I bought a French iPhone 4 on eBay, 16GB model. I paid a lot for it, but I’m not complaining - I needed one. Waiting for Italian providers to comfortably announce their plans wasn’t a viable option. I’ve received the device on Wednesday and had some problems cutting my SIM to fit the new Mini-SIM tray; my first day with the iPhone 4 felt pretty much like using a Retina iPod Touch. Yesterday I managed to buy another SIM, make it mini and finally start using the iPhone 4 - well - as an iPhone.
Posts in stories
Two Days With iPhone 4: My First Impressions
It’s Not Really About Paying, Microsoft
A few days ago an Italian blog posted leaked screenshots of internal slides Microsoft used in April to define their future strategy for Windows 8 and mobile products. The slides clearly show that the guys over at Redmond have been keeping an eye on Apple, especially in regards to the user interface, interactions in the operating system and - yes - the App Store.
iOS 4 Jailbreak: Why It Still Matters
iOS 4 brought multitasking, folders, unified inbox, threaded email conversations and note syncing to the iPhone. For these reasons, some people think that jailbreaking a device running iOS 4 is now pointless, considering that two of the biggest features of jailbreak (multitasking and folders) are now developed by Apple itself.
Did I jailbreak my iOS 4 iPhone 3GS? Yes. Do I think is still worth it? Yes.
Congratulations, Twitter: You Blew It. [Tweetie]
Writing about Tweetie for Mac updates has become some sort of a joke to me. “Tweetie for Mac has been updated? Yeah, sure.” That’s why many people last night didn’t initially believe Twitter actually pushed an update with OAuth support, and once they realized it was real, they just didn’t update. Why? Because they’re not trusting Loren Brichter anymore. And considering what happened to Tweetie for Mac last night, go prove them wrong.
Apple, Steam, Mac Mini and Gaming - What’s Next?
Apple has released the new Mac mini which features improved graphics and faster performances, amongst many other new features such as the long-awaited unibody enclosure. Not to mention the HDMI port on the back, which makes the Mac mini “come to the big screen”. As I saw this new iteration of Apple’s little big desktop computer, I couldn’t help but thinking about the direction Apple is going with gaming on Mac OS X.
Thoughts on Safari 5
Apple has rolled out Safari 5 and I have to say, it feels faster indeed. A lot of work has been put into making Javascript faster, and you can see the difference from Safari 4. Loading a rich web application such as Zootool takes a few seconds less than before, which is a great thing.
I haven’t noticed that 3% difference from Google Chrome, but thing is - Safari feels snappier overall, it’s not just about the Javascript engine. And it’s native. Tabs behave just like you’re used to, close buttons are there in the right place, inline dictionary is what is meant to be. If Chrome could have convinced many users like me to switch because of extensions (I did), I am proud to come back to Safari now that it’s got extensions as well. And they’re based on web standards, which once again proves how much Apple cares about promoting them, and not just about building a “walled garden”.
Why Apple Succeeds & Others Fail
Mike Rundle nails it over at Flyosity:
“If someone is trying to understand why Apple products do well and they’re putting them in a feature comparison matrix against competitors, they’re already doing it wrong. When the iPod first launched it famously had “less space than a Nomad” but it ended up dominating the industry. The specs for Nokia’s high-end smartphones blow the iPhone’s away but their U.S. market sales are abysmal and almost non-existent. The iPad doesn’t compare well against a netbook in a feature-to-feature lineup but it has over 2,000,000 sales in less than 2 months.
Apple’s products sell because they focus on the overall user experience and how people actually use the device, from when they buy it in an Apple Store to the first time they open the lid on a MacBook Pro all the way through its lifetime. Apple treats each product as something special by itself; a treat for the person who bought it. Even the cheapest iPod nano has beautifully-executed packaging while other companies throw their most expensive products in a cheap, brown, cardboard box.”
I wonder if this concept can be applied to any other company competing with Apple. Is there a game you can’t Microsoft at? Is there a game you can’t beat Dell at? Samsung, Nokia and other follow.
The very last competitor Apple has to tear down is prejudice.
Our Thoughts on the Google Wave Liveblog Experiment
If you were following us last night, firstly we want to thank you for your much needed input and for being quality followers to our site. We think it’s fantastic that people would actually stick around and want to listen to us. And last night was a first, because we decided to try Google Wave as a live blogging platform instead of Cover it Live. I think it worked pretty well, and it was a good event where we could try ideas and get feedback. We’ve gotten lots of compliments, lots of complaints, but all feedback is positive in this instance; we really want to learn where we can improve our live blogging experience. Federico will be chiming in at the end of this post with his thoughts of course, but I’d like to kick things off with Google Wave, what’s good about it, what we did poorly plus what could improve, and where we go from here.
Steve Jobs Email Conversation About Foxconn Suicides
The problems over at Foxconn have been a highly discussed subject in every technology weblog, and if you consider that Apple is somehow involved in this discussion (Foxconn is the manufacturer of many components used by Apple) you realize that the problem is quite big. Apple itself has released a statement last week, in which they say that they’re “saddened and upset” at Foxconn suicides and that they’re “in direct contact with Foxconn senior management”.
But, someone decided to send an email to Steve Jobs about the matter, and he replied. An interesting discussion arose between the two, and we’ve got the exclusive conversation with screenshots after the break.