Articles by Dieter Bohn
While the big news is obviously going to be at MacWorld next week, this week we’re at the Consumer Electronics Show. There probably won’t be a ton of iPhone news, so you might only see sporadic updates in the next few days. After that, though BAM.
In the spirit of quietness, go check out Whisper app for your iPhone (if you’re the jailbreaking sort). You whisper a secret into the iPhone and it get uploaded to a server anonymously. You can then listen to the secrets of others. Think of it as PostSecret for the iPhone. 
Whisper is part of the iApp-A-Day challenge (successful, btw). Here’s how to install it.
Sramana Mitra has an interesting post up comparing Apple to Palm. Actually, she’s been on a tear lately when it comes to Palm and how they’ve dropped the corporate management ball. She scored a comprehensive interview with former Palm Executive Eric Benhamou, which reads very nicely but is also a clear example of how the problems Palm has now are the direct result of their earlier problems. Basically they followed the exact opposite trajectory that Apple did in nearly the same time period (basically).
Anyway, back to the intersection of the two companies. Mitra writes:
Rubinstein and Jobs could not agree on the iPhone’s strategy wrt the Keyboard. This tells me that Rubinstein has a separate but perhaps also compelling vision on how the keyboard needs to be incorporated into smartphones. I can’t wait to see what that vision entails!
John Rubinstein (Palm) vs. Steve Jobs (iPhone) - Sramana Mitra on Strategy
It’s surely not the case (one assumes) that Rubenstein left Apple over the keyboard issue (though that would be hilarious); but it is interesting that the guy who ran the iPod division, the podfather himself, was pro-physical-keyboard for the iPhone. Now, of course, he’s hard at work over at Palm, they who basically specialize in keyboard + touchscreen smartphones.
One wonders what other ideas Rubenstein had that didn’t make the cut on the iPhone. If “Podfather” Rubenstein’s input was 86′d on the iPhone, then one assumes that it was all Ive and Jobs, just like everybody’s always said.
The Macworld Expo is coming in a little over a week and I’m wondering what it will bring for iPhone users. Macworld will obviously be focusing primarily on, er, Macs, but I’m expecting that there will be iPhone news too. Expecting it enough that, yes, Phone different will be there reporting on the events!
In any case, there’s a thread up in our forums started by rener asking about what’s coming and it seems like a fun thing to think about on a Friday. I won’t touch the Mac rumors (except to say I want the subnotebook), but here’s my shot at what I expect iPhone-wise:
- Firmware Update 1.1.3 gets released (though doesn’t necessarily get facetime in the Stevenote)
- 1.1.3 does not, as has been rumored today, get cut & paste.
- 1.1.3 does get A2DP (“What the Heck” pick)
- Further sync features (notes and tasks!) are announced and possibly included in 1.1.3
- A new iPhone-compatible speaker-dock system
- If we get our A2DP Stereo Bluetooth What-the-heck prediction right, Apple will also release some bluetooth headphones.
- 16 gig iPhone (but not a 3G version)
You?
The Pacific Rim Leather Jacket is a simple flip-lid style case for the iPhone. It has a clean, elegant look, but is it clean and elegant to use? Read on for our review.
Big ups to hrmpf.com for remembering a certain Apple patent: “Portable Electronic Device with Interface Reconfiguration Mode.” Basically it shows a portable device clearly letting you know you’re in “reconfiguration” mode by way of jiggly icons. While I personally don’t much like the jigglies, I will admit that, as rener and archie say, it does make it unmistakable that you’re in the “move stuff around” mode.
So either Gear Live somehow managed to snag a leaked version of 1.1.3 or they’ve perpetrated perhaps the greatest “gotcha” in recent memory. Probably the former, as it’s looking more and more like 1.1.3 is the real deal. So what’s coming (and what’s likely to get a mention at MacWorld) is pretty neat:
- Ability to add bookmarks to the SpringBoard (homescreen)
- Ability to rearrange programs via the nausea-inducing “jiggle mode”
- Ability to (finally!) send SMSs to multiple people
- Google Maps gains the neat
tower-triangulationTower Tagging* location trick, plus a hybrid satellite/map directions
Of course, there are some things that we figured would be easy adds that a missing - namely Stereo Bluetooth support. Still and all, it looks like a decent enough upgrade and it’s clearly a step towards getting the iPhone ready for that upcoming SDK. As for when the rest of us will get to take this 1.1.3 step, that’s still shrouded in mystery.
*Edit: not triangulation, but ‘tagging.’ See comment by Archie (and septimus, in a minute). Thanks!
Here comes the synergy. Buying songs off the iTunes WiFi store while you’re at Starbucks is great and all - but it turns out that most people don’t go to Starbucks so they can freely surf iTunes’ selections. Instead, Apple has figured out that people go to Starbucks to buy coffee and coffee-flavored beverages (let’s face it, calling that mocha-double-frappa-whozit “coffee” is an insult to coffee and whozits). To that end, Apple has cagily filed a patent to allow you to order your coffee without having to actually talk to a human. Forbes describes it best:
Customers might tap a button to order their favorite drink, say a double-shot mocha, as they stroll up to the nearest coffee shop. When the drink is ready go to, the device–such as an iPhone–would chime or blink to let the thirsty one know it’s time to scoop up the order at the counter.
…In other news, Forbes is now reporting on Apple patents like a common rumor site. It’s almost like they have a guy on staff who’s obsessed with Apple.
Figure 1: Two Ways to use the Sidewinder
The Marware Sidewinder iPhone Holster ($24.95) is a great holster just by the standards of regular holsters, but it offers a couple of neat tricks you won’t see elsewhere - hence the “sidewinder.” Read on for our full review - including a coupon good for 30% off on the Marware holster, good this week only.
ApolloIM was the first native app to provide AOL Instant Messaging. Although it’s a little rough around the edges, it’s a solid first attempt at an IM client. It’s currently in version 0.1.2 and developing quickly. Read on to see what works, what doesn’t, and what we might expect from future versions.
figure 1: for Macs
Ever since the iPhone was announced, people have been clamoring to write native applications for it. Sadly, Apple has not yet released the tools necessary to develop those apps. However, if you’ve been following the iPhone news you realize that the iPhone has been “hacked.” What does this mean to you, the nonhacker? Well it means that thanks to the mighty efforts of many dedicated people, you can install applications directly onto your iPhone. The best part, it’s easy. Read on for our full How To on how to hack your iPhone so you can install applications.
Read the rest of this entry »
