Tag: Mobile Tech

5 Things I Learned From Apple’s iPhone 4 “Antennagate” Presser

Last Friday’s Apple iPhone 4 antenna press conference was amazing. Steve Jobs put on a masterful performance to quell the rage generated by tech bloggers over the company’s flagship device. I learned so much from watching the presser. Here are five nuggets of knowledge I extracted from Apple’s event.

1) Apple Loves You — I lost count of how many times Steve Jobs said that Apple loves its customers and loves making its customers happy. For a few seconds, I stopped seeing Jobs on stage and saw WWE Brother Love instead. It was mushy and gushy, but like so many love affairs it was also conditional. Apple loves its customers so much that it will give them free cases…but only until September 30th.

2) The iPhone Antenna Issues are Overblown — I agree with Jobs’ point that this issue is overblown. That’s just the nature of Internet reporting these days. The major tech blogs have been posting multiple stories on the iPhone 4’s antenna woes every day for the last few weeks. Out of the three-million consumers that have purchased the iPhone 4, the reception issues only affect a small percentage.

3) The iPhone Antenna Issue is More Serious Than Apple Will Admit — Jobs was simply brilliant at spinning the issue and some of you have already bought it. The Apple Care number of 0.55 percent is absolutely meaningless. That’s the percentage of iPhone customers that have complained, not the percentage that experienced reception issues. Some people never call to complain about any issue. A lot of Apple users followed the issue closely and knew that calling Apple Care wouldn’t solve anything.

Jobs also made the “one additional dropped call out of 100” seem small, when in reality it’s a significant number. According to one expert, the typical phone drops 1.5 calls per 100. If the iPhone 4 drops one additional call per 100 than the 3GS, that’s a sizable increase in terms of percentage.

Illustrating the “death grip” on other phones was another clever trick. Apple didn’t say where the test was being held or show an iPhone 4 for comparison. Furthermore, you don’t even need the full “death grip” to interrupt signal on the iPhone 4. Several videos have shown that a strategic poke will muck with the signal…which means Hulk Hogan’s finger poke of doom works on the iPhone 4 and Kevin Nash.

4) Apple Tests iPhones with Cerebro — I was blown away by the pictures of Apple’s antenna design and test labs. Covering tech and gaming for more than a decade, I’ve seen some really impressive labs, but Apple’s blew them all away. It’s totally Cerebro from the X-Men comics and movies. Just awesome.

5) It Doesn’t Matter What You Think! — Steve Jobs should have borrowed one of The Rock’s catchphrases and screamed, “It doesn’t matter what you think!!!” at the press. Ultimately, it doesn’t what any of us think of the issue. Apple is going to sell millions of iPhone 4 units no matter how big or small you think the antenna problem is. At best, the antenna debacle is just an annoying bump on the road. The iPhone 4 is a fantastic product with one pretty big flaw that most consumer will ignore.

Anyway, that’s what I learned. What did you pick up from the “antennagate” press conference?

Motorola Droid X Review Center

The Motorola Droid X is here and it’s selling like toaster pastries (most people don’t have time for hotcakes)! If you’re considering this excellent Google Android phone, check out my four-part review. It’s a fantastic handset and one of the two best Android phones available today. Find out if it’s right for you!

Coffee Talk #179: Your Apple iPhone 4 Presser Predictions

Apple is holding a press conference on Friday morning regarding the iPhone 4. The company has already sold millions of iPhone 4 units, but it can’t escape the negative attention it has been getting due to the phone’s reception issues. Earlier in the week Consumer Reports rescinded its iPhone 4 recommendation based off of the reception problems and Apple killed any discussion of the findings in its official forums. The issue has become so mainstream that it has been discussed in shows like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the Late Show with David Letterman.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Drew Brees killing at the ESPYs, Mark Ruffalo possibly replacing Ed Norton as the Hulk, or Wladimir Klitschko getting the shaft from HBO, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Apple is holding a press conference on Friday morning regarding the iPhone 4. The company has already sold millions of iPhone 4 units, but it can’t escape the negative attention it has been getting due to the phone’s reception issues. Earlier in the week Consumer Reports rescinded its iPhone 4 recommendation based off of the reception problems and Apple killed any discussion of the findings in its official forums. The issue has become so mainstream that it has been discussed on shows like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the Late Show with David Letterman.

