBooks or other non-Interead devices will of course be able to use coolerbooks.com, although Cool-er owners will get a 25 per cent 'for life' discount from the store. Whether or not this new online store will be able to compete with the likes of Waterstone's eBook store in the UK or Amazon's eBook store (which is currently still US only till at least late 2009 at the very earliest) remains to be seen. That will all be down to price points, clever marketing wins and the as-yet-difficult-to-measure whims of the many thousands of eBook users out there.

New Watch Takes Electronic Ink Beyond Books

E Ink’s black-and-white displays have become synonymous with electronic book readers such as the Kindle and the Sony Reader. Now watchmaker Art Technology has extended the technology to timepieces, enabling the creation of a digital watch with a curved display surface.
“Our hope with E Ink was to take advantage of the high-contrast E Ink display and offer a curved look that we couldn’t have done with an LCD,” says Donald Brewer, CEO of Art Technology.
E Ink, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has popularized electrophoretic displays that consume very little power, require no backlights and are easily readable in sunlight. E Ink’s displays are used in virtually every e-book reader on the market today, thanks to a crisp, readable appearance that is closer to the experience of reading ink on paper than any LCD screen.
For now, the watch introduced by Art Technology is the only timepiece to use E Ink’s display. The watch, called Phosphor, is water-resistant but otherwise light on features. It offers only five different modes, including digital time, analog time, date, alarm and calendar.
While the use of the E Ink display is novel, it isn’t entirely functional. The display doesn’t refresh instantly and it can seem a bit slow, especially while changing modes or setting the time.
Another drawback with the watch is the lack of backlight. That makes the watch impossible to use in dark environments such as a theater. Brewer says analog watches rarely have a backlight, so the lack of one in the Phosphor range shouldn’t put off too many buyers.
But then, analog watches usually have luminescent paint on the hands that make them glow faintly in the dark. That feature is not available on E Ink displays.
Though E Ink displays aren’t any cheaper than LCDs, Brewer hopes it can create the perception of greater value among buyers.
The watches will retail for $175 to $195 depending on the band.

Bookeen Cybook Opus eBook reader fits in your pocket

If you’ve been looking for a different eBook reader to try, then you might be interested in the Cybook Opus from Bookeen. This device is designed to fit in your pocket and is meant to be easy to take with you anywhere you want to go.
Full specs have not yet been released, but Bookeen is letting slip that the screen will feature 200DPI and the reader itself will be extremely lightweight at just 5.3 ounces. It will come equipped with 1GB of flash memory as well.
The controls are designed to be used with just one hand and you will be able to hold books from ePub books and PDF files. Several font sizes will be available and you will have the ability to organize your portable library in folders. We don’t know when the Cybook Opus will be available or how much it’ll cost, be we’ll keep you posted.

The Rise of Mobile Gaming

Recently, we've noticed that many established console franchises are being ported over to mobile devices. Can console favorites really transition successfully to tinier screens? The answer is yes! Already, popular titles like "Assassin's Creed" and "Need for Speed" are available with high customer reviews. The two devices leading the mobile gaming platform are Apple's iPhone & iPod Touch.
Apple's iPhone & iPod Touch are unrivaled to competing MP3 players and cell phones. Contributing to their "touching" success is the flawless ecosystem between portable device and convenient online shopping experience via iTunes Store; key component for American immediacy - the "I want it now" mentality.
Within nine months, Apple achieved their one billionth downloaded application via App Store. Here at GameFlavor, we've monitored a growing trend of well-known developers steadily porting console hits onto iTunes App Store. Also, developers of any programming skill may contribute their creativity to App Store via Apple's Developer's Program. Of course, Apple receives 30% of sales. However, this nominal fee hasn't prevented EA, Gameloft, Capcom, Konami, or Namco from porting hits onto the mobile market.
With console games porting onto mobile devices, tinier screens doesn't hinder gameplay. All aspects of console games from graphics to soundtrack fluidly transition with minimal degrade in quality. Keep in mind, iPhone & iPod Touch are not miniature PS3 or XBOX 360. Some games opt customized soundtracks by listening to iPod Library, instead of in-game soundtrack.
And despite iPhone & iPod Touch lacking tactile support, innovative input responses: finger gestures, shaking, and microphone incorporation have proven effective. Plus, Apple's upcoming 3.0 software update permits developers to access previous locked 16-pin dock connector for add-on accessories. This upcoming feature allows possibility for a control pad, as demonstrated by iControlPad.
Without tactile control equivalent to PSP buttons or DS stylus, iPhone & iPod Touch simplicity of finger gestures and shakes maintains a pleasant gaming experience from casual gaming to ambitious titles of "Assassin's Creed." Clearly, iPhone & iPod Touch are becoming a threat to both Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS for portable gaming authority. Will the rumored PSP Go at E3 2009 change the game to Sony's favor? Can the DS maintain supremacy in the portable gaming community? Or has Apple already won? Share your thoughts in the below comments section.

Chris Bohjalian: You can't judge an e-book by its cover

Earlier this month I watched "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," in preparation for the opening last week of the new "Star Trek" prequel movie. Yes, I'm a Trekkie geek in desperate need of a life. When I was in elementary school I spent hours in a La-Z-Boy-like recliner that was my pretend captain's chair, staring at a huge piece of oak tag on which I had drawn images of outer space.

"The Wrath of Khan" opened in 1982, a generation and a half ago. Early in the film, Spock gives the aging Admiral Kirk a birthday present. Spock describes it as an antique. The gift? A book. It's an edition of the Charles Dickens novel, "A Tale of Two Cities," and Kirk reads aloud the first sentence: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
I found this interesting because when the "Wall Street Journal" ran a powerful and thought-provoking article in April by Steven Johnson about the way the new generation of e-book technologies may change how we read, the newspaper illustrated the story with an e-book screen with that same opening sentence. The point? The times are changing. Something terrifying, dynamic, brilliant, and completely destabilizing is happening. The new digital technologies are resulting in a migration of information from paper to pixel.
To wit: In April I was speaking to about 400 students at Connecticut's Cheshire Academy. I asked the young adults to raise their hands if they owned an iPod. Virtually every hand went up. Then I inquired how many of them had a parent with a separate iPod. Roughly two-thirds of the hands were raised. Next I asked how many owned an Amazon Kindle or a Sony e-Reader: About 10 hands went up. Finally, I asked how many of their parents had a Kindle or e-Reader: Perhaps 20 students raised their hands.
This is an inexact study, but the reality is that people are beginning to read books on slim, digital devices that hold lots of books and allow you to move among them and buy new ones almost wherever you are. Soon Apple may enter the fray with its dedicated e-book tablet. Already editors and sales reps at my publisher have been given Sony e-Readers to read manuscripts and books. My agent reads drafts of my novels on a Kindle.
Now, I love the book as a book: A stand-alone paper world that demands my complete attention. When I'm holding a book in my hands made of paper, I am not simultaneously surfing youtube.com for videos of Susan Boyle from "Britain's Got Talent." Moreover, what we put on our shelves in our homes is a means of defining who we are. When we recall what we read as children and teenagers (in my case, "Johnny Tremain" and "April Morning" and "The Catcher in the Rye") we don't merely remember the plot or the dialogue: We remember who we were, where we were, and the state of our families and friends when we first cracked the book's spine.

I can glance at the books on the shelves in my home and see clearly in my mind where I was when I read many of them. Henry Roth's "Call It Sleep" is the snack bar at Smith College, where my wife went to school, and the smell of the onions the cooks there placed on the hamburgers. Patrick Dennis's rollicking tale of one Manhattan family's 1960s-era dysfunction, "The Joyous Season," is my living room in the middle of the night and my four-week-old daughter is, finally, asleep in my arms.
But just as big album covers have become antiques, someday might that dust jacket. It may not be in my lifetime. It may not be in my daughter's lifetime. And it may not happen at all, because it is possible that paper books will live companionably with digital ones. Certainly this is my hope. Just as sometimes we want a hardcover and sometimes we want a paperback, perhaps someday we'll want a paper book and sometimes we'll be content with the digital version.
Nevertheless, as I watched Admiral Kirk cradle an antique called a book, I found myself wondering ... what if.

Apple iPhone Stylus Reviewed

Remember the Pogo Stylus for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Someone has published a short but detailed review of it, and it seems like an iPhone accessory that actually adds more usability to the iPhone. Slippery Brick reviewer Shane McGlaun says that for some people an iPhone stylus is a must.

The problem is that my wife always wants to use her nails to work the capacitive touchscreen. Anyone who has used an iPhone knows that won’t work. Another big problem for users in cold environments is that you can’t work the iPhone with gloves on. Today we are going to look at the Pogo Stylus for the iPhone that will solve both of these problems. Read on for all the details on the Pogo Stylus for iPhone.

It’s only $14.99, and though it’s not the kind of stylus that paves the way for a proper handwriting recognition software in the iPhones (there’s finger-nail-powered one), since it simulates the contact of a finger tip on the iPhone and iPod Touch screen, it’s a must buy for iPhone users with long fingernails. It’s only 15 bucks, and for the price of a pizza and pint of beer your iPhone-loving wife can save her long fingernails. Available in several colors to match.

