People sometimes slate Apple fanboys for living in a world of their world, not knowing and not wanting to know what’s going on outside of what Apple leader Steve Jobs tells them every year at one of his flashy presentations.

Well, the best proof of that during the iPhone 4 launch today, which you will not escape from reading on Facebook or news blogs because of the sheer amount of hype, is this funny launch video from Apple itself.

In it, an Apple marketing man goes through a list of achievements of previous iPhones, which are all legit. He then says that “for 2010, the iPhone 4 is the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone… and we’re bringing video calling to the world!”

Not sure which parallel universe he’s been on, but the rest of the world have been using video calls for years. And get this, Apple’s version works on Wi-Fi only (for now) and has been demo’d only for iPhone-to-iPhone calls!

The same criticism can be levelled at almost all the “new” features that Steve Jobs rolled out yesterday night (Singapore time)  at its much-hyped WWDC conference (Worldwide Developer Conference) in San Francisco.

Other than a high-res screen and an improved, slimmer design, the iPhone 4′s “new” features are nearly all  “me-too” ones that rivals have had for months now.The biggest deal is the 3.5-inch screen which 960-by-640 pixels cramped in it, giving it a really ultra-sharp display that rivals will find hard to match (for now). I’d like to compare this with the ultra-bright Super AMOLED screen that Samsung is using on its Galaxy S, which to my eyes, has been the best screen on a phone thus far.

The second big deal about the iPhone 4 is its improved design. It’s less than 1cm thick (0.93cm), so it’s incredibly thin, like a small card that you can slip into a pocket easily.

But then, what about the other “new” features? They are disappointing, to say the least. Video calls? Multi-tasking? 5-meg camera with flash? It’s all old news if you’ve had an Android phone for the past year or more.

And what of Apple’s A4 processor? So far, no side-by-side comparison. But do check out how the Nexus One’s Snapdragon processor trashes the iPad’s A4 chip in a side-by-side comparison on HTML5 rendering.

It’s clear the iPhone 4 barely breaks any new ground. You will hear Apple fanboys banging on about the “new” features, because their only frame of reference, like Apple’s marketing folks, is with the long-in-the-tooth iPhone 3GS.

No doubt, the hype surrounding the iPhone and the goodwill with previous iPhones will get lots of iPhone users to stay with Apple. But it will likely not slow down the Android push in the coming months.

For developers, for techies, for folks who know a bit about cutting through the endless media hype you will no doubt read and hear about in the coming days, the iPhone 4 is just far from cutting edge.

From an innovator with the iPhone, Apple has become a follower, bringing in features that others have had for months. And the latest iPhone still doesn’t do Flash, which, contrary to Steve Jobs, runs perfectly fine on new Android phones to display all the multimedia on websites.

You get a sense that some people inside Apple know this too, when the company puts on a brave face and says the iPhone 4 “changes everything again”. After all, the killer app, says Steve Jobs to applause from his followers, is “making calls”!

From mobile broadband to the next big app on the small screen to augmented reality, the inaugural UNWIRED 2010 conference held on May 27, 2010 at the Singapore Management University discussed these topics and got a truly participatory attendance asking for more time for questions.

About 160 attendees, speakers and media thronged the halls on the eve of a long weekend, all eager to debate the latest issues as well as get in touch with peers from the industry.

Here’s what some attendees said:

Susanna Janonkova (via Twitter): “Went to #unwired2010 Singapore today : good investment of time, nice to meeting you all and thanks for the organisers!”

Paula Turco (over e-mail): “Thanks again for orgainizing the Unwired 2010 conference. I especially liked the presentations by the 2 Ians, Ian Koh and Ian McKee. Both brought up interesting concepts spurring further thought and lively discussion.”

Also, here’s a story on The Business Times, mostly on Dr Tan Geok Leng, IDAs CTO’s speech on wireless ecosystems in Singapore.

In any case, as the organiser for this independent wireless event, I offer my sincere apologies for the late post on UNWIRED 2010 (been away to recharge my batteries after running non-stop for a month for UNWIRED 2010). It’s a good thing Chi-loong has done a write-up on his panel last week.

Once again, thanks to all who made it a great success. To start with, the sponsors Samsung, Microsoft and Nokia Siemens Networks.

