Reading Steve Jobs. John Markoff ponders the scenario I’ve been predicting for a while: an Apple book reader. He sees it as a new multi-touch tablet device bigger than an iPod Touch. While that device may come, I think it would make sense to also have reader software on the iPhone and iPod.

Thoughts on the Macworld announcements

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The MacBook Air looks great, but it doesn’t solve any problem I have. My life isn’t that mobile, so my MacBook is portable enough. No need to pay more and give up features for the weight reduction. But it’s still damn sexy.

The big story out of Macworld to me, is the revamped Apple TV. I’ve been on the fence about getting one since it came out, but now it looks like it’s a no-brainer (especially with the price drop to $229). Before it was basically just a big iPod. You downloaded content on your Mac and then synced it. Now you can browse straight from your TV. That’s great in itself, but the killer feature is the podcasting support.

I watch and listen to podcasts more than I watch TV. I simply prefer the niche content to the generally bland greatest-common-denominator stuff on TV. I think most people would if they could easily access it and watch it on a big screen. Streaming video Podcast support on the Apple TV basically adds a hundred thousand new channels to your cable line-up. No doubt more producers will jump into video-podcasting because they now have a viable way to get into people’s living rooms.

Biggest disappointment: the iPhone update. Yeah, location detection is great, but come on, my notes still don’t sync to my Mac? Seriously? No to-dos on this putative “smartphone”? Please throw me a bone here.

Jan 16, 2008 | Comment | Tags: , , , ,

In the current edition of This Week in Tech, Jerry Pournelle makes a prediction that I’ve made here several times before. Namely that the iPhone is perfectly positioned to be the book reader that finally catches on. Also noted was Amazon’s Kindle book reader, of which I hadn’t previously heard. (Price at $400? Ha!)

French Carterfone may halt L’iPhone

french-carterfone.jpgI love my iPhone. Despite what others might say, it is the most innovative mobile phone in a decade. I also think innovators should be rewarded, which is why I’m fine with the iPhone being locked to AT&T’s network. As a result, Apple gets a cut of my (and every other iPhone owner’s) wireless bill.

France might be left behind when it comes to this innovation, however. That country has laws similar to the wireless Carterfone rules Tim Wu, Skype, and others have advocated for the U.S. Locked phones in France must be unlocked by the carrier upon user request, and wireless carriers must also sell unlocked versions of their mobile phones. As a result, Apple is considering keeping the iPhones off French shelves indefinitely.

To me it’s clear that forced access laws limit innovation. I think folks who propose such rules want to have their cake and eat it, too. That is, they want the innovation that comes from entrepreneurs acting in a free market (and often fueled by exclusive deals such as the one between Apple and AT&T), and they also want the forced openness of networks. They think that the latter will have no impact on the former; that innovators will innovate regardless of the incentives. The iPhone snag in France, however, shows that incentives do matter.

Oct 9, 2007 | Comment | Tags: , ,

Where an iPod is better than an iPhone

Here’s one thing that sucks about the iPhone. I listen to a lot of podcasts and other spoken word audio, and so I’m often trying to jump to a specific point in time in the recording. The iPod’s click-wheel interface is great for this, but the touchscreen slider blows. You can’t get fine grain using your meaty finger so it jumps minutes not seconds. So there.

Aug 3, 2007 | Comment | Tags: , ,

iPhone a book reader?

Kottke points to a Booksquare post on how the iPhone, with its high-res screen, PDF support, and iTunes integration, is well-suited to be a viable ebook reader. Add to that, as I’ve noted here before, that Apple has been rumored to have already made deals with book publishers, and you get a new market Apple might be moving into.

Jan 15, 2007 | Comments Off | Tags: ,

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