The best tech podcast: This is my next Podcast

If you like technology, industry news, and like to laugh, then let me recommend a podcast. It's called This is my next Podcast. The name is odd, I know; it actually refers to an inside joke. But this is the best podcast you can find for your money (it's free). Trust me, you want to give this one a listen.

It features the gang that formerly ran the Engadget Podcast: Joshua Topolsky (seen often on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), Paul Miller, Nilay Patel, and friends. Informative (sometimes) and entertaining (all the time), I look forward to these guys' ramblings every week. Topolsky, the head geek, is like the that quirky, yet funny friend you like to keep around because there's always something witty on the tip of his tongue. Patel always has an interesting point of view, seemingly able to make really technical stuff easy to understand and digest. And Miller, a little outspoken, attempts to be the logic of the bunch, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not.

Regardless of some shortcomings, there isn't anything better. I've looked. That is until I start my own podcast...

Overall, listening to this podcast is kind of like being delivered a broken or neglected UPS package, but the delivery guy is super funny and cool. You'll look forward to each week just to see what that quirky delivery guy is going to say.

This is my next (website)
This is my next Podcast (iTunes link)

Perspective: T-Mobile can be bought for $39B, Apple has over $50B in cash.

Pending all the necessary government approvals, AT&T announced today their plans to buy US GSM competitor T-Mobile for $39 billion. Without going into all the politics as to whether or not this is overall a good idea or benefit to consumers, I felt it was worth mentioning just what $39 billion dollars can actually purchase.

Though a follower of all things tech, I have a not-so-unique fascination with Apple, that company which sells those i-Thingies. Pretty much everyone is just as fascinated as I when Apple steals headlines for each shiny new toy. And one thing that most people know as of late is just how quickly Apple's cash reserves seem to continuously build. Last reports have their cash piles weighed in at a cool $51 billion. That's a heck of a lot of money. What drives journalists even crazier than the mind-boggling number alone is that nobody knows for sure what Apple plans to do with it. There have been some guesses; however, most of us sit and wait for them to take over the world.

But let's take another look at that number: $51 billion. In pure cash. No debt. A market valuation soon to pass Exxon to be the most valuable company in the world. And unlike the animosity most have toward Exxon, Apple and Steve Jobs have been named the most admired and loved company and CEO of last decade. What does all this mean? It means that that pile will continue to grow, and all the while Apple seems to have the highest restraint not to impulse-buy any thing they like, say, a leading wireless provider...

Of course, that's not their bag, being a carrier, but it does offer some perspective as to just what they're capable of doing with that money. Maybe they could buy Microsoft?

Kids, GrandParents and those in between agree: the iPad rocks

The wait is finally over. I got one. The iPad 2 went on sale at 5 p.m. this past Friday, and I walked out of a local Apple reseller with a black 32 WiFi model at 5:20 p.m.

Twelfth in line, I had only been waiting for about an hour and a half, which is a very different story than our friends to the north. In New York City, a woman sold her spot at the front of the line at the Fifth Avenue Apple store for a cool $900. I don't think I could have sold my spot for anything over 20 bucks here in Georgia.

Either way, I've been using the iPad 2 consistently for the past 48 hours, and I must say, it's great. And it's not just great, it's GREAT (I know, I hear Tony The Tiger too). The only other way to describe it... well, I can't describe it. Nobody can truly "get it" until he or she tries one—and not just tinkering in the store kind of trying one. No, give it about three to four hours. Then, it all becomes obvious; reading news and websites, browsing, watching, learning, playing, discovering, app-ing (?), and getting immersed in content on the iPad 2 is a different and altogether better experience. Not that it takes time to learn, but in about that timeframe, using gestures and common UI functions across apps become second nature, and everything seems natural. Compared to using the keyboard and mouse and the seemingly "disconnected" screen, the more obvious touch-what-you-want interface is intuitive and will define our main personal computing devices for years to come.

I understand the hesitation, why the iPad's usefulness is in question. Hell, I passed on the first one, and not because I didn't have the money; I just didn't see how much use I had for it. Prior to standing in line with the other fanboys Friday, a family member asked me what I could do on the iPad that I couldn't already do on my iPhone or MacBook Pro. In all truthfulness I said "Nothing," to which she laughed at. I tried the explaination, to no avail, "It's not what you can do with it, but how you do it."

