However, the iPhone 4 Bumper from Apple is great! For the cost of very little added bulk (and $29), I now have the following added utility:

• The small grippy edge on the back of the case lets me rest the phone at an angle on mugs, books, walls – whatever is handy – to get exactly the angle I want for browsing Instapaper or watching video. Without the grippy edge, the iPhone will slide off of anything I lean it against.
• The slightly raised edges on the back and front of the case protect the screen and back against falls.
• By minimizing the amount of grippy rubber on the case, the sides of the phone are ALMOST as smooth as the bare metal.

There are some issues with the case.

• It does add a small amount of bulk and it hides the beautiful metal edge of the device.
• The vibrate switch is slightly harder to access.
• Not all 3.5mm patch cables and and headphones will fit through the hole in the case. Anything that works with the recessed jack on the original iPhone should work with this case.
• With the Bumper on, you can’t put the iPhone in a dock. I don’t use a doc, so no biggy for me.

Sword & Poker (iTunes, official site, video)

Solomon’s Keep (iTunes, official site, video)

Canabalt (iTunes, official site, video, flash version)

Dark Harvest (iTunes, official site, video)

Flight Control (iTunes, official site, video)

Angry Birds (iTunes, official site, video)

Space Invaders: Infinity Gene (iTunes, official site, video)

Helsing’s Fire (iTunes, official site, video)

Talking Carl (iTunes, official site, video)

Bebot (iTunes, official site, video)

• iOS 4: The Folders feature isn’t great. With the release candidate installed on my phone, it’s very hard to tell two stacks of icons apart from one another, so you have to rely on the tiny text with the name of the folder to tell the difference. Apple should let you choose an icon for your Folder.
• The design of the iPhone 4 is remarkable. Watch this video to see that all visible metal on the device is either a button or an antenna. Also, the front and back are a new kind of glass that is stronger than most plastic and very flexible.
• I can’t imagine using FaceTime (video calling) much. I’m not the target for that feature, though.
• iMovie for iOS (video cutting and editing on the phone) looks great. I expect that it won’t be very responsive, even with the A4 chip, though. We’ll see.
• I’m jazzed about the faster processor and larger battery. If RAM is limited to 256MB like the iPad, though…. What are they thinking? It’s not enough and will impact the usefullness of multi-tasking.

Overall, I’m looking forward to the iPhone 4 release. The A4 chip is blazing fast in the iPad and I’d love to see that speed on my phone. The better screen, front facing camera, gyroscope, 720p video recording, etc wouldn’t have swayed me, though. Battery life, speed and the possibility of better reception were the key announcements for me.

Other misc notes:

• I’m not bothered much by the AT&T switch to $25/2GB of Data. It seems very reasonable, especially since an additional 1GB is only $10.
• I would very much like MIFI-like tethering in iOS. Being able to connect multiple devices for data would be more enticing than single device support. For now, I’ll keep paying for my MIFI rather than depend on iPhone tethering.
• I’m enjoying the iPad. It’s my primary machine at home, now, unseating my MacBook Pro, in that context, for most things. I don’t use it at all at work, though, since I need a fully equipped computer all day. I am not surprised that many people don’t see a place for an iPad in their lives, yet, but this form factor is here to stay.

[Update: Had to replace the table with a better image. Couldn't find a crop utility for the iPad with decent output quality.]

I’ve been tagged as an Apple fanboy, but I’m not sure that’s the case. I’m a mobile technology fanboy. I’ve tried the gamut of mobile device models and brands, yet I come back to the Apple product lines time and again. I spent months with the Palm Pre (great SDK!) and weeks with Android (the Droid) and Windows Mobile devices, but the iPhone (despite its limitations) is #1 for me. Similarly, I’ve spent a lot of time with the Archos 5 Android, UMPCs, Nokia Internet Tablets and the Kindle. Knowing what I know about the software and hardware that makes up the iPad, it’s clear that Apple has another winner.

