By now, we all know about the iPhone 4’s antenna reception fiasco. Though Apple denies it, it seems to be the result of a hardware design flaw and has led to everything from class-action lawsuits to product-recall demands. Consumer Reports, even though it deemed the iPhone 4 the best smartphone on the market, refused to recommend it due to the antenna flaw, and Microsoft’s COO Kevin Turner went so far as to call the iPhone 4 Apple’s “Vista”. Ouch.

All in all, the latest iPhone has been a headache for Apple from the get go. From the leaked prototype to the reception issue, to complaints about discolorations in the “retina display,” I’m sure Steve Jobs would prefer to skip ahead to the iPhone 5 and forget about the past few months.

So the question is, if the iPhone 4 really is all that bad, how come I still want one? How come I would be willing to buy the phone, cover the antenna with duct tape (as CR recommends) and happily drop calls anyway? Am I a blind-loyalist? Have I chosen to cast away all rational thinking and reasoning in the name of getting my hands on Apple’s latest, greatest supergadget fun-panel?

I think I know the answer, and it comes down to the strength of the brand. You see, whether it’s true or not, I believe that the iPhone 4, with all of its imperfections, is still far better (and more importantly) far cooler, than its competition.

This is the power of branding. Even though I know there are critical problems with the product, I’ll trade those for the chance to own it — to further my status in the Apple tribe.

Granted, my iPhone 4 desires will go unquenched because I’m firmly mired in the early-goings of a two-year service contract; I must make do with my primitive 3GS until next summer. That being said, I think it’s a great testament to the power of the Apple brand that I would even entertain the thought of buying one.

So what do you think? Is there a part of you that still wants an iPhone 4? Do you already own one? Can I see it/play with it?

There's no hiding it: I'm an Apple geek through and through. Apple at home, Apple at work, Apple when I travel. Personally, I own 2 iPhones (3G and 3GS), 3-4 iPod shuffles of various sizes, an iPad, and a MacBook Pro as my primary home computer. Now, I'm not crazy enough to stand in long lines during launches; I know I can get what I want just a few days after release. But suffice it to say, I'm an addict for Apple hardware.

However, I'm damn glad I waited on the iPhone 4. Display issues, reception problems, instructions to hold the phone a certain way or to buy a "bumper". This release has been a big flop and that's unusual for Apple, especially in the past few years. Following on the recent footsteps of the phenomenal release of the iPad (which I personally wouldn't recommend to most people), this release of the new iPhone has been laden with bad mojo.  Apple's initial response was "you're doing it wrong", but now even Consumer Reports says they can't recommend the iPhone 4.

As innovative as the case-as-antenna is, I can't believe this design made it out of Apple. The average user immediately saw the limitations once the device was in hand. This is what happens when you're too close to your project. You know how to hold it, you know how to click its buttons. I know Apple has vigorous testing of their software, but have they ever really had to do so with the physical case? I find it hard to believe they tested the physical phone case itself as meticulously as they do the software -- or they did, but decided to let it out in the wild anyway with crossed-fingers, hoping that no one would notice. Steve Jobs is obviously not beyond hubris, so this is a possible scenario.

Then again, done is better than perfect. That is a mantra that the IT world has to stick with, or nothing would ever get released.  You can release patches, fixes, and new code to push towards perfection.  But how do you do that with hardware like the iPhone case?

You begrudgingly and snarkfully give away bumpers, that's how.

Consumers look at thousands of ads a day. It’s important for each brand to stand out and be recognizable to the consumer. A great logo design is one way a brand can become memorable and recognizable. Some brands are so recognizable they can even be identified by only part of the logo.  Can you recognize these logos? Click on the logos below to reveal the brand.

Another important aspect of brand recognition is in the name. Many brand names have become household words. For instance, that cotton stick you put in your ear every morning is not called a Q-Tip, it’s actually called a cotton swab. The Q-Tip brand has become so powerful that many consumers use the brand name for all cotton swabs. There are a few other brands that have this powerful branding.

How many times has someone asked you for a Kleenex instead of a facial tissue or a Post-It Note instead of a sticky note? A brand name MANY consumers use as a product name is Coke.  “We need some Coke’s for our party, so get Dr. Pepper and Sprite."  In many parts of the country, Coke has become a ‘nickname’ for carbonated beverages.

Some other brands that are misused as the product name are Band-Aid (adhesive bandages), Xerox (photocopy), Tylenol (pain reliever), Vaseline (petroleum jelly), Chapstick (lip balm), and Velcro (hook-and-loop fasteners).

Just when you thought 'there's an app for that' for everything you could have possibly dreamed of, Google is now working on an app for Android that will help you find an open parking space! Now not only can you get directions to a destination by using a phone, but you can find a parking spot there as well!

