July 2008 Archives
Author: Damon Brown
A few weeks ago, more than a million new (and old) iPhone users lined up at the Apple Store to pick up the iPhone 3G. (As you probably know, $199 for the 8 GB, $299 for 16 GB.) Considering there were more than six million iPhone users before the new 3G model, many of the previous users opted not to pick it up - not right away, at least.
There are four reasons for this, three of which are Apple's fault. First, the poor economy here in America. Second, the well-reported hiccups with the iPhone 3G initialization that left some customers waiting hours without an active phone. Third, the almost equally well-reported bump in service contract costs, an increase that could run customers as much as $1,700 more over the course of the two year commitment. Finally - that which is most important to us - Apple gave the iPhone 3G's much-hyped 2.0 software upgrade to all of us. For free. I actually missed the boat on launch day, albeit by a few hours, while waiting for iTunes to tell me when the new iPhone 3G software upgrade would be available. It won't tell you. iTunes only checks for new software about every two weeks, which means, at least in my case, I could still be waiting for 2.0. Regardless, you can check for iPhone software upgrades anytime by plugging in your iPhone and viewing the Summary screen. It will automatically go to the Summary screen, but, just in case, you can always tap the Summary tab, the first tab on the iPhone screen in iTunes.
Mobile blogging software start-up CellSpin now supports the iPhone. This means that iPhone owners can take the pictures, audio, text and other media from their handset and publish it to all their favorite blog, social network, photo sharing and auction sites simultaneously.
Click here for full story at MobileContentToday.
Author: Jamie Lendino
MonkeySee.com announced yesterday that they have launched an Apple iPhone 3G-specific video streaming site, taking advantage of the fact that the second generation Jesus Phone can actually display video at a reasonable clip—even away from Wi-Fi hotspots.Visitors to MonkeySee.com can now watch over 8,000 free how-to videos that can be viewed on iPhones around the world, the company said in a statement. "Whether in the grocery store looking for recipes, at the park looking for games, or in an emergency situation seeking help, MonkeySee's reliable how-to videos can now be viewed anywhere," the statement said.
MonkeySee launched earlier this year as dedicated how-to video site, featuring topic experts sharing advice and instruction on a diverse array of subjects. Some of the videos feature personalities such as Todd Gray, the owner and exec chef of Equinox Restaurant, and cookbook author Amy Riolo.
Post courtesy of MobileContentToday.
Author: Troy Dreier
The Apple iPhone is a major player in the mobile Internet space, but the iPhone still doesn't support Flash, which means it can't display most of the video available online. What's a hardworking video site to do?
Until the folks in Cupertino decide to allow the iPhone's Safari browser to display Flash content, online video sites really only have one option if they want to reach iPhone users: re-encode their entire library in a compatible format.
That's what how-to site MonkeySee.com did with its 8,000 multi-segment titles. Just this week it made its entire library available to iPhone users in high-bitrate streaming HD.
That might sound like a lot of work, but according to Greg Letourneau, the CEO of Knowlera Media (parent company to MonkeySee.com), the site's automation system made it easy.
Click here for full story at Web Video Universe.
The local shopping companion Slifter for Windows Mobile and RIM BlackBerry helps you find the best prices for the products you want.
Go to www.slifter.com, enter your mobile number and you'll receive a text message with the link to visit to register. (Or, go directly to the site from your iPHone.) Registration is free.
The "hot deals" section offers you what Slifter thinks are good prices on a wide variety of products (our initial test brought up a Hot Deals list that included car tires, baby paraphernalia and a kayak paddle).
Its range of locations for the products seemed rather broad, but we tested in a rural area and perhaps in major metro markets you'd primarily get directed to more convenient locales.
Slifter's search feature lets you type in a product and then see where it's offered and for what price. You can also save a shopping list to refer to later, and presumably if you're tracking an item with volatile pricing you could easily monitor changes. Slifter alsoworks Windows Mobile devices and recently launched for the BlackBerry (see picture below).
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who has been dogged by investor concerns about his health, does not have recurrent cancer or a life-threatening health issue, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Click here for full story at internetnews.com.
If you were lucky enough to get one of the new iPhones before your local store sold out, you've probably already checked out the new App Store. But with hundreds of apps available and more being added every day, it can be difficult to sort through the noise and find the apps that are truly compelling. Here are 81 iPhone apps worth a look.
Click here for the full story at Datamation.
Otterbox makes some terrific cases that protect any number of mobile devices from harm. For the last couple of months, I've been giving its iPhone Defender case—a limited edition pink edition where 10 percent of the proceeds go toward fighting breast cancer—a spin.
The case is made of a clear polycarbonate sheet with a hard coating that offers chemical and abrasion protection, a hi-impact polycarbonate skeleton, and a premium grade silicone skin to provide added protection, according to the company.
Okay. Sounds tough, right? It is.
Aside from being the recipient of a few snide comments regarding a man carrying a pink case, I've been very happy with the Defender. In fact, when I took the iPhone out to get it repaired due to a problem with the connector, the smartphone still looked like new.
