iPhone News Updated

If you are tired of your 6×18 Zoom lens then it’s about time to change it to something else like iPhone Wide Angle Lens. It’s a small lens mounted on top of the iPhone by a plastic cap which “clicks-in”.
The lens has the magnification of 0.68X which expands your field of view quite well. So the next time you take a picture of your friends, everyone will fit in.

Zoom lens is priced at $12 and can be bought from USBfever. It will be available from February 29.

Thanks: OhGizmo

If you weren’t living under a rock in some deep cave then you know that Oscar nominations are happening this Sunday, February 24.

For this occasion MIMIEO who previously did Superbowl poling, has launched an Oscar poling website for iPhone.

You will be able to vote on Oscar nominated film trailers and on commercials broadcasted during the live show.

Following each movie clip, you will be asked whether you thought the trailer was entertaining and the ad made you more or less likely to see the film. Same will be done with commercials and whether the opinion of the product has increased or not after seeing the ad. Polling responses will then be used to create real-time movie rankings on the VoteOscarsAds website.

Polling data is then collected from mobile devices and the web simultaneously. It offers insight into measurement of both the entertainment and marketing value of ads.

There’s a week to go before Apple’s commitment to release the iPhone Software Developers Kit in February runs out of room. I’m hearing from one source that its going to be late. I’m not yet hearing any reasons why, and it’s sounding like the official release date could slide by anywhere from one to three weeks.

Apple had no comment, and as yet there’s no word on any events related to an SDK release next week. However I’m also hearing that the situation is fluid, and a lot of last-minute decisions are close to being made about what precisely will or will not be disclosed next week, if anything. There are, apparently, a lot of moving parts to something this complex.

Remember if you will that BusinessWeek broke the story of Apple’s plans to release an iPod SDK in October, a day before CEO Steve Jobs announced the company’s intentions himself via a statement on the “Hot News” section of Apple’s Web site.

So will they make it to the finish line in time or will they have to fudge it a little? We’ll all be watching next week.

Every day, it seems, developers come up with nifty new ways to use the iPhone to do this or that. The latest creations allow you to use your iPhone as a full touchpad remote for your PC, zoom through applications on the iPhone using CoverFlow, and LoJack your iPhone.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog is a gold mine of applications and ideas for the bold and brave who decide to unlock their iPhones and install third-party apps. This week it posted three new apps that range from visually appealing to just plain old fun.

TouchPad Remote

An enterprising TUAW reader sent in this application. It essentially turns an iPhone into a complete remote control for a PC, allowing you to use it as a mouse, click, double-click, drag windows around, etc. It requires a jailbroken iPhone and Installer.app. That means it isn't approved by Apple. Yet. Here is a video of it in action.

CoverFlow

Erica Sadun, iPhone hacker extraordinaire, wrote a new bit of code that lets you fly through the applications on the iPhone in a way that is similar to iTunes' CoverFlow. Writes Mike Schramm, "AppFlow is a CoverFlow-style interface for launching iPhone apps and icons. You just install the app on your jailbroken iPhone, and then launching your favorite app is as simple as flipping to the icon and double-tapping."

It may not actually enhance the usability of the iPhone, because, after all, the applications are all right there on the home screen. But it does look nice.

iPhone LoJack

This is another one from Erica Sadun. She says:

Way back, one of our readers begged for an iPhone LoJack solution. He wanted his iPhone to "call home" regularly in case of loss or, let's be more realistic, theft. Over the past week, I finally had a chance to give this request some time, and I put together findme. It's a command-line program that returns the location of the cell phone tower nearest to your iPhone. When run, it tells you the tower id, plus its latitude and longitude courtesy ofGoogle (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps.

There are some more tweaks involved, of course. You need to create an account with Twitter just for your iPhone, giving it a unique e-mail address. It then uses Twitter to fire off Tweets of the phone's location in a manner that is secure. You can read more about Sadun's solution here.

This is what the developer community is up to before Apple releases the SDK. Just think of the possibilities that will open up once the SDK is available and these applications are officially sanctioned by Apple.

The update offers improved support for iPhone, along with other bug fixes and improvements.

Is Bill Gates a closet admirer of Apple’s keyboard-less iPhone? The Microsoft chairman told an audience at Carnegie Mellon University that he thinks the keyboard will soon go the way of the dodo and that people will interact with computers through touch screens and by speaking. “It’s one of the big bets we’re making,” he said, according to the AP. Gates has repeatedly said that people have a tendency to overestimate how much things will change in two years and underestimate how much they’ll change in 10. In his speech, Gates chose the middle ground, predicting that in five years people will conduct more Internet searches through voice than through typing on a keyboard.

EMC is taking to the clouds. The computer-storage company just bought Pi Corp., a startup with technology that lets people store and access information over the Internet, InfoWorld reports. Most of EMC’s sales come from tech equipment that businesses connect to their own computers and networks. The Pi acquisition is a sign that EMC is preparing for what many pundits expect will be the next big wave of data storage: “cloud computing,” in which businesses store their information on tech equipment run by a single company and access it over the Internet. (For some reason, a cloud is the metaphor of choice for all things Internet; “cloud,” a good thing in tech, is not to be confused with “vapor,” which is a bad thing.) Few businesses store data this way today, but EMC is betting that they will in the future. The company also launched an entire division dedicated to the cloud.

H-P says it doubled the number of “Halo Rooms” it sold last year. The rooms, fancy video facilities that cost $249,000 to buy — plus monthly fees — are supposed to make video conferencing more like a traditional meeting. But don’t look at the sales trends and think that a halo conference is in your future: H-P has sold only 140 of the rooms since they went on sale in December 2005, Reuters reports. H-P notes that 80% of its Halo purchasers are repeat customers, which makes sense, considering that you need at least two Halo Rooms to have a video conference.

Miles Brignall

It may have become the must-have gadget of the year, but iPhone users are now learning there's a further cost to being an early adopter: the £1,000-plus bill that can land on their doorstep after a short holiday abroad.

O2, the mobile company which has the exclusive rights to offer the Apple iPhone in the UK, this week came under pressure to slash its overseas data roaming charges. It follows complaints from customers, some of whom have racked up bills in excess of £1,000 solely for accessing emails during a week abroad.

