Talking about Apple and swooning over their products like an obsessed fanboy is boring. But what can’t be ignored is the sheer hype machine that IS Apple. The volume of queues for two days this time round for the new iPhone 4 must surely mean they’re doing something right? First off the new iPhone. The new iOS4 is great and best served by the gorgeous new hardware that it now sports. Bit of a summary below and in my next post I’m going all out Apple fanboy as I explain WHY I love Apple, even though they often infuriate me.

Apple have leapfrogged every other smartphone right now with the iPhone 4. Android offers some great devices but the OS remains fiddly and the entire package is not yet a slick match for Apple’s hardware / software / App integration.

What’s to like about the new iPhone? Lots. The display has a crazy pixel resolution and looks fantastic. The engineering of the phone (Antenna issues aside) is so meticulous it makes the outgoing 3GS seem like a toy – you can only really ‘get’ this when you hold it in your hand. The speed of the device means that Apple’s ‘multitasking’ seems to work well, even if it isn’t really true multitasking but more ‘fast app switching’. The camera is improved, the new iMovie for the phone is a nice touch and in general it’s a big move forward even from the 3GS.

The only thing that does bug me with the iPhone is the complete lack of a dashboard display showing all your stuff at once. Even though multitasking now makes things easier it’s still not as good as showing your mails, social media nonsense and other bits and pieces all on one screen. A shame because I think if Apple turned themselves to such a dashboard it would be great. Oh well, maybe next year then. I’d also love some form of LED notification system on the hardware instead of badges which I find crude.

The new phone seems to be even more of a hit than the 3GS with practically no handsets available in the UK today. Crazy stuff.

What does interest me is that all networks now can sell the iPhone but not one of them is really doing anything on price. I expected THREE to come in with unlimited data as their usual data plans are generous but no such luck. Bizarrely whilst I don’t really rate their network I’ve decided to stick with O2. They seem to be the only people doing visual voicemail (Which I couldn’t live without) and their prices don’t differ too much from anyone else. As for the nasty 500mb data cap – well, go online and see what your data use is each month. I use my phone all day long and don’t really ever go above the 500mb mark.

So in summary the iPhone 4 is a worthwhile upgrade, even for 3GS users. WIRED have a video if you haven’t been able to have a look for yourself yet:

Having owned Apple products since the ‘Classic’ it’s often been a mysterious journey following the groundbreaking tech firm. What is common over the years is a sort of jump and dip in Apple innovation. Some years see a real emphasis in hardcore computing power (Think back to the G4 ‘supercomputer’ ) whereas recently we’ve seen a much more consumer focused company with the advent of the iPod, iPhone et al.

For a while I felt a bit dissapointed in the Apple keynote speeches. I was seeing rehashed technologies banded about by Apple as real innovations but with the keynote from yesterday firmly in my mind it becomes evident to me how all of Apple’s products are converging into objects that can placate high end users AND consumers alike. For the first time in a few years I see Apple as really pushing the envelope. When the iPad was launched I was cynical but in use it’s a joy. I love having something that is Apple but is smaller than my 15″ MacBook Pro workhorse. I also love the huge battery, the fact that I can check my email, review documents, play games, watch movies, speak to friends via IM but still have power to spare at the end of the day – all on something so well designed that it garners coos from every corner wherever I take it.

So Apple’s iPad DOES have a genuine place in not only consumer electronics but also for us powerusers who don’t want to be on their work centric machine all the time. It’s fun, not expensive, beautifully made, technically advanced and it’s also only the beginning.

Now my thoughts on the new iPhone 4. Notice it’s not 4G. A shame but not Apple’s fault – I believe the networks really have to step up their game now. If they want customer retention then they need to not only fix the insane amount of dropped calls on their networks but also build the networks of the future. I cannot help thinking that Steve Jobs and Apple are secretly furious with AT&T for providing such a shambolic network right now, forget even thinking about a 4G network! So I cannot come down hard on Apple here. They were demonstrating their ‘FaceTime’ feature as though they had invented video calling and I felt like ranting about how we’ve all been using Skype for years…but Apple do things better and by stressing that FaceTime works only over WIFI they are making sure functionality isn’t compromised by the poor networks.

