Squashing the rumors about PROOF that people know what is coming next for iOS devices

By now, almost everyone has heard of Sir, the new virtual assistant Apple has included on the iPhone 4S. I’ve been getting to know her for the last 45 minutes or so and I have to say that it’s amazing. Siri was initially the company that developed the artificial intelligence and launched an app with it. Apple snatched them up and integrated Siri into the new version of iOS and made her available only on the iPhone 4S so far. I refer to Siri as a woman because it is a female voice that interacts with you.

The magic of Siri is that she is conceptual. You do not need to say “What is the weather report for zip code xxxxx?” You can simply say, “Siri, will I need an umbrella on Tuesday.” You can say “Siri, can you send Ty an iMessage?” You speak to Siri exactly the way you would to a human personal assistant. She is able to follow the flow of a conversation. As Scott Forstall showed us at the keynote, you can text me with something like “When can we go to lunch?” When that comes in, I can ask Siri, “what is my schedule like for Friday?” If she responds that I am free all day, I can simply tell her to reply. Even though she left the messages app and went to the calendar app, she understands that it was all to get to a response to your request for lunch.

I found an issue in the much talked about Facebook for iPad app and show it here. It’s small, but exists nonetheless.

Is there even a tablet market in the first place?

Since the keynote at WWDC, the world technology audience has been divided. Some fans have been excited for all the new features, while others are looking for every hole and flaw in Apple’s logic and plans. A recent tweet said, “Apple just pissed off: Dropbox, Sparrow, Instapaper, Readability, Remember the Milk, Facebook, RIM, & the carriers. Well done.” Let’s look at each item on the list.

- Dropbox. This in reference to AirDrop, but there are some notable differences. Dropbox’s purpose is to sync files across an individual’s machine. Place a file in a Dropbox folds and nearly instantly, that file is available on every Dropbox enabled computer/devices. You can, however, share folders with other Dropbox users to move files between people. That is not the common use case or intention of Dropbox. AirDrop, which is more like Receivd, allows users to send files to one another in a peer-to-peer fashion. AirDrop is Mac platform specific, Dropbox is not. There is no competition. I will use AirDrop to sling files among common Mac users, Receivd to send files to alternate platform users, and Dropbox to keep my own files in sync.

- Sparrow. It is a simple, minimalist mail client available for $9.99, from a year old startup. Apple updated its own native mail client. Does anyone expect Apple to ignore its own products. At the $10 price point, Sparrow loyalists are likely to stay and even draw new users, but Apple’s allegiance is to its own native applications. Other [more] popular mail clients include - Microsoft Entourage (pre-Microsoft OfficeforMac2011), Microsoft Outlook (current), and Postbox.

- Instapaper/Readability. Reading list in iOS 5 is nearly identical to Instapaper in functionality. There is nothing to say here except that if Instatpaper innovates or updates, they will keep their solid user base. Instapaper may actually be better than the built-in reading list function. The same goes for Readability.

- Remember the Milk. The angry Twitter user chose Remember the Milk as the to do list to defend against iOS. Meanwhile, Things has been leading the way with an iPhone app, iPad app (different from iPhone) and Mac desktop app. Things’ ability to set tasks, due dates, priorities and projects that houses tasks make it indispensible. Remember the Milk incorporates iCal or Google calendar which is handy. Apple improved on the provess by using GPS as well. Now when you walk into the grocery store you are reminded about the items you need so you will remember the milk even if you don’t use Remember the Milk.

- Facebook. There’s no doubt that Apple snubbed Facebook on Monday with the announcement of Twitter integration and the deep rooted connection between it and iOS 5. Users will be able to tweet from within any application native to iOS, making it accessible constantly. Facebook has not received the same treatment. However, is Facebook pissed off? Not likely. With 500 million users, they are not hurting for people. Additionally, there is no proof or reason to believe that Facebook even wanted to be involved. The Facebook for iPhone app has not been heavily updated and there is no official app for iPad. Facebook is very clear about their mobile vision and it is not platform dependent. 

