2008: Yearly Archive

Honestly, its like one of those TV cop shows where the tip lines are finally thrown wide open and everyone and their alien-proof tinfoil hat starts flooding with the calls…

First up is Engadget bringing word that the Australian NDA box and the Gizmodo iPhone (Red) and related images mentioned previously are, to quote Elaine from Seinfeld: “Fake, fake, fake… fake…“

Next up both DaringFireball and the Macalope heckle the comedy stylings of the CNN/Dow Jones-come-lately Apple pundits and their… er… seeming total lack of anything approximating industry-required knowledge:

Apple appears to be making room on the iPhone for flash memory, which means an end to Apple’s standoff with Adobe that’s kept iPhones from easily viewing a plethora of Internet videos. Apple has said that Adobe’s flash media player, which is on hundreds of other phones, doesn’t perform up to Apple’s standards for the iPhone.

Confusing NAND flash-memory storage with Adobe Flash video, eh? Gruber hits with some “flash bulb” mockage, while the ‘lope gets closer to my heart with some Barry Allen and Gordon style “Flash” comic reference. Luckily, no one went with the sleazier, if more obvious, trench-coat and goulashes-style “Flasher”…

Lastly, Apple Inside claims Apple is pushing developers to charge for what the developers want to offer as free applications, if not now than sometime in the future. Some suggest this is an effort by Apple to cover the bandwidth and transaction costs of the App Store. I don’t buy it. They give away tons of free, bandwidth intensive content on iTunes already like HD video podcasts.

The rumor seems to say Apple is pushing for dual versions, limited-functionality free versions as demos, with full versions as commercial — paid for — apps.

Uh… That’s pretty much the share-ware model already…

Ubisoft, the publisher of game series such as Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Prince of Persia, is reportedly very interested in developing games for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Pauline Jacquey, Executive Producer of Ubisoft’s “Games for Everyone” recently said,

“At the minute, we’re only showing DS and Wii games, but we’ll be working on all other platforms. We’ll be making games not only on PC, PS3 and 360, but on iPhone and iPod touch as well.”

Ubisoft may be waiting to see how well EA and Sega develop real games for the iPhone and what kind of market there will be for iPhone gaming before jumping in. But no worries Ubisoft, as we stated on TiPb many times before, we love iPhone gaming. And none of us ever want to go back to that mobile version junk.

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Monday we asked you “What’s the iPhone 3G Chip and When Will it Ship?“. Tuesday it was “What is the iPhone 3G Going to Look Like?“. Wednesday brought “What Surprises Will There Be in the iPhone 2.0 Software & Services?”. Thursday questioned “What 3rd Party iPhone SDK Apps Will Be Available Launch Day?” Friday we ended with “What Will the iPhone 3G’s Hardware Features Be?“

Now we’re done with the HUGE roundups. The epic’s over. And it’s time to be honest here: roughly 0.01 seconds after Steve Jobs pulled the first iPhone from his pocket back at Macworld 2007, and it was us at TiPb who put aside our childlike sense of wonder long enough think: “Nice! What’s the next gen going to be like?” And we’ve been thinking about it ever since!

Complementary, contradictory, obvious, confusing, all but confirmed or from left field via outer space, the rumors have flooded the internet and we’ve done our best to keep track of them all.

Just two days from today Steve Jobs takes Moscone Center stage for the sold-out WWDC keynote, and according to everyone and their newsfeed, announces the iPhone 3G. In eager anticipation, every day this week, TiPb asked you to tell us what you think the next generation iPhone will be, from 3G to GPS, release dates to price points, colors to casings, 2.0 software to .Mac .Me services.

Now it’s TiPb’s turn.

So come on, let’s get in on!

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Another day, another leaked picture.  These pictures add another layer to the already interesting pie that is the iPhone 3G. The leaked images show that there will be a front facing camera used for video conferencing on the iPhone. iPhone-to-iPhone video calls would be made possible with the 3G network while iPhone-to-iChat video conferencing will require WiFi.

As the images say, “The video calling revolution has begun”.

