Snow Leopard Sucks

The more I use Snow Leopard the more I come to realise that its a lesson in how to abandon over 15 years of development of useful, easy-to-use software that people actually want to use in favour of something that might be prettier but is actually vastly more complex but yet with reduced functionality and a horrendous user interface. I have to wonder what's happened to all the designers and developers at Apple who actually knew what they were doing?

My iPod Touch

Never thought I'd own an iPod. The few times I'd tried them, I could never get on with that wheel-like interface. But as I'm part of the OU's iTunes U/Podcasting project (I am currently building the website, backend database and XML creation system) I've now become the posessor of an iPod Touch.

"Designed by Apple in California" they proudly state on the iPod's box - but where are they made? And why don't they say?

Apple's iPod now takes about 40% of the world's solid-state music player market and it is by far their biggest money spinner. To cut manufacturing costs, they are of course made in China in factories owned and operated by Foxconn. A bit old now, but here's some links to articles on "iPod City":

Inside Apple's iPod factories - Mac - Macworld UK
Apple responds to iPod factory claims - Mac - Macworld UK
BBC NEWS | Business | iPod 'slave' claims investigated

What of the iPod itself? We'll, its a very impressive bit of kit. The wireless functionality means that its much more than just a music player - I have a Sudoku game on it, plus I use it to read web forums, to keep up with Facebook (although its only partically functional) and to post messages to Twitter. The touch screen is easy to use and the predictive text typing works very well. I'm subscribed to the SkyNext podcast, plus I can play movies on it. Battery life is good and even the standard earpiece headphones do a reasonable job.

But then for £210 (16Gb model) it should be impressive - you can get a fully-functional Windows laptop for that money.

3G iPhone

"Apple announces cheaper 3G iPhone
Apple has unveiled a second generation of its iPhone, with support for faster 3G wireless networks. The new device(s) were launched by Apple boss Steve Jobs who said the phone would be 'more affordable' for consumers, starting at $199 (£100)."

Pity the poor suckers who bought the first version for $599 and are still stuck in the contract they were forced to sign up to just to own one.

"The iPhone was first launched last year and was criticised for its support for slower 2G networks only. Mr Jobs said the 3G iPhone was 'three times faster' downloading content over a mobile network compared to the original device."

Yes, we know that Steve, that's why no one could understand why you launched a 2G phone the first time.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Apple announces cheaper 3G iPhone

Technorati tags: Apple iPhone 3G

Apple's iPhone hype reaches the UK

"iPhone wedding gets mixed reception
As Apple's Steve Jobs unveiled the UK deal for the iPhone with his usual showmanship, O2's Matthew Key and Charles Dunstone of Carphone Warehouse looked on like blushing brides. The O2 website crashed soon after the iPhone announcement, apparently gasping under the weight of inquiries from excited customers. They may be a little more cautious once they look more closely at the price - £269 is pretty steep these days for a mobile phone...

BBC NEWS | Business | iPhone wedding gets mixed reception

Lets do a comparison between this an a Nokia N95 on a Vodafone contract:

	iPhone/O2	Nokia N95/Vodafone
Contact	18 months	18 months
3G	no	yes
Wireless	802.11b/g	no
Camera	2 Mpixel	5 Mpixel
Storage	8Gb	extra memory card
Phone	£269	Free
per Month	£35	£30 (first 3 months half price)
Entire contract cost	£1259	£495

Well, that's quite a difference...
Technorati tags: Apple iPhone O2 contract handset 3G