New iPhone launched – what else happened?

Today was the WWDC (world wide developer conference) for Apple and as they usually are, it was a platform for announcing new products. Now most of you that read this are not really interested in the tiny details but if you were interested in the iPhone then I’ll try to keep it relevent. But… My nerdness might come out just a little.

What we all knew/was rumored: 

• Size — The new iPhone 3GS comes with either 16GB or 32GB.
• Guts — a faster processor and a 7.2Mbps HSDPA-compatible radio.
• Camera — 3.2 megapixels and added auto-focus and geotagging support.
• Video — 30fps video recording, video editing, video sharing.
• Compass — Know where north is. Yay.
• Battery life — 5 hours of 3G talk time and up to 24 hours of music playback.
• OS — Tethering is now covered, though we still don’t know how AT&T will handle it
• TomTom was on hand at the keynote to demonstrate its iPhone app/accessory combo.
• 3.0 will be available beginning June 17th — free for iPhone owners, $9.95 for iPod Touch owners.
• Landscape keyboard functionality for all programs
• Push notifications from apps with the 3.0 software
• Price — As expected, the new iPhone 3GS will ring up at $199 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 32GB version. The current 8GB iPhone 3G will hang around and drop to $99 starting today.

 

What we didn’t know:

• The 3GS looks exactly like the 3G — no matte rubbery finish, no matching bezel.
• Voice Control is now built in, hi 2002, so you can dial by voice, control iPod playback by voice and so on. We have to admit though, saying “play more songs like this” to initiate the Genius feature is cool.
• Integrated hardware encryption.
• The iPhone 3GS goes on sale June 19th in the US.

 

So most of this I knew was coming but I am excited for some of the surprises! I had been using the 3.0 software for about 2-3 weeks before today and loved it. I actually used/noticed most of the new features like copy paste, landscape typing, better battery life, audio recorder, and inviting others to calendar meetings. I was REALLY looking forward to a more robust push notification system, something that would tell mr how many emails I have in or a better home daily view of my activities.

 

Droool: Blackberry Bold 9000

“The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

Well it is official. If you are a true Blackberry lover and user then the best thing since sliced bread (or the first Blackberry PDA) has arrived. The Blackberry Bold 9000 has all the cojones needed to get the job done…. and well!

RIM has officially announced the release of their next Blackberry device that will close the gap between business professional and consumer device… Welcome the Blackberry Bold 9000.

The only downside, we have to wait until sometime this summer. Not sure when but a glimpse of hope it will be with AT&T first. Check out www.blackberrybold.com for some more pretty pictures, video, and details but most of the info is below:

Tri-Band HSDPA – 3G!!!! finally where is the 3g iPhone?
GPS integrated – Thank God, nothing new here for Curve and 8800Wi-Fi with
802.11 a/b/g – Even faster speeds at home and coffee shops
HVGA 480×320 – Larger screen with thicker LED screen for crisper pictures
624 Mhz Mobile processor – Faster open, close, view, save, etc., etc., etc., Very Nice!
128 MB Flash memory – Quicker loads
1 GB on-board memory – Larger storage capacity
2 megapixel camera – Nothing new here
Video recording – Finally, and I hear it is quick to load and save
16 GB MicroSD – Almost unlimited storage capabilities (16GB iPhone storage)Bluetooth – Nothing new here
iTunes Support – Damn they really are going after the “other” phone
5 hour talk, 13 day standby – Expected and delivered for 3G phone

Some more of my favorite highlights:

“replaceable, stylish leather-like backplate”
“streaming video”
“microSD/SDHC memory card slot** that is conveniently accessible from a side door”
“can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email”
“color LCD is fused to the undersurface of the lens, making images leap out with stunning definition and clarity”
“newly enhanced, high performance browser”
“Audio can be played over the handset’s dual speakers in rich, stereo sound”
“allows users to navigate [GPS Google Maps] while on a call”
“new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone’s audio sweet spot”

See below for RIMs Marketing Content:
http://www.blackberrycool.com/2008/05/12/007171/

Last Day – End of one chapter and beginning of another

Last day at Lenovo today… just re-installed the original pre-load on both my machines to give back. Kind of cool to see the computers that I have used for the past three years fresh and rejuvinated again. Lot’s of memory and less junk!! But this is quickly replaced with the feeling of being naked with out a PC for a weekend.

I can’t be the only one but a weekend without my Z61p or my T41 is kind of odd. I will have my trusty Blackberry 8310 which is a sweet device that really can replace 80% of what I would use my computer for over the weekend anyway.

But here it is 2pm on Friday, no email access, can’t log in to VPN, changed voicemail over to a generic log in and password and my desk is completely empty. Good time to reflect this experience, the people I have met and worked with, and all the accomplishments.

Funny thought. while at lunch today with a co-worker I was reminded of the old IBM days when an employee would leave someone else had to escort them out of the building to make sure they did not go postal. A funny thought to think about, now with Lenovo no one is even here to send me off. Everyone is either working remote, buried in their own work, or having a late lunch. But I said all of my goodbye’s during the past two weeks so the loose ends are tight up and ready to go. Also, I will be keeping in touch with a few people over the next couple weeks.

So since I have no machine you may be wondering what I will be doing with all of my stuff, pictures, music, documents, GPS points of interest, blackberry software, applications, etcc,. (well maybe not the GPS points of interest, I think I am the only crazy one that goes that far.) I backed them all up to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, the HP Media Vault 2010. Quite easy to do and now all our stuff is easy to get to, all in one location, and can be remotely connected to.

But like I said more on that later.

Ok, off to drop off this sytem and my badge..

Good bye Lenovo and thank you for everything

Traveling Blogger – Audio test

EDITED: guess sending an audio file did not work through email

The traveling Blogger

Just testing as if I were stuck in an airport and thought about something I wanted to add.

They sell ipods now in vending machines!
Sent via BlackBerry from AT&T