Go get in line now
If you wanted the new Apple iPhone X and weren’t poised over your mouse and keyboard at 12:01 a.m. PDT this morning, well, it’s now going to be a while – maybe a very long while – until you can get one. According to CNET and numerous other outlets where technophiles were hoping to scoop up the new phone, they were pretty much gone in ten minutes.
That’s when the shipping delays began to pop up, and most cell phone carriers, along with Apple, are now showing a five to six week delay in shipping times. That means if you slept through the pre-order window, your only recourse now to get one in the short term is to get in line at an Apple Store or shell out big time for one elsewhere. The new iPhone Ten is $999 for the base 64gb model, and the 256gb model is $1149. Or, slightly more on eBay. Good luck.
Everything is fine, mostly
Speaking of expensive smartphones, Google is currently involved in a bit of… confusing messaging about the display problems with the new Pixel 2 XL handset, which has seen recent complaints of ghosting or burn-in, and now, an odd blue tint at times. According to BGR, Google is saying the displays are working just fine, but they know about the issue and just to be safe, they are extending the warranty to two years in case something… were to go wrong with them.
In a post, a Google VP says the company is aware of the complaints, and in a much more technical deep dive post about the display tech, another Googler says the displays are “as great as we hoped they would be,” but just in case, software updates will be issued that fade out the lower on-screen buttons after a few seconds to avoid any issues anyone might be experiencing. The display will also be dimmed ever so slightly; they say you won’t notice.
Interestingly, it seems the display problems are essentially affecting just the XL model, the regular Pixel 2 seems to be fine, just fine. Google also claims the problems the XL screens are having are “in line with that of other premium smartphones.” Once the OLED iPhone X finally arrives next week, we’ll just have to see about that.
Best diary ever
Given the popularity of Apple’s iPads, Pencil stylus, Microsoft’s Surface tablets and their Surface Pen and so on, you’d think trying to force another pen-and-slate product into the marketplace would be a bad idea. But Windows Central is claiming Redmond is indeed pushing ahead with just such a device, but it has a key difference: the device will be foldable, like a book, and it’ll also have phone capabilities and will focus on a more pen-and-digital ink experience.
It even has a cool name: Andromeda. Windows Central says the device may be similar to a past effort at a similar device that didn’t make it to market: Microsoft Courier. The Andromeda device or devices will reportedly run Windows 10 (everything likely will, eventually), and with a focus on a more traditional input style – actual writing – could appeal to technophobes who have kept current tablet and laptop tech at arms length.
We’ve seen highly flexible OLED displays and other flex-display tech, but will the bendy screens stand up to thousands of cycles of opening and closing? Hard to tell, but, we’re intrigued. There’s no shortage of people who love to write and draw in journals and so forth, and if they could have that experience along with the perks of modern computing, it could be a whole new product category.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
