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Apple lift software nondisclosure agreement: iPhone developers talk

When it comes to software for the iPhone, Apple has had a gagging order stopping developers from discussing anything about the creation process. Well Apple has had a change of heart and has lifted the software nondisclosure agreement. Read more

Apple iPhone official Russia launch on October 3

Apple has had a huge problem when it comes to pirate sales of their iPhone in Russia. Well that will all be a thing of the past as Apple is to officially launch the iPhone 3G in Russia on October 3.

The handset is all set to be sold at all of Russia’s major electronics stores. Apple hope that Read more

Apple iPhone TV advert banned

The UK’s advertising watchdog have banned a TV advert for Apple’s iPhone saying that they have over-hyped the internet capabilities of the smart phone and mislead consumers.

The Advert that showed the iPhone looking through the internet, with images zooming in and out, in one shot it shows a weather forecast for Cape Town then a map how to get to Heathrow airport, the stylish transition looking truly amazing and a iPhone voiceover on the advert saying “You never know which part of the internet you’ll need … which is why all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone,”
There were only two complaints received by the Advertising standards Authority both claiming that the advert was misleading as the iPhone does not support Java or Flash, which are both vital for many web pages to be viewed correctly.

The iPhone can offer access to all internet websites; the advert was to highlight how other handsets that offer lower-level access to WAP cannot match the iPhone at present. Apple reported.

Apple said that the web browser the iPhone uses, Safari, was built to open internet standards. Flash and Java technology were not open source, said Apple, adding that it could not ensure compatibility with “every third-party technology in the marketplace”.

The U.S. computer giant said that none of the content in the ad was Java or Flash-based and that the line “all parts of the internet” meant website availability, “not every aspect of functionality”.

Clearcast, the advertising pre-vetting service said they had given the go-ahead for the advert after demonstration and the advertiser’s assurances.

Although the ASA said that claims made by Apple implied that “users would be able to access all websites and see them in their entirety”.

It was concluded by the ASA that “the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone” and that the advert had not explained the limitations of the iPhone.

The TV advert must not be broadcast again in the same form the ASA ordered.

Source: guardian

Apple iPhone 3G taking fight to Blackberry

When it comes to the enterprise market it was Blackberry that had the market share. It seems that there now might be a shift in that market since the Apple iPhone launched. Apple took the fight to RIM when they first launched the iPhone as they were now able to communicate with clients easier, this has now become even easier with the launch of the 3G version of the iPhone.

When the iPhone 3G was launched a number of business men who were Blackberry users were queuing up for the iPhone 3G, when asked why they wanted the new iPhone they just held up the Blackberry and said that it is damn ugly.

It seems that business people mostly agree that most Blackberry’s are ugly and chunky, many hate the QWERTY keyboard and web browser. They much prefer the iPhone 3G as it is easier for them to communicate with clients.

Apple are not stupid, they know that the iPhone 3G is aimed at taking on Blackberry’s business market. Apple has done this by improving security, e-mail and by allowing third-party software to run on its platform. This challenge will not be taken lightly by Research in Motion; they have a number of new handsets coming onto the market which they hope will take the fight to the iPhone 3G.

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Other iPhone news

Blackberry Thunder Vs Apple iPhone in October?

There have been reports that the upcoming touchscreen Blackberry Thunder will be released in the US and that it will be competing against Apple’s Iphone.

These rumours state that US mobile operator Verizon is planning a head to head with Apple’s product when the iPhone gets released on the 13 October in the US. It was further evidence that this will be backed up , when there was an image released from a timetable from Verizon showing the model number of Blackberry’s new phone, the 9530 as being on schedule for an October release.

The new touchscreen from Blackberry is expected to remain a Verizon exclusive in the US, with reports saying it will become a Vodaphone exclusive in the UK.

It looks like fans of both phones will see a busy October if everything appears to be true, which phone are you going to buy? Stay tuned for more news.

Source: Read

Should Apple be aloud to kill your iPhone Apps

Following on from Dan’s post yesterday that Apple has a kill switch for the iPhone; this means that the company is able to wipe out malicious or unauthorized iPhone apps. It does not matter if you have paid for the application and have installed it on your handset.

Apple might have been hoping to keep this little gem secret, but this has now started of a huge debate over secrecy and why Apple feels the need to have this feature. There has already been a huge response to this in a short amount of time; it seems that people have mixed opinions over the iPhone kill switch.

Some say that this is a perfect weapon which will be able to quickly kill potential malware and viruses that are sometimes hidden in legitimate applications. Apple have a tough approval process in place on their AppStore, this has been designed to create a high quality place for us to shop for our iPhone apps.

