Author: Darrell Etherington

Apple, for a long time, was the David to Microsoft’s Goliath. It was a dynamic that suited Apple, as the company used its underdog status to attract customers who saw themselves as different and apart from the mainstream. It was the iPod that first signaled a change in this arrangement.

The iPod dominated. It became synonymous with “MP3 player” in the mind of the buying public. And that would start in motion the rise of Apple into the tech giant it is today. A tech giant, might I add, that as of yesterday is worth more in terms of market value than Microsoft.

At the close of Wednesday’s trading, Apple was valued at $222 billion, while Microsoft was worth $219 billion. Apple’s shares ended the day at $244.11, while Microsoft’s finished at a seven-month low of $25.01. And it isn’t only Cupertino’s successes, but also Redmond’s failures that are responsible for the new power dynamic between the two companies. Overall, Microsoft stock is down 20 percent compared to 10 years ago, while the value of Apple’s has grown tenfold over the same period.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer appears to have his head in the sand regarding the significance of this moment in terms of the two companies. When asked for comment, he told Reuters news service:

It’s a long game, we have good competitors…we too are a very good competitor. We are executing very well and that is going to lead to great products and great success. I’m optimistic.

It sounds like Ballmer, once an outspoken and not very cautious CEO, has checked out, or is downright unwilling to look at the consequences of Apple’s success with the iPhone and now the iPad. Microsoft will continue to drift toward irrelevance as long as the attitude of business-as-usual prevails there. To quote Ballmer once again, “I won’t predict some massive change,” he said. “I don’t sort of foreshadow any change in direction. We just have to accelerate plans.”

I’m less concerned with what happens to Microsoft now, though, then I am with what happens to Apple. Unlike Microsoft, I think Apple has at its core a commitment to ongoing innovation, woven into the very fabric of the company by the strong oversight of Steve Jobs. And that will persist after he’s gone. But ongoing battles with Google and Adobe tell a tale of a company whose industry agenda may still be geared towards being a niche player.

Apple is about control, even though Steve Jobs says quite the opposite in his open letter to Flash. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no big fan of Flash myself, but I do think that Apple’s intentions have more to do with controlling the nature and delivery vehicle of content than with encouraging openness. Otherwise it’d have backed Google’s VP8 open web video standard from the start. The kind of control Apple exerts works well for it as a niche player, but now that it’s arguably the most important tech company in the world, the same rules don’t apply.

Big stays big by being inclusive and cooperative, to a degree. Take Google, which works with so many partners it’s hard to keep track of, with the end goal of satisfied customers in mind. Microsoft, too, works with others more than it shuts them down, as long as the terms are favorable. Apple seems content to remain largely sheltered, even when it would be easier and more expedient to work with a partner. In fact, since the company started making its own chips with the iPad, it looks to be shutting down even further still.

Such an approach may provide some short-term gains, but rising competitors like Google will take advantage of the general bad feeling it will generate among other tech firms to form the kind of partnerships that helped elevate Microsoft to its loftiest heights 10 years ago. And Apple will still be at base camp, stubbornly refusing the aid of other climbers.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: How Microsoft Can Win Back the Tablet Market

While some of the earliest contenders to the iPad’s throne seem like they won’t be contending at all (the HP Slate, Microsoft’s Courier), other major personal electronics players are stepping forward to challenge Apple on the tablet front. Including Dell, who recently unveiled the Streak, an Android-based touchscreen device.

But there are number of things off about the Dell Streak. First, it’s quite a small device. With a screen only half the size of the iPad’s, and only slightly bigger than most modern smartphones at 5-inches, it seems somewhat awkwardly sized. Second, it can act as a smartphone, making calls, texting, etc. It doesn’t really blur the line between smartphone and tablet so much as sit completely on the smartphone side of said line.

While both the Streak and the iPad run operating systems designed originally for smartphones, the iPad clearly isn’t one. It’s too large to comfortably hold up to your face, and, more importantly, it lacks the internals and software necessary to process phone calls. The iPad’s role in the digital ecosystem may not be entirely clear, but it knows what it isn’t, and that’s a phone.

The Dell Streak is a phone, whatever its marketing department may want you to believe. And that may be its strongest aspect in terms of going toe to toe with the iPad, in that it only does so in a broad sense, fighting generally for consumer electronic dollars without really encroaching on the super-specific niche Apple has carved out.

Dell’s Streak seems like the punchline to an old joke about the iPad: It’s like the iPad except it fits in your pocket, has a camera and makes phone calls. And it stands a chance of competing with the device in terms of sales, but not with the iPhone, the next revision of which will undoubtedly blow it out of the water. But saying you’re making an iPhone killer is so passé at this point, and it’s a claim many smartphone makers have found themselves regretting. Pitting the Streak against the iPad instead avoids both of those pitfalls.

Bottom line, it may be a clever marketing maneuver, but it isn’t a tablet. I doubt very much the Streak will be leeching any customers away from Apple’s devices, be they tablets or the next generation iPhone. Dell’s effort makes the mistake of trying to be everything to everybody and missing the mark entirely. A larger tablet dubbed the Looking Glass seems to be in the cards for the near future from Dell, though, so we’ll see if it learns any lessons for that effort.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Can Anyone Compete With the iPad?

