Year: 2012

Should the iPad Be More User-Servicable?

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Allyson Kazmucha at iMore has written an article so ridiculous that I can’t pick out just one part to argue with. So, here goes.

When it was suspected that the new iPad would be a bit thicker than its predecessor, I was secretly hoping that Apple would be going back to using clips to hold in the screen like the original iPad instead of adhesive. Alas, that was not the case and Apple decided to stick with the same horrid adhesive they used on the iPad 2.

Now this would be fine if there were a way to gain access to the device from the rear. But there isn’t. The only way to access internals on an iPad 2 or new iPad is to physically melt the adhesive around the edges of the screen. Yes, I said melt. This makes it a nightmare for anyone who wants to DIY repair anything other than a broken screen. Actually, replacing a newer iPad screen is a terrible experience in itself and way beyond what most would be willing to take on.

This type of construction isn’t specific to the iPad. Apple has always favored thinness and neatness over ease-of-repair. Ask anyone who has worked on Mac hardware for a living.

I’ve gotten several emails from readers asking for directions on how to repair their iPads, the same way I’ve shown how to repair iPhones. I’ve been hesitant to even offer advice as the process is so tedious and way beyond what even a skilled user should attempt on their own. The screen is damn near impossible to get off without breaking it. This is why I dread the day when the iPad 2 starts coming out of warranty all at once and I start getting calls for battery replacements, bad home buttons, and anything other than a cracked screen.

Ah, there it is. Kazmucha repairs iOS devices for people. This is something that Apple neither approves of or cares about when designing their products.

First you’ll have to take a heat gun to the edges of the screen and get the adhesive running around the edges soft enough to be able to fit a putty knife underneath an edge.

So, she’s hesitant to give advice about repairing iPads, but she’s going to anyways. Cool. I love seeing photos of broken glass.

Speaking of…

The worst part of all this is the tiny shards of glass that you’ll more than likely end up picking out of the frame. I’ve had more than one client attempt a screen replacement on their own. Only one has succeeded and more importantly, another actually hurt themselves pretty badly when a piece of glass broke off in his hand.

Glass can hurt people? HOLY. SHIT. You know, when the stove is hot…

Never mind.

I understand Apple wants to keep these as sealed appliances, as magical boxes that, if they break, you simply bring them back to Apple and either swap them for, or pay for, a replacement.

She’s right about the first part. Apple does want iOS devices (and the Mac, it would seem) to be magical appliances.

In fact, there’s nothing new about this at all. This has been Apple’s philosophy since the original Macintosh 28 years ago.

The sad part is most of the phones that go into Apple and get swapped for new ones probably could have been fixed and given back to the customer in less than 30 minutes time. To my knowledge the only thing Apple employees are even trained to replace is the back cover, rear-facing camera, and vibrator assembly on the GSM iPhone 4 and the front assembly of an iPhone 3GS. Anything else just gets swapped and that’s a shame. It’s prioritizing packaging over everything else. It’s too much.

Or, Apple is more concerned with making a nice product and keeping customers happy. If everyone’s phone had to be repaired, Genius Bars would be a lot more busy. A swap ensures fast customer service, so users can be on their way. Being without your phone for 2 days while the Genius Bar dicks around with the insides is shitty customer service.

But what do I know … I just worked behind the Genius Bar for two years. Granted, I don’t have a fancy iOS device repair center.

Apple’s recent design practices are making it economically unrealistic for businesses like myself to even bother with devices such as the iPad 2 or new iPad. The process is time consuming and has a very high margin for error.

Why not find work within the Apple ecosystem that the company supports and encourages?

I fear what the next iteration of iPhone is going to bring with it and surely hope that Apple seriously evaluates their current design process and changes some things.

Not only because it would hurt me but because it hurts my clients. Some of them just don’t have the money to walk into an Apple store and drop another $200 or more on a brand new replacement device. But they can afford to buy a part and swap it themselves or pay me a more reasonable amount to fix a shattered screen, broken home button, or replace a battery. They walk out happy and the odds of them purchasing another Apple device is more likely. They have the security that if an accident does happen, they have a safety net — either their own repair skills or businesses like my own.

Remember, these people who can’t drop another $200 already dropped at least twice that on the iPad itself.

Again, this seems to be about Kazmucha’s business, nothing more.

Sure consumers can buy services like AppleCare+ to avoid unfortunate accidents and save themselves some money but that only lasts for 2 years and after that customers are left with no options but to buy new devices, which they can’t always afford.

If someone can’t afford a new device, maybe they can do without it. Owning an iPad isn’t a right, as far as I know.

