Seinfeld Back in the Apple Fold, In "Curb"

The Jerry Seinfeld - Bill Gates ads were an undeniable flop (although the second one showed promise). At the time, I wondered about the choice of Seinfeld, as he was a definite Mac user in his TV show. Money talks, right?

Anyway, Steve Jobs welcomes back Jerry, as on a recent episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Jerry is seen behind his desk with (gasp) a MacBook in front of him. Yes, yes, just because someone endorses a product doesn't mean they really use it regularly.

After all, does anyone really think Tiger Woods uses Buicks on a regular basis?

A bad TV week for Microsoft, as they also decided that Family Guy (or rather, a live special via Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane) was not the right show to advertise Windows 7 on. Hey, you can bet that special will have great ratings, Microsoft. A big loss for you, not so much for Family Guy.

China Gets Its (Wi-Fi-Less) iPhone, And Problems

The iPhone has finally reached China, or should I say, the iPhone has finally officially reached China. There were plenty of unlocked iPhones invading China's GSM Networks, but only Friday was it on the China Unicom network.

The first shipments manufactured for China Unicom, however, are missing wi-fi. It wasn't until May, after manufacturing of the device had begun, that Beijing lifted the existing wi-fi ban on devices.

This will create problems for China Unicom, which has reportedly contracted with Apple for 5 million iPhones. China Unicom hopes to have wi-fi in the next batch of iphones it receives from Apple, saying: "We are talking with Apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year."

Until then, though, what? China Unicom also is at a price disadvantage: unlocked grey import iPhones (with wi-fi, no less) cost around 5,700 yuan ($835) in China’s street markets, while China Unicom charges from 4,999 yuan ($730) to 6,999 yuan ($1,025) for the high-end, 32 GB iPhone 3GS.

Hmmm. An unlocked iPhone for less money, or official iPhone, tied to one carrier, for more money. Which would you choose? To be honest, even with the wi-fi feature, the fact that the unlocked iPhone goes for less creates an issue for Apple, as well as China Unicom.

In other countries, unlocked iPhones go for more, and far more than a locked version. This backwards set-up in China may prove to be difficult to overcome.