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Gizmodo reports that they have uncovered Apple’ next iPhone, dubbed iPhone 4.  The full story is here.

By Tony Pittman – @tonypittman – http://twitter.com/tonypittman

On April 17, 2010, This Week in Tech chief, Leo Laporte expressed  concerns about colleague, and friend, Jason Calacanis’ push to rapidly develop and grow his own podcast network site, titled “This Week In”.   Leo runs a very successful podcasting network, based on the flagship show entitled “This Week in Tech”.  The address for the network’s website is http://TWIT.TV .  Jason has been a guest on Leo’s network many times.  In fact, I hadn’t even heard of Jason Calacanis until he started appearing on TWiT.

Not many would argue that “This Week in…” prompts those in the technology media space to think of Leo’s flagship show and his network.  Still, Leo did acknowledge that he does not own the “This Week In” trademark.  In fact, he has made reference to “borrowing” it from a show about baseball.

So, when Jason, a friend and colleague of Leo, came and asked about doing some shows that carried the title “This Week In…” in front of them, Leo allegedly said “yes”.  I believe Jason started out doing “This Week in Startups”, a show about how to start up new tech ventures – a topic not too similar to what is normally covered on Leo’s TWiT network. So, things were going swimmingly, it seems, until Jason took things too far and started launching This Week In shows that got more and more similar top topics covered by Leo, including “This Week In Android”, “This Week In iPad”, and “This Week In Gadgets”.

To me, the analogy  is like a good friend or relative asking if they can borrow your car.  In most cases, the answer would be “yes”.  But, if a friend was to ask me to borrow the car, and then take my “yes” as clearance for them to drive it on a 3,000 mile cross-country excursion (taking advantage of my openness and trust), then I would have a major issue.

So, I feel for Leo in this situation.  Does Jason have the legal right to do what he did?  It appears so.  Should he have done it? I don’t think so.  Personally, I don’t think he should have even asked Leo about the use of “This Week In”, putting Leo in the position of having to tell a friend and colleague “no, don’t do that”.

Disclaimer: I don’t know Leo or Jason personally.  This position is based entirely on outside observation. Jason defends his position here.

By: Tony Pittman [ tony@getthenext.com ]

Apple’s iPad arrived, as planned, on April 3, 2010. Some analysts estimate that as many as 700,000 iPads were delivered to customers on launch day, making iPad one of the most successfully launched consumer products of all time. Prior to launch, some pundits panned the iPad, calling it nothing more than an overgrown iPhone, without the phone.  Well, in some respects they turned out to be correct.  iPad is larger than iPhone.  iPad can’t make phone calls.  But, wow…it can sure do a lot of things well.

First, the most unexpected surprise: iPad’s speaker.  I wasn’t expecting much in this department.  I figured that Apple would include the obligatory speaker – a plain, unimpressive component that would just be enough to get by with.  Wow, was I wrong.  iPad’s speaker is very robust for its size.  I was honestly astounded by the loud, clear, and dynamic sound.

Next, you’ll be amazed by iPad’s battery life.  By making the device so much bigger than iPhone, Apple was able to do wonders with battery life.  So far, I have no reason to doubt Apple’s claim of 10+ hours of continuous use on one charge.  After a day of hard use, I’ve hardly been able to make a dent.  The battery life is impressive, to say the least.

The on-screen keyboard exceeded my expectations. I was mentally prepared for a new experience, remembering what is was like the first time I used an iPhone keyboard.  iPad’s keyboard does not disappoint, especially in landscape mode.  Granted, I wouldn’t want to use it to write a novel, so I did pick up one of Apple’s $69 bluetooth keyboards.  But, for short bursts of text, the on-screen keyboard is more than adequate.

Finally, the muli-touch IPS display is nothing short of mind-blowing. Prior to iPad’s launch, I was thinking more and more about how great it would be to be able to use my Kindle DX as a truly connected, dynamic device.  I found myself wanting to touch the Kindle’s display and try to manipulate the connected internet world.  But, everything was just beyond my, and the Kindle’s, grasp.  Well, no more.  iPad’s multi-touch display not only produced brilliant images, but it’s responsiveness is off the charts.  It responds to your touches instantly, allowing you to truly escape into a world that I thought to still be years and years away.  Many had said that you can’t appreciate iPad until you have a chance to hold it in your hands and feel how it works.  They were right.