Tagged: Apple

Palliative Symptoms Survey Hits the Apple App Store →

I have been working diligently on a project for some time now and it’s finally available.  My company, Still River Software, received approval from Apple last week for Palliateive Symptoms Survey to help doctors and caregivers provide better and faster care to their patients.

Palliative Symptoms Survey is an application based on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Survey (ESAS-r) which was developed to assist in the assessment of nine symptoms that are common in palliative care patients: pain, tiredness, drowsiness, nausea, lack of appetite, depression, anxiety, shortness of breath, and wellbeing There is also a blank scale for patient-specific symptoms.

The application is a native iPad application written in Objective-C with a back-end using Ruby on Rails.   Please read a little bit about the project on my company web site.

Marco’s Love of Android

I have been following an interesting discussion between the Shifty Jelly folks and Marco Arment of Instapaper regarding the merits of developing for iOS versus Android and whether it’s worth the developer’s time (read money) creating for the platform.

Eric Schmidt spoke recently at Le Web where he said developers, like it or not, will target Android.  As someone who writes iOS applications, it seemed like an arrogant statement and Marco had his thoughts, which seem reasonable to me:

Android devices have been selling in large quantities for a long time. That’s not new. Yet today, compared to iOS, Android is much less profitable for developers (especially for paid apps), its users are less influential for expanding new services, and its app development is much more painful and expensive. And in the rapidly growing and increasingly influential tablet market, Android has an extremely low marketshare.

Shify Jelly creators of applications for both iOS and Android took offense to Marco statements and wrote some elegant dialog as to the contrary:

First some background. We’ve been in the iOS app store since August of 2008, which for those that are counting is only a month or so after it first launched. We’ve been on Android now for about a year. We make serious apps like Pocket Casts and Pocket Weather AU, things that take a lot of development effort and involve serious server back-ends. We’ve made enough money since then to support 2 full time staff, and 2 part time designers. Yes we’re the guys who had the run in with Amazon, the email from Steve Jobs, and we’re not millionaires.

Finally, since neither of these developers allow comments on their blog, Marco’s rebuttal to the challenge by Shifty Jelly:

If you make the first great Android Instapaper client that:

  • uses the official API
  • contains a significant portion of the iOS app’s features, the details of which we’d work out privately
  • runs on a wide variety of Android devices and OS versions including modern smartphones, the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, and whichever 10” tablet matters at the time of completion
  • is priced at $2.99 or higher in the U.S. with approximately equivalent pricing elsewhere, and satisfies requirements to be sold in the Google Marketplace, Amazon Appstore, and whatever B&N uses for the Nook Tablet

I’ll call it the official Instapaper app for Android, I’ll promote it on the Instapaper site, I’ll drop the subscription requirement for its API access, you’ll answer all support email that comes from it, and we’ll split the net revenue 50/50.

As you may know, I write iOS applications but have not given Android much thought primarily for Marco’s reasons.  I like to keep an open mind and would target Android if there was money to be made in any of the apps stores.  I just don’t see it.  Certainly there are tons of Android phones flying out of the stores but are those people spending the money like the users in Apple’s App Store?  I fear not, at least not today.  If users aren’t spending their hard earned dollars on applications how can we be expected to spend our hours on developing for a platform with almost no return.

Who is making money selling their Android applications today?  Please leave a comment.

The dialog is worth the read and is food for thought.  It’s interesting how, since neither allows comments on their blogs, they are forced to trade shots in this way.

 

Lesson Learned : Don’t Be The Cheapest

My new MacBook Air 13″ has finally arrived and is a gorgeous example of Apple’s design, but this is not about design.

I documented my horrendous dealings with MacMall and the amount of time wasted before finally giving them the boot once and for all.  I won’t go into the painful details of that ordeal but wanted to share my experience with Apple.

I ordered the MacBook Air directly from Apple on 8/23/2011.  The model I ordered included the upgraded processor (1.8Ghz i7) and therefore takes some extra time.  Apple indicates today the item ships in 1-3 business days and free shipping is 3-5 business days for delivery.

This is the Apple way:

  • They do a great job of setting my expectations and does the same with this order.
  • Order shipped on 8/25/2011, not a full 48 hrs after placing the order.  Beating the expectations they set of at most 3 days.
  • Shipment confirmation gave a delivery estimate of 8/31/2011 but actually delivered on 8/29/2011, a full 2 days before their estimate.

Apple is not performing any magic, they give estimates out beyond what it takes to deliver.  This gives them some buffer for problems out of their control and also makes the customer extremely happy when the product is delivered *before* the estimate.

