Waxing Philosophic » NYC

The much-anticipated, full and unadulterated review of the iPhone – three months in

jguttman — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:48:20 +0000

It’s been nearly three months since I began my second iPhone journey and if it’s any indidcation, the gist of this post has changed several times before I’ve managed to write it. The iPhone is a device that commands both loved and hated sentiments (but rarely anything in between), as Om blogged about last week. The first month of my second iPhone journey was pure bliss, and I’ll elaborate more on what made it so enjoyable. The more recent two months have been a mix of love, hate, disgust, frustration, joy, serenity and finally, disbelief during the many instances where the battery has died, rendering the device useless.

Starting on the upside (since I’m a positive person), there is a lot to love about the iPhone when it’s working:

Having one device that houses your phone, pda, music, videos is phenomenal.
Easy integration with iTunes makes for seamless podcast downloads and updates – I’m loving my NPR podcast subscriptions.
The way the music fades in and out when calls are received/placed is elegant and never ceases to feel good.
While not exclusive to the iPhone, a good stereo headset (mine is Shure) changes the phone experience and makes good audio possible.
The GUI of the device, Apple’s trademark, is as polished and refined as I can imagine. Simply opening/closing apps is fun every time…though considerably more fun when it happens quickly without delay.
What perhaps separates the iPhone most from other PDAs is the browsing experience, which is truly a pioneering achievement. The way web pages open, are stored and saved (up to 6 at a time simultaneously) is so cool. The way hyperlinks are executed and logins are magnified is extremely well designed.
Visual Voicemail – why didn’t anyone else think of that?
Building the iPhone as a platform, and opening it up to app developers, was pure genius and makes the power of the device nearly infinite, but how many of these apps do I use regularly?
1. The answer is not that many. My most used/favorite apps, aside from those native to the device, are: Facebook, KickMap (Interactive NYC Subway Map), Flixster, Yelp,
2. My second tier apps that I occasionally use are: StreetEasy (NYC Real Estate), Mint, iEasy Camera, Flex PhotoLab, Shazam and Airport Status.
3. Apps that I hardly ever use, but are cool: Paper Football, Labyrinth, PacMan, Urban Spoon, French.
4. The summary here is that apps are fun and cool, but not all that important or essential to my life.
Finally, the camera on the iPhone is strong. Photos are crisper than they were with my Blackberry Curve, and doing things with the photos I take (emailing, twitpic-ing, not MMSing), couldn’t be easier.

At this point in my iPhone journey (let’s call it January 15, 2009), I felt compelled to issue a public apology to Tony Conrad for my incessant provoking and making fun of his iPhone hardships. It seems that every time we’ve been together for the past two years, he’s needed to charge his ailing iPhone, whether we’re in a meeting, in Austin for SXSW or at a bar having a few beers. Proudly carrying my Blackberry, which lasted days on end without a charge, I found it fair to poke fun, unable to understand how the benefits could possibly outweigh the hassle. After some time using the device though, I better understand Tony’s decision. Truth be told, the benefits listed above are fantastic and for a while, clearly outweighed the hassle of the short battery life, so here it is. Tony, I apologize.

Now for the fun part. The first time I owned an iPhone, I lasted two weeks before growing frustrated with the touchscreen keyboard. With V1.0, there were no apps and the UI was less mature, so it didn’t take me long to call it quits. I sold it on eBay to someone in Sweden for 20% over what I paid. This time around, I’ve lasted a lot longer and continue to use the device, though recently more and more begrudgingly.

So what’s wrong with it? Where to begin….:

While Apple claims to have push email, it’s not really true. The iPhone shows if you have new messages, but requires a sync to pull them down from the server. When sending, it usually happens relatively quickly, but nothing compared to the blackberry, where messages are gone practically before clicking send. This delay introduces more opportunity for hiccups, as was the case today, when I had to get a quick email out to someone I was meeting for lunch. The message got stuck on my device. Luckily, I found my lunch companion.
Some of the shortcomings of the iPhone are just silly. For instance, searching for a contact takes approximately three times as long as on a blackberry. After you open your contacts, you need to scroll to the very top to access the search box, at which point you can start typing the name. This is always frustrating and takes too long. For reference, on a blackberry, you start typing a name the minute your contacts open.
No copy and paste? Are you serious Apple? I suppose this is a short-coming of a touch-screen display…no, I take that back because the Storm managed to do it. This is a huge and frustrating short-coming of the device. I look for copy and paste 3-4 times every week.
No MMS? Again, are you serious Apple? For a device billed as the ultimate multimedia pda experience, leaving out MMS capability seems odd, particuarly when blackberry has been MMS-compatible for years. Granted, the messaging format hasn’t exactly caught fire, but I’d like to read the messages that my two friends who have adopted the medium send me.
The battery life is dreadful. I touched on this earlier, but it’s probably the single biggest flaw of this device. Every committed iPhone user must invest in multiple chargers and use them frequently. My phone routinely dies on me (it’s on 20% right now and it’s only 6:20pm) and this is unacceptable. My Blackberry Curve rarely died on me.
The touchscreen keyboard is so-so, but significantly less efficient than Blackberry’s full qwerty keyboard. I think it takes roughly 50-100% longer to type than on the Blackberry.
The iPhone seems to have an issue with dropped calls. Talking to my dad last night, I was disconnected three times. Om referenced the same frustrations in his post last week. Not sure whether it’s AT&T’s network or the phone itself, but I suspect it’s the phone based on the behavior – the triple-beep and “lost call” messages I get.
The iPhone requires two hands to operate, which compared to a Blackberry, is a significant shortcoming.
The iPhone is fragile, somewhat moreso than other phones, leading Apple/AT&T to only warranty the device for 30 days (the same length of time that returns are accepted….hmm).

