Last time Gizmodo gave us their version of an iPhone iSlider form factor. We. Didn’t. Want. It. Now they’re back with a compromise: a modular iPhone that could accept, among other things, a snap-on keyboard iClamshell.
Eh. Still doesn’t strike us as something elegant enough for Apple to consider releasing, though as a 3rd party accessory (if they can get both SDK and dock licensing in order), it would likely make many people happy. (Still not us, though, we loves the multi-touch and truly, deeply, strongly believe the era of on-device hardware keyboards is over).
It’s your opinions that matter most, however, so let us know if this is something you’d like to see, first party or third, and what form you’d most like to see it in.
Into tech geek chic and want a little iPhone over-exposure? Well get ready to get your T-Shirt on — literally! EXPLODED PHONE! whipped up this little bit of haute couture, and you can grab one from their website… while supplies last.
Got one? Getting one? Let us know how you like it.
Next week is the first big Apple show of the year, and it’s also Apple’s last Macworld appearance, and the first not to be keynoted by Steve Jobs since his triumphant return to the company he founded.
But while his Steveness may not be there, Dieter and I (and maybe some of our writers) will be, bringing you our usual coverage of the Schiller-note (how weird does that look?!) and the show floor.
And if you happen to be there as well, please make it a point to say hello. If you’re curious what we’re up to, you can follow us on Twitter: @backlon and @reneritchie, or email us via news@theiphoneblog.com.
(If our blogging schedule looks a little wonky next week, please forgive us in advance, we expect things may be a little hectic).
We look forward to seeing everyone there, and reporting back for everyone at home, especially if we get to see a new iPhone firmware or… hardware SKU?
Anyone care to make any predictions in advance?
Those rapscallions at Google sure do seem to be having fun with the iPhone. Not only did they pull a fast one on Apple by using private API’s to work their lift-the-phone-to-activate-voice-search magic, they snuck a little super-swipe activated easter egg in for the rest of us! Says the Google Mobile blog:
One evening in Zurich, after a late night cake run, we decided that our iPhone app, Google Mobile App with Voice Search, could do with a little bling. The result of this is a few extra options hidden below the preferences on the Settings tab. Trust us, they’re down there… it just might take some perseverance to get to the bottom of things. Just keep trying!
Spoiler alert! Tap the cog icon to go to the settings screen, then swipe up over and over again to make the Bells and Whistles menu appear. From there, you can pick a new theme color, choose Chicken or Monkey as a sound, turn on a Live Waveform, and choose to Open Links in App.
Pimping out your Google Mobile App? Tell us your new fav combination!
(Thanks to sting7k in the forums for the spot!)
What makes capacitive touch displays so responsive is what makes them so unfriendly to hostile environments: they need skin-to-screen contact. Well, technically, they need the electric field around skin, and yet another Apple patent makes it seem like the iPhone team is figuring out a way for us to stay warm and still enjoy the multi-touch lifestyle. Says Apple Insider:
Apple’s solution would give gloves a second, inner layer beyond the surface that would simulate the electrical feedback of human fingers when exposed to the outside. Apertures at each fingertip would let users peel back the outer, more weatherproof layer to leave a finger protected only by the inner layer but capable of using touchscreen devices with roughly the same responsiveness as bare skin.
It’s freezing cold outside as I write this. Face hurting, lung searing, -17c, colder with the wind-chill coldy cold cold outside. So cold, in fact, that the thought of pulling off a downy mitten to “swipe my iPhone” has me cursing at the mere thought of a call. So, add a steaming mug of hot cocoa (the beverage, not the programming language!) and I’m sold. How about you, any other frozen iPhone users want to get your iGloves on?
Not only has the iPhone 3G finally been unlocked, it’s now also been hacked to work with a Blue Tooth keyboard. Sure, it’s not the elegant, Apple, “it just works” solution the world at large has been waiting for, but a “it’s hard work” solution for those desperate and ingenious enough to tackle it. Ars Technica’s Erica Sadun breaks down the solution:
For the external approach, Ackermann modified a Robotech Bluetooth module, which he placed in an iPhone battery sleeve and connected to the iPhone (serial) connector port at the bottom of the unit. This allowed the the phone to communicate directly with the the module using the Bluetooth serial port profile.
