11/20, 4:20pm
Coders must be careful to avoid tripping flags
A new automatic screening technique Apple is using for the App Store appears to be backfiring, claims developer Rogue Sheep. The screening is believed to be aimed at catching unauthorized APIs, blocked under Apple's submission rules. A number of the apps trapped so far are allegedly ones using Three20, an Objective-C library. Rogue Sheep's Postage has in the past relied on some Three20 code, and so private API calls were removed from the software before submitting a recent update.
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11/20, 3:10pm
Proto FLO TV tuner gives iPhone live shows
Qualcomm has quietly shown an example receiver that would give the iPhone and iPod touch FLO TV reception. Despite assertions that the company would use iPhone OS 3.0 support for native hardware, the demonstrator mimics the strategy used for the Softbank 1Seg tuner in Japan and pipes video over Wi-Fi. The receiver itself is roughly as large as the iPhone, though it's unclear whether this is due to its prototype nature or to accommodate a larger battery.
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11/20, 1:15pm
Ten percent of Chinese 3G in three years
China Unicom has set high targets for iPhone sales in its native country, according to China Daily. One senior executive tells the newspaper that within two to three years, the iPhone is expected to represent 10 percent of all 3G devices in China. The carrier's chairman, Chang Xiaobing, has meanwhile suggested that the product will eventually become the nation's most popular smartphone.
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11/20, 11:40am
T-Mobile deal may be with MetroPCS, others
T-Mobile's US branch may land a deal with another carrier to grow its network much more rapidly, a rumor maintained on Friday. Sources for the German paper Handelsblatt claimed that Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent, is in the "early stages" of looking for a partner that would help it build out the network through a cash infusion. The top candidates so far include budget carrier MetroPCS, WiMAX-based Clearwire and even AT&T, any of whom could get a small stake in T-Mobile in return for the investment.
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11/20, 10:00am
Nokia cuts 2 percent of research force
Nokia on Friday said it would cut 330 jobs in its research and development group. The reductions are spread between an office in Oulu, in Nokia's native Finland, as well as in Copenhagen. Nokia isn't specific as to the nature of the layoffs and says only that they're meant to reflect the company's "focused portfolio of future products."
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11/20, 8:30am
Gameloft cutting back Android game work
Gameloft today revealed that it has scaled back development of games for Android phones. The French software house made the move as just a fraction of its sales come from the Google platform: it sells 400 times more iPhone games than Android titles, the company's financial head Alexandre de Rochefort said.
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11/19, 5:55pm
Twitter apps get location awareness
Twitter today added its promised geolocation feature for tweets. The addition gives any app using the API, but not the Twitter site itself, the option of tagging posts with a location as well as to automatically draw on the location for position-based features, such as finding tweets in a certain area. It isn't exclusive to GPS-equipped devices and will work with Wi-Fi and other methods that can generate the relevant data.
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11/19, 5:35pm
Chip choice helps increase gross margin on iPhone
Apple has allegedly established a system to minimize licensing costs for 3G components patented by Qualcomm, according to Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi. While most 3G OEMs are paying Qualcomm roughly 4 percent on the wholesale price of their phones, Apple reportedly dodges most of the fees and pays an estimated 1.6 percent of its iPhone revenue to the chip maker.
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11/19, 4:45pm
MS shareholder meeting shows share worries
Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer today warned at a yearly shareholders' meeting that the company needed to improve the standing of Windows in the future. The executive was emphatic that Microsoft was still in a comfortable position with "96 out of 100" choosing Windows worldwide but acknowledged that Apple had cut into Microsoft's share in the past year. He downplayed the amount, labeling it a "a couple of tenths of a percent" but added that even the claimed amount was significant and worth fighting for.
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11/19, 3:10pm
Launch comes after extended delay
Cerulean has released an iPhone version of Trillian, its normally Windows-based instant messaging client. The app syncs with both web and desktop clients, and supports several different messaging networks, including AIM, ICQ, Google, Jabber, MSN and Yahoo. Users can correspondingly login with multiple accounts, and switch between chats via tabs.
