2009: Yearly Archive

The TV show Lie to Me, a few weeks back (season 2, episode 3 to be exact) decided to take the lies just one step too far — they showed an iPhone where one of the characters could swipe between SMS notifications.

To the trained eye, of course, it was merely screenshots of standard model text dialogs over the Notes app, with swiping no doubt courtesy of the Photo App, and sound effects added in post. (The whole screen, not just the alert dialog, changed on swipe). However, it shows that even TV now has to work around the vexing lack of great notification handling on the iPhone.

Sci-fi aside, it does show one possible approach. If instead of that nasty little box you had to cancel or reply to immediately, or risk losing forever, Apple let you swipe back to see previous notifications, would that be a good solution? Or are we still holding our breath (and turning ever-bluer) waiting or a Palm webOS- or Google Android-level solution?

After a long time in limbo, fan favorite desktop Instant Messenger (IM) client Trillian [$4.99 - iTunes link] has finally (finally!) arrived for iPhone and iPod touch.

Features include AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk, tabbed chat windows, clean contact lists, killer connection management, instant cross-device sync (via Astra server), simultaneous sign-in, and “intelligent” push notification.

Confession: I’ve been podcasting, now I’m editing, so I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, but if you’re giving it a go, please let us know your favorite features, pros and cons, and just in general — what you think!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Speaking of the ongoing ad-war between AT&T and Verizon, according to CNET:

A federal judge in Atlanta Wednesday declined to grant AT&T a temporary restraining order that would force Verizon to stop showing the ads.

So the “map for that” campaign can continue, even as AT&T counters on the marketing front with “side by side“.

On the legal front, though certainly a set back, we’re sure AT&T’s lawyers want to get as much as they can out of this legal challenges will continue as well.

Join Chad, Rene ,and special guest, Keith Newman (of PalmCast fame) tonight for all the week’s news, views, and rants. If you have any questions, leave a comment below, hit us up on Twitter @theiphoneblog, or better still — join us live in the chat room via http://www.tipb.com/live

REMINDER: You can watch us live on your iPhone with the Ustream Viewer app [Free - iTunes link]. Just wait until the show starts (8pm ET) and search for iPhone. We’ll pop up. Literally.

Chat with you soon!

AT&T has responded to Verizon’s latest commercials that depicts their network as small and to put it nicely, garbage. As you can see above AT&T takes some shots of their own at Big Red.

This particular commercial is just one of a series that will begin airing tonight. AT&T not only mentions a few valid points but they even scored Luke Wilson to do the dissing. Bonus points…

So, the big question remains, how long will it be before Verizon files a lawsuit of their own? Only kidding… we think?

Update: Also be sure to check out www.truthabout3g.com (screenshot after the break!).

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UPDATE: Daring Fireball points out:

[This story] puts [TechCrunch's Michael] Arrington on the same side as the almost-always-full-of-sh*t Scott Moritz. On the other side: Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, who just two weeks ago said Google would not “compete with its customers” and “We’re not making hardware. We’re enabling other people to build hardware.”

So either Mike Arrington is totally wrong or Andy Rubin is a liar.

Apple typically denies something, even decries it, until the moment they release it. Google’s not Apple, though…

ORIGINAL: Could Google be “pulling a Zune” and going from software provider to integrated device maker, ready to take on the iPhone with a pure, straight up Google gPhone? That the latest… retread of the old rumor, though TechCrunch is basically singing a castrati-high “nailed it!” at this point.

Rumors of a gPhone, or Google Phone, predated Android, but instead of following Apple, Palm, and RIM in the integrated hardware/software model, Google decided to go the Windows Mobile path, create Android OS (though with a liberal Apache license) and let other hardware makers do their thing.

Microsoft did similar a few years ago, competing against the iPod with PlaysForSure software for a variety of different music player manufacturers. Then they teamed up with Toshiba, killed PlaysForSure, and released the Microsoft-only Zune. Needless to say, their previous partners were not filled with happy joy (and how many PlaysForSure devices do you see today, oh bitter-named irony?)

