If you need more gritty and less nitty, check out Chen's rundown of the reviews. Or, if you have some spare time, read the Three Amigos' own unexpurgated scribblings. [USA Today, WSJ/AllThingsD, NYT]

Walt Mossberg of the WSJ has been testing it "for a couple of weeks" and sees that surfing on the faster 3G is between three and five times the speed of the original iPhone. However, Moss found that browsing on the 3G network drained his battery much faster than browsing on the original. Externally, he says the speaker was "much louder" (YES!) for both music and speakerphone, but otherwise pretty much the same as the original. One bug/feature he ran into was that you can only sync your calendar and contacts with either Exchange or your personal accounts, not both.

In Mossberg's own battery tests, he got 4 hours and 27 minutes (short of 5 hours) of talk time, which is three hours less than his test on the original iPhone. Using 3G, he got 5 hours and 49 minutes, which is slightly better than Apple's own claim. He couldn't test any apps on his iPhone 3G, but did on his old iPhone—they worked pretty much as advertised. He concludes with pretty much what we've all known: it's slightly more expensive on AT&T due to the higher price plan, but satisfies people who really need that 3G speed. What's weird is that Mossberg didn't test the GPS functionality at all, so we're left wondering how that is. [All Things D]

Ed Baig of USA Today also tested the iPhone 3G and claims both that it was worth the wait, but still not perfect. His complaints of the first one—no video capture, no Bluetooth stereo and no voice dialing—are still there. Also, AT&T's 3G coverage was nonexistent in his New Jersey home, which kinda negates the whole "iPhone 3G" thing. He notes that the new plastic backing helps reception, and the new flush headphone jack is "a welcome development." Unlike Mossberg, Baig does have something to note on the GPS. He says he was quite impressed by its accuracy when searching for pizza places while driving, and hopes that there will be a third-party add-on for turn-by-turn live directions.

Baig also says that the speaker is improved, but notes strangely that you can't directly charge the new iPhone 3G in some old accessories, such as a Bose SoundDock or a Belkin car kit. There's actually an adapter coming that will enable charging on those. Weird. He finishes up with his wishes for the next generation: Flash, Java and WMV support, removable battery and an expandable memory slot. All in all, a pretty positive review. [USA Today]

David Pogue of the NYT says that the audio quality is much improved, and notes that both incoming and outgoing sound is better than before. "In fact, few cellphones sound this good." The curved back makes the phone feel better in your hand, which is a definite plus. However, he says, the missing "standard cellphone features" from the first generation are also missing from this one. He hopes that the third-party Apps from the iPhone App Store will help fill in the gaps, but some of the ones we've seen—finding parking spots, free phone calls at Wi-Fi hotspots, random restaurant recommender, expense tracker, Etch-a-Sketch and tip calculator—don't exactly make up for the missing MMS, video recording and cut and paste features. Pogue also noticed the GPS does not support turn-by-turn navigation.

Pogue doesn't have much else in the way of benchmarks or impressions, but comes off seeming like he really likes the phone because of the iPhone 2.0 software; something old iPhone owners will be able to get for free. [NYT]

Notes: We have to say that Mossberg's review was the best in terms of completeness (save for the GPS omission). Normally, Newsweek would have a review up for the iPhone along with these three guys, but both they and Wired don't have an early review. This, we think, is because Steven Levy (the old Newsweek guy) at Wired, and Fake Steve Jobs (who hasn't quite started at Newsweek) didn't get the nod from Apple. We had our own hands on with the phone back at WWDC, which covers a lot of the exterior hardware elements as well as some of the software details.

Obviously fighting words, but they still make us more eager than ever to see their efforts on the touchscreen front—especially given how much RIM's CEO dislikes touchscreen keyboards. Can they make a touchscreen phone that'll satisfy hardcore Crackberry addicts weaned on a physical keyboard and swipe some of the iPhone's cachet at the same time?

