talkingdigital.org

Ya. We know, the photo used here is not of the actual iPad ( photo credit: nDevilTV).

Apple has described the iPad as the most innovative piece of technology they have ever produced. This may be true if you take it apart and look at the pieces, but the end result is a device that is actually strong in it’s non-innovative approach.

Perhaps, it would have been nice to see a larger screen, a slide-out keyboard, a digital camera/video, true GPS, full OS X, an OLED or color eInk screen, and innovative features that have never been seen before. However, a few years from now we may look back and realize that it may be the iPad’s similarity to the iPhone and iPod Touch that make it a success for Apple.

The iPad is actually an answer to complaints from iPhone and iPod Touch users. The larger screen and ability to attach peripherals are the only real differences between Apple’s current touch screen devices and the iPad.

But, is the screen big enough and will people use a device that is missing some of the features that make the iPhone attractive?

Where would Twitter, FourSquare, Yelp!, and mobile Google Maps be without the iPhone. Sure, there are plenty of smartphones that use these services, but would those companies have reached their current value had it not been for the iPhone. The even bigger question is would the iPhone be as popular had these services not found innovative uses for the camera, GPS and overall awareness of the iPhone?

iPad discussions on Twitter and in forums seem to be full of debates on whether the iPad is good enough to be useful to current iPhone and iPod Touch users. And then there’s the Netbook crowd. A nicely equipped netbook costs roughly $200-$300 less than the iPad.

Whether or not the iPad is a hit will depend on the actual needs of users, not the hype that Apple has put behind it. A table on Apple’s website has a price breakdown for each model.

Once cost not covered on this chart is the additional $15-$30 per month for the 3G service (only offered by AT&T). $30 per month for 3G data is a very good deal when you compare it to the cost of other networks data plans or even data plans on AT&T for other devices. If the iPad has a killer feature, this is it. On the other hand, most wireless providers offer a USB 3G wireless adapter that can be plugged into any netbook or notebook for roughly $50 per month.

The question is whether people will pay $629 (or more) plus $15-$30 per month ($180-$360) for a data service that can only be used on a single device. Compare the $629+$180 minimum for a 3G iPad which only offers 16GB of storage, no webcam, and no tactile keyboard to almost any $300 netbook with a 3G dongle or built-in 3G. The pricing is roughly the same. However, the added cost in getting a netbook plus USB 3G dongle allows you to pick your 3G service, you will likely get 160GB or more in storage, a webcam, a tactile keyboard. The USB dongle route allows you to use the 3G service on other device.

On the other hand, if you go the iPad route, you will have a cool device with a touch screen. You will also get noticed in coffee shops as you sit with your neck at a right angle pressing the keys of the onscreen keyboard as you punch out an email that say something like…

Bob,

Got your message. I will write more when I get to a real computer.

Thanks,

Bob

Sent from my iPad

To other iPad users this message will show that you cared enough to hit the function keys that allowed you to make a few punctuation marks. Of course, there is a full QWERTY keyboard available for the iPad. It is important to note that spending the extra $60 on the keyboard will bring you to within $30 of the price difference of going the netbook route. If you choose the 64GB version and unlimited data, then you surpassed the cost of a netbook a long time ago.

If anything, Apple has open the doors for a real non-Windows competitor to step in and steal the market share from anyone who is not a brand loyalist (fanboi).

The instant on, 3G and touch screen are nice features that make the iPad unique. That helps competitors who want to go to the cost and expense define what their competing product needs. We hope it means an Android-based tablet with a real keyboard and OLED or color eInk display. Throw in a webcam, real GPS and the 3G service of the customer’s choosing and you have a device that could win big among people who consider features over brand. Apple has opened the gates on the $500+ price point for a small screen. This allows competitors to come in and offer better equipped devices for a lower cost.

The big question will be whether OS X is enough to draw enough buyers over competing products. The operating system is the only feature that competitors cannot duplicate. If Windows were the only option, the iPad would be a solid winner. Linux, Android, Chrome and even WebOS are always lingering out there for customers and manufacturers who are willing to break with Apple and Windows and try something different.

It’s an exciting time to be a geek.

photo credit: AZAdam

Over the past few years there really haven’t been may new trends. Rather than announcing new kinds of devices, the trend seems to have been in making existing trends less expensive converged devices.

As we head into CES 2010 there are a number of trends we expect to see in 2010.

Year of the ebook – The long promised day of the ebook has come. While the Kindle is taking the US by storm, the rest of the world is wide open for the taking. Even the US is a potential market for a no.2 device. Sprint is planning on making an announcement for Skiff Newsstand – an e-reader technology. We aren’t sure what it is, but we will be at the press conference on January 7 to find out.

