Also covered on today’s Apple Q2 2009 financial results call were Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook’s description of netbooks, as currently on the market, having:

cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens, and just not a consumer experience… that we would put the Mac brand on, quite frankly.

So where does that put all the rumors about an Apple netbook being all but imminent? Either once again shoved on the back burner like the iPhone nano, or — really imminent. (Apple has a history of trash talking product spaces and denying interest right up until they launch their own offering, like video on iPods, or, you know, smartphones).

Does this mean we’ll more likely see an Apple tablet? Mac OS X or iPhone OS X based? Opinions vary but Cook gave nothing away. Instead, to costumers who might want mobile web and email, he offered this advice:

They might want to look at an iPhone or iPod touch instead.

Okay, so I’ll admit that I leave my laptop at home now and just use an iPhone far more often than I ever would have guessed I would, but as a full on mobile replacement? Is it really there yet?

And what do you see, if anything, as Apple’s now near-mythical entry into the pseudo-netbook space? One of the above, or something else entirely?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Says Netbooks Cramped, Terrible, Junky, Not Mac-Worthy — Buy an iPhone Instead!

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Filed under: Macworld, Hardware, Video

Digging into the Macworld Expo video vault on this holiday Monday (in the US, we're celebrating Presidents' Day), here's a quick interview with Paul Scandariato from Intelliscanner showing off the Intelliscanner mini hardware. The demo shows how quickly you can use the mini to scan your media or books; it's easy to plug back in and offload your scans to Intelliscanner's Media app or to your collections app of choice, just the thing for your spring organization projects. You can also get preprinted barcode stickers for your own inventory planning, or print out your own if you like.

The mini was a big hit with showgoers who shopped at the booth, and it's available online from Intelliscanner for $179 (with the Media Collector software package) or $249 (adds Assets, Kitchen, Wine and Comics collector modules). While both Delicious Library and Bruji's Pedia series of organizers support scanning of barcodes via the built-in iSight, for substantial collections a standalone scanner is going to save you time and aggravation.

Read on for the video. The iPhone-friendly YouTube version is here.

Continue reading Video vault: Macworld visit with Intelliscanner

TUAWVideo vault: Macworld visit with Intelliscanner originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shot this clip myself (late December 2008). Answer here

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Image via Wikipedia

This short video shows how I try to digest Twitter, RSS feeds and my Friendfeed 'River' on one of my screens, when I am in my office (ok... not too often, really;). Juggling this ocean takes some practice... but I am getting there.

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Every week I will be bringing you what I think are the week’s biggest stories and articles. Let’s get started, after the break!

Who will buy a 2G iPhone?

Rumors are circulating that Apple will announce a $99 iPhone sans the 3G. I think this is good since most users don’t know the difference between 2G and 3G. 

Where do you sync?

There are many ways to sync your devices these days; your desk, the cloud, Web, etc. What is the best way? Rene takes a look at this in his most recent article!

Streaming iTunes to your iPhone rumor

Well, this would be rather sweet should Apple decide to do something like this, but I think it would require a lot of hardware on Apple’s end, and considering as how they can’t do email effectively, I put this one to rest.

20,000 apps in 7 months. Wow. 

If you were the competition, your jaw should be hitting the floor right about now. At this rate, it will be impossible for anyone to catchup with Apple. But then again, I am not sure of the competition needs as many fart apps. I was amazed one of my friends downloaded one the other day. Armageddon is upon us.

Push notification service delayed?

Well, obviously it is, it was supposed to come out in September 2008 if memory serves. However it looks like Apple might be waiting for their new Snow Leopard OS to hit the server market before unleashing thousands of notifications to iPhone users…

iPhone Blog Live! Podcast!

We talk Google and do a live Jailbreak during the podcast. I was dropped due to a power outage, but Rene and Dieter trucked on without me…

How can you find your car with your iPhone?

Brian attempts to answer this age-old question in his recent how-to article. Purple pins to the rescue!

Leaked iPhone backing?

Could this be? I posted on the 3G rumor, and it wound up to be true… oh yeah, April 4th 2008, I called it.

Android gets Tel-Nav GPS, where is iPhone’s?

Sure this can’t be that hard to make. My bet is there is some heavy, heavy negotiations coming. I hope it’s free, because if there is a fee involved, I am not signing up.

