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iAd: Apple’s “next big thing” comes on April 7

Mike Evans - 0

I love Arnold Kim’s MacRumors.com for keeping me up to date on the latest in the MacWorld. I’ve heard Arnold on several podcasts and he has great knowledge of the Apple world. Here’s a guy who is a qualified doctor of medicine but decided to defect to blogging.

Thanks to MacRumors I first heard about Apple's “next big thing” and it has set me wondering. Apparently it is iAd, a mobile ad platform that represent a “personalised, mobile advertising system.” I confess, I am not a lot nearer at the moment, but no doubt, all will be revealed on April 7 (or was it to be on April 1?). Could it be something similar to Google’s AdSense? Something that we bloggers would be interested in?

Read more here.

iPad choice: to 3G or not to 3G

Mike Evans - 0

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Mercifully, here in the UK we have an extra few weeks to make up our minds on whether to go for the basic wifi iPad or the more expensive 3G model. Friends in the USA report they have already placed their orders and are prepared to wait for the 3G model. I have very mixed views and all my doubts centre on that non-standard micro SIM that Apple have chosen to use in the iPad. The physically smaller iPhone still uses the larger, standard SIM card. But I suppose we can expect the micro model to be present on this year’s 4G iPhone when it arrives in the Summer.

The problem is that I want to be able to use my existing data subscription with both the iPad and my MacBook Pro. I wouldn’t mind swapping a SIM card around because, most of the time, it would stay in the iPad. Currently, as regular readers will know, I use a Novatel MiFi unit which means I can create a mini wifi network for up to five devices. At the moment, I’m minded to stick with the MiFi and with my £15-per-month 3GB Vodafone subscription.

Presumably, over the next twelve months, these micro SIMs will become more popular and it is highly likely that mini-routers such as the MiFi will soon become available with the smaller slot. In the future, therefore, I can see sense in having a 3G-equipped iPad for those occasions when I am travelling without the MacBook Pro and don’t even want the extra weight of the MiFi.

For the moment, therefore, the sensible decision is to buy the cheaper wifi pad and reserve judgement on the 3G model until the second generation model arrives in mid-2011. 

iPhone: over-complicated time-zone support?

Mike Evans - 0
Photo Am I the only user who finds the setting of time zones on the iPhone to be confusing? In common with many owners, I regularly move between time zones. On my MacBook Pro I have time zone set to automatic and all I need to remember is to manually change the time-zone support in iCal. On the phone, the zone changes are manual and are buried in Settings app. The general time zone is in General/Date & Time but it’s necessary to type in the city rather than select from a list or, ideally, select from a few personal common destinations. But it’s the time zone support for calendars that always gets me. One week after returning from Athens I looked at my iPhone calendar today and realised all the appointments were two hours out (why I hadn’t noticed before, I don’t know). So I have to go to Settings and choose Mail, Contacts, Calendars and then, hidden away at the bottom of the long list, is Time Zone Support. Again, I have to type in London to replace Athens. I can understand that many people might want to leave iCal fixed to their home time zone so appointments are viewed with the correct times, but I always prefer to change over. With appointments in several time zones it is desirable not to have errors and misunderstandings creeping in. This applies particularly to plane departure times which are always designated in the local time zone. It would be a useful enhancement to the iPhone OS if we could have the ability to link the two settings when required: that way, changing the time zone in Date & Time would also adjust the calendar settings. Personally, I would also value an automatic time-zone change for both general and calendar settings. Whatever happens, I think there is room for improvement in the next edition of iPhone OS.

iPhone app for loyalty card swiping–lighten that wallet

Mike Evans - 0
By Michael Evans

I'm not a great fan of loyalty cards because of the bulge they make in my wallet. I am continually being asked if I have such-and-such a card when making a purchase and have to admit that I do indeed have one, but not with me. In most cases the loyalty cards are credit-card format with an embossed number and swipe strip; or, in some cases, they have a bar code.