The iTunes movie store just got a lot more usable thanks to a small but significant update that went live today. As of now, the iTunes movie store features Top Critics’ reviews and the Tomatometer rating score from Rotten Tomatoes prominently displayed above customer reviews on every movie page. It’s the only review source I really trust when deciding whether or not to see something, and now I don’t even have to leave iTunes to check it.

As an example of why this is such a handy thing to have, take Valentine’s Day, a movie well recognized as one of the great stinkers of the year so far. But if you check it out in iTunes, at least here in the Canadian store, the average rating is four stars. iTunes alone would’ve steered you wrong. The Tomatometer rates it 18 percent rotten, and the Top Critics all pan it. Saved from a bad purchase.

The Rotten Tomatoes features will also let you know when a movie is exceptionally good. The screenshot that accompanies this article shows the Rotten Tomatoes box for Office Space, a modern classic by Mike Judge that you really should see if you haven’t already, especially if you’ve spent any time working in a cookie cutter cubicle-farm type office. Note the “Certified Fresh” award icon next to the Tomatometer rating. This is an honor bestowed upon especially awesome films.

You can also click through to see the actual Rotten Tomatoes page for any movie (so long as it’s actually been rated on RT, of course), which will give you access to full-length reviews from users and critics, more information, and the ability to buy it in physical form or add it to your Netflix queue.

Kudos to Apple for introducing a small, simple change that has a significant positive effect on overall user experience. But will it encourage you to buy movies on iTunes?

Related TechUniversity Screencasts: iTunes 101 and Smart Playlists (subscription required)

Apple wasn’t kidding around when it said it was going to become a mobile device company first and foremost. According to at least one analyst estimate, the iPad is now outselling the Mac by a fair margin, having almost caught up to its lucrative cousin, the iPhone. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Abramsky (via AllThingsD) thinks Apple is selling more than 200,000 iPads per week at this point.

Compare that to around 110,000 Macs per week, and about 246,000 iPhone 3GS handsets. For a device that originally looked like kind of an odd duck that would only appeal to a very niche market, that’s not too bad. Especially when it hasn’t actually launched in international markets as of yet (barring pre-sales to the first nine countries getting the device on May 28).

Sellouts in both Apple Stores and Best Buy locations in the U.S. continue to be a fairly regular occurrence, and at the time of RBC Capital Markets’ checks, which took place in mid May, roughly 25 percent of Apple Stores were sold out of 3G models of the iPad completely and only had Wi-Fi stock remaining. New units bought from the Apple website are at least a week out in terms of predicted shipping times. In other words, Apple is still selling the things as fast as it can make them.

Abramsky’s changed his 2010 global iPad sales estimate from five million to eith million in the wake of the device’s continued success at retail, and he’s not the only one who’s optimistic about the iPad’s selling power. Research firm IDC (via Bloomberg) predicts that the iPad’s success alone will account for a six-fold increase in the sales of tablet computers in general by 2014. If true, tablet sales would nab a fair chunk of global computer sales, which doesn’t bode well for the slowing netbook market.

It also doesn’t bode well for the Mac. Apple’s efforts will go where the money is, and all indications point to the fact that the money will be with the iPad and iPhone, not with MacBooks and iMacs. What changes will this prompt in Apple’s personal computer line-up? Well, in business silos that bring in less money inevitably face cuts and streamlining. Apple recently added more choices to its notebook lineup, but I predict we’ll see a reversal of that in the future. Look for fewer product configurations and simpler categories (one basic notebook, one pro, etc.) as Cupertino focuses on mobile.

I’m not too worried about this trend, because far out, I see a convergence of device categories. Mobile will be the default mode for consumer computing, and I suspect the iPad will look much more like that future than the MBP I’m typing this on now. Apple has always been good at the long-view, and this time around is no exception.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Is The Age of the Web Tablet Finally Upon Us?

Apple’s vaunted secrecy appears to be falling to pieces all around the Mac maker as yet another early product leak hits the web today. Only yesterday, it was the MacBook update that did end up coming true, and before that it was not one, but two cases of iPhone version 4 pre-release hardware units slipping through Apple’s grasp.

Today, an iPod touch is the leaked product in question. And the key feature of said iPod touch is the 2.0 megapixel camera featured prominently in the middle of the back of the unit, like a glaring cyclops eye. It’s never been a secret that the iPod touch was likely going to get a camera. The question was only when and in what form.

If the demo unit (which was brought to us by the same Vietnamese site that leaked the most recent iPhone 4 prototype) is any indication, then we’ll be seeing a new iPod touch that looks very similar to existing models, with the simple addition of a relatively underpowered mobile camera. 2 megapixels? What is this, the Nintendo DSi? I expected a lot more from Apple.

Of course, it’s always still possible that the model found is actually an older prototype (maybe from when the iPod touch should’ve received its camera upgrade), but the device’s capacity is 64GB, so it can’t be that old, and I’m willing to bet Apple isn’t above kneecapping a camera-capable touch. Look at its track record.

