The question asked since the announcement that iPhone was going to be on the AT&T network is “When are they leaving AT&T?” It’s an honest question based on real and honest situations of dropped calls, overworked networks, and bad customer service. It’s probably unfair to lay all the blame on the service provider, as I’m sure the iPhone is not without faults of its own, but unfortunately AT&T is definitely getting the heat. So while iPhones have outsold most other handsets around the world, there are still a large majority holding out for the day when the iPhone is available on another network.
Are you one of those people? Rumors have circulated across various sites that Apple has been courting Verizon as the next network to gain access to the iPhone as early as Quarter 1, 2011. While all signs point to yes, the evidence is not conclusive and thus speculation persists. Considering the dominance that the iPhone has on the cell phone market, it’s safe to assume that the majority not using the iPhone are either Blackberry or Android users, with others following into the minority of other OS platforms.
In market research conducted by Morpace, subscribers on Verizon alone are awaiting the transition of the iPhone onto the Verizon network. Of 1000 people surveyed, 23% said they’d most likely buy it, while a whopping 51% of Verizon subscribers said they were waiting to buy it. This segment of Verizon subscribers could bolster Apple’s numbers heavily when/if the transition takes place as rumored. AppleInsider even predicts that it could put Apple in the lead, far ahead of it’s competitors. The platforms mostly threatened by the iPhone being offered on Verizon would be Blackberry and Android, so it will be interesting to see how this will effect the numbers.
If it happens, Apple could see quite a profitable 1st Quarter. So where do you stand? Are you waiting for the iPhone to be offered on another network or are you happy with your Blackberry, Android, or other phone platform?
Loving the new retina display of the iPhone 4? It seems to be all the rage with owners of the newly released device and alongside some of the other upgraded features, including the cameras, has gone on to once again dominate the market. The ability to have an all-in-one device that can be used as a phone, an internet tool, a content pusher, a video camera, AND a digital camera almost seems too good to be true. In most cases it is, but as a fall back tool when nothing else is available, it suffices for many.
If you were looking for unique photo capabilities with your iPhone you had to rely on another digital camera or your DSLR, but any longer. Despite how great the iPhone camera, the limitations keep you locked down to what the hardware can offer. To up the ante on your iPhone photos attach the new Camera Phone Lenses to provide some versatility to your camera phone photos.
Ranging from $20-$40, Camera Phone Lenses break the barriers set forth by the iPhone hardware and built in lens and offer unique capabilities that will make you reconsider taking your DSLR with you on the next trip. Attaching to the iPhone with a uniquely designed magnetic ring, the lenses offer you wide angle/macro or fisheye capabilities. Never thought that could happen with an iPhone now did you?
Apple has done a lot of ground breaking product releases, while some of fizzled in obscurity for a variety of reasons. While the popular ones tend to get the most attention, there are still many people out there hoping that the Apple TV can find some legs to stand on. The original concept was the bridge between your computer and your home entertainment system, yet the device itself was so reliant to iTunes that the frustration forced some people to turn to the Mac Mini as a modified set top box of choice.
Still, those rooting for Apple TV’s triumph may not have to wait long. It’s been rumored that the device may be up for a rebirth of sorts with a completely new direction, giving users an experience that has been made popular with the iPhone, iTouch, and now the iPad. The rumored box, named iTV, would be developed under the new iOS4 platform and become less reliant on iTunes and be a self contained interface for users to download and stream their media.
The bonus to this move is the possibility of integrating gaming apps into the platform that would then turn the box into a home TV gaming system within an already extremely popular app store of games. A move like this only furthers support the aggressive move towards existing gaming consoles, but offers up enough diversity that non-gamers would be probably pick up the device for the iOS4 interface and media apps alone.
The change would also force the iTV to drop support of 1080p and go with a more standardized 720p for most HDTV’s.
For Apple’s mass market users, a cheaper device that streams easy to buy and view HDTV content makes far more sense than the current Apple TV, which requires syncing with a local iTunes system or downloadable storage for rentals. – AppleInsider
So what are you thoughts on the Apple TV? A waste of time to invest on this rebirth, or perhaps third time is a charm.
Microsoft is not a company known for great marketing. In the past, the marketing department has been ridiculed by the media, by the internet, and even by some of its most rabid supporters. Most recently the biggest commercials were the ones featuring Seinfeld and Bill Gates in random situations making much ado about nothing.
