Toluu

Mossblog

Occasional musings from Walt, in text and video.

MacBook Pro TradeoffsOctober 26 2008

When Apple redesigned its laptops earlier this month, most of the attention, including mine, was focused on the entry-level MacBook. That was because of its popularity, and because Apple managed to make over the machine in a way that added some oomph and lots of style while actually making it thinner and lighter and preserving battery life. But what about the MacBook’s big brother, the 15 inch MacBook Pro, a powerful, if pricey, laptop favored by many power users? My verdict on the Pro’s makeover isn’t nearly as favorable, because there were more tradeoffs.

The new MacBook Pro costs the same, high, $1999 price as the old one, and Apple does give you more for your money — a faster discrete graphics processor; the same radical new button-free trackpad that’s in the MacBook; bigger hard disks. It’s also a tad thinner.

But some of the new model’s design features that were a dramatic upgrade on the entry MacBook were already present on the older Pro — an aluminum case, a bright LED screen, and the ability to perform some iPhone-like gestures on the trackpad.

And the new MacBook Pro is actually a downgrade from the old model in a few areas. For one, it has grown slightly larger and he

Google’s G1: First ImpressionsSeptember 23 2008

Google’s new G1 phone announced today is the first real competitor to the iPhone. Like Apple’s product, it’s a serious handheld computer with a powerful new operating system (called Android) and a clever touch-based user interface. Like the iPhone, it’s likely to be a major new platform for third-party software. But it’s also very different, and may appeal to different buyers.

The phone, expected to be the first of many to use the Android operating system, was largely designed by Google, and was built by HTC of Taiwan. It will be sold in the U.S. starting next month by T-Mobile, for $179.99 with a two-year contract.

Here are some first impressions of the G1, based on some experience with a prototype. This isn’t a full review; that will come later, when I’ve had a chance to use a more finished device.

Most importantly, the G1 complements its touch screen with a physical keyboard, the lack of which has made the iPhone a non-starter for some users. The G1’s keyboard is revealed when you slide open its screen. The keys are a bit flat, and you have to reach your right thumb around a bulging portion of the phone’s body to type, but it’s a real keyboard. And there’s also a BlackBerry-like trackball that supplements the touch screen navigation. I found typing on this keyboard to be OK, but not great.

A second big feature, or limitation, of the G1 — depending on your point of view — is that it is tightly tied to Google’s web-

Ten iPhone Programs to Check OutJuly 14 2008

I’ve spent part of the weekend downloading and trying out dozens of the more than 500 new third-party iPhone applications that launched with the debut of Apple’s (AAPL) “App store.” The store is part of the new iPhone 2.0 operating system, which not only comes with the new iPhone 3G, but is also a free upgrade on older iPhones and a $10 upgrade on the iPod Touch.

These first applications range from serious programs for doctors and pilots to silly parlor tricks that take advantage of the iPhone’s motion sensors. One, called PhoneSaber, merely displays an image of a Star Wars-like light saber and makes varying light saber noises as you wave the phone in the air.

Here are ten apps I think you might enjoy checking out, in no particular order. These aren’t meant as full reviews, just pointers to interesting items. There may be ten others, or 200 others, you think worthier of attention. Feel free to add comments with your own suggestions.

1. AIM. Finally, a native iPhone program for accessing one of the world’s most widely used instant-messaging networks. It lacks some of the more rarified features of the PC or Mac versions, but does the basic text-chat thing quite well. One downside: because Apple isn’t allowing third-party programs to run constantly in the background, you can’t receive new messages in AIM while doing other things. This will supposedly be remedied by new Apple server technology due later this year.
2. MotionX-Poker

The iPhone and Its Killer AppJuly 10 2008

Yesterday, Walt spoke with Yahoo Tech Ticker’s Aaron Task about the 3G iPhone and its Friday launch. Since it’s more of a “handheld computer,” as Walt describes it (click here for Walt’s full review), its success is naturally linked to today’s launch of the App Store and the embrace of the software development community. Here’s their conversation:

The 3G iPhone: First ImpressionsJune 9 2008

I’ll have a full, detailed review of the new 3G iPhone in a few weeks, but here are some first impressions based on Apple’s (AAPL) announcement today.

The Biggest Pluses

Speed: Because the biggest problem with the original iPhone was the slow AT&T (T) network, moving the device to the much faster 3G network, while no surprise, will have a huge impact. This is especially true since data already show that it is by far the most heavily used smart phone for Web surfing. It means that you won’t have to search for a Wi-Fi network to do decent Web surfing.

Price: Less than one year after it was introduced at a hefty $599 price, the 8 GB model of the iPhone will now be two-thirds cheaper, at just $199.

Third-party programs: Until now, in order to get third-party programs on an iPhone, you had to hack it. Now, there will be hundreds of them coming soon, and the handful that were demonstrated by Apple looked impressive, from blogging-on-the-go, to news and sports, to games and even medical software.

The Biggest Minuses

Still locked to one carrier: Even though the greater speed is a huge deal, it only matters if you have good AT&T reception. If AT&T’s coverage in your area is poor, the iPhone is still a bad choice, because Apple, unlike its competitors, doesn’t sell it through multiple carriers in one mar