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iPhone 4 Video Shot in the Park

by thomasfitzgerald on 18. Aug, 2010 in Apple, iPhone

Marley Park on iPhone from Thomas Fitzgerald on Vimeo.

A Trip Around Marley Park shot with the iPhone 4. This was more of an experiment to see what the quality was like, and it’s pretty good, for the most part.

The only problem I have with it is the lack of a stabiliser, which is pretty apparent. Considering all the motion sensors in the iPhone, I don’t see why they couldn’t implement it in software if they wanted. Still, for just quick shooting without any planning, I think it came out quite well considering. What do you think?

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Are Smartphone Market Share Numbers an Accurate Representation of the Market?

by thomasfitzgerald on 02. Aug, 2010 in Apple, iPhone

With the recent publication of the latest round of smartphone market share data, pundits will be undoubtedly jumping on the statistics that show Android having overtaken the both the iPhone and Blackberry in the US. While the numbers will be good news for those rooting for Android to destroy the iPhone, I have to wonder if the numbers are a good representation of the actual state of the market. Before you write this off as rampant fanboyism or an attempt to defend Apple at all cost, bear with me.

I have no doubt that the numbers are correct but I have two issues with the context in which they are framed. First of all they are pitting an entire group of manufacturers and brands against two individual companies. Rather than compare the sales of phones from individual manufacturers the people delivering these figures are grouping all Android phones and manufacturers under a single umbrella. They are comparing the sales of dozens of companies to the sale of one (or two). However, even though I don’t think this is a fair representation of the market, I can see why you would do this. It is after all a comparison of operating systems. But then, if you’re comparing platforms based on operating systems, why leave out a huge chunk of one OS, in other words iOS devices other than the iPhone?

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iPhone Antenna Issues outside The US? Not So Much.

by thomasfitzgerald on 30. Jul, 2010 in Apple, iPhone

There are two different reports in the news today about iPhone 4 reception in real world tests on networks in countries outside the US. Both note that there are no real issues with the Phone.

From Australia:

Is the antenna an issue? No it’s not. Have I dropped calls? No, I have not.

Have I noticed an impact on the device’s performance? No.

Now it would be impossible for me to test every single mobile reception area in Australia just as it would be unlikely any iPhone 4 user will use the device in every mobile reception area in Australia.

Here’s another report from Norway (translated by AppleInsider)

Amobil writer Finn Jarle Kvalheim added, ‘Consumer Reports goes far in asserting that the problems do not have anything to with the mobile network. But it is a fact that mobile networks in Norway are much more robust than AT&T’s network in the US.’

Olsen, who helped translate the story for AppleInsider, adds “I have myself tested the iPhone 4 and tried to replicate the signal loss close to one of Norway’s major towns without being able to get even one less bar.”

I’ll test in Ireland when I get mine, but I think this just reinforces the fact that this issue was blown out of all proportion. Remember, Consumer Reports couldn’t replicate this in the field either. Then again, some reliable people did have major issues, so it could be a frequency issue, as europe (I’m not sure about Australia) uses a different GSM frequency as the US. It’s interesting though.

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If Phones Were Cars

by thomasfitzgerald on 13. Jul, 2010 in Apple, iPhone

Here’s an imaginary situation to ponder:

Imagine that some car company, let’s say Ford announces a new car. It’s a newly designed low cost sports car for the general public. It has numerous innovative designs but Ford is keen to publicise the new low profile tyre and wheel design designed to improve fuel efficiency. The car receives a generally good reception from the industry and before its release, Ford sends review models to the major Car magazines and Newspapers. The car gets a glowing report and reviewers consider it one of the best cars they’ve ever driven.

When the car goes on general release however a popular car enthusiast blog, lets for the sake of argument call them Carzomo, receives a you tube video from a reader showing that if you drive over nails the tyre bursts. Upon seeing this, other readers of the blog who have also just bought the car decide to try it for themselves, and sure enough, if you drive the car over some nails the tyres burst. Carzomo declares that this is a design flaw with the new sports car’s low profile tyre design and the story is quickly picked up by other blogs and media outlets. A newspaper contacts Ford for a comment and they respond that all cars run the risk of having their tyres burst if you drive over nails, and that customers should avoid driving over nails.

