July 27th, 2010

StarCraft II Released

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty officially went on sale today. The original StarCraft game was released in March of 1998, which means the sequel was twelve years in the making. To say this game was highly anticipated is a vast understatement.

Even though StarCraft was released more than a decade ago, hundreds of thousands of people around the world still play the game. In fact, StarCraft has become so popular in South Korea that it is now a professional sport, which is broadcast on television. Many popular games have come and gone in the past ten years, but StarCraft has truly stood the test of time.

Now with the release of StarCraft II, a new era is about to begin. Like the original version, StarCraft II is a realtime strategy (RTS) game that pits the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg races against each other in a battle for space domination. From the screenshots and trailers I have seen, the game looks incredible. The old sprite graphics have been replaced with polished 3D models and the gameplay looks even smoother than the first version.

It appears that Blizzard did several things right with the development of this game, including not misleading fans with the release date, like they did with the original version. Instead of pushing back the release date year after year, Blizzard did not even mention a release date until a few weeks ago. The company also released the game simultaneously for Windows and Macintosh platforms, which I am sure the Mac faithful appreciate. I am guessing many kids and young men across the world will be short on sleep for awhile thanks to StarCraft II.

Apple Addresses the iPhone Signal Issue

Steve Jobs addressed the press today regarding the iPhone 4 signal issue. He began by comparing the iPhone's signal to other smartphones, including RIM, HTC, and Samsung models. The videos he presented showed the signal level drop when each of the phones were held in a certain way. Therefore, he explained that the signal reduction was not exclusive to the iPhone 4.

Jobs also provided some concrete numbers regarding the iPhone 4. The return rate has been 1.7% (less than one third the rate of the iPhone 3GS), which is pretty amazing for a new phone model. The dropped call rate is slightly more, but less than one more per hundred calls than the iPhone 3GS. Jobs described the media hype over the issue as "Antennagate" and said it has been blown way out of proporition. Still, Jobs insisted Apple wants all customers to be happy, so the company is offering free cases to all users who have purchased an iPhone 4. Apple is also offering a full refund (with no restocking fee) within 30 days of any users who are not satisfied with their new iPhones.

I think Steve Jobs handled the situation well and Apple went above and beyond what was necessary by offering all users free cases. Apple will provide customers with a choice of free cases on the company website and will begin ship them to users next week. Users who have already purchased cases can contact Apple for a refund. That is pretty impressive customer service and I believe it will go a long way to building customer loyalty. Offering third-party cases also helps Apple's partners since the company is not forcing customers to buy an Apple-branded case.

But one question remains unanswered. Why does an iPhone case prevent the signal from attenuating? If an external case solves the problem, shouldn't that insulation be built into the phone? Since most complaints seemed to surface with the first iPhone 4 shipments, I wonder if Apple did in fact fix the issue with more recent models. Providing free cases and offering a full refund to current owners is a fair solution, but I am still not convinced the antenna issue never existed.

iPhone 4 Reception Drama

Ever since the release of the iPhone 4, there have been complaints about reception issues with the phone. Specifically, users have complained that when they hold the lower left corner of the phone, the reception drops off significantly. I was able to confirm this problem when I tested an iPhone 4 in the Apple Store a few days after its release. As I held the phone, the signal bars dropped off one by one until there were no more bars left.

I was concerned about this issue when I bought my iPhone, but fortunately my iPhone 4 has not exhibited the same behavior. I have noticed a slight drop off in signal strength when gripping the lower left corner of the phone, but nothing as dramatic as the iPhone I tested in the store. This is interesting, considering Apple has described the problem as a software issue, not a physical defect. Since both my iPhone and the iPhone I tested earlier have the same software, it seems the problem is hardware related.

The iPhone 4 is the first iPhone to have an external antenna. It actually has two – one for GSM and UMTS signals (for cell phone reception) and one for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS signals. These antennas form a band around the outside of the phone, but are disconnected at the top and the lower left hand corner. My theory is that when you grab the lower left hand corner of the phone, your hand acts as a conductor between the two antennas and creates negative interference. In other words, a significant amount of the signal transmission gets cancelled, much like how sound waves get cancelled by noise-cancelling headphones. It appears that Apple has modified this design in newer shipments of the iPhone 4, but it is surprising that the company did not catch this problem with the first batch.

The drama concerning the iPhone 4 signal problems came to a tipping point when Consumer Reports said they could not recommend the iPhone 4 based on reception issues, which they were able to reproduce. They said current owners could fix the problem by buying a case for the iPhone 4 or by placing a piece of duct tape over the lower left corner of the phone. Wait... duct tape on an iPhone 4? I never thought I'd hear those words used in the same sentence. In my review of the iPhone 4, I stated how amazed I was by the meticulous craftsmanship of the phone. To apply duct tape to such a beautifully designed device is laughable. If nothing else made Steve Jobs need to formally address this issue, I believe this statement got his attention. I don't know Steve Jobs personally, but from what I do know about him, he would be absolutely appalled by images of duct taped iPhones.

