Mac Soda

Google auto-complete shows that most people feel the same way I do about Apple's new iPad.

BREAKING NEWS: Apple unveils a brand new iPod Touch, with a point upgrade to its iPhone OS, version 3.2, in what came as shocking news to those who were expecting them to release a brand new tablet computing device.

Oh wait. This is the tablet.

I am very surprised by what Apple introduced today. Revolutionary? Not in the slightest.  Steve Jobs, Mr. Genius-Visionary did not see what the market wanted accurately. Apple made an assumption that because the iPhone OS is so loved, they’re selling them like hotcakes and the app store is so popular, that people would jump at the chance to buy a new device that looks incredible from Apple. Unfortunately, and I say this with great surprise and sadness, Apple messed up royally. People do not want a fancy upgrade to the iPod Touch in a 10 inch device. They want a fancy re-imagining of the Mac for a 10 inch multitouch device. Unfortunately, iPad is much more iPod than it is Mac, and this is its fatal flaw.

This screenshot from today's keynote essentially sums up my feelings about the new device.

Entertain for a second what could’ve been. A brand new multi-touch interface, with all the Mac Apps you use and love (iLife, iChat, iWork, etc.), all completely rewritten for a touch interface. The Mac, reinvented for a new decade. Mobile iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb. iPhoto for editing and sharing pictures you can take from the device, iMovie for editing movies anywhere with a brand new touch interface, Garageband for creating songs anywhere, and iWeb for managing your blog or website, anywhere on a gorgeous screen. Had Apple included a front facing camera, iChat could’ve taken video chat to new heights. Imagine being able to video chat from a tablet you can take anywhere. The possibilities are endless.

With iWork, Apple did it right. iWork is very well designed for a touch interface, and I could see this being very practical. The problem is, the stopped short, and made the device appear so much like an iPod Touch, particularly in the home screen, that everyone who sees it will immediately think they’re buying an iPod Touch. Which for 500-800 dollars, they won’t do.

I feel like Apple will sell a good number of these. However, I think they wanted this to be a major new device, which everyone everywhere is using, and I don’t think that will happen yet. Version 2.0 of the tablet, if sales don’t work so splendidly, may very well be spectacular. Hopefully so, because right now Apple took overwhelmingly positive buzz, and instead of introducing a breathtaking new device that defined the future like they did in 2007 with the iPhone introduction, they released a cool device. Cool because everyone will look at it, marvel at how cool it looks, ponder the price and ask themselves, “Do I need this?” I have a Mac and an iPhone (or iPod Touch). And due to the overwhelming similarities between iPad and iPhone in terms of OS design, people will save the 500 dollars and manage to survive with their MacBooks and their iPhones.

iPad: Beautiful looking, neat features, but unfortunately not enough of an improvement over the Mac and iPhone to justify spending 500 dollars on it.

Looks like Apple’s getting a jump start in preparing the iPhone Dev Center page for tomorrow. The site is already down, presumably so they can prepare for iPhone 4.0/iPad related information.

I haven’t felt genuine excitement about an Apple product introduction since the first iPhone. The expectations are built up tremendously, and yet nobody really has a clue about anything regarding it. When Apple guards a product this closely, and the hype is through the roof, Apple always delivers. Even if you don’t see the point of a tablet (I’m looking at you Dr. Macenstein), the fact of the matter is you will be amazed by it, you will see that it fills a need in your life you didn’t know you had, and you will shell out as much as Apple decides you should, even if monthly charges apply. Disagree with me now, but talk to me in a year or two. Trust me… you’ll surely have one. As for the analysts who say it will be a niche product, or that it will be a bust, simply put you’re wrong. It will appeal to everyone, everywhere, and they’ll sell tens of millions, and you will eat your words. That’s how it works with Apple and these big products… they always deliver.

