April 2008: Monthly Archive

Once I finally trained myself to no longer reflexively reach for a stylus on my iPhone, it truly hit me that the world was at my fingertips (warning: pun alert). Flipping through photo albums with the flick of my finger just doesn’t get old. Pinching text and photos to fit on the screen or expanding the same with my thumb and index finger was intuitive from the time my iPhone came out of the box.

I like the little things, like tapping the very top of the screen to return to the top of a web page after scrolling down for miles. Conversely, it would be nice to have a similar mechanism for instantly jumping to the bottom, eh?

Read on for more Tapping, Scrolling,

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Well, ladies and gentlemen, here were are at the end of April pretty much exactly where we were at the beginning: 6 iPhone launches on the board representing the US, UK, Germany, France, Ireland, and Austria.

But wait, who’s that on deck now, eh? That’s right, Canada’s Rogers Wireless has officially announced that they’re #7, bringing Poppa Jobs’ pocket universe dent’er to the Great White North circa “sometime later this year”.

Of course, announced and launched are two different things, and no less than 7 other countries, including Singapore, Mexico, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Italy, and Belgium are rumored to be hot on Canada’s heels for launching, and bragging, rights.

Quick check of the PhoneDifferent.com scorecard:

So who’s next? Canada? One of the rumored other 7? Someone out of the blue? What do you think?

Rumors recently swirled about a super-secret RIM development project affectionately dubbed AK (for Apple Killer) that would help Blackberry not only retain market share in face of the iPhone juggernaut, but regain mind share which has wholly become the property of Apple as of late:

..two independent developers writing software for coming R.I.M. devices say that a touch-screen BlackBerry is in the works, and that R.I.M. engineers privately refer to it as the A.K. — for “Apple Killer.”

Would it be another iClone like the 9000? Would it be the fabled touchscreen Blackberry?

Turns out RIM’s Apple Killer might just be… er… the iPhone?

Apple Insider highlights a new “confidential” job posting way up Waterloo way:

“As part of a newly-created team, you’ll influence the development and design of BlackBerry software. This is a very confidential brand new team and a senior position within RIM so I can’t provide too many details. I guess you can figure out what it might be about though.”

While the position itself calls for Objective C, Cocoa, UI, AJaX, BT, and USB experience, and some have speculated that it could be a serious attempt by RIM to bring some 1st party, Mac native sync capabilities to the email monster, the more interesting rumor-mongers are rumor-mongering RIM apps for the iPhone SDK: Blackberry Connect anyone?

Personally, I don’t see RIM losing the one advantage they have, Crackberry addictive “push” email by giving the keys of the kingdom to Apple (though they have made Blackberry Connect for other platforms). Besides, they’re already copying the design and flirting with the touchy-feely interface, so why go developer now? Then again, Canadians are a polite people, so who knows?

What do you think?

This week on the Phone different podcast we compensate for Mike’s absence by bringing on PD Writers Chad Garrett, Brian Hart, and Rene Ritchie. We talk up iPhone 2.0, iPhone 3G, and discuss what’s wrong with Canada. Listen in!

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Apple Insider brings word that Taiwan Economic News’s sources are claiming that:

“[The iPhone 3G] weighs only 110 to 120 grams versus its first generation cousin’s 158 grams. Much of the weight reduction is said to have come from a material swap that will see handset adopt a plastic casing instead of aluminum-magnesium one. In addition to weight advantage, the latest version is also more energy efficient and externally smarter. LCD screen on the phone measures 2.8 inches diagonally, a downsize from first generation`s 3.5 inches.”

We already covered that Foxxcon may be producing upwards of 25 million of Apple’s next generation handset, but this rumor seems to contradict Engadget’s insider who claimed we’d be seeing a fatter, not thinner iPhone, and would score one in Chad’s column (see the upcoming Phone Different Podcast #17 for background on the Dieter/Chad size throwdown).

And a 2.8″ screen? I know I was asking for something higher density than the current 160dpi — more along the lines of the Nano’s 202dpi — but I was hoping for more pixels, not just tighter. C’mon Apple, give me 720p already!

Besides, trying to type on a vertical soft keyboard that skinny? (And don’t even joke about virtual SureType! Yikes!!)

What do you think?

