As an iPhone 4 user who doesn’t have reception issues with or without a case in areas with or without a signal, I have a certain perspective on this whole “iPhone 4 death grip” issue. What I see here is a corner case (no pun intended) of a risk that I discussed in my “cons” section of my iPhone 4 review. Sure it’s a problem, but I definitely don’t think it’s a recall type problem. The phone isn’t blowing up in people’s hands, nor is it melting our ear drums. The internet has turned this minor issue into a show stopping, stock killing, PR nightmare, and the tech blogs all over the web smell blood and are on the attack.

Apple has called a press conference tomorrow to talk about the iPhone 4. People who want Apple to fail are begging for an embarrassing, tear filled, bumbling apology from Steve Jobs. They also want a multi-billion dollar recall. People who own the phone (that I know of) generally want a clear cut explanation and a plan of action. Me? I don’t want anything.

Yeah I said it.

The antenna issue is a minor inconvenience on a great smartphone that just about every review claims is the best phone to date, yet can’t recommend it. It boggles the mind how you can say this is the best smartphone out, but this minor defect (yes it is minor) will prevent you from recommending it? If that’s the case, then it’s not the best smartphone. You can’t have it both ways. Just about every review I’ve read claims of increased reception and better call quality, except for this corner case. (no pun intended again)

In my mind, either the phone sucks because of the antenna issue, or it’s a great phone with minor antenna concerns.

Related posts:

• iPhone 4 Improved Reception? Unpossible!
• My iPhone v1.1.1 Hacked
• Apple, iPhone 4, and Competition

A few days ago I expressed my thoughts on the whole iPhone 4 antenna issue:

Some people got upset because I stated it wasn’t an Apple issue, but a cellular design/technology issue with attenuation. I even stated in the video that it is a legitimate problem with iPhone 4, but not as big as people are making it out to be.

Let me repeat that: I acknowledge this is a legitimate issue with the iPhone 4 (or maybe even iOS4). Is it worth national attention? Maybe. Is it worth a lawsuit? Heck no. People seem to think attenuation doesn’t happen anywhere else and I even gathered a few videos demonstrating just that, but as most of us know, the iPhone 4 has increased attenuation due to its design. Is it as extreme as people make it out to be? i.e. “OMG! I hold my iPhone and it goes from 5 bars to 0 and I can’t make a call! ZOMG!” Let’s see.

Bars Mean Nothing
I also stated something else that no one seemed to acknowledge: “I’ve dropped calls with full bars on my phone. Bars don’t mean anything”. I don’t know why, but people see those bars go down and ultimately believe that it’s representative of their phone signal. Today I read Anandtech’s analysis of the issue and they found some very interesting results:

So, an entire day and more than a quarter tank of gas later, here are the results. Holding the iPhone 4 without a case, in your left hand, crossing the black strip can result in a worst case drop of 24 dBm in signal. As we’ll show in a second, how you hold the phone makes a huge difference across every smartphone – and we’ve tested thoroughly in 5 different positions.

Now, there are two vastly different possibilities for what happens to the bar visualization after you drop 24 dBm. I happen to live less than one block from an AT&T UMTS tower (it’s across the street, literally), and have exceptionally strong signal in all of my house – it’s part of why I chose to live here, actually. Signal is above -65 dBm in every single room, in most cases it’s at -51 dBm. When I incur that worst case drop of 24 dBm from squeezing the phone, I fall down to -83 dBm, which is still visualized as 5 bars.

However, in locales that have less signal, but where iOS still displays 5 bars, the drop of 24 dBm is visualized much differently. For example, at another test location, signal without holding the phone is -89 dBm, which is still displayed as 5 bars. Cup the phone, and you’ll fall all the way to -113 dBm. All the bars dramatically disappear one after the other, people think they’ve dramatically lost all the signal, and you know the rest.

Death Grip Doesn’t Discriminate
Check out what Anandtech found compared to the Nexus One and iPhone 3GS in terms of attenuation:

Not only do they confirm that you need to squeeze the life out of the phone to get the maximum effect, but that attenuation does occur in other tests though not as extreme as iPhone 4 with its exposed antenna. It does make sense that an exposed antenna will give more attenuation.

Liars? Fanboys? No.
So when people say they don’t have the issue, there’s a high chance, they don’t have the issue. Why? Because they are getting 5 bars in iOS4 and likely have a high dB signal, whereas those who low dB, and have 5 bars in iOS4 will show increased attenuation. Example:

If she’s lying or doctoring results, then I’d be very impressed. I would bet the farm she has a high dB signal coupled with 5 bars.

But Wait, It’s Not Terrible?
Here’s another thing that is pretty much in line with my usage: The iPhone 4 antenna is actually better! What gets me is that pretty much every review I’ve read stated they got better signal with normal use, but this information gets glossed over. Anandtech expressed it best:

From my day of testing, I’ve determined that the iPhone 4 performs much better than the 3GS in situations where signal is very low, at -113 dBm (1 bar). Previously, dropping this low all but guaranteed that calls would drop, fail to be placed, and data would no longer be transacted at all. I can honestly say that I’ve never held onto so many calls and data simultaneously on 1 bar at -113 dBm as I have with the iPhone 4, so it’s readily apparent that the new baseband hardware is much more sensitive compared to what was in the 3GS. The difference is that reception is massively better on the iPhone 4 in actual use.