Apple, please consider how these practices impact your consumers, other businesses, and the environment. You’re selling millions and millions of iPads yet you continue to make them almost unserviceable even by your own stores. Creating a product made mainly of glass that’s next to unrepairable is not responsible, it’s form over function. You now set the standard in mobile. It’s time for you to re-evaluate those standards and prioritize not only beautiful looking, excellent working devices, but easy to repair and maintainable ones as well.

I really don’t think Apple gives a shit. And that’s fine with me. The company has an excellent track record when it comes to the environment, suppliers and more. I don’t think making life easier for people trying to cash in on the back end is worth Apple’s time or energy. It doesn’t want people repairing its products, or making money doing so for others. That’s that.

Resolutionary? A review of the third-generation iPad

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In two short years, the iPad has defined an entire category of products, and redefined the personal computer industry. There is no way to overstate the importance of what Apple has done with its tablet. I can’t think of another product — including the iPod and iPhone — that has made such an impact in such a short period of time.

This new iPad comes at a moment when Apple is ruling the market, in a way that is almost hard to believe. Apple is on top of the world. It’s the most profitable company on the planet, and has made it there on the back of products like the iPad.

So now, with every other company in the world seeing its tail lights, and every other tech company struggling to stay relevant, Apple has released the third revision of the iPad.

But does it live up to the hype?

iOS 5.1

The new iPad ships with iOS 5.1. It’s important to remember that even the first iPad, released two years ago, can run the latest iOS update. The iPhone and iPod touch also run the new version.

As Apple continues to release new products and drop support for older ones, iOS becomes more fragmented.

Ah, there it is. The F word that plagues Android and its users. Unlike Android, however, the fragmentation found in iOS revolves around features, not version numbers or UI changes.

For example, the new iPad has voice dictation, but no Siri. While some might complain about this, I have no issues with Apple’s choice here. I think the company sees Siri as an iPhone feature, not an iOS feature. I haven’t missed it in my time with the new iPad.

Dictation is great on the iPad. In a few short days, I’ve already fallen in love with it. Like on the iPhone, Apple has added has microphone to the keyboard to the left of the space bar. Simply tap it and talk. iOS takes care of the rest.

…as long as you have a data connection.

To make it clear when the service is unavailable, iOS hides the microphone button when a data connection is not available. Apple’s made it where anyone can understand what’s going on. There’s nothing confusing about it, in my opinion.

Besides the voice features, iOS on this new iPad is the same iOS everyone knows.

That Screen

This release is all about the hardware.

The iPad is basically a screen, a battery and network connectivity. With this release, Apple improved all three.

If you haven’t seen the new iPad in person, it’s worth a drive to the Apple Store to see the screen. Seriously, it’s hard to describe it, and hard to shoot photos that truly give it justice. Content, apps and more look so rich, it’s hard to believe the screen is on a device that costs as little as $500. It’s bright and crisp. Viewing angles are as good as they were on the previous model, but colors are even more vivid and accurate. The pixels appear closer to the glass than the old iPad, but not as close as they do on the iPhone.

The thing is simply stunning.

Like with the iPhone 4, there will be a period of awkwardness while developers scramble to get their apps updated to support the new resolution. Until then, a lot of apps, including some magazines, look fuzzy.

It’s hard to understand just how big the screen is, so I’ve posted full-sized screenshot, weighing in at 4.2 MB.

Likewise, there are some websites that I frequent that have slightly-blurry graphics when zoomed in. Here on 512 Pixels, I’ve been updating the main graphics to look better on these sharp displays, and it’s really paid off, especially after launching the responsive version of the site.

One downside of the new screen is that apps take up a lot more space than they used to. For the first time, I’m bumping up to the 16 GB limit on the low-end iPad. I may end up wishing I had gone up to the 32 GB model.

I think the new iPad is going to push content providers to hosting and providing higher resolution versions of just about everything. When using apps like Tweetbot and Reeder that open iPhone-targeted images from websites and services, they can be comically small. I think things will improve on this front soon, though.

Data & Power

Battery-wise, this new iPad is on par with the iPad 2, which was on par with the original version.

This year, I purchased the same model I always have: the 16 GB Wi-Fi model in black. However, I have spent time with the 4G model and am impressed with just how fast the data is. While I don’t regret (yet) my choice, I think that the 4G models will do much better than the previous 3G models.

It’s important to note that the battery life on 4G is one hour less than when on Wi-Fi.

According to iFixit, the new iPad boasts a 42.5 watt-hour battery, up from the 25 watt-hour unit found in the iPad 2.

