Development

While the rumor mill clamors around the next generation iPhone, a Chinese tipster has supposedly handled the device thanks to a deep contact with Foxconn, Apple’s contracted partner to build the iPhone.

The source claims that the iPhone’s physical designs won’t change but the device’s underlying Hardware will improve somewhat. A faster 600 MHz processor, up from the iPhone 3G’s 532 MHz CPU will be included, RAM will be doubled from 128 MB to 256 MB and the storage upped from 16 GB to 32 GB. In addition, an FM Transmitter, Magnetometerand improved 3.2 Megapixel camera will make it into the final Hardware design.

Via iPhone Hacks

Apple is busily preparing the final designs of its next generation iPhone but the main focus seems to be the graphics prowess of the device. To bring stunning 3D visuals to the iPhone, Apple has brought inRaja Koduri, CTO of AMD.

In addition to Koduri, Apple already managed to nab Bob Drebin, another CTO from the Nvidia competitor. Apple has been consolidating all of its iPhone R&D and bringing it Cupertino since its purchase of PA Semi early last year. It will be interesting to see what Apple brings to the next iPhone in terms of graphic power but rumors have long floated around the Internet since PowerVR, the iPhone’s GPU supplier, engineered a low power chip that could drive HD resolutions. In addition, it’s been rumored Apple would introduce a new video output cable that would drive the iPhone’s external HD resolution.

Via: iPhones Talk

Seems Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) is the hottest ticket in town. MacRumors points out Apple has quietly announced it is sold out.

A lot of those tickets would have been snapped up by iPhone developers. Not surprising when you hear the success stories from iPhone developers.

And with Apple expected to release iPhone 3.0 on the world, there’s no where else you’d want to be if you were an iPhone developer.

WWDC runs from 8th to 12th of June in San Fransisco. And for non-iPhone developers, there should be lot to get excited about, particularly Snow Leopard, which may even see a release date announced.

Apple recently eked out Beta 4 of the 3.0 Firmware (which has a somewhat vague release date of Summer, possibly around WWDC) and the prerelease of iTunes 8.2 (which interestingly enough references Blu-Ray media). Sifting through the newest Beta Firmware has revealed some interesting new features.

We’ve known that being able to sync notes would make its way in to Firmware 3.0 for quite some time but this feature has finally been lumped in for testing purposes with the newest Beta build. However, Mac OS X 10.5.7 is required to actually sync note and has yet to be released by Apple outside of the development circle. Another interesting feature is the ability to sign in to multiple iTunes accounts from your iPhone. This would allow you to re-download an App (no media) your friend bought for free but relies on that friend trusting you enough to use his personal information. The increased ease in accessing any iTunes account in Beta 4 is welcome, the current iPhone firmware lacks any easy way to sign in or sign out.

Topping off the small round of features is a camera retake function that shows you… more...

Wolfenstein 3D gave birth to a whole generation of games that have drastically shaped the gaming culture and now you can relive the fun on your iPhone.

Id Software has announced that Wolfenstein 3D is available on the App Store for $5(iTunes Link). The original game has been preserved but the controls have been completely redone to take advantage of the iPhone’s touchscreen. What’s even more enticing is the source code for the iPhone version of Wolfenstein 3D being made available to motivate developers to code for the iPhone. The source code can be downloaded from Id’s FTP server.

Via Macworld

There seems to be a new problem within the App Store that has developers up in arms. Copycat apps are ripping off functionality and passing Apple’s approval.

Developers are horrified at the prospect of others knocking off their work and selling it for much cheaper or giving it away for no cost. It’s not hard to view the contents of iPhone App file and strip sounds and images to reuse in the knockoff App. Apple seems to be furthering the problem by approving these Apps and not checking if other Apps already available duplicate the functionality an App in submission. Arstechnica summarizes the problem:

The problem isn’t just that these copycats are similar in concept or execution, but that they directly copy artwork, product descriptions, icons, and names, though sometimes the name or artwork is slightly modified. It’s relatively trivial to get inside a .ipa bundle and copy the artwork, as in the case of Touch Scan Pro, a nearly identical copy of Touch Scan.

Via: ZDNet

One of the biggest gripes of the iPhone (and ironically one of its biggest features) is its on screen keyboard. While no 3rd parties have come forth to create a hardware keyboard to remedy the problem for a small amount of users, one enterprising developer has tapped in to aging technology to give the iPhone some added functionality.

The keyboard leverages the type of connection an ancient 1200 baud modem to send key inputs through the iPhone’s headphone port thanks to code compiled from the publicly available SDK. While the technology behind the ingenuity wouldn’t be used publicly due to the bulky PDA keyboard and knowledge of coding required, it’s an interesting concept that should jump start the development of 3rd party keyboards for the iPhone. Al of this was done without Jailbreaking the iPhone. Hopefully with the advent of SDK 3.0, this will become a reality.

Via: Arstechnica

Google has recently blocked access to the Infinite SMS App after it used too much traffic.

The third party App tapped in to the Google Talk protocol allowing users to send text messages to any phone free of cost. After rising to popularity, Google noticed the intense rise in traffic, the service was blocked prompting this quote from the developer:

“Google has claimed no grievance with Infinite SMS other than its success. Their given reason for the block isn’t abuse or wrongdoing; it’s that we brought too many users (and thus too much cost) to an experimental service. We never could have guessed that the two of us would write an app too big for Google,”

Unfortunately, users who bought the App will find it no longer works and have lost $0.99. The decision to cut access to the service was quickly made without consideration for the App as the service acted as an API that third party developers could leverage.

Via: Macworld

When it comes to App Store openness there are persuasive arguments on both sides of the issue. A free for all means more choice for consumers but also more really bad apps. Tighter control of the App Store means better (better for whom isn’t always clear) but fewer apps. But the convenience and the lock in of the App Store trumps everything else. Since you’ve got nowhere to turn for apps short of jailbreaking your phone Apple can run the App Store how it feels and you’re stuck. Should you be angry? Happy? Apathetic? We have no idea, try not to get so worked up about an app store!

IF you’re just curious about what you might be missing PC World has put together a list of ten rejected iPhone apps. The list is interesting but out the 10 apps listed the only app that interested me personally was Podcaster. You might have a different take, maybe you would’ve bought MyShoe or Murderdrome. Check out what you’re missing with the list.

If you’re not familiar with LARP it is a short hand way of saying Live Action Role Playing. If live action role playing isn’t a phrase that sends shivers up your spine then you haven’t fully grasped what is going on. See a bunch of people dress up like they’re living in a Dungeons and Dragons type world and then pretend they are. I suppose the really serious LARP players go all the way and hide their mountain dew bottles where no one can see them. Or could just look at it as a civil war reenactment without the historical relevance. Too much typing not enough watching! Check it out:

Hey, that’s funny stuff. I mean that guy winging marshmallows and screaming lightning bolt over and over…. The absurdity of it all struck Jaba Adams as well and he worked up a oPhone app called Lightning Bolt which, we suppose, negates the need to carry around marshmallows in case you run into a LARPer somewhere. Read the whole story of inspiration… more...