Recently in Apple Category

Just yesterday we were talking about the possibility of the 3G iPhone to officially arrive in Russia and today we've learned that Apple is planning to have iPhones in Chine too. I guess Apple is going for China in order to get some people to use their handwriting recognition software already!

China Unicom are rumored to be the ones to deliver the 3G iPhone on Chinese soil some time in August. With no official word on that we are to wait and see what happens. China is a large market, but the iPhone might just be too expensive for the average Chinese. There's of course no word on pricing or eventual plans either.

We were a tad disappointed by the 3G iPhone announcement, because we were expecting a whole lot more of features and upgrades and all we got was 3G and A-GPS. And we got lots and lots of applications. I do admit that most of those applications do come in handy but we were not expecting Steve Jobs' keynote to be that boring.

A day after we heard that TomTom had in the works a navigation software for the new 3G/GPS iPhone. That sounded almost too good to be true and by the following day gadget blogs were filled with news that a TomTom app won't come to the iPhone soon, due to Apple's strict SDK agreement points.

Apparently TomTom representative Yann Lafargue cleared the air. He admitted there is a working software for the iPhone but he added he isn't sure of what the future of a TomTom - Apple relationship will be. Since when did Apple start to go all Microsoft-monopoly-like on their goods? Are they cooking their personal navigation software?

via Engadget

It's now my personal hobby to show you more and more "leaked" iPhone pictures. We have a little over 55 hours remaining till the WWDC so I'd say more pictures and leaked news should arrive.

These pictures suggest a choice of colors with the availability of the RED version for AIDS campaigning. A front camera is also suggested for video calls. The screen appears to be same size while the overall iPhone seems thinner.

Since these pictures, like everything else before, were not withdrawn yet by Apple's request, it's safe to say they are fake! Fake fake fake!

via CrunchGear

I'd like this rumor to be true for once. Why you ask? Because if Orange will do this, so will AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone or SingTel... but I am just speculating!

If you have already lost me, here's what I am talking about. Instead of you getting pissed off about the fact that you have just purchased an old iPhone without knowing what Apple will show up with at the WWDC, you will be able to simply take it back to an Orange dealership, pay an extra 50-60 Euros, which is about $70-80, and leave with the new iPhone2.

As I said, if this turns out to be true tomorrow morning, I am sure other carriers will follow. And if it seems to good to be true, I am sure the marketing department at Orange headquarters are devising ingenious plans to get your money back via calls and "unlimited" data plans.

via Engadget

Well this is something I'd be interested in doing. Having Earth at the tips of my fingers is interesting at least. Of course I would have expected this to be a Google Earth version for the iPhone. And I am both happy and sad to report it isn't.

Why happy? I like the fact others have approached this subject. Competing against Google is tough on every level, especially against their perfected Google Earth and especially in the mobile world.

Why sad? I am still counting on Google for any search I'd make, especially on Google Earth. I would assume they will bring an iPhone solution to the table.

This Earth version is in beta right now for Windows and Linux and there's no release date. Hopefully it's going to hit 3G iPhone users soon. The manufacturer Earthscape should be kept under observation. Who knows what similar solution they might come up with!

Is it just me or did Apple start to ship in the 3G iPhone? Have they just started doing it or was this going on for a while now? Are they building stocks to make sure they meet the demand?

People are saying that they have spotter containers which were unloaded on American soil. What gave them away was the the tag used. "Electric Computers" was written all over those containers. For those of you who don't know what that is, well I'll tell you it's a new tag which must translate into 3G iPhone.

From the 188 counted containers, just 121 made it to the USA, with other to land somewhere else? In those 121 containers there could be up to 40,000 iPhones. Is this just the beginning?

via Blogs CNN

My favorite US cell phone carrier (not!!) strikes again. I was merely telling you yesterday evening how AT&T will offer cell phone insurance for most phones from cheaper to more expensive for just $5 plan/month.

