Shazam is a great app that promises what it says it does. It has been out for a while and I have used it on other phones but for the iPhone it hasn't let me down. When I want to know what song is playing at the bar or in the Volkswagon commercial I simply fire up Shazam and in 12 seconds it lets me know.
| Feature | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Height: | 115mm | 115.5mm |
| Width: | 61mm | 62.1mm |
| Depth (thickness): | 11.6mm | 12.3mm |
| Weight: | 135g | 133g |
| Case: | Aluminum back | Plastic back (better reception) |
| Color: | Black/Silver | All Black or All White |
| Heaphone jack: | Recessed | Flush |
There are plenty of iPhone reviews out there. This is not another. This post is just an observation as to why the iPhone is so different and inspires such goodwill from those who use it. It is simple really, but Apple has taken tasks that on most (all?) other phones are cumbersome, non-intuitive, and often just plain crappy and made them a joy. I am not really over stating this, the iPhone is really fun to use. Browsing the web is not reminiscent of the "real" real web, it IS the real web (ok a web without Flash - for now). Google maps works just like Google maps should. Email is great, not some crippled version, and the phone, despite what some have said, is very nice too. Almost all the interfaces are easy to use and it is easy to know where to go and what to do to make things happen. My previous Windows Mobile phone and my Palm PDA phone before that, took a while to master and it was only because I learned their backwards way of doing things was I able to manage on those devices.
This should serve as yet another lesson from Apple that design matters. Make interfaces (both physical and virtual) that are fun and intuitive and people will enjoy using them and tell their friends.
A couple other observations - No wonder there is a 10% restocking fee if you return an iPhone. With the amount of plastic they use - wrapping everything multiple times in their way. It would take a while to wrap all that stuff back up, I imagine. And what is up with the industrial glue used on the bags they put the phones in when you buy them. Not sure if it is the same at Apple stores but at the at&t store the clerk put the phone in this bag and then pulled away a strip between the two insides and the bag sealed up tight - had to use keys to rip a hole in the bag to open it. When we asked him about it, he said Apple was making them do that. Think different, I guess.
iPod, phone, camera, computer running OSX, bluetooth, wifi, and no buttons*. I am glad my Cingular contract is up in May, just in time to pony up for this amazing phone.
UPDATE: Now play around with it on the Official Apple Site.
* A fact that I am sure will get a whole cadre of usability professionals crying foul, but you know what, its all about sexiness and by and large buttons are not sexy.
I am seriously considering getting a Flowbee vacuum haircutting system to use on my dog. We have always (or more accurately rarely) cut our dog's hair and it is always a pain because she freaks out with an electric clippers so we have to get by with just a scissors. I know she will freak out a bit with the vacuum sound too, but she is getting old and can't freak out nearly as powerfully now. I expect only a minor to medium amount of scratches across my arms and chest.
Any mention of Flowbee requires a link to this page, that I still think about whenever I hear mention of the product - which is, not surprisingly more and more infrequently.
The Korean company, Gamepark Holdings, makers of the GPX2 probably did not know that their product would catch on, as it has. Because it runs Linux, it is easy to customize, add to, and hack. And despite a slew of shortcomings (no wi-fi, lack of mainstream games, less-than-stylish design, and short battery life – rumored to be fixed), the GPX2 can do many things that the more popular Nintendo DS and Sony PSP cannot (support for many common file types – mp3, mpg, DivX, bmp, jpg, etc, the ability to emulate classic games) - all because it is open.
When will device manufacturer's learn that opening up their products will make them infinitely more attractive to, hackers and developers at first, but then later, as more hacks and mods are available, to the mainstream market? Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and mobile phone makers should be embracing freeness and openness as a means of being more profitable. Stop the arrogance (of thinking you can do it better) and start the acquiescence (and yield to the open movement).
I recently purchased a Nikon D50 digital SLR camera but haven't even had the time to go out and really use it. I have posted a couple dozen photos taken with the camera. All of them are pretty much on the auto settings and none are very good, but I think they show some of the potential of this camera.
I considered getting the D70s and drooled over the D200 but in the end I realized that the D50 (nearly identical to the D70s - and in many ways better*) is still too much camera for the like of me and I still have much to learn before an upgrade is warranted.
This post about my new Nikon camera comes amid speculation that Nikon may discontinue its analog camera production. There is still some confusion over Nikon's plans with seperate reports coming out in favor of and denying the rumors. But Nikon's site seems pretty clear about the issue:
As a result of the new strategy Nikon will discontinue production of all lenses for large format cameras and enlarging lenses with sales of these products ceasing as soon as they run out of stock. This also applies to most of our film camera bodies, interchangeable manual focus lenses and related accessories. Although Nikon anticipates that the products will still be in retail distribution up to Summer 2006.
* the things I like about the D50 over the D70 are: the size and weight of it. Is a tiny bit smaller and I think it feels better, it uses Secure Digital cards rather than compact flash this saves me money and is faster, there are a couple other things, but I will save them for a more complete review in a couple weeks.
Looks like TiVo is rolling out new features at quite a clip. Some have reported that they now have support for podcasts ad I have seen local weather and traffic and other features in conjunction with Yahoo! There would also seem to be sharing of photos with Yahoo! (Flickr integration coming soon?) Maybe this Yahoo!/TiVo partnership is going to be more worthwhile than first speculated...interesting.
More features being rolled out:
- Browse movie information/buy tickets from Fandango.