The same could not be said of an earlier iPhone I'd been using. In fact, that previous iPhone's screen cracked after it accidentally fell to the ground - not on its front, mind you, but its back. And the rest of the iPhone sported so many scratches, it looked like it'd been on a trip up and down Mount Everest.
While, for the most part, the Otterbox performed exceptionally, I did run into a couple of issues. The first one could be a deal breaker for some.
Author: Amy Mayer
News junkies, be they competitive reporters or inveterate headline consumers, can now get alerts when breaking news is posted to some popular news organizations' Web sites. No doubt the list will grow, but here are a few national news sources currently offering the service:
CNNIf you access www.cnn.com from your mobile, you'll find a link to "Get Breaking News Mobile Alerts from CNN." Click that tease and you'll find instructions for texting CNN and signing up for alerts sent directly to your device. New York Times
Go to www.nytimes.com from your device, and if you scroll down the homepage to "Mobile Services" you'll find "Breaking News Alerts" flagged with the red label "new". The process is similar, click the link for directions on how to text the Times to sign up for the service.
The New York Times, plus many other sources, offer iPhone-specific news applications you can download through iTunes onto your iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 2.0 firmware installed. Here's the link to the one for the Times iPhone app.
Wall Street JournalOddly enough, when we accessed www.wsj.com from a mobile, we couldn't find a link to alerts or other mobile services. But visit the site from a computer and you'll find at the bottom a link for "Mobile Devices." Click it and you'll find "Dow Jones News Alerts." Enter your mobile number, your carrier and the types of alerts you want and they'll come right to you. Washington Post
You can also carry the Washington Post in your pocket on your mobile throughout the day. Open a browser on any web-enabled phone or PDA and type http://mobile.twp.com or Text "TWP" to WPOST (97678) to get a link to the Post's mobile site sent to your phone. BlackBerry users should text "WP" to 97678. In additon to top news, election coverage, blog posts, sports and entertainment news, you can get information on D.C. area restaurants, clubs & more at the City Guide feature and recieve text alerts regarding and breaking news. You can learn more about the Post's mobile offerings here.
Click here for the full story at MobileContentToday.
The Beijing Olympics begin in two weeks. But for Apple, the China games have already begun. The company opened a shiny new Apple store in Beijing Saturday -- the "first of many" in China, according to an Apple official. The race is on.
But is this an event Apple can win?
China is a coveted market. But so far, things aren't going well. Apple has less than 8 percent market share in China for media players, and far less than 1 percent of either PC or cell phone market share.
Although Apple has successfully launched the iPhone in more than 70 countries, China isn't one of them. The company has not yet been able to reach a deal with any Chinese carrier.
Apple's second biggest hit in China, the iPhone, isn't authorized. One Chinese analyst estimates that some 1 million Apple iPhones are currently operating on just one Chinese carrier -- China Mobile -- with a smaller number on other carriers. Most Apple "Authorized Resellers" in China sell black-market iPhones, and many even offer illegal cracking services -- a process that reportedly takes less time than activating an iPhone 3G in California.
Apple's struggle to sell iPhones legitimately in China is part of a larger problem: China is simply incompatible with Apple. Here's why.
Click here for the full story at Datamation.com.
Author: Damon Brown
Once the biggest video game conference in America, last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo ,was criticized for being tame and somewhat boring. (Do a quick Google search and you'll hear about its pre-whitewashed history of near-naked "booth babes" and open bars on the show floor. We won't bother to link here.) To be truthful, LA's premier video game show was overall pretty flat. It was, in a sense, the perfect year to debut iPhone gaming.
The star of the show was EA's Spore, which adapted pretty damn well to the iPhone. Debuting in September simultaneously with the other editions on a dozen other platforms, iPhone Spore takes the very first level of the console version of Spore and expands it into a fun, addictive game.
Author: David Needle
When Apple touts its new iPhone 3G as enterprise-ready, exhibit A is its deal with Microsoft to include support for the software giant's Exchange communications software. However, IT departments have other choices to bringing the iPhone into the corporate e-mail infrastructure.
Sybase supports a range of devices with wireless e-mail access, management and security features through its iAnywhere suite that covers both Exchange and Lotus Notes. It already offered support to the first iPhone and today extended that to the iPhone 3G.
Click here for full story at internetnews.com.
To the chagrin of some folks, the iPhone 3G does not ship with a docking station. You need to shell out $29 to get one from Apple. If you've got a dock from an old iPhone, you may be in luck, however. A couple of users have modified their original iPhone's docking stations to fit the new model. They've done so using a rotary tool sporting a tapered grinding bit; best for avoiding the all important connector. The result doesn’t look pretty, but it appears to do the job and is certainly a lot cheaper than shelling out for a new dock.
[My First Tech Blog via tuaw]
Ilium Software's just released a version of their eWallet application for the iPhone and iPod touch. eWallet lets you secure your personal information in a single file which can be accessed on your mobile device. So, with eWallet 6.0, you can password-protect PIN numbers, bank account information, (even) passwords, or credit card numbers, for example, on your iPhone.
Author: Troy Dreier
A new version of the iPhone also means new software to run it. Version 2.0 is available standard on new phones, as a free upgrade to current iPhone users, and for $9.99 for iPod touch owners.
