Archive for I-Phone
Aug
28
Apple To Bring iPhone To China Unicom
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The Chinese will be getting their hands on the iPhone 3G S in the near future with Apple and China Unicom having come to an agreement, where the latter will oversee a lucrative three-year deal to sell the iPhone 3G S in that part of the world. They will offer a couple of versions sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, where Wi-Fi connectivity will be disabled as per government regulations. Currently, estimates point towards around 1.5 million hacked and unlocked iPhones already seeing action in China, and it will be interesting to see what kind of pricing plans will be introduced along with the new iPhone 3G S. We do know that the China Unicom version will be a GSM/WCDMA handset that operates on the 900MHz, 1700MHz and 1900MHz bands.
Aug
20
New iPhone Software Patents
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Check out what Apple has up their sleeves – a couple of new iPhone software patent applications that could definitely increase the cool factor of the much desired smartphone should it be implemented. The first of the two patents is known as “Auto messaging to currently connected caller”, where it offers methods to perform other things while you’re holding a conversation over the phone, including writing to the said person an SMS simultaneously, or perhaps even sending a file over. As for the second iPhone software patent app, the “Speakerphone Control for Mobile Device “ is pretty much self-explanatory – just speak your mind and watch the iPhone perform those commands. There is no confirmation on whether this will be implemented or not though.
Aug
20
Factron Quattro For iPhone Case
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If you want to totally ruin all the good work that went into the iPhone’s design, then the Factron Quattro case ought to be the right candidate. Depending on your taste, you can choose from leather, carbon fiber and stainless steel material. The case itself is mighty expensive though, retailing for a shade under $200. If you want to take things further, then extra lenses such as the fish-eye, wide angle and macro zoom will retail anywhere from $15 to $50 a pop. It does seem as though the Factron Quattro will be a Japan-only product though, but hopefully import shops will carry these.
Aug
17
TomTom Navigation For iPhone 3G And 3GS Arrives
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True, it’s not the first app offering turn-by-turn driving instructions for the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS — but it is from TomTom, an industry heavy-weight that is finally delivering on years of rumor and speculation. After starting with New Zealand a few hours ago, the iTunes App Store is now populated with region specific TomTom apps for NZ ($95), Australia ($80), US and Canada ($100), and Western Europe ($140). If that sounds expensive… it is; dedicated TomTom navigators start at $120. In other words, this isn’t one of those knee-jerk 99 cent App Store purchases. Naturally, that price does not include the announced TomTom iPhone car kit (rumored to cost £113.85 (about $194) with bundled mapping software) that mounts and charges your iPhone 3G or 3GS while enhancing its GPS performance, speaker, and microphone. Our advice: wait for the reviews before dedicating your non multi-tasking iPhone to the dashboard for navigation duties.
Aug
17
Plucky Little iPhone 3GS Counfounds Expectations, Tops Japanese Sales For July
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Well, look at that: The iPhone 3GS 32GB was the best-selling phone in Japan for the month of July, according to a survey being reported by a number of sites, including Electronista and Mainichi Daily News. Not bad for a handset that doesn’t even support 1seg TV, huh? Trailing behind the aforementioned handset at number nine (and the only other American model to make the top ten) is a little something called the iPhone 3GS 16GB. Of course, the mobile market in Japan features plenty of virtually identical phones that manufacturers assign different model numbers to, depending on carrier — so we’re going to take this with a grain of salt. But still, we have to wonder what, exactly, to attribute Apple’s new found Japanese popularity to. Maybe it’s because they got the phone a mere month after the Stateside 3GS launch, while the hype machine was still in motion? Or maybe someone juked the stats? We can’t be sure just yet, but we do have the top ten for you — in handy list form.
Japan’s top 10 cell phones (with carrier) for July, 2009:
- Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB (Softbank)
- Sharp SH-06A (Docomo)
- Panasonic 830P (Softbank)
- Sharp SH-05A (Docomo)
- NEC N-08A (Docomo)
- Sony-Ericsson Premier3 (au)
- Sharp SH-02A (Docomo)
- Casio W63CA (au)
- Apple iPhone 3GS 16 GB (Softbank)
- Sharp SH001 (au)
Aug
16
iPhone TomTom GPS Application Appears in New Zealand App Store
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The much-awaited TomTom for iPhone GPS navigation app has popped up in the New Zealand App Store with a reported asking price ranging from about $81 to $125. The app price does not include the TomTom iPhone car kit.
According to MacRumors, the four-flavored app covers the U.S. & Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and, naturally, New Zealand. Pricing:
- U.S. & Canada: NZ $124.99 (US $84.41)
- Western Europe: NZ $179.99 (US $121.55)
- Australia: NZ $104.99 (US $79.90)
- New Zealand: NZ $119.99 (US $81.03)
Earlier this month, UK retailer Handtec let slip that the equally anticipated TomTom for iPhone car kit would sell for about $195. The price included the app itself, a GPS-boosting receiver, windshield mount, car charger and speakers. That news, and the perhaps premature New Zealand launch this weekend, would seem to indicate a global release is imminent.
Aug
03
Square iPhone Payment System Turns Your Phone Into Credit Card Reader
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Everyone and their uncle Steve uses WinCE terminals to execute cashless transactions these days, and while you’d expect Apple to remedy that right quick, the Square credit card reader has beaten it to the punch. Plugging into the headphone jack of either an iPhone or iPod Touch, the dongle takes a swipe of your card, the seller enters the purchase data and you do your best penless John Hancock on the touchscreen. After that, a receipt is delivered by email and the app retains geotagging data for each transaction. Spiffy, right? Well, there is a surcharge to pay, and it’s still in early alpha testing in New York, but should it prove popular, there’s no reason not to see this appendage make an appearance on Android or WinMo phones as well. Rest easy, Gotham, we’re sure nothing could possibly go wrong.
Aug
01
iPhone 3.0.1 Can Still Be Jailbroken
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Firmware updates are always alarming for a jailbreaking enthusiast—who knows if it’ll ruin all the hard work that’s gone into the unlocked device? But iPhone users don’t have to worry, since 3.0.1 is no less hackable than 3.0. The iPhone Dev Team put up a post detailing instructions on how to use the current versions of redsn0w and ultrasn0w on 3.0.1, and it’s pretty easy: Jailbreaking with redsn0w only requires you select the IPSW file for OS 3.0, and then you can use Cydia to install ultrasn0w and everything will be perfect in the land of semi-approved iPhone tinkering. Phew!