- Discover new music on Live365.
- Overlap priority (for those shows that begin or end at strange times)
- Movies on demand with Netflix (ok so this one is still wishful thinking)
TiVo is still a ways ahead of the competitors in features. Hopefully they can stay that way and somehow make a profit.
Now on with the links:
"If Kevin Garnett were only 5-foot-8, pudgy and going to work on a newspaper delivery truck, I doubt if many sports journalists would fret about his future."
-Mike Royko, Buffalo News, June 30, 1995
* If you ever corner me in a bar or such place have me tell you the story about Bob Sagat that Paul Provenza told the entire theater at SXSW 2005 after the preview screening.
There's a new self-serve DVD rental in town. Redbox actually has 145 locations in Minnesota alone! (mostly inside McDonald's restaurants) I will have to find one and check it out. I am thinking that it has a person who maintains it and stocks it weekly with the top 30 (or so) new releases. I think it would be way sweeter if they could write the DVD's on demand for people from a catalog of thousands of titles. The only drawback is how to handle returns - which you would need - if you were to satisfy current copyright laws. Then again, this could be the iTunes for DVD's as they could charge something like $9.99 per title. McDonald's is pretty smart to partner on this, as any rentals at their locations will require two visits. Why not grab an Egg McMuffinTM and a Coke® when you stop back in?
Progressive Insurance has been testing a program called TripSense that uses a small device (called the TripSensor oddly enough) that plugs it into your vehicle's On-Board Diagnostic (OBDII) port — usually is located just under the steering column — that tracks information about individual trips (from engine start to engine shutoff), and includes the following data:
Periodically the driver would unplug the device and connect it to their PC via USB and send the data to Progressive, which then evaluates it, aggregates it with other driver data and determines what discount you may qualify for.
Progressive is offering a 5% discount on premiums just for using the device with promises of additional discounts of up to 25% based upon the data you provide. Of course they probably don't promote the idea that your rates could actually go up if you drive poorly or a lot.
Progressive claims that information on aggressive braking/acceleration events are not used in the discount calculation. Stating that this information in order to better understand if it is predictive of future accidents.
Think of the data that progressive could have if all of its insured drivers provided this information (which according to Progressive is optional - drivers in the TripSense program can review the data (with charts and graphs) on their computers before determining whether to send it and qualify for additional discounts or not. By extensive use of this and future programs Progressive could have the most accurate data on driving habits possible.
Of course there are privacy concerns and concerns over how this data could be used. For more on that aspect of the program the Minneapolis Star Tribune has written a recent article.
Now I am not saying this works, and I am not saying I want one for Christmas, but I know one wife who would be very happy if the Bow-Lingual Dog Translator (by Takara) made its way under our tree. You read that correctly, and there is "science" to back Takara's claim's up (PDF), that it can analyze your dog's bark and determine its emotions from that analysis. They are lucky this amazing breakthrough in interspecies communications happened just before the holiday shopping season!
Devices like Neuros by Digital Innovations and PoGo! Products' Radio YourWay are a step towards an idea I had some time ago about the way Radio could be recorded and played back (tenuously associated is this post from 2000 about the need for micropayments and the changing way we view purchasing media).
With features like, song recording on any FM/AM signal, song identification using digital "fingerprints" (don't you hate it when you hear a great song and then don't know what it is - ok so it only happens rarely on commercial radio), and wireless playback on any FM radio its no wonder Wired is writing about them. Once again Apple paves the way (with the iPod in this case) and someone else tweaks, improves, and markets a similar product to the masses.
Just when all the hype surrounding the Danza/WHAT was reaching its crescendo, 0sil8 Heavy Industries gives us the Megway TH - just in time for the holiday gift buying season. Although no details were given as to how much it will cost I have already purchased several hundred of these things for my office and town from Amazon. I sure hope they run less than $4.99.
A side note to the Megway TH hysteria is that the server that serves Alt Text has been extremely slow lately (it is sitting right next to the server for 0sil8 Heavy Industries after all).
People PC - the idea is you get a new computer, unlimited internet access, free on-site support, and other deals passed your way for $24.95 / month
Here's what they say:
The computer is a Toshiba 366 Mhz Intel Celeron, w/64 MB of RAM and a 6 GB hard drive. You get an 8 MB video card, a 56 k modem, a 15" monitor and speakers to boot. It seems ike a great deal for mom's (hopefully mine wouldn't need to call me for computer help then)
First Internet Bank - basically everything is online.
I am thinking about doing something like this. They offer ATM usage at any of 42,000 ATM's and give you $6/month to cover out of network ATM usage. They have 3% interest on checking accounts and its really set up to pay bills on-line (a definite plus). I just wish there we're more competitive forces at work in this industry. Really this should all be free because we are allowing them to not hire tellers and the like.
Don't even get me started on ATM fees. I cannot stand them!
Oh yeah, I back on the eBay again. I need a 12 step program.
And when the hell can I expect Homesite 5. I will not switch to 4 but I think it could be better.
I am finally getting settled into the new office. (except for that chair thing) It has been really fun so far; moving, "Fun Friday's" and DVD's/Dreamcast in the theater make for a fun workweek. Plus if I ever can't take it I can go upstairs and pound a punching bag or play basketball for a while to blow off steam. Outside of the 2 coasts, I doubt you'll find a better web firm working environment. (minus the chairs of course)
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