And you can find out more at Ackermann’s blog, if you want to try it yourself. Do you? Or are you waiting (and waiting…) on Apple?
So, either Steve Jobs really is retiring and Paris Hilton is now CEO of Apple, or some factory in China is taking the knock-off back plate biz to a whole new level. Our money’s decidedly on the latter. Engadget is likewise struggling to find reason for this iphonochromatic anomaly:
> The text on the back of the device convinces us that this isn’t a simple ColorWare job, but there aren’t any photos of the back of the packaging either. Our take? Some OEM in Asia whipping up custom colors.
All that said, anyone out there want some new iPhone colors in 2009? Which one(s)?
Two years since Steve Jobs pulled the original iPhone from his pocket at Macworld 2007, and still no cut/copy and paste functionality, and none in sight. Head of iPhone Marketing, Greg “Joz” Joswiack famously said it wasn’t a priority. Still, we’ve seen both the similarly capacitive touchscreens, Google Android G1 and BlackBerry Storm, show off versions of (multi-)touch based cut/copy and paste. We’ve also seen some magnifying-loop-based proof-of-concepts and independent end-runs around the omission both via shared frameworks and JavaScript bookmarklets, but still nothing official, nothing from Apple.
One sometimes bandied-about suggestion as to why the iPhone still lacks cut/copy and paste is because Apple hasn’t figured out an elegant solution. They want a simple gesture that can be used quickly, easily, and consistently in any app, and is as intuitive to the user as pinch to zoom.
Well maybe we can help them out. If we want to see iPhone OS 2.3 at Macworld, or even iPhone OS 3.0 at WWDC in June 2009, how should they do it? What gestures should they use? What procedure should they implement?
If you were Steve Jobs, striding down the deep, dark sub-basement hall to the secret iPhone development lab, how would you tell the terrified techies to “just make it work”?
While TiPb is still waiting on Mobile iChat (SchillerNote Macworld bullet-point perhaps?), at least MobileMe isn’t taking time off for the holidays. In addition to an update for their browser-side PIM services, fresh rumors abound of iWork — Apple’s word processing Pages, presentation making Keynote, and spread sheeting Numbers — going WebApps (think Google Docs with buttery Apple-crafted UI). Ars Technica says:
“Magic” could refer to a few things, but my best guess is that it will be a new iWork component or application that will allow some kind of online sharing, collaboration, or application access. It’s possible that Apple will indeed introduce iWork web application at the Macworld Expo, but if that’s the case then I think they’ll be offered as part of the existing suite, or as an add-on component, rather than as groundbreaking overhaul.
What seems more certain, and certainly handy, is this catch by TUAW:
Soon a new feature in iDisk will make it simple to share files too big for email. iDisk will automatically send a message with a simple link. The recipient will just click the link to download the file.
Official iDisk integration for the iPhone would be a nifty holiday treat as well. OS 2.3 please?
Three brand-new iPhone owners I know have asked me about this in the last week, and I’ve heard the Apple Store has gotten more than a few walk-ins who think their iPhones are busted because of this. So, what better way to start out the New Year and our new iPhone 101 series — for new iPhone owners — then with this little how-to.
The iPhone has a hardware mute switch, which lets you quickly and easily turn the ringer off and put the iPhone into vibrate-only mode. It’s located on the left side (facing the device) directly above the volume rocker. When the ring/silent switch is in-line with the volume rocker, the ringer is on. When the ring/silent switch is offset from the volume rocker, the ringer is muted (and only vibrate is on).
A bell will flash briefly on the screen when the ringer is on, a bell with a line struck through it will flash briefly when the ringer is muted.
(Note: the iPhone will still sound alarms, play iPod music, and allow apps like games to make sounds even when the phone is set to silent)
