Need a tough sturdy notebook case for your MacBook or MacBook Pro system? Here’s an interesting case from the folks at CaseCruzer. It’s called the Pelican Apple 1490 laptop case and it’s the kind of case that only a long distance traveler will love. The Pelican case is dust/sand proof, watertight, resistant to extreme temperatures, airline safe, and comes with a custom polyurethane foam interior. The case actually comes with a good deal of foam padding which means the case is great at guarding against shock, impact, and vibration - three things that are most common during travel.. and three things that are just horrible to your notebooks. The 1490 case weighs 8.7 lbs when empty and measures 19.43 x 13.93 x 4.69 inches. The 14 inch notebooks and smaller can use the $167.80 dollar case while the $150.40 case fits 17 inch notebooks (I’m not sure why the larger case is actually cheaper.. maybe less foam?)

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: CaseCruzer Pelican 1490 case, Apple MacBook MacBook pro

AT&T announced additional pricing details for the upcoming iPhone 3G today though it’s not likely to answer all the questions that people might have. Let’s go over what we do know thus far.

First off, the $199 8GB iPhone 3G and $299 16GB iPhone 3G requires a new two year contract and is available to the following customers:

• iPhone customers who purchased before July 11
• Customers activating a new line with AT&T
• Current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount

OK.. so what that says to me is.. if you purchased a 1st generation iPhone before July 11th and you’re up and running with AT&T already, then by default, you’re eligible for the new iPhone 3G. What that also says to me is.. if you are already an AT&T customer AND you’re NOT an iPhone user, you MIGHT be eligible for the new iPhone 3G at the reduced discount.

So.. how do you know if you’re eligible for the discount? You’ll need to log into your account at AT&T Wireless and then click on the “Upgrade Phone” link. That will tell you if you’re eligible for an upgrade discount on a new two year plan.

Now with that said.. if you’re an AT&T customer and you are NOT eligible for an upgrade discount, then the new iPhone 3G will cost $399 for the 8GB and $499 for the 16GB model. This still requires a new two year agreement with AT&T of course.

Down the road, AT&T will also offer a no-contract required option for the iPhone but that also means you’ll be paying the most of the 3G phone with the 8GB model going for $599 and the 16GB for $699.

Make sense?

Oh yeah.. there’s also an “upgrade fee” for current AT&T customers who are upgrading to the iPhone 3G. There’s also an “activation fee” of $36 dollars for new AT&T customers. They sure know how to milk ya!

OK.. so that’s just the price of the phone. We haven’t even begun talking about the plans yet.  To me - the plans are perhaps the most annoying because they’ve changed in a devious way. First off - you’ll be paying more per month than what you previously did with the first generation iPhone. Of course, it’s faster service but.. here’s the kicker - the plan does NOT include the original # of text messages. You want text messages, that’s more too!

Let’s summarize the individual plans - all of which have unlimited data.

On the low end, there’s the AT&T Nation 450 plan which includes 450 Anytime Minutes, 5000 Nights and Weekend Minutes for $69.99 a month

Next, there’s the AT&T Nation 900 plan which includes 900 Anytime Minutes, and unlimited Night and Weekend Minutes for $89.99 a month

Next, there’s the AT&T Nation 1350 plan which has (you guessed it), 1350 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night and Weekend Minutes for $109.99 a month

Finally, there’s the AT&T Nation Unlimited which includes unlimited Anytime Minutes for $129.99. Thus, I suppose the $99.99 unlimited plans don’t apply to the iPhone 3G eh?

OK.. but notice - nowhere in here is anything about text messages. You want texting you say? That’s more! For 200 messages a month, it’ll be $ 5 dollars. For 1500 messages, it’ll be $15 dollars and for unlimited text messages, it’ll be $20 dollars a month. Yes.. that means the lowest plan will be actually $74.99 a month for 450 Anytime Minutes and 200 text messages. That’s $15 dollars more a month than what the lowest 1st gen iPhone user pays now.

Want family options?

AT&T’s FamilyTalk by default comes with two lines. Each additional line will cost you $39.99 extra for up to three more lines. All FamilyTalk lines come with unlimited data, nights and weekends and mobile to mobile.

On the low end, there’s a 700 Shared Anytime Minute plan which costs $129.99. For 1400 Anytime Minutes, you’ll pay $149.99 a month. Next up is the 2100 Anytime Minutes plan for $169.99 a month. Then the 3000 minute plan for $209.99 a month etc etc.

