O2 executive James Le Brocq points out what an iWallet needs in order to be a success.
Apple may be the only major company operating the mobile space that hasn’t announced a partnership or trial related to delivering mobile payments and creating an iWallet. While it seems a forgone conclusion that Apple will eventually enter the mobile payment market, a recent statement by James Le Brocq, managing director at O2 Money (a division of the U.K. mobile carrier O2) illustrates why Apple hasn’t yet entered the that market and why that’s a good move for Apple: consumers aren’t that interested in mobile payments.
According to a new report this morning, Sharp will begin shipping larger 4-inch iPhone displays throughout Apple’s supply chain this month as production for the September launch ramps up. Production of the iPad mini’s smaller display is also expected to begin in August leading up to Apple’s event in September.
No doubt some of you will spring for these simply after hearing the name; but Fanny Wang is hoping their new bud-style Wang Buds earphones will conquer a territory they feel noone really owns yet: The earphone middle ground between the comfort, safety and simplicity of the iconic Apple buds, and the sound reproduction generally achieved by in-ear monitors — think really, really good Apple buds.
You can keep unlimited data on Verizon, but there's a catch.
A report this morning claimed that AT&T employees were being instructed to push Windows Phone and Android smartphones over iPhones to customers. Not only that, but the report claimed that employees are being forbidden from buying an iPhone as a company-owned device. AT&T later released an official statement in a poor attempt to clear the air, saying “The idea that we would steer any customer away from a particular device couldn’t be more farfetched.”
Several readers have since shared their experiences of AT&T reps pushing Android phones over the iPhone, with one even noting that a buddy who works at AT&T gets more commission on Android smartphone sales.
According to a new testimony, it appears that Verizon may be also instructing/incentivising its reps to push other smartphones over Apple’s iPhone.
It’s August, which means two things. One, there’s no news to report on, which means that most of a gadget blogger’s workday is taken up with siestas and refreshing beverages. And two, it’s vacation time! That’s right: The whole northern hemisphere likes to take a break at exactly the same time, all the better to enjoy congested roads, overpriced plane tickets and overcrowded hotels.
To ease your pain, we’ve put together a list of the best travel gadgets. You may not enjoy spending a hot and stuffy month with your in-laws, but at least your tech won’t let you down.
Here’s an obvious yet often overlooked tip – something that I’ve personally looked at every time I use the Messages app on my iPhone, but never really “connected” with.
I’ve often needed to send along a specific text message, to a boss or co-worker, or even to a family member. I’ve often copied an individual message, then pasted it into a message of my own to the new person.
Starting in iOS 5 iOS 4, though, there’s an easier way – forwarding it. Here’s how.
With new iOS and Android apps, ownCloud becomes a serious business cloud option.
We’ve taken a couple of looks at ownCloud over the past few months. The company launched its signature cloud server software in April and issued a major update about a month ago. Today, ownCloud announced its iOS and Android apps, making the product a serious option for many businesses that need to develop a secure internal cloud strategy.
If there were ever a medal for Most Staggering Misnomer, the iPhone would find itself in serious contention for gold; the little glass slab is so stuffed with useful functions it makes the “phone” element of its name ridiculously misleading. Consider the action-packed roles my iPhone has filled over the years: Bicycle computer; running partner; navigator; wilderness scout; survival guide; weather advisor; and visual story-telling tool, not to mention being able to score all these adventures to music. And yeah, it makes calls too.
The iPhone is the most indispensible piece of hardware since man discovered sharp rocks. Problem is, the iPhone is also a fragile weakling, easily damaged by sharp rocks, gravity or water — things that exist in copious amounts around precisely the places you’d want to use the iPhone to adventure with.
The people at LifeProof, however, have recognized this paradox, and they think they have a solution. They’ve come up with a quiver of clever, well-designed, mission-specific exoskeletons that work as a seamless, modular system, all designed around the core armor: a lithe, shock-resistant, fully sealed (yes, waterproof) iPhone 4/s case. And for the most part, it works brilliantly.
When AT&T reported last month that their iPhone activations only grew by 3% compared to the last quarter, a few analysts were scratching their heads at first but decided people probably weren’t buying as many new iPhones because of iPhone 5 rumors.