We're not sure why iPod touch users get so much less love from Apple, but the upgrade price is low, so users don't seem to be complaining. The January software upgrade, which delivered Mail, Weather, Google Maps, Stocks, and Notes, cost iPod touch users $19.99. Anyone who didn't purchase it will get that software bundled in with the current upgrade. There's much to like about the 2.0 software, which adds a huge variety of features and programs to the iPhone and iPod touch. The chief reason to get it, however, is certainly to access…
Author: Susan Schrank
AT&T played games with iPhone owners' wireless dreams Friday morning. Again. For a short while, the cellco had a notice up on its Web site proclaiming free access to its 17,000 US Wi-Fi hotspots for all iPhones. Then, just like when it made the same announcement a couple months back, AT&T was all "Oops. Sorry. We take it back." Again.
The first tease happened back in May, when the company began offering free Wi-Fi for Laptop Connect customers who use its 3G data service for computers, CNET's News.com reports. Then, as now, it mistakenly posted news of free access for iPhone users as well.
A company can easily make that kind of mistake once. When it happens twice, we start to wonder if maybe the "mistake" was intentional. Either that, or someone at AT&T just likes playing sick jokes on poor, hapless iPhone owners.
(Image Credit: Clipart.com)
Post courtesy MobileContentToday.
Author: Joe Kissell
A North American expat in Paris finds the iPhone 3G far from technically perfect, but pretty darn cool anyway. Plus: some must-have Apps from the iPhone App Store.;
The night before the iPhone 3G launched here in France, I was at a get-together for North American expats in Paris, and I happened to mention that I was planning to get an iPhone the next morning. A woman sitting near me said that she'd heard about the iPhone, but didn't understand what the big deal was; her Nokia phone worked fine, took great pictures, played music, and did everything else she needed.
"What exactly does the iPhone do?" she asked.
I said, in my best faux-conspiratorial tone and with a carefully raised eyebrow, "It lets you talk to people who are far away."
Okay, maybe it was a lame attempt at a joke, but she didn't get it. "Any cell phone will do that," she said.
Of course. But for me, talking to people who are far away is the least interesting thing about any cell phone, especially the iPhone. I tried to explain how, despite the wealth of features in the iPhone, it has an amazingly easy-to-use interface and is just plain fun to operate—in a way that conventional cell phones (or even most smartphones) aren't. That didn't impress her, but to be honest, even that isn't what impresses me the most either.
What I was really thinking is that if my server (located at a datacenter halfway around the world) starts acting up while I'm out at a restaurant, or on vacation, or otherwise away from my computer and an Internet connection, I can use a VNC or SSH app on my iPhone to log in remotely, fix whatever the problem is, and get on with my day.
I was thinking that I'd never again have to plan my schedule around the fact that I might be getting a PDF late at night for a last-minute review before a magazine goes to press. I was thinking that I can start leaving my bulky Paris map book at home, and that I'll never get lost again, no matter where I travel.
In short, what made me excited about owning an iPhone 3G was that it will enable me to lower stress, reduce clutter, and do a lot of other things that can't be neatly captured by a feature checklist.
There have already been plenty of iPhone 3G reviews, but as each reviewer has his or her own priorities and interests, I wanted to say a few words about what I was (and was not) looking for.
To start with, the iPhone 3G is not only my first iPhone, it's my first smartphone of any kind. So I'm still very much in the "Wow, it can do that too?" mode, and not especially tuned in to the numerous subtleties that distinguish, say, a Blackberry from a Windows Mobile phone. I also don't work for a large corporation, so most enterprise features are uninteresting to me.
On the other hand, I am responsible for running a number of Web sites and performing a good bit of server administration, so I'm extremely interested in how effectively (and securely) the iPhone 3G will let me do those sorts of tasks. I also get hundreds of e-mail messages per day in a total of eight main accounts; I use the Web and RSS heavily (both as publisher and as reader); and I enjoy music and movies as much as the next person—so I knew I'd be examining all those features carefully.
Finally, as an American living in France, I was quite interested to see how the iPhone 3G dealt with a number of issues involving language and geography that don't tend to come up in reviews from the U.S.
Physical Design: The Big Screen
I normally carry my phone in my pocket, so one thing I was looking forward to was something thinner than my old model. And the iPhone 3G delivers—it's wonderfully svelte, and it feels great both in my hand and in my pocket. Sure, it's not the shortest or narrowest phone out there, but if the length and width were reduced, I'd have to put up with a smaller screen too, and I like the big screen. The phone feels solid in the hand and well-made. I'd love for it to be slightly lighter, but it's not unreasonably heavy.
However, as numerous other reviewers have mentioned, the surface (not only the screen but the back too) is a smudge magnet. I can't even look at it from across the room without getting greasy fingerprints on it. Yes, I'll be getting lots of mileage out of the included polishing cloth, and I'll be looking into cases soon, too.
The included earphones sound fine, but they look and feel extremely cheap—they don't begin to compare even with the set that came with my first-generation iPod. I'll be looking for a third-party replacement in the near future. The USB sync cable and AC adapter are nicely compact and perfectly functional, but I'd much prefer to have a dock. The France Telecom dealer where I bought the phone said that docks weren't yet available, but that a shipment was expected soon.
