Nearly two years after the fact — AT&T CS Rep: “New York is not ready for iPhone”. iPhone not available for sale online w/ NYC zipcodes.

The ongoing spiraling in a downward direction that AT&T’s image is continually traveling is both sad and entertaining. Could it be my sadistic side finding pleasure in an enemies misfortunes? Who knows. What I do know however is that reports from Consumerist this fine Sunday evening detailing a new revelation in the AT&T/iPhone drama are quite alarming to say the least.

Go to Apple’s or AT&T’s website and try and order an iPhone with any NYC zipcode — it won’t work. Now try any other major city in the continental US — business as usual. What gives? After Consumerist reader “Stephen” stumbled upon this little folly, Consumerist writer “Laura” went ahead and gave the ‘ol ball and chain a jingle to see if she could get any more info. The conversation she had was nothing short of eye opening…

Daphne: Welcome to AT&T online Sales support. How may I assist you with placing your order today?

Laura: Hi, I was looking at the iPhone 3Gs and the system tells me that I cannot order one in my ZIP code. My zip code is 11231. (Brooklyn, NY) Is this true? Are iPhones no longer available in New York City?

Daphne: I am happy to be helping you today . Yes, this is correct the phone is not offered to you because New York is not ready for the iPhone.

Daphne: You don’t have enough towers to handle the phone.

Laura: Thank you for your help. So the phone is not available to people anywhere in the city?

Daphne: Yes this is correct Laura.

Wow, just wow. Now before I come off sounding too critical, on the surface, limiting or restricting a device causing excessive network drain and load seems like an intelligent idea. That is until you look at the bigger picture — that which includes the restricted device being one of the most highly sought after smartphones in the world. It may temporarily slow down or even halt network load growth in NYC, but it certainly won’t improve the companies ever decreasing image. If anything, I see this move bringing even more attention to AT&T’s problems.

Of course, the question of “why bother?” comes to mind since strolling into any physical Apple or AT&T store will net your a shiny new iPhone. Perhaps they’re trying to cut off all of those lazy couch potatoes that suck down the data from the confines of their homes, eschewing the network saving WiFi no? There is also the question of why AT&T is taking so damn long upgrading their network in the first place.

What do you think? Is the restricting of iPhone sales online a good move or another drop in the already overflowing bucket of shame?

Consumerist

G1 and Android 2.0(.1) to do the sweet, succulent digital tango…soon

I almost bit the Android bullet way back in late ’08 when the G1 first graced the hands of many geek alike. The hesitation on my part was bittersweet. On one hand, I was missing out on the all of the first gen sparkle that surrounded Android. On the other, missing out on that first gen sparkle was also a blessing — allowing me to forgo the standard growing pains first gen products often bring with.

The biggest part of Android however renders this growing pain a somewhat moot point as constant upgrades allow even old hardware to chug along with the latest and greatest. However, hope for 2.0+ was starting to dwindle in many G1 owners’ eyes with each passing day as concerns of system partition space being completely tapped out scaring some.

Thankfully those stories can be put to rest as “official” word has been made that the G1 2.0 and 2.0.1 updates have already been packaged up into nice OTA updates ready to be sent on their way. While both 2.0 and 2.0.1 were tweaked, expect 2.0.1 to be the official update pushed to impatient G1 owners when the times comes.

Speaking of the coming time, word is that the OTA update should be dropping soon — as in very soon. Is “very soon” hours, days, weeks? We’ll see…

AndroidSpin

Ambient noise a thing of the past thanks to Yurbuds [Review]

Ever wish you could get some of the background noise blocking characteristics of expensive in-ear headphones without shelling out the top of the line price? One word: “Yurbuds”.

At first, I thought they were a tad gimmicky — slipping what are basically rubber/synthetic sleeves over your current ear buds and all of a sudden gaining sonic qualities often lost to the nuances of everyday life that invade your music listening experience. But I was surprised, quite surprised in fact.

My Yurbuds came pre-fitted to a pair of stock iPod earbuds. As many of you out there know, the buds aren’t special in any way. Honestly, I’d go as far as to say the iPod style ear buds are nothing but crap. Sonically the are. But I’m not nit picking over the choice of freebie headphones because they were (1) free and (2) show off what the yurbuds can do quite well.

Perhaps the usage of stock iPod ear buds was a great idea. A fair amount of the general population has used the now iconic white earbuds at least once or twice in their lifetime so they have at least a small taste of what those white buds are (or more accurately…*not*) capable of. They are what you’d expect — lifeless. The highs are severely rolled off unless EQ’d in which they become way too harsh. The mids are overpowering and muddy. The bass (if you can find it) is either invisible or a mosh pit of nonsense. So how do the yurbuds help?

Now don’t misunderstand the purpose of Yurbuds. They’re not meant to add sound quality or make up for your set of buds’ poor audio reproduction. They’re designed solely to block out ambient noise which in return has the added benefits of making more apparent the pros and cons of your particular buds.

