Macenstein

Apple stock reaches all-time high on iPhone release

Posted by Helper Monkey Apple’s stock today climbed 6% in heavy trading to hit an all-time high of $127.17 on news that it may be making even more than previously thought on each iPhone sold. Research firm iSuppli estimated Apple may be enjoying as high as a 55% gross margin on the hot-selling 8GB iPhone. Apple’s stock has climbed more than 50% since the iPhone’s announcement at Macworld this January. With iPhone sales estimates this weekend alone coming in... Read More

Yahoo! wants to know how long you want to wait for Yahoo! Messenger for Mac

Posted by Dr. Macenstein Faithful Macenstein reader Phil has alerted us that Sarah Bacon, the product manager for Yahoo!’s IM app Messenger, is asking for users’ opinions on when to release the next Mac version of Messenger. Apparently she thinks that Mac users have had so much fun waiting 6 months for the iPhone that we would like to patiently wait for everything. There is a poll with 2 options presented. 1) Release it sooner without support for OS X 10.3 Panther... Read More

iPhones selling out in Microsoft’s backyard

Posted by iGor Beginning Saturday, a couple Apple Stores began showing up with a “sold out” red circle on Apple’s iPhone locator page. On sunday, even more states had sold out signs. Of particular note (to me at least) was that 2 of the states that at the moment have some of the the highest percentage of sold out Apple Stores are Washington (home of Microsoft) and Texas (Home of Dell). Above: When you connect the dots between the 3 sold out Washington Apple... Read More

The Magic iPhone help number

Posted by Dr. Macenstein If your iPhone is not working yet (join the club), and you want to call AT&T just to feel like you have some control over the situation, odds are if you call the standard iPhone help line (877-800-3701) you will be stuck on hold for about 30-45 minutes before getting a rep that will tell you all you can do is tough it out. Well, if you still want to accomplish the same thing (nothing) in a fraction of the time, call this number instead: 877-777-4189.... Read More

OK, so I got an iPhone… still waiting to use it

Posted by Dr. Macenstein Let me first say that I in NO way fell victim to the iPhone hype-machine. I bought this purely for journalistic reasons. (Anyone buying that?) OK, well the real reason is, I fell, and I fell hard. Plus, I knew none of the other deadbeats here would get one, so if anyone at Macenstein was going to drop $600 on a gadget that combines 2 gadgets we all already own, it had to be the guy with a day job. Above: My iPhone patiently waiting to activate. Not... Read More

Day 2: iPhone still available at every Apple Store. Is this a good or bad sign?

Posted by Dr. Macenstein When Apple opened its online store for iPhone orders last night, they also added an area where you can check the availability of current iPhone stock at your nearest Apple Store. Given all the hype and line waiting surrounding the iPhone, this is a thoughtful gesture on Apple’s part to help iPhone hopefuls avoid making the trip only to walk away empty handed. However, it seems that it might have been unnecessary. Just a day after the launch,... Read More

Online Apple Store estimates iPhone purchases to take up to a month to ship: Suddenly waiting in line for a couple days doesn’t seem quite as stupid

Posted by Dr. Macenstein As cool as the iPhone is, most of us here thought those brave, jobless-yet-presumably-independently-wealthy souls who were able to camp out in front of an Apple store for a week were being a bit overly dramatic. Sure, the iPhone was going to be a hot item initially, and perhaps even sell out this weekend, but we knew that if worse came to worse, those of us with jobs, lives or families would be able to purchase the iPhone online on launch day from Apple,... Read More

AT&T unveils 5x Edge speed increase for iPhone launch

Posted by Dr. Macenstein I was SO not planning to get an iPhone. Really I wasn’t. The rumored plan costs of $100 a month had my mind firmly planted in the “I can live without it” camp. Then Apple announced the iPhone’s plans would start at $60. hmm… OK, well, now I CAN afford the monthly plan… but, really, aside from the coolness of the interface (I tried to reason) the only thing really different about the iPhone to me would be the web browser,... Read More

iPhone plans to start at an actually affordable price of $59.99

Posted by Helper Monkey Apple and AT&T today announced three reasonably affordable service plans for iPhone, the lowest starting at just $59.99 per month. All three plans include unlimited data, Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll-over minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. All iPhone monthly service plans are available for individuals and families and are based on a new two-year service agreement with AT&T. Individual plans are priced at $59.99 for... Read More

So why haven’t we seen the iPhone’s camera?

Posted by Dr. Macenstein Apple has now posted 5 flashy commercials and a whopping 20 minute video “guided tour” on how to use the majority of the iPhone’s features. However, there is one aspect of the über device that has thus far gone undocumented: The camera. With just 4 days left until the launch, we still have no idea how the camera interface looks, acts, or how to use it. For all we know it might even be able to take video, or have some stripped down... Read More