All About the iPhone
We all know that iPhone users can be a little crazy, but is it their fault or should AT&T take the blame?
On Monday, the network experienced a glitch in its web sales. If you tried ordering an iPhone on AT&T’s website with a New York City zip code, you were rejected. As much as this goes against everything my economics teacher taught me, the seller actually turned down the customer. If you were turned down, the website recommended that you go to an actual store in your area where they would gladly sell you a new phone. The only comments that AT&T made were by Fletcher Cook, a spokesman for AT&T, when he told The Consumerist, “We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels.”
What does that mean? Next, will you shut down every AT&T store to “modify” those channels too? The truth is that New York has a very large and concentrated population and AT&T’s network can’t handle all the data from so many iPhones. The New York Times says, “The average iPhone owner can use 10 times the network capacity used by the average smartphone user.”
By using iPhones so intensely, customers are only making it harder on themselves. Browsing the Web, streaming music and videos, all the things that the iPhone is so good at doing, only make the network slower. This, in turn, frustrates the customers who were promised amazing cell phones. It’s the new circle of life for iPhone users.
The website started allowing people with New York City zip codes to purchase iPhones later the same day.
Read More
Posted by Angela | 0 Comments
Mapquest Back in the Game!
Being a Gmail junkie, I am a loyal user of Google Maps when I need directions. Or at least I used to be. I just recently discovered some pretty amazing features new to Mapquest reinstating my faith in the direction-providing site.
A tool for calculating gas costs is now available when you use Mapquest to attain your directions. Imagine the convenience this would provide for a long road trip! After typing in the beginning and ending addresses, the site asks how many miles per gallon your car gets. Then when you enter the appropriate MPG, the program uses the average gas prices in the area to come up with a great estimation for your cost of gas.
Another unique feature is the GeoRSS feed, that was launched at the beginning of October. The GeoRSS allows you to map pictures from a trip and put them in your personal blog or webpage. Basically, after taking tons of pictures on your vacation, you post them on Flickr. Then you can use GeoRSS to link the different pictures to their appropriate spot on a map of the place you visited. Then readers of your blog or page will be able to see exactly what you experienced on your trip, photo by photo.
Mapquest has also created a navigation application for the iPhone that is very close to replacing your Tom-Tom or other GPS system. This navigation app has 2D and 3D images to help you get where you need to go as well as spoken directions to provide some safety. It also allows you to find nearby restaurants, gas stations, etc., at any point during your journey.
I think we have all learned a valuable lesson today, don’t judge Mapquest by its former appearance. Let’s give it a second chance!
Read MorePosted by Angela | 0 Comments
No Credit Cards? No Problem! Use Your iPhone!
Since the iPhone may be making a move to the Verizon community, it has also adopted some tremendously advanced applications.
Even Starbucks has recently entered the app field with a myStarbucks app and a card mobile app. The myStarbucks application is helpful in finding any local Starbucks, not to mention a list of amenities in each store, and a feature allowing you to list you or a friend’s favorite coffee so it is not forgotten. There is also a menu of all the items they sell and a guide to creating your own concoction. Even calorie counting is available.
However, the card mobile app is definitely the more impressive of the two. This application allows a buyer to buy a coffee or special drink by using his or her phone instead of actual, plastic credit card. The face of the iPhone will display a barcode when it comes time to pay for the drink and will act as a gift card with a prepaid amount that the purchase is subtracted from.
This app is a doorway to many more possibilities in the mobile purchasing field. Think about it… Not having a wallet anymore, only carrying your cell phone for monetary purposes. Even thought this app is a huge step towards a credit card-less future, it is still in the baby phase. Currently, the application is only being used in select Starbucks along the West coast of the US to be “tested.” Starbucks is not saying whether or not they will be using the app in other stores or when they will take it out of this testing phase.
Starbucks junkies around the country will be hopping on the iPhone bandwagon and downloading the app before they finish reading this article. Lucky for them, the app doesn’t inform its user when they have had too much coffee.
Read MorePosted by Jeremy Scott | 0 Comments
Apple Wants to Give You Unlimited Free Music Downl...
The current iTunes business model is that you pay $0.99 per song. It’s been that way for quite some time, in fact.
But according to news reports, Apple is negotiating with record labels for a new model that would be music to the ears of iTunes fans: free music access.
That’s right. Free. Apple is trying to get the labels to consent to an iTunes where users gain access to any and all music they desire. The catch–there’s always a catch, isn’t there?–is that Apple would then charge more for their digital music devices, and pass that extra revenue on to the record companies as payment.
So your new iPod might cost $500 or $600, but then you’d have free music access to download all the free songs your device can hold. Well, there’s also a rumor that Apple may include a sort of “membership” or “download subscription” fee–and I can’t tell if that’s in conjunction with the added cost to the mp3 player or as an alternative pricing model. Either way… free music is probably on its way to iTunes soon.
Pretty sweet, eh? Just look at the guy in that picture; that dude is loving this news.
Theoretically, you’d never have to pay for music again… only for mp3 players. Granted, those mp3 players might end up costing as much as a gently used motorcycle, but hey… unlimited free music downloads, right?
Unfortunately, if you own a Zune, you’re out of luck. Sounds like the only folks who will be able to take advantage of this new model will be people who own or buy Apple products like the iPhone and the iPod. Of course, if you own a Zune, you’re probably already used to being in the minority.
The change in revenue model will be huge news if it goes through, and will further cement iTunes’ status as the top destination for digital music downloads. Check back frequently for updates as news of this development becomes more readily available.
Read MorePosted by Jeremy Scott | 0 Comments
Apple Will Unlock the iPhone
Remember those hacked iPhones that became expensive paperweights when Apple sent out an update? And tons of users who had installed unofficial software on their iPhones found the gadgets useless? That’s going to be a non-issue soon. In fact, Apple appears to have done a complete about face on their stance that no one should “hack” the product, announcing that they will open the iPhone to third party developers.
In February, the company will release a “software development kit” to third party developers that will allow for the creation of applications that will work on the iPhone. Apple, who had been heavily criticized for keeping the phone locked to outside developers, believes the move will only encourage a more vibrant iPhone community and help them sell more of them.
Another major gripe users have had–that the iPhone is only able to be used with AT&T’s wireless service–goes unanswered: the iPhone will continue to be AT&T-only…for now.
Read More