Appletell

A new patent from Apple this week could greatly help in expanding what an iPhone can do for you.  This patent expounds upon the service that allows Starbucks customers to purchase coffees from their phone and is extremely interesting.  Basically, this patent implies that Apple would have services like this in businesses and various locations all over the world.  For example, an airport could show flight schedules right on your phone or you could save your dining preferences and wirelessly order with a digital menu at any restaurant involved with it.  Even better yet, if a concert used this you could be able to buy the bands tracks wirelessly right then and there.  It would work by connecting to a local wifi network that contained specific instructions on how to handle wireless devices that connect and are made by Apple.

This whole idea is actually pretty fascinating and I can see it becoming popular sometime in the future.  People carry their wireless devices everywhere and if Apple manages to get more of a market share or this extends to all wireless devices someday, it could become extremely handy.  Imagine simply walking into a restaurant and pulling out your phone to check the menu or being greeted with a tourist map when arriving in a new city.  If Apple ever does put this into effect some way or another, I can really see it taking off.

According to AppleInsider, build 9D32, which will become Mac OS X 10.5.3, is on track to be ready for release at this years WWDC.  With over 220 bug fixes and various updates, this download is going to be a pretty large file, 416MB to be exact.  However, this isn’t the only rather large update expected.  There is also an update anticipated for the iPhone that will bring the App Store to the device as well as the normal bug fixes.  I presume that this file will be relatively large itself, at least for an iPhone update.  With all this updating going on who knows, there may even be some sort of update for other iPods also.  We will have to wait and see, but I’m excited either way.

With all these software updates expected from the conference, I’m sure there is going to be a lot of traffic in the bandwidth from people downloading the new products.  I got to say, I sort of feel bad for my ISP when it comes to events like this.  I usually do the normal web surfing, podcast downloading, bandwidth non-intensive sort of downloading that probably makes my ISP happy with me.  However, when updates like this come around me, along with many others, head over to Software Update as quick as we can click to get the new software, potentially causing a major plug in the pipes.  I look forward to seeing what happens.  Let’s hope you don’t get throttled!

Apple isn’t the only one preparing for the launch of the 3G iPhone, AT&T is also undertaking some steps of it’s own.  The first of these actions came from a memo that AppleInsider got a hold of.  According to the memo, starting on May 14th AT&T customers will only be able to purchase one iPhone at a time which is down from the limit of three that was originally in place.  Furthermore, there will have to purchase the device with a credit or debit card, ruling out cash or checks.  This is most likely to assure that they have some stock left until the 3G version is launched.

The second step is probably the bigger of the two.  On Wednesday, AT&T said it plans on having its 3G wireless network up to speeds of 20 megabits per second by 2009.  AT&T’s mobility leader, Ralph de la Vega, says, “It’s clear to us that we are in the very early stages of what I would call a wireless data revolution.” Better yet, he adds that this upgrade will hopefully not require as many hardware modifications as usual in these sorts of updates.

Its clear that AT&T realizes they really need to improve their network in preparation for the iPhone and other new devices such as the Blackberry 9000.  If they want to stop people from jailbreaking their iPhones and simply using another carrier, they need to give them a reason to stay.  This would be the first step in that direction.

Pixelmator, which claims to be “Image editing for the rest of us,” comes full of all sorts of different features for a relatively small price ($59.00) compared to other graphic design/image software of this nature such as Aperture and Photoshop.  If what the app contained before wasn’t enough to cause you to buy it, the new update may help.  The Pixelmator team has now released version 1.2 Draftsman of it’s beautiful, GPU powered image editor that comes as a free update for people who already use the product.  One of the key features in this update is new rulers tool.  This tool allows users to have even more control of the alignment on the layers and includes many different units such as pixels and centimeters.  This update also comes with the usual bug fixes as well as an addition of some more Automator actions.

Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator Team says, “Pixelmator opened the door for all users to explore their imaginative side through image creation, editing, and enhancement.  Now with powerful, but easy-to-use rulers, guides, curves, auto enhance, color balance, and polygonal lasso tools, Pixelmator provides users with an even wider range of creative opportunities.” Sounds great to me.

If you own Pixelmator and have downloaded the new version, let us know how it is.  The new features sounds extremely great and useful, and we love to hear your feedback!

Apple is at it again with two more witty Get a Mac ads.  This time around they are entitled “Pep Rally” and “Group” and of course feature the same actors as usual.  The Group ad consists of PC announcing that he has been able to live with Vista for a while now at what appears to be a support group.  Then, a fellow PC stands up and announces he has been error free for nearly a week, but he soon starts repeating himself and needs a reboot.  Again, Mac comes out on top.  In the Pep Rally ad, PC points out that Mac is the number one notebook on college campuses and then Mac is cheered on by some cheerleaders saying, “Mac’s number 1!” PC tell them they are supposed to be cheering for him so they then chant, “PC’s number 2!” Official score comes in at Mac 2, PC 0.

Apple’s marketing department comes up with some pretty great ads that really help promote their product.  The second on of those ads come on, customers immediately know what they are advertising, which is part of the point of ads.  Let’s hope they can keep up the great works on the ads and keep producing some good content!

