Archive for April, 2007

Good ol' Engadget has come in possession of an internal Cingular/AT&T document that gives the carrier's employees basic information about the upcoming iPhone.

Among the things that caught our eyes:

• Future iPhone users will be able to access Cingular's MyAccount directly from the handset and/or via iTunes
• There will probably be the iPhone-specific service plans
• No subsidies will be offered on launch
• Out of contract customers will be able to sign up for two more years to get an iPhone
• Pre-orders are still NOT available

Full document is available from here.

MacRumors has posted the first-ever picture images that have been taken with the Apple iPhone's 2 megapixel camera! Apparently, some "clever" searching on Google - "taken with an Apple iPhone" - was all it took for MobileGuerilla to find these pics on Flickr. Now, we know that the picture has been automatically tagged based on embedded EXIF data (picture information). But, we can't be sure that the EXIF data in the photo is authentic. Click on for big pics…

For what it's worth, MacRumors says they have independently verified the authenticity of the pictures, and the pictures have been deleted from Flickr. Take that with a grain of skepticism, but it sure is exciting to think that these relatively high quality photos were taken with an Apple iPhone.

A quick look at the EXIF data confirms that the Apple iPhone does, indeed, embed photo information, including picture orientation - whether the pic was taken with the iPhone in landscape or portrait mode.

EXIF data:

Camera Make = Apple
Camera Model = iPhone
Picture Orientation = rotated 90° (6)
Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 14/5 = F2.80
Color Space = sRGB (1)
Image Width = 1600
Image Height = 1200
Unknown tag: Tagnum = 0xa500 ===> data = 11/5
Compression = JPEG compression (6)

Click to enlarge -

via: digg

By now, everyone and their grandma is expecting the Apple iPhone to launch on Cingular/AT&T with a 40 minute battery life. First, Dvorak starting talking smack on the iPhone. Then we get "reports" straight out of the component integrator, FoxConn, that the iPhone's design falls short in terms of performance. But, would Apple really launch a product with such critical flaws? According to MacScoop, a source "we can trust but we can't name now says," that the reports are unfounded; Apple's iPhone is healthy and ready to go. The tipster reports that the official 5 hour talk/video/web time and 16 hour music playback time are reliable. In fact, after an in-depth examination of the iPhone, the tipster was confident that consumers would be surprised by the battery performance. The only drawback that the tipster noted was the slipperiness of the materials used on the Apple iPhone's casing. This resulted in a phone that seemed more prone to slipping out of the hand (similar to the feel of an iPod). Did you just cringe at the mental image of dropping a brand-new, glossy $600 phone on the concrete? Yea, we did too. Now that's a problem we'd gladly trade for a healthy dose of battery juice. via: macscoop

Gizmodo writes about the new app being developed for the iPhone. Apparently, the application called "iPhone flirt" should bring online dating to the iPhone users. However, it's more likely than not that this is a fake. The first thing we notice on the promo image are the old headphones. Also, we're not aware of any released iPhone APIs — making any iPhones apps impossible. Plus, where are the iPhone development tools? MacWorld has more info on the subject.

Apple has announced their Q2 financial results, and they're lookin' good. Year-on-year growth of 34%, $885 million in profits and $12 billion in cash are nice numbers, by any measure. But, the numbers are not what interests us here. As almost an answer to our concerns over Apple's iPhone (with that notoriously closed system) being used in enterprise applications, Apple announces that they are developing various applications and software features that will be offered as free upgrades to the Apple iPhone - as well as the AppleTV (Apple's other closed system). We'll hold off on getting too excited just yet, as we don't know exactly what applications and software features are being developed - but, if Apple is working on more enterprise solutions for the Apple iPhone, we're gonna see a lot of analysts and bloggers (yours truly, included) having a feast of their own words.

via: tuaw

What's this? The iPhone wants to go the enterprise route? Apple and AT&T are like the overbearing parents that "convince" their child to do something that it is not suited for, or even capable of. AT&T seems to be prepping the Apple iPhone for use as a business-class device. But, it's not what you think. There will be no removable battery, no hard keys, no opening-up of the OS for enterprise application development. No, AT&T is merely making sure that the back-end billing and support issues will be ready for businesses to incorporate the Apple iPhone into their company's operations.

Great, thanks for making sure the corporate bill will be mailed to the right address, AT&T. Being the exclusive iPhone carrier must be messing with AT&T's judgement, because they seem to be a little deluded about the iPhone's abilities - while, at the same time, confusing the heck out of poor little Apple iPhone.

C'mon, how can the iPhone be expected to be welcomed as an enterprise phone when it won't support soo many things that a business-oriented phone needs. What do you guys think? Does this hint at Apple opening up the iPhone OS to enterprise (and other) application development? Will the iPhone ship with enterprise software (like corporate email support and office documents)? Or is this just a sign of a misguided carrier forcing their will on a poor, confused device?

via: itworld

Now there's something new… NOT! Of course Microsoft will try to kill the iPhone even before its official release. Still, there's a point to be made.

Chris Sorenson, Microsoft's Asia-Pacific head of smartphone strategy, agrees that iPhone will be a great music device, and is sure that Apple will do the UI as best as they can. But he also points out that iPhone's inability to have 3rd party apps installed on top of it, make Apple's device everything but a useful for businesses.