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11/19, 1:30pm
Carrier's first HSPA device
Virgin Mobile's Canadian division will soon carry the iPhone, according to an announcement. The company has revealed few details, except that it will sell both the 3G and 3GS, and that a launch should happen sometime "in the coming months." The device will also be the carrier's first HSPA-based phone, possible through an upgraded Bell cellular network.
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11/19, 11:50am
Also adds lane guidance, text-to-speech
As promised, TomTom has released an updated GPS app for the iPhone. A previously unannounced feature is support for the iPod touch, which normally lacks a GPS receiver. As with the recent Magellan app however, Touch support can only be enabled by docking with a first-party car kit.
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11/18, 11:00pm
Tim Burton GelaSkins for iPhone, laptops
GelaSkins, in collaboration with DarkHorse, has announced a new line of protective skins for notebooks and iPhones, each featuring designs from various Time Burton stories. The set of GelaSkins are made to fit 15.4-inch notebooks, as well as all three versions of the iPhone. They provide detailed pictures that wrap around the outside surface, while 3M materials help ensure the skins can slide both on and off the device with ease.
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11/18, 9:10pm
Carrier hires film actor Luke Wilson
AT&T has fired back at Verizon's "there's a map for that" commercials by launching its own critical ad. The carrier hired film actor Luke Wilson, who guides viewers through a chart comparing several aspects of the 3G networks. Wilson credits AT&T with having the fastest network, the ability to simultaneously use voice and Internet, the most popular smartphones and access to over 100,000 apps.
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11/18, 7:40pm
Verizon 3G map ads to run during trial
Judge Timothy Batten Sr. dealt an early setback to AT&T's lawsuit against Verizon over allegedly misleading ads by refusing to grant a requested injunction that would have forced Verizon to take the ads down immediately. The US District Court ruled that the TV spots might be misunderstood but weren't harmfully deceptive, thus leaving no urgent need to change or withdraw the ads ahead of court proceedings. AT&T will have a second chance to persuade Judge Batten at one more hearing on December 16th.
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11/18, 6:15pm
Wired ready for Apple tablet next year
Magazine publisher Condé Nast today revealed that it's taking the unusual step of optimizing its publications with Apple's rumored tablet in mind. The agency doesn't claim to MediaMemo that it's privy to Apple's design but expects Wired, and later its 17 other magazines, to be ready in a format that works with the device by mid-2010. It will allow both actual-size and optimized formats and should include both mixed media and hooks for social networking.
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11/18, 2:40pm
Qualcomm in regular talks with Apple
Qualcomm chief Paul Jacobs in an interview today said his company has been talking with Apple about providing chips for the iPhone. He didn't provide specifics but tried to downplay the significance for Bloomberg, explaining that Qualcomm's size means it talks to "everybody." He also pointed out that company "haven't made [a deal] yet" with Apple and didn't say what progress if any had been achieved.
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11/18, 12:25pm
Exclusivity deals now hampering growth
The iPhone could soon become the UK's most popular smartphone, claims a Canalys analyst. Presenting at yesterday's Canalys Mobility Forum event in London, Pete Cunningham observed that the iPhone was the most popular smartphone in France during Q3 2009, a result of the end of an exclusive deal between Apple and regional carrier Orange. The French government ruled that the deal violated competition regulations.
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11/18, 12:00pm
Most Nokia phones to use Maemo by 2012
Nokia will abandon Symbian for all its Nseries services by 2012, the company said at a launch event for the N900. The Maemo-based smartphone is the only one of its type in Nokia's lineup so far, but the company plans to gradually phase out Symbian S60 on all its Nseries devices over time. It should eventually end in relatively mainstream devices and not just high-end flagships like the N900, which itself is considered a "bridge" between the old and new worlds.
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11/18, 11:25am
Wireless Dynamics outs NFC, RFID reader add-on
Short-range wireless device maker Wireless Dynamics today introduced its iCarte 110, which is the first device to bring two-way near-field communications (NFC) and RFID to the iPhone and iPod touch. The iCarte can transfer info and make contactless payments by containing an embedded smart chip which can act as a debit, credit, pre-paid or loyalty card, turning the iPhone into an electronic wallet.