Apple rumored to allow limited iPhone multi-tasking with iPhone OS 3.0

The iPhone’s inability to run multiple applications simultaneously in the background could be a deal-killer in the face of the multi-tasking Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre. One of the Palm Pre’s claims to fame is that its WebOS operating system is capable of running multiple applications at the same time, allowing the user to multi-task between applications as needed. But, if this latest rumor pans out, we could see Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) allowing some limited multi-tasking of third-party iPhone applications in the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0.

Apple is now rumored to be considering some limited multi-tasking support for iPhone 3.0 OS. According to Business Insider, Apple may allow iPhone users to select two iPhone apps that will be allowed to persist in the background (multi-task). Alternatively, Apple may approve certain third-party iPhone apps for multi-task support on the iPhone. Whatever the case, any kind of multi-task support in iPhone 3.0 would be a boon for iPhone users.

To be clear, Apple’s iPhone and iPhone 3G both are capable of running multiple applications in the background. Apple already allows limited multi-task support to its native iPhone applications - like Mail, iPod and Phone. Unfortunately, the 128MB of RAM in the iPhone just isn’t enough to keep up with native iPhone apps as well as multiple third-party applications.

Apple’s official answer to the multi-tasking problem is the delayed background push notification system that will go live with iPhone OS 3.0. Rather than having third-party iPhone applications continuously running in the background to keep abreast of the latest information, Apple wants to push all that data as “notifications” to inactive iPhone apps. The push notification system would save on battery drain, but will still be a multi-tasking compromise.

As great as push notifications might be, without true multi-tasking support, the iPhone will always be a compromise. But, there’s talk of the next iPhone sporting an upgraded 512MB of RAM - which would open the door to true multi-tasking support on the new iPhone. With quadruple the current iPhone’s RAM stores, the new iPhone should make easy work of running multiple third-party iPhone apps in the background. The only question is - will Apple allow it?

Apple iPhone Getting Doused in Spring Colors Next Month?

As you may have heard, it doesn't seem like Steve Jobs is going to be at WWDC this year in any sort of official capacity. Worse yet, we're hearing that there will not be any new iPhone hardware at the conference either. That said, something seems like it's just around the corner and it could be iPhonechromatic.

Should the embedded photograph be believed, it seems that the team from Cupertino is outfitting the iPhone line with a series of different colored cases, not unlike what they do with the iPod nano line. The color options for the "new" iPhones appear to be quite similar to the nano, including blue, purpole, orange, and so on.

It's not like this is the only way that you can have a colorful iPhone. The guys at ColorWare have been doing this for ages, but their service can prove to be quite expensive. This would be an official solution from Apple and, more likely than not, the bright pink iPhone would not cost any more than the normal black or white one.

Is this picture for real? There's no way to say for sure and it's still possible that a new family of iPhones will be revealed at WWDC next month, but we will probably have to hold our breath until at least late-June when Steve Jobs returns from his leave of absence.

iPhone Helps AT&T Lead U.S. Smartphone Market

Thanks to the success of Apple's iPhone 3G, AT&T has become the leading U.S. provider of smartphones, according to research from ComScore.

The report found that twice as many smartphone users have chosen AT&T over rivals like Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile, and the iPhone has been a catalyst for that. The touch-screen smartphone has been a hit since its release about two years ago, and AT&T is reportedly looking to extend its exclusive deal to maintain that momentum.
But it's not just the iPhone that's leading smartphone users to AT&T, as it has arguably the best lineup of devices. For the mobile professional on the go, the carrier offers full-QWERTY messaging handsets like the BlackBerry Bold, Nokia E71x, and the Samsung Epix. Along with the iPhone, it also offers touch-screen smartphones like the HTC Fuze and the LG Incite.

One factor to AT&T getting a plethora of smartphones is that it is a GSM provider that operates its 3G network in relatively standardized bands. By contrast, T-Mobile is also a GSM provider, but its 3G operates in a spectrum that isn't used by many around the world, which means manufacturers have to make significant changes to get it on T-Mobile's data network.

"AT&T made a big push to be the mobile broadband and smartphone leader many years ago, and it's clearly paying off in a big way for us and our customers," said David Christopher, chief market officer for AT&T Mobility, in a statement. "We've taken integrated devices mainstream, and nearly a third of our postpaid customer use one. Our industry-leading 3G and Wi-Fi networks make mobile data accessible to everyone -- from road warriors with advanced smartphones to texting teens with quick messaging phones."

Smartphones are becoming an increasingly important component for carriers because the users generate more revenue on average than regular cell phone users. T-Mobile appears to be looking toward Android for its high-end handsets, and Sprint is relying on the upcoming Palm Pre to draw smartphone users. Verizon has the BlackBerry Storm as its flagship smartphone, but it's rumored to be in negotiations with Apple to bring an iPhone to its network.

Glandarius Wing Strike for IPhone

There's always room for a good top-down aerial shooter game, even on the iPhone. Drawing from such classic inspiration as "1943" and "Raiden," Glandarius Wing Strike by Japanese game publisher AQ Interactive is now available for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch.

Here, you must save the world from waves of enemy spaceships while dodging increasing amounts of enemy fire. This is accomplished by consistently tapping the iPhone's touch screen to lay down a stream of laser fire while swiping your finger back and forth to move across the screen. Lasers aren't your only weapon against the alien scum and you can dodge enemy fire to gain the ability to lock onto enemy ships and fire passively-controlled missiles, which help take out enemy forces while combinations help boost your score.

Detailed 2-D graphics, a nice use of graphical layers, good sound effects and an energetic musical score make the game appealing and the old-school arcade feel lives on within the title. Other bells and whistles include a global scoreboard feature to allow you to see how you rank against others, an interface that makes pausing and resuming the game easy and a level select feature that allows you to jump into any level you've completed before. This and a consistent stream of glorious explosions and increasingly-intricate robot bosses to take down make you want to play just a little bit longer.

Glandarius Wing Strike tries to follow the arcade top-down aerial shooter model but doesn't quite pull it off with complete success. There's a lack of weapon upgrades and special moves, commonly found in the top-down shooter genre. The joy of the genre is partly in seeing your spaceship become a nigh-unstoppable killing machine by collecting the items picked up along the way. There's also a complete lack of an auto-save feature, which seems like lazy craftsmanship at this stage of iPhone application development.

Even with these shortcomings, Glandarius Wing Strike is a good way to kill 10 minutes, although it becomes hard to justify the title's US$5 price tag. Great applications and games are released every day on the App Store and without significant updates to round the title out, it won't be a hard task for a competitor to steamroll AQ Interactive's effort with a top-down aerial shooter that offers more at a cheaper price.

McAfee plans new Apple, iPhone security products

McAfee Inc plans to develop new security software for the iPhone and other Apple Inc products, Chief Executive David DeWalt said on Thursday.

McAfee, the world's second-largest maker of security software, already supplies security products for Apple computers and is in the process of expanding its offerings for the consumer electronics giant.

"We are working on a much more comprehensive suite for the Apple family," he said in an interview in New York ahead of the Reuters Global Technology Summit. "Through the course of 2009, we'll have a lot more technology for them."

McAfee provides a range of security technology including encryption, safe Web surfing, and protection from malicious software such as viruses.

DeWalt did not give a specific date for the launch of iPhone security products, or say which products it would provide for the popular smartphone. He said users of advanced devices like the iPhone tend to use a wide range of applications.

"The more applications become available, the more the threat of security and the threat of identity and data loss is there," he said.

Looking for a portable PDF reader

Many ebook readers will read Adobe PDF books, according to the grid at mobileread.com. From those, the Sony Reader would seem to be your best bet: it can read PDF files, has a USB port, and is available from Sony UK for £199*. However, PDF is a horrible format for books, and your PDF files may not be formatted for the Sony's 6in screen, or any portable ebook screen. Reading full pages at a percentage of the original size will make the type smaller.

Foxit is about to launch its own reader called eSlick, which is now on pre-order for $259.99 (£170), plus $29 for shipping to the UK. The site says: "View all your PDF files as well as convert any printable document to PDF, which can be viewed on the eSlick. Foxit's eSlick comes with free software: Foxit Reader Pro Pack and Foxit PDF Creator."

As an alternative, some portable media players will read PDF files, such as the Archos models, and Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) loaded with Bookr, a free PDF reader. However, these have smaller screens than the Sony Reader, so reading PDFs is likely to be even more inconvenient.

If the books are plain text, and not copy protected, try converting them to a more flexible type of file such as Rich Text Format (RTF). Otherwise, the cost of an ebook reader is not much different from the cost of a basic netbook such as the Acer Aspire One or Asus Eee PC, though you could pay more for an Eee PC 1000H or 1000HE, Samsung NC10 etc, with a bigger 10in screen. A netbook would be bigger and heavier, but you'd get a much more powerful and versatile device for the money.

If you have found a better solution, please let us know.

Stringer Tested As Sony Loss Gets Ugly

Sony CEO Howard Stringer is facing strategy hurdles like never before as the company seeks to recover from its first net loss in 14 years and realign itself for a struggling economy that hasn't been particularly kind to any of its key product lines.

