Que me digan lo que quieran – que si cumple con la norma de decir que se trata de un servicio de suscripción, eso sí, en letra minúscula, que si tiene la casilla de “he leído las condiciones de la oferta” con un enlace a unas bases que nadie se lee… Zed, o Club Zed, se dedica a captar ‘clientes’ mediante tácticas como mínimo engañosas, si no directamente fraudulentas. Veamos.

Consigue un iPhone 4 gratis

Una vez pasas del anuncio de 250×250 en cualquier página, te encuentras con ésto (haz click para ver la versión a tamaño real):

Antes que nada, el obligatorio asterisco [1]. El texto, “Enhorabuena”, “Llévate, antes que nadie, este iPhone 4 GRATIS”, induce al error. Ya que la “promoción” se trata de un concurso, debería decirnos, por ejemplo, “participa y gana”, o “podrías conseguir este iPhone 4 dándote de alta”, etc. El texto principal induce a pensar que uno va a conseguir un iPhone 4 gratis, directamente, y como dice el texto a la derecha, “AQUÍ”. El “Paso 1″ es introducir nuestro número de móvil, sin mencionar para qué exactamente, tan sólo añadiendo una casilla donde aceptamos haber leído los “términos y condiciones del servicio de suscripción”.

Se nos vuelve a engañar diciendo que se nos va a enviar un “código promocional” [2], que no es tal, sino el código que las operadoras necesitan para verificar que el usuario realmente ha querido darse de alta en el servicio de suscripción. Un alta en un servicio de suscripción tras el cual hay un sorteo no puede considerarse una promoción.

En la parte inferior [3] se pueden ver los logotipos de varias operadoras. Esto induce al engaño, ya que uno puede pensar que la “promoción” cuenta con la aprobación y respaldo de las operadoras. Nada indica que se trate, por ejemplo, de las operadoras compatibles con el servicio. Es igualmente ridículo el logotipo de “sello de confianza” de AESAM, que no es otra que la ‘Asociación Empresas Servicios a Móviles’ (si, sin “de”). Si realmente cumpliesen con las normas de dicha asociación, tendrían en cuenta los siguientes puntos de su código de conducta [PDF], página 9:

c. Llevar a conclusiones erróneas como consecuencia de información inexacta, ambigua, exagerada, incompleta o similares de la información comercial.

d. Contener información falsa, inexacta o caduca.

Igualmente, en la página 14, encontramos:

2. Cuando se trate de ofertas, concursos o juegos promocionales que incluyan descuentos, regalos, premios, etc., se deberá indicar a los usuarios de manera clara e inequívoca su identificación como tales y las condiciones de acceso y participación.

Es decir, que la palabra “sorteo” que aparece en letra pequeña, casi ilegible en un iPad, debería aparecer de forma “clara e inequívoca”. Para más inri, en la página 18, aparece:

- Deberá aparecer en el texto del anuncio la palabra SUSCRIPCIÓN (O SUSCRÍBETE), impresa en caracteres de un tamaño no inferior a 35,5 puntos.

En el caso que nos ocupa, el tamaño de la palabra “suscripción” es de 9px, o unos 7 puntos. 35,5 puntos corresponden a unos 46px. Hay una salvedad en el siguiente punto,

- En aquellos casos particulares en los que este tamaño resultara ser desproporcionado para las dimensiones totales de la inserción publicitaria, se admitirá un tamaño inferior, pero en todo caso deberá ser el 66% más grande que el logo del Proveedor cuyos servicios se publicitan.

que tampoco se cumple, ya que en primer lugar no hay ningún logo del proveedor, y si nos referimos a los logos de los operadores que aparecen, o al de AESAM, tampoco encontramos la palabra “suscripción” en un tamaño 66% más grande.

De todas maneras, la web de AESAM no es funcional, ya que los enlaces a los diferentes apartados no muestran ningún contenido, ni existe el formulario de denuncia que también mencionan en el código de conducta. Sinceramente, huele a tapadera para crear un “sello de calidad” sin ningún tipo de contenido ni validez.

