DISQUS

I'm confused? Who are these Publishers? And their members? And why aren't they being paid by the recording companies? What do they do that deserves compensation?

I'm wondering what the GPS functionality is like? Is it closer to a full GPS, or still hobbled like Apple's?

I like the 3.1 MP cameraphone....Though I think someone should really take the step and give us a 5 MP.

I must admit I am fascinated by Fringe as well...Abrams seems to be setting a good track record thus far, but the show still has a ways before its full nature will be revealed. I know Abrams is trying to differentiate the series from the X-Files, but I personally loved X-Files, so I don't think he needs to separate too far. One big issue for me will be whether he decides to include the "monster of the week" arc like X-Files had or attempts to stay with this super-myth arc. I'm going to insist that doing the latter will be disastrous in the long-term and that he should embrace the "monster of the week" motif.

I must agree that the keyboard looks extremely attractive. I traded up for an iPhone 3G around a month or two ago now and love it - but the lack of a real keyboard can be a significant pain. I thought maybe I just had fat fingers but when I saw a petite teen gal complain of the same thing, I knew it wasn't just me (granted, Apple has great spell correction that fixes most of the words I mangle).
I think the Android looks pretty slick...and its big advantage is the openness of its platform. The ability to innovate quickly on the OS level and the application level is huge. Look at the speed of open source releases compared to monolithic companies like Microsoft (cough, take a hint Microsoft, cough).

Big question for me for all these digital distributors is - why can't I rent TV shows? Come on, how many times am I going to watch an episode of the X-Files? How about $.50 for commercial free? Heck, I'd even pay $.50 for an episode with commercials...if I could get all the episodes and none of this random (and extremely annoying) hulu form.

What is the third highest grossing documentary?

Joost heading browser-based is certainly a wise move, but I agree - unless they can secure some premium content there just isn't much use in the service. Where they may find some value is in selling their p2p technology to the big media players - e.g. hulu - as I imagine the bandwidth must be costing hulu a pretty penny right now.
I split my video watching time between Hulu/Netflix/ABC. I also occasionally purchase something through Amazon's Unbox. I find their UI nicer than iTunes and they seem to be fine with people re-downloading their previous downloads.

I'm not sure why anyone would buy an iPod or a Zune...not with the iPhone 3g available for $200. Get everything you could possibly want in one device (okay, almost everything) or buy multiple devices for each functionality (e.g. music, gps, camera, etc.). the 3g has some work to do - a better camera, more full-featured gps, but its pretty freaking amazing.

Too bad...I'd like to see HBO open up its archives for us...Start streaming its high quality content...I'm watching John Adams currently and enjoying it immensely.

No quality control? Mmm...They should at least have a "premier" or "certifed" marketplace - a lot of people won't want to surf through it all on their own...it could be overwhelming...already there are so many apps in the iphone app store that it can be too much.

Nifty. Always good to see people succeeding as they innovate on this front. Its been painful over the last few years seeing where the digital revolution could go and waiting for it to catch up with the vision...still on our way.

Good for the WB - though I wish they would just put all their stuff on Hulu. I don't want ten different places to remember.

I must admit getting an iPhone has lessened my desire for a Kindle. Though the iPhone still falls short in one huge one on this level (I haven't used a Kindle)...The screen. Yeah, it looks nice, but its certainly not as easy on the eyes as the Kindle or Sony's Reader.
I agree with the idea that single use devices aren't that great - and I am most certainly for the centralization of most devices into one.

I actually was happy with the price. I've been with Cingular for around three years now - mainly with HTC's piece of garbage Cingular 8125 (a Windows Mobile device). I was paying an arm and a leg for unlimited internet, a decent calling plan, and a near unlimited text messaging plan (no, I'm not a mad text messager, but I used SMS to receive alerts from my servers - and when something went wrong they liked to tell me about it and keep telling me about it till I fixed them - whose says computers aren't demanding?). Anyways, I stepped down my voice plan a little and my text messaging to a basic plan as I am no longer working for my previous employer and this reduces my text/voice needs (I'm using Skype now for most calls - with a built-in microphone on my laptop its a piece of cake). Anyways, all said - I get a few less minutes/texts but a heck of a better phone.
Speed for me has been fairly reasonable...Though when I needed it most (on two occasions!) the 3G network totally conked out (and I was in Philadelphia, a major metro area). Overall, I'm happy. I do wish that the iPhone would connect to my WiFi network and call out over that as my reception in-house is not always the best...
I love the GPS. It seems extremely accurate. I love its find me feature and the fact that I can watch my progress as a blue dot...and if I go off the beaten track. Granted, it needs voice...but its good. I'm sure someone will beef it up soon.
Battery life does still totally suck! If you aren't using it it will last a day, but start surfing the web or using the GPS and expect it to die within a few hours.

I just got the iPhone 3G and am looking forward to reading on it...even tried a little bit...the app. I'm using (whose name I can't recall) is very basic and needs a lot of improvement. I really want a Kindle...and I want it to work well...Perhaps Apple will dedicate some of their significant skill to this task for the iPhone - then my iPhone can not only be my mobile internet device, phone, gps, gaming device, but also my electronic library...
I did just recently read Alice in Wonderland on my laptop from Project Gutenberg...and am now reading through Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians on the CCEL (if you haven't looked at the latter, I highly recommend it...while it is specifically Christian in nature, the interface is amazing - with tagging, user editing, highlighting, annotations, etc...its what I want my ebook reader to do).

The biggest problem I have with Hulu's content at this juncture is the spottiness of it all. Come on, if you are going to put a show online put the whole series online. There are some shows I'd like to give a try - but not at the second episode of the third season.

I love the App Store and have downloaded several applications...I also just like browsing the options. I haven't bought any - nothing thus far has really impressed me in a way that said, "wow, I need that..."

Sounds good to me.

Finally...I've been saying someone should do this!

Great analysis Daniel. Is Kilar speaking the truth? If I remember correctly CBS, ABC, etc. have had their full streaming long before Hulu - not to mention AOL's In2TV.

Yeah, I think SciFi should pick up Jericho...and put it on the internet. I don't get TV, I've watched every episode online (mainly at Innertube).

Hopefully they will get back together, though I'm perfectly happy with Hulu and Netflix right now.

Yeah, they need to open the AppleTV up. What about when I want to watch some of the shows available directly through the channels' site - or utilize Joost/Hulu?

Vert nice summary Josh. Thanks.