On my Wi-Fi model, I’m still getting “just” ten hours or so, not 13 or 14 as one might expect, thinking that the new iPad’s bigger battery is all about the LTE chipsets. Clearly, the big power draw in this model is the screen and GPU, which gives me hope to see a 4G/LTE iPhone this fall.

Speaking of the battery, some have made a big deal about the fact that this iPad is not only slightly thicker, but slightly heavier than the iPad 2. While I can say I’ve noticed it, it’s not a big deal at all, especially when compared to the debut model two years ago. It’s also the first iPad I’ve had that has ever gotten warm during use.

I do hope that Apple improves the speaker on the iPad in the future. (I wouldn’t mind it on the iPhone, either, honestly.) While plenty loud, I would love to see a product so perfect for video watching sound clearer. And — heaven forbid — have true stereo sound.

The Cameras

In addition to what I consider the “core” components, the new iPad also got an upgraded camera system.

The rear camera boasts the same optics package as the iPhone 4S, but clocks in at 5 MP, lower than the 8 MP found on the phone. I’ve posted some full-sized examples:

As you can see, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, but overall does a decent job. It feels like the iPhone 3GS camera, in many ways. It performs much better outside in daylight, and offers fairly decent depth of focus.

The lock screen on the iPad doesn’t include a shortcut to the camera. It does, however, keep the shortcut for the slideshow feature. While the option would be nice, I don’t think many users will miss a shot because they can’t access the camera form the lock screen.

On the video end of things, the new iPad does a spectacular job. The built-in, always-on image stabilization does a great job at evening out the image, but not in a way that seems unnatural. Here’s a brief sample, in full 1080p. I shot this video in my front yard, barefoot, across damp ground. The iPad kept everything nice and smooth, despite my uneven hand.

While I won’t be shooting with my iPad very often, it’s nice to know I could if I needed to. You still feel like a goofus doing it, though. I felt embarrassed in my own backyard taking photos with it.

Wrap-Up

The new iPad is like the iPad 2, just better. Some things that bothered users about the previous model are resolved here, but others remain.

The screen is the big story here, and for good reason. It really is something to behold. It’s hard to understand how it’s possible to have such a sharp display.

Like the models before it, though, the new iPad is much more than the sum of its parts. While the parts have all gotten better this time around, the ecosystem of apps, content and accessories is what makes Apple’s iOS devices so attractive and so powerful.

So, does the iPad live up to the “revolutionary” hype? While I think I’ve made it clear this is an evolutionary update, it’s a very, very good one. It’s not a revolution, but it’s worth the cash, even if you have an iPad 2.

Photo via iFixit

Apple to Hold Press Call Tomorrow

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The Apple PR Machine:

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.

So, did Apple buy someone, or are they about to pay dividends on the stock?

Old Mac of the Month: the Intel iMac

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This month’s entry is by Devir Kahn. He writes a site named “The Geek Companion”, hails from New York State and enjoys long walks on the beach.

“You should really buy some Apple stock,” he said.

He was my friend’s oldest brother. Dark hair and rather tall. “It’s only about 60 bucks and that number is only going up.” He was talking to my friend’s other brother whom, at the time, was trying to convince me how much better the Mac was than the PC. They were both rather obsessed with computers, but I wasn’t buying it.

“Really? Name me one thing a Mac can do that a PC can’t?” I replied, as I always would. My father and mother both had PCs and were happy with them — in fact, I was using my father’s argument against Macs. Every office I had ever been to all ran on PCs. And the thing is, he was never able to name me anything — and this time was no different.

That was six years ago.

He never did buy the stock. But since then, I’ve owned three Macs.

One day, I was over at my friends house and we were, once again, talking about the Mac. His brother was the only one in the house with one and had spent over a year saving for it. It was a bottom-of-the-line G4 iMac. It was the strangest and most intriguing looking computer I had ever seen. Today, my friend was somehow able to convince him to let us play around with it. He sat down at the computer, and then decided to simply let me just use it for a few minutes instead. I sat down at the desk as he got up. I moved the mouse from the left side of the keyboard to the right as their whole family were lefties.

“Isn’t it great how Apple makes everything so symmetrical?” my friend commented. “The mouse is no different if you’re a righty or a lefty.”

“I guess so.” I replied. I wasn’t a lefty so I didn’t really care. But the mouse was pretty slick. It was far prettier than the Dell mouse I had at home.

