The iPod mini, when it was first released, obtained plenty of praises from just about every quarter and it still looks ain't half bad today. Those who missed the boat and want a little retro action can purchase the 4GB iPod mini for $79 minus shipping and handling. Compare that to new 2GB Shuffles which retail for $69 or refurbished 4GB nanos that are currently going for $129 a piece. Perfect for those looking for an entry level MP3 player with a proven track record.

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While the economy isn't exactly as rosy as everyone would like, there is still some silver lining in this dark cloud according to investment bank Piper Jaffray who is pretty bullish on Apple, claiming that a diversification in the iPhone line will result in 45 million handsets being exchanged at cash registers (virtual or otherwise) worldwide. In fact, an analyst from the bank has tipped off that a 3G model is widely expected to arrive this June, following by the probability of a more significant model by next year which will reside between the $200 and $300 price point. What do you think about this prediction? Will Cupertino's stock start to fly high all over again?

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Full-featured Flash support on the iPhone is just too enticing to ignore. With Steve Jobs' declaration that the desktop version of Flash was too slow for iPhone use and Flash Lite not up to snuff for "real" Flash viewing, Adobe was getting ready to make their own iPhone SDK-based solution for bringing Flash to the iPhone.

Alas, Adobe renegged on their plans in the face of Apple's stringent third-party application guidelines that essentially prevented any third-party application from working in tandem with an iPhone system application like Safari - something that would have to happen if Flash is to become a reality on the iPhone. If Apple would just allow plug-in support on the iPhone, Adobe could make a Safari plug-in that would bring the full-featured Flash experience to the iphone.

So, imagine my surprise when Boy Genius declared that the new iPhone OS 2.0 firmware sports a YouTube plug-in. It isn't clear if the YouTube plug-in simply leverages the YouTube application already loaded on the iPhone, or if the plug-in is a hint at some sort of Flash support. But, what is exciting is that the plug-in hints at Apple allowing plug-in support on the iPhone - which further hints at the possibility of future Flash support.

We'll keep holding our breath for Flash…

[Via: BGR]

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Webkit's developers have been working to make their little darling of a rendering engine the fastest and most standards compliant solution available. And, it looks like the investment has paid off. Webkit has announced that their Webkit core scored a perfect 100/100 score on the Acid3 web browser standards compliance tests.

For the purposes of web browsers, think of Webkit as the rendering engine that determines how the web-code is displayed as a webpage. Webkit was originally devised by Apple for use in Mac OS X's Safari browser, and has now found its way into other browsers, including the iPhone Safari browser, S60 web browser, Android's web browser, and others. Now, the announcement that Webkit is basically at the top of the game when it comes to standards compliance and speedy page rendering only points to continued improvement in the mobile browser segment. Faster web browsing on our mobile phones? Yes, please.

Interestingly, Apple almost simultaneously updated the iPhone SDK with a "beta 2" release. Among the changes in the revised iPhone SDK is the updated Webkit build that powers the iPhone Emulator's iPhone OS 2.0 - Webkit 525.15 runs the show on iPhone SDK beta 2. With every iPhone OS update, Apple has updated the Webkit build that the iPhone Safari browser uses, and this latest iPhone OS is no exception.

The latest Webkit build available to desktop users is 526.1 - which indicates that the next iPhone Safari browser (assuming that the iPhone OS 2.0 that is used in the iPhone SDK Emulator will be released in a few months) could be really close (if not the same) to the same Webkit version that scored a 100% on Acid3.

Of course, the other mobile web browsers powered by Webkit will benefit from the Webkit team's achievement. It's just a matter of when the updated Webkit build will be implemented into the web browser and released to the public.

It should be mentioned that the Opera team managed to reach the perfect 100/100 score on Acid3 before Webkit, but Webkit is the only completely standards compliant engine currently available for public consumption - find the latest nightly build of Webkit here.

Webkit

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Let's face the fact - despite our gadgets being shiny and new, that isn't going to stop us from using it while laying a log or two. After all, surfing the Web when doing so is way more interactive compared to a stale magazine or newspaper. Unfortunately, there is always the risk of you suffering from a sudden butter fingers attack or accidentally smearing your iPhone with waste products, and both are major Greek tragedies by any account. The Naja King ensures this does not happen, being a flexible 3-foot arm that offers you a gravity-defying iPhone. At $39.99 a pop, it certainly is cheaper than purchasing a new iPhone after your older one drowns.

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There is a brand new build of iPhone 1.2 from Apple - also known as 2.0 beta to developers. As with any other new build, you will find fixes to problems found in previous releases, including a Contact.app icon that appears on the home screen. Parental controls cannot be used to control both the AppStore and iTunes store, while there is no need for iSIM anymore since the iPhone will be able to import directly from your SIM card. New languages such as French, German, Nederlands, Italian, Spanish, Portugues, Dansk, Suomi, Norsk Bokmal, and Svenska among others have also been included to widen its appeal, while Mail, Contacts, and Calender are all grouped into the Preferences category.

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Just when you thought that Jon Davis has exhausted all ways to monetize Garfield, along comes this Garfield MP3 player that features everyone's favorite fat cat's head. It is extremely cheap, retailing for a mere $7.99 while carrying 256MB of internal memory along with an SD memory card slot for you to further carry another gig or two's worth of tunes on your commute. Other features include an integrated microphone for impromptu recording and a pair of matching orange earbuds. Should you choose from pay $13.99 instead, you will get the Garfield MP3 player AND an additional 1GB SD memory card.

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You never know what's Steve's up to. Apple already have the handwriting recognition software in OS X and now they are searching for a new person to help them out to extend the technology "beyond Max OS X to other applications and the iPhone." Hmmm, sounds interesting, even though we're not actually dying for a stylus on the iPhone. Here's the full text ad.

The Handwriting Recognition team is seeking an engineer who will be responsible for advancing Apple's handwriting recognition technology for Mac OS X. The ideal candidate will be an expert in the area of pattern recognition, with an excellent understanding of handwriting recognition issues. The person will also assume primary responsibility for maintaining and enhancing existing code and tools. The recognition technology you create may extend beyond Mac OS X to other applications and the iPhone.

You can find the ad — and apply if you have the skills required — from here.

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

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I'm not sure whether to classify this as a good or a bad news for iPhone developers. On one end, the SDK beta 2 adds new functionalities and developers should be able do much more. For instance the new beta of Xcode 3.1 now includes iPhone-ready Interface Builder. Then again, weekend is coming and this may kill your chill out plans, if you had any.

Unfortunately, we still don't have the firmware version 2.0 running on our iPhones, so I guess taking a time off won't hurt anyone. If that wasn't true, we would urge you to dump the weekend plans for the benefit of the man kind, have no doubt about it.

[Via: TUAW]

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A press release from a Japanese company managed to trigger the 3G iPhone rumor again, right after Nagoya-based Aiphone revealed that it has been talking to Apple since last summer concerning the right to use the ‘iPhone’ trademark in Japan. That's due to the fact that ‘Aiphone’ and ‘iPhone’ are spelled the same in Japanese. Why would Apple go all out of their way with this agreement unless they plan to invade Japan with the fabled 3G iphone? Oh yeah, they missed this on the memo - each 3G iPhone will come with your very own pet unicorn.

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Since the iPhone was released, there are certain segments who still fantasize about the iPhone nano although that doesn't look as though it will be rolling out anytime soon. Here's an iPhone nano concept for you to ponder over - using it in landscape mode will leave you with a rather wide-looking handset. I think it is best to just stick with the current iPhone design at this point in time until the folks at Cupertino think of something better. Let's not rush what is supposed to come naturally now, shall we?

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RadTech has a new pair of in-ear isolation headphones known as the ProCable iPhone headset. This allows you to not only enjoy your favorite tunes wherever you are (subject to the iPhone's battery life, of course), but it also enables you to answer incoming phone calls without missing a beat. A 'sound valve' feature has been included, letting you listen to music at a lower volume whil ebeing aware of what sounds there are around you. Choose from black and silver colors, with the ProCable iPhone headset being priced at $24.95.

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Not only does this handset look like the iPhone, it even features a dual-SIM carriage so that you will be able to carry two numbers in a single handset. What are some of the goodies available in exchange for $199.67?

• 3.2" touch screen LCD display with 16:9 aspect ratio


• 1.3 megapixel camera


• microSD memory card slot


• Dual SIM carriage

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Looking to get your iPhone a new pair of brand new headphones? There some high-end models with $100+ price tag, but would you really spend that much on headphones? If you're like me, you don't spend a fortune on those things — rather you're searching for more affordable alternatives. Like Radtech's ProCable in-ear iPhone headphones for instance. Take a look at the specs:

• Freq Response (Out): 20 / 17,000 Hz


• Mic Response (In): -55 / -60 dB


• Isolation: 18dB


• Impedence @1kHz: 32 Ohms


• Sensitivity: 113 - 119 dB


• Maximum [Clean] Output: 110 dB/mW


• Cable Length: Avg 1.2m / 46in Asymmetrical


• Connector Type: 4-conductor 3.5mm


• Driver Type / Size: Dynamic / 10mm


• Mic Orientation: Left


• Weight: 13g


• Available Colors: White - Black

Best of all, you can get them for $24.95. There are even cheaper alternatives, of course, but these hit the sweet spot, between being too expensive and simply cheap. And while you're on a shopping spree at Radtech's website, you may also consider adding replacement ear tips (6 pack costs $4.95) or audio splitter cable ($6.95).

[Via: Gizmodo]

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This MP3 player from Thanko can be hand-cranked, ensuring that you get to enjoy your music no matter where you are, and it sure as heck is better than relying on the sun for juice if you're rocking to a solar-powered charger. A single minute of cranking will net you 10 minutes' of music. Capable of storing up to 1GB worth of audio, this hand-cranked MP3 player supports MP3 and WMA formats - not much, but functional to say the least. Heck, it even has a built-in flash light to help you find your way around at night. The hand-cranked MP3 player retails for approximately 40 Euros a pop.

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There's another round of hyped-up buzz starting to build surrounding the imminent launch of the next-generation iPhone. The first hardware revision of the Apple iPhone will hit the US market with a 3G radio in tow, among other features - which should appease the masses that have lamented the� iPhone's lack of true high-speed data capabilities (although, the iPhone's EDGE data seems to compete with 3G connections due to processing and browser efficiency advantages).

We're dying to get our hands on a 3G iPhone, and the latest report indicates that Apple is indeed ramping up production of the second-gen iPhone. Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney believes that Apple has just placed a 10 million unit-strong order for another round of iPhones. The significance being that the new batch of iPhones are most likely the 3G-addled version of the iPhone.

It wouldn't make sense for Apple to order another 10 million of the current iPhone, so if the new iPhone production order is true, it would most assuredly be an order for mostly (if not exclusively) 3G iPhones.

And, as another little gem from Apple, Dulaney indicates that the 3G iPhone will also employ a new display technology. The multi-touch capacitance touchscreen technology that has been used to tremendous success in the iPhone may just be mated to an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display on the 3G iPhone. The use of an OLED display should allow the 3G iPhone to shed some girth - a thinner OLED display panel ultimately means a thinner 3G iPhone. The OLED display also lacks a backlight, making it significantly more power-efficient than the current LCD display and allowing for increased battery performance - especially important, considering the greater battery drain imposed by 3G/HSDPA chipsets.

So, the next-generation, 3G iPhone is most likely set to start production. And, better yet, the 3G iPhone should also be toting an OLED display. We're crossing our fingers for the latter rumor to pan out. Oh, and let's not forget Kevin Rose's prediction that the 3G iPhone will rock two-way video calling. Stay tuned….

[Via: iPodObserver]

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Here's an interesting accessory you may want to consider getting in case you own the iPhone. First of all, My Touch Keys has nothing to do with the iPhone haptic feedback keyboard prototype we wrote about a month ago. It's a thin sheet of plastic with holes for the on-screen keyboard which mounts onto the iPhone's screen. In addition, aside from reportedly providing you with the easier typing experience, it also protects the screen of your shiny handset. The problem, though, is the holes are ideal place for "storing" all the dust, hence you'll need to be more careful where you're leaving your iBaby. If that doesn't bother you, hop over to My Touch Keys' website and grab it for $7.99. Actually, they are in the midst of promotion so when you buy a single My Touch Keys, you also get one for free… The short demo video follows after the jump.

