Apple - iPhone Info

Apple's iPhone sold out online in US, UK

2008-05-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hPl5tXmZ1Mnir5niVAfB33KiTqLgD90KB56O3
Apple's iPhone sold out online in US, UK
By JORDAN ROBERTSON

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple Inc. said Monday its online stores in the U.S. and U.K. are sold out of the iPhone, a sign supplies are being winnowed ahead of the launch of the device's next generation featuring faster Internet surfing speeds.

The Cupertino-based company confirmed that the iPhone is out of stock online, but added that brick-and-mortar stores run by Apple and iPhone carriers including AT&T Inc. might still have units available. Apple has been known for clearing out its inventory of a certain product ahead of a major upgrade. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on reasons for the shortage and on Apple's plans for an update to the device, which is widely expected to be unveiled in June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The paucity of iPhones for sale in some markets comes as Apple is hustling to meet its goal of selling 10 million of the hybrid iPod-cell phone-Internet surfing gadgets by the end of 2008. So far, Apple has sold 5.4 million iPhones, according to the latest data as of the end of March.

One way Apple's expanding the iPhone's reach is by inking deals with wireless carriers around the world, even breaking with its pattern of requiring exclusivity to sell in a certain country.

On Monday, four mobile providers in the Asia-Pacific region announced partnerships with Apple to bring the iPhone to their regions later this year. SingTel will sell the gadget in Singapore, Bharti Airtel Ltd. in India, Globe Telecom Inc. in the Philippines and Optus in Australia, the companies said in a brief joint statement, without giving details.

SingTel owns Optus and holds a 30.5 percent stake in Bharti and 44.5 percent in Globe. SingTel has about 2.3 million mobile subscribers in Singapore and around 7 million in Australia, according to data as of Dec. 31, 2007. Bharti currently has about 64 million subscribers, while Globe reported a 21.3 million mobile subscriber base for the quarter ended March 31.

Last week, the top mobile phone operator in Latin America, America Movil SAB, also announced plans to deliver the iPhone to its region. America Movil has 159.2 million subscribers in 16 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

In recent weeks Apple has also signed deals with Rogers Communications Inc. to sell the device in Canada; Milan-based Telecom Italia SpA to sell the iPhone in Italy; and Vodafone Group PLC, the world's biggest mobile company by sales, to sell it in a total of 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey. Until the spate of the latest deals, Apple adhered to its policy of exclusivity with one carrier in each country. The exclusive deals for the iPhone were with AT&T Inc. in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom's Orange wireless arm in France.Industry observers say some people may be holding off on buying an iPhone until the much-rumored next-generation of the device is launched, and the phone is officially rolled out in more countries.

It takes some technical gymnastics, but it's still possible to get the phone in some markets where Apple doesn't have arrangements with wireless carriers. Many of the phones sold so far have been bought legitimately in one country, modified to work on any cellular network, and resold in countries where Apple doesn't have agreements to sell the iPhone. The trend expands the iPhone's reach but deprives Apple of some of the subscriber fees that Apple splits with its carrier partners. Another knock against the iPhone's current design is that it works over so-called 2.5G networks instead of the faster 3G, or third-generation, cell phone networks, which are popular outside the U.S. The difference in performance is similar to a dial-up Internet connection versus a high-speed broadband connection.

Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, has said Apple went with the slower cellular technology because the chips for 3G networks were too bulky and power-hungry when the iPhone was being designed, and because the iPhone automatically switches to faster Wi-Fi networks when they're available. The next generation of iPhones is expected to work over 3G networks, which makes tasks like downloading videos easier. Apple is also planning a software update for this summer that makes the iPhone work better with corporate e-mail, a necessary upgrade to help the iPhone compete with Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and Palm Inc.'s Treo smart phones.

Girding for a fight with Apple in the business-oriented smart-phone space, Research In Motion on Monday unveiled the Bold, its first BlackBerry model to work over 3G, helping its shares climb to an all-time high of $143.08. The stock closed Monday up $9.20, or 6.9 percent, at $141.97.

Apple shares closed up $4.71, or 2.6 percent, at $188.16.
Hosted by Google

Optus set to sell the iPhone in Australia

2008-05-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

May 13, 2008

Optus has announced that it will become the second mobile phone carrier in Australia to sell the iPhone.The two-sentence press release confirms speculation that the Singapore-owned telco will sell the Apple iPhone, several days after a similar announcement from Vodafone.It did not contain any dates or prices, saying more information would "be released at a later date".The release also said the iPhone would be sold in Singapore (by SingTel), in India (Bharti Airtel) and the Philippines (Globe).

Nathan Burley, an analyst with telecommunications and IT consultancy company Ovum, said last week's announcement by Vodafone had strengthened rumours that Optus had also signed an agreement with Apple."When the Vodafone agreement happened we didn't think it was exclusive in Australia," he said. Mr Burley added that while the iPhone may be sold unlocked, it will still tie consumers to one carrier.

"I don't expect it will be too different to what we see with a number of handset manufacturers today," he said."If you buy a handset on a contract you have a contract with that provider."Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected make an announcement about the iPhone at Apple's worldwide developer's conference on June 9 in San Francisco.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/optus-to-sell-apples-iphone/2008/05/13/1210444380242.html

Hacking the iPhone

2007-08-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

The wireless industry is being dragged kicking and screaming into the open-source future.
By Jon Healey
August 6, 2007
LA Times

For the past few weeks, exceptionally geeky gadget lovers have been celebrating a series of breakthroughs in the pursuit of one of their Holy Grails: opening the Apple iPhone to software applications not written or approved by Apple. Their dedication and success is a harbinger of things to come for the wireless industry, which is headed, kicking and screaming, into a long and fitful transition from central control to user liberation. That transition is being fueled by devices such as the iPhone, and by federal regulators, who imposed unprecedented requirements for openness last week on a new generation of wireless services.

The iPhone -- called the Jesus Phone by some, in light of its worshipful following -- shares many of the same handicaps that bedevil other U.S. cellular devices. It can be used on only one mobile network (AT&T's, or more specifically AT&T's second-tier data network). And while users can put song files, pictures and TV shows onto their iPhones, they can't install software (or ringtones, oddly enough -- at least not yet). That means no Skype, for example, or any other service that requires specially installed software.

But Apple did carve out a doggy-door into the iPhone. It invited developers to create web-based applications and services that the iPhone could run in its browser. Developers responded with an array of offerings, including online news readers, instant-messaging programs and even voice-over-IP services. The main drawback is that the programs and services work only while the iPhone is connected to a WiFi access point or AT&T's poky data network.

That's much more freedom to develop and customize than other phones allow, mainly because their Web browsers don't measure up to Apple's Safari. Yet it still wasn't enough for some critics, who complained that even Safari offered too limited a set of software-writing tools. Potential innovators would be handcuffed without being able to tap the phone's full computing power, the argument went.

That's why a loosely organized group of code-writers started hacking their way into the heart of the iPhone, trying to write applications that could be installed and operated on the phone the same way programs can be loaded onto a Mac. So far, they've developed several basic applications, starting with one that displayed a two-word message on the iPhone screen: "Hello world." (If that sounds pointless, bear in mind where the phrase has been used before.) Among the current crop of iPhone-able applications is an an open-source program to feed content onto the Web.

These hacks require more technical know-how than the vast majority of mobile-phone customers have. But if someone develops an application that the masses might find compelling, a version will surely follow that's simple enough for the masses to use. And as the number of iPhone users grows -- Apple's target is 10 million by the end of 2008 -- so, too, will the incentive for developers to try to fashion a killer app.

This pattern is familiar to anyone who watched the rise and fall of America Online. In the early days of ISPs, the alien complexity of computers and the 'Net led millions of users to crave the simplicity that AOL offered inside its "walled garden," or private network. But while AOL was keeping a tight lid on what was available on its network, entrepreneurs had complete freedom to develop sites and services on the public Internet. Eventually, AOL's users found more to like on the unrestricted Web than they could within the safety and comfort of AOL's walled garden.

Wireless network operators have revived the walled-garden model in an effort to wring more cash out of their customers. Verizon Wireless is probably the most extreme example; it disables features on its phones, blocks numerous third-party services and even tries to collect extra fees for transferring pictures from a cellphone to a PC. This approach might be sustainable as long as mobile phones are primarily phones, but the iPhone represents something different: an all-purpose device for staying connected. It's a mobile Internet terminal as much as it is a cellphone, and Internet users don't like to be fenced in by their ISPs.

The Federal Communications Commission acknowledged as much last week when it set the rules for auctioning a portion of the airwaves once reserved for UHF TV signals, technically known as the 700 MHz band. While police and firefighters will get first crack at a portion of those frequencies, most of the band is expected to be used to offer wireless high-speed Internet access service. The FCC had imposed few rules on wireless operators in the past, under the theory that competition in the market would yield better results than regulation. But in a contentious shift, the commission placed a new burden on a slice of the 700 MHz band frequencies large enough for a new national broadband network: it required the winning bidder(s) to open the network to compatible devices and applications from any source.

The goal, as stated by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, is to spur innovation. Removing the network operator's ability to bless or reject devices could throw the market open to anyone with a novel idea or business model. The same may be true for application developers, such as Skype and Google, who have been pressing the FCC for this kind of open access (in Skype's case, not just in the 700 MHz band, but for mobile phone networks as well). At a congressional hearing last month, entrepreneur Jason Devitt laid out several examples of services currently missing from mobile phone networks that independent developers might be more capable or motivated to offer in an open-network environment, such as more location-based services.

Skeptics say that Martin undermined his own efforts by not imposing rules that would prevent the current mobile phone operators, such as Verizon and AT&T, from gobbling up the new licenses. Those companies have a huge incentive to outbid rivals who might compete with their lucrative high-speed Internet services, and they can price and package their services in the 700 MHz band in ways that render the new requirements meaningless (for starters, by subsidizing their own devices so heavily that no independent manufacturer could compete).

Still, as the iPhone and its hacks illustrate, the pressure for openness on the wireless networks is building, and moving to higher data speeds will only intensify it. Look at the meteoric rise of the original Napster, the iTunes Music Store and YouTube. A good idea, with or without the support of the affected industry, can rapidly build an audience of millions, and change paradigms . The new requirements on part of the 700 MHz band should make it easier for device-makers and applications developers to let the market judge the value of their ideas. And if they're really good, network operators would be better off letting these innovations increase the demand for their airwaves, rather than trying in vain to wall them off.

Jon Healey is a member of The Times' editorial board and author of the BitPlayer blog. Send us your thoughts at opinionla@latimes.com.

Touchy: company claims patent violation on iPhone’s keyboard

2007-08-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

How to tell when a product is a success? When it starts generating numerous lawsuits. On top of the class action battery suit comes a second legal action against Apple, this time on charges of patent violation. A company called SP Technologies is seeking “reasonable royalties” for the iPhone’s usage of a virtual touch-screen keyboard.

At the center of the controversy is a patent which describes “method and medium for computer readable keyboard display incapable of user termination.” Of course, if patents were ponies, we’d never walk again—or something like that. SP claims that Apple knew of the patent, and thus willfully and deliberately violated the intellectual property.

