Should There Have Been, or Were There, Extensive iPod Touch Testing September 16, 2007
Posted by Zach in Music, Tech, iPhone.1 comment so far
Ah more Touch news, a big surprise huh. Well this one brings into question some of the problems and complaints that people have had with the iPod Touch. We’ve heard the problems of the screen just not being as phenomenal of that on the iPhone, we’ve heard a couple accounts of iPod failure, and of course the list of things the iPhone has over the Touch will be thrown out by people for months to come. No surprises there. But there are some small issues that I can’t believe Apple missed. Obviously the internals of the Touch and the iPhone are similar but I now have reason to think that Apple just did not spend enough time field testing and general testing the Touch. This showed up on the front page of Digg this morning. The Touch calling itself an iPhone huh? Some kind of facade, some kind of trick? Nope, just a stupid slip up by the Apple. Now, I’m aware there was more to test with the iPhone, as it is a phone after all, and finding out where connection speeds and how well the antenna worked was crucial. Still, people putting in hours with the Touch finding the errors and reporting complaints could have helped, right?
Is this kind of event a big deal? No (but the screen is kind of disappointing, though not dramatic). But, it shouldn’t even happen. The iPhone received extensive field testing months before it’s release. There were very lucky people wandering around cities with the “holy” device for a while. The iPod’s Touch release was quick, coming not long after the release of the iPhone. So obviously Apple had the technology and they’ve had this in the works, but yet a few shortcomings. So was there inadequate testing, or none at all? Hmmm….
So I Touched The Touch… September 15, 2007
Posted by Zach in Apple, Tech.add a comment
Well, I was at the mall today and strolled into the Apple store to see if they had the Touch, and also wanted to see the new lineup of Nanos and the classic in person. I did not see the Touch on display, as I’ve heard is the case in most stores. However, I saw an empolyee standing by the iPhone section with at first glance looked to be an iPhone, on an extreme diet. Of course, it was the Touch. I asked if I could see it and he was nice enough to let me check it out for a couple minutes. Now I obviously couldn’t sit there for an hour and learn every little thing about the new device, but a touch was enough to get a feel for the new iPod. The first thing that screams out at you is just how thin the Touch is. I couldn’t believe it, I was impressed bu the iPhone but this is just awesome. It feels solid, as Apple products do, but still I couldn’t help but picture the thin touchscreen snapping after being sat on or rolled on at a weird angle.
Another downside was that I was unable to mess around with the iTunes wifi store on the Touch because the Apples stores wifi was not working properly, disappointing, but at least I got my turn with it. I wish I could offer you more insight, the layout is obviously in most senses that of the iPhone but as to it’s exact functionality I just didn’t get the time. I did see a few people walking around the mall peeling the plastic off of their new iPods and heard shortly after that they had sold out, so get em while you can!
p.s. Check out the review over at Gizmodo!
So, About Those iPods… September 9, 2007
Posted by Zach in Apple, Music, Tech, WiFi and Internet, iPhone.add a comment
Walk into the Apple store nearest you and without doubt you will find crowds. Are they gawking over the iPhone? Not anymore they’re not. Mr. Jobs and company have of course unleashed the latest myriad of iPod products. We’ve got a little bit of everything spawning from last weeks “And the beat goes on” event. From some newly colored shuffles to an added touch. The details are everywhere, and as always I try not to tell you what you’ve already been told a million times about the iPod shuffle, Nano “Fatty”, iPod classic, and the iPod touch. But, I will remind you that, these new products were not the only things that came out of the event. New services also came with the new pods. Updated iTunes lately? Noticed that ringtones tab when you plug in your iPhone? Well if not, go do a double take. The first of the new iTunes changes is the ability to add custom ringtones to your iPhone (for the iPhone owners who haven’t already found a way to do so for free like I have). For 99 cents extra you can select a portion of a limited choice of songs that you would like to have play everytime your wife calls to ask if you’re going to pick up dinner. Personally I have not tried the new service but from what I’ve heard, it’s nice, it’s reasonable considering the price of other ringtone services, and easy to use. However, not all iTunes songs can be made into ringtones. But even bigger news came at the conference, the news of an iTunes store accessible on your iPhone or iPod touch via WiFi (it’s about time…etc…). According to Steve Jobs, by the end of the month the service will be available. And there’s also been a partnership with Apple and Starbucks (no surprise that the two trendy companies did so). Now, when your enjoying your vanilla latte and reading a more popular blog then my own on your iPhone and you hear a song wafting through the familiar coffee shop atmosphere, you can access the iTunes store and purchase that song from the Starbucks radio playlist. Not groundbreaking, but neat none the less.