[Via: Gizmodo]

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Your iPod nano might look rather fragile although it will probably hold out pretty well - at least for the first few months of its life. Why take chances against knocks and scratches when you can always dress up your precious nano in the Factron Quattro jackets? After all, they're made out of aluminum which is way more hardy than those rubberized versions. Unfortunately, these full metal jackets are available in extremely limited quantities and manufactured in Japan, so be prepared to fork out a(n) (undisclosed) premium for one of these.

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About This Video
Kevin Rose leaks some details about the 'new iphone' hardware. Not only will it get 3g, but another camera for video chat.

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Everyone loves their LEGO, but what about this larger-than-life LEGO brick that is actually an iPod speaker dock? They retail for $25 a pop and comes with an iPod connector at the top, but it doesn't look too stable to me. After all, the speakers being their size and all can't possibly pump out the kind of heart-thumping volume you're so used to on your headphones, making this more of a novelty iPod speaker dock than anything else. Still, it is a great way to set tongues a-waggin' thanks to its rather unorthodox design.

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The Easter Bunny has already passed his baton to Santa, so this Egg-shaped MP3 player is a classic case of being a little, too late. I'm sure you're very tired of all the egg puns, but do bear with me. Nothing to be egg-cited about here other than its rather unusual design, featuring 1GB of internal memory, a wireless FM transmitter and an integrated speaker. You won't find any playback controls on its body, as those have already been included in a matching remote control. For $46.87 a pop, I'd rather settle for the more elegant iPod Shuffle instead.

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I know, I know, it isn't April 1st yet and I shouldn't be pulling off such pranks. Sad to say, the cloners are at it again, this time victimizing the Apple iPod Shuffle 2G by including a much needed LCD display as well as an integrated FM radio - something the actual Shuffle sorely needs with requests for either falling on deaf ears at Cupertino. It retails for less than $10 on eBay (before shipping), which is a far cry from the real deal in terms of price despite packing in 1GB of memory too.

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The Financial Times claims that Apple is currently dating music companies, with the main topic of conversation being an unlimited music download service. They have even gone so far as to claim that Nokia will pay labels $80 for each handset if this service ever kicks off, splitting the spoils according to marketshare while Apple offered a mere $20. If you're a consumer, how much would you pay per month to have a device that comes with a lifetime of music downloads?

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Why were we fussing around with third-party screenshot utilities all this time? Probably because there wasn't anyway to enable the hidden screenshot function in iPhone firmwares v1.1.3 and after.

Well, thanks to the work of RipDev, we have news that the hidden screenshot functionality is a simple matter of editing /var/mobile/Library/Preferences/com.apple.springboard.plist. Screenshots can be taken by flipping the "Mute" switch while holding down the "Home" button. We have no idea how they figured this out, but we're thankful nonetheless.

For those of you not willing to get into the nitty gritties of editing a .plist in your iPhone's file system, you can simply add "http://repository.ripdev.com" to your Installer.app source list (this is how you do that), and install "Apple Screenshot Enabler."

Done, no more third-party screenshot utility mess to deal with. Enjoy.

[Via: TUAW]

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Corroborating the StatCounter statistics that puts the iPhone at the top of the mobile browser market (No. 1 in the US, and No. 2 in the UK), M:Metrics, our favorite web-usage statistics firm, has released new research that indicates that iPhone users are hitting the web with a fury. Virtually every single iPhone user is apparently accessing the web through their new handset - 85% to be more precise.

?The iPhone has certainly delivered on its hype,? said Mark Donovan, senior analyst, M:Metrics. ?Beyond a doubt, this device is compelling consumers to interact with the mobile Web, delivering off-the-charts usage from everything to text messaging to mobile video.?

A full 20% accessed Facebook through their iPhones, compared to 1.5% for the entire mobile market. When it comes to YouTube, 30.4% of iPhone users got down with YouTube videos, while 36% used Google Maps - compare that to 1% of the mobile market viewing YouTube videos and 2.6% using Google Maps on their mobile phone.

The chart above basically outlines M:Metrics findings that iPhone users also access mobile video and social networking sites at more than double the rate of other smartphone users - and drastically more than the rest of the mobile market.

M:Metrics also revealed that the average iPhone user was more likely to be male, aged 25-34, earn more that $100,000 and have a college degree, than the average mobile subscriber.

So, by extension, as the Apple handset reach grows larger with more varied offerings (remember, all these stats are based on a single handset going up against giant manufacturers with huge portfolios), these usage statistics should grow ever more impressive. We'll keep watching…

M:Metrics

[Via: MDN]

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Browsing the web on the iPhone is a dream. The experience is unrivaled by any other mobile browsing platform. So, it's no wonder that the iPhone's Safari browser has already climbed to the No. 1 spot among mobile browsers in the US. What makes it so great? Sure, there's multi-touch, capacitance touchscreen, Safari, and tabbed browsing - but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, as they say.

Ireland-based StatCounter tracks over 9 billion page-loads over 2 million websites each month, and they've released the latest results of all that web-spying. It turns out that, not even a year after the iPhone's initial launch, the iPhone Safari browser holds a 0.18% market share in the US - making the iPhone the No. 1 mobile browser.� Combined with the iPod Touch (which runs the same Safari browser), Apple's touchy-feely duo accounts for 0.23% of the web browser market. That's a 64% increase since December. In comparison, Nokia's market share registered around 0.01% in the US.

Now, UK browser-share is a different story. The iPhone takes the No. 2 spot with 0.06% of the mobile browser market, behind No. 1 Nokia's 0.15%. But, combined with the iPod Touch, the Mobile Safari browser accounts for 0.10% of the UK browser market, considerably closing the gap to the top spot. In comparison, RIM's BlackBerry accounted for just 0.02% while Sony Ericsson garnered 0.01% of the UK market.

In short, Apple's iPhone is the No. 1 mobile browser in the US and No. 2 in the UK. All with just a single handset that hasn't even been on market for a year. In a year's time, and hopefully with the addition of the 3G iPhone and perhaps an iPhone Nano, it should be interesting to see how much browser market share Apple's handsets can take. A broader device portfolio should help appeal to an ever greater market - except the haters, that is.

[Via: AppleInsider]

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It was bound to happen. AT&T has started to offer refurbished iPhones at a discounted price. The AT&T website shows these refurbished iPhone 8GB handsets with a $249 price tag. That's $150 off the current retail price for an 8GB iPhone! Talk about a deal.

If the unsubsidized price-point of the iPhone has kept you from biting the bullet and putting an iPhone in your pocket, these refurbished iPhones might just be down your alley. With Apple's outstanding customer service, there's no worry about getting a faulty product.� Should you find anything wrong with your iPhone, simply take it to your nearest Apple Store and have them replace the unit on the spot. You'll most likely be issued a new iPhone and be on your merry iPhone-ing way in 20 minutes.

Early adopters. It sucks to be us. How does it feel to have paid $350 (before tax) for your iPhone? It hurts, but it was worth it, eh?

AT&T�

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Apple's iPhone is getting seriously gussied up for its new role as an enterprise smartphone. With Apple bringing Microsoft Exchange support to the iPhone with the next iPhone update and Cisco already branding iPhone features with their VPN technology, not to mention IBM's Lotus for iPhone, the iconic handset is sure to fire up corporate environments everywhere.

The latest enterprise software maker to lend its business-savvy to the iPhone's amazing interface and sleek looks is Sybase. The company has introduced iPhone support for its Information Anywhere Suite with the announcement of the Sybase iAnywhere. The iAnywhere suite will allow corporate IT networks to deliver Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange enterprise email to its soon-to-be corporate-fleet of iPhones.

With the help of Apple's enterprise-blessing and the newly released iPhone SDK, Sybase says that it can deliver enterprise communications as well as corporate directories and personal contacts through a secure channel - all without the need to modify the enterprise infrastructure.

iAnywhere for iPhone will be available by month's end.

iPhone users can look forward to using their precious handset as a serious enterprise platform. Or at least pretend to do business with a business-suited iPhone.

iAnywhere

[Via: MacWorld]

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Aside from the iPhone's YouTube application, there aren't too many other options to satisfy that YouTube craving. So, it's a good thing that there's at least one other option on the table.

With the same kind of bookmarklet magic that allows iPhone users to copy and paste text and URLs, any embedded YouTube content can be viewed on your H.264-loving iPhone.

Here's the breakdown:

• Drag the bookmarklet to your Safari's bookmark bar (or visit Joe Maller's page for instructions on how to do this straight from your iPhone).


• Sync your iPhone with your computer. Make sure to check the box to "Sync Safari Bookmarks" in iTunes.


• Use your iPhone to find a webpage with embedded youtube content (try this page).


• Bring up your bookmarks and hit up "iTransmogrify!"


• After a few moments, you'll see the embedded YouTube video screenshot appear on the screen.


• Hit the video and your Safari browser will take you to the iPhone's YouTube player and start the video.

That's it! You can now view embedded YouTube content without the need for any Flash! Ahh, the magic of bookmarklets…

[Via: iPhone Atlas]

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"Regular" diamond entrusted iPhone not good enough for you? How about the one designed by Austrian luxury designer and jeweler Peter Aloisson? His iPhone design has between 318 and 320 diamonds, with 138 of them being encrusted with the so called princess cut (the rest of the 180 diamonds are brilliant cut). In total, all diamonds on the iPhone weigh 16.50 ? 17.75 carats and are set in 18k white gold. In other words, 120,000 EUR is a bargain when you think how much value you get… or not!

No surprise, the first customer is already known and it's a Russian businessman who had pre-ordered its luxury iPhone way back in October 2007 for January 2008 delivery. He's probably using the device at this very moment without carrying for any 3rd party apps.

Anyway, Aloisson also has a more modest version for people "on the budget." Their more affordable, yet still quite expensive, diamond iPhone has brilliant-cut diamonds only and is available for mere 45,000 EUR. You do want to shine, don't you?

Two more photos follow after the jump.

[Via: NewLaunches]

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• 2GB SD Card (included)


• AAC, MP3 and WMA


• Line-in sound recording


• 35 x 91.3 x 12.3mm

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Apple iPods are elegantly designed devices that are available in different colours. These devices are capable of providing round the clock entertainment as their battery can render 24 hours of standby time. The storage capacity of the Apple iPods also varies from model to model. The memory of iPods ranges from 2GB to 8GB. The device can store up to 2000 songs in it.

Listening to music is the real catch of the Apple iPod. Besides this, the iPod can also be used to download games and watch TV shows on its large display screen. The click wheel of the device is very useful for specific music recognition functions, controlling volume, or to search the menus for songs, artists, genres and albums. The device has a sleek metallic look. It is capable of delivering 24 hours of standby and 5 hours of video playback time. The Wi-Fi technology enables access to the internet. So, now it is possible to have fast downloads of games, music and videos.

Apple iPod can download 25,000 photos and there is also the option of slide shows. Watching videos on the large screen of the device is also very enjoyable. The device is available under various contract deals and is an interesting gadget to acquire. The Apple stores around the world are offering this new gadget with genuine warranty. Here you will find latest models of Apple iPods. We also allow the users to compare the prices of different products at various retailers. This will help them to get the best value for their money.

Apple iPod

Alice Erin is an Expert Author. He has written good quality articles on MP3 Phones Have a look at 3 Mobile Network UK.

This mirrored iPhone case not only helps keep your precious iPhone's screen safe from unwanted scratches but it also doubles up as a mirror whenever the display is turned off. The protector itself is a snap to apply and remove, and you will be able to wash and replace it as often as you like, although I'm pretty sure there will come a time when the protector is so scratched up, you'd need to fork out another $9.95 to pick another one up from Proporta. Each purchase comes with an application card that helps prevent bubbles from appearing and a screen polishing cloth. Other than the iPhone, there are also iPod touch and 3G nano versions to choose from.

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The iPhone might come in a candybar factor at this point in time, but even that could change in the near future. After all, just like how some people prefer oranges over apples (pun intended), it would be nice to see a variant of the iPhone (just like how Nokia came out with both slider and candybar versions of the 6500 Classic). Apple has just applied for a patent known as "Dual sided trackpad", giving hope to the world that a clamshell iPhone might be in the works. The whole point to this patent is to separate the capacitive touch sensor array and the phone display into two distinct units. The touch sensor will then be placed on a translucent panel, bringing touch sensitivity to both sides as long, being held by a hinge. No idea on when this patent will translate into an actual iPhone, but keep your fingers crossed.

