Are you a user of the University of Michigan Clock or a Michigan fan?  Want insider access to news, analysis, videos, and downloads?  I recommend that you check out http://www.michiganfansite.com/ as a great way to stay up to date with the Wolverines.  


Go Blue!
 
Apple's new iPhone 3GS is a great phone.  I have been fortunate enough to be able to get my hands on one, and have owned it for about a week.  I also have an original iPhone and used to own an iPod touch (1st generation).  Though the 3GS has many documented advantages, I'd like to focus on the disadvantages for now.  So here's the top reasons why you should not buy the 3GS.
5) AT&T: This is obviously a moot point if you already use AT&T, but to everyone else: watch out.  AT&T has a plethora of problems.  Their coverage where I live is abysmal.  It works fine outside of buildings, but indoors you'll get no service.  The EDGE network is often unbearably slow, and the only chance I ever had to try out AT&T's 3G was in Ann Arbor during a football game.  At that point, AT&T's service refused to work.  (My buddies with Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon all laughed.)
4) Apple: Apple likes to be in control.  If you buy the 3GS, despite it's great OS and third party apps, there are going to be a multitude of small things that you might want to do but Apple won't permit.  For instance, customizing the phone with a theme, multitasking, etc.  
3) Unique-ness: Everyone owns an iPod, and everyone else has an iPhone.  Walk down a city street and you'll see tons of iPhones pressed against people's ears.  But a Palm Pre or myTouch 3G is a lot more unique.  So that doesn't really detract anything from the iPhone, but it's somethings you might want to think about.
2) App Store: How is this a bad thing? Thousands of developers have created applications for the iPhone.  Those apps rely on the screen size and other physical aspects of the phone, and the inner coding that connects everything together.  Apple is forced to keep a lot of things of the iPhone the same (both software and hardware) so there likely won't be a huge overhaul of the iPhone OS anytime soon.
1) Battery: This has been my absolute biggest gripe with my 3GS so far.  The battery life is abysmal-- worse than my two year old original iPhone's.  Sure, the speed boosts are impressive, but the battery life has taken a huge hit.  It's pathetic.  Hundreds of users have reported that their 3GS won't last a full day even in standby mode.  And Apple claims 300 hours!?  And the percentage of the battery remaining (which can be displayed next to the battery icon) drops 2-3% every 10 minutes of internet browsing over EDGE.


So there you have it.  5 reasons NOT to buy the 3GS.  Right now, I'd recommend it if (and only if) the battery issues are fixed.  Until then, I can't honestly recommend the 3GS to anyone.  The $99 3G?  Yes.  But the 3GS?  I can't.


If you would like to check out my iPhone applications, you can do so at: http://itunes.com/wearmaize
 
When the App Store launched over a year ago, the amount of applications available was so small that any app would generate revenue.  A year later, though, there are 60,000 apps in the App Store, and success is far from guaranteed.  So what is the key for success?  Why is Convert a top 25 app while so many other similar converter apps are left in the dust?  The answer is, very clearly, timing.
Convert, as the name implies, is a very versatile unit converter.  But there are many other converting apps too.  The secret is that Convert recently went on sale, just in time for the school year to begin.  Thus, students across the world saw their opportunity to buy an app to help them during the school year. 
University of Michigan Clock is another example.  Released only two days ago, it received incredible response from the public on its opening day of sales.  Why?  The University of Michigan played their season opening football game yesterday.  Cue Michigan fans supporting their team, and purchasing the app.


Conclusion: Your app may be great, but it's best to time its release.  Change the release date in itunesconnect to release an app at an opportune time, and enjoy the benefits!


 
We would like to thank everyone for the incredible response that we received with the launch of our latest application, University of Michigan Clock.  


As a thank you to everyone, the first five (5) people to email us with the text "All in for Michigan!" will win a free copy of University of Michigan Clock.  (To see a description and screenshots of the application, click here.)


Here is how you email us:
Click the "Support" tab at above this post
Fill out your name, email address, and then fill out the comments box with "All in for Michigan" and any other comments
Click submit, and if you won, we'll let you know ASAP and email you back with a promo code for the app 
Funny and witty comments may win you a free copy of the app, even if you're not one of the first five people to email us.


Good luck, and don't forget: All in for Michigan!  Go Blue!


Note: Don't worry, we will never use your email address except to let you know whether you won a free copy of the app or not.  :)
 
wearmaize's University of Michigan Clock is now live on the App Store!


iTunes Link
 
So what is the rumored Apple iPad?
 
It is... gone!  No it's not!
 

This is a brief comparison of 3.0 vs the 2.x firmware.  2.x made the iPhone and iPod a legitimate device for people who didn't care for an overhyped media player.  3.0 turns the iPhone into a totally new device.  Why?  If the iPhone kept you connected to the world, it does so even better now.  For example, Textfree is a legitimate SMS replacement, now that you are notified at the instant you get an email.  New IMs are shown to you, wherever you are .  And the search and landscape features finally provide adequate flexibility to a virtual keyboard that Steve Jobs claimed was made to be changeable when he announced the iPhone 2 years ago.  I've had an iPhone or iPod touch since their release (an iPhone first, then an iPod touch) and I must say that I am impressed with all of the developments.  The devices have gone from a new gadget to show off to friends to a portable, innovate device that can do almost anything you want it to.