Anyway… the one thing to manage in these situations is your expectations. I didn’t expect my dream phone to be announced. I expected them to update the iPhone 4. Now what I had HOPED for was completely different. I had HOPED they would give it a larger screen, maybe a little more power, and some OS tweaks that I’d like to see. I got 1 out of 3 (we already knew what iOS5 was going to bring anyway).

I could have put an iPhone 4 photo here and you wouldn't know the difference.

So when they announced the 4S, I got what I expected but not what I hoped for. Leading up to that day I was debating what to do. Would I get a new iPhone? I certainly wanted to. Jen was waiting for an upgrade too. Her 3GS was getting quite… old. I wanted something more though. I didn’t want to feel like I was just buying another iPhone 4 with a faster processor and a “better” camera.

Suddenly, a challenger appeared…

Now there are Apple fanboys and Android fanboys… and most of them are annoying as fuck and talk trash about the other for really no reason other than they’re complete morons. There are some times when I could be classified as an Apple fanboy… but I have always respected Android. Not only for what it has brought to the table in terms of competition – but for actually being a worthy alternative. I’ve said many times that if I had money to throw away (hahaha) I would add another line to my plan and get some sort of Android device so that I could have one of each and learn from both.

GalaxyS2

Well… I didn’t really get to that part of my plan… but let’s just get to the point: iPhone 4 is gone (now Jen’s) and I bought a Samsung Galaxy S II. It’s running Android 2.3.4, is ridiculous thin, crazy light, and has a huge, gorgeous (AMOLED) screen. It’s pretty awesome.

Truth be told, those are basically the (hardware) options I was HOPING for with a new iPhone. Ah well… maybe next time. No, seriously… if they announce a new iPhone next year as usual and it turns out to be brilliant, I’ll probably be getting that and get rid of the GalaxyS2. Nothing against the awesome Samsung… but I’m hoping for something big… again.

So far, so good. I like to think I’m adjusting to my new OS world quite well. I have run into one or two “issues” so far though. Most notably with the bluetooth. My WRX’s OEM radio has built-in BT and has always worked brilliantly with the iPhone. I expected the same for the Galaxy. Apparently not. I am able to pair it without issue – but when I get back in the car with my phone, it does not automatically connect again. Ever. If I want it connected, I have to do it manually. Ever. Time. Not exactly happy about that.

My other problem was today… with my data connection… well, my lack of a data connection I guess. Was running some errands and grabbing lunch downtown and basically had no connection. Maybe once every 15 minutes a notification might pop up – but neither the built-in web browser or Firefox would load. Foursquare would not find any venues and Twitter would not find any tweets. I was not happy. I tried to reboot the phone, twice. I togged airplane mode a couple times. Still nothing. Decided to swing by the AT&T store on the way back to work – his suggestion: pull the battery and the SIM card.

My response? “So… just like I have to do every week with my BlackBerry at work?”

Seriously, that will NOT be acceptable if it were to turn into a regular issue. Time will tell though, I’m only in day 3 of Android life.

I got an email from someone claiming to be “Ann Place” from The Daily. You know, that fancy new iPad news app? The text of the email goes like this:

Hi Allan

You may have seen speculation about ‘The Daily’ in the press over the past few weeks, but I’d like you and the readers of Allankintz.com to learn about it directly from us. I’m thrilled to announce the launch of The Daily, the first national news publication created specifically for the iPad and published 365 days a year. Here’s a link to a news release with tons of info, images, video and more:

http://www.thedaily-newsrelease.com

Please feel free to post any of it, and if you do, I hope you’ll email me the link so I can share it with our team. Questions? I’d be happy to help you if I can, so send them my way.

Thanks very much!

Ann

The strange tip-off to me is the URL… some “newsrelease” site? But it has “thedaily” in the name? My first though is, that says spam… or at least some sort of phishing. Googling for this Ann Place turns up virtually nothing useful or anything that would say this is “official.”

But the trick here is again, the URL. A quick WhoIs shows that it is registered to a Christopher Abraham. A quick Google of that guy ends up here. Apparently stating that The Daily is some sort of client of these people. I don’t know who they are or what they do… but they have some pretty random marketing tactics.

