FaceTime Eats Data Allowance

Someone has done the unspeakable and used a jailbroken iPhone 4 to use FaceTime over 3G (instead of WiFi). If you were wondering why Apple haven’t allowed it as yet, you can stop. They found it used around 3MB’s a minute, or in other words would use you entire 200mb allowance in around an hour. As you could imagine, it could become an expensive novelty quickly.

Jump over to Gizmodo for more info.

Fring Approved To Kill Facetime?

The biggest complaint to date with Facetime is its inability to work over 3G networks. While this hasn’t changed, Apple did something very unusual. They approved an update for Fring that does video chat over 3G. For people who don’t know what Fring is, it is a Skype competitor to a degree. It focuses more on mobile handsets, and already has a large fan base on Android (and on the iPhone).
What does it mean for Facetime when you can now get an application that can do what Facetime can do but with less restriction and an already larger user base? Is Chrome for iPhone next?

Via [Engadget]

Does The iPhone 4 Need A Recall?

CIO has released an article today regarding the iPhone 4′s mounting amount of issues. The articles writer, Tom Kaneshidge, even went as far to say the R word (recall). He also brings up other issues such as it being covered in glass, the possible yellow spot issues and limited use of the Facetime (plus more).
I am not a fan of Apple, but I believe that Tom is wrong. There are few products ever released that have sold so many in such a few short days, and are as closely inspected as Apple products. When you think that the iPhone 4 has already sold millions of units, it would be understandable to have some complaints. Even if 1% of the guaranteed 1.5million iPhone 4′s sold have a slight issue (such as reception) that would be 15,000 phones. Compare that to Samsung selling 100,000 Galaxy S’s (in Japan) and the difference is huge.
What Apple are doing incredible bad is handling the whole matter. When people look to you as not being the big business types who write the consumer off as stupid, they are sure doing the opposite. The issue has been in major newspapers, it is past the point where Apple have to address this publicly.
The other points he makes about yellow spots, video conferencing, app development, etc.. are not real issues. Yellow spots are real issues covered by warranty. Apple told people the limitations of Facetime at launch and saying that the different screen sizes adds development complexes is ridiculous. Desktop OS’s has had the ability to have multiple resolutions forever, and development is still done for them. It is about being smart and not lazy with your interfaces.
The iPhone is another success. It has excellent marketing and was evolutionary enough to excite fans, but people are getting way to worked up about a product. All Apple products have flaws, just like everyone’s devices. If you don’t like the phone you just brought, then return it and get something else. Build yourself a bridge.

iHand Image from Techtified

Are Portable Media Players Still Revelant?

The Register have recently completed a review on the handsome Cowon iAudio J3. They liked the little device, but couldn’t help comparing it to its Apple counter part, the Touch.
While the Cowon is a run-of-the-mill PMP (portable media player), can the same be said for the iTouch? The Cowon can play music and video, but it doesn’t have wireless, a web browser and an application store. It is purely used for portable media, and at that it is far better then the Apple device (audio quality and video options/quality). The problem arises is when it is priced above the comparable Apple device and on paper doesn’t give you as much. Does this price the dedicated PMP devices out of the market?
Cowon will argue no, but they are one of the last of pure of the PMP players (iRiver still dabbles). Sony’s, Microsoft’s and Archos’s comparable players both come with wireless and a web browser (Sony X Series, Zune and Archos 5). Does it go to show that consumers want to be able to do more at the expensive of doing it better?
As I stumble through news regarding upcoming Samsung PMP running Android, or of the fleets of new smartphones that have high resolution screens and fast processor, it seems enviable that the PMP would suffer. The problem arises when all these new devices don’t hold a candle to the ability of dedicated devices while they are clearly capable of doing it. With lower audio quality and terrible codec support, all the superphones aren’t all that super.
Perhaps Cowon will feel the pressure and add the web abilities while attempting to keep its quality at its best. Perhaps the Androids of the world will tweak the quality of their media abilities. Either way I hope the Cowon’s of the world can stay relevant because only the consumer truly loses in the end.

Sex Industry Catches Up With Steve Jobs

Recently there was an argument regarding the locked down nature of the Apple App Market. Steve Jobs, the man himself, talked about the virtues of the App Store, with the major selling point being no porn. Seems that the adult industry has listened and decided to make FaceTime (Apples new video chat) their new medium of delivery.
While it doesn’t look good for Apple, it will create much needed jobs in the struggling US job market. See Apple, you did something positive without even trying.

Via [Gizmodo]

Engadget Make Lengthy iPhone 4 Review

Engadget have done a extremely long iPhone 4 review, which doesn’t get very technical. They love the device (of course) and found the battery to be surprisingly good. Unfortunately, Engadget is happy with 38 hours of general use. This means you will still have to charge every 2 days or every day with heavy use.
Other then the battery everything else seems pretty damn good. I am normally anti-Apple, but I have to say the iPhone 4 is a truly flash device (without Flash of course). If only it was priced reasonable.

Jump over to Engadget for the long winded review.

