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My Advice to Apple

By Technology, ThinkingNo Comments
Apple-logo Since The Death of Steve Jobs, Apple seem to have lost their way. The iPhone 5 was disappointing and in my iPhone 5 Review I wrote about the disappointments and missed opportunities. I’m no technology whizz; just a customer who wants Apple to build on it’s success. So Apple this post is addressed exclusively to you. Let’s start with the iPhone shall we?

Your next iPhone release should be an iPhone 6. Forget the ‘S’ models unless you are going add something new; something more than a bit of unnoticeable Speed. No more rehashing of the previous model.

On a hardware front you need to take advantage of new technology including Wireless Charging. You need to improve the features that customers want such as a bigger screen width. In the iPhone 5 Launch Key Notes Presentation you made a point about keeping it the same width as the iPhone 4 so that it could be operated by one hand; but is this really what customers want? It seemed strange that all your competitors have widened the width of their smart phones but you haven’t.

The great thing with all your devices is that the hardware and software work in synergy. But software wise you’re to slow at making the changes customers want. Think back to the copy/paste feature, it took you far too long to add it in an update.

You need to loosen your control on the App Store, especially when it comes to your competitors Apps. When you delayed the Google Maps App and made the shambolic Apple Maps App, customers were left frustrated at not having a decent Maps App. We live in a world of convenience; so inconveniencing customers is a good way to loose them. Some customers saw it as a cynical attempt to control which software they use and taking away customers choice is another sure way to make them switch to your competitors.

We understand the need to update hardware; but let’s never have a repeat of the Lightening Connector fiasco. Support your existing customers by providing an adapter free of charge; as charging £25 for a tiny connector was seen by many as an exploitation of your customer base. Give accessory developers early access to the iPhone 6; so that when it launches customers can buy compatible accessories such as cases, speaker/dock devices, car handsfree kits, etc. It’s now several months since the iPhone 5 launch and there still aren’t many accessories around for it.

A really good way to emphasise value for money would be to put product packages together. So buy the iPhone 6 and get the latest iPad for a reduced price if bought together. For the iMac you could put a reduced price Time Capsule and so on. This would encourage your customers to spend more and give them an added sense of value for money.

imac-2012 Take the new iMac as a good example. You’ve slimmed it down, made it lighter and added loads of great features. My iMac (Part 1) is the the older version. It’s become everything I use technology for: I write on it, play music, view photos, watch DVDs/TV on it and surf the web. I won’t be upgrading as you’ve removed the DVD player and I watch DVD’s on my iMac daily. You’ve assumed that I want to download or stream all the films, TV and other media. Most people won’t spend the price of an iMac that doesn’t meet their requirements. They’d choose a different machine instead.

The key message is that you need to ask and listen to your customers. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the iPhone 6, iPod Touch, iPad, etc. you need to do market research for them all. You need to find out what customers want and need, rather than assuming you know what we want. You need to make sure your products are value for money; otherwise you’ll price yourself out of the markets.

Wishing you luck,

A Customer

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Saturday 30 March 2013

Technology Review: The iPhone 5

By Reviews, TechnologyNo Comments
iPhone 5 White I recently upgraded to the iPhone 5 (white, 32GB) from my iPhone 4 (black, 32GB). The upgrade was free as I sold my iPhone 4 back to the network.

I was excited when iPhone 5 arrived and as soon as I got my hands on it I noticed it was a lot lighter and slightly taller than previous iPhones. But this excitement soon turned to frustration as I tried to transfer my Apps, Contacts, Photos, Music and other data over to the new iPhone 5.

First I tried to Backup my iPhone 4 on iTunes to Restore on the iPhone 5, but apparently when I’d set up the iPhone 4 I hadn’t checked a box in iTunes and it wanted to erase my iPhone 4 before it could Sync it.

I managed to workout how to Transfer my Purchases on iTunes, then I completed a Backup of my iPhone 4 and Restored it on the iPhone 5. I thought I’d cracked it; but then I noticed that all my Apps weren’t organised how they used to be on my iPhone 4. Now I know that my Apps being unorganised doesn’t seem like a big deal but I love Apps and have hundreds of them organised in folders. The folders help me find the right App quickly and efficiently. After browsing the web I finally found a solution an iCloud Backup & Restore.

The iCloud Backup & Restore was a slow process and once it had finished it had to download all my Apps again, but at least it put them in the right places. I had to sign into all my Apps (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) again and put my music back on. So the switch from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 was a right hassle and I couldn’t help but be disappointed with Apple who usually make things so easy.

Once it was finally set up I began to look for things I like. Firstly I like Siri the voice controlled Personal Assistant. Some of his answers to questions were funny and below are some Siri funnies:

Siri Funny Happiness Siri Funny Family
Above: Siri’s definition of happiness.
Above: Siri thinks of me as family.
Siri Funny Meaning of Life 1 Siri Funny Meaning of Life 2
Above: Siri defines Life 1.
Above: Siri defines Life 2.
Siri Funny Flirting Siri Funny Marriage
Above: Is Siri flirting with me?
Above: Siri and I discuss marriage and his/her gender.

I like the taller screen although I think Apple could have used the opportunity to make it wider as well. I thought the retina display in the iPhone 5 would make a massive difference to my user experience, but it didn’t. This is presumably because of the size of the screen.

The iPhone 5’s camera is brilliant and I particularly like the new panorama feature. The headphones look & feel revolutionary with the sound being of a excellent quality, but they do take a bit of getting used too. Apple’s experience of making hardware & software compatibile means that the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 work together to give a noticeable increase in speed. It also feels like Apps crash less often.

iPhone-5-Lightning-connector The Lightening Connector is slimmer and able to go into the iPhone 5 either way which is handy when trying to plug it in before bed in the dark. But it soon came a source of frustration as the new connection meant it now longer worked with my speaker/dock device. I bought an Apple Adapter, but unfortunately this only allowed charging and not audio transfer.

I eventually found a work around by plugging one end of a AUX Wire into the back of the speaker/dock device and the other end into iPhone 5 headphone socket. But this turned out to be the first of a few dislikes.

Since the iPhone 5’s launch a few months ago there’s still a lack of speaker/dock devices with for lightening connection, as well as other accessories (e.g. cases, car hands free kits, etc.). This is a disappointment as I hadn’t realised how often I listened to music on my speaker/dock device or how often I had my hands free set up in the car.

The positioning of the aerial in the iPhone 5 regularly causes interference with my stereo in my car. This interference lasts more than a couple of seconds and interrupts my enjoyment of whatever I’m listening to. Something my iPhone 4 never did.

The iPhone 5 touchscreen is less sensitive sometimes requiring multiple taps for it to sense what you’ve pressed. Although only minor, at times it is frustrating and is another of my dislikes.

We live in a world where we are required to multi task. Yet the iPhone 5 still doesn’t allow me to actively run multiple apps and flick between screens. This is something I dislike about the iPhone, especially as other phones can do it.

Many reviewers have dubbed the iPhone 5 as an evolution rather than revolution; I would have tended to agree with this statement if there had even been enough evolution to warrant the cost. As it is, the iPhone 5 was a huge disappointment from Apple with only very minor changes (not all of are which good!) from the iPhone 4. I would seriously encourage people thinking of upgrading to speak to people who have already upgraded/bought the iPhone 5 to hear about their experiences.

In a post coming soon I’ll give my advice to Apple around how to make the iPhone 6 successful, as well as my thoughts on what else they could be doing better.

Write soon,

Antony

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Sunday 3 March 2013
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