Hummingbird604.com » iPhone

I actually DO need an iPhone

Raul — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:30:54 +0000

As I was preparing to meet Tanya for lunch at the Argo Cafe and packing my bag, I realized that I carry all this equipment everywhere I go:
- My laptop (almost dead, but still, working somewhat)
- My digital camera
- My Flip video camera
- My iPod

For all the fuss I’ve made about NOT buying an iPhone and being outraged at the costs, turns out that I actually DO need one. Simply because I need to stop carrying all this equipment. Also, because it would make my life so much easier if I could have Twitter on the road. *sigh* More money to be shelled out, darn it!

The one thing that deters me is definitely the 3 year contract with Rogers. *sigh* We’ll see what I do with that. But if you already have an iPhone, you can leave me a comment and tell me all the nice features it has. I already know about the camera, the included Twitterrific app, the fact that uses 3G when you don’t have wifi, the albums feature, the GPS and Google directions (but the only problem is that this is not dynamic). Anyhow, what are your favorite applications or uses you are giving to your iPhone?

Eco-Shield for the iPhone

Raul — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:41:49 +0000

Thanks to a tweet from my friend Duane, I came across the Eco-Shield for the iPhone. Damn, is it ever a sweet case! I do not own an iPhone, as you can imagine from my recent posts on the iPhone and why I couldn’t afford to get one (even if I wanted to – which, truth be told, I do – only if I didn’t have such a limited budget!)

The Eco-Shield for iPhone (Image source: Apple Store)

EcoShield is made of a hard-plastic derived from recycled plastic bottles, even the package is made of recycled paper and easily recyclable plastic. And though the EcoShield is one of the thinnest cases around, it offers protection second to none. With interior pads to protect the iPhone 3G, this case is the perfect choice for life on the go. It also includes an Agent 18 dock adapter, so you can dock your iPhone in any Universal Docking device without taking it out of the case.[Apple Store]

Duane and I have lots in common, we’ve both had some brushes with the academic life, and we are very open in regards to what we discuss in our blogs. And we both love nachos and geekery (although truth be told, I don’t think I could ever reach his Geek Master level – he could write the entire WordPress platform if he wanted to!)

One of the many things that I appreciate in Duane that I don’t think I tell him often enough is his interest in environmental issues. Just browse through his environment category and you’ll find a lot of awesome tidbits. And he’s implemented lots of energy-saving features in his own home. As I told him in a recent tweet, he just got himself 500 Green Points

And if Duane decides to blog about the Eco-Shield, you’ll find a link back to his blog here. Hat tips to Duane for getting an Eco-Shield for his iPhone and for providing me with fertile ground for yet another blog post

EDIT – Rebecca reminded me of her post in her comment below, a post that I actually had read, but overlooked the bit on the Eco-Shield…. oopsies Nevertheless, just look at the Juicy Couture case for the iPhone and you’ll fall in love … And while I’m going back on posts, Tanya had done a review of BodyGuardz too]

Quick iPhone in Rogers stores update

Raul — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:39:55 +0000

So this post is not even well thought out because I just woke up at like 7.30 am and went directly to meet Tanya and Tod at the flagship Fido store and then went to the Rogers on Broadway and Arbutus where I saw Travis. Photos and video are uploaded here. [Sorry, took the video with my Flip camera]

I interviewed Travis on what was going on at Arbutus and Broadway.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/PjSajOn_ssk]

Some photos from today’s madness at the Fido flagship store AND the Rogers Broadway are on my Flickr.

Things that absolutely were terrible, as indicated by participants:

- No real breakfast (water, juice and power bars – what the heck?)
- System failure (they couldn’t do upgrades, only new accounts and even then, their system failed).
- They didn’t have enough personnel to handle all the requests.

Overall assessment – FAIL – but heck, some of my friends, including John Biehler, already got their iPhone!

I will NOT be buying an iPhone

Raul — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:05:01 +0000

I took a good chunk of the Friday afternoon off to give myself some time away from the blogosphere. Funny how it goes, Karen Parker and I bumped into Richard Eriksson at the Apple Store where he posed the question of the day – “Will YOU buy an iPhone?“. I have been reading reviews of Rogers iPhone plans all over the place, and a lot of my friends have something to say, in one way or another. Buzz Bishop asked around on Twitter the same question – will we buy an iPhone?

With all the buzz in the blogosphere, I can’t really say that the topic has been exhausted, but it has been covered by my friends John Biehler, Andy, Liam, Tanya, Jordan and a number of other friends mine have been examining the issue in such a thorough way that I really don’t think I have much to add to the discussion. EXCEPT – that I am an enviro-geek learning how to be more of a tech-geek. So if Rogers hadn’t royally made such a big mistake, I would have most likely bought an iPhone.

Since I have tons of geek friends in the blogosphere with iPhones (Rebecca, John Biehler, Duane, Tod, Andy, Tanya – although she got rid of hers recently, Jenn, Nadia, just to name a few) I have had a chance to test-drive the artifact itself. I like it, the functionality is awesome, and there’s a gazilliion things that you can do with it.

Here is where Rogers made a mistake, in micro-economics terms – Rogers had the perception that the geek’s price elasticity of demand of an iPhone would be low. Ok, yes that was economics-geekspeak. In plain English – Rogers gambled on the addictive nature of gadgets for geeks. If you REALLY want a gadget, you’ll pay whatever price is necessary. Thus the price elasticity is low. If there are numerous substitutes, you’ll switch to whatever gadget is cheaper and can get you the same thing for the same price.

My price sensitivity, however, is quite high. I am highly sensitive to pricing changes AND surprising as this may sound, Rogers, SO ARE GEEKS! Living in an expensive city like Vancouver, and having tonnes of other options to switch to, trust me, an iPhone is NOT an item all geeks need. There are dozens of other options they have and they can switch to. Substitutes are available all over the place. Price elasticity is high.

Since I’m sensitive to price changes, and truth be told, I am also quite fine with my cell phone as is, and I don’t need yet another gadget, I will not be buying an iPhone. It would have been nice, for sure. It would have been fun, absolutely. It would make me look even geekier, heck yeah. But I am quite alright, thank you very much. Rogers hasn’t given me much reason to be thrilled with them, and now even less.

For more information, Google “Rogers fail iPhone” and you’ll find dozens of my friends’ reviews of the issue. Have everyone a good weekend.