Category: Gadgetry

Related to the inflated expectations over the iPhone, check out this thought-provoking Mike Elgan piece in Computerworld, which starts off:

Steve Jobs’ blockbuster keynote address at last week’s Macworld was brilliantly and powerfully delivered — one of his best ever. It was also a colossal mistake.

He goes on to make a pretty strong case for why making this announcement six months before shipping the product may have been hubris on Jobs’ part that Apple could pay dearly for in the marketplace. Barbie sez: “Corporate strategic planning is hard.”

User interface designer Bruce Tognazzini does an in-depth rundown of the features of the iPhone and his informed take on each. Interesting stuff.

One thing he points out, which I’ve been thinking about myself, is how users expectations may be frustrated because it can do so much, they’ll be frustrated that it can’t do more. Where’s my office suite? This multi-touch thing isn’t good enough for long blog entries! Why can’t I connect my phone to the conference room projector system? But as Merlin Mann would say: “This is a First World problem.”

Gizmo has a nice one-stop-shop of their admirable iPhone coverage from MacWorld ’07. Well-played fellers, right down to the Pope’s “worship not false iDols” post and the dubbing of the “J-phone” (as in the “Jesus Phone,” the phone that will end hunger, fight disease, crime, etc.). Conan had a funny sketch about the do-it-all iPhone, too. Apparently the phone even has the power to brainwash people. 191 people have given the iPhone a 4-1/2-star rating on Yahoo! Tech. 191 people who have never likely seen an iPhone (outside of a plexiglass cylinder or a YouTube video). That’s some killer bandwidth! Apple might want to think about forgetting the whole iPhone name controversy and just going with “J-phone.”

Treonauts has a decent chart and details comparing the Palm Treo 680 and the forthcoming Apple iPhone. Looking over the chart, and then reading the comparisons, it’s hard to agree with some of the conclusions, and the author certainly has a vested interest in Treo coming out on top (the site ain’t called iPhonenauts), and of course, none of us have actually used an iPhone yet. Still, worth checking out. It’ll all make for a fascinating debate after the iPhone is actually released into the wild.

The rumor mill going into this month’s Macworld Expo seems to have largely stopped turning on the iPhone. A large number of pundits, soothsayers, techno-shaman, and others who are supposed to know something about such things seem to think that the rumored Apple mobile phone (dubbed the iPhone) will be a no-show, maybe not only at Macworld, but for the foreseeable future. It’ll be interesting to see if they’re right. If they are, Apple might be missing out a golden opportunity, at least according to a study done by Solutions Research Group, and reported on at AppleInsider.

The study predicted, among other things, that with the introduction of an iPhone, Apple’s market “footprint could grow to over 30 percent of Americans within 18 months.” One thing buyers of an “iPod phone” where most concerned with was the battery life of a dual phone and iPod, something that the rumor mill has already addressed with the non-existent iPhone shipping with a non-existent second battery, standard. Can I get mine with a non-existent full screen and non-existent no-touch controls? Isn’t dreaming up tech fun? And then running polls about it?

Andrew Sasaki writes about the too-cheap-to-resist pricing and the scary unconscious carry that is the 2G iPod Shuffle in this ST review.

The iPod case designers at iFrogz have come up with a cool, smart case for kids. Called the Tadpole (US$25), it covers your precious Pod in a protective clear plastic sheet (protecting the screen and click-wheel from kid goo), and then wraps a silicone case around the whole business, with two handles for kids to hold the iPod while watching vids or for carrying it around. The Tadpole looks substantial enough to protect the player from the kind of torment the little polliwogs might put it through, making it a great way to be able to safely turn your iPod over to the youngins without worrying too much about it.

One of Street Tech’s Muse-Men is Kevin Kelly, co-founder of the Hacker’s Conference, WELL board member, CoEvolution/Whole Earth Review editor, Wired co-founder, author of Out of Control, the list just goes on and on. Kevin has a unique intellect and a passion for exploring the interface between humans and their tools (the same place where I focus a lot of my attention).

Anyhoo… one of his latest projects is the very Whole Earth Catalog/Review-reminiscent Cool Tools e-list and site. I consistently find new and interesting tech and tips with nearly every emailing. The latest issue includes a rundown of some of Kevin’s recommended gadget gift guides. In his intro, he nails what I fumblingly try to say each year in introducing our guide and what’s hopefully different about it:

“Since I’m in the gear business, I pay attention to the many End of the year Gift Guides that pop up now. Most of these collections are filled with stuff that doesn’t interest me. For some reason editors, and maybe consumers, are entranced by gear that looks cool. You know, very design-y. These fashionable objects don’t work better, and often work worse, than what is already out there. As utility objects they are junk. Most often the editors haven’t even handled, let alone used, the object they are listing. It’s inclusion is simply based on the clever look and concept. And what is not fashionable, is electronic. Most holiday lists are full of all kinds of the latest cell phone/camera/DVD player/PDA and so on. As far as I can tell these items are selected for their features — as listed on the product’s spec sheet — and not by any trial or use. Their supposed advantage in reality has a half-life of about 3 months, as their feature list is topped by the next model.

“There are a few seasonal lists that don’t get sucked in by these temptations and actually try hard to uncover new cool tools. Here are a few that I find have a high ratio of hits to junk. The primary quality they share is that the reviews have used the thing and demonstrate some passion and intelligence for it.”

We were very thrilled and flattered to see Street Tech’s Gift Guide on his, sadly, short list. We also really like some of the others he listed, such as Uncle Mark’s (PDF) and Wired’s Test (We think the best thing Wired has done since launching Wired News). We would also add the MAKE Open Source Gift Guide.

Here’s a link to Part 1 of our Guide.
Here’s a link to Part 2.

My full review of the Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard is now up on the Federated Media Holiday Gadget Guide. Here’s a snip:

I cannot tell you how gorgeous and yummy the diNovo Edge ((Logitech.com, $200) keyboard is. I don’t know whether to type on it or take it to bed. Of course, since it’s Bluetooth wireless and has a built-in trackpad …er… “TouchDisc,” I could take it to bed, and control a Mac- or PC-based media computer from there.

We know you’re probably sick and tired of gadget-site gift guides at this point, but we hope you’ll find the second installment of ours worthwhile because, as with Part 1, we actually tested most of the gifts suggested here and recommend them because we like them, not because PR agents plied us with incentives (he says as he’s swooning over some mind-alteringly-good “hand-made” chocolates that Belkin just sent over).

And we’d love to hear from you, in site comments or via email, if you buy anything from our Guide and what you or your recipient thought of it.