So while everyone wants to focus on squeezing their iPhone 4, I’m focusing on my experience of improved call quality, less dropped calls, overall better reception. While I don’t grip my phone like shown in the experiements, I have done some tests in different areas and I have had varied results just like Anandtech. The perception is that every iPhone 4 has this issue and if anyone says otherwise, they’re a lying, brainwashed, Apple fanboy who is protecting their pride. Well to that I say:

Related posts:

• This iPhone 4 Thing Is Out Of Control
• Apple, iPhone 4, and Competition
• My iPhone v1.1.1 Hacked

I recommend you watch the WWDC 2010 keynote before reading.

If you watch the video above, you’ll note that I was generally impressed with the announcements made by Apple. I’ll attempt to go into more detail on this post as to some of the other features and what I think about them.

History repeating itself?

Before I talk about the iPhone 4, I want to comment on a statement that Steve Jobs made regarding the pre-iPhone world. He said that before the iPhone and App store, things were completely different. If you think about it, he is absolutely right. I can barely remember what it was like to run apps on my phone, perform firmware upgrades, check email, and surf the web on my smartphones. iPhone was definitely a game changer in 2007-2008.

So will the iPhone 4 be a game changer as well? It’s really hard to predict these things, especially with how often Apple reinvents features that sucked on other phones in a way that we love them somehow. Distortion field? Magic? I don’t know, but it’s a force to be reckoned with. Take for example, the engineering of the iPhone 4 case. What other smartphone maker will take you into the manufacturing process and explain to you why they made the choices they did? I can’t think of many. Apple has put together an integrated antenna design that I have not seen before. Has it been done before? I don’t know, because other companies don’t bother to share these important information. Some may dismiss Apple’s focus on their stainless steel + space age glass design as “useless” or a “distraction from what’s not there” but I disagree with both of those points.

The Screen

My Mechanical Engineering background kicked in a bit when I saw the manufacturing process in action. It sounds pretty unique. Has anyone else done this? I don’t know because companies don’t openly share this information. Apple uses a special lamination technique to bond the screen to the glass, so no more dirt particles as stated by John Gruber:

It’s mentioned briefly in Apple’s promotional video about the design of the iPhone 4, but they’re using a new production process that effectively fuses the LCD and touchscreen — there is no longer any air between the two. One result of this is that the iPhone 4 should be impervious to this dust-under-the-glass issue.

Combined with Apple’s pixel-packing “Retina” technology, we have the makings of an absolutely amazing reading experience. Did you notice how many times Steve Jobs referred to the screen being akin to reading high quality print? Apple sees the trend that everyone else is talking about: the death of print. This is a preemptive strike to capture that rising market through the iPad and iPhone 4.

Two Microphones

For the first time on the iPhone, Apple has introduced a second microphone for “noise cancellation”. Before FaceTime was announced, this didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but now it does. I imagine this will be utilized during video calls and video recording. Currently on iPhone 3GS, the audio quality is not that great on recorded video. I imagine this will not be the case on iPhone 4. We will have to wait and see if this second microphone will help at all.

The A4 Chip and Battery

Apple was proud to announce they are using their own A4 processor in iPhone 4. Not only does this chip offer great performance, but it does so without the cost of heavy power consumption. I think it’s amazing that Apple is able to produce a 40% increase in talk time while providing more power, functionality, and a slimmer design. Again, a lot of critics will overlook this as “ho-hum” because it’s not some futuristic amazing bell or whistle, but I will disagree and will say this is an enormous feat and Apple should be commended.

The Gyroscope

This one surprised me as it did others. The gyroscope has opened up new doors for developers to create spatial awareness type games. Steve Jobs gave a great demonstration of this using a clone of the popular puzzle game, Jenga. As he turned around physically, the iPhone’s display updated its point of view. This is absolutely brilliant!! Think about some of the applications that could utilize the new CoreMotion APIs to create amazing experiences. Kudos to Apple for this one.

The Camera and HD Video

Steve Jobs did an outstanding job explaining protons to a bunch of journalists, and I believe they understood him completely. He went into detail about how megapixels aren’t everything (by the way, thank you Steve for re-iterating this important point). iPhone 4 uses a backside illuminated sensor to produce sharper photos. The 3GS brought a huge increase in quality in photos over the 3G and I wonder if iPhone 4 will do the same. Apple’s example pictures are there, but I’m a bit skeptical until I take my own photos with the thing.

