When I was a college student, I remember a presentation given by a classmate. This person came from a wealthy family, and they were kind of tired of the assumption most people had about how snooty and self-important they were because of their wealth. The course was on language and its usage, and so this person centered on that aspect of it. They pointed out that a lot of the terms we think rich people use are in fact affectations from fiction. One example was the word chauffeur; wealthy people actually don’t use that term, they just say “driver,” and as it happened, her family didn’t have one. She had several examples of how language was used in general use to form a stereotype of that class of people. She wasn’t trying to say their life wasn’t posh, but rather that they weren’t as stuck up as people automatically assumed due to those stereotypes.

There’s a similar assumption made by people about Apple fans–that we think all Apple products are perfect, that Macs never crash, that Jobs can do no wrong. It’s a presumed conceit that kind of grates after a while. Apple fans know as well as, if not better than anyone else that Apple is prone to error and is a money-making company that often charges a premium–nor do we ever say differently. But because we do love most of the stuff Apple makes and–like any fan–we tend to say good things about the stuff we’re enthusiastic about. But when we do, the stereotype is applied and makes us a bit defensive and insecure–like we have to be careful about praising Apple gear when we think it’s good, just like a news agency nowadays has to be careful about saying anything good about a Democrat lest they be labeled “Liberal Media.”

If you read this blog, then you’ll know that I have my gripes about Apple, same as everyone else. I hate the mice Apple makes–never liked them, never use them. Their Mail app is subpar and since Eudora stopped being developed, there hasn’t been a fully decent email client for the OS. Lots of Apple apps seem needlessly bereft of features and options for the sake of simplicity (seriously, Jobs, just hide them where most people won’t see them and let the rest of us deal with the complexity). Macs and their apps indeed do crash, and my own pet peeve is memory management. I love Safari and can’t get that monkey off my back, but it’s use of RAM is terrible. And so on.

The iPhone is no exception. Every product has its flaws. Most phones have a weak spot in terms of reception. The iPhone 4’s is probably worse than most, considering its placement (other phones’ weak spots are usually in places less apt to be touched, like at the top of the device). But seriously, this particular flaw, while a flaw, just isn’t the huge deal it’s being made out to be. Seeing as how the iPhone 3G had similar issues that were eventually alleviated through software adjustments, I am pretty sure this one will also be improved upon to a certain degree, enough to make it livable even in the worst cases. But frankly, it’s something that probably only affects a few percent of users to a degree that would make it a deal-breaker. Probably 95% or more of us would never have noticed it at all without the media attention. I understand that the HTC Desire has battery life issues. But its fans love it anyway. Good for them. The few people who just can’t stand that will return the phone and get another. Same with the iPhone 4.

As for how it was handled during its development, it was most probably just another trade-off. A more elegant design means no easy swapping of batteries, for example–that’s a trade-off that the iPhone is famous for. Yes, it is a bummer we can’t swap out batteries, but it turns out most people live with it just fine, and those who can’t just get a different phone. Jobs was probably informed of the reception issue during development as well, and probably decided this was another trade-off: it will only affect a small number of people only in certain situations and can be gotten around in those cases with a different grip (if the problem crops up only occasionally) or by using a case (if you have the problem all the time). Just as with other trade-offs, most people will live with it just fine, and those who can’t will just get a different phone. Same as always.

Really, is there anything else to say about it than that?

Okay, in my last post, I was trying to be as critical as possible about Jobs’ presentation about the iPhone 4, trying to see the worst-case scenario about Job’s claims. However, this guy at PC World is an excellent example of how ridiculously inflated this whole thing is–he says that Apple must “kill” the iPhone 4 ASAP and rush out a new model:

Jobs went to great lengths to defend the iPhone 4, arguing that the antenna glitch was overblown, and claiming that phones from other manufacturers suffer from the same problem. He also presented statistics to bolster his case: A measly 0.55 percent of iPhone users have contacted Apple support to report antenna or reception woes.

But none of that matters. The iPhone 4 is now tainted in the consumer’s eyes. It’s no longer a triumph of form and function, but rather a crippled device that requires protective headgear to work properly.

We could debate the merits of the iPhone 4’s antenna design all day, but that’s beside the point. Perception is reality here, and the public now views Apple’s latest offering as The Phone That Drops Calls. And no one can blame AT&T this time either.

Oh, please. Frankly, the whole issue is overblown, incredibly, way out of proportion. Look, I don’t fully accept Jobs’ numbers as proof that there’s no issue–the low return rates, for example, are in part due to the fact that the early adopters are heavily populated with Apple fans who are less apt to part with their sweet new device–but Jobs has a perfectly valid point in that several other phones have similar problems and nobody is even complaining about it, much less saying that the models are doomed to oblivion because of it.

Let’s be objective here: the iPhone 3G had similar reception issues. So did the 3GS. So does the Droid Eris. So does the Blackberry, and other phones as well. Why is it that with these other phones it is a non-issue but the iPhone 4 is supposedly radioactive and now a pariah? As the author says, “none of that matters.” The facts don’t matter. Reality doesn’t matter. The media–him, for example–have spoken, they have judged the iPhone 4’s problems to be treated completely differently than other phones’ similar flaws, and have relegated it to the trash bin of consumer electronics.

