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Survey: 73% of iPhone users are fine with AT&T's service
If you're the kind of person who loves quoting that ".5%" number given by Jobs at the press conference a few weeks ago as proof that AT&T's reception problems are overblown, you'll love this. A new survey released by Yankee Group says that 73% of iPhone users polled are actually "very satisfied" with their cell phone service. In fact, only 69% of smartphone users in general say they're happy with their provider, so not only is AT&T's service satisfactory according to this survey, but it's actually better than other services. Why is AT&T so hated when their service is actually good? Yankee Group explains: it's not that the service is great, it's more that the phone is awesome. Customers really love their iPhones, and so even when the reception isn't very good, the overall experience scores high. AT&T says it's just a perception problem: "There's a gap between what people hear about us and what their experience is with us. We think that gap is beginning to close," according to a spokesman. I'll say this: I carried my iPhone all over San Diego at Comic-Con last week, and the reception I got was just plain terrible. My net connection barely worked, calls were dropped, and I couldn't check email even when I needed to. But I'll admit that the AT&T problems exist in a strange place -- not only does the iPhone's otherwise shining example of user experience helping to outweigh AT&T's problems, but customers' high expectations for the iPhone probably have something to do with all of the complaining as well.
Verizon confirms Droid X screen issues, but says they're not widespread
We just got word back from Verizon regarding those flickering Droid X screens, and sure enough, the ghastly images are not a side effect of your assimilation into the Droid collective. Verizon and Motorola have owned up to a genuine problem with a small number of Droid X displays, approximately one-tenth of one percent. If your screen starts acting up you'd best contact the authorities immediately. And by authorities, we mean tech support, not the FBI -- the omnipresent glowing red eyeball is completely normal. It told us so. Here's Verizon's full statement on the matter: "Verizon Wireless and Motorola are aware of a very small number of DROID X units that have experienced a flickering or banding display. Motorola has resolved the issue and is continuing to ship the phones. Any consumer who experiences a flickering or banding display should contact a Motorola customer support center or Verizon Wireless."
Some Droid X handsets have defective screens? (video)
All's not well in Creepy Red Eye land, if reports out of several cell phone forums can be believed -- a number of early Droid X adopters are documenting serious graphical or possibly electrical problems with the handset's giant screen. While we don't know how widespread the issue might be quite yet, symptoms include rapid flickering and vertical banding over all or part of the 4.3-inch LCD. Several forumites claim to have already had their phones replaced, in some cases being told the defect was a common problem in their respective launch day batches. We've contacted Verizon for confirmation and hope to have a response soon; in the meanwhile, see video examples of both issues after the break, and let us know if you've seen similar glitches in comments below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Slingbox Solo devices no longer streaming for some users?
According to Slingbox's message boards, some Slingbox SOLO owners are experiencing a slew of issues with their devices, the most concerning of which is the failure to stream content after a brief period of use. Understandably, that's more than a bit frustrating for users who purchased the set top box exactly so they could stream TV content remotely. The particular thread in question was started back in May, and as of now has not been universally resolved by Slingbox's engineering team, who claim the problems have yet to be nailed down to a single issue -- despite many owners discovering their issues are related to bloated capacitors. Unfortunately for users, that means Slingbox hasn't announced a blanket replacement program. Instead, Slingbox is asking those affected by the problem to contact their support team: if your device happened to fail within 90 of purchase or you purchased an extended warranty, they'll handle for free. Otherwise, those still within the device's hardware warranty can pay a small fee for service which will be refunded only in the event the problem is found to be hardware related. From a consumer standpoint, this definitely sounds like a raw deal, but we'll avoid taking sides until more details surface... or a last minute press conference is called to claim it's a problem with all streaming boxes.
