However, the release of the 4s is quite consistent with Apple iPhone releases.

The initial iPhone (with a monikor) was released in June 2007 and was followed up by the 3G – simply named because it had 3G data capability – in July 2008.

In June 2009 they didn’t release a new version, but improved the 3G and released it as the 3GS.

In 2010 we get the iPhone 4 and this year the iPhone 4S.

This pattern of releasing a new phone one year and then improving it the next is a good idea – particularly when iPhone users are usually on 2 year contracts. If the year after they buy a newly released iPhone they launch another brand-new must-have version then users would probably get annoyed quite quickly. An interim improved phone is the logical conclusion.

So, we have a pattern, which means that the next big iPhone release will be next year. But what about the number?

The 3G was not the third phone. However, the iPhone 4 WAS the 4th iteration (after the original, 3G and 3GS). So that means that next year’s phone will be the iPhone 6. And for a company that works so hard on these intricate details would they really get the numbering wrong? Logically, no. But something tells me the next phone will be the iPhone 5.

Related posts:

1. Best Mobile Contracts iPhone 4S Competition Win an iPhone 4S with Best Mobile Contracts Apple launched the iPhone 4S on October 4th and despite some initial criticism from people who thought...

Are we paying more than we should (image courtesy of Sam Savine

I’ve reviewed both Pogoplug hardware and software over the last year and have found both products to be excellent.

However, after recently buying their Pogoplug Pro hardware myself, I am perturbed by their “rip off” pricing for the UK.

Their Pogoplug Pro costs $99.99, with cheapest postage at $12.95. For some reason, when buying from the US they automatically add to your shopping cart (even though you didn’t ask for it) a copy of their premium software ($29) and their “Extended Download Service¹“  at $5.99. Thankfully, both can be removed. Take into account US taxes and that $99.99 is probably more around $110. Convert that to sterling and you get approx. £68.

However, buy for the UK and it’s… £99.99. The cheapest delivery is £10. That’s £109.99 compared to the US equivalent of £68 – a £42 increase. Take UK VAT into account and that decreases the difference to £20.

The Euro Zone doesn’t get off any lighter, however, as the Euro Pogoplug costs, yes you guessed it, €99.99. That converts to about $70.

Pogoplug isn’t the only company to do this kind of thing – Adobe and Apple spring to mind – but it’s still disappointing.

The usual excuse given by businesses is the cost to convert the product to each country. However, there is no software included, the box is a universal design and the included leaflets are multi-lingual. Interestingly still, where a lot of localisation would be required – software – they charge the same. Their premium software is $29 and they simply convert this price to your own currency “on the fly” (and accurately too). So a conversion to UK rates, will get you the software at £18.16 today. So, they don’t charge any more for the software – something for which (particularly in non-English speaking countries) language conversion is going to be costly, but do for hardware which needs no change.

So, I contacted Pogoplug and spoke to Jeff Fochtman, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Cloud Engines, Inc (who make Pogoplug). His answer was to the point…

We are in business to make some profit and at this point in time it simply costs us more to deliver and support products in the UK and EMEA and to run our business there so we have to charge a bit more

He added 3 points that he believes explains the differences further²…

• We have a cost of doing business in the UK and EU that is much higher than our cost of doing business in UK/EMEA
• Many smaller companies simply do not go through logistics, packaging, certification and manpower that goes into setting up business overseas.  Our ‘profit’ per unit is the similar across all regions because of the cost of doing business at a much smaller volume…we feel we are doing the right thing by adding server support, customer service, operations support in your region but it comes at a higher cost per unit.
• Indeed the shift in rates affects differential in pricing between geographies using different currencies.  It has shifted balance to be a higher delta from when we set the price, however we cannot be constantly changing price with retail partners having a set MSRP.

He concluded our conversation but pointing out that a number of retailers are selling Pogoplug for as little as £49. However, this is the original bright pink Pogoplug (non “pro” version) which is unavailable to buy from their website.

So his answer is that it’s more costly to sell it outside of the US so they charge more. And we should maybe be thankful that we pay as little as we do as the exchange rates has changed since. Maybe it’s just me that thinks that maybe the way to sell more outside the US, however, is to charge fair prices – I’m sure they’d sell a lot more if the unit cost £80 which would be the true equivalent to the US price.