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The GH-KANAGTR-2G MP3 player from Green House comes with the following features :-

• OLED LCD display


• 2GB of internal memory


• MP3 and WMA file format support


• 7 EQ presets


• Integrated FM transmitter (15 frequencies to choose from)


• USB port that accepts external memory device


• 83mm x 29mm x 12mm


• 36 grams

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There are tons of iPod speaker cases out there in the market, but how many of them actually catch your eye? This rotating iPod speaker case stands out, as it features a pair of rotating speakers to suit your fancy. Granted, this isn't exactly a revolutionary idea by any means, but hey - extra marks for the effort. The two 770mW speakers are set into a rotating unit that flanks the iPod display whenever revealed, and can be tucked away out of sight when not in use. They won't suck up juice from your iPod though as they are powered by their own 3.7V lithium polymer battery. The Rotating iPod Speaker Case retails for approximately $60 when it is released at the end of this month.

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being, featuring Princess cut diamonds liberally sprinkled all over its surface to give that lovely sparkle women love to show off. With a total of 318 diamonds in all (where 138 of them have been given the Princess cut treatment), the iPhone Princess Pluss (yes, that's what it is called) will retail for a stunning €120,000. If you happen to not have that much money in your bank account, there is the more modest brilliant-cut diamonds only edition at €45,000 a pop.

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Apple's first foray into the mobile space has been a terrific success. And, not just as the company's first-ever handset offering, the iPhone has succeeded in an entrenched and competitive handset market.

Still, Apple's a bit of a one-trick pony with their iPhone. They've only got one form-factor with one model (different storage capacities notwithstanding). So, what could Cupertino do to throw some variety into the mix? Make an iPhone Flip, of course.

The latest patent application to surface at the USPTO indicates that Apple is at least considering a flip-phone form-factor for their iPhone. Entitled, "Dual sided trackpad," the patent application describes a method whereby a device's capacitance touch sensor panel and display panel are located on separate halves of the flip. The upper portion serves as a display, which isn't really innovative. But, and here's the innovative part, the lower portion of the flip is a transparent touchpad with dual-sided capacitance touch technology. Unwired View's Photoshop rendering shows off this idea beautifully.

What does that mean exactly? Well, imagine being able to view the device's main display with the flip closed - being translucent, the lower flip doesn't obscure the display. And, the dual-sided capacitance touch flip works while in the closed position (overlayed on the display).

Then imagine that you've got the flip open. The dual-sided nature of the flip allows for an entirely new world of multi-touch gestures - the front side of the flip could be used for certain inputs in tandem with the back side of the flip. Or, maybe you want to "draw" the phone number onto the flip. That would work too. Of course, the flip will still function as a standard numeric keypad.

The possibilities are endless, especially for laptop trackpads and tablet computers. But, it all hinges on Apple's decision to go forward with the tech in this patent application. And iPhone Nano with this dual-sided trackpad technology would probably do quite well among those potential iPhone users that really want a smaller form-factor, not to mention those that just want a clamshell. Fingers crossed…

[Via: Unwired View]

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Apple has not been content to categorize their iPhone as a mere telephone. From the start of the product’s launch, they have attempted to go as far as they could in “revolutionizing” the mobile phone market. Now, with the release of an iPhone SDK, they are attempting to turn the iPhone into an Enterprise platform of sorts.

Several experts are debating how much of an impact their recent moves will have.

Sacconaghi said the SDK is “critical to Apple’s maintaining the iPhone’s [ market] positioning,” but that it won’t necessarily make the iPhone more attractive to enterprise users.

“We note that many mobile enterprise applications likely to be available on the iPhone (such as Salesforce.com) are already available for other wireless devices,” he wrote.

However, Andy Hargreaves, of Pacific Crest Securities, said the iPhone should attract new developers to Apple’s technology platforms, and “will likely be the first Apple device for millions of corporate users, and positive impressions could drive stronger demand for Macs over time.”

Hargreaves estimates that the addition of the SDK and ActiveSync support will, over the next year, drive 5 million iPhone sales to corporate customers.

A large measure of what needs to happen for iPhone relates to the acceptance of the iPhone at the enterprise level. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen.

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The guys at Mailcurve (a great email filtering app for the iPhone, which I posted about here) have contacted me, to tell me about the success they are having:

On the 7th we were listed, and made a Staff Pick, on the Apple.com web Apps site…

http://www.apple.com/webapps/productivity/mailcurve.html

… And have been the most popular productivity app there since.

We've had folks signing up from all over the world since then, and gotten great responses. We're very grateful for the recognition from Apple.

Check out their service; it's a neat little concept, which if we believe the feedback from the Apple site (a pretty good indicator I'd say!), is very popular indeed!

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How much more corny can you get - this iPhone clone is known as 'Cool999', and surprisingly looks like the closest iPhone copy to date. You get Cupertino's famous bitten fruit on either side of its 3.5" display that features 320 x 240 resolution and a user interface that is somewhat reminiscent of the Apple iPhone. Ironically, it is powered by Windows Mobile 6.0 with Touch Flo technology - soemthing worth checking out to see if it is actually possible. Other features include a 2 megapixel camera, GPS navigation, video playback support and works where Java games are concerned. You will be able to pick up this clone iPhone for $310, which would be a pretty dumb move considering the real McCoy is a mere $89 more expensive.

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Here is a brief video preview of the version 2.0 iPhone firmware.

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The world's most expensive iPod has gone up for sale at a charity auction in London.

The popular music player was customised with hundreds of diamonds for a dazzling makeover.

Already a must-have item, the bejewelled version was the star of the auction, with an estimated value of �20,000.

The iDiamond shuffle is made of solid 18 karat white and pink gold and kitted out with 430 diamonds.

The one-off piece was created by jeweller, Thomas Heyerdahl, who says the process was painstaking and meticulous as there wouldn't ever be another one.

He said: "It's a special thing, making just one. If we had make this for commercial sale, it would be quite a different thing because then you have to take care of, much more things to make it work commercially."

A carbon-offset eco-holiday to a Himalayan retreat and a trip to a ch�teau in the Champagne region of France were also up for grabs at the auction.

source

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France-based mobile game developer Int13 started porting their Crazy Kart 2 game over to the iPhone. As far as we know, users should expect 320×320 pixels playing area, on-screen virtual steering wheel, 3 vehicle classes (karts, motorbikes, hovercrafts), 6 characters with different vehicles, downloadable content (new vehicles and tracks), and WiFi online multiplayer mode with match making and up to four simultaneous players!

According to Int13, the game which was originally created for Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms, was not too hard to adapt for the Apple iPhone, though they are still evaluating alternatives like tilt control and landscape display support.

Finally, the Int13 folks are already planning a sequel with a full 3D accelerated engine that will be specially designed for Apple's handset. In the meantime, stay tuned for July when CrazyKart 2 is scheduled to be released… A demo video follows after the jump.

[Via: MacRumors]

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Say hello to iPhone-san, the Softbank 921SH also known as FullFace2. It looks like an iPhone, but it has a standard 9 button keypad, 3.2 megapixel camera and … well I can't say much more than that, the entire Softbank website is in Japanese, go figure. One more picture after the jump.

[Via: Jean Snow]

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The only thing about the Edirol that makes it qualify to remain in the 21st century is this - MP3 playback capability. Other than that, the design is surely a huge turn off considering how we consumers have been enjoying far higher standards for quite some time already. Features include :-

• 24-bit audio playback


• SD/SDHC memory card slot


• USB 2.0 port


• 2 hours of recording time

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Even though we still wait to see the first real device running the Android platform released, Google's group manager for mobile platforms Rich Miner is confident they will outsell the Apple iPhone.

Speaking after his presentation on Thursday at the Emerging Communications Conference at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, Miner said that's it's the matter of scale. "Once you have devices out there from Motorola, HTC, Samsung, and so on, there's a much larger potential market on Android than for the iPhone," he said.

But it's not the competition Apple will face from Google, at least initially. Devices running the Android platform and iPhone are aimed at different markets. Google still wants to see their apps running on Apple's handset and there's no reason to worry the two companies will compete in the near future. But that could change of course…

We'll use numbers to prove Rich's point. Two days ago Apple announced that iPhone SDK was downloaded for 100,000 times. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Google reported 750,000 downloads of Android SDK. Again, this will be an interesting year…

[Via: Yahoo]

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Fancy honing those DJ skills on your iPhone? You can now do so with the Mixmeister Scratch. While virtual scratching can never replace real turntable experience, at the very least you will be able to remember the correct cues with this software, just make sure your fingernails have been clipped and you have installed a screen protector of sorts on your precious iPhone's screen before you begin. Also, do load your iPhone with all the necessary songs before beginning. Needless to say, Mixmeister Scratch is also compatible with the iPod touch. Mixmeister Scratch isn't available for download as at press time, so check out the video above to whet your appetite.

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If you happen to lack the intestinal fortitude, then I suggest giving this iPhone dual boot solution a miss. The entire process requires some partition-making and a whole lot of command line work, which could have you reaching out for plenty of aspirin during the process. Of course, the rewards of your labor will taste sweet since you can then switch between different OS versions by a simple command to change your root-device. The brave can click here to find out how it is done.

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Recently, mobile geo-location and social networking service GyPSii announced the iPhone-optimized version of their service/site. The new web-based GyPSii iPhone application integrates its multiple services into a single interface, making it easy for iPhone owners to "enjoy a wide range of new and exciting location-based features and services."

Some of the GyPSii for iPhone features include:

• Improved UI - no surprise here, everyone tries to deliver great user experience to the iPhone users.


• Expanded People/Places layout - easy access to complete information on user's favourite people and places.


• Integrated directions from the mapping interface.


• Improved location based search - ability to search by proximity.

GyPSii also confirmed that it would produce a native version of its application and release it once the new iPhone firmware arrives. In the meantime, web-based GyPSii will do just fine. To access it, simply point your Safari to www.gypsii.com/m and take it from there.

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mobilePeople is bringing its award-winning "liquid" mobile search platform to iPhone. The idea is of course to get some media attention (they got ours), while "extending new monetisation opportunities for directory publishers and directory assistance companies" at the same time.

That being said, users of the Apple's shiny handset will be able to search Yellow Pages, White Pages and other content published using the liquid platform. Functionality includes a click to call option, get directions to a desired address, save any business search to contacts, send results to a friend and the function to see results on a map.

mobilePeople highlights the mapping experience because their solution allows users to interact with the map. Raster maps in combination with layering technology allow for user touch interaction.

Finally, and this comes without surprise at all, mobilePeople is also set to introduce a client based mobile local search for the iPhone based on Apple's recently announced iPhone SDK.

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The iPhone looks set to get yet another interesting game - this time of the driving variety. Known as Crazy Kart, the video demo you see above looks pretty smooth, where a virtual steering wheel is located right at the bottom which you use to control your on-screen avatar. The game's developer is now experimenting with tilt options and landscape display possibilities. Good thing they are also working on four-player multiplayer that adds to portable gaming mayhem courtesy of a WiFi connection. I'll still stick to my Mario Kart DS, thank you very much. That's where the real hardcore gamers play anyways.

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While we haven't heard anything concrete from either Cupertino or Telstra as to when (or even if) the iPhone is coming to Aussie shores, there's new speculation that leads us to believe that Telstra is preparing to receive the iPhone - possibly toting the new iPhone v2.0 firmware.

Telstra has posted an employment listing for someone with "front-end UI" experience develop a search-application for the iPhone. We can't imagine that such an app would be of much use to any network, let alone the network's subscribers, without an iPhone. Regardless of potential problems with Australia's telecom regulations, it seems that the iPhone is indeed coming to Telstra.

Now, if Telstra is planning to develop a native iPhone application using the iPhone SDK, then we would have to assume that the Australian Telstra iPhone will launch with iPhone 2.0 firmware already installed. That, in turn would indicate that the iPhone will go Australian sometime in late June. One the other hand, if the search application turns out to be a web-app, then we could see the iPhone coming to Australia even sooner.

Keep your Aussie fingers crossed…

[Via: 9to5mac]

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CUPERTINO, California?Apple� announced that more than 100,000 iPhone? developers have downloaded the beta iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) in the first four days since its launch on March 6. The iPhone SDK provides developers with the same rich set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and tools that Apple uses to create its native applications for iPhone and iPod� touch.

?Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible with more than 100,000 downloads in the first four days,? said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ?Also, over one million people have watched the launch video on Apple.com, further demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone.?

Apple also previewed the new App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to every iPhone and iPod touch user. Developers set the price for their applications?including free?and retain 70 percent of all sales revenues.

Leading developers such as AOL, Electronic Arts, Epocrates, salesforce.com and Sega have already demonstrated amazing applications using the SDK, and developer response continues to be phenomenal with more developers embracing the platform.

?The iPhone SDK gives us the tools we need to create powerful iPhone applications and is an important part of our overall mobile strategy,? said Rick Jensen, senior vice president, Small Business Group at Intuit. ?We?re excited that the iPhone expands the ways our customers can solve key financial tasks wherever they might be.?

?We?re very excited about Apple?s new SDK and reaching every iPhone user through the new App Store,? said Scott Rubin, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Namco Networks. ?We can?t wait to show off great new versions of arcade classics like PAC-MAN and Galaga that use the revolutionary features of the iPhone and iPod touch.?

?Apple?s tools have provided our development team the flexibility to make the SuitePhone application richer and deeper,? said Luke Braud, vice president, Software Development, NetSuite. ?NetSuite is excited at the opportunity to give every iPhone customer access to their critical business data anytime, anywhere.?

?Apple?s become an important mobile game platform with the iPhone SDK,? said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, PopCap. ?The new SDK gives us the tools to innovate and reinvent games like Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle. With the new App Store we can reach every iPhone and iPod touch user on the planet.?

?Seventy percent of the retail price is hands-down the best deal out there in mobile. It?s simple and motivating for developers,? said Wayne B. Yurtin, president and CEO, Rocket Mobile, Inc. ?We can?t wait to get our first iPhone applications on the revolutionary App Store.?

?Six Apart pioneered the mobile blogging experience with an iPhone-optimized blog service,? said Chris Alden, CEO, Six Apart. ?We?re taking it to the next level with our native iPhone application for TypePad that?s already in development.?

?The iPhone is the mobile platform game developers have been dreaming of,? said Scott Zerby, vice president, THQ Wireless. ?We?re looking at how we can use the iPhone?s innovative user interface to create new game experiences for our big brand entertainment partners that consumers love.?

Pricing & Availability
The free beta iPhone SDK is available immediately worldwide and can be downloaded at developer.apple.com/iphone/program. The iPhone Developer Program will initially be available in the US and will expand to other countries in the coming months. A QuickTime� video of the iPhone roadmap event is available to view at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/iphoneroadmap.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

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Here's yet another bag that allows you to carry your iPod inside, and providing you with the necessary controls on the outside so that you will be able to head over to your favorite songs in a hiffy. The iBlaze iPod Intelligent Bag features a waterproof silicon control panel with On/Off buttons, track skipping and volume adjustment. The earplug cables are retractable and can be stowed away safely when not in use. In addition to lugging around your iPod, the iBlaze iPod Intelligent Bag has enough room to carry around laptops up to 17" in size. This nifty bag retails for $100 thereabouts.

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It didn’t take long to top 100,000 downloads of the Apple iPhone’s beta Software Development Kit (SDK.) It was made available to the public on March 6, 2008.

“Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible with more than 100,000 downloads in the first four days,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Also, over one million people have watched the launch video on Apple.com, further

demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone.”

This SDK will allow independent developers to make applications that can be used on the iPhone. This includes games, blogging software, business software or whatever the developer has in mind.

The SDK is now available for download for American developers. Apple will expand the SDK’s distribution in other countries in the months to come.

blog.planet-cell-phone.com

It is not surprising that the iPhone SDK has already reached 100,000 units and counting. Apple has a good line up of big developers like like Electronic Arts and AOL, Namco and many more. With an installed based that is large enough to make money and a distribution model that is advantageous to developers (they get 70% of the revenues) expect more people to join. What is most interesting to me, however is the many applications that will come from smaller companies, or individuals.

Apple finds – once again – a new stream of revenues, which it will use to strengthen their software/hardware platform, creating a virtuous circle that might make them even stronger tomorrow. Good design pays…

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You may like it or not, but iPhone keeps getting most of the media attention. Today Cupertino folks announced that a total of 100,000 SDKs were downloaded. It's only fair to say not all of these people will actually ever make an iPhone application, but the number is impressive nevertheless. As a matter of fact, many mobile applications were not downloaded for that many times.

Let's speculate a bit. Let's say 10% of all SDK downloads were developers and let's say half of them will ever make a single iPhone application. That's still 5000 applications folks! And I do believe we'll see that many apps released till the end of this year. The "iPhone hype" is so strong that it's fair to argue that at some point in the future there will be more native applications for the Apple iPhone than for some established platforms like Symbian (there are 8,736 commercially available third-party Symbian apps as from December 31. 2007). Sure, there will be like dozen Sudoku versions, but also some neat apps. Interesting times are ahead of us… Full release is available from here.

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• Apple demos native iPhone AIM client - iChat made with iPhone SDK.

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• 2GB of storage


• 1.3 Megapixel Camera


• Mini-SD extension


• Popular formats supported MP3, WMA, WAV, AVI, JPEG.

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News of a first generation iPod nano spitting out sparks during a recharging session in Japan earlier this year has been doing its rounds, but thankfully no one was injured in the incident. At press time, there is no confirmation as to whether the iPod, its charger or the power supply was at fault. Apple is doing all it can to investigate the incident with no luck on pinpointing the culprit just yet. I guess as a general rule of thumb, it would be best not to include anything with a battery in your pockets - you know, family jewels are irreplaceable.

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Now this is one interesting iPod dock that we have come across so far - the Disney High School Musical Clock Radio for iPod (what a mouthful) looks very much like an ordinary locker, but open its door and voila - you are presented with an iPod dock within. Other features include an integrated AM/FM tuner, a sleep timer, a snooze button, and volume display to know just how loud you're rocking. Target is carrying this iPod dock for $59.99 a pop.

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The ElectroKID iPod dock from Krell and MartinLogan is definitely off the charts when it comes to extravagance, as it retails for a whopping $2,700 just because it comes with supposed top-quality preamp circuitry. Should you be mad enough to include the 200W MartinLogan Purity floorstanding speakers, then feel free to top up that initial price with another $4,800. Guess you had better bling up your iPod with diamonds and mother-of-pearls so that its final price will be in proportion to the money you forked out for the iPod dock in the first place. Then again, sound coming out from it is only as good as the original recording on the iPod, so make sure you get high bitrate songs in there to maximize your listening pleasure.

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Is the Apple Hi-Fi back? Not really, but Gear4 thinks that it can succeed where Apple failed (the Hi-Fi was removed from the Apple store a while back. It is a simple speaker dock for iPods (35W output), and quite franckly there’s nothing special about it.

The design is not as cool as the original Hi-Fi, and we hope that the sound is better than the Hi-Fi.

Read our Apple Hi-Fi Review

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Multi-Faceted Music Player Rounds out the Sansa Product Line

MILPITAS, Calif., SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), a leading seller of MP3 players in the United States, unveiled the multi-faceted Sansa� Fuze? MP3 player. The stylish music player is loaded with capabilities and features to keep consumers well entertained while on the go. Not only is it easy on the eye, it?s easy on the pocketbook. With availability planned for early April in the United States, the Sansa Fuze player comes in a wide array of colors (pink, red, blue, black and silver) and capacities (2, 4 and 8 gigabyte1 (GB)) with an expected starting price of only $79.99 MSRP.

In addition to playing music, video, photos, FM radio and audiobooks, the thin Sansa Fuze is packed with extras, including a microSD card slot to add and transport content with ease; a voice recorder to capture thoughts on the fly, and a bright, 1.9?color screen that allows users to easily navigate their music or watch videos in landscape mode.

?The Sansa Fuze is an eye-catching player that consumers will enjoy for its looks, capabilities and incredible value,? said Eric Bone, vice president of product marketing for Sansa, SanDisk?s audio/video product line. ?This new MP3 player combines some of the best features found on other Sansa products, including great sound quality. It?s yet another strong offering by SanDisk in the sub-$150 music player market.?

A distinguishing feature of the Sansa Fuze player is its microSD? card slot. This memory slot provides consumers the ability to quickly add content onto their device and expands storage capacity, giving ample space for thousands of additional songs, hours of video and numerous photos. Plus, by using a SanDisk microSD card, users can easily carry their music and other content from their Sansa MP3 player to their mobile phone, or even their PC.

The Sansa Fuze MP3 player gives users access to subscription download services from numerous sources, including Rhapsody To Go�, Napster, eMusic and others. In addition, it supports playback of a wide range of popular music formats such as MP3, WAV, Audible (for audio books) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) in both unprotected and protected files. Sansa Fuze supports MPEG-4 video and JPEG photos. Its internal rechargeable battery will play up to 24 hours of audio and five hours of video between charges.2

The MP3 player works with computers running Windows XP or Windows Vista. It also works with Mac and Linux operating systems (under MSC mode).

Expected Pricing, Colors and Availability

The Sansa Fuze player is expected to be available in U.S. stores in early April. The music player comes in a 2GB capacity (holds 500 MP3 songs3) with an MSRP of $79.99, 4GB (1,000 MP3 songs) for $99.99 and 8GB (2,000 MP3 songs) for $129.99. The 2GB Sansa Fuze is available in black; the 4GB Sansa Fuze is available in black, red, pink or blue, and the 8GB is available in silver. For more information visit http://www.sandisk.com/sansafuze/.

The player is expected to be available from retailers in Canada and Europe in late spring, with other regions of the world to follow.

The flash-based Sansa Fuze player rounds out the Sansa product family, joining the popular, tiny Sansa Clip and video-centric Sansa View. The Sansa audio/video line offers consumers highly affordable, yet fun and fashionable music players loaded with appealing extra features.

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation, the inventor and world?s largest supplier of flash storage cards, is a global leader in flash memory ? from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk?s product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk (www.sandisk.com/corporate) is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.

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Gameloft�, As referenced during the company?s keynote speech at the recent Game Developers? Conference, Gameloft, a leading developer and publisher of games for mobile phones, today confirmed its intention to develop over 15 mobile games built upon Apple?s iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK).

Though the SDK was recently released, games will only be available to purchase once the App Store, featuring third party applications that can be downloaded to your device via WiFi or EDGE, launches in June 2008.

Utilizing the SDK package, Gameloft development teams have started to create a strong line-up for 2008. As expected, iPhone proves to be a revolutionary gaming device, thanks in part to a 3.5-inch widescreen, the touch screen feature, a strong 3D processor and other exciting features such as the accelerometer.

?The iPhone gaming environment opens a new era in mobile gaming and is exactly what we?ve been waiting for? said Michel Guillemot, President of Gameloft. ?The Apple iPhone has changed the way consumers perceive and interact with their mobile phones, and the release of the SDK is a tremendous opportunity for Gameloft to apply its creative and innovative approach to mobile gaming,? said Guillemot. ?Due to our investment in creating one of the most advanced and creative development studios to date, we are ideally positioned today to seamlessly integrate new opportunities and quickly produce games that are as evolutionary as they are enjoyable.?

Gameloft has already proven successful in their recent relationship with Apple by developing mobile games that are uniquely adapted to the iPod, one of the most widely accepted technological devices in the mass market.

Gameloft sells over 200,000 games per day throughout 80 countries. Its 200+ titles, including 40 games that sold over 1 million copies worldwide, have received year after year the best ranking scores from media specialists. Gameloft is the worldwide number one mobile game publisher in revenues according to the official Q4 2007 figures published by mobile game companies for that quarter.

About Gameloft
Gameloft is a leading international publisher and developer of video games for mobile phones. Established in 1999, it has emerged as one of the top innovators in its field. The company creates games for mobile handsets equipped with Java, Brew or Symbian technology. The total number of games-enabled handsets is anticipated to exceed four billion units in 2011.

Partnership agreements with leading licensors and sports personalities such as Ubisoft Entertainment, Universal Pictures, ABC, Touchstone Television, DreamWorks Animations SKG, Endemol, 20th Century Fox, Viacom, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Paris Hilton Ent., FifPro, Lamborghini, Lleyton Hewitt, Gus Hansen, Kobe Bryant, Robinho, Patrick Vierra, Christophe Dominici, and Jonny Wilkinson allow Gameloft to form strong relationships with international brands. In addition to the partnerships, Gameloft owns and operates titles such as Block Breaker Deluxe, Asphalt: Urban GT and New York Nights.