Img.its_more_rewarding_with_clubcard

Here's a wonderful opportunity for some enterprising iPhone app developer. Wouldn't it be great to store all your loyalty card information in an iPhone app? All you would need to do would be open the app and have the retailer read the barcode or whatever from the phone. The technology exists and would be welcomed by all shoppers. I wouldn't mind a percentage of the proceeds for contributing the idea.

iMac G3, forsaken by Zeus

Mike Evans - 0

By Fergus MacOldie

IMac G3 JUST ENDED a mini-excursion to visit some old haunts in the south of the island of Crete, the southernmost tip of Europe. There, in the remote mountain village of Zaros, in the foothills of Zeus' birthplace, Mount Idi, lives my old friend Hebe and her veteran 1999 G3 iMac, complete with pink highlights (the Mac, that is). I was summoned to discover why Skype wouldn't run, but I found more than I bargained for. The venerable iMac had been bought in 2000 for the enormous sum of one million drachmae (over 2,500 euros by present reckoning) but it has been hardly a bad investment. With its 10 GB drive, 266MHz processor and 512MB of memory, this old girl has been soldiering on without attention for ten years. 

But crunch time approaches, as I soon discovered. Over the years well-meaning friends have supplied software and other updates on DVD, including an OS update to Panther. I found the root folder littered with redundant folders and files, including a number of data files that had somehow found their way there, so I spent a couple of hours on housekeeping. Hebe produced an ancient-looking external hard drive that someone had given her, but it turned out to be a godssend--80GB of pristine storage. I was able to offload some old stuff and, even, set up a backup schedule to copy the contents of the miniscule internal disc to the capacious drive. So far so good.

I also showed Hebe how to import photographs into iPhoto but stopped short of importing everything because we were down to a free disk space of only 1.7 GB, just about enough to keep things ticking over. However, after I left, a newly enthusiastic Hebe uploaded the 650 photographs from her camera and soon got an ominous "disk full" message. No wonder that, later in the evening, her well-viewed Sound of Music DVD wouldn't run. Clunk, clunk, the hills were no longer alive with music.

I've advised her to take the camera to the local photo store and have the memory copied to CD, then to delete all these photographs from the iMac. But what to do mediumterm? Unfortunately, the sad fact is that the iMac has reached the end of its computing days and needs replacing.

After all this, though, Skype (the latest version) still will not run. The icon bounces a couple of times and then goes back to rest in the dock. There's no obvious explanation for this. But Skype seems to be the least of the Mac's problems at the moment. She's about ready for the Dun Computin' rest home for Macs. Zeus has given up on her.

Convergence means iPhone

Mike Evans - 0

Tomtom-iphone-app TOMTOM'S announcement of an iPhone navigation app and an in-car kit is proof if it were needed that convergence is alive and well. And everything seems to be converging on the iPhone, the world in your pocket. Manufacturers of gadgets of all descriptions, from pocket calculators to in-car navigators will be examining their marketing plans and asking themselves if people really want a dozen and one different bits of kit, every one with its own charger and accessories, when the iPhone can do everything just as well. 


In the past couple of years we've seen convergence come to television and video. More and more people are using computers such as the Mac Mini as a media server and the television is likely to become nothing more than a big monitor. There is a general tendency for fewer devices to do more things and to combine all these different facilities in one easy-to-use interface. 

So TomTom's iPhone plans will send a shiver through the boardrooms of rival navigator hardware companies; and we doubt it will do much to improve the sale of TomTom's own hardware. For occasional use, the iPhone makes eminent sense as a navigator.

Marcial: Apple shines, no matter who’s in charge

Mike Evans - 0

INTERESTING analysis of Apple with or without Steve Jobs on Yahoo Business today. The article, by Gene Marcial, argues that Apple now has a very strong presence, spearheaded by the MacBook, iPhone and iPod, and a solid management team that could withstand even the departure of Steve Jobs. The confirmation that he will return to work before the end of June is seen as icing on the cake. Analysts are now bullish on the prospects for Apple Inc and, of course, the continuation of the old 3G iPhone model at bargain prices will do nothing to dent sales. 

Apple tablet to be new MacBook

Mike Evans - 0
by Michael Evans

RENAMING the unibody aluminium MacBook as the MacBook Pro 13 is a logical and welcome step. Since the launch of the unibody machines it has been obvious that the 13-in model had more in common with the Pro range than with the old polycarbonate white or black MacBook. 

