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Not rly. But I did download the iPhony launcher for the palm that has since been yanked from the web by Apple lawyers. When the Jobster claimed that they have filed over 200 patents and promised to protect them, he wasn’t kidding. Apple has filed a suit against the makers of the program. I guess the user interface is part of the 200+ patents they filed with the USPTO.

This move by Apple is not dissimilar to the action they took against the pPod awhile back that forced the company out of business and the software to go underground.

Engadget mobile and Slashgear have reported in the last few months about various products in the mobile phone industry from all over the world. Has Apple really created the innovation that is first in its class? Maybe, maybe not.

Looks like LG announced a phone almost identical to the iPhone nearly 1 month before the 2007 Steveworld Jobsnote.

Side-by-side comparison:

Also Slashgears reported back in November 7th that a Linux based phone was to be released with touchscreen with gesture control identical to the iPhone

No doubt Apple has put together a product that will work very nicely with all the aforementioned features. It is by any means a slick product and when it comes out in June we will see sales beyond everyone’s imagination. Innovative, yes. Original, not so much. Alright fanboys, Have at it.

In our latest podcast we talked about the Macworld SF 2007 announcements. Specifically the iPhone and AppleTV. Here is a little rundown of what my thoughts are of these products so far:

AppleTV:

Likes:
Small
Relatively Inexpensive
Has HDMI out
Intuitive interface
Syncs to 40 GB local drive
Portable

Dislikes:
Needs new Airport or needs hardwire
No DVD playback
No DVR
No native media acquisition (Ways to buy content directly on the device)
iTunes software is too bulky but required for use
Minor dislike, no 1080p support

Unknowns:
Can if be user upgraded to more disc space?
Will it support third party apps?
Does iTunes store sell 720p content?
Will it support other file formats?
Can the Mac Mini do the same thing?

Summary:
Great device for someone already deep in the iTunes ecosystem
Great device for novice user looking to move from their mac to their tv
Not great for people with collection of videos in other formats
Overall a very good device for a good price

Apple iPhone:

Likes:
Large screen for web browsing and video
Seemingly intuitive interface
Sleek design
Powerful architecture
IMAP and POP3 email support
Multitasking support
320×480 resolution

Dislikes:
No 3G means slow internet (given the price!?!?)
Cingular partnership - ulterior motifs, will want to charge for basic services like SMS rather than using iChat
On screen keyboard has no tactile feel and is an x-factor
More screen means more grease to clean off
Expensive even with 2-year contract
Battery life will probably suck when using multiple features like wifi and bluetooth
No existing ecosystem so current apps dont work
No IM (iChat), likely due to opposition from Cingular

Unknowns:
Do current widgets work?
Is it easy to develop for?
Does it need memory management like Pocket PC?
How many hours of video will it hold?
What is the battery life of video playback?
Coverflow, is it necessary or just eye candy? (Don’t answer, it’s rhetorical.)
Will the accelerometer work when you are laying down or sideways?
Whats the camera for besides stills and video capture? Can it work with iChat in the future somehow?
How powerful is it? CPU type, RAM/ROM capacity?

Summary:
great technological breakthrough
Very innovative industrial design as well as software design
Does not have the magical formula (Magical formula will entail 3G)
Needs to be field tested for real world usability.
Too expensive for the regular user. (And no, it’s not like the original iPod kinda pricey. Much more than that.)
Not enough storage especially for the price.
Powerful processor and features that will likely be enhanced in the future.
Very democratically designed by involving various tech giants (best of breed Web apps from Google and Yahoo)

If you have ever taken a drawing class where you had to sketch a nude model you know it is not all its cracked up to be. Playboy bunnies are usually not interested in the low wage paying, awkward posing jobs in a room filled with anti-social goth kids at the community college. What you wind up with is the local homeless drunk, who you would rather see passed out in the alley next to the liquor store than brightly lit in front of you, as you are force to reconstruct all his glory on your over-sized paper pad for a pass/no pass grade.

If you are still interested in drawing the human form, I think this is a great alternative. A highly articulated Spiderman toy with 67 moving joints. With this much articulation you ought to be able to take that drawing class as an independent studies course and save yourself the traumatic experience. Plus this is probably the coolest Spidey action figure I’ve every seen…

Looks like the pressure from the Firefox wiz kid was too much for Google to handle as they quietly remove the ‘tips’ section from their search results.

Ever since the Blake Ross blog post criticized the search engine for favoring its own products, Goooooogle have been getting it from everyone. Good to see that even the biggest of giants can at least be temporarily shaken up by just one blog entry from the right person.