Want to see what a mess AT&T has made by calling its HSPA+ network 4G? Look at my two “4G” AT&T phones below, one the iPhone 4S, the other the Galaxy S II Skyrocket:

The iPhone is reporting 3G speed, even though it’s getting what AT&T would have you believe is its first “layer” of 4G speed, through the HSPA+ network.

The Galaxy II is reporting 4G speed, even though it’s getting exactly the same HSPA+ connection that the iPhone 4S.

The Galaxy II is also reporting 4G speed even though it is NOT getting the much faster speed it would get if AT&T’s 4G LTE network was live in my area. My understanding is that if I did get this speed, it would say 4G LTE.

Crazy.

Apple apparently has prevented AT&T from forcing it to show a 4G indicator for HSPA+ connections — and good for Apple.

Meanwhile, AT&T’s decision to call HSPA+ “4G” means that on what I’d consider the first 4G phone I’ve actually owned from AT&T, that 4G indicator is meaningless unless it says 4G LTE.

For the record, I’ve also got a 4G LTE phone from Verizon, a Droid Charge. Whatever claims AT&T wants to make about HSPA+, my Droid Charge’s speed leaves the iPhone 4S in the dust.

Here’s irony. My contract with AT&T, despite the increased cancellation fee added last year, is doing little to keep me from jumping ship to Verizon. As it turns out, it’s cheaper to leave AT&T than stay. And AT&T doesn’t seem to care, which doesn’t bode well for their bottom line.

No Upgrade Pricing For You!

I’m 13 months into my AT&T contract. I’d like to go to the iPhone 4S, from the iPhone 4 that I have now. To do this, AT&T wants to charge me $450, for the 16GB version. It hasn’t been long enough for me to get the discounted $200 upgrade pricing.

Do I want to spend $250 extra, to get this phone now. Sure. But I don’t have to. Instead, I can go over to Verizon, where as a new customer, they’ll charge me only $200, since I’ll be starting a new two year contract with them.

This is where AT&T’s contract should be working as a disincentive, right? After all, last year they upped the termination fee from $150 (if I recall correctly) to $325. But actually, all that’s doing is working as an incentive to leave.

NOTE: Originally I said the prices above were for the 32GB version. I’ve changed that to 16GB. If you do go 32GB, the savings is still the same — because it’s $100 more on both “sides.”

Fine, Your Termination Fee Is Less Than Full Price

You see, each month, that termination fee drops by $10. I’m 13 months in, so that $130 off my termination fee, leaving only $195 to pay if I go.

$195 to leave AT&T and get a new phone on Verizon; $250 to say and get a new phone with AT&T. I’m not a math wizard, but even I can tell that’s saving me $55 right there.

I called AT&T to see if they’d waive the upgrade fee. I got transferred from the first rep — who said giving upgrade pricing wasn’t possible — to a customer service rep, who spoke with me longer. At first, he tried to tell me that I wouldn’t be saving as I thought.

No, I explained, pointing out the math for him. He countered saying I’d have to pay sales tax on the termination fee (really?) plus an activation fee with Verizon.

If All Things Are Equal, Then I’ll Still Leave

Let’s assume he’s right. Let’s say I have to pay 10% sales tax on that fee, which is well above California’s already high rate. That’s $20. Activation at Verizon, that’s $35. That’s $55 in all, exactly the amount I was going to save by leaving.

Assuming I didn’t want the hassle of shifting carriers, and moving to a longer contract, maybe that would be a deterrent. Then again, maybe I’m annoyed enough at my carrier not wanting to keep parity with a competitor that I might decide I want to go.

If I Walk, You Lose, So Why Are You Letting Me Go?

As it turns out, there’s still another $200 in savings, which I’ll get to in a moment. But let’s review things as they stand so far.

I’m telling AT&T that I’m leaving. That at worst, it’s costing me nothing. More likely, it’s saving me $55. That it is even potentially saving me $255. You’d think they’d want to match, right? Right?

I mean consider that I pay AT&T about $80 per month. That money is walking out the door, if I go, right over to Verizon. If they waived that $250 extra for me to upgrade, that’s at worst three months of revenue they’ve “lost.” But they would have done that by getting me to renew my contract for another two years, taking me all the way back up to that $350 penalty. It seems worth doing.

Let’s Talk Trade In!

Now the bigger sweetener. Verizon runs an excellent trade-in program. My existing iPhone, which is in great shape, is currently worth $202 (oddly, if I had a 16GB version, I’d get like $20 more!). The program, which I’ve used before, is easy. Mail in your phone, get a Verizon gift card. They don’t even want the charger or cable! Then apply that gift card to your Verizon bill, and you’ve got about 2 1/2 months of service for free.

I explained this part to the AT&T rep. He didn’t seem to believe me. Why would Verizon take in AT&T phones? Hey, I don’t know why, and I don’t care. They do, and it makes it even cheaper to leave.

Now, I’m sure all this might work in reverse. There could be customers at Verizon are thinking that it makes more sense to jump to AT&T on a cost basis. If so, I’d hope Verizon would have more sense than AT&T, to think they’d rather keep the long term paying customer rather than collecting the very short term termination fee they’re going to get.

This Isn’t Just Unique To Me

After I posted this, Jon Worrel commented that this was a unique case that can’t be applied to AT&T’s many customers. Not so. As I told him:

This isn’t a specific situation. I’m at this point into my contract because I bought a new iPhone 4 when they came out. Actually, I was a month behind the HUGE numbers of people who did on AT&T (and only AT&T, because only AT&T had it then).

Now ALL those people are in exactly the same situation as me. If they want a new phone, there is an exceptionally good reason for many of them to leave — especially when AT&T will be telling them no, you have to wait 1 1/2 months for that upgrade pricing. They can wait, or they can move now at no cost, potentially a $55+ savings or potentially a $255+ savings.

All they risk is for some, having to leave unlimited data plans.

Will Termination Fees Rise Again?

Sadly, what I expect will happen after the latest round of defections is that the termination fees will go up again, perhaps with less reduction in cost over time. But, that might also work against the carriers.

Right now, I already view that termination fee as potentially part of the cost I might pay on the phone. Even with it, it’s less than paying for a full priced unlocked phone (to get that from Apple, you’d pay $750 versus $450 for the locked, non-upgrade price).

Take the termination fee up, and consumers might start looking more closely at full priced phones, especially if they really can use those on different carriers, without a problem (despite what you might think, you cannot do this with the iPhone 4S “world” phone. My post from yesterday, iPhone 4S: Even Unlocked, You Won’t Be Network Swapping This Phone, explains more).

Speedy AT&T, Potentially, For The iPhone 4S

I actually do wish I could stay with AT&T. I’m a fairly unique situation. I carry two phones, an Android (currently a 4G Droid Charge, see my review Verizon 4G Android Faceoff: HTC ThunderBolt Vs. Samsung Droid Charge), and an iPhone. I want to be up on both those platforms, for coverage reasons.

I usually use my Droid, because Verizon has a more reliable network and because the 4G speed is really fast. Really fast. I’d like to keep my AT&T phone, because it’s nice to have an alternative network, for when I’m at some large event, or if I encounter an odd case where Verizon isn’t working well.

The iPhone 4S, from what I understand, while it’s not 4G, will still be faster on AT&T than Verizon. That, along with having AT&T as a backup, makes it appealing to stay.

All of this I explained to the AT&T rep, as well as the fact that because I use Google Voice, I don’t even have issues about switching my number. No one knows my AT&T number. They only know my Google Voice number (My Life With Google Voice Number Porting, Six Months In explains more about this).

Honey Badger, Er, AT&T Don’t Care

None of that mattered. There was no hostility on either end. There was just nothing he said he could do (though Cynthia Schames tweeted to me she got the fee waived). As for me, I said there was no reason for me to say — and when my Verizon phone arrives next week, I’ll be moving over. Goodbye AT&T, I guess.

Bonus Time: Hotspot Pricing Considerations

By the way, in looking at all the options last night — Verizon, AT&T and Sprint — Sprint comes off as the cheapest and unlimited, but I actually think Verizon is better, especially if you want a hotspot on your phone.

I’m not a big talker, so the 450 base minutes that both Verizon and AT&T offer are fine for me. The base 2GB of data is $5 more with Verizon. But Verizon still offers a $5 for 250 text plan, which AT&T killed in favor of a $20 unlimited plan. I don’t text much, so I don’t need to pay that extra $15 (though renewing my contract, I wouldn’t have to).

Sprint, of course, gives you unlimited text, voice and data for $80. That’s up against $80 for AT&T with unlimited text, 450 voice minutes and 2GB data. As for Verizon, it’s $75 for 250 text, 450 voice minutes and 2GB of data.

Now bring in the hotspot. Verizon offers a 4GB hotspot plan for $40. That means for only $10 more, you double that baseline 2GB to 4GB plus you get a handy hotspot on your phone, which can then let your computer or iPad / tablet tap into the connection.

On AT&T, the the hotspot plan also doubles you up to 4GB — but the cost is $20, or $10 more than Verizon is charging. As for Mr. Unlimited Sprint, if you want a hotspot, you’re going to pay $30 for it on top of the $80 you’re already paying for “unlimited” data — and have your hotspot capped to 5GB.

Everyone’s going to be different, but I never use more than 2GB per month on my phone. 4GB is pretty roomy, and it means with Verizon, you get a hotspot service along with good amounts of text, voice and data on a super dependable service for $80, versus $85 on AT&T and $110 on Sprint.

Good luck with your buying decision, if you’re going for the new iPhone. Again, see  iPhone 4S: Even Unlocked, You Won’t Be Network Swapping This Phone for some additional things you might want to be aware of.

The iPhone 4S decisions looms. But can I buy an unlocked iPhone and swap it as I like? Nope. In fact, buy an iPhone 4S on Verizon or Sprint, and you can’t easily use that later with AT&T, it seems. You might not be able to use it between Verizon and Sprint, either.

Two key pages have information all this, the iPhone FAQ and the small print on the Compare iPhones.

AT&T = No CDMA Activation

The FAQ is very clear that if you go AT&T, you’re not going to have the CDMA portion activated, which you need for Verizon and Sprint:

If you choose AT&T as your wireless carrier, your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will use only GSM cellular technology for voice and data services, and it can roam internationally on 200 GSM carriers around the world.

International Roaming Doesn’t Mean SIM Swapping

So do that, because of all the global access GSM allows, right? Well, keep reading:

If you choose Sprint or Verizon Wireless as your wireless carrier, your iPhone 4 will use only CDMA cellular technology for voice and data services. An iPhone 4S activated on Sprint or Verizon Wireless will use CDMA technology too, but it also has the ability to roam internationally on GSM networks using the provided GSM micro-SIM.

Interesting. Ideally, here’s how you “roam” globally. You buy a new SIM card in the country you’re in, then pay local rates (though your old number won’t work). I’ve done this in both the UK and Australia. It’s awesome.

But the phone has to be unlocked to work this way. Buy AT&T, and the phone is probably locked and won’t use another SIM. You can roam, but that means roaming where your AT&T SIM card talks with other networks — and charges you a lot.

NOTE: This especially seems the case now that more is live on the Apple site. If you want to swap SIM cards, it looks like an unlocked phone is the way to go. See further below.

Buy Verizon or Sprint, and maybe you can slot in a micro-SIM (these aren’t common, but you could always cut one down). Even if you do, I’m betting they’d be locked. More likely, the SIM is designed to let you roam with billing through Verizon or Sprint.

NOTE (12:26am): Now that I’ve been through the Verizon sales process, to enable the global SIM option, you have to choose to enroll in a global roaming package, which starts at $30 per month. Chances are, you could do this for a month and cancel — or enroll at a later date if needed be.

Expired Contracts May Still Prevent Swapping

In the end, it’s a wash up. Buy the phone on any of these networks, and chances are, you’re not swapping it between them easily.

But wait! What if you break your contract. Certainly your new provider will activate it for you, right? Maybe not. Consider this small print:

The iPhone model you purchase is subject to your wireless service provider’s policies, which may include restrictions on switching service providers and roaming, even after conclusion of any required minimum service contract.

WTF?!!! You mean if I buy the phone, pay for it in full (which you effectively do, if you break your contract), I might still be stuck with a phone I can’t use with another provider? Yep. Which, really shouldn’t be a surprise. Take one of your old iPhones that are fully paid for into an AT&T store and ask for it to be unlocked. Doesn’t happen.

Unlocked iPhone 4S = GSM Only

But what if you buy an unlocked iPhone 4S. Is there even such a thing? Well, yes. The FAQ says:

If you have selected an unlocked GSM phone, you will need to acquire a micro-SIM from the supported GSM carrier of your choice and activate it in order to use your iPhone.

And the small print of the compare page says:

For those who are not qualified customers, are not eligible for an early upgrade, are purchasing an unlocked iPhone (for supported GSM wireless service provider networks only), or wish to buy an iPhone as a gift, see your carrier, an Apple Retail Store Specialist, the Apple Online Store, or an Apple Authorized Reseller for pricing.

That suggests there are unlocked iPhones, but that they’ll only work for GSM networks. But in that case, I think it’s more likely that if you did go to another provider (Sprint or Verizon), they’d probably have a way to activate your CDMA part. You’d hope. Potentially not.

NOTE: The Apple site now says an unlocked iPhone 4S is coming in November, and that it will be for GSM networks only. If you want to swap SIMs abroad, this is the phone for you. From Apple’s unlocked iPhone page:

The unlocked iPhone includes all the features of iPhone but without a contract commitment. You can activate and use it on the supported GSM wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T in the United States.* The unlocked iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will not work with CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint.

If you don’t want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone is the best choice. It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you’ll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide. To start using it, simply insert the micro-SIM card into the slot on your iPhone and turn it on by pressing and holding the On/Off button for a few seconds. Then follow the onscreen instructions to set up your iPhone.

Meanwhile, now that I’ve actually been through the Verizon order process, you can buy phones there on a month-to-month non-contract basis, ranging from $649, $749 and $849. This means they might be unlocked. Or, they simply might be higher priced with no contract but still locked. Given what Apple’s saying, I suspect they’re locked.

In the end, it’s sort of a non-issue. I don’t think that many people are going to buy the new phone off-contract. And if they do, the huge prices to break a contract probably will keep them from moving to a new provider. By the time their contract is up, a new iPhone will be coming along.

Looking for more tips? Might I suggest here, on Techmeme, where iPhone 4s sale stories are beginning to cluster.

Postscript: See my follow-up post, Crazy Carriers: Why It’s Cheaper To Cancel AT&T & Jump To Verizon For The iPhone 4S.

I’ve had a Droid X for the past two weeks, running alongside my iPhone 4. Short story: I’m not keeping it, primarily because of the size. It’s too darn big. Below, a long look at the crazy world of super sized phones, plus some other observations on life with the Droid X.

Be forewarned. Most of this review is about size, the growth in size in general with some Android devices and how that translated into the Droid X being too large for me. I’m not a cell phone blogger, and I have no interest in trying to replicate the great technical reviews that many of those do. I’m trying to share my real life experience about why I like a phone or not. In this case, the Droid X — pun intended — eclipsed all other factors.