Most tech writers have guessed that Apple will address the issue once and for all at Friday’s presser, but what exactly will the company do? A recall would incredibly damaging and expensive. Giving Apple Store credit for a free bumper would cost a helluva lot less, but still an admission of guilt. Perhaps the reception problem will be addressed and followed up with a big announcement that will help people overlook the situation. Before I get to your predictions, I want to leave you with the hilarious words of Fake Steve Jobs:

We will never, ever, ever do a recall. No way. The stain of a few gripers we can deal with. The stain of a recall is something that takes years — years — to overcome. In our business it would be fatal. We would never recover.

So, no. We’ll keep shipping the f***ed-up phones, and we’ll continue to insist that they are the best phones in the world with the best antenna that has ever been invented for any mobile device. We’ll keep running syrupy ads showing deaf mutes waving at each other over FaceTime.

That last line killed me. I had to share it with you.

Anyway, what do you think Apple will do this Friday? Do you think its reputation will take a long-term hit? How about its stock price? Predict away (please)!

Motorola Droid X Review Part IV: Battery Life, Misc., and Conclusion

My Motorola Droid X review concludes with thoughts on the phone’s battery life and miscellaneous features. After the smoke clears, I’ll give you my closing thoughts and recommendations. And away we go!

Battery Life
The Droid X comes with a 1,540 mAh lithium ion battery. With its large screen and fast processor, I wasn’t expecting great battery life, so I was surprised that I averaged 15.5 hours a day over the course of a week. With roughly the same setup and usage, I only got 12 hours a day on the comparable HTC Evo 4G.

Your mileage will depend on your usage. For my “moderate nerd” usage — lots of web browsing, 30 minutes of calls a day, lots of messaging, tweeting, foursquare, Facebook, etc. — the battery life was fantastic.

Miscellaneous
I was disappointed that the Droid X lacks a front-facing camera. For a lot of people, this is a non-issue. Some people care about video calls on a mobile phone and some don’t. Then there are people like me — heavy Skype users that can’t wait for video calling on a real Android Skype client. This would be huge for me and the tens of millions of people that use Skype. While consumers like me are in the minority today, video calling is going to take off in a huge way in the immediate future. Will the Droid X be missing a feature that’s big in 2011?

Road warriors (the business kind, not the Hawk and Animal kind) should also consider the phone’s data rates. While Verizon’s CDMA EVDO network is the best in the country, it’s hardly the fastest. Sprint is rolling out its 4G WiMax network, while AT&T and T-Mobile are deploying faster versions of their 3G networks. If you travel extensively and tether a lot then there’s a good chance the Droid X will feel slow (in terms of data) in a year.

Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
Along with the HTC Evo 4G for Sprint, the Motorola Droid X for Verizon is one of the best Google Android phones available today. If your priorities are excellent call quality and strong battery life then this is the best Android phone for you. You’ll have to deal with an interface that’s a little clunky, data rates that aren’t the fastest, and the lack of video calls, but if you’re fine with that then you’ll be well served by this excellent handset from Motorola.

If there’s anything I didn’t cover in my review, please let me know in the comments section. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

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Motorola Droid X Review Part III: Camera, Pictures, and Video

The Motorola Droid X features an 8-megapixel camera with a pair of LED flashes. It’s definitely one of the better cameras I’ve used on a phone. Still images taken without a flash are excellent, with great details. Pictures taken with the flash or under low-light conditions aren’t as good. They’re still much better than average, but the flash often washes things out and produces grain.

As I mentioned in the first part of the review, the phone has a physical button for snapping pictures. It feels really flimsy and can muck with the phone’s stability, resulting in poor photos. That quibble aside, I’m confident that most people will be happy with the Droid X’s photo and video capabilities. Here are more samples — still and video — so that you can see for yourself.

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Microsoft COO Calls iPhone 4 “Apple’s Vista” (Poll Time Too!)

At Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, COO Kevin Turner took a jab at Apple’s iPhone 4. With the controversy surrounding the phone’s reception issues, Turner compared it to one of Microsoft’s recent debacles:

It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that.

