I’m shopping for iPhone add-ons even though I have no idea when the phone will ship in Canada.
Leo Laporte recommends:
iPhone DLO Silicon Jam Jacket Super Tough Case
It’s cheap, and not pretty, but this is the most functional iPhone case I’ve tried. It keeps the phone from slipping from your grip and the built-in cord management system is handy for keeping my earbuds close.
Apple is well known for disregarding the competition.
But when an 800lb gorilla like Amazon walks in the room, even Steve Jobs takes notice. Amazon.com is now the new go-to music store. (Unless they don’t have the track you want, of course.)
iTunes will have to respond.
Remember when Amazon.com was just a bookstore? On Tuesday morning, the online retailer launched the public beta of its much-anticipated rival to Apple’s iTunes Store: Amazon MP3, which features over 2 million songs free of digital rights management copy protection, which means they’ll play on any computer, music player, or music-enabled cell phone. …
Each song is encoded at 256kbps, the file quality that Apple offers for its DRM-free iTunes Plus premium music selections, which it sells for $1.29 apiece rather than its usual 99 cents. Amazon’s pricing for Amazon MP3 ranges from 89 cents (including the top 100 best-selling songs) to 99 cents; albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99.
It goes without saying that Amazon is aiming squarely at Apple, and it’s attempting to hit the digital music monopoly where it hurts–with regard to pricing, file quality, and versatility, all of which have come under scrutiny by critics. But this could also be a painful blow for eMusic, the online music store that has made a small name for itself by selling exclusively DRM-free music.
Amazon launches beta version of DRM-free music store | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone
I expect Audible.com is scrambling too. Everyone knows what Amazon did to competing book stores.
Nokia is a great company. No doubt.
There’s no way an upstart could walk in and beat them at their own game.
Right?
So why does Robert Scoble prefer his iPhone over the more expensive N95?
Nokia has a bunch of new devices that I want to try. I have both an iPhone and a Nokia N95. I am keeping track of how often I pick up either device. The iPhone is winning. Bigtime.
Nokia tries to get leadership position back from iPhone « Scobleizer
Here’s Nokia’s vision of the future. Their next great phone.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Look familiar?
As they have before, Apple has reinvented and, thus, reinvigorated an industry. This time the mobile phone industry.
Nokia is chasing Apple. Not the other way around.
Stop the presses … Nokia just opened a “music store”. What innovation!
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This Mac managed it. What about yours?
… will it crash or can it handle the load? It’s running 10.4.10 with 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 3 GB of DDR2 SDRAM. After 12 minutes of churning along and in internal temp of over 160 degrees F, this is what happened…
The iPhone killer.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
(I’m hanging out with a friend who works for Microsoft this weekend and hearing really good things about the company. They hire good people.)
An article by Mike Elgan is being much debated right now:
PC World – Is Apple the New Microsoft?
Ten years ago, Microsoft was the company everyone loved to hate.
The most vociferous Microsoft haters slammed the company for being a greedy industry bully that used its monopolistic, clunky, copycat operating system to force software on users and coerce partners into unfair licensing deals.
Don’t look now, but the role of the industry’s biggest bully is increasingly played by Apple, not Microsoft. Here’s a look at how Apple has shoved Microsoft aside as the company with the worst reputation as a monopolist, copycat and a bully. …
I’ve only barely followed the controversy over the shocking $200 price reduction on the iPhone — then Steve’s open letter semi-apology and $100 rebate.
But — if you ask me — this “controversy” is so perfect for Apple that it may have been scripted right from the beginning.
Business students will be studying how Apple used HYPE to jump into the driver’s seat in a new, highly profitable business niche for many years to come.
And I, for one, will be buying an iPhone when it goes on sale in Canada.
To compare Apple to Microsoft is ludicrous, by the way.
These days I would much rather have a book on my MP3 player than in my backpack. But getting the books I want is challenging. (MP3 books on tape available in the library are limited.)
I finally tried the big boy in audio books – Audible.com. So far I’ve been very impressed.
Sign-up was no more painful than with any other website. You get 2 free books to try it out. I quickly and easily found two of my top to-read-next books:
My computer asked if I wanted them in iTunes. Of course I did. The site knew I was on Mac and it caused no grief.
Actually, two of the files did not download immediately. I called the 1-800 number and was greeted on first ring. They fixed my problem instantly. Great service!
