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Will your iPhone support suck?

2011-09-12T00:04:00.001-07:00

Since the Department of Justice and today Sprint file match to block AT&T’s impending merger with T-Mobile UNITED STATES, federal judges will start looking closely in the deal and it's potential impacts about the exploding mobile providers market.

Let’s hope that the type of evidence-based, rational analysis from the courtroom does a more satisfactory job separating fact from fiction compared to court of open public opinion, which is actually easily seduced through catchphrases and impractical scenarios. Many of the very outspoken critics from the deal, it appears, either don’t understand the basics of cellular technologies, or assume at the minimum that their audience–journalists, government bodies, and consumers–doesn’t treatment.

Justification for the actual merger, for instance, rests largely upon engineering and legal limits that comprise how mobile companies can operate, particularly relating to spectrum and the actual physical infrastructure (systems, antennas) from the cell sites helping thousands upon a large number of iPhones, Android products, and other cell phones. AT&T argues which combining the systems, equipment, and spectrum assets from the two companies will begin to lead to enhancements in mobile support quality for each sets of clients.

But how, the actual critics mock, may the combined property perform better collectively than they perform individually? “You may call it fluffy math, ” scoffed Free of charge Press, a Wa, D. C. -based advocacy team that lobbies with regard to nationalizing the marketing communications infrastructure, “or you are able to call it laying. ”

Or you are able to call it seem engineering. Cellular networks are seen as a increasing returns in order to scale, meaning the mixed network will certainly perform better for those customers than both existing networks. That’s exactly what “cellular” means, in the end. The better the website density, the much better it works. And improvements aren't linear–the sum is really greater than the actual parts.

Today, the cell systems and antennas from the two companies serve only their very own customers. By routing all of the traffic through a combined group of equipment, however, everyone’s packets goes through an broadened and denser system of cell websites. That means less dropped calls as well as better reception–for just about all users.

At a current hearing on the actual merger in Bay area, spokesmen for both companies noted how the placement of their own respective equipment is actually highly complementary. Within high traffic region, including San Francisco as well as Washington, D. D., denser cells are crucial, so even nearby sites put into the network can help.

The engineers additionally explained that a lot of available bandwidth is actually eaten up through network management. Each company uses around 10MHz of spectrum simply for “control channels” on the networks. With just one larger network to handle, one of the actual control channels is going to be eliminated and the actual spectrum freed upward for customer make use of.

And as the actual merged company utilizes their combined range holdings to set up 4G LTE support, the efficiencies may actually increase. Despite the fact that LTE networks allow customers to make use of more high-bandwidth information applications, they will also be much more effective than 3G as well as older protocols still being used. Merger opponents didn't dispute these details.
Whose fault is actually poor service? Your own

But future uses aren’t probably the most pressing problem. The requirement for redeployed range and denser tissue, as every customer knows, is barely theoretical. Since the introduction from the 3G iPhone within 2007, AT&T reports raises to its data traffic in excess of 8000 percent, making tremendous strain upon its existing system. Today, service in some areas is poor or even at best unknown.

Let’s put apart hypothetical impacts from the merger on competition for any moment and come on. If improving it's existing network is actually AT&T’s objective, the actual critics argue, why doesn’t this just spend a fraction from the T-Mobile purchase cost on upgrading as well as expanding its national infrastructure?

The real cause, as many of these know, is that doing this requires breaking long-standing regulating logjams. Additional spectrum can only be produced available by government regulators, and Congress is within no mood to provide the FCC the authority it's sought for many years to conduct brand new auctions. (T-Mobile offers little hope, using its existing spectrum percentage, of ever supplying LTE service. )#)

However why, then, will AT&T need T-Mobile’s systems and antennas? If increasing cellular density and including equipment to existing sites might have such a dramatic effect on service quality, why hasn’t the organization simply upgraded their own infrastructure? No you could have predicted the actual dramatic explosion in traffic in the iPhone, Android, along with other new mobile products. But who’s stopping AT&T along with other carriers from fixing the issue now?

The solution, surprisingly enough, is actually you. Or, to place it more specifically, your local zoning government bodies, who delay or outright won't allow new infrastructure investments to maneuver forward in many areas of the U. Utes., including jurisdictions most abundant in serious performance difficulties today.

That, regardless, was the conclusion reached through the Federal Communications Fee in its recently-released yearly report on competition within the mobile industry. The agency noted that regardless of the economic downturn, the biggest mobile providers still invest billions associated with dollars annually within capital expenditures or even “capex. ” Last year, for example, the four biggest carriers together spent a lot more than $20 billion, or even 13 percent associated with industry revenue. (Just Sprint, which and in addition has filed match to block the actual merger, significantly decreased its capex. )#) Most carriers might have spent even much more, the FCC discovered, but their applications to construct or modify cellular sites were methodically delayed or refused by city as well as county governments, that must give last approval under nearby zoning laws. Through the end of '09, delays had arrived at epidemic proportions. The actual FCC reported which “of 3, three hundred pending zoning programs for wireless amenities, more than 760 (almost one quarter) have been pending for greater than a year and 180 have been pending for a lot more than three years. ”

These included not just applications for brand new sites, but also requests to change an antenna already on the tower or additional location. Also organized were applications to include equipment to current sites (”collocation”) created for use by several providers. Even applications to put antennas on building rooftops along with other invisible structures (chapel steeples, trees) had been being stalled.

Within Northern California as well as Washington, D. D. –areas with infamously unpredictable mobile service–the FCC discovered that applications frequently took 28 months to three years to process, actually for collocations. Within Berkeley, Calif., one carrier waited annually just for the hearing and another year for any decision. Sprint documented two California areas had applications impending since 2005. Within 2008, a Annapolis county enacted the 10-month moratorium upon any new amenities.

Delays were additionally increasing. According in order to CTIA, the cellular trade association, processing time with regard to applications involving brand new construction went from 6 months in 2003 to greater than a year by 08. (Collocation evaluation went from 15 days to a lot more than 90 days within the same period. )#) T-Mobile documented that in Annapolis, the zoning procedure went from 8 weeks to nine months throughout a few many years. An application to include an antenna for an existing site within LaGrange, N. B., was denied following a five-year review. This took a government court to change that decision.

The agency additionally found that a few local governments had an insurance policy of denying any kind of application if service for their residents was currently available from an additional carrier. Verizon mentioned eight recent situations where applications had been denied on which basis, including 3 in California. Quite simply, local governments over the U. S. explicitly rejected industry efforts to improve competition in the actual mobile market.

Within late 2009, the agency came to the conclusion these practices critically jeopardized the deployment associated with mobile broadband as well as unduly delayed the actual potential of next-generation cellular services to contend with fixed broadband, both key policy goals from the FCC. So the actual agency implemented exactly what it called the “shot clock, ” which proceeded to go into effect this past year. Local governments should now decide one of the ways or the additional on cell website applications within 3 months (equipment modifications on existing websites) or a hundred and fifty days (brand new sites, including brand new towers). Denying applications because a current provider already provided service was dominated presumptively illegal.
Chance clock proves inadequate

The new rules were advisable, but so far have didn't solve probably the most maddening problems with regard to mobile providers as well as their customers. Unfortunately, a review associated with recent FCC filings as well as court cases indicates the shot clock has been doing little to alter the counter-productive conduct of local government authorities, particularly in areas using the highest levels associated with customer complaints. Both CTIA as well as PCIA (that represents the cellular infrastructure industry) possess provided several recent types of local government disturbance and incompetence, such as:

• In Sterling, Veterans administration., an application for any new site disguised like a church bell structure was finally known local board review following a two-year delay.

• Within El Cerrito, Calif., plans for any new tower disguised like a tree in the Boy Scout camping were abandoned following the city enacted the two-year moratorium upon new towers, 2 yrs after the application was initially filed.

• The actual village of Muttontown, D. Y., delayed action for 3 years on an application to put an antenna in the church steeple, leading Verizon in order to sue the village underneath the shot clock guideline. (Carriers as well as infrastructure providers happen to be forced to prosecute local authorities who won't abide by the actual shot clock in nearly twelve jurisdictions, souring relationships and endangering long term applications. )#)

Even in which the shot clock is actually obeyed, denied programs often serve absolutely no rational purpose. For instance, Mount Vernon, D. Y., and other communities still require applicants to show that new equipment is only going to be “used” through local residents, “frustrating tower siting with no conceivable public advantage. ”

Local authorities will also be expanding their zoning restrictions to avoid additions or modifications to existing cellular infrastructure. Even as users make the most of mobile broadband to change fixed cable as well as telephone service, for instance, more municipalities possess passed ordinances barring or severely restricting the keeping equipment in home zones. Limits upon tower height, at the same time, effectively require carriers to put more towers, erasing any aesthetic enjoy the height limits.

These delays and costs in many cases are imposed without any kind of justification. Zoning codes prohibit changing antennas on towers which were originally approved but which no more conform. Others require full review only to add equipment, or require hearings for those collation applications. (Once again, Berkeley, CA. )#)

Both CTIA as well as PCIA place particular blame about the widespread use through local zoning government bodies of outside experts, who are retained to assist review applications. Frequently, consulting fees are approved through the local agency but paid through the applicant, encouraging hold off, waste, and redundant requests through the consultant for exactly the same information.

Last 12 months, for example, a federal court found how the denial by authorities in Mount Vernon of the application to collocate six antennas on the rooftop that currently had similar gear lacked any foundation. The court also ruled how the consultant’s fee in excess of $13, 000 had been illegally padded. PCIA has compiled a summary of more than four hundred zoning districts that employ probably the most troublesome consultants, numerous in California, Va, New York, as well as Massachusetts.

Even following the FCC’s 2009 judgment, municipalities continue in order to deny applications with regard to new or collated gear if service has already been available from an additional carrier, and some legal courts have refused to identify the FCC’s obvious intention to prohibit the practice. Some courts possess likewise held there isn't any penalty for violating the actual shot clock, as long as a decision is actually eventually reached. This effectively indicates the shot clock isn't any clock at just about all.
The reality: Mergers occur

The shot time clock, it seems obvious, has done little to assist the FCC progress its highest-priority plan item: promoting high-quality, low-cost broadband through the U. S. Regulatory constraints upon spectrum and cellular site infrastructure show no sign associated with easing, despite the very best intentions and efforts of numerous in Congress and also the FCC.

This may be the reality through that mobile operators must navigate to provide faster and much more dependable service to some growing customer base by having an insatiable appetite with regard to bandwidth. And they are only two from the problems wireless providers must overcome. Yet everyone within Washington agrees about the importance of high-speed cellular services in conference crucial economic, training, public safety, along with other policy goals.

PCIA estimates which providing mobile broadband to any or all Americans will require one more 40, 000 systems, representing some 53, 000 work. So the future from the mobile industry, it appears, is largely within the hands of nearby zoning boards, often comprised of volunteers and busybodies backed by nearly-bankrupt nearby authorities. Try sitting through among their meetings, after which think again concerning the wisdom of mixing AT&T and T-Mobile’s current infrastructure.

Over the final five years on it's own, federal regulators have approved greater than a dozen mergers associated with mobile carriers. Yet prices for those mobile services still plummet even because product variety as well as innovation are overflowing. Large-scale mergers might be distasteful to a few, but there are few real life alternatives if the actual broadband revolution would be to continue. Those opposition the AT&T/T-Mobile offer, in any situation, have yet to propose another solution that comports along with basic engineering, constraints imposed by government all the way through, or common feeling.

Apple’s iphone 4 ship times slip in front of iPhone 5 debut.

2011-09-12T00:00:00.001-07:00

Brand new iPhone 4 orders within the U. S. now take someone to three business times to ship via Apple, a sign how the company is operating low on inventory in front of introducing its fifth-generation design.

Previously, orders from the iPhone 4 with regard to both AT&T as well as Verizon shipped within twenty four hours. That fast turnaround put on both monochrome models, in capabilities of 16GB as well as 32GB on each carriers.

But by Thursday, AppleInsider learned that the iPhone four now takes someone to three days in order to ship direct through Apple, for just about all colors, capacities as well as carriers.

Similarly, the actual $49, 8GB apple iphone, only available through AT&T within the U. S., also takes someone to three business times to ship. The same applies for individuals who want to purchase the unlocked GSM apple iphone 4.

Lengthening shipping times in many cases are an indication which Apple is operating low on inventory in front of a product renew. For example, in February MacBook Professional shipments slipped to 3 to 5 days immediately prior to new models had been introduced.

However, while shipping times for that iPhone 4 have slowed within the U. S., abroad they still possess a 24-hour turnaround period. For example, within the U. K. as well as France, new orders still ship inside a day of becoming placed. Last 12 months, the iPhone 4 debuted within the U. S., Portugal, the U. Nited kingdom., Germany and Asia, before quickly expanding abroad. In its very first three days associated with availability, the apple iphone 4 sold 1. 7 zillion units.

This year’s introduction of the fifth-generation iPhone will have a later-than-usual launch day, as Apple years ago has released a brand new iPhone in the actual months of 06 or July. Apple is widely likely to host an event within the coming weeks in order to introduce the so-called “iPhone 5″ in front of an anticipated Oct launch.

The updated handset is likely to include a brand new, higher resolution 8 megapixel digital camera, as well since the high-speed A5 cellular processor currently present in the iPad two. Rumors have been split regarding whether the fifth-generation apple iphone will sport a good all-new design or one like the iPhone 4.

Adobe Stretches Streaming Video Methods to iPad.

2011-09-11T23:55:00.001-07:00

No more will target devices must have Adobe Flash-playing capability to be able to display video transmit by Adobe Expensive Media Server, that was updated to edition 4. 5 these days. But that was one of several new systems being unveiled or even demonstrated by Adobe these days, however. Others consist of Flash Access 3. 0, Open up Source Media Construction (OSMF), as well as Adobe Pass.As well as the added iOS gadget support, Flash Press Server 4. 5 may simplify deployment associated with advertising-supported online movie. It will additionally let content providers much more easily offer on-demand streaming of the single video supply to multiple focus on devices.Flash Access is really a studio-level content safety and monetization system that's been updated to assistance delivery to cellular devices. The new edition lets content providers make use of a single back-end workflow to provide content to several targets, including Google android tablets and cell phones, connected TVs as well as Blu-Ray players. This particular, however, will need the upcoming Expensive Player 11 or even AIR 3, that ought to be available this particular quarter. The new system enables users to produce a personal video locker accessible from some of their screens, big or small. Adobe Pass is really a mechanism that allows cable networks in order to directly offer “TV Everywhere” pay content for their subscribers. Pass lets viewers register once to entry content from several sources. For the actual provider, it provides easy integration, a good open framework, as well as security. Ninety percent associated with pay TV households now get access to Adobe Pass companies, which include systems like AMC, Sibel, IFC, CNN, TNT as well as A&E. Cable carriers which have signed on consist of Comcast, DirecTV, AT&T, Period Warner, and Verizon.OSMF is definitely an open-source framework with regard to building video gamers and apps. The brand new version 1. 6 provides Stage Video assistance with hardware-accelerated movie, which means reduce battery consumption on cellular devices. It also right now supports multiple 'languages', home-and-away options, and multiple sound files for accessibility requirements. A new DVR-like feature will need Flash Media Server four. 5, and HTTP streaming may be improved for higher-quality movie playback.PCMag.com spoke with Ashley Still, Adobe director of product management, last week about the company’s new streaming video offerings. When asked what they meant for consumers, Still said, “Flash Media Server 4.5 is really about delivering broadcast-quality content. The biggest impact to consumers is that they can get premium content online, pay once and they don’t have to think about where they’re going to watch. It doesn’t have to be just on the TV, but can be on tablets (including the iPad now), mobile phones, and even Internet-connected Blu-ray players. And it’s on-demand.” For broadcasters, “it is sensible to add assistance for new products, and they won’t need to lose revenue they’re currently getting, ” your woman said. Prices broadcasters can pay for the items haven’t changed through previous versions, along with Flash Media Loading Server 4. 5 beginning at $995, the actual Interactive Server release costing $4, 500, and also the Enterprise Server opting for $45, 000. It’s also available like a service from numerous partners and CDNs, for example Amazon and Akamai. Expensive Access is listed by CPM or even unit, while Open Supply Media Framework is really a free download.

Bioserie iPhone 4 case is environmentally friendly

2010-08-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

Green is the trend these days, and what could be greener than an iPhone 4 case made entirely from renewable, organic resources? Hong Kong-based Bioserie has released a new iPhone 4 case made of bioplastic—an organic material that contains no toxic ingredients and is easier on the environment during production.

Bioserie’s new iPhone 4 case is built using cutting edge bioplastics technology—a manufacturing method that uses biological material from living or recently living organisms such as wood, vegetable oil, and microbiota. The process produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions during production and prevents the case from contributing to toxic environmental pollution when it’s eventually discarded.
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Weighing just 12 grams, Bioserie’s case offers lightweight protection for the entire body of your iPhone. Screen protection feet on the front of the case allow your iPhone to be safely placed face down on flat surfaces.

The case, which costs $35, is available in black, white, orange, two shades of green, and red. Bioserie also offers bioplastic cases for iPhone 3G and 3GS, as well as the iPod touch and nano.
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Play iPhone and iPad Games on Your TV With Griffin's PartyDock

2010-08-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

The non-stop product leak service kindly provided by the FCC has delivered another gem today, with Griffin's iPhone and iPad "PartyDock" popping up for certification. If you can't get enough of plastic gaming accessories, your luck's in.

The PartyDock comes with four wireless controllers, which allow up to four gamers to play (Griffin-brand only) games on iPhone and iPad. If you think four people huddling around an iPhone screen is a bit of a crazy idea you're quite right—PartyDock logically also includes support for sending its video out to a TV through composite and component connections.

The FCC's PDF of the manual also revealed a URL for the games—but that's currently password protected, pending the official announcement. PartyDock apparently comes with three free ones pre-loaded for your rough approximation of fun—Midway Motors, Fishing Frenzy and Flippin' Frogs. [via]
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iPhone, BlackBerry killing mid-range phone market

2010-08-10T01:20:00.000-07:00

Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry line are effectively strangling the market for mid-range phones, analysts at Deutsche Bank found in a new report. The parties now represent 2 thirds of all phone revenue but combined only catch up with about 10 percent of the market, leaving very little room for all the world but very low-end, high-volume devices. Korean companies are abiding the most as their focus on feature-laden but "dumb" phones that are nah longer selling as well.
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"We think the change that Apple has constrained on the industry continues to play out," the bank said. "Those mid-range characteristic phones used to be Samsung’s and LG’s bread and butter intersections upon which they built their operations. Those kinds of phones are vanishing from the shelves in the US, increasingly replaced by high-end smartphones subsidized down to mainstream prices."
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LG, Samsung and companies that had antecedently thrived in the mid-range, such as Motorola and Sony Ericsson, have lately found themselves accepting to switch to smartphones to stay profitable. Nokia is currently the market loss leader in sheer units, but its dependence on low-end phones has broke its profits and handed market share to Apple and RIM even in once secure commercialises, such as Europe.

Many of the better-selling phones in the US now cost between $100 and $200 with smartphone plans even on contract. Almost staple phones, meanwhile, are frequently selling for $50 or less and are sometimes free.

iPhone 4 explodes on the scene, but how big a blast is it?

2010-06-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

My battery’s at about 8 percent right now, so I ought to just punch up a Lightning Round-style recap of Apple’s WWDC keynote before an involuntary shutdown happens. (And I mean my own mitochondrial battery. Ideally, a technology columnist spends the 18 hours after a major industry keynote in a series of hot dinners and warm baths ... not racing from meeting to meetup before hopping on a redeye straight home.) Substantive comments will have to wait until I’ve had one in my hands for a full week. Until then: it’s a very Apple product. The feel of it in your hand and the interaction between your screen and the organs that interact with it (usually: your eyes and your fingertips) are features, not empty style. It’s thinner than you think and feels more solid…and the screen is worthy of a double-take. At 326 dots per inch, the iPhone’s “Retina display” has more detail than the human eye is capable of resolving, according to Apple. The folks who played with the iPhone in the media demo area tend to agree with that statement. By way of comparison, the Verizon Droid Incredible — my favorite Android phone — offers 240 dpi. But you don’t need to be a falcon to truly appreciate that level of detail. As a general rule, the iPhone 4 doesn’t use those extra pixels to cram more info onto that tiny screen. Text and buttons on the iPhone 4 are of the same size and scale as on an iPhone 3GS ... they’re just sharper and crisper, and the shadows and highlights in the UI are that much more subtle and effective. For now, though, all anyone can say is that in a room with perfect, Apple-controlled lighting, the screen looks fab. Camera Tricks My complaint about the massively-upgraded 8 megapixel cameras on the Sprint HTC EVO and the Verizon Droid Incredible were that the pictures they took weren’t really better then the 5 megapixel camera in the Google Nexus One phone, or even the iPhone 3GS’ 3-megapixel camera, necessarily. The iPhone 4’s camera represents a very Apple-like approach. They don’t care about numbers and feature lists. Their motive, as expressed in the keynote, was to get the iPhone take exceptional photos. So it’s just five megapixels. But Apple promises superior low-light performance and more natural, flattering lighting and colors. The bigger story is the camera’s video mode. The iPhone 4 shoots true 720p HD video. Well, that’s nice ... so does a Flip HD camera. Ah, but the iPhone also has a video light, and a variable-focus lens that can be adjusted even while video is rolling. And the Flip doesn’t have a full-featured video editor onboard, either. Apple has created an iPhone edition of their popular iMovie app. It can cut together video clips with an almost suspiciously-high degree of technical and creative flair, all on the phone itself: cuts, transitions, animated titles, animated maps that glom the location of clips and photos ... Yes, it’s a little ridiculous. You never see this level of polish on a phone app. Instead, the developer picks the features that are most relevant to (say) a guy standing at a bus stop, and builds a mobile app with minimal feature clutter. I won’t have an opinion of any kind on iMovie until I get to play with it for a good long while. I might never use iMovie; I can see myself wanting to wait until I get home and do my editing on a huge screen and a keyboard and a mouse. But at the same time ... video editing is such a drag. It’s a production. Literally. So I can just as clearly see myself spending part of my flight home reviewing the clips I shot on my iPhone, and then having a completely edited 720p video of my whole trip ready to show off by the time I land. It’s definitely bad news for one developer I spoke with right after the keynote. “I was hired by [big famous consumer video company name deleted] to write a video editor app for the iPhone,” he said. “I guess I’m out of a job.” Gyroscopes? The iPhone was already packed with sensors. iPhone 4 adds a digital gyroscope which allows iPhone software to get precise information about the device’s motion through space. Think “Wii.” The sauce for this hardware feature is a new iPhone OS Core Motion APIs, which allow a third-party app to get a very quick and easy fix on how the phone’s being handled. I’m intrigued by how a gyroscope can be exploited outside of its native arena of games. GPS can tell you what room a photo was taken in. But a gyro-enabled camera app can figure out exactly where and how you were pointing the camera and can then stitch together a complete 3D sphere of the whole room’s space, by assembling all of your shots in the right order and with the right spatial relationships. FaceTime: Cool? Absolutely. Open? Mostly. Revolutionary? Who knows. The final demo of the keynote was a demo of the iPhone 4’s forward-facing camera and the Apple software that makes it relevant. In demo form, FaceTime is the simplest videophone/chat software I’ve seen. You place a phone call and you’re video chatting. No account creation, no signin, no setup. But you could sense the excitement curve in the room going minus-delta once Jobs started talking details. It’s iPhone 4-to-iPhone 4-only and it only works over WiFi. Still, Jobs said that FaceTime would be available on 10 million devices by the end of the year. Er ... what? He didn’t elaborate. Later, he announced that Apple would be putting FaceTime forward as a proposed open standard for video calls. At its core, FaceTime is a bundle of existing open technologies for finding, negotiating, and establishing connections between two devices and streaming live audio and video in both directions. But the word “Open” begs for about ten followup questions. It could be “open” in the sense that any developer can support it on the iPhone. Or it could be “open” in the sense that any maker of any phone or any other digital device could implement FaceTime, and that all of these devices could then videochat with each other. I’ll say this: the industry needs a common standard like this one. Existing videochat defies casual use and we need a standard that makes the process as easy as a single button. But to make it into a truly effective cross-company standard, Apple is going to have to convince a lot of committees and companies that the time and the technology is right. Then they’ll move on to the tougher prospect of getting the general public interested in video chat as something more than a simple novelty Oh. I guess Apple has been supporting open software development on the iPhone and iPad all along, and we just never noticed. I thought this was one of the most significant comments of the whole keynote ... and Jobs just sort of threw it out there on his way to a discussion of the App Store. “We support two [software development] platforms at Apple,” Steve said. “The first one is HTML5. HTML5 is a fully open, uncontrolled platform forged and defined by widely respected standards bodies ... and it’s fully open. Anyone can write HTML5 apps and have them on the iPad, the iPhone, the iPod Touch ... and of course the Mac. The second platform we support is the App Store.”
And then he moved on. Interesting. I can’t recall Apple ever referring to HTML5 as a platform for developing and deploying apps. The potential is certainly there. Even Google — which lambasted Apple a few weeks ago for locking developers into a curated App Store in which the company controls the whole show — recently ported Doom II (the classic first-person shooter) to an HTML5 app that runs in any modern browser (Chrome or Safari). And despite the Popeye and Bluto relationship between the two companies of late ... elevating HTML5 to the status of a software development environment dovetails nicely with Google’s initiative towards moving apps off of the desktop and into the cloud. But there it is: a statement that puts HTML5 app development on the same level as building native apps for Mac OS and iOS 4 — Apple’s new name for the OS powering the iPhone and iPad. And incidentally it gives Apple developers reach into Windows app development, thanks to Apple’s multiplatform Safari browser.
It’s tempting to see this as a throwaway line ... something designed to give Apple a response to outside complaints about the company’s tight control over third-party apps. I suspect it’s more than that. Even if all Apple is doing is pointing a certain kind of developer to the vacant acres of scrub bush just outside the glittering city limits and inviting him or her to turn that land into whatever they want it to be ... that’s a positive thing for iPhone and iPad users. The true upshot of all of this — plus iPhone OS 4, which we saw previewed back in April — won’t really be proven until June 24, when the iPhone 4 ships and real-world hands-on experience can final begin. It’ll run you $199 for the 16 gig model and $299 for the 32 gig version, and it’ll be available in both Darth Vader Black and Imperial Stormtrooper White. One thing we know for sure after the keynote: Gizmodo blew it. No kidding: they paid $5000 for this phone under sketchy circumstances. They had this phone in their hands six weeks ago. They even disassembled this phone. And yet they didn’t figure out that the iPhone 4 uses the same CPU as the iPad? They concluded that the back was plastic instead of glass, that frame was aluminum instead of stainless steel? And how did they not figure out that the steel frame itself was serving as the iPhone’s two antennas? All they did was note its three weird gaps. So: they spent five grand. The cops seized all of the reporter’s computers, and Gizmodo might still face criminal charges. Many journalists would consider that an acceptable trade if they’d gotten any actual news out of this whole adventure. Alas, Gizmodo didn’t. If Gizmodo had masterminded Watergate, the burglars wouldn’t have gotten caught breaking in and trying to illegally wiretap the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. They would have gotten caught breaking in and trying to use the DNC chairman’s electric shoe-buffing machine.
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Competitors conspire with Google Android against Apple's iPhone

2009-07-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Apple is currently king of the smartphone world. The iconic iPhone has doubled in market share since 2008, rising to 10.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from 5.3 percent in 2008, according to Gartner.

But Apple may be in for a Microsoft moment. Just as a steady stream of well-heeled competitors like IBM, Red Hat, and Oracle are aligning themselves with Linux as a way to undermine Windows in servers and desktops, so, too, are crowds starting to form around Google's open-source Android in the smartphone market.

Linux: the bete-noir of proprietary operating system vendors.

Samsung, LG, Motorola, and others are placing increasing stakes on Android. Indeed, BusinessWeek reports that Motorola has "one bullet left in its gun" and this bullet is Android. It can't afford to let the "iPhone killer" draw blanks. "Motorola's handset business depends on Android," as ZDNet's Larry Dignan suggests.

