teknote systems corporate blog

So I broke down and replaced my 3 year old Palm TREO smartphone with an Apple iPhone 4, despite all of the hype floating around the press about a supposed antenna defect. Why would a techie like me who researches her gadgets like a mad woman before committing to a final purchase do such a thing? Because after holding the iPhone in my hot little hands and falling in love with the slick look and feel of Apple’s latest smartphone masterpiece, I was a goner. Completely sold.

And then I brought my new technological wonder home to a location I soon learned has weak to pathetic AT&T signal strength. That’s right. Take a look at the image below and you’ll see what I’m talking about - a picture is worth a thousand words:

But this signal strength problem was not enough to tear my sleek new iPhone 4 away from me. No siree! Instead, I’ve found ways to deal with my lousy home signal by doing the following:

• Downloading updates 4.01 and 4.02 for iOS4.
• When at all possible, keep hands from covering phone’s bottom left corner where antenna is located. Better yet, take advantage of the ability to rotate the device 45 degrees for a wider screen and keypad.
• Install the free bumper provided by Apple.

Easy peasy! Meanwhile after doing all of the above and reading various iPhone 4 news while working out at the gym, I ran across another brave iPhone 4 owner’s review that I couldn’t agree with more. The writer’s name is Daniel Terdiman and he writes a column called Geek Gestalt on cnet.com. High. Fives.

The funniest thing to me about all the hoopla this summer over the iPhone 4’s antenna problems is that everyone kicking and screaming about the situation seemed to overlook one small thing: pop a bumper on the device and it works absolutely fine.

Sure, when a company advertises the benefits of an all-new antenna design and the sleek metallic lines of a device like the iPhone 4–and charges $30 for a little plastic bumper–people develop expectations.

But throw in the bumper for free, which Apple was forced to do after Consumer Reports’ damning review, and suddenly you’ve got yourself a really great smart phone–and nothing to complain about… [more]

Vending machines are known for providing consumers a quick snack or beverage while on-the-go, but iPods and perfume? That’s right. ZoomSystems has created vending machines to sell electronics and beauty products in U.S. airports and stores such as Macy’s. With the use of touch screens, consumers can interactively purchase Apple iPods, Elizabeth Arden cosmetics, Sony digital cameras and more exclusive name-brand products without ever talking to a salesperson.

But are these vending machines a fad or will they actually catch on with shoppers? Personally, in comparison to shopping online, I like the idea of instantly receiving my purchase rather than waiting for the item to be shipped to my home. However the drawback I can see is in returning items, which is not quite as simple. Rather than taking the item directly to a ‘brick and mortar’ store for a refund or exchange, I would be forced to ship the item back to the factory and then wait to receive a refund. Not exactly a quick and easy process, but then again impulse buyers tend not to think ahead about the possibility of having to return a product.

Now to see how shoppers react and if the machines stand the test of time.

Apple’s release of its new Mac OS X Leopard has all the tech critics talking raving. Not only is the operating system an improvement on an already proven leader, but Leopard applies a human touch with the use of file Stacks for organization and Finder for management. As an additional and much needed feature, Apple also introduces Time Machine as a solution for file backup and recovery. And with a pricetag less than $200 for a new install or upgrade, these features (and 300+ more) are well worth the investment for Apple computer users.

This is the kind of stir in technology that makes us Windows users tempted to jump ship…