The Tech Bench

There’s over 200,000 apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Will Apple ever bring these apps to the Mac laptop and desktop lines? If so, how and when?

Most of these apps are built to take advantage of the specific form factor (touch, small screen, etc.) of the device, yet it would be great to be able to access some of these apps on your Mac laptop or desktop.

A lot of iOS apps could be run as widgets with simple mouse over control. The real trick would be how to incorporate multi-touch control without a touchscreen? If Apple were to “digitize” (touch input) the glass covers of iMacs, MacBooks and monitors, that would help deliver a more authentic overall app experience. Adding GPS to the Mac laptop line would also enable apps that utilize location services.

The question Apple is most likely to ask is, why do you even need to access iOS apps on your laptop or desktop when you can already do it on your iPhone or iPad?

My answer is simple, I want to be able to see and use multiple apps on the same screen at the same time. OK, maybe I just want to play Angry Birds on my work computer, but isn’t that reason enough?

Friends, family, and customers are asking what we think of the iPhone 4 and if they should get one.

If you haven’t jumped on the iPhone bandwagon yet, the answer is a simple “yes.”

If you already have an iPhone, the answer may be a little more involved.

Here’s a few things to think about before making the upgrade:

Durability

This seems to be the one area that has been progressively getting worse with the iPhone. The first gen’s heftier metal body felt great and held up the best to abuse. Unfortunately it looks like the iPhone 4 has a bit of a glass jaw and early reports look like it will be a popular repair for us in the future.

Speed

Each new iPhone makes a big leap in overall speed and the iPhone 4 is no exception. The iPhone 4 is fast and will make your old iPhone seem slow in comparison.

Call Quality/Reception

The iPhone 4 does have a second mic to help with sound quality, but the antenna “improvements” seem to have created new issues which may negate their effect. In other words, I wouldn’t upgrade for the sake of improved reception.

New Features

Here’s where the decision to upgrade will probably be made. The new screen is awesome and much improved, however most people were happy with the previous screen. Front facing camera is cool, but more gimmicky than life changing at this point. A better camera with LED flash is probably my favorite new edition. If you’re like me, your iPhone has become your primary camera and any improvements here are welcome.

Conclusions

You have an original iPhone – Don’t upgrade. The tank-like durability and instant vintage status alone are worth keeping it in action for a little while longer.

You have a 3G – Probably worth the upgrade. You’ll get to use all the new features of iOS4 (mulit-tasking, custom wall papers) and get tons of new hardware features (compass, gyroscope, better camera, more memory, etc.)

You have a 3GS – If you’ve held off until now, you can wait a little while longer. Yes the new iPhone is better but yours is still pretty good. If you’ve got the cash burning a hole in your pocket, the iPad may be the way to go.

As for me? I had the first iPhone on day one and have upgraded the first week with each new iPhone, until now. I’ve got a 32GB 3GS  and while I’ll probably get an iPhone 4 before the end of the year, I’m in no rush. The improved camera is probably the single biggest draw for me but not a must have. When I do make the jump, the one thing I know for sure is that this will be the first iPhone I actually get a case for.

Last week, rumors surfaced of a new Apple TV. The new form factor is rumored to look like a screen-less iPod Touch and start at around $99. With Google announcing their own Google TV platform, the time is right for an Apple TV refresh.

What could be in store for the new Apple TV?

Storage

On board storage is rumored to be around 16GB which would make it more reliant on cloud storage (streaming) or connection to a Time Capsule (external drive.) This makes a lot of sense as this would keep the entry costs lower, hopefully boosting adoption rates. For the prosumer who likes to have a localized, large media library, the ability to easily piggy-back to the larger Time Capsule would be a plus.

Apps

Connecting the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad apps to the TV screen would be huge. If the new Apple TV shared the same OS platform as the other mobile devices, developers could easily port (or already have them work) on the new Apple TV.

Connections

The new device is rumored to have only a single HDMI port for 1080p video and network via built in Wi-Fi. The small form factor and simple connections would make the device portable and easy to share between television sets.

How does Apple get the great content that’s currently available for the iPhone, iPod and iPad onto the TV cheaply and easily? That’s the question. Hopefully the next Apple TV will have a good answer.

[ AppleInsider ]

Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developer Conference will take place June 7-11 in San Francisco. The annual developer’s conference has become better known for product (iPhone) keynotes lately but has the primary focus of connecting Apple engineers with developers from around the world.

What to expect.

All signs point to new iPhone hardware being announced at the conference. The biggest hardware news being the inclusion of a front facing camera in the iPhone to facilitate video chat. More details (including availability date) on the new iPhone 4 OS. More info on the new iAd platform and an increased emphasis on iPad specific apps are also likely.

What not to expect.

No other hardware announcements.

What we hope to see.