It’s become fairly evident that the iPhone 3G was probably knowingly underpowered for iPhone OS 4.0, and sold at length during a period in which Apple must’ve known it wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the software it was developing. Compare that to Mac sales. Imagine, for instance, Apple was still selling new PowerPC machines last year while developing Snow Leopard.

Personally, I hope Apple skips an actual production release of this iPod touch. A single, rear-facing 2 megapixel camera (which likely won’t shoot great quality video, if at all) has no added selling power in my opinion. It certainly wouldn’t be enough incentive for me to upgrade from my 1st-gen iPod touch. For a camera to be useful on Apple’s marquee media player, I’d need at least a 5 megapixel still camera that also shoots 720p video.

I’m not sure what’s more disappointing at this point: that Apple had an iPod touch with camera ready to go and shelved it, or that it’s just developed the thing and included a laughably low-powered lens in the new hardware. The 4th-gen iPhone better make up for this mess, that’s all I’m saying.

If you were patient enough to hold out on the wave of iPad releases, and if you specifically wanted to grab a 3G capable model, then today is probably already clearly marked on your calendar. That’s because it’s April 30, the official release date of the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G in the U.S.

Customers who originally pre-ordered before Apple’s recent cut-off date should expect their iPads to arrive in the mail today, or you can try your luck with retail stores, which are going to be selling the new iPads beginning at 5 PM. today. Pre-orders for the Wi-Fi + 3G models were originally lower in volume than those for the Wi-Fi, so it’ll be interesting to see what the response is like at brick-and-mortar retail.

I personally am also very interested in seeing how soon unofficial sales start across the border here in Canada. Following the launch of the original Wi-Fi model, you could buy one the same day at a not completely ridiculous markup, so I predict the same thing this time around. Of course, international iPad users won’t yet be able to get 3G service, since no deals or pricing have been announced with carriers yet, but presumably the devices will work fine with those networks late in May when the Wi-Fi + 3G iPad ships worldwide.

Don’t just show up at the Apple store this morning expecting to pick up a new iPad, though. The launch is scheduled for 5 PM, and Apple stores across the country are closing down between 4 and 5 specifically to set up for the launch. It’s odd timing, and will no doubt cause some confusion at retail sites in terms of people coming by too early, but Apple must have a reason for not just starting the shopping day with the iPads on the shelves. Whatever the case, expect a lot of confused customers being ushered out the doors at 4 PM who are oblivious to the product launch.

The 3G capability is a killer feature for the iPad, in my opinion. Undoubtedly the iPad’s UI is a hit with consumers, as is the user experience in general, but the ability to remain connected while traveling, be it just around town or internationally (as international providers become available) elevates the device from being an amazing entertainment and media player to a lifestyle changer, in terms of both work and play.

Are you getting one? Does your local Apple Store have stock? Is there a lineup? Are you upgrading from a Wi-Fi only model? Let us know your thoughts on all things 3G iPad in the comments.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: How AT&T Will Deal with iPad Data Traffic

The next time you finish using that free AT&T hotspot that stands as one of the few highlights of being an iPhone users on that network of questionable dependability, you might want to make sure your phone forgets that particular Wi-Fi connection. If not, you could be at risk from security threats.

That’s according to independent security researcher Samy Kamkar, who conducted his own very basic test to determine that using the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots available at places like Starbucks in the U.S. could potentially pose a risk to iPhone owners. The test involved trying to fake an AT&T network in order to prompt an iPhone to join a network that was potentially unsafe.

Surprisingly, the network name alone was enough to convince an iPhone that it was joining a trusted network. Kamkar merely renamed his own unsecured Wi-Fi network “attwifi.” The exploit is unique to the AT&T hotspots because generally, the iPhone looks for a MAC address and a name in order to verify that a user has been previously connected. In the case of free AT&T hotspots, however, the phone ignores the MAC address and depends solely on the name.

During the test, Kamkar’s own iPhone connected without prompting to the network, but more tellingly, at least two other iPhone or iPod touches also connected, apparently belonging to passers by or other nearby residents. By way of these unsolicited connections, Kamkar said he could do any number of things, from redirecting connected users, to stealing their login credentials.

To prove it’s possible to hijack someone’s phone using this method, Kamkar wrote a program that displays messages when a user attempts to use the Google Maps app. He’ll be releasing the program for all via his Twitter account today.

Considering that the iPhone is only officially available on AT&T in the U.S., and that most of those subscribers have probably at one time or another made use of free Wi-Fi hotspots from that provider, the security risk posed by the exploit could potentially be quite large. Especially now that the iPad, Cupertino’s rising star, is also a potential target. Apple doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to change anything about the arrangement, according to a spokewoman for the company:

iPhone performs properly as a Wi-Fi device to automatically join known networks. Customers can also choose to select to ‘Forget This Network’ after using a hot spot so the iPhone doesn’t join another network of the same name automatically.

Using the ‘Forget This Network’ function or just turning off your wireless altogether are currently the only ways to prevent your iPhone from automatically joining any network called “attwifi” if you’re concerned about the safety of your data.

