By: Hillel Fuld

Twitter, as a company, has made its share of mistakes over the years. These include implementing its own retweeting system that makes it significantly more difficult to see how many people retweeted you and who they are (not to mention the fact that when I use the Twitter retweet, I can’t add my two cents to the original tweet, it all kind of defeats the purpose), the Twitter URL shortening service, which seems to break more links than it shortens, or many others. But the good news was that with all these issues, I always had Tweetdeck to fall back on. Then Twitter bought Tweetdeck.

Wait, let’s back up a little for those of you who are not familiar. Twitter, as I am sure most of you know, is a microblogging service that allows you to share short updates of 140 characters with your followers. You can also add links to external articles, photos, videos, etc. Except, contrary to what all the hype might lead you to believe, Twitter is just the foundation for an entire ecosystem of applications that use the Twitter API (not going to explain that term, feel free to read more about what an API is), it is not the end, just a means.

So there is an entire world of Twitter developers out there from Windows applications such as Tweetdeck and Seesmic, Web apps like Hootsuite and Twimbow, iPhone apps like Echofon and Tweetlogix, and Android apps like Twicca and Twidroyd. Other platforms also have their share of Twitter apps including Ovi (Gravity), Windows Phone, Playbook, and the list goes on. There are of course apps that are available cross platform and the leading name in that category is Tweetdeck.

I have been using Tweetdeck for years, since pretty much day one, and I have recommended it to hundreds of people. Not only is Tweetdeck the best Twitter client on PC and Mac in my opinion, but the team and especially Richard Barley, who was the Community Manager till recently, is super responsive and professional.

Like I said, then Twitter bought Tweetdeck, which at the time was good news since, as I mentioned, I love the team and thought they deserved the acquisition. Many commented over the past few months that Tweetdeck updates, which were a frequent thing until recently, had slowed down. All that did not matter as far as I was concerned because Tweetdeck still blew its competition out of the water. Until now.

Tweetdeck recently rolled out a new Tweetdeck for Mac and PC, which came on the same day that Twitter released a new Web UI and a new app for iOS. The interesting thing about the new Tweetdeck is that it is native, as in a regular application like Office, Skype, or any other software you download to your computer. Until now, it is was an Adobe Air application, which is a pretty buggy and resource hogging technology. So, I was optimistic.

Then I tried the new Tweetdeck and all that changed. The interface is different, the options are gone, the customization abilities are missing, and overall, the experience is far inferior to its predecessor and even other competing applications. That makes me sad, especially knowing that this is the only choice moving forward and the old version will no longer receive updates or support. I used the new Tweetdeck for a few minutes then went back to my old version and have not looked back since.

The following are four ways that Twitter is effectively killing off Tweetdeck as the industry leader in Twitter applications:

 1: No More Old School Retweets

With the new Tweetdeck, there is no more retweeting someone the way people used to in the good old days. Not to get too technical here, but in the old Tweetdeck, you can press Retweet and a tweet is automatically generated with the letters RT and the person’s name before their tweet. In the new Tweetdeck, you can only use the native retweet option, which as I mentioned above, is problematic, to say the least.

There is also a “Quote tweet” option, which essentially adds quotation marks around the original tweet for you to add your two cents. Now, essentially the quoting option accomplishes the same thing as a retweet does, and some might say I am arguing semantics here, but this, to me, is a classic case of “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. Retweeting is one of the things that made Twitter to enjoyable and viral from day one, I just don’t see why Twitter felt the need to go and change the way people retweet each other. Do you?

2: More Clicks, So Many More Clicks

Using the new Tweetdeck, it’s as if Twitter gets paid per clicks. The most basic functionality, that required one, maybe two clicks in the old Tweetdeck, now require for or five, sometimes, even more. Retweeting someone for example was one click to prepare the tweet and then Send in the old Tweetdeck, now requires anywhere between four and five clicks depending on whether you want to retweet or quote.

Adding or removing someone from a list is the same story, only a whole lot worse. There is no option anywhere on the UI of the new Tweetdeck to add someone to a list, unless I am missing it, in which case, we have another problem… You have to click the person’s profile, click Lists, and… yea, even this doesn’t work. It seems Twitter forgot to add list support in the new Tweetdeck… Which brings me to my next point…

3: Screen Real Estate

One of the best parts of the old Tweetdeck was the fact that you were able to see all your feeds at first glance without even clicking once. I had seven columns open at any given time on my 24′ display. Why seven? Well, I have my Twitter account and I manage the Twitter account of Appboy and inneractive, that’s three. Then I have my direct messages column and three columns for my favorite Twitter lists. I follow over 8,000 people so Twitter lists make it possible to stay on top of the relevant updates and people without getting lost in all the noise.

In the new Tweetdeck, you can have a max of four columns on your screen with the fifth column displaying a huge arrow to scroll right and see the rest of your columns. To that I say, why?? An entire column for an arrow? That prime real estate could have been utilized by Robert Scoble’s Twitter list of tech influencers and instead it is populated by an arrow? That is what’s called a design flaw that is a deal breaker.

4: Follower Count on Tweets

With the old Tweetdeck, you could configure that under every tweet, the app would display that person’s follower count. It was a useful and unique feature to have. It is gone in the new Tweetdeck. Why was it useful? Not because you should judge a person by their follower count, that is just crazy talk. The reality is that with so much spam being sent daily on Twitter, you need an effective way to separate the real people from the bots.

A profile picture is one way and nine out of ten times, a profile without a picture is a bot. Follower count is also an accurate tool. If someone follows a thousand people and has zero followers, there is something very wrong. Generally speaking, there is a correlation between follower count and the amount of time a person spends on Twitter.

Before you cut my head off, I am well aware of the amount of spammy tools that builds up follower count without the need for any engagement on the part of the user. When a person uses those tools, I will discover it in a matter of seconds by looking at their tweets, but when someone has a totally unproportional follower/following count, I am not even clicking through to see their tweets. Like I said, it was a useful feature in the old Tweetdeck. Any particular reason Twitter had to kill it?

Here is the thing, there are so many more issues with the new Tweetdeck to add to this list, but do I really need to go on when you  have a perfectly fine old Tweetdeck to resort to? Yes, the lack of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Foursquare support in the new Tweetdeck is a problem, but I didn’t even get that far when basic functions that I do a hundred times a day are not possible in the new Tweetdeck.

Combine all that with the fact that Twitter rolled out a new Web UI on the same day as the new Tweetdeck came out and you have one less reason to ever open Tweetdeck.

Sad but true, and something we see far too often when big companies buy small ones. Unless things reverse themselves, Tweetdeck is on its way down and with all the problems with the new Tweetdeck, it is taking the fast road too…

By: Hillel Fuld

It has been quite a crazy month in and out of the tech industry and while I usually try to post these articles on a weekly basis, clearly, that did not work too well in the last couple of weeks. But since many (many) people seem to depend on these posts to get up to date, I am forcing myself to get back into the swing of things.

Here goes, the top tech news of the month written by yours truly! (Sheesh, I write a lot.)

