Amazing, wonderful, any other adjective you can think about does it.

Here is a sample from the new 5 MP camera: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soulposition/4727734470/

The problem for me is the Objective-C syntax. It really, really bothers me. Coming from C# I’ve taken a few things for granted. For instance, memory management is something I really don’t worry about on a day to day basis. I know that I can override my Dispose methods and that’s fine but the GC in the framework works well enough for. Second thing I really take for granted is Visual Studio. This version of X-Code maybe great for Mac developers but it sucks shit compared to VS.

That aside, I’ve successfully got a few demo apps written testing different aspects of the iPhone SDK and have about 5 app ideas that I’m gonna start working on soon enough. Those that hang with me on a regular basis know how geek’d I am for presence these past few months. I think that will be the bigger aspect for 2008 in software development and the iPhone is the device that will launch it into the everyday users hand.

I’ve also got some concerns and they are generally shared with the community.

– No background processing. So my app will not be able to respond to events in the background. Think the SMS app on the iPhone. It just sits there and waits for an event to happen.
– No plugin model for existing applications. Say I want my weather app to pull data from Weather Underground instead of Yahoo.
– How will upgrades be handled in the App Store? Most apps I purchase offer free point releases (1.0 – > 1.1). I wonder how that will be worked out.

Other then that, I’m super psyched for the future of the iPhone and app development. I expect the first round of apps will end up being ports of existing applications or simple extensions of popular apps (Delicious Monster, iBank, etc.). End of the year will be the time that the App Store will probably start to see some unique applications being released. Of course the games that will be availible should be something amazing. The casual game market should be loving the iPhone SDK right now.

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced the new availability of several exciting feature upgrades and product support for TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD customers. The news includes the availability of external storage (E-SATA) from Western Digital, the introduction of Multi-Room Viewing and TiVoToGo availability and the new feature of progressive downloads – all for Series 3 and TIVo HD subscribers.

Yep, now I can share my recordings with all my TV’s now, take some videos off and shoot them to my iPod video or iPhone and schedule all my shows remotely. I’m trying to hold out for the x-mas deals on a second Series3 (and if I get rocking on the comic book room maybe a TiVo HD for there) so I can finally drop the last Verizon SHIT-VR that I have hooked to the projector.

Seriously, uber excited over at Casa de JT’s.

I got this image from the Mercedes ad video in the form of a short movie called ‘The Illusive‘. You can check out the video here. [via Motor Authority]

Honestly how much do you fucking talk that you have a 300 page bill? I don’t mean to use such a harsh expletive but I just can’t fathom the amount of time that you waste having enough text message and calls that your bill is that large.

Not that AT&T is out of the woods or anything because my bill came in at 21 pages which is still the largest cell phone bill I’ve ever received. iPhone users around the country already know that AT&T underestimated the demand that the Jesus Phone would produce on their systems and people. So let’s just get over this and get back to doing something else, like I don’t know strapping a stupid camera to your head and taping everything you do.

Because that’s not dumb at all. Namaste to FSJ for this.

Thinks that I like:

• The device is super sexy. It is not at all heavy and the screen is gorgeous!
• iPod functionality is super. This really is the best iPod evah!
• edge network really hasn’t been an issue as everywhere I have been has some sort of open wi-fi network *OR* there is a pay-for wi-fi network that I can get on. When I was on edge, it wasn’t as bad as everyone made it out to be.

Things that I don’t like:

• Not being able to queue up multi email messages to be sent out. e.g. I have several pictures I want to upload to flickr. I have to send one message and then wait for it to finish and then send the next. Could be a lengthy process if there are several messages to upload.
• Sometimes you can really stress the limit of the EDGE network. Not that it happens a lot but there are some occasions were I have commented that a faster data network would be nice.

And that’s about it. I really think this is a killer device and quite better then the first generation product jitters that you come to expect with Apple.

Not to be left out, t0fu (or Eric if you must) posted pics of his iPhone. I’m not really sure where he picked his up but mine looks much better then that.

update

21hrs and still no working iPhone. meh I can’t believe that it’s taking this long and you can’t really get a fucking answer from AT&T. If it’s not activated in 24 hours (which is what I was quoted) then it looks like I’m gonna get free activation and after AMEX hears about it, probably a free iPhone.

Even though I can only call emergency number this thing is super, SUPER fucking sexy. Seriously.. believe the hype.