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11/18, 10:00am
Korean iPhone may arrive on November 28th
The path is now clear for South Korean iPhone sales, reports note. The Korea Communications Commission has granted Apple a license to run location-based services in the country, long a major obstacle to entering the market. Korean cellphones are subject to such restrictions in order to manage privacy violations; with the iPhone, concern is mainly said to have revolved around Google Maps, and the MobileMe service Find My iPhone.
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11/18, 9:15am
Google's own Android phone custom-made
Google's rumored self-developed Android phone is real but has been pushed back, a scoop claimed on late Tuesday. The handset would be built by a third party, most likely LG or Samsung rather than the previously preferred HTC, but would carry only Google's branding and is said by TechCrunch to be designed almost exclusively according to Google's design. It would launch in early 2010 after a delay but would receive heavy marketing as soon as January.
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11/17, 11:30pm
MS' Ozzie claims mobile apps secondary
Mobile apps aren't an important factor in the success of a smartphone platform, Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie claimed today. Interviewed at the company's Professional Developer Conference, the veteran developer tried to downplay apps as a lure and insisted that "all the apps that count" will be available on every smartphone as the time to write and port code is much shorter than on the desktop. Ozzie instead implied that it was the OS itself and its built-in features that would make the difference.
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11/17, 5:25pm
Records iPhone Simulator screen
Just About Managing has announced SimCap 1.0, an iPhone Simulator screencapture utility. The title is designed for developers creating App Store images, or else professional demonstration videos. Extended sequences of stills can be captured, aiding with action shots. When recording video, users can choose whether or not to display cursors or gestures.
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11/17, 5:00pm
Piracy, device limitations hamper potential
The App Store is doing fairly well in China, in spite of obstacles to its adoption, says the Wall Street Journal. Over $1 million in sales are said to have been made so far, a significant amount given the short space of time in which the store has been open. Some popular apps include the instant messaging title QQ, and the real-time strategy game Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
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11/17, 3:10pm
Car kit to support iPod touch
GPS maker Magellan has launched a new iPhone GPS application, RoadMate 2010. Like most such apps, the software provides turn-by-turn navigation, with features like bookmarks, lane guidance and spoken navigation cues. Aspects separating RoadMate include a pedestrian mode, and an associated "find your car" option, which marks a parking place for later return.
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11/17, 2:30pm
Analysts see Palm at Verizon next year
Palm may prove to be Verizon's best hope if the Droid line doesn't bear fruit, Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu said in a note today. He points to contacts within the cell industry and supply chain that suggest Verizon will carry one or more of Palm's webOS phones, such as the Pre or Pixi, sometime in 2010. Sales of both the Motorola Droid and HTC's Droid Eris have purportedly been "somewhat disappointing" and may lead to Verizon using Palm to bolster its smartphone catalog.
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11/17, 12:35pm
Update also adds interface improvements
Google has released v2.0 of Google Earth for the iPhone, its portable 3D mapping software. Users navigate a graphic representation of the Earth, on which various places, businesses, photos and Wikipedia articles can be located. The second edition is a major update, allowing users to import Google Maps content from the web. After logging into a Maps account, the app can impose route information on terrain.
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11/17, 11:45am
Looking to expand first-party game production?
Apple is looking to hire a new game programmer for its Cupertino headquarters, listings show. The person would specifically hold the title of "game/media software engineer," and work with a small team on various entertainment apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. Requirements include three to four years of game development experience, with knowledge of C, C++, Objective-C and/or iPhone programming. Applicants must also have "at least one AAA title" under their belt, and ideally skills in audio, graphics or network code.
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11/17, 9:40am
Robbery appears carefully planned
Between 3,000 and 4,000 iPhones have been stolen from CEVA Logistics in Willebroek, Belgium, according to regional newspapers De Standaard and Gazet van Antwerpen. Although the exact number of phones taken is uncertain, each one is estimated to have been worth between 575 and 675, putting the total value of the robbery around 2 million, or $3 million US. It is suspected that the thieves had inside information, as they cut a hole in the roofing precisely over where the iPhones were being held.
