It seems like I get asked this question nearly every time a tech challenged person sees that I have an iPhone. “Do you have that app that lets you look stuff up by taking pictures of it?” The first few times it took a while to figure out what the inquirer meant. Now, I answer before the sentence is done – Google Goggles? Sadly, no.
It’s not that I want GG all that badly. From a functionality standpoint, it’s not all that great. It does have great wow factor, though, so I was thrilled to find out that the camera-powered search would be coming to the iPhone this year. The app has been Android-only since release, but Google will be developing a proprietary app for the iPhone, not just some crappy port.
Apple’s advertising for FaceTime is already being lauded as some of the best ad video the world has ever seen. It’s personal, evocative, and total bullshit. I think we all know that working with technology is rarely as smooth as those FaceTime ads make it out to be. For that reason, I bring you this video, courtesy of Funny or Die. This is what FaceTime is really like.
When I travel I tend to drive. I prefer the sense of space and there’s something cathartic about putting in 11 hours or so behind the wheel of a car. Over the past three weeks, though, I’ve traveled by both car (as a passenger) and plane, and in both cases my travel was significantly delayed so I had a lot of time on my hands. Thank god for smartphones.
For the road trip, my girlfriend and I made our way up to NYC to visit some friends. It was a great little vacation, but we got caught in traffic outside every major city between North Carolina and the Holland Tunnel. I laid in the back of the car while our friend drove, playing Words With Friends with a couple people, reading forums, updating the blogs I write for, cruising Facebook, and watching ridiculous YouTube videos. It made the stop-and-go that is DC rush hour not only bearable, but almost enjoyable.
After being home for just under a week I left again, up to Ohio to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday. I hopped a plane from Wilmington to Charlotte, wherein I was trapped next to a nervous flier. I don’t think anyone is truly comfortable with the bangs and clicks associated with flying, but nervous fliers stress me out. They’re always shaking, breathing heavily, whimpering any time the plane takes a quick dip. It is as awkward a situation as you can create – two strangers mashed up against each other, one of which will be in desperate need of some consoling. I’m sorry, but I don’t fly to console people. I queued up some Tap Tap Revenge, put on my noise-canceling headphones, and tried to ignore the fact that my seat was shaking from this person twitching.
We landed in Charlotte despite some thunderstorms, but my flight to Ohio was delayed by a solid two hours (I already had an hour layover). I started digging through the App Store for something to do and found Angry Birds (all of the addictive stories are true). I started downloading an episode of This American Life for the next flight, and flipped over to some Angry Birds. In between levels I could flip back and forth between Words With Friends and text messages from family members wondering when they should be at the airport.
None of this is new or thrilling, but when it’s you stuck staring at terminal screens, trapped in tiny coach seats, or staring at the ceiling in the back of a friend’s car, you start to appreciate just how great all of our tech can be.
There’s no doubt that the iPhone 4 launch was one of Apple’s sloppiest hardware launches to date. The antenna issue was definitely the worst PR we’ve seen from Cupertino and yet, somehow, the iPhone continues to blow through millions of models. After all that, Apple’s finally made an inside move, a sort of quiet omission of guilt despite its protestations over the last several months.
Mark Papermaster, the exec at the helm of iPhone hardware, has left Apple. There’s no word on whether he was given the boot or left of his own accord. His departure is a bit coincidental for me to believe that, whoever initiated his departure, it wasn’t all related to the antenna issue. When consumers are making joke band-aids and “End Call” stickers to fix your missteps, you can bet someone’s head will roll.
As you might imagine, Papermaster declined to comment.
I placed the order for my free Apple Bumper case last week and it’s already here. Having the Bumper on the phone makes me appreciate the flat surfaces on both sides. I would have killed for a case like this on my 3GS – it’s small and unobtrusive, it still looks great, and you aren’t covering up the Apple design that has made the products so coveted.
The best part, of course, is that it was free. I would be hard pressed to drop $30 on one of these things, even with how much I like it. I should probably also mention, if you make a habit of dropping your phone like a good friend of mine, you should either invest in a good, sturdy case, or just assume that you’ll be paying a couple hundred bucks every few months to replace your phone.