The line has already started at the Reston Town Center’s AT&T store. I’m not too worried. Though with all the worrying that Jessi is doing (she doesn’t want the lack of iPhone to ruin our vacation next week.. it won’t but she doesn’t listen), it is making me a bit nervous. So I’ll be heading out of the office in a bit to go check out how many are in line now (only 3 this morning and they didn’t look like a chatty bunch).

I’ve got my address book cleaned up and ready to be imported into the phone. I’ve got a playlist of my highest rated (4/5 *’s only) tracks that are going to be put on the phone, complete with all the appropriate album art so CoverFlow should look bangin’. I’ve not decided on movies/tv shows/other videos yet but I may rip a DVD and stick it on there for the plane ride tomorrow.

• adds multiple steps to common functions that are easy to perform on a regular phone.

Aslong as it doesn’t take forever just to take a picture of something then this is a non-issue. If it’s like jumping through hoops like I have to with my Q then it’ll be on eBay real quick.

• runs on EDGE, which is pokey, and the can’t be upgraded to run on faster networks.

This sort of, kind of bothers me. Being that this is going to be an extension of the “Digital Life” that I have created with my other Apple products, I would have thought that data transfer would be a big deal. Either way, it is still better then GPRS.

• won’t work with a lot of iPod accessories.

I hear that it won’t work with car adapters specifically (e.g. the ones allow you to play music through your deck.). These seems like a big omission.

• has no overall search.

Kind of like how Google Reader doesn’t include search. I mean you have Mac OS X why wouldn’t Spotlight be enabled?

• has no quick way to move up and down on pages.
• has no way to cut, copy or paste text.
• can read Excel, Word and PDF documents, but can’t edit or save them.

Probably will be annoying soon but it’s not really that big of a deal. Maybe if the novelty of multi-touch wears off. Mac OS X doesn’t include native editing of those documents now, so this isn’t a surprise.

• can make phone calls but in many ways it’s a pain in the ass, even more so than with other smart phones.
• boasts voice quality that’s “good but not great.”
• has no way to get your contact list from your old phone.

These are some troubling statements. You see, I dropped the Treo because it was a shitty phone. Call quality was horrendous and making a call was a huge pain in the ass. The Q fixed some of that but really, it’s quite cumbersome still to make phone calls (don’t even get me started on the lack of a number pad on this damn thing..).

The contact list issues are minor, I don’t know of any phone these days that doesn’t have a way to sync contacts with a PC/Mac. Then getting them on to your iPhone should be a breeze.

• has some third-party apps, “but the few we tried weren’t impressive.”

Third party apps? Like the ones at iPhoneApplicationList?

• has no instant messaging.

Has texting already become passé?

• can’t record video with its camera, and has 2-megapixel resolution.
• can’t turn your iPod songs into ringtones.
• has no games.

Of all of these, the not being able to apply iTunes songs as ringtones REALLY is a huge omission in functionality. Why in the hell?! How am I going to setup Mika to play whenever Hoover calls?

Having YouTube on the device and no way to record video seems stupid. Again with my “Digital Life” angle that Apple pushes, why was this not included? And no games? What will I do when I’m in the can? Probably watch videos or YouTube.. maybe lack of games isn’t a bad thing.

• costs twice as much as its competitors.
• isn’t for the “average person” who just wants a cheap phone for making calls and texting.
• probably isn’t for corporate types either.

Costs twice as much? Yeah, probably but the pricing for this phone isn’t anything unheard of. Of course this phone isn’t for the normal person, the normal person will take the free – $50 dollar phone they get with their plan, not an iPhone.

If the rumor is true about Apple licensing ActiveSync for syncing with Exchange then we’ll have to see about the corporate types.

Regardless, I’m going to be in line at 6 p.m. this Friday to get my iPhone and will post my thoughts (depending on if my surprise birthday destination has internet or not.)

Currently Listening to At The River by Groove Armada

So I’ve got Apple iPhone fever. It’s such a switch from my current crop of phones (Motorola Q, MPX220, P900, P800) that I can’t not be excited about it. Hell, I’m even going to get out of my contract with VZW early I’m so sexed for this phone.

Then I come across a few new phones from LG. Yes, the same LG that I’ve sworn off of like the Black Plague. Don’t get me wrong, I own several LG devices like DVD players and such. But I never liked thier phones. Take for example the new Chocolate. This phone has got some nice curves and good looks. The OS seems quite usable, which would be a first for an LG device IMHO. But there is the issue with that screen and slide out keyboard. First the screen is way too sensitive. I can’t talk on the device without my face mashing some buttons. Then there is some keyboard issues. I must type to fast for the device or the T9 on it just sucks so bad. Either way, it was a no go for me on that one.