I spend a lot of time on the computer. I read and write email, read and write documents, read news (twitter, articles), listen to audiobooks and podcasts, write code, watch video. At home and at work, I’ve been spending less time at my desk – so, for many of these tasks, I rely on my iPhone (especially reading email, listening to audiobooks/podcasts and watching video). Going forward, at home I expect that the iPad will be my go-to device for reading and viewing email, news, and video.

Meanwhile, there are a ton of new experiences that the iPad will enable. It’s not clear which of these will ‘catch on’ with me or with you, but quite a few new possibilities will be opened up on April 3rd at the intersection of the iPad and the terrifically innovative development community that has sprung up around the iPhone OS.

Beyond the obvious use cases mentioned above, I’m looking forward to:

• The competition for the best iPad Twitter app – who can use the large, multitouch screen the best? I expect that it will be a more compelling experience than desktop/notebook alternatives.
• Similarly, but probably with a longer horizon, the competition for the best RSS newsreader on the platform will be intense. I version of Reeder 2 or MobileRSS reorganized for the iPad form factor will be a lot of fun to use.
• I’m still hoping that Netflix and Hulu will work something out with Apple to get their streaming solutions available on the iPad. Apple has an obvious financial incentive to block these apps, but subscription or ad based video streaming is going to win over $2.00 TV episodes some day. I’m surprised ANYONE is paying for TV that way on a regular basis.
• An iPad optimized Flickr browsing app would be interesting.
• Remote Desktop. It’s usable on an iPhone, but would be more so on the iPad.
• Games. Just as we saw completely new kinds of games with the iPhone (and the Wii and the DS), we’ll see some new things on the iPad.
• Comic books and graphic novels continue to be an exciting narrative model. It will be interesting to see the mix of mainstream and independent content that ends up on the iPad. Lots of people are excited about how magazines will make the leap to this device, but I think the leap that comics make will be just as interesting.
• Interactive charts and data visualizations via touch. This technique could bring new life to informative textbook and magazine content.

END OF UPDATE

If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you know that I spent the better part of a day this week fooling with Google SketchUp (3D Modeling Software). I had started a 3D model of the character Claptrap from the game Borderlands a few weeks ago and finally had some time to really dive in.

I’d like to add arms, side fenders (and flaps) and a wheel. In case I don’t get back to it soon, though, I’m uploading the model here for others to download and modify. Please be sure to send any updates my way. NOTE: The prints above are from a new version of the model, here.

I’ve sent the current, unfinished, version to Shapeways to see what it looks like printed using their SLS technology. I’ll report back when it arrives.

Of course, if I’d known that AT&T wireless service would be down for a week where I live, I might have chosen differently.

Droid Wins: Network
The iPhone is on AT&T. In my experience, AT&T drops calls at 2 places in my commute to work. Verizon has those locations covered. [Note: AT&T wins on one count, here. AT&T allows simultaneous data usage and phone calling when in 3G. Verizon halts data usage when you are on the phone.]

Droid Wins: Podcasts
The iPhone’s built-in podcast functionality is painful (many clicks) for downloading new episodes. And if you DON’T use the built-in tools, you can’t listen to those podcasts when you are doing something else. On the Droid, you can use DoggCatcher to download several new podcast episodes at once and listen to them while using other apps on the device.

Droid Wins: Navigation
Though the iPhone has several very nice options for voice navigation, the Android 2.0 solution available on the Droid is very, very good and it is free.

Droid Wins: Customizability
I won’t get into this. The iPhone allows for no customizability where the Droid is awash in this kind of stuff.

Droid Wins: App Switching
Even if you disregard the multitasking advantage of Android, you’ve got to love the shortcut of holding down the home button to see the 6 most recent apps used. (Thanks Josh and Dave!!)

Droid (probably) Wins: Flash
Until all video sharing sites have non-Flash versions, Flash will be important to me. It seems clear that the iPhone will not have it any time soon, but it looks like Android will have it in the next several months.

iPhone Wins: Games
I don’t do a ton of gaming anymore, but I love Dark Harvest and Flight Control on the iPhone. The Droid is WAY behind on selection and quality of games.

iPhone Wins: Twitter
I can name half a dozen iPhone Twitter apps that destroy all of the Android Twitter apps. I do think, though, that this is one area where Android will catch up rapidly.

iPhone Wins: Video
Buying video, downloading video, playing video. The Droid didn’t even try to touch the iPhone on these counts.

iPhone Wins: Photo Library Browsing
The Droid needs a solution here. Maybe some Picasa integration?

iPhone Wins: Interface
Multitouch in the built in apps, particularly the browser and maps, is missing in the Droid. Also, apps are generally cleaner and easier to use on the iPhone.