I was excited when offered the chance to take a look at AGF’s Ballistic HC case for the iPhone 4. As the website suggests, the Ballistic HC is “Designed to Survive Life,” a great slogan considering I had dumped my phone onto a brick patio just a few nights prior to receiving the review unit. The Ballistic HC is a great case, and though it may not be for everyone, it’s perfect for people who can be rough on their phones.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the Ballistic HC is big. It’s a pretty thick case by itself, and if you want it to get even bigger there’s a bouncy silicon wrap you can put around the case for extra protection. The size is a good thing, though. It allows for all of the padding and space necessary to keep your phone safe in the even that you would drop it or accidentally smash it against something. A rubber inner layer separates your phone from the hard outer, protecting the phone from the case and adding some shock absorption. The hard outer shell also has fixed rubber bumpers for an extra layer of protection. The aforementioned rubber sleeve really takes the phone to indestructible new heights.
The front of the Ballistic HC case has a screen protector that allows your touchscreen to still function perfectly. I was really impressed, because I’ve seen a lot of cases for which the screen protector ruins the browsing experience on the phone. With the Ballistic, you almost don’t notice that the protector is there (unless you drop your phone, of course, in which case you’ll just notice that the screen is in tact).
I only had one issue with the Ballistic case, a problem AGF is both aware of and working actively to fix. As you can see in the picture below, the screen protector can get suctioned onto the screen, creating an oil-spill pattern across the screen. It’s not very noticeable when the screen is lit up, but it kinda sucks when the screen is black.
As I said, though, Ballistic is working on a fix. The company posted a YouTube video with a simple, temporary fix for the problem while they continue to work on a permanent solution. Really, though, if you need this case, you are probably more interested in the fact that it will keep your phone safe, and less interested in the way your phone will look while tucked safely away inside this beast of a case.
I’m on the road today, headed up to NYC to visit some friends, but I thought this was worth sharing. I got an email this morning confirming that my free Apple bumper case has shipped, despite the estimated 3-5 week ship time Apple initially doled out.
Even though I’m not among those cursed with a failing phone, it’s nice to see some quick turnaround on Apple’s part. Hopefully people can start to see a working phone some time early next week.
It may surprise you to learn that unlocking and jailbreaking your cell phone has to this point been against the law. It’s especially surprising considering some of the first news when a new iOS build is released is who can jailbreak it the fastest.
The legality, at least, will no longer be in question. Feds ruled to make it a legal practice to remove the barriers between you and the awesome powers of your phone. In reality, this doesn’t do much. It’s not like jailbreaking was being enforced in any serious way in the past. This also won’t change things for the current jailbreakers. They’ll keep going, hacking as they have in the past, and the people using alternative app stores will likely continue to do the same. The only people this really affects are the few entrepreneurs out there who will try to make a legitimate buck by opening yet another app store for interested parties.
If you are such a party, start looking for your new apps soon. Otherwise, as you were, folks. Nothing to see here.
Apple has officially started to reimburse iPhone 4 owners who purchased a bumper case on their own, and it looks like the rest of us can send away for a free bumper now, too.
Apple is managing the promotion through an app, available now in the App Store. Instructions are pretty simple. You download the app, sign in using your Apple ID, and select your bumper or case. As it stands you can only get one color (black) and you’re looking at a three to five week delivery window. As for time limitations, here’s the official word:
For iPhone 4 purchases made before July 23, 2010, you must apply no later than August 22, 2010; otherwise, you must apply within 30 days of your iPhone 4 purchase. To qualify for this program, you must purchase your iPhone 4 by September 30, 2010.
Remember, you don’t have to get a bumper. You can get any of the approved cases for free as well.
After all the noise surrounding the iPhone 4’s antenna/reception issues, a couple designers from Brooklyn decided to make a sticker for the phone that looked like a band-aid. It was all supposed to be a joke. And then they started to get an order every minute.
The sticker, which the designers have cleverly called the “Antenn-aid,” is just a colorful band-aid for the seam between the antennas on the iPhone. It’s a great satire, and the two designers have hammed it up to poke a little extra fun at Apple.
You can buy the Antenn-aid in packs of six for $4.99 plus shipping. Does it work? The official website says it “Works like magical.” Well done, fellas.
Well, there you have it folks. Apple didn’t exactly do what some expected (read: massive recall) but it did do something that should at least help relieve some of the, ah, anguish around its latest iPhone model.
The details are pretty simple – you have an iPhone, you get a bumper. If Apple is out of bumpers, you can pick another case from a predetermined selection. If you already bought a bumper you will be reimbursed and lastly, you can only take advantage of all of this until September 30th, at which time Apple will determine whether it should extend the offer or come up with another solution.