Google adds optimized spreadsheet functionality to Google Docs

This is a step in the right direction! You can now edit rows, sort and filter in Google Spreadsheets on the iPhone. Now, about that document part…

iPhone owns 51% of mobile market…

Oh yeah. Didn’t we already know this? I am still amazed that there is essentially one phone on one carrier in the US… imagine if it was on all carriers… ah, to dream.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

The iPhone Blog Week in Review for February 16, 2009

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Image by christophercarfi via Flickr

Chris 'LongTail & Free' Anderson has dished up another great op-ed in the WSJ. Note: this link keeps having problems... maybe try this one, instead, or this. Below are some of the best snippets - and my comments.

Chris writes: "Gratis can be a good business. How? Pretty simple: The minority of customers who pay subsidize the majority who do not. Sometimes that's two different sets of customers, as in the traditional media model: A few advertisers pay for content so lots of consumers can get it cheap or free..."

Back in late 2008, I wrote something very closely related to what Chris is saying, here: "To me, the bottom line is that most of what used to work just fine in a disconnected world of 'totally segregated consumers and producers' will simply not work in the future". In other words, the traditional media model will not work in Online Media, going forward - the mechanics are entirely different. And this is where Free or Freemium plays a crucial role - and it's a huge mission to figure out how this ecosystem will generate rivers of cash, not just data. And it will involve Collaboration between content companies and creators, telecoms, social networks, search engines and device makers.

Chris goes on: "With physical stuff, samples must be doled out sparingly -- there are real costs to be paid. With bits, the free versions are too cheap to meter and can be spread far and wide. That's why so many people businesses (expensive!) are turning into software businesses (cheap!), which is why your cranky tax accountant has morphed into free TurboTax online, your stockbroker is now a trading Web site and your travel agent is more likely a glorified search engine..."

Yes, indeed: this is why I think that the content business - starting with music - is turning into a software business, too - witness the explosion of app stores for mobile devices, and how much $$ people are paying for iPhone apps. Now imagine that content (starting with music) will be bundled into such apps, and people will perceive it as BUYING SOFTWARE or buying a cool app for their phone but in fact the content is included (yet paid for  i.e. packaged).  I think that if permitted by the rights-holders Pandora could easily sell a mobile device application that could include video, audio, feeds and images - I am dead certain people will pay for that.  I will have a separate post on this sometime later this week. 

Chris then hits the nail on the head:  "Expect the shift toward open source software (which is free) and Web-based productivity tools such as Google Docs (also free) to accelerate". 

Totally. Then, Chris warns (and I agree - that's why I am also hard at work on next-generation advertising models): "The standard business model for Web companies that don't actually have a business model is advertising...Two problems have emerged with that model: the price of online ads and click-through rates. Facebook is an amazingly popular service, but it also an amazingly ineffective advertising platform..."

And I also like his conclusion (and this is the first time that I see it spelled out like this, from Chris):  "Does this mean that Free will retreat in a down economy? Probably not... "Free" has as much power over the consumer psyche as ever. But it does mean that Free is not enough. It also has to be matched with Paid. Just as King Gillette's free razors only made business sense paired with expensive blades, so will today's Web entrepreneurs have to not just invent products that people love, but also those that they will pay for. Not all of the people or even most of them -- free is still great marketing and bits are still too cheap to meter -- but enough to pay the bills. Free may be the best price, but it can't be the only one"

I call this challenge the '21st century content economics' challenge (yes... borrowed from Umair Hague's brilliant post on this topic), and it's the main topic for my work this year. If we can figure out how to generate many new revenue streams based on Feels Like Free access to content, then we can start modeling the business plans for the next 5 years. More soon!  But what do you think? Comment below.

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The iPhone, like the iPod before it (well, at least since the 3rd-gen iPod, when Apple switched from FireWire), uses a proprietary connector called the dock for charging, syncing, video and audio-out, and multiple other functions. A broad port with 30 pins for many purposes, having a proprietary connector gives Apple a lot of flexibility, but also — through their licensing program — a lot of control over who can make peripherals and what can be done with them.

During our last edition of the iPhone Live! podcast, Dieter flat-out stated that Apple needed to dump the dock. He pointed out that countries like China and regions like the EU are, or may be, making universal connectors like USB a legal requirement. One charger, one port, to rule them all. (HTC is already replacing the 3.5mm headphone jack, folding it into the mini-USB-like ExtUSB on devices like the Android G1).

