The New iPod Lineup

New iPod Touch

 Well, yesterday I did something for the first time ever, I preordered a new Nano from Amazon. The new iPod lineup does not dissapoint. When I first encountered the Nano 3rd generation, I truly did not think they can make it any thinner, the thing was like three pieces of paper.

Well, not only did they make the new 4th generation thinner (now it is like two pieces or maybe even one, it is ridiculously thin), but they now offer a 16GB version of the Nano. I have an old 4th generation iPod (maybe if I had a few more readers, Apple would send me the new iPods for review) that is around seven times the size of the new Nano, and it only holds 20 GB, and this thing holds 16? That is just nuts.

They added this new “Shake to Shuffle” (do I have to explain what that is? Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the name says it all) feature, which is kinda cool, I guess. However, the huge enhancement for me, is the addition of the accelerometer. How did they manage to get that inside such a microscopic machine? It is really amazing. And those colors, I mean, I am generally not into colors, but you got to admit, those are some nice colors.

The new iPod touch does not dissapoint either. It is also thinner, and it has the whole Nike+iPod chip built in, which once again, leads me to the question, how did they get that into such a thin machine? The iPod Classis remains the iPod Classic, a  little thinner and more memory, nothing huge there.

The one big thing that Apple just announced in the Nano, the Touch, and iTunes is this new Genius feature (you gotta love the names that Apple comes up with, makes me wonder if there is someone within Apple that sits around and comes up with these names). Basically, you can select a song and with one click, creat a similar playlist. I am not sure I would use this feature, but let’s wait and see how well it does.

All in all, after watching Steve Jobs’ keynote, the first thing I did, was call Amazon and order a new Nano (granted it was for my younger brother, but if I could afford it, I would buy the new Touch), so suffice it to say, I was impressed with the new lineup.

– Hillel

  • New iPod Nano Colors

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Mobile Web is Finally Mobile Web

There have been many attempts at enabling us to truly access the Web from our mobile devices like we do at home. I think it is safe to say that most of them have failed. There have been many surveys conducted about how many cellphone users use the Mobile Web, none of them displaying very impressive numbers. The reason the technology has not developed, is not due to the lack of speed. With HSDPA or WIFI, you can access the Web at speeds that are similar, if not higher than your home connection.

The reason Mobile Web is not a huge success is because Mobile Web does not live up to its name, it is not the real Web on your mobile. It is hard to use, not user friendly, and generally does not provide users with what they get on their home PCs. I think this is one of the primary reasons for the IPhone’s incredible success.

Well, all this is about to change. A new startup has just introduced a revolutionary product that will transform Mobile Web into what it was intended to be. Just imagine viewing your email inbox or your Facebook in real time, without the headache of accessing that annoying mobile browser on your phone. You know that sleep screen that shows you the time, when you are not using your phone? Wouldn’t you want to have your email update itself there in real time? Wouldn’t you want to be able to add any widget there, that can update regularly displaying you information on sports, social networks, stocks, or anything else you choose?

Studies have shown that most users access the Web on their phone for the same things over and over again to see any new updates. Things just got a whole lot easier with Flyscreen, take all those things you like to surf to on your handset, and add them to your phone’s sleep screen. No more mobile surfing needed.

Cellogic can really shake things up in the mobile world with their new product, Flyscreen, and it seems that someone over at Techcrunch agrees, Cellogic was just launched in the Demo pit.

Anything that enables me to stop using my annoying mobile browser is a huge plus for me. I for one, am very excited to see how this product does in the real world.

– Hillel

Jonathan Strauss, VP Business Development for Cellogic

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Nokia’s Back in the Game

Nokia recently released a new handset as an upgrade to the previous E61i. I had a chance to play with the new E71 today and I must say, Nokia seems to have outdone themselves. With amazing specs like 10mm thickness, 2.36 inch, 16 million color display, and a whopping 10.5 hour talk time, I was sure there was a catch, and I thought it would come in the form of a sluggish OS. I was very wrong. The E71 seemed extremely responsive and contrary to some previous Nokia handsets, it actually moved very fast. Another thing about the E71 that is very different than other Nokia handsets, is that it is a very nice looking phone. It shares that Iphone-ish (I am sure that is a word by now, no?) chrome look around the edges (seems to be the new trend, with phones like the new Blackberry Bold  and the IPhone).

The E71 feels great in your hands, a very solid build, and its keyboard is amongst the most comfortable QWERTYS I have ever used. The only thing I could think of, that would prevent someone from getting this phone, is a lack of built-in memory, but in today’s day and age with 8 and 16 GB Micro SD cards, does it really matter?

The E71 offers you pretty much anything you would need in a phone (OK it does not have a 5 or 8 megapixel camera). It has blazing fast HSDPA (fast internet access when not in a hot spot), 802.11b/g (the fastest wifi around), A2DP (stereo bluetooth, something the IPhone lacks), built-in GPS, and a nice 3 megapixel camera (do you really need more than that?). 

Seems like Nokia took my advice!

– Hillel

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Android App Store

Hey,
Things have been a bit crazy around here, so this is going to be short. Following our recent discussions on cellphone software, I just read on TechCrunch that Android is coming out with their own app store.

My thoughts:

1. I think competition is very important because it will increase the quality of the apps.

2. I am pro the open sourced software, and I can’t wait to see what they have to offer.

3. It will be very interesting to see if they charge for the apps.

What do you think? Are you going to use Android?

Have a good one

Aryeh

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