Data Caps? Apple Can't Get Out of This AT&T Deal Quick Enough

Dropped calls. Delayed Features. And now, the possibility of data caps? Let's hope Apple's new legal eagle can find a loophole to get them out of the AT&T deal as soon as possible.

PCWorld quotes AT&T head Ralph De laVega, making statements recently that could point the way to data caps, or at least data "management" for smartphone users, saying that 3% of AT&T's smartphone customers use 40% of all smartphone data. Well guess what? It's fair to say that a majority of those heavy users are iPhone owners. Why did you sign up for iPhone exclusivity again, AT&T? Oh yes, to bring in more customers. Well now they've arrived, and you can't handle them.

Is any carrier ready, though? Is the iPhone and its data-friendly ways beyond the capacity of any network? If exclusivity ended tomorrow, would users of other carriers face the same issues? I don't know, but at this point it's a chance worth taking. 

What's in Store For The Future of QuickTime?

Image: TheLogoFactory.comWhen you're as big as Apple, with hit products like the iPhone and iPod, inevitably, some smaller, less sexier projects are going to fall through the cracks. But does QuickTime (the technology, not the player) deserve to be in this category?

Once upon a time, QuickTime led the horse race for online video playback, not to mention bringing video to the desktop in the first place. And, more people use QuickTime today than ever before thanks to it being the underlying engine for iTunes. However, QuickTime has certainly fallen far behind Flash as a delivery method for online video. Is Apple content to let Flash be king? It might simply be a matter of having to many other major projects right now.

Beyond use as a simple video plug-in, (and in theory, Flash and QT should be equal here as more and more video is h.264/mp4 and therefore playable by both) QuickTime has had several interactive hooks/calls that could create a more immersive, interactive experience. Unfortunately, compared to Flash, the effort and difficulty (and end-user numbers) have all tilted strongly to Flash.

It would make sense that the format that powers the largest online music retailer in the world would dominate online streaming and video playback. Perhaps with the iPhone 3Gs and Snow Leopard out the door, some time can be spent on this key Apple technology. That is, if a tablet doesn't get in the way.

What do you think? Should Apple be content using QuickTime as the engine for iTunes, or should they give Flash a run for its money? Or, do new standards make the whole argument moot?

Apple and Google : It's About To Get Messier

You know, not that long ago, the "do no evil" tag team of Google and Apple looked like a dream team. These days, of course, "it's complicated," in Facebook-speak.

The conflicting statements to the FCC regarding whether Apple outright rejected a Google Voice app, or is merely still considering it, appears to have been just the tip of the iceberg. Gizmodo reports that Apple quietly bought their own mapping company back in July. There are a few things that keep Apple playing (relatively) nice with Google: Search and mapping.

If Apple could replace Google Maps on the phone, and offer something better (a daunting task), then that would leave only search as the key reason these two should smile at each other in public. You don't suppose that data center in North Carolina has anything to do with search, do you? Or would we perhaps see, wait for it, an Apple/MSFT Bing partnership? Crazy ideas, I know. But who would've thought six years ago when Apple debuted Safari with the integrated Google search box, that we would be here today with both companies competing with mobile phones, browsers, internet apps, and potentially maps, search and even OS'es.

Mark your iCal/gCal: 2010 will be the year that we see a full-on clash of the titans.

Best Buy Ad: What Do You See?

We want to thank Best Buy for bringing us this tech Rorschach Test of sorts. Looking at this ad page, you will see the MacBook Pro listed at $1999. The second most expensive laptop on the page is a 17" HP for $1299. Right next to the MacBook Pro is a seemingly similar spec-ed Dell at just $629. Same drive size, same RAM, even a slot-load drive.

What are we looking at here? Is this a bad move on Best Buy's part to show only the $1999 MacBook Pro, rather than say, the  $999 MacBook? Is this page proof positive for those who feel the "Apple tax" is alive and well? Does it serve Apple by painting it as a luxury computer?

Yes, there's build quality. Yes, there's Mac OS X. Yes, there's the whole user experience, but how do you get that through to someone who sees they can buy three Dell laptops for the same price as a MacBook Pro. Also worth nothing that after years of the "megahertz wars," ironically the MacBook Pro is the only model with an actual processor speed listed. 

Is It Time To Say Goodbye to 'Mac and PC' ?

Over the weekend a new Mac and PC ad was released, (see below.) and I have to say, it might be time for these two buddies to move on.

The ads have been clever in gently poking fun at the PC, while showing the virtues and accolades of the Mac. You've go to wonder though, is it simply preaching to the choir at this point. If you were a PC user, and you'd seen these ads for over three years, would you suddenly wake up, ready to by a Mac, or would you feel badgered and belittled by this point?

Just to be clear, I personally enjoy the ads, even if they've lost their LOL appeal through the years. They've still found a sweet spot in which to highlight the Mac, while downplaying the PC points, and have done it with class not seen in the Microsoft Seinfeld ads, the short-lived "I'm a pc" campaign, or the "Laptop Hunters" spots running now.

I always felt the switcher ads were under-used, and maybe in retrospect, came a little earlier than they should've. Maybe it's time to see real-world people switching and talking about the experience again. Or maybe it's time to go in a whole new direction.

Given the popularity of the iPhone/iPod, and the Apple ecosystem overall, maybe it's time for something like the "Think Different" campaign: now that so many more people own an Apple product, perhaps it's time to get them to realize they'll love the same things about their Mac that they love about the iPhone or iPod. Let's see an Apple brand, feel good, kind of campaign. Hedge the bets and keep the "Get a Mac" ads around for awhile to answer whatever ridiculousness the next Microsoft spot holds.