According to Times Online, It now seems as if Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are putting the finishing touches on their new album format, CMX, and are ready to do battle against Apple’s rumored “Cocktail” enhanced album format.
It was just last month we reported about Cocktail, which would feature new interactive booklets, sleeve notes and other features alongside music downloads in an attempt to lure consumers into making more full album purchases. Now, while it looks like “Cocktail” does exist, it seems that none of the record labels had any hand in creating it. According to this story, record labels first approached Apple 18 months ago to see if they wanted in on this new CMX format and Apple politely refused. Apple then created “Cocktail” in order to compete with Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI.
One senior record label insider said: “Apple at first told us that they were not interested, but now they have decided to do their own, in case ours catches on.
While most of us here at TiPb have no major quarrels purchasing our music digitally, there are a lot of people out there who feel when purchasing digital albums over the internet you are not getting the full album experience. Would this new format make purchasing digital albums any less painful for you? And would you rather go with Apple’s “Cocktail” or the music industry’s CMX?
Apple has finally gotten around to posting a support article based upon the dangers of hacking your iPhone via the process of jailbreaking. The list of possible side effects are indeed accurate, lets take a look at what is listed:
- Device and application instability
- Unreliable voice and data
- Disruption of services
- Compromised security
- Shortened battery life
- Inability to apply future software updates
The article is then ended with the warning that if you do jailbreak you run the risk of Apple denying you any type of service to your device if needed.
It is also important to note that unauthorized modification of the iPhone OS is a violation of the iPhone end-user license agreement and because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software.
So everything mentioned here is 100% legitimate based upon what TiPb has seen with many users in our forums. On the flip side, many users have zero issues, including myself.
In the end, if you are considering jailbreaking your device or already have – you should be well aware of the possible negative side effects this process may cause.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm tech conference, AT&T CEO, Randall Stephenson, discussed the iPhone and it’s exclusivity with AT&T.
“There will be a day when you are not exclusive with the iPhone.”
Nothing was discussed regarding any negotiations that may be taking place at this time between the two companies but be assured that AT&T will do everything and anything in it’s power to keep Apple’s device under lock and key for as long as it possibly can.
All good things must come to an end, however. With that being said, AT&T’s exclusitivity deal with Apple’s iPhone is no different. It will eventually end. Sure there are those of you out there that can’t wait until Apple breaks free of it’s chains from AT&T, just don’t count on that happening anytime in the near future.
[Via Engadget Mobile]
Apple has stealthily updated their premium in-ear headset with remote and mic. What exactly did they update? Well nothing major but it’s an update regardless – they replaced the soft rubber 3.5 mm headphone plug casing with a hard plastic one. So now instead of the soft rubber falling off we will now start to see the hard plastic replacement crack. 
All joking aside, Apple really got these headphones almost perfect. And as a bonus they are now fully compatible with iPhone 3GS. Sorry first generation and 3G owners, you are still missing out on the control features.
Be sure to check out Rene’s full review from this past January.
[Via AppleInsider]
We’re not surprised. Obviously. Apple plays the product cycle and media hype engines to perfection. Still, it’s interesting to see Electronista’s take, based on ChangeWave data:
A mid-June study from the research group has 14.4 percent of those tracked looking to buy some kind of smartphone within the next 90 days, a record high and a large jump from 11.2 percent in March. Of these, a full 44 percent now plan to buy an iPhone compared to 30 percent just three months earlier.
As the above graph shows, Palm went from 4% to 8%, BlackBerry from 37% to 23%. Android, Nokia, and Windows Mobile weren’t shown
Other device makers likely know this, explaining why we’re seeing so many iPhone-style devices hitting the market. TiPb still thinks it’s more than a set of features, however. Sure, iPod halo and Apple brand help, but in the end the iPhone is all about usability and user experience for the consumer market, and that’s not as easy a task to duplicate.
I woke up this morning to an email from Apple — my iPhone 3G S has shipped! A quick look at the tracking information via the UPS website shows that it has been shipped from Shenzhen China to arrive at my home by the 19th at the latest.
Something important to remember, if you did order from Apple and will not be home at the time of the delivery – you must fill out a form via Apple’s web site for them to leave it at your door if that’s what you prefer. If not, you will be waiting until Monday and that would make for a long weekend.
So far we have had no confirmation regarding phones shipping from AT&T. Any AT&T customers receive a shipping notification yet?
[TiPb vs. TiPb time! In the blue corner we have Jeremy who tells us why he IS SO upgrading to the iPhone 3G S. In the red corner, Chad who tells us why he IS NOT upgrading to the iPhone 3G S. Two writers, one issue. Check them both out and tell us who's side you're on!]
There have been a lot of people out there who are very disappointed with the third generation iPhone — iPhone 3G S. They’re saying that it is pretty much the same phone as the current iPhone 3G, or that the upgrades are not enough to warrant purchasing the new iPhone 3G S. I’m here to say, they’re right – the upgrades are not significant enough!
More after the break!
Read the rest of this entry »
[TiPb vs. TiPb time! In the blue corner we have Jeremy who tells us why he IS SO upgrading to the iPhone 3G S. In the red corner, Chad who tells us why he IS NOT upgrading to the iPhone 3G S. Two writers, one issue. Check them both out and tell us who's side you're on!]
There have been a lot of people out there who are very disappointed with the third generation iPhone — iPhone 3G S. They’re saying that it is pretty much the same phone as the current iPhone 3G, or that the upgrades are not enough to warrant purchasing the new iPhone 3G S. I’m here to say, think again – the upgrades are very significant indeed.
More after the break!
Read the rest of this entry »
All signs are pointing to some new iPhone hardware come this Monday at WWDC. Even if the upgrades are all internal and minor such as memory, CPU, and storage bumps – the iPhone is poised to stay on the top of the hill regardless of what Palm, RIM, or HTC may bring to the table.
In a article posted on Wired.com, Roger Entner, an analyst at Nielsen Mobile had the following to say:
“I think the Pre holds up very well compared to the current second-generation iPhone 3G. But the third-gen iPhone will most likely up the ante again…. If you only follow Apple, you will never catch up.”
Whether you like it or not, Apple has a firm hold in the consumer market. Back in July 2007, Apple introduced us to iPhone, that forever changed the smartphone market. In July 2008, Apple launched the App Store and once again altered the mobile landscape. Since then, many companies have tried to follow in Apple’s footsteps, only to fail.
We are curious to see what you, our readers, think about Apple’s competition. Can Apple be overthrown by the likes of RIM, Palm, or HTC? Or does Apple hold a death grip on the rest of the industry? It seems they can do no wrong no matter how small or large they update the iPhones hardware. With WWDC — and a next generation iPhone — only days away, is there anything Apple could do to seriously disappoint?
We are all aware that WWDC is only one week away. If history is any indication of what is to come, that means we should be introduced to the next-generation of Apple’s iPhone and if we follow previous patterns, we should start seeing the iPhone 3G supply starting to run thin on all levels.
AppleInsider is now reporting that Best Buy headquarters has sent out a memo to all of it’s stores saying to expect little to nothing in terms of iPhone 3G supply for the next few weeks. Last year we saw similar shortages but they occurred a few months prior to WWDC, April to be exact.
So, after all the previous rumors covering Austria to Australia, Canada and back what do you readers think? Ready to pick yourself up a new iPhone? Sound off in the comments!
