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Buy.com Selling Officially Unlocked iPhones

Posted by Ed Oswald on April 13, 2009 at 8:53 am

Who needs a jailbreak? In a fairly shocking move considering AT&T’s stranglehold on the iPhone market here in the US, Buy.com has begun selling unlocked iPhone 3G 16GB for $799, a $500 premium on the carrier price. These phones are not jailbroken: they were merely never locked to a carrier.

Apple will warranty these phones just the same way as they do the locked models. They will never lock: iTunes will update the phone normally. The only negative to Buy.com’s phones is the fact that instructions may come in a foreign language since they were likely made for overseas use.

So why the change of heart from Apple? It’s not too out of the question to think that the company is probably clearing out inventory ahead of a new iPhone release. Then again, it didn’t do this for the first-generation model, so thats something to consider as well.

Maybe, just maybe, Apple may have a change of heart on one-party rule in the US, but we all can dream, no?

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Microsoft's "Apple Tax" White Paper–Let's Try That Again!

Posted by Harry McCracken on April 13, 2009 at 3:04 am

Last week, Microsoft sponsored a white paper that expanded upon the mantra in the company’s “Laptop Hunters” ads that Macs are overpriced computers that impose a price penalty based on an ethereal, needless “cool factor.” Said white paper featured charts involving Mac configurations that no longer exist, and calculations of the long-term cost of being a Mac user that seemed questionable at best and nonsensical at worst. I detailed some (but not all) of the issues in this post.

The white paper’s author, Endpoint Technologies’ Roger Kay, blamed some of the data problems on production gaffes by Microsoft. Microsoft has posted an updated version of the paper with updated specs and at least one clarification (it now makes clear that the $149 copy of MobileMe it’s talking about is the Family Pack version). Strangely, Microsoft hasn’t updated the inaccurate chart in the blog post that links to the white paper.

I said in my original post that I didn’t think Kay’s conclusions would be different if the white paper had gotten the specs correct, and I was right: They haven’t changed. And even though the tables now seem to have their specs right, there are multiple places where the math behind his calculation of the “Apple Tax” remains more partisan attack than honest attempt at analysis. Can anyone explain to me, for instance, why he he adds a hefty $750 to the Mac setup for five years’ worth of MobileMe for two computers when MobileMe, which is available for both OS X and Windows, is simply no more mandatory on the Mac than it is on Windows?

Oh, and the paper still has one relatively minor cost attached to the Mac setup–a $99 charge for the iLife Family Pack–which I think is simply indefensible no matter how partisan you might be. Kay doesn’t factor the cost of creativity software into the Windows PC setup in the first place–the theory is that the imaginary family in his scenario has already paid for it for an older computer–but he also doesn’t tack the cost of an upgrade on. Apparently the fact that he has his Mac-owning family upgrading their software after two years but not their Windows counterpart doing so constitutes part of the “Apple Tax.”

I can’t imagine that many people who actually reads the white paper (even in its new, more accurate form) who might consider buying a Mac instead of a Windows PC are going to take the case it makes very seriously. And those people who wouldn’t consider buying a Mac don’t need convincing in the first place.

Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt has theorized that Microsoft’s Mac attack constitutes a trap, and “the Apple press” (of which I don’t wanna be counted as a member) is taking the bait by responding and carping about it. Given that Microsoft is pouring so much money and resources into arguing that you can buy Windows PCs for a lot less than Macs–a point which is obvious to anyone who steps foot inside a computer store, and which helps to explain why Windows’ market share remains huge and the Mac’s continues to be quite small–I wonder whether it’s Microsoft that’s fallen into a trap. I mean, responding to the anti-Windows taunts in Apple ads in kind probably feels really good, but I’m still not sure just who Microsoft’s current round of Apple-bashing is meant to address.

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Cooliris: Finally, 3D Browsing That Really is Cool

Posted by Harry McCracken on April 13, 2009 at 1:20 am

For years, folks have been trying to harness the power of 3D graphics to improve Web navigation. (Here’s a review of a 3D browser I wrote almost eight years ago; here’s another that’s currently on the market.) And for years, such products have failed to change the world, or even attract many users at all–to such an extent that I wondered if browsing was meant to remain a basically two-dimensional activity. I’m not the only one, apparently–an imaginary 3D version of Chrome was part of Google’s April Fool’s extravaganza week before last.

