Eventually, something will sweep away all this news of the iPhone 4 antenna problems and we’ll look back on these days and laugh heartily—probably around the time people discover that the next Windows Mobile phone actually deletes your entire identity. Everywhere.
Until then, we continue to follow the reception issues apace, along with Microsoft flubbing yet another opportunity, Apple-inspired Disney stores, and a surprising new addition to Twitter. Remainders for July 14, 2010, coming your way.
Microsoft exec mocks iPhone 4, dubs it Apple’s Vista (Computerworld)
Speaking at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington DC, the company’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said, “It looks like the iPhone 4 might be [Apple’s] Vista, and I’m okay with that.” Only Microsoft could turn a golden opportunity to make fun of one of its biggest rivals into a dig at its own expense. Smooth.
Disney opens first Apple-inspired store (Forbes)
Disney’s redesigning its retail stores and taking pages from Apple’s playbook. Features of the new store include a Magic Mirror in which kids can, with the wave of a wand, summon a story-telling princess. Apple is expected to adapt that idea to its own stores, where customers waving at iPads will summon a virtual Steve Jobs to explain to them the device’s magical nature. The same goes for the Disney store’s “Imagination” scent and Pixie Dust Trail. You don’t want to know.
Scenes from a Foxconn factory (Gizmodo)
Michael Zhao is a student who’s going off to college in the fall—first, though, he’s taking a trip to China. While there, he visited the much discussed Foxconn factory in Shenzhen a Chinese factory to see firsthand what it’s like. The answer? Lots of shopping malls, scary drivers, and luxury condominiums. Or, in other words, a lot like New York City. [Gizmodo later updated the piece to correct that this was not the Foxconn factory but another Chinese factory. We apologize for the error. —DM]
Scott Forstall joins Twitter (Twitter)
You might think that after he was called out by Steve Jobs during this year’s WWDC keynote (see the 10:43 mark), Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iOS, would be trying to stay off Jobs’s radar. Instead, he’s started a Twitter account to which he’s posted nothing and is only following Conan O’Brien. Actually, that sounds just like Apple.
Top 10 signs you’ve purchased a bad iPhone 4 (YouTube)
Yes, even Letterman has jumped on the iPhone 4 reception issue bandwagon. I’m calling it now: there’s going to be a congressional investigation into the iPhone before the month is out.