The iPhone 4 antenna story is the result of a snowball effect, amplified by a media sector looking for a hot story to sell ads and Apple-hating crowd which live to puncture the inflated hype about Apple products. A few users note the antenna signal dropping when the phone is held a certain way. For a few days, most other people are like, “Really? I hadn’t noticed. Hey, how can I replicate that?” The story gets out, videos are produced, more people try to find the problem, and while most can’t, more than enough can make bars disappear and take more videos of that, causing more people to try it. Meanwhile, the media sees a story it can’t resist making a brouhaha about it. Rinse and repeat. As Andy Ihnakto wrote:

Yes: customers wailing and rending their garments in anguish and outrage en masse. It’s a demonstrable and repeatable problem, but mostly it’s being experienced by people who are actively trying to make it happen … folks like me, who write about technology and review new hardware.

How many people would have even noticed there was a problem at all without the media hype? Vanishingly few.

The PC World author’s rant is a classic example of the media creating a story and then reveling in it. The author himself dismisses the fact that there is high user satisfaction with the device, and instead insists that the product is now worthless only because people like him have said so and now everyone should believe it. Facts don’t matter, only what we tell you to believe.

When Steve Jobs does this, it’s called the “Reality Distortion Field” and is called out as bogus. What happens when the media does it?

So Jobs had his mini-follow-up keynote explaining the antenna issue. His take: there’s no problem, but since we love you guys, if you really insist, here’s a free bumper and you can get your money back, okay? Just because it’s you.

Now, the numbers he gives seem convincing: only one more dropped call out of 100 than the 3GS, 1/3 the return rate compared to the 3GS, and only one-half of one percent of iPhone 4 users contacted AppleCare about the problem.

Sounds like there’s no problem. Should we believe him? Well, the numbers could be solid evidence–but they could also be cherry-picked and deceptive.

If we want to give Jobs zero leeway, one could certainly imagine some dissembling there. Compared with the 3GS, only one more call per hundred is dropped: is that a good rate or a bad one? If the 3GS drops 20 calls per hundred and the 4 drops 21, that’s both bad. But if drop rates are usually 1/2 of 1% and the iPhone 4 drops 1.5%, that’s 3 times worse. Also bad. What’s a “good” rate? We’ll probably hear opinions very soon. But as someone pointed out, that number probably doesn’t count calls that were attempted but never got through.

1/3 the return rate of the 3GS: within what time frame? He only said “early” returns, but I don’t think he specified that the numbers for the 3GS were for exactly the same number of days as we’ve seen for the iPhone 4. Also, why were people returning 3GS’s at that frequency? 6% sounds like a lot. And is it a fair comparison even if accurate?

Finally, the number of iPhone 4 users who contacted AppleCare about the reception issue: someone calculated that 0.55% is about 16,500 calls about that issue–not an insignificant number. Also, let’s not forget that if it’s a reception issue, people will probably call AT&T more often. And, he didn’t compare this number with iPhone 3GS numbers like he did the other two figures–why not?

Jobs also showed 3 other phones with bar-drops caused by “death grips,” and “we could have gone on and on” about more phones. Okay, but it’s a good bet that those were the three worst-performing phones, that the signal strength was set just right to cause a maximum apparent loss, and the grip exactly right for greatest effect. And the “on and on” was, what–90% of all phones? Or 2%?

I want to defend Apple, but when someone is selling something, and their pitch has openings like that, there’s usually a reason why.

Nevertheless, it could be exactly as Jobs portrays it: not a big deal, but getting blown way out of proportion by media hype–so Apple has to do something.

So, everybody gets a free case. Whee! I already have a couple, using one most of the time. But hey, I’ll take it. Apple can’t make enough of their “bumpers,” so they’ll contract out for a few different designs and then everybody gets to choose. Apple can afford it. And if that isn’t enough for you, you can just return the phone for a full refund, no restocking fee.

So, has Jobs stopped the whole panic thing? Who knows? Probably the media will get tired of covering it anyway and people will still buy the phone except for those who have huge difficulties. In the end, however, what Jobs said won’t make too much of a difference in real life: if your phone is not performing well enough, you’ll return it. If it’s OK for you, or the case is something you can live with, then you’ll keep it.

My guess: there is an issue, but it depends on a number of factors, including the variances in parts quality and construction, user handling, reception strength, and probably voodoo figures into it somehow–but in the end, maybe only 1 in 20 or 30 users will even notice anything, and probably only 1 in 20 or 30 of them will have any real problems with it. Not to downplay it, but it’s only partly a phone, and even with its problems, it’s still a pretty good one. Even CU thinks so.

So a few will be unhappy and return theirs, the Apple haters will add this to the standard list o things to carp on, and tons of people will sign up for the free cases and just keep on going like they were. Meanwhile, life goes on.

Wow. Pretty interesting quote:

“It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that,” said Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer, in a keynote speech at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), which runs through Thursday in Washington, D.C.

First of all, this is the first time I can recall a Microsoft official publicly admitting that Vista sucked. I am pretty sure they never did that before. Nice to have it officially confirmed by Microsoft itself. However, Turner might be jumping the gun a wee bit. Apple definitely has something it wants to say, as it has announced a press conference to be held this Friday, just a day or two off. And I doubt it’s to say that the iPhone 4 has unresolvable problems. It’s possible they could be announcing a recall or admitting to something bad, but Apple press conferences usually aren’t about that. Apple tends to deal with bad news more quietly, though I don’t think they’ve ever had a product get this much bad press before.

