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10 Reasons Why You Can't Have an iPad Right Now

Michael Simon — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:36:25 -0600

Love it or hate it, despite its lack of Flash compatibility, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with a pulse who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to spend some quality time with Apple’s latest piece of technology. So, there’s a pretty good chance Apple would have racked up a few thousand impulse buys had it offered iPad for sale following its dramatic introduction in January.

So why is Apple insisting that we wait 60 to 90 days? Let’s review:

Communications breakdown

At the bottom of every iPad page and at the conclusion of the promotional video, you’ll find the same phrase: “This device has not yet been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.” Much like the iPhone, Apple unveiled the iPad several months before its on-sale date to avoid being scooped by an FCC filing. Any telecommunications device is obligated to go through the FCC approval process, which often takes a month or so and is likely responsible for the extra 30 days of wait time tacked onto the 3G-enabled iPads.

While likely just a formality, Apple also doesn’t want to cut its target date too close to the end of the FCC process, just in case it needs to tweak any of iPad’s internals and resubmit. So, 60 to 90 days hits the sweet spot between not-too-long and not-too-short of a wait. It took us seven months to get our hands on an iPhone, so surely we can wait another 60 days.

A bug’s life

While Steve did his best to keep everything running smoothly during his big iPad demo (‘cept for those nasty blue boxes where Flash videos were supposed to be), he couldn’t hide every bug and disabled feature from the intrepid reporters invited to test-drive the new gadget. Suffice to say, the earliest iPadders found more than a few flaws in the new iPhone OS, and we’re quite sure Apple’s developers are already hard at work fine-tuning apps (particularly iBooks) and rewriting code to get everything in tip-top shape.

And tip-top is the shape it most certainly needs to be. Apple may be enjoying a spate of unparalleled success, but there's still quite a bit riding on its first truly new product in three years. From the iMac to the iPod, iPhone and now the iPad, Apple’s creations are as much about their place on Apple’s roadmap as the products themselves. Had the iPod flopped, we might not have the App Store or iPhone; if the iPad fails, who knows what we’ll miss out on.

Critical condition

Steve Jobs would like us to think he pays little mind to critics not named Walt Mossberg, but truth be told, he’s probably read as many iPad reviews as we have. And while we don’t foresee an iPad-was-my-idea ad campaign anytime soon, we have little doubt that at least some of those criticisms have planted seeds in Steve’s brain. A select few may find their way into the final shipping product and others will get shelved for future revisions, but Steve will pay close attention to our gripes and grumbles over the next 60 days. Don’t believe us? Just shoot him an e-mail.

Though we’re pretty sure Flash won’t make the cut, 60 days is more than enough time for Steve to make some serious changes--even cosmetic ones--to the iPad prototype. Remember, back in 2007, Apple surprised would-be early iPhone adopters by tacking on two extra hours of talk time and upgrading its display to “optical-quality glass to achieve a superior level of scratch resistance and optical clarity.” But if you’re holding out for a battery or a thinner bezel, don’t set your hopes too high.

Believe the hype--it's a sequel

It hasn’t all been as positive as the viral video of Steven Colbert pulling one out of his oversized jacket pocket at the Grammys, but iPad has dominated headlines, Google Trends, Twitter and water-cooler talk, and it’s unlikely to die down anytime soon.

Apple’s new device might have fallen short of its impossible expectations, but we doubt Steve’s too concerned about all that negative press. We've already been through this with the iPhone: It’s not so much about sales as it is getting the iPad name on as many lips as possible; once people know what it is, they’ll surely want to find out what it does and how it works. And once they see one under the lights at their local Apple Store, something tells us they’ll forget all those jokes about its name.

With weeks of rumors and a few tantalizing words by Steve himself, all eyes were trained on A

pple during the days leading into the iPad introduction, as its strategic hype machine whipped the industry into a frenzy. And once Apple starts sending out e-mail notifications that the iPad’s ready for pre-order, it’s sure to start all over again.

