iPhone – srhawk.com

iPhone 3.0 Today

Posted on June 8, 2009June 8, 2009 by srhawk in iPhone

It is just hours to go before the beginning of the WWDC keynote presentation by Apple at 1:00pm ET. So, like so many other “bloggers,” I thought I would echo the prevailing rumors and speculation heading into the event, particularly with regard to the next iPhone.

Most of the so-called credible rumors seem to center on the following enhancements in the next iPhone:

1) faster processor (CPU and GPU) for a faster and more responsive system;
2) More system RAM (to improve handling of beefier Apps);
3) More main storage, likely at least two levels – 16GB and 32 GB
4) faster data throughput, up to 7.2Mbps downlink;
5) higher resolution camera (at least 3 megapixel);
6) autofocus camera;
7) video recording (and limited editing) capability;
“8”) magnetometer (digital compass);
9) a subtly tweaked design with a matte back covering and loss of the chrome front bezel; and
10) price points at $199 and $299 (16GB and 32GB respectively).

Some of the more interesting, desirable, but less likely additional rumors include:

1) tiny front facing camera for video conferencing (very cool, very desirable, but very nebulous);
2) available today (a very interesting possibility, but since the Apple Store online is still up as of 10:00 am ET, more and more unlikely); and
3) lower end models with less storage (4GB and/or 8GB) at lower prices ($99); or
4) continuation of sales of the current 8GB iPhone 3G at the lower $99 price point.

Well, there you have the summary. I am betting on pretty much all of the first ten likely items being announced with an availability of the new models at the end of June or mid-July. And I think some sort of lower end model at a $99 price point is likely at some point, but perhaps not for announcement today.

Oh, there’s just one more thing. There has also been speculation that Steve Jobs is recovering well from his health issues and may make an appearance at today’s WWDC, perhaps even as that “one more thing” intro at the end of the keynote. Other rumors indicate that he will make his formal return to work at Apple later this month at some other special event (reveal of an Apple Tablet or iPad maybe?). I think there is a very good chance that he will at least make a cameo appearance today, but I wouldn’t put any money on it (including shares of AAPL stock).

App Submitted

Posted on April 13, 2009July 2, 2009 by srhawk in iPhone

Well, the plunge has been taken. I’ve submitted an iPhone app to the Apple iTunes App Store! Keeping fingers crossed that it makes it through the review process okay. If it does, it will be available free on the App Store for a limited time.

I’ll post a link here when it’s available. And you can check out www.srhawk.com for more info as it becomes available.

March Musings – Part 2 (iPhone OS 3.0)

Posted on March 17, 2009March 17, 2009 by srhawk in iPhone

Briefly, I’ve decided to NOT try to predict what Apple is going to announce later today for iPhone OS 3.0. I felt that there would not be much point to speculating so close to the event. And I don’t want to contribute to the raising of unrealistic expectations.

I had been planning to post something yesterday, but I was too busy trying to actually write an iPhone app. For now, I hope for cool new things but refuse to expect too much.

And we’ll all know more at 10:00 am PDT (1:00 pm EDT).

Not a Mac Cultist Yet

Posted on March 13, 2009March 13, 2009 by srhawk in Uncategorized

Let me clarify something: I am not “one of those Mac people.” I have been a user and owner of a Microsoft/Intel-based PC since 1984, when they were called “IBM-compatibles”. And, truth be told, I do not yet personally own a Mac myself unless you count the iPhone (although I use a couple of Macs that are owned by my roommate on an almost daily basis now).

The first computer I owned was (and is… it still works) an IBM PCjr. Yes, that’s right, the much maligned “failure” that was the PCjr, IBM’s first attempt at a true “home” computer. And I learned a lot from that computer, using and relying on it for longer than any other computer I have owned. I even upgraded its memory by soldering new memory chips onto a memory card’s board! I learned to look for details on system requirements and what programs really did in order to be sure they’d run on the not-quite-100-percent-IBM-compatible PCjr.

And I actually worked as a cooperative education engineering student for IBM from 1984 to 1986. As an IBM employee, I used to bristle at Steve Jobs public comments about IBM as “the enemy” and “Big Brother.” I knew IBM to be just like any other company: a collection of people, bad and good – but mostly good, just trying to make a living. I thought Jobs was an arrogant a$$.

But throughout that time, I recognized the Macintosh as a very nice little machine. It just didn’t make sense for me to own one at the time. The incompatibilities between the Mac OS of the 80s and 90s and DOS/Windows of the same timeframe were much greater than they are now. Heck, the two systems couldn’t even read each other’s floppy diskettes. Now there is no need or use for floppy diskettes. They have been replaced by CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVD-Rs, DVD-RWs, and flash drives and flash cards, all of which use fairly universal file systems (ironically based on FAT32, an extension of the old MS-DOS FAT structure). So it is now much easier to go back and forth between Macs and PCs.

And that’s what I do. I use my PCs for some things (at work and for games) and Macs for others (video, iTunes, and development).

Steve Jobs may still be arrogant, but I also recognize that he is just a person, mostly good, much like those at IBM, who is trying to make a living and do something he finds meaningful. And he has become something of a visionary at Apple in the last decade or so. Apple’s products seem to stand apart because of it. As Steve Jobs and Apple like to say, “They just work.”