Nor does it seem likely that Apple will just make another smoke-blowing announcement like the one where they said that the problem is due to how the bars are calculated–Apple corrects that in iOS 4.1, but it has no effect on the reception loss, nor did anyone really buy that as the core cause of the problem. As I commented in an earlier post, if it was just a matter of how bars are displayed and not reception loss, then calls would never be dropped. I doubt Apple would actually hold a press conference, especially at this point with so many seeing the reception issue as a big deal, to make another flimsy excuse.

However, there is something significant that might help predict what’s coming: people have reported that signal loss issues are primarily experienced by people who got their iPhones the first day of release (see comment #2 for this post). The idea is that the reception issue was either a bad initial batch or was an issue that Apple fixed very quickly. Gizmodo is reporting that Apple is somehow involved in a “silent recall,” as people with reception issues returned their iPhones for whatever reason and got a new one in return and found the reception issue didn’t exist with the replacement device. This is not universally accepted, but it could explain a lot.

Some report that the switch involves physical differences between the iPhone as originally released and the one being delivered now, possibly including a new, faint coating along the metallic edge, giving the metal more of a matte finish.

Whatever the case, one thing seems clear: the reception issues are not universal. Most iPhone 4 users simply cannot replicate the signal drop at all. Of those who can, some say that it only happens in certain areas, others say they have to try hard to get it to happen, and others report that despite the drop in bars they don’t get dropped calls or have problems with data rates. Of the remainder, many use cases, and some simply adapt by holding the phone a certain way. So despite the huge publicity about the whole thing, the fact is that few iPhone 4 users really have any real-world difficulties due to this issue. It is telling that CU, which has made the loudest splash by “not recommending” the iPhone 4, also did not notice the issue in their initial review. Of the people who now say they notice the issue, how many would have seen it without the huge media hype around it?

And there still remains the remote possibility of Apple somehow devising a software fix; some have mentioned that the issue could be resolved by the way the iPhone switches frequencies to find the strongest signals.

So, what will Apple announce Friday? My guess is that it will identify the problem as some sort of limited glitch with only certain batches, probably identifying it as nothing wrong with their design but instead some mistake by a parts maker, like a bad batch of antenna parts which lacked a specified coating or whatnot. While they will not call it a recall, they will instead probably announce that anyone with a bad iPhone can submit theirs for an exchange if they are suffering any issues–which is kind of what they have been doing anyway already.

Ironically, even though CU hit Apple for the reception issue and said it could not recommend the phone, it nevertheless gave the iPhone 4 the highest rating of all cell phones currently out there–even counting in the down-checks for reception loss. Not to mention that the iPhone 4, in the United States, despite all the bad press, still has a wait time if you order it, of 3 weeks.

I don’t recall Vista ever having those issues.

When I got my iPad, I bought Apple’s $29 video adaptor, the one that goes from the Dock Connector to VGA. When you attach it to an iPhone 3G or 3GS, the phone immediately tells you that the cable won’t work with that device, even if it’s not connected to anything. But with the iPhone 4, it does work.

Of what use is that? Well, the only video adaptor previously available cost $49 and only worked with RCA cables–low-res. So the new adaptor is 40% cheaper and presents much better video.

Many might still not want one, however, as the iPad and iPhone 4 are limited in their video output: neither will display a direct screen mirror, but instead will only show up on the attached monitor if apps which specifically allow video output are used. Right now, that is mostly any video on iPod/Videos apps, or on YouTube (also Keynote on the iPad). But other apps may add this ability, allowing for much wider use–and many may find it sufficient to be able to output videos alone. We’ll see if the future brings more apps that can take advantage of this.

Because I’ve heard that the iPhone 4’s “super-tough” glass, now on both sides of the device, may be somewhat prone to shattering when dropped on hard surfaces, I figured it was time to invest in a case. I bought a case for the 3G a few years ago, but immediately discarded it–it was one of those silicon jobs, rubbery to the touch. I hate those–it makes the phone catch on the material in your pockets and makes it a chore to shove the phone in and drag it out. You either have to be super careful, or else taking out your phone will turn your pocket inside out and spill everything else in it. I’d rather risk going without than deal with something that makes just taking out my phone an ordeal. Also, they tend to pick up lint. Seriously, I don’t know how people deal with those things. Another dislike is the massive kind of case, the ones that look like they increase the bulk of the phone by double or better.

I went in to Ikebukuro to see what I could find. I tried Labi first–despite the huge store, they had a paltry selection, and nothing really very good. I picked up what I figured would be a backup case, a “Rasta Banana” cover (image here) which is a compromise between soft silicon gel and harder plastic. I should have waited for Bic Camera, which had the same case but in more colors. I probably will wind up rarely using it, in any case (or maybe Sachi will want it when she gets her iPhone 4).

I forget where, but I recall someone mentioning that Bic has the best selection–and that’s the case, at least in Ikebukuro. They had every case that Labi had and more. Like Labi, however, they failed to have any samples out. That’s what I hate about these accessories–sellers rarely allow you to see what they look like on the device, making it next to impossible to judge well. But they did have a Tunewear “Carbon Look” case for about ¥2500, and though I couldn’t get at it, it looked like exactly the case I was looking for: slender, just a bit soft, but smooth enough on the outside that it won’t make it any harder to get the phone out of my pocket.

Better, it didn’t overwhelm: it covers the edges and enough of each side so that, if dropped, it will absorb what it will of the impact–but otherwise, it gets out of the way and doesn’t make it hard to press the buttons. The case grips the phone strongly, so there’s no worry about it falling out. Also, it’s form-fitting and thin, making any change in form hardly noticeable.

