Video: Parallels Mobile-- Windows apps on your iPad?

A friend of mine created and passed along this video... (apparently it was 'last night from a hotel room-- whatever dude, it looks great). I'm a VMWare Fusion user myself, but I gotta say-- this video makes the Parallels argument pretty compelling. I'll give it a whirl, but in the meantime, watch:



Looks like the guys over at Parallels found a way to separate themselves from the competition. Seems an easy way to run Windows apps on a Mac you're away from. Sure, sure, there are inherent limits-- but for many this is a brilliant solution. Get it at iTunes store for iPhone and iPad.

Let me know what you think?

Mophie Juice Pack Air at Apple Stores NOW!

If you've seen me out-and-about, you've probably noticed the green backpack hugging my iPhone 3G. The Mophie Juice Pack is an add-on battery that gives additional life to iPhone 3G users (an iPod Touch model is also available).

The folks at Mophie put the must-have iPhone 3G battery pack on a diet and the slimmer version: Mophie Juice Pack Air is available starting today at Apple Stores and online.

Here's a quick table I hacked together to show how the two Mophie Juice Packs compare:

	Original	Air
Battery: Standby time (up to, hrs)	350	270
Battery: Talk time (3G)	6	4.5
Battery: Internet use (3G)	6	4.5
Battery: Audio playback	28	20
Battery: Video playback	8	6
Battery: capacity	1800mAh	1200mAh
Weight (ounces)	3	?

More in the press release from Mophie here:

Mophie Announces Worldwide Availability of Juice Pack Air Accessory at Apple Stores and Apple.com

World’s Thinnest ‘Works with iPhone’ External Battery/Protective Case almost doubles iPhone 3G battery life and offers the full protection of a hard-shell case in a low-profile design

Los Angeles, CA – April 21, 2009 – mStation | mophie today announced the immediate availability of Juice Pack Air, currently the world’s thinnest Apple-certified external battery for iPhone 3G. The rechargeable 1200 mAH battery, integrated into an ultra-thin case, is now available worldwide at Apple retail stores and Apple.com for $79.95 in black, white, and purple.

“Since debuting the Juice Pack Air last month, we’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from around the world” says Ross Howe, sales and product development director for mStation | mophie. “The Juice Pack Air is an intuitive, ergonomic solution that provides added protection and external battery support in a low profile design. We think it’s poised to be one of the most essential iPhone 3G accessories ever introduced to the market.”

Juice Pack Air features an innovative “standby mode” that allows users to control when they want to take advantage of additional battery support versus simply using it as a protective case. The integrated 4 LED charge status indicates how much power is remaining in the external battery. Unique pass-through design allows users to simultaneously charge their Juice Pack Air and sync their iPhone 3G with iTunes via the included USB cable.

Additional battery time provided by Juice Pack Air:

* Standby Time: Up to 270 hours
* Talk Time: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 9 hours (2G)
* Internet Use: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 5.4 Hours (Wi-Fi)
* Audio Playback: Up to 20 hour
* Video Playback: Up to 6 hours

For more information on the Juice Pack Air, please visit http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack-air

About mStation | mophie
mStation is consistently praised for its ability to create quality products with cool Industrial Design. mStation recently acquired mophie, an iPod accessory company with a wide array of award-winning cases. Their products can be found in Apple Stores and major retailers worldwide.

iPhone: Pricing Details Announced

AT&T today announced detailed iPhone 3G pricing causing more confusion than clarification.

You recall Steve Jobs' announcing the iPhone 3G at "twice the data, half the price". Well, we quickly learned given higher-priced data plans, the true cost (over the "life" of your contract) was actually slightly higher. Many, including myself, rationalized this as faster data speeds at an increased fee.

Today's announcement sought to clarify just exactly who would receive the touted $199/$299 iPhone 3G device pricing. There are three prices based on your status:

$199 (8GB) / $299 (16GB):

• Original iPhone customer before July 11, 2008


• New customer to AT&T (i.e. move from another carrier)


• Adding a line of service (say, a second phone)


• AT&T Customer qualified for an upgrade (you've done the time)

$399 (8GB) / $499 (16GB):

• AT&T (non-iPhone) Customer not eligible for upgrade

$599 (8GB) / $699 (16GB) - not immediately available:

• Any customer without contract requirement

This is how I understand the pricing scheme. If you read AT&T's information differently, let me know.

I suspect most users will fall in to the first camp. For instance, I'm a T-Mobile customer planning to switch to AT&T. If I were under contract with T-Mobile I'd pay a standard $200 early termination fee. AT&T's own customers under contract will pay a similar higher price to "get out of" their existing commitment to switch to the new iPhone.

