An IPhone Revisit

“Call Harold Fox home,” I’ll say. “Subway State Street work,” the phone will reply.

It’s been about a year since I got my iPhone. That’s long enough to form an opinion, right?

I love/hate the phone! No middle ground. Some things are spectacular while others leave me scratching my head.

Recently a friend told me he was shying away from a touchscreen phone because he was scared he wouldn’t be able to hit the keys correctly. That fear, which I shared before getting the iPhone, is overblown. You get used to touching correctly to achieve your goal in a hurry. Even when you miss the auto-correction is mostly good–not always!

There’s so much the phone does… so many reasons to use it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at dinner with co-workers or even talking to a friend and pulled out the phone to find the answer to a question. That’s powerful!

I don’t own a GPS unit for my car, but the iPhone is a more than passable stand-in using free software from MapQuest.

It’s beautifully built. The iPhone is Swiss watchlike in its fit and finish.

What irks me is what the phone won’t do. I can’t sync to my laptop without getting a cable and plugging the phone in. Is the phone capable of syncing wirelessly? Yes, because apps exist to do just that with a jailbroken&#185 phone. Apple just won’t allow it!

The same goes for streaming audio. If I listen to NPR’s streaming programs Apple says they must go through the iPhone’s tiny speaker which is hardly audible in my car. I know I can stream to my Bluetooth earpiece because I have a program which does that, but only on phones which are jailbroken.

Some of Apple’s moves are unexplainable. Others are to protect its revenue stream. That seems stingy considering I’ve already bought the phone.

I like to use the handsfree dialing capability. With my earpiece in one it’s just one press of a button away. It is by far the least dependable part of the phone!

“Call Harold Fox home,” I’ll say.

“Subway State Street work,” the phone will reply.

Then I have to scramble to cancel the call before it goes through.

Once when calling my parents it couldn’t figure out which phone.

“Harold Fox, home or mobile?” it asked.

“Home,” I replied.

“Mobile,” the phone confirmed and off it went to ring up my parent’s cellphone.

I guess the true test of any product is if you’d buy another?

Yes, I would.

&#185 – Jailbreaking refers to unlocking the phone so software which hasn’t been approved by Apple can be installed.

Fall Photos Come Easy

I’m sure there’s some advantage of using my Canon DSLR but today I could see none.

This time of year is made for picture taking. That’s why about 45 seconds after I left my driveway I stopped to take this photo. It’s a small mill pond surrounded by old trees. If I’ve taken one shot I’ve taken a thousand shots from this vantage at the side of the road.

This photo was taken by my iPhone camera. I’m sure there’s some advantage of using my Canon DSLR but today I could see none.

Verizon Hasn’t Learned The Lesson Of Rickel Home Centers

As an iPhone user let me tell you simultaneous data and voice is everything the iPhone is about.

I was thinking of Rickel Home Centers this afternoon. Remember Rickel?

Rickel helps you do it better
Do it beter with Rickel!

Before the advent of big box stores Rickel was a chain of moderately large hardware stores. As Home Depot began to encroach on its territory Rickel rolled out a commercial where they made fun of Home Depot’s greatest strength–its size!

Home Depot stores were too large they implied. You’ll be confused… slowed down… need to bring provisions.

How’d that work for you Rickel? Oops.

I thought of that because of a Wall Street Journal quote from a Verizon spokesman. It was pointed out even with iPhones Verizon’s CDMA network (CDMA is Verizon’s cellphone transmission protocol) doesn’t allow for simultaneous voice and data from the same device. You can’t talk and use data at the same time.

Verizon Wireless is working on providing that capability, said Verizon executive Brian Higgins. He wouldn’t say when it will be ready, but played down the need for handling voice and data at the same time.

“I think there are fringe cases where something like that could be important,” Mr. Higgins said. “For a vast majority of customers, I don’t think it’s a terribly important use case.”

Obviously Brian never heard the “Home Depot is too big” Rickel ads.

As an iPhone user let me tell you simultaneous data and voice is everything the iPhone is about. For new iPhone users this might not be a big deal, but anyone whose already using an iPhone and is thinking of switching this could be a deal breaker.

The More Things Change The More Money Talks

If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.

There is a quote attributed to Andrew Lewis (who sells t-shirts emblazoned with it):

If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.

Keep that in mind. Things are changing in the tech world. They’re probably not changing for your benefit. As products evolve the user is more-and-more the product being delivered to others. You are less lkely to be in control of your digital fate.