We have all known this for some time now but what we did not know was Apple has additional hidden tools. This means that if an application is misbehaving badly, then the app can be blacklisted.

The reason that we know this is because Apple has an online location which contains a list of unauthorized applications. This suggests that this is where Apple will store blacklist unauthorized or malicious iPhone applications.

Do you think Apple is right to be able to kill your iPhone app?

Three great tricks for your Apple iPhone

There is no denying that the iPhone from Apple has to be the greatest handset of all time. We all know that this cell phone can do a number of things that other phones can only dream of doing, but there is more to the iPhone than meets the eye, as it has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Here is a list of three tricks that the iPhone is capable of doing. We have to tell you that the first one will work with any phone, but works best with the iPhone. The second works with any iPhone and the third trick will work with iPhones and iPod touches, as long as they are running iPhone software version 2.0.

The first is that your iPhone is in fact a dictation machine. The thing is when it comes to writing a long email it can sometimes get a little boring on the touchscreen. But there is an easy way around this problem and that is to use a free voice-to-text transcription service.

The second trick is that your iPhone is an exit stratergy. There has been many times when I have been stuck in a meeting and I just feel the urge to get out of there. Well the iPhone is on hand to help as you are able to open your clock program and select the timer. You can then select say 30 minutes from now, then the iPhone will use your ring tone to alert. You can then pretend that you need to take this urgent call.

The third trick is that your Apple iPhone is a weather station. Just by using a free app from iTunes Store called WeatherBug, you are able to get the current temperature along with wind speed, wind chill temperature, humidity, dew point, precipitation level, and highs and lows for the day.

For all the details on these three iPhone tricks visit PC World

Louis Vuitton Camouflage style iPhone and iPod case

For those of you who thought that people were not that interested in Louis Vuitton products anymore, you would be wrong. The designer has now launched a couple of new products, mixing technology and fashion.

Louis Vuitton has their new Camouflage range of handbags however; also included in the range is an iPhone and iPod case.

These cases are not cheap, selling for $280. The design for these cases was inspired by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, who has worked on a number of other Louis Vuitton bags in the past.

So if you have an Apple iPod or iPhone and have money to waste, then why not purchase one of these LV Camouflage cases.

Get more news on Louis Vuitton products here
Get more news on Apple iPod here
Get more news on Apple iPhone here

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My Apple iPhone is slow after software 2.0 update

Many Apple iPhone users on July 11 experienced massive problems with iTunes and updating their iPhones to the new software 2.0 update, although we had no problems updating, we are now finding one really annoying problem.

While I am not sure why, the iPhone has a massive delay when doing different tasks ever since I upgraded to the new firmware 2.0. At first I thought it may just be my iPhone, then we find out this issue has affected a lot more users and it is big news.

Before the update, clicking on a contact, switching between different areas of the iPhone and other tasks were almost instant but now there is a delay that can be up to 3 or 4 seconds.

Is your iPhone 3G or first generation iPhone affected by this, does it have a delay in some areas after upgrading to software 2.0?

You will know if your affected as it’s a major difference, we have found 6 people so far this has affected, lets find out how big a problem this really is.

Apple iPhone 3G with slide-out QWERTY keyboard: is it needed?

We all know how popular the new 3G Apple iPhone will be one it reaches stores, but it looks as though Apple are already working on a newer iPhone. This new handset will come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and Insider Apple sources report that there is already a prototype currently on show. Although many of us normal users will not be interested in a QWERTY keyboard, it seems as if Apple is targeting this new iPhone at the enterprise market.

If Apple does launch the new Apple iPhone 3G with slide-out QWERTY keyboard, then this would mean that the iPhone would be see wider business world acceptance. It is not a done deal yet, but Apple has been canvassing the idea to phone operators, they have been asking the question “If you had a keyboard version, how many would you take?”.

There have also been reports that Apple have sent out prototypes to senior executives inside the operators, just to try and gauge what they think. However; the keyboard on these early models are said to have a few issues, which have not yet been resolved.

Myself, I am happy with my touchscreen version, but if they did come up with an iPhone 3G with slide-out QWERTY keyboard, then Apple might just hit gold with corporate buyers. It seems as if there is no stopping the Apple iPhone, many cell phone makers have tried to say that their latest handsets will be an iPhone killer, so it goes to show that the iPhone is still the benchmark.