So what about the iPods? Well the shuffle just got a new paint job. The iPod classic, resembling a birthchild of the Nano touchwheel mixed with an iPod video comes in an 80GB ($249) and a 160GB ($349) flavors. That’s more episodes of Lost and the Office (well not anymore for the latter, thanks a lot NBC) then is healthy. Then there’s the iPod Nano “Fatty”, which really will just be known as the Nano (3rd gen). The Nano is compact, square, and plays video. The Nano and classic both have coverflow as we have come to love in iTunes and even more so on the iPhone. I can’t imagine that it will be as fun using the touch wheel, and early reports say the coverflow is a bit choppy, can’t beat the original. It’s a nice looking little device, but watching movies on that tiny little screen can’t be comfortable. But on top of it all comes the iPod Touch, a gutted iPhone with some flare. The new device is thinner then the iPhone and obviously does not have the phone features. But it is the same iPod that we love on the iPhone and it even has Safari, Youtube and WiFi. It comes in 8GB for $299 and 16GB for $399. The slightly smaller and more angular cousin to the iPhone is looking good, and when it releases in the near future it will no doubt create a buzz.
So how do my fellow iPhone owner (and lovers) feel about all of this. Does the touch take away from the allure of the iPhone. Sure we can make calls, text, and do so much more on our Apple phone, but will seeing more and more of these devices take a way from it all? Not to mention the price cuts on the iPhone which I mentioned in my previous post. How do you feel about it all?
Unlocks, Crashes and Jail?! All On Your iPhone. August 28, 2007
Posted by Zach in Apple, Tech, iPhone.add a comment
Good morning everyone, been a little while since my last update, yet again. Have been very busy in preparation which starts on Thursday, and I am not looking forward to it in the slightest. But, I’ve got my cup of coffee and some news on the iPhone, so I am good to go for now.
By now you’ve all heard about all of these recent claims of iPhone unlocking goodness. One teenager, George Hotz of New Jersey, even traded three unlocked 8G iPhones for a Nissan 350Z. Not a bad deal for George, who spent almost eight hours a day trying to unlock his iPhone. And still even more reports of unlocks have been rolling in, some out of Israel, and all over the world. There has even been a $100,000 dollar offer from an anonymous source wishing to sell the iPhones online. So, this all sounds nice, new service providers, money being made by hard working kids and hackers, but what does this mean for us and them?
Well, we can’t really be certain, but let’s look at what we have here. AT&T and Apple have been locked in with a contract ever since the first Motorola ROKR came out, and failed miserably. Now that the all mighty iPhone has been released one would think that Apple intends to keep that bond completely and totally exclusive. Of course, there’s no way that could hold, too many people have too much time to break the barriers, and make money. How do the iPhone unlocks help us? Well, in time you probably will have a simple solution to unlocking your iPhone for free. Or, you could just pay to buy one already unlocked or to have it unlocked in due time. Personally I do not see any reason for it as I have actually had no problems with AT&T and their service, even whilst traveling. Now, sites such uniquephones.com have already started the race to selling unlocked phones, but they’ve hit a road block comprised of lawyers.
Come on people-as if AT&T would just let this all happen, especially with Mr.Jobs backing them. Apparently uniquephones.com and other sites claiming to be providing the unlocked phone have received calls and messages from lawyers claiming to represent AT&T. The uniquephones.com blog says, “Until an assessment is made of the potential of legal action, Uniquephones is unable to release the unlocking software for sale.” Hm, so I guess, no unlocking then? Well, we’ll all just have to wait and see, because Apple and AT&T do not want this happening and their lawyers will be very busy in the coming weeks, but it would come as little surprise if unlocked iPhones start seeing the light of day, and they probably will see it very soon.
And, in other news, my iPhone has crashed yet again, resulting in a system restore. Thankfully this time I was able to retrieve all of my contacts, text messages, and the like. I had the problem after installing the installer.app, and my iPhone just went into recovery mode after a sync. Ah, well.
Youtube, Now With Added Ads?! August 22, 2007
Posted by Zach in Tech, Video, Youtube.add a comment
As if Youtube hasn’t been successful enough, come on people, Google bought the site! What more could you ask for? How about ads appearing at the bottom of every video from now on? Youtube is now making a move common on other video focused sites by placing eye catching (though semi transparent) ads at the bottom of their videos 15 seconds into whatever it is that you may be watching. Clicking on the ad pauses your video and plays an ad video in the same window. Now, I know it is not a big deal, and unlike some people, I really don’t think that Youtube is the only source out there. Still, I am surprised by this move, I thought Youtube would stick to the few ads on the home page, and lots of front page clips promoting upcoming movies and such without really obstructing their videos. What are your thoughts on this move? Does it matter?
