The apple event “Spotlight Turns to Notebooks” brought an entirely new look to apple’s notebook line-up. Mostly for the better, this event revamped the macbook and macbook pro lines, updated the macbook air and announced a new monitor. However, there are some major issues in these new products that are uncharacteristic of apple.
Problems
Glossy screens only. Prosumers need a monitor that displays colors accurately, which this glossy screen does not, and one that can be used in different lighting environments without being crippled by glare. Have a choice was good, a matte only option would be fine, but Glossy only is a problem.
Cinema Display Connectivity Although this new display does have a 3 port usb hub built in along with an isight and speakers it is only compatible, out of the box, with the new macbook’s and macbook pro’s. For any other machine, you need an adapter which costs extra money.
Firewire 400 The macbook does not have any firewire options and the pro variety has firewire 800 only. This is a huge problem. Macbook users will no longer be able to use their external hard drives or video cameras and pro users are down a port. Come on apple, it’s just one little port but would be wonderful for many people.
I have already talked about the mojave experiment and the Seinfeld Gates ads but now Microsoft is changing their strategy. Again. As it turns out those Seinfeld Gates ads were just the teaser ads for a multiphase advertising campaign Microsoft has launched to fix their tarnished perception. These new “I’m a PC” ads featuring the slogan “life without walls” start out with a Microsoft engineer who looks similar to John Hodgman from the apple “Get a Mac” ads. They all start off by that man saying, “Hello, I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype.”
Although these ads seems similar to the apple “Get a Mac” campaign I can respect these Microsoft ads and I think they are a step in the right direction. The Seinfeld ads got me thinking about Windows, not for the right reasons but I was thinking, and now these new ads actually are talking about windows. They show that windows is used throughout the world by many different people for many different tasks.
Good job Microsoft, but you are still only beginning to fight back in this marketing war.
Apple today, Friday September 12th, 2008, made available their new software update for the iphone and iphone 3g. According to apple, the update fixes many issues users have been experiencing including…
Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls.
Significantly better battery life for most users.
Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes.
Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts.
Faster installation of 3rd party applications.
Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications.
Improved performance in text messaging.
Faster loading and searching of contacts.
Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display.
Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages.
Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts.
Genius playlist creation
This update also address several security issues. Apple even gives specific instructions on how to install the new firmware.
I am still testing this firmware and will get back to you with an update regarding my personal experiences.
Update:
My personal impressions of this new software is in the video bellow. Honestly, apple made a huge mistake shipping buggy software at launch and this 2.1 software update is what the original firmware should have been.
I have already talked about the mojave experiment but the above video is a new ad campaign by Microsoft featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. (Apparently, this is just the first in a set of several Seinfeld Gates ads.) It seems to me like Microsoft decided that they really needed a strong ad campaign to compete with apple’s “Get a Mac” ads. As of now however, I think the combination of these Seinfeld Gates ads and the mojave experiment are not going to work the way Microsoft envisioned.
Anyway, the ad above entitled Shoe Circus Commercial was some-what interesting for me to watch. However, without the information I had telling me this was a Windows ad it’s a little hard to comprehend this is trying to sell Windows. I mean, I could defiantly see if this way trying to sell shoes but software? How is the average person supposed to feel enthralled into buying Windows with this? For the $10 million they are paying Seinfeld and the multimillion dollar bill for the entire campaign, Microsoft needs to start making a better ad very soon. Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad’s at this point are more creative and actually sell a product.
I have said it a few times and I will say it again. The best way for Microsoft to go about advertising windows is to give away trial machines with vista preinstalled and allow the user to have a good, unaltered, test. That way, they go out and buy the product and tell their friends too. At a minimum, the next bunch of ads need to be firmly based on windows and even take some blows against apple. Microsoft can no longer site on their butts not caring because their market share is much higher than anyone else. The fact of the matter is apple is rising fast and Microsoft should be worried.
New Commercial
Microsoft has uploaded another one of the Seinfeld Gates ads. This one, running about 4 minutes 30 seconds (although the version I saw on tv ran less than that), features Bill and Jerry trying to fit in with regular people. Again, it doesn’t focus on Windows until the end and even then it only touches on it. What is Microsoft doing?