Third-party time

Since the App Store changed the face of the iPhone as we knew it, Steve knows the success of the iPad is inexorably tied to its developers. Sure, Photos and iWork are nice, but Apple has left the creation of the first killer app to one of its third-party developers. So it’s only fair that they get some time to do it.

Apple wasted little time getting the iPhone SDK 3.2 into the hands of their developers, who in turn wasted little time celebrating the iPad’s potential. Even before the United Kingdom’s Northern Film & Media launched a 40,000-pound iPad investment fund, Omni Group promised to bring all five of its popular productivity apps to the new tablet; Firemint divulged that an iPad-style version of Flight Control had actually been in development before the gadget even landed; and ex-Facebook app developer Joe Hewitt could hardly contain himself: “Seriously, if you're a developer and you're not thinking about how your app could work better on the iPad and its descendants, you deserve to get left behind.”

Simply put, iPad is only as strong as its weakest app. By getting the SDK into developers’ hands a full two months ahead of iPad’s launch, Steve’s hoping his investment in strong is handsomely rewarded.

Read between the lines

You can argue that Apple would have been better off recycling the “iBook” name for the device rather than its e-book store, but it’s hard to argue that iPad’s reading experience is by and large the tablet’s most compelling feature. With a built-in store, virtual page turning and a promise that titles will be priced “the same” as the Kindle, Apple clearly intends to hit the ground running with iBooks.

There’s just one small problem: It’s not quite ready for prime time. When eager journalists launched the iBooks app on those first prototype iPads, they were met with a padlocked store and a sparse bookshelf containing just 17 titles; add an unworkable search field to the mix, and you’re looking at a long road to completion.

Apple’s already won its first battle with Amazon--the dot-com giant opted to “capitulate and accept Macmillan's terms” of higher e-book pricing, presumably after Apple applied some pressure to the publisher--but there’s a major war looming once the iPad lands on shelves. And you can rest assured that the iPad and iBooks will be locked, loaded and ready for the fight when these 60 days are up.

Fantastic 4G

It only took about a week after the iPad introduction for speculation to resume regarding the next generation of the iPhone, sparked by the purported discovery of an early image of the handset. iPhone has followed a predictable early June upgrade path, but with all iPad models expected to shipping by May 1, Apple might tweak that schedule this year.

After spending a few minutes with the iPad, we can’t help but notice the potential for synergy with its little brother. From file sharing to photo beaming, we think Apple’s got some tricks up its sleeve for the new iPhone that’ll make it virtually inseparable from its taller twin.

At a closed Town Hall meeting late lat month, Macrumors.com reports, Steve Jobs uncharacteristically talked tough about the 2010 iPhone 4G release, calling it an “A+ update” designed to keep Android developers on their heels and promised “aggressive updates” to the iPhone that will leave competitors in its dust. With some 60 days until the first iPads begin appearing in stores, Apple’s iPhone team has more than enough time to perfect its new device as the ultimate accessory to its new tablet.

Fab 4

With no killer app to speak of, the iPad’s reception has been lukewarm at best, with detractors picking on its lack of camera, multi-tasking and Flash support. Now, we’re not expecting to see a camera until at least next year--and if you’re holding out for Flash, you should probably look elsewhere--but we also don’t think the version of iPad Apple showed us is complete.

We weren’t surprised to see iPad running a version of the iPhone OS instead of OS X proper, but Apple’s decision to incrementally update OS 3 piqued our curiosity. With no iPhone-specific enhancements to speak of, Apple clearly has a major iPhone software update waiting in the wings, most likely slated for a standalone press event in early spring. And we think it’s going to make iPad a whole lot better.

For starters, the elusive multi-tasking that everyone’s clamoring on about is rumored to make an appearance, and 60 days gives Apple plenty of time to fine-tune a solution that will enable apps to run in background without draining the battery or taxing the CPU. Also possibly on deck are improved gestures and synching, UI changes (many of which we’ve likely already seen on iPad) and a tactile, motion-aware interface, all of which will bring iPad to the level we expected at its launch.

