Apple announced the iPad about 12 hours ago and it's been occupying most of my time today. I managed to get a story out early this morning via IT News about whether the iPad matches the hype that surrounded its release.

Frankly, I'm a little underwhelmed. Although some of the technology is undoubtedly impressive it really isn't much more than a over-sized iPhone minus the camera.

I'm sure that the coming weeks will reveal more and once it's actually released in about 60 days we'll know everything there is to know. But, until then, I'm thinking that the iPad is a solution looking for a problem.

There's an interesting story that's emerged from earthquake shattered Haiti. American filmmaker Dan Woolley used the iPhone app, Pocket First Aid, to treat himself and used photos shot under the rubble wth his digital SLR camera to find a safer spot while he was trapped.

While this sounds like ths stuff of miracles the real surprise is that his iPhone battery didn't go flat. Anyone with an iPhone will attest that the most you'll get from a single charge is about a day. So, how did Wooley get his iPhone to survive for over 60 hours.

Chances are that he disabled a few things. I've used my iPhone with 3G disabled and that's made a huge difference to battery life. Plus, bieng in a dark space, I expect that he could have kept screen brightness at a minimum and turned off the GPS and Bluetooth.

I assume that he didn't use the iPhone to catch the latest YouTube videos or listen to some tunes.

The entire blogosphere and more than a few traditional news outlets are all saying that Apple is going to be announcing a tablet during the big event they've scheduled for 27 January 2010 (3.00AM on the 28th for those in Australia). While the idea of a tablet has some attraction to the market, I'm not convinced that they're going deliver one.

CES saw many many companies release and announce tablets and eReaders. At the moment, it's fair to say that on the eReader side of things, Amazon owns the market with a device that has the entire book buying and reading process refined. When Apple released the iPod there were other MP3 players around but none had high capacity hard drives and Apple managed to nail the usability through the iPod/iTunes ecosystem. In other words, they weren't first to market but they were arguably best to market.

With the tablet, Apple won't be delivering something new or something that hasn't already been well done by something else. For Apple to turn the hype of a tablet into market success they'll need to not only create a great product but fulfil a need that the market may not even know it has. Remember the hysteria surrounding the MacBook Air. Sure, the Air is a damn sexy product (I've owned one) but its limitations and the introduction of the 13-inch MacBook Pro have rendered the Air to all but obsolescence.

So, if Apple doesn't announce a tablet, what will they unveil. I suspect that it will be something from the shopping list below.

1 - A new Apple TV with integrated tuners making it a full PVR solution

I've got an Apple TV. If it had a high definition tuner and Apple applied its software engineers to the task of making this Steve Jobs hobby project easy to use then they'd have a winner. For the win, they could release a software update so that existing Apple TV units could install a USB tuner to the unused port at the back of the Apple TV.

2 - A netbook (they described this as a "nascent market" last year and hinted that they were doing some product development)

The establishment of the 13-inch MacBook Pro line basically made the MacBook Air into a firth wheel. I suggest that the 13-inch MacBook Air will be superseded by a lower cost 10-inch MacBook Air. However, if this happens, Apple won't be calling it a netbook in order to avoid the stigma that comes from some of the cheapest, more underpowered netbooks it would compared with. Also, unless it costs less than $800 USD it won't sell.

3 - The iPhone nano - a smaller, cheaper iPhone (fits their iPod strategy)

This one's less likely but still on the cards. While Apple might not be the biggest seller of handsets on the market, they practically own what David Pogue calls the "app phone" market. recent research from Gartner says that Apple owns practically all mobile application sales. While I'm not sure that Gartner's figures are 100% correct (What about the installed base of Palm and Windows Mobile apps? How about sales from independent software vendors?).

A second model, appealing to the portion of the market that wants a more compact form factor would be a sure-fire winner.

4 - A new iLife and iWork update (an anticlimax for all the hype)

iLife updates were typically released at the Macworld Expo. Although Apple is no longer attending the Expo, an iLife update is on the cards. iWork is less likely although the paintball effect on Apple's media invitation could point to an expansion of iWork to include a drawing program. The establishment of features like Instant Alpha in the other iWork apps makes me think this is a possibility.

5 - A huge shock: Steve Jobs to resign as CEO (stay on as chairman)

Let's face it - Jobs is a busy guy with many interests and the company didn't go belly up when he took his medical leave of absence in 2009

Business cards are a fact of life. But filing them and being able to find the right card quickly is a major hassle. For the last few weeks I've been scoping out a business card scanner but the cost is, in my view, prohibitively high given that it's a piece of hardware that I'm only likely to use a few times a year.

