smaller iPhone rumors squashed by NYTimes

For the past few days we have been hearing rumors of Apple working on a new smaller iPhone. Well this morning the NYTimes reported that a smaller iPhone is not in the works. But that Apple is working on a cheaper iPhone with voice command integration.

According to reports if Apple was to create a smaller screened iPhone it would require many of the developers to re-write their apps to fit the new smaller screen size. Now that might and might not be the case. If Apple did make a smaller sized screen but, they were able to keep the proportion and screen size resolution to where it is now, developers might not need to have to re-size their apps. Then again it might be to difficult to maneuver around the device too.

The NYTimes did confirm some of the details that the Wall Street Journal was reporting earlier on Apple working on integrating voice commands for navigating the iPhone device.

There is still no word from anyone confirming the previously reported option of storing the majority of the iPhones contents in a cloud and then accessing it when required. The only big issue that will definitely come up with this option will be allocation of desired bandwidth.when people are calling up data. There has always been an issue with bandwidth but if users don't have many things like music and video on their iPhone as they do now, the bandwidth consumption will be even greater and tax the telecommunications industry even more.

So it might be cool to have everything in the cloud. But if it takes to long or isn't accessible because of bandwidth being a problem what good is having and using the device if it can't perform because the industry isn't up to par with what is required for it to function properly.

Who knows maybe Apple is also working on some new kind of packet compression utility to help compress packets of data when it sends it from the cloud to the device. Time will tell as we all eagerly await new from the mother ship.

Apple Working on a New Smaller iPhone option

This weekend rumors started coming out from various sites on the net about a new, smaller, iPhone option. Its reported that this would be a cheaper solution without a contract for users. It would offer people an option to buy the iPhone for less than $200.

As more information comes out, it might not be what people think when they say iPhone. Granted it might look like a smaller version of its big brother iPhone. But, the reason why its smaller and cheaper is because it is being reported to have no memory built on board for storage of media. Everything will be on the cloud.

The device will have some memory installed but this is just for OS itself, critical system data reference, buffering media from the cloud and possibly for storage of photos or video on the device if a camera option is offered. If you want an example of this, Apple has already given us it with the Apple TV.

If these rumors are true it would explain Apples huge investments in creating data centers last year. There were some rumors of this leaking out then but they seemed to be nipped in the bud. All in all this isn't such a bad idea, especially with people loosing their phones. If a person does they don't have to worry about their data being comprimised as much. Since with the simple option of logging on to a website the end user can disable the link from the device to the cloud, making the new iPhone a nice paper weight.

This option does sound great but some questions do come to mind.

1. If we put everything in the cloud and it is streaming, have they come up with an idea of how much bandwidth will the average user require? This is an important question especially when one of the biggest problems with AT&T was users using to much bandwidth and having performance issues in the past.

2. Will it be 3G or 4G? With more and more talk of 4G will we finally see a 4G iPhone. Plus what will happen when you go from 4G to 3G? Will there be that 20 to 30 second lag in time many people have reported when it comes to switching networks?

3. What will the cost be for service on this phone? With the way some people use data on their phones it could cost them an arm and a leg getting data to and from the cloud and else where on the web.

4. Will this be available in both CDMA and GSM? The new Verizon iPhone tear down shows chips for both networks. This could be an interesting merger of the networks on one new hand held device.

5. How will privacy advocates feel about this? There is always a question of people being tracked as well as data. With implementing this the providers and Apple will know where and what is being done on the phone more and more.

All in all i think its a step in the right direction, esp with people loosing phones and being able to offer more for the consumer. Imagine putting your collection on the cloud, then when you need more space, you just pay for the allocation instead of having to buy a new device.

Something to think about..

Verizon gets the iPhone 4

Well folks its official, Can ya hear me Now.....

Verizon has the iPhone 4 on its network as a 3G phone.

This morning, Verizon had a press conference with Tim Cook, Apple's COO and Verizons Chief Executive Lowell Macadam on stage to give the presentation. Macadam spoke about how Verizon has upgraded its network and how their performance has been growing. Also, for over two years now they have been working with Apple.