What do you do when you have $40 billion in cash on hand? If you’re Apple, you go on a shopping spree. The latest acquisition in a string of corporate purchases is Intrinsity, another chip making company (Apple previously acquired PA Semi in 2008).

Although Apple has confirmed the purchase with the New York Times, there’s still no official word on its plans for the company or the price paid. At least one estimate places the value of the deal at $121 million. The purchase comes on the heels of a rumor that Apple had approached ARM with an offer to purchase the major chip design licensing company.

Intrinsity isn’t completely out of the ballpark, though it is less of an industry powerhouse by a wide, wide margin. Still, it confirms that Apple is increasingly interested in the chip design side of the computing business, something which the in-house designed iPad A4 is also further proof of.

It’s also possible that we have another situation like that surrounding the Quattro Wireless acquisition on our hands. In that case, Quattro Wireless was clearly second choice to mobile advertising company AdMob, which Apple had apparently bid on before it was acquired by Google. ARM could’ve similarly spurned Apple’s advances, at which point it would’ve turned its attention to more receptive targets, including Intrinsity.

But what about Intrinsity makes it so appealing to Apple specifically? Well, the Texas chip maker in question may be relatively small, but in this case, fast thing comes in small sizes. Intrinsity is known for making very fast versions of mobile device chips. Not only that, but it may actually be the company responsible for the speedy A4 chip found in the iPad, if rumors are true.

The same division of Samsung that developed the A4 for Apple apparently worked with Intrinsity to find a way to ratchet up the speed of chips that normally run at 650 megahertz to a much snappier 1000 megahertz. If it’s true, Apple just secured its speed advantage over the competition for at least a little while, and it did so without putting much of a dent in its massive cash reserves.

The move may also be intended as a means to jump-start Apple’s stalled plans to design its own brand new mobile chip from the ground up. Rumors circulating say that those efforts, which began with Apple’s acquisition of PA Semi, have since gone off the tracks since many former members of that company have left since the company’s purchase. A number of them ended up at Google last month.

Whatever the effect of the purchase, we probably won’t see any changes in the lineup until at least the next iteration of both the iPhone and the iPad. Let’s hope it means faster chips with lower power consumption for even bigger battery life gains.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: As Devices Converge, Chip Vendors Girding For a Fight

Apple’s impressive growth as a company is a good thing for end users in a number of ways. Apple has more money to spend on innovative new product designs, for example, and its easier to get service and support for your products, not to mention software and accessories.

The iPad has been a pretty big success so far, especially for a category-busting product. But investors and Apple users aren’t the only ones to have taken note of the product’s success. The iPad is now being used as scam bait to sucker in people who might not be that familiar with the warning signs of internet scams, which, not coincidentally, is just who the iPad seems directed at as a device.

So far, the scam only works on Windows PCs, but even if you’re a Mac-using iPad owner, make sure any friends and relatives using the other platform are aware of the ruse. Basically, you get an email telling you that iTunes needs to be updated in order to update your iPad device, and provides a link to the software in question.

Of course, instead of taking you to some kind of iTunes download, the link instead opens up a direct line to their sensitive information, if accessed via a PC. Specifically, the malware in question is Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY, which uses Internet Explorer to open a back door on your system and look around for software serial numbers and login data, including usernames and passwords for various sites.

People on Macs or other Apple platforms, like the iPad and iPhone, won’t be affected at all by following the link, but obviously it’s never a good idea to open suspicious links in emails in case that changes in future versions of the scam.

At least for now, the iPad itself hasn’t been a target for hackers and/or malicious code. Apple’s securely locked down content distribution system in the form of the App Store really helps things there, but it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a target in a big way, and this attack is the first sign of why that’s a dangerous prospect. You’ve no doubt seen the articles about people picking up the iPad as their first ever computer. That category of user is the ideal candidate for malicious software, since they’ve yet to experience the nasty side of the Internet and don’t have any built-in defenses against these types of scams.

The iPad is raising Apple’s profile, and that means trouble for those uneducated about Internet security risks. It could also mean problems for all Mac users in the long run, as the iPad draws more people to OS X in the same way the iPod and iPhone did before it. But for now, it’s still the most secure platform around, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Apple recently unveiled iPhone OS 4, which brought many much needed features to the platform, including a lot which our own Charles Jade thought would never make it through. Despite rectifying some long-standing oversights, however, Apple still hasn’t allowed its iDevices to sync wirelessly with people’s home computers.

One user and developer decided not to wait for Apple to implement the feature, and instead created his own iPhone app in order to solve the problem. Greg Hughes, the man in question, created a Wi-Fi syncing app that works with a companion desktop client to sync your iTunes library with your iPhone, iPod touch or even your iPad. Check out the video below to see it in action.

It may sound like something that shouldn’t even be possible using Apple’s closed playground of development APIs, and maybe Hughes is stepping slightly out of bounds, but the YouTube video showing the app in action proves that it does indeed work. Just because it works, though, doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing it available for purchase in the app store anytime soon. I think it’s pretty safe to say Apple won’t let this one ever see the light of day. It’ll probably play the old “feature duplication” card because it may or may not introduce this feature itself somewhere down the road.