It’s the economy, stupid

Apple may be navigating the recession with skill and ease, but expecting customers--even devoted ones--to drop several hundred dollars and another $30 a month on a brand new toy is a lot to ask when times are tough. But Uncle Steve cares so much about us, he’s given us three whole months to find ways to save:

1) Cutting out those daily trips to the coffee shop will save about $15 a week, or approximately $130 over 60 days, enough to splurge on a 3G model.

2) Bagging a lunch (or dinner) instead of ordering in at work will put about 200 bucks back in your pocket, even more if you include movie theaters and sporting events.

3) Stop buying scratch tickets, CDs, DVDs, magazines (except Mac|Life, of course) and candy bars, quit downloading music and movies, and unsubscribe to those “special interest” Web sites.

4) Stop going to see “Avatar.” That alone will be good enough for a keyboard dock.

5) Want a case, too? Cut back on a few premium cable channels. More storage? Cancel your underused gym membership. Flash? Save even more and buy a netbook.

photo from Engadget

Lines, lines, everywhere there’s lines

There’s no better advertisement for a hot new product than a giant, snaking line outside every Apple Store across the country. Whenever iPad is released, it’s a pretty safe bet that fans will begin camping out a few days before its sale date, piquing people’s interest without an ounce of effort from Apple’s marketing department.

And the longer Steve makes us stare at its revolving homepage gallery, the more we want the damn thing. Just wait until there’s a 10-foot one hanging in the store window.

Podcast #127: Apple Updates Aperture and It's Expo Time

Mac|Life Staff — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:00:17 -0600

Apple updated their professional photography application after two long years. Finally Aperture users will know the power of Faces.

It's a month later than usual and Apple won't be there, but the Macworld Expo is go. The Mac|Life staff talk about the new show and gear up for some expo floor fun.

Also we expect hi-fives from our listeners while we're walking the expo floor.

Plus, we answer your hard-hitting Twitter and Facebook questions! Okay, they weren't that hard-hitting.

Got a question, but you're afraid to leave a voice message because of Witness Relocation Dept. rules? Drop us a question via Twitter twitter.com/maclife.

This week's Battlestar Applactica picks:

ContactFlow - $.99

Monospace - $1.99

iMacworld - Free

Don't forget, the Mac|Life staff would love to hear your thoughts, comments and ideas for the new podcast. Just leave a message on the Mac|Live question/comment line: (877) 404-1337, extension 622. Please limit the length of your messages to 1 minute max. We'll review these calls each week and feature our favorites, along with responses, on that week's podcast.

To subscribe to the Mac|Live podcast series through an RSS feed, click here; if you want to subscribe through the iTunes Store, click here.

Google Rolls Out Buzz, Tries To Reinvent Social Networks

Cory Bohon — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:46:06 -0600

Google has rolled out a social networking feature for Gmail users called Google Buzz, but it makes us wonder what we're ever going to use it for.

In the same way Wave did it, Google Buzz is combining a few things we do online into one place: your Gmail inbox. A mash between Google Latitude, Wave, and Friendfeed, Google Buzz lets you stay even more connected online.

The Google Buzz social network, which rolled out this afternoon, gives users the ability to link Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader, and Twitter accounts. You can access your linked social networks, post/get updates to Google Buzz and linked social networks, and peruse your friend's updates. When you get responses to any of your posts on any of your linked social networks or on the Google Buzz network, you'll automatically get an email in your Gmail inbox. In addition, people you email often will automatically get added to your friend list in Google Buzz.

You can share your Buzz posts publicly or with just a few of your friends, and when your friends comment on one of your posts, the comments appear in your inbox in real-time -- similar to the way Google Wave works. You can also share photos, videos, and links with your friends over Google Buzz. Photos are displayed in a photo browser that users can easily view photos in, videos such as YouTube content is displayed in the message without the need to visit the site, and links can automatically grab the content and images on a site and display it in the post (similar to the way Facebook & URLs in messages work).

There are some similarities between Google Buzz and Twitter, however, such as sending @ replies. Except, when you send an @ reply in Buzz, the user will automatically be notified in their Gmail inbox. Replying to that message will post a comment on your post that was sent to them. In addition, Buzz will automatically recommend friends to you who discuss similar content.