Inexplicable rise in iPhone dev's App Store sales connected to iTunes account hacks? (update)
We've received a handful of tips this morning claiming something's rotten in the state of the iTunes App Store, namely via the Book category. As of this writing, 42 of the top 50 books by revenue are from the seller Thuat Nguyen, whose company website ("mycompany") leads to parked site www.home.com. A vast majority of these book apps were released in April, have little to no customer ratings or reviews, appear to be in Vietnamese (despite claims in the side bar that the supported languages are English and Japanese), and may or may not be infringing on copyrighted work -- we're noticing a lot of Dragon Ball art here. To give sales a sense of scope, Twilight series conclusion Breaking Dawn is hovering only at 34 right now. So, how did these books hit the top of the charts? The other half of this story has to do with a claimed rise in iTunes account hacking, with a number of people reporting up to hundreds of dollars being spent unwillingly from their account to these specific books. Coincidence? Let's not mince words here, something is definitely amiss, and it's not looking good. Just to be safe, might wanna check your purchase history under Apple Account information. We've reached out to Apple and will let you know as soon as we hear back. Update: We've yet to hear from Apple proper, but we do have an update of sorts -- 9 to 5 Mac reports all the "mycompany" titles have completely vanished from the App Store. We're not sure whether Apple decided to shut down the operation or the seller pulled them himself, so continue to keep an eye on your digital pocketbook until we know for sure. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
iPhone 4 pre-orderers overwhelm servers, world on the brink of ending
Look up at the sky -- is it falling? It sure seems as if that kind of doom is imminent, at least if this whole iPhone 4 pre-order situation is any indication of future tragedy. We've received hundreds of tips this morning from friends near and far that iPhone 4 pre-orders aren't going through, though a few of us here on staff were able to get a confirmation during the wee hours of the morning. From AT&T in the US to O2 over in the UK, it seems that just about everyone ambling to get their name on a future iPhone 4 is experiencing a great deal of frustration. AT&T's servers seem to be completely hosed here in America, and since Apple's own online order process has to ping those to check on your contract status, neither option is... um, working. Those who decided to line up at a local store are facing similar issues; employees aren't even able to fully process pre-orders in store due to systems being overwhelmed, and no one seems to exactly know when things will be back to normal. And you thought the most enraging part of this was the inability to select a white model. Let us know how your experience has been in the poll and comments below, won't you? Update: So, it sounds like Best Buy is taking pre-orders (even for white units), but chances are remarkably high that you're not actually getting in any line. Still, it's a working option for the moment. In other news, the Apple Store app is seeming to allow iPhone 4 orders, but it looks as if they're reserving off-contract phones (read: full price ones), so we'd only recommend this avenue if you enjoy things like "arguing about contract dates" and "yelling at brick walls." We're guessing you'll be doing both on the 24th. %Poll-48069%
HTC EVO 4G and Droid Incredible suffering from unresponsive screen issues
Uh oh: on top of reports that the EVO 4G suffers screen-detachment issues, we're also starting to hear that the touchscreen sensor is inconsistent, particularly when the phone isn't grounded. We've seen more than one report and video purporting to show the EVO's touchscreen failing to smoothly register touches when the phone isn't being handheld (and thus grounded). We haven't been able to reproduce the issues ourselves, but trust us when we say we've heard from enough unhappy EVO owners to believe that the problem is real. What's more, there's also an older video showing the same problem on three different Droid Incredibles, which obviously shares strong family ties to the EVO. We've pinged HTC, we'll let you know what we hear -- for now, get your sad faces on and watch the videos after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HP Envy 15 said to be suffering from blank screen issues, lousy webcam
We can't say we experienced the problem during our time reviewing the HP Envy 15 (though we certainly had some other issues with it), but a sizable number of users have been reporting a persistent problem with the laptop's display randomly going blank. That's apparently so far gone unremedied by any number of driver updates, with the only "fix" being a forced reboot of the computer. Also problematic is an issue some folks are reporting with the laptop's webcam, which apparently has an odd tendency to only work properly under fluorescent lighting -- move under an incandescent light and everything takes on a distinct purple hue. Head on past the break for a vivid example of that problem, and hit up the source link below for all nineteen pages of complaints about the blank screen issue. [Thanks, Kasper]
All the World's a Stage: Odd man out
Robin Torres is subbing for a very busy Michael Gray. Please ignore the muffled sounds coming from the other room, as it is just my pet ... hedgehog ... yeah. And pay no mind to that mostly used roll of duct tape. I was just making some plumbing repairs. When trying to become a better RPer for the For Gnomeregan! project, I went through and studied many recent All the World's a Stage columns. But I have to admit, I didn't even glance at the "You can't be a vampire" article because, well, I figured it was just vampire RP bashing. (The Twilight photo was a bit of a deterrent as well.) I read it last night, however, and discovered it was actually about how to discourage someone who is derailing your group's roleplay by playing a far-out character. This week, we're going to look at the other side of the coin, and offer suggestions for the person who wants to play that challenging character who doesn't quite fit in.
