In the new version is support for the iPhone. If you want to copy music from your iPod iPhone and not just to it, this is probably the way to do it. Hey that rhymes
September 2007: Monthly Archive
Syd from Alien Camel sends word that his company is offering free full IMAP email service to a select group of hardcore users that spend all day in their inbox, to test out their new service and provide feedback.
You must meet a specified list of requirements in order to join.
- You must be willing to participate in providing us with feedback about our service. The feedback maybe requested via email, Instant Messaging, telephone call or by completing a web form.
- You will need to be a registered and activated iPhone user. We will require your mobile phone number if you are selected as we will be sending out your confirmation code via SMS. If you don’t want to provide us with your mobie phone number please do not apply.
- We will remind you to cancel your “free account” before the year is up or signup for a standard plan.
- Your account must be active and used at least once a month, if not, we may close the account.
Many are called, few are chosen. Sign up now.
Sorry, that’s misleading. But it grabs your attention, and it’s not too far from the truth. There’s a new chat application on the iPhone called MobileChat. Though it’s just out, it’s already ready for a 1.0 beta release. It’s an open source application, which is generally a good thing for projects like this, and it, ahem, borrows liberally from the iChat user interface. That is to say, that it looks very good. Not to be done, ApolloIM has released a new version of their software as well. Needless to say, both are only available if you’ve hacked your iPhone; the easiest way to do that is to install AppTapp Installer.app.
Apple is hosting another media event today. iPod Nanos are expected, and they look drastically different than the current nano. Not everyone is happy with the new look, but from what I can see it looks pretty functional. I think I’m withholding judgment until I’ve seen what all of their iPod lineup looks like.
Meanwhile, ThinkSecret basically guarantees touchscreen iPods. They also say the iPod nano, featured in the above Gizmodo link, will pack some seriously updated iPod software, and it will be great; it will be revolutionary. Or evolutionary. One or the other, really.
Please note that the screenshots from ThinkSecret above include albums from the Beatles that aren’t yet available in the iTunes Store.
Microsoft always seems to pop up with a little snippet of news on event days like this. I think they do this so they can play the ’sour grapes’ role of the day, now hints that making a Zune phone is ‘not unreasonable.’ This is more or less the opposite of what CEO Steve Ballmer said at the D5 conference, so I’m glad to see that they’re still talking from both sides of their mouth. They’re champs of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Emphasis on the ‘uncertainty’ part here. And now you know why they play the sour grapes role — it gets them in the news. But everyone knows somebody that can’t tell the difference between negative attention and positive attention, and it’s not like there’s surging demand for a Zune phone, though I’m sure Windows Mobile users would be happy for the extra functionality.
But back in focus, there’s no shortage of hype — read a paragraph and you can see why Apple’s stock is so volatile after announcements. Taken from Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge:
I seriously believe tomorrow is going to be different. I think it’s going to be the day when iPod die-hards, technology geeks, and mainstreamers alike are all going to be genuinely excited by what Apple is going to show. In short, if the release of the iPod mini signaled the start of Apple’s dominance of the digital music player business, and the nano and 5G signaled the end for most of its small competitors and beginning of its video initiative, tomorrow is going to be the final nail in the coffin for Microsoft, Sony, and the bigger players as well. Yes, even with their recent announcements. The only people who will be upset are those who aren’t already on the bandwagon, or the few who (sorry, NBC) jumped off early and got hit by it.
You know though, the scary thing is that he could just as well be right. John Gruber thinks so, so it must be true.
And in other news, T3 reports that a 3G version of the iPhone will be announced today. I think that’s a pipe dream; there’s no way Apple would update a flagship product 2 months after it came out for the first time. That would flat-out anger the almost-1-million purchasers of an iPhone here in the U.S.A.
Of course, any time Apple updates iTunes, it’s always possible that they will also update the iPhone, so I’ll be keeping my ear close to the news to see what they have planned. There’s plenty of speculation for iPhone Games and ringtones. And it’s not just the iPhone Ranch that’s expecting it, it’s also the New York Post.
Those commie rats in China will stop at nothing to topple Western Democracy. This time defiling our beloved iPhone. According to Chinese state newspaper Dian Nao Bao, illegally unlocked iPhones are being sold in electronics stores from Beijing to Guangzhou. Interestingly these phones apparently originate from Shenzhen, the location where iPhones are manufactured for Apple. Didn’t Steve Jobs make a remark at D5 about ships that leak from the top? Better look in that Steve-O.
Freedom comes with a price, however. The Commie-friendly iPhone has crippled functionality, capable of making only outgoing calls and text messages. What it can’t do is receive incoming calls, which leads one to wonder why anyone, Chinese or otherwise, would drop serious cash on a disabled phone? Speaking of cash, the price tag for one of these Red iPhones is roughly 8,800 yuan ($1,170) for a taste of capitalist decadence.
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Part 1 of 2
No bones about it, the Aquapac Waterproof Pro Sports Case (store link, $34.95) isn’t a pretty case. It’s a pretty ugly case. You don’t wear the Aquapac to the beauty pageant though, so this review is less about aesthetics and more about form.
Oh Gartner, what is it with you and your schizophrenic predictions about Apple’s movements into the corporate world? One minute you’re saying iPhone is not a serious business tool and has zero chance of gaining corporate adoption, then you do a flip-flop by predicting Apple will roll out some kind of enterprise-focussed iPhone thingy. What the hell? You’re starting to worry me.
Let me clue you in on something that should help you along the way in understanding the fruity consumer company from Cupertino. Apple is purely focussed on the consumer market and not an enterprise play. Not now, not ever. The closest contraption Apple offers in its product line even remotely approaching enterprise-class is the Xserve, a blade server targeted at creative firms to simplify media storage and distribution.
Steve Jobs has no interest in suits carrying iPhones, other than his golfing buddies Eric Schmidt, Marc Benioff, and Larry Ellison.
Gartner, keep your unhinged analysis directed where it belongs…on Microsoft.
The developers at Twenty08 aren’t waiting around for Apple to release iChat for iPhone. Instead they are introducing their very own native instant messaging client application, called MobileChat, that looks and works exactly as you would expect Apple’s own software. What’s more, they’re even making the source code available for download, for anyone to freely modify, or hack if you will.
MobileChat’s feature list is surprisingly comprehensive for a first generation product…
- AIM Account Support
- IM Abilities
- Full Buddylist with Statuses
- Change status: Away & Online
- Suspend and stay online
- Sound notifications
- Popup Notifications
Another example of developer initiative overcoming Apple’s autocratic control on iPhone. Come on, Apple. You’re embarrassing yourself. Just release an SDK and open your platform already.
Apple has reason to celebrate today. According to a new report published by iSuppli, iPhone topped the charts during the month of July, outselling every Smartphone on the U.S. market, even rivaling the most popular feature phone sold; LG’s Chocolate.
I find this news particularly interesting because, since its launch, numerous Smartphone fansites have long contended that iPhone isn’t a Smartphone, but rather a luxury feature phone. And therefore doesn’t compete in the same market with Palm, Blackberry, Nokia, et al. Yet according to this report, iPhone managed to best every Smartphone vendor in sales, including Palm’s entire line of Treos. Even Blackberry was soundly trounced by iPhone in popularity and sales.
Not bad for an alleged feature phone, eh? Hey, whatever helps you Blackberry and Treo fanboys sleep at night night, go right on living in that fantasy world you’ve created.
iSuppli was particularly bullish about iPhone’s growth prospects, even projecting triple-digit growth over the next two years, topping out at 30 million units sold by 2011. Not surprisingly Apple stock is up nearly 4% at the time of this post.