Importantly, Android is growing in the area that defines the iPhone's success more than anything else: applications. BusinessWeek's Stephen Wildstrom says that "Android is now a contender" in large part due to its growing array of third-party applications:

The Android Market is surprisingly well-stocked, considering the relatively small number of Android phones in use....[W]ith support from Google and from handset makers desperate to come up with something that can mount a serious challenge to the iPhone, Android could become a major player.

And not a moment too soon. With Apple iPhone margins as high as 60 percent by some estimates, the market already seems ripe for an open-source competitor to bring prices down while improving choice. I love my iPhone, but as Android-based phones become smarter and slicker, I just might change camps. As with Linux in the server market, the smartphone industry is filled with second-place competitors. Most of these have a strong interest in banding together behind a Linux-based solution, in this case Android. It may take a soup-to-nuts, integrated solution like the iPhone to create a market, but it takes an open-source solution like Android to foster choice and lower costs.
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iPhone SDK, OS 3.1 beta updates available

2009-07-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

Apple has released the second beta versions of both the iPhone SDK 3.1 and iPhone OS 3.1 to registered iPhone developers. Notes for the new beta of iPhone OS 3.1 do not show any apparent changes from the first beta release, which included non-destructive video editing, support for Voice Control over Bluetooth, and new modem firmware and AT&T profiles. The first 3.1 beta release of the iPhone SDK offered updated OpenGL and Quartz APIs; no major changes are indicated in the release notes for the updated SDK. iPhone OS 3.1 and iPhone SDK 3.1 beta 2 are now available
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Best iPhone Apps for Dad

2009-06-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

Dads may be sweet and uncomplaining, but they're also impossible to buy presents for. But if your dad has an iPhone, we've got you covered with our guide to the perfect apps for fathers of all ages. Some are even free. Not that you need to tell him that.

GolfCard

Does your dad hit the links? Maybe with his socks pulled up to the knee? His fashion sense may be irredeemable, but teeing off with GolfCard can up the cool factor a bit. This app keeps track of scores and analyzes trends in a player's game by comparing it to previous rounds. Find local greens with the GPS range finder and track ball distance too. When the round is over, he can email his scores to everyone he just played with or upload them to the golf social networking site, Oobgolf.com. (GolfCard, $7.99)

iHandyCarpenter

There's no need to wear a bulky tool belt anymore since this app comes complete with five different tools that fit in the palm of your hand. Use the bubble level to verify if your floor tile installations are flat or recently hung pictures are remotely even, and try out the protractor for planning bathroom renovations and roofing projects. There's no Allen wrench, so don't expect any help setting up that IKEA bedroom set. (iHandyCarpenter, $1.99)

GasCubby

Download GasCubby to track gas mileage and vehicle upkeep. Dad can enter in the price he pays per gallon, total gallons used and overall cost. Then the app calculates the trip's MPGs and overall efficiency. Chart this information over time to see where money is being wasted or saved and email the data to your home computer to set up reminders for regular maintenance appointments. (Gas Cubby, $9.99)

Grill Guide

All dads think they're masters of the grill, but most need help—help that they will never ever ask for. Download the iPhone's Grill Guide and your dad can quietly measure the thickness of a chicken breast or rib eye steak with the digital ruler, and then look up how long the meat should be grilled for and at what temperature. There are ninety-five foods on file including ground lamb, salmon and even fennel and pumpkin. (Grill Guide, $.99)
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Classic puzzle-based to the iPhone

2009-06-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

Myst was originally released in 1993. And so forth became a huge hit with critics and gamers alike. Up until 2002 the puzzle-based adventure game held the record for the best-selling PC game ever; today, it’s still ranked among the classics.
Now the venerable game from Cyan Worlds is back, just a touch away in the form of Myst for the IPhone and IPod touch. Those who remember playing Myst on their desktops are in for a nostalgic trip back to the game’s haunting and mysterious world. If you’ve never played Myst before, you’ll find it unlike any other game, complete with mystery, puzzles, a rich backstory, and immersive graphics and music.

Myst is a first-person adventure through a beautiful and highly engaging world. When you start the $6 game, you’ll find yourself on a seemingly deserted island with no backstory or specified goals. It’s adequate to you to explore and find clues to what’s advancing. Traveling around this interactive world, you’ll find many items and puzzles that will reveal more of the story and even transport you to other ages to continue your quest.

As you explore and uncover secrets of the island’s history, you soon find yourself fully engrossed in the plot. Within the realm of Myst, you're presented with decisions which will affect the game’s ending. Different choices will produce different outcomes, which makes the game extremely replayable.

You travel through the world of Myst by tapping on a location in the distance; the onscreen picture cross-fades into an image of your destination. Myst features very little animation, with most of it consisting of levers to pull or objects to move.

The game’s graphics are really beautiful, prompting you to see what’s around the next corner, while the music and sounds help to fully immerse you into afresh and intriguing world. At any time you are able to save your current spot in the game by dragging and dropping it into among four empty bookmark slots.

Myst is not a fast-paced action game, and there are no physical enemies to fight or chances of dying. Instead, it's a relaxing-yet-challenging game of discovery, exploration, and abstract thought. If you like playing at your own speed while solving puzzles and riddles, then you’re sure to enjoy Myst. On the other hand, if you've a touch of ADD or just prefer fast-paced action, this may not Hans Bethe game for you.

Overall, this port of Myst to the iPhone and iPod touch has remained extremely faithful to the original game—it looks even better than you may remember ascribable the iPhone’s high-resolution screen.

Myst is a rather large download of 727 MB and you’ll actually need 1.5GB of free space to install it. Considering the many hours of intriguing play and the depth of its plot line, Myst should be a welcome addition to your iPhone or iPod touch.

Myst keeps going any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.2.1 software update.
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Live Baseball Games to the iPhone

2009-06-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Apple promotes the iPhone with the 3.0 version of its OS. The new era coulded with a home run.

MLB.com, which deals the popular At Bat application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, stated it will add live feeds of a few games for no another charge, at the least for at once.

Owners of the $9.99 application program will at the start get to see two games every day, chosen by MLB.com. (The games are subject to local blackout restrictions—and your iPhone, remember, knows where you're.) Wednesday’s 2:20 p.m. game between the Cubs and White Sox will be the first to be streamed live on the At Bat application program; the Tigers-Cardinals game at 8:15 p.m. will follow.

MLB.com says it plans to roll the entire slate of games as the season progresses. Presumably it will make users pay to watch some games, using the new ability of iPhone developers to charge users for content within applications. The company says it accepts not yet fixated a price.

The video will act regardless of whether an iPhone is connected to a wireless local area network network or a 3G network. MLB.com says its hosts will detect the strength of the phone’s connection and adapt the quality of the video accordingly. (It should be interesting to see the quality of the video over AT&T’s sometime spotty network.) The application also has DVR features, so users can pause and rewind live games from their device.

The implications of MLB’s move are significant. Live television on mobile devices has been slow to take hold in the U.S., as channel aggregators like MobiTV tried to recreate the cable model in the wireless ecosystem. Content owners themselves, using mobile applications to offer their video a la carte to the people who are willing to invite it, coulded more traction.
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iPhone game maker Ngmoco taps former Sega president

2009-06-17T05:17:00.000-07:00

Ngmoco, publishing of hit games for the iPhone and iPod touch, has named Simon Jeffrey to the post of Chief Publishing Officer for its newly created Plus+ Publishing group.

Ngmoco’s catalog of titles include games like Rolando, Star Defense, Dropship, Topple, Word Fu and more. The company has emerged as among the leading new brands created in the wake of the launch of the App Store. Ngmoco was founded by former Electronic Arts (EA) exec Neil Young.

Jeffery previous was president and chief executive officer of Sega of America, where he oversaw publishing and product development activities. Anterior to it, Jeffery was president and COO of LucasArts. In all, he's 22 years of experience in the game industry.

Plus+ Publishing is afresh initiative from Ngmoco recently intimated by Young on a presentation at Apple’s global Developer Conference (WWDC). It leverages mixer networking capabilities that Apple has made for iPhone OS 3.0, which will be released to the world on Wednesday. More contingents about the new Plus+ Network are asked to emerge over the summertime.

AT&T's iPhone 3G S pre-orders sell out, 7-10 day wait

2009-06-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

AT&T has reportedly sold out of its iPhone 3GS pre-orders. A new report indicates that AT&T retail stores have been instructed to tell all customers who pre-order the device on Saturday, June 13th or later that they will have to wait "7-10" days before they can fulfill the pre-order--which will be sometime after the official launch on June 19th: "Only preorders placed [on] Friday, June 12, 2009 or earlier are expected to arrive in time for the 7:00 a.am. opening on Friday, June 19th, 2009. Customers will receive an email notification when their new iPhone 3G S has arrived and is available for pickup."

Boy Genius Report notes, however, that AT&T retail stores, which open early on Friday, will have some stock for those willing to wait in line to make the purchase. AT&T, however, is encouraging customers to continue using the pre-order process as it will "guarantee that they receive their iPhone 3G S as quickly as possible."
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iPhone 3G S arrives on June 19 in 16GB, 32GB flavors

2009-06-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Apple has officially taken the wraps off the third incarnation of the iPhone. Dubbed the iPhone 3G S, it will come in 16GB and 32GB flavors for $199 and $299 respectively, with the current 3G model available unchanged for $99. The iPhone 3GS will be available on June 19; iPhone OS 3.0 will arrive two days before that, on June 17.

Those in the US, Canada, France, Italy, UK, and Spain will be able to get their hands on the new iPhone on the 19th. The iPhone 3G S will gradually be introduced worldwide as new countries are added every few weeks. Keep in mind that those prices are with AT&T contracts; "naked" iPhones will run $499, $599, and $699 for the 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB models respectively.
The software

In addition to a number of features we saw at the iPhone OS 3.0 event earlier this year, like MMS, Push Notifications, Spotlight, and expanded language support, Apple SVP of iPhone software Scott Forstall also showed off the new video downloading features of iTunes, confirming previous rumors of this feature.

He also gave an impressive demo of a "Find My Phone" feature. This feature allows a user to log in to MobileMe to locate a lost iPhone using geolocation. Further, said Forstall, "If you lose your phone, you can send it a message from online or your home phone—it'll play a sound whether or not you left it in silent mode." The sound will allow you to find it in your house, or if you left it at a restaurant, for instance, help a waiter find it. And, if the phone is truly lost, you can send the phone a wipe command remotely using MobileMe—keeping your personal data safe from thieves.

Forstall also discussed iPhone OS 3.0's support for MMS messages to send multimedia messages as well as tethering an iPhone to a laptop to use it as a 3G modem. While he noted that 29 of the carrier partners will support MMS messaging at launch, the audience was noticeably upset about AT&T delaying support until later this summer. The audience loudly booed, however, when it was announced that AT&T was not one of the "lots" of carriers supporting tethering.

Forstall then demoed an improved version of Mobile Safari. The version included in iPhone OS 3.0 will execute JavaScript three times as fast as the current version. It will have HTML 5 support, including offline storage and support for streaming audio and video. HTML 5 audio and video support will also include automatic selection of the appropriate bitrate to use for streaming based on network speeds. Autofill can optionally remember usernames and passwords for logging in to your oft-used websites.

Like the iPhone OS 3.0 event this spring, a parade of developers were brought on stage to demo apps using iPhone OS 3.0 features. GameLoft showed off racing game Asphalt 5, ScrollMotion showed downloadable textbooks, TomTom demoed—to great applause—a GPS navigation app, ngmoco showed off its sci-fi tower defense game Star Defense and its additional level add-ons, Pasco demoed collecting science data using its sensors and its Spark app, Zipcar showed an app for reserving cars on its car-sharing service with integrated Google maps, and Line6 showed off a control app that can control its line of DSP-based amplifiers.

iPhone OS 3.0 will be available to all previous iPhone and iPod touch users worldwide beginning Wednesday, June 17. Developers attending WWDC are being treated to a 10-day head start on the rest of us and being given a GM version of iPhone OS 3.0 today.
The hardware

For those that have been waiting on edge for new iPhone hardware, the keynote did not disappoint. Phil Schiller came on stage to announce the iPhone 3G S—with the "S" standing for "speed." It will have the same physical form factor as the current iPhone 3G, so all the rumors of black bezels and rubber backing weren't accurate. But most of the rumors of hardware improvements were.

The improved processor (and possible RAM) will speed up most applications as much as two to three times, and will also introduce support for OpenGL ES 2.0, bringing significant improvement to 3D graphics. It will support HSPA data speeds of 7.2Mbps where available. Additionally, it will support a number of new features like built-in hardware encryption for data security, a digital compass, and Nike+ for logging running workouts. Accessibility has been improved with VoiceOver—which can read aloud text on screen—and high contrast screen settings.

Apple has also added a much-requested feature: voice control. Voice control can be used to dial contacts by simply saying "dial" and then a contact's name. While that feature has been available on a number of other phones for some time, it's still a welcome improvement. The control feature also works with the iPod app to control playback. It can even activate the iPod's Genius feature when a users simply says "play more songs like this."

Perhaps the most universally appreciated update comes in the form of vastly improved camera hardware. The new camera has three megapixels for an improvement in detail and color accuracy, as well as an autofocus lens for much-improved sharpness. The Camera.app software also has a number of improvements, including improved auto exposure and white balance, improved low-light sensitivity, and a "tap to focus" feature, which allows the user to simply tap on an object on the screen to change the camera's focus point. The autofocus can switch into an auto "macro" mode, allowing the camera to focus as close as 10 cm.

Furthermore, the camera supports video recording, as previously rumored. The iPhone 3G S is capable of recording 640x480 resolution at 30 fps with audio. The Camera app will allow basic editing along with recording, and it will store all the videos along with the stills in your library.

In addition to (or perhaps in spite of) the hardware improvements, the iPhone 3G S will also have improved battery life. Schiller quoted nine hours of WiFi use, 10 hours of video playback, 30 hours of audio playback, 12 hours of 2G talk time, and 5 hours of 3G talk time. That's an impressive feat considering nearly everything in the iPhone 3G S operates at a faster speed.

If all these improvements have you pumped to pick up the new iPhone 3G S as soon as possible, you won't have much of a wait, given the June 19 launch. Both of the new versions will come in black and white, and Apple is keeping the iPhone 3G around in an 8GB configuration to offer at $99 with contract—"to reach even more customers," said Schiller.
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iPhone 3G S: What you need to know

2009-06-13T00:03:00.001-07:00

If the calendar is about to flip over to summer, it must be time for Apple to roll out another smartphone. Just as summer 2007 saw the release of the original iPhone and last summer brought us the iPhone 3G, this year, we’ve got a new model to obsess over—the iPhone 3G S.

And we won’t have long to wait before this new phone winds up in our hot little hands. Apple announced the iPhone 3G S during Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote; it plans to release the iPhone 3G S next Friday, June 19.

Can’t wait until then to find out all you can about the iPhone 3G S? We’ve perused Apple’s product pages, talked to company executives, and made some educated guesses about what you can expect from this latest addition to the iPhone family.

How is this iPhone different from the iPhone 3G?

Well, thereâ€™s an â€œSâ€

Actually, as far as Apple is concerned, the S is more than just a humble naming convention. “The ‘S’ simply stands for speed,” Apple senior vice president for worldwide product market Phil Schiller told the WWDC keynote audience, and as far as the company is concerned, that’s the main selling point for the iPhone 3G S.

According to Apple, this is the fastest iPhone yet—up to two times faster and more responsive than the iPhone 3G. Specifically, Apple says that apps will launch faster and that it will take less time to jump between apps, say, by clicking a link in an e-mail to open a Web page in the mobile Safari browser. Speaking of browsing, Web pages should render faster on the iPhone 3G S, too.

How much faster? During the keynote, Schiller quoted a few numbers—loading a game was 2.4 times faster on the iPhone 3G S than on the iPhone 3G. Viewing attachments was 3.6 times faster. Loading the NYTimes.com Web page was 2.9 times faster. And so on. Of course, we’ll have to wait until the new phone ships to verify these numbers or confirm if the improved performance is that noticeable.

How did Apple boost performance?

The company isn’t really saying—it tends to be rather tight-lipped when it comes to the iPhone’s innards. But we’re reasonably confident that the iPhone 3G S sports a faster processor than its predecessor and that its operating system has access to more RAM. There could be changes to the display circuitry, too, which would account for Apple’s claims that the iPhone 3G S offers a better gaming experience.

According to T-Mobile in the Netherlands, which appears to have accidentally posted the specs for the iPhone 3G S, the latest version of the phone includes 256MB RAM, up from 128MB on the iPhone 3G, and a 600MHz processor. That would be an improvement from the 412MHz version found in the iPhone 3G.

You said “a better gaming experience”—how so?

The graphics should be more responsive. “A faster better, quicker, snappier experience,” is how senior director of worldwide iPhone product marketing Bob Borchers put it to us. For starters, Apple says the new iPhone supports Open GL ES 2.0, the latest 3-D graphics API for mobile devices. But the graphics hardware itself also appears to be significantly improved. The graphics processor is reportedly the Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX, a powerful mobile chip that takes advantage of Open GL ES 2.0 to provide advanced shading and rendering capabilities. The result is an iPhone that, according to some developers, will rival dedicated gaming handhelds.

OK, so what else is different?

Just looking at the surface, not all that much. In fact, we’re wiling to bet that if we set an iPhone 3G S next to an iPhone 3G, you’d be hard-pressed to tell which is which—at least until you flipped the phones over. Then, you might notice that the “fine-print” writing on the back of the phone—you know, the part that lists the phone’s capacity and tells you that it’s designed in California and assembled in China—is now color-matched to the silver Apple logo. The screen is covered with a new oil-resistant, or oleophobic, coating, making it easier to wipe off fingerprints. We watched an Apple executive take an iPhone 3G S and wipe it off with his shirt sleeve, something that wasn’t too effective in removing smudges with earlier models.

Then again, physical changes usually aren’t the focus of these iPhone updates. Apple puts its effort into upgrading the software features offered in new phones.

What are the new features in the iPhone 3G S that aren’t in the iPhone 3G?

The iPhone 3G S has a few features that you won’t find in previous models. Just as the iPhone 3G added the ability to figure out your location via GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites, the iPhone 3G S lets you know which direction you’re pointing in via a built-in compass. The iPhone 3G could figure out which direction you were moving in by tracking you via GPS, but the iPhone 3G S will know your orientation even when you’re still. This is useful for maps and GPS applications (and Boy Scouts, presumably). Who knows what clever iPhone app developers will come up with to take advantage of knowing when your iPhone is spinning and when it’s still.

In addition to a new built-in Compass app, compass features are integrated into the Maps app. In Maps, tap the current location button to display where you are on the map—that’s a feature you’d find with the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G, and even the iPod touch. But tap the location button again, and the map will re-orient itself to the direction you’re facing. Turn east, and Maps will rotate to that direction. It should make navigation much easier.

This iPhone also supports voice control. You can now dial the phone by holding down the Home button for a couple of seconds and then commanding your iPhone to dial Joe Blow (or any other contact in the iPhone’s Contacts list). You can also speak a phone number instead of a name, and Voice Control will dial that, too.

In addition, you can ask your iPhone 3G S to play music—specific songs or playlists, for example. Say “Play ‘Know Your Enemy,’” and the iPhone 3G S, after repeating your command back to you, will begin playing Green Day’s latest single. You ask the phone what song is playing, and it will tell you the title and artist; you can also invoke the phone’s Genius feature by saying “Play more songs like this,” to play songs similar to the one you’re currently listening to. Voice Control supports 21 languages.

Apple has also included Nike+ functionality in the iPhone 3G S. This means that—as with the second-generation iPod touch—you don’t need to attach a Nike+ dock-connector dongle to your iPhone to use it with a Nike+ sensor in your running shoes; the receiver is built into the phone (and the Nike+ app is pre-installed).

Those worried about security will be happy—perhaps even excited—to learn that the new iPhone also includes hardware-based encryption of all data on the iPhone. Combined with the new wipe-it-clean option of Find My iPhone and encrypted iPhone backups in iTunes, this means that unless you leave your iPhone unlocked without a password, your data is safe from all but the most skilled thieves.

I’ve heard that the camera is better in the iPhone 3G S. Is that true?

Yes, the iPhone 3G S’s built-in camera is definitely better than what you found on previous iPhone models. It’s got three megapixels of resolution, up from two megapixels in previous models. And this camera has the ability to auto-focus. Apple also says that the quality of the images it takes are generally better than the previous model, including vibrant colors and better low-light performance, and that the camera can shoot much faster than the one on previous iPhones. If you’ve used the camera on the existing iPhones, you know that’s setting the bar pretty low.

A cool new software feature in the Camera app is “tap to focus,” which lets you select what the camera focuses on. By default, the camera focuses on whatever object is in the center of the display, but if you’d like to focus elsewhere—say, an object in the background—just tap on the object on your iPhone’s display. The camera not only changes the focus but also adjusts the exposure and white balance, as well. The camera also includes an auto-macro mode, allowing you to get very close to the objects you’re shooting—a major failing of previous iPhone cameras.

So can this iPhone finally shoot video?

Yes, the iPhone 3G S’s camera can do one other thing you couldn’t do on an iPhone 3G or original iPhone—shoot movies. To be specific, that’s 30fps VGA video, which you can shoot in either portrait or widescreen orientation. You use the same Camera app, which on the iPhone 3G S features a simple Still/Movie switch. In Movie mode, you start recording by tapping on a red record button that’s in the exact same spot as the button that snaps still images; tap the button again to stop recording. Video is saved in the iPhone’s camera roll, alongside your photos. The video-recording mode provides the same auto-focus, -exposure, and -white balance features you get when shooting stills. And yes, when you shoot video you also capture audio through the iPhone’s microphone.

Once you’ve shot your video, you have the option to trim the beginning and end of a clip by tapping on the video to summon on-screen controls and then dragging the start and stop points with your finger. Preview your edit by tapping Play; if you like what you see, tapping the trim button saves the changes. You can then share your clips with the world via e-mail, MMS (when AT&T supports it), a MobileMe Gallery, or direct upload to YouTube.

How much does the iPhone 3G S cost?

The answer to that question is not as straightforward as you might think. The price Apple touts for the 16GB iPhone 3G S is $199; a 32GB model costs $299. And if you don’t already have an iPhone—or you aren’t otherwise an AT&T customer using a subsidized phone—that’s the price you’ll pay. If you are a current iPhone owner, though, the situation gets a little trickier because of your service contract with AT&T. How far along you are in your two-year contract—and what model iPhone you use—will determine exactly how much upgrading to an iPhone 3G S will cost you.

The basic rules in the U.S. appear to be: If you purchased the original iPhone, you’re immediately eligible for “new customer” pricing (otherwise known as Apple’s advertised $199 and $299 prices). If you purchased the iPhone 3G, AT&T subsidized the cost of that phone via the two-year contract you signed, so you don’t get the lowest price. However, if you purchased the iPhone 3G more than a year ago—and remember, it hasn’t quite been a year since the iPhone 3G’s debut—you should be eligible for AT&T’s “early upgrade” price on the 3G S: $299 and $399 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively. So if you bought the iPhone 3G on opening day (July 11, 2008), you’ll be able to buy the 3G S at a partial discount on July 11, 2009. (Note that this will require you to extend your AT&T contract until two years from the new purchase date.) If you purchased the iPhone 3G more recently, the prices are $399 and $499. Oh, and you’ll also have to pay an $18 “upgrade fee” regardless of which price you’re eligible for.

But wait, there’s more! It’s also possible to pay AT&T’s $175 early-termination fee to cancel your current contract and then start over with a new contract, paying a lower price for the iPhone 3G S along with a $39 activation fee; however, there’s no requirement for AT&T to treat you like a “new” customer, so this approach is risky. (Plus there’s a chance you could lose your phone number.)

That seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately, the real-world experiences of Macworld’s editors and readers indicate that the situation isn’t quite this straightforward. AT&T uses an internal formula based on numerous factors, including your tenure as a customer, your billing plan, and your bill-paying history, to determine which upgrade price you’re offered. We’ve seen all sorts of different prices when various members of our staff and their friends and relatives have punched in their phone numbers on Apple’s Web site. You won’t know what deal AT&T is offering you until you ask.

Can you explain the pricing of this phone? I got a subsidized phone last year, but am not eligible now. Can I cross-upgrade and give my 3G to my wife? If I’ve got an original iPhone, do I have to pay the higher upgrade price? What are AT&T’s 3G S rate plans? And do I need to upgrade at the AT&T Store, the Apple Store, on the web, or somewhere else? Help!

The pricing of the iPhone 3G S has engendered a lot of strong feelings, and understandably so. We will be devoting more coverage to this issue in the days ahead. The short version of the story is, when you buy a subsidized iPhone in the U.S., AT&T is actually paying part of the cost of that phone directly to Apple. AT&T gets that money back via your phone bill over the course of a two-year contract. If you want to get a new phone within the contract period, AT&T hasn’t had a chance to recoup its investment in your last phone, and things get complicated. We hope that AT&T will be working hard in the next week to better communicate what customers’ options are.

We assume that if you’ve got a family member who is eligible for a full upgrade, AT&T will find a way to let you transfer the remaining portion of your iPhone 3G contract commitment to that person and let you do a regular upgrade to the iPhone 3G S. Or swap SIM cards after the fact. Or something. Perhaps we’re too hopeful about AT&T, but given the massive amount of iPhone users on AT&T’s network, we think the company will realize that allowing iPhone fanatics to upgrade in as many different ways as possible will only help its business. We shall see.

The good news about the iPhone 3G S upgrades is that they seem to be much more widely available than in the past. You seem to be able to upgrade via either Apple or AT&T’s Web sites, or either company’s retail stores.

I’ve already got an iPhone. Should I upgrade to this one?

It depends on a variety of factors. If you have an iPhone 3G, you’re not going to get the special $199 and $299 prices that Apple is touting, at least not for a while. That makes the upgrade a lot less appealing. And getting an iPhone 3G S means committing to another two years of AT&T service in the U.S.

If you routinely make calls when driving, the iPhone 3G S’s Voice Command feature may keep you from driving your car into a tree, by allowing you to call while keeping your eyes on the road. For many people that will be the feature that sells the phone.

But there’s one vitally important thing you should keep in mind: Many of the features Apple touts in its iPhone 3G S guided tour—including copy and paste functionality, MMS support, the new Voice Memos app, and search capabilities—are part of the iPhone 3.0 software update, which is available to all iPhone owners for free starting this Wednesday, June 17, though not all features are available to owners of original EDGE iPhones, such as MMS. (iPod touch users will have to pay $10 to upgrade to 3.0.) So if those features are more appealing to you than the improved camera, new compass, and Voice Control feature, you’re probably better off sticking with your current phone.

The upgrade story from the original iPhone is a bit stronger. Owners of original iPhones will likely be able to upgrade at the lowest prices. You’ll gain GPS and access to the much faster 3G data network, as well as all the new iPhone 3G S features we detailed above. And the iPhone 3G S will offer you at least twice as much storage space as you’ve got now—and imagine how spacious it will feel if you go from a 4GB original iPhone to a 32GB iPhone 3G S!

So which new features are exclusive to iPhone 3G S?

Good question. From what we can tell, here’s a complete list of features that are found only on the iPhone 3G S; in other words, you won’t get them on your iPhone 3G by installing the iPhone Software 3.0 update:

* The faster processor, more RAM, and new video circuitry
* Improved battery life
* The improved camera hardware
* Video recording, trimming, and sharing
* The digital compass
* Voice Control
* Accessibility improvements
* Built-in Nike + iPod support
* HSPA7.2 compatibility
* Open GL ES 2.0
* Hardware encryption
* Environmental improvements

Will existing accessories and cases for the iPhone 3G fit the iPhone 3G S?