It’s a shame because the implementation looks fantastic, and users wouldn’t even have to wait for a new iPhone OS iteration to get it, since it works with iPhone OS 3.X. Judging by the video, the app somehow tricks iTunes into thinking that an iPhone is mounted and then syncs any video and music with that device, so you wouldn’t get the full iPhone sync experience, but it would work perfectly for users like me who are also MobileMe subscribers, since we basically only plug in to update music anyway.

Hughes is doing one thing right: He’s promoting the heck out of the app before it even has a chance to run afoul of Apple’s review process. It worked for Opera Mini, although the organization behind that app has far more visibility and clout than does a single unknown developer acting on his own. Still, even if Apple does block the app, at least people will know it happened and possibly voice their disappointment, rather than just let it pass unnoticed.

We’ll probably see the Wi-Fi Sync app grace the halls of the jailbreak app stores even if Apple never lets it see the light of day through official channels, proving once again that no matter what improvements Apple makes to its software, there’s still always a reason to go rogue. Is Wi-Fi Sync enough justification for you?

London newspaper the Evening Standard reported a very interesting rumor following Apple’s quarterly financial report Tuesday. According to the British paper, Apple is in talks with ARM Holdings, the UK company that designs the chip used in the iPhone, along with a huge percentage of the chips found in mobile devices in general.

The sources cited by the Evening Standard are well-informed “gossips,” but there’s evidence to suggest that this rumor may have more too it than just idle speculation, since the stock price of ARM rose significantly on the news as five-thousand shares of the company were traded, making it the biggest gainer on the day.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the company, ARM isn’t actually a chip maker itself, but instead it licenses its designs to hardware manufacturers like Apple, who will then build the tech into their own products. A prime example is the A4 chip that powers the iPad, which Apple developed in-house. The A4 is based on an ARM design. It isn’t the only one, either. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, a popular Android processor, also uses an ARM-based design. In fact, 75 percent of global devices that use 32-bit processors use ARM tech.

The Advantages of Acquisition

Apple’s bid is said to be around the $8 billion range, which sounds crazy, until you consider that Apple apparently has cash reserves of $41.7 billion on hand to fund ventures and acquisitions exactly like this one. Once acquired, ARM would allow Apple certain privileges. First of all, it wouldn’t have to license its own tech in order to develop new chips, so you can bet more projects like the A4 would go ahead, especially for Apple’s growing stable of mobile devices.

Of course, that’s not the only advantage. ARM would still likely continue to be the place most mobile device makers go to get their chip design licenses, so Apple would then gain all the revenue from that branch of the business, too. And not only would they get that revenue, but they would also be in the power position of owning the technology most of its competitors license whenever they create a new device.

Antitrust and other industry regulations would obviously prevent them from doing anything as brash as blocking competitors like those using Google’s Android OS from being granted licenses, but that’s not the only way Apple could use its new found authority. Since other hardware makers would have to apply for a license before beginning their chip development, Apple would be privy to information about its competitors’ product release plans well in advance of usual, and Cupertino would be paid for the privilege.

An Arms Race

If this is an arms race between Google and Apple, an ARM acquisition would definitely put Apple ahead in the chip department. Google only recently nabbed AdMob out from under Apple’s own bid for the company, forcing the Mac maker to look elsewhere to help back its iAds plan.

It’s only just come out that Google has since answered Apple’s acquisition of chip maker P.A. Semi with the purchase of AgniLux, a startup chip company founded by P.A. Semi employees who left that company when Apple originally acquired it. Ars Technica doesn’t think Google acquired the company with any intent of making its own chips, but as a preemptive defense against possibly having to route its chip licensing plans through Apple…it could make sense.

The most likely outcome if an ARM acquisition actually does go through? Nothing but good things for future iPhone, iPod and iPad owners. All iDevices could conceivably receive significant boosts in battery life and processor power with an entire chip design company working ’round the clock to eke more out of ever more energy conserving designs, with direct access to prototype Apple hardware to test them out on. So cross your fingers for this one, even if it does put more power in the hands of Apple than it should rightly have.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: As Devices Converge, Chip Vendors Girding For a Fight

By now, many of you will probably already know that Gizmodo actually got their hands on that iPhone prototype they’ve been reporting so heavily on, by paying $5,000 to someone who found the phone at a bar near Apple headquarters.

You may also know that Apple has asked for its return, which Gizmodo (and many others, myself included) are taking as evidence confirming that it is indeed the next iPhone. The story of how it was lost reads like something out of a movie in the Gizmodo account, even though many of us drunkenly lose our phones everyday and it obviously isn’t that dramatic of an experience.

Then again, we aren’t losing the prototype of a highly coveted device built by an incredibly secretive company. Which brings me to my next point. Is anyone buying that this guy (Gary Powell, an iPhone engineer working on the Baseband technology) actually just got drunk and forgot the thing on his bar stool?

I’m not an engineer working for Apple, and my phone is just a widely available 3GS and not the yet-to-be-released iPhone 4 or whatever it’ll be called, but that phone is also the last thing I’m likely to misplace. I’d sooner lose my wallet or my keys, in fact. But if it’s a plant, why go to such lengths to engineer a simple leak?