- RIM. This can only be attributed to the new iMessages feature in iOS 5 and it’s being compared to BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). BBM works on BlackBerry only. iMessages are on iOS only. So where’s the beef between them? Did Apple take a page from RIM’s playbook? Of course they did. Apple did it with Android when they announced the new notification system. People have been borrowing from each other in this way forever. The similarities drive competition. You may notice that Ford is not the only vehicle on the road. RIM’s lack of innovation is the greatest detriment, not Apple’s iMessages. Remember the BlackBerry Storm that failed miserably? It was RIM’s first attempt at a full touchscreen and was labeled as an “Apple Killer.” So did RIM steal from Apple? Yes, but they did a terrible job at it.

- Carriers. Stumped. Is is the Over The Air (OTA) sync solutions? Did Apple say that most will work only on WiFi? Carriers should spend their energy working on the 4th gen network and achieving ubiquity and closing the gap of The Digital Divide instead of complaining that other companies are cutting cables and going wireless. This makes the carriers even more important to customers. Maybe they should consider unlimited plans again. Maybe the beef is about iMessages and the lack of SMS needed now. What many customers don’t know is that SMS is pure profit for the carriers. They pay nothing for our texts that go across their lines, but they charge us for them. If anything, it can be said that the sending of text messages is helpful to a carrier’s network - I’ll spare you the details about administrative channels in the frequency spectrum and partially full data packets and the injection of SMS messages in the holes creating full packets instead of partially full packets which actually increases efficiency - ever wonder why SMS messages are capped at 160 characters?

Everybody wants Apple to fail, which they had no trouble doing all on their own in the early 1990’s. Microsoft bailed them out with $150million and then Apple created the iPod. Then they revamped the Mac, released the iPhone and then the iPad. They didn’t steal or cheat their way to the top, but make no mistake, they are at the top. Microsoft Windows has looked, basically, the same since Windows 95 (start bar style). BlackBerry has not done anything revolutionary. Android is #2 in the mobile market because they have vision. The fragmentation brought on by the open source mentality will keep them at #2, but they are a good product. It is no secret that they stood on the shoulders of giants when creating their platform. It is what is done. Plain and simple.

So, looking back at the original list. Who is really pissed? Who has a right to be? What were they owed by Apple in the first place?

As many people are aware, Apple kicked off Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address this morning. Included in this year’s keynote were all the updates to the OS X in the forthcoming OS X 10.7 Lion, iOS 5, and the new iCloud. Much to the dismay (but not surprise) of consumers, there was no mention of a new iPhone.

The updates are plentiful and many weren’t even mentioned in the 2 hour address. To make sifting through the feature set easier, below is an aggregate list of all that was announced today.

Before that, here are some statistics delivered.

• There are 54 million Mac users worldwide.
• PCs lost 1% market share last quarter and Mac grew by 28%.
• Lion comes with 250 new features.
• Mac App Store has surpassed Best Buy and Amazon for software purchases.
• 200 million iOS devices sold.*
• 44+% of the mobile websurfing market.*
• iPad sold 15 million units in from launch to iPad 2. iPad 2 sold 10 million from launch to present.
• 90,000 apps created specifically for iPad.
• 1,500 new API calls in iOS 5.

• OS X 10.7 Lion

1. Multi-touch gesturing builg into the OS to take advantage of laptop trackpads or the Bluetooth ones for the desktop
2. Full screen apps get rid of menu bars and scroll bars (scroll bars present while actively scrolling). Better utilization of desktop space. While apps are in full screen, users can “swipe” between them. Momentum scrolling (similar to iPhone) is in effect.
3. “Mission Control” is a unification of Expose and Spaces allowing for better navigation and creation of spaces.
4. Mac App Store, launched in January, has updates such as in-app purchases.
5. Launchpad, accessed by a swipe, shows all apps on the computer, regardless of location in an iOS style layout.
6. Resume brings users back to the same place in an application that was last left off - such as page in a document, including highlighting, setting, palettes, etc.
7. Autosave protects in those instances where a crash or problem occurs between manual saves. Unlike Microsoft Word auto-recovery, Autosave in Lion creates a new file. Use Autosave menu to revert to last version, manually save upon recovery or turn it off altogether.
8. This paves the way for versioning. It is like OS X’s time Machine for files. Use it to scroll back and forth in time to find different revisions of same file.
9. Air Drop is like the Drop Box for Mac. Peer to peer file sharing. Drop a file into Air Drop to share with other users who will be prompted to accept.
10. Mail is totally redesigned with conversation view and a left hand email list, much like iPad in landscape orientation.
11. Lots of other small features such as a Windows Migration Assistant.
12. No more CDs. Lion is available for purchase through the Mac App Store for $29 and will be installable on all personally owned Macs for that price. Also, no reboot required, which is the first for an OS upgrade.

