After the usual organized chaos of the pre-order system (it melted), the fight with the car park (got locked in this time not locked out) and the horrendous queue (see pictures below) I have a shiny new iPhone 4.

This is my second iPhone the first being the 3G version in 2008, I was forced to miss the 3GS due to the 18 month contract I was locked into with O2. This time however I had outwitted them by transferring to the Simplicity for iPhone contract in January this year paying £20 a month for more voice minutes and texts with the other services staying the same.

Since the white iphone 4 wasn’t available on launch day my only decision was between the 16gb and 32gb versions and since this would be my first iPhone capable of recording video I considered the decision pretty much made for me … a 32gb it would be.

So I was all sorted, or was I? The only thing I hadn’t decided on was a case. When Apple announced the iPhone 4 they also announced a semi-case called a Bumper. As a case was a bit lacking as it had neither a back or a front, it was in essence a strip of what looked like elastic which wrapped around the metal edge of the new device.

I’ll admit I wasn’t particularly impressed with it as a case and even less impressed with the price of $29 which using Apple’s exchange rate translated to £25. Hence, the only options available at launch were a £25 elastic band or a naked iPhone. I decided to reserve judgement on the Bumper until I’d seen it, which proved to be a wise move.

The night before launch a story started circulating regarding the cellular signal gradually diminishing when the iPhone 4 was held in a certain way. More information followed to the effect that it was touching the antenna system especially in the lower left corner of the phone that was causing the problem. If true then adding a Bumper to the device should mitigate the issue. The queue was alive with talk of this potential problem and there was much debate as to whether the Bumper would prevent it.

The staff brought phones out of the store to demo them to those waiting in the five various queues they had organized and when I asked if we could see the Bumpers in action he promptly returned to the store and brought one out which he passed around the queue. It was helpful to be able to see it and even better to be able to test it prior to making a decision regarding it’s purchase.

I decided in the end that it didn’t detract too much from the new sleek design and in fact having tried it I could see that with a Bumper I might not need any other case. The rim of the Bumper lifts the phone off any surface it is laid on so there’s less chance of scratching it. It also made the iPhone feel very secure when I was holding it, much more so than the case on my 3G.

Obviously with chatter reaching monumental proportions over the signal issue I tried replicating the symptoms on my iPhone 4 but with or without the Bumper I could not get the signal to degrade irrespective of how I held the device but plenty of others are reporting that they can so your mileage may vary.

Since my purchase many people have commented that they are seriously considering purchasing a Bumper to mitigate any problem with signal loss arising from touching the antenna. So for those considering the purchase here are a few images which show various comparisons between an iPhone 4 with a Bumper and one without.

Comparison of the front

Comparison of the back

There’s a cutout for the mute button and metal buttons for the volume controls

Cutout for headphone jack, secondary microphone and a metal button for the power switch

Yes it shows finger prints on the plastic strips

Contrary to my initial skepticism the Bumper isn’t just an elastic band it has more shape than that, nor is it made solely from rubber/silicon. There are shiny plastic strips on each edge which keep the shape of the Bumper.

Showing the cutout and buttons

Cutout for the iPhone charging/synching connector

Interior view of the cutout for the mute switch and volume controls

Interior view of the headphone jack cutout and the power switch

So that’s the iPhone 4 Bumper, I’d love to hear what you think and if you’ve any questions just add a comment!

As with any new gadget the initial device is only half the story, as soon as the wrapping is off you’re on the prowl for those nice little additions that will make your purchase feel right at home.

I had already ordered the Apple case and charging dock at the same time as the iPad so I didn’t expect to be heading out quite so soon for more “office warming gifts” to help my iPad settle in.

The problems with the Apple iPad dock were evident immediately. First, it was not designed to be used with an iPad in an Apple case so the case needs to be removed every time it’s used. There is an alternative already adopted by many and that is to modify the case, making the cut out area around the dock connector bigger. I wasn’t prepared to do that and even if I had been it wouldn’t have addressed the other issues I had with the dock.

My second issue was that even having taken the iPad out of it’s case, and that’s no mean feat as it’s a very snug fit, to seat it correctly in the dock, attempting to type on it was not a good experience. The whole iPad moves as you type on it, not dangerously so but enough to make trying to type on it annoying.

Last but by no means least was the fact that the dock does not allow the iPad to be displayed/held in landscape mode. Since it plays videos beautifully I anticipated using the iPad in landscape mode frequently. Although not specially designed for landscape display the iPhone dock will safely hold the phone in that orientation and I’d anticipated being able to use the iPad dock in a similar way.

