We’ve gotten a few reports from readers that GoogleSync, the ActiveSync connection Google’s using to push Gmail (and contacts and calendars) to iPhone users has just stopped working.
There’s a discussion going on in Google’s Support threads, including time changes, sporadic spurts, changing parameters, and other troubleshooting attempts.
If you’re having intermittent issues, or if GoogleSync is just not working for you right now, check it out and let us know what, if anything, helps fix the problem. (Other than waiting it out — GoogleSync is still in beta, of course…)
11-point multitouch tracking might sound nifty in a theoretical spec throwaway, but what does it mean to an end-user? Likely still not much, but thanks to FingerMgmt we can at least see it in action now — on a MacBook glass trackpad at least.
Apple may have debuted their modern multitouch in the iPhone, but they’ve quickly spread the technology out to their MacBook glass trackpads and now Magic Mouse for desktops. Ultimately that’s good for all of Apple’s products, as innovation in each one can benefit the others on their next revision as well. Now, 11 points might be overkill for any practical need on a display this small, but when we start dreaming of unicorns and larger form-factor iTablets… Oh the games they could make (never mind the obvious jokes about just what constitutes that 11th finger…)
C64 [$4.99 - iTunes link], the Commodore 64 emulator for iPhone and iPod touch, is back in the App Store and again available for download.
New features include:
-30% performance boost,
- 3 more games (International Basketball, International Soccer, and International Tennis)
- “Resolved issues and removed functionality relating to potential security risks”
NAVIGON dropped us a note to say that, as promised, their latest update to MobileNavigator [$89.99 for North America - iTunes link] for iPhone is now available via the iTunes App Store, and it includes Traffic Live as an in-app purchase (currently on sale at an introductory $19.99, $24.99 thereafter). Here’s how it works:
Traffic Live utilizes crowdsourced real-time speed data from over 1.3 million drivers including other NAVIGON app users (who opt. in to participate), commercial fleets such as trucks and taxis, as well as regular drivers with a GPS system. So if for example several vehicles on a road report slow speed, the system recognizes congestion and provides an alternate and faster route.
If you add the Traffic Live service, let us know how it works for you.
Hot on the heels of Verizon pretty much burying the Storm2 in favor of their latest lust, the Droid, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion used their annual developer conference to announce a few improvements for the platform. No, not word one about a next generation BlackBerry OS (hey, Palm spent their time in the desert to get to webOS, and Microsoft is still trudging towards Windows Mobile 7, so RIM needs to pick up that canteen and get to stepping!).
Still, Kevin and the CrackBerry crew have been tearing up the coverage, so check out their DevCon 2009 liveblog, and here are a couple more handy links to help you keep track of all the pushy news:
Apple has just released their second minor update to their latest desktop operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2. While there are a lot of fixes for Mac users, iPhone users may want to pay particular attention to the “general reliability improvements” for MobileMe and iDisk. (And yes, the infamous “guest account” data deletion bug looks to have been squashed.
If you’re a Mac user and go for the immediate update, let us know how it works for you.
With the UK moving from the iPhone exclusively on O2, to one launching on Orange UKtomorrow, with Vadafone UK/Ireland and perhaps 3 also in line, what does this mean for existing iPhone users and their carrier-locked iPhones? Thankfully, it looks like O2 is doing to do right by you:
Once the iPhone becomes available on other UK networks, we will allow O2 customers to unlock their iPhones, although of course they will still need to honour any outstanding contract period they have. At the end of their contract period, they are entirely free to move to another operator — though naturally we hope they won’t want to!
Excellent news for the UK, and we can only hope other countries and carriers, like Rogers, Bell, and Telus in Canada, will swiftly follow suit (we won’t hold our breath though…)
We’re not sure how this process would be handled, for example, would an iPhone user need to physically go to an O2 service rep to have their iPhone unlocked via in-store iTunes tools? If anyone has an answer, let us know.
Which new device has you most interested? Which is the most tempting? If there was no iPhone, which one would you get? Vote above, and let us know why in the comments!
We have to admit, Verizon’s latest, Xmas-themed iPhone and AT&T attack ads bring the funny. Continuing the savvy “map for that” (rather than silly DroidDoes), the first shows the land of misfit toys where an iPhone-looking device is condemned for its poor AT&T 3G coverage.
After the break, we have elves giving Verizon devices, with robust 3G coverage, to nice children and an iPhone with poor AT&T coverage to the naughty. And, lastly, a father has a blue Xmas when his iPhone can’t reach his family (though a Verizon present awaits him when he finally gets home).
Attacking the iPhone on it’s major front-facing weakness, much-hyped consumer dissatisfaction with AT&T’s network is the kind of smart that is — and, given Verizon’s recent comments, may even be an attempt to show Apple the iPhone would be better off on a better network?
Of course, AT&T likely isn’t laughing at Verizon’s claims of 5x 3G coverage, given they’ve already filed a lawsuit…