I think it may be as simple as the ante-upping nature of Apple’s hype machine. After the year or more lead up to the iPad’s unveiling, including photographic and video leaks, first-hand accounts from all kinds of sources, and the will-they or won’t-they ballet that went on for months and months, building a good head of buzz up around the next iPhone in the time remaining would be rather challenging using Apple’s conventional tactics. Many eyes are stuck firmly on the iPad and what’s next for it, and won’t be distracted by the usual grainy photographs.

A hands-on exclusive that conveniently makes its way to one of the most prominent and widely-read tech blogs operating on the web today is definitely one way to wrest the spotlight away from the iPad and back onto the iPhone, where Apple needs consumer attention to be come June. It may seem elaborate, but when you consider the cost of such a plan versus a widespread marketing campaign, and that Apple’s secretive-chocolate-factory reputation remains intact, it starts to seem very reasonable indeed.

Whatever the case, it looks like we know what the next iPhone will have in store. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights in case you missed them:

• Front-facing camera (almost certainly for video chat)
• Separate volume buttons
• Micro-SIM (like the iPad)
• Better back camera and camera flash
• Aluminum border with metallic buttons
• Optical glass or ceramic back for improved signal reception
• Slightly smaller, higher resolution screen
• Secondary mic for noise cancellation
• 16 percent larger battery

Gizmodo tore the phone down, too, and found out that the internals are all Apple production parts, which makes it incredibly unlikely that this isn’t the real thing. It remains to be seen whether or not the final production units that ship this summer will look exactly like this, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll see something pretty darn close.

The best part of the new design in my opinion? Not the industrial styling that brings it more in line with the current iMac and MacBook offerings, though that’s pretty awesome. No, it’s all the phone-oriented improvements Apple seems to be making. I’d never trade my iPhone in for anything, but I have to say that it hasn’t been the greatest cell phone I’ve ever had, in terms of strict telecommunications functions.

The new back for improved signal transmission, the second, noise-canceling mic, the larger battery and the front facing camera all point to this being the best iPhone yet for actual real-time communication, which is definitely something worth getting excited about.

Good news for those of you who’d already pre-ordered the fancy dual radio Wi-Fi + 3G model iPads prior to this week: you’ll have the device in your hot little hands on April 30 as promised. Apple announced today that all existing preorder customers will still get their iPads on that originally announced date, contrary to previous reports.

The May 7 date reported earlier does apply, but only to all preorders made beginning this week. You might fare better just showing up at the store on April 30 and taking your chances (though no doubt many of those units will have been reserved beforehand) since Apple also assured buyers that the dual radio iPad would be in retail stores starting at 5 PM on that day. No mention is made of whether or not retail partners like Best Buy will also have stock.

Personally, I’ve been waiting for the 3G version, because I have both an iPod touch and an iPhone, and in my opinion, the lack of cellular network connectivity on the touch places it in an entirely different category of usability. And I don’t mean that as a complement. The iPod touch feels almost like an at-home only device, despite the fact that many places nowadays offer Wi-Fi. In terms of my mobile usage, if I can’t use it in transit, I likely won’t use it at all.

Of course, I’ll have to wait till May 10 to even preorder my device, thanks to the delays to the international ship dates of the iPad. Apple is clearly doing everything it can to keep the launch on track in the U.S., but the week-long delay for any new orders being made shows that its supply chain is being severely tested thanks to strong demand.

Service for the 3G-enabled iPad isn’t locked to a specific carrier, but so far its internal radio will only work with AT&T’s 3G network. That carrier is offering plans starting at $15 per month for 250MB, or $30 for unlimited usage. Obviously, it’s assumed that these services and the microSIM cards the iPad requires to use them will be available on day one.

I know a few people who are already planning on (or already trying to) sell their Wi-Fi only iPads in order to help fund their purchase of a 3G-capable model. By contrast, I also know a few who are completely satisfied and think the 3G radio is an unnecessary and expensive upgrade. Which camp do you fall into, existing iPad owners?

iPhone OS 4.0 will be arriving for iPhone owners this summer, and for iPad owners in the fall. The question is, what tangible benefits will it bring to your web working routine, if any? Luckily, I’ve had a chance to put the developer beta of the OS through its paces, so I have an early impression of how it might benefit remote workers.

Unified Inbox and Improved Email

I try to keep all my email routed through one central account, but that doesn’t mean I always necessarily succeed. In fact, I have multiple email accounts — which can become quite a hassle to manage, especially from a mobile platform like the iPhone, which doesn’t offer a unified inbox. Or hasn’t, until now.

With iPhone OS 4.0, that changes. You get a unified inbox for all of your email — although you can still separate it out into separate mailboxes if you wish, since many people will prefer not to “cross the streams.” And that’s not all. You also get great little improvements to email, like threaded messaging, which allows you see entire email exchanges with a tap instead of having to view them individually. It’s terrific for tracking down phone numbers, meeting times and other information that might otherwise get lost or misplaced in the shuffle.

