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Steve Jobs announed the much anticipated next-gen 3G iPhone today to an excited WWDC audience.

Design

It looks thinner, with tapered edges like the Macbook Air. It has a glossy black plastic back (I’m going to miss the aluminum.), a flush headphone jack (so you don’t need an adapter to use other headphones).

Performance

Loaded with 3G it will be at least twice as fast as those of us suffering with the Edge netework. Apple boasts 3G speeds that are 36% faster than those other “smart phones”. It will have better battery life, with 300 hours of standby, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 5 hours of 3G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio.

Features

Well, there’s no camera in the front, so those dreaming of mobile video chatting will have to dream a bit longer. *snif It does have GPS though. Apple is using A-GPS, which is a standard that suppliments regular satellite GPS data with info from cellular towers to triangulate your position. The 3G iPhone also comes with all those great 2.0 software features.

Price

The 8GB is only $199, and 16GB is $299 (16GB comes in white too). Either way you go, AT&T requires a contract.

Is it enough of an improvement to entice current iPhone users? I’m not sure. Will you get one?

A couple of days ago I tried the new Iced Doubleshot drink at my local Starbucks. The barista suggested I use vanilla syrup instead of the classic, and she was right, it was delicious. In fact, it’s been my drink of choice ever since.

Over the week I’ve noticed something wonderful. I’ve been saving money. I’m not sure why, but it’s true.

Here’s why I’m confused. My go-to drink has been a Grande Iced Mocha (it’s hot here in Florida). A Grande Iced Mocha is made up of two shots of espresso, milk, chocolate syrup… and you guessed it, ice. That will cost you $4.06. The Doubleshot is made up of three shots of espresso (though since the machines pull two shots at a time, most baristas will add the forth, rather than waste it.), vanilla syrup (or whatever flavor you want), milk and ice. But the Doubleshot will only cost you $2.60.

Is this a marketing trick to offer a lower priced option in this tough economy, without making it feel like the brand is on sale? Is it an accident? The barista tried to convince me that it’s because there is slightly less milk in the Doubleshot, and that the price of milk has gone up. Has milk gone up enough that a few ounces make a $1.46 difference per drink?

I don’t really care either way. I’m very happy with the lower priced option. Just curious…

Personal Rant: Why is there only one shot of espresso pictured on starbucks.com with a drink called the Doubleshot?

The folks over at Gizmodo claim the 3G iPhone is “confirmed”, and the ever-churning rumor mill seems to believe it wholeheartedly. It make sense. And 3G would be nice. But the majority of my time is spent in WiFi areas. So I’m not sure if network speeds that are 3 times faster than AT&T’s Edge network are enough to entice me to be the early adopter I usually am.

That said, if you look closely at the “leaked” image of the new iPhone above, that little dot by the ear speaker may be just the thing to make me ebay (can ebay be a verb?) my current iPhone and upgrade.

Rumor has it, that little dot is a camera.

Why put the camera on the front you ask? Well imagine being able to iChat over the 3G network right from your iPhone! That’s right, the elusive video phone may finally be coming to market… in just a few weeks!

Now if Apple would just make me my flying car…

I saw Iron Man over the weekend, and apparently so did a lot of other people. The film made over 100 million dollars in just a few days. I think it’s going to make a lot more before it’s over, because the film is really great… really.

I can’t tell you how skeptical I was to see Robert Downey Jr. as a superhero, but he did a fantastic job. He nailed the role of Tony Stark and his comedy moments were brilliant.

Wrapped in a very relevant story are scene after scene of pure gadget eye candy. The 3D and motion graphics work are spot on.

My only complaint is a very obvious product placement scene with Burger King. But I’ll get over it.

Great film. Be sure to catch this one on the big screen.

This is one of those posts that make it hard to disguise my geekiness. Still I must have this awesome little projector.

I say awesome, not because of it’s tech specs, though they’re not horrible… 1024X768 resolution, 15000 Lumens, built in CD/DVD/iPod player, built in virtual surround speakers, and all the gaming ports you’ll need. No, I say awesome because…well, it’s R2D2!

So if you need a gift idea for me, want to support this site, or if you’d like me to do a review- simply ship one my way.

Check out the video
Buy one here

In celebration of World Pinhole Camera Day (when was that?), Corbis has posted some papercraft ReadyMech Cameras for your downloading pleasure.

These paper-toy-meets-pinhole-camera creations are much cooler than the cardboard versions I made in school. If you make one and shoot something, share your photos and I’ll post them here.

The Chocolate Agency has developed a really nice mini multimedia device concept for your wrist. The form factor is sleek and modern, complete with the ever-popular touch screen. They propose using E-Paper for all its thin, high contrast, power efficient qualities.

It uses magnetic snaps on each end to stay closed, but it can be opened and used flat if desired. Plus there are no batteries. It’s powered kinetically (using your movement), so if you want to finish watching the Star Wars Trilogy, you better go for a run.

Now Starbucks customers can debate some new ideas like, establishing a separate line to order brewed coffee, discounts for frequent buyers or seniors, and more on MyStarbucksIdea.com

Already thousands of ideas have been submitted and rated by guests. Starbucks has even already adopted a couple of these ideas in their stores.

I applaud their effort to listen to their customers. Not many brands would open themselves up for public debate, or solicit ideas from outsiders. I was recently in Seattle, where I got to meet the creative team at Starbucks HQ, and I have to say that they really do care about the brand and its fans.

The design of the site is simple, clean and easy to use. What are you waiting for…submit your idea.

There is so much great content online for creative professionals these days. There’s no excuse for not staying current and sharpening your skills. I’m writing this post while watching a tutorial I found on tv.adobe.com.

Adobe’s new tutorial section offers tips and tricks that, of course, highlight their software. But despite the occasional hard sell, you’ll find some great tutorials, and tips that will keep you in the know.

I stumbled upon Apple’s ‘Find Out How‘ section of their website today. This section hosts a very cool collection of video tutorials covering:

Mac OS X
Photos
Movies
Web
Music
Documents

If you’re new to the Mac, you’re going to love these tips and tricks. But even for a Apple Fanboy seasoned Mac user like me, there is a lot of great content to learn from.