Our inbox is littered with tips from frustrated Netflix users attempting to stream videos from the site’s service. Reports state that Netflix’s Instant service, in all its forms, has been down for the last several hours. If you were planning to have a nice evening in with your main-squeeze and a slightly dated movie, this certainly would put a damper on those plans. Anyone out there experiencing this?

It’s not the update you’ve been waiting for, rather it’s the update the will allow you to get the update you’ve been waiting for. Of course we’re talking about Windows Phone 7, and the small, quirky code bundle Microsoft has been attempting to rollout for the past two weeks. After halting the update to Samsung handsets back on February 23rd, the company resumed sending the software to users’ devices this week. And unfortunately, it looks like Windows Phone users with Samsung handsets are continuing to have issues — problems Microsoft admits via Twitter it is “aware of” and is “looking into.” The small package being pushed by Microsoft patches Windows Phone’s updater mechanism, preparing it for the more significant NoDo update that is set to bring copy and paste functionality, amongst other things, to WP7 later this month. Not the most impressive software rollout we’ve ever seen, but hopefully Microsoft and friends have this whole mess sorted out by the time NoDo is a gogo. 

Read

Yesterday, we told you about an issue being experience by Samsung Windows Phone owners that was causing a recently released update to fail — or in the worst cases render a handset unusable. Late last night, Microsoft took to the web to explain exactly what it’s discovered about the missteps of its first Windows Phone update.

“90 percent of people who’ve received an update notification have installed the new software patch successfully,” writes Microsoft’s Michael Stroh. “Of the 10 percent who did experience a problem, nearly half failed for two basic reasons—a bad Internet connection or insufficient computer storage space.”

Mr. Stroh goes on to concede that the update has not gone perfectly, and that a “technical issue” with the update process “impacts a small number” of Samsung devices. But he reinforces that Microsoft is “committed to learning from our first update and improving the process.”

The article concludes with a handful of frequently asked questions. If you want to know more about the Redmond company’s first Windows Phone update, hit the read link and have a look for yourself.

Read

According to Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu, RIM may be forced to delay the release of its first tablet computer, the BlackBerry PlayBook. Wu claims he is hearing that the PlayBook “needs to improve its relatively poor battery life of a few hours compared to 6 hours for the Samsung Galaxy Tab and 10 hours for [Apple's] iPad.” As a result, Wu writes, the launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook may be delayed until May, 2011. Wu notes that the cause of the battery issues may stem from the fact that QNX, the PlayBook’s operating system, was designed for use in scenarios where battery life is not an issue — such as in automobiles. RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie stated last month that the PlayBook would launch in the first quarter of 2011, with a price tag under $500.

We ran an exhaustive video preview of the BlackBerry PlayBook earlier this month, and called the PlayBook experience as it stands now “fluid, quick, and downright impressive.” With Apple’s iPad 2 and several Android tablets set to launch over the course of the first quarter, however, sales of the BlackBerry PlayBook could be negatively impacted should RIM be forced to delay the tablet’s launch until the second quarter.

Read

To be honest, we haven’t heard all that much complaining from DROID X users running Android 2.2, but apparently Motorola has. In a forum post, Motorola listed several issues being experienced and reported by DROID X users who have upgraded their devices to Android 2.2. The list includes: stuck on Motorola logo after boot, random rebooting, Wi-Fi connection stability, Battery Manager “Force Close” error, media not playing, and music files cutting out early. Hit the jump for the full explanation and let us know if you’re seeing any of these issues.

If you have already upgraded to 2.2 for Droid X, you have found some new capabilities. Unfortunately, some owners also found new issues.  Here are some of the known issues raised by forums members, with some information about each. It is not intended to be a complete list at this time — there are many more fixes and improvements in the works. I’ll update this list as information becomes available.

• Stuck on Moto logo after reboot – this was tough on a few owners. Very sorry about that. A fix has been developed for this and should eliminate the problem. It will be distributed in a future software release. If you are still experiencing this issue, click here.
• Random rebooting – while there always seem to be new conditions that can cause an electronic device to panic, we do have improvements coming that address and eliminate identified panic states. They will be distributed in a future software release.
• WiFi connection and stability – improvements in WiFi have been developed, to address several problem areas. They will be distributed in a future software release.

• Battery Manager “force close” errors – under some circumstances, pressing the battery icon under Menu > Settings > Battery Manager results in a forced close error. A fix has been developed for this and should eliminate the problem. It will be distributed in a future software release.

• Media won’t play – includes “sorry the player does not support this type of audio file,” custom ringtone stop working, video won’t play, etc., until after a reboot. We believe we have identified the cause of these errors. A fix has been developed for this and should eliminate the problem. It will be distributed in a future software release.

• Music files cutting off the final four seconds or so – a solution has been developed. It will be distributed in a future software release.

