It took awhile (past couple of days since I haven’t been writing) for me to think of what the iPhone 4 really has, what it can offer me and whether or not it is worth one.

A big thanks to Engadget, CrunchGear (MobileCrunch) and GDGT. A big sorry to Gizmodo… hang in there guys!

App store… HTML5… blah blah blah… Netflix streaming on iPhone/iPad free? Now that is some news!

I could go on listing everything the new iPhone 4 has, but why bother when you can check out the lists at Gdgt, Engadget, CrunchGear, Gizmodo, c|net and other sources. Here is what I think…

1. Apple has some of the best engineers to make the new iPhone thinner, smaller and faster.  The new antenna system is very innovative and should be better than what is currently available.
2. Apple has also made everything that can be done on previous phones (not necessarily from this country) easy: FaceTime (video chatting has been around on phones in Japan before here… the EVO has it and was released before iPhone 4… albeit 3 days earlier), multitasking, picture taking, video editing (for an extra $5)
3. Not thrilled about Apple sticking with AT&T.  Here are some more bullet points!
   1. AT&T is allowing people who have contracts that expire within the next 6 months to get the special pricing.  Why? To lock them in because something better is going to come out.  It is the same for those who don’t have the special pricing.  It is still lower than the price without a contract ($399/499 upgrade; $599/699 no contract).
   2. New AT&T customers are subjected to at $25/mo data fee that only allows up to 2GB of data a month.  For an extra $10, you get an extra 1GB… which is nothing!  OH! And add another $20/mo for tethering (which means you can hook your phone up to your laptop and use it as a modem).
4. I want one…
   1. My iPod touch is busted which means a 32GB iPhone 4 is the same price as a 32GB iPod Touch.
   2. I currently pay $60/mo for a broadband data plan.  Price of iPhone with tethering? $85 ($95 if I use up to 3GB).  That is only $25-35 more a month for a fully functional phone/surfing device and I can tether.
   3. HD videos.  I record a lot of videos.  It would be nice to film with just my phone at games, concerts, etc.  Nice and handy esp. with iMovie for the phone.
   4. I will cancel my AT&T contract next June once Verizon gets their 4G phones in line.  I will suck up the $205 termination fee ($325 – $10/mo for each month while on contract)
5. Speaking of 4G, the next iPhone next year will be the iPhone 4G… for Verizon…

OH Boy! With only a few days before the WWDC (WorldWide Developers Conference for Apple), rumors are out there about the new iPhone 4G being announced this Monday. Will it come to Verizon? Probably not… John Johnson, a spokesperson from Verizon Wireless said that the iPhone won’t be coming to Verizon anytime soon. But can you really believe him (video after the bump)?

And then there is the iPad and how Verizon has been testing them already. Is this going to be the announcement on Monday?

It is going to be 1 looooong weekend!

[beet.tv]

It has only taken 6 years, but Mac owners can now enjoy what the rest of us Windows owners have enjoyed for the past half-decade.  Awesome gaming!

Valve has confirmed that Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and 2 will be released today on the Steam platform.  I honestly can’t wait to try it out.  Too bad I’m expecting the same artifacts as Portal has (Portal is made by Valve too), and I’m expecting some graphic inconsistencies compared to the Windows version.  But if it keeps me from Boot Camping, I’ll take it.  Now, when will Left 4 Dead or Modern Warfare 2 port over to the Mac?

OH! And for those who say Mac’s are superior, they aren’t meant for gaming, some other random babble… I do own a Mac and am entitled to my own opinions… even though the benchmarks are facts! In the meantime, check the video:

If you haven’t seen it, it is everywhere. The iPhone 4G. But why is everyone calling it 4G? Will it support the 4G network? If it is the new design, why not call it 3GSM? M standing for “More Powerful?” But now, everyone insists on 4G.

And that is the story! How did Apple “mishandle” something so important and valuable and have it “fall” into the hands of a tech journalist who is now facing some serious allegations? [By the way, this story will have a lot of cross-references so keep up!]

