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 ]

If the Google vs. Apple rivalry has soured your view of Google lately, this might offer some relief.

Google has changed their logo on the google.com homepage to a playable game of Pac-Man to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the iconic game.

This 256 level mini Pac-Man game will be up all weekend and is worth checking out.

Google, all it took was a little Pac-Man and you’re back in our good graces.

[ Google ]

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]

This move was due in part to evidence of Chinese (read Chinese govt.) hacking of Gmail accounts of pro human rights activists.

When Google went live with their Chinese version of Google in 2006, they agreed to sensor some results (i.e. Tiananmen Square) arguing that the greater good of Google search in China was worth some moral concessions.

A lot of U.S. companies have played nice with the Chinese government in order to gain access to their large (and fast growing) consumer base. Google has now stated that they are willing to shut down operations in China to stand by their principle of free search.

If Google is willing to stand up to the Chinese govt. and risk the loss of the Chinese market, will other tech leaders follow?

Google is not exactly hurting for revenue and can afford to take the moral high road more than other companies, but this move could inspire others to stand up. While Google does not have the majority of the search market in China, the loss of Google search and other services could very well hamper China’s economic development.

As more and more devices (i.e. Smartphones) continue to access the web and interact with web service like Google, the pressure may be more on China to open up to take advantage of the technology rather than tech companies to sensor in order to gain access to the market.

Times have definitely changed.

The Android OS has continued to improve and evolve with more and more handset manufacturers coming out with Android phones that people actually want. HTC, a relative no name a few years back, is successfully building their brand presence in the U.S. (thanks in large part to Android) and Motorola is in the middle of a comeback with the early success of the Droid.

With Samsung, Acer, Lenovo and Dell all coming out with Android phones, it looks like Android has a chance of becoming the “Windows” of the smartphone market. On top of this, rumors are that Google themselves are making their own smartphone which would provide the all-in-one hardware-software mix that has made Apple so successful.

So, how can the iPhone win against Android?

By doing what has worked for Apple in the past, focusing on quality and creating enough product diversity to satisfy their target markets.

More iPhone Models

When the iPod came out, there was one model and it was hugely successful, but in order to keep over 70% of the MP3 market share, Apple came out with the Nano, Shuffle, Video, etc. Same thing needs to happen with the iPhone. Different price points and storage capacities aren’t enough. Different hardware configs, screen sizes, form factors, etc. Why is a physical keyboard blasphemy?

Better Hardware

Apple is know for innovating with the latest hardware. They were the first laptop manufacturer to include built-in wifi, wide screen displays, backlit keyboards, etc. The original iPhone had the best touch screen and great specs, but the 3GS was a hardware snooze fest. Front facing camera for video chat (can be low rez and only work on wifi,) 5mp camera with flash, and their own line of doc connector peripherals (i.e. game controller) would be awesome.

Open Up the App Store

Yes, it’s good that Apple wants to keep the junk out of the app store and wants to insure that the iPhone experience doesn’t suffer because of poorly written apps. However, the public attention is not on how many apps there are, but how the approval process is slow, flawed and over restrictive. Provide more ratings, allow more content, and hire more people to make the process faster.

More Customization

User customization has never been a trademark of Apple but a little can go a long way. Either develop a framework for themes or give users more options for what appears on the unlock screen (widgets,etc.) Everyone’s iPhone looks the same and for the Apple creative crowd, that’s not a good thing. At least offer more exterior colors, people eat that up.

Get On Verizon

Hopefully this in already in the works. Don’t let AT&T’s network issues drag down the iPhone brand in the U.S. A lot of users are going with Android because they don’t use (or want) AT&T.

Diversity and competition are great for technology, and I for one am glad it’s Google and not RIM or Microsoft  giving Apple the run for their money. Although I’m obviously a die hard Mac fan, the Droid and HTC Dragon look really tempting. I want to use an iPhone because I believe it’s the best hardware/software combo out there, not just because it’s got an Apple logo on it. The iPhone is still tops, but it’s gonna take a lot of innovation to stay in the lead when it’s Google on your heels.

Great. But will Apple approve?

As Google continues it’s expanse into Apple’s territory (browser, OS, phone OS, Music) will Apple go the Google Voice route and block access or embrace them and potentially help a rival gain market share?

I can only imagine that there are a lot of high level strategy discussions at Apple involving their relationship with Google.

Both parties are holding good cards and have been playing them well lately. When they work together the consumer seems to benefit, so let’s hope they continue down that path.

[ AppleInsider ]

Navigation is also coming to other Android 2.0 devices, but what about the iPhone?

Navigation is part of Google Maps Mobile which is available for other devices (iPhone, Blackberry, WinMO, Nokia, etc.) but no word yet on wether the new Navigation feature will be made available for these devices.

The Google Maps Navigation demo looks very cool. It’s a free turn by turn internet connected GPS navigation system that looks like it will pretty much put the standalone GPS market (TomTom, Garmin) out of business.

Features like this will definitely make people want an Android phone. So will Google keep these goodies for themselves as a differentiator (like Apple does with iTunes) or will they slow release these new features to other handsets to give Android a short term boost?

I hope Google keeps with their tradition of releasing products to as many devices as possible. That way we get great features like this, combined with the benefits of the iPhone. Is it too much to ask? Time will tell.

Check out the Navigation demo.

[ Google Navigation ] [ Goole Mobile ]

With Google apps (Latitude and Voice) getting rejected from the app store because they duplicate features on the phone, the press and users seem to be lining up against Apple. Keeping a baby shaking app out of the App store is fine but removing Google apps because they could compete with Apple is going too far.

Apple is in a great position with the iPhone. They are building the critical mass needed to become the “Google” of smartphones, but they’re not there yet. By allowing competing apps from Google and even other web browsers like Opera, to come to the iPhone, they’re keeping the development on the Apple platform. These are good apps, by big companies, that provide features users want.

If Apple alienates these devs, they’ll leave, and it will only benefit the other mobile platforms. I say bring them into the fold and encourage these companies to bring their apps to the iPhone.

Some iPhone users may prefer Opera to Safari, but they at least they won’t switch to a Blackberry.

The Chrome OS will be open source and run on x86 and ARM machines. The release date is set for the second half of 2010 and will first appear on Netbooks. The main point of the OS is to build a simple and fast OS that is made to run web apps. A literal translation of the browser is the OS.

So will the Chrome OS run a Mac?

Since the Chrome OS is linux based and works with x86 processors (same as the Intel Macs) there should be no technical reason why the OS would not work. Since the Chrome OS is being billed as open source and open to developers, I’m sure support for the Mac will come quickly. Besides, I’ve been to the Google campus many times and the place is full of Macs.

So why do we need a new OS? Google believes strongly in the cloud computing model. They’ve correctly stated that the foundation for todays operating systems “were designed in an era where there was no web.” This is Google’s attempt to simplify and speed up the web.

Will cloud computing and web apps fundamentally change the way we use computers? Do people want to have their data and apps locally as apposed to on some company’s server? Can web apps ever be as powerful as desktop apps? The Chrome OS may be one step closer in finding answers to these questions.

Either way, I can’t wait to try it out on my Mac.

[ Google Chrome OS ]