Apple

Here you have yet another indication of just how much the iPad changed the world: You are going to want to watch this video

iPhone 4 VS iPhone 4S Speed Test (VIDEO): Worth the Upgrade? I am still on the fence, how about you?

A New Mobile Trend is Born: Retail Giants Creating Shopping Apps: THIS should be interesting…

It’s Here! All iPhone 4S Video Reviews in One Place! Now, To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade? So torn…

First iPhone 4S Commercial Airs: You might use Android, but no one competes with Apple on the advertising thing.

Apple’s 3 New iPhone 4S Commercials: Jobs Would be Proud: Three more 4S ads for your viewing pleasure

Apple Will Revolutionize Yet Another Industry This Week: Retail Shopping: Home computing, digital music, mobile, tablets, digital content, and now… Shopping!

4 of the Prettiest iOS Apps that Deserve an Award for their Design: If you have an iOS device, and have not tried these apps, you have not experienced iOS.

5 Interesting Social iPhone Apps Released in the Past Month: These are some interesting apps right here.

Apple to Sell 28 Million iPhone 4S Devices this Quarter, but Not Because of the Phone: And people were disappointed…

Adobe

R.I.P Mobile Flash: Can We Say it Now? Steve Jobs was Right. Again! Interesting turn of events.

How Steve Jobs Actually Prolonged the Life Of Mobile Flash and Delayed its Death: R.I.P Mobile Flash, see ya!

Google

Google Brings the Mobile Web, Search, and Native Apps One Step Closer: Google never ceases to amaze.

The Next Generation of NFC is Born: Android Beam: Yes, the future is here. Beam me up, Scottie.

Android Passes iOS in App Downloads, but Does It Even Matter? Spoiler: NO! It is heating up, can you feel it?

Amazon

Amazon Steps it up with 5 Million Kindle Fires Ordered and its Very Own Siri: I’ll have whatever Amazon is drinking, thank you very much.

Facebook

If Only Facebook on the Web Was as User Friendly as Facebook on the iPad is: Facebook for iPad at last!! Was worth the wait.

RIM

RIM Introduces BBX and Releases Playbook OS 2.0, Which Runs Android Apps (VIDEO): Could BlackBerry be back?

Nokia

All New Nokia Phones Running Windows Phone Mango 7.5: This new Nokia Lumia 800 that everyone is talking about, is high up on my list.

Nokia’s Back! Hate to Say it but We Told You So! (Infographic): Is Nokia back? Well not yet, but they are making all the right moves.

Nokia Interviews inneractive on Mobile Advertising and App Monetization: I am proud of this interview.

Rovio

Angry Birds Reaches 500 Million Downloads: 200,000 Years of Game Play (VIDEO): These numbers are downright ridiculous.

Twitter

Louis CK Talks about Mobile and Social Media in the Twitter Generation (VIDEO): If you watch one video today, watch this!

Tweetlogix is the iPhone Twitter App of All iPhone Twitter Apps: Best. Twitter. App. Ever

Appsfire

Appsfire is Killing it in the Mobile Space: Like mobile technology? Keep your eye on this startup!

inneractive

inneractive Named One of Globes’ Ten Most Promising Israeli Startups: Boom! In case  you don’t know, inneractive is where I work and this award made my year.

Appboy

The New Appboy.com is Live! Now here is a company operating outside of the box. Watch this space.

Wow, there you have it, folks. Might be a good idea to go back to weekly posts, this is kinda long. Anyway, I hope you made it this far and if you did, you deserve this seriously hilarious video.

By: Hillel Fuld

It is that time of the week again, time to sum up all the tech news of the previous week in one easy-to-read blog post. This edition of Above the Fuld is a little shorter than usual, as I was on vacation for three days this week. That means no coverage of the Amazon announcement for example, among other things.

OK here goes:

Apple

Ever wonder what it is like for Tim Cook to fill the shoes of Steve Jobs? ok ok, maybe slightly immature on the part of College Humor, but c’mon, you know you laughed.

What would a tech summary be without an iPhone 5 rumor? A very interesting video shedding some light on the specs of the upcoming iPhone 5. Or is it called iPhone 4gs? Who knows…

iOS5 will have some pretty neat features, this one leads the pack: We might just finally discover why Apple bought Siri back in 2010. Check out this demo video of the upcoming iOS5 Assistant feature.

Google

Google+ for iOS gets a major update: Finally, the Google+ iOS app is on par with the site and its competitors. Especially the mobile hangouts, which bring video chatting to a whole new level.

Another interesting solution for monetizing Android apps: Startapp definitely thought out of the box on this one by giving developers an easy way to monetize Android apps via search.

Amazon

While I was on vacation for the announcement, I discussed the Amazon tablet here: Looks like someone has understood that Apple’s success is not hardware or even software-related. It is all in the ecosystem and Amazon has a nice ecosystem of its own!

Microsoft

Finally! Mango is live! An interesting video demo of Windows Phone Mango. Is it interesting enough though or is Microsoft falling behind the curve?

Facebook

Looks like Facebook for iPad will finally show its long overdue face this week: Facebook is expected to announce a new HTML5 app store along with its new iPad app. Check out some of the screen shots in the post.

Skype

A new Skype iOS app is born with Bluetooth support, Anti Shake technology, and (drumroll please) ads! Looks like yet another leading mobile developer is adopting the mobile advertising model to monetize. I wonder if Microsoft was involved in this decision.

Foursquare

Boom! My interview with Dennis Crowley, founder of Foursquare:  Took me over a year to land this interview but it was well worth it. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a mobile fanatic, or just a plain old geek, you will find some gems in this interview.

By: Hillel Fuld

Been a few weeks since I posted one of these as I was away on vacation. All I can say is, what a month to choose for a vacation. This month will definitely go down in the books as one of, if not the, craziest month in tech history. Where do we start? I think I summed it up pretty well in this tweet from last week. Everyone who is anyone in tech had something to announce this month. Google, Facebook, HP, Motorola, Apple, Amazon, and Linkedin are just some of the companies that made some noise over the past month.

You can read about it all in the links below:

Apple

BlackBerry Playbook vs Apple iPad: My review of the BlackBerry Playbook as it compares to the iPad. Guess what?  There is no clear winner.

7 Year Old iOS App Developer: You know Apple did something right if a 7 year old kid can create an iOS app and do so well that he can now invest money in his 6 year old sister’s app.

iPhone 5: Here are all the rumors of the upcoming iPhone 5 in a two minute video done very well.

Steve Jobs: As you probably know, Jobs gave in his resignation letter and the web went nuts. This post sums up the man perfectly, a true perfectionist and an extraordinary human being.

More iPhone 5: Yes, everyone is talking about the upcoming iPhone 5, but the guy who made this video took those rumors to a whole new level.

Another iPhone-Controlled Helicopter: I gotta get myself one of these bad boys!

Microsoft

Windows Phone hits 30,000 Apps: While most people are pretty pessimistic about the new Windows Phone platform, the traction it is showing seems to indicate it will surprise us all.