Of course, text messaging is EXTRA too.

Want more info or better pictures? Check out the pricing page here on AT&T’s website.

But let me see if I can summarize for you:

AT&T Nation plans:

AT&T FamilyTalk plans:

[Check out the press release]

[Check out the price plans]

Technorati Tags: AT&T, Apple, iPhone 3G, Price Details, Price Plan

Think Linux and Windows XP are the only viable OS’s for the MSI Wind notebook (which isn’t available yet of course… at least not easily)? Well if you know what you’re doing and you know where to look, you can have a third alternative thanks to OS X. A adventurous fellow over at the InsanelyMac Forum managed to get Kalyway 10.5.2 installed on the MSI Wind. As you can see in the picture above, the OS thinks it’s running on a Mac Pro system powered by an Intel Core Solo processor (of course the actual processor is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom). Pretty nifty stuff! I’ve played with Kalyway before and I must say - when it works, it’s awesome.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: MSI Wind, OS X, Kalyway 10.5.2

While you’re waiting to purchase the new iPhone 3G on July 11th, ZAGG Inc., is hoping you’ll also go ahead and pre-order their new invisibleSHIELD protective film covering for the iPhone 3G. The invisibleSHIELD  adhesive film cover actually has been available for pre-order for approximately three weeks now and ZAGG reports that over 50,000 pre-orders have already come in.  The company is also reporting that the invisibleSHIELD will begin shipping on June 27th which is two weeks prior to the launch of the new iPhone. If you pre-order now, you’ll get 20% off the normal price at checkout. There are three options - a full body coverage at $24.95, back coverage at $18.95 and front coverage at $14.95.

One thing I couldn’t help but do was to calculate some of the early revenues that ZAGG has already accumulated. If 50,000 pre-orders have already come in.. and we assume that people are at a minimum ordering just the front coverage for $14.95 (minus the 20% discount which comes to $11.96), then the company has already earned roughly $598,000 at a minimum. NICE….

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple iPhone 3G, invisibleSHIELD, ZAGG

While the upcoming iPhone 3G might be inexpensive for consumers, it’s certainly going to cost a pretty penny to AT&T. According to Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner, AT&T will be paying a subsidy of $325 per iPhone 3G. Contrast that with the typical subsidy of $200 dollars that most hardware manufacturers get for their smartphones and you can see that Apple is getting a pretty sweet deal for a possible high demand product.

But wait.. there’s more! AT&T will also be paying Apple an extra $100 dollars for new subscribers of AT&T that sign up at Apple stores.. yes.. that means Apple gets a sum total of $425 per iPhone IF one buys it and signs up inside an Apple store. Now THERE’S an excellent reason to have a retail front for Apple eh?

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: AT&T, Apple, iPhone 3G

Remember the Apple acquisition of P.A. Semi from a few months back? Many wondered what Apple was going to do with the company since it was clear that Apple wasn’t interested in the products but the engineers. Well, in a New York Times interview, Steve Jobs mentions in a brief sentence that “PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods.”.

That’s pretty big stuff folks. System-on-Chip designs have been making the waves recently - especially with recent introduction by the NVIDIA Tegra system. Even vendors like VIA and Intel are interested in this architecture with their respective Nano and Atom processor lineups (although they’re not quite there yet).

The advantages of System-on-Chip (or Computer-on-Chip) is pretty clear. You get to costs, shrink resulting form factors, and conceptualize many more design and product possibilities into the mix.

Now what’s interesting is the fact that Apple intends on designing their own chips instead of dealing with a processor vendor like Samsung or Intel. A custom designed processor makes a lot of sense for Apple since they get to control all aspects of processor development. They get to say what they need or what they don’t need in a processor for devices like the iPhone or the iPod.

It also makes sense from a financial standpoint for Apple. They effectively become a processor design shop. Instead of buying general purpose processors, they can design their own and simply outsource the fabbing of these processors to third party companies. Plus - the more they fit into a single piece of silicon, the lower the overall cost of the device over time.

Pretty smart move Apple.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Apple, P.A. Semi, iPhone, iPod

For those of you wondering what countries are going to be supported with the iPhone 3G release, here’s a list compiled by CNET’s News.com.

