iphone

For the last 60 days, I've played with both the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Ace and I'd like to provide my basic thoughts and a comparison - not a technical product examination. The iPhone uses service from AT&T and the Ace uses service from Sprint. I've been an AT&T (formerly Cingular) customer for around 7 years using a variety of devices over the years. For reference I have a Windows desktop and laptop.

Design of device

The iPhone is very pretty and slick. The Ace is more practical. The large screen on the iPhone is a great feature, the Ace has a smaller screen which seems to be made even smaller by the need to jam a Sprint logo on the device. Navigating through functions including email lists is easier on the Ace. The Ace provides both a jog wheel like the Blackberry and a four point arrow function while the iPhone makes you use your finger to scroll on the screen. Both devices are functional and while the iPhone is prettier, I find the Ace to be a bit more solid in physical design.

Two notes on the Ace, there is a horribly-designed latch that you have to slide to plug in the charger or headset which clearly will be broken off within a year. Also, I don't understand why Samsung forced a proprietary headset jack and not use the current 3.5mm standard. I will suggest it's to raise accessory sales but I can only hope that is not the reason. continue reading »

We have now moved our security level to defcon 5 - the highest level. Huffington Post is reporting that ALL NYC Apple stores are out of iPhones. Let's remain calm, do NOT call 911. If you need to make a call and you were expecting to use a new iPhone to do it, just use a payphone. Shelters have been setup around the city to help those who are without their new gadget. Greyhound reports a special "Apple bus" leaving Port Authority at 7pm to a location that has iPhones in stock.

Apparently the AT&T stores around the city still have quantities of iPhones available for sale but if you are smart you will get there quick before the eBay looters get there and jack up the price again. I've got a guy down in Chelsea who has a few iPhones and will let one go for $850 cash.

Semi-interesting story - three weeks ago I was in the 14st store when a large tour bus pulled up in front. About 100 Asian people got off the phone led by a woman with a microphone. Each person got in the checkout line, purchased gift cards and then each one purchased five iPhones. I counted about 400 iPhones left the store in under one hour. So if you want to buy an iPhone for cash, just buy a gift card first.

Earlier this year we reviewed PimpMyNews which allows you to create an audio feed of your favorite feeds. Another new startup has entered the text-to-audio feed space, BlogBard.

BlogBard lets you pull in your feeds from Google Reader and Bloglines and then listen to them live. You can also select to create a downloadable iTunes version. read more »

AT&T began selling refurbished iPhones in the northeast a few weeks ago. As of this morning, anyone nationwide can now purchase a refurbished iPhone for $249. This is a $150 discount from the new price of $399.

It has also been reported that no plan is required upon purchase. I bet we will see heavy export and unlocking with this deeply discounted version.

This drop in price changes our initial true cost of the iPhone we calculated a year ago.

In my 2008 predictions I noted that widget advertising and RSS advertising will be hot in 2008. We've started to see that push with CBS' Local plan and DoubleClick's Widget Ads, both announced today. I also wrote that RSS advertising would pick up, we still have work to do here.

We've seen Web sites designed for mobile devices from companies like WireNode (our coverage). I see the benefit of these light versions but believe the future of mobile is in a rich experience. I've been using an iPhone and a Windows Mobile-equipped device for a bit over a month now. While the Web experience on both has been excellent, each time I fire up the browser I begin to wonder how we will monetize this version of the Internet. With both Safari on the iPhone and the Opera Mobile browsers, you move to the content and functions you are interested in. Large banners appear to be missed each time, 300x250 boxes work best when scrolling. On the iPhone you can jump and zoom which can route you past even having the chance to view the ad(s). read more »

Last week Apple opened up the iPhone and introduced a software developer’s kit (SDK) to allow third parties to develop software for the iPhone. This was a great step forward in that Apple had, for some significant period of time, suggested that writing software within the browser environment was sufficient, and that no native developer platform was needed at all.

Unfortunately, some of the details we have discovered about the SDK will have a real impact on the ability of developers to innovate on the iPhone. The issue is that Apple has set a policy that third party application developers can't create applications that run in the background. Currently, there is a minor uproar in the blogosphere about Apple’s policy on this matter.

The purpose of this article is to convince all of you that the uproar should not be minor. continue reading »

With some suggesting that Apple iPod sales are leveling off, Apple has decided to double the affiliate commissions on iPod sales. The payout is now 2% on iPod sales for the month of February and doubles again to 4% if the affiliate meets certain levels of sales volume.

The question is whether another $1 average per iPod will make affiliates want to push the iPod more. Considering that Amazon charges no tax, pays better commissions and that everyone has an Amazon account, Apple should have increased the commission way higher to get affiliates excited.

I am curious, if you have an iPod, which one do you have? I have a Nano refurb 2nd gen. Have you considered moving to an iPod Touch?

(editor's note: the links in this story are affiliate links)

Hotels.com is announcing the launch of their iPhone (and iPod Touch) application today. The application lets you view information for properties worldwide, check availability and book hotels, view existing hotel reservations through hotels.com and get in contact with customer service with any issues.

Is it a basic application? Sure. But could it drive new sales? Yes. In fact, I could see meeting a friend to plan a trip and using this iPhone application to search for a hotel.

The flipside is that you could still browse any of the other travel sites via the Web browser built into the iPhone. But I guess the benefit here is that the application is built specifically for the iPhone. And WHY isn't the link to the application on the hotels.com home page? The release points you to Apple for installation but c'mon, add it to the home page!

As the iPhone grows in popularity, we will see more iPhone applications being created. The cost is low but the ability to capture potentially a new bit of market share is great.

As I start to look at getting a mobile device, I have watched the pros and cons for each with great interest. Today was the coldest day of the year in NYC so far -- with the windchill -4C. Will we see a slowdown in Apple (AAPL) iPhone growth during the winter months? Check out this post from David Polinchock on the NY Tech Meetup mailinglist:

You can tell that the iPhone was developed by people who live in California! I guess they never thought that people in cold climates would buy it and then they would have to take off their gloves to make it work. Even finding a phone number is that much more difficult with gloves on. Anyone else having this problem? Has anyone seen any solutions?

David

Come inside for the replies »

AT&T has announced this morning that they have boosted the 3G coverage in, and around, NYC. With the addition of 200 third-generation (3G) cell sites, AT&T has expanded its mobile broadband network in Bay Ridge, Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Flatbush, Flushing, College Point, Bayside, Throggs Neck, Tremont, Fordham, City Island and Baychester. In New Jersey, the 3G network is also now available in Edgewater, Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City and Bayonne.

Of course iPhone owners need not worry! You get nothing. Deal with Edge - it's the best AT&T could do.

"We are staying ahead of the growing demand for fast, dependable wireless broadband access to feature-rich Internet content, such as streaming video," said Tom DeVito, vice president and general manager for AT&T's wireless unit in New York and New Jersey. He went on to say, "Imagine the thrill of using your wireless phone to show grandparents in Florida their granddaughter taking her first steps in Bayridge or Bayonne." Yep, that's it, that's the plan.

Side note - anyone else had enough of the absolutely pathetic AT&T wireless commercials running now? Must be made by the same team who created the gem, "xyz killed the algo".