I’m sittin’ here, transferring over some content to my 32GB iPhone 3GS, and I started thinking about space. Like “Hey, how am I on space?”. And then I realized that I have 32 GBs and that I’m no where close to coming even half way.
And that made me wanna’ share somethin’ with you all. If your considering getting a 3GS from AT&T with a two year contract, besides the color options, you have two options… 16GB or 32GB. I’m gonna’ tell you to go with a 32GB for a number of reasons.
But, let’s first look at some reasons to go with a 16GB iPhone. The majority of people who have iPhones don’t even use 8GBs of data. So 16GBs will be more than fine for you for now. Notice I said for now…
The reason I say go with a 32GB iPhone is the fact that your getting into a two year contract with AT&T. Sure, it’s a hundred dollars more expensive than the 16GB. But your going to have your iPhone for two years. Think about that… two years. You know what’ll happen in two years time? Two, count’em, two new iPhone models will be introduced (and one could be on another network by then). With the 3GS, you’ve got the faster hardware, you got the speed, but the 32GB size next year may be the new “smaller” size and a new “larger” 64GB size will be released… and a year after that, it could be a 64 GB size will be the “smaller” size and a 128 GB size will be the “larger”. iPhones will (hopefully) look the same (just with added features, like 4G network support, front facing video camera, ect). So one of the big things determining “greatness” of iPhones will be size.
There’s no way, of course, to add size to an iPhone. So once you get an iPhone size, your stuck with it. So if you get a 32GB iphone now, it won’t seem so large (and more important, won’t seem so small) compared to new iPhones. And remember, your in a new contract so you’ll have to wait until two years, ’til a fifth generation iPhone, before you can upgrade from your third generation 3GS. 32GBs is a lot smaller than someone’s brand new 64GB or 128GB iPhone, but it will really small if you have a 16GB iPhone.
And then there’s the topic of content. When the first generation iPhone came out, 4GB and 8GB seemed big. There wasn’t even an app store out. But now look, there are apps (such as the Tomtom Navigation app) that are 1GB is size (the biggest app size I know of, most apps are less than 20MBs). A 1GB app, there’s no way anyone could have imagined that back then. That was two years ago, now what will things bring two years from now? Two years is a long time to have a set size.
But then there’s just the vanity issue, which I’m totally guilty of (and proud of it). When someone asks you about your phone, or the size, when you say “I’ve got a 32GB” vs. “I’ve got a 16GB”, it just does something. You don’t have to say “Oh I have a 16GB” with a certain tone of regret. “I only have the 16GB.” But when you have a 32GB, you say it with pride. “I’ve got a 32GB…”
So, what size should you get? Well, it’s up to you, but getting the bigger size is probably your best investment. Plan to sell your iPhone when it’s time to get a new one once your contract’s up in two years? What size do you think will be the most desirable?
I’m so glad I choose the 32GB instead of the 16GB.
Peace, J
Meet the new Neocell 3GS. Well ok, I’ve had the new Neocell 3GS for about two weeks ago, but it wasn’t really the “Neocell”. Sure, it had the custom carrier name “Neocell”, it had the one of a kind custom British speaking sounds (“*Beep* I have downloaded new email for you…”, “*Beep* I have access to new voice mail…”, ect.). It was the Neocell, everything digital… but it wasn’t the Neocell on the outside. It was just another iPhone 3GS… in fact, it wasn’t just an iPhone 3GS, it looked like just another iPhone 3G. There were many times I’d pick up my girl’s black iPhone 3G, thinking it was mine.
Well all that’s changed now. I’ve got my iPhone 3GS decked out like I had my iPhone 2G. The Neocell is now plated with semi-synthetic South Korean chestnut wood and 24K gold plating on top. That was what I had designed for me with the Neocell 2G, and this is pretty much the same design, just adapted (improved) for the 3GS styling. I like it better.
On top I put on an Invisibleshield full body protector myself. There’s a few microbubbles that haven’t worked themselves out, but it’ll go out soon. That’s one of the downfalls of using shield protectors. But it’s the Invisibleshield that’ll protect the Neocell from scratches and what’ll protect the gold and wood from scrapes or whatever kinda’ stuff.
And for the record, I didn’t pay for it (couldn’t afford too), I had it done for me for free.
I’m so excited and it’s so tight because it gives my phone a unique identity. It’s now officially the “Neocell 3GS”. Yeah baby. The pics taken are crappy quality, but it does the job of showin’ it off at least.
Peace, J
Doin’ the research I do for theneocell.com, I’ve come across a company called “Pinchmedia” a long time ago. It’s a company that helps out app developers. How’s it help them? It allows developers to track the usage of their apps.