Given that the form factor hasn’t changed at all, cases should fit. It also appears that any dock-connector or headphone-jack accessory that works with the iPhone 3G will work with the iPhone 3G S. On the other hand, Apple has whipped out a surprise or two in the past related to new capabilities (as well as limitations) of the dock connector port, so we can’t swear all dock-connector accessories will work. But the most likely scenario is that all existing accessories will work with the iPhone 3G S.

And don’t forget that one of the cool new features of iPhone Software 3.0 is the capability for iPhone software to work directly with hardware accessories. All iPhones and iPod touches should gain this functionality through the 3.0 software, but since the hardware differs between the models, we don’t yet know if there will be hardware accessories that work with the 3G but not the 3G S. (We’re pretty sure there will be accessories that take advantage of new hardware features of the iPhone 3G S—such as the digital compass—and thus won’t work with other models.)

When will the AT&T network support the new high-speed 7.2 HSPA network that the iPhone 3G S supports?

According to Macworld contributor Glenn Fleishman’s story explaining 7.2Mbps networking, AT&T claims that the network will start appearing on cell towers “later this year.” However, the full upgrade of AT&T’s 3G network won’t be complete until 2011.

No other iPhone can do Voice Control. What allows the iPhone 3G S to pull it off?

We don’t know, but we’re guessing that the additional processor speed and RAM of the iPhone 3G S are what enables it to perform voice-recognition tasks, and that previous models just don’t have the power to do that reliably.

I love flash. Will this new phone run Flash? And does its camera have a flash?

Adobe would love for Flash to run on the iPhone, but Apple has demonstrated no interest. The iPhone still doesn’t run flash.

The iPhone 3G S’s camera does not have a built-in flash (just like the camera on previous iPhone models didn’t have one). Given the new access that app developers have to the dock connector, perhaps some clever developer will find a way to trigger an external flash unit attached via that port. We’ll see.

Hey! I bought an iPhone 3G on May 9. Can I turn it back in for an iPhone 3G S?

Yes, if you bought an iPhone 3G between May 9 and June 19 you can return it for a restocking fee and replace it with an iPhone 3G S.

How does the battery life compare to the iPhone 3G?

Apple says the battery life for the iPhone 3G S is longer than what you’d get from the iPhone 3G. Specifically, the company is promising nine hours of Internet access on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video, 30 hours of audio playback, and 12 hours of 2G talk time. The five hours of 3G talk time on the new model is consistent with the estimated talk time of the previous iPhone 3G.

Can we stream live video?

Depends on what you mean. Can you stream video you’re taking on the iPhone 3G S? We don’t think so, though who knows what third-party apps might be able to accomplish? It’s not included in the camera’s basic functionality. The iPhone 3.0 does offer app developers access to streaming functionality, meaning you should be able to watch live video more readily on the iPhone in the future. But out of the box, no, live video isn’t part of the base iPhone 3G S experience.

Will the iPhone video recorder be on par with the Flip-type cameras?

It’s early days yet so we don’t know how the iPhone’s camera will work in low light. We do know, however, that it shoots standard-definition video only. Many (if not most) of the current generation of pocket camcorders shoot 720p high-definition video.

Does it support A2DP and AVRCP?

The iPhone 3G S—as well as the iPhone 3G with the iPhone Software 3.0—support A2DP, which lets you stream stereo audio over Bluetooth—for example, to headphones or speakers. It’s not yet clear if either model will support AVRCP, a feature of Bluetooth that lets you control audio and video devices over Bluetooth.

Is A2DP for all system audio, or app specific? In the Tom Tom app, can I still use a headset for hands-free?

We’re anxious to get our hands on the iPhone 3G S hardware to test this, but in the meantime, iLounge provides a summary of A2DP functionality based on the latest developer release of iPhone Software 3.0 and an iPhone 3G.

Will the iPhone 3GS charge via FireWire again? (Hey, FireWire is back on the MacBook Pro.)

Dare to dream, but almost certainly the answer is no. Apple switched to the USB-only method of charging in order to reduce the amount of circuitry on the interior of its devices. Accessories have been updated to use this new method. There’s probably no going back.

Can Voice Control on the 3G S be used with Bluetooth headsets?

Voice Control is triggered by either holding the Home button down or holding down the button on your iPhone headphones. When we asked Apple executives if other devices such as Bluetooth headphones and car kits would be able to access Voice Control, they suggested that the makers of those devices would find a way to trigger that same action. That’s not exactly a yes, but it’s an encouraging sign.

in a sentence, what does the S get me?

Speed, swagger, sleek, sexy, sense-of-direction, and sinematography. It’s possible that we made that last word up.

Will the compass and GPS work even when there is no cell signal?

Yes. As long as you’re on Earth and Earth still has its magnetic field, the compass will work, though if you’re standing near a giant magnet, you might get skewed results. And although the iPhone tries to use cellular signals to speed the acquisition of your location (a process called “assisted GPS”), if you’re out in the backcountry and you give your iPhone enough time to find all the satellites in the sky, it will be able to pinpoint your location. (It won’t, however, be able to display it on a map unless you’re using an app that includes pre-loaded maps. The good news is that there are a few of those now and a lot more on the way, including both turn-by-turn direction apps and apps more oriented toward hiking and mountain biking.)

I want to know if Apple will have a separate App Store for the 3GS apps, since they will have different features.

Apple hasn’t said anything about this. We’re guessing that two things will happen: Developers will write apps that simply behave differently on the different devices, and eventually the App Store will add some sort of compatibility filter that makes it clear that certain apps only work on certain devices.

How many minutes of video can the 32GB iPhone GS hold?

By our back-of-the-envelope calculations, about a zillion. Seriously, it will depend on how much media you’ve already got loaded on the device. But a lightly-loaded 32GB iPhone should be able to capture hours and hours of standard-definition video.

Will my old, deactivated iPhone 3G still work without AT&T service as an iPod touch?

Yes.

About that oleophobic coating: Will it prevent me from using protective films for the screen, or all-over treatments like InvisibleShield or BodyGuardz?

Great question, and one for which we don’t yet have an answer. Zagg, makers of the InvisibleShield protective coverings, told a Macworld reader that it’ll be testing its products with this new screen as soon as it get its hands on the iPhone 3G S.

Where and When You Can Get the iPhone 3G S

2009-06-11T18:49:00.001-07:00

The line starts here: Both Apple and AT&T have announced details on where, when, and how to get a shiny new iPhone 3G S, when the device starts shipping on June 19.

AT&T stores will open at 7 a.m. on June 19, and the carrier is already taking pre-orders for the iPhone 3G S on its Web site and in stores. Customers who pre-ordered their iPhone (either online or at a store) can join the line at 7 a.m. on June 19 at AT&T stores, where they will receive priority processing until normal business hours.

A second line will be dedicated to customers whom have not pre-ordered their iPhone 3G S, and they will be able to enter the stores only at normal business hours. Then, the two lines will be merged, but priority will still be given to customers who pre-ordered. This whole process is done on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Apple also is taking iPhone 3G S pre-orders on its music Web site. If a 3G S is pre-ordered online with Apple, the device will be shipped free of cost and arrives on June 19. Apple Retail Stores are also taking reservations for iPhone 3G S, and customers can pick it up on June 19. A number of stores will open at 8 a.m. for early pick-ups.

To recap, the 16GB iPhone 3G S will cost $199 and the 32GB model will cost $299. These prices are only for new and qualifying customers. Early iPhone 3G upgraders will have to shell out $399 for the 16GB model and $599 for the 32GB version.

New 'Doom' Game Coming to iPhone

2009-06-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

You know the old fanboy adage: Your hardware ain't nothing until it can play Doom. Well, the iPhone is getting yet another version of id Software's perennial favorite first-person shooter. Doom Resurrection is coming to Apple's popular handset next week.
Six months in the making, the game promises some of the best 3D graphics seen on the device thus far. The game has eight levels and roughly five levels of game play, according to Venture Beat. It's customized to use some of those new iPhone 3.0 software features, but will also work with older versions of the software.
Doom Resurrection features a parallel storyline to Doom 3.
sourcesource

What's new in iPhone 3.0

2009-06-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

If you didn’t find much to gasp at during the iPhone OS 3.0 section of Monday’s keynote presentation at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, that’s understandable. Much of what was showed off were features that we saw trotted out back at March’s iPhone special event where Apple initially introduced the software update.
That said, we did get a glimpse at a few brand new iPhone capabilities as well as a more detailed look at some of the features that were only hinted at three months ago. Let’s take a look at what’s coming to our iPhone when the update drops on June 17.
Whatâ€™s in store

As rumored, the iPhone’s iTunes Store took a step in the direction of parity with its desktop sibling by adding the ability to purchase and rent movies, TV shows, music videos, and audiobooks from inside the phone’s iTunes app.

As with podcasts, music, and apps, any content that’s over 10MB will only be available to download via Wi-Fi, and not via the iPhone’s cellular connection. Apple’s also made content available from iTunes U, the store’s educational section with classes and lectures from schools around the world.

In addition, the iTunes application will now support users logging into one or more different iTunes accounts, and even let you create accounts directly on the phone. Previously, the iTunes app on the phone pulled its account information from whatever account was logged in on the computer that you were syncing with.

Parental units

Apple also showed off a few additions to the iPhone’s parental controls section, most notably the ability for parents to restrict what applications their children can use. This also requires that all developers submit an age-rating for their applications, as Apple senior vice president Scott Forstall later said. The App Store has received a lot of criticism for its issues with its approval process, including some apps that have been banned as a result of objectionable content, even in cases where the content was similar to that being sold elsewhere in the iTunes Store. Enabling restrictions on applications and forcing developers to rate their apps could be a way for Apple to absolve itself from some of the responsibility of policing for edgier content.

Fill ’er up

AutoFill was briefly mentioned in Apple's iPhone presentation back in March, but this was the first time we got a glimpse—albeit a brief one—at what it’s capable of. As in Safari on the desktop, not only can AutoFill remember the usernames and passwords for your Web sites, but it can also populate contact information fields on forms based on the information you’ve entered in your phone.

Tether ball

Apple took a little more time to talk about tethering, the ability to share your iPhone’s cellular data connection with your Mac or PC. While the company didn’t show us anything about how the feature works, it did say that a number of their partners in different countries would be offering the feature, though AT&T was notably absent. (A spokesperson from AT&T later told Macworld that the feature would arrive, though they did not say when or how much it would cost). Apple did, however, say that the tethering capability would work with Macs and PCs and could be used over either USB or Bluetooth.

Little iPhone lost

Perhaps the most ahhh-inducing unseen feature of iPhone 3.0 was the newly-unveiled Find My iPhone service. Available only to MobileMe subscribers, Find My iPhone allows you to locate your handset should you misplace it. You access the service via MobileMe’s Web interface, at which point you have several options. Firstly, the Web page can tell you the location of your iPhone, using the unit’s built-in location services, letting you know if you left your phone in the movie theater last night, or in the back of that cab.

You can also send a message to your iPhone, along with an alert sound that plays even if the phone’s ringer is off. This can help in situations where the GPS location doesn’t: for example, if you’ve misplaced the iPhone somewhere in your house. The chime can be played repeatedly, enabling you to easily track down the phone.

Finally, if the phone is lost for good, or contains sensitive information, you can also opt to remotely wipe all data from your phone: contacts, mail, music, photos, etc. And of course, should you then locate your phone, all you need to do is plug your iPhone back into your computer, and you can restore from the latest backup.

Language, please

The iPhone OS already supported almost 20 languages in iPhone 2.0—iPhone 3.0 expands that number to about 30, including long-awaited support for right-to-left languages like Hebrew and Arabic. Apple also noted the inclusion of Thai, Greek, and Korean, and noted that every keyboard has both landscape and portrait orientations.

The “s” is for software?

Along with its speedy new hardware, the iPhone 3G S also brings with it a variety of new software features. While these features are included in the iPhone OS 3.0 update, they’re only available to iPhone 3G S users.

The 3G S adds new camera features, including auto-focus, auto-exposure, and auto-white-balancing, all of which works in tandem the the 3G S’s new camera. There’s also a tap-to-focus feature that lets you select which part of a scene you want to focus on. In addition, the camera can also shoot video, which you’re able to trim using a built in filmstrip view very similar to that of iMovie ’09. Once you’ve trimmed the clip, you can easily share it over e-mail, MMS, or upload it to YouTube or your MobileMe gallery.

The iPhone 3G S also adds Voice Control, a speech-recognition feature that lets you control common actions such as calling contacts and playing music just by speaking into the iPhone’s microphone or the unit’s headphone mic. Hold down the Home button to summon the Voice Control interface, and you can tell it to dial your friend by name, by number, or play music by track, artist, or playlist—you can even tell it to start playing a Genius playlist.

In addition to the Voice Control feature, Apple also talked about adding new accessibility features to the iPhone 3G S, such as Voice Over, zooming in on text, displaying a high-contrast white-on-black display, outputting mono audio, and more. Voice Over, in particular, features a number of specialized gestures to control different functions of the phone. However, the accessibility features are available only on the 3G S.

Apple also added support for Nike + to the iPhone 3G S, allowing you to use the Nike + iPod Sensor in conjunction with a new application to track your progress while running, and sync that data to iTunes for future use, just as you can with the Nike + iPod Sports Kit.

Finally, the iPhone 3G S also includes a new digital compass. Not only does it allow you to orient yourself using a compass interface (which also provides longitute and latitude), but you can also use the compass in the Maps program to show you which way you’re facing, and even orient the map corrently to help following directions easier.

Apple unveils zippier iPhone 3G S

2009-06-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple has a cool new iPhone, the 3G S, coming out next week, with faster speed, longer battery life and a video camera for $199 — but if you bought an iPhone recently, exclusive U.S. carrier AT&T says you won't get the phone at that price.
The new phone will sell for $199 with a two-year contract. AT&T says it will be available at that price only to those with a "few" months left on their contract and to new customers. Otherwise, the phone is $399 for the new 16-gigabyte version, or $499 for a 32GB model.
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For the converts, Pocket Informant comes to the iPhone

2009-04-17T01:43:00.000-07:00

Pocket Informant from WebIS has been giving Blackberry and Windows Mobile users a solid PIM for the the past 8 years. They have taken that experience and are now offering up a fully featured PIM for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s priced at $13.

Some features include a built-in calendar that syncs over-the-air with your Google Calendars; Franklin Covey and GTD based to-do (Tasks) that sync with the ToodleDo online service; Full blown search of your appointments and to-do’s and contacts; and future sync support for iCal, Things, Remember the Milk, Omnifocus and others.

For people coming over from the Blackberry or Windows mobile who are used to having their calendar and tasks all in one basket, Pocket Informant looks to be a strong contender for the iPhone. It is missing some features that its Blackberry and WinMo counterpart has, but further enhancements are planned, according to the application’s Web site.
india calling card

iPhone finds a home in the enterprise market

2009-04-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Market-research firm Forrester on Monday released a report that looks at several companies using the iPhone in the enterprise market. That's significant for Apple because one of the knocks against the iPhone when it first came out was that it didn't have sufficient security for large businesses.

Based on interviews with IT executives from Kraft Foods, Oracle, and Amylin Pharmaceutical, the report explores how the iPhone made it on the list of approved devices for each company.

Todd Stewart, IT senior director at Amylin Pharmaceutical, says the iPhone has become the company's "enterprise netbook," and said the iPhone is easier to support than other mobile platforms. “It took all of three days to get the systems running to support iPhone. We also saw significant costs savings for our voice and data plans by moving to iPhones," said Stewart.

Dave Diedrich, vice president of information systems at Kraft, said he used the iPhone to demonstrate that IT is serious about supporting culture change. The company has about 100,000 employees and Diedrich said that as of January 2009, almost half of the company's mobile users have iPhones. Kraft orders about 400 new iPhones each month.

And Oracle has about 4,000 employees using the iPhone globally, according to IT Vice President Campbell Webb.

While the companies reported positive results overall, they did have some problems. The biggest problem is support for Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007, which didn't always work as expected. A lack of management tools and full support for VPNs were also mentioned as drawbacks.

iPhone OS 3.0 should resolve most, if not all, of these concerns when it is released sometime this summer, helping Apple continue making inroads into the enterprise market.

"Apple is redefining its third industry: first the computer industry, next the music industry, and now the mobile industry," said Ted Schadler, the Forrester analyst who wrote the report. "With iPhone, Apple has breached walled gardens that have long slowed innovation and kept advanced applications from reaching the US mobile market."
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Help File: Prospects for a New iPhone; Downloading Adobe Reader

2009-04-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

By Rob Pegoraro
Sunday, April 12, 2009; Page G02

QWhen might Apple ship the next iPhone, and what new features might it include?

AIf I had a dime for every time I got this question, I could buy quite a few iPhones with the proceeds.

But the only honest answer is, "I don't know." The first iPhone and last year's iPhone 3G arrived in July, but Apple doesn't have to stick to that pattern this year.

We can also only guess about the design of a new iPhone. More memory and a video-capable camera would be logical upgrades, but Apple has a history of surprises. (The company also plans to ship a free 3.0 software upgrade for existing iPhones this summer; the original iPhone, however, won't be able to use all of this upgrade's features, and iPod touch users will need to pay $9.95 for it.)

The odds of a just-purchased iPhone being made obsolete by a successor's arrival probably increase as you get closer to summer, so waiting might avoid that -- and keep some money in your bank account in the meantime. But there's little point in freaking yourself out about those chances; if you need a new phone, you need a new phone card.

When I tried to download Adobe Reader 9, Internet Explorer displayed a box that said "Can't retrieve essential parameter (15235.301.265)" before closing on me.

This problem may be the fault of Adobe's too-cute presentation of its Portable Document Format reader. The "Download" link at its site (http://adobe.com/reader) does not start a download but instead takes you to a second page that initiates the file transfer on its own. Internet Explorer, in turn, warns you that the site wants to send a file you didn't explicitly request -- but here, something else went wrong.

You can avoid that by clicking that second page's "click here to download" link or by using a different browser for this task.
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Other news
Britons warned off Bangkok travel

Expectational Analysis Fundamentals: New Products (eg. iPod, iPhone, Viagra)

2009-03-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

New Products

One key fundamental driver for a stock is new products. A sign of growth and innovation, these new developments by a firm can create buzz about a company, increase revenue, and lead to new deals with other companies as well as potential mergers and acquisitions.

A classic example of the effect a new product can have is Pfizer's (PFE) introduction of the drug, Viagra. Even with a big-cap name, the impact of a new product can affect the shares price action significantly. In late March 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved PFE's pill for the treatment of impotence. In anticipation of the approval, PFE rallied from approximately 25 to 30 (adjusted for PFE's three-for-one stock split in July 1999) during the 2 months prior to approval. Even after the approval by the FDA, option players had ample opportunity to profit, as the shares rallied an additional 10 points in the next month! The introduction of Viagra has been one of the most successful drug launches in recent history.

Another story of a new product's success benefiting a company and investors was from American computer maker Apple (AAPL). The once struggling company had hit a wall in its competition with a personal computer market dominated by machines running Microsoft's Windows software. While the October 2001 release of the now ubiquitous iPod came and went with little fanfare, the devices soon gained so much popularity that the company re-released the iPod with support for Windows-based computers in July 2002.

At the time, Apple shares were trading in the $7 per shares range, a far cry from their lofty $100-plus valuation they enjoyed as of late 2007. The adoption of these early iPods was no where near the fanatical buying sprees of recent years, but AAPL stock still vaulted more than 600% since the advent of Windows compatibility for the devices through the introduction of the sixth generation of the iPod in October 2005 - which introduced video capabilities.

While the early iPod years are an excellent example of how a new product can propel a seemingly up-start company into the stratosphere of the Wall Street elite, the later developments of the iPod Video and, ultimately, the iPhone, are prime examples of how new products can move even large-cap stocks sharply higher. Following the release of the video edition, Apple received some lukewarm attention, but that changed with the advent of the iPod Mini, which renewed interest in the company again.

But this was just the tip of the iceberg, as Apple hinted at a potential iPod-based phone, or iPhone, that could be on its way. The ensuing frenzy surrounding the device grew exponentially, like the shares themselves, until the release date on September 5, 2007. Furthermore, the wide adoption of the Apple iPhone evident in early sales figures helped push the stock to even loftier heights. In the end, from October 2005 when the iPod Video was released, through September 2007, Apple shares surged more than 187%.

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Top Iphone basic accessories for Apple Iphone owners

2008-05-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Buying your first iPhone is a long process, longer than you could have initially expected. It does not only involve the actual purchase of the iPhone, you have to acquire various iPhone accessories, to be able to become the really trendy owner of your new gadget, and in some cases, to protect it, or to maximize its capabilities. Iphone accessories are simply things from which you will always seek more of.

Here are some of the basic ones...

iPhone Cases

Have you ever wondered why you are actually purchased your third iPhone case in half a year? Even these iphone cases, the simplest iPhone accessories are always becoming better, until you see something new. You can have reddened and hard cases, leather cases, metal cases, red, yellow, pink and black cases, cases that actually protect your iPhone and the ones that just look good on it or that go with your new dress. Well, it is just natural that Apple as a leading force and its partners, should substance a wide variety of iPhone accessories, and it is just natural that you will eventually own more of these cases, to meet the occasion or your mood, or just to protect you iPhone from nearby children.

iPhone Headset and Travel Charger

Your next purchase after an iphone case should perhaps be an iPhone Bluetooth Headset, to be able to answer your calls wirelessly, easily and elegantly and you will also need to get a travel/car charger, to be able to charge your phone when you are on the move. When you get bored with these basic iPhone accessories, having purchased earphones and perhaps some speakers as well, you might be interested in what they have on substance outside the realm of customary accessories for iPhones.

Well, as could be expected, the list is literally endless. You can purchase for example mini screen wipers for your iPhone, to clear the smudges on your screen. Or to prevent even these smudges, you can acquire a arrange of phone fingers in different sizes, that you can just fit on your fingers patch using the touch screen and it will stay totally clear. You might also want to try the iPhone travel pillow, with built in speakers, this way, you will have a pillow for your flight, and your ears won't be hurting from the earphones.

Any iPhone accessory could basically come handy once, though it's quite manifest that a unify of mini screen wipers for your screen is slightly less essential than a decent case, so try to grab this latter first. However, purchasing an iPhone will generally just introduce you to the magical world of iPhone accessories.

Have fun with your iPhone, for this is only the beginning.

Apple has a lot more in store for its knight in shinning armor, and am sure they have some pretty cool new iphone accessories in the works for you hard core iphone users.

It still amazes me to this day how they can pack so much into something so little.
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The Apple iPhone: Scaling On Its Ideal particularly

2008-05-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Apple iPhone, a mobile with the latest phone features, is here to enthrall people with its magnificent looks and capabilities that supersede all old norms. The mobile is empowered with network connectivity options such as 2G. In addition, it also has GSM option and this is what makes it feasible to connect with people anywhere in the globe. Other than these two, the other connectivity options such as GPRS, EDGE, WLAN, Bluetooth and USB make the handset all the more versatile.

Among all these, Bluetooth is a very much in demand as one can use it to send and receive files wirelessly to other nearby gadgets. The handset also rules many hearts due to an assortment of features such as a camera, a music player and a FM radio. The camera can capture still pictures and record moving images and store them for future use.

The music player can also play on many of the popular formats and leave the listeners spellbound with its scintillating sound output. The FM radio is good for playing all types of programs that entertain people anywhere in the world. The handset can also entertain users with many a high definition game, which can be easily downloaded from the Internet.

The Internet option provided on the Apple iPhone is not just meant for the purposes of web surfing. It also enables emailing with attachments being sent in formats such as Word, Excel and Power Point. One can make the most of SMS service to send messages to friends. Any message received can be read due to the presence of the screen that gives 320 x 480 pixels resolution and supports 16 M colours.The ability of the mobile to capture sharp pictures becomes fruitful as the pictures can be seen on the touch sensitive screen of the mobile. The screen is also good for playing videos and games. High definition games can be stored in the 16 GB shared space. So, this space is sufficient for storing polyphonic and MP3 ringtones as well. The battery gives 250 hrs of standby time and 8 hrs of talktime.
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Apple iPhone 16 GB: The experience of many functional capabilities

2008-05-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

The Apple iPhone 16GB is a multi-functional gadget. It comes packed with various features and functions such as large storage capacity, a 2 megapixel camera, a brilliant music player, a video player and multiple connectivity options. The handset holds massive storage capacity of 16 GB and the users can enjoy storing varied data on the same. This device, with its advanced telephony features, tends to satisfy the tech-savvy users in more ways than one.

The stunning display and innovative multi-touch interface makes the Apple iPhone 16 GB a stylish device. It performs all the high-profile functions very comfortably. This multi-functional gadget comes in a mid-sized casing that measures 115 m in height, 61 mm in width, and 11.6 mm thickness. The handset weighs 135 grams, which can be easily managed in a single hand.

The iPhone 16 GB is integrated with a 2 megapixel camera. It gives a platform to show off hidden photographic passion of the users. As a matter of fact, it comes with camera and video features to capture and record all lively experiences, which you might have missed out earlier. The advanced photo management application provides users with everything that they need for the perfect images. Moreover, the users can play video footage on the widescreen of the gadget. The stunning and bright 3.5 inch screen is enhanced with multi-touch controls that facilitate all the operations with ease. It comes adorned with a full QWERTY keyboard. The ergonomic keyboard supports fast and steady typing.

The users can tune into the music player and video player features - taking time apart from their everyday activities. Moreover, multiple connectivity options satisfy the high-tech requirements of data and file transfers. The Apple iPhone 16GB supports quad-band GSM networks and promotes wireless communication with other compatible devices. According to the need, the device comfortably switches between EDGE and Wi-Fi technology to deliver fast data connectivity.

Moreover, the in-built HTML email and Safari browser enhances the overall experience of web browsing to a great extent. The embedded Lithium Ion battery in Apple iPhone 16GB provides up to 8 hours of talktime and standby time of up to 250 hours.
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The Apple iPhone offer something for everybody

2008-05-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Apple iPhone is one of the most amazing pieces of technology that is available today. No matter what you are looking for in a cell phone, you will find that the iPhone delivers it fully.

For those who like to take pictures, it comes with a camera built right in. If you want to take your music along with you, you have access to your tunes with a touch of the finger.

If you want something to watch, the television shows and movies that you have rented or purchased from iTunes are right there for you to watch. It helps you to find your way when you are lost and need directions, and it helps you to watch your favorite YouTube videos and share them, quickly and easily.

There is so much that the iPhone offers that it's impossible to list everything that it can do. But it's not really surprising that Apple has packed so much into their iPhone, because they have been making computers for so long.

The Apple iPhone also includes widgets that help you to keep up to date with things such as the weather, stock reports, and anything else that you might want to keep your eye on. Everything that you could want or need to know is right there, ready for you to use whenever you need it.

The Apple iPhone - accessibility, convenience, and technology, all rolled into one very portable package and ready to be used by professional and novice users alike.
source: goarticles

Apple iPhone vs Nokia N95 8GB: With State-of-the-Art Technologies

2007-12-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

The new Nokia N95 8GB is generating a lot of curiosity among the mobile users. The amazing features make it a handset par excellence. The handset comes bundled with an array of high-end features that make it a brilliant device. As far as imaging is concerned, the handset offers brilliant image clarity. This two-way slider opening phone is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, a highly advanced GPS navigation system, integrated music player, visual radio and FM radio. The handset supports a colossal memory of 8 GB. Also, it can store upto 6000 songs in its memory. Connectivity features include USB, Bluetooth, EDGE, GPRS and WLAN Wi-Fi. This smartphone comes with an impressive array of multimedia features supported by 8GB of internal memory. This multimedia powerhouse fulfills all your desires with its superior capabilities. Weighing just 120g, the handset is a real charmer with its looks and functionality.

On the other hand the Apple iPhone is an aesthetically advanced device that comes with a 3.5 inch touch screen, a built-in 2.0 megapixel camera and lots more. The Apple iPhone supports an enhanced battery that allows you to use the iPhone for 5 hours of talk time. This is a superb communications solution as it is not just a phone; it is a music player, internet device, video player and camera all in one. This smartphone come with awesome memory capacity. They are available with memory size of 4GB and 8GB and work both as a phone as well as an iPod. The Bluetooth wireless technology feature helps you to connect the device with compatible devices and transfer pictures, music, etc.