Microsoft Pouncing on WebOS Developers: An aggressive  yet smart move on Microsoft’s part to bring WebOS developers over to their platform after HP’s surprising announcement.

Facebook

 Facebook Released a Standalone Messaging App: The king of the social web was quite busy this month with new privacy options, new photo UI, and this app, which has many people speculating about the death of SMS.

Twitter

88 People You Must Follow On Twitter: One of the most confusing parts of Twitter is finding people to follow. This list will give you an awesome head start.

Google

 Google Bought Motorola, but Why? The search king surprised us all with a weird and costly acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Then came all the theories, although something tells me Google itself is not sure what to do with its new $12.5 billion toy.

Android is mainly used by Men: A new inneractive infographic sheds some interesting light on the usage of mobile apps among the two genders.

HP

HP kills WebOS and Hitler is NOT Happy About it: By now, you have probably seen at least one of these Hitler movies talking about one topic or another. This one is great if you want to learn a little more about the mobile space and the HP announcement to kill WebOS and the Touchpad.

Amazon

 Amazon Web Service Zone Struck By Lightning: Yes, what are the chances of that? The result of this event was the immediate crash of many huge sites and services. inneractive was in good company.

Android Developer Accusing Amazon of Scamming Him: Without taking sides, this story is pretty unbelievable and if even half of it is true, Amazon Appstore is trouble.

Linkedin

The new Linkedin iOS app: This app released last week set a new bar for mobile apps and their design.

RIM

Seinfeld nails it in this video: RIM seems to be working hard to maintain its brand with new devices, a new OS, and some impressive plans for the future. Seinfeld talks about the typical BlackBerry user and their total lack of table manners. Old but still relevant and hysterical.

My BlackBerry is Not Working: Another older video that will give you a good chuckle about the tech space. Apple, Orange, BlackBerry, Mango, and others. Are you seeing a pattern?

Skype

Skype announced it is buying GroupMe: Just like every tech acquisition, the rumors are flying, but Skype is going to have to do a lot more than just make a few acquisitions if they want to maintain their VoIP dominance.

And there you have it folks, like I said, was a busy month!

By: Hillel Fuld

Yesterday, just in case you were not online, was Apple’s annual WWDC event. I wrote how Apple’s announcements won’t really change anything for the industry. I was wrong! The enhancements Apple made to iOS, Mac OS, and the entire Apple ecosystem were, yes I am using this word, revolutionary. I tweeted the announcements as they happened, so if you want to get up to date before reading this post, you can read my tweets here. You can also read about iOS 5 on Apple.com here.

There are over 200 new features in iOS 5, 250 in OSX Lion, and the new iCloud service, so suffice to say, despite the lack of a new iPhone, yesterday’s event wowed pretty much everyone. I would love to single out one feature that is the most game-changing for me in iOS 5, but unfortunately, I am unable to, as there are so many that will change the way I use my iOS devices. Notifications is a huge one, but so is the new Mail interface, the new iMessage platform, the enhancements Apple made to the camera and its feature set, as well as the full and deep Twitter integration into iOS 5. The list goes on and on, Apple did a great job with this release.

What is really interesting is that the new iOS, with all its features will essentially lead me and many other users to delete different apps that prior to iOS 5, provided a certain functionality that is now part of the operating system itself. In fact, take a look at this post, 8 Apps That Should Have Been Part of iOS and Apple Should Now Buy, I wrote a few months back, seems like Apple was listening…  Except Apple did not buy these companies/apps, they essentially destroyed them.

Just to clarify, I do not really believe that apps like Dropbox or Instagram, with their millions of users, will really close up shop tomorrow, but I do believe they will suffer from the new integrated features of iOS 5. More people will use iCloud instead of Dropbox as well as the integrated photo sharing/editing capabilities instead of using Instagram. I would have been a lot happier if Apple would have gone on a shopping spree and snatched up all these amazing companies, but as a consumer, I am very excited to try all the new features included in iOS 5.

The following is a list of app categories, represented by one example, that will surely suffer from the new and integrated features in iOS 5, which Steve Jobs announced yesterday:

1: Boxcar (Notification Apps): One of my all time favorite apps, not because it is great, but because it was needed. All my notifications including email, Twitter, Facebook, and many others are pushed to me using Boxcar. The new Notification Center on iOS will in fact kill this app. I see no reason to continue using Boxcar in iOS 5. Sad to say it since it really did the job, but bye bye Boxcar, hello Notification Center.

2: Dropbox (Cloud syncing apps): Dropbox will not die because it is cross-platform and enables you to sync between all mobile platforms, as well as PC or Mac. Having said that, its iPhone app will no longer be needed thanks to iCloud. Again, a much beloved app that I have used and has saved me on many occasions, but it is time to go. I wish it had been an acquisition, but alas, bye bye Dropbox, hello iCloud.

3: WhatsApp/Kik (Free messaging apps): Again, these apps will not really die because they are cross platform, but I do expect iMessage to absolutely slaughter BBM and any and all uses of these apps on iOS, not to mention its affect on SMS. With the deep integration of iMessage, I see no need for any free messaging app on my iPhone, do you? Bye bye WhatsApp, Kik, and all other free messaging apps, hello iMessage.

4: QuickPix (Camera- enhancing apps): This one truly hurts me. I have not touched the Apple Camera app for months. QuickPix is an awesome app by an awesome developer. However, the new camera loads faster than before, and has extra functionality not found in QuickPix, such as a hardware button (the volume button) and photo editing capabilities. As much as I loved you, bye bye QuickPix, hello new Camera.

5: Instapaper (Read later apps): This also falls under the category of “Will not die but will suffer greatly”. Instapaper or any other app that enables you to save articles on the Web for later consumption, is a product no longer needed with iOS 5. You see, the new Safari has a feature that enables you to add the web page you are currently viewing to the “Reader” section. Yep, Apple pretty much added its own Instapaper, although again, why not just buy the company? Bye bye Instapaper, hello new and improved Safari.

6: Twitpic (not an app): Well, this is to be expected. Twitter launched its own photo service, but that was all nice in theory until iOS 5 integrated it deep into the OS. Yes, now you take a photo with an iOS device and tweet it, can you guess which photo service iOS uses to host and share your photos? Nope, it aint Twitpic or any of the others, it is the Twitter photo service. Well, after all the hype about Twitpic owning my photos, I am happy to say, bye bye Twitpic, hello Twitter.

7: Remember the Milk (Reminder apps): I have to say, I tried many reminder apps, and somehow always ended up writing my items down in the Notes app. All the other apps just seemed like overkill to me. Now, Apple added Reminders to iOS, and from what I can tell, it is just what I need. I am sure some of the more advanced users will say Reminders is not enough for them, but I can safely say, I will be using Reminders on a daily basis. Bye bye, task management apps, hello Reminders.

8: Photoshop Express (Photo Editing apps): This was a great app for what it was. It provided basic editing functionality to spice up and modify your iPhone’s photos. Well, guess what Apple just added to the Camera app? Editing abilities. Again, it is not Photoshop, but it does the job better than any other mobile editing app I have seen. So, I can’t say I have really used you too often, but bye bye Photoshop Express, hello enhanced Camera app.

