bitpad.com

Is a CDMA-version Apple iPhone on the Horizon for Verizon? Thoughts on the April 8 Apple iPhone announcement.

Tomorrow's Apple iPhone announcement is supposed to be about iPhone OS 4.0.  In the past Apple has avoided outlining new iPhone OS features prior to a new model's announcement.

Given the last minute details when Apple announced the press conference, I initially thought that Apple was just trying to overwhelm the media prior to Microsoft's mobile-related announcement coming on April 12th.  If this was the case, however, Apple would just pick the same day as Microsoft.  Apple would not want to beat Microsoft's announcement by 4-days and risk being caught out of the news cycle.

Given that most Apple technology experts still expect a new iPhone model this summer, why the announcement so close to the launch of the Apple iPAD last weekend?  The only two reasons I can think of:

1) It has become increasingly difficult for Apple to keep its enlarged and rampant iPhone developer community under NDA.  Each iteration of software code released to developers, gets picked-apart for clues by the Apple fanbase for new models and unannounced products.

2) Verizon's recent comments courting the iPhone and rumors coming to me from U.S. sources increasingly point to a Verizon-version of the iPhone, which would require CDMA and/or LTE. 

Given that the only other large telecom markets offering CDMA handsets are in South Korea (which has many GSM overlays) and Canada (with both Telus and Bell Canada moving to HSPA+), Verizon is the only major provider Apple would be designing this for.  Telstra has basically scrapped its CDMA offering in Australia.

LTE would be a game changer for Verizon and an insult to AT&T, afters its multi-year exclusive partnership with Apple (not to mention the pricing flexibility it has provided Apple with the iPAD!). Apple support at this late stage for CDMA, may sell an extra 2-3M iPhones to starving Verizon customers, but would Apple want to support Verizon's CDMA "legacy network" at this stage? 

Do you think we could possibly hear "Oh, and one more thing" from Steve Jobs with a possible CDMA iPhone announcement tomorrow?

Apple's iPAD is a lost naming opportunity. Apple should have expanded on its iTouch product branding.

Apple Inc., a company that normally takes great care in keeping its product names highly descriptive and simple, stumbled last week at the launch of the its iPAD web tablet device last week.  It seems a lot of people, especially women just did not take kindly to the iPAD name.

The Apple iPAD, is basically an iTouch (WiFi-only models) or an iPhone (WiFi/3G models) with a larger 9.7" screen and using the same iPhone operating system and capable of leveraging the iPhone App Store.  Of course, some existing iPhone features have been stripped out (the camera for instance) and Apple does not see too many users wanting to hold up the bulky device to the ear and talk into it, replacing their mobile phone.  Other key features users were hoping to see are still sadly missing: Multitasking support in the OS, Flash player support, and dual-cameras for video chatting.

As an owner now on his third iTouch, I just cannot understand why Apple picked to build a new product category under the name "iPAD" when it could have easily extended its popular "iTouch" product branding to the new tablet devices.  Customers and the press would have easily understood the capabilities and the method of operation with a simple name like:

•    iTouch 10", or
•    iTouch XL, or
•    iTouch Pro, or
•    iTouch Tablet

Of course, Apple is the same company that made popular the iPOD brand to represent its portable music/media device.  Not exactly the Sony "Walkman" brand simplicity out of the gate, but Apple made iPOD work for them!  The only thing that matters is success, and Apple is way out in front of everyone when it comes to portable digital music players, touchscreen mobile phones and now larger touchscreen mobile tablets.

On a side note, an overseas contact of mine estimated that the iPAD build cost for a company ordering parts in the millions per year, would be around US$171 for the 3G 16GB unit and about US$17 less for the simpler WiFi-only model (not including the microSIM card or packaging).  I'm sure iSuppli will publish their own tear-down cost estimates in the coming weeks.  Add in R&D amortization costs, packaging, shipping, Q/A and Sales costs, and Apple still has plenty of room to make its 40%+ margins plus throw in some AT&T commissions and margins on App Store and media content sales and you can see why Mr. Jobs wants to build this into a key fork in Apple's income stream.

Personally, given that I have continuously upgraded my iTouch annually from 8GB, to 16GB and now 32GB, I am trying to quash any inner thoughts to purchase an Apple iPAD in its current first generation.  I'm sure that by Fall 2010 or at least in Winter 2011, Apple will have at least upgraded the iPAD product line to include at least one camera, multitasking support and upped the base memory to 32GB.  Hopefully, Apple also will give the users what they want and stop playing their corporate games and support Adobe's Flash Player.

