Isaiah's Tech

The iPhone 4G and the iPhone Pro concepts may not be a good interpretation of what Apple is drawing up, but Gizmodo says that this iPhone concept could be the closest thing to the next iPhone model. While it does look very iPhone-esque it's clearly missing the secondary video camera on the front - for use with the new Skype client and possible iChat. It does look very nice, but I really hope that Apple decides to include a physical QWERTY keyboard. So far, it doesn't look like that could be Apple's intentions. The next iPhone will most likely have a larger and possibly even an OLED screen, but that could make it pretty expensive. I'm really curious to see what the next iPhone looks like and if I had the time to mock up my own illustration I would. The next iPhone will be even better than the iPhone 3G, I'm so excited.

[Gizmodo]

A new LG touchscreen has made its way to the good old Internet today. The upcoming LG KM900 Arena will have a unique UI. The UI is said to be 3D and it will be named "S-Class." The LG Arena will have a "5 megapixel camera with DVD quality video recording capabilities", DivX playback, Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi. This will probably be announced formally at MWC which is weeks away. I will also point out that, like the Toshiba TG01, it also looks similar to the iPhone.

Motorola has mentioned that Windows Mobile 7 won't be out until 2010. Motorola mentioned this as they made their announcement that they were going to be utilizing Android to try to dig themselves out of the hole that they are in. Windows Mobile 7 is not confirmed to be released in 2010, but that's just what Sanjay Jha from Motorola thinks. It sounds about right though, since WinMo 6.5 should hit us in the summertime.

If you go to gmail.com/tasks on your mobile phone, you will be able to use Gmail Tasks on your iPhone or your Android phone. "The new mobile UI works for Android phones and iPhone, and gives you a quick way to view tasks, create new lists, add new tasks, mark tasks as completed, and that's about it."

Apple Tablet? This looks to me like the rumoured 7-9 inch iPod Touch that was mentioned a while ago (here). It doesn't look exactly like the iPod Touch, so i may be wrong. Atlthough, that was my first thought when i saw this picture. Apple's tablet display was said to be described in a recent patent. This picture shows what the tablet may look like, judging from Apple's patent. "The patent describes several forms of these displays-most of them already in use in current Apple laptops-, describing displays attached to portable computers." I'm sure that we'll hear more about this Apple tablet soon.

No, this is not the iPhone Pro, but instead we see an iPhone 4G Concept. The "fantasy specs" of this phone include: titanium and glass, an OLED screen, 3G, GPS, front camera for iChat, removable battery, 3.2MP camera, video and 32GB of internal memory. I don't really know why these "fantasy specs" include only having a 3.2MP camera. I think Apple should upgrade the camera to 5 megapixels. Both flashes (for the camera and Internet) weren't even asked for, so i guess i'll add those things on the list also. The OLED screen would be a fascinating idea, but that alone would put a hole in our wallets. Maybe one day Apple fanboy, maybe. I thought i'd also point out that Macy Gray will again be the face of the next iPhone... joking.

LG KM900 Arena (and picture): http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_km900_arena_leaks_touchscreen_fans_leap_with_joy-news-769.php
Windows Mobile 7 in 2010: http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/02/03/moto.says.win.mo.7.in.2010/
Gmail Tasks On Your Android or iPhone: http://mashable.com/2009/02/02/gmail-tasks-on-iphone/
Apple Tablet (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5145104/apple-tablet-likely-described-in-patent
iPhone 4G Concept (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5145151/iphone-4g-concept-is-a-macbook-in-a-phone

If you love Google like me, this blog post will be amazing to read. It might even be as fun to read as it was for me to type this up. Anyways, let's get down to the Google news.

Ever since the pictures of the [ugly] T-Mobile G2 came out, there have been numerous fake Android G2 phones popping around all over the web. In my opinion, this one pictured on the left looks like the best one. I say this because it looks like a skinnier, white HTC Touch HD. Although, i don't like the skinniness of the phone too much, it still manages to look better than the current G2. The buttons on this fake G2 also could have been done better and they could have also included a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Now that would be my dream phone. An HTC Touch HD + Nokia N97 + Android all-in-one phone. The HTC Touch HD's looks and camera, mixed with the N97's storage and slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Dump both of their Mobile OS's for the Android and you get the ultimate phone. We will name my dream phone the Android HTC N97 HD. It would be a good competitor for the iPhone Pro. Both the Android HTC N97 HD and the iPhone Pro are only make-believe.

