I think he means that AT&T doesn't have good cell coverage in his area, whilst Sprint does.
Where does AT&T have good coverage -period?
When the Pre meets Verizon, as rumored, later in the year, I suppose that's when it really takes off. Even if it performs 80-90% of what's being promised that's better than any Samsung or Blackberry for a consumer at Verizon.
These guys just need to keep quiet and get this thing to market. Their company I'd already struggling and losing money as is, if this Pre isn't a hit for them, I dont think they will survive, they don't need any distractions.
Yes, the Pre is so innovative. Strange, Palm has to borrow Apple's stone desktop picture that Apple has included as an available desktop picture for as long as OSX has shipped.
Right- and The Twilight Zone borrows from Apple the deep space rendering of Leopard and Time Machine too. And Apple invented grass before Microsoft, etc, etc.
Verizon has better coverage overall, but there are plenty of places I have been where my iPhone is getting coverage and other carriers have little to no coverage. Including Verizon, though if AT&T has it then Verizon almost almost has it.
BTW, I travel 100% of the time. About 9 months in the US and 3 months elsewhere so I may have an idea about how the iPhone and AT&T perform.
PS: Some places my AT&T 3G USB broadband card and my iPhone gets faster internet on EDGE than it does on UMTS/HSDPA. Parts of Las Vegas and Los Angeles are two of these cities. Perhaps this is an issue with AT&T's 3G network being bogged down in large, trendy cities.
Verizon has better coverage overall, but there are plenty of places I have been where my iPhone is getting coverage and other carriers have little to no coverage. Including Verizon, though if AT&T has it then Verizon almost almost has it.
BTW, I travel 100% of the time. About 9 months in the US and 3 months elsewhere so I may have an idea about how the iPhone and AT&T perform.
PS: Some places my AT&T 3G USB broadband card and my iPhone gets faster internet on EDGE than it does on UMTS/HSDPA. Parts of Las Vegas and Los Angeles are two of these cities. Perhaps this is an issue with AT&T's 3G network being bogged down in large, trendy cities.
I really hope the iPhone can expand into other networks. How long is the contract with AT&T? It needs to get to the next level and this contract will only hurt it if it's for so long.
Don't you think Pre has a better chance with Verizon rather than Sprint once it goes there if it does? It's also ironic that most phones eventually are available at more than one network- but not the iPhone. I think that's much more important than expanding where it's sold(WalMArt); if it's stuck with AT&T only.
I really hope the iPhone can expand into other networks. How long is the contract with AT&T? It needs to get to the next level and this contract will only hurt it if it's for so long.
To get out of the profit sharing and go to a normal subsidization model with AT&T it's been reported (or perhaps just speculated) that Apple had to add to agree to an additional 2 years. That would mean June 2011, if the time starts when the first iPhone was released and the original contract was for 2 years.
Quote:
Don't you think Pre has a better chance with Verizon rather than Sprint once it goes there if it does?
That depends on if you are looking at a certain aspect or Verizon on the whole. From a network coverage and subscriber POV Verizon is top dog. No denying that. But if Sprint is paying Palm a great deal to get the Pre after the Samsung Instinct has failed despite excessive and expensive marketing -and/or- Verizon wanted to control the Pre's OS and control Palm because they have the upper hand, then I don't think Verizon is a good choice for Palm.
Quote:
It's also ironic that most phones eventually are available at more than one network- but not the iPhone. I think that's much more important than expanding where it's sold(WalMArt); if it's stuck with AT&T only.
Most phones, but not all. It seems to me that we are seeing a more prominent move to long term carrier and HW vendor unions since the iPhone, but it's not new. Melgross has mentioned it and offered many examples in the past, thought I cant' recall any at this moment.
How can anyone--ANYONE--possibly say that with a straight face?
THE "PRE" IS VAPORWARE! IT DOESN'T EXIST IN NATURE! It's a promise, a dream, a phantom, a ghost, a Potemkin Village, an ephemera!
No one actually saw it at CES . . . and it won best in show! What the hell is going on here, people? This "product" is BOGUS! It's BULLSH*T!
(There. I feel much better.)
I've seen plenty of close up video of the Pre's HW and SW. It's not more vaporware right now than the iPhone was during the 2007 MWSF keynote. In other words, it's not finished but there are working models.