The Times had a big article this weekend about HTML5 the new iteration of the language that runs the Worldwide Web.

In the next few years, a powerful new suite of capabilities will become available to Web developers that could give marketers and advertisers access to many more details about computer users’ online activities. Nearly everyone who uses the Internet will face the privacy risks that come with those capabilities, which are an integral part of the Web language that will soon power the Internet: HTML 5.

Marketers and advertisers are paying for access and they’ll call the shots! You are more valuable to them when they’ve probed into things you might consider private.

The same goes with your cellphone. My iPhone is jailbroken which means I’m not limited to installing programs Apple approves of and profits from. Jailbreaking is to my benefit not the benefit of the cell providers or operators of app stores.

A cautionary story circulating this weekend told the tale of T-mobile’s new tact to stop jailbreaking of its Android phones. Basically the phone will ‘cleanse’ itself of unapproved files you’ve loaded at regular intervals.

… when unsuspecting members of the public buy The “T-Mobile G2 with Google” phone at a T-Mobile store, they aren’t getting a customizable mobile computer or phone but are instead getting a device where the hardware itself dramatically limits users’ right to make changes to their computers and install the operating system of their choice.

Some tech sites have taken to calling the G2’s hidden program a ‘rootkit.’ That’s a scare tactic. However, to say this ‘feature’ acts the same way a difficult to cleanse computer virus acts isn’t far off point.

I saw early signs of this trend when I bought this Dell 640m with Windows Vista a few years ago. The ability to record audio that’s being sent to the speakers had been removed. The hardware to do it was still in the laptop (since it does it in its Windows XP version) but the functionality had been stripped from the operating system. This wasn’t done for end users but for content producers who are Microsoft’s more important customers.

If you’re used to surfing to anything on the Internet or fast forwarding your DVR through commercials be prepared to see those features fade! You’re benefitting to the detriment of those who really pay the freight.

The digital golden age might already be over.

Sleeping Giant In The Clouds

This shot was taken with my iPhone using HDR Pro to allow the dark and light to co-exist.

I pulled off the road this afternoon on my way in to work. It’s a grey, rainy day in Connecticut. Low clouds obscured the peak of Sleeping Giant Mountain.

This shot was taken with my iPhone using HDR Pro to allow the dark and light to co-exist. In a perfect world I’d Photoshop away the power lines.

No–actually in a perfect world the lines would be underground.

I’ve driven past Sleeping Giant every day for twenty years. I am still in awe of its beauty.

Is This Any Way To Run A Business?

If I read this correctly at&t’s hopes for a rosy future aren’t pinned on a superior product. In large part of their future is hinged on their customer’s expense and difficulty in switching to another carrier!

I am a reasonably happy at&t customer. Yes, there are problems. About 50% of the time I speak to my child in California the call is dropped. It’s tough to make calls or use my data plan from New York City. As we found in June at&t service at Boston’s Fenway Park… oy!

For me in Connecticut mostly it’s fine and even with a love/hate relationship my iPhone is by far the best phone I’ve ever held in my sweaty hand.

That preface is necessary because I want to talk about at&t’s business a little. They have thrived with the iPhone, but it seems they’ll soon be losing their exclusivity.

If I were at&t I’d worry.

Oh hell, how can they not worry? Still their CEO was quoted today downplaying the downside of post-iPhone defections. Here’s how Electronista played it.:

These would be locked into an extended contract that would make it difficult to switch, [at&t CEO Randall] Stephenson said. The statements also gave an opportunity to reiterate beliefs that corporate and family plans would save AT&T, as 80 percent are in non-individual plans that are costlier or more impractical to leave.

If I read this correctly at&t’s hopes for a rosy future aren’t pinned on a superior product. Their business model seems predicated on their customer’s expense and difficulty in switching to another carrier!

I’m not a business person. I probably don’t see the big picture. I just wish this wasn’t how big business worked.

Is The Future of Video Portable?

I am talking about watching live video on the iPhone, but any comparable device will work. The device must be fully portable.

I’m on the sofa. Just a few lights on down here. As I type on my laptop the Phillies are playing on the iPhone.

The image at the top of this entry is a real size screengrab off the iPhone. That’s how it looks. I think it’s pretty darn good on WiFi. 3G has less bandwidth so sometimes the picture gets a little blockier.

