I love my iPhone. In fact, I’ve loved every iPhone Apple has launched since the first model was unveiled in 2007. Slowly but surely, Apple has introduced new features and eliminated upon almost every major gripe people had with iOS to push the limits of what we expect from a modern smartphone, and also to keep the platform on par with or even ahead of the competition. Copy and paste, MMS, background apps, multitasking, notifications, folders and much more have been added over time. There is one thing that makes me hate my iPhone every single day though, and I hope Apple is going to address it soon. I need more control over my alerts.

I really wish Apple would create an area in settings, or even add on to the notifications options, to allow users to set custom alert settings for different things. For instance, I’d love it if I could have different profile modes with settings for vibrate, ring, volume and ringtone much like how RIM’s BlackBerry phones have worked for ages. And there’s plenty of room for improvement beyond what RIM is doing in its BlackBerry OS… just look at how great Motorola’s Smart Actions feature is. Apple could totally take this one step further and allow location-based profiles for alerts, system settings, and more. When I get home, I want Bluetooth to turn off automatically, and I want my alert profile to change, for instance.

I might want my phone to vibrate for almost all alerts, and sometimes I want my phone ring as well. Sometimes I want everything to be on silent and have my phone ring only if it’s a certain person calling or messaging me. I just want more control over how my phone acts in this respect — it’s something that is half-assed in its current state. Sure, you can set custom alert tones for SMS and iMessage, and you can set custom ringers for specific contacts as well, but this is all being fed through a very rudimentary ”your phone is either on ring or vibrate, you idiot” switch.

If Apple does decide to introduce some sort of profile control, it will fix one of the most glaring holes still in iOS, in my view. We’ll get there eventually, I believe.

Research In Motion hasn’t just had a difficult time innovating since the iPhone was first introduced, the company has had trouble innovating ever since its product started to morph into something more than a simple email messaging device. RIM has always been behind the curve with regard to technology in some ways. It was still making devices with black and white displays when other manufacturers were launching devices with vibrant full-color screens. RIM was one of the last manufacturers to launch an EDGE device and it was also one of the last manufacturers to include a camera in its devices. The vendor consistently offered devices without GPS or Wi-Fi, and without a functional web browser. The problem with Research In Motion is not just that the company has failed to adapt or plan for the future, it’s that RIM hasn’t been able to accurately predict not only what the mobile landscape was going to look like down the road, but also what its customers want in a BlackBerry handset. Unfortunately, judging from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t see much changing with new CEO Thorsten Heins.

With BlackBerry 10, RIM finally has a chance to start clean with a brand new mobile operating system that’s powerful, but there are too many obstacles in my mind that will likely prevent BlackBerry 10 from being a success. For starters, RIM still can’t get BlackBerry Messenger working with more than one PIN on BlackBerry 10, and support for BES email will be replaced by ActiveSync going forward. That’s right — your corporate email, calendar and contacts will sync directly from a Microsoft Exchange server to your device. While RIM’s Mobile Fusion solution will offer many features like syncing other data, security and policy management and more, in terms of PIM it will effectively be providing a secure VPN tunnel connection from your device to your Exchange server.

Just take a second to realize what this means… RIM has no competitive product in the smartphone market, and its most widely known asset — the company’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server PIM functions — will be changing into something much less powerful in the near future because the company cannot get traditional BES working with BlackBerry 10 smartphones or tablets.

Now, let’s look at the uphill battle of launching a brand new mobile operating system and ecosystem in this incredible fast-paced and competitive smartphone market. An Android app player alone is hardly enough for RIM to compete. Plainly stated, a company that has historically had the worst developer tools, the worst developer documentation, the worst developer support and arguably the worst apps, now has to actually pull something together that entices people to want to develop for BlackBerry 10. If RIM had tools that were better than Apple’s or Google’s, it would still be nearly impossible to gain traction with developers. If that documentation and those tools are just decent and not better, the possibility becomes even more remote.

What about marketing? RIM has not even once pulled off a good marketing campaign. I have been clamoring for this since early 2004. RIM didn’t care about marketing even when it was launching its first consumer product, the BlackBerry Pearl. While RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins said finding a new Chief Marketing Officer and drastically changing its approach to marketing communications is a top priority, this won’t be easy. The company simply does not understand marketing.

And what does it actually understand or do well?

That’s my point here. As much as I love RIM, I just don’t know what it actually does well anymore. It makes great plastic keyboards? That’s obviously an oversimplification, but it’s true. RIM has an operating system that is being delayed (because it doesn’t work properly, not because the company is waiting for a new 4G chipset to launch its smartphones worldwide when most markets don’t even have LTE), the company has failed to attract developers for various reasons, it has failed to create powerful consumer marketing, and it has consistently shown over the last eight years that it does not know where the mobile market is going. RIM has been a reactive company since 2005 in my mind.

RIM’s new CEO lauding the company’s history of being “innovators” and “leading” the wireless industry in many ways is, well, frightening. Contrary to the path Heins laid out today, there are a few possible things I see happening with Research In Motion based upon what I have noticed:

• RIM will sell either a part of its business or the entire company. The fact that there is a new CEO and a new chairperson this late in the game is signaling to me that the company is trying to make itself look more attractive to potential buyers and partners.
• RIM will license its services like BlackBerry Messenger, leverage its NOC and data network for corporate email / encryption, and it will license its patents to other companies and manufacturers. (Look how long it took Nokia to get a phone out when it licensed Microsoft’s software, though. And the first Windows Phone it released was a phone it had already released in terms of hardware. It still took the company over a year to do this.)
• RIM will either strike a deal with Microsoft to bring BlackBerry Messenger and some other Exchange-related services to Windows Phone, or RIM will eventually use Android as its base operating system and fork the OS.