Apple can and should "threaten" a potential lawsuit over the multi-touch features of the Pre - and at the same time indicate clearly that Palm has no leg to stand on - in terms of a countersuit.
The important thing about Patent suits is that you have to be actively protecting your patent. You cant be seen delaying for 2 years, and then filing suit just in response to a suit filed by Apple. Apple can easily have a potential suit from Palm disposed very quickly with just this one argument. Also if other phones like Blackberry have infringed the same patents, Palm cannot selectively go after Apple for infringement. A lot of the interface ideas of the Palm are actually copied from the Newton. Also, Apple can easily show that using fingers instead of a stylus is a big enough difference from Palm's idea of doing things.
These concepts can handle pretty much everything Palm can throw at Apple.
I am sure Elevation Partners would be forced to cut their losses and get out at some point. There is no way they will be willing to spend more money on a lawsuit at this point. Without the money, Palm would be dead.
There has been so much said about the validity of Apple's multi-touch patent - and so much doubts about its enforceablity - but some things are clear. A competitor might get away with using Multi-touch in a device (based on prior art) etc., but most definitely will not be able to get away with copying specific gestures used by Apple for specific tasks. There is absolutely no "prior art" as far as the pinch gesture is concerned, nor will Palm be able to say that it is a "generic" idea and cannot be copyrighted.
The bigger issue, is that if Apple does not fight Palm on the idea of multi-touch, they could potentially face much more difficult battles with RIM or Microsoft, if they decide to follow Palm and copy the gestures. Apple is better off fighting a weak Palm, than a richer company.
Apple has suffered once already in its history, when Microsoft managed to copy the Apple interface. This time around, they should make 100% sure that Palm is crushed. In all probablity, just the threat of a lawsuit, with enough ammo to make it clear that countersuits will not work should be enough to keep Palm quiet.
In parallel, Apple could offer Palm a stiff licensing option - something like $20 a device for the ability to use Apple's multitouch gestures. Considering the financial situation of Palm, that might be the best option for Palm - and it helps Apple set a precedent in terms of establishing a licensing model. Once such a model is established, and some major players accept the model, it will be very difficult for other players to copy the idea without accepting the same licensing model.
Hey now, I get really good coverage with my iPhone where I'm at right now. It is much better than what I got with Verizon. Now does that mean perfect coverage - certainly not it just means I get better coverage and a crystal clear signal on my iPhone.
What one needs to do is to take a more mature approach to local cell phone coverage and develop an understanding of the technology involved. Once you come to grips with the idea that the device uses RF energy you will realize that there are limitations that all radios have to deal with.
Quote:
When the Pre meets Verizon, as rumored, later in the year, I suppose that's when it really takes off. Even if it performs 80-90% of what's being promised that's better than any Samsung or Blackberry for a consumer at Verizon.
The little I've read about the device does impress me. Webkit based apps ought to be interesting and plentiful. However I still see iPhone having the upper hand when it comes to complex apps. This due to the fairly unlimited access via C/C++/Objective-C.
I say fairly because there are things that they need to open up to developers or finish off. Bluetooth and USB access comes to mind. As developer skills firm up the quality and complexity of apps has steadly increased on iPhone. I think we will see an early plataue with respect to Pre apps. Plus Apple has a huge advantage with iPhone in that they can easily tailor Rev 3 of iPhone to compete agressively against the competition.
How will they do that Dave, you might ask. It is easy and much of the potential technology is already discussed widely. A faster processor and more RAM are obvious upgrades. Then we have the potential of OpenCL type processing on the iPhone. With more RAM they can expose a simple form of multi tasking or background apps.
The problem as I see it is that Apple will have rev 3 fresh on the market about the time the PRE comes out. It isn't going to take much to make the iPhone significantly better even on the rev one and two platforms. That would be delivered via iPhone OS 3. IPhone OS 3 running on rev 3 hardware though ought to be impressive. If you are wondering yes I'm expecting a minor hardware upgrade to the current iPhone platform.