Others have complained that the charges imposed by the phone service provider bear no relation to the amount of data they have downloaded. Since the iPhone was introduced in the UK last November, around 200,000 consumers have paid the £269 up-front fee and agreed to pay at least £35 a month to operate their iPhone. For that, they get an unlimited amount of data downloads - emails and web surfing - but only in the UK.

Few users have so far been aware of the eye-watering charges that accrue when they use the phone abroad.

The problem has arisen partly because O2 imposes some of Europe's highest data roaming charges on its mobile customers - at £7.05 per Mb it is almost twice the European Union average. But the real problem is caused by the fact that the iPhone is always on, and looking for new emails every few minutes. Unwary users who log on when they arrive in another country automatically start accruing the enormous charges - whether they make traditional voice calls or not.

Printing executive Alex Chambers, from Warwickshire, was presented with a bill for £44 after accessing just a few emails while on holiday in Italy in January. He regards himself as highly IT-literate, and had turned off the phone's data roaming function, but was still hit with a large bill.

"I know all about data charges and have seen a few £100 bills down the years. But my first O2 roaming bill was of a different order - somewhere between Barclays profit margin and Northern Rock billwise." Other users on the blogosphere have been less polite.

O2 said this week it was "very open and clear with customers that its unlimited data allowances are only available in the UK" and they will incur roaming charges if using mobile data features while abroad.

"From this July, we will be reducing data roaming prices in Europe by more than 40%," said a spokesman. This month the European telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, warned that she will impose price cuts if Europe's mobile phone companies do not drop their data roaming charges significantly by the summer.

The data roaming problem is not restricted to the UK. Adam Aronson, an American interactive kiosk designer, got back from a two-week trip to England to find a $5,086 bill - without making a single voice call.

Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson

If you're still waiting for that elusive day when Apple decides to make its iPhones available in Canada, forget that and check out Sony Ericsson's latest entrant in the field.

A Windows Mobile device that offers iPhone-like features such as the touch-screen and comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, the Xperia X1 was announced by Sony Ericsson at the Mobile World Congress in Spain with availability in selected markets expected in the second half of this year.

An arc slider phone, the Xperia X1 has a 3.7 centimetre (three-inch) VGA display that gives the user the Internet, multimedia and other mobile applications from its desktop. The screen slides up to unveil the keyboard. The new device supports the HSDPA/HSUPA and Wi-Fi standards as well as GSM and EDGE networks. No price announced yet.

LG-KF510

While still cruising the Mobile World Congress for the latest in phones that may eventually find their way to Canada -- roughly the last place on earth to get any of the really interesting new offerings -- there is the skinny minnie LG-KF510, a slider phone all gussied up in colours from stardust dark grey to sunset red.

Giving a serious run for the money to others in this category, the new 10.9 millimetre thick phone in a metal frame with a tempered glass display uses LG's touch technology and includes a 3.0 megapixel camera with image stabilization and a MP3 player.

Nokia N96

Another one to add to your gadget-envy list is Nokia's N96, billed as a "multimedia computer truly optimized for video and TV." The dual-slide device has a screen just over seven centimetres; 16 gigabytes of internal memory plus a microSD slot to boost memory and it supports the common video formats.

It comes with a kick-stand so you can prop it up to watch, great for showing off at Starbucks. A five-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, flash and video light round this out with integrated A-GPS to enable geotagging of photos.

Durable Explorer 370, Plantronics, $80

Sounds like something Dora the Explorer would sport. Just what you need with your new phone -- a headset that meets military grade specifications with its water, dust and shock resistance.

Drop it, wear it in rainy Vancouver, take it to the job site, or give it to a teen, this Bluetooth device promises to stand up to the roughest treatment. Once charged it has seven hours of talk time and eight days of standby time.

Comes with a lanyard so if you're out and about working or playing, you won't lose it. Due out in March. Check it out at www.plantronics.com

Some iPhone users and iPod touch users may find that they occasionally can’t send an e-mail message, even though they’re receiving messages just fine. Here are three of the most common culprits.

User error

If you accidentally drag a message from your Inbox to your Outbox, the iPhone can’t identify the message’s sender and will show an error. You might think you just need to take the offending message out of the Outbox. However, Apple reports that once this error appears, the e-mail message may become invisible.

To make it reappear, you must turn on the iPhone’s Airplane Mode or turn off the iPod touch’s Wi-Fi. This should trigger the reappearance of the MIA message, allowing you to delete it.

Yahoo Mail problems

Are you only having problems with your Yahoo! Mail account? If your iPhone is showing the error “Connections to the outgoing servers ‘(null)’ failed,” you’ll likely need to wait for Yahoo to update its mobile e-mail software. In this case, the iPhone is typically not to blame.

One troublesome account

If you are having other problems sending e-mail from a given account, your best bet is to delete the problematic account and create a new one. When doing so, use the “manual” settings—accessed by tapping “Other” when you go to Settings -> Mail -> Add Account—rather than one of the default settings that may be available.

Bonus bug: iPhone Unknown error (6)

While we're on the subject of the iPhone, let's tackle the issue of an not very illustrative error message. If you try to make a fresh start with you phone by using iTunes to restore your iPhone to factory settings, you might get the error “Unable to restore iPhone. Unknown error (6).” If so, update to the latest version of iTunes.

If that doesn’t fix the problem, the most likely cause is that one or more of the .ipsw files, located in your user folder/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates folder, are damaged. The solution is to delete the files and try the Restore command again. New copies of the files will download and the process should proceed as expected.

by Jonny Evans, Macworld

The update offers improved support for iPhone, along with other bug fixes and improvements.

Ambrosia Software introduced iToner 1.0.6, offering up support for iPhone OS 1.1.3.

The update the iPhone custom ringtone transfer tool offers improved support for iPhone, along with other bug fixes and improvements.

Exempt from per-ringtone fees, iToner lets you drag-&-drop MP3, AAC, WAVE, and AIFF audio files you own to your iPhone for use as custom ringtones.

The iToner 1.0.6 update is free for all registered users, and may be downloaded here.

iToner costs US$15, requires Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later, and is a Universal Binary application.