Both Apple iPhone and Nokia N95 8GB deals are available on all the major portals and online shops. Browse through the amazing offers and deals available online and select the one that suits you the best.
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Cell Phone Directory

iPhone malware attacks set to go big in 2008?

2007-12-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

Security researchers are warning that the iPhone may generate a new cybercrime wave, becoming "a primary target for hackers in 2008."

Arbor Networks believes the iPhone will become a major target, subject to a "serious attack" in 2008.

The researchers predict drive-by attacks in which malware is embedded into seemingly innocuous data or images designed to attack iPhone via its web browser.

It looks like Apple's battle with iPhone unlockers may generate interest in attacks on the device. Responding to that war, hackers "will be enticed by the possibility of attacking Apple users and the opportunity to 'be the first' to hack a new platform," the researchers said.

The security firm also warns of a rise in 'Chinese on Chinese' cybercrime in the year ahead, noting a dramatic increase in attacks on Chinese language-specific software.

This reflects fast-paced increases in Chinese computer users and increasing organization among China's cybercriminals.

"2007 was the year of the browser exploit, the data breach, spyware and the storm worm. We expect 2008 to be the year of the iPhone attack, the Chinese Hacker, P2P network spammers and the hijacking of the Storm botnet," Arbor Networks said.

"Online fraud is soaring and security attacks are now being used in countless and ever more sophisticated ways to both steal and launder money. Financial and other confidential data is being obtained, sold and utilized in the highly developed black market. In 2008 this market will continue to grow and it is important that business implement the processes and technology necessary to protect themselves and their customers."
source: computerworld.com
Cell Phone Reviews

iPhone SMS Management Utility: Syphone Beta

2007-12-02T20:59:00.001-08:00

Micromat has a utility called Syphone which is a freeware Mac application that lets you view, save and backup your SMS messages.

The iPhone has a limit on the number of SMS messages it can store at one time. If this limit is exceeded, existing conversations must be deleted in order to make room for new messages. Syphone allows you to view and/or save any of these conversations, including deleted messages.

A beta is presently available for download. Requires Mac OS X 10.4 or greater
source: macrumors.com
Cell Phone Reviews

Life without an iPhone

2007-11-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

By JAMES WARDEN, News-Record Writer

“Touching is believing.”

Thus sayeth Apple about its iPhone.

Unfortunately, local residents won’t know for some time whether the company’s newest offering deserves their faith because they can’t touch it here in Gillette.

The iPhone is hardly alone in its absence from the area. Wyoming is large and sparsely populated, and that can delay the arrival of the latest goods and services.

The holiday shopping season that started Friday tests the tech-savvy on a particularly biblical scale, as omnipresent catalogs and out-of-state commercials tease geeks with the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

But while those sexy Apple ads can make it hard to believe in life without an iPhone, the Christmas shopping season need not spark a crisis of faith: Some of the latest goods are already here, others are just around the corner and many have viable alternatives.

MORE MAJOR WIRELESS PROVIDERS

- What it is: An expansion from the duopoly that Verizon and Alltel now effectively have in Campbell County.

- Why you want it: One word: iPhone. Until manufacturers start making phones that can jump between wireless providers, local residents will be stuck staring wistfully at ads for sleek phones not available in Campbell County. Even if all phones were made to work seamlessly between rival providers, manufacturers could still choose to limit the hottest phones to a single provider — as Apple and AT&T did with the iPhone. Quite simply, the more providers offering local service, the more access Gillette residents have to the best-selling phones.

- Cost: Comparable to the cell phone service you’re paying for now — just with a different logo on the back of that shiny touch-screen you’ve been eyeing.

- Who’s got it now: Areas with a lot of people in a limited space tend to have the most wireless carriers.

- What’s holding Gillette back: Not enough people, said Roger Entner, a telecom expert and senior vice president of communications at New York-based IAG Research. Carriers are barred from selling service in an area where they don’t have towers, but towers are expensive. To make a profit, companies need about 1,000 subscribers for every wireless tower they put up. Most cities need a few towers. So even when existing companies have just 60 percent market penetration, it can be a risky proposition for a new company to move in on their turf. The arithmetic is so straightforward that Entner accurately guessed the number of major carriers as soon as he learned Gillette’s population.

- Prospects: The signal’s pretty clear that Gillette will be stuck with two major carriers for the foreseeable future.

- Alternatives: Options are limited for carriers, but manufacturers have announced a plethora of touch-screen, multimedia phones similar to the iPhone for virtually all carriers. Verizon’s Voyager, which has already debuted, bears a particular resemblance to the iPhone and has been getting good reviews.

FIBER TO THE PREMISES (FTTP)

- What it is: Fiber-optic connections right into the home. While the telecommunications system is largely fiber optic now, most homes have slower copper wires running the last few blocks to the home.

- Why you want it: Better TV picture quality, clearer phone services and faster Internet. FiOS, Verizon’s FTTP service, now offers speeds up to 10 times that of a typical cable modem connection, and the company has tested speeds twice that rate, said Sharon Cohen-Hagar, a spokeswoman for the company.

- Cost: Verizon has plans that include TV, phone and Internet for about $100 a month. Internet-only plans range from $40 to $180 a month, depending on the speed.

- Who’s got it now: Verizon, the largest FTTP provider, offers its FiOS service in parts of the northeast, Texas, Florida and California. As of September, more than 2 million homes in North America have direct fiber connections, according to the Fiber to the Home Council, an organization that promotes the technology. The overwhelming majority of those homes are in the United States.

- What’s holding Gillette back: Prohibitive start-up costs. Access to FTTP requires laying new fiber-optic wires, said Stephen Hardy, editorial director of Lightwave, a magazine for the fiber-optic industry. That is much more costly than hooking up cable or reworking a copper-wire network to allow speedier DSL service. Fiber-optic cable often simply isn’t laid unless a project already requires digging up streets or stringing wire. Consequently, the service is still very much a niche product; just 2 percent of U.S. households have direct fiber connections.

- Prospects: “Unlikely at any time in the foreseeable future,” Cohen-Hagar said. Verizon has no plans to expand FiOS beyond the company’s old network — which doesn’t run into Wyoming. There are some signs of hope. Fiber optic networks are cheaper to maintain than traditional copper-wire networks, Hardy said. Verizon’s market muscle could also whittle down vendors’ costs and make the technology more attractive to smaller companies. Yet he estimates that it will be about a decade before companies switch over to fiber entirely.

- Alternatives: Cable Internet and DSL. While these high-speed connections are already starting to seem commonplace, nearly half of American households have no Internet or just a dial-up connection.

APPLE RETAIL STORES

- What it is: A traditional brick-and-mortar store stocked with Apple products and run by the company itself.

- Why you want it: Forget waiting precious days for that crucial iPod accessory to arrive by mail. Just drop into the store, pick up the item and get back to enjoying tunes the way you like ‘em. Add in personal shopping assistance, seminars and a one-on-one training, and you have the techie equivalent of a Sunset Boulevard fashion boutique.

- Cost: Depends on what you’re looking for. Many accessories cost about $30, while the latest Mac or MacBook Pro can run well into the thousands.

- Who’s got it now: Apple has more than 200 stores worldwide, but Gillette residents must drive 335 miles to Boulder, Colo., or Broomfield, Colo., to shop at one. The company doesn’t have a single store in Wyoming, and it has just six in Colorado and Utah, Wyoming’s only neighbors with an Apple retailer.

- What’s holding Gillette back: An Apple spokeswoman said the company generally doesn’t talk about the types of markets in which it likes to establish retail stores. But the list of the current stores shows that Apple stores center on densely populated metropolitan areas. Colorado, a state with 4.8 million people, has just five stores. Utah has only one store for its 2.6 million people. Wyoming, a state with a mere 500,000 people, is hardly the only state without a store. When the tech hubs of California, Oregon and Washington are discounted, almost half the states west of the Mississippi lack an Apple retail store.

- Prospects: Chances are slimmer than the newest iPod Nano.

- Alternatives: Those intent on Apple-branded products can log on to the online store at http://store.apple.com. But Apple products have become so pervasive that traditional retailers offer most types of third-party accessories.

CITYWIDE WIRELESS INTERNET

- What it is: Internet service that can be picked up anywhere in town.

- Why you want it: To access the Internet wherever you go. Sure, coffee shops and other businesses provide similar service. But you don’t have to scrape together enough change for a cup of coffee or — let’s be honest — stand outside the business like a panhandler while you check your e-mail for free.

- Cost: Generally free or low-cost.

- Who’s got it now: A diverse group of cities. Smaller communities have used taxpayer money to set up free, public Wi-Fi networks in areas not served by private Internet service providers. Metropolitan areas, on the other hand, have tended to work with privately funded companies to provide for-pay service, although this is often subsidized to reduce costs for low-income residents.

- What’s holding Gillette back: Priorities. The city has been working for the past two years to build a wireless network, said city Administrative Services Director Pam Boger, who heads the committee that is exploring the issue. Yet the goal of this network is to allow city employees to provide more efficient service, not to offer free Internet access to residents. Police officers, for example, could receive details about a suspect in their patrol cars or city utilities could access information on a resident’s water use without needing to send a meter reader by the home. The committee plans to present further details about the project to the City Council in January.

- Prospects: “At this point, we’re not looking at something accessible for the public,” Boger said. “Maybe some day, but that is not our top priority.”

- Alternatives: Coffee shops have been the traditional domain of wireless Internet, but even some fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s have it now.

LOCAL TV STATIONS

- What it is: Local TV

- Why you want it: To make sure you’re able to find out the results of that Camel game or City Council debate when you flip on the 5 o’clock news.

- Cost: Free to the consumer.

- Who’s got it now: Cities of all sizes across the country have local TV stations, but the Wyoming Broadcasters Association lists just three cities with major, for-profit TV stations: Jackson, Cheyenne and Casper, which has two stations.

- What’s holding Gillette back: Money, said Bill Sullivan, a TV representative for the Broadcasters Association and general manager of KCWY-TV in the Casper area. Starting up a station is expensive, and advertising revenues are hard to come by. Sullivan has a $500,000 budget for his news operation alone. Regulations make it hard even to air Wyoming channels broadcast from outside Gillette because the city is in Denver’s “designated market area.” Thus, KCWY, an NBC affiliate, can’t bring service to Gillette without slashing all the programming it has in common with the Colorado NBC station that already has a channel here. “Of course, no one wants to run a quarter of a network.”

- Prospects: Not a pretty picture. “Wyoming isn’t an area that’s known for making money in the broadcast business,” Sullivan said.

- Alternatives: Gillette Public Access TV offers coverage of some local sporting events, including high school football and dirt track racing. Beyond that, out-of-state TV stations are the rule.

WIRELESS BROADBAND

- What it is: A way for mobile phones to access the Internet at speeds comparable to speedy in-home cable Internet.

- Why you want it: The iPhone has given mobile phone users a vision of surfing the Web with a fully functioning browser. But if you don’t have high-speed access, forget about it. You wouldn’t watch your favorite YouTube videos with dial-up, would you? Wireless companies also offer specialized content — such as TV shows, music downloads and GPS directions — through their own broadband-based services, as with Verizon’s V-Cast and Alltel’s Axcess.

- Cost: Providers generally require customers to subscribe to one of the company’s premium plans, which usually start at $20 to $30 more than a traditional plan. Packages with access just to the specialized content can usually be added onto a plan for between $15 and $20.

- Who’s got it now: Coverage is comparable to mobile phone coverage a few years ago: It’s not everywhere, but it’s fast becoming ubiquitous. Densely populated areas and major thoroughfares are most likely to have coverage.

- What’s holding Gillette back: Nada. Gillette fits squarely into the evolutionary roll-out of these products.

- Prospects: Just got up and running. In October, Verizon and Alltel both launched their EV-DO service — the version of wireless broadband used by those companies, among others. While wireless customers may have started to see bars popping up on their phone’s “EV” meter several months ago, the service was just in its testing phase then. Now, though, the system is ready for anyone who wants to jump on board. The downside? A company’s wireless broadband service works only with that company’s phones. If you don’t have Verizon or Alltel, you’re out of luck in Gillette.
source: gillettenewsrecord.com
Cell Phone Reviews
iPod Touch & iPhone: stable GBA emulator now available
iPhone Signal Strength Problems In the UK

Using iPhone in winters may cause injury

2007-11-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

London, Nov 23: Experts have warned that the iPhone could be responsible for causing repetitive strain injury if used for long periods in cold weather.

They said that muscles get strained from the unusual finger movements needed to search its menus or text and cold worsens the situation.

The caution came after analysts predicted 500,000 of the gizmos would sell in the UK before Christmas.

"When you text or use the iPhone you use far smaller muscles in the hand, which can fatigue quicker," The Sun quoted Tim Hutchful, of the British Chiropractic Association, as saying.

He said the problem is particularly evident in winter as less blood reaches muscles so they are stiff

He added that RSI could spread to the arm and elbow if the 269 pounds gadget, which has a mobile, iPod, camera, and browser, is held at a right angle for texting.

Hutchful recommends users write short texts and keep their hands warm.

Apple refused to comment on the matter.
source: http://www.zeenews.com
Cell Phone Reviews

WordPress admin interface optimized to work with iPhone, other mobile phones

2007-11-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

iPhone users who happen to write a blog, here’s a good news for ya. Thanks to the new plugin called WPhone, you’ll be able to add new and manage existing posts right from your shiny handset, wherever you are. Apparently, WPhone is quite fast — all pages are NOT ONLY pared down to their bare essential HTML, but each is GZIPed before it is sent off to the iPhone, saving bandwidth for those using the crappy EDGE network.

In addition, the folks behind WPhone also prepared a plugin version that works with other mobile browsers which don’t support JavaScript. There you have it — now you can really blog on-the-go…
source: http://www.intomobile.com
Cell Phone Reviews

RIM working on iPhone rival?

2007-11-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

RIM, once the maker of the most corporate-looking handhelds, is rumoured to be working on a touch-screen phone that will compete with the iPhone and - for the first time on a Blackberry - have no hard keyboard.
The Blackberry 9000 series will be aimed at the consumer market, where the condensed Blackberry Pearl has had a lot of success since its launch last year marked a change of direction for RIM.

"The 9000 is supposed to be a touchscreen device, very similar in form factor to the iPhone," says analyst Carmi Levy of ARCommunications, in an article for Unstrung. He expects them to appear in the first quarter of 2008, to be aimed squarely at consumers, not suits, and to have 3G as well as updated multimedia abilities.

RIM isn't discussing this in public, but the rumours on several sites are getting confident that the 9000 will extend the company's Pearl consumer range a bit further to capitalise on the demand created by the iPhone.

While Levy is quoted saying this is "the future of the Blackberry franchise," no one expects the new product - if any - to dislodge the company's mainstay, the traditional Blackberry qwerty email phones beloved by executives.

RIM hasn't responded to this burst of rumours but Levy believes the 9000 Series will appear in the first quarter of 2008, apparently after missing an original target of the second half of this year.
source: http://www.techworld.com
Cell Phone Reviews

Using IPhone in the winter may cause repetitive strain injury

2007-11-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

London, Nov 23 (ANI): Experts have warned that the iPhone could be responsible for causing repetitive strain injury if used for long periods in cold weather.

They said that muscles get strained from the unusual finger movements needed to search its menus or text and cold worsens the situation.

The caution came after analysts predicted 500,000 of the gizmos would sell in the UK before Christmas.

When you text or use the iPhone you use far smaller muscles in the hand, which can fatigue quicker, The Sun quoted Tim Hutchful, of the British Chiropractic Association, as saying.

He said the problem is particularly evident in winter as less blood reaches muscles so they are stiff

He added that RSI could spread to the arm and elbow if the 269 pounds gadget, which has a mobile, iPod, camera, and browser, is held at a right angle for texting.

Hutchful recommends users write short texts and keep their hands warm.
Apple refused to comment on the matter. (ANI)
source: http://www.thaindian.com
Cell Phone Reviews

iPhone out of contract in Germany

2007-11-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

Love or loathe Apple, the geeky side of many of us would just love to have a play with the company's latest gadget, the iPhone. Trouble is, getting an iPhone in the UK means buying into an expensive contract with O2, something that's unlikely to appeal to a majority of potential users.

In Germany, though, the situation is rather different. There, T-Mobile now allows customers to buy iPhones without contracts. Yep, no contracts at all. Furthermore, those in Germany who've already purchased iPhones can have their SIMs unlocked for free and then use the network of their choice.

Why the change? Well, Vodaphone took matters into its own hands and went to a German court to contest T-Mobile's exclusive deal with Apple for iPhone. If you're listening Orange, Vodaphone or any other UK operator, hint, hint, the courtroom awaits.

Though this may seem like great news, there's a catch. When purchased in Germany with a T-Mobile contract, the iPhone costs €399. That's pretty expensive but the cost of buying an iPhone without a contract is massively more - a whopping €999! Still, it is at least a step in the right direction, sort of.
source: http://lifestyle.hexus.net
Phone news

Next iPhone will tune into your tastes

2007-11-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

If you thought that Apple's iPhone was smart you should take a look at what mobile boffins are working on now.

Apple famously took the idea for the Macintosh user interface from Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center Inc. (PARC). Eventually that evolved into Mac OS X, on which the iPhone is based.

Now PARC engineers have developed software that can make recommendations about local restaurants, concerts, shopping areas and other activities based on the time of day, the user's physical location and the user's personal tastes.

The software, called rather disgustingly Magitti (does it also help anglers find bait?), turn a mobile phone into a super-smart PDA.

"We're trying to make [the mobile phone] more like a human," Victoria Bellotti, a principal scientist at PARC, told Computerworld.

"Instead of just directing stuff at you, it tries to make inferences about what kind of activity you're engaged in. On a Sunday afternoon, it might suggest going to a park or a gallery. It will learn patterns based on what you tend to show an interest in. It looks at things like where you go, what recommendations you liked. It's like having a companion with you."

Or like having your mum constantly suggest what you should be doing instead of staying in bed, slumping in front of the telly or going to the pub.

Bellotti said the software uses artificial intelligence algorithms that make inferences about what the user is doing by comparing the GPS location of, say, a restaurant he frequents for brunch, with a database of eateries. Based on the knowledge the Magitti accumulates, recommendations will change, and become more honed, over time.

Of course, the potential of advertising is sure to bend the whole thing into sponsored businesses that try to make you eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner at McDonalds or Starbucks, or watch the latest Vince Vaughn movie even though you think he's incredibly overrated – and therefore destroy the whole concept very quickly.

Bellotti says that it is tentatively slated for release during 2009.

However, seeing as nearly every great Xerox PARC invention only sees the day when someone else buys/copies/steals it, I'd suggest that Apple's iPhone is more likely to do something similar around the same time.
source: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk
Phone news

iFuntastic 4.7.1 with iTunes 7.5 (and iPhone 1.1.2) Support

2007-11-23T06:31:00.000-08:00

The latest version of iFuntastic 4.7.1 has been released. The iPhone customization/jailbreaking software is now shareware for many of the advanced features. Release notes:

- support for iTunes 7.5
- fixed text display for Leopard
- improved email procedure
- fixed alignment bug for Home Screen backgrounds (thank you Szymon)
- a 'Small Icons' choice for the (advanced) Home Screen
- fixed 'vanishing iPod icon' bug
- a 'News' page for up-to-date info about updates bugs and more
- a 'Make Executable' function in the File Manager item popup menu (thank you Avi and Alberto)
additional tweaks and simplifications based on your valuable feedback - keep it coming!

The latest version of iFuntastic allows users to jailbreak their 1.0.2, 1.1.1, and 1.1.2 iPhones, and also provide other customization options. There are directions on how to Jailbreak a 1.1.2 iPhone for free, but some may find this solution more convenient.
source: http://www.macrumors.com
Phone news

Disney to Launch the iPhone in Japan

2007-11-23T05:43:00.000-08:00

Only those who been totally blocked-out from all media sources over the last year would wonder what an iPhone is as the so-called “Jesus Phone” has been in the mainstream headlines since even before it was officially unveiled in January. However, for a combination of reasons, there has only been mild speculation about when - or indeed how - it would become available in the Japanese market. Citing the initial lack of 3G capability, not too mention an ‘unusual’ operator revenue share arrangement, the story so far has centered around deployments in the US and Europe.

We noted here on Wireless Watch last week that, “SoftBank and Disney have come to terms on rolling out the long-awaited Mickey Mouse MVNO in Japan.”, and it would seem - as speculated then - the iPhone could very well play front and center role in their plans. Looking beyond whois on their board of directors, a handset deal tied to revenue share from the traditional operators would be a ‘difficult’ proposition in Japan. With a dozen OEM’s here who have long-established carrier connections, such a move would — shall we say — set a rather disruptive standard going forward. However, an MVNO like Disney should have a little more breathing space to maneuver and most certainly would love to splash with some glitzy hardware bling in order to attract even more attention.
On the content side, Disney has real depth beyond just cute characters.. which are very popular in their own right here. The companies movie catalogue and TV inventory via Buena Vista combined with games, music and Extreme Sports offerings would all display quite nicely on “Steves Amazing Device”.

So much for antidotal pondering. How could we come to terms with making such a bold statement, when even the local very well connected tech media has not - so far as we could find - managed to break this news? WWJ subscribers login for the real juice.
source: http://wirelesswatch.jp
Phone news

Stuttering start for iPhone

2007-11-22T08:07:00.001-08:00

Sales of the iPhone for its launch weekend (November 9-11) are thought to be considerably less than 50,000, rather than the 100,000 widely reported last week and described by O2 itself as “over-exagerated”.

O2 UK chief executive Peter Erskine said O2 had sold “tens of thousands” iPhones following launch, outstripping sales of the device at multiple chain Carphone Warehouse. Most sales had gone to brand new O2 customers, lured away from rivals by the iPhone, O2’s “fastest-selling device ever”. Footfall to its own stores jumped threefold compared with the equivalent weekend last year, said Erskine.

Unsubstantiated reports appeared on several websites claiming 8,000 iPhones had been activated on iTunes by the end of Friday, November 9, and T-Mobile, Apple’s German launch partner, claimed to have sold 10,000 by the afternoon of its launch day.

But retail staff sounded deflated by the reality. One O2 retail assistant in Hampstead said: "At the start of the weekend, we thought we would have very little in stock by now. Friday evening was manic and we saw all the Apple fanatics and technology-minded people snapping them up. But all the hype has disappeared now, and the excitement looks to have drained past the weekend."

Meanwhile Carphone, which is understood to have informed sales staff it expected to double weekly sales in just two days, is thought to have missed targets by some margin. Carphone chief executive Charles Dunstone handled the first sale (pictured) and the retailer set itself internal sales targets of 20,000 over launch weekend, according to store staff. One staffer claimed his store processed 160 iPhone sales over the weekend, the best-performance across its London retail estate.

But the Monday after, most Carphone staff also sounded deflated by the weekend’s sales performance.

“The interest on Friday evening was incredible – I think we sold 160 iPhones that evening, more than any other Carphone store in London. There was still some interest on Saturday, but it was very dead on Sunday and has been very quiet today (Monday), which we've found very strange,” said a Chelsea branch employee.

“We were extremely busy on Friday evening and most of Saturday, but it has died down dramatically since then. People have stopped by, but all they are doing is looking at the iPhone and not buying it,” said a retail assistant at Carphone’s Marylebone Road branch.

“The interest from Friday night has cooled now. We won’t see that level of activity again,” said a staffer at Carphone Hammersmith.

Problems arose at many Carphone stores as shoppers were unable to buy the iPhone during the first hour of the launch because Carphone’s chip and PIN payment system crashed. Many stores began to accept cash payments for the handset, which is not a method normally accepted by Apple.

Carphone said the problems were a minor glitch in a successful launch. spokesperson said: “The payment problem was only a minor issue and was due to the high volume of transactions. But the situation was resolved quickly and caused minimal problems.”

Even the queues outside the stores on launch day failed to live up to the hype: around 100 Apple diehards queued for more than six hours for the handset, but their number appeared larger only because of the media throng that attended. But for a couple of sites, O2 and Carphone stores meanwhile had a handful of enthusiasts queuing, and no more.

Said one London observer: “You could have waited in the warm, in the pub, until 6pm, and just walked across the road when the stores opened, straight in and picked up an iPhone without queuing. If you wanted one.”

O2 installed an extra 1,427 customer service and retail staff across the UK to ensure a smooth service experience for iPhone customers through Christmas. Around 450 from head office also joined its ranks for the Friday afternoon store shift.

Carphone chief executive Charles Dunstone was on hand at Carphone’s flaghsip store on Oxford Street to complete the first sale there.
source: http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk
Phone news

iPhone: Too high a price to pay?

2007-11-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

Now that the marketing blitz and customer hype about the Apple iPhone are reverting back to more realistic levels there comes some not entirely unexpected news: yes the Apple iPhone has been hacked, as reported in the press. Word of this hack came less than 30 days after launch.

That the hack occurred is certainly no surprise. That it occurred so soon after its launch is also no major shock. But let's look beyond that single incident to larger issues on the horizon.

Does the iPhone hack portend that the long-anticipated assault on the security of mobile phones has arrived? Yes and no.

No, because there has been some, though not a lot of, malware "available" for mobile phones for almost three years (for example Cabir variants). Yes, because this will probably spark a far wider recognition among users that mobile devices are, in reality, smaller but nevertheless still complex computer systems, and not "merely" phones.

While relatively "dumb" digital mobile phones remain on the market, the new iPhone has a level of complexity that has not really been seen before in mobile phones. And for security professionals, complexity breeds insecurity. This hack of the new "in"-toy will almost certainly spark that wider recognition among users.

The bigger question that is begging to be asked concerns carriers' vendor interests versus those of their customers.

While most of Europe and Asia have open networks where customers can readily change operators based on pricing and offerings (and other aspects of vendor satisfaction desired by the individual customer), in the US, it is the carrier rather than the subscriber who wields the ultimate power. Phone numbers are now portable, but customers are forbidden to change networks without incurring a penalty.

The launch of the Apple iPhone brought this into stark focus with the realisation that the quid pro quo for getting your hands on this "object of desire" was to submit yourself to being locked into one carrier. Similarly, the subsequent launch into Europe, with Apple taking a revenue share from the exclusive operator in each territory, raises this question: are European networks set to become less, not more, open?

With the need to generate revenue and in the scramble to secure the rights to the device that is redefining the mobile user experience, both the networks and the devices themselves are being increasingly locked down, which seems to be flying in the face of what the customer actually wants and expects. It is neither a good, nor sustainable, position for the carriers to be in.

As increasingly advanced mobile technologies herald a new level of complexity and feature sophistication, what does this mean for the future of open phones? Customers are growing tired of closed phones, where only carrier-approved applications can be downloaded, and those customers are increasingly unwilling to pay the high prices charged by the carriers. Customers want open phones where they can load whatever applications they want on to them, and to get those applications from vendors of their choosing.

The debate has even reached the US Congress. Following the launch of the iPhone in July, the house subcommittee on telecommunications and the internet criticised AT&T for locking buyers into an exclusive contract and charging a termination fee for those who want to switch early. AT&T's $175 (£86) fee leaves iPhone owners even more out of pocket as the phone won't work on any other network and they bought it at full price - phone operators use the fact that they give away handsets to justify termination fees.

One must now wonder if any moves by European operators to lock in subscribers and limit choice and access will fall foul of European Commission regulators.

Ultimately, however, it will come down to the one group that has the ultimate decision-making power: the subscriber. Will consumers be willing to trade openness and choice for the gadget of their dreams?

- Tim Mather is chief security strategist for RSA Conferences.
source: http://www.securecomputing.net.au
Phone news

Debitel Wants To Offer iPhone Call Package On German Market

2007-11-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- Germany's third-largest mobile phone services supplier, debitel AG, is planning to retail a special calling package for use with Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone handset, if technically possible, a debitel spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

The debitel spokeswoman said the company welcomes T-Mobile Deutschland's preliminary move, announced earlier Wednesday, to allow consumers the option of buying an iPhone without any phone service contract attached, and without a SIM- lock in place.