I also owe a great amount of thanks to the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), Singapore Management University and industry associations which have helped promote as well as offer all manner of help: Singapore infocomm Technology Federation, Singapore Computer Society, Mobile Monday, Mobile Alliance and Mobile Entertainment Forum.

And most importantly,  thanks to everyone who turned up – helpers and friends offering valuable advice (you know who you are!), speakers and old friends from the industry and also a great audience which had more questions than the time we had for discussion and folks who Tweeted about the event as it was ongoing.

Nothing’s perfect, of course. But I’m glad things turned out better than expected. I promise to take your feedback seriously regarding Wi-Fi access next year, and to offer more time for networking!

See you all again for UNWIRED 2011!

Hard to log in. Keep getting disconnected.

If those problems have kept you from surfing the Web with Wireless@SG, you’ll be happy to hear that the free Wi-Fi hotspot service islandwide is now going to be a breeze to use.

With a new secure sign-on system announced today, you will only need to sign in once on your PC or phone and never have to do it again when you next visit a Wireless@SG hotspot.

PC users simply have to download and install the Wireless@SG Connect app on their laptops or netbooks. The same for iPhone and Windows Mobile users, though Android and Blackberry fans will have to manually key in their settings. More details here.

In all cases, this is a one-off process – much better than having to log in every time you log on.

The improved ease of use, which will be rolled out on all hotspots by September 2010, does away with one of the biggest problems with Wireless@SG – logging in.

The so-called Seamless and Secure Access (SSA) feature could also remove another thorny problem – frequent disconnections.

A big headache for users, this often has to do with hotspots overlapping one another. Essentially, your PC thinks two Wireless@SG access points (AP), say, SingTel’s at Burger King and M1/Qala’s at McDonald’s next door are on the same network and keeps handing you from one AP to the next.

Each time this happens, you are asked to re-login because the two networks are run by different operators. Thus, with an auto-login feature, you will at least be spared the trouble of being logged off and asked to sign in again every other minute.

From testing the software and service at today’s demo at City Mall, things seem straightforward enough for PC users as well as iPhone and Windows Mobile users. They only need to set up their username and password on the software to be installed on their device, and remember to log on to an AP called Wireless@SGx instead of Wireless@SG.

However, my Google Nexus One, running Android 2.1, took a bit of setting up. It was not the phone that caused the problems with the manual setup. It was SingTel, which insists on making you add a long string of characters behind your usual username, in the name of a more secure login.

If you are trying to key in this username on a phone, it’s best you surf to the SingTel site (possibly using 3G) to generate and copy the exact username, then paste it into your configuration screen. Once done, you will automatically log in to Wireless@SG every time you hit the hotspot.

Fortunately, the other two Wireless@SG operators – iCell Network and M1 – spare us from this trouble. You only have to key in your regular username and password to get going.

Since its inception, I’ve been a fan of Wireless@SG and I’m happy with this development, which shows that this is a project that the Singapore government has not forgotten after unveiling it in 2006 (if only all projects had a good follow-through like this).

Sure, I now use 3.5G on my phone because it’s pretty fast, seamless and affordable. But there are many times I still use Wireless@SG. At cafes, I’d rather log in with Wi-Fi than tether my phone and suck up my laptop’s battery.

And what about people who do not need or want to use 3.5G, like the school kids at the libraries, who get to surf for free on their laptops? Wireless@SG fits the bill.

Finally, let’s not forget how Wireless@SG got people hooked on this habit of surfing on the go. Like a “free trial” of paid 3.5G services, it gave people a taste of mobile surfing that many never turned back from. At its original launch, it also forced telcos to rethink their 3.5G prices for the first time, which eventually led to today’s affordable levels.

Yet, for so long, many users have bitched and complained about Wireless@SG, one of Singapore’s best telecom policies. To me, it’s free, it’s got people surfing on the go, and it’s moved things in the market. Now, it’s also easy to use.

Four years to get the Wi-Fi 802.11n specifications finally agreed upon. Four years ago, Airgo Networks (now part of Qualcomm) was a trailblazer in MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), which is the technology behind 802.11n. By using multiple antennas in MIMO, the data throughput and range can be increased.

I remember that 802.11n — then in its draft incarnation — was one of the freshest news to hit the scene four years back when I was still a trade journalist.

