News Archive for 08/06/09

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Phanfare offers free iPhone photo uploading

06/09, 11:10pm

Phanfare iPhone photo site

Shortly after the WWDC keynote, Phanfare on Monday unveiled a new camera application for the iPhone that allows users to share photos on the web in a simplistic manner. Phanfare provides 1GB of free online storage for photos (without advertisements), while users can opt for unlimited storage options. Once users take a photo with the iPhone's built-in camera, they have the option to caption and upload a photo to a new or existing album. The unlimited storage version of the service costs $55 per year.

iPhone 3G: in-store activation only, free upgrades

06/09, 8:30pm

AT&T talks iPhone contract

Following the announcement of its price hike, AT&T on Monday said that all iPhone 3G handsets must be activated at the time of purchase in the retail store and that all first-generation phones purchased after May 27th will be eligible for a free upgrade to the 3G model. In an interview with Gizmodo the company said that Apple/AT&T would not allow home-based activation via iTunes, which Apple's CEO touted during the initial launch. AT&T's President of National Distribution Glenn Lurie told the publication that there would no in-home activation for iPhone 3G and that the new iPhone 3G must be activated in either an Apple or AT&T store.

Apple posts QuickTime 7.5, WWDC keynote

06/09, 8:10pm

QuickTime 7.5 fixes bugs

Apple on Monday released QuickTime 7.5, an update to its multimedia software (available for both Macs and PCs). The software, according to the company, improves application compatibility and addresses five security issues; it "is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users." The download is 60MB and available via the Software Update for Tiger, Panther, and Leopard users. In addition, Apple has also posted the QuickTime/MPEG video stream of the keynote. Our own coverage is still available online and we have a full gallery of photos.

Snow Leopard, next OS, due in about a year

06/09, 8:05pm

Apple touts Snow Leopard

Apple on Monday previewed Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the successor to Mac OS X Leopard; the next major version Apple's operating system focuses primarily on new features to enhance performance of OS X, set a new standard for quality and lay the foundation for future OS X innovation, Apple said. Snow Leopard is optimized for multi-core processors, taps into the computing power of graphic processing units (GPUs), enables "breakthrough" amounts of RAM and features the company's new modern media platform with QuickTime X. Snow Leopard includes out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange 2007 and is scheduled to "ship in about a year."

WWDC keynote photo gallery

06/09, 7:05pm

WWDC keynote photo gallery

MacNN on Monday attended the WWDC keynote at Moscone West in San Francisco, and assembled a Flickr gallery of the event. Before the highly-anticipated keynote kicked off, attendees anxiously wait outside in the early morning, eagerly anticipating a glimpse of the iPhone's second official incarnation. Banners on walls and ceilings teased event goers with vague, but insightful, phrases as they mulled about enjoying a nice pre-show breakfast.

iPhone in Canada to launch on Fido, Rogers [U]

06/09, 6:05pm

iPhone for Fido and Rogers

(Updated with device pricing) Apple today on its iPhone 3G for Canada site revealed that the new iPhone 3G will be available for both Fido and its parent company Rogers Wireless in the country. The news expands on the previous Rogers-only announcement and will let users of either service buy the phone when it becomes available in Canada on July 11th. Rogers says it will sell the phone at the same $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB) prices as in the US, but will require a longer three-year contract common to providers in the territory.

3G iPhone in 22 countries July 11th, 70+ total

06/09, 5:50pm

3G iPhone in 22 countries

After analysts predicted a larger area of deployment for the 3G iPhone, Apple on Monday announced it is bringing the much anticipated device to over 70 countries – just over one-third of countries in the world – a year after launching the first iPhone, with 22 countries to have it on July 11th. The 3G iPhone will make a return to the US through AT&T, the UK's and Ireland's O2 network, Germany's T-Mobile, and Orange in France.

IBM's Roadrunner supercomputer capable of 1 petaflop

06/09, 5:30pm

IBM Roadrunner

IBM today announced it will commission a $100 million hybrid supercomputer, the world's fastest, codenamed Roadrunner, to the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. The supercomputer is claimed to be able to perform 1,000 trillion operations per second, or one petaflop. According to IBM, the array has the same computing power as 100,000 of today’s fastest laptop computers combined. The hybrid computer combines AMD's x86 processors with Cell Broadband Engine chips originally developed for video game platforms, such as the ones used in Sony's PlayStation3.