However, the spokeswoman said, debitel is disappointed that T-Mobile Deutschland didn't first discuss such a solution with other players in the sector.

Debitel doesn't itself own a network, but uses those of four German operators. It resells the mobile phone service packages of those operators, and also retails calling packages under its own brand.

Apple has awarded to T-Mobile Deutschland, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DT), exclusive rights to sell the iPhone in Germany.

A SIM-lock which T-Mobile Deutschland had been placing on all iPhones sold limited users to using T-Mobile Deutschland's own network.

T-Mobile Deutschland's marketing strategy for the iPhone has been challenged in a regional court in Hamburg by the German unit of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD).

The debitel spokeswoman declined to say whether debitel would be filing a complaint on T-Mobile's iPhone marketing practices with Germany's federal network agency, but said it could be assumed that it would.

T-Mobile Deutschland had been selling the iPhone, which combines a phone, a wireless Internet connection and a digital music player, since Nov. 9.
source: http://money.cnn.com
Phone news

iPhone phone-home furphy

2007-11-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

The fuss started when someone discovered that the URL sent by an iPhone's Stocks and Weather widgets includes a parameter named IMEI.

An IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is the number that uniquely identifies a mobile phone.

If you put two and two together and end up with a number significantly greater than four, you may also leap to the conclusion that Stocks and Weather requests actually transmit the iPhone's IMEI.
When other people analysed the URLs actually transmitted by the widgets, they discovered that it was the identity of the widget, not the iPhone, that was being sent. The value of the IMEI parameter doesn't change when you use a different iPhone - or iPod touch, for that matter. Since the iPod touch isn't a phone, it doesn't have an IMEI to start with.

But the discovery does lead to questions about why someone at Apple thought it was a good idea to have a parameter called IMEI rather than some other name. Was - or more worryingly is - there a plan to send uniquely identifying information at some stage?

Where's that roll of aluminium foil?
source: http://www.itwire.com
Apple iPhone Reviews

Vodafone challenges exclusive German iPhone deal

2007-11-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

Deutsche Telekom requires buyers to sign up to a two-year contract with its T-Mobile wireless network. As well, the iPhone (AAPL:
168.00, -0.89, -0.5%) contains a lock that prevents it from being used on any other network.
But the regional court in Hamburg on Tuesday temporarily prohibited T-Mobile from continuing to sell the iPhone only in combination with that two-year contract, and requested that the device be allowed to function with other networks.
A full hearing on the matter will reportedly take place in Hamburg in two weeks' time.
This could pose significant problems for T-Mobile, which fought hard to secure exclusive rights to sell the iPhone in Germany, just the way AT&T Inc. (T:, , ) did in the U.S. and Telefonica's (TEF:100.12, -1.08, -1.1%) O2 did in Britain.
Vodafone Deutschland, a unit of Vodafone Group Plc (UK:VOD: news, chart, profile) (VOD:, , ) , the
world's largest mobile operator by revenue, kicked off the hostilities by filing a preliminary injunction regarding T-Mobile's marketing rights late Monday.

Vodafone said it doesn't plan to file similar injunctions in other countries where the iPhone is sold.
But analysts cautioned that the case could set a dangerous precedent.
"The major risk is that if the German market is going to have an unlocked device, then it would likely be the end of Apple's exclusive deals with carriers," said Carolina Milanesi, research director in the mobile and wireless device practice of Gartner Group.
"Apple may have to rethink its business model and revenue-share agreement earlier than they planned to," she said.
Deutsche Telekom shares were flat in Frankfurt afternoon trading, underperforming the broader market. Vodafone shares slipped 0.2% in London.
In France, Apple recruited France Telecom's (FR:013330: news, chart, profile) Orange mobile phone subsidiary to sell the iPhone. But national laws barring the locking of phones mean the U.S. company is expected to offer devices that could work on any network starting Nov. 29.
Vodafone will launch its own multifunctional handheld-computer phone, the QBowl, before Christmas as a direct competitor to the iPhone.
source: http://www.marketwatch.com
Apple iPhone Reviews

3G iPhone rumours return

2007-11-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

SevenClick claims to have spoken to "one of the main managers of [Spanish carrier] Telefonica".

According to the report, Telefonica expects to release a 3G iPhone in May 2008, although an agreement with Apple has yet to be reached.

Other stories, apparently originating at Morse.it, say that by March or April, Vodafone will be the 3G iPhone carrier for all the European countries where it operates. Vodafone has subsidiaries in Albania, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the UK.

Some commentators suggest Vodafone's iPhone-related suit against T-Mobile in Germany works against this rumour, but we're not so sure: perhaps Vodafone is keen to establish whether German courts will uphold the tying of handsets and service plans before it finalises its deal with Apple.

According to Morse.it, the 'exclusive' iPhone deals in the UK, Germany and France only relate to the EDGE-based model, leaving Apple to do a deal with another competing carrier for the 3G iPhone.

Apple has shown a tendency to make iPhone announcements well ahead of time, so if these rumours have any foundation we would expect the 3G iPhone to be previewed at January's Macworld Expo.
source: http://www.itwire.com
Apple iPhone Reviews

Zinio, Texterity Launch iPhone, iPod Reader Software

2007-11-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

Dueling digital publishing companies are courting early adapters with new publishing and distribution platforms that will let people read popular magazines on Apple’s iPhones and iPod Touch devices.

Zinio, which makes digital replicas of books and magazines, announced it has introduced a new version for iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Magazines available to them include Hachette Filipacchi Media’s Car & Driver and Woman’s Day, Playboy, Hearst Magazines’ Popular Mechanics, and Rodale’s Men’s Health.

The magazines initially will be available for free by going to Zinio’s Web site.

Also this week, rival Texterity is releasing a 1.0 version of its iPhone and iPod Touch platform, with 52 magazines making their current issue available for free, said Cimarron Buser, vp, marketing.

Participating magazines include Reader’s Digest Associations’ Every Day with Rachael Ray, Time Inc.’s Cottage Living and Meredith Corp.’s Ready Made. In all, Texterity has 450 magazine clients.

Texterity came out with a beta iPhone version in July with about 20 magazines available, followed by an iPod Touch version.
source: http://www.mediaweek.com
iPhone Reviews

Apple: We'll Make iPhone Better. We Promise!

2007-11-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

By David Becker
Apple, having apparently noticed that not everyone is willing to wait for official iPhone improvements, is promising that more firmware upgrade goodness is on the way. "All the complaints and feature requests we've had can be fixed and added by software upgrades", an unnamed flak told Pocket-lint.

No specifics on exactly what is in the works, but another unnamed industry source says to pay attention to what Dare to Brick crowd is doing.
If the reason to upgrade the software each time is compelling enough, then you are less likely to hack the software, meaning Apple gets to earn the substantial revenue agreement it has with the official operator.
source: http://blog.wired.com
iPhone Reviews

Update: iPhone stocks

2007-11-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

(Fortune Magazine) -- In "How to Dial In to the iPhone Bonanza" (May 28) we recommended a basket of stocks poised to benefit from Apple's breakthrough iPhone: AT&T (Charts, Fortune 500), the exclusive phone operator for the iPhone in the U.S.; one of the phone's chip suppliers, Broadcom (Charts); and rival Nokia (Charts), which would benefit from overall consumer interest in sophisticated phones such as the Apple device.

What happened: We gave some mixed signals. Phone giant AT&T, which got some bad press for the slowness of the data connections on the iPhone, is nonetheless up almost $3, or 7%, as of Oct. 31.

Chipmaker Broadcom hit $43 but fell back to $33 (its price when we cited it) after analysts downgraded the stock on concerns about the company's investment strategy and expenses.

Our one great call? Nokia. The Apple competitor, which is launching an online music store (sound familiar?) and is pushing into Internet services, has seen its stock climb $15, to almost $40, a 60% gain.

We were wrong about Apple (Charts, Fortune 500) itself, though. We said the stock, then trading at 32 times trailing earnings, was a risky bet. The stock now trades at 48 times earnings and has surged $89, to $190.
source: http://money.cnn.com
iPhone Reviews

Id's Carmack Says Apple Not Supportive of iPhone Games

2007-11-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

Id Software's John Carmack recently openly criticized Apple's attitude toward supporting game developers, and said that he and Steve Jobs have had "a fairly heated argument" over the issue.

Carmack has some experience developing games for mobile platforms. The company, long-known for landmark games like "Doom" and "Quake," created "Doom RPG" for mobile handsets, along with Orcs & Elves.

Recently GameDaily BIZ interviewed Carmack about those efforts, and the subject of Apple and gaming came up.

Carmack's focus was specifically on mobile gaming, and when asked about iPhone and iPod game development, he said that he and Steve Jobs got into a "fairly heated argument" at Apple's 2007 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

"I have an iPhone right now and it's a platform I would enjoy developing for but Apple is not taking progressing steps in regards to [gaming]," Carmack is quoted as saying.

Carmack confesses that Apple's iPhone development strategy is working "from a business standpoint," and said he's not going to second-guess the company and tell them they're "being fools or idiots" for not focusing on gaming for the device.

He went on to say that Apple is "not exactly hugely supportive" of gaming. The iPod, he says, is "in many ways ? one of the worst environments to develop games for," because game developers have to work on an emulator, among other drawbacks.

"? just all these horrible decisions," said Carmack.

Carmack said that he's expressed his concerns to Jobs, "so [Apple] are at least aware of all of them, but they're not giving any spectacular signs that it's going to be a big deal for them in the next year."
source: http://www.pcworld.com
iPhone Reviews

Static for iPhone Supplier Balda

2007-11-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

by Jack Ewing
Just as the Apple (AAPL) iPhone launches in Europe, a German company that analysts believe is the major supplier of its unique touch screen is under fire for its financial practices and lagging profitability. Balda (BADG.DE), which makes touch screens in Xiamen, China, via a joint venture with Singapore-based TPK Holding, raised eyebrows on Oct. 31 when it sold $50 million in "convertible profit participation rights" to unnamed institutional investors.

The 8% interest rate on the paper, which is similar to a bond that can be converted to stock, struck analysts as too expensive, and they expressed frustration with the sparse information that Balda management disclosed about the reasoning behind the issue. Analyst Tobias Loskamp of BHF-Bank in Frankfurt, who's normally bullish on Balda, criticized management's "needless lack of transparency." A Balda spokesman said the company, which just hired a new chief financial officer, is striving to improve disclosure.
Downplaying Poor Numbers

Balda's earnings also came in lower than expected. The company's report to shareholders on Oct. 31 headlined earnings before interest and taxes of $3 million in the third quarter on sales of $114 million, vs. a loss of $20 million in the year-earlier period. But including discontinued operations, the company suffered a net loss of $30 million in the third quarter of 2007—a fact not mentioned in the press release though it was contained in the more detailed quarterly report. Balda also suffered from disappointing numbers in the previous quarter (BusinessWeek, 8/2/07).

Another point prompting criticism is that Balda is counting as discontinued operations money-losing units that the company is trying to sell but hasn't yet. The practice doesn't violate accounting rules but has fueled perceptions that Balda management is downplaying negative information. Balda has good prospects of selling the units before the end of the year, company spokesman Clas Röhl said.
The news wasn't all bad. Balda halved its quarterly loss from last year while more than doubling sales, and some major investors remain optimistic. Guy Wyser-Pratte, whose New York-based Wyser-Pratte & Co. owns 7% of Balda, said he continues to believe that Balda has a substantial lead over other touch-technology providers. Wyser-Pratte blames the 36% decline in Balda shares since July on "massive" short selling by rival hedge funds. "You have people wishing bad on the company, trying everything they can to spread bad stories," he says.
Apple Contracts Are Unconfirmed

Neither secrecy-obsessed Apple nor Balda has ever confirmed that Balda is supplying screens for the iPhone, which debuts in Europe Nov. 9. Deutsche Telekom (DT) will be selling the innovative handset in Germany while Telefónica's (TEF) O2 unit is selling it in Britain. The heart of the iPhone is its touch-screen interface, the specs for which closely match Balda technology. Balda boasts that its glass-surfaced screens are supposed to be more sensitive, thinner, and harder to scratch or smudge than conventional plastic touch displays. They offer sharper resolution and can sense several human digits simultaneously.

Balda is probably also supplying touch-screen components to the new iPod Touch, says BHF-Bank's Loskamp, who continues to rate the shares a "strong buy." However Apple, which historically does not like to be too dependent on any one supplier, also is commissioning screens from other companies such as Japan's Sharp (6753.T), industry watchers say.

Balda's future hinges on continuing to remain in Apple's good graces as bigger rivals try to duplicate or beat its technology. But the company isn't totally reliant on touch screens; Balda also makes plastic housings for handsets sold by companies such as Sony Ericsson.
Migrating to Asia

Despite Balda's relatively small size, it has attracted unusual interest from hedge funds and international investors. FMR Corp., better known as Fidelity Investments, owns 9.7%, according to Balda. The largest outside shareholder is London-based Audley Capital with a stake of more than 10%. Along with Wyser-Pratte, Audley has urged Balda Chief Executive Officer Joachim Gut to shift almost all the company's operations to Asia, where costs are lower and where most other suppliers are located.

Michael Treichl, managing partner of Audley, expressed some frustration at the pace of restructuring at Balda and the time it has taken for the company to profit from its iPhone work. But he added, "They're finally doing what we have told them to do, which is essentially turn into an Asian business."
source: http://www.businessweek.com/
iphone news

iPhone: The readers speak

2007-11-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

By Macworld Staff
Meeting the iPhone

I was surprised at one major omission from your review of the iPhone (“Meet the iPhone,” September 2007): its lack of a voice-dialing feature. I love the look and the interface, but for those of us who often have to make calls while on the road for business, the inability to place a call simply by speaking the number or the contact’s name is a serious weakness. Until I can make a call without taking my hands off the wheel (as you can with most other new phones), I’ll have to hold off.—Chris Watson

In your review of the iPhone, you didn’t mention its biggest negative: you can’t replace the battery by yourself, and Apple rips you off $75 to do it. (And you don’t have a phone until Apple ships it back.) I’ll wait to buy the iPhone until I can change my own battery, thank you.—Bob Kocher

It is amazing that with all the ink you used on your iPhone coverage, you left out the biggest drawback to the iPhone: its [cell phone] carrier. Apple needs to open the iPhone to work with other carriers. Until it does, there will be many potential consumers (like me) who will reject the iPhone, no matter how many bells and whistles it has.—Doug Lindsay

Please don’t get me wrong. I love my new iPhone. I think it is worth every penny. However, I disagree with something you said in your September issue: “It’s also a full-featured iPod.” Not true. My iPod (an old, second-generation model) includes EQ and voice memos, and can accept files as an external hard drive; the iPhone doesn’t and can’t. You also quoted a buyer as saying “Today, I’ve got three things in my pocket. Tomorrow, I’ll have one.” Again, not true for me. The iPhone is missing critical PDA features; you can’t, for example, search for items in Calendar, Contacts, and Notes. The iPhone’s potential is exciting, but it won’t be a valid PDA replacement until it at least includes some way to search.—Joe Belotte

I read John Gruber’s Spotlight column about the iPhone in your September edition (“The New Frontier,” September 2007) with incredulity. His contention that a mouse is more precise than my fingers made me snort with derision. Unlike John, I have a lot of respect for my fingers. I think they’re fabulously precise. And they should be: nature’s been working on them for a few billion years (a bit longer than Steve Jobs and his team have been working on the Mac graphical interface). My mouse provides me with the equivalent of a single fingertip, with which I am expected to do everything. This is worse than inadequate—it’s hopelessly limiting.—Colin Bisset
Quicken pros and cons

While Quicken for Mac (“Smart Money,” September 2007) is probably an adequate program for most people, it is simply inadequate for small business use. You didn’t mention the most useful alternative: running Quicken Home and Business (available only for Windows) in Parallels. It’s a perfect combination: I can bring a terrific accounting system over to my machine of choice, the MacBook Pro (and I can finally get rid of my last PC).—Dan Beach

The author actually did make that very suggestion in the original draft of his story, but we cut it for space reasons. Apologies for the omission.—Dan Miller

I was surprised to see that you recommended Quicken Home Inventory in your otherwise good feature about Quicken tricks. In my experience, Quicken Home Inventory is a complete piece of junk. It is mind-numbingly slow and it constantly crashes. I do not understand why Intuit ever released this program.—Will Windham

I was disappointed not to see In2M’s Web-based accounting program Mvelopes Personal included in “8 Great Quicken Alternatives.” Mvelopes is based on the envelope method of budgeting, in which you set aside money for expenses in virtual envelopes—a proactive way to make sure your money goes where you intend before you spend it. Mvelopes is a subscription service, but it’s inexpensive (about $11 a month) and offers a free 30-day trial. I’ve tried many of the apps mentioned in your article, and for interface and features, I like Mvelopes best.—Frank Piacitelli

After converting to the Mac (thank goodness) after 25 years of using PCs, I found that Quicken for Mac made a mess of my Quicken for Windows data files. But Reilly Technologies’ Moneydance ($30) made the conversion flawlessly. I have found it a very easy and intuitive program to use, complete with automatic daily updates of stock and mutual fund prices. I’m sorry, but Gina Trapani missed the boat on this one—Moneydance is easily a “top 8” financial program alternative to Quicken.—Joe Henderson

I recently went through the (surprisingly difficult) process of finding a replacement for the venerable MacMoney (which, alas, never made the transition to OS X). I evaluated several of the apps you reviewed, but the one I ultimately chose was conspicuous in its absence. Nano Software’s Accounts ($35) is an inexpensive, elegant double-entry accounting application. It has some features (such as numbered accounts) and a few limitations (no linking to online accounts) that might not suit all users. But it offers the essentials of personal or small-business accounting with simplicity and aplomb.—Steven Naylor
Where’s my Mac?

In “GPS for the Mac” (Mobile Mac, September 2007) you say, “I’ve tested Garmin’s MapSource software on Parallels, with a handful of current Garmin GPS units, and it worked just fine.” This might have been true before the latest Parallels upgrade, but now a problem with Parallels’ USB drivers keeps the Garmin unit from working with Parallels. This happens with several hardware combinations and there’s no workaround.—Sami Kulju

You might want to also mention the excellent GPSNavX ($60; gpsnavx.com) software, which I’ve used for years. For marine navigation, it’s superior to programs costing hundreds of dollars more.—Loren Beach

I have two Garmin GPS units, the nüvi 350 ($537) and GPSMap 76CSx ($482). The 350 has been very simple to use with my Mac; it shows up as a mass storage device, so it’s simple to drag things into and out of it. The 76CSx, on the other hand, has been a real pain. I attempted to load maps onto it from Windows XP Pro (via Parallels Desktop 2.0) on an Intel Mac Mini with no luck.—Mark Winchester
A modest proposal

In his September 2007 column (From the Editor’s Desk), Jason Snell noted that Macworld is “a magazine focused on everything Apple—not just the Mac.” Here is an idea: Apple recently changed its name to Apple Inc. since it now does more than just computers. Perhaps it’s time to change the name of your magazine to AppleWorld. If you want to extend my subscription for a few years for suggesting it, that would be cool.—Dan Losinger
source: http://www.macworld.com/
iphone news

LG Launches iPhone-Like Smartphone In Europe

2007-11-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

LG Electronics has officially launched its iPhone-like smartphone in Europe, making the device available in stores just days before Apple's iPhone goes on sale overseas.

The LG-KS20, which hit store shelves Monday, has the same thin rectangular design as the iPhone, but a smaller touch screen: 2.8 inches diagonally versus 3.5 inches. The LG phone has a stylus for navigating the 240-by-320 pixels screen, although it's not as interactive as iPhone's touch screen, which enables the use of fingers to manipulate pictures, video, and data.

LG launched its smartphone four days before the iPhone is scheduled to go on sale in Europe. The Korean company unveiled the KS20 in August at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) trade show in Berlin.

While the iPhone uses a mobile version of Apple's Mac OS X, the KS20 runs on version 6 of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s Windows Mobile for Pocket PC. The LG device includes an MP3 player, FM radio, and a 2.0 mega-pixel camera. The KS20 has 128-Mbytes of memory, weighs 3.4 ounces, and has a battery life of four hours of talking, and 400 hours on standby.

Like the iPhone, the KS20 supports Wi-Fi for connecting to the Internet via wireless broadband, and also supports Bluetooth for wireless connections with other supporting devices, such as a notebook or headphone. A video demo of the LG device can be seen on YouTube.

The iPhone has drawn media attention to the smartphone market, increasing consumer interest in the devices. Apple sold 1.4 million units within the first 90 days of the device's June 29 release in the United States, and its success has competitors rushing to market with alternatives. Besides LG, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Palm, Sprint (NYSE: S), T-Mobile, and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) have launched challengers.

With the saturation of multifunction devices, analysts expect smartphone sales worldwide to grow from about 20 million this year to 150 million by 2011.
source: http://www.informationweek.com
iphone news

iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPod nano? A Living with Tech Smackdown

2007-11-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

So what I really wanted to find out was if the iPhone was worth the money; and somehow I started down the road of comparison testing. (I guess it really is part of my nature).

I lived with the iPhone on a business trip to San Francisco (talk about bringing the coals to Newcastle) and came back with more questions.

More after the jump.

Some background: I've owned and used several smartphones and PDAs from the major players: Palm Vx, HandSpring Visor, Treo 650 (Palm), Toshiba e750 (PocketPC), Sony Ericsson P900 (Symbian UIQ), Nokia N80 (Symbian S60v3), and my current whip, the T-Mobile MDA (Windows Mobile 5). Heck I even used a Newton MessagePad 2100 back in the day. I own the MDA because I want a phone that can also do data functions, like quick lookups on Wikipedia and do multimedia tasks like playing back video files or MP3s. Native programs like SlingPlayer Mobile and Zagat to Go are gravy. The big annoyances with MDA are the lackluster phone performance, and the smaller 2.5mm headphone jack. I tried using a pair of A2DP Bluetooth headphones, but that didn't work as well as my iPod nano 2G with wired earbuds. The MDA is a middling to fair phone, a great PDA, a passable media player, and a passable Internet tablet.
Now I've also owned several generations of Apple iPod: iPod 2G, iPod 4G (monochrome), and iPod nano 1G and 2G. I used to use a Compaq MMC-based MP3 player before the iPods, and I also own an old Archos av500 for videos on the go.

Now my (current) ultimate pocketable device would give me as many of the following features as possible, and would let me combine the functionality of an iPod and a smartphone:

-A good quality phone, with decent coverage in the NYC area;
-3G or better data;
-WiFi;
-Ability to use iTunes-bought programming and management (Hey, I like being able to check and uncheck content to be synced, even better than the drag-and-drop simplicity of the Archos because sometimes I want to watch things over without having to search for it. Plus iTunes backup is as simple as dragging the iTunes folder over to a shared or USB drive);
-Internet browsing, as close to 'desktop class' as possible;
-Video playback;
-Calendaring with links to Outlook/Entourage;
-Outlook/Entourage Contact management;
-Music playback through high quality third-party earbuds (I like both the Ultimate Ears Triple-Fi 10 Pro and the Shure E4g for quiet room listening or commuting, respectively). This is notable because both pairs of headphones use L-shaped plugs that don't fit in the iPhone;
-Note taking;
-Bluetooth for in-car Handsfree (must have) and dial up networking for laptops (would be nice).;

The MDA plus the iPod nano 2G got me most of the functions above, but I really want a 'one pocket' device, which the iPhone initially promised. Again my scores for the MDA would be: Phone (2.5 out of 5), Internet data tablet (3 out of 5), native apps (5 out of 5), PDA (4.5 out of 5) and media player (3 out of 5). I didn't rate the MDA's email capabilites because our corporate email (still) doesn't support mobile devices aside from a few Blackberries and Goodlink devices.

I borrowed the iPhone for a couple of weeks, with the iPod Touch and an iPod nano 3G as well.
The iPhone was both a revelation and a disappointment. The iPhone was an OK to very good phone, since AT&T's service in the NYC area is less than optimal. Things got better when I took it on a trip to San Francisco, which makes sense since the Bay area is Apple's home base. In SF, voice quality was decent, and I didn't drop any calls. Handsfree tethering to two cars (an Acura and a BMW) were the best of any phone I've used, even compared to the Moto RAZR v3. EDGE 2.5G Internet access was OK in NYC, and a little better in SF.

SF has a big plus with the MUNI and BART mobile web sites. It was neat checking on the timing of the next BART train or Muni bus while waiting at a stop. I wish they could do something like that in my home base of NYC. I couldn't tether the iPhone to my notebook like I can with the MDA, but that's OK, since Safari is the best mobile phone browser I've used yet.

Lack of Flash and Java are the notable minuses for mobile Safari. I was still able to access my office's webmail, many information sites, and a couple of iPhone-optimized sites as well. Calendar and contact functions were as good as any non-smartphone, and synced to Entourage/Outlook, so I was happy there.

As a media player, the iPhone was almost perfect. I say almost, because of that darned recessed headphone jack. I kludged a rough 3-inch headphone extension cable from a headphone extender I got in a dongle for a pair of wireless headphones. This was a usable if awkward solution. Like my colleagues Sascha Segan and Tim Gideon, I enjoyed using the touchscreen interface, and movies looked great on the iPhone's bright semi-wide screen. The one other major nit I could pick about the iPhone is that it is awkward to use in your pocket: there is no tactile feedback like on the nanos' clickwheel, so you can't FF to the next song if your shuffle play picks the wrong song for your current mood. This would be moot if the iPod wired FM remote worked with the iPhone or iPod Touch, but sadly that's not the case.

So overall: iPhone as a Phone (3.5 out of 5), Internet Tablet (3.5 out of 5), native apps (1.5 out of 5, there are none aside from a couple of built in widgets), PDA (4 out of 5), and media player (4.5 out of 5).
The iPod touch is the so-called "iPhone without the phone", and the interface issues are similar to the iPhone. The iPod Touch deletes the iPhone's physical volume controls and speakers, so annoyingly everything on the Touch is done on the touchscreen. It is a brilliant media player, though I wish the speakers were still there for viewing video podcasts and TV shows. Thank goodness the Touch works without a headphone adapter. The iPod Touch also deletes calendar entry, but that's OK, since I use my PDAs to check meetings, not schedule them, Safari is still here, but is limited to WiFi Hotspots. This is the biggest drawback for me, since I like to check things like transit delays on my MDA daily. Having 16GB instead of the 8GB on the iPhone and nano is a nice perk, but not enough for me to shell out $399 for it. If the Touch had a Bluetooth Dial Up Networking profile, I would get that and a 3G Verzion phone with Bluetooth tethering. That would be sweet. (The Nokia N800 internet tablet with a 3G phone is a passable alternative, but unfortunately there aren't enough native apps, and besides, I bought too many iTunes tracks and videos to abandon iPod completely at this point).

iPod Touch rates: Phone (0 out of 5), Internet Tablet (3.0 out of 5), native apps (1 out of 5, just You Tube), PDA (3 out of 5), and media player (4.5 out of 5).

I didn't try out the 80GB and 160GB iPod Classic, because I simply don't need to carry my entire video and music library with me at all times. Also I tend to listen my playlists on shuffle, and hard drive players like the Classics are slower to react than flash players like the nanos and the iPhone/iPod Touch. Besides, the nano 3G and the classic share the same interface.

The iPod nano 3G is an upgrade to my current nano 2G. Apple added video, and changed the shape slightly. They also lowered the price to $199 for 8GB, which is great considering the functionality of the nano 3G. The video quality is excellent, even with such a small screen, though it is better suited to video podcasts and TV shows than full length movies in widescreen. While it has even less calendar and contact functionality than the Touch, this is OK, since the nano would (still) be a companion to my MDA rather than a replacement. Shuffle play on the nano is as good as on previous nanos, which is to say it is excellent. The drawbacks of the Touch aren't present on the nano, because it's more of a shrunk iPod Classic than an iPhone with no Phone.

iPod nano scores: Phone (0 out of 5), Internet Tablet (0 out of 5), native Apps (3 out of 5, games and a few 'extras'), PDA (2 out of 5), media player (5 out of 5).