Tied: Music,Battery,Email,Browser,Keyboard,Camera,Customer Service,Screen
As far as I’m concerned, the iPhone and Droid are tied on music playback, battery life, calendar, email, and browser. I’ll call the camera a tie, too, since they both have drawbacks (Droid has lower color-quality images; iPhone has no flash). I’ll call keyboard a tie since the iPhone’s software keyboard is better, but the Droid has an OK physical keyboard when you’d rather not give up the screen real estate. Customer service is another tie. I’ve had great experiences with Verizon employees and Apple employees alike. Screen: The Droid has a better screen, but the iPhone uses its better.

Not Counted: App Store Freedom, Expandable Storage, Dev Experience
I’m not counting app store freedom. I think Google’s approach is the right one, but Apple’s policies haven’t stopped tons of gems coming through. On storage: though the Droid has expandable storage, apps often use it by default to store data, blocking its usefulness. As for the Developer Experience – Android is easier to get started with and you can do more with the device, but the iPhone provides more UI glitz and its libraries are great for graphics and media.

Conclusion
I’ll keep both a few days longer, but I do have to cancel one before this time next week.

Other opinions:
My favorite: Ihnatko’s
Open Platform Perspective: Winer
Overall: Gartenberg

Shirt Pocket software is working on fixes for SuperDuper!, the state-of-the-art backup software for OS X. The biggest issue right now seems to be the unconventional system that Apple is using for hiding file compression from applications (which seems to be necessary for backwards compatibility). The great news is that even without these fixes, SuperDuper! is not experiencing any data loss. Dave Nanian’s article is here.

If you want to learn more about Snow Leopard’s file compression or ANYTHING ELSE, check out John Siracusa’s massive 23 page review at Ars Technica. While I understand that some users are finding Snow Leopard more of a Service Pack than a new OS, I have to say that I’m loving some of the features. The new changes to Expose alone are worth the $30 bucks to me. You can read up on the Expose features and other cool bits over on the TidBits blog. Try hitting the Expose key and then tabbing through your applications. FUN!

It sounds like the new hero Massively Multiplayer game, Champions Online is off to a rough start. They ratcheted down the effectiveness of players who participated in the beta. This is called a ‘nerf’ in the MMO world. Matt Franklin contrasts this with the rate at which the lead MMO (World of Warcraft) is making game play (especially beginner game play) easier and easier.

This Commodore 64 Visual Debugger is incredible. You start out with a window that shows EVERY address in memory and then zoom in to look at specific locations. The waves of memory changes during file loading are neat! I can’t wait to run this thing while playing Paradroid!

Backblaze has a how-to article up about the homebrew storage solution they’ve created. 7 terabyte 4U servers for $7,867.

JKK checked out the Nokia N900. It merges the best work they’ve done on phones and the work they’ve done on Internet Tablets (Nokia 770, N800, N810). It looks great and has a lot of power in the OS (Linux/Maemo) and the hardware. The Internet Tablet community must be really excited!

PAX, Penny-Arcade’s SOLD-OUT Video Game and Geekery convention (which started yesterday) just added 1,000 tickets.

Alex King spent some time these past few weeks trying to figure out which Network and BlackBerry Phone to use. He wanted to use a BlackBerry Bold, but ended up with a Tour on Verizon. His story is full of the idiosyncrasies of various carriers and devices. Part one. Part two.

Jack Shedd has some things to say about HTML 5. If you are watching the HTML 5 changes closely, Jack’s sentiments will likely resonate with you, including the frustration AND the respect for the team.

Lifehacker has an article on creating a Snow Leopard Hackintosh for $900 (plus the price of Snow Leopard standalone which is $169). I’d be interested in seeing a $500 model.