Looking for Internet radio on your iPhone? Tired of not having built-in FM like Zune owners? Look no further than Flytunes (http://www.flytunes.fm/) for the iPhone! Flytunes is a web-based media player for iPhone and iPod touch that allows you to stream music and talk channels for free!

Flytunes offers some decent features. When you navigate from the top of the screen, you can access a wide variety of channels including: Presets, Alternative, Artists, Classical, Country, Dance, Decades, Easy Listening, Eclectic, Jazz, Kids and Family, Local, Pop, R&B, Rock, Sports, Talk, Urban, Weather, and finally World. Some of these categories have as little as one sub-category, others have as many as twelve sub-categories. Regardless of what you are looking for, Flytunes is likely to have a musical flavor to suit your tastes.

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Can’t wait any longer for Native Apps? Me neither. (Late) June seems too far away? I’m with you. So why wait, when you can jailbreak! Over the next couple months before 2.0 is released, I’ll give you guys a glimpse into the jailbroken world of native apps every week. If we don’t find anything life-changing, hopefully we’ll learn a few things along the way. Plus: let’s face it, Jailbreaking isn’t going anywhere. The SDK is awesome, but some people won’t settle for anything less than full-on access to all the hidden bits of the iPhone.

Today, we start with another look at the ever-evolving program that is Installer.app. Developed by the guys at Nullriver, Installer.app is the first app you see after jailbreaking. Its main goal is to serve as an outlet for all the rest of the iPhone’s native apps and it has come a long way since we first showed you how to use it. Does it succeed? Is it effective? Can Apple learn something from Installer.app?

Read on for the rest of the review! (and remember you’ll need a Jailbroken iPhone to take advantage of this native app)

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Well known consumer-friendly site, the appropriately named Consumerist, brings the confessions of an anonymous Apple Specialist. While these cover everything Apple sells, from Macs to iPods, they certainly apply to the iPhone.

Top tips? If you can’t reset or restore your iPod (or iPhone!), it’s done. AppleCare extends your warranty, that’s it. .Mac and ProCare may not be worth the cash, but One-to-One is a deal. If your item (and iPhone?) is outside the return date, Apple may take it back if it’s still sealed, maybe even if it’s not. No insider info on unreleased product. And the email survey is your one way ticket to managerial ear-time.

Of course, your mileage, and your individual Apple Store, may vary, so buyer still beware.

We’re number 7! We’re number 7! (OMG 7!!11)

During their Q1 Press Conference Call this week, Rogers Mobile announced that they had finally (finally!) finalized a deal to bring the iPhone to Canada:

“We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.”

This would make Canada the 7th country to officially announce an iPhone deal, after the US, UK, Germany, France, Ireland, and Austria. (Whether they launch 7th will be another matter…)

Now, I can’t say Phone Different bringing attention to this matter just last week played any role in the big announcement (El Jobso, are you reading us right now?), but it is quite a coincidence, n’est ce pas?

In any event, if this pans out, I’ll be ecstatic. Heck, I might even sing! (mercifully after the break…)

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Do you remember that ChangeWave Survey back in March? It essentially ‘discovered’ that the Cell Phone customer satisfaction/popularity contest/war was a two-horse race between, you guessed it, Apple and RIM. Following up on their initial survey, this time ChangeWave tries to determine why their customers are so satisfied with their iPhones/Blackberries.

Alot of things on the ‘Favorites List’ are pretty predictable. E-Mail was an astounding ‘Most Favorite’ for Blackberry while the synergy of phone, iPod, and web browser was Number 1 for the iPhone. Taking a quick glance at the numbers, it seems that the iPhone’s ‘Favorite List’ is more well-rounded compared to the Blackberry’s. (Or maybe it just means Blackberry’s e-mail is just that good. I’ll let you guys decide.)

However, an interesting thing to note is that 27% of iPhone users determined that the Touch Screen Interface was actually their FAVORITE thing about the iPhone while 11% of Blackberry Users thought that the Blackberry keypad was their LEAST favorite thing. I understand comparing one iPhone to the entire lineup of Blackberry is like comparing apples to oranges (I’ll spare you one cheesy pun), but it goes to prove that Apple has done a great job in effectively ridding the keyboard and is leading the way to phone different (sorry I couldn’t help myself).

Oh, and the top 2 wishes for the iPhone? 3G Capability and Third Party Software. June can’t come soon enough.