At WWDC, Apple made a note that MMS would be coming to the iPhone, well…to every iPhone except those on AT&T.
With the end of summer, the deadline imposed by AT&T, rapidly approaching I have yet to be able to send and receive video and pictures on my device. So I decided to take matters in to my own hands…here is what I asked @ATTNews last night.
@ATTNews Guys the summer is almost over. Where is MMS for the iPhone? I can order pizza to my GPS coordinates but I can’t receive pics?
I’ll keep tweeting until I get an answer…or MMS, whichever comes first. I am starting to think that an update opening MMS up for AT&T will be announced at the iPod event on September 9th that I keep hearing about.
If only Verizon had an iPhone…I’ll keep you posted
When Apple dropped the iPhone 3GS I quickly sprinted to my nearest computer to see if I was eligible for the subsidized price. I was not.
I was okay with it, I actually was saving up to buy a Nikon D60, however out of curiosity I went to the Apple site and checked my eligibility and it now says I can purchase an iPhone 3GS despite my upgrade date not being until March 2010.
I might go snag one next month, we’ll see. But I just thought I would pass this along on the off chance that AT&T has decided to be cool and maybe let everyone with a 3G upgrade at a reasonable price.
A few days ago I went looking for the “perfect” Twitter iPhone app. I use Twitter a lot, and as an iPhone user I am looking for the best app with the best experience possible. I recently went looking around the intrawebs for a good comprehensive review of the more prominent Twitter apps for the iPhone, and I couldn’t find any. So I decided to write one myself.
I scoured the App Store for the top apps, paid and free. So I will be giving you a brief review of Tweetie, TwitterFon Pro, Twitterrific, and TweeDeck for iPhone. I have used each apps for one full week and tested them on a 16GB iPhone 3G.
FYI: All the apps I review in this post have been purchased with my own money and I have not been approached by any of these developers to review their programs.
Tweetie is a very user friendly, simple and elegant app for “tweeps” who live and die by their iPhones. When I originally switched to Tweetie when it was released I really valued it because it was capable of managing multiple accounts, it was actually one of the first apps that could do that, all the others followed suit. I found this one to be a very reliable app as it has NEVER crashed on me, which for any iPhone app is rare. It handles trends and searches very well, and it allows you to reply, view the user’s profile, or favorite a tweet by just swiping your finger to the left.
What I like most about Tweetie, and this applies to both the iPhone client and the desktop client for Mac, is atebits’ love of smooth, simple designs. The app itself is very quick and isn’t bogged down by anything unnecessary, which is a very important feature on a Twitter app. The point of Twitter is to get those quick thoughts out as soon as possible, and Tweetie will allow you to do that.
Things I would like to see in future releases are trivial. Some new alert badges on the icons at the bottom would be great. I also think that the themes that ship aren’t anything to write home about but hey, if the app is solid, which it is, the theme doesn’t really matter. Another thing that Tweetie is missing is the cacheing of past tweets. I don’t really see this as a bad thing, it keeps the app moving quickly and it doesn’t bog down your memory. However, I can see some hardcore tweeters needing to see past tweets quickly.
TwitterFon is one of the more feature rich Twitter apps on the App Store. I really like this app because it does everything Tweetie does, but it has a few little features that really come in handy. First of all, the app I am reviewing is actually the paid version of TwitterFon, TwitterFon Pro. This app includes all of the features of TwitterFon, but also has:
support for multiple accounts
4 different themes
landscape keyboard
user authenticated bit.ly support
instapaper integration
and it’s ad-free.
What’s great about Twitterfon is the update badges it gives at the bottom whenever it refreshes with new Tweets. This is awesome because it allows you to actually see what you have before checking it. So say you don’t have any direct messages, you won’t have to go in and look. Another feature I really like is the fact that you have an address book of sorts that lets you go through names right from the new tweet window. That comes in handy when you want to tweet a friend but you forgot exactly how their handle is spelled.
Like I mentioned above, this version of TwitterFon supports multiple accounts. However, when it does handle multiple accounts I notice that it launches a very slowly at the beginning. I really didn’t like this because it slowed down the app significantly, which really prevented me from getting out a quick tweet. However if you are running this with one Twitter account, you’ll hardly notice anything. What I did like when using this to manage two accounts was that I could give a specific theme to each account. That went a long way to making sure I didn’t tweet anything from my personal twitter on to my work twitter.
The Search feature on TwitterFon is by far the best. Not only can it “fetch” trends quickly using a dedicated button, it also allows you to search, and pull Tweets that have been geotagged to your location using the iPhone’s built in GPS. It’s a cool feature that I hardly used, because I really didn’t care what people around me were tweeting.
As far as overall reliability I can’t say this is the stable Twitter app. It crashed a few times when I was in the middle of sending tweets to multiple people, and sometimes the landscape keyboard (which is a plus) wouldn’t come up when you rotated the phone. All in all good app, minor bugs.
TweetDeck is the iPhone iteration of the popular desktop client. What makes the desktop client so great is that it allows you to see a column-by-column view of everything Twitter, and the iPhone version is no different. Out of all the apps tested, TweetDeck has by far the best user interface. It allows you to swipe through the columns similar to the way you swipe through windows in Safari.
The column view is fantastic because it allows you to swipe through anything from your main feed, to mentions, to custom searches and trends feeds. While covering the Iran elections on my radio show, I used TweetDeck as my main program because it allowed me to monitor #iranelection prominently, rather than just as a search I’d have to initiate every single time.
Another great feature in line with the app’s design is it’s small notification system at the bottom left of the app. TweetDeck has hit that perfect balance of notifying you without annoying you and I really liked that.
However, TweetDeck is the youngest of these iPhone apps and as such it is the buggiest. The program crashed on me a few times, enough to get frustrated. Also there are some miner glitches in the app that I am sure will be worked out with time.
With a little time and a few updates don’t be surprised to see this app on the top of the hill. It has a great UI, and a great desktop client that allows you (by signing up for a free account) to sync columns between the iPhone and your computer, which comes in handy. But right now, it’s just good, but not great.
Twitterrific is the grandfather of the Twitter Apps on the store as it was the first one ever. In the past year it has played catch up a bit and is now more robust than ever. There are two versions of this app, the one I am testing is the free version because the paid version basically removes the ads only. I really like what Twitterrific has become as far as design. It features nice themes and each section of the app is nicely color coded.
Twitterrific is also very rich in features now that it has been brought up to date and it matches the abilities of the others reviewed here. However, I found using Twitterrific to be a bit overwhelming. There was too much tapping to get to different things that usually takes me less time on the other apps. The app very feature rich don’t get me wrong but it is definitely very busy. Overall it was rather stable, in the week that I used it I didn’t experience a single problem.
The app also handles multiple accounts and has an interesting way of letting you see them. It displays any accounts, the public timeline, and searches all on this sort of “home page”. It’s a very nice touch and sort of streamlines the whole multiple accounts thing, which it does very well.
What it all comes down to is value. Twitterrific itself is a great free app, however if you are going to buy it just to do away with the ads you might as well spend $1 less and buy Tweetie or none at all and get TweetDeck or the free version of TwitterFon. Twitterrific was left in the dust after it’s launch along side the App Store. Innovations in iPhone software development have yeilded a much better type of Twitter app. Though Twitterrific is a good app, there are much better options, some even cheaper out on the App Store.
And the winner is…?
This is a tough choice, and all the Twitter app reviews I have read always start off like this. However I feel the clear winner here is Tweetie. Tweetie is solid, reliable and well designed. It has a good list of features that hardcore Twitter users can enjoy, and light tweeters can discover. It delivers tweets well, responds quickly, and never crashes. Who knows, in a few months we might see a contender, but for now Tweetie is the king of the Twitter app jungle. Sure it costs $2.99, but you definitely get what you pay for. If you have any questions post them in the comments and I will be glad to reply.