The dock connector originally allowed Apple to keep FireWire compatibility and add USB when it entered the PC market. Over time, Apple has moved over to USB, and now with the iPhone 3G and later iPod’s, FireWire is gone completely and charging can only occur via USB. Since USB already provides power, provides data exchange, and technology like DisplayLink (which connects external displays via USB) show that an increasingly large range of connection types are becoming possible.

So, as technology marches on, as backwards compatibility is shed, and as standards like USB 2.0 (and in the future, USB 3.0) grow faster and more capable, is it time for Apple to dump the dock and go with the same port most everyone else is using (including Apple with the Mac)?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Is it Time for Apple to Switch From Dock Connector to USB?

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     MUSIC NEWS - Eighties Brit synthpop/funk band Spandau Ballet are planning to make a comeback with a new album and a world tour says manager, Steve Dagger. The group formed 30 years ago and had a run of hits that included True (see video on Today's Video Clip page) Gold and To Cut A Long Story Short (buy CDs here) .  The group broke up in 1999 when singer Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble sued guitarist Gary Kemp over claims he owed them nearly $1.5 million in royalties !  But the members have now put aside their differences and teamed up with Kemp's brother Martin for a reunion.  Dagger says, "We're not making announcements yet, but yes, basically, the boys are back in town. Not just a nostalgic re-run of the old but a fresh slant on what Spandau Ballet are about."

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MUSIC NEWS - To celebrate Warner Bros. Records' 50^th anniversary, the label will release Covered: A Revolution In Sound; an eclectic compilation CD that features such contemporary WBR artists as The Used, Mastodon, The Black Keys, Against Me!, Missy Higgins, and James Otto performing new versions of classic songs from WBR artists, including Madonna, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell, Talking Heads, and Black Sabbath.

Each contemporary artist chose the songs themselvers from Warner Bros. Records' catalog. Highlights include The Flaming Lips performing Madonna's "Borderline," Disturbed on Faith No More's "Midlife Crisis," The Used covering Talking Heads "Burning Down The House," The Black Keys taking on Captain Beefheart's "Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles," and actor/comedian Adam Sandler giving his rendition of Neil Young's "Like A Hurricane" (check out the video below of Sandler performing the tune on Late Night with David Letterman). 

Covered: A Revolution in Sound will be available both digitally and in CD form exclusively from Amazon.com, beginning March 10^th, for two weeks (oreder your copy here) . The digital version will be available from all other online shoppes beginning March 24^th and the CD will be in stores on April 7^th. Sandler's "Like a Hurricane" is available now for purchase on iTunes.

"Going through Warner Bros. Records' back catalog of music and picking a favorite song wasn't easy," says Missy Higgins. "There have been so many classics over the years, and it was particularly intimidating to attempt to cover a song that was so perfect in its original form. For that reason, I chose one with a real '80s sound so that I could make it my 'folky' own. It's funny how the meaning of a song can change suddenly with its musical interpretation."

"We were really excited to be asked to record a song for the Warner Bros. Records' 50th anniversary compilation album," says The Used's Quinn Allman. "We were in the studio working on our own album and one day in September we decided on the spot to do "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads. We liked the natural energy of the song so we kept it pretty simple and just had fun with it."

Track-list for Covered: A Revolution In Sound is as follows:

1. Mastodon: "Just Got Paid" (by ZZ Top)

2. The Black Keys: "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles" (by Captain Beefheart)

3. Michelle Branch: "A Case Of You" (by Joni Mitchell)

4. Against Me!: "Here Comes A Regular" (by The Replacements)

5. Missy Higgins: "More Than This" (by Roxy Music)

6. James Otto: "Into The Mystic" (by Van Morrison)

7. Adam Sandler: "Like A Hurricane" (by Neil Young)

8. Taking Back Sunday: "You Wreck Me" (by Tom Petty)

9. The Used: "Burning Down The House" (by Talking Heads)

10. Disturbed: "Midlife Crisis" (by Faith No More)

11. Avenged Sevenfold: "Paranoid" (by Black Sabbath)

12. The Flaming Lips With Stardeath And White Dwarfs: "Borderline" (by Madonna)

Adam Sandler performing Neil Young's LIKE A HURRICANE on Late Night with David Letterman -

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With our editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn off in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, the inmates site editors are left running Around SPE this week. So, while he’ll be breaking news and giving us some hands-on observations on all the new software and hardware on display, we’ll be keeping you covered here at home, starting with a quick recap of where we are right now:

CrackBerry.com

In the world of BlackBerry, T-Mobile customers were happy to see the official roll out of the next-generation BlackBerry Curve 8900 this week. With AT&T said to be dropping support for 2G phones, there has been some worry that this new Curve wouldn’t come to AT&T, but with the 8900 SKU now showing up on AT&T systems, it’s likely the device will launch there in the next month.