I’m pretty sure that any number of companies are going to be digging through their patent reserves to see if they can find the barest hint of something in the iPhone that could potentially violate patents. I doubt this is the last lawsuit we’ll see.
http://iphone.macworld.com/2007/08/touchy_company_claims_patent_v_1.php

New CRM for Apple's iPhone

2007-08-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

(PRWEB) July 24, 2007 -- EBSuite ( http://crm.ebsuite.com ) released its specially designed site for Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone users to access their EBSuite account easily via the new mobile interface.

George Triantifillo, Director of Security for S3 described the application as: "Its perfect" "I haven't used my computer since I got my iPhone. My staff and I just finished the security for the Tim McGraw show in Chicago and everything went really smooth, my appointments, tasks, and contacts are available instantly in the iPhone.."

EBSuite's CRM application has a new specially designed mobile iPhone access site. Our users can access all their CRM information via our new mobile interface. It is optimized for the iPhone's screen size to work in any direction (vertical or horizontal). Each CRM feature has been redesigned for easy access to information from iPhone's touch screen. EBSuite's CRM and iPhone is ideal to work from anywhere, any time: receive/send emails, files, call customers and complete tasks - in real-time.

MedeFile Personal Electronic Medical Records Now Accessible Anywhere, Anytime With iPhone

2007-07-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J., July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedeFile International, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MDFI), a company specializing in portable electronic medical records management solutions, today announced that MedeFile members can now enjoy access to their actual personal medical
records, anywhere, anytime, on the newly released iPhone, a multimedia and Internet-enabled quad-band GSM EDGE-supported mobile phone designed and out MedeFile International, Inc. MedeFile has developed a proprietary system for gathering and digitizing medical records so that individuals can have a comprehensive record of all of their medical visits. MedeFile's primary product is the MedeFile system, a highly secure system for gathering and maintaining medical records. The MedeFile system is designed to gather all of its members' actual medical records and create a single, comprehensive medical record that is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Representing an advanced, yet easy-to-use, approach to portable,
electronic medical records management, MedeFile combines state-of-the-art
technology and the Internet to make medical data instantly accessible to
each MedeFile subscriber and his or her authorized healthcare providers
from anywhere in the world. In addition to accessing one's medical records
through MedeFile's secure Internet portal found at http://www.MedeFile.com,
members can carry their entire medical history and emergency information
wherever they go on a unique device called a MedeDrive -- a proprietary USB
drive designed to be carried on a keychain. The MedeDrive plugs into any
USB port of a Windows- based PC; and because MedeDrive automatically loads its own viewer, users do not require any special programs or software to
view data. MedeMobile provides on-the-go subscribers with the ability to
enjoy even greater flexibility and access to their personal health
information wherever and whenever they need it. For more information about MedeFile and the MedeFile system, visit http://www.medefile.com.

Apple has suggestions for longer iPhone battery life

2007-07-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Some new iPhone owners have been complaining about the somewhat short battery life of the iPhone and the biggest problem of all, it's not user replaceable though Apple is quite happy to replace it for you should it die for the low low price of $85. Now, it is trying something new that won't cost you several hours of wages, tips for longer iPhone battery life.

Most of the tips and suggestions are common sense things like turning off WiFi and Bluetooth when those features are not in use.

To preserve your battery life, do not expose the iPhone to extreme heat (isn't that in the manual?) meaning don't leave your iPhone in a car but don't worry if you do, because it won't be there long (someone will steal it).

Remove the iPhone from its case before charging as heat can build up in the case while it is charging the battery and the long term effect is that you will shorten the life of your battery. Just try not to scratch your iPhone while it is out of its case, okay?

According to Apple the iPhone's battery will still hold an 80%~85% charge after 400 or 500 charging cycles so this may not be such a big deal but certainly, anything you can do to prevent damaging the battery (or the iPhone) in any way should certainly be performed rigorously.

More iPhone Battery Life

2007-07-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

There have been reports that the iZap battery pack, made for the latest version of the Apple iPod also works for the iPhone and reportedly triples the battery life. According to a post on Gadgetell, an iPhone hooked up to the iZap gives you 24 hours of talk time on a single charge.

iZap is still only listed on the Zap! website as made for the iPod Video. There is currently no mention of the iPhone yet. I’m not surprised that the thing works for the iPhone. The iPhone comes with what looks like the standard iPod USB charger and it boasts the same connectors.

What is surprising is that, with all the talk of disappointment over the battery life, Zap! hasn’t repackaged the product specifically for the iPhone yet. If anyone has one of these and has tried it, let us know! Tripling the battery life for the iPhone could solve a number of issues surrounding traveling with the iPhone.

The iZap retails for $79

iPod access utility now supports iPhone

2007-07-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

By Peter Cohen, San Francisco

Findley Designs has updated its iPod Access utility to version 4.1. The new update is free for registered 4.0 users, and costs US$19.99 for new users.
iPod Access is a music and video transfer utility for Mac OS X and Windows that helps you recover content stored on your iPod. It lets you access the songs on your iPod, display and sort them and search for songs similarly to how you would in itunes. iPod Access will copy them back to iTunes or to an external drive for backup.

New to iPod Access 4.1 is support for the iPhone. It also improves integration with iTunes and makes numerous bug fixes, according to Findley Designs.

System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later and iTunes 7.3 or later. It is a Universal binary.

http://reseller.co.nz/reseller.nsf/news/69FED29D9D6AE7A3CC2573280074E44F

Apple iPhone Could Be Big in Japan

2007-07-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

By: Michael Kwan

According to a recent survey, 27.6% of cell phone users in Japan are willing to buy the iPhone if it were to become available in the land of the rising sun. The poll, conducted by Mitsubishi Research Institute and Rakuten Research Inc., showed that 5.2 percent of the 2,200 respondents said they were "very willing" to purchase an iPhone, whereas 22.4% were "somewhat willing." Pull those two numbers together, and you've got over a quarter of the mobile phone population interested in Apple's freshman mobile phone.

This is a total twist of fate, given that it is usually North Americans who are clamoring over handsets that are exclusive to overseas markets. Now, it seems that Japanese users are interested in something that is, for the time being, only available in the United States. Interestingly, only 11.8% of those who said they were willing to buy the phone are willing to switch mobile service providers to do it.

At this time, there is still no word coming out of Cupertino as to when and if the iPhone will make it to Japan.

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/340/C12990/

iZAP Portable Power for the Apple iPhone

2007-07-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Between surfing the web on Safari and watching videos in landscape mode, the iPhone isn't exactly on a light-power diet. Thanks to the new iZAP Battery Charging System, you may not have to worry about running out of juice again. The iZAP is a complete system that comes with absolutely no tangles, no cables. Instead, the integrated cradle will house your glossy new cell phone and juice it up faster than the standard charger using the power stored in its own battery pack.

The portable power bank "can apparently triple the charge on the iPhone", ensuring that you'll get full access to visual voicemail, flipping photo albums, and iPod-like music on the go, even if you can't tether yourself to a wall outlet. The Zap system features a lithium-ion battery that "can be recharged up to 1000 times and offers 4x the power of conventional batteries."

CPB: iPhone Too Expensive To Fix

2007-07-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

(CBS) NEW YORK Despite being the newest member to the cell phone industry, and regarded as the most technologically impressive amongst its competitors, the new iPhone from Apple is still a cell phone that's expensive to fix.

According to The New York State Consumer Protection Board, The Apple Corp. should revamp its customer service policies to make it easier and more affordable for consumers to repair an iPhone.

"A high-end cell phone shouldn't have to have low-end customer service," said CPB Chairperson and Executive Director Mindy A. Bockstein. In a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Bockstein addressed the major complaints voiced by frustrated consumers. "Consumers should not have to pay a $79 fee to replace the battery in an iPhone." One solution she proposed would be a redesign to allow a consumer to replace the battery instead of having to send away for a new power supply.

The CPB is also objecting to the $29 fee that is charged for a temporary replacement phone. The CPB suggested Apple drop the 10 percent restocking fee charged when someone returns an iPhone. "Finally we ask that Apple review its practices in disclosing contract terms and conditions, warranties and return policies," said Bockstein. In Apple stores and online, these disclosures should be more prominent and conspicuously displayed.

Making these subtle yet important changes will make the iPhone experience a complete package, an easy product to use and an easier product to fix.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Analyst: iPhone is Harry Potter "squib" of cellphones

2007-07-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

By Aidan Malley
appleinsider.com

Apple and AT&T may have produced marketplace magic in the past, but a new report claims that the firms' iPhone child may lack the gifts of its parents.

Timing the introduction of his report just after the release of the final Harry Potter book, Capital Group senior VP Ashok Kumar told investors that the iPhone had the pedigree of the iPod's success and the backbone of AT&T's service but that, like the unfortunate offspring in J.K. Rowling's stories, the combination fails to live up to the expectations set by its ancestors.

"In the Harry Potter books, a squib is the offspring of a witch and wizard that lacks the ability to produce magic," Kumar explained. "In the technology world, the iPhone is a product from Apple teamed with the wireless network of AT&T that lacks the ability to produce magical business growth."

Unlike the more mysterious origins of the fictional characters, however, the lackluster results for the iPhone are said to be traceable to mistakes made in the iPhone's features and pricing. The device is aimed squarely at the iPod's general public audience but is priced in the same range as personal digital assistants and smartphones. Either flaw could be a potentially fatal blow to the handset, Kumar said.

While businesses already have their own self-evident questions about the value of integrating a potentially less productive (and more distracting) smartphone into their networks when RIM's BlackBerry or Palm's Treo were already known to work well, the real issue is the expense of the iPhone for those used to both the the iPod and everyday cellphones, according to the report. The iPod has rarely been priced at $500 and never had a two-year contract associated with its use -- an especially serious problem when customers can get some of the features in much less expensive devices.

"The market is already saturated with popular [phones] that are virtually free to consumers," the expert wrote. "The perceived zero cost of a cellphone like the Motorola RAZR is a serious impediment... the $500 price difference between and iPhone and any number of richly featured [phones] is a lot for a large number of individuals and families to overcome."

Apple would also have to confront the backwash from the corporate world's traditional resistance to anything Mac in the workplace, as many IT managers might resist certifying the iPhone for their networks even if support falls into place. Both the Cupertino-based firm and its cellphone would have to overcome old stereotypes before they could gain acceptance, Kumar said.

In contrast to the squibs of Hogwarts, Apple is not necessarily condemned to mediocrity, according to the Capital Group. But the iPhone would not be guaranteed a better outcome unless its parent was willing to change its strategy, which could become a costly mistake in the long term.

"The old iPod magic doesn't translate here -- the iPhone is going to be much more difficult," Kumar noted.

Bejeweled On Your iPhone

2007-07-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

The long nightmare of not being able to play Bejeweled on an iPhone has finally come to an end as PopCap Games announced it has released an iPhone specific version of its popular (with girls) jewel arranging game. An announcement like this requires measured hyperbole as PopCap's director of mobile platforms Andrew Stein was overheard saying that the company is "excited to be providing the most popular puzzle game of the 21st century to users of the most advanced mobile device yet created." Wow!

Bejeweled for iPhones was created by Polish developer Arkadiusz Mlynarczyk, is available now, and is free to use. The developer only asks that players consider donating a vowel or two, something apparently in short supply in Poland.

I just played the thing and it was slow as molasses, but definitely kept me interested well beyond the Safari download by a good five minutes. Interested in taking your $600 cellphone into the twenty-first century of casual gaming? Just direct your iPhone to popcapgames.com and start tapping.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/popcap-games/

Will Apple sell games for iPhone?

2007-07-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

"With PopCap offering Bejeweled free to iPhone users, the question now is whether Apple will monetize video games for the iPhone. The iPhone is sophisticated enough that, in theory, it could become a mobile gaming platform, but currently there is no way for iPhone users to purchase and download video game titles and play them when offline," Jennifer LeClaire reports for NewsFactor.

LeClaire reports, "Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg called the introduction of the PopCap classic on the iPhone a significant milestone. 'We've seen a couple of different homegrown games that people have developed for the iPhone,' he explained, 'but now we are seeing a very powerful implementation of Bejeweled made available for free.'"

LeClaire reports, "Currently, there is no way for iPhone users to purchase and download video game titles and play them when offline. Gartenberg said he wonders whether Apple plans to address the monetization issue in the future in a way that follows the iPod model in which users can purchase and download titles directly from iTunes. Apple has not yet revealed its plans in the gaming arena for the iPhone."

macdailynews.com

Can iPhone Become a Gaming Platform?

2007-07-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

By Jennifer LeClaire
July 30, 2007 1:45PM

With PopCap offering Bejeweled free to iPhone users, the question now is whether Apple will monetize video games for the iPhone. The iPhone is sophisticated enough that, in theory, it could become a mobile gaming platform, but currently there is no way for iPhone users to purchase and download video game titles and play them when offline.

It's a smartphone. It's an iPod. It's Apple's iPhone -- and its making room on deck for video games. One of the top casual-game publishers just stepped aboard the iPhone express, and analysts are saying the move might lead to other developers climbing on board.

On Monday, PopCap Games launched a custom version of its flagship game Bejeweled for the iPhone. If that's not enough to excite iPhone-toting gamers, perhaps the price tag will turn some heads: Bejeweled is available at no cost.

"We're excited to be providing the most popular puzzle game of the 21st century to users of the most advanced mobile device yet created," Andrew Stein, director of mobile platforms at PopCap, said in a statement. "We wanted to give the hundreds of thousands of iPhone users a fun, fast gaming fix -- and at no cost, no less."

Let the iPhone Games Begin!

Starting Monday, iPhone users can log on to PopCap.com via the iPhone's Safari Web browser and play the iPhone-specific version of the original Bejeweled for free. The customized version of Bejeweled leverages the Web 2.0 capabilities of Safari and the wireless capabilities of the iPhone, and has been optimized to take advantage of the iPhone's unique display and input controls.

PopCap developed the Safari-based version of Bejeweled in partnership with Polish developer Arkadiusz Mlynarczyk. PopCap execs did not reveal whether its newest wireless game, Chuzzle Mobile, or its popular mobile game Zuma, will be available for the iPhone. But considering PopCap's success working with the video iPod, more games could be in the works.

Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg called the introduction of the PopCap classic on the iPhone a significant milestone. "We've seen a couple of different homegrown games that people have developed for the iPhone," he explained, "but now we are seeing a very powerful implementation of Bejeweled made available for free."

Viability of Gaming on iPhone

Some analysts had questioned the viability of video games for the iPhone when it launched, but Apple has clearly demonstrated a proof of concept for delivering premium gaming content on its new device, Gartenberg said. The question now is how to monetize the games. Currently, there is no way for iPhone users to purchase and download video game titles and play them when offline.

Gartenberg said he wonders whether Apple plans to address the monetization issue in the future in a way that follows the iPod model in which users can purchase and download titles directly from iTunes. Apple has not yet revealed its plans in the gaming arena for the iPhone.

"The biggest issue for PopCap is that there's not a good vehicle for selling the content over the Web so iPhone users can access it," he concluded. "And more importantly there is the difficulty playing those titles when you are in a disconnected state.

Verizon Shakes Off iPhone Onslaught

2007-07-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Verizon Shakes Off iPhone Onslaught
The Street.com
News & Analysis: Technology
By Scott Moritz
Senior Writer
7/30/2007

Verizon (VZ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) says the iPhone wave has already crested.

The New York telco told investors on a conference call Monday that June's rollout of the Apple (AAPL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) smartphone by rival AT&T (T - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) cost Verizon some customers. But execs added that defections have since slowed and Verizon has resumed taking customers from all its competitors, including AT&T.

The iPhone helped AT&T win 58,400 customers from rivals like Verizon Wireless, according to comments made by AT&T on its earnings call last week. The company said it activated 146,000 iPhone accounts during its second quarter ended June 30, and AT&T estimated 40% of those activations came from customers leaving another carrier -- such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint (S - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating).

On an earnings conference call with analysts Monday, Verizon executives said that by the first weeks of July, Verizon saw negative so-called porting rates -- meaning more Verizon customers were switching to AT&T than vice versa.

But as the month progressed, Verizon said it has seen a shift back to what it calls normal switching rates. "We are now seeing two Verizon Wireless customers in for every one we lose," says COO Denny Strigl.

So far, then, the iPhone hasn't yet proven to be the juicy bait that AT&T was hoping it could dangle to lure the best customers from other carriers.

Industry observers note that AT&T's iPhone storm hasn't fully passed. The holiday season will probably be an active time for expensive phone gifts, and the iPhone is likely to be on a few wish lists.

Despite solid second-quarter numbers, Verizon shares fell $1.02 to $40.98.

Hackers Close to Cracking iPhone

2007-07-19T02:50:00.000-07:00

By Lisa Vaas

iPhone hackers are on the cusp of not only being able to write programs for the phone but also finding a way to cut the device's tether to Cingular's service plans.

According to one of the group of hackers who are working collaboratively via wiki and #iphone IRC channel, one of the last major hurdles has been the lack of a high-quality ARM assembler tailored for the iPhone. That missing link as of the afternoon of July 16 had been developed to the pre-alpha stage. Developers are at the point where they now have a working GNU debugger.

One of the first iPhone hacks came from Jon Lech Johansen, aka DVD Jon. A self-trained Norwegian software engineer, Johansen on July 3 announced on his blog that he had hacked a new, unactivated iPhone, managing to activate it without turning on AT&T Cingular phone service. But although Johansen managed to get the iPod and Wi-Fi capabilities of an iPhone turned on with his hack, he couldn't get the device to work as a phone. "Stay tuned!" for that, Johansen said at the time.

It's now in fact impossible to buy an iPhone without a Cingular service plan attached to it, unless the buyer's credit is bad. In that case, Apple has prepaid service options.

The world of iPhone watchers has been bubbling with other tips on how to get out of paying Cingular for iPhone phone service; in order to "wreck" one's credit, for example, one suggestion is to enter 999-99-9999 as a Social Security number.

Other suggestions focus on getting out of Cingular's clutches without early termination fees. Wireless carriers impose early termination fees purportedly to recoup lost revenues from discounted or free phones they use to lure in new customers, but Apple has not discounted its pricey iPhone, which makes Cingular's $175 early termination fee particularly galling.

Given the above, the urge to unlock the iPhone is understandable.

It's also legal.

That point was made clear when the Library of Congress clarified the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in November 2006. Prior to this ruling, cell phone customers were often forced to either return or throw away old phones upon switching carriers because the DCMA was interpreted to mean that the old cell phone was actually the old carrier's property. The November 2006 ruling stipulated that the software that restricts consumers from accessing their phones' firmware wasn't based as much on copyright law as it was on the carriers' business models.

The United States is behind the times when it comes to the prevalence of unlocked cell phones, but it's not an entirely unknown concept. CompUSA has been selling them for months.

One of the major reasons to unlock the iPhone, as with any cell phone, is that when traveling outside the United States, consumers with unlocked phones can buy a pre-paid plan with a service provider in a given country and thus avoid a high-priced international service plan.

There are reasons why unlocking an iPhone is a bad idea, however. First, users who unlock their iPhones will lose proprietary iPhone features such as Visual Voicemail. Second, there's the early termination fee of $175 paid to Cingular unless service is cancelled within 30 days of purchase.

There are ways to get out of paying early termination fees, including selling the contract, enlisting in the military, moving out of coverage range or dying, each of which presents its own challenges, to say the least.

(baselinemag.com)

iPhone Activation Software Released

2007-07-19T02:47:00.000-07:00

Hacking the iPhone is going slowly, but the sheer number of people working on it means that progres is being made. The latest news from the iPhone Dev Wiki is iASign, a Mac application which will generate an unlock code for the iPhone, based on the Device ID, IMEI (the universal serial number) and ICCID (Integrated Circuit Card ID) numbers.

This doesn't mean that you can use the iPhone with another carrier, but it does mean that you don't need the special iPhone SIM to get the phone working. And if the reports are true, you can pop in any Cingular or AT&T SIM and make calls, useful if you are an existing customer and don't want to pick up the iPhone call plan.

It's not an easy hack. You'll need some knowledge of the command line and also how to replace files on the iPhone, but if you are up to the task, the iPhone Dev people say it works great.

As before, the wiki folks have asked us not to link to the site in case it collapses again. If you can help, though, check out the IRC channel.

IRC [iPhone Dev]

Activate your iphone without AT&T Service

2007-07-09T00:32:00.000-07:00

Activate your iphone without AT&T Service:

Over the last few days, some intrepid geeks have been working on cracking the iPhone activation service and it works:

Here is how:

1.) Download the following file to your Mac. iPhoneTool.zip

2.) Extract it to a directory on your desktop named iPhoneTool

3.) Open the program “Terminal” location in HardDrive/Applications/Utilities

4.) Type the following command into the flashing cursor:

cd ~/Desktop/iPhoneTool

5.) Now make sure your iPhone is connected and you quit iTunes

6.) To activate your iPhone type the follwoing command into the flashing cursor (note that there are two dashes before activate):

./tool –activate a.plist

7.) Your iPhone screen should say something about a SIM error which is fine. Just slide the unlock bar over and it should work. Now connect it to your computer and you should be able to configure it through iTunes.

(Anderson Technologies)

iPhone leaks UK carrier info

2007-07-09T00:25:00.000-07:00

Dismantle the iPhone's software and you’ll find the UK carriers listed for all to see.
[2007-07-06]

We’re frantic for confirmation of the iPhone’s release in the UK. We’re waiting to see which carrier will earn our cash, and whether we’ll get a 3G version on this side of the pond.

Now it looks like the handset itself has spilled the beans on at least one of those questions. Crafty hackers have cracked open the iPhone's firmware and revealed references to both T-Mobile and Vodafone, alongside Cingular and AT&T.

Whether both networks will offer the iPhone in the UK remains to be seen, but it looks like at least one of them will be serving up multi-touch goodness in the next few months.

It's certainly a tasty news morsel to chew over. Stay glued to T3.co.uk for more on the iPhone’s journey to British stores just as soon as we hear it.
(TG)

iPhone Activation Hack?

