Death of Steve Jobs

In an amazing coincidence of timing, Steve Jobs' time on this earth ended just days after the release of the iPhone 4S (instead of iPhone 5).  While the world takes note of his death, it seems appropriate to mention it here.  Our condolences go out to the family and friends.

From Apple's webpage:  

And from allaboutstevejobs.com

There is so much being said about him on different media outlets that it would seem repetitive.  Since the focus of this site has been and will continue to be anticipation of the iPhone 5, it is sad to think that it will happen without Steve Jobs.  If they work on it in memory of him, perhaps Apple will come out with another jump in innovation and technology as they have so many times with Jobs at CEO.  His part of the story of the digital revolution that has taken place over the last 35 years has been significant.  We hope that the story of a child adopted into a lower middle class family who dropped out of college to follow a dream will continue to motivate and inspire people around the world.  Particularly we hope that it will inspire a new generation of pioneers who will continue to think, invent and innovate, making the world a more interesting place in which to live.

No Iphone 5 this year!!

iPhone 5 is.... NOT OUT.

I know that you may be VERY disappointed (and I am kind of dissapointed and a bit shocked) that Apple's announcement today basically didn't have the words Iphone and "five" put together anywhere.  I am a little excited because these entries will now live on longer than even I anticipated (I'm selfish, ok?).  Apple's decision has given this column a new life-span!  Instead of iPhone 5 chaos, we have the new release of the Iphone 4S ("s" for zippy, I guess).  I haven't spent a ton of time on the internet looking at what people are generally saying about this development (o.k. Pun intended), or lack of development.

My question of whether or not this will be a blow to Apple remains and the jury is out (all 7 billion of them when it comes to anything iPhone).  Does the departure of Steve Jobs hurt?  Absolutely.  Does the release of the long awaited iPhone 5 turning into the release of the dreaded iPhone 4S hurt?  Absolutely.  So two strikes against the company in a relatively short period of time.  If we want to take the analogy

OK, so does the 4 S bring anything really new to the table?  We won't know for a few days, except what the journalists who were at the Apple press conference will tell us.  They are actually experts, though, so it's a pretty good guess that there is also a lot of info about the Iphone 4S out there that is very reliable and of course we WON'T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THE IPHONE 5 anytime soon.  They want us talking about the new (wow) features on the new iPhone 4S.  There is a couple of new apps (yawn--now you told me iPhone 5 isn't out...  but why will they release iOS 5?).  There is cards, which is Apple getting into the greeting card business--yes, they will print it and mail it for you in the US for $3 and internationally for $5.  This basically upgrades and expands iPhoto services a bit and gets them on the iPhones.  The app of course is free with the new iOS (October 12 release date).  The other app is called "Find Your Friends" which gives out location information to people you allow to see it.  I guess it also could be "Find My Husband" or "Let Other People Stalk Your Kids."  But anyway, two small apps for apple and two... small apps for humankind.
But hey, once the news was out--Guess what, no iPhone 5 this time!!-- then all that was left was anticlimax, so "tada... cards!" or any other app at that point was going to be a disappointment.

So iPhone 5 hopes and dreams live on (maybe they can grab the mockups and actually make some of the cooler ones happen, NEXT RELEASE.

Can I just have another selfish moment?  Please?  In April, I was strongly questioning whether or not Apple would release the iPhone 5 at all this year (2011).  Well, it turns out that my instincts at that time were right.  See my April blog questioning the release of Iphone 5 in 2011.

Now to eat crow:  Since then, I basically got told over and over that I was wrong and I started to disbelieve myself.  My September additions basically took this "fact" for granted.  I called it the release of the iPhone 5.  So I am humbled as well by my lack of faith.  So I'll just post the above link to the article back in April to remind myself that I believe I can fly...