I do not see Research In Motion gaining much traction with BlackBerry 10. I don’t see the competitive advantage. This is a company that fundamentally does not understand why Apple and Google are doing so well in the market. This is a company that has played catch-up for several years in many ways, often unsuccessfully. This is a company that is going to launch its first BlackBerry 10 smartphone right when Apple’s iPhone 5 and iOS 6 are released, and around the same time Android 5.0 and Google’s latest flagship device will be unveiled alongside phones from Samsung, HTC and Motorola, with even more advanced cameras, even higher resolution displays, even more powerful quad-core processors and much more.

I remember the day I stopped carrying a BlackBerry after years of having used a RIM smartphone as my main device. Let’s see if that ever changes in the future.

Media tablets powered by Google’s Android operating system have for the most part been unable to capture consumers’ interest. With just a few exceptions, sales of individual Android tablet models have been extremely low by all accounts. Amazon’s new Kindle Fire is one such exception thanks to an attractive price point and tight integration with Amazon services. Google has seemingly taken note of Amazon’s success, and a new report suggests the company is working on a budget-priced slate of its own that will launch in the next few months. Read on for more.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt noted last month that the company was working on an own-brand tablet, but there was a great deal of confusion surrounding his comments. ”[In the] next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality,” Schmidt reportedly told an Italian newspaper. A spokesman for Google in Taiwan said the company had no knowledge of plans to launch an own-brand tablet, and Google’s headquarters has remained silent on the matter.

While Schmidt did mention that quality was a big deal, the more significant news may have been uncovered in a new report Thursday morning. Citing anonymous sources from within Google’s supply chain, DigiTimes suggests that the slate will compete directly with the Kindle Fire at an enticing $199 price point.

The site goes on to report that Google’s Nexus tablet will feature a 7-inch display, and it will launch in March or April. Such a tablet would also undoubtedly be powered by Google’s new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, and it would be built in cooperation with Motorola Mobility in all likelihood. Google is currently trying to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion.

It has already been widely discussed that an own-brand tablet from Google would likely cannibalize its Android partners’ tablet sales, though there isn’t much to cannibalize at this point. With prices of other Android tablets hovering around the iPad’s $500 entry point, however, a $199 tablet from Google would likely render partner offerings obsolete. Who would purchase a $500 Samsung tablet when $199 will get you a slate “of the highest quality” that will also be the first such device to receive new software updates as they become available?

Google has yet to confirm that it is working on a Nexus tablet and with the first wave of Android 4.0 devices from partners expected to be unveiled next week, it is unlikely that the company will discuss its tablet until some time after the Consumer Electronics Show. There have already been persistent rumors that multiple PC vendors plan to abandon their Android tablet efforts. Being forced to compete with a $199 own-brand tablet from Google as well as the iPad and Kindle Fire may be all the motivation these companies need to throw in the towel and wait for Windows 8.

Apple’s aggressive patent strategy has hit a few speed bumps lately. The Cupertino, California-based company won an injunction on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, but the ban was recently overturned. A German court then sided with Motorola in a retaliatory lawsuit, ordering an injunction on Apple’s iPhone and iPad, and declaring that European Apple subsidiary Apple Sales International pay damages related to the infringement. Finally, earlier this week, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that HTC devices were not infringing on three Apple-owned patents. The ITC determined that a number of HTC devices did infringe on one Apple patent, but the Taiwan-based vendor already made it clear that a simple change will allow it to avoid the related injunction. Apropos, Apple’s legal team has decided to expand its efforts beyond patents covering technology integral to the function of its mobile products. Now, it will also attack competitors over their smartphone and tablet cases. Read on for more.

Apple has filed a new complaint against Samsung alleging that cases made for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and several Samsung phones infringe its patents, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. The lawsuit was filed in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear which patents are covered in Apple’s new complaint, though the report states that 10 patents were named in total.

A Samsung spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Considering Apple’s willingness to spend time and resources pursuing this new complaint, the company seemingly has no plans to slow its aggressive patent attacks and it will leave no stone unturned as it continues to seek out potential violations of its protected intellectual property and designs.

As Apple looks for new reasons to sue its competitors, thus inviting new lawsuits and continuing the endless cycle of complaints and counter-complaints, we would like to remind the company that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 charger looks suspiciously like Apple’s famous 30-pin dock connector. If this new suit over cases doesn’t pan out, chargers might be the next logical step before progressing to other key areas such as product packaging. After all, other designs are possible.

Apple is working on solutions that will help to improve the text input experience on its iOS devices. The Cupertino, California-based company has been discovered to be building an enhanced version of its autocorrect feature, the beginnings of which are currently hidden within the publicly available version of iOS 5, that adds suggested words above the iOS keyboard as users type. The functionality works much like the solutions currently found in Android or Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, and it is viewed by many as a much-needed addition to Apple’s mobile OS. Read on for more.

