The iPhone 3G is Game-Changing; Game-Ending for Google Android, Blackberry?

I'm likely not stating anything revolutionary here, but it is worth noting that what Jobs and Apple have built with the iPhone 3G is revolutionary. I traded my Blackberry in for the iPhone two days ago now (reactions are here) and the phone itself isn't the revolutionary aspect - it's the platform. I continue to be blown away by the Application platform and store that Apple released. The quality of content and innovation being put out by developers is remarkable (and we've just scratched the surface) - and both the developers and Apple's iPhone SDK / Dev Center are to thank for that. The available libraries are rich and developers are putting them to use effectively and rapidly.

And Apple's ability to leverage iTunes as a distribution lever for the App Store is immensely powerful. How can Google Android and Blackberry compete? Assume that their platform is equally robust and useful... there is a significant first mover advantage here and neither has the distribution platform that iTunes has. Will developers with already-hot iPhone apps choose to build on a new platform / library, or will they find ways to take advantage of their iPhone success with new versions and apps? And, considering their business focus, Blackberry will struggle with consumer applications... which happen to account for a large percentage of iPhone's current top paid and free apps. Meanwhile, it is yet to be seen what time of user Android will appeal to... and I don't expect that developers will dedicate resources without first understanding Android's size and type of userbase.

On a different note, I am not convinced consumers fully appreciate what Apple and the developers have put together... just two weeks after launch. Let's use the New York Times application as an example. It's a glossy, good-looking front-door to the New York Times that dynamically updates itself and allows readers to access news by category, popularity, photos, etc. And on the 3G network - it makes reading a (fast) joy.

It's the #1 'news' application and the 21st most popular free application. Oh yeah - it's 100% free. It has 239 reviews. The average rating is 2.5 stars.

Wait a second... The New York Times is giving away their newspaper in a gorgeous, routinely-updated application that sits on your phone's 'desktop' and is 100% free? And it can be downloaded over the AT&T network in a matter of seconds? And people are rating this a 2.5? Sure - the app can be improved and there are tweaks that should (and will) be made... but think about what was available two weeks ago. To read the NYT, you had to buy the paper, check your email or visit www.newyorktimes.com. Remarkable stuff is going on and the levels of innovation are eye-opening.

Confessions of a Blackberry Addict - I've Moved to the iPhone 3G

About a month ago, I wrote "Why I’m Turning in my Blackberry for an iPhone 3G" and it made its way onto Techmeme. The feedback I've received via comments and emails is generally of individual contention. Like me, people are conflicted about the turning in their trusty blackberries for an iPhone. Just today, a reader turned in his new iPhone 3G for his old blackbbery:

max Says: i just returned my iphone. you cannot search, you cannot copy and paste and if you get 100+ emails a day it drives you mad.

also i travel a lot and the data usage of this phone is crazy. it downloads every attachment first, even when I forward it without reading it… the blackberry has by far the most sophisticated push system out there and it is also push for GMAIL and virtually any other pop application.

If you know me, you know that I am a blackberry addict. I have a Blackberry Curve (the fourth Blackberry version I've owned) and I can type on it nearly as fast as I can on my laptop. I know the interface inside and out. I recognized that the iPhone likely cannot replace (or come close) to my Blackberry in terms of reading and delivering emails... but my attraction it is the new App Platform - which is truly-game changing. And as someone who works in the widget space (Widgetbox), I feel awkward carrying a Blackberry and not being a part of it.

So I bought the iPhone 3G yesterday morning and, after hours of arguing with various AT&T customer support employees, I was able to keep my old phone number. Here is my quick review in rambling format:

- I was immediately struck by how fast the network is. It turns the iPhone into a truly mobile internet browser - and while the iPhone can't keep up with writing content, it makes digesting web content easy and enjoyable. Safari and multi-tabbed browsing are enough to convert me... it killed me that I couldn't open multiple browsers on the Blackberry.

- Apple's App Store is really well done... but they are going to struggle with the shopping / finding experience as inventory continues to grow. Browsing outside of the top 25 apps is just plain difficult.

- The quality of the Apps is *very* impressive. People's ability and willingness to develop innovative apps that are sometimes useful and often useless-but-fun is exactly why I moved to the iPhone. And the apps are only going to improve over time. It's obvious that some companies rushed out content (ie New York Times), but I am certain that the NYT and others will recognize the early success and improve.

- Google NEEDS to get in the game. Their hybrid web-apps for Gtalk and GMail leave me yearning for my Blackberry.

- The much-touted sensor that moves the screen from vertical to wide-screen is very funky and rarely works properly. I assume that will be fixed in a software upgrade.

