Apple – iPhone 4 Press Conference Fri

Engadget and others are reporting Apple will be holding a press conference on their corporate campus this Friday, July 16, at 10 AM pacific time to discuss iPhone 4.  No other details were given.

This should be interesting.

Consumer Reports on iPhone 4

It’s official. Consumer Reports’ engineers have just completed testing the iPhone 4, and have confirmed that there is a problem with its reception. When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone’s lower left side—an easy thing, especially for lefties—the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you’re in an area with a weak signal. Due to this problem, we can’t recommend the iPhone 4.

More here: http://cl.ly/1dZW

Thoughts on iPhone 4

I’d like to preface my post with a small description of what I do for a living, alongside being a full-time student at Robert Morris University (RMU) in Pittsburgh, PA.  Freshman year through senior year of high school at Fox Chapel Area High School, I worked as a student employee alongside the network and systems administrator and help desk staff to provide end-user support and training to teachers, administrators, faculty, and staff.  I continue to work there today providing the same services as before, but I also am now more involved in assisting the network and systems administrator with more complex projects.  Fox Chapel has over 40 Xserves and 5,000 Macs in the district.  I also work at Robert Morris University as an IT Student Associate Systems Administrator supporting Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server.  I manage most of the Macs on campus, most of the Xserves, and OS X deployments and the associated network services that go along with the authentication and collaboration of the Mac users.  In a nutshell: I know Macs and Mac OS X pretty darned well, Mac OS X Server decently well, and I absolutely love Apple and its products.  Why did I mention all of that?  I’m not usually one to complain about Apple.  I’m not just the normal flamer who’s overreacting about the issues with the iPhone 4.  And, when issues arise, I’ve always trusted and will continue to trust Apple to make those issues right for its customers.  That all having been said, here’s my thoughts on iPhone 4. (more…)

Google Officially Unveils ‘Nexus One’

Happy new year, everyone!  Today, Google held a press event at its headquarters to unveil the ‘Nexus One’ – aka, the Google Phone.  Google vice president Mario Queiroz said that the new Nexus One is a “superphone” and an “exemplar of what’s possible” on mobile phones running Android.  Several other people spoke at the event as well, including Google VP of engineering Andy Rubin, HTC CEO Peter Chou, and even Motorola’s Co-CEO Sanjay Jha. Shots and videos have been leaking for months showing off this device.  And even though we all knew the Nexus One was coming, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a stellar looking phone that carries a serious set of technical specifications that blows even the iPhone 3GS out of the water.   (more…)

Verizon’s Ad Campaign Against AT&T

There’s been a lot of talk recently about Verizon’s newly launched ad campaign against AT&T Wireless that targets the iPhone.  Verizon’s marketing team has a smart stategy here – they know that the iPhone is great, so they attack its one and only major weak point, the network.  AT&T’s 3G network, plainly put, is atrocious.  They’ve been making some substantial improvements, and I commend them for that, but their efforts have simply not been enough.  Most of the clamour over the ads come from pundits from both sides claiming they’re misleading, not true, put AT&T in a bad light, etc.  The ads have garnished so much attention, in fact, that AT&T, to no benefit of itself, has decided to sue Verizon over the ads.

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Interview 4 With Verizon (Part 1)

This one was a real success.  I got to speak with the Director of Social Media Strategy for Verizon Telecom.  Yes, that Verizon Telecom.  Verizon Telecom encompasses basically everything but Verizon Wireless.  This was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life.  All responses transcribed below are from Beth unless otherwise noted.  Thank you so much to Verizon for allowing me to publish this interview!  This is the first part of my interview with Verizon – part two is where we’ll hear from John ‘CZ’ Czwartacki, Executive Director – External Communications.  Stay tuned for that!

What is your name and official title at your company?

Beth Mulhern - Director of Social Media Strategy – Verizon Telecom

Cheryl Harris – Senior Staff Consultant – (manages @vzpittsburgh)

Tabitha Geary - Consultant

What is the name of the company you work for, and what does it specialize in?

Verizon – A communications and entertainment company

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Interview 2 With Comcast

What is your name and official title at your company?

Frank Eliason – Senior Director, National Customer Operation

What is the name of the company you work for, and what does it specialize in?

Comcast.  Today, we’re the country’s largest provider of cable services – and one of the world’s leading communications companies. We’re focused on broadband cable, commerce, and content. We deliver digital services, provide faster Internet and clearer broadband phone service, and develop and deliver innovative programming.

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Regarding Comcast’s New Bandwidth Cap

Rather than addressing the problem by improving the data capacity of their network, they choose to go after the users.  If you’re a baker and you keep running out of doughnuts, you figure out a way to make more doughnuts.  You don’t limit customers to only a dozen each.

From Division by Zero

All I can say is, boy am I glad I have Verizon FiOS!