Those naughty people at Gizmodo have managed to snaffle a copy of the next generation iPhone. You can check out all the inside details here.
Assuming this is not some (very) elaborate prank then the new device looks good. Usual home key, separate volume buttons, a front facing camera, rear cam + flash, and the suggestion of noise-cancelling technology, which gets my vote. Case design has lost its lovely back curves but comes as a more solid metallic core. Gizmodo’s dissection suggests longer battery life too as a complete internal re-design made space for bigger cells.
Their $10,000 Easter present carries a micro-sim cavity on the side so not sure how this will fit in with European GSM/3G carrier subscriber infrastructures. Presumably it just adds to the difficulty with which a user can plug into another device and still use their Apple-friendly airtime deal.
The new design suggests enough improvements including the all-important case design change. This will make the device stand out for the early adopters who Apple rely on. That is, peeps who want to be seen with the latest and greatest. Apple have only privately acknowledged this is actually theirs so no release dates or feature announcements as yet. It’s all conjecture. Looks good though !
The ‘iSlate’ hubbub increased with the official launch (although not yet for sale) of Apple‘s iPad device in San Francisco yesterday. It is looking very much like an upscaled iPhone, although its eBook reader and store – iBook – is a new take on the e-reader-craze which seems to be gathering steam. Lack of multi-tasking and the usual Apple lock-ins on certain media formats (lack of Flash, video codes support etc), will probably not hold it back and the price tag is very amenable, putting the device back within the realms of subsidised SIM / contract deals offered by mobile providers. But therein lies the rub.
The blogosphere seems even-handed about the new device – celebrated twitterer and blogger, Stephen Fry, is being wined and dined as a new expert, having attended the SF launch and blogged his charming review. It will be a hit, without doubt. However, the mobile providers face a significant conundrum. The iPhone was very much a winner for the exclusivity afforded to the likes of O2 and AT&T – drawing huge numbers of new mobile subscribers and allowing Telefonica/O2 to breeze past Vodafone for the top provider spot in the UK. It was not without its difficulties, though. O2 struggled to adapt its provisioning and customer service infrastructures to meet expectations and volumes but moreso, their underlying data network has woefully underperformed (with a similar story for the Yanks via AT&T). This prompted O2 to block free tethering when it was provided by Apple under OS 3.0. The real problem for them was that the iPhone generated a (reported) five fold increase in data traffic which their network was simply not built to support. A complex mix of EDGE and HSDPA/3G infrastructure, O2 has had to manage data use through marketing and technological traps to avoid saturation. My point is that the iPad represents another huge leap in data demands for any mobile network. Nagging users to switch to WiFi wherever possible or penalising those that draw more data through the air than others ain’t gonna cut it.
So the iPad looks wonderful and raises the already impressive App Store game that Apple have pioneered so beautifully. I feel it hammers a few more nails in Microsoft’s coffin but, my prejudices aside, the real challenge will be for the mobile operators that jump at the chance to market the new device with an airtime contract. Will their networks be able to cope with the coming of the iPad ? Can those providers with weak capacity growth, legacy pre-3G radio or just not enough IP transport be able to resist the marketing allure and customer draw that the new device represents ? I am of course making the assumption that the iPad will be marketed predominantly as a mobile smartphone under customer-retaining long term contracts – seems likely. There must be a few large network operators sweating with glee (if such a thing is possible) 
Stop Press: If you actually make your way through the Steve Jobs’ launch video (link above) then he does announce that Apple has already cut an airtime deal with AT&T for the iPad in the USA (jump to 1 hour and about 12 mins into the vid). The deal looks pretty good – with an Unlimited usage package for $29.99 a month. (Other country deals to be announced by June / July. Hopefully a UK network deal will be similarly priced but – based on my arguments above – I would not bet on it.). I am not sure how practical the iPad is as a telephone; I doubt it is intended to replace the iPhone in any sense. I assume therefore that the AT&T deal is data-only. It includes unlimited use of AT&T’s WiFi network in the USA – similar to the deal in the UK by O2 whereby they included tie-ins with The Cloud and other WiFi aggregators in order to persuade users to offload data traffic from the core 3G network.
Another significant announcement is that individual apps in the iWorks Suite will be available from the App Store for $9.99 each. I have not used these apps on my Mac but the presentation was impressive. Assuming the iPad can become a serious business tool then Microsoft could be severely under threat – iWorks making Office look decidedly dated, slow and lacking in user-friendliness.
