Saturday, May 10, 2008 -- 1:26 a.m. -- on my couch

Good news for folks in Ireland who want an 8GB iPhone right now ... following in the footsteps of O2 UK, O2 Ireland is dropping the price €100 from €399 to €299.

Of course, the 3G iPhone is coming very, very soon ... presumably to Ireland, but that's not known for sure. So the question is a hard one ... pay a little less for some iPhone love now or wait patiently for what should be the 3G iPhone and pay an unknown price.

It's not an easy decision to make, but at least know that there's some good news for the current crop of 8GB iPhones.

Thanks for calling.

Friday, May 9, 2008 -- 1:07 p.m. -- on my couch

Look closely at the title for this entry. See what's missing? The question mark.

Other sites are playing up this story like it's the biggest news since Apple started. I believe the buzz began when a "source" told TUAW that there's a revamp of .mac coming along side the iPhone launch.

I don't need a "source" to tell us that .mac is the answer to Apple making bigger inroads into business. The source can talk about release dates all he or she wants, but truth be told, this is kind of a no-brainer. Apple has all of these plans for exchange e-mail of course and no way to harness it other than to tell companies that exchange is available?

Of course not. It's got to be much more involved than that. And while Apple could partner with Microsoft and create a Mac version of Outlook, that's not Apple's style. Apple takes a step into a new territory every day ... a little step on Photoshop with photo editing tools in iPhoto ... a bigger step on Microsoft with iWork ... Apple has this one covered. It has from day one. It just never used it to its full potential. Somehow, some way, I believe that this was the plan for Apple all along ... a powerful, robust way to tie together corporate e-mail, calendars, etc., that's all Apple and just a little touch of Microsoft.

And you know what it will do? It will flatten the morale at RIM pretty quickly. Like a BlackBerry pancake, if you will.

For $99, .mac is Apple's least appreciated, most mis-understood product. It's the kind of product where if the user was a dog, he'd look at Steve Jobs with those sad little eyes and cock his head from side to side, almost as if he's asking what's up with this thing ... that look of curiosity that makes you go awwwww.

That's .mac. It's like ... this thing has lots of pieces and all the pieces are cool, but is there any way to complete the puzzle?

I can see Steve Jobs getting a group together with a big hat. He places 17 pieces into the hat and says he has the pieces. And then he commands someone put it together. It's got a little Boom, but not BOOM!

But the boom is coming, and I'll declare this without any "sources."

.Mac is Apple's next big thing, and it always has been. It's so much more than e-mail. It's so much more than posting a photo in a Web gallery, although that's very cool. It's so much more than a Web site creator -- and actually, it is, because that element of .Mac is very, very weak.

.Mac will become as important a piece to Apple as Outlook became to Microsoft. I don't know if Apple will ever release .Mac on Windows ... I don't think so. I don't think it needs to. Outlook is like Photoshop. Unless Adobe is bought (No, Apple won't buy it) or just decides to call it quits, people will use Photoshop for the next 1,000 years. Same with Outlook. .Mac isn't going to make a dent into Outlook. But, since there's no real alternative for Apple users, .Mac will, just like Macs in general have, show PC users that there's an alternative if they want to switch.

And if you combine this amazing functionality with an iPhone, your iPhone is going to become your personal organizer on steroids in a hurry. Over-the-air calendar and e-mail updating via 3G and Wi-Fi. Look at the picture in this post. See how ugly and Microsoft-esque that is? Picture that functionality, and much more, in an Apple shell.

I don't know that this will be released along side the new iPhone. I believe the .mac push e-mail will be. And I believe the calendar will be more improved, but I don't know we can expect this at the exact same time. I hope so, but I don't know.

But rest assured, it's coming.

Oh, and Steve? Here's a hint from someone who knows ... let's call him a "source." When you do release the second coming of .mac, drop the $99 price tag. .Mac is free. Give those PC users a reason to switch and give Google a little competition. As long as you charge for .Mac, people are going to give Google a second look. Don't let them.

Boom! Post! No "sources."

Feel free to discuss in the comments, of course.

Thanks for calling.

Thursday, May 8, 2008 -- 5:40 p.m. -- at my desk

So have you all heard about this big deal between Sprint and Clearwire that's going to bring WiMax to the U.S. in a big rollout?