Most scanners come with some software that performs optical character recognition, or OCR, on cards and then uses the text to populate a new entry in your address book. CardSnap turns your iPhone into a business card scanner. Rather than loading all the OCR onto the iPhone, CardSnap lets you photograph a business card. Once you've checked that the image is OK you send the card up to an online service where the OCR is performed. A couple of hours later, the scanned card comes back and you review the result of the OCR.

I put CardSnap through its paces by scanning a pile of 80 cards. Each card was photographed with my iPhone 3GS. It's worth noting that this app relies on the 3GS's superior camera. If you've only got a first generation iPhone or a 3G then you'll need to shell out for Griffin's Clarifi iPhone case as CardSnap relies on a decent camera to get the best result from the OCR.

Once a card is photographed it goes into a queue that you can view using the "Cards" button. From submission to return it takes about 24 hours although we received some cards within a couple of hours.

The OCR process was quite accurate although we did encounter some problems. For example, where the business card didn't have a country on the address the software populated the field with United States. I'd prefer to have an option to set the default country. Also, when an address had a dash or slash in it, like 2-4 Smith Road, the dash or slash was omitted.

Once a card comes back from OCR processing, it's important to review the card. As the photo of the card is retained this is reasonably easy although having a way to review the card and see the photo at the same time would make that much easier.

As well as testing CardSnap with a batch of cards we've used it at meetings to quickly capture the cards of other people. It works well - there's lots of "cool" factor when you do this - although it does mean that my meeting trick of arranging cards in front of me on the table so I don;t forget names is not longer practical as I don't keep the cards any more.

At $9.99USD ($12.99AUD) CardSnap is much cheaper and more portable than a business card scanner. It works quite well and the OCR accuracy is over 90%. The daly between scanning and receiving the result is annoying but given that I'd probably not carry a scanner to every meeting it doesn't make the actual workflow any slower.

If you collect lots of business cards and lack the time or discipline to enter all the details into your contact list then CardSnap is excellent value.

What's it for?: Copying stuff from your iPhone to your Mac
Score: 3/5
Pros: Easy to use, just works
Cons: No file syncing, wired connections only Mac only
Cost: $19.99USD
Buy from: Ecamm PhoneView

Syncing an iPhone through iTunes works well but there may be times when you need to extract data from your iPhone. For example, if the disk in your Mac dies then the photos or music on your iPhone might be your only backup. Ecamm's PhoneView application lets you connect an iPhone and browse its contents so you can copy data between your Mac and the iPhone without using iTunes

After installing PhoneView it automatically launched and was ready for my iPhone to connect.

After connecting my iPhone by its USB cable I was able to view its contents and copy content to and from its filestore. In addition I was able to read SMS and Notes, with an option to save them to my Mac (this may be important for business users concerned about record keeping), copy music and photos from the iPhone and use the iPhone as a portable disk. iPhone 3GS support arrived in the latest version so you can even copy your videos to your Mac.

Using the iPhone as a portable disk does add to its usefulness but it would be great if Ecamm developed an iPhone app so that copied files could be read on the iPhone. Having shelled out $20 I'd like to be able to read the data I've been able to copy. Given that the iPhone OS supports reading of many different file formats it's a little disappointing to not have a companion app for this purpose. However, the ability to store a backup of key files is very handy.

If only...

The one thing I'd really like to be able to do with PhoneView is create SMS from my Mac and have the iPhone send them. While I'm working, it'd be great to be able to use my Mac that way. But that's a small criticism.

Connection to PhoneView requires connection by USB - no Bluetooth or WiFi allowed. Given that the ability to connect over WiFi for data transfer is supported in a huge array of apps this is a serious omission. For me being able to connect my iPhone wirelessly would add significantly to PhoneView's utility as I could use it while commuting.

Should you buy it>?

PhoneView is a very useful piece of software. The ability to copy data from your iPhone is very handy and the $20USD price tag is reasonable. I picked up PhoneView as part of a recent MacHeist bundle and it's proven to be one of those handy little apps that I'd probably not have purchased on its own. However, I really like this app and find it very useful.

Score: 3.5/5
Pros: Great graphics, excellent gameplay
Cons: Not enough levels
Cost: $5.99USD
Buy from: Apple App Store

Id Software's Doom probably sold more PCs than any reseller. In it's time, the early 1990s, it needed some pretty grunty hardware to keep up with the fast-moving bad guys and what ever they were throwing or firing at you. Doom spawned its own ecosystem of add-on levels and eventually was superseded by Quake and a host of other first-person shooters. Doom Resurrection is a re-birth of Doom, specifically made of the iPhone and iPod touch. It's not a straight porting of the original game - these are entirely new levels although the premise of the story is the same.