I was extremely happy to hear that Apple has enabled HD video capture from iPhone 4. It will be 720p at 30 frames per second which is perfect for most of us. I doubt it will be professional grade HD video, but I think it will be on par with popular pocket HD cameras like the Creative Vado 3 (which I own), Kodak Zi6 and the Flip HD series. As I stated in the video, I think this opens a new market to Apple which was previously untapped. Pocket HD cameras are fabulous, but we don’t carry them everywhere. We carry our phones everywhere. This is a possible game changer in terms of iPhone reach.

While HD video is not new to smartphones, the ability to edit them on your phone is not common. iMovie for iPhone completely blew me away. This is a fabulous idea and will definitely encourage iPhone 4 owners to shoot more video and to edit it (with transitions, titles, effects, and music) right on the phone! While most of us travel with a laptop where we can edit video, we don’t always have them with us. We carry our phones everywhere. Yet another possible game changer.

Apple is creeping into other markets with iPhone 4.

The Name Change

iPhone OS is now known as iOS. First off, I hate the name, but that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. It actually does make sense to come up with a single name for the OS that powers three separate mobile devices: iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad. Apple was smart this time and licensed the name from Cisco. I welcome the change, but I hate the name.

iOS Tidbits

Apple reiterated a lot of points they covered in the iOS 4 launch event including multitasking, folders, and iAds. All of these are great additions to a polished platform that is getting better and better. I was happy to see iOS will be a free upgrade for all supported devices now.

And Now, Competition

Steve Jobs was on the defensive in this keynote more-so than ever before. He addressed many of the concerns raised by Google’s Android camp including: App approval process, market share, and App store health. For the first time (that I’ve heard of), Apple has publicly acknowledged their main reasons for rejecting apps in the App store: 1. Use of private APIs 2. They crash 3. They don’t do the functionality they describe. When we hear of all of the horror stories of why apps are rejected from developers, it’s usually one sided. We never hear Apple’s side of it and now I’m really skeptical about all of the developers who cried foul. Were your apps actually stable? Did you use private APIs but aren’t telling us? Did your app do other things you didn’t describe? Before this knowledge, we could only assume Apple was being evil and randomly rejecting applications. It’s something to think about.

Apple also did something that I was pleased to see. They didn’t make useless jokes and cracks about their competition. Google, on the other hand, felt it was needed to constantly bash Apple’s products, process, and philosophy. It’s this attitude that has me leaning towards the Apple side of this competition. I acknowledge Android’s incredible momentum and their feature set differentiates itself from iOS in many ways. I hate to see unprofessional, childish acts when your features could speak for themselves.

With this competition, Apple and Google have two very different approaches:

Which do you believe is more powerful? I’m going to say it’s Apple for me, but that’s not the case for everyone. Android has snatched up all the people who are frustrated with Apple’s “limitations”. They’re also capturing folks who want an alternative to the iPhone. Let’s face it, Android is the only real alternative to the iPhone in the marketplace in terms of point by point features. Nokia and RIM may dominate the worldwide marketshare, but neither of these two companies has a direct answer for the almighty “app store”.

If you watch the FaceTime video, you’ll see very clearly why Apple does what it does. You see families connecting and sharing intimate moments through technology. This can be done easily with iPhone 4 because there is zero setup, zero configuration, zero worry. You can’t say the same about Android. Android appeals to those who want to tinker, who want to configure, who want to customize, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a difference in their approaches. We know video calling on smartphones has been around for a long time on Symbian, but you don’t hear about ordinary, non technical people using it. Why? Because it’s hard to set up, requires technical know-how, and the experience sucks overall. Apple comes in, and makes the experience as simple as a phone call. See what I mean? Android will likely have 50 applications that crop up that do the same thing as FaceTime and we’ve already seen the Qik app on the platform. Will it be as seamless as Apple’s? No. That’s the difference.

Some people don’t want it be seamless. They’d rather have total control of the experience than have it be easy as possible through Apple’s implementation. Apple wants to move the technology in the background and let you make a video call. Some call it “draconian”, I call it “a great experience”.

Apple controls the experience for a reason, and that reason is so you can experience emotion through your technology and not experience technology for emotion.

Conclusion

Overall, iPhone 4′s unveiling went great. Even with technical difficulties, Steve Jobs was able to show why he is king of keynotes. He took control of the situation and actually made it pleasant.

Apple continues to innovate despite the critics. Look at all the engineering that went into iPhone 4 before passing “ho-hum” judgement. Realize that Android is great where it is, and iOS is great where they are, and these two packages offer different perspectives on smartphones. The choice of platform is personal and depends on your preferences and desires.

Related posts:

• Apple iPhone 3G Review
• Is Gizmodo Pimping A Stolen iPhone?
• How Much Have You Spent On iPhone Applications?

Hey, I gotta ask.

Gizmodo broke the story today that they “obtained” a prototype iPhone which was “reported lost” from a bar. Well, they quoted the following in their story:

It has been reported lost

Apple-connected John Gruber—from Daring Fireball—says that Apple has indeed lost a prototype iPhone and they want it back:

So I called around, and I now believe this is an actual unit from Apple — a unit Apple is very interested in getting back.

Obviously someone found it, and here it is.