Time Warner, Google and others are partnering in this venture, and on the surface, it sounds like mobile devices on Sprint's network could reach unprecedented speeds far ahead of other carriers.

Then I'm reading the Chicago Tribune's Web site and I see my colleague Eric Benderoff writing about Google being the big winner in this whole thing.

Eric brings up some great points, or as he called it ... reading between the lines:

* Starting as soon as this summer but no later than early fall, Sprint will be the first U.S. home to an emerging crop of Google’s Android-based phones.

* Might we soon see the Android platform on a cool touch-screen phone that will sprint like a rabbit past a turtle, such as the 3G-enabled iPhone coming soon to Apple and AT&T stores?

Not that Eric's words need translated, but his question is a good one ... will the 3G iPhone come out in June and be amazing and fast, only to be leapfrogged by (my word: cheaper) Android phones that run on a much faster and newer network? Will there be another touchscreen phone that actually gives Apple a run for it's money?

I'm not one to normally worry about Apple ... Apple knows what it has to do to stay on top of a game it started on June 29, 2007. But one has to hope that Apple has more than a 3G iPhone up its sleeve, especially since the technology which was once so amazing seems to pale in comparison to what Sprint, Clearwire and Google are planning.

I do hope to hear your comments ... check out Eric's writeup ... he's covering the whole WiMax thing pretty nicely.

Thanks for calling.

Thursday, May 8, 2008 -- 3:52 p.m. -- at my desk

Even if it's working again, the reports on almost all of the other sites indicating that free Wi-Fi from AT&T is officially back are incorrect.

The information pictured no longer indicates free Wi-Fi service, which it did earlier today. And my AT&T representative contacted me to tell me that she can't comment just yet but will let me know when AT&T has an official statement.

So while I'm not sure what all the up and down stuff is all about, let me assure you that this service isn't official yet. And as long as it's not official, you should know in case there are charges to be incurred.

I'll let you know when the light is officially green and stays green.

Thanks for calling.

Thursday, May 8, 2008 -- 10:19 a.m. -- on my couch

Since early this morning, the weather app and stocks app would not return data -- update failed is probably the message most of you were getting.

I checked at 10:10 central time in the U.S. and all was working again. A quick search found this to be a topic of conversation over at Apple's discussion boards, with one thread indicating that someone called Apple and that it was being worked on their end.

So it appears to be OK now. If you still cannot get your stocks and weather to update at this time, I would recommend a simply reboot of your phone. Just hold down the top button until you get the slider telling you it's ready to power off. Then, power off, wait 10 seconds and power back on. That would allow the iPhone to establish new connectivity to the nearest tower and presumably get you back on track.

An alternative way is to put the iPhone into airplane mode and then back out, which also forces the cell tower communication. I am just used to the reboot, but either should suffice.

If you have a problem after doing these steps, let me know and I'll see what I can find out.

Thanks for calling.

Thursday, May 8, 2008 -- 3:22 a.m. -- on my couch

How can I say that when the 3G iPhone hasn't even been released?

Read this and it will make much more sense, I think.

And feel free to discuss in the comments.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 -- 10:04 p.m. -- at my desk

I haven't had many good things to say about NBC's hulu service, but this makes me feel a little better about it.

I'm hoping they don't pull an AT&T and turn off the Wi-Fi prematurely.

Gizmodo has the story here.

Thanks for calling.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 -- 12:46 p.m. -- on my couch

America Movil, the largest mobile provider in Latin America, announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone starting later this year.

For those of you unfamiliar with America Movil, it's a pretty big deal with 159.2 million wireless customers as of April 1. It operates in several countries, and, as of April 1, was offering 3G connectivity in 14 of them, including Mexico and Brazil.

Again, no mention whatsoever of exclusivity, a model it appears Apple is ready to say goodbye to. But it fills in a geographic gap that's starting to look pretty impressive as far as a potential worldwide rollout in the next few months.

Anyone here in Latin America that would like to comment on America Movil and its services? I know I and my callers would love to hear from you.

Link to America Movil's site here (warning: Flash required)

Thanks for calling.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 -- 1:03 a.m. -- at my desk

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint is near a deal with Clearwire, and that Sprint would merge its wireless broadband offerings with that company.