Pocket Sized Smart Phones

What on earth is going on with Android handset makers and the bigger-is-better trend? When did they decide to grow their phones to the size of PDAs? Here’s a stroll down memory lane:

Shown above are my first two smartphones, both Windows Mobile devices, from 2004. I had two phones because I lived in England but traveled to the US regularly. My US phone is on the left. My UK one, a “candy bar” format that I especially liked, is on the right.

Both easily fit into my pocket. My UK phone could shoot video (unlike my iPhone 3G that I purchased 4 years later). Both were 2G phones, since there wasn’t much of a 3G network anywhere at that time. That meant downloading web content was slow. Entering text was also a pain. I kept waiting for a long-expected version of my candy bar phone to arrive with a slide-out keyboard. But then these came, instead:

The two units on the left are the Windows Mobile phones I shifted to in 2006, about twice as big as my candy bar phone (my UK one is on the far left, with my US one next to it).

Bring Out The Belt Clip!

These phones really didn’t fit well into a pocket. Instead, I had a belt clip case to truck them around. It worked well enough, and it was worth going up in size for all the benefits the phones brought me: 3G (two years before the iPhone got it), a pullout keyboard, easy web browsing and even tethering.

The third unit from the left was my last Windows Mobile phone, which I upgraded to at the end of 2007. It was thinner than my other Windows Mobile phones but still had a pullout keyboard. I thought it was great — until the iPhone 3G came out, which is on the right.

Back In The Pocket With The iPhone

The iPhone taught me that I didn’t need a physical keyboard, as I’d believed. I also quickly realized that even though my Windows Mobile phone could do all the same things the iPhone could, it was a hell of a lot easier to do things on the iPhone. With it now being 3G capable, I made the jump.

I also went down in size. Without a physical keyboard, the phone was thin enough to slip into my pants (or trouser, for you Brits and others who read pants to mean underwear) pocket, even with my case around it.

The iPhone 4 is about the same size as the iPhone 3G and 3GS. In fact, when I had the iPhone 4, I kept using my old case without problems. Apple found a nice size and has stuck with it. But the Android makers seem to be losing their minds.

If I Wanted A PDA…

Consider this picture:

Those are all the PDAs that I’ve owned over the years. From left-to-right, there’s my old Palm III, then my Palm m515, then my Toshiba e330 Pocket PC and my last dedicated PDA, the Dell Axim Pocket PC.

That fifth unit on the end? That’s the Sprint EVO, which I was given free at the Google I/O conference earlier this month. Sizewise, it doesn’t feel that out of place in the line-up. Sure, it’s thinner than the PDAs. But lengthwise, it gives them all a run for the money.

The Droid X is even bigger than the EVO. Consider these pictures:

Above is the iPhone 3G, then the Nexus One (another free unit from the Google launch event), the EVO and my old PDA. And below:

There’s the iPhone 3G again, the EVO and finally the Droid X, even taller than the EVO. (If you’re wondering why I didn’t have the Droid in one of the earlier line-ups, it’s because I didn’t have the Droid at all when I started working on this piece about super size phones — and I’m not dragging all those PDA from the garage again!).

Just Too Damn Big

Basically, the Droid X feels even more like a PDA than the EVO did. It’s also got this weird bump at the top where it gets thicker:

I don’t care what the technical reasons are behind it. I just want a flat phone all around.

The phone is also so large that I never felt that comfortable using it one handed, which is often how I’m using my phone.

In the end, I don’t want to go back to a belt case. Even though the iPhone, or the Nexus One for that matter, only seem slightly smaller, that difference is huge. They’ll fit in my pocket. They can be used easily one handed. That’s the form factor for me, I guess.

But If You Like It…

That’s my view on phones getting large. Recent ones I’ve looked at are just too big, for my taste. Not everyone will agree. That’s fine. If you carry a bag around a lot, say either a purse or a backpack, you might be happy to have a large phone tucked in there. One nice thing about Android is that there is this great diversity. It’s not one size fits all, nor should it be, because one size doesn’t fit all.

But still, I keep feeling like we don’t have to wait for the first Android tablet to emerge as a challenger to the iPad. If the Android phones keep growing as they are, they’ll get to be tablet sized soon enough.

What Else Didn’t I Like?

The Droid X has the ability to create a mobile hotspot. I don’t think this is using the native hotspot software as part of Android 2.2 — indeed, the Droid X runs 2.1. Instead, I think this is something special Motorola added for Verizon. To me, it sucked. That’s because for no apparently reason, it would just turn itself off. It shouldn’t have been a power issue, as this repeatedly happened when the phone had plenty of power or even was plugged in to charge. It would just switch off.

To take a picture, you have to use a hard button on the top. I found this awkward. You have to press really hard, and I wanted a touchscreen option.

What I Did Like?

Anything I did like about the Droid X? Sure, plenty:

• The screen was very iPhone 4-like, not quite as sharp but very nice
• The flash felt powerful
• The GPS system, as I’ve found on other Android phones, was very nice
• It’s light! Maybe it’s not that much lighter than the iPhone, but it sure felt like a lot
• The keyboard was one of the best Android ones I’ve used. Of course, that’s also because the keys are so large on the screen that it’s hard to miss the keys.
• The coverage. Verizon gave me better coverage in many places than the iPhone

Nice Phone, If You Like The Size

That’s pretty much it. I brought the phone through Verizon about two weeks ago, and I’ll be taking it back shortly. Instead, I’ll be looking to move to either the Incredible or the Samsung Galaxy on Verizon.

If you’re thinking Android, this might be a fine phone for you, if you’re OK with the size. Clearly, I wasn’t. Spend some time really playing with it, and living with it, if you can.

Below, some related posts from me you might be interested in:

• No, Your First Impression Isn’t Wrong: Android ISN’T As Nice As The iPhone
• Upgrading The iPhone to iOS4 – The Quick & Dirty Way
• iPhone 4 Case Options
• Life With Verizon Mifi, The iPad, Mobile Broadband & Everything (covers the Sprint EVO a bit)
• Enough About The iPhone 4 Antenna, More About AT&T’s Bad Network
• Why I Returned My iPhone 4

Earlier this week, I handed in my iPhone 4. I’m back on my iPhone 3G at the moment. I’ll move to Android soon. I loved my iPhone 4 in many ways, and I’ll share my thoughts about it below. But the most important feature, the AT&T network it ran on, sucked.

Getting Out Of My Contract

Apple and AT&T couldn’t have been nicer about the return. I’d returned my phone 32 days after having it, 2 days outside the return policy. I’d been on vacation and didn’t have a chance to easily get in.

Apple Store managers apparently have discretion to take back a phone. The manager I dealt with did this without hesitation. Everyone at the Apple Store totally got my frustration with AT&T. They didn’t try to pressure me to stay. The person I worked with actually has a Nexus One with T-Mobile, because he was on his family’s plan. That surprised me. I assumed Apple would ensure all their employees had the iPhone somehow. But no matter. We had a good talk about how the iPhone measured up to Android. It was such a nice, pleasant experience that I felt bad about leaving the iPhone and wanted to stay.

With AT&T, I had to talk with a supervisor. That was all very polite. They decided to do what’s called a “no activate,” which meant the phone supervisor had to call to a retail store near me, to see if the manager there would approve that. Seemed weird, but it worked. I had to take the receipt for my iPhone 4 refund in, and that was it. I was back to my original contract — which at this point is now month-to-month.

Life Back With The iPhone 3G, For Now

It was kind of funny to have my iPhone 3G back. All my settings and apps were still on it, so it was a simple transition. What’s most remarkable is that I’m not thinking that I’m missing anything. The iPhone 4 was super fast when I got it, in loading apps. The screen was amazing. And yet, I’m back on my iPhone 3G and not really feeling like I’m missing much.

I find that kind of reassuring, because I felt really anxious about returning the iPhone 4. I’ve loved the iPhone, but returning the iPhone 4 was the first step toward leaving the iPhone altogether. Leaving the iPhone family. The security of knowing there will be a billion cases to chose from (except, of course, right now when the iPhone antenna issue has caused cases to be out of stock everywhere). The security of feeling like I had what the bulk of people are using.

Then again, I have an iPad, which is just a giant iPhone, more or less. I’m still in the iPhone family!

More important, Android is growing. And Android’s all I feel I’ve got, if I want a smart phone that’s iPhone-like but with Verizon. If Verizon had the iPhone, I’d have probably gone right to that. But they don’t. Apple’s decision that it had to be buddies exclusively with AT&T has ultimately cost them a customer. I doubt they’ll notice I’m gone. But maybe I won’t be alone.

My Real Life Review

I liked Walt Mossberg’s “real usage” review that came out yesterday about the iPhone 4 (he said it’s the best smart phone, if you can stand AT&T). Over the past two weeks, I’ve read enough phone reviews to go blind, most of which focus on the specs rather than what we really do with our phones. This has front flash. This has a front camera. This has 5 megapixels, while that has only 8.

Who really cares about this stuff? In the end, what makes a phone right for you is if it does the things you need it to do and does them well. So this is my review of how the iPhone 4 did for me. Disagree? That’s fine. You might be absolutely right, for yourself. That’s what’s important, so don’t worry if someone tells you that you have the “wrong” phone.

A Beautiful Camera

The iPhone took great pictures, much better quality to me than my old iPhone 3G. That was nice. Want to see one? OK, here:

That’s from what I uploaded to yFrog. Here’s the same scene from my Droid X, that I uploaded to Twitpic:

Personally, I think the Droid X colors are a little nicer. But you know, it’s not that big of a deal.

Look, most of the pictures I take with my phone get uploaded to photo sharing services, where they’re going to be compressed. Worrying about small differences in picture quality is like worrying about whether your MP3 file would sound better if it was a larger sampling, when you’re playing it through low-quality earphones to begin with

I’ll probably look at some of my pictures on my computer. A few I might use for a news articles. The quality with any of the smartphones I’ve used has generally been good enough.

What’s more important to me is ease of use. The iPhone camera is a dream to use. The touch screen interface is intuitive. You can easily zoom and snap a photo, even with one hand. That’s important to someone who shoots a lot of sunset photos while in the middle of an evening rollerblade.

I love having a zoom, and it’s one reason why I won’t stay with the iPhone 3G. There are times I want to get closer.

I also love having video, something the iPhone 3G lacked. Too many times, I’ve wanted to video something. I know there’s an app that will bring video recording to my iPhone 3G, but I need to leave it because of AT&T, anyway.

A Great Keyboard

Like my iPhone 3G, the iPhone 4 keyboard was wonderful. I could quickly type, even while walking, just using my thumb. I don’t do that much typing on my phone. But when I do, to answer a quick email or to tweet, I want a keyboard that doesn’t make me constantly have to override auto-correction or that mistakenly gets the wrong letter. That’s been one of my big issues with Android. That might go away as I get more used to Android. But typing on the iPhone was easy.

A Nice OS

I love the cleanness of the iPhone OS, especially how iOS 4 allows you to group apps into their own folders. I especially like how I didn’t have to decrapify the iPhone compared to how carriers feel they’re pimping up their various Android handsets with widgets I don’t want and wish I didn’t have to uninstall.

iOS 4 allow allows you to task swap in most cases — go back to an application where you left off — which is very nice. In a few cases, you can even actually multitask, have one app keep running while using another (like Pandora will keep playing, I believe).

Android has long had task swapping and some multitasking, so I’m not losing much by leaving the iPhone. But I still feel like I am leaving an operating system that lets me do more with fewer clicks.

A Beautiful Screen

The iPhone 4 screen is the sharpest screen of any smartphone I’ve ever used. In fact, I though that would be a deal breaker for me, leaving that screen for another phone.

You know what? In the end, I found that most of the time I was zooming pages in my browser to read them more easily anyway. My eyes are getting older, so I didn’t want to try and focus on the smaller type, even if it was sharp type. And once you zoom in, other phones like the Droid X or the Sprint EVO have pretty good screens, too.

Meanwhile, in some apps like email, having a great screen wasn’t that big of a deal.

Maybe I Do Want Flash

I’m not fan of Flash. It’s often used when unnecessary, and I want to scream at designers who I believe use it as a lazy crutch in these cases.

Part of me thought maybe Steve Jobs, in refusing to support Flash on the iPad or the iPhone, would get people away from it.

But no. I still encounter sites that use it, on my mobile devices. So knowing that Android has some support, and support that will get better, is a plus.

Easy Music

I never thought I’d use iTunes much on my phone. Then I discovered it was handy to have tunes there for when I was at the gym, or out rollerblading or in the car. iTunes on my computer makes it easy to sync selected playlists to my iPhone. All types of devices seem to have support for the iPhone, too, like a watch I have that lets me control my music selection on the iPhone with a little remote plugged into it.

Apparently, dealing with music on the Android isn’t much fun. But that’s not a deal breaker for me, so off I go.

Applications

I’m really, really sick of stories talking about the number of apps that each platform has, as if the numbers mean anything. It’s not sheer number of apps but specific apps that are important.

I use Twitter and Foursquare the most. Both exist on Android. There, I’m done. Sadly, the official Twitter app for Android is nowhere near as good as for the iPhone. I’ll survive. Foursquare is about the same.

There are a variety of other apps that I use from time-to-time, such as BoxScore or TheBike. I’m pretty sure I’ll find Android version of these and others. If not, nothing on my iPhone is a killer app that’s keeping me there.

In contrast, Android has a killer app that is pulling me in: GPS. I’ve used this many times when I’ve been traveling and didn’t have my regular dedicated GPS unit. It’s handy.

Forget Facetime

Ah, but isn’t FaceTime a killer app for the iPhone? I’ve used it once, to test how it works.

Here’s my pet theory on video calling. We don’t really want it. It’s not like the technology for regular phones to do video calling hasn’t been out for ages. So why don’t our regular phones have it?

Well, I haven’t had a shower yet today. Ooooh! My hair’s a mess, I haven’t shaven and I’m not really wanting to video call with anyone, even if I could.

Voice has been and will continue to be fine. FaceTime’s nice to have, and when I was traveling more and my kids were younger, I probably would have loved it as a better solution that the web cams I tried. But now they’re older, and it’s enough to get them just to talk in voice, you know?

For me, FaceTime wasn’t a killer feature. If it does become popular, I’m pretty sure a system that’s not dependent on two people having exactly the same device will come along.

The Browser & Email

Two of my biggest activities on my phone are browsing the web and reading email. It’s a nice experience doing both on the iPhone. In Android, browsing feels about the same. The double-click to zoom often is useful, too. The email client isn’t as nice to me as with the iPhone, but it’s good enough.

Battery Life

I never had a problem with battery life on my old iPhone or my iPhone 4. I keep things off so it wasn’t constantly polling the network to download data. I’d always keep my phone plugged in, when I had the opportunity. I religiously shut off my screen, when I wasn’t using it.

As for Android, it depends on the phone. I’ve had some like the EVO that are power hogs. But I expect to learn the best power management options for whatever phone I do ultimately end up with. And unlike the iPhone, I can always change the battery.