Through agreements with major telephone wireless carriers, handset manufacturers, specialized distributors and its online store, Gameloft has a distribution network in 80 countries.

Gameloft has worldwide offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Montreal, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Paris, London, Cologne, Copenhagen, Milan, Madrid, Warsaw, New Delhi, Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Sydney. Gameloft is ranked in Compartment B of Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0000079600, Bloomberg: GFT FP, Reuters: GLFT.PA)

For more information, visit www.gameloft.com

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Along with EA (Maxis) and Sega (Super Monkey Ball), Doom creator John Carmack has added his company id to the list of game developers for the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. According to him, the distribution capabilities offered by iTunes is the key benefit of developing for the Apple platform: the ability to distribute larger applications than the regular cellular network limits imposed by the carriers, effectively market a title with more than a dozen character deck name and the reasonable revenue split offered by Apple.

As we already wrote it, once again, iTunes proves to be a formidable weapon for Apple?s business development.

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Well that sure was a mouthful. Sure, there are those minor changes to the iPhone UI that may or may not materialize, but there are also some serious changes in store for the iPhone v2.0.

The iPhone SDK, freely downloadable from Apple, is proving to be an invaluable source of upcoming iPhone features. Remember, the iPhone is revolutionary in the way the OS can be updated and features can be added with a simple firmware update through iTunes. iPhone owners don't have to endure the lagging development cycles for OS developers to deliver OS updates - new updates mean new features.

So, what can we expect from Apple's iPhone v2.0 firmware due out in June (the same firmware that will work with iPhone SDK applications)?

Keep reading to find out…

Mass Email Delete

I don't know how long I've been wanting a mass delete feature for the iPhone's mail client, but it seems that my nightly prayers have not fallen on deaf ears. The Apple gods will be allowing mass email deletion with the iPhone v2.0. I don't really get spam in my business email accounts, so mass deletion is not really a problem there. My personal email accounts are an entirely different story. My Gmail inbox is full of ads for mortgages and Viagra - and with push email with Yahoo! Mail for iPhone, I get solicitations to enlarge my penis pushed directly to my iPhone. Talk about annoying.

It's not clear how this will work, but rest assured, in a matter of months, batch deleting all those spammy emails will be no harder than selecting them and hitting the delete button.

Bonjour

Mac users will understand the awesomeness of Bonjour and what it means for the iPhone. Sure, connecting to a WiFi network is a trivial exercise, but what about connecting to other computers or iPhones on any network (networking in Windows is "fun" to say the least)? Well, Bonjour makes it easy to network devices on a given network. It's as simple as viewing connected devices and then connecting to them.

Bonjour has been lying dormant in previous iPhone firmwares, and it seems that Bonjour support is coming in June. The iPhone SDK includes Bonjour in the foundation, core foundation and base system components.

Full-Screen Mode on Safari

With the new iPhone SDK, iPhone developers will be able to use a full-screen mode to display webpages/web-apps. In full-screen mode, the web-page/web-app will be displayed without the Safari address bar at the top of the screen or the navigation/bookmark bar at the bottom of the screen. All it will take, apparently, is the addition of a meta tag in the web-app/web-page code. Web-apps with the meta tag will be launched directly in full-screen mode.

Every pixel is a precious piece of real-estate on a mobile phone's display. And even with the huge screen on the iPhone, it doesn't hurt to have an extra few lines of usable browser-space.

Scalable Vector Graphics and New CSS Effects

Support for SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) means that images can be highly-compressed, reducing an image file's size. SVG is an image format that can be compressed to tiny proportions while maintaining the original file's resolution. That means iPhones will be able to download SVG images more quickly without sacrificing the image's quality.

The iPhone v2.0 will also support new CSS effects. CSS transforms, transitions, and animations will help take the sting out of the lack of Flash-support. And, some CSS effects will be hardware accelerated to boot!

PowerPoint Support

While making a new PowerPoint presentation might not be in the immediate future for native iPhone features, we're all going to be able to view those PowerPoint presentations. PowerPoint can be viewed through the iPhone's mail client, and should add to the iPhone's enterprise appeal. Microsoft Word and Excel files are already viewable through iPhone Mail, but so the addition of PowerPoint compatibility will truly round out the iPhone's MS Office compatibility.

Locally Stored Web-Apps

Wait, so what's the hub-ub with all these natively installable third-party iPhone applications? With locally stored web-apps, any web-developer can code web-applications for the iPhone! No web connection? No problem, just store your web-apps locally and they're as good as native applications (although slightly limited by AJAX, CSS, HTML, etc.)

The iPhone SDK allows for the creation of web-apps, so it makes sense for the iPhone to include support for offline web-apps. Apple says that the iPhone v2.0 will support client-side database API which will allow ?totally functional even with the network disconnected.? Score!

Search

And, last but not least - the iPhone may be getting "Search" functionality. If you search for, uh, "Search on iPhone" you may find that searching for anything on the iPhone just isn't possible. Sure, with auto-completion, you can just start typing a contact to bring up all matching phone numbers or email addresses, but that's only a half-hearted workaround. A search function is needed. Without a true search function on the iPhone, it's hard to find a contact whose name you've forgotten, but happen to remember noting the contact entry as, say, "blonde hottie" or something like that.

Well, it seems that the iPhone v2.0 (or is it iPhone v1.2, or is it iPhone v1.1.5?) could be including a search function. The image you see if from the Apple iPhone Software Roadmap event and shows a little magnifying glass (usually associated with search functions) above the alpha-list. Does this indicate that "Search" will be incorporated int o the iPhone v2.0 firmware? Will we be able to search through our contacts for "blonde hottie" or search our emails for "cheap Viagra?"

Here's to hoping…

Props to blargKABOOM for spotting the search icon!

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Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Make iPhone web-apps with iPhone SDK
• Apple launches iPhone web-app portal - find all iPhone web-apps through Apple's catalogue
• Apple prepping iPhone SDK for January release?
• Apple iPhone web-apps run on Nokia phones too!
• Push email finally working on iPhone - Yahoo! Push Email fix brings push to many

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Gameloft recently announced that they are going to develop 15 games that can be played on the Apple iPhone at a recent Game Developers Conference. They will be built upon Apple’s iPhone Software Development Kit. (SDK)

“The iPhone gaming environment opens a new era in mobile gaming and is exactly what we’ve been waiting for” said Michel Guillemot, President of Gameloft. “The Apple iPhone has changed the way consumers perceive and interact with their mobile phones, and the release of the SDK is a tremendous opportunity for Gameloft to apply its creative and innovative approach to mobile gaming,” said Guillemot. “Due to our investment in creating one of the most advanced and creative development studios to date, we are ideally positioned today to seamlessly integrate new opportunities and quickly produce games that are as evolutionary as they are enjoyable.”

These games will only be available to purchase once the App Store, featuring third party applications that can be downloaded to your device via WiFi or EDGE, launching in June 2008.

blog.planet-cell-phone.com

Eagle eyed folks at blarkKABOOM have spotted a tiny search icon in the iPhone's Contacts application, so this could very well mean that iPhone firmware 2.0 that will roll out this July will feature a search function as well. Since the icon was not in the video demo, one can only guess how it will work. Exciting times are ahead for iPhone owners.

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If you're a chatterbox and have a cell phone glued to your ear for most of the day, then unlimited calling plans are definitely your best friend. The iPhone plan from AT&T now comes with an unlimited voice plan, where $120 a month will net you an unlimited voice and data plan rolled into one. The catch would be subscribing to this plan for at least two years, and there is no unlimited SMS attached so make sure you get the message across verbally instead of through typing. Give us the 3G iPhone already.

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The iPhone is definitely one pint sized dynamite, and Box Fab has come up with what could revolutionize the iPhone movement even further with its 3D Virtual Reality head-mount for the handset. While Nintendo's Virtual Boy was a real flop, inducing headaches for users with its outdated technology while having an extremely limited library of games, this 3D VR head-mounted concept will use the iPhone as an image plate that is clipped to the head-mount, enabling one to be connected with other iPhone users on the same setup. This sounds like a rich man's toy to me, and most people will probably be curious as to how it works, but won't elevate this into the coveted "killer app" status.

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This MP3 player definitely looks like a cell phone at first glance, but it is actually nothing but an ordinary MP3 player. Dubbed the Blade Runner MP3 player, you get the following hardware specifications in your palm :-

• 1.8" TFT display


• 2GB of storage space


• Integrated FM radio


• Built-in speaker


• Voice recording capability


• Compatible with MP1/MP2/MP3/WMA/WMV/ASF/WAV formats

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Micro FM Transmitter for iPod Micro FM Transmitter for iPod

You've never heard sound this great from an FM transmitter this small before. The Kensington 33361 Micro FM Transmitter for iPods plays your iPod wirelessly through any FM stereo--including a car stereo, home stereo, or clock radio--making it a great value for listeners who want to enjoy their favorite songs without headphones.

This unit includes such features as Aerielle wireless technology for superior audio and noise filtration; ClearFM circuitry for richer lows, crisper highs, and better stereo separation; and a digital display on the tuner that lets you select any available FM frequency. Best of all, the unit requires no cables, wires, or software, so playing your favorite iPod tunes on your home or car stereo is as easy as 1-2-3.

Compatible with any iPod with a dock connector--including the iPod nano 1G, iPod nano 2G, iPod mini, iPod 3G, iPod 4G (Click Wheel), iPod color, and iPod 5G/5.5G Video--the Kensington FM transmitter is backed by Kensington's 1-year warranty.

Features:

• Plays your iPod wirelessly through any FM stereo--including a car stereo, home stereo, or clock radio--so you can enjoy your favorite songs without headphones
• Features Aerielle wireless technology for superior audio and noise filtration, and ClearFM circuitry for richer lows, crisper highs, and better stereo separation
• Digital display on the tuner lets you select any available FM frequency, so you aren't limited to just a few options
• Requires no cables, wires, or software, so playing your favorite iPod tunes on your home or car stereo is as easy as 1-2-3
• Compatible with any iPod with a dock connector, and is backed by Kensington's 1-year warranty

Play tunes through your home or car stereo wirelessly / Wirelessly through FM radio / Enjoy iPod tunes & hear great sound from an FM transmitter this small Connects to the bottom of the iPod Tune your stereo to any available FM frequency and match it on the Mirco FM transmitter Press play to start listening Dimensions - 5.25 x 1.50 x 5.25 inches

Price: $72.99

Micro FM Transmitter for iPod Micro FM Transmitter for iPod

A LOT has been written in the small amout of intervening time since the announcements around the iPhone SDK - some good, and a lot negative (for some strange reason) - so time for my tuppenceworth, as IntoMobile's resident UK … er …. resident!

It fascinates me the hype that is generated around anything that Apple does - to the point where people are spotting tiny graphical alterations being made in the UI (see Will's article). Really this is a testament to how Apple have gone about things, but forgetting for a moment all of what is being said, Apple do continue to make great, simple, defined strides in Mobile - something, if you'll notice, that they happen to do pretty well in computing, and personal audio also!

The SDK only looks to be building on what is, as far as I am aware a pretty solid mobile platform - unfortunately I am not lucky enough to own an iPhone, but have yet to hear mutliple reports about the O/S going over or hanging on simple tasks (something we all have heard too often with other manufacturers). Similarly, first reports I am hearing from people that have downloaded the SDK is that it is also well-designed, and easy to use - hardly surprising…..!

But the devil in the detail is if the SDK will allow developers enough access to do genuinely useful things with the iPhone - and we've no reason to assume that it won't. Despite Stefan's comment that "run one app at a time" is no good, I'd suggest that if the app is genuinely useful, doesn't crash, and is easily accessible (the last two of which will be qualified by the iTunes distribution model), then that's still one more useful app that we had previously.

I am going to be heading out to the US in a couple of weeks, and if I get the opportunity, I may just be tempted to grab myself one o' them Apple phones (or should they be called multimedia computers? ), and see what all the fuss is about - perhaps by the time I do finally get my hands on one, we'll have some details about those genuinely useful new applications from third-parties too

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Related Articles at IntoMobile:

• Leaked iPhone SDK key for third-party application authentication?
• Apple's iPhone Software Roadmap to unveil iPhone SDK in beta form?
• Apple recruits native iPhone application hacker for iPhone SDK team
• Apple demos native iPhone AIM client - iChat made with iPhone SDK.
• iPhone SDK day set for March 6th!