The other morsel is that one of their major strategies is to stick close to carriers, rather than the odd frenemy relationship Apple and Google have with them, even if it winds up killing RIM. Its other CEO, Jim Balsillie, says that "It may be a better strategy to fight the carrier. We may be wrong. The carrier may get disintermediated, in which case we fade with them." Guess he's not of the "better to burn out" philosophy—though a hot new Blackberry wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for RIM right now. [NYT]

• It navigated seemingly challenging terrain with relative ease, even if the ride was not so smooth for the passenger.
• The motion of the vehicle was a little disconcerting, as it didn't move in a conventional manner; climbing, sliding and dropping in an apparent erratic manner.
• The six wheels could be controlled independently to navigate really, really challenging space spots.
• The suspension is souped up to the galactic brim; the chassis can be raised a whopping, 28-inches in height.
• It's freaking mahoosive, weighing in at 4,500 pounds it is far too large to make it to the moon in its current state.
• The Lunar Chariot is using commercial parts—a cheap webcam and Earth-car grade tires that would never make the final draft, and neither would they survive out in the big old vacuum.

So, the Chariot is a long way off being the cruiser of choice for space travelers. Nevertheless, the test proves it is bad-ass; we're thinking we could use one right here on Earth. Now, to raise that $2 million purchase fee, as well as a ten-man design crew. Hmm, it's back to our crapmobile, me thinks. [NYT]

Thanks to the dedicated second image sensor, it:

"focuses quickly as you aim the lens, without ever blacking out the screen...the screen doesn't go on-off-on, there's no loud clacking, and there's no baffling exhibition of mirror calisthenics inside the camera."

While most of the additional material covered in the reviews is basically factual stuff that you've already been agonizing over for a week or more, they're all decent reads if you have the time.

• Pogue's preview-review from 1/17 New York Times

• Ed Baig's story in USA Today

• Steven Levy's piece from Newsweek's website

• Walt Mossberg's review from Wall Street Journal and allthingd.com

Of course, if you don't have the time for those, pop over to Chen's superfast big-shot review summary and then, well, get about your business. [All About MacBook Air]

• Pogue's NYT review
• Ed Baig's USA Today review
• Mossy's WSJ review

You need a speedy broadband connection (at least 3Mbps); fast-forward can be wonky; like every other distributor the scope and selection its ever-changing catalog of 5k flicks is at the mercy of Hollywood studios. Stay tuned for own review, but if you're feeling hasty you can go ahead and slap down your $399 now. [NYT]

Maybe I'm just taking it personally, because it was a damn good idea. Oh, right, the iPhone music video was an idea we came up with together. I totally goaded him into it by telling him that its the thing that would set his work apart from Mossberg and the rest of the mainstream journalists. He was a former Broadway arranger, you know. There's no reason why he shouldn't flaunt that. If I could do every review on Gizmodo in musical form I would.

What is he supposed to do, hate it just because everyone is sick of hearing how awesome it is? Even the iPhone's hardest critics have to admit its amazing in some ways. (Have you seen our review?) Pogue just feels its worth crowing over, literally. His video still covers the flaws. He's just having a good time. It's gadgets. It's a phone. Relax Pogue critics. There's no nefarious plot to sell more books. There's just a guy who likes gadgets and did a music video about it.

Consumers want touchscreens. Consumers want more media on their mobile phones. The iPhone's making everyone risk being "left behind" (said not once, but twice). But it's good for the industry. Some executive names in the entertainment industry are tossed around.

That's all dandy, but it's all dandiness we've heard before. More importantly, what does any of it have to do with the headline? Nothing, as far as I can tell. How is Hollywood seeking ways to get into the iPhone's world? I don't know any more now than I did five minutes ago. Gee, thanks New York Times.

Hollywood Seeks Ways to Fit Its Content Into the Realm of the iPhone [NYT]

All that verbiage can be boiled down to two sticking points: the lack of tactile feedback and the fact that people will have to re-learn (in at least a limited sense) their phone's method of input.

Point one is valid. Even Mossy has his doubts about the touchscreen conquering the keyboard. Haptic feedback would go a long way in addressing those concerns—look at the love for RAZR2's haptic-feedback touchscreen.

But the more interesting point, the second one, is that the iPhone "requires users to learn the new system, a task that Apple executives acknowledge may require several days." Helio's Sky Dayton is the primary mouthpiece here, saying that

There has never been a massively successful consumer device based solely on a touch screen. "Texting" is central to an entire generation of people... There is a generation of users who are always online and who don't communicate the way their parents did. They're e-mailing; they're texting; they're I.M.-ing.

There might be other reasons to doubt the iPhone, but an iron grip on input paradigms by this mysterious "always on" generation is not one of them. If anything, we're as fickle as they come, ready to drop old habits for new toys at any given second.

All that said, some haptic feedback wouldn't help Corrected: hurt. – Matt Buchanan

P.S. I'm only hard on you NYT because I love you.

