Tag: iPhone

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 3, 20143:56 pm

Ten Months, 26 Stories About Apple

As a personal exercise exploring the tone of my BetaNews stories about Apple, I reviewed all of them written over the past 10 months—just 26, which isn’t many. I did this because, despite the last two posts (here and here) about Apple apologists, reader response does matter. Some critics harp about balance, and I admit there’s no glowing love for the company expressed in most of my stories.

There shouldn’t be. What some people call negativity, I see as constructive criticism. Then there is straight news reporting, which needn’t praise or raze. I prepared the list for myself and post it here mostly for my reference. But it’s a good look at my most recent news stories and analyses about Apple.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJul 29, 20148:07 pm

My Daughter’s iPhone is Too Destructible

Sshould I blame daughter or device? Last night, she texted: “My screen cracked again. I’m so sorry”. That’s the third shattered iPhone 5s since May; two 5ers busted before that. Clearly, she’s fumble fingers, but something just doesn’t seem right. The college student sticks the damn device in a protective case. Did Apple put pretty design before damage durability?

I spent several hours searching for smartphone breakage data today—on the web and contacting several sources compiling stats. Strangely, the most compelling comparisons are years old. For example, in late 2010, SquareTrade reported that iPhone 4 accidents exceeded the 3GS and devices from competing smartphone manufacturers. In a 2012 survey of 2,000 iPhone users, 30 percent had damaged their device in the previous 12 months.

Apple by Joe WilcoxMay 23, 20144:51 pm

AppleCare+ is Less of a Good Deal

I learned about the change yesterday, unhappily. File this story under “read the fineprint department”. Since Apple introduced its extended warranty plan, I have praised the benefits and plucked down the extra $99 for every new iOS device. AppleCare+ extends standard repair coverage to two years and offers fairly affordable replacement—up to two times. Somehow I missed that Apple raised replacement price to $79 from $49 for iPhone.

The saga started around the midday meal. My daughter expressed amazement how last week her iPhone 5s popped out of her jeans and fell from a third-story balcony. No damage. Twenty-minutes later, while we sorted clothes for the thrift store in the garage, she fumbled the device, which fell face flat onto the cement—shattering the screen. No words can describe either of our reactions. The irony was so thick my eyeglasses fogged.

Apple by Joe WilcoxMay 9, 20146:18 pm

Apple is the New Nokia

Over at BGR, Tero Kuittinen writes: “Apple suddenly looks a lot like Nokia“. There’s no looks like at all. As I explain in my book, The Principles of Disruptive Design, Apple, like Nokia in 2007, is unable to transcend design concepts that lock it into an older UX paradigm; from top of the mountain can’t see the crumbling below; and is unwilling to jeopardize the success it has to risk something new.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJul 1, 201012:32 am

Apple of My Eye

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/12819723] Short film “Apple of My Eye” demonstrates how good storytelling isn’t about the tools but the storyteller. Michael Koerbel shot and edited this delightful video on an iPhone 4. No PC or other […]

Gear by Joe WilcoxJun 23, 20101:35 am

Future of the PC as Seen From 2003

Sometimes the past feels all the more distant.

In November 2003, Jupitermedia held a small event competing with the then massive and now defunct Comdex. As a senior analyst working for the company, I was asked to give presentation: “Evolution of the PC.” The topic is so broad I griped: “Why don’t you just give me a bag of rocks and tell me to hit one of the great lakes.” So much about computing has changed since that presentation, the content seems simply ancient to me.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJun 18, 20102:59 pm

Trashed iPad/iPhone

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPJSjnizxu4] Storytelling is an art form, but it isn’t solely the purview of artists. Video “Trashed iPhone and iPad!” is good example. The video isn’t the most sophisticated filmmaking, but the story is compelling: […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxJun 7, 20108:26 pm

WWDC 2010 Keynote: A Story in Tweets

The problem with Twitter, publishing is lost content. Tweets go into the massive Twittersphere never to have meaning again. It’s kind of like chatter; people talk and it’s gone (or so most of us hope). Well, hell, I can’t let all my tweets go to waste, particularly during Apple’s developer conference keynote when Twitter was my real-time publishing platform. So I’ve painstakingly cut and paste this morning’s Twitterfest during Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote for posterity’s benefit. 🙂

Apple by Joe WilcoxApr 20, 201012:36 pm

Gizmodo Made the ‘Next iPhone’ a Great Story

I have deeply mixed feelings about siding with Apple and not Gizmodo regarding the iPhone prototype the Weblog paid to acquire. After all, as a seasoned journalist, I should strongly advocate no-questions-asked free speech. Instead, last night I blogged for Betanews: “Apple should sue Gizmodo over stolen iPhone prototype“. I had planned to write something here, but Betanews founder Nate Mook asked for a story, which I gladly delivered.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJan 20, 201010:49 pm

If Ovi Store was as Good as This Video About It…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cjTtkTE5po] Nokia would have kicked Apple’s ass long ago.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJan 15, 20101:15 pm

Gene Munster tells a Good Story, But is it Believable?

IApple’s mobile phone business would go the same way as the Mac did in the 1980s and 1990s.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJan 6, 20104:45 pm

AT&T "Testudine Download Speeds"

Evidently, AT&T thought it best not to mention the iconic super-smartphone too much lest its executives be driven offstage by a mob of iPhone users complaining of dropped calls, lousy service, delayed text and voice […]