I also expected another iPhone in the family and that has yet to come so what do I know. Anyways back to Palm and the bigwigs. I'm not sure Apple fanboise are in a position to complain here as there is nobody better at stretching the truth and pedaling disinformation than Apple and Steve O. You all must remember the G5 claims that where bogus from the beginning. Don't get me wrong I love some of Apples products but some of the bake offs of the past where a riot if you understood what was going on. They played that song right up to the Intel switch over and then tossed it out the window like a cousin suffering from the crabs. After the change it was down right funny to listen to the reports about how fast the Intel machines where.
The only difference I can see here is that this bigwig gets called on it and Stevo never has been put in a position to justify his claims.
Apple can and should "threaten" a potential lawsuit over the multi-touch features of the Pre - and at the same time indicate clearly that Palm has no leg to stand on - in terms of a countersuit.
The important thing about Patent suits is that you have to be actively protecting your patent. You cant be seen delaying for 2 years, and then filing suit just in response to a suit filed by Apple. Apple can easily have a potential suit from Palm disposed very quickly with just this one argument. Also if other phones like Blackberry have infringed the same patents, Palm cannot selectively go after Apple for infringement. A lot of the interface ideas of the Palm are actually copied from the Newton. Also, Apple can easily show that using fingers instead of a stylus is a big enough difference from Palm's idea of doing things.
These concepts can handle pretty much everything Palm can throw at Apple.
I am sure Elevation Partners would be forced to cut their losses and get out at some point. There is no way they will be willing to spend more money on a lawsuit at this point. Without the money, Palm would be dead.
There has been so much said about the validity of Apple's multi-touch patent - and so much doubts about its enforceablity - but some things are clear. A competitor might get away with using Multi-touch in a device (based on prior art) etc., but most definitely will not be able to get away with copying specific gestures used by Apple for specific tasks. There is absolutely no "prior art" as far as the pinch gesture is concerned, nor will Palm be able to say that it is a "generic" idea and cannot be copyrighted.
The bigger issue, is that if Apple does not fight Palm on the idea of multi-touch, they could potentially face much more difficult battles with RIM or Microsoft, if they decide to follow Palm and copy the gestures. Apple is better off fighting a weak Palm, than a richer company.
Apple has suffered once already in its history, when Microsoft managed to copy the Apple interface. This time around, they should make 100% sure that Palm is crushed. In all probablity, just the threat of a lawsuit, with enough ammo to make it clear that countersuits will not work should be enough to keep Palm quiet.
In parallel, Apple could offer Palm a stiff licensing option - something like $20 a device for the ability to use Apple's multitouch gestures. Considering the financial situation of Palm, that might be the best option for Palm - and it helps Apple set a precedent in terms of establishing a licensing model. Once such a model is established, and some major players accept the model, it will be very difficult for other players to copy the idea without accepting the same licensing model.
You are confusing patents and trademarks. You MUST defend a trademark.
You can sit on a patent all you like, you can sue one violator while letting the rest get away, you can license it to others on different terms, you can chose to do nothing.
Verizon has better coverage overall, but there are plenty of places I have been where my iPhone is getting coverage and other carriers have little to no coverage. Including Verizon, though if AT&T has it then Verizon almost almost has it.
I've come to the point where I tune out the AT&T has bad coverage whining. I've lost coverage with both Verizon and AT&T in a number of places.
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BTW, I travel 100% of the time. About 9 months in the US and 3 months elsewhere so I may have an idea about how the iPhone and AT&T perform.
How do you do it? Travel that much I mean, a couple of years ago I had to travel about a half a year for the company and hated it. Back when I was looking for work I would turn down jobs with excessive travel. A couple of weeks a year can be good but 100% of the time yuk.
In anyevent with all this travel talk I have to wonder how you handle international calling. The one thing that does bother me about iPhone is it's locked nature and the issue of sim card usage in foriegn lands. Of all the issues with the AT&T and Apple arraingement they really make it difficult for the international traveler. Here I'm talking non business travel.
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PS: Some places my AT&T 3G USB broadband card and my iPhone gets faster internet on EDGE than it does on UMTS/HSDPA. Parts of Las Vegas and Los Angeles are two of these cities. Perhaps this is an issue with AT&T's 3G network being bogged down in large, trendy cities.
Late last year I spent a week in Vegas on vacation and got what I thought where my best data rates ever. Of course the town isn't packed like it use to be. Even the hotel network was extra zippy.
