Posted by John Patrick on Oct 13, 2011 in
Gadgets,
iPhone 
UPS tracking shows that the iPhone 4S is in Windsor Locks, Connecticut after arriving in Louisville, KY. Before that the iphone was in Anchorage, Alaska, where it arrived from Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The origination of the shipment was somewhere in China, and from there it went to Shenzhen, China enroute to Hong Kong. I am expecting the 4S to arrive mid-day tomorrow and I can’t wait. Stay tuned. Meanwhile iOS 5 is running on both the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. The press has had mixed views, but my view is quite positive. The key feature is iCloud. I tested it today. You take a picture with the iPhone and then go to your MacBook or PC or iMac, and the picture is there in your Photo Stream. iCloud is implementing cloud computing for the consumer. Much more to come on the subject.
Tags: 4s, apple, fedex, icloud, ipad, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone 4s, iphone4, itunes
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 26, 2010 in
Gadgets,
ipad,
iPhone,
Mobile,
People,
Travels,
WiFi 
The iPhone 4 is going strong. I took some pictures today and noticed how much faster the capture is — significantly faster than the 3GS. Between the faster processor and additional memory the performance for everything it does is better. One thing I had not anticipated, however, is the impact of the iPhone 4 on the iPad for those who own both. What I mean by that is the perception that the iPad is not as good as it could (and surely will) be in the Fall when it gets the upgrade to iOS 4.
Task switching is really nice and when you get used to the double push of the home button on the iPhone 4 you begin to expect it to be the same on the iPad, but of course it is not the same. It is not there at all. There is not multi-tasking on the iPad. I am sure Apple did not intend to have the iPhone make the iPad look bad but I think that for many users that have both of the new devices they will begin to get impatient that the iPad doesn’t have some of the advanced features of it’s little brother. The folders made by possible by iOS 4 are really great. In stead of 100 apps spread across 8 screens I now have many of them in folders and everything is contained on half as many screens. The same 100 or so apps are spread across the eight screens on the iPad and while some apps are unique to each device, many are common but in different places. I already finding myself thinking how nice it would be if the iPad had the Navigation, News, Aviation, Shopping, Utilities, Productivity, etc. folders that the iPhone has. Hmmm. Will I begin to get frustrated with the iPad? Maybe a little. The main difference for me is the session time with an app. With the iPhone it tends to be short while on the iPad it tends to be more for reading and surfing of longer duration.
And then there is the Retina display I described in the last post. The iPad has a great display but it is not Retina. Could it be? Seems likely. If you look a bit further at the specs you also see that the iPhone 4 actually has more memory than the iPad. Hmmm. So there are some clues as to what may be coming. Seems likely that we will see a new iPhone once a year in the summer and maybe a new iPad once a year before holiday shopping time. No regrets on my part having the “magical” iPad early even if it gets replaced with a lighter, faster, thinner, brighter one in six months. Gazelle will be there to take care of the “trade-in”.
Other iPhone 4 Thoughts
Other iPad Thoughts
Tags: apple, folders, gadget, gazelle, ipad, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone4, mobile display, multi-tasking, retina, retina display, task switching
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 25, 2010 in
Gadgets,
ipad,
iPhone,
Mobile,
People,
Travels,
WiFi 
The honeymoon is still underway — the iPhone 4 is extraordinary from my perspective. Apple sent an email inviting iPhone 4 owners to make a FaceTime call to one of their representatives. I placed the call at 10 am Friday morning and it was answered promptly. The rep asked if I had WiFi and then had me check a couple of settings on the phone. He asked me to hang up and he called me back via FaceTime. The phone rang and when I hit the accept button a nice young man in Austin, Texas appeared on my iPhone 4 display. The clarity was stunning. The screen is small but being relatively close to the eyes, this total stranger seemed right there in the kitchen with me. He showed me how to move the window-in-window containing me around in case it was in the way and then suggested I press the other icon which changed cameras and enabled him to see the kitchen instead of me. I took him on a tour out to the terrace and showed him a bit of Connecticut. The FaceTime “call” was a first time experience for me and when you get to try it you will be highly impressed. I can’t wait to learn of someone I know getting their iPhone 4. Maybe even one of my four children — two of which have our grandchildren. I have a hunch children and grandchildren will be the most viewed FaceTime participants. The 1969 PicturePhone had very few users — FaceTime will have tens of millions. I hope to meet #2 soon so I don’t have to call the guy at Apple again.