While Apple has retired it’s “I’m A Mac” campaign which prominently featured funny man John Hodgeman and actor Justin Long. The two compared one another on various tasks showing how Apple reigned supreme. Microsoft started running a similar campaign called “I’m A PC” to coincide with the launch of Windows 7. The idea was to show how Windows 7 was made for people by people, as well as show the diversity of those that would use the platform. Essentially Microsoft was looking to appeal to the “everyman” while alluding that Apple was for “elitists” for charging high prices for image as opposed to functionality.
Microsoft as now apparently started a campaign to discourage people from converting to a Mac by covering six topics of interests to show how working with Microsoft and Windows 7 offers more choice then Apple offers with their high priced machines. Rather than a mud slinging campaign, this looks like something a little more permanent.
It will be interesting to see what Microsoft does with this in the long run, but I’m more curious what Apple’s next move will be in response to this.
Apple has, in just one year, made a huge impression in the mobile gaming market, eating up market share once held by larger gaming company companies like Nintendo and Sony. More specifically Sony saw approximately half it’s market share drop from 20% to 11% as Apple’s mobile platform, especially with the release of iOS4, saw a rise of 5% to 19% from 2008 to 2009 alone as reported by the AppleInsider.
It appears as if Sony is now charging headlong into the mobile phone industry by creating a hybrid gaming phone based on the design of the current PSP Go. This would support the rumors that Sony was looking to make a move into the mobile phone market, but perhaps the numbers above have forced their hand a little prematurely.
According to AppleInsider, the phone would be based on Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread) and use “PSP-like” controls instead of the standard QWERTY keyboards. It’s being more specifically described as a combination of the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go. I’ll let your minds create the product.
Sony would definitely be playing a game of catch up in this space since Apple is already working on creating an iOS4 centralized gaming hub that would contain leader boards, track friends, and build an entire social community around their gamers. Add to that the fact that Apple has been rumored to purchase a Chinese game making company into the mix and there is no doubt that Apple is looking to eat up market share very quickly.
I can see how Sony would be threatened by this considering that the PSP, while nice in style, has not come close to outselling or matching the long time champion of mobile gaming, Nintendo. As for Nintendo, while they are sitting high on the mountain, Apple has proven that they can indeed make a splash in the market. We saw it with mp3 players, we saw it with the iPhone, more recently tablets, and now perhaps a gaming system.
There are plenty of options in Apple’s App Store if you are looking for a calendar/task mobile app. Take your pick, chances you’ll find the one that best suits the way you like to task and prioritize your day. Some free, some you pay for, but ultimately there is no end in sight to the number of apps you can choose from to organize your day.
I’m always looking for unique ways to manage my systems. Task apps, to-do lists, I’ve seen them all before and few offer anything unique enough to make me change the way I’m doing things right now. The status quo was changed when I came across Diacarta. Not expecting fresh approach to scheduling and seeing my list of appointments, I was quickly caught up in exploring the display, how information is shared, and the interface. It’s a beautiful app no doubt and it does offer some unique approaches to the way we organize ourselves.
Rather than seeing your day in a line item list of text, you get to create a picture of your day. The premise of the entire app is associating image icons with things that need to get done during the day. This association creates your day and plans out by the hour what your agenda will look like visually. You still type in all the necessary details for your event or task, but it only shows up if you allow your finger to linger on the icon, it disappears when you move your finger.
Diacarta is an interesting way to visualize your day to day, but is it enough to integrate into your systems? Take a look at the video below and let us know.
Sony’s a household name for innovation. Expanding their consumer electronic empire has been a long a bitter fight with some of the major label competitors, but there’s no doubt that Sony has definitely released some amazing products, especially with their most recent 3D HDTV’s.
For those looking to replace their digital camera with something more powerful, or maybe you’re just looking for a big upgrade, Sony is releasing their new Cyber-shot TX9 3D camera into the wild. It was only a matter of time with all of their 3D technology research that a digital camera from Sony was the next logical step. The cyber-shot 3D is a departure from the traditional dual-lensed 3D camera of the past and manages to keep the slim design as part of its unique design.
