D17’s blog

Iphone 3Gs announcement review – ups and downs

June 15th, 2009

So last week Apple announced their new model Iphone, called the iPhone 3Gs. This phone will of course be running iPhone OS 3.0. I already covered the announcements of iPhone OS 3.0 back in march, let’s now review the whole package of the new hardware and software. iPhone 3G or even iPhone 1.0 users can upgrade their phone starting jun 17th, but will miss out on some of the features of the 3Gs that involve different hardware.

Hottest newest features of 3Gs:

better camera
faster CPU and more memory
better battery life (both by improved hardware and software)
video recording and editing
voice control

The coolets thing about iPhone OS3.0:

Cut-copy-paste
MMS (but who uses this anymore?)
Push notification (no background processes though, but workable other solution)
Spotlight search on your Iphone
Thethering (using your phone as a modem for your computer)

So what about disappointments with the new iPhone 3Gs:

Evolution not revolution: faster? better camera? video? No brainers I’d say. BTW camera is only 3 MP, in contrast the 2 year old N95 already had a 5 MP camera.
In majority of countries the iPhone 3Gs is only sold together with a rate plan from the local telco (AT&T in USA, T-mobile in the Netherlands). So you have to agree to a 2 year contract to get your hands on an 3Gs, even if you already have an iPhone. Guess I will be going down to Belgium, where by law this practice is forbidden and phones have to be available also for sale without a contract. Expect to pay 600-700 Euro for a phone. Yes, a lot of money.
Tethering works on the phone, but the telco may not allow it. Why? Because they are not ready yet, network wise. And of course they sell separate 3G receivers for computers with a big fat contract.
Standard apps are the same. Yes landschape keyboard message typing, but no major upgrades
No development phones . So 1. you have to get a contract to get a phone, and 2. no special phones with you can play around with, like restoring an OS image any moment you want to. In contrast, for Android there is a special Dev phone, no lock and completely customizable. You can restore specific OS images, or even toy with the OS and it’s system’s libraries if you want to. Fear of misuse of development phones has been cited to be the reason for Apple not to put out developer phones. I’d say make them as ugly as the Android dev g1, and you don’t have a problem. And sell only a limited number to registered developers (only 50.000 world wide in March)
Still missing: Flash!

Overall verdict: better than the previous model, but no big surprises. Let’s see what cool Android devices will show up, so that real competition arises.

Google showing energy efficient data center design

April 10th, 2009

A little dirty secret in the computer industry is that while computers and particularly CPU’s have gotten more powerful, likewise their power consumption has gone up dramatically. Also, for the server business heat release ergo cooling systems have become much more expensive, taking up as much as 40-50 % of all energy uses inside data centers. Combine this with web 2.0 business models, that often assume millions of users with a low ARPU (average revenue per user), and it becomes clear that business wise you have to make sure your power consumption is kept as low as possible. And of course, with global warming and green energy being a major issue these days you have another reason to become aware of your power consumption.

Google has been very secretive of their server and data center design. They own dozens of data centers around the world, trying to get as close as possible to the end user while reducing reliance on a limited set of data center and network backbones. Last week more details were released about their home grown server design. Keywords: completely Google custom, standard cheap components, all power is 12 Volt, on board battery instead of shared UPS usage. Also they showed their design of data centers, which is very interesting. Keywords: shipping containers as standard unit filled with servers within the data center, highly optimised air conditioning and efficient water usage.

Iphone OS 3.0 announced

March 18th, 2009

Yesterday Apple held meeting to announce the new upcoming version of their Iphone OS, version 3 (we’re now at 2.2.1), to be released somewhere this summer. Already days ahead was a buzz going on, with lot’s of people making lists of new features they thought/wished were added to the already popular platform.

Major awaited features were cut/copy-paste, Flash, background processes, MMS, tethering (using your phone as a modem to your laptop), wireless keyboards, better app organisation

Majority of new features are indeed implemented. Cut/copy-past is there in a nice fashion as is MMS and tethering. Flash is still at large, Adobe and Apple are trying their best to solve the technical issues. Background processes are not there, but instead Apple opted for Push notifications. This will allow a service to push a short message (alert, text, audio) to an application without the application being running. Wireless keyboards and better app organisation is still missing.