• iOS 5

1. Notifications totally revamped. No more popups mid-screen. Now, there is a small notification at the top a la Android that does not interrupt activity.
2. Newsstands gives users the ability to manage and read subscriptions to magazines and newspapers in one aggregate location. It will automatically update with new issues.
3. Total Twitter integration with single sign-on and use of camera, photos and other apps.
4. Safari has been given a full screen Safari reader, read it later option to mark pages and tabbed browsing. The tabs are the one interesting part of this.
5. Reminders are a native to-do list. Included is a feature to set reminders by time or location. Notifications given when GPS notes the user in a certain location. Husbands be warned… you can no longer forget to pick up the milk.
6. Camera received updates. It is available from the lock screen giving instant access. Users can take photos without inputting a passcode (if enabled on phone), but must input passcode to reach previously taken photos. Volume up button functions as a shutter button now. Holding a tap on a part of the photo exposes for that area. Photo editing has been included with items such as crop, rotate, red-eye reduction or a one-click enhancement.
7. Mail support rich-text formatting, indentation control, flagging and searching contents of a message now.
8. Slide both thumbs up on the keyboard to split it, giving half to each side. This makes it easier to type with just the thumbs - unless you have unusually long thumbs that can reach the middle of the iPad.
9. No more PC needed. New phones will be activated over the air (OTA). Also, iOS updates will be pushed OTA as well. All delta updates, which means only the changes come down, saving on data usage for those on non-unlimited plans.
10. Game Center now has friend and game recommendations, making it more social.
11. New messaging service gives delivery receipts, read receipts, and real-time typing notifications. BlackBerry Messenger beware. Also, messages can be delivered to iPad or iPod Touch using Apple identity (no phone number needed).
12. WiFi syncing with iTunes.
13. Flick between apps with a gesture.
14. iOS 5 due out this fall.

• iCloud

1. Sync photos, etc across all devices instantaneously.
2. Previously branded as MobileMe for $99, iCloud is a new service that will be free.
3. Once an app is purchased, it can be synched and downloaded to all devices. New devices will be propagated with all apps and settings using iCloud.
4. Music, books, photos, videos will be backed up to the cloud as well.
5. iCloud APIs will be made available, allowing third-party developeres to make use of this in other apps.
6. Photostream uses iCloud to showcase photos on other devices, including AppleTV.
7. To prevent data consumption, the last 1,000 photos will be displayed.
8. There are 3 ways to get non-purchased/ripped music from iTunes onto devices using iCloud. First is by synching new devices over wire or WiFi. Second is to repurchase all songs via iTunes. Last, for $25 per year iTunes Match will look at all songs on a computer (not bought via iTunes), find them in the iTunes library and attribute them to the users’s account.

Those are all the big things announced today. Stay tuned as iOS 5 filters out to developers and more features are found. Many people are disappointed with the lack of a hardware update and found this years keynote to be lackluster, at best. There were no bombshells and most that was announced was expected in some form. However, these updates are incredibly useful. Some are much needed. Others are unprecedented but fun and exciting.

The next iPhone is on the way. It is just a question of when. Without an announcement today, do not expect it in 2011. Enjoy all the new updates and features until then.

Rumors surfaced again today, citing the Verizon CFO as the source

You want to make changes to Android all willy nilly? Google says NO!

Microsoft is just a waste of space.

 It’s that time of year again. Let’s take a look at the Top Ten Tech Toys that everyone wants under the tree on Christmas morning. 

