Iphone Updates

Filed under: Displays

We’re not usually looking to Fujitsu Siemens for leadership in the LCD monitor space, but there’s a lot to like about the new SCALEOVIEW Q22W-1 22-incher. The display has the aspirations of many a young 22-inch display, but also manages to integrate a 30fps webcam and dual microphones into the display housing, which are powered by a USB cable. Inputs include D-Sub, DVI, S-Video, Composite and HDMI, with both the HDMI and DVI ports supporting HDCP. The unit should be ready for the holidays in Europe at about £299 ($600 US).

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

We talked to Helio today and confirmed the reports that the MVNO is laying off about a hundred people from its workforce of about 700. According to Helio, most of the employees being let go were needed during its initial launch period (remember, Helio went official early 2006); about 80 jobs in regional field sales offices were included in the cut (Helio says that’s due to the fact that the bulk of their sales are coming from just a couple of offices) and about 20 jobs at HQ, which are post-launch redundancies. Given EarthLink’s financial dire straits right now (and the firm’s financial ties to Helio as a co-owner), we’d be worried, but Helio was quick to reassure us that sales are booming (July was their best month ever, and August is about to top July), no Helio flagship stores are closing, and the number of Helio kiosks will increase from 30 to 50 this year. Helio’s bottom line: “we don’t want to burn cash like some MVNOs do”. Fair enough — we’re ALL looking at you, Amp’d.

[Via GigaOM]

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Wireless

Not that anyone who lives in the fair city of San Francisco was really all that confident that the muni WiFi project would ever make it off the ground — even despite Major Gavin Newsom’s best intentions — but now it looks like bad’s gone to worse. As you may have read, yesterday EarthLink laid off nearly a thousand employees, and word came today that addition to that news, it’s latest corporate restructuring would have it completely backing out of investments in its San Fran WiFi project contract, as well as the WiFi contracts in other cities. Again, not the most earth quaking news, given the word we received from the city that they were more or less pulling the plug anyway.

Watch the whole thing crumble, in slow-mo reverse chronological order:
Read (April 6th, 2006) – San Francisco selects Google/Earthlink for citywide WiFi
Read (January 6th) – It’s official: San Francisco to get free WiFi blanket courtesy of Google / EarthLink
Read (August 6th) – San Francisco pulls the plug on Google / Earthlink’s citywide WiFi… for now
This post, today.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

NYTimes reports that NBC and Apple have been unable to come to an agreement on pricing of its television shows.

As a result, NBC may not renew its contract to sell its television content on the iTunes store.

The media …

While an earlier report today claimed that Volkswagen and Apple were working on integrating Apple products into future Volkswagen models, reader Chris Bangle notes that Apple may have been working on control interfaces for at least one upcomin…

AlleyInsider claims (reliability unknown) that “a well-informed source” has told them that the Beatles will not be introduced at Apple’s media event next week.

Their source does expect a new iPod, but also a new Ringtone feature for iP…

Apple has released a firmware update for the AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n.

The AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n* and Firmware 7.2.1 is Wi-Fi certified for 802.11n* draft 2.0. This update also includes bug fixes a…

Appleinsider claims that Apple is preparing a (PRODUCT) RED version of the iPod shuffle as early as next week.

Apple previously introduced a RED version of the iPod Nano. Each sale of the Special Edition iPod Nano donates $10 to the G…

German magazine Capital is reporting (google translation) that talks between Apple and Volkswagen are in an early stage for a so-called “iCar”.

According to a Volkswagen company spokesperson, the two company heads held talks a f…

Now that Apple has invited select media to the a press event which will take place on September 5th, 2007, it seems clear that Apple’s iPods will finally see updates.

While we typically steer clear of mock-ups of upcoming Apple devices…

Several sites (Engadget, Crave) are reporting that Apple will indeed be holding a media event on September 5th, 2007 at 10 AM Pacific. (as predicted by Arstechnica)

Apple has been rumored to be holding a media event to …

Apple’s UK iTunes store (iTunes Link) is now offering television shows to customers.

Individual episodes are available for £1.89 per episode and offer television shows from ABC, Disney Channel, Nikelodeon, MTV, Paramoun…

ThinkSecret has posted a gallery of the latest Mac OS X Leopard Build.