Sony Thursday reported it lost about $1 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31. It also predicted that it would continue to lose money in the current year and suffer a net loss of about $1.26 billion. Sony had previously said it would eliminate 16,000 jobs and close five factories by March 2010. On Thursday it upped that number to include three plants in Japan that will close by the end of 2009.

The crux of the matter may be what one analyst calls a problem with "No. 1s" -- Sony no longer dominates in any one particular product category. According to Sony, its sales have declined in all of its dominant markets, with overall sales falling by 20 percent year over year in the U.S., 14 percent in Japan and 17 percent in Europe.

Electronics sales, traditionally Sony's powerhouse, haven't been spared, falling 17 percent worldwide in the past year. Specialty devices like Sony's eBook Reader and video game consoles like its PlayStation 3 have also been stymied by flashier competitors from the likes of Amazon and Nintendo as well as high prices, and there's no relief for LCD TVs, a market that is expected to remain flat in 2009.

Sony argued Thursday that much of its decline came from the appreciation of the yen coupled with a plummeting Japanese stock market. That figure encouraged some analysts, along with the fact that back in a January forecast, Sony warned of a $2.7 billion operating loss, worse than the actual numbers it reported Thursday.

"Their outlook gave me the impression that their business is heading for a gradual recovery," said Fujio Ando, an analyst with Chibagin Asset Management, to BBC News. "It would all depend on whether they would be able to start producing popular products, because right now they have no 'No. 1' products."

Stringer, who assumed stewardship of Sony in 2005, added President to his title in an April 1 executive shuffling that moved former President Ryobi Chubachi to a vice chairman role. At the time he announced those changes in late February, he told reporters that Sony faced challenges from two major fronts: the global downturn and the fact that "new competitors are springing out everywhere."

Six weeks into its new fiscal year, the company said Thursday that more restructuring is on the way.

"As far as the restructuring measures go, it's not that we're doing anything that different," said Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda to The Wall Street Journal. "We are just going one more step."

UK Startup Released Multi Coloured Ebook Reader Rival To Amazon's Kindle

It seems that Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader may be up for some serious competition in a near future with the UK based company Interead launching a sophisticated range of e-book readers in attractive colours.

The new product which is incidentally is called the Cool-er E-book reader comes preloaded with a collection of thousands of digital books and it is taking competition right onto Amazon’s doorstep.

Interead also has launched an accompanying site coolerbooks.com and is working on a sales pipeline that will help it acquire content in an effective manner.

Explaining the concept behind the introduction of the product, Neil Jones who founded Interead mentioned "Cool-er has been designed to fit the requirements of a reader. They want it to be portable, light, to fit in a jacket pocket or purse, and they want it to do what they want to do in a simple manner."

Though few analysts argue that it would be difficult for Interead to manage a significant volume in the e-book reader market which is currently being dominated by Sony and Amazon, there are chances that these snazzy gadget may find its own niche in quick time.


Incidentally the Cool-er E-book reader is priced attractively at $249 while Amazon offers the Kindle 2 at $379 a piece.
Hopefully, the Cool-er e-book reader will be sold for under £200 which will make it a proper competitor to the Kindle which is not yet available in the UK. Few details have emerged of this rather attractive device but if looks count, then the Cool-er reader is the nearest thing on the market to an iPod (nano) version of the Kindle or Sony's e-reader.

Cool-er E-Book Reader

E-books could be the new wave of reading platform in the near future, but it will still take some time before it proliferates the mass market. While there is a fight between the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader for market share, up comes yet another contender that boasts a larger selection of titles - the Cool-er by Neil Jones, an avid reader and entrepreneur. This UK-developed device will target an early June release date, and comes complete with 260,000 paid-for titles at launch from all major publishers, where 60,000 of these will be available in the UK and Europe initially. You can choose from eight different colors and languages for the Coo-ler. This device will utilize a similar e-ink technology as found in the Kindle, and it comes with a removable battery, a memory card slot and 1GB of internal memory. You can also enjoy your personal tunes using a pair of headphones plugged into the headphone socket. Would you pick this up with its $249 price point?

Is the Palm Pre an iPhone killer?

Is the soon to be released Palm Pre an Apple iPhone killer, or will the Pre be Palm’s last hurrah? Does the Pre offer superior business applications, a more developed user interface, and have more pizzazz than the iPhone?

First of all, despite the recent return of my own business iPhone (a return that was more IRS regulation driven than due to issues with the iPhone itself), it’s pretty hard to kill a device that has enjoyed the kind of success and widespread adoption of Apple's iPhone.

Even given the good sales of the Treo and Centro lines, Palm is not in the strongest position to fight the iPhone given its long series of recent misfires and, up to now, outdated Palm OS. In addition, Apple has AT&T Mobility firmly behind the iPhone today and may add another Cellular powerhouse, Verizon, in the future. The Palm Pre has Sprint, who is rumored to be the exclusive cellular carrier for the Pre. This is the same Sprint who is pretty much on their last legs themselves.

But for business use, will the Palm Pre be better than the iPhone? Perhaps. It can leverage Palm’s general acceptance in the business field from the popular Treo series. It also has a Linux based OS that developers and IT administrators will likely favor. Unlike the iPhone, the Pre supports Flash. That could well make a difference for some business web-based applications.

Rumors also abound claiming that the Palm Pre can multitask between applications, something that the current version of the iPhone can’t do for most apps. It also has something that the iPhone sorely needs, at least according to some, including yours truly—a real, physical QWERTY keyboard. But will it have the same security options as the iPhone or the Blackberry? Remember that although Apple was a little late stepping up to the plate, it did eventually offer remote wiping, SSL and other security enhancements in iPhone OS 2.0.

A possible win for the Pre is that it’s e-mail application is rumored to be more flexible and more powerful than the iPhone’s e-mail app. But is it really? The Pre’s calendar is believed to be better than the calendar on the iPhone, but that is not a real victory for Palm. Apple’s calendar app is somewhat pathetic and doesn’t match the power and flexibility of the other apps that come with the iPhone. But that may well change with iPhone OS 3.0, or if not, with iPhone OS 4.0. You can be sure that Apple won’t sit on its laurels if it thinks that someone has a better game in town.

The Pre is rumored to have a pretty decent camera—said to be an "amazing" 3-megapixel camera. Can three megapixels really be better than the mediocre 2-megapixel camera that occupies the backside of the iPhone? Not necessarily since 3-megapixels is rather paltry these days. This could make the Pre’s camera as much of an afterthought as it is with most Smartphones on the market today. Still, it has a built in flash. So, if the lens is better, if the JPEG processing software is better, it is possible that the Pre's camera could produce images that are good enough for casual business use.

But don’t write the iPhone off just yet. Apple is not one to stand around and watch others take away their lead in a market. This is a company that thrives on competition and enjoys having the underdog role—a role that they have had all along with the Macintosh line of computers—and that role hasn’t hurt their bottom line one iota.

The advent of the Pre serves to make the Smartphone field even more interesting and that’s a win for business and personal users. Whether it is a killer or a wimp, we really won’t know until some time after the Palm Pre launch that is rumored to be around the nineteenth of this month.

WWDC 2009 Will Not Have New iPhone, Steve Jobs

All of the rumors up until now have pointed toward the announcement of a next-generation Apple iPhone at WWDC next month. However, that does not appear to be the case any longer.

Apple has announced that the Worldwide Developers Conference will be hosted by a team of executives led by Philip Schiller. In the press release, Apple reveals that the keynote speech will involve discussion of the iPhone 3.0 operating system and the new OS X Snow Leopard operating system. Steve Jobs might be there, but he won't be there in any official capacity.

I wouldn't put it past the team in Cupertino to surprise us with some unannounced announcement, but Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray says that they "do not anticipate the launch in early June." So, no new iPhone right? Well, not exactly.

From what we hear, Steve Jobs will be returning from his leave of absence closer to the end of June and it is very possible that Apple will host a special event to announce a new family of iPhone products. This could very well include the oft-rumored iPhone Nano. 

This way, his Royal Steve-ness have have the honors of ushering in yet another generation of iPhones. This would be right in time for the contract renewals from the people who bought the first iPhone two Junes ago.

Apple iPhone and iPod touch ‘compulsory’ at US university

Journalism students at the University of Missouri in the United States have been advised that they must own an iPhone or iPod touch in order to be complete their course.

The devices are “mandatory”, as students will need to use the gadget to review audio recordings of lectures, the University said. 

However, officials have confirmed they will not enforce the rule. Instead, the “requirement” is part of the University’s aim to be granted “special status” so that students receiving financial assistance can use part of their bursary to purchase the device. Around 50 universities in the United States operate a similar scheme.
“If it’s required, it can be included in your financial need estimate,” said Brian Brooks, associate dean for the University of Missouri’s journalism department. 

The University uses a program called Tegrity to record lectures, which students can download later for free through a special educational area on the iTunes Music Store. 

Some students have criticised the stipulation, arguing that such a close tie-up with Apple “compromises journalistic integrity”, while others have said the row is “much ado about nothing”. 