Yes, I’m an iPad user… but I’m hardly a news outlet of any sort. And I probably only know 2 or 3 people that have iPads. But apparently I’m important enough for someone to email me passively suggesting that I review the app and post about it.

I may… I may not. I just wanted to post something about it in case others get this email and wonder WTF is going on. I also wonder just how many people this went out to…

UPDATE: If you check out the comments below, you can see that this has been confirmed as a legitimate email from the firm associated with the app. Good to know!

So what’s a guy to do if he doesn’t want to run out and buy a new printer? Well, when it was announced, I was hoping they’d be nice enough to include support for printers connected via Airport Express. I mean, it’s another Apple product… sharing a printer… wirelessly… I kind of though it made sense.

Apparently the people at Apple did not, as even then, other printers are not supported.

So in come the people at Collobos… they now offer a solution for both Windows and Mac to let you print to your non-AirPrint-compatible printer from your iDevice. Their FingerPrint software does just what it offers… lets you print to your printer from your device.

I installed the trial on my Win 7 machine and was able to successfully print an email attachment from my iPad without issue. It found the printer immediately and printed right out. Also found the printer fine on my iPhone 4 (though I didn’t bother testing the print).

It looks like the trial is for 7 days. That’s not bad and gives you full functionality – which also includes sending a file directly to the computer or via Dropbox. But you have the option of selecting and deselecting specific printers/functions with the software. Thing is, I now have to use these 7 days to decide if I want to buy it.

It’s only $10 for Windows ($8 for the Mac version)… but I’m trying to think of when I’d actually need to print from my iPad or iPhone. I typically use my Win7 system for any documents and editing work – so the printing comes directly from that. So while the price is great, I’m just not sure if I’d really use the software.

But that’s just me. I’m sure many people have been waiting for this.

Personally I think it is great they finally just SAID something about it. Basically they admitted there is some sort of problem and are going to try a software fix to address it (so far).

What is retarded though is that the Apple haters continue to spew their garbage. Let’s get one thing clear… I love Apple, but if there’s a problem, I’m patient enough to wait for them to address it in their way before flying off the handle and pretending to be an iPhone engineer on the internet that knows more about their device than they do. Then again, I’m also smart enough to take a product back for a refund (or exchange) if I am not happy with it… go figure.

I’m not saying it’s a hardware issue or a software issue. But if Apple wants to try a software update first, let’s do that. How about we just keep an open mind about what the issue might be? If it turns out people still have as much trouble with it, it just might end up being a hardware problem. But in no way is anyone entitled to say “I told you so” because people DON’T FUCKING KNOW. If you didn’t design the iPhone or haven’t been working with cell phones and antennas and cellular technology all of your life, your opinion in this matter holds absolutely zero value as to what the actual problem is.

I can accept that it might be a hardware problem and Apple may have a large batch of bad products out there (many people don’t have problems, so it can’t be all of them). Why can’t the haters accept that it just might be a software issue? Is that so hard?

RETURN YOUR PHONES.

I don’t understand why people continue to bitch and moan about antenna problems in a device they just bought when they can simply return the device for a full refund. Problem solved. Apple doesn’t get any of your money and you can then get something else that will work better for you.

Whining about it on the internet to all of the news blogs is useless. I’ve even seen a story about a Class Action Lawsuit in the making already… WHY?! Why do people instantly think lawsuit? Have people not learned that the ONLY people that benefit from a Class Action suit are the lawyers? I mean that… as a user, in part of that lawsuit, you would MAYBE end up with $5-$10 worth of Apple Store credit – which they would presumably mean for you to purchase a Bumper with. How much would the lawyers get? MILLIONS. In cash.

What do you do if you’re in the middle ground? Maybe you really like the phone but are just a bit annoyed at the antenna problems you may be having. In that case you should probably just be patient and wait to see what Apple’s real response will be. Not the whole “non-issue” thing from Steve. Wait for the first software update. Wait until they make another statement. If you can be patient enough, there may be a fix.