I’ve written about this before. Allow me one more shot. The portable media player is a very powerful platform.

A few definitions first.

I am talking about watching live video on the iPhone, but any comparable device will work. The device must be fully portable. I’m using my WiFi network at home, but the phone will effortlessly (though not smoothly) get its data through the cellular 3G network when needed.

What’s the right programming for these portable devices? Figure that out and win the prize. Nobody knows for sure. Sports works, but not when it’s also available on the big screen.

Portable needs content different from fixed. The standard thirty minute TV blocks don’t work here.

This would be narrowcasting as opposed to broadcasting–specialized programming to fit an occupation or hobby or locale. To thrive the programming must be short and compelling–compelling content. Production values aren’t as important when the viewer wants what’s in the show. That allows lower production costs.

I purchase a subscription to see the Phils. That’s a revenue stream legacy TV doesn’t get. Is advertiser supported also a viable option, or maybe a blend of both?

The real business model is still unwrtten.

How much of a problem is bandwidth and battery life? Video sucks batteries and bandwidth voraciously. It’s all problematic at best.

It’s just the more I use a mobile video platform the more powerful it seems. As soon as everyone else has the opportunity to use portable video this whole concept will explode.

I’ve Got No Choice With Apple’s New Terms

No negotiations. No grace period. Agree or stay away. Agree is the only choice you’re given–literally and figuratively!

I picked up a new app for my iPhone tonight. That meant going to the apps store where a new license agreement was waiting for me.

I pasted my screencap in at a larger than normal size so you could easily see what I saw. The agreement is 62 screens long!

I really had no choice. In order to properly bring my iPhone updated and enhanced software I have to agree. No negotiations. No grace period. Agree or stay away. Agree is the only choice you’re given–literally and figuratively!

That sucks.

What is it that Apple wants that takes up 62 pages? What do they want today they didn’t want yesterday? Why can they change the rule after I’ve already bought the phone and gotten locked into their system?

There’s a good reason I feel powerless.

I don’t have the answers. I wish I did.

Jailbreaking My iPhone

Jailbreaking is against at&t’s/Apple’s policies. End of story until last week when the Librarian of Congress ruled it’s actually OK.

I performed a jailbreak on my iPhone Sunday night.

Jailbreaking is a process that allows iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch users to run third-party unsigned code on their devices by unlocking the operating system and allowing the user root access. Once jailbroken, iPhone users are able to download many extensions and themes previously unavailable through the App Store via unofficial installers such as Cydia. A jailbroken iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch is still able to use the App Store and iTunes.

Jailbreaking is against at&t’s/Apple’s policies. End of story until last week when the Librarian of Congress ruled it’s actually OK. The Library of Congress is the keeper of copyrights and this is an exemption they can issue… and did.

The jailbreak itself was incredibly easy. That’s a problem. All I did was visit a website and click one link. Too easy–seriously. It makes me very uneasy.

Someone found a security hole in the iPhone’s Safari web browser wide enough to drive a truck through. The jailbreak worked because an improperly formed pdf file was able to gain access to the ‘root’ of the iPhone’s operating system.

It was OK this time because I consciously downloaded the file. Unfortunately someone could fashion a drive-by attack using the same method (and here are some examples already tried!)! Go to a website, get infected invisibly!

This is a weakness caused by Apple’s programming. I’m astounded they haven’t immediately fixed the problem.

Obviously I have crossed purposes here. I want to jailbreak, but I don’t want others to have similar access without my permission.

I’m also upset with the writers of this jailbreak code. By openly exploiting this weakness they created a roadmap for those with less noble purpose.

A lot of the responsibility rests on Apple because their policies have limited the inherent capabilities of the iPhone. People just want to unlock what the phone can actually do. There is an incentive to delve into grey areas which Apple could easily fill.

There’s lots of blame to go around. There’s lots that’s troubling.

iPhone 4 Solution: The Part That Doesn’t Make Sense

Unfortunately some of Jobs’ presentation didn’t make sense to me, specifically where he said all smartphones suffer signal degradation when you hold them the wrong way.

Steve Jobs gave another iPhone 4 presentation today. This wasn’t as joyous as his first because he was trying to undo the damage from a small technical problem that Apple milked into a large PR problem.

The solution to Apple’s iPhone 4 antenna woes is free cases for all! Even Consumer Reports was hoping for that solution. Who am I to not approve?