But what if there was a more sinister hand at play in the slumping iPhone sales? According to a new report, that’s exactly what’s happening as AT&T Regional Retail Sales Managers have instructed store managers to stop trying to sell the iPhone.
Traveling for business? Don't forget to pack an expense tracker app.
Traveling for business is a lot different from taking a vacation. While you may get to experience far off cities, meet new people, and have some genuine fun on a business trip, you’ll also need to work, worry about delays that could make you miss critical meetings, ensure you leave your hotel room looking your most presentable, and keep track of every expense related to the trip.
Of those stress factors, tracking expenses so that you can submit them for reimbursement or explain charges you make to a company credit card may not seem the most stressful. The majority of the time it isn’t (unless you lose some big-ticket receipts or have unusual charges to justify). It is, however, often tedious drudgery that is prone to human error and mistakes.
There are many iOS expense tracking apps out there and there are some very good reasons to invest in one of them.
The new Digg site features more editorial content, and an updated iPhone app.
Betaworks purchased Digg, the social news aggregator, earlier this month. In that short span of time, the purchasing company has rebuilt Digg from the ground up to include editorial content instead of user-promoted news stories as well as better performance across the site.
In addition, a new iPhone app launched right alongside the revamped web site, giving iPhone users a new app-based interface for the site content. Betaworks promises more features to come soon, including personalization, commenting features, more accessible data, and some API development — all great stuff that promises Digg may not be as dead as some have claimed.
Seven simple rules about push notifications help craft killer iPhone/iPad marketing campaigns.
Over the past few months, a number of different studies have shown the iPad (and to a lesser extent the iPhone) is a near-perfect advertising vehicle that enourages ad click-throughs, user engagement, and purchase decisions in ways that generally aren’t seen with other technologies.
A truly well-crafted marketing campaign aimed at iPad and iPhone users in, however, is more than just a series of ads. Instead it’s a series of interactions that build a relation with mobile customers. According to the marketing gurus at MarketingProfs, one key to building those relationships is using push notifications – and using them in the right ways.
This thing is absolutely insane. That’s all we can think of when watching the video of this huge mech suit built by Suidobashi Heavy Industries. Not only is it gigantic, but it’s fully functional, with robotic arms, BB gatling guns, water bottle launchers, and a kick-ass cockpit that looks like something out of your favorite video game.
The Kuratas, is a 13-foot, 4.4-ton metal mech suit. The best part is that you can completely control it with your iPhone or jump in the cockpit and run around town terrorizing dogs, cats, and little old ladies. The only catch is that it costs a whopping $1.35million, so most of us will only be able to dream about it. But if you have a few extra mill to spare, Suidobashi made this handy operation instructions video about the Kuratas –
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, the only thing I was hunting down more than free drinks and after-parties, was power outlets. Yes sir, I love my purdy white iPhone 4S, but on days of heavy use, I find I need to charge it two times or more before the day is through.
The Dual USB Power Bank from Verbatim (about $65), provides a a massive amount of portable power that should keep anyone from outlet-hunting in the inky-shadows of Vegas convention halls. But the question is, how does it perform while charging two connected devices or the power-hungry new iPad?
Every time Apple holds a keynote or earning call they love to brag about how many apps are available in the App Store. Right now Apple’s boasting that there are 500,000 apps for the iPhone, which you know, sounds really freaking amazing when you’re thinking about buying and iPhone. Think of all the cool stuff you could with 500,000 different apps.
Yes, the App Store is awesome and it’s packed with some truly solid apps, but the truth is that most of the 500,000 apps that Apple brags about don’t ever get noticed. In fact, a recent analysis revealed that two-thirds of all apps in the App Store are “zombies,” meaning they never get downloaded, are invisible to users, and have no ranking.
Apple is one of the world’s only companies that isn’t content to push out a great product with a few flaws. They want everything to be perfect. It’s one of their biggest strengths, but it also prevents a lot of neat products and ideas from reaching production. It turns out that the iPhone was no different during its inception, and even after all the cool prototyping and public demand for a great smartphone, Apple nearly axed the iPhone before it was launched.