In fact, it even seems to make holding the phone better: the case is just soft enough to make the phone more comfortable in your hand, dulling the sharp edges as well. In fact, it helps me keep the phone straight: since the iPhone 4 has glass on both sides, it’s very hard to tell which side is the front of the phone just by feeling. Before I got the case, I kept pulling the phone out backwards, missing the power-on button which, by habit, I try to press without looking. While any case would probably resolve that problem, I still appreciate it.

In short, the Tunewear is just the right combination for me, and I highly recommend it. If you can find the brand sold near you and have criteria for cases similar to mine, pick one up.

I also got some screen-protection films. Although the films I tried for the iPad failed miserably, I have been using a film on my 3G for two years and it’s done a great job. Not being able to get the same film now, I knew that it would be a crap shoot buying a new one–without seeing a floor sample, it’s next to impossible to judge how the thing will look. I want one that will simply protect the screen and otherwise get out of the way. It should not be harder for your fingers to slide over than the original screen, nor should it pick up prints more. But what I will absolutely not abide is any film that degrades the image.

Knowing that I might get stuck with a loser, and not wanting to make an extra trip in to Ikebukuro, I decided to pick the two best-looking candidates. From Bic’s wide selection, those were the ASDEC screen-protection film (which claimed to be fingerprint-resistant), and the Buffalo “Super Smooth Touch” film, which promised a relatively frictionless surface. I tried the ASDEC first: it failed. It failed because it created that sparkly-grainy distortion I have seen a lot with matte films. I hated looking at it, so I just tore it off and set it aside. Then I tried the Buffalo product, and liked it well enough. It was easy enough to apply, and had only minimal distortion. As advertised, the surface is very dry and smooth, not rubbery so that it catches your finger; it’s even better than the iPhone’s screen in that respect. And it even resists fingerprints as well as the other film which advertised that out front, though the Buffalo film says nothing about it. It’s hard to notice any prints on it, and when you do (usually in just the right light when the screen is off), it’s a cinch to wipe clean. (I discovered later that the Tunewear case included a screen film; it would have been my third try had the Buffalo product not worked.)

(Not that you can see the protective film…)

As a side note, Bic also excelled in another way: the Ikebukuro mobile branch had rows and rows of iPad cases, with each case model and color having a sample dangling by it. Very nice. The problem: none seem very good. I couldn’t find any that would seem to work better than the case Apple makes. Still, kudos to Bic for making the effort.

I just downloaded Apple’s $5 iMovie app. While I’m not going to do a full review right now, I thought I might make a few notes for the benefit of anyone thinking of downloading the app.

First off, don’t expect a full-featured movie editing program. You may have heard about this app’s themes, titles, transitions, background music, and all the rest, and thought, “Wow! That sounds like it’s almost like iMovie on the Mac.” Well, it’s not. Most reviews of the app focus on what you can do, but it’s perhaps more important to focus on what it can’t do. Not as a way of putting down the app, but instead as a way to not get your hopes up too high.

For what it is, it’s excellent: a way to take videos you shot on your iPhone and piece them together with a few nifty effects before you shoot it off to YouTube or email them to friends. Had I had this last year when we went to Europe, I no doubt would have done a mini-movie for the day and sent it off to family. One can imagine all kinds of cool ways to use this app.

However, one should not get too excited about its abilities to make full-featured movies; it is definitely not good for that.

Yes, there are themes–five of them. Probably none are exactly what you’d like. You don’t have the option to choose no theme–but if you avoid any titles or theme-specific transitions, the theme won’t even show up.

Yes, you can put titles–but only three different kinds, and probably not the kind you wanted. You can’t center titles, for example, nor can you change size, font, or color. You can only use one of three variants determined by the theme, mostly titles along the bottom with graphic splashes along the theme’s style. But nothing else, not even simple stuff–only pre-packaged glitz. For example, I wanted to put a nice, plain centered title over a close-up of a fabric texture. Nope.

Yes, you can add transitions–but only one of two: a cross-fade or the transition determined by the single theme used for a single movie. You can set the length, from 0.5 to 2.0 seconds. And you can’t add a transition, like a fade-out, to the end (a strange omission by Apple, it’s a no-brainer, really).

Yes, you can add music–but only one track; try to add another and it just replaces the previous one. There is no looping, so when the music is over, it’s over–this is not an app for long movies. And you can’t trim the song or make it start at a certain point. There is built-in music for each theme, but each only runs about a minute long.

Also, you can’t import video clips (unless there’s some special work-around I haven’t heard of yet); you’re limited to what you shoot and have available on the phone. Nor can you import movies made previously with iMovie as clips in a larger movie–which actually would be a simple way to get past many of the app’s limitations. [Edit: I seem to be mistaken on that--although it did not show up at first, eventually a video I made did appear in the import window. This will allow for mixing of themes and, I would suppose, multiple soundtracks.] Nor can you export projects from the iPhone into iMovie on the Mac, you can only export finished movies.

You get the idea: it’s great for a quick edit-and-send, but far too limited for any serious or considered project. But for what it is, it’s nice, easy to use, and pretty spiffy. Swipe back and forth along the timeline for easy review, tap-and-drag to extend or trim individual clips. Add still photos, and you can stretch them out to longer times and even add the Ken Burns Effect. Drag and drop items, flip through iPhone menus, etc.–it’s all pretty intuitive and easy to figure out. You will probably have to refer to the instructions to understand how to use it fully or at least not take five minutes to puzzle out how to do certain things.