I started playing around with the Mac. It was so different. But it was incredible. It was fast, and elegant. Everything just looked so fantastic. He opened up some image editing program for me to toy around with. It was unbelievable. And then there was iMovie. And Photo Booth. And this sweet application he had installed that, as you inserted a CD into the slot on the side of the computer, made it look as if it was actually sliding into your desktop, behind your wallpaper.

Then he pointed out that the entire computer was the screen. There was no tower. It explained the strange looking “chin”, I thought at first. I had never realized that before.

I was so sold. I was going to get a Mac.

I spent the next week convincing my parents how important it was for me to get a Mac. They didn’t buy it, but my father did offer me the opportunity to work for him that summer to help pay for one. I already had $500 in savings. I needed exactly $500 more. That summer couldn’t come soon enough.

But eventually, it did come. And I went to work with my father every single day. And I made that $500. Then one day I took a quick peak at the Apple website to drool over the computer I was saving for, and it was no longer there. Instead, there was a new aluminum iMac. The problem was that it was more expensive by almost $200. $200 that I didn’t have.

I told my father and we both deiced to go to the Apple store that day and see if we could still purchase the older, white one. Somehow, the store manager let us as they were still on display. A man in line tried to tell me how I should get the new one instead — how they came with the new iLife. But I didn’t care. I didn’t care what Mac I got. The important thing was that I was getting one.

It turned out that the one I did get was a bottom-of-the-line Intel iMac. It was the same design as my friend’s, only that it was Intel as opposed to PowerPC. It ran Tiger.

I loved it. It was the greatest thing ever. I must’ve played with Photo Booth for a week straight.

But more importantly was that I was now a part of the Mac community. I read all the blogs and all the rumors. Anyone else that had a Mac was an immediate friend of mine. The only two kids in my whole school with Macs were both in my class. I remember the first Apple keynote that I was “in the loop” for. It was the iPhone one. Wow.

The thing was, I never really wanted a Mac. I was the PCs’ biggest advocate. That is, until I actually used a Mac. When I did, I realized that it wasn’t about what the Mac could do that the PC couldn’t — there really wasn’t much. It was about something much bigger. Something far grander. The Mac was such a better computer that my old PC that it couldn’t possibly be summed up in one sentence.

A year or two ago I replaced that old Intel iMac with a mid-range 27" iMac. My old iMac was too slow to keep up with all I wanted to do with it, but it currently sits in our den, and is the best family computer we’ve ever had. And that 27 incher is the best computer I’ve ever owned. And now I’m waiting on Mountain Lion.

It’s incredible to see how far I’ve come. How far we have come.

How far Apple has come.

He should’ve bought that stock…

The New Verizon Store

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I went by a local Verizon store this afternoon to meet with a manager to talk about the new iPad.

We couldn’t look at the demo machines because they were being played with by a group of kids. On the other side of the store, a Verizon employee using a MacBook kept pumping out good tunes. There was an excitement in the air not normally felt in retail.

Why?

Those new iPads on display.

This morning, Memphis had heavy rain and wind, but the store still sold out, the manager said. “We still had a line.”

After chatting a bit, the kids left, complaining about having to leave Angry Birds behind. The manager and I settled in in front of an LTE iPad.

Holy.

Crap.

The screen is amazing, but more on that in my review. The second thing I was impressed by was just how fast the LTE is.

Unlike some carriers, Verizon’s 4G is actual LTE, not a super-fast version of the existing “3G” CDMA network the carrier has been using for years. (The network the iPhone 4S uses on Verizon.) It was hard to believe I wasn’t using Wi-Fi. Webpages loaded instantly — even heavy ones like the CNN homepage.

“It’s great to use as a hotspot,” my friend in the red polo shirt said.

Turns out that those other carriers aren’t offering the ability yet, and Verizon is bundling it with the iPad data packages. Unlike the iPhone, there isn’t an additional fee to use “your data” on any of your devices. Coupled with the fact that the Verizon iPad is world-ready, I’m not sure why anyone would buy the AT&T model.

At this point, I started to get sad about ordering the Wi-Fi version of the new iPad.

As it turns out, Verizon can even help with that. “We have a trade-in program,” the manager said. For a limited time, the store will accept older iPads for store credit that can be used toward a new device or even a monthly bill.

As we decided to let the customers get to the iPad, we wandered around the store for a moment, and talked about the iPad’s competition.

“Android is all about options,” he said. I can’t disagree. In this store alone, there were Android phones with keyboards, and those without. There were skinned devices next to the Galaxy Nexus. The only thing most of them had in common was that LTE logo on the placard.

“It’s the future, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yes, it is.”

“Do you think the future is bright for these devices?” I asked, waving toward the half dozen Android tablets on display.