That iPhone Has a Keyboard, but It's Not Mechanical [NYT]

The fundamentally flawed logic at its heart is that the effort to make gadgets smaller, easier to use and more people-friendly is one, a move to appeal to more women (rather than, you know, everyone) and two, that women need gadgets to be that way. As our six female readers can attest to, that's total BS.

The article goes through a laundry list of recent gadget redesigns that make them more intuitive, and then pairs them with a "female-focused" logic. For instance: "wider spacing of the keys on a new Sony ultraportable computer notebook that goes on sale next week. It accommodates the longer fingernails that women tend to have." Not because, you know, it'd be easier for dudes with fat fingers as well, or simply that cramped keyboards suck for everyone.

Lighter, tighter DSLR cameras, like the Nikon D40X? 'Cause girls need to cram them into their purses, naturally. Us mens like big, bulky cams. Entry level features? Not for entry level users, no, they're "designed with women in mind because they tend to be a family's primary keeper of memories."

Yes, that's right, making technology easier to use amounts to "feminizing" it, moving it away from "products historically shaped by masculine tastes, habits and requirements." Hell, Energizer released a $20 "Easy Charger" battery charger aimed at women because apparently the $33 Dock & Go model (male-targeted) is too complicated.

Gadget makers should acknowledge that more women—and people generally speaking—are buying and using gadgets (and reading Giz) but that doesn't mean they have to dumb down devices. Everyone wants gear that's easy to use—sex has nothing to do with it. To say that women need stripped-down tech is to be just as sexist as pretending that women don't buy electronics or play games in the first place.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled boob and dick-joke posts. – Matt Buchanan

To Appeal to Women, Too, Gadgets Go Beyond 'Cute' and 'Pink' [NYT]

That's where you readers come in. Your challenge is this: make David Pogue as cool as humanly possible. Put him on a Harley with a stogie sticking out of his mouth. Surround him with buxom ladies in a hot tub. You know, cool. Find some pictures of him and use your Photoshop skills and send your best efforts to me at adam@gizmodo.com. Entries are due on Friday, and I'll post the best results early next week.

Oh, and a note:

Unlike the last Photoshop "contest" I ran, this one will be selective. That means I won't post everything that's sent in. So don't just stick some "witty" text over the photo and send it to me. I want sweet Photoshops here, people. Let's see what you've got. I don't have any prizes to give away at the moment, but who knows, if you inspire me enough maybe I'll dig something up to send to the winner. No promises. –Adam Frucci

UPDATE: Here are the images.

He checks out GMail and Yahoo's apps, but faults them for being unavailable on many of the locked-down phones that carriers sell us. He much prefers the teleflip service, which forwards email messages from preselected senders as multiple txt messages.

I see where he's coming from, since most any phone capable of txt messages can work with teleflip, but man, I definitely don't want the flood of my inbox hitting my cellphone like a rain of twittter. Especially when each email gets broken down into 4-5 emails. *Shudder*

Hey, anyone catch his new show last Friday? He's got a schedule up.– Brian Lam

How to Make Your Cellphone Act Like a BlackBerry [NYTimes]

8 pm on the Science Channel! Every Fri for 6 weeks. Also on Discovery HD starting June 7.

Anyhow, here's a video preview worth watching:

THE SCIENCE CHANNEL'S NEW SERIES IT'S ALL GEEK TO ME ALLEVIATES CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY CONFUSION

Hosted by New York Times Columnist David Pogue,
Series Debuts Friday, May 18, 8 PM (ET/PT)

(Silver Spring, MD) - The Science Channel debuts IT'S ALL GEEK TO ME, a new weekly series that brings The New York Times personal-technology columnist David Pogue's expertise on the world of technology to television. In each half-hour episode, Pogue uses his unique brand of humor to help average consumers unravel the mystery behind complex electronic gadgets used in their daily lives. Whether it's choosing the right digital camera, unlocking fun tricks on your cell phone or learning how to edit your own home videos, Pogue's unique knowledge and expertise helps it all make sense. The series premieres Friday, May 18, at 8 PM (ET/PT) and will air every Friday on The Science Channel.

For years, David Pogue has enlightened readers about personal technology in The New York Times and as an Emmy award-winning correspondent for CBS News. Now his unique wisdom reveals the mysteries and special features and functions behind a variety of consumer technology products. Useful tips and tricks, interspersed with quirky sketches - including man-on-the-street segments - ensure that each episode of IT'S ALL GEEK TO ME entertains while informing.