On July 11th, the following countries will have the iPhone 3G:

• Australia - Optus and Vodafone
• Austria - Orange and T-Mobile
• Belgium - Orange
• Canada - Rogers
• Denmark - TeliaSonera
• Finland - TeliaSonera
• France - Orange
• Germany - T-Mobile
• Hong Kong - Hutchinson Telecom
• Ireland - O2
• Italy - Telecom Italia and Vodafone
• Japan - Softbank
• Mexico - America Movil
• Netherlands - T-Mobile
• New Zealand - Vodafone
• Norway - TeliaSonera
• Portugal - Orange and Vodafone
• Spain - Telefonica
• Sweden - TeliaSonera
• United Kingdom - O2
• United States - AT&T
• Switzerland - Swisscom and Orange

Later on:

• Argentina - America Movil
• Botswana - Orange
• Brazil - America Movil
• Cameroon - Orange
• Central African Republic - Orange
• Chile - America Movi
• Colombia - America Movil
• Croatia
• Czech Republic - Vodafone
• Dominican Republic - Orange and America Movil
• Ecuador - America Movil
• Egypt - Orange
• El Salvador - America Movil
• Equatorial Guinea - Orange
• Estonia - TeliaSonera
• Guatemala - America Movil
• Guinea - Orange<
• Guinea-Bissau - Orange<
• Greece - Vodafone
• Honduras - America Movil
• Hungary
• India - Bharti Airtel
• Ivory Coast - Orange
• Jamaica - America Movil
• Jordan - Orange
• Kenya - Orange
• Latvia - TeliaSonera
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania - TeliaSonera
• Macau - Hutchinson Telecom
• Madagascar - Orange
• Mali - Orange
• Malta
• Mauritius - Orange
• Nicaragua - America Movil
• Niger - Orange
• Paraguay - America Movil
• Peru - America Movil
• Philippines - GlobeTelecom
• Poland
• Romania - Orange
• Senegal - Orange
• Singapore - SingTel
• Qatar
• Slovakia - Orange
• South Africa - Vodacom
• Turkey - Vodafone
• Uruguay - America Movil

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone 3G, Countries

Have new mobile phone (in this case the iPhone 3G), have new cases. Belkin has announced a slew of new iPhone cases so let’s just get to it shall we?

Formed Leather Case (F8Z338):

• Ultra-slim formed-leather construction
• Soft-microfiber lining
• Opening aligned with iPhone speaker
• Light and rigid protective layer
• Available in black and pink
• MSRP $29.99

Leather Sleeve with Clip (F8Z331)

• Complete protection with full access to widescreen touch controls and dock connector
• Allows charging while in case
• Belt clip included
• Camera-lens cutout
• Form-fitting leather construction with suede interior
• Suede interior
• Available in black and pink
• MSRP of $29.99

Clear Acrylic Case (F8Z329)

• Dockable, removable base cabinet
• Slim, form-fitting
• Full access to connectors, microphone, and touch screen
• Durable polycarbonate construction
• MSRP of $29.99

Slim-Fit Case (F8Z330)

• Durable nylon with soft-microfiber lining
• Slim profile
• Belt clip
• Light and rigid protective layer with shock-absorbent padding
• Opening aligned with iPhone speaker
• MSRP of $29.99

Silicone Sleeve (F8Z342)

• Textured and multicolored with custom-pattern exterior
• Access to all controls and dock connector
• Form-fitting construction
• Camera-lens cutout and speakerphone and microphone openings
• Allows charging while in case
• Available in black/infrared, gray/grapefruit, and pink/gray
• MSRP of $24.99

Leather Flip Folio (F8Z337)

• Leather construction
• Easy-access holster design with multipurpose pocket
• Microfiber inner-case lining with light and rigid protective layer
• Openings for earphones, docking port, speaker, camera, and proximity sensor
• Magnetic-closure design allows one-handed open/close of case
• MSRP of $34.99

Micro Grip (F8Z332)

• Textured, custom-pattern, rubber exterior for added grip
• Reflective
• Access to all controls and dock connector
• Form-fitting construction
• Camera-lens cutout and speakerphone and microphone openings
• Allows charging while in case
• Available in pink and black
• MSRP of $24.99

Eco-Conscious Formed Leather Case (F8Z336)

• Complete iPhone protection with direct access to widescreen touch controls and dock connector
• Allows charging while in case
• Camera-lens cutout
• Form-fitting leather construction with natural-felt interior
• MSRP of $34.99

Sport Armband Plus with FastFit (F8Z334)

• Features removable sleeve for iPhone, low-profile belt clip, and key pouch
• Lightweight, water-wicking materials
• Includes Cable Capsule for added headphone-cord management
• Complete iPhone protection
• MSRP of $29.99