But I believe there is more to this can meets the eye and I am surprised none of the other industry watchers have made the connection. The current white MacBook is clearly coming to the end of its life and I believe it will be pensioned off some time in the next twelve months. 

This leaves the coast clear for the re-cycling of the MacBook name. What better moniker for the 10-in touch-screen not-a-netbook tablet that everyone agrees Apple are working on? 

iPhone 3.0 OS available June 17

Mike Evans - 0

THE NEW updated operating system for the iPhone will be available for download free from the morning of June 17. iPod Touch users will be asked to pay $9.99.

London Mac Users’ Group in session

Mike Evans - 0

THE MONTHLY meeting of the London Mac Users' Group this evening coincides nicely with the WWDC opening in San Francisco. Almost all LMUG members are now sitting in the basement meeting room of the Hobgoblin pub in Balcombe Street, Marylebone, with their MacBooks on the table in front of them. Thanks to the Group's free wifi, we are all getting a blow-by-blow update of Phil Schiller's conference-opening speech. With all the rumours that abound before an Apple conference we tend to think we know what is about to be announced. This time, however, there are a number of surprises coming up, including the upgraded MacBook Pro range and a clear September date for the release of Snow Leopard. This, incidentally will be launched at a very attractive price of $29 or $49 for the family pack.

Billion apps on target

Mike Evans - 0

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WE'RE INDEBTED to TechChrunch for news that the App Store will clock up one billion downloads sometime later today (April 22). The time target appears to be moving a bit, depending on the rates of download, but the best current estimate is that it will happen in the very early hours of the morning Pacific Time. That means it should happen early evening here in Greece. By any standards this is a wonderful success for Apple and just underlines the popularity of the iPhone throughout the world.

Apple’s iPhone locking policy

Mike Evans - 0

I'VE ALWAYS hated the locking of mobile phones to one carrier. Sure, in many countries, particularly the UK, locked phones supplied under a contract can be extremely cheap. And unlocking of the average phone is simple and costs peanuts; so there are some arguments in favour of locking.

But with the iPhone we have the worst of all worlds in many countries, including the USA and UK. The locked phone is supplied at a discount, as you would expect when signing a 12, 18 or even 24-month contract. Unlike other phones, though, the iPhone cannot be unlocked--unless it is jailbroken, which is not for everyone. More annoyingly, Apple have one chosen partner in every country. While I have been very happy with my O2 contract in Britain and with Vodafone in Greece, I would have liked a choice of carrier. Many would-be iPhone users are put off because they want to stay with their current supplier.Main_safari20081204

With the new iPhone expected mid-year (and the new 3.0 software certain for June) I've got to thinking about the iniquities of the exclusive deals that Apple have made throughout the world. Apple can claim with some justification that they have chosen partners that can provide reliable and universal 3G coverage, but I suspect the main reason for the system is the financial benefit that Apple gets from signing these exclusive deals. In my view it was wrong for a consumer-oriented company such as Apple to go down this route.

In several European countries, France and Greece to my knowledge, locking of phones is either illegal or not normal. So, for instance, I get an unlocked iPhone from Vodafone (official Apple partner) in Greece and I can use this anywhere in the world with a local SIM card. I routinely use my O2 SIM in this phone when I am in the UK. Meanwhile, I have a completely unused (but locked) iPhone which was supplied under the O2 contract. I paid £150 for this phone and this was a complete waste of money.

The fact that I have to have two separate contracts is also a scandal, but this time the finger points at the cellular phone networks rather than at Apple. Roaming charges are exorbitant and, in my case for instance, I could not rely entirely on roaming because I spend large chunks of the year abroad. Hence, I need two separate contracts. I pay a total of £80 combined ($116, €90) a month for my UK and Greek contracts which give me unlimited (fair usage) data downloads and an adequate number of voice minutes and SMS messages.  This is probably not expensive, but it would be nice to have only one number and fair roaming charges on one contract.

I foresee a time when the whole of Europe will be regarded as one area for cellular network purposes. It is geographically smaller than the United States, for instance, yet roaming charges are a fact of life for many Europeans. Those living close to borders--sometimes borders that run through the middle of a town--have to be very careful they don't inadvertently rack up data roaming charges of up to €10 per megabyte or a staggering €10,000 a gigabyte. Thankfully, the EU is doing something about this and caps will be placed on roaming charges. Not before time. 