Folders

Folders provides you with the ability to group related apps into, well, folders. It’s a feature that makes so much sense, and is so useful and intuitive, that I almost can’t remember what the iPhone OS experience was like without it. First of all, it finally gives me a way to get rid of all those annoying Apple apps that I never use, like Notes, Stocks and Weather. If it ended there, that’d be enough.

But it doesn’t end there. Folders means that instead of countless home screens, I have just two, and any app I could ever desire to access is only a tap away — a single tap, vs. however many it would take to find it on a home screen, or using Spotlight. Best of all, you can categorize apps by common function, which for business purposes is very useful indeed.

Multitasking

While only native Apple apps like Settings so far have access to this API, I can already tell it’s going to revolutionize the way I use my phone for work. Being able to pop in and out of a document I’m working on in Documents to Go just by double-clicking the home button will save time and headaches. And being able to run processes like compressing video or uploading a document without having to keep an app open translates to increased productivity on the go.

I’m sure my predictions for how multitasking will affect productivity software don’t even begin to cover how developers will put the new feature to use. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us!

Bluetooth Keyboard

I’ve been pining for this feature for a long time, and it’s finally here. It was mentioned only briefly during the iPhone OS 4.0 event, but it’s huge news for web working, especially if you spend a lot of time traveling and aren’t interested in picking up an iPad.

In iPhone OS 4.0, pairing your iPhone with a Bluetooth keyboard is ridiculously simple. I set mine up with my Apple Wireless Keyboard, so I’m not sure how well it works with other brands, but all I had to do was disconnect the keyboard from my Mac mini and pair it to the phone by entering a code on the keyboard. It’s now paired with both, and can easily switch between them.

Typing on the keyboard is a game changer for the iPhone. With some kind of stand for keeping the iPhone propped up, it becomes a perfectly usable laptop replacement, weighs much less and takes up much less space in your bag.  I plan on using it for short trips in combination with Documents to Go, leaving the MacBook at home.

OS 4.0 is For Business

So many of the changes in OS 4.0 seemed geared towards business use, that it almost seems like that was the primary purpose of the update. If you’re a remote worker, and you have an iPhone, this update will change the way you do your job.

What changes in iPhone OS 4.0 are you looking forward to the most?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Apple Thinks Enterprise Is Ready for the iPhone

Recently, photos of what many thought was the next iPhone surfaced, only to then be discredited as actually being pictures of a Japanese knock-off device. It’s beginning to look like whoever was trying to discredit that photo was actually just trying to cover up the truth, according to mounting evidence.

That evidence takes multiple forms, the first being photographic proof an Engadget editor spotted in a much earlier, and much more reliable image. The picture in question was the one that surfaced just prior to the unveiling of the iPad, which seemed to show that device in a protective or pre-production case. It ended up being an accurate representation of what the iPad would look like, leading many to believe the photo came from inside Apple’s hardware testing labs.

The photo not only shows the pre-release iPad, the editor noted, but also a device which looks exactly like the supposed prototype iPhone 4G that was supposedly just a Japanese knock-off. Without context, the device in the image could be anything, but in light of the new photos, it seems a pretty strong indicator that at least some of Apple’s iPhone 4G designs resemble the new, boxier style found in the latest pictures.

Engadget has also received word from a source (who remains nameless, as per usual), that it is indeed the next iteration of the iPhone, and that the device will boast a number of improvements, from a higher resolution screen and camera with flash, to a front-facing camera and a shift to the new MicroSIM card standard Apple is using with the 3G version of the iPad.

On top of that, Chinese site WeiPhone recently posted a new series of images that purport to be the insides of the newest iPhone incarnation. The images definitely agree with what is known about the next iPhone, and even included the flat side bezel we’ve seen in the photos leaked last week.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the new prototype Engadget’s found is the reported glass backing for the device. John Gruber of Daring Fireball thinks this is in fact true, since he’s not only heard it from multiple sources, but he’s also dug up a patent application for high-durability ceramic enclosures that would avoid the pitfalls of having an all-glass device, while allowing for unprecedented radio signal transparency. That would go a long way to resolving some of the signal issues many iPhone owners complain about.

If these rumors are true, the iPhone is shaping up to be much more than an incremental improvement on the previous version. In fact, I’m getting much more excited about the iPhone 4G than I am about the iPad, which, thanks to delays internationally and at home, I may never get my hands on anyway.

I couldn’t wait to try out the new Opera Mini browser for the iPhone, so I didn’t. I downloaded it via my iTunes UK account (it was released there much earlier than over here) and set about running it through its paces. This is what I found.

First of all, let me be clear: Opera Mini will never replace mobile Safari on the iPhone. Not, at least, until Apple makes available to users the ability to switch which apps open by default when performing certain actions. As long as Safari is the default web browser across the platform, Opera Mini really can’t be much more than a well-executed novelty.

I did however say well executed. Using Opera Mini is definitely a pleasurable experience. From the snappy loading times that come from having the pages pre-rendered on Opera’s servers and pushed out to the phone at lightning speeds, to the pop-up tab drawer that gives you a quick glance at what you’ve got open without having to scroll through pages, viewing them one at a time as you do with Mobile Safari, Opera Mini is designed from the ground up with the aim of improving web browsing on the iPhone in mind.