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Rogers Wireless not to offer iPhone 3G unlimited data plans

As you know in just a few days time, we will be able to get our hands on the new 3G Apple iPhone. Most network carriers around the world have adopted the unlimited data pricing structure, but we are surprised to learn that Canada’s Rogers Wireless has decided not to join in the unlimited data pricing structure party.
The guys over at Phones Review learned of this and decided to explain to us as to why Rogers Wireless has made this decision, well in their own unique way.

They have come to the conclusion that Rogers Wireless does not see themselves as just another Apple iPhone 3G supplier. Why else would they not adopt the unlimited data plans, which does seem the way to go. It seems as if Rogers Wireless does not care about their customers, with that in mind we could see them losing a bundle of 3G Apple iPhone sales.

So why would Rogers Wireless have gone against what other carriers are doing, well there has to be one simple answer to that, and that is they wish to earn as much profit from Canadian iPhoners as possible. Why else would they not want to provide a decent service and give customers what they want? Fido are also not offering the unlimited data plans, so if you are a Canadian iPhone user, then looks as if you are getting a raw deal.

The sad fact of the matter is those of live in Canada and wish to own a 3G Apple iPhone, have no choice but to put up with this terrible decision from Rogers Wireless and Fido. If I was one of you I would not get the new handset, make these guys sweat a little and maybe they might just change their minds.

Predicting The Future: Android, Symbian Foundation, Apple iPhone, RIM Blackberry

Predicting the future of any industry in this technology world can be very hard and man has certainly not learned how to see the future just yet, well from what we know. On our post about the Google Android OS vs. Symbian open source and the much talked about Android vs. iPhone 3G, we had a very interesting point raised.

Harikrishna Neerkaje questioned how we could think that Apple was not one of the biggest players in the future of the cell phone business. They raised some very good points. Saying, “Without a doubt Nokia will be a key competitor but so will RIM & Apple (at least as far as Smartphones are concerned). In fact there are quite a few other players who build excellent smartphones on the Windows Mobile platform who too will be key competitors.

The only thing certain is that Android is not a “Today’s” platform and predicting the future is something man has not yet learnt”.

These were the six main points raised by Harikrishna Neerkaje - First the most popular smart phone today by volume of sales is RIM Blackberry. Second the fastest growing smart phone today by volume of sales in the last 2 quarters is Apple iPhone. Third the largest Cell Phone Manufacturer by volume of sales (not just Smart phones) is Nokia. Fourth the largest Mobile Phone OS by volume of sales is MS Windows Mobile. Fifth is on the Symbian Foundation, as yet only an announcement. It will take time to operationalize, but does have an OS which is already on many smartphones. Sixth and last is about Android and The Open Handset Alliance, with no phone in the market as yet and none expected till end of Q4 2008 in the US. So as yet they are not a competitor to anyone and there is no “data” that indicates that they will be a serious competitor in this space at any time.

Harikrishna Neerkaje ended by saying, how does this make Android and Symbian the biggest players, what’s your view?

How Does LG’s Dare Compare? Samsung Instinct and Apple iPhone

Earlier today Peter showed a full breakdown of the LG Dare that goes on sale today, he also wrote about the pricing details on Verizon Wireless. We now look at how the LG Dare compares in features to the Samsung Instinct and the upcoming Apple iPhone 3G.

Here is a quick summery of some main features of each phone, each phone has many other unique features that can be viewed on the brands website, links are provided where possible.

First up is the LG Dare, this phone has 3G, a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash, full HTML browser, 3-inch 262k-color touch-screen at 240-by-400, dimensions are 4.1 by 2.2 by 0.5 inches and it weighs 3.76 ounces. The main selling feature of this phone is the high-quality video recording; this records 640-by-480 video at up to 120 frames per second. This is a first in the cell phone world. The LG Dare will cost $199 with a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. View more details here.

Next up is the Samsung Instinct, this phone has 3G, a 2-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, digital music player, integrated GPS with Sprint navigation, support for Sprint Radio and Sprint Live TV, Visual Voicemail with support for POP3 and IMAP email, 2GB Storage space via micro SD slot, Bluetooth, the phone can act as a modem and it measures 4.57×2.17×0.49 inches and weights 4.4 ounces. One of the main selling points is the very low price of $130 with $100 mail-in rebate. View more details on Samsung.

Last we have the iPhone 2.0, this phone features EDGE, 3G, or Wi-Fi, 8GB of storage for the $199 model, a full HTML safari browser, 2-megapixel camera, GPS that is active only when you need it. The real selling point for the iPhone is the third-party applications available through the upcoming App Store. This service will be much better than any other phone can offer. The iPhones specs do not justify the kind of support and other services you get with the iPhone 3G, visit Apple here to really understand the amount of extras you get.