While speculation can be made as to what exactly Apple will present, it doesn’t truly matter. Personally I think it’s gonna be similar to Mac OS X in terms of the software it runs, but in iPhone format (i.e. iLife, iWork, iChat in touch form), combined with features new to Apple (i.e. print media, textbooks), and some new features that nobody in the industry has tried before (i.e. I don’t know, or it wouldn’t be unique. The applications will be similar to ones offered for the Mac (i.e. Photoshop), but will all be offered in a unique app store (NOT upgraded apps from the iPhone. Why in the world would I want a tablet if that’s the case? I’d just get an iPhone or an iPod Touch).  However, my speculation is useless because I know Apple, and when Apple treats a product like this, they mean business. Prepare yourself for the biggest Apple event since MacWorld 07. My recommendation? Watch it spoiler free from MacRumors. I watched the 07 keynote that way, and it was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever watched… it let’s you truly immerse yourself in the surprise and excitement of the event in a way a live-blog cannot. I only recommend watching it this way for big events… this is one of them. Do it and you’ll be glad you did.

I’ll post my full thoughts about the tablet Wednesday evening after I watch the keynote spoiler free. Until then… GET EXCITED!

Officially! Apple today sent out invitations to see their “latest creation”. Wonder what it could be. My money’s on the resurrection of the iPod HiFi.

In all seriousness, I’ll bet money there’ll be MacPaint on this thing after seeing the invite. Painting on a tablet would be a blast.

You might have noticed I haven’t been blogging much lately. Its not because I’ve been extremely busy and just haven’t found the time. Its not because I haven’t been on the internet as much lately and just don’t find blogging interesting anymore. And its certainly not because I’ve stopped caring about Apple.

It’s because Apple has stopped caring about me.

2009 has been a fantastic year for Apple. They’ve broken almost all their quarterly earnings records each earnings report. They have millions of new iPhone and Mac users. They have an insane amount of money in cash reserves. And while other computer makers dropped off the edge during the economic crisis (see Dell), Apple, who only has one computer below a thousand dollars,  has rocketed through the rough times remarkably.

While Apple has had a fantastic year, its been one of the worst years for Apple watchers in recent memory. Allow me to recap… Read the rest of this entry »

Verizon’s latest ad, Misfit Toys, in which they slam the iPhone (rightfully) for AT&T’s poor coverage, shows a mockup iPhone in the land of Misfit Toys. As I was watching this ad, I noticed that the iPhone mockup they created, simply put, rocks. With a svelte, aluminum body, stereo speakers, and a larger higher density screen, this is the look I hope we see on the next iPhone. What do you all think?

First of all, I’d like to apologize for Mac Soda’s hiatus. Contrary to what you might think, the blog is not dead, I just have been rather busy lately and haven’t had the time to post.

Now that I said that, its time to get to the news. Mac Soda has received word that Final Cut Studio will see another update sometime next year. Features apparently will include Snow Leopard optimization and Native RED support. While this might sound rather similar to our previous (incorrect) Final Cut Studio rumor, its important to note that this comes from a different source.

What features, besides RED support and speed improvements, would you hope to see in the next FCS? Air your thoughts in the comments.

Along with a slew of goodies introduced by our favorite fruit today, a new mouse with multitouch technology was released today. Dubbed the “Magic Mouse“, it will be available at the end of the month.

After browsing Apple’s updated store for a little, I came across something interesting… the Mighty Mouse wasn’t replaced. For some reason, Apple is still selling the Mighty Mouse they had before… but renamed, “Apple Mouse“, presumably because of a little neusance called the US Patent and Trademark Offices. Perhaps Apple doesn’t feel confident that multitouch will please everyone… similar to another updated product in which the old model remained.

So says Seth Weintraub, and based on a few chats with him and others, its pretty certainly legit. The question I asked was “Since when is there an FM Tuner in my phone?”. Apparently its been there since the first iPhone, just never utilized by Apple with no APIs supporting it. My guess is we’ll see this nice software update at the next event, perhaps with new iMacs/MacBooks/Keyboards. But that’s just my guess…

I’ve been using iTunes 9 a ton lately, and let me say… I love it. Its a much needed UI overhaul of the iTunes store, and everything works a little better.

However, there is one thing that is driving me crazy. In all versions of iTunes, its been very simple to decide how much more text you want to see. You can do this now in the music library by simply grabbing an edge, and dragging it the way you want it to go. Very intuitive and useful. Unfortunately, iTunes 9’s new music store has removed this ability. It makes no sense, and when trying to figure out the name of tracks that are named similarly at the start, it gets very annoying (as you can see below).

Have any of you noticed this issue? It just makes me wonder, what in the world were Apple’s iTunes designers thinking when they did this? Did Steve Jobs not check this? Or can it be done and I’m just not looking in the right place? Let me know in the comments.