The journalism department’s handbook clearly underline’s the University’s preference that students use Apple products. In a section about the sort of computer a student should buy, the handbook states that they “do not recommend” buying a Windows-based PC, unless students “plan to make a career of computer-assisted reporting”. 

“The faculty has designated Apple Computer as its preferred provider for two primary reasons,” the handbook [PDF] states. 

“Apple’s OS X operating system is based on Unix, which makes these computers far less susceptible to viruses than other computers. Viruses are a serious problem on university campuses. Secondly, Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro computers come bundled with iLife, a suite of applications ideal for learning the basics of photo editing, and audio and video editing. We’ll use those programs in several classes. 

“By the time you purchase photo, audio and video software for a PC, you probably will have spent more than you would if buying a comparable Apple Computer. Almost 100 per cent of last year’s freshmen chose Apple computers.”

Apple eBook Reader Could Change Everything

I
n February, 2008 I wrote a blog post called Is Apple Working on an eBook Reader: Does It Matter? Today, I would answer my own question with "Hell yes it maters." If Apple enters the eBook market, you know it would be expensive, but it would be a desirable device, and come on, you know you would want one.

At the time I wrote the original piece, you would have to excuse me if I was a bit cynical. I had been hearing we were one device away from mainstreaming eBooks for years. I had seen the Sony Reader hit the market with great promise and make little impact. I foolishly discounted the power of the Kindle. C'mon, who knew Oprah would be plugging them later in the year?

Black and White and Read All Over

I have to admit I've never laid hands on a Kindle, but the other day Amazon began inviting bloggers to submit their blogs to the Kindle platform. The second I heard about this, I jumped at the chance to have a presence on the Kindle because, well, I think if they just lowered the price, it would really take off. But when I looked at the preview of what my blog looked like in the Kindle after adding my first blog to the system, I was shocked at the terrible quality.

First of all, it was black and white. My blog has pictures and on the Kindle they were not just black and white, they were low resolution black and white. It changed my carefully chosen font to a Times New Roman. In short it looked horrible. Sure, you can get away with a black and white eBook Reader for books, but if you are going to add other content, you need it to be full color or it just looks ghastly (or you are asking bloggers to come up with a special Kindle design, which is an unreasonable expectation). 

It was at that moment, staring at that horribly ugly preview of my blog that it hit me. This is clearly a job for Apple. Amazon may know books, but the current generation of the Kindle for content other than books is just unacceptable.

Hey, Apple Over Here; Market for You?

There has been rumor of an Apple tablet for some time now. The idea is that you have the iPhone interface on a larger device. If Apple releases such a device, it would be good for accessing the internet of course, and you could surely access the App Store, but a tablet would make the perfect eBook reader. You can read eBooks on your iPhone now, but the footprint is just too small for really comfortable reading (although I've done it).

If you slapped a keyboard, external or built-in, you would have the long rumored Apple Netbook. It seems like it's a market just waiting for a real player and you know Apple is a real player.

So the Apple WWDC is in June. We know they will be announcing the next generation iPhones, but if they came out with this tablet, it would turn the burgeoning eBook market on its ear. It would provide a gorgeous interface because its Apple. It would have a dazzling display because it's Apple and it would be expensive because it's Apple. Oh, and by the way, it would most definitely matter.

Amazon to Pay Bloggers for Subscriptions

Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader has already inspired hope for new digital business models for book and newspaper publishers. Now the Kindle wants to do business with bloggers too.

On Wednesday, Amazon unveiled a beta program that pays bloggers for Kindle subscriptions to their posts.

The Kindle comes with an experimental Web browser that allows users to surf ordinary Web sites. But for the sake of convenience, Amazon also sells Kindle subscriptions to a select list of blogs that are automatically updated and made available on the device’s home screen. Those subscriptions can cost as much as $2 per month.

Under the new program, Amazon will pay registered bloggers 30% of its subscription fee – pretty low, considering that Apple gives iPhone developers a 70% cut on sales of software applications for the device. So that’s about 60 cents per reader, per month, for the most expensive blogs.

There are no upfront costs: Bloggers just have to register with Amazon, and give the company information on where to send the subscription revenue.

Amazon won’t let authors set the price of their blogs (or give them away for free.) “Amazon will define the price based on what we deem is a fair value for customers,” the company says on its Web site.

Still, by our math, at a $2 per month price point, a blogger could make $50,000 per year with just 7,000 annual subscribers. Not too shabby.

The iPhone as Teacher's Pet, Investor's Moneymaker, Android's Target

The Android mobile platform could grow 900 percent by the end of the year. That growth rate would outpace the iPhone's expected rate, but raw numbers still put the iPhone on top. Meanwhile, the University of Missouri's journalism department has started a program that could send even more profits to Apple's already lucrative handheld division, and investors see opportunities in iPhone app ads.

Shipments of Android smartphones will grow faster than iPhone sales this year, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. However, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will still remain king of the smartphone hill, and analysts -- namely Kaufman Bros.' Shaw Wu and Susquehana Financial's Jeff Fidacaro -- are rating it a "buy."

Small wonder -- corporations see iPhone apps as a new way to market their products. Drawn by the possibilities, investors have pumped funds into surrounding startups, including one that serves up ads within iPhone apps -- and Android apps as well.

Meanwhile, Apple's efforts in the education sector, one of its traditional strongholds, may get a boost. The University of Missouri School of Journalism has mandated that students carry and use an iPod touch or iPhone, a move that may have other universities following suit. 
 

Android Explosion 

"Android is taking mindshare from Apple, and it is fast becoming a serious competitor," Strategy Analytics analyst Thomas Kang told MacNewsWorld. The company's research shows the Android operating system will grow 900 percent this year.

Apple's iPhone operating system will be the runner-up, with a growth rate of 79 percent.

Increasing acceptance in Europe and Asia, inexpensive licensing, Android's semi-open source structure and Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) support for cloud services have drawn support from various smartphone manufacturers, Strategy Analytics said.

Just one thing, though: It's easy to rack up a 900 percent growth rate when you're starting from a very small base like Android is. Remember, it was commercially launched only last year. 
Apple Will Still Rule 

Apple will still remain dominant, although competition from Android and the Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) Pre will heat up, Kang said.

However, many of the coming Android phones will not be available until the end of the year, according to Gartner (NYSE: IT) analyst Ken Dulaney. "Android will be able to take advantage of an expanding smartphone market, but that market is growing by leaps and bounds, so there is more than enough room for all to grow at this point," he told MacNewsWorld.

That's good news for Apple, as the iPhone platform is now a linchpin of its business. 
Analysts Show the Love 

On Monday, two analysts issued bullish notes on Apple.

One, Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros., increased his price target from US$152 to $160. He noted strong demand in overseas markets and said Apple's goal of maintaining a 30 percent long-term profit margin could be conservative.

The other, Jeff Fidacaro of Susquehanna Financial, said Apple has significant growth opportunities ahead, including new iPhone markets, like China; the arrival of new iPhone models; and developing completely new devices.

China has proven a difficult nut to crack in terms of befriending a wireless carrier there, though a breakthrough could be highly lucrative. Interim CEO Tim Cook announced at the company's second-quarter earnings conference in April that it will bring the iPhone to China by next year. 
Advertising With iPhone Apps 

Several corporations, including Burger King and Zippo, have put resources toward developing promotional software apps for the iPhone, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Some have managed to achieve relative success. Zippo offers a virtual lighter app that has been downloaded more than 3 million times, for example.

The chance of making a buck on the ad market for iPhone apps is beginning to lure investors.

Venture capitalists Foundry Group recently led a $4 million Series A round of financing for Medialets, an 11-month-old startup that serves up ads on iPhone apps and Android apps. Other investors in Medialets are DFJ Gotham Ventures and Bobby Yazdani.

Launched the same day as Apple's App Store, Medialets measures the usage of the top 20 applications downloaded on the iPhone platform. 
An Apple for the Teacher - and Students 

Although Apple has long been a fixture in the education sector, the University of Missouri's School of Journalism has taken things one step further -- it now requires journalism majors to have either an iPod touch or an iPhone.

New students there will download freshman-oriented information and course material onto these devices.

The university's computer store, TigerTech, estimates that 90 percent of Missouri students have iPods, and the school says it's trying to take advantage of the device's popularity to use it as a channel for course content delivery.

Students can include the cost of the iPod or iPhone in financial aid packages if they are deemed eligible, the department said.

More important, though, is what this could mean to Apple: If the idea catches on and other departments and universities follow suit, Apple could expect a huge boost in sales -- and one that will come around every year as new students enter the system. 

Vodafone announces mobile app store — but will it be enough?

Vodafone has announced its own mobile application store , in an effort to keep up with other competing stores such as the phenomenally successful Apple iPhone App Store.

Vodafone is the world’s largest operator by sales, with 289 million subscribers.

The biggest news is that it will offer billing so that it can charge its customers directly. This sort of service is surely to be loved by application developers, because until now the main way for billing through carriers has been the clunky "premium SMS", where users have to pay first and then get what they want to buy.

