Posted in Apple, Digg, Technology

Could Siri Assitant be the backbone for iOS 5 update?

Well it seems since Apple purchased Siri last April (2010), this new update to the iOS in June may be the reasoning for that purchase. There are rumors flying around that the voice recognition that is currently in the iPhone will be deeply integrated into the next iOS update. Siri originally won the 2010 Most Innovative Web Technology award at SXSW. The app helps you with voice activated commands and searches instead of having to type into the app. It’s great because you can do voice commands like “I need a taxi.” or “Where is the closest grocery store?”.  There was supposedly at one time a command to call people inside the app, but I don’t see it the latest update to the app. It just leaves a text confirmation that it isn’t there yet, but coming soon. So is that a pre-cursor to validate that this rumor could be true? I don’t know, but it will be revealed soon.

The iPhone currently already does some of these voice commands like Call Jeff or Play Breaking Benjamin, but it maybe that this new update could bring more commands to the already popular iPhone.

via [Digg] via [Edible Apple]

Posted in Apple, Technology

At&t adds 2GB wifi hotspot option for $20

Well with no attendance of Apple at MacWorld for the last 2 years, it seems there isn’t any Apple news coming out at all, except for this little nugget. It seems the Wifi hotspot feature that is going to be standard on the Verizon iPhone, will soon be standard as well on the AT&T iPhone as well. The developers have seen the beta version of iOS 4.3, and it seems to be good. With this update, the software does allow for the iPhone to become a hotspot, but that doesn’t mean anything on the carrier side. So one half of the idea is soon to be. It sounds like Apple will be releasing the 4.3 update on Valentines Day. The good thing is, it seems that AT&T agreed to add this option to the iPhone and well, all other smartphones that support it. In a press release from last week, it seems that date will be February 13th that this goes live. The package will be an extra 2GB for $20/month. So it seems that the 14th release date of the 4.3 seems to be right in line with the new option. So this seems to be getting more expensive to have an iPhone and have it run its full capacity.

$39.99/month minimum Voice Plan

$25/month for 2GB of Data

or

$15/month for 200MB of Data

or

$30/month for ‘unlimited’ (for original customers who are grandfathered in, or those who lost it and get it back)

Then there is texting:

$20 for unlimited

Then however you want to connect to your iPhone and share the data:

$20/month for tethering

or

$20/month for wifi hotspot

CRAP!

via [Engadget]

Posted in Rants

Success isn’t overnight (Or in 3 months either)

I am just ranting here, so if you don’t want to read it, I am warning you now.

Ok, I am just completely tired of these big companies pulling out on their projects so quickly. It’s like if the thing doesn’t make a profit after 3 months or so, pull the plug, we don’t need to waste the time on it. For example, the Windows Phone 7 has now basically been on the market for 3 months, and it seems from the Steve Ballmer speech about revenues, that Xbox Live is killing it, and everything else is just background noise. I have already heard speculation that they may pull the phone from the market, much like their KIN phone that failed last summer. WHAT?? I really hope that this is pure speculation because from the early adopters, I have heard nothing but good news. Even Alex Albrecht had made mention of it on diggnation somewhere after episode #287, but before #291. He said the phone is a great phone, but it is a 1.0 product. There isn’t any multi-tasking built into the phone, and there isn’t enough developers for the platform just yet. I think part of the reason is that Microsoft came way too late in the game in this one. At this point, if you are going to come to the game, you better bring your A game and then some. Android and iOS devices are leading the pack, no matter what Blackberry says.

I would even like to try out a Windows Phone 7, well up until I ran into the Motorola Atrix. That seems to be the phone that will put Motorola back on the map like the V3 did back in early 2000s. Which actually brings me to the 2nd product. The Motorola Xoom. A tablet that is apparently already having issues with retailers. Why is it before the thing even launches, we already have nay sayers?? It isn’t even on the market! All I am hearing is about the sticker shock that people are having about the price of the thing, and the fact that it doesn’t have a wifi version. Which apparently is the way the Galaxy Tab went as well, to help subsidize the price. The only problem is, LOTS OF STUPID people can’t seem to lock themselves into a 2 year contract.

(ranting about commitment)

Are you kidding me?? REALLY? How often do you people change carriers? Like is this a 6 month thing? Do you constantly look for the blog post from INSERT_BLOG_NAME_HERE that tells you how to get out of your contract once the TOS changes, or do you constantly just pay the ETF fees? I don’t get it. You people have turned int to commitment fearing, single mother or father living, spineless pieces of CRAP. I AM SICK OF IT. (I am looking at you most of the tech world) (in my most sarcastic boo hoo voice) Oh, it’s so scary to sign a 2-year contract. I don’t want to be locked in. I’ll just keep paying MORE for my month to month. I can’t commit to that, who knows what will happen in TWO years! That’s just to much pressure. I can’t take this.

SHUT UP! Do you know how fast two years goes by? I’ve been with AT&T since 2001. That’s 0. 1. that’s right, 10 years. Just pick a provider you like and stick with them. I just don’t understand it anymore, I am so sick of hearing even good friends of mine, and NEIGHBORS who say they don’t want to be locked in. You got married didn’t you? How hard was that? I have neighbors who won’t sign a 1-year lease, 1! They say they don’t want to be locked down. REALLY?? REALLY?? You’re married and have an 8 year old kid. Have you seen your porch? It looks like you have been stocking everything out there like you are going to be there for a while. Oh wait, you’ve been there for 7 years. 7!