But here’s what you need to know… there are some blogs online that are calling Pinchmedia spyware. Why are they sayin’ it’s spyware? They’re sayin’ it’s spyware because it sends back information about you to Pinchmedia, which then shares it on with the developers. The information they collect is your iPhone model, OS model, location (if you agree to allow the app to know your location), and if you happen to have the Facebook app installed, it access the Facebook app to find out your age and gender.
The app developers don’t ask your permission to collect information, and that’s the reason why some (I repeat, some) people online are claiming that it’s spyware. Their main smoking gun in calling this “spyware” is the fact you can’t “opt out” of the tracking.
Well I’m here to let y’all in on a little secret… it ain’t spyware. It ain’t. It’s not tracking where you go online, what you shop for, what search trends you use, what information you you type out… it’s not. “But it tracks where you are based on your GPS location…!” So ironic, because the very blogs and forums cryin’ bloody murder are tracking YOU! They’re tracking where your logging in from, down to the city, they’re tracking what operating system you use, what browser you use, what language you use, what connection your using (cable, DSL, ect), how long you’ve spent on the site, whether you’re new to the site or returning, what search engine terms you used to find the site, whether you “bounced” as soon as you came to the site, ect… Oh, and they don’t ask your permission to track information about you… or any of their other visitors, and they don’t give you any way to “opt out” either. In fact, I’m tracking you… But it’s not spyware, it’s Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is a great, free service from Google that helps web site developers, such as bloggers (yo), track the usage of their web sites. Hmm… sound familiar? This is the same thing Pinchmedia is doing with apps that Google Analytics is doing with web sites. There’s ways to block Google Analytics so that web sites can’t access data from you… but ohh, I don’t see any of these web sites that cry “fowl” showin’ you how to do it. Why? Because Google Analytics is harmless. That’s the same for Pinchmedia. Why do you think so many apps have signed up for their free service? Same reason so many web sites have signed up for Google Analytics.
Google Analytics helps web site owners see what they’re doing right, what they’re doing wrong and helps them try to analyse what they can do to improve. And Pinchmedia helps app developers see what they’re doing right, what they’re doing wrong and helps them try to analyse what they can do to improve. I do admit the connecting to the Facebook app to access your age and sex is very disturbing (it’s done through Facebook Connect, which Pinchmedia explains here), but you know what? The very fact of having a Facebook account opens you up to that already because Facebook sells your data (age, sex, location, trends, ect) to companies, and do you honestly think no one who cries “bloody murder” about Pinchmedia doesn’t have a Facebook account themselves (perfectly fine with whatever Facebook is doing to their data, as long as they get to post retarded crap on their “friend’s” walls).
So no… Pinchmedia isn’t spyware. It’s just another form of user statistic tracking. Google Analytics is a great, free tool for me and thousands of web sites out there. I’m sure app developers think the same thing about Pinchmedia, especially considering it’s free. If you don’t like user statistic tracking and wanna’ take a stand against it, then stop visiting the very blogs giving you this information, including using the Cydia app or jailbreaking your device.
That’s right, the Dev-team blog uses Google Analytics. As well as Cydia, the jailbroken app store that we get tools to block Pinchmedia, the home page that the Cydia app access every time, cydia.saurik.com (created by Saurik, the same person who creates the Pitchmedia blocking software), contains Google Analytics. And for the recording, Saurik doesn’t call Pinchmedia (or other companies like them) bad, he’s just allowing you a way to “opt out”. Not to mention theneocell.com does also.
And as for the “iPhone Spyware Blog”, well shoot… it’s a blog hosted at blogger.com, a Google-run service, which is they truly were against analytics tracking, they wouldn’t have signed up for a service that runs the biggest analytics service in the world and would have gone to something like wordpress.com for free blog hosting. In reality though, I’m sure the person doesn’t know anything about analytics tracking and signed up for a Google-owned Blogger account to try and catch in on their 15 minutes of manipulated, misinformed “iPhone spyware” fame. (After all, it worked, didn’t it?)
People need to stop miscategorizing iPhone app analytics as “spyware” because it’s either gonna’ do two harmful things to the public’s perception of things. It’s either gonna’ make people think “spyware” is not something harmful or bad, because Pinchmedia is no more bad or harmful than Facebook or Google Search (no more than your typical public activist’s caution of your privacy), or people are going to start thinking iPhone apps from the app store are in fact harmful or bad (the definition of actual spyware), which is wrong for anyone to be misinformed like that.
Don’t be fooled. Don’t take my word on it, or any others, use your own common sense.
Peace, J
(And just to show some realness on my part, I’m gonna’ show you how you can opt ouf of Google Analytics.)
I’ve got the Memorex Minimove sitting on my desk, usin’ it has a charger for the Neocell, and also as amplified speakers. It matches everythin’ really well. What’cha think?
Peace, J
