The Brooks Review

Month: March 2011

  • iPad May Be Magical. Apps Aren’t.

    Om Malik:

    However, if iPad, the device, is more magical, the applications (apps) for the device are anything but. For nearly a year, I’ve been waiting (and waiting) for experiences befitting the device and its hardware capabilities. Sure, there’s Flipboard, but as the saying goes, one swallow don’t make a summer. And same goes for the iPhone and other smart platforms.”

    Malik has a good point here and furthers it by stating this:

    And yet, we’ve seen application after application come to market as just an incremental improvement of the web or desktop versions of the same (or similar) application.

    The problem is people wanting to adopt their website/service/product to the iPad instead of just designing it for the iPad. That is, throw away everything and think about what you want someone to be able to do on the iPad, then make that. All the good iPad apps I have used feel like this was the thought process behind them.

  • A Day In The Life Of A Liveblogger

    An interesting look at what it’s like to liveblog an event — sounds about how I would expect it to be.

  • AT&T, Verizon iPad 2 Data Plans Compared

    Interesting differences.

  • Marco on Smart Covers

    Marco Arment:

    The most compelling feature of the iPad 2 is its case.”

    The cover system that Amazon uses on Kindles is good, but the system that Apple has implemented seems far better.

  • Thomas Jefferson and Preparing for Meetings

    Karl Fogel via John D. Cook:

    His purpose was strategic: to show up at the meeting with something so substantive that everyone else would have to fall into the role of simply proposing modifications to it, so that the overall shape, and therefore schedule, of the project would be roughly as he wanted.”

    Now that is a clever plan.

  • A Reason Against the White iPad 2

    Reader Sam Simmons wrote in with this very smart reason why I shouldn’t get the white iPad 2:

    The decision is easy for me. Do you ever watch movies/netflix on your ipad? Of course you do, everyone does.

    Know those black borders you get on a TV when watching a widescreen movie?

    Now imagine them in white.

    That’s a damned good point and I hadn’t considered what the movie viewing experience would be with a white frame around it — likewise what viewing a slideshow would be like. I guess it comes down to how you use the iPad and for me I rarely use it for watching movies or for viewing slideshows.

    For me the iPad is all about reading and most reading backgrounds are white. But that brings up another problem — Instapaper is white on black at night and that might look a bit out of sorts with a white iPad 2…

  • Quote of the Day: Gruber

    “It’s a shame, almost, that we squandered the term “personal computer” 30 years ago.”

  • “Quick Bar”

    MG Siegler on Twitter for iPhone’s latest update:

    For the most part, people seem most upset because this feature being shoved in your face, and not necessarily the fact that ads are a part of it. (The fact that the feature is overlaid on Tweets themselves if you’re not at the top of the stream is pretty annoying.)”

    At first it didn’t seem that annoying, just less than ideal, then I tried to actually use the app. Yes it is annoying and constantly feels in the way and makes the entire app cramped feeling. For the first time I am thinking about getting a third party Twitter app on my iPhone.

  • Additional Thoughts on the iPad 2

    Yesterday I posted about why I think the iPad 2 is the deathblow to all other tablets, today I want to talk about some of my thoughts surrounding the iPad 2 itself (instead of the tablet industry). I want to touch on why I want a 3G model, why the Smart Cover is a good thing for everyone, why you shouldn’t wait for the iPad 3, and the color choices.

    To 3G or Not

    The last time the iPad was launched I bought the WiFi only model for one reason: it was the first iPad available. This go around all signs point to a simultaneous release of both the WiFi and WiFi+3G models and I am buying the latter. I am buying it to save money and add a tremendous amount of convenience.

    Let’s start with the money aspect first. It is $130 more to buy the 3G model over the comparable WiFi only model, so one would think that you can’t save money buying the 3G model — but I can. Currently I pay (roughly) $60/mo to Verizon for the 5GB of data on my MiFi. The times that I use the MiFi are all times that I could easily do the same work on the iPad (with exception of blog posting which we will ignore because I want to keep this post under 10,000 words). Effectively, in just a tick over two months time, I will have paid back the added cost of the 3G model by eliminating the MiFi bill — but that’s not fair because I still need to pay for data on the iPad.

