The Countdown has Begun

In just seven days, 8 hours and fourty minutes from the writing of this post the iPhone will be released (Yes it is another iPhone Post). While my personal excitement has wained slightly because I have made the decision to not get one for a couple of months, I am sill foaming at the mouth to see what developments will take place over the next few months. I am hoping that by December we will hear of an iPhone update with a 3G antenna, a lower price point and maybe some good deals on Data/Voice plans (we still so not have details on these yet).

I have been perusing the applications that people have developed for the phone, which will be available over the web through Safari. Some have been very usable and designed in " the apple fashion" like the shopping list app, and the Gas finder app. But there is going to be a plethora of these applications, and I for one would like to wait and see which bubble to the top.

I have been tracking most of my iPhone news through Engadget and MacRumors. They have both been really good about putting up details, even some crazy things like this. I am going to keep watching. It is an exciting time in Apple Fanboy world.

Google Analitics: This this is so cool

I am relatively new at blogging, having started this just a few months ago, and I have no idea if anyone is reading. That changed when I was turned on to Google Analytics when listening to a podcast from Chris Pirillo. Chris is doing some amazing things with streaming tech videos, live from his home/car, and podcasting. He is also one of the many former TechTV personalities who are really pushing the envelope of the web, user created/edited content and audio and video through IP, (see: Kevin Rose (digg), Leo Laporte (Twit), Patrick Norton and Robert Heron (dl.tv) and Alex Albrecht (diggnation, totally Rad show)) . I really like Chris' stuff, though he puts out a ton which makes it hard to get through.

Back to topic - Google Analytics is a free web application put out by Google to help web site owners get information about the traffic coming to their website. It is extremely simple to use, just add a small piece of code to your site and wait for some data to be collected. Information is presented in a number of different charts, graphs and other visualization schemes. I signed up just yesterday and I already have some interesting information.

First, yesterday I began a process to drive traffic to my blogs by harnessing the power of Facebook. I created a group and invited all of my friends, which I have quite a few of. No surprise, Facebook was my number on referring site yesterday. I had 14 unique visitors to this blog, my other blog got quite a few more visitors. I am really happy with this number as a start and I hope that this continues to grow. I also learned that anything tagged with iPhone gets hits. No surprise there either. What I did find out, which I loved, is that I got two visitors from Europe. Now since I have never ventured outside the Western Hemisphere, the fact that I have reached individuals in Europe, even for a moment, is very satisfying.

If you have a site, even a blog, take a look at Google Analytics. It can be very helpful in understanding your users, or just fun to take a look at.

Oh, The Colors and Bright Lights

I am a sucker for a good casual game. You know the type, you sit down, load it up, look at the pretty colors. line up three of a kind and before you know it, it is 2am and you need to get up for work soon. These are some of my favorites. They are a little mindless, but they are relaxing. I was listening to the PC Gamer Podcast and heard them talk about a new popcap game, Peggle.

Peggle is basically a game of Pachinko, a combination of pinball and a slot machine. In Peggle, you are given ten balls and a board filled with a number of pegs, some orange, some blue. The goal is to hit all the orange pegs with your 10 balls, making them disappear. There are some special abilities, bonus point pegs and ten fun guide characters that help you through the levels.

So why is it that this game is so addictive? Well there is something to be said for the skill in your initial release of the ball, you control the angle of the release, and then luck begins to take over. The game is played in such a way where there is strategy and skill, chance and challenge. Plus it has bright colors and flashy lights.

If you have some free time and enjoy a good mindless computer game check out Peggle, AKA Pegglecrack.

The iPhone, The iPhone

It looks like it is official. We should see the public release of the iPhone on June 29th, 2007.



Here are some of my predictions for the release:

1. There will be lines - I think that there are enough apple fan boys, which I may be one of, that people waiting for stores to open to get the phone. This is like a grown up xBox360 or Wii. If you are in San Francisco, I hear that Kevin Rose, of Digg, will be camping out in front of the Downtown Apple store. You should join him there.
2. There will be shortages - I predict that supply will not meet initial demand for the phone. I do think that this will be solved far quicker that Nintentedo's ongoing struggles with supply of the Wii, but they will struggle.
3. Businesses will buy them - I think that the iPhone may hit the sweet spot between corporate and non-corporate users. With that said the additional functionality will be prized by many non-commercial users and the face that it is a single device that has maps and Internet will be useful to many business users.
4. 3rd Party Apps - We know now that the iPhone will use AJAX for it's 3rd party apps, which makes sense, cause Apple wants to preserve the user experience. I do believe that down the road you will see some integrated apps, similar to the way that facebook has launched their application platform.
5. I will want one - I really really do, but I am going to wait until Revision 2, or at least a 3G network phone. what is the point of a web enabled device if the network is not fast enough to support it.

Well, Keep your fingers crossed that Apple does well. If they do they will improve the cellphone market, particularly the cell phone UI, for years to come.