But, today they are announcing that Verizon will be partnering with an industry giant "Apple". Then the official announcement "iPhone 4 Coming to Verizon Early Next Month!"The iPhone 4 has now been designed to work on the Verizon CDMA network. It will have all the features the GSM iPhone owners have come to enjoy, like a Retina display and FaceTime for video chatting. The unit will also have the same A4 chip, 5 MP camera, and integrated ecosystem that made the iPhone 4 so popular.

Beginning February 3rd, existing customers can pre-order the iPhone 4. Then on February 10th, new customers can pre-order the iPhone 4. The pricing will be the same: $199 for 16 GB, $299 for 32GB, with tethering included for up to 5 devices.

For the past year Verizon has been testing 1,000 CDMA iPhones on its network and the results have been very good. They couldn't be happier with the results. The leaked images of the re-design of the antenna were correct. This was done so it can work on the CDMA network.

Questions were asked about why they didn't come out with a LTE phone. Cook answered that the reasons were 1) The first LTE baseband controllers required changes to design Apple was unwilling to make. 2) Customers wanted the iPhone on Verizon ASAP.

There is one thing though, the Verizon iPhone users will not be able to be on the phone and use data at the same time. Cook doesn't believe Verizon customers will have an issue with this and will be willing to make the trade off.

That's all folks. The whole event was over in 30 mins flat...

Can Ya Hear Me Now.....iPhone

Well it looks like the rumors are now finally becoming more of a fact when it comes to the Apple iPhone coming to the Verizon network. On Friday it came out as a short trickle. Then the Wall Street Journal made it more official. By going into detail that Verizon was having a press conference with Steve Jobs on stage to so they can announce the new Verizon CDMA iPhone.


Today the WSJ (Wall Street Journal) was reporting that the Verizon iPhone will be available in stores by the end of the month.

The transition from the AT&T monopoly should be an interesting venture. One of the biggest problems before has been that time and time again customers would be complaining about network performance and pointing the finger with AT&T. As people do leave AT&T, it will be interesting to see if the network performance improves or degrades..

Part of me does wonder what Verizon will do with people who are already on their network when it comes to upgrading early. Will they make a rule to the exception and allow people to get their iPhone sooner or make them wait till their contract is up ?

I do think that Verizon will being Millions of users to the iPhone. But, the true test will be once the people have it and start taxing the network. Will it be the same problem AT&T encountered ? or will it be when someone says "Can ya hear me now" you will hear back Yep cause im on the Verizon network lol...

The other thing i wonder is what will happen with the typical iPhone upgrade coming to Apple will Verizon be part of this upgrade or will it have to wait since the CDMA phones are the new kids on the block. For months now rumors have been popping up of a CDMA/GSM phone.

If Apple came out with this option it could be an amazing phone to have, esp. for the world traveler where many of the places outside of the US use the GSM network.

AT&T now offering iPhone 4 color choice

Well boys and girls its been a while since the iPhone 4 first came out.
So this morning as i was surfing around a bit, I stopped by the AT&T site to see what was going on and to my surprise it looks like now we have an option for a black or white model iPhone 4.

Its nice to see we now have an option to try the white model too. I remember reading before that it actually was a longer process to make the white model iPhone 4. It would be nice to see one of these white versions in person when they hit the stores.

Strange things at Apple.....

This weekend as i was reading through the various spots on the net, I came across something interesting i wanted to bring to your attention. It seems that Steve Wozniak recently reached out to Gizmodo (the people that brought you the lost 4G iPhone, broken down in pieces) to speak out about a few things at Apple.

Photo found on MacRumors.com

It turns out that the early morning of the iPad launch, an apple engineer shows Woz an Apple iPad unit for two minutes. Because he did this, he was fired.

Now a few months later, we have an Apple engineer who goes out celebrating his birthday with a prototype next gen 4G iPhone, which he looses in a bar. Then someone picks it up, plays with it. Even comments on how the camera was crashing and mentions two sets of bar codes on the back of the unit. Then the iPhone ends up at Gizmodo, where it is broken down and demonstrated in detail. But, the unit seems to have its OS and content remotely erased (some think via mobile me) and they can't get the phone to come up working when at Gizmodo.