Watch the ads

There are reports that within the next couple of weeks iTunes will be host to some of Time Warner’s HBO content.  What’s interesting about this deal versus any other iTunes content agreement is that Apple has supposedly agreed to a different pricing structure than the rest of their deals.  According to an article at Portfolio.com, “One possibility is that HBO programming will have a higher retail price than the flat $1.99 fee Apple currently charges for video content. [A]nother is that HBO will receive a larger cut of the same flat rate than other iTunes content providers receive.” However, as usual, Apple spokespeople have not commented on this report.

What does all this mean for Apple?  Well, it’s not just another content deal.  HBO has quite a few hit shows such as “The Wire” that could really help drive sales behind iTunes videos.  This could not only help iPods and computers, but also devices like the Apple TV.  As iTunes adds more and more content to it’s library, it is just gaining and even larger edge in the market and further revolutionizing the way we get our media.  Like I said in my post from a while back, this could be another step towards moving completely to online media.

iWork and MS Office are both great apps depending on your needs and wants.  MS Office is great for people who need to have compatibility with Windows users and iWork is a great addition to the rest of the Mac apps.  So the question is, which one should you get?  Each has its upsides and downsides, but how do you know which one will be right for you? Well, right off the bat there is a few things you can look at to help you make your decision.

1) Price. iWork comes in at a nice $79.00 whereas MS Office is anywhere between $149.95 and $499.95.  They both offer the same apps (text editor, presentation maker, and spreadsheet creator), but iWork is a lot cheaper.  However, they both offer free trials to see which one you like, but I imagine the price is enough to turn some away from MS Office.

2) Viruses. Cult of Mac has written a post stating that of 6 viruses in the wild for Mac OS X, 5 of them are exploited through MS Office.  As far as I’m concerned, this is enough of a reason to not go with the Microsoft product.  I don’t want my machine being more susceptible to attacks from simply editing a text file.

So when the day comes for you to decide between these two apps, which one is it going to be?  Have you already made up your mind?

You all remember the Apple Pippin, the greatest biggest flop of a game system ever, don’t you?  Since then Apple has stayed relatively far away from the gaming market all together.  However, I believe some of there products have, coincidentally, brought them somewhat back into it.  Look at the iPhone and its accelerometer.  Those two devices together make a great pair for a handheld gaming system and developers have already begun to take advantage of that with games like Spore (in the keynote).  Still, I think there is yet one more product that could soon be a nice little gaming device, and that’s the Apple TV.

A recent patent filing by Apple suggest a 3D gaming controller for their Apple TV that would supposedly be much like the Wii’s system.  This would be great for casual gaming on the Apple TV.  Think about it.  This device was made to be put in a living room with a large HD TV and home entertainment system.  It has the iTunes Store on it with a full library of podcasts, etc.  Why not add games to that list of items that can be purchased with this device?  It already has everything it needs besides the most vital part, the games and the controller (Apple remote?).  With those two additions, I feel it could one day become a serious competitor to the Wii.  Now, this probably won’t happen anytime soon if at all, but it’s a possibility.  What do you think?

Recently, Apple has been stepping up in the business environment and has really begun hammering it home that they are ready to more aggressively enter this field.  With the new iPhone software to contain ActiveSync support for Microsoft Exchange and possibly more business geared features such as a camera for video conferencing, this move is no joke.  Furthermore, it was recently reported that according to a rumor from TUAW, .Mac will soon include “Full over-the-air syncing including calendars, contacts, and email (similar to Exchange).” What do both of these have in common?  They are very attractive offers for anyone involved in a high business position at a big or small company.  Apple has made their impression in the everyday consumer market and is now moving onto bigger goals.  A smart move, I may add.

By making their products better for a business environment, Apple is opening them up to a large amount of potentially new customers.  Many businesses have stuck with Windows as their main OS for years, and Apple has realized that.  By realizing that, they are now beginning to compete with it.  Most of their new products and updates have more features that are meant for business type people which can only lead to good.  Good on you Apple for taking a risk and putting your cards into this deck.  Keep on innovating, we all look forward to you having more of a presence in larger corporation settings!

When the SDK for the iPhone is launched at WWDC, it is going to be exhilarating.  Apple has given developers plenty of time to create useful and outstanding apps, and I expect there will be plenty of them.  For example, at the keynote, developers had already made Spore and an instant messaging client in only a couple weeks.  Also, third party developers that have been using Installer.app have also made extremely awesome and helpful apps in a short amount of time.  What does this all mean?  Excitement.  When this whole deal is officially released, there are going to be hundreds of apps released with it.  The functionality of the iPhone is going to skyrocket and it is going to be even more desired.  But the real question is what apps do you really want to see.

First and foremost for me, and probably many others, is some sort of iChat. This would be great to keep in contact with friends on the go and, not to mention, save me a ton of money on text messaging overage fees.  Another application I would love to see would be for voice recording.  Whenever I am on the go, I always end up thinking of something I want to remember.  It could be so easy just to record it in the phone rather than writing a whole note.  This could also be very useful for business people who need to record a quick interview on their phone for later.  Lastly, and more general, I would love to see some awesome games.  There are a lot of times where I’m bored in the car or on a plane and iPhone games would be perfect to pass the time with.  What do you want to see and/or waste your time with?  Games, productivity, educational?  Let us know in the comments!