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - Apple Inc. continues to stand by its goal of selling 10 million iPhones this year, but some analysts continue to question whether demand for the iconic device is high enough to support that target.

Another issue remains iPhones that have been "unlocked" to be used on carriers other than Apple's exclusive partners, which include AT&T in the United States.

The iPhone, which was launched into the market last June, will only account for a small portion of the company's overall revenue this year. But Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi predicted that the device could make up one- quarter of the company's total sales within the next four years, making the device a crucial part of the future of a company that made its name with its Mac computers and iPod digital music players.

In addition, Sacconaghi predicted in a report Friday that because the iPhone likely generates gross margins of 55% to 60% for every device sold - compared to 30% to 33% gross margins for the rest of Apple's product line - the device could be responsible for as much as 80% of Apple's future earnings growth.

As such, the analyst warned that challenges facing the iPhone business could have a significant impact on Apple (AAPL).

"While we believe the iPhone has the potential to drive material earnings growth for Apple, recent data points suggest the business is facing two significant challenges: (1) overall demand for the handset appears to be falling short of expectations; and (2) the incidence of 'unlocking' has been much higher than expected," Sacconaghi wrote in his report.

Sacconaghi pointed to the fact that Apple's iPhone sales averaged 180,000 units a week in the last quarter of 2007, which historically is Apple's busiest business period of the year. Based on that estimate, Saccohaghi forecasts that Apple should sell 7.9 million iPhones in 2008.

"Apple's goal of selling 10 million iPhones this year is optimistic, particularly if Apple insists on carrier revenue sharing without significant price cuts or new model introductions," Sacconaghi said.

Losing the 'iPhone premium'

Appple's shares have already given back much of the premium gained from the introduction of the iPhone last year.

The stock began the year in the $85 range, then began a run-up after CEO Steve Jobs announced the device at a trade show in early January. The stock reached the $120 range by the time the device hit the market in late June and continued to soar - topping the $200 mark by Christmas.

The shares have sold off sharply since - shedding more than 40% of their value. While the selloff was helped in part by an increasingly negative sentiment around technology stocks, Apple shares have suffered even more so. The Nasdaq Composite is off 14% during the same period.

Shares of Apple were trading down 2.8% at $118.13 by Friday afternoon.

"On balance, we believe Apple is now reasonably to attractively valued, especially in light of the company's strong free cash flow generation," wrote Sacconaghi, who rates the shares as market perform, or neutral. "However, we remain worried that the near-term news flow on iPod and iPhone could be incrementally negative."

Other analysts have sounded worries about the iPhone's outlook. After Apple announced a new 16GB model of the device earlier this month for $499, Keith Bachman of BMO Capital Markets wrote in a report that Apple would be better off with lower-priced models.

"We believe Apple generates more than $200 in gross profit over the life of the phone, compared with approximately $100 for the actual sale of the phone," Bachman wrote. "Consequently, we believe Apple would be much better off with lower-priced phones, with less profits at the time of sale, and significantly higher revenues/profits over the approximately two-year life of the phone."

'Unlocked' phones remain an issue

Much of the iPhone's profitability comes from revenue-sharing agreements that Apple has in place with AT&T Inc. (T) as well as its three European wireless partners.

Apple doesn't disclose how much revenue it gets from AT&T or its European partners, O2 in the U.K., T-Mobile in Germany and Orange in France. Those carriers each give Apple a payment every month for each customer that activates an iPhone on their networks.

But the issue of users buying an iPhone to "unlock" it from those carriers rose following Apple's last quarterly earnings report. Analysts noted a large discrepancy between sales figures provided by Apple compared to those of AT&T, and some concluded that as many as 1 million iPhones had been unlocked since the device went on sale.

Sacconaghi estimates that between 25% and 30% of the more than 4 million iPhones already sold have been unlocked to work on other wireless networks, and that each unlocked iPhone results in Apple missing out on $370 in earnings over the iPhone's two-year contract period.

If Apple were to hit its 10 million iPhone sales target, the unlocked devices would cause the company to forego between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion over two years, he says.

Apple might be in a bit a of bind regarding what to do about the unlocked iPhones. Sacconaghi said that the unlocked iPhones "present significant strategic issues for Apple," particularly concerning the company's ability to cut the price of future devices and sign up new carriers to revenue sharing plans.

Because of this situation, Sacconaghi believes Apple will either have to continue to allow unlocked iPhones on the market, take more steps to keep the device from being unlocked, or accept the situation and begin selling its own unlocked version.

Thanks: http://money.cnn.com

Folks at iWebsaver has figured out an ingenious way to save web pages to your iPhone or iPod Touch for off-line viewing. They have been able to achieve this by converting the entire page to a data URL.

Ecamm Network, have renamed their popular iPhone Application which brought Disk mode to the iPhone and iPod Touch from iPhoneDrive to MegaPhone.

by Peter Cohen

Ambrosia Software has updated iToner, its iPhone custom ringtone transfer software for Mac OS X. iToner 1.0.6 is a free update for registered users. It costs $15.

iToner enables users to transfer their own MP3, AAC, WAV and AIF audio files to the iPhone, and use them as custom ringtones -- without having to pay additional fees.

In addition to iPhone 1.1.3 support, iToner now has French, German and Italian localizations, intelligent audio processing and other fixes and enhancements.

System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later.

The wanderlust in Dilip Kapur, president, Hidesign (designers of leather goods), always keeps him on his toes. To keep him going, his iPod plays a pivotal role.

“While riding my Bullet and exercising every morning, my iPod comes very handy. I really think I cannot do without it,” says Mr Kapur. There are almost 1,500 songs stored at a time on the iPod of this music lover and not so car-savvy person.

He uses a BlackBerry and a Nokia phone to communicate. The ease of carrying gadgets and working is very important to him. He does not remember the model though but does not refrain from mentioning the qualities. “I bought Nokia because of its looks. It’s sleek and small. It fulfills my basic need of communication but in style.”

He uses the BlackBerry to check e-mails. He confesses that Blackberry is essential for his routine work and comes handy anytime, anywhere. Even though he possess a Sony Vaio laptop, he prefers BlackBerry for official work. “Laptops are a pain. I hate carrying them.” Though he bought the Sony Vaio laptop as it was lighter than what IBM, HP and Dell had to offer. He could do well to check out the thin and light Apple Air as well.