Google's long-awaited Webdrive service, dubbed the name Gdrive, may be in the near-future. A new, possible hint at Google's GDrive is in this picture on the left. Is this a possible icon for the GDrive service? This along with the option on the Picasa beta for the Mac, may be hints towards a possible GDrive hitting consumers later on this year. I talked about Google's GDrive a couple of days ago (here). It is basically online storage for everything on your hard drive. There is also the rumour that you will be able to use Google's, also rumoured, Operating System. Click the picture for a larger view, if you want.

"[Google] Gears has been around for awhile, but has really reached a stage of maturity, making it stable across Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. Google gears provides synchronization of online content such that it can be edited even if there is no Internet connection." Gears is a fairly new service from Google and i expect it to blossom this year. Google Docs, which is a part of Gears, is getting much better. I find myself using Google Docs more and more, as it gets better and better. I use Google Reader every single day and it is also a part of Gears. I've told you before that Google is going to take over the Internet and once they do that, they will probably take over offline as well. Google is pushing their way into our faces. With the expansion of Google Chrome and Gears, along with a possible GDrive making its appearance later this year. 2009 may be a good year for Google to make an aggressive push.

Android G2 (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5139252/fake-android-g2-phones-invading-the-world
Google GDrive (and picture): http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/01/more-signs-of-google-webdrive.html
Google Gears: http://education.zdnet.com/?p=2052

Let's start off the news with PC World's 5 best Macworld Rumours.

Numero Uno on the list is the talk of the iPhone Nano (see left side). Will Apple talk about the new iPhone Nano tomorrow at Macworld? I don't know, but, first of all, would it be a good idea? Everyone has their own opinion and i'm going to have to say that, hopefully, they don't announce an iPhone Nano. Why? Because i don't want to use a smaller version of the iPhone, i feel that the screen really sets it apart from it's competitors. If the iPhone had a smaller screen it would be harder to play games via application and it would be strenuous on your eyes trying to browse the Internet. Moving along.

Number 2 is the iMac Upgrades (see left side). A new rumour surfaced today about a new iMac with a "magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis, a new cooling system and a 65W, quad-core chip set ... with Snow Leopard-the next version of OSX-in mind. The new OS is supposed to optimize multi-processor cores." Wow, that was a lot of information. But, it does sound very good for the Mac. If this does end up being released, i expect that Mac's market share will increase even more then it has. Personally, i do not like the Mac's, but some people do and i'll respect that.

Number 3. Talks of a 32GB iPhone. It's self-explanatory what this is and it sounds good. More space for apps, but will cost more.

Number 4. This is regarding Picasa for the Mac. Talks about Google finally releasing Picasa for Mac's are stirring up. Picasa is a place where you can store a bunch of photos. Hey, i love Google, so why not do this? [Edited on Monday at 7:20 p.m.: Looks like Google didn't even wait until Macworld. Google has just released a beta version of Picasa on the Macs, courtesy of ZDnet.com. (link here)]

Last, but not least, number 5. An iPhone Elite or Pro. PC World mentions that this actually isn't a rumour and that it is a "fantasy." I blogged about it a couple of days ago (link). The iPhone Pro (concept) has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that also has a D-pad and 2 buttons, A and B. Lots of GB's of space for apps and such, a better camera and a bunch of other stuff to make the ultimate iPhone. This most likely won't get announced tomorrow. But, it's a good idea and maybe one day, we'll see something like it unfold before our eyes. Maybe even literally.

I've already talked about Samsung's new LCD TV's that they are going to be unveiling at this year's CES. But, to add to that, it looks like they'll also be showing a new Blu-ray player that is only 1.5 inches thick (39 mm). This year's CES looks to be an exciting one and, like i've said many times before, i hope i'll be able to watch some live streaming of the event. I think that G4 TV will be showing CES 2009 on their channel. Unfortunately, i don't have satellite and i don't have it on Rogers... so i can't watch it. I'm hoping it's on the Internet somewhere, cross your fingers. If i do get to watch it, be prepared for a bombardment of blog posts, just like a bunch of other websites will be doing.

The Dell Inspiron 15 notebook is scheduled to be released for the end of this month starting at $600 USD. Finally, something affordable that i'm actually talking about. This notebook will have a 15.6 inch screen, will have up to 4 GB of RAM and up to 320 GB of hard drive space. It will sport Intel's Core 2 Duo and has an integrated webcam. Unforutnately though, it's Blu-ray drive is optional, meaning that if you want that on your Inspiron, you'll have to pay extra. I feel that this is a pretty good 'bang for your buck.'