I decided to originally purchase from MacMall because their prices were cheaper and I would not have to pay CT sales tax.  The savings turned out to not be worth the hassle.  MacMall can take a lesson from Apple and provide delivery guidelines within their control and ones customers can live with.  This would make for happier customers and ultimately make the job of the MacMall customer service reps a lot easier.

It’s really easy and natural to simply chose something based on price but sometimes it’s not worth what you’re giving up.  As a business owner we sometimes think we need to compete based on price, be the cheapest and the customers will be ours.  When we venture down that path, we sell ourselves out and find out too late this was not the right path and probably too late to raise prices back up.

Apple doesn’t play into the retail game, they charge a price they want and don’t discount it.  They balance this will providing good, reliable service.

Lesson learned.

MacMall : Winner of the Worst Customer Service on the Planet Award

GlobalImages hdrLogo

I deal with a lot of companies online and in-general, they are all pretty good.  My recent dealing with online Apple retailer, MacMall, forced me to create an award here and present them with the Worst Customer Service on the Planet Award.  I hope they like it because they certainly have earned it.

Once Upon a Time

I have never bought anything from MacMall before but have witnessed a barrage of email begging for my business.  When the new Apple MacBook Airs were released I decided I might give MacMall a try because they had free shipping, $50 price tag less than Apple, an additional discount code from AppleInsider and no sales tax.  In all I would save about $175.

Upon deciding to order the 13.3″ MacBook Air with 4G RAM, 256G SSD and the upgraded i7 processor, MacMall’s web site indicated the item would ship in 5-7 days.  Being the inpatient person I am, that seemed too long for me but decided I would forgo the need to have it now and order any way.   The first attempt at ordering failed when I attempted to use my Bill Me Later account.  MacMall web site said they had a problem with my Bill Me Later account and I needed to select another source of payment.  Fine, just use my reliable MasterCard and be done with it.  Order placed on August 9, 2011.

MacMall Air

The screen capture above is exactly what the web site said when I placed my order and it is exactly what is says today, 8/24/2011.  The wording is deceptive.

The following day I received 2 emails asking me to call their credit department to verify some information.  I thought this was sort of strange, you know for an online retailer and all, but I gave them a call.  After sitting on hold for the better part of 30 minutes with a recording telling me how important my call was to them, I was cut off after customer service hours ended for the day.  I decided to respond to their email, hoping they could resolve the issue in an email exchange.  Two emails went unanswered.

The next day I received a call from their credit department while I was out, telling me it was important they received a call from me about my order.  I went back to the phone to give it another try, sat on hold for 15 min. or so and finally connected with a live person.  I indicated I was calling about my order, was asked for my order number and she looked it up.  Her first question..”what’s the problem?”.  Dumb founded, I told her that I was asked to call in regarding my order.  Finally she said she needed to go over my order to sure what I ordered was actually what I wanted to order.  What??  This is 2011 and I shouldn’t have to call in to reiterate my order.  What is the point of ordering online if I only have to call in anyway?

So after 10 minutes of answering questions and telling them that I really did want to order this laptop, the graciously accepted my order.  I would told it would ship in a few days.

A Few Days Later

When a week had gone by and I hadn’t received an email or any updated notification about my order I decided to contact their customer service department about the order.  A quick email sent looking for an update.

Did I get a reply back via email?  Nope!  I received a call later that day from someone who could barely speak English telling me my order should ship on about 8/23/2011, a full 2 weeks after the order was placed.  At this point I am about fed up with MacMall and really wanted to tell them what they could do with their MacBook Air but I am saving nearly $200, right?

As 8/23/2011 came, I waited until the middle of the day to check my MacMall account for an update…nothing.  I don’t think it is too much to ask to give me something, I mean, I called in last week so they know I am following this.  I decided to give them a call so they might be able to tell me when my Air is ahipping.

A brief time on hold reveals I have a new *estimated* ship date, the end up the month.  Huh?  It didn’t compute, 8/31 is the end of the month and a full 3+ weeks after placing the order and it is still estimated.  Apple’s web site says 1-3 days for this model and by the time I see this from MacMall it will be a month.  I’m sorry but not acceptable..CANCELLED.

Moral of the Story

I ordered the MacBook Air from Apple right after my happy divorce from MacMall.  I will pay more but the price will be worth every penny knowing I am not giving it to MacMall, not now, not ever.