Unfortunately some of Jobs’ presentation didn’t make sense to me, specifically where he said all smartphones suffer signal degradation when you hold them the wrong way.

  • The iPhone’s antenna is external–actually part of the case
  • Holding the phone with your finger in the wrong spot on the antenna detunes it attenuating the signal
  • A plastic or rubber case/bumper will solve the problem by moving your finger off the antenna

But Steve, the other smartphones already have plastic around their antennas because all the other smartphones have their antennas inside the case.

Either

  • A case solves the iPhone’s problems
  • or

  • The other ‘pre-cased’ phones really don’t suffer this problem.

It doesn’t seem like it can be both. It’s not a big deal, but I still feel like I’m being spun. I hate being spun.

Oh Apple

Oh Apple. You shot yourself in the foot with your own gun. It wasn’t pretty. Even Toyota feels bad for you.

Oh Apple. You shot yourself in the foot with your own gun. It wasn’t pretty. Even Toyota feels bad for you.

To briefly recap, Apple released the iPhone 4 to uniformly rave reviews. Then people began to notice holding the phone in your hand could weaken the signal enough to disconnect your call!

PC World said,

In an e-mail Jobs downplayed users’ reception gripes as a “non-issue.” Meanwhile, others within Apple are advising iPhone 4 users to avoid gripping the device from the lower left corner.

Yeah user–it’s your fault.

Later Apple claimed there was no antenna problem. The signal bars were calculated improperly (meaning they historically made at&t’s network look better than it was!). Now Consumer Reports has burst that balloon.

When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone’s lower left side—an easy thing, especially for lefties—the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you’re in an area with a weak signal. Due to this problem, we can’t recommend the iPhone 4.

Apple is putting on a clinic in how to kill your brand. Their strong selling points were unquestioned quality and reliability. This isn’t some Acer or Asus–it’s Apple.

Airlines walked this road. Early on the old line airlines turned up their noses at the low cost competitors. That service differential is gone. Now they compete solely on price and the legacy carriers operate from a weakened position.

Apple has scheduled a Friday press conference. They need to take responsibility even if they don’t feel responsible. Apple needs to finally claim some high ground.

The Frustration Of Style Over Substance

What happened to play testing products? The developers probably never use the product once it’s out of their dev hands.

We’re going on vacation soon, cruising to the Canadian Maritimes. I thought it would be nice to pack my iPhone with some ‘content’ so I could sit on deck, soak up the sun and be ‘edutained.’

I headed to iTunes last night–specifically the podcast section. There are hundreds of geeky university lectures to listen to or see.

You want me to admit I’m King Geek? Fine. I’m King Geek.

Often these lectures delve into subjects far off the beaten path. Thankfully the iPhone’s beautiful screen makes seeing and reading text easy… except here.

In order to preserve the beauty of the page design the descriptive text has been truncated to the point the subject matter can’t be discerned! Look at the screencap (above left) and see if you can figure out what these lectures are about?

Really Apple? Is this what you really wanted to do?

Apple isn’t alone here. My Comcast DVR often cuts movie and program titles to a single word. What movie or show is “Murder?” Who the hell knows? I surely don’t.

What happened to play testing products? The developers probably never use the product once it’s out of their dev hands.

Isn’t anyone looking to see if what’s been designed actually works?

Blogger’s addendum: Yes I was up at 4:37 AM getting this screencap. Guilty as charged.

Iphone’s Rotten Apple

We decided from the outset to set the formula for our bars-of-signal strength indicator to make the iPhone look good — to make it look as if it “gets more bars”. That decision has now bitten us on our ass.

Oh Apple. How could you take the sparkle covered unicorn of technology, the iPhone 4, and screw it up? The controversy over cell reception with the new iPhone 4 is fading away, but make no mistake you are injured. It’s not pretty.

If you’ve been under a rock for the last week or so let me set the scene.

Apple released the new iPhone 4 and almost immediately heard from users there were reception problems. Hold your hand in the wrong place (the most convenient place for your hand to be) and the incoming signal as displayed on the beautiful iPhone 4 screen would plunge. Some folks reported going from four bars to just one by merely picking up their phone.

A name was coined for the problem: Death Grip. That’s a p.r. nightmare in itself.

Steve Jobs’ rollout of the iPhone 4 played up the new ‘integrated in the case’ antenna. That means the whole hand/reception problem was more than a little embarrassing.