ASUS launches EzLink monitors with USB interface

06/09, 5:30pm

ASUS EzLink monitors

ASUS recently announced it will soon launch two new LCD monitors, the VW223B and VW202B, with EzLink connection technology. The 22-inch widescreen VW223B and 20.1-inch widescreen VW202B will be the first to feature EzLink, which will allow users to connect up to six of the monitors to a PC or notebook with only a USB 2.0 interface, not requiring additional graphics cards. Both new monitors feature WSXGA+ (1680x1050) resolution.

EMI Music names Second Life co-founder new VP

06/09, 5:25pm

EMI Music hires new VP

EMI Music's newest SVP of Digital Strategy, Cory Ondrejka, on his blog today revealed his frustrations with buying, accessing and listening to music purchased via the web. While Ondrejka's frustrations with DRM music are shared by many, he is in a position to do something about it, as he pledges to work on making digital music experience better for fans and artists alike.

Piper: iPhone 3G price cut deep, to affect revenues

06/09, 5:05pm

Piper on iPhone 3G

The price cut for the iPhone 3G was deeper than expected, says analyst group Piper Jaffray. Moving the base price to $199, it is fact said to be 50 percent greater than predicted by The Street, a factor which Piper believes will contribute to high CY08 shipments of 12.9 million units. Also significant is that iPhone availability will expand from the present six countries to 22 by July 11th, and as many as 70 countries within the "next several months," according to Apple.

iPhone 3G already at FCC

06/09, 4:55pm

iPhone 3G at FCC

Although only just announced, the iPhone 3G is already being approved at the Federal Communications Commission, according to a new filing with the agency. The terse application provides few details but reveals that Apple timed its confidentiality request to begin with the announcement of the device. Test photos and other more detailed information about the device will be kept secret for at least 45 days after the initial submission, putting the full disclosure after the release of the phone on July 11th.

AT&T increases data price for iPhone 3G

06/09, 4:30pm

ATT iPhone 3G Plans

AT&T today expanded on Apple's announcement of iPhone 3G by revealing that the carrier will increase data rates for iPhone customers. A data plan for standard users will cost $30 per month versus the $20 per month paid on existing plans; a separate, business-focused data plan will be available for $45 per month. The change reflects the iPhone's development into a full-fledged smartphone and is "business as usual" for AT&T, company President of National Distribution Glenn Lurie tells Electronista. The executive points to the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices, which also receive similar pricing for unlimited data; without third-party apps, the iPhone is said to have been a more limited device.

SanDisk officially closes Fanfare service

06/09, 4:20pm

SanDisk closes Fanfare

Storage and music player maker SanDisk has officially closed Fanfare, the company's online video service. The service is actually said to have stopped following the end of a beta period on May 15th this year, but due to low participation and a lack of public announcements, this fact has generally gone unnoticed. "We thank you for your participation and interest," reads a brief statement on SanDisk's website.

Analysts: Macs in 80 percent of multinationals

06/09, 3:45pm

Mac enterprise adoption

Corporate adoption of Macs is extremely high in the realm of multinationals, a new study claims. The Yankee Group research firm says it has conducted a web-based survey of 700 global IT administrators and C-level executives, and determined that approximately 80 percent of multinationals have Apple computers operating in their networks. A quarter of these businesses report having a "significant" number of Mac clients installed.

iPhone apps to use push notification

06/09, 3:20pm

iPhone push notification

Speaking at the WWDC keynote, Apple's senior VP of iPhone software -- Scott Forstall -- today claimed that the company was addressing a major concern of developers, background processes. Forstall noted that using true background processes would be "wrong," as it often hurts battery life, as well as the performance of foreground applications, which must split CPU cycles. Forstall cited the example of Windows Mobile's task manager, calling it clunky to use.