I was lucky recently to meet some of the chaps behind the launch of SpiderCloud. They are offering a “Radio Access Network” or RAN solution to extended mobile coverage within larger organisations and are at pains to point out that this is not a Femtocell solution. Unlike the current fad, the Enterprise-RAN solution from SpiderCloud connects securely with the operator network over existing internet capacity and effectively extends cell coverage within a building. Uniquely it can then switch voice and data traffic over the (hosting) company’s existing fixed and IP infrastructures, as well as providing what is in effect additional cell capacity on the operator’s network for traditional mobile traffic. The user’s handset registers with the E-RAN node and is recognised within the Location Registers of the operator as normal. SpiderCloud’s access control mechanisms determine whether the handset is recognised as a company phone and traffic / call requests routed accordingly. The HLR registration with the operator ensures that incoming voice is also received and handled correctly.
The devices are installed locally and are akin to WiFI access points (and reportedly for similar costs). Where they seem to score over femto- and picocell technology is the intelligence built into the spectrum management software of the central Services Control device which manages the individual Radio Nodes. Gone are the competitive signal power battles endemic in the femto- solutions which can have a detrimental effect on nearby commercial cell sites. The E-RAN nodes are an extension of the operator’s network and hence SpiderCloud’s selling model will be through major network operators – looking not only to extend their network but to offload traffic from their backhaul and core networks to save on expansion costs. Certainly data capacity is very much an issue in the UK and in other European locations, as the tidal-wave effects of wider BlackBerry and iPhone use are exacerbated by newer, sexier models which continue to find their way into business use.
The system appears to include interconnection using VoIP (SIP) to traditional fixed infrastructures to route ‘on-net’ calls. As a step towards fixed-mobile-convergence, this could be a goer. With desktop phone extensions alone costing £200 plus, and PABX installations stretching to £1,000 per desk plus maintenance and usage, companies could eliminate proportions of their fixed infrastructure and move employees to mobile handsets without incurring increased mobile spend. Hot-desking and remote working still apply but perhaps with more efficiencies using the SmartCloud offering. It would be interesting to see how a working solution integrates with Microsoft OCS or Cisco to provide a complete solution. With imagination from the operators, might such technology convince orgranisations to ditch their fixed infrastructure ? Highly unlikely, but this could be a useful FMC stepping stone.
The SpiderCloud approach opens up some intriguing business models. For example, the hosting company is effectively housing the operator’s network – space, installation, power and network capacity. There could be a business model that sees payments (or at least subsidies) back to the customer. Rather awkwardly, their website describes their technology as ‘disruptive’ but I think it unwise to use this VC-catching buzzwod in the context of radio and 3G networks. Ho Hum.
The company was launched in California last week with VC backing from Charles River Ventures, Matrix Partners and Opus Capital. Some of the main players are from mobile broadband provider Flarion (now Qualcomm) so the pedigree is there. They are not due to start shipping kit until well into 2010 but worth watching to see what happens with this product.
Microsoft have released the full retail versions of Windows 7 and have limited the offerings to 3 main versions. Upgrading from XP (or Vista for the unlucky) will cost a minimum of £80, rising to £200 for the ‘Ultimate’ version. Seems the extra 20 quid between ‘Professional’ and ‘Ultimate’ buys you the Microsoft BitLocker (backup utility) and language variants (35 alternative install options).
Credit to the Redmond mob for reducing the choice but the cost is astronomical. Compare it to the £25 required to upgrade Apple’s Mac OS X operating system to the latest ‘Snow Leopard’ variant and you can see the muppets at Microsoft may have snatched commercial suicide from the jaws of necessity. Will individuals be prepared to spend £80 minimum to upgrade from the steady XP ? Those unfortunate enough to be stuck on Vista may well feel forced to do so. Seems unlikely without considerable coercion or benefits to be gained from Windows 7.
More on Windows 7 to follow, as I run the Microsoft Upgrade Advisor to see what it recommends in terms of versions and hardware on my Samsung N110 Netbook.
I recently gave TechRepublic and their Editor-in-Chief an unfair pasting. This generated a robust response from Jason Hiner who patiently pointed me to articles which genuinely criticised the hand-that-feeds the website (i.e. its advertisers). It seemed only fair to sample TR’s ongoing fare so I dug much deeper and found a mine of excellent information which, together with my email subscriptions, has generated some useful follow-ups.
For example, I was drawn to a series of articles by Justin James on the Agile Development Platform from Outsystems. It seems the chaps at Outsystems took note and are using a community model to fuel propagation (and, let’s be honest, sales !) of their IDE. I had been floundering with various environments, including Visual Studio, and wanted one which avoided too in-depth a delve into extensive coding. Yes indeed – a pretty GUI that builds grown-up web apps but is usable by a muppet – Agile fits the bill. So far so good with the community edition. They have also included documentation on how to extract ‘generic’ (i.e. standard) source code for ASP or J2EE environments from the Agile output – very community-spirited stuff.
