Yesterday afternoon I was overjoyed with the unveiling of the new iPad by Apple. After a night to sleep on it and reading more than a few tech blogs smashing the new gadget I’m a little less enthusiastic about version 1.0

The consensus among the techerati is the iPad isn’t powerful enough to be a device that actually replaces anything. It’s essentially an overblown iTouch.

It won’t take long for Apple developers to put out some really cool apps designed just for the iPad. As it stands now some apps are scaled down to run at the same size as the native iTouch. There is an option to scale them full screen but some reports are saying they don’t look very good. There isn’t a microphone or a camera on the device, two things that have made my iPhone so much more fun to use.

I still maintain that I would enjoy having something like this, even version 1.0 just for the entertainment that it would bring. I spend a lot of time fiddling with my iPhone in the evenings the iPad will be a fantastic toy. I think toy may just summarize the problem people are having with the device. When it comes down to it the iPad isn’t a phone, or an iPod. It really is just a toy for grownups. I want to try and wait for a few upgrades on the device but when it comes down to it I’m at the age where I still enjoy my toys. I may not be able to wait long enough for the later edition.

iPhone and other 3G powered phone owners here’s some news to get excited about. AT&T has put up a new tower in the southeast part of Elyria. The Chestnut Commons area is the home for the latest 3G tower.

The iPhone is without a doubt the coolest tool/toy I have ever owned. That being said, I hate the network its on. Hopefully the new tower will provide relief from dropped calls and zero signal areas. Hats off to AT&T, keep this up and you may still have me as a customer when Verizon finally gets the rights to sell the iPhone.

Here is the full press release from AT&T

AT&T CUSTOMERS GET MORE MOBILE BROADBAND

COVERAGE IN ELYRIA

New Cell Site Activated as Part of Ongoing AT&T Investment in Local Network

CLEVELAND, Oct. 6, 2009 — As part of its continuing network investment to support growing demand for advanced mobile devices and applications, AT&T* today announced the activation of a new 3G cell site in Elyria that will enhance coverage for area residents and businesses near the Chestnut Commons shopping center.

The new cell site is one part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and extend its 3G wireless network – the fastest in the nation, according to independent testing. It is also part of AT&T’s ongoing investment to build the broadband networks that will fuel economic growth and create jobs, and enable its customers to quickly access the content, applications and services that matter most to them.

“We appreciate AT&T’s investments to enhance its wireless coverage in our community,” said Sen. Sue Morano. “Enhanced wireless connectivity provides us with better access to essential services and it also helps improve our quality of life.”

From 2006-2008, AT&T’s total capital investment in its wireless and wireline networks in Ohio was more than $1.8 billion.

 ”AT&T’s investment in 3G technology to enhance the wireless network is a positive development for the Elyria area,” said Rep. Matt Lundy. “A vast number of residents as well as businesses will be able to profit from fast mobile broadband and reliable cell service for communication and commerce.  

The AT&T 3G network opens the door to a new era of advanced mobile services, devices and feature-rich content.  With 3G speeds, you can surf the Web, download files faster than ever, and enjoy the very latest interactive mobile applications.

“Our goal is pretty simple: we want you to have an extraordinary experience when you make a call, check e-mail, download a song or video, or surf the Internet on your AT&T device,” said Tom Pelto, president of AT&T Ohio. “As part of the Elyria community, we’re always looking for new opportunities to provide enhanced coverage and our investment in the local network is just one way to accomplish this.”

AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most open and widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T offers 3G data roaming in more than 100 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 215 countries.

AT&T offers unsurpassed choice in the range of devices, services and applications compatible with its 3G network. AT&T offers a wide variety of devices from more than a dozen manufacturers, including handsets that are compatible with six different operating systems and five different e-mail applications. Our Media Mall 2.0 offers more than 90,000 content options, and customers can download virtually any application over the Internet. Additionally, AT&T supports a community of more than 20,000 application developers via its devCentral portal.

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit www.att.com/networknews.

I am the unofficial tech dork among my friends and I have answered the question more than once about Apple vs Blackberry. I would usually stick with my phone and brag about how cool the Blackberry is. Well, I have to admit I was suffering from a serious case of iPhone envy for a long time.