But he says we’re paying extra because, for instance, we get local servers and support. Interestingly their site only makes mention of their US office , their site isn’t country specific and their is no telephone support – just anonymous email support. Does that require localised support? When I recently ordered my Pogoplug it was sent from Germany, so at least that was within Europe. Now, I’m not saying they don’t provide local support – there’s just no evidence of it from their site and, from what I can tell, no reason for it. You can’t even view their site in any language other than English (until you sign into MyPogoplug to view your shared files).

Indeed, the only time you specify your country is when purchasing hardware from them. How do they offer local support? The ticket system that customers can use to request support makes no mention of the country of origin and my user profile doesn’t specify this either.

Whether they’re using localised servers for Pogoplug I can’t tell.

So, is that a good excuse or are we being ripped off once again?

I didn’t respond back with any further questions to Mr Fochtman but if I do hear anything I’ll update this post.

1. essentially they will backup the software you download for easy access in future
2. this is an exact cut and paste quote from Mr Fochtman

Related posts:

1. Pogoplug : Amazing Offer & iPad App The rather excellent Pogoplug can now be found, for a limited time, for the rather amazing price of £49.99, only available at 1. Additionally, today...
2. Pogoplug Software I’ve reviewed the Pogoplug hardware in the past, but now it’s time to review the actual desktop software. Why? Because with the recent version 3...
3. Pogoplug Mobile Pogoplug have now released a new device, Pogoplug Mobile. Looking like a tiny Pogoplug Pro, this is designed for sharing files with a mobile device...

Instead you buy a “mat” which does the charging and each device has a special case or replacement battery compartment which accepts the charge.

It’s a US company but UK versions of their products are available. Indeed, their prices are quite competitive right now with massive price drops on many of their products.

But.. and there’s a but… their range is rubbish. If you don’t own an Apple or Blackberry you’re likely to be out of luck. They also support the Nintendo DS and DSi and 2 Android phones. The Apple iPod Touch is supported but not the latest generation and in the case of the Android phones, both are US models and don’t appear to be supported in the UK at all.

I contacted them via Twitter to ask if they had plans for a receiver for the incredibly popular Samsung Galaxy S 2… they didn’t.

So, it begs the question – “what’s the point?”. Well, unless you have a phone named after a fruit.

Related posts:

1. Philips announced Fidelio Docking Stations for Android The one problem with not owning an iPod or iPhone is the lack of peripherals specifically available for your phone. Android is humongously popular, but...
2. Coming soon – Creative ZiiO & ZEN Touch 2 Creative had joined the fray of Android-based devices with an announcement of the Creative Ziio and ZEN Touch 2. Running Android 2.1 and sporting either...
3. Is Poker and Bingo the Future of Android apps? My earlier post about the future of gaming got me thinking. For over a year now I’ve been earnestly intending to start developing Android Apps....

Now, on Twitter I’ve denounced The Gadget Show a few times and said I’d never watch it again. But I do. Normally though it’s their lack of actual testing of tech² and reliance on padding with competition and “challenges”. I’ve gotten around that now by recording it and using the PVR to whiz through the results – sometimes I’ve had an episode down to 10 minutes. What does also annoy me though is their obvious fanboy-like obsession with Apple products (particularly from Jason).

So, before their Smartphone test I guessed the iPhone 4 would win. And, it did. But it was how it won that provokes questions.

The first test (and a phone was eliminated after each test – not sure why, as it may be excellent in the other tests) was ease of use. Which is a fair enough test. Except it was a in a speeding car and tested the time to turn it on, look something up on the internet and email something. The tester – Pollyanna  – obviously didn’t like the keyboard of the Blackberry generally and seemed to almost purposefully not try. But what kind of speed test is the switch on time? Most people wouldn’t leave it turned off, so this would never be an issue. The iPhone was the slowest to turn on but somehow came the 2nd fastest overall (it must have been REALLY quick to make up the time, but that somehow didn’t get mentioned).

Next, now with the Blackberry out of the testing, was a photo and video test. That to me, was good. The Nexus has best photos and the iPhone the best video (note how Jon Bentley goes on about the high quality of the video when he’s remained pretty quiet up to that point). So, the HD7 is now out of the running, leaving the Android powered Nexus S and the Android 4.