As with any new Apple release, the iPhone 4 brought along a menagerie of options for the accessorizing individual. Everyone likes to talk about cases, but the thing I look for first is usually a cradle or a dock – something I can set on my nightstand for charging and use with the phone’s alarm clock.
The Konnet iCrado is about as simple a cradle as you’ll find. It’s a curved piece of metal with a slot for you to use your own cable as the actual data dock. There is a little more to it, though. The curve of the device is designed to improve sound quality for use as speakerphone. I have to say, I thought it was a gimmick at first, but it is nice to have the sound directed toward you. It doesn’t really imrpove much, just aims the sound at your face.
Unfortunately, I’m not much of a speakerphone guy. For the most part I’ll use a headset if I need to do some hands free work, so that isn’t a big selling point. I also don’t like that it requires you to provide the cord. The unit comes slotted for the owner’s cord with a small plastic clip that holds the cord in place. Your phone then sits upright, attached by the cord and leaning against the high back of the unit. I would much prefer that they give you a cord or have the cord connected to a jack at the back. The current method is inconvenient for traveling, and if you lose the piece that holds your cord in place, you’ve got a $30 paperweight with an iPhone-cord-shaped slot in it.
Speaking of price, that’s really the biggest setback. I would forgive the smaller flaws if it didn’t cost $30. At $15 this would be a fine little stand, available in whatever color strikes your fancy.
Apple announced that it will be holding a press conference regarding the iPhone 4 tomorrow afternoon. Though no one knows exactly what the event is about, it’s a safe bet there will be a mix of good news and bad – sales numbers and hopefully the truth about the antenna situation.
As I’ve said before, I’m not experiencing the antenna trouble many are. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, though. A lot of people have had problems, some of my friends even, and there are a whole host of reasons that could occur.
TechCrunch had a guest post from Steve Cheney, a former engineer and web programmer, who offers a comprehensive solution to Apple’s technical problems and the PR nightmare that came as a result. His technical solution is to coat the steel band that surrounds the phone, a solution many have tried with rubber bands, nail polish, and Apple’s lauded bumper cases. After reaching out to iFixIt, Cheney discovered that Apple may already be using some sort of coating, which could explain the inconsistency of the antenna problems.
Whatever the problem or the solution, hopefully tomorrow will offer more than “our signal strength calculation was a bit off.”
If you are, you know what I’m talking about. I don’t even have to say it. For those who don’t know, the Mail app in iOS 4 has been loading ghost messages – emails with no sender, no subject, and no content – instead of the real deal. In some cases the message takes up space on the screen, but the cell reads “This message contains no content.”
In my own experience, the emails also have strange dates – 12/31/69 in most cases. It’s a really annoying bug, so bad that I went back to using regular old mobile Gmail. Apparently, though, deleting the email account and then reapplying it will fix the bug. You may have also noticed that you could access another folder – your Trash for instance – and then return to your Inbox to find things properly loaded.
A class action suit has been filed against Apple and AT&T for, you guessed it, the antenna issue.
More specifically, the suit claims the following on the part of the designated companies:
• General Negligence (APPLE and AT&T)
• Defect in Design, Manufacture, and Assembly (APPLE)
• Breach of Express Warranty (APPLE)
• Breach of Implied Warranty for Merchantability (APPLE and AT&T)
• Breach of Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose (APPLE and AT&T)
• Deceptive Trade Practices (APPLE and AT&T)
• Intentional Misrepresentation (APPLE and AT&T)
• Negligent Misrepresentation (APPLE and AT&T)
• Fraud by Concealment (APPLE and AT&T)
Quite the list of infractions, don’t you think? While I agree that there shouldn’t be such widespread incidence of this problem, I don’t think it’s out of the question to ask people to hold the phone a bit differently. Maybe that’s just me.
Also, am I the only person not having this problem?
There has been a lot of speculation about the end of the AT&T exclusivity arrangement, especially when AT&T started offering up iPhone 4 upgrades to anyone that would take one.
The device will be available to customers in January, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information isn’t public. Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, and Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, declined to comment.
The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the U.S. since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers, UBS AG analyst John Hodulik said in an interview. Verizon customers, who numbered 92.8 million at the end of the first quarter, may buy 3 million iPhones a quarter, he estimates.
For now I’ll remain skeptical, if only because there have been rumors of a Verizon iPhone for years now. Actually, I just don’t want to believe I signed with AT&T when Verizon was just around the corner.