But if you’re going to piss and moan about it on the internet, no one (myself included) cares or wants to hear about it anymore. Then again, I’m thinking most of the people posting to the news blogs don’t even have an iPhone 4 but would rather just be attention seeking whores…

The rest…

The 3GS was my first iPhone… so I was bit late to the game in a way. I had owned a first generation iPod Touch a while back and fell in love with the apps (once the App Store opened). I knew I had to be able to get more use out of it on more than just wifi. So as soon as my Helio contract was up in 2009 (ya, I had Helio, an Ocean actually – it was cool for like a month – then the iPhone came out), I upgraded immediately.

I loved the 3GS. It took all of my favorite things about the Touch and made them better. And at the same time it gave me so much more utility than the Touch since I could use it on a cellular network now. A while back when supposed pictures of the newest iPhone leaked (even before the whole Gray Powell thing) I knew I wanted it. The design sold me immediately. I suppose you could say I like the industrial look. One thing I also realized is that there’s not a single Droid device that I really like cosmetically. They’re … OK, but nothing really draws me to them. The iPhone 4 is different.

Getting beyond the aesthetics for a minute, my absolute biggest gripe with the 3GS was its camera. A lot of other people said it was fine, but I guess my expectations were a bit high. I didn’t care for it at all. Rarely used it actually – only when I just wanted to get a quick snap of something and didn’t care about the quality. The iPhone 4 already beats the 3GS in the camera department by leaps and bounds. I really don’t care how many megapixels are in a camera – I just want nice, clear pictures. It could have 20 MP for all I care, but if the pictures turn out like crap, who cares how big they are? So far so good with the 4. Note: I have not yet tried video recording (need something to record first… haha).

The screen. This “retina display.” A lot has already been said about the screen. I don’t need to add much more other than it is incredible. I mean, really… you need to see it for yourself. Even the random comparison shots online don’t do it justice. I’ve never seen anything like it on a mobile device of any kind… Oh and the supposed yellowness on some iPhone 4 screens? Apparently just some adhesive that hadn’t properly dried or evaporated from assembly. No worries there (mine didn’t have this issue anyway).

The device itself feels like a quality piece of hardware. It is very solid feeling. Extremely thin – but not thin enough to feel fragile. I’m sure this thing could break as easily as many other devices, but the feel is there to give you some confidence in handling it. I have not much to say about the other buttons. Nothing really special about them except that now the volume is two separate buttons – but they feel nice and solid as well – an improvement.

iOS 4… Not much to say here yet. I’d really like to see more apps able to take advantage of the fast app switching. But until that happens there’s nothing really mind-blowing about the new OS for me (aside from folders – but that is more of a relief than blowing of the mind).

Even despite the “antenna issues” people are demonstrating on video (not necessarily in real world use, mind you), I still would call this phone a win. Of course the Android fanboys will say what they will and the Apple haters (who really only hate Apple to say they hate Apple) will say what they will – but I couldn’t care less at this point. This was a good investment if you ask me… if anything I’m worried that next year’s model will be just as awesome and I’ll have to upgrade again! Haha!

I like Apple stuff. Some people might even say I’m a “fanboy” … that’s fine. But at least I’m not a total douche about it and can respect another company’s hard work and effort for what it is. Here, watch how easy this is…

Android is great OS that obviously has a myriad of uses. I have absolutely no problem admitting that it is at the least on par with anything Apple is doing. If I were to take some time to compare the two, I’m sure that I would find specific things that Android has done better with than Apple (and likewise I would be able to find specific things that Apple has done better than Android)… in a totally subjective manner anyway.

Thing is they’re both great. And without one or the other – the remaining may not innovate as much as they do together. Why push for new functions and features if there is no competition? That’s just speculation of course, I’m sure they would innovate in some way – but at this pace?

So please… if you want to show your love for Apple or Android, just be a human being about it. Stop being such a fucking douche on every forum and blog you find. Support your favorite but try to show some respect for its competitor.

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

And Steve’s response was this:

Just avoid holding it in that way.