The first time I explored the phone's settings, I came across the brightness control and was shocked to see that it was set at the halfway point. When I slid it to full power I was almost blinded—it was really much too bright. Photos and video look spectacular, even at half brightness. I haven't noticed the yellow cast that many sites have mentioned, but then, I don't have an older iPhone to compare it against.
Users have been clamoring for an instant messaging application on the iPhone. With this week's launch of the new App Store and the arrival of Apple-approved third-party apps, they're closer than they were, but still not quite there.
See here for the full story.
Other Ocean Interactive has a huge hit on its hands. Not only is Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone, which it developed for Sega, a cool application, the $9.99 title is currently the best-selling title in Apple's iTunes App store. The company likes the iPhone flavor of success so much, it is launching a new division devoted to creating software for Apple's smartphone platform.
"Our experience working with Apple's SDK has been extremely positive and the iPhone, with its accelerometer, opens up exciting opportunities for game development on this platform," explained Other Ocean's technical director and senior programmer Gordon Wood.
Other Ocean's Chris Sharpley, senior artist on Super Monkey Ball, is slated to lead the new division's art and design department, while Wood will be in charge of the technical elements behind iPhone-software design.
Added Wood, "The iPhone platform has generated a lot of attention and people are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead."
Author: Susan Schrank
Apple has issued a mea culpa for all the problems its users faced when the company transitioned its .Mac services to the new MobileMe Microsoft Exchange-like service last week. Issues ranged from login difficulties to device synching resulting in duplicate address entries, MocoNews reports.
The good (better?) news for MobileMe users is that they get a free 30 days added to their subscription in "appreciation for their patience during the transition period." The thank-you-for-sticking-with-us deal is open to anyone who was a .Mac member on July 9 and created a MobileMe account by July 15.
Post courtesy of MobileContentToday.
ZeptoPad by Ubiquitous Entertainment is a handwritten note-taking app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Once entered, characters and drawings take the form of vector data, allowing users to zoom in and out smoothly with the iPhone's dual-finger (pinching) operation. Notes written with ZeptoPad are organized by means of dates and tags, and tag-based filtering is also supported. Stored content can be sent by e-mail or exchanged directly between iPhones or iPod touches, as long as ZeptoPad installed.
Slew of third-party vendors rush to get a piece of the iPhone real estate.
Author: Richard Adhikari
Apple is crowing in the aftermath its 3G iPhone launch on Friday and the opening of its App Store, the download site for third-party iPhone applications, the day before.
The company said Monday that it tallied 10 million downloads from its App Store since late last week, and has sold one million 3G iPhones so far.
Amid this backdrop, Apple is pushing hard to get the iPhone into the enterprise and gain more market share with business users. In addition to the device's native capabilities and Apple's licensing of Microsoft's ActiveSync for tying in with Microsoft Exchange for Outlook, enterprise IT gets access control and management.
Third-party vendors are rushing to offer enterprise applications for the iPhone. These range from database and CRM vendors to enterprise e-mail specialists, enterprise wireless synchronization, Outlook, hosted Microsoft Exchange Server, security, a managed IT infrastructure, to business intelligence (BI).
But despite the crush of vendors hawking their wares, support for the iPhone in the enterprise faces some stumbling blocks that could slow or hamper its march into the world of IT support, analysts and industry experts said.
Zipcar, a company that rents cars by the hour or day, is providing a new Zipcar widget in the new WHERE application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The point of the application is to enable iPhone users to quickly and easily locate the nearest Zipcar and make a reservation. Also use the Zipcar widget to facilitate carpooling by sharing car location information via the iPhone in real-time.
Each of WHERE's widgets delivers content based on the user's current location and provides the ability to show this content on a map, get directions and share this location with friends.
A quarter of all Zip car users have an iPhone, according to Dan Gilmartin, VP of marketing, uLocate Communications, which developed WHERE. He added, "This makes "those consumers the perfect audience to benefit from the power and convenience of WHERE."
Click here to find out more WHERE. 
Due to a tremendous spike in usage, some iPhone users may experience slow performance running WHERE. Rest assured, we're working around the clock to add more capacity to address this and enhance the experience. Check back with us soon, follow updates on our blog, and send comments to iphonesupport@where.com.
Author: Susan Schrank
New iPhone owners who see trolling through hundreds and hundreds of applications as a chore rather than an adventure are probably quite happy with all the "Best Of" type lists that cropped up online over the weekend.
One of the lists we like comes from the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, who used his Mossblog column on All Things D to chat about what he considers to be 10 worthy iPhone apps. After downloading and playing with dozens of programs from the Apple App Store over the weekend, Mossberg came up with a list of applications he recommends checking out.
His suggestions include AOL's new AIM client for the iPhone; MotionX-Poker, a poker game played with dice; the TruPhone Internet calling app; FileMagnet file transfer program; the SpeechCloud Voice Dialer; Pandora radio; Where; Movies, a free movie-finding service; Apple's own Remote program that lets you control your iTunes music over a wireless network, and MLB.com At Bat, which lets you watch game clips while the game is still in process.
You can read Mossberg's musings on the applications here.