On one hand, the comparison makes a certain amount of sense. Vista’s problems were overblown by the press and were never as bad as people made them out to be. While consumers have accepted that the iPhone 4 reception problem is a real issue, it’s mostly a problem for people that live in areas that are covered poorly by AT&T (San Francisco, for example). The majority of iPhone 4 users seem happy with their service.

On the other hand, comparing an operating system to a piece of hardware is usually dumb. What do you think?

[poll id=”59″]

Source via BoyGeniusReport

Evo 4G vs. Droid X Part II: Call Clarity, Screen Quality, and More

That battle between two of the best Google Android phones available this summer continues! This time around I’ll be comparing the HTC Evo 4G (Sprint) and the Motorola Droid X (Verizon) in terms of call clarity, user interface, form factor and display quality. These are two great phones with different advantages. Which one has the edge in the categories I mentioned above? Read on to find out!

Call Clarity
The Evo 4G works very well as a phone. After using it for about two months, I’m very satisfied with its call quality. The Droid X is simply in a different league. Motorola made a big deal about the phone’s call quality when it was announced and it was right to play up that aspect of the phone. The Droid X’s two noise-canceling microphones are brilliant for making and receiving calls in crowded places like a mall or in an area with heavy traffic. I made a few calls at the congested intersection of Wilshire and Vermont with dozens of cars and buses zipping by. The friends I called had no idea I was calling from such a busy street.

Remember, call quality greatly depends on how well your area is wired. Both Sprint and Verizon cover Los Angeles well, so it came down to hardware for me. In terms of call quality, the Evo 4G is good but the Droid X is great.

User Interface
Both phones use customized versions of Google Android 2.1 (Eclair). Motorola decided to go with a fairly basic modification, instead of the heavy handed Motorola Blur. While I prefer the Droid X’s UI over Blur, it still feels a little clunky. Sure, it does a few things better than stock Android, but it’s not nearly as polished and elegant as HTC Sense.

The Evo 4G simply has a smoother interface, better widgets, and better web browser customizations. It adds a bunch of little touches that add up for a superior Android exprience. HTC Sense is just a much better Android customization than anything Motorola has served up.

Form Factor
Both phones feature 4.3-inch screens, so they’re pretty close in terms of size. However, their displays feature different resolutions, resulting in slightly different form factors. Looking at both phones in portrait mode, the Droid X is taller and the Evo 4G is wider. The Droid X is also thinner. Being narrower and thinner makes the Droid X slightly more pocketable and a bit more functional for portrait viewing than the Evo 4G.

The Evo 4G feels better and is more functional in landscape mode. Whether it’s reading web pages or viewing videos, I feel that the Evo 4G uses its screen real estate more efficiently. The differences in form factors are a purely personal preference. Some people will favor one over the other, while others will not notice much of a difference. In my opinion, both phones have different advantages in terms of feel, so I’m calling this one a tie.

Screen Quality
Part of this I went over already in the last section. In terms of usability, I prefer the Droid X’s 854 x 480 screen in portrait mode. I prefer the Evo 4G’s 800 x 480 screen in landscape mode. Again, those are personal preference and I understand that other people will have different preferences.

What’s inarguable is that the Droid X’s screen is capable of more colors, has a better contrast ratio, and is brighter than the Evo 4G’s. Some people are fine with the Evo 4G’s 16-bit screen, but the gorgeous display on the Droid X is a noticeable step up. Motorola’s phone wins this round.

There are more Droid vs. Evo battles to follow! Check back to see how these phone compare in terms of their virtual keyboards, cameras, battery life, and more! As always, if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section.

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Apple Killing Off Discussions on Consumer Reports’ Findings?

Yesterday I decided not to write about Consumer Reports rescinding its recommendation on the iPhone 4 due to its reception issues. The story has been played out. Most tech enthusiasts have already made up their minds about the issue — they either believe it’s a problem or they don’t. What I did find interesting is that Apple has allegedly been killing of discussions about Consumer Reports’ findings in its forums. According to TUAW:

If you were looking for a message thread on Apple’s support forums pointing to Consumer Reports’ article ‘not recommending’ the iPhone 4, it’s not there any more. Apple’s support forum moderators deleted the thread. Bing cached it.

If it happened once, maybe you’d say it was a glitch. But what if it happened twice? Three times? Four times, five, six?