Well, the problem is, John Gruber never said it was lost, he said it was missing or possibly stolen:

Note that I did not use the word “lost”. It is my understanding that Apple considers this unit stolen, not lost. And as for the “someone(s)” who “found” it, I believe it is disingenuous for Gizmodo to play coy, as though they don’t know who the someones are.

Is Gizmodo pimping a stolen iPhone? What do you think?

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Pun intended.

So Palm had it’s big day yesterday (June 6th) with their release of the Palm Pre and early reports are that they had a good day in terms of sales. Most stores were sold out by noon and others followed later in the day. Early reviews of the Palm Pre are generally positive and the community is rallying behind Palm in a big way.

We’ve also had some controversy surrounding the Pre already! First, we found out that the Palm Pre is recognized as an iPod in iTunes for synchronization. A lot of us don’t think Apple will like this, especially since a lot of former Apple engineers worked on this phone. Some high profile technology experts have gotten into it surrounding ethics and integrity surrounding receiving review units. Right or wrong, Palm gets free press out of all of this.

Press is good, until you’re faced with an Apple keynote. Even though it’s a Steve Job-less keynote (maybe), tomorrow’s kickoff of Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) is expected to bring a lot of fresh technology news. Now if Apple didn’t have a particular phone in their lineup, I think Palm wouldn’t have to worry about the possible buzz kill surrounding the Pre. But alas, we have a confirmed release of iPhone 3.0 software (either tomorrow or later this month) and a ton of rumors surrounding new iPhone hardware.

Photo courtesy of Gear Live

On top of all the coolness that’s coming from the iPhone’s software revision, we’re hearing rumors about the new iPhone hardware that include:

• Video recording capability
• Front and rear camera
• Larger Capacity (32GB)

You gotta love the rumor mill before these Apple events. They almost have the ability to kill Palm’s hype on their own. Palm has their hands full. Apple still has the mind share on the “cool” smartphone market, but I believe Palm has what it takes to steal some of it. A new Apple phone 2 days after your release could be insurmountable.

Will tomorrow’s announcements squash Palm’s buzz? We will have to wait and see. I can’t wait.

Join our discussions on the iPhone on FriendFeed.

Related posts:

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It’s that time! I would say again, but this is the first time I’ve done it here on Bwana.org. I want to thank our very first advertising sponsor, Atomic Powered. Atomic Powered offers a variety of iPhone applications, some of which I have reviewed. Here is my review of Quake Info for iPhone/iPod Touch in case you missed it:

Check out their other apps when you get the chance. Thanks Atomic Powered for helping me pay the bills!

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T-Mobile was gracious enough to supply me with a G1 review unit. I’ve been playing with it for about a week now and I’ve seen and learned quite a bit. A lot of people are curious about how it compares to the iPhone’s experience. It’s a hard question to answer directly, so I’m going to be producing a series of videos on Bwana.TV (my video blog) about the Android experience and some of the applications that are available. Unfortunately, I’m not able to purchase any applications since the review unit is tied to a separate account, but I’ll do what I can amongst the free applications.

So stay tuned to Bwana.TV for a bunch of T-Mobile G1 videos, and how it compares to the iPhone experience.

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In the latest iPhone SDK, the developer agreement (which must be agreed to) states that jailbreaking is now prohibited:

(e)You will not, through use of the Apple Software, services or otherwise, create any Application or other program that would disable, hack or otherwise interfere with the Security Solution, or any security, digital signing, digital rights management, verification or authentication mechanisms implemented in or by the iPhone operating system software, iPod touch operating system software, this Apple Software, any services or other Apple software or technology, or enable others to do so; and

(f) Applications developed using the Apple Software may only be distributed if selected by Apple (in its sole discretion) for distribution via the App Store or for limited distribution on Registered Devices (ad hoc distribution) as contemplated in this Agreement.

As I stated previously, this whole brouhaha has been accelerated by piracy of iPhone and iPod Touch applications. This is just another step Apple is taking to thwart jailbreaking. While many want to blame Apple for this, I still blame the pirates.

Update: I’m receiving reports that this wording has been in the agreement for quite a while and may not specifically ban jailbreaking.

Update 2: TUAW confirms the verbiage has been there since October. Nothing to see here, apologies for the confusion. (I hate you Ars)

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Today, I watched the Apple Live Event concerning the iPhone 3.0 software. Many things were discussed at the event as you can read online, but here are my reactions as I watched today:

Apple covered 3 out of 4 of my “must haves” list. That’s pretty good. The only thing they didn’t mention is Safari stability, but I’m still hoping it’s addressed in some fashion.

Now it’ll be interesting to see all the *new* reasons the haters will say the iPhone is garbage. Here’s to you, haters!

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Apple is hosting an event tomorrow, March 17th, to discuss the new features in the upcoming iPhone OS revision, 3.0. A whole lot of people have speculated that features such as copy/paste, internet tethering, and MMS messaging will be included. At this point, that’s all it is: speculation.

Let’s get real.