Build 9A527, distributed last week to developers, represents a substantial improvement over the previous build, 9A499. On the whole, the build performs fast…

Apple has released iPhoto 7.0.2 (download)

What’s New in this Version

This update to iPhoto addresses issues associated with publishing to .Mac Web Gallery, rebuilding thumbnails, and editing books. It also addresses a …

Last week a number of iPhone unlocking claims were made by different individuals with one confirmed success. A second company (iPhoneUnlocking) also announced they had a software-only solution, but according to a press release, they claim to …

Apple appears to be accelerating seeds of Mac OS X Leopard to developers. After only 5 days since the last seed (9A500n), Apple has issued a new version of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to developers.

The latest seed is listed at build 9A527 …

Engadget posts confirmation that iPhoneSimFree can provide a software application that will completely unlock the iPhone, allowing you to use other mobile network’s SIM cards.

The six-man team has been working non-stop since launch da…

Arstechnica claims that Apple will be holding a major event on September 5th, 2007 according to “sources within the company”.

Our sources are slim on details for exactly what will be announced, but said that at least one of the things…

Intel announced the Core 2 Extreme X7900 yesterday at Games Convention 2007.

The 2.8GHz Merom processor offers a 4MB L2 cache with support for 800MHz Front Side Bus.

Readers will recognize this chip as the chip that w…

9to5mac claims to have knowledge of the upcoming full-size iPod which they are refering to as the “iPod Touch”.

According to the site, the OS X based iPod will share a similar look to the current iPhone, complete with “home” button and…

Appleinsider claims that Apple will be holding a media event “in mid to late September” to unveil OS X based iPods — bringing OS X to its entire product line.

The rumor site expects “as many as four new models” many of which will util…

Apple has posted an update to iMovie ’08 today.

This update addresses issues associated with publishing to .Mac Web Gallery. It also improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues.

Apple released iM…

The latest numbers are looking good for Apple, especially in the Laptop market.

According to a ChangeWave survey, Apple’s laptop share gained 5% over the past 90 days and is roughly 5% higher than a year ago, now sitting at 17%….

“To call the iPhone the best phone I’ve ever used is the biggest understatement of the decade,” enthuses Michael DeAgonia (computerworld.com). “It’s like saying Jupiter is big, or infinity a long time. From the moment you pick it up, you can feel the weight and sturdiness of the phone, inspiring the sort of confidence you get from a quality build. The display is gorgeously integrated, the streamlined face covered by glass. Finally — a design worthy of being called a design!” iPhone is so good, in fact, that it even passed DeAgonia’s most critical test. “Over the years, not a single device ever made it through my mother’s hands without being returned to me with a frustrated laugh and a shrug. With the iPhone, once the screen lit up and my mother discovered that Swipe to Unlock really did mean swipe to unlock, she was sold.”

iTunes customers in the UK can now purchase and download hit television programming from ABC Studios, the Disney Channel, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Comedy for £1.89 an episode. The programming includes such shows as the Emmy Award-winning series “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Ugly Betty,” as well as locally-produced UK series, including MTV’s “Barrio 19,” Nickelodeon’s “Genie in the House,” and Paramount Comedy’s “Comedy Blue.”

GarageBand ’08 earns 4.5 stars from Christopher Breen (macworld.com), a self-confessed “rabid GarageBand fan.” In his review, Breen calls attention to the “program’s major new features—Magic GarageBand, multi-take recording, arrangements, broader automation capabilities, and Visual EQ,” and he notes that they “nicely augment the music-making process.” “Those musicians who’ve previously enjoyed GarageBand as a musical sketchpad and rehearsal tool will find more to like in the current version.”

Want to send someone an image from your iPhoto library? The latest Tip of the Week actually offers two tips, first demonstrating a quick way to get a photo into an email message from iPhoto and then explaining how easy it is to resize that photo right in the Mail program. Take a look.

In Numbers, Apple’s new spreadsheet application, “the ability to place multiple grids anywhere on a page, and mix them with text, graphics, and images, allows you to create some truly great looking output,” writes Rob Griffiths (macworld.com). And Griffiths has uncovered a way to enhance the visual look of a spreadsheet by placing “an image as a background for a range of cells.” In this weblog article, he reveals how easily you can do the same in your next Numbers project.