Ideal case for the iPhone

Mike Evans - 0

One of the attractions of getting a new toy such as the iPhone is exploring the range of accessories. Cases figure high on this list because, like most users, I want maximum protection with maximum ease of use. 

Some cases are just too bulky and yet offer little protection for the screen. Others, such as the rubberised condom style, need to be removed every time you dock the phone. Then there are the slim leather cases that offer style and feel-good factor but, again, offer little protection for the screen.

My Sena Ultra-slim Pouch is made from soft, high-quality leather and is of the slip-on type. It feels good and is a real quality item. The disadvantage is that you have to remove the phone for use, even to take a call--presenting the ever-present danger of dropping the naked phone. It also offers little real protection for the screen. 

My current case of choice is the Griffin Elan Form case which has a removable lower half to enable docking, plus a substantial clear-plastic screen cover that, surprisingly, doesn't make touch input difficult. The outer shell is covered in what I thought was a plastic leather-look but, according to the sales blurb, is actually a real leather coating. It looks good, whatever it is. 

I am also a fan of the Power Support Anti-Glare film for the screen. This is much better, in my opinion, than he crystal cover from the same manufacturer. The anti-glare has a slightly textured surface which does not attract finger marks but makes navigation and touch input more accurate and satisfying. What's more, this is one screen protector that is easy to apply. Getting rid of the air bubbles is easy on the iPhone because the hard glass screen can take more pressure from a credit card, the accepted implement for smoothing. This is one screen cover that actually improves the appearance while vastly improving the tactile feel and preventing smudges.

The anti-glare screen and the harder plastic screen insert of the Griffin case creates a very well-protected phone while input is only slightly impaired. For serious use, it is easy enough to slide off the bottom half of the case and remove the plastic cover. Incase make a similar two-part slider case but it does not have the hard plastic screen cover, thus leaving the phone more vulnerable.

iPhone wishlist

Mike Evans - 0

After several months with the iPhone 3G I am still amazed by the utility of this device. It does almost everything well and provides hours of entertainment. There are one of two shortcomings, however.  One is the lack of cut-and-paste. We have been waiting for this to be added in the last two software updates, but it seems to be low down on Apple's list. 

The second problem is the absence of multi-tasking (except in relation to phone and iPod functions). I seem to spend a lot of time waiting for my frequently-used applications (such as OmniFocus, Bloomberg, Splash Money) to load. Switching frequently between applications is a pain because the current application must close and the new one must open. Having been used to multi-tasking on my old Treo 750 (with Windows Mobile) I miss the advantage.  

However, by far the biggest improvement would be the addition of support for an external keyboard. This could take the form of a small, foldable device similar to those available for PDAs and many phones. Or a bluetooth link to the existing Apple bluetooth keyboard would be ideal. This lightweight aluminium keyboard is small and packable and would perfectly complement the iPhone 3G equipped with a simple prop stand.

Monkey Glands Extend iPhone Use

Mike Evans - 1

After two weeks with my new iPhone 3G I agree with other commentators about the limited battery life. A day out and about and I'm down to the last 10% of power. In fairness to Apple, the iPhone is just so handy and useful that I am using it for far longer than any previous phone or PDA. It's a fully-fledged computer, not just a phone. And my old Treo 750 wasn't much better on battery life if I'm being honest.

I am currently testing an auxilliary battery which plugs into the iPhone and can give up to two full charges. The small and neat Power Monkey, which looks nothing like a monkey, is proving to be a valuable addition to my portable arsenal. There are a number of similar devices such as the 3GJuice and the Kensington but on paper the Power monkey has the highest power capacity. It is British designed and you can see details at PowerTraveller UK.

Although the monkey is expensive at £65 it does come with an array of connectors for many mobile devices and a quality carry case. A bonus is a solar-panel charger so, in theory, you can have power wherever you go. I won't hold my breath for solar charging performance in Britain, but I am looking forward to trying out the device when I get back to Athens in October.

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