When the news comes out no one knows what to believe, is it real or a fake. But, its then definitely confirmed with a letting from a V.P. Gen. Council at Apple on its immediate return. The item gets returned to Apple. Everything is now fine and dandy.

The engineer doesn't loose his job and it seems that he is still with the company. A police task force is now set upon investigating Gizmodo for various possible crimes on having the unit in its possession.

Does this just sound a bit too strange or what. I mean if you remember back when the Apple iPad was a mysterious new device. The word after it was debuted to the public was that people who had the unit, pre-launch had to demonstrate to Apple these overly protective security measures were in place from blackening the windows of the room to keeping the unit in a specially sealed box, locked away, so no one would see the unit.

Then you hear about an engineer showing Woz (father of Apple Computer) the unit on the day but before the debut. Which if you are like most, you too consider Woz an Apple employee for life. Then that guy gets fired.

Now an engineer looses something major and its all ok. I have to say it almost seems like a planned loss to generate either hype or interest to see what people will say or not about the device. This is just my opinion. But, it just doesn't make sense when you look at what a few months ago was something not nearly as Major as what just happened and that engineer got fired.

I will leave my thoughts for you to decide. I love my Apple Computer and whole host of other devices i own and use. But, it sure sounds a bit strange for Apple to be so calm about an employee loosing such a device which is a major prototype release. I am not just buying it.

Unauthorized Apple iPhone App stores hit the marketplace

(image found on cnet news)
For the longest time if you wanted to get an app for your iPhone or iPod touch device you had to go through the apple iTunes store. But, now things have changed and there are three new options on the horizon.

The first one is called Cydia. Created by Computer Science genius Jay "Saurik" Freeman, age 27. Cydia was created as an open source distribution center offering independent developers and option to create software and offer it to end users without the approval of apple. There are hundreds of appz currently available with over 350,000 users and growing for this site.

But, be forewarned if you desire to use appz from this site you will need to "Jailbreak" your phone to make it able to install this appz. Here is an article here from Lifehacker on how to do it(click me). You should be forewarned that if something does goes wrong your iPhone will become a brick. The good thing is, it does seems possible to fix this problem, but it will cost you a few bucks too.

The second site is called "Rock your Phone". This site does not require you to "Jailbreak" your phone to install the appz they will be offering.

Then there is a third one but i didn't get wind of the name yet. But, I did find out it is scheduled to offer a series of adult oriented games on it for your iPhone or iPod touch device.

I am sure Apple is a bit pissed but they should have seen this coming because there are so many thousands of appz that Apple turns away and they were bound to come to the public market eventually.

Unauthorized iPhone app stores emerging (cnet news)
New online 'app' stores offer new shopping experience (CTV.ca)
Other App Stores Look for Slice of Apple (street.com)

Amazon Launches Kindle app for iPhone and iPod Touch devices

(image found on boston.com)
Great news for iPhone and iPod touch device owners, now you can download and view Amazon Kindle books on your handheld device just like on the Kindle, but without the added cost of buying one.

Amazon has just released a new app that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store for free. This e-book reader will allow you to view and purchase Amazon Kindle books. There are currently over 240,000 Kindle books available in the company library. The other plus side to this is if the books have color in them you will be able to see it on your i-device as oppossed to seeing it in select shades of grey on the Kindle unit. Also, the app comes with a sync application that will keep track of where you were reading and book mark it so you can come back to the same place at a future time.

It even gets better, say you have a Kindle and an i-device, well this app also features something called whispersync, which goes and syncs with the amazon server and then lets you book mark the place on the i-device then use your Kindle to finish off from where you stopped previously or vica versa, giving you a digital bookmark for your reading pleasure. There is one thing you should be aware of this free app does not include the Text-to-Speech option that is available on the Kindle.

Stock shares at Amazon were up 2% early this morning giving Amazon stock a price of $62.91.

Not to bad of a free app. With all the assorted different kinds of books available, even 104 out of the 112 New York Times Bestsellers, everyone can find something to read on their i-device. I currently don't have a Kindle myself, but i am still considering getting one because i think its the right time now with the Kindle 2 unit.

