Today Apple has an event introducing their new iPod lineup. Included in the iPod lineup is the Apple TV device which as many people are reporting is due for an update today. While this will be a media based device, it could also function as an iPad for your TV. Especially if the rumors are correct that it will run the iOS that the iPhone and iPad share. So it might be possible that the Apple TV could be an HTML5 delivery device. The iLife software is due for an update, so instead of iDVD being updated, there could be an HTML5 creation app. It’s less than 2 hours from now, so we’ll see soon enough. I would like Apple to support this open standard, and make it easy for the average person to create content for these devices. I’d love to see a mix of Netflix, network television, and user-generated content playable on these devices. A guy can dream right?

Flickr photo by justinsomnia

Apple is holding a press conference today. No one knows exactly what they are going to say, who is going to say it, or whether people will be satisfied with what they say, but it’s a big deal in the technology world. The iPhone 4′s antenna issues have been documented. Experts are saying there will be a recall. I personally don’t think the issue warrants it. But why is this a big story?

I believe it is because of what this device is. It’s a computer. It’s not a phone, or just a phone. As I and others have said, sometimes a dropped call is a good thing. I use my iPhone for so much more than calling people, which at this time in history is becoming quaint. The iPhone 4 compares to a Mac from 2000 – AND it fits in your pocket! The power of these devices is only accelerating. I’ve long said that these devices will be our main computers. We’ll carry them to do certain tasks, and then dock them to do tasks that require more monitor space.

Look at where we are. It’s a device that fits in your pocket. It turns on instantly. It connects wirelessly to the Internet (in two ways). I has a built in still and video camera. It can triangulate where you are in the world. It has a 32GB hard drive with no moving parts. An on and on. I think sometimes we miss the revolution that it is. Still, it is a device, made by a company. There are other companies that make similar devices. It’s the computer wars of the early 90′s all over again, with some different players. It is still a big deal, in terms of technology and in terms of communication.

Yes, Apple thinks different. They don’t always think right. While most other companies have evolved their online presence to include things like Twitter and/or Facebook and have openly shared any issues and bugs with an online community, Apple has not. That’s what I want to see change today, or at least start to change. They may think they don’t need to. They may think they are successful because they don’t have that open presence. I believe that if they continue to be closed, it will be self-destructive. There are many who enable this closed attitude – its fans, journalists, and customers themselves. However, Apple is getting more popular and with that will come increasing demands that they be more open, or at least more honest.

Apple’s latest issue with the antenna is not a big deal. It is an issue on a lot of cell phones including previous iPhones (like the 3G in my video above). They can do minimal things to make it right, like give people a free bumper and improve the software that displays signal strength. The reason that they need to change their software at all is because they made it so that the signal would look better than it really was. It was all about the bars (thanks AT&T you have some culpability in this too). Now it’s time to be honest. Stop with the lofty talk. It’s one thing to try to make superior products. It’s another to act superior. Please, no more Jony Ive videos. He’s a great designer, but those videos now couldn’t look any more phony (no pun intended). Let’s have just a wee bit more REAL.

Steve Jobs blames user error for initial reports of iPhone 4 reception problems.

Apple blames formula for iPhone reception problems (they’re “stunned”).

No response to Consumer Reports testing of signal degradation.

Apple deletes, then keeps, support forum threads regarding CR article.

Apple fanboys blame Consumer Reports for flawed tests that show signal loss in iPhone 4. (so MacLife, how did Apple test for the problem when they informed us about the signal strength bar issue? Was it more rigorous than the Consumer reports tests?)

Apple has a reception problem.

Apple should listen to its customers and stop pretending there aren’t problems. Those problems might not be a big deal, but stop with the blaming of others.

