MEElectronics M9P Headphones

As soon as my wife asked to borrow my iPhone stock headphones I knew there was going to be trouble. Not because of her, but because of these guys…

Being as I was getting tired of putting these little rubber tires on them so they wouldn’t fall out of my gaping ears I decided it was time to find some new headphones. I wanted in-ear because those fit me best and have always given me a great experience. After shopping around for a while and reading different reviews, I opted for MEElectronics’ M9P for the iPhone. For a nominal $20+ I picked up the set from Amazon.

I’ve been using them for a couple of weeks now and am really impressed. The first music to come through these headphones was Beastie Boys and I was not the least bit disappointed with them. I had never heard bass like this from little headphones. I felt like I was in some pimped out little Honda cruising down the Vegas Strip with bass booming and girls ooh-ing. It was wonderful.

The construction is grand. The cable is encased in a thin plastic coating so you don’t hear the sound of the cable rubbing on your clothes vibrating in your ears. There’s a handy clip to keep them from flopping around too if you use that. The accessories that come with the headphones are also stellar: a semi-hard case, airline adapter (YES!), and several sizes of earbuds for a custom fit.

My only complaint about these headphones is that the single-button for music and phone control is a little funky. I don’t know if it needs to be broken in or if this set has a faulty connection. It works, but it doesn’t always do what I want it to the first time. The microphone works perfect and I haven’t heard any complaints about it from anyone I’ve spoken with while using them.

If you’re in the market for a new set of earphones you have to check out MEElectronics products. They make great headphones. While reviewing their webpage today I noticed they have a promotion called Operation Gratitude M9. For every special M9 headphones you purchase they send a set to our troops. How cool is that?

Apple’s iPhone Antenna Conference

Please read my previous article on this topic if you haven’t read it yet.

Apple held a press conference today regarding their issues with the iPhone antenna. Jason Snell of Macworld did a great job covering it and you can read it here. You can also watch the video here.

I didn’t believe this was a real engineering problem, but did think it could be a PR issue based on Apple’s lack of response prior to today. It was the first time I’d followed and major problem Apple had faced and am pleased with their response. I believe it’s in line with my other experiences of the company and enjoyed Steve’s statement about its customers, “We love our users. We really love ‘em. And we try very hard to surprise and delight them. We work our asses off for them. And it’s great. and we have a blast doing it.” (via Jason Snell’s coverage)

Reading this gave me the same feeling I had when I walked into an Apple store the first time, used my first iPod, and was able to demo the iPhone before the rest of the world as an employee. Apple does it right. If our government was run with such passion and purpose…

How Apple’s iPhone 4 Issue Could Impact Their Corporate Image

I should really be writing about this stuff sooner, but that’s beside the point right now.

If you’re not familiar with the issues Apple has been having with it’s iPhone 4 reception issues by now then you need to be caught up. There’s been enough written on it already that I’m not going to rehash here, but rather want to focus on how I believe this event can be a fulcrum in Apple’s success.

For the last couple of years Apple has enjoyed rock-star status in the computer industry. The iPod pulled them out of obscurity, and made them a major player in the electronics market. Since then, Apple has started using Intel in their computers, jolted the cell phone market out of its apathetic stupor, and has created a tablet computer that is rocking another industry. Prior to this they were catering to an exclusive market of die-hard fans who loved the product, but the company was not seeing any significant growth or making a serious impact in the computer world.

I switched to Mac in 2005 with the purchase of a 13″ iBook. While it took a couple of weeks to get a feel for, I fell in love with the hardware and software experience so much that it changed the way I perceived technology (much to my wife’s chagrin) and got me interested in learning how computers work. I believe this is the same thing that has happened to people all over the world as they’ve taken hold of Apple’s panache and zeal for perfection.

Enter iPhone 4; Apple’s ultimate creation of industrial design for a mobile phone. Once again they’ve shocked the industry into catching up with the best innovator in the land—except when it comes to reception… and this it seems could be the company’s Achilles heel when it comes to how they deal with the problem.

Apple holds tight control over its public image and doesn’t like to be seen in a negative light. All of the attention they’ve been receiving over the new iPhone’s reception problems have not been settling well with them. From a “you’re holding it wrong” email from Jobs, to “it’s a software problem” acknowledgement, to finally outright deleting message board thread on their support site, Apple is not handling the problem with dignity, but rather showing themselves to be rather immature and childlike.

Look, every company goes through a crisis at one time or another. It’s just the way the world works. When it happens, this gives the company the opportunity to really show what it believes and how it truly feels about its customers. So far, Apple isn’t showing much love. Apple enjoys a high margin on its hardware and software and works hard to deserve its position as a high-quality product.

In the 80s, IBM entered the PC market and Apple welcomed its competitor with open arms. That mentality nearly caused its ruin. In the mid-90s Steve Jobs came back to a company that was on the verge of closing its doors. Instead of being lackadaisical, Apple got aggressive and slowly turned the ship around, steering it not only to safer, but more enjoyable waters. The past several years Apple has been the example of technology and customer service. Now is Apple’s time to shine again, acknowledging the problem with iPhone 4, and doing what’s right for its customers. It’s only going to succeed by showing the same passion and flair for excellence in this minor mistake (it’s only a cellphone after all), and not being lackadaisical in its customer service at this critical juncture.

In conclusion, it’s my perception that the way Apple handles this problem is a turning point in it’s success. If Apple steps up and does the right thing for its consumers then it will continue to see exceptional growth and popularity. If it continues to hide the elephant in the room saying “nothing’s wrong and I don’t know what you’re talking about”, then I think the bubble will be burst. All of the people hypnotized by its beautiful products and services will suddenly see they’re just like any other company that is ultimately out to make a buck and in the long run doesn’t care much for the consumer… at least not more than is necessary to remain profitable and make the shareholders happy.

So come on, Apple, Steve, step up and be a man about this. Acknowledge the flaw, fix the problem, and move on. Tell people what’s really going on with your product. Keep showing that you’re better than every other computer company out there and make us proud. We still have choices. Don’t forget that.

Sony Vaio Z-Series

I came across this article on TechCrunch about the Sony Vaio Z-Series 13″ notebook. I went to the product page and was astounded by a base price of $1899. You can get a comparable base model 13″ MacBook Pro for $1199.

What are you paying for in this Sony? A 128GB SSD. If you add the same thing to the MacBook Pro you’re only looking at $1549. Okay, so you’re asking about the difference in processors now? Both are Intel’s new i5. The difference between them is .13GHz in favor of the Sony. What will you see in performance difference? Nothing. That level of difference is marketing to make your mouth water. Both notebooks sport 1066GHz SDRAM, though you’re paying for 1x4GB stick in the Sony to have an extra slot for more RAM.

Overall, what kind of performance advantage will you have between the two? Both of these notebooks are consumer tools. They will both support all of your email, office, and browsing needs, as well as hobby photo and video editing. If you go with the Mac you get iLife included which will support your photo and video editing (you have to buy your own with the Sony), plus you will get iWeb for creating your own website, a DVD creating program, and GarageBand for creating music. If you go with the Mac you don’t have to worry about getting viruses and you don’t have to subscribe to anti-virus software. Basically, you’ll get a better notebook, with more software, a better user experience, and for nearly $400 less.

Now tell me that Macs are more expensive. Here are a couple of screenshots to see what’s going on in this comparison.

Lala.com comes to its end

This morning I received the attached email from Lala.com.

Lala will be discontinued as of May 31, 2010

Perhaps Apple is going to do something with it now? Maybe we’ll see iTunes.com and will be able to do many of the same thing with iTunes? Maybe nothing will happen?

Let the speculation begin.