Apple

If you’ve ever wondered whether a blog can become a money making venture, I suggest you read the story of Dr. Arnold Kim and his blog, MacRumors, in today’s New York Times.

There is a proliferation of blogs devoted to finding out and revealing secrets about companies and organizations. MacRumors is one that is devoted to trading gossip, rumors and facts about Apple, the notoriously secretive computer company. Apple inspires considerable speculation in the technology industry because of penchant … some call it, obsession … for secrecy. For Dr. Kim, reporting on Apple’s secrets translates to a large following and a six-figure income.

At the risk of gushing over the latest iPhone updates from Apple, I must write a few words about the exciting new iPhone feature, called Apps Store.  It is a giant WOW! and blows the competitor, the Blackberry, away, in my opinion.

A few months ago, Apple made its development software available at a reasonable price to anyone who wished to develop a useful application for the iPhone.  That move, in and of itself, has been significant and unprecedented in the technology industry and enormously successful.  It has resulted in countless applications for iPhone users which are distributed through iTunes, either free or for a nominal charge.

Among the new and free iPhone applications are news resources from The New York Times and Associated Press to keep you up to date.  There’s an app called, “NowLocal,” that delivers local news and events.  There is a new Facebook app that’s simply terrific and another one called, “BoxOffice,” where you can find what’s playing at the local movies and reviews of flicks.  My favorite so far is “Dial Zero” that provides the phone numbers of hundreds of businesses and services and how to hack past voicemail hell to reach a live person.

The list of neat iPhone apps just goes on and on.

A friend went by the ATT store in downtown Washington, D.C., today to buy an iPhone 3G … no joy because the store had sold-out. I suspect both ATT and Apple are celebrating with sales despite yesterday’s significant glitches with activating new iPhones and installing the new software on older iPhones.

I had no problems when I synced my first generation iPhone to update with the new software from Apple. My wife’s iPhone was a different story - the backup had gotten corrupted, causing her iPhone to lose configurations on email. But … and this is a BIG difference between Apple and most other companies on the planet … an Apple tech provided her with professional guidance to solve the issues within a few minutes. Tell me another company that has such incredibly good customer technical support!!

Such solutions-focused interface with customers is how Apple has earned the respect of a loyal base of fans who are … well, almost cult-like … in their enthusiasm for Apple and products, like the brilliant new iPhone. It’s really sort of like … a love affair with Apple.

Apple’s highly anticipated rollout of its new MobileMe service to provide hopefully seamless syncing of calendar, email and contacts between your computers and iPhone is working … its first day … like a train wreck. The primary Me.com Web site (screenshot is left) has crashed, the older .Mac Web site has crashed and other Apple online systems, like the ability to download iTunes, which is an essential component, have crashed.

Not sure what’s going on because this is highly unusual for Apple. All I can guess is that consumer demand for the new iPhone 3G and its services is much greater than anticipated.

The scene (left) at the ATT store in downtown Washington, D.C., this morning was similar to that at other ATT and Apple stores across the nation this morning - lines of people waiting to buy Apple’s new iPhone 3G.  

Apple has intentionally kept the iPhone off the market for the last month, both to build near-hysterical customer demand and media frenzy, and to eliminate the previous problem of people taking advantage of the company’s liberal 30 day money back refund to trade-in an older model.  Smart and gutsy corporate move by Apple on both counts.

As a typical Apple enthusiast, I was online earlier this morning to download the iPhone 2.0 software update, which gives my earlier generation iPhone just about all the bells and whistles as the new 3G model … except better wireless speed.  My iPhone uses ATT’s ancient EDGE network that delivers about 70k, akin to old-fashioned dial-up speed.  The new iPhone 3G is supposed to be about three times faster but even that doesn’t set the world on fire.  At the risk of sounding less than “WOWed,” I am less than WOWed by the new software features.  I will leave reviews to the professionals but I thought … (yawn) it was considerably less than what I had expected.  

Sorry, Apple … but I still love you.

For anyone who uses .Mac email, as I do, Apple’s newest offering is now automatically available - @me.com. In other words, if your .Mac email has been (yourname)@mac.com, it’s now also (yourname)@me.com.

While I have read Apple’s announcements about MobileMe, of which @me.com is a part, I am not sure how I feel about having a “me” email address. Have we really entered the “me” time in our society when so many people feel, “all about me,” (see previous post) that we need such an email address?  What impression does that give?

Naw, maybe I’m too old as a baby boomer that @me.com doesn’t feel good.  I’m from a long-lost generation when it was all about - all of us.  I’ll stick with .mac.com. I think that’s cool.

A source at Apple tells me that a cosmetic difference between the original iPhone and the new iPhone 3G is that the new model will have a plastic case. Buyers will have a choice of black or white plastic.

That could be a issue to some iPhone purists - the brushed metal case of the original iPhone is pretty classy looking.  On the other hand, anything Apple creates is classy.  Besides, the metal is slippery in the hand while plastic might be easier to hold.

The iPhone 3G is expected July 11.  As I have previously written, it is the software update for my original iPhone that I am looking forward to on that date.