IOS 5 brought with it a new notification system that combined elements from several other mobile platforms into one terrific solution. The result was welcomed by iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users with open arms, as many had viewed Apple’s previous notifications solution as one of the weakest areas of the iOS UX. We can definitely be counted among users who absolutely hated Apple’s previous notifications system.

With the notification pain point behind us, autocorrect remains as one of the biggest gripes among iOS users. It changes words to names pulled from a user’s address book when it shouldn’t. It also changes words like “yo” to “to” and “if” to “of” constantly, failing to properly utilize learning capabilities. Apple’s iOS autocorrect system does offer a keyboard shortcut feature that can help alleviate some issues, but it almost never works when you need it to. Autocorrect in iOS is so bad that a number of websites have popped up that are dedicated to sharing instances of autocorrect embarrassment.

IOS developer Sonny Dickson recently discovered the feature pictured above, however. Buried in the iOS 5 code and accessible using a quick hack, a new word suggestion bar appears above the iOS keyboard once the feature is enabled. Dickson calls the feature “an Android-like autocorrect keyboard bar” in a post on his personal blog, and he also details steps that users can take to enable the new suggestion bar with no jailbreak required.

While this Android-like suggestion bar is a good start, it is hopefully just the tip of the iceberg for Apple. As shockingly intelligent as Siri is, iOS text input sits on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. “It just works,” is a mantra Apple loves to apply to its products, and we hope we can safely use the phrase when referring to iOS text input some time in the near future.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: calling the future best-selling smartphone in the world “disappointing” is a bit of a reach. DigiTimes’ infamous anonymous industry sources are running with it, however, and they think smartphone vendors that sell Android and Windows Phone-powered handsets will benefit from the opportunity Apple’s new iPhone will afford them. “The newly released iPhone 4S lags behind some mainstream smartphones as far as specifications are concerned,” the site’s sources said, because we all know how concerned the everyman is with specs. Companies like HTC, Samsung and Nokia, the sources continued, now have a chance to “expand their market shares with innovative models.” Read on for more.

DigiTimes says Apple’s new iPhone 4S lacks the larger screen and NFC support found on current and upcoming smartphones from its competitors. The report also points out that companies like HTC and Samsung have already launched devices that support high-speed 4G LTE wireless networks, while Apple’s iPhone 4S only supports HSPA 14.4. While 4G devices have indeed been selling well for Android vendors, they haven’t managed to make much of a dent in Apple’s smartphone sales to date. Apple was the world’s No. 1 smartphone vendor in the second quarter with just two handsets on the market, the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4.

The report’s sources wrapped things up by claiming that Apple’s efforts to attack the low-end market with a free iPhone 3GS and a $99 iPhone 4 will be futile. “Although Apple also launched an entry-level 8GB iPhone 4 and cut the price of its iPhone 3GS, the effectiveness of such tactics will be limited as iPhone fans will still prefer to buy new models and the low-priced iPhones will not be able to compete with Android phones in the entry-level segment,” the sources told DigiTimes.

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People are disappointed. What else can I say? With all of the hype, and even our own reporting, Apple should have released a real iPhone 5. But it didn’t, and the fact that Apple is releasing the same exact model with internal upgrades is upsetting to a lot of people. You know what, though? The overwhelming majority of people probably couldn’t care less.

Let’s look outside the bubble and think about the general consumer. Apple introduced a new phone that’s upwards of twice as fast as its predecessor, has better graphics performance than any other portable gaming device, features an upgraded camera that can take photos as good as a stand-alone camera, and capture video that’s better than a Flip camcorder. One device that works anywhere in the world with even better battery life, the ability to display your photos, videos, games, web browsing and more on your big screen HDTV, and a revolutionary virtual private assistant that can find you places to eat, book calendar appointments for you, read and reply to all of your messages and emails, and look up the answer to practically any question for you.

Who’s disappointed again?

To the general consumer, Apple just made the best-selling — and let me add, best — smartphone in the world leaps and bounds better. The design of the original iPhone 4 is not only an engineering feat but a design masterpiece, and there’s no reason why we should expect a brand new case for every phone Apple releases. Has the exterior of the MacBook Pro changed dramatically in the last few years? Has the exterior of an iMac changed dramatically in the last few years?

The hype machine was out of control this time around, and many people in the tech world wanted Apple to not only hit a home run, we wanted the company to hit it out of the park because we’re used to Apple doing that. In reality however, Apple did hit it out of the park, and we’ll all get to see it in the sales numbers of the iPhone 4S, which will be the best smartphone Apple’s ever made, and best smartphone in the world.

By offering the iPhone 3GS free on contract, the iPhone 4 for $99 on contract, and the iPhone 4S starting at $199 on contract, there isn’t any reason to buy a competitor’s phone anymore. With iCloud, iOS 5 and all of Apple’s new features and services, Apple isn’t treading water, it’s making the water evaporate while its competitors still try to match its innovation in hardware, software, ecosystem, apps and services.

Being available at three major carriers in the U.S. is also huge. With AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint all offering the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S starting October 14th, in addition to the global launch, I think we’ll see that only a very small minority of people (who are probably still going to buy the iPhone 4S anyway) were disappointed. Consumers in general, however, will be in line with a latte and cinnamon swirl coffee cake waiting for the stores to open at 8:00 a.m.