Apple’s chief designer, Jony Ive, stated in a recent interview that small design flaws with the iPhone nearly caused it to get shelved, because even though the iPhone was good, it wasn’t excellent until they figured out how to fix some fundamental problems, like the proximity sensor.
iMore reported this morning that Apple will hold its next media event on September 12th and launch the new iPhone alongside the rumored iPad mini on Friday the 21st. Another report said today that Apple is planning to launch multiple new products in September, and now AllThingsD confirms that Apple will indeed hold an event on September 12th. Although Apple hasn’t officially commented, AllThingsD’s word is pretty much considered to be a confirmation.
What will Apple announce in two months? Rumors say we’ll see the next iPhone, new iPod touch, and iPad mini. Judging by Apple’s huge spike in component orders overseas, it looks this this fall is going to be a very busy time for the folks in Cupertino.
There’s nothing quite like a good ol’ citizens arrest. In Manhattan, a would-be thief was run down and tackled by two New Yorkers before he could make off with a woman’s iPhone.
New trends show health-related apps are changing how patients experience healthcare.
Health related iOS apps are proliferating quickly in the App Store. While the most popular health related apps tend to be focused on diet, exercise, and stress relief, there are some other fast growing trends that show how the iPhone and iPad transforming the healthcare experience for consumers.
According to MobiHealthNews, which provides an annual assessment of the market for mobile apps related to medicine, health, and fitness, three new trends are emerging that could significantly reshape our experience of healthcare.
Steve Jobs introduces the smartphone that changed smartphones. Photo: Apple
Leading up to an iPhone announcement, there’s a very select group of people who have seen—much less held—the new phone in private. Apple is known for its thick veil of secrecy, and only the top employees know the comprehensive details surrounding future products. Only the highest of the highest employees get to take one home, as was the case with Steve Jobs and the original iPhone.
How many people got to see the original iPhone leading up to Apple’s announcement at Macworld in 2007? Only the privileged few. A random FedEx delivery man did come close, however, when he delivered a package to Steve Jobs’s doorstep one afternoon.
Optrix’s XD camera case for the iPhone looks like just another ruggedized box, but it distinguishes itself with a low price ($100), a whole bagful of included accessories, and one unique feature.
We just heard that Apple plans to announce the next iPhone, iPod lineup, and iPad mini at an event on September 12th, and now more rumors have surfaced regarding Apple’s iPhone and iPad roadmap, including the iPad 4 and some new cases.
While Apple is expected to ship the iPad mini by November, it’s currently unclear if the smaller tablet will ship at the same time as the iPhone 5 or not. The next major version of the current iPad is rumored to be a more of an evolutionary upgrade to the third-gen iPad, and Apple is expected to implement the same smaller dock connector that will be in the new iPhone.
The patent war between Apple and Samsung is just starting to heat up, with both tech giants scheduled to appear in U.S. court today. Apple accused Samsung of copying the iPhone and iPad back in April 2011, and Samsung countersued with similar accusations. In the months leading up to the trial, there have been treasure troves of previously hidden information uncovered, including hundreds of early iPhone and iPad prototype designs.
One design in particular, aptly named “Jony,” sparked an accusation from Samsung saying that Apple borrowed from Sony’s designs to create the first iPhone. To combat Samsung’s claim, Apple has since produced an early (and possibly first) prototype design of the iPhone from circa 2005.
The Samsung vs. Apple legal brouhaha has been a pretty tedious story to cover up until now, but over the last week, those of who with a professional interest in paying attention to the bickering were finally rewarded when Apple started coughing up images of their early iPhone prototypes in the court filings.
On Saturday, though, in preparation for the start of today’s trial, Apple released a new filing with dozens of sketches, prototypes and 3D models of early iPhone prototypes. We’ve seen some of them before, but a lot of them are new, and one thing that is abundantly clear is that back in 2006, Apple has already thought out every possible shape an iPhone could be.
We’ve put together a gallery below of all of Apple’s iPhone prototypes, culling the images from a longer slideshow from All Things D. Check it out: not only will you see iPhones that never made it in there, you’ll see the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 4 and even a longer iPhone that could be the iPhone 5!
September 21, 2012 is looking increasingly likely as the release date for the next-gen iPhone and upcoming iPad mini, as a new report from a trusted site pegs the date.