Yes, the Pre is so innovative. Strange, Palm has to borrow Apple's stone desktop picture that Apple has included as an available desktop picture for as long as OSX has shipped.
Fine with me, I never liked that desktop anyway.
I don't doubt the Pre will be a very innovative device as well, but the problem with Palm is in the management not in the engineers.
Palm needs an overhaul. The idiots running them now are "just do enough to get by" kinda folks. They stopped innovating long ago because management didn't understand the value of Research & Development. Took a 3rd party coming in & pouring money into R & D to get them to even look at such a thing. Fools.
I've come to the point where I tune out the AT&T has bad coverage whining. I've lost coverage with both Verizon and AT&T in a number of places.
I wasn't whining, just stating some of the areas I've noticed the most problems. Being an AT&T customer for both my iPhone and 3G card I can't comment on other carriers as a whole. I'm quite happy with my AT&T service.
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How do you do it? Travel that much I mean, a couple of years ago I had to travel about a half a year for the company and hated it. Back when I was looking for work I would turn down jobs with excessive travel. A couple of weeks a year can be good but 100% of the time yuk.
I like to travel. I am not a fan of being stationary. With the internet keeping connected to friends and family I don't have any desire to buy another house and remain in one location doing the same job. It's just not my personality. The internet allows me to do all my bills online, but I do have a very large POBox near my family that I get to a few times a year. I have no offspring or a wife, which makes it much easier.
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In any event with all this travel talk I have to wonder how you handle international calling. The one thing that does bother me about iPhone is it's locked nature and the issue of sim card usage in foriegn lands. Of all the issues with the AT&T and Apple arraingement they really make it difficult for the international traveler. Here I'm talking non business travel.
You either get a disposable phone, switching out SIMs per country, and use your iPhone as an iPod or you unlock your iPhone using Pwnage
Quote:
Late last year I spent a week in Vegas on vacation and got what I thought where my best data rates ever. Of course the town isn't packed like it use to be. Even the hotel network was extra zippy.
I was there last week and was getting something like 12-30KBps whenever I checked the data rate on one of many websites. Of course, I only checked when the data rates were bad but I don't recall any time things seemed fast. EDGE on the iPhone was noticeably faster in many places. I expect AT&T is correcting such issues and that the towers I used may be representative of the average tower in LV.
This McNamee is brilliant : first go on and blabber hyperbole, reality be damned, and get all the press to talk about it. Then, send your lawyers by the back door to deliver a "please disregard" message to the same press. Then end result : the initial message (the lie) is imprinted in people's mind and in court, McNamee can assert that his statements were nullified by an "official and widely spread" statement.
Still : search around the web and you will see McNamee's prior assertion in all their glory everywhere. Today... and in 12 months too. So his lies will pay off for a long time, comfortably screened by the goodwill statement of his attorneys.
This McNamee is brilliant : first go on and blabber hyperbole, reality be damned, and get all the press to talk about it. Then, send your lawyers by the back door to deliver a "please disregard" message to the same press. Then end result : the initial message (the lie) is imprinted in people's mind and in court, McNamee can assert that his statements were nullified by an "official and widely spread" statement.
Still : search around the web and you will see McNamee's prior assertion in all their glory everywhere. Today... and in 12 months too. So his lies will pay off for a long time, comfortably screened by the goodwill statement of his attorneys.
With his statements so unrealistic I think it's an easy case to win that this was hyperbole.
So basically the lawyers are saying, "Disregard everything McNamee said...all of it.".
Most reports point to Apple being the slow ones to Flash, so we know flash will happen on the Palm Pre. That alone if the os is all that, could make it a winner, combined with turn by turn gps. My work phone sprint htc has great tbt gps and I have an iPhone.
Imagine though if they partner and offer streaming tv. That could be a reason millions could flock. All depends on now and June. Apple gets their bread and butter from iPhone. Could be bad for apple. We'll see in time.
Comments
I think he means that AT&T doesn't have good cell coverage in his area, whilst Sprint does.
Where does AT&T have good coverage -period?
When the Pre meets Verizon, as rumored, later in the year, I suppose that's when it really takes off. Even if it performs 80-90% of what's being promised that's better than any Samsung or Blackberry for a consumer at Verizon.
