Macenstein

10 things we learned from today’s iPhone event

Well, today’s iPhone event has come and gone, and I think we all learned a couple very important things. 1 – We learned Apple loves its users. 2 – We learned that “all” smart phones have signal reception issues depending on how you hold them. In fact, Apple made a point of showing us all a comparison of various phones dropping reception bars as you hold them. But one thing that was conspicuously absent was a comparison between the iPhone 3G S and... Read More

“The iPhone 4 Antenna Song” focuses a spotlight on the problem of Apple fanboyism

The infamous Song-a-Day troubadour Jonathan Mann has penned a wonderfully catchy song about the latest iPhone antenna debate, and while I can’t say I agree with him, I must admit I AM humming this tune while I write this. Yes it’s funny. Yes, it’s catchy. And yes, Mann IS a fanboy. In fact, he’s the very definition of a fanboy. Mann admits he can cause the signal to drop by holding the iPhone in the “death grip” (and by the way, the way he... Read More

Yeah, what HE said

Oh boy, things are really heating up for tomorrow’s big iPhone 4 “event”! Apparently too cheap to buy a stamp and mail it, New York Senator Chuck Schumer today released an open letter to Steve Jobs (below) about his concern over the iPhone 4 and the discrepancies between what Apple is claiming is to blame for the reception issues, and what the rest of the world is claiming. Read More  Read More

Oh, this is going to be GOOD!

Apparently our invite got lost in the mail, so we had to make our best guess. In keeping with Apple’s new pattern of publicly discussing iPhone 4 issues on Fridays, TUAW reports that Apple has announced an impromptu damage control session press conference for this Friday. Apple is inviting select media representatives to a special press conference that will be held on Friday, July 16. The company provided no information about the conference other than to say it would focus... Read More

Wow! You can’t BUY this kind of publicity!

And unfortunately for Apple, you also can’t pay to have it removed, either. As amazing as Duct Tape is, I know one thing it CAN’T fix, and that’s the iPhone’s reputation, assuming Apple doesn’t man up and get that recall going soon.  Read More

There are approximately 10 days left to return your iPhone 4

It seems that every time I bring up the iPhone 4 antenna reception problems I and everyone I know is experiencing, and cite supporting evidence from other sites such as Ars, Gizmodo, Engdaget, etc, I get inundated with comments like “Forget about all those “blogs”, Consumer Reports says they found no signal issue, and they’re Consumer F’ng Reports, not some tech blog”. Well, while I won’t go into defending the fine nerds at those blogs... Read More

iPhone vs. The Bermuda Triangle

Faithful Macenstein reader Kevin writes: The compass inside my iPhone 3GS began to go haywire as I stepped into foot-deep water in the Bermuda Triangle today. This is some real X-Files s–t going on here, man! Now, to be fair I’ve had my iPhone’s compass tell me this while standing in my driveway in NJ, but then again, some freaky stuff goes down in Jersey too.  Read More

EXCLUSIVE: Video of the Apple Store Grand Opening, Shanghai, China

Faithful Macenstein reader (and now our official Senior Chinese Correspondent) Min has assembled a video of the Apple Store grand opening in Shanghai, China. You know, watching this video, I almost feel like I was there… mainly because I’ve been to about 5 Apple Store grand openings already, and they are all the same. Still, the Shanghai store is pretty impressive, so it’s nice to get a video walk through. Nice work, Min. Apple Store Grand Opening, Shanghai,... Read More

Exclusive pics of the Shanghai China Apple store grand opening

Above: The first guy in line. True to his word, faithful Macenstein reader Min has returned with pics of the Shanghai China Apple store grand opening, as well as his take on the festivities. Enjoy! Hey Doc, I got there at 7am. There were already hundreds of people waiting in line. By the time at 11:30am, there were thousands of people in the queue! And lots of reporters on the site. It’s pretty hot day, store workers were giving out free water to the waiting customers.... Read More

Review: Magellan RoadMate App and The Magellan Premium Car Kit for iPhone

One of the great selling points of the iPhone is its ability to take the place of many of the individual electronic gadgets that rule our lives, and consolidate them into one all-powerful gadget that we cannot live without. In addition to a phone, MP3 player, and digital still/video camera, starting with the iPhone 3G, the iPhone can also serve as a standalone car GPS replacement. There are now a fairly large assortment of GPS apps available for the iPhone, and surprisingly... Read More