My Apple MD

iPhone Repair – Since the middle of September, China has been hot for the iPhone 4, taking 200K preorders and selling over 100K units in just the first four days. And that demand hasn’t gone away, prompting China Unicom (the only authorized Chinese iPhone retailer ala AT&T in the US) and China’s Apple Stores to announce that they have sold out of the device for at least another two months.

Shortages of the iPhone 4 have caused Chinese mobile retailers to come up short on fulfilling almost a third of their orders. With the Chinese cell phone market rising to around 833 million subscribers, it’s no wonder Chinese iPhone suppliers have been unable to meet the enormous demand.

Of course, you have to consider the marketing behind all of this. Historically Apple has limited the supply of all of its newest gadgets in markets around the world. Rather than over-saturate the landscape with its devices, they release only a handful, which creates a bigger buzz and more demand with stories and posts like this one announcing that they are sold out. Everyone wants what they can’t get their hands on. It’s a brilliant strategy and marketing professionals should be taking notes.

iPhone Repair- With the much-anticipated release of the iPhone 4 to the Verizon cell phone carrier network, many are predicting doom and gloom for current iPhone monopoly carrier AT&T. But the number one phone company in the US isn’t sweating Verizon’s new acquisition just yet.

You know a company as big as AT&T has a plan in place for every eventuality, and the specter of a rival network selling its coveted iPhone was always well covered in their strategy going forward.

Is AT&T worried that a large number of disenchanted subscribers will flee to Verizon once they also sell iPhones? In short, no.

To give you an idea of AT&T’s long-term strategy implementation, they allowed almost all of their customers to renew their 2-year plan with the release of the iPhone 4 in June. This means that all of those customers are AT&T customers for another year and a half, making a switch to Verizon unfeasible once they start selling iPhones.

But much-publicized customer service problems continue to hound AT&T and spur its rivals to go after their own pieces of its market dominance. AT&T will have to shore up their public image in 2011 if they don’t want the likes of Verizon, Sprint and upstart companies like Cricket, cutting into their customer base.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

iPhone Repair A 1976 model of the first Apple computer the company ever assembled was sold at a British auction for around £133,250 GBP ($207,000 USD). London’s Christie’s auction house put the item up for bid at its November 23 auction.

This ancestor to the iPad, iPod and iPhone was originally sold by Apple founder Steve Jobs in July, 1976 for $666.66. A curious price to be sure, but nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands it fetched last month.

The Apple 1 has only a minuscule 8K of memory. By today’s memory standards it wouldn’t even be enough to save one small text file let alone an audio MP3 or video file. It has its original instruction manual, a signed letter from Jobs and its original packaging. The Apple 1 was originally shipped without a monitor or keyboard. It was discontinued in 1977 and replaced by the now  iconic Apple II.

Tech collectors from around the world bid on this rare piece of history which houses the original pattern by which modern-day personal computers were modeled after. Apple co-founder Steve Wozinak was also at the auction.

“I gave them away for free,” he said. “It was really just an attempt to help people move the world forward.”

What do you think? Leave a comment.

iPhone Repair – Going overseas for business or pleasure means taking our favorite gadgets along for the trip. But now that many of our gadgets are combining into a singular device like the iPhone, there are some things to be aware of when using your device overseas.

Excessive Charges

How would you feel if when you returned from your trip an $8000 phone bill was waiting for you? It’s already happened to many iPhone customers who weren’t aware that the terms of their domestic phone contracts do not apply when they set foot on foreign soil.

The best thing to do, as always, is to be prepared. Take preventative measures if you want to use your iPhone overseas the same way you use it here. Contact your service provider before your trip to work out a data plan that won’t leave you paying through the nose for usage charges incurred outside the US.

Another option is to install Skype or Google Voice to your iPhone so you don’t rack up large overages while sharing your experiences with friends and family. You can also put your iPhone on “flight” mode to prevent it from receiving calls and texts while you travel. Being prepared and doing some research will go a long way to insure you don’t return home to a nasty phone bill surprise.

Import Duty Taxes

With the worldwide popularity of the iPhone, governments are beginning to crackdown on smuggling with import taxes and duty fees when taking your iPhone out of the country. These measures were originally intended to curb illegal smuggling of iPhones out of China, but now it seems that anyone taking an iPhone or iPad out of a foreign country back to the US might be assessed a tax whether it’s unused in the box or not.

Chinese officials have already mandated a 20% import duty on any iPhones and iPads being taken out of the country. So if you bring your iPhone on a trip to China, be prepared for some wrangling at customs because they are clearly serious about collecting duty for any and all Apple devices leaving the country.
With China cracking down on smuggling, it’s not hard to see that other countries will soon follow their lead. The first countries to implement a similar tax (if they haven’t already) will likely be regional Asian tourist-heavy neighbors like Japan, India, South Korea and others. From there it’s unclear if other countries around the world will adopt the tax.

Connectivity Problems

The most basic thing to remember is that foreign countries do not use the US standard electrical plugs, so you will need an adapter specific to that country in order to plug in and charge your iPhone. The last thing you want is to arrive at your destination and not be able to charge your battery or to short your iPhone’s electronics with foreign voltage outputs.

Another problem you’ll likely encounter once you arrive is dealing with foreign cell networks. If you’re going to be outside a WiFi hotspot in another country, it’s hard to predict what kind of service you can expect or if you can expect any service at all. Since the iPhone is able to operate on foreign networks, you may be tempted to purchase a SIM card in the country you’re visiting. The problem with using a foreign SIM is that you must first jailbreak your iPhone (unlocking it from your US carrier network) for the card to access the foreign network. This isn’t a recommended solution because, while not illegal, jailbreaking your iPhone will likely void any warranties you have with Apple, AT&T or any of the upcoming iPhone carriers.

