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iPhone 4 Camera White Balance: The Other Issue

Wow! There certainly has been a lot going on in the press about the iPhone 4's phone reception issues. Any time you sell millions of anything you're going to have a percentage of users that have issues with it. Especially if the something you're selling is created under a veil of secrecy that may inhibit testing under a wide variety of conditions. For the record, I can't repeat the "cosmetic" signal strength indicator problem. I've covered the little black strip areas with my fingers and I've held the iPhone 4 as tightly as I can and at the most I saw a brief one bar drop in signal on the display that I couldn't even repeat. However, although I can't repeat what others are saying is happening doesn't mean that there isn't a reception issue! It also doesn't mean that just because I can't make it happen that others aren't having a real problem. I will say that out of all the iPhones I've ever owned (all models up until now), that prior to putting the "Bumper" on my iPhone 4 I dropped more calls on my iPhone 4 than all my other iPhones combined in the same locations that I always call from and calling the same people that I always call! I've also had random disconnects and reconnects using my Jawbone ICON bluetooth headset that I never had with my 3GS. So there is definitely something going on there and it's not just how the bars are displayed on screen. Again, you may not be having a reception issue at all and you may have the best signal strength and call quality that you've ever had, but that doesn't mean that it isn't happening to others. So please don't tell me about how just because it's not happening to you, the problem doesn't exist!

Speaking of problems that not every iPhone 4 is having:

 

Is there a White Balance Issue with the iPhone 4's Camera?

On my iPhone 4 there definitely is a problem and I'm not alone. If I use the camera outside, the pictures are great! No complaints. However, depending on the lighting situation inside my pictures will have an extreme yellow tint to them.  As a photographer and video enthusiast one of the main reasons I upgraded to the iPhone 4 was to get the better camera AND HD video recording. Since the problem is in the way the rear camera interprets the light it also affects any video shot too. Once again, this isn't happening to everyone. My buddy Jack Beckman has NOT been able to reproduce this with his iPhone 4. Even on mine it doesn't happen in all cases. For example, I took a shot in my dining room the night I got my iPhone 4 and it was pretty much unusable as everything and everyone was YELLOW. However, the next day when more sunlight was coming in the window, the pictures came out great. Using the camera flash doesn't seem to matter much. I took this shot in complete darkness and for the most part, except for the Sony label on the tripod the white balance is fine. 

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Why Do You Wait In A Line For Gadgets?

Anyone that knows me, knows how much I detest waiting in long lines. I absolutely refuse to wait for hours in lines for gadget purchases. That's not to say that I haven't stood in a line to purchase something, but I certainly avoid it at all costs. With all the iDevice craziness out there and the fact that in most cases you can pre-order the gadget and have it sent directly to your home, I really don't get why anyone would wait in a line (especially overnight)? Also in many cases, if you're willing to wait a few hours, few days or a couple of weeks you can just walk right in and up to the counter and buy one. This coupled with the lack of acceptance of cash for many of these iDevice purchases really leaves me scratching my head. 

 

This video really puts it in context: Happy Friday Everyone – have a great weekend!

 

You can grab this entire episode (Attack of the Killer App) here: Attack Hilarious!

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Will you pay for content that was once FREE?

Hulu just announced their long anticipated subscription service, Hulu+. Let's just say, it's not going over very well. First off what is Hulu+? The popular internet video streaming site Hulu, which up until now has provided TV streaming over the internet and ad supported has announced a $9.99/month subscription service. For $9.99/month you get:

More Content – back episode of your favorite shows (in some cases entire past and current seasons)

More Devices – there's an App for the iDevices and there is support for internet enabled devices such as blu-ray players, various Samsung TV's and promised support for the Sony PS3, Xbox, Sony TVs/Blu-ray players and Vizio TVs/Blu-ray players.

 

Sounds good, but is it worth $9.99 a month?

In a word – NO! I could never see paying for this. I'm into TV, but as long as I have a Slingbox and can watch the shows I've already recorded on the go streaming from my own house over the internet at no additional cost, why would I pay a subscription fee to see "some" shows? Apparently I'm not alone. The Hulu+ App for iPhone/iPad is getting hammered in the reviews on the App Store for this very reason. Not only is Hulu wanting to charge for what you can already see streaming in Flash on their site, but they are going to still have Ads too!

Don't get me wrong. I have no problem paying for content and great technology. However, I can't see paying an additional $9.99 on top of everything else I pay for unless it was going to be a complete replacement or it offered something better like NO ADS!

 

So my question to you is will you pay for content that was once FREE?

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My FaceTime Chat with Seal

 

I finally got around to giving the iPhone 4's FaceTime video chatting feature a real world test yesterday with none other than music recording legend Seal. While I would have loved to have shared this call with you as a recorded video, I respect Seal's privacy wishes not to show his home here/on the internet. So I'll have to do one later with him when he's on the road. We were both quite impressed with the quality and ease of doing this type of hand held video chat. 