Your choice of phone will really depend on what your looking for, if we are talking phone features for money then the LG Dare would be the best choice thanks to the better 3.2-megapixel camera and amazing 120fps video recording, but for $130 you can still get video recording on the Samsung Instinct, although not as good.

Where the 3G iPhone lacks in video recording and camera pixels, it makes up in third party application support. With that kind of support these features and a lot more can be added.

Apple iPhone 3G 8GB £299.99 on O2 PAYG

On July 11 people will be queuing up outside their local O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK, just so that can get their hands on the new Apple iPhone 3G. We all know about the different price plans for their monthly contracts, but now we can give you the pricing details of the Pay and Go (PAYG) pre-paid option. As yet there are no details on the O2 website, but those guys over at Phones Review have managed to get all the price details.

Ok so the Apple iPhone 3G 8GB version will cost just £299.99, while the 16GB version will set you back £359.99. That is just £60 more for double the storage, which sounds like a great deal to me. When you purchase the latest iPhone on Pay & Go, the handset will come with 6 months of unlimited WiFi hotspot access as well as web browsing. Once you have gone through the 6 months period, it is thought that you will have to pay £10 per month for an unlimited data package.

This does seem like a great option for those who just can’t afford to sign up to an 18-month contract, it seems that O2 are doing all they can to get the sale of the new 3G Apple iPhone of to a great start. We can’t be certain how accurate these pricing details are, but once we have conformation we will let you know.

I think that having the new iPhone on O2’s Pay & Go service will be one of the best services they could provide, this will now open up the option of owning the ultimate handset to thousands more people.

Foolproof iPhone Software v2.0: more secure data wipe function

It seems that more and more iPhone users have concerns over Apple’s data reset methods on their handset, but the computer giant have now taken some extra steps for a more secure data wipe function, this will be integrated into iPhone Software v2.0. Most people are familiar with the beta version of this software, and Apple say that the new full version of iPhone Software v2.0 will use a more foolproof method of erasing all of your personal data and settings from the handset.

This function is accessible just like the previous version, just select Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Contents and Settings. The main difference with the new version over the old iPhone software is how the function will wipe all data, much like the “Secure Empty Trash” function which is used on Mac OS X. Once this is done all data will be deleted, unlinked and then overwritten many times, this will then make it irretrievable by some of the best recovery tools on the market today.

As with all good things there is always a downside, if you have an 8GB Apple iPhone it will take longer to complete the wipe, about an hour in fact. A progress bar will appear on the screen to tell you how things are going. Just to give you a bit of advice, as the wipe takes some time to complete, make sure that you plug your iPhone in to the mains; this is because the new software is CPU intensive.

This new update comes after an Oregon State detective was able to successfully retrieve personal data from a refurbished iPhone sold by Apple. The detective was able to retrieve such files as emails, photos and financial information. Let us hope that iPhone Software v2.0 rectifies this security flaw.

Source - Phones Review

Three videos comparing Samsung Instinct vs Apple iPhone

Samsung are feeling pretty strong about their new phone, the Samsung Instinct and they have good reason to as well. They want to prove how good the Samsung Instinct is versus the Apple iPhone, so they have released five videos that compare the iPhone to the Instinct. If you have not already seen these then you can watch them by clicking the links to each one below, some people might have seen these videos but then where are some of these features in comparision to the iPhone?

As a iPhone owner, I am almost decided on upgrading to the 3G iPhone but when you see phones like the Samsung Instinct and all the features it has the iPhone does not, you have to think again. Where is the video recording on the iPhone, ok we can get it in a third party application but you cannot beat getting some features as standard. Watch the video and share your thoughts.

The first video shows how fast the Internet is on the Samsung Instinct vs Apple iPhone, I am not sure how this will work compared to the 3G iPhone but you can view the Internet comparison here.

So just where is the Live TV on the Apple iPhone, Samsung love to joke about this one, watch the video on Samsung and let us know of any third party apps that give Live TV to the iPhone.

Samsung have published this video on their site to show that the Instinct can record video, but when you pick up an iPhone and open the box and try and shoot some video, its not happening, as there is no support. Watch the video here.

With the release of the iPhone 3G next month some features of the iPhone will improve over the Instinct, Samsung had a video showing GPS and joking that the iPhone had none but this will change with iPhone 2 as it has both GPS and 3G. Although even the next version of iPhone does not come with a video recording option as standard or live TV. It looks like you will have to hunt down third party applications for these features.

Get the 3G iPhone: What happens to old Apple iPhone?