Let’s start back with Engadget. I first came across their story about proof that the iPhone 4G does exist. Time stamped at April 18th 2010 4:03pm. The following day, Gizmodo has their full release. This time stamp is April 19th 2010 10am, about 18 hours after Engadget’s story, only with video, more details and analysis of the said device.

Doesn’t this seem fishy to you? Two major tech sites publishing about a fabled device that could smash the other competitor to the ground. And who came out on top?

Sure Gizmodo got the page hits and ads, even though they deny it. And then there is the buyout for the prototype device. But of course, there is the cover-up and the person “responsible” for the device and why it was “not a leak.“

Eventually, Apple asked for the phone back after they disabled it. But apparently, that wasn’t enough for Apple with the resulting search and recovery of said Gizmodo journalist’s home.

As for Engadget, they didn’t get fined but they probably saw an increase in website hits… so good for them!

So is this still a controlled leak? Or did “it” really hit the fan? If Apple pursues this lawsuit and takes Gawker and Gizmodo to court, and slaps them with a heafty fine, then it is the real deal and there was no leak. If Gawker/Gizmodo gets away with a small fine (< $50k), then you’ll know it was a leak.  But where will this end?  Media outlets will continue to find scoops and will the lawsuits continue to rain upon our parade?

And here is Dilbert!

Before I say anything about this, please read the original article from PCWorld.  Don’t worry, I’ll still be here…

Have you read it yet?

Alright.  I want to first say that I completely agree with Marc Maiffret in that computers running Windows as an operating system are in fact more secure than computers running Apple’s OS X.  Don’t get all huffy and say I’m biased as I work on 4 Windows based computers, 2 Macs and my server is Linux. I’m even writing this on a Mac. But the biggest reason I agree with Marc is market share.

“…they try to market themselves as more secure than the PC, that you don’t have to worry about viruses, etc. Anytime there’s been a hacking contest, within a few hours someone’s found a new Apple vulnerability. If they were taking it seriously, they wouldn’t claim to be more secure than Microsoft because they are very much not. And the Apple community is pretty ignorant to the risks that are out there as it relates to Apple. The reason we don’t see more attacks out there compared to Microsoft is because their market share isn’t near what Microsoft’s is.”

Let’s take a look at the Fortune 100 companies:

Fortune 100 Companies List 2009

I guarantee you that over 80% of these companies rely on Windows based servers and computers. And why not since Microsoft is geared towards business execution. The other 20% is probably divided into Mac OS X, proprietary operating systems and Linux/Solaris. But what does this have to do with security? Microsoft doesn’t want to push out horrible products that could cost companies millions upon millions of dollars. Could you imagine the lawsuits against Microsoft if they had security holes the size of… you get my picture. So of course Microsoft would have the need to invest a lot of their time, research and money into making their products more secure… but nothing will ever be 100% secure as that is the nature of computational entropy. Yes, that biological entropy only in the digital context. With Apple holding less than 20% of the market share, they also have the need to be more secure, but no one has really attacked Apple’s operating systems yet. And why bother with such a small market presence?

That is where the hacker mindset comes in. Having been there once before (something I’d rather not divulge), you need to dig into the psyche of a hacker. The question of “What can I do to wreck as much havoc as possible with little effort?” is what every hacker is after (I am generalizing virus-makers and malware creators as hackers). Microsoft with an almost 80% market share immediately makes it the number one target. You just need one virus, one malware to crash and affect thousands upon thousands of computers, making companies lose millions of dollars in downtime, data loss and productivity. Yes, that is right… This is what hackers think about. It is all about the e-peen so to speak. If your virus/malware/code does enough damage worldwide, you’ve done yourself a great job! And remember, this is worldwide… if the United States Fortune 100 companies are 80% Windows, what about the rest of the world? What are the downstream consequences from your one code? What is the downtime of companies? What about companies that specialize in anti-virus software? How long until they make a fix? For our sakes, we hope it is less than a day. For hackers, the longer it takes, the better.