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TuneCenter Home Media Center for iPod with Wifi

The Griffin TuneCenter Home Media Center for iPod attaches to your television and stereo for viewing photos, watching video, and listening to your iPod music library or Internet radio. With the included 14-button remote, this unit turns your iPod into a complete home media center, requiring only that you dock your iPod in TuneCenter, and let the entertainment begin.

Griffin's TuneCenter features the ability to display iPod playlists and song information on your TV screen, taking music sharing to a whole new level by allowing the whole room to see at a glance the song title, artist, album and progress of the current song. TuneCenter's remote allows you to navigate through your iPod's entire library, as well as choose your preferences such as shuffle and repeat modes, and EQ. You can use the TuneCenter's remote to skip forward and backward, choose the next or previous song, browse playlists and more -- all without getting up off the couch -- which makes this the ultimate solution for taking full control of your iPod.

This Griffin home media center also expands your musical resources by providing access to Internet radio stations. By simply plugging the TuneCenter into your network you can choose from thousands of free channels, ranging from quiet atmospheres to things that don't seem to even qualify as music, all with slick, on-screen navigation.

The Griffin TuneCenter, however, makes better use of your TV screen than just through the displaying of song lists. This unit also lets you display your iPod's photos on the large screen, as well as play movies from your iPod video on your home entertainment system. When it comes to movies and photos, bigger really is better, especially when you are talking about your own works of art. The TuneCenter lets you display slideshows of your latest vacation and special events, or provides you with the most compact business presentation system ever. Just choose a slideshow and a soundtrack to go with it and let fly, all while using the convenient remote control to skip forward and backward, or pause to emphasize a special point.

The Griffin Griffin TuneCenter is compatible with all dockable iPods, including: 4th-generation iPod and iPod photo, iPod mini, 1st and 2nd-generation iPod Nano, and 5th-generation iPod video models. This system includes an S-video and a composite video output for connecting to your TV, an RCA left and right audio output for connecting to your stereo or home entertainment center's speakers, and an Ethernet RJ45 10-100base T connection for hooking up to your network. The Griffin TuneCenter includes an NTSC/PAL video format switch, measures 3.9 x 4.5 x 3.7 inches (W x H x D), and it's backed by a manufacturer's limited 1-year warranty.

iPod Compatibility
iPod nano 1G, iPod mini, iPod 3G, iPod 4G (Clickwheel), iPod Color, iPod 5G/5.5G Video

Features:

• Attaches to your television and stereo for viewing photos, watching video, and listening to your iPod music library
• Expands your musical resources by providing access to internet radio stations when hooked up via Ethernet to your home or business network
• Lets you display your iPod's photos and play movies on the large screen
• Includes a 14-button remote so you can runs things from the comfort of your chair or couch
• Compatibility: iPod nano (1G only), iPod mini, 3G iPod, 4G iPod with click wheel, iPod Color, iPod Video
• Compatibility: Dockable iPods, including: 4th-generation iPod and iPod photo, iPod mini, 1st and 2nd-generation iPod nano, 5th-generation iPod video models
• Ports: S-video, composite video, RCA left and right audio
• Networking: Ethernet RJ45 10-100base T connection
• Video formats: NTSC/PAL, switchable
• Remote control: Yes, 14-button
• Internet radio support: Yes
• iPod navigation: On TV, via remote or iPod
• Photo support: Yes, slideshow with music included
• Video support: Yes
• Dimensions: 3.9 x 4.5 x 3.7 inches (W x H x D)
• Warranty: Manufacturer's limited 1-year

Price: $134.99 - TuneCenter Home Media Center for iPod with Wifi

Cheap iPod Movies

Kensington Speakers with FM Radio for iPod

With the Kensington 33168 SX 3000R Speakers with FM Radio for iPods you can fill any room in the house with dynamic audio clarity from a stunning speaker with a built-in FM radio. Not only do you get to experience your favorite iPod songs with a full, rich sound from a sleek, flat-panel speaker, but the Kensington SX 3000R gives you the added benefit of an FM radio, and the convenience of operating it all from across the room with a wireless remote control.

The SX 3000R features a built-in Apple Universal Dock for you iPod with a built-in charger that recharges your iPod whether it is on or off, NXT SurfaceSound speaker technology that provides a rich, balanced and natural sound, and the ability to fall asleep or wake up to your favorite music using your iPod's built-in alarm clock and sleep timer. This one-piece unit has a stylish, modern design that comes in all black and complements not only the aesthetic of your iPod, but of modern homes as well.

Compatible with any iPod with a 30-pin dock connector--including the iPod nano 1G, iPod nano 2G, iPod mini, iPod 3G, iPod 4G (Click Wheel), iPod color, and iPod 5G/5.5G Video--the Kensington SX 3000R is backed by Kensington's 2-year warranty, though users should note that the FM radio feature is not compatible with 3G iPods.

Features:

• NXT SurfaceSound speaker technology provides rich, balanced, natural sound
• Fall asleep or wake up to your favorite music using your iPod's built-in alarm clock and sleep timer
• Easy-to-use remote controls music from across the room
• Compatible with iPod Nano (Gen 1,2); iPod (Gen 1,2,4), including iPod Video
• Built-in charger recharges iPod either on or off
• Compatibility: iPod with 30-pin dock connector
• Connectors: Aux input, 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, iPod universal doc
• Tuner: FM
• Warranty: 2-year limited warranty
• What's in the Box: 33168 speaker, remote control with batteries, power adapter, instructions

Price: $178.99 - Kensington Speakers with FM Radio for iPod

Customer Reviews:

By  Max (San Francisco, CA)

1. Sounds great
2. Excellent price
3. Works with my girlfriend's iPod nano and my new iPod video, etc
4. Remote control so I can be lazy
5. FM Radio for NPR and in case I want a break from my music
6. easy to move around the house or even backyard

Not to mention the thing looks pretty cool and was a hit at my last BBQ

By J. Douglass (Kyle, TX United States)

I have to admit that I wanted the Bose system but this is the one that my frugal husband bought me for Christmas. The sound quality is good for the price. I don't have any complaints about it. It is very user friendly. It really shows dust because of the shiny black laquer but that is to be expected.

By  Kathleen A. Turner (usa)

Wow! This unit is Amazing! Easy to operate and the sound quality is clear without any extra sound when using the ipod. The FM radio comes across well, you may have to fiddle with the atenae a bit. But works really good.

Kensington Speakers with FM Radio for iPod

Cheap music download

Provider of restaurant order automation technology and services GetQuik released its iPhone offering to enable Apple's handset users to skip long restaurant lines by ordering their favorite food from their shiny phones.

In order to use the new service and save some time while on a dinner, you'll need to register for a free account at GetQuik's website, and then create and save favorite menu items and meals from participating restaurants, only to access them later on your iPhone via iphone.getquik.com.

As you might guessed, GetQuik is talking about the web-based application but they also vowed to go "native" after the new iPhone/iPod Touch firmware is out. In addition, at the moment you can only access the data you saved from your desktop, but in the future you'll be also able to search, view and order from a restaurant's complete menu directly from the iPhone… Full release is available from here.

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• Burger King in the Philippines provides free mobile phone charging!

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Everyone and their grandma (not to mention aunt, uncle, and sister) are now offering unlimited calling plans like it's going out of style. So, it was only a matter of time before AT&T brought the all-you-can-eat wireless calling plan craze to the iPhone users' doorsteps.� That's right, AT&T is now offering the an unlimited calling plan for iPhone.

For $119.99 per month, you get the same unlimited mobile to mobile calling, unlimited nights/weekends, 200 SMS text messages, Rollover minutes, Visual Voicemail, and unlimited data that all other iPhone plans offer (with the exception of the lowest tier iPhone plan - which only offers 5000 night/weekend minutes) but with an unlimited allotment of wireless minutes. The new Unlimited iPhone plan is not available in Alaska, but if you feel like shelling out a buck-twenty, you can throw caution to the wireless-wind and talk up your friends until they tell you to stop calling.

Interestingly, the Unlimited iPhone plan only offers 200 SMS text messages. AT&T seems set on limited the number of included SMS text messages, essentially "encouraging" iPhone users to buy a messaging plan. You'd think that for a Jackson north of a C-note, AT&T would include a few more text messages - but then you'd be wrong.

Have at it. I'm staying with my "limited" iPhone plan…

Apple iPhone calling plans

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Following hot on the heels of Apple's iPhone SDK announcements, Sun has jumped into the fray and announced that they'll be making sure that Java plays nice with Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. The company famous for championing the standardized Java Runtime made the announcement after taking a look at the iPhone SDK. Upon investigating the possibility of porting the Java Virtual Machine for use on the iPhone, Sun found that they could indeed make it work - contrary to Steve Jobs' statements about Java being a burden.

Sun's Java marketing VP, Eric Klein announced the decision to bring Sun's Java to the iPhone as a variant of the Java Micro Edition - a platform that is used on mobile phones.� The iPhone SDK could be used to make the Sun Java Virtual Machine (JVM) run as an application. And, Sun said that there's a likely possibility that Sun will optimize the Java Micro JVM to work with the iPhone's more advanced features.

"We're going to work to make sure that the [virtual machine] offers the Java applications as much access to the native functionality of the iPhone as possible," Klein said. Furthermore, Klein leaves open the possibility of bringing a variant of the desktop-level Java Standard Edition to the iPhone (which might indicate that Sun will try to make use of the Jazelle technology that's lying dormant in the iPhone's CPU). And, Sun doesn't exclude the possibility of bringing their Flash-replacement JavaFX (!) to the iPhone.

With Java on the iPhone and the SDK ready to roll, we're crossing our fingers for some truly innovative applications in the near future. Applications (web or native), Java, and a bit of VPN fairy-dust could extend the iPhone's enterprise role well-beyond what Microsoft Enterprise support could ever hope to do.

Then, combine Java, secure VPNs, and some web-apps or native applications with the prospect of connecting the iPhone to a wireless mouse and keyboard (and then connect it to an external monitor), and you've got the makings of a seriously sleek and powerful mobile computer. Sure, there are other devices that might be able to do the keyboard and external monitor thing, and there are even UMPCs out there with mobile computing clearly in their job-description. But all those solutions are either awkwardly bulky, too big, or just plain ugly - there's no mobile computing solution that's as sleek, slim and generally chic as the iPhone.

Bring on the enterprise market! I'm not a business user, but I think I'll be riding that wave all the way to shore - maybe on a 3G iPhone. (Oh, and keep in mind that we're not just talking about the limited first-gen iPhone - that second-gen iPhone should really stir the pot)

[Via: InfoWorld]

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• Sun Microsystems debuts the jPhone, Linux-based Java Mobile FX OS
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• Will Sun be a competitor in the future?
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• Kiss J2ME goodbye, Sun wants to bring all the Java technologies together

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How does live-streaming, on-demand TV sound? We we think it's swell, too.

Well, with the BBC's launch of their iPhone-optimized iPlayer, you can have your H.264 feed and eat it at 512Kbps too! That is, as long as you're in the UK - lucky Brits.

No Flash, no apps, no nothing. Just hit up the iPlayer site on your iPhone's Safari browser and get your fix of BBC TV shows. Of course, at 512Kbps, you're going to want to use WiFi - EDGE is just going to take a nice big crap on that kind of throughput requirement.

It's still beta, but that's better than nothing.

BBC iPlayer

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No doubt you've read about Apple's SDK Announcement, summary: iPhone 2.0 firmware will add a new icon called "App Store" which will be the only way a developer will get to sell their application and keep 70% of the profits. Now we're finding out that only one application will be allowed to run at once, a huge step in the wrong direction.

I regularly walk down the street listening to music, while browsing the internet, check my email and then proceed to take a picture of a poster plastered on a wall telling me when the next party will be in my town. If I get lost then I know I'll be able to launch Google Maps or Nokia Maps and still have all those applications running in the background.

Don't tell me that you'll run only one application at a time either, that isn't how you use your PC and it definitley will not be how you use your mobile phone. I don't care how beautiful AIM for the iPhone will be, if I can't read a movie recommendation, launch the web browser to read the IMDB score, watch the trailer with emTube or MobiTubia, and then call someone to see if they want to join me, then I don't want that device.