Apple was a company that could do no wrong. Phones that dropped every other call… Location tracking scandals… Antennagate… A CEO who constantly parked his $130,000 sports car diagonally in handicapped spaces… Apple didn’t have to roll with the punches, the company would simply laugh at the punches or toss the press and public a few crumbs if need be. A week or even a day later, all was forgiven and Apple would continue on its path, making terrific products and mopping up industry profits while whistling to itself contently.

On Tuesday when Apple unveiled its brand new iPhone 4S, the fifth iteration of Apple’s revolutionary smartphone, things felt different. The company’s iconic co-founder was nowhere to be found, the venue was smaller, the applause seemed reticent and the product unveiled was not greeted with arms open quite as widely as they had been in the past. People seemed, in a way, bored.

Reactions from those who spent time with the device at Apple’s press conference were positive, of course, but it didn’t feel the same. What was different this time around? Members of the press and many consumers following the event felt that we were looking at a possible miss from the great Apple. Beyond nitpicking and whining about insignificant specs or other irrelevancies, many level-headed writers and pundits genuinely seemed to think that the iPhone 4S might be the beginning of the end.

Yes, investors were seemingly disappointed by Tuesday’s announcements, but this is hardly uncommon. Buy the rumor, sell the news. That Apple only closed down half a percent on Tuesday exhibits confidence in the company’s management, strategy and portfolio more than it does disappointment in the iPhone 4S.

And what about analysts? The finance crowd adores Apple, so they must have been jumping up and down in their penthouses, right?

“Apple no longer has a leading edge, its cloud service is even behind Android; it can only sell on brand loyalty now,” Gartner analyst C.K. Lu told Reuters on Wednesday. “Users may wait to buy the next iPhone; if they can’t wait, they may shift to brands with more advanced specs.”

“We had expected the company to announce two new devices, an iPhone 5 and a 4-plus,” JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz wrote in a note to investors. “We are disappointed that Apple did not introduce a thinner form factor, but we see the feature set improvements in the iPhone 4S and the broader pricing strategy as positives.”

Yes, we’re seeing some negative takes on the news, but have we seen any big names revise their estimates downward significantly? Of course not. Even analysts who were hugely bullish on a redesigned iPhone 5 are still confident that Apple’s reign will continue.

We’ve seen no real negative revisions on revenue projections either. In fact, Apple’s free iPhone 3GS and its $99 iPhone 4 have had the opposite effect in some cases. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky, for example, wrote in a note Wednesday morning that Apple’s $0 3GS “may double Apple’s global addressable market, and may help address rising mid-market Android competition.”

And some analysts such as Wedge Partners’ Brian Blair had already modeled for this scenario. Blair, as some might recall, hit the nail on the head late last month. “We expect the focus of the new iPhone will be iOS 5, a speedier A5 processor and a higher resolution 8 MP camera with a small possibility of a larger 4 inch screen,” the analyst wrote in a research note on September 21st. Blair saw Apple selling 91 million iPhones this calendar year, and that staggering sum remains unchanged.

Some analysts even think the iPhone 4S and new cheaper iPhones 4 and 3GS will drive sales that exceed already-lofty projections. “While the moderate changes to the iPhone 4S might not drive the type of upgrade cycle that was seen by the iPhone 4, the lower prices of legacy models and broader availability on more carriers are still likely to deliver calendar Q4 phones sales in excess of our 21.5 million estimate,” BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk wrote on Wednesday.

But an interesting takeaway from yesterday’s announcement may simply be that Apple has fallen from grace in some respects. Apple is fallible, even if the 4S ends up being a success. A company that could do no wrong in recent history just, well, did wrong in the eyes of pundits who had previously viewed every Apple product announcement as a gift from the heavens.

It should have been bigger. It should have been better. It should have been more Appley.

There were skeptics after Apple unveiled the iPhone in 2007, and after the iPhones 3G, 3GS and 4 as well. But yesterday’s skeptics took a different tone. They didn’t wonder if Apple could succeed or nervously whine about missing features, they collectively shouted that Apple had lost its mojo.

But then there’s the imminent reality check. And from where I’m sitting, the iPhone 4S is oozing with mojo.

Apple’s iPhone 4 provides the most silky smooth user experience on the planet with the firm’s A4 processor running the show. The more powerful dual-core A5 chipset from Apple’s iPad 2 should somehow improve on that already-phenomenal experience, and it will empower Apple’s new golden child, Siri.

It should be noted that I was hugely skeptical of Siri’s significance ahead of Apple’s event on Tuesday, but I’m now singing a different tune. I think the concept and technology behind Apple’s new personal assistant service are phenomenal, and while Siri might not be a huge draw for consumers in the near term, the long-term implications are tremendous. Apple just made smartphones much, much smarter.

On the outside, there is no question that the iPhone 4S is the same device as its predecessor. It might have a revised antenna system, but the similarities are so great that Apple had to include the Newsstand icon in marketing images depicting the phone’s home screen as no distinction would be made otherwise. But is that such a bad thing? The iPhone 4 is still an engineering feat, and I’m not sure a more attractive smartphone exists to this day.

Naysayers said Apple couldn’t cut it selling just one or two smartphone models, and now Apple owns two-thirds of global smartphone industry profits. Led by Apple’s gray-haired iPhone 4, which launched in June 2010, Apple sold more smartphones last quarter than any other vendor on the planet.