Fast forward to today. What was supposed to be a two-year ratification process took four, and 802.11n was finally officially ratified this year in September 2009. Ratification means that if your device is labeled 802.11n compliant, it will work with any other 802.11n device, regardless of vendor.

All of this is history. Except that I got reminded about this when I met Aruba Networks last week at a press event, where they were in town to tout their newest enterprise 802.11n access point device: The AP-105, which is going for US$695 (S$962).

According to Aruba Networks, they have the cheapest 802.11n appliances when compared to other enterprise networking vendors like Cisco or HP ProCurve.

That the price has gone south is entirely expected. Ratification of the 802.11n spec means commoditization of the technology, which in turn means all kinds of cheap China-made 802.11n devices should soon flood the market. This is a good thing for businesses and consumers, as the price point for deployment of 802.11n Wi-Fi has gone down and should go down even further.

Albert Tay, general manager for Aruba Networks for South Asia and India, believes that the market “is ripe” for 802.11n deployment, and this is something the enterprise wireless switching company is pushing hard in its marketing. They believe that 802.11n can replace much of the Ethernet cabling (Cat 5e typically) required in facilities.

Why lay so much cable when your 802.11n wireless Wi-Fi speeds are equally as fast (if not faster)? Unless you’re going Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n does make for a sound argument. And even physical cabling companies like Belden are evolving wireless products, which underscores the threat that high speed Wi-Fi is to cabling. Belden acquired Trapeze Networks, another old player in the wireless switching space, last year in July 2008.

That mid-tier wireless companies like Aruba Networks are coming out to do media and channel marketing pushes now means that they believe there is money in the market. It will be interesting to see how the market plays out.

There’s nothing like a free lunch. But once in a while, you do get freebies without so much as firing up your laptop.

From today, users of Singapore’s Wireless@SG service will be getting a speed boost, as part of a handful of upgrades for the free Wi-Fi hotspot offering that were first announced at CommunicAsia 2009.

They will be able to surf at up to 1Mbps (instead of 512Mbps) at 7,500 hotspots islandwide. There is no need to re-configure their laptops or Wi-Fi-enabled cellphones, said the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) this morning, as it showed Techgoondu and other media a demo of the faster service at the Wi-Fi-enabled TCC cafe at NAFA.

For folks unfamiliar with Singapore, Wireless@SG is an islandwide Wi-Fi service first rolled out in 2006 that has transformed the telecoms sector here. It has brought in much competition for both wired and wireless broadband services, while pushing the adoption of 3.5G services by giving users a taste of wireless surfing on the go.

In June 2009, as the first three years of the government-funded free service came to an end, the IDA extended the free usage for another four years – to 2013. It also said there will be enhancements such as seamless login – an answer to the many problems users have faced trying to get online on-site.

Come next year, users will only need to log in once to have their profiles stored on the network, so they don’t have to type in the password whenever they turn up at a hotspot. Called SSA (Seamless and Secure Access), this will work with popular laptops (Windows Vista and XP) and phones (Windows Mobile, iPhone, Symbian).

This also means users who keep getting logged out and re-logged in when two Wireless@SG hotspots converge – say, at a shopping mall – won’t face as much disruption. They will still be logged off – and on – but if they are just surfing the Net, they won’t know that this has happened because they won’t have to type in their passwords again.

Not the perfect solution, but it’s an improvement.

And what about bandwidth? At least at the demo today, the results look impressive. A Web-based videoconference to Hong Kong was smooth on a Wi-Fi laptop, for example. And a test at Speedtest.sg showed around 1Mbps on the fancy bandwidth meter.

Okay, so do we need the bandwidth? I think many people will just surf the Web or read their mail while sitting at a cafe, for example. But increasingly, says IDA, youths will be uploading pictures as well as watching YouTube videos, so yes, there will be some users maxing things out. Too much bandwidth never hurts anyway.

However, to make things viable, IDA is hoping that more companies will use the public infrastructure for, say, wireless points of sale (at trade fairs, for example), or remote video surveillance. This, adds the IDA, would make the network self-sustainable in future without any government grants.

Currently, the three Wireless@SG operators – SingTel, QMax Communications and iCell Network – run their networks with help from public funds.

