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  • "Steve Jobs" ReviewDan Benjamin & John Siracusa
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Embedded above is a slightly re-edited version of John Siracusa’s devastating review of Steve Jobs one and only authorized biography.

To summarize his criticism: Walter Isaacson did a poor job because he simply didn’t care. While for us the work of Jobs has influenced our live in so many ways, for him it was just another book to publish. He doesn’t have the technological understanding to ask the right questions, neither he tries to learn it. At one point Siracusa basically says every graduate with a fascination for Apple could have written a better biography than Walter Isaacson.

That for me, was the key point which you could apply to everything you do. Enthusiasm, commitment and passion are of such importantance for your job that you should’t work without it. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

For the detailed analysis, listen to the almost 2 1/2 hours long edited podcast or go to the source files at 5by5.tv.

The only thing I did, was to merge the two pieces together, cut out other topics and move the feedback part to the end.

The Android Wishlist Phone

Hey you, Android vendors. Since you are all clearly experimenting with your Google phones at the moment, why don’t you cherry-pick the things I’d like to see in a compelling iPhone rival?

To make my point clear: We are definetly not in a feature race in the smartphone space, I stated that before. But the ingredients listed below could be used to make me forget the great iOS ecosystem. [1]

Hardware

  • The Casing could be thin and with Kevlar on the backside (as seen in the Motorola Droid Razr).
  • I’m still not sure about the right screen size. 4.65” seems bloated, on the other hand 3.5” in the meantime seems a bit too small. [2] For the moment I’ll settle with the 4.0” display (1280x720 pixel) seen in the Sharp AQUOS Phone 104SH. [3]
  • Actually I don’t care about the underlying processor power or RAM - just make the experience smooth. It seems not that easy, so throw in all you can. Maybe a 1,5 GHz OMAP Dual Core-Prozessor with 1 GB RAM will do the job (as seen in the HTC Vigor).
  • Include a publicity astonishing camera, like the 13.2 Megapixel CMOS Lumix sensor (as seen in the Panasonic LUMIX Phone 101P), completed with a 2 Megapixel Frontcamera (as seen in the LG Optimus Black).
  • More nice to have hardware additions: HDMI Output and 1930mAh battery (as seen in the Motorola Droid Bionic) / Waterproof body, DLNA support, Digital TV Tuner and NFC (as seen in the Sharp AQUOS Phone 102SH)

Software

Furthermore, some really simple rules:

  • Release at most 2 hardware updates per year. I don’t want to see minor speed bumps or other versions of my phone the week after I bought it.
  • Spilling a name like “Galaxy” over the whole line-up, will just weaken the customer perception of the brand.
  • Support your old hardware with the newest software at least for the common time of a contract, which is where I come from not less than 2 years. (How it’s not to be done)
  • Let me buy an unlocked version without a carrier contract, even if the phone itself will cost xxx freakin’ dollars.

[1] Also it’s clear that many of the features contradict each other, mostly in regard to battery life.

[2] I’m aware of the argument that you need to reach every corner on the screen with your thumb. But let’s be honest, bigger is better while gaming or entertainment activities, like watching a movie. And now ask yourself what you do with your smartphone all the time.

[3] Sadly, not one Android phone that is available in the western hemisphere does offer the same pixel density as the 17 months old iPhone 4. And it makes you wonder why only Japanese people get the good stuff.

[4] I’m not sure about the legal situation. But since Google seems to be ok with Bing as the default search, I think other App Stores and the Google Android Market could coexist. Perhaps Amazon or Sony give you a couple of bucks to encourage the integration.

As most viewers of Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event I was disappointed immediately after. But then I asked myself the question what Apple should have done to appease me or the masses. I can’t think of a damn single thing. [1] Or did you really expect that Apple’s Voice Control goes way beyond what we know from Android? Oh wait, perhaps it does. I was working on Voice-to-Text technology and I can tell you what Forstall did on the stage was pretty amazing. In fact, Siri is the dream of the Semantic Web, which was dubbed “Web 3.0” a decade ago. It remains to be seen if people change their behaviours and use voice as an input method, though. Or do you think a smartphone camera can ever replace your DSLR? Maybe not, but you can clearly see how Apple does everything possible to get the best camera experience with this form factor. Look at these (hopefully untouched) photographs and tell me you expected more from the iPhone 5. [2]   Once more, this is how Apple rolls. Small, incremental improvements, instead of dramatic revolutions. Secondly, hardware specs alone isn’t what’s important anymore. Services, and their integration with hardware is the new real deal. [Update] Read similiar lines from Dan Frommer. For users, this is still the best phone that money can buy. [1] LTE is too laughable to even discuss here. We’ll talk again when TelCo’s made their promises happen. Same goes (in a smaller degree) for NFC.One area - where improvements would be very welcome - is the battery life. On the other hand the iPhone already rules the smartphone competition. [2] What I really don’t get is the naming. I understood it with the 3GS, but now? I thought Apple stands for simple and clear product titles. Now consumers are waiting for the “real” next iteration, the iPhone 5.
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As most viewers of Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event I was disappointed immediately after.

But then I asked myself the question what Apple should have done to appease me or the masses. I can’t think of a damn single thing. [1]

Or did you really expect that Apple’s Voice Control goes way beyond what we know from Android? Oh wait, perhaps it does. I was working on Voice-to-Text technology and I can tell you what Forstall did on the stage was pretty amazing. In fact, Siri is the dream of the Semantic Web, which was dubbed “Web 3.0” a decade ago. It remains to be seen if people change their behaviours and use voice as an input method, though.

Or do you think a smartphone camera can ever replace your DSLR? Maybe not, but you can clearly see how Apple does everything possible to get the best camera experience with this form factor. Look at these (hopefully untouched) photographs and tell me you expected more from the iPhone 5. [2]  

Once more, this is how Apple rolls. Small, incremental improvements, instead of dramatic revolutions. Secondly, hardware specs alone isn’t what’s important anymore. Services, and their integration with hardware is the new real deal.

[Update] Read similiar lines from Dan Frommer.

For users, this is still the best phone that money can buy.

[1] LTE is too laughable to even discuss here. We’ll talk again when TelCo’s made their promises happen. Same goes (in a smaller degree) for NFC.
One area - where improvements would be very welcome - is the battery life. On the other hand the iPhone already rules the smartphone competition.

[2] What I really don’t get is the naming. I understood it with the 3GS, but now? I thought Apple stands for simple and clear product titles. Now consumers are waiting for the “real” next iteration, the iPhone 5.