CAMCORDERS
Camcorder sales may be down, but amateur video is way, way up, thanks to the camera phone, YouTube and other developments. David Pogue, The New York Times tech columnist, takes you on a fast, funny ride through the entire process of becoming a home-movie mogul: choosing a camcorder (tape vs. DVD vs. memory card), learning to use it, editing out the boring parts and finally posting the result on the Web for a potential audience of one billion people.

CELL PHONES
Cell phones have gotten less expensive, smaller and more powerful over time, but people still have a love-hate relationship with these little gadgets. David Pogue, The New York Times tech columnist, offers couples therapy for you and your phone. He shows which features are worth shopping for, how to avoid being scammed when signing up for service and how to save minutes and money using voicemail, directory assistance, picture sending and more.

LAPTOPS
Laptops: they're the fastest-growing kind of computer, the road warrior's trusty companion. David Pogue, The New York Times tech columnist, takes this show on the road, literally, and offers advice on getting online, protecting your laptop from theft and destruction, using public wireless hot spots without being eavesdropped and presenting PowerPoint pitches while connected to a projector.

DIGITAL CAMERAS
Digital cameras have revolutionized photography; in less than a decade, they almost completely wiped film cameras off the map. But that doesn't mean they're idiot-proof. The New York Times tech columnist David Pogue demonstrates how to buy a camera, avoid common photo-taking pitfalls, fix up the lousy shots on the computer and finally present the results to your adoring public via slideshow, e-mail, DVD or website.

IPODS
You knew that your iPod plays music. But did you know it's also a stopwatch, alarm clock, Web-page reader, audio book, recipe reader, TiVo recorder, karaoke machine, podcast player, radio, big-screen TV and YouTube viewer? You will, once The New York Times tech columnist David Pogue gets finished.

SAVING PAST DATA
At this very moment, all of your audio, video and photographic memories are disintegrating, slowly but surely. VHS tapes have only a 15-year shelf life before the image begins to degrade; cassette tapes, same problem; and plenty of computer storage formats are no longer playable because nobody makes the programs or the disk drives anymore. In this show, The New York Times tech columnist David Pogue shows you how to rescue all of these decaying or disappearing formats: home movies on film, vinyl records, VHS tapes, audio tapes, data on floppy disks, slides, prints and more.

IT'S ALL GEEK TO ME is produced for The Science Channel by City Lights Television. Dave Noll and Christopher Stout produced for City Lights and Mark Allen is executive producer for The Science Channel.

– Brian Lam
Geek to Me [Discovery]

Sansa's chief ingredient: instant real-time flat-fee access to anything in Yahoo's catalog of two million songs. The spontaneity would put the iPod to shame. The song-requesting feature would put satellite radio to shame. And the Wi-Fi freedom would make the Zune crawl back into its hole.

Unfortunately, no matter what SanDisk says, you do not have access to all of Yahoo's two million songs—because the Sansa doesn't offer any way to find them. There's no Search command, no master list of bands or albums—no direct access at all.

In fact, you can download only a tiny fraction of Yahoo's catalogs: just what Yahoo decides to offer you on three sampler platters.

The first sampler is Yahoo's set of 200 Internet radio stations. These are especially cool ones, because (if you're a paid subscriber) you can hit the Skip button to start streaming the next song in the "radio station's" playlist at any time. More amazingly still, when you hear a song you like, you can download it to your player, or even the entire album, with two button taps.

Second, you can get the songs on Yahoo's Most Popular lists in various genres. Finally, you can browse a list of recommendations that Yahoo calculates on the songs you've rated highly using the Sansa's click wheel.

But worse, even of those songs, there are some that are just impossible to download for legal reasons.

Worse, a disappointing percentage of the songs and albums never arrive at all. Whenever you select a song for download, the words "Request Added" appear on the screen; confusingly, the player doesn't begin downloading immediately, but rather adds your requests to a list that's sometimes downloading and sometimes not.

You have to burrow deeply into its menus to find the waiting list. That's also where you find the folder called Unable to Download.

Yahoo explains that many of its songs are internally flagged as "not downloadable" in a complex copy-protection scheme. Fine, but then the Sansa should identify them up front instead of getting your hopes up.