Carriers are a natural player to handle billing as they already own the necessary customer information. Mobile phone users typically haven’t liked to use credit cards for micro-payments, despite long time efforts from banks, credit card companies and startups like Obopay to facilitate this.

If Vodafone gets this right, then this will likely spur payments in mobile. Down the road this could trigger additional growth in mobile commerce and advertising. On the internet, online advertising really only took off when the checkout process was established.

Vodafone will keep 30 percent of the app sales, which matches what Apple and Google’s Android take for their sales . RIM only takes 20 percent, but apparently does take more later on if an application seeks to conduct transactions after it has been downloaded .

But the question remains, will Vodafone’s strategy be enough to keep the makers of devices (like Apple, RIM, Android phones, etc) from encroaching on its turf? Apple now has a direct relationship with iPhone users, having negotiated with carriers like AT&T (which provide network service to the iPhone) for this right. AT&T may be able to say it offers the sexy iPhone, but it has ceded some valuable control, something that really concerns the carriers. We’ve heard some are in outright panic.

Apple’s success with its App Store is the envy of the entire industry, and carriers like Vodafone want to make sure they maintain a piece of the action as sales of smartphones increase. One theme at MobileBeat 2009 , VentureBeat’s conference for mobile industry leaders coming up in July, will revolve around "the ecosystem battle" for developers and consumers and how it affects every player in the mobile ecosystem — from carriers and handset makers to the application developers and even marketers and advertisers who have to fight their way through this maze . With Vodafone expanding its advertising network (announced yesterday), and saying it’s enjoying strong revenue there, it bumps against ambitions of other major mobile ad companies, such as Google .

With Apple, you need an iTunes account to pay for applications. With RIM, you need a PayPal account . Vodafone will split the revenues from the sales with developers, who will get a 70 percent share. It will go live later this year. Among other carriers, T-Mobile also has an app store , but it uses premium SMS for billing . And AT&T has a store called Media Mall , but it has been called annoying, overpriced, slow and buggy (a criticism that may not be fair, since the Mall really isn’t intended to be full-fledged store, but merely a "deck" on phones where users can go to find things like ringtones).

T-Mobile’s relationship with Android (T-Mobile offers the Android-based HTC phone) is a good test case for the competition between a carriers and their partners. Apparently, T-Mobile loves its relationship with Android and is eager to extend it . However, that relationship still is only now just getting off the ground, app sales are far fewer, and T-Mobile’s app sales offerings are relatively underdeveloped. Still, sources are telling us that Android is in the good graces of both T-Mobile and Vodafone because it offers the operators "more control" than does Apple. For example, Android’s app store states that if carriers want to prohibit a certain app, they’re allowed to. And if a carrier wants to put its app on an Android phone, it can do so. Not so with the iPhone, where Apple dictates everything. We’ve heard similarly that carriers are warmer toward Microsoft’s app store . Among other things, Microsoft promises to ban VoiP applications , which have been a pain for carriers because they allow users to make free phone calls.

Nokia, the world’s largest device maker, has announced its own "Ovi Store," which was to have operator billing in place. But earlier this month, Nokia said it would drop this option from its US store, which came as disappointing news.

Vodafone’s store has another advantage beyond its billing method: It can pinpoint a user’s location, and in a sign of increased openness, says it will share this network information with application developers and other partners, which would enable developers to create location-based services. The company pledged to release open APIs to ensure the applications work across the network.

Location-based services could help Vodafone — and eventually other carriers — differentiate themselves, since carriers alone have the ability to track their users in real time via GPS technology. This could prove useful in serving targeted advertising, for example.

Apple iPhone can now access WOAI content

San Antonio WOAI television viewers will soon be able to watch local news, weather and sports content on their Apple iPhone.

Inergize Digital Media and DoApp Inc. released Mobile Local News, an application developed specifically for iPhone and iPod touch mobile digital devices. Through this application, television and radio stations, magazines, newspapers and other news providers can distribute text, images, photo galleries and videos to iPhones and iPods.

News 4 WOAI in San Antonio, KTVX in Salt Lake City and KLRT in Little Rock, Ark., are the first television stations to implement Mobile Local News, according to Inergize and DoApp. The Mobile Local News application can be downloaded through the Apple App Store at “4 WOAI.”

Consumers will also be able to share content by text, e-mail or through social networking site Twitter.

“With the current state of the economy, media companies are seeking opportunities to generate revenue by reaching consumers where they are most,” says Jason Gould, senior vice president and general manager at Inergize.

“Media companies leveraging Mobile Local News can reach consumers anywhere at any time through their iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices, providing monetization of consumer-requested content through mobile advertising.”

Inergize Digital develops integrated digital management systems that generate revenue for local media companies. DoApp develops consumer and business applications for Web sites, desktop computers and mobile devices. Both companies are based in Minneapolis.

How to improve the Apple iPhone 3G

After having the new iPhone 3G for a few months now there are some known problems with the product by Apple. Of course no product is perfect straight from the get go and the iPhone is still in its beginner stages ( there are more new versions on the horizon and this product is a revolution in the tech world) so here are some ways that the iPhone 3G could be made better. 

First of all , it's not much of surprise, the battery life needs to be addressed. I understand that this phone needs a lot of power for multitasking but hopefully in the future Apple comes up with a better battery for this phone. Is the iPhone just too advanced for the current battery solutions out there? This could be true but in the future it would be great to have one that doesn't need to be charged everyday. If you are using it lightly then you will get more battery life out of it but having one of these phones and not using for multiple purposes is just not what the phone is intended for. A day when wireless electricity for cell phones is available will truly be a landmark day for iPhone users.

Another issue I find with the iPhone 3G is the use of being able to dial a new phone number into the phone, or shall I say lack of this feature. Why must a user click the green phone button and then the keypad icon just to get to the number dialing screen? What if someone needs to dial 911? It takes a few seconds to get to that point. Maybe there is a solution to this that I do not know of but something like a shortcut on front screen for the dialing pad would be great. Maybe even a download from the App store for a 911 app. I have even spoken to an Apple genius store representative about this and they even agreed with me. Upon even further research apps like this do exist, so Apple please make it easier to dial phone numbers form the get go.

What about attaching a proper keyboard to the iPhone? It would be great to add a bluetooth keyboard to the iPhone for a way to blast out emails and get more work done. Mate this with a way to get the iPhone to work with a bigger display and you have one great combination. Then for sure the iPhone could be a true portable computer. Heck I may even leave my Macbook home in favor of this when out on a business trip or quick computing at home.

Lastly and I know this will be addressed with the iPhone 3.0 upgrade, it will great to use the iPhone as an actual modem to connect to the internet. This is known as 3G tethering and this should be a free feature for the amount of money ATT charges for unlimited access to the internet use. The 3.0 software upgrade will be a free one for iPhone users.

This is it for now , check back later when I go into detail about how the iPhone should work in conjunction with automotive companies and their CPU systems.

Is the Kindle DX the begining of the end of print?: Bloggers on the potential of e-books

Some backpacks at Princeton University are about to get a lot lighter.

Starting next fall, students in three Princeton classes will be given free Kindle electronic readers instead of textbooks and other class reading materials.

The university is one of five colleges and universities trying out the Kindle DX, Amazon.com's new e-book reader. The lightweight device-- which has a 9.7-inch screen that can store up to 3,500 books, newspapers and magazines-- was unveiled last week with great fanfare. 

The new version of the Kindle has been hyped as everything from the savoir of the newspaper industry to the grim reaper for stores that buy and sell used college textbooks.

Bloggers on technology, education and book publishing websites have been casting a skeptical eye on the $489 Kindle DX. Is the sleek white tablet really the future of the written word? Or is this just another in a long line of semi-successful attempts to persuade readers to abandon print for good?

Romance, DRM and the Future of Reading at Digital Book 2009

The book publishing industry may be suffering through a tough economy—not to mention being in the throes of reinventing itself—but the International Digital Publishing Forum’s annual Digital Book conference in New York offered an oasis of growth and an optimistic focus on the future of digital publishing and reading. Indeed, Tuesday's afternoon sessions at Digital Book 2009 surveyed an e-book sector that is growing steadily, experimenting and diversifying its products and practices and working to identify consumers and their e-book reading and buying habits. 

The most obvious themes at the afternoon session of DB 2009 were the importance of both women readers and the romance genre to digital publishing as well as the promotion of IDPF’s epub standard and the industry’s problematic response to DRM. There was also a segment devoted to the growth of the Sony Reader, nearly drowned out by a chorus of hype about the various Kindle devices. Long identified as voracious trade book readers, women were identified as the prototypical e-book reader, while the romance genre—with hundreds of new releases each month—is just as robust in the digital publishing sector as it is print. More than ever Digital Rights Management—and even the notion of e-book piracy—was portrayed as more of a problem to the developing e-book market than e-book piracy itself. 