But here's the most amazing part of all of that, at least to me:

Clearwire uses the WiMax standard, which is fast. How fast? Well, current 3G wireless standards in the U.S. offer just one-eighth of the speed of WiMax.

Can we get the iPhone on Sprint? No seriously, Steve, I'm asking. Can we?

Thanks for calling.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 -- 11:28 a.m. -- on my couch

**UPDATE 05.06.08 11:39 p.m.: There's all kinds of "news" out there today about leaked AT&T memos that detail times when employees supposedly can't take vacations and that it must mean that the 3G iPhone is coming out. I chose to ignore this earlier because as someone who works in an office, it's crazy to think that memo is some secret code for the 3G iPhone's release date. It could just be a memo that states that summer is a busy time ... every company can decide how it wants to handle vacations. I make those decisions every day. So while other sites that specialize in unsubstantiated rumors are reporting this to be fact, I'm sticking with reporting actual iPhone news and analysis. Just wanted to let you know why you didn't see that information covered until now.**

We've talked about this before, but it's worth bringing up again because the New York Times has a short article that speculates the 3G iPhone being available in Europe by August -- in time for the most popular vacation (holiday?) season there.

So as I've been saying for months -- does this mean Steve Jobs will change things up in a rather shocking way and send the 3G iPhone overseas first and eventually back to the U.S.?

Many of you have written me with mixed reactions. Some of you see the logic. Others say I'm crazy and anti-American. I assure you I'm not anti-American, although I'm 3.78 percent crazy, according to a recent study.

The reason I mentioned the possibility in the first place is because of a caller who mentioned something that seems to get away from us sometimes -- when people think of 3G, they don't think of America. Period. They just don't. Higher-speed 3G networks are most accessible and associated with Europe and Asia -- actually, more Europe because Asia isn't all on GSM.

An earlier version of iPhone software was available in Europe first. Granted it was the one that introduced international keyboards, but it's not outside of the realm of reality that Apple could gamble in an area that hasn't seen strong iPhone sales in order to boost those numbers before concentrating on its homeland.

Apple is an international company and I'm sure it doesn't have a mantra that states America first and everywhere else second. Apple is a customer-driven company, and, of course, a business-focused company. No question that the EDGE/Wi-Fi version of the iPhone, while fantastic and beautiful and all of those things, probably didn't rock Europe's world. a 3G iPhone will.

And then there's the subject of AT&T -- how far along is its 3G upgrade? We heard earlier this year that they are expanding and plan to make 3G available in 100 of the top U.S. markets by the end of the year. Perhaps I can get some information from my AT&T representative and flush this out, but 3G in the states doesn't have a great reputation. I've only used it once and I was impressed. But that was in downtown Chicago. As my callers in Oklahoma and Idaho will attest to, they aren't really excited about 3G.

Yesterday, T-Mobile supposedly "leaked" a report that it will be the first to test the 3G iPhone. Test is a strange word. Test can mean they are the first market or it could mean that a bunch of people in magenta suits and dark sunglasses with big giant T hats will walk around saying "can you hear me now" in Austrian. Yeah, I know that's Verizon, but it sounds funny.

Anyhow, testing is always going on. Steve Jobs? Trust me folks, his iPhone's been 3G for a long time now. It's being tested. But T-Mobile's statement of being a test market is intriguing and one that I'm sure will see lots of coverage as we get closer to a launch.

I still haven't seen any application at the FCC yet. I won't get into it all again here, but the reasons for that could range from Apple is hiding it under the guise of another company name or the 3G iPhone isn't so radically different that it requires a long waiting period for approval. Or, it could be that the 3G iPhone isn't coming until the fall in time for our holiday shopping season and Europe is going to test it out.

We'll find out, presumably, at WWDC next month. It's a long time to wait, and perhaps we'll get some useful information beforehand that will give us a clue, but for now ... I think a European launch first, U.S. launch second is something we at least have to be prepared for in terms of a possibility.

I won't be surprised if I'm wrong. Not at all. Just making conversation, as the kids say.

And now I'd love it if you'd make conversation with me. I haven't gotten any "you're crazy, man" comments in about 3 hours now, so send them -- and anything else you want to say to me -- my way.

Thanks for calling.