This post would just be a rant if I didn’t learn some lessons and share with readers.  I think good customer service is just common sense, treat people the way you want or expect to be treated:

  • Set realistic expectations to your customer.  If you say 5-7 days, make it 5-7 days, not some unknown time frame which is longer.  Better yet, say 5-7 but mean 2-4.  This way you went above my expectations.
  • You offer a phone number to take orders but also allow for online ordering.  If I order online that means I don’t want to talk to you on the phone so don’t call me.  This goes for customer service too, if you have a form which I fill out, respond back to me in an email and not bothering me with a phone call.
  • If you do force your customers to call you, don’t leave them on hold for more than a couple minutes.  Telling your customers during their hold time that they are important to you means nothing after being on hold for 1/2 hour.  Sorry, but it doesn’t.
  • Keep in contact with your customers, don’t leave them hanging.  If you tell them you will do something for them by a certain date, do it or at least have the courtesy of a follow-up email or phone call (depends on their preferred method of contact).

This experience has been the worst example of customer service I have ever witnessed.  I order a lot online and I mainly order only online and MacMall is the hands-down winner of the Worst Customer Service on the Planet Award.  Congrats, you are truly #1.

Thank you for reading my rant, I hope I have saved you some pain.  Also remember, price should not be the only deciding factor..lesson learned.

 

The Confusing Mobee Magic Charger

I recently purchased a Mobee Magic Charger for my Apple Magic Mouse.   I have been using the Magic Mouse for a few months, I love it with the exception of its insatiable desire for AA batteries.  It seems like I am always putting new batteries in it.

I heard about the Mobee Magic Charger from some Apple-related blog and thought it was a great idea.  It is a bit pricey at $49 but I figured if it saved the aggravation of replacing batteries and it was a better choice for the environment than throwing away batteries once a month, it would be worth it.

One of the interesting features of the Mobee charger is it is inductive.  This means I put the batteries in my Magic Mouse and set the mouse down on the charging pad supplied by Mobee.  I never have to remove the batteries from the mouse, just set it on the pad when I am not using it and it charges.

I was planning to write up a detailed review of the charger but Marco Arment beat me to it and his findings and reasonings meshed so well with mine that I refer you to Marco instead.

As Marco reported, there are problems with the charger.  Although not identical to his, mine are similar.Mobee reports the mouse should take up to 5 hours to fully charge, I had mine on the charger for (2) 24-hour stints and my Mac reports a charge of 76%.  Mobee indicates in their FAQ that this is normal behavoir:

That’s a normal behavior.

 

The Alkaline batteries originaly delivered with the Magic Mouse are 1.5V per cell, meaning 3V for the 2 cells when you use brand new batteries.

 

We are using NiMH batteries, these are 1.2V per cell. Thus when fully charged that’s 2.4V which means that OSX will read 70 to 80% only.

The charger flashes its green light indicating it is charging, but never stops.  I would expect a solid light when fully charged.

I have only been using the charger for a few days and will post an update a few months from now, or sooner if I decide not to continue using it.  When we purchase Apple products we have certain expectations set;  we know we are getting quality and we know how the products work as well as that they will just work.

Purchasing this charger and putting it to use it does not follow the same guidelines we expect from Apple.  Since they use smaller batteries, the charge indicator never goes to 100%.  How is this acceptable?  A novice user will be confused by this, I was confused by this.  The mouse sits on the charger seemingly never ending its charge cycle.   When I charge my MacBook Pro I know that when charging the indicator is orange but when fully charged it is green.  There is little to be confused about here.  The Mobee does not adhere to those Apple standards and my guess is, increases their support calls.

I can’t really say I would recommend this device either, it’s confusing.  I reserve the right to change my mind later after using it for a while.

Is JetBrains appCode a Solution Looking for a Problem?

Bottle

Sometimes when a company releases a new product I sit back and think if I would use it.  If not, I try to understand who the customer might be and the reasons they use it.  When I first saw the announcement for the new Objective-C IDE from JetBrains, appCode, I asked myself those questions.

As a user of Apple’s XCode IDE for writing Objective-C, I tried to imagine the reasons why I might use it and none came to mind.  I also tried to imagine who might use it and I couldn’t think of anyone.  OK, maybe there are folks out there who use XCode and hate it, they may use it but I think the market is far too small to consider putting efforts into writing an IDE to target those people.

