Apple is holding a press conference tomorrow and it’s rumored to be unveiling quite a few new products. Some of the updates are expected (iLife), while others are like the Love Boat — exciting and new (iPad). I wanted to see which possible announcement has you the most excited. So please vote!
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My friend Chris Cross from Tarver Games, makers of the excellent Ghosts Attack for iPhone, has started a blog. It’s a blend of business and pleasure. By business, I mean updates on Tarver’s development efforts. By pleasure I mean donkeys, monkeys, and classic cars. He’s a hilarious and smart guy, so I encourage you to check it out!
Apple is aiming to make a big splash with its iPad tablet next week and hopes that games from Electronic Arts will help generate interest in the product. While the iPhone and iPod Touch market is one of the fastest growing segments in the gaming industry, Apple hopes that developers will flock to its upcoming tablet. EA’s games could serve as an example to other developers. According to The Wall Street Journal:
Apple is also working with videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. to show off the tablet’s game capabilities, according to one person familiar with the matter.
While I’m sure the iPad (or iSlate or iTablet) will be a success, I’m certain that it will only do a fraction of the numbers the iPhone has done. A lot of people need phones and love the extended multimedia capabilities the iPhone offers. The iPad, on the other hand, appears to be a pure luxury; nobody needs a multimedia tablet with Internet capabilities. With that in mind, the installed base of the iPad will be a fraction of the iPhone’s, making it less appealing to developers.
The important thing to remember is that since both products will presumably be using iPhone 4.0 software, developers can write the bulk of the code for the iPhone and (again, presumably) optimize code for the larger tablet. Theoretically, it shouldn’t add too much additional work. I’ll ping some of my developer friends and see what they think.
If Apple and its partners deliver a healthy dose of games for the iPad, will that make the device more appealing to you?
According to Gerard Hallaren, director of research at TownHall Investment Research, AT&T would need to drop some serious cash to get its network on the same level as Verizon’s — (using Dr. Evil voice) five-billion dollars!!! PC World has reported:
AT&T would need to spend about US $5 billion on its wireless network to catch up with the coverage offered by Verizon Wireless.
The $5 billion investment gap could expand to $7 billion because of the need for new backhaul capacity to link AT&T’s wireless network into the wired Internet, Hallaren said.
Although AT&T has been spending more money to improve its network, I wouldn’t expect Verizon-quality service any time soon — certainly not in this economy. Of course there’s always the chance that the Wireless Fairy will fly down from the heavens and improve AT&T’s network with a wave of her magic wand.
Showing the legitimacy of the iPhone and iPod Touch as a gaming platform, Bolt Creative revealed that Pocket God has sold more than two-million copies in about a year. With comparatively low development costs and a huge installed base, the iPhone platform has been attracting tons of developers. For dubious reasons, a lot of enthusiast gamers foolishly dismiss it as a “fad” (then again, a lot of them called the Wii a fad). Gamasutra has reported:
Bolt Creative has announced its popular and frequently updated iPhone game Pocket God has sold more than two million units since its launch on January 9th, 2009. Pocket God is the first paid application in the App Store to reach the sales milestone, according to Bolt.
I’m loving my (sim-less) iPhone more and more as a gaming platform. With titles like Civilization, Bird Strike, and Skee Ball (my latest addiction), I can keep myself entertained for minutes or hours.
Here are two questions for you. Have your feeling on the iPhone as a gaming platform changed? I’m always looking for game recommendations. Any iPhone games dazzle you?
[Update: 11:11AM PST] Apple’s iPhone is the most popular consumer smartphone on the market, while Google’s search engine is the leader in that space. They’re two great tastes that go great together, right? Wrong! Since Apple and Google are competing in more and more areas, the war between the two is getting ugly. The latest rumor is that Apple is in talks with Microsoft to use Bing as the default search engine on the iPhone. According to BusinessWeek:
Apple is in talks with Microsoft to replace Google as the default search engine on its iPhone, according to two people familiar with the matter. The talks have been under way for weeks, say the people, who asked not to be named because the details have not been made public.
You know things are getting nasty when Apple is enlisting the aid of Microsoft. *sigh* On a macro level, I wish Apple and Google would knock it off. I like several products from both companies; I don’t want to choose sides. On a micro level, I don’t care for Bing. A few of my friends swear by it, but I’ve been pretty unimpressed so far. Plus, I’m just used to Google’s search results.
What do you think of the news? Would you be irritated by Bing being the default search engine on your iPhone or iPod Touch?
Update: A reader just reminded me that Bing is the only search engine available on several Verizon phones. This might be a stretch, but perhaps iPhone 4.0 software has Bing as the default to make way for a future Verizon product?]