    Here is the great part though: 3G iPad data is pay as you go on a month-by-month basis. Therefore I can pay for the data only when I need it, and for the sake of argument I will assume that when I need data — I need data, and will go with the 2GB plan. Thus I will have to pay $25/per use when I want the 3G data. If I look at my expected travel plans for the next year and factor in how much I would use the data based on my MiFi usage (adding for convenience of built in 3G, I am upping the frequency of usage by 20% from what I used on the MiFi). I would guess that I will need to pay for data 8 months out of the next 12 months.

    Or to buy the 3G iPad and pay for the expected data usage, for the next year, it will cost me: $330 for the year. By dropping the MiFi I will save: $720 for the same time period. Basically then I will come out $390 ahead, that is no small number — that’s presumably an iPhone 5.

    Of course that is not the end of the story though, because as Shawn Blanc pointed out during our podcast yesterday I could use the personal hotspot feature on my iPhone. If the reports that I am seeing are right I would need to pay the $20/mo for tethering in addition to my normal iPhone data plan for the same 2GBs. That would seem to be an ideal solution because I wouldn’t also have to pay the $130 up front premium on the 3G iPads.

    We also have to consider how these plans work though — I could certainly turn the tethering plan on and off for the iPhone, but not with the same ease I can with the iPad data. That means that I would effectively be paying for 12 months worth of data at $20 a month — or paying $240. Which is $90 less than I would be paying for the same data with the iPad 3G and the added bonus of being able to use that data connection with my Mac.

    This is where the last factor comes into play: convenience. What is more convenient: having to pull out your iPhone and activate the hotspot feature, or just doing it all on your iPad. As someone who has had to effectively had to do that routine for almost a year now with my MiFi, I can tell you that there will be times that you won’t want to use your iPad when you could, because it is just too much of a hassle to get internet access. I want to eliminate that.

    I want the future and the future is internet where you need it, when you need it.

    Smart Ass Cover

    A lot has been said about how great the new Smart Cover is for the iPad 2 and I would be lying if I didn’t say that it does look rather fantastic. There is no doubt in my mind that it will be a hit, especially since there is likely to be no other covers for the iPad 2 in the Apple Store when it launches on March 11th — a clever business trick Apple used with the iPhone 4.

    John Gruber posted on Twitter when the Smart Cover was launched:

    Third-party iPad case market is in trouble.

    I can see where he is coming from on this thought: if Apple’s case is so fantastic, why would a consumer buy anybody else’s case? I think if one thing can be learned from the iPhone and the first iPad it is that consumers like cases and they like a huge diversity of them. What Apple did with the Smart Cover was to give every case manufacturer a killer way to secure their case to the iPad 2.

    Everyone can copy the magnet trick to use with their cases and I don’t just mean for cases that cover the screen only.

    I think the far more likely outcome is better cases across the board — which is a winning scenario for everyone. Third party case manufacturers should have no problems selling their versions.

    Waiting for the iPad 3

    Don’t wait for the iPad 3 because you think it will be better — I can tell you with 100% certainty that it will be better — otherwise why would Apple make it?

    If you are waiting to get the iPad (whether you have one or not) because you think the next version will be better — then you will be waiting indefinitely. If you held off buying the first iPad and really want one — I don’t see any reason to keep denying yourself even if there is another new model in September — which is far from a guaranteed.

    The big question is whether you should upgrade, or not — if you already have an iPad — to which I direct you to Patrick Rhone over at MinimalMac.com who hits the nail on the head:

    I think if you were using and loving your iPad before today’s news, you can and should do so after it. It is still very much the magical and revolutionary […] device it was when you woke up this morning.

    Indeed. The only people that should consider this a must upgrade immediately (outside of tech writers and enthusiasts) should be educators and presenters where the full HDMI mirroring is invaluable.

    Doesn’t Matter if you are Black or White

    So Apple is assuring us that we can get the white iPad 2 on day one, along side the black model. The internet seems split on these models with a slight preference to the black model. Initially I was all about the black model, but I am starting to be swayed in the white models direction.