9: Echofon/Tweetdeck (Twitter apps): Over the years, I have done extensive testing of pretty much all Twitter apps for iOS. First of all, I can safely say, there is no great Twitter app for iPad. There are many good ones, like Echofon, Tweetdeck. Osfoora, Tweetings, and others, but none are the ultimate Twitter app. On iPhone, there are many solid options, but for me, Echofon was always the best. I think it is time to say goodbye to all these apps with iOS 5 coming with Twitter deeply integrated. Yes, you shoot a photo and tap Tweet, volla, tweeted. Let’s be honest, is anyone really going to bother opening up a 3rd party app anymore? Bye bye Twitter apps, hello iOS Twitter integration.

10: Instagram (Photo Sharing apps) First, let me just say, I love Instagram, always have from day one. It is not a revolutionary app that will make anyone say “Wow”, but it does the job and it does it well. It is in my opinion the ultimate proof that when it comes to apps, simplicity wins. However, with the new photo sharing capabilities, Instagram will suffer. It will not die, because after all, it is launching on Android soon (right, Kevin?). No, but seriously, it has more functionality than what is included in iOS 5 such as filters and more sharing options than just Twitter. Having said that, something tells me most Instagramers use the app to share to Twitter and that is going to stop with the native Twitter integration in iOS 5. Putting Instagram aside, bye bye to the majority of photo sharing apps, hello iOS Twitter integration.

11: Pulse (Reader apps): I am a huge fan of Pulse, Flyscreen, Flipboard, Flud, and many other reader apps, but they are all in trouble. The new Safari has a Reader section that essentially takes the Web page you are viewing and turns it into a page of a magazine. No mess and no hassle. Why open another app when I can have a reader experience directly in Safari? Now, let’s calm down a bit here. Flipboard is not dead, far from it. The experience is unparalleled and is not the same as the Reader in Safari. Having said that, I am sure these apps, every single one of them, will see a significant decrease in traffic on iOS devices. Some of them, like Flyscreen and Pulse are available on other platforms. Others are not. So, I guess this is not goodbye, but good luck to Pulse, Flipboard, Flyscreen, and the rest of the crowded reader app arena.

12: iChromy (Browsers): I have been using iChromy on iPad since I first discovered it. Why? The tabbed browsing is fantastic. Same is true for many other browsers that offer tabbed browsing similar to the desktop experience. They are all dead! Safari has a lot of new features, but the new tab functionality looks amazing, and will surely return the throne of best mobile browser to Safari, its rightful owner. Bye bye, tabbed iOS browsers, hello Safari 2.0.

13: Wifi Photo (Wifi syncing apps): So many apps have been developed to overcome the challenge of wirelessly syncing the photos you take with your iPhone with your computer. Wifi Photo is my favorite. They can all be eulogized today. With iCloud, your photos are synced automatically to the cloud and available for download from any device. Apple did not only make these wireless syncing apps obsolete, it actually beat them at their own game. iCloud if it works as advertised, will be the ultimate wireless syncing solution for iOS devices. Bye bye photo syncing apps, hello iCloud.

14: Dictionary (Translation apps): OK, iOS has a new dictionary option built in. Nothing else to say here. No more need for translation apps, with WordLens being the only exception I can think of. So, bye bye dictionary apps, hello iOS 5.

15: Gmail (Web app): I hate the Web app on my iPhone, there, I said it. I use Gmail on the Web regularly, whether it is for a better search, better organization of messages, or other features lacking in the Apple native Mail app. No more! The new Mail has better threading, better search, a better design, and a whole list of new features, such as the ability to flag messages and write in rich text formatting. I have not tried it yet, but something tells me I will not be needing Google’s Gmail Web app any more. Bye bye Gmail on the Web, hello new Mail app on iOS 5, happy to have you.

16: Find my iPhone: Well this is a no brainer, Apple added this to the iOS registration process. See TheNextWeb’s first look at iOS 5 and notice the screen to enable Find My iPhone functionality. OK, being as this was an app provided by Apple, I guess this is big deal, although it is yet another app I can now delete off my iPhone thanks to iOS 5. So, bye bye Find my iPhone app, hello new iOS feature.

17: iTunes!! Well I know I said I cannot choose one feature of iOS as the best, but if I had to, if you were really holding a gun to my head, well this would be my choice. For the first time ever, you can now own an iOS device, without a computer. No more need for iTunes and all that wasted syncing time. You can set up the device wirelessly, back up your files wirelessly, and sync your device wirelessly. This is huge. I have two words for you, Apple. Good riddance. And here are some more words I have been waiting to say for a long time. Bye bye iTunes, hello wireless syncing. I don’t know you yet but I think I love you!

That’s all folks, 17 apps I use regularly along with millions of other people, and will no longer have a place on my iOS devices. Some I am sad to see go, others less, but at the end of the day, Apple hit this one out of the park with iOS 5 and iCloud. No mention here of the new Lion features, and they are equally as awesome, but that is a topic for another time.

OK, Fanboys of Android, BlackBerry, and other mobile platforms that feel Apple stole their thunder, the stage is yours. Why did Apple completely fail with iOS 5, how did they copy other OSes, and how is every single point I made above, completely wrong and influenced by my love for Jobs and everything he does? The stage is yours…

By: Hillel Fuld

By now, we all know that “Geek” is the new “Cool”, and I have met my share of geeks in my time, but David Pogue is on a whole new level. David has been writing a weekly personal technology column for the New York times since November, 2000. He also writes a monthly tech column for Scientific American. In addition, David is a featured guest on various TV shows including his CNBC appearances every Thursday, CBS Sunday Morning, and his show “Making Stuff” on PBS.

David is also a best-selling “How-To” author having authored 7 books out of the wildly popular “for Dummies” series (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music). David has won an Emmy, a journalism Loeb award, and an honorary doctorate in music (pretty busy dude).

All that and more is info available on his public bio here.

However, to me David Pogue is so much more than all those awards and accomplishments. Anyone who has ever read David’s columns or watched his hilarious videos probably noticed a pattern. He knows how to simplify even the most technical and geeky concepts so anyone can understand them. To me, that is a great writer. That is what technical writers have to do in their documentation, and that is what a good Web journalist should be capable of doing as well.

For years, I have tried to “imitate” this style in all my writing so anyone can read and understand my posts. David has been my personal role model and someone I always admired. In addition, David has been known to crowd source parts of his New York Times column by asking his Twitter followers for their input. That is another thing I admire and have begun doing myself.

I know that in terms of influence, not many people can match David’s far reach. Just a few weeks ago, he wrote about top photography apps in the New York Times, and one of the apps he included in the list happens to be an app developed by a friend. Trust me when I tell you, the very mention of the app in David’s column immediately caused the download numbers to absolutely skyrocket.

David, along with Walt Mossberg, were the first people to review the iPhone when it came out. To me, Walt and David are the two remaining old school geeks that lead the way in genuine and professional tech journalism. I, for one, feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to interview both Walt and now David.

