Steve Jobs will give a free case to everyone with an iPhone 4

If you keep up with Apple news, and since you are reading this blog I assume you do, you have no doubt heard of the “death grip” that causes major antenna and reception problems with the iPhone 4. I am feeling a little snarky with this post because I purchased the iPhone 3Gs with the option to upgrade to the iPhone 4. I debated whether I should just make the switch and get the latest iPhone but looking back I am glad I stayed with the 3Gs.

In a press conference at Apple’s Cuppertino campus, Jobs announced that to combat the antenna problems, Apple would provide customers with free cases. This is a great PR move for Apple. Instead of deflecting the problem and blaming AT&T, (not like they didn’t try) Jobs solved the problem by giving away free cases. Now there is a new problem, not enough bumper cases. The highly sought after bumper case is already is shortage and now that Apple is giving them away, they are going to need millions more. Jobs solved this problem by giving customers a choice of cases.

Bottom line, I like the message that the guy in the video is delivering, if you don’t want an iPhone 4 don’t buy one, if you bought one and you don’t like it…bring it back.

It is likely that a new generation of the iPod Touch will be released in the fall

Every fall since 2007, the fellas over at Apple spit out a new iPod Touch. Given this trend, it’s not hard to speculate that yes, the 4th generation iPod touch will be released year at Apples annual iTunes/iPod Special Music Event.

The iPod touch Gen. 4 will get the usual iPhone hardware update and could include an upgraded Retina Display, Apple A4 chipset, 802.11n Wi-Fi, gyroscope, and maybe even that long awaited camera as well as a front-facing one to help make FaceTime more of a reality. If Apple actually decides to do this it could mean a big expansion in the use of FaceTime.

Usually, Apple will increase the storage space and double the pre-existing memory. The Gen. 3 iPod touch is already at 64GB. Could we possibly see 128GB of storage? This is clearly the way Apple is moving in terms of portable music devices, hand-held gaming and possibly photos. With the iPod Gen. 3 a slim as it is, it will be hard to imagine how thin this device will actually be.

If you are a reader of this blog, you know that I can’t stand when things are leaked out early. With the iPhone 4 being leaked early, it will be nice to see a new device that (hopefully) won’t be seen until we are meant to see it. I’d like to be surprised with one Apple Product this year.

You waited in line for hours, you camped out the night before just to get your hands on the new iPhone the day it came out or at least put in your pre-order. You waited all this time and all you wanted was a WHITE iPhone. You get to the front of the line and….no dice. They are completely sold out of white. You can’t believe it so you order your stupid black iPhone thinking you will exchange it when the new shipment of White iPhones comes it, but you know as do I that you are waaayy to lazy to go back and actually exchange the phones and there is no way you are paying that ridiculous “re-stocking fee”…Well your prayers have been answered. The guys over at Engadget have released an easy way to turn your black iPhone into the White phone that you originally wanted. Read the full article here Go ahead, check it out…I’ll wait…

OK, so now that you have seen that switching your iPhone casing is actually really easy to do, go give it a shot. But remember how you took your device apart and KEEP TRACK OF YOUR SCREWS!! I think the coolest part of this mod is that the home key stays black. I really like the way it looks with the white case and a black home key. Just remember that taking apart your iPhone may void your warranty so if you don’t know what you are doing then I really wouldn’t suggest it but if you are brave, go for it. You really can learn a lot about your devices by tinkering with them but again like I said, make sure if you take it apart you can put it back together.

This is a step by step video of how to tear down the iPhone 4. If you have any problems with your phone I would suggest taking it to a licensed professional but if you would like to give DIY iPhone repair a try please check out this video first.

Apple has really made the devices easy to take apart if you have the right tools. If you want to take apart your iPhone, you will need a separator tool, a small phillips and a small flathead screwdriver. Also, make sure you keep track of all of the screws you remove.

Today is a great day to own an iPhone, introducing iOS 4

If you haven’t upgraded your OS to iOS 4 yet, please take a few minutes to sync your phone. I’ll wait right here…

Now lets get into the major changes that the new OS brings. First, MULTI-TASKING! (Cue the blaring trumpets) this is what we have been waiting for, for a long while. The multi-tasking features allow you run multiple apps at the same time. For instance if you were running Pandora and you wanted to check your mail, you could run Pandora and check your mail at the same time. The multi-tasking also allows you to “save-state” in apps. This means that instead of relaunching, apps can run in the background simultaneously and then be able to resume where you left off when you closed the app. Another great feature that has been introduced with the next OS is the App Switcher carousel located at the bottom of the screen. The App Switcher lets you double tap the home button and switch apps on the run, toggling back through your recently accessed apps. All very cool stuff!

The new i OS 4 also lets you do something that could only be accomplished through jail breaking, customizable home screen wallpapers. Before, the black background was the only wallpaper you could choose from on your phone. You were able to customize your lock screen with photos from your camera roll but now you can change both screens and you also have a larger selection of pre-loaded wallpapers to choose from. Again, very cool!

The e-mail features now allow you to condense multiple accounts into your e-mail. You can have more than one active account and get all of your e-mail in one location. The one drawback on this feature is that if you exchange multiple e-mails with someone the thread is kept open so finding a new message can be tough if it is hidden within an individual thread. (Really not a big deal, but the point has been made.)

I plan on syncing my phone later this evening because I have heard from friends that the update takes about 45-60 mins depending on the amount of apps and music on the phone.

