Well personally I think this is going to be slightly heavy on one side and most of the highs have low points…

Time Capsule – This was a kick in the backside for anyone who recently purchased an AirPort Extreme because this is basically an AirPort Extreme with a hard disk included. The idea being that you can simply backup automatically over the airwaves. The problem with it is you can’t add any drives to it so you either stick with the 500GB or pay for the 1TB but even then for true, proper backup you should still have something offsite and on rotation. This basically means that every so often you swap a backup out and hold it somewhere else so should something happen you will still have a backup available.

iPhone updates – These were good and useful but not outstanding and seemed like a bridge to stem people unlocking phones by saying we are doing things but at least it was free.

• Maps with location is by far the best app that has been added in this bundle being able to find where you are with one touch and then getting directions for a restaurant you just searched for, very cool.
• Webclips, I don’t really think this is the best name but certainly a useful feature, saving bookmarks on the home screen to your favourite web apps is brilliant especially when it is still the only way to get more out of the iPhone at the moment.
• Customizing the home screen/s is again a great feature as I won’t ever use the stock app and getting that as well as a few others off a cluttered home screen is a god send.
• Sending multiple SMS messages is one of those things you don’t do very often but when you do, you really miss it so another useful add-on.
• Chapters, subtitles, languages and lyrics are all just fluff and not something I can really see anyone using.

iPod Touch updates – Yep the Touch got an update too as well, getting pretty much what you see above (less the multiple SMS option) and a few extra apps including mail, maps, weather, notes and stocks. However the update to the iPod Touch came with a sting… That’s right Apple does it again for those early adopters and is going to charge you $20 (£12.99/ £12.66) for the privilege of getting what the iPhone holders get for free. Will people still do it, hell yeah, I already have!

iTunes movie rentals – This is a biggie. I buy movies but not many, as once I have seen it I very rarely go back and watch them again for quite some time so for me renting is better than purchasing. With rental from Apple we can now watch them anywhere on TV, computer or iPhone, the only downside at the moment is the time constraints. Once you select it to rent you have 29 days to start watching it but once you have started it you only have 24 hours to finish it. Now I don’t know about most but it isn’t often I get chance to watch a film all the way through in one sitting. Hopefully Apple will fix this.

Apple TV – following on from movies, Apple have made some changes to Apple TV. So Apple TV is the platform for watching the movies you rent on your TV and this includes HD movies, you can also now pick up podcasts to watch or listen to and photos from Flickr.

MacBook Air – Well there is no doubting that this was the highlight of the event and what Apple have managed to achieve is phenomenal in cramming so much in but was it worth it? I don’t know anyone who I have spoken to who would buy one, not because it is missing an ethernet port, not because it is missing a optical drive, partly because it has such a small hard disk of only 80Gb which in this day and age isn’t good for much. But mainly because they just don’t need one in their lives and the price… Well if it had just been a little less maybe it would have been something to think about and not just dismiss out of hand.

All in all it seems as though something was missing from this year’s expo – some nice things did get announced but more importantly it sets the stall out nicely for the coming year and the future so in the usual Apple way they leave more questions unanswered than answered but then maybe we are still dealing with the hangover of an iPhone last year.

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Well what was great about 2007 is probably repeated by everyone:

• iPhone
• Facebook
• Vista – yes you may laugh but despite its faults it still made improvements on the desktop market

But rather than predict what may happen in 2008, I would rather just tell you about what I’d like to see in the hope that someone sees this and can make it happen.

A 3G iPhone I think we all know is coming in 2008 but I’d like to see this on more carriers in the UK than just O2 who are the devil incarnate. If this doesn’t happen then I can see a lot more pressure to get iPhones unlocked and portable between networks.

I’d also like to see a new Apple notebook based on similar tablets that are available on the PC side which incorporate touch technology similar to the iPhone. I’ve always fancied a tablet but the only one that I have ever come close to buying was the Toshiba Protégé R400 though that is still a disappointment in certain areas and I now feel only Apple could get it right.