The Network: AT&T Sucks

I saved the worst for last. The most important feature of my iPhone is its ability to connect me with the world. That’s the point of the phone. And it constantly lets me down.

The antenna issue was a non-issue for me. In fact, I find it infuriating that so much focus goes into that aspect. Look, I can take two iPhones, put them side-by-side, and have different signals on them, no “death grip” involved. What the hell is that?

More important, I can’t get coverage or get only poor coverage in many places I go. On my vacation, I went through the Southwest: Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Zion National Park. I had 3G Verizon coverage in all these places. Sure, I was on vacation, and I really didn’t need to be connected. But my iPhone had only basic coverage or sometimes no coverage.

When I go to large events like a baseball game or a concert, I’ve consistently had my iPhone be unable to send data or make phone calls. But on occasions when I’ve had another phone with another network, that’s been OK.

I just can’t have a nice shiny phone that doesn’t do the basic thing the phone is supposed to do, connect me with stuff. So I’m moving to Verizon. Verizon isn’t perfect, but I know from experience in using my broadband card that I often have coverage where the iPhone doesn’t.

And yeah, maybe if everyone goes to Verizon, then it will have network problems. Fine. I doubt that will suddenly make AT&T better. More important, I’m just fed up with holding out hope for AT&T.

More Posts To Come

That’s about it for the iPhone 4. But I’m not done with posts coming out of my experience in leaving it. I’ve got a whole series coming, because I need some type of cathartic release.

I carry my phone around with me more than my children! More than my wallet. It’s almost always with me, for better in some cases, for worse in others. But there’s no denying it’s a big part of my life. So committing to a phone for two years, at least for me, is a huge decision beyond price point.

I’ll have more about this in a future post, frustration with carriers trying to lock us in to phones for two years in a way we’d never be locked in with our computers. I know, just pay the full price for your phone. Sure, but unlike a computer, that phone is basically locked to that carrier. A brick you can’t use elsewhere easily.

I’ll also do a post shortly about life with the Droid X, which I picked up two weeks ago, to see how Android has changed since I last looked at it earlier this year. Answer? Much better, enough that I’ll make the jump comfortably. But I won’t be keeping the Droid X. It’s just too large for me. (This is now up, see Life With The Droid X & Do We Need Super Sized Phones?)

Instead, I’ll probably go to the HTC Incredible or the Samsung Galaxy S — the Fascinate, as it is known when it comes to Verizon. The Incredible is out of stock. When it finally comes back in mid-August, the Samsung may arrive. I’m tempted by the Samsung because it looks so iPhone-like, plus because it will be newer than the Incredible. Mossberg is among several reviewers who liked it. I also played with the AT&T version and was impressed by the keyboard. But more on all that later.

Ultimately, I’ve got an entire post coming where I’m going to take Apple and Google to task for selling out what should have been the smartphone revolution in order to make sweet cell phone love with the carriers. I think that’ll be fun. Stay tuned.

Below, some of my past posts about the iPhone and Android:

• No, Your First Impression Isn’t Wrong: Android ISN’T As Nice As The iPhone
• Upgrading The iPhone to iOS4 – The Quick & Dirty Way
• iPhone 4 Case Options (gets into some iPhone 4 impressions at the end)
• Life With Verizon Mifi, The iPad, Mobile Broadband & Everything (covers the Sprint EVO a bit, here)
• Enough About The iPhone 4 Antenna, More About AT&T’s Bad Network
• Life With The Droid X & Do We Need Super Sized Phones?

The iPhone 4 antenna issue perhaps jumped the shark when Consumer Reports declared this week that it did special testing to prove that the “death grip” really can lead to a loss of signal. Hey, Consumer Reports? Where was your special investigation into how just being on AT&T’s network can lead to a loss of signal?

It’s The Network, Stupid

Seriously, it’s the antenna woes that caused CR to withhold a “recommended” status for the iPhone 4?

Look, I can take two iPhones, put them on my desk side-by-side, not touch either one of them, and yet one might show signal degradation for no reason.

More important, I can be holding my iPhone (iPhone 3G or iPhone 4) with a FULL signal (whether you believe the bars or not) and not be able to hear someone clearly or send or receive data.

How About A Bumper Case For AT&T?

But yeah, let’s waste more time investigating the antenna. And then let’s waste even more time testing that putting a case around it will help. Yeah, we knew that. Apple told us that.

You know what the case doesn’t solve? The far more common issue of AT&T’s network still giving iPhone owners grief in general, case or not.

Warning: iPhone Ownership Produces Self-Loathing

By the way, I’m living a living case study of how Apple’s latest phone might indeed be its Windows Vista, a meme that’s making the news today.

I begrudgingly upgraded, hating myself for staying with AT&T but still preferring the iPhone’s interface over Android and wanting a fresh new phone after my last one two years ago. But in the past few weeks, I find myself even more angry than in the past any time my spanking new iPhone fails to work as advertised due to AT&T.

You know, it’s the little things. I can’t send or receive data. Phone calls sound like they’re underwater. I can’t get the screen to turn on during a call by hovering with my finger, as in the past — and yet somehow it often senses my ear and puts a call on mute, by mistake.

Android Paralyzation

Suddenly, Android is looking much more attractive to me. I think the EVO and the Droid X are still too big in size for me, too PDAish, and I have a future post on that. But if the Droid Incredible’s screen resolution is better than that of the Nexus One — and looks somewhat as sharp as the iPhone 4 — that might push me over the edge.

But that’s also Android’s weakness, in another way. There are so many bigger and better Android phones coming around the corner every few weeks that I almost feel paralyzed from making a move. That I might hang on with the iPhone a bit longer than I really want to, waiting for the next best thing.

I Left Vista; I Could Leave The iPhone

Still, I might make the jump, which brings me back to the “Is the iPhone Apple’s Vista” meme.

Vista was so bad that two years ago that it drove me to the Mac, where I continued to run Windows XP and Mac software side-by-side. I skipped Vista entirely. I got back to Windows only because my Mac died, and the repair took so long that I upgraded an old laptop to Windows 7 and discovered, hmm, things have gotten better.

Earlier this year, I loved my iPhone way more than Android. Now my iPhone “upgrade” has me hating it more each day, a PR issue that both Dave Winer and Rex Hammond write about today.

Maybe I’ll switch to Android and wait things out until the iPhone 5 fixes the Vistaness of the iPhone 4. Or maybe I’ll go Android and perhaps be as done with the iPhone as I was with Windows Mobile, when I left that behind.

Then again, maybe I’ll go Kin

Some past posts from me on iPhone and Android:

• No, Your First Impression Isn’t Wrong: Android ISN’T As Nice As The iPhone
• Upgrading The iPhone to iOS4 – The Quick & Dirty Way
• iPhone 4 Case Options (gets into some iPhone 4 impressions at the end)
• Life With Verizon Mifi, The iPad, Mobile Broadband & Everything (covers the Sprint EVO a bit, here)

I’m a phone case fanatic. If my phone’s not in a case, I feel like it’s undressed, unprotected for the world. So the challenge with a new phone is often that the cases lag behind. The iPhone 4, which I got yesterday (mock me or applaud me now) is no exception. A few thoughts for those pondering case options.

My Old But Perfect Flip Case

I tried several cases when I got my iPhone 3G two years ago and settled on the perfect one, a Belkin Folio Flip. It’s awesome. Since it’s leather, it slides into my pants pocket without getting stuck or picking up lint the way some of those rubber cases do.

Better, it has a cover that flips over the top of the screen, keeping it always protected:

Inside the cover, a small bit of Velcro keeps it in place. I like that, rather than having a bulky clip or metal catch.

Flip the cover back, and it tucks on the rear of the phone, nice and out the way:

Inside the cover, there’s also a small pocket where I keep a spare credit card along with some emergency cash:

This has saved me time and again, when I’ve forgotten my wallet for some reason.

After two years, this case is still going strong. I wondered if Belkin had a new version for the iPhone 4. While waiting in line yesterday for the new iPhone, I visted the Belkin site and found that they did, one called the Verve Folio. But apparently, it’s not yet available for order. Meanwhile, the Apple store itself seemed to only have those stupid “bumper” cases — and in only one color. What to do?

POSTSCRIPT: Belkin no longer lists the Verve Folio on its site in the US. It is still listed as coming in the UK here.

Old Case, Meet New Phone

Well, after I got my iPhone 4, I tried sliding it within my old case. It fit. Like fit really well. It fits just slightly looser than my iPhone 3G, so I’m careful not to hold the case upside down, lest the phone slip out if the flip top is open for some reason. But to be honest, the old phone would have slipped out, if I held it that way.

The pictures above show the new phone in the old case. I know the pictures aren’t the greatest – I shot them with my old phone. But hopefully you can see that it does fit within the old case really well.

As for the camera, there’s an opening in the back of the case for the 3G camera. This works fine for the iPhone 4 camera (though it covers the flash). You have to be a little more careful to make sure the edge of the hole doesn’t block your shot. But I shot this video and this photo:

out of the case yesterday just fine. As for the front camera, nothing in the case blocks that. You can’t put the phone in a dock with this case (I don’t think), but I don’t anyway. You can easily plug in your charger through the bottom opening.

Buy An Old Case & Save!

I’ll probably get the new Belkin case, when it’s finally available. But if you’re pondering a case option, I’d highly recommend getting one of the old Belkin Folio cases until your perfect choice comes along. Since it’s now “old,” I found it here on Amazon for only $10. If you don’t mind pink, you can get one here for only $5. (Both those links and the Amazon ones below, by the way, earn me a tiny bit if you purchase through them).

Don’t like flip cases? Well, my wife has one of those Paul Frank rubber cases for her iPhone 3G. It’s now holding her iPhone 4 pretty well. Looking at Amazon, I see these cases now going for $9, half the normal price (such as here and here and here).

Bottom line. Can’t find a case designed for the iPhone 4? Go try some of the old iPhone 3G and 3GS cases. You’ll probably get a nice one that’s heavily discounted and which will fit your new phone really well, until the specifically designed cases come along. And they will come, plus some are out there already. Below is an Amazon search box that lists some of the iPhone 4 cases currently available

Saving On Screen Protectors

Along with cases, I’m also a big screen protector person. I’ve become a big fan of Zagg protectors after I got one for my iPad. I went with the full body option, since I’m still waiting for a decent iPad case to come along. The back protector gives me a nice grip feeling, while the front slid on pretty well, and after a day, the little microbubbles did go away as promised.

NOTE: The link above to Zagg is an affiliate link, so I earn if you buy through it. To learn more about my experiences with Zagg protectors, both good and bad, see Review: My Life With Zagg invisibleShield Protectors.

Another tip. Leave the screen covering that came with the iPhone originally on, until a new one arrives. Cut the two tabs at the bottom of the front and rear, and you’ve got a nice temporary protector that doesn’t get in the way of using your phone, especially within a case. Also be sure to cut the openings around the cameras, flash, microphone and speaker. I left the speaker covered and could hardly hear anything, at first. I thought my phone was broken until I realized my dumb goof.

Oh, About The iPhone 4

A couple of people have asked me what I think about the iPhone 4. I might do a longer post on this in the near future. Originally, I hadn’t planned to get one at all. I was (and still remain) convinced that a version will come to Verizon in the near future, and I’d love to leave AT&T. But the peer pressure got to me.

OK, it wasn’t all peer pressure. I’m out at too many places where it would be handy to have a phone that shoots video (and I didn’t know about iVideoCamera that lets the 3G do this, thanks Greg Powers for the tip). So many people use the iPhone that I also felt I needed to have it to better understand some search apps. Most of all, I still like the iPhone interface over Android. Sorry Android fans and those who work on Android, but I do.

Android’s getting there, really getting there, so maybe down the line, I’ll make the jump. That’s especially so if the touch typing improves. But for now, I’m staying iPhone. Having skipped a generation, I decided to dive in.

So far, it’s not that magical. The screen looks sharper to me, but I haven’t had an “oh wow” moment. I’ve only been to a few web sites, and the text is crisper. But I don’t feel my life has changed because of it. Maybe when more apps that use the higher resolution appear, I’ll change my mind.

The multitasking, as best I can tell, is really just task swapping in most cases. You shut an app, go to another one, and if you go back, the app you left is still where you left off. That’s nice, especially since I’ve missed this from my time with Android phones. But I’d sure have loved if I could have somehow swiped between apps, like swiped and moved the screen to a new one as with Spaces on the Mac.

What I notice most is that it is so much faster than my iPhone 3G. That’s to be expected, since my other phone was two years old. If I had an iPhone 3GS, I don’t know that I would have made the jump, since that has video, probably the biggest thing I was lacking on my old phone. I’d have likely upgraded to iOS 4.

For more of my thoughts on the iPhone, as well as the iPhone versus Android, see some of my past posts below:

• No, Your First Impression Isn’t Wrong: Android ISN’T As Nice As The iPhone
• Upgrading The iPhone to iOS4 – The Quick & Dirty Way
• Life With Verizon Mifi, The iPad, Mobile Broadband & Everything (covers the Sprint EVO a bit, here)

Remember all the hoopla about how Facebook’s terms and conditions were longer than the US Constitution? Hey, Facebook’s 5,830 words have got nothing on Apple. The latest terms it shoved out to iPhone users are almost three times as long as the Constitution, 11,998 words versus 4,543 words (not including amendments). And it’s even longer than that, if you count the web version of the terms versus what I got sent off my iPhone.

Did Anyone Really Read The Terms?

I’ve always gotten a chuckle out of Apple forcing me and others to agree to new iPhone terms when we’ve downloaded apps from time to time. They’ve typically had pages and pages of information you’re supposed to have read through. Today, the page count was 45. That’s 45 screen “pages” of information you’re supposed to have read, digested and agreed to before your phone will let you download new apps.

As I joked on Twitter:

i’ve lied & told my iphone that yet, i did read the 45 pages of new terms & conditions. like I could use it if I didn’t agree.

No, I didn’t read those terms. I imagine that virtually no one who uses the iPhone did. And yet, virtually everyone will have clicked on the button saying they did. If you don’t, your phone becomes effectively unusable.

Unusable? Yes, in the sense that you can’t download and install new applications, which is at the heart of the phone.That’s also why I keep calling these the “iPhone” terms rather than what they really are, the “iTunes Store Terms Of Service.” They might regulate what you do with iTunes, but since you need iTunes to run your phone, they effectively are the iPhone terms. And yes, I know you can “jailbreak” your phone and use it outside Apple’s terms. But the vast majority of people don’t seem to do this.

Some Privacy Changes

I’ve never questioned the iPhone terms much before, but some news today has me thinking much more about them. See, as part of the iPhone terms that you were supposed to have read, there’s also a privacy policy that’s part of the agreement:

APPLE’S PRIVACY POLICY. Except as otherwise expressly provided for in this Agreement, the Service is subject to Apple’s Privacy Policy at http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/, which is expressly made a part of this Agreement. If you have not already read Apple’s Privacy Policy, you should do so now.