Apple introduces iPhone 3G

06/09, 3:15pm

iPhone 3G

Apple today unveiled its highly anticipated iPhone 3G. The device "climbs the next mountain" of requiring fast mobile data as well as reducing the price. The connection is the most important feature and downloads websites 2.8 times faster than an iPhone on EDGE; it's also faster versus rival 3G-capable devices like the Nokia N95, according to Apple. E-mail also transfers more quickly and approaches Wi-Fi speeds, the company says. Despite the higher-power Internet connection, the device can last for 5 hours of 3G talk time and 10 hours of 2G -- up from 8 hours on 2G. Browsing is the same at between 5-6 hours, while video and audio playback have been upgraded to 7 and 24 hours respectively.

Companies demo first native, third-party iPhone apps

06/09, 2:35pm

Third-party iPhone apps

As a part of its WWDC keynote, Apple today brought a number of companies on-stage to demonstrate some of the first third-party applications designed to run natively on the iPhone. Leading the presentation was Sega, which presented a more complete version of Super Monkey Ball, its 3D action game controlled via the accelerometer. The final version will have over 100 levels with four playable characters, and should be available at the launch of the App Store for $10.

MobileMe: "Exchange for the rest of us"

06/09, 2:20pm

Apple Mobile Me

Apple today launched its widely rumored MobileMe service, described as "Exchange for the rest of us." Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPod users with MobileMe accounts get e-mail, calendars, and contacts pushed to all devices; an update on one device automatically gets sent to the others. On Macs, it works with Mail, Address Book, and iCal; Windows users integrate with Outlook.

iPhone 2.0 adds iWork/Office, dates App Store

06/09, 2:10pm

iPhone 2.0 New Features

Apple today announced several new features to its iPhone 2.0 software as part of its presentation at the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. The firmware now adds full iWork and Office document support, allowing documents from either productivity suite to be read from the phone. Users can also mass-delete e-mail, save images, use a scientific calculator when rotating the iPhone, apply parental controls, and new language support.

Jobs confirms Mac OS X Snow Leopard

06/09, 1:20pm

Mac OS X Snow Leopard

During his keynote speech for the 2008 WWDC conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs today confirmed the existence of "Snow Leopard," the next version of Mac OS X. No details have so far been announced publicly, but Jobs explains that developers will get a sneak preview of the OS after lunch at the conference. Snow Leopard has been rumored to be mainly a refinement of existing Leopard features, focusing on speed, stability and security. Other changes, however, are rumored to include the elimination of PowerPC support, resulting in more streamlined code. The OS may also be wrapped entirely in Cocoa, rather than Carbon.

ASUS prepping 16:9 notebooks for July

06/09, 12:30pm

ASUS 16-9 Notebooks July

ASUS is next up to offer an ultra-wide screen in its notebooks, according to a claim stemming from the LCD industry. The company is reportedly adding portables with 15.6-inch displays with a 16:9 wide aspect ratio as early as July. Most details are unavailable, though the system is said to be launching first the US followed by a European model. It's unclear whether this would replace any existing 15.4-inch, 16:10 notebooks.

Acer preps 24-inch, 1080p LCD monitor

06/09, 11:50am

Acer P244W 1080p monitor

Computer manufacturer Acer has announced a new LCD monitor, the P244W. The display is being aimed at high-end buyers, and as such measures 24 inches, with support for 16:9 widescreen resolutions up to 1080p (1900x1080). Appropriately the monitor is equipped with an HDMI input, which lets users connect the likes of game consoles and Blu-ray movie players. Regular computer inputs should also be included.

Apple online store taken down in advance of WWDC

06/09, 11:20am

Apple Store goes offline

Apple's online store has been temporarily taken down for updating, a splash page reads. The maintenance comes in advance of today's WWDC keynote by CEO Steve Jobs, scheduled for 10AM Pacific time. Apple is then widely expected to announce a new 3G iPhone, and possibly other new hardware, including a rumored touch tablet that would measure between 4 and 7 inches. The upgraded iPhone is expected to ship later this month.

Victor-JVC develops dual codec LSI camera chip

06/09, 11:10am

JVC's dual codec LSI chip

Japan's Victor-JVC has developed a dual-codec video camera LSI (Large-Scale Integration) chip, the company announced on Monday. The HD Gigabrid chip allows recording of HD videos in the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format as well as the Internet- and YouTube-friendly MPEG-2 codec, both at the same time. The chip allows for Full HD (1920x1080p) recording, and is capable of extended HD recording with a 5MBps setting. MPEG-2 format video can be written at 27MBps.