At this time I don’t have information about when the next software update will be available — when I have it, I’ll share it here.

Read

A quick note on Sprint’s support site indicates that the HTC EVO 4G will be getting a small software update sometime in the near future. The update lists “calendar event edit issues” and “multiple Gmail account sync” as the two problems it is designed to address. The version number is also listed at 3.29.651.5. You can check for the update by navigating to Settings > System Updates > HTC software update on your EVO 4G.

Read

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple, Inc. is looking into reports that the performance of iOS 4, on the iPhone 3G, is sub-par. The most common gripes are that the two-year old handset is “sluggish” and “burns through a charge” very quickly after the update is installed. Anyone out there experiencing this?

Read

]]> http://www.bgr.com/2010/07/16/bgr-poll-what-is-apple-talking-about-announcing-today/feed/ 71 http://www.bgr.com/2010/07/01/exclusive-conversation-with-steve-jobs-on-the-iphone-4-antenna-problems/ http://www.bgr.com/2010/07/01/exclusive-conversation-with-steve-jobs-on-the-iphone-4-antenna-problems/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:05:11 +0000 Jonathan S. Geller http://www.bgr.com/?p=54596

One of our readers has a pretty interesting story to share. It is one that involves his passion for Apple products, an Apple engineer, Steve Jobs, and reported problems with the iPhone 4′s antenna placement. Let’s call the person talking to Apple and Steve Jobs “Tom”… Tom recorded a video which he posted on YouTube. That video demonstrated the iPhone 4′s now well known issue of signal degration when being held mostly on the left lower side of the phone. Apparently, Apple noticed the video, and reached out directly to Tom. While talking with Apple, Tom was informed that Apple doesn’t consider this an issue, and that anything online is just “rumor hysteria”. Apple also asked Tom not to post further videos.

Tom followed up by emailing the Apple engineer and Steve Jobs directly. Below is the email thread broken down. We have verified the email headers and information, and believe this exchange to be 100% legitimate.

Updated…

First email:

[Apple engineer name redacted],

When we spoke, you would not tell me that there is a fix for this phone?

A friend just sent me this: http://www.bgr.com/2010/06/29/leaked-apples-internal-iphone-4-antenna-troubleshooting-procedures/

I assume there is no fix then. If this is legit, I have lost all respect for apple and just want to go back to Verizon and get a nice Android phone. And don’t tell me they have the same issues, all our co-workers with Androids are just mocking us right now…. “Hey, I am going to go in the basement and continue my call. You can use my office on the 2nd floor so you can get a signal”. You are going to kill your brand over one product. Apple is coming off arrogant and rude. If there is no fix just tell people so they can return their phones. We have work to do. I have bought just about every apple product made in the last 20 years  and this is the 1st time I am ashamed to be a MAC fan.

This is just  sickening,

[Tom]

Here is Steve Jobs’ reply:

No, you are getting all worked up over a few days of rumors.  Calm down.

Our reader’s response:

I am really insulted… “Calm down”…. “rumors”… What arrogance. This is will be marked as the begging of the end of Apple. Seriously, DO THE RIGHT THING. I just had dinner with 3 people who had iPhone 4s we all cant make calls without dropping. There is no rumors it is reality.

Steve Jobs counters:

You are most likely in an area with very low signal strength.

Our reader again:

Stop with jackass comments. I have has every iphone made. They all had a bad signal but this is the so much worse X3. The whole country is is in a “low signal strength” in reality… all but apple campus and your house it seems? AT&T maps are a joke. I am in “excellent” to “good” coverage and on my iPhone 1, Iphone 3G, and my iPhone 3Gs, I could  at least make a telephone call. After all, it is a phone. Iphone 4…. 5 bars….. touch the phone… ZERO bars call drops.

Steve. IT DOES NOT WORK! Geezzz I hope this this is not really you. Are we on a different MHz? I have yet to see an iPhone [4] work in Richmond when you hold it in your hand. It is not “isolated”. I was a big fan. But I am done.

Steve responds once again:

You may be working from bad data. Not your fault. Stay tuned. We are working on it.

Sent from my iPhone

And lastly, Tom emails in again:

Retire, relax, enjoy your family. It is just a phone. Not worth it.

What are your thoughts on this one? Is Tom in the right? Did he get a little too aggressive with his emails? Do you believe Steve Jobs when he says Apple is actively working on it?

UPDATE: The last line in the email exchange was actually not said by Mr. Jobs; rather it was by “Tom.” We corrected it as soon as we were made aware.

UPDATE 2: Added email header information and full exchange..

