The Brooks Review

Author: Ben Brooks

  • ‘Being a Bit Disingenuous’

    Stupid Apple Rumors does a nice job calling out 9to5Mac.

  • Record Breaking iPhone 4S Launch

    Josh Lowensohn reporting on the disappointment that is the “not iPhone 5”:
    >AT&T says that this morning’s preorder session for Apple’s iPhone 4S was its most successful iPhone launch yet, with the company grabbing more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours the device was on sale.

  • Marco Arment on Screen Size

    Marco Arment:

    >As a four-year iPhone user, I’ve never thought, “You know what I don’t like about this phone? The screen’s too small. I’d like to reduce my battery life, and I’d like my phone to protrude from my pocket in a larger and more conspicuous rectangle, to achieve a larger screen that I cannot comfortably use one-handed. That would be completely worth it.”

    That *would* be fantastic wouldn’t it.

  • Computer Virus Hits US Predator and Reaper Drone Fleet

    Oh that sounds *real* safe. Let’s just keep flying around these armed drones chocked full of a virus we can’t remove. *Fantastic.*

    On another note, why do the “pilots” still wear flight suits?

  • Texting and Driving, Now Worse Than Previously Thought

    Participants were on a closed, wide, track driving 30 miles per hour while texting and there were “many close calls”. At this point, who honestly thinks texting while driving is a good idea?

  • ‘3.5 Inches’

    Dustin Curtis on why Apple sticks with the 3.5 inch screen:

    >I pulled out my iPhone 4 to do a quick test, and it turns out that when you hold the iPhone in your left hand and articulate your thumb, you can reach almost exactly to the other side of the screen. This means it’s easy to touch any area of the screen while holding the phone in one hand, with your thumb.

    Makes a lot of sense. Not to mention the pocketability of this size.

  • iPhone 4S Voice and Data Plans: AT&T vs. Sprint vs. Verizon

    A nice run down of the data plan pricing. Interestingly Verizon doesn’t do as well as I thought it would.

  • Will Sprint iPhones be Fast?

    A nice look by Stacey Higginbotham on what the data speeds will be like on Sprint. From what she is saying it sounds as though AT&T is the top tier with the fastest and most expensive network (if it works in your area), Verizon is in the middle, and Sprint is the slower bargain priced carrier.

    Should be interesting to see how this works out for Verizon.

  • To Inspiration

    Steve Jobs is a constant reminder to me that one man *can* change the world. And that he did, several times over.

    It is now on us to write the next chapter.

    Let’s make it a great one.

  • Quote of the Day: Steve Jobs

    “I want to put a ding in the universe.”

    That, sir, you did.

  • Remembering Steve Jobs

    Incredibly sad. My sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

  • This is a joke, right?

    *Note: Don’t read the post this article links to, just don’t. It’s terrible.*

    Zach “I say one thing and then take it back” Epstein over at BGR:
    >But an interesting takeaway from yesterday’s announcement may simply be that Apple has fallen from grace in some respects. Apple is fallible, even if the 4S ends up being a success.

    MG Siegler says in [response](http://parislemon.com/post/11065619448/apples-fall-from-grace) ((Read his entire response, it’s spot on.)):

    >This is, quite simply, one of the worst pieces I’ve ever read on Apple.

    While John Gruber [states](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/10/05/some-fall):

    >The *show me something new and shiny* pundits have never understood Apple.

    Me? I just wish I could have my time back I spent reading Epstein’s post.

  • ‘Unicorns and Wheels’

    Jason Kottke on the over (under?) reaction to the iPhone 4S:
    >This is where Apple is at with the iPhone now, a conceptually solved problem: people know what they are, what they’re used for, and Apple’s gonna knuckle down and crank out ever better/faster/smarter versions of them in the future.

    Or — to use an analogy Kottke uses — why would you reinvent the wheel when you just invented the damned thing?

  • Siri v. Google

    Dan Frommer on the implications that Siri has to Google search:
    >And, more importantly, Apple is sticking itself between you and Google, by offering direct search access to sites like Wikipedia and Yelp — and many more sites and apps to come, no doubt. Siri doesn’t have to go through Google Search, and it doesn’t show you any Google ads. And that should be scary to the folks at Google, which still makes the vast majority of its profit from search advertising.

    That’s a great point, though I think it all comes down to usage in the end.

  • Windows Tablets Versus the iPad

    Paul “Windows Guy” Thurrott:
    >I’ve been saying for a while now that Apple fanatics are underestimating the demand for Windows on an iPad-like tablet, and that many consumers probably walk into Apple Stores to see the iPad but then walk out without one when they discover it doesn’t run Windows or Microsoft Office.

    That explains the massive sales that Windows tablets (slates/convertibles) have had prior to the iPad, now doesn’t it.

  • Cult of Mac Blaming Apple for iPhone 4S Upgrade Pricing That Screws Loyal iPhone Customers

    David W. Martin is blaming Apple, under the thinly veiled guise of “an AT&T customer service representative (CSR)” telling him something, for the [messed up upgrade pricing](https://brooksreview.net/2011/10/att-upgrade-lunacy/) on the iPhone 4S. Yeah, I have heard from a few of those “CSRs” too — all of them blame AT&T, not Apple.

