iPhone – the ultimate travel companion

Whenever I travel, I try to pack as lightly as possible.  Despite this, there’s key items that cannot be left behind.  I will need a laptop to read and respond to e-mails, a phone, some form of handheld gaming (usually a DS), and of course, an iPod.  The iPod I usually use for travel is a 5th gen iPod video, the battery life is great and although the screen is small, it’s fine for catching up on a TV episode or two.  It’s not all entertainment either, if I I’m travelling to France, Germany or Spain, then I’ll refresh my language skills (which are weak at best) with audio lessons. I’ll also need the relevant chargers and cables to keep this mini-branch of Dixons powered up for a few days.  At least, that’s what I used to travel with before the iPhone emerged.

Travel companions - pre-iPhone

On a recent pre-Christmas city break I decided to only bring my iPhone.

MacBook Air Rev B – iPhone ready.

I’ve been experimenting withing living in the cloud recently, I use Google Docs to create new text or spreadsheets, I use MobileMe and GoogleMail for my contacts / e-mail / cloud disk space and I use Google Reader for my RSS feeds.  What I have enjoyed about the cloud so far is to be able to sit down at any computer and the same consistent experience is available from within Firefox.

I usually take my MacBook Pro to and from work every day, but yesterday I just left it at home.  How would I survive by only using the iMac in work?  Just fine it turns out.  I didn’t need access to any old documents, I’m still looking for a solution on how to manage those, but for e-mail and simple document writing, the cloud was great.

This means that I could use my iMac in work but what about the MacBook Pro?  I still need a laptop for travelling and visiting clients, and to make it desirable enough to take anywhere, the MBP is just a bit too heavy.  I really want the portability of a MacBook Air, but if my documents are all online then I need a connection to the net from anywhere.  I feel that Apple called their laptop the Air because it was a nod to ‘the cloud’ rather than how light it was.  However, despite the Air being a cloud-oriented computer, why did it not have the one essential component, built in 3G or HSPDA?  If Apple would allow Air buyers to use their iPhone 3G’s capability to access the net then they’d have my cash immediately.  Any other features Apple may add would be almost irrelevant, just give us communication.

Lies, damn lies and iPhone statistics

It’s been interesting to note the press coverage of the iPhone, in particular the price. Headlines have been claiming that the iPhone costs £899, and it indeed does if you calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO). The phone itself costs £269 plus a monthly fee of £35 for 18 months, giving a minimum contract cost of £899. What’s interesting about this is that I can’t think of anything else, ever, that has been advertised in terms of TCO. Personally, I do think in terms of TCO, that’s why Apple Macs are cheaper than PCs and

Microsoft Silverlight event – and living with the iPhone

Silverlight

Although the Apple Mac is my computing platform of choice, I wouldn’t say that I live in an Apple bubble. When needs must, I will use Windows XP to get the job done (mostly usability software analysis tools) and I like to keep up to date with what the linux world is doing. On hearing that Microsoft were giving a talk in Brighton on their ‘Flash killer’, Silverlight, I made sure to go along.

I considered bringing my MacBook Pro along to take notes on, but I thought that being clubbed to death with a copy of Vista Home Premium is not how I want to check out of this world. Imagine my surprise however, when I turn up and both the MS presenters are typing on their MacBook Pros.

Mac Nano

I’ve been using my iPhone for just over a week now and it’s been interesting to note just how it’s affected my computing experience. I’ve been using my iPhone for checking and replying to e-mail, browsing the web, jotting down notes and of course for entertainment purposes such as checking out YouTube and listening to podcasts or music. What I’ve realised is that this represents a significant proportion of the tasks that I do on my laptop, however now it’s trouserable. So why can’t my next Mac be my iPhone?

This leads to my proposal for the Mac that I ideally want, the Mac Nano.