In attempt to get more people to their website BillShrink recently came out with this well-made digital flyer that compares the so-called “new generation” smartphones:

Courtesy BillShrink

Here’s that table in real-text form:

If I was attending the upcoming WWDC and Apple does reveal new iPhone functionality or a model (as rumored by so many websites online), I’d sarcastically scream the following phrases at the top of my lungs.

iPhone and iPhone 3G, courtesy of Wikipedia

• “Oh my God!!! It can now capture video??!?!? Fantastic!!!!!”
• “People can now copy and paste text from one app to another??!?! Amazing!!!!!”
• “Wow, people can now get an iPhone for less than $100?!?!??! Why, how generous of Apple!!!!!”
• “What, I can now send pictures, music and videos as text messages?!?!? Unbelievable!!!!!!”

So what new features will Apple introduce with the latest iPhone, presenting them as revolutionary to the Jobsian masses? What new arguments will Apple users employ to insist on their superiority? This and more to be revealed this coming WWDC!

Engadget recently speculated that WSJ tech emeritus Walt Mossberg was actually playing around with the long-rumored new iPhone, giving out subtle hints while honoring a supposed press embargo.

Walt Mossberg (Courtesy All Things Digital)

Unfortunately for Palm, Apple has both a new iPhone operating system and new iPhone hardware coming, likely available within a month, that could obviate many of these advantages.

Apple already has announced it’s adding MMS, universal search, and copy and paste. And, although Apple hasn’t announced any new hardware features, I expect to see an iPhone with up to 32 gigabytes of memory, video recording, a higher-resolution camera, a compass, and greater operating speed. Plus, there are persistent rumors that Apple will announce at least one iPhone at a drastically lower price than $199. [emphasis mine]

Weren’t MMS and copy & paste functionality available on even basic GSM phones way before the “Apple will release a phone!” grapevine existed? And guess what had universal search as early as the mid-90s? Why, Palm PDAs of course!

To be clear, Walt was just reporting on Apple’s publicized future plans. I’m more amused by the realization that it took for Apple this long to integrate what’s been around for years into its phone.

See what happens when your application certification process is faulty? When the protests end and you give in, you become the butt of jokes, and of this pretend video ad by IGN.

Screenshot of the Baby Shaker App

The video basically features the iPhone BAC Reader, Dial 911, and the infamous Baby Shaker app, showing how they’re perfect for that “romantic” date. And because some of you may be too lazy to click through the video link in the first paragraph, and I have nothing better to do, here’s the complete copy:

Say you’re at a party, and you need to find out if the chick you want to rail is drunk enough. Well… there’s an app for that.

Or you’re worried the next morning coz the chick you railed is no longer breathing. There’s an app for that.

Or, nine months later, you have a little mistake that needs to be fixed. There’s an app for that too.

Yup, there’s an app for just about anything. Only on the iPhone

So people are saying that the iPhone Kindle app, which more or less provides the same ebook reading functionality on Apple’s smartphone, will kill the Kindle. Makes sense actually. After all, why spend $360 on a gadget that can only do one thing, when you can spend roughly the same for a smartphone that multi-tasks? This argument appeals especially to die-hard fans of the Apple “experience”.

Courtesy of Amazon

At the same time however, I can tell you that reading text on a backlit display strains the eyes. The e-ink of Amazon’s Kindle, on the other hand, is easy on the optics. That’s still why a lot of us still prefer reading printed words on dead trees, even if literally all books ever written are available through the web browser; no tiring light shines from them.

Future Kindles will definitely display color, free from the limits of grays. And you can bet that development will make Amazon’s reader more attractive; who wouldn’t artificially generated color pages that are easy to read? Amazon has the luxury of concentrating on ebook research, unlike supposed future competitors like Apple who are taking a more broad research towards R&D. What do you think?

Me: I just wish Nokia started applying the UI effects of Apple, so that Symbian interface loading times [equal to the iPhone OS' in my opinion] are better disguised.

Image from Tom's Guide

Also I hope Nokia won’t do an Apple and try to control the app market for Symbian. It’s kind of retarded that people are lauding the iPhone-iTunes store when smart phone [not smartphone mind you] of Nokia and SE have been getting apps for free, but also paying for premium ones like CorePlayer and the like.

What I hate about it is the fact that it’s considered revolutionary (only in America however). Yes I hate the iPhone, it’s being praised for shit that was done before and with better ethics to the consumer. And history will have it as some kind of device that’s so fuckin’ superior despite being 2 years behind in technology.

When I read some person saying that $600 for an iPhone is justified because it’s the most advanced hardware for phones out there, I die a little inside. It’s inferior to my phone already, it’s inferior to a large majority of N Series phones, and it’s just eye candy for crying out loud.

Mr. X is a Sony Ericsson user. Questions, reactions, violent objections and counter-rants are welcome in the comments below.

If you really wanted an iPhone 3G but never wanted to adhere to the carefully cultivated Jobnesian smartphone setup (or you didn’t want to pay a massive extra for freedom), here’s your chance!

Through buy.com, you can get a “never-locked” iPhone 3G for only $200. The special label applies because this is a rare, fully-functional, and affordable unit that has never been jailbroken. It enjoys full support courtesy of Apple’s warranty, and will not break when new software updates are installed. Most importantly, being “never-locked”, the phone works with any network provider.

What are the catches? First and foremost, the $200 gets you a refurbed unit. It’s not brand-new. Also, from all indications, you still have to commit to a two-year plan from AT&T. Unfortunately, the offer is currently “temporarily sold out”, so it’s impossible to fully verify this offering.

Thanks Peter The Mordo Juan! Image courtesy of Apple Inc.

If you really want to jump on the iPhone-to-riches bandwagon (and, despite my partially anti-Apple stance on this site, I won’t blame you), here’s a $0.99 that could conceivably bring you lots of money. How to Make Your iPhone App is a virtual textbook for the iPhone platform. It features 70 virtual pages worth of information, all geared towards helping you build your first iPhone app.

At least, that’s how the official seller line goes. The best part is, at barely below the dollar, those who want to tread the iPhone development waters can do so with less financial pain. They’ll still be able to pay for the coffee they’ll need to stay awake while figuring things out.

Another great thing: any iPhone Apps for Dummies book that comes out in the future will have to be really awesome to compete with How to Make Your First iPhone App’s low low price.

(image is screenshot of said app)

Yippee kay yay if you’ve dreamed of owning an iPhone without committing to a two-year AT&T contract! Seems that by March 26, the service provider will start offering Apple’s smartphone with no strings attached for at least $600.

$600 is a lot of money, and I’m not even sure if that price gets you full iPhone functionality. For instance, will Visual Voicemail run on other networks? To be sure, unsubsidized iPhones aren’t really new. The French and Germans required that their local counterparts also be available without any sort of lock-in.

Is the relatively high price worth it? Gearfuse implies that unsubsidized units free the user from the jailbreaking game, definitely a benefit worth considering. But I imagine bypassing Apple’s and AT&T’s restrictions will remain in vogue, so long as really good apps only work on jailbroken units.

(image and source: BGR)

Wouldn’t it be harder to thieves to fence stuff online if all reputable for-sale sites required sellers to post the serial numbers of their wares?

It’s been a pretty hectic week for Technograph, involving a couple of stolen Macbook Pros. The unibody was recently stolen, while its 2007 counterpart was found. Read more