Maps Issue For iPhone Overbown But Apple Needs To Appreciate The Uproar

Source:  wired.

Any time one of your features on your service or device doesn’t work as advertised, you as the company or employee should worry.  You have told folks that it works but it doesn’t in reality.  Here, a Wired post argues that RIM’s Blackberry missteps should worry Apple.  Definitely.  It is going to keep Tim Cook up at night?

Let’s take a look at this.  Wired argue that today’s iPhone crowd is nothing like the Mac loyalists who stuck with Apple in the 90s even as it faltered through years of walking in the woods that only Steve Jobs himself (who did his own wondering through the forest) came and put Apple back on track.

That is a valid argument.  Still, the iEcosystem has garnered enough goodwill that users could look beyond the Maps debacle and focus on the larger picture.  The sleek lightweight design along with many new just-works features in iOS 6.  And Siri has improved with new features and the ability to understand and speak other languages.

For those who will abandon Applethe platform just because Maps does not feature StreetView from Google or that there are a lot of errors and blemishes on the app, there is nothing Apple can do.  As promised, Apple can only try to improve the app over time.  After all, Maps is only one of many dozens of new features in iPhone 5 and iOS 6.

And because of that, most iOS users are willing to stick it out with Apple until that happens.

But yes, Apple needs to understand that it can only do this ever so often.  This cannot be a Google-like perpetual beta behavior.  Apple fans have come to appreciate the second-to-none products and services coming out of Cupertino and be subject to being its beta testers.

Having said that, like Siri, Maps is an unique product where it could take years to get better.  And like Siri, it would get better as more and more users use the app and send feedbacks to Apple.

To avoid being all over the place on this issue, Apple has a lot more ropes from users than RIM can hope to have.  You can bet that if RIM doesn’t deliver on the next generation Blackberry devices, it’s over for the Waterloo company.

However, a beta-like Maps app is not going to tarnish Apple’s shine too much.  You can bet that Apple is far from done with innovating its Maps app.  The 3D view is pretty awesome and I can’t wait to see just what else Apple has up its sleeve once this current bump in the road is behind it.

Apple And Yahoo Should Grow Partnership

Source:  Wired.

I like this idea a lot:  Apple and Yahoo should definitely hook up.  Maybe not an outright buyout because it simply is not in Apple’s DNA.  It was not in Steve Jobs’ DNA or it is something that Tim Cook and company would go for.

However, Yahoo’s services and global reach is top notch and it has presence in places like China that its competitor Google does not.  And it would definitely bring a new dynamic into the whole mobile war thing.  On top of that, some Yahoo services could be rebranded to serve iCloud in ways that Apple has been unable to do.

Obviously, Siri and voice is the future of search but there are still plenty that Yahoo can offer.  Perhaps, Apple is taking its targeted baby-steps in getting more services from Yahoo.  That’s fine but I definitely hope more is in stored.

Yahoo definitely has a lot of content and can use the prestige of working with Apple to solidify place in mobile and rally its troops.  Keep in mind that Steve Jobs was once at Yahoo to give them a pep talk.

iPhone 5 Opening Pictures - Wow, It's Thin and Eerily Light

Here are some preliminary pics of my iPhone 5. A couple for comparison with the iPhone 4.







Initial impressions. Wow, is this thing thin. Wow, is this thing light. And it's only a shade thicker than my fourth generation iPod touch.































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

iPhone 5 Drop Test - Very Good

Source:  Cult of Mac.

I am less than 65 minutes from when I should be getting my iPhone 5 delivered by me by UPS.

Meanwhile, it's good to know that the new iPhone should be able to withstand my clumsiness better than the iPhone 4 or the 4S.

Here is a video of a test from iFixYouri. Each time you see it drop, your heart (in mine in this case) skips a beat.  Not too shabby.

Meanwhile, another site, Android Authority, did their own test. You'd think that because it's an Android-centric website that the Galaxy S III should destroy the iPhone 5 in any kind of best.  Maybe but not their own drop test.

As you can see, the iPhone came out ahead.  Try to see how Samsung would advertise their way through that.

Engadget: iPhone 5 Hands-On

Should I or should I not?  How about you?

There is nothing surprising here.  Bigger screen is a plus but I don't see anything here that could entice iPhone 4S users to upgrade.  Definitely the iPhone, iPhone 3, and iPhone 3GS folks should give this a shot.  Maybe some iPhone 4 owners as well.

Personally, I'm on the fence on this one.  I'm waiting for more news to come out before I decide.  that's just my personal opinion.  The iPhone 5 is a great phone by any measure.  Maybe even the best with the Galaxy S III a close second.

  

Does the above video convince you or not?  

School Starting Soon? Ask The Polar Bears How They Feel About That

I saw this on Facebook so I thought I'd share it with folks still in school.  You know, with school starting soon and all.  It's in Chinese but I'll summarize at the bottom.

Three pictures:

• The first one is during summer break.

• The second one is two days before school starts.

• The third one, you guessed it, is after school has started.

Enjoy!

Green/Mobile: Kickstarter-Based Solar Charger Promises Results As If Plugged Into An Outlet

Source: Mashable.

A solar charger for mobile devices that doesn't suck.  Well, here we have it.  And I don't know it will suck or not but I think I'll be funding this Kickstarter project because it is the closest to the Holy Grail of mobile solar charging that I have ever seen

The SunVolt Solar Power Station charger offers the ability to charge devices via the sun (on a clear day) as quickly as if you had your mobile devices plugged into a regular old socket.  Obviously, others have promised similar performances but results have varied - generally from not working to very slow at best.




What I like to be able to do is to plug this also into a portable battery that I can use as an emergency when I don’t need to charge my devices at that moment. Obviously, having a backup battery would be very useless in many situations. Personally, I thought of a few right away: a wind or rain storm that knocked our our power last November, this past weekend, I was at a Hawaiian fair where electricity was hard to come by at times, and, of course, during a zombie war or vampire infestation when you fear treading out at night.

I suggest you head over and check it out at its Kickstarter page.  I'm looking at the $180 level so I can get two chargers.  And if this works as advertised, I'll get more later for family.