But later that evening I was able to show her. After a short demo, she and my grandfather were in disbelief. I showed her a few preloaded apps like PhotoBooth and video recording. Then I demoed how the videos and pics get loaded into an album that you can share or use as a standing picture frame. Next I showed her the internet, pulling up her own hearing aid business website in the Safari browser. A flash video that would normally play on the front page was missing, but that didn't stop her from admitting that website and text looked "unbelievably clear," even for those with dwindling eyesight. Lastly, touching the Maps icon on the home screen brought up a big green image of our United States. To pinpoint our location I tapped the icon in the top that looks like an paper airplane, and within seconds we were looking at a satellite image of our building. Now, you should be careful when showing the next feature to the elderly; their hearts may not be able to take it. I touched the icon for Street View. When the iPad zoomed down and allowed me to pan around and look at the entrance to our location, I heard my grandfather make a strange noise. It sounded like "Gugh!"

Put shortly, the iPad alters the perception of what a computer is. Previously complex and disconnected, traditional PC interaction has been revamped, re-imagined, redesigned, and revolutionized. Ask the millions of kids learning and playing games on it. Ask the college students with easy access to all the information in the world at their fingertips. Ask anyone with an insatiable reading habit who can take an entire library of books on the road. Ask my grandparents. If computers connected to the internet are windows to the outside world, then Apple is using the best darn glass cleaner there is.

All eyes on Apple... the iPad 2 [u]

Here we go, just ten minutes before the iPad 2 announcement and whatever else might be in store for us tech-hungry savages.

My predictions, if I must guess, will be a revamped, slightly redesigned iPad with a thinner body and at least a front facing camera for FaceTime. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there won't be a back camera—for reasons I'm not quite sure of. I only suggest that because it seems odd to hold up a large tablet device to take pictures with. And I'm not sure Apple thinks that would be so user-friendly.

For the internals, I'm guess a faster processor, updated graphics performance—what chip they'll use for graphics is beyond my ability to even guess—but I'm sure we'll see something like the "A5" somewhere in the presentation. And there will most definitely be more RAM—512MB at least.

As for the display, I doubt a retina display will be any part of the new iPad. That's just way too many pixels for such tiny hardware and battery to be able to support well—at least for the time being.

My next guess is that it will surely be sporting some new version of iOS, though I doubt iOS 5 will be ready just yet. If so they do show iOS 5, it will be a preview of the OS and only available on new iPads once they're release a month or so from now, which leads me to my next prediction:

The updated iPad won't be immediately available for purchase, rather that Apple will allow pre-orders starting today on their website for shipment later this month or sometime in April.

And lastly, I doubt Apple will rename the iPad as "iPad 2." Instead, they'll opt for "the new iPad" to label their tablet product.

We'll see how all this turns out in just a few minutes...

Update:

Well, it looks like I was right on a few things and wrong on a few things...

The iPad 2 is redesigned with a thinner body, it does have a FaceTime camera, the A5 chip with faster graphics and CPU performance, no retina display, no iOS 5, and it won't ship immediately.

However, I was wrong, first and foremost, on the name. It is called "iPad 2," and not "the new iPad." Although it's worth noting only the word "iPad" is etched into the back of the iPad 2, much like how the word "iPhone" has remained the only label on the back of each iPhone iteration. And though I had not thought about it, there will also be a white version available for launch along with the black version.

Next, there is a camera on the front as well as the back unlike I had predicted. And apparently the back camera is capable of HD video of 720p.

Some of the biggest improvements to the iPad that nobody had been aware of was the addition of iMovie and Garageband for iPad. Both multimedia software suites are incredibly advanced—and not just for a small tablet device. Both new Apple-developed apps rival high-dollar desktop apps in capability and diversity of available effects and software instruments. I'm extremely excited to try them out, being a musician and occasional film editor. To top it all off, each of these apps are to be available with the release of iPad 2, both for an incredible price of $4.99 each.

With software advances like these, Motorola and Android tablet competitors have to be shaking in their cubicles.

Other things of note are the PhotoBooth software, the new case/cover design, the HDMI output (which is freaking awesome), more AirPlay support in other video apps, HomeSharing of iTunes material over WiFi for iPad, and 17K new book titles available on the iBookStore thanks to a deal with Random House Publishing, Inc.

Looks like they're not allowing pre-orders yet. All the fun begins all at once next Friday, March 11. Sales of the iPad start at 5 p.m.

Any let downs?

