Apple and Google On A Collision Course

It wasn't that long ago that Google and Apple looked like a dream team. We even considered a fantasy merger of the two back in July. How quickly times have changed.

Now it's iPhone vs. Android, Chrome vs. Safari, and perhaps, Apple mobile search vs. Google search. There are some interesting parallels between this situation and the early days of the Microsoft/Apple rivalry. Microsoft was a key software provider for Apple, while also ramping up its own competing OS for IBM PCs and compatibles.

So where will this end? Can Google and Apple work together against Microsoft as a common enemy, or are we seeing the rivalry of the next decade? Will the next generation of Apple users look back on Google vs. Apple in the same way many of us remember Microsoft vs. Apple? It's not entirely unbelievable to see a path in which Microsoft's influence (continues to) declines to a point of an also-ran. Look at the market gains of Firefox, and to a lesser extent, Safari. Look at the move to online applications, and the increasing marginalization of the desktop OS. Yes, these trends could affect Apple as well, but Apple has a booming hardware business Microsoft can't rely on.

With the recent delay/rejection of Apple's voice search app for the iPhone, we might be seeing this new clash of titans coming far sooner than we thought.

What do you think? Is the ultimate showdown of "Do No Evil," and "Think Different" right around the corner?

L.E.D. Football for the iPhone and iPod Touch Review

You have to be from a certain era in video games to really appreciate this one. LED Football is a faithful reproduction of the original mid-70's handheld Mattel Classic Football game. I didn't get to enjoy that game when it was released, but I did get to play it for many years after my older brother's toys were handed down to me.

The creators have done an incredible job of recreating the look, sound, and feel of the game. However, there's one weakness that was out of their hands... The iPhone/iPod itself is just a little too small to comfortably play the game for a long period of time. Maybe that crazy Marware Game Grip isn't so crazy anymore.

Star Trigon for iPod Game Review

While it may seem that the kids with the shiny new iPhones and iPod Touch(es) are having all the fun, let's not forget about the good old click wheel iPod. Macgirl has a quick video review of Star Trigon for the iPod. The short summary of the already short review: Fun, but repetitive:

November Apple Fantasy Merger of the Month: Netflix

(Each month we weigh the pros and cons of a particular potential merger for Apple. Please note the "fantasy" part of this speculation: Many times the mergers mentioned couldn't or wouldn't be realistically possible. But put all that aside and enjoy this month's edition of Fantasy Merger.)

Earlier this month Netflix brought its movie streaming service to the Mac, with the help of Microsoft's Silverlight Technology. This service allows mac(and pc)users to instantly stream thousands of movies, making Netflix more of a direct competitor to Apple's iTunes than in the past. But that alone doesn't make Netflix the subject of this month's fantasy merger. With Netflix, Apple would gain an instant subscriber base. Rather than trying to build a base on top of their current rental and purchase options, Apple would have a sandbox in which to experiment with the subscriber model.

Apple could also vastly increase it's movie library overnight. Movie studios have made thousands of movies available via Netflix's streaming service that are not available on iTunes (at least not for rental).

Of course, it would also mean the quick demise of the physical dvd portion of the Netflix business. Apple would move quickly to get Netflix users to switch to digital distribution, while selling off the customer base who couldn't or didn't want to switch, to someone like Blockbuster.

What do you think? Should Apple pickup Netflix, for what amounts to a few coins in their cash-laden sofa?

Knots for the iPhone Review

Imagine taking all the fun of Twister, shrink it to the size of the iPhone screen, remove the awkward physical proximity to others, and add some on-screen ads, and you have Knots.

Knots consists of twisting your fingers to place each finger on a colored circle on the screen, then Knots adds another circle, or removes one of the existing circles, forcing you to lift a finger (it makes more sense when you see it in the video below). In theory it should be addictive and give you a lot of gameplay. However, it's tough, even in the early stages to react quickly enough. If you like a challenge, this could be the game for you. One person's challenge is someone else's frustration however: