Yahoo! Finance is running some commentary from WSJ tech-guru Walt Mossberg and while everyone is quick to point out that Apple is not at his All-Things Digital D7 conference this year (that’s keeping all our sibling sites CrackBerry.com and PreCentral.net busy), they’re still the super smartphone in the room:
With the iPhone and iTouch, Apple is the “tip of the spear” when it comes to the next generation of handheld devices and what Mossberg is calling Web 3.0. The veteran tech journalist notes with awe the numbers Apple is putting up:
- 40M devices sold in 2 years
- 40K+ apps and 1 billion downloads in 10 months
That kind of excitement among developers, he says, hasn’t been seen since the arrival of PCs in the 80s and websites in the ‘90s.
Mossberg also, as per every statement Apple’s made to date, expects Steve Jobs back in late June. (Even as rumor has it Jobs paid a visit to Apple’s Cupertino headquarters as recently as yesterday!)
(Via MacDaily News)
Earlier this month, we celebrated TiPb’s Birthday Bash, and as a giant thanks to you, our members, we spent nearly a week giving away iPhone accessories, promo codes for some of our favorite apps, and iTunes gift cards. We’ll be highlighting some of the winners, runners-up, and otherwise awesome entrants this weekend, but for right now I think we’ll just go ahead and announce the winner of our biggest grand-prize so far:
- A factory unlocked 8GB iPhone 3G in your choice of 35 different color options courtesy of the awesome folks at ColorWare.
That’s right. One of you is about to get your iPhone, your way. And we’ll tell you who… after the break!
Read the rest of this entry »
Techcrunch reports that during Google’s I/O developers conference they showed off the iPhone version of Latitude — which lets users stalk keep track of their friends via GPS and other location-based services — but not as part of some revamped Map or Google Mobile application as many suspected:
Google has been waiting for the [iPhone] 3.0 software is because it’s not actually creating a native iPhone app for Latitude — as all other location-based services on the iPhone are — instead it’s using the Safari web browser to run Latitude. Thanks to HTML 5, Safari will be able to access a user’s location information and Latitude will be able to access that as well (provided the user gives permission). This will put it on par with what Google is doing in its browser for Android.
Now, Google has made arguably the best and most impressive catalog of WebApps seen on the iPhone to date, but why go that route with Latitude? And waiting for iPhone 3.0 to be released this summer, which also sounds strange given MobileSafari in 3.0 doesn’t look to answer any of the persistent-connection problems Latitude faces on the iPhone platform (i.e. lack of background multi-tasking).
So, call us interested but not impressed… yet.
(Thanks antonioj for the tip!)
MacNN brings word that Apple, along with other assorted patents for the Mac Pro’s riser card housing, OS X’s GUI drawer-like windows, and the MacBook Air’s multi-touch trackpad, Apple has been awarded a patent for:
the iPhone’s casing design, highlighting elements like a divided construction and the ports at the top and bottom. Also visible are assorted speakers, buttons and switches, as well as the rough positioning of the camera. Many individuals are credited for the work, though notable inclusions are Apple’s lead designer, Jonathan Ive, and the company’s CEO, Steve Jobs.
Looks like the original iPhone 2G aluminum and plastic combo casing to our eyes, so unless the next-generation iPhone comes dressed a lot like the first gen, we’ll just chalk this up to better late than un-awarded…
Fortune scoop’let’ed the story: the Palm Pre syncs with iTunes. No, not like a dumb USB disk. Not even like a 3rd party-enabled BlackBerry on the PC. Somehow, when Jon Rubinstein joined Palm, someone at Apple forgot to frisk him for iTunes keys.
Our friends over at PreCentral.net, of course, are all over this:
If the Pre does indeed just show up as a standard device on iTunes, it would be big news — but it wouldn’t be unprecedented. Apple has allowed other OEMs to license the necessary APIs to talk directly to iTunes so they can show up as a device. If you take a gander at the list of compatible players on Apple’s support site, you’ll see that Rio players, Nomad Players, and others will all work with iTunes directly (not to mention various Motorola phones).
Still, the level of integration purportedly available to the Pre makes us feel more than a little violated. Did Apple really license them that deep a hook into the system? Given the existence of one Steven P. Jobs, we somehow doubt that. But if not, which 3rd party hook did Palm embed, is it all nice and legal, and how — if at all — will Apple react?
We know! At WWDC Phil Schiller will announce — iPhone compatibility with Palm Desktop!!
Ahem
Not sure when they — finally — flipped this switch, but this morning when I fired up iTunes I was greeted with a full on content party — US TV productions from ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and Warner Brothers are now available for Canadians to download in both standard and high definition.
Prices are $3.49 for HD (which includes an SD copy for your iPhone or iPod) and/or $2.49 for SD all by its lonesome.
So, if you don’t mind paying for a-la-carte programming a day later but sans commercials, loves you the HD option, and you live in the True North Strong and Free-ish, apparently this week is Canada Day come early!
It’s that time again — time for us to pick out some of the hot topics on TiPb’s forums. In order for you to reply to any of the following threads please be sure to register. It’s a painless process, we promise!
Today’s first thread is from forum member Ghecko. There is no arguing that, if you’re coming from a physical keyboard on your old BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device, the touch screen on the iPhone can be a bit tricky for some and chances are you will end up with a lot of typos in your SMS messages and emails. With that being said, what are your most common typos you make on your iPhone? If you are indeed having a hard time adjusting to the touch screen – stick with it. You’ll be a pro in no time!
This next thread is a question that I actually hear quite a bit when new software or firmware is released for devices – Tramain wants to know will you update to iPhone OS 3.0 as soon as it is released or will you wait to see how it goes for others? Personally, as soon as new software is available to me, I will not hesitate to update but I can understand how some people may want to wait a few days to see if any users are running into any major errors. So waiting is not always a bad idea. Thoughts?
Next up we have a thread started by none other than our very own beloved editor, Rene, and he wants to know your thoughts about MobileMe 2.0 at WWDC. Will we see Phil Schiller drop some awesome new MobileMe features during the keynote? Only time will really tell but we all can dream can’t we?
Our last thread of the day is simple – tell us your worst customer service experience you’ve had with Apple, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc… Almost every single one of us has had our fair share of horrible customer service experiences, let us know about them!
See you on the forums!
It was only one day ago that TiPb asked, where is the official Sirius XM iPhone application? Well it seems like our question has, for the most part, been answered.
“The SIRIUS XM app will deliver an expanded programming lineup that includes SIRIUS XM’s exclusive sports talk, news, comedy, and 100% commercial free music channel, as well as new talk, comedy, and music showcase channels.”
Turns out the application will be free but — and that’s a big but — there will be subscription fees. You can either have a stand alone streaming subscription which is $13.00 a month or have a normal subscription with an additional $3.00 a month fee tacked onto what you are already paying. There is still no word on when the application will be released but our guess is you will see it around the time iPhone OS 3.0 drops this summer.
So there you have it folks… Excited? Disappointed? Let us know what you are thinking in the comments!
[Via BusinessInsider]
TweetMic [$0.99 - iTunes link] puts a whole new spin on Tweeting. With TweetMic you are basically able to Twitter small podcasts via this application. What happens when you use TweetMic is you record a message via the iPhone’s built in Mic, you can play it back or post it with a short Twitter message.
Once you “Publish to Twitter” the application uploads the recording to its server and attaches a link to your post, so when your followers receive the tweet, they will see the link and the website it brings up will allow them to play the message via a computer or an iPhone.
Of course having WiFi of 3G will be better than using an EDGE connection when uploading you messages.
If you want to add audio recording to your Tweets, then this is definitely the best option out there. If you check it out, let us know what you think (or record a message for us on Twitter!)
