Apple vs the World The battle's begun, now's the time to choose sides.

While the initial reactions from iPhone users seem to be generally positive regarding the newly released iOS4, some Blackberry users are asking, “So what?”

A post at WirelessGround.com does a rundown of the main improvements and features offered by iOS4 and comes to the conclusion that their Blackberry already does all that…

“Well first of all, you can already multitask. iPhone 3G users still can’t even manage that despite the new update (you need a 3GS or an 4G). Then comes the folders—and yes, you can already do that. Then we get to the new email features. Surprise! You are already set.”

They do however casually concede one feature to the iPhone, which in fact happens to be a pretty big one. Touchscreen!

“All is well though, since we will soon be getting the BlackBerry Torch 9800 (or Bold 9800, or Slide 9800, or whatever the codename of the day seems to be for the device).”

We’ll see!

{via WirelessGround.com}

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Wired’s e-version hit the AppStore shelves on Wednesday featuring 41 interactive editorials including exclusive clips fromPixar’s “Toy Story 3″ and a graphic that lets users fly around Mars. Several ads found within the June edition are interactive and contain rich media, including video, web links, slide shows and other graphics. A General Electric ad has a 360-degree rotating human heart.

Originally Adobe had created the e-reader edition of Wired using AIR. But since the rewrite of section 3.3.1 the chance of an AIR app getting into any iProduct has lost hope. Adobe has gone back and rewritten Wired to be compliant with the new Apple requirements. They said that it has all of the capabilities of the previously created app. Ultimately they will include more features such as social and search functioning and let users browse the Web within the app itself.

Wired will be charging $4.99 per issue.

{via WSJ}

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At this years Google I/O, WebM (VP8) was announced to be the new rival of Apple’s h.264 codec and the fight against the ‘non-opened’ web video crusade. What kind of fight are we looking at?

Google is teaming up with Mozilla and Opera, which have refused to use the expensive h.264 codec in the past. Some claims haveVP8′s quality equal to h.264 while taking as little as half the bandwidth. Although this isn’t entirely true by several comparisons done (see below for links). Google believes that this will unify the browsers and give a secondary option to the Thedora (VP3) codec the other royalty-free video codec. Adobe has supported h.264 as well as other On2 supports.

At first glance, Steve Jobs says that hes ‘unimpressed‘ with the free video codec. When asked what he thought a reply of “not ready for prime time’ was the simple answer returned. One developer agrees with Jobs and in giving his findings by comparing the two video codecs, says that the VP8 codec seems to be “significantly weaker.” (See more comparisons below)

Other Related Articles:
Widespread Adoption Of VP8 Will Take Years, But Google Can Afford To Wait
Google’s Open Source Video Codec Just Started Another Battle With Apple
Google open sources $124.6m video codec
Steve Jobs: Unimpressed with Google open source video codec
HTML5 video and H.264 – what history tells us and why we’re standing with the web
Jobs drops hint on Google open video codec
Google leads WebM fightback against H.264 video
Google / On2 Deal: Debunking Myths, Questioning VP8′s Quality
First Look: VP8 vs. H264
H.264 vs VP8: a video codec comparison
Wikipedia: VP8

Adobe, Apple, Google, Video | No Comments »

With the release of the new Android release, Froyo, many have deemed it to be far superior than the iPhone. Here is a list from PCWorld of the “7 Ways Android 2.2 Tops Apples iPhone.”

Tethering

It turns your phone into a WiFi hotspot

It plays Flash

It has open apps

It multi-tasks

It has better browsers

It gives more carrier choice

Now a number of points at this time are cut and dry (Tethering, plays Flash, multi-tasks, carrier choice). But for how long?

Apple has mentioned before that it has been thinking about introducing Tethering, but due to AT&Ts support has been on hold. Now they claim that they might be ready for the challenge.

Apple doesnt play Flash, and probably won’t. Also, since Android 2.2 has been released to several phones that can support the beta browser plug-in, it has gotten some positive and negative feedbacks. All concluding that, even though it is a beta, Adobe has a little work to do on its mobile Flash Player. (Below is a comparison video for Android 2.2 and iPhone)

Will multi-tasking be introduced in the newest iPhone OS? Thinking about it, it does put a drain on resources to have multiple apps open at once. But if you close them periodically, it shouldn’t be an issue. It is a ‘computer phone’ in many cases.

Carrier choice seems that it will be a thing of the past. With all of the recent rumors about both Verizon and now Sprint including coverage for the iPhone, you will only need to get by the ETF that AT&T has increased.

AT&T, Adobe, Android, Apple, Flash, HTC, Mobile Suppliers, Sprint, Verizon, iPhone | No Comments »

With Verizon rumored to receive an iPhone in September and now the rumor that WWDC 2010 will bring the announcement Sprint will also become a supplier, AT&T is gripping down on its customers. AT&T has just increased its Early Termination Fee from $175 to $325. By doing so they hope to make any ‘defectors’ think twice about leaving to get a ‘more reliable service carrier’ or to Android themselves up.

Thoughts and Questions?
Some believe that the iPhone’s move to Verizon will not happen, ‘it’s déjá vu all over again.‘ So does this mean AT&T doesnt have as much to worry about?

Is AT&T going to end up a casualty of the mobile war? If so, is it its own fault?

Android, Apple, Mobile Suppliers, iPhone | No Comments »

This years Google I/O, to say the least, was very eventful for attendees and followers alike. Some of the partying gifts for attendees included handouts of the new HTC Evo-4G. In addition to the great take-aways, attendees also got a chance at first hand demos of innovative new products and projects Google is undertaking; as well as some diggs and burns at Apple’s expense along the way.

VP of Google Engineering Vic Gundotra, ripped into Apple a few times throughout the presentation. Even going as far as to giving an example of his daughter choosing an Android over and iPad.

Highlighted Projects that stand against Apple:

VP8 is Open Sourced and Adobe Flash Player Adds Support
Google announced that is opensourcing VP8 and renaming it to WebM. Google is working with many partners such as AMD and Intel to make sure that the hardware to make WebM succeed is on the horizon. Comparing to the quality of H.264 while cutting the bandwidth in half; this video codec throws in a new variable into the arguments surrounding codec support for HTML5. Adobe followed up by pointing out Flash Player 10.1 support for VP8 along with H.264 and VP6.

Google MobleAds
Gundotra introduced Google Mobile Ads as response to the Apples iAds.

Adobe is one with HTML 5
Although much of the arguing lately has been about Apples banishment of Flash on its mobile devices, Adobe came back to the table showing that Flash isnt all its made of. Dreamweaver CS5 has multiple supports for producing HTML5 content. One of the demos showed the “Multi-Screen Preview”, which lets you see just that. Multiple screen sizes that your site will be previewed in at (more…)

Adobe, Ads, Android, Apple, Flash, Google, HTC, HTML5 | No Comments »