I personally don't like the look of the device from the back. That also might be a reason they didn't quite reveal the back too often during the presentation. There seem too many switches and holes scattering the super-flat, bland looking back. The fact that it's thinner is kinda lost on me. Seems like just getting the thinnest it can possibly be doesn't make much sense when that new available space could be used for a bigger battery for an ungodly amount of battery life.

And I think that will do it. You'll see me in line this go-around at an Atlanta Apple store.

What will Apple name the forthcoming iPad?

What will apple name the next iPad? That might seem like a moot question, but it's worth asking. Let me explain.

Take a look at the recent MacBook Pro refresh. The new models weren't renamed "MacBook Pro 16," rather keeping the "MacBook" label and sticking "new" in the front. And as for the different iPod lines, renaming occurs here and there, but Apple had never used numbers to any of those updates: iPod, iPod Mini, iPod Shuffle, iPod nano, iPod Touch, and remained so through each product's life-cycle. Also, the current and completely redesigned Apple TV is still called the "Apple TV."

The iPhone, however, proves a deviation to that rule. The first iteration was called "iPhone," then "iPhone 3G," then "iPhone 3GS." Only now have they resorted to numbers with the naming of the iPhone 4.

So, is Apple already in the position of numbering of iPad refreshes? Or will they stick to appending the word "new" in front of the next update?

One hint that Apple might choose "iPad 2" lies in the invitations they sent out this past week, which show an iOS calendar app icon with the date March 2. From the corner, the page is peeled back to show an iPad, foreshadowing the now-obvious next-gen iPad announcement.

At a quick glance, the graphic even looks like it says "iPad 2."

It might be worth looking at whether or not Apple chooses to adopt the names the public already dubs their unreleased products. Though in no way a science, it might make sense from a marketing standpoint to keep the name people have already chosen for the next iPad—not to mention to differentiate the new product from the older one, especially if it's redesigned in any way.

All I know is that I've been waiting too long to buy one; I was late to the game in deciding if I had use for one. But after I had enough time to play with a few and realized that carrying around my 17" MacBook Pro was more of a hassle than I anticipated, the lust for that 64GB 3G iPad crept up not too long ago—when it would make no sense to buy one in the face of a forthcoming new iPad. Or iPad 2. Or whatever.

New tablets play "Me Too!" to the iPad

A recent look at the TouchPad, HP's new long-needed foray into the tablet market and HP Slate replacement, had me marveling at how similar every new tablet is, copying and switching each other's ideas to the point of indistinguishability.

Obviously, Apple hit it big with the iPad. And regardless of how "underwhelming" and "just-a-big-iPod-touchy" it seemed, it's now what every other company strives to be in this new, very competitive market. Sure, the TouchPad is different, and it still keeps its Palm underpinnings and UI cues that make it beautiful, polished and compelling, but a closer look at it reminds me so much of Android reminds me so much of Win7 tablets reminds me so much of everything else in the market since CES 2011. In essence, Apple is playing a big "I told you so" game as the rest of the world tries to keep up. Oh, the beauties of competition bring us the fruits of technological innovation, which are more or less nothing more than expensive grown-up toys, but I digress...

You always wonder what they will come up with next. Remember when you looked at the Motorola Razr and wondered just how cell phones could possibly get any smaller or better? Well, that's what tech companies do too. except that they make money and pay engineers to do it. Sooner or later someone will totally rethink something that will and should redefine the market, but as of late, that company is Apple. And it's not because they simply have better teams behind them and better marketing, it's just that have taken much bigger risks and put a hell of a lot of effort into market-altering products. Don't think that just because HP bought Palm and are now using their webOS platform that some brilliant engineers had not designed some amazing concept products that would, however, never see the light of day. Just look at the Courier concept that supposedly came from the Microsoft labs. In those situations, companies just didn't take the massive risk to put their resources into something that their market research told them nobody would buy.

Which brings us back to the iPad. It was a product announced to a world that knew of it's existence for nearly a decade. However, the loudest voices in the media said it wasn't good enough. There were no iPad focus groups. Apple developed the product blindly for years, as they so with nearly everything they make. That's a risk only few are willing to take.

Then what does everyone else still do? Well, just sit back, wait and watch a burgeoning new market explode and Apple again dominate a new arena. What and then after the wait-and-see approach to product development, it takes a year for anyone to come up with anything remotely compelling. Well, it's about damn time.