So let’s get back to Apple. If someone was to write a virus/malware/code to crash/disrupt all Apple computers, what damage is there to be done? Financially, not very much. Sure there would be a lot of complaints and those companies who have solidified their networks with Apple servers and computers would go down, but how many of those “really important” companies are there? How many are there world-wide? In the grand scheme of hacking, it is all about impact. And right now, Apple just doesn’t have the presence in companies to make that big of an impact. So there really is no need to spend the time to create a virus/malware/hack for Apple products… yet!

Apple’s partnership with Intel has really increased the sales of MacBooks over the past 3 years. Couple that with great advertising, and rabid marketing, Apple is starting to make a bigger name for itself and is starting to infiltrate into the mainstream market. Give it a couple more years and Apple’s market share will be over 30% and I am certain that we will start to see a rise in Mac viruses/malware. Apple is everywhere now… iPods, iPhones, iPads, MacBooks… it is becoming so popular, hackers might start to switch from Windows to OS X and start their malicious attack there.

So for all those current Mac users who feel all immune for the past 10 years, please don’t be so smug and confident thinking that your computer is safe. People comment that they click on links and on Windows, Ad-wares/malwares will infect their computer. And it is true. Over 30% of the links out there are complete garbage and will fill your computer up with trouble. But think about this: why are you clicking on the links? I present to you this t-shirt:

[Click the picture if you want to buy the t-shirt from ThinkGeek]

PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Computer. In other words? You. Most problems from viruses and malwares come from the users not knowing what certain links are, how to spot suspicious emails or ads.

Eventually, this won’t be a problem just for Windows users. It will be a matter of time before someone out there cripples Macs and then you’ll be singing a different tune. And remember, I have 2 Macs… I won’t be thrilled when that time comes either. But at least I have 4 Windows PCs that have been safe…

Stay safe out there on the internet… it can be crueler than the real world.

[Digg]

Disclaimer, I don’t have an iPhone… but will once Verizon gets hold of one!

My initial thoughts are… why just a preview? Why make the announcement today even though the developer’s pack is available now? Summer release? Is this to coincide with the new iPhone in June?

Sure, you can now make playlists on your iPhone/Touch, digital zoom, home screen wallpapers, SMS while in Apps, and with multitasking, but shouldn’t that have been there in the first place. I’ve been frustrated for years now, not being able to make playlists on the fly.

But for multitasking… Apple admits they aren’t the first ones to the game, but they want to make it the best… utilizing the home button as a mouse button and then being able to scroll through apps… not too shabby. And you can still access the multitasking tray when on the home screen.  But developers need to implement the API so that they can preserve battery life.

1.  But of the APIs, only 7 will be able to run in the background chosen because they are the most popular uses:  Audio (duh!), VoIP (which is great for Skype so you don’t end calls early (similar to a regular phone call)), background location (for GPS, turn-by-turn apps (music dims as directions become loud) and tracking), Push notification (this should have been there when push first came out but it is for local apps too), task completeion (to finish uploads in background), and fast-app switching.

2.  Folders?! Are you kidding me?  This is a great big facepalm!  Background wallpapers… this should have been there a long time ago too… it really shouldn’t have been that hard!

3.  Enhanced Mail:  bringing all mail accounts into 1 inbox and you can even organize by thread, open attachments… doesn’t my Blackberry already do this… like years ago?

4.  iBooks:  Great idea!  A bit harder to read books on the iPhone, but still a good idea.

5.  Enterprise features.  FINALLY!  email encryption, mobile device management, apps distribution, multiple exchange accounts, exchange server 2010 support, ssl vpn support

6.  Game Center:  I still don’t know about this… I love buttons and key bindings to make everything faster (ie Macros).  Just think Nintendo DS only for iPhone.

7.  iAd:  mobile advertising built into iPhone.  I dont know how I feel about advertisements on my phone, especially intrusive ones.  I think it is just a ploy for Apple to make more money since they are taking 40% of the cuts.  All in HTML5…

So for half of the reviewed “tentpoles” they seem to be great… the other half (folders, game center, enhanced mail) not so great.  But the bad news is that this is only available for the iPhone 3GS and 3rd gen iPod Touch.  While you can still upgrade everything else, Multitasking will not work on any older models.