Other interesting tidbits from these leaked photos is the back-facing speakers, the tapered edges, and the color selection (black or (product)red). The tapered edges make a lot of sense with the thicker vs thinner rumor battle: thicker in the middle and thinner on the edges (guess we should have seen that coming). The speakers were probably moved because of the edge’s thinness. And for the color choices, Apple has always been in line with the (Product)Red campaign, so it’s not too surprising. Also of note, iChat is supposed to be released for Windows (XP2 or Vista), so everybody can join in on the fun.

Personally, I don’t think mobile video conferencing has matured enough in the US for Apple to include it in the iPhone 3G. What do you think? Let’s start a manhunt for Carlos Rodriguez? Or should we RUMOR SMASH this already? 

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On the eve of WWDC, Apple Benevolent Dictator Steven P. Jobs has anointed a new iPhone Software Development executive, Scott Forstall:

Reporting directly to the CEO, Forstall leads the team responsible for delivering the software at the heart of Apple’s revolutionary iPhone including the user interface, applications, frameworks and the operating system. Forstall joined Apple in 1997 and is one of the original architects of Mac OS X and its Aqua user interface. He was responsible for several releases of the operating system, most notably Mac OS X Leopard. Prior to Apple he worked at NeXT developing core technologies.

iPhones everywhere have wirelessly transmitted their unbricking awe and fealty to their new and beloved Dear Leader. Long may he code.

A VoIP company called iCall has developed a program for the iPhone that enables seamless switching of calls from GSM to WiFi. Meaning: iCall will prompt you to switch your phone calls, mid-call, to WiFi so you don’t waste your minutes. Meaning: It’s Free! Though the desktop version of iCall is only available for Windows (Mac Support is on the way) this will probably be one of the more useful VoIP clients for the iPhone.

People who are familiar with T-Mobile’s use of UMA and HotSpot@Home technology will tell you that calls over Wi-Fi are not only free (with the right plan), but often times even better. Using VoIP instead of your minutes would help ease the drain for plenty of users who are always near WiFi and potentially offer international travelers free calls back home.

Currently, iCall is in private beta but plans for a public release very soon. In fact, you won’t even have to jailbreak for this app because the folks over at iCall are confident it’ll be a part of the App Store. 

ReadVia

Another round of pre-WWDC mayhem:

First up, Ars Technica reported that AT&T followed the Apple Store’s lead in being sold out of the current generation iPhone (2007) model. Did Apple really underestimate demand so uncharacteristically and dramatically, or are they learning to wean consumers earlier this time? And any wonder the old iPhone’s market share has dropped, given that its been getting harder and harder to buy one over the last few months? Moday should fix that…

Next up, Apple Insider spread the unabashedly crazy-sounding rumor that UK’s O2 might subsidize the iPhone 3G to the extent of making them “free upgrades”. This links into other rumors of an ultra-low (~$200) price point for the iPhone 3G, with O2 willing to eat even that cost in an effort to attract tasty service-consuming users.

Lastly, Engadget works the bugs out of Google Translate enough to let us know that Reuters Italy has said that while co(?)-exclusive iPhone carrier Telcom Italia might not be selling the iPhone 3G early next week, they will most definitely probably be potentially announcing it. Wouldn’t be waiting for someone else to do that first, now would they?

Here’s the plan, folks:

1. We didn’t make WWDC, so instead of a on-site liveblog we’ll be doing a meta-live-blog. What that means is we’ll be keeping an eye on all the other live blogs so you don’t have to. We’ll be a few seconds behind the rest, but we’ll make up for it by adding our own thoughts and commentary throughout. We’ll be using a fancy liveblog widget that allows all the writers to chime in and also allows you to submit liveblog comments and questions too. We’re calling it a Live Color Commentary Blog, and it worked out darn well last time we did it during the iPhone SDK announcement. Be here at 12:30 Eastern on Monday for the fun.
2. With any luck at all (especially given the recent shortages), we expect at least a 25% chance the new iPhone will go on sale on Monday. Ok, maybe 10%. Ok, we have no freaking idea. But maybe you do - submit your guesses here. Nevertheless we’ll have people standing by at the Apple store in Tampa and another AT&T store slightly more locally. If they’re available, we’ll be rushing one back to TiPb HQ and getting you an unboxing.
3. On Wednesday you can expect an extra-special Phone different podcast, wherein a bunch of the TiPb staff will be talking about what happened.
4. If you haven’t been keeping an eye on the sidebar, do that. We’ve been running a series of prediction articles, each so chock-full of every rumor and analysis thereof it will knock your socks off. Seriously, you should go put those socks back on, it’s been hot outside lately. We’re not saying, we’re just saying.
5. We’re stocking up on sleeping pills (for the night before, because otherwise we won’t be able to sleep), coffee (because, really, we won’t be able to sleep), sunglasses and lead-lined clothing (in case the Reality Distortion Field becomes too strong for humans to take), and tissues (for when we weep with joy). We recommend you do the same.

