iPhone4 vs. HTC Evo

I do love Apple and Google, and I refuse to take sides. But as a confirmed Mac user (at work and at home) with a much-loved Android phone from T-Mobile, I found this video to be hilarious. (Warning: If you're offended by off-color language, this video might not be for you.)

Gotta Side with Apple vs. Gawker

Once again, Jeff Bercovici at Daily Finance has it right: Apple could sue the pants off Gawker for what looks like obfuscation over the company's use of the "lost" prototype iPhone. I know the world is full of people whose morality goes no deeper than "finders keepers," but Bercovici's analysis and investigation of what really happened are pretty convincing.

Worth a read.

Calling Star Blazers Fans -- iPhone App for Yamato Movie Released

Fanboy has some pix and a step-by-step guide to the new iPhone app promoting the recent animated Yamato movie (not, apparently, to be confused with the upcoming live-action Yamato movie, though I was initially confused).

Uh, what about us Nexus One (and other Android) users?

Nexus One Sales Disappoint, but Sales Expansion Continues: Next Stop, Wal-Mart

Listening to public radio news last night, I heard a reporter mention that Google's Nexus One smartphone, thought by some to be a potential "iPhone killer," had sold only 20,000 units in its first week. Compare that with 1.6 million in sales of the iPhone 3GS in its first week, and you might expect Google and HTC executives to be updating their resumes.

But I think you'd be wrong. (For one thing, every single Google employee has a personal net worth north of $4.6 billion, so they're just in the office out of crazy devotion anyway.) Seriously, though, as the news report pointed out, Nexus One has only been available through a Google online store so far, and many (most?) people like to see and touch a product before they buy it, especially if it's as expensive as the unlocked version of Nexus One: more than $500.

Now comes reports that Nexus One will be sold soon from Wal-Mart, though whether it'll only be through Wal-Mart's web site or in its stores is not yet clear. Allegedly, the phone will be sold with a multi-year contract to various wireless carriers. If true, this is a smart move by Google and Wal-Mart. It'd be really smart if it will in fact be available in stores, so potential buyers can get that touch-feel experience.

As I've noted here before, I am one of the early purchasers of the Nexus One, and I'm dearly in love with it. As I lay on the couch this past weekend recovering from a very bad cold that had turned my voice into a sub-Harvey Fierstein gravel, I discovered that I could stop typing my text messages. Instead, I just select the microphone option, speak my response, and hit Send. Even with my voice nearly unrecognizable by me, the service worked perfectly with everything I said. I've been an annoying nerd evangelist around the office this week, showing off this feature to people (though I'm happy to say my voice and health have pretty much returned to normal). That's just one of the features of this beautiful new phone that I like so much.

Ultimately, I neither know nor care if Nexus One is an "iPhone killer." The iPhone's a great product, and Apple deserves every bit of success they've had with it. (Arguably, they could have had more; I would have an iPhone if they hadn't restricted it to AT&T since it came out. Thus did Steve Jobs deliver me into the arms of Google.) Just as Nexus One integrates with Google's suite of online applications, iPhone integrates with Apple's premium suite of hardware and OS. Both are smart strategies; both have given us quality smart phones.

Google's Nexus One, Redux: More of the Same, and Why That's Good

About nine or ten years ago, I was an editor at Internet World magazine, working in cool metallic modern cubicles in Manhattan, surrounded by a number of great editors and designers who were, frankly, smarter than I was. It was a great place to be to learn more about all of the new technology and online trends that were happening or about to happen. One such trend that caught my attention and was a continuing irritant to me was the announcement every so often of a new device. A PDA to do this. A handheld to do that. A cell phone to do something else.

I thought at the time, I don't want to carry one device for my schedule, one device for calling my friends, another device for getting mapping directions, and another device for playing games. Put them all (and more) on one device, and then it becomes magic. Then I don't have to carry around two or three or four different stupid devices, with the inherent danger of breaking or losing one of them. (Which I would; I'm a klutz. My main impetus for getting contact lenses was that I broke my glasses too easily.)

Lo and behold, Steve Jobs was reading my thoughts -- in an entirely non-remunerative sort of way, alas -- and Apple eventually produced the game-changing iPhone. It's a beautiful product, and it revolutionized the cellphone industry. I didn't get one, because Jobs did something else he likes to do, which is to keep things very close to him, so you couldn't get an iPhone in the United States unless you were an AT&T customer. Since I was already happy with T-Mobile, and I knew the hazards of other cell phone companies, I decided to wait.

Eventually along came the G1 smartphone, which T-Mobile sold. And now we have the Google Nexus One, which T-Mobile can't sell but does serve, and I am one squeeky happy customer. But that's more than you needed to know.

However, not all people need or want the same thing. My webmaster was telling me earlier today about his choices. He moved away from an iPhone this year to a separate phone and PDA. His reason was that he didn't want to have all of his important functions on one device, which, if destroyed or disabled, would render him helpless with his work and private lives. As his colleague, I was impressed with his reasoning, even if I was saddened that I couldn't effectively evangelize for the Nexus One.

I just found it interesting that there are good reasons out there to go in the opposite direction from the one I was requiring of the handheld device industry.

One device, many uses still seems like the way to go. But technology companies would be missing a market opportunity if they were purely lemmings and didn't pay attention to customers with other needs.

(But really, but the Google Nexus One. You'll love it.)