Like Israel Folau. Or dust mites.

And iPhones are sure to become even more prevalent after July, when Apple launches another touchscreen attention-getter into the Aussie market.

But while they may appear to be taking over, Apple’s phones are still not the top smartphone on the market.

Plus, research firms including Gartner predict these phones will be overtaken by those with Google Android on them in just two years.

In an effort to discover whether this could really happen, I yanked my warm SIM card from my 3GS and stuffed it into an HTC Desire and documented the results.

Could you do the same?

Continue reading 'Can Google’s Androids take over the world? We test it.'

Microsoft launched its controller-free gaming technology in the strangest way.

It gathered 3000 journalists and asked them to wear satin ponchos with light-up shoulder pads. We looked like ghosts from the 1980s.

Then the company revealed Project Natal’s new name, Kinect, amid roving Cirque de Soleil performers and upside-down lounge rooms.

But away from the crazy launch ceremony came some detail today, and a glimpse inside what will be making our Xbox 360 consoles more attractive this year.

Kinect will let players use their arms and legs instead of buttons and sweaty plastic controllers.

Some games look Wii-esque, sure, but other games look genuinely innovative and like nothing that’s out there.

But would you trust your game scores to a camera system? Will you wave your gaming arms around like you care and you want a good score?

Continue reading 'Is Microsoft’s Kinect a Wii rip-off?'

It’s quite an impressive event, having built up over years now, and the imaging industry has got right behind it.

But amid the tiny cameras boasting 3D images, lenses with giant apertures, cat-recognition technology and sharper-than-sharp photos comes the realisation that most of the images you strive so hard to capture are stuck on a card or a hard drive somewhere.

Sure, digital cameras are SO much better than their film rivals now, but what’s the point if the only place you can see the photos is on Facebook?

There’s new printing technology out there, and you can even order photos over the internet, but fewer people are actualling choosing to commit their memories to paper.

So when is the last time you printed a photo?

Continue reading 'Printed photographs = a lost cause?'

WE missed the first one, went nuts for the second one, and plenty of stragglers embraced the third.

So is Australia ready for the fourth coming of Apple’s touchscreen telephone?

It makes sense that we’d jump on board. After all, early adopters would be emerging from their 24-month contracts about now.

And they’d be hankering for something new, surely.

But are the iPhone 4’s features worth spending the cash? Or is Apple’s FaceTime just video calling by another name?

I suspect the iPhone 4 has plenty of missed opportunities.

Continue reading 'The iPhone 4 & the features it should have had'

At least that’s what it seems like.

From the videos we watch to the stuff we need to find, it’s Google who most often points us in the right direction.

With this in mind, would you trust Google to deliver your phone software too?

It’s a curious dilemma. After all, Google is but a rising player, a mere baby, in the mobile phone world that is still dominated by the likes of Apple, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and friends.

So will it win you over this year? Is 2010 the year we lend Androids our ears?

Continue reading 'Google owns the web. Is your phone next?'

APPLE do this every time.

Somehow they manage to attach an importance to their gadget that fixes to few others.

Despite the fact that the company gave fans the chance to pre-order an iPad and stay in the warm comfort of home while it was delivered, queues were off the hook for the launch.

It didn’t seem like it at first. At 10pm outside the flagship Sydney Apple Store on Thursday, just 20 brave Apple fans slouched on the chairs they brought from home.

Some were playing with an iPad at the time. Which was just weird.

At 5am, when the weather was still unpleasant, they began to swell in number.

After another surge, at 6.30am, the queue snaked down the front of the building, past several businesses down the street, and right around the block.

What is it about Apple’s special sauce that makes people go to such great lengths?

Continue reading 'Can anything stop Apple’s crazy fans? A report from the frontline'

PERHAPS the rain was bad for the State of Origin match, but it was great for the 3D TV trial.

It seriously looked like it was raining inside Channel 9’s Brisbane studios, where they set up a Samsung 3D television to show off the latest in TV tech.

Rain aside, Origin in 3D is amazing and a great way to trial the technology.

Movies are certainly worthy of the three-dimensional treatment but sports are another proposition entirely.

Would you invest in 3D TV just to get a different experience? Or, more likely, would you choose a pub with a 3D TV over one that was stuck in the 2D world?

I’m thinking it might be worth it. And wondering which pal is going to get one in time for the FIFA World Cup.

Continue reading '3D State of Origin verdict: Just wait for the conversions!'

I write of the people who ardently opposed the Apple iPad at its January announcement, who said it was a gadget without a proper role.