- Apple's packing is elegant (expected)... but the unwillingness to include a real charger is ludicrous. The charger is cheap and really just a short USB data cable.

- I am struggling with typing, but slowly improving. My biggest complaint is that the UI makes typing symbols cumbersome and confusing. I miss the Blackberry's ability to shift and control each key.

- The contacts UI is poorly done. When you have hundreds of contacts, it's rather painful to scroll through the users / alphabet or bring up the typing box. I really miss the Blackberry's hot-keys - where you can program keys for auto-dialing. I'd love to add contacts as icons to the home screen.

- And Max is dead-on: it's unbelievable that there is no search functionality or copy / pasting. Makes zero sense.

Techmeme: Now Gadgets, Page A1. Watch Out Engadget!

Yesterday, I wrote about how Techmeme's Leaderboard is shifting dramatically and both the analysis and reader feedback suggested that the biggest risers on Techmeme have been gadget blogs - specifically Apple and mobile blogs.

Robert Scoble left a great comment:

"I think some of that is rubbing off on Techmeme, too, but really, it’s due to the lack of interesting stories. Honestly, tell me three stories that have come out in the past month that got you excited. iPhone? Yes. What else?"

Susan Mernit then chimed in:

"I’m still a techmeme fan, though I bemoan that 60% of it is device and product news that I can get elsewhere and don’t find as interesting as the more narrow world of structured and unstructured data, search, community, social media, and so on…Seeing people like Louis Gray hit the list is thrilling because my own interest is in going beyond breaking news to analysis and reflection and Louis does that so well."

So here's Techmeme's current homepage. I've shaded gadget articles in red and tech news in blue. Sure the timing (namely iPhone's recent launch) might tilt the results here, but Apple doesn't dominate the page. News from XBox, Blackberry, and Google fill up much of the homepage.

So is Techmeme, whose current tagline is "Tech Web, Page A1", becoming Techmeme: "Gadgets, Page A1"? Watch out Engadget!

Amazon Kindle is a Hit: 12% of Book Sales on Amazon, Doubled Since May

Amidst all of the discussion about the iPhone 3G that hits stores tomorrow, another industry changing gadget is getting overlooked. According to Time Magazine: "On a title-by-title basis, of the 130,000 titles available on Kindle and in physical form, Kindle sales now make up over 12% of sales for those titles.... At a technology trade conference in May, CEO Jeff Bezos said that Kindle sales accounted for 6% of book titles sold for the Kindle and in print. So Amazon appears to be selling more e-books."

Those are big numbers. 12% of sales for books that are available in print AND on the Kindle are purchased for the Kindle - which is meaningful because:

- Best-sellers and popular titles are available on the Kindle, whereas the long tail isn't yet... meaning that the sales volume is significant

- Considering Amazon's size, 12% of purchases represents real demand and volume

- Amazon's margin on e-books (I'm assuming) is far greater than with regular books... not considering the associated revenue / value of a Kindle customer vs. a normal Amazon.com user

I had the chance to play with the Kindle over the July 4th weekend and am very impressed. The usability is fantastic. The product feels terrific and the readability really is natural. And considering that I traveled with five different books, the ability to store tens of books on a pencil-thin device is super attractive.

My only complaints are around pricing (still restrictively expensive) and its inability to either surf the web or access blog / rss content free-of-charge. I will buy a Kindle at some point - but will likely wait until the price comes down (it's already fallen to $359) and the second version comes out... until then, I'll continue to be part of the 88% who tote around books.

InGameNow Launches - Brings Sports Scores, Chatter Mobile

I haven't blogged much in the last week - but I have good reason: we've been hard at work on InGameNow... and, just in time for tomorrow's NBA Draft, we officially launched today! InGameNow: Twitter for Sports

As I have discussed before, InGameNow was launched and funded out of sfEntrepreneurs - an organization of ten local entrepreneurs with varied skillsets. After a couple months of intensive work in each of our 'spare' time, we have launched a product that we are very excited about. The concept of InGameNow arrived from the team's two shared passions:

1. We are all avid sports fans 2. We are all avid Twitter users

But we collectively were disappointed about the lack of a sports presence on Twitter - and personally, I am a believer that Twitter is effective for open, spontaneous discussions but struggles as a medium to follow structured events.