The numbers will do the talking over the next few quarters, and I expect Apple’s iPhone sales to continue on the same skyward path right up to next year’s iPhone 5 launch and beyond. As of October 12th, Apple will sell three different smartphone models that range in price from free to $399. The company will address postpaid smartphone buyers from top to bottom, and rumors suggest we may even see an attack on the prepaid market in the near future. No company stays on top forever, of course, but Apple’s new smartphone lineup is hardly that of a company that has begun its descent.

Apple may have fallen from grace in a way, but until competitors can even come close to approaching the allure surrounding Apple devices and the user experiences they afford, don’t expect the company’s grip on the industry to loosen at all.

While expectations were high for a brand new tear drop-shaped iPhone 5 with larger display, insanely thin design, and more, it’s looking like Apple might be set to introduce an upgraded iPhone 4 instead. Bummer, right? Well… if and when Apple does introduce the iPhone 4S (which is most likely what it will be called), I’m anticipating some changes that make the device stand out from the model before it, the iPhone 4. Hit the break for my thoughts.

Rumors started swirling almost a year ago that Apple was working on an edge-to-edge display for the next-generation iPhone, but then they faded. Why have we all discounted this in recent months? Because attention was turned to an all-new iPhone 5.

And what about reports that the device will feature a metal back as opposed to glass? What about the fact that the device is supposedly thinner?

I think Apple’s iPhone 4S is going to be a pretty substantial bump as opposed to just an incremental update, as many are speculating. On the inside, we’re looking at a dual-core A5 processor with amazing graphics support, an 8-megapixel backlit camera sensor for professional quality photographs and full 1080p HD video recording, 1GB of RAM, Apple’s Assistant service, and more. That alone makes this upgrade a big deal, and in terms of the device’s exterior and the display, I think we might all be in for a few pleasant surprises there as well.

So… I have been thinking about this a lot lately (as has anyone in this industry), and basically no one has any clue what Apple is releasing as far as smartphones go this year. While there have been credible leaks and reports, Apple has played a masterful chess game confusing not only its competitors but the tech press as well. One leak contradicts another report, one mainstream publication contradicts another mainstream publication, one analyst note contradicts another’s research note. Let’s break this down logically, together. Apple has an iPhone 4 that is over a year old and is still the best-selling smartphone in the world. In fact, it’s still the best-selling smartphone on practically every carrier in the world that sells it. Apple could easily update it with the company’s A5 processor and an 8-megapixel camera, but is Apple really going to break from its traditional summertime release schedule just to dump in a new CPU and camera? What’s the point? Read on for more.

Is Apple going to sell the iPhone 4 at $99 and the “iPhone 4S” at $199 alongside it? Nearly identical phones in terms of physical appearance? Someone walking into a store is going to have to choose between the iPhone with the faster processor and better camera and one with a slower processor and a still-great camera? Hardly. If there even is an actual iPhone 4S — one that’s sole purpose hasn’t been just for high-profile iOS developers to use a test sled for Apple’s new hardware that’s coming in the iPhone 5 — my bet is that it will replace the iPhone 4, but the iPhone 4S will still be the entry-level iPhone.

Why? Because Apple can afford to take a, what, 15%-ish margin hit to deliver a better iPhone for a better price of $99 on contract. The company can introduce it only with 8GB of storage, too, making up some of the component costs of the A5 CPU and the 8-megapixel sensor. Why would Apple do such a thing? It won’t only damage the competition, it will crush, destroy, and eliminate them. And if the iPhone 4S is in fact just a developer tool, then the iPhone 4 will move to this entry-level space to make room for the star of the show.

Then there’s the iPhone 5 that everyone is waiting (and hoping) for at $199/$299, which will be another leap above anything the competition can offer. IPhone 4 or iPhone 4S — it doesn’t matter. A redesigned iPhone 5 is coming as well. It will be faster, it will be probably the thinnest smartphone in the world, and it will possibly introduce gestures in addition to voice control capabilities. That’s what my scenario looks like, and hey… even Al Gore says the multiple iPhones are launching next month.

Microsoft executives took to the stage at the annual BUILD developer conference on Tuesday to give the world its first real look at the future of the Windows operating system. The reception, as you’ve likely read by now, has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, Apple bloggers were apparently so flustered by the platform that they resorted to bombarding Twitter with jokes about cooling fans and Silverlight instead of stopping for a moment to realize that Microsoft is showing us the future of computing. The PC was the future, and it let people perform functions they never thought possible. Then the tablet was the future, and it let people interact with content in ways they never thought possible. Now, the future means all things to all people. Read on for more.

I’ve mentioned it before on several occasions, but the point is much easier to make now that Microsoft has given the world a better look at its vision of the near-term future of computing. PCs are not going away. They will continue to be the primary means of computing for business and consumers alike. Tablets are not going away, either. They will continue to provide a much more intuitive way to interact with a consumer electronics device. Microsoft’s vision, however, unifies these devices.

One platform to rule them all. The technology exists to enable users to carry a single device that is as portable and usable as a tablet, but also as powerful and capable as a PC. It has a battery that can last all day, but it can also run Photoshop, Excel and Outlook. It can weigh next to nothing and slip into a slim case, but it can also power two monitors and run proprietary enterprise software.

