May Not Be The Best Deal But Apple Provides Convenience of iPhone Trade-In

Source:  Appleinsider.

Today, Apple started a long-rumored iPhone trade-in program that allows the customer to use the credit towards another iPhone purchase.  I'm gamed.  I've got an iPhone 4 that I love for them to take off my hand.  It's a Verizon one so I reckon there is limited use for anyone of my family members (and plus, they don't deserve it).

Here's the thing, customers can get up to $280 for the trade-in. So you know that you're not going to be getting the best deal in town.  For that, I would still look else where.  However, the convenience of this is just too much to pass up for me.

And there's one further restriction.  You can only use your particular trade-in gift card to buy the iPhone of your choice for the same carrier.  A big "doh" if you ask me.  It totally makes no sense to me.  I have since begun migrating away from Verizon towards T-Mobile and I want an unlocked version.

However, for most users, this probably isn't an issue.

Recommendation?  Shopping around if you know your way around trade-in programs.  For convenience, it doesn't get any better than this.

For Apple, this offers a very valuable customer experience.  It allows the customer seamless exchange of iPhone.  At the same time, it allows Apple to control and monitor the flow of iPhones.  It's likely Apple will reintroduce these devices in emerging markets where it has almost to negligible exposure that will do nothing to hurt its high-end iPhone sales.

For users, you get convenience and for Apple, they sell two iPhones - the one to you and the one you sold back to Apple that they then sell to someone who buys it and doesn't buy an Android phone.

Apple TV And iTunes Glitch - Ordinarily A Bad Thing But I Can't Help But Speculate About New TV services

I wasn't at home when Apple's TV shows disappeared for many users on Apple TV and iTunes.  That's a bad thing.  No doubt about it.  It's probably a pre-iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, next version of OS for the Macs, thing - beta and someone did something, caused folks inconvenience, and now it's back up and fixed.

However, like Mac Daily News, I wonder...

Well, the thing is that recently, the Apple TV gain a few apps - Disney, ESPN, Weather Channel, etc.  It's all great.  However, you do need a participating cable or SATTV services for those apps to be of any use.  But it has lead many of us to speculate that Apple is steadily gaining some ground in trying to get studios and content owners to loosen up a bit.  It's an uphill battle but Apple could be near the apex where it's about to reach a deal with cable or content providers.

From there now, it's all downhill.

And could this glitch be a part of any of this?  Some kind of a content announcement that should see the light of day, probably not on September 10th when Apple unveils the next iPhone but later in October when Apple is expected to announce new iPads and iPods?

October would make more sense.

I'll be honest with you.  We are in the last week of August and, after that, an excruciating long 10 days until Apple executives unveil their latest and greatest iPhones.  So, if this Apple TV glitch had happened at any other time during the year, I would not be indulging this at all.

It's hot, we're bored, and we're eagerly waiting for Apple's onslaught of products.  This includes not only the iOS devices but also the Mac Pro and Haswell based Macbook Pro.

However, in October, and some kind of new content service does get announced by Apple (I'm not saying we could see a new Apple TV or even the unicorn Apple HD panel), I like for us to look back on this post and just smile.

iPHone 5S or iPhone 6: Readers On CNET Overwhelmingly Ask For Better Battery Life On Next iPhone

Here's the link to the CNET page that showed results from readers about what they want to see on the iPhone and what features they like best so far as we know and you can read it and think it over yourself or come back and I'll give you my two-cent.  But take a look at the new features pie chart and look at what CNET readers are asking for from Apple on the next iPhone 5S or iPhone 6:

BETTER BATTERY LIFE!!!  60% Of the readers want Apple to figure out a way to give the next iPhone longer battery life.  Seriously, for me, that's the biggest issue.  And if you're a mobile warrior reading this post and other ones on this blog, battery life is a recurring theme here.

Yes, Apple.  We want longer battery life for our next iPhones.

Samsung's Galaxy Watch or Apple's Non-Existent iWatch: Think Past Dick Tracey's Watch and Maybe More of Star Trek NTG's Comm Badge

Consider this.  A watch that doesn't immediately tell you the time but if you ask it or install an app on it, it'll tell you.  That may well be what Apple, Google, Samsung, or any of the consumer tech giants are working towards.  A watch that isn't a watch.  That may be key to the wearable device buzz going on right now - convince consumers and a new generation of mobile warriors who don't wear watches to wear a device on their wrist or body that has other helpful benefits other than telling time or getting notifications from their smartphones which is likely on their persons anyway in their pockets or bags.

A watch that is not a watch.  In fact, any thinking of a wearable computer has to be very much removed from the idea of a watch.  Consider what Dick Tracy has to do to access his watch.  Or remember Michael Knight in Knight Rider?

Our heroes always have to move their watches close to their mouth to do anything.  I think that's so dorky.

Rather, any wearable devices that is going to change or augment how we work or play will need to work more like the comm badges in Star Trek The Next Generation.  They wore the badges on their chests and tap it when they need to access the computer or speak with another crew member.