The best camera is the one you have with you, and since my new favorite point-and-shoot is built into my phone, I should be all set. When the 3GS came out last year, I was ready to say goodbye to point-and-shoots all together. There were still a lot of situations, though, where the 3GS was terrible (low light, of course). The iPhone changes that with the addition of a flash and another megapixel bump, putting the iPhone camera on par with all but the best in the point-and-shoot category. The fact that the camera is built into the phone is more than enough to discourage me from taking a point-and-shoot anywhere.
Obviously the camera will still shoot best in bright, natural light, like you find in North Carolina when it’s almost 100 degrees. The colors are bright and vibrant, a trait most of the professional photographers I’ve spoken with say Apple borrowed from Nikon’s processing style. It was pretty windy today, so I was surprised to see how focused the pictures of the flowers came out (still a little blurry away from the focal point). Overall, the sensor handles light well, and the camera is fast enough to catch a bit of motion.
In low light the story is still pretty grim. Even with a flash there’s a lot of noise, though that’s typically true of most point-and-shoots. This isn’t meant for high-quality photography, though, and when viewed as most camera phone shots are these days – on Facebook – the iPhone 4 will stand up with the best your friends can offer. That’s thanks to the f2.4 lens, compared with the f2.8 or above offered on most phones. It’s nice to have that extra light and extra width.
On the whole, Apple’s taken a decent camera and turned it into a true point-and-shoot replacement for taking quick shots on the fly. And it is quick. The limited controls are just a tap away, and there are so few (some say it’s good, some say it’s bad) you won’t spend the precious seconds trying to find a setting. You’ll snap the picture, again and again, which is exactly the point of carrying a quick and dirty camera with you wherever you go.
The iPhone 4 has been out for all of three days and already there are FaceTime sex chat services forming. The following is from a New York Craigslist ad, which offers a “competitive salary” and a free iPhone 4 for services rendered.
Starting an online interactive pornography firm where woman will use the iphone 4 to video chat with potential customers on a pay as you go basis.
Hours are flexible, pay will increase as the business builds. Woman will receive a free iphone 4 to use as personal time when not working. Woman will talk to potential clients and chat with them and perform various acts as desired by clients. All information will be confidential.
Payment will be based on percentage of sales volume and performance. Potential launch date of the company is 9/1/2010 or based on feedback received.
Woman will receive, as before mentioned, a free cell phone and a very competitive salary.
Please send information and pictures – we would like to launch sooner than 9/1/2010.
Woman must be at least 18 years old.
So how bout it, ladies? Interested in seeing a lot of VGA-quality penis?
The big question surrounding the iPhone 4 reception issue is how did Apple not catch it? They had the phone for months, presumably testing it in the Bay area for months. So why didn’t the Apple techs experience the problem?
Miguel Helft at the NYT Bits Blog had one theory – when the Apple techs were out the field, the iPhone 4 prototype was disguised in a case to look like the 3GS. The case meant a tech’s hands didn’t touch the antennae, so there were no interference issues, so there was nothing to catch.
Apple said Thursday that a case is one way to solve the reception issues.
A lot of new iPhone 4 owners have been sorely disappointed by the handset’s reception. There is an issue that causes reception to drop dramatically when held so that the two bands on the side of the phone that serve as antennae are connected.
Readers report that Apple’s tech support forums originally confirmed that a iOS 4.0.1 software fix addressing the issue would ship early next week (as early as Monday), before the comments were subsequently taken down along with all the other related discussion about the matter.
The fix is expected to address a issue in iOS 4 related to radio frequency calibration of the baseband. Readers who saw the original forum discussions say that the issue is believed to occur when switching frequencies; because the lag is allegedly not calibrated correctly, it results in the device reporting “no service” rather than switching to the frequency with the best signal to noise ratio.
iOS 4 introduced some enhancements to how the baseband selects which frequencies to use, so it makes sense that the error may have crept into those changes. Additionally, this explains why iOS 4 has also caused similar problems for iPhone 3GS users.
Let’s hope this is true. I haven’t personally had the problem, but I’d be pretty pissed if I had a great handset that couldn’t actually be used as a phone.
It seems like I get asked this question nearly every time a tech challenged person sees that I have an iPhone. “Do you have that app that lets you look stuff up by taking pictures of it?” The first few times it took a while to figure out what the inquirer meant. Now, I answer before the sentence is done – Google Goggles? Sadly, no. 