So who won? Well since the iPhone doesn't have Flash, a usable headphone jack, or 3G or faster data (yet), it is a "wait for version 2.0" situation for me. As it stands right now, the first iPhone isn't quite enough for me to leave T-mobile for AT&T wireless. A 3G data, 16GB iPhone with AT&T (or Verizon) would be enough for me to leave my MDA in the drawer of obsolete tech forever.

The iPod Touch is a really nice media player, but I would have to still carry the MDA for everything else, and that's two bulky devices to carry. Maybe if they included tethering or at least the physical volume controls and the speakers. The choice (if I made it today) is upgrading to the nano 3G, and continuing to use the MDA for phone, mobile Internet, apps, and PDA. The nano is still small enough to ignore in a pocket, and with the video playback, it gets me all the new podcasts and shows I've discovered on this journey. It's also half the price of the iPhone or 16GB Touch, so it's a no-brainer.
source: http://www.gearlog.com/2007/11/iphone_ipod_touch_or_ipod_nano.php
iphone news

Telecom Okta takes tilt at the iPhone

2007-11-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

The Okta Touch, priced at $799 at aimed at the consumer market, combines the functions of a camera phone, Windows Mobile 6.0 computer and an MP3 player.

Like the iPhone, it features a touch-screen interface. This lets customers to switch between different applications and scroll through websites, menus and e-mail inboxes by touching and dragging their finger across the screen.

Consumer marketing head David Craig says the Okta Touch is an important addition to Telecom's line-up, "given the buzz overseas around all-in-one touch screen devices."

"Most New Zealanders won't have seen anything like this before."

Unlike the iPhone, the Okta Touch features a removable battery and it can run third party applications, but it does not support WiFi connections.

The phones are made by Taiwanese handset maker HTC.

Telecom is also selling a clamshell version - the Okta Agent - without the touch screen, for $599, and a model with a slide-out keyboard, the Okta Boss.

The phones go on sale on Thursday.
source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4261695a28.html
iPhone news

02 gears up its customer services in preparation for iPhone launch

2007-11-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

O2 has substantially bulked up its customer service staff ahead of the high-profile launch of Apple's iPhone this week as the mobile operator looks to ensure that consumers that fork out for the expensive handset receive the best possible support.

O2 will add 1,400 staff prior to the launch of the handset on Friday to ensure it can cope with the unprecedented demand for the flashy phone. It will take on around 700 new customer service employees in Glasgow and Leeds, with a further 700 staff added across the company's chain of High Street stores.

O2 and Carphone Warehouse are bracing themselves for a stampede of customers when the iPhone goes on sale at 6pm on Friday.

Carphone Warehouse, which will keep its stores open late to satisfy demand for the touch-screen handset, has said it could sell as many as 10,000 iPhones in the first day alone despite the £279 price tag which comes on top of the contract with O2 that will cost between £35 and £55 a month. O2, which is supplying the handset directly to Carphone Warehouse, has ordered around 200,000 iPhones from Apple to satisfy demand over the Christmas period.

John McGuigan, head of O2's post-pay customer service unit, said that around 200 of the new staff will be dedicated to handling customer calls related to the iPhone, helping to activate and register the user if assistance is required.

He said: "It is very important to get the customer-service experience right."

He added that O2 will work closely with Apple which has already been closely involved with AT&T in the US to support the iPhone there.

Mr McGuigan added that it has also swelled its customer service employee ranks to ensure that its existing customers are not neglected as a result of increased support for the iPhone.

Mr McGuigan said: "We want to provide a fantastic service for people buying the iPhone – that goes without saying. But we also want to make sure existing customers don't suffer as a result of the potential increase in demand for customer support from new iPhone users."

Mr McGuigan said that O2 has also focused on making the online customer-service function as robust as possible, given a lot of iPhone buyers will want to use the internet to resolve any issues they have.

He said: "People will be tethering the device to the computer anyway."

However, the company denied that the ramp-up in customer service staff suggests that some customers may struggle to use the feature-rich device, arguing that the phone is intuitive and easy to use.

As well as being a must-have, albeit it expensive, Christmas stocking filler for fans of technology, the iPhone is likely to give mobile music a further boost.

Whilst Apple's iPod kick-started a surge in the amount of music that people download on to portable MP3 players, the iPhone is expected to raise awareness and stimulate the use of mobile phones designed to play music.

A number of rival services have also been launched recently by the likes of Nokia and MusicStation.
source: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article3129755.ece
iPhone

iPhone customizations and applications

2007-11-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

The first tutorial in this series covered using DockSwap to change your iPhone's Dock background, specifically replacing it with one that matches the Dock on the iPod Touch.
This was fine and dandy until yesterday, when a new version of SummerBoard (an app which allows customization of the iPhone's SpringBoard, or home screen) was released. This new version supports themes and various other settings, but most importantly it appears to prevent DockSwap from doing its job. Thankfully, we can now take advantage of SummerBoard's new theme support to set a custom Dock background, home screen wallpaper, or both.
Tips for Editing Your own DisplayOrder.plist
The plist is in binary format - on a mac you can just double click on this file and edit in the Property List Editor or use plutil -convert xml1 DisplayOrder.plist to convert to text version you can edit anywhere (use plutil -convert binary1 DisplayOrder.plist to convert back to binary plist - see plutil man page). Once you are inside the file, It's pretty self explanatory, but you can basically put any app in any position from 0-11 by changing the displayIdentifier variable. The rest of the icons just get shifted down. If you add more than 16 icons, the list does not scroll, however it has been reported that the SpringBoard.app has the ability to scroll more icons, perhaps just not enabled in this version.
The displayIdentifier property under each item in iconList needs to be a string with a value of something like: 'com.apple.mobilesafari' or 'com.apple.DemoApp', or 'com.apple.fieldtest'
Once your happy with your DisplayOrder.plist file put it into the same folder as your iPhoneInterface app, and type these commands in the iphone terminal:
Upload your Modified DisplayOrder.plist
cd /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/
putfile DisplayOrder.plist
Changing the icons on your main menu
To upload a new icon for the DemoApp:
cd /Applications/DemoApp.app/
putfile icon.png
You can do this for any app, just upload a standard 60x60 png file named icon.png to an app directory.
Skinners get cracking on this!! Lets see if we can create some sweet iPhone icons/skins
source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=671373
iPhone

Origins of the Apple Iphone

2007-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Author: Chris Simpson
Although a detailed history of the development of the Apple iPhone smartphone does not exist yet, analysts and researchers tracing the Apple iPhone’s history have made several educated guesses.

The start of the Apple iPhone might be traced to Apple founder and chief executive officer Steve Jobs decision to do more investigation on touch senstive displays, leading to more interactive tablet computers.

Many have noted the iPhone’s similarity to its predecessor the Newton MessagePad. Although hailed for its groundbreaking handwriting recognition, the Newton was seen by many analysts as one of the leaders in tablet technology, but perhaps it was ahead of its time to find sufficient market acceptance. Nonetheless, there are still Apple enthusiasts still using their Newton tablets to this day.

The Newton was nearly all screen, lacking a keyboard, a similar trait which is to be found in the iPhone. This design feature has been attributed to Apple design head Jonathan Ive.

But Apple did not immediately focus on developing the iPhone, after the launch of the Newton and its successful iMac series of desktop and laptop computers. Instead, it focused its energies on developing the iPod digital music player and the iTunes online music store and community site.

It was only in late 2005 that Apple collaborated with telecom giant Motorola to release the ROKR E1, the first mobile phone to use iTunes.

However, industry insiders say that Steve Jobs felt that the ROKR did not turn out the way he expected. As a result, the Apple and Motorola joint product development did not continue.

Apple meanwhile focused its energies on creating a telecoms device which would play both pictures and video.

Subsequently, it was only at the Macworld convention in early January 2007 that Steve Jobs announced the iPhone, a move that would create an uproar and much expectation in the technology world.

Since then, hundreds of bloggers have posted close to 300,000 blog posts related to the Apple iPhone, which gives an indication of the expected excitment regarding the iPhone’s launch.

Starting with Apple’s memorable “1984? commercial during that year’s Super Bowl, Apple’s products have continued to hold the public captivated and keep them entertained with its unique brand of marketing.

The iPhone looks set to wow on the world stage, just as it has at Apple’s developer conference.

Can the iPhone create a revolution in the cellphone arena?
Link

Features Of Iphone Bluetooth Headset

2007-10-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Author: Roger Thompson
The recently release Apple iPhone has quickly become one of the most desired cellular phones on the market today. With its upgraded technology, the Apple iPhone requires upgraded accessories as well. One of the most popular accessories for the phone is the iPhone Bluetooth headset which allows users to make and receive calls on their iPhone hands-free without any wires to get in the way. This makes the iPhone Bluetooth headset very desirable to many individuals that have purchased the iPhone.

The design of the iPhone Bluetooth headset is simple and compact, adding to its appeal for the general public. The design is simply a black bar that is about 2 inches long with an earpiece in one end and a microphone in the other end close to the mouth. It features a lightweight earpiece that can easily fit in either the left or right ear and stay securely for extended periods of time. It is operated by a single button that allows users to quickly and simply make and receive calls without fumbling with the phone or finding the numbers to dial. The simplicity of the iPhone Bluetooth headset is what makes many individuals eager to purchase it.

The iPhone Bluetooth headset can allow up to 5 hours of talk time before needed to be recharged and can typically recharge to full power within 1 ½ hours. The iPhone Bluetooth headset comes bundled with a docking station that is used to recharge the headset when needed. The docking station is a dual one that can accompany both the iPhone and the iPhone Bluetooth headset that allows both items to fully charge at the same time. This feature is a lifesaver for individuals that travel, as there is only one item to remember to bring to charge the phone and headset, instead of multiple wires and docking stations.

The iPhone Bluetooth headset has a range of 33 feet, allowing the iPhone to be placed on a desk or central location in the home while freeing the user to move around without having the phone on their person. The call clarity of the headset is crystal clear and many individuals cannot tell whether the individual that they have called are using the headset or the phone to speak to them. Having an iPhone Bluetooth headset makes the experience of having an iPhone even better and easier to use.
Link

Wireless Lotus Notes on your iPhone from CommonTime

2007-10-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Posted by helen
CommonTime announce support for the Apple iPhone following the yesterdays announcement by Steve Jobs co-founder and CEO of Apple that “ we want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an Software Development Kit in developers’ hands in February.”
BOISE, IDAHO and DERBY, UK– October 19, 2007 – CommonTime announce support for the Apple iPhone following the yesterdays announcement by Steve Jobs co-founder and CEO of Apple that “ we want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an Software Development Kit in developers’ hands in February.”
"We can't say how delighted we are to be coming back home to an Apple device, our very first mNotes product was for the Apple Newton back in 1995, we believed in the platform and loved working with Apple back then . We will have a full mNotes5 solution for the iPhone and a desktop synchronization product for the iPod touch available by summer 2008, this will be a true rich mNotes client with high data fidelity and rich functionality that can really capitalize on the unique usability of the iPhone." said CommonTime CEO, Nigel Mackrill.
Celebrating over a decade delivering world class Lotus Notes Mobility software designed exclusively for the IBM lotus Notes /Domino; CommonTime continues to deliver simplicity, data integrity and functionality with the launch of their latest Beta software mNotes5.
mNotes 5 Beta brings information and communication to your fingertips, with enterprise strength security and device management features designed specifically for individual users. mNotes5 is the software for the next generation of Lotus Notes users.
Download Mnotes5 Beta for free and mobilize the best wireless push email, mobile Instant Messaging solution available for Lotus Notes® on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices. For download instructions, Beta release notes, or to learn more about the program, please visit www.commontime.com.
Link

Apple opens iPhone software

2007-10-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Allison
APPLE moved yesterday to placate restless software developers by announcing plans to allow software makers to create programs for its iPhone mobile handset.

The announcement marks a change of tack for Apple, which has long resisted opening its products to outsiders in favour of closed systems in which it controls the features loaded on its hardware.

It is likely to spark a flurry of software development as programmers rush to build applications that take advantage of the iPhone's touch-screen interface and its ability to make calls, browse the internet, and store photos and music.

"You're going to get a lot more applications than you would if you have a closed environment," said Van Baker, an Apple analyst at market research group Gartner.

Such applications could include contact management and other business software - a lack of which has limited the iPhone's appeal to corporate customers, who are among the biggest buyers of smartphone handsets.

In a statement on Apple's website, company co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs said it planned to provide a development toolkit to outside programmers by February.

"We are excited about creating a vibrant third-party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of applications for users," Mr Jobs said.

Apple has sold more than 1 million iPhones since the handset was launched in June.
Link

Sony Co-Prosperity Sphere Plans Defense Against iPhone Invasion

2007-10-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

By Rob Beschizza
Sony is, according to electronista, under the impression that all it needs to do to counter the iPhone in Japan is allow MP3 file transfers between walkman-branded Sony Ericsson handsets and non-Sony equipment over local carrier KDDI's network.

If this idea—opening up a platform to a single, arbitrarily-selected industry standard that most users take for granted—is enough to get handset makers sleeping easy at night, then there are two possibilities.

Either (a) Sony still controls portable music in Japan and always will. The iPhone is a flash in the pan that obviously requires only token counter-strategery, or (b) the iPhone has already won the war, because despite being only marginally innovative, it operates in a dimensional plane of otherness that competitor executives are mentally incapable of accessing.

I would love to see a room full of besuited executives debating the revolutionary notion of letting people move MP3 files off the phone. Considering that Sony pissed away its global control of the music-player market by not letting its customers play MP3s at all, perhaps it was a very difficult decision to make.

Regardless, there's only one way to beat the iPhone: make a better device, sell it cheaper, and market it more aggressively. Why do some companies think they can build a future trying to shovel bullshit at a market defined by 18- to 40-year old geeks with high disposable incomes?
Link

Tired Of Smudges On Your iPhone? Get Phone Fingers

2007-10-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

by Elena Malykhina
If there was an award for the strangest iPhone accessory ever invented, it would go to the makers of Phone Fingers, hands down (no pun intended). The latex fingers were created specifically for the iPhone's touch screen to prevent smudges and fingerprints. And no, this is not a joke.

Any iPhone owner will tell you that a major disadvantage of having a touch screen-only phone is the smudge factor. Naturally the screen will reflect everything you touched before navigating through the phone's icons. But I wonder how many people would actually resort to wearing black latex finger shields to keep their iPhone screens clean?

Phone Fingers are sold in a bag that contains 25 pieces, guaranteed to last a long time with multiple usage. They cost 9.90 euros, which translates to about $14. What's even more comical is the fact that they come in different sizes: medium for an average-sized index finger and large or extra large for a thumb.

If you want to see how Phone Fingers look, click here. There's even a YouTube video demonstrating the funny accessory.

While I don't see myself ever roaming the streets of New York with my fingers covered in black latex, Phone Fingers could become a signature mark for the most passionate followers. I have a feeling the makers of this accessory intentionally wanted iPhone users to stand out from the crowd.

So what will people come up with next? Perhaps face gear for those who wear makeup so it doesn't smear all over the iPhone's screen when they're making a call.
Link

AT&T seen getting an iPhone boost

2007-10-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - When AT&T Inc. reports third-quarter earnings next week, the nation's largest phone company is expected to show strong growth in its wireless business, fueled by sales of the Apple iPhone.
The July-to-September period represents the first full quarter of iPhone sales. The device only became available exclusively from AT&T in the last two days of the second quarter, when 146,000 subscribers activated an iPhone plan.
Since then, Apple Inc. has said more than 1 million iPhones have been sold.
In the third quarter, AT&T is projected to earn 71 cents a share, excluding onetime costs and benefits, or 52 cents a share on a net basis, according to the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Revenue is seen reaching $30.12 billion.
AT&T (T:

41.81, -0.12, -0.3%) is slated to issue results on Tuesday morning.
Bear Stearns predicts AT&T will gain a net 1.88 million wireless customers in the third quarter, with Verizon Wireless trailing at an expected 1.62 million. The brokerage said AT&T and Verizon would especially benefit from weakness at Sprint Nextel Corp. (S:

17.62, -0.10, -0.6%)
Sprint has already said it would lose 337,000 net postpaid customers, putting its losses in that category at more than 1.03 million over the past five quarters. Postpaid subscribers sign up for annual plans and pay at the end of each month. They are considered the most valuable in the industry.
Just a few weeks ago, Bearn Stearns and other brokerages were estimating that AT&T would gain 1.5 million or fewer wireless customers, but most firms have raised their estimates in expectation of higher iPhone shipments. Apple sharply cut the price of the iPhone in early September.
Bear Stearns said about 40% of iPhone buyers are new customers, many of whom came from other mobile carriers. The rest are current AT&T users who upgraded to the iPhone, the brokerage said.
AT&T is the nation's top mobile carrier in terms of subscribers, with 63.7 million at the end of the second quarter. Yet Verizon Wireless, the joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ:

44.97, -0.29, -0.6%) and Vodafone Group
PLC (VOD:

36.01, +0.05, +0.1%) , generates more revenue from its wireless
business.
The iPhone and wireless aside, investors are expected to focus on growth in AT&T's high-speed Internet and fledgling fiber-television segments. They also hope to see improved trends in the company's local-phone division and corporate-services unit.
For the third quarter, AT&T is forecast to add more than 70,000 customers to its TV service, called U-Verse. The service has more than 100,000 customers and AT&T is rolling it out quickly, but the company faces huge competitors in the cable and satellite industries.
Over the past months the market has been rife with speculation that AT&T might acquire a satellite-TV business - Echostar Communications Inc. or DirecTV - to jumpstart its entry into the television business.
AT&T is making a push into the video market to counter the cable industry's move into the phone business. Every quarter AT&T is losing local-phone customers to cable companies that operate in its territory.
Investors would like to see line losses begin to slow. AT&T could see a 4.1% decline year over year in the number of residential lines in service, BMO Capital Markets forecast.
In the high-speed market, AT&T could add between 400,000 and 500,000 customers, Wall Street firms predict.
Jeffry Bartash is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.
Link

What the iPhone SDK means for open source

2007-10-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
In a purely technical sense, news that Apple will offer an iPhone software development kit and allow third-party applications is not an open source story.

This is still a proprietary platform.

But with this move Jobs is admitting that the iPhone is a computer platform, thus subject to computer rules, and that is an important move.

It means the absolute device control AT&T and the other U.S. carriers have exercised must give way. It means that the iPhone is not a phone, and that’s what its competitors, such as the coming GPhone, will be as well.

So what we have is a tipping point, from mobile voice to mobile data. One that will change public attitudes. While people can accept “it’s the network” as an excuse for maintaining voice reliability, they know better when it comes to data.

They have the Internet, the “network of networks,” not (supposedly) under any one carrier’s control, offering fixed monthly service pricing, a comparative gob of bandwidth, with voice as just one of many low-bandwidth applications.

Consumer demand is going to move in this way. Apple’s decision was really defensive, a way to forestall bigger market share losses to Google.

So far AT&T’s contract concessions have been minimal, and the phone has been highly profitable, grabbing market share from rival T-Mobile, forcing Sprint into a limp response, putting pressure on Verizon.

But as mobile service is increasingly defined by the device makers, and mobile devices are increasingly data-driven, can the carriers retain their monopoly control? I doubt it.

In a way, Apple and Google are playing a good-cop, bad-cop routine on the carriers, with Apple as the good cop (you don’t want to be sued) and Google as the bad cop (we’re just going to ignore you).

On TV, suspects who are subjected to this routine eventually crack. Will the carriers?
Link

Greenpeace slams Apple over 'toxic' iPhone (+ video)

2007-10-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

By Matt Greenop
America's Centre for Environmental Health is 'initiating legal action' against Apple Computer after a Greenpeace report found hazardous chemicals and materials it claims are in the hyper-popular iPhone.

The environmental organisation says it conducted tests on 18 internal and external iPhone components and its scientists' findings included toxic brominated compounds in the phone's antenna.

It says materials in the phone violate California law.

Under the state's Proposition 65 law, products that expose consumers to phthalates and chemicals that are reproductive toxins or carcinogens must carry a warning label.

Greenpeace said the tests indicate a mixture of toxic phthalates was found on the coating of the headphone cables.

The fact that the iPhone battery is glued and soldered into the handset, it claimed, hinders recycling efforts.

"It was disappointing to see the first release of the iPhone putting on the market a toxic product," Greenpeace spokesperson Zeina Alhajj said.
"We hope that the next release of the iPhone on a global level will bring us a greener iPhone."
Greenpeace said in a news release that recycling gadgets like the iPhone jeopardises both the environment, and the health of those charged with dismantling them to recycle.

"There is no reason to have these potentially hazardous chemicals in
iPhones" said Michael Green, Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Health.

"We expect Apple to reformulate their products to make them safer from cradle to grave, so they don't pose a threat to consumers, workers or the environment."
Link

Review: Accessorizing the IPhone

2007-10-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM
Anyone who owns Apple Inc.'s iPhone knows that it can be mighty difficult to keep the sleek smart phone shining. But is it necessary to shell out more money to keep the gadget in pristine condition?

If you're among the million people who've snatched up the combo iPod-cell phone, the answer is probably yes. The touch screen is used for everything, and all that finger tapping and swiping can make for a bit of an oily mess at the end of the day. It's hard to be hip with a messy status symbol.

But fear not, those few extra bucks will help keep your iPhone looking like new. And early adopters can use the $100 credit they got from Apple as an apology after it cut the price of the 8 gigabyte model to $399 from $599.

The good news: The best set of accessories (for cleanliness and protection) will only set you back about $45.

First pick up Belkin's $13 ClearScreen Overlay — as the name implies, it protects the phone's screen from the daily damage brought on by hours of surfing the Web, talking and texting. It may be worth picking up a few in case of scratches on the overlay that are inevitable over time.

An iPhone case or cover would provide even more protection — and run the risk of wrecking its appearance or making it harder to slide out of a pocket.

Incase Designs' Molded Rubber Case ($30) is a thin but protective skin with a hip pattern. Cutouts in the case also make it easy to access to the camera, touch screen, speakerphone, microphone and dock connector.

Or for an earthy design take a look at Incase's Canvas Fitted Sleeve ($35) that wraps the iPhone in olive canvas. The sleeves also come in pink, black and tan leather for a more sleek and sophisticated look.

IPhone-toting gym-goers have other options. Belkin's Sport Armband ($30) or Incase's Neoprene Sports Case ($35) help keep iPhones dry. Both sport washable and adjustable armbands. The Incase setup is a bit more bulky — with extra material and clips to remove the case from the armband — but does have a cutout for the camera, just in case you stumble upon an interesting sight along your run.

Other accessories do more than protect the iPhone.

While Apple includes a special set of earbuds with the iPhone with a built-in microphone, those looking to use higher-end headphones can do so with Belkin's Headphone Adapter to connect through the iPhone's input jack. For $11, the adapter, which is a bit on the large side, allows you to plug in any set of stereo headphones.

But it doesn't allow for microphone input through your regular headphones. V-Moda's Vibe Duo Earbuds ($100) can fix that, with high-end stereo headphones and built-in microphone and controls for your music.

If you're looking to add a Bluetooth headset to your iPhone, any model should be compatible with the iPhone, but Aliph's Jawbone headset ($120) takes the cake.

Its sleek design matches the iPhone and the sound quality is great. It has military-grade technology that filters out even the loudest background noise. The black, red or silver headset is also comfortable.

Apple's own Bluetooth headset ($130) is a bit sleeker. It does complement the iPhone nicely, but in certain situations it doesn't provide the sound quality that the Jawbone does. The Apple headset does include a dock to charge both the iPhone and the headset, as well as a travel cable that recharges both.

The Jawbone headset boasts up to 6 hours of talk time and up to 120 hours of standby time, where Apple's unit has up to 5 1/2 hours of talk time and up to 72 hours of standby time.

There are hundreds of accessories for the iPhone, and every user has his or her own taste and style to spice up the smart phone. A word of advice: to keep your device sleek and portable, and to save money, keep the accessorizing simple.
Link

Iphone Reviews And Credibility

2007-10-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

by Roger Thompson
When it comes to the matter of reading iphone reviews, it becomes important to establish the credibility of the individual who is writing the review. That is to say, if the reviewer is not qualified to write the review then the review may be without merit. While this may seem like an overly serious assessment of requirements needed to read a review, there needs to be a clear understanding present as to why the potential customer is reading the review in the first place. The primary reason people read a consumer review is to make the proper purchasing decision. Considering that there is a time and monetary commitment required for making the purchase of the iphone, the need to be forewarned and forearmed is vital to many people who are of limited time and resources. In short, they peruse the iphone reviews so as to make sure they are not making an inaccurate purchasing decision.

If the credibility of the review is in question, this will undermine the primary purpose and objective of reading the review in the first place. Of course, there are those who read consumer reviews for entertainment purposes only, but such trite casual reading is also deserved of accuracy in consumer review and reporting. Providing iphone reviews - or any reviews for that matter - should not be treated tritely by the reviewer and there should be a clear and definite attempt to provide a quality review. If not, the previously aforementioned undermining of the review's purpose becomes present.

If there was a genre that movie critics disliked to review it would be the comedy genre. The reason for this is that no matter how much they may dislike a comedy they can not say it was not a funny film if the bulk of the audience is laughing. The purpose of a comedy is to make people laugh and if it does then it succeeds at its purpose.

Similarly, liking or disliking a particular iphone may provide entertaining reading as some iphone reviews may serve a purpose of being little more than a vehicle for humor, but whether a person likes or dislikes the phone is irrelevant unless the liking or disliking is expanded upon to include whether or not the phone delivers on its promised service. Ultimately, this is the most important aspect of the phone - does it work or not and does it provide a functional value in concert with its cost.
Link

Test iPhone Battery Before Purchase

2007-10-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

by Roger Thompson
Testing the iPhone battery is something that requires expertise that the ordinary user of iPhones may not have, which means that one is then dependent on needing to read up reviews of how well or badly does the iPhone battery work. It certainly pays to do some legwork before buying your iPhone as you do not want to end up with something that is going to fall short of your expectations and which may cause you disappointment as well. Thus, before you actually purchase your iPhone makes sure to check out the many reviews that are available regarding the working of the iPhone battery among other features.

No doubt, the specs will show a usage time that is supposed to be excellent though only actual testing will reveal the true picture about how the iPhone battery functions while talking and browsing with your iPhone. Sometimes, you may find that the life of the iPhone battery is not even close to the specifications mentioned in the manual. According to experts that have checked out the Apple iPhone battery life, they found that far from giving 5.5 hours of voice, it actually only did four hours and three minutes of voice, and just three hours and eleven minutes when browsing. This is well below the stated 5.5 hours and so you need to take that into account before considering your iPhone purchase.

A possible reason why the iPhone battery life falls far short of its listed times could be the heavy amount of power that is consumed by its giant screen though it could also be because of improper charging of the battery and also because the batteries them are faulty. In any case, it pays to find out these things well before the actual purchase.

There is no doubting the fact that iPhone testers were less than impressed with the Apple iPhone battery life, and instead of a promised eight hours of talking and six of internet use, according to tests these times were greatly exaggerated and actual battery life was no more than four to five hours, which is what you could expect from smartphones. This is a reason to be concerned because four to five hours of battery light would not serve you if you happened to be on an international journey and were in the air for ten plus hours and needed to talk to someone during the flight. It would also not be very good for watching videos that are sure to drain the iPhone battery sooner than expected.
Link

iPhone Availability Tracker

2007-10-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

by Roger Thompson
Apple has launched a small web application that will let customers check up on iPhone availability at its 164 national retail stores. The Apple retail availability tracker allows iPhone seekers to select their state of residence and then will display a list of Apple retail stores with iPhone availability indicators. If there is a green dot next to your local Apple store, then iPhones are in stock. A red dot indicates that iPhone availability is negative. This simple system is a great way to see iPhone availability without trouble. It is an incredibly user-friendly system that can be used by almost anyone.