Paso 2: confirme su adhesión al engaño

Si introducimos un número de móvil, veremos la siguiente página:

Ahora, nos hablan de un “código promocional”, y abajo, de un “password” [1] – en qué quedamos? Y por si el mensaje con dicho código se pierde, son tan amables de darnos una “Ultima recomendación”, indicando que podemos seguir con el proceso de alta enviando un SMS, sin necesidad de códigos promocionales. Hay que recordar que un máximo de 60 mensajes al mes, a 0,35€, son 21€ que tocaran pagar a aquellos que quieran un iPhone 4 “GRATIS”.

Por último, una última recomendación, ahora a los desarrolladores de las webs de Zed – comprueben la ortografía:

So Erick Schonfeld took a shot at the iPhone maps app, which uses Google Maps as its data source, and all other car-mount GPS manufacturers such as TomTom or Garmin, saying that Google should make Apple beg for maps navigation. I don’t agree with much of his post, here is why:

1. Real-time navigation availability depends on the type of license map data is served under, as I explained in a post a few months ago. The map data served by Google to Apple for use on the iPhone does not allow real-time, turn-by-turn navigation, thus, it is cheap and much less money flows from Apple to Google for it. This is explicitly referenced in the iPhone SDK’s licensing terms. Google must be paying a premium on the data it serves on the Android GPS app for this kind of use.
2. A real-time navigation system depends on constant availability of maps, which means online devices, such as an Android phone running Google’s app, must have perfect wireless coverage, in terms of both connectivity and bandwidth, and we know this is next to impossible. A comment on Erick’s post suggests Google caches map data when the route is created, which would be fine…if people followed the route perfectly. Many times, this is impossible for a number of reasons, such as bad routing, roadworks, or heavy traffic. All of these require re-routing, so Google, and any online system, would need to cache also every possible deviation and re-routing from the original path, which is impossible. There is a reason why TomTom’s iPhone app comes loaded with several hundred megabytes of map data.
3. The GPS chipset on mobile devices is not well-suited for high-rate position updates. This is evident if you use TomTom’s iPhone app, and is also evident as TomTom includes a separate GPS chipset in their iPhone car kit, for “…the most accurate positioning“. Since position update rate means battery consumption, and a phone has a ton of battery-consuming electronics on its own, the GPS typically provides less frequent updates than a dedicated GPS device.
4. Dedicated GPS units are best at taking you from A to B, re-routing you within a couple of seconds if you deviate, and showing you the location of speed traps safety cameras and other points of interest (POI). As you go up the price ladder, you are provided with additional functionality, such as voice commands, phone connectivity for hands-free audio and real-time traffic data. On this particular point, I totally agree with Matt Burns on his CrunchGear post, who says of GPS makers: “They are in the habit of producing 78 different versions of the same GPS. Each model steps you up $20 and adds another feature“. But I digress. With such a model, of charging for map updates, or for safety cameras, would they not also be charging for POI data if it was of any real use in vehicle navigation? Like updates to the “Restaurants” category? No, the issue here is that POIs are the least used feature in GPS navigators, and the makers know this. You may occasionally look for the nearest gas station, but that’s about it. If you want to eat something, you will ask around at your destination, or will have looked up options before the trip, but very very rarely do people go looking for stuff on their GPS devices. It’s true that Google makes it a lot easier to access this kind of information, and puts it right there on your face, but nothing will beat a dedicated service such as Yelp, or a dedicated app such as Bliquo (shameless plug for my good friend David Douek, who works there now, hope it helps your SEO at tiny bit!).
5. You can pick up a dedicated GPS unit for almost what you will spend on car mounts and cig-lighter adapter cables. They have faster routing, better planning capabilities, no need for wireless connectivity, and a much better audio output than any mobile phone.
6. You are supposed to be looking at the road while the GPS guides you by voice instructions, not at the GPS screen while it provides you with fancy data and/or graphics. Once you safely stop to look at the GPS, there are much better ways to present useful data, such as POIs, than Google’s interface. Many countries are looking into forcing GPS manufacturers into blanking the screen while the vehicle is moving in order to further prevent distractions to the driver.
7. TomTom, as an example, can add natural voice route requests to their higher-end units via software updates. Some already feature dictated destination input, but its use is clunky and not very useful right now – I bet we will see improvements soon. All it takes is the licensing of a proper speech-recognition engine. Google doesn’t have any major competitive advantage here, other than being the first to implement an (allegedly pending actual reviews) good functionality.
8. TomTom owns Tele Atlas, and Nokia owns NAVTEQ, which combined provide a huge chunk of the map data used by Google Maps. I love you Fake Steve, but you’re wrong on this one – GPS makers are fine, and they know it. Unless Google is planning on re-creating all the map data on their own of course, which is discussed extensively on this post by James Fee, but this would only mean Google would be free from other providers, not crush them.
9. Erick argues that “…the future of mobile apps are Web apps”. I think this is a huge over-simplification – the future of some mobile apps are apps that pull some or all of their data from the web. I regularly use an iPhone app that provides emergency response information on hazardous material (HazMat) incidents – I would be screwed if I had to depend on cellular coverage and a web service for this! We all saw how long Apple’s hard stance on iPhone web apps lasted, and the App Store just broke the 100.000 approved app barrier, so I rest my case.
10. Further from the GPS-centric topic, I’ll question wether Google really developed the Mail and Search functionalities of the iPhone – AFAIK, these are implementations of Mail and Spotlight respectively, can anyone confirm this one?