The last test was to test it’s apps. Hmm. This was done by leading the 2 testers around via a series of clues that they solved by using apps. They obviously knew which apps to use beforehand and were 100% clued up on how to achieve their goals. Their first task was translating a Spanish message to know they had to get dressed up. They then used an app to find somewhere for an outfitter and then had to print an invite – this invite told them where to go next. Jon reached this place first not because of the phone but (her words) Pollyanna took longer to choose an outfit and had to run in high heals. Once there he got first choice of a vehicle to get them to their final destination – he got a motorbike and Pollyanna got a horse-drawn carriage. Hardly a fair fight and nothing to do with the phones. At this point I realised that I was going to be correct and the iPhone would win. All they had to do was use a SatNav product to guide them to where they were going.

In a case of “Tortoise and the Hare”, however, the iPhone app failed Jon and he ended up going the wrong way. Would the iPhone not triumph after all? Of course it would. With Pollyanna nearly there and Jon still lost, the Nexus S mysteriously “went dead”. No explanation was given as to why (if it was battery life it couldn’t have properly charged beforehand) and the iPhone was declared the winner.

This is the iPhone that takes an age to switch on, has 2nd best speed of use, 2nd best photo capability, best video, an equal footing in apps but with a 2nd place free SatNav application, and somehow it was crowned the best Smartphone. Because the Nexus S “went dead”.

Fair, or badly biased? I know what I think. And Apple are laughing again.

1. their words
2. and when they do it’s often stuff that we, the average consumer, would be able to buy

Related posts:

1. I hate to say it, but I’m disappointed with the Galaxy Nexus Since the Galaxy S2 launched earlier this year no other phone has come near to its capabilities – and that includes, I think, the iPhone...
2. Powermat – great idea, shame about the range Powermat is a company, and range of products, that allow you to charge your electrical gadgets via conductive charging – that’s the same technology that...
3. Why the next iPhone shouldn’t be the iPhone 5 The recent  announcement of the iPhone 4S was met, pretty universally, by disappointment. People were expecting the iPhone 5. However, the release of the 4s...

For over a year now I’ve been earnestly intending to start developing Android Apps. That requires me to learn Java as a starter – and then onto the Android specifics. Unfortunately, time has been my enemy and I haven’t really got anywhere with it.

None-the-less, I keep my eye on the market to see if there’s an obvious “hole” where an app could be desperately needed. At the moment, games appears to be the way to get a “hit”, with few “paid for” apps being enormously popular. Certainly, this is the case in the Android market, although I believe it is different for Apple.

And after mentioning bingo and poker online, I realised that this is possibly where a big explosion in app development may occur in the future. If you look through the Android Market you’ll find few bingo or poker apps from the big online companies, and those that are there are often rated poorly. Small screens and no way of making in-app payments severely restrict their impact.

It’s only a matter of time, though, before Android (like Apple) allows in-app payments (and, indeed, is something they are working on), and with the popularity of the larger screened tablets on the increase, is this the way forward for such apps? It would surely be a lot easier to kick back at home, feet up and play these gambling games on a tablet, rather than sitting at a desktop or laptop. Not that it’s my intention to write such an app – these are probably best left for the companies already dominating the online gambling market.

Meantime, I’ll keep thinking of that ultimate “killer” app that I’ll make my fortune with. Although I suspect the first one I’ll write will simply be a mobile version of this site.

Related posts:

1. What’s the future for gaming consoles? With the recent announcement of both the and the consoles, I wonder if these may be the last of their type. Smartphones are becoming more...
2. Bingo sites join the social web Well, it’s been a while coming. Bingo sites in the UK seem to rely on extravagant adverts on TV with big named stars but, unlike...
3. Run Android Apps under Windows 7 At only an BlueStacks is a way to run Android Apps on Windows 7. Simply download their software and, once installed, an Android logo will...

Additionally, today the Pogoplug iPad app is available for free in the iTunes App Store! The new app offers full Pogoplug functionality on the Apple iPad.