Apple promises to fix iPad WiFi issues in future software update
Not satisfied with Apple's previous "fixes" for those pesky WiFi issues with the iPad? Then it looks like the folks in Cupertino have you covered, or will soon -- the company recently updated its support document on the issue to say that "Apple will also address remaining Wi-Fi connectivity issues with a future iPad software update." Interestingly, Apple also now suggests adjusting the screen brightness if you're experiencing the problem, which is a fix that was previously discovered by some users on their own but not recommended by Apple. Still no ETA on that software update, of course, but you can find the rest of Apple's troubleshooting suggestions at the link below in the meantime.
Samsung fixes Avatar Blu-ray problems with firmware updates
Being stuck with a Blu-ray player that couldn't handle what is (probably) the most popular movie on the format of all-time sounds like a bit of a problem, which Samsung has moved quickly to resolve with firmware updates for its BD-UP5000 (to version 1.5) and BD-P1400 (to version 2.13) Blu-ray players. Forum reports indicate all is well on Pandora once users have upgraded to the new versions with no lingering BD+ DRM issues getting in their way. Of course, the question of why legitimate buyers had to wait several days just to play a movie that was still ripped and redistributed without copy protection as soon as it launched remains unanswered. So is anyone else still having Avatar playback problems, or is all well in your high bitrate neck of the woods?
Nexus One complaints mount, no firmware update in sight
We've had a Nexus One in daily use for a couple months now with relatively little drama, but Google's official support forums for the so-called superphone appear to be piling up a good head of steam on a handful of issues troubling owners. Perhaps the highest profile among them is the 3G signal strength issue -- a problem that predates the Nexus One's first and only firmware update -- but users are complaining about everything from unresponsive touchscreens, to failed text messages, to problems with the ambient light sensor, and there are enough "me too" responses in the support threads to warrant some serious attention. We know Google hasn't been sitting on its hands behind the scenes, so this is probably more of a timing issue than anything else -- could it be that they're waiting for Flash 10.1 before pushing the next release? [Thanks, Ramon]
Amazon's frustration-free packaging is anything but for hard drives
It's all well and good to cut corners when you're ridding durable, miniature electronics of their brittle plastic clamshells -- but this time, Amazon's "Frustration-Free Packaging" initiative has gone too far. The company's shipping computer hard drives in the stuff. According to dozens of irate customers, Western Digital hard drives shipped by the e-tailer over the past several months have arrived in damaged cardboard containers, thin layers of bubble wrap, or even loose in a simple electrostatic discharge bag without an ounce of padding to keep them from harm. And while some buyers shipped them back immediately when they saw what had happened, many who tried them anyhow found their magnetic storage dead on arrival. While we're not certain whether Western Digital or Amazon was at fault for placing the drives on the "frustration-free" list in the first place (Seagate drive buyers haven't reported similar issues), Gadget Lab reports that Amazon is aware of the problem, and already working to ensure future (lack of) packaging avoids causing more frustration than it's worth. Read the horror stories with pics at our source links below.
Core i7 iMacs showing up DOA -- including ours
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Core_i7_iMacs_showing_up_DOA_including_ours_Engadget'; Apple's new Core i7-based iMac might be a performance monster, but it looks like the whole family's having some problems getting out of the gate: in addition to the previously-noted performance issues with the Core 2 Duo models, a quick glance across Apple's support forums and on other Mac boards around the web reveals that some machines are showing up DOA and / or with cracked screens. We're a little more familiar with the DOA issue, since the new i7 we just bought doesn't boot at all, but the cracked screen issue seems to be equally common and mostly affecting the bottom left corner, from what we can tell. Now, our review Core 2 Duo 27-inch iMac is perfectly fine, and Chris Ziegler's new Core i7 machine doesn't have any problems either, so these obviously aren't universal issues, but if you're about to stick one of these under the tree for someone it might be wise to do some surreptitious testing first.
Is WoW's audience still increasing?
