9 posts tagged “iphone”

Note to Helio: It's the interface, stupid.

Nice try, though.

And by the way, it's the Apple iPhone, jackasses.

Apple iPhone

Well, the day has come and gone and I do not have an Apple iPhone. This is a downright tragedy. However, there is hope for me. The Apple Phone Show with Scott Bourne (who is also a regular on MacBreak Weekly) is having a contest. The prize? An iPhone, of course! All you have to do is post a link to The Apple Phone Show on your blog or webpage and send them your contact info and you're all set. Winner is announced August 30th. 

Via Daring Fireball: New iPhone ads to begin showing on Television tonight.

The release date is now official: June 29th. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to have the cash to get one right away. Perhaps more in the fall/winter time.

Regarding the ads, I agree with John completely:

These are great ads – music, photos, video, flick-to-scroll, Google Maps integration, and, of course, answering and initiating phone calls. It all looks simple, obvious, and very fun. No other cell phone is advertised by showing off the user interface.

The iPhone certainly looks great, and if it performs half as good as it seems to, then it's pure gold. That being said, the actual quality of the phone is still up in the air (I mean, technically, it's still vaporware). But Apple is going in the right direction: it's all about the software.

Apple, Inc.

A gadget blog reported that Apple was delaying the release of both the iPhone and OS X Leopard to October and January, respectively. The subsequent clusterfuck in the stock market knocked $4 billion off Apple's market cap.

What blog reported such a thing? Engadget. What self respecting blogger posted the report? Ryan Block. Hmmm.

This is the very same Ryan Block I criticized for his shitty analysis of Apple's announcement to go DRM-free, and for his anti-apple douchebag language and tone. Upon getting a comment from the esteemed managing editor of Engadget I felt it necessary to point out exactly why his analysis was nothing more than douchebaggery.

Now, Ryan did post a follow up describing the internal proceedings at Engadget and whether or not they should publish the story. Kudos for the transparency. They felt that the story was "pure gold" and tried to contact Apple PR. Apparently, it wasn't yet business hours at Apple so no one was available. Whether it was in the "interest of their readers" or the interest in getting the scoop first (I personally vote the latter), not waiting an hour or two until Apple even opens their doors is certainly a poor move.

Hedging your bets on iffy information seems to me like a pretty shoddy journalistic tactic, even if the source seems to be credible. I'd figure it would always be better to, at the very least, wait until a response for Apple was received. If they couldn't wait until Apple got back to them, why couldn't they at least wait until regular business hours and contact Apple then? I'm pretty sure Apple would've denied the claims rather than giving the usual "no comment" in this case. Even if you expect a "no comment" response, there is always the possibility that Apple would've had something else to say.

I'd imagine that's why you'd go through that motion, instead of going ape shit and posting that crap all over the net. I mean, at that point isn't it still only a rumor? Even reporting in that fashion would've been an improvement. But this is Engadget we're talking about.

I've never had confidence in the reporting at Engadget, but for those who do read the rag, I can't imagine how you'd want to stick around. And it's still crappy gadget reporting, what could be more dull?

Oh, and Mr. Block still hasn't given up his anti-apple tone. C'mon, Ryan, leave your personal feelings at the door when you come into work.

Hat tip: Daring Fireball.

Steve Jobs

Man, I love Steve Jobs. Take a look at (or better yet, read) this incredible article from Apple's CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs. He makes a great case for eliminating DRM.

The best part:

Convincing them [the recording industry] to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace.  Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.

I laughed out loud when I read this,

There’s almost nothing they can do to catch up in six months — Apple has jumped out so incredibly far ahead that they can really only bend over and take it. If they don’t believe me, they should ask people like Diamond and Creative for their first-hand experience with being molested into irrelevancy by Apple. And the Zune? Puh-lease. The slogan for the iPhone should have been, “Now this is a social.”

Thanks, Jeff.

Put simply, Brian Lim is a douche. John Gruber names Brian Lim the jackass of the week, commenting,

I certainly didn’t believe that Apple was going to announce a major new product the Monday before Christmas, but it’s pretty fucking clear that’s exactly what Lam’s teaser was intended to imply. To claim now that it wasn’t shows that he’s a complete jackass.

In addition, Jeff Croft says,

I guess this is the difference between blogging and journalism.

Rumors are swirling that tomorrow Apple will be announcing the iPhone. Brian Lam of Gizmodo said regarding an announcement on monday, "I guarantee it. It isn't what I expected at all. And I've already said too much" and Digg founder Kevin Rose spilled the beans a bit in a tech vblog I don't care to go searching for. Rose's prediction is notable because he guessed the iPod nano right and seems to have good inside information.

However, I take this with a grain of salt. John Gruber, who as far as I'm concerned is the smartest Apple commentator out there, says about Lams claims,

Seems highly unlikely anything new would be released — or even just announced — seven days before Christmas, but Lam “guarantees it”. This is either a huge scoop or he’s a huge jackass.

I take it with a grain of salt and I think Gruber is right about the timing if the announcement takes place. It is indeed very awkward timing for this kind of announcement. Whether or not Apple releases a phone, one thing is for sure. The cell phone industry in the US is piss poor and it sure could use some of Apple's innovation.

Update: okay, okay, I did a quick search on YouTube and found the video where Kevin Rose leaks what he knows about the iPhone. Old news, I know, but I guess it's best to cover all bases.