So David, thanks for this interview (and the follow on Twitter), it is very much appreciated. Keep up the awesome work you are doing.

The following are the questions I asked David, along with his answers:

1. While I am sure most people reading this know who David Pogue is, please tell us about yourself and your background. What led up to you becoming the tech journalist for the New York Times?

Sure. I started out as a musician; after Yale, I conducted and arranged Broadway musicals in New York for ten years, which a lot of people think is a strange preparation for becoming a tech columnist! Sheet-music software got me interested in tech. I don’t have to write out my music by hand? I can just play it, and the computer does the notation for me? Where do I sign?

In time, I wound up writing software manuals, how-to computer books, and computer-magazine columns for 13 years. Then the New York Times asked if I wanted to take over its consumer-tech column. I thought it over for–oh, must have been one-tenth of a second–and then said yes.

2. What are five of the most amazing technologies or gadgets you ever covered in your column?

I tend to like things that simulate magic. (Did I mention I’m also an amateur magician, and I wrote “Magic for Dummies”?) Wireless things, like WiFi and the Wii and the Kinect. Things that make it seem like computers understand us, like speech-recognition software and phone apps that respond to tilting or touching. Things that make us look good or professional with very little effort, like really nice cameras and camcorders. And simple things. Products that do amazing things with the touch of a button and very little technical bushwacking. The iPad is a pretty good representative in that category.

3. While some of my other interviews here were appreciated by my geeky friends, my parents will read and love this interview as well. What differences do you see between the young tech generation and the last generation in terms of how they view the world we live in?

Younger generations always adopt new technologies more quickly than their parents–nothing has changed on that score in 5 million years. (“The wheel!? Why do you need to invent the wheel? Why can’t you WALK to the wooly mammoth skeleton like we did!?”)

But I do feel as though the last few years have really accelerated the pace. Even today’s college kids never knew a world without the Internet, and today’s elementary-schoolers never knew a world without CONTINUOUS, ubiquitous Internet (thanks to smartphones).

My message, my entire writing life, has been: “Don’t let anyone make you feel inferior because you don’t get the latest tech. Nobody could possibly keep up–not even me. The trick is to adopt the tech that makes your life easier or better, and ignore the rest with a clear conscience.”

4. Now to get a little geeky, you cover apps a lot, what are five of your favorite apps and why?

1. Dragon Dictation (free). Speak to type. In general, excellent accuracy. After the transcription appears, one tap slaps the text into an outgoing e-mail message, text message, Twitter or Facebook update. Or just copies it to the clipboard.

2. LED Light (free). The LED “flash” on the iPhone 4 is incredibly powerful; you could practically light up a runway with it.  Just open this app to activate the LED instantly bright and easy.

3. FlightTrack Pro ($10). Incredible. Shows every detail of every flight: gate, time delayed, airline phone number, where the flight is on the map, and more. Knows more—and knows it sooner—than the actual airlines do.

4. Line2 (free). Gives your iPhone a second phone line with its own number—one that makes or receives calls over WiFi when you’re in a hot spot (no AT&T minutes!), or over AT&T when you’re not. Unlimited texting, unlimited calling, $10 a month.

5. SoundHound (free). Beats Shazam at its own game. Hold this app up to a song that’s  playing on the radio, or even hum or sing the song, and the app miraculously identifies the song and offers you lyrics.

5. What are five gadgets that you use regularly and have changed your day to day life?

I carry around three things every where I go: a 13-inch MacBook Pro, an iPhone, and a Canon S95 digital camera, by far the best small camera made. At home, I get incredible use out of a Neat Receipts micro-scanner, a TiVo Series 3, and a Nikon D80.

6. Do you own a tablet? If so, which one and how do you use it? If not, why not?

I had an iPad here on loan for a review for a long time. My kids wound up using it constantly, but since I do more creating than consuming, I generally stuck to my laptop. Just too hard to write fast and lots on the glass keyboard.

7. One of the blatant changes we are seeing in tech is that while companies like Microsoft used to completely dominate, now Google, Apple, Facebook and others are spreading the wealth and even surpassing Microsoft in some cases. Do you think this trend will continue with new companies reaching such levels in the coming years?

Anyone who tries to predict the future of tech winds up looking like a moron, so I’m not going to go there.

But I will say that there’s nothing more exciting than seeing the Internet make possible new businesses, new business models, new ways of interacting, that nobody’s thought of before. Groupon, for example–the fastest-growing business in the history of business: zero to $1.5 billion in sales in less than 18 months.

So yes, I do feel that we’re just at the Cro-Magnon stages of the big wave. I’m certain there will be other disruptive companies and businesses yet to come.

8. How do you view the future of the mobile industry? What trends do you think we will see over the coming years and will it continue to grow at this intense pace?

Nobody really knows. But I’ll tell you what I hope for: ubiquitous Internet. Right now, WiFi is just in a few lucky spots. 3G cellular is OK, but it’s outrageously priced — and capped per month. 4G is a big boondoggle as far as I’m concerned–all this advertising, and still only a few cities have it (and at a fraction of the advertised speed). Wake me when there’s nationwide unlimited 4G coverage for $20 a month.

Thanks again for the interview, David. I also really enjoyed your answers that were honest and straight forward, a style you have become recognized for and associated with over the years.

By: Hillel Fuld

Developing an app is far from an easy task. As app consumers, we always hear about the success of apps like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope and others. However, as someone said last week at an event I attended, “For every Angry Birds, there are a lot of angry developers”. This is not a post about the challenges of app development, but if we were to sum up two of the major issues developers face, it would be discovery and monetization.

To address the second one, monetization, a common misconception in the app ecosystem is that the only way to generate revenue from an app is to charge users per download. However, what most developers don’t realize is that by charging $.99 or $1.99 for your app, you are creating an unnecessary barrier for users that will ultimately be detrimental to your app’s success. What if there was a way to let users download your app for free and generate more revenue from the app than if it had cost users money? Well, the truth is, there is and it is called inneractive (Disclosure: I do marketing there). I am talking about in-app advertising and by now, everyone who is anyone in the developer community has figured out that this method is the way to monetize mobile apps. To sign up and start generating revenue from your apps, click here.

Moving along to app discovery, in this case, the solution is not as simple as with monetization. There are many app discovery services out there, and I recommend trying them all. Having said that, this issue of getting your app discovered needs some “outta the box” thinking, and there is one solutuon that has it. Appboy (Disclosure: I work with the company on its blog and social media. Yes, I work a lot!), a company that was originally a social network for mobile developers has released an SDK (software development kit) to add “checkins” to mobile apps. Think Foursquare meets Angry Birds. When a user opens your app and checks in, they notify all their Facebook friends and Twitter followers that they are using the app. How is that for discovery? Sign up here.

Moving along, when it comes to discovery, nothing beats some good PR. As a blogger, I get the chance to see many new mobile apps before they are released to the App Store. Over the years, I have been a beta tester for some of the most awesome apps out there. In addition, I get tens of emails every day pitching me a new mobile app, and some turn out to be pretty amazing.