The most asked question to me so far has been “is it really different than the iPhone 3GS”. Answer is a categorical yes. In addition to the new industrial design and the dense cool way it feels in your hand the big difference is the Retina display. With four times the pixel count of previous iPhone models, it is truly the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution screen I have ever seen. The fact that the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels makes text amazingly crisp and images stunningly sharp. Apple calls it “resolutionary”. The 78 micrometre wide pixels — 326 pixels per inch — make text and graphics look smooth and continuous at any size. The Retina display uses technology called IPS (in-plane switching) which in practical terms means that you can hold the iPhone 4 almost any way you want and still get a brilliant picture. The display also has four times the contrast ratio of previous models, so whites are brighter, blacks are darker, and everything is more beautiful. Apple says the display glass is made from the same materials used in helicopters and high-speed trains, that it is chemically strengthened to be hard, scratch resistant, durable, and features an oil-resistant coating that helps keep the screen clean. If all that is not enough, the Retina display also includes LED backlighting and an ambient light sensor that intelligently adjusts the brightness of the screen for optimal viewing and battery life. When you lift the iPhone to your ear for a phone call, a proximity sensor immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent accidental dialing. Yes, the iPhone 4 is different than the prior models. The technology used comes from many vendors and is available to any competitor. The advantage Apple has enjoyed so far has been the way they smoothly integrate the features, hide the complexity, and execute brilliant marketing programs to maintain their lead. I am glad to see the Android phones offering strong competition that will keep Apple on it’s toes.
Other iPhone 4 Thoughts
Other iPad Thoughts
Tags: amazon, apple, apple store, back lighting, ebay, facetime, gadget, gazelle, ibooks, in-plane switching, ipad, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone4, Kindle, lcd, micrometer, micrometre, mobile display, patrickWeb, proximity sensor, retina, retina display
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 24, 2010 in
Gadgets,
ipad,
iPhone,
Mobile,
People,
Travels,
WiFi 
The temperature here in New England is in the 90s today, but there are some other places that are also hot — in a commercial sense that is. After stopping by the
Danbury Fair Mall on an errand I happened to walk by the Apple store. It may have been short compared to those in Manhattan or San Francisco, but for this part of the world, it was quite a long line (see
pictures here). We’ll have to wait to see the results, but I suspect there will be more then one million
iPhone 4′s sold today.
Another hot item will be the newly re-priced Kindle. It was doing quite well at $259, and at $189 it will surely attract many more buyers. The iPad is very nice for reading books, but the Kindle excels for reading them in sunlight, and is adored by millions who don’t really want another computer — they just want an efficient and fun way to devour books. I suspect a new Kindle will be coming out this summer but at $189 you can’t go wrong. See link in patrickWeb store.
I have not seen any data to validate how hot or not it is but Gazelle claims to have a unique and proprietary model which predicts the current and future market value of electronic gadgets. There are fifty million iPhones out there and many users will want to sell them and upgrade to the iPhone 4. eBay is a logical way to do this but Gazelle provides another approach. After answering a few questions about the condition of your gadget, Gazelle instantly gives you a market price good for thirty days. If you like the price and don’t change your mind — there is no risk to you — you send your gadget in the prepaid box provided by Gazelle and they send you either a PayPal credit or an Amazon credit. If you choose the latter they add 5% to the guranteed amount. I made my Gazelle inquiry on June 9 and was given a price of $304 (plus $15 extra when I selected the Amazon credit). When I checked yesterday the price had dropped to $212 and it will, of course, continue to drop as iPhone 4 supply ramps up. I was surprised at the high price I got. Could be that they take the initial returns and sell them overseas where prices are higher. I have been an early adopter for decades and have found that staying on the leading edge and buying early is not that costly if you act quickly to sell the “old” gadget you are replacing. My iPhone 3GS left Connecticut via USPS Priority Mail yesterday. I did a hard reset first but Gazelle claims they do a data wipe for all devices they receive.