But before you dip your phone into some hot cocoa after your ran it over with your car first, you'll have to know there are some fine prints for this whole deal. First of all the plan is going to be available for all those customers buying a device now or for those that bought one no later than 30 days ago. Besides the monthly fee there's a two deductible fees, not one as I was announcing yesterday; $50 for most of the phones and $125 for expensive smartphones and PDAs.

But guess what, the marvelous, much awaited, greatly debated iPhone isn't covered. I guess Apple did a swell job with those iPhones. Why offer insurance, they must be indestructible!

What do I mean more? We showed you other pictures of the second generation Apple phone a while ago. Those were either Black or white, slimmer or rounder 3G iPhones.

Rumors you said? Yes indeed they were. But with all those rumors there has to be a seed of leaked truth out there. The pictures above show us a rounder iPhone with a thicker back. This version is Black over Graphite and comes via XSKN. If it's true or not it just makes us dream and wait anxiously for the WWDC. We'll see if Apple will confirm or infirm any of these skin shots.

Any Apple employees to leak some pictures over? Thought you wouldn't...

Jumping into the "me-too" iPhone wagon, the Google Reader now boasts an iPhone version that works mighty fine on other phones. The thing that irks me is putting an iPhone tag to everything these days, although I guess that's one way companies can get any attention. Not that Google wants it, but still -- it's free publicity for Apple as well.

Anyway, the iPhone Google Reader is now out in beta (what else?), and provides a simple list view that lets you scroll through the feeds and entries. Check it out at Google Reader (iPhone). It works fine on the Nokia N95 and the Nokia N800 tablet.

Read

3G iPhone anyone? Yes I thought so... After we've seen yet another AT&T blooper, with the carrier advertising the new iPhone black these days it appears that another carrier, the Swisscom is said to have released prices and some details about the upcoming 3G toy.

Is this another rumor? According to Swisscom they are going to sell the 3G iPhone in three colors: black, white and silver. They are cooler than AT&T which has for now, just the black version. Prices you ask? They say 659 Swiss Francs (about $630) for 16GB version and 799 Swiss Francs (about $760). The 16GB will come in black and the 32GB will come in all three colors. According to the same rumor/source.

After accidentally revealing to the public their new menu options regarding the future commercialization of the new 3G iPhone and I will remind you yesterday's post, AT&T came up with a great, awkward, ingenious, simple, fast funny response. As they say, this was yet another human error. The menu is supposedly just a trial test for the next iPhone versions, the 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. Apparently not only was it faster to write "iPhone Black" instead of any of the "4GB", "8GB" or "16GB" options, but it was waaaaay easier to add just two items in that drop down instead of three. I always wanted an iPhone Black. I hope that's the 16GB version, because that's what I mean of course!

First comes denial! AT&T just did that! Does this mean the iPhone is coming in black just as it was rumored? What do you think?

While the 3G iPhone is making all the waves world over, one of India's largest mobile service provider, Bharti Airtel, and Apple have inked an agreement to offer the iPhone in India. The announcement comes hot on the heels of Apple's agreement with Vodafone to sell the first-gen iPhone in India, signifying that Apple has changed gears and is no longer sticking to a single carrier to provide its best-selling device. Unofficially, the iPhone has already made it to the Indian shores imported in its unlocked state. The phone will also be sold in Singapore by SingTel, StarHub, and MobileOne carriers. At this pace, it might take another year or two for the 3G iPhone to make an appearance in these countries. So, better late then never, eh?

DreamCatcher Software announced its latest software for the Apple iPhone, the iPhone Video Recorder. Capable of recording audio and video into MPEG4 format, you get up to 1 hour of high quality recording in a file of about 60 megabytes. The recording is done at 15 frames per second.

You have the option to play back the video on the iPhone or download it to a computer or even upload to YouTube. The software also lets you pause the video encoding process (usually performed at the end of a recording) and resume when your phone is idle. Recording on the fly slows down the process, resulting in a less-than-acceptable frame rate, so that's something to keep in mind.