On June 23rd, AT&T launched it’s GPS navigation app for the iPhone. I haven’t bought it, so I am not reviewing it. I just want to let everyone know that if you buy this, it’s another $10 a month on your bill. I love how AT&T charges for services Sprint gives for free. Palm Pre anyone?
I’ve always said that AT&T isn’t the shining star for customer service or appreciation, however given the fact that they hold the cell phone that I must own, it is something that I tolerate. AT&T, much like the other cell phone companies, would much rather piss you off than actually help you. Since the iPhone was released, AT&T has held the exclusive right to sell the device within the United States. Up to now AT&T has had its ups and downs, but for the most part they were doing okay. They took care of first-gen users by allowing them to move up to the 3G at the given price, but basically everything else that you experience is all Apple. But like I said, that’s up to now.
Yesterday Apple released the new iPhone 3Gs, a faster, more feature rich edition of the iPhone 3G that is making Apple fanboys drool world wide. Voice Command (finally), Compass (umm finally?), 3.0MP Auto-Focus camera with video and video editing, faster processor, 7.2MBps HSDPA, it’s awesome. To be honest, I am trying real hard not to like it, because I am as poor as a internet blogger/student can be. I was thinking of selling some stuff but I am holding off…because I want to see what AT&T will do.
When the iPhone 3G was released, AT&T (whether at the behest of Apple or not) took care of first generation iPhone users by allowing them to upgrade to the 3G with the new customer price of $199 and $299 respectively. This was a great move on both Apple and AT&T’s part because this opened up ownership of the new device to the group of people who are guaranteed to buy it again. Rather than sulking away, waiting for the upgrade eligibility day to come, these people are out buying the iPhone 3G for a reasonable price. However, I was rather surprised to see that AT&T is not doing the same thing this time around. Instead, AT&T is insisting current users under contract must pay anywhere from $399 to $699 for their 3Gs. Awesome job AT&T, shut out a solid consumer base who just so happen to be your loyal subscribers.
Though the best part of WWDC today was Apple going ahead and pressing on with the release of the iPhone 3.0 software and the iPhone 3Gs despite AT&T not being ready to support two of it’s key feature, MMS or data tethering. As I read that during the live blog I was reading I was not only proud of Apple, but pretty happy with how embarrassed AT&T should be. At the time of a major product launch, and a major software update, AT&T cannot support MMS? Something that it supports on its other devices. Some have their guesses as to what it may be, but AT&T are sticking by their guns for now and saying that MMS is to be expected by the end of summer. As far as data tethering is concerned, AT&T has said that it will support it, but has given no definitive timeline.
This years WWDC was a great show for Apple, but a wake up call for AT&T. Rumors have been swirling around for quite sometime that Apple has been shopping a custom iPhone to Verizon, and perhaps thats a good thing. That, coupled with the increasing number of iPhone users taking their software unlocked phones to T-Mobile (and T-Mo welcoming them with open arms) should be a wake-up call to AT&T. Go out of your way to get new customers sure, but don’t forget the ones that pay the massive bill every month. Compliment the quality products you carry with quality service and support.
I am sitting here, writing my blog on Microsoft Word and huddled around my iPhone watching Engadget’s WWDC 2009 Live Blog. I am doing this because on Saturday, the Lord saw it fit to strike my home with a lightning bolt and fry my iMac, DSL line, cordless phones, bathroom lights and oddly enough, my front stove burner.
Scott Forstall just introduced the new iPhone 3.0 software (available June 17 to everyone), however there is something missing, AT&T’s support. According to Forstall, support for MMS will come “by the end of the summer” and though every carrier is supporting tethering, there was no mention of AT&T.
Frankly, I am a little outraged. MMS is supported on every other phone except the iPhone? I am glad Apple went ahead and released the update anyway…makes AT&T looks even more like the bunch of jerk they are.
Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title for this post.
Anyway, I am not really surprised Apple has chosen WWDC to not only be their main gig, in terms of iPhone announcements and development details. I think the iPhone has sort of surpassed the “MacWorld Expos” and the “Apple Town Hall” type announcements. The iPhone itself has become a development platform on it’s own, running a mobilized version of OS X. Since its debut, the iPhone has evolved slowly as Apple released it grip gradually and started letting developers in. Proof positive that whenever you let developers in, things turn out pretty awesome. With the World Wide Developers Conference on the horizon, we have a lot to look forward, in both hardware and software.
Software-wise we are looking at the new iPhone 3.0 update. It’s been in beta since earlier this year and already we are expecting a lot of updates that bring it up to par with what the Palm Pre will be offering when it’s released from June 5-7 (according to the New York Times). MMS, a full phone search feature, cut & paste, are just a few features in the massive update. The update will also allow for features such as turn-by-turn navigation (along with some hardware help, we’ll get in to that later) and much more. Lastly, this update will activate the long awaited Push Notification Service that Apple has kept locked up for quite sometime.In fact the notification server is now also in beta testing today along with a new Associated Press app. I guess they were too scared to test it with a Twitter app, we would no doubt be having more “fail whales” than normal.
Critics, myself included, argue that this update is a long time coming. That this is an example of Apple’s stubbornness to satisfy its loyal consumer base and that nothing happens unless Apple absolutely HAS to do it. I have said numerous times on this site that I love phones like the Palm Pre, because it reminds Apple that they are not invincible. Either way, change is coming to the iPhone…sooner or later it always does and it always will. I have always said that features such as MMS and copy & paste WILL come, it’s only a matter of time and motivation.
On the hardware front we have…umm, rumors. New camera with on phone editing capabilities that will shoot video? Better processor and larger memory and storage space? Probably. A lot of rumors are swirling around. However, I am fairly certain that Apple will release some new hardware to go along with 3.0. Don’t be surprised if it’s awesome too. Given the way things are going in terms of screen technology, we might see some OLED action with our new iPhones. Who knows?
WWDC will be on June 8th and the keynote address will be on the same day, given by Phil Schiller.
I am happy to be posting my first blog with the new WordPress 1.2 software fir the iPhone! New features include a landscape mode with the bigger keyboard, comment moderation, and the ability to edit and create pages. Thanks to WordPress for not only making a great platform, but also a great way to use that platform. If you use wordpress and have an iPhone, I urge you to give this app a try.
Apple has announced (in it’s usual cryptic manner) that it will be demonstrating iPhone 3.0 and the new SDK on March 17. Now, what may be included in this update? At this point who the hell knows? However what I do know is that with the Palm Pre on the horizon, Apple is going to have to make a few changes in order to stay competitive.
First of all, Apple needs to add an MMS application in some way. Be it a new, separate application, or simply just allowing the SMS app to receive pictures and video, something has to be done. Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying that MMS is on it’s way out and email is the next thing, but I don’t think thats the case.
MMS may be on it’s way out, but not anytime soon. A lot of people use MMS (because they don’t have email on their phone) and it’s something very cool and very useful. Steve (or Tim) should grant iPhone users MMS and then sit and wait until it goes away on it’s own. Not force people who use and enjoy MMS to sacrifice it. I am sick of that stupid viewmymessage.com bullshit. Not that I can copy and paste the login and password anyway right?
Copy and Paste would be a very welcome addition to iPhone 3.0. This is seeming as a very likely addition for the simple reason that during the Palm Pre debut at CES, presenters made it very clear that the Pre was able to do this while the iPhone did not. Not having copy and paste on the iPhone is like not having a steering wheel in a Ferrari. Apple wants this phone to be the end all be all Blackberry killer but without a functioning copy and paste solution, I doubt it will. People who use their iPhones to run their day-to-day lives, like I do, we need copy and paste.
Another thing that Apple seems to constantly resist for no reason is video recording. If my old, $60 Motorola RAZR can record video, then my $299 iPhone should be able to as well. In fact, my RAZR has MMS, copy & paste, and video recording when my iPhone didn’t. Frankly, that is unacceptable. The camera has the capability, so come on Apple, flip the switch on the video.
