• Last week, news of the new news leaks of Nokia N800</a>, the successor to my Nokia 770 internet tablet, was leaked. Surprisingly, it’s available for purchase immediately. Nice job, Nokia. (I start thinking about eBaying my 770.)
  • Today, Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple iPhone. The less-than-a-week-old Nokia N800 is left in the dust. (My 770 will be on eBay shortly.)
    • The iPhone has instantly revolutionized the mobile phone industry, the mobile music device industry, and the mobile computer/pda/tablet industry. And, it’ll take a little while longer to realize it, but it’s also finally started the redefinition of the term “computer”. It’ll be interesting to see where the language goes. My vote is that the term “computer” falls into disuse, and we end up having “laptops”, “desktops”, and “mobiles”.
    • If you’re at all interested in business, marketing, advertising, public speaking, sales, showmanship, charisma, or mass hysteria, it’s worth watching Steve Jobs introduce the iPhone.
    • The iPhone is shockingly good. Even if, for whatever reason, they never even sold one, it would still be shockingly good – even if it were just a concept, the concept is so far advanced beyond the current state of the art of “smart” phones, “music” phones, and just plain old regular phones, that I’m embarrassed for every single employee of RIM, Palm, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, and anyone else that makes phones. Check this out:
      Yahoo_Finance_Chart_post_iPhone.png
      (via the Daring Fireball Linked List)
      ‘Nuff said.
    • Apple changed their official name from “Apple Computer, Inc.” to “Apple, Inc.” Eh. I understand why they did it, marketing, perception stuff. But it’s not a particularly inspired or interesting change. I mean, everyone already calls them Apple anyway. Why does this matter? Because the iPhone isn’t a computer? Er, actually, it is. Because “Joe Public” thinks of a computer as a beige box with a big screen and a Windows license? Because Apple doesn’t want to be constrained by being lumped as a “computer manufacturer”. Whatever. Who cares? Next!
    • I even feel a little bad for Nokia. (But only a little.) They just released the N800, and it’s now instantly obsolete. They were caught with their pants down. Hey, not everyone can be the winner! Nokia gets a gold star for good intentions; the N800 was definitely a step in the right direction – but ultimately too little, too late.
      • Or, just maybe, too little, too soon. I’m still on board with Nokia’s vision of a system of very small devices that work seamlessly together as a cohesive whole. That’s a large chunk of the vision behind the 770 and the N800. But it seems that the technology just isn’t ready – and neither is the market. Ultimately, that vision wasn’t realistic for 2006 or 2007. It’s the iPhone that’s going to fundamentally change the mobile devices industry.
  • Jobs also revealed the TV, a set-top box which makes it easy to watch movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store and your computers. I pre-ordered mine already.
    • In addition to the current wireless standard, 802.11g, the TV also supports other flavors of WiFi: b, for backwards compatibility; a, for sideways compatibility; and n, for forwards compatibility. This new flavor, n, is supposed to be faster and more reliable with a longer range. The improved speed is the key point: if you want to send HD video from a computer to the TV wirelessly, you need a really fast network. g’s real-world max of 30-40 mbps just won’t cut it.
    • Because few people currently have 802.11n networks, and because they were due for an update, Apple’s Airport Extreme wireless networking base station/router has been updated to support the new standard. And, surprise surprise, it turns out that Apple’s been quietly shipping n-capable computers for a while now: all Core 2 Duo and Xeon Macs are n-capable, they’ll just need a minor software update to enable the capability. Sneaky sneaky!
    • Use a Core (1) Duo Mac, like my MacBook Pro? Want 802.11n? Too bad! Us early adopters, we know the risks. I say if we can’t find a 802.11n ExpressCard, then we should turn in our geek creds anyway.
  • Last week I bought a great new water bottle, the Sigg Sport Active Touch. Yeah, $20 is a bit pricey for a reusable bottle. But what can I say – I know what I want, and I want it now, I want you, ’cause I’m Mr. Vain. Uh, what? No, I mean – I really needed to start drinking more water, and of course I can’t just buy a $0.99 acrylic cup can I? Reuse an Evian bottle? No way! I need the perfect bottle, one which I can use at work, at home, on the bike, in between, keep in my backpack. One which won’t change the taste of the water. One which is light yet strong. The Sigg filled the bill, in every way. One note: it’s not insulated, so if you like your water to stay really cold, or if you prefer your hands to not be really cold, you may be better off with an insulated bottle. (Although an insulating sleeve might do the job.) Hm, too bad I lost it already. Well, it was good while it lasted. Next!
  • I spent 65 minutes at the New York DMV today. Why? Stay tuned!
  • If you care at all about having a life, think long and hard before picking up that Wii remote and starting a game of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Seriously: Elina gave me a copy for Hanukkah, and it’s basically sucked up 90% of my at-home awake time. I’m up to 26 hours of game time. Seriously. Even now, as I type this, my fingers are itching for the sweet, sweet release of that white plastic, those bleary-eyed hours of quest after puzzle after challenge after adventure. Just be careful, is all I’m saying. Think before you rip open that shrinkwrap. Think.

Uh, I gotta go… just for a few minutes, really. Well… probably. Hopefully. Oh, leave me alone already, can’t you see I’m in the middle of something here? What? Yeah, so what if it is just a game? I said I’m busy!

Oh… crap. Sorry.

See? What did I tell you?