The approach is unusual. I’m surprised that Apple didn’t have a bunch of rapid responses at the ready. Deleting forum threads make it look like it’s trying to sweep the issue under the rug or ignore its existence.

Watching Apple deal with this issue is simply fascinating. First it was “you’re holding it wrong” then it was a “software issue” about the bars improperly reporting signal. Any guesses on what the next response will be?

Source

Motorola Droid X Review Part II: Screen, Keyboard, WiFi Hotspot

Ready for more details and opinions of the Motorola Droid X for Verizon? Of course you are! In the first part of my review, I covered this Google Android phone’s build, user interface, storage options, and call quality. This time around I’m covering its screen, keyboard, WiFi hotspot functionality, and software. Let’s get to it!

Screen
The Droid X features an ample 4.3-inch TFT LCD screen with a resolution of 854×480. The colors are bright and vivid. Text looks very clear. TFT LCD doesn’t have the color saturation of OLED — which some people love and some people hate — but it offers true colors and a screen that’s much more usable in daylight. While this screen isn’t as technically impressive as the iPhone 4’s “Retina Display”, the size makes it more usable on a few levels.

Having a large screen is fantastic for web browsing. You simply see more of the web page. It also helps with the virtual keyboard. Having more space makes typing easier for most people. For example, I can type faster and with less errors on the Droid X than the HTC Google Nexus One, which has a 3.7-inch screen.

The Droid X’s resolution is atypical, which is good and bad. In portrait mode, it’s taller and narrower than the comparable HTC Evo 4G. This is great for looking at web pages in portrait mode and more comfortable when holding the phone for calls. It’s not as great using it in landscape mode, but it’s not a huge problem either; it just feels like there’s a lot of wasted space when watching videos and web browsing.

Most people will love this screen. It’s big and beautiful…like Oprah.

Keyboard and Input
There are a few keyboard options on the Droid X. Most people will opt for the virtual keyboard. This phone has one of the best virtual keyboards I’ve ever used, mostly due to the screen size and partially due to the efficient layout. If you like haptic feedback while typing, the Droid X offers some strong vibrations.

The phone also has Swype pre-installed. This nifty program allows you to trace words as the CPU figures out what you want to spell. Check out the video above for an example. It’s a great system that some people rave about, but it definitely requires a learning period. With practice, I’ve seen people enter text faster on Swype than with a physical keyboard. It’s not my cup of tea, but I totally get the appeal and it’s great that it comes pre-loaded on the Droid X.

WiFi Hotspot
Verizon charges $20 a month for tethering and WiFi hotspot functionality, with a 2GB cap. This is cheaper but more restrictive than Sprint’s comparable offering (though it doesn’t have 4G speeds). Setting up a WiFi hotspot is a snap; if you know how to adjust settings on a router than you can set up a hotspot with ease. However, your speeds will vary by location. For example, I was barely able to crack .5MB down in my apartment, but easily hit 1MB in downtown Los Angeles.

The WiFi hotspot feature is a nice option to have, but completely unnecessary if you can get by with a wired connection on one device. There are a number of third-party programs like EasyTether and PDAnet that allow you tether without subscribing to an expensive plan.

Apps, Games, and Goodies
My thoughts on Android apps and games haven’t changed since I covered it in my Evo 4G review. Since new people might be reading this, I’ll give a brief overview. In terms of apps, the Android Market should have most of your needs covered. There are a wide variety of apps for all sorts of entertainment and productivity needs. In terms of function, the Android Market has almost everything the iPhone App Store has, but the selection isn’t as broad.

That said, there are two apps that are headed to Android but are testing my patience with their annoying wait times — TweetDeck and Skype (real Skype, not the BS Skype pre-loaded on the phone). For now I’m content with twicca, WordPress, Barcode Scanner, Foursquare, AIM, Facebook, Yelp, Pandora, Amazon, 3banana, GameFly GameCenter, Engadget, IMDb, Huffington Post, Amazon Kindle, Qik, and Speed Test on the Droid X.

Naturally, Google apps are best on Android than any other platform. Google Maps — with the free and excellent GPS Google Navigation, Google Voice, Google Goggles, Google Earth, etc., are brilliant on Android.

That’s it for part two of my Droid X review. As always, fire away any questions and I’ll try my best to answer them. Stay tuned for comments on the phone’s still image and video capabilities, complete with samples!

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