Did we mention it can squirt songs, like a Zune, to other Sansa Connect players? It can. Also, he shakes his head at the Connect's lame propensity to shut down Wi-Fi if batteries drop below 60%, the lack of video capability in this day and age. What do you think you are, Sansa Connect? An iPod nano? A brutal drop-kick on the Connect, from the Pogue-ster.–Brian Lam

A Music Player That Needs Seasoning [NYTimes]

He reinstalls his OS, tries different laptops, works through easter, and even takes the gear to the middle of a state park to see if interference is the culprit. No dice. Most routers didn't pass the 50Mbps speed. Except Apple's which he gives top marks to. He speculates that the Apple Airport Extreme's N implementation in the 5GHz band (vs the 2.4GHz that the other routers use) gives it its advantage.

So, basically, these dedicated networking companies just had their asses handed to them by Apple's Airport Extreme router. (He also notice the same lack of gigabit ethernet that we did, but fails to mention the incompatibility with XBox 360s's Live network.) Useful info if you're going to buy an N setup anytime soon.

Interestingly, the Belkin got a recommendation, despite the failure to pass the 50Mbps mark. Maybe he's afraid of being called an Apple fanboy and wants to provide an alternative? I wouldn't have.

The video, as always, is worth watching. This week's is done like a bedtime story.

–Brian Lam

A Faster Wi-Fi World Is Coming [NYTimes]

Pogue-o Schtick video after the jump.

Nice one. David, ask for a raise. Sony, go scold someone.

The ads, and the driving philosophy behind them, are far superior to those stodgy, self-important PS3 ads that had us so confused. Something the focus groups and artists working on that project forgot: Video games are supposed to be fun.–Brian Lam

With New Agency, Sony Tries to Focus Its Electronics Image [NYTimes]

Here's why: In a day of Xbox 360 Elites and marginal iPod upgrades, TiVo is actually upgrading their boxes for little or no more money. TiVo, if you haven't been keeping track, can stream photos and music from your computer, accept programming from a Verizon cellphone, download movies from Amazon's Unbox service, and podcasts, as well as check movie, weather and traffic info. They even have lame guru advice video columns! (Wait a minute...)

Anyhow, the lack of new hardware may make you think that there's nothing significantly new. But you're wrong. But would you rather have incremental upgrades that require you to buy a whole new unit? (Xbox 360 Elite, iPod) or nice revisions every quarter (Xbox Live, Zune.) People, this is a gift! A gift from TiVo. So show 'em some love and pick up a set.

David Pogue, I even I understand why you choose to compare the TiVo to a generic cable box, instead of facing off a Series 3 versus a cable card–equipped media center. (It's a better comparison since most people still can't afford the HD setups.)–Brian Lam

Video and Article: TiVo Plays a Trump Card: Web Smarts [NYTimes]

But maybe you're of the mind to actually buy one, and need to do some hard research. If so, bookmark this post that our sexy librarian friend put together for us: Here's a list of the best Apple TV stories on Giz and beyond from the two weeks since Mossberg launched review number 1.

First, Giz. We've covered the bajeezus out of AppleTV. Here's the first unboxing, some surprises upon grope, a couple of pet peeves, the first setup video, a head to head with Microsoft's Media Center and XBox 360. (And unnaturally, Apple TV versus Tivo Series 3.)And a cable buying guide, as well as the mega gallery of hardware and screenshots. Shoot, I almost forgot our review. Verdict: Good, but not going in the Pants...Although we'd consider this one licked by her Munness.

Of course, Giz aside, there's a whole lot of good Apple TV coverage out there. From blogs, to Mac sites, to PC rags, to the daily papers, here is the best of what our others have been saying about Apple TV.

Mossy's Review at the WSJ: We have to start with Sir Mossberg and sidekick Katie B's 10-day scoop on the AppleTV. I even fantasize that the entire ship date was pushed back so he'd have time to check out the hardware and do a review. The power! His video is average, but the review itself is classic Mossberg: Authoritative, fair, and in language your mom could understand.

The NYTimes and Pogue were 24-hours late, but his charming video, and comparisons to both Netgear's HD capable, complex streamer, and the XBox ecosystem make it worthwhile. Did he have early access? Or did he put the review and video together in 24 hours?

CNet: Their review was detailed, and long, but my favorite piece of CNet coverage came from this extended list of every conceivable Apple TV competitor and alternative. And John "Sheriff" Falcone did it before the Apple TV even launched. Interestingly, they posted it under their Crave, not CNet brand.