In the panel on emerging e-book business models, O’Reilly Media’s Andrew Savikas said that while overall sales of O’Reilly’s print computer books were down about 20%, e-book sales were up. E-book sales are about 10% of all sales made through the O’Reilly website and Savikas outlined an O’Reilly strategy to bundle print titles with e-book editions (in PDF, Kindle and Mobipocket formats) with no DRM (and lifetime free updates) at a discounted price point. “E-books are a small market, but they are catching up. Sales are doubling about every 18 months,” he said. Savikas said e-books sales help drive print sales and in the first of many criticisms of DRM that afternoon, proclaimed that the “obscurity” of unheralded authors and books is reinforced by DRM and is a bigger threat to publishing and book sales than e-book piracy. “We have to change the perception that a pirated e-book means a lost sale,” Savikas said.

Savikas was followed by several publishers hailing the importance of women readers and genre fiction to the e-book market. Angela James of Samhaim Publishing, a primarily digital publisher specializing in genre fiction, especially romance, outlined an e-publishing strategy that entails “quality,” no author advances (but royalties of 30% to 40%) and “no DRM, ever,” with multiple online distribution channels (including its own online bookstore), lots of online consumer feedback and pervasive marketing through social media, i.e., Twitter, Facebook and all the rest. “DRM is bad for customer service, discourages readers and doesn’t stop or slow piracy anyway,” said James. 

Later on a panel devoted to What Consumers Want, blogger Sarah Wendell of the Smart Bitches Trashy Novels blog (9 million pages views in April), a champion of romance fiction, gave a witty presentation on women (“voracious readers”), e-books and desirable e-reading devices (wireless, all formats, nice design, adjustable fonts and no DRM). Harlequin director of digital content Malle Vallik said Harlequin publishes more e-books (140 titles) each month than print books, though she admitted that Harlequin authors demand DRM—to a display of dismay and mock weeping by Wendell. “Our readers want e-books,” said Vallik, “whatever sells in print sells just as well in digital. Backlist is big and half our sales each month. Readers want interoperability, more titles, nicely designed devices, adjustable fonts and blurbs for fiction.”

Library e-book usage is growing steadily (Brooklyn Public reports 8,000 users in early 2009) and both print and e-book circulation is growing in tandem. There were presentations by the Sony Reader’s Robert Nell (“sell-through is strong” and U.S. retailers will double to 6,000 in 2009). There’s a new French non-wireless e-reading device , The Bookeen, coming to the U.S. market in June; and Neelan Choksi, CEO of Lexcyle, developer of the popular iphone e-book app Stanza, recently acquired by Amazon, reports that there are 1.8 million stanza users in over 60 countries and the device supports about 110,000 titles. 

In the midst of this economy, spending an afternoon at Digital Book 2009 offered real information about the growth of a new kind of book market as well as a refreshing vision of the future of publishing and reading (we’ll be reading on paper as well as on screens of various sizes) that we can all live with.

Sony Reader set to get ads soon

The Sony reader will soon be getting third-party advertisements, says Steve Haber of New Media Age. Apparently, this move will allow publishers to create a new revenue stream, despite a general decline in profits across other advertisements.

It’s not clear when these new ads will start to make an appearance, but what is clear is that the Sony Reader, or the ebook reader in general, has not been utilized yet fully as a media form. That’s why the advertising step is just the start of what could be possible with the platform.

The thinking is that since magazines and newspapers are built around ads already, it should be pretty easy to translate that into the ebook form. This could be very effective or it might just work to annoy people a whole bunch. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

Does the iPhone need a real keyboard?

The other day, as I sat waiting for Jeff Bezos to appear in an auditorium to announce the new Kindle DX, I was surrounded by iPhones. Literally. Two people to my right, two people in front of me, and three people in back of me were all tapping out IMs or e-mails on their iPhones. What struck me was how awkward most of these people looked, tapping away with a single finger, laboring to type sentences just a few lines long. 

Now I know some people can type quickly using the iPhone's virtual keyboard. A week earlier I'd witnessed a woman, her iPhone sitting on a table, taping with two fingers at a highly elevated rate (the rat-tat-tat of her typing on the table was quite noisy, which drew onlookers). But there are still a lot of people out there who just can't get used to typing on the iPhone. And many a BlackBerry user has told me she will never be able to switch to the iPhone because she needs a physical keyboard. 

My wife is a case in point. She lives on her Blackberry and can type emails with astonishing speed. When she was required recently to get a "personal" cell phone separate from her work cell phone, she opted to get the exact same BlackBerry Curve on AT&T that she used for work--even though she could have gotten the iPhone for the same price (at least in terms of hardware costs). She's a BlackBerry user through and through, even after a couple of her BlackBerries broke (more on that in a minute). 

I wouldn't be the first to suggest that Apple make a slider version of the iPhone that would incorporate a physical keyboard. On a lot of levels, it would make a lot of sense. Apple could do a so-called consumer version of the iPhone, as well as a model that had a slightly more corporate bent to take on BlackBerry directly in that market. (The BlackBerry Curve did outsell the iPhone last quarter). 

However, the iPhone's virtual keyboard is tied into an overarching Apple design philosophy for the device, and chances are very slim Apple will alter the iPhone hardware beyond a few small tweaks. From a software standpoint, where the biggest changes will come, one of the key additions in iPhone 3.0 OS is native support for a landscape (horizontal) virtual keyboard, which would allow you to go to a more ergonomic two-thumbed approach and should make the overall typing experience significantly better. True, that functionality has been available for a while--but only through third-party apps that only a small minority of users download.

Why didn't Apple offer a landscape mode for the keyboard from the get-go? That's one of those Apple mysteries that's hard to solve along with "The Case of the missing stereo Bluetooth," "Voice dialing, where are you?", and the ever popular "Waiting for cut and paste," an existential drama in three acts. Word is these features should be available in iPhone 3.0. 

Will having a native landscape mode for the virtual keyboard satisfy BlackBerry keyboard aficionados? Probably not. As good as Apple's virtual keyboard might be for a virtual keyboard you'll still have millions of people who only feel comfortable with a physical keyboard. 

Personally, I'm partial to hard keyboards and I initially liked the slide-out keyboard on my Sprint Mogul, though I still miss the feel of the Blackberry keyboard on my ancient, e-mail-only BlackBerry 857. However, there is one big strike against physical keyboards: because you have moving parts involved, they tend to be plagued by mechanical failures over time. My Mogul keyboard is on the fritz, and some days I want to throw the phone against the wall (my contract is up in June, which is when I will replace it). Fellow editor John Falcone, who got his Mogul at around the same time I did, is also having problem with his keyboard, which leads me to believe many physical keyboards simply have a limited lifespan. In the case of the Mogul, which is made by HTC, the problem may involve the sliding mechanism and the connection between the keyboard and the phone's motherboard--not necessarily the keys themselves. 

Blackberry keyboards tend to be pretty durable. But my wife's scroll wheel on two her older Blackberries died from heavy use. Apparently, this problem was widespread because in future devices Blackberry moved to a trackball in the Curve. But it, too, can develop problems over time as dust and dirt from your fingers clog things up--just like with a computer trackball. 

Clearly, by going with a virtual keyboard--and a pure touch interface--Apple and AT&T have managed to avoid customer-service headaches related to the breakdown of broken parts associated with physical keyboards, navigational joysticks, trackballs, or scroll wheels. When an iPhone gets screwed up, it tends to involve a bum battery, some form of mysterious internal glitch that causes intermittent freezes/shutdowns or battery drains--or someone just dropping the phone. At least those are the problems I hear about. 

But even as I point out the downsides to physical keyboards, I'd still opt for an iPhone with a slide-out "hard" keyboard if given the choice. That's part of the reason why I'll take a long look at the Palm Pre when it comes out around the same time the third-generation iPhone does (both are expected to arrive in June) and anything new and interesting BlackBerry has on tap. 

What do you guys think? Any iPhone owners still struggling with the keyboard? Or is it just fine the way it is and will only get better with a native landscape mode?

Analysts clash over Android growth figures

ANDROID SMARTPHONE shipments will purportedly grow a whopping 900 per cent according to some highly optimistic figures from excitable market research outfit, Strategy Analytics (SA).

SA also blurted out it believed Apple's Iphone operating system will be the next fastest-growing smartphone OS in 2009, citing a predicted 79 per cent growth rate.

Despite being a bit of a late bloomer, Google's open source Android platform seems to be gaining momentum amidst buffed up support from telco operators, developers and retailers alike, with SA noting the platform's presence is finally seeping through Europe and Asia.


"Android is expanding from a low base and it is consequently outgrowing the iPhone OS from Apple," said Tom Kang, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics. He was backed up by SA's director, Neil Mawston, who added that Android's "relatively low-cost licensing model, its semi-open-source structure and Google's support for cloud services have encouraged companies such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung, T Mobile, Vodafone and others" to throw their weight behind it. This, he claims puts Android "in a good position to become a top-tier player in smartphones over the next two to three years."

But picking apart the numbers, a 900 per cent growth rate would mean Android has to ship 6.9m million handsets by the end of 2009. And thus far, it's taken six months to reach just one million units, with Android's currently sole provider HTC's G1 phone. So, just another 5.9 million more to go in seven months then. Sheesh.

