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

I would like to see the Nokia Morph realized, it is a much more compelling device.

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.

The small wireless carriers are prohibited from getting the better devices because the mobile providers lock the manufacturer into contracts that prevent them from selling to everyone.  Verizon and AT&T said that they would open their services so that customers would be able to bring the device they wanted to their network or move to another.  However, we are still locked into contracts and carriers because of incompatible hardware and exclusivity contracts.

Despite the promises, we currently don’t see a change on the horizon.

In the other article the small or rural carriers ask the FCC to intervene and disrupt the exclusivity contracts.  These issues affect all those that want to take their iPhone to Verizon or another carrier.  This has a larger implementation that just the little guys that want to bring the latest bling to their networks.

The next change in hardware and services should, I hope, see the creation of a 700MHz chipset that will allow the owner of the hardware to migrate to the best provider for the area they live in.  I believe, eventually, that the carriers will become like the internet providers today and who you have won’t matter as much as the quality of service and the device you have.

Who wouldn’t like to have the iPhone in Alaska or Vermont?

iron wil

As I thought about it, I remembered that Verizon & AT&T both said they would open up their networks by the end of 2008.  Well, it is the beginning of 2010 and Verizon & AT&T, from what I know, are still clam-shelled.  They are not allowing users [us] to bring the device that we want to their service.

I am disappointed in this, very disappointed.

I believe that one day the mobile providers will have to open up because hardware manufactures & users will stick it to them and they will change.  The beginning of the end for their selecting of hardware we can use was started when Apple released the iPhone.  Since then, Google has released the Android software package and now the Nexus One phone.  Other hardware manufactures are jumping in and building handsets and devices that access mobile providers networks.

Times are changing.  The hardware manufactures are tightening the thumb screws and things will change for users and the carriers that provide our services.  I have to say that my prediction for 3 to 5 years is looking dismal; however, I am hopeful that it will happen.  That soon handsets and NetBooks will be open to provider transfer.  I know there are people that would like to take their iPhone to Verizon or T-Mobile and have the ability to move around per their need.

Time will tell, I am hopeful that it will happen soon.

iron wil

Hosts: Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, Bwana McCall, and Julio Ojeda-Zapata

The Facebook worm, Apple antivirus, Obama’s Zune, barcode-scanning phones, and more.

Links to all our stories are at http://delicious.com/twit/172.

Audible pick of the week: The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company, Unabridged, By David A. Price, Narrated by David Drummond.

get yours here.

iron wil

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Jason Calacanis, and Alex Lindsay

Talkin’ Tesla, BlackBerry-less presidenting, robot bidets, tech economy, and more.

Links to all our stories are at http://del.icio.us/twit/169.

Audible pick of the week: Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #5: Sacrifice, Abridged, By Karen Traviss, Narrated by Marc Thompson. To get two free audiobooks, visit Audible.com/twit2.

get yours here.

iron wil

Hosts: Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, Sarah Lane, Martin Sargent, Steve Bass, and Bwana McCall.

G1 reboot, Google/Yahoo, McCain/Obama servers attacked, I’m a PC booth, and more.

Links to all our stories are at http://del.icio.us/twit/168.

Audible pick of the week: The books of Michael Crichton. To get two free audiobooks, visit Audible.com/twit2.

get yours here.

iron wil

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Wil Harris, Jason Calacanis, Sarah Lane, and Kevin Rose

Mahalo and other layoffs, MSFT earnings, virtual murder, FOWA, G1 phone release, and more.

Links to all our stories are at http://del.icio.us/twit/166.

Audible pick of the week: The Post-American World, Unabridged, By Fareed Zakaria, Narrated by Fareed Zakaria. To get two free audiobooks, visit Audible.com/twit2.

get yours here.

iron wil

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Windows Not Walls, new Hotmail, Windows Live Video Message, and more.

Topics:

• Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 released
• Mojave Experiment update
• Plus: Windows, Not Walls with Jerry Seinfeld
• Windows Mobile 6.1 phone arrives: BlackJack II
• iPhone 3G issues in D.C.
• Rumors of Windows Live Wave 3
• New Hotmail coming
• Windows Live Video Message
• Windows Live Movie Maker?
• Microsoft updates WGA notifications in XP
• Battle of the set-top boxes

Tip of the week:

• Use SendMeRSS.com to get RSS feeds in your email
• $0.99 iTunes Movie of the Week

Software of the week:

• Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2
• Teracopy

Audible pick of the week: Election 2008. For a free audiobook, visit Audible.com/windows.

Check out Paul’s blog at http://www.internet-nexus.com and the SuperSite for Windows http://winsupersite.com for more information.

get yours here.

iron wil