    The white looks terrible when the screen is off, but when the screen is on it blends with the screen far better than the black does. Add to that the general idea that it may look cleaner in the long run — given that black surfaces show a lot more dirt and grime than white surfaces do.

    It is a tough call and honestly I am really hoping that I can see them both in person before I decide which to buy. Right now though I am 52% in favor of black, but trending towards white. Damn this indecision.

  • Justin Blanton on the iPad 2

    Justin Blanton perfectly sums up my biggest fear:

    I kind of can’t wrap my head around how thin it is—just 8.8mm (that’s thinner than an iPhone 4!). Whether this helps or hurts its ability to be comfortably held over a protracted session remains to be seen; my guess is that, even with the lighter weight (1.33 pounds vs. 1.5 pounds), it will make it more difficult to hold, especially since it still has the same slippery aluminum back. I really wish they’d rubberize these things.”

    I don’t agree with rubberizing it, I think that has a poor tactile feel and is prone to looking dirty. I can say though that I worry that this will fatigue your hands if you are holding it to read while laying in bed — a thin device like this requires a better grip to support the weight than a similar, but thicker, device would.

    Justin has a great look at the iPad from one of the few people I know that sold theirs because they couldn’t find a use for it.

  • Apple’s Digital AV Adapter

    A nice rundown by TUAW on what the new HDMI dongle for the iPad will and will not do. Basically you can use it on older iOS devices (the ones currently available), but those devices are limited to playing back movies and slideshows through the dongle one.

  • The B&B Podcast – Episode #2

    This weeks episode was recorded earlier today — and earlier than normal — so that Shawn and I could get our iPad 2 thoughts out there. The episode title is: “Are you listening to anything I am saying?”.

    A big thanks to our two sponsors Instapaper and NoteTask, both make some great iOS and iPad apps.

  • Finish Him…

    The iPad 2 is out and without even touching one (though I have watched and read a lot of reports from people who have) I think this second iteration is going to leave many of the iPad’s competitors in a bad way. It’s like Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat just dealt you a cold blast that freezes the iPad competitors solid — one of two things will happen when they unfreeze, there will be a bloody announcer saying “Finish Him…”, or Apple will come back at them with a swift roundhouse sealing their fate. ((Said roundhouse would be the iPad 3 with iOS 5.))

    None of this has to do with how well the iPad 2 actually performs.

    Size

    It’s safe to say that most of the competitors are going with the 7” form factors and those that are trying their hands at 10” (truthfully 9.7”) tablets are doing so with much thicker devices. That is: most manufacturers were struggling to create a tablet as thin as the original iPad and now the iPad 2 changes the game by creating a mind boggling thin iPad 2. The iPad 2 is thinner than the iPhone 4 — which when the iPhone 4 was announced it was proclaimed to be the thinnest smartphone on the market.

    Let that sink in for a moment: the iPad 2 is thinner than the iPhone 4.

    Battery Life

    10 hours — Apple couldn’t make the device smaller and at the same time increase the battery life, so they are giving you what you already have. By all accounts, Android makers have yet to get anything better than 10 hours — safe to say then that 10 hours is the entry battery life you need for a successful tablet and the iPad 2 has it.

    Check.

    Dual Core

    It doesn’t even matter how fast the dual cores are — Apple effectively swiped the buzzword that all other tablet competitors have been freely slinging in the iPads direction. In the average consumer mind it doesn’t matter which tablet is actually faster, it only matters if they can check off a feature list — and they can with the iPad 2.

    Dual core? Check.

    Not to mention that by all accounts the new A5 processor is absurdly snappy.

    Verizon and AT&T

    You could complain about the fact that the iPad was only available on AT&T and use that as your reason for getting another tablet, but again Apple just took that away.

    Two largest U.S. wireless carriers? Check.

    Apple wasn’t about to listen to people complaining and judging their device based on the carriers that it works on, so it was crucial that they have Verizon out of the gate.

    Price

    The real death blow — the real jewel — in the announcement is the price. $499 to start. This is a price that every other competitor has yet to figure out — sure 3G costs more, but in the consumers mind it is all about the price you can advertise — and Apple can say $499.