The iPhone Video Recorder is compatible with iPhone firmware versions 1.1.x, 1.2.x and 2.0. A 30-second time limited trial version is available for download from their website.

Is this another human error like the WiFi teaser from AT&T? We showed you last week an official page screenshot addressing the Starbucks free WiFi thing. That was apparently a mistake from their part although they have reassured us the service is coming sometime soon.

So with all this commotion about the new 3G iPhone. It's here and there, it's going to be released in June or sooner. It's going to replace the depleted stocks of the first generation iPhone. Will it be in black after all? Does AT&T know something we don't? Is that page a beta page? Shouldn't we, as future consumers have seen that yet? Is it just a joke or a rumor?

With the recent shortage of both 8GB and 16GB iPhone version, I am sure that some people thought about getting the HiPhone, probably not knowing 3G is coming sooner than soon.
HiPhone is, according to some standards, the best iPhone knock off. And I am sure there are a lot of them. You'd have to congratulate the Chinese people for their ability to clone any technological device no matter what size or what costs in order to make a profit. At some point they will be knocking off their knock offs right?

Of course Apple can't do anything about that but they can certainly take action against all those distributors selling the HiPhone. In Europe Apple's counsel Bird & Bird has issued notices threatening over €40,000 both in legal and damages fees for at least one HiPhone provider.

Apple is thinking outside of the box all the time. I think I said this already elsewhere, but they are thinking so outside the box the box isn't even there. And that's what you'd have to do too as an Apple owner. That's what they expect from you when you use their products I guess..

This lady in New York had her house broken into. A few things were stolen, among which a Mac laptop. While at work she was given a call by a friend who told her laptop just logged in. Luckily for her, she works in an Apple store. She used another Mac and went Back to My Mac to get to her iSight built in camera on. That way she was able to see and even recognize the thief. The rest is history already, with the help of police she got her laptop back.

People are coming up with so many applications for the iPhone and maybe that's why US and UK Apple stores are running out of them. Despite the fact the 3G si closer than we might suspect, lines are formed to get an iPhone. Is it because people use them at anything else except for talking on them.

If last time we showed you a video in which a plant watering device was powered by an iPhone here we have something a little better. In the short movie above you can see how, by using the touch screen and the OS we can integrate the phone into a surveillance system.

Samsung U940 Glyde has finally arrived at Verizon wireless after a long wait. We told you what's happening and now we are going to take a closer look. One of the most discussed events of the week was the release of the new HTC Touch Diamond in London, so Samsung's Glyde might have missed all the attention. So I was telling you how this phone is a possible competitor to current smart phones. Let's see some of its most important features and compare them to the iPhone. We won't be going through all the specs we gave you yesterday; you don't have all day to read right?

Do we like the design? It's slick and slim, resembling the iPhone. Well, the U940 is based on the former F700 which came out before the iPhone. Did Apple get inspired by Samsung?

If you are always watching a top hit show or two on NBC, you will take this as good news. What if I told you they are free? If you own an iPhone or an iPod Touch that is. If you bought any Zune lately you will have access to any of those shows in exchange for some of your dollars. How cool is that? Shouldn't all users, whether Apple's or Microsoft's get the same treatment? How come what others have to pay for is free to the others?

But wait, who said those free episodes' quality is watch worthy? You have to go to NBC.com from your http://www.mobilewhack.com/gold-iphone-black-night-edition/ or iPod browser and you will be offered the option of watching those episodes you wanted. Only this won't be quite that easy. It has already been reported that video quality is quite sloppy.

Some of you may already know about the rivalry between NBC and Apple's iTunes which seems not to extend to iPhone. Or in fact it does and they are going for iPhone's reputation. Is NBC trying to convince people it's iPhone's fault for not delivering crystal clear video? I am an Apple fan so I could be biased when asking that question but I think it isn't. NBC uses 3gp codecs for these free episodes and those codecs don't exactly merge that smoothly with Apple's OS...