Unfortunately, however, Apple plans only to update the tracker system on a nightly basis. This, therefore, means that shoppers might want to supplement the information available on the site by placing a call to the local Apple store just before making the trip. This will ensure iPhone availability and save time and hassle.

A separate section of the Apple retail availability tracker website also informs the iPhone shoppers on how to "get the most out of the iPhone," offering lists of free workshops that cover the basics of the iPhone and beyond. In addition, the Cupertino-based company notes that its One to One members will have easy access to private tutorials on everything from how to sync their iPhone with iTunes, to receiving and sending email and surfing the web. Reservations for these One to One tutorials can be made up to 14 days in advance.

The iPhone retail availability tracker is a great tool made by apple. Informing all potential shoppers on where your product is available is a great idea. Shoppers will be more much more willing to buy products if they know that when they go to buy the product, it will be available.

IPhone availability, though, has not been a huge concern. IPhones have been widely available for all buyers. It has not been too difficult for a desiring customer to find a store with iPhone availability. The quantity of phones available has stayed relatively the same since the release of the iPhone. Also, buyers have not been incredibly fast in purchasing iPhones. It seems that many are willing to wait for the price to drop and for the bugs to be worked out. Therefore, Apple doesn't plan on raising the output of iPhones in the very near future. IPhone availability is good, and buyers are happy. Shortages have not been a concern at all.
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Overview Of Iphone Accessories

2007-10-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

by Roger Thompson
Since the iphone has proven to be a widely popular item on the consumer electronic and computer market, it is no surprise that there are a number of iphone accessories that have debuted on the market. Now, some may be dismissive of the advent of the accessories seeing many of the accessories as unnecessary (this, by the way, is a thoroughly inaccurate notion, albeit one held by many who have gradually become cynical consumers). However, there are a number of vital accessories that provide great value to extending the life of the iphone. Granted, the owners of the iphone seriously need to consider taking proper care of the iphone and its accessories in order to maintain the functionality of the iphone.

Iphone accessories are not going to be worth much to you or your iphone's functioning if they are not properly maintained. Simply owning iphone accessories does guarantee that they will perform perfectly. Consider the following: if you leave your iphone accessories by an open window and it rains, the accessories are going to be destroyed. And guess what? It is a destruction of expansive items that could have clearly been easily been avoided. Granted, the example provided is somewhat extreme. (On second thought, it may have already happened a few times by now) There is a moral, however, to the example provided: if you are going to invest into a series of critical accessories, they must be properly taken care of or the money investment on not only the accessories, but the iphone as well will be utterly wasted.

Of course, there will be those who feel that iphone accessories may be somewhat out of their budget of affordability. In order to purchase those items that are needed, one needs to clearly and effectively decide on what accessories are of vital importance to purchase. In other words, the consumer may be looking at a collective of accessories and deeming the collective as too expensive as opposed to making a decision based on eliminating those accessories that are not important to purchase. In order to drive at this decision, one should separate those items that are helpful in the iphone's operation such as battery chargers vs. those items that are not entirely necessary such as carrying cases. Additionally, a scanning of consumer electronics review sites may provide insight into what products to purchase and which ones to avoid.
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Apple distributor warns iPhone hackers

2007-10-08T02:03:00.000-07:00

Staff from the Middle East marketing arm and distributor of Apple Computer products Arab Business Machines (ABM) have warned users against buying imported iPhones and ‘unlocking' these using downloaded software.

ABM also confirmed today that iPhone launch plans have not yet been finalised for the UAE market.

Quoting Apple's corporate statement, ABM marketing manager Joe Sfeir said: "Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorised iPhone unlocking programs available on the internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed."

Sfeir added that Apple "strongly discourages users from installing unauthorised unlocking programs on their iPhones", as users who make such unauthorised modifications to the iPhone software violate their software license agreements and void their warranties.

Although not officially launched in the Middle East, imported iPhones have been available here for some time, through online auction sites such as souq.com.
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How to turn your iPod Touch or iPhone on and off

2007-10-08T02:00:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Schlaffer
to Apple to design a device that you can't simply hit the on and off button and expect it to turn off. This fact was lost on some people who purchased the iPhone, pressing the power button does not turn the iPhone or iPod Touch completely off.

Instead, pressing the power button (located on the top of the unit) puts both devices in a standby mode where the display is turned off, kind of like a *gasp* computer, but thinking about it they are like tiny computers.

When the iPhone is in its standby mode, it is still accessing the nearest network and updating your emails, messages you have missed and so forth, this is why its possible to run up a $4,000 bill while overseas with the iPhone.

I don't really know what the iPod Touch does with its standby mode as it doesn't have SMS or the email application but both devices resume quicker from the standby modes than if they are turned off and have to perform a full boot each time.

Also, with the iPod Touch, shutting down completely and starting up again uses a large amount of battery life so I don't recommend doing it unless its going to be sitting on a shelf for a while.

If you are traveling overseas, the iPhone will access foreign network if not turned completely off, to turn either the iPhone or iPod Touch off, first if it isn't on, turn it on then hit the power button at the top of the unit which places it in standby then press and hold the same button for a few seconds until "Slide to turn off" is displayed, slide the slider and it will shut down, a lot like a computer.

Like I said, when you want to turn it back on from being completely off it will take a few seconds to come back on.
This procedure is more important for the iPhone than it is for the iPod Touch.
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iPhone Hacks For Firmware 1.1.1 Begin to Surface

2007-10-08T01:55:00.000-07:00

By Sean P. Aune
Not that anyone expected the 1.1.1 version of the iPhone firmware to be unhackable, it’s still nice to see the hacks finally starting to appear.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog has been liveblogging their attempts all day, following the steps of the hackers “dinopio” and “Edgan”, and seem to be having some success.
It appears the blogger, Erica Sadun, has managed to get read/write access to the directories of the upgrade, and is working that method still.
Meanwhile, over at the Hackintosh forums, they are working on a solution that uses a TIFF exploit. By opening a TIFF file of their own creation with Mobile Safari, they hope to crash the browser and cause a buffer overflow. If successful, this will allow them to execute the codes they need to to hack the popular phone.
The hacks are all still in process, but seem to be on the right track to getting in.
Of course, this will all be moot once firmware 1.1.2 or 1.2 comes out and breas the hacks again.
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Web 2.0 Vendor Etelos Announces AJAX-Based iPhone Support

2007-10-08T01:52:00.000-07:00

Etelos announces a new way for people to access their Customer Relationship Management System - through their iPhone.

"Etelos CRM works great on the iPhone" Etelos CEO Danny Kolke said. "It allows you to get access to your tasks, projects, appointments or any of your other business processes while you're away from the office. It's almost as good as carrying a laptop."

The Etelos CRM suite gives users contact, task, group, sales and project management, as well as group messaging and reporting functionality in one easy-to-use interface that is now compatible with the iPhone's Safari Web browser.
CRM for iPhone is seamlessly integrated with Etelos CRM, which can already be run in Google Apps, Netvibes, Windows Live and Pageflakes.
The iPhone edition is available to Etelos CRM Professional, Enterprise and Developer edition customers immediately. A 24-hour test drive is available to iPhone owners at www.crmforiphone.com.
More than 4,000 businesses have signed up for the existing versions of Etelos CRM. Existing users will be able to access their traditional CRM tools while away from their computer. Note taking, appointment setting and contact management are all easy to use and simple to navigate with Etelos CRM for iPhone.
Etelos CRM for iPhone was designed to offer businesses flexibility and functionality on their iPhone’s Safari Web Browser. Combining powerful functionality such as project management, call logging, appointment management, in-depth reporting and more with easily customizable AJAX-enabled functionality, Etelos CRM for iPhone gives businesses of any size the ability to manage their all of their business processes together. Scalable and easy to customize, Etelos CRM for iPhone helps businesses improve and easily manage their business using the web.
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Apple Iphone; Touch the Best of Multimedia !

2007-10-08T01:46:00.000-07:00

Author: Adam Caitlin
It is there to be seen, touched and experienced. Apple iPhone is delivered for the service of mankind. The first glimpse of this mobile gadget makes meaning for those who admire beauty with brain. In an alluringly sophisticated self, Apple iPhone comes to offer magnificent features within its slim profile. It welcomes you with a high resolution, touchscreen display - all along with a bag full of advanced programmes. Be it its enamouring looks or feature laced functionalities, Apple iPhone is ready to make you experience the best of mobility every time!

Enjoy listening to your favourite music tracks with iTunes CoverFlow. An integrated 2.0 MP camera lets you capture moments of your life. The big, high resolution display helps you to enjoy videos and downloads. With all the features within one entity, this calling device is an all-in-one phone replete with several possibilities to indulge in serious entertainment. This quad-band GSM comes equipped with EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, powerful e-mail client and web browser. The phone comes in 4GB and 8GB versions and offers abundant space to save all your data effortlessly.

Now, after taking a view of the limitless possibilities, it won't be false to state that the calling device from Apple is a mobile phone, an iPod and a mobile Internet communicator- all perfectly juxtaposed to one single entity. Talk of Mac OS X – the all new and powerful operating system,
ready to make you realise many a multimedia dreams. There is no stylus or a keypad, but the phone is assigned with a accelerometer sensor and proximity sensor. A 3.5 inch-wide display screen lets you to browse through the long list of features of this phone. All with the touch of your fingertips. A QWERTY keypad, though virtual, helps the users of this phone to enter data effortlessly.
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France may miss out on iPhone

2007-10-08T01:45:00.001-07:00

French newspaper Les Echos reports the relationship between Apple and Orange is not going smoothly.

While there is a suggestion that Apple CEO Steve Jobs took offence when Lombard made the announcement without him, a bigger stumbling block seems to be a French law that prohibits any requirement that a product and a service are purchased together. This threatens Apple's plans for a single iPhone carrier in each geography.

Despite Apple's professed dislike of handset subsidies, one possibility would be to offer an unlocked iPhone in France at a price significantly higher than that of the phone plus two years service. That might have a sufficient deterrent effect without falling foul of the law, but it could also make France the centre of an international grey market in iPhones.

According to Les Echos, a source at Orange said “The risk we are evaluating is that Apple crosses France [off the iPhone list]. We have a plan B. There is still a chance that we have the iPhone, but we are very close to the limit where the company's plan is endangered."
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Japanese Device Challenges iPhone

2007-10-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

Apple Inc.'s iPhone may still have the world's heart aflutter, despite a sharp price cut that stiffed early adopters and the recent release of a software update that turned some unlocked iPhones into electronic bricks. But there's more to the world of cell phones than Apple, and users outside Japan are missing out on some of the nicest-looking and most sophisticated phones ever made.

Japanese operator KDDI Corp. laid out the best that Japan's cell-phone industry has to offer at the Ceatec exhibition held this week in Chiba, Japan. Among the handsets attracting the most attention from visitors was the funky-looking Infobar 2, a KDDI handset with cutting-edge features that will hit the market in November for around ¥20,000 (US$172), not including the cost of a service contract.

Inspired by the look of a melting candybar, the Infobar 2 has a 2.6-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) screen that offers resolution of 240 pixels by 400 pixels, a 2-megapixel camera, 100M bytes of internal storage, and a microSD slot for memory cards containing music or other files.

The cost of microSD cards has fallen in step with memory prices. A 2G-byte card now costs around US$20, and prices will continue to fall even as capacities rise over time. That's less storage capacity than the 8G-byte hard disk inside the $399 iPhone, but how many songs can one person listen to during the course of the day, or on vacation?

The Infobar 2, which comes in four color schemes, also has an embedded Felica smart chip for electronic payments. Approximately half of all new phones sold in Japan come with these chips, and Java applets are available that allow Felica-based phones to pay for subway trips and train tickets, as well as make purchases at convenience stores, vending machines, and restaurants.

The Felica system also allows Japanese air travellers who are registered with an airline's frequent-flier program to use their phones in lieu of a boarding pass on domestic flights.

There are similarities between the Infobar 2 and iPhone. For example, both handsets are tied to an operator, allowing tighter integration between the handset and mobile services available to subscribers. But much of the technology used with the Infobar 2 is one or more generations ahead of the iPhone.

Unlike the iPhone, the Infobar 2 doesn't have support for Wi-Fi but with KDDI's CDMA2000-1X EV-DO network, who needs it? Phone users can surf the Internet or send e-mails nearly anywhere in Japan at speeds up to 2.4M bps (bits per second). By comparison, AT&T Wireless Inc., the exclusive provider of the iPhone in the U.S., says the EDGE network used with the iPhone offers average download speeds of 70K bits per second (bps) to 135K bps -- hardly speeds that set your pulse racing.

When users get bored of sending e-mails with the Infobar 2, they can watch digital-television broadcasts. These broadcasts are free and are available across the country, with different channels available in each region. In Tokyo, there are seven channels available to viewers: two from public broadcaster NHK and five commercial channels.

In addition, each television broadcast includes a data stream of related information, such as a ticker of headlines that runs alongside a news broadcast or subtitles for a drama, a handy feature for users prone to leaving their earphones at home.

Of course, Apple's iPhone is more than just a phone: the device is still a music player at heart. But Japanese operators have developed music-download services that outshine the iTunes Store, giving users the option of downloading music directly to their handsets, for example.

Users can access KDDI's Lismo music store from their handsets or their PCs, and the software will synchronize files stored on the two devices when they are connected. You can also copy songs from a CD in your collection to Lismo. And when you change phones, Lismo lets you copy all of your songs to the new handset.

One cool feature of the Lismo service is the search function. You can search by artist or song title, but you can also find a song if you don't know its name or who sings it. Just hum part of the song into your handset and Lismo will match the song you hum with a music file in its database.

Song prices on Lismo, which average about ¥300 to ¥400, are roughly twice what iTunes charges in Japan. But music CDs are generally more expensive here, costing approximately ¥3,000. And song files purchased on Lismo can also be used as ringtones. That's not the case with iTunes: if you want to use a song as an iPhone ringtone you must buy a second file at the same price as the original.

KDDI claims Lismo offers a wider range of Japanese songs than iTunes. That's partly because iTunes does not offer songs from Japanese artists in Sony Corp.'s catalog, which includes many of the best-known and most popular Japanese artists.

Granted, the Infobar 2's design may not be for everybody. Most Japanese cell-phone users prefer clamshell designs, and the Infobar 2 is not available to subscribers of NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's largest operator. But that doesn't mean users have to forego these features: Felica, digital television, and music download services like Lismo are available on dozens of handset models that support high-speed 3G (third-generation) networks run by KDDI, DoCoMo, and Softbank Mobile Corp.

Apple and other handset makers outside Japan, as well as mobile operators, have some catching up to do.
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iPhone Firmware Update Woes

2007-09-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

by Budda
If you’re a Uk iPhone user thanks to the unlock methods that were made available earlier this month, then you might be a little worried about Apples new iPhone update.

Apple are pushing out the Firmware 1.1.1 update this weekend. The update brings the iTunes WiFi store to the phone, just like the iPod Touch.

Depending on how your iPhone was originally unlocked will give you different results. “Jail broken” handsets are going to turn in to expensive AT&T paper weights as the 1.1.1 update security has been tightened up.

Users of the open source SIM unlock software are getting an “Incorrect SIM” error message.

So if you’re running an iPhone in the UK - don’t do the update, do you really want iTunes store on your phone that much? Well there are other update features, Engadget has a nice round up of the features and status of the 1.1.1 progress on unlocked phones.

Serious Geeks Sour on Apple iPhone

2007-09-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

This is the equivalent of Roger Ebert slamming a Scorsese movie, or Lester Bangs trashing the Beatles. Tired of being pushed around by Apple's greed and ham-fisted approach to locking down its hardware, gadget giant Gizmodo has brought down the hammer by giving the Apple iPhone a (rare) "don't buy" rating. Ouch, that smarts.

Gizmodo (which is hardly alone in the new Apple bashing) originally told users to "Wait" on the device for more applications to be included, hoping that a 1.1 firmware update would correct some earlier, obvious defects like the inability to send MMS messages, record videos, make your own ringtones, or use the device for mass storage. But Apple's latest release infamously fixed little of that. Yes, you can purchase ringtones now and access iTunes via Wi-Fi, but Apple also went out of its way to disable all unlocking and customizing that more enterprising users have developed. That's a picture of Gizmodo editor's iPhone just before upgrading it with the latest firmware. Afterwards, it looks just like any other device.

Gizmodo's ire on behalf of hardcore gadget enthusiasts is rightfully placed: Apple was probably never going to introduce these features on its own and intentionally "bricked" the devices as part of its most recent update. Gizmodo even goes so far as to call the update "malicious," after washing his hands of the device until its opened to third-party apps. (I plan to hold the post's author Brian Lam to his word next time I see him. If he has an iPhone in his pocket I'm gonna kick him in the shins.)

As for me, I can understand his position. He wanted upgrades, he got nothing. The average user, of course, gets the iTunes upgrade and a $200 price cut, and that's not a bad deal especially compared to the original proposition (though I still won't recommend it without 3G service). But power users who want the freedom to tweak their phones (which they paid for, right?) as they see fit are not going to have the patience to battle Apple on this stuff every 30 days or so. The iPhone will be unlocked again, then Apple will re-lock it, and the cycle will continue, probably forever. I don't blame Lam for washing his hands of the matter before things get ridiculous.
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Apple Trinity Sued over iPhone Price Cut

2007-09-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Steve Martinez
The suit, filed September 22 in Queens, New York, accuses Apple, Steve Jobs, and AT&T of discrimination by price, rebates, underselling, and deceptive actions.

Dongmei Li, the Plaintiff, was one of the many who waited in line on opening day to purchase an iPhone. Although she was going for the 8GB model, when she made it to the checkout line the 4GB was the only model still available. She claims she's the victim of price discrimination since she's unable to resell her iPhone for profit, given the recent price drop. Also, since the model she owns is being discontinued, it resale value has plummeted.

Additionally, she feels cheated since the $200 price drop that recent buyers received eclipses the $100 store credit her first purchase merited.

Says Li's attorney, Jean Wang of Wang Law Offices, "iPhone was selling very well because Apple's stocks were increasing since August 16, 2007 and rose as high as $144.16 on September 4, 2007, the day before Apple announced that it was cutting the price of iPhone."

They're claiming this is proof of "underselling", since there was no sound reason for the price cut to being with.

The lawsuit accuses AT&T as well, forcing customers into a 2-year service agreement with $175 early termination fees. Li believes this is unfair, given that users have been able to unlock their iPhones to use with other networks. However. given the recent iPhone firmware update, this argument has taken a backseat to the other issues.

Li is requesting compensatory damages of $1 million, as well as punitive damages to be determined at the trial.
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iPhone Tries VoIP

2007-09-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

The British are bringing VOIP to your iPhone.

In a demonstration at this year's DEMOfall07, British VOIP provider Truphone showed conventioneers how to use the iPhone's built-in Wi-Fi capability to make calls over Truphone's VOIP network. Truphone representatives demonstrated how a call can be initiated from a handset and then routed to Truphone's server via Wi-Fi.

Truphone spokesman Tim Donnelly Smith emphasized that the event at DEMOfall07 was only a demonstration and was not intended to be a commercial launch. He also said that the program is a native application that is installed through third-party application installers, and does not require cracking the iPhone's SIM card. This is significant in the wake of Apple's declaration earlier this week that "many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet" could render the device "permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed." Several iPhone users have reported that installing Apple's iPhone 1.1.1 update rendered their unlocked iPhones useless.

"This program doesn't do anything that Steve Jobs says not to do," said Smith. "Apple is fairly neutral on third-party applications and they won't deliberately try to break them."

In addition to its demonstration of iPhone over VOIP, Truphone demonstrated an application that allows people to call each other through the social networking site Facebook. Essentially, the application would let Facebook users embed a "call me" button into their Facebook profiles that would let friends call them without revealing their actual number over the Internet.

Smith said that the application would allow Facebook users to contact friends who use both VOIP and PSTN networks. He also said that this application is still in development and is not nearly as far along as the iPhone VOIP application.

Truphone bills itself as a "mobile operator for the Internet era" that offers "free mobile calls to other Truphone users or very cheap calls to anyone else." Its services work anyplace where there's WiFi or 3G, and it is available for use on various Nokia phones.
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Apple's iPhone Popular In Brunei

2007-09-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

By Anna Abu Bakar
Brunei-Muara - The new iPhone has received quite a large number of following and it has seen smooth sailing since its debut in Brunei.

Khairul, a representative from Dee Jay Home Video Teleshop said that the only problem that was encountered was the so-called locking and unlocking mechanism, whereby if a customer was to make new add ons, in terms of new programmes into the iPhone, then it would become locked and difficult to open again.

"This is related to the problem that Apple in the United States as there has been a problem with hackers hacking into the programmes available in the phone," he added.

He emphasised that Dee Jay is a shop that follows the proper way of importing a mobile phone into the country as they are required to apply for a permit before bringing the phone in through AITI.

The Authority on info Communications Industry is a licensing and regulation organisation derived from the Telecommunications Order 2001. It is the proper authority that grants licenses for the operation of telecommunication systems and services subject to conditions imposed by AITI.

The establishment, installation, maintenance, provision or operation of unlicensed telecommunication systems or services within Brunei is an offence.

If, for example, the iPhone is bought from outside Brunei and are brought in without paying the duty the offender shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a maximum of three years, and/or a fine of up to $100,000 with a continuing fine of up to $10,000 per day for continuing offences after conviction.

"As for any reports of the sanctions against the iPhone for use in Brunei, there has not been any problem from the authorities and as long as we pay the duty tax and a permit is requested then there should be no problem," Khairul said. A representative who wishes to remain anonymous from a popular store in Brunei that sells the iPhone stated that "no problems whatsoever has been reported with the iPhone from their store apart from the lock mechanism that they can easily unlock for when the customer buys the phone and uses it."

He also added that "just like any other shop in Brunei, we go through the proper procedures and apply for a permit from AITL."-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
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Learning About All The Different iPhone Features

2007-09-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

Written by EditorsChoice
The iPhone is a truly revolutionary new phone, one that allows you to make and receive calls and perform various other tasks with a simple touch of a button. There are so many different and great iPhone features, and in order to take full advantage of this revolutionary device, you are going to want to understand as best about all these iPhone features as you possibly can.

Calls

Obviously the most common task that the iPhone is used for is making and receiving calls. The process involved in either case here is incredibly simple, and making a call is especially easy. All you have to do is tap an entry that you have listed in your contacts, favorites, or recent calls lists, and then this will begin the call to the particular contact that you have selected.

When it comes to answering calls you have a few more options, and when someone calls you, the phone will ring while simultaneously displaying the caller's information. You can tap Answer, or if you have the phone locked you can drag the slider. If you are listening to music through a headset then you can just click the mic button to answer, and you will be connected to the call.

SMS

This is another of the most popular iPhone features, and SMS, or text messaging as it is more commonly referred to in the general public, is a really great feature on any device. The software design created here by Apple recognizes that most of us really get into text messaging with our friends and so they help you here by tracking your SMS exchanges in speech bubbles, so that you can easily scroll back and remind yourself of what was said previously in each conversation.

This is especially useful for those people who text message with a variety of different people at a time, so that they can keep track of each separate conversation and stay on top of what topics they were talking about.

Voicemail

Voicemail of course is another of the iPhone features, and the greatest thing about the voicemail feature on the iPhone is that it is visual. This means that you can pick and choose between the different voicemails that you want to listen to, delete, and so on, rather than having to go through them and decide this only by audio. This results in saving you a great deal of time and money in the end.
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iPhone News Never Fail To Excite

2007-09-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

Written by EditorsChoice
Not even three months after its monumental release, Apple's iphone is making really big news not only in the traditional media but also in the World Wide Web. iphone news have recently become more than just about features of the touchscreen-phone iPod. In fact, a person around the world search for iphone news even before the phone was launched last June.

When the rumors first came out that Steve Jobs' Apple will be issuing an iPod with call and SMS capabilities, a lot of people have started calling it an iphone. With no official iphone news from Apple, many bloggers and tech enthusiasts have started discussing about the then-to-be-launched iphone. Soon, more iphone news was published in the Internet.

Truth be told, when Apple made the iphone available to public that very historic Friday in June, iphone news was indeed big news! Customers lined up for the iphone launch. The earliest was Monday, 4-days before the official launch. iphone news has it that many were excited with the product that combines an iPod, amobile phone, and even a wireless Internet device into one.

Apple Fans Love the Latest iphone News

Until today, Apple has never failed to give the Apple lovers and even those who think the cellphone is just hype with all the iphone news they want. The first week of September saw the release of Apple's newest iPod models: the clip-on shuffle in new colors, the new fatty iPod Nano, the iPod classic, and the iPod Touch. The announcement proved to bring another Apple sensation in the media and the world. Just like iphone news, reports on the newest iPods are taking the world by storm.

However, early iphone adapters are disappointed with Steve Job's statement that the iPone's price will go down by almost $200, 3 months after they bought the $599 Apple phone. The change in price came with the release of iPod touch---an iphone without the phone. But 2 days after the announcement during Apple's The Special Event, Steve Job's sent out an open letter to the iphone owners that they will be receiving a $100 store credit reward. Now, the iphone owners are more than happy with the rebate after crying foul over the price cut.

Over the past few months of iphone news history, it is easy to note that Apple iphone is not just hype nor hysteria. It can be considered as a breakthrough gadget because it paved the way for many new hi-tech gadgets such as touchscreen phones, touchscreen MP3 players, and of course, the new iPods.
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A Guide To The New Iphone

2007-09-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

By: The Content Group
The new iPhone that is available features the most revolutionary user interface to ever be seen, which is one of the most raved about qualities to the device in fact. It is truly an entirely new concept that is being brought to the table here, and it is an interface that is based on a large multi-touch display system and there is also innovative new software offered here that lets you control everything using only your fingers.

This is not only impressive but incredibly convenient for the average consumer, especially considering the busy and hectic world that we live in today. The new iPhone also allows you to glide through albums with ease, flip through hundreds of photos and email them just with a touch of your finger.

Questions and Answers

When it comes to the new iPhone, there are definitely overwhelming benefits and advantages that are brought to the table however there are also many questions that are pondered. For instance, many people wonder if the new iPhone is going to be compatible with their PC and Microsoft Windows. The answer to this is yes, it will be, and although there are certain specifications, it works with Windows XP Home or Professional as well as with Windows Vista.

The new iPhone can even be used internationally, as it is a quad-based GSM phone that is able to work around the world. It is important however, that before you travel you make positively sure that the international dialing and roaming features are enabled on the phone. You also may have to ensure that the place you are traveling to offers GSM coverage, and as long as they do you will be good to go.

The new iPhone also supports a variety of different email systems, and you are going to have to contact your own personal email provider to make sure that they use these particular standards. You can protect all access on the device with a four digit password, but remember that this password is then going to be required every time you turn the phone on or wake it from sleep mode.
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Apple iPhone: A multifunctional device

2007-09-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

by adam caitlin
The Apple iPhone is much more than a mere talking device, combining the functions of a music player, internet device, camera and a video player, into a single device. The widescreen iPhone includes touch screen controls so you can enjoy all kinds of contents like audio book, movies, music and TV shows.

A comprehensive keypad, short cut buttons and a full fledged menu system is for ease of applications. The predictive QWERTY soft keyboard helps for easy and error-free typing. Other amazing features of the Apple iPhone are a 2 megapixel camera, rich HTML email client.

The loads of advanced software applications, offer you the best mobile experience. The Apple iPhone supports a unique Mac OS X a powerful platform. Explore the host of features with the touch of your fingertips. The QWERTY keypad helps you enter all your data fast. The Apple iPhone also comes endowed with EDGE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, e-mail client and web browser. The 4GB and 8GB versions, offer you enough space to load files of any data types. With the weight of 135 gm, the phone easily fits into your pocket.

