iPhone - page 438

Over at 9to5Mac, Jordan Golson put together this simple but illuminating pie chart illustrating Apple’s revenue breakdown by category for Q2 2010.

It really just makes everything immediately clear about Apple’s business, does’t it? The Mac and OS X are also-rans now: Apple’s present and future is the iPhone OS, which accounts for almost as much revenue as Apple’s Mac and iPod units combined. Cupertino’s moving to a mobile future, not one defined by thirty-year old, desktop-oriented expectations.

I can’t wait to see Q3’s numbers. My guess is it’s going to contradict what Apple has been saying in its advertisements all along: the iPad isn’t the future of computing. It’s the present.

Free Radical Software has just released Rhythmic for iPhone and iPod Touch. Rhythmic allows one user to transfer song information, including relevant song data and cover art, from their device to another with the same technology used to transfer contacts in the popular iPhone app Bump.

Once a track is Bumped, the recipient can choose to download the track from iTunes.

I could see this app working well at iPod nights at your local beverage dispensing establishment. Can you think of other instances when this might come in handy? I can’t. I’m also weary of the negative comments in the App Store. Fun idea, though.

If you think Apple’s dogged pursuit via a police raid of blogger Jason Chen’s was a little extreme, you’re in good company.

Uber geek and Mac user Bill Amend’s Fox Trot strip offered one explanation for Apple’s dogged pursuit of the lost iPhone.

In the Sunday strip, 10-year-old Jason Fox gets a fake ID, to use as bait for attracting tech bloggers.

But the joke’s on them and knee-jerk fan-folks, although some of us (and many of you) haven’t defended at least the superficial, brick-like looks of the lost iPhone.

Amend did say, via Twitter, that there was at least one situation where the said 12GV iPhone might come in handy…

It’s common knowledge that plugging a regular SIM into the iPad is as simple as cleaving it down to microSIM dimensions… but what if you want to use the unlimited AT&T iPad data plan on your iPhone? Over at HiJinks Inc, they’ve posted a great guide to doing just that.

At first blush, I absolutely loved this iPhone speaker dock, crafted in the GlaDOS style aesthetic of an old iMac arm. And, undeniably, it looks great.

The problem is, it’s not a speaker, per se. Instead, it uses resonance to transmit the sound from your iPod, iPhone or other MP3 player into the hard surface of the table underneath it. The audio output is rated at 12W, with a built-in amp for a bit of a boost, but the inevitable result here is still going to be terrible sound.

What a pity. I always loved the lamp-style iMac. At $42, though, this is a waste of money as anything besides a conversation piece.

To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Tivoli Audio has introduced an attractive new iPod Dock, the Connector, which allows you to hook your iPhone up to any radio… although the wood panel design of the Connector indicates that it is specifically meant to be paired with Tivoli’s own $199 Model 10 table radio.

A bit rich for our blood at $129, especially when you can hook an iPod fairly easily to any speaker system that accepts audio-in, but technology enthusiasts who have absorbed their sense of design from the aesthetics of Mike Brady’s living room might give the Connector a go.

The iPhone and iPod Touch have the industry’s best touchscreens, but some people still find the lack of true tactile feedback a barrier to adoption. Various companies have been working for a solution to that problem, but Toshiba’s new Senseg E-Sense technology seems ready for prime time now: slapped as a film on top of the display of an iPod Touch radically amplifies the tactility of objects on screen.

The film works by producing weak field changes in the area of the touchscreen touched by a user. This allows, for example, a swipe of the screen to offer the slight feel of resistance, or for an on-screen button to feel like it is actually protruding.

That’s genuinely exciting, and better yet, it’s cheap: Toshiba says that the Senseg E-Sense film, available now, costs as little as $0.11 per unit. Would you be interested in this sort of technology on your iDevice?

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When Greg Hughes’ first revealed his amazing Wi-Fi Sync app a couple weeks ago, it didn’t take a genius to realize Apple was never going to let it on the App Store. Sure, there was no actual rule preventing it, but Apple has shown time and time again that they don’t want anyone messing around with iTunes sync. Plus, the very existence of the app makes Apple look bad: why the heck don’t we already have this functionality in iTunes? Apple was bound to kill it.

And so they have. Curious about Apple’s reasoning, Hughes’ even called them up, and was told that while the rep he spoke to agreed the app didn’t technically break any rule, it ” encroached upon the boundaries of what they can and cannot allow on their store.” Plus, you know, unnamed security concerns.

Still, not to fret if you’re a jailbreaker. Wi-Fi Sync was also bound to hit Cydia in case of an App Store rejection. And so it has, for a steep $9.99.

What it is: We Rule is an addictive world-building iPhone game that blends Sim City with Facebook’s Farmville. Set in medieval times, you must build a prosperous kingdom by micromanaging the peasants and expanding trade with other online players.