The end result is InGameNow.com which can best be described as Twitter for sports. With InGameNow, sports fans can interact around teams, players and games... most exciting, users can now receive real-time updates and scores via Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger and Email (customizable by frequency and content) - so even if you can't attend or view your team's next game, you'll be able to stay up-to-date and engage with fellow enthusiasts:

For mobile users, you can either us Google Talk, browse directly on InGameNow.com (optimized for the iPhone) or schedule email alerts:

We also had a nice write up on Mashable:

A new sports community called InGameNow, from the creators of the recently acquired beRecruited, adopts the Twitter method of disseminating user-generated information on sports news reporting and commentary. In addition, these Twitter-like updates are filtered based on votes, so the best updates can bubble to the top. In true sports community nature, users on InGameNow earn points for site participation, and can work their way up the rankings in order to become trusted users...

If you're a sports fan, I encourage you to check out InGameNow. We aim to have an active night of posting for tomorrow's NBA Draft. And (as always) I welcome feedback either on the blog or directly via email!

Why I'm Turning in my Blackberry for an iPhone 3G

I love my blackberry. And I've written about how much I love it.

I am disappointed by the 'iPhone 2.0' - it doesn't have video recording - let alone MMS.

... But today I dropped my blackberry and severely scratched the screen. It made me consider whether to:

1) buy a new Blackberry Curve 2) wait until the new Blackberry Bold arrives 3) trade it in for the new iPhone 3G

The answer was pretty easy: It's time to convert to the new iPhone. I don't love the iPhone for reasons I've already written about. First, the new version isn't as innovative as it claims. Second, I use my Blackberry to send numerous daily emails and really do need a full keyboard. Third, I have no complaints about my current Blackberry and its interface.

But... now that I need a new phone, the biggest draw to the iPhone 2.0 is it's platform.... especially considering my role at Widgetbox. I love my Blackberry - but the iPhone's open platform is attractive enough to draw me towards Apple. I already know I won't love the iPhone - but I am sure there will be plenty of applications that I grow to love.

I work in a world of platforms, applications and widgets - at this point, I feel guilty using my Blackberry (despite loving it) because it's neither the future of mobile nor is it the representative of the (open) web philosophies I believe in.

WWDC 2008 Starting, Twitter Already Struggling (TechCrunch Too)

Twitter is already struggling to stay afloat as the tech world buzzes about Apples WWDC 2008... and Steve Jobs hasn't even taken the stage yet. Perhaps Twitter shouldn't have made their "we're ready" announcement yesterday (or as Michael Arrington noted, "Tempted Fate")?

Twhirl isn't passing data in either direction and Twitter.com is moving remarkably slow.

That said, TechCrunch is down as well...

iPhone 2.0 - What it will take to Convert Me

It was about a year ago that Apple announced the iPhone and the tech world traded in their cell phones and blackberries for the slick, full-screened gadget. I was intrigued (and love the UI) but it wasn't enough for me to trade in my trusty Blackberry Curve.

So as today's iPhone 2.0 announcement looms just two blocks away from my home (where I type this) - here's what I am looking for and what will get me to convert:

- 3G: seems a given - Improved Photos: the Blackberry doesn't cut it and I'm using my phone for media more and more - Video: the rumors of a front-facing video feature have me giddy - Sizing: sure the current model is sexy, but it's still relatively big (height and width) - Other Improvements: ie GPS, MMS

You can follow the WWDC at USA Today and live on Engadget and Gizmodo.

Twitter Can Learn a Lesson from my Girlfriend

I turned my girlfriend Anette onto Twitter 6 months ago (@anetteherrera. She's admittedly and proudly not a techie; but she enjoys following a few close friends has actually posted 100+ tweets since registering.

All of her twitter usage has come from her Blackberry. Other than registering, she has never visited Twitter.com. So when she asked me last night why she hadn't received any Twitter updates in over two weeks, I realized that she had no idea that Twitter had been down and shut off their IM service.

Fascinating.

Twitter has been lauded for being transparent with their status problems - releasing a new blog, giving interviews and attempting to address the issues. But, that praise has come from techies (like myself). And if you don't read TechCrunch or blogs like this regularly - you'd be left in the dark wondering why twitter@twitter.com on GTalk isn't working... which is precisely what happened to Anette (though she really should read my blog!).

The lesson I learned is that transparency only works when there are viewers.

One of the great growth factors for Twitter was the ability to receive and post from distributed sources (ie off-Twitter.com)... But the only notice from Twitter regarding their service failures is on a status blog and in a small square on your Twitter.com profile. Perhaps an email would work? Perhaps an @twitter direct message?

While most of Twitter's users are tech-folks, I guarantee there are countless others like Anette who wondered why they weren't receiving Twitter updates and couldn't makes posts. It's not good business to hope that these users figure out what's going on and hope that they return... when the service returns.