Now, when and where can you get Google Buzz? Well, Google is still rolling out the service to Gmail users, so if you're lucky, you might already have a link to it inside of your Gmail inbox. In the meantime, you can watch the introduction video below, and visit the Google Buzz page to find out more information.

iLife '10? No, Just An iLife '09 Update

Brian Proffit — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:31:49 -0600

Apple released new downloads today to upgrade various aspects of iLife '09 in what some are dubbing the iLife '10 update. There are updates for RAW format compatibility with several cameras, as well as system improvements affecting Aperture 03 and iPhoto 09 to improve slideshow support and integration with the Media Browser.

Some Aperture 3 users had been reporting problems with video clips in slideshows after upgrading to Snow Leopard, and this update addresses that. For those wanting the very best quality from their digital images, the RAW format produces files with no loss and maximum quality. The update allows Aperture and iPhoto to handle RAW files from these cameras and formats:

Canon PowerShot S90

Canon sRAW

Canon mRAW

Leica D-LUX 4

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.

Cocoatech Path Finder

Ray Aguilera — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:05:05 -0600

Your Mac’s Finder is probably one of the last things you ever think about. It’s just kind of there, doing pretty much the same stuff it always has. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Path Finder from Cocoatech takes Finder’s basic functions and adds in tons of new features that will appeal to average users and Mac geeks alike.

At first glance, Path Finder looks exactly like a standard Finder window. There’s a sidebar containing shortcuts to all your mounted volumes, network shares, and other goodies--just like Apple’s Finder. And as expected, the right pane shows you the contents of your current folder in Icon, List, Column, or Cover Flow views. Along the top, there’s a customizable toolbar that can be used to access your favorite views and other commands, and that’s where Path Finder makes its first big departure. Regular ol’ Finder offers just 17 mix-and-match options for custom toolbars, but Path Finder offers an astounding 48. That gives you a taste of the powerful extra features that Path Finder’s packing.

Our favorite of the bunch is its tabbed interface. Instead of keeping two (or 10) windows open to move and view files and folders, you can have a single Path Finder window open with multiple tabs. A tab bar similar to Safari’s sits at the top of the window, and you can drag files quickly between them. It’s the kind of thing that left us smacking our forehead and wondering why Apple hasn’t already done this. After 10 minutes with Path Finder, we don’t want to go back to using multiple Finder windows ever again.

Our favorite tabbed Path Finder setup with iTunes and recent folders on the right.

The Drop Stack is another innovative, must-have feature that allows you to drag multiple files into the stack and then perform actions on them all at once--compressing them or moving them into another folder, for example. Path Finder also offers a cool split-screen dual browser view that allows you to view the contents of two folders side by side in one window. Even better, each of the two panes can have their own independent sets of open tabs, which makes it dead simple to navigate even the most convoluted folder structures. To keep everything straight, there’s a path bar on the top of each pane, keeping you informed on where you are in your Mac’s file system.

Cover Flow fans will really appreciate Path Finder’s implementation because it lets you use Icon or Column views in the lower pane, instead of just the standard List view. For serious information junkies, Path Finder has slide-out drawers on the bottom and sides of your window. Drawers can be individually configured to show a variety of different modules, from a list of recent documents to an iTunes browser to a fully functional Terminal window for quickly firing off commands. There’s even a Subversion module that lets users of the version-control system quickly perform commands on their document repository.

The only downside to Path Finder is that it’s so good, you’ll want to use it to completely replace Finder, which isn’t possible. Certain apps like iTunes, iPhoto, and Time Machine are hard-coded to work with Apple’s Finder, so you’ll have to go back to it occasionally. But for the overwhelming majority of day-to-day tasks, Path Finder outperforms the Finder and offers a near-infinite level of customizability. But as in Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility, and we were disappointed that an application as deep and potentially confusing as Path Finder didn’t offer more thorough documentation for all of its features. Experienced users can make do by just trying things out, but newbies could definitely use more guidance than the application currently offers.