The real advantage here goes to the current iPhone users. They are upgrading at the same price meant to attract new customers while only renewing (not adding to) their previous contract commitment. I can only imagine the uproar we'd hear if AT&T didn't recognize current iPhone users' commitment with the $199/$299 pricing.

Footnote: Don Reisinger gives his take on the iPhone 3G pricing in his IT World column. He and I spoke on his Digital Home Podcast about iPhone pricing a few weeks ago. In his column Don writes:

"According to the company, only those people that purchased an iPhone before July 11, want to activate a new line, and are eligible for an upgrade discount, will be allowed to purchase the iPhone 3G for $199 or $299. For the rest of you suckers, you’ll be doling out a whopping $399 for the 8GB model and $499 for the 16GB model.

As I mentioned to Don via. chat a few minutes ago, the "and" (bold added above) should actually be an "or". Hopefully this will be corrected soon. (Kinda changes things, don'tcha think?)

Podcast: Talking iPhone News w/CNET's Don Reisinger

Take a listen to Episode 19 of Don Reisinger's C|NET Digital Home Podcast where I appeared as a guest talking iPhone news and our impressions of last week's WWDC keynote by Steve Jobs.

If you like what you hear, give me a shout-out... and if you'd like me to be a guest on your podcast, TV show, or radio segment -- happy to lend my tech banter to your show! Drop me a line.

iPhone 3G: Half-price (sorta), 2X Speed, adds GPS

It's official!

Perhaps the worst-kept secret in the history of product launches made its debut on the stage at Apple's World-Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco today. The phone that took the world by storm a year ago has finally met its match: iPhone 3G.

Sporting a built-in GPS receiver, extended battery life and a faster 3G data connection, the new phone is expected to win over new iPhone adopters and those looking for an upgrade. An iPhone 3G is half the price of the previous model at $199 for an 8GB version in black and $299 for double the memory available in black or white. The phone goes on sale Friday, July 11.

Update: With the iPhone 3G, the AT&T data plan goes from $20 to $30/month. So doing the math, $10 extra * 24 months = $240 over the two-year contract... the basic model is $199, add in the $240 and you're back where you started. That said I -- I suspect like many eager buyers -- will be happy to pay the $10 extra for faster data speeds, but it's definitely something to consider.

We'll keep an eye on additional details on the phone, and related accessories, including a complete wrap-up of today's announcements on this blog and on Newsradio 750 KXL.

Are you planning to upgrade? Have you been waiting for the new iPhone 3G? What feature are you most excited about? Send your comments to techexpert (AT) brianwestbrook (DOT) com.

Oscars Sighting: Jon Stewart's iPhone

Viewers of the 80th Annual Academy Awards saw Jon Stewart using his iPhone on stage. Watching Lawrence of Arabia on his "new media" device, Stewart explained that movies were even better in wide screen.

Any speculation on how much Apple paid for the iPhone product placement?

Enjoy the show!

Tech Check for 14 Feb: V-Day Edition!

Yahoo CEO lacks love for Microsoft, hackers lust to take over systems that make the web work, and a special report from the "no duh" department... details in Tech Check for Thursday February 14, 2008.

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang sent an email to shareholders defending Monday's announcement to turn down Microsoft's unsolicited offer. CNET's News.com has the story and quotes the Internet company's defiant leader:

"I wanted to reach out to you personally to let you know why your board of directors, after a careful review by Yahoo's management along with our financial and legal advisors, believes that Microsoft's proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo and is not in the best interests of our stockholders."

Remember the movie review I brought you last week on KXL? The AP has a story today about rogue DNS servers. Those name-to-numbers translators that make the web easy for us humans to access. Well, the bad guys are trying to send you places you don't want to go... and that's just the half of it. If you haven't seen Untraceable -- it's a fascinating (if somewhat predictable) peek at what the web in the wrong hands could become. No felines were harmed to bring you this news item.

Finally in the V-Day news roundup, from the "no duh" files comes this report that Apple's iPhone is expected to get a 3G upgrade this year. You may recall the AT&T CEO leaking this information already -- despite the obvious nature, I can't help reading every bit of news about a future iPhone release. Has this swayed your decision to buy an iPhone? Are you "waiting for 3G"?

Thanks for making this your stop for tech in the Northwest... be sure to subscribe to the email feed so you, too, can get Tech Check sent right to you daily!

Tech Check for 11 Feb: Instant Film Fades While Starbucks Gets AT&T and Yahoo! Rejects MSFT

Polaroid to shutter instant film, Starbucks switches WiFi provider and Yahoo! says "no, thanks" to Microsoft.... on today's Tech Check for Monday February 11, 2008.

Remember the iconic film made popular in the 1950's? The instant satisfaction of a print that reveals before your eyes? Polaroid, which stopped producing cameras that used this film in commercial lines in 2006 and consumer models a year later, has announced plans to shut down factories that produce the film. If you have a Polaroid camera, there'll be enough film to last you until 2009.