Make a call just by touching a name or a number. Go directly to any of your messages with Visual Voicemail. The astonishing features of the Apple iPhone include a stunning display, a sleek design, an innovative multi-touch user interface, easy to use applications, and an excellent music player. Apart from the usual mobile phone features like SMS and visual voicemail capability, the Apple iPhone also consists of a music library The rechargeable built-in battery of Apple iPhone has up to 5 hours talk / video / browsing time and up to 16 hours of audio playback time. Browse through the online mobile shops to get attractive offers on Apple iPhone. So communicate with the world through your Apple iPhone.
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AT&T iPhone Work With PC

2007-09-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

by Muhammad Zubair
AT&T iPhone can also work with your personal Computer. It sports the operating system Windows XP Home and also the professional version SP2. AT&T iPhone can also work with Windows Vista. AT&T iPhone can syncs your contacts and calendar whenever you connect your AT&T iPhone to your computer.

If you want to surf the web using AT&T iPhone it can be done with the Safari web browser on AT&T iPhone, you can surf websites just like as you do on your personal computer. You are not limited to mobile WAP sites, you can browse any site your want. You can connect the Internet using AT&T's EDGE data network as well as Wi-Fi connection. You can sends and receive emails by Wi-Fi and AT&T EDGE wireless networks on AT&T iPhone.

AT&T iPhone supports the email standards like IMAP and POP3. At&T iPhone works with all most all popular email services as given below:

* Yahoo! Mail * Google Gmail * AOL * Mac Mail

You need to check that your email provider IMAP and POP3 email standards. By using Yahoo! Mail supports "push" email service you can automatically deliver new email messages to your AT&T iPhone. You can send and receive email from multiple email accounts on your AT&T iPhone. You can transfer current mobile numbers to a new AT&T Apple iPhone. This process may take few minutes if you are using new line. If you are porting a number from another carrier then it could take longer.
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Getting The Most Out Of Your Iphone

2007-09-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

by Andrea Dilea
iphone accessories for every purpose!

There has been no new technological item in the last several years quite like the Iphone. The Iphone allows you many ways to improve communications for both personal and business purposes with others all around the world. The ability to communicate instantly with people worldwide in a variety of ways will greatly improve the way you do business. The Iphone has removed many of the limitations on personal and company communications and thus will make us all better off.

Not mandated by the government or some regulatory agency, there is one very tangible condition that will affect your ability to use your iPhone to its full extent. Obviously, portable electronics don't work so well without battery power. To avoid the disappointment of not being able to use your new iPhone, you should consider investing in several iPhone extras that will help ensure reliable and on demand functionality of the iPhone. Particularly wise investments are a home charger and carriage. Actually, you are not going to be able to use your iPhone without charging it. A home charger and carriage are the easiest way to charge your iPhone. The next desirable extra for the iPhone would be a portable or car charger, which offers convenient mobile charging.

A large number of more optional different iphone accessories can be found in the marketplace. It is highly likely that number will grow, much as happened with the commercially successful sister-product, the iPod. Currently available items include protective coverings of varying thicknesses, wearable bands to attach an iPhone to your arm, belt-attachments, automobile mounting units, bluetooth devices, connection cables, and a plethora of others. No matter who you are or what you enjoy, you will find an "extra" you like for your iPhone.

You can find the iphone accessories at any Apple Store or other merchant that specializes in consumer electronics. You might even find some on ebay if you look carefully. Now is the time to personalize your iphone with the extras that meet your tastes and needs.
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Rivals develop iPhone 'killers' as Apple plans UK launch of must-have device

2007-09-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

MURDO MACLEOD
IT HAS not yet been released in the UK but jealous rivals are already ganging up in a determined - and almost certainly forlorn - attempt to kill it off.

Apple's iPhone, with its seductive mix of drop-dead gorgeous looks and irresistible features, is expected to become the must-have gift this Christmas for well-heeled lovers of fashionable gadgetry.

But Apple's competitors are not standing still. Rivals are frantically working on iPhone 'killers' that will attempt to offer unbeatable combinations of style, features and price.

Ultimately, the launch of the iPhone and the subsequent battle for control of the mobile market promises to be good news for consumers.

The iPhone will be released in the UK on November 9, for £269, plus a £35 a month contract for 18 months, exclusively on the O2 network.

When the phone was released in the US earlier this year, sales took off to the extent the device was dubbed the 'Jesus Phone'. So far, a million have been sold. Some UK gadget seekers have decided they cannot wait and one impatient buyer last week paid £600 to buy an iPhone on eBay.

But South Korean firm LG is among those planning to launch iPhone 'killers'. Next month, its £300 Viewty goes on sale in the UK, offering similar 'candy bar' styling, including a large, colour touch screen. The Viewty is 20 grams lighter than its rival and the size of a playing card. LG have already established a reputation in the style stakes with their Chocolate and Prada range of phones.

If looks could kill the iPhone, so too could features. Rival network T-Mobile is planning to offer internet access speeds for mobiles which will be faster than many home broadband connections. Crucially, they will be able to offer high-quality TV and video straight to the mobile phone, rather than the grainy and jerky pictures which until now have put most users off mobile phone video. These services will work with LG, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and Nokia mobiles but not with the iPhone.

Price could prove the Achilles heel of the iPhone for some. While owning an iPhone will cost £900 over 18 months because of the price of the gadget and contract, many rivals could be cheaper.

A Prada phone from T-Mobile will cost about £400 over the same period.

Industry experts north of the Border were split over whether the iPhone killers would make any impact.

Brian Baglow, chief executive of technology and communications at marketing firm Indoctrimat, said: "I just don't see the point of the iPhone here in the UK and I think the other phones are really impressive.

"The iPhone is very nicely packaged and stylish but there is nothing new or impressive in the technology. There are already a lot of phones available here which do everything the iPhone does and they can do it better."

However, Lachlan MacKinnon, professor of computing and creative technologies at the University of Abertay, said: "I think it will be a success. I have looked over one in the United States and it is very stylish and easy to use, big buttons for texting, for example. There's nothing especially new in the technology, but Apple excel in making things stylish and intuitive to use."

Bill Buchanan, professor of distributed computing at Napier University, said: "I think it will take off because of its ability to link up with wireless internet networks and make cheap phone calls over the internet. That will become a major selling point."

A spokeswoman for T-Mobile said: "It would have been great to have got the iPhone, but the terms on offer were not right for us. What we do plan to offer are much faster internet surfing speeds from mobile phones."

A spokeswoman for O2 said that the question of iPhone killers was a matter for Apple. She added: "We're pleased to have the iPhone, but it's just one of a range of products."
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Apple presents its new iPod Touch

2007-09-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

San Francisco (dpa) - Apple has released the latest version of the iPod, the Touch. The Touch comes with multiple new features, including a touch-sensitive widescreen.
Other new features include a web browser and wireless internet access (WLAN). There's also a new mobile version of Apple's online music shop, the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, that allows users to download songs directly onto their iPod Touch without a computer.
During the presentation of the iPod Touch in San Francisco, Apple chief Steve Jobs said the new iPod will be released in 20 countries when it hits markets in September, just like its predecessors.
The iPod Touch comes with 8 gigabytes of memory and will cost 299 euros (418 dollars) and the 16 GB version comes at a price of 399 euros. To make the WLAN access more attractive, the Touch comes bundled with access to Google, Yahoo and YouTube.
Apple has also fine tuned its Nano and iPod Video, now dubbed the iPod Classic. The new Nanos are even smaller, but come with a larger display. The new Nano also plays videos.
Jobs also announced that the 8 GB iPhone, released in the United States in July, will be reduced by about one-third to 399 dollars. A smaller version will be discontinued. There is still no set date for the iPhone's release in Germany.
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Apple Legend Woz Blasts iPhone Price Drop And Refund Policy

2007-09-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak Saturday blasted his old buddy Steve Jobs' decision to drop the price of the iPhone by $200 only 68 days after the big launch and even took his old friend to task for how refunds have been handled for the popular device.

"Nobody expects a product to drop that much in price in such a short time," said Wozniak, the driving force behind the original Apple I and II computers. "Steve Jobs and everyone expects technology to drop in price. The first adopters always pay a premium. I am one of them. I am used to that. But that one was too soon, too harsh."

Wozniak, or Woz, as he is known by geeks and admirers made the comments in a question and answer session with reporters following an address before 600 solution providers at the ConnectWise Partner Summit in Tampa, Fla.

Jobs, Apple's CEO, sparked a firestorm of protest when he lowered the price of the iPhone on September 5 by $200 from $599 to $399 only 68 days after the launch of the eagerly awaited device that Apple fans waited in long lines and snapped up by as soon as it hit the market. The pricing decision upset a lot of early iPhone purchasers.

Jobs, who cofounded Apple with Wozniak, responded with a public letter of apology to those early iPhone buyers and and offered a "$100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store."

But Wozniak complained that he has bought some iPhones that he is saving as gifts for people which he can't get a refund on right now. Only when an account is opened can that person who received the phone get the discount, he said. "If I bought it and gave it as a gift they get the discount," he said of the Apple $100 credit policy for early iPhone buyers. "Why don't you just take my receipt and give me the money back? And of course it always comes back to Apple Store credit. So instead of getting $100 back you are getting $50 back sort of. It is very optimal to the company. I feel badly about the situation for everyone. I don't think Apple should have even done it. Maybe a very much more gradual price reduction, $50 at first or find ways to bundle it into a savings on your account."

Wozniak says he probably purchased about 20 iPhones for himself and his friends and has not gotten a single refund back on his own although some of his friends have gotten their refunds. "I haven't had the time to," he said. "I will. I only have one iPhone that I am using. I figured at first I would use three for myself. But one is enough."
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Briefly: iPhone Web app guide, games

2007-09-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

In brief: A guide for developing iPhone-optimized sites has been created, an iPhone-optimized games site has debuted, GLX2 a script editor for Revolution has been released, Firefox 2.0.0.7 fixes a security flaw, and the Font Brothers have debuted some new typefaces... VirtualHosting has put together a guide for developing Web sites that are designed for the iPhone. The author of the guide says "When developing an app for the iPhone, there are a number of things you should keep in mind. Apple has put together an extensive guide for iPhone developers." There is also a list of useful tools, and sites to which developers can submit their optimized Web apps.
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The Latest Mobile Phones in the Market!

2007-09-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

by Martin Dev
The mobile phone boom in UK is at its pinnacle and there have been a lot of latest technological inventions in this field. As a result, a plethora of handsets have been introduced in the market which are known for its technical brilliance and the elegant looks. It is impossible to list all of the handsets in one article so let us discuss a few exceptionally brilliant handsets that have been launched in the mobile phone market recently.

The first contender that has made a strong impact upon the mobile phone users around the world without the doubt, is Apple iPhone. It is an ultra superior device that has been brilliantly conceived and combined with super cool looks. A scratch proof front glass cover and a TFT touchscreen display emitting a kaleidoscope of 16 Million colours, in a large 3.5 inches screen makes Apple iPhone as one of the best gadgets around the town. This device has been equipped with Handset orientation sensor and proximity sensor that further add on to its appeal. A standard 2 Mega pixels camera and a Apple iPod has also been installed in this device for an excellent results. Plus, Apple iPhone comes in 4GB and 8GB variants that gives the user an ample sauce to store the music or data of your choice!

There is another mobile phone that has also eagerly anticipated but has not been released so far is known as Nokia E51, another addition to the super powerful 'E' business series in the market. Nokia E51 is a HSDPA enabled device that could be taken all across the globe with its Quad-Band GSM connectivity. Other high end connectivity features as GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth and integrated Wi-Fi adds on to its connectivity. Experience the joy of web browsing with Nokia E51 and consider the best for yourself.

You can buy these latest mobile phones at a cheap rates on the World Wide Web and with the various lucrative mobile phone deals! Buy them to experience the magic of mobile telephony!
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iPhone Equals iProblems? Is the iPhone Right for You?

2007-09-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

By: Michael C. Podlesny
Besides being an instrument to talk on, the Apple iPhone can retireve your email, surf the web and more. Apple`s iPhone is expected to become an important tool for music fans to listen to and share music.

Apple report that they sold 270,000 iPhones in the first 30 hours after the mobile device`s June 29 release. However, according to MacWorld, Duke University in Durham, North Carolina claims that it causes problems in their wireless system. A few weeks after the iPhone`s release, Duke University said that the device`s Wi-Fi connection was responsible for taking down between a dozen and 30 of the school`s Cisco wireless access points at a time, due to the flood of connection requests coming from them. In blaming the iPhone, Kevin Miller, assistant director of communications infrastructure with Duke`s Office of Information Technology, said, he does not believe it is a Cisco problem in any way. Cisco Systems Inc. said in a statement that the problem was caused by a Cisco-based network issue.

Macworld also reported in their October 2007 issue that, a new study from ChangeWave Research shows that the iPhone may be extending its halo to Macintosh brands. According to the study, consumers planning to buy new computers in the next 90 days, the percentage opting for Apple desktops and laptops jumped significantly in June 2007.

Gregg Keiser of Computer World reports in the September issue, concerning the announcement of "iPhone price cut by Apple Inc. in the U.S. The company has unexpectedly slashed the price of the eight gigabyte model of its two-month-old mobile device by 33 percent which was released in late June 2007. It is stated that the price cut was initiated by the company`s chief executive officer (CEO) Steven Jobs during an announcement of new iPod music players. The company is flooded with complaints and accusations of betrayal by the iPhone users but responded to the issue by promising the issuance of $100 purchase credits to people who bought iPhones before the price change." The price of the phone went from $599 to $399.

However not all that is cool is complete according to Scott Bradner of Network World. Scott share`s his insights about the iPhone from Apple Inc. According to Scott, there is a lot of things that bothers him about iPhone and he wanted to see some technology on it. He reveals that most of the things he wanted to see on the iPhone is not there because the functions that would make the device complete are missing. Scott cites that it would have been far better for Apple to sell a version of the iPhone that admits it is a computer running a good operating system that would allow the customers used it openly. He further expresses that the worst part of the iPhone is that the Apple is treating the iPhone just like another cell phone.

And then of course there is the issue with the huge packages on phone bills that iPhone owners are receiving. The New York Times reported in August of 2007 that "Iphone users are amazed to find oversized bills delivered by AT&T. AT&T has promised to send summarized bill to the users through text messages. Itemizing of every detail about every text message and Internet data transfer by AT&T are reasons for oversized bills."

So should you buy an iPhone? It all depends on what you will be using it for. If you need access to your email or surf the web at a moment`s notice, then it might be for you. However all experts agree, it`s better to wait until the price drops further and all of the bugs are worked out of the system.
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iPhone Wi-Fi Hot Spot Connection Application Released

2007-09-16T05:34:00.000-07:00

by Glenn Fleishman
Devicescape has released a simple application for the iPhone that lets you connect to Wi-Fi hot spots without all the fuss of tapping in user names and passwords, clicking Accept buttons, or remembering WEP and WPA encryption keys. The Devicescape Connect application requires the Nullriver AppTap application installer, a third-party hack that allows easy installation of software on the device. (I've been testing a version of the application released before the Nullriver integration.)

The way that Devicescape accomplishes this minor miracle - and obviates the single most annoying factor in using the iPhone outside of one's home and office - is via their flagship software, which comprises client software on a device, handheld, or laptop, and an account at their Web site in which you store passwords and account information. (I wrote a full account of Devicescape's approach in "Devicescape Aims to Ease Wi-Fi Hot Spot Connection Pain," 2007-05-07.)

At my.devicescape.com, you set up an account and enter any Wi-Fi hot spot and network information that you want to include. For instance, I store my home and work WPA keys on their site. Devicescape automates the login process for dozens of for-fee hot spot networks and aggregators of hot spots, including T-Mobile HotSpot, AT&T WiFi, Fon, Boingo, iPass, and others, as well as dozens of fee-free networks that require some confirmation step or login account to use.

With the Devicescape iPhone app, when you're at a hot spot for which you've entered your connection information, you simply tap the Connect application and click Login. Devicescape connects to the local network, tunnels your login request through the hot spot's DNS service (clever, that), receives back an encrypted set of login details, and then passes those credentials on to the hot spot. For free networks, the system knows to "click" the right button, sending a Web request with the correct response in it. (The Devicescape software for laptops, handhelds, and a few phones works pretty much the same way; you also get the benefit of every device you use having the same set of network access without re-entering details.)

I've been using Connect for over a week, and have tested it at a few T-Mobile locations. It's rather marvelous to simply tap Login, and be on the network. It's the way the iPhone should work - and suddenly does.

While Steve Jobs extols the ubiquitous availability of Wi-Fi, he and the company have done nothing to make connections easy except to simply protected home and work networks (and easy is relative there with the silly manner in which you have to type in passwords), and to open Wi-Fi networks. Devicescape bridges that gap.

In a briefing several days ago, the company also noted that they had found the business-grade authentication software in the iPhone, as I had expected, since the connection client needed for corporate networks is also built into Mac OS X. As Devicescape creates small device networking software, they could choose to provide an interface to this, making the iPhone immediately usable in corporate environments. (It's obscurely known as 802.1X after an IEEE protocol, and allows a user name and password, as well as certificates and tokens generated by hardware, to create a unique login session for a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network. WPA/WPA2 Enterprise is the most modern flavor of 802.1X.)

There's just one missing feature from Connect that you find on their full Devicescape software: buddy lists. With buddy lists, you can choose which other Devicescape users can access networks you manage - your friends and colleagues, say. These buddies' copies of Devicescape download an encrypted set of network passwords. You can revoke a buddy's access or update your network password and the system handles that seamlessly, too, transmitting it to those related parties. That will be a big plus for iPhone users who roam among households and work networks when this buddy list feature hits Connect.

While you could cobble together free and paid logins at networks you frequent or expect to, your best combo deal for using Connect is Boingo Wireless, a hot spot aggregator which resells access to tens of thousands of locations in the United States, including dozens of airports. Boingo charges $21.95 for unlimited U.S. access. Their worldwide footprint is 100,000 locations, for which they charge $39 per month for unlimited access. Both are month-by-month rates with no commitment or cancelation penalty.

In the U.S., they have most major networks; T-Mobile HotSpot is the big exception. T-Mobile charges $20 to $40 per month for unlimited use at about 8,500 locations, with the price varying by whether you're a T-Mobile voice subscriber and the duration of your contract. Devicescape supports T-Mobile, too.

While you can log into Boingo through a partner login in the Web gateway interface at nearly all the locations they bundle up, that involves tedious data entry each time, instead of a single click with Connect. And some Boingo locations don't have the partner login, but you won't know which until you're traveling.

Devicescape's gap-filling software makes me hope that hot spots pile on and promote this as a simpler option to get online. It's only a benefit to Apple and AT&T to make the iPhone work with fewer interruptions and less friction - and the less we use AT&T's cellular EDGE network, the better that network performs. I hope Apple considers bundling Connect in a future release - or making Devicescape its first certified application developer.
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First Look: 16GB iPod Touch

2007-09-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

This beautifully designed media player is like a slim iPhone sans phone--but it's marred by some early hardware and software issues.
I'm an iPhone fan who can't get an AT&T signal at home, so I was hoping the iPod Touch would be the perfect compromise. Based on its specs (Wi-Fi, mobile Safari, the Multi-touch interface, and twice the iPhone's storage capacity at 16GB), it sure looks like it would be. But I've been testing a $39916GB iPod Touchfor a couple of days now, and based on a number of hardware and software issues I've encountered, it looks like Apple still has some work to do.
Don't get me wrong, the Touch is an amazing piece of technology. Mobile Safari is the best portable Web browser around, Cover Flow works great on a device with limited storage capacity, and the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is extremely slick for a first generation product. But in these first two days, I've run into ascreen anomalythat makes dark movies scenes difficult to watch,software bugsthat halt music playback when browsing pages in Safari, and an issue thatharms sound qualityon many in-ear headphones.
If Apple can work out most of those kinks, it will have produced the first portable video player I'd actually want to own. Until they do, I'd recommend taking a wait-and-see approach with the Touch.

Run down a list of the iPhone's features, and you'll find that almost everything has made it over to the iPod Touch. The Touch is available in both 8GB and 16GB capacities. At .31 inches deep, it's substantially thinner than the iPhone, but it's got the same 802.11b/g wireless support. It also features a 3.5-inch Multi-touch screen with 480-by-320-pixel resolution. The single button on its face brings up the main menu, and a small button on top turns the device on and off.

The only missing bits of hardware are the phone (plus the mic and speakers that go with it), the camera, and the physical volume buttons and locking switch on the side. The non-standard headset jack that prevents you from plugging most headphones directly into the iPhone is gone as well--your normal headphones will fit just fine.

The touch works just like the iPhone, too. We've spent plenty of timedissecting how that device works, so I won't dig deeply into it here. The tap, scroll, and pinch gestures that make the iPhone a joy to use work just as well on the Touch.

The iPod Touch's beautiful interface and large, attractive screen help make it easily the most fun media player I've ever tested. Cover Flow, Apple's unique touch-based interface for flipping through the albums on your player, performs much better on the Touch than on the Nano or the Classic. Album art loads efficiently enough that it's nearly impossible to outrun the player and end up with the dreaded gray placeholder graphics while the player catches up.

I've always been a fan of music players that can hold my entire library, so the Touch was more attractive to me as a mobile video player and Web browser. But the Touch's limited capacity forced me to come up with some new ways to listen to music, and after awhile I was having a blast adapting to the smaller confines and the Touch's interface. I've loaded my test unit with a library-wide best of playlist, along with some classic discs and the last 20 or so albums I've ripped. My favorite new trick: I'll put the best of playlist on shuffle and let that play until I hear something I haven't heard in a while. When I do, a quick tap of the album's track listing lets me go back and listen to that disc.

Apple's new iTunes Wi-Fi Music store works great as well. Its search function updates while you type, helping you drill down to the correct artist, album, or song title with a minimum of typing. Provided you have an iTunes Music Store account, you can purchase songs directly from the device using the Touch's Wi-Fi connection. (This feature is now available to iPhone users as well.) Tracks download as quickly as your 'Net connection can manage, and are immediately playable. The next time you sync the player, those songs will be downloaded to your PC's music library.

Much like the iPhone, the iPod Touchsounds similarto a last-generation iPod Nano. That's not bad for a flash-based MP3 player, but there's a critical difference between the sound of the touch and any of the Nanos I've tested. As noted inour first impressionson Friday, the Touch doesn't play so well with many high-end in-ear headphones I've tested. The problem goes away if I use an attenuator (a tiny adapter that shipped with my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pros), but I'd prefer not to have to plug an adapter into the player if at all possible.

The Dark-Scene Video Blues

As I mentioned, I'd really like to use the Touch primarily as a portable video player. One of my favorite features of the iPhone is playing videos on its gorgeous 3.5-inch screen. With the iPod Touch supporting up to 640-by-480-resolution videos in both H.264 and MPEG-4 compression, I was all set to load up some movies from the iTunes store and start watching.

Unfortunately the 16GB unit I picked up at the San Francisco Apple store has adisplay problemthat makes many dark scenes almost unwatchable. Video looks reversed out in dark areas, creating a very distracting negative effect. Several other users have reported the same problem on Apple's forums, so I know I'm not alone, but other posters have mentioned that their displays work just fine. Perhaps this defect is confined to a small portion of Apple's initial iPod touch shipment and those of us experiencing the problem will be able to get replacements.

Thankfully those display woes don't distract from viewing most Web pages in Safari, which remains the best mobile Web browser I've ever seen. For the most part, it works great on the iPod Touch, except when you try to multitask.

If you start up some music and tap your way over to Safari for some Wi-Fi-enabled Web surfing, you may encounter problems. If I opened up a complex page or a second tab, the Touch would often stop playing music, forcing me to go out to the main screen, tap over into music, and start it up again. I've also experienced the occasional crash after loading up three or more pages. I'd bet that these problems will be fixed in a future firmware update, but until they are they're two more reasons this player feels a little rushed to market.

Not all of the iPhone's apps made it to the iPod Touch. I can begin to see the rationale for omitting the Mail and Google Maps applications--both would work better with the iPhone's always-on data connection--but why leave off the Notes app or the Weather and Stock widgets? The implementation of the Calendar app is also a bit confusing: While you can sync events from your PC's calendar, you can't edit them on the Touch or add new events.

We'll update this review shortly with results from our objective audio and battery life tests. (Apple rates the Touch as good for 22 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video). I also hope that by the time we update, Apple will have responded to our questions about the Safari and screen issues I experienced.

Until then, the Touch remains a bit of an enigma. It's a beautifully designed player that's incredibly fun to use. If Apple can resolve these initial quality control issues, I'd gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a mobile video player, a portable Web browser, or a high-class way to cart around the highlights from your music library.
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Where and How to Get Your Apple iPhone Accessories

2007-09-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

By: Mr. Miyagi.
The Apple iPhone is one of the hottest things to hit the market this year. Released in June of 2007, everyone was standing by to get their hands on a great Apple iPhone. Now that the popular Apple iPhone has been released, you can see many great new accessories popping up for you to enjoy.

The Apple iPhone is designed with a delicate screen, which is why one of the most popular accessories available are the ones that help keep the screen free from scratches and other types of damages that could hinder your view. However, there are many other exciting accessories available for you to enjoy as well. One of these is the much anticipated release of the Bluetooth headset and wired headset that are designed especially for the Apple iPhone.

You can find many different accessories for your new Apple iPhone anywhere the device is sold and one of the most popular items available is the iPhone cases. In fact, they are so popular that many of the stylish designs can run you up to $499 to $599 per case. This may sound pricy, but it is recommended that you purchase a case to help protect your investment.

You don't have to pay that much for your iPhone accessories but make sure if you are buying them from the internet or from someplace other than an authorized Apple iPhone dealer that you check carefully to be sure there are no compatibility issues. Regular cell phone accessories may not fit or work properly with the Apple iPhone so be sure you look into it before making a purchase.

When you take a look at all the items available at the stores where these devices are sold, you will find that the items mentioned here are just the beginning when it comes to Apple iPhone accessories, there are many others available as well. If you do not see the accessory you are searching for on displayed, then talk to the dealer to see what they have to offer. If there are products available that they do not carry, then they can at least tell you where you can find the accessories you are searching for.

It is important that if you decide to purchase your accessories from an online dealer that you are careful who and where you buy from. Make sure the company is a legitimate one that provides products you can trust. The internet is a great place to find good prices, but always use caution to ensure you receive accessories you can depend on.
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Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and newer iPod Touch are competitors

2007-09-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

by Brian White
When Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) engaged with telecom dinosaur AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) to partner with it in launching one of its most ambitious products ever -- the iPhone -- many saw it as a gambit to partner with the leading wireless operator instead of partnering with a more advanced and "hip" wireless carrier. Apple of course knew that to get the iPhone into as many hands as possible, it would have to go with the largest. There's probably other reasons as well. But the partnership between these two companies has been labeled as odd at best by many, including me.

Apple knows marketing, knows its customers and has the flash to sell gadgets and computers unlike any other company. AT&T is an aging brand trying to re-invent itself for the younger, everywhere-connected generation who won't even know what a landline telephone is in a decade. But with 60+ million wireless subscribers, no company could walk away from that statistic when launching one smash wireless handset. When Apple unveiled the iPod Touch a few weeks ago (which is basically an iPhone without the phone), AT&T execs must have cringed.
Although Mark Siegel, one of AT&T's most prominent spokespersons, said that the iPhone and iPod Touch don't really complete, he's covering completely. The two products will compete head to head soon, and many who have held out on the iPhone due to not wanting AT&T's cellular service or "forced" $60+ calling plans will flock to the Touch product. Since the iPhone uses an old wireless data technology anyway (EDGE), are intended customers really wanting to need that all-in-one device or do they want the iPhone sans the expensive calling plan, credit check and two-year contract?

Apple is even making its new iTunes WiFi music store available on the iPhone, which can let customers bypass AT&T's own (and highly substandard) online music store. All of this tells us about the power Apple has, even over partners that it needs to launch new products like the iPhone. Will iPhone purchases dip when the iPod Touch is released in the next few weeks? Probably not -- but we'll see competition between that and the iPhone, no matter how myopic AT&T will be.
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