derekhelmer.com

iPhone 4 Launch Day

2010-06-25T06:49:44Z

In a rather surprising turn of events, I was unable to pre-order an iPhone 4. (I know this is very unlike me LOL.) Due to the very long backorder that was showing up all across the globe, I decided to take my chance on trying to get one via Standby at the Apple Store.

I was told that at 5 AM, security would allow customers to line up for the chance to get their grubby paws on a shiny new phone. My Plan was to get their at 3 AM and avoid security. To my surprise, when we arrived, people had been lining up since Midnight and saying "To Hell with Security." When I arrived there must have been 200 people easily. Many people were there that had reserved their iPhone 4 for pickup. So the standby line had about 90 or so people in front of me. The odds looked pretty good to me that I would walk away with one.

The store opened at 7 AM. As a standby customer, we had to let all the reserved customers get theirs first. The problem with this is that they just kept coming for hours and hours. Anytime we looked at their line, there was always at least 200 people on their side. Ours never moved much for the first few hours.

All in all, I waited nearly 11 hours for the phone. By the time Jennifer and I got up to the front door to get inside the store, it became clear that the stock of iPhones were just about depleted. After all that time, it looked as though we weren't getting into the store. They cut the line right behind us and said we would be the last iPhones. So by a stroke of luck, I got my phone!

I was very pleased with the Apple Store crew during our stay there today. It was my first launch event at the store and I knew that food was to be handed out in the morning. I wasn't aware of how much they really do try to take care of all the customers while you are waiting. We had an endless supply of Water bottles given us. They gave us Starbucks and Lipton Tea. We were given donuts. They even gave us all sandwiches for lunch. When it started getting very hot, we were given each umbrellas to avoid the sun. What company does this for their customers? I can't think of any other. I'm very pleased to be an Apple Customer today. While although I was getting rather grumpy towards the end when it looked like we weren't getting into the store. This was due to the endless supply of customers who reserved their phones already. This can hardly be blamed on Apple, but while you are so close and yet so far away, you're not looking for reason. You're just angry.

Now after sleeping for a few hours (having been up for 29 hours) I have played a bit with the phone. I'm very impressed with the device. The screen could not be better. Color pops out and blacks are very black. Text looks so crisp yet smooth on the screen. The camera looks pretty much as good as any point and shoot camera I've had in my life. Battery life looks like it's something I'm not gonna have to be as concerned with. Over all, this phone is a grand slam for Apple. I haven't done a Face Time Call yet, and am eagerly awaiting this feature to be used. I will say that there is the significant problem with the reception when you cover the bottom left edge of the phone with your hand which will be a problem for me being a lefty. I'm aware that a case will solve this issue, so that will be a priority for me. Apple Bumpers are a must!

3rd Anniversary

2010-06-18T01:29:29Z

On June 14th, it was my 3rd anniversary with my girlfriend. We went a few places while we were celebrating. Apple store for me. Claim jumper for her. And Disneyland for us. Funnily, Claim Jumper was our highlight of the day.

E-Books

2010-05-16T01:09:47Z

I have just finished my first iBook. This is to say that I've just read my first e-book. I'm quite a fan of this format. I wasn't completely convinced that I would be. I'm a guy who has bought many editions of books whenever a new one comes out. I must have boughten 5 different versions of Lord of the Rings over the years. I really like special editions of books. It goes with buying special editions of DVD's. If there is something new, or something different about an item I love, then I must get the new one. (This of course carries over to my obsession with Technology.) So my feelings of e-books were hanging in the balance since I really do love Paper books. There is something awesome about holding a physical book on paper. I guess I accept the book as a work of art if there is something physical there to touch.
I expected e-books to lose this feeling you get from reading a book. Well, after finishing my first iBook, I'm sold on the new way of reading. This shouldn't be a surprise. E-Books are very successful. I'm always an adopter of new technology. E-Books are nothing new, just new to me. I was always interested in getting a Kindle, but something always held me back from buying one. I'm glad I waited for the iPad.
My first book I read was "Band of Brothers." (And I know that books are underlined.) It was something that I've read before. I wanted to re-read a book that I've held in the physical form of paper before. I also wanted to read this book because of my current watching of "The Pacific." I was in the mood for WWII stories.
Reading the iBook of "Band of Brothers" was an awesome experience. You don't really feel like you lose anything from the paper translation. I thought maybe it would feel more like reading a website or a blog post or something. Nope, it felt like reading a book. iBooks lends itself well to e-reading i find. I have also been reading some books on the Kindle app, which are good, but they don't have the same quality as the iBooks app. The Kindle library is just so much larger than the iBooks library. But, give it time and I'm sure that iBooks will be the dominant force here. So I'm now a converted e-book reader. This is a near perfect format. Can't wait to buy some more books when I can. For now, I'm reading tons of sample first chapters of books. When I has money to spend, I'll be book shopping. Any suggestions what to read?