Yet, the white Sony Vaio helps in bringing out the designer in Kapur. “I do most of my designing on laptop. I have the software that facilitates designing and delivers an excellent output.”

However, if you are looking for him on social networking sites, don’t even try. He does not believe too much in social networking sites or blogging and likes to keep himself aloof from such pass time. “I would rather connect with friends through phone and e-mails than creating an account and leading a ‘second life’.”

For the wishlist, Apple iPhone is a priority for him. “I buy gadgets for ease but my heart is for Apple.”

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Corporate_Trends/Dilip_Kapur_president_Hidesign_likes_iPod__iPhone_/articleshow/2802794.cms

By John Boudreau

The iPhone is about to get more than a little help from its friends.

Any day now, Apple is expected to release a developer's kit that will allow independent programmers to create new applications for the device. While it is common for mainstream PC users to download third-party programs to their computers, it is relatively uncharted territory for average cell-phone users to do the same, observed American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu.

Apple's kickoff will follow on the heels of Microsoft's announcement this week of a software giveaway campaign that will unlock high-end developer tools used to create everything from games to cell-phone programs to millions of college and high school students around the world.

"It's going to make the platform more attractive, no question," Wu said of the iPhone. What is unknown, he said, is whether the new applications will boost iPhone sales.

The move will give the device - a combination of telephone, multimedia player and WiFi gadget - an array of new features, from games to better ways to sync it with corporate e-mail accounts. And it could eventually help make the iPhone Apple's iconic product, unseating the iPod as consumers increasingly embrace smart-phone devices.

"I think the phone portion will be reduced as a service on these cool devices. You won't be buying it because it's a phone," said Jim Grossman, an equity analyst at Thrivent Asset Management in Minneapolis. "I call it a mini-computer."

Even without Apple's technological road map for the iPhone, there already are some 300 "underground" applications created for the device, a powerful indication of interest among code writers to join its universe, said Yankee Group analyst Andrew Jaquith.

"You will see a lot of them move real quickly to the new environment, and you'll see mainstream software companies jump in, too," he said. "This is going to be big news. We are going to see some amazing mobile applications."

The company had put off offering the tools to developers for fear it would expose iPhone users to piracy and viruses, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has said.

An iPhone software update in September disrupted service for iPhones rejiggered to work with a cellular carrier other than AT&T or loaded with non-Apple applications. The move angered some users and triggered two class-action lawsuits. Apple and its telecommunications partner AT&T were accused of illegal monopolistic actions.

Now, the new tools "will allow developers free rein to develop applications that won't be killed by Apple during regular updates," Grossman said.

He and other analysts see a plethora of applications rolling out in quick succession - new games, applications that create "to-do" lists and VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol.

A VoIP feature will be of particular interest to business travelers who don't want to pay AT&T roaming charges when they are working overseas. "It can be ruinously expensive," Jaquith said.

It is unclear whether Apple will set up some sort of applications catalog page through its online store iTunes, the way it does now with podcasts. The Cupertino company also could charge fees to developers that want Apple's official stamp of approval.

"Most applications will need to be 'signed' by Apple so when you load it on the phone, you know it's a genuine application," Jaquith said.

Last year, Apple sold 4 million iPhones, though Wu believes as many as 1.5 million have been "hacked" and are not running on authorized carriers. He said iPhones are being used in as many as 40 countries, although the device at this time is supposed to be used only in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Eventually, Wu said, the iPhone will become Apple's signature product.

"Over time, that will happen," he said. "But it's probably not going to happen for at least a couple of years."

The iPhone is a much pricier product than the iPod - its low-end 8-gigabyte model is twice as much as the popular 8GB iPod touch. The iPhone also requires an AT&T service plan.

The new iPhone applications may not excite investors, who are worried that the nation's credit crisis and economic slowdown will dampen Apple's sales. The company's stock price has dropped about 40 percent since the beginning of the year, far below the 52-week high of $202.96. On Wednesday, shares of Apple closed up 1.3 percent, or $1.64, to 123.82.

"The stock has definitely been overly punished," Grossman said. "I don't know if there is a company out there that has the ability to take shares in a market better than Apple."

But Wu said investor jitters are justified.

"It's the economy," he said. "It's a tough environment. Even companies with the best products are not immune to these bigger issues."

by David Radd

The best way for Apple's iPhone to get in on the gaming market is to develop a popular game, says an expert

Tom Hubina, President and CEO of Amplified Games, spoke during the second day of GDC, giving a presentation titled "iPhone and Beyond: A New Hope for Mobile Gaming." As the head of a new company that is focusing on fatfreegames.com, a community oriented gaming site for the iPhone and other mobile devices, he was well set up to talk about the future of game content on the iPhone.

On the positive side for the iPhone, he noted that there are many gaming opportunities in using the Apple's device, including being able to target customers directly. There are also numerous business models that can be used, including micropayments and try-before-you-buy. The price threshold to develop games on the iPhone is cheap too, between $15,000—$20,000 for both web apps and native iPhone games. Many developers have already taken advantage of it, and right now, Apple is listing over 250 titles on their web apps site.

Still, the system carries with it certain flaws. Hubina noted that, while the iPhone has touch screen capabilities, the accuracy is less than that of a mouse. The system also has good graphical capabilities with a large bright screen, but there's still noticeable latency, which can be a problem with action heavy games or even something like Tetris. There's also no sound in the system's browser, the network can be clunky to deal with and there are multiple programming languages to develop for the system, which might be confusing and off-putting to some.

The promotional half of things is made easier by Apple's own web game application list at www.apple.com/webapps/games, in addition to other portals online. Advertising allows you to target specifically iPhone users, of which he said there are four million right now. Hubina also noted that viral advertising between users has proven highly successful.

The advice he gave in retaining customers was very simple: make a good game that people want to play. Besides that obvious point, Hubina added that he thought community features were key in customer retention, with everything from leaderboards to tournaments and even user generated content.