One more note: iMovie seems primed for expansion. I can easily imagine Apple adding features, themes, transitions, and the like, especially as future iPhone models come out and have better processing power. But Apple also has a tendency to keep things simple. I don’t think iMovie for the iPhone will ever be too powerful.

I got to shoot the phone in daylight this morning, and had time to do a few more comparisons between the 3G and the new phone. Then Sachi and I went to Iruma and I tested it in taking movies and photos.

Even if I had not read about it the previous night, I would have quickly noticed a flaw with the iPhone 4’s camera: under certain indoor lighting conditions, the 4’s camera (in movies as well as stills) shows a strong yellow tint, very distracting. Hopefully, Apple can fix this with an OS update.

On the brighter side, I was relieved to find that I will not be nearly as limited in taking movies as I thought. The movies taken by the iPhone 4, despite being a high-def 1280 x 720 and 30 fps, only take up 80 MB per minute–less than I expected. That means you could take 12.5 minutes of video per GB, and if you have 10 GB free (which I currently have on the 16 GB device), you could shoot up to 2 hours of video on this thing without saving it to a computer. I was worried that the 16GB model might not have space enough to take more than five or ten minutes of video; I worried needlessly. Images, at the 5 MP resolution of 2592 x 1936, take up anywhere between 1 to 2.5 MB.

My observations, thoughts and impressions of the Camera capabilities of the iPhone 4 are below the fold. I’m putting it all there because the post is pretty long and has a lot of images. Read more…

So, after getting the call from SoftBank this morning, I quickly finished my morning routine and went down to their local branch to pick up the phone. It takes a while; there’s a lot of paper signing and computer data entry and so forth. But at the end, I walked out with the new phone.

Your first impression is that it’s somewhat more like a slab than before. Not “slab” in a bad way, just descriptive of the basic shape and feel to it. It feels heavier, and while it is, it’s just by 4 grams, not enough to account for the apparent difference. The heavy feeling probably comes from the same weight being in a smaller package.

You get the feeling that it’s taller than previous models, but actually it’s a shade shorter–but it is slimmer, by 1/10th of an inch (or 3.5 mm), so it just seems taller. and you will notice the lack of a curved back, losing about 25% of the phone’s depth. It makes you much more aware of the hard edges, but also makes it feel slimmer.

Another immediate impression: the screen shows better blacks even when turned off. When inactive, the 3G’s screen is noticeably lighter than the black frame; not so with the iPhone 4. And the increased contrast shows just as much when the screen is turned on.

The screen’s resolution is all that people have been saying, but here’s an odd thing that I noticed immediately: you don’t see the difference so much when looking at the phone casually. Without the two side-by-side, you might sometimes forget that it’s higher resolution. But when you do look, the differences pop out significantly. The images on the screen are much richer, finer, and more detailed. Text is not at all pixellated. If you look closely at the 3G’s screen, you can notice the screen-door effect of the pixel grid, especially in light areas; the iPhone 4 looks more like a seamless image, as if printed on glassy paper in sharp relief. Whatever the technical aspects of human vision may be, I’m certainly never gonna be able to discern pixels on the 4’s screen.

The difference is quite visible on the Calendar icon. First, here’s an image I shot with a DSLR camera, showing the same icon on both phones, shot at the same distance and under the same conditions:

Not hard to see the difference, is it? Here’s a different view of the same thing–a screen shot of the icon from each camera, with the 3G’s icon artificially expanded to match the 4’s icon size:

Nor is it surprising: the 4’s screen is essentially 4 times as many pixels. This stands out when you lay a screen shot of the 3G’s whole screen on top of a screen shot from the iPhone 4; the image below is reduced, but you can click on it to see a full-sized version:

Having just come from the 3G, I love the camera. It may be less impressive coming from a 3GS, but I have been stuck for two years with a lousy 2 MP camera which can’t focus closer than 8 inches away and can’t take videos at all. To be able to tap to focus, to take sharp photos of things just a few inches from the camera, to be able to take videos in 720 (and the video is very sharp, excellent quality) and switch between front and back camera… it’s all light-years ahead of what I’m used to.

Of course, the processor is fast, faster than the 3G was even before I upgraded to iOS4. While the startup (after shut down) times may not seem much faster if you’re not paying attention, they certainly are different–my 3G takes a full minute and a half to start up, while the iPhone 4 took just 30 seconds. Google Maps is almost as fast as it is on the iPad (which is really fast). Most notably, there’s no lag anywhere any more. For example, on the 3G, there was always a long lag when starting to type in Japanese. Most often you would see it by typing the first letter and having the typed key-tab freeze on the screen for 10 or 15 seconds; you could type more and have it show up later, but it would always freeze at the start. Not a split-second of hesitation on the iPhone 4.

My device has none of the “major” problems or issues so many people are reporting. No yellow spots or streaks, and no reception loss. Really, I have tried everything I could think of, and I can’t get the reception to drop. I have watched the online videos where they show how you hold it and how the reception drops–I couldn’t make it happen. When bars did drop, it was normal variation that would happen whether I held it or not. I even tried moistening my palms and fingers a bit before gripping the frame in many places, waiting the requisite ten or more seconds for the bars to drop–nothing.