But the good news is that the free Wi-Fi service could be “self-sustainable” in future. iCell Network, for example, says it is a “very viable” business. CEO Ken Chua, for example, has been signing up owners of shopping centres who pay to wirelessly-enable their premises.

That is a good sign. Beyond the 1.3 million subscribers that Wireless@SG is claimed to have, the measure of its success is how long it remains free. In that, Singapore’s municipal Wi-Fi service has done well, proving to be the exception to many cities which have tried and failed with free Wi-Fi.

Another reason for optimism: Singapore’s next-gen broadband network coming online soon. Built with strict pro-competition rules, it is expected to provide an open market for bandwidth prices, letting small players such as Qala and iCell procure their backhaul connections – the most costly item on the Wireless@SG bill – more cheaply.

With this speed boost, it’s clear there is more life yet in Wireless@SG.

Even for the most hardcore users, you’d think that the ultimate router is one that has a gigabit WAN port and an OLED screen like D-Link’s Xtreme N Duo DIR-855.

Well, the company has just topped that by coming up with a router that also acts as a digital photo frame, as well as a network attached storage (NAS) device. Bar the kitchen sink, the new Xtreme N DIR-685 probably has almost all the features in a consumer router.

D-Link Singapore has just said that the S$399 “desktop-design” router will debut at the Comex computer show here next month.

So, what do you get for that sky-high price?

The Wireless N router will come with a 3.2-inch LCD screen that streams pictures as well as information such as weather and financial news from the free FrameChannel service. Of course, you can also show off gauges like download speeds on screen, if you are the type who needs to know how fast your torrents are downloading without firing up your PC.

Is the screen really a big plus? Well, no, unless you place your router in the living room or somewhere in the apartment where the photo frame would be a nice touch. I just can’t be bothered looking at the small router screen if I am sitting in front of a 24-inch PC screen (trust me, I have a DIR-855).

More attractive is the DIR-685′s  full-featured network attached storage (NAS), which lets you snap on a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive by the side for quick sharing among computers in the network.

Surprisingly, the NAS functions include ones you’d find in full-featured NAS boxes. You get FTP to share your files with friends over the Net, a BitTorrent client to download directly to disk (so you don’t have to keep your PC powered on), as well as a UPnP server for streaming your videos to networked PCs or game consoles.

Not a bad number of features, I must say. So, this combo will surely attract those who want a NAS, but are worried about setting stuff up. In this case, D-Link user-friendly menus should help get you up to speed in no time.

If you have use for all these features, okay, then S$399 might seem fair.

But don’t forget that you can get the components separately – a Wireless N router (S$100), photo frame (S$60) and a NAS (S$200) – for slightly less (S$360). And unlike with the DIR-685, you don’t have to worry about them all breaking down at the same time.

Sweaty crowds, loudspeakers and lelong prices. What else would you expect from the latest quarterly IT bazaar happening at Suntec City from today to Sunday, right?

Crowds at the ongoing PC Show seem thinner than the previous IT Show in March, perhaps due to the fears over the H1N1 swine flu, or maybe the bleak economy is finally getting to some folks. Sony, noticeably, did not turn up with a bang as before – there were no Level 2 booths you’ve come to see at Suntec City.

Still, there are bargains to be had. And here are my own few Goondu recommendations.

1. LG 32-inch HD-ready TV (S$499)
With 37- and 40-inchers going for as low as $899, the smaller screens are obviously free-falling in price. One deal I saw at the LG booth was an HD-ready 32-incher with a built-in terrestial DTV tuner going for a mere S$499.

Just a few shows ago, 32-inchers went for S$799 and they were not even HD-ready. At this price, this LG TV is great for a second TV in the bedroom, or for your console games.

2. Toshiba 42AV550E HD-ready TV (S$1,099)
By the time you head down to the show, this might be going for even cheaper, perhaps due to the competition in the halls. But still, a 42-inch HD-ready TV for about S$1,000 is a not a shabby deal. I saw this at AudioHouse, which have a few other Toshiba TVs on offer too.

3. Linksys Wireless N WRT610N router bundle (S$308 with USB stick)
I’ve been a D-Link fan for a while, but finally switched back to Linksys today. Yes, I bought the WRT610N router, which offers simultaneous 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, which is great for me as I am getting swamped by these nasty SingTel 2Wire routers blasting their 2.4GHz signals into my apartment.

