Xephyer

There have been rumors about a Newton-like / Web Tablet coming out from Apple for a few years now - but with the today's news from Reuters that Apple is scheduled to take third-quarter delivery of newly developed 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan, it seems that this time the rumors may be true.

Apple's leadership haven't been too high on the "netbook" computers, believing that they are underpowered with small displays and are not what the customers want.

While it could certainly be an Apple netbook, it would seem more likely that Apple tries to go a different direction - and bring a new type/style of product to market - so a reinvisioned Netwon type device / web tablet, makes sense. I can see apple taking advantage of the success of the iPhone and its app store. A touch screen web tablet could be just the thing to get iPhone users who still use the PC to begin their switch to Macs.

I would guess that Apple would want to include an accelerometer (like the iPhone). It would also be nice to have a built in GPS chip. A device like this, while not replacing a PC, could perform a lot of the tasks that people use a PC for in the home. With bluetooth connectivity, you could also maybe attach a wireless keyboard to make typing a bit easier. Although, having said that, I don't seem to have a problem typing on my iPhone - so a larger screen would make it even easier.

I think one issue, however, would be the price point. Apple has stated they cant make a $500 computer that isn't garbage. I think with some sort of Netwon-like device, they may be able to get into the $500 to $600 range - I'm just not sure how large a demand they will have if they can't come in below that.

Hope we hear more!

I ran across a cool clock widget for the Mac OS X (it is also available for iPhone - and as a screen saver for both Mac and Windows). It is called PolarClock.

It has been developed by Gabriel Bucknall - and it allows you to sit and stare at your computer and watch the seconds, hours, days slowly pass. The clock represents month, date, day of the week, hour, minutes, and seconds as concentric arcs that increase as time passes.

You can find it at http://blog.pixelbreaker.com/polarclock or for the iPhone at the Apple Apps store.

Okay - my company switched to the iPhone from the Blackberry about 3 months ago. I love it - and, for the most part, my partners all like it as well. There were a couple of issues; one which I have been able to address, and the other which is still out there.

One of the biggest problems I had was trying to control spam. in my iPhone mail application. We have spam filters on our email servers, but some still manages to get through. My mail app on my Mac takes care of it - by dropping it into a junk mail folder - so that works for me. My issue was that since some of the junk mail made it to the server, I would end up with it on my iPhone. I managed a work-around for this (which I will post at some point if there is any interest) that I am very happy with.

The other issue - one which has yet to be addressed, is the Messaging capability. While I found a lot of things lacking on my Blackberry (web browsing for one), I will say that I loved the Blackberry Messenger. It let me IM my partners - and worked great. Unfortunately, the only way I've found to duplicate this with the iPhone is really through SMS messaging (texting). Since Apple apparently doesn't allow 3rd-party apps to run in the background - the only way to get IMs is to have an IM app running in the foreground - which then limits what else you can be doing with your iPhone. Hopefully, Apple will work on this.

Now - having the iPhone for a few months, I've tried out a number of Apps (I will admit - most of the Apps I have tried have been free). There are a few which I really like, so I thought I'd mention two of them here.

Public Radio - I love this app. I am a big NPR news junkie. I listen to Morning Edition every day on the way to work, and to All things Considered on the way home. However, it never fails that during a really interesting story I end up either arriving at my destination - or passing out of range. The NPR Mobile app lets you listen live to your favorite Public Radio station. I've found I use it a lot when I travel - especially while at the airport.

Shazam - This is another great app. It allows you to identify a song by simply holding your iPhone up to the sound and hitting the 'Tag' button. I've used it to identify songs on the Radio - at basketball games, and off of t.v. - it works great! It will not only identify the song/artist - but allow you to link to the song to buy it from iTunes. You can get it here.