So, so far, so good. It’s hardly a life-changing upgrade, but it is very nifty, and nice relief to finally lose many of the frustrating problems the 3G has always had since day one.

Just got the call from SoftBank–eight days after the initial release, they finally got it in. Hopefully I’ll have enbough time to go in and get it this morning…

First, of course, there were the huge lines for the pre-order, and of course the computer systems having trouble keeping up with the load. Then SoftBank had to stop taking orders. Then the huge lines again the day the phone came out. All these were pretty big indications of a blow-out sale.

Yesterday, a smaller indication: I saw the first iPhone 4 in the hands of a user, on the Seibu-Ikebukuro line–where I still haven’t seen a single iPad yet. I’ve seen iPads on the subway and Yamanote lines, but the Seibu Ikebukuro seems to be a bit more conservative. Even despite large releases, it does take time before you start seeing new devices popping up randomly in public here and there. Still, it could just have been a coincidence.

Another small indicator which annoys me is that I still haven’t gotten my iPhone 4 yet–despite having pre-ordered one from SoftBank the second day of pre-ordering. Considering that the first “day” of pre-orders was just three hours long, and that I was first in line the second day, the phone must be selling out pretty thoroughly. It could be that supply is really short, or my branch is not getting hardly any supply, of course.

But the site that tracks sales now has figures that include the iPhone 4, and the iPhone takes up three of the top 5 slots: the iPhone 4 32 GB is #1, the 3GS 16GB is #4, and the 16GB iPhone 4 is at #5. What is most remarkable about this is the fact that the numbers do not track pre-orders, but rather actual delivered products (the iPhone 4 was not on the lists at all last week), and the week covered only includes 4 days of iPhone 4 sales. I expect that next week, the iPhone will show even better–and considering backlog, will probably maintain that for a while.

I was in Akihabara with a school club group checking out computer parts stores when I came across an interesting find: an iPad dock/stand. Apple sells this for ¥2,980 ($29), but this one–a cheap knock-off made in China–cost just ¥1,280, or about thirteen bucks. I figured, what the heck. I’d like one but I don’t want to spend thirty bucks on what is essentially a hunk of molded plastic with a small iPod cable embedded in it. You can buy iPod cables for a buck at the 100 yen shops, so you know the device itself must cost chump change to make; even $13 probably includes a healthy profit margin.

So I figured I’d get one, hoping that it wasn’t going to simply refuse to function when I got home. I chose a white one because the black ones have this horrendous “MADE IN CHINA” sticker on the front, god knows why. So I paid my money, took it home, and it works. Not with just any cable, mind you–some of the 100 yen cables don’t work so well in terms of connecting to the computer, even directly–but one of my cheapo cables, in addition to the original Apple cable, worked fine. There’s even an audio-out port on the back in case you want to add speakers.

So this will work nicely as a charging stand/picture frame holder. Sometimes you can find some really nice stuff in the small shops in Akihabara, for good prices. You just have to look around to see if you’re really getting the best price. In this case, the shop I found it at was the only one selling this–I found one other store selling an iPad stand, but they were charging $30 for it. This one will do nicely. Even my iPhone 3G will dock on it, though just barely. (Makes a good stand for taking timed photos, though.) Wonder how he iPhone 4 will do. I dunno–I’m still waiting on it, damn SoftBank.

Two major issues seemed to come up about the iPhone 4, and then became just as quickly resolved. First, many users were noticing screen discoloration–uh oh, the iMac 27“ fiasco all over again? No, it turns out the iPhones were simply too fresh–the coloration was a bonding agent in the glass that shows while the agent is not fully dry; the coloration disappears within a few days.

Then there were reports of signal loss when holding the iPhone in a certain way. And while this was found to be true enough, it turns out that it’s simply the way many cell phones are, not just the iPhone, and can be solved either by using a bumper case or not holding the iPhone in a particular way.

SoftBank called. They won’t have the iPhone ready for me on the release day–nor would they promise it any time soon. The waiting begins….

A contrast from my prior experience–I got an iPhone 3G the very first day they came out. Of course, the iPhone is way more popular here now.

Apple just sold 3 million iPads in 80 days. It is estimated that, even on the lowest-priced model, Apple gets a bit over $200 in profit. If that’s the case, Apple just made over $600 million in less than three months on one product.

Not too shabby.

In the next few days, the iPhone 4 is coming out, and Apple makes maybe $300 a pop for each one of those. And Apple seems to estimate that for the first quarter, it will move an average of 3 million of those per month. Reviews are now out, and all rave, calling the iPhone 4 the best smartphone on the market (Mossberg • Pogue • USAToday • Engadget).

Hey, here’s a blast from the past:

“The iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks. In terms of its impact on the industry, the iPhone is less relevant. [...] Apple will sell a few to its fans, but the iPhone won’t make a long-term mark on the industry.”

–Matthew Lynn, Bloomberg, Jan 13, 2007

He wasn’t the only one. Ah, it brings back the memories from the days when people were predicting Apple’s imminent demise every other week, or so it seemed. Here’s a prognostication from May 2003–this after the iPod was a success and the Mac market share was on the rise:

“Is Apple doomed to fail? If I had to bet on it I would say they absolutely are. No one at Apple has the guts to correct the mistakes of Steve Jobs. Apple is a toy for Steve, and a way to massage his ego. Right now no PC company makes hardware that looks as good as Macs, and no OS looks as good as OS X. That can, and will, change very soon. The PC world has gotten the message, and they’ll soon drive the final nail into the Apple coffin.”