Flickr photo by Stone Mirror

I had been using FlickIt and AirMe to upload photos to the Flickr website, and another app called Darkslide to view my Flickr photos. However, the new Flickr app does it all, and seems to work quite seamlessly as it includes the ability to geo-tag photos. It is one of those iPhone apps that immediately feels right to use, almost like it was there from the beginning. The one downside is that uploads do not include the camera information. So far the only way to get that information included is to use the email to Flickr method. Let’s hope that an update will fix that shortcoming.

All in all, it looks like this program will be on the hallowed “page 1″ of my iPhone. It was worth the wait. Here’s the link to the Apple Store for the application.

Here’s what you need. An iPhone, using its built-in camera. An app called AirMe, which you set up to upload the image you take, to an account of your choice. In our case we use the Flickr service. I’ll talk about the Flickr piece in a moment, but I don’t want to gloss over how AirMe works. I grab the iPhone and start the free AirMe app. It works on top of the camera app and it allows me to take a picture, if I like it I use it, or I retake it. I can also use an image that is already on my iPhone. As long as I’m connected to the AT&T network, it will instantly start uploading. In 30 seconds, give or take, it’s done.

Now it’s available on Flickr. So, similar to the audio recordings on AudioBoo, the image is instantly hosted on a photo sharing site. However, like we also did with AudioBoo we are going to republish it to a WordPress blog automatically. We again employ our good friend FeedWordPress. We use the RSS feed from Flickr using the tag iPhone. In no time at all the image is up on the blog.

I have a preset title of “Latest iPhone Photo” and it posts the thumbnail that links to the Flickr page for the photo.

Caution, of course, needs to be exercised because it will publish whatever photo you send. The current iPhone has even better quality than the one I own, and network coverage is getting better all the time. This will only get better and easier with time. I was hoping to have this procedure worked out in time for my MS Ride this year but . . . better late than never.

Sometimes Apple leaves features out of products for inexplicable reasons . We’re on version 3.0 of the iPhone software and their iTunes application does not allow you to subscribe to a podcast using the standard itpc:// protocol, nor can you add a feed manually, like you can with the desktop version of iTunes. The screenshot from the iPhone above shows you what happens when you click on an iTunes subscribe link in the web browser.

An alternative program with the above features that you can use for the iPhone is called RSS Player. I mentioned this app in my post about AudioBoo, and it will allow you to get more podcasts that are outside of the iTunes universe. It’s $0.99 from the iTunes store.

As an example of how to give users a practical way to subscribe to podcasts using the iPhone, I created this video demonstrating how you browse to a webpage using the iPhone and by clicking a specially coded button, it will automatically start the process for adding a new feed to the RSS Player program.

The example podcasting site, which has some content and multiple tests of AudioBoo, is simply called Podcasting @ UMW. The RSS Player button is created by using the following link (using the rssplayer:// protocol) – rssplayer://www.podcaster.fm?feedurl=http://podcasts.umwblogs.org/feed. RSS Player will work over WiFi or 3G and there is no 10MB file limit like there is with iTunes. The app is a little bit wonky and lacks some of the polish of an iPhone app, but it gets the job done.

After our presentation at ACCS 2009, I’ve had a couple of “Wedding Singer” moments where it would have been nice to know that developers were working on new versions of plugins, like WPTouch for the iPhone. Another one popped on my radar today, thanks to my office-mate Patrick. The web service Slideshare has enabled, in a beta form, a way to view presentations on mobile phones. Since there is no Flash plugin for the iPhone, you can’t view the slideshows as they are presented on the standard Slideshare site. However, by going to m.slideshare.com, you can browse on your phone all of the presentations at the site, including your own. It works on most smartphones, including the iPhone, and it works pretty well.

If you didn’t know, a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation can be downloaded to an iPhone, but viewing it is not a visually rich experience since there is no “player”. It simply allows you to scroll vertically through the slides. With Slideshare Mobile, you have previous and next buttons to advance the show, along with other options to offer feedback, mark as a “favorite”, view the slides in a “sorter” view, and a download link.

Another “small piece” delivered.

