Motorola Xoom tablet

The legions of CES tablet wannabes can give up now: Motorola just killed it with their much-rumored Xoom tablet, an iPad-sized black slab whose beauty is within, in its Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS. Designed by Google from the ground-up with touchscreen tablets in mind, it's the first software experience that looks like it can go toe-to-toe with Apple's iOS.

There weren't any fully working models for us to play with here at Motorola's press event, but several hardware-final tablets were on hand playing demo videos of Honeycomb's interface and features

Specs wise, the Xoom sports a 10.1-inch 1280x800 screen, Verizon 3G onboard (which is actually upgradeable to 4G LTE later in the year), 1080p HD video playback and streaming, front and rear cameras for videochatting, and an SD card slot for additional storage.

New Games for iPhone

The technology behind hit videogames such as “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and “Gears of War 3″ is coming to iPhone and iPad game developers this week, in another sign that mobile gaming is booming on Apple’s platforms.

Epic Games is planning to release an updated version of its game-development tools, known as the Unreal Development Kit, to the public Thursday. The kit, which is free to download, will include new tools to create high-quality graphics and animations on iOS, effectively simplifying and speeding up the development processes for games. Epic doesn’t charge license fees to tinker with the kit nor to make free games. But, if developers want to sell their apps, they have to pay a $99 licensing fee and 25% royalties after the first $5,000 in sales.
“Apple’s App Store is the most vibrant market for mobile gaming,” said Epic co-founder Mark Rein. “If you’re going to make a game for a mobile device, and you want to make the most money, you’re nuts not to make it for iOS.”
Over the past few years, Apple has added technologies to improve the visual capabilities of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It also has marketed games heavily in both advertising campaigns and in its stores. The Cupertino, Calif.-based electronics maker also hired prominent videogame maker Graeme Devine last year to help manage relationships with top game makers, such as Epic. Devine recently left Apple to create his own games for the company’s mobile devices.
Apple has sold more than 125 million devices using its iOS operating system, strongly competing against the Nintendo DS, which has shipped roughly 135 million units, and the PlayStation Portable, which has sold more than 62 million units.
The results of building on the Apple platform have been good so far for Epic, too.
The company recently released “Infinity Blade,” a fighting game that Mr. Rein said could help usher more games with high-end graphics to iOS. Industry pundits have already pegged Infinity Blade’s sales at more than $1.5 million in its first four days on the market. Apple’s Game Center social network lists more than 300,000 users playing the game at $5.99 a pop.

The best mobile devices for business and personal use

Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from InfoWorld.com.

I'm confident that 2010 will go down as the year that personal and professional computing officially merged, as the iPhone finally knocked down the wall that had kept the two separate. Sure, working at home on personal computers had already put holes in the structure, but it was the iPhone that took the barrier out completely.
What is the best mobile device for the new, integrated world? There are many, many options available from Apple, Research in Motion, and Hewlett-Packard's Palm division, as well as Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 and Google's Android hardware partners.

Best touchscreen smartphone: Apple iPhone 4

InfoWorld has tested the iPhone against every business-capable competitor, and no one has come close. The iPhone excels at apps of all sorts, as well as Web surfing, email and other messaging, and media presentation (music, movies, TV, books, and so on). With iOS 4, it offers business-class security and management capabilities, breaking the BlackBerry's stranglehold in this arena. Only the defunct Windows Mobile joins iOS and BlackBerry OS as business-class.

The iPhone's use of iTunes, though disliked by IT, also ensures an easily accessible backup of all apps, media, and even document files. These backups can even be encrypted to comply with government regulations on managing personal information.

The iPhone 4 is not perfect. Its weakest aspect is its phone; users regularly complain of dropped calls and poor audio. It's also tied in the United States to the worst network (AT&T's). Both weaknesses ultimately need to change, and they're barriers for many people to buying an iPhone, as is the lack of a model with a physical keyboard. But no other device comes close to the iPhone 4 when it comes to its ability to serve as a pocket computer—the "smart" in "smartphone."