The “iPhone 3.0″ event is scheduled for March 17 at 10 AM Pacific (1 PM Eastern). I’ll be back on here with the post game.
Copy and paste, data tethering, and now Flash — it looks like the Pre’s going to fill in a lot of unchecked iPhone feature boxes, doesn’t it? Yep, Palm’s just joined Adobe’s Open Screen Project, and there’s no two bones about what that means: the press release flat out says “the Open Screen Project will help deliver Adobe Flash Player for smartphones on the new Palm webOS platform.” That’s especially interesting since the webOS SDK is so heavily based on web technologies and native player support potentially opens the door for Flash-based apps, which would instantly bring a ton of new devs to the Pre. That’s not a bad thing. We’ll find out more at the end of the year, when the mobile Flash player is due to arrive.
There is no doubt that this is the second coming of “the Jesus phone”. And frankly Apple needs something like the Palm Pre. iPhone users are clamoring for features that the Palm Pre gives them and manages to give users more than what they iPhone can do. Everyone says that the Palm Pre is the iPhone killer I say no. The Palm Pre has the potential to make the iPhone the single most definitive piece of technology since the desktop computer. It’s products like the Palm Pre that force Apple to evolve the iPhone.
Trust me, for the iPhone user, this Palm Pre is a blessing in disguise. Apple knows that now there is a actually viable product that can directly compete with the iPhone. The Blackberry Storm is a valiant effort, but with a awkward input method and lack of refinement. The T-Mobile G1 is the first “open source” cell phone with Google’s Andriod OS. Though it has potential it lacks, again, the polish and smooth input that makes the iPhone so seamless. The Palm Pre has everything the G1 and the Storm have with the polish and finish of the iPhone. Not to mention the features the iPhone lacks like copy & paste, MMS, and a native instant messaging app. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds.
It’s that time again for a new Macworld Expo to begin. This year’s expo is already under the community’s spotlight as it is not only Apple’s last event, but the famed Apple Keynote Address will not be given by the big cheese Steve Jobs, but by the moderately smaller cheese Phil Schiller. The rumors are already flying left and right. Let’s see what we may or may not see at the show this year:
iPhone nano
Supposedly Apple is planning a smaller, EDGE only version of the iPhone to sell for about $99. Where normally I would laugh at this, reports are flying in left and right that third party case companies are already manufacturing cases for an “iPhone nano”. This would be very cool, and would no doubt make investors smile. Apple needs to keep the iPhone fresh, and releasing a new model every year keeps it competitive, and keeps that hype factor up. I won’t be surprised to see this, nor will I be surprised to hear Schiller tell us it will be available in July.
New Mac Mini
This one seems like a sure thing. Refreshed Mac Mini, looking a little bit like the Time Capsule, with a new SATA slot loading drive that can be swapped for a second HDD for the mini home server types. I would love to see some sort of HDMI out on this that would be great. I definitely think the Mac Mini can be so much more than just a mini desktop. It has the potential of being a killer home theater computer, and until Apple TV has Safari and bluetooth for a keyboard and mouse, I’ll be wanting this a lot more.
Bigger iPod Touch
This one seems a little farfetched but it would be welcomed none the less. Word on the street is that Apple is working on a version of the iPod Touch, with a bigger screen, 7 to 9 inches to be exact. I guess this would be the perfect balance between an iPod and a netbook. But I am definitely throwing this one in the “maybe” pile.
iWork ‘09 Goes the Way of the Web App
This one makes sense, in order to compete with Google Docs, but I don’t know. I have iWork and currently I find myself using MS Office for Mac a lot more. Sure having it as a web app may be convenient in a pinch, but people still appreciate the reliability on installed software. Then again…having Keynote online would be sweet.
If I am missing anything or you want to add something…comment below. I’ll see you on the day of for the post-keynote analysis!
With the recent announcement that Apple will withdraw from MacWorld Expo after this year, and the fact that Senior VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller will be giving the final keynote instead of Steve Jobs, all signs are pointing to something I have thought to be true for a long time, that Apple’s fearless leader is not doing so well.
According to Gizmodo, a [very credible] source is claiming that Apple is withholding the real reason for their withdrawal from the MacWorld Expo. Originally they cited that they prefer to do in house product releases, such as the “Let’s Rock!” event or the Macbook/Macbook Pro announcement held at Cupertino, because they didn’t need the event anymore. According to the source
Steve’s health is rapidly declining. Apple is choosing to remove the hype factor strategically vs letting the hype destroy apple when the inevitable news comes later this spring.
This strategic loss will be less of a bang with investors. This is why MacWorld is a no-go anymore. No more Steve means no more hype. Saying they are no longer needing [MacWorld] is the cover designed by the worldwide “loyalty”
Normally I don’t comment on rumors too much, especially when it’s in regards to Apple, who is better at misinformation than the CIA. But this time around I am more inclined to believe this. Frankly with Steve’s fading physical appearance and sudden weight-loss, the writing has been on the wall for a long time.
Some feel that this is Apple deliberately misinforming the public and in particular the investors. Steve has been very clear that his health is his business and no one else’s. Frankly, shortly after his bout with pancreatic cancer, for which he underwent the Whipple procedure to attempt to correct, I knew that this would be the eventual outcome. Steve’s health has been the center of debate amongst the community for some time now, and frankly the doubt amongst loyalists and investors is evidence enough that there is something going on behind Apple’s iron curtain.
Does this spell doom for the company that Steve Jobs built? I don’t think so. Steve Jobs may be the fearless leader of Apple, but in the end, Apple has become more than just Steve Jobs. I know that if/when the time comes that Steve will no longer be able to serve as Apple’s CEO, Apple has someone in mind who will continue to push the envelope, continue to drive Apple in the way Steve has done (and that man I hope is Tim Cook).
What makes this so troubling is not regards to the future of Apple, because that is secure, but in regards to the man himself. I always get excited for keynotes because I know something awesome (or mildly cool) will be released. And in the four years or so that I have been following Apple, I have grown a sort of admiration and respect for Steve Jobs. It’ll be sad to see him go, and it will be even sadder to see him really go, but I am not worried that Apple’s mojo will go with him.
I have been having problems recently with my cell phone, and I have been calling tech support on and off for a couple of months now. I have learned a lot on how to deal with these people, and I want to share it with you so that you aren’t taken advantage of by your cell phone provider. Unfortunately, cell phone companies in the United States are not like Europe, and are heavy on the contracts and run arounds. Off the bat, I want to make a note that in my personal examples I am using AT&T as my example, because it’s the one I am using and the one I had the experience with. However I am sure this will apply to any carrier anywhere.
The problem with most cell phone companies is that when it comes to giving you something, outside your normal contract (and they do love their contracts) it becomes a bit of a hassle, mainly for you. Effectively you have entered a sort of contractual gray area. Where the contract doesn’t stipulate anything about replacement in writing (other than the usual refurbished replacement nonsense), but at the same time they do want to keep you as a customer. In my case I wanted another phone (a Blackberry Bold), for the advertised price of $299.99, because my iPhone 3G kept breaking every couple of weeks (four replacement units in two months). In the end, remember that cellphone companies are WELL within their power to do basically anything that isn’t completely unreasonable or illogical. If you have a genuine problem they will eventually provide you with a solution that keeps you happy, but it’s going to take a lot of time (2 hours and 4 people later), patience, and persistence.
First of all, be nice. Don’t get angry but communicate frustration, and don’t tell them to eat shit and die or anything like that. In the end, these people have to deal with jerks and loud mouths all day. Someone with a calm voice having a nice rational conversation will be a breath of fresh air to them. Hence they will be more likely to accommodate you. Have patience, cause this will take you a while, and you will have to explain your entire story a few times. But above all, make yourself a little promise that you will not hang up until you’re happy. Always remind them that you are a great customer and you love the company and the service (kiss a little ass basically) but are completely open to the idea of leaving to their direct competitor, in this case Verizon.