Post courtesy of MobileContentToday.
The iPhone takes pretty good pictures for a camera phone without a flash or any sort of zoom functionality. So good, in fact, it is now the most popular cell phone to upload images from to Flickr.
It is followed by Nokia's uber smartphone, the N95, which features all sorts of advanced camera features, starting with its 5-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiz lens. Until the iPhone, the N95 lead all others in Flickr uploads.
Here's how to share an iPhone photo on Flickr:
Once you take a picture, tap it with your finger, then hit the Email Photo option and enter your Flickr e-mail address and hit send. This is made easier if you've already added the address to your contact list. That way, all you'll need to do is type the first couple of letters for the Flickr address to come up as an option.
Hopefully, Apple will add the ability to take video with the iPhone 2.0 update coming out next month.
[via tuaw]
Author: Susan Schrank
Despite long lines, activation problems and complaints about the high price in Canada, Apple still sold a million iPhone 3Gs in three days. It took the original iPhone 74 days to reach the same milestone last year. Of course, back then the US was the only country selling the iPhone; the million sales over the weekend took place in 21 countries. But it's still a darn impressive feat!
When they weren't waiting in line, iPhone owners and iPod touch users downloaded more than 10 million applications from the new App Store that launched on Thursday. The number of available apps has grown from just over 500 at launch to more than 800, including 200 freebies.
Post courtesy of MobileContentToday .
Activation snafus mare otherwise successful launch of iPhone 3G, the first iPhone to handle speedy 3G wireless downloads and uploads, integrate GPS, and sport firmware 2.0—with support for native software and Apple's new App Store.
The iPhone 3G is here. That's right, the wait is over.
A little over a year after shipping the first iPhone, Apple—in partnership with AT&T in the U.S and many other carriers worldwide - in 21 countries, including in a number of markets gett their first (official) taste of iPhone fever—has delivered the iPhone many wished it'd released last year.
At last, there's Wi-Fi-like cellular-wireless networking for e-mail, Web access, and other data services, vast improvement over the first-gen iPhone's 2.5G EDGE technology, and integrated GPS for location-based services. With 3G, you can surf the Web and speak on the phone at the same time. Something you couldn't do with iPhone 1.0's EDGE connection.
The iPhone 3G is also a little slimmer and lighter than first iPhone. Slightly rounded and less smooth in the back, the new iPhone is easier to get a good grip on and keep a hold of too, we've found.
A with iPhone 1.0 - since Apple nixed the 4GB model last fall - the new smartphones comes in 16GB and 8GB editions. Both in black, with a white casing option available for those who choose to go with the higher storage capacity.
Although the cost of the data plan has jumped to $30 from $20, the new iPhone sells for several hundred dollars than the first. The 8GB iPhone 3G costs $199, whereas that capacity model sold for $599 at launch last year. The new 16GB iPhone is $299. 
While the hardware refinements in the iPhone 3G are welcome, it is the new software capabilities that ship with this year's model that really set it apart from last year's. These include major changes, such as the much-touted enterprise capabilities (i.e. push e-mail through Microsoft Exchange server) and many more-modest - but still welcome - alterations, such as the ability to access Contacts from the Home Screen and not just from within the iPhone's Phone application.
The most important improvement brought to the iPhone with the new model is the ability buy and download (through iTunes or on the iPhone itself) and install official native software. The iPhone App Store, both on the device and in iTunes, is intuitive and easy to use.
And with 125 or so apps (out of the more than 500 titles already available) free, no one should lack for new software to try with their iPhone. While we expect the unofficial iPhone application market to continue (the iPhone 3G has reportedly already been unlocked and jailbreaked), there's the open question - in the face of so many official titles making its way to consumers through the App Store - as to whether it'll be as strong or as exciting to follow as when it was the only game in town.
Author: Damon Brown
According to the AP, Apple iTunes servers are having a tough time keeping up with the registration demand. This has lead many iPhone 3G buyers frustrated and without service. Apple Store staff are telling customers to go home to finish the instillation. Home activation hasn't gone any smoother for them, apparently.
Those that need their phone over the weekend may want to hold off until next week.
On the brightside, there's been no complaints on the software side from those who've been able to get their iPhone 3G's actived, so the iPhone 2.0 update seems to be raring along.
Apple's new iPhone made its hotly awaited debut on Friday, with buyers storming stores in Asia and queues forming in Europe and the United States. Sales of the device, which combines a music and video player, mobile phone and Web browser, kicked off in New Zealand, where a 22-year-old student became its first owner.
Click here for full story at internetnews.com.
Yesterday, in preparation for Apple's iPhone 3G launch and iPhone firmware 2.0 upgrade, Apple launched the iPhone App store (also for the iPod touch) in iTunes. The App Store contained hundreds of applications. By the time the iPhone 3G goes on sale at 8:00 a.m. today, it is supposed to be composed of over 500 native applications, including 125 free titles.
