PLEASE tell me they didn’t just start as this article implies. That would imply that they have ignored the service complaints for months and months and months without making any publicly visible changes in many areas. Here in NC my signal is decent, but nothing at all to write home about, especially not for how much the service costs. In many big metropolitan areas, the complaints are much, much worse. Hopefully they’ve taken the profits they’ve been raking in to actually make their customers happy, but I simply hope they didn’t just start!

• Vacation/Travel Guides
• Real Estate
• Education
• Guidance/Directions

[youtube width="425" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH6r2tIaRXU[/youtube]

I never personally used any of these as the TI calculators were what I used in school, but the idea of bringing back an icon is very cool. Now, the prices seem somewhat untenable to me. Now if you loved one of these, it’s definitely worth checking out…

HP 15C Scientific Calculator – $29.99

HP 12C Financial Calculator – $14.99

Certain Products may include functionality that enables you to purchase additional services, or licenses to additional functionality or content for use within the Product (“In App Purchases”). In App Purchases that are consumed during the use of the Product (e.g., virtual ammunition) cannot be transferred among devices; can only be downloaded once; and after being downloaded, they cannot be replaced. Once a consumable In App Purchase is purchased and received by you, Apple shall be without liability to you in the event of any loss, destruction, or damage. All In App Purchases are deemed Products, and In App Purchases made within Third Party Products are deemed Third Party Products, and treated as such, for purposes of these terms and conditions.

I’m a bit concerned about this as Heather and I use the same iTunes account. Apple made me happy by allowing this use case as it seems rather ridiculous to assume an app couldn’t be used by both spouses. However, we likely won’t be able to use the same ‘In App’ purchases. This isn’t a deal breaker, but I am concerned about my ability to back this content up and restore if needed. I wouldn’t want to lose any added content any more than losing a purchased app.

Guess this just needs to be clarified a bit…

• Those who hate AT&T outright
• Those who think the new iPhone 3G S isn’t different enough
• Those who can’t understand why they’re not getting the lower $199/299 subsidized price

Well, first off, AT&T is a pain right now. That is true. They’re not yet ready to support MMS which is pathetic, but even worse they haven’t even announced pricing for MMS. They also haven’t given any pricing or timeframes for tethering. I would say all of this equates to complete failure for AT&T outright…and it does, but they aren’t any worse or better than ANY other US carrier. They all seem to be incapable of quality service or customer service in my opinion. I’ve had AT&T, Sprint, & Verizon at one point in time or another and they’ve all caused about the same level of pain. Simply put, our wireless carriers are WAY behind those in other areas of the world and this doesn’t show any signs of changing. I will say AT&T seems to have as good or better data service in this area compared to the other carriers based on the few tests I’ve read, but I do know that those in larger cities are feeling more of the pain here. Unfortunately, after using many other devices, no increase in service can rival the combined package purely due to the iPhone’s hardware. It is bar-none better than any phone I’ve ever used (Blackberry, WinMo, Symbian, etc.) NOTE: I haven’t yet tried the Palm Pre. Also, please try to keep in mind that AT&T’s exclusivity contract isn’t unusual (except for possibly its length). If you’re unhappy, give Apple feedback. That is the only way this may ever change.

Next, people are complaining that not enough has changed. The iPhone 3G merely refined the original iPhone with antenna friendly plastic casing, GPS, and 3G. This phone adds faster CPU & RAM (reportedly based on non-Apple sources), an improved camera, video capture (cool due to the camera’s improvements), video editing, compass (rather cool if you let it sink in), and voice control. Honestly, I would say the 3G S contains the bigger of the two product changes. Also, please don’t tell me some of that is capable with jailbreaking. I don’t consider that a good choice as you get in an arms race with Apple and honestly, Apple’s implementations always seem more polished. Now, I understand some of these features may not appeal to all people, so I can understand this complaint a bit more than the other two.

