TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: Brian X. Chen talks about "Always On"

Today's TUAW TV Live features a guest whose new book, "Always On: How the iPhone Unlocked the Anything-Anytime-Anywhere Future--and Locked Us In" is garnering praise for its unblinking look at the good and bad aspects of the iPhone phenomena. Brian X. Chen is the interim editor of Wired.com's Gadget Lab and was formerly an editor at Macworld, and he'll be joining me for a discussion of the book and of the device that launched our always-connected digital future.

The book is a fascinating and fast read, and loaded with anecdotes about how the ability to have hundreds of specialized apps can help our lives. It's also a cautionary tale filled with discussion of how Apple's vertical integration in the iPhone ecosystem has made the company wildly successful, but at a cost to consumers and developers alike.

As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the fun starts. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.