ClearScreen(TM) Overlay - 3-Pack (F8Z233)

• Protects the active screen area of iPhone
• Crystal-clear film maintains LCD brightness
• Static-cling plastic for stay-put adhesion
• No interference with touch-screen responsiveness
• Free of sticky residue after removal
• MSRP of $12.99

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: iPhone 3G, Formed Leather Case, Leather Sleeve With Clip, Clear Acrylic Case, Slim Fit Case, Silicon Sleeve, Leather Flip Folio, Micro Grip, Eco Conscious Formed Leather Case, Sport Armband Plus with FastFit,

So the dust has settled.. the rumor mill has dissipated.. the world is still here in the same condition we woke up to this morning.. and yes.. the 3G iPhone is here.. well sort of.

As nearly all predicted, the new 3G iPhone was indeed announced during Steve Jobs keynote address at WWDC 2008 and as some predicted, it will indeed be a few weeks late.

So what’s the important stuff about the new phone? From a feature perspective, it’s the following:

3G support finally

• Support for HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) to download data over UMTS
• Simultaneous data and voice support - talk on the phone while surfing the web, checking email etc
• Still supports EDGE

Assisted GPS support

• Location finder via GPS, Wi-Fi, and Cellular towers
• View turn by turn directions or watch your progress with live GPS tracking

App Store support

• Works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi
• Applications in a variety of categories including games, business, education, entertainment, finance etc
• Browse categories, search for apps, look at recommendations
• Download and install apps directly on iPhone
• iPhone informs users of updates to apps

Microsoft Exchange support

• Supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for push email, calendar, and contacts
• Cisco IPSec VPN support
• Enhanced Wi-Fi security with WPA2 Enterprise and 802.1X authentication

Software Enhancements

• Full support of Office documents including Word, Excel and now PowerPoint
• Support for Apple iWorks
• Contacts seamlessly integrated into Maps, Safari, and SMS
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Landscape view for calculator with new scientific calculator features
• Photo geotagging support
• Enhanced email support (support for more file formats etc)
• Support for new Apple MobileMe (formerly .mac)
• Additional language support

Important Technical Specs.. (because we love those details)

• Measures 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 inches
• Weighs 4.7 oz
• 3.5 inch multi-touch display with 480 x 320 resolution at 163 dpi
• Stereo headphones with built-in microphone
• 8GB model in black
• 16GB model in black or white
• UMTS/HSDPA support (850/1900/2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE support (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Assisted GPS
• 2.0 megapixel camera
• Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Other tidbits:

Thanks to AppleInsider for these tidbits:

• No home activation for iPhone 3G. All new iPhones must be activated at either the Apple store or the AT&T store (10-12 minute process)
• Expect no online sales of the iPhone 3G which means you’ll need to go to a store to pick one up
• All iPhone 3G buyers will need to sign a new 2 year agreement but it will overwrite any existing contracts. Thus the new 2 year won’t tack onto any existing contract with AT&T
• AT&T will still be the exclusive provider of the iPhone in the U.S.
• Revenue sharing has been eliminated between AT&T and Apple - basically AT&T will no longer share a portion of monthly service revenue with Apple
• Unlimited iPhone 3G data plans for consumers will be available at $30 dollars a month with voice plans starting at $39.99 a month
• Unlimited 3G data plans for business users will be available at $45 dollars a month in addition to voice plan

The impact:

OK.. so let’s consider the impact of today’s announcement. It really does indeed boil down to the following:

1. 3G support

2. GPS support

3. Third party applications

4. Exchange support

(5. Price)

3G support was a foregone conclusion for the new iPhone - simply because there was no way the iPhone could continue to sell with EDGE support only. With many other handset manufacturers offering 3G support, the iPhone HAD to have it. It wasn’t an option at all. In fact, in order for Apple to penetrate foreign markets successfully, it would NEED to have 3G support - something that is much more prevalent in Asia and Europe.

Yet what does this ultimately mean for you and I? It means we, the average consumer, can finally enjoy the web in a very mobile way. We now have a device that truly is portable AND is enjoyable from a multimedia perspective. We can sit in a lounge somewhere and watch YouTube videos to our heart delight. We can surf the web without waiting for the download to finish - something that felt slower than a 56K modem sometimes. We can read our emails quickly and easily.. We can do so much more now in a quicker fashion.