[Via: Tech Crunch]

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It seems rumors were correct. Now when SDK is out, Gameloft started to "create a strong line-up for 2008" and announced it will bring over 15 titles to the iPhone. At this stage, we don't know which titles they're talking about nor when will they appear. However, something tells us the release of Gameloft's first games will coincide with the iPhone firmware version 2.0 in June. In the mean time, here are the words of Gameloft's president, Michel Guillemot:

"The iPhone gaming environment opens a new era in mobile gaming and is exactly what we've been waiting for. The Apple iPhone has changed the way consumers perceive and interact with their mobile phones, and the release of the SDK is a tremendous opportunity for Gameloft to apply its creative and innovative approach to mobile gaming. Due to our investment in creating one of the most advanced and creative development studios to date, we are ideally positioned today to seamlessly integrate new opportunities and quickly produce games that are as evolutionary as they are enjoyable."

June seems so far, doesn't it?

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Why does Apple have less than 3% market share? They refuse to license the "most advanced operating system" to other vendors. Their ecosystem is profitable, but that is because they enjoy a monopoly whereby they can charge whatever they want for hardware since you need their machines to run their software.

I was close, really close, to actually being excited about the iPhone after yesterdays SDK announcement, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks: Apple makes only one phone.

Why does Nokia have 40% market share? They released over 30 models last year, each tailored for a specific type of customer, most running an operating system, whether it be S40 or S60, that can be expanded with third party software. Does Apple really think that their one size fits all device will get today's mobile developers to jump ship?

Yes I know what Fake Steve Jobs said, and Michael Mace couldn't be more right in his analysis that the iPhone model of software distribution is the best the mobile ecosystem has seen, but volume trumps quality in today's economies of scale. The million dollar question, will Apple let other people create an iPhone based on Mac OS X Mobile?

Granted I would like nothing more than to see June roll around and Apple expand the iPhone lineup similar to what they've done with the iPod family, but that brings about new questions such as how exactly will Apple handle different specifications among products if they do indeed choose to deviate from the multitouch 480×320 display?

Some people really want a keypad, some people want the best multimedia capabilities which includes a high megapixel count and video recording, some people want that basic barebone device aka iPhone 1.0, will Apple let others step to the plate or will they control their ecosystem and sit happily with their single digit marketshare?

I can already tell the answer is to keep the crown jewel within the company, but I want to know why? If Apple wanted to change things, really shake things up, they would at least attempt to put their "most advanced operating system in the world" out on more devices than their handful of laptops, desktops and music players.

One more thing … The SDK runs on a Mac and only on a Mac, will development houses want to equip their employees with new machines that can only be serviced by one company? Apple changes things, they're bold and some may say they're leaders of the industry, to that I say when they take a big step everyone else makes a big step, but just that tiny bit extra to be better.

Nothing is going to stop Nokia or Microsoft to make an App Store and build it into their 2009 models. Nothing is going to stop Nokia or Microsoft from making a UI that is on par with the iPhone today. What is stopping Apple from licensing their software?

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Well, given Apple (really, Steve Jobs's) penchant for tight-lipped secrecy about upcoming products (how many times have we heard that "Apple does not comment on unannounced products?"), it seems unlikely that they let an image of the next-generation 3G iPhone leak out. The image you see to the left is a curious discovery made by iLounge while browsing through the Education First Educational Tours page.

The picture was leaked on iTunes, of all places, and was spotted as iPhone developers were looking into creating pages in iTunes to deliver content to iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Now, it's nice to think that Apple let this pic slip past their censors, but it's hard to imagine that a leak of this magnitude happened on Apple own iTunes-turf. Still, it's sure would be nice to see the next-gen 3G iPhone sport a huge display that dominates the design - even more so than the current iPhone.

We'll have to wait and see.

[Via: iLounge]

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The iPhone will apparently get the first wireless GPS accessory in the world, thanks to PosiMotion. According to PosiMotion, this wireless GPS accessory will not only support the iPhone but the iPod touch as well, with a summer release date as the target. Guess the iPhone is slowly but surely gaining functionality across all fronts.

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What would Apple do if somebody came up with a VoIP program for the iPhone? Chances are, folks will prevent it from making calls over a cell network in order to afford AT&T some much needed protection. However, the story is very different if you happen to be in a WiFi hotspot, as you will then be able to save on those precious cell minutes. In a nutshell, a VoIP program for the iPhone will essentially offer what T-Mobile users have been enjoying thus far with the @Home program, albeit minus the monthly subscription fee. Will someone write a VoIP program for the iPhone already?

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VITO Technology released a new application suit which makes any Windows Mobile smartphone looks like an iPhone. To be fair, it's most likely you'll want this if you own a device like the HTC Touch, otherwise I would suggest buying more capable Spb Mobile Shell 2.0.

Anyway, iWindowsMobile Communication Suit includes four popular Vito's applications, including:

• GoodWin - a touch oriented Windows Mobile launcher and task manager


• FunContact - a contact manager application that brings iPhone-like scrolling to Windows Mobile


• SMS-Chat - SMS client that organizes your correspondence into threaded SMS conversations


• ZoomBoard - an onscreen keyboard for quick and accurate finger typing.

Want it? Prepare to pour out $39.95, a bargain considering how much more you'll enjoy using your device after the installation.

[Via: the::unwired]

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There are basically two types of iPhone books out there:

(1) The “Tell-me-all-about-it” kind, which includes in-depth discussions on everything from wireless network protocols to advanced compression codes.

(2) Then there’s this book, which instead is a “show-me-how-to-do-it” book, that skips all the confusing techno-jargon and just tells you, in plain simple English, exactly how to use the iPhone features you want to use most.

Introducing the first quality portable media device holder. Just like our ever so liked PED3 desktop holder the NAJA King rotates for wide screen viewing on your iPhone or iPod Touch*. The 3 foot soft flexible coil is slender yet exclusivley designed** for secure form-able positioning. With small coiling abilities it is compact enough for travel and it is a great solution for those long flights.

For all iPhones or iPod Touch (select accordingly below)*
Unlimited uses

3 foot flexible coiling arm**
Rotating head 360 degrees
Secure grip holding power (device stays put)

Anti scratch grips
All steel construction
Made in the USA

** This coil is exclusively designed by THOUGHT OUT...Company for NAJA King to support iPhone and iPod touch.

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introMake an iPod Video Projector
Project video and pictures on a screen using your iPod!



Make an IPod Video Projector - video powered by Metacafe

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Italy-based Sisvel S.p.a., holder of a somewhat controversial MP3 patent, has had the CeBIT 2008 booths of several Windows Mobile smartphone and digital media player makers shut down over allegations that the devices of the makers infringe on its patents.

In 2006, Sisvel was able to disrupt the show of SanDisk at the IFA Expo in Berlin over the same issue.

Sisvel holds a patent which allows it to demand a licensing fee for consumer electronics devices sold in Europe which include MP3 capabilities. Sisvel recently filed suit with local prosecutors in Germany against a list of companies which it alleged would be displaying devices which infringe upon its patent at the CeBIT halls in Hannover.

Company's hit by the allegations include a Taiwan-based smartphone maker, as well as handset and media player makers from China, who were all visited by investigators on Wednesday (March 5). The investigators took away items, including demo devices and brochures.

The result of the raids has left some makers with nothing to show at the event, effectively putting a premature end to CeBIT for these companies.

Other Taiwan-based smartphone makers, including High Tech Computer (HTC) and Asustek Computer, were not included in the suit as they have already reached an agreement to pay Sisvel licensing fees, according to industry sources. BenQ, which also markets smartphones, is not attending CeBIT, according to the company, although it is listed as a licensee by Sisvel.

It is a point of contention that Windows Mobile-based smartphone makers are being pursued by Sisvel, as some would point out that Microsoft should be the one to handle all licensing issues, and any fees should be included in the Windows Mobile software license. Windows Media Player Mobile, which is supplied to partners as standard in the Windows Mobile package, includes MP3 playback capabilities.

However, Microsoft's stance on the issue is that it is between Sisvel and its partners to reach an agreement, according to industry sources. Microsoft was invited to respond to did not reply by the time of publication.

A spokesperson at the Sisvel booth confirmed that the company had supplied a list of "several" companies to public prosecutors, but said that it was the prosecutors who made the decision on which companies to visit. The spokesperson was quick to stress that the list was not intended to target Chinese or Asian companies specifically, saying that the issue of patent infringement was global.

The public prosecutors are expected to hold a press conference later today (March 6), according to the Sisvel representative.

source

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MENLO PARK, California, ? Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) announced the launch of the iFund with $100 million in venture capital to invest in companies developing applications and services for Apple's innovative iPhone and iPod touch. The iFund, managed by KPCB, will be invested in companies with market-changing ideas and products that extend the revolutionary new iPhone and iPod touch platform. Apple will provide KPCB with market insight and support.

"A revolutionary new platform is a rare and prized opportunity for entrepreneurs, and that's exactly what Apple has created with iPhone and iPod touch," said John Doerr, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "We think several significant new companies will emerge as this new platform evolves, and the iFund will empower them to realize their full potential."

"Developers are already bursting with ideas for the iPhone and iPod touch, and now they have the chance to turn those ideas into great companies with the help of world-class venture capitalists," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We can't wait to start working with Kleiner Perkins and the companies they fund through this new initiative."

The iFund will be led by KPCB partner Matt Murphy in collaboration with partners John Doerr, Bill Joy, Randy Komisar, Ted Schlein, Chi-Hua Chien and Ellen Pao. The initiative will be agnostic to stage and size of investment with a focus on areas including location based services, social networking, mCommerce, communication, and entertainment. The iFund will seek to fund entrepreneurs pursuing transformative ideas with the potential to become standalone, public companies. In addition to providing capital, KPCB will assist with company-building expertise, business development relationships and access to its vast network of talented entrepreneurs.

Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has backed entrepreneurs in over 500 ventures, including AOL, Amazon.com, Citrix, Compaq Computer, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Lotus, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, Verisign and Xilinx. KPCB portfolio companies employ more than 250,000 people. More than 150 of the firm's portfolio companies have gone public. Many other ventures have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions. KPCB has been an active investor in mobile ventures with over 20 portfolio companies in the sector. Current portfolio companies including Pelago, Dash, GOGII, and Pinger will collaborate closely with the iFund initiative.

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I hate the iPhone. It is an MP3 player with a web browser and every time I see someone with it in their hand I can't help but think they're trying way too hard to be cool. Today, that changed.

If you haven't watched the SDK announcement I recommend you do because maybe, just maybe, you'll come to the same conclusions I have.

The App Store

A centralized database of every application available for a platform that can be accessed via a computer and on your mobile phone is an absolutely brilliant idea, on paper. If you watch the SDK announcement you will see Steve Jobs' lame attempt at humor by saying pornography will be one of the criteria that will kick your application off the list, then a few other words popped up on the screen behind him. The phrase that stood out for me was "bandwidth hog" and the word "illegal." Who determines what is a bandwidth hog and who determines what is illegal? I'm not sure I want to know, but this will be a limitation that few people will care about, until they see their work pulled because some company waved the copyright flag in front of their face.

This is a limitation that will stunt the growth of applications that, heaven forbid, use an operators network to its fullest extent. Bandwidth hog, because pouring all that money into infrastructure was to make sure text can move at a quick pace over a series of tubes.

The 70/30 revenue split seems excessive to me. 80/20 wouldn't have made me make that previous statement, 90/10 would have made me stand up and applaud. The fact that if you want to get your application out there for free you have to pay nothing is huge and we will see all the major companies create applications as a way to further increase visibility to their brands.

Will Nokia copy this App Store method? They already do for Maemo, the Internet Tablet OS, and the Download! client on S60 devices is sort of, kind of, not really the same thing, but has the potential to be. This will be a space to watch.

The SDK and the OS

Again, watch the SDK announcement, because you're going to see some development tools that are far more advanced than anything I've ever played with. I love Microsoft's Visual Studio and Nokia's Carbide had me crying like a 7 year old girl who found out there is no Santa Claus; Apple's SDK looks remarkable. You have to own a Mac and pay a one time fee of $99 to become an iPhone developer, a small price to pay in the long run, but again, something just isn't right.

Your buttons will look exactly like every other button out there because Apple wants to maintain that sense of uniformity. This limit will cause the first generation of iPhone applications to merely be offline versions of iPhone websites currently out now. The second generation of applications will be about letting the content be the user interface, similar to the music player application already on the iPhone. Mark my words.