Turns out, the privacy policy has significantly changed. To its credit, Apple made this clear at the very top of the new iTunes terms:

iTunes Store Terms and Conditions have changed. Apple’s Privacy Policy

The changes we have made to the terms and conditions include the following:

• Apple’s Privacy Policy has changed in material ways.  Please visit www.apple.com/legal/privacy or view below.

Apple: Now Logging Your Location

The iTunes Store Terms themselves haven’t changed, not at all since May. But despite this, you’re supposed to scroll through all the stuff you already agreed to in order to reach the new privacy terms, where there’s the news that Apple is now collecting your location and may share it with partners:

Location-Based Services

To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services.

Some location-based services offered by Apple, such as the MobileMe “Find My iPhone” feature, require your personal information for the feature to work.

That’s kind of a big deal. You can’t opt-out of this. No, you can’t. You can prevent apps from getting your location, but that doesn’t stop Apple from logging it.

Dear Steve: This Is Asking?

This disclosure is from the company whose CEO, Steve Jobs, recently said this about privacy:

Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for. In plain English, and repeatedly, that’s what it means. Ask them. Ask them every time. Make them tell you to stop asking if they get tired of your asking them. Let them know precisely what you’re going to do with their data.

I submit it’s hard to know that I signed-up for this type of logging when you bury it in a privacy policy change that itself is buried under iTunes terms that haven’t changed. Doesn’t Apple have the technology to send me a summary of what’s actually new and different and important with its terms?

How About A Dashboard Of Who’s Logged What?

The change also raises other issues. You mean Apple was never logging iPhone information before this? Really? Because I assumed they were, just like AT&T was doing. I also assumed the various location apps were getting this stuff even if I didn’t get a scary sounding “this app wants your location” message.

To me, the bigger issue was that I had no control what was logged. I spoke about it back in 2008, how location apps are cool, but where’s the data stored? With Apple? With AT&T? With Foursquare? All of them? And how do I “clear” my location data, if I want to. Can I even do it?

See, that’s the real thing Apple needs to address. Can we clear even our “anonymous” information from its servers? Will it create a “dashboard” similar to the Google Privacy Dashboard that perhaps shows all the apps that have logged our locations, so that we can then go back to those app makers and request deletions, if we want?

That would be a nice feature, especially from a company that’s so big on app “curation” and trying to ensure we have a nice, clean, safe mobile search environment.

Or is it really that Apple’s going to log and keep our locations and we have no control over that, and we can just trust that since it’s all “anonymous,” it’s all OK?

What’s Up With Web Terms Being So Much Longer?

Finally, an oddity. When I used Microsoft Word to give me a word count of the terms I was emailed, which include the privacy policy, I got a count of 11,998 words. But those terms are also online here, complete with the privacy policy. On the web, the count comes to 27,328 words.

I ran a comparison of the text I was sent, which is also below for the curious, to what’s on the web. I discovered things like this were not in the version emailed to me:

4. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION. (1) To avoid muscle, joint or eye strain during video game play, you should always take frequent breaks from playing, and stop and take a longer rest if your eyes, hands, wrists, or arms become tired or sore or you feel any other discomfort…

OK, I can live without knowing that. But it concerns me that the web version is so much longer than the emailed version. They really ought to be identical, don’t you think? Here’s what I was emailed:

iTunes Store Terms and Conditions have changed. Apple’s Privacy Policy

The changes we have made to the terms and conditions include the following:

• Apple’s Privacy Policy has changed in material ways. Please visit www.apple.com/legal/privacy or view below.

iTunes Store

TERMS OF SERVICE

iTunes Store

TERMS OF SALE

U.S. SALES ONLY

Purchases or rentals (as applicable) from the iTunes Store are available to you only in the United States, its territories, and possessions, and are not available in any other location. You agree not to use or attempt to use the iTunes Store from outside of the available territory. Apple may use technologies to verify such compliance.

SALES TO END USERS ONLY
The iTunes Store sells and rents (as applicable) products (“Products”) to end user customers only.

REFUND POLICY
All Sales and rentals (as applicable) are final.

1-Click®
1-Click is a registered service mark of Amazon.com, Inc., used under license. 1-Click is a convenient feature that allows you to purchase or rent (as applicable) from the iTunes Store with a single click of your mouse or other input device. When accessing the iTunes Store on your computer, 1-Click purchasing or renting (as applicable) may be activated for all your transactions by selecting the “Don’t ask me about buying … again” check box in the “Are you sure you want to buy and download … ?” dialog box that appears when a “Buy” button is clicked. (You may reset this selection at any time by clicking “Reset Warnings” in your Account.) When accessing the iTunes Store on your iPad, iPod or iPhone, 1-Click is activated for each transaction by pressing the button showing the price of the product, which reveals the “Buy” button. When 1-Click is activated, clicking the “Buy” button will start the download immediately and complete your transaction without any further steps. Transactions using 1-Click are subject to these Terms of Sale, including the Refund Policy set forth herein. When accessing the iTunes Store on your computer using iTunes 9, you alternatively may purchase Products by selecting “Add to Wishlist” from the dropdown menu that appears next to the “Buy” button for the Product you wish to purchase. Using Wishlist allows you to review and change the Products you have selected for purchase before completing the transaction. The Wishlist functionality is not available in earlier versions of iTunes or when accessing the iTunes Store on your iPad, iPod or iPhone, or for Movie Rentals, Season Passes and iTunes Passes. When accessing the iTunes Store on your computer using iTunes 8 (or earlier versions of iTunes), you may turn off 1-Click and instead purchase using a Shopping Cart by selecting “Buy using a Shopping Cart” under the “Store” tab in your preferences menu within the iTunes application. Using a Shopping Cart allows you to review and change the Products you have selected for purchase before completing the transaction. The Shopping Cart functionality is not available in iTunes 9 or when accessing the iTunes Store on your iPad, iPod or iPhone, or for Movie Rentals, Season Passes and iTunes Passes.

PAYMENT METHODS
The iTunes Store accepts credit cards, payment through your PayPal account, iTunes Cards, iTunes Store Gift Certificates, Content Codes, and Allowance Account balances as forms of payment. If a credit card company, or your PayPal account, is being used for a transaction, Apple may obtain a pre-approval from the credit card company or from PayPal (as the case may be) for an amount up to the amount of the order. Billing to your credit card or to your PayPal account occurs at the time of purchase or rental (as applicable) or shortly thereafter. If the balance from an iTunes Card, iTunes Store Gift Certificate or Allowance Account is used for an iTunes Store transaction, the amount is deducted from your account or your iTunes Card (as the case may be) at the time of purchase or rental (as applicable.) If the total amount of the transaction is greater than the balance available in your iTunes Card, Gift Certificate or Allowance Account, your credit card, or PayPal account, will be charged for the balance.
The iTunes Store accepts the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

PLEASE NOTE
We are unable to accept credit cards issued by banks outside of the United States or prepaid gift cards issued by credit card companies. Debit cards and check cards have daily spending limits that may prevent the processing of your order.
If a transaction has been declined online due to credit card issues, or issues with your PayPal account, please ensure all data is correct and resubmit. If the transaction is not accepted online, you will be unable to use that card or your PayPal account (as the case may be) for your transaction and should use another credit card.

BILLING
If you are transacting using 1-Click or your PayPal account, your order may be authorized and billed in gradual increments during one purchasing and renting (as applicable) session as you click the “Buy Now” button. Depending on the size of your order, this may appear as multiple orders and billings on your credit card statement.
If you use the Shopping Cart functionality, you will have one order that authorizes and bills as a single transaction.

SALES TAX
iTunes Store transactions will include sales tax based on the bill-to address and the sales tax rate in effect at the time your transaction is completed. If the sales tax rate for the billing address changes before the purchased or rented (as applicable) digital content is downloaded, the new tax rate in effect at the time of download will apply. We will only charge tax in states where digital goods are taxable. No customers are eligible for tax exemptions for transactions made on the iTunes Store.

PRE-ORDERS
By pre-ordering Products, you are authorizing the iTunes Store to automatically charge your account and download the product when it becomes available. You may cancel your pre-order prior to the time the item becomes available, by going to your Account page and clicking Manage Pre-Orders on your computer, or in the downloads section on your iPad, iPod touch or iPhone. Pre-orders purchased from your computer can only be managed and downloaded on your computer.

GIFT CERTIFICATE TRANSACTIONS
Gift Certificates may be redeemed for iTunes Store transactions only and are non-refundable, except as required by law. They cannot be used for purchases on the Apple Online Store or used in Apple Retail Stores. Sales tax will not be charged when the Gift Certificate is purchased. Sales tax is charged when the Gift Certificate is used for an iTunes Store transaction. The tax rate on the transaction is based on the address of the redeemer (see Tax section for more information). Purchases for Gift Certificates may be purchased only in whole dollar increments or designated amounts. Gift Certificates may not be used to purchase other Gift Certificates, iTunes Cards or Allowance Accounts.

ALLOWANCE ACCOUNTS
Allowance Accounts are for transactions on the iTunes Store only. The Allowance Account may not be used for gifts, or purchases on the Apple Online Store or in Apple Retail Stores. Sales tax will be charged when the Allowance Account is used to make an iTunes Store transaction. The tax rate on the transaction is based on the address of the account user (see Sales Tax section for more information). Allowance Account balances are non-refundable. Allowance Account balances may not be used to purchase Gift Certificates, iTunes Cards or other Allowance Accounts.

iTUNES CARDS
iTunes Cards are for transactions on the iTunes Store only. iTunes Cards may not be used for gifts, or purchases on the Apple Online Store or in Apple Retail Stores. iTunes Cards are non-refundable, except as required by law. iTunes Cards may not be used to purchase Gift Certificates, Allowance Accounts or other iTunes Cards.

GIFTS
Gifts purchased from the iTunes Store in the United States may be purchased only for, and redeemed only by, persons in the United States. Gifts are non-refundable. Gifts may not be purchased with iTunes Cards, Gift Certificates or Allowance Accounts. Gifts may not be used for Movie Rentals, In-App Purchases, Upgrades, or the iPod touch OS. Gift recipients must have compatible hardware and parental control settings to utilize some gifts.

COMPLETE MY ALBUM (“CMA”)
If you have acquired select songs or music videos from the iTunes Store, Apple may offer you the ability to “complete” the corresponding album (if any) by purchasing the remaining songs or music videos of the album at a price that is less than the full album price. Please note that for some albums (where the full album price equals the sum of the single prices of all its songs), completing the album using CMA does not reduce your price for the remaining songs or music videos compared to buying them individually. CMA may not be available for all songs or music videos you have acquired or will acquire from the iTunes Store, and availability of particular CMA offers is subject to change without notice. Albums that are no longer available for sale on the iTunes Store, partial albums and certain other albums are not eligible for CMA. Songs or music videos acquired through free promotions are not eligible for CMA, except in the case of certain select free content code promotions. CMA is not available for any content acquired from the iTunes Store other than songs and music videos. Except in the case of special promotions that Apple may conduct at its discretion, in some circumstances, you will have no more than 180 days from the time you acquire your first CMA-eligible song or video off a particular CMA-eligible album to accept that CMA offer. CMA is only available on your computer.
For more information about CMA, please read the FAQ at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305232.

ITUNES PLUS
Select songs or music videos may be available on the iTunes Store in the iTunes Plus format. iTunes Plus content does not contain security technology that restricts your usage of such content, and is encoded at a higher audio bit rate than the DRM-protected songs or music videos available on the iTunes Store. iTunes Plus content also is subject to fewer Usage Rules; please see the iTunes Store Terms of Service for details.
You may upgrade songs and music videos you previously have purchased from the iTunes Store that are eligible for upgrade using your computer. Songs or music videos may be eligible for upgrade only if the same song or music video is available for sale on the iTunes Store in the iTunes Plus format at the time of the upgrade. The eligibility of particular songs and music videos for upgrade to iTunes Plus and your total upgrade offer are subject to change at any time. Before you upgrade, you will be shown the total price for the upgrade, and will have an opportunity to review the specific content that will be upgraded. The upgraded iTunes Plus versions of your content will replace the DRM-protected versions in your iTunes library, and the DRM-protected files will be moved to your Trash or Recycling Bin folder. For more information on how the upgrade price is calculated and details about the replacement of the DRM-protected versions, please review the FAQ (see below).
CMA may be available for iTunes Plus content, subject to the CMA terms and conditions set forth above. Upgrading prior purchases to iTunes Plus does not affect the time limits applicable to CMA availability.
For more information about iTunes Plus, please read the FAQ at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/iTunesPlusFAQPage.

RING TONES
Ring tone Products available for purchase on the iTunes Store are usable only on iPhones, and may be purchased only through the iTunes Store available on iPhones (not using computers). In addition, using the iTunes application and subject to a separate fee, you may be able to create ring tone Products, usable only on iPhones and no more than 30 seconds in length, from eligible songs that you have purchased from the iTunes Store and which reside in your iTunes Library. Eligibility for ring tone creation and purchase is determined at the time you choose to purchase the ring tone you have created, not at the time you originally purchase the song from the iTunes Store. The eligibility of particular songs for ring tone creation and purchase is subject to change at any time. Indications of ring tone eligibility for particular songs in your iTunes application are provided solely for convenience, and do not guarantee that the applicable song will be eligible for ring tone creation and purchase at any time in the future. Ring tone Products are subject to specific Usage Rules; please see the iTunes Store Terms of Service for details.