Apple Mini Gets Unibody Make Over

As well as the iPhone 4 pre-orders going up tonight, Apple has thrown a little surprise with a Unibody Mac Mini. Both Mac Mini’s get an upgrade with a much needed HDMI output and NVidia graphics card update (Geforce 320m), but manages to keep under 10watts when idle. They also have an SD card slot (in the back of all places) and are made out a single piece of aluminium for extra aero dynamics (or for whatever reason).
Prices are still quite expensive with the base model with the slower processor (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz) starting at $US699 and going up to $US999 for the 2.66GHz model. If you are in the market for an Apple branded media centre box you can’t really go past the Mini. That being said, it will be hard to justify when the Boxee media box comes out (at $199).

Via [Gizmodo]

Tech Needs A New Champion

Once upon a time technology companies pushed innovation instead of marketing. They pushed quality to a higher premium and were rewarded with customer loyalty. Now the opposite is happening. People buy the cheapest shit they can buy, knowing that it will probably break. That is except for a few companies, the biggest of which is Apple.
Apple make almost high quality devices. They focus heavily on how much they can get for the least given. They know they need to innovate, but only to a degree. They hide the hard facts, and use marketing talk to baffle the rest of us.
That is fine, but it is disappointing that Apple can’t be more transparent. They tell you stories such as their A4 is unique and built by Apple. Sure they might have tweaked the design, but it isn’t original Apple. It is an ARM architecture with some Samsung parts tacked on and then tweaked for performance vs power-drain.
Even with that, there is little to fault Apple. They don’t say a price or feature and then change it later. They tell you what you are getting and don’t give you an ounce more or less. No surprises just exactly what you ordered.
That seems to be the opposite with some Android devices. They really try and deliver, but have small flaws or hardware that is well under-specs for the software running on top. It gives you an inconsistent experience, and will push more non tech buyers to the Apple way of doing things.
It isn’t just the mobile operating system, it is the desktop OS as well. Apple don’t use the desktop OS on tablets, they created a new one. They don’t use their desktop OS on small low performance PC’s, they ask you to spend more. They know that there is some cases where things just don’t work. Something Microsoft is learning in the hardest way possible.
We need another Champion in the technology sector. Someone who makes quality and transparent devices, that constantly push boundaries. Someone who is willing to experiment, but always delivers consistently to the consumer. Most important someone who makes devices that last, and aren’t planning on the resale of devices in the next upgrade.
I know I am asking a lot, but the market speaks. More people buy Apple over the competitors, even if the price is higher. They have certain expectations of Apple, and Apple deliver, which is more then I can say for companies like Sony, Samsung and HTC.
Apple creates fanboys out of tech journalists for good reason, because they make better devices then majority of the competition. Don’t take my words for it, read the reviews and look at the sales.
I am hoping that the big boys will pick up their game soon, because I really don’t want to like Apple.

Reasons Not To Buy The iPhone 4

So, this is basically for people who don’t currently own an iPhone, or aren’t happy with their current iPhones.

If you don’t already know  (read the article below this one) the iPhone 4 was announced today. It is a very important upgrade, as it now has to compete with the people still trying to get an iPad, or who have been eying all the new Android devices . It is also finally up to date with all the other smartphones, hardware wise.

The important point is, that it is very comparable to current hardware. Sure it does it slightly better, with better software, but that could all change. You have devices such as the HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S, both being as powerful or possibly more then the iPhone 4.

The first reason not to buy the iPhone 4, is that while the hardware is nice, there are currently devices that are as powerful. Plus, there will be much faster devices soon.

While A4 proccessor uses less power then the last iPhone, it is isn’t the processor that eats majority of the power in a phone. It is the display, and in this case, it is higher resolution and brighter. This means it will use more power. No, it isn’t AMOLED or any other low power technology. No, Apple don’t control the underlying rules of the universe. So the battery may be larger and might last slightly longer then the old, but still expect to charge it every day (or more if you use it more).

The second reason is, the battery is quoted as improved, but that is marketing speak for ‘we had to upgrade the battery, because we upgraded the hardware’.

The Apple eco system (iTunes) is continuously growing. It has books, music, video’s, games, apps and probably many other things. The problem is, once you are in, you have to sacrifice everything to change hardware. You want an Android next year? Get ready to throw away all the money you spent on apps, games and video’s. Netflix will help this a little but, but unfortunately it is US only.

The 3rd reason is once you are Apple, you are Apple for life. If you like technology, then you probably want to carefully consider what you want in the future.

For every reason you have to not get the new iPhone you have an argument to get one. For each person each reason while carry its own weight and depending on which side is heavier is the way you will ultimately go.

iPhone 4 Is Boring

It was exactly what we expected. Gizmodo’s ‘stolen model’ wasn’t fake or even that far from a finished product.
You get an A4 Processor, front facing camera, high resolution display, 24% slimmer, 720p video, better still shots and probably 50 other things. While it is definitely a worthy upgrade, it is still the same old familiar iPhone in the end. That is exactly the reason it is going to sell millions of units.

Via [Gizmodo]