    It is all about the up sell and even though we all know that, we still feel like devices that we get up sold on cost much less.

    Final Thoughts

    I was going to skip this version of the iPad if it was a minor update, but this is no minor update. This is a major revision and one that I will be buying on day one.

    I think the iPad then deals a death blow before you even start to talk about the benefits that iOS has over Android and others.

    (P.S. I am going with the leather cover in red — I don’t know why red though, it just jumps out at me. Probably black and hopefully 3G on AT&T.)

    [Updated: 3.4.11 at 9:56 AM]

    In TUAW’s link to this post they make it sound as if I want the iPad to kill the competition — which couldn’t be further from the truth. I very much want competition, as it’s a good thing.

  • The iPad 2

    How can it be thinner than the iPhone 4? That seems like it wouldn’t be comfortable to hold, but I will be buying this on day one. Sweet upgrade all around.

  • Apple’s Strategy Tax

    John Siracusa:

    Apple’s long-term success is tied to the success of its platforms. These platforms, in turn, rely on the efforts of third-party developers—that’s the very nature of a platform. Given this, if the health and success of the platform is to be maintained, anything that hurts third-party developers must be offset by some other advantage to customers.

    Which is precisely why I think we have yet to see the whole picture surrounding the new in-app purchase rules and the new subscription model. (Perhaps we will find out more in less than an hour.)

  • Android developers form ‘union’ to protest Google policies

    Joel Falconer:

    Among the Android Developers Union’s demands are a renegotiation of the 32% Google cut on applications sold through the store, more payment options and public bug tracking.

    That extra 2% is just down right greedy. ((Sarcasm.)) But it is interesting that these developers actually felt a need to form a union and that they think a union will actually help.

  • “Mobile Notifications”

    Fred Wilson:

    The reason I think mobile notifications, done right, are a game changer is that notifications become the primary way I use the phone and the apps. I rarely open twitter directly. I see that I have ’10 new @mentions” and I click on the notification and go to twitter @mention tab. I see that I have “20 new checkins” and I click on the notification and go to the foursquare friends tab. I see that I have “4 new kik messages” and I click on the notification and go to my kik app.”

    This strikes me as a view point of a very reactive, or perhaps passive, mobile phone user. That is, the type of person that is only reacting to changes and is not actively using these applications. The type of user that only looks at DMs or the type of user that only responds to certain beeps and pings.

    Or, not me.

    I go out of my way to turn off as many notifications as I can — instead I prefer to actively move to those apps when I want to use them (which is quite often in the case of apps like Twitter and Mail). I don’t need, nor do I want, a ton of notifications because often I am already aware of what these notifications will say before the notification actually goes off.

    That is the real crux of any notification system and is only compounded on mobile devices: how do you meet the needs of the different user classes without alienating the average, non-technical, user? Too many options breeds too much confusion and frustration. Too few options pisses off people (case in point: iOS).

    I don’t even know if a “happy medium” exists here.

  • “Dirty Percent”

    John Gruber with an excellent take on Apple’s controversial 30 percent cut of subscriptions:

    It is, in Apple’s view, a privilege to have a native iOS app.”

    A revocable one at that.

  • A Calmer Reading App

    Cennydd Bowles imagining a calmer reading app:

    An estimated reading time accompanies each article, calculated from its word count. It’s harder to estimate the scale of a digital work than its physical counterpart, since we can’t skim to the end or feel the paper it’s printed on. The reading time estimate helps users to fit reading around their schedules, reducing the chance they’ll have to abandon an article halfway through. It also promotes the understanding that it’s OK to graze on short articles. Reading needn’t be just about marathons of concentration.”

    I love that idea and I hope it is one that Instapaper includes. (In fairness Instapaper currently uses vague dots to signify article length — this is better than nothing, but a time estimate would be killer.)

  • Oh Man…

    Gary Marshall on the iPad 2:

    Make no mistake, the iPad 2 we see tomorrow will be a disappointment. But it won’t be a disappointment because it’s a bad device, or because it doesn’t take the iPad forward.

    It will be a disappointment because it isn’t the entirely imaginary device the internet has been happily inventing for the last few months.

    Umm, ok…