iPhone Market Share = Amazing

It's that time again. Yes, time for the monthly operating system stats from Net Applications. While Windows takes 88.14% in this month's numbers, and "Mac" (presumably OS X) has 9.77% share, the real fascinating number to me is buried deeper in the numbers.

The iPhone OS accounted for .49% of internet traffic as measured by Net Applications. That's not much of the big pie, but it is ten times the share of Windows Mobile (at .05%) and seven times better than Android (at .07%). Granted, the iPhone market share is flat compared to recent months, but it's still quite impressive how quickly it has gained such a strong foothold in the mobile market. How many years has Microsoft had to try to get this market right? And kudos are in order to Android for also doing better than Windows Mobile in less than a year. We'll see where things stand in July. I'm no Kevin Rose, but I think we'll see a jump in iPhone market share again.

AngryCat for the iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

Cats can get angry. And how will you react when cats get angry? Don't know? Sounds like you need an AngryCat simulator. Of course this particular cat isn't all that angry until you start poking at him and provoking him. So perhaps the moral to the story is, don't make cats angry. AngryCats claims to help you be prepared. Oh and Happy April Fool's Day. Enjoy:

Night Stand for iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

When is a pretty face more than just a pretty face? Or in this case, is a pretty face enough? Night Stand offers a classy assortment of alarm clock eye candy to replace the built-in alarm functionality. But is that enough to justify its $1.99 price point? Well, that's in the eye of the beholder, but for most, the answer is probably no. The look of these faces, especially the default blue LCD is great. And if you have a set of docking speakers, having Night Stand on your iPhone will help class up the joint. 

However, there are only four of those classy looks to choose from. Maybe we could cut them more slack on the price with more included alarm faces. Also kudos on the refreshing new alarm sounds as well. If you're a stylish sleeper, and $1.99 won't keep you up at night, then give it a shot.

The Sky Is NOT Falling, No Matter What Ballmer Says

photo from virtualization.comSteve Ballmer. It must be lonely at Microsoft these days, what with just the red ring of Death xBoxes and stacks of Zunes to keep you company. So you'll give the man a little benefit of the doubt. Well, we could give him the benefit of the doubt, but he's proven himself capable of saying ridiculous things for years now.

This time around, Ballmer brings us this chestnut: "Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be."

So let's break this down. First, we here at TDL are acutely aware of the "Apple tax" as it's known. It manifests itself in a lot of ways, like RAM that costs two or three times what it does from other vendors, or hard drive upgrades with the same ridiculous markup. And yes, there are pricey machines like the new Mac Pro that won't make a lick of difference for the work that 90% of us do on computers. But guess what? That other 10% appreciates and needs the power that upgrade brings.

And yes, there are holes in the product lineup. Yes, there should be a product to compete with the netbooks. Let's not forget what happened with the iPod and iPhone though: neither was the first product in its category. Apple has a habit of letting the dust settle, then blowing the doors off whatever is left. If Netbooks continue to be laptop replacements, you can bet Apple will be there. No, maybe not as fast as we'd like, but we'll probably love what they do.

Also bear in mind, this is the same Ballmer who said no one would buy the iPhone. How's that working out?

There are pricing problems at Apple, but guess what? They can all be resolved with a few slashes in price, and a few models to fill the gaps. Apple's problems are fixable. I don't think the same can be said of Ballmer and Microsoft.

Slotz Racer for the iPhone and iPod Touch Video Review

Ah, youth, how I miss thee. And that includes the slot car racing I did as a kid. Yeah, I had my own "modern" track (circa 1984), but the real challenge (and frustration) came from trying to use my brother's older track. It was a time when the cars were far more likely to slide off the track. When you needed skill and patience to master the hand grip accelerator.

Fortunately, Slotz Racer for the iPhone and iPod Touch falls somewhere between those two tracks of my youth. It takes a fair amount of skill with the accelerator, but at the same time, allows for some fast racing action. The set layouts (editable, by the way) are far longer and complex than most of us had as kids. And it gives a new generation a chance to experience slot car racing. (Yes, the tracks still exist but good luck finding them since most of the stores that sold them have closed.)

The variation of tracks, nighttime racing, pit stops, and car models (although more models would be great) keeps the game fresh. And for those of you who may have tried an earlier version, the dreaded competitor "Fruitbat" no longer wins every race you lose.

So kudos to Freeverse for taking a different perspective to racing on the iPhone and iPod touch. If you've never touched a slot car, you may find it frustrating at first, but that's just part of the realistic recreation of the real deal. Slotz Racer is currently $4.99.