Users can now access and share their files or stream their media from their Pogoplug-attached storage, taking full advantage of the multi-touch surface, immersive high-resolution screen and the extreme ease of portability of the iPad.

1. this offer has now ended

Related posts:

1. Pogoplug Beta now available! Well, after only days ago saying that not much appeared to be happening in the world of Pogoplug, they’ve only gone and announced something rather...
2. Exclusive : Get PogoPlug for just £69.99 If you’ve not come across Pogoplug before, it’s a bright pink box (don’t let the colour put you off) that you connect to your home...
3. Pogoplug – just £49.99 Not content with superb reviews, the excellent Pogoplug can now be bought for just £49.99 from Dixons, Currys and PC World (whilst stocks last). Visit...

In the end I settled on the Dell Zino HD. Obviously inspired by the Apple Mac Mini, this is a dinky plastic box containing a reasonably powerful AMD dual-core processor.

There are 2 base models to choose from, each available as the base unit only or with a monitor. I originally costed the lower end model, adding various extras that I needed, but I found that because the higher end model already had many of these extras it wasn’t much more. Indeed, I found that for only £70 more I would get a more powerful graphics card, 2GB more memory, a wireless card and a Blu-ray player. Well worth the extra money!

So, that full spec includes 6GB memory, Athlon 6850e processor, Radeon HD 4330 graphics, 1TB hard drive. All of this runs the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

It turned up within a matter of days and the box (which also contains a wireless mouse and keyboard) could be easily carried in one hand (it has a carry handle on the top of the box!). As I showed it off at work, people were truly amazed by its compact dimensions – just 8 by 8 inches.

The lid is replaceable and is available in a number of different colours (mine is red!). The power button resides on the top. On the front is the DVD/Blu-Ray player, which is a laptop style version, 2 USB ports, SD card reader and headphone socket.

On the rear is 2 further USB ports, 2 eSata ports, VGA, HDMI, line out, microphone socket, Gigabit Ethernet, Kensington lock socket and a power connector. No PSU is built in – instead this uses an external laptop “brick”.

As I mentioned earlier, the Zino comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse (both operating from a single wireless USB dongle). The mouse has a magnetic top, allowing you to easily lift it off and replace the batteries. It works well and I continue to use it. The keyboard, however, is a different matter – I found that keys had to be pressed quite firmly and, even then, I was often missing out keystrokes. It’s also quite noisy as well. In the end, using another USB port, I’ve put it in the wired Microsoft keyboard that I bought only a few months ago.

And USB ports are a concern, as it sports just 4 in total (with 2 on the front). But if that’s the worst problem I can find (and it is) that’s not too bad – a Belkin 7 port hub has sorted that out!

Pre-installed trial software was minimal – just McAfee needed uninstalling. Once done, I used the included Dell software to make an image of the build.

I’ve not used Windows 7 before (or Vista), so there’s been a bit of a learning curve for that. I was worried about hardware compatibility with W7 but, as it turned out, the only casualty was my webcam – it was top-of-the-range at the time, but it was quite a while ago and Logitech stopped producing drivers for it after XP. Printer, scanner, etc, all work happily. So, I’m now in the market for a webcam!

My monitor only has a VGA and DVI connector, so I purchased an HDMI to DVI lead from eBuyer (which cost only a few pounds) – this works a treat, but Blu-ray movies take exception to it (DRM is not present on DVI, unlike HDMI). It’s not my intention so sit and watch movies with it anyway, so it’s not a concern – however, when I buy a new monitor I will look out for one with HDMI.

I also ordered from eBuyer a SATA dock – I simply dropped my old hard drive into this and connected it to my Dell using a supplied USB cable – I was then able to transfer all my files over. Quick tip – Windows 7 took exception to me accessing the drive in the dock and just hung when trying to access certain folders. I found turning off UAC resolved this.

One last Windows 7 tip – I had problems sharing files between Win7 and WinXP. It turns out the Homegroup feature of Win7 isn’t compatible, so I turned that off and set up sharing “the old fashioned way”.

Summary of Dell Inspiron Zino HD

Heartily recommended – small, very quiet and rather powerful for its diminutive size.

Reviewed by David Artiss on 12th August 2010.

