iPhone: Jobs on EDGE; accessories; enough iPhones?

In brief: Steve Jobs concedes a point on the speed of AT&T's EDGE network, the iPhone accessory market may have a slow start, Speck launches its own series of iPhone cases, and Marketcircle updates iPhoney to 1.1. Apple CEO Steve Jobs admits that cellular Internet on the iPhone will be slow. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, he comments that while AT&T's EDGE network is "great for mail, and it works well for maps," it can be disappointing for web browsing. "It's good enough, but you wish it was a little faster." His hope is that most iPhone users will be able to use the automatic Wi-Fi roaming, which connects to unsecured points without prompting. The size and battery drain of current receivers is cited as the main reason for not using 3G broadband.

iPhone accessories to be slow in coming?

The market for iPhone accessories may take some time to build, and Apple is to blame, according to a new article. The Reuters piece observes that while there are currently thousands of accessories for the iPod, Apple's extreme secrecy with the iPhone has kept all but the dimensions of the product out of the hands of companies like Belkin and Griffin. As a result, many of the first accessories will be basic ones such as cases and charging cables, rather than the likes of FM transmitters. Some future accessories may include keyboards and headphone adapters.

Speck launches first iPhone cases

One of the companies in the initial accessory wave is Speck, who have released four different skins. The Holster-Pro has a combination clip and stand, the ToughSkin is more impact-resistant, the SkinTight is a basic rubber two-pack, and the TechStyle Classic adds style along with a matching swivel holster. All of the cases are $30, except for the TechStyle, which is $35.

iPhoney upgraded to v1.1

Marketcircle has released a new version of its iPhone browsing simulator. iPhoney 1.1 is now an open-source project, which the company hopes will make it a "global test bench" for iPhone developers. It has also added the "zoom to fit" feature found on the iPhone itself. The program is a Universal Binary made with Cocoa, and written in Objective-C; it is said to be a completely functional browser that emulates the exact appearance of websites on the iPhone.

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