Does your iPhone think tonight should always be a ?

I realize the title of this post might be a bit confusing but so is the problem so stick with me. I was one of those early iPhone adopters so I've had the device about as long as anyone. I'm a moderate user so I don't claim to have the most time spent tapping away at the multi-touch keyboard but I've now been through 2 iPhones (one was replaced at my local Apple Store) and they both seem to think that when I type the word tonight it should be immediately followed by a "?"

No, I don't understand it either. In fact, yesterday was the first time since owning the device that I've actually wanted a "?" after the word "tonight". It certainly was convenient that my iPhone suggested that so all I needed to do was press the spacebar and PRESTO a "?" followed "tonight".

There has been some speculation that the Multi-Touch technology is adaptive and learns what you are likely to be saying or your own personal usage. I've not found this to be the case when it comes to "tonight". I haven't noticed this same pattern with any other word, but if you have, please leave a note, it'll be interesting to see what other words to be on the lookout for.

Free NBC shows on the iPhone.. What is NBC Thinking?

In a somewhat under-reported development (we're doing our part) Gizmodo announced that full episodes of "30 Rock" and "The Office" are now available for streaming on the iPhone (and iPod touch) for free. Without ads. If you want to give it a try, just head to nbc.com on the iPhone, and you'll be re-directed to the iPhone site, then click on the videos tab.

Bear in mind this is the same NBC that pulled its catalog from the iTunes Music Store, and also just signed an agreement to bring the content to the Zune for a price. The video, by the way, looks bad. As in worse than Youtube bad, and there seem to be severe issues with audio sync. You get what you pay for, I suppose. The question is, why would you pull your catalog of content that people were happy to give you money for, then offer it up in free, bad resolution? You're not hurting Apple, as people now have a new (albeit ridiculously small) reason to buy an iPhone, and not pay for your content.

The melding of old-school media companies and new technology continues to be a topsy-turvy affair...

TDL Live: This week's Apple news and rumors (5/5/08)

In case you missed it, things got a little wacky during the Cinco De Mayo Live show. Enjoy our look at all the Apple news and rumors this week!

Is/Was Microsoft Ever Serious With The Zune?

Via engadget comes word of a shocking development in the mp3 player world. Microsoft is bringing the Zune to Canada. More than a year after its release in America, the Zune is headed north.

This news came as I surprise to me, as I had assumed Microsoft's "iPod killer" was already available everywhere. After all, if you had more cash in the bank than any other computer company, (Apple's gaining fast though) an installed userbase of your operating system in the hundreds of millions, and you wanted to obliterate Apple, wouldn't you at least make your product widely available? You would, unless you're really not that serious.

It seems like the Zune has done more harm to marketshare of iPod competitors, than the iPod itself. Where Microsoft's "Plays for Sure" plan was aimed at creating an army of tech companies to take on Apple, it seems now Microsoft is content to cannibalize those partners' sales. This is the Zune we're talking about. It would be one thing if it were a revolutionary device, like the iPhone. Something like that can take time, and can require a slow roll-out to get it right. But to have the most engineers, the most money, and the most PC marketshare, and to still take 18 months to get your product to Canada? Clearly someone's not really trying.

The iPhone: Turning a missing feature into a hype machine

There's a lot of buzz about the next version of the iPhone, and frankly, it's been that way since shortly after the phone launched. The word, or more precisely number and letter, on everyone's mind is 3G. Yes, 3G. You would think it was the savior of cell phone users everywhere. Curiously, a year ago, most of the country probably hadn't heard of 3G. Yet a year later, it's the must-have feature for the next version of the iPhone. Which got me thinking: what if the iPhone had 3G to begin with? What would we all be talking about now?

Apple has a knack for (whether by design or not) leaving off a feature, or neglecting to add a feature, and then the lack of that feature actually fuels sales and even more talk about the product. Think back to a time when the iPod didn't do video. The buzz reached fever pitch after the iPod Photo. Everyone was suddenly concerned with when would the iPod play video. So here we are again. If the iPhone had 3G from the start, would rumor sites be buzzing about text copy & paste? (another missing feature) or perhaps an iChat client? It's doubtful these kinds of rumors would fuel the tech blogs the way the lack and perceived need of 3G on the phone has.

3G will not make the phone thinner, lighter, give it longer battery life, or make the UI more intuitive. It won't let you copy and paste text, record voice memos, or easily create ringtones. What it does do is provide fuel for the blogger fire for an entire year.

So what do you think? If the iPhone has 3G networking from the beginning, what would everyone be getting ready for now? Do you think Apple deliberately leaves off features to build hype, or are the media/bloggers to blame/credit?