Not surprisingly, Apple has scheduled a formal press conference about the iPhone reception issues for tomorrow morning. Hopefully, the company will confirm that they have fixed the issue with currently shipping models. I'm guessing they might also offer a free bumper case to current iPhone users or a credit towards a third-party case. It would be great if Apple also provides a way to fix iPhones that have reception issues and offer replacements as necessary. Any of these responses require a genuine admission of a mistake from Apple, which is rare. But now that images of duct taped iPhone 4s have begun floating around, it's clear Apple needs to take action.

iPhone 4 Review

I recently bought the Apple iPhone 4 and have been testing out for the past few days. While I had some rather lofty expectations for the new phone, I am happy to say that based on my experience so far, it lives up to the hype.

In my previous posting, I mentioned the three features that made me decide to get the new iPhone were the retina display, the new camera, and the FaceTime video calling capability. While I haven't had a chance to use FaceTime yet (since none of my friends have the iPhone 4), I can attest that the other two features are great.

The term "retina display" refers to how screen resolution is so fine that supposedly the human retina cannot detect the individual pixels on the display. So of course I stared at the screen for awhile, trying to detect the individual pixels. But alas, it was to no avail. The pixels seem to just run together. The text is especially clear and appears more like handwriting than digital characters. In fact, the iPhone 4's screen is so clear that my computer monitor now looks blurry after using the iPhone. The only downside is that most current iPhone apps still use the lower resolution, which makes the graphics look slightly fuzzy on the new high-res screen. But this will of course change over time. Until other smartphone manufacturers match the iPhone's new screen resolution, this will be a huge selling point for the phone.

The upgraded built-in digital camera was another reason I decided to buy the iPhone 4. The higher megapixel count is nice, but the LED flash was the feature I was looking forward to the most. After taking a few pictures with the flash, I'm happy to say it works pretty well. It definitely isn't as powerful as the built-in flash on most standalone digital cameras, but it does the job in low-light situations. The flash also doubles as a light for the video camera, which is another nice feature. The scope of the light is limited compared to a digital camcorder, but it is now possible to actually see what you are recording at night or in a dark room. So far, the quality of the photos and videos I have taken with the iPhone 4 are noticeably better than the those taken with my iPhone 3GS.

While the iPhone 4's display and the camera are great, I was surprisingly impressed by something else — the speed. This iPhone is super-fast. In fact, it is significantly faster than the 3GS. Scrolling through documents and webpages is smoother, opening apps is faster, and the iPhone 4 is overall much more responsive than the iPhone 3GS. Therefore, I am pleasantly surprised with how the much faster the iPhone 4 is than previous models.

So far, I only have two qualms about the iPhone 4. First is that the camera's backlit sensor does not perform as well as I had hoped. The low-light shots without the flash are still pretty lousy. The color has not improved and the images are pretty noisy without sufficient lighting. My other complaint is the shape of the new iPhone. While I appreciate the slimness of the iPhone 4 (it is actually thinner than the previous models), the phone is not as comfortable to hold. Also, since it doesn't have rounded edges, picking up the phone is a little harder. I know it sounds like a lame criticism, but the phone is actually somewhat difficult to lift off a flat surface. My guess is that Apple will once again go back to a rounded edge design in a future model.

Overall, I am impressed with the iPhone 4. I still have yet to use FaceTime and try some of the new apps, but my experience so far has been great. I haven't come across any annoying bugs and the hardware is extremely high quality. It feels like a Bang and Olufsen device, but is reasonably priced. While I could describe the phone in many ways, my best description still doesn't compare to a hands-on experience. Therefore, if you're in the market for a new cell phone, I highly recommend visiting your local Apple Store and trying out the iPhone 4.

iPhone 4 Officially Announced

Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone 4 today during his WWDC 2010 keynote address. While I'm not usually one to get caught up in the hype of new product releases, this phone looks amazing.

I stood in line to buy the first iPhone when it was originally released in 2007. Like a lot of iPhone users, I feel like it changed my life. The iPhone allowed me to do new things like listen to music, view photos, read and send email, and browse the Web wherever I went. It was like I had part of my Mac with me at all times.

Last year, I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, which is much faster than the original iPhone and includes a great video recording feature. I really like my iPhone 3GS and didn't plan on upgrading to the new phone. That is, until I saw the new iPhone 4 today. The following features made me change my mind.

• The Retina Display - Apple doubled the resolution of the already super-high res iPhone to 960x640 pixels. That is four times as many pixels in the same screen space. Wow. When I wrote my review of the original iPhone, my favorite feature was the amazing display. I can't wait to see how clear everything looks on the new model.
• A New Camera - The camera has been upgraded with a 5 megapixel sensor. It also includes a great feature called backside illumination, which helps capture better low light images. The camera also finally includes an LED flash, that works as both a camera flash and a light for video recording. And speaking of video recording, the iPhone 4 now records HD video!
• FaceTime Video Calling - The new iPhone includes a feature called FaceTime, which is used for making video calls with other iPhone users. Now, instead of needing two computers with a webcam, all you need are two iPhones. The iPhone 4 includes cameras on the front and back of the phone and you can switch between the cameras to film yourself or your surroundings. From the demos I've seen, it looks like a groundbreaking feature that may change the way we communicate in the future.