The issue of actually monetizing these games is a tricky one, he noted. Ads are possible, but he said that you needed about a million impressions to make it worth it; standard banner ads are hard to use, as are context sensitive ads. Subscriptions are another option, Hubina added, but content updates have to be pretty frequent to legitimate the cost. He also said that currently, downloadable methods aren't available legally, but Apple is releasing that SDK for the iPhone soon.

Speaking to competition from other mobile 2.0 devices, he said that while things like Windows Mobile and Blackberry have their own followings, their browsers aren't as good as the iPhone's. Hubina noted that, while there are capable browsers for those systems, they have low penetration and poor support for dynamic content. He also noted that those other platforms have fractured hardware bases compared to the iPhone, though he sees that as a more likely possibility should Apple introduce new iPhone hardware configurations.

Looking towards the future, Hubina mused that 3G phones, from companies like Google and Sprint, might affect the market. On the iPhone front, he wonders how Apple will proceed with their iPhone gaming model, whether they will insist on something like iTunes or something a bit more open, which could have large consequences for the future of gaming on iPhone.

Provided by GameDAILY—Your daily dose of gaming

By: Eric Lai

An AT&T spokesman confirmed for me by e-mail on Wednesday what Glenn Fleishmann at Wi-Fi Net News had already told me: that you'll be able to use two different Wi-Fi-enabled devices simultaneously during a single two-hour session at Starbucks.

The bright side is that while you are syncing your schedule and e-mail on your iPhone (AT&T, which will provide the Wi-Fi, is the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S.), you can also surf the Web or compose an e-mail on your laptop at the same time.

The down side is that once you log-in to your free AT&T Wi-Fi account with one device, the clock starts ticking...and doesn't stop even if you logout one or both devices/computers. Two consecutive hours per day, that's it.

AT&T also only allows three different devices to login to an account within 30 days, according to the spokesman. Not sure the rationale - maybe to discourage people from sharing a single Wi-Fi account?

The spokesman declined to say how AT&T plans to technically enforce these rules, "because disclosure of that information could increase the risk of fraud." I had speculated in a blog posting last week that AT&T would track the MAC addresses of your computers/devices.

I had also speculated that the very cheap or very determined among us will be able to get more than two hours of free Wi-Fi a day by signing up for multiple AT&T accounts (as they do with Web e-mail) and lugging in multiple laptops or phones (each attached to a single AT&T Wi-Fi account only).

Since the spokesman didn't dispute my theory, I am assuming this may still work.

Still, with these fussy restrictions and fine print, I'm guessing that anyone who's determined to get some real work done at a cafe will still head to their favorite indie coffeehouse - not Starbucks.

by Larry Dignan

Apple and Adobe–long time partners that propel product cycles for each other–are in a big spat over the iPhone.

The problem: Apple’s iPhone doesn’t support Flash Player. And Adobe is getting more annoyed by the minute, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Just as an aside I read this story with “It’s a Small World” playing in my head. Why? Ben Charny, a former reporter of mine at eWeek and colleague at News.com, quotes ZDNet’s own Ryan Stewart. Good times eh?

But I digress. Charny paints the Adobe-Apple spat as evidence that Steve Jobs & Co. often scares partners. I’m not sure I buy that beyond the iPhone.

As Charny notes this spat could be resolved by the end of the month. I’d be shocked if Apple and Adobe didn’t work this Flash spat out. After all, Adobe’s CS3 drives Mac sales and vice versa. These two have a long history that’s unlikely to be derailed over the iPhone.

We have already seen the wonders of iPhone's multi-touch user interface with native iPhone Applications like PocketGuitar which turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a touchscreen guitar.

If that wasn't impressive enough then you got to check out iAno - the newly released native iPhone application that turns your iPhone into a touchscreen piano.

The latest native iPhone application iAno makes use of iPhone's revolutionary multi-touch interface and turns the iPhone into a four octave keyboard with realistic piano sampling sounds.

The thing that makes the native iPhone application developed by Mister Aardvark impressive is that the keys on the keyboard animate on touch and up to five keys can be pressed at once thus allowing complex chords. The application has on screen navigation buttons to allow users to easily move up and down the scales by octave or partial octave.

Another great feature of the iPhone application is you can play along with your MP3s.

Aardvark also plans on adding additional features such as a complete 88-key keyboard, switchable sample sets, recording and playback, as well as support for loading .MID tracks and playing them back.

You have to checkout the impressive video demonstration of iAno in action below:

To install the native iPhone Application you will need to jailbreak your iPhone or iPod Touch. Here are instructions on how to to install iAno:

• First you need to jailbreak your iPhone to allow third-party applications to be installed. You can check out the Simpler method to JailBreak iPhone firmware 1.1.3 for more details as it also installs the very cool installer App which will make installing iAno on your iPhone a lot easier.
• Add the "ModMyiFone.com" repository to your Installer.
  • Click on the Installer Icon.
  • Click on the "Sources" icon at the bottom.
  • Click "Edit".
  • Click "Add".
  • Enter: "http://modmyifone.com/installer.xml".
  • Click "OK".
• iAno will appear under the "Toys" section of installer.

Install it and let us know how was your first solo session on the touchscreen piano in the comments. If you liked this iPhone Application then you should also check out PocketGuitar which turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a touchscreen guitar.

Thanks Aardvark for iAno, we will be looking forward to the additional features.

[via Mister Aardvark's blog]

Verizon Wireless set off a stampede to unlimited voice plans among U.S. mobile operators on Tuesday.

After the carrier said it would let subscribers talk for as long as they want within the U.S. for $99.99 per month, rivals AT&T and T-Mobile USA followed suit. Sprint Nextel, which offers 2,000 anytime minutes per month for $99.99, did not.

Verizon’s unlimited individual plan, as well as a shared family plan starting at $199.98, is available now.

T-Mobile’s plan, becoming available Thursday, will allow unlimited voice as well as messaging. That carrier, which targets youth as a key demographic, has been offering several plans for big talkers, including an Individual Ultra plan with 2,500 minutes for $99.99 and Individual Supra with 5,000 minutes for $129.99. AT&T likewise had offered such plans, including a 6,000-minute service for $199.99.

The major U.S. carriers haven’t traditionally offered unlimited minutes. The rush to match Verizon’s plan indicated the level of competition in the mobile market, where carriers are now pushing e-mail, Web access and other data services as the price of voice minutes has fallen.