Considering that the D-Link DIR855 is still too expensive (S$299), I thought about buying a cheaper WRT320N (S$169), which could do only 5GHz or 2.4GHz at one time, which is fine because I wanted to keep my old D-Link DGL-4300 router as a 2.4GHz router and run the WRT320N as a 5GHz-only access point.

But in the end, I was seduced by the considerably cheap offer from Linksys – a S$308 bundle for the more powerful simultaneous dual-band WRT610N + a WUSB600N USB stick. I’m going fully 5GHz now for my laptop and my wife’s laptop. The PDA goes on 3.5G!

4. Dell Studio XPS 435 (about S$1,999, depending on config)
Silly Dell did not bring any Alienware gaming notebooks on show, despite launching the much-vaulted brand in Singapore recently. However, it did bring the nice Studio XPS desktops, which were huge full-tower PCs with a nice reflective finish at the front. Chio!

5. XFX ATI HD4870x2 graphics card (S$539)
The guy at the XFX booth said that there’s only one of these king-of-the-hill graphics cards going for a whopping S$200+ off the regular Sim Lim Square price (about S$750 – S$800). By the time you read this, it might even be gone. If you are looking at a great deal for a top-end gaming card, quickly head 0n down.

6. MSI X340 laptop (S$1,188 to S$1,388)
Forget about the Apple Macbook Air. The cheap and good laptop that you can bring everywhere comes from MSI, the lesser-known Taiwanese motherboard maker. This svelte, ultra-thin notebook (at just 6mm at its thinnest) with a 13-inch screen is really something to fall in love with.

There are two models – a S$1,388 one with Intel’s SU3500 low-power CPU, and a cheaper S$1,188 one with a slower Intel Atom Z530 CPU. Both look great in black or white. If the cheap S$588 MSI Wind netbook (the cheapest netbook around, I think) doesn’t seduce you, then the X340 notebook should do the job of parting money from your wallet.

More pix here from the show… have fun shopping and tell us what you bought!

It’s been a long wait, but Wi-Fi buffs here are finally going to get their hands on D-Link’s DIR-855 Xtreme N Duo Media Router at the IT Show, which runs from this Thursday to Sunday.

This is a simultaneous dual-band router, which means it runs both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands at the same time. This gives you both the compatibility of good, old 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and “freedom from unfriendly neighbours” with the less congested 5GHz airwaves.

So far, Wireless N routers have mostly not come with “simultaneous” dual-band operations, except for Linksys’ WRT610N, launched here some months back.

To be sure, I was tempted by Linksys’ “UFO router” at the last Sitex show in November. But being a D-Link DGL-4300 gaming router user for years now, my target was always the DIR-855 - even if I had to buy it from the United States, where it was launched last year.

The simultaneous dual-band feature will let me hook up my PDA, which goes online on 2.4GHz, as well as my Fujitsu S6520 laptop that can run on the 5GHz spectrum. My other PCs and game consoles at home are mostly hooked up via a wired network, except my wife’s Compaq, which I can move over to 5GHz with a new add-on card.

Why do I need to go on 5GHz? Because my “friendly” neighbours are blasting their Wi-Fi signals from their irritating 2Wire routers to my apartment, covering large parts of it with signals that sometimes reach 40 per cent strength. That’s higher than my own signals at certain places in my apartment.

Sure, they might “escalate” with their own 5GHz routers in future. But for a while, I’ll be one of a few using both 5GHz and 2.4GHz… so I have a choice of response!

The only bad news from D-Link’s DIR-855, besides being delayed for so long after several revisions of its firmware and testing with the local authorities, is that it costs a bomb. It will go for S$349, which will buy you Linksys’ S$235 WRT-610N, PLUS 17 Fillet-O-Fish meals from McDonald’s.

[update: D-Link has said that the DIR-855 will go for a discounted price of S$299 at the show, S$50 less than the usual S$349}

Since I like burgers, and I’ve already overspent over the New Year, I might just wait for the cheaper D-Link DIR-825. It is similar to the DIR-855, but without the costly OLED screen, which I think catches your eye more than it does anything really practical.

Okay, on to the IT Show… and check back here for our goondu finds this Thursday!