Audible.com content is encoded in their proprietary .AA format, but it worked with my Apple iPod so no complaints.
The only downside of Audible.com I have to report (so far) is the price.
<blockquote Membership plans can be purchased on a monthly ($22.95) or annual ($229.50) basis.
Most people sign-on for the 2 books / month for US$23. For me, I still feel $11.50 / book is a bit high. (I wonder what percentage the author gets?)
They do have some special promotions once you are a member.
Here’s another review:
If you are a “money is no object” person, then I recommend sticking with the audiobooks section of the iTunes Music Store (iTMS). The selection is the same as Audible.com, but because the experience is completely contained within iTunes, it’s by far the easiest way to shop for, buy, and listen to audiobooks. The downside is that you’ll pay full retail, instead of being able to take advantage of subscriptions and sales common on Audible.com.
The option which I believe best balances convenience and cost is Audible.com. Signing up for a premium subscription costs $22/month, and entitles you to two book “credits” per month.
Now I have 11hrs of Michael Palin and 1.7 days !! of Shantaram to get me through my upcoming summer travels. (Loving Shantaram, so far!)
Audible.com – Wikipedia
Engadget is the #1 site for technical reviews. They posted a massively detailed review of the iPhone so far.
Here’s the summary:
It’s easy to see the device is extraordinarily simple to use for such a full-featured phone and media player.
Apple makes creating the spartan, simplified UI look oh so easy — but we know it’s not, and the devil’s always in the details when it comes to portables. To date no one’s made a phone that does so much with so little, and despite the numerous foibles of the iPhone’s gesture-based touchscreen interface, the learning curve is surprisingly low.
It’s totally clear that with the iPhone, Apple raised the bar not only for the cellphone, but for portable media players and multifunction convergence devices in general.
But getting things done with the iPhone isn’t easy, and anyone looking for a productivity device will probably need to look on. Its browser falls pretty short of the “internet in your pocket” claims Apple’s made, and even though it’s still easily the most advanced mobile browser on the market, its constant crashing doesn’t exactly seal the deal.
The iPhone’s Mail app — from its myriad missing features to its un-integrated POP mail experience to its obsolete method of accessing your Gmail — makes email on the iPhone a huge chore at best.
For us, the most interesting thing about the iPhone is its genesis and position in the market. Apple somehow managed to convince one of the most conservative wireless carriers in the world, AT&T (then Cingular), not only to buy into its device sight-unseen, but to readjust its whole philosophy of how a device and carrier should work together (as evidenced by the radically modernized and personalized activation process).
Only a few days after launch it’s easy to see June 29th as a watershed moment that crystalized the fact that consumers will pay more for a device that does more — and treats them like a human being, not a cellphone engineer. Imagine that.
But is the iPhone worth the two year contract with the oft-maligned AT&T and its steep price of admission?
Hopefully we gave you enough information about the iPhone’s every detail to make an informed decision — despite the iPhone’s many shortcomings, we suspect the answer for countless consumers will be a resounding yes.
iPhone review, part 3: Apps and settings, camera, iTunes, wrap-up – Engadget
My answer … WAIT.
Do you hate advertising as much as I do?
Unless you make an effort to avoid them, you’ll see 5000 ads / day.
… billboards, sandwich boards, TV commercials, radio spots, posters, newspaper inserts, storefront promos, magazine ads, web banners, spam emails, product placements, infomercials, sponsorship logos, advertorials, and so on …
Why are you wasting my time?
Advertisers, I promise NOT to buy your product if you pester me.
You might ask, “What about those ads on this blog, Rick?”
… good question.
Well, … the Google text ads are contextual. The least offensive and intrusive possible. And they are supposed to relate to topics on this page.
Or you might ask, about those video ads you post on this site. “Rick, why are you shilling the Apple iPhone?
I might say those are entertainments. Funny. Or interesting. They may or may not inspire you to purchase a product.
The things I specifically recommend are listed under my product endorsement category.
That’s the only kind of advertising I want to see. Specific advice from people who have some expertise in the area. Especially those I know personally.
If you tip me to something I might be interested in buying, I should give you a small commission.
The best spoofs I’ve seen.
Click PLAY or watch PC vs MAC – At work on YouTube.
Microsoft should hire Laurie McGuinness.
Click PLAY or watch PC vs MAC – Money on YouTube.
>> MORE Laurie McGuinness | Mac PC Spoofs
Laurie McGuinness
Rick McCharles 