There are plenty of images out there showing the iPad in landscape mode using nothing more than the Apple case but after trying this I came to the conclusion that it was far from secure enough for my new toy.

So armed with a set of very specific requirements I was in the market for a new stand. It needed to:

• Hold the iPad securely in portrait mode
• Hold the iPad securely in landscape mode
• Allow the iPad to be charged
• Let me type on the virtual keyboard without the iPad rocking
• Not take up an excessive amount of desk space
• Be portable
• Look half decent!

Talking with iPad owning friends I narrowed the choice down to 3, the Stabile, the Luxa2 H4 and the Book Arc.

Stabile

Luxa2 H4

Book Arc

The Stabile is hardly portable at 4lbs and it also needs a lot of valuable desktop space.

As for the Luxa2 H4, call me shallow but I couldn’t get past the “pegs” that hold the iPad in place, in fact after a while the “pegs” were all I could see.

That left the Book Arc which looked like it ticked all the boxes. Only problem seemed to be nowhere had any in stock yet.

Roll on Saturday morning and an emergency trip to the Apple Store was needed (no REALLY needed … honest!) so while there I of course perused what the accessories section had to offer. Surprisingly they had the Book Arc in stock and the staff were more than obliging in permitting an unboxing to test it out. That was when I realized I needed to add another requirement to the list – I really wanted to be able to use it without taking the Apple case off the iPad.

The Book Arc is really nothing more than an arc of metal with a large slot cut out. The cut out is edged with a grey latex insert, the function of which is to protect the iPad from damage. There are actually two of these latex inserts in the box. The first is used when the iPad is case-less and the second had a wider gap to allow it to be used without the need to remove the iPad’s case before use.

Since I had my iPad with me I was able to test this.

Without the case it worked well, there is a cut out to allow access to the home button and the viewing angle can be adjusted albeit only very slightly. It was very neat, completely portable and allows the iPad to be charged in both orientations. It looks beautiful and feels like Apple themselves have made it.

It wasn’t perfect though, the angle it held the device at made it difficult to type on and when you did there was too much movement in the iPad.

Changing the latex insert I tried it with the iPad in it’s case and things got worse. While the insert might work perfectly well with a skin type of case it clearly wasn’t made with the Apple case in mind. It would just about fit into the gap but it was too tight for comfort and seemed to force the iPad to lean forward.

I was disappointed but luckily while I was considering what other options there were my eye caught something from Griffin and it’s perfect.

It’s a Griffin A-Frame, best described as a small copy holder for your iPad. It’s 100% solid to type on in both portrait and landscape modes. The viewing angle adjusts more than you’d imagine by moving the leg at the back.

The stand is substantial but not so heavy to not be portable. It has integrated rubber feet which hold it in position and a rubber shelf that the iPad sits on. It also has rubber back supports that ensure case-less iPads are held securely without damage. There’s integrated cable management via the leg at the back.

The A-Frame is equally usable when the iPad is in the Apple case holding it comfortably in place with the front flap folded in behind the iPad or dangling over the back.

Amazingly it didn’t end there though. The Griffin A-Frame had some extra benefits I hadn’t included in my original list of requirements.

It can be folded to lie flat which raises the iPad just enough to create a comfortable typing angle, it folds flat for travel and holds the iPhone in portrait mode which is great for TV/video watching.

Surprisingly it even allows the Apple dock to be attached to the iPad whilst using the A-Frame. It you think that sounds like something you’d never need to do think again! Attaching the dock in that way allows the Camera Connection Kit to be used while the iPad is held in the A-Frame

It was £39.95 in the Apple Store which was £5 more expensive than the Book Arc, priced at £34.94. Prices at various online stores were considerably lower at £29.95 but they had none in stock.

Don’t you love it when you find the perfect peripheral and you’re not forced in to a compromise of some sort

Update on Tuesday, 1 June 2010 at 17:00

I need to clarify that when I said “… holds the iPhone in portrait mode which is great for TV/video watching.” I really did mean the iPhone! While the gap in the A-Frame plinth is too wide to hold the iPhone in portrait mode it does hold it in landscape. So yes I really was referring to the iPhone

Also thought I’d add a few more photos for those folks who have asked what the iPad looks like on the A-Frame inside the Apple Case.

One of banes of a computer user’s life is installing software. In my Windows days building up a new machine was a complete nightmare with multiple reboots and update upon update.

