Archives - Posts written in July, 2008
Motorola clings to third place in mobile marketPosted July 31st
“Motorola clung on to third place in the mobile phone market in the second quarter, far behind Nokia and Samsung.
The strange economy of the App StorePosted July 31st
“Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Freeware, Apple, iPhone, App Store
A few App Store apps have already gotten the public browbeating for tweaking their prices, and here's another: as Johnathan notes, there's a new app on the top of the heap in the paid pile, and apparently the only reason "Units Convertor" (sic) is there is because it used to be free.We can't necessarily call them out for switching just to sit on top -- what would you do if you had a free app that was being downloaded like crazy and decided you wanted to make some money from it? But being that free apps far outweigh paid apps in terms of distribution, even the #21 free app can quickly jump to the top of the paid pile. We've already posted about how developers might be getting a raw deal out of the App Store (and some publishers have told us personally that they agree), but the economics are very interesting in there right now -- you've got a basically free economy, and considering that most of the apps out now are easy to make, it's just as likely that you'll see a free version of an app that does the same thing as a paid app.Of course, what's happening in there actually mirrors what's happening out here with software: some of the best applications around are actually being given away for free. We're still in a strange place with the App Store and its pricing, and you have to think that eventually things will settle down and the developers who deserve to get paid will.Read | Tagged as TUAW iPhone | No Comments » | Continue
HTC’s 3G iPhone rival out in 30 countries alreadyPosted July 31st
“HTC said 50 operators have launched the Touch Diamond in 30 countries so far, and HTC plans to put out 4 or 5 more Diamond handsets.
iPhone Push Notification API released to select developersPosted July 31st
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CrunchGear notes that a version of the iPhone Push Notification Service API has been released to "a handful" of developers, and, according to them, will "surely" be released to everyone when iPhone OS 2.1 is released.
If you remember our WWDC keynote coverage (around 11:05 a.m.), the Push Notification Service maintains a connection with third party servers to alert you via an icon badge, custom sounds, or text alerts.
An app that uses this feature isn't really running in the background, but instead sort of registering itself with a metaphorical "hotel operator" that lives in your phone. Once there's something new to tell you, the hotel operator notifies you.
Hopefully this has little effect on battery life, but without actual, real-world use, it's hard to say.
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Review: Tetris for iPhonePosted July 30th
“Tetris is one of the most esteemed casual games in history. Unfortunately, this version for the iPhone and iPod touch is too buggy to enjoy.
Computerworld: Deploying the iPhone 3G for businessPosted July 30th
“In part one of a three-part series on enterprise iPhone deployment, Computerworld’s Ryan Faas looks at how best to activate, configure and deploy the iPhone 3G.
Two auto performance meters for iPhonePosted July 30th
“Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Software, Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store
MobileMe & iPhone appsPosted July 30th
“The events of July 11—the release of the iPhone and iPod touch 2.0 software, the sale of the iPhone 3G, the opening of the App Store, the release of iTunes 7.7, and the launch of MobileMe—have had a profound impact on Apple and the effects are still being felt. In this episode of the Macworld Podcast, we look at some of these events nearly three weeks on.
MobileMe & iPhone appsPosted July 30th
“The events of July 11—the release of the iPhone and iPod touch 2.0 software, the sale of the iPhone 3G, the opening of the App Store, the release of iTunes 7.7, and the launch of MobileMe—have had a profound impact on Apple and the effects are still being felt. In this episode of the Macworld Podcast, we look at some of these events nearly three weeks on.
Cracks ‘appearing’ in new iPhone 3GsPosted July 30th
“Filed under: iPhone
Let's be honest here for a second. Cracks don't appear. Cracks don't form. They don't develop. Your iPhone 3G cracked because you dropped it. 'Fess up! It's not a manufacturing defect if your phone takes a tumble down a flight of stairs. This is why we can't have nice things.
Just kidding. Apple could have has another iPod nano or G4 Cube problem on its hands: careful users are seeing cracks and fissures on their new iPhone 3Gs. MacRumors has a thread about new, white iPhone 3Gs (which haven't been "dropped or pressed") that are beginning to show hairline cracks around the edges and near the buttons and headphone jack.
Reasonably, though, if you treat it like a phone, and use it every day, it's going to get worn. That's when cracks, scuffs, and abrasions happen. When you have a white finish on your iPhone, dirt will inevitably get in there, and even the most minute scratch will show up. Every phone I've ever owned I've dropped at some point, and it gets a scuff, or a scratch or a crack.
There are plenty of options to protect your sweetness, though: For example, there are all kinds of hard-shell cases you can buy. ZAGG's excellent invisibleSHIELD product is certainly durable, and could prevent dirt from getting into any fissures that appear on your iPhone's back cover. You can also wait a little while for the Golden Shellback, a vacuum-applied polymer that waterproofs any device, inside and out. Nifty.
Update: Commenters are literally pouring in to tell us that as careful as they've been with their iPhone 3Gs, even the most babyed devices are showing cracks. Joel Renda says, "The problem is not the plastic, but ...”
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