In fact, such a wearable device, say from Google, may have an always-on feature where the device's microphone is ready to pick up a command.  (Privacy issues aside of course.)  Thereby, bypassing the need for the user to activate or tap the device to access it.

And there are two main factors that is going to be very important if they want people to wear these in one fashion or another.

The first one is battery life.  No need to go into this too much because the reasons why such a device to sip power is obvious. It needs to have an insanely long battery life.

The other is weight.  I use a Jawbone Up.  I also use a Nike Fuelband which is bulkier and heavier than the Up band. I don't use both simultaneously if you're wondering about that. Both are sufficiently light enough that I I don't mind wearing them on my wrist or clipping them to my belt all day.

It wasn't like that with a phone.  Since I started carrying around a phone, a flip phone all the way to the smartphones today, I don't like that I have to carry one because they're still kinda heavy.  They've gotten lighter and lighter but you can still feel it.  And at times, I felt compelled to take it out and leave it at home, in a bag, or just not on me.

A wearable device cannot be so heavy that weight is a consideration or bother.  As light as the iPod nano is, I still consider it to be too thick, bulky, and heavy.

So, a small, thin, and light Star Trek comm badge-like wearable device would be ideal.  And one last thing, it needs to be operable with just one hand.  But you're probably asking one very important question.

How well can your comm badge idea instead of a watch work?  Well, three 24th Century-based Star Trek series, seven years each,  and 524 episodes later, the comm badge was just as important in each story plot as the warp drive, probably more so.

And it worked flawlessly.

Samung Tab 3 Kids, with 7" Display and Yesterday's Tech, To Compete with iPad in Education

Source:  Clouding Around.

Samsung released a very colorful Galaxy Tab tablet for children.  And it may well also aim this tablet squarely at Apple in the education market.  Question is does Apple have anything to worry about?

No.  Not with this version but Samsung has a Microsoft-like characteristic that some people admire and others don't.  They'll keep coming back  and trying year after year, screen size after screen size, until they find a fit they can live with.

Right now, from what looks of things, it's very much for toddlers and pre-K mobile warriors.  And I can tell you that if you give this to my 3-year old nephew and an iPad (he has his own 3rd iPad with Retina Display), he'll opt for the iPad because this Samsung Tab looks like a toy while the iPad doesn't and he assumes it can do more for him.

And he may well be right as this 7" Samsung Tab 3 Kids will give parents/teachers greater control over what apps their child will have access to.

For now, Apple's safe.  The iPad mini is the best sub-10" tablet on the market despite not having a Retina Display.

However, I would like to see Apple improve on its user-experience and allow for greater parental or education control than what is currently being offered.  For now, I don't see anything in iOS 6 or 7 that does that.

Privacy Violation: Facebook, By Court Order, Told To Clarify How It Sells Its Product, You the Users, to Advertisers

Source:  CNET.

Folks, nothing is free.  All those services we use online that we're not paying for, even some that we do pay for, are free because we the users are the products.   The information that we provide to Facebook, Twitter, and Google are all collected, analyzed, and sold to advertisers.

So, in this case, Facebook was used because users were fed up with sponsored stories that appear using information that users were not aware of.  Frankly, as abhorrent as Facebook practices are, folks, they provide a free service that hundreds of millions of users use.  Someone has to pay for the electricity. 

As it turns out, it's the advertisers.  And they need information you provide Facebook to better target you with ads that are relevant to you.

In this latest spat, Facebook only added language that specifically says that as long as you're using its services, for free, they have toe rights to use you and sell you to advertisers without compensation to you.  And if you happen to be younger than 18 years old and continue to use Facebook, it meant that a parent or guardian has approved of your actions.  

Bloomberg Report That Will Unveil iPhone Along With iPad At the Same Time Is Wrong Unless...

Bloomberg reported today that Apple will introduce the iPhone and iPad simultaneously at the same September 10th event that has been widely acknowledge by true Apple bloggers and insiders.  However, while the September 10th event is not in doubt, personally, I think the Bloomberg claim is.

This why I'm not linking to the false information.  However, just for fun, let's speculate a bit, small bit, about this.  Suppose if Bloomberg happens to be right, again money is that they're not, then we are looking at a likelihood that Apple has a window of opportunity in October to introduce a new product.

If so, many Wall Street analysts will speculate it to be the iWatch or, iWear, a device that is long rumored to be the product that Apple may introduce to replace the iPod or even compliment the iPhone through Bluetooth.

Then there's the famed Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray, who not only believes in the unicorn, tooth fairy and that Apple will introduce an HDTV each year for the last, what, five years.

Those are the only two products that I can think of that Apple could be working on that might fit in the October slot to begin selling for the Holidays.

However, Bloomberg is wrong.  Apple isn't about to let two of its most recent and iconic devices share the same limelight.  On top of that, there doesn't appear to be a strong content deal for an Apple TV or HDTV announcement nor is Apple ready with the iWear or iWatch.

Still, like Gene Munster, I can dream.