One of the biggest gripes current and would-be iPhone owners have is the quality of AT&T’s network. I think that many of these complaints are overhyped. None of the (many) iPhones owners I know have any complaints with AT&T’s cell reception. Also, the assumption that Verizon’s network will provide for a “better” iPhone experience because of their network is a big question mark that remains to be proven.

This bit on TechCrunch sums up my feelings about the iPhone on Verizon’s network:

According to AppleInsider, Verizon sold an estimated 4.4 million Droids. Verizon has 92 million subscribers while AT&T has 90 million. So 11 million AT&T subscribers are slamming the network while 4 million Droid-ites are tapping Verizon’s network gently. So what happens, then, when the iPhone effect hits Verizon, especially on Verizon’s older, slower CDMA network? Verizon will experience the exact issue that has been plaguing AT&T: the curse of success.

A second carrier is great for Apple but a lot still remains to be seen. Anybody ready to jump the AT&T ship for a Verizon iPhone?

Microsoft—in a nutshell—is a company that had one successful product that we are all beholden to—that then used that capital to buy other people’s products and ruin them. They are not bad people, but they do stab their friends in the back. Also, they are a bunch of nerds, which is probably why they have never managed to produce a decent interface.

Google—in a nutshell—is a company that had one successful product that we are all beholden to—that then used that capital to buy other people’s products and ruin them. They are not bad people, but they do stab their friends in the back. Also, they are a bunch of nerds, which is probably why they have never managed to produce a decent interface.

Apple is a company that produces amazing, human-usable products. I love them for the same reason I love any such company, and I forgive them their eccentricities because their products are so amazing. They make decisions that I’m told are bad for me, yet I don’t see that reflected in their products as I use them.

-via motherfucker

Being locked down by a ball and chain (Verizon contract), my options for innovative cell phones looked as broad as toothpick splinter. Being on a family plan, simply opting to pay the Early Termination Fee to switch carriers posed more trouble and complications that it was worth. Desperately wanting a smartphone, I had only two choices; Blackberry (which I affectionally dubbed Suckberry), or Windows Mobile. I chose Suckberry despite my general dislike for it and due to the stagnant nature of WinMo development.

Not wanting to extend my contract with Verizon, I bought a Blackberry Storm off one of my teammates knowing this was one of the most hated Blackberry models RIM produced.  For the sake of not turning this post into a review of the Storm, I will summarize my experience so far.

• The phone is usable, I have no qualms about the touch screen, and it is actually better than most of Verizon’s other touch screen phones.  Overall, the build quality of RIM’s products is very good.
• The Blackberry OS leaves much to be desired.  It’s a one trick pony: messaging.  Especially Blackberry Messenger; it’s a very compelling app but not enough to keep me on a BlackBerry.
• Ultimately, having a smartphone I don’t really like is still better than my old Samsung Alias.

Now that Apple’s exclusivity agreement with AT&T is near it’s end, Verizon has announced at least two Google Android phones as well as the Palm Pre coming to it’s network, the smartphone/network landscape is about to get a lot more interesting.  The availability of 4G networks within the next year will also be something to consider.

Hopefully, the race to land deals with phone makers and pressure from the FCC will make for a consumer-friendly smartphone market.  Call me a hypocrite with my BlackBerry, but my Storm has allowed me to figure out what I want from whatever smartphone I choose in the future.

Additional Reading:
Why You Can’t Get a Good Phone With Verizon

MacBook Pro (Mid 2008):

• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor/2GB DDR2 RAM at 667 MHz
• 160 GB hard drive @ 7200 rpm
• 256 MB nVidia GeForce 8600M GT
• 15.4″ matte LED-lit display
• Illuminated Keyboard
• 2 USB/1 Firewire 400/1 Firewire 800

Unibody MacBook:

• 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor/2 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1066 MHz
• 160GB hard drive @ 5400 rpm
• nVidia GeForce 9400M chipset
• 13.3 LED-lit glossy display
• Glass multi-touch trackpad
• 2 USB ports

Ultimately, the performance is nearly identical. In real-world usage, the MacBook boots faster than the MacBook Pro, but I attribute this to the fact that there is significantly less occupying its hard drive. It’s hard to give up the MBP. While the unibody construction is sleek and very durable, the sentiental connection I have with my MBP is hard to get over.

The old MBP does have a few extra perks as well such as an ExpressCard slot. For most average users, this is hardly a point of significance. I can’t remember the last time I used any card-slot peripherals.

For those of you with older MBP’s considering a new laptop, I generally agree with what’s been said at Wired, and here. The conclusion seems to be that if you actually use more advanced features (card slot, firewire, do heavy film editing), stick with the pro. Otherwise, the new Unibody MacBook has closed the gap between pro and consumer models in a good way; save yourself some dough and go for the regular MacBook.

A lie of this magnitude makes the Laptop Hunter ads look almost reasonable. Considering the fact that

• Not all songs cost $0.99 (some cost more but some cost less too).
• Purchasing albums lowers the cost per song
• Ripped CD’s
• Movies take up a lot of room, and if you have an iPod touch, apps
• Maybe I like my iPod to double as an external hard drive

These are all ways that you can fill an iPod without spending $30k. I didn’t even mention pirated music! As far as I’m concerned, digital music is somewhere Microsoft has managed to fail on a much more consistent basis that some of their other departments (Windows XP sort of…and XBox).

Given the outrageous claim that we all spend $30,000 to fill our iPods, my iPod library (movies, music, apps, audiobooks, photos) does take up a significant portion of my hard drive, on my old HP laptop, it was over half; granted I only had an 80GB HD back then.

It’ll be interesting to see how this olds up a few months from now. I generally make it a point to take care of the hinge by not closing my laptop too abruptly. Anybody else experience any similar issues? What did you do about it?

WordClock by Simon Heys is simple, yet elegant screensaver I found that serves also as a clock. It can be customized in a variety of ways. Check out the video to see what I mean.

Word Clock for Mac, PC, iPhone from Simon Heys on Vimeo.