So that’s my take. As an entertainment device, the iPhone is fun, cool and well, entertaining. As a business device though, it comes up short of the Blackberry, adding time as well as frustration to one’s life. Is it worth the extra trouble? The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no. Though after a hard days work, rocking out to my tunes on the subway before using the Yelp app to find an appropriate dinner spot can be rewarding. As for the public apology, I considered retracting it as my iPhone experience has evolved, but since Tony is my boss, I’ll leave it out there…at least until I retire the device.

NYC: Technology Rising

jguttman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:30:55 +0000

There’s been a lot of focus recently on the macro economy, sub-prime debt exposure and a recessionary or even depressive economic outlook. A quiet, but growing sub-plot though on a micro level, is what this means for the technology industry in New York City. So far this year, the city comptroller estimates 40,000 jobs have been shed on Wall Street and it’s expected that this number may rise to 50-60,000 before it’s all over. Large Wall Street firms have dominated the New York economy for much longer than I’ve been relevant. There’s been plentiful discussion in tech circles, over the past few years, that one of the pitfalls of growing the tech industry in NYC is the difficulty in luring IT professionals away from deep-pocketed Wall Street firms. Now that there are two fewer Wall Street firms though and far fewer jobs, the local economy is poised for a transformational repositioning. An obvious sector to absorb some of that vacuum is technology. Crain’s NY reported a few weeks ago that New York added 1,100 technology jobs in the first half of the year to bring the overall number to 42,700. While the broader economy purges jobs by the minute, we’re adding them in droves. This is super exciting.

The WSJ reported that, in the first six months of this year, there were 67 NYC-based startups who received VC investment totaling $828 million compared to $480 million in the same period last year. I believe that growth rate will accelerate. With the flood of newly unemployed financial markets-focused professionals, there are more smart, hungry and creative people looking for opportunity than ever before. As the few i-banks remaining recast themselves as bank holding companies and accept federal funds and the compensation limits that come with those funds, high pay-grades that once lured many of the best and brightest IT professionals and managers may no longer be as significant of a factor. Compensation reform, generally on the verge of sweeping through all facets of our economy anyway, is only one more factor encouraging the aspiring business owner to finally go for it. The alignment of incentives that once made the leap difficult are severely diminished and in some cases (for employees of Lehman or Bear as examples), eliminated. Also, as other areas of the local economy decline – real estate prices fall, office space becomes more affordable, etc – other historical barriers to starting a company here also diminish. With the city’s history around financial services and the experience of the recently unemployed, I think financial services technologies is one area, in particular, that will likely see a lot of innovation in the coming years. When you combine this new reality with recent trends, NYC becomes an increasingly attractive market for VC investors. We’ve been ranked third behind the Bay Area and Boston for several years and while our growth has been accelerating versus Boston for a little while, I think these recent local developments lend reason to believe that we will inch even closer to them in the coming years.

As recently as August, I had continued to consider a professionally-motivated move back to the Bay Area. I’m convinced it’s something that every young aspiring technology professional occasionally thinks about. At the moment though, those thoughts are diminished as I see enormous opportunity for NYC early-stage technology. Boston should be on high alert because New York is biting at its heels.

Live from New York – The Beatles Fab Faux

jguttman — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:03:01 +0000

Some friends invited me to a show at Carnegie Hall Friday night. Since I trust their musical judgment and also had been traveling for the two weeks prior, I did little research in preparation. Upon arriving at the venue Saturday night, I quickly gathered that The Fab Faux were a Beatles cover band. I saw Dark Star Orchestra earlier in the year and impressed with their ability to replicate entire Dead shows from start to finish, I started to get jazzed about seeing a similar production of arguably the greatest rock band in history.