SEASON PASS, MULTI-PASS
Season Pass includes all currently available (if any) and future episodes of the purchased program season, as may be indicated on the iTunes Store for the particular Season Pass. Multi-Pass includes the episodes of the purchased program specified on the purchase page. The full price of the Season Pass or Multi-Pass is charged upon purchase. No refunds, returns or cancellations after purchase. In the event that a network or studio delivers fewer episodes than planned at the time of your Season Pass purchase (and as may have been indicated on the iTunes Store for the particular Season Pass), we will credit to your Account the retail value of the corresponding number of TV episodes. For example, if a Season Pass has 22 planned episodes at the time of your purchase, but the network or studio only delivers 20 episodes, we will credit to your Account an amount equal to the retail price of two TV episodes. Currently available purchased episodes (if any) download upon purchase of the Season Pass or Multi-Pass. Future purchased episodes automatically download to the device with which they were purchased as they appear on iTunes, and may also be downloaded by the purchaser by connecting to the iTunes Store on your computer and selecting Check for Available Downloads in the Store menu in iTunes 8 and 9 (or Check for Purchases in the Store menu in iTunes 7). Purchaser must connect to iTunes and download any remaining episodes in the Season Pass or Multi-Pass within 90 days after the final purchased episode becomes available on iTunes (or such other time period as may be specified on the purchase page), after which such remaining episodes may no longer be available for download as part of the Season Pass or Multi-Pass purchase. Automatic renewal is available for Multi-Pass purchases. If automatic renewal is selected when you purchase a Multi-Pass, you will be charged the full price of each subsequent Multi-Pass cycle and the corresponding episodes will become available to you as set forth above, unless and until you cancel automatic renewal prior to the beginning of any such subsequent Multi-Pass cycle. Automatic renewal of Multi-Pass purchases may be disabled prior to purchase of the current Multi-Pass cycle by unchecking the “Automatically renew this Multi-Pass” check box in the purchase dialog box on your computer, or by turning off “Auto-Renew” on the detail page of the selected Multi-Pass. In addition, Season Pass and Multi-Pass purchases may be reviewed, and automatic renewal may be selected or canceled for any current or future Multi-Pass that you have purchased, in the Manage Passes section of your Account, on your computer or your iPad. Once a subsequent Multi-Pass cycle has been purchased pursuant to an automatic renewal, it may no longer be cancelled and there are no refunds or returns. Season Passes and Multi Passes cannot be purchased or managed from your iPod touch or iPhone.
Please also see Upgrades below.

iTUNES PASS
iTunes Pass provides purchasers with a select variety of content (which may comprise songs, albums, music videos, and editorial content) made available by a particular artist, group, or group of artists during a pre-determined, set time period (the “Pass Period”). The full price of the iTunes Pass is charged at the time of purchase. The purchase price of the iTunes Pass will not exceed the fair market value of the individual items offered as part of the iTunes Pass. No refunds, returns or cancellations. Currently available content (if any) will download upon purchase of the iTunes Pass. Future iTunes Pass content becomes available for download as it is made available on iTunes. To download, connect to iTunes and select Check for Available Downloads in the Store menu in iTunes 8 and 9 (or Check for Purchases in the Store menu in iTunes 7) on your computer. Any new content available as a part of a purchased iTunes Pass will then download. Purchaser must connect to iTunes on their computer and download any remaining iTunes Pass content within 90 days after the end of the Pass Period (or such other time period as may be specified on the purchase page), after which such remaining content may no longer be available for download as part of the iTunes Pass purchase. iTunes Passes cannot be purchased or managed from your iPad, iPod touch or iPhone.

iTUNES LP AND iTUNES EXTRAS
iTunes LP and iTunes Extras Products are usable only on computers with iTunes 9 or higher and Apple TV with software version 3.0 or higher.
If you purchase a Product (e.g., a music album or movie) that includes an iTunes LP or iTunes Extras using an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, the iTunes LP or iTunes Extras will not download to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch and instead will be added to your download queue, and you may add it to the iTunes library on your Apple-authorized computer by selecting Check for Available Downloads in the Store menu in iTunes 9. In order to enjoy all the features of the iTunes LP or iTunes Extras, you also will need to sync the purchased content that was downloaded to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to the same Apple-authorized computer to which the iTunes LP or iTunes Extras was downloaded. If your computer does not yet have iTunes 9, you will need to install iTunes 9 in order to download and use the iTunes LP or iTunes Extras purchased on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Please see Upgrades below.

iPOD GAMES
iPod Games currently available on the iTunes Store are compatible only with iPod classic, 3rd generation and 4th generation iPod nanos, and 5th generation (video) iPods. The Games will not function on any other device, including your personal computer. Updates to your existing compatible iPod’s firmware may render your purchased version of a Game incompatible with that iPod. Games purchased from the iTunes Store may not be compatible with future generations of the iPod, and Apple makes no guarantee of such forward compatibility.

SOFTWARE
Software Products purchased from the iTunes Store are subject to purchaser’s prior acceptance of the terms of any end-user agreements or other terms and conditions required for use of such Products.

UPGRADES
The latest version of the iTunes software is recommended to access the iTunes Store. From time to time, an upgrade to the latest version of the iTunes software may be required in order to make transactions from the iTunes Store, to download Products previously purchased from the iTunes Store (for example, Products in your download queue or future Season Pass/Multi-Pass episodes) or to take advantage of new features of the iTunes Store. The latest version of the iTunes software is available for download at no charge, and the minimum system requirements for running it are provided, at http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/. Use of iTunes software is subject to acceptance of its software license agreement presented at the time of installation. For any additional questions regarding required upgrades, please contact iTunes Store Customer Service (see below).
Apple reserves the right to enhance Products purchased or rented (as applicable) from the iTunes Store, including Products purchased but not yet downloaded. Among other things, such enhancements may result in larger file sizes (requiring, for example, longer download times and additional disk space for storage).

MOVIE RENTALS
Movies are viewable only on your Mac or Windows computer (using iTunes version 7.6 or later), iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano (3rd or 4th generation), iPod classic, or on TVs using your Apple TV. Movies in high definition resolution (HD) are viewable only on your Mac or Windows computer, iPad, or TVs using your Apple TV. Movies are viewable only on one device at a time.
You may move movie rentals between your Mac or Windows computer and other compatible devices, but not directly between two computers or between two such other compatible devices. Movies rented using your Apple TV or iPad may not be moved. You must be connected to the iTunes Store when moving movie rentals. Once a movie rental is moved, it is no longer viewable on the sending device or computer.
You have thirty (30) days after downloading a movie to begin viewing. Once you begin viewing, you have twenty-four (24) hours to view the movie (the “Viewing Period”). You may view the movie an unlimited number of times during the Viewing Period. Movies are not viewable after the thirty (30) day period. Stopping, pausing or restarting a movie does not extend the available time for viewing.
If you move a movie to an iPad, iPod or iPhone and then use iTunes to restore the iPad, iPod or iPhone before you finish watching it, the movie will be deleted and will not be recoverable. This also applies to choosing Settings > Reset > Erase all content and settings on iPad, iPod touch and iPhone.
Broadband Internet connection required.
For more information about Movie Rentals, please read the iTunes Store Movie Rental FAQ http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n307257

HDMI
An HDCP connection is required in order to view movies (purchased or rented) and TV shows transmitted over HDMI.
HIGH DEFINITION PRODUCTS
Products in high definition resolution (HD) are viewable only on computers, iPad, or TVs using your Apple TV; however, HD Products purchased also include a standard definition version delivered to your computer that may be transferred to your iPod or iPhone.

PRICES
The iTunes Store endeavors to offer you competitive prices on current selections. Your total price will include the price of the Product plus any applicable sales tax (in effect on the day of download). Apple reserves the right to change prices for Products offered at the iTunes Store at any time, and does not provide price protection or refunds in the event of a price drop or promotional offering.

CONTENT AVAILABILITY
The iTunes Store makes every effort to provide a broad content offering. For this reason, Apple reserves the right to change content options without notice. On occasion, a Product may become unavailable following a transaction but prior to download. Your sole remedy in such cases is a refund of the price paid for the unavailable Product. Please contact iTunes Store Customer Service for assistance in such cases (see below).

FOR ASSISTANCE WITH ORDERS – iTUNES STORE CUSTOMER SERVICE
For assistance with billing questions or other order inquiries, please refer to our online support page by clicking here: http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/. If you cannot find the answers you are seeking in our robust knowledge base, you can contact us by visiting the following URL http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/, clicking on the appropriate Customer Service topic, then using the contact button or email form at the bottom of the page. Responses to emails will be provided as soon as possible.

CONTENT USAGE RULES
Your use of any Products purchased or rented (as applicable) from the iTunes Store is conditioned upon your prior acceptance of the Terms of Service, including, without limitation, the Usage Rules set forth therein.

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Apple is not responsible for typographic errors.
Apple reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of sale at the iTunes Store at any time. Customers are encouraged to review the Terms of Sale on a periodic basis for modifications.
All transactions on the iTunes Store are governed by California law, without giving effect to its conflict of law provisions. Risk of loss and title for all electronically delivered transactions pass to the purchaser or renter (as applicable) in California upon electronic transmission to the recipient. No Apple employee or agent has the authority to vary any of the iTunes Store’s policies or the terms and conditions governing any sale.
View the iTunes Store Gift Certificate, iTunes Cards, Content Codes and Allowances Terms and Conditions, which are hereby made a part of these Terms of Sale, at http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html#GIFTS

Last updated: May 19, 2010

iBOOKSTORE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND APPLE INC. (“APPLE”) STATING THE TERMS THAT GOVERN YOUR USE OF THE iBOOKSTORE SERVICE. THIS AGREEMENT – TOGETHER WITH ALL UPDATES, ADDITIONAL TERMS, SOFTWARE LICENSES, AND ALL OF APPLE’S RULES AND POLICIES – COLLECTIVELY CONSTITUTE THE “AGREEMENT” BETWEEN YOU AND APPLE. TO AGREE TO THESE TERMS, CLICK “AGREE.” IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, DO NOT CLICK “AGREE,” AND DO NOT USE THE SERVICE. YOU MUST ACCEPT AND ABIDE BY THESE TERMS AS PRESENTED TO YOU: CHANGES, ADDITIONS, OR DELETIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND APPLE MAY REFUSE ACCESS TO THE iBOOKSTORE FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH ANY PART OF THIS AGREEMENT.

1. DEFINITION OF THE iBOOKSTORE SERVICE. Apple is the provider of the iBookstore (the “Service”) that permits you to license digital content, such as books, under certain terms and conditions as set forth in this Agreement.

2. AGE REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF THE SERVICE. This Service is available for individuals aged 13 years or older. If you are 13 or older but under the age of 18, you should review these terms and conditions with your parent or guardian to make sure that you and your parent or guardian understand these terms and conditions.

3. U.S. ONLY. The Service is available to you only in the United States, its territories, and possessions, and is not available in any other location. You agree not to use or attempt to use the Service from outside of the available territory. Apple may use technologies to verify such compliance.

4. LICENSE OF PRODUCTS. The content made available through the Service (the “Products”) is licensed, not sold, to you.
You acknowledge that the license you purchase to each Product is a binding agreement between you and the third party licensor of that Product (“the Provider”) only. The Provider of each Product is solely responsible for that Product, the content therein, any warranties to the extent that such warranties have not been disclaimed, and any claims that you or any other party may have relating to that Product or your use of that Product. You acknowledge that you are purchasing the license to each Product from the Provider of that Product; Apple is acting as agent for the Provider in providing each such Product to you; Apple is not a party to the license between you and the Provider with respect to that Product; the Provider of that Product reserves the right to enforce the terms of use relating to that Product; and Apple is not responsible for that Product, the content therein, or any warranties or claims that you or any other party may have relating to that Product or your use of that Product.
All Products made available through the Service are licensed to end user customers only.

5. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. Use of the Service requires one or more compatible devices, Internet access (fees may apply), and certain software (fees may apply), and may require obtaining updates or upgrades from time to time. Because use of the Service involves hardware, software, and Internet access, your ability to use the Service may be affected by the performance of these factors. High speed Internet access is strongly recommended. You acknowledge and agree that such system requirements, which may be changed from time to time, are your responsibility. The Service is not part of any other product or offering, and no purchase or obtaining of any other product shall be construed to represent or guarantee you access to the Service.

6. PRIVACY
a. APPLE’S PRIVACY POLICY. Except as otherwise expressly provided for in this Agreement, the Service is subject to Apple’s Privacy Policy at http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/, which is expressly made a part of this Agreement. If you have not already read Apple’s Privacy Policy, you should do so now.

7. YOUR INFORMATION. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information required to register with the Service and at other points as may be required in the course of using the Service (“Registration Data”). You further agree to maintain and update your Registration Data as required to keep it accurate, current, and complete. Apple may terminate your rights to any or all of the Service if any information you provide is false, inaccurate or incomplete. You agree that Apple may store and use the Registration Data you provide (including credit card and PayPal account information) for use in maintaining your accounts and billing fees to your credit card or PayPal account.

8. USER ACCOUNT AND SECURITY.
a. Account and Password. As a registered user of the Service, you may receive or establish an account (“Account”). You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your Account. You should not reveal your Account information to anyone else or use anyone else’s Account. You are entirely responsible for all activities that occur on or through your Account, and you agree to immediately notify Apple of any unauthorized use of your Account or any other breach of security. Apple shall not be responsible for any losses arising out of the unauthorized use of your Account.
b. Security. You understand that the Service, and Products transacted through the Service, include a security framework using technology that protects digital information and limits your usage of Products to certain usage rules established by Apple and its principals (“Usage Rules”). You agree to comply with such Usage Rules, as further outlined below, and you agree not to violate or attempt to violate any security components. You agree not to attempt to, or assist another person to, circumvent, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise tamper with any of the security components related to the Products or such Usage Rules for any reason whatsoever. Usage Rules may be controlled and monitored by Apple for compliance purposes, and Apple reserves the right to enforce the Usage Rules with or without notice to you. You will not access the Service by any means other than through software that is provided by Apple for accessing the Service. You shall not access or attempt to access an Account that you are not authorized to access. You agree not to modify the software in any manner or form, or to use modified versions of the software, for any purposes including obtaining unauthorized access to the Service. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability.

9. USE OF PRODUCTS AND THE SERVICE
a. Products Requirements. You acknowledge that use of Products may require the use of other hardware and software products (e.g., the ability to make copies of Products on physical media and render performance of Products on authorized devices), and that such hardware and software is your responsibility. Solely as an accommodation to you, some Products may be re-downloaded for use in accordance with the Usage Rules applicable to such Products. Not all Products are eligible for this accommodation or may be available at any given time. Apple shall have no liability to you in the event a previously downloaded Product becomes unavailable for re-download. Once a Product is licensed and you receive the Product, it is your responsibility not to lose, destroy, or damage the Product, and Apple shall be without liability to you in the event of any loss, destruction, or damage.
b. Use of Products. You acknowledge that Products contain security technology that limits your usage of Products to the following applicable Usage Rules, and, whether or not Products are limited by security technology, you agree to use Products in compliance with the applicable Usage Rules.
Usage Rules
(i) Your use of the Products is conditioned upon your prior acceptance of the terms of this Agreement.
(ii) You shall be authorized to use the Products only for personal, noncommercial use.
(iii) You shall be able to store Products from up to five different Accounts on certain iPhone OS-based devices, including an iPad, at a time.
(iv) You shall be able to store Products on five iTunes-authorized devices at any time.
(v) You agree that you will not attempt to, or encourage or assist any other person to, circumvent or modify any security technology or software that is part of the Service or used to administer the Usage Rules.
(vi) The delivery of Products does not transfer to you any promotional use rights in the Products.
(vii) You shall be able to manually sync Products from at least one iTunes-authorized device to devices that have manual sync mode, provided that the Product is associated with an Account on the primary iTunes-authorized device, where the primary iTunes-authorized device is the one that was first synced with the device, or the one that you subsequently designate as primary using iTunes.
c. You agree that your license of Products constitutes your acceptance of and agreement to use such Products solely in accordance with the Usage Rules, and that any other use of the Products may constitute a copyright infringement. The security technology, if applicable, is an inseparable part of the Products. The Usage Rules and applicable copyright laws shall govern your rights with respect to the Products, in addition to any other terms or rules that may have been established between you and another party. Apple reserves the right to modify the Usage Rules at any time.
d. You acknowledge that some aspects of the Service, Products, and administering of the Usage Rules entails the ongoing involvement of Apple. Accordingly, in the event that Apple changes any part of the Service or discontinues the Service, which Apple may do at its election, you acknowledge that you may no longer be able to use Products to the same extent as prior to such change or discontinuation, and that Apple shall have no liability to you in such case.
e. The Service may offer interactive features that allow you to, among other things, submit or post information, materials or links to third party content on areas of the Service accessible and viewable by other users of the Service and the public. You represent and agree that any use by you of such features, including any information, materials or links submitted or posted by you, shall be your sole responsibility, shall not infringe or violate the rights of any other party or violate any laws, contribute to or encourage infringing or otherwise unlawful conduct, or otherwise be obscene, objectionable or in poor taste, and that you have obtained all necessary rights, licenses or clearances. You further agree to provide accurate and complete information in connection with your submission or posting of any information or materials on the Service. Moreover, you hereby grant Apple a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use such materials as part of the Service, and in relation to Products, without any compensation or obligation to you.
Apple reserves the right not to post or publish any materials, and to delete, remove or edit any material, at any time in its sole discretion without notice or liability.
Apple has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor any information and materials submitted or posted by you or otherwise available on the Service, to investigate any reported or apparent violation of this Agreement, and to take any action that Apple in its sole discretion deems appropriate, including, without limitation, under Section 26 below or under our Copyright Policy (http://www.apple.com/legal/copyright.html).