But the new plans will probably appeal to only a small segment of the market, analysts said. Realtors and small-business owners who spend a lot of time on the road might find it useful, they said. Most carriers already offer free calls on nights and weekends and plans that include free calling to frequent contacts or people on the same network. Mobile data services such as Verizon’s BroadbandAccess 3G (third-generation) will cost extra. And the $99.99 unlimited products are separate from family plans with shared minutes, which cost more.

Also Tuesday, Verizon revamped its data offerings to reach different types of customers. A $39.99 plan will allow for 50MB of data traffic per month, and a $59.99 offering will cover 5GB. The new data plans will become available March 2.

Sprint offers unlimited data on its EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) network, which is similar to Verizon’s, for $59.99 per month. There are some uses that aren’t allowed, including continuous heavy data traffic and Web hosting. AT&T places a 5GB limit only on plans for mobile data cards to be used in notebook PCs, not on phone plans. Verizon and some other carriers have been criticized in the past for advertising unlimited data while actually cutting off users who went over a certain limit.

Source: www.iphonehacks.com

The typical symptoms are as follows: signal bars suddenly drop to zero and the display shows “call failed.” As soon as the user manually ends the call, the signal strength immediately returns to normal. There are quite a few threads in Apple discussion boards regarding this issue and seems to have increased post iPhone firmware 1.1.3.

Here are some iPhone tips/fixes which should help in some cases:

Reset the iPhone:

It has been observed that simply resetting the iPhone can resolve signal strength issues.

Reset network settings:

In some cases resetting the network settings has also helped so tap Settings, tap General, tap Reset, tap Reset Network Settings.

This will restart your iPhone and will also delete any stored Wi-Fi passwords as well as DNS settings and more.

Place your SIM card again:

If your iPhone’s SIM card is not placed properly, it has been observed that it can affect signal strength.

So a good idea would be to remove your iPhone's SIM card by pushing a straightened paper clip into the small hole on the top of the device to open the SIM tray, then check for debris inside the tray or SIM card slot, remove it by blowing into the slot or using compressed air and then placing the SIM card properly and then re-inserting the SIM tray.

The notion is that improper SIM contact can result in a weak signal, so the above procedure could help.

Restore the iPhone

Some of the iPhone users have reported that simply restoring the iPhone can also help resolve the signal strength issues.

However, it is important to note here that using this method you’ll lose text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, etc which can be restored by simply doing another restore and choosing to push the backup to the phone.

Dock the phone or just attach a USB cable:

Some iPhone users have interestingly reported that docking the iPhone or attaching it to a computer via a USB cable can boost signal strength dramatically.

However, it is not certain whether this is due to the power delivery a charge boosts signal strength or as some users have reported that simply attaching a USB cable to the iPhone (without connecting to your computer) provides an instant boost in signal strength.

Give iPhone a full charge:

The reason for the boost could be due to the reason speculated in the early point.

Attaching scotch tape to the SIM card:

This is indeed the most ingenious methods, it appears that attaching a small piece of scotch tape to the outer side of the iPhone’s SIM card (the side of the SIM card that does not have metal contacts) can result in a surprising boost again borrowing from the notion that improper SIM contact can result in a weak signal.

Disclaimer:

It is important to mention here that some of the methods like attaching the scotch tape could void your iPhone's warranty and since I have not tried these fixes I am not in a position to confirm either way.

Exchange for a new iPhone:

If all of the above options have not helped then the best option would be to exchange your iPhone for a new one by going to an Apple store with the signal strength complaint.

Signal Booster:

The last option if you have tried all of the above tips would be to simply buy a signal booster as some iPhone users have reported success.

In case you are one of those facing the problem of poor signal strength on your iPhone then as always do not forget to let us know if any of these iPhone tips helped in the comments.

iDontbelieveit!

The BBC is considering ditching Adobe's Flash system for its iPlayer streams to improve the video quality of the on-demand service, it said on Tuesday.

The news came alongside an announcement that iPlayer will be available on Apple iPhone and iPod Touch in the next few weeks. The move is unrelated to the BBC's commercial arm setting up shop on iTunes this week.

iPlayer availability on the iPhone will be via Wi-Fi only as O2's EDGE data network is too slow. However, the BBC has a deal with hotspot provider The Cloud to offer free access to bbc.co.uk and iPlayer.

The BBC's head of digital media technology, Anthony Rose, said the Apple devices would be the first of a wave of devices that people will be able to use to stream BBC shows on the move. The next platform iPlayer will be available on is Virgin Media set-top boxes at the end of March, however.

The new iPhone and iPod service means the BBC will transcode TV shows into the MPEG-4-based H.264 standard as well as Flash video format, used by the main web streaming site (FLV, commonly based on the older H.263 codec). Because H.264 is highly-compressed it could support the higher quality streams the BBC and users want, using existing broadband infrastructure.

Adobe's latest update to Flash includes support for H.264. The move was widely interpreted as an attempt to head off competition from Microsoft's new Silverlight project, which is focused on high definition streaming of Windows Media Video (WMV 9, based on the VC-1 standard, as used by Blu-ray discs). As well as Flash for the streams, the BBC also already uses WMV for the download application version of iPlayer.

The BBC's research division has also developed its own codec, the open source Dirac. A well-placed sopurce at the BBC told The Reg the project is under consideration for inclusion in iPlayer.

Rose, who is in charge of iPlayer development, said a decision on what format to use for the main iPlayer streaming service would be made this year. "We're looking at all options to provide best quality for the users and the lowest cost to us and the ISPs," he said.

Director of new media and technology Ashley Highfield said the impact of iPlayer on ISP networks has been "negligible", with traffic representing a "few per cent" of overall bandwidth.

The pair were on hand to promote new figures showing the growth of iPlayer since its Christmas day marketing launch, and introduce a series of changes to the web interface to make it easier to find shows.

Since launch, 2.2 million people have watched a total of 17 million programmes using iPlayer, BBC figures say. The busiest days have seen 500,000 viewers use the UK-only service.