By the way, downloading Keynote presentations (the Apple presentation program) from Slideshare doesn’t work on the iPhone’s Safari browser. Since Slideshare doesn’t use a direct link to the file, but instead links to a Zip archive, Safari won’t allow the download because of security issues.

POLL CLOSED

Add your answer in the comments . . .

The service allows polling to take place with a cell phone that has SMS capabilities. We’ll see if it beats clickers into submission.

* = in some areas

The Internet is great for fact checking. When it comes to fact checking, I find that Paul Thurrott does a great job with this. When it comes to the new iPhone, Paul does some debunking of the hype surrounding the new 3G version. The purpose of this post is to bring attention to his fact checking and to add my own comments. This Friday the iPhone 3G goes on sale and the big headlines are, and Apple’s website says “Twice as Fast, Half the Price”. Walt Mossberg’s headline reads “Newer, Faster, Cheaper iPhone 3G“. Other reviewers have varying headlines and opinions. Now I know that columnists generally don’t write their own headlines (unlike bloggers, hehe), but the bottom line is if anyone tells you the iPhone is cheaper, they are wrong. If someone tells you it’s faster, well it depends. If someone tells you it’s newer, well they couldn’t be more right. It IS new!

So what should the purpose of a review such as Mossberg’s be? To inform a potential buyer whether a product is worth it or not, and to point out a company’s misinformation. This post is not a review. I don’t own an iPhone. I’ve heard great things about them. I know at least two people who own one and they say it’s the best phone they’ve ever had. I may own one some time in the future, but is now the time to get one? Why should I get one now?

If you answer “because it’s cheaper” or “it’s half the price”, your not telling me the truth. If you plan to buy one and not activate it with AT&T (if that’s even possible) or only get a talking plan and not a data plan, then it is cheaper than the previous iPhone. If you do plan on using it (with data) then here’s the breakdown. The original iPhone cost $599. Let’s repeat that one. The original iPhone was $600, and early adopters stood in long lines for it. It then dropped to $400 two months later (iPhone 2.0). Thanks Apple. That phone was cheaper. The new iPhone costs $200, but let’s be clear, that’s “up front”. Let’s break down the pricing plan. I’ll round up to make the numbers simpler:

You must sign a 24 month contract and if you have the data plan, which is what the iPhone is made for, this phone is more expensive to own, period.

As to the “it’s twice as fast” claim, well that appears to be true, if you’re going to use the phone where there is 3G coverage. However, unless you live in a large U.S. city, you’re not going to get 3G. Let’s try saying this – It’s slightly more expensive to own the iPhone 3G, and while the 3G network is faster, the coverage is not where the slower EDGE network is right now. With that out of the way, tell me what’s better about the new iPhone?

The most realistic review is from David Pogue of the New York Times. His basic points are that it is still a great looking phone, the audio clarity for calls is much improved, and the GPS capabilities and other software have been improved. However, he immediately points out that the phone is not less expensive. Thank you, David. Mossberg points out some deficiencies with battery life, but doesn’t adequately dispel the “half the price” myth. The other review that Paul points out is by Ed Baig in USA Today. He also says it’s cheaper, and that’s not in the headline.

Why am I going on about this. Because it’s wrong! Some people can afford to get excited about a product that costs more than the last model. Some people can’t! To hide its costs and say it’s less by half is inexcusable. New models of technology products should give you more for less. I’d even settle for more for the same cost. All reviews of the iPhone should call out Apple immediately for saying it’s half the price. If you were able to get an iPhone from Rent-A-Center for $2000 for two years versus $1840 for two years would they be able to get away with saying it was half-price? No.

I have recently held an iPhone in my hands. It’s nice and really nicely designed. I mentioned to some others recently that it is a tough, durable phone. For those of you who don’t know about Blendtec, they sell commercial, restaurant quality blenders (i.e. expensive). They have a whole series of videos, videoblogging style about different objects and they ask the question, “Will It Blend?” For those with week Apple fanboy stomachs, look away now.