Announcements

News is extremely limited at the moment, but TUAW reports that another version of the iPhone SDK and iPhone firmware have been released by Apple, and are available now to download.

The news is still coming in from the developers that have gotten a hold of the new firmware and SDK. “This is Apple’s fifth beta release since the iPhone SDK was released in March. There’s just under a week left until the end of the Apple Design Awards submission period.”

The new SDK weighs in at just under 1GB and that is all that is known as of now. I am pretty sure more information about the unexpected release will be given out in the near future.

Vodafone announced that it would be releasing Apple’s iPhone in Australia later this year, as well as in New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, South Africa and Turkey. That is a lot of places.

There have been quite a number of rumors indicating that Apple is looking to expand the iPhone’s internationally. An earlier Australian rumor suggested that the iPhone would arrive as an unlocked phone to be used on multiple carriers, though Vodafone did not comment on this possibility, so this may not be very true.

Either way, there is a lot on the plate right now and I can only imagine an unlocked phone would cause quite a stir. Only time will tell…

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters has introduced its VentMount dashboard mounting systems for the iPhone and iPod touch. The VentMount is a 2-part hard black plastic car mount featuring a secure mounting device, which is attached to a vehicle’s air vents, and a shell which holds the iPhone or iPod touch.

The shell allows full access to all ports and controls, and features an integrated rotating belt clip that latches onto the mounting device for in-car use, doubling as a desktop stand away from the vehicle.

It is pretty cool, and I think I may get one. I specifically like the multi-functions that it has. Be sure to get yourself one here.

In an effort to get the iPhone selling in as many places as possible, Apple has released the iPhone in Austria and Ireland.

Apple and T-Mobile are now selling the iPhone in Austria. The iPhone is being sold for 399 euro for the 8GB model and 499 euro for the 16GB model.

The announcement in February indicated the iPhone would also be launching in Ireland.

Apple plans on announcing the iPhone in Asia and other European countries as well as a possible release in Australia. 

Today was a great day! Steve gave us our first look at the iPhone SDK and a look at some new features that will be coming with Firmware 2.0. Our iPhone community gets all of this for free. But what about the Touch Community? The Touch has a very similar architecture to the iPhone, so it will be getting the same update. The only difference is the price. iPhone users get the update for free, while Touch users will have to pay a “minimal price.” This price will probably be similar to the $20 for the app package.

Steve must love iPhone users more. Yes, that must be it. Or maybe all of these paid updates will offset the price difference between the two multi-touch brothers. What do you think?

I feel sorry for all the Touch owners who made fun of my iPhone. Oh Wait! No I don’t! Haha. Though in all sincerity, I do feel some empathy because of the $200 price drop that I suffered through.

I am glad I bought an iPhone! Jobs takes care of me. How bout you?

The iPhone is now the 4th largest platform for Internet browsing! (Yea! Go Apple!) It has only been about 8 months and the iPhone already holds 4th place. This being said, it is amazing that the iPhone has gotten this much attention at a young age.  At the same time this makes perfect sense, because Mobile safari is the most advanced and user-friendly browser currently on the market. The 3 platforms that are ahead should be obvious. They are all based on computer Operating Systems.  Windows leads with (92%), Mac is second at (7.5%), and Linux with (.65%) is a distant 3rd; the iPhone, at present, has (.14%) of Internet users. The iPhone is right behind Linux with only about half percent difference.

What do you think of these figures? Do you think the iPhone will ever beat out Linux for 3rd place? I do; iPhone is young and vibrant. Apple clearly knows what it is doing, despite early skepticism claiming that Apple was new to the mobile market. Bravo Apple.

You may have already downloaded 1.1.4 to update for your iPhone and while ZiBri’s Jailbreak will work, he’s cautioned users to refrain from doing so until any bugs can be worked out and the Firmware can be further analyzed.

One problem that has surfaced is that previously installed Applications will not be shown on the Springboard. Reinstalling these Apps will fix the problem.

You should see an official fix in a few days.

Everyone’s hopes went up (including ours) when TinyCode revealed they were working with Apple on developing official 3rd party Apps using the SDK and an Alpha of Firmware 1.1.4. Sadly this isn’t case but rather an inside joke taken too far.

Tiny Code’s repository is closing down, that isn’t changing but in order to think of an excuse to get out of it, they fabricated their current story. Evidently things got out of hand which lead up to KellyTM, a developer for TinyCode, exposing the lie in a MacRumors Forum thread.

VIa: more...

A group of speakers consisting purely of industry leader at the Mobile World Congress could not agree on why the iPhone was so popular amongst consumers. While we could flat out tell you it’s the interface that makes it so damn attractive, it apparently flew over most of their heads.

Adobe on the other hand was the only one to acknowledge that Apple hit a home run with the iPhone while others passed it off as a great time waster. Mike Yonker made a great point as to why the is iPhone is popular amongst consumers: users can get the content they want faster, The iTunes store and YouTube make it that much easier.

Via: iPhone Alley

Ecamm Network has recently updated iPhone Drive to 1.4 bringing enhanced data access.

The new update allows users to archive photos and SMS messages alongside play music directly from the iPhone, a feature missing from iTunes despite the inclusion of being able to manually manage music on the iPhone.

Existing users can grab the update and new customers can try out a demo before purchase ($19.95).

Via: iLounge