Posted by Luke | Posted on 18-08-2009
Category : apple, iPhone
Tags: apple, Applications, Facebook, iphone 3.0
Macworld.com.au today reported that an update to the Facbook app for the iPhone has been submitted to Apple. I was wondering how much longer it would be until an update was to be done as there have been quite a number of changes and upgrades to facebook since the last update to the iPhone app.
The update is set to give a number of new features unique to the 3.0 software update, the most notable is the capability for 3GS users to shoot and upload videos directly to your facebook account. There’s added functionality giving you the ability to create photo albums, it will save text that you are typing incase you’re interrupted by a text or phone call. The update also refreshes the design of the app to better reflect the recent changes in facebook’s overall design. It would also seem that there have been upgrades to the overall stability of the app, the developer was quoted to say “Everything that used to scroll slowly now scrolls like butter.”
Overall even though it’s just an update I’m looking forward to the update as it is one of my most frequently used apps on my iPhone.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25927464-5014239,00.html
I was reading the news story from the link above and it got me thinking. The article basically refers back to a case where a teenager had his girlfriends iPhone, it apprantly started hissing and then shattered, flying shards of glass around with one getting into his eye. The Child is said to be taking action against apple for this ‘faulty’ product.
In Apple’s usual manner when there is a story on exploding or overheating iPods, they have refused to comment or take any action on the issue. In my opinion I know that if there was a problem with the product Apple would probably be quick to replace all affected models, they have done his in the past with other products like laptops and iPods. Although from a public relations and reputation management point of view I believe that by Apple refusing to make any statements they are treading a very thin line which could impact on customers trust in the company and it’s products.
Rather than taking the path that Apple’s lawyers dictate each and every time I feel it would benefit the company in the long run to actually come out and say something in situations like these, something to reassure every iPod, iPhone and Mac owner out there that the products they are using on a day to day basis have been tested thoroughly, and that the situations where something is happening, are an anomaly and a small percentage of all items out there on the market. By taking this path rather than the path determined by the lawyers it would put them in a better position to recover if there ever was a situation where a batch of iPhones were faulty.
Apple you need to understand that while you may be sitting pretty now – if you continue down a path where you fail to recognize and rectify issues, these issues will one day snowball into a crisis and one that could impact how you proceed in the marketplace.
But then again, Apple never have been the conventional thinking computer company, have they?
The Palm Pre has recently been released in America, and while I doubt we will see it here in Australia for quite some time due to the fact that it’s currently only a CDMA handset (no longer supported on Aussie networks) it has got an accessory that I would’ve loved to see on the newest model of Apple’s iPhone. The accessory that I’m referring to is Inductive Charging.
Inductive charging is a pretty neat technology that allows you to charge devices without physically plugging them to a power cable. There are currently charging mats out there that are square little rubbery looking mats that you can sit several devices on and charge them.
The pictures above are of the Palm Touchstone, the idea here is that the round base is connected to a power source, and you replace the standard back cover of the device with the touchstone back cover – pictured on the left. You can then simply sit your phone on top of the touchstone base and it charges your phone for you.
I think this is a great idea and can’t believe that it hasn’t been implemented on more devices. It may be a little gimmicky as it is just another way of achieving the same result that you can get when plugging in a power cable but it is something I would love to have! With the current iPhone 3GS coming out last month, it didn’t really have any compelling features that have prompted me to break my current contract and upgrade to the new model, this inductive charging, if offered on the iPhone 3GS would’ve given me a good reason to upgrade!!
Posted by Luke | Posted on 03-07-2009
Category : iPhone
Tags: 3, apple, communication, Gadgets, iphone 3GS, mobile phone, Three
This seems to be a long time coming for Three, I used the Three network for a number of years before I switched to Optus in August last year. Why did I switch, well because Three didn’t have the iPhone of course.
I have found up untill now Optus to have the best plans for the iPhone, Telstra are just plain expensive and you get hardly any included calls for what you pay, not to mention data – you have to pay extra for that. As for Vodafone well their plans are good but theres nothing in the ‘consumer’ price range it all seems to be up in the $70+ price range. This is why I went with Optus their plans seem to offer the best value for money and coverage.
I have always wanted an iphone ever since the original was released in America, and when it came to Oz in the form of the 3G I was ecstatic, we knew Optus and Vodafone were getting straight away and then came Telstra, but no not three. Three even launched a petition website to try and show Apple how much their consumers wanted the iPhone but for some reason they just couldn’t get it. At the end of the day though this caused at least myself and Melissah – two very happy Three customers to leave the network. From a marketing point of view this must have been a nightmare for them, to me I feel like we were the picture of a perfect customer to them even to the point where we were referring friends to the network because their cap plans were the best on the market.
While their plans are still great, and in the past year they have greatly expanded their 3G network to be somewhat comparable in coverage to Optus and Telstra (still charged at higher rates when you are outside 3’s own data area) I’m sorry Three but even though it’s great news that your finally getting the iPhone, its too late to get us back at least in the immediate future anyway.
