Well, this wins for “Awesome Reddit Link of the Day” in my book.
A Kindle At Every Price
In preparing for tomorrow’s podcast, I decided to type up a list of Amazon’s pricing for the Kindles. Here’s the complete list:
- $69 – Kindle with Special Offers
- $89 – Kindle without Special Offers
- $119 – Kindle Paperwhite with Special Offers
- $139 – Kindle Paperwhite without Special Offers
- $139 – Kindle with Keyboard 3G with Special Offers
- $159 – Kindle with Keyboard 3G without Special Offers
- $159 – 7” Kindle Fire, 8 GB with Special Offers
- $174 – 7” Kindle Fire, 8 GB without Special Offers
- $179 – Kindle Paperwhite 3G with Special Offers
- $199 – Kindle Paperwhite 3G without Special Offers
- $199 – 7” Kindle Fire HD, 16 GB with Special Offers
- $214 – 7” Kindle Fire HD, 16 GB without Special Offers
- $249 – 7” Kindle Fire HD, 32 GB with Special Offers
- $264 – 7” Kindle Fire HD, 32 GB without Special Offers
- $299 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD, 16 GB with Special Offers
- $314 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD, 16 GB without Special Offers
- $369 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD, 32 GB with Special Offers
- $383 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD, 32 GB without Special Offers
- $499 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD 4G, 32 GB with Special Offers
- $514 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD 4G, 32 GB without Special Offers
- $599 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD 4G, 64 GB with Special Offers
- $614 – 8.9” Kindle Fire HD 4G, 64 GB without Special Offers
At almost any price point you can imagine between $70 and $700, there’s a Kindle. While that’s obviously Amazon’s goal, it makes for an extremely confusing product matrix.
Unlike this:
Ok, so maybe comparing Amazon’s price list for the Kindle family to Apple’s old quadrant of products was a little unfair. Here’s what iOS devices are for sale at the moment:
- $0 – iPhone 3GS, 8 GB (on contract)
- $99 – iPhone 4, 8 GB (on contract)
- $199 – iPod touch, 8 GB
- $199 – iPhone 4S, 16 GB (on contract)
- $299 – iPod touch, 32 GB
- $299 – iPhone 4S, 32 GB (on contract)
- $375 – iPhone 3GS, 8 GB (unlocked)
- $399 – iPod touch, 64 GB
- $399 – iPhone 4S, 64 GB (on contract)
- $399 – iPad 2, 16 GB
- $499 – iPad 3, 16 GB
- $529 – iPad 2 3G, 16 GB
- $549 – iPhone 4, 8 GB (unlocked)
- $599 – iPad 3, 32 GB
- $629 – iPad 3 4G, 16 GB
- $649 – iPhone 4S, 16 GB (unlocked)
- $699 – iPad 3, 64 GB
- $729 – iPad 3 4G, 32 GB
- $749 – iPhone 4S, 32 GB (unlocked)
- $829 – iPad 3 4G, 64 GB
- $849 – iPhone 4S, 64 GB (unlocked)
Yes, Apple does offer each of the above items in black and white, making the total number of SKUs higher than Amazon’s, but the former has more price points than the latter, which is what my original comparisons was all about.
Anonymous Takes Down GoDaddy ⇢
GoDaddy went down faster than an elephant poached in the wee hours of the morning.
T-Mobile Steps Up ‘Bring Your Own iPhone’ Program ⇢
Suzanne Lowry, vice president of marketing at T-Mobile:
T-Mobile has been a champion of “bring your own device” wireless with our affordable Value plans that separate the cost of wireless service from the purchase of a new phone. This means there are a lot of devices running on our network that we don’t sell in our stores, including more than 1M iPhones. We see a big opportunity to make the experience of bringing an unlocked iPhone to T-Mobile even better for customers.
That’s why, beginning September 12th, we’re stepping up our efforts to attract customers with unlocked iPhones to T-Mobile. Each of our branded retail stores will receive an iPhone 4s demo unit and our sales staff will start training to help customers set up their compatible iPhone. We’re also developing iOS versions of helpful T-Mobile applications like T-Mobile myAccount, T-Mobile Visual Voicemail and T-Mobile TV (we already offer an iOS version of our popular Bobsled application). Finally, we’ll begin testing incentive offers in select markets and (in all markets) marketing the benefits of bringing an unlocked iPhone to T-Mobile
I guess they aren’t getting the iPhone 5.