 

A regional VP with Verizon Wireless has stated to eWeek that the Verizon iPhone will happen by late 2010 or early 2011.

iPhone 4 pre-order today

The iPhone 4 is available for pre-order today so I am expecting Apple to report huge numbers for pre-sale orders. With the iPad release just two months prior and sales soaring at somewhere north of 2 million units, it is thought that sales numbers will continue to increase for Apple and the new iPhone 4.

After seeing the photos and videos, I was turned off to the iPhone 4. I like the casing on the iPhone 3Gs and the sleek rounded back. The new iPhone looks like it took some styling cues from the iPad with the flat edges and more squared off features. I really like the Facetime application but I’m not sure I would use it all that often. Typically, if I want to iChat or Skype I will use a laptop and a solid internet connection. It seems like a great idea but I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon yet. Clearly furture implimentations of the facetime app will see improved performance.

For now, I think I will stick with my 3Gs.

On June 9, 2010, Gawker broke an exclusive story that an indivdual at Goatse Security was able to trick an AT&T Web site into disclosing thousands of e-mail addresses of iPad owners. Of the 114,000 users some of these addresses included dozens of CEOS, Military and politicians as well as high powered indivduals in various areas of business including politics, finanace and media. This is lax in user security by AT&T is a little disturbing. If this information had been used rather than brought to the attention of AT&T what would have been the outcome?

“In an interview with CBS News, Goatse analyst Jim Jeffers said “There is this identifier, it’s called an ICC-ID (Integrated Circuit Card Identifier) and it’s present on every SIM card on every cellular phone and it’s used as an authentication token. That means it would be sent to AT&T Web site and that’s how AT&T recognized you as who you were and it would spit out your personal information in the form of your email address. One of the members of our organization figured out, well why not just step through these and with the help of some additional data that was recovered they were able to successfully predict these identifiers form the iPad 3G and retrieve a very large chunk of personal information.” – Taken from CNET.com see the rest of the article here

In an interview with CBS and CNET Larry Magid, Goatse Security’s Jim Jeffers disclosed that typically when you harvest information you don’t get anyone of interest but this was a list of high-profile indivduals. With this information, hackers would be able to target iPad users to “sniff traffic and even act like the iPad user”. This vulnerablity was identified by an employee at Goatse that is an iPad 3G user and Jeffers went on to say that the vulnerability could be noticed by “anyone with a mind for security”. Although AT&T said that only e-mail addresses were compromised, Jeffers sais that the breech “was almost discovered by accident. One of our employees is an iPad 3G subscriber and he noticed it in the process of the normal user experience of this device. It was something he just noticed as he was using it.”

Currently, personal data and internet security is a large concern due to the fact that so much personal information can be found about a person on the internet. Starting from Facebook pages, online bank accounts, large amounts of confidential correspondence in e-mail accounts, online credit card statements, etc. keeping your indentity safe is extremely important.

After the iPhone 4G Leak I was a little irked at Apple but this is pretty ridiculous. I know it is not technically Apple since AT&T allowed the information to be leaked but Apple trusted AT&T to keep their iPad users’ information safe and they failed. Epic Fail AT&T.

iPhone 4 release event, uneventful

So I have been browsing Apple’s site all afternoon and it has been moving terribly slow but from what I saw on the Specs page, the iPhone 4 looks exactly like the photos and videos that were leaked by  those clowns at Gizmodo.

 Honestly, I was very dissapointed that the iPhone 4 was exactly the same device I had already seen 2 months ago when Gray Powell left his phone at the bar. Damn you Gray Powell, Damn you! You completely ruined the surprise…I don’t like spoiler alerts and I don’t like to see iPhone photos leaked 2 months early. Maybe I’m the only one, but with one of the biggest overhauls in iPhone’s short history (completely changing the casing and iPhone OS 4.0 with multi-taksing, front facing camera, etc.), I would have liked to have been surprised. The photos would have been so much better if I didn’t know what the phone was going to look like before it was actually released.

Gizmodo may have gotten the scoop and tons of traffic to their page but at what cost? I don’t feel bad for Apple, but it is such a disappointment to have nothing to look forward to, espcially when it comes to a new iPhone release. The whole electricity of the Steve Jobs keynote comes from not knowing what the device will look like!! Apple needs to do a better job of keeping their new gadgets under wraps. What is the point of a product keynote if your product has already been viewed by the public 2 months in advance. When photos are leaked it completely kills the mystery of the product. Before this incident Apple was known for keeping secrets about it’s new products and building up a buzz. But Gizmodo was the buzz killer.

iBook: The redheaded stepchild of the Macbook Pro

I haven’t done a throwback of the week for about 2 weeks now so I figured I should throw one on here. These were the iMac Laptops, also known as the iBook and one thing is for sure, they are FUGLY. You have to remember, this was back when Apple was reinventing the personal computer, not everyone had e-mail and was web savvy. These laptops look like they were designed for children because they were aimed at the younger generation they were growing up in a world with the world wide web. In conjunction with the iMac desktop computers, these laptops came in a similar color patter and even copied the commercial with the spinning computers.

This commercial makes me nostalgic for the late 90s and early 2000s when there was visible progress with the internet. It seems that now everything has changed so much in just a decade it is really incredible. So enjoy this Apple commercial, let it take you back to a time before the iPhone 4 and the iPad.