I won't rehash the storyline of Doom as it's adequately covered over at Wikipedia and lots of fan sites as well as Id Software's own site.

Storyline

You're the last surviving marine on a remote research facility on Mars. You start the game unarmed (although that's not the case for too long) and have to negotiate your way through the facility, killing all manner of demons, zombies and other nasties along the way.

In other words, shoot anything that moves, don't get killed and save the world!

Gameplay

Given that the iPhone lacks a keyboard, Doom Resurrection puts you on rails. This means that you don't have any control over your own movement during the game. This takes a little getting used to. One of the features of Id Software's First Person Shooters, or FPS, is that you can freely walk around the game space and explore. The goal in the original game was to find secret passages and other secrets hidden behind walls. There are secrets in Doom Resurrection but they're not well hidden. The trick is to seem them and shoot them to open them before you go past them. You can't stop your onward movement to the destination at each level.

Accompanying you on much of the journey is a small flying droid called Sam. Sam gathers data from the few remaining data terminals so that you can send the data to base an avert the seemingly inevitable teleportation of demons from hell to earth. Same only appears when she's integral to the story. Otherwise she's not floating about, cluttering up the limited screen space.

As there's no way to control your own movement, the left corner of the screen is set as a dodge control. When one of the demons throws a fire ball at you, the dodge control will let you duck out of the way, letting the fireball harmlessly sail by. The trick is to time your dodge correctly so that you don't go too early and get hit. When possessed soldiers are firing their guns at you the dodge control lets you hide behind conveniently placed crates or pillars so you can stay out of harms way until there's a break in the shooting and you can retaliate.

Weapons

One of the great things about the original Doom was the array of different weapons you could discover. The most basic weapon is a machine-gun. This weapon's magazine holds 60 rounds but you somehow have an infinite supply of refills. While that sounds silly it has the advantage of not leaving ammo lying around the screen all the time.

There's also a pair of shotguns you find as your walk through the research facility. The single barrel unit packs enough punch to kill most humanoid bad guys with a single shot to the head. You can hold eight shots at a time with that weapon.

The double-barrel shotgun can kill many of the larger mutants that come your way with a single blast providing you wait for the mutant to get nice and close. But beware - reloads take a second or so and that's enough time to get badly hurt if you don't make the kill on your first shot.

There's a plasma rifle as well. Its magazine holds 40 rounds and can kill most things with about half as many shots as the machine-gun. However, the plasma ammo is best saved for when you get your hands on the BFG.

The BFG, or Big XXX Gun, fires forty rounds of plasma in one fell swoop and will kill several bad guys at a time. However, it takes a while to fully prime so you'll need to time its use carefully.

Controls

The on-screen controls are easy to use. Each corner of the screen is designated for a specific function. The top-left corner lets you toggle between weapons, the top-right reloads your weapon. The bottom-left is for dodging incoming enemy fire and the bottom-right is for shooting. There's also a small pause button on the top of the screen should you need a break while playing.

Each weapon has a different set of crosshairs for aiming. You direct the crosshairs by tilting the iPhone as the aiming mechanism uses the device's accelerometers. My only complaint was that it's tricky to aim correctly unless you're sitting still - something that's difficult if you're playing on a train.

Criticisms

I really enjoy playing Doom Resurrection. That's why I was really disappointed as there just weren't enough levels. I managed to play all the way through from start to end in a couple of days. Sure, that cut into stuff like eating and work, but I got a lot more gameplay out of the port of Wolfenstein.

Also, the "on rails" approach to movement is a great way to eliminate the use for complex controls that take away from the available screen space but it did take some getting used to.

Should you buy it?

If you enjoy playing FPS and have a few spare bucks then I'd recommend Doom Resurrection. Although I've finished the game, I'm still playing it, using the "Free Play" option to go back to various points in the game.

Even the most ardent Apple supporter would consider this ridiculous. When the iPhone, running Version 3.0, is connected to a Bluetooth speaker, like the neat little Sony Ericsson MBS-100 I'm playing with, there is no way to control the volume. The speaker lacks a volume control and Apple has chosen to not support controlling the volume with the A2DP Bluetooth Profile.

I guess that in one respect there is a volume control - the on and off switch - but to not be able to change the volume from the iPhone is a royal pain in the butt. Apple is working, as far as I can tell, within the A2DP specification (you can read it here) but are offering little other than the bare minimum.

Roll on iPhone 3.0.1

Now that iPhone 3.0 has been released I thought it would be pertinent to look at what's happening in carrier land and to play with a couple of the new features.

Carriers

In Australia we effectively have three major carriers; Telstra, Optus and the newly created VHA that's being formed through the merger of Three and Vodafone.