10. PAYMENT METHODS. The Service accepts credit cards, payment through your PayPal account, and iTunes Cards, iTunes Store Gift Certificates, Content Codes, and Allowance Account balances as forms of payment. If a credit card company, or your PayPal account, is being used for a transaction, Apple may obtain a pre-approval from the credit card company or from PayPal (as the case may be) for an amount up to the amount of the order. Billing to your credit card or to your PayPal account occurs at the time of purchase or shortly thereafter. If the balance from an iTunes Card, iTunes Store Gift Certificate or Allowance Account is used for an iBookstore transaction, the amount is deducted from your Account or your iTunes Card (as the case may be) at the time of purchase. If the total amount of the transaction is greater than the balance available in your iTunes Card, Gift Certificate or Allowance Account, your credit card, or PayPal account, will be charged for the balance.
The Service accepts the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

PLEASE NOTE
We are unable to accept credit cards issued by banks outside of the United States or prepaid gift cards issued by credit card companies. Debit cards and check cards have daily spending limits that may prevent the processing of your order.
If a transaction has been declined online due to credit card issues, or issues with your PayPal account, please ensure all data is correct and resubmit. If the transaction is not accepted online, you will be unable to use that card or your PayPal account (as the case may be) for your transaction and should use another credit card.

11. AGREEMENT TO PAY.
a. Payment for Products. You agree to pay for all Products you license through the Service, and that Apple may charge your credit card or PayPal account for any Products licensed, and for any additional amounts (including any taxes and late fees, as applicable) as may be accrued by or in connection with your Account. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TIMELY PAYMENT OF ALL FEES AND FOR PROVIDING APPLE WITH VALID CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL ACCOUNT DETAILS FOR PAYMENT OF ALL FEES. All fees will be billed to the credit card, or the PayPal account, you designate during the registration process. If you want to designate a different credit card or if there is a change in your credit card or PayPal account status, you must change your credit card or PayPal account information online at the Account Info section of the Service. (There may be a temporary disruption of your access to the Service until Apple can verify the validity of the new credit card or PayPal account information.)
b. Right to Change Prices and Availability of Products. Prices and availability of any Products are subject to change at any time.
c. Electronic Signatures and Contracts. Your use of the Service includes the ability to enter into agreements and/or to make transactions electronically. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS CONSTITUTE YOUR AGREEMENT AND INTENT TO BE BOUND BY AND TO PAY FOR SUCH AGREEMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS. YOUR AGREEMENT AND INTENT TO BE BOUND BY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS APPLIES TO ALL RECORDS RELATING TO ALL TRANSACTIONS YOU ENTER INTO ON THIS SITE, INCLUDING NOTICES OF CANCELLATION, POLICIES, CONTRACTS, AND APPLICATIONS.
d. In order to access and retain your electronic records, you may be required to have certain hardware and software, which are your sole responsibility.

12. DELIVERY OF PRODUCTS; REFUNDS.
a. Interrupted Delivery to iPad. If delivery of a Product you licensed on an iPad is interrupted, your transaction will be included in your download queue. You may resume delivery by relaunching the iBooks app on your iPad.
b. Refund Policy. On occasion, technical problems may delay or prevent delivery of your Product. Your exclusive and sole remedy with respect to Product that is not delivered within a reasonable period will be either replacement of such Product, or refund of the price paid for such Product, as determined by Apple. Otherwise, no refunds are available.

13. 1-CLICK®. 1-Click is a registered service mark of Amazon.com, Inc., used under license. All iBookstore transactions use 1-Click, a convenient feature that allows you to license Products from the Service with a single click of your mouse or other input device. When accessing the Service on your iPad, 1-Click is activated for each transaction by pressing the button showing the price of the product, which reveals the “Install” or “Buy” button. Transactions using 1-Click are subject to these Terms and Conditions, including the Refund Policy set forth herein.

14. BILLING. If you are transacting using 1-Click or your PayPal account, your order may be authorized and billed in gradual increments during one transaction session as you click the “Buy” button. Depending on the size of your order, this may appear as multiple orders and billings on your credit card statement.
15. PRE-ORDERS. By pre-ordering Products, you are authorizing the iBookstore to automatically charge your account and download the Product when it becomes available. You may cancel your pre-order prior to the time the item becomes available, by going to the Purchases page on your iPad.

16. SALES TAX. Service transactions will include sales tax based on the bill-to address and the sales tax rate in effect at the time your transaction is completed. If the sales tax rate for the billing address changes before the licensed Product is downloaded, the new tax rate in effect at the time of download will apply. We will only charge tax in states where such transactions are taxable. No customers are eligible for tax exemptions for transactions made on the Service.

17. iTUNES CARDS. iTunes Cards are for transactions on the iTunes Store, the iBookstore, and the App Store only. iTunes Cards may not be used for transactions on the Apple Online Store or in Apple Retail Stores. iTunes Cards are non-refundable, except as required by law. iTunes Cards may not be used to purchase Gift Certificates, Allowance Accounts, gifts, or other iTunes Cards.

18. GIFT CERTIFICATE TRANSACTIONS. Gift Certificates may be redeemed for iTunes Store, iBookstore, and App Store transactions only and are non-refundable, except as required by law. They cannot be used for purchases on the Apple Online Store or used in Apple Retail Stores. Sales tax will not be charged when the Gift Certificate is purchased. Sales tax is charged when the Gift Certificate is used for a transaction. The tax rate on the transaction is based on the address of the redeemer (see Tax section for more information). Purchases for Gift Certificates may be purchased only in whole dollar increments or designated amounts. Gift Certificates may not be used to purchase other Gift Certificates, iTunes Cards or Allowance Accounts.

19. ALLOWANCE ACCOUNTS. Allowance Accounts are for transactions on the iTunes Store, iBookstore, and App Store only. The Allowance Account may not be used for gifts, or purchases on the Apple Online Store or in Apple Retail Stores. Sales tax will be charged when the Allowance Account is used to make a transaction. The tax rate on the transaction is based on the address of the account user (see Sales Tax section for more information). Allowance Account balances are non-refundable. Allowance Account balances may not be used to purchase Gift Certificates, iTunes Cards or other Allowance Accounts.

20. UPGRADES. The latest version of the iTunes software is recommended to access the Service. From time to time, an upgrade to the latest version of the iTunes software may be required in order to make transactions from the Service, to download Products previously licensed from the Service (for example, Products in your download queue) or to take advantage of new features of the Service. The latest version of the iTunes software is available for download to your computer at no charge, and the minimum system requirements for running it are provided, at http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/. To get the latest version of the iTunes software for your iPad, you may need to download and install the latest version of the iPad OS. Use of iTunes software is subject to acceptance of its software license agreement presented at the time of installation. For any additional questions regarding required upgrades, please contact iTunes Store Customer Service (see below).

21. PRODUCT AVAILABILITY. On occasion, a licensed Product may become unavailable following a transaction but prior to download. Your sole remedy in such cases is a refund of the price paid for the unavailable licensed Product. Please contact iTunes Store Customer Service for assistance in such cases (see below).

22. FOR ASSISTANCE WITH ORDERS – iTUNES STORE CUSTOMER SERVICE. For assistance with billing questions or other order inquiries, please refer to our online support page by clicking here: http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/. If you cannot find the answers you are seeking in our robust knowledge base, you can send us an email by visiting the following URL http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/email/, and completing the email form. Responses to emails will be provided as soon as possible.

23. OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL. You understand that by using the Service, you may encounter material that may be deemed offensive, indecent, or objectionable, which content may or may not be identified as having explicit material. Nevertheless, you agree to use the Service at your sole risk and that Apple shall have no liability to you for content that may be found to be offensive, indecent, or objectionable. Product types and descriptions are provided for convenience, and you acknowledge and agree that Apple does not guarantee their accuracy.

24. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
a. Acknowledgement of Ownership. You agree that the Service, including but not limited to Products, graphics, user interface, audio clips, editorial content, and the scripts and software used to implement the Service, contains proprietary information and material that is owned by Apple and/or its principals, and is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws, including but not limited to copyright, and that you will not use such proprietary information or materials in any way whatsoever except for use of the Service in compliance with the terms of this Agreement. No portion of the Service may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except as expressly permitted hereunder. You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Service, in any manner, and you shall not exploit the Service in any unauthorized way whatsoever, including but not limited to, by trespass or burdening network capacity.
b. Removal of Apple Content or Other Materials. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, Apple and its principals reserve the right to change, suspend, remove, or disable access to any Products, content, or other materials comprising a part of the Service at any time without notice. In no event will Apple be liable for the removal of or disabling of access to any such Products, content or materials under this Agreement. Apple may also impose limits on the use of or access to certain features or portions of the Service, in any case and without notice or liability.
c. Copyrights. All copyrights in and to the Service, including but not limited to, the iTunes Store, the iBookstore (including the compilation of content, postings, links to other Internet resources, and descriptions of those resources), and software, are owned by Apple and/or its principals, who reserve all their rights in law and equity. THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR ANY PART OF THE SERVICE, EXCEPT FOR USE OF THE SERVICE AS PERMITTED IN THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND INFRINGES ON THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF OTHERS AND MAY SUBJECT YOU TO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES, INCLUDING POSSIBLE MONETARY DAMAGES, FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
d. Trademarks. Apple, the Apple logo, iTunes, and other Apple trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with the Service are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with the Service may be the trademarks of their respective owners. You are granted no right or license with respect to any of the aforesaid trademarks and any use of such trademarks.

25. TERMINATION.
a. Termination by Apple. If you fail, or Apple suspects that you have failed, to comply with any of the provisions of this Agreement, including but not limited to failure to make payment of fees due, failure to provide Apple with a valid credit card or with accurate and complete Registration Data, failure to safeguard your Account information, violation of the Usage Rules or any license to the software, or infringement or other violation of third parties’ rights, Apple, at its sole discretion, without notice to you may: (i) terminate this Agreement and/or your Account, and you will remain liable for all amounts due under your Account up to and including the date of termination; and/or (ii) terminate the license to the software; and/or (iii) preclude access to the Service (or any part thereof).
b. Termination of the Service. Apple reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service (or any part or content thereof) at any time with or without notice to you, and Apple will not be liable to you or to any third party should it exercise such rights.

26. GENERAL COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS. The Service is controlled and operated by Apple from its offices in the United States. You agree to comply with all local, state, federal, and national laws, statutes, ordinances, and regulations that apply to your use of the Service.

27. ENFORCEMENT OF THESE TERMS. Apple reserves the right to take steps Apple believes are reasonably necessary or appropriate to enforce and/or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement (including but not limited to Apple’s right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of the Service and/or Products, and/or a third party claim that your use of the Service and/or Products is unlawful and/or infringes such third party’s rights). You agree that Apple has the right, without liability to you, to disclose any Registration Data and/or Account information to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or a third party, as Apple believes is reasonably necessary or appropriate to enforce and/or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement (including but not limited to Apple’s right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of the Service and/or Products, and/or a third party claim that your use of the Service and/or Products is unlawful and/or infringes such third party’s rights).

28. NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS OR WEB SITES. Certain content, Products, and services available via the Service may include materials from third parties. In addition, Apple may provide links to certain third party Web sites. You acknowledge and agree that Apple is not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy of any such third-party material or Web sites. Apple does not warrant or endorse and does not assume and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or Web sites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third parties. Links to other Web sites are provided solely as a convenience to you. You agree that you will not use any third-party materials in a manner that would infringe or violate the rights of any other party, and that Apple is not in any way responsible for any such use by you.

29. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIABILITY LIMITATIONS.
a. APPLE DOES NOT GUARANTEE, REPRESENT, OR WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND YOU AGREE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME APPLE MAY REMOVE THE SERVICE FOR INDEFINITE PERIODS OF TIME, OR CANCEL THE SERVICE AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU.
b. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE AND ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DELIVERED TO YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE ARE (EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED BY APPLE) PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” FOR YOUR USE, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, THE ABOVE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
c. IN NO CASE SHALL APPLE, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, PRINCIPALS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF ANY OF THE SERVICES OR FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM RELATED IN ANY WAY TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT, OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT (OR PRODUCT) POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEIR POSSIBILITY. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, THE LIABILITY OF ALL THE AFOREMENTIONED PARTIES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
d. APPLE SHALL USE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PROTECT INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, BUT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SUBMISSION OF SUCH INFORMATION IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND APPLE HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR LIABILITY RELATING TO SUCH INFORMATION IN ANY WAY.
e. APPLE DOES NOT REPRESENT OR GUARANTEE THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE FREE FROM LOSS, CORRUPTION, ATTACK, VIRUSES, INTERFERENCE, HACKING, OR OTHER SECURITY INTRUSION, AND APPLE DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY RELATING THERETO. YOU SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BACKING UP YOUR OWN SYSTEM, INCLUDING ANY PRODUCTS PURCHASED FROM THE SERVICE THAT ARE STORED IN YOUR SYSTEM.

30. WAIVER AND INDEMNITY. BY USING THE SERVICE, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD APPLE, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, PRINCIPALS, AND LICENSORS HARMLESS WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF YOUR BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR THE PRODUCTS, OR ANY ACTION TAKEN BY APPLE AS PART OF ITS INVESTIGATION OF A SUSPECTED VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT OR AS A RESULT OF ITS FINDING OR DECISION THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT HAS OCCURRED. THIS MEANS THAT YOU CANNOT SUE OR RECOVER ANY DAMAGES FROM APPLE, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, PRINCIPALS, AND LICENSORS AS A RESULT OF ITS DECISION TO REMOVE OR REFUSE TO PROCESS ANY INFORMATION OR CONTENT, TO WARN YOU, TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE YOUR ACCESS TO THE SERVICE, OR TO TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION DURING THE INVESTIGATION OF A SUSPECTED VIOLATION OR AS A RESULT OF APPLE’S CONCLUSION THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT HAS OCCURRED. THIS WAIVER AND INDEMNITY PROVISION APPLIES TO ALL VIOLATIONS DESCRIBED IN OR CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT.