Yes, the Pre is so innovative. Strange, Palm has to borrow Apple's stone desktop picture that Apple has included as an available desktop picture for as long as OSX has shipped.
Right- and The Twilight Zone borrows from Apple the deep space rendering of Leopard and Time Machine too. And Apple invented grass before Microsoft, etc, etc.
Where does AT&T have good coverage -period?
Verizon has better coverage overall, but there are plenty of places I have been where my iPhone is getting coverage and other carriers have little to no coverage. Including Verizon, though if AT&T has it then Verizon almost almost has it.
BTW, I travel 100% of the time. About 9 months in the US and 3 months elsewhere so I may have an idea about how the iPhone and AT&T perform.
PS: Some places my AT&T 3G USB broadband card and my iPhone gets faster internet on EDGE than it does on UMTS/HSDPA. Parts of Las Vegas and Los Angeles are two of these cities. Perhaps this is an issue with AT&T's 3G network being bogged down in large, trendy cities.
Verizon has better coverage overall, but there are plenty of places I have been where my iPhone is getting coverage and other carriers have little to no coverage. Including Verizon, though if AT&T has it then Verizon almost almost has it.
BTW, I travel 100% of the time. About 9 months in the US and 3 months elsewhere so I may have an idea about how the iPhone and AT&T perform.
PS: Some places my AT&T 3G USB broadband card and my iPhone gets faster internet on EDGE than it does on UMTS/HSDPA. Parts of Las Vegas and Los Angeles are two of these cities. Perhaps this is an issue with AT&T's 3G network being bogged down in large, trendy cities.
I really hope the iPhone can expand into other networks. How long is the contract with AT&T? It needs to get to the next level and this contract will only hurt it if it's for so long.
Don't you think Pre has a better chance with Verizon rather than Sprint once it goes there if it does? It's also ironic that most phones eventually are available at more than one network- but not the iPhone. I think that's much more important than expanding where it's sold(WalMArt); if it's stuck with AT&T only.
I really hope the iPhone can expand into other networks. How long is the contract with AT&T? It needs to get to the next level and this contract will only hurt it if it's for so long.
To get out of the profit sharing and go to a normal subsidization model with AT&T it's been reported (or perhaps just speculated) that Apple had to add to agree to an additional 2 years. That would mean June 2011, if the time starts when the first iPhone was released and the original contract was for 2 years.
Don't you think Pre has a better chance with Verizon rather than Sprint once it goes there if it does?
That depends on if you are looking at a certain aspect or Verizon on the whole. From a network coverage and subscriber POV Verizon is top dog. No denying that. But if Sprint is paying Palm a great deal to get the Pre after the Samsung Instinct has failed despite excessive and expensive marketing -and/or- Verizon wanted to control the Pre's OS and control Palm because they have the upper hand, then I don't think Verizon is a good choice for Palm.
It's also ironic that most phones eventually are available at more than one network- but not the iPhone. I think that's much more important than expanding where it's sold(WalMArt); if it's stuck with AT&T only.
Most phones, but not all. It seems to me that we are seeing a more prominent move to long term carrier and HW vendor unions since the iPhone, but it's not new. Melgross has mentioned it and offered many examples in the past, thought I cant' recall any at this moment.
How can anyone--ANYONE--possibly say that with a straight face?
THE "PRE" IS VAPORWARE! IT DOESN'T EXIST IN NATURE! It's a promise, a dream, a phantom, a ghost, a Potemkin Village, an ephemera!
No one actually saw it at CES . . . and it won best in show! What the hell is going on here, people? This "product" is BOGUS! It's BULLSH*T!
(There. I feel much better.)
"The pre is nice . . . ."
How can anyone--ANYONE--possibly say that with a straight face?
THE "PRE" IS VAPORWARE! IT DOESN'T EXIST IN NATURE! It's a promise, a dream, a phantom, a ghost, a Potemkin Village, an ephemera!
No one actually saw it at CES . . . and it won best in show! What the hell is going on here, people? This "product" is BOGUS! It's BULLSH*T!
(There. I feel much better.)
I've seen plenty of close up video of the Pre's HW and SW. It's not more vaporware right now than the iPhone was during the 2007 MWSF keynote. In other words, it's not finished but there are working models.