Let’s look at iPhone 2.x and what absolutely needs to be improved. My first thought was Mobile Safari which is clearly the weakest part of the experience, and I posted it on Twitter:

Bwana: I can't figure out why people want copy/paste so bad on iPhone 3.0 when Mobile Safari crashes every session.

about an hour ago

Mon Mar 16 18:20:30 +0000 2009

davepearson: Can't say it's ever crashed for me.

about an hour ago

Mon Mar 16 18:22:04 +0000 2009

jrblaze: I want Flash, stable Safari, and easier app organization.

about an hour ago

Mon Mar 16 18:22:05 +0000 2009

JordanPatterson: All I would like is background applications, and lockscren and task bar notifications.

about an hour ago

Mon Mar 16 18:24:34 +0000 2009

delmauriow: I want copy paste as a way to forward parts of text messages and the like or copying links from websites and posting them on Twitter

about an hour ago

Mon Mar 16 18:25:32 +0000 2009

miclothing: I turn off JavaScript and Mobile Safari behaves. Granted a lot of web sites dont work but for the ones I need it on I turn it back on

about an hour ago

Mon Mar 16 18:25:36 +0000 2009

virustricks: do you no if iphone 3.0 will be for ipod touch?

about an hour ago

Mon Mar 16 18:26:13 +0000 2009

brandenwill: Agreed. All I want is MMS. I hate that my friends phones that cost a piece of gum and a shoelace can send MMS but my $200 phone cant.

about 58 minutes ago

Mon Mar 16 18:35:11 +0000 2009

Here’s my list of “must-haves” for iPhone 3.0:

SMS improvements – Basic features in SMS are missing which is kind of embarrassing. SMS forwarding should be included in iPhone 3.0 at a minimum and maybe even MMS. I’m hoping they merge SMS with Mail.app and give us a Pinger like application which includes social apps like Facebook and Twitter. But that’s really REALLY reaching for the stars and we’re keeping it real in this post

I believe these four absolutely have to be addressed in some form or fashion before any new bells and whistles are added. As for the copy/paste ninjas, I’ve never used copy/paste on a mobile device and don’t foresee myself using it if it’s implemented. I wish the noise was around the instability of what’s there instead of the missing features.

We’ll see tomorrow after Apple lets us know what they’re going to do.

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Apple has officially gone on record to state that jailbreaking your iPhone (or iPod Touch I imagine) is now illegal:

Jailbreaking an iPhone constitutes copyright infringement and a DMCA violation, says Apple in comments filed with the Copyright Office as part of the 2009 DMCA triennial rulemaking. This marks the first formal public statement by Apple about its legal stance on iPhone jailbreaking.

The natural reaction would be to get upset and throw a tantrum, right? Well, I’m not blaming Apple. I blame the software pirates who recently developed a method, which requires jailbreaking, to pirate purchased iPhone/iPod Touch applications. It’s called Crackulous. In my opinion, Crackulous literally forced Apple to take action as these pirates were essentially stealing money from app developers. Yes, it’s stealing. So before you get all upset at Apple and call them all sorts of names, remember none of this may not have happened had it not been for idiots people who refuse to buy software.

Yeah, I said it.

I’ll be restoring my iPhone back to factory state as a result of this announcement. Thanks a lot, Crackulous.

Related posts:

• iPhone Developer Agreement Bans Jailbreaking [Updated]
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You know, I never thought I’d cling so much to a phone as much as I cling to the iPhone. When the iPhone was updated to version 2.0, I knew that it was going to make things worse. While many still believe the iPhone to be over hyped and not worth the time, money, and support, I firmly believe it has changed the smart phone market in a very short amount of time.

On the matter at hand. Here at the end of 2008, which iPhone applications were the most valuable players? Let’s count it down:

10. Brightkite (Free) – Brightkite for iPhone actually prompted me to sign up for a service that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. It allows you to check in to your friends network your various locations, provide status updates, and upload photos.
    
    The combination of the iPhone interface, GPS, and camera make this app intuitive and fun to use. Thank goodness for Brightkite’s privacy options so I don’t have to let the world know where I am at any given moment. I am at http://brightkite.com/people/bwana
9. Qik (Jailbreak) – Qik is a big motivator for me to jailbreak (hack) my iPhone. Qik provides live streaming of video and audio from the iPhone much like Ustream.tv does for computers and webcams.
   
   They have done a great job of utilizing the iPhone’s hardware to squeeze out a great streaming experience. It’s too bad that this application is not available on the iTunes App store, but several bloggers have received advanced copies of the app that doesn’t require a jailbreak and absolutely love it. I can’t wait until the masses can use it, but for now, I’m using it with a jailbroken iPhone. My Qik profile is at http://qik.com/bwana
8. Evernote (Free) – Evernote is a great way to stay organized and the iPhone version does not disappoint. From taking ordinary notes to voice reminders, I find this tool to be an absolute necessity to stay organized.
   