The picture quality was great and the audio was crystal clear. As a matter of fact FaceTime is currently working better than the Phone part of the iPhone 4. Sadly, I've dropped more calls on my iPhone 4 in the past two days than I have with all previous generation iPhones that I've owned combined! Granted the Bumper does help, but there are some real issues that Apple needs to work out here. All in all it was a fun chat that lasted just over an hour. 

 

FaceTime doesn't use your cellular minutes

One nice surprise is that while you can initiate a FaceTime chat with someone you're talking with on the phone (provided you are both using iPhone 4's and both on WiFi), the minute that FaceTime Chat is in session you are no longer using your cellular minutes. You can also initiate a FaceTime chat directly with a contact in your Contacts list. Again without using any cellular minutes. So this is going to be AWESOME for my international travels. FaceTime is a winner.

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AT&T Finally Brings Tethering to the iPhone: What you should know…

One of my main AT&T/iPhone complaints has finally been addressed. Ever since the iPhone 3G (and for some, the original iPhone) came out two years ago, I wondered why AT&T was so adamant about NOT allowing you to tether (use your iPhone as a modem/WiFi hotspot) your iPhone to your laptop and share its 3G data connection. After all they allow this with every other smart phone they sell and they even sell 3G data cards. Also no one ever expected this to be FREE. So I never really got why this was such a big deal? Granted AT&T couldn't do it alone and it would require built-in support by Apple in the iPhone OS (iOS). However, that support came in iPhone OS 3 LAST YEAR. So what took AT&T a YEAR to allow it on the iPhone for us in the US? They claim that they still needed to tweak their network to allow the influx of additional data traffic. While this may be true, the thing is since it's not FREE, not everyone is going to do it. Also it's not something you're going to be using all the time or would you?

 

Data Plan caps may have been the real issue

I don't doubt that AT&T needed to (and still needs to) work on "the world's fastest 3G network" to get it ready for even the slightest increase in traffic, but I suspect that an even larger issue was not wanting you to be able to pay a flat fee and have unlimited use. Even when you go with a $60/month 3G data card from AT&T there is a 5GB/month cap on it. Up until now all iPhone plans have been "UNLIMITED" data. So while the amount of 3G data that iPhone users currently consume must be HUGE, I'm sure giving users unlimited tethering would have brought this fragile network to its knees.

 

Do you want unlimited iPhone 3G data or do you want tethering?

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Tech Profile of Stephanie Sullivan Rewis

Stephanie (Sullivan) Rewis

(The perils of getting married when you're already known by another name. :P)

Principal
 

Company

W3Conversions
 

Phoenix, Arizona
 

Your blog/website:

http://www.w3conversions.com
Sadly, I've not blogged in about a year due to too much twittering, but I've started to post thoughts that are over 140 characters on Tumblr: http://stefsullrewis.tumblr.com/
 

Favorite Gadget

Honestly, though it's not really a little gadget, it's my 17" MacBook Pro. I'm at the computer so much, I really don't find much need for things like iPads/tablets. I'd have to take my computer off my lap to use them.

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I Have One Number Now Thanks To Google Voice

Late last year one of my colleagues was telling me about Google Voice (in private beta then) and I had him send me an invite so I could check it out. I signed up, got a Google Voice Phone Number and played with it, but I never really used it. However, recently I decided to go ahead and use it. As I began traveling more abroad this year and being in so many different time zones it became pretty much impossible for all my friends, family and colleagues to know which number to try to reach me on and worse, which time of day to call. As you might imagine I got some middle of the night (my time) phone calls from people that just didn't know what time it was where I was. Of course I could have turned off my cellphone, but I just never felt comfortable doing that in case there was an emergency back home. So I really got going on Google Voice. Recently I sent out an email to all the people that call me regularly and gave them the ONE new number to reach me on no matter what. This way I could control which number(s) the Google Voice number would ring (Work, personal cell, work cell, VoIP, Hotel Front Desk, etc.) and setup different rules and greetings by individual or group. I could also use the "Do Not Disturb" feature for those times when I would be asleep. This way everyone except immediate family members (that still knew my direct phone number) would be sent to voicemail during those times when I couldn't answer. Also if I don't have you in my contacts you're greeted with a request to say your name. This cuts telemarking calls way down.

 

Simultaneous Ring and other coolness

One of the features I like most is the fact that you can have the one Google Voice number forwarded to multiple numbers simultaneously. So for example, when I'm at home I have it forwarded to my office line (Vonage) and my cellphone. That way when the phone rings I can pick up whichever phone is closest. Voicemail is killer! Not only can you record multiple greetings that stay in the system and assign them to individual contacts or groups, but you can have the voicemail messages received forwarded to your email. You can also play them back on the web and you can have them transcribed as text automatically. SMS Texting/Forwarding: You can also do SMS via your phone or via the website. Once you log into Google Voice you can either import your contacts or sync them. You can select a contact and start doing SMS texting right there on the website (both sending and receiving). 

Continue reading “I Have One Number Now Thanks To Google Voice”