The important thing about Patent suits is that you have to be actively protecting your patent. You cant be seen delaying for 2 years, and then filing suit just in response to a suit filed by Apple. Apple can easily have a potential suit from Palm disposed very quickly with just this one argument. Also if other phones like Blackberry have infringed the same patents, Palm cannot selectively go after Apple for infringement. A lot of the interface ideas of the Palm are actually copied from the Newton. Also, Apple can easily show that using fingers instead of a stylus is a big enough difference from Palm's idea of doing things.
These concepts can handle pretty much everything Palm can throw at Apple.
I am sure Elevation Partners would be forced to cut their losses and get out at some point. There is no way they will be willing to spend more money on a lawsuit at this point. Without the money, Palm would be dead.
There has been so much said about the validity of Apple's multi-touch patent - and so much doubts about its enforceablity - but some things are clear. A competitor might get away with using Multi-touch in a device (based on prior art) etc., but most definitely will not be able to get away with copying specific gestures used by Apple for specific tasks. There is absolutely no "prior art" as far as the pinch gesture is concerned, nor will Palm be able to say that it is a "generic" idea and cannot be copyrighted.
The bigger issue, is that if Apple does not fight Palm on the idea of multi-touch, they could potentially face much more difficult battles with RIM or Microsoft, if they decide to follow Palm and copy the gestures. Apple is better off fighting a weak Palm, than a richer company.
Apple has suffered once already in its history, when Microsoft managed to copy the Apple interface. This time around, they should make 100% sure that Palm is crushed. In all probablity, just the threat of a lawsuit, with enough ammo to make it clear that countersuits will not work should be enough to keep Palm quiet.
In parallel, Apple could offer Palm a stiff licensing option - something like $20 a device for the ability to use Apple's multitouch gestures. Considering the financial situation of Palm, that might be the best option for Palm - and it helps Apple set a precedent in terms of establishing a licensing model. Once such a model is established, and some major players accept the model, it will be very difficult for other players to copy the idea without accepting the same licensing model.
Where does AT&T have good coverage -period?
Hey now, I get really good coverage with my iPhone where I'm at right now. It is much better than what I got with Verizon. Now does that mean perfect coverage - certainly not it just means I get better coverage and a crystal clear signal on my iPhone.
What one needs to do is to take a more mature approach to local cell phone coverage and develop an understanding of the technology involved. Once you come to grips with the idea that the device uses RF energy you will realize that there are limitations that all radios have to deal with.
When the Pre meets Verizon, as rumored, later in the year, I suppose that's when it really takes off. Even if it performs 80-90% of what's being promised that's better than any Samsung or Blackberry for a consumer at Verizon.
The little I've read about the device does impress me. Webkit based apps ought to be interesting and plentiful. However I still see iPhone having the upper hand when it comes to complex apps. This due to the fairly unlimited access via C/C++/Objective-C.
I say fairly because there are things that they need to open up to developers or finish off. Bluetooth and USB access comes to mind. As developer skills firm up the quality and complexity of apps has steadly increased on iPhone. I think we will see an early plataue with respect to Pre apps. Plus Apple has a huge advantage with iPhone in that they can easily tailor Rev 3 of iPhone to compete agressively against the competition.
How will they do that Dave, you might ask. It is easy and much of the potential technology is already discussed widely. A faster processor and more RAM are obvious upgrades. Then we have the potential of OpenCL type processing on the iPhone. With more RAM they can expose a simple form of multi tasking or background apps.
The problem as I see it is that Apple will have rev 3 fresh on the market about the time the PRE comes out. It isn't going to take much to make the iPhone significantly better even on the rev one and two platforms. That would be delivered via iPhone OS 3. IPhone OS 3 running on rev 3 hardware though ought to be impressive. If you are wondering yes I'm expecting a minor hardware upgrade to the current iPhone platform.
I also expected another iPhone in the family and that has yet to come so what do I know. Anyways back to Palm and the bigwigs. I'm not sure Apple fanboise are in a position to complain here as there is nobody better at stretching the truth and pedaling disinformation than Apple and Steve O. You all must remember the G5 claims that where bogus from the beginning. Don't get me wrong I love some of Apples products but some of the bake offs of the past where a riot if you understood what was going on. They played that song right up to the Intel switch over and then tossed it out the window like a cousin suffering from the crabs. After the change it was down right funny to listen to the reports about how fast the Intel machines where.
