Mophie starts shipping iPhone 3G juice packs

By Peter Ha

That’s if you pre-ordered yours on or before September 8th, suckas. If you ordered beyond that date then don’t expect your juice pack to start shipping until the 30th of October. But be warned, consumers, for the juice pack for the iP3G is still awaiting its “Works for iPhone” Apple certification, which could effect shipping dates so maybe they should have held off, no? Either way, I hope mine will be waiting for me at the office when I get back next week.

Mophie

Windows Mobile or an iPhone?? what do you think?

by Nilay Patel

Most of the Windows Mobile / iPhone cross-breeding we’ve seen has either involved elaborate WinMo skinning or terrible iPhone KIRFs, but we suppose it was just a matter of time before Microsoft’s mobile OS was made to run on Apple’s hardware — or at least that’s what it looks like here. Pretty much everything about this video is suspect, from the shadiness of the MyPhone2008 conference it was shot at to the interviewer’s ridiculously inane questions (“You don’t have girlfriends in Norway?”), but damn if that isn’t WinMo happily booting on what appears to be an iPhone 3G — we can’t tell, but it’s a good bet it’s jailbroken. The developer, Erik Kristiansen, says that mod is in beta right now but that he’s looking at a January release — we’ll see what more we can dig up before then. Video after the break.

Source: Engadget

iPhone Application: F1Info

Another new iPhone Application that I have developed has recently made its way to the App Store – F1Info. This application is definitely for all the F1 freaks out there. This application gets all the latest information about F1 happenings from around the world and displays it as it is reported on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Here is a brief description of the application…

“Are you addicted to Formula 1? If you are, then you have come to the rightplace. F1info brings the latest news about F1 as it is happening rightto your iPhone/iPod Touch now. You don’t need to wait for the morning news toread about your favorite team or driver. Just pick up your iPhone/iPod Touch andit instantly delivers all the latest news and results in the F1 world.Now you can really brag to your friends that you are the greatest F1fan ever! Features include:- Works with EDGE/3G/Wifi- Choose how many items you would like to display on your application- Choose your information from top 3 websites such as planet-f1.com, grandprix.com or formula1.com”

iPhone 2.2 getting Google’s Street View

Maybe iPhone users won’t have to covet one of those shiny new features in Google’s Android operating system

after all: Google Maps Street View.

The driver’s-eye view is a prominent part of the first Android phone, T-Mobile’s G1, which goes on sale October 22. But according to Mac Rumors on Monday, Apple has snuck Street View into the iPhone 2.2 firmware beta release.

Other new features described in the report include the ability to disable the typing autocorrect feature and the inclusion of 461 small icons called Japanese emoji characters.

The iPhone 2.2 firmware beta release is not expected until later this month.

30 percent of iPhone 3G buyers dump existing carriers

Apple’s iPhone 3G apparently created a summertime switch itch: 30 percent of all the smartphone’s buyers bailed on their existing carriers in order to purchase the device, according to an NPD Group report released Monday.

AT&T has been the iPhone 3G’s exclusive carrier in the U.S. since the smartphone was released in June.

According to the report, which covers June through August, 47 percent of those switching to AT&T to get the iPhone 3G came from Verizon Wireless, 24 percent from T-Mobile, and 19 percent from Sprint.

“While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G (have) proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network,” Ross Rubin, NPD director of industry analysis, said in a statement.

By contrast, about 23 percent of consumers overall switched carriers from June through August.

During that same time frame, the smartphones with the highest unit sales were Apple’s iPhone 3G, followed by Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Curve, RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl, and the Palm Centro, according to NPD.

Prior to launching its 3G version, Apple’s iPhone accounted for 11 percent of the smartphone market in 2008. But since the 3G’s launch, that figure has risen to 17 percent of the market since the start of the year.

“The launch of the lower-priced iPhone 3G was a boon to overall consumer smartphone sales,” Rubin said.

Source: Cnet

Obama uses iPhone to gain support

US Democratic candidate Barack Obama is set to turn the iPhone into a political recruiting tool with an application aimed at getting the vote out. The software has a “Call Friends” option to help organise contacts in swing states. A note about the software on Mr Obama’s blog said: “This tool is designed to help you become more directly involved in our campaign to change the country.” The free application was developed by volunteers in less than three weeks. “This really has the potential to help the campaign,” said Jason Grigsby, one of the project leaders. In a recent blog entry the campaign wrote: “With only 33 days left, it’s more important than ever to call your friends and family to make sure they are registered and voting for Barack.”