Related posts:

1. Dell UltraSharp U2311H monitor For a while I’ve been after a new monitor – my 17″ Viewsonic may have been a PC Pro a-listed cutting-edge monitor back in 2005...
2. Dell Vostro 460 Have you heard about the Dell Vostro 460? If not you are perfectly on the right moment on getting to know the Dell Vostro 460....
3. Samsung R530 Laptop After much saving my daughter recently bought herself a laptop. Or rather, she gave me the money and left it to my judgement to get...

The “style” range of Creative Zen players are one of a number of models that Creative produce and the 8GB red version that I have can be found for £65.60 at Amazon. In comparison, the cheapest 8GB Apple iPod available at Amazon is the black Nano at £102.60 (more money for other colours). The Style is also available in 16 and 32GB models, as well as colours of black or white.

Packaging wise, Creative have kept it very minimal with a simple plastic exterior holding the player in front in full view, containing a box with all the manuals and accessories in. There is no full manual or software included – I’ll mention that in a bit. However, you get a quick start guide, headphones (which are reasonable – nothing too exciting, but better than those provided with most players) and a short USB cable (which is used for data transfer and recharging).

The player itself is quite dinky but houses a 2.4″ screen (the iPod Nano screen is 2.2″). It’s held in landscape and to the right of the screen is a 4-way selector (and click centre to select) and is flanked top and bottom with 2 rocker switches – the top one is a back and menu button and the bottom one is a user shortcut and play/pause button. The back is always white, but the top reflects the colour you chose (in my case red), shown in a fake carbon fibre effect. The screen is seamless – there’s no step or ridge between it and the rest of the case. The case, though, is plastic and the buttons feel particularly cheap – considering the price, this is the kind of thing you’ll have to expect. None-the-less, they work well.

On the top of the player is a microphone and a power (and hold) button, on the side is the headphone socket and USB connection and on the bottom is a reset button. To the rear is a speaker grill. Creative have gone down the frustrating Apple route, in that the battery appears to be non-replaceable. It’s recharged via USB but there’s no obvious way to access it if you need to change it in future. However, it does go 25 hours between charges (which playing music).

In use, the Zen takes a few seconds to “boot up”, after which you are presented with a clear colour screen (320×240 pixels) with good viewing angles. The menu is easy to navigate and, generally, the whole device is easy to use.

The “X-Fi” part of the products name is a technology of Creatives that improves the quality of compressed audio (i.e. MP3). By default this isn’t turned on, but can be easily done via the X-Fi menu option.

The Style is not just a music player, but will also display photos, play video and has an FM radio. There is an offline RSS reader (the software to synchronise feeds is actually on the player itself and you run it from your PC once the Style is connected to it) and organiser function and the microphone can be used for voice recording.

The radio has good reception but isn’t RDS, although you can name stations yourself.

Audio, photos and videos can all be converted to compatible formats by using the downloadable software, named Creative Centrale. To keep packaging to a minimum, the full manual and software is on the player (in the folder named “Starter Pack”) or downloadable from their website. This will catalogue your media and transfer it to your player, converting the format, if required. It will also synchronise with the organiser as well from products such as Microsoft Outlook. The software is okay – it’s not always obvious how you do things and it lacks any “power” options for the more advanced user (e.g. conversion options) but, well, it works and I was happily transferring files onto the player. You can use Windows Media Player instead, but that won’t provide the automatic format conversion.

So, the music and video itself. The audio is excellent - especially when paired with a good set of headphones – and it can be played through the headphones or the rear-facing speaker. The speaker is not particularly loud, but is as good as you’d expect from one as small as it is and is a useful addition to have! Video too is excellent with crisp colours and a clear output.

I’d recommend upgrading the player to the latest firmware – this is easy to do and, as it will cause your custom settings to be lost, is well worth doing quite early on. All of my tests have been done with the latest 1.03.04 firmware (it comes with 1.00.04 by default).

One of the downsides of buying any MP3 player, other than an iPod, is the lack of accessories as most manufacturers seem to concentrate entirely on Apple products. Creative themselves have a few accessories available – screen protectors, silicon case, an AV cable (so you can view videos and photos directly on your TV!) and a power cable (that runs from the mains). They’re not cheap however, and eBay comes up empty (with the exception of the power connector). I’d recommend a silicon skin, but only if you’re buying the player from Creative in the first place – they’re £12.99 in the first place and with delivery of £5, that makes a grand total of £17.99. For a case.