InfoQ has an interview with Maxim Shafirov of JetBrains about the project and after reading the article, I am still scratching my head.  From the article, appCode features include:

Main features of the IDE are:

  • Smart editor with code completion
  • Opening and creating Xcode projects (including Xcode 4)
  • Integration with the standard Interface Builder
  • Running applications in iOS Simulator
  • Debugger with breakpoints, variables, watches and evaluate expression
  • Refactorings, e.g. ‘Change Signature’ and ‘Extract Method’
  • On the fly code analysis and quick-fix suggestions
  • Tight version control systems integration (Subversion, Git, Perforce and CVS)

I don’t see a feature here in the short list which Apple’s IDE doesn’t include.

A question I asked myself..why develop appCode in the first place?

InfoQ: What drove the decision to develop appCode?

Maxim: We at JetBrains admire what Apple has done to desktop apps and more generally to a consumer targeted software. They’re setting new interaction design quality standards. But this is not the case when it comes to developers software, in our opinion. So we see a great opportunity for JetBrains to bring its development tools expertise to this emerging market of developers, who know how a great software should look, who care about their productivity and code quality.

Developers even need to have XCode 3 or 4 installed to use appCode:

InfoQ: Do I still need XCode / the Apple development infrastructure to develop applications?

Maxim: Yes. You need to have Xcode 3 or Xcode 4 installed. At the very least we need a platform SDK that comes with Xcode, the Interface Builder and device simulator.

I have used JetBrains’ RubyMine IDE in the past and it is not free.  I don’t think other JetBrains’ product are free, so one can only assume appCode will not be free.  Why would I pay for something Apple gives me free, as a registered developer or $5 in the App Store?

I had thought that maybe appCode would be developed to be cross-platform, like their other products, and run on OS X as well as Windows and Linux.  This would make it a really nice proposition for non-Mac owners but the dependency on XCode makes it unrealistic.

In summary, appCode:

  • Is an Objective-C IDE just like XCode
  • Needs XCode to Run
  • Only runs on OS X
  • Is likely not to be free

To be fair, I downloaded appCode and it looks nice, opens my XCode projects but I ran into issues trying to actually run the project.   It built but the simulator never loaded and ran.  I will probably wait for a future EAP build to try again.

I realize appCode is only an EAP and not even beta at this point.  I’m sure things will improve and new features will be added but I’m not sure JetBrains has a winner here.  The XCode environment is the gold standard for Objective-C development and I don’t see so many problems with that would drive me to use an alternative IDE at this point.  I will keep an open mind but it seems JetBrains is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.

 

The Android Hubbub

Images

I wrote a few months back about dumping the iPhone in favor of an Android phone running on Verizon, not because I didn’t like the iPhone but because I despised AT&T.

We hear a lot about how fast the adoption of Android is and how it is taking over as the #1 mobile operating system.  Sure, when carriers are signing up to sell as many Android handsets as possible it’s no wonder Google claims the adoption rate is so high.  One thing the numbers don’t take into account is quality, we need to remember that quantity does not equate to quality.

Since October 2010 I have been using a Droid X and having come from an iPhone 3GS, I think I have a fair amount of experience using both platforms.  Comparing the experience of using both, I arrive at the following conclusions:

  • The Droid X is nice hardware, very comparable to the iPhone
  • The Droid X running Android is quite a bit slower than the 3GS.  Remember, the 3GS hardware is pretty old.  Applications are not nearly as responsive as the iPhone.
  • The Android applications I used crash quite often.  I don’t want to name any but suffice to say, very similar applications with some being from the same company, crash more often than is acceptable.
  • The aesthetics of the iOS applications are far and above any Android application.  I struggle to find an acceptable beauty in any, with the slight exception of the official Twitter application.
  • Applications on Android have an inconsistent user interface, maybe because of the lack of quality control going into the process of putting something in the app store.

After using the Droid X for these months I can safely say it was a suffering experience.  I grew to a real dislike for the device and often times hoped I would lose the phone or have it fall to an untimely death just so I had an excuse to replace it.

I am happy to report that I have come to my last ounce of patients with Android and am returning to the iPhone.  Oh how I have missed you.  I had hoped to wait until the iPhone 5 was available but resolved that life is too short to have to have a sub-par mobile experience.

I ran into an article recently titled, “Android Isn’t About Building a Mobile Platform“, which really explains a lot about Google’s drive behind creating Android:

Google is building Android not so they can make great mobile devices and sell them to consumers. Rather, they are making them for these two simple reasons: (1) to disrupt Apple’s growing dominance of mobile devices, both so Google doesn’t have to rely on Apple for access to their users and to eliminate their paid-for application model; and (2) so Google can control the mobile industry and thus secure advertising from it.