The usual plan of attack for customer relations reps is not to tell you anything of benefit to you unless you actually figure it out first. In my case the woman wanted to SELL me another phone to replace my defective iPhone at full price. This is their launching point, as if to test whether paying $600 for a cell phone sounds acceptable to you. It obviously wasn’t, So I quickly reminded her that not only do I pay about $400 a month (family plan) but that for $600 dollars I could pay to cancel my contract with them, buy a Blackberry Storm with Verizon, and still have some cash left over.
“One second please, let me talk to my manager.”
The best nine words you can ever hear from a AT&T tool customer care representative. The manager is the corner stone of this entire enterprise. This person has the power that the person on the phone lacks. In fact ask to speak to them, as they are more likely to give you want, because they have the ability to do so. When the manager comes in to play this means that you have beat them using nothing but logic, reason, and a bluff to take your business elsewhere. At this point expect to get the standard, new customer price on the phone you want, with all the applicable rebates attached. However, just because you have broken them, doesn’t mean that we are done. This will come with a standard run around. The lady on the phone told me the device was out of stock, but I called back and the other said the phone was IN stock but that a manager needed to approve it, of which none were available. The THIRD time the lady not only shipped the phone, and got it approved, but credited me $250 for my iPhone (and let me keep it) and waved a $75 fee.
Remember that these things are always hit or miss. Sometimes you’ll get a human being with…you know, a soul. Other times you will get the incarnation of Satan himself. Providers will always try to help you as little as possible, so it is up to you to be respectful yet firm and demanding. In the end they will either do what you want, or watch you leave to a competitor. Be calm, patient and firm. Like my friend Janette told an AT&T rep once, “By the end of this conversation you are going to do what I tell you…so lets save each other some time.” And that is EXACTLY what the outcome will be. In the end, your carrier will do what you want, you just need to fight for it, because they aren’t just going to give it to you. Feel free to leave your tech support, customer service horror stories below.
Here is the story over at TUAW, the best Apple Blog on the internet right now.
The 2009 Macworld Expo will be Apple’s last, as it does not plan to appearing, nor giving a famed keynote address again after that. At it’s last expo, Senior VP of Marketing Phil Schiller will be giving the keynote address. Some people are saying Apple will be dropping its successor to the Mac Mini, others go so far as to say a new iPhone Nano (seriously?) but that is not the point of this post.
What is going on inside Apple right now? I know Apple, lately has been toning down it’s presence at large trade shows, opting for smaller, media only product unveilings at the “Town Hall” on the Cupertino campus, but Macworld? We’ve had such great product unveilings at Macworld. The iMac & the PowerBook G3 in 1998, Safari in 2003, and just recently the MacBook Air in 2008 (my personal blogging weapon of choice). Truly a sad day for the Apple fanboy…but even THAT is not the point of this post.
What puzzles me the most is that Phil Schiller, the marketing bad ass that runs Apple’s ad campaigns and worldwide product marketing will be giving the keynote this year. If thats the case what is Steve up to? Lately, as with each passing of a product unveiling event, I have noticed more and more that Steve is starting to include more people in his keynotes. People like COO Tim Cook, and Senior VP of iPhone Scott Forstal who have each had their own segments of each event.
It seems to me that we are slowly approaching the end of an era at Apple. The era of Jobs. I think Steve is slowly preparing us for the inevitable day where he would have to turn the reigns over of the best companies over to someone else. Steve seems to be going out of his way to show that Apple is more than just Steve Jobs. That it’s a coming together of many great minds and that in the end, Steve is not the only creative genius over at Cupertino.
I don’t think this has anything to do with the recent rumors of Steve’s declining health, because I believe he isn’t dying (nor is he dead for that matter). But I do think that Steve, much like Batman, doesn’t want to do this forever. Being CEO of Pixar, his true joy, I think he is preparing Apple for a transition of power, wanting to move on to other things. But unfortunately, being such a central figure to Apple’s culture, almost mascot like in a way, the transition must be slow. Most importantly one that calms of the fears of investors and fanboys a like. I guess only time will tell, in the mean time, Google Tim Cook, I think the man has the chops to run Apple in true Jobsonian fashion. Peace Out.
I have been an Apple user for a little over three years now, and will continue to be an Apple user till my unavoidable end. Apple has always made great, reliable hardware that pushes the envelope in terms of technology and innovation. And for that reason, coupled with my admiration for the company itself I choose Apple. But lately after a few blogs on the matter I, along with other iPhone users still feel a bit left out in the cold.
Since the introduction of the first generation iPhone, Apple has made it clear that it values customer feedback and looks to continue to develop the iPhone around the specific demands of iPhone users. We all begged for GPS functionality and compatibility with a 3G network, and we got it…reluctantly. We asked for third party applications, and we got that too…sort of. In exchange for third party apps we got a closed distribution system with various flaming hoops to jump through before you get your app out there. But hey, I’m not complaining.
What I am complaining about is Apple’s cryptic responses to the addition of some basic features to the iPhone, namely copy & paste and MMS messaging. With each software update, we tend to gasp slightly hoping that when our iPhones boot up again we will have some innovative, multi-touchy way of being able to copy and paste text. Or the ability to send and receive MMS messages without having to log on to that stupid AT&T website with the generated login and password. But alas, as each update passes, we are left high and dry.
As I sit at my local coffee shop (not Starbucks) I see all these Blackberry and WinMo users copy and pasting the night away. When I argue with a Blackberry user about how much better my iPhone is, the question “ah but can you copy & paste?” is the final death blow. The iPhone is like the Death Star, everything is perfect except for that poorly design exhaust port that leads directly to the main reactor. When will Apple finally concede and give us copy & paste?
So far it feels like never. Apple has made it clear that copy & paste and MMS is not their main concern. I know it has nothing to do with the fact that they can’t figure out how to do it. I mean…it’s Apple. They designed a touchscreen phone that changed the world forever, they can’t figure out how to do copy & paste? Or for that matter shoot us an MMS app on our iPhone?
I guess with all of these shortcomings, and the fact that the new Push Notification Server is officially MIA, seeing as though it’s September 2008 release date has come and gone, and gone some more, Apple seems to be dropping the ball a bit. Look, don’t get me wrong, I knew how Apple is, and how Apple lives by this idea that the customer is dumb and we must tell them what to love, but I was hoping that by now, December 2008, we would have some sort of definitive response to our pleas.
With that being said I have made a deadline. If in one year, Apple has not given the people what they want, what they ask for constantly, I will go out and buy a Blackberry Bold (or whatever ridiculous name they have for the next model). I love my iPhone, but I don’t love that my iPhone can’t do what a RAZR can. And the reason I am not at an AT&T store buying a Blackberry Bold now is because of my loyalty to Apple, my curiousity as to what will be in store for the iPhone in 2009, and my current lack of funds. This isn’t a declaration, this isn’t a threat, this is a plea. Please Apple, help a fellow nerd out and show us some update love.
Apple at the stroke of midnight released iPhone/iPod Touch v2.2. The update is greatly anticipated, as not only does it add cool new features, a revamped Google Maps, new Safari, and the ability to directly download podcasts, but fixes a lot of glitches. But before I begin to rant and rave about how this update STILL doesn’t contain the basic features, like MMS, like C&P, we need to keep in mind that we are at Apple’s mercy. So we take what we can get, and we wait for more.
That being said, go download this patch right now. It’s great, fixes the email fetch problem among adding some nice new features. iPod Touch users, unfortunately you guys aren’t getting as much love as we are. You won’t be receiving the nice Google Maps remake, or any of the phone feature updates. Then again just be happy this one doesn’t cost $9.99. Peace Out!
You know I was sitting around today using my iPhone to send out a couple of quick emails and I got to thinking. We love Apple for giving us the iPhone, but do they love us back for using it? I mean, I loved my Blackberry Curve. It was sleek, cool, and very reliable. It did everything I needed it to, a fit just right in my pocket. But my love for Apple made me switch to the iPhone, that and well the phone is so cool.