In the case of the stock iPod earbuds they shipped with, they make bass a night and day difference on heavier (read: hip-hop and similar) songs. It isn’t necessarily clean or articulate bass, but for bassheads, anything is welcome. The mids become even more apparent and forward while the highs somehow manage to slip further into the background. A little EQ’ing helps eliminate some of these stark differences so that most will be pleased.

The biggest addition however is the now quieter yet louder environment your encapsulated in. Gone are the simple sounds of the air-conditioning, the TV blaring in the background, the annoyingly loud guy at the coffee shop next to you, etc. etc. Instead of hearing all of the background sound that invades your personal listening space, you hear nothing but music — the music you set out to hear in the first place. Besides “added” sound quality by way of background noise reduction, you can set your player at a lower volume level, reducing battery drain and giving your ears a much needed break in the process. A trifecta of sorts if you will.

If you find yourself blessed/cursed with an audiophile ear, the Yurbuds won’t add quality to any earbud that lacks it from the factory. But most of the global population aren’t audiophiles and the like, *raises hand* meaning that for most consumers using the stock iPod/mp3 player earbuds, the Yurbuds actually do quite well.

Overall, for their intended purpose the Yurbuds work wonderfully well as I’ve come away again, quite surprised that some blue rubbery skin can make even stock iPod earbuds sound as they did to my ears. After all is said and done, we come to the million dollar question: Are the Yurbuds in their most basic form — the rubber sleeve that fits over your earbuds — worth the $19.99 asking price? If you’re the type that can’t fathom spending $30+ for headphones of any type and don’t buy into the whole “audiophile” thing, then yes, Yurbuds are very well worth it as you’ll more easily enjoy the added sonic benefits. Audiophiles and the like not so much. There’s other options for you out there. But then again, you kind of people already know that. Lol.

If you’re interested in a pair of Yurbuds for yourself, simply take a photo of your ear so the Yurbud team knows what size to send you and email your photo to “info@yurbuds.com”.

• Visit Yurbuds

Star Trek webcam reeks of geek.

You could be like millions of other ordinary people on this planet and use the boring, no doubt crappy, and simply uncool webcam that came with your computer. Of course, if you really care about your nerdy reputation you could go “all out” and make use of the Star Trek Webcam.

Said cam features a nifty spiraling base that almost defies gravity and physics itself, giving the optics inside an optimal angle to capture your smiling face. It’s cool. It’s nerdy. It’s cheap. I don’t think most Trekkies will bat an eye at a $30 asking fee do you?

Though if quality or HD is anything important you’re best leaving this one in the box to fulfill it’s collector status as it’s a measly 300k resolution webcam (read: terrible). So while form trumps function once again, it is for a greater good I guess. A geekier, nerdier good. Godspeed.

**Windows XP, Vista and Mac compatible

• Purchase from ThinkGeek

The Awesomer

“Racist” HP webcam gets the Consumer Reports test treatment.

A couple of days ago the online world went up in a tizzy because of two Walmart employees who pointed out an inherent and embarrassing flaw in HP’s webcam software. The problem if you don’t recall was that Desi, the black employee, was getting tracked by the auto-adjusting webcam while “White Wonda” was.

I never implied that HP was deliberately being racist. Hell, come on folks. The algorithm is based off of contrast. What is bad however is that HP somehow didn’t take the time to double and triple check this approach. Naturally, any dark image needs more foreground light to see details.

Anywho, Consumer Reports went ahead and tested the troubled webcam for themselves and came away with basically the same conclusion as the “webcam video heard ’round the world” — HP needs to go back to the drawing board with their algorithms or they need to include an LED or two to help compensate. Blinding assuming everyone has a bright, lightly colored shinning face just won’t cut it anymore.

Official Nexus One specs leaked. “Invite only” retail approach.

Those interested in the Nexus One in even the slightest bit may be happy to know that the official specs have leaked for the masses to gaze upon. Overall, there isn’t much here that we didn’t already know. Still, seeing all the rights stuff laid out before our eyes and confirming the many things we wish for is a sight to say the least.

Still unclear is how many ways we geeks can snag one of the beauts as brick and mortar retail outlets aren’t yet confirmed. Though T-Mobile has been in the cards (and rumors) since the rumors began but a short week or so ago. Even with invite only sales, you can *probably* bet on a T-Mo store selling these at some point in the not too distant future. Stay tuned folks.

Specs below:

Android Central > Engadget

7″ Apple tablet coming in January “For Sure”…

The world may be ripe with 10″ Apple tablet rumors, but as they old saying goes: “What is popular isn’t always right”. Ok, so it’s not the best fit for the saying but it’s all I’ve got — hey, the holiday break has already manifested itself many times over inside my head…I went on vacation days ago.

With that said, an “extremely accurate and reliable” source of BGR’s has come forth saying there is a 100% chance of a 7″ Apple tablet. The often bragged about 10 incher however is claimed to be a mystery, unknown at this time. Also worth putting in that mental cahce of yours is launch date holding steady in January.

I’ve never been a tablet fan. The iPhone/Touch is basically a miniature tablet computer thought the OS is somewhat limited. A large screened device with an OS meant for small devices? What do you think? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

BGR