March 17, 2010

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Can the Palm Pre compete?

April 24, 2009 By James Lundy 1 Comment

The release of the Palm Pre is still weeks away yet an internal ATT document has been leaked with talking points to help employee’s defend the iPhone to maintain its dominant market position.

The leaked document can be found here. Most of the comparisons are superficial issues for the most part but that is not what I find interesting about this.

This may look like Palm is getting some free press on this from Apple/ATT but I think it will play out a little differently. You can expect a Pre release sometime in the next few weeks likely a few weeks before the new iPhone will hit the shelves, this would normally be a good strategy for Palm to get some good press as the media gears up for talking about smart-phones with the coming iPhone.

I think this leaked document may get folks attention now but will make it less likely that a future leak of the Pre vs. iPhone designed to hype the Pre will be as effective. Then imaging just about the time some potential Pre owners are about to pull the trigger; Here comes iPhone gen 3.

It may not have been a planned event by Apple/ATT but I don’t think it is going to heart them either.

Filed Under Hardware

Did he say 2 new iPhone Models

April 8, 2009 By James Lundy 1 Comment

In a story over at CNN Money (here) Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. indicated that based on information from his supply chain contacts that he believes there will be 2, that’s right 2 new iPhones come summer. He indicated that before he thought there would be three but based on recent information now believes it to be 2.

From his estimation he calls for a “Pro” and a “Jr” models to be the additions to the current iPhone lineup.

Of course the Pro would have improved processing power and possiably a larger battery.

Could the Jr model be the coveted $99 iPhone everyone thought would hit the streets when Walmart picked up the line?

He also goes on to speculate that ATT may concied to a more flexiable data plan option with the new Jr model. We will have to wait and see.

Filed Under Rumors, iPhone Tagged With iphone pro, new iphone, Rumor

Yahoo! Messenger for the iPhone

April 8, 2009 By James Lundy Leave a Comment

Last week Yahoo! released a version of their messenger client for the iPhone.

When I first installed it it seemed to have a few issues with updating the status of my contacts but I attribute that to the program getting the details for each contact in the list. After i was signed in for a while the avatars showed up for each contact and the status updated fairly quick.

If your contact use an avatar it will show them in your contact list as well as the status of each contact. To start a converation with a contact that is online simply touch the contact you want and it will open to the message screen. From there you can type and send your message as usual.

One thing that is missing as with other popular clients is a landscape mode for typing out your messages. This would make life a lot easier for people like me that have trouble typing quickly in the normal text entry mode.

You can easily update your online status from the contact tab or from the message tab but you are limited to available, busy and invisiable only. The full version has a few more options than that.

There are a couple of nice features that stand out. You can send URL’s from a list although the list is very small and I am not sure how you can add to it so we will have to see if this becomes more useful in the future.

One of the big features is emotions. There is a fairly decent selection of emotions to choose from and they show fully both on the iPhone and the receiving client once sent.

Additionally you can send photos both ways from a client to the iPhone and from your iPhone. This worked fairly well however if you plan on sending multiple pictures to the same person after the first one the recieveing party will start having problems if you try to save it to the same folder. If you rename the original sent file before sending the next file it works fine but this is something Yahoo! will need to address.

Another issue I had was the photos I sent to the iPhone promted for acceptance and when accepted appeared to transfer the photo but I have no idea where it put it.  This is also a bit of a problem. It did not show up in photos and I could not find it anywhere else on the iPhone.

So overall I would say that the IM part of the app works well and has emotion but no landscape mode and issues with sending files are areas that need to be addressed right away.

Filed Under iPhone Apps Tagged With iPhone, messenger, Yahoo, Yahoo! messenger

Control you home dvr with DIRECTV APP

April 8, 2009 By James Lundy Leave a Comment
directv iphone app

directv iphone app

This application has been in the app store for a few weeks now but recently i had the need to use it.

I have used the online mobile interface before and was not that impressed, but DIRECTV got it right with the iPhone app.

You will already have to have an online account setup to use the app but setting one up is no big deal. once you sign in you do not have to do it again the next time you use the app which is nice.

The interface is very straight forward, you can browse for a show or run a search. Once you find your show you can choose to record the episode or the series. Next you select the dvr you want to record with.

This is the only part I found a little tricky, this is more my fault than the app, was that I have 3 dvr’s in my house and they where all labeled bedroom.

This can easily be fixed via the online interface and just rename them but something to be aware of.

Other than that I was very painlessly able to find the show I wanted to record and set up the recording without a hitch.

If you have DIRECTV this is a must have app.

Filed Under iPhone Apps Tagged With DIRECTv, dvr recording, iPhone

Learn how to use your Mac at Best Buy

March 29, 2009 By James Lundy 1 Comment

I have known for some time that if you are lucky enough to live close to an Apple retail store that you can go there and get lessons on how to use Apple products. I always thought that was a great thing if you happened to live near one. I do not.

This weekend I was shopping for some new electronics and stopped in at best buy. As i was browsing through the store I saw a large Apple display. I made the assumption it was a product promotion or something and kept shopping.

Well as I got closer to the display I realized there where several people gathered around and there was almost every Apple hardware product represented. I inquired a bit further and found that Best Buy was actually holding Apple training sessions for Mac users. They had a schedule of topics so you can plan to attend a subject of interest to you.