A truly great mobile phone: The Sony Ericsson K750i

The Perfect Phone for Apple? And music lovers, business users, photo buffs, bluetooth junkies.

Here's the phone I mentioned in my Apple MVNO post earlier today that Apple should consider for its entry into the Wireless market with full support for MP3s (and with a little DRM firmware upgrade maybe iTunes' AAC format?).  The Sony Ericsson K750i is also known as T-Mobile UK's D750i.  The iTunes-enabled Motorola E790 maybe OK, but this one is better!

Check out the most detailed cell-phone review I have ever read at MobileBurn.com.  Michael Oryl goes into detail of the user experience -- not just data.  I wish I could get this level of detail for all my gadget purchases.  Info junkie I am.  I'm going to highlight a few spec's (see Sony Ericsson's site) and some of the phone's short-comings --- you can decide if this US$400-$500 phone is right for you

The Register and Pocket-Lint can be quoted to say "The K750i is fantastic!" with a 9/10 rating in the review.

The basics of the phone: 
- GSM (900/1800/1900), GPRS, email, T9 SMS/MMS, bluetooth, Infrared, WAP, USB
- Dimensions 100 x 46 x 21 mm, Weight 99 grams
- LCD display 256K colors, 176 x 220 pixels
- Ringtones: Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, FM Radio (RDS)
- MP3 Player supports playlists, shuffle and graphic equalizer
- Vibration alert, Photo caller ID, Voice caller ID, voice calling
- PIM, Java Games (3 incl. + downloadable), voice recorder
- 34 MB shared internal plus 64MB Memory Stick Duo card incl.
- Camera 2 MP (1632x1224), auto-focus, video-recorder, dual LED flash
- Video player (supports streaming), Music DJ & Composer,  Picture Editor
-  Built-in speakerphone plus  includes  stereo handsfree earbuds
- two Li-Pol batteries included (900 mAh): Stand-by= upto 400hrs/Talktime= upto 9hrs

Shortcomings of the SE K750i:

- fat fingers may find the keypad cramped (especially the "2" key which is recessed very close to the mini joystick above it)
- firmware seems to have a bug (twice when sending a file via bluetooth to my iMac it locked up and I had to reboot the phone)
- handset volume and built-in speaker should be louder
- very slow camera shutter release
- needs a 1 megapixel camera mode (not just 2MP, VGA and quarter VGA)
- No EDGE for high-speed data

A couple of other points worth noting.  While other online reviews don't mention this and the slow shutter lag above maybe throwing me off; I found the picture images hit or miss.  My experience with image shake (with digital zoom off) forces me to be careful or take a few pictures, hoping a I get one stable one.

I have never been a fan Sony Ericsson's peripheral/power sockets.  They seem pretty big given how delicate the connectors looks.  The K750i's FastPort socket (for power adapter, handsfree, USB optional external flash) carries on in this tradition, but again, others don't seem to mind.

Lastly, a problem that all single colour backlight LCD screen cellphones have is that after the predefined time the screen basically goes dark.   With all the Rogers/Fido network integration activities underway; I'm always pressing a button on the phone to check my signal strength or to see if a message is waiting.  The same thing on my Blackberry 7100.  Vendors need to solve this, maybe a small b+w LCD panel on the back could provide status information (like clamshell phones).

The K750i is still a great phone, and a joy to use. I think the annoyances above deserve to knock another point off the reviews mentioned.  I would give the phone a 8 or 8.5 out of 10.

I picked mine up from Bongo Wireless north of Toronto.  Of course they knocked $100 off the price (US$480 no contract and unlocked) the week after I shopped.  Kevin Heffenden at Bongo says the firmware of the K750i can be flashed to the Sony Ericsson 800W in the near future, no idea what the cost will be. 

The 800W is basically the a rebadged version of the K750i twin, the D750i, with orange highlights, Walkman branding and the ability to turn off the cellphone (for airline travel) and use the unit for music exclusively.  Personally, other than a couple of design advantages of the D750i/800W design (the joystick and "2" key are better separated; the lens cover is auto-released, not a manual slider); I think the K750i's business-like styling will probably age better.

I still plan on keeping my Blackberry 7100 for those days when I'm stuck in meetings, airport lounges and when I don't feel like lugging my laptop to a short conference --- everywhere else I'll use the SE K750i.  Now my friends won't laugh at me for talking into a calculator!

Any suggestions for similar top-end cellphones to look at?  What about my next gadget purchase?