Competition

First there was the huge uproar over a hardware based iPhone unlock by George Hotz then the scattered reactions for iPhoneSIMFree’s unlock and then a free GUI unlock was received well, but the big man himself, Steve Jobs isn’t so happy.

One might think that unleashing the iPhone on any GSM network would be advantageous for Apple right? Well, they kinda have this little revenue sharing thing going on with AT&T in the US of A, O2 in the UK and T-Mobile in Germany. Every other carrier either hasn’t met Apple’s demands or are just rocking it without the iPhone for the time being.

Since these carriers aren’t paying the customary sacrifices monthly revenue cut it’s obvious Apple doesn’t want anything to do with them and secure all existing users with AT&T and soon to be T-Mobile & O2. And that is exactly what Steve Jobs intends to do, he was quoted as saying this during the iPhone’s announcement on O2.

It’s a cat-and-mouse game. We try to stay ahead. People will try to break in, and it’s our job to stop them breaking in.

Don’t be surprised if your unlocked iPhone bricks up after an oh… more...

Ever since the iPhone’s introduction, the level of noise, drama and suspense is enough to force anyone to tear their ears out. Unfortunately its reached a new pinnacle, almost to the point where this could be an epic novel filled with action, treachery, chaos and what ever makes a Barnes & Nobles best seller list. This time it involves the claim of who unlocked the iPhone first through a GUI based App.

As you know, a mere days after iPhoneSIMFree debuted their paid unlock solution, the web was in a buzz. The impossible had been proved possible and new venues of unlocking could now be achieved. However one aimed to profit greatly off from the soon to be free community unlock, to the tune of 50,000 AUD.

While I won’t mention the name of the would be thief no matter how outrageous this is, it goes to show how brutal this has been, AT&T doesn’t even need to take legal action as it takes care of itself! However I am thankful the people working to create the free unlock are taking this very seriously and letting nothing standing in their way.

Sadly… more...

As expected, Nokia isn’t sitting idly by watching the iPhone have all the fun… In jumps Nokia, going head on against the iPhone, plus bringing their own flavor to the mix according to this article here by the International Herald Tribune. Just to give you an idea of what Nokia has up their sleeve:

“The Nokia Music Store, scheduled to open later this year, would let users download songs from the Internet to their computers or directly to mobile phones, over wireless networks, which is a feat that Apple’s recently released iPhone cannot do.”

Now you know good and well Apple will not let this go on for much longer. Now the ball is in Apple’s court. It’s high time they release a wireless iTunes and the ability to purchase and download tunes right to your iPhone. What do you think?

Who would’ve thought that even with the millions splurged on its wireless network in preparation for the iPhone that AT&T is dropping “the fewest dropped calls” campaign.
Can you hear me now?

The marketing campaign started in March last year but it was flawed from the getgo.
The irony is that the Ads were based on a report by Telephia that clearly stated AT&T was not the most reliable network. Even funnier was AT&T’s competitor T-Mobile was the only one capable of claiming the title of “fewest dropped calls”.

Since Cingular and now AT&T has taken some legal flack over it they are now dropping the slogan (like its hot) because almost good is good enough.

Via: Digg

Every year I notice my wallet getting smaller. It’s not because I am poorer than I was the year before, it is because more and more I have user cash and cons less and less. It used to contain credit cards, forms of ID, and wads of cash. Now it’s one debit card and my driver’s license.

People have always talked about moving towards a society where everything is plastic. Some have ventured to a world where the sound of your voice or a retina scan could authorize a purchase. But there will be something inbetween. As I wrote about in May, the Mobile Wallet Initiative will include every major phone carrier in the world, but Apple and the iPhone will not be a supported device.

The Mobile Wallet Initiative is an ambitious plan to embed authorizing payment chips in mobile devices so you can Speedpass your purchases quickly and easily.

So when will the iPhone be used for currency? As I wrote previously I don’t think Apple would ever cooperate with others for an initiative like this and I think it could be a huge mistake.

Apple has… more...