The only difference I can see here is that this bigwig gets called on it and Stevo never has been put in a position to justify his claims.
Dave
Apple can and should "threaten" a potential lawsuit over the multi-touch features of the Pre - and at the same time indicate clearly that Palm has no leg to stand on - in terms of a countersuit.
The important thing about Patent suits is that you have to be actively protecting your patent. You cant be seen delaying for 2 years, and then filing suit just in response to a suit filed by Apple. Apple can easily have a potential suit from Palm disposed very quickly with just this one argument. Also if other phones like Blackberry have infringed the same patents, Palm cannot selectively go after Apple for infringement. A lot of the interface ideas of the Palm are actually copied from the Newton. Also, Apple can easily show that using fingers instead of a stylus is a big enough difference from Palm's idea of doing things.
These concepts can handle pretty much everything Palm can throw at Apple.
I am sure Elevation Partners would be forced to cut their losses and get out at some point. There is no way they will be willing to spend more money on a lawsuit at this point. Without the money, Palm would be dead.
There has been so much said about the validity of Apple's multi-touch patent - and so much doubts about its enforceablity - but some things are clear. A competitor might get away with using Multi-touch in a device (based on prior art) etc., but most definitely will not be able to get away with copying specific gestures used by Apple for specific tasks. There is absolutely no "prior art" as far as the pinch gesture is concerned, nor will Palm be able to say that it is a "generic" idea and cannot be copyrighted.
The bigger issue, is that if Apple does not fight Palm on the idea of multi-touch, they could potentially face much more difficult battles with RIM or Microsoft, if they decide to follow Palm and copy the gestures. Apple is better off fighting a weak Palm, than a richer company.
Apple has suffered once already in its history, when Microsoft managed to copy the Apple interface. This time around, they should make 100% sure that Palm is crushed. In all probablity, just the threat of a lawsuit, with enough ammo to make it clear that countersuits will not work should be enough to keep Palm quiet.
In parallel, Apple could offer Palm a stiff licensing option - something like $20 a device for the ability to use Apple's multitouch gestures. Considering the financial situation of Palm, that might be the best option for Palm - and it helps Apple set a precedent in terms of establishing a licensing model. Once such a model is established, and some major players accept the model, it will be very difficult for other players to copy the idea without accepting the same licensing model.
You are confusing patents and trademarks. You MUST defend a trademark.
You can sit on a patent all you like, you can sue one violator while letting the rest get away, you can license it to others on different terms, you can chose to do nothing.
Verizon has better coverage overall, but there are plenty of places I have been where my iPhone is getting coverage and other carriers have little to no coverage. Including Verizon, though if AT&T has it then Verizon almost almost has it.
I've come to the point where I tune out the AT&T has bad coverage whining. I've lost coverage with both Verizon and AT&T in a number of places.
BTW, I travel 100% of the time. About 9 months in the US and 3 months elsewhere so I may have an idea about how the iPhone and AT&T perform.
How do you do it? Travel that much I mean, a couple of years ago I had to travel about a half a year for the company and hated it. Back when I was looking for work I would turn down jobs with excessive travel. A couple of weeks a year can be good but 100% of the time yuk.
In anyevent with all this travel talk I have to wonder how you handle international calling. The one thing that does bother me about iPhone is it's locked nature and the issue of sim card usage in foriegn lands. Of all the issues with the AT&T and Apple arraingement they really make it difficult for the international traveler. Here I'm talking non business travel.
PS: Some places my AT&T 3G USB broadband card and my iPhone gets faster internet on EDGE than it does on UMTS/HSDPA. Parts of Las Vegas and Los Angeles are two of these cities. Perhaps this is an issue with AT&T's 3G network being bogged down in large, trendy cities.
Late last year I spent a week in Vegas on vacation and got what I thought where my best data rates ever. Of course the town isn't packed like it use to be. Even the hotel network was extra zippy.
Dave
Absolutely stinging and brilliant way to cut through the hype.
Whilst WebKit is a fork of KHTML, would KHTML be where WebKit is today under its own steam?
Possibly. No one can say for certain.
Would WebKit be here today without Apple?
Highly unlikely. Apple forked KHTML to make Safari and the WebKit open source project was born.