But what is the price of the iPhone? Well there’s two different prices, the first is the financial price. My AT&T monthly statement looks something like this…
900 Anytime Minutes w/ Rollover…$69.99
Unlimited iPhone Data Plan…$29.99 (increased $5 for 3G)
Unlimited Text Messages…$19.99
Total (with all applicable taxes): about $115 per month
But then there’s the practical price. The 3G iPhone is a great, innovating piece of technology. But for a person who constantly lives on his phone, the battery performance is not what it should be (or what it was). In the few iPhones I have had, I have noticed a major overheating problem with the unit, where it would run really hot after a couple of texts. But to me, those are very minor.
The major problem is that I, we, are all at the mercy of Apple’s whims to get what we want. We all giddily await a software update, hoping that secretly we have something in there that we actually want. We cry out for MMS, but Apple thinks that it is archaic. Ok…I can live with that. But we cry out for copy & paste, a feature that is not only found on Blackberry, but on even the simplest RAZR, and Apple says that “it’s not a priority”. What?
Recently Apple has seeded iPhone 2.2 to beta testers and developers. According to Gizmodo, here is what it will have:
Walking directions, public transport information, Street View, & share location for the Google Maps App
Line-In sound access for developers
Over-the-air podcast updates
Awesome…how about copy and paste? Nope, that’s not a priority, but share location and walking directions is right? Don’t get me wrong, I love Apple. I love the company, I love the products, and I love the people who make them. But as a consumer I am disappointed in that Apple has always abided by the notion that the customer is not always right. I do love my iPhone, I just don’t love the price we as consumers pay for it.
So I was browsing some of the new features iPhone 2.2 will have.
Google Street View
Ability to send Google address info via email
Ability to turn off Auto-Correct
Japanese Emoji
And recently, being asked to rate apps before you delete them (?)
But again, Copy & Paste is MISSING. I don’t get it now. We have gotten a new iPhone, countless software updates, and yet this awesome, amazing, revolutionary device lacks features that a FREE phone has? Apple said that C&P was not a “priority”. Well it should be. This is a feature that has been clamored for since the iPhone was released, and now, two years have gone by and we still don’t have it? How can this be a business device with no copy & paste?
You ask us to charge our phones twice a day because we can’t remove the battery, and we have. You have asked us to do without MMS, and we have. I have to wait till I get home to go on that stupid website to see my MMS messages but thats fine. But Copy & Paste has to come soon. We need this, I am sick of losing arguments to Blackberry users!
About a month ago, my 3G iPhone and were the best of friends. It worked great, it already knew all the curse words and spanish phrases I frequently typed, and the 16GB’s of memory was allocated…perfectly. I had all the apps in the perfect order, and I held the Tetris high score, beating out my friend Jen to regain the Tetris crown. Then suddenly one morning it just turned off…and never turned on again. After an hour and a half wait on stand by at my local Apple Store (which after the remodel, looks like heaven…literally) I finally recieved a “replacement” iPhone. Is it new? Is it used? Who knows.
So I take this new iPhone home, sync it up, good to go right? My iPhone started over heating to radical levels. And of course, the battery lasted 1 hour, no lie. So after speaking to an Apple Rep (his name was Kermit…I tried not to ask him if it was easy being green) I was told my replacement iPhone, needed to be replaced.
I love my iPhone. It is without a doubt amazing. And I love my apps. But man can I catch a break with these iPhones? Thanks for hearing me vent. Peace Out!
I wonder what this event is all about. So I am going to go ahead and call this event like I see it. New MacBooks and MacBook Pros (competitively priced at that) that jive style-wise with the MacBook Air (might get a beefed up Air as well). I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a quick glimpse of Snow Leopard, as things have been relatively quiet on that front. Also, I am going ahead and calling a couple of quick wild cards. I definitely would not be surprised to hear about the iPhone Notification Server for Third-Party Apps, and MAYBE iPhone 2.2 at that. I guess time will tell. What do you guys think?
Apple has dropped the NDA for iPhone Developers! Here is the official statement from His Steveness’ crack PR Team:
To our developers
We have decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software.
We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don’t steal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others.
However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone’s success, so we are dropping it for released software. Developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering released software within a week or so. Please note that unreleased software and features will remain under NDA until they are released.
Thanks to everyone who provided us constructive feedback on this matter.
Great job Apple! This is going to free up the developer community from NDA nonsense and fast track great, revolutionary apps for a revolutionary platform. Awesome…
This is by far, one of the best free apps on the App Store. Just recently, it was upgraded to 2.0, which allowed for a much better, much cleaner user interface. I can now do everything that I could do online, on my iPhone. Coming from a Facebook junkie, it definitely comes in handy. My overall most used app.
Pandora Radio is amazing. This brings that to the iPhone. Unfortunately, as iPhone apps don’t run in teh background, you can’t really multitask with this app on, but it does come on handy when I am at work or school and want to check in on one of my many pref stations. And it’s FREE.
I love controlling iTunes and AppleTV from my iPhone. One step closer to making my iPhone a cool all-in-one device for life. Imagine if it controlled my TV…
Speaks for itself. Great app for googling on the go.
5. Tris (Discontinued)
This is a major rip off of Tetris. However, it’s free, and there was no difference. I snagged it fortunately before Apple yanked it off the App Store. If you were fortunate enough to get it too, then you know why it’s great.
Dude, this listens to a song and tells you the name of the artist and who sings it! This app has expanded my music library more than anything else. Definitely a must download.
Many a great blog have been written on my iPhone. This is great for typing up some quick thoughts, and saving drafts for when you get home or on your laptop. Very stable but a bit boring looking. I would love to be able to access Blog Stats on this.
Now you are probably asking yourself, “Jorge, why did you pay $16 for an instant messaging app?”. Well because it is THE BEST IM App, for any device. I used this on my Blackberry, gladly forking over the cash to use it, and I gladly did it again. This is an amazing app for the iPhone. It lets you access AIM, GTalk, ICQ, MSN, JiveChat, Jabber, MySpace IM, and Yahoo!. Find an app, this stable, this great to use, with this many chat services that costs less and I’ll eat my FIU hat.
This thing takes Stocks.app and tortures it Jack Bauer style. It gives you a summary list of all global markets and their stats, a customizable “My Stocks” section with great charts, info, and a 52-week summary right up front. It’s very slick looking and very stable. Excellent app from an excellent organization.
I am slowly getting on Twitter, though I just use it to get tweets from other websites. This is a great app. The free version is very tolerable with it’s ad support, though I urge you if you can to purchase the premium version. It goes a long way to support the developers who give us great apps such as these.
Great online banking app. Especially now, with the way the banks are, I like to (and sometimes have to) manage my cash on the go. Nice to know I can do it safely with this app.
This is a great note app. It requires an online service which lets you sync notes you make on your iPhone app, with your desktop and laptop apps. I have it installed on my iPhone and Macbook Air, so I have notes I make about assignments in class between them both. Really convenient app.
Fortunately I picked this up when this was free. I would have gladly paid for it though. It in essence turns your iPhone into a wireless thumb drive. Great for storing documents and stuff on it.
I used to use the invisibleSHIELD back in the day when I used to roll around with my Treo 650 (ahh the good ol’ days). So I decided today to pick up the full body coverage pack for my 3G iPhone because I am sort of sick of the clunky weird case I have for it. I mean it’s nice, but it’s so stretched out and eats up my pocket…a major bummer for a cool person like me. So I am definitely going to coat my iPhone in the same thing that protects the rudders on the Apache Helicopter from wind shear. But my goodness is it the biggest pain to install. You need to be very thorough and very patient. This video makes it look so easy…
I tried installing the front part but after 5 tries and rampant impatience, I couldn’t get it. And then it fell on the carpet. So now I need to get a new one, which is a major bummer. When the back part ships I am going to to really sit down and try really hard on this. Anyway thanks for hearing me vent. The hard work is definitely worth the reward, as it is a great product, so I thought I’d pass it along.