Waiting in the drink line, we heard Magical Mystery Tour and decided to skip the drink and head inside. What unfolded before our eyes was incredible. The Fab Faux are known to match The Beatles pitch and harmony perfectly, and my ears certainly couldn’t tell the difference. What’s amazing when you hear The Beatles music live is how layered and complex the songs are, from Yellow Submarine using megaphones into mics to Sergeant Peppers famous bridge change into A Little Help from My Friends. They also played some slightly more obscure Beatles tunes, several written by George Harrison from the post-India Maharishi era. The show was complemented by a video montage made by Erin Hill that captured the music’s era and each song’s narrative and mood phenomenally well. It was abundantly clear that every single person involved with the band and the production possessed a sincere love of The Beatles music, without which the standard of replication wouldn’t be possible. Granted, it takes The Fab Faux five musicians to replicate what The Beatles did with four, but that’s why these guys are the cover band. Most of the music was written and produced 40+ years ago, and yet is still as relevant as ever. That’s simply amazing to me.

The Fab Faux are from NYC and they have several shows planned over the next few months. For anyone who appreciates The Beatles music, this is a show well worth the price of admission and something for the whole family.

On a related note, I tried to listen to some Beatles on Rhapsody and to my frustration, discovered that they were one of the few bands not available. I’m assuming this is the same reason we can’t buy The Beatles on iTunes. There were rumors in March that these issues had been resolved. If anybody knows what’s up, please share.

Congestion pricing – what’s the problem?

jguttman — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:06:26 +0000

On Wednesday this week, my trip from Cobble Hill to Midtown took me 90 minutes. The subway was experiencing delays, so I went above ground at W4th and cabbed the rest of the trip. Sadly, the taxi portion consumed more than 30 minutes because 6th and 8th Avenues were totally clogged. This has been the case increasingly in NYC, as there are simply more automobiles on the island, than Manhattan can support on an average day. Even in Brooklyn, the roads are jammed. On Tuesday of this week, my drive to Coney Island (to defend a speeding ticket on the BQE, go figure) took 50 minutes.

Just two weeks ago, Sheldon Silver and the Democratic majority of the NY State Assembly vetoed Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan in the New York City Council, preventing the measure from reaching a public vote. While I usually vote Democratic (or even more liberally), I can’t understand the ill will towards this measure from NYC representatives. (Governor Corzine was also opposed to it, but for more obvious reasons, as he’s representing his constituents in NJ.) Automobile traffic in Manhattan has reached epic proportions. Nobody will argue that. Traveling by car mid-day is unbearable. It’s one of the most unattractive qualities of our great city. Can you imagine other global cosmopolitan centers with this issue? Traffic in LA is bad, but it’s all on the freeway. Same with San Francisco. Inner city traffic in DC, Boston or Chicago doesn’t compare. London is crowded, but all the streets are one-way which keeps traffic flowing. Paris….no chance. This measure would have raised an estimated $350 million in federal funds that would be used to improve and add subway capacity. Then, drivers entering Manhattan would be charged $8 for the day. Money also would flow towards bike lanes (an increasingly popular mode of transport) and other greener forms of movement. While yes, some people of lesser means may have lost perceived access to Manhattan, those who truly rely on the city day-to-day would benefit greatly with increased mobility. A city of this size needs the latest and greatest public transportation technology, and this measure would help raise the funds to pay for it. Mayor Bloomberg called the votes against his bill cowardly and I agree on this one. Sheldon Silver was also a major factor in stopping the Manhattan Jets stadium construction plans, a move that would have added some periodic traffic on Sundays, but one that would have revitalized Hell’s Kitchen and brought a professional sports team to the NY Metro area for the first time since the Brooklyn Dodgers. Assemblyman Silver has been in office for more than two decades and usually is elected without challengers. Given his recent voting record, which shreaks of stagnation and fear of change/improvement, it may be time for the Assemblyman to consider his next career. I hope Governor Patterson and Mayor Bloomberg will be able to resusitate this plan that would have benefited so many New Yorkers.