Monday we asked you “What’s the iPhone 3G Chip and When Will it Ship?“. Tuesday it was “What is the iPhone 3G Going to Look Like?“. Wednesday brought “What Surprises Will There Be in the iPhone 2.0 Software & Services?”. Thursday questioned “What 3rd Party iPhone SDK Apps Will Be Available Launch Day?” Today we want to know what else the iPhone 3G will feature, both now and into the future?

GPS is the biggie (right after 3G!). What about a front-facing camera? VGA screen? Stereo Bluetooth? Wireless N? Full-sized querty keyboard? … (Ha!) What do YOU think?

To give you some help, here’s a HUGE roundup of all the iPhone SDK 3rd party apps rumors. Epic-style. Because let’s face it, roughly 0.01 seconds after Steve Jobs pulled the first iPhone from his pocket back at Macworld 2007, and someone, somewhere, put aside their childlike sense of wonder long enough think: “Nice! What’s the next gen going to be like?”

Complementary, contradictory, obvious, confusing, all but confirmed or from left field via outer space, the rumors have flooded the internet ever since. It’s become almost impossible to keep track of them all.

Three days from today Steve Jobs takes Moscone Center stage for the sold-out WWDC keynote, and according to everyone and their newsfeed, announces the iPhone 3G. In eager anticipation, every day this week, TiPb wil be asking you to tell us what you think the next generation iPhone will be, from 3G to GPS, release dates to price points, colors to casings, 2.0 software to .Mac .Me services, and this weekend we’ll wrap it all up with a look into the WWDC/iPhone 3G Crystal Ball, and a roundup of the very best of YOUR predictions.

So come on, let’s get in on!

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s an idea: take the most revolutionary, innovative, and talked about smartphone in years and suggest it should chuck it’s industry changing multi-touch, UNIX-solid OS for something every manufacturer saddled with is desperate to burry (see Windows Mobile, HTC Touch Diamond), or something so old and Java-limited its only claim to fame is server-bound “pushing” wrapped in ever-increasingly iPhone derived packaging (see Blackberry OS, Bold, Thunder, Storm).

So, in other words, in the land of individuality and excellence, in order to succeed the iPhone should abandon everything that makes it… the iPhone, and embrace the mediocrity of lowest-common smartphone denominator?

That’s what Gary Krakow (we don’t know who he is either…) tells a theStreet.com reporter so disturbingly qualified she fails to challenge him on any of the near-constant stream of fallacies, ignorance’s, or unqualified statements he makes. (Here’s a freebie “But didn’t Apple already license Exchange ActiveSync from Microsoft in an event so widely seen it nearly brought down the Internet?”)

The iPhone needs to up its game? Do either of you depressing examples of modern media even know what game Apple’s playing?

But enough about them. Here’s our take on whether or not Apple should ditch iPhone OS X for Windows Mobile or Blackberry OS:

How about NO!

How about Microsoft is desperately sending reassurance letters to their partners, pointing out their sales numbers, precisely because the iPhone is what it is? How about RIM is spinning every which way but loose, alternately iDissing, iDeveloping, and iCloning, precisely because the iPhone is doing what its doing?

Bottom line, does any serious-minded journalist or pundit alike (if any such animal still exists!) really think the smartphone space would be better off with Apple merely producing just another Windows Mobile or Blackberry device or form factor, instead of offering another choice, and undeniably pushing the entire industry out of complacency?

We didn’t think so.

(And for the record, yes, we are calling up Rob Enderle and warning him theStreeties are gunning for his “job”…)

Yeesh.