First, with CDMA you can’t use data and voice at the same time – this is HUGE!!!  I can’t tell you how many times I have needed to get online for some information and was able to while on a phone call.  I guess Verizon customers are used to this limitation and they are okay with it.

Second, I expected Apple would develop and release an LTE iPhone that would cover both AT&T and Verizon.   I based that expectation on both AT&T and Verizon moving to the 700MHz radio band, to which the rights for use were acquired when the FCC auctioned the bandwidth off.

I still anticipate an iPhone 4G that will run on the 700MHz or LTE band this summer; however, this could be the first time that Apple skips a summer release.  I don’t anticipate that Sprint or T-Mobile will come online anytime soon; yet I am wrong … and more often then I would like.

What I can say is that Apple continues to surprise me.

iron wil

HTC and Samsung have also produced the most compelling second tier SmartPhones.  I have to admit that the I wish I had the cash to buy and test these other devices.  I have seen the HTC Incredible and it is a compelling SmartPhone, I would also have liked to see the Droid X, HTC Evo, and the Galaxy S phones up close.

We have seen false starts [JooJoo - discontinued] and demo’s [PlayBook]; however, only one company has a compelling Slate [or Tablet] product.  Samsung has released the Galaxy Tab, the only real contender in the Slate market.  I would love to have one of these to test and use for a month or two.  I really like the form and think that it could be a very useful and usable device.  I also think that its 7″ and 16:9 screen size is a useful size.  In other places … Archos has a few devices yet, because they do not have the same footprint or power in the US market, they have gone mostly unnoticed by the populace.

We have several other Slate devices that are rumored to be coming soon; however, all I am seeing is VaporWare.

The desktop computer market is becoming old hat.  I will agree that they are needed in the business world, but I can actually see more people moving to a Slate PC for everyday usage.  I know that I could go Slate for 85% to 95% of the things that I do, if I have a 3G [or4G] connection.  I have to admit that with a few specialized Apps and more HTML5-based websites … I could be quite happy.  I don’t have a problem syncing my Slate to a central or main PC, especially if it provides a full hard drive back up.  I would love to see Wi-Fi Syncing for everything but OS updates.

I believe the Touch Interface will start to migrate into a whole lot of places and many of them will be places it doesn’t belong.  A few places I would like to see a Touch Interface is on a fridge with weather and some other applications – grocery lists and meal planning options to name a two more.  Another place could be bathroom mirrors with a built in floor scale and historical medical data.  I would be happy to stand on a scale/device that could read Weight, BMI, Blood Pressure, among other bio-readings.

Well, 2011 dawns and 2010 has waned.  What will happen this year in Technology … is anybody’s guess … unless you work for Apple!

iron wil

LTE or 4G is being rolled out this January by Verizon.  LTE is built on the 700MHz band that was purchased a few years ago by Verizon and AT&T.  The promised speeds can be up to 5 – 12 Mbps.  This is different from Sprint’s 4G service which is WiMax and it is not based on the 700MHz radio band.

There are several articles on Verizon’s 4G network and the Verizon iPhone.  What I think we will see is an iPhone 4[X], or 4G, that is the same device with the 700MHz chip set.  That way there will be a phone that covers the new services being rolled out by Verizon and AT&T in 2011.  It makes sense that even if Verizon is rolling out the new service in January that Apple would wait until the summer before delivering the new device; that way Apple will cover 2 networks at once.  I believe there will be an announcement in January and the phone in late June.  Apple likes to plan things out and deliver their products with panache.

iron wil

Update, 2010.08.16

Adam from MacCast also supports my beliefs on the full 700MHz spectrum iPhone 4.  It was also discussed on TWIT.tv on TWiT #260 and TNT #49.  Some of the panelists feel the same way, others share their points of view.

If you have been paying attention, Apple recently bought Siri, ‘Your Virtual Personal Assistant’.  Their tag line … “You Ask, Siri Does”.  3G and soon to come 4G services, or ubiquitous wireless services and a person can get access to their data anywhere.  It is coming and I am excited to see next years products.

So, if you take all the things I have been thinking about the iPad from my previous posts, it is understandable where Apple is going.  They know what they are looking forward and planning for.  Do you see it?

iron wil

Previous Posts:

Curse of the Mobile Providers

Google unwires the US?

Verizon pulls a 180 on the Band Width Auction

Google Phone?

OS X on your WinBox!!!

The iPhone and Wired prove ME right!

Mobile Moving towards Freedom

Next Awesome iPhone App!

A Possible Apple Tablet

Rotten Apples? Nope, Just Complaints

Apple Tablet Prediction

I was on Yammer the other day and the group was asking about the iSlate and what our predictions were for next month.  As I thought about the question and thought about rumor mill this is what I thought of =  JooJoo + Sports Illustrated Demo + Kindle + Lala + built in battery + Inkwell + Wi-Fi/3G.

Okay, we already know that whatever Apple and Mr. Jobs are doing is going to look great and fit into the architecture that already exists and the JooJoo is a good idea of what can be done today.  Since we don’t have to worry about design [it's not a mouse] we know that it will look great!  Some of my favorite concepts can be found here.  We also know that it will work with iTunes in some way, have built in Wi-Fi [iPhone/iPod Touches and possibly some 3G/4G if the Verizon rumors are true], and a built in battery.

The next thing it will have to cover is the usefulness and ease of use.  What if they left in Inkwell, the handwriting recognition software and allowed for capacitive writing with your finger?!?  … Or a puff ball … which would allow for quick note taking and editing, like the Windows Courier project?  Now, allow for Sports Illustrated Tablet demo functionality with books, magazines [I would love to get Wired like this!!!], and mixed media.  This would make the Kindle and other eReaders look last decade.

Now add iTunes with subscriptions or Lala, which Apple bought in December 2009, and then you don’t have to port your entire library … you can stream it through your iTunes account to the new device!

Well, I don’t know about you, but I want one!!!  I don’t know if I am even half right; Apple is making waves and the rumors are in the water.  We will see on the 27th of January.

NetBooks and eReaders beware they are about to redefine your markets and youse will lose market share.

Listening to MacBreak Weekly #174 and I realized that I forgot something very important, the App Store!!!  It has been leaked that Apple has expressed to some developers that they will want to work on full screen coverage.  They have talked about my thoughts that I wrote about here!!!

iron wil