–John Manzione, MacNet, May 08, 2003

Gee whiz, kinda sounds like what they’re saying about iPads now, doesn’t it? It’s cool, but just wait, all those other manufacturers are coming out with much better stuff real soon!

And from just a few days later:

“Many close observers of the legendary Silicon Valley company believe shareholders shouldn’t be selling the stock. They should be buying it, they say, in order to press the 48-year-old Jobs to split Apple into two separate companies built around its hardware and software lines of businesses, or get new management that will. ‘Given what their valuation currently is, I think this is something they will eventually have to do,’ argues Rob Enderle, a research fellow at Giga, a research unit of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Forrester Research Inc. ‘They have to dig themselves out of the going-out-of-business cycle they are currently in.’”

–Joshua Jaffe , TheDeal.com, May 12, 2003

Needless to say, Apple didn’t split into pieces.

On May 9, 2003, Apple’s stock price was at $9, up from about $7 a week before. But let’s say you bought it at $9 at that time, and invested $10,000. Taking into account the stock split in 2005, you’d have over $600,000 in Apple stock right now.

Me, I waited way too long. I started thinking about it back in ‘03, but chickened out, and have seen what I got only triple in value. Coulda shoulda woulda.

Apple released iOS4 this monring. Even though I have less than a week before my iPhone 4 comes in, I decided, what the heck, and updated my iPhone 3G this morning.

My first piece of advice to others who want to do this: don’t expect too much. Two of the most-anticipated features, multitasking and wallpapers, don’t work with the 3G. Among the smaller features, screen rotation lock and bluetooth keyboard syncing won’t work either. This leaves folders and Mail’s consolidated inbox as the top features you’ll enjoy, with a few other small features thrown in that you’ll stumble over in time, like playlist creation in iTunes, or digital zoom for your camera (not worth it).

My second piece of advice: don’t panic. That is, don’t panic when iTunes tells you you have to “restore” the phone; iOS4 on the 3G has to do that–just back up as best you can. And don’t panic when it takes an hour, or more (some people say it took 3 hours)–that’s also normal. Most of all, don’t panic when the 3G seems to freeze or go glacial after your update–it does that, but after a few minutes, it settles down and starts zooming along as quickly as ever.

At least it did with mine. But I had a bit of worry there at first. Right after the restore, the start/unlock screen sat there, frozen, then the phone crashed. Restart: the unlock screen comes up, and the shimmer animation for the unlock slider is maybe 1 frame per 2 seconds, and it doesn’t work. Restart again, and it works, but its incredibly slow–but at least it works, and I can jerkily go from slide to slide. Two minutes later, it has slowly smoothed out and everything works fine. So just give it time.

A warning: after restoring and upgrading to iOS4, before you sync your iPhone for the first time, check the settings–I forgot to do so. All of your music and videos and other stuff are kept through the update and restore, but iTunes then forgets these settings, erasing most of your data upon first sync. It took me an extra hour or so just to put the stuff back on.

I have to say, the folders feature alone is worth it. I hate scrolling across nine screens. I made the first screen mostly my main apps with one folder for important stuff I don’t use every day; all of my games on the second page, the 4 most-played at top and the other more than 30 in categorized folders; the third page with good but not-often-used apps not in folders, and then the fourth page nothing but folders. And then the crap after that. I am finding this makes it a hell of a lot easier to organize things the way you want to, and access a wide variety of apps with ease.

The unified inbox and mail threads seem nice, but I think that’s something I’ll get used to over time. There are other things–the photo app now recognizes faces and places, but I don’t use those usually. When emailing a photo, you get to choose the size now. Stuff like that.

Oh yeah, and it looks like the international store issue is still open–I am able to access the U.S. store from my iPhone just like I am from my iPad, both of which were not possible before May.

So says The Japan Times. Apparently they hit a limit or something. Softbank will not say when one can expect your pre-ordered iPhone (if you got your reservation in before they stopped taking them) will get to you–they just say that they’ll call you when it’s ready. In the U.S., they were putting deliver dates of mid-July on orders taken most recently. I got my order in first thing Wednesday morning, after SoftBank had taken just 3 hours of orders the previous night.

Well, ordering started in Tokyo today. It was a pain–they were on sale for three hours only, as sign-ups started at 5pm and ended at 8pm. As it happened, I had a school activity that started at 6pm and ended after 7, right smack in that window. I tried to stop by a Shinjuku SoftBank store on the way home, but they were packed–the shop was filled up and people were waiting out on the street, despite moderate rainfall. I took express trains back to my local station but could not get to the shop before closing time–still, they let me in and gave me a slip of paper to sign, and told me to come back the next morning at 10 am.

Looks like there were lines all over Tokyo. The iPhone 4 will not only bring in lots of new customers, but tons of old ones like me–especially since SoftBank is essentially giving away the 16 GB phone for free. People with 3G contracts will have no reason not to get an upgrade, unless they need to leave SoftBank for some reason.

The Shinjuku person who told me the day before that there would be a 300 yen surcharge for keeping the same number appeared to be mistaken–the Hibarigaoka shop sales person had never heard of that, and I am hearing reports from others that they did not have the surcharge applied. Strange.