I would also like to stop seeing cases like the current Opera browser against Microsoft. I think Opera need to look in the mirror to work out why they aren’t getting market share rather than trying to jump on a band wagon almost and bash Microsoft. Apple package a browser and in either case it hasn’t done anything to hurt Firefox, maybe it is just because the Opera browser just doesn’t work as well. The only good thing that can come out of this case is to see Microsoft becoming standards compliant, which as a developer I stand right behind Opera on.

I’d seriously like to see the Zune challenge the Apple iPhone next year – at the moment Apple is running away with it and that’s fine, they are great products but a little competition has a nice way of keeping people on the straight and narrow which would be ironic for Microsoft

Oh and finally this -

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I’ve spent hours trying to get it synced:- attaching and re-attaching it, shutting iTunes down and reopening it, shutting the iPod down and restarting it. All to no avail

I get podcasts daily that I like to put on but it takes weeks to get them on, I am sorely disappointed by the whole experience.

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According to Engadget they have filed a patent for a multi-touch mouse which would allow for a buttonless device which knew the position where your hand was, and how your fingers were gesturing on the device.

The whole touch-sensitive/ multi-touch device area is really building momentum as everyone clambers to show what they are working on and get something out.

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Orange seem to have the best price/ customer experience/ coverage split of any of the operators in the UK however it looks likely that they will get the contract for France, with T-Mobile getting Germany, leaving poor Vodafone as the last big European company without a home… I’m sure they will get a look in somewhere.

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A new 3G (European) version of the iPhone will be launched Monday in the UK by Apple – in a join promotion with Vodafone, T-Mobile of Germany, and Carphone Warehouse. It should answer the disappointment with the US version of the iPhone which has been widely slammed for its poor performance as a phone.

If this rumour is to be believed it will be the first time the UK gets a product before the US although most think that a US version would be release at the same time.

You can read the full article here.

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Cisco® and Apple® today announced that they have resolved their dispute involving the “iPhone” trademark. Under the agreement, both companies are free to use the “iPhone” trademark on their products throughout the world. Both companies acknowledge the trademark ownership rights that have been granted, and each side will dismiss any pending actions regarding the trademark. In addition, Cisco and Apple will explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications. Other terms of the agreement are confidential.

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A senior executive for the Aussie telco Telstra says that Apple’s iPhone is pretty much doomed.

Operations chief Greg Winn said that Apple was not a mobile phone manufacturer and should have “stuck to its knitting”.

and…

“You can pretty much be assured that Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and ZTE and others will be coming out with devices that have similar functionality.”

He also went on to say that he didn’t think the touch screen revolutionised the device, that the Cingular network would not help a global roll out, and the non-replaceable battery would also be a “sticking point”.

He did admit that he was absolutely sure it would be an initial success but still this is pretty damning.

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Both companies have agreed to extend talks aimed at “reaching agreement on trademark rights and interoperability”.

Apple launched it’s iPhone last month in San Francisco and immediately Cisco sued Apple for trademark infringement of its own line of internet-enabled iPhones.

Cisco makes much of the hardware that underpins the internet, and has owned the trademark on the iPhone name since 2000 after it acquired another company Infogear.

However some believe their hold on it isn’t that strong due to the amount of time they held the trademark and how they only used it moments before Apple launched its version of an existing line products.

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The hardware was installed in the machine but for reasons still unknown, Apple decided not to supply the necessary software until now.

Of course there is a catch and it will cost you, literally – $1.99 or £1.25 to allow you to use something you already have. Now Apple say this is due to accounting regulation that was brought in after the Enron scandal which is colloquially known as SOX.

I’m no accountant and those I’ve spoken to don’t seem to know how much truth is behind this either,? but it is such a nominal amount most will probably fork out for it anyway and why not?

Update:

Just seen this over at theregister.co.uk

It’s worth mentioning too that the update comes free with Apple’s new, 802.11n-compatible AirPort Extreme Base Station product, so don’t dash out and purchase the patch if you plan to buy this hardware in due course. Said access point hardware doesn’t ship until next month, for £119 in the UK and $179 in the US.

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