Any Zune owner here? I'd like to know how NBC's videos run on your Zune thingy.

Continue reading:NBC Shows on iPhone and Touch

Related topics:
NBC's MobiTV to Bring On-Demand TV to Mobiles
NBC May Sue TiVo
AT&T Mobile TV with FLO Goes Live on May

While everyone is waiting for the second generation 3G iPhone, so many people are still going to buy "old" iPhones from Apple or carriers around the world.

Apparently a sudden iPhone shortage hit the UK and other European countries. O2 the carrier selling the iPhone plans ran out of stock both for the 8GB and the 16GB iPhone. Does this mean everyone is getting ready for the new? Are we going to see a multiple coordinated release from Apple? Is the new 3G smart phone going to come out earlier than expected? Are we going to face a premature birth?

I don't think so. iPhones are still available at Apple stores in the UK and probably more are on the way. But not all Apple stores have sufficient phones in store. An Apple store in New York ran out of iPhones too as this phone is really in demand. Don't people know the 3G is coming? Isn't anyone telling them that?

It's likely we're going to see more shortages like this one. But they will be dealt with I'm confident of that. As long as they sell that good, why should Apple discontinue replenishing stocks?

Continue reading:iPhone Shortage Hits UK

Related topics:
3G iPhone in June 2008: It's almost here, folks!
Is this the 3G iPhone?
Apple iPhone 3G by Mid-2008: Analysts

We are a month or less away from the long waited for official announcement and full release of the next iPhone, the 3G version. According to a recent rumor, Australians will be able to buy unlocked iPhones from local Apple stores. Vodafone will offer plans designed for purchasing an iPhone but they won't be the only ones selling it. They won't even be the exclusive carrier for Kangaroo Land as local Telstra and Optus will be offering iPhone deals too.

What we don't know is whether the 3G iPhone will be unlocked too or just its predecessor? How much do I have to pay to buy one? (Plane ticket and travel plans to Australia not included of course)

Related topics:
3G iPhone in June 2008: It's almost here, folks!
3G iPhone this June for Australia
Apple iPhone 3G by Mid-2008: Analysts

June may not be that far away, but that doesn't stop the hype surrounding the upcoming 3G iPhone from mounting. After the apparent live pictures last week, some more have surfaced on a Chinese forum, showing the iPhone garbed in white. The pictures show a slightly more contoured design with the new connector and the extra sensor at the top near the earpiece.

Whether this is the real thing or not is anybody's guess but we don't have to wait too long to find out, do we?

Just this morning, Vodafone announced a minor development in its day to day business. The news? They just signed with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten markets. How insignificant is that? The market includes key places like Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy. This is a big breakthrough as these countries have been waiting for the hyped Apple device for a long time now ever since it was released June last year.

Other places covered by Vodafone is India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. The phone is expected to arrive late this year and as expected, will be a big hit on the said countries.

via: endgadget

Related topics:
Rumored: Next Generation iPhone All in Black
3G iPhone in June 2008: It's almost here, folks!
Rumored: iPhone Firmware 2.0 to Recognize Handwriting

T-Mobile Austria will help Apple test the new 3G iPhone. There! I said it! What appeared to be a rumor picked up from local blogs seems to have already been confirmed. Apparently the Austrian company is going to provide multiple plans for the new UMTS version of Apple's hot smart phone. In September 2007 it was said that Australia will be testing the new generation iPhones. Apparently Austria beat them to that, or haven't they?

I have been reluctant to cover the news as soon as I heard all that, until I got some more clear confirmation. Well I did get confirmation that Apple will use Austria as a test market with further announcements to be made at the WWDC. This is the first rumor news I will be confirming in the same post. Maybe I should change the title too...

What do you think the asking price for an unlocked 3G iPhone will be?