2007-07-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

So you bought that pretty little glass rectangle without realizing that it needs to be activated to access any of the features, and now you don’t want to spend $60 a month just for the iPod and WiFi. Well you’re in luck, because a few smart people have invented ways for you to enjoy your “best iPod ever” without selling your soul to AT&T.

Here’s how to hacktivate that iPhone without paying a cent more than you already have.

All of these methods are from the iPhone dev Wiki. At the moment they are having some server problems and have asked not to be linked to. CrunchGear is not responsible for any damage to your iPhone yadda yadda and all that jazz.

AT&T Loophole

1. Be an AT&T customer

2. ‘Upgrade’ your phone/plan to the iPhone and activate normally

3. Return your iPhone and switch back to your plan and phone (free for at least 14 days).

4. Tell them you want to keep the iPhone so you can assign it to a new account.

5. Remove the SIM card at the top of the device and enjoy.

Activating an iPhone using another iPhone

1. Obtain 2 iPhones

2. Plug in the first iPhone and select “I am a new AT&T Wireless Customer” in iTunes then “Activate 2 or more phones on an individual or FamilyTalk Plan.”

3. Follow the steps for the FamilyTalk plan and enter [cellphone number] to port a number over from another provider (e.g. Sprint)

4. When the you receive the “Activation Complete” e-mail, plug in iPhone number 2.

5. Select the option “I am an existing AT&T (Cingular) wireless customer” and “Replace a phone on my account with this iPhone”

6. Fill in the information again using [cellphone number]. Allow iPhone #2 to activate using this number. This number will be legit.

7. Plug in iPhone #1, it will unlock the phone for use, but without a cell phone number assigned or account from AT&T.

Activation with a pre-paid plan (you do have to pay for this one, but not monthly)

1. Buy the iPhone.

2. Connect it to iTunes.

3. Sign up using 999-99-9999 as your social security number.

4. After failing the credit check, select a GoPhone plan.

5. After signing up for a GoPhone plan and being assigned a number and passcode, connect to the AT&T GoPhone funding page as prompted, enter your credit card or debit card information and you’re good to go. DO NOT attempt to fund your iPhone over the phone with AT&T. DO NOT set up your iPhone prepaid account in advance with AT&T.

Or just download DVD Jon’s iPhone Activation Zip which masquerades as Apple’s activation service. Easy peasy.

(Crunch Gear)

Hackers Set Their Sights on iPhone

2007-07-06T00:42:00.000-07:00

Posted Jul 5th 2007 11:25AM by Tim Stevens
Filed under: Cell Phones, iPhone

As you probably heard, Apple released a little gadget last week called the iPhone. Apparently, a lot of people bought them and most seem to like them. Some people are never satisfied, though, wanting more, more, more. Specifically, some want to use their phone with providers other than AT&T, which has a five year exclusivity deal in the U.S. Enter the underground hacker community.

DVD Jon, the infamous hacker who cracked the DVD encryption code at age 15, is the first to deliver something useful. He's released a program that lets owners activate their iPhones without going through the typical AT&T activation process. This means you could potentially use the gadget to play tunes, videos, and surf the web without signing up for a two year contract with Ma' Bell. However, since you still can't connect it up to another mobile provider to make calls, the hack kind of limits the point of the gadget. The ability to connect the iPhone to anything other than AT&T is currently the holy grail of iPhone hacks -- the tweak that will allow Apple fanatics in Europe and other iPhone-less countries to finally use one.

Another wanted hack is the ability to actually install software and applications directly onto the iPhone to expand its functionality. Currently, Apple only lets coders develop applications that run through Safari, the phone's built-in Web browser, meaning the functionality of third-party applications is very limited. How long will it take before those hacks appear? Not long, if information from researchers at Errata Security is any indication. They claim to have already found a security flaw in the phone's browser.

So, be expecting an update from Apple real soon.

From BBC News

Seven Most likely iPhone Hacks

2007-07-06T00:34:00.000-07:00

Based on early estimates, Apple has sold more than half a million iPhones up to the first weekend, the demand has been probably expected for the so called "God machine", however there are quite a few things iPhone can't do yet and there is the opportunity for all the geeks out there to get the iPhone to do what is not possible.

There have already been some blog reports of iPhone firmware hitting the internet so we are probably not too far away from seeing iPhone hacks popping up. Based on reports from Engadget, it looks like the iPhone's system restore image has already shown up online; it might be a while before anyone can de-construct this thing into meaningful though so far everything looks well encrypted so far.

Just like we had people lining up for the iPhone as early as last Monday, it is safe to say that there will be someone out there trying hard to crack or hack in to iPhone's code to proclaim as the first to come out with an iPhone hack.

So let us see the potential areas where one can expect iPhone hacks or should we say unauthorized functions. Folks at Porfolio.com have listed 9 possible iPhone hacks, I have picked six out of this list:

Multiple Carriers
Why go to AT&T when you’re a happy T-Mobile customer? Both AT&T and T-Mobile use the GSM network, and customers of those services have technically been able to use the same phones for years. Though the iPhone is designed to work just with AT&T, it might not take much tweaking to make the device equally flexible.

Other Music Formats
Apple has had a stranglehold on the iPod with its proprietary music format. The iPhone’s computer-like architecture will make it easier for tweakers to enable other formats to be heard.

GPS
Triangulation—using the distance between three cell-tower signals to find a phone’s location—makes this modification a given. Hackers could create a program to pinpoint your location and feed it to Google Maps to guide you to your destination.

Viruses
Not all hacks are to our benefit. The iPhone carries a version of Mac OS to run its features, and iPhone-specific viruses will almost assuredly be coming along for the ride. Like traditional computer viruses, they will likely work to make your files and information vulnerable to theft. The iPhone’s always-open WiFi connection makes this virtually inevitable.

Downloadable Music
You still need a computer to download music from the Apple Store. But by year’s end, unauthorized websites will let you download songs directly to the iPhone.

Multimedia Sharing
Apple is known for aggressively blocking file-sharing applications, but with the iPhone’s WiFi- and Mac-inspired infrastructure, hackers will have users passing goods back and forth like they have Microsoft’s swap-happy Zune media player.

Hardware
We have already seen that people have figured out how to take the iPhone apart so there are numerous possibilities on how this can be abused. Check this YouTube video for a step by step on how to disassemble an iPhone.

Conclusion:
So what do you think?? Let me know your predictions in the comments below. However, I am from the school of thought that we should leave it to Apple to provide us with those missing iPhone features in future firmware upgrades.

Update: Added Hardware modifications as another possibility to the existing list of possible iPhone hacks and have also changed the subject line accordingly

(Credit: iPhone Hacks)

Top 5 Advantages | Apple iPhone VS Nokia N95 (iPhone Hacks)

2007-07-06T00:20:00.000-07:00

The revolutionary Apple iPhone is probably the most awaited gadget after a very long time, but the Nokia N95 is also an impressive device, and one that has been dubbed to be one of the top high end smartphones for 2007. So will it be the iPhone killer??

In my opinion it depends on what you really want out of your smartphone to decide if the Nokia N95 is an iPhone killer for you, so I have listed the top 5 advantages of each of the smartphones to make the decision that much more easier.

Top 5 advantages of Nokia N95 as compared to Apple iPhone:

1. GPS: The Nokia has a fully functional GPS with which you can really navigate and marks a step forward for convergence. The on-board software which is key to this provides you the ability to find addresses and location by street name, location and postcode. However, automatic turn by turn voice instructions are a premium service that can be upgraded to from the handset.

2. Messaging: The N95 supports IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP e-mail accounts and comes with a full attachment viewer. The N95 does support a number of push e-mail solutions, as well as Microsoft Exchange Server synchronization. Here the main advantage is the support for Microsoft Exchange server which is missing in the iPhone.

3. Ability to view MS Office documents: An application called QuickOffice lets you view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, and it optimizes the pages for the phone's screen, so you don't have to scroll all over the place to read text. This is an important feature for business users.

4. Digital Camera: The phone sports a 5 mega-pixel digital camera uses Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, and also comes with controls for 4 ISO settings, white balance, sharpness, contrast, and flash. The camera can also record VGA-quality video at a maximum resolution of 640 by 480 at 30fps.

5. Radio: The N95 also has an FM radio, though you'll have to use the included headset to access the radio, since it acts as the tuner.

Another big advantage of the Nokia N95 would have been that it 3G support, however I have not listed it in the top 5 advantages as it does not work on the United States' 3G network for high-speed web browsing and data transfer, which is a major disappointment, however if you are in Europe this is indeed a major plus. In fact, the European version also has the video calling feature. The reason behind it seems to be that Nokia never planned to launch the N95 in the US, but finally decided to launch it based on the interest it received.

Top 5 advantages of Apple iPhone as compared to Nokia N95:

1. iPod: iPhone is a not just a phone it is widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets you enjoy all your content — including music, audiobooks, videos, TV shows, and movies — on a beautiful 3.5-inch widescreen display (Nokia N95 only has a 2.6 inch screen). The N95 does have a good media player, however with all the iPod features and 4 GB / 8 GB space, it makes the iPhone the best music phone.

2. Advanced Safari browser: iPhone lets you see any web page the way it was designed to be seen, then easily zoom in by simply tapping on the multi-touch display with your finger which will change mobile browsing for the good.

3. OS X: All the power and sophistication of an advanced operating system that gives you access to true desktop-class applications and software, including rich HTML email, applications such as widgets, Safari, calendar, text messaging, Notes, and Address Book etc. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can read a web page while downloading your email in the background. This software completely redefines what you can do with a mobile phone.

4. User Interface: iPhone features the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse. It’s an entirely new interface based on a large multi-touch display and innovative new software that lets you control everything using only your fingers.

5. Visual Voicemail: The iPhone lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want — just like email using a revolutionary new feature called the visual voicemail.

It would be interesting to know from you if Nokia which has been a leader in mobile phones for a very long time is ready for Apple's iPhone.

(Credit: iPhone Hacks)

Ehdmi.com Adds Apple Iphone Skins to Their Online Store

2007-07-05T00:08:00.000-07:00

Shreveport, LA, July 04, 2007 --(PR.com)-- eHDMI.com is excited to launch the addition of 5 new Apple iPhone Skins. The 5 new iPhone skins will sale for $4.40.

Each iPhone skin is brand new and the cases are a perfect skin case with armband that holds & protects your iPhone. The Skin case is made of soft silicon and protects your iPhone from scratches and bumps. The skins are washable and very easy to remove. All slots on the iPhone skins are accessible without having to remove the skin. A play-through design enables total access to all of the control buttons. Users can also connect to the dock connector without removing the skin. Now iPhone owners can add color to their iPhone and provide an ultra comfortable feeling their gripping.

eHDMI.com specializes in high quality, discounted HDTV accessories and other electronic accessories. Top selling items include, but are not limited to: Nintendo Wii Component cables, HDMI cables, HDMI wall plates, HDMI switchers and our LCD/Plasma wall mounts.

The Apple iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply tapping a name or number in your address book, a favorites list, or a call log. It also automatically syncs all your contacts from a PC, Mac, or Internet service. And it lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want — just like email.