According to Fox News, Apple’s January 27th event will focus on iLife, iPhone 4.0, and the highly anticipated Apple tablet (possibly called the iSlate or iTablet). Some tech reporters suggested that the MacBook Pro line would get a much-needed refresh to include Intel’s latest quad-core CPUs. Fox’s Clayton Morris reported:
I spoke to a source at Apple this morning, before the invite hit my inbox, who said the event would likely focus on three projects: The tablet device, iPhone 4, and a new round of iLife 2010 software. While we won’t see new iPhone hardware just yet, we will see the next-generation software.
The Apple tablet and iPhone 4.0 software go hand in hand, so that’s not surprising. Some people will be disappointed that iLife will be a focus, but I think it’s fantastic software suite that’s one of Apple’s great differentiators for casual consumers. I was personally hoping for some Intel quad-core love for the MacBook Pros or even the 21.5-inch iMac, but it looks like that will come another day.
Any thoughts on the possible Apple leak?
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady possibly being voted into the NBA All-Star Game by moronic fans, J-E-T-S, or A.J. styles and Kurt Angle putting on a clinic last night, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
This week’s coffee: Intelligentsia Ethiopia Sidama.
According to research firm Gartner, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common devices for Internet access in 2013. It sounds a little bit crazy, but it makes sense on several levels. Web browsers on phones have gotten way better in the last few years. A lot of phones are great for accessing online social-media services like Facebook and Twitter. In general, phones are cheaper and more accessible than PCs — particularly in developing countries. With these factors in mind, Gartner’s prediction is pretty reasonable.
Then there’s the whole usage aspect to phone browsing. I often find myself reading web sites and working on this blog from my iPhone or BlackBerry. Sometimes it’s just looking for story ideas before I go to sleep. Sometimes I’m multitasking by watching WWE Monday Night Raw and sifting through the site’s comments. This was pretty much impossible to do (efficiently and enjoyably) a few years ago. Thanks to advancements in WebKit, Opera Mini, and specialized apps (Tweetdeck, WordPress, etc.), it’s totally doable today. Could further advancements lead to me surfing the web more from my couch or bed than my desk? Yeah, I could see that.
Still, there are going to be people that refuse to do the majority of their web surfing on their phone. Some prefer looking at sites on large monitors. Others are more comfortable reading from an office chair. Perhaps there will still be people — probably older ones — that can’t fathom the idea of using their phone for anything but phone calls.
I want to hear what you think of Gartner’s prediction. Do you find yourself reading web sites from your phone more often? Do you think your phone will be your primary Internet access device in three years? Why or why not?
A lot technophiles are hoping that the rumors of Verizon getting the iPhone in 2010 come true, but one longtime technology writer says it’s not happening. With Verizon starting the transition from 3G CDMA technology to 4G LTE, some experts feel it would be silly for Apple to trot out a CDMA iPhone this year. The consolation prize? The Apple tablet…or iTable…or iSlate…or whatever the hell they’re calling the device this week. PC Magazine’s Sascha Segan recently wrote:
There isn’t going to be a Verizon iPhone in 2010. Get over it. Verizon and Apple are on the same wavelength about the iPhone being a slam-bang device to help promote Verizon’s LTE network, which means 2011. But the Apple Tablet is exactly what Verizon is looking for right now.
On paper, I agree with him. In practice, I don’t. I sincerely doubt LTE deployment will go as smoothly as planned. You know those lovely coverage maps Verizon likes to show off? At launch time, its LTE map is going to look more like AT&T’s current 3G map. With that in mind, why wouldn’t Verizon want a CDMA iPhone? It could sell millions of them for years, as opposed to an LTE iPhone that has a far more limited reach.
It just seems silly and overly ambitious to wait on LTE for the iPhone. AT&T has become a strong #2, largely due to the iPhone. Verizon could leave its nearest competitor in the dust by offering the most popular consumer phone on the strongest network in the country. This is pure conjecture, but I’d bet that a CDMA Apple tablet would do a fraction of the numbers a CDMA iPhone would do. I don’t see how it would be “exactly what Verizon is looking for”.
What do you make of all this? If Verizon has the opportunity to get a CDMA iPhone, shouldn’t it jump at the chance? How well do you think an Apple tablet would do for the carrier? Are any of you even interested in one?
AT&T and Verizon have slashed the prices of their wireless services. Since most of you are tech nerds, I’ll focus on the unlimited (talk, data, and text) plans for smartphones. Current AT&T users will be able to lower their costs to $119.99 a month starting on Monday, while Verizon customers can enjoy unlimited everything for $119.98.
While any price reduction is nice, these prices are still higher than what Sprint and T-Mobile offer. Sprint’s comparable plan costs $99.99, while T-Mobile’s costs $79.99. Naturally, the value of any of these services depends on the coverage you get at home, work, and the places you frequently travel to.