This day they where doing a fairly in depth training on how to use Garage Band.

I do not know if this is occurring at all best buy stores but if you live in an area where an Apple store is not close by then give Best Buy a try and you may be able to pick up some free training.

Filed Under How To's Tagged With .Mac, Apple Training, Best Buy

Apple to Introduce a 17-Inch iMac Soon?

March 21, 2009 By James Lundy 1 Comment

Apple has released information on the education enews site (here) that indicates that there may be another iMac in our future.

The current offering has a 20-inch and a 24-inch model. The new iMac would be a 17-inch model and be priced starting at $899.

There are no technical specs listed and is currently not mentioned on the iMac site.

Is it possible that this new release on the educational site went out just a little too early and we will see the new 17 inch iMac in the next few months?

We will keep an eye out and let you know.

Filed Under Hardware, Rumors Tagged With Apple, imac 17

Apple and AT&T Sued Over iPhone 3G Speeds… Again

March 20, 2009 By James Lundy Leave a Comment

Apple is again the target of a class action lawsuit concerning 3G network speeds and conectivity.

The lawsuit (here) was filed on March 16th, in New Jersey, by Damone Dickerson and claims that Apple and ATT misrepresented both the availability and the quality of the 3G network. They further claim that Apple represented full and continuous 3G speeds and that either a hardware or a software problem are responsible for poor 3G performance.

I do find it interesting that in the suit the lawyers reference a blog as there best argument for the performance problems users are claiming.

They state in their claim that “3g networks are supposed to have a potential transfer rate of 3,000,000 bits per second (3Mbps)”.

Well for a lawsuit focusing on an accurate representation of claims i hate to break it to these guys that 3Mb is actually 3145728 bits.

They also state that apple provides no disclaimer on the packaging. While I do not know when his iPhone was purchased mine clearly states on the box “Wireless service is solely the responsibility of your service provider.”

We will see if this gets thrown out. Apple has requested that another very similar suit be thrown out but there has not yet been a ruling. We will have to see.

Filed Under iPhone Tagged With 3G, Apple, AT&T, iPhone, sued

Ohio Woman Sues Apple Over Fiery iPod Touch

March 16, 2009 By James Lundy 2 Comments

In a claim (pdf) filed in the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO  WESTERN DIVISION an Ohio woman Lynette Antrobus file a civil suit against Apple claiming that her son’s iPod Touch caused second degree burns when it caught fire in his pocket at school.

According to the claim he  “heard a loud pop and immediately felt a burning sensation on his leg.”

The iPod in question was purchased November 17, 2008 from a store in ohio, the suit also includes 10 unnamed store employees.

The incident happened on Dec. 4, 2008 and the suit is asking for $75K in damages, $75K or more in punitive damages and an additional $75K for special damages claiming the following:

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Apple Computer, Inc. and/ John Doe 1-10’s wrongful acts or omissions, negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, wanton and willful disregard for the safety of their business invitees, customers, and/or patrons like Plaintiffs as described above, Plaintiff A. V. has, in addition to the losses and damages aforedescribed, experienced pain, suffering, scarring, disability, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of the usual activities of daily life, and a loss of income and the ability to earn income in the future permanently for the rest of his life.”

Now i think this is just a bit over the top. Over at familydoctor.org a second degree burn is described as “Thicker burns, called second-degree burns, have blisters and are painful. The skin is very red or splotchy, and it may swell a lot.”  Additionally the time to heal is said to be “Second-degree burns usually heal in 2 to 3 weeks.”

That hardly seems to me like a life long injury causing a loss of the ability to earn income. We will have to wait this one out to see what a jury thinks.

Filed Under More... Tagged With Fire, iPod Touch, law suit, sue

3rd Party memory for Mac Pro could save you $1600!

March 13, 2009 By James Lundy 1 Comment

Who has not been tempted to beef up their new Mac Pro to hold as much memory as humanly possible? If you add it during the purchase from apple it can be expensive, especially for the higher capacities. Now there is an alternative for your new Quad or 8 Core Mac Pros.  The folks over at Other World Computing have kits from 6GB and 8GB for the Quad core and from 8GB to 32GB for the 8 core models.

The 8GB upgrade is actually cheaper from apple but the saving really start adding up after that topping out at a whopping $1600 on the 32GB 8 core upgrade.

Here is a breakdown of the kit sizes and savings for the 8 core model:

If you just have to have the top of the line, it may pay off to do a memory swap your self and opting for the base memory on the 8 core Mac Pro. If you can manage to survive on just 8 or 12GB then it is probably not worth the trouble. Just have Apple do the work for you.

If any of you do actually drop the 5 grand for the 32GB kit send in some pictures, I want to see it.

Filed Under Hardware Tagged With 32GB, Mac Pro, Memory, upgrade

WOZ fractures leg while practicing for Dancing with the Stars!

March 12, 2009 By James Lundy Leave a Comment

Gizmodo just uncovered a picture of WOZ leaving the hospital in a leg brace, which they where able to confirm is a fractured leg.

They indicated he will be able to continue the show. Head over to Gizmodo for the story.

Filed Under All News, More... Tagged With Dancing With the Stars, Fractured leg, Woz
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