For more information visit us online, eHDMI.com

An iPhone Changed My Life (Briefly) - NY Times Article

2007-07-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

By MICHELLE SLATALLA
Published: July 5, 2007

WHEN I took my iPhone out of the box on Friday to prove to my children that we were the first family on the block with one, I had a glimpse of what life will be like after I’m dead and they’re fighting over my jewelry.

“Can I have it?” asked Ella, 16.

“I’m the oldest,” said Zoe, 18.

“I’m the only one who doesn’t already have a cellphone,” said Clementine, 9.

“You shouldn’t keep it for yourself, because you hate cellphones and don’t even answer the one you have,” Ella said. “You will neglect it and won’t use all the features. Give it to someone who will appreciate it. Me.”

“Me,” Zoe said.

“Me,” Clem said.

I looked at my offspring — so eager, so easily manipulated by the hype surrounding a shiny new gadget that could perform some but not all of the same functions as the gadgets they already owned — and wondered if the situation presented an opportunity to do far more than simply lord it over the neighbors.

Was it too much to hope an iPhone could improve my life? After all, a nation of early adopters already had said this slim $599 lozenge with a pretty touch screen was indispensable; maybe I would, too. I imagined organizing my car pool schedule with a touch of the iPhone’s calendar button. Then I pictured myself effortlessly e-mailing my husband from the lacrosse field, to remind him to buy beer. And I imagined him texting back as he eyed the refrigerator case: “Corona or Pacifico?” How happy we might be.

And why not? Although I had yet to actually activate the thing, it already had granted me new powers over my children.

“Would someone please empty the dishwasher?” I asked.

As all three leapt for the cutlery basket, I sauntered out of the kitchen.

Ella called, “Need help configuring it?”

“Maybe later,” I said. “After you walk the dogs.”

With things going so well, I decided to tackle setup on my own. Thinking that it should be a cinch, I determined in less than 15 minutes which gadget to unplug from my computer to make room to plug in a new gadget, and instructed my computer to update the iTunes software necessary to configure the phone.

Then I clicked on the iTunes icon. An onscreen window delivered an ominous message: “Unable to mount disk. Broken pipe.”

Broken pipe? I won’t say I panicked, but when Zoe wandered in a half hour later to ask if she could touch the iPhone, I was feverishly trolling for advice at Macfixitforums.com.

I was about to erase my hard drive when she grabbed my wrist and called to her sisters, “Get Mom out of here while I set up her phone.”

Five minutes later, everything was done except for one tiny step: activation. The AT&T system was overwhelmed, but my children already had phoned the carrier and learned that within six hours I should receive e-mail confirmation that the iPhone was working.

Day 2, Saturday: By the time I came downstairs for breakfast, the neighbors had gathered in the kitchen, rocking the iPhone and cooing, “Isn’t it cute?”

My friend Tina started snapping photos with it, prompting her 7-year-old son to strike a pose like the rapper Bow Wow, hunched over and making peace signs pointed toward the floor.

“Is there any coffee left?” I asked.

No one answered; they were trying to use the Google Maps feature on the iPhone to look up directions from our house to a restaurant called Toast, which is one block away and to which they walk almost every weekend.

By the time the neighbors had departed, my iPhone was receiving e-mail. “Subject: Feel Comfortable With Your Body Due To Penis Enlarge Patch,” I read with my English muffin. I decided to take the iPhone to my tennis league playoff match to intimidate my opponents by casually pulling it out during warm-up. Unfortunately, the harsh midday sun rendered the screen unreadable and reflective, giving them the impression I was the sort of tennis player who checks lipstick in a compact mirror. They won in three sets.

Day 3, Sunday: The iPhone revealed some truths about my family that I would have preferred not knowing. After my children showed me how to copy the audio files from my computer to the phone, a window popped onscreen to announce that a file called “South Park — Cartman Farts on Kitty” would not be copied because “it cannot be played on this iPhone.”

Who put this on my computer? I asked.

“Zoe,” Ella said.

“Ella,” Zoe said.

“Dad,” Clementine said.

Later, I also learned an unpleasant truth about my chin. I realized while browsing through the photos my children copied to the iPhone that, depending on the angle, I appeared to have quite a few chins. After frantic attempts to delete the Jabba-the-Hutt shots failed, I phoned Apple customer service and learned that the only way to cleanse my iPhone was to first delete the chin shots from my computer’s photo folder and then re-sync the folder’s contents to the iPhone.

Day 4, Monday: More neighbors phoned and asked us over to play Scrabble — and to bring the iPhone if we felt like it.

I snapped a few photos of my friends gathered around the game board, prompting my friend Bruce’s 10-year-old son to cock the bill of his baseball cap and pose like Notorious B.I.G. As Bruce agonized over his letter tiles during the third game, I pulled out the iPhone and asked, “Anybody want to hear some Neil Young?”

Distracted by a tinny rendition of “Helpless,” Bruce failed to notice the need to protect a triple-letter-score box from my “q.” I scored 31 points.

Later, however, the iPhone let me down. As my husband was driving home from our favorite Mexican restaurant, I wondered if Bruce would retaliate for “qi” by parking in the last empty space near our house. After using the iPhone’s maps feature to zoom in on a satellite image of the street, I’d reported “All clear,” only to remember belatedly, as we rounded the corner and saw Bruce’s Saab, that Google’s satellite images typically aren’t updated more than once a year.

Day 5, Tuesday: I started to feel the cold chill of backlash. Tina called to say she had heard you have to send away the iPhone to replace its battery. The children left dirty dishes in the sink despite my attempts to play them off against one another by offering access to the iPhone.

Ignoring the naysayers, I decided to use the iPhone to free me from the drudgery of the grocery store, or at least from the drudgery of forgetting to buy something essential. I touched the Notes button to make a shopping list, but found it difficult to use the tiny keyboard buttons to accurately type “avocado” (“scocafo”) or, of all words, “apples” (“sooles”). After “2 doz eggs” came out “DOA efgs,” I decided to e-mail the list to myself instead. This only took a few minutes longer than jotting it down on a scrap of paper.

Day 6, Wednesday: Despite the thrill of being able to browse the Web from the produce aisle to confirm that the vacuum-packed imported butter I’d found needed no refrigeration, I have started thinking seriously about returning the $599 phone, despite a 10 percent restocking fee. It hasn’t really changed my life in the ways I’d hoped.

The return policy specifies that I have eight more days to decide whether to keep it. In the meantime, maybe I can figure out how to delete the South Park file from my computer without erasing my entire hard drive or breaking a pipe. None of my children has offered to help.

Analyst: iPhone Costs Only $200 To Make

2007-07-04T04:58:00.001-07:00

By Rob Beschizza, July 03, 2007

Earlier today, we saw that iSupply figures each iPhone costs Apple at least $265 to manufacture, before marketing, distrubution and other operating costs are taken into account. Austin-based Portelligent, another such analyst nest, puts the number at a mere $200-220 — giving Apple a gross margin higher than actual cost of making the device.

However, the analysis was developed by rolling dice and hiring hepatomancers to inspect sheep livers for signs. Here's CEO David Carey, talking to BusinessWeek:

"The most expensive component on the phone, Carey says, is the touch screen, for which Apple tapped a little-known German concern called Balda (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/5/07, "Balda: The iPhone's German Accent"). The estimated cost of $60 per unit is mostly an educated guess. "This screen is like nothing I've ever seen before," says Carey." ... Even the fact that Balda made it, is in fact, an educated guess.

If they're even remotely accurate, however, it stamps "Denied" on claims that the phone is heavily subsidized by AT&T. Such rumors were touted as reasons why the carrier announced unpleasant iPhone-only policies as "no returns without a restocking fee" and "no employee discounts."

DVD Jon Hacks iPhone: No Activation Required

2007-07-04T04:54:00.000-07:00

By Charlie Sorrel - July 04, 2007

Dvd JobsAce hacker DVD Jon, AKA Jon Lech Johansen (known for breaking the CSS protection on DVDs), has cracked the activation process on the iPhone. Phone Activation Server v1.0 is a Windows application which will bypass the registration required to unlock the iPhone's functions. Without activation, the iPhone is a brick.

What does this mean? It means that you have a $600 8GB iPod. It also means you have a mail and internet device. Everything works except the phone and EDGE functions, but WiFi is a go.

But it's not just plug and play. You'll need to know what you are doing, as Jon says, "this application will not do anything unless you understand the magic numbers as well as add the hosts entry." That's Greek to me, but if you try it, tell us about it in the comments.

US market lifted by iPhone, takeover talk

2007-07-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2007 - 9:09AM

US stocks gained in a holiday-shortened session on Tuesday, lifted by fresh takeover talk and after a report suggesting Apple Inc. will generate fat profit margins on its iPhone.

Deal news again contributed to the gains. Shares of Wendy's International Inc. rose 2.7 percent to $US38.39 after billionaire investor Nelson Peltz said his Triarc Cos. Inc. would be a "natural, strategic buyer" of the fast-food chain.

A report showing that factory orders, excluding the volatile transportation sector, rose in May added to optimism about the economy.

Tech shares gained, lifting the Nasdaq to a 6 1/2-year high, after technology research firm iSuppli said Apple's most expensive iPhone model could deliver a profit margin of more than 55 percent.

"I think you could definitely say it is related to the iPhone, and it is influencing tech stocks," said Warren Simpson, managing director at Stephens Capital Management in Little Rock, Arkansas. "It's a very sensitive market, but the economy is percolating along. Momentum's on our side."

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 41.87 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 13,577.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.44 points, or 0.36 percent, to finish at 1,524.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 12.65 points, or 0.48 percent, to end at 2,644.95.

Apple's stock rose 4.9 percent to $US127.17 and was the biggest contributor to the Nasdaq 100 index's gain.

Wendy's stock gained 2.7 percent to $US38.39 on the New York Stock Exchange.

New orders at US factories fell 0.5 percent in May, the first drop in four months, the Commerce Department said. The decline in May was much smaller than what economists had forecast.

Excluding transportation, May factory orders rose 0.7 percent.

The session ended early at 5pm GMT before Wednesday's US Independence Day holiday, when financial markets will be closed all day.

In other economic news, the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in May, unexpectedly fell to its lowest level since September 2001. Wall Street analysts polled ahead of the report were expecting the May index to rise.

The Dow Jones US Home Construction Index was down 1 percent following the data. Before the report, shares of home builders were among the session's top performing subgroups.

Ford Motor Co. fell 2.3 percent to $US9.42 after it said late on Monday it is offering a premium to holders of its 5-year-old debt securities to convert them to common stock, a move that could hit the automaker's third-quarter results.

Trading was light on the NYSE, with about 765.6 million shares changing hands, far below last year's estimated daily average of 1.84 billion shares, while on the Nasdaq, about 1.08 billion shares were traded, well below last year's daily average of 2.02 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of about 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by 16 to 13 on the Nasdaq.

(Reuters)

Apple Rises on iPhone Margin Report

2007-07-04T04:45:00.000-07:00

By RACHEL METZ 07.03.07, 5:09 PM ET

Apple Inc.'s shares jumped in high-volume trading Tuesday after researchers said the company will reap a gross profit margin in excess of 55 percent on its 8 gigabyte iPhones.

Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) shares added $5.91, or 4.9 percent, to $127.17 in an abbreviated trading session that ended at 1 p.m. due to the upcoming July Fourth holiday. During the past year, the stock has traded between $50.16 and $127.61, running up in recent months in anticipation of the hybrid cell phone, media player and wireless Internet gadget's June 29 release.

On Tuesday, the research company iSuppli reported that a tear-down analysis of the iPhone showed its bill of materials and manufacturing costs totaled $265.83. That means Apple would generate a margin of more than 55 percent for every 8 gigabyte iPhone it sold for $599.

Eric Pratt, iSuppli's senior director of tear-down, said iSuppli is still fine-tuning its report and it now thinks the product's margin is more than 50 percent, when accounting for factors like royalties and software costs. He wasn't surprised by the margin, he said, because the company's earlier research-based modeling called for a basic iPhone cost of $264.85.

Apple does not disclose its margins for specific products but iSuppli's estimate for the iPhone - which doesn't include marketing or research and development costs - falls in the ballpark of its iPod cousins that were similarly analyzed by the market research firm.

The iPhone's margin is much higher than some smart phones, like the Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) Q, Pratt said, but he expects similar margins from the new crop of smart phones, which include Nokia Corp. (nyse: NOK - news - people )'s N95 and HTC Corp.'s HTC Touch.

"Apple has kind of opened up a whole new realm here in opportunities in handsets," he said.

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves thinks investors bought the stock Tuesday in part because of iSuppli's analysis, though he thinks the proposed margin is a bit high.

It's impossible to tell exactly how many iPhones Apple sold during the product's first few days on store shelves - Hargreaves estimates about 300,000, though other estimates range from 500,000 to 750,000, he said - and how accurate iSuppli's analysis is, but he agreed the combination could help Apple.

"If you combine good unit sales with better-than-expected margins, that's a very good benefit to cash flow," the analyst said.

Hargreaves also thinks shareholders are shrugging off earlier concerns that there would be a sell-the-news event when the iPhone launched. The product was released with much fanfare Friday evening, but Apple's shares barely budged when trading resumed Monday.

Some fairly large investors sold some of their position in Apple before the iPhone's launch, fearing it would result in a sell-off of Apple's stock, he said, but since that didn't happen some of these investors might buy more shares.

"I think people are buying back into the story and the potential of the iPhone, especially given the margin," he said.

(Credit: Associated Press)

iPhone Sales: Apple's shares surge after tear-down analysis estimated gross margin of 55% on iPhone

2007-07-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

Apple's shares surge after tear-down analysis estimated gross margin of 55% on iPhone
By Finfacts Team
Jul 4, 2007, 10:37

Apple’s shares surged in high-volume trading Tuesday after a so-called tear-down analysis of the iPhone estimated that the iconic tech company will reap a gross profit margin in excess of 55 percent from its new product.

Apple shares gained $5.91, or 4.9 percent, to $127.17 in a half-day trading session in advance of today's Fourth of July holiday. In the past 12-months, the stock has traded between $50.16 and $127.61, rising this year by almost 50 percent, after the pre-launch announcement by co-founder Steve Jobs last January of the planned debut of the hybrid mobile phone, media player and wireless web product.

On Tuesday, the research company iSuppli said that its tear-down analysis of the iPhone showed its bill of materials and manufacturing costs totaled $265.83. That means Apple would generate a margin of more than 55 percent for every 8 gigabyte iPhone it sold for $599.

Like the iPod music player, all the manufacturing is outsourced to Asia and most of the part will likely also be of Asian origin.

Eric Pratt, iSuppli’s senior director of tear-down, is reported as saying that iSuppli is still fine-tuning its report and it now thinks the product’s margin is more than 50 percent, when accounting for factors like royalties and software costs. He wasn’t surprised by the margin, he said, because the company’s earlier research-based modeling called for a basic iPhone cost of $264.85.

Estimates of units sold in the US since last Friday's launch are in the range from 500,000 to 750,000.

Apple has an annual target of 10 million. It has sold more than 100 million units of the IPod music player since its launch in 2001.

iPhone profit margin to hit over 55%...

2007-07-04T04:36:00.000-07:00

Apple Inc. could generate a gross profit margin of more than 55 percent on its 8-gigabyte iPhones, research company iSuppli reported on Tuesday.

According to a tear-down analysis of the iPhone, its component and manufacturing costs totalled 265.83 U.S. dollars. That means Apple would reap a profit margin in excess of 55 percent on every 8 gigabyte iPhones it sells for 599 dollars.

"It had a very good start," said Bill Choi, an analyst with Jefferies & Co. in New York. "They're selling it for a lot of money. On a gross margin basis, it is very profitable."

However, Choi said the 55 percent figure alone doesn't determine how profitable a product is. Companies also have costs from marketing and research and development.

Eric Pratt, iSuppli's senior director of tear-down, said the iPhone's margin is much higher than some smart phones, like the Motorola Q. But he expects similar margins from the new crop of smart phones, which include Nokia Corp.'s N95 and HTC Corp.'s HTC Touch.

Apple shares added 5.91 dollars, or 4.9 percent, to 127.17 dollars at 1 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. They have jumped 50 percent this year.

Apple said on Monday that the iPhone "all but sold out" its initial shipment in both Apple and AT&T (ATT) stores after just three days of sales.

Analysts estimated sales of 500,000 to 700,000 units of the combination phone, iPod and pocket Internet device by Sunday.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

iPhone: Part iPhlop, Part iPhenomenal - Review = B+

2007-07-04T04:29:00.000-07:00

Entertainment Weekly, Gadget Review...
OK, so it's not much of a phone, but it's easily the best iPod ever -- also the most expensive -- and an instant gadget classic
By Peter Lewis

Apple has this new thing called an iPhone. You know, the combination mobile phone/MP3 player/Internet device that's supposed to revolutionize consumer electronics? Perhaps you've heard of it? Assuming you weren't one of those dorks who lined up at Apple Stores days in advance — sleeping in lawn chairs, peeing in bottles, frightening children — you needn't feel bad about not being the first one on your block to score the most hyped new gadget of the year. As a phone, the iPhone is nothing to call home about. In fact, there are plenty of better, cheaper mobile phones out there.

But as a portable entertainment device (this is an entertainment site, after all), the iPhone is incredibly seductive. Apple claims that the iPhone is the best iPod ever made, and that's a fact. With its dazzlingly intuitive touch controls, the iPhone instantly renders obsolete the iPod's once innovative click-wheel interface. The iPhone's motion sensors automatically detect when the device is turned sideways, transforming narrow, up-and-down graphics into a bigger and more viewer-friendly widescreen format. Then, with a swipe of a finger, one can fan through a music collection by looking at album covers, using Apple's Cover Flow technology. Tap a finger on the cover art, and it ''flips'' to show a list of songs. And the scratch-resistant glass screen (measured 3.5 inches diagonally) makes the displays on previous video iPods seem unbearably dinky. Small text is easy to read, digital photos and album art look rich and vibrant, Web pages are crisp and easy on the eyes, and videos — including downloads from YouTube and movies, TV shows, and music videos downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store — can be easily viewed without squinting.

But it's also a fact that the best iPod ever is also the most expensive iPod ever. There are two models, one that stores 4 gigabytes of digital content ($499), the other 8GB ($599) — and the memory can't be expanded. On top of that, buyers are required to sign up for a two-year phone service agreement with AT&T, with plans ranging from $60 to $100 a month, plus a one-time activation fee of $36. If you currently have a phone plan with a carrier other than AT&T, you'll have to pay extra to break that contract. We're talking a minimum of nearly $2,000 to take the iPhone leap.

More stuff we didn't like: While the internal rechargeable battery is surprisingly good — seven hours of video playback, 24 hours of music, podcasts, and audiobooks — eventually it will have to be replaced, which will require you to send your iPhone back to Apple. And AT&T's wireless EDGE system for connecting to the Internet is agonizingly slow compared to the services offered with many other Web-enabled smart phones. Connections are faster with the iPhone's built-in WiFi connection, but you can't buy music or video wirelessly from Apple's iTunes website; you have to sync the iPhone to your PC or Mac. As a phone, the iPhone is pretty much an iPhlop. Visual Voicemail — a nifty feature that lets you see who left a voicemail and hear it without having to listen to prior messages — is way cool, but overall voice quality is just so-so. And the iPhone's ability to pull in a signal seems weaker than other AT&T models.

But the first Macintosh computers and iPods had flaws galore, too. And like the Mac and the iPod, the iPhone also has undeniably brilliant features that qualify it as an instant tech classic. (We can't wait to see some of the iPhone's features make their way to iPods.) Nobody in the tech world comes close to Apple in software or product design. If you're willing to pay a lot of money for the best pocket-sized music and video player yet invented, the iPhone is iPhenomenal. B+

IPhones fly off the shelves

2007-07-04T04:27:00.000-07:00

Initial sales surpass predictions, may have topped 700,000 in first weekend
By Connie Guglielmo, Bloomberg News
Article Last Updated: 07/03/2007 04:05:58 AM PDT

Apple Inc.'s initial iPhone sales may have beaten analysts' top projections, suggesting Chief Executive Steve Jobs will reach his goal of making mobile phones as profitable to the company as computers and the iPod.

Shoppers may have bought as many as 700,000 units during the weekend, Goldman Sachs Inc. analyst David Bailey said, twice his projection of 350,000. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster pegged sales at about 500,000, more than twice his original 200,000 estimate.

More than a third of Apple's 164 stores were out of stock by Sunday night, according to the company's Web site, leaving buyers in states such as Hawaii, Nevada and Utah to try AT&T Inc. stores. AT&T, the exclusive provider of wireless service for the iPhone, said most of its 1,800 stores sold out within 24 hours.

"This is a very successfully handled launch," Munster, based in East Palo Alto, said Monday. He has rated Apple's shares "outperform" since June 2004. "The real sign of success would be what kind of legs this product has in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, we estimate a third of Apple's sales will be from iPhone. This is a huge product."

J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.'s Bill Shope said sales may have reached 312,000 in the days following the device's Friday debut. American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, who called his initial 50,000 estimate conservative, said in a note Monday that Apple may have sold five times as much.

Shares of Cupertino-based Apple fell 78 cents to $121.26 in

Nasdaq StockMarket trading Monday. They have gained 42 percent since Jobs unveiled the combination iPod media player and phone on Jan. 9.

Mark Siegel, a spokesman for San Antonio-based AT&T, declined to confirm whether stores had completely sold out of the device, saying only that "things have just gone extraordinarily well." Apple spokesman Steve Dowling didn't return a call seeking comment before regular business hours.

AT&T is still fixing problems for some customers who can't activate their new phones, Siegel said Monday in an interview. Some business customers need approval from their companies' communications departments to switch to personal subscriptions, he said. The "overwhelming majority" have activated the phone.

Siegel declined to say how many iPhones the company has sold or how many users switched to AT&T, the largest wireless service provider in the U.S., from other providers. AT&T's calling plans for the phone cost $60 to $220 a month.

Sales started at 6 p.m. Friday in each U.S. time zone as part of Jobs' plan to gain a foothold in what he called a "giant market." By Sunday, the iPhone had sold out most of Apple's stores in California.