Tags: amazon, apple, apple store, ebay, facetime, gadget, gazelle, ibooks, ipad, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone4, Kindle, patrickWeb
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 22, 2010 in
Gadgets,
ipad,
iPhone,
Mobile,
People,
Travels,
WiFi 
The Fedex delivery man pulled up at 10:30 this morning with an iPhone 4 in his hand — there were 15 more on his truck. The packaging is elegant and simple to open. After syncing the iPhone 3GS and Stainless Shuffle to be sure iTunes was up to date, I connected the iPhone 4. The first screen to appear showed my mobile phone number and asked me to enter my zip code and last four of the social for authentication. After agreeing to the Apple and AT&T terms and conditions the phone was activated and the copying of apps plus thousands of songs and music began. I went out for an errand and when I got back the iPhone 4 was loaded with my data. The next step was to set up the Google accounts for over-the-air syncing of my 1,500 contacts plus all the calendar entries and gmail. Minutes later I was good to go. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
One should not judge a book by it’s cover but when it comes to gadgets, first impressions matter. When it came to the iPhone 4 that impression was very positive. The industrial design is elegant. The weight is about the same as the iPhone 3GS but the 4 is thinner and flatter and hence feels more dense and substantial. It has a more contemporary look to it and it is a delight to hold onto. The only physical thing to critique is that when the phone is in your pocket you can’t reach in for it and tell which side is up like you could with the 3GS. No doubt getting familiar with where the buttons are and correlating that to how to grab for the phone face-up will be easy to learn.
Under the covers there are a number of enhancements in the iPhone 4. One reviewer claimed the new battery lasted 31 hours for him. The processor has been upgraded to Apple’s new super-fast A4 processor. A half-gigabyte of memory will also enhance the performance. The iPhone 4 specifications would be mistaken for a supercomputer not that long ago. The addition of a 3-axis gyroscope will enable developers to create some amazing games and along with the GPS there will no doubt be some undreamed of navigation apps coming. The new Retina display is truly brilliant. Icons have no rough edges and photos look like glossy prints. The two cameras and video capability are being raved about. I am not much of a photographer nor do I know much about video editing but it sounds like you can now create candidates for the Cannes film festival on your phone. If photography and video are of interest I would highly recommend reading the review done by Joshua Topolsky over at Engagdet. There are some really good YouTube videos included. As they say a picture (or YouTube clip) is worth a thousand words.
Of most significance to me is the software aspect of the iPhone 4. The upgrade to iOS 4 is available for the iPhone 3GS but the added power of iPhone 4 is able to take much more advantage of the software advancements. The breakthrough is multi-tasking which enables the iPhone to do more than one thing at a time. Not technically exactly really but we won’t know the difference. The best example is that you can start Pandora and select your music and then press the home button again and begin reading your email while you listen to the music. You could do this with the iPod app but not with Pandora. You can stop working on something in an app and switch to a different app and return to find that the prior app is running. For example you can be downloading a large file, go work on something else, and return to find the download completed, all while listening to Pandora. A double press of the home button brings up a new task manager which shows all the apps that are running. You no longer have to push the home button in between apps. I can’t wait for multi-tasking on the iPad — expected in the Fall.
Another breakthrough is FaceTime video chat. To put it in perspective, take a look at the AT&T PicturePhone product of 1969. The FaceTime uses the front camera to capture your face — or that of a grandchild. This could be the feature that gets reluctant grandparents to sign up for an iPhone. At this stage it only works between two iPhones although Apple is releasing specs to make it possible for others to interoperate. I have no doubt that a creative Android developer will implement the feature post haste. The other immediate limitation is that FaceTime video calls are only possible using WiFi. I don’t see that as a problem given the wide availability of WiFi. I think the potential for FaceTime to change the way we communicate is significant. Once multiple participants can be part of a video conference it will change how we think of a “meeting”. For now, I wish I knew someone who had an iPhone 4 so I could try FaceTime instead of just envisioning it!
Another feature that I have envisioned since I got the first iPhone is folders. It took Apple a long time to implement what I consider an essential capability. I have roughly 100 apps. It is amazing how the human brain can remember the content, color, and location of an icon but a way to organize the apps is a superior idea. If you drag a CNN icon onto the top of a BBC icon, the iPhone combines the two into one folder and names the folder “News”. You can drag up to 12 into a folder. Be nice to have more but a dozen is a good start and can allow organizing things into news, weather, sports, utilities, finance, games, etc. This is another feature I can’t wait to get for the iPad.
The iPhone enables you to use whatever email system you want but personally I don’t know why everybody doesn’t use gmail. I am actually glad everyone does not use it because then there would not be enough competition and the governement would step in and shut down Gmail! Whatever mail you use, it is now easier on the iPhone 4 as it has added threaded mail and an integrated inbox. This is yet another feature badly needed on the iPad but for which we have to wait for iOS 4.