After I wrote about how unstable iPhone OS v3.0 is, I’ve been testing it with a fresh restore, but this time setting up the iPhone from one of my previous v2.2.1 backups, and I have to say that for whatever reason, it is much more stable. There are still some silly bugs, but also some upsides – the graphics are notably faster, particularly in games. So, if you see your 3.0 iPhone too unstable, try to restore it from a backup, it may make things work better.

Until the keynote a few days ago, the only remote control available on the iPhone over music playing was the microphone button, which could be used to play/pause or advance songs. The new $79 in-hear headphones feature volume up and down, apart from the center button that now adds a three-click function, which goes back one song.

How is all this done over a normal four-pin connector? On the “regular” headphones, two conductors carry the left and right audio, one the microphone input, and the fourth conductor is ground. Since the electret microphone used in the headset is fed a voltage bias, the phone can detect if the microphone line is shorted to ground. In this case, a single digital line into the main microprocessor will detect this short and trigger an interrupt.

If we now want to send more than a single click, such as volume up or down, a series of resistors of different values are placed in series with each button. When you press a button, the voltage drop across the resistor can be measured by the microprocessor, and thus the particular button function executed – with two conditions. The input line must be analog, not digital, thus capable of reading voltage variations, and the microprocessor’s firmware must be adapted to detect changes in voltage, rather than a digital 1 or 0.

Does the iPhone, or first-generation iPods have this arrangement? It’s hard to tell, but my first test on a Touch with firmware 2.1 doesn’t look promising. The center button on my V-Moda headset is not detected at all. This could mean that the firmware has been adapted to detect voltage changes, and so a remote with resistors is now needed. In any case, there either is no input at all in first-generation iPod Touch, or there is but has been configured to detect particular resistance values. I’ll have to wait to get my hands on one to really find out.

Just check out this page, which lists device & software manufacturers who have licensed Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync protocol (starting at a measly $100.000 a year!). Surprisingly, they don’t list Apple or the iPhone / iPod Touch. The last update on the page is March 2007, so it’s about time they check it over.

So today Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch App Store went up on iTunes, and the blogs have been on fire about it. All kinds of reviews of apps, the interface, what’s there and what isn’t…but in the midst of all this noise, I noticed two apps that give you access to Flickr, one of which is free (Exposure), the other costs $2.99 (Mobile Flickr). Both have more or less the same functionality – upload, browse and share photos on Flickr through your iPhone or iPod. Why would anyone pay even $2.99 when there is a free alternative? Only if the paid version offered either greater stability, or more attractive features, would paying be worth it.

My take on this is that smart developers will wait to see what comes out and becomes popular, and then write and release alternatives that will knock down the competition. Otherwise, it’s a crapshoot.

I visited this page which lets people give their details to Telefonica Movistar, and supposedly be sent information about the upcoming July 11th iPhone 3G release in Spain, for which they have exclusivity with Apple.