It is called, 'Open Spot,' but don't get too excited yet. It relies on other people to mark the spot after they leave - it turns red automatically, then orange after five minutes, then yellow after 10 minutes, and then it loses its status after 20 minutes. To  be truly useful, the app requires a ton of users to utilize it. The app will award 'karma points' to encourage people to mark the free spots when they leave and will apparently handle what they call 'grievers' or people that mark fake spots.

I'm not Paul the Psychic Octopus, but I think in the long run this could be a really useful and successful app. I could definitely see myself using it while trying to park at something like Thunder Over Louisville next year. Well, that is if they make a similar app for iPhone and I can actually get service during major event...

I love the option of placing food orders online, especially with pizza chains.   I have placed online orders from Pizza Hut and Papa Johns with minor technical errors.  Recently, I ordered from Domino’s because my 5-year old saw a commercial that led her to believe that people will show up at our house with cameras and balloons to celebrate us trying the new Domino’s pizza.  Of course, I had to immediately inform her that it doesn’t happen like that.  I did, however, agree to place an order since it had been years since we have ordered from Domino's.

I was very impressed with their online ordering.  I played around with each pizza, adding various toppings, putting toppings on ½ and then taking them away.  When it was all said and done, I had ordered 2 medium, 2 topping pizzas.

I entered my credit card information and received my email confirmation. Upon reviewing my confirmation, I noticed that I had put bacon & ham on both pizzas, which I didn't intend to do.  That’s where the Pizza Tracker came in! I was able to call the store directly because the phone number was provided on the confirmation. I spole to the person that had received my order because his name was on the email and he immediately updated my order.  I was then able to track the pizza as it was being prepared, placed in the oven, added to the box and en route for delivery. I knew exactly when our order was going to arrive at our house!

You can track your UPS packages from the time you process the shipment to the time it delivers.  Why not be able to do the same with your pizza order?  I really enjoyed the ordering process and the pizza was pretty good. And, just for the record, I’m not a pizza snob.  If it has the right price, it’s the right pizza!

I think there might be a lot of mystery surrounding my job as traffic manager. I'm not going to go into a boring job description; instead, I'd rather give you some myths I've heard about what I do all day and then dispel them with the REAL explanations below. Behold!

Myth: When I'm staring intently at my computer screen, I'm playing Cafe World or Tetris.
Reality: I'm sifting through the daily 280 emails, 96 system reports and a crap ton of task notes that come into CurrentTrack.

Myth: When I'm eating a sandwich for lunch, I'm thinking about how much I enjoy that sandwich.
Reality: I'm actually considering what HAS to get done after lunch/before the end of the day and how we're going to get there.

Myth: When I arrive in the morning, the first thing I do is check my personal email and text my bestie.
Reality:  I DO text my bestie...CurrentTrack is my bestie. Personal email is for sissies.

Myth: I'm gossiping at everyone's desks all afternoon.
Reality: I'm herding all of our cats into the big bag by checking status with everyone individually. Okay, I might goof around a little at each desk, but that's part of my mystique. I'm really just trying to get you to do what I want you to do.

Myth: I sit kind of weird in Jolt.
Reality: I'm making sure I hear everything that's said around our huge conference table. That means I gotta lean in a weird way sometimes.

Myth: When I'm out of the office, you all can mess around.
Reality: I'm everywhere. You can't hold me. Even when I'm gone, I know what you're doing.

One of my biggest passions is traveling.   Shortly after I bought my iPhone, I traveled to Chicago and put it to the test.  I found that I could search anything from where to get the best cupcake near my hotel to train schedules on the Metra.  Here are a couple other great apps I've used:

Southwest Airlines has a great app that allows you view flight schedules and will even let you check into your flight.  They also offer special “Ding” offers that are only available through the app.

I’m all about location when I travel. I prefer to stay in urban areas where I can walk, take a train or catch a quick taxi ride.  Yelp and AroundMe apps both let me find restaurants and places near my hotel.  The Yelp app is great for giving you ratings from other users so that you aren’t blindly walking into a place that might be below your standards.

While Yelp is great, I’ve found that AroundMe has a more expansive listing of places.  Both apps will link you right to the location on Google maps making finding it a breeze.

My Mom would have loved this last app.  When I was a kid we always had to hit a Cracker Barrel on every road trip we took. Sometimes it would be for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  If iExit had been available in the 80’s, my Dad would probably have less gray hair right now.  It allows you to save your favorite restaurants, and it will alert you about exits along your route that feature your restaurant selections. Genius!  I use it for coffee and snack stops along the way.  A good road trip is always about the snacks, right?

If anyone has any great travel apps they use, I’d love to hear about them!  I’m always searching for new ones.