We’ve been hearing grumblings on the intertubes about the newly minted Nexus One having 3G connectivity problems with T-Mobile’s network. Users have been reporting that the Nexus is constantly bouncing between 3G and EDGE, even in a 3G saturated area, or, in some of the more severe cases, not connecting to the 3G network even when it is available. A moderator on T-Mobile’s forums states, “Google and T-Mobile are investigating this issue and hope to have more information for you soon. We understand your concern and appreciate your patience.” Let’s hope this is a minor coding snafu and can be resolved quickly by a software patch. Any early adopters of the “Sexy Nexy” seeing 3G issues?

[Via TmoNews]

Read

We gave you our iPhone list, and while this probably has many more minor annoyances than actual feature omissions, we still thought it would be fun to put a list of our gripes together. Some of these might be device-specific, but you’ll get a general feel for the direction we’re going and why these things piss us off to no end.

1. The ridiculous limit on file sizes when downloading from the browser. Look, if I want to download a friggin’ video file, let me.

2. Attachments are pretty bad and it has to do with RIM’s ever-so-sneaky compression. We’ve heard that when data is sent over their network, it literally can take a 100kb file and compress it to around 7kb. (A carrier’s dream). Just let us get the entire file without having to constantly wait for it to render when we zoom it, etc.

3. Specifically speaking for the Bold, the “R” shortcut key no longer takes you to the Alarm. This pains me.

4. Actually, about shortcuts… for a product that excels on making your life easier and offering up a ton of user-customization, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to program our own shortcut keys. If I want the letter “B” to take me to the Memo Pad, then let me do it damn it. I’m tired of being stuck at the mercy of RIM’s shortcut key assignment. They make no sense and they are hardly integrated in 3rd party applications.

5. When you get a pop-up menu, there are no boundaries to where you can scroll. Let’s use one of the Application Permissions screens. Why am I allowed to scroll above “Yes” and below “No”? There are only two options yet it seems as if you could scroll to China before selecting one of them.

6. Horrible APIs that developers can’t access. If RIM opened these up, we’d have a much better set of applications on there than we do now. I’m not sure anyone can say 3rd party apps are one of BlackBerry’s strengths.

6 and a 1/2. One of the reasons the OS is so bad at times is because of the nature of the device — security. We know this is why over 50,000 of them are deployed across the U.S. Government for instance, but look, RIM either needs to deploy a consumer brand or find a way to make this work. Security is great and all, but stick to what you know. You’re either the businessman’s savior or the tween’s IM machine. It’s incredibly difficult to be both. Don’t try and conquer the music industry or take on Apple’s App Store. It won’t work and you’re diverting precious resources away from other serious projects.

7. Build quality has been declining. That’s not to say there aren’t some BlackBerrys that will last forever, but from personal experience, every device since the Bold has suffered countless production issues and problems. (Anyone get the screen freak out on their Bolds? I bet you have.) I’d be interested in seeing the average lifespan of a BlackBerry now compared to two years ago. I think it would be shocking.

8. When sending an email with a local file attachment, show me the status! I want to watch it go from 1%-100%! It comforts me.

9. Desktop Manager shouldn’t take forever to update the operating system. I think it’s fair to say RIM has the longest OS update time in the biz.

10. Stop with the “More” crap. Let me get the entire email message when I want it. Also let HTML emails load external images automatically. Yes, yes, we know. It’s for security. But you know what, if I want to venture out on a limb and *gasp* download external .jpgs automatically, let me!

Look, we love our iPhones as much as the person, but at this late point in the game, there are some things that are just inexcusable. Here’s our top 10 things we hate about the iPhone, and we’ll post up our top 10 things we hate about the Bold later on. Feel free to chime in with your own! Also note that we’re talking about the iPhone in its default state, not a jailbreaked unit. Here’s our list in no particular order:

1. You can’t use custom sounds for email notifications, SMS, etc.

2. Copy and paste. Sorry, but it’s ridiculous at this point.

3. When forwarding an email with an attachment, the iPhone sends it out locally. That means if you have a 1MB attachment, you have to send 1MB worth of data when forwarding. This doesn’t happen on Windows Mobile or the BlackBerry — it’s sent from the server. Not cool.

4. No unified inbox. At this point, there’s no reason you should have to go through the rigmarole of switching through tabs and endless menus to get to another email inbox. Cut this down, give us color-coded emails that correspond with that particular account — something!

5. Video recording. Again, it’s technically possible, but we don’t have it.

6. The touch screen capture button in the Camera application is horrid. Let’s use one of the volume keys or something to take a picture. It’s not a good setup.

7. You can’t forward text messages. Something that is a no-brainer just isn’t here.

8. There isn’t a way to delete individual calls from the recent call list. Not that we need to hide anything from our girlfriends or anything…

9. No file structure that is user-accessible. That means you can’t save any attachment that isn’t a photo, you can’t download files from websites, etc. Additionally, each application can only access its own file structure so you can forget about doing anything sexy.

10. The push-background notification service is still nowhere to be found.