First of all, if you haven’t already seen my complete review of this Nokia device, I suggest you check it out. It’s very detailed, unbiased, and should really give you a feel of the phone. As for the iPhone 3G, you can watch my video review. Due to time constraints however my video review was split into two parts: negatives and positives.
Now for the meat of this post, the breakdown and comparison of the Nokia N95-4 8GB NAM and the Apple iPhone 3G. The phones are compared in five different categories spanning design, navigation, features, multimedia, and call quality. Although in the end one phone must win, both are quality devices and should not be taken lightly.
Design
The Nokia N95 has a very sleek look.The glossy black front and matte-black finish on the back looks quite nice. The dual slider looks good too. The screen is pretty bright and everything looks like it belongs. However, it would have been nice if Nokia updated the look of the buttons and made the device a little skinnier. As for the iPhone 3G, Apple has once again created a device which has no competition. The screen is amazingly bright, responsive, and large while the sleek finish on the back continues the unique design from the front. Winner: Apple iPhone 3G
Navigation
The N95’s weakest attribute is its navigation. Finding a particular application or function takes a while when you have to dig threw the file structure of this phone. Plus, you are limited by the button navigation that is far less efficient than a touch screen or scroll ball. As for the iPhone, everything you need is with-in a fingers tap, as you can store anything you need on the home screen. Plus, the touch screen works so well. Nothing currently on the market can match the sensitivity and accuracy of that screen. Winner: Apple iPhone 3G
Features
The Apple iPhone 3G is loaded with features. You have the app store which is an amazing resource for free and commercial applications, Eight or 16 GB of storage, and friendly support at your local apple store. (If you ever need it) Plus, thanks to the great interface, web-browsing on the iPhone is amazing. (Both phones have HSDPA and UMTS for 3G networking.) The N95 doesn't have a great service for finding application on the go however you can run almost anything on it. With the iPhone, Apple decides what you can put on it, the N95 however does not have any such limit. (It can even run unsigned applications.) The N95 also has some basic features the iPhone is missing including MMS messaging, the option for turn by turn directions (although that costs extra), and the ability to tether your phone's data connection to a computer. It even has copy and paste functionality. Winner: Nokia N95
Multimedia
The N95 has an amazing camera that rivals nothing I have ever seen on a cell phone. It’s simply great. Pictures are magnificent and video is very watchable. (The iphone doesn’t even have support for recording video) Viewing your media is pleasant too. The media viewer interface is pretty nice and you can go from viewing your entire collection to specifically one piece of media in a nice fashion. There are even convenient soft-keys to quickly pull up the camera and media viewer applications. However, mac support is abysmal. Out of the box you have very few options. When you finally are able to connect your mac and your phone, all you can do is browse the phone and download files to your computer. From what I could find, there is no sync options unless you pay a premium for a third-party application. Granted most of the world is running windows, I love how all you have to do is connect the iPhone to your computer (Windows or Mac) via the included cable and all your music, contacts, and photos are synchronized. Speaking of the iPhone, did I forget to mention it’s the worlds best ipod? Apple has had years to perfect it’s media player and man does it execute. Movies are enjoyable to watch on the magnificent wide screen of the iPhone, photos look great, and music is wonderful. I have found browsing by album art is such a fun way to listen to your music thanks to this phone. Each phone does what it does wonderfully which is why this category is a… Draw
Call Quality
The final category in this show-down is call quality. Many people forget this component but when you think about it, you are buying a cell phone. The extra goodies are nice, but this is what it’s all about. (As a note, these phones were tested on the AT&T network both running over 3G.) The N95 sounded pretty good although I noticed slight hissing and popping noises. The iPhone 3G is much improved over the original model. Voices are loud and are easily understandable. Recently, a friend of mine answered my phone and commented to me how great it sounded. He wasn’t specifically looking for the sound quality but it was so good he had to mention it. Winner: Apple iPhone 3G
In Conclusion, both phones are great but have some downside too. The N95 has an amazing camera while the navigation on the iPhone 3G is truly revolutionary. Furthermore, what carrier you have must be taken into consideration. For me, I already had AT&T, which is the sole carrier of the iPhone 3G in the USA, but the N95 is sold unlocked so you can use it with any carrier you want without having to sign a two year agreement. Overall, I would recommend both of these phones but when you look at them side by side, one has to be better than the other. In this case, I would have to go with Apple’s iPhone 3G.