What Does Kindle Really Do for iPhone? (PCworld)
UPDATE: Amazon Launches Kindle App For iPhone (money CNN)
Free iPhone Kindle App Lets You Read All About It (Channel Web)

Gloves for the iPhone....maybe or maybe not

We've all had those days where we were outside on a cold day with our gloves on trying to use our iPhone and noticed sometimes it was easier said then done. There have been a few assorted reviews posted for some interesting options for people looking to use their mobile devices in the cold.
(image found on AP website)
The Associated Press found one option:

A company called 4sight Products Inc. has a solution: $40 gloves that have electrically conductive gold-colored material on the tip of the index finger and thumb. Apple must think it's a good idea as well — it has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for gloves that would essentially do the same thing. (Apple didn't return a call seeking comment.)

The gloves, sold under the Tavo brand, aren't perfect. But they could be a welcome addition for people who need to answer a call in the cold, or can't wait to get to a warmer location before firing off a text message or e-mail.

(image found on Gizmodo)
Also, Gizmodo has done a rating of gloves for use with the iPhone. They've realized like the rest of us that the iPhone doesn't work too well with normal gloves on the touch screen.

They ran the test using 3 assorted gloves without having to much of a great result.

The Freehands Stretch (http://shop.freehands.com/, $21) was rated worst, with material that wasn’t hand-friendly (wetsuit material adorns the hand hinges where it allows your fingertips to actually touch the screen), and poor quality in terms of finish and fit, but was the best with 100% responsiveness.

The North Face E-Tip was rated best overall (http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/etip-glove.html?parent_category_rn=, $40) with good solid feel, about 85% responsiveness (so no long e-mails wearing these), and thin enough to wear as normal gloves under skiing gear, etc. The company seems to be sold out right now, but there’s plans to release them again in Fall 2009.

The tavo Gloves (http://www.tavoproducts.com/, $30) were so-so, with 70% responsiveness, but better design (looks more like a normal everyday glove).

Now there was also another article run in the Chicago Tribune on gloves for the iPhone and Blackberry...

(image found at Chicago Tribune)

They found a pair of gloves, that seem to work ok on cold days but if it gets too cold you might have some issues with frozen fingers.

With spring-like temps, they are perfect. The Etre “Touchy” gloves are best for cool weather, not bitter cold, as the recent winter warming trend has illustrated during my tests.

Mostly, I love these gloves because they offer the best of both worlds: finger-less forefingers and thumbs. Your six other digits stay under cover.

The gloves are made and sold by Etre, a London-based communications agency. Two of the firm’s principals thought there was a better alternative to regular finger-less gloves that left too much hand exposed to the elements.

The Touchy gloves are good for more than messaging addicts. They make many cool-weather tasks easier, such as dialing a mobile phone, reading a paper and even changing songs on your iPod.

I do question the durability of these gloves, however. The Etre Touchy’s are made from an acrylic knit and I’ve noticed minor fraying after wearing them for a few weeks. The good news: they are not terribly expensive.

You can buy them online at etretouchy.com, a U.K. Web site. The listed price is in pounds, but it currently converts to roughly $22 in the U.S. Shipping is included in the cost, a spokesman for the company said, and they should arrive within 10 days after placing an order.

The gloves come in one color—charcoal gray with turquoise trim—and one size, large. But they are stretchy, so don’t worry if you have big hands. They’ll fit.

Another thing they recommended because of them being so thin as using them as a liner under your regular gloves. Now that might be an idea. But, hopefully you won't have to spend too much time out of your regular gloves texting or replying to an email because it can get sometimes real cold real fast depending on where you are in the world.

Review: Gloves with fancy fingers for iPhone use (Associated Press)
Gizmodo rates iPhone gloves (Gizmodo)
Gloves for iPhones and BlackBerries keep (most of) your fingers warm (Chicago Tribune)

Presidents of the United States of America band release new music steaming app for the iPhone

(image found on arstechica)

The band Presidents of the United States of America has release a new app through the iPhone store that gives fans a listen to four albums plus some earlier taped goodies for just $2.99.

This application does not have the music in it but it does stream the content to you from a remote server. So fans still need to have some kind of internet connection to access the content. But, its not a bad deal to hear some sweet toons and some old recorded stuff too for a small price.