The OS is full blown Mac OS X. I didn't believe it the first times Jobs said it, but now I do. Open GL ES is a big deal, hardware accelerated everything is a big deal. How deep will Apple let developers dive into the iPhone's OS has yet to be seen, but you can bet there are engineers all over the world just salivating for the opportunity to hack away at this.

What, if anything, did I like?

An American, home of the RAZR, sweet land of BlackBerry, got up on stage and said that mobile will be bigger than the personal computer industry. An American, from the only continent that seems to want to stick to using voice mail, made mainstream America realize that having a computer that fits into your pocket, a computer that is always connected and always knows where you are is a big deal.

I hate the iPhone. It is an MP3 player with a web browser, but it stands for the enlightenment period that is about to occur in the American mobile telecommunications ecosystem. John Doerr is seeding the fertile soil with $100 million to foster growth from the newly awoken minds.

For that one fact alone, today's announcement earned my respect. Offer iPhone 2.0 unlocked and with 3G and I may just buy one, but don't expect me to leave the house without my Nokia N82 and whatever Android powered device HTC releases this year.

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Spore will hold the distinction of being the first third party iPhone game, but folks who are eager to try it out have no choice but to wait until September. Well, hopefully by then the 3G iPhone would have been released, enabling you to enjoy one of the more creative games in recent memory on a spanking new iPhone. Spore might be the first third party game, but there are already other titles in the incubating stages of development so it might take some time before those are fully realized. Will the iPhone be a viable gaming platform in the future? Well, I guess whatever the iPhone can handle, the DS will be more than able to match it.

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There has been some interesting news today, but the most important in my opinion, and for Apple’s business is that the iPhone will finally support true Exchange Server support, instead of the crap pop4 support.

This will allow corporate users, professionals and fancy personal users to sync with their email, contacts and calendar, among other Exchange features.

It will be interesting to see if this will have an impact on Blackberry and Windows Mobile.

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Vacuum tubes are so retro, and yet there are plenty of people out there who can't get enough of it just to stand out from the crowd. Enter the Gakken Self Build Vacuum Tube iPod Amplifier Kit that allows you to build your very own vacuum tube iPod amplifier, making your MP3s sound "warmer", so to speak. It retails for approximately $150 a pop - not too shabby, but make sure you have the mad DIY skills to figure the entire shebang out.

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[Microsoft TechFest 2008] Patrick Baudisch gave me a demo of the LucidTouch prototype that he is developing with his colleagues from Microsoft Research. Instead of the regular touch screen experience of the iPhone, the LucidTouch enables people to browse a map by touching the back of the device and seeing theirs fingers as a translucent overlay on top of the graphics that they are navigating. It prevents the fingers from occluding the graphic elements users are browsing, it would be useful for small screens.

The prototype (photo) is bulky and not very practical, the Web cam located on the back make it even worse, but we can imagine better designs for future mobile devices using this concept. According to Patrick, a possible application could be a watch that users could browse with one finger touch on the watchband on the other side of the wrist.

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About This Video
What will happen?!

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The 3G iPhone's launch is imminent, it's just a matter of how long we'll have to wait. Popular opinion and insider reports are pointing towards a mid-2008 release, and the newest bit from Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner hints at a similar or earlier release.

After visiting Taiwanese electronics companies in, well, Taiwan, Gardner claims that "sources" have indicated that the second-generation 3G iPhone is on track for a 2Q 2008 release. The revised launch window means that we could have a 3G iPhone in hand sometime between April and June of this year.

If true, the release of the 3G iPhone in a few months would outpace AT&T's plans to expand its 3G network to 350 new markets in the US. Still, we have no problem dealing with a bit of spotty 3G coverage in return for an early crack at the next-generation iPhone (3G coverage in Los Angeles is fairly good anyway).

[Via: MacRumors]

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Just a day ahead of the much-awaited iPhone Software Roadmap press event, Steve Jobs sat down with with Apple shareholders to talk shop. And, in traditional Jobsian form, Stevie avoided talking about the upcoming release of the official Apple iPhone SDK. The only bit of iPhone SDK info he let slip was that there will be "a lot of apps out there this summer."

Now, it's not clear if Steve's statement means that Apple will be releasing the iPhone SDK post-haste and expects developers to crunch out those "apps" right-quick, or if the iPhone SDK isn't slated to be released until Summer. We're crossing out fingers for the former. It would be a shame to have to wait a few more months for even a beta version of the iPhone SDK.

And, when probed regarding the iPhone's potential support for Adobe's Flash format, Steve Jobs basically shot down our hopes of embedded video-viewing glory on the iPhone. Apparently, Jobs isn't going to let the scaled-down, cellphone-version of Flash, dubbed Flash-lite, mar the iPhone's "full web-experience." Apple doesn't want to bring anything less than real Flash to the iPhone, but the problem is that the full-fledged version runs too slowly on the iPhone. So, we're not going to see Flash on the iPhone anytime soon.

Either way, we're excited to see what Apple has in store for us tommorow.

[Via: World of Apple]

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This compact iPod dock is a perfect accessory for any iPod with a dock connector. It includes a convenient remote, S-video out, and universal compatibility with included docking plates.

This slim  dock is a perfect companion for any iPod. It features universal compatibility for all dock connector iPods, a convenient remote, and a S-video out to share photos and video with 5th Generation iPods.

• Cheap mp3 downloads to your mp3 player

GeoSentric, the Finnish mobile company, has demonstrated GypSii, the social networking application the company designed for Apple iPhone.

GeoSentric GypSii offers access to popular features such as mapping, and social networking.

GeoSentric is hoping to cash in on the market of iPhone users which has now hit more than 5 million worldwide.

blog.planet-cell-phone.com

There is a new Japanese remote control that allows users to bat an eyelid in order to control the iPod, thanks to sensors connected to glasses/headphones known as the KomeKami Switch, or Temple Switch in English. These infrared sensors will generate an electric signal which will then talk to the iPod. If you wink strongly for one second with one eye, the iPod will go back one track, while doing the same with the other eye will skip the current track to the next. Closing both eyes will pause/play the iPod. According to the research team who developed this, the system works perfectly fine even if the user eats, talks, walks and runs as it is smart enough to discard accidental blinks. I wonder how lazy must one be to even control the playback of tunes on the iPod?

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O2 is selling iPhone subscriptions in Ireland that have quite a variance in price, depending on where you live.

In Northern Ireland, users paying �35 sterling (?45.65) get 600 minutes of call time and 500 texts. By contrast the basic ?45 subscription here gives 175 minutes and 100 texts.

Northern subscribers on the middle tariff of �45 - or ?58.70 - get 1,200 minutes and 500 texts, compared to the 350 minutes and 150 texts for people paying ?65 a month here.

Despite some complaints, O2 says their plan is the right one for consumers.

blog.planet-cell-phone.com

Sure, the iPhone is expensive, everyone knows that. I actually paid a significant premium to be one of the first few iPhone adopters, and I'm sure there are a lot of people in Ireland that will be just as eager to own an iPhone.

However, the problem with the iPhone plans on O2 Ireland are that they're ridiculously expensive for what you get. On top of the price of the iPhone itself - ?399 for the 8GB model ($605) or ?499 for the 16GB model ($757) - O2 Ireland will require at least an 18 month contract for a plan that offers only 175 minutes, 1GB of data, and no Visual Voicemail. There are bound to be people that have a problem with that ridiculous pricing schedule, but, as O2 Ireland's Ireland's CEO Danuta Gray put it, "

"You can't compare it with other products. Comparing it with a standard handset is just not like-for-like. I have music on it, videos on it, DVDs, photo albums, camera. To me it's just an amazing device and I think the type of price here compared with this type of functionality is where the value should be judged."

The problem is (well, it's actually a boon for O2 Ireland), that while the iPhone is expensive and the iPhone plans are unfairy expensive, there will be a good number of people that will wait in line to own the iconic handset. Come March 14th, "I'd say your Apple freaks will be queuing out the door when we launch," says Gray.

Such is the power of Apple hardware.

I don't know what would make me angrier - buying an iPhone on day-one and getting shafted for $200 soon thereafter, or buying a first-generation iPhone only to find the new 3G iPhone launched a few months afterwards.

[Via: MacNN]

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• Apple and T-Mobile announce official iPhone rate plans

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Well, the world ends. Planes crash, computers fail, people starve, it's the apocalypse.

Seriously, we don't know how this kid came up with the idea to run the iPhone's stopwatch for 1000 hours (whether he did so legitimately or just started the stopwatch and changed the date/time in iPhone preferences is debatable), but it's interesting to see how the iPhone handles the extra digit in the hours-place.

Turns out, the iPhone keeps on ticking, but the stopwatch display no longer shows the seconds, just the hours and minutes. A bit anti-climactic, isn't it?

[Via: Daring Fireball]

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Why didn't Apple include 3G on their current-generation iPhone? Obviously because the 3G radio would sap battery power like it was water - Apple said it, so it must be true. Right? Actually, I've thought about this a good deal and I've come up with my own conspiracy theory as to why Apple didn't bring 3G to their initial iPhone launch.

Apple could have failed to license the appropriate tech to launch the iPhone with 3G. Apple could have been stretched to their design limits and a 3G chipset just didn't work with their expectations. Apple just didn't have the technical savvy to integrate 3G into their design. Or, the exclusion of 3G could have just been a marketing ploy to sell more second-generation iPhones.

Now, all those theories are the most unreliable kind - conspiracy theories borne of a paranoid geek's mind. But, it seems that Steve Wozniak is also in doubt over Jobs's "battery life" concerns with 3G. The Woz was recently quoted as saying,

?I don?t understand why it would be a battery issue. I get as much life on my 3G phones as I do on my non-3G phones. Maybe I?m wrong, maybe I?m not paying close enough attention. But I don?t think that?s it though.?

Was Apple really just citing iPhone battery life as a cop-out to cover up the real reason that 3G wasn't included? Or does a 3G chipset really drain the small, sealed battery that fast?

Who cares, I'll have a 3G iPhone soon enough…

[Via: Macworld]

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• Apple iPhone - Great Battery Life, Slippery and Hard to Hold

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It seems some AT&T stores have refurbished iPhones for sale. Apparently, there are 4GB and 8GB versions available and you can grab them for $199 and $249 respectively. That's with new activations only, but it's a steal nevertheless. According to AT&T's internal memo, refurbished iPhones are "good as new" and have nothing to do with the image above. Furthermore, the offer seems only valid for the New England market, though, but at some point in the future this may may expand to other states as well. As soon as we get the word about additional markets, we'll let you know, k?

[Via: Boy Genius Report]

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Well folks, peer to peer file transfer is hitting the iPhone, big time! An iPhone hacker ported code from the Transmission site to run on the iPhone's ARM microprocessor. And while this is still extremely preliminary software, we're kinda sure it will develop over time — especially when Steve bless us with the 3G iPhone.

In the meantime, it's not advisable to use it over EDGE — the software usually crashes or reaches such "speeds" like 5kb/s — but with WiFi - sky is your limit. Here's the link to the site from where you can get more information as well as instructions how to use it. That's in case if you opt to try it out.

[Via: TUAW]

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Guess the iPod nano family will be receiving a new addition soon - this time in the color deep purple. That's what the Circuit City advertisement shows anyway - is it just a misprint on the printer's part, where they somehow screwed up the ink cartridges? Since the iPod Shuffle has already received a similar color in the past, it does make perfect sense if such a Barney-colored iPod nano actually rolls out. What are some colors that you would like to see appear for the iPod nano?

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Looks like cheaper iPhones will be coming your way, although they will be refurbished. You will be able to pick up the discontinued 4GB and 8GB models for $199 and $249, respectively.

Refurbished iPhones at COR Stores. For a limited time, select COR stores in the New England Market will offer refurbished iPhones (both 4GB and 8GB) for a special price. These devices are good as new and give customers the opportunity to experience the revolutionary iPhone with big savings. New activations only, upgrades with Manager approval. Refurbished iPhones will only be available to purchase in select COR stores across the Northeast Region and will be available while supplies last. Please reach out to customers that have recently purchased an iPhone to see if they are interested in activating an additional iPhone at a discounted equipment cost. Please note no in-store sales materials should be created. This is to be sold as a closing tool only. Product is available while supplies last from initial shipment. Failure to follow this communication will result in a Code of Business Conduct violation.

Will that make you rush out and buy one now?

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