Finally, the complaints also focus on the upgrade costs. I am sick to death of reading that only “new” customers can get the $199/299 price. That isn’t true. It would seem that none of these individuals have ever upgraded a phone with a carrier before the iPhone. You get a new subsidized iPhone every new contract or every two years unless you fall into a category that allows for more frequent upgrades such as those who spend more than some set amount with AT&T each month. This is how all of the main US carriers work. The only reason the upgrading iPhone to iPhone 3G users got a pass last time around is that AT&T hadn’t subsidized the original iPhone at all. This is how all phone purchasing works in the US unless you purchase an unsubsidized/unlocked device.  It is the system that’s in place. Can it suck? YES! but they’re not punishing iPhone users. We’re just getting treated like the rest of the customers. I doubt this will change as none of the carriers have any incentive to shift on this issue. For whatever reason, the American consumer isn’t happy paying $500 for a new phone, but is quite content to pay $200, but be overcharged on voice/data/messaging for the next 2 years

I believe I will get the cheaper pricing as it will have been more than 16 months since I last upgraded, but if I don’t, then I’ll just wait. I won’t be happy about it, but I’m not being treated unfairly. It’s the contract I signed.

Just my thoughts on the whole subject. I hope AT&T improves. They really need to change how they handle data, voice, messaging, etc. but then, so do all of their competitors. Unlikely at best…

UPDATE: Well, it looks like AT&T posted an iPhone 3G S faq and they do say that MMS will be at no additional cost if you’re currently on a messaging plan. Still no dates for either feature.

[youtube width="480" height="295"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyAQb9FUKo8[/youtube]

Best Buy stores only getting 4 Palm Pres for launch day? : Boy Genius Report.

Wow, if this rumor is true (which I somewhat doubt, but given Sprint/Palm’s track record is plausible) then the Pre is going to have one tough road. 4 per Best Buy, 2 per RadioShack? I’ve read the other rumors about supply issues, but are they real or is Palm/Sprint playing the Nintendo game of limiting supply to build demand?

I don’t think either company is in any position to risk this release, so for their sake I hope this isn’t true. They will already probably only have 2 days before being washed out in the Apple news tsunami that will likely be WWDC.

Oh…Apple?!? Haven’t you yet realized that this myth of control for the app store is a losing proposition? You’ll be derided for rejecting and you’ll also be derided for approving.

This issue has become my biggest issue with Apple’s iPhone…

Hands-on Review of the Palm Pre Shows They Don’t Get It

jkOnTheRun ran this story that I feel somewhat states the obvious, but still it is a topic that is discussion worthy. Palm/Sprint don’t seem to understand what is needed from the Pre at this point in time. Likely to see release soon based on the company’s own comments, they’ve not allowed for discussions of its capabilities and as such hampered the buildup of hype.

To break that down, much of the news cycle discussion of the Pre has died down with the exception of guessing as to the release date. No one is discussing any of the cool new features because Palm has claimed as no one has gotten to use any of these features and been allowed to talk about it. Videos on the site showing off the features aren’t enough, not with 6 months between announcement & release. Apple’s 1-2 month delay in new hardware (and successful track record) allows them a bit more secrecy, but 6 months for an unproven device is too much to ask. The Pre is almost like vaporware at this point as the features sound cool, but there’s no proof or basis for hype to build on.

Also coupled with this, the release date is too far from the announcement. Excitement abounded earlier this year, but with no real news and no release, there is a general malaise regarding the phone’s eventual release. The now rumored release date is to occur right before Apple’s WWDC which is expected to include specific details (or the release) of iPhone OS 3.0 and there is a rumor of a new hardware announcement. Now, truth be told, I love my iPhone and think it decimates the rest of the smartphone marketplace, but there are key things it doesn’t do or doesn’t do well well (some of these may be resolved with 3.0): multitasking, copy/paste, contact source integration, Flash, etc. I was hoping the Palm Pre would be serious competition to force Apple to innovate further, but only time will tell if that will be the case. Now, the problem here is that releasing right before or after Apple means the Pre will likely have an EXTREMELY short mindshare as Apple knows how to control the dissemination of information in ways Palm can only dream of.

Maybe Palm will surprise me and pull of an amazing device and launch, but at this point I am unfortunately doubtful.