When Windows 8 is finally bestowed upon the masses, each and every user will have Apple to thank. Windows 8 as we’re seeing it today would never have existed if competition from the iPad — and the iPhone before it — had not illuminated a giant light bulb over all of our heads: platforms can be both capable and intuitive. Apple’s iOS is the most fluid, logical, user friendly mass-market platform in the world, and it has forced the competition to look at products in a new light. Companies have been incredibly slow to adapt, however, and that is why Apple is currently the biggest tech company in the world.

But the iPad was only the beginning.

Apple paved the way but Microsoft will get there first with Windows 8. A tablet that can be as fluid and user friendly as the iPad but as capable as a Windows laptop. A tablet that can boot in under 10 seconds and fire up a full-scale version of Adobe Dreamweaver a few moments later. A tablet that can be slipped into a dock to instantly become a fully capable touch-enabled laptop computer. This is Microsoft’s vision with Windows 8, and this is what it will deliver.

People debate it all the time, but the simple fact is that “real work” is significantly more difficult to do on the iPad or on an Android tablet than it is on a Windows or Mac PC. Debate all you want. Android and iOS apps are dumbed down and infinitely less capable, typing is on a tablet is a pain in the ass unless you carry a Bluetooth keyboard, and the experience as a whole is severely limited.

We are not living in a “post-PC” era today any more than we were on January 26th, 2010, the day before Apple unveiled the magical iPad. Apple would love a post-PC era, of course, since personal computers no longer represent the bulk of the company’s revenue, but Microsoft is showing us that there is a better way. And that better way, as it turns out, is a PC.

Down the road, Mac OS and iOS will merge into a single platform or OS X will adopt enough iOS-like characteristics that Apple will finally be comfortable with slapping it on a touch-enabled device. Lion is the beginning of this process, though I sincerely hope future iterations offer less resistance. At that point in time, Apple will be able to offer a computing solution that is infinitely more versatile and capable than the company’s current solutions. A solution like Windows 8.

If the iPad ushered in the post-PC era, then welcome to the post-post-PC era.

Apple and Samsung are at odds over patents. You might have read about it. In numerous courts, in numerous states, in numerous countries on numerous continents, the pair continue to file complaint after complaint. Apple says Samsung builds copycat devices that steal design elements from its iPad tablet and iPhone smartphone. Samsung says Apple’s mobile devices violate multiple Samsung patents covering communications standards. And round and round we go. Read on for more.

In the most recent development of note, a German judge on Friday upheld a ruling that will block Samsung’s local unit from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Germany. In her decision, Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffman stated, “The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible.” Other designs are possible. The judge continued, “For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks [like the iPad].”

Well that’s just a tough break for Samsung.

There is little question that the physical design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 closely resembles that of Apple’s iPad. Much like the physical design of any given flat panel television resembles that of any other model. Much like the physical design of any given laptop computer resembles that of any other model. Much like the physical design of any given Blu-ray player resembles that of any other model. Much like the physical design of any given ballpoint pen resembles that of any other model.

Designs should be protected, though. Pilot and Bic should clearly be at war over the design of the modern toss-away pen. Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic and every other consumer electronics company that builds televisions should be suing the pants off each other, and of course Apple should get in on the action if it enters the space next year with an “iTV” of its own. In fact, Charmin should be paying the descendants of a sixth-century Chinese man for every roll of toilet paper it sells. And, of course, Apple should pay IBM each time it sells a Mac Pro in a sleek tower.

Speaking of Apple’s decision to forgo the investigation of other possible designs, I wonder how LG feels about the court’s ruling.

I’m no German judge, but the iPhone 4 certainly seems to borrow from the “smooth, simple areas” and “minimal design” seen on the Prada smartphone LG unveiled in 2006. The iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and the original iPhone resemble LG’s design pretty closely as well, but the iPhone 4 definitely bears the most striking resemblance to this 45-month-old handset. Come to think of it, the current iPod touch is a Prada clone too, and the iPad looks just like an oversized version of LG’s design. And I would wager that the forthcoming iPhone 5 will copy the Prada, too.

Of course physical design is just one aspect of Apple’s numerous complaints against Samsung and other competitors. Apple’s copycat claims extend past physical design to technical patents, and even to overall user experience. But this particular complaint focused on a protected Community design — or, “a design-related intellectual property right registered with an EU agency” according to patent expert Florian Mueller — and Judge Brueckner-Hoffman clearly believed that the physical similarity between these devices was grounds on which to ban the sale of Samsung’s tablet.

Again, designs and innovations need to be protected, but to what extent and at what cost? The current system is not sustainable. As end user pricing is forced downward and margins get tighter, companies like HTC, ViewSonic and Acer will not be able to turn a profit when they have to pay companies like Microsoft every time they sell a phone. Apple and Microsoft might see this as a good thing since less competition means sales of their products will balloon. But Apple’s products copy designs and infringe on patents too, as do Microsoft’s, and every victory these two patent bullies enjoy will open new doors for complaints their competitors will file.

The simple truth is that a system shaped by lawyers may not be the best system for corporations. And it is certainly not the best system for consumers. Things need to change.

In the meantime, sales of the iPhone 4, iPad and iPod touch should be banned immediately the world over. Apple obviously puts a tremendous amount of weight on physical design. So much so that it allegedly tampered with evidence by manipulating photos of Samsung products to make them look more like Apple products. Twice.

The LG Prada set a precedent, and it is quite clear that “other designs are possible.”