I was writing a great email on my iPhone today. And what would have made it greater is if I could copy and paste it a part of a website in it. I have lived without copy & paste for so long, yet I still yearn for it. It’s like asking me to live life with both arms behind my back. I love my iPhone, I really do. And I am not going to threaten to go to the Blackberry Bold or the T-Mobile G1 (barf) or anything like that. It’s not my style to cut and run. I’ve been with the iPhone from the ground floor up. Now is the time to repay me. You gave us 3G, you gave us GPS, you gave us third party apps. Why not copy & paste? Have we not been faithful? Have we not been loyal?
Please Apple. I beg you, I need my copy & paste now. This is not an angry iPhone user talking, I am not ungrateful. I am just sad, and I figure seeing the economy is bad, and times are rough, you guys could maybe cheer us up with some Copy & Paste. I…along with all the iPhone users of the world, would be fully cheered up. Thank you Your Steveness.
Umm…Hey Steve? Did you guys forget about the notification server? I mean it is September…late September actually, and yet no notification server. I have AIM sitting idly on my iPhone screen waiting to be used. I am not ungrateful or anything, I mean I am just happy my battery last longer and my apps don’t crash but come on now. When you didn’t give us MMS, we grunted but reluctantly accepted the fact that Apple no longer thinks it’s cool to send MMS messages. When you denied us Copy & Paste, I was deeply saddened that I couldn’t copy and paste chuck norris quotes from the internet on to the facebook pages of my friends or select and remove texts. But now look at me Steve…look at us all. If you would have told me back when I was a Blackberry user that I would have a phone with no copy and paste, no apps that can run in the background, and no MMS I might have laughed at you. But I, WE, have followed you blindly through the gates of unchartered territory that is the iPhone. Reward your soldiers. Peace Out.
I give today’s Apple event a resounding yawn. Though some of the upgrades were very nice. The event as a whole was a bit bland. And Phil Schiller playing iPod Soccer was such an obvious time filler. As was Jack Johnson.
The Good
New iPod Nano
Photo Source: Engadget
I like the new nano a lot. I think the fact that the iPhone/iPod Touch’s features are bleeding down to the nano is a great thing. Though the new features are nice in regards to the nano, they are things we have already seen. All in all a decent upgrade for the second littlest iPod.
Photo Source: Engadget
The colors are nice too. I am totally feeling the orange one.
iTunes 8 & Genius
Photo Source: Engadget
I am glad they updated iTunes. They are really pushing this Genius thing pretty hard in my opinion. I have yet to download the new iTunes, but I just hope this isn’t some BS feature that I will soon forget about. I will jump back on later and give you an idea of how Genius feels as soon as I use it. Browsing on iTunes 8 looks real nice, though being someone who has a large amount of music, I would most likely stick to the standard view. That grid view looks like it’ll take forever for me to scroll through…again we’ll see.
Photo Source: Engadget
The Bad
iPod Touch Update
This one is pretty straight forward. New, curved look, cleaner interface, blah blah. Comes preinstalled with the App Store (fortunately they aren’t making you pay for that update again). But I was expecting some price cut and was let down. I mean $399 for 32GB’s is still a bit much IMO. The built in Nike+ is great, however I still think this is hardly worth an upgrade from the original.
iPod Classic Update
OK, this one really has me scratching my head. Apple bumped the 80GB Classic to 120GB and eliminated the 160GB all together. I love the 160GB iPod and honestly have about 40GB of free space on it. Now I have to worry if my iPod breaks, that I will be forced to downgrade to a 120GB. People who buy the classic, buy it because it has the space that the other models lack. I’d love to have an iPod touch, but unfortunately it doesn’t accomodate my needs. In the end, when if my iPod breaks, I’d rather go with a 32GB touch. If I am going to be forced to leave some things out, I’d rather leave some more things out and have a touch. All in all a disappointing move in regards to the Classic line.
iPhone 2.1 Update
Steve was VERY vague about this update. He mention it would fix bugs, issues with dropped calls, and app crashes. That’s It. He didn’t mention anything about the Notification Server being part of it, or even anything about anything else expected. Either we will be dazzled on Friday when the update hits or the update doesn’t contain anything we didn’t expect (Copy & Paste) or anything we did expect (Notification Server). The Apple shroud of secrecy still covers this a bit. I guess time will tell, though it seems with the iPhone it’s always a waiting game. “Here is what you want, it’s ready but we won’t give it to you until the end of the week.” Apple no doubt probably testing to make sure it’ll work.
Engadget just broke a new story about an Apple event for the 9th. I always like to write something up before the event, and make some predictions and see if they come true one week from now. This is what I think His Steveness will bestow upon us next Tuesday:
The Expected
A New iPod Nano: This is I think a no brainer. The net has been a buzz with leaked photos and case designs for the new nano. The shots show the alleged new nano going from the chubby short version (that I once hated until I held it in my hand) to a longer, narrower design with a vertical wide screen. It is almost a little Zune like. I doubt they will hold more than 8GBs.
Refreshened iPod Touch: This I think is coming too. The new iPod Touch would probably refreshed a bit to maybe jive with the iPhone a bit. Most important, rumor is Apple is going to debut the 2.1 update on the touch first…then on to the iPhone, so definitely pay attention for that. I would like to see a large capacity iPod Touch (64GB or higher). Though the only way I would consider an upgrade is if it exceeds 160GB (my current iPod Classics’s capacity) which I doubt highly. I do expect however, the Touch will see a major price drop (along with the nano and iPod Classic)
The Not So Expected
iTunes Subscription Service: There has been some buzz on this. I am still sitting on the fence whether I think this will be coming or not. For every reason I think Apple might go for this, there is a reason I think they won’t. At the same time, having access to the iTunes store would be great, I like to keep my music. And I HATE DRM subscription services. I think a lot of Apple users feel the same way, so this may not be so popular.
New MacBooks & MacBook Pros: These are highly expected, though I don’t think they’ll pop up tomorrow. Again, they might so they can take advantage of the holiday season, however I would think to save this for a MacWorld Expo type event. However, if they did debut tomorrow they would be welcomed. I think they will jive to match their new sibling the MacBook Air (my preferred daily driver). I guess only time will tell.
One More Thing…
Steve is notorious for dropping something crazy on us. I have no idea what it could be. It may be the new MacBooks, the subscription service, or maybe even an Mac Tablet (hmmmmmm)? Anyway, if you’d like weigh in. I’d like to see what you all think might go down on Tuesday.
P.S.
One more quick thing. I am in math class so I am typing this out on my iPhone so forgive the typos. I am pretty optimistic that the iPhone notification server will show itself in some way on the 9th. It might not go live but I think we definitely will be getting some details and a hard release date. That would be great…AIM sucks without it.
I decided to go with a new look for my blog. I got bored of the old one, and lets face, it was easy to get bored of.
So I have had my new iPhone for a little less than a week. Basically if you want your battery to last it’s simple. 3G is on…WiFi is off, and vice versa. That includes dimming your screen to barely nothing and having Bluetooth off. I am not big on Bluetooth so it’s all good.
On that note, I was playing with the MySpace App for the iPhone. This is like giving an alcoholic a couple of sips of a new beer. *Sigh*….that being said, I am back on MySpace in a limited capacity. Extremely limited. So you can go ahead and take what I wrote here with a large salt rock. I am sorry I caved, my feelings on the issue still hold true, however, I am a hypocrite. You know, between you and me, I did it for the music section. It won’t let me download songs, what was I supposed to do? My profile. It’s currently set to “Here I Come” by The Roots. I was in the Hip-Hop mood, but a higher quality of Hip-Hop. Ah let me not get started.
