Friday, July 9, 2010

iHave A Soft Spot

Since the release of the iPhone 4 we've heard a good deal of complaining from owners of the iPhone and left handed people claiming that when the iPhone 4 is held in a specific spot (one that looks pretty similar to the way I hold my phone, and I'm a righty) service is severely crippled. The editors at CNet.com ran some tests to confirm this and the results are pretty amazing. On one of the tests, the callers voice actually cut out completely! Now, since the buzz started about the iPhone 4's release I had a number of friends ask me if they think it is worth it and whether or not I will personally be buying one. In all honesty, and this is truly my objective opinion, No. If you have an iPhone 3gS you are essentially just upgrading the casing, the screen (a brilliant looking one by the way) and getting a front facing camera. You're not getting 4g like the Evo 4g on Sprint and all of the software updates (unified inbox, folders, multitasking) are essentially playing catch up to even some of the earliest Android phones (I also would never give up Verizon for AT&T simply because of the reception). If I were an iPhone owner I would wait until the 4g version pops up unless you desperately need to have one. Again, that's my personal opinion.



In better news for the iPhone, the media streaming program PlayOn has just announced that a free mobile version of their application will be available in the app store starting on July 15th. For those of you who don't know, PlayOn is a media streaming program for Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 that you download onto your PC. PlayOn runs in the background on your PC acting as a server essentially. Your PS3 or Xbox 360 connect to that server through the network and from there you just choose which of the many media sources you'd like to use (Hulu is included, as is NetFlix and Pandora). Although working through the interface can be a little sluggish at times it's not a huge annoyance.

*Step 2 will now include your iPhone

There are two drawbacks now unfortunately, you can only use the PlayOn application on your iPhone if you have the full version on your PC. The second drawback is that PlayOn recently changed their purchase method from a one time payment to a yearly subscription that can range from $5-$40 (Still better than Hulu Plus' $120/year) with discounts given to existing customers. There is however a free two week trial so I suggest waiting until July 15th, downloading the program on to your PC and the application on to your iPhone and giving it a shot.


Well, that looks like it's it for today, I know it wasn't as long as the previous one but this next video will make up for it, trust me.

Have you ever really needed a beer but didn't want to get off your butt? Well, the guys at Willow Garage have found the solution to every man's dream: the PR2. Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. >If I were an iPhone owner I would wait until next year and get the 4g version. Yes, we all know Jobs could have released the 4g right off the bat.

    Arya, Apple couldn't have put out a 4G phone, since AT&T doesn't have a 4G network. As I recall, AT&T is shooting for LTE as their 4G network choice, which isn't compatible with Wimax (Sprint's current 4G technology). At the rate that AT&T has upgraded their existing infrastructure, I wouldn't assume they are going to have 4G ready for next summer's iPhone either.

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  2. M.E.

    Thanks for the input! You are right, I mixed up reports of Verizon's completion of 4g testing with AT&Ts but I wouldn't consider them to be last place int he 4g race just yet. I think that they have the ability to push a 4g network out by next year (most likely laaate next year) with the WiMax incompatibility issues you mentioned it very well could not see the light of day until 2012 and we all know the world is going to end anyway.

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  3. so.. wait for the iphone 4g and then hop on the cingular train? will you ride with me?

    btw cool blog.

    love you.

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