There are other great features you won’t find in Safari as well. Like the speed dial home screen, which, if you’re not familiar with Opera, resembles what Chrome looks like by default when it first boots up. You can assign sites you visit frequently to appear in the speed dial view, so it’s like having instant access to your bookmarks. You can also sync your speed dial, bookmarks and installed search engines from the desktop version of Opera.

Very handy things like the ability to save pages for offline reading and a find in page function also make Opera Mini shine on the iPhone platform, but still, it’s the rare occasion these days when I’m firing up a browser on my device unprompted by another app. Generally speaking, Safari opens on my iPhone because a link in a Twitter or Facebook app has caused it to do so.

If you are still going to install and use Opera, and I recommend that you do, if only to prove to Apple that its users would very much appreciate browser choice on the platform, there are some neat things you can do by accessing the advanced settings. To do this, simply type “config:” into your Opera address bar. This will bring you to a Power-User settings page, where you can tweak options like whether or not Opera will automatically fit text to your screen, change the loading timeout, and set the minimum length for phone number detection.

Use it, enjoy it, and rate it highly in the App Store, but if you’re like me, Opera Mini won’t be much more than a show piece until Apple allows users to change their default browser, which, I’m guessing, will be never.

For those of us who aren’t in the U.S. (or who aren’t willing to pay the markups on Craigslist and other sources to get early access), that “late April” international release date for the iPad was getting tantalizingly close. That’s why Apple’s announcement of a delay for international release today comes as such a disappointment.

That’s right, the “late April” date is off the table, and now buyers outside of the U.S. will have to wait until at least late May before they can get their hands on the much sought-after device. At least we have one firm date to look forward to, though, as Apple did announce that May 10 would be the day it would begin taking pre-orders for international sales. The delivery date is still ambiguous, mind you.

Pricing will also be announced on the May 10 pre-order date, but not before, so you won’t know exactly how many ducats you have to put aside in advance. Personally, I’m going to be quite irate if the pricing is that much different here in Canada, where our dollar is pretty much at parity. Of course, if they do charge something ridiculous, it’s nothing a quick trip to Buffalo can’t fix.

The reason Apple gives behind the delay doesn’t come as a surprise. Basically, the company is saying that with over 500,000 units sold in the first week alone, demand is simply far outpacing supply. The press release doesn’t talk about specific numbers for 3G pre-orders, but it does imply that those, too, are beyond what the company expected to have to ship at the end of this month in the U.S. market alone.

Apple is quite optimistic about the attitudes its potential international customers will take regarding the news:

We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason–the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far.

Yes, that’s right, they just want us to be happy for them. Well, I for one am just ecstatic that I get to twiddle my thumbs and download iPad apps for a device I have yet to own for another whole month. Thanks very much for your conservative launch sales estimate, Apple.

Kidding aside, strong sales do bode well for all iPad customers, even if some have to wait a little longer to get their hands on one. It means the platform is not in any danger of losing support from the development community or Apple itself anytime soon, as might have been the case if the launch was a total flop.

I’m downloading iPhone OS 4.0 right now, and the reason that I’m doing so isn’t the big multitasking feature, which grabbed a lot of attention but won’t actually be implemented until devs start including the features in their apps. I’m doing it for the little things.

Little things like Bluetooth Keyboard support and tap to focus for video. And medium-sized things like the introduction of folders. Home screen wallpapers I could actually take or leave, but everything else sounds pretty awesome. Including gloating to my iPad-toting friends when I get the features well before them.

iPhone OS 4.0 comes out for the iPhone and iPod touch this summer, as new iterations of the OS generally do. But iPad owners will have to wait until the fall to see the same features implemented on their devices. The operating systems must be fairly different to merit such a gap between the two release dates, although at least a few of the end user-targeted features introduced are iPad originals.

Developers will no doubt be excited about OS 4.0’s new APIs, including full video/still camera access, support for in-app SMS, calendar access, in-app SMS, 5x digital zoom and carrier info access. But that’s not what’ll really have devs salivating. That’d be Apple’s new iAds platform, which aims to revolutionize mobile advertising. iAds promises to provide a much more interactive advertising experience, right from within apps, and without leaving them. It certainly has a lot of potential, but it remains to be seen whether users will bite. Apple will be using an industry standard 60/40 revenue split for iAds, with devs getting the lion’s share.

Another new intriguing platform-wide feature is Game Center. It looks to accomplish what OpenFeint and Plus+ do now, but across all games (that use the API, I imagine). It’s bad news for those fledgling gaming networks, but it promises to be a much more unified and comprehensive game ranking and matchmaking system for iPhone end users. And it’ll have achievements, too.

It wasn’t all good news for iPhone owners today, though. Owners of 3G and older model iPhones, and of second-gen and older iPod touches are going to be a bit sour following the announcement. They’ll get some of the benefits of iPhone OS 4.0, but not all. The hardware isn’t up to the task of multitasking, for instance. Apple’s probably not losing too much sleep over this, since it provides a mighty nice upgrade incentive.

Many more details will no doubt emerge as the summer go-live date approaches, both about the iPhone OS and about new iPhone hardware. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for new features as I explore the developer preview.

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