Pre-Order Debacles Galore

Lots has happened this week in Apple.  First and most prevalent piece of news coming out of Apple this week - the pre-orders.  Apple reported receiving 600,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4.  Both AT&T and Apple were obviously not prepared for the sheer volume of orders they received on June 15th.  AT&T was the first soldier down posting their “sorry out of iPhones sign” at around 1:30 pacific time.  Apple followed suit a few hours later changing the expected delivery date for pre-ordered phones from June 24th to July 2nd, then (as of today) July 14th.  In addition to pre-order issues, Apple’s website was simply not prepared for the influx of visitors attempting to order the coveted device, their lack of preparedness lead to a plethora of network issues, people getting booted out of the pre-order process and causing people to try multiple times over a span of the entire day to get through.  Add to that the fact that the white iPhone 4 was not available for pre-order with no mention of a date of availability Apple seemed to have stumbled a bit in the pre-launch of the phone.  Will that impact them in any way?  Most likely not considering they took the most pre-orders (for a product most haven’t even seen in person mind you) in one day in the history of the company.

Apple is moving to Ver- T-Mobile?

In addition to the frenzy of iPhone 4 pre-orders, rumors have surfaced indicating Apple may be bringing their prized phone to T-Mobile instead of Verizon once their exclusivity contract with AT&T is up (later this year).  While the general consensus is that this is much less likely than a move to Verizon, there is evidence to support these rumors.  One being the recent announcement T-Mobile made about bringing 4G networks to their customers.  4G along with a network that is already set up to work with the iPhone increase the credibility of these rumors but for now, they are just that, rumors.

Minis Abound

Apple also quietly rolled out an updated MacMini on the same day as the iPhone 4 pre-orders began.  The new Mini boasts a new, sleek design, feature upgrades and a lower price tag.  Some of the more notable upgrades include an SD card reader and HDMI output (great for all those looking to use the Mini as a media server).

Last but certainly not least, Apple did finally release the iTunes 9.2 software update (in preparation iOS4) alongside a new security update for Snow Leopard.

It’s been a busy week in Apple and with the actual release of the iPhone 4 they’re sure to see another busy one next week.  Stay tuned for more weekly Apple updates.  And, if you were one of the many who missed the pre-order window you can live vicariously through me, I will be tweeting my experience in picking up, activating and playing with my new iPhone on release day (June 24th), follow me at @geekfab.

Find more of Josie S.’s articles at her tech blog: Geekulous or find her on Twitter.

Well the 2010 WWDC is now officially over.  We’ve seen new hardware and software introduced as well as some of our favorite software getting updates.   While the release of the iPhone 4 was the main event it somewhat overshadowed some nice software updates.  There was a lot going on at the WWDC so here’s a quick recap of the highlights (aside from the obvious):

Safari 5:

Safari 5 was released on June 7 at the WWDC.  The upgrade boasts increased speed, security, HTML5 support, and additional features.  This release of Safari has focused more on the ability to use 3rd party plugins, a feature that’s been lacking with past versions of Safari.  So far, the most discussed plugins have been the Gmail Checker (a plugin that provides a count of unread gmail messages in an icon next to the address bar), Xmarks (now you can sync your bookmarks across all browsers), and, my personal favorite Safari140 (this handy little plugin allows you to send a tweet directly from a webpage).

iTunes 9.2:

Alongside the release of the iPhone 4, iTunes 9.2 was seeded to developers during the WWDC.  iTunes 9.2 will be required for anyone using the iPhone 4 or a device using the new iOS4 software.  While there are no significantly interesting feature upgrades (aside from folder support for organizing iPhone 4 apps) the upgrade does include increased backup speeds, and overall performance upgrades.

2010 Apple Design Awards:

Much to Mac app developer’s dismay, this year the Apple Design Awards were open only to iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad apps.  Signs are pointing toward the Mac developers getting their day in the sun, but as of now, the well deserved awards were given to the best mobile app developers.  So who won?  Here’s the rundown:

iPad Winners:

Flight Control (FireMint)

Financial Times iPad Edition (The Financial Times Ltd.)

Pinball HD (OOO Gameprom)

Star Walk – Interactive Astronomy Guide (Vito Technology Inc.)

TabToolKit (Agile Partners)

iPhone Winners:

20-Minute Meals - Jamie Oliver (Zolmo)

Articles (Sophiestication)

Brushes (Steve Sprang)

Doodle Jump (Lima Sky LLC)

Real Racing (Firemint)

So there you have it, a quick rundown of Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developer’s Conference.  Always fun, always exciting and always leaving us wanting more.  What do you think Apple will have in store for us next year?  Let us know in the comments.

Find more of Josie S.’s articles at her tech blog: Geekulous or find her on Twitter.