Note: This is my first blog post from the iPad. Works fairly well. Although, I have some gripes. Not with the iPad, but with the Squarespace iPhone App. It doesn't translate well to the iPad. I tried blogging from within Safari, but i couldn't enter text. So, there are some limitations at this point for using the iPad as a blogging platform. This as well should be getting better in the months to come, but it's sad to think that the iPhone may actually blog better the the iPad. Anyways, this is a simple observation. That is all.

Nice to know

2010-04-29T00:38:28Z

It's good to be able to see your own site on the touch basis of the iPad. I've spent countless hours looking at this blog. I know all the little nooks and crannies where things are located. It's something else though entirely to browse it on the iPad. It was kind of exciting to be able to hold your blog physically in your hands. Weird to put into words, but it feels new. That tells me that there are going to be many many more sensations I get from that device. Somehow, being able to hold your own website in your hands on a physical device like this makes you feel like there is actually something you produce. You can touch it and play movies on it. Share it with friends. It shouldn't be something that is new. We've all been on the Internet for a while now. The magic aspect of this device is that it makes things that are old, new again.

Jennifer and the iPad

2010-04-08T04:54:59Z

We saw the iPad in person the other day at Best Buy. I was so excited to get to play with it. I was surprised at just how excited Jennifer was to get to use it too. Of course, it may have something to do with the fact that she found Plants vs. Zombies on it.

iPad Dock

2010-04-08T04:28:46Z

So the first of my iPad products arrived. I've gotten my iPad Dock. It's a lot smaller than I expected it to be. In the pics it looks like it takes up a lot of desk space. So I'm happy it's so compact. I also received my iPad Bag. It's a very small and lightweight bag. It's not designed to hold much but your iPad and essentials. This is something I need, because anyone who knows me, knows that I carry my 30lb. MacBook bag around everywhere. With this dock being so small, I'm able to fit in into the tiny bag without ease. Enjoy the unboxing.

...So Apple Wrote Me This Morning...

2010-04-03T18:12:41Z

A package had been shipped. All I saw was iPad. Got Excited! But Wait...No, it was just my iPad Dock. Grr. But glad to know that some of my items are finally coming.

Along with the dock, I'm also waiting for the 10W Power Adapter. I wanted this one since it had the 6 foot cord. I know that Apple cords are never long enough, so this one is a must.

I'm really excited for my iPad bag, that has arrived for me already. I got it from Tom Bihn, which I admit, had never heard of before. But I really like the way the Ristretto looks. It's gonna be my new man bag. Ok, lets be honest...It's a satchel. But damn it! It's an iPad bag so it's ok!

iPad Apps in iTunes

2010-04-02T02:24:20Z

So I began to download some apps for the iPad today. Pretty much, as soon as it went live I began fetching some. For those few of you wondering, here is how the apps are now broken up into iTunes.

The App section in iTunes breaks down your Apps into categories now. The first ones you see now are the Apps that are created to work on both your iPad and you iPhone/iPod Touch. At the bottom of the Apps sections, you scroll down to see that you now have iPad specific Apps available to you now. I've begun to start my little nest egg early. Too bad I have to wait till the end of the month to use these babies! With the iPad App store now live, it's great to see what companies have decided to take a stand with the iPad. This thing can't be a flop with how many companies are already on board as early adopters to the platform. I'm really quite very surprised to see the Netflix app was given to us for launch day. That is a huge plus to me. Really am looking forward to that and the ABC Player. Hulu, as I understand it, is working on a possible App, so this thing is gonna be the ultimate portable media device. Now if they would only open up the iBookstore so I could get started buying those too!

Just because I wanted to watch it...

2010-03-20T05:31:47Z

Here's the now viral video...Apple's Commercial for the iPad.

The Pacific (HBO Miniseries) Podcast

2010-03-17T17:40:45Z

As I am all about "The Pacific" these days it seems, I discovered some excellent content over on the iTunes store. They have some awesome making of features all about the real men the actors are playing and about the making of the show in general. I highly advise anyone who is interested in watching this series to head on over to take a look. There are about 20 segments you can watch and about an hour's worth of footage all together. If you weren't in the mood already, this should just about do the trick. You can also purchase the soundtrack at the store.