Archive for December, 2007

It seems Steve Jobs may be just as tired of waiting in long-lines at the local Starbucks as we are. Wouldn’t it be great if we could use our media player or cellphone to wirelessly order a cup of coffee ahead of time and simply stroll into the brick-and-mortor shop to pick up our cup of joe. Well, good, ole’ Stevie is on it. Apple just filed a patent application on December 20 for a method whereby a media player, PDA, or cellphone could be used to place a wireless-order at a particular store - doing away with the dreaded “queue.”

iPhone users are already able to wirelessly download music from iTunes’ catalogue at all Starbucks locations, and this technolofy would take the Apple-Starbucks relationship to the next step. USPTO patent application #20070291710 outlines a system that is capable of logging orders and notifying the customer when the order is ready for pick-up. The system would also track customers’ shopping habits and purchases.

Customers might tap a button to order their favorite drink, say a double-shot mocha, as they stroll up to the nearest coffee shop. When the drink is ready go to, the device–such as an iPhone–would chime or blink to let the thirsty one know it’s time to scoop up the order at the counter.

The iPhone may be set to take on a new role - transitioning from a cellphone/media player phenom into a life-assistant for your daily activities. We’ll have to wait and see just what Apple does with this new technology.  A patent application doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple will be putting the new tech into their future lineup, but if it does pan out, we couldn’t be happier. There’s nothing worse than waiting in line (trust us, we know a thing or two about lines).

[Via: Forbes]

We’ve already seen the very, very brief video demonstration of the upcoming iPhone firmware. This time GearLive, the folks who broke the news, went one step further proving it’s not a Photoshop scam, but a real thing. What follows is a short video demonstration of the new iPhone firmware’s features. Enjoy!

With all those highly advanced phones, we thought Japanese won’t buy into all the iPhone hype. And while we’re not sure whether Apple will be able to repeat its success from the U.S. market, we’ve spotted a Japanese guy who seemed so desperate to get an iPhone that he made his already uber-cool Sony Ericsson W52S slider look like Apple’s handset. As you can clearly see from the image above, the end result is a weird device to say the least, and we can only hope at least he likes it… Cause we don’t.

[Via: SEFanatics]

Just in time for the New Year’s eve, we have a new iPhone firmware version 1.1.3 leaked. As with the previous releases, the upcoming firmware update will kill your third-party apps and make your beloved device work with Apple’s carrier of choice only. That means you should be careful when this update becomes alive, especially if you’re on a different carrier or if you care about your third-party apps.

And now the good things:

• The new firmware adds the ability to send an SMS message to multiple people
• Google Maps application can now pinpoint your location using cell tower triangulation, the so called “My Location” feature
• In addition, Google Maps can now display the Hybrid map view
• You can now drag and drop application icons on your home screen
• The home screen supports pagination
• You can now add web bookmarks to your home screen (very useful)

Finally, the release date — we’ve exact date, but some sources around the Web suggest it will be available starting from January 15. In the meantime, check out the short video demoing home screen pagination after the jump…

[Via: Gizmodo]

File this under “yeah, right” but apparently the world’s most known iPhone clone will sport three, instead of a single button. According to the image above which is said to be the back of Meizu’s latest prototype, the M8 may distance itself from Apple’s handset. And while we’ve now idea how will this reflect in the final device design, a Meizu fan made that rendering in the corner of the image giving us a hint what could Chinese manufacturer do with three buttons.

Finally, it’s fair to say we welcome Meizu’s changes and are also hoping they will be tweaking their interface even more so they don’t get slammed by Apple’s legal department. We’ll see…

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

Frankly, we’re getting a little tired of people lauding the iPhone as the greatest thing since lithium-ion batteries. While Google Gears gets top honors in ComputerWorld’s Top 25 Most Innovative Products of 2007, Apple’s iPhone grabs the No. 2 spot in this list.

While David Pogue gives the iPhone’s Visual Voicemail top-billing, ComputerWorld mentions that the iPhone’s multi-touch touchscreen display as the 2nd most innovative feature of 2007. The iPhone’s multi-touch touchscreen isn’t just a snazzy touchscreen, it’s a capacitance touchscreen. That means you don’t have to fumble around with pressure-sensitive laminated layers of plastic like so many touchscreen devices out there.

But, we feel that the multi-touch display and the Visual Voicemail feature work together to give a user experience that surpasses anything that either feature can give on their own. It’s hard to pin down the singularly most impressive feature on the iPhone, but if we absolutely had to, we’d have to say that web-surfing on the hugely beautiful multi-touch disply (powered with the Mobile Safari browser - which is amazing) is the best thing that the iPhone can do.