But starting today, a browser add-on called Cooliris (formerly known as Piclens) is available in a new version, 1.10. It brings flashy 3D effects to browsing, and it is, indeed, cool–mostly because it’s useful. Cooliris works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari, and runs on Windows, OS X, and Linux, and lets you browse massive quantities of images and/or videos from an array of sources–Google Images, Flickr, Facebook, Hulu, Picasa, your own computer, and many other venues–by zipping through a full-screen wall of tiny images that flies around in 3D space. (Its extremely reminiscent of the video-wall imagery Apple uses to promote Apple TV.)

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Security for Less!

Posted by Harry McCracken on April 10, 2009 at 5:32 pm

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite Economic meltdown does have its downsides, but here’s one plus: massive discounts by companies hoping to attract a little attention in dire times. Check Point, the company behind the ZoneAlarm line of security software, is planning a one-day sale on its ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite. The firewall/antivirus/antispyware package, which normally sells for $49.95, will sell for $9.95–but only for 24 hours starting next Tuesday, April 14th, at 6am PT. Check Point says it’ll donate 50% of profits to tech nonprofit TechSoup, and that the whole stunt is timed to tie in with Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday.

If you’ve got one or more Windows PCs and aren’t running current security software, it’s a deal.

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Confirmed: Zune HD is Third Generation Model

Posted by Ed Oswald on April 10, 2009 at 4:28 pm

Technologizer has learned that rumors surrounding the fourth third generation Zune model are indeed true, and Microsoft’s music player would be getting a high-definition upgrade sometime in the fall, most likely in September or October. Sources close to the Zune team indicate that Engadget’s shots of the marketing materials are indeed authentic, but are fairly tight lipped on exactly what the player may have.

What we do know is this: the size of the device is set to come in smaller than the iPod touch (although we believe in size, not in thickness). Capacities should be competitive with that of the iPod touch, and like the touch, it would sport a touchscreen interface. The old click wheel would be replaced with a single-button as the pictures show.

We’re still trying to source out more information on it, but we do know with a good deal of confidence that this information is correct — these sources have accurately called the launches and specs of two previous launches (see my stores at Betanews: here and here).

More as we get it…

New Details: We’re being told that the Engadget marketing materials are likely not the final art for any advertising. So while the device is real, this art is probably just a draft.

Update 2: We made a bit of a mistake. While generally every year since their launch there has been some type of revision, this is technically the third gen model, not the fourth.

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The Beginning of the End of the Retailing of Content

Posted by Harry McCracken on April 10, 2009 at 4:27 pm

Virgin Megastore Going Out of Business

Here’s a picture which I snapped last week on San Francisco’s Market Street: A Virgin Megastore which, like all remaining U.S. locations, is going out of business–across the street from one of the largest Apple Stores, which seems to be doing okay. The Virgin store mostly sells content on shiny discs; the Apple Store mostly sells devices for consuming content, no shiny discs involved.

I remember looking forward to the opening of this Virgin location as the building that contains it went up in 1995. (Trivia: The other original tenant was that 1990s relic, Planet Hollywood.) Even then, the days of big music/movie stores like Virgin Megastores were beginning to come to an end: Amazon.com also opened its (online) doors in 1995. Virgin sold its wares at list price or close to it, as you might expect of a business that had to pay for tens of thousands of square feet of primo real estate in some of the country’s most prestigious shopping districts. Amazon, from the start, sold stuff at the sort of deep discounts that a company without any retail footage at all can manage.

Even last week, weeks into the Virgin store’s liquidation, it was a poster child for why the retailing of content is a business that’s winding down. DVDs and CDs had been marked down by thirty percent–a sharp cut by Virgin standards, but still far short of typical Amazon discounts. And Amazon will ship for free. Which makes the only compelling reason to buy at Virgin the pleasure of browsing items in a real store (which I confess I still like) and the elimination of having to wait for an Amazon box to show up on your doorstep.

But it’s not discs shipped out in Amazon boxes that will render Virgin and all of its physical-world competitors irrelevant long term–it’s downloads and streams of the sort that Apple and Amazon, among others, are doing a job of embracing. It’s just going to be a few years until there are essentially no music and movie stores left except for independent ones that soldier on for reasons that go beyond mere profit. (The Bay Area is fortunate to have both Amoeba and Rasputin–long may they wave.)