31. CHANGES. Apple reserves the right, at any time and from time to time, to update, revise, supplement, and otherwise modify this Agreement and to impose new or additional rules, policies, terms, or conditions on your use of the Service. Such updates, revisions, supplements, modifications, and additional rules, policies, terms, and conditions (collectively referred to in this Agreement as “Additional Terms”) will be effective immediately and incorporated into this Agreement. Your continued use of the Service following will be deemed to constitute your acceptance of any and all such Additional Terms. All Additional Terms are hereby incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.

32. NOTICES. Apple may send you notice with respect to the Service by sending an email message to the email address listed in your Apple Account contact information, by sending a letter via postal mail to the contact address listed in your Apple Account contact information, or by a posting on the Service. Notices shall become effective immediately.

33. GOVERNING LAW. The laws of the State of California, excluding its conflicts of law rules, govern these Terms of Service and your use of the Service. Your use of the Service may also be subject to other local, state, national, or international laws. You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with Apple or relating in any way to your use of the Service resides in the courts of the State of California.

34. MISCELLANEOUS. These Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between you and Apple and govern your use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and Apple. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use affiliate services, third-party content, or third-party software. If any part of these Terms and Conditions is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Apple’s failure to enforce any right or provisions in these Terms and Conditions will not constitute a waiver of such provision, or any other provision of these Terms and Conditions. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the other provisions will remain in full force and effect. Apple will not be responsible for failures to fulfill any obligations due to causes beyond its control.

35. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Apple is not responsible for typographic errors.
No Apple employee or agent has the authority to vary any of the Service’s policies or the terms and conditions governing any sale.

Last updated: May 19, 2010

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to Apple. So we’ve developed a Privacy Policy that covers how we collect, use, disclose, transfer, and store your information. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our privacy practices and let us know if you have any questions.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

Personal information is data that can be used to uniquely identify or contact a single person.

You may be asked to provide your personal information anytime you are in contact with Apple or an Apple affiliated company. Apple and it’s affiliates may share this personal information with each other and use it consistent with this Privacy Policy. They may also combine it with other information to provide and improve our products, services, content, and advertising.

Here are some examples of the types of personal information Apple may collect and how we may use it.

What personal information we collect

■When you create an Apple ID, register your products, apply for commercial credit, purchase a product, download a software update, register for a class at an Apple Retail Store, or participate in an online survey, we may collect a variety of information, including your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, contact preferences, and credit card information.

■When you share your content with family and friends using Apple products, send gift certificates and products, or invite others to join you on Apple forums, Apple may collect the information you provide about those people such as name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.

■In the U.S., we may ask for your Social Security number (SSN) but only in limited circumstances such as when setting up a wireless account and activating your iPhone or when determining whether to extend commercial credit.

How we use your personal information

■The personal information we collect allows us to keep you posted on Apple’s latest product announcements, software updates, and upcoming events. It also helps us to improve our services, content, and advertising. If you don’t want to be on our mailing list, you can opt out anytime by updating your preferences.

■We also use personal information to help us develop, deliver, and improve our products, services, content, and advertising.

■From time to time, we may use your personal information to send important notices, such as communications about purchases and changes to our terms, conditions, and policies. Because this information is important to your interaction with Apple, you may not opt out of receiving these communications.

■We may also use personal information for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis, and research to improve Apple’s products, services, and customer communications.

■If you enter into a sweepstake, contest, or similar promotion we may use the information you provide to administer those programs.

Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information

We also collect non-personal information − data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:

■We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.

■We also may collect information regarding customer activities on our website, MobileMe service, and iTunes Store and from our other products and services. This information is aggregated and used to help us provide more useful information to our customers and to understand which parts of our website, products, and services are of most interest. Aggregated data is considered non-personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.

If we do combine non-personal information with personal information the combined information will be treated as personal information for as long as it remains combined.

Cookies and Other Technologies

Apple’s website, online services, interactive applications, email messages, and advertisements may use “cookies” and other technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons. These technologies help us better understand user behavior, tell us which parts of our website people have visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches. We treat information collected by cookies and other technologies as non-personal information. However, to the extent that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or similar identifiers are considered personal information by local law, we also treat these identifiers as personal information. Similarly, to the extent that non-personal information is combined with personal information, we treat the combined information as personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.

Apple and its partners use cookies and other technologies in mobile advertising services to control the number of times you see a given ad, deliver ads that relate to your interests, and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. If you do not want to receive ads with this level of relevance on your mobile device, you can opt out by accessing the following link on your device: http://oo.apple.com. If you opt out, you will continue to receive the same number of mobile ads, but they may be less relevant because they will not be based on your interests. You may still see ads related to the content on a web page or in an application or based on other non-personal information. This opt-out applies only to Apple advertising services and does not affect interest-based advertising from other advertising networks.

Apple and our partners also use cookies and other technologies to remember personal information when you use our website, online services, and applications. Our goal in these cases is to make your experience with Apple more convenient and personal. For example, knowing your first name lets us welcome you the next time you visit the Apple Online Store. Knowing your country and language − and if you are an educator, your school − helps us provide a customized and more useful shopping experience. Knowing someone using your computer or device has shopped for a certain product or used a particular service helps us make our advertising and email communications more relevant to your interests. And knowing your contact information, product serial numbers, and information about your computer or device helps us register your products, personalize your operating system, set up your MobileMe service, and provide you with better customer service.

If you want to disable cookies and you’re using the Safari web browser, go to Safari preferences and then to the Security pane to disable cookies. On your Apple mobile device, go to Settings, then Safari, and then to the Cookies section. For other browsers, check with your provider to find out how to disable cookies. Please note that certain features of the Apple website will not be available once cookies are disabled.

As is true of most websites, we gather some information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browser type and language, Internet service provider (ISP), referring and exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data.

We use this information to understand and analyze trends, to administer the site, to learn about user behavior on the site, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. Apple may use this information in our marketing and advertising services.

In some of our email messages, we use a “click-through URL” linked to content on the Apple website. When customers click one of these URLs, they pass through a separate web server before arriving at the destination page on our website. We track this click-through data to help us determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be tracked in this way, you should not click text or graphic links in the email messages.

Pixel tags enable us to send email messages in a format customers can read, and they tell us whether mail has been opened. We may use this information to reduce or eliminate messages sent to customers.

Disclosure to Third Parties

At times Apple may make certain personal information available to strategic partners that work with Apple to provide products and services, or that help Apple market to customers. For example, when you purchase and activate your iPhone, you authorize Apple and its carrier to exchange the information you provide during the activation process to carry out service. If you are approved for service, your account will be governed by Apple and its carrier’s respective privacy policies. Personal information will only be shared by Apple to provide or improve our products, services and advertising; it will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes.

Service Providers

Apple shares personal information with companies who provide services such as information processing, extending credit, fulfilling customer orders, delivering products to you, managing and enhancing customer data, providing customer service, assessing your interest in our products and services, and conducting customer research or satisfaction surveys. These companies are obligated to protect your information and may be located wherever Apple operates.

Others

It may be necessary − by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence − for Apple to disclose your personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate.

We may also disclose information about you if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions or protect our operations or users. Additionally, in the event of a reorganization, merger, or sale we may transfer any and all personal information we collect to the relevant third party.

Protection of Personal Information

Apple takes precautions — including administrative, technical, and physical measures — to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

Apple online services such as the Apple Online Store and iTunes Store use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption on all web pages where personal information is collected. To make purchases from these services, you must use an SSL-enabled browser such as Safari, Firefox, or Internet Explorer. Doing so protects the confidentiality of your personal information while it’s transmitted over the Internet.

When you use some Apple products, services, or applications or post on an Apple forum, chat room, or social networking service, the personal information you share is visible to other users and can be read, collected, or used by them. You are responsible for the personal information you choose to submit in these instances. For example, if you list your name and email address in a forum posting, that information is public. Please take care when using these features.

Integrity and Retention of Personal Information

Apple makes it easy for you to keep your personal information accurate, complete, and up to date. We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Access to Personal Information

You can help ensure that your contact information and preferences are accurate, complete, and up to date by logging in to your account at www.apple.com/contact/myinfo. For other personal information, we make good faith efforts to provide you with access so you can request that we correct the data if it is inaccurate or delete the data if Apple is not required to retain it by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may decline to process requests that are unreasonably repetitive, require disproportionate technical effort, jeopardize the privacy of others, are extremely impractical, or for which access is not otherwise required by local law. Access, correction, or deletion requests can be made to the regional Privacy email addresses.

Children

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected the personal information of a child under 13 we will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible.

Location-Based Services

To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services.

Some location-based services offered by Apple, such as the MobileMe “Find My iPhone” feature, require your personal information for the feature to work.

Third-Party Sites and Services

Apple websites, products, applications, and services may contain links to third-party websites, products, and services. Our products and services may also use or offer products or services from third parties − for example, a third-party iPhone app. Information collected by third parties, which may include such things as location data or contact details, is governed by their privacy practices. We encourage you to learn about the privacy practices of those third parties.

International Users

Information you provide may be transferred or accessed by entities around the world as described in this Privacy Policy. Apple abides by the “safe harbor” framework set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information collected by organizations in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Learn more about the U.S. Department of Commerce Safe Harbor Program.

Please note that personal information regarding individuals who reside in a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) is jointly controlled by Apple Sales International in Cork, Ireland, and Apple UK Limited in Uxbridge, United Kingdom. Personal information collected in the EEA when using iTunes is controlled by iTunes SARL in Luxembourg.

Our Companywide Commitment to Your Privacy

To make sure your personal information is secure, we communicate our privacy and security guidelines to Apple employees and strictly enforce privacy safeguards within the company.

Privacy Questions

If you have questions or concerns about Apple’s Privacy Policy or data processing, please contact us at the appropriate regional email addresses for your local Apple Data Controller listed below.

Country or Region

United States
privacy@apple.com

Canada
privacy-ca@apple.com

Latin America
privacy-la@apple.com

Europe
privacyeurope@apple.com

Japan
privacy-japan@apple.com

Australia
privacy@apple.com.au

Asia/Pacific
privacy@asia.apple.com

Apple may update its Privacy Policy from time to time. When we change the policy in a material way, a notice will be posted on our website along with the updated Privacy Policy.

Apple Inc., 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, USA 95014

Last updated 21 June 2010

When the iPad came out, I pondered going with the 3G option. However, buying a third data plan in addition to the one for my phone and computer was too much. Fortunately, Verizon’s MiFi mobile hotspot option made it easy to have one plan shared by my iPad, my computer and even my kids using their Nintendo DSi game machines. Below, how the mobile hotspot has worked for me, along with thoughts on tethering, broadband cards and other MiFi options including the new Sprint EVO phone and hotspot combined.

I Used To Tether

My wireless life used to be easy and cheap before I shifted to the iPhone in July 2008. I had a Windows Mobile phone on Verizon, which gave me high speed access on my phone plus tethering for my PC (see EV-DO Broadband Laptop Access Through My Verizon Phone). Of course, technically I wasn’t supposed to tether — but the third-party PdaNet software made it easy, and I never had an issue with Verizon caring that I tethered (PdaNet, by the way, today offers tethering for Android and the iPhone).

The iPhone pulled me away from Verizon, at least on the phone side. The iPhone didn’t tether, leaving me with a great phone but no option for my computer. AT&T oddly didn’t seem to have a decent broadband card that supported the Mac, at the time. Verizon did, so I stayed with them just for data.

From One Data Plan To Two

Part of me hated feeling like I was paying twice for access. But at $60 per month, my Verizon data card easily paid for itself. Hotels charge upwards to $20 per day for access, and I often travel two or three days per month. Plus, at conferences or press events, I was always the person who had access when the WiFi inevitably failed. In addition, my access wasn’t going through a WiFi connection that was often open to public eavesdropping, such as by Google Spy View, er, Street View cars

My card was a UTStarcom UM175 USB modem (newer models are now sold). About the size of my thumb, it slotted into a USB port. It was such an improvement over tethering. Tethering often had little glitches where the computer couldn’t find the phone, or the phone didn’t sync right to the wireless network. It generally worked, but there was noticeable pain involved. But my USB modem was virtually bulletproof. I’d plug it in, and I’d be online in less than a minute. No hassle, no problems.

Keep Your Tethering

That convenience further made me feel like I never wanted to go back to tethering again. For me, the money I might save using my phone as a modem might get lost in hassle. So even though the iPhone looks to finally get tethering in the US, a year later than expected, I’ll probably stay with Verizon.

Since April, I’ve been using a MiFi 2200 mobile hotspot from Verizon. This little box is about the size of a credit card, as thick as three credit cards and very light. When you turn it on, it puts out a WiFi signal that up to five devices can use. It’s like a regular WiFi router. You can broadcast the WiFi location name, and you can password protect access with a variety of security levels. You talk to the hotspot through WiFi, then it sends your data request out through Verizon’s 3G network.

Mobile Hotspots: Made For iPad

It’s an awesome solution for the iPad user. I just turn on my WiFi, and the iPad finds it with seconds. The WiFi itself finds the Verizon network in less than a minute, often in only a few seconds.

I’ve never had the problems Fraser Speirs describes. I found his post through John Gruber’s excellent The Good and the Bad Regarding AT&T’s New Data Plans article today. But I’m using Verizon in the US, while Fraser is using 3 in the UK. Different providers, different networks — that might be part of the issue.

The Verizon’s MiFi has its own battery, which is supposed to last around two or three hours. I don’t know, because so far, I’ve never run my iPad that long with it to find out. Today, I used it for 1.5 hours straight, and I still had a solid green light indicating plenty of charge. I also configured the MiFi to save power if it’s not sending or receiving data within five or ten minutes (I forget the exact configuration, but you have this option). In addition, I always turn it off when I’m not actively using it.

If I ever thought I was going to seriously need the MiFi for with the iPad for an extended time, I could also buy an extra battery for it. You can open the case and drop a fresh one in. Alternatively, you can power it off any external USB power adapter or your computer, but more on that in a bit.

While I await the Apple Store ever getting any decent iPad cases in stock, I’ve been using my Case Logic netbook Case Logic Netbook Bag. It’s got a nice little pocket that holds my MiFi perfectly. I slip my iPad out, and away I go. That link leads to Amazon, by the way, where I earn a bit if you buy one of those bags.

MiFi: A Pain For My Laptop

Life’s not so pleasant when it comes to using the MiFi with my laptop. I prefer to connect using it in what I’d call “modem mode,” rather than through WiFi. If I’m on my laptop’s battery, I don’t want some of my power being sucked down by WiFi. Instead, you just run a USB cable between your computer and the MiFi, and that lets you connect with WiFi being off.

Sort of.

For one, you have to use the Verizon VZAccess Manager software. That’s not a big deal. It’s free, and it’s available for both Mac and PC platforms. But for it to work, it has to see the MiFi as a device — and it’s like Russian Roulette for that to happen.