Friendship, weddings, groomsmen and toasts

jguttman — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:43:08 +0000

Over the weekend, my friend, Jeff Cohen, married Gabby Etrog at Camp Point O’ Pines in the Adirondacks. It was the third time I had been asked to perform best man duties (not including my dad’s second marriage). After giving many a toast at weddings over the past few years as both a best man and groomsman – toasts that ranged from the "power nap" (a series of emotional and rambling stories that dragged on for 20 minutes in my less experienced days) to the "Al Michaels" (an ad lib play-by-play commentary that I performed in more recent years) – my co-best man and I agreed to do something a bit different for this one. We began by delivering a standard toast with a few anecdotes about our relationship with Jeff, playing well off each other as it unfolded. At the moment the toast began to drag, I interrupted and suggested we change our tune. We stepped off-stage, put on white long hair wigs, beards and cowboy hats and reappeared on stage as Kenny Rogers I and II. Then, we called out into the audience for a guitar player. As one emerged (someone with whom we previously rehearsed), we stepped up and began to perform. The lyrics to our little ditty are below. As we sung the final chorus verse, the crowd erupted in applauds and a cheering standing ovation. Tal and I were unsure of how this unorthodox toast would be received by a diverse crowd, so we were particularly excited. Compliments poured in throughout the night, to the point that I was gushing…nearly embarrassed. In fact, I received two more mentions of it today, three days after the fact. At this stage of the game, it’s unlikely that I’ll experience first-hand what it’s like to get up on stage and receive a rock star’s reception, so this may be the closest I ever get. And I’m loving every minute of it.

Three friends, two days, ouch!!

jguttman — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:25:33 +0000

I know NYC is a transient city but this is ridiculous. Three of my closest friends in the city are moving away this week – two today, one tomorrow. When one member of your inner circle leaves, it bums you out. When two friends leave, it’s very sad. When three leave, it knocks you on your ass. I guess I should be happy that I have such great friends in the first place, but for the moment, I’m focused on recreating my new New York. NYC2.0 here we come!!

Oh, by the way, I helped two of them create a blog for their long voyage on the way home.

Google gourmet

jguttman — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:29:15 +0000

I had lunch with a friend at Google’s NYC offices on Friday. Many of us have heard about the food in their cafeteria by now, but it’s one of those things that’s hard to believe until you see it for yourself. For lunch, I enjoyed glazed cod, teriyaki salmon sashimi, crusted artichoke balls with aioli mayonnaise dressing, shaved zucchini chips, hearts of palm and kidney bean salad and freshly-made sun-dried tomato focaccia. I passed on the buffalo burger, raw food bar, sushi bar and salad bar, my plate already piling over. For dessert, we returned for a fresh plate of Oreo fudge, chocolate brioche arborio custard, pineapple cinnamon pudding and fresh strawberries and blackberries. And it’s all free!! (there are several security guards patrolling the cafeteria in case you had any ideas). Working at Google would be a culinary delight, but one that would likely add a few extra pounds to the ol’ frame.

Best Oscars in recent memory + Apple’s marketing genius + snowball fights are fun

jguttman — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:52:17 +0000

Last night’s Oscars were one of the best I can remember. From a quick sample today, I think this may NOT be the prevailing opinion, but I suspect it’s only because nobody else paid enough attention during the show, which was captivating from start to finish. Ellen’s brave opening monologue was hilarious from her quip “where would Hollywood be without Jews, Blacks and Gays?” to her recognition of diversity at the awards, including Steve Carell as one example. One of her best lines of the night was comparing Jennifer Hudson to Al Gore. America didn’t vote for Hudson on American Idle and America did vote for Gore, but that didn’t stop them both from being nominated for Oscars (and later won). She called nominees out relentlessly, but also knew her audience well enough to hit home runs when it mattered. The end of her opening monologue bringing out the Soweto Gospel Choir was a bold move (don’t know if it was her idea or not), and one that also fit in well with the diversity theme. During the show, the shadow dancers were awesome, the special effects choir was mind-boggling and the musical clown skit with Will Farrell was hysterical. While many people I asked didn’t see the commercials thanks to Tivo and DVR, they missed out on an incredibly creative campaign from Apple for the iPhone. I’ve embedded the video below. Finally, to end the night, my friends and I went outside for a monster snowball fight that drew in neighbors as well as passing cars and trucks. All in all, that’s gotta be one of the most fun Academy Awards shows of all time.

First wipeout of the year, first comparison to Derek Jeter

jguttman — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:38:36 +0000

Walking to the subway this morning, I executed a nice wipeout crossing the street. It was one of those slides where a save is not even worth considering. By the time the thought would have crossed my mind, I was already making snow angels in the middle of the street. The woman behind me extended a hand asking if I was okay. I thought that was the extent of my embarassment. Then, on the other side of the street, some guy rolled down his window and yelled out, “You look like Derek Jeter…Safe!!” Thanks dude. I’ll take a comparison to Jeter any day.

Mom biking through Manhattan with kid and dog

jguttman — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:51:14 +0000

I found this photo while cleaning out my camera’s hard drive recently. I snapped it way back on October 10, from my bike, on the way to work. We were headed up Hudson just before Canal and this curious blond woman in her 30s/40s pedals past me with a full cart attached to her big wheels. In the cart was a boy (presumably her son) and a dog. That’s just not something you see every day in NYC!!