They also said it was missing vital parts. Like a supermodel without a Blue Steel. Or Steve Jobs without a black skivvy.

These tech deniers stood up and said: “No! I will wait for version 2! I will wait to see if Microsoft models do better. I demand my geek-given right to Adobe Flash and a webcam!”

But I’m noticing that these stalwarts are falling fast, giving into the lure of the iPad given it is just two days away.

So are there still tablet-curious punters out there who intend to wait for iPad 2.0 or HP/Dell/ASUS v1.0?

Continue reading 'Tablet naysayers are a dwindling crew. Can you hold out?'

WE’VE been talking about it since January, but in four days it will finally be here.

The iPad, the gadget that haunts Australian dreams, is about to make it into stores.

In fact, if rumours are to be believed, it is already in the Australian postal system, in an official way, as pre-orders await their final delivery destination.

Come Friday, those who pre-ordered early will be cleaning fingerprints from one of the most anticipated gadgets of all time.

But are you buying the hype? Or are you well and truly over this malarky?

A new study shows that the iPad’s hype must be working for some. The US-only gadget already makes up 16 per cent of all e-book readers. The Kindle must be well scared.

Continue reading 'It’s May 24. Do you know where your iPad is?'

IT MIGHT not have been the famous E3 expo, but it was a big day for PlayStation 3 announcements in Australia today.

First we got the video download service we’d been waiting for, then journos at the PS3 launch got a taste test of PlayStation Move, its motion-sensitive gaming accessory.

Of course, I queued for a try and I can report that it’s just as fun as you might expect (though I suspect I failed as a virtual artist).

But while it was fun, it was not that dissimilar from playing with a Nintendo Wii. You move your arms about, look like a fool, and pretend to be a kid for a little while.

So do you mind when other tech companies pilfer or improve upon the ideas of others? Or are you keen to test a get-up-and-move game on a high-definition games console?

Continue reading 'PlayStation moves… kind of like a Wii'

The Federal Government is not known for its speedy recognition of new technology. And even innovators like Foxtel said 3D tests were at least a year away.

But something got into all of these companies. Something made them speed up their act.

Suddenly we’ve gone from the promise of no 3D TV broadcast until 2011 to a tsunami of three-dimensional telly!

Newly minted 3D TV owners must be grinning smugly.

Foxtel has just announced that it will be first to the 3D punch with its broadcast of the Socceroos’ last Aussie match before heading off to the FIFA World Cup.

Is anyone else so excited they could dance? I bet the crew at Samsung are bopping away.

Continue reading 'Too little 3D? Now there’s too much!'

That was exciting enough, sullied only by the fact that it was going to be filmed but not broadcast in 3D here.

Now it looks as if Australian broadcasters have cleared that hurdle too.

Yes, on Friday the Australian Communications and Media Authority cleared SBS and Channel 9 to broadcast shows in 3D for a limited period of time; the same period that includes the World Cup.

So are you excited? Will you get yourself to a 3D-equipped pub to watch the matches? Or a 3D-equipped neighbour?

Or is watching 3D representations of diving soccer players in the wee hours not your bag?

Continue reading 'Soccer in three dimensions? SCORE!'

This will not be news to you.

But Australians love their sport so much they will apparently upgrade their TVs just to see it on a bigger, better screen.

I suppose it’s like paying for a slightly better seat at the sporting ground.

With the FIFA World Cup rapidly approaching (it’s June 11 people!) TV makers and retailers alike are predicting a flood of TV upgrades, and consumers are already investigating potential upgrades.

So will you upgrade your much-loved television for a chance to see a bigger, better World Cup? Or will you watch certain soccer players dive for the win on your old faithful, 2D screen?

Continue reading 'Would you change TVs for a sporting event?'

But telcos are not thinking of this day as a day of rest, apparently.

They’re launching Australian iPad internet plans.

Both Telstra and Optus are putting their cards on the table today, one day before Apple starts collecting pre-orders for its tablet computer.

So far, they look surprisingly good, and don’t require a contract, your first-born or a sample of your blood.

So what do you think? If they build good plans, will you come?

Continue reading 'Are you iPad-ready? Aussie plans are launching'

Plenty of Telstra mobile phone customers in Queensland discovered just how much this morning when the Next G network took a swan dive.

And just what do you do when your phone network goes south?

According to Telstra, you change to the old 2G network and dial down your expectations.

But, really, when you’re paying a premium for a reliable service you would fairly assume that you’re immune from these sort of widespread, long-term outtages.

Surely such a big network should have a back-up, and such a muck-up should involve some compensation for users?

Continue reading 'Phone fail: Who you gunna call?'