Some new news regarding the brand MSI. This is actually the first day i've looked into exactly what MSI is all about. It turns out that MSI stands for Micro-Star International and is a brand, just like HP, Sony or Dell. I don't if it's just me or maybe i've been living under a rock for a while, but it was the first time i've actually heard of this company. Anyways, MSI is working on 2 different notebooks / netbooks. One being the MSI Wind U-Series and the MSI X-Slim 320. They are showing both of these models at this week's CES. "Their U-Series Netbooks include the U115 that will be capable of running both a SSD (Solid State Drive) and HDD (Hard Drisk Drive) at the same time using hybrid storage technology." The netbook itself will sport a 10 inch screen and will have a battery life of 12 hours. The other netbook, the U120, "will feature Intel WiMAX (which, i think, is faster than Wi-Fi) or 3.5G wireless solutions for mobile connectivity." The top picture on the left is the MSI Wind U115. The picture underneath the U115 is a side view of the MSI X-Slim 320. As you can see, it is really thin. At it's thickest point it is 1.98 cm and weighs about 2.87 pounds. It is very light, but still manages to pull off a 13.4 inch display. The MSI netbooks / notebooks seem to be consistent in keeping the battery life high, as this laptop will have a battery life of up to 10 hours. There are no official specs for this laptop, but it is rumoured to have "a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, 1366 x 768 resolution, up to 2GB DDR2 RAM, Bluetooth, [and a] 3.5G network card," just to name a few things. "It's coming second quarter of 2009 for about $800," of course, USD. I'll get you some more information about this on the weekend, if i can.

That was a pretty long post, it should keep you occupied for a bit. CES in a couple of days and Macworld tomorrow. How sweet is this week?

5 Best Macworld Rumours (and pictures): http://www.pcworld.com/article/156328/macworld_expo_preview.html?tk=rss_news
Samsung Blu-ray Player (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/05/samsung-to-launch-1-5-inch-thin-blu-ray-player-at-ces/
Dell 15.6 inch Inspiron 15: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/05/dell-introduces-15-6-inch-inspiron-15-notebook-starts-at-600/
MSI Wind: http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=1567
MSI X-Slim 320: http://www.engadget.com/tag/msi/

I didn't get to blog yesterday because of Rogers Internet. I didn't have Internet for the past 40 hours because Rogers really fails. Anyways, i'll talk more about that later, let's talk about Monday and my G2 Test. So, Monday i woke up at around 11:30 a.m. and had an hour and 15 minutes to spare until i was going to get picked up for my G2 Driving Test. With the G2, i can drive by myself, even though i currently don't have a car to drive... Fail. Well, anyways, i showered and before i knew it, i was on my way to the Driving Test. I got there at about 1:30 p.m. and me and my driving instructor talked in the car until about 2:01 p.m. That's when i was about to do my test. I talked to my driving instructor for almost a half hour and i was getting quite nervous, to be honest. So yes, 2:01 p.m. and my G2 Test starts. I start off with a left turn out of the parking lot and the examiner tells me to make a 3-point turn. I do so in a mere perfect manner (LOL!) and then shortly after that he tells me to parallel park in between 2 pylons. I do so, but then he informs me that next time, i should park closer to the curb. So, i nod and away we go again. I come to a stop sign and i end up stopping too late, leaving me with no choice, but to end up stopping a couple of inches ahead of the stop sign, which was on the sidewalk. He tells me that i shouldn't do that and that's when i started losing confidence. I ended up driving too slow (40 km/h) on a 50 km/h speed limit area. This is when he tells me to get rid of my jitters. I listened to him and about 8 minutes later, i finish the test, quite smoothly. Going into the test, i thought that it was going to take 45 minutes - 1 hour, but in reality, it was all of about 10 minutes. Anyways, after i finish, he tells me that i should be more observant while driving and that all-in-all, i passed my G2 Driving Test! Woohoo! I can drive alone, now i just have to ninja my mom's car. After passing my test, i went to my girlfriend, Nikki's, place. We watched 'King of Queens' for an hour and after that, Ashlee came by. The three of us watched Family channel and we went on the Internet for a bit. This is where it all starts. Time for some Cranium! The teams were me and Jeff (Nikki's younger brother) facing off against Nikki and Ashlee. It was really, really fun. Me and Jeff were ahead pretty much the whole time, until the end. Nikki and Ashlee ended up making a dramatic and miraculous comeback to win the game. Unbelievable. We demand a rematch! Anyways, after that, i bussed home and ended up going to sleep at about 3:15 a.m.