On average, each show is seen online by about a tenth of the broadcast audience. The iPlayer top ten since the launch is heavy on male-oriented shows, including three episodes of Torchwood, a Six Nations rugby match, and Top Gear. The number one slot was taken by the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Streams still outnumber downloads by about eight to one, though that dominance is expected by Highfield to be reduced in coming months. About 70 per cent of downloads are watched, Rose said.

The iPlayer team is in very early development of a way to encourage download iPlayer users to use BBC Worldwide's upcoming commercial venture Project Kangaroo once the free 30-day viewing window is finished. Highfield said watchdogs at the BBC Trust are "very interested" in the plans. ®

by Eric Zeman

User forums are pointing that the long-awaited software developer kit for the iPhone is ready to hit the street. In Apple CEO Steve Jobs' MacWorld address, he specifically said it would be ready at the "end of February." That's still 10 days away. More reports say that Apple is reaching out to iPhone hackers to help with the SDK release and 1.1.4 update.

After all the blustering Apple did back in the fall about not supporting hacked iPhones, it seems an odd notion that Apple would use the iPhone hacking community for help. But that appears to be exactly what it is doing.

Over the weekend, one of those hackers went from being an unofficial third-party Installer.app developer to an official one. Tiny-Code.com posted this statement on its Web site:

We can't say much, but we are working with Apple and with their SDK for the next firmware release and SDK applications and we shouldn't be missed for long. We will no longer update our Installer.app repo for legality reasons and you should see us soon on iTunes.

This means that the company will no longer supply software to hack or support jailbroken 1.1.3 iPhones. The comment about iTunes confirms what many have believed for some time, that third-party applications will be available for the iPhone via the iTunes store. The site also referenced firmware 1.1.4 Alpha 2 in connection with the SDK, and it is believed that the new firmware may be required as part of the SDK.

Since putting up that message, Tiny Code was ordered to remove it by Apple. The site's main contributor said: "Yes, Tiny-Code.com was ordered to be removed from operation by Apple, Inc. because by releasing firmware versions and stating I had possession of the firmware and SDK was apparently a violation of the Non-Disclosure Agreement I agreed to when I accepted a copy of the SDK and firmware."

In any case, the SDK will be here soon. Whether or not users will have to install yet another firmware update to take advantage of any of the third-party apps is unknown. Nothing concerning any feature updates included in firmware 1.1.4 are known, either.

Only 10 days left to wait...

by samzenpus

by Peter Cohen

Apple and Fox have announced that the performances of American Idol semifinalists are, for the first time, available for download from the iTunes Store, the day after they’re broadcast on television.

The iTunes Store will have the music tracks of the top 24 semifinalists available for purchase for 99 cents per song, with the full videos of the top 12 finalists performances also available for $1.99 each, beginning March 11.

American Idol viewers can also pre-order performances from their favorite contestants from the iTunes Store, which will be automatically downloaded the day after the show airs.

Downloads aren’t the only part of the Apple-Idol relationship. According to Variety, iTunes will sponsor streaming of performances on the show’s Web site. What’s more, the entertainment trade publication reports, the iPod will become the show’s official digital music player while the iPhone becomes its official handset; those products are likely to be integrated into future episodes, similar to products from other American Idol sponsors such as Coke, AT&T, and Ford.

by David

Are you feeling very musical these days? Well if you’ve mastered iPhone guitar, now you can try something else. Like Trombone? No, let’s leave that for later. But how about piano?

iAno is indeed an iPhone piano. You can install it on any jailbroken iPhone. It features fully usable piano, and since piano has quite a lot of keys, it is divided into several parts which you can navigate with arrows.

The software was made by Mr. Aardvark, and he managed to pack in polyphonic sound that allows five key presses to be heard simultaneously. He plans to release full 88 key software someday soon.

If you are interested check Aardvarks site for instruction on how to install it.

Thanks: TecheBlog

Kenny Rogers’ GamblerMobile.com Casino Club together with MyNuMo announced the launch of a web application casino games for the iPhone and iPod touch. The games are Blackjack, Poker, Roulette, Slots.

Social games will also be unveiled soon, which will feature networking capabilities that will allow people to enter tournaments, play and chat with each other. So when you are bored to play the machines you can try your luck with humans.

“It’s exciting to be offering new gaming experiences on innovative and ground breaking devices” says Kenny Rogers. “I’m a huge fan and I can tell you our casino games look and play great on the iPhone and iPod touch.”

By Gail Schiller

"American Idol" has partnered with Apple to allow fans to purchase all of the top 24 semifinalist performances exclusively on the iTunes store.

Apple's iTunes now becomes "Idol's" exclusive online download provider and the iPod becomes the official MP3 player/digital music device, while the iPhone becomes the series' official handset. Apple iTunes is the fourth official integration partner in "Idol," joining Coke, Ford and Cingular. It is the first time an on-air integration partner has been added since the second season of the nation's most-watched show.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the three other integration partners pay roughly $35 million each for commercial time, on-air integration and off-air marketing rights.

Kicking off this week with the top 24 semifinalists, customers can purchase "Idol" performances for 99 cents per song. Fans will be able to purchase the full video of the top 12 finalist performances for $1.99 each starting March 11. Fans can pre-order performances of their favorite contestants from the iTunes store which will be downloaded automatically the day after the show airs.

"We have some truly outstanding talent this year, and by working with Apple and iTunes, we're giving viewers another great way to enjoy America's brightest new stars from 'Idol,' " said Simon Fuller, creator of "Idol" and founder and CEO of 19 Entertainment. "I'm sure there will be many memorable performances that viewers will want to relive from this 2008 season."


It was not immediately clear how iTunes would be featured in the show, but in-show call-outs will drive viewers to iTunes every Tuesday for performance downloads. Key Apple brands, including the iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone, will be placed organically in "Idol" throughout the season, according to a Fox spokeswoman.

Eddy Cue, Apple's vp iTunes, said a special section has been created at the iTunes store for "Idol" fans "with an array of music and video performances from television's most popular show.

Additionally, iTunes is the exclusive sponsor of the series' live contestant performance streams and will have substantial branded presence on AmericanIdol.com, where iTunes will provide direct links from the free streaming performance videos.

Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Interactive Media, producers 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia and Apple partnered on the deal.