Jimmy L's pub, PC Magazine, has the deepest review yet, spanning several thousand words that I find no more appealing to read than a college textbook. But if you want the ultimate in authority and depth, no go further than this review.

Wait. Then there's this Ars review.

iLounge: LC Angell and gang are Apple Journo vets. That shows through in these two nice articles, in top 10 form, listing geek factoids and reasons why you don't need an AppleTV. Concise, and topped with a nice Live Sizemodo-ish Gallery of AppleTV with an iPod and Mac Mini. Did I mention those bastards have TWO Apple TVs?

Wired: Wired's newly designed Gadgetlab, a outlying fort in the Wired Universe that I used to command, is looking goood these days. Robby B. kicks off a nicely hedged list that still manages to have the personality of a polarized rant in his short, bitter, and sweet piece entitled, "5 Reasons Why Apple TV Rules, 5 Reasons Why it Sucks".

What's left to read after you make the plunge? A lot of hacks. Most importantly, the ones that put Mac OS X on the Apple TV. And there's the HDD upgrade, easy as pie.
The geeks have only begun to unlock this baby. So, follow the rest of our eternally ongoing Apple TV coverage right here.

Now, excuse me while I swallow my spit up.–Brian Lam

Apple TV [Gizmodo]

Kind of.

Actually, the video mockingly edits out the fun parts, in response to some blogger with a shitty sense of humor who compared his hijinx to the crap on America's Funniest Home Videos. (The blogger was NOT me, really. I call him a nutjob, but love the work. ) So basically, David Pogue just used the Grey Lady to flame a random blogger. How...bloggerish of him. Can't really blame him, though. What would you do if someone said your jokes reminded them of Bob Saget?

Back to the review. Usually, David Pogue, like other A-listers, only has to get off his butt to check out one gadget a week. (That is jealousy you're detecting, btw.) Given that pace, he usually finds something profoundly useful or cool to write about. The backpack is just underwhelming, as a product. And the accompanying story is a bit of a letdown, too. Nothing sub par, but not on level with the antics we've been treated to the last few weeks. Call us spoiled by the music videos and comedy routines paired with a-grade, up to the minute gadgets. It's too bad this one blogger set him off his pace.

He goes back for a three-peat of stories about converting media, and does the old standby story about how to put old analog tapes and records to CD and DVD. Dude, you did similar stories in November of last year, and you touched upon that not more than two weeks ago. To his credit, this one is more complete, actionable, and broken down by media type. But I hoped for something like a new CTIA phone inside the video. (Samsung Upstage, perhaps.)

Please, ignore the flame bait, drop the junk gadgets, and leave that fuzz to us. Because when you do meta/prank stuff like this, I'm scared for the security of my job. This low-brow stuff is my bread and butter, man. Leave me something to do. –Brian Lam

David Pogue Reviews Random IPod Backpack [NYTimes]

Finally, Pogue's video is here, and as expected, it's entertaining and recommended. Click on to see a full grown man having childlike fun reviewing a gadget. Another nice touch is his comparison to the high definition Netgear streamer, the EVA8000.
The difference? Apple's iTunes won't even supply HD video and those who crave simplicity, while the complex Netgear has compatibility with many formats, in 1080i HD, at the expense of ease of use. Then he compares it to our beloved XBox 360.

For those of you who need deeper reviews — like Mariana Trench deep — PC Magazine has one that'll do the trick. As for the one that tells you to buy it or not, here's our official take: Not quite worthy of an unpantsing.

Rating Pogue's Review:
Timeliness: 8/10
Depth: 8/10
Entertainment Value: 10/10

Rating Mossberg's AppleTV Review:
Timeliness: 11/10
Depth: 7/10
Entertainment Value: 7/10

Rating PC Magazine's Review:
Timeliness: 7/10
Depth: 11/10
Entertainment Value: 1/10

*All get high marks for authority, when you consider their respective target demographics.
Pogue's Apple TV Video Review [NYTimes]

–Brian Lam

While $15 a month is a bargain, especially compared to home delivery at $40 a month, I'm cheap enough that even a reading experience superior to both the print and (free) web editions (to say nothing of the lame PDF version) isn't worth it. Moreover, Times Select is now free to students (not that I cared, I just stopped reading everything behind it) so there's even less incentive to pay.