Reports are from all over the world that iPhone 4 pre-ordering is huge. Lines everywhere, servers crashing from the overload. SoftBank computers went down as well yesterday. Looks like Apple has a hit with this phone.

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Addenda: Signed up for one. No 300-yen surcharge, but they did tell me that my remaining 3 months paying off my iPhone 3G would be without the 1,830-yen discount, which will end up costing me an extra 1,530 yen a month for three months–about $50 all told. Meh. No biggie.

The lines, continue, by the way–I stopped by two SoftBank stores tonight to see if I could ask whether my 3G could still be used as a second phone on the same account (no, it can’t–I found out later by phone), but both offices were filled with people waiting to sign up for the iPhone 4.

I went to SoftBank to check out whether or not I should get an iPhone 4, and surprisingly, it looks like I will. My two-year contract & obligation to pay off the iPhone 3G has 4 months left to it, and I figured that I would have to wait until that was out before I could think of getting the next one, and maybe have to pay extra for it as I was not a new customer. However, it would appear that SoftBank is making it easier for existing customers to upgrade than I thought. If I understood what the clerk was saying, I can get an iPhone 4 now, and simply start paying for it subsequent to the previous contract running out.

In fact, the new iPhone will be even cheaper; two years ago, the iPhone 3G (the first iPhone to be released in Japan) was going for ¥960 ($10.50) per month for 24 months, for a total of ¥23,040 ($250) for the low-end 8GB model. This time, the low end iPhone 4 (16GB) is free with the 2-year contract if you get a new number with it.

Sounds great, but there are caveats. As I expected, existing customers do get hit, though not very much: if you continue to use the same phone number as before (as most existing customers will no doubt want), you have to pay ¥300 ($3.25) a month for the 16 GB iPhone, for a grand total of ¥7200 ($78.50) over two years. (As if it costs them that much to not change your phone number!) Still, less than eighty bucks for a new iPhone–not bad at all. A pretty good deal in fact–I did not expect SoftBank to run with such a low price immediately upon release.

Another caveat: SoftBank is offering two plans for the iPhone 4, the “Basic” and “Value” plans. For both plans, you get the whole package, but the Value plan gives you only the flat rate of ¥4410 ($48) per month for your data plan (the price seems a bit inflated mostly due to the current strong yen). In the Basic plan, you have a sliding scale where the data plan could cost as low as ¥1029 ($11.20) per month, and you max out at ¥4410 if you use too much data. In exchange, you have to add ¥480 a month, or about $125 over two years, to the price of the iPhone. The Basic plan sounds good–if you try, you can cut down your data usage to the minimum and save as much as $900 over two years, right?

Wrong. The Basic plan sounds cheaper, but SoftBank conveniently hides the relevant data. They do tell you that if you use no more than 12,250 packets, you just pay the eleven bucks a month for data. Cool! 12,250 is a lot! Um, actually not. You won’t find it on the same page which describes this plan, but SoftBank defines a “packet” as 128 bytes. 12,250 packets is a measly 1.6 MB–less than a single digital camera photo at full size. You reach the maximum rate of ¥4410 by using 52,500 packets, or 6.72 MB–something you will certainly do if you do normal stuff like check email and use the Maps app while out and about. Especially if you browse web pages–six megabytes can be used up pretty quick. Just as an example, in May, according to my SoftBank bill, I used over 750,000 packets. No way in hell I could go below the 52,000 limit, save for turning off data use under 3G except in emergencies.

In short, don’t fall for the “cheaper” Basic plan: you’ll only wind up paying an extra $125 over two years.

So, going for the “Value” plan makes sense, and for Japan, the whole schmeer is pretty reasonable–especially the iPhone 4 for just eighty bucks plus what you’d pay normally anyway. At first, I thought that SoftBank would sock it to people they already had on contract, making them pay full price or pay a penalty for early adoption, but it seems not. Again, unless my Japanese led me to misunderstand the clerk; I will be checking up tomorrow, seeing what is or isn’t possible. The SoftBank stores in Omote-Sando and Shibuya have English-speaking staff, and the iPhone 4 reservations begin at 5pm. One drawback: they’ll only have the model in black if you get it right away. That’s OK with me, the new phone looks goofy in white.

If I do get the new phone, then my 3G will be off the phone grid. In other words: Jailbreak time!

I am consistently surprised by the level of interest and often sheer enthusiasm for the iPad in Japan. The iPhone received some good attention after it was released, but with the iPad, things are almost at the crazy level. I have people coming up to me all the time asking to see it, and showing an even more positive reaction to it than people did with the iPhone when it was first released here. Just yesterday, a teacher asked me to come in and demo it for his class, which all eagerly gathered around and made a lot of noise every time something new was done. In short, they loved it. I am getting similar reactions on trains, with people making comments to each other, often stealing glances and sometimes asking questions. I thought the interest would subside soon after the release of the iPad in Japan, but if anything, it has only gotten stronger.

On another Apple mobile device front, my students are getting the iPhone in droves. Initially, they wanted it but stayed away since SoftBank’s plans didn’t allow for cheap calling of their friends, who mostly had non-SoftBank contracts. But then SoftBank initiated a special student plan, and now the students are buying them in droves. Sadly, many bought in with a recently discount plan–not knowing that iPhone 4 was just a few weeks away. I told a few of my students who just got iPhones about this until I noted I was just disappointing them, then I shut up.

Still, SoftBank and Apple mobile products are just getting stronger and stronger in Japan, building on both brand recognition and new devices and features.