This edition of Mind Venting is running a bit short…well if anything I’ll add more later. It’s MY blog and I’ll delay thoughts if I want to.
UPDATE:
Yeah sorry I got to this thing way too late. My attention span was drawing me towards some GTA IV before I went to bed. I must say, that regardless of the content, GTA IV is the kind of game that pushes the industry to new levels. Seriously, how are you going to follow that up? They should give GTA IV Game of the Year right now. Sometimes, I like to drive around at the speed limit, go to the store and live a normal life. Cause I mean in a game where you can basically do whatever it is you want, not breaking the law is pretty cool haha.
I decided to watch The Dark Knight at a reasonable hour sometime this weekend. As much as I would love to taunt fully costumed fans at the midnight showing, I’d rather not loose precious sleep.
I totally caved, and in the worse possible way no less.
I did the line at the Aventura Apple Store. It wasn’t terrible though, I think the entire experience lasted about an hour. I waited in line and made friends with some people and we bonded in our nerdyness. As new people walked in, the Apple employees would start to clap and cheer excitedly, as if they were making a dollar off of every iPhone sold. With the entire store being white and very brightly lit it kind of made me think that this is what would it be like when I arrive in Heaven. I almost cried. After finally making it inside I sat for a minute while I waited for an Apple employee to hook up my new iPhone. I decided to go with the 16GB in black. The white looked VERY nice however, I am not big on holding a big white phone to my face. Even though you can’t see the smudges as clearly. Whatever, they hooked it up and I was on my way.
Once I got home I synced it up, and started fiddling around with it. The 3G is blinding fast. It definitely supplements the apps well. The GPS is spot on too, even though you have to be outside to really use it. The only qualm I have with it is that it is a MASSIVE battery hog. I mean seriously, I am not going to be to quick to bash yet because I haven’t really broken the battery in yet, I am still in the process. I charged it last night to full, unplugged it at around 10 pm. With moderate use and it running on just 3G (WiFi, Location Services, and Bluetooth off.) it’s about a little less than half way used. I don’t think that it is the phone, but rather the software itself. I remember when the EDGE iPhone had just been released it was a battery hog as well. After a few updates, and a nicely conditioned battery everything was right as rain. This should be no different. After loading the 2.0 software on the EDGE iPhone, I noticed it too ran out of battery quickly. Other than the the phone is excellent, and in my totally unbiased opinion worth the upgrade. 3G makes this phone work better. Mail (coupled with MobileMe) is much more fluent and reliable, and Apple despite not including copy & paste and MMS added a few other minor details I missed. Such as the ability to change the email address you are sending an email from in the compose window, this is helpful since I have more than one address. Also I like that you can save pictures and attachments now, a very missed feature.
Another thing that makes the iPhone 2.0 great is the App Store. It’s really nicely executed and has I believe about 500 or so apps with more to come. While I am waiting for Spore, I found these apps pretty cool…
AIM (FREE): Of course, this is a much anticipated app. It works really well over 3G though it can be a bit buggy, then again most early software is, so be cool.\
Facebook (FREE): This app is pretty good. It could have been great if it included stuff like wall posting, and album viewing, much like the web app did. I say, download this for your inbox and chat, and keep the web app around for everything else.
iTunes Remote (FREE): This allows your iPhone to control your iTunes or AppleTV. Freaking awesome, I love it.
Big Tipper ($1.99): This is the mack daddy of tip calculators. And at $1.99 it’s not terribly over priced.
Pandora (FREE): Basically this is the app to stream Pandora to your iPhone. It’s good, though I wish it would let you use it while you used another app.
Shazam (FREE): This is a nice app that can identify a track by listening to it. I heard that they may, down the road, charge a monthly fee for this, so take advantage now.
Urbanspoon (FREE): This one is a nice add if you can never decide what to eat when you go out. It’s like a magic eight ball but that gives you restaurant suggestions. Trust me, that’ll make sense once you use it.
BoxOffice (FREE): A nice movie times app.
Super Monkey Ball ($9.99): OK, I will admit this is a bit much to pay. But I love Super Monkey Ball. And you will too.
Tap Tap Revenge (FREE): Guitar Hero had a love affair with Dance Dance Revolution. This is their unplanned child.
Bloomberg (FREE): If Stocks didn’t already exist on the iPhone, I would totally have this. This is for the hardcore economics nerd.
So all in all, I love the iPhone 3G. Sure it has it’s problems, but the great thing about it is that it has plenty of room to grow, and plenty of changes to be made. With it’s support for exchange and MobileMe, it is now a great Blackberry alternative. And App Store will ensure that the iPhone will have an endless supply of fresh new apps that take advantage of all it’s abilities. Peace Out.
So here is the scoop. The lines all over the world for this phone are massive. Here in Miami, the Aventura and The Falls Apple Stores are at 400+ people. Where am I you ask? Sitting comfortably in my office. I successfully upgraded my “old” iPhone to the 2.0 software so I am just chillin‘ out waiting for my crazed Apple brethren to calm themselves so I can get my iPhone. That might happen tomorrow or I might just go and get my iPhone on Tuesday. Also, Apple apparently has not learned from the last time thousands of people activated their iPhone all at once. iTunes Activation servers are down, leaving Apple Nerds to wait cantankerously in the sun nationwide. Though I hear they are handing out water bottles and pizza. I guess His Steveness finds it a bit difficult to sell a guy an iPhone when he is passed out on the sidewalk due to dehydration. Apple is letting customers go home to finish the activation process, something AT&T doesn’t like at all. But you have no choice. We Apple nerds are a rowdy bunch. So anyway, this will hopefully be the second to last blog about the iPhone. The next one will be me explaining how I got it. Peace Out.
The time is almost here. And though I am excited I am maintaining a cool head. My friend who is devout Apple Nerd is heading over at 3 A.M. in order to wait in line for the 3G. I don’t know whats up, but logic won’t allow me to do this. I mean first of all, I can’t wake up at 3 A.M. unless there is a situation of life and death. I don’t care if Megan Fox is standing outside the Apple Store, looking the way she did in Transformers, handing out iPhones…wait that’s a poor example cause I would actually wake up at 3 A.M. for that. Ummm, well anyway, I am not waking up at 3 A.M. for it that’s for sure. I might just casually stroll in to my local Apple store on my way home from work and pick one up. Apple is good about keeping up the stock and I don’t think the demand for that iPhone will be too high like before. David Pogue, one of the tech writers for the New York Times wrote up a review about the iPhone 3G and made a good point. He said,
“This time, though, when the iPhone 3G goes on sale in AT&T and Apple stores, iPhone Mania will be considerably more muted. That’s partly because the mystery is gone, partly because the AT&T service costs more and partly because there won’t be many new features in what Apple is calling the iPhone 3G.”
He is right. The mystery IS gone. And honestly 3G service not being available in some areas, the fact that the GPS cannot do turn-by-turn directions, and that the iPhone 2.0 software is available as a free update for the 6,000,000 iPhone users currently out there, are a couple of reasons to NOT to upgrade. The reason I am upgrading is because I surf the most while I am not on WiFi. The 3G service coupled with AppStore and MobileMe is an amazing combination. That, and I don’t want a GPS in my next car, so I want something with GPS. I also want it cause, lets face it, I love the iPhone and I want the new one. I want it in black though I am curious to see how good it looks in white. We’ll see though the color choice is a game time decision. I look forward most to exploring the AppStore. I have been urning for AIM on my iPhone for a very long time, soon it shall come true. That and I am hearing about a couple of cool games and an application that allows for VoIP support. We are one day away, I can’t wait to stop writing about this ha ha. Peace Out!