Macs to get PGP Whole Disk Encryption in July

06/09, 11:05am

PGP Whole Disk Encryp. 9.9

PGP Corporation has announced a forthcoming update to Whole Disk Encryption, its enterprise-level security program. As implied by its name, the application encrypts everything on a hard drive or flash stick, including swap and temporary files, to the FIPS 140-2 level required by the US government. Version 9.9 will be the first edition of this software for the Mac, and should be released sometime in July.

Nokia to launch E66, E71 phones next week

06/09, 10:55am

Nokia Slips E66 E71 Info

Nokia this morning has inadvertently confirmed the existence of its E66 and E71 smartphones through comments made today to Reuters. Senior executive VP Anssi Vanjoki explains that a "group" of Eseries devices will launch in the same summer window as the N96 media phone. The company itself doesn't provide details, though sources speaking to the news agency claim that both devices will be uncovered next week and share similar features.

Australian, South African iPhone dates pegged?

06/09, 10:20am

Aussie, SA iPhone dates

Dates for the Australian and South African iPhones have allegedly been confirmed, according to a site in the latter country. The South African phone is said to have been announced for July 20th, sold by Vodacom, in which international carrier Vodafone is a majority shareholder. In May Vodafone announced plans to launch the iPhone in 10 new countries, including South Africa amongst the likes of Italy, Portugal, Greece and India.

Microsoft to make Zune touchscreen player

06/09, 10:15am

MS on Zune Touch

Microsoft ultimately expects its Zune media player line to receive a touchscreen, the company's Entertainment and Devices chief Robbie Bach says. Without committing to a specific product, the executive describes the addition as near-certain and implies that the media player will eventually drop its physical control pad entirely in favor of a touch interface as part of a broader company philosophy.

USA Today, Telegraph suggest free, $199 3G iPhones

06/09, 9:30am

Papers: Free, $199 iPhones

Some prices are already known for the 3G iPhone, two major publications claim. USA Today cites "people with knowledge of the matter," who say that the American phone will be available for as little as $199, a drop from the current prices of $399 and $499. It is not known if this implies the existence of a single capacity, rather than two; the newspaper's sources claim, however, that they can confirm the cost difference is being subsidized.

Acer, HP settle patent disputes

06/09, 9:30am

Acer HP Settle Dispute

Acer and HP today said they have officially settled lawsuits filed against each other over perceived patent infringements, putting an end to a relatively short multi-month conflict between the two. The terms of the deal are unavailable but put an end both to all three lawsuits in US federal court as well as International Trade Commission complaints, all of which would potentially have prevented either company from shipping some PC models in the country.

Motorola intros CDMA/GSM hybrid MC75 handheld

06/09, 9:00am

Motorola MC75

Motorola this morning brought many of its home cellphone features to a tougher environment with the MC75. Designed chiefly for in-the-field users with a ruggedized shell, the Windows Mobile 6 handset nonetheless is nonetheless upscale and includes both HSDPA-based 3G for GSM networks as well as EVDO Revision A for Sprint, Verizon, and other CDMA phone carriers' 3G services. An 802.11a/g Wi-Fi connection fills in remaining gaps.

HP brings Blackbird game PC to retail, leaks 9800 GT

06/09, 8:30am

HP Blackbird 002 at Retail

HP this morning revealed ahead of a larger announcement in Berlin that it will bring its Blackbird 002 gaming system to retail. The previously online-only system will ship in a trim level targeted at the higher end of the performance spectrum with a liquid-cooled 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad, two of NVIDIA's as-yet unannounced GeForce 9800 GT video cards paired up in SLI mode, and a 500GB hard drive; the graphics are set to replace the 8800 GT and improve the clock speed of the earlier card without affecting heat output.

