Apple Ware

The Apple iPhone is designed to make life easier for the traveling office worker. It’s possible to do more on this device than any others in the past. Unfortunately, there are also more (and better) games available for the iPhone. It’s applications like these that make the technology less productive than they should be.

Personally, I couldn’t imagine paying several hundred dollars on what would essentially be a game boy if you filled it with all the new games. For that kind of money, I want something that I can actually use and not just to keep myself distracted. I’m sure that consumers demanded the games, but what is the purpose.

If you are going to spend a fortune on technology then at least make sure that technology is able to earn back some of its keep. Sitting around playing Tetris will not bring the money flowing in – and if someone does manage to find a way to make this happen then I want a piece of the action.

Keep the games away from the office supplies and you will be amazed at how much more you can accomplish. Spend your time (and memory) on something more valuable. Just say no to clogging the iPhone with child’s play.

Dial up is getting me down. Because of my location (beautiful and great for the kids but not so hot for high-speed internet) my only choice is dial up or satellite. The household budget had dictated the choice for the most part. I did investigate satellite, but wasn’t impressed with the comments I found wandering the internet. My hope now lies in the government auction of the 700 MHz spectrum.

According to what I’ve read, the signals from these sites will be stronger and faster than anything available on the market right now. Rumor has it that Apple is eyeing the auction. Hope is that it will use the site to improve the industry and not just hijack it in order to protect the status quo.

Apple hasn’t yet committed to the auction, not because of a lack of money but because of the competition that is sure to come from the phone companies. There is also concern that entering into this market would pull valuable resource from the main purpose for the company - innovation.

As I wait for each and every page to slowly download, I dream of the day that access to the internet will be easy and painless. It will be interesting to see what January 2008 brings to the table.

Apple is working hard to make working an easier task for everyone. With the introduction of the iPhone and other services, it is making it possible for the office to be where ever you are with just the touch of a button.

There are good points and bad points to being able to work all the time. It makes it harder to leave tasks at the office. This really blends work and home into something that can only take away from family.

At the same time, being able to work on the go can make a job more flexible and therefore open to more individuals. Instead of having to commute to the office everyday, employees could work from their own homes (or while they are at the doctor’s office or getting the oil change). Mobile work options can actually make what would have been wasted time more productive.

Having a connection to the office, anywhere or anytime, could make it more convenient to go to the children’s ball games or recitals. Instead of pushing the employee away from family, it could offer opportunities to spend more time with them.

Apple has the right idea. It wants to give us the tools to get everything done on our own time. The flexibility will take discipline, but it will be a great benefit to all when it becomes the standard and not the exception.

The rumors say that a new Apple iPod is on the horizon. From what I’ve been hearing and have read, it will offer consumers some of the many features of the iPhone with out having the added expenses of AT&T service.

The really good news is that the new iPod should be on the market LONG before the holiday shopping season gets underway. This means that the prices could come down some before the holiday crunch. The iPhone prices dropped dramatically just a few, short weeks after being introduced - prompting cries of unfair from consumers and an issue of a “rebate” from Steve Jobs.

The iPod is great for storing lots of musical information in a small space. The new iPods - with all the additional iPhone like features - should prove to be an enticing stocking stuffer for some consumers.

One of the best new features will likely be the new touch panel and high resolution screen. The screens will most likely smaller than the iPhone, but much larger than the past iPods. It is likely that storage will go up, but that WiFi connections will be held back for the more expensive iPhone.

Many people have been hard at work to unlock the iPhones that they own so that they were not forced to use AT&T services. Although most consumers were thrilled with the iPhone itself, many were less than excited about the provider that was thrust upon them.

Contests sprouted up and the tech-savvy began to work out the problem. Experts predicted that unlocking the iPhone would hurt AT&T. No body thought that it might hurt Apple. While AT&T will most definitely take a hit because of the inability to force new customers into a two year agreement, it seems that Apple will also find itself at a loss.

Apple had an agreement with AT&T that would give it a percentage of the income received from cell phone service subscriptions. It does not have that same agreement with other providers.

The initial financial hit that Apple will probably receive from the unlocking of the iPhone will be wiped clean by the number of new buyers. There were many customers who chose not to by the phone simply because they didn’t want to be forced to switch to AT&T. With the new found freedom, more buyers will be on their way to an iPhone store near them.