The Zen X-Fi Style is an excellent music and video player for the money – the sound output and display are superb and all the extras (such as the radio and speaker) make it excellent value for money.

Related posts:

1. Creative ZEN Style M300 The ZEN Style M300 is the latest MP3 player from Creative. Boasting a small size, budget price but some big features, it looks to be...
2. Creative D200 Bluetooth Speaker For those not wishing to splash out a few hundred pounds on the excellent Creative ZiiSound Bluetooth speakers, Creative have further ranges of Bluetooth speakers...
3. Creative ZiiSound D5x The ZiiSound D5x is an enhanced version of the D5, which I reviewed last year. At the time I praised its sound quality and looks....

He blames most Mac crashes on Flash and, I have to say, since Firefox starting sandboxing plugins I’ve seen regular reported Flash crashes.

However, a lot – a lot – of high profile websites use Flash, mainly to render video. Steve’s answer to this is HTML 5 – a new version of HTML that is being supported more and more by the browsers. And HTML includes video capability. Great – no more Flash.

Except his argument is flawed.

1. HTML 5 is still a draft standard and is liable, probably for a good few years yet, to change.
2. Flash does more than just play video and HTML 5 doesn’t support a lot of what it can do.
3. Although HTML 5 allows video, it doesn’t force you to use a particular format. And, as usually happens, a “war” is going on between competing formats – with 3 formats being particularly strong. Where most browsers are plumping for the 2 royalty free options (after all browsers are given away free), Apple has only added the commercial version to Safari and, so far, that appears to be the less popular. Each site will have to re-encode their videos for a different format other than Flash – are they really going to do it for 3 other formats?
4. HTML 5 video can’t do everything that Flash video can – it is unable to display video fullscreen and there are content protection issues.

Many have speculated that Job’s dislike of Flash mainly comes down to the fact that, unlike pretty much every other aspect of the iPhone, Apple can’t control it. Even apps, written by others, have to be checked and authorised by Apple, after being written on Apple development tools.

Which makes their choice of video format look odd, as it’s a third party commercial product. But then, they would have even less control over the two open formats.  iTunes and Quicktime already use this format and besides, one of the other formats is being championed by Google.

By insisting that Apple products do not use Flash but instead force their particular video format on the masses that buy them they are, in effect, almost guaranteeing themselves success longer term. Or are they? Can the other browsers support a commercial video format which they will have to pay for.

And, at the same time, sites are going to be reluctant to recode all their video until a format is clearly successful.

But, it’s good to see Steve is taking it on the chin as he always does. After a blogger contacted him about supporting the alternative, open formats, Steves reply was “a patent pool is being assembled to go after Theora and other open source codecs now”.

Nice.

Related posts:

1. Editing a Flash Video I’ve had a recent need to edit a downloaded Flash video (.FLV extension). However, my usual editor of choice, PowerDirector, wouldn’t import a file in...
2. Asus EEE PC 701 – Updating Firefox & Flash My wife has had her Asus EEE PC 701 for a good few years now and still uses it on a daily basis – pretty...

Apple offers free iPhone case to tackle reception problem

The iPhone 4, evolutionary rather than revolutionary, has had users reporting signal strength problems since its launch. It continues to sell well, despite what appears a big flaw and Apple refusing to be helpful.

Let’s have a quick run down of what’s happened since the iPhone 4 launch on the 24th June.

June 24th
The same day as the phone launches, CNET report that users are having signal issues when holding the phone a certain way – in particular having your hand over the left hand corner of the phone (left handed users are more likely to do this whilst holding it).

When Ars Technica contacted Steve Jobs via email, he responded that users should “avoid holding it in this way”.

June 25th
Apple tell the press that losing signal whilst holding a phone is “normal” and that they should “avoid gripping it in the lower left corner”. Alternatively, “Simply use one of many available cases”.

June 26th
Engadget report that a Danish Professor warned Apple about their antenna design back in early June.

June 30th
In an internal memo, Apple tells staff not to offer customers free accessories that could resolve poor reception problems if they complain about low signal strength.