Well, fine, but it needs to be ! Their licensing model means that the production application can only support 5 simultaneous users under the community edition. Their commercial offering starts at EUR 19 (yes that’s NINETEEN) PER MONTH PER CONCURRENT USER. Oh dear ! There are not many commercial websites / web applications that can claim revenue models which draw enough subscriptions in to pay for such a platform (if my monthly ARPU was more than 19 pence then I would be drafting this little ditty from my yacht in the Bahamas). One further twist is that the community edition can only be deployed on Microsoft (.NET and IIS) environments (although the extracted source code can reportedly be deployed on J2EE platforms under Linux). This seems a tad counter to the common open-source ‘LAMP’ suite but obviously keeps the retention factor high for Outsystems.
It easy to be cynical , and Outsystems has hit upon a familiar marketing ploy. Quality software – and I can certainly say that so far the Agile platform seems very good – has to be paid for somehow. Open-source can too often be seen as free beer and not as the crucible for genuine community developments that is is intended to be. I will attempt to prototype a fledgling web application service using the platform and see how it goes – more on my experiences with Outsystems’ Agile in the future.
The media rightly jumped on the first major vulnerability in the iPhone this week with reports that users’ devices are susceptible to external control by malicious use of an SMS weakness. Apple have responded quickly, not just with a patch but a complete download of the OS which all users would be wise to grab sharpish.
Security expert Charlie Miller published details of the hack via Black Hat and claims that Apple were informed over a month ago. As smug pundits proclaimed that Apple would take their time in plugging the hole, it is somewhat of a relief that the updates are available now. No doubt this will herald a rush of similar exploit attempts as the story puts the iPhone back in the headlines just months after the release of the iPhone 3G S and iPhone OS 3.0. I assume the crew at Cupertino are battening down the hatches for more revelatory hacks from the community. Still, there is no news like bad news.
Some of the best material around regarding technology trends is to be found in online blogs and the like. Of course, I would say this ! Nevertheless, it pays to know the underlying motives of the site and/or author before lending too much credence to their opinions.
Take TechRepublic. A long-standing favourite of mine but a site which I take great care over reading. Advertising accounts for much of their revenue I assume – much the same as Babble Talk – but it is obvious that most copy is really drafted at the behest of – or possibly directly by – the manufacturers, application developers and service providers it pretends to review.
Their “Editor in Chief”, Jason Hiner, recently wrote an article on Google Chrome – the possible new operating system from the boys at Google. This is a significant development to me as I have long written about the potential, albeit long-term, demise of Microsoft dominance at the desktop. Chrome is important to that story in that it represents a potential rival to Windows and Mac OS X. Hiner makes some good points in dismissing its importance but reveals his bias – either through ignorance or plain payment – by writing a flawed article.
He makes one essentially strong point: that Google are confused and lacking in credibility when it comes to delivering an OS. Chrome is a contradictory solution to, say, Android, which Google released at the end of last year for Mobile Phones. Certainly true to say that Google could do more to make a sensible entrance here. I for one would welcome a decent competitive OS.
Hiner slips more when he takes a pop at Linux – pointing out that it has been lauded annually as the “… year of Linux on the Desktop…”. Of course he is right. But to dismiss the Linux kernel as irrelevant and its dependence on manufacturers to write device drivers is kind of missing the point. Mac OS X is essentially a Linux core with a fantastic set of shell / wraparound software. Security and reliability make Linux shine against the increasingly bloated Windows family. It will never be a big bang but even he cannot deny the rot has set in and the slide to non-Microsoft products is inevitable. The Seattle crew obviously think the market is on their side but I would contend that this cannot last forever. The drift away from Microsoft is tangible, proved and inexorable.
So I can generally agree that Chrome is a folly in its present form; Designed for Netbooks, which he says are largely discredited (who by ? – I just got my Samsung N110 and I love it !). Hiner says that Windows 7 will eclipse everything else – some chance given its resource needs, complicated and confusing packaging, and its price. Still, I am sure the cheque from Redmond is on its way, Jason.