There's 9 days left to check it out—if you read the NYT, you won't go back to any other way. At least until you have to pay for it. – Matt Buchanan

Product Page [NYT]

First, last week's video. David, who just the week before, wouldn't stop going on about his love for MiniDV video tapes, this week reviews a gadget by Sony that transfers all "old tapes" to DVD. (Aha, you've come around to the idea that rewinding sucks.) He likes it, and reports it burned the occasional coaster. What's remarkable about it is watching the senior gadget journo's setup to his video review. Hit play if you want to see a grown man relive his 7th birthday, his prom, his learning to ride a bike, and even some crib time as an infant. Frightening, but I'm somehow entertained enough to watch it, I don't know, seven or eight times. Yesterday. OK, I'm totally obsessed with the non-standard format. Is this the NY Times?

Then, this week he does a whole infomercial on Grandcentral.com, in the biggest Pogue love fest I can remember.

The service, which allows you to fwd all calls from disparate numbers to all your phones at once, is free (for two lines) and allows niceties such as getting your phone to leave separate voicemails for different callers. The choice quote:

Leave one message for your boss, and anotha for your lovaaaaaaaa

I wish I had a camera crew.

We're still waiting for music videos gadget reviews from the former Broadway arranger.–Brian Lam

Pogue Vids [NYTimes]

Along with "iPal," "iPulse," and "MiFlower." Oh, and the NYT cutely and innovatively blesses us with "iSilly." Please stop. My head hurts. A lot. Where are the Apple lawyers when you need them?

Most disturbing though, is that in the narrative this article paints, coming up with a great word to slap "i" onto is apparently the most important part of the process of making these accessories, since it predates the creation of the products themselves:

Mr. Schneider said that he and his executives had asked themselves a single question: "What can we do to make something that could be utilized with iPod?"

First, he said, the company came up with a name that would tie its prospective line of products to iPod (my emphasis). The result was iPals, which Commonwealth quickly registered and trademarked. Next, the company moved to define the personality of an iPal.

The first iPal, released last year, was a shaggy, plush creature resembling a teardrop-shaped extraterrestrial with stereo speakers for eyes positioned on long, flexible stalks. The shaggy iPal plugs into any audio player with a standard headphone jack, avoiding the need for an Apple license.

In conclusion, new rule: for the love of God, no more "i" anything, unless it is made by Apple, Inc., and it may be time for them to move on to a new branding scheme too. There has to be another way to tell the world that your accessory is for the iPod. And yes, I realize that the headline of this post is iRonic. – Matt Buchanan

IPod's Groovy Factor [NYT]

Too bad it's almost impossible to get.

It's good enough that the man who can get his mitts on any gadget in the world requested one for Christmas from Mrs. Pogue. He didn't get one.

This is because the lens is so hot, it's been sold out all over the country and even Amazon is marking up its $750 price to the $1000 range in response to the short supply.
David "Piano Man" Pogue goes on to talk about the optical characteristics of the lens, pegging it to the overall trend of image stabilizing cameras. I agree with him on many points, like the fact that there is a trend in IS cameras. But I disagree when he says:

Only *optical* image stabilization counts.

Mr Pogue writes and tells us the sample shots from the lens will be available soon as he gets off that damn love boat. And David, we're still waiting for that iPhone song. –Brian Lam

The Magic Behind the Superzoom Lens [NYT]

Nikon 18-200 VR Lens [Nikon]

Shnope. Nothing. Not a single statistic—other than the number of stores that carried Vista (39k)—is offered in the piece to back up the assertion. It does little more than rehash an article that ran five days ago. This is shoddy trend reporting through and through. We're watching you, NYT. Next time you run this piece, you better have some numbers. – Matt Buchanan

Microsoft's Vista Debut Wasn't Nearly So 'Wow' [NYT]

I'm grown man enough to understand that when a company buys a semi-cryptic NYT full pager, they have no interest in targeting the average consumer directly, but through the media explanation/coverage to follow. Still, Cisco sets up their iPhone product in parallel to Apple's, which will only breed confusion in the marketplace . If anything, this ad certifies Cisco never had earnest interest in selling their repackaged product in the first place.

NYT full pagers are the corporate equivalent to lighting a bag of crap on a doorstep, except without any real crap. Cisco, there has to be a better way.

Oh, and did any New Yorkers see the ad?– Mark Wilson

Apple "AD" [via textually]

These days, its rare to find opinions from Pogue that differ from Mossberg's (and more than often, our own.)

That's why his stand out tech coverage comes in the form of inimitable spoofs on tech put to pop songs.