So I guess I won’t be updating my Touch… I’ll just wait until Verizon gets it…

This is a breakdown of the Apple vs. HTC lawsuit where Apple cited 20 patent infringements by HTC. Full story can be found here: http://kurteng.com/2010/03/apple-vs-htc-the-epic-phone-fight/

Future podcasts can be found at my new podcast site which I will post here (here as in kurteng.com):  http://kurteng.libsyn.com/

There have been so many lawsuits surrounding cell phones and the technology behind each and every small portable device that allows us to be connected anywhere and everywhere.  But with the huge surge of smartphones and mobile web based phones, the technology becomes limited as devices get smaller and users become more demanding.

But now, in comes Apple, owners of almost 26% of the smartphone market with the iPhone.  The iPhone… one of the most revolutionary tech devices out there.  And then there is HTC, makers of cell phones and smartphones primarily Windows and Android based.  With the latest HTC phones such as the Nexus One, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile subscribers have been tempted to leave the omnipotent iPhone for the Google Nexus One, which is also available for AT&T.  And for good reason too as the iPhone does not yet support multi-tasking and/or Flash-based applications.

Users are moving from a “closed source” platform to an “open source” platform but not if Apple has anything to say about it.  Apple has recently filed a lawsuit against HTC on 20 patent infringements.  20!

So what I have done to day is compiled a list of links from the start of the lawsuits, to the 20 patent infringements, to HTC’s response.  Next week, I hope to have a roundtable podcast on each of the patents.  Read up now so you can follow along next week!

The Lawsuit:
CrunchGear (MobileCrunch)
Engadget
Gizmodo

The Patents in Question:
Engadget
Gizmodo

HTC’s Response:
Engadget
Gizmodo

Google’s Response:
Engadget
TechCrunch

OH! What was that Steve?
Gizmodo

Other related lawsuit posts:
CrunchGear
Engadget
Gizmodo
HTC now hiring – Engadget

I know plenty of iPhone users out there that constantly run out of juice… and by juice, I mean battery life.  But what if Apple didn’t come out with a patent for a “self-charging” phone or “mobile device”?  What if Nokia did this first?

From the past few weeks of lawsuits surrounding generic patents from Apple vs. HTC, the first company to have this patent approved is going to revolutionize portable electronics as we know it.  It is like those wind-up flashlights in your car’s glove compartment or was it the shaking flashlight.  In the end, it is almost the same technology, only smaller.

From the patent: A battery for an electronic device is contained within a first frame that is coupled to a second frame by one or more piezoelectric elements. The second frame is coupled to a device chassis by one or more additional piezoelectric elements. In response to translation and/or rotation of the electronic device, portions of forces induced by the battery mass are transferred to the piezoelectric elements. Electrical energy output by these piezoelectric elements is received in a power controller and can be applied to the battery. Additional device components can also be contained within the first frame so as to increase the total mass that induces forces applied to the piezoelectric elements.

[TreeHugger via Digg, and New Scientist]

Take a quick look at this video. You’ll notice a fairly ergonomic tablet with a multi-touch capacitive screen and a camera that rotates 180 degrees to take pictures of you or of someone else! Not only that, the screen uses far less power (280mW vs. 2.4-2.8W now), increasing battery life and it even supports Flash since it runs on Android. It has 3 USB ports, headphones, and even HDMI out! The screen even adjusts to sunlight, making the screen monochrome so that it is easy to read no matter what light conditions are available. Battery gives 24 hours with Wi-Fi on, 10 hours if you are outputting to an HD TV which is extremely impressive. In comes Notion Ink! It has nearly everything the iPad doesn’t have, except for that exterior sexy sleek look, but it is the performance that counts!

Hit the bump for a video, spec sheets and links on the Adam disassembled.

One thing to note, the touchpad on the back of the tablet is supposed to be used for finer, more precise “clicking” on hyperlinks or objects rather than pulling an FFS or Fat-Finger Syndrome (I have some long fingers and I tend to mash keys a lot). It is slated to come out in 3Q2010 and if it enters at the same or less price point as the iPad, I will be sure to pick this up.

Engadget has the device in its naked-ness here.

Full specs with Pixel Qi display here.

Full specs with touch screen only here.