Why it’s good: The game blends the best empire-building aspects of Sim City with the social aspects of Farmville.

As a teenager, I was totally addicted to games like Sid Meier’s Civilization, and Sim City. Even though they had terrible graphics and long load times on my old Pentium 1 PC, the sense of being a ‘god’ and having power over all those little guys made it a deep and immersive experience. Now Ngmoco has brought this gaming experience to the iPhone.

Fruit Ninja is a super fun game from Australian developers Halfbrick Studios that is impossible to put down!

Fruit Ninja incorporates the speed and simplicity of games like Doodle Jump with an innovative control method that makes the game addictive. I love this game. The graphics look like crap but the game proves the old adage — gameplay is king!

One of my must-have apps from the iPhone is not only breaking down barriers between consumer shopping habits and the online marketplace, but also passing milestones left and right.

The top-selling barcode-scanning iPhone app RedLaser has recently passed 2 Million downloads, catered to 950K active users last month, and successfully completed 50 Million scans according to a press release by Occipital CEO Jeff Powers.

The 50 millionth scan was of a Deuter Backpack scanned by a RedLaser user in Germany.

RedLaser now has the ability to locate books at a local library via WorldCat and look up packaged food allergen and nutrition information based on the item’s barcode.

I have a feeling barcode tattoos will be making a comeback in the very near future.

[via MobileCrunch]

That Verizon iPhone we mentioned the other day? According to Digitimes, it’s already in production, with Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron having been contracted to produce up to 10 million CDMA iPhone units a year.

The Digitimes report seems to confirm the September Verizon launch that we’d previously heard rumor about, as the new CDMA iPhone isn’t expected to contribute to Pegatron’s revenues until August or September, according to sources.

That will likely give AT&T a three month exclusive on the next iPhone. No wonder, then, that they’re pushing up their upgrade eligibility dates to late June to entice existing subscribers to sign a new contract.

Exciting stuff: if the rumors of a CDMA iPhone pan out, American iPhone owners are finally going to be able to choose their network with the same freedom that they chose their smartphone, while Apple’s iPhone profits are going to go through the roof.

[Image via BeGeek.fr]

CBS announced on Friday that they will be going the HTML5 optimized route to bring content to your iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Instead of creating a slick app like ABC’s, CBS thinks the best way to enter the post-flash mobile web is through CBS.com.

CBS Interactive SVP Anthony SooHoo confirmed to NewTeeVee.com that the 2010 Fall line-up will be available to non-flash users. I love how CBS’s move to HTML5 is based solely on the iPad:

Unlike ABC, which built an iPad app to deliver its full-length episodes and promotional clips on the device, CBS decided to focus on delivering video through its website, CBS.com. Since the Apple tablet doesn’t support Adobe Flash, CBS has created a video site for the iPad through HTML5 instead. It’s still early days, but Soohoo expects CBS to deploy more and more video that is iPad-ready, until it reaches content parity with what’s available on the website through a PC.

Interestingly enough, CBS is exploring some unique advertising opportunities to take advantage of the iPad’s multitouch capabilities.

I didn’t think anything could make me happier than Netflix coming to the iPad and soon iPhone, but I was wrong.

It’s just a mere mention, and there’s no promises or commitments, but Boxee has hinted at eventual expansion into Apple’s mobile universe. In Boxee’s post about payment system provider Vindicia, they mentioned their plans to move to the mobile platform:

Vindicia’s flexibility also makes it possible for us to enable payments on our website and across mobile platforms like the iPhone, Android and iPad. Boxee’s eventual expansion to these platforms will pave the way for universally accessible content no matter where a user is (we love this idea!).

A new iPhone app promises to help combat that up-all-night, zombie-by-day havoc jet lag brings.

Jet Lag Fighter, $1.99 on iTunes for the iPhone and iPod Touch, gives you a bunch of tools to shorten your next woozy flight hangover. (We have promo codes to give away, check our Twitter account for details).

The app offers two main strategies to attack jet lag: either sleep adjustment (getting you on schedule for the new time zone before you leave) or light therapy (telling you optimal times get out in the sunshine to lessen the lag time).

During the flight, the also app calculates ideal nap times and lengths; if there’s no light available when you need it or you skip a sleep session, the app adjusts your recovery schedule accordingly.

Hot on the heels of reports that Verizon might very well get a CDMA iPhone by September comes word from Mobilecrunch that AT&T has been tweaking its upgrade eligibility dates for the next iPhone.

Most people who purchased an iPhone 3Gs at launch were due for upgrade eligibility this November 21st, but now AT&T is pushing that date up to June 21st, 2010. Since Jobs is likely to formally announced the new iPhone at WWDC at the beginning of June, AT&T’s revised upgrade eligibility date seems like a pretty good bet for the next-gen iPhone’s official release date.