There's Don't Cry for Me Cupertino, a song about the second coming of Steve Jobs. And a song about Microsoft Word 15 being almost a Gig set to Jingle Bells. And my favorite, the best is his Bill Gates impression during the Stevie Wonder Inspired "I just Called to Say I Bought You."Listen to em here.

But none of the songs are recent. Maybe the Times have David running so ragged, now that he's basically shouldering the rogue Circuits section, that he doesn't have time for these anymore. I'm hoping for a Bollywood music video about the iPhone, set to Journey. –Brian Lam

Tech Song Spoofs [Davidpogue.com]

Ion USB

The NYT found the iTTUSB pretty straightforward, although the bundled software (Audacity) can be intimidating for newbies. Nevertheless, assembly is simple and once you block a few hours and read the accompanying FAQs, you should have no problems.

The LP2Da doesn't work with Macs and it requires an analog line input jack, but otherwise it's easier to use than the iTTUSB thanks to Cakewalk Pyro, which makes burning a CD and converting .wav files to MP3 a one-touch process.

The Turntables That Transform Vinyl [NYT]

David Pogue's triplet of iPhone coverage comes in the form of his own hands on, an FAQ, and a video of the phone in his paws. From what I know, he's the only gadget journo that was allowed to film/photograph during his meeting. And it's funny. So this is the vid to watch. (And if you haven't seen it, here's our own, blog-exclusive, hands on.)

Walt Mossberg shows us why he's the highest paid tech journo ever, refusing to get sucked into the vortex of iPhone love: "I attended the iPhone launch event, and was able to use one for a little while. That's too brief an encounter to allow me to write a proper review." He did give a short preview, mentioning the same positives and potential problems the rest of us who touched it had. This is astounding, considering that this was all written in the context of a Samsung Blackjack review. By the way, I met Walt and Katie over the week, and to his credit, he didn't throttle me. A very forgiving man, considering I've photoshopped him onto more than one thonged body, when inspiration called. Cheers.

Of course, when it comes to things Apple, Levy, Author of The Perfect Thing, is the wild man on the scene.

Steven Levy's piece, called Apple Computer is Dead; Long Live Apple is not only headlined wrong, but is remarkable simply for the reason why most of his work is remarkable: Steve Jobs Talks to him. I cannot write more until Two bad jokes are made. This makes Levy a modern Moses, and when Levy calls the iPhone the Holy Trinity ("an iPod, a phone and internet communicator"), I just die thinking of how many times I can use that when speaking in reverence of the Jesus Phone. Anyhow, here's the meat: Levy reveals Steve's thinking on why Cingular ("We decided what the phone is"), why OS X on iPhone won't be open ("Cingular doesn't want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up."), and that real iChat isn't available, and neither is the ability to turn mp3s into ringtones, but that they are both possible. The ringtone issue sexy as hell in a legit device such as this, but fundamentally fucked unless Cingular decides to choose being cool over being rich.

Peter Lewis's piece at Fortune is called "How Apple kept its iPhone secrets". Those who follow Apple's product releases shouldn't be surprised. We all know that the Jobs and Co. have no problem keeping the loose lips from flapping. What's cool is hearing how Yahoo!, Google, Cingular employees were thrown off the track with spy-tastic techniques like 100% software development prototypes (not all that rare), and counterintelligence methods like decoy hardware models.

What other mainstream media iPhone articles have you enjoyed?–Brian Lam and Pchop by Adam Frucci-modo

All Things iPhone [Gizmodo]

Online, there are already gripes and legal threats regarding Wii-induced muscle aches, which is pretty much what you'd expect from nerds who haven't moved their bodies in years...I have equally little sympathy for people who wind up with nicks and bruises because they ignore the huge, on-screen warning that, before every game, advises you to move furniture out of the way.

And, in what must be a response to his blog's burgeoning troll traffic, he deftly pre-addresses his hate mail.

Now, I already know what kind of hate mail I'm going to get. "You're a terrible parent," it'll say. "Your kids should be outside getting fresh air and sunshine, playing stickball and walking a mile to school, uphill both ways!"

Yes, O.K., sure. That would be great.

That would also be 1950.

Nice: He fits an SNL grumpy old man reference into the grumpy old Grey Lady.

I am, however, suggesting that the Wii is infinitely better for our kids' health than any other video or computer game - in fact, better than just about any other indoor activity.

Pogue's Blog [NYTimes]