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Six and counting
Today, I picked up my 6th iPhone! This is my second iPhone 3G. Here is a brief history of my iPhone ownership and the interesting (and unique) problems I’ve had.
1.) Touch screen stopped working.
2.) Touch screen stopped working.
3.) Some weird short caused constant “device not designed for iPhone. Please use airplane mode” messages to appear, even if nothing was hooked up!
4.) Dock connector completely stopped working.
5.) iPhone 3G #1: Upgraded to iPhone 3G by choice. Hoping for relief. Just kidding! Glass screen began to delaminate from iPhone. Weird defect.
6.) iPhone 3G #2: Hopefully it will be perfect!
Some people have bad luck with iPods. I used to make fun of them. It appears I will have bad luck with iPhones. Stupid karma.
Thoughts on the MacBook Air
So the rumors turned out to be true after all! Yesterday, Steve Jobs announced the release of the MacBook Air, a new ultra portable laptop that Apple has allegedly spent the past two years developing. It’s a small little laptop that’s sexy only in the way that Apple can make a product.
The specs:
-13.3 inch LED display
-All aluminum case
-802.11n and Bluetooth
-built-in iSight
-multitouch trackpad
-1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
-2GB of RAM
-80GB 1.8-inch hard drive (64 gig solid state drive available as an option)
-1 USB 2.0 port
And all this can be yours for $1799.
There is no doubt in my mind though. It looks absolutely phenomenal and I can’t wait to see it in person. However, I’m still left with some reservations about it. $1799 for a rather sub-par laptop in terms of performance and features? We still need to see benchmarks on the mystery CPU that powers the device. The lack of an optical drive seems like an interesting trade off as well. I get the feeling that this laptop seems aimed squarely at business types and those who travel a lot. Yet there is no user replaceable battery! If you lose your charge (i.e., on an airplane) you’re out of luck until you can get back to a power outlet.
It will be interesting to see if / when some of the features on this make it into the rest of Apple’s lineup. The possibility of a multitouch trackpad excites me. In anycase, this laptop looks fabulous and if it was quite a bit cheaper, I’d probably pick it up in a heartbeat, regardless of my reservations.
MacWorld is here!
The annual MacWorld Expo is back in San Francisco this week. The Apple Rumor / Product Cycle is in full force. Based on the banners currently hanging up in Moscone Center that read, “There’s something in the air,” websites, blogs and forums have been alive with speculation about the latest Apple product that Steve Jobs will unveil in a few hours.
The current consensus seems to be a new, ultra-thin, ultra-portable laptop. I’m not sure how much that news excites me though. Then again, exactly one year ago at this time, I wasn’t too excited about the rumored iPhone announcement. And now? I wouldn’t be able to live without mine.
Anyway, let’s hope the rumors about iTunes rentals and a revamped AppleTV prove true! The AppleTV sitting in our living has so much more potential.
The thing I am most excited about though? The unveiling of the iPhone SDK that will allow developers to start writing custom third party apps. Currently, the only way to do this is to hack your iPhone (and potentially void your warranty). However, the things developers are doing right now without an official SDK are amazing. I can’t wait to see what an official SDK will bring.
Let’s go Apple!