All things to all people

Posted March 26, 2011 By The Macalope and has 2 comments.

The Macalope really never ceases to be amazed by RIM’s executive team.

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet that is already being widely praised as a multi-tasking powerhouse with an uncompromised web experience and an ultra-portable design,” said Mike Lazaridis, RIM President and Co-CEO.

Widely praised by RIM executives.

Do they really believe in this fantasy world they’ve built for themselves where the PlayBook is actually shipping and competing with the iPad?

The device is equipped with a seven-inch display with a 1024×600 resolution and is powered by a TI OMAP 4430 processor matched with 1GB of RAM. It is fitted with a three-megapixel front camera and a five-megapixel rear camera. It is capable of supporting push e-mail, but only when paired to a phone over Bluetooth.

Seven-inch screen and needs to be paired to not just a phone, but a *Blackberry* phone, unless that’s been changed.

But it runs Android apps! Well, Gingerbread. Basically just to be able to say it’s got “lots of apps”. And it runs Flash! And probably really awesomely. And it’s for business but it runs games and it has a corkscrew and a tiny pair of tweezers! OH, GOD, PLEASE BUY ONE, WE’RE DYING UP HERE.

It’s very sad.

And, yet, funny at the same time.

You should totally wait for our next product

By The Macalope and has 2 comments.

Amidst rumors the Xoom’s not doing as well as they’d have liked, Motorola may be looking forward. That’s great! Don’t don’t be held back by that relationship! Live, Motorola, live!

However, its own CEO has pointed to a seven-inch Xoom coming in the second half of the year.

Terrific. Way to telegraph your punches.

It would be a “fun” device where the 10-inch model of today is targeted more at serious users, however, and would leave little overlap.

Yeah, this 10-inch iPad the Macalope plays Fruit Ninja on is waaaaaay too serious.

OK, maybe he just means the Xoom is too serious. That’s possible. Seriously… well, you fill in the blank.

The Noyes machine

By The Macalope and has no comments yet.

This week’s Macworld column suffers from an overdose of PCWorld’s Katherine Noyes.

All not-so-good things must come to an end

Posted March 19, 2011 By The Macalope and has 1 comment.

This week’s Macworld column looks at a fantasy iPad competitor, the death of the Zune and grumpy ol’ grandpa Bon Jovi.

Repeat offender

Posted March 12, 2011 By The Macalope and has no comments yet.

This week’s Macworld column takes on repeat offender Brett Arends. And has Brett infected another Wall Street Journal writer?!

PC Island

Posted March 8, 2011 By The Macalope and has 6 comments.

This article on iPad 2 buying advice is not for you. You’re welcome to read it, of course, but it’s really intended for my friends and relatives who’ve been asking me since last week whether the iPad 2 is worth getting, or whether they should wait for something better.

Uh… nice lede, PC World. Really draws the reader in.

In the name of propriety, the Macalope’s going to ignore the rest of the piece since it’s apparently a private missive to Jared Newman’s friends and family that somehow found its way on the web site of a technology publication.

Say, this iPad thing may really take off

Posted March 5, 2011 By The Macalope and has no comments yet.

This week’s Macworld column looks at the dumbest iPad 2 event coverage, more fallout on Apple’s subscription scheme and how much RIM must hate Playbook developers.

Short answers to stupid questions

Posted March 2, 2011 By The Macalope and has 4 comments.

CNNMoney.com’s Dave Goldman asks:

Did Apple shoot itself in the foot by making its first generation tablet too good?

No.