The HP TouchPad. The Motorola Xoom. The BlackBerry PlayBook. And, God-willing, a Microsoft product that doesn't use Windows 7 (Windows Tab 7, maybe?). These are the devices that may finally help us breathe in an Apple-drowned world. I don't care what it is, I just want it to be good and innovative.

Just have the balls, tech companies, to do something great and quit following in Apple's shoes.

Tablet Fever

Apparently at CES this year, some 100 or more tablets were announced or introduced.

That's crazy.

Just one year ago, right before the iPad was announced, Steve Ballmer got up on stage to announce a few tablets, highlighting one -- the HP Slate -- that wouldn't even go into production. Why? Because once again, the ideas and concept products from manufacturers all had to be re-thought and redesigned in order to compete.

The iPad. When it was announced January 2010, most tech journalists screamed disappointment, their favorite word to describe it being "underwhelming." Oh, it was "just a big iPod Touch." And most people wrote it off as unimportant nearly instantaneously. The problem wasn't with the device at all. The problem was with people's expectations. If the iPad cured cancer, it still wouldn't have satisfied those people. What, with all the hype and speculation the Apple Tablet had garnered for more than a decade?

But it turns out that being just a big iPod Touch is freaking awesome. As soon as I saw the iPad and then heard its "big iPod Touch" description, I thought, "Alright! A big iPod Touch! That's great!" What else could it have been? It seems that being just a larger iPod is still better than what any manufacturer could come up with for the past year and possibly even another year.

So the tablet hype is in full swing, and opinions about the iPad have come full circle. As soon as a few other manufacturers started seriously trying to ship Windows 7 tablets, we then had a more telling look at the devices when we could see them in action side-by-side. And the iPad won, over and over again.

Since then, Samsung recently has been the most direct competition for Apple with the release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It is built by using the phone Android OS, with Samsung doing what it can to make it more tablet-y. But after having high hopes for what it was and what it could do, after using it I was sadly disappointed. Samsung seemed to rush this thing into market, as it lacked real polish (as does most Android phones). And in many instances across the OS, there were too many references to the "phone" the OS thought is was running on. Looks like they forgot to erase the term "phone" and switch it to "tablet" or "tab." As an example, using a demo model, the Galaxy Tab told me that the phone was missing its card-storage.

However, now Android is finally out to compete is better products, and with the Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" OS coming on a bunch of new devices, we might finally see some actual competition for another market that Apple has once again dramatically influenced and/or dominated.

And as for Windows tablets? God, if they don't soon make the Windows Phone 7 OS over to a tablet form and call it Windows Tab 7 -- or something -- then they have no hope in this catagory. Somebody over there has got to get it together and realize that Windows 7 wont make it in the current market landscape. At CES, Microsoft announced that Windows will make it over to support an ARM-based infrastructure, which just means that they plan on making their desktop OS more fit for tablets. Get you heads out of your ass, Microsoft. Put all your resources in to Windows Phone 7 OS on tablets. It's good. You did great on that software. As soon as you join the pack with a real offering -- an OS with real simplicity, tight underpinnings, and a re-worked UI that's as fluid and seamless as your great new phone OS, then you might have a chance.

Here's just a sample of the tablets that were announced at CES, with more on the way.

Samsung Galaxy Tab looks really good.

While we have been waiting on viable alternatives to the Apple iPad, as the newly announced Blackberry PlayBook has yet to reach market, the Samsung Galaxy Tab may have the ability to grab consumer attention and pull in some market share.

There are quite a few people out there that simply do not want to give in to Apple, the iPad, or even acknowledge that a device similar to the iPad, i.e. tablet devices, can be considered viable alternatives to traditional laptops. To those people, I say wake up and smell the greenbacks, because this new tablet market is thriving.

So what if Apple is the leader in all this again? Because they do so well and because they are, by some people, hated so much, that means demand is high and the market ready for other companies to step up their game and make something just as "magical." That's how technology gets better and how capitalism works. And it's all for you.

For example, Samsung's new tablet looks really good. I haven't used it yet, but this video shows just how usable and iPad-like the Galaxy Tab is:



The Galaxy Tab is supposed to be released over the course of next week from Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile, all with their own separate data and pricing plans. It's confusing, so if you plan on getting one, make sure you do the math and figure out what works best for you before signing the contract for one of these things.