By the way, just thought i'd tell you now, this blog post will be quite lengthy [I, actually, ended up breaking the long post, into 2 separate ones]. As i said earlier, i didn't have Internet for the past 40 hours because of Rogers screwing it up. On Sunday, the phone wasn't working, so a technician came in. He ended up messing up both the Internet and didn't even manage to fix the problem with the phone. So, on Monday, the phone magically starts working again and the Internet was still down. So, Tuesday [today] another technician comes in. He arrives at my house at about 10:00 a.m. to fix the Internet. So, time flies by and everything is up and running by about 1:00 p.m. So, he tells me that the Internet will work as soon as i restart my computer and laptop. In my head, i don't believe him, but he is the technician so i took his word for it. Just in case though, i restarted my laptop as fast as i could. He exits the house and enters his vehicle. I run upstairs and check if my Internet is working and what do you know... it wasn't. I run back downstairs, put my shoes on and knock on the technician's van window. I tell him that the Internet still wasn't working and he comes back inside the house and we both try to figure out the problem. We were working on finding the solution when all of a sudden UFC came on the TV on The Score. We both stop and watch briefly. After about 2 minutes, the UFC highlights finishes and we continue trying to find out what was wrong with the Internet. After about 2 more minutes, we figure it out and my Internet is finally back and stable. That was 3-4 hours ago. So for the past 3-4 hours, i've done nothing but Neopets, eat and i skimmed through my Google Reader which had 1000+ unread items.

This is one of the most interesting things i have seen on Gizmodo.com. The iPhone Pro. This is a concept from Gizmodo, which would turn the iPhone into the ultimate phone. Please keep in mind that these are not real pictures and that Apple is currently not developing what you see in these pictures. Although, with technology, it's always a possibility in the future. Anyways, this new 'iPhone Pro' sports a true 16:9 aspect ratio, 60GB of storage, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a camera on the front for iChat and a high quality camera on the other side (with optical zoom and all that stuff). This is an amazing idea and i think that Apple really should get their hands on these concept pictures. This is probably the best idea i've ever heard. When you reveal the QWERTY keyboard, you will also spot a directional pad (on the left side) and 2 buttons (on the right side). These would be fully functional in the game applications that users are creating. I feel that this definitely would be a serious competitor to anything, including: game handhelds (Nintendo DS, Sony PSP), new cell phones and even new PMP's (Portable Media Player's). I think this would crush everything in sight.

Just when you thought Lenovo's ThinkPad W700ds, would be the only one coming up with dual-screens for laptops, think again. Kidding. But, a recent concept design of a new gaming laptop, created by Kyle Cherry, dubbed the name 'The Prime Gaming Laptop' is "ridiculous." Again, keep in mind, this is a concept, just like the (above) iPhone Pro. Kyle Cherry designed this laptop which sports triple-monitors. Yes, 3! This concept design is also amazing. You can use all 3 screens, which will reveal to you about 26 inches of OLED's, or you can fold up those 2 side-screens, to convert it into a 13-inch notebook. This is really nice-looking, but Gizmodo.com says that it may be another "5-10 years [before] we'll see stuff like this." Although, it does look amazing, don't count on this one being too close in our future.

This new, Samsung S8300 will be an upgrade to the current Samsung Soul. This phone will sport a "2.8 inch AMOLED touchscreen, [and an] 8-megapixel camera." There were a bunch of other features, like on-board GPS, but that really doesn't interest me too much. It looks like a superb phone, maybe because it is an upgrade to the Samsung Soul. I had my eye on the Samsung Soul for a while, but that was a long time ago. In my next post, i talk about the Samsung INNOV8, which i actually like more than this Samsung phone. They're both worth a good look though.

2009 looks to be a strong year for LG, so don't give up on them yet. LG is going to shock the crowd at CES 2009 by unvealing the world's thinnest LCD TV. Although, the viewing size is still to be determined (or just not listed on the site) it will sport a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and will be just 24.8 mm (0.97 inches) at it's thickest point. Quite sexy, but will likely be expensive. Why does everything i talk about have to be so expensive for?

Part 2 is coming up next... this is what happens when you don't blog for 2 days.

Beige Corolla picture: http://www.desimotor.com/Vehicles_Sold.html
Rogers picture: http://www.xmradio.ca/partners/partners.cfm
Gizmodo's iPhone Pro (and picture): http://gizmodo.com/5119445/the-dream-iphone-pro
3-screen Gaming Laptop (and picture): http://gizmodo.com/5119803/three+oled+screened-28+inch-gaming-laptop-sure-is-a-nice-idea
Samsung S8300 (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/29/samsungs-s8300-slider-packs-amoled-display-8-megapixel-camera/
LG LH95 (and picture): http://gizmodo.com/5120397/lgs-upcoming-lh95-is-the-thinnest-lcd-tv-yet