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11/16, 4:35pm
Sleek SA1 earphones have rosewood body
Sleek Audio on Monday launched its wooden SA1 in-ear headphones which can be tuned and worn either as wired headphones or wirelessly. The SA1 set has 6mm drivers housed in a Siam rosewood body. Thanks to Sleek's optional Kleer wireless system, the wires can be detached and users can listen to music wirelessly. Frayed, pinched or otherwise damaged wires can be replaced anytime.
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11/16, 3:50pm
VZ won't give Droid tally but is happy
Verizon today responded to predictions for Motorola Droid sales with only a brief statement on their actual results (subscription required). A spokeswoman for the carrier declined to say whether or not a rough estimate of 250,000 Droids sold is accurate but did say the company is "very pleased" with sales in just over a week since the Android phone reached stores. Verizon doesn't normally provide sales breakdowns for phones and doesn't intend one for the Droid, she says.
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11/16, 1:40pm
App would tie into Apple Store services
Apple is planning to launch a new iPhone app for visitors to its retail stores, several sources claim. So far dubbed "Concierge," the app is expected to mimic the company's web-based reservations system, which lets users schedule Genius Bar and One to One appointments. Users should also be able to monitor various types of membership subscriptions. No date for the app's release has so far been leaked.
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11/16, 12:40pm
May enable more sophisticated games
Gamers should in the future be able to play OnLive titles via an iPhone, the company claims. The forthcoming service takes an alternate approach to processor load, shifting the burden from local devices to OnLive's servers; gamers play via a video stream, making performance more closely tied to bandwidth. Early iPhone support was demonstrated late last week alongside clients for TVs and computers.
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11/16, 10:20am
Nintendo DS 2, PSP 2 nay get fast CPUs
Talk of Nintendo using Tegra 2 gained support today through new sources of information that also point to a faster Sony PSP. Detailed explanations given to DigitalFoundry say the sequel to the DSi should use the future NVIDIA processor and not only see a "colossal" jump in speed versus the DS line but could be as fast as the Wii while supporting more visual effects.
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11/13, 7:00pm
Smartphone sales to jump to 60% by 2014
Pyramid Research has released its Q3 2009 Handset Forecasts, projecting a large shift in the US market for new handset sales. Based on the increase in demand for smartphones, the research group estimates the segment to reach 31 percent of all new handsets sold in the US for 2009. The numbers mark a doubling of the 15 percent growth witnessed two years prior. By the year 2014, Pyramid Research predicts that roughly 60 percent of new handsets will be comprised of smartphones.
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11/13, 6:00pm
Old rumor of Nokia buying Palm resurfaces
Palm stock climbed over 8 percent on Friday after speculation that it would be bought out by Finland-based Nokia. Trading was about 15 times heavier than usual in the morning and remained heavy until the end of the day. The spike mirrored a similar increase from late September.
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11/13, 5:35pm
Moto Droid sales may have accelerated
A new set of extrapolated data from location network developer uLocate suggests that active users of the Droid may have more than doubled in the first week of sales. Third-party estimates indicated that Verizon may have only sold 100,000 launch units, but uLocate says it will have detected about 25,000 new Droids on its network by Saturday. As uLocate's information usually represents about 10 percent of the actual user base of a phone when it's new, the figure would translate to about 250,000 total Droid users.
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11/13, 3:40pm
Store is 'broken,' says company
Software developer Rogue Amoeba has claimed plans to quit iPhone development, citing what it calls the "broken" nature of the App Store approval process. In July the company submitted a bugfix for Airfoil Speakers Touch (AST), an app streaming audio from computers running the Airfoil desktop client. Amoeba complains that the corrected version has only just become available, as a result of three rejections which ultimate forced it to remove existing functionality.
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11/13, 3:25pm
HTC fall to suffer from iPhone, others
HTC this week warned that it should see a significant drop in its fall sales. The company expects its fall sales to sink 15 percent compared to the same season a year ago. It portrays the results as mixed due to strong US sales of Android phones, such as the Hero, being offset by a lack of presence in Europe.