Now back to my original thought, I guess Microsoft and all these other companies are expecting overnight success. The Xbox 360, the Kinect for Microsoft has done well. The Kinect may have been a slight overnight success, but you have to understand the R&D that went into that and the years that it took to bring to market. I guess everyone is expecting that every product they bring to market, to be a an instant success. It takes time. SERIOUSLY. Don’t give up after three months. Just because it isn’t making sales numbers. Let the public know what it is, let them try it out, let it be blogged about, DANG. Just go back to the drawing board, start all over again, and try to come out with something that blows us all away. Like Apple did with the iPhone.

I am not saying Apple is the end all be all, but they have been very successful with their iOS devices. They started a whole new revolution by staying away from all other crap that was out there, and Steve Jobs said, there is NO WAY I am putting anyone else’s crap on my phone, and I am doing it my way! That’s what he did. Now look at the iPhone. You people have to step back and re-invent. Don’t just copy and expect it to win.

I’m done. I could go on, but at this point, I am 885 words in… I think that’s enough.

Posted in Apple, Rants, Technology

AT&T announces unlimited iPhone Data Plans again (kind of)

Well who didn’t see this one coming? It seems since Verizon officially announced the iPhone data plans, earlier this week, at $30 for ‘unlimited’ access, AT&T couldn’t stand by silently. It was last June (2010) that AT&T announced their new data plans for iPhone users, and it came at a price. If you were any new user of the iPhone or upgrading your plan, you could no longer get the ‘unlimited’ 5GB of data, but that you were paying for at most a 2GB data package for $25 instead of the previous $30. Now with the announcement of the iPhone 4 coming to Verizon, AT&T has to come back, but with a hitch. The only people currently allowed to get the ‘unlimited’ back, are the people who had it previously and lost it. WHO are these people??!! I ask because, if you remember when they started this new pricing plan, if you already had the ‘unlimited’, you got to keep it, and you were grandfathered in. So therefore, as long as you didn’t change your voiceplan or upgrade, there was no need to change your data package. Then if you were a new user who bought the iPhone 4 upon release, you never had the ‘unlimited’ in the first place, so that specific of a demographic is a VERY SMALL number. Wow, everyone else keeps talking about how AT&T sucks (Kevin Rose, Brian Tong & countless others), and I have stood by them because they don’t suck here in the southeast, and they have been a reliable provider since I had the original iPhone, but NOW, WOW! AT&T should just keep their traps shut, or go all out and just drop 2GB cap, and allow for every iPhone user to get that ‘unlimited’ plan for $30!

That’s my two cents..

via [CNET]

Posted in Apple, Rants, Technology

Why I still think the Verizon iPhone will be LTE not CDMA

It’s just days past CES 2011 and apparently the only rumor that seemed to hog the floor was the Verizon iPhone. It was apparently confirmed by WSJ and “people that are familiar with the matter” (which was repeated several times in the article) that the phone will be announced on Tuesday Jan. 11th and launch next month on February 3rd. The only problem that I have with this is that EVERYONE is still saying CDMA, based upon reports that Qualcomm has been ramping up inventory and is now selling baseband chips to Apple. Qualcomm is apparently the largest provider of the CDMA based chips, so this is why this seems to be the loudest theory out there.

Well, as much as I want to go with this, something tells me that this is just wrong. No matter what my favorite tech blog Engadget has to say. Just based upon the latest “evidence” that we have.. it doesn’t seem to mesh well. I am thinking that the Qualcomm story is something to throw us off the scent. Let’s look at the picture that Engadget posted with their story:

Do you see what I see? There is still a SIM card slot in that ever so slightly “tweaked” iPhone chassis. Oh you want a little more evidence? Let’s take a look at the video that was pulled down by Apple due to copyright issues (then later reposted with a different title & Engadget re-encoded it for their own player):

Did you see that? There is still a SIM card slot on that phone. Now, anyone with any Verizon CDMA 3G phone, please feel free to email me with a picture of your SIM card that you got from Verizon. It just doesn’t add up. I recently just helped a friend install the VZ Access Manager on their new laptop with the new LGv600 USB modem (or whatever that thing is) that supports 4G. You want to know what was inside that modem? It was a SIM card that said Verizon 4G LTE. You want to know why? It is because Verizon is now a GSM carrier! You can read more about the history on that in my previous post.

I just don’t see Apple choosing to go with a dying technology. Same as with the reasons they chose to keep flash out of the iOS enviroment (i think they are just trying to kill flash all together), they want to be on the forefront of technology, and since Verizon is one of the first to launch LTE stateside, why not? iPhone 4… iPhone 4G… it makes better since, then to stick with old 3G technology that we have all grown to hate when there are no towers… Even At&t is finally announcing 4G, even though they are the last on the bandwagon.

I’m calling this one… right now.. even if I’m wrong, thanks for reading this far.

UPDATE: It seems there are some people that are starting to agree with me, but saying it will be a dual mode phone. I just don’t see CDMA being the technology, especially since CDMA doesn’t allow for simultaneous calling and surfing. That was the big thing that AT&T was touting last year in their ads with that Wilson brother. How Verizon can’t do that with CDMA. So why would iPhone 4 be a multitasking phone, that couldn’t multitask under CDMA???

More Evidence: Back in 2009, the CEO Ivan Seidenberg at Verizon said: “Apple will be more willing to work with Verizon in the future on an LTE-equipped version of the iPhone.” According to Seidenberg, Apple never considered building a CDMA version of the iPhone due to CDMA’s more limited distribution footprint.