If visual voicemail is the only reason why you want to buy the iPhone, you may want to hang onto your existing smartphone. Eric Zeman from Information Week reports that with a bunch of new services, you could be utilizing the same technology on your Windows Mobile device as iPhone users are using.

Action Engine in partnership with Acision have announced Visual Voicemail which will be available “on a variety of Java, BREW, and Windows Mobile handsets”. Although most people first heard about visual voicemail when Steve Jobs announced the feature for the iPhone, Zeman is quick to point out that this service has been around for awhile with a service from SimulScribe.

Still, there are many advantages to the iPhone’s visual voicemail service.

The first advantage is the ability to still sort and pick each voicemail to listen. The SimulScribe service simply converts your voicemail to text and sends you the text message in an email. But what happens when you want to hear the tone and inflection in the caller’s voice? Well, you can still hear the voicemail the old fashioned way.… more...

While the initial launch of the iPhone has left us weary and has left our minds (my free begs to differ) it doesn’t mean that the iPhone hasn’t lost any of the limelight, in fact I’m sure it’s quite a hefty power bill.

Abramsky is not only enthusiastic about the iPhone’s continual growth, he has data to back it up besides the usual analyst speculation. No offense to analysts but the desire for anything rock solid amongst a see of fragile internal connections and wild imaginations will drive anyone insane looking for Apple news.

Via: iLounge

As the influx of iPhone optimized web sites continue (along with the regression of the “real Internet”) it will eventually reach the point of not having an iPhone optimized anything will be fatal to your online presence. Amazon is not one to be left out with their beta iPhone portal.

Visiting Amazon.com on the iPhone takes you to a horribly designed site with a massive loss in functionality and appeal. The very least I can credit the portal with is its speed, it’s very hard to slow the delivery of a white background and maybe a few thumbnails even on EDGE.

However you can still return to the regular, less watered down version of Amazon. But your site display preferences are not saved so every time you decide to visit Amazon will automatically be taken to the iPhone “optimized” version.

Even still as I put this in the design category I wish I could tack on “lack of design” any word on that Greg?

David Chartier has provided a screenshot of the portal, image below.

Via: TUAW

The Cellular industry is a very fast moving and highly aggressive market. While it is very profitable the devious tactics employed by wireless carriers and phone manufacturers keeps advancing towards the point of tipping a legal alarm. This latest bit of news is no different. Apparently AT&T is crippling some Blackberries to please Apple.

If you aren’t familiar with what AT&T has done to carry the iPhone then allow me to fill you in. Besides spending $50 Million on upgrading the EDGE network, supporting Visual Voicemail which is an iPhone only feature, forgoing a subsidized version and sharing monthly revenue there is no question AT&T would rather steer you towards an iPhone, after all if they put so much dedication and money into a phone it can’t go wrong right?

Unfortunately for Research In Motion, the creator of the Blackberry (or Crackberry if the coworker next to you gets a 300 page bill) may have a steep slope to cross if they want to continue offering unrestricted phones on AT&T.

Essentially the GPS function of the upcoming Blackberry 8820 will be crippled due to RIM being a direct… more...

The most popular contenders in the mobile gaming arena are Nintendo’s DS system and Sony’s PSP. Any chances of beating either will be tough but what may pose a threat and a handful of memorable Sony quotes could be the iPhone and one factor: innovation.

Currently Nintendo has hit the prime spot especially amongst consumers in the price aspects of a handheld gaming device and features that everyone can love. The PlayStation Portable is a media device and a gaming machine all in one and while It doesn’t sport the most amazing features, its customizable Software make it a favorite amongst more tech savvy users.

There also has been some rumors that Apple may provide some serious competiton to Nintendo in the portable gaming market so I thought I would delve into this and evaluate Apple’s potential approach.

Essentially Apple and Nintendo have been working on tehcnologies similar to the accelerometer in that a device will be able to sense where it is and react accordngly. This is evident in the iPhone and the Nintendo Wii’s remote control.

Nintendo has been developing similar technology for an upcoming version of the DS handheld that would further mimic the Wii in… more...