The developers of these apps have worked long and hard to create a superior product and have also taken the initiative to reach out to bloggers and do some marketing for their apps. All the developers I am going to mention are independent and do not have large marketing budgets, so I thought I would push their apps a little for them. However, I chose ten of the best apps I have seen and deserve to be pushed. I hope you like them as much as I do.

The following are ten iOS apps you most likely never heard of and are worthy of your download:

1: TalkBox (Free); This app brings texting to the 21st century. Instead of typing your message, you speak it into the phone while pressing the Talk button and the message is immediately sent to the recipient. The app works flawlessly and the UI is beautiful. The developer is Green Tomato Limited and the app is also available on the Android Market.

2: netTalk (Free): There are many VOIP apps out there such as Viber, Skype, Vonage, and more, but netTalk is different. With netTalk, you can dial any phone number in the US or Canada over Wifi or 3G and talk for free. Completely free. Other international locations are also very cheap. I have had and used this app for years. Can you think of any reason not to download it? I can’t! You can read more about the app and the developer here.

3: Mooniz ($0.99) : It has been said that Mooniz is the next Angry Birds. I am not sure I would go so far, but I will say that this game is designed as well as the best games out there, if not better. It is also equally addictive, but I am not sure the developer has the marketing capabilities that Rovio does, otherwise it might very well become the next Angry Birds. The game costs a buck, but it is a buck well spent! Check out the developer’s awesome website here.

4: 360 Panorama ($1.99): If you follow Scoble on Twitter, you might have heard of this app, but otherwise it is pretty unknown. With 360 Panorama, you can take a panorama photo of your location and easily share it online. The app allows you to geo tag your photos, save them to your camera roll, and email them to contacts who can view them with nothing more than a Web browser. Microsoft released a similar app called Photosynth, but this developer, Occipital, deserves all the downloads he can get, despite the $1.99 price tag.

5: ToonPAINT ($1.99): This app definitely makes my favorites list along with apps such as Dropbox, Flipboard, and QuickPix. ToonPAINT is also one of those apps that will amaze people when they first see it. Basically, the app enables you to take a photo or select one from your library and transform it into a high quality and professional cartoon. I have been having a lot of fun with this app and my Twitter followers can attest to that. You can read more about the developer and watch the app in action here.

6: Responsive ($0.99): It has happened to all of us. You are in a meeting and get a call that you want to answer, but can’t. This app enables you to easily and immediately send a text back to the caller and set a reminder for yourself to call back later. The templates are predefined and include things like “I am in a meeting, call you later” and are also able to be edited. It is a pretty simple concept, the app is designed well and works as advertised. The developer is a friend and you can see his Facebook page here.

7: Pah ($0.99): I am sure you have heard of laugh therapy. Well, save yourself the money on a therapist and download this app, I guarantee you, it will make your day better. With Pah,  you are playing a very basic game in which a ship is flying and needs to shoot the obstacles in its way. What’s the big deal? Well, all that is done with your voice, and no, I am not kidding. Watch the video below. The developer is also a friend of mine and definitely deserves the hype for creating the first voice activated iPhone game. Check out their Facebook page here.

8: Maha ($0.99) : If you are on Twitter, you have most likely tested out a whole bunch of iPhone Twitter apps. Maha is not the best one out there, but it is definitely the most interesting. If you have tried out the new Windows Phone 7 OS, Maha brings that UI to iPhone. The app is full of features including integrated lists and much more. It is worth the download if you like well designed apps. I don’t know this developer (found the app via Twitter), but judging by their site, they are independent.

9: Daps’em (Free): When it comes to the Web and specifically the social Web, there is never any knowing what will take off next. Daps’em brings the important value of gratitude or appreciation for a person to social media. It is really quite simple. With this app/service, you can easily give a friend or contact a shoutout for something specific and let others know that you dapped that person. The app is designed beautifully and will surely contribute to your good Karma. You can check out the developer’s site here.

10: Showtime ($1.99): This app provides a much needed functionality in an elegant and well designed interface. With Showtime, you can easily view your iPhone’s photos on a big display. The app is packed with awesome features and works flawlessly. The developer is Aptogo and you can check them out here.

There you have it, folks. Those are some great apps that I hope I helped you discover. The developers of these apps did some fantastic work and deserve to be recognized for that, so check em out, and as always, I appreciate your feedback, which you can leave below in the comments, or on Twitter. Follow me here.

by: Eli Ungar-Sargon

The wait is finally over. Sort of. Early on Wednesday, Apple unveiled its long-rumored tablet computer, the iPad, and announced that it would start shipping at the end of March.Is this the reinvention of portable computing as we know it? Probably not, but it’s too early to draw any firm conclusions. Let’s take a a moment to step away from the famous Steve Jobs reality distortion field and evaluate what we know so far.

The Hardware

The iPad is a multitouch Tablet computer running a variant of the iPhone operating system on a custom built “Apple A4” chip. It has a 9.7’’ LED backlit display, boasts 10 hours of battery life and comes in three basic models: 16 GB ($499), 32 GB ($599), and 64 GB ($699). All of the models come with Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n, but if you want the convenience of 3G connectivity, you will need to pay another $130 over the base price of each model and to use it, you will need to sign up for a pay-as-you-go data plan with AT&T. Two such plans will be available when the iPad ships: A $14.99 monthly plan with a 250 MB limit and a $29.99 monthly plan with unlimited data. The Wifi only iPads will be available on March 27 and the 3G enabled iPads will be available on April 27. International carrier deals are still pending, but they should be in place by June. So much for the hard facts.

The New Kid on the Block

The most important question that everyone had going into this event was: Where will this product fit into our lives? Personally, I thought that there simply wasn’t enough room in between the laptop and the smartphone to justify a distinct product category. I reasoned that Apple must be going for a laptop replacement and my expectations were set accordingly. I now know that Apple disagrees with me on this point.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, he did so with one of his brilliantly simple slides. It was divided into three segments with an iPhone on the left, a Macbook Pro on the right, and an open space in the center. Jobs then went on to say that for a product to succeed in this in-between space it would need to do the following things better than both a smarthone and a laptop: Web browsing, email, photos, video, music, games, and eBooks. He then proceded to explain why the iPad was better suited to these tasks than either a smartphone or a laptop. It’s a provocative argument. Let’s examine it more closely.

Web Browsing

Ever since I got my first iPhone, I’ve felt that touching a link on a website is a more intuitive way of browsing the internet than using a mouse, or a trackpad. The one thing that makes the experience of browsing the web on the iPhone less than ideal is its size. The iPad solves this and maintains the touch advantage. Interestingly, the iPad continues the iPhone’s venerable tradition of locking Flash content out of the experience. Overall I have to agree with Steve on this one. Despite the inconvenience of not having flash, surfing the web on a touch tablet of this size should provide a superior experience.