“Apple is spoiling this generation of designers,” asserts designer Howard Nourmand. “It’s the genius tool—all you need to supply is the idea.” Nourmand used the Mac to turn his idea into the title sequence for the film “The Dog Problem.” He admits, though, that, once he got the idea, “I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But he did know that “if I sit down and try to figure it out, there’s always a way on the Mac.” That way involved a cornucopia of software products: Aperture, Adobe Illustrator, Final Cut Pro, QuickTime Pro, even iChat. “I’m not some techie geek,” confesses Nourmand. “We didn’t do any programming. This was all right out of the box. There are so many ways to use the Mac and the applications. It’s limitless.”

Franklin N. Tessler (macworld.com) awards Keynote ’08 four and a half stars in his recent review of the latest version of the presentation application. He reports that this “new version of Keynote retains an uncluttered interface that makes it easy to put together polished presentations with a minimum of fuss, while introducing features that boost efficiency.” Those include the Format Bar, Picture Frame, Instant Alpha, and the new Smart Build feature, which Tessler says “is another huge time-saver that lets you show a series of images without putting them on separate frames or using builds to display them one-by-one.”

“If you’re drowning in digital pictures,” gulps Andrew D. Smith (Dallas Morning News), “iPhoto will save you.” He considers iPhoto ’08 “the best basic photo program” and loves how it “automatically groups photos that were shot on the same day” into Events. “Assembling photos from a seven-day vacation once required you to drag dozens of photos into a file. Now it only forces you to spend 30 seconds dragging the weeklong sessions together.” Using iPhoto ’08, Smith says, he was able to transform “my library from a Superfund site to a clean room in just a few minutes.”

“The iPhone makes me mad,” proclaims Peter Svesson (AP Technology Writer). “Not, mind you, at the iPhone itself, but mad at cell-phone manufacturers who have saddled us for years with interfaces that lure us into labyrinths of menus.” Unlike cell phones with buttons that “can mean ‘Back’ on one screen, ‘Cancel’ on another, [and] ‘Exit’ on a third,” iPhone “has one button on its face. It always does the same thing: takes you to the top menu, where icons representing all functions of the phone—music player, Internet browser and more—are laid out in a clear manner. Wham, you’re out of the labyrinth.” That, Svensson laments, is “the way it always should have been done.”

“If you install Boot Camp on a well-equipped Mac model, it can become a blazing fast Vista computer.” That’s what Walter Mossberg (Wall Street Journal) concluded after installing Vista and Boot Camp on a new iMac. Mossberg tested the iMac’s performance “using Vista’s built-in Windows Experience Index, a rating system that goes from 1 to 5.9, with scores above 3.0 generally required for full, quick performance. My iMac scored a 5.0, the best score of any consumer Vista machine I have tested.” That score, he remarks, is “very impressive for a computer that wasn’t designed with Vista in mind.”

iWork ’08 provides “a solid deal for anyone needing an affordable office suite for the Mac,” according to Elsa Wenzel (cnet.com). She praises the new writing and layout tools in Pages ’08, including the contextual Format Bar, Change Tracking, automatic list formatting, and the abundance of page templates. Wenzel points out that “Keynote ’08 adds some smart features that PowerPoint lacks. It’s also a breeze to figure out from the get-go.” And she notes that “Numbers reveals ease-of-use novelties that competitive tools don’t provide,” concluding that “the majority of users who rely upon spreadsheets as one-size-fits-all tools for household and light office work should be pleased to have a new option for Macs.”

In their weekly technology column for ABC News, Jonathan Blum and Dan Evans indicate that “the latest version of Apple’s iMac desktop definitely deserves to be one of our picks of the week. It is impressive from both a technical and design standpoint.” iMac, they say offers “a tasteful combo of black and gray aluminum that will make even the dullest cubicle or home office look cool.” What’s more, they believe that any consumer “looking to get going in the home media network thing—that is, storing and routing music and movies to TV screens around the home using a digital network—should consider the new iMac.”

“Apple’s most elegantly designed all-in-one yet, this iMac,” reports Wendy Sheehan (computershopper.com), “has a solid configuration, excellent features, and good performance, making it a viable choice for anyone looking for a space-saving, eye-pleasing, highly capable desktop.” The aluminum-clad iMac is not only “ considerably thinner and slicker” than it’s predecessor; it’s “also more energy-efficient, meeting Energy Star 4.0 requirements, and Apple claims the iMac’s new materials are more recyclable, making it a greener PC.”