If Verizon is getting a CDMA iPhone in September, AT&T trying to get as many people to extend their contracts in the three month window after the new iPhone’s June release makes a lot of sense. They want to lock in as many existing customers as possible, before their subscribers actually have a choice. If you’re sick of AT&T’s lackluster service, you might well want to wait on taking them up on their “generous” offer to upgrade you early.

[via TUAW]

Swallow a mouthful of salt before you believe this one, but John Biggs over at Crunchgear is reporting a doozy of a rumor today: Verizon will be getting the fourth generation iPhone at the end of the summer.

According to Crunch’s tipster, advertising firm Landor Associates is working on a branding campaign for Verizon for the launch of the upcoming iPhone. Landor and Verizon have been working together since 2007, and since they primarily work in branding, whatever they’re working on is not another of Verizon’s anti-iPhone ad campaigns.

If true, this is huge news for American iPhone owners, who might finally be able to abandon AT&T for Verizon, a far more reliable (although not quite as fast) provider. Still, let’s not get our hopes up until Steve Jobs hits the stage and holds up a new, CDMA handset. We’ve all been burned too many times on this Verizon rumor before.

Apple just can’t seem to keep its hands on a prototype these days. Less than a month after Gizmodo released the first full teardown of the fourth generation iPhone, new teardown pictures of a different handset have been posted to Vietnamese forum Taoviet (link includes breakdown images, which are also mirrored at MacRumors)

The NPD claims that Android is outselling the iPhone and commands seven percent more of the US smartphone market than Apple, but now Cupertino, in a rare response, is saying “Not so fast.”

Who knew that the headphone jack on your iPhone could be so freaking functional?!

Perhaps anticipating the release of no-brainer summer blockbuster MacGruber, HMB Tec has a host of gadgets that plug right into your iPhone headphone jack and turn your device into an oscilloscope, stethoscope, thermometer, or pocket fan–whichever necessary tools your dire situation requires.

The accessories cost between $20 and $90 (not including shipping) and HMB TEC’s apps cost between $ 0.99 and $4.99.

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[via recombu.com]

A charity group is hoping that if you spend a few days with a homeless person — even an animated one on your iPhone — you’ll understand the problems they face. And perhaps donate to the cause.

iHobo was developed by Depaul UK, a charity devoted to youth homelessness. With a donor base largely over age 65, the iPhone app is a way they hope will get younger people involved. Players can also donate to the charity using the free app, currently available only in the UK store.

iHobo works much like Tamagotchi: the game takes place in real time over three days. Instead of a “pet” you play with a realistic, animated homeless man that you can give a sleeping bag, food or money. Take your choice and that’s it… until you start getting push notifications on your screen updating you on the man’s status.

It’s time for our weekly digest of tiny iPhone reviews, courtesy of iPhoneTiny.com, with some extra commentary exclusive to Cult of Mac.

This time, we review AlphaBattle, Chop Chop Runner, Compression, ESPN Pinball on iPad, Mini Golf Wacky Worlds Free, Opera Mini, Parcel Panic, and Pinball HD.

Things sure have changed for music-lovers in a big way over the last decade; I still remember balking at paying $50 for a pair of Sony earbuds not so long ago. Then the iPod ushered in the age of the portable MP3-player revolution, and things would never be the same — the earbud market exploded, and a wealth of hi-fi earbuds roared onto store walls.

The $200 Ultimate Ears 700s, with their phenomenal performance, compact, whisper-light profile and no-frills approach, could be considered the two-seater sports car in this mass of earbuds; right down to their lack of tolerance for abuse.

A 44-year-old man is in federal custody after using a social networking app to meet and have sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Moses Virgil Campbell Jr., 44, allegedly used the “iDate-Personals Dating Service for Singles of Any Sex” app on his iPhone to hook up with a teen, according to an affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Alicia M. McShane.

This is the third sex case involving minors and iPhone apps we’ve come across — after one in Canada involving Grindr and another unnamed social networking app in Phoenix.  Both Grindr and iDate are free apps and classified as “games,” require users to be 18 or over.

First quarter iPhone shipments are more than double what they were in 2009, IDC reports.

Apple now has 16.1% of the mobile market share, landing it in the top three smartphone vendors after Nokia and Research in Motion.

The bump in shipments was in part due to iPhones reaching outside North America, the report noted, adding forthcoming developments that may keep the numbers rising:  “CEO Steve Jobs announced the latest operating system update, enabling multi-tasking, folders, enhanced email, iBooks for consumers, and iAd, a mobile advertising platform, for developers. A fourth generation iPhone is expected to arrive this summer.”

The explosive growth isn’t limited to Apple — the report notes 54.7 million units shipped in the first quarter, for a 56.7% overall spurt — but it may change the minds of analysts who said the iPhone would remain a niche product and proclaimed a death watch.

Via CNET