It seems that in earlier versions of this page, as iPhone Alley shows, Movistar showed a counter with the number of people that had submitted their details, but this counter is now gone. Worry not, however, as if you access this URL: http://www.iphone.movistar.es/cuenta_reg.php – it returns the number of signups to date. In the space of time it took to write this, the number went up by almost 30, standing at 141.723. Not bad, I guess the queues will be long at Telefonica stores this Friday!

Reading this post on iLounge about TomTom’s plans to include their real-time navigation software on the iTunes AppStore (or lack thereof) brings back memories from when I was developing advanced vehicle tracking systems a few years ago.

The root of the issue seems to be this line on the iPhone SDK’s license agreement:

“Applications may not be designed or marketed for real time route guidance; automatic or autonomous control of vehicles, aircraft, or other mechanical devices; dispatch or fleet management; or emergency or life-saving purposes.”

This stems from a chain of license rights that originates with the providers of mapping data, such as NAVTEQ or Tele Atlas. Apple has integrated Google Maps on the iPhone, which in turn uses mapping data from these providers under license. Pricing of map data varies with respect of what you intend to do with it, and for some reason, the providers value real-time tracking of anything as a top dollar use.

Apple had to accept the licensing restrictions that Google’s providers impose, and they very likely include real-time navigation and tracking of objects. In fact, Google Maps terms of use read:

“Except where you have been specifically licensed to do so by Google, you may not use Google Maps with any products, systems, or applications installed or otherwise connected to or in communication with vehicles, capable of vehicle navigation, positioning, dispatch, real time route guidance, fleet management or similar applications.”

This trait started when Microsoft released MapPoint 2004, which included for the first time a clause in its terms that forbid using the application for real-time tracking of vehicles and objects, and any such tracking should have a minimum 15-second delay between reality and display. With MapPoint 2002, one could use ActiveX objects to integrate the maps into a third-party application, like I did when I released StumbVerter, and fully control the map and data overlays. This meant that one could write a VERY cheap real-time tracking software application to go with the GPS tracking hardware the company sold. One could thus use pretty good maps of Europe and North America for a little over 400 Euros, compared to quotes I received that licensed only Spain for some 90.000 Euros! Microsoft got some heat over this, but defended its position by stating this restrictions had been imposed by the map data providers.

I don’t think TomTom will have a problem placing their software on AppStore, as they don’t infringe on the intended Location Services API clause, and maybe Apple will ease this clause by stating that the restriction is on using Google Maps rather than your own licensed map data for displaying location of tracked objects.

While analyzing the future of WiFi against the expanding 3G networks, it seemed curious that AT&T recommends using WiFi while abroad, and even Apple seems to really love WiFi instead of EDGE.

My theory is that Apple is itching to release the next generation of the iPhone without carrier lock-ins such as the current AT&T deal. They know very well they can sell a 3G version with a better camera and maybe GPS for $800 to $1000 in Apple stores, and people will queue to take them off the shelves, to then stick whatever SIM card they want in it. They could then be smart and have per-carrier features like Visual Voicemail, which doesn’t bind them to the operator, but gives subscribers a slight edge over “plain” iPhone users.

Apple will continue promoting WiFi on the iPhone and iPod touch for two reasons: it’s way cheaper and way faster to get iTunes content onto them over WiFi (a couple of movies will bust most 3G “flat” fee plans, and take eons to download). With the reported ‘edge cache’ for iTunes media deployed at Starbucks, for example, it only makes sense to promote WiFi as the access technology of choice.

WiFi also knowns no boundaries, and is the only cost-effective way to use data while roaming abroad – remember all those horror stories of four-digit roaming data bills after the iPhone was launched? Would never happen using WiFi. With the new Exchange integration coming with firmware 2.0, many more business travellers will want to tap into WiFi while abroad without having to pop open the laptop. In my opinion, it all points to a long life for WiFi, alongside mobile access technologies such as 3G and WiMAX/LTE.

If you are a talented developer for iPhone, we are looking for someone that can develop a WiFi application for it. It involves getting deep into the WiFi interface, so please only apply if you can do such work. We pay a very attractive hourly rate, so if you’re up for it, email me!