Apple Ware

It can’t be a shock to the techies out there. The fact that Apple is updating the iPhone AND at the same time crippling those phones that have been unlocked is just par for the course when it comes to the companies verses the users. Even though it was expected that Apple would respond, it still doesn’t make sense to me.

Apple gets most of its money when I buy my iPhone. It probably does get a piece of the action when I activate my phone with AT&T, but it can’t come near the initial investment. By choosing to find ways to block my ability to use MY iPhone in the way I want to use it, Apple runs the risk of losing whatever future business I would have taken its direction.

It is important for the companies in the tech industry to protect their products - at least to some extent. Apple has gone to the wrong extreme by trying to force owners to comply to its way of thinking. If the techies figured out how to unlock the iPhone in the first place, it is only a matter of time before they overcome the update snag. In the mean time, Apple looks like a bad guy in an industry where appearance is half the battle.

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.

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.

Apple products tend to be some of the best on the market - and the price you pay for them will prove it. The company also seems to have touched a nerve with the younger generations. Like many companies before them, Apple now runs the risk of not holding up its standards to those that consumers have come to expect.

Customer service is often one of the first places that companies falter. Apple offer the convenience of product stores, but if you don’t live near one a quick visit to the company website will often give you the answers that you need. But for complex needs, Apple has outsourced their customer service - one of the first sure fire steps to disaster (IMHO).

Some of the electronic devices that Apple currently offers are just not as durable as you might want. The iPods are not for the overly active (therefore would not make a great Christmas gift for active, preteen boys) because a hard jarring can cause the device to no longer work properly.

As for innovation, Apple is still King. It seems to have a finger on the pulse of consumers’ desires and it meeting them beyond expectations. Less just hope that the King continues to understand that without the peasants its kingdom will fall.

My father has always been a traveling salesman. He started out with a regional job and over the years has moved closer to home for his territory. The advent of the cell phone, PDA, and notebooks has made his life much easier, but he keeps his focus on work and doesn’t look at what else his products might do for his life.

I recently broke down and got a notebook. Work was the first thing I thought about, but I’m quickly learning that having a portable computer can translate in to so much more than a portable office. That’s exactly what Apple is trying to get across to the general public.

The iPhone came out with much fan fare and a HUGE price tag, but people still lined up (some times for days) for a piece of the action. The attraction is not that the iPhone is just another smart phone. It’s that it is capable of so much more. The iPhone is as much about entertainment as it is about practicality.

When it comes to dropping big money on electronic devices, the more the buyer can get from the device, the more valuable it becomes. As Apple continues to stretch the limits of portable computers are for and can do, the company will continue to see its market share grow.

The iPhone has made its debut and it seems that it is either loved or hated. The deal with AT&T hasn’t won over any users. The bugs and problems from set up to finish haven’t endeared it to any one’s heart. Still, it is the most exciting thing to hit the cell phone industry since the mass production of cell phones began.

Now the use of Skype on the iPhone is suppose to be the next great thing. Since the iPhone was locked to using anything but AT&T services, I’m sure that there are hundreds of people thrilled to use the internet software. The downfall is that the users will STILL have to pay for the AT&T service or else be forced to shell out hefty early cancellation fees to get out of the two year contracts.

Even then, I wonder how convenient the Skype services will be. The coverage is not what the cell coverage is by any means. Still, it could be a good choice for those users with easy access to WiFi connections.

For the cost of the iPhone, you would think that Apple would be going out of its way to make the phone the most useful, assessable, user friendly phone in the history of the world. Then again, maybe it thinks it has already accomplished this feat.

When you think iPhone, you probably think Apple. Cisco went to court to make sure that wouldn’t happen. Instead, the two companies agreed that both were free to use the iPhone trademark on products through out the world. Unfortunately for Apple, Cisco isn’t the only company with a dog in this fight.

As Apple sets its sights on other countries for the launch of iPhone, it will undoubtedly face more legal battles. It is possible that there could be a trademark lawsuit in Canada, and a patent lawsuit in Europe.

Apple doesn’t seem all that impressed with the lawsuits and has referred to at least one of them as just silly. But that doesn’t mean the industry giant isn’t willing to pay up to avoid the court room. It is a wise company that realized you may be right, but you would be crazy to give it to a jury (or even a judge in this day and age).

With other products carrying the “i” (such as iMac and iPod), the iPhone would call up images of Apple no matter who tried to launch it. I doubt the companies that are preparing to fight for their rights to the iPhone are interested in the name. It all comes back to the almighty dollar. It’s much more likely that they just want a piece of the pie.

In the end, the only one who suffers is me - the consumer. Can’t we all just get along?

A couple of interesting stories on the iPhone at present:

iPhone 1.0.1 update released - apparently it’s really just a security update for Safari, but it would be really nice to see some other issues addressed - though maybe we’d need an iPhone version 2 for that (such as replacing the crappy camera with something more deserving of a multimedia device).

AT&T Wireless drops iPhone from main page - despite the 3 million or so iPhones either shipped or being shipped, apparently AT&T are happy to drop the marketing on this. Typical short-term outlook, though I guess who can blame the company when it’s basically being used to Trojan Horse Apple into the phone market, leaving all of AT&T’s phone products untapped for the iPhone. A bitter pill indeed - AT&T says it’s swallowed, move on.

iPhone deve team continues unlocking progress - still no unlock code for the iPhone. Damned annoying to see the phones market still so locked into carrier agreements, but if Apple really are creaming a percentage from AT&T charges for iPhone use, will be very interesting indeed to see the consequences of the iPhone being locked, if possible.