It makes a lot of sense and is brilliantly clear but a shame.  I believe if the goal is not to create a great mobile platform but rather just a conduit for advertising then it will always be sub-par.

So to my readers, I am not writing this post to complain, but to warn.  I write this from the standpoint of someone who has given two popular mobile platforms a fair shake and come to the realization how different they are.  Different can be good but it can also be a step backwards, Android is certainly a step in the backwards direction.  The grass is not greener on the other side of this fence, there are just seeds on this other side.  It’s young and will likely evolve but it has a long way to go.  Appreciate your iPhone as I will, which is out for delivery and will arrive today.

Apple Lets Developers Refine the Rules

In a recent post here, I gave my interpretation of the new Apple App Store Subscriptions but it appears the view is not as crystal clear as at first glance.  In recent days there has been a fairly serious developer backlash not directly against the rules but how they are being interpreted internally at Apple.

Go for it

Initially the rules seem reasonable, to me anyway, but digging a bit deeper they look a bit greedy.  Apple wants their cut, period.

The update to the rules causing the most buzz is 11.2, which says:

11.2 Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected.

11.2 seems to be pretty clear and all encompassing.

Wait for it….

We are now at the point where Apple waits for the backlash and will regroup and refine the rules.  Prominent developers started right away, Richard Ziade of Readability posted “An Open Letter to Apple”.  Readability is a service which does not produce original content but displays content from other publishers.  Readability is clear with their stance:

We’re obviously disappointed by this decision, and surprised by the broad language. By including “functionality, or services,” it’s clear that you intend to pursue any subscription-based apps, not merely those of services serving up content. Readability’s model is unique in that 70% of our service fees go directly to writers and publishers. If we implemented In App purchasing, your 30% cut drastically undermines a key premise of how Readability works.

Richard was recently on The Daily Edition with Dan Benjamin where he clarifies his position and details options.

Other known developers in the community also speak out.  Marco Arment of Instapaper wrote how great IAP would be for users but how hard they are to implement:

Since there are so many gray areas and it’s very far-reaching, this is going to be a difficult policy to enforce consistently.

One issue is that this policy assumes that all apps are made by someone with the ability and authority to collect IAP payments on the service’s behalf, which isn’t the case for third-party clients using a service’s API.

If Twitter charged a subscription fee, or even sold any content whatsoever, no third-party Twitter clients would be permitted on the App Store, effectively preventing that entire market.

This is very true and based on the Readability case, it is a possible far-reaching problem.  Even if developers conceded completely to the new rules, it doesn’t make great business sense.   Margins are often thin on services anyway and sharing 30% with Apple may be too much and cause services to shutdown because they can’t retool fast enough or retool in a way that is cost effective.  Matt Drance has some great insight about the economics of it:

The requirement that IAP content be offered “at the same price or less than it is offered outside the app,” combined with the 70/30 split, means developers must make less money off of iOS by definition. They can’t price their IAP content higher to offset the commission, nor can they price their own retail content lower.

So the current IAP definition is a proven fail for some developers.

Clarify it

We have seen this before when Apple decided to ban developers who used developer tools not Apple’s own.  This included Flash, Mono and others.   AppleInsider had good coverage.

But after much backlash on the web, Apple backpedaled and changed the rules.

Are we going down the same path with in-app purchases? I don’t know but if I was a betting man, I would say we are.  I would expect the rules to change and/or clarification to be published that will lead to apps, like Readability, to be allowed in the store.

An email to Steve Jobs supports the way I expected in-app purchases to work but contradicts how they seem to work:

Hello Steve,

As a full time iOS developer, I am concerned (and confused) withe the new App Store guideline regarding “Apps offering subscriptions” (section 11.12).

Most of the iOS apps I have developed, as a contractor for other businesses, have been free apps that had login screens to allow the user access to some amount of private data. and/or service. These businesses have all been well established companies that sell some kind of service to their customers (Software As a Service companies) and the iOS app was merely another “portal” for their users to access their data/services (in many times, in a limited i.e. “mobile” fashion)…. for example; SalesForce. I am concerned that most of these businesses will choose to not develop an iOS app for their customers if the IAP & subscription policy was in place.

Would these type’s of free apps be still be allowed in the App Store or will they now be expected to use IAP?

Steve’s reply:

We created subscriptions for publishing apps, not SaaS apps. 

Sent from my iPhone

This is becoming a common Apple move, they go for it all with a fairly generic rule but later backtrack with clarifications.  It makes them look good and makes the developer happy.  Let’s hope for the best possible outcome for us on this one too.