"PUSA isn't the first band to go the App Store route. Snow Patrol made headlines in September of 2008 after it released an "interactive album" for the iPhone and iPod touch that included images, lyrics, artwork, and even videos. And PUSA singer-turned-entrepreneur Dave Dederer thinks this is all just the beginning. "The possibilities around these open app stores, with Apple being the first and foremost, and hopefully RIM, Android, and others to follow in terms of size and impact—they've radically changed the mobile application, because they're open," Dederer told Wired. "You don't have to negotiate, you don't have to go through the process of approval with a big carrier."

More importantly, Dederer sees the value of bringing distribution control back to the bands themselves. "If all the rights to the masters and the publishing are contained—if the artist has control of them or the label has control of them, they can sell music in this entirely new format," said Dederer, "The first one we're doing is for my band, The Presidents... you can sort of pump anything in there that you want, at random. Maybe we'll put my bandmate Chris Ballow's answering machine message on there... it becomes an open conduit to the fans to promote tours... and include links to the band's blog.""

Bands bypass iTunes by streaming music through iPhone apps (arstecnica)

The Presidents of the United States of America offer iPhone app (macworld)

Apple Says Noooo to South Park App for the iPhone

(image found on poster.net)
Creating a cool app for the iPhone is never an easy task. Because once it is made, Apple still needs to decide whether to allow it or not at the App Store. Well now there is one more app that won't be offered according to apple.

"The latest App to get the denial letter from Apple was from South Park Digital Studios. The company behind the popular cartoon Series South Park wanted to sell an app on the App Store that would provide fans of the show with easy access to clips from episodes and other content.

Apple says that the application for the app was denied because the app could be "potentially offensive" to some users. The interesting part is that the App Store is chocked full of apps that make boobs jiggle in images and produce fart sound effects.

The studio says that it applied more than once for approval for its app, but that it was denied each time. The studio said in a statement, "At this point, we are sad to say, the app is dead in the water. Sorry, South Park fans."

Wow, this is so just wrong. Face it folks, everyone who knows what South Park is knows it is the best show to insult everyone and create a great laugh while they do it. I think someone at Apple doesn't like the show and is now sticking it to the fans of South Park because of their dislikes of the great show.

I wonder if anyone has considered opening up another App Store that people could go to without the approval of Big Brother Apple for content? Might be an interesting new place to create to help people get the cool app they desire but not available from the App store.

Apple Vetos South Park iPhone App (Daily Tech)

Apple rejects South Park game for iPhone over "offensive" content (TG Daily)

New iPhone rumored for the marketplace

(image found on smartphonetoday)
Apple recently released an ipdate (version 2.2.1) for the iPhone and iPod touch devices. There was made mention of a new iPhone Hardware number iPhone 2.1, that has people starting to see a new iPhone device on the horizon. Apple is not officially saying anything to the release rumors.

"MacRumors indicated that Apple uses a specific numbering scheme in firmware to distinguish between iPhone models. For example, the firstgeneration iPhone 2G is labeled as iPhone 1.1, while the 3G is iPhone 1.2. The numbers don't change for storage increases but represent functionality of different devices.

MacRumors said the new model number can be found in the USBDeviceConfuguration.plist in an unencrypted firmware."

"One thing we know for sure is that the supposed new iPhone model won't be the much-rumored about smaller and cheaper iPhone Nano version of the iPhone. When asked about that possibility during Apple's earnings call last week, company COO put the kibosh on that rumor. Cook said:

You know us, we're not going to play in the low-end voice phone business. That's not who we are. That's not why we're here. We'll let somebody do that, our goal is not to be the unit share leader in the phone industry. It is to build the best phone."

Well if Apple is listening i wish a few things could be added to the Apple iPhone:

1. A removable battery option, so if the battery has an issue a customer can easily remove the bad battery for a good one.
2. A nice huge drive on there for video, music and audio books. Face it folks with the solid state drives being now offered at over 512 GB, Apple could find a way to integrate a large drive capacity option.
3. An option to attach an external drive to the unit so if people did get a smaller size iPhone they could upgrade their drive size.

Apple preping new iPhone Model? (SmartPhoneToday)
Is Apple building a Better iPhone? (Channel Web)
iPhone 2 on its way definetly for sure (according to obscure hardware id's) (itWorld)