Congrats to Tech N’ Marketing, But Not to Nokia

Before we discuss the latest and greatest cellular developments, I just wanted to say that this is the first post on the new hosting, it took long enough, but it is finally live, so congrats.

There have been various things going on in the tech world and specifically the cellular market, but I think everyone agrees that one of the biggest and most important pieces of news is the N97. I know I wrote a lot about it already, but  a lot more is known to us now, so I think another N97 post is in order.

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Mobile-review had some time with the N97 and although the commercial device is not available yet, so the final version of the software cannot be analyzed, the amount of time they spent with the device is more than the rest of us are getting, so it is pretty exciting.

I read the whole review and what I came away with is that the N97 is first of all a very impressive device. It is not as thick as I originally thought, the screen is pretty outstanding, the widgets are a cool idea, and the battery life is phenomenal.

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N97 Compared to the iPhone

On the flip side of things, and I guess the flip side is what matters because these are the aspects that will prevent me from buying it (yea right, as if I could afford it), there are more than a few things that bother me about the device. Let’s start with the design. I would have liked it if the entire thing was not made out plastic, a little metal would have made things a lot more impressive and serious.

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Not sure I am feeling this 35 degree angle thing, did not work for the Tilt, not sure it will work for this. Then there is the whole resistive screen issue, which to be honest, I do not fully understand yet, but it is supposedly a big downside for the N97. From the video below (might as well put your volume down, unless of course you speak Russian), you can see that the interface, which by the way sorry to say, just cannot be compared to Apple’s (I wanted to see if I could write a review without the I word) is a little quirky, but again, this is not the commercial version, so that might change.

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N97 Compared to the XPERIA

I am not getting why the N97 cannot be charged via USB, why would Nokia do that? Am I missing something? As for the widgets, it is a cool idea, but if I wanted widgets, wouldn’t I want them fully customizable? If I were so inclined to have home screen widgets, I would turn to Cellogic to design em, and use Flyscreen.

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Two more things I do not like about this phone is of course, the price, but more importantly, Nokia’s marketing strategy really bothers me. The 5800 just came out! I have heard of competition between cellular superpowers, where one outdoes the other and makes consumers forget about the first one’s phone that was recently released (did you get that?). What I have NOT heard of is a company stealing its own thunder. This is something Apple would never do. Why would anyone in their right mind go out and buy a 5800 now, knowing its big brother is right around the corner? Nokia would say they are targeting different audiences with the two phones and to that I say, B.S.  Are you telling me there are 5800 people out there that do NOT want a full QWERTY, 5 mp camera, or home screen widgets? Cmon.

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N97 Compared to its Little Brother

I, for one, was very excited about the 5800, but now that the N97 has a bigger screen, a better OS, and a full QWERTY, I would not consider getting the Tube anymore. Correct me if I’m wrong, did Nokia just convince me not to get a Nokia phone? Now, that’s good marketing.

-Hillel

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Steve Jobs Vs. Tech N’ Marketing

Hi All,

A few days ago Hillel posted about the new Apple headphones, and we got many people responding to his blog post. One of the responses was a post by a gentleman named Brian. Here is his comment:

Author : Brian (IP: **********)
E-mail : ************@mac.com
URL    :
Whois  : ********
Comment:
Sorry, this is complete FUD.  Just as Roger noted above, check out the various other in-ear buds out there and you’ll find they are all above $79. Anything less than that is in another class of quality.

Why are you blaming Apple for this?  I guess the secret is out. Apple is working with vendors to price fix all ear bud systems, oh wait, they weren’t the first out with these….

Please, remove the bullseye from Apple and let’s get some real facts in here before you spread more FUD.

1

I am going to leave all comments regarding the content of the post aside and focus on who is posting. I believe the person who posted this comment is a representative of the Apple corporation. If you look at the IP address, it tracks back to Apple Inc.  If this is so, I am very disappointed with Brian’s unwillingness to tell us who he represents. It is truly unacceptable for Apple to be doing this.

Using tactics of Guerrilla marketing are often times necessary, but it needs to be done correctly:

Brian had some very big beginner’s mistakes:

1. Mask your freakin IP address! Come on everyone know that WordPress tracks your IP.

2. Don’t use terminology that only people from the industry use, like FUD .  The Average Joe has no idea what FUD means.

3. Only use Guerrilla marketing when necessary – we are just some guys writing a blog about interesting stuff we come across and we write how we feel about it. DUDE, we are not your make it or break it point. Thanks for taking interest in us but look elsewhere.