I’m excited about the new iPhone because Apple HAVE pushed the boat out technically. I was expected a new design relying more on a new OS than anything else but I’m blown away by a few things. First off the display:

The ‘Retina Display’ (I love Apple’s marketing dept!) is insane. To have that many pixels on a mobile device right now IS innovative. It’s going to allow developers to provide the most beautiful graphic experience ever and for people in design allows for close up zooming without quality loss. So the screen is a huge huge thing to shout about.

iMovie on the phone – wow. I mean as if recording 720p HD video wasn’t enough Apple develop a baby iMovie App for use on the new iPhone. Kudos to Apple here, the demo looked incredible – see for yourself here

Then we have a better camera promising better quality snaps, LED flash, front facing camera for video calls, thinner easier to hold body, better materials, faster processor, better noise cancellation…and I could go on but all with a larger battery and better talk time.

In summary Apple have come from two points and arrived at one – they’ve produced a groundbreaking product but improved the weight and size AND battery life.

Roll on June 24th!

It’s the word on many people’s lips, twitter streams and websites – iPad. Like many Apple products nowadays there is a large amount of hype before a product release. I spent a few minutes with an iPad some three weeks ago and whilst I didn’t have an opportunity to test it out in my ‘real world’ (i.e. at home, on the move, with clients and so on) I did like what I saw. It’s much smaller in the metal than in pictures and is easy to hold and use comfortably. It’s also incredibly fast and looks beautiful.

The problem in prejudging the iPad is that until you have one and decide how it can help you, your family or your business then it’s very difficult to form an objective opinion.

I’m looking forward to getting the base version in Vegas this Friday. I think that whilst newer versions will sport better connectivity and a camera I’m keen to get my hands on the first iteration. One thing I think is worth mentioning is the ability in the UK to hook up your own ’3G’ solution rather than have to be tied to a carrier at purchase. THREE produce a wonderful ‘MIFI’ modem right now that I have been using for a month. It resembles a small phone and basically pushes the THREE 3G network to any WIFI device you might have without having to use your USB slots on your laptop.

Hence a perfect solution for getting the WIFI only iPad and not having to splash out on the more expensive 3G version AND not being tied to one of the more expensive UK carriers.

Content is going to be key to the iPad’s success, much in the same way that the iPhone has relied on Apps to revolutionalise the smartphone market with everyone now following suite. It’s early days but I really like what i see from WIRED:

For a long while now rumours have been ramping up about Apple’s impending ‘tablet’. Most recently a flurry of activity has centred around how Apple will shake up the news industry as they did the music biz. Hmmm. Interesting. This comes at a time where news online is no longer the freebie it once was and whilst I’ve yet to be prompted for a PayPal login or credit card nudge to read my favourite news sites this could become reality…and soon.

In the latest episode of Diggnation Alex Albrecht hints at the price point as being extremely low.

This got me thinking – would this tablet be subsidised based on a subscription model driving revenue to news providers or groups? Like everyone else I’m intrigued as to what Apple have up their sleeve here. I remember also like many being totally cynical of the iPod when it first came out. At the time I was immersed in my music production and live act career and music was (and still is) something in my blood and close to my heart. I didn’t believe that people would settle for the inferior sound of compressed mp3 files but years later and Apple have truly revolutionised not only the music business but also made an enormous impression in the mobile phone world. Can they do the same for print media and news?

I’ve not paid a huge amount of attention to Sony Ericsson phones in recent years. After their promising dip into UIQ they failed to really deliver anything groundbreaking with their ‘P’ series of touchscreen handsets instead pushing their ‘SONY’ association with the Cybershot range of cameras.

This might now all change – the ‘Idou’ hype is gathering momentum, a new touchscreen offering from Sony Ericsson. If you look at the above ‘spy’ shot below you’ll instantly recognise the UI – it’s almost identical to the Nokia 5800, in other words S60 5th Edition.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last few weeks with the Nokia 5800 and after some reservations I’ve really warmed to it – more on this next.

Looking at CNET’s take on the new DELL Adamo I couldn’t help thinking about the stop/start nature of flagship PC design manufacturing. The car industry provides a useful analogy here – whilst the somewhat muted designs of say Audi or BMW contrast with the flambouyant nature of their French counterparts the Germans seem to get it right. They produce stunning designs that stand the test of time and become classic whereas the sporadic efforts of other firms tend to generate excitement which dissolves into a forgetable embarassment years later.

Apple have painstakingly exercised restraint in their product line – indeed they still refuse to put buttons on their mice! The Apple Powerbook remained static in form for years but the resulting timeline is one of beauty and evolvement. What DELL and other PC manufacturers should do is take note of Apple’s success in selling design as a USP in their computers. The Adamo might be a stunning laptop but it sits almost outside of Dell’s product line and remains almost a gimmick in their portfolio – which is a shame because looking at the MacBook you realise that Apple belive good design is for everybody.