What is also interesting is the new payment models. Now, you could only charge per download. Added to this will be 3 new models: subscription to apps, purchase of additional content (great for media companies) and purchase of additional levels (great for gaming apps). This means you can also purchase new things from within the apps.

What is most interesting to me? The push notification! I am working together with partners to create a messaging solution with a big focus on mobile. As third party apps, as opposed to the standard Mail.app on the Iphone, cannot run in the background with 2.0 it’s quite difficult to go head to head with Mail.app. Push notification will change that. As this services goes through Apple services, I am quite curious what they will charge though.

Other new features that were not so much anticipated are Search (through Spotlight), landscape keyboard, Google Maps libraries for third party apps.

I downloaded the beta SDK already, but unfortunately Apple doesn’t allow any disclosure of information or screenshots:( I honoustly hope they don’t make the mistake that they made with 2.0 again, to lift this NDA so late that no publisher dares to invest in publishing an Iphone 3.0 development book. Go over to Crunchgear to see some screenshots (while it lasts).

OS 3.0 will be available this summer, and downloadable for current Iphone and Ipod touch users (Ipod users have to pay 10 USD). So you don’t have to get a new phone to be able to run 3.0, which is great. Big question: at what speed will users upgrade their OS, and will any (major) problems arise.

You can watch the full presentation here at the Apple site.

Battle of mobile platforms is taking off

January 11th, 2009

After Apple launched the Iphone 3G last summer, T-mobile will begin rolling out the Android platform in The Netherlands. Within weeks the HTC G1 will be available (the phone has been out in the USA since October and in the UK since November). And now, to the surprise of the whole industry Palm made a strong comeback with the Palm Pre, running their brand new OS called webOs. It has been announced at CES just last week, but yet has to get reviews and into the market.

So, it seems that we have at least 2 strong players with an outsider (Palm) ready to bring mobile computing to the next level, and really change that thing in our pockets and hands into a computer with a small screen instead of just an apparatus to call and text with. It’s not about that anymore, it’s about all the applications that you can run on.

What will determine the success of these platforms?

user experience: usability, seamless integration, slick looks: Apple with having one device, one manufacturer has controls hardware, OS, store has created a complete package with eco-system around it. And of course it’s experience with good user interfaces and design for Mac and Ipod has given it a head start. Android is not a complete deal but a platform, that hardware manufactures have to run on their phones that will come in many shapes and forms.
good apps that can easily be purchased:
- developer support: good language and good tooling. Apple offers Objective-C with a number of UI libraries, together with their IDE Xcode. Android is for 95 % Java, that is supported by Eclipse plugins. This means that all those Java developers out that can start creating Android apps in no time, while much less Objective-C developers are out there. Learning Objective-C and XCode will take some time for developers from other platforms.
- easy app stores to browse, look, buy and download applications. Apple’s app store has already proved to be a success. Android’s app store has yet to kick in. Maybe multiple app stores will become available, that certainly will be more open but also more fragmented than Apple’s.
- the creation of an ecosystem that makes it profitable for developers to create apps for a platform is crucial for turning phones into a mobile computing platform. Until now the Apple app store has been a success, offering free and paid apps. Selling an app is just submitting the app to the store, although Apple has rejected apps for unclear reasons. This means that you do not know if your investment will make any money untill you submit the app, which is definitely a bad thing. Also installation of apps should not be limited by telco settings or anything.
good availability of devices. For now Apple has chosen to sell the Iphone in most countries only together with a subscription plan with a mobile operator. For instance, if you are with Vodafone.nl but want an Iphone, you’re stuck. Of course the device is expensive (you can get it simlock free in Belgium for 650-700 EUR), but why not let users buy it simlock free? Android devices when on the market will soon be available in all kind of forms, and with or without subscription packages.
pricing: Apple is and will always be a brand that focuses on quality and less on competing on price. Android is open source and free, so let’s see if any manufacturer will create a cheap but powerful Android phone.

And oh yeah, where are the mobile manufacturers? Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson? Motorola apparently is getting ready to move over to Android. Nokia still hangs on to Symbian, but that OS never got the leverage Iphone OS and Android seem to get. It will take a while though before Nokia admits that Symbian is dead, and that is has to switch over. So apparently it took computer companies to move over to the mobile industry to really make phones a success as a computing platform. Let’s hope they do not turn Android into a fragmented market that brings no value to end users and developers.