So to clarify one thing… no one is saying anyone is holding it “wrong” … to imply a “right” or “wrong” scenario. People will have different results and will be holding it differently from everyone else.

Thing is not EVERYONE has to hold it differently. Even if you experienced the same signal issues by testing it… that was a TEST. I don’t know about anyone else, but I would have had no idea I had antenna issues if I didn’t hold it exactly like the people in the videos online. Maybe I don’t naturally hold my phone like that, I don’t know. But it is essentially a “non issue” at this point for me (like Steve said it was).

And I would actually believe that it is more of a non-issue for many other people too… but once a known “problem” is out there – everyone suddenly has it. Even if you didn’t have it before (or didn’t know you did) … you do now!

People are dumb like that. “Hey! If I hold mine exactly like this other guy (which is totally unnatural for me and I would never do when using the phone) I have the same problem that he does in the video! My phone must also be defective!”

Good logic there. Do something out of the ordinary to see an out of the ordinary problem.

Now the fun thing for the news blogs to do is show screenshots of Apple commercials where they’re “holding it wrong.” Wow… you sure got them good. Way to be.

My favorite part though is that most of the commercials people are showing are of them holding the iPhone while using Facetime… which does not use the GSM antenna that everyone is having trouble with. So ya, call Apple out on holding the phone wrong when they’re holding it while doing something totally unrelated to the actual issue. Nice job.

Anyway… I’m loving my iPhone 4 and have zero issues with it. It should be even nicer when my orange Bumper gets here (that I ordered with the preorder before I heard about any antenna problems).

The gist of the reception problem is that if you hold the iPhone 4 on the sides (as if you were on a call) the radio reception drops like a rock to minimal or no service. If you hold it by the front and back, it returns to normal. Very odd indeed.

I have an iPhone 4 and while at first I didn’t think I had any problems, I watched a couple videos and tried the same method – uh oh, same problem! What to do?! What to do?!

Well let’s slow down a bit… is this software or hardware? Many people are instantly looking at Apple’s new outside antenna to blame – you know, the one that goes around the outside band of the phone? A fair assumption – your hand is possibly completing some sort of circuit then when you hold it? Don’t know.

Anyway, after reading some news sites, I saw one thing that caught my eye… a few people reporting the 3G and 3GS do the same thing. Well… I just happen to have a 3GS (my g/f’s, since mine is “restored” already for sale). I took her case off and tested in the same manner in which I saw in the video (and tested on my iPhone 4)… wait a sec, it’s doing the same thing!

OK, so my ONE test with a 3GS isn’t solid evidence… but I have seen reports of other people seeing the same results. A few comments on Mashable and Engadget (that I’ve noticed off the top of my head). Not scientific, no… but I think there’s more going on here than just the stainless steel band around the iPhone 4.

One thing I will say is that the results with the 3GS were not as severe. With the iPhone 4, you can easily lose all 5 bars (some people even saw “no service” messages). With the 3GS, I usually only lost 3, maybe 4 bars max. So who knows. A known resolution so far is to install one of Apple’s available “Bumpers” around the outside. Isn’t that convenient.

In a related issue note… those of you seeing the yellowing of the screen on the iPhone 4 can apparently breath a little easier today as it has now come to light that the yellowish tint may just be from one of the adhesives used on the glass that hasn’t completely dried/evaporated. Some users are already reporting the discoloration has subsided or completely went away after normal usage. Yay!

This phone really is phenomenal too. The screen. The speed. The design. It’s all there.

Let’s be honest though, you know that already. That’s probably why you’re going to get one. Even if you’re not going to get one (I’m sure you have your reasons) you have to respect the fact that this is an awesome device.

One thing I didn’t really think about until today when I was activating mine was what a potential nightmare tomorrow might be for AT&T to activate these tons and tons of new phones people will still be buying. One would guess that was part of the reasoning behind them not holding pre order deliveries for launch day (and why I’m using mine this very evening).

I hope the rest of you are able to enjoy your new toy as much as I am tomorrow without the potential nightmares that may be in store with activation. Good luck and Steve bless you! Hah!