Runner up: If the AT&T tie-in or phone-quality issues prevent you from going for an iPhone 4, our recommended touch-only runner-up is the HTC Droid Incredible. Note that the device runs Android OS 2.2, which means the Incredible less secure than the iPhone, and it may not be allowed onto many corporate networks—or at least not without a third-party software solution such as NitroDesk TouchDown or Good for Enterprise.

Best keyboard smartphone: RIM BlackBerry Torch

The BlackBerry has long been the de facto smartphone standard, thanks to its messaging capabilities. Many executives use the BlackBerry as their primary device for conducting business via email, but RIM's devices have not been good with apps, the Web, or media presentation. The company's first attempt, the Storm, was a poorly designed iPhone clone, and the Storm 2 was little better.
However, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 is not like a previous BlackBerry—well, it is and it isn't.For messaging, the Torch works very much like a BlackBerry Bold—the executive's BlackBerry of choice—which makes it immediately comfortable for longtime BlackBerry users. Its slideout keyboard is essentially the same as the Bold's, so it's easy to type with.

Whereas Web browsing was the Achilles' heel of previous BlackBerrys, the Torch's new browser is thoroughly modern, displaying the Web in its full glory. And the Torch's touchscreen is both large enough and touch-responsive enough to handle the Web and iPhone-style apps well. At this point, there are few BlackBerry apps available, and many websites assume that the Torch is as Web-crippled as previous models, so they often autosubstitute a limited WAP version. As Torch adoption grows, both of these external limits should fade.

Although the Torch is tied to AT&T in the United States, that exclusivity will end soon, and you can expect models from all the major carriers this winter.

In a nutshell, the BlackBerry Torch is a good merger of the traditional BlackBerry messaging and security strengths with the modern touch, app, and Web capabilities pioneered by the iPhone.

Runner up: If the BlackBerry Torch feels too old-school for you, our runner-up for a physical-keyboard phone is the Motorola Droid 2. Note that, like the Droid Incredible, the Droid 2 runs Android OS 2.2, which means it's less secure than the iPhone and may not be allowed onto many corporate networks without third-party protection.

Best tablet: Apple iPad

A year ago, some pundits were questioning the viability of the then-unreleased iPad. But it's created a whole new market and proved to be a hit among consumers and businesses alike.

There's a reason for its success: The iPad is an amazingly good device, and one that can act as a surrogate laptop much of the time. Its large screen is quite good for desktop-like Web browsing, as well as for running productivity apps, playing movies, and working with multiple email accounts. With hardware attachments, it can act as a presentation device or pull in photos from digital cameras, for example. Additionally, it's very portable, thanks to its light weight (1.5 pounds) and long battery life (10 to 11 hours is typical).

Plus, because of the iPad's use of iOS 4 and native support for Microsoft Exchange policies, it can be securely used in most businesses.

The iPad is not perfect. Its Safari browser, for example, doesn't work well with many applications-oriented websites such as Google Docs and Microsoft SharePoint, but it is amazingly capable for a first-generation product. None of the competing Android tablets comes close to the iPad in terms of capability or performance. The closest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, is a weak imitation.

Of course, like the iPhone, 3G-capable iPad is tied to AT&T, whose network is iffy in several cities, such as New York and San Francisco. But AT&T doesn't require a long-term commitment to use its 3G data service with the iPad—you sign up for a month at a time. Apple also offers models without 3G radios (all models have Wi-Fi).

A new iPad this spring will all but certainly add front and rear cameras. It will probably be a bit thinner and perhaps faster, so you may want to wait. But today's model is a joy to use, and it's handy to boot. It's also likely to benefit from further software updates—Apple is very good about ensuring that OS updates run on at least two previous generations of its hardware.

Runner up: If for some reason the iPad doesn't appeal to you, we have no runner-up options. It's an iPad or nothing.