We've already posted a few stories covering a few of these apps. These include versions of MySpace, Sega's Super Monkey Ball, a pair of titles from Oracle; and an edition of CRM mainstay Salesforce.com. We also posted about how Apple quickly compiled two top ten app lists (one for overall iPhone apps and the other covering free titles) in iTunes. Here you'll find several additional titles listed. And you can also learn about AOL's three free iPhone titles (AIM, AOL Radio and Truveo), AT&T's YellowPages.com, TripAdvisor's Local Picks, social mapping-app Loopt, and a game from Griptonite called Chimps Ahoy! here.
To round things out, we've now listed several more titles with brief descriptions. It's all just the tip of the iceberg.
Author: Kenneth Corbin
MySpace has jumped on the iPhone bandwagon, yesterday unveiling an application that delivers a mobile version of the social network to Apple's hugely popular smartphone.
The application is available as a free download from Apple's iTunes store and the new iPhone App Store. According to John Faith, general manager and vice president for MySpace's mobile division, it is a major improvement over the site's existing mobile offerings.
"I really and truly can say that this has raised the bar of the MySpace mobile experience," Faith told reporters during a conference call this morning. "It provides the most robust feature set that any MySpace mobile product has provided to date."
Author: Susan Kuchinskas
Apple co-founder Steve "Woz" Wozniak said he plans to be in line tomorrow with the other expected hordes of shoppers waiting to pick up the new iPhone 3G. Wozniak spoke at the Social Networking Conference here today.
"I'll be waiting in line all night tonight to get one," he said.
Wozniak, a confirmed gadget freak, said he going for the iPhone 3G because "I always like to have the latest and greatest." That said, he doesn't view the new device as a great forward from the first iPhone.
Click here for the full story at internetnews.com.
Apple launched the long-awaited iPhone App Store today. While few, if any, people can actually install the applications listed yet (you need an iPhone 3G or the iPhone 2.0 firmware update - both of which aren't available yet), the sole destination for official iPhone software already has lists for the Top Ten Apps overall and the Top Ten Free Apps (see below). By the time the iPhone 3G goes on sale tomorrow, the App Store will include more than 500 native applications, including 125 free titles.
In related news, Apple's posted a video demo showing the Sega-game Super Monkey Ball in action.
Author: Richard Adhikari
In a move that will heat up the market for mobile access to enterprise applications, Oracle and Salesforce.com have announced that some of their business applications will run on the Apple iPhone.
Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) Plus and Oracle Business Intelligence Applications, Fusion Edition, can both be downloaded for free at the Apple App Store from today, on the iPhone and iPod Touch. They are also available at http://www.itunes.com/appstore/.
Meanwhile, Salesforce.com has made its customer relationship management, or CRM, applications and Force.com platform available as Salesforce Mobile applications on the iPhone. They, too, can be
Their debut makes the iPhone a serious business tool, positioning it more strongly against the RIM BlackBerry, on which Oracle archrival SAP and IBM have already unveiled native business applications.
Click here for the full story at internetnews.com.
Author: Naomi Graychase
Reuters reports that U.S. consumers who want the new iPhone, but don’t want the two-year contract with AT&T that goes along with it, will be able to buy it for an extra $400. The popular touch screen Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone will still be locked to AT&T for service, but a two-year contract will not be required to purchase the device.
For those electing to sign the two-year contract, the iPhone 3G (on sale July 11) will cost $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB) versus $599 or $699 for those who opt for other AT&T plans. According to the Reuters report, however, this option may not be immediately available.
For more details, read “AT&T to Sell Apple iPhone Sans Contract.”
Naomi Graychase is Managing Editor of Wi-Fi Planet.
Author: Damon Brown
Not already in line for the iPhone 3G? You're may already be too late.
According to Red Herring The good news? You can download the new iPhone *software* tomorrow, too, so the App Store, Expanded Language Support and MobileMe will be available in the comfort of your own couch. So if you already own and iPhone and are willing to pass on the iPhone 3G (for now), you'll be all set.
Innovations happening on the video game front, both officially (Super Monkey Ball) and unofficially (a NEC TurboGrafx-16 console emulator); as Barnes & Noble sets up shop and Google readies improved Reader for the iPhone also.
A line ran down the street at the downtown San Francisco Apple store as Steve Jobs announced customers would have to wait an entire month for the new iPhone 3G, Mobile Me, GPS and video games at the nearby Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Some customers had reportedly been waiting for days.
July 11th has come up fast, but that didn't stopped other third-party companies from doing their iPhone modifications early. It may be a good idea to look at what else is available, as not all of the awesome products and software announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be out exactly on Friday.
In fact, some innovations are already happening on the video game front. At the WWDC we saw Super Monkey Ball as well as a slew of other work-in-progress puzzle, action and adventure games.
The visuals were impressive and the response time seemed decent. However, the companies were rather reticent when it came to actual release dates - as in none were announced.
And as interesting as the "upcoming" titles are, the previews pale compared to the bootleg games coming down the pipe, games that, because of legal reasons, may never be available directly through Apple's distribution channels.
Author: David Needle
Friday is D-Day for the iPhone 3G. That's when Apple and wireless provider partner AT&T plan to make the much-anticipated successor to the original iPhone available to consumers.
While Apple didn't make many hardware changes to the sleek device (the iPhone 3G is a bit thinner and includes a GPS chip), it's Apple's related decision to open up the iPhone to developers that's the big news.