I got a Macbook!

November 27th, 2008

OK, I have to admit: being in charge of my own finances and knowing the difference between buying hardware as a company compared to buying stuff as a private person has turned me into a person that eh well is slightly more likely to buy stuff:). So only a month after getting my Asus EEE I got an Apple Macbook. Yihay!

So why? Well, not to replace my Dell XPS machine, which has been my faithful companion for the last 8 months I have worked as a freelancer. With 4 GB memory it runs Vista just fine. No, for 2 reasons I wanted to get a Mac: first, to be able to test my web sites on a Mac, as more and more users have Macs. Second, to be able to develop Iphone apps. As mobility is important to me, a laptop was a natural choice. A 15 inch Macbook pro would have been a more productive option, but equally more expensive. So I settled for a Macbook 13 inch.

So what is my first impression? I never owed a Mac, but worked quite a lot with Macs like Apple Classic at the universities I studied. So I have some experience with them, but not too much recently. So getting to know the specifics of Mac OS X will get some time. For instance I am used to type blindly, so doing Apple-C instead of Ctrl-C etc. will take some time. Also Ctrl-Home doesn’t really seem to have a Mac equivalent. Of course operating the new trackpad will take to get used to, but is already fun. Increasing the font size by just swiping two fingers is a breeze, haven’t tried apps that allow rotating images yet. Resize/minimize/maximize buttons are located at the left top hand corner, not right as on Windows. And maximizing works differently.

Of course under the hood is a real Unix (FreeBSD) operating system, so within 15 minutes I was having a go at the terminal. Quite a relief to type in a command like locate java | grep -c class. There is a lot preinstalled, like Java, and even Maven (although not the version I need). A root account you need to activate first, but after that you can change what you want, su-ing to root first.

What does it look like? Well perfect of course, it’s Apple. The aluminum case is perfect, and so is the LED screen. Quite sharp, but a bit shiny/reflective.

How does it perform? Pretty good, Eclipse runs just fine with 2 Gb of memory. Hard drive is not too fast, but still pretty fast. But what is really remarkable to me is battery life: 4-5 hours. My XPS does 1-1.5 hours, what a difference. I don’t know if it is because the laptop is so efficient or the battery is so good, but it is impressive. Also it is pretty cool, perfect to have this machine on your lap.

Overall, I am quite happy with my machine. I downloaded the Iphone SDK and am anxiously awaiting my Iphone. Will be a lot of fun!

More reviews:

http://gizmodo.com/5063492/macbook-and-macbook-pro-dual-review

http://online.wsj.com/video/mossberg-reviews-new-macbook/5143CE13-603E-438B-8E39-5FDE666726E3.html

http://www.obsessable.com/news/2008/10/16/warhammer-online-on-a-macbook-2008-running-xp/

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Tags: Apple, Macbook, Macbook 13 inch
Posted in hardware | No Comments »

Asus EEE PC 900 review from the trenches

October 19th, 2008

I like being connected at a conference, for instance to watch the twitter flow during presentations. I wanted something in between my Dell XPS 1530 laptop and Nokia N95 mobile phone, so I was thinking about a socalled netbook. After some research, I bought an Asus Eee PC 900. This netbook that practically defined this category is a 9 inch Linux based laptop with a screen at 1024 x 600. It has a 20 GB SSD disk and 1 GB memory. I took it to the test at Future of Webapps conference in London a couple of weeks ago. There have been some reviews around, but I wanted to share with you my personal experience.

