Watched last night’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann and couldn’t help but laugh at a quick fix for those of you poor bastards stuck on the AT&T network because of having an iPhone and are now dealing (at least if you got the latest one) with a pretty big flaw: lost reception from “holding it wrong.”

Consumer Reports initially said good things, but have now added that, despite it having all those features people have been wanting (to a degree), they can no longer recommend it, since if a consumer holds it a certain way, they can lose enough of a signal to potentially drop a call. It’s bad enough it’s stuck on AT&T (which I’ve only hear bad things about), now there’s this.

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I myself wish I could get an iPhone, since I don’t really make too many calls (I hate phones actually) and like the more media stuff, but then again, hate the idea of adding data plans that can bringing a monthly bill nearer $100. It’s a little out of my comfort zone. I’ll stick with Verizon where I managed to get a loyalty plan of 50-min (plus 250-min N&W) for $20. Not much for most people, but like I said, I don’t talk much. I still have an LG enV, which I’ve had for, will be 3-years this November, and as long as it works (and, with the exception the battery drains faster now), I’ll keep using it.

Hehe, as I write this, looks like Attack of the Show on G4 is gonna be going over this during the Loop segment.

All the talks and build leading to Apple having a tablet released, and it finally came…Unfortunately, maybe they should have spent a little more time with the name. iPad, yep, that’s what Apple is calling it, and it seriously is a horrible name. In fact, on Twitter, iTampon was (and still is) a trending topic, and earlier I saw it and didn’t know what to make of it, until I got an email from Apple (as I subscribe to the newsletter for updates) introducing the “iPad,” then it all made sense.

They could’ve been better off with iTablet, or just iTab, maybe, but iPad?

It is most obvious that there are no women working at Apple, as this article from the New York Times suggests.

Now, looking past the name, here is a breakdown of what the iPad has in store for consumers:

POSITIVES:
Ability to utilize iPhone apps
With that, it’s essentially a larger iPod Touch or iPhone, so anyone with those can use this with ease
Price – $499, yep, Apple’s tablet is $499 (for a 16GB model, $599 for 32GB, it’s $699 for 64GB, and it starts at $629 instead for the 3G version, plus the AT&T plan requires $30/mo for the data plan to even use 3G)

CONS:
No a widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio
No USB ports?
And no video camera (some of your cheapest Notebooks (Hell, even Netbooks) come with web cameras at least)
And for having a browser, no flash support

5 Things the iPad is Missing – CNET

I have to agree with that CNET article (the 5 Things one I just linked above), that though I find Netbooks stupid (just go a couple hundred dollars more to have something with a little more power, a little more space and memory, and more importantly, an optical drive (which none of the Netbooks I’ve seen had, and I think that alone makes them not worth getting)), I don’t see them going away because Apple has a functioning computing unit that starts at less than $500, because it too isn’t very expandable, it’s ridiculously thin (what is with people wanting so much from so little, bulk it slightly, and have an optical drive or something), and, as mentioned, iPad is without a web cam, which dirt cheap Netbooks have (even if they are shitty quality, it’s better than nothing).

Honestly, the larger screen is the only plus which would be best for watching videos (such as the lovely ones you may (that I have) purchased through iTunes and stuck watching on my laptop since the DRM crap confines it to devices iTunes supports (and I have no iPods [nor the Apple TV], since I find the costs high), and it’ll be better as an ebook reader, that could compete with Amazon’s Kindle (though I’ll still want a Kindle, ’cause, based on the pictures of the iPad, the glossy-ish screen could be bad for reading, while Kindle’s screen is crisp and designed for text, making it an easy read, plus the Whispernet service is included with no data charges (you pay for the books, which are cheaper than the physical hardback versions, so it’s not only cheaper, it’s better for the environment).

Another article to learn about this new device –> Review: Apple’s iPad has potential – San Francisco Chronicle

So, no, I probably won’t get one, I’d rather just invest in an iPod Touch, ’cause I’ve seen one of those in action, and it is pretty fuckin’ sweet.

Oh, have I mentionted that #iTampon is still trending on Twitter, if the Trending list is in order, it’s more talked about than the actual name of iPad. I mean, seriously, no women work at Apple?

