Seadragon, a photography application that demonstrates the graphics acceleration of the iPhone is available now. While this puppy won’t allow you to send MMS messages with your photos, it does provide a nifty alternative to the iPhone’s already excellent photo-browsing capability. Download it from the app store.

The app was created by Microsoft’s Live Labs group, a creative research arm of the Seattle giant whose purpose has been, since 2006, to accelerate Microsoft’s development efforts online. Previous accomplishments of the group have included creating Seadragon support for Ajax, a standards-based web development technology that dominates LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) development, but has yet to surface in the walled garden of Microsoft platforms.

Look for more from Microsoft on the iPhone, including advanced speech recognition technology, in 2009.  Pic provided by TechFlash.

Tags: appstore, camera, microsoft, photography, seadragon, software

If there’s one company that can go toe to toe with Apple in the smart phone space, it’s not RIM, and it’s certainly isn’t Microsoft.   That’s right, it’s Nokia.  With the impending release of their 5800 XPressMusic phone, complete with touch screen and a one-year-free all-you-can-eat music download service, it certainly deserves a look by potential iPhone buyers.   But the question is whether or not this 5800 is the revolutionary advance Nokia needs to compete with the iPhone, or if it offers an over-engineered, offputting user experience like many previous Nokia products.

On paper, this thing is killer, though:

• GPRS/3G data network support
• Bluetooth
• WiFi (802.11g)
• 8  or 16 GB SD storage card (an option I sincerely wish Apple had included in the 3G iPhone)
• Video out (cool!)
• Touch screen interface. Not sure if it’s going to do gestures or multi-touch.  It does claim tactile feedback, probably by means of vibration, etc.
• 3.2″ display (iPhone has 3.5″)
• 3.2 mpixel Zeiss camera, like those in the N-Series (this will likely spank the iPhone’s camera, which is 2.0 megapixel and pretty piss poor)
• A self-facing VGA camera for video calls
• Maps application with GPS and voice-guided navigation. (Also an iPhone spanking feature)
• Headphones
• Symbian S60 version 5 operating environment (an upgrade to the OE used on the E-Series and N-Series phones)
• Free unlimited music downloads (not rentals) for one year (Windows Media, DRM’d)

Tags: 5800, camera, hardware, music, nokia

But there were some bright spots. Mainly, the addition of high definition television content to iTunes, which paves the way for more Apple TV sales, and of course, the addition of NBC-originated content to iTunes. But the new iPods, while cool, weren’t quite the leap forward many were expecting.  They did add some nifty apps, like a workout tool co-branded with Nike.

Maybe the most significant addition to Apple’s music empire is this new Genius List feature, which takes a feather out of Pandora’s cap, creating playlists that suggest music based on the preferences of the user.  Nearly lost in all that hype was the detail that a new bug fix for iPhone firmware should be hitting the Net on September 13, according to Steve Jobs.

Here’s hoping the new firmware has a video camera and media messaging.

Tags: apple, apple tv, camera, firmware, ipod, ipod touch, steve jobs

Nokia’s N-Series phones are excellent geek hardware, and, depending on who you ask, the best cell phones money can buy.   The new flagship in the N-Series is the N96, and, while it’s not exactly an iPhone killer, it does have three features we wish the iPhone had.

The first of these missing features is removable storage. While just about all of the N-Series devices have a small removable storage slot. That extra gig would really go a long way, especially on the iPhone, whose iPhoto and iTunes apps tend to overflow its 16 GB solid state storage.

Another feature we’d love to see on the iPhone is the digital television tuner that comes standard on the European version of the N96.  With the iPhone’s large screen, watching TV would be more fun than on the N96’s little postage stamp screen.

Of course, the iPhone’s camera leaves a lot to be desired, while the N96 sports a Zeiss Optics 5+MP job with a built-in flash. And it will record video, to boot. Let’s see if  Apple is able to work any of these features into the next iPhone bump.

Tags: camera, n-series, nokia, storage

I’m all for improving the iPhone’s relatively poor camera.  But friends shouldn’t let friends ruin their iPhones with dorky-looking attachments. Listen, if I have to make my iPhone look this horrible in order to get a telephoto picture, then just forget it. Not for $19.99, not for free. Not going there. It’s like putting a monster truck tire on a tricycle.

Tags: accessories, camera, hardware, iphone