July 2nd
Apple decides to blame software rather than hardware for the signal problems, stating that the algorithms for displaying the signal strength were wrong.

July 12th
Consumer Reports says it can’t recommend the iPhone 4 after conclusive and extensive tests show “there is a problem with its reception”. It also says that its findings call Apple’s explanation of a miscalculated signal meter into question.

Engaget reports that Apple is deleting posts from its forum that make mention of the Consumer Reports article. It also tests the signal issue and reports that they have “confirmed and clarified that the antenna issue affects every iPhone 4″.

So…
I don’t really know where to begin with stating just how wrong this whole debacle has been handled. Apple’s ability to not accept any responsibilty for something that is blatantly a fault, goes beyond shoddy. The signal strength “bug” is simply the equivalent of sweeping rubbish under the rug – the problem is still there, just will now be reported differently.

Therefore, in the middle of all this, would you expect a well respected PC magazine to not only give the phone their top award BUT state “We have managed to replicate the problem, but to do so we had to grip it so hard, and in such an awkward manner, that it wasn’t a problem for us”. Which is odd, as all suggestions are that the signal strength problem occurs when simply holding it in the hand, with your palm gripping the lower left-hand corner. When I hold my phone I hold it like this, but on the right hand corner – if I was left handed, I’m sure I’d recreate the fault. Not only, that but the above tests by various other sites have shown conclusively that this is happening. If, indeed, it only happened when gripping it in “an awkward manner”, would there have been such a flood of users experiencing the problem?

So, stand up and be counted PC Pro, for your review. A review which has been, by the majority of commenters on their website, berated but which they still stand by.

A review, where although the iPhone gets a lesser score that than the HTC Desire, they are now recommending it over the Desire. A review which leaves the signal issue to the end and quickly moves past it after a half-arsed attempt to test it. A review where they admit it’s stupidly expensive (and only give it 3 out of 6 for value for money). I expected better of PC Pro. Even if you ignore the signal issue itself for a moment, the way that Apple are treating their customers (who have, after all, spent rather a lot of money on this product) is shocking. How can you recommend a faulty product, supported by a company that shows nothing but contempt for its customers?

Except, PC Pro is not alone.

Engadget, who are quoted above as stating that thet have “confirmed and clarified that the antenna issue affects every iPhone 4″, says in its review that “the iPhone 4 is the best smartphone on the market right now”.

Consumer Reports - you know, the people who can’t recommend buying an iPhone 4 – has it as their highest rated smartphone. So, they recommend it, but don’t.

What’s going on here? I’m not going to suggest anything dodgy (which many do), but are they getting caught up in the Apple hype, like so many other people? Why don’t they, once they know the extent of the issues, go back and change their review? Or, as is the case of Consumer Reports, you appear happy to have completely opposing views.

In these reviews I don’t notice the other problems with the iPhone being mentioned – for example, the sealed non-replaceable battery (well, unless you send it to Apple with a big fat cheque), the lack of Flash, the iTunes lock-in, etc. It’s as if these venerable, and respected, sites just accept this now as the norm and ignore it rather than keep bringing it up (which, let’s be honest, is the only way this is likely to change).

So, PC Pro, Engadget and Consumer Reports – do you still stand by your review? Will you look further into the signal issue, in light of thedamning evidence that it’s a lot more serious?

Update on 14th July:

Tim Danton, editor of PC Pro, replied…

We do still stand by the review, but I’ll leave it up to our reviews editor whether or not to comment any further…

I’ve not yet had a comment from their reviews editor. Or, indeed, Engadget or Consumer Reports.

Related posts:

1. Why the next iPhone shouldn’t be the iPhone 5 The recent  announcement of the iPhone 4S was met, pretty universally, by disappointment. People were expecting the iPhone 5. However, the release of the 4s...
2. Best Mobile Contracts iPhone 4S Competition Win an iPhone 4S with Best Mobile Contracts Apple launched the iPhone 4S on October 4th and despite some initial criticism from people who thought...
3. The GadgetShow and un-smart smartphone test Tonights included a “showdown” between 4 of the “latest”1 smartphones – the iPhone 4, Nexus S, HTC HD7 and the Blackberry Torch (each representing a...