 

 

Understanding the Apple App Store Subscriptions

Apple announced yesterday they launched subscriptions in the App Store.  It’s not entirely a surprise to most developers ever since the release of The Daily by News Corp which offers in-app purchasing.

Interpretation

This announcement from Apple seems to have caused quite a stir on the interwebs.  The press release from Apple is pretty clear from a high level:

“Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

Steve goes on to say:

“All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers.”

This is the part that seems to confuse people a bit.  It says, if you offer subscriptions out side of the app store that you need to also need to provide an offer in the app store as good as the one outside.  When a user decides to buy from within the application, Apple keeps 30%.

It’s About the Customer

In my opinion, the bottom line is about customers and the user experience for them.  I have to admit that I would rather pay for a subscription from within the application as opposed to going outside to a web site and enter my payment details there.  If I use iTunes, Apple has all my information and like buying an app, it is very easy.

The Bright Side

This gives developers a call to action in a sense, for one, make your subscription service super-easy so people don’t mind coming to your site to manage subscriptions.

One thing to keep in mind, users may be more willing to subscribe *if* they can do it on the app store, therefore giving the developer/publisher sales they may not have gotten otherwise.

Just as the Mac App Store opens more opportunities, this seems too as well.

Is there a Dark Side?

Maybe. There are still questions that are not clearly answered.  What about applications which offer subscriptions today, like Netflix?  Will NetFlix need to start paying Apple 30%?  It seems that way if NetFlix allows a user to pay in-app, but that’s not how I pay them.  I have a subscription I maintain on their web site.

I think this holds true with Kindle book purchases too where I buy on the Amazon website and the books comes to the Kindle app on my iPad.

Conclusion

It seems when Apple comes out with something new or makes a change to rules, people initially think they are onerous and contain ulterior motives.  If one reads what Steve Jobs has said, this is yet another way for a publisher to get paid for content.

If I am missing something obvious, I would love to hear about it.  As an iOS developer I really want to understand as much as I can.

I will keep an open mind until proven I shouldn’t.

Interesting MobileMe Find My iPhone Behavior on iPhone 3GS

Today Apple released iOS 4.2.1 for all their mobile devices including iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad.  One of the last-minute features announced was the Fine My iPhone features which allows users to track down a stolen or misplaced iPhone.  Until today you had to have a MobileMe account costing $99 per year.  Today’s release gave iOS users a free MobileMe account which they can use for Find My iPhone.

I downloaded and installed iOS 4.2.1 for both my iPad and iPhone 3GS through iTunes.  Installation went without a hitch.

Find My iPhone

The Apple press release describes the feature:

The Find My iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) feature is now free to use without a MobileMe℠ subscription and helps you locate your missing device.* The Find My iPhone app is a free download on the App Store℠ and lets users easily locate a missing device on a map and have it display a message or play a sound. Users can even remotely lock or wipe data from a lost device to protect privacy.

After installing the iOS update on the iPhone I decided to try the Find My iPhone feature.  On the iPhone this feature is enabled by going to Settings->Mail, Contacts, Calenders->Add Account…MobileMe.  I just used my existing Apple ID and password but encountered the following error message:

iPhone3GS-MobileMe

Hmm…so maybe pre-iPhone 4 devices aren’t supported.  I decided to give it a try on the iPad to see if maybe the service was just overwhelmed, following the same process the account was added and verified with ease.

I then decided to give it shot on the iPhone 3GS one last time and viola..worked fine.  So it appears Apple either has a bug in setting up an iOS device that is not current generation first or something got fixed.  I have heard from another user who experienced the same behavior.

Easiest fix if you experience the same problem, add your iPad or other device first.  If no other device exists..well, then I’m not sure. 

UPDATE: A reader here and confirmed on Twitter points out this behavior is by-design and you must have a current generation device to setup the free MobileMe account and then register your older devices.  The very fine print on the Apple web site states:

3. You can create a free Find My iPhone account on any iPhone 4, iPad, or iPod touch (4th generation) running iOS 4.2. Once you create an account on a qualifying device, use your Apple ID and password to enable Find My iPhone on your other devices running iOS 4.2. Find My iPhone is not available in all countries.

I guess if you have only an older device, like the iPhone 3GS, you are out of luck.  I would not have found this information by casually reading any information when setting up iOS 4.2.1 on my 3GS.  Had I setup the 3GS second, I would not have run into this either.