Installing software on a Mac tends to be a less painful experience as a simple drag and drop of the application to the Applications folder is generally all that is required. However there are notable exceptions to this installation nirvana and the two application suites I find myself having to schedule the best part of a day to facilitate the installation of are Adobe’s Creative Suite and Apple’s Final Cut Studio.

Hence, you can imagine my dilemma when CS5 arrived. I wanted to install it straight away but the pain and duration of the CS4 installation process was still burnt into my consciousness. So time consuming was the CS4 installation that I hadn’t bothered installing it at all on my new (7 week old) iMac knowing CS5′s release was imminent. I couldn’t hold out much longer though!

My CS5 installation files were delivered via the Adobe Electronic Software Download servers which at least meant I didn’t have to suffer the seemingly interminable grinding of the SuperDrive to install from physical media.

So with a copious supply of tea and reading materials I settled down to install the behemoth that is Creative Suite 5 Master Collection.

I was installing twice, yes that’s permitted under the licensing agreement, first on my oldest iMac before moving on to my new iMac.

The first machine was a three and a half year old 24 inch iMac Core 2 Duo with 3GB RAM and 256MB graphics card. Installing CS4 had taken approximately 3.5 hours and the required post install software update another 1.5 hours, hence the tea and reading material

However, once the serial number and associated information had been entered the installation of CS5 seemed to motor along hardly giving me enough time to start my tea. All 17 Creative Suite Master Collection applications and assorted extra utilities were installed in 32 minutes. Wow! If I thought that was fast the progress on my new 27 inch 2.8 Intel Core i7 iMac with 8GB RAM and 512MB graphics card was even faster. From start to finish the installation took only 16 minutes. Truly amazing. Even better was the fact that the installation didn’t require a reboot.

It’s all too easy to complain about issues with software that doesn’t seem to be fast enough, flexible enough or anything else enough but credit where it’s due. Well done to Adobe for listening to one of the major complaints about previous versions of Creative Suite and more importantly doing something about it to improve the situation beyond what I for one dared to even dream of … now if you could just see your way to fixing the Export Panel in Bridge … see the demands of users never end

Picture the scene it’s the Christmas gathering for all the local groups I’m involved in. All the guests either work in technology related areas or are keen technologists in their spare time. So imagine my surprise … no imagine my horror … when one of these folks came out with a declaration to the effect that; a phone’s a phone and a computer’s a computer, completely separate devices with separate functions and never should the twain meet!

His sentiments rendered me almost speechless.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse another guest supported the sentiments of the first and added to it. He explained that he’d bought a “hand held” device that proved to be an expensive waste of time as he’d never really used it.

So did they have a point? Have I been deluding myself for the last 18 months about the imperative that I believe my iPhone to be?

First, I must mention the term “hand held device”, an expression I hadn’t heard since my Windows days, it brought back memories of large clunky devices that cost the earth to connect to the Internet at speeds that would have shamed a 14.4 modem. Not to mention that it was navigated by squinting at an impossibly complex interface while stabbing a stylus at it hopeful of provoking it into some kind action.

I did have a Sony Clie and loved it. I used it to it’s full potential despite the pain of trying to get even the most basic of synchronization working and I used it right up to buying my iPhone.

I don’t think of my iPhone as a “hand held” computer, a second best device only to be used in dire emergencies when there’s no “real” computer available. In fact there are functions that I prefer to use iPhone applications for even when I’m sat in front of my 24 inch widescreen iMac and despite having 5 more than capable Macs within 10 metres of my desk.

Of course a social event isn’t the best place to vehemently expound the virtues of my iPhone. Actually, have you ever noticed how the naysayers are viewed as wise beyond their knowledge while those seeking to elucidate the benefits of some glorious piece of tech are scrutinized as if attempting to legitimizing the dirtiest of proclivities?

So through gritted teeth I managed a half smile and made all the appropriate noises about that being one point of view although it wasn’t mine … I was a model of tact and diplomacy

So the evening wore on and posterity demanded photos were required. The original miscreant explained that his magnificent DSLR kit was languishing at home due to it’s excessive weight and bulk. I wasn’t going to argue with that as so was mine! The difference was of course I had my iPhone … score 1!

As the quiz began so did the frantic Googling from said iPhone, we were doing rather well. The music section of the quiz followed and the second miscreant thought be had me on the ropes. From memory the quote went something like “Your fancy tech won’t help you here.”

Oh how wrong was he. Said music round involved identifying songs from only about 15 seconds of them. Yes it sounded like a job for Shazam to me as well. So without explanation I held the device up to the playing song and within a few seconds it had discovered all the necessary information and was happily flashing it in the unbelieving face of miscreant number two.

