Articles by Casey Chan
At the TechCrunch Mobile Web Wars event (basically a Silicon Valley roundtable discussion), the topic of conversation often turned towards, you guessed it, your favorite gadget, the iPhone. Many Execs were claiming that the traffic generated by the iPhone is extraordinary and the amount of apps downloaded in a matter of weeks are jaw-dropping.
Here are the notable facts and figures:
- Pandora has been available for 18 months in other mobile platforms which resulted in 12,000 monthly subscriptions to the service. In 6 days with the iPhone…350,000 installs on the iPhone.
- And before you cry foul because of the paid vs free debate, Pandora says that the App Store lets the company make money through ads whereas on other devices they were forced into a subscription method.
- 1 million Facebook users downloaded the Facebook App
- Average iPhone user is 47 times as active on Loopt as those on other phones
Right now the iPhone does. And everyone else doesn’t. Zing.
Are you a frequent international traveler? Are you always confused by international electrical outlets? Have you realized that there are a gazillion different electrical outlets requiring a gazillion different plugs? Well, the Mobi Products World Wall Adapter for S&C Cables for iPhone 3G, iPhone ($34.95) tries to simplify the tangled messy world of cables by giving you almost every solution in a simple adaptor. How does it perform?
Read on for the rest of the review!
Need a place to keep your hands free when you hit the gym? Looking for the ideal workout case for your iPhone? The Marware Sportsuit Convertible case for iPhone 3G ($34.95) and original iPhone ($34.95) is a workout case that keeps your iPhone always within reach and your hands free to lift weights, use the yoga ball, run faster etc. It also doubles as a slim-profile sleeve case. And even triples for a clip-on case that is attachable via belt clip. How does it all perform? Does it hold up over time?
Read on for the rest of the review!
A reporter over at one of those reputable, printing companies recently received a phone call from Steve Jobs and this was his opening line:
“This is Steve Jobs,” he began. “You think I’m an arrogant [expletive] who thinks he’s above the law, and I think you’re a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong.”You gotta hand it to him, even if he is feeling a little down, Steve will still serve you a new one if he wants to. But there has been a lot of speculation lately on what’s affecting Steve Jobs’ health and it’s making investors worried.
The whole conversation with Steve Jobs was off the record so we still don’t know the nitty gritty details but according to the New York Times, it’s more than just a common bug but isn’t life threatening and it’s not cancer.
Some think his health should be a private matter, which makes sense because we should all have some level of privacy. Some think his health should be public knowledge if it is serious enough, which also makes sense because of Steve Jobs unique role in Apple and Apple being a public company.
We at TiPb just want him to get better and hopefully the rest will handle itself.
What do you think?
So a new employment opportunity popped up at Apple’s job listings the other day and Apple is looking for an experienced iPhone Security Engineer to create “proof of concept” attacks on current security mechanisms and provide risk analysis of potential security threats. Basically, Apple needs an iPhone Hacker to prevent future jailbreaks, unlocks, and security breaches.
So if any of you are good at what you do and want to work for the “good guys”, go give it a try. Apple is trying to ramp up security to protect enterprises who are adopting iPhone 2.0 and more selfishly, protect their own App Store from competition ahem Cydia & Installer. Either way, Apple is getting serious about security and the iPhone.
What do you think?
Have you checked out our forums lately? The community is growing and the commentary is getting better and better each day. Unconvinced? I’ll bring out a thread, a post, a topic, or a comment directly from the forums and post it on TiPb’s front page every week to prove it to you. We here at TiPb love the interplay, quid pro quo, repartee with our readers, so step up your creativity and tighten up your diction, you could be next!
We’re going to start with Trevor’s post detailing reasons why the iPhone replaced his Crackberry. Trevor didn’t just blast his Crackberry into outerspace or dump it in the Hudson River, he provided reasons why his iPhone isn’t perfect as well. More than a few of his reasons supporting the iPhone have to deal with its role in the Mac ecosystem and I’d have to agree, the ‘it just works’ feeling is how technology should be.
However, Trevor, being a former Crackberry user, listed durability as a concern. No worries there Trevor! That glass screen is as resilient as it is pretty!
Go check out Trevor’s reasons why the iPhone replaced his Crackberry and tell him what you think!
Installer.app, the app store before that other app store, is coming back for firmware 2.0 and being re-fashioned as Installer 4. Currently, jailbroken 2.0 iPhones are using Cydia as their main app pipeline but when Installer 4 is released, well, they’ll likely play nice with one another and especially nice with that other app store.
The RiP Dev Blog has a lot of complicated, programmer’s type language describing the updates for Installer 4.0 so I’ll try to translate to more understandable, layman’s terms: It’s going to be faster, safer, and more integrated. Bang.
The release of Installer 4.0 seems to be imminent but well, really, there’s no rush, many of the apps that were available for 1.1.x aren’t quite ready for the big time yet. So take your time with Installer 4.0. We here at TiPb would almost always prefer a little delayed polished product over a rushed, rough, not as advertised..yeah, we’re looking at you MobileMe.
Interested in knowing what apps are being bought at the App Store? Well, lucky you, Medialets has estimates for your viewing pleasure. To determine demand, Medialets uses the number of ratings each app has and also takes into account the average rating of an app as well. So though it may not be the most accurate measurement, it’s still a fairly good barometer in determining app popularity.
So what rules the App Store? FREE. According to Medialets, 9 out of the top 10 most rated apps are FREE with the one exception being Super Monkey Ball. The usual suspects populate the top 10 list with the Remote, AIM, Facebook, etc. having the most ratings and more importantly, all entirely free.
Also, it looks like the best-selling apps are games which further proves that there is a market for iPhone gaming. Simple math concludes that Sega has already hit $5 million in sales for the first weekend. Though iPhone users tend to want free apps, it looks like they have no problem laying down the cash for good games.
Feel free to click over to Medialets to see the list for yourself. Do you think it’s accurate? Are apps on the top 10 all on your iPhone? Let us know!
I thought AT&T and the iPhone were living happily ever after? I mean what with Apple making some concessions with the activation process and data plans plus selling a gazillion iPhone 3Gs (more like a million), AT&T should be happy right? Nope!
An AT&T Kiosk at the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey has decidedly gone anti-iPhone 3G. When a customer approached asking about iPhone insurance she was answered with evil laughter and was told by the employees to get a…hide the women and children…Blackberry! (gasp). I guess not AT&T stores don’t show a united front. To make matters worse, they gave her anti-iPhone 3G pamphlets using articles from Pocket PC Magazine and Crackberry.com.
You may or may not know, but Crackberry.com is like family to us at TiPb. It’s a little more than heartbreaking to see their articles being used against our. most. beautiful. and. fastest. gadget. ever. But hey, family squabbles happen, we get that, but it won’t stop us from fighting back!
Read on to see how we’ll defend our honor!
As gaming developers grow more familiar with the iPhone platform and learning its capabilities, many are doling out their opinions across the interweb. Compared to the DS and the PSP, an EA developer put the iPhone in terms of power closer to the PSP than the DS. That’s nothing new for us at TiPb but now Sega is claiming that the iPhone is more powerful than their last console, the Dreamcast! To remind you: the Dreamcast was home to Soul Caliber, Shenmue, & Virtua Tennis and the console was a competitor of the PS2 and Xbox.
And. the. iPhone. is. more. powerful. than. that.
But powerful as it is, as proven by the current console war, the iPhone is going to need FUN games to succeed as a gaming platform. Let’s give developers some time to see what they can come up with. With such power under the hood, they’ll have no excuse!
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