The iPhone, which costs $499 and $599, sold online for a premium at online auction service eBay Inc. The device sold for an average price of $702, with the highest bid at $12,500, according to data Monday from San Jose-based eBay.

There's "nothing else quite like" the iPhone, said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch in New York. "Most consumers have never seen that kind of functionality."

Customers are allowed one phone each at AT&T's stores and two at Apple's outlets. Shoppers can check Apple's Web site to see if the iPhone is in stock at any of its stores. There's a wait of two to four weeks for customers who order the phone online from Apple, according to the site.

The iPhone merges capabilities of Apple's iPod with a handset that also serves up Web pages and e-mail, pitting the product against less expensive ones from Nokia Oyj, Samsung Electronics Co., Research In Motion Ltd. and Palm Inc.

Shoppers interviewed at Apple's stores in New York and California favored the $599, 8-gigabyte model of the iPhone over the less costly 4-gigabyte version.

"For $100 more, you get double the storage," said engineer Rick Evans, 50, who picked up his iPhone opening night at an Apple store in Palo Alto. "It's a no-brainer."

Jobs said last week that Apple had boosted manufacturing to meet estimated demand. "We've taken our best guess, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if it ain't enough," Jobs, 52, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Under his leadership, Apple's annual profit has surged to almost $2 billion from $65 million in the past five years, while sales more than tripled to about $20 billion. Jobs says he aims to sell 10 million of the phones in 2008, capturing 1 percent of the global market for handsets. He expects consumers will buy 1 billion mobile phones next year, which would be almost four times the number of personal computers sold.

Apple may top that 10 million forecast, especially after releasing new versions of the iPhone next year, UBS AG analyst Benjamin Reitzes, in New York, said in a report Monday.

iPhone Sales: IPhones 'all but sold out' first shipment

2007-07-04T04:20:00.000-07:00

Posted on July 3, 2007
from Staff Reports

Apple Inc.'s new iPhone multimedia and Web-enabled cell phone has "all but sold out" its initial shipment, Apple and AT&T Inc. say.

Neither Apple nor AT&T, which has an exclusive multiyear contract to provide iPhone cell-phone service, would disclose sales figures.

But telecom analysts estimated 500,000 to 700,000 devices totaling $250 million were sold by Sunday after three days of sales, USA Today reported.

A number of customers were not able to transfer their old cell phone numbers to AT&T during the weekend, various media and blogs reported.

And some AT&T customers said their existing cell phones had been deactivated while they were still waiting for their iPhones to be activated, leaving them without a working phone.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said those problems had been addressed and were "substantially behind us," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Apple has a Web page (www.apple.com/retail/iphone) that lets consumers type in their ZIP code to determine -- after 9 p.m. local time -- where to find an available iPhone the next day.

(Credit: Market-Day.net)

Apple sold 525,000 iPhones since launch

2007-07-04T04:14:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - Apple Inc. sold about 525,000 iPhones at Apple and AT&T Inc. stores in the first weekend since its June 29 launch, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday, citing an analyst.

Half of the Apple stores on the U.S. West Coast sold out of the devices on the first day, the report said, citing analyst Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research in San Francisco.

Chowdhry could not immediately be reached for comment. Apple and AT&T were not immediately available.

Piper Jaffray also estimated first-weekend sales of the iPhone at about 500,000, according to cnet.com.

The iPhone, which combines a phone, Web browser and a music player, went on sale on Friday. About 2 percent of buyers have experienced delays in activating their service, a source said on Sunday.
Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

Picture: Apple Store employees pull iPhone bags off the shelves

2007-07-02T04:34:00.000-07:00

Apple Store employees pull iPhone bags off the shelves at the store in Westfield Montgomery Mall.

Pouya Dianat - The Washington Post

iPhone - Customers at Westfield Montgomery Mall play on demo versions

2007-07-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Customers at Westfield Montgomery Mall play on demo versions of the iPhone.

Pouya Dianat - The Washington Post

iPhone Goes on Sale - Westfield Mongtomery Mall

2007-07-02T04:22:00.000-07:00

Eric Prawde, the first person in line at Westfield Mongtomery Mall in Bethesda, enters the Apple Store. Prawde had been waiting since 4:15 a.m. and purchased two phones--one for his daughter and one for a prospective employee.

Pouya Dianat - The Washington Post

Hands-on Review: Apple iPhone

2007-07-02T04:05:00.001-07:00

Sun Jul 1, 2007 8:41PM EDT - Yahoo Tech

In Hollywood, when they've got a real stinker on their hands, the movie studios don't let the media see it ahead of time. No advance screenings means no bad reviews come Friday. The idea is that the consumer won't know how bad the movie is, and hopefully a bunch of people will show up on opening day anyway, hoping it's good. This is especially true for stuff like horror movies, which have a "critic-proof," built-in audience.

Now it's becoming clear why Apple shunned advance press for the iPhone, sending it only to four reporters, all of whom the company figured would gush their praise for the device or, at the very least, be willing to play down its flaws.

OK, it's not all that bad. The iPhone is not an iShtar. But it's definitely not the blockbuster that the aforementioned reviews have sung about. It's a sexy, eye-catching, and truly fun little device, but it's so filled with flaws I barely know where to start.

Eyes Glaze Over

Well, let's start with first impressions. My editor Roger Hibbert waited in line on Friday for the device and unveiled it at my home that evening to a crowd of about eight people. Everyone ooohed and aaahed (myself included), blinded by the hype and thrilled to see something new. The iPhone is certainly that: Fun to play with, initially exciting, and hard to put down. We had it activated and connected to my Wi-Fi network in minutes (with only one iTunes-related crash). Then we're browsing the web in full color, zooming and panning and scrolling in live pages on a gorgeous screen, not the faux browsing on a blocky cell phone display we've become accustomed to on regular handsets. Can't read the text? Just "pinch" the screen to zoom in or out. Truly incredible.

The hype extended the following day. Take it out in public and people stop their conversations in mid-sentence, their eyes immediately glazing over. "Is that the iPhone? How did you get it?" No one asks whether it's good or not. They don't care. The Kool-Aid seems to have been replenished many times over. Let's cut through some of the hype...

When you first pick it up, it is heavier than you expect. At 5.2 ounces it is quite light compared to some other phones, but the metal and glass construction give it a stout density that you don't quite expect. (Note that many online sources mistakenly list the iPhone as lighter.) What takes getting used to more than the weight is the design. There's no "grip" to the phone, and every edge is rounded. This makes it slippery, especially since you're supposed to be constantly turning it from portrait to landscape mode as you use it, which can become a dangerous juggling act. Be warned.

It Makes Phone Calls

One reader specifically asked me to discuss how well it works as a phone. I'm obliged to say there's not much of interest to report. Side by side with other AT&T network phones, I couldn't tell any difference. Audio is just fine, though San Francisco has great AT&T coverage in general. People on the other end said I came through loud and clear. The only problem I had were dropouts on the AT&T network when crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge. I don't blame the phone for this, of course. On the other hand, I noted that with a lot of use, the phone gets quite warm to the touch. Holding a hot glass screen up against your face is disconcerting.

The speakerphone is perhaps a little too quiet (the same goes for music playback), but with headphones the iPhone can really crank up the volume, especially music. Be warned, though: You'll have to use Apple's included headset unless you buy a third-party adapter due to the recessed jack in the phone.

It's Tops: The Display

The display is hands-down the centerpiece of the device. I've never seen anything like it in years of testing cell phones. Imagine the best and brightest laptop screen you've ever seen, then shrink it down. That's what the iPhone looks like, and the glass overlay makes it even clearer. No other phone comes close. The screen smudges easily, of course, but it wipes right off on your shirt or pants.

Sounds good, right? Why would I say the iPhone isn't all it's cracked up to be? Where to begin...

Let's start with email. Setting it up is easy, but on day one I only got one of three test accounts (Yahoo! Mail and Gmail) to work with the iPhone. On day two the others began to operate, inexplicably. Fetching mail is simple and transparent... only some messages—just regular text—came through as completely blank. And be assured that "Sent from my iPhone" will be appended to the bottom of every message you send. I guess it's a badge of hipness.

Web Browsing vs. Pokey Cell Phone Service

Web browsing is a truly awesome affair... as long as you're on a Wi-Fi network and not on the EDGE cellular one. If you're away from a hotspot, pages crawl their way open. Many sites don't load at all. Why? Because EDGE is lame and the iPhone, unlike virtually every other phone hitting the market today, has no 3G support. Steve Jobs has claimed he didn't include 3G in the iPhone because 3G is too primitive and doesn't have enough national coverage. That's absurd, but even if coverage was limited, wouldn't you rather have high-speed support somewhere instead of nowhere? If you aren't sitting in your house or at a Wi-Fi hotspot, web browsing with the iPhone is frustrating and nearly useless. And if you're at home, using a computer to browse the web is far more satisfying. The lack of 3G in the iPhone is nothing less than a deal-breaker.

Much fanfare erupted when Apple revealed the iPhone would support YouTube. And it's great... if you want to watch the day's handful of greatest hits and that's it. I had hoped I'd be able to use YouTube to watch my personal videos there, accessing them whenever I wanted to show them off instead of busting out a PC. No such luck: Unless you have tens of thousands of ratings and the system's blessing, your videos won't be available at all: Only the hottest of the hot are available on the iPhone. How many times can you watch the Numa Numa guy? I got bored quickly with it. Plus: Quality of the videos is also dependent on the network: They look good on Wi-Fi, awful (nearly unwatchable) on EDGE.

You Might Be Here

The integrated mapping feature is nifty, but the more you use it the less helpful it seems unless you already know basically where you're going and how to get there. There's no GPS in the iPhone (a tragic flaw), so you have to click a "next" arrow every time you reach a waypoint in your journey. The only problem: For new destinations you may not realize when you reach each turn and forget to tap the screen, especially when, say, a freeway changes its official name for no reason (and the map software tells you this is a "turn"), something common throughout the country.

Null's Big List of Grievances

Other issues are equally troubling. The camera isn't bad... if there's lots of light. In dim situations (there's no flash) the slightest movement leads to useless pics. I had less trouble with the keyboard than I thought I would, but it does take some getting used to. It's still easier and faster to type on a Treo, and the software never stopped trying to correct my daughter's name, "Zoe," to "SOE" (an acronym for Sony Online Entertainment; wow, that is helpful!), no matter how many times I typed it. The SMS interface is beautiful... but there's no instant messaging. You can't use the iPhone as a modem with your PC (of course it's so slow I'm not sure you'd want to anyway). There's no "mark as spam" button in the email client. No games. No video recording. You can't download music directly to the phone (or even save anything from the web at all). And don't forget this you-gotta-be-kidding-me flaw: No custom ringtones! (This is a music phone, right?) You're locked into AT&T for two long years. And then there's the battery: It's reported to offer 8 hours of talk time. I squeaked out 5 hours, 20 minutes; fair, but disappointing. And it can't be replaced since the iPhone is sealed. Alone none of these flaws are awful, but they add up. And the more you use the phone, the more what it can't do drives you insane.