Whether the risks associated with iPhone travel come from your destination or your phone plan here in the US, the best thing to do is contact your service provider for tips and advice on how to eliminate unnecessary costs and maintain connectivity while you travel. Be sure to check the laws and taxes associated with transporting an iPhone in and out of the country you’re visiting. Limiting your data usage while abroad is the easiest step to avoiding surprises, but with a little careful planning you can eliminate unwanted iPhone surprises.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

iPad Repair- After receiving a whirlwind of feedback from iPad users, Apple is set to roll out a new set of upgrades for its new iOS 4.2. So before the new changes roll out, here’s a look at the new improvements you can expect to see and enjoy.

Multitasking – Have you been frustrated by the iPad’s inability to run third-party apps in the background? Now the iPad will have a multitasking dock where you can run selected apps in the background and pull them up as needed.

AirPrint – Many users were upset they couldn’t print with the iPad. That will be fixed with AirPrint. Now you will be able to wirelessly print from your iPad.

Notes – Now you will be able to choose from three different fonts on the built-in note-taking app. The new fonts are Chalkboard, Marker Felt and Helvetica.

Social Gaming – Apple is now rolling out its Game Center. You’ll be able to earn achievements, invite friends, compare top scores and take on other players with matchmaking.

Folders – Now you can group your applications into folders and organize them.

eMail: Unified Inbox – Tired of all those extra clicks when checking your different email accounts on the iPad? Now you’ll be able to seamlessly switch between accounts, open attachments with a third-party app and sort your messages by thread.

AirPlay – Now you can stream images, video and music from your mobile device to Apple TV and Airport Express, as well as AirPlay compatible third-party devices.

That’s a pretty good start. There are still issues that need to be resolved like Flash support, but overall the iPad is heading in a good direction and is poised to outsell every other gadget this holiday season.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

iPhone Repair- It starts with a simple question: if your iPad could make calls, would you need an iPhone or an iPod? For some the answer is still yes. The smaller sizes make the iPhone and iPod easier to carry and less cumbersome to operate while commuting, working, exercising, etc.

But for others who might already be accustomed to carrying a laptop computer or already have a tablet, the question is an intriguing one.

Of course the specter of such a device causes panic in the mobile industry, where companies like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have been more than happy to charge customers separately for data plans on tablets, smartphones, netbooks, laptops, etc. But since the lines of distinction in the functionality of these devices are becoming more blurred, will it continue to make sense to consumers to own more than one device that essentially does the same thing?

Here’s an example. If you have an iPad that runs Skype, Google Voice or any number of VoIP services today, where is the advantage, other than size, of owning a smartphone at all? If you’re on a budget you’re probably not going to want to pay twice for the same features.

But since we all know size does matter, should devices like the iPhone and iPad be sold together so they can be easily tethered with all your data stored between them? That leaves it in the hands of the tablet and smartphone makers and the wireless companies, who have mostly been thus far reluctant to create such package deals.

But this brings about another interesting question. If companies like Apple and Google someday resist the limitations of wireless provider partnerships and decide to make free VoIP calling a standard feature on their newest devices, will we ever need to have separate data plans from the wireless providers to make calls again? What if your Internet data plan was the only bill you had to pay each month to stay connected?

As the world gets smaller from a communication standpoint, soon it will no longer make sense for anyone to pay extra for things like long-distance calling, minute plans or other traditional and outdated phone company standards.

New gadgets incorporate and simplify technologies and processes of the past. That’s why we buy them in record numbers. It can only make sense that our communications gadgets of the future will do the same. Perhaps what we will eventually have is a tablet with a built in mobile device, a “mini me” version, attached for easier transport.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

iPad Repair – With the release of the new Android tablets flooding the marketplace recently to counter the dominance the iPad has established, many consumers are finding the newest tablet on the block is not living up to the hype.

While many are drawn to the Android tablet’s lower-priced models, the old saying is still true – “You get what you pay for.” This tablet comes not only with a lower price tag, but with a list of shortcomings as well.

The first thing to note is that Android tablets require you to sign cellular contracts in order to get them at the lower prices. What seems like an attractive deal at first, may end up leaving you paying more and getting less. But that still isn’t the biggest complaint slamming message boards around the Net.

The biggest complaint with the Android tablet is the unwieldy resistive touchscreen. Already with the $200 version, you’re dealing with a small 7″ screen, so visually you’re not starting out very well. As for the touchscreen, it forces you to apply pressure in order to register movement. This causes considerable problems when you’re trying to swipe. Swiping and clicking also becomes cumbersome if the unit is not responsive and many commands must be repeated before successful. There are also no home or volume buttons and the processor often freezes when tested.

Another outcry over the Android tablet is its poor compatibility. It simply won’t work with many external hard drives, printers, burners and scanners, and does not support many major software titles. It doesn’t support Bluetooth, Adobe Flash, multitouch, video out or GPS as well.

The Android app marketplace is another area in which this tablet is lacking. Spam and malware is a constant problem in Droid apps and you never know what you’re getting until the damage is already done. This has caused a vast majority of app and game developers to concentrate their efforts on the more lucrative Apple platform, leaving the Android with far less options in apps and gaming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPEIz65S8Ls

So is the Android tablet going to be an iPad killer? The answer is not yet. There are still far too many bugs to be worked out and issues to be resolved before anyone can say that paying a little less for the Android tablet is a good deal.

What do you think? Leave a comment.