[Via: ComputerWorld]

We’ve seen our fair share of cool things this year - that’s 2007, in case you were confused. And, we’re sure David Pogue, the New York Times‘ tech columnist, has gotten hit mitts on more gadgets than we could ever hope to grope. With the year winding down Mr. Pogue has posted up a list of 2007’s most important features - “Pogies,” as he likes to call them.

So, what gadget-feature does David Pogue consider the “best” of 2007? Why, the iPhone’s signature Visual Voicemail feature, of course. Wading through voicemails by caller and playing individual messages at a whim is definitely a trick feature - it’s helped us avoid unwanted voicemails more than we can remember. Visual Voicemail puts the power of the voicemail inbox in the palm of your hand, and in front of your eyes, as the case may be.

The iPhone just keeps racking up the consumer awards, and we have to agree that it’s the snazziest and most innovative gadgets of the year. It may not be the most feature-packed, but in terms of industry-changing, the iPhone is where it’s at.

What’s your favorite feature of 2007?

[Via: NYT]

Apple would do well to bring back the cult/niche-classic PDA from years-past. The Apple Newton in modern form would be a great mobile computer indeed. With widespread rumors that Apple is working to bring back the Apple Newton, we’re hearing whispers that the new Newton will essentially be a much bigger iPhone. Ok, this isn’t really a mobile phone, but it is within the realm of mobile.

The new Apple Newton may likely sport a 5.2 inch (presumably multi-touch) display that is designed to be “gripped with one hand on each side similar to a Sony PSP.” Apparently, Apple’s shown interest in a 5.2-inch, 800 x 480 resolution, display from Balda (rumored to be the iPhone’s muti-touch display supplier). The device is reportedly slated to ship in 2H 2008.

We already know that Apple is working to use Intel’s Silverthorne processor in it’s next-gen device for 2008. If the next-gen Apple Newton shows up with Intel’s Silverthorne chip, a 5.2 inch multi-touch display, and Mac OSX Leopard, we’ll be jumping on that bandwagon in no time flat. Stay tuned, we may have more on this at MacWorld Expo.

[Via: Computerworld]

Kudos to Wired! Yeah, their selection of the Apple iPhone as one of the top 10 gadgets of the year — and the only mobile phone on the list — will certainly spur some controversy around the Web, but that’s not the point here. Instead of picking the regular, out-of-box iPhone, they went for the hacked, jailbroken version which works on all GSM networks and can be additionally enhanced with third-party application. This made me think - if Wired would pick a person of the year, that would an iPhone hacker.

Turns out that O2’s claims of the iPhone being the fastest selling device in the carrier’s history wasn’t all marketing-talk. O2’s head honcho recently paid his Jobs-ness a visit in Cupertino, California to presumably give each other their “high-fives” over how well the iPhone is doing in the UK. Despite reports of slow-sales, O2’s Matthew Key told Steve Jobs that O2 should move around 200,000 iPhones by the end of January (we should note that other reports indicate that iPhones have been selling very well).

More importantly (especially for O2), Key told Jobs that the iPhone has spurred incredibly high data-usage rates on the UK network. With 60% of iPhone users clocking more than 25MB of data per month, O2’s data revenue has gone through the roof (compared with 1.8% of O2’s general subscriber base using 25MB of data every month).

With data-revenue the key money-source from O2’s iPhone customers, it’s pretty much a lock that O2 will be picking up the 3G iPhone when it launches next year.

Good for you, O2. Way to meet your iPhone sales goal.

[Via: MocoNews]

We’ve seen our share of iPhone-advertisement spoofs. Some are funny, some are just lame. But, this one really stands out. Apparently, this guy, Claude M, crafted his own iPhone-style advertisement - you know “This is how you play music, this is how you view photos, this is how you make a call” - as a means of proposing the life-long union that we call marriage.Claude apparently played the video for his sweetheart as they strolled through the college where they’d first met. She said yes. Check out the video below - who would say “no” to a proposal like that?

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

BMW’s iDrive control system is incredibly complex and enabling. While it enables you to control virtually every aspect of your iDrive-equipped BMW through a series of twists and pushes on the iDrive controller-knob, the system’s inherent complexity has drawn the ire of almost every automotive reviewer on the planet. BMW knows tech, but they just don’t know how to make it simple to use.