I hope you own up to your comment and provide an explanation. Again, this is not about the content of the blog post or the comment (which is quite nasty) but rather about Brian and who he represents.

-Aryeh

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Citrix on an iPhone?? Amazing

It’s really cool that Citrix is developing software to enable you to run your PC off an iPhone.

It would make my life at Payoneer easier because all the Payoneer programs run on PC. Having the access to all work programs on both platforms would really make the iPhone into a true business tool. Then maybe we would convince Payoneer to get us iPhones, oh yah I forgot you need to live in Botswana or Kenya to get an iPhone not Tel Aviv.

Hillel posted about the HTC Touch HD and it personally doesn’t do anything for me, for 2 reasons:
1. It runs Windows Mobile – big down side
2. Its all about apps! The development of apps is where it is at today and the iPhone is clearly winning by miles.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1759938&w=425&h=350&fv=]

more about “Citrix on an iPhone?? Amazing“, posted with vodpod

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Canceling my AT&T Plan – Keeping the iPhone

On Friday, before I left the states I canceled my AT&T plan, which I signed up for to get an iPhone. I called customer support and told them I was leaving the country and I no longer needed the plan. I was told that since I was within 30 days of activation that I did not need to pay the early termination fee of $175, which I was pleasantly surprised to hear. I then went ahead and paid my bill and I was done. There was no mention of returning the phone or paying a fee. Pretty sweet deal.

Here is what I did:

  1. Signed up for a new contract with AT&T.
  2. Got a Turbo Sim to unlock the iPhone.
  3. Canceled the plan.
  4. Kept the iPhone and enjoy.

-Aryeh

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The New MacBooks

To shake things up a bit, Hillel posted about Apple’s marketing, and I am posting about their technology.

Yesterday Apple announced their new line of laptop computers. I’m going to make this short.

The major aspects of the new computers are:

  1. The new LED display: A very nice and bright display with no start-up time.
  2. The design: I don’t see an added benefit of having a body made of one piece of aluminum. OK it’s a little thinner and it looks hot. The computer is also lighter. OK, maybe there are some advantages.
  3. The hardware: Not much has changed, which is a big disappointment, except of course the graphics card, which will make some people happy.
  4. The enhanced mouse pad: Deletion of the mouse button and the glass touch pad with added gestures is a  nice, interesting addition. Let’s see how the market takes it.

2 things that interested me in the Keynote:

1. Their time spent on describing the environmental features and how the new notebooks contain none of that bad stuff. I guess Apple really does care!

2. It is the first time ever that they have kept an old item in inventory once releasing a new one. You can still buy the plastic MacBook for $999. Very interesting change in the Apple Marketing Machine.

Aryeh

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Israel Apple Store Does Not Disappoint

As I posted yesterday, the first Apple store launched last night in Ramat Aviv, Israel. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the opening, but after checking out their online store, I can safely say that Apple has done it again.

My two concerns about the store were that it would not offer current products, I thought they would have last generation iPods and Macs, and that the prices would be insanely high, like most other imported products in Israel.

Well, it seems I was wrong on both counts. The new store offers the new generation iPods, including the accelerometer Nano and the just announced iPod touch. As for the prices, they could be better, but they are, in my opinion, pretty reasonable.

The new Nano (16GB) that goes for $200 in the U.S, is being sold here for 1000 Shekel. Now, with the current dollar (the dollar fluctuates around 1 dollar=3.5 Shekel), that is a lot, but I think after saving the headache of getting it shipped overseas, and taxes, and most importantly, getting Apple service in Israel, the price really is pretty decent. The new Touch (32GB) is selling for 2,150 Shekel (it is sold for $400 in the U.S), also not so bad.

However, the Macbooks and the iMac are a totally different story.  The top of the line iMac, which sells for $2200 (translated to around 8,000 Shekel) in the U.S, is being sold here for 11,700 Shekel. A little ridiculous if you ask me.

All in all, I will most definitely be buying my next iPod there, and of course, we are all waiting till Apple decides to sell their iPhones in Israel.

-Hillel

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