Email

When it comes to email, a laptop has a clear advantage over a smartphone, due to the comfort and accuracy of having a real keyboard. The iPad has a virtual touch keybard that is almost the size of an actual hardware keyboard when it’s in landscape mode. Surely, you might opine, the iPad’s virtual keyboard isn’t superior to a laptop for typing out emails! And you would be correct. In this arena, the experience of typing on an iPad alone would fall somewhere in between that of a smartphone and a laptop. Fortunately, Apple also announced that they will be shipping an accessory physical keyboard for the iPad that will be priced at $69. I’m going to disagree with Steve on this one. I think that a laptop still provides the best email experience.

Photos and Video

The superiority of interacting with photos on a large multitouch screen is fairly obvious. When it comes to photographs, bigger is better and in the case of the iPad, Apple was actually able to improve upon the excellent multitouch interface found in the iPhone photo app. But what about video? Here things don’t seem as obvious to me. For the iPad to be a really excellent web surfing device, it had to maintain a 4:3 aspect ratio screen. However, most video content these days is produced at or near a 16:9 aspect ratio. This means that the viewer will have to choose between seeing the entire image with black bars on top and bottom or filling the screen and cutting off the sides. Granted, even with black bars, the iPad video image is much larger than that of the iPhone, but most laptops these days have 16:9 screens, not to mention higher resolution displays (the iPad comes in at a little under 720p). Nevertheless, I can’t think of another device that allows 10 hours straight of near HD quality video playback on a single charge. When it comes to photos, the iPad comes out on top. For video, I think it’s a toss up between the iPad and a laptop.

Music and Games

For music, an argument can be made that more screen real-estate yields benefits for managing a music library and it seems that Apple has rewritten their music-related applications to take advantage of the iPad’s larger screen. The iPad has an even clearer advantage when it comes to gaming. The combination of multitouch and the built in accelerometer made the iPhone a very succesful protable gaming platform, but there are times when the size of the screen is a limiting factor. The combination of touch and a larger screen will be put to great use by game developers, some of whom gave impressive demonstrations at the presentation. The music point seems debatable, but I see a clear advantage to gaming on the iPad.

eBooks

It’s the final category, eBooks, in which the iPad really shines. Because of its form factor, the iPad provides a reading experience that is an order of magnitude better than what either a smartphone, or a laptop can provide. On this subject, Apple announced a new app called iBook which is designed specifically for the iPad. Borrowing its user interface from a great iPhone app “Classics,” the iBook app presents the user with a virtual bookshelf populated by books that can be purchased in the built in iBook Store. Apple also announced that a handfull of the biggest publishers have already signed up to sell their books through the iBook Store and Jobs invited all of the other publishers to join in the coming months. I think that eBooks on the iPad is a slam-dunk. No other eBook reader can touch it.

Another Apple Success?

Three years ago, when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at Macworld, I had a gut feeling that it would be a revolutionary device. I don’t have the same feeling about the iPad. First, it’s just not as easy to explain. How would you describe the iPad to your aunt? Okay, so first you’d have to apologize for the gender-insensitive name, but once you got that out of the way, what would you say? That it’s an oversized iPhone without the phone? A big iPod Touch? Jobs had a nice line in his presentation. He said “It’s more intuitive than a laptop and more capable than a smartphone.”But if that’s the best that the greatest marketer of our time can come up with, it makes me wonder who the iPad will appeal to. Mr. Jobs’s logic seems for the most part to be sound. The iPad does MOST of the above computing tasks better than a smartphone or a laptop. The real question, however, is whether it does those tasks so much better that we’ll spend between $500 and $800 on it… My suspicion is that for most people the answer to that question is no. But the truth is that we don’t really know enough yet to call this one. The iPad has tremendous potential as an all-around content consumption device. Moreover, once developers get their hands on it, there’s no telling what it will be capable of. In the end, it will be the content providers and app developers who determine the success or failure of the iPad.

By: @Hilzfuld

This might be the most difficult post I have ever written. I am literally forcing myself to write these words. The reason I am finding it so difficult to write about the iPad is two fold. For starters, I do not know my own opinion yet. On the one hand, there is no denying it is a beautiful product like only Apple knows how to make. On the other hand, did they really reinvent the wheel here? Does it include anything particularly exciting on the technology side of things? I think not. I am sorry to be the millionth person to say this, but with the addition of a faster processor and some new software capabilities, the iPad is a giant iPod. But is that really so bad? You starting to get why this is a challenging topic for me?

The other reason I was hesitant to write this post is because the iPad had to have been the single most talked about product in history prior to its launch. There must have been close to 50 mock ups circulating the Web in the weeks leading up to yesterday’s announcement. The first hour of the event had over 170,000 tweets with the word iPad in them. Everyone was, and still is talking about this device. There were people who pretended they had one prior to the launch, there were people who were utterly disappointed with the product and did not bother hiding that, and there were those that were overly excited by the iPad. What they all share in common is that they were all talking about it.

So, I thought to myself , “Do I really have what to add?” The truth is before I sit down to write a blog post, I generally formulate my thoughts and opinions of the matter at hand. I did not do that in this case, since I do not yet know what I think. Before I talk about what excites me and what disappoints me about this device in terms of its specs, let me just tell those of you who are not in the loop what the iPad is.

I think it is safe to say anyone who has not been frozen for the last few years knows what an iPod is. It is the device that single handedly changed multiple billion dollar industries such as the music and gaming industries to name a few. The mobile world has never been the same since the iPod, which eventually turned into the iPhone accompanied by its own 140,000 apps and over 2 billion downloads.

Well, according to Apple, the iPad will revolutionize those industries and add a few more to the list. You can include internet, and I do not mean the mobile internet, I mean the full fledged internet, the iPad will most likely change that forever. Books, magazines, those are another two markets that will feel the effect. The iPad is essentially a large iPod in terms of its media capabilities, a stunning eBook reader with a significant market and a beautiful interface for storing and reading books, as well as a very impressive gaming device that will blow its competition out of the water.

However, in certain ways, the iPad really does disappoint. Should we start with the name? iPad? Really? Maybe I am missing some brilliant marketing strategy, but judging from the amount of jokes surrounding its  name and the association with certain “girl” products, I would say I am not alone. Maybe this is a classic example of there is “No such thing as bad press”. Having said that, iSlate might have worked better, although as someone pointed out to me yesterday, that also spells “Is Late” and we know Apple is never late to anything.

OK, so I don’t love the name, but let’s get serious here. No camera?? This is by far the biggest disappointment for me. I was thinking based on the current trends in technology and the overflow of rumors on the Web that the Apple tablet would have two cameras. OK, not two, but none? That is bad news. Moving along, just like its baby brother, the iPad does not allow you to run multiple apps. OK, so what is this thing then? Is it a computer that only allows you to do one thing at a time? Is it an iPhone with a bigger screen? No, no phone calls. It is just confusing to me.

Regarding the eReader side of things, there is no denying the Kindle’s throne as the king of eReaders, and this device will not change  that. Why? Well, there really are a few reasons that just like everything else the iPad does, it does not do eReading the best. The Kindle’s 400,000 book collection is one thing that will keep it on top, but its battery life leaves no room for the iPad and its 10 hour battery (as impressive as that might be for a media device/laptop/netbook/mobile phone, what is this thing?). 10 hours is nice, but not as nice as a week of reading time on the Kindle with the Wifi enabled (two weeks without).