Since the iPhone came out, the only cellular service that is compatible with it is AT&T. Well, many of us wouldn’t either benefit from the service (not available in our area) or just plain don’t want AT&T (’cause I surely don’t). I don’t care of the iPhone was the biggest gadget to come out in the last five years. It itself was pricey and in its early year, wasn’t much of an actual phone.

But, we know technology improves, and for the most part, today’s people don’t really use the phone all that much anymore (I hate phones). You got the text messaging, video streams, music downloads, the twitter thing the crazy kids are doing these days now, and if a cell phone doesn’t have much of any of these modern features, it’s not a phone worth having.

Now, the largest cell phone carrier, may be the next company to have the iPhone ready for their service (happy Verizon customer here). Verizon and Apple are in talks about it, but it won’t be soon, (as AT&T has exclusivity through 2010, but are looking to extend it), any kind of major talks between two huge companies take time, it may be a good possibility. With AT&T already carrying it and Verizon on board in the future, that means majority of cell phone subscribers have the chance to own a iPhone, if they choose to buy one.

Apple and Verizon consider iPhone deal – USA Today

Now, me being a Verizon customer, would I jump on board the iPhone train should this happen? Hmmm, I’m a little sketchy on it, as I’m not overly fond of touch screen gadgets (fingerprints, hello!), and my outdated enV works great for me, as I am a fan of QWERTY keyboards built in, but maybe in the one-two years, maybe my mind could change on it. And as long as my enV (very solid phone) works, I have no reason to upgrade, nor would I be interested in paying a few hundred bucks for one (current price for an iPhone from AT&T is 299.99 for the 16GB model, 199.99 for the 8GB one, with standard 2-yr contract).

Apparently, there is a big issue with typing on a regular keyboard. People can’t find the right keys because it’s QWERTY instead of ABC. That is down-right idiotic. It’s almost a waste to mention it here, but since I recently posted about a neat keyboard based on Scrabble, I need to post what is considered a dumb “innovation” for the keyboard. This particular keyboard lets a person type in two ways: the normal QWERTY way, but at the flip of a switch (or a button, whatever), it becomes a ABC keyboard.

And I have to agree with the DVICE poster, this is dumb for the fact that not everyone needs this keyboard, so if they go to, say, a library they’ll be screwed.

But the absolute main reason it’s dumb: ergonomics. It’s a great big word that basically means something is designed to fit for the job. In this case, the placement of the letters on a QWERTY keyboard are the way they are based on letters typed most. RST are common consonants, and are placed where the index, middle fingers have easy access to them, as well as the popular vowel ‘E’. Like when typing ‘ARE’, I can do that with one had, because they are all on one side. Also notice how unpopular letter such as the ‘q’ and ‘z’ are in corners, because they are less used. Therefore, an ABC keyboard would be completely unnecessary.

Source: DVICE

Scrabble Keyboard, via Datamancer

The game, Scrabble, is a good game to test a persons ability to spell words, and ewarding them more points for longer or just coming up with words with ‘Q’s and ‘X’s. And yes, it involves little wooden tiles of the whole alphabet, more of some (such as ‘E’) and fewer of others (like the ‘Q’ mentioned earlier).

The keyboard’s main role is to supply a graphical button a person can type to send an electronic signal (of 1s and 0s) to represent a letter.

So why not put them together? Well a guy named Richard Nagy did.  It’s a fully functional keyboard, Mac-compatible, and even has tiles cut on the Caps/Num Lock keys so the light shines through.  How cool is that?  Let’s hope Scrabble allows that name to be used so more could be made, otherwise, just look at the image on the right.

Datamancer

Just checking the DVICE blog by SCI-FI.COM like I go everyday (or at least every other day), and one little device caught my attention: The Netgear Digital Entertainer. It’s something like AppleTV or similar to having a Media Center, except, it’s totally not. With AppleTV, you’d be VERY limited to only Mac format files (such as .MOV or .MP4). Media Centers require, well, Windows, so, not very friendly for Mac or Linux OS. Well, that’s about to change.

This little puppy is set to be introduced next January to the CES (a consumer electronics event, basically). And as long as it’s reasonable in price, and hopefully, all the little info on it is true, I am looking forward to it, especially if it will be capable of streaming DRM files, such as TV SHOWS and Movies I legally own through iTunes, yet am subjected to viewing on me tiny little laptop screen (well, I have S-Video out, but it’ll be nicer to have something that can output HD instead).

Read All About it from DVICE.COM