    Why would Apple — the company that works hard to continually lower or keep prices the same — not want everyone to buy the phone subsidized? Apple gets full price no matter what, so they would stand to sell many more phones if it was subsidized — thus it makes the most business and goodwill sense for Apple to offer the upgrade pricing.

    This “report” just makes no sense. ((Hard to believe he refrained from adding “Exclusive” to the title.))

  • Moving to Micro Four-Thirds

    Mike Davidson has a great look at the choices we currently have with regard to cameras. I personally use my iPhone 4 and a Canon 5D, however I have been considering the Micro 43 move as well — it makes better sense as a travel/hiking camera.

    If I could swing the expense, I would buy the Olympus PEN E-P3 (affiliate link) right now — a great setup.

  • ‘Cart before the horse’

    Florian Mueller with yet another excellent analysis — this time why Samsung’s attempt to ban the iPhone 4S is bad for everyone. Specifically that it would seem Samsung is jumping the gun, seeking to shut something down without even asking for licensing fees first. In his penultimate paragraph Mueller wonders:

    >Why aren’t those carriers, whose business fundamentally depends on the undisrupted functioning of industry standards, up in arms when Samsung uses communications standards patents against Apple?

    He is of course referring to this: “Verizon and T-Mobile filed amicus curiae (“friend-of-the-court”) briefs in support of Samsung in California”. The question then becomes: are Verizon and T-Mobile hypocrites?

    Time to pop some popcorn. ((Yes, Shawn, in the microwave.))

  • The Carrier Question

    Great, quick, overview by MG Siegler of what choosing each of the iPhone carriers likely means. I didn’t realize that AT&T was the only carrier that has the full 14.4 speed network that the new iPhone can do (at least they are for now).

  • It’s Cheaper to Change Carriers for AT&T iPhone 4 Users, Than Upgrade to the iPhone 4S on AT&T

    As soon as I could check availability pricing for the new iPhone 4S, I checked. I am not eligible, in fact here’s my pricing break down:

    I don’t normally complain about such things on TBR — typically I reserve those complaints for Twitter — but in this case it seems to be a very odd problem, one that many users are facing, and a first for AT&T.

    ### Bit of Background

    I purchased the first iPhone on day one and before that had been a loyal AT&T customer since I was in seventh grade (over ten years ago). I am, for the lack of a better term, the perfect AT&T customer. It costs them nothing to keep me.

    AT&T has given me upgrade pricing for every model of the iPhone I have purchased after that first phone (3G, 3GS, 4), and I have been loyal because of it.

    ### The Big Problem

    For the very first time I am actually considering buying an iPhone fully unlocked and getting out of all of my contracts with wireless carriers — mainly because they all suck.

    It will set me back $649 to get the 64GB iPhone 4S — the one I want. I can afford it, but why does it cost my wife — who is also on AT&T (family plan, not the primary number) and who also bought an iPhone 4 on day one — only $399 for the same model?

    The solution, for me, is easy: buy the new iPhone under my wife’s plan and move it to mine. A bit of a hassle, but substantially cheaper.

    However, since complaining about this on Twitter I have received a ton of responses which all say a similar thing.

    It seems, for most people, that purchased the iPhone 4 on day one it would actually be cheaper for them to buy a new iPhone 4S on another network (Verizon, usually) and pay the AT&T cancellation fee. These people (myself included) would save — at a minimum — $50.

    Let’s just state this again: for many others and for me, it is $50 **cheaper** to break the AT&T contract and switch to another carrier.

    *Wow*.

    The idiocy of wireless carriers has reached a new low.

    ### Options

    Here are a few options that you may want to consider to try and get the upgrade pricing (this applies to AT&T customers, as I have never been a customer of another network):

    – Using a plan of a family member to buy your new phone. This only works if they like hand me down iPhones, or have no interest in buying a new phone for a couple more years.
    – Call AT&T and ask for the upgrade pricing. Threatening to leave to another carrier if they do not relent. This works in many cases, but not in all cases. You need to be courteous, but adamant — fine line and all.
    – Change your account to a Family Plan and add a new line, using that line to buy the iPhone 4S at the upgrade price. I have been on one so long I can’t say for sure if this is a better deal, but it is an option. Do the math first. The fringe benefit here is that you should always then be able to buy a new phone at an upgrade price — I emphasize “should” here.
    – Actually switch carriers.

    ### Why This is Odd

    Up and until this iPhone, AT&T has been fantastic about allowing existing iPhone users to upgrade at the upgrade price levels on day one. This has likely kept many customers on their network, after all why leave and pay a termination fee?

    Now, with two competitors getting the hottest phone in the country, AT&T decides that it is time to start screwing with (perhaps) their most loyal customers. That’s odd.

    *(Note about Verizon: I didn’t think Verizon customers would get the pricing, since they — unlike AT&T users — haven’t had the phone for over a year yet. It seems that in my informal Twitter poll, this is the case: no upgrade pricing for iPhone 4 Verizon customers. Likely, it would be cheaper for Verizon customers to switch networks also. Odd stuff.)*