Of course, one other hardware change will help drive both software innovation and consumer adoption, and that's the inclusion of faster 3G cellular network speeds.
Author: Susan Schrank
With all the hoopla surrounding the $199 price tag on some 3G iPhones and the tiered data plans announced by AT&T, a little company called BillShrink has launched a free service to help consumers figure out how much of a strain a new iPhone will put on their wallet.
Users just answer a few questions about their cell phone usage and the system comes back with the iPhone data plan and add-ons that best fit their needs. BillShrink examines such data as who you call and how often, what networks they're on and when you call them. It also looks at such things as early termination fees, available coverage, sign-up fees, one-time costs, family plans and all those other details carriers toss around to confuse you. To get some of the more advanced answers, you can upload a recent cell phone bill and BillShrink will suck out all the info it needs.
The service doesn't just work for the iPhone, though. BillShrink collects and processes millions of data points for all cell phone plans, but with the impending iPhone 3G storm, it has created a dedicated to AT&T-iPhone page.
Post courtesy of MobileContentToday.
At 8:00 a.m. local time on Friday, the iPhone 3G will go on sale. It'll be available at both AT&T and Apple retail locations. The companies are opening their doors extra early to accomidate the expected rush of people anxious to get their hands on the speedier, more feature-packed iPhone model. Click here to find the Apple Retail store closed to you. And here to determine which AT&T location is your best bet.
Apple's listed a few things to have at hand when heading in to purchase and activate one of these smartphones:
Should you already own an iPhone, sync it with iTunes one last time before you get a iPhone 3G. This will back up all the data on your original iPhone. That way your info will be saved and ready for when you link your new iPhone to your PC or Maqc for the first time.
Unlike with iPhone 1.0, you can't activate the new model through iTunes in the comfort of your home, unforunately. Activation must occur in the store. There's been some concern that this would create long waits in line.
According to reports, however, the whole iPhone 3G activation process should take only between 10 and 15 mintues. Not the swift five-minute in-and-out of the store of last year, but still pretty reasonable.
Apple's plans to accomidate more than two-dozen people at time, according company retail head Ron Johnson. Speaking with Bloomberg.com, Johnson said "Apple stores will handle about 30 customers at a time. While the company will make sure the activation process is quick."
Author: Susan Schrank
Location-based software developer PosiMotion has unveiled a lineup of software products for the iPhone and iPod touch, the first of which will become available with the launch of the iTunes AppStore on Friday.
The company's flagship G-Spot is a "position identifying and sharing application" that brings GPS-type functionality to both old and new iPhones. It includes a Compass tool that shows users the direction they're heading; Spot Me, which provides a shortcut to pinpointing users' locations; Share for instantly e-mailing your location to friends and Info, which provides latitude, longitude, altitude, heading, speed and accuracy data.
All that nifty functionality costs only $1.99 to download.
Click here for the full story at MobileContentToday.
MonkeySee.com, a site devoted to professionally-produced and user-generated how-to videos answering an array of questions, has just posted a new video titled "How-To Upgrade to the 3G iPhone." The short (3:46) video is narrated and produced by one Joshua Dubois, a videographer and editor.
It shows you what to do with old iPhone - should you be upgrading - and how to import your contacts to a new 3G iPhone or newly acquired original iPhone. The video also walks you through the steps necessary for erasing your data from an old iPhone and popping out the old iPhone's SIM card, for example. Another section explains how to import contacts from an old 2G or 3G phone (if you're a current AT&T customer)to a 3G iPhone.
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Author: Joe Pawlikowski
If anyone can kill the iPhone, it's RIM.
As I've noted before here at PDAStreet, the iPhone and the BlackBerry, as currently constituted, shouldn't run into the heavy competitive issues espoused by most of the breathing press.
Yes, there's a bit of overlap, as there is with most smartphones. But overall, with Research In Motion (RIM) taking the larger chunk of the enterprise market and Apple handily eating up the consumer sector, they play to different audiences.
However, we've seen some spill-over lately.
With SplashMoney, BlackBerry (and soon iPhone) users can download their recent banking account activities through a wireless connection and synchronize the data with a PC. Changes made to both mobile and desktop versions will be retained and merged into one up-to-date file upon synchronization, rather than the most recently updated version overwriting the other version.
Canada's ZappTek plans to soon roll out an eBook service, called Legends, for the iPhone and iPod touch. It is partnering with today's "hottest writers," starting with a number of short and novel-length fiction by bestselling author Michael A Stackpole.
ZappTek will distribute these books and stories through the iPhone App Store (to be launched with the iPhone 3G this Friday, July 11) and iTunes. Each book will appear under its own name within the Entertainment category, with many more stories and authors joining Legends in the near future, according to the company.
Each book will display as an icon on the iPhone or iPod touch Home screen.
Author: Susan Schrank
It's gotten so you can't look at any blog or news site without seeing at least one story on the upcoming launch of Apple's iPhone 3G. Some of the more interesting ones we found this morning:
News.com: UK Demand for iPhone 3G Halts O2 Preorders
UK operator O2 decided to take pre-orders for the iPhone 3G on its Web site, so it sent texts to its customers yesterday morning giving them a heads up that they could sign up for the upgrade early. Demand was so high that O2's site crashed minutes after it started taking pre-orders, forcing it to shut down the system.