   Given that it synchronizes with the cloud, I can create and edit artifacts on my iPhone and on the computer. This app is easily worth money, but the authors have made it free to the public.
7. Winterboard (Jailbreak) – One of my biggest gripes with the iPhone is the lack of customization options available out of the box. Since I’ve jailbroken my iPhone for Qik functionality, I am also able to customize backgrounds, icons, sounds, and applications using Winterboard.
   
   This free application available in Cydia is a must have if you’ve jailbroken your iPhone. Often, I get asked, “How did you change that background?” or “How did you get that sound?”, and the answer always points to Winterboard.
6. Smiles ($2.99 Zen|Drop/$4.99 Combined) – I need to thank Chris Pirillo for introducing me to Smiles for the iPhone. Chris gave me the opportunity to review this game and I’ve been playing it almost every night since. Smiles is a matching/puzzle game that resembles Bejeweled on the surface but adds elements that differentiate it.
   
   For one, you can use the iPhone’s accelerometer to change orientation in the game. This may sound like a visual preference, but it also serves as a strategy for certain game modes. I’ve reviewed Smiles on Bwana.TV, and I definitely believe it to be worth the $2.99/$4.99 price tag. Here’s my video review of Smiles for the iPhone:
   
5. Uno ($7.99) – I’ve played Uno since I could burp. Yes, it’s been that long. This game is just the epitome of fun. The rules are not difficult, the color based cards make it easy for the youngest kids to pick it up, and it’s hard to find someone who says they actually don’t like the game.
   
   The iPhone version of Uno adds a multiplayer component to an already rich single player experience. Now you can play your friends over Wifi and the internet if they have an iPhone or iPod Touch. At $7.99, it may sound a bit expensive, but once you’ve played it, you’ll see right off that it’s a premium app for the iPhone. Here’s my video review of Uno for the iPhone
   
4. Facebook (Free) – Easily the most comprehensive, in-depth, social networking application for the iPhone today, Facebook takes it to a whole new level. As a light user of Facebook, I know that if I’m impressed with the features and functions of this app, that the regular users of Facebook will find it essential. It does it all.
   
   If Facebook is your social network of choice, there’s no way you can do without viewing and uploading photos, updating your status, posting notes, approve/ignore requests, reading notifications, read and respond to messages, and even utilize Facebook chat. This app is a must have.
3. Pandora Radio (Free) – Do you listen to music? Then there’s no excuse why you shouldn’t have Pandora installed. Pandora uses technology from the Music Genome Project to create dynamic “radio stations” based on artists and songs that you like.
   
   Want to hear similar music to a certain artist you like? Simply create a station based on that artist and Pandora plays a great selection of music that’s very similar to your artist and give you the ability the rate up or down songs. I love this app, and for a while I believed it to the best available for the iPhone. If you don’t have it installed, I don’t know what you’re waiting on.
2. Ocarina ($0.99) – To be blown away by this app is not only a pun, but an understatement. Ocarina turns your iPhone into a thousand+ year old instrument called the Ocarina. You may have heard of the Legend Of Zelda game, Ocarina of Time? Well yes, it’s pretty much that, but on your iPhone.
   
   The folks over at Smule have done something I never thought was possible. They register the air you blow in the iPhone microphone and create music with fingerings on the touchscreen. There are many scales and pitches allowing you to create just about anything. Here is my latest video, where I play “Song of Storms” from the Legend of Zelda. This thing is truly incredible.

   Smule is also holding a contest worth $1000, if you can create your own Ocarina video, so if you got the skills, enter today.

1. Google Reader (Web/Free) – If you read My Top 10 Websites of 2008, then you already know Google Reader is my MVP. Well things are the same on the iPhone. Although this is a web application, it doesn’t change my love for it. Google has refined Google Reader for iPhone so much that it seems like the most optimal way to read news on the web.
   
   The interface is responsive, the controls are intuitive, and all the major functionality (star, note, share, email) for handling articles is right at your finger tips. Literally. Hands down, Google Reader for iPhone is the best iPhone app of 2008 for me, and I believe it’s a great choice.

So what are your favorite iPhone apps? Don’t be ashamed to express yourself in the comments.

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The iPhone is taking the world by storm. (no pun intended RIM) Yesterday, Apple announced their quarterly earnings for Q4 2008 and the results were shocking to say the least. Apple reported they sold 6.9 million phones last quarter which achieves their goal of 10 million in 2008. Also surprising is that Apple is now the 3rd largest supplier of phones. Here are my thoughts on the matter:

Click to Play

It is also known that RIM and Google are planning to implement their own version of the iTunes App Store which has proven to be wildly successful. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Doesn’t this all sound familiar? Remember when the iPod first started to boom? I digress.

I’ve found the iTunes App Store to be a great addition to the iPhone universe, especially since there are a good amount of high quality free applications. The question I have for everyone is, have you been tracking how much you’ve been spending on the iTunes App Store? I know some people are well aware of how much they spend on songs in the iTunes Store and elsewhere, but do you truly know how much you’ve spent? For me, it’s easy: I’ve spent $5.99.

The only application I’ve bought to date is Tuner by Nullriver, Inc.