While he recovered himself I checked the traffic news and weather for a party goer who’s schedule demanded an early departure. An accident had closed the motorway and since she wasn’t local she knew of no alternative route. Of course there’s an app for that and within minutes she was on her way with instructions and screen shots of the alternative route e-mailed to her corporate issue Blackberry.

Miscreant number one’s other half was now more than interested in the iPhone and it’s capabilities. The exact words were “Why haven’t we got one of those?”. He played his trump card explaining that the iPhone was only available on O2 which didn’t have good coverage where he needed it. Knowing he was with Orange I casually dropped it’s availability via Orange into the conversation … let’s just say his next phone is looking like an iPhone!!

Aperture 3 was announced and released on 9 February 2010. The release coincided with the start of Macworld but Apple’s absence meant that the launch was without the fanfare reserved for Steve-notes.

I was eager enough to order online via the Apple Store immediately. Yes without even installing the trial. Of course installing the trial would have been much easier had Apple had the courtesy to send me the promised download link and serial number after I had duly completed the request form on their web site but let’s assume they were inundated and it’s non-appearance wasn’t anything personal!

The “over 200 new features” looked promising too. While some of these features were playing catch up to Lightroom others went beyond what is already in Lightroom 2 or promised for Lightroom 3. I also have clients using Aperture so not purchasing wasn’t really an option.

Some of the new features I was eagerly awaiting included the chromatic aberration filter to reduce the purple fringing found on many digital images and the halo reduction feature to further refine images. Non destructive brushes with edge detection also augured well for the future of my images.

The ability to segment libraries to facilitate a mobile workflow sounded genius as well. Even better the hived off library could have changes synched back to the main library. For those with huge libraries that alone would be worth the upgrade to version 3.

I was personally looking forward to testing the GPS import from iPhone photos. The idea being to use the iPhone images as GPS co-ordinate carriers for the DSLR images shot at the same location. I had tried doing this manually but quickly gave it up as too time consuming.

The smaller enhancements to the new version included the long awaited inclusion of coloured labels which brings Aperture more in to line with Lightroom which has had such taxonomy niceties since the very earliest betas of version 1.

Of less significance to me was the ability to catalog video files but with many cameras now supporting video it was a logical inclusion.

Anyway, enough of what might have been! The shrink wrapped box arrived on Friday, by the way cheers for the second class post Apple, and that was when things started to go downhill.

Installation was a breeze when compared to the hours it took me to install Final Cut Studio the day before. Sadly the elation of that installation was the high point of a very disappointing day.

On first run Aperture crashed.

Deeming it a blip I tried again and managed to get a little further. I could get to the Getting Started dialog box but none of the videos would play. Figuring I could worry about that later I copied the sample library catalog off the installation disc and set about investigating the new features.

First impression had to be just how slow it was running. Not just a little sluggish but direly slow. Clicking anything seemed to make Aperture slow to a crawl.

I managed to get a sample image loaded in and tried the new adjustment brushes. The results were very impressive but each brush stroke required over 30 seconds of processing.

Even using the loupe required an interminable wait while the image re-rendered.

A check of the Activity Monitor confirmed my intuition, the machine was being maxed out.

This is no underpowered machine either, it’s an early 2009 24 inch iMac with 4GB RAM and 3.06GHz processor.

I did all the right things: repairing permissions before and after install, repairing and rebuilding the library, creating a new library and even closing down all other applications. The outcome was the same each time Aperture slowed down to a crawl after varying amounts of time and/or processing.

Those few clients who tried the new version over the weekend have already been on the phone with corrupt catalogs, speed issues and are rolling back today.

With some software I wait to upgrade but I admit I expect better from Apple. At the very least I expect I won’t have to wait before enjoying the new features of a release that has been two years in the coming.

This version of Aperture doesn’t feel ready for release. I can’t use this in this state. I can’t recommend to clients that they risk their businesses using it either.

I didn’t take any consolation from not being alone in having serious issues with Aperture 3, reports are plentiful of major issues both from third party sites such as Gizmodo and TechTree as well as Apple’s own Aperture forums.

I sincerely hope Apple take on board the feedback and release updates as a matter of urgency that address the issues.

It’s instability isn’t as major an issue for me as it might be for some as I’ve always used both Aperture and Lightroom, yes together, and yes with the same images. I have a system in place where the images are referred on the hard drive rather than imported and it’s been working well for almost 4 years.