Canadians still have no official access to an Apple iPhone without having to go through one of the extensive guides on jailbreaking and unlocking of the popular multi-touch handset. As a result, many Canucks have a never-ending supply of questions concerning the use of the iPhone within Canada's borders. It can be terribly confusing.

Thankfully, the good guys at iPhoneInCanada.ca have put together an extensive FAQ on what you need to know about using an iPhone in Canada. The FAQ may seem rather trivial to iPhone aficionados, but you have to realize that most the general public has never even heard of the term jailbreak without the context of, I don't know, Alcatraz or something.

Among the questions answered in the iPhone Canada FAQ are:
* What features will work?
* How Do I Go Abouts Buying an iPhone in the USA? Will I have to sign a contract? What about firmware? Will I have to pay taxes/duties on my iPhone?
* Should I update my iPhone’s firmware? I want to update to 1.1.1/1.1.2/1.1.3!
* How do I setup EDGE settings on my iPhone?
* How do I download 3rd party applications to my iPhone?
* My speaker volume is so darn low. I’m missing calls. How can I fix this?

And that's just the tip of the Canadian iPhone iceberg.

Via iphoneincanada.ca

Reports from In-Stat (marketing research firm) are suggesting that 400,000 or so of the 1 million unlocked iPhones aimed for use on other network providers than AT&T, are located in China.

400,000 iPhones were found by the end of 2007, to be used as previously mentioned, equaling 10% of the total devices sold by the end of the year. In-Stat had this to add: “The figure surprised us as it is fourfold of that we estimated before. We have never doubted that the iPhone will achieve greater success than iPod in China if Apple teams with China Mobile to launch its Chinese version.”

The large amount of unlocked iPhones based in China is likely due to the fact that, where Americans use iPhones for business mostly, most Chinese families use the iPhone for personal use. Infact, buyers in China are more likely to pay more for their phones than other countries, with around 1/5 of all phones costing about $533.

Thanks: Apple Insider

by Stuart Dredge

Alright, we admit it: we could be going out on a limb here. But during Gameloft boss Michel Guillemot's keynote GDC Mobile speech today, the iPhone featured in several of his slides.

And yes, the image he used showed a game running on the device. Now, it was probably a mock-up � perhaps Gameloft simply slapped an existing screenshot onto the iPhone.

Or perhaps it didn't. Have a look: it looks like one of the NiGHTS games or perhaps Pop Superstar with tarted up graphics, but we can't be sure.

What we do know is that Apple hasn't yet announced its plans for official iPhone downloadable games. But judging by its work with iPod games already, Gameloft is likely to be one of the launch partners.

So, without wishing to jump the gun, FIRST IPHONE GAME! LOOK!

It appears one of our sources caught this blunder by Tiny Code, on their website (as you can see below), that described an alpha of firmware 1.1.4 being worked on. Soon after, the site went offline, and it then redirected to Apple.

Here is an excerpt that existed on the site: “Tiny Code no longer produces fixes or applications for firmware 1.1.3.
We can’t say much, but we are working with Apple and with their SDK for the next firmware release and SDK applications and we shouldn’t be missed for long. We will no longer update our Installer.app repo for legality reasons and you should see us soon on iTunes.”

Normally this kind of info would be under an NDA (Non-discosure Agreement), which, as our other source says, is probably a reason why the site doesn’t exist anymore. In the end, it’s quite possible that 1.1.4 will be released along with the SDK, if Apple is having outside help on its firmware.

Thanks: Macenstein (Picture included) , iTWire

When China Mobile ended iPhone talks with Apple in January, the company cited the infamous revenue sharing component of the deal as the main cause for dispute. As it turns out, the iPhone gray market may have provided China Mobie with a very good reason to drive a hard bargain: a whole lot of unlocked iPhones on its network. According to a report by communications research company In-Stat, China Mobile reported that it had 400,000 iPhones on its network at the end of 2007, despite the fact that the device isn't for sale in China.

That number represents more iPhones than are in use in Europe, and roughly 10 percent of all iPhones sold thus far. The devices are imported by a variety of companies and unlocked using hardware methods, allowing them to run on any GSM network. China Mobile doesn't have the only GSM network in China, so it's possible that even more devices could be active with other carriers, including China Mobile competitor China Unicom.

It's possible that China Mobile is exaggerating in an attempt to gain a stronger negotiating position with Apple, but assuming the statistic is true, it has a number of implications. It means that there's a demonstrated market for the iPhone in China, which is always good to see when you're entering a new country. Unfortunately for Apple, this news puts the company in a much worse position to negotiate in China (particularly with China Mobile). The carrier is already getting revenue from iPhones with being Apple's partner, so it's not going to want to share much (or any) of its earnings with Apple.

In general, the initial device numbers give both sides ammunition for the contract negotiation process. We'll just have to wait and see whether Apple cares enough to do something about it.

Third party developer lets Apple iPhone SDK secrets slip

Apple is working with other companies to test and develop the software development kit for the creation of third-party applications for the iPhone.

The iPhone SDK is now expected to ship alongside new iPhone software, firmware version 1.1.4, at least that's what leaked information on the web implies.

As reported by Macenstein, iPhone jailbreak software developer Tiny Code has turned gamekeeper, with a post briefly available on the developer's website claiming it to be working with Apple on future firmware releases and the SDK for iPhone.

The site briefly ran a message to this effect, though the site has now been taken offline and links directly with Apple's iPhone development website.

“Tiny Code no longer produces fixes or applications for firmware 1.1.3. We can’t say much, but we are working with Apple and with their SDK [software development kit] for the next firmware release and SDK applications and we shouldn’t be missed for long. We will no longer update our Installer.app repo[sitory] for legality reasons and you should see us soon on iTunes," the website claimed.

These comments suggest new iPhone firmware to enable third party apps to run on the device, and also hints that applications will be sold through iTunes.

The developer also confirmed his original loose-lipped website posting concerning its work on the iPhone to have attracted punishment from Apple, with the developer removed from the list of approved developers receiving iPhone SDK betas.

"TinyCode.com was ordered to be removed from operation by Apple, because by releasing firmware versions and stating I had possession of the firmware and SDK was apparently a violation of the Non-Disclosure Agreement I agreed to when I accepted a copy of the SDK and firmware," the developer explained in a post on the MacRumors website.