MSN MoneyCentral: A Billion-Dollar Weekend for Apple
MSN's MoneyCentral blog predicts that Apple will rake in a billion dollars this weekend from the iPhone alone if it sells just two million units. The figure doesn't include all that potential revenue from application downloads on the iTunes AppStore.
With MuseStorm's Platform, you can produce, deliver, manage and analyze metrics for the widgets and social applications you create. Plus, new support for iPhones.
Author: Vangie Beal
MuseStorm, a company that offers a platform for developing widgets and social networking applications, recently expanded its toolkit, enabling merchants to extend their own marketing reach to iPhone audiences in an easy and innovative way.
Expected to be released on or around July 12, 2008, Apple's latest iPhone incarnation, the iPhone G3, is a combination phone, iPod and Internet device that works over fast 3G mobile networks. Not even released yet, the newest iPhone is already in demand by consumers and the number of iPhone users is expected to top 13 million by year-end. To this end, the MuseStorm Platform lets you target this ever-growing iPhone user base by creating widgets that are designed specifically for delivery on the Apple iPhone.
Using MuseStorm to Create Widgets and Apps
With MuseStorm's Platform, you can produce, deliver, manage, and then analyze metrics for the widgets and social applications you create using the platform.
Called the MuseStorm Engagement Platform, you start by producing the content in the toolkit's Widget Studio. Here you can create an application from scratch, or you can use existing Flash, audio, photo, RSS feeds, and other multimedia to produce your own branded interactive widget or social application.
The content you create can be modified on-the-fly so that you can edit it at any time during your campaign. The Widget Studio also offers an easy drag-and-drop interface for adding interactive features including chats, polls and user comments.
Monthly fees aside, it looks like the cost consumers will pay for the new 3G iPhone isn't that much more than what it costs Apple to make them.
iSuppli, a research and advisory firm known for its detailed "teardown" analysis of what products cost to make, has just issued its early take on the iPhone's bill of materials (BOM).
The first 3G iPhones aren't due out until July 11, so in this case iSuppli analysts did what the company calls a virtual teardown.
Their conclusions are essentially estimates of what it costs Apple to build the new device based on what Apple has detailed publicly, and iSuppli's analysts knowledge of and contacts with parts suppliers in the areas of semiconductors, displays, mobile handsets, consumer electronics and wireless infrastructure.
"We made some assumptions about what was changing in the 3G iPhone and what was staying the same," Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for iSuppli, told InternetNews.com.
Rebello said his sources confirmed reports that Apple is receiving a subsidy of about $300 from AT&T for every iPhone sold in the United States.
The 3G iPhone will sell for $199 plus a two-year contract of monthly fees. iSuppli pegs Apple's BOM and manufacturing cost total to be $173 per unit.
O2 customers in the UK who buy the new 3G iPhone will get their Wi-Fi and data access for free for the first six months, Telecoms.com reports. News of the free access, which was apparently not supposed to appear on the O2 Web site yet and has already been taken down, will be for folks who get the prepay iPhone. O2 is one of the few operators to offer the iPhone without a contract, allowing consumers to pay as they go.
After the initial six months, the price for unlimited Wi-Fi and data access will reportedly be 10 pounds per month. A spokeswoman for the carrier told Telecoms.com that the info was not supposed to be posted and "all elements of the prepay proposition are still to be confirmed."
Post courtesy of MobileContentToday.
Author: Susan Schrank
In anticipation of the iPhone 3G launch at 8 AM on Friday, July 11, AT&T has posted some "Get iReady" tips on its Web site in an effort to answer customer questions before they're asked. The telco is even posting a link to a page where consumers can check their upgrade eligibility. Anything to make it easier on its retail store employees, we guess.
One of the most surprising bits of info from AT&T about the new iPhone is its plans for a no-contract-required option. Yes, in the future - it didn't specify when - folks who don't want to sign up with AT&T for two years will be able to shell out an extra two hundred bucks to buy the phone outright with, presumably, a pay-as-you-go plan.
If you bought an iPhone before July 11, are activating a new wireless line or are eligible for an upgrade discount with an existing AT&T account can get the 8GB iPhone 3G for $199 and the 16GB for $299. If you don't meet those requirements, the price goes up to $399 for the 8GB and $499 for the 16GB. Prices for the no-contract phones will be $599 (8GB) and $699 (16GB).
To see if you're iReady, visit www.att.com/iphone.
Post courtesy of MobileContentToday.
Author: David Needle
Apple claims this latest iPhone, due out July 11, is chock full of features enterprise customers have been asking for. Heading the list is support for Microsoft's Exchange server and a remote "kill" feature, letting an IT manager wipe an iPhone clean once it's reported lost or stolen.
In March when Apple unveiled the beta of its iPhone software development kit (SDK), the company emphasized it was adding features that enterprise customers said they valued the most.
The aforementioned support for Exchange brings compatibility with corporate email systems (at least those running Exchange, but not others like Lotus Notes) and so-called "push" services for real time access to e-mail and calendar information, standard on devices like's RIM's BlackBerry line.