After months of internal debate over the coolness of the iPhone vs the functionality of the Blackberry I took the rather drastic and irresponsible step of owning both phones. After using the new iPhone for just over a month I feel like I can finally give an unbiased comparison of two of the hottest tech items available.

My Blackberry is a Curve and it’s supplied by the paper. I use it all the time to send shots back from scenes for our website and I have used it tethered on several occasions to send back large photos from my camera. I had a personal phone through Verizon Wireless and I was always satisfied by their service. I hated to leave but nothing stands between a geek and his love for a new technology, not even his very unhappy wife. When I left, different contract dates meant I was the only one who moved over to AT&T we still pay for four other phones for my family at Verizon. I created a whole new bill.

There came a point at the end of my contract that I wanted to get a Storm for my personal phone. I had heard so much about it being an Apple killer and I read about it from the earliest point in it’s development. Unfortunately I couldn’t get past the clickty clackity feel of the phone. It was laggy and just unresponsive.

So the ultimate question, which phone is better? Ohhh if it were only that simple.

The iPhone is really a fantastic toy. It kills at surfing, browsing, multimedia, ease of use, and the applications are in the thousands. A ton of them are free and those that aren’t are mostly under a dollar. Beat that Blackberry. If you want a phone that you can really just play with when you are stuck in traffic or waiting for an appointment the iPhone is great.

The huge downside with the iPhone is the e-mail and the calendar options. If you want a phone strictly for business use and keeping up with your flow of e-mail and appointments the Blackberry is a great way to go. Blackberry uses push technology to keep the email always flowing into your phone. The moment it’s sent, you get it on your phone. Not so with the iPhone. You have to schedule the phone to go check the e-mail and pull the information to the phone.

I have heard complaints about typing on the iPhones touch screen keyboard but the software inside the phone corrects most of the mistakes as you go. The Blackberry does offer you an easier, faster way to get typing done with the qwerty keyboard. It’s a distinct advantage for the Blackberry.

So in summary. The iPhone is fun, it really is. The Blackberry, is a business or high flow e-mail solution. No matter how hard they try the only thing that will ever be cool about a Blackberry is that it’s cool to have one.

One last note, I won’t go into the AT&T vs Verizon thing other than to say AT&T better hope I can never take my iPhone to Verizon or it’s so long AT&T

Once again please indulge me while I share my rather sad obsession with cool phones.

If you are a tech geek or one of the really cool people who dress well and hang out at Starbucks with your wireless laptop, the announcement about the new iphone is no surprise. There have been plenty of leaks and bloggers chatting about the newest version of the record setting phone.

Personally I gave up my quest for the iPhone because my carrier, Verizon doesn’t sell it. For the time being it’s an AT&T exclusive. While I survived round one it’s going to be way harder this time because the new phone sounds pretty cool.

The inventory of the first generation phone is dwindling, and today Steve Jobs came to Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco to tell the geeks, and cool kids of the world that the new phone will go on sale July 11.

The phone uses the 3G network, that means the internet will be very fast and the phone is cheaper than the first, prices are starting at $199. The Apple website shows of the new sleeker phone with the phrase “Twice as fast. Half the price.”

To help you get in touch with your inner geek here are a couple links for you to check out.

Apples iPhone page

The new Mobile Me Application

The new Blackberry Bold, 9000 — the talk of the Internet for months — has been officially introduced by RIM, the Canadian-based mobile technology company.

The new phone once was reportedly codenamed AK, for Apple Killer, but whether it lives up to the name or not, who knows? But the 3G technology certainly has the potential to take a bite out of the Apple iPhone, the phone by which all others have been judged since it was introduced.

Blackberry has been the staple of the white collar set for a long time, and the 9000 has all the features a true power user needs along with the fun things like a decent camera, video, and enough memory to actually keep multimedia on the phone. With the effort to make the phone useful as well as entertaining, RIM is making inroads in the consumer market.

In the past week, pictures of another Blackberry, the clamshell-style phone called the Kickstart, surfaced on tech blogs. If this phone is the real deal, it’s one more step toward a new market for Blackberry. This cool little phone has all the advantages of the corporate phones, but it includes the style and usability of the phones favored by the younger demographic.

My days of pining away for an iPhone may have passed, but be sure the guys at Apple are not far away from releasing the next generation of their monster success.