OneBeat francis’s blog

The iPhone in Japan is not working so well. You could not get a decent signal so I have 2 iPhone, the second one is an iPhone I got in Hong Kong which is SIM FREE, so I stick in my NTT Docomo into it, and make the Softbank iPhone transfer the calls to it. Even then, my NTT iPhone was dropping calls. I need phones to function to get work done, so I was considering buying a new non-iPhone phone. It was that bad.

So yesterday I downloaded the iPhone 2.1 update and here are my results.

* Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls - a little better
* Significantly better battery life for most users - then I am not a member of MOST users
* Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes - yes, this is so quick.
* Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts - not quantifiable yet
* Faster installation of 3rd party applications - yes
* Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications - not tested
* Improved performance in text messaging - yes
* Faster loading and searching of contacts - yes
* Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display - yes
* Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages - yes
* Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts - this is really good.

Overall the software update seems to fix crucial flaws and proves that Apple can modify vast parameters of the chip functions in their product. Other phone manufacturers are not so lucky as their product is made by components of 2 ore more different companies, an OS and the Unit etc.., giving them less chance, accuracy of getting firmware and application and hardware in tune at the same time. So Apple has an advantage.

September 15th is Keiroukanshano hi, or a national Japanese holiday to give respects to the elderly. Many families take their Grandpa and Grandma to dinner or an outing, we took our grand grand mother to dinner at Sushi Kanesaka. She is 95 years old and still alive and well.

The world economy may be hiting yet another slump and many people are flocking to sell their Ferrari and Porsche. I watch closely how many 599’s, 430’s and 997tt’s are available for sale second hand. There were only 2-3 599’s on sale in May, now there are 17. F430’s have increased 14 to 34. In midst of this difficult economy, the annual Porsche 2009 Fair was held at the Westin Hotel in Ebisu Tokyo.

The open time was 11am, but when I got there at 11:10am, it was packed with about 300 people. What is driving so many Porsche fans here today is the debut of PDK, the wonderful 7 speed automatic transmission.

They were showing the new PDK LED 997’s and Cayenne Turbo S (no PDK). I really like the Targa 4S in pictures, but this was not on display. The LED rear lights look really good on the 911s. There was a 997 Turbo on display but in the corner, symbolizing that the main stars of the show was the 911 and 911s. They also had a GTS, a 2008 Cup Car on display as well. Also on display was the Porsche kitchen.

Steve announced the new nano and touch yesterday at an event. Meanwhile Tunewear has been hard at work and has inventory and started shipping the ICEWEAR and TUNESHELL for the new iPod nano and iPod touch in Japan today.

The ICEWEAR, as seen above is a silicon case made of high density medical grade silicone, and the TUNESHELL is made from scratch proof plastic. They are in stock in Japan but should also be available int he US from our Los Angeles office and Hong Kong office.

The new iPod has features like shake, genius and more along with iTunes delivering HD download.

Design matter more than content. No, both have to be good to make a living nowadays. Strolling around Hollywood, I came across this beautiful and elegant design of this small beverage shop.

This shopping mall located adjacent to the Hollywood Chinese Theater and where D’lush is located. Hollywood has changed for the better. In the 80’s it was not a place for family. Hotel for the night is The Roosevelt Hotel at the cabana. Poolside Tropicana Bar and Club Teddys is one of Hollywood’s most sought after party club frequented by celebrities. I think I met I met that child actress who crash her SL55 on Sunset Blvd. after drinking here.

Started early morning from Tokyo and 5 hours later arrived in Niigata, where we rested at the Ikarashi House, an estate owned by a wealthy family has on his lot a wedding hall, 3 restaurants, bakery, brewery and gift shop. After this we drove up the coastline. See the trip data below, sorry it’s in Japanese. After this we were off to the onsen in Yamagata.

The drive was approximately 10 hours one way, so minimum of 20 hours and 1,000km on the road. There was a heavy storm and we drove across Japan at unreal speeds.

Visited the iPhone madness where 1500+ people got in line politely overnight to buy a piece of new technology. CNN was interviewing this guy dressed as storm trooper in 35c deg heat. I got mine.