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11/13, 11:40am
Carrier continues attempts to deflect criticism
AT&T has turned to direct communication in order to discourage customers from believing recent Verizon TV ads. The carrier has issued a new memo, claiming the ads are "so blatantly false and misleading" that it has to "set the record straight" about data coverage. It notes for instance that roughly 233 million Americans should have access to AT&T 3G, while 301 million can fall back to EDGE (2.5G) service, and 303 million have at least GPRS.
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11/13, 10:35am
RIM's BBerry 9900 and WebKit browser
RIM's rumored BlackBerry 9900 and WebKit-based browser gained corroborating evidence today with a research note from Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu. He points to contacts in the industry and parts suppliers who say the touchscreen slider phone is in development and resembles a cross between the Storm2 and one of RIM's non-touch QWERTY devices. It's currently in the prototype stage and is likely to ship sometime in 2010.
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11/13, 9:55am
Yamaha MCR-140 has wireless iPod playback
Yamaha late yesterday introduced two new mini audio systems built for iPhones and iPods, the MCR-140 and MCR-040. The former is unique in that it can play back music from an iPod wirelessly through Yamaha's proprietary yAired standard. The MCR-040 lacks this feature, but both systems otherwise sport a CD player, a front panel USB port, an FM radio and auxiliary audio jack inputs.
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11/13, 8:15am
Dell Mini 3 confirmed for Brazil, China
Dell today formally entered the smartphone race by launching the Mini 3. The full-touchscreen phone depends on a customized version of Android and will have different features based on the region. While most details aren't available, the China Mobile version will be limited to EDGE data but use the government-supported OPhone interface and app store. Other countries should get localized 3G and should also have Wi-Fi as well.
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11/12, 11:25pm
Creates and converts files for use on the iPhone
Wondershare Software has launched its newest audio/video conversion software, iPhone Ringtone Maker for Mac. The app enables users to convert almost any audio or video file for use on the iPhone, while providing options to create and transfer ringtones. Its equipped with a wave-form function, an editor which allows users to choose what specific sections of files they want. The utility provides control over both the starting and stopping time of ringtones. Additionally, users can add fade-in and fade-out effects to their edited audio or video clips.
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11/12, 8:15pm
Company utilizes H.264 capabilities on iPhone
Livestream has launched its live internet video service, Livestream Procaster, allowing for app-free access to streaming video on the iPhone. The service allows users to stream video content from webcams, video cameras or the desktops of a Mac or PC. The feeds can be accessed from an iPhone and iPod touch, using either 3G or Wi-Fi. The turnkey service uses H.264 HTTP live streaming functionality built into the native QuickTime player included on the iPhone, allowing streams to play in the Safari browser instead of a standalone app.
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11/12, 4:35pm
Incipio Feather, Argyle Love Premium
Incipio and CAZE have announced new cases for the iPhone and iPod touch. Incipio's latest is the Feather, a shell for the iPhone 3G/3GS and the second-gen iPod touch. It is less than 1mm thin, and made of a light polymer. A soft matte finish is used, and bundled with the case are two surface protectors and a cleaning cloth. The Feather comes in five different Touch colors, or 14 different iPhone variants including black, turquoise, purple, yellow and green.
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11/12, 4:10pm
Telescope provides 8X zoom
USBfever has released two new products in its line of iPhone and iPod accessories, the 8X Telescope with Hard Case and the Smart Stand. The telescope is designed for the iPhone 3G and 3GS, and attaches via the case, offering 8X optical zoom when capturing images. A focus ring is mounted on the lens, and an included stand can be attached for stability.
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11/12, 2:50pm
Only RIM, Nokia top smartphone share
Apple has extended its influence on the smartphone market even further, Gartner says in its data for the summer. The combined iPhone platform leapt from 12.9 percent to 17.1 percent of worldwide share in the summer, or third place, where the next-best competitor, HTC, topped out at 6.5 percent after increasing from 4.5 percent a year earlier. Samsung was near-flat and moved up just slightly to 3.2 percent.
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11/12, 12:55pm
Part of free software update
The TomTom navigation app for the iPhone will soon receive a major software update, the company says. Some planned changes include the addition of text-to-speech, a feature common to most dedicated GPS devices, providing an audio description of directions for busy drivers. Also new is lane guidance, showing necessary switches at difficult intersections.
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