The iPhone now has iBooks and syncing of bookmarks between the iPad and iPhone. This is a good thing but I still believe Amazon is ahead in this area. With the new pricing aggressiveness for e-readers I believe the “single purpose” devices will have a place and I look forward to getting the next Kindle this summer. Sunny day reading this summer at the Lake with the iPad or iPhone is not going to happen. The Kindle loves sunny days!
All things considered I am more than pleased with the new iPhone 4. I am sure there will be some things that may disappoint but so far it looks like the winner I expected. The Android phones are going to give Apple a big run for the money and that is exactly what we all want. In the short term the Android will attract techies, those that have poor AT&T coverage and want Verizon, and those that have an aversion to Apple and their high prices and proprietary ways. Over time Android will get better and better as their base of developers grows but for now Apple has a big head start. The only rock they have to drag is AT&T. Their network is not available to many and to many who have it they don’t like it. AT&T is making big investments to improve things and the new iPhone 4 has an improved antenna which some reviewers are saying make dropped calls much more rare. I have not been out of the house with the new iPhone yet but so far it is at least as good as the 3GS. Bottom line for me is that the first impression is a very happy one.
Other iPhone 4 Thoughts
Other iPad Thoughts
Tags: A4, amazon, android, apple, at&t, battery life, design, facetime, fedex, gmail, gps, gyroscope, ibooks, industrial design, ipad, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone4, Kindle
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 22, 2010 in
Gadgets,
iPhone FedEx tracking shows that the iPhone 4 is in Newark, NJ and still scheduled for delivery on June 24 by 4:30 PM. However, I received an email from Apple this morning saying “This email is to confirm that your delivery will occur on June 23rd. Although Apple and FedEx tracking information may currently indicate a later date, you can check the FedEx website the morning of the June 23rd to track your package to your doorstep”. I will be surprised — but delighted — to see the iPhone delivered a day before availability in the Apple stores. Stay tuned. Meanwhile iOS 4 is now available for current iPhones. I really like the new feature which allows app icons to be stacked in folders. This will greatly enhance organization and finding large numbers of applications.
Tags: apple, fedex, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone4
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 21, 2010 in
Gadgets,
iPhone,
Mobile,
People,
Travels 
The iPhone 4 was ordered on Tuesday June 15 and in spite of the AT&T web site problems and overloaded servers, the order was confirmed. On Saturday I received an email that was music to my ears. “Dear John Patrick, we are pleased to inform you that your iPhone (4) has shipped. Please check below for your confirmed delivery date. The Apple Store”.
Hyper-linking over to the FedEx site confirmed that the iPhone 4 was “In transit” and that it had shipped on June 19, 2010 from LANTAU ISLAND HK with an estimated delivery of the 1.3 pounds to happen on June 24 by 4:30 PM. The best part of Apple’s incredibly efficient logistics system is the “pre-sign” process. One click enables you to print a “Shipment Release Authorization” form which you can tape on the door so that the package will be left in case you are not home. There have been so many frustrating times over the years when I got home in great anticipation of a package to find a post-it on the door saying “we tried” but you were not home.
The package started the journey from Shenzhen, China — reputedly the fastest growing city in the world — and today is in Anchorage, Alaska. Lantau Island, Hong Kong must be the aggregation point for distribution to various places around the world, but to me seeing the name Lantau Island struck a nostalgic chord. It was three years ago in May that I made my fourth trip to China (see Asia travel section of photo gallery for pictures from the prior trips). The first three were alone and 90+% business. Eventually the day would come when I would be lucky enough to go back with friends and family and not do any business activity. The prior trips were to just a few of the big cities but this time it was many cities and villages — there was an incredible amount to see and learn.
We were fortunate to be able to get a non-stop flight with Continental from Newark to Hong Kong where we spent the first two and a half days of the trip. The twin-engine Boeing 777 was able to make the journey in roughly fifteen hours. The GPS indicated that our hotel was 8,900 miles from home. There is much to be said about Hong Kong but the most memorable parts were Victoria Peak and the Buddha.
Hong Kong is 425 square miles in size and is located on the southeastern coast of China. The main areas are Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. Hong Kong Island lies just south of Kowloon and the two are separated by Victoria Harbor. The New Territories lie north of Kowloon and include more than 260 outlying islands. Lantau Island is the largest of them.
To get to the peak we walked along the waterfront to the ferry boat which took us to downtown near the convention center (where I had given a speech ten years earlier). We then walked through the city part way up the hill to the tram. The ride up the side of the mountain to Victoria Peak was very steep and the view from the top was spectacular. After a nice lunch we walked the 3,000 meter trail along the edge of the peak and could look down at Victoria Harbor and the beautiful skyscrapers below.