VHA
VHA has announced that the new iPhone 3G S will be sold through Three stores in Australia. This is significant locally as Three was never an official carrier for the iPhone 3G although they did offer a $300 rebate for any customers bringing a unlocked iPhone 3G to their network.

Vodafone has also announced that you can register interest in the iPhone 3G S here.

At this stage there's no announcement on whether tethering will cost extra but given that Three has actively encouraged the use of phones as modems I don't expect them to charge customers for the privilege.

Optus
Optus hasn't officially released pricing on their site but have sent a press release that states that tethering ("iPhone as a Modem" in Optus-speak) will cost extra. We're looking at $9.95 per month.

In my view, this is ridiculous. Many iPhone users on the Optus network don't use their entire data allowance now. Why they can't use this for tethering is a matter of some conjecture with managing their network capability through charging structures probably the most likely explanation. However, this is very easily overcome by downloading the appropriate profile from this site. The easiest thing to do is visit that address with Safari on your iPhone.

If you're interested in an iPhone 3G S through Optus you can register your interest here.

Telstra
Telstra has been conspicuously quiet on the iPhone 3.0 front. A look at their iPhone website reveals no new information - not even an acknowledgment that there's a new iPhone or an operating system update.

I wouldn't expect to offer different pricing for tethered traffic as they already charge an arm and leg for their service compared to the other local carriers.

Find My iPhone and MobileMe
The value of Apple's MobileMe service has been questionable - until now. The introduction of the "Find my iPhone" services adds significant value to MobileMe.

Firstly, if you lose your iPhone you can use MobileMe to locate the handset. Enabling the service on the iPhone is a little tricky to find (Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts and Calendars > MobileMe >Find my iPhone).

Then. visit www.me.com and go to Settings. Form there, it's an easy thing to locate your phone. If the phone isn't precisely locatable via its GPS receiver then it position relative to carrier transmission towers is provided.

You can also get the iPhone to display a message or make a sound - even when the phone is on silent.

If your phone is truly lost then you can remotely wipe its contents.

When Snow Leopard Server is released later this year, I'm hoping to see a corporatised version of this service for businesses that have deployed a fleet of iPhones.

The recent release of the new Kindle eBook reader has me thinking (yeah, it had to happen again!) about device convergence. In the olden days, people (well, nerds really) carried a PDA, mobile phone, computer and whatever other gadgets took their fancy (HP scientific calcular anybody?). Since those days in 80s and 90s we've seen a marked shift.

The IT industry tends to move between extreme position. Think about insourcing vs outsourcing, off the shelf vs bespoke development and so on. Depending on the economic climate and what consultants and analysts thought they could get away with everyone seemed to oscillate between some extreme view or another. One of the debates that we used to have was the argument between having a "best of breed" device vs a generalist. This of it as the jack of all trades. It wasn;t an "expert" in any one thing but it did many things competently.

Back in early 2007 Steve Jobs mesmerised the world with his reality distortion field when he announced the first iPhone. In effect, what hed described was a converged device that fused a computer, phone and PDA. What made the iPhone different was that Apple simply did the convergence better than anyone else.

I've not used a Kindle but it looks to be a great device. That said, I doubt I'd buy one as it's too big for me to carry in my normal kit.

The iPhone's biggest weakness, in my opinion, is with messaging. The lack of a unified inbox and search are serious deficiencies that desperately need to be addressed in the iPhone 3.0 software. And let's not get started on the lack of true push email. In that regard, the BlackBerry simply smashes the iPhone.

For web browsing, there's no doubt in my mind that a decent netbook would do the job. I have an Eee PC 900 series in the lounge room at home for just that purpose.

When one looks at the growth of mobile phone sales it's obvious that the fastest growing segment is the smartphone category. iPhones, BlackBerrys and Windows Mobile are no longer just for nerds. The technology has moved along such that smaller devices, while still requiring some compromises and changes in our behaviour, can do many of these tasks. They may not so them as well as we'd like but they do them either well enough or very well.

It's clear to me, and I suggest that sales figures strongly support this view, that while single function devices like the Kindle will continue to sell profitably but that they will only ever be niche devices. The vast majority of consumers will prefer to have a device that can do many things well rather than one or two things brilliantly.

The folks over at FileMaker have delivered one brilliant iPhone app. Bento for iPhone is an iPhone port of Bento - not some cut back imitation.

If you're looking for powerful information management on your iPhone then it's a no-brainer - buy Bento for iPhone. For $5.99, it can replace several other iPhone apps. Sure, there are a couple of rough edges but we're sure these will be sorted in the fullness of time.

My full review can be read over at Australian Macworld.