Would the Pre (in its current form) be possible without WebKit?
Definitely not. Justification:
Option One:
Gecko, very much a work in progress on mobile devices
Option Two:
Opera's engine (Presto). This is in better shape than Gecko, but it would have meant licensing fees.
Webkit initially was a fork of KHTML/KJS. It doesn't remotely resemble that history, today.
Secondly, Presto is the forth coming engine that wasn't even a dream 4 years ago.
Thirdly, even Gecko is going through a complete evolution.
Until it hits the shelves (if ever, or if it isn't really takeover bait), THEN we'll see.
Yes, the Pre is so innovative. Strange, Palm has to borrow Apple's stone desktop picture that Apple has included as an available desktop picture for as long as OSX has shipped.
Fine with me, I never liked that desktop anyway.
I don't doubt the Pre will be a very innovative device as well, but the problem with Palm is in the management not in the engineers.
Palm needs an overhaul. The idiots running them now are "just do enough to get by" kinda folks. They stopped innovating long ago because management didn't understand the value of Research & Development. Took a 3rd party coming in & pouring money into R & D to get them to even look at such a thing. Fools.
I've come to the point where I tune out the AT&T has bad coverage whining. I've lost coverage with both Verizon and AT&T in a number of places.
I wasn't whining, just stating some of the areas I've noticed the most problems. Being an AT&T customer for both my iPhone and 3G card I can't comment on other carriers as a whole. I'm quite happy with my AT&T service.
How do you do it? Travel that much I mean, a couple of years ago I had to travel about a half a year for the company and hated it. Back when I was looking for work I would turn down jobs with excessive travel. A couple of weeks a year can be good but 100% of the time yuk.
I like to travel. I am not a fan of being stationary. With the internet keeping connected to friends and family I don't have any desire to buy another house and remain in one location doing the same job. It's just not my personality. The internet allows me to do all my bills online, but I do have a very large POBox near my family that I get to a few times a year. I have no offspring or a wife, which makes it much easier.
In any event with all this travel talk I have to wonder how you handle international calling. The one thing that does bother me about iPhone is it's locked nature and the issue of sim card usage in foriegn lands. Of all the issues with the AT&T and Apple arraingement they really make it difficult for the international traveler. Here I'm talking non business travel.
You either get a disposable phone, switching out SIMs per country, and use your iPhone as an iPod or you unlock your iPhone using Pwnage
Late last year I spent a week in Vegas on vacation and got what I thought where my best data rates ever. Of course the town isn't packed like it use to be. Even the hotel network was extra zippy.
I was there last week and was getting something like 12-30KBps whenever I checked the data rate on one of many websites. Of course, I only checked when the data rates were bad but I don't recall any time things seemed fast. EDGE on the iPhone was noticeably faster in many places. I expect AT&T is correcting such issues and that the towers I used may be representative of the average tower in LV.
Still : search around the web and you will see McNamee's prior assertion in all their glory everywhere. Today... and in 12 months too. So his lies will pay off for a long time, comfortably screened by the goodwill statement of his attorneys.
This McNamee is brilliant : first go on and blabber hyperbole, reality be damned, and get all the press to talk about it. Then, send your lawyers by the back door to deliver a "please disregard" message to the same press. Then end result : the initial message (the lie) is imprinted in people's mind and in court, McNamee can assert that his statements were nullified by an "official and widely spread" statement.
Still : search around the web and you will see McNamee's prior assertion in all their glory everywhere. Today... and in 12 months too. So his lies will pay off for a long time, comfortably screened by the goodwill statement of his attorneys.
With his statements so unrealistic I think it's an easy case to win that this was hyperbole.
I think he means that AT&T doesn't have good cell coverage in his area, whilst Sprint does.
Correct.
So basically the lawyers are saying, "Disregard everything McNamee said...all of it.".
Most reports point to Apple being the slow ones to Flash, so we know flash will happen on the Palm Pre. That alone if the os is all that, could make it a winner, combined with turn by turn gps. My work phone sprint htc has great tbt gps and I have an iPhone.
Imagine though if they partner and offer streaming tv. That could be a reason millions could flock. All depends on now and June. Apple gets their bread and butter from iPhone. Could be bad for apple. We'll see in time.