During the trip in 1999 it was a great pleasure to meet Karen and Alfonso. Karen worked for IBM at the time. They were kind enough to take me on a day trip to see the largest Buddha in the world, located at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island. We got there by subway and then a boat. Then in 2007, eight years later, we met up with Karen and Alfonso to see the Buddha once again but this time it was by subway and gondola. The area has been developed into quite a tourist attraction, complete with many shops and restaurants. We enjoyed a traditional Chinese lunch before heading to the airport to fly to Guilin.
I feel fortunate to have been to Lantau Island twice and for the iPhone 4 to have been there also. I anxiously await Thursday to receive the iPhone and then to pack and ship the iPhone 3GS to gazelle.com. More on that later.
Index for the trip to China (May 2007)
iPhone 4 Thoughts
Tags: buddha, fedex, hong kong, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone4, lantau
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 16, 2010 in
Gadgets,
iPhone
I confess — I can’t wait for June 24 to get my hands on the new iPhone 4. Is the cost justified? No. Are early adopters penalized by having to pay more for a new iPhone 4 than a brand new doubting Thomas? Yes. Am I still anxious to get my hands on it? Yes. Part of rationalizing the purchase is the ability to sell the iPhone 3GS at a higher price now than it will be worth if I wait — been using that excuse for quite a few years. More to come on all this. I will keep this index of stories up to date. Here are the thoughts about the new iPhone 4 so far.
Part 1: The Order
Part 2: The Shipping Notice
Part 3: First Impression
Part 4: Hot Deals
Part 5: 2nd Day Impressions
Part 6: et tu, iPad?
Tags: Gadgets, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone4
Posted by John Patrick on Jun 16, 2010 in
Gadgets,
Internet Technology,
iPhone,
On Demand The order process for the iPhone 4 put together by Apple and AT&T rates a 1 out of 10 at best. A lot of promotion went into the “pre-order” process to encourage us all to place our orders on June 15. Like many, I started out at 6 AM with the best of loyal intentions. Thirteen hours later after many attempts I was finally able to get the order registered at the Apple Store and now look forward to the June 24th delivery.
When it comes to design, software integration, ease of use, and dominance of music and app distribution, Apple is king of the hill. When it comes to offering cloud services, such as MobileMe, and a scaleable server environment for huge onslaughts of order activity, Apple seems to fall down consistently.This is not a good sign moving forward. A poorly executed once a year first day order process may not harm the Apple market dominance but there are things on the horizon that will critical every day of every year for most every Apple customer. (See excellent story “Why Aren’t I the Center of the Apple Universe?” by Matt Buchanan).
The central role of iTunes has to evolve to the Cloud. To require a new iPad or iPhone 4 user to have to plug in cables and connect their new Apple device to a PC or Mac in order to get music and apps onto the device is starting to look and feel a bit old-fashioned. Why can’t the music and apps synchronize “over the air” like the Google contacts, calendar, and gmail emails do? It is clear that this is where things are headed and the question is whether Apple is ready.
There are several challenges to make a Cloud services vision possible. First is an iTunes redesign that permits Cloud services for iPads, iPod Touches, and iPhones but which also permits the local attachment of devices such as iPod Nanos and Shuffles which do not have their own communications capabilities. Secondly is whether there is sufficient bandwidth at the user end, at AT&T (and other carriers) and at Apple to enable all the music and apps to traverse over the air. Finally is the question of whether Apple can create a Cloud services infrastructure that is sufficiently robust to provide the services that will be needed. Their capabilities to handle the order inflow of the new iPhone 4 suggests that Apple has a long way to go in this last dimension.
Could be that AT&T is part of the order entry problem. The failures in the process did seem to me to occur when I got to the step where eligibility had to be checked with the carrier. AT&T has a particularly bad web site. Talk about confusing. You can’t tell if you are at att.com, att.net, att.uverse.com, uverse.com, at a section for consumer, small business, enterprise, or whitepages.com. The big picture is clear that the mobile Internet is evolving rapidly. No longer is the Internet where our PC is — the Internet is where we are. Apple is pushing the envelope into this new space. AT&T is dragging along their legacy. As consumers and employees of businesses we will gain trememdously from this new found mobility afforded by the Internet.
Tags: apple, at&t, carrier, cloud, ipad, iPhone, iphone4, ipod, itunes