By now, you’ve no doubt seen the news: Google intends to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. What this will do is not only give Google access to Motorola’s vast patent library consisting of nearly 25,000 patents, but it will also give Google an end-to-end hardware and software strategy with smartphones, tablets and even with Google TV. The thing is, Google didn’t need to buy Motorola. Google could have just licensed the patents from Motorola. Google bought Motorola because it felt like control of the Android experience was slipping away. It’s apparent that one Nexus-like device from Google a year won’t be enough — MOTOBLUR has probably given Andy Rubin ulcers — and it’s apparent that a company that’s leading in many areas of the smartphone arena wants to control that entire experience. Open or not, it is Google’s, after all. Smartphones and tablets are also going to be the biggest categories in technology for the foreseeable future, and if you think Google is just going to play around with that, well, you obviously haven’t seen the company’s recent moves. Read on for more.

HTC, Samsung, LG, and other manufacturers are probably pissed. Regardless of any protection they might receive from Google owning Motorola’s patent library, and regardless of recent official comments, they are now not only competing with one of the best Android device vendors, but also with Google itself. The end result? You’re going to see HTC, Samsung and LG continue to buy up as many Beats-like companies as possible to further differentiate their Android experiences, because they’re not going to have anything else to offer pretty soon. There are only so many ways to physically differentiate a touchscreen device, and with Google in control of its own hardware, software and services, differentiation could become the key to other partners’ survival  the Android ecosystem.

Microsoft’s Communications boss Frank X. Shaw on Thursday responded to an update posted by Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, which was written in response to Microsoft’s General Counsel Brad Smith’s response to Drummond’s initial claim that Microsoft and Apple were playing dirty with patents. Catch all that? Here’s the gist of it: Google’s David Drummond wrote on Wednesday that Microsoft, Apple and others were “banding together to acquire Novell’s old patents (the ‘CPTN’ group including Microsoft and Apple) and Nortel’s old patents (the ‘Rockstar’ group including Microsoft and Apple), to make sure Google didn’t get them.” Microsoft’s Frank X. Shaw and Brad Smith each responded on Twitter, saying that Google was invited to the patent party but the company declined the invitation. On Thursday, Drummond updated his original post on the Google blog, stating that Microsoft and Apple’s invitation was disingenuous. Had Google joined the group that purchased the patents, Drummond explained, the joint acquisition would have “eliminated any protection these patents could offer to Android against attacks from Microsoft and its bidding partners.”

Microsoft’s Shaw then shot back on Twitter, saying that Drummond is a liar and Google didn’t joint the group because it wanted the patents all to itself (of course Google’s bids in the Nortel patent auction were seemingly intended to merely drive up the price of the portfolio; it bid $Pi billion at one point). The bottom line is it’s all ridiculous, and each company is out to protect its own interests as can only be expected. It would be great if tech giants could fire all their patent attorneys and build innovative products without having to weave through an obstacle course of patents, but that will never happen under the current system. In the meantime, companies will keep suing each other and in the end, everyone — including end users — loses.

Read [Google's response to Microsoft's response to Google] Read [Microsoft's response to Google's response to Microsoft's response to Google]

Research In Motion launched its first tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, on April 19th of this year. Since that point in time — and even before, courtesy of reviews — the slender slate has been lambasted. A vocal minority belts praises for the tablet on Internet forums and in the comments sections of news sites and blogs, but the clear consensus is not favorable. Most see potential in QNX, but the lack of core PIM and email functionality coupled with RIM’s current situation makes it hard for many to take the tablet seriously. And yes, it’s a BlackBerry that doesn’t support email out of the box. While I agree with much of the criticism surrounding RIM’s first tablet, my overall feelings stray greatly from those shared by most who discuss the PlayBook. Read on to find out why.

I had hoped to wait until after RIM had updated the PlayBook software to include BlackBerry Bridge-less email support, but June came and went without a peep on the matter so I decided not to wait any longer. Truth be told, the introduction of native email will have absolutely no impact on my usage, as I believe the email experience on almost any modern tablet is terrible. While thumb-typing on the glass touchscreen of a smartphone is a great experience for me, full typing on the glass touchscreen of a tablet is not. I love the email UI on the PlayBook, iPad and other tablets, but I simply can’t take typing on any of these slates for more than a sentence or two at a time.

Here’s how I use a tablet: while sitting on my couch watching television or a movie, I might pick it up and browse the Web a bit or use a few apps. Maybe I’ll want to run through the RSS feeds I subscribe to in Google Reader quickly, or maybe I’ll want to check my Twitter stream quickly during a commercial.

When passing by a tablet on my coffee table, I might pick it up and do some quick searching or add a movie to my Netflix queue. I also use tablets from time to time while my smartphone is charging.

On rare occasions, I might try to watch a movie or TV show on a tablet. This only lasts a few minutes, however, as the tablet form factor is anything but conducive to watching videos. Who wants to site there and hold a device while you watch movies on it? I typically last for about 3 or 4 minutes before growing tired of having to hold it, so I stop the video and move on.

Finally, I use tablets as eBook readers. I purchase books from Amazon’s Kindle store and from Kobo’s eBook store, and I like that I can easily sync my accounts to multiple devices and pick up a book on one device right where I left off on another. I also love that I’ve cleared space on my book shelves for more important things, like bottles of scotch and boxes full of gadgets I’ll never look at again.