The blog also said that it hoped the “Call Friends” feature would “generate thousands of additional personal contacts” – that would then be turned into votes. Other features include making notes on which friends have been called, who they are supporting, and if they need a reminder on election day. The website said the total amount of calls the application made were tallied but no information left the phone, so the privacy of friends and users were protected. The application also passes on up-to-date news from the campaign, plus video, photos and talking points to help convince friends to vote for the candidate. Senator Obama has proved a fan of technology in his campaign and made headlines when he announced his choice of Joe Biden for vice-president via a text message.

Suddenly, the iPhone looks really old

A brief glance at the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic unveiled earlier today must have sent shivers down Apple executives’ spines. Not for what the handset is, but because it shows that cellphone have woken up and demonstrate that they can adapt to competitive challenges and won’t give up market share that easily.

The 5800 successfully challenges the iPhone in terms of design, coolness and shiny software, but it beats Apple’s handset down in terms of music and video. What is somewhat surprising is that despite the fact that Nokia has taken clues from what has made the iPhone so successful, 5800 isn’t a copy-cat: It includes some of the iPhone’s strongest features (such as a large touchscreen) and fixes some of its faults and combines everything in one stylish package. We are pretty sure that the 5800 will turn just as many heads as the iPhone did when it was new. Check out our gallery and see what we mean.

There is also decent hardware to back up its looks. Not only does it come with a proximity sensor and an accelerometer (both included in the iPhone as well), but it outclasses Apple’s device in audio and video. The 5800 is equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera with a high-quality lens optics and a dual-LED flash for low-light conditions. Its music player matches the iPhone, minus “iPod” nametag. It “Comes with Music”, a new service that lets you wirelessly download or stream songs from the Nokia Music Store service for free during first year.

The Nokia phone also records VGA quality video at 30 FPS, which should look great on its screen, which has twice as many pixels as the iPhone screen. Another feature that exploits an iPhone weakness: It has a replaceable battery and does MMS. It also knows software tricks. For instance, you can place four contacts on the home screen for quick access to their entire history, including phone logs, recent SMS messages, even photos and blog updates. You can easily bring up menu bar anytime for quick access to music, favorite tracks, videos, photos and web.

So, is this the phone that will kill the iPhone, right?

No. The 5800 is actually more a preview of things to come from Nokia. Both the 5800 and iPhone demonstrate two distinct philosophies in the mobile phone space – showbiz and the more conservative approach of a traditional cellphone company. Apple still trumps any other device cards on hardware integration and design, simplicity, gorgeous graphics and a unique UI that is spiced up with support for pinch zooming, content flicks and finger scrolling.

But it is clear that Nokia is going after Apple – interestingly with a strategy we know from Apple: Take the best from your rivals and fix their mistakes. We strongly believe that Steve Jobs and his team should be worried. In fact, they need to come up with the next and much improved iPhone really soon. Nokia’s 5800 is a clear sign that cellphone makers won’t allow Apple to duplicate its success with the iPod in the cellphone market. In fact, we believe that the iPhone and its features suddenly look somewhat dated – when compared to the new Nokia phone.

When the 5800 hits the market, Apple will still have advantages through its AppStore, user interface and applications such as Mobile Me. But if Apple decides to rest on its laurels, it is clear that the iPhone will be in serious trouble sooner or later.

Source: TGdaily

Apple stomps bugs with iPhone 2.1 software release

Apple has released version 2.1 of its iPhone software, promising a wealth of bug fixes for a pioneering device that suffered a number of problems.

Chief Executive Steve Jobs had promised the iPhone update in a speech Tuesday during a launch event for next-generation iPod music players, saying, “This is a big update, and it fixes lots of bugs.”

The company’s software update page shows just how big:

• Decrease in call setup failures and dropped calls
• Significantly better battery life for most users
• Dramatically reduced time to back up to iTunes
• Improved e-mail reliability, notably fetching e-mail from POP and Exchange accounts
• Faster installation of third-party applications
• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third-party applications
• Improved performance in text messaging
• Faster loading and searching of contacts
• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• Option to wipe data after 10 failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

The page also instructs iPhone users to use the latest version of iTunes to perform the update. So beware, Windows Vista users.

The iPhone 3G has generally won acclaim for its design and the range of third-party applications that now can run on the device, though some miss features such as copy-and-paste and voice-command dialing. However, network connectivity troubles and other issues have tarnished the iPhone 3G’s debut.

Source