Back when it was still kinda funny...

Move over everybody, there’s a new man in the big chair!

With Kurt taking some time off to actually focus on his “real job”, I’ve stepped up to bring you the best of the best of the past few days since last we spoke.

If all goes well, this Weekend Update will be as fun and informative as the Chevy Chase era of the same name on Saturday Night Live. If all goes poorly, this update will be like the rest of Chevy Chase’s career. Let’s see what we can find from the wide world of technology…

• The NFL is trying out a 3D telecast in select theaters in LA, New York and Boston. The game between San Diego and Oakland next week will be telecast in 3D, because there’s nothing I want to see more than this man’s face leaping off of my screen at me. Thanks, Engadget.
• NBC is claiming that the Saturday Night Live sketch “Lazy Sunday” was the key to launching YouTube to the heights that netted them a $1.5 Billion sale to Google. Interesting, but ultimately not something that can be proven. ArsTechnica has the story.
• Forbes.com has two reports of interest today. First, there is a story about the market share that Apple’s Snow Leopard is looking to take away from Microsoft’s Vista Operating system. Second, a report about the risks of in-flight Wi-Fi. We may have more about the airborne Wi-Fi systems coming later this week.
• Finally, Gizmodo reports about the best news Motorola has received in a long time. Apparently, cell phones can save your life.

Lest we here at technewsmadesimple.com be accused of slanting the playing field in favor of Apple, here are a few tidbits to consider when making the decision on whether or not to switch to the iPhone.  To break it down to the Cliff’s Notes version, there are seven features that are either lacking or perhaps not up to the level that most consumers are going to want from their new toy:

–       Price.  Duh – it’s pretty expensive.  If I’m paying $300+ for a cell phone, it damn well better do exactly what I need it to do.  Not to mention the extra added fees from AT&T on the required contracts.

–       Laptop Access.  Most 3G phones now let users plug the phone into a laptop via a USB cord and use the phone like it’s a mobile network access card.  Not the iPhone.  Not allowed.  So if you goto AT&T for cell service, don’t forget to add in an additional $50+ a month if you want 3G laptop access.

–       The 2 Mega-Pixel Camera.  This one doesn’t bother me much.  I’m a photographer, so if I’m looking to take an important, high quality photo, I’ll use my normal camera rather than reach for my cell phone.

–       The “GPS”.  It’s not a GPS in today’s sense of the technology.  When GPS was first introduced, just being able to see where you were on a map was enough.  Not today.  Today, we require our technology to not only show us where we are, but also call out turn-by-turn directions to wherever we’re going.  Face it – we’re just too lazy.

–       The other issues – no Flash player, no interchangeable batteries, no SD or xD Memory card slot, no Cut & Paste for text – are minor inconveniences, but issues nonetheless.

The final major problem with the iPhone development has been something that we mentioned here a couple weeks ago – Apple’s longstanding policy to keep so much information locked tight within the Apple vaults.  It seems that with the new iPhone, they’ve taken the same approach.  They’ve locked developers out from making their own applications for the device without first vetting their programs through Apple.  This leads to a very long wait for new apps for your iPhone, and even when they come out, they might still be full of bugs & glitches.  Not good times.

Essentially, I’ll be waiting until at least the next release before I consider making the switch.  I mean, the opening day activation disaster wasn’t exactly the best of omens for this iteration of the iPhone.  Maybe the Thunder will have come down in price a little by then…

The biggest point raised throughout the article is that while other cell phone makers (Samsung, Motorola, LG, etc.) are spending time trying to add more features like cameras, speakerphone, and colors (ooooh look – twelve shades of pink!), Apple has realized that the key to consumers’ hearts is better and more useful software.

Listen, unless you’re sitting on the can or wasting time in an 8am calculus lecture, you’re probably not playing games on your phone.  So we can just about eliminate that from the “features” package.  And you’re probably not too worried about how to take pictures of that weird looking kid sleeping two rows in front of you while the professor drones on about integrals and factorials and all the other big math words I’ve tried to erase from my memory.  But what most consumers – whether they’re high school/college kids, young adults, or older Americans just getting introduced to the wide world of touchscreen smartphones by Apple – are looking for is something “new” and something useful.

GPS is useful.  Visual voicemail is useful.  Better text messaging programs are useful.  QWERTY keyboards for typing are useful.  Pocket programs like Word, Excel and Media Players are extremely useful.  But none of these are worth the price unless they work and they work consistently.

That’s where other cell phone makers have fallen short.  They’ve reinvented the slim flip-phone eleventy-billion times, but they’ve yet to realize that what we really want isn’t a smaller phone with the same features as the last seven models, but a phone that can do everything we want and still fit in our pocket.

Apple has figured this out (and on the second try, no less!).  And unless Google’s Android OS is at the very least comparable to the iPhone – and more importantly, has a solid interface to work with other applications – then the iPhone is going to be the gold standard in cell phones for a very long time.  Sorry Corey.

Now, how does the 5th leading wireless phone provider get $22 billion in debt? And secondly, why would Verizon foot the bill for Alltel’s debt? Besides being able to call themselves the #1 US cellular carrier, would Verizon really make that much of a dent in AT&T’s market? Especially when the 2nd generation iPhone is due out very soon and AT&T is already gearing up for the massive invasion.

So what does this mean for the consumer? Because Verizon is all about reliable service and best coverage, they want to maintain this status. Alltel has coverage in many rural areas in which Verizon and AT&T pay Alltel to use their transmission towers. With this merger, Verizon will be in full control of these phone towers, leaving AT&T with less coverage in these area, thus expanding the range of Verizon’s network. So good news for Verizon customers (and Alltel customers), your phone will now work in more areas so we can “hear you now.”

Official Verizon News Release