Last Thursday Endgadget posted this response to the antenna problem from Apple:

In essence, Apple cops to the fact there are reception issues with the new iPhone — namely, that if you cover the bottom-left corner of the phone and bridge the gap between the notch there with your naked flesh, you could see some signal degradation. Yes, you read that right: it’s not a software or production issue, simply a matter of the physical location of your hand in regards to the phone’s antenna. The company’s suggested fix? Move your hand position, or get a case which covers that part of the phone, thus breaking contact.

So Apple’s checked the problem and it’s YOU! Maybe they misread the old adage as “the customer is always right handed?”

On top of this a series of emails were circulated and attributed to Steve Jobs. In Jobs’ typically terse style they dismiss or downplay the complaints of Apple’s customers. Some took a decidedly “let them eat cake” tone.

There’s a question now whether those emails were real but no one disavowed them at the time. Disavow and undo are two separate concepts.

Finally today another announcement from Apple… a strange announcement.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong.

So, yes a hand in the wrong spot does reduce the signal strength, but not to the extent shown on the phone.

John Gruber at Daring Fireball rewrote Apple’s announcement to reflect what he sees as the reality of the situation:

We decided from the outset to set the formula for our bars-of-signal strength indicator to make the iPhone look good — to make it look as if it “gets more bars”. That decision has now bitten us on our ass.

This condition has existed since the iPhone was first released which means Apple and at&t have been lying about mistakenly reporting signal strength in their favor since day one! That’s a whole other can of worms.

If Apple wasn’t so secretive… if Apple hadn’t taken such a greedily protective stance toward the iPhone this might not be a big deal. But they are and it is.

Blogger’s addendum: Though my iPhone could be running iOS4 I have held back because of jailbreaking, a process which enables me to install software Apple might not approve of (on my phone). So far no reliable, simple, reversible jailbreak has been issued. I expect I won’t have long to wait.

Hey AT&T–What’s The Deal At Fenway?

I was astounded that as soon as I walked into the ballpark my data service (and possibly my phone service) disappeared.

We spent the weekend in Boston watching the Phils play the Red Sox at Fenway. I was astounded that as soon as I walked into the ballpark my data service (and possibly my phone service) disappeared. This happened Saturday and Sunday though we sat in different parts of the ballpark both days.

The limitations of the 3G network were readily apparent at Boston’s Fenway Park during a Red Sox game last week. Signal was consistently 4 bars, but the data network was totally non-responsive.

That’s my story… except it was written in 2008 and posted on Gigaom.

This is a long standing problem. Here’s another person with the exact same complaint as mine from Apple’s website.

You know what’s interesting… I was at Fenway Park in Boston yesterday. I had full bars on 3G, completely max’d signal as far as the phone was concerned. And with all of that signal, I could not get to a single web site or even send a text message. I kept getting errors sending data as well as timeout errors when trying to hit a web site.

It’s from July 2008 and, again, my story exactly.

More recently commenter writing about the iPad ban at Yankee Stadium added this about Fenway.

when I’m in my seats at Fenway Park with my iPhone, I get NO service. Not even EDGE.

Even a voice cell call from Stef went directly to voicemail while I was at Fenway. I got notice of the call only after we were walking back down Brookline Ave.

It seems difficult to believe at&t doesn’t know this exists. How could they not?

Recently at&t announced they were eliminating their “all you can eat” data plans for the iPhone. Maybe a nice gesture would be for them to stop signing new customers until they built a network that could handle the ones they’re collecting money for now.

Call me frustrated.

More On AT&T’s Less Data Plan

These are bandwidth hungry applications. You can’t use Netflix for iPhone on a regular basis and expect to stay within the new monthly caps.

Apple is kicking off their annual developers conference, aka WWDC. As is usually the case Steve Jobs is presenting. I’m letting Twitter keep me updated.

Before getting to the new iPhone (very impressive hardware improvements) Jobs talked about some new apps, specifically Farmville (ugh) and Netflix.

This is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post. These are bandwidth hungry applications. You can’t use Netflix for iPhone on a regular basis and expect to stay within the new monthly caps.

NY Times: Download an hour-long TV show to a smartphone or tablet and you’ve used 550 megabytes, or well over a quarter of your monthly allotment. Streaming a two-hour movie from Netflix consumes 300 megabytes.

By the way, I have no idea why an hour long TV show uses nearly twice as much data as a two hour movie. The numbers aren’t as important as the general concept: Bandwidth drives innovation.