Coffee shops are addicting. Some are addicted to the coffee -- me? It's the WiFi. In an attempt to draw more traffic to its stores, Starbucks announced today it will end its partnership with T-Mobile in favor of a new agreement with AT&T. The new plan gives customers using a Starbucks card two hours free access with additional hours for two bucks each. We've heard Steve Jobs announce access for Apple's iPhone devices at Starbucks stores. The iPhone works exclusively on the AT&T network in the USA. For those with a T-Mobile plan, a roaming agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile hotspots will keep you connected. Or you could order a cup of coffee.

Microsoft may have to up the ante' on their $40 billion (down from almost $45 billion given a slump in MSFT stock) bid for rival Yahoo. Leaked over the weekend, and made official by Yahoo's board today, the move may cause Microsoft to increase its offer -- or take the deal directly to Yahoo! shareholders. Yahoo! is rumored to be in discussions with Google about a potential buyout-averting partnership. The Times of London is reporting talks between Yahoo and also-struggling AOL / Time Warner. As Yahoo searches for the right deal -- what will Microsoft do and how might Google respond?

That's today's Tech Check. Look for another update on the day's top tech stories tomorrow... right here.

Tech Rewind: 2007 In Review and a 2008 Preview

KXL Tech Expert Segment for 31 December 2007

Happy New Year!

Nearly a year ago we watched Apple’s CEO threw a hat into the ring for mobile phone market share... the controversial AT&T carrier-exclusivity did little to discourage early adopters from lining up for the iPhone days before the June release. Another major product that actually shipped in January was Microsoft’s Windows Vista. Claiming “the wow starts now” – many XP users are sticking to the former operating system while the Northwest-based software giant works out bugs. Corporate users even pressured Microsoft to extend support for Windows XP.

We talked a fair amount about social networking in 2007—with relative newcomer Facebook stealing the spotlight from one-time king Myspace. The decision to open Facebook for outside groups to build software on the network paid huge dividends and earned the site a sizeable investment from Microsoft.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Mountain View-based archrival, you know, the search, advertising (and added in 2007: Apps) giant Google watched its stock skyrocket above the 700 mark after announcement of an “Open Social” platform for social networking sites followed by plans to release an operating system for phones, resting months of speculation a so-called Google Phone was in the works.

Finally, in the world of video games – Two big winners, in this blogger's humble opinion: Halo 3 from Microsoft set records and Nintendo’s Wii console outsold rivals Xbox 360 from Microsoft and Sony’s Playstation 3. An exciting year, indeed.

As for my predictions for stories we'll be talking about in 2008...

I think (perhaps hope?) 2008 will be the year all these social networking sites finally grow up and become useful. A faster 3G version of the iPhone is due out while we see what Google has in store for their Open Handset Alliance. I’m personally excited about airline plans to offer inflight internet – a story we discussed a few weeks back on KXL – and the ever-changing face of digital content delivery ... are 24-hour movie rentals coming to iTunes in ’08?

As you may know, January 1, marks the start of the transition period to digital high-definition television… those old analog broadcast signals are going bye-bye... Finally, R&S, we’ll look to next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas and MacWorld in San Francisco the week after to set the pace for technology in ’08.

Listen to this report, originally broadcast on KXL-AM Monday December 31: kxl_techexpert-2007rewind2008preview_20071231.mp3 (MP3)

I'll bring you these tech stories and more in the new year... as always, drop me a line and let me know what you want to hear. I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy New Year and thanks for listening (and reading)...

Apple iPhone: Will it Blend?

In an ingenious promotions strategy, the guys over at WillItBlend.com toss various items into their consumer blender (available for sale!) to answer the question: Will It Blend?

Now, they've sacrificed (GASP!) an Apple iPhone for yet another faux-scientific study. The answer to the question you've been begging to know...? Watch for yourself!

(or view the embedded YouTube clip below)



With the hot weather we've been experiencing lately... I think I'm going to go blend myself a margarita... ;-)

(Please, don't write me telling me you tried this at home despite warnings and now your iPhone doesn't work... I take absolutely no responsibility!)

Comsumer Electronics Show and MacWorld 2007 Wrap-up

Tech Expert Segment for 20070115

Bummed you didn't make it to MacWorld to hear Steve Jobs announce Apple's new iPhone?

Sad you missed a week in Vegas drooling over the latest in consumer electronics?

I've got the complete rundown from both shows on today's Tech Expert repot on Newsradio 750 KXL. The report airs live at 6:40 & 8:40 as part of KXL's "Features on the :40's" segemnts and can be heard online on brianwestbrook.com (right column of the homepage).