CES also announced in September that they had run out of exhibit space in their ebook TechZone.

Social media mayhem – Facebook has brought the social media into the mainstream. Now everybody wants a piece of the market. Keep an eye on talkingDigital.org during CES week (January 4-10) and we will be posting the best and the worst implementations of social media offerings.

Android (we hope) – The Motorola Droid campaign for Verizon has alerted geeks everywhere that the iPhone has a serious potential competitor. We are hoping to see a number of new Android phones and features announced at CES. While many of these announcements will happen in the months following CES at other technology expos.

Flip-like camcorders - Flip camcorders are to the home video industry what the iPhone is to the smartphone industry. Everyone from Sony to Sanyo has a competing product to the Flip video camera. We expect a barrage of new products that demonstrate how every other company just doesn’t get it. The simplicity, durability and video quality have made Flip a success. We expect to see companies announcing Flip-style cameras loaded with overly complex menus and layers of features. Flip is expected to add new HD products as well as wireless video transmission.

Keep an eye on talkingDigital.org for more CES trends leading up to our coverage in early January.

photo credit: roland

In the tech world there are many debates. Mac vs. PC, FireWire vs. USB, Dell vs. HP. The list could go on.

One argument has been declared over by too many people. CNET, TechCrunch and others have declared that the netbook is dead as an independent platform. As notebooks have grown smaller and more powerful and features have been added, many tech writers have decided that there is no real difference between the netbook and the notebook.

Netbooks still have a place. The problem is that netbooks are dying because companies who make them have forgotten why they caught on in the first place.

The appeal of the original netbook was not the grand set of features or the speed. Netbooks were wonderful because they fit a niche.

The talkingDigital.org criteria for what makes a netbook a netbook:

1. Size – a true netbook features a keyboard that can be used with two hands and a screen that can fit a 1024 web page. The keyboard should be full but “full size” was not a requirement.

2. Instant on (or as close as you can get) – Netbooks were not a replacement for notebooks nor are they a replacement for smartphones. People don’t want to take out their notebooks and wait for them to boot up just to use Twitter and check their Facebook. They also don’t want to spend 20 minutes typing out emails on a smartphone.

3. Web apps are all you need – True netbooks don’t need CD-ROM drives, 160GB hard drives etc. If you need a device that will store all your photos, edit video and play games, you need a notebook. A netbook needs a web browser, a webcam, a microphone and a few USB ports. The netbook is  a portal to Web 2.0 and The Cloud, 8 or 16GB should be plenty of storage space. You shouldn’t need Microsoft Office when Google Docs or Zoho will do the job even better.

4. OS is a utility not a platform – Whether a netbook runs on Linux, Windows, Android or BeOS shouldn’t matter in the least. As long as it runs a Webkit or Firefox browser that supports Flash, Java and other web platforms, that should be all you need.

5. Battery life – a true netbook will sacrifice most other features for longer battery life. Screen brightness is great, but most people turn their screen brightness down in public places to conserve battery and keep people from snooping over their shoulder. Solitaire runs great on a Pentium II and the Internet never even pushes the dual core capabilities of any system. A small processor, low powered screen and lack of moving motors give a netbook a longer battery life. Adding these features cuts down battery life. Netbooks need battery. If you have to sit next to an outlet to use your computer for more than an hour, you might as well get a true notebook.

A netbook is a supplemental computer. It is not intended to replace a notebook or smartphone. It is designed to be used for for stretches of an hour or two at the most, but to go long stretches without needed recharged. You should be able to keep it in a portable bag or purse so that it is always handy if you find yourself needing to kill time in a hotspot. It should be small enough not to annoy those around you but large enough to use comfortably.

Before buying a netbook, we suggest you go with a notebook instead if any of the following apply:

1. You want to use it to store or edit photos

2. You want it for World of Warcraft (or any other 3D game) on the go; bejeweled, solitaire and Zuma will work fine on most netbooks.

3. You want to store your music on it.

4. You need to run Microsoft Office, Photoshop or any other specific application to get your work done. If web apps won’t do the job, go with a notebook.

5. You expect it to replace your notebook or your smartphone. If you expect it to replace any device you currently use, you will be disappointed. Netbooks are a device in an of themselves. They will do jobs that you can do with both notebooks and smartphones can do, but they will do them better given the right circumstances.

Here are a few videos that we shot last night at the Windows 7 party. More pictures will be posted soon.

Just a very quick thank you to everyone who came out to the Windows 7 party. It was a huge success. We got crazy and discussed solitaire, shaking windows, the super bar, and crazy WiFi tricks.

Special thanks to Matt Kettlewell for taking this pic to document the madness that was the Windows 7 party of 2009!

Rick Castellini and Adam Cochran recovering from one wild Windows 7 party