NBC Blows It When Explaining UDIDs ⇢
Kerry Sanders and Bob Sullivan, NBC News:
The UDID – which stands for Unique Device Identifier – is present on Apple iPads, iPods and iPhones, and is similar to a serial number. During the past year, researchers have found that many app developers have used the UDID to help keep track of their users, storing the data in various databases and often associating it with other personal information. When matched with other information, the UDID can be used to track users’ app usage, social media usage or location. It could also be used to “push” potentially dangerous applications onto users’ Apple gadgets.
There is debate about how dangerous the release of the UDID data is without the other information. [Paul DeHart, CEO of the Blue Toad publishing company] said he knew of no practical malicious use for the leaked data.
“Honestly, the UDID information by itself isn’t harmful, as far as we know,” he said. “I can’t say anything is impossible, but the reality is, to push notifications to a device, you need certain keys, certain Apple credentials. You have to have a developer’s account with Apple. So there are lots of processes in place, measures to keep the average ‘anybody’ from being able to take UDIDs and begin doing something with that information.”
You can’t push apps to an iPhone with just an UDID. Way to go, guys.
The Macalope: Who writes this stuff? ⇢
It’s a little sad that those of us trying to do a good job can’t write full time, when morons like the ones listed in this article are probably raking it in.
Sigh.
Kindle Fire HD Ads to be Removable After All ⇢
It says something about Amazon that it took nerd outcry to change this.
Thinking Way Too Hard About How Apple Decorated Yerba Buena For Next Week’s Event
Apple has San Francisco’s Yerba Buena all done up with its logo set in front of a wildly colorful backdrop.
Here are some things all of this could mean.
- The new, taller iPhone screen will support color images. As have all iPhones.
- Apple will be releasing colorful new iPods alongside the new iPhone.
- The new iPhone will indeed ship with a taller screen. This is obvious looking at the vertical orientation of the graphics.
- Phil Schiller has listened to Narrow Stairs one too many times while staring at the album artwork.
- The new iPhone will come in colors, Lumia 920 style.
- Tim Cook designed the graphics after taking some LSD he found in Steve’s office.
Update: People on the Internet have too much free time.
Taking Better Screenshots: Disabling the Window Shadow ⇢
This is in my “must-run” command list when I set up a new Mac.
Evernote: My Database of Knowledge
Back in May, I wrote:
I’m keeping Evernote for PDFs and images I need offline. For the most part, these files are work-related, such as plans for the building that we’re currently constructing.
My notes, however, along with non-essential files, are back in Dropbox. It just feels … cleaner. Plus, I get to deal with plain text files, which is my preference on any platform.
Since then, I’ve been further tinkering with my Evernote setup, and this is where I’ve landed in the “Evernote or Dropbox” debate:
- Evernote is for information. Notes, reference documents and PDFs all form a personal database of knowledge.
- Dropbox is for files I’m working on or need archived for possible future use.
Some examples of this system are obvious.
I have a notebook for the site. In it, I have notes for FTP connection information, notes from my tinkering with CDNs and a running list of apps I want to review.
However, the logo I just wrapped for my brother’s new secret project is filed away in Dropbox.
Some are in the gray area, though. For example, a good bit of my work week was spent working on our cable TV delivery system in the building at work. I have notes from calls, copies of emails and sketches of distribution boxes in Evernote. Once this project is wrapped up, I’ll pick it all up and move it to Dropbox for archiving.
On the Evernote Apps
I wish I was in love with Evernote’s iOS apps. I pay for offline access, and the process of syncing notebooks is more than a little janky. I also wish the app was faster, especially on the iPhone. I often find myself using Drafts to get something in to Evernote while on the go.
Nerd Cred
With many nerd writing scripts for their folders full of Markdown-formatted text, I do feel like I’m missing some of the party by having the bulk of my notes in Evernote. That said, I’m still writing in Markdown, both personally and for the site. The benefits of having my notes and reference information all together is outweighing the con of using an app that might not be as cool as nvALT.
Moving Forward
It’s taken me a long time to get to this point. While I’m happy with this system, I’m sure I’m not done tinkering with it.
If you’re using Evernote, and haven’t checked out Brett Kelly’s book, you really should. I recently scanned it again and learned some new tricks. It’s well worth the time it takes to read through it.
Adian ⇢
This is the best iPhone client for App.net yet. It’s fast, support multiple accounts and is better looking that most of the apps I’ve seen in beta.
$4.99 might seem steep, but remember, we all already paid ADN $50.
New iMacs on The Way? ⇢
Clayton Morris:
Get ready, because the iMacs are coming.
I’ve been hoping for an iMac update and it looks like my wish is about to come true! Multiple sources tell me that a new lineup of desktop machines from Apple is imminent.