1. Kinect for Microsoft Xbox 360. This new motion-based addition to the Xbox is sweeping the console gaming market. It is more precise than the Nintendo Wii and doesn’t require you to hold anything while you play. Plus you can interact with the entire console by moving and speaking. Microsoft has clearly redefined its role in the console market with this additional piece. Price: $149.99
2. Apple iPad. Many people were waiting for news of a second-generation tablet from Apple, although that was always unlikely. In the meantime, the device has recently been updated to support wireless printing, streaming of audio/video to other devices and, of course, multi-tasking. The latest update takes it from a novelty gadget to serious productivity device. Price (range): $499 - $829 based on size of 16, 32, or 64 gb and with or without 3G capability
3. Speaking of streaming audio/video, AppleTV was redesigned this year. It fits in the palm of your hand and requires two wires. One is for power and the other is HDMI (it does not support composite or component connection). You can rent movies and TV shows from iTunes in full 1080p resolution. Additionally, you can connect to your Netflix account, YouTube, Flickr and more. Share movies from your computer or stream from an iPhone/iPad using the new AirPlay system. Price: $99
4. Samsung Galaxy Tablet. If you haven’t adopted Apple products into your life or simply love the Android platform then one of the new Android tablets may catch your eye. The Samsung Galaxy seems to stand out among the rest. At 7” it is portable although there is discussion about the usability of something that size. The spec sheet reads: Cortex A8 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, 16 (or 32) gb of internal memory with upgrades via SD slot, 3-megapixel camera w/ flash and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, WiFi and 3G connectivity. It does things the iPad doesn’t do but has it’s limitations as well. Be wary of the Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system it runs. Google claims it is not meant for tablets but seems stable so far. Price: $599
5. GoogleTV. If you’re in the market for a new TV, Sony is making models with Google TV embedded. If you are not, you can buy a stand-alone unit with built-in Blu-Ray player. GoogleTV resembles AppleTV except it incorporates full web browsing and specific content from network stations formatted for the environment. The UI is slow and not very responsive and the content is not being delivered as q quickly as Google had hoped. It definitely has room to grow. Price: $399
6. Sony Bloggie Touch. This 12.8-Megapixel digital camera measures 2” by 4” by half an inch. It sports a 3” touch screen and will hold up to 2 hours of HD video and will connect directly to your HDTV with a mini HDMI output. Bloggie software uploads directly to sites like Facebook and YouTube. Price: $179
7. iPod Nano. Earlier this year Apple redesigned their iPods but the most drastic change was the Nano. It is now a small, sleek, square with a multi-touch touchscreen that resembles an iOS device. In fact, it runs a special version of iOS. It is roughly 1.5” square and weighs less than an ounce with a built-in belt clip. This device is meant to be taken with you on runs without letting you know it’s there. Price: $149 (8 gb) or $179 (16gb)
8. Samsung 3D TV. The 55” 3D LED TV has amazing picture quality and provides better 3D experience than I have found in movie theaters - there is none of that blurriness at the edges. In the box comes this less than 1” thick TV but no glasses so be prepared to shell out more money to use the 3D functions. In the meantime, enjoy 1080p 240Hz crystal clear motion. This is also Internet connectable giving you access to YouTube, Napster, Facebook, and BestBuy’s own CinemaNow (online rental service). Keep in mind that in addition to the glasses, you’ll beed a 3D Blu-Ray player, and high speed HDMI cable at a minimum. Price: $3299
9. Samsung LED TV. For the non-3D lover, the Samsung 6300 is the best LED deal out there. The screen is 55” (54-5/8” to be exact) with 120Hz refresh rate and a 4,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It is also Internet connectable. This is the TV I have had my eye on for personal use. 3D TVs have dropped the prices of these standard LED models significantly. Price: $2500
10. Last but not least, the hottest new laptop to arrive this year - the MacBook Air. I recently had the pleasure of using one. The solid state drive inside makes it turn on instantly (much like an iPhone/iPad). The 13” has the same 1440x900 resolution of a 15” MacBook Pro. It is small and light and really performs with a Core 2 Duo processor and 2 gb of RAM under the hood. Battery life seems to be about 5 hours on the 11” and 7 hours on the 13” model. The 11” may be a little too small to be truly usable for more than the purpose of a netbook and a netbook is a third of the price, but the 13” is beautiful. Price (range): $999 - $1599 (plus customization if needed)

Happy Holidays!