I'm not sure how much of this is legit, but stick with us for the information first, and then stay for the debunking. Edward Hunter over at Gamasutra decided to do some poking around in comScore's MediaMetrix application (which can track, based on a survey of a few million users, access to various applications on a computer -- which programs are run when), and he found something that surprised him: despite the economic downturn and the emergence of a few other popular MMOs recently, World of Warcraft's audience is estimated globally at 13.1 million. In other words, it's still growing from the last official numbers (11.5 million players worldwide) we heard.Now, the first issue we'd have with these numbers is the situation in China -- Hunter doesn't mention it at all, and in fact his graph (from comScore) doesn't have any dips at all in it, even though the game, and presumably its millions of players, went offline over there earlier this year. That right there throws a wrench into all of these estimations -- it's very likely comScore's information is just plain wrong.
Poll: Has iPhone OS 3.1 screwed up your phone?
It's pretty much as reliable as the sun: a new iPhone OS update generally leads to at least a handful of issues. But iPhone OS 3.1, which was made available on September 9th, seems worse than most. We've seen tip after tip pour in, and we've watched Apple's support forums grow increasingly ugly with irate iPhone users dealing with horrid battery life, random shut downs and the occasional screen freeze. A few of our own have also experienced some of these quirks, though others have escaped without a scratch. So, we're putting it to you all -- has the latest iPhone update borked your handset? If so, in what way? %Poll-34495%
Issues with Mobile Authenticator get it pulled from the App Store
Blizzard's mobile authenticator updated recently, and as soon as it did, we started getting tips on the tipline saying there was a major issue. Apparently the update reset the code associated with your authenticator, which meant that if you applied the authenticator update (and had the authenticator connected to your account), there was no way to actually get a code to login to your account. In short, if you apply the mobile authenticator update, you won't be able to log in to your account until you take the authenticator off completely (I'd assume you can then reinstall and reuse the authenticator, though people will probably be a little more trigger-shy about that one). There are instructions for how to do all of this over on the forums.Of course it's a major issue, and in response, Blizzard has acknowledged the problem and apparently pulled the Authenticator from the App Store. So if (like me) you haven't updated yet, you won't need to worry about it, and hopefully the next version will fix the issue. But yes, if you have updated, you'll need to go through the steps above to remove the app from your iPhone and account, or just call Blizzard customer service at 1-949-955-1382 and they should be able to help you with the issue.Update: So far we've only heard about problems with the iPhone version, and of course the issue is when you go from the old to the new version. If you use another phone, or have only used the new version, you shouldn't have any issues.
Aion open beta hits some hiccups, but patches are on the way
First Champions, and now Aion. It seems that no game can find that smooth stride regarding their beta testing these days, but thankfully that's what beta testing is for -- squashing bugs. (No matter how much marketing we seem to lump atop these tests these days.)The Aion development team has heard the community's call regarding the lag, authentication server, gameguard anti-cheating program, forum authentication script, and beta key release schedule. They understand that the problems with the lag experienced by North American users, as well as the login server not working, is frustrating. However, they are devoting resources to finding out the cause and will be patching the game ASAP.
Firmware 3.00 blamed for malfunctioning PS3 controllers
A growing thread on the official PlayStation 3 forum alleges the recent hardware firmware upgrade to version 3.00 has spawned a host of controller connection issues for PS3 users. According to the forum, various wireless controllers -- some users specifically naming DualShock3 model CECHZC2H (Ceramic White) -- are unable to connect to the console. When turned on, users claim the controller LEDs for ports 1 and 2 activate, but the controller remains inoperable.Users attempting to troubleshoot the problem claim that resetting the controller (through the built-in pinhole reset function) and plugging it directly into the console (via USB) do not correct the error, with one user going so far as doing a complete system restore to no avail. The issue, however, appears to be isolated, but is still a concern for a number of gamers.Update: Overnight, the issue has spawned an interesting development. Users are pointing out that the problem may be isolated to "knock-off" PS3 controllers. Joystiq has contacted Sony for an update to see if XMB 3.00 targets these fakes or if the controller issue is simply a byproduct of the controllers not being able to catch up with the new firmware.
Champions Online experiences open beta troubles
For many people, today was supposed to be a magical day filled with ponies and superheroes. But what should have been a wonderfully magical experience has left many with a bad taste in their mouth and a patcher that constantly disconnects. We, honestly, blame Foxbat for this. He once tried to steal the Empire State Building, you know.In all seriousness, many users have been reporting that the official Champions Online patcher has been both downloading slowly and disconnecting from the server after timing out, leading to many people becoming furious over not being able to log in. FilePlanet users have also been affected by this as well, even after pre-loading the Champions Online client to be ready for this day.