Somtimes the software sees the device right away and all goes well. Sometimes it sees it, tries to turn it on, then gives up and says there’s no device. Sometimes, it doesn’t see it at all.

I’ve tried every type of technological chicken sacrifice to figure out the logic of getting things to work consistently. I’ve tried:

• Plugging it in with the software loaded and the device off
• Plugging it in with the software loaded and the device on
• Turning it off, then on after plugging it in — and with the software loaded
• Turning it off, then on after plugging it in — then loading the software

And other things. Sometimes, I just give up and just use WiFi. That ALWAYS works. At least, it always works after I did an easy reconfiguration.

Using WiFi & Charging At The Same Time

See, I still want the darn thing plugged into something, even if I’m using it in WiFi mode. If it’s plugged in, then it keeps the MiFi’s battery charged. I’m paranoid about batteries. I always try to keep them topped up for that worse case scenario for when I have no power.

If you plug it into your computer, it might not charge. Part of that might be down to the USB cable your using. There are some types designed to supply power only, apparently. Some are designed to supply data. Here’s some discussion about this. I once grabbed the wrong type, and I had great difficulty getting the thing to charge off my laptop. Now I always take the cable that originally came with it, and I have no issues.

It also comes with a standalone charger. But apparently, if you use that, it won’t put out a WiFi signal. That’s easily solved by following the instructions described by CNET here. I did that, and now I have WiFi whenever I want, even if it’s charging.

I sure miss the simplicity of the USB modem I used to have. However, having the single device that works with both my laptop, my iPad or any other wireless gadget I want to use is great.

How About One Phone To Drive Them All?

When I was at the Verizon store in April, I pondered getting a Palm Pixi phone that also works as a mobile hotspot. How awesome is that? Use your phone’s data plan to also run your laptop and your iPad. That’s how it should be!

Yeah, but I wasn’t going to shift over to the Palm. My iPhone, even my old creaky iPhone 3G, has been doing its job just fine, even compared to a nice shiny Nexus One (see No, Your First Impression Isn’t Wrong: Android ISN’T As Nice As The iPhone). And I speak as someone who lived with the Nexus One exclusively for a week, when I was traveling in Europe in April. I still preferred the iPhone — though I really, really hated the lack of multitasking when I went back to the iPhone.

Ah, but since then, the Nexus One has gained the ability to tether and be a hotspot! Pity Verizon doesn’t have the Nexus One, though. Then I’d be more tempted. Verizon does have phones like the Droid Incredible, but I don’t think they’ve yet been updated with the latest Android 2.2 “Froyo” software that provides tethering. And when they do get it, I’m expecting Verizon will do some stupid thing like try to charge you an amount equal to having a completely separate data plan.

How About A 4G Phone & Hotspot?

What about Sprint? Tomorrow, they begin selling the HTC Evo. We’re talking Android, with hotspot and 4G. Oh my, oh my.

Well, I’ve got one of those. Google handed them out at their Google I/O event last month, so I got one for free. So far, I still find it to be like the Nexus One — kind of clunky compared to the iPhone. In addition, it’s slightly larger and thicker than the iPhone, but that’s still enough to feel huge when you hold it in your hand. It reminds me of my old Dell Axim PDA in size. Big screen, very pretty, but perhaps too much phone for me.

I’ve used the hotspot feature on three occasions, in San Francisco, at San Francisco International Airport and at John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Each time, I’ve given up and shifted back to my Verizon card. I can connect OK to the phone very easily. But if there’s a 4G signal, as it says at times, I don’t see the speed difference. What I have noticed is that it often “stalls” and fails to load things at all.

Other people might have much better experiences. Other locations might be much better. Others might tolerate the occasional glitches for one device that does it all.

Heck, it’s very tempting. For $70 per month, Sprint offers the same number of minutes I get on my iPhone (450) plus unlimited data for my phone and my computer and iPad. In contrast, I pay $60 per month to Verizon to power my non-phone devices on top of the $70 I pay to AT&T for phone service.

Waiting & Watching

Personally, I’m waiting to see how the summer plays out. I’d like a new phone, one that actually can record video and which works nearly as well as my current iPhone. I expect all that from the iPhone 4. But I’ve also had it with AT&T. I’m tired of going places where, if more than three iPhones are in the same place, they suddenly emit a distortion field that seems to disable all of them. If Verizon announced it had the iPhone 4 tomorrow, I’d be there, in line ready to go.

Apparently, Apple will announce the new iPhone next week — and we should be seeing it from AT&T soon after, from what I’ve read in various places. From what I’ve also read, I don’t get the impression we’ll be seeing a Verizon-version immediately. Personally, I’m holding out hope that Apple will give AT&T a month or two longer of exclusivity, so that AT&T can get people to renew under a contract (one they’ve just made more expensive to break). Then maybe after that, Verizon will get its shot.

I’ll wait and see. I don’t need that new phone as soon as it’s out. Sometimes patience is best, in things Apple. My existing phone still works pretty well. If the iPhone doesn’t come to Verizon, screw it — I might very well go the Android route.

Why not Sprint? I’ve used Verizon for a very long time. I know that its mobile broadband network works. Works really, really well. I’ve been all over the US, and I almost always get a good, solid broadband connection. I’ve been at many conferences, and very rarely do I have problems (last month’s Google I/O was a notable exception. Verizon sucked there.

Maybe in a year or two, I’ll feel like enough people are going wow over Sprint’s 4G network that I’ll make the plunge. But since mobile data is my primary need, on my phone — on my computer — on my iPad — Verizon remains my personal top choice.

NOTE: I write about products on this blog because I find them interesting, not because I’ve been paid to write about them or because I may have received them for free. Occasionally, I have affiliate links to products. Often, I don’t. My disclosure page covers these topics in more detail.

Tried Android and feel it doesn’t measure up to the iPhone? TechCrunch would have you think it’s just because you didn’t try it long enough. It’s not the phone, you see. It’s you. And that’s bull.

Fair enough, it’s easy to go from something you know very well and be irritated that something else doesn’t work in the same way, in the way you think it “should” work. One thing I especially appreciated about Om Malik’s Nexus One review was that he lived with the thing as his primary phone. He spent time really getting to know it.

I might do the same with Android myself. And I’m somewhat hesitant to write against the TechCrunch “it’s you” argument as I’m still living with the Nexus One and trying to get to know it better. Then again, I already know enough to blow holes in that argument.

Look here:

Those are my most three most recent smartphones. My primary phone is that iPhone on the left, a 3G version from when they came out in July 2008. On the left, the Nexus One from Google that I was given when I covered the Nexus One launch this week.

That one in the middle? That’s my Windows Mobile 6.1 device from 2007. Previously, I’d used Windows Mobile devices going back to 2004 (see Swapping My Treo 700W For The UTStarcom XV6700). Smartphones aren’t new to me. In fact, when the iPhone came out, I thought it was a joke. I had a phone that was faster than what the iPhone first offered, had a flash and a pull-out keyboard, which I thought was super important. I mocked the iPhone (see No 3G, No Keyboard, No iPhone — Thank You Very Much).

When the 3G version of the iPhone finally came out, I bought one for my wife, fully expecting I’d continue using Windows Mobile and mocking iPhone users. After all, my Windows Mobile phone could still do all the iPhone could plus doubled as a modem.

But after literally an hour or less of playing with my wife’s iPhone, I knew my Windows Mobile days were over. Any time I might save with a physical keyboard was totally wasted on the number of menus I had to go through to do anything on the Windows Mobile phone compared to the iPhone. On the iPhone, everything was easy, intuitive, time saving. And I soon learned that I didn’t need an physical keyboard. In fact, the last time I tried one was when I tested the Android T-Mobile G1. I hated not being able to do on-screen typing.

So now let’s shift to what Jason Kincaid in TechCrunch says today:

Imagine if you took a longtime Windows user and sat them in front of a Mac for a couple days. They’d probably complain about superficial things like the change in mouse acceleration and the “unintuitive” button placement (the Close button is on the opposite side of the window). It’s not until a week or two after you start using a Mac as your primary computer that you overcome these issues and begin to fully grasp some of the benefits it offers. No, it may not be for you, but there’s really no way you can tell for sure without taking the plunge and using one as your primary computer. It’s the same way with Android.

Look, I was a long-time Windows (Mobile) user. I was sat in front of Mac (iPhone) for a couple of days. Actually, an hour. I complained about nothing. I knew what to do very fast. So why shouldn’t that be the case for me going from the iPhone to Android?

Jason also wrote:

A week or so later, it clicked. When I want an option that isn’t already visible, I hit the dedicated ‘Menu’ button just beneath the screen. Need to jump to a previous screen in an app or the web browser? Hit the dedicated ‘Back’ button. In some ways, these are actually better than the soft buttons located in iPhone apps, because they’re always in the same place. It also saves some screen real estate.

Again, I didn’t need a week for the iPhone to “click” with me. It clicked almost immediately. And I think that’s the key driver to its popularity. Michael Arrington, when I was on the Gillmor Gang with him earlier this week (video will be posted here later), asked what was the killer app for the iPhone and for Android. I didn’t think there was one for many people, not one “I gotta have this phone because it runs….” type of thing. I thought the killer app of the iPhone was the user interface.

Look, the iPhone did not invent the smartphone. The iPhone, when it emerged, was well behind many smartphones in terms of its capabilities. The App Store? Please. Windows Mobile had plenty of “apps for that.” The problem with Windows Mobile apps was that you had to hunt them down. They weren’t organized in a nice, vetted location. They were scattered all over the web.

But the iPhone blew people away — and to me, it did so because it made a pocket computer that’s also a phone intuitive to use, just as Palm did for PDAs.

Android’s not as intuitive. I’m sorry. I wish it were, if only because I tend to dislike Apple so much because of its closed, controlling nature that I’d like a different phone to use. But right now, I wouldn’t abandon my iPhone for Android. For me, Android remains like some type of weird evolution of Windows Mobile, where you have to constantly go to menu options to get stuff done whereas the iPhone presents what you need when you need it.

Using Tweetie on the iPhone and want to write a tweet? With the iPhone, the compose button is right there at the top of the screen:

But for Android, you have to go down to the bottom and push the menu button.

After you’ve pushed the Android’s menu button, then you have to further pick the Compose button:

While you’re still trying to get the compose window, over on the iPhone, you’re already writing. (NOTE: Per comments below, this is the case with Seemic on Android, not with Twitdroid, where the UI is much nicer. But also see the comments about how my reactions to Androids aren’t based on just this one application).

Finally, after two clicks, you finally get the compose window and can do your tweet, as shown below. But also below, I’ll address something else that Jason raises, how handy it is that Android has a “Back” button always in the same place:

On Android, in the Seemic Twitter app, you can go back by either using the applications Cancel button or using Android’s dedicated “Back” button that I’m pointing to at the bottom. On the iPhone, you’ve got to guess — the Cancel button in the top left will let you do it.

But you know, you guess once or twice, and then you know. I rarely struggle trying to understand how to use my iPhone apps even though they might not have some dedicated buttons in all the “same” places. I think that’s in part because I’m usually only shown buttons I actually need. Also, how many apps do you really use, where you have that much trouble learning how to do things? And don’t forget — on Android apps, the menu options you get after pushing the menu button aren’t all the same nor in the same place.

How about email. I email a lot on my phone. Let’s do some email:

On the iPhone, I push one button down in the lower right, and boom, I’m writing email. On Android, I have to push the menu button at the very bottom. After I do that, then I have to push a second button to start writing.

I don’t know about you, but for me, having to push twice to do something doesn’t make the phone twice as good. It makes it twice as annoying — and I don’t need a lot of “livability” time to understand this. Moreover, with the Nexus One, you can’t even have the type of time Jason’s talking about to understand it. You can’t touch it at all. It sold online only. You can, of course, return it if not happy within 14 days. That’s a nice policy and provides plenty of time for living with it.

As for browsing, which is one of the most important things I do on my iPhone, there’s no contest. Without multi-touch, without the ability to pinch and zoom in or flick and zoom out, the Android just feels clunky. Worse, I keep hitting that damn magnifying glass at the bottom of the phone (it’s the fourth one over on the right, at the bottom) thinking it’s a zoom button. You know, because a magnifying glass is an icon often used to represent zooming. But it’s not. It’s a search button. I know, search is often represented by a magnifying glass, too. And I know, I just need to get used to the Android. And get used to needing to tap some place on the page I’m viewing that doesn’t have a link to get the real zoom in and zoom out buttons to appear. Then keep pressing on them to do things that are far easier on the iPhone.

There’s a lot I do like about Android. The built-in voice recognition gets better and better. I’ve done about 20 searches this evening by only speaking into the phone, and the accuracy has been amazing. FYI, as I joke, I cursed into my Nexus One. I discovered it will recognize curse words and replace them with ####!

The screen is beautiful. I love that there’s a removable battery plus removable storage (and even better when you can actually install apps on that storage). The trackball, which I found useless to worse in some instances (who knows where it puts you on the screen sometimes — it has a mind of its own) was actually awesome when using Street View on the Nexus One. Turn-by-turn navigation. Well, as long as I trust the accuracy of Google Maps, maybe I won’t need a new GPS.

Multitasking sounds great but in reality, I’ve yet to see it that useful. I had multitasking in Windows Mobile, and it was nice to toggle between different apps quickly. If there’s a fast toggle with Android, I’ve yet to stumble upon it. If I hold the home button down long, I will get a list of recently accessed apps. But that doesn’t seem to be the toggle between running apps that I was expecting. For the most part, so far, that’s not a killer for me over the iPhone.

Someone asked me if I’d recommend the Nexus One right now. My advice would be to wait until it appears for Verizon, if you really want the Nexus One because you don’t want or need a physical keyboard. I was a long-time Verizon subscriber, and the broadband network was awesome even years ago. I still use Verizon to access the web when traveling with my USB card. It consistently gets me connected in places where my iPhone often won’t.

And T-Mobile? I’ve never used them (in the US, that is — I did use them in the UK). But they seem to have a much less robust 3G network. Right now, if it seems better to AT&T users (and remember, all the world does NOT live in San Francisco, New York or attends CES), that’s because it’s not overloaded with all those data-hungry iPhones out there. But the data hungry Android users will come, and I suspect T-Mobile will encounter AT&T like problems. I’m not sure I’d want to commit two years to T-Mobile. Nor would I want to buy a Nexus One now that becomes a 2G-only brick if you shift to AT&T and which won’t work on Verizon at all.

Would I recommend the Nexus One it over the iPhone? It depends on who you are and what you need to do. For someone new to smartphones, I still think the iPhone would be the way to go. For a more power user, the Android (in particular the Nexus One) is pretty awesome. Certainly if you did get the Nexus One or any of the newer Android phones (say 1.5 and above), you’ve got an excellent phone. You shouldn’t feel a need to defend it against the iPhone.

I know Android will only get better. I hope it does. And I plan to write more about the Nexus One in particular, highlighting some of the things I do like. But this “you’ve got to learn” it stuff. If that’s the defense of Android, then it has already lost — at least this version.