But I do hope Google take note. They are innovative and love to play and release almost random ideas to see if they float. Cool and all that, but I sincerely hope they can use their considerable resources to consider the release of a genuinely new desktop alternative. Forget making it completely cloud-based – local storage will ALWAYS be needed – and give it more local intelligence than just browser capability. Instead, consider making it a user-orientated GUI ‘a la’ OS X and stop trying to eclipse the already discredited interface from Microsoft. I get the cloud model – and the whole browser based thin clint-type option, sure. I just feel that the users deserve something better and often need to work offline instead of being in the pocket of overpriced 3G providers. Microsoft just don’t see it. Windows will continue getting bigger and hungrier with the occasional backward step as they try and hook in the user to some proprietary technology (Silverlight, anyone ?).
TechRepublic remains an interesting source, if only to see what is scaring the likes of Microsoft in the market today. I just hope that the folks at Google, Apple and within the open-source community can read between the lines.
Having downloaded the new OS update for my iPhone 3G, I checked eagerly through the new features. I was so chuffed with the new Internet Tethering, I immediately dashed out and nabbed a new Samsung N110 netbook for an impending business trip.
I had figured without the fine print in UK provider O2is contracts. Panicking over bandwidth gobbling as iPhone users switch to their laptops to access the ‘net, they got Apple to block tethering unless the punter goes going through O2. Indeed, you have to buy a Data Package (on top of the ‘Data Package’ you have already signed up to as an iPhone customer). Their statement on the deal (or lack of one) is unequivocal:
“Any use of this particular feature without the purchase of the Bolt on is specifically prohibited under our terms of service. Under those terms we reserve the right to charge customers making modem use of their iPhone or disconnect them.”
Read more here
I think its time to shout about this. Some articles (see the links below) report that O2 will disconnect users who attempt to tether their devices through the iPhone without spending on an additional data package with them. Interesting that they make no mention of this on their site unless you dig deeply to find Tethering in the FAQ. For a 24 hour period last week, these pages were ‘temporarily unavailable’ due to site maintenance. Yet the rest of the O2.co.uk site apparently did not need maintaining as it was perfectly accessible.
Duplicity, double-dealing or just plain dumb ?
Some related articles – the net is awash with O2-bashing:
The Great iPhone Tethering Disappointment
UK MacWorld Comment
Geoff Ballinger queries whether people would ever actually use it (and then realises that, er, they might !)
And for kicks, check out the O2 official line. Then flick over to the Ofcom website and make a complaint.
An updated iPhone 3G got to the shops yesterday – the iPhone 3G S - and the queues at the O2 stores in London demonstrate that Apple continue to grab the imagination and wallets of technology fans. The queue at the O2 store in Moorgate, for example, was not simply a gaggle of geeks, though. A real mix of ages, both men and women, and including people tapping away on their existing iPhone suggests that people are still prepared to splash out just to get the latest-and-greatest.
Certainly, its a great device. The latest operating system upgrade (3.0) also brings some interesting improvements to those of us with the original version. Very welcome is the cut-and-paste capability but the top feature is the internet tethering. Now the benefits of the all-you-can-eat mobile internet package in the UK can be enjoyed on the laptop. Good stuff.
It appears Microsoft have spent almost zero effort on considering the packaging options for Windows 7. PC Pro reports this week that they are planning to issue 6 variants in an almost identical series of versions as for the much-loathed Vista. It confirms their desperation to maintain revenues in spite of continued clamour to simplify the family and make it all so convincing to upgrade. It also signals a complete lack of imagination in Redmond. This is a serious error on their part and merely serves to warm the cockles of the competition – such as it is (but it is coming …. and catching-up fast).
So Windows 7 will come in 6 flavours:
Windows 7 Starter Edition : permits only 3 simultaneous running apps with zero media/content features. Aimed at notebooks.
Home Basic Edition : a nod to emerging markets with the cheap version offering “basic productivity” elements
Home Premium Edition : are you kidding ? Includes Media Center and touchscreen support. Why bother ? This is the mainstream pack that Microsoft will focus its European advertising on
Professional : Limited encryption and backup utilities added.
Enterprise Edition : Provides the addition of BitLocker encryption, including removable device protection. A secure VPN access alternative is reportedly included as a nod to the large corporate market. May be attractive but what it will cost.
Windows 7 Ultimate Edition : Again, this will have them rolling in the aisles. This is the all-in pack that has been handed to Beta testers so reviewers be warned. Whatever you are telling the masses about the new version of Windows 7, make sure you know which version they are likely to be stuck with or can afford.
