Apple

Apple Acknowledges Problems with iPhone's Touchscreen, Offers Repair

By admin#IM, Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 a 2:49 pm

A growing number of iPhone users have reported what could be a serious manufacturing flaw affecting some units. After an indeterminate period of use the touchscreen may lose sensitivity in specific locations on the screen. These "dead spots" will be no longer respond to user input. For a device that depends entirely on touch input for manipulation...this isn't good.

Fortunately Apple is listening, and is now offering repairs for anyone experiencing this problem. Unfortunately the company seems intent on enforcing its $29 rental fee for loaner iPhones, while your device is in the shop. Several readers have reported they managed to negotiate a waiver, but I am not satisfied with this scheme. Negotiation should be unnecessary when the problem is a manufacturing flaw.

Rant: Apple...Fix Your F*$k!^G Mail App!

By admin#IM, Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 a 4:28 pm

You know the old saying "When one door closes, another one opens"? Well in Apple's case the reverse sometimes proves to be true. Take for example the recently release iPhone update which, among other things, supposedly includes several bug fixes. Unfortunately it also introduces a few bugs as well, or at least that is the case with Mail.

Apple Integrates iPhone Support Into iLife '08 and .Mac

By admin#IM, Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 a 3:17 pm

In addition to the big iMac announcement, Apple also made a few lesser but greater iLife feature introductions that could have a big impact on iPhone users - those who use Macs anyway.

iMovie '08 now enables video to be encoded and formatted for iPhone's native screen resolution (HVGA). So now you can view your home videos on any iPhone, and share them with other iPhone users.

That's not all. iPhoto '08 offers a new .Mac Web Gallery service for uploading and sharing photos from a Mac, PC, or...iPhone! So iPhone users can now upload images captured from the phone right to a .Mac account. Pretty nifty, eh? Of course you'll have to pony $100 to purchase a .Mac account, and oh yes, a new iMac wouldn't hurt.

So goeth the upgrade treadmill.

Apple Rolls Out New iMacs, iLife Suite

By admin#IM, Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 a 2:57 pm

Moments ago Steve Jobs introduced Apple's new iMac line to the press, ending months of rumors and speculation. The new iMac scarcely differs in overall form of its predecessor, but sports a completely new enclosure designed from aluminum and glass, which gives the appearance of a Cinema Display on steroids.

As expected, Apple has axed the previously available 17" entry-level model and replaced it with a 20" unit starting at $1,199. A beefier midrange model is available for $1,499, with a 24" gut buster rounding out the high end at $1,799.

Overall it's a good looking product with credible specs, but I have to say I wasn't knocked out of my socks upon seeing this new design, though it probably looks sexier in person. But then again I am a "Pro" customer so the iMac isn't targetted towards my demographic anyway.

An Apple A Day Won't Keep This Doctor Away

By admin#IM, Monday, Aug 6, 2007 a 5:10 pm

A Des Moines Iowa physician, Peter V. Boesen, has filed a patent suit against Apple, claiming copyright infringement over iPhone's onscreen keyboard. Boesen holds a patent through a company called SP Technologies, who claims to have held a patent on iPhone's technology since 2004.

The irony in this story is that Mr. Boesen is currently sentenced to 51 months in a federal penitentiary on healthcare fraud charges. I guess Dr. Boesen never heard the phrase "Physician, heal thyself".

My prescription for the good Doctor is to take two cyanide pills and call me in the morning.

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Apple Readying First Software Update for iPhone

By admin#IM, Tuesday, Jul 31, 2007 a 1:13 pm

AppleInsider reports that Apple may be readying its first major software update for iPhone, set for release very soon now. According to the article, Apple VP Greg Joswiak told analysts that it expects to release an update soon. Exactly what may be contained within the update remains uncertain. It could simply be a package of bug fixes, or a mashup of new applications and features.

We'll be watching.

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iTunes Store: 3 Billion Served

By admin#IM, Tuesday, Jul 31, 2007 a 8:48 am

Apple just sent out a press release proudly boasting that its iTunes Store has now sold over 3 Billion Songs. Congratulations Apple. Now how about giving away free iPods to loyal customers, eh? No? Well I tried.

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Angry User Files Class Action Suit Against Apple And AT&T Over iPhone's Non-Replaceable Battery

By admin#IM, Saturday, Jul 28, 2007 a 8:25 am

Not everyone loves their iPhone, it seems. Jose Trujillo, whoever the hell that is, has begun a class action suit against both Apple and AT&T, claiming damages as a result of the iPhone's non-replaceable battery that, according to Jose, can only be charged 300 times. Apparently he didn't check facts before filing. Had he done so he would have known that the battery is in fact good for 400 charges and beyond. Even at that point the battery DOES NOT need serviced - it simply won't hold a full charge.

Still, I blame Apple for unnecessarily creating this issue in the first place by bolting down the hood, so to speak, and failing to clearly disclose the battery's true lifespan and performance.

Apple Sold 270,000 iPhones Within First 30 Hours of Launch, Spends 1.2 Billion in Sidewalk Cleanup Costs

By admin#IM, Thursday, Jul 26, 2007 a 7:18 am

Yesterday's earnings report from Apple contained several nuggets of information sure to make any wall street jokey salivate. For starters the company posted yet another record breaking profit-heavy quarter - the folks in Cupertino are celebrating over that, I'm sure. Sales of iPods are flatlining. And over 270,000 iPhones were sold within the first 30 hours, starting on June 29. This throws a glass of iCe water in the face of AT&T's report disclosing that only 146,000 were activated over the weekend of iPhone's launch - news that put many analysts on anti-depressants.

Apple To Add New iPhone Models and Grow Product Line This Holiday?

By admin#IM, Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 a 2:55 pm

Santa is watching you. Well Steve Jobs is anyway. AppleInsider says that Apple will introduce new iPhone models in Q4, hoping to expand its Smartphone line.

Extremely reputable sources have told AppleInsider in recent weeks that the company's iPhone roadmap for the 2007 calendar year includes not one but two distinct models, the second of which is set to turn up just months after the first. According to one source, development of the second model has followed so closely on the heels of the inaugural iPhone that it was making its final pass through engineering around the same time that today's model hit the manufacturing lines back in May or early June.

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