July 2007 Archives

After weeks of telephone calls to the Apple store they finally said what so many have been waiting to hear... 'Yes, we have the iPhone Bluetooth Headset in stock'.

The design is amazing. The size is perfect -- not too big, not too small. The fit is surprisingly comfortable even after remaining in ear for more than an hour. The status light being hidden when not being charged is a nice touch (works like the iSight indicator light).

The paring process worked exactly as advertised. Just dock the headset and iPhone to the computer using the dual dock.

Yesterday while Googling for information on SMS plans I came across a forum at Cingular discussing a $5 (US) SMS plan. I called AT&T customer service and was told that no such option exists for the iPhone. Even after they researched my question further, I was told "The iPhone has it's own pricing plan that could not take advantage of this option".

Today we drove to our neighborhood AT&T store where they were eventually able to get us setup with this option. After asking the manager for assistance the sales person was able to update our iPhone plan. While waiting for the transaction to complete he said "it isn't as easy to add this with the iPhone packages, I had to fish around a bit to find it".

The iPhone v1.0 Bugs post we released yesterday was very well received. A good number of visitors posted their suggestions, workarounds, and additional iPhone bugs. Like those that appear in our list, many visitor submitted bugs can (and probably will) be fixed by the first iPhone software update. Also, as you would expect some visitors voiced their thoughts on personal hygiene, Apple Fanboys, and even suggested where we could stick our bug list.

We wanted to take a few minutes to respond to a few comments (received via various forums and the contact form):

We have spent more than 40 hours tapping around the iPhone screens in an effort to find issues with the applications. This was not an easy task. The OS X graphical interface and applications are extremely solid!

The bugs range from minor display issues to application crashes. All 68 are should be reproducible by every iPhone owner!

• Some of the steps required to reproduce unexpected results are obscure and may not occur during normal usage.
• We received several messages in response to a previous bug list we created asking what we were trying to accomplish by finding flaws in the iPhone. It is our thought that if we stumble upon an issue and Apple fixes it, then we will all have a better iPhone update!
• Each bug has been tested on two iPhones.
• While we interpret the following items as bugs, it is possible that the results are in line with the Apple iPhone User Interface design specifications.
• We have submitted these bugs to Apple.
• We will update this list with any additional bugs we find and can reproduce!
• Please feel free to add any bugs you have found to the comment section at the bottom of this posting.

We are still holding out for the Apple Bluetooth headset which, according to Apple, will be released this month. The details found on store.apple.com outline the extra items that are included with this accessory (an accessory with accessories). The package will include:

• iPhone Bluetooth Headset
• iPhone Dual Dock with attached USB cable
• iPhone Bluetooth Travel Cable

Considering that the cost of a replacement dock with travel plug is $49, the $129 pricing of this set seems very reasonable... and who wouldn't like an extra charging dock and travel plug (the original that came with the iPhone) to leave at work. It will also be nice to have a single dock/charger for both the iPhone and Bluetooth headset. Who needs more junk on their desk, not to mention using up another USB port for another accessory?

We have discovered an extremely effective method for downing the EDGE network using the iPhone! We have tested the following procedures four times with 100% success!

1. Find a friend who has yet to see an iPhone. EDGE will come down fastest if your friend is skeptical about the iPhone features and has been listening to you go on and on about it for 5 months.
2. Turn on your iPhone.
3. Disconnect or disable WiFi.
4. Show your friend any application on the iPhone that requires data features (YouTube for example).
5. Wait for about 20 seconds while the application brings the EDGE network down. That is it! You did it! EDGE is down.
6. Continue showing your friend the many features of the iPhone that do not require a network like the calendar, clock, and calculator!

A few days ago the OpenOffice Mac Porting team released the second development snapshot of the Aqua version of OpenOffice. We missed this announcement because we have been so caught up in all of the recent iPhone excitement.

Here are our thoughts for this snapshot:

• I am not a big fan of the drop down boxes that appear when selecting a background color, font color, or highlighting. Perhaps when the product is more stable they will convert this to a more standard interface that doesn't utilize separate pop-up windows.
• The grid in the spreadsheet application is difficult to read in this release. Changing the zoom level to 150% helps.
• The interface still lacks the polish found in Microsoft Office and other Mac/Aqua applications. Also, while it will be nice to have the ability to run OpenOffice on a Mac without X11, it still looks and feels like a Java application with a few Aqua controls. It appears unlikely that we will see a true smooth Aqua interface until the 3.0 release.
• At this stage of development, the porting team is focusing their efforts on fixing bugs that cause the program to crash rather than the visual elements -- which is a good plan.

It has been reported that Apple/AT&T have sold between 500,000 and 700,000 iPhones since being launched June 29th. What can we expect from Apple now that the iPhone is in so many hands?

• Leopard - Announced October release.
• iWork - Update to utilize Leopard features. Spreadsheet application?
• iLife - Updated to utilize Leopard features.
• .Mac - Updated to remain competitive with other online offerings.
• iPhone Updates - Enhancements and bug fixes (we will discuss current iPhone bugs in another article this week).
• iPhone SDK - Allow 3rd party development.
• The next iPhone - The iPhone will only remain a revolutionary device if Apple continues development on new hardware and software (our suggestions for the next iPhone will appear in another article).

Life is starting to return to normal again. Visiting the Apple store on Saturday was a much different experience than the previous day. There was a small group of 10-15 people playing with iPhones and another 5 or so wandering around the store.

Also, it appears that the activation issues that many customers were having are slowly being resolved by Apple and AT&T.