Sorenson also added that the market in Australia is demanding the newest and greatest mobile technology. "With 3G we see Australians wanting more bandwidth on devices than ever before. There's a growing trend towards smarter devices, and with WM6 we've tried to bring more of what you can do on a PC, onto the devices. Manufacturers can innovate heavily in their designs, but keep that consistent [Windows] look and feel," he concluded. (via: ZDNet Australia)

We've already seen first iPhone cases from Incipio. More are coming…

The pair you just saw was spotted at the Hong Kong Electronics and Components Fair. The company that made them is looking for interested distributors, as it bets that iPhone's screen will be too sensitive to carry around unprotected. We have the accessories ready, leaving us only to wait for the real iPhone. (via: Akihabara News)

At least that's what Harris Interactive Technology Research is reporting from the results of their web-based survey. With 47% of the United States' adult population aware of the hot new Apple iPhone, 17% responded that they were planning on scooping one up in the near future.

Out of those planning a future iPhone purchase, 9% said they would buy it at launch and 8% would pony up the cash as soon as their current wireless contracts expired. The poll affirms previous assumptions that Cingular's exclusivity on Apple's iPhone would hurt sales - with 25% saying they would wait on their purchase until their current carrier offered the iPhone.

It looks like the teenager demographic will be making up a large part (with mommy and daddy's money, of course) of the 1 million iPhone sales come mid-June (hopefully).

The survey polled 1,116 adults (18+ years old) and age, sex, race, education, regions, and income were normalized.

via: infosyncworld

There's been plenty of Apple iPhone news of late. Most of it regarding quality issues and delayed launch rumors. But Cingular has officially put the kibosh on such rumors, with AT&T COO, Randall Stephenson, saying "Our expectations are good. Our testing has been good. The iPhone is on target to launch in June."

When asked how many iPhones will be available on launch, Stephenson said, "We're sorting through that right now. We got a million people waiting to buy it so we're hoping we get a million." That's right, you read correctly, AT&T wants to push 1 million units on launch. These guys are either confident that all bugs on the iPhone, and that pesky FCC pass, will go according to plan, or they are grossly under-estimating the situation.

Still, we're rooting for an on-time arrival, we just gotta have us some Apple iPhone!

via: financialpost

Smarthouse News has the scoop on a possible delay of the Apple iPhone - missing its expected June 11, 2007 launch. Sources inside Han Hai (aka Foxconn), the manufacturer responsible for putting the Apple iPhone together, say that the complexity of the Apple software is just too demanding on the components. The Foxconn insiders are blaming Apple for submitting designs for manufacturing that "are not robust enough and that the Apple software functions built into the phone are sucking juice out of the batteries to the extent that talk time is significantly compromised."

This revelation follows Dvorak's assertion that the iPhone battery is crap, and now it seems that it may be due to the high demand of Apple's software. It seems that Apple wants a sleek and stylish phone with exquisite performance and still have long battery life. But, sometimes you just can't have it all.

This reminds me of an age-old production adage. Quality, Quantity, Cost - pick two, you can't ensure the best of all three. In Apple's case, they should only pick one. They're inexperienced in the mobile tech industry and shouldn't expect to push out such a complex device in such a short time.

Could Apple have bit off more than they can chew? We'll see soon enough - but keep in mind, Apple usually knows what they're doing.

(And for conspiracy lovers - one way to view all the recent news about the iPhone is that it's all misinformation and viral marketing. Apple actually has everything under control and just want the "sheeple" to keep talking it up.)

via: smarthousenews

China, ever the trademark-infringing, sub-par quality, knock-off manufacturing powerhouse, has another iPhone clone - the Hua Long IP2000. It kinda looks like an iPhone, and it's even got a touchscreen, but the dual-band GSM phone is noticeably thicker, has a crap UI, and is adorned with a huge, gaudy Apple logo on the backside. Still, if you want a dual-band (read: not usable in US) GSM phone with 3.5 inch LCD, 2 megapixel shooter, and USB connection, head over to m8cool.com and pick one up for just USD $140. Highly detailed pics give you a better idea of the quality crappiness of this phone's design…

source

LG is refreshing their KE850 Prada Phone (since it's so old) with a DMB tuner. The Korean company is catering to it's home-country's love of mobile TV with this newest rendition of the much lauded Prada Phone - iPhone killer. A flip-out tuner antenna has been bolted onto the side of the device, but everything else stays the same. South Korea, you lucky bunch you.

source

Apple's got another rip-off to throw their legal team at. This time around its called the Apple IPHONE and it's from China (who woulda guessed?). Fuijan Huamin Import and Export Company is hocking their "newly" (sic) Apple IPHONE on their website - alongside other Apple product rips. The specs seem to match, more or less, the feature set of the Apple iPhone, but you can bet that the quality is sub-par crap. If anybody gets their hands on one of these units, please drop us a line. We could use a good laugh.

More pics of the blasphemy ahead.

source

According to an American Technology research report released today, the boys up in Cupertino may be considering a rebate or carrier subsidy for the up-coming Apple iPhone. Analyst Shaw Wu's sources have indicated that Apple could likely be offering a break on the uber-expensive iPhone - to the tune of $50-$150.

Wu states, "We are hearing rebates of $50-150 that will be offered by AT&T to lower the price points for iPhone (currently $499 for 4 GB and $599 for 8 GB) and to entice customers to sign longer term voice and data contracts."

We hope the rebate or carrier subsidy won't be contingent on a longer term contract - we hate being tied down by the man. But you can bet your arse that we will be more likely to grab a data plan if Apple lowers the price.

Wu also believes that Apple will rake in a "bounty" for each new customer contract that the iPhone brings to AT&T, as well as participate in "a revenue sharing agreement." So, Apple is poised to make money off each new customer's sign-up and recurring monthly payments. With that much potential money to be making per Apple iPhone, they sure as heck better be thinking of dropping the price. A lower price could mean more people will be willing to plunk down their hard earned cash for the iPhone - and that would mean even more "bounty" and revenue-sharing profits for Apple.

via: appleinsider