The BIG new this week comes from the CrackBerry Podcast. Kevin was in NYC on for a RIM Business Solutions Press Preview. While there, him and Craig recorded a podcast and for the first time had an employee from Research in Motion on the show. Joined by Mike Kirkup, Manager of Developer Relations, they tackle a bunch of topics from the upcoming App Store to OS 5.0 and whether or not Flash support will appear in a BlackBerry browser and more! Listen Here.

More after the break!

Android Central

This week Android Central reported that Android Market was leaving beta and finally receiving paid applications. Hopefully we’ll see even more amazing applications such as this recently announced TeleNav turn-by-turn GPS application.

We also wondered why Google would comply with Apple’s request to leave multi-touch out of the G1. Hint: It has something to do with maintaining a great relationship with Apple. Read: Google still wants to play nice with Apple to get iPhone eyes on Google AdSense.

Nokia Experts

News was a bit slow this week as everyone in the mobile space waits for big announcements from Mobile World Congress next week, including some announcements about devices and services from Nokia. We are in our third week of the the launch contest so make sure to get your entry in and look for week four’s entry task. Great input and information is coming in from the contest entries. Also, check out our SBSH Reminders giveaway for a chance to win a free registration code.

Some topics of interest this week on Nokia Experts includes the amazing Nokia Maps 3.0 beta update, Nokia 5800 firmware update, Nokia E63 availability in the US for just $279, and the announcement of the Nokia 5630 with 600 MHz processor.

PreCentral

Over at PreCentral this week, we learned that Bell Canada will be launching the Palm Pre. We heard conflicting launch dates of late Q2 or early Q3 and also the end of Q3-Q4. 

We also had more Touchstone details to emerge when Adam Kaufman, a Product Manager at Palm started answering questions on Facebook.  Plus, many people are wondering if the Palm Pre made an appearance on the TV show “Knight Rider”.  

The iPhone Blog

Is this the first glimpse of the 3rd Gen iPhone? Looks pretty much the same as the iPhone 3G, but then Apple brass re-affirmed that the iPhone market is strong, and they won’t be diluting it with an iPhone nano or keyboard slider any time soon. What with 20,000 Apps in the store, and the iPhone and the iPod touch now owning 51% of the mobile browser space… and growing, who can blame them?

Maybe jailbreakers, as the EFF asking the US government to grant it an exemption from the DMCA has Apple declaring jailbreaking illegal. (Oops, we just jailbroke live for xGPS on the last podcast!). Lastly, Google gave us Spreadsheet editing, but did Apple deny the Android multi-touch and… a 3.5mm headphone jack?!

TreoCentral

This week when Ed Colligan spoke to investors at the Thomas Weisel Partners Technology, Telecom & Internet Conference, he announced that there will be no more PalmOS devices released by Palm (excepting the Centro getting released on other carriers) as they’re focused on WebOS and Windows Mobile. He also said that not only will Palm have an app store when the Pre launches, but Palm isn’t locking down the device so you can only install apps from their app store.

We also learned this week that the Sprint Treo Pro is now targeted for a March 15th launch, and that some Sprint stores are now getting re-stocked with new Treo Pro’s with the new ROM on board. And even though the Sprint Treo Pro is delayed, it was great to hear that Palm’s stock has neared double-digits.

WMExperts

It’s been the calm before the storm over at WMExperts while we wait for Mobile World Congress to get under way, but that doesn’t mean it was a quiet week. We saw more information surface on Windows Mobile 6.5 including a new video, an updated version of Skyfire Beta released while Opera Mobile plans to go turbo. Google offered up contact and calendar sync and brought public-domain books to mobile devices. Mozilla’s Fennec mobile browser hit pre-alpha, and we got a sit-down with developer Brad Lassey. On the hardware side, new Windows Mobile devices were spotted from Garmin-Asus, Gigabyte, as well as the “Hummer” of Windows Mobile Devices from I-Mate.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Around SPE for February 15, 2009

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