Centrino 2-based ThinkPad specs leaked

06/09, 8:00am

Centrino 2 ThinkPad Leak

Much of Lenovo's upcoming ThinkPad line has been slipped late yesterday through Engadget. An escaped presentation reportedly confirms the existence of the X200 ultra-slim notebook and suggests Lenovo will offer much faster performance even a smaller system than the X300. The 12-inch X200 is set to use Intel's full-speed but low-power Core 2 Duos at speeds up to 2.4GHz; a combination of solid-state drives (up to 64GB) and an optional nine-cell battery pack will boost battery life up to 9.6 hours. The system will have a DisplayPort connection and options for 3G data, GPS, ultra-wideband, and WiMAX.

WWDC: Live Coverage, free iPhone t-shirts

06/09, 2:35am

WWDC 08 Live Coverage

MacNN expects to provide live coverage of the WWDC Keynote, which begins at 10 am/1pm ET. The lineup has already started and FastMac, who announced five T-shirt designs to commemorate WWDC 2008 and Apple’s imminent launch of a new iPhone, said it would give away T-shirts for free outside the Moscone Convention Center 12 AM and 6 AM on June 9th and that while supplies last, the T-shirts will also be available for order from FastMac’s website.

WWDC: Attendees lineup on Sunday for Jobs' keynote

06/09, 2:15am

WWDC Keynote line forms

With Apple's keynote less than 12 hours away (live coverage here)), attendees have already begun lining up outside Moscone Center West. The line as of 11 pm PT had eight people -- all of whom expected to spend all night waiting. The first person in line reportedly showed up around 1:30 pm on Sunday and a second person joined the line a few hours later. A group of students from Connecticut, who work for Tooble.TV, later showed up around 6:30 pm. They told MacNN, however, that Apple security refused to provide an extension cord from the building for charging their laptops and iPhones, although IDG Expo, the company that produces the annual Macworld Expo, had done the same for for those waiting in line ahead of the Expo keynote. On Friday, we posted some early photos of Moscone Center.

Sydney Apple Store opens June 19 w/largest Genius Bar

06/09, 2:05am

Sydney Apple Store: 6/19

Mac fans in Australia have more than just tomorrow’s Keynote to look forward to, as the country’s first Apple Store opens later this month. The Sydney Morning Herald says the store will be one of only three in the world spread out over three stories, that it will house the largest "Genius Bar" in the world, and that will offer Apple's Pro Lab service, which provides in-depth training to professional users (Pro Lab services are only available in two other Apple Stores - at one of its flagship stores in New York and in the recently opened Boston flagship store). In an exclusive interview with the newspaper, Apple’s Senior Vice President Ron Johnson said it will be "a breathtaking store,” with some sort of secret architectural feature taking up a significant amount of floor space.

3G iPhone boxes showing up at Apple stores

06/09, 12:45am

3G iPhone at Apple retail?

Apple retail stores around the world are beginning to receive mysterious boxes (one box per store) with strict instructions not to be opened until next week, along with new unidentified signage. It's unknown at this time what exactly is in these boxes but a couple false reports have come in stating they contain a version 2.0 iPhone display unit. An AppleInsider report is posting similar information taking place in Apple retails stores across Australia.

Samsung i900 launches ahead of iPhone

06/09, 12:35am

Samsung i900 Omnia

Samsung on Monday hoped to preempt Apple's announcements with the launch of the i900 Omnia. The Korean firm's latest touchscreen phone is also its first to use Windows Mobile 6.1 but includes a custom TouchWiz front-end more friendly to home users; like the HTC Touch Pro and Touch Diamond, it uses Opera Mobile in place of Internet Explorer for web browsing. A relatively unique miniature trackpad serves as a fallback for when on-screen buttons are too small to control, while an accelerometer (still rare in Windows Mobile devices) auto-rotates the display when the phone is tilted on its side.

Sling preps mobile TV viewer for iPhone

06/09, 12:00am

Sling Mobile for iPhone

Sling Media today made official that it has been developing a version of its SlingPlayer Mobile software for the Apple iPhone. The software is described as a "proof of concept" developed using jailbroken iPhones but offers much of the same functionality as the released applications for Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and other cellphone platforms. Users can navigate a Slingbox network streaming hub connected to a home TV feed and choose channels through a visual guide as well as stop or skip through playback.