Lance Ulanoff (pcmag.com) includes Apple, in general, and iPhone, in particular, among his Seven Wonders of the technology world. He calls Apple a “technology company that bears little to no resemblance to its counterparts,” one that “has an unmatched ability to create product buzz and then back it up with buzz-worthy products.” Like, for example, the iPhone. “The iPhone takes over for the 80GB widescreen iPod with Video in the world of wonder. This hybrid device (yes, it’s a phone and an MP3 player) recalls the black monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.” Ulanoff indicates that “the iPhone reaches ‘wonder’ status, though, because of its one-of-a-kind interface. The effortless multitouch screen has no equal.”

American Photo hopes to discover the next generation of great photographers, and they’re inviting “up-and-coming artists, commercial photographers, and photojournalists” to submit their portfolios for consideration using a special Aperture plug-in created for the Emerging Photographers project. Photographers who’d like to participate can download the free trial version of Aperture and the Portfolio Review plug-in from the American Photo website. But hurry. American Photo needs your submission by August 30.

“For anyone who wants to edit digital video,” says Ryan Faas (Computerworld) in his review of the newest version of the iLife suite, “iMovie ‘08 is a must-have upgrade. There are no consumer video-editing tools on the market that come close to its interface for either ease of editing or organizational features. Add to that the professional-level titles, transitions and results that it allows, and iMovie alone can justify the cost of upgrading to the new version of iLife.”

“Six weeks into using the iPhone,” reports Chris Maxcer (MacNewsWorld), “I can’t imagine going back to anything else.” “If you choose contacts, you can scroll through your address book, find the person you want, and add him or her to the call. So three-way calling is wicked-easy.” Though filled with “complex features,” using iPhone “is extraordinarily intuitive,” he reports, particularly when it comes to reviewing voicemail. He considers visual voicemail “the best.” “Listening to a voicemail is easy—tap the caller’s name or number and you’re one more tap away from listening to it, calling the person back or deleting it.”

In its assessment of “Gear for Grade-Schoolers,” Yahoo! Tech puts iMac at the head of the class. “We’re making the move to an iMac in our house this year for lots of reasons,” the column reads. “The biggest, most positive ones are the many creative tools Apple packs into an iMac for budding movie makers, photographers, and all-around artists.” Also on the list of essential student gear: Why, iPod nano, of course.

iMac, “the very model of a modern Macintosh,” may have evolved over the years into “this new aluminum fighter-jet of a personal computer, but the same idea is retained: You can put everything you need in a computer into an all-in-one design that actually looks good on a desk,” reports Jeff Carlson (Seattle Times).

It’s easy to breathe new life into your PowerPoint presentations. Simply open them in Keynote ’08 and take advantage of its superior transitions, text animations, and advanced effects. How easy is it to open a PowerPoint presentation in Keynote? You’ll see in the latest Quick Tip of the Week.

FlickIM, whose iPhone instant messaging client launched last month, has announced a number of improvements in response to user demand.

FlickIM now has nearly 20,000 active users, and the company has launched a competition to find the best user-generated skins for the application.

Top picks will receive anything from iPhone Bluetooth headsets to Apple gift cards, and all well-received submissions will be offered for anyone to use.

New features include SMS and email notifications, allowing users to be alerted when they have a new message even if they’re not actively using the application.

Don’t be surprised to see further advances to FlickIM in the near future, as the community’s “democratic development” continues.

Related posts
FlickIM launchees iPhone chat and media sharing application
Mundu IM coming to the iPhone
BeeJive unveils JiveTalk for the iPhone: multiple IM over data plan

Despite various legal threats from AT&T’s lawyers to those who purport to have unlocked the iPhone for use on any network, it may be that the law is on the side of the hackers.

Thanks to an exemption in the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), individual users are already allowed to unlock their own phones. However, this exemption probably doesn’t extend to companies offering such a service, particularly if they’re profiting from it.

Jonathan Kramer, founder of Kramer Telecom Law Firm in Los Angeles, said “There just isn’t any case law in this area for us to figure out how it plays out.”

Meanwhile, some offering solutions plan to continue as usual.

“Over the next few days…you will get what you are looking for,” reads a message at UniquePhones‘ website.