Mac Pro desktop refreshes. With AutoCAD on the way, this might be a good time to give the old desktop some love. Some insight into 10.7. How will the touch input and app revolution make it’s way onto laptops and desktops? A strategy for Apple TV. With Google on the attack, it’s time to start winning (or at least fighting) in the living room.

With Google painting Apple as the bad guys in “V for Vendetta” at their own developer’s conference last week, it will be interesting to see how (if at all) Apple responds. Will Apple defend it’s openness and revolutionary spirit, or will they pull a Microsoft and respond with numbers of units sold and revenue? We’ll find out soon enough.

[ WWDC 2010 ]

The iPhone is continuing to grow in the enterprise market.

The iPhone accounted for around 7% of the enterprise smartphone market in 2009 (up from 2% in 2008) and will most likely reach double digits in 2010. RIM (Blackberry) accounted for 60% and Microsoft a little more than 20%.

Enterprise historically moves slowly to adopt different technologies and this has worked well for early leaders RIM and Microsoft. While Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 7 Mobile platform may arrive in time to help keep MS competitive in the enterprise, RIM will need to develop some more compelling reasons to choose Blackberry other than the fact that they are on all carriers and have been the leader in the past.

Most people I know in Silicon Valley that work for enterprise companies (either in IT or as end users) that have started to support the iPhone were happy with the results.

Android has been making headlines with their gains in overall smartphone market share, yet the fragmentation in software and hardware, coupled with the openness of the platform may work against them in regards to the enterprise market.

While Apple never really pushed hard for OS X or other Mac hardware in the enterprise, they’ve been quick to adopt changes to the iPhone platform to accommodate the needs of enterprise level businesses. While most companies deciding to support the iPhone haven’t made the jump to embrace OS X, there is a lot of room for growth in the enterprise market for Macs should Apple decide to compete there.

Rumors are that MobileMe may become a free service soon.

The $99/year cloud based service from Apple currently provides 20GBs of online storage, a me.com email address, syncing across different Apple devices, calendaring and contact syncing, file sharing and remote iPhone tracking.

Changing MobileMe into a free service could be a smart move. A lot of MobileMe’s features can be had for free with Google or other services and removing the admission fee would definitely boost adoption rates.

Apple could monetize the service using their new iAd platform and open up sections of it to developers to increase the feature set.

My first questions when hearing this was, “What about the person that just renewed their subscription for $99?” Would Apple issue prorated refunds based on the remaining days you’ve paid through? If it turns out to be true that MobileMe is going free, I guess we’ll find out.

[MacDailyNews]

Adobe CS5 is out. While the latest release of Adobe’s Creative Suite has drawn a lot of attention on what it won’t be doing well, we thought we’d put together a list of our top 5 favorite new features.

Photoshop CS5 – Content-Aware Fill

Adding objects to pictures that weren’t there before is Photoshop’s main claim to fame. The new Content-Aware Fill works the other way by helping to fill the void when an object or person is removed from a photo.

Dreamweaver CS5 – Integrated CMS Support

Dreamweaver now includes more tools for working with Content Management Systems like WordPress, Drupal and others. CMS are used to create most blogs and many newer sites use these technologies. You can now preview, edit and test these sites from within Dreamweaver.

Dreamweaver CS5 – Adobe BrowserLab

BrowserLab has been in beta for a while and is very useful for web designers. BrowserLab allows you to test your website across different web browsers from within one application. You can do side by side testing and help iron out the way your site looks across different (IE6 anyone?) web platforms.

Illustrator CS5 – Perspective Drawing

I cannot draw to save my life. Opening Illustrator is a rare and usually stressful occurrence. The new perspective drawing tool helps align 2d objects onto a 3d frame. This effect can help transform stock text and graphics into 3d layouts without the need to manually distort and stretch objects into the proper perspective.

64 Bit Support

CS5 is only available for Intel based Macs which is a doubled edge sword of course. The benefit is this is the first 64 bit Adobe Suite for the Mac written in Cocoa. This allows the software to take further advantage of the Macs hardware capabilities and speed up the overall performance.

So is CS5 worth upgrading to? If you’re a design professional who works with these tools everyday, then yes. The added speed and new Photoshop features alone are probably worth the price of admission. If you’re a casual web designer, the new tools are more convenience than anything else and you could probably do with it.

Click here to learn more about CS5 and to see if it’s right for you.

After a week of living with the iPad I thought I’d share my early impressions.

Just to preface, I’m a heavy duty Mac user and currently have and use an iPhone 3GS, Apple TV, iMac and 17″ MacBook Pro.

I was very exited to get my hands on the new iPad and my very first impression exceeded expectations. The screen, the speed and the build quality were all excellent. My second impression was that it felt a little awkward to hold and use.

The apps, the specs and the quality are all great. My question going in was “is this the future format of mobile computing? Will this form factor replace laptops?” Before I even used the iPad I thought “yes” to both of these questions but now, I’m not so sure.