This just in to the news room, I deleted my MySpace Page. Facebook has won my undying loyalty and respect. I don’t get junk mail on Facebook (I get ummm junk applications?), I don’t get stalked, I don’t get friend requested by middle aged women (just as shocked as you are) and my page won’t be used to get valuable intelligence on my life or the life of my friends. Well not to say that facebook doesn’t allow for that either, they just go about it in a classier, less creepy way. Honestly my MySpace has been a little stagnant as of late. I guess it’s because everyone I know is on Facebook. I think this is becoming more of a trend. A couple of years ago MySpace was all the rage because it had no direct competition. Friendster was more popular in Asia and Europe (or Eurasia as they like to be called now) and Facebook was closed off to just college students. But now Facebook has changed it’s course. With the applications and the fact that it’s more communication focused. I can definitely see Facebook becoming even more mainstream that it already is. I personally like Facebook more because it has by far the best iPhone Web App, MySpace’s is barely usable. So long story short, down with MySpace! Peace Out.
P.S.
I know MySpace has the advantage in the music label section. It’s truly a great service. However, the reason I wrote this is because I am not a band. If I were a band I wouldn’t be saying what I said here. I think MySpace (and maybe one day Facebook) will be a valuable tool for bands to get the word out. I am one to admit that a couple of artists in my music collection wouldn’t be there without MySpace. But what I am saying today is basically that MySpace has allowed it’s service to be tampered with by spammers and low level advertisers rather than what it should be.
So the iPhone is coming out on June 11th. I am pretty stoked, can’t wait to use all the new features and download apps and stuff. Plus I dropped my iPhone the other day while I was on the way to the beach. There is a nice size crater on the back of it now, it looks like the lunar surface. It knows it’s about to be replaced and handed down to my technologically deprived mother. Wish me luck trying to teach her how to use it.
It was a good week for music releases. The new Shinedown CD is out. It’s really good, about par with their last one. I like Shinedown, they have evolved a lot as a band. I like listening to a band’s albums one after another. You can see their sound change as they are trying to get comfortable with their sound. I also picked up the new Amos Lee CD. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it, though the previews I heard on iTunes were really good. I like his sound, it’s very chill, very mellow. Good to listen to when you get home after a long day. I might check out the new Motley Crue and G. Love & Special Sauce albums too, I am going to see how far I can stretch this iTunes gift card. I also have been itching to snag Thriving Ivory’s debut album. They are a really great band, I love getting in on the ground floor with new bands.
Don Imus should really just be quiet. Ok, sure what he said recently wasn’t THAT terrible. In fact, it’s highly debatable whether or not what he said was offensive. But honestly, why play with fire man? It’s like he got caught with his hand in the racist cookie jar and then goes back to fiddle around with the lid a bit. For real man, just stop talking about black people for a while.
The finally announced the The Sopranos Box Set. Forty DVD’s, 10 pounds, $400. Sold.
It’s boring at work today. I hate when you finish all your work like two hours before you have to leave. You don’t want to start anything too time consuming that it will take you more than two hours. Yeah, thats what is going on right now.
I have all three Pirates of the Caribean movies at home on Blu Ray. I have Netflix (and by Netflix I mean Blockbuster @ Home) so I can return them whenever I want. But the thing is, I have had them for like, maybe a month now and I just don’t feel like watching any of them. Everyone is saying “Oh Jorge, Pirates of the Caribean rocks! You’ll love it! Keira Knightly is hot!” Yeah she is hot. But I don’t know I really don’t feel like investing myself in a Pirate movie. I really should return them soon, there are other movies on my list I want to see. Decisions, decisions…
Gas prices are going up and the economy is being lousy. So I decided I am going to enact my own personal plan to help out the economy. First, I am going to get a Hybrid car after the lease on my car is up. Sure, some people argue it will take you forever to recoup the worth, but you save a little bit on gas, and I will not only be helping the enviroment, but I will also be helping reduce our dependance on foreign oil. I am also going to lose weight, so I won’t be a burden to the healthcare system. I am going to tithe 10%. Not only does it help out the church, but the church will use it to support the community, and in essence, stimulate the economy. Also, I will probably buy the 3G iPhone…to you know…stimulate the economy, and stuff. This is part of my new Jorge 2.0 revolution…or as Ron Paul calls it, revolution (get it? it’s love backwards. Ron Paul is a lunatic).
Over all WWDC was a bit boring. Too many App demos and not enough sweet, sweet, iPhone. However I am in no way disappointed. First, the 3G iPhone was announced. It’s got everything I wanted from it. It has nothing that it doesn’t need and has excellent specs and battery life. The iPhone 2.0 software looked really great I can’t wait to play with the new App store. And MobileMe was instroduced as well, and it looks freaking awesome. I wish I could say I was playing with it now. But I can’t. So I’ll have to wait one more month and play with it on July 11th. And the greatest thing of all. It’s $199. Steve…you are awesome. That is all. PO
I promise, this will be my last nerdy, Apple geek blog for a while (well until I actually get it). But I am pretty psyched and it’s things like these that cause it.
This ran on mactalk.com.au the other night. Honestly…if I get a box like that in the mail, I’m opening it. At least for my own enjoyment. A closed box with that written on it would drive me insane. Then again Steve probably has sensors wired to it to prevent such openings with out his knowledge. Then the Apple Ninjas are dispatched. No one wants to fight an Apple Ninja.
We are a weekend away. Weekends always go by so quickly, because you sleep most of the time and just go out at night. It’ll be Monday in no time. The only worse thing about not knowing is knowing when you will know. I’ll give you a moment to let that make sense in your head.
So recapping everything, here is what I think will happen on Monday.
1. New iPhone with 3G, GPS, WiFi. Slightly new look, maybe a bit smaller, thinner. Available sometime this week (maybe Wednesday or Friday, cause they want the big lines and the publicity.)
2. iPhone OSX 2.0 with the App Store. Available Immediately.
3. Beta Announcement for OS X Leopar 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Available sometime early next year.
4. Maybe another surprise (MacTablet, a new Newton?)
Am I going to put money on this? Probably not. It would be weird if His Steveness debuts more hardware than software at WWDC. After all it is a conference for software developers. However, he does love to put on a good show. So it’s anyone’s guess at this point. Peace Out.
One week away from the new iPhone. I am psyched. Even though due to my current economic situation, I will have to wait till pay day for my iPhone. Which I, surprisingly am cool with. This is God teaching me patience for sure. This day was pretty good, I thought about a lot of stuff that I needed to think about, silenced the chatter a bit. All in all, a good day.
I am totally off on June 9th. I will be sitting in my PJ’s in front of my computer, excited to see exactly how much money I will be handing over to Apple this year. Usually the World Wide Developers Conference is a place where Mac software developers gather to show off their creations. But this year, it’s going to be a bit different. Apple will definitely be releasing a 3G iPhone at the conference along with the 2.0 update. Usually my inner-nerd lies dormant. He only wakes during events such as these, trips to Best Buy, and certain Marvel movies that end with Samuel Jackson recruiting for The Avengers. The wait is totally killing me. We all deal with the waiting in our own ways. I need to pray for a bit more patience sometimes. But in waiting for this iPhone, I have been doing different things to keep busy. I have since improved my golf score, lost 6 pounds jogging, increased my accuracy in Call of Duty 4 by 10%, taken a defensive driving course, and finished painting my room. Oh and I finished all my work for the week, which is why I am writing this blog.
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At WWDC, Apple made a note that MMS would be coming to the iPhone, well…to every iPhone except those on AT&T.
When Apple dropped the iPhone 3GS I quickly sprinted to my nearest computer to see if I was eligible for the subsidized price. I was not.
Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title for this post.
Apple at the stroke of midnight released iPhone/iPod Touch v2.2. The update is greatly anticipated, as not only does it add cool new features, a revamped Google Maps, new Safari, and the ability to directly download podcasts, but fixes a lot of glitches. But before I begin to rant and rave about how this update STILL doesn’t contain the basic features, like MMS, like C&P, we need to keep in mind that we are at Apple’s mercy. So we take what we can get, and we wait for more.
Here is a quick list of the apps that make my iPhone amazing. Check them out.