(Via Business Week)

Related posts
British company’s iPhone cracking claims thwarted by illegality
GeoHot claims world’s first unlocked iPhone
iPhone hacking for the rest of us: third party app installer released

Monster, who until now I’ve associated more with cables, has announced a lineup of iPhone cases.

Monster tell us that, “with fashion and technology evolving at a rapid pace, it is only natural to create an accessory that is both functional and a fashion statement”, and their website has the posing models to prove that their new cases are hip, trendy, and a must have — at least, if you’re one of the “growing urban early-adopter demographic”. Are you?

In fact, they’ve teamed up with L-R-G to ensure that this iPhone fashion accessory doesn’t look like it ought to be sticking out the back of a high definition TV.

OK, fine, but how does it actually protect your prized iPhone?

The case is made from “highest quality materials for superior durability and feel”, though we’re not told exactly what the outside material is. The inside lining, however, is made from ultra-soft Kolon Chamude, which cleans fingerprints and dust off the screen when the iPhone is removed from the case.

The cases feature a detachable keychain, and come in nine different styles designed to coordinate with this season’s L-R-G clothing designs, with such intriguing names as “The Patriot”, “Slick Kid”, “Black Beauty”, “Concrete Jungle”, and “Purple People Eater”.

Retailing for US$49.95, and available from 11th September.

Product page

Related posts
USBFever releases iPhone KickStand Crystal Case
WaterField unveils iPhone cases with Ultrasuede lining
iSkin introduce revo iPhone protective case

PopCap Games, developers of the successful web-based version of Bejeweled, is looking to develop additional games to run natively on the iPhone, according to a Reuters report.

PopCap’s mobile business development director, Andrew Stein, said that over 100,000 people have already tried Bejeweled for the iPhone – a fairly good proportion of the total number of iPhones sold.

There are a lot of passionate Mac users here in the company. They looked at the iPhone and thought this would be really cool to do ‘Bejeweled’ on,” Stein said. “We don’t typically make announcements about what’s in the pipeline, but based on the success of ‘Bejeweled’, we’re looking pretty closely at the iPhone,” he said

Now, a good collection of native games on the iPhone really would be something, particularly given its unique interface.

(Via Apple Insider)

Related posts
Rumours of Nintendo and EA developing iPhone games
iGiki to release iPhone games
Could we see games on the iPhone?

Hacking the iPhone is the latest global craze, it seems, with the news that a group of Israeli computer engineers — Dubbi, Eli and Ofir — have been successful in hacking the iPhone to allow it work on local networks. They also installed a Hebrew interface, for good measure.

One wonders if Apple will be so harsh on those who unlock iPhones in countries that are very unlikely to see an official launch. Though they won’t make any ongoing revenue from a contract or phone calls, the US and certain European countries could provide an underground export market for the iPhone.

(Via Israel Today)

UniquePhones, a Belfast-based company who was close to unlocking the iPhone for use on any network, has claimed that it has a solution, having cracked the iPhone’s code which ties it to AT&T.

However, a “middle-of-the-night phone call” (don’t these guys comprehend time zones?) from AT&T’s lawyers has caused the firm to take legal advice before proceeding.

AT&T’s lawyer claimed that selling unlocking software could constitute copyright infringement and illegal software dissemination.

Heavy.

AT&T stand to lose the most from unlocked iPhones, with some analysts believing Apple really wants to sell unlocked phones in the long run.

Related posts
GeoHot claims world’s first unlocked iPhone
Aussie hacker claims iPhone now unlocked for use on any network
UK-based UniquePhones company claims it’s close to unlocking iPhone

Despite this weeks authoritative-sounding article in the Financial Times claiming that the European mobile partners were signing a deal for the iPhone, Orange’s executive director Louis-Pierre Wenes has said that no deal has been struck with Apple yet, with several operators still in talks.

He also added that a September launch would seem impossible, saying that it would be more likely to happen later in the fourth quarter, as Apple has already stated.

He made these statements in an interview with Paris Match magazine.

(Via Information Week)

Related posts
European iPhone deal nearing completion: O2, Orange, T-Mobile sign revenue-sharing deal with Apple, sources claim
Vodafone close to European iPhone deal, sources suggest
European iPhone rumour: France to get iPhone via Orange