Pearson Launches First iPhone/iPad Reader Apps

Matthew Tilmann — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:59:48 -0600

MarketWatch has learned that publisher Pearson Education has released its first iPhone/iPad Reader app for both the home and office as well as the technical and professional world.

The first launched app, The iPhone Developer's Library, brings together three best selling books on Mac programming as well as iPhone app development. The Pearson Reader App has standard eBook features such as easy navigation, search, highlighting, and hyperlinking; in addition to features that were specifically constructed to benefit the technical audience such as scrolling vertically as well as horizontally through large program code listings using the "Code View" enhancement and the ability to access and reuse program code through email.

In addition to that, Pearson also has free Reader Apps that have one sample chapter from various Pearson books, and allows consumers to buy the remaining chapters through "in-app" purchasing.

"Pearson is excited to add the iPhone/iPd Reader app to our growing suite of learning products," said Mark L. Taub, Editor-in-Chief at Pearson Education. "Our goal is to make sure that our authors' great content is available everywhere our customers demand it. The Pearson iPhone Reader was built smart, including features that matter to our technical customers such as Code View and more."

The Pearson Apps run on iPhone OS 3.0, iPod Touch models, and the upcoming iPad. The apps are now available through iTunes, and to see more apps coming soon, check out here.

Image courtesy of NSCS.org

Apple Surveying iPhone Developers

J.R. Bookwalter — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:36:20 -0600

It’s no secret that Apple has had an often-tumultuous relationship with some of its App Store developers, but in recent weeks they’ve been making an effort to mend fences, which includes a new survey asking developers if they’re happy with the way things are being run.

TechCrunch has the scoop on the new survey being sent to iPhone Developer Program members following an often-rocky 2009 which even saw Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, stepping into the fray in an effort to diffuse some of the tension between Cupertino and their App Store developers.

The lengthy survey appears to cover a wide variety of topics, with a particular focus on the App Store review process and developers’ overall satisfaction with the program. (We’d love to be a fly on the wall when someone at Apple reads those responses!)

Among the questions asked:

Please rate your level of satisfaction with each of the following aspects of the Application submission process (using iTunes Connect).

Please rate your level of satisfaction with each of the following aspects of the application review process (using iTunes Connect).

Please rate your level of satisfaction with the length of time it takes to get updates available on the App Store.

It’s noteworthy to mention that at the beginning of the year, Apple seemed to put the App Store approval process into overdrive, with a ridiculous number of apps going from submission to available in record time. With the iPad coming in late March, there will surely be a new tidal wave of apps -- both new and updated -- so it would appear that Apple wants to work out any remaining bugs before the blessed day arrives.

(Images courtesy of TechCrunch)

Study: iPhone Market Share Grows To 25%

Matthew Tilmann — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:33:16 -0600

ComScore released their Mobile Subscriber Market Share findings this week according to AppleInsider. The findings covered a three month time period that ended in December 2009. The study showed that companies Research in Motion, Microsoft and Palm all lost ground, while Apple increased its share to further cement itself in the number two spot for smartphone makers in the U.S.

RIM was first, with a 41.6 percent of the holiday share. That number was down 1 percent from the September quarter. Microsoft came in third, also dropping 1 percent from September, to 18 percent.

Palm dropped 2.2 percent to 6.1 percent in the December quarter. However, newcomer Google came in fifth with a 5.2 percent share, which was actually up 2.7 percent from September 2009.

Overall, there were 234 million people, age 13 and older in the U.S. who were using mobile devices in the December 2009. Motorola was the top cell phone maker, with 23.5 percent of all U.S. mobile devices. Given that the smartphone market is much smaller than the overall market, Apple did not come in the top five in that study.

Other interesting tidbits that the study revealed was that a large percentage of mobile phone users -- 63.1 percent -- user their phone to send text messages. Also, 27.5 percent use a Web browser, 21.6 percent play games, 17.8 percent download apps, and 12.1 percent listen to music.

Image courtesy of Mindro.com