A few days in, I was at home browsing the web and doing some online shopping with the iPad. Just hanging out on the couch with the cat and TV in the background. After about 30 minutes I gave up and switched back to my laptop.

I’m just much faster and more productive with a keyboard and mouse than touch alone. When using the iPad for active browsing, your hands are usually supporting the device whereas a laptop is easier to position the screen and go hands free when reading or multi tasking (i.e. eating cereal.)

Touch screens are awesome and the iPad’s rocks. I just believe that a mouse is faster, more accurate and requires less physical movement to navigate the screen. I can forgive the iPhone’s touch keyboard because it’s on a device that fits in my pocket, but for typing up word docs or other productivity apps I want a real keyboard (yes you can get an external keyboard for the iPad but then why not just use a MacBook.)

The OS of the iPad is a great first start and feels very polished but I really missed having multiple windows open and apps running. I felt like I was using one of those school computers whose permissions keep you from doing anything other than open a couple of pre selected programs.

The iPad is an addition to your Mac arsenal, not a replacement for any one device. On planes or for specific app purposes (i.e. music sheet apps) where the form factor really works, the iPad is great. For using around the home, I’ll stick with my laptop.

With time can I grow to be more productive on an iPad? Absolutely, but with the iPhone it just felt right form the start. If I’m reaching for the laptop over the iPad, that’s not a great start.

As Apple has become increasingly popular, so has the backlash against some of Apple’s restrictive practices. While this argument is getting new exposure in the ongoing Google (Android versus iPhone) spat, this has been going on since Apple’s inception.

It used to be (and still is in many ways) that Microsoft was the one that labeled Apple as a closed, restrictive platform. Although not an early proponent of open-source (read cheaper) software, Microsoft was quick to claim freedom of hardware and software choice as it’s main selling point.

So if Apple is a closed, restrictive platform why is it that Apple has become so popular?

It’s the user experience.

Apple wants the user experience to be the best that it can be. Secure, clean, focused, easy to use, and reliable. Quality over quantity. One really good chef’s knife, not a swiss army knife filled with a bunch of sub-par tools.

Great restaurants usually specialize in a specific cuisine, if you want ultimate freedom of choice, you’ll have to settle for Home Town Buffet.

Apple’s iPhone requires that developers meet not only technical requirements (secure, stable apps) but also moral (no porn) and non-compete (no FireFox) guidelines. What they give in return is arguably the best overall smartphone experience.

Google pretty much allows any handset maker to use Android as they will in their phones. The segmentation of user interfaces, non-upgradable software versions and non-centralized app store has hurt the overall customer experience. What customer’s get in return is more freedom of hardware configuration, multiple carriers and less restrictive app selection.

Apple is working on a more robust rating system (to allow for more adult apps) and is starting to allow more potentially completive apps (browsers, VOIPs and mail clients) into the app store. Google is trying to rein in Android by putting out phones like the Nexus One that deliver a more focused, Apple-like experience to Android.

While both Apple and Google may come a little closer together in terms of openness and experience, their philosophical differences (and current successes) will probably keep them on different ends of the spectrum.

What I find funny is that it looks like Microsoft may be the one running up the middle. Microsoft has finally begun to recognize Apple’s success with the iPhone and App Store. Windows 7 mobile looks to be more focused and selective while still partnering with different hardware vendors.

I for one can’t wait to see what cool new phones and technology come out of this tug of war.

You can now pre-order the iPad from Apple. There are 6 different models to chose from. Which one is right for you?

There are two main models. One with Wi-Fi connectivity and one that comes with both Wi-Fi and 3G. Each of these comes in three different storage capacities.

If you want to get your hands on one April 3rd (the first day they’re available) you’ll want to go with the Wi-Fi only model. The 3G models ship in late April.

If you already have an iPhone and laptop and are getting the iPad to try out the form factor and will be primarily using it at home or the office, the Wi-Fi is the way to go. This will probably be the most popular option to start out.

If you’re looking to use the iPad for travel, or to replace your iPhone/Touch for on the go web browsing, the 3G model may be right for you. No contract plans from AT&T start at $15/month and go up to $30/month for unlimited data, not bad.

As far as storage capacity, both iPads come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. If you’re an early adopter who will probably upgrade when the new iPad comes out, the 16GB is probably the best option for a first gen device. The next iPads will probably offer a lower cost per GB. Unless you’re looking to really embrace the iPad as your primary mobile device, the 16GB should be fine to start off.

As for me, I’ve ordered a 16GB Wi-Fi only (I have a 32GB iPhone and 17″ MacBook Pro.) I plan on using it at home to start out and maybe bringing it on some flights/trips. If I find I’m really wanting 3G access because I’m taking it everywhere, I’ll upgrade when the new iPads come out and then go for more storage. Save your box, if you decide to upgrade to new iPads when they come out, it’ll help you get more for your old one when you sell it on eBay.

[ Apple iPad ]