It's true that Android based smartphone shipments will perk up dramatically once Motorola, HTC, Samsung and T-Mobile have all released their promised devices, but until they do, it seems the promises are about as empty as those muttered by the Open Handset Alliance.

Wanting a more sober opinion from a market research outfit whose reports are more suited to a Marvin the Paranoid Android outlook, the INQ turned to IDC, where we were told by a top boffin that although the OS would "definitely be the star this year," a 900 per cent growth rate seemed "extremely optimistic".

"IDC expects Android to grow around 420 per cent to a total of 3.6m units worldwide in 2009," Francisco Jeronimo told the INQ, noting that although several handset makers, including LG, were expecting to announce an Android device soon, "almost all devices will ship in Q3 and Q4, which will limit the impact of Android's growth in 2009."

Nevertheless, said Jeronimo, "the industry is showing a strong interest in this OS."

The main reason the future is looking so bright for Android, according to Jeronimo, is because the industry is looking for a way to alleviate Symbian - and by proxy, Nokia - dominance. "Operators want to balance power between OSs in order to keep control of the market," he told us, adding that the reason Android is being picked is for "technical and commercial issues, rather than strategic."


"Android is a free OS, it's a sufficient mature platform for most operators and vendors, has a powerful brand behind with all Google's services integrated and it has a good touchscreen user interface," he said.

IDC also reckons Strategy Analytics have it wrong when it comes to Apple's Iphone OS blasting competitors out of the water, saying it believes Blackberry's OS will trump it.

"RIM proved to have a very successful product among enterprises," Jeronimo told the INQ, adding the firm's growth rates were "strong and consistent."

IDC believes the market will consolidate around six major operating systems over the next three years, namely Symbian, Blackberry OS, Windows Mobile, Mac OS X, Android and Linux.

However, concluded Jeranimo, "unless Apple comes with a wider portfolio we don't believe iPhone will continue to deliver the past growth rates. Apple is not as successful among enterprises as RIM is among consumers."

Apple approves new guide dog game for iPhone

San Antonio application developer Joseph Dolan has created a new interactive program for Apple Inc. that will benefit Guide Dogs of Texas.

Guide Dogs of Texas raises, trains and provides guide dogs to visually impaired Texans to enhance their mobility and independence. It is the only guide dog school in Texas and is a member of the International Guide Dog Federation.

Dolan created a downloadable application called Pocket Puppy Raiser that allows users to interact with a virtual puppy on the Apple iPhone. Users can scratch a sleeping puppy’s belly until its leg shakes, pet the dog until it licks the iPhone screen or play a game of tug-of-war with the pup. Apple approved Pocket Puppy Raiser on May 7.

The application costs $2.99 per download and proceeds will be split among the iPhone App Store, Dolan and Guide Dogs of Texas.

Dolan, a graduate of Texas State Technical College, developed the application upon the recommendation of his mother, Michelle Pelletier, who works for Guide Dogs of Texas as a puppy raising program manager.

Dolan says he plans to upgrade the Pocket Puppy Raiser to reflect the different tasks guide dogs perform as they grow older.

“I’m thinking about starting the dog out as a puppy, and then as it gets bigger and becomes a guide dog it will take its owner for a walk on the street and stop at a crosswalk for traffic or for a walk to the Alamo,” he says. “It will be a challenge, but I think I can do it.”

To download the app, go to iTunes and search “Pocket Puppy Raiser.”

YOUR TECH: iPhone's database not worth price tag

When is a $5 iPhone application not worth $5? When it's the new Bento for iPhone from FileMaker Inc., the Apple Inc. subsidiary.

Wrapping your head around the idea of a "personal" database might seem a challenge, let alone one for your iPhone. Compete Inc., a marketing consultancy in Boston, said in an April 27 report that "the four most commonly downloaded applications, by category, for iPhone users were Games (79 percent), Entertainment (78 percent), Weather (57 percent), and Music (55 percent)." Business applications, so-called "productivity tools," were way down on the list.

So, why a database application for the iPhone? Because we all have databases, whether we acknowledge them or not. Got a list of everything in your house, you know, in case it burns down and you need to file an insurance claim? That's a database. Tracking sailboats for a potential purchase? Another database. Got a wish list of desired acquisitions for your comic book collection or your music library? You get the idea.

Many of us rely on databases far more than just casual access: We're selling (or buying) real estate or antiques. We're tracking candidates for a job, or employers to approach. We need to have this information on hand wherever we might be, thus the need for portability, and the potential for something such as Bento for the iPhone.

On regular Apple Macintosh computers, Bento (which, yes, is named for the iconic boxed Japanese lunches) is a simplified database, one in which you can combine photos and text boxes and other elements to make a whole, as it were. Not only can you list a house for sale, but you also show its picture, do some calculations and total things up, in an elementary fashion. The makers bill it as a "compliment" to a spreadsheet program such as Apple's Numbers or Microsoft Corp.'s Excel 2008 for Macintosh.

So far, so good: Many of us are database people whether or not we realize it, and Bento is a good way of helping Mac users track these things. But unless you're schlepping a notebook computer around, there will be a time you'll be somewhere without that data.

Hence the iPhone version of Bento, which also runs on the iPod Touch model from Apple. The software sells for $4.99 in the iTunes App Store and installs quickly and easily. It's designed to work with data from the Mac's Address Book application, and some data from the iCal calendaring program.

Here's where things start to break down, in my opinion. How long they'll stay "broken" is an open guess: This summer is expected to see the launch of Apple's iPhone 3.0 operating software (and perhaps a new iPhone model), with many improvements in the iPhone's operations.

For now, we're stuck with the almost year-old iPhone 2.0 software and with Apple's restrictions on the Address Book and iCal applications. Other programs for the iPhone, even other programs from the wholly owned FileMaker Inc. unit of Apple, can't "talk" to elements of the Address Book and iCal, per the parent company's dictates, and can't totally supplant Address Book's database and sync functions.

Why is that a problem? Because a key feature of Bento for iPhone is its ability to sync data from the phone to a computer, and back again, via an 802.11 wireless, or Wi-Fi, connection. If I can't update the Address Book file in Bento on my desktop and have it change when synchronizing with the iPhone, why bother having the software?

Right now, the best answer I can come up with - based on testing the program and talking with FileMaker's Jon Siegler, vice president of product management - is that future versions of the Bento for iPhone program (and, by implication, Address Book) might allow such synchronizations. Also, Apple's Mobile Me service, a $99-per-year add-on for Mac users, has its own way of synchronizing Address Books, Mr. Siegler pointed out, and that can bridge the gap.

No, it's not perfect. I'd rather see the one of the most-touted uses of Bento for iPhone - the ability to have, manage and expand your Address Book more easily - fully synchronized.

But change may yet come this summer, and hope springs eternal, as the saying goes. For now, if you need a hand-held way to track your inventory of Faberge eggs, this application is a good idea - but that's about it, in my view.

Unofficial Software Incurs Apple’s Wrath

The iPhone can teach its users how to perform CPR, mix a White Russian and allow them identify any song playing on the radio.

But for some owners of the Apple touch-screen device, the 35,000-plus applications lining the digital shelves of Apple’s App Store are not enough. If you want to use your iPhone as a video camera, send a photo message or hook it up to your laptop to connect to the Internet, there’s no app for that.

Or at least, no official app.

Through the efforts of developers and hobbyists, the Web is teeming with unauthorized applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch (which does everything that the iPhone does except make phone calls and incur a monthly bill from AT&T), and there are even some independent online application stores.

However, in order to use these programs, iPhone owners have to “jailbreak” their device — downloading a bit of software that bypasses Apple’s restrictions and allows the installation of unsanctioned third-party programs.

The growing popularity of jailbreaking has set up a legal battle between Apple, which says it has the right to regulate what can go on an iPhone, and the users and developers who want to customize their phones as they see fit.

Jailbreaking is different from unlocking an iPhone, in which users modify the software so the phone can be used on unauthorized wireless carriers. For some iPhone hobbyists, like Mark Janke, jailbreaking is akin to customizing a fancy car — it simply allows owners to personalize the look of their devices, turning their phones into a brag-worthy accessory and status symbol. 

“You can modify your phone and say, ‘Hey, look what I did,’ ” said Mr. Janke, who runs a forum called Hack That Phone, which walks iPhone owners through the jailbreaking process in several languages, including Swedish and Persian. “It opens up an amazing world of goodies.”

But according to Apple, jailbreaking is illegal and a breach of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. “These modifications not only violate the warranty, they also cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably,” said Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple.

In a legal filing with the United States Copyright Office last year, Apple says jailbroken iPhones rely on modified versions of Apple’s operating software that infringe on its copyrights. 

In addition, the company says jailbreaking encourages the piracy of approved iPhone applications and is an expensive burden.“Apple’s iPhone support department has received literally millions of reported incidents of software that crashes on jailbroken iPhones,” the document says. 

Apple filed its brief in response to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s request that the copyright office recognize an exemption to the digital copyright act that would permit jailbreaking of iPhones and other devices. The copyright office is expected to rule on the issue by October.