On the iPhone, pt2

Previously, I've spoken a little bit about the iPhone, its place in history and impact on modern communication, which can be found here. To get all my ideas out about the iPhone and why I’m a complete fanboy of the device (and to be honest, of most Apple products), I hope to expand a little here and possibly more down the line along the device’s evolution with this segment simply titled, “On the iPhone.”

Tech isn’t so “techy” anymore

You geeky son-of-a-bitch. Yeah, you know you love your phone. It’s okay; we do too. The thing is, tech isn’t so geeky anymore, so be proud of it. The 21st century Fonzie uses an iPhone -- style, fashion and social status today include both the devices you carry and the brands that define you. Are you a Mac or PC? Android or Blackberry? Playstation or Xbox?

Modern geekism, as I see it, has more to do with phones than anything, as phones are everyone's device and the most personal tech we own. And Apple, having always considered beauty and style in their products, are responsible for the new age of stylish gadgetry with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.

Revolution

Smartphones have evolved. Initially created for business professionals, the smartphone was nothing more than an excuse for guys in suits to carry around expensive, complicated-looking gadgets.

Well, that may be an exaggeration, but in all honesty, having used Windows Mobile devices from the early 2000s, I can vouch for smartphone uselessness beyond fancy contacts management a digital calendar. Mobile internet, which was finally starting to mature in devices like Blackberrys and the Palm Treo, was essentially still a baby. The Treo, Blackberry and a few Nokia products were certainly key devices in a pre-iPhone world, but until the platforms could be rethought and reinvented for use by mere mortals, nobody cared.

But why prop up the iPhone?


Well, because, if it wasn’t for the iPhone, your Motorola Droid simply wouldn't exist.

Android, Palm and now Windows Phone 7 -- platforms based on the touch-experience -- are all reaching full maturity and offer plenty competitive alternatives. But regardless of whether you believe the iPhone is still king or have instead found a better fit for you, no one can deny that Apple truly catalyzed a new generation of really personal, really smart mobile devices and software. Facing many obstacles, they created something so radically different and did it so well, that the iPhone introduction will go down as a historical upward shift in portable computing (not to mention that the MacWorld 2007 keynote given by Steve Jobs was awesome and sure to be talked about for decades among us Apple nerds. Gotta give kudos when kudos is due (what is a kudo, btw?)).

The iPhone’s backstory is really the most compelling part of its introduction. And though Jobs likes to claim revolution for the products he introduces, for the people that own iPhones, use them and love them, the overall consensus on whether or not the iPhone is truly revolutionary amounts to an assertive “hell yes.”

Read this piece from Wired magazine, The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry. This is the best piece I’ve found on the device, the landscape of the mobile industry and how it was flipped upside down in 2007.

It’s all about emotion

Talk with iPhone users. They love it. They make sure to use the word.

It’s just a phone -- an electronic gadget. So why the emotional connection? How can a person become so floored with a phone, of all things?

Well, making calls isn't it. The phone part of your iPhone doesn't make you fall in love. Especially if you have lots of dropped calls, sometimes you might be inclined to throw it across the room. However, the process of making the call, the fluidity and ease involved can overall make for a relatively enjoyable experience. That is what it's all about: the experience, the enjoyment one receives in its use with minimal frustrations.

Emotional connectivity with a phone comes in the sense that the device simply fulfills and need. Or more appropriately, it creates need, whereas technology, in its nature, broadens connectivity with the world by providing new avenues for information and entertainment, and then fulfills it. The iPhone platform, in form and function, exists to satisfy that need and, in turn, influences the "bond" a person will perceive from its use.

Just as an interesting side-note, we are only talking about a phone, in case we need to be reminded. We talk about the iPhone experience like one might talk about a religious experience. But I'm sure one's choice of technology might come close to a religion. They call 'em fanboys for a reason.

So, let's first discuss design. It's no secret that Apple has a great design team; they've won awards and sold enough product to prove it. Apple stuff is often described as "pretty" or even "beautiful." But why? It's nothing by a hunk of shiny metals and glass. To answer, you might look at these objects in comparison to what others manufacture. Take, for example, any slew of Nokia handsets or Windows Mobile phones from last year. Other than, in my opinion, the Palm Pre and a few HTC handsets which are on par with the iPhone as far as physical design, the iPhone trumps most in outward attractiveness. Being shiny certainly has an eye-catching allure and makes you wanna reach out and touch it -- or even lick it.