“Yes, I do. People love options. Just because the iPad is the big player doesn’t mean there’s not room for these guys.”

There weren’t any kids playing with the assorted Android tablets, though.

Nor where there any customers looking at RIM or Microsoft devices. It’s clear to me that both companies have missed the boat on this generation of devices. After all, a Verizon store 4 years ago would have been packed to the gills with Blackberrys.

But not this new Verizon store. It’s Apple’s territory now, and that’s not a bad thing for either company.

Dropping the Beats: A Review of the HTC Rezound

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This is not a review of the Galaxy Nexus, Droid RAZR or other super-new Android phone.

Released late last year, the HTC Rezound for Verizon is getting old in the fast-paced Android world. That doesn’t mean it’s forgettable, though. Still on sale at stores across the country, the phone is still considered top-tier for most users.

The Rezound runs Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” with HTC’s Sense skin on top of it. The phone is slated to get Ice Cream Sandwich this year. Sense is a heavy-handed Android UI — HTC’s widgets are comically huge, and there are lots of unnecessary animations, for example. That said, HTC’s done a great job at unifying the OS under one consistent look and feel. It may feel comical in places, but at least it’s more polished than the Gingerbread running beneath it.

Android is still Android, though, no matter what the skin. A lack of quality apps, good media sources and a consistent user experience still get under my skin. The four touch buttons are confusing and inconsistent, just as I remembered them being.

However, the general, non-nerd public is eating these phones up, so ignoring Android isn’t something Apple nerds should do forever.

The Rezound runs on Big Red’s 4G network. Here in Memphis, I saw impressive speeds. In fact, it was hard to tell when I was on Wi-Fi and when I wasn’t

The big story with this phone is the inclusion of Beats Audio, though.

The phone comes coupled with the company’s famous red-corded earbuds. While not as iconic as the white buds Apple ships, I do noticed the red in public from time to time.

The Beats Audio logo is all over the phone. It’s on the grippy rubber back, on the default wallpaper and even in the artwork that shows as the phone boots up.

So, is it any good?

In my brief time with it, I was impressed with the Beats Audio system when listening to hip-hop and rap. There’s a lot of bass and low-end with the built-in earbuds. The low-end is clear and sharp. Camp by Childish Gambino hasn’t ever sounded so sharp to me, for example. Same goes for Watch the Throne.

On the other end of the spectrum, albums like Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons seem muddy on the low end of things. Regular old rock albums sound good, but bass-heavy.

In short, I’m impressed with the Beats Audio, when the situation is right.

It is important to note that the Beats Software (and whatever EQ secret sauce its using) is enabled only while:

  • Using the included Beats earbuds or other Beats headphones
  • And using the built-in music app. Rdio, etc. don’t get the fancy boosting.

On the hardware side of things, the earbuds are comfortable, on par with the premium buds Apple sells.

The phone itself sports a 4.3 inch 720p display. It’s sharp, with nice colors. Going from an iPhone to it makes the Rezound’s screen feel big, but it isn’t unwieldy.

The camera is decent. Inside shots look okay as long as there is enough light, but outside, it really shines. The 1080p video looks on par with what my iPhone 4S shoots.

The Rezound sports 4 touch buttons, that light up red in low light. The red theme is obviously taken from the earbuds, and shows up on the speaker grill and accent pieces on the back cover, as well.

With Sense using a bright green to highlight text, show buttons and more, it’s a bit jarring. I almost wish more of the UI was red, too.

The volume rocker is my biggest complaint about the hardware. It’s quite skinny — a sliver, really — and is hard to hit on the first try, at least without some practice.

All in all, the Rezound is pretty nice Android phone. I’m glad to see it getting ICS this year, and I think the hardware is just about right.

The Beats Audio is nice, too. I’m not sure it’s worth the extra coin, but I can say that it beefs up the audio in a way most users will appreciate. That said, audio pros will realize the effect created can be done with an EQ, for the most part.

If I were in the market for an Android phone, this would be on the list. High on the list, in fact.

Running a NeXTCube

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Rick Fillion:

I’ve wanted a NeXTCube since I first learned what they were, which was well after they stopped being made, and some time after Apple bought NeXT. Last summer, I finally got one as Dan Messing decided he didn’t want to lug his out to Portland in his move. It was a physical machine, but not much more than that. It couldn’t boot. It couldn’t even power on. But hey… it had that awesome little logo on every component, and that was a hell of a start.

I won’t spoil it, but Rick’s Cube is doing a lot more than looking pretty now. I’m so jealous it hurts.

via The Loop