a blog about tech stuff and RustyG
Archive for July, 2010
Skype updated with over 3G and Multitasking
01 year ago
Remember way back last year when AT&T announced they would allow Skype VoIP calls over 3G? Well its been quite a while, but now with the new iOS4, Skype has finally updated to allow their calls over 3G to happen and allow them to be received even after the app is left. It will run in the background to allow you be online all the time. When you receive a call, a little notification bubble will pop up and let you know who is calling. The best part is that there are no additional charges for using your data instead of minutes. The only thing is, if you just jumped on the “unlimited” iPhone plan, you only have 2GB instead of those who were grandfathered in with the 5GB cap.
You can download the app here (opens App Store)
via [Skype]
FaceTime goes Multi-Deviced
01 year ago
So you think your iPhone friends are the only people you can talk to with your brand new shiny iPhone 4?? As of today, no longer. Fring (fring.com) has updated their app (and it was approved by Apple) to now include the front facing camera to be used in their app over 3G. Now the caveat is that they need to be using Fring as well on the other side, but this is open to all smartphones that can install the Fring app. For example the Droid family or even Nokia devices. The bottom line is, Video Calls over 3G! For the rest of you that don’t have a iPhone 4, you can still use the app with its updates of multi-tasking, a social stream and a smarter address book.
Check out the video below:
Open Letter to Apple
0Really Apple??? Really???!!!!! You were completely surprised????? You had no idea the phone had antenna issues?? You don’t read any blog but your own don’t you???
Oh wait, WE ALL GRIP our phones!! They all loose signal when you use it? WOW!!! I didn’t know that!! It’s the weirdest thing ever, when you pick up your phone, it drops calls. Not just your iPhone, but all phones including the Droid? REALLY???!!! Let’s ask droid users… NOPE.
You receive HUNDREDS of letters that say the reception is better than the 3GS and 3G, REALLY??
WHAT PHONE WHERE?????? In the words of Lewis Black,
“If you work for these f*****s, I want to talk to you”.
STEVE JOBS! Are you listening? Are you that obnoxious and arrogant that you can accept your phone SUCKS and give us a better fix than, oh, we messed up our math, you only get 2 bars everywhere instead of 4, so it’s all AT&T’s fault.
WOW….
Here’s the letter, you have to read this garbage…. WOW Apple.. I almost want you to refund my iPhone and buy me a HTC Evo 4G, and I don’t even get 4G here in Nashville..
Dear iPhone 4 Users, The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned. To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design. At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this? We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising. Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place. To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see. We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused. As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund. We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do. Thank you for your patience and support. Apple
thanks, thanks a lot…
oh yeah… email this two goons:
Press Contacts:
Natalie Harrison
harri@apple.com
Steve Dowling
dowling@apple.com
via [Apple]
