Vodafone surges ahead of Airtel – To launch the iPhone 3G first in India on August 18

Iphone has finally released their pricing details via their exclusive indian carrier Vodafone. The 8GB model would cost around Rs.15960 and the 16GB model would cost around Rs.19960, both available only on exclusive 2 year contract with Vodafone. The launch date is expected to be the 18th of August for Vodafone, and 20th -21st August for Airtel. So it seems, Vodafone has taken the lead this time.

However, the exact pricing details for their data plans are still unknown. Till then .. keep guessing !

Update: Airtel will launch the iPhone 3G on August 22.

Is the Apple Macbook Touch a Realistic Possibility ?

Some Apple fan mixed the real iMac-like dock patent and the fabled MacBook touch, getting a very nice rendition of how both concepts may look together. There is minimalist dock station too, with an optical drive, extra hard-drive, charging and wireless connectivity but without the screen, which looks like a more realistic proposition. The whole thing is just a figment of a wet fanboy imagination, but could this really happen? And would you buy an Apple tablet, an ultra-Slim MacBook or none of them?

galleryPost(‘macbooktouchmockup’, 6, ‘MacBook Touch with Screen Dock Mock-Up’);

MacBook Touch with Screen Dock Mock-Up

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According to the author of this fantasy, “the Keyboard Wireless Dock connects to the dock using Wireless USB. It also has a bigger hard drive, some sort of DVD player/burner, inputs for your USB and Firewire devices. The whole keyboard part itself is used as a large multitouch track pad. Since the keys need to be depressed when hit, you can do lighter touches as you move across the whole thing.”

Hokai. It also probably dices potatoes, synthesizes Strawberry Daiquiris and teleports you to other planets full of wonderful civilizations with sculptural Monica-Belucci-style oiled amazons or George-Clooney-style oiled warriors (depending on your preference), that will name you their King or Queen. In other words, it doesn’t make much sense.

The black Powerbook-Titanium-style is quite nice, though. The concept may be feasible too: I like the idea of having an on-the-go tablet with touch keyboard for surfing, video, music and photography using a touch-optimized iLife suite. But one thing is some people finding the idea attractive, and the other is people buying it: unfortunately, the market for this kind of device could be quite limited as other keyboard-less Tablet PCs have demonstrated in the past. Even if we assume that Apple’s implementation may make a difference, as it did in the case of the key-less iPhone, the market will still be very limited. One thing is a device like the iPhone, for short SMS/mails, and a very different thing is this kind of device.

Furthermore, looking at Apple’s recent history, the company is not one that likes to create new markets, but improve on ones that may have true mass-market potential (like the iPod in the music market, or the iPhone in the cellphone market.) That’s why a ultra-slim laptop idea, not a tablet, with Flash storage at a cheap price point sounds like a more realistic (and equally as sexy) as this tablet. Down the line, such product may get a touch-screen. At this point, a device like the one pictured here still looks like a risky proposition.

The mini-dock concept, on the other hand, seems like a real possibility for the rumored ultra-slim MacBook. If Apple finally decided to release such a machine without an optical drive, the dock seems like a reasonable combo. At least, a more elegant and more practical solution than their iMac-dock patent (and quite cheaper.) With a real keyboard. Apple did this in the past too with the PowerBook Duo. It was a good machine at the time, but limited. Perhaps like with the case of the Newton and the iPhone, now is the right time to implement all these technologies at the right price.

We will have to wait and see if all these wishes get granted by the Wizard of Cupertino.  [Flickr via MacRumors Forums]

Is Apple Killing Linux On The Desktop?

Chris Howard has an interesting commentary at Apple Matters on recent trends in OS market share that says that while OS X has seen continual growth, from 4.21% in Jan 2006 to 7.31% in December 2007 at the same time, Linux’s percentage has risen from only 0.29% to 0.63%. The reasons? ‘Apple has Microsoft Office, Linux doesn’t; Apple has Adobe Creative Suite, Linux doesn’t; Apple has easily accessed and easy to use service and support, Linux doesn’t; Apple is driven by someone who has some understanding of end-user needs, Linux is not,’ says Howard. ‘Early in the decade it seemed that if you wanted a Windows alternative, Linux was it. Nowadays, an Apple Mac is undoubtedly the alternative and, with its resurgence and its Intel base, a very viable one.

Unfortunately though, it’s not necessarily a good thing for Linux to be struggling on the desktop, as the Linux community has so much to offer desktop computing. But with Apple and the Mac flying, Linux may never get the chance again