February 2009: Monthly Archive

UPDATED AGAIN: BGR is sticking by their story. Interesting times, eh?

UPDATE: We just received an email from Rogers stating:

“While we generally don’t comment on speculation or rumour, this posting is not accurate. Rogers was involved in no such call.”

ORIGINAL: So we’ve heard about AT&T and the EU, and we’ve heard about Verizon. Now it’s Canadian iPhone carrier, Rogers’ turn. The BGR brings word they’re pouring on the 4G LTE in hopes of launching in Vancouver in time for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in February.

Reportedly 50Mbps (un-optimized) is already a go on tests, and while no handsets will be available until mid-2010, USB dongles should launch sooner. Following Vancouver, Rogers plans to expand the network, and vows they’ll have less problems than their 3G HSPA launch. (We all hope!)

In the mixed bag-of-hurt department, it sounds like Rogers is also going to try to help out their over-strained cable business by merging it with 4G and Portable Internet.

Apple really, really thinks the iPod touch is the funnest ever, and just so they’re sure we know it as well, they’ve released a second 2nd gen iPod touch gaming music video TV commercial.

TUAW’s commenters pointed out Apple has even gone to the trouble of setting up a special App Store gaming page just for the games shown in the Franz Ferdinand covered commercial.

Will these commercials help sell iPod’s to more gamers? Take a bite out of the upcoming Nintendo DSi pie? Or, like with the iPhone, is focusing on apps taking away from the core purpose of the devices (media + internet)?

Our public frenemy number 1, CrackBerry Kevin, tipped us to RIM revealing details of their latest “innovation”, the BlackBerry App Store (and no, we’re not jaded that the company that once said touchscreens were a non-starter is now high-five’ing themselves silly over winning the self-awarded “breakthrough” prize for the Storm’s SurePress at Mobile World Congress — iSigh).

Them new CrackBerry App Store details? (And no, we’re not going to call it the CrApp Store, thanks you very much!) No themes allowed, which are apparently quite popular (not that we non-Jailbroken iPhone owners have any idea what they are, right Apple?). WebApps will be showcased alongside native apps, which is interesting given how WebApps on the iPhone have languished in terms of the Apple spotlight since the iPhone App Store launched.

Unlike Apple’s free SDK or $99 registered SDK with tethering, RIM will charge devs $200 per 10 apps submitted to the store. How the effects free apps (or rejected/re-submitted apps?) is unknown. Like the iPhone App Store, support will be the responsibility of the developer, which some hope will encourage more stable code (and not just less supportive developers).

Also important to remember in all this, however, is that while an iPhone can hold up to almost 16GB of Apps, BlackBerry’s are severely limited — only onboard app storage can be used, after the OS takes its share. We’re talking a 30-100MB at most (and single iPhone Apps can be bigger than that).

So what do we think? Dieter wanted Apple to copy-back the Ovi Store’s recommendation engine. Anything Apple should copy-back from RIM? WebApp category?

We mentioned this thought in passing alongside Dieter’s report on the Nokia App Ovi Store, which he says has far, far better discoverability than the iTunes App Store:

What Nokia has done is build a sophisticated relevancy engine that can sort apps based on a variety of factors that are actually relevant to you — like what you friends are using, or what kind of app you like to download, or what music you tend to prefer. It looks to be much better than your standard “top 50″ list

What if Apple merely took their own, existing discoverability process — Genius Recommendations, which debuted in iTunes 8 and iPhone OS 2.1 — and extended it to include Apps?

Sure, the automagical playlist generation part of Genius wouldn’t be necessary, but the part of Genius that scans your collection, anonymously uploads its metadata to the cloud, and then compares it with everyone else in the massive ecosystem in order to crowd source recommendations… that could help discoverability immensely. It could give us great apps that go great together, in Apple-speak.

Of course, Apple also has to crack down on short-sighted developers trying to game the search results, but Genius recommendations could go a long way towards cutting through the glut that 20,000+ apps brings with it. What think you?

We asked what else Google could possibly give iPhone users this month to add to the incredible list of Gmail Tasks, Latitude, Google Books, and Google (Active)Sync, and Google Docs spreadsheet editing, and pretty much everyone said: push Gmail.

Turns out we zigged and Google zagged, because they’ve whipped up offline Gmail instead.

What’s that and what does it mean? Offline WebApps use HTML5 standards and SQLite to keep your data open and available when you have no internet connection (like on most airplanes still). When your connection goes off, the data is kept live on the local machine, and when your connection comes back, it’s re-synced back to the cloud.

Okay, so IMAP already does this in MobileMail and other mail clients, fair enough. But Google’s IMAP is notoriously strange (and I’ll say it — shoddy), and many people prefer using the web interfaces anyway as it allows for a more consistent experience from device to device (a browser is a browser).

iPhoneBuzz thought offline Gmail looked ready for prime time, but says it’s still a proof-of-concept at this stage, and there’s no info yet one when Google might release it to the masses.