I’m quite proud of this since I was tempted so many times to buy other applications, but I refrained. I’ve made it this far by focusing on all the great free applications on the iTunes App Store. Some of these include Evernote, Pandora, Facebook, Twinkle, Remote, AirSharing, Pro Football App, and College Football App. In these days where many are cutting back on costs (myself included), free is a great price.

So, what apps do you feel are must haves for the iPhone/iPod-Touch? Have you tracked your spending in this temptation store? Do you care? Let me know in the comments.

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Hurricane flags are popping up over Cupertino, namely, at Apple‘s headquarters. Why? The RIM-pire is at it again with a sweet new device that’s coming out soon for Verizon called the Blackberry Storm.

This will be RIM’s first touch screen device that is obviously built to compete with Apple‘s widly popular iPhone. Recently, Google, T-Mobile and HTC were in the news regarding their iPhone competitor, the T-Mobile G1. I went on record to state that I was semi-impressed with what they had, but if I were to decide on what to buy today, I would pass on their model for various reasons. I also stated that I’m more excited about the Blackberry Storm than I am about the T-Mobile G1. Here are some reasons why:

• RIM is serious business. These guys pretty much own the smartphone market and there’s a big reason why. They are adamant about making your device productive. While that may deter a lot of casual users of smart phones, the hardcore business users love it to pieces.
• If anyone can stop the iPhone, it’s RIM. Not to take anything from Nokia, but it is my personal belief that RIM has a better chance of slowing down the iPhone’s momentum than Nokia. As I stated in my iPhone 3G review, Apple is serious about making inroads into the business market. When executives are approached about solutions, I guarantee RIM will be on the comparison sheet. They are capable of doing it.
• Verizon has a great network to kick start the launch. Apple’s iPhone launch was very successful in some eyes, but was tainted by AT&T’s network. Obviously, AT&T is having scaling issues with all of the new users that the iPhone is bringing in. I believe Verizon has a better backbone for a huge Blackberry Storm launch. Their EVDO/CDMA system is largely touted as one of the best in the nation in terms of coverage and speed.
• All other offerings are lackluster. Let’s face it, the touchscreen competitors of the iPhone are not up to the task of slowing down Apple’s momentum. This is solely my opinion with no real facts to back it, but I still believe it to be true.

AT&T is already preparing for the Storm with propaganda the same way Verizon did at the iPhone launch. Duncan Riley, of the Inquisitr, states the Blackberry Storm is the “new hotness” and I must agree. If you’re not excited about the Blackberry Storm yet, check out these photos that I found over on Electronista:

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If you read my original iPhone review, then you know that I was pretty impressed with Apple‘s first generation cell phone. My first impressions were nothing short of stellar. The original iPhone wasn’t perfect, and I pointed out a few flaws in the first iteration. Since that review, Apple has addressed some of the flaws via software updates. Here are my original gripes along with Apple’s fix:

On the same note, one cannot add ring tones to the iPhone. This basic feature of just about every cell phone on the market strikes me as surprising that it’s missing. The fact that it’s not there at launch brings up serious questions as to what’s going on at Apple. Speculation continues on “what’s coming” but I’m not talking about what’s coming, I’m talking about what’s not there now.

Custom ringtones were added in firmware 1.1.2.

The iPhone also lacks customization. Aside from ring tones, you can’t customize the application standby screen. You are stuck with plain black. The only thing you can customize is the wallpaper which is only present when the phone is locked or making a call! Why include customization on screens that you’ll barely see. It’s a minor annoyance, but it’s a standard feature on many smart phones.

Apple added the ability to customize icons on the home screen, including arrangement and Mobile Safari shortcuts. This area still needs improvement.

The iPhone needs applications. The included applications are brilliant and work well for the most part, but Apple needs to embrace the developer community and create a real SDK. This is one of my biggest gripes at the moment because it could literally put the iPhone in the “unstoppable” category. The iPhone needs more applications and it needs them badly.

The iTunes App Store was introduced on July 11th.

I’m not going to dwell on the software too much, since the original iPhone is reaping the benefits of these improvements. I’m now going to look at the newest piece of hardware Apple has released, the iPhone 3G. I was blessed with two iPhone 3G’s by jim48116 by way of donation to Bwana.TV. Jim enjoyed my work so much, he felt compelled to honor us with this gift. Thanks Jim for your generosity! My wife and I have been using our iPhones for approximately 2 weeks which, I believe, is enough time to conduct a proper review. First, let’s talk about impressions.

First impressions

Gather around boys and girls, I have a story to tell you. While many owners of the iPhone 3G had terrible issues on launch day regarding activation, ours was a little bit more, unique. While standing in line at our local Apple store, we were greeted by an Apple rep who asked us a very important question: “Do you have any corporate discounts on your AT&T account? If you do, you’ll need to call AT&T and have it removed prior to activating an iPhone 3G”.

“We’re fine.”