One last reason the iPad will not become the ultimate eBook reader, which will turn the book and magazine industries upside down, is of course its connectivity. The basic iPad has Wifi and no 3G. For you non techies among us, that means if you are not in a hot spot (Starbucks or McDonald’s for example), you have no Web access. Yes, you can buy the more expensive model with 3G, but that also requires a data plan, whereas the Kindle has free 3G. So, I think it is safe to say, the Kindle can continue to sleep well at night.

I could really go on for a long time about the minuses of the iPad, but let me just summarize it by saying, the iPad is not the best device out there for anything. A computer that runs one app at a time wont work for most heavy users. An eBook reader with no constant and cheap access to the book store doesn’t cut it. A Web surfing device with no Adobe Flash is so 2009. I think the fact that the iPad is no smartphone is clear and obvious to all, unless your pants have some seriously large pockets. No USB port, no dragging and dropping files, no video output, and no memory expansion slot.  So, I ask you this, what is the iPad in one, two, or three words?

Before I get pounded in the comments by all the fanboys, let me make myself 100% clear, the iPad’s interface is beautiful, the hardware is of course unprecedented in its simplicity, and the user experience looks like there is not much room for improvement. The fact that the hardware and software including the processor were all manufactured by Apple inc. is of course a huge advantage, but I just do not see how I, or anyone else who uses their computer, smartphone, or eBook reader intensively will be satisfied with the iPad’s specs and capabilities. To be honest, I am not even sure how I would hold the thing comfortably in a way that it would not feel awkward in my hand. That pretty much sums up the issue in a nutshell. If the iPad was the ultimate computing device, one that would compete with a Macbook for example, we would perhaps know how to hold the device. If it was a smartphone, I know how to hold a phone. An eBook reader, sure, hold it like a book. So, let’s leave it at this. Someone please define to me in the comments what the iPad is, so when I eventually do buy it (did you really doubt it for a second?), I will know how to hold the thing.

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By: @Hilzfuld

While the mobile industry is busy talking about and comparing the Nexus One and the iPhone, there is one phone that really gives a clear perspective of the entire market and sums up the industry in a nutshell. It was not long ago when I first laid hand on the famous Motorola RAZR. “Wow, what a phone”, I thought, but what was it about the RAZR that so impressed people. What did the phone really being to the table that made people by the RAZR by the millions? Let’s be honest, was it the features that the phone offered or was it simply a pure case of style over substance? Did the RAZR revolutionize the mobile phone in that it offered better wireless broadband? Did it offer a better camera? Was its user experience superior to its predecessors?

The answer is a big fat no. The RAZR did nothing in terms of functionality. The only thing it did was push the boundaries of mobile hardware. Motorola managed to build a mobile phone that would amaze anyone that would hold it. We all fell for it. Not only did us “dumb” consumers fall into the trap, but all of Motorola’s competitors did too. All the big corporations that spend billions on market research, spent the next year or two competing who could make the thinnest phone. What about functionality? What about experience? Not many phones before or after the RAZR offered such a poor user experience. So how were we so blind?

Instead of trying to answer “what were we all thinking?”, what we should be trying to answer is “Have we learned from our mistakes?” I believe we have and the HTC HD2 proves my point. The mobile industry has completely evolved in my opinion from a hardware-centric market to a software-obsessed one. Why obsessed? Because, today, many consumers are purchasing their mobile handsets based on the number of apps the market that compliments that phone hosts. I have heard on many occasions (and I will not deny that I have even said this) consumers trashing the Android platform because compared to Apple’s 130,000 apps, the Android Market has only 20,000. Think about that for a second, 20,000 apps to install on your mobile phone. Who needs so many? OK, so you are probably thinking that it is not the number that matters, rather the variety. While the App Store has an app for “pretty much anything”, there are many things not yet available in the Android Market. This is true, but I would dare to say that you can find 99% of apps you will need in the Market.

So, how does the HD2 prove this point? Well, the HD2 is the ultimate phone, or at least it would have been back in the RAZR days. In terms of its hardware, it lacks nothing. Where do I start? The screen is a ridiculous 4.3′ (compared to the miniature 3.5′ on the iPhone), the processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which is 1GHZ compared to the 600MHZ on the iPhone (this means everything works faster on the phone, including how fast you can access the wireless internet, not to be confused with how fast the actual connection is). The camera is 5MP with an LED flash. The entire phone is 11mm thick, which when compared to the RAZR’s 14mm (when closed) is just insane.  When I said it lacks nothing, I was not kidding.

So, why are people busy talking about the iPhone and the Nexus One when there is an HD2? The answer? No one cares about hardware nowadays. The Windows Marketplace, which is the equivalent of the App Store on the iPhone is just non existent. I mean it exists, but with the numbers and the variety of apps it provides, it might as well not exist. Like a friend who recently reviewed the HD2 told me, there is only a limited amount of time you can spend on Youtube.

To be fair,  I will say that the HD2 is not all hardware. HTC did as good of a job as they could at covering up the origins of the phone’s OS. At first glance (that might actually last a long time), you do not even know you are on a Windows Mobile phone. The phone is also the first Windows device to have a capacitive touch screen, as opposed to the resistive touch screen, which can be found on all the older Windows Mobile devices. No need for a stylus with the HD2. However, if you are like me and enjoy getting to know your phone well, you will eventually encounter the old Windows Mobile you once saw in older devices. It is hidden well, but it is very much there.

In addition to the fantastic job HTC did designing the UI, all the various social tools are integrated into the new OS. Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, they are all preinstalled. A nice touch, but not enough. The bottom line is, we seemed to have learned our lesson. The HD2 is the modern RAZR, as I see it. It is beautifully designed, it really is. The experience, if I am being honest, is leaps and bounds ahead of what the RAZR was, and I am not just talking about something that happens over the years. I do not blame HTC for the HD2′s lack of popularity, I blame Microsoft. They need to get with the program, make app development as easy as it is on the competing platforms, and most of all, they need to get their priorities straight.

I don’t know about you, but this whole “Microsoft falling behind Apple technologically”, is Deja Vu of the whole Mac VS. PC saga. All I can say is, this is still a new space relatively speaking, and so it is not too late for Windows Mobile, but if Microsoft does not make a major switch in the way it views its mobile OS and its ecosystem, the Apple commercials mocking the Windows Mobile platform are not far off.

On the flip side, if you want a phone that incorporates all the new technology and pushes the limits of the mobile industry, the HD2 has it all. The internet on the HD2 for example, is less like the mobile Web as we know it (http://www.broadbandexpert.com.au/), and more like the desktop experience we have grown accustomed to. That is what 4.3′ of screen will do for you. Let’s sum it up by saying, take the HD2′s looks and slap on some of Apple or Android’s personality (and by personality, I mean 3rd party apps), and you got yourself a phone that will beat out any and all competition.