Jailbreaking your own iPhone does not infringe on any copyright, and the tools that help iPhone owners modify their devices do not distribute anything that belongs to Apple, said Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that advocates more openness on the Internet. “In our view, consumers are allowed to adapt software for their own personal use,” he said.

For developers, bypassing Apple’s lengthy and opaque approval process allows them to get their software out quickly and on their own terms. Most iPhone owners who jailbreak their phones do so to change the interface of the iPhone or add simple features and functions that are not available through official channels, said Jay Freeman, who operates Cydia, a popular repository for thousands of third-party iPhone applications and modifications.

For example, Mr. Freeman’s site offers two popular applications that he wrote: Cycorder, a free program that allows iPhones to record video, and Cyntact, a $1 program that adds profile pictures to the iPhone’s address book. 

Another developer offers a $9.99 application, iPhoneModem, through Cydia that permits the iPhone to share its Internet connection with a computer, a practice known as tethering, which cellular carriers frown upon. 

Mr. Freeman estimates that his platform for apps has been installed on about 2.3 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices. In April, Apple said it had sold 37 million iPhones and iPod Touches to date.

To counter jailbreaking, Apple releases updates for the operating system software that can render jailbroken phones useless. But the company’s efforts amount to an elaborate game of whack-a-mole as rogue programmers quickly counter their efforts with their own software updates.
So far, the company has not gone after any specific developers or Web sites that assist people in jailbreaking their iPhones, said Mr. von Lohmann, but given Apple’s penchant for exerting control over its products, it could.

The foundation argues that Apple’s real goal is to limit competition with its App Store, which has been wildly successful since Apple opened its digital doors in July. Since then, more than a billion apps, both free and paid, have been downloaded. Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at the Piper Jaffray investment firm, estimates that the App Store will have generated roughly $617 million in revenue by the end of 2009. 

Mario Ciabarra, the operator of a smaller application shop called Rock Your Phone, worries that Apple could quash competitors by simply including the more popular jailbroken iPhone modifications in the third version of the iPhone operating system, due out this summer. 

Mr. Ciabarra, whose site offers nine applications for download through a platform he developed himself, says his products have had half a million downloads since mid-March. 

“There’s no reason Apple couldn’t offer the products we’re offering,” Mr. Ciabarra said. Like Apple, Mr. Freeman and Mr. Ciabarra take a commission of up to 30 percent from developers selling software through their stores. 

In addition to commissions, Mr. Freeman says he makes money from selling applications he created, advertisements on the site, and sponsorships from developers who want their applications featured on Cydia’s home page. All together, he said he earns enough from the site to support himself.

Mr. Freeman said he was not worried about the competition from Apple or the potential ramifications of operating an unsanctioned software platform. “I don’t even understand why they’re trying to fight an entire community,” he said. 

William H. Greene, a professor of economics at New York University who studies digital entertainment, said most jailbreaking software is free and does not hurt sales of the iPhone. Some applications available through the independent channels had been rejected by Apple for inclusion in its store. “It’s hard to see where Apple is being harmed by this,” he said.

Apple would have more leverage with its copyright claims if it could prove that jailbreaking is harming its business. “If the jailbreaker, the individual phone owner, were somehow trying to profit, then they might have a case,” Mr. Greene said. Apple is also well within its rights to crack down on pirated copies of legitimate applications, he said.

Mr. Ciabarra, who writes unauthorized apps because the iPhone is “too fun to pass up playing with,” sympathizes with Apple’s position — to a point. 

“They’re worried about malware being distributed and third-party developers interfering with the stability of their product,” he said. “We just feel users should be able to decide for themselves if they want to deal with that.”

Hands on: SlingPlayer for iPhone review

The Apple iPhone and SlingMedia's SlingBox has always seemed like a match made in heaven - enabling you to watch your favourite TV programmes live from anywhere in the world.

SlingBox fans have been slavering over the idea since the iPhone launched in 2007, and SlingMedia honchos even demoed a beta of the iPhone version at Macworld Expo in January.

But then it all went quiet. Too quiet.

Last month, TUAW speculated that SlingPlayer for iPhone was dead, but we're happy to report that it's not and we've been using it on our iPhone for a few weeks. These are our first impressions so far.
Installation and setup

First of all, getting SlingPlayer on to your iPhone is a breeze - provided you've already got a SlingBox of course. You can download the 2.2MB app directly to your iPhone from the App Store, or download and sync it via iTunes on your Mac or PC.



To get it to work, of course, you'll need to create a login on SlingMedia's website and then associate your SlingBox's 32-character ID with that account so your iPhone can access it remotely.

It's then simply a case of logging into your SlingMedia account using your iPhone and - bingo! - you should be able to enjoy live TV or other video content available on your Sky+ box, hi-fi, DVD player, and so on.
Unfortunately, while we were able to use both our iPhone's 3G and Wi-Fi connections in the test, we've now been told that the 3G option will be disabled for the release version.

Word is that the mobile networks, concerned about bandwidth issues, wanted the video streams to be compressed even more than it is already. And so the decision was made to preserve video quality and take 3G access out... for now. Expect 3G connectivity to make a come-back sometime soon.

As you'd expect, the SlingPlayer for iPhone UI is pretty straightforward: you're presented with a series of translucent pop-up menus that appear over the top of whatever you watching. These enable you to access and tweak various SlingPlayer for iPhone features and functions.



The first of these menus appears the first time you log in and launch the app. It offers you Settings, Connect, Directory and Help options.

These enable you to do anything from tweaking audio-video playback to picking which SlingBox you want to connect to. The Help menu should help solve any problems you have.

Menu options

Once you're connected a different menu pops up, this time offering Favourites, Remote, Guide, Menu, Options and Disconnect options.
Here's a quick rundown:

Favourites: Enables you to store your most frequently used channels for easy access. The channels are presented in an A-Z list from which to choose, but disappointingly your favourites don't yet appear to have any easily recognisable icons like the the desktop Mac or PC versions do.

You just have a black box with the channel name in (usually truncated so it's a bit nonsensical) and then the name repeated again underneath the icon. Setting up a favourite can be tedious too as you not only have to pick the icon, but you then have to assign a channel number as well. It's all a bit fiddly, to be honest - hopefully things will improve as the app matures.

Remote: This enables you to change channels on your home device (typically a Sky+ box or DVD player / recorder), enabling you to play, pause, fast-forward, rewind, record or stop your content. Clicking on the keypad icon enables you pick a channel directly - so if you want to watch BBC on Sky+ for example you just type '101' and press enter.

Guide: If you're connected to a Sky or Freeview box, this brings up the TV Guide with a translucent D-pad overlay that enables you to scroll through and select individual channels, genres, and so on.
You're also given the option to remotely record your selections too.

Menu: Since we only hooked up a Sky+ box for the purposes of our test, selecting this option just brought up the TV Guide again. We assume it enables you to access other devices, such as a DVD player, for example.

Options: This pop-up is more interesting in that it gives you a whole new range of options to choose from: Audio Only allows you to listen to audio-only versions of your content.
SQ / HQ enables you to choose between standard and high quality video playback; Standard enables you to change the aspect ratio so your content doesn't appear squished on the iPhone; and Change Device enables you to switch from the home device you're currently watching to another that you have hooked up to your SlingBox. Phew.

Disconnect: Obvious this one - it severs the connection between your iPhone and your SlingBox.

None of the options presented so far should be of any surprise to other SlingPlayer Mobile users - Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile Smartphone, Windows Mobile Pocket PC) and is coming to Blackberry users soon - but it's great to be able to explore them on the iPhone at last. It's been a long wait.

Once you're up and running and have played around with the various menu options, it's time to get watching in earnest.

The first thing you notice is that is that there's a short time delay (3-5 seconds, or so) between what you can see on your TV and what your iPhone presents.

If you're away from home or watching in another room, that's no biggie - unless you and your family happen to be watching the same game of footy, for example, and you start hearing cheering before you actually see the goal.

Your family is also unlikely to thank you if you decide to change TV channels remotely using your iPhone, since it'll also change what your family's watching too - but that's something that's common to all SlingBoxes anyway.

Good sound quality

Sound-quality is fine for remote viewing - proving clear and easily comprehensible, but video quality is a little disappointing. There's obviously a fair amount of live video compression going on, which can result in a lot of blocking and other video artefacts.

If you're used to so-so quality from web video, or just like the idea of being able to watch TV when you're away on holiday, this is unlikely to bother you.

However the picture quality does fall considerably short of what the iPhone is capable of - something that's a little disappointing when you can watch live streams using BBC iPlayer or download fresh, quality content from iTunes.

Settings make no difference

Toggling the SQ (standard quality) / HQ (high quality) options don't appear to make any discernible difference either.

The results are certainly watchable and we noticed very few dropouts - although that largely depends on how good the signal strength is where you are.

It should be obvious that we're pretty impressed with SlingPlayer for iPhone so far - it's easy to setup and use, offers the right mixture of features without bogging you down in too much detail; and serves up a watchable viewing experience.

Ideal for anyone travelling at home or abroad, SlingPlayer for iPhone is a great, low-cost way of enjoying your favourite TV, DVD or other video content.