GPS support built in. It seems that everyone is buzzing about location aware services.. yet I think this is also Apple’s way of saying - hey - we’re not going to necessarily be dependent upon Google’s cell phone tower/Wi-Fi method of tracking users.. and really - why should Apple? If Google is going to launch and offer Android, Apple better make sure they’re well protected from Google’s services. This is not to say that Google will turn around and back-stab Apple (I somehow can’t imagine Google doing this at all). Yet - it makes perfect business sense.

Plus - it opens the doors to many more third party application software opportunities. Imagine being able to launch a social networking tool that updates a website to your physical location (I know.. kinda scary at times but some people will enjoy it). Or take it a step further - have an app TELL you where your friends are… where your kids are.. etc etc.

So this leads me to the third party applications. This is where things really start becoming big for Apple. It’s all about the apps/content stupid. That’s what’s ringing in my head and it’s never so much closer to the truth than the iPhone. Up until now, we’ve had a closed system and now.. we’ve got a way to enjoy the iPhone even more so. While Apple is certainly great at developing ground breaking applications, one can also imagine the many more possibilities that third party app developers will do with the iPhone. The possibilities are seamingly endless and this will certainly drive growth for the platform. Think again - why did Microsoft ultimately succeed with Windows? Because they got it on as many systems as possible AND they fostered a huge developer community with tools and libraries. Apple can very well succeed following the same model.

Exchange support. While 3G support, app support, and GPS support are nice new features - the three elements together will not necessarily translate to many new customers. However, adding in business support in the form of Microsoft Exchange support and VPN support from Cisco changes the picture. The iPhone becomes a bona-fide competitor to other business oriented devices like the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile Smartphones. There will be still plenty of individuals who will want to work with a real QWERTY keyboard. Yet - there will be many who are willing to give that up if it means they can enjoy the iPhone AND enjoy their business email. This truly opens many MANY doors for Apple.

Finally, perhaps the biggest announcement of the day (at least to consumers) had nothing to do with the iPhone feature set as much as it had to do with the new price levels. We’ve been hearing for some time that the iPhone might be available at lower prices. We even heard that AT&T may offer the iPhone at a lower price than Apple (which would have suggested that AT&T was not going to be the exclusive carrier in the U.S. anymore). This of course didn’t quite happen. The lower prices did in fact happen but it wasn’t AT&T specific per se. Thus whether you purchased it from Apple or from AT&T, the iPhone will cost you $199 for the 8GB and $299 for the 16GB. This is MUCH more palatable than the original $499/$599 costs or even the current prices for the 8GB iPhone (which you can’t find anyhow).

Lowering the price will do several things for Apple:

• It will allow existing iPhone owners to feel OK about purchasing/upgrading to the new phone
• It will capture additional non-iPhone users who were put off by the initial price - this could range from a little to a lot of new users - depending on what $199 means to these individuals.

Taken together - all of these new features and price levels can only mean one thing for Apple. The new 3G iPhone will be another blockbuster device - but with one difference. It will be a blockbuster device NOT just in the U.S. but around the world.

Now we wait.. July 11th here we come..

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, 3G iPhone, iPhone

So the keynote is over and by now, all of you know that Apple has announced the new 3G iPhone which will come out on July 11th. For those of you who have not read other “live blogs” - here’s a summary of the major announcements from today’s keynote at WWDC 2008.

• Record 5200 attendees at the conference
• OS X 10.6 is confirmed at Project “Snow Leopard”
• 250,000+ people downloaded the iPhone SDK
• 25,000 developers applied and 4,000 developers admitted
• iPhone to feature Exchange support and Cisco VPN software
• Several iPhone app were shown off including:

• eBay Auctions
• Super Monkey Ball game
• Loopt
• TypePad for mobile bloggers
• MLB
• Associated Press application etc..

• It’s thinner
• Black plastic back
• Metal buttons on the side
• Same screen
• Camera
• Flush headphone jack
• Improved audio
• Faster web because of 3G support
• 300 hours of standby time, 10 hours of talk time on 2G, 5 hours of talk time on 3G, 5-6 hours for web browsing, 7 hours for video, 24 hours for audio
• GPS receiver
• Location services will use both cell towers and GPS
• Will be available to 70 countries around the world
• $199 for 8GB, $299 for 16GB
• There will also be a white model
• Available starting on July 11th with 22 countries getting the 3G iPhone first

Technorati Tags: Apple, WWDC 2008, Steve Jobs, Summary