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Tuesday

Aug312010

Apple Bingo & Streaming for Sept 1 Event

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 8:11PM

It's that time again, and you can get your very own Bingo Card (compliments of CarrieActually.com to play along during the keynote. If you don't like her predictions, print out this Blank Card and fill in your own.

And even cooler, Apple is STREAMING this event. I think the reason is probably two fold. One to show off that they can stream a huge event and are setup for delivering huge amounts of content, and two, they don't want any MiFis and live bloggers hogging up the bandwidth and spectrum creating problems akin to the last keynote. Apple is using HTTP open standards, but from what I hear, it's not available on Windows. So, you need an iOS device (iPhone or iPod Touch) or a Mac with OS X 10.6; I'm sure TWIT.TV will be simulcasting it. With all of the problems Apple has had this year, I REALLY have my fingers crossed that this goes off well.

Just for good measure, I'll also be watching the GDGT Liveblog. They always do an excellent job.

Prediction wise, for me, I'm prepared to be underwhelmed. I think there will be an new Apple TV-ish device, but I don't think it will be everything that people expect. Will it run some apps? Probably, such as Netflix, etc. . However, I don't expect to be gaming on it. Be prepared to be underwhelmed. I promise you will be.

I do expect to see iOS 4 for the iPad, and I bet it will have some custom features not available on the iPhone. That's been a long time coming, and is sure to make users happy.

New iPod Touches for sure. Definitely Front and rear cameras, but I'm not sure about the retina display. It would be killer if they added that.

I REALLY hope for a new iLife suite, but I doubt they would announce it at an event. Well, then again, they may announce it, but not spend any demo time. Hey at least that's ONE affordable Apple product I'm going to buy sight unseen.

We'll know tomorrow @ 10am PST / 1PM EST

Update on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 3:09PM by

jcost

My Bingo Card.

jcost | |

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Friday

Jul232010

iPhone 4 Case Program - An App for That

Friday, July 23, 2010 at 9:44AM

Today Apple officially launched the iPhone 4 case program (and it literally is a program you need to use!), to order your free case for the iPhone 4. This case is offered to those with reception problems (aka - all iPhone 4s in low signal areas).

You must first go to the App store and download the iPhone 4 Case Program app. Once you have installed it, login with your Apple ID and then select from one of several iPhone cases.

They had offerings from Speck, Belkin, Griffin, and InCase. Also offered is an Apple brand Black iPhone Bumper. Speaking of Bumpers, if you had previously purchased one off of the online Apple Store, you will automatically receive a refund, and this will be your compensation for a free case. If you purcahsed it at an Apple Retail store, you can bring in your receipt for a refund. It's a little more painful if you purchased from AT&T, as you then have to mail in a rebate form.

I chose a Griffin Reveal Etch case, and hope it was a good choice. It's supposed to be a 1.6mm thin case. I assume it alleviates the antenna issues, or it wouldn't be one of those offered.

Offering a free case does help take some of the heat off of Apple, as it is the right thing to do. With that said, I don't think a case should be mandatory, and there will be those that choose to go case-free.

This free case offer is only available to those that have bought an iPhone 4 between now and September 30th.

jcost | |

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Thursday

Jun242010

iPhone 4 Screen and Signal Problems

Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 9:30PM

Now that the new iPhone 4 is in the hands of thousands, it didn't take long for people to start complaining.

The first one that has cropped up is a yellowing on the bottom of some of the displays. It seems that it's really only noticeable when there is a full gray background. The concensus is to... tada.. wait. Some experts are thinking that since this is a rushed product, and was made just days ago that the bonding agent hasn't fully evaporated yet. Time will only tell on that one. Check out Gizmodo's reports page.

Up next is the problem of signal strength. People have immediately noticed that when an iPhone 4 is laying on the table, it has a much higher signal strength that when you are holding it. If you hold it in the bottom corner of the phone in your left hand, you can literally watch the bars go down in seconds.

Adam Christianson of The MacCast has created a video of this problem replicated on his 3GS running iOS 4. Seems like an existing problem, it's just more noticeable on the iPhone 4 since the antenna comes in direct contact with your hand.

When addressed to Steve Jobs, his answer was essentially "don't hold it that way".

Here is a link to the Mac Rumors site that shows the exact email.

Steve Jobs Email

At least Apple is acknowledging this. Seems as if we need to buy those Apple Bumpers they made for the iPhone 4 after all.

jcost | |

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Wednesday

Jun162010

iPhone 4 Pre-Order Delays

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 5:50PM

Between AT&T and Apple, pre-ordering an iPhone 4 was darn near impossible yesterday. I tried several times, but either the qualification didn't work (AT&T's fault) or the Apple.com server timed out (Apple's fault).

Apple did launch an iPhone Apple Store app, which enabled you to pre-order the phone from your iPhone/iPod Touch. Many people found this to be successful, but I was greeted with an app that crashed multiple times when I tried to check eligibility. Also, it couldn't find an Apple store when I entered my Zip code. This app needs some work.

As it stands now, Apple has had 600,000+ pre-orders. Pretty amazing that they didn't plan for this. It's the first iPhone that is evolving into something more than the previous iteration. Reports from my followers say that they are getting theirs between June 24th and Mid-July.

Apple has stopped taking pre-orders, and when I tried to reserve mine, I was greeted with 'Stop by the Apple Store on launch day - 1st come, 1st serve'. Even though it says clearly, 'Pre-Order'. Oh well, patience is a virtue.

Update on Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 8:58AM by

jcost

Statement by Apple on iPhone 4 Pre-Orders

CUPERTINO, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple's new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions. Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.

jcost | |

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