First my requirements for a netbook:

dispensable: so cheap and not containing any vital information (which rules out bringing my main laptop)
light: easy to carry around
proper keyboard: typing long messages on a N95 phone becomes difficult after some time..
Standard browser installed that can show web sites in a normal way.
Good Wifi
Good battery life

So how does the EEE hold up in practice?:

Dispensable: at 300 euro’s yes I say it is dispensable, and as it is not my main laptop I do not store important data on it. That’s a yes
Light: less than a kilo, so yes. Of course it can’t fit in a pocket, but that should speak for itself
Proper keyboard: party. Yes it has to fit a 9 inch netbook, so of course it is smaller than a normal keyboard. I am used to typing blind with 10 fingers, well I can’t on this machine. Although I have pretty small fingers that is not possible, so I have to type with 4 fingers, and look a lot at the keyboard. That’s a yes/no
Standard browser: yes. It has Firefox 3 installed with Flash.
Good wifi: well, I can’t connect it to Airport networks. And although everybody was suffering from less-than-perfect wifi at the Excel convention center, my machine seems to be outperformed by others. That’s a yes/no
Good battery life: at 3 hours it’s not bad, but also not excellent. The adapter is not heavy and the cord is long enough though.

Overall rating: a 7 out of 10. It’s dirt cheap, light and runs Firefox in a pretty normal resolution. Typing you have to get used to though, and the wifi could be better. Performance is ok, although Youtube videos are not as smooth on a real machine. Normal browsing performance is perfect. It has more than enough input/output like USB and VGA, for me the webcam wasn’t necessary.

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Tags: asus eee, netbook, review
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New site live on d17.nl

August 3rd, 2008

As you might have noted, this blog has a new design since a week or 2. Not the standard Wordpress layout, but a funky yet tasteful design. Took me about 4 hours to get this done.

Of course I didn’t do the visual design myself. The design of the blog is inspired by the design for my corporate web site that I was working on lately. This great work was done by my friend Johan van der Woude from Studio Joyo. So last week I finished everything, and my D17.nl corporate web site as officially been launched. After running my freelance business for 5 months with a web site place holder (formally know as Under Construction page), now finally I have a decent web site. The timing was good, as quite recently my first freelance project went live, www.kpnglasvezel.nl. It’s a site by the biggest telco in the Netherlands KPN supporting their new product, fiber connections at home.

So what’s that corporate web site about? not that much, just shows you the projects I have finished (not so many yet) and services I provide. And it just looks good:)

I build it of course In Java, using just Hibernate. I created my own very SEO-friendly filter to retrieve pages from my custom CMS (only contains pages, which have 3 text fields, that’s it:)). Still thinking about a mobile version, but the site already looks good on my Nokia N95, and I think the Iphone does even do a better job at displaying it.

So what do you think about the new site? let me know.

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Tags: d17, design, studio joyo
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T-mobile subscription plans with Iphone 3G for Netherlands

July 1st, 2008

The Netherlands is one of the last countries to get (legitimate) access to Iphones. Of course, as the first generations lacked UMTS support nobody was bothered by that. But now on july 11th T-mobile will start offering Iphones in The Netherlands.

As their press announcement is in Dutch and Euro, I thought let’s translate and convert also to USD. Below are the prices in Euro and USD, assuming 1 euro = 1.48 USD, and 2 year contracts.

SMS = short message service = text message for you americans.

minutes	SMS	price/m (€)	$	8GB model (€)	$	16GB model (€)	$
150	150	29.95	44.33	79.95	118.33	159.95	236.73
300	300	44.95	66.53	1	1.48	79.95	118.33
500	500	64.95	96.13	1	1.48	19.95	29.53

Including unlimited Internet usage (2048/384 Kbps), Visual voicemail.

It seems a good deal compared to the AT&T pricing :

“iPhone 3G will be available for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. These prices require two-year contracts”

Engadget has a better overview.

And even the subscriptions aren’t that expensive compared to normal no-phone T-Mobile NL subscripton plans:

Plan	minutes	Price/m	Price per minute	Price per SMS
Relax 100	100	€ 14,50	€ 0,15	€ 0,25
Relax 200	200	€ 24,50	€ 0,12	€ 0,25
Relax 300	300	€ 34,50	€ 0,12	€ 0,25
Relax 500	500	€ 49,50	€ 0,10	€ 0,25
Relax 1000	1000	€ 94,50	€ 0,09	€ 0,25

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Tags: iphone, t-mobile
Posted in mobile | 1 Comment »

D17’s blog

Iphone 3Gs announcement review – ups and downs

Google showing energy efficient data center design

Iphone OS 3.0 announced

Battle of mobile platforms is taking off

I got a Macbook!

Asus EEE PC 900 review from the trenches

New site live on d17.nl

T-mobile subscription plans with Iphone 3G for Netherlands

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