Okay, so admission time - I’m a PC guy.

In the main, this is a function of personal history - I cut my pre-teen computing teeth on Windows 3.11 and Sierra adventure games (ah, Roger Wilco, we hardly knew ye), and surfed the Mesozoic age of the web on the stalwart S.S. Netscape Navigator. As time went on, I learned to cobble together my own machines out of disparate bits of motherboard and RAM, giving life to inert parts in a process both primal and alchemical. Sure, they were rough around the edges, but there’s an undeniable charm to using a computer built with your own two hands.

Macs have always been...the other computer. I was never much interested in the sports rivalry between the competing machines, but I honestly didn’t like using Apple’s OS. The supposedly slick and intuitive user interface confused me. What’s with these programs that don’t close when you close them, and where was my C: drive, damnit? I crave simple file trees; without them, the jitters come.

Having recently come aboard at CurrentMarketing, I found myself tossed into the deep end of Macintosh use. My work machine is a comely beast, it must be said, but I intended to keep the relationship strictly business. One can use a Mac all day and come home to a PC every night, right? No big deal. That big LCD screen was mighty tempting, sure, but it didn’t mean anything. Honest...

Wait, what’s this? Coda? Well, isn’t it nice that someone made what Dreamweaver has always wanted to be in its innermost fantasies. Wish I could use that at home...

My PC is infected with the hideous AV Security virus? Ugh, there goes the weekend. Glad that’ll never be an issue for my work machine. Wow, once you get to know it, this user interface really is fantastic...

So, that’s it. By slow erosion, my CurrentMarketing experience is turning me into a Mac Guy. There’s no shame, really. It feels good. Natural. Like it was always supposed to be this way.

Song for the Day: “Truth Skull” by Lymbyc Systym (don’t let the title fool you - it’s quite tame!)

You probably can’t remember the last time you used Yahoo for online search. Today, more than 70% of all online traffic runs through Google. Coupled with the rise of Microsoft’s Bing, I wonder how much longer Yahoo will be able to stay afloat?

Although Yahoo’s reign as king of search is over, there is still a lot left in the tank for the Net’s oldest major directory. Instead of trying to go head-to-head with Bing or Google in the search market, Yahoo will make its attempt to become the authoritative source on Web content.

Earlier this week, Yahoo announced the launch of “The Yahoo! Style Guide: The Ultimate Sourcebook for Writing, Editing, and Creating Content for the Digital World.” Available July 6, 2010, this book intends to offer advice to anyone who writes or edits for the Web.

In addition to answering all your grammar and spelling issues, the guide also others several other web-related resources, including information on how basic webpage coding and how to optimize a website for SEO.

One exceptionally useful feature is that users can logon to http://styleguide.yahoo.com and get their toughest questions answered by the editors. This book is truly the one-stop shop for all the information you need to create flawless and engaging content for your digital space. Plus, it’s much cooler than your outdated copy of “The Associated Press Styleguide” that now serves as a coaster instead of a reference tool.

“The Yahoo! Syle Guide” has received endorsements from some of the nation’s top scholars and institutions, including California State University, Nielsen, San Jose State University and Kent State University. The book will be available in both print and online editions and will be compatible with the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle. The style guide will be hitting a newsstand near you at a manufacturer suggested retail price of $15.

My recommendation? This is a must-have for any media professional and is sure to overtake “The Associated Press Stylebook” as the go-to source for digital publishing. So, go clear off a portion off your desk and head to your nearest bookstore to reserve your copy today. After all, you don’t want to be the one person who still adds a hyphen to “email.”

Having just gotten back from the Paradise that is Southwest Florida, I was intrigued to read a post from Mark Driscoll, an influential young pastor in Seattle, WA.

He and his family (wife and 5 kids) are leaving headed for vacation, and Mark has decided to immerse in a total media blackout.  For some, that would be no big deal.  But this fellow Facebooks (wow, is that a word now?) and Tweets and Podcasts and Vidcasts and DVD’s relentlessly.  To spend four weeks with no iPhone, no laptop, no television, no MEDIA?  I wonder what THAT’S like.

Could be a real blessing, I suppose, but it’s difficult departure in today’s age of 24/7 immediacy.  Granted, I was sneaking away with my bride for a four day “recharge” getaway, but I used my iPhone GPS on the golf course, UrbanSpoon for help with restaurants, and checked in on FourSquare three times.  Although I spend less than one week per month in my Florida getaway, it’s wired for wireless and digital cable.  I checked my email, favorite news sites and exchanged Facebook messages with my son traveling in Europe.

Maybe someday I’ll go “media free” for an extended period and get back in touch the deeper things in life.  Right now, I gotta post this blog.