So in the meantime I’m using Lightroom 3 Beta, a product that clearly states it’s in beta and as such comes with all the usual caveats that status implies. However, it has not crashed once for me. I was sufficiently confident in it’s stability to do a live demonstration of it’s new features to my user group in January. It’s much faster than Lightroom 2, which was no slouch itself, and the new extensible architecture is heralding an exciting future for a product that holds a special place in my heart for bringing me to the Mac platform way back in the days of the beta of version 1.

Since the announcement of the iPad I’ve been amazed by the strength of feeling demonstrated by both sides of what has become the great Flash debate of 2010.

The iPhone has never supported Flash and while mention was made of that fact when v.1 was released it’s continued omission has not engendered any great depth of feeling. Since the iPad runs on essential the same operating system I didn’t expect Flash to be supported and therefore wasn’t surprised when it wasn’t.

What has happened since has astounded me: the vitriolic claims and counterclaims have flowed thick and fast.

Adobe have voiced their willingness to work together with Apple to resolve any concerns Apple may have. While Apple initially said nothing Steve Jobs this week had plenty to say on the subject at least to his own employees. According to Wired and Macrumors (US spelling is correct!) Apple’s CEO said “They are lazy. They have all this potential to do interesting things but they just refuse to do it. They don’t do anything with the approaches that Apple is taking, like Carbon. Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it is because of Flash. No one will be using Flash. The world is moving to HTML5.”

The world may be moving to HTML 5 but Jobs is overlooking the fact that the majority of the browsing world isn’t there yet and as the longevity of Internet Explorer 6 demonstrates old technology takes some considerable time to die out completely.

As an active member of the Adobe Community Programme I have access to the very best Flash developers, programmers and users. Obviously their stance is that Apple are missing a fantastic opportunity to offer a full browsing experience on their newest product by continuing to shun Flash.

Many Apple users are of the opposite opinion even going so far as disabling Flash in their more than capable Mac desktop computers and laptops. To the uninitiated that may seem tantamount to removing the nose to spite the face but to a large percentage of Mac users it makes perfect sense.

Why?

Well while Flash runs admirably on the Windows platform it does so because Microsoft have granted Adobe, the manufacturer of Flash, access to the Windows graphic APIs. Apple have steadfastly refused to do so for their OS X platform. So while the Flash development platform and the Flash Player is available for OS X is does not have access to the Apple OS X graphic APIs and as such is unable to benefit from the performance enhances access to them would provide. The workarounds Adobe have employed to mitigate the effects of having no API access have meant that Flash does not run as well on OS X as it does on Windows.

Hence, Flash is regarded by many OS X users as a resource hog and they choose to deploy third party applications whose sole function is to stop Flash running in their browser. The most popular of these Flash blockers is ClickToFlash available at no cost from http://rentzsch.github.com/clicktoflash/

No-one can deny that much of the Flash content that is presented to users in a browser falls into the category of “annoying adverts” but Adobe would no doubt prefer that their tools are not blamed for the output of web designers with predilections for creating such content. Flash gets such a bad press for the “annoying adverts” that it’s easy to overlook the innovations that it was responsible for and the inventiveness the Flash developers and community continue to demonstration.

Much has been made in the pro-Apple camp of the fact that HTML 5 is an open standard whereas Adobe and it’s Flash platform is a commercial entity. However, this stance conveniently ignores the roots of the Mac community exemplified in the pivotal 1984 advert for Macintosh. The ideology of Apple as the David against the Goliath of IMB is clear from that advert and the seeming reversal of roles is clearly advanced by this erudite post from Adobe Community Manager Rachel Luxemburg.

So a week on instead of enjoying the buildup to the release of the iPad we are bombarded with requests to petition Apple to change it’s stance and subjected to Steve Jobs scornful opinion of Adobe. At the same time we’re witnessing users blocking Flash on one class of device while another equally vocal group of users are demanding it’s deployment on another platform.

As a Mac user for the last four years I personally have never disabled Flash. I have never found it to be so annoyingly slow, unstable or capricious to warrant such treatment but I personally know many who have. Since Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, an online conferencing system I use on a very regular basis, requires Flash I won’t be doing without it anytime soon either.

Sadly the omission of Flash from the iPad means I won’t be lounging somewhere comfortable while presenting or participating via Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro when the iPad is released. However, I’m not too concerned about it as I’ve had a Flash-less iPhone for over 18 months now and can’t say life without it has been unbearable.

So what’s your take on it?