The TX9 3D, approximately $400, remains pocket friendly and is capable of creating 3D panoramas automatically with point, click, and sweep motions of your surroundings. The days of fiddling with settings are long behind us with Sony’s latest release.
The camera also includes the following features:
- 3.5-inch LCD touch screen
- 12.2 megapixel Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS sensor
- 10fps burst shooting
- 1080i HD video recording
- Optical Steadyshot image stablization
- Carl Zeiss 4x optical zoom lens
While this camera comes with a heavy price tag, the relative offerings in feature is more than enough to warrant the purchase. While not the only 3D camera on the market, the aesthetics make this camera look like it belongs in your hands, but maybe that’s just my preference.
What digital cameras are you using and how do they compare to what you’re needing it for?
How many iterations of the Kindle do we really need? Does it really matter in a world where the iPad has reigned supremeon a variety of levels? While the Kindle reportedly does one thing really well, which is serve as an ebook reader, the Kindle fall short in many areas but it looks like another Kindle version is coming out…does graphite excite you? If you’re like me, probably not.
Still the Graphite Kindle DX, reportedly $380, combines everything you loved about past models – Whispersync book syncing, free 3G wireless, the largest selection of ebooks around, and a physical keyboard. The new graphite body may look sleek, but apparently the screen is 50% sharper then past releases.
Some of the other new features include:
- no glare
- slimmer
- faster downloads (less than 60 seconds)
- longer battery life (up to 1 wk on a single charge)
- social network connectivity
If you’re an ebook reader that does nothing else than function as an ebook reader, the new Graphite Kindle DX might be for you.
The headlines says it all folks! Amazon has been very hungry recently picking up Zappos earlier on and now acquiring internet fav, woot.com. Woot catapulted into popularity by offering a deal a day. Every day at midnight, a new offer was posted and the masses fought each other for the ability to purchase the item until inventory was sold out. Since those days, Woot.com has expanded to include, shirtwoot, winewoot, and kidswoot, just to name a few. All the properties were established to focus on different niche markets.
Amazon, in a reportedly $110 million dollar deal, has now officially acquired the company but nothing will change. Much like the purchase od Zappos, the company will be allowed to run as status quo, except that they will be under the Amazon.com banner. Interesting to note that both Zappos and Woot have been identified as having stellar customer service and now they fall under Amazon which is also noted as having just as good customer service.
It will be interesting to see where this marriage will go. All employees and CEO’s will remain in place, but in the past Woot has not been one to shy away from controversial products, such as handguns, as part of their deals of the day. So while their offices might be saying “Woot!” to the purchase, their audience will wait to see what types of things change, if anything, under this new regime.
The release of the iPhone 4 has not been without it’s fair share of criticism. Like any product launch the pros and cons are quickly established and shared in review after review after review. Still cons for any device should never be something that should have been addressed during production. This was the case with the iPhone 4 reception when holding it with your left hand. Due to the positon of the hand and the placement of the antenna, reception quickly worsened to one or no bars left on the device. This quickly created frustration and prompted an email to Steve Jobs where he essentially stated “just dont’ hold it like that.”
The callous remark seemed to many to be the official “screw you all” from the company that created the very device that everyone has been waiting with much anticipation for. In all seriousness the matter is not just about how you hold the phone, it has to do with left handed persons the world over not being able to adequately interface with their mobile devices.
Recently it seems as if Apple’s tone on the issue might be changing as it was recently reported by AppleInsider that Apple has posted five NEW positions, all dealing with antenna projects. Could this be the apparently elusive answer for Apple to set things straight. What seemed so apparent to us (just fix the damn thing) is now being taken seriously with the current posting.
“The listings, including three positions for an “Antenna Engineer – iPad/iPhone” and two for an “iPhone OTA Wireless Systems Engineer,” join nine other open positions related to antenna design and testing for iOS devices, with the oldest dating back to last summer.” – AppleInsider
Now officially Apple is not saying there is any product defect. As a matter of fact customers calling into the AppleCare hotline are being told that “gripping almost any mobile phone in certain areas will reduce its reception. This is true of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, and many other phones we have tested. It is a fact of life in the wireless world.”
Shifty responses to the public outcry or honest response with regards to the world of mobile devices. A case could be made either way, perhaps the cusp of this issue was in how it was handled initially from Steve Jobs himself. Would his handling of the situation made any difference in how this story is playing out?