Handsets. You hold them -- yes, in your hand, if you had to guess. So, the feel of the device must conform to the hand or be ergonomically sound for constant touching and manipulation. The slickness of the iPhone (still speaking of the original) -- the rounded-off sides and smooth edges that fit nicely in the creases of one's fingers, the serene physicality of having only one button, the weight and feel of the device -- all adds to the proverbial "experience" we like to adorn it with.

Physical beauty is nice, and Apple has always made really nice hardware, but as Steve Jobs had said in The Wall Street Journal's D5 conference in 2007, he really considered Apple a software company more than anything. Software is what sets a company like Apple apart and drives the identity of their products. The software in the original iPhone was revolutionary (okay, I'll reuse the word). During the MacWorld 2007 keynote, Jobs threw the phrase "desktop-class applications" around to describe the new era of portable computing. The iPhone was the initiator and proof of that concept. Now with the App Store and over 300,000 (as of this writing) applications for iOS devices, uncertainty over software utility in the mobile space can be easily put to rest. However, while the capabilities are there, pure functionality of the iPhone is not what creates the bond between it and the user. Design, again, must creep into the conversation, because the way we see, feel and hear -- all ways we interact -- must, beyond all, be easy and fun to do. The designers at Apple have nearly perfected user interface design.

It works well. Like, for real. As long as the hardware is keeping up with the software (because the hardware should be able to handle what interface and general computations the applications need), the interface, its animated aspects, the types of buttons and controls, the graphics, the layout of information all in a tightly-wound, polished and responsive package make for a fluid and extremely satisfying experience.

It's late, and this post has run long. To be continued...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Another reason I absolutely love the Mac

On a PC, the mouse cursor always gets in the way of what I type.

Think about it -- you use your mouse to click inside a text field, but unless the cursor is intentionally moved aside, it interferes with your ability to read what you type. And good luck if a tooltip happens to pop up under the cursor; that blocks pretty much everything. It's like trying to drive a car when all of a sudden someone splashes black paint all over the windshield. Not cool.

On my Mac, as soon as you type, the cursor disappears. Move the mouse again, and voila! It's back! What a simple, nice freaking touch!

However, every time I'm forced to use a PC, either for work or when I use bootcamp for miscellaneous causes, I'm confronted with this horrible oversight in basic design flaw in user experience.

Geez, Windows has been out for thirty some odd years now, and nobody at Microsoft realizes that pointing and clicking has nothing to do typing...

Blackberry Playbook - here's hoping

I pray to all things good in the universe that this Blackberry Playbook tablet is in the least bit competitive against the iPad. I'm sick of Apple being the only company able to pull much of anything off correctly. I want an iPad, but I tired of only wanting Apple stuff; I have too much Apple stuff! Please, please, please, wont there be another company to make something as cool as or better than Apple's offerings?

To be fair, I love the Palm Pre and WebOS design. And I hope (again, hoping) that HP will make something great out of the investment (the purchase of Palm). But I'm tired of companies taking the "wait and see" approach to new markets and/or to revolutionize/reinvent markets. Apple does that; they did it with the iPod, iPhone, and now the iPad. They have a philosophy, advanced by Steve Jobs, that says, make something great, know it's great, know it works great, and know it looks great, and spend as much time as it takes to accomplish that, and screw everybody else that gets in the way.

That's right! These tech companies need to grow some!

Microsoft, in its horrible marketing and management disarray, having already failed with the Kin One and Kin Two, is finally set to release Windows Phone 7 upon the world next week -- their new, supreme touchscreen and modern mobile OS competitor to the iPhone. But the iPhone was released July 2007! It's October 2010! This is how long it takes for somebody to do anything to keep up with Apple and the Jobs-man.

Research In Motion (RIM), in the case of the PlayBook, isn't too far behind the iPad; its been only a few months now since the iPad's release. So, I'm sure RIM has been working on some type of tablet offering for a while now, possibly even a few years as far as the operating system infrastructure goes. I'm willing to bet, however, that as soon as the iPad was announced back in January, they went full-steam ahead to ramp up development for what we've seen introduced last week.

They claim this tablet computer is for the "professional" -- like businessmen. But if you think like me, when something now is claimed for the "professional," I'm thinking that it's more along the lines of "hard to use" and "not streamlined for smooth user experience." So, regardless of how great their promotional videos are on this tablet, I'm not getting my hopes too far up, though I sure would like for it to work just as smooth and seamless as they make it seem: