Articles by Casey Chan
Back in our PhoneDifferent days (seems so long ago, no?) all of our sister websites (Crackberry.com, WMExperts, & TreoCentral) did a trial run of each Smartphone and offered thoughts and opinions about each one. It was an interesting experiment because each handheld got a unique look from the different smartphone userbases. Going along with our theme of “How to Fix the iPhone”, we’ve decided to bring back the Round Robin Links for you guys to see what Blackberry, Palm, and Windows Mobile users thought of our beloved device.
Before we get started with the other folk’s take on the iPhone, it’s good to remember why the iPhone is the best device out there. Mike Overbo, Editor Emeritus, realizes that the iPhone isn’t perfect but has come to believe that the iPhone’s future is the biggest reason he switched. In this article, he takes a look at each device that participated in the Round Robin (Blackberry Curve, AT&T Tilt, and Treo 680) and gives an in-depth look at what’s good, bad, and where the iPhone can learn.
Read on for the rest of the links!
Are you an avid magazine reader? Do you look at your iPhone and think that it’d be the perfect device to read digital magazines? Well, Zinio Mobile Newsstand for the iPhone offers such digital magazines in high-resolution glory. With loads of popular magazines in tow, Zinio Mobile Newstand gives iPhone users a free look at issues that typically cost anywhere from $5 to $10.
How does it perform? Can you actually read anything?
Read on for the rest of the review!
Are you guys familiar with BioShock? It was an amazing first person shooter that released for the Xbox 360 and PC. As one of the best games of 2007, it created a beautiful story through deep emotional connection and stunning visuals. And guess what. It’s coming to the iPhone.
Yes, that’s not a typo. It hasn’t even been ported to a portable gaming machine yet but it is coming to the iPhone. Who knows how well it can translate to a mobile device, but this shows how much faith developers have in the iPhone. Note: A 2D version is also going to be released for mobile devices that can’t handle the full 3D Game. I’m looking at you Blackberry. =)
I couldn’t find a video for you guys but folks are saying that it looks spectacular. No one has actually given gameplay a twirl yet so the controls can’t be spoken for, but the video shown to a few insiders was rendered on the iPhone itself.
So who’s NOT excited about gaming on the iPhone?
24 hours. 7 days a week. 365 1/4 days a year.
That’s how often the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York City is open. Don’t know which one I’m talking about? The big glass cube on the most expensive street in the world! This flagship store is perhaps the brightest jewel in Apple Retail, often hosting performances from the likes of Maroon 5 & Linkin Park and becoming a new landmark for tourists to visit in the city that never sleeps. It’s open all day, everyday.
Well, if you don’t count today.
The Apple Store on 5th Ave. is closed from Thursday, May 29 3:00 p.m. to Friday, May 30 9:00 a.m. Apple Store Employees have been telling customers that a commercial is being filmed and reports are floating around saying its a 3G iPhone commercial. Remember, Apple doesn’t close this store for any old reason, the only times it has been closed before: the original iPhone launch and the release of Leopard. Hmm..
What do you think?
If you hadn’t noticed, TiPb’s theme of the week is currently “Fixing the iPhone”. Rene offered you an extremely thoughtful and well-researched look into what the iPhone can learn from the competition. I reviewed a native app that added a much needed ‘Today’ Screen. And I’m back again giving you 10 Things Apple Should Fix in the iPhone. We don’t always crack jokes about Crackberry and mock iClones here do we?
Okay, to provide a quick disclaimer for this list: Understand that I’m completely ignoring the issues that are ‘mainstream problems’ with the iPhone. I’m not going to go off on the lack of a physical keyboard. I’m not worrying about 3G & GPS. Copy & Paste is a well-known pitfall of the iPhone. Natively saving images, likewise. Removable Battery? Recessed headphone jack? Push E-Mail? MMS? (Wow, that’s a lot)
As big a concern those previously mentioned issues are—many of them will likely become a moot point once the 3G iPhone comes out (Now somebody go tell Sprint that). This list suggests minor tweaks and fixes in the iPhone that may have been swept under the rug or just plain old forgotten. But fear not, I will happily remind Apple of the iPhone’s shortcomings and offer a solution on how to fix them. As great as the iPhone is, it isn’t without its faults.
[Comment on this Wait-a-Thon post to qualify to win a $100 iTunes Gift Card]
Read on for the rest of the article!
Let’s recap the iPhone’s prices so far: $599 to $399 to a rumored $199 to…undefined? One of the more interesting tidbits to come out of the 3G rumor mill has to be AT&T’s CFO telling the media that no pricing decision has been made concerning the 3G iPhone.
“There’s not been a product announcement. There hasn’t been any pricing decisions made. That’s yet to come,” CFO Rick Lindner told the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in New York.
We have mentioned before that AT&T has not been as tight-lipped about upcoming products as Apple notoriously is. Perhaps a warning shot by the folks over at Apple (read: Steve Jobs) has effectively rendered the AT&T execs silent. Or could this possibly mean that the price points would differ between the two ‘partners’?
What do you think?
Can’t wait any longer for Native Apps? Me neither. (Late) June seems too far away? I’m with you. So why wait, when you can jailbreak! Over the next couple weeks before 2.0 is released, I’ll give you guys a glimpse into the jailbroken world of native apps every week. Plus: let’s face it, Jailbreaking isn’t going anywhere. The SDK is awesome, but some people won’t settle for anything less than full-on access to all the hidden bits of the iPhone.
In this week’s edition, we’ll take a look at a nifty little program called IntelliScreen. The idea behind this native app is smart, it creates a ‘Today’ screen for your iPhone’s unlock screen. Much like certain layout options in Windows Mobile and Blackberry, Intelliscreen offers a quick look at your calendar, mail, SMS, news, and weather. How well does this native app perform? Does it offer a great feature for users?
Read on for the rest of the review!
Trying to break records on your iPhone? Can’t manage to do it with the touchscreen? Well jailbreak nation, it looks like there is a solution—iControlpad!
Though the image above is just a prototype, it takes obvious visual cues from the PSP, just take a look at the button layout and form factor. Supposedly, it works via serial port and is currently supported by GBA, PSX (ZodTTD developed) emulators. They are planning on releasing the source code and SDK soon so hopefully more developers can jump on board.
Honestly, I’m tempering my excitement for this. I personally feel as if putting buttons and an analog stick will trap iPhone’s games ‘in the box’. But emulators are for re-creating the original experience, so I’ll let it slide. Either way, it could be a great idea if utilized the right way.
Looks like we’ll have to add analyzing shipping manifests and tracking import/export data to help wanted ads and patent watching. It’s tough being an Apple enthusiast, no?
The folks over at Import Genius have reason to believe that the 3G iPhone is already stateside. After analyzing data from thousands of U.S. customs declarations for Apple, Inc. they have found 188 unidentified containers of a product never before imported by the company. Hint, hint: 3G iPhone.
Citi analysts prediction: June 9th. Granted they didn’t provide the exact documents for proof, this bit of news furthers the theory of a June launch and adds more buzz to the already busy rumor-pile.“They have never before reported this product on their customs declarations,” says Ryan Petersen of ImportGenius.com. “The fact that they are importing millions of units, combined with dwindling stocks of the first generation of iPhones, clearly supports the Citi analysts predictions.”
So where are we going to get the next 3G rumor from? Someone who dug through Steve Job’s trash? Should the paparazzi start following him around? Can’t we just fast-forward to June already?
Thanks Ryan
Going along with our own Blackberry vs iPhone comparison and Crackberry’s 10 Reasons Why the iPhone is NO Blackberry , we realized we should cover some basic reasons why people should ‘switch’ over to TiPb’s favorite toy. With Palm fading into obscurity and Windows Mobile feature strapped and overextended, RIM and Apple have become perhaps the two most relevant phone makers today. Which begs the question, which one should you pick?
I’ll offer you ten reasons why you should leave your Blackberry behind and choose to phone different*
*In this article, I am using the Curve as the measuring stick for all things ‘Blackberry’
Read on for the rest of the article!