Bookstores are going to take longer to vanish, but they’re going to get hit hard too, I’m sure. I’m not ready for e-readers to take over, but if there are still two nationwide book-centric merchants with gigantic stores in 2019, I’ll be surprised. I’m also assuming video game stores will be part of history by then, as will in-person DVD rental (hey, it’s not clear Blockbuster will make it to 2010). And as for good old fashioned newsstands? Well, I still like ’em, but they already give me a plessantly nostalgic feel.

Let’s end this with a T-Poll:

19 comments

ISPs Should Lead in Curbing Internet Defamation

Posted by Ed Oswald on April 10, 2009 at 1:27 pm

A friend once said to me, “the internet is good for two things: slander and porn.” For those who have been the target of electronic harassment and bullying, that sentiment could not ring truer.

Too often, individuals and groups on the Internet abuse the free flow of thoughts that is the promise of the Web to turn around and attack or demean others. Oftentimes, those affected can do little to protect themselves, and find themselves on the short end of the stick.

Why does this occur? Simply put, the US has made it easy for ISPs to skirt any responsibility when it comes to what is posted on their servers. Thus some providers will turn a blind eye when a victim comes a-complaining.

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Time Running Out for iPod Competitors

Posted by Ed Oswald on April 10, 2009 at 12:00 pm

If anything was evidence that Apple’s iPod is ready to be the de-facto digital music device, the latest survey of teens by financial research firm Piper Jaffray should be it. Of the 606 teens surveyed (54 percent male, 46 percent female), those planning to buy a player all responded they were considering Apple’s iconic device.

About one out of every five teens are planning to buy a new music player in the next 12 months, down from 34 percent in the fall survey. Of that group, 100% say an iPod.

For whatever reason, Zune’s share has collapsed — probably due to the fact the players have gone without any update for quite awhile. In the fall, 15 percent said they were considering a Zune. If this is true, Microsoft may find itself being forced out of the digital music player market as the youth is what drives this industry.

There really isn’t much untapped potential here either: 92 percent of teens own a player, up from 87 percent in the last survey. So even if this is exaggerated, the growth potential is slipping away for Microsoft — I’ve often heard them argue about the untapped market as its salvation.

I just can’t see with the increasing amount of negative data for Zune how it is worthwhile for the company to stay in the market. We are hearing that the wagons are circling in Redmond and talks are ongoing with partners on the next Zune model, which should come out in the fall if what we are hearing is correct.

However, will it even be worth it?

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GameStop Accused of Selling Played Games As New

Posted by Jared Newman on April 10, 2009 at 11:49 am

The world’s largest video game retailer could be in hot water thanks to some investigative work by Kotaku’s Brian Crecente and Michael McWhertor.

Speaking to unnamed GameStop employees and retailers around the US, the popular game blog has exposed a practice in which employee-played games are getting mixed up with unplayed copies kept behind the counter for security purposes. The Federal Trade Commission told Kotaku that this practice could be illegal.

According to GameStop’s written policy, as confirmed by several employees, company staff are allowed to check out store merchandise for up to four days of personal use. When receiving new games, GameStop “guts” several copies, putting the box on display and leaving the disc behind the counter so it doesn’t get stolen. Kotaku reports that these new discs tend to get mixed up with the “check-out” copies that employees take home.

In all cases, customers are told that they are buying a new copy of the game, and they pay full price as a result.

Though some managers offer “Shop Worn” discounts for games that have been gutted or checked out, this is specifically against company policy, which says these discounts should not by applied to “new, used or checked out games.”

GameStop won’t comment on the matter, and the FTC won’t say whether it is getting involved.

Personally, I’ve never had a problem purchasing new games from GameStop (it’s their used game trade-in prices that set me off), but a glance through Kotaku’s comments section turns up several customers who swear they’ve bought new games that don’t look untouched.

The graceful solution for GameStop would be to start selling any unsealed games as used, even if they’re at a lesser markdown than typical used prices. After all, the customer can’t return a game as new once the plastic comes off, even if the disc never leaves the case. If GameStop can’t assure that an unsealed game is unused, the company should treat itself the same way.

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