There’s no indication, however, that if Google made a gPhone they would in any way kill Android for partners. Indeed, Nokia makes Symbian devices now that it controls (and is in the process of open sourcing) that OS, right alongside other manufacturers. But is it fair to be scared of Google now, having seen them decimate the competition in everything from search (anyone remember Alta Vista?) to turn-by-turn Navigation (remember those TomTom and Garmin stock charts, post Android 2.0 announcement?)

And is it even more fair when we consider that the tech community is realizing Android isn’t as open as they once hoped? Casey at Android Central sums it up:

Why would I buy a Motorola DROID or Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 if I can get an official Google Phone built from the ground up for Android? How will companies feel if the Google Phone launches with 3.0 but every other Android device is stuck at 2.0? Will they continue to make Android devices? Google would be leaving the companies that backed Android from the beginning in the dust. Simply put, the existence of a Google Phone automatically makes third-party Android phones second-tier devices because Google’s priority will shift to the Google Phone, all others second.

But back to the iPhone. One of Steve Jobs’ favorite quotes is from Alan Kay — “”People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.” Google bringing a first-party gPhone to the table would likely be the strongest competition yet for the iPhone. As much as Google’s Android partners should be afraid, Apple should be more afraid. And they should — and no doubt are — working even harder on iPhone 2010 and the iPhone OS 4.0. And that’s great news for iPhone users.

AT&T announced it’s invested nearly $65 million in upgrading their 3G network in San Francisco through Q3 2009:

“More than ever before, customers look to wireless communications to stay in touch with family, friends and business colleagues,” said Terry Stenzel, AT&T vice president and general manager for Northern California/Reno. “The additional spectrum helps to enhance the 3G network so that our customers have the best experience when they make a call, check an e-mail, download a video or song, access applications or surf the Internet on their AT&T device.”

They also mentioned SF will get some HSPA 7.2 next year as well. (First towers to go up around Cupertino in an effort to keep the iPhone-makers happy? We joke.)

Given the last update in AT&T’s lawsuit against Verizon’s “map for that” commercials, where Verizon basically said AT&T had failed to invest in their network infrastructure, we’re wondering if we’ll see more press releases like this (or emails like this) in the near future?

[Thanks Gregg for the tip!]

The following Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by the TiPb iPhone Accessory Store

What to get for that annoying iPhone owner who knows has everything? For that new iPhone user who’s just getting started? For that last minute drop in you never expected but suddenly have to render iSpeechless?

The TiPb iPhone Accessory store’s got you covered! We asked the iPhone staff for some of their favorite accessories of the year, and put them together into our 2009 Gift Guide — jammed packed with iPhone goodness just in time for the holidays, after the jump!

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Over the weekend in Belgium thieves made a clean getaway with close to 4,000 iPhones. The market value of that many iPhones, 2 million euros, or $3 million U.S.

The iPhone thieves cut a hole in the ceiling of a warehouse where the devices were being stored waiting to be delivered to Mobistar in time for holiday shopping season. According to Mobistar, local police have zero leads but think twice about landing one of these phones as a spokesperson from Mobistar is promising they will not work.

“We have the serial numbers of stolen iPhones blocked anyway so they can not be used,”"People who want to buy an iPhone, which is best done in an approved outlet and not on street or on the black market.”

In the end, crime does not pay folks…

[Via AppleInsider]

Instapaper and Tumblr developer Marco Arment riffs on the NYT’s article on Palm webOS’ trouble wooing developers, and it’s predictably good stuff.

His major point is that with its huge install base (which topped 50 million iPhones and iPod touches months ago), it makes more financial sense to develop for Apple’s platform, rather than Google’s Android or Palm’s webOS which might have on 5% to 10% as many devices on the market.

Giving developers an app store is the easy part. The hard part is bringing us enough customers. The iPhone is so good that it built up a huge installed base without any third-party apps, but no Android or webOS devices can say that yet.

Arment points out that the iPod touch makes a huge difference as well, giving developers a similar device to work on without the need for an expensive cell phone contract. He also echoes Fake Steve’s comments on different hardware complicating development, though he thinks if Android popularity continues to grow, the platform might justify the investment one day.