I had a corporate discount many years ago, but I had it removed when I bought my first iPhone. A couple of hours later, we reached the front of the line, where we met another Apple rep with a snazzy mobile touchscreen device. We gave him our information and suddenly we heard: “Uh oh”. Uh oh?!?! Uh oh?!! There are no Uh ohs!!! He informed us that I did have a corporate discount on my account. I tried to plead with the guy that it was removed last year, but he told us he couldn’t proceed. My spirits were broken. I wanted to go home right then and there and lick my wounds. Fortunately, Yah blessed me with a loving wife who calmed me down and convinced me to go to a AT&T store and get it removed. Long story short, we got it removed, was able to go right to the front of the line, and pick up where we left off. We walked out with two brand new 16GB white iPhone 3Gs! Whew!

Out of the box, the iPhone 3G lives up to Apple’s high standards of packaging. I was sort of disappointed since Apple & AT&T implemented a new activation policy. While it’s just plastic wrapping, this unboxing (as seen in the video) was not as genuine as the previous. The iPhone is neatly wrapped inside the box and includes a standard AC adapter (smaller than previous gen), headphones, and stickers. The iPhone 3G did not include a docking unit. Surprising.

In the hand, the iPhone feels surprisingly sturdy. I expected the new plastic back to feel really flimsy, but I felt confident it could stand a little punishment. I’m still going to be getting a case since I believe if it experiences a genuine Bwana drop, it’s going to shatter like fragile glass. The curved edges of the iPhone 3G give it a more comfortable fit inside the palm of my head. I also found this new casing to be less slippery than the 1st generation iPhone.

The good

Everything I loved about the original iPhone, I love about the new iPhone. The little things mean a lot. This time around, I’m going to focus on the improvements the iPhone 3G brings to the franchise.

3G speeds – The most obvious improvement is the addition of 3G speeds. This means the iPhone can theoretically surf the web, view Youtube videos, pull up Google maps, stream music (via apps like Pandora and Tuner) at speeds that rival wifi at home. Check out this speed test I conducted while running errands:

Results of the iPhone 3G Speed test

That’s a lot faster than the previous EDGE speeds of the 1st generation iPhone.

GPS – The iPhone 3G includes a GPS chip which means you have very accurate global positioning capabilities. While this is useful for traditional apps like Google Maps, it is becoming extremely valuable for position aware social networks, such as Loopt. I believe this is where the value of GPS lies.

Surfing + Talking = win – With the introduction of 3G technology, you can now hold a phone conversation and use the data features of the iPhone. Stuck in a boring phone meeting? On hold? Having a one way conversation? Fret no more! You can browse the web whilst pretending to talk. A great feature of 3G tech.

Those are the major advantages of the iPhone 3G. There are a bunch of little improvements that aren’t worth writing about, but still help iPhone owners in day to day activities (a normal headphone jack is one that comes to mind).

The bad

As with any device, there are drawbacks to consider, and the iPhone is no exception. There have been many reports of software glitches in iPhone Software 2.0. Since these glitches seem to be apparent on both old and new iPhones, I’m going to focus on 3G specific issues.

Battery life – When using the 3G speeds, there is an obvious drawback of battery drain. While the iPhone 3G was rated the best of breed in terms of 3G battery life, it still stinks. I rarely use the 3G (only when I’m away from Wifi spots), but when I do, there is a significant battery hit.

Accessories – Both my wife and I noticed a drop in quality in the iPhone 3G’s accessories. The headset feels flimsy and is prone to glitches. We’ve had numerous reports from callers that we sound “low” or “like we’re in a tunnel”. The AC adapter has also been “streamlined” and it feels very cheap. I’m afraid to handle it as rough as I did the previous for fear it will fail me. Also, the lack of a docking station is a disappointment as well.

Hardware button quality – Both my wife and I also have come to the conclusion that the hardware buttons are not as “smooth” as the previous iteration. At first, I thought it was because they hadn’t been broken in, but I do not remember having problems with the volume controls not working on the first iPhone. It seems like you have to press them harder in order to get things done, and with plastic casing, it seems like a unwanted hazard.

Overall impressions

Overall, I’m happy with the iPhone 3G. I believe it presents an attractive upgrade for those who are interested in faster browsing speeds while on the go, GPS-based social networking, and improved technology during calls. I find myself using the iPhone 3G a little bit more than the previous iteration, mostly due to the wave of new applications from the iTunes App Store. Again, this benefit is not unique to the iPhone 3G and if you are interested in that, I would recommend looking up used iPhones on eBay. (Sorry, we’ve already sold ours for $300+ each)

I’d like to also mention the drawback of the carrier contract. Since the iPhone 3G is a worldwide release, I don’t want to dwell on the shackles of AT&T too much. As reported on the web, Canada has its hands full with Rogers as well. When considering the iPhone 3G, always factor in carrier costs, including data plan costs over the life of the contract, and cancellation fees. They are important.

Conclusion

Even with its reduced battery life and flimsy casing, I believe the iPhone 3G is an improvement over its predecessor. Given the choice, I would easily choose the iPhone 3G. As I stated in my previous review, look out Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and LG: Apple is here and is improving.

Rating: 9/10

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