This would all be quibbling if the iPhone were priced like a toy instead of the computer it's supposed to be. At $600, it's priced about twice what it's worth in its current state. I know Apple can (and probably will) fix many of these problems with software updates and future versions, but there's no way I can recommend paying that kind of money for 8GB of flash memory (market value: $80), a quirky interface, and the Apple logo. Jobs tries to spin it by saying that you're paying $200 (or $300) for the iPod and only another $300 for the phone. Both are overpriced. Apple loves to ship stripped-down products and slowly upgrade them over time.The original iPod was rather clunky, and it took the company a couple of rounds to refine the product into the sophisticated music player we've come to love. But at $600 plus $60 a month, that's just not going to cut it here.

The Final Word (At Last!)

The verdict: The iPhone is a beautiful and impressive piece of art. It's miles ahead of so-called iPhone killers like the Samsung UpStage and the LG Chocolate, but it's still not fully baked. Five years from now we'll probably all be toting an iPhone-like device with us everywhere we go. It might even look a lot like the original iPhone, but it'll do a whole lot more and do it much better, too. The telco world's about to enter a huge era of upheaval and change—almost certainly for the better. But if you buy an iPhone now, in 12 to 18 months, the stripped-down capabilities of iPhone 1.0 are going to look extremely quaint... and you'll still have another year on your contract! Now that's really gonna hurt.

Bottom line on iPhone: Nice little gadget, but I'll wait for the next version.

Hype Meets Reality At iPhone's Debut

2007-07-02T03:18:00.000-07:00

By Kim Hart and Sabrina Valle
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 30, 2007; Page D01

Stephen Easley was the first person to emerge from the Apple Store in Clarendon, and a dozen television cameras trained on his new iPhone.

In his haste, he ripped open the package, and the phone he waited 20 hours to buy nearly bounced out of his hands and onto the concrete.

"Oh, my God," a woman gasped. "He almost dropped it!"

The iPhone hit shelves last night at Apple and AT&T stores across the country, after months of mystique and secrecy that even kept store managers in the dark about the logistics of the sale. The most ardent customers waited out hours of heat and rain, sometimes by the handful and in some cases by the hundreds, for a chance to be among the first to shell out $500 to $600 for the device.

Some said they expected the phone to change their lives. Others said they just wanted bragging rights over less-patient friends. Many were hoping to resell at a steep markup.

Just before opening time at the Apple Store in Tysons Corner, a line of some 200 people snaked out the door, through the mall and onto the sidewalk.

George Kennedy, 38, of the District, was the first in that line and triumphantly held up his two iPhones to the cheers of the crowds behind him. He said he had stood in line since 4 a.m., leaving only once to get a bite from McDonald's and trusting his neighbors in line to hold his coveted spot.

At the store in Clarendon, security officers carefully controlled the crowd of 200 customers as if they were waiting to get into a club, while the AT&T store in Friendship Heights sold out of an undisclosed number of iPhones by 7 p.m. after starting selling the devices at 6 p.m.

By 7:30, dozens of iPhones were posted on Craigslist for resale in the Washington area, listed from $700 to $1,200.

Analysts and skeptics warned of the new phone's potential downsides. AT&T's network, the sole carrier for the iPhone, sends data slower than some of its rivals. And industry analysts said even the hallowed iPhone may need some time to work out the kinks.

"No one waited in line to get an iPod, and it got mediocre reviews," said Chris Null, a consumer adviser for Yahoo Tech. "It didn't consume the market until the second or third version, once the issues had been worked out."

But Apple's carefully orchestrated marketing and controlled media strategy helped heap fuel on consumer and media fascination.

Apple even kept its employees in the dark.

A week before the launch, Apple started prohibiting Apple Store employees from bringing camera-enabled cellphones and laptops into the store out of fear that a glimpse of the device could slip out, according to an Apple employee. When the first batch of iPhones arrived at stores last week, they were scattered through the stockroom, hidden among piles of other boxes.

To prevent cutting in line, employees at some Apple stores handed out colored arm bands to mark customers' places. Off-duty police officers were hired to stand guard overnight Thursday and all day yesterday at each of AT&T's 70 locations in the Washington area.

"This entire launch was scripted right down to the second," said Colin Martin, AT&T's director of sales for the Washington region.

The tight security may not have been necessary, some Apple loyalists said. Compared with Sony's release of PlayStation3 last year -- which triggered robberies, pepper-spray attacks and even a shooting -- the iPhone launch was tame.

Even after 15 hours of waiting in 90 percent humidity and bouts of rain, iPhone hopefuls shared snacks, made communal coffee runs and exchanged e-mail addresses to swap their iPhone experiences.

Stephen Hayes, 19, staked his place in line at 1 a.m. yesterday. Six of his friends have already claimed visitation rights with his new iPhone.

The coolest part about his purchase?

"I get to call my best friend in California, who has to wait another three hours to get one, and rub it in his face," he said.

Some, like Joel Bradshaw, 45, who works for a Chantilly defense contractor, waxed philosophical about the iPhone's cultural impact, likening it to a massive "paradigm shift" or "Gestalt effect" while he waited for 21 hours to spend $1,600 on two phones and accessories.

Not all the people there were as motivated by the iPhone itself as by the profit potential of reselling the phones as soon as they left the store.

Glenn Sparico, an IT consultant from the District, arrived at the Clarendon store at 9:30 yesterday morning to buy two of the phones, not for himself, but for the highest bidder on eBay. "I have an iPod, and I have a phone. Why do I need a device that does the same things?"

Sobriety came from other corners of the industry as well.

"People act as if this can bring world peace and cure cancer -- yet it can't download songs over the air," said Roger Entner, senior vice president of the communications sector of IAG Research.

Mic Wendt, 20, of Chevy Chase, was the first to arrive at AT&T's Friendship Heights store, showing up at midnight Thursday. He plopped a mattress on the sidewalk and brought enough junk food to sustain him and his four friends. When no one else showed up for several hours, they almost abandoned camp.

"But being the first to get one was all that mattered," he said, although he hopes to turn around and sell it online for a considerable profit. "Are you kidding? I'm not going to waste my money on a $600 phone."

Staff writer Alejandro Lazo contributed to this report.

iPhone filled with iCandy that users will gobble up

2007-07-02T03:12:00.000-07:00

By Eric Benderoff
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 2, 2007

After spending a weekend with Apple Inc.'s new iPhone, here's what I think: iLike.

I'm compelled to touch the phone and watch as my collection of digital content, with nearly 500 photos and 1,000-plus songs loaded onto an 8-gigabyte version, strolls by with the swipe of a finger.

It's a fun and fanciful device, combining a heaping dose of iCandy with a practicality I have yet to see from a smart phone.

I don't think it's enough to call this a smart phone. It's a personal phone that reflects your tastes—music, movies and photos—better than any mobile device on the market today.

If a BlackBerry identifies you as a busy, important person who needs access to e-mail at all times, the iPhone defines you as an individual with distinct cultural tastes in music, photography and video.

Everywhere I went with the iPhone, people wanted to touch it, to see if it was as cool as Apple's advertising made it seem. Non-techies in particular wanted to play with the device; like me, they were amazed. There are a number of phones that can do much of what the iPhone can—and more, in some cases—yet none do so as simply or as well.

The most notable feature, and noticeable in every usage aspect, is how visual the iPhone is.

A visual treat for users

When receiving a call from someone in your contact list, that person's picture pops up alongside his or her name (in big, easy-to-read type) and a box to tap for answering the call or one to dismiss it. If you hit dismiss, it goes to voice mail.

The other visual treat is the phone's function as an iPod. Simply put, it's the best iPod I've ever used (and I've tried them all) and the first one where I realized that having album art on your iPod does make a difference.

When I first "synced" the iPhone, some of my songs had artwork but most did not. That made the visual scanning of the music boring, with only a few bits of album art scattered among many more blank pages. Then I downloaded the album art through an iTunes function and synced the iPhone again. Wow.

Using your finger to scroll through the album art is akin to skimming through a crate of old vinyl albums, it gives context to the music, something that is lacking in today's age of digital music files.

There are downsides.

Call quality is mixed. At best, talking on the iPhone sounds pretty much like any other mobile phone. In one call to a colleague who also has an iPhone, I heard a distinct echo when I spoke. When I called him on his Verizon phone, there was no echo and the clarity was better.

In another quirk, people using a mobile phone on the Sprint network cannot get through to my iPhone. But when I call them, the call is completed.

I like to talk using the iPhone's iPod-like earbuds. Apple includes a mini microphone into the right side of the ear buds so that when a call comes in, I hear the caller in my ear, not the music, which is automatically paused. Likewise, when I make a call while using the iPod function in the iPhone, the music pauses when the connection is made.

But here's what I don't like about the iPhone earbuds: lack of choice. The iPhone is designed so only Apple's earbuds fit even though the phone uses a standard headphone jack. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, told me that decision was made to make sure the iPhone remained sleek.

OK, but it also means that anyone who bought very expensive headphones to improve the sound of the iPod will be out of luck. One headphone maker, Niles-based Shure Inc., is developing an adapter, but it is annoying that it and other companies will need to do this for a phone that costs at least $500.

There are two other notable downsides:

First, AT&T Inc.'s Edge network is painfully slow when you want to browse the Web. If you have access to a Wi-Fi network to get on the Internet, you'll want to use it because the speed difference is as dramatic as going from dial-up to a high-speed connection. (AT&T has a faster network but the iPhone does not work on it. Blame Apple for this oversight, not AT&T.)

Second, I'm concerned about battery life. I had my iPhone fully charged when I started using it Saturday morning. I used it all day, making calls, surfing the Web, listening to music and showing it off to many, many curious people. At the end of the day, about 10 hours later, I had 10 percent power remaining. I charged it overnight again, something I think heavy users will need to do every day.

For me, activation was a breeze. You set up the phone through iTunes. Once you plug it into a computer, the software recognizes the device as an iPhone, much like it recognizes your iPod. After about 10 minutes of signing up, including the time spent to pick a calling and data plan, my phone was ready to go. (Others have reported problems with activation.)

An information warehouse
Then, like an iPod, the iPhone grabbed my contacts, calendar and other settings from a computer. (I set up e-mail to work with my Gmail account. That was a separate set-up, but it was ridiculously easy, especially compared to Gmail set-ups I've used on other mobile phones.)

I moved 829 songs over and 426 photos and two episodes of "Lost." I have nearly 3 gigabytes of space left to use.

Next, I browsed the Web and checked out the YouTube channel. I had to force myself to go to bed after 2 a.m. that first night.

I browsed the Web at home using my Wi-Fi connection. Everywhere else, I had to use AT&T's pokey network and sometimes I couldn't watch videos from YouTube because of the lack of speed. Hence, even though you can't get this phone through another carrier, T-Mobile will make money getting new iPhone owners to sign up for the "HotSpot" Wi-Fi service.

Here's what the iPhone really is: a great iPod that surfs the Web and sends e-mail. You'll love having an iPhone if you have a computer filled with digital media content, as this device's big, bright screen will showcase it better than anything other than a desktop computer.

And while I didn't mind the touch-screen keyboard, I didn't love it, either. Others who played with the phone were mixed on that issue as well.

So the jury is still out on how well this will work as a true office tool, particularly if you are on the road all the time and need to e-mail frequently. But you'll be very entertained.