The first device I saw was the Prada branded LG device, originally called the KE850.

This is probably the closest competitor to the iPhone as it is now. Huge touchscreen device, 2MP camera, 8GB of internal storage for playing H.264 video, MP3, AAC and I’m sure a bucket of other formats. Tri-band GSM device that will cost about 600 euros out of contract. Click the link above to check out the interface via the website. If LG had put 3G connectivity on this one, I might consider it over the iPhone right now.

The second device is called “The Shine”. This looks to be the follow up to the Chocolate and from the reviews of the device it seems to function better then the Chocoloate (huge plus) and even one reviewer commented on better T9 support. I also think it’s funny that it’s part of LG’s Black Label line, taking a page from the fashion industries playbook.

The specs on the device are well rounded, while not an iPhone killer a worth adversary in the designer looks category that is growing in the mobile industry. It really reminds me of the Nokia 8800 that is so very, very sexy but I hope it’s more affordable then the Nokia. LG has setup a blog to follow pre-release buzz on this device over here.

The specs are quite nice on this device also:

• 2.2” screen that when turned off becomes a mirror. Quite handy for the women folk.
• 2 MP camera. People have been posting images to flickr from this phone that you can see here.
• 1 GB internal storage. I’d like to see more but it’s not that big of an issue.

All of these phones (iPhone included) suffer from one small issue and that is a lack of 3G connectivity. I honestly don’t know why you can’t build that into a phone and then when a user is in an area with it, it’s already there for them.

There is of course the one thing that the iPhone has still going for it that I’m really interested in trying and that’s the muli-touch functionality and how it seemlessly will fit into my home environment right now. Not to say that either of the LG’s wouldn’t find a place, it just would take some getting used too.

Currently Listening to Might As Well by Something For Rockets

CellSwapper.com has developed a system to keep both cellular consumers and carriers happy. Through its patent pending system, CellSwapper allows millions of unhappy cellular users to transfer their contract to another consumer for the remainder of the contract period. The consumer is fully absolved of all responsibility and is free to initiate a new plan with a different carrier. This system also provides an exclusive deal for those looking to start a wireless service plan a short-term contract with no activation fees that may run as high as $45.

The carrier, on the other hand, is still guaranteed the monthly payments are made the remainder of the contract term. Furthermore, using the CellSwapper system the carrier is able to replace its unhappy customers with satisfied ones. This is financially significant because only happy customers will be driven to maintain their service relationship with the carrier after their contract has expired.

So much like Mr. Arrington at TechCrunch, I’ll be glad when I can dump my Motorola Q for an iPhone.

That’s a device I could really rock. That’s not to say there aren’t issues with it. Being Cingular only is a big sticking point, since I just dropped to Verizon a little over a year ago. At first the lack of any 3G network was a kicker but that has subsided mainly because I’m usually around WiFi anyway so the addition of UMTS really isn’t all that mandatory. And if I am out and about not near a WiFi signal that usually means that either a) I shouldn’t be messing around on the interweb and should be driving or b) I’m in an area that probably doesn’t even have UMTS (you hear me Salisbury?!).

The kicker for the device though is that it runs Mac OSX. I mean the real deal Mac OSX! This is the closest I’m going to get to the Mac Tablet I really WANTED!!

The more I thought about it the more, I think this is my portable device in real life. The next step is a dock (ala Protege R400) that wirelessly connects to the iPhone so my display will be redirected to a screen when the device is within a certain distance.

The built in accellerometer just takes this device to a whole other level that I can’t wait to get my hands on to this device. Speaking of touch, the multi-touch patent that people have been following since someone found the patent last year. It’s like Minority Report almost realized.

Then there is the Apple TV (was iTV). This little device is the Airport Video Express device everyone was waiting for. HDMI Out, 40 Gig Buffer drive, 720p output.. everything I wanted except for the CableCard, BUT it’s not a DVR, so I’m less concerned about the lack of that.

Yet, here is where a subscription movie model would come in handy through the iTunes store right? Now, an iTunes addon that will stream WMV downloaded movies would be nice. Hopefully, by Feburary when the JT’s one comes in someone may have figured that out..