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Did Gizmodo Get Revenge on Apple?

by thomasfitzgerald on 13. Jul, 2010 in Apple

A while ago the popular gadget blog Gizmodo had a story about a new cellphone with which some customers were having reception problems. Complaints from customers were “overflowing” the manufacturer’s support forums. Does this sound familiar? Yet this is not about the iPhone 4 and its infamous “death grip”. No, this is about the Google Nexus One. Back in January Nexus One owners were having terrible problems with reception. Some even joked: “So, does HTC stand for “Hard To Connect” now?” (referring to the Nexus One’s hardware manufacturer). There are pages and pages of disgruntled Nexus One customers complaining about the Phone’s reception problems, including the Phone dropping signal when held. Gizmodo themselves received images from readers showing how the phone had limited signal compared to other Android devices. With all this evidence from readers their conclusion:

“While the support thread is getting longer, and the whining louder, the evidence is still firmly anecdotal.”

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Are So Many People Experiencing the iPhone Antenna Issue Because They’re Trying to Experience it ?

by thomasfitzgerald on 27. Jun, 2010 in Apple, iPhone

I know I’m going to get flamed for being a “fanboy” over this but anyway, here it goes. I was browsing through some of the videos of the alleged iPhone 4 “design flaw” last night and I noticed something very interesting. Before I get to that though, lets back up for a second. Before Gizmodo made this issue public all of the reviews of the phone noticed a marked improvement in call quality and reception. Then suddenly after Gizmodo posted the story, the notion of a deeply flawed antenna design it spread like wildfire. Lots of reports came in from people who were able to reproduce the problem, and quickly there were lots of videos on You Tube, which people were then using as evidence of this being a widespread design flaw. To be honest I have a hard time believing that Apple never tested the phone without a case on. Anyway, it occurred to me to check my own phone, a 3g which I did and I too was able to reproduce the exact same signal drop on my phone. Here’s the thing though, I was trying to. I was gripping the phone tightly in my hand. When I hold the phone normally like I’ve always done the reception drop is just not an issue.

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Not a Design Flaw: The Infamous Death Grip on my 3G

by thomasfitzgerald on 26. Jun, 2010 in Apple, iPhone

Here’s my two year old iPhone 3g showing the exact same reception drop as the iPhone 4. Hold it the same way people are holding the iPhone 4 and you get the exact same drop in reception. And, just like people are reporting, having slightly damp palms makes the issue worse, and putting it in a case alleviates it. I’ve had this phone for over 2 years and I’ve never noticed any problems with reception in daily use. It was only when people started posting about the iPhone 4′s problems that I decided to try it. Clearly then the iPhone 4 does not have a major design flaw, as much as Gizmodo would like everyone to think, as previous generation phones exhibit the EXACT SAME PROBLEM (as does the Nexus one and undoubtedly lots of others). Perhaps if “journalists” did a better job of doing a bit of research before jumping to conclusions we could have avoided some of the calamitous headlines over the past few days.

One caveat though. I couldn’t get my fiance’s 3g to do the same thing. She’s still running iOs 3.x so it’s possible it is a software issue. I didn’t try for very long though and I was in an area of good reception at the time.

p.s. Apologies for the shoddy camera work. I was trying to hand hold my 5D in one hand and do this in the other.

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About that iPhone 4 Reception Problem (And the bigger issues in Technology Journalism)

by thomasfitzgerald on 26. Jun, 2010 in Apple, Mac, Technology

By now you’ve all heard reports that the iPhone 4 has a “terrible design flaw” that makes it useless for calls once you pick it up. Well, ok, I’m exaggerating a bit but you’d be forgiven for thinking that with the way this story has spread like wild fire. Now, I don’t doubt that some people are having an issue with this, but I’m amazed at the way this story was reported and the way it was picked up by the mainstream news media. First of all, Gizmodo were pushing this big time on Thursday, along with any other story they could find to paint the iPhone in a bad light (including, surprise surprise, you drop it and it breaks). Big surprise. From there other blogs started picking up on it and then it reached the mainstream media. What amazes me about this is that, first of all, most of the people reviewing the phone never noticed an issue with it and that most reviewers had noticed improved reception.

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