Let’s go through my use cases one by one…

The PlayBook is great for browsing the Web. In a monumental departure from BlackBerry devices of old, the PlayBook’s browser is a joy to use. It’s fast, the UI is extremely clean, and it renders most sites as they should be rendered. It annoys me that some sites load as mobile versions instead of full versions, but this is an issue common to all tablets and it’s one that should be addressed by webmasters, not vendors. The PlayBook also supports Flash video, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Most people will argue with me here, but I think the PlayBook already has plenty of great apps that suit my needs. Sure I might not have 13,755 options for a to-do list app like I do in Apple’s App Store, but most of my bases are covered and covered well. Netflix Queue Manager is easy to use and lets me quickly add movies and shows to my queue. News360 sports a wonderful UI — as it does on all platforms — and lets me browse and read top news stories from numerous sources. Pipeline is an absolutely gorgeous RSS reader for the PlayBook that offers full support for Google Reader accounts, and GeeReader is a good free alternative that gets the job done quite well. ScoreMobile lets me check Yankees scores quickly in a great-looking UI, and the Facebook app for RIM’s PlayBook is fairly comprehensive and easy to use. I do wish there were better Twitter apps for the PlayBook, but BlackBird and Blaq will get the job done until more choices come along.

Watching videos on the PlayBook, as infrequently as I attempt it, is as good an experience as one might expect. The PlayBook’s display is bright and vivid, and the speakers are surprisingly decent for a small portable device. So, for the 3 to 4 minutes every other month I try to watch a movie on a tablet, the PlayBook has me covered.

Finally, as an eReader, the PlayBook puts other tablets to shame. The size is perfect for eBooks; I find other tablets like the iPad 2 to be way too large to provide a good reading experience. The PlayBook is also much lighter than competitive offerings, thanks in part to its size of course, and I really do love the hardware. The sleek shape of the tablet and the soft-touch rubbery feel of the back of the PlayBook are just terrific. The PlayBook undoubtedly features my favorite tablet hardware to date, approached only by T-Mobile’s G-Slate.

But the iPad 2 is so thin! And sexy! And aluminum! This is all true, but we’re not talking about a sleek laptop or a refrigerator here. This is a tablet. You hold it in your hands and you shift it around constantly. Metal is hard and the iPad 2′s edges are sharp. The PlayBook is soft and its squared edges sit well in the hand. Just like most things Apple builds, the iPad is absolutely gorgeous. Unlike most Apple products, however, I do not find that function is on par with form in the iPad’s case.

Whether you consider this an endorsement for the PlayBook or a commentary on the current state of consumer tablets, the end result is the same. The BlackBerry PlayBook is my favorite tablet. By a wide margin, in fact.

Tablets as a whole do not improve any experience worth noting. Sure a tablet can browse the Web, but not as well as a PC. Sure a tablet can run productivity apps and email clients, but not as well as a laptop. Sure a tablet can provide an affordable portable computing experience, but not as well as a netbook. Sure a tablet can play movies and TV shows, but not as well as a TV. Sure a tablet can let you play games, but not as well as a dedicated portable console. Sure a tablet can keep users connected on the go and run a number of apps, but not as well as a smartphone. You get the idea.

The tablet is, at its core, the definition of jack of all trades, master of none. Apple’s iPad is a gorgeous, elegant device that gives consumers the opportunity to purchase a large-form Apple product for a mere $499, and that in itself plays a huge role in the tablet’s popularity. Other vendors do not carry the same hype and allure that Apple is enjoying at the moment, and that is a big reason their tablet sales are barely a blip on the radar; of course there are other equally important reasons such as the lack of intuitive and distinguished user experiences, but in the end, these vendors are building products that consumers simply aren’t asking for just yet. I’ve written this before, but it bears repeating: Consumers don’t want tablets, they want iPads.

But the most popular product isn’t always the best product, and for my personal usage, the PlayBook is at the top of the pile for me right now. The QNX OS also shows tons of potential, and while I believe iOS provides one of the best mobile user experiences money can buy, I far prefer gesture-based navigation on a larger device like a tablet. Swiping the big screen to switch apps, open menus and discard open applications is far better than poking at a home button, and the PlayBook’s gesture support is great.

If RIM makes the right moves and catches up, uses TAT as much as possible, and finds a way to innovate in some key areas, the company’s future tablets and smartphones could be fantastic. And I’m very confident that RIM is taking this matter seriously. While the native email update users are waiting for is still missing in action, RIM has already issued five software updates for the PlayBook OS since its release in April. This update frequency shows that RIM is being proactive with the PlayBook, and the device’s OTA updates are absolutely painless.

Back to TAT for a moment, this was a key strategic acquisition for RIM and I think it will pay off big time. Historically, the BlackBerry UI has been somewhat, well, boring and ugly. This is putting it mildly. RIM seems to be well aware of that however, and the PlayBook UI is already a 180-degree turn from the stale BlackBerry UI of old. But there is plenty of room for innovation there, and that’s where TAT comes into play. “TAT is an integral part of the RIM PlayBook strategy,” RIM’s Vice President of Handheld Software Product Management Andrew Bocking told BGR. “We continue to add TAT into the PlayBook UI as well as applications such as ‘Scrapbook.’”

In the meantime, even as it stands today, the PlayBook is the one-eyed man in the country of the blind.