So, this latest rumor about BMW ditching iDrive in favor of an Apple-designed control interface makes a lot of sense. Apple is well known for designing the most intuitive interfaces that are still able to control fairly complex actions. Moreover, Apple is great at simplifying the most complex actions into a handful of intuitive control-gestures - exactly what BMW’s iDrive system needs. Wouldn’t it be amazing if your car’s media controls, environmental controls, communication settings, and even operational options (like pathway lighting and day-time running lights) could be controlled with the ease of an iPod (or iPhone)?

The car is just about the most expensive and one of the more complex gadgets you’ll ever own, so it stands to reason that your car’s interface become almost, if not just as, easy to operate as an iPod.

AutoSpies’s internal sources are indicating that BMW may very well implement an Apple-style control system soon - possibly with the next-gen 7-series. While BMW might not be integrating the iPhone into the car as Land Rover did with their LRX concept, an Apple-esque user interface (it’s all about the UI) would be a much welcomed change.

We’ll keep an eye on BMW’s latest developments for you guys. Stay tuned.

[Via: AutoSpies]

The iPhone (or iPod Touch) as an internet tablet - it’s almost perfectly suited for surfing through your favorite online forums, shopping sites, and, ahem, TMZ.com. There’s just one thing missing. If only there was a way to download all that cool web-content straight to your iPhone.

Well, now there is! iPhone hacker hachu has gone ahead and developed a plug-in for your iPhone’s Safari browser. The plug-in allows you to download (rather than stream/playback), say, an MP3 file to the var/root/Downloads directory on your iPhone’s local disk. You can find instructions for installing the plug-in here. After installation, whenever you click on a link to any media (like a ZIP file), a green “Download” button will appear. There’s a bit of .plist editing required, so if that kind of “hacking” makes you break out in cold-sweats, you might want to stay away from this one.

Anyway, Erica Sadun from TUAW has modified her SendFile application to allow you to playback said MP3 files from your iPhone’s local-disk (even while offline). SendFile will now search your ~/Downloads and ~/Media/Documents directories for any media that you might want to send, share, email, and now playback. Grab the modified SendFile application here.

Make sure you check the hackint0sh forum for installation instructions.

Or, keep reading for a quick rundown on the installation procedure.

Here’s a rough idea of what you’ll need to do:

• Download the Safari plug-in here.
• Copy the plug-in bundle to “/System/Library/Internet Plug-Ins” and reboot the iPhone
• Add this string to your Info.plist (use a standard text editor as opposed to Mac OSX’s editor) in order to download AVI files
  <key>video/x-msvideo</key>
  <dict>
  <key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
  <array>
  <string>avi</string>
  </array>
  <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
  <string>avi File</string>
  <key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
  <true/>
  </dict>
• Add this string to your Info.plist in order to download MP3 files
  <key>audio/mpeg</key>
  <dict>
  <key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
  <array>
  <string>mpeg</string>
  <string>mpg</string>
  <string>mp3</string>
  <string>swa</string>
  </array>
  <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
  <string>MPEG audio</string>
  <key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
  <true/>
  </dict>
  <key>audio/mpeg3</key>
  <dict>
  <key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
  <array>
  <string>mp3</string>
  <string>swa</string>
  </array>
  <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
  <string>MP3 audio</string>
  <key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
  <true/>
  </dict>

• Here’s the string for downloading RAR files
  <key>application/x-rar-compressed</key>
  <dict>
  <key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
  <array>
  <string>rar</string>
  </array>
  <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
  <string>rar File</string>
  <key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
  <true/>
  </dict>
• Torrent files
  <key>application/x-bittorrent</key>
  <dict>
  <key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
  <array>
  <string>torrent</string>
  </array>
  <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
  <string>torrent File</string>
  <key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
  <true/>
  </dict>

Keep in mind, these are rough instructions to give you an idea of what’s in store for you if you decide to implement this plug-in. Head on over to hackint0sh and read the thread to get a complete picture of the installation procedure.

[Via: TUAW]

Have an iPhone? Need a task tracking service, but you don’t like 37signals’ Ta-da list nor Remember the milk? Why not try Getting tasks done? Yap, they also have an iPhone-optimized version of their free service, allowing the Apple’s handset and iPod Touch owners to manage their tasks while on-the-go. It’s easy, it’s quick and again - it’s free. Plus, unlike other such services, this one features motivational phrases to push you forward while you don’t feel that well. Here’s the URL: gettingtasksdone.com/iphone/.

If you still haven’t bought a case for “working out” with your iPhone, now may be the right time. With the New Year around the corner and you’ll certainly want to include something like “get in shape” in your plans for 2008.

According to the official website, the DLO Action Jacket is the “all-in-one solution for protecting your iPhone,” featuring padded neoprene, rotating belt clip and adjustable armband. Costs $29.99, and more information is available from here.