So, something you need? Something you want? Or should Google devote their Gmail time to push already?

We get it: Apps are the new Internet. If the recent TV commercials weren’t hint enough, if redesigning the Apple Stores to put them front-and-center wasn’t crystal clear, Apple has sent out an email reminding us that the iPhone Apps, they are good!

Over 15,000 (20,000 but most counts), Apple focuses on ZAGAT TO GO, Flick Bowling, Allrecipes.com, Weightbot, and iHandy Level.

Apple has long said that software, not hardware was their key differentiator, and they’re certainly making sure everyone else knows it as well.

Is it working? Are Apps hooking new buyers the way “just the Internet”-focused advertising hooked previous ones?

Hugh Jackman may be hosting the Oscar announcements this Sunday, but TiPb will be announcing YOUR choice for the very best in all things iPhone. That’s right, the voting is almost done, the time is almost up. If you haven’t already, don’t walk — RUN — to our forums and make your voice heard for the TiPb Reader’s Choice Awards!

• Favorite iPhone 2.x Feature of 2008
• Favorite iPhone FIGHT of 2008
• Biggest iPhone FAIL of 2008
• Favorite iPhone Game of 2008
• Favorite iPhone Social Networking App of 2008
• Favorite iPhone Productivity App of 2008
• Favorite iPhone WebApp of 2008
• Favorite iPhone Jailbreak App of 2008
• Favorite iPhone Bluetooth Headset of 2008
• Favorite iPhone Case of 2008

What are you still reading this for?! Go, VOTE!

How you doing, MobileMe? For weeks, months even, you don’t call, you don’t write, then Microsoft’s My Phone moves into the fixer-upper down the street, and Google Sync starts to cozy up to us, and now you’re back with the 3rd news item in just over a week?

This time it’s a tip on how to share multiple files using the new iDisk File Sharing feature we linked to earlier. Here’s the skinny:

1. Select the files or folders you want to share. (To select multiple files hold down the Command key on a Mac or the Control key on a PC as you click on each one.)
2. Use the Actions menu via the Gear icon in the Toolbar, and select Compress items. This will automatically create a single compressed file named Archive.zip that contains your files or folders.
3. Share Archive.zip file just as you would any other iDisk file. (Before you share it, you can change the “Archive” part of the name to something more descriptive, but keep the .zip extension so the receiver’s computer will know to decompress the files when the receiver opens it.)

Of course, you could likely just archive/zip the files prior to engaging MobileMe, but it’s so nice Apple has expressed some interest. Now how about moving that iDisk love over to the iPhone? You know, there are some mobile features me still want there as well..

UPDATED: Daring Fireball nails it. Closed or open, the smartphone industry was stagnating before the iPhone…

ORIGINAL: Steve Ballmer is the gift that just keeps on grief’ing! Proven wrong about the iPhone already, both the Microsoft CEO and his counterpart at Nokia, Olli-Pekka Kallasvu both decided to take fairly transparent jabs at Apple, who once again didn’t even bother to attend the show. CNet (via MacRumors) has the gory details.

Said Kallasvu (taking a break from iCloning the iPhone App Store):

Apple’s vertically integrated model, where its hardware and software are tightly controlled by the company, further fragmented the market. And he added that what is truly needed is more openness in developing applications.

Said Ballmer, (who’s been getting his own fair share of grief this week over WinPho 6.5):

“I agree that no single company can create all the hardware and software. Openness is central because it’s the foundation of choice.”

One disgruntled European expressed displeasure at all the iPhone talk, asking why it deserved attention when it had only a tiny sub-percentage of the market.

Responded AT&T Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega:

“Because the other 99.5 percent of the industry is trying to copy the iPhone.”

It wasn’t all hugs and kisses from AT&T, though, even with the iPhone providing life support to their bottom line. Jabbed de la Vega:

“The iPhone is a great success, but it would be even better if the applications were interoperable,”

Um, yeah, because then people might actually want to buy those other, less innovative, non-iPhone you have stockpiled in your warehouse?

You’ve told us and told us you want the iPhone on Verizon. There’s two reasons that hasn’t happened already. AT&T has exclusive rights in the US (Verizon, stupidly, turned down the iPhone initially), and the iPhone is a GSM device while Verizon runs a CDMA network (think Mac vs. PC). And, hey, Sprint can’t even get simultaneous voice and data going on the Pre with CDMA/EVDO, okay?

However, it seems like Verizon is going to the same LTE standard as AT&T for 4G, and hopes to do Ma Bell one better by bringing it to market by the end of THIS YEAR. (AT&T will be testing this year, rolling out in 2011, and the EU has delayed until 2012!) Gizmodo says it’s already running at 60Mbps, so…

With compatibility hurdles clearing in the future, will exclusivity fall next? Could we see an iPhone on Verizon in 2010 or 2011?

(TUAW has a great write up on that possibility, thanks Brian for the pointer!)