Expect new choices in the new year

In 2010, the Android platform took off, quickly rivaling the iPhone in popularity. RIM finally delivered its first viable iPhone competitor, but has yet to follow up with other models or bring the new BlackBerry OS to its previous hits, the Bold and Curve. I expect Android to get even more competitive in 2011—and perhaps start filling some of its business security gaps. We should also see, this spring, the first tablets running a version of Android. I also expect RIM to make a serious effort with its forthcoming PlayBook tablet and perhaps build on the Torch's momentum with smartphone upgrades.

Also in 2010, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 crashed and burned, while Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Palm put the struggling WebOS in deep freeze. On the tablet front, Hewlett-Packard's Windows 7-based Slate tablet proved to be more of a demonstration product than a serious product commitment. Either or both of these companies may get mobile religion in 2011—and may even deliver on it. Nokia's smartphone strategy is in disarray, and it's unlikely to be a serious option in 2011—but you can never know for certain.

You can be sure that Apple will continue to put distance between itself and its competitors with new versions of the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Google's Android has the best shot at keeping up.
But that's next year. For now, if you need a mobile device, you know what to get.

First Apple OS X Leopard Reviews by The Mainstream (Verdict: It's Good)

Three reviews are in from USA Today, WSJ and NYT and they're all positive (though some more positive than others). That's Mossberg's video, above, but the rest of the reviews are summarized below.

USA Today Review: Ed Baig says it "hits all the right spots"—a obvious pun, but it gets right to the heart of his review. He continues to say that OS X is superior to Windows (especially with the latest iteration), but points out the Boot Camp feature for people who need both. Upgrading for him was super easy, as was using Time Machine for backing up or migrating files, the iChat video chat/theater, the upgraded Mail.app, and the improved desktop, Finder (file browser), and .Mac features. It reads like a shortened Leopard feature checklist with the praise preceding or following each item, which shows how much of a thumbs up Baig is giving the new OS.
Mossberg WSJ Review: After his headline ("Leopard: Faster, Easier Than Vista") and on a short history tour of Apple as a company, Mossberg moves on to say that while Leopard is good, it's evolutionary, and not revolutionary—but still manages to keep Apple's "advantage over Windows". He does have some gripes. He says the menubar is translucent (it's actually not, in the final version), the icons are "dull and flat and less atractive than Vista's" (we disagree), Time Machine, although described as "sexy", has limited backup locations. And that none of Apple's 300 new features are a major breakthrough. However, Leopard doesn't have any of the upgrade problems (when upgrading from Tiger) that Vista had from XP. Mossberg then goes into feature list mode, but ends by saying that Leopard isn't a must-have, it just adds a lot of value on an existing machine.

Pogue's NYT Review: After spending half the first page (and 1/4 of the whole piece) talking about how Time Machine works, Pogue moves on to Spaces, parental controls, Boot Camp, screen sharing, and iChat upgrades. Although backup features and virtual desktops have been around for a while, Pogue says the point of Leopard is that Apple takes all those apps, improves on them, and integrates them well into the OS. But he too has complaints.

Stacks are a bit awkward and inconsistent, see through menus are hard to see (he may be using an old version because the final version looks fine), as well as occasional glitches in Spaces and program switching. Final thoughts: it's polished and offers few disappointments. Looks like a buy from Pogue.

Apple shipped 1,119,000 iPhones in Q4 2007

Sure, Apple's profitability and viability is based on any number of factors, but there's one figure that analysts have been training their calculators on for months that has finally seen the light of day: Apple sold 1,119,000 iPhones in Q4 2007, which ended on September 29th, bringing the grand total to 1,389,000 since launch. That might meet or miss your expectations, but other sales bringing a smile to Jobs' face and a cha-ching to his wallet include a 34% growth in Mac sales year to year and a 17% growth in iPods year to year -- with 10.2 million iPods sold last quarter. The earnings call hasn't started just yet, so hopefully we'll get a few more juicy details on how much AT&T is chipping in to the bottom line these days.