I am angry and this is tainting my opinions. Microsoft is needed. It may not yet be time to sell that Seattle stock but surely Microsoft can see that they are conniving in their own strategic demise. With Mac OS X becoming a real alternative for enterprises and general Linux packaging making free desktops accessible to the masses (with a significantly lower hardware requirement), the Redmond crew have definitely lost the plot. Time to consider what Microsoft are in the business of producing and selling. If it is to remain the provider of the definitive, ubiquitous desktop OS and/or to migrate those users onto the same OS as devices grow smaller and more mobile, then a serious bit of corporate brainstorming is needed.
PC Pro reports today that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has thrown out a complaint against The Carphone Warehouse spin-off, e2Save, for offering an “Unlimited data” deal on the Blackberry 9000 which actually has a 250MB data limit.
Apparently, the basis for this and also rejecting a similar complaint against Orange is that 250MB is “…. far in excess….” of the data an average user would expect to use. Not sure what planet they are on but this is cobblers. Once again, plain ignorance or simple compliance with the industry means that such ‘unlimited’ usage deals still proliferate, with the fair-usage limits buried in small print. Triffic !
The blog world is buzzing with the news that Apple has included HDCP protection on iTunes movies and other video content purchased online. HDCP is an Intel Digital Rights Management technology intended to prevent unscrupulous users from copying content through analogue means – effectively bypassing any Digital protection on that content. For example, using the RF outputs from a video or DVD player to capture and record a film onto a PC for illegal distribution later.
What this means for iTunes customers – and I am an avid iToony – is that they cannot view purchased movies through external monitors connected to their Macbooks unless those devices are HDCP compliant. I can’t establish yet whether Apple’s own external monitors – ideal to get a wide-screen view of laptop content – are compliant but I assume so. Hence, users are into a closed market for the equipment they can purchase to supplement their Apple installation for home entertainment.
Stopping film piracy is one thing. Overly restrictive practices are entirely another. I am all for copyright protection but Apple has a duty to make the buyer aware of any viewing restrictions before that buyer parts with cash. The vast majority of Apple online customers are law-abiding – indeed, why else would they be purchasing content from iTunes as opposed to stealing it online elsewhere ? I do wish Apple or the Studios would think a little more before inflicting an un-announced and draconian technology onto an audience that are, by definition, first movers when it comes to online purchasing. A shot in the foot perhaps ?
It seems High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection was implemented by Apple on the latest release of the Macbook hardware. I will watch carefully to see which other equipment is affected. Also, check out this great article from Wired.com here.
Media comment on the next version of Windows (dubbed “Windows 7″) seems to be increasing although Microsoft have yet to confirm a release date. It beggars belief that Gates’ crew seem hell bent on ignoring any lessons they might have learned from the plane crash that was Vista. Steve Sinofsky, SVP at Microsoft was recently interviewed by PC Pro magazine – with an arrogance that seems to be corporate policy at Microsoft, he appeared to be blaming the market by saying “The ecosystem wasn’t ready for the release of Windows Vista“. He does go onto to explain the lack of compatibility and admits fault. What had me rolling on the floor was his satisfaction with testing, saying “We’re really pleased with the performance of Windows 7, even on a netbook with 1GB of RAM”. You what ? So yet again, the Redmond ivory tower thinks the world’s PCs are all multi-gigabyte RAM, quadruple core and stand idle, waiting only for the bloated monolith that is the next installment of pretty DOS.
Forgive the rant – I have worked with MS products all my career and have a great deal of respect for some of their core values. Microsoft have some great product bases but seem to have no real idea how to strategically develop or sell them. Cynics have always suggested that Microsoft and PC manufacturers go hand in hand to ensure we have to upgrade every 6 months or so. I don’t buy into this. The level of co-operation between them is hopelessly flawed, based on Vista’s reception.
Take SQL Server. Its a great piece of technology, albeit closely related to Sybase. Then with the 2000 release, we get hit with Oracle-like pricing that all but eliminates its cost-effectiveness in smaller companies. Suddenly, businesses need a whole array of administration, tuning and development skills. A grown-up DBMS does not have to spawn its own series of job specs. Stick with MySQL. I also suspect that Exchange will face similar open-source challenges as it grows beyond the power available from the platforms it was installed on 2 years ago.
Of course, current XP users will no doubt have to pay to replace their OS. People won’t do it. Microsoft strategy assumes corporates will slavishly follow the upgrade path and keep the coffers full by paying to do so. Well, that plan failed with Vista. If the trend continues, Microsoft could actually be in serious trouble, despite some interesting stuff coming through like Live Mesh and Azure. Its time to develop an efficient, sensible, slimmed down and routinely upgradeable OS. Windows is in danger of no longer being ubiquitous – and deservedly so. I am, of course, pre-judging. I have not seen it yet !