Like many other iPhone owners, I am in one of the 22 countries that will get the 3G iPhone on July 11th and like many other iPhone owners I will be getting the new 3G iPhone. When I first thought about upgrading I thought we would be trading in our first generation Apple iPhone for the new 3G iPhone but I have not seen anywhere say that you have to do this.

The information so far states that you pay $199 to AT&T (£99 on O2 in the UK) for the new 8GB 3G iPhone and you also have to start a new contract. There is no information about your old iPhone, so I am guessing you get to keep this.

If you are getting the new 3G iPhone, then what will you do with your old Apple iPhone?

This has got to be a question a lot of iPhone owners have asked themselves, and if you look online you can see that a lot of people have unlocked their first generation iPhones and if this is the case, will we see many first generation iPhones being handed to friends and family who then put different networks on them.

The iPhone 2.0 may be 2mm thicker but its also lighter, got GPS and much faster 3G. The new phone also costs less than what we paid when the first iPhone was released and the next firmware that’s due mid July will include a lot of upgrades to enhance all iPhones. Sadly the 3G iPhone still has just a 2-megapixel camera, which in this day and age is a little poor.

Let us know what you plan to do with your old iPhone when upgrading or are they really going to take them from us (that’s unlikely).

3G iPhone Plans on AT&T Wireless

So we now have all the information about the new 3G Apple iPhone, and for all those rumours that had been going around, it looks as though most of them were correct. So we know that the new handset will be a little thicker, there will now be GPS, but the biggest piece of news was the price drop. Now people will be looking at the new price plans that AT&T Wireless will be offering, an AT&T spokesperson has said that people who are already current AT&T customers will now be treated like new customers. Current customers will have to sign up for a new two year contract, as well as a handset price of $199/$299. This is a great deal, because if you are already a customer you will be getting two carrier-subsidized handsets, all within one year.

So now the bad news, as you will now be using 3G on your Apple iPhone AT&T Wireless rate plans will be going up. Normal Apple iPhone users currently pay $59.99; this includes 450 anytime minutes, plus unlimited data however; as a new 3G user this plan will cost $69.99. For those with a personal account, you will be paying $30 per month for unlimited 3G data; business users will be paying $45 per user.

So here are the price plans for a voice account, 450 minutes: $39.99, 900 minutes: $59.99, 1,350 minutes: $79.99 and Unlimited: $99.99. You are also able to take up a family price plan; here are your options, 700 minutes: $69.99, 1,400 minutes: $89.99
2,100 minutes: 109.99, 3,000 minutes: $149.99 and finally unlimited minutes: $199.99.

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The Apple iPhone has Nintendo DS Graphics at WWDC 08

When you look at the Apple iPhone hardware it is pretty impressive and that’s even if you compare it to the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP, at today’s WWDC we are seeing a few games being shown on stage to give an idea of what’s possible with gaming on the iPhone. To say we are impressed would be an understatement; these new games look like Nintendo DS graphics.

On stage was long time Mac game developer Pangea Software, they had two games to demo by Brian Greenstone. Here is what Engadget has to say “Showing Enigmo — looks pretty hot, water droplets doing polygon-accurate collision tests per second. Next are Cro-Mag Rally, nine tracks, and ten cars. Porting both games took “three days to get each game up and running — totally playable.”

And as we reported a few moments ago, they showed Super Monkey Ball for the Apple iPhone and tilting the iPhone for different controls on all the different games looks great.

Will the iPhone get Nintendo DS graphics, looking at these photos, it already has. Will you be gaming on the iPhone?

The games will cost $9.99 each from the App Store and the developers are creating these games in lighting speed, so expect hundreds of games to come over this year.

Source: Read

SEGA’s Super Monkey Ball for Apple iPhone at WWDC 2008

At today’s WWDC 2008, just a few minutes ago Ethan Einhorn from SEGA has been discussing how impressed he was when they set to coding Super Monkey Ball for the Apple iPhone and now the game is complete. SEGA’s Super Monkey Ball is back and will be on the Apple iPhone for $9.99 from the official App Store, it took them just 95 days to code.

Because the development of the game was so quick, they could add lots of levels and it has over 100 of them. Ethan was seen on stage at WWDC playing a Super Monkey Ball level, tilting the iPhone to move through. This is great news for people who want to play games on the move with their iPhones.

The graphics look unbelievable compared to anything that we have seen before on any cellphone. The games graphics look like something from the Nintendo DS. Now that thousands of people are building apps for the Apple iPhone, we should see many more games like Super Monkey Ball and your iPhone might just become like a Nintendo DS.

Source: Read

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