Touchscreen

It must be iPhone killer day here on iPhonematters because it isn’t just HTC making some noise, it is also the Blackberry Storm. The Storm will be the first touchscreen Blackberry and looks a lot like the iPhone. Bonus points? You can only get it from Verizon.

Okay, so far we have:
Looks like an iPhone
Tied to a single carrier like an iPhone
Visual voicemail like an iPhone
Button free like an iPhone…
So it is pretty clearly an iPhone rip off. Which is fine, imitation sincerest form of flattery, competition is good etc.. The really cool thing is that we can calculate how long it takes to make a full fledged iPhone killer. First we’ll need to decide when Verizon and RIM decided they really wanted a complete iPhone killer. Forward thinking companies would have soiled themselves at MacWorld 07 but Verizon didn’t want anything to do with the iPhone back then. So a logical time seems to be June 2007 when people were canceling their Verizon contracts to hope on the iPhone bandwagon. Using that as the start date… more...

Wendy Cheng is your typical Apple hater. She hates how Apple users think they are superior because their computers are beautiful. She also hates how they act arrogantly towards other ‘PC’ users. Though, it seems as if, all too often this hatred for Mac fanatics is often translated into a hatred for all things Apple.

Wendy recently reviewed an iPhone, or at least thats what she thought it was. It was not until after she finished reviewing it, one of her affiliates told her she was really reviewing the “Fake China iPhone.” Ironically she seemed impressed with the knock-off.

Later when she actually got her hands on the phone she had a hard time operating it; instead of using her finger to scroll, she used her nail. She then goes on to talk about how the sound quality is surprisingly good, but everyone knows that no one cares about music anyways. Wendy says that the phone is only mediocre. This is because the touch-screen is horrible and even though the music feature is nice, no one cares about it.

Do… more...

Some reports have surfaced from the Apple forums that users iPhone are experiencing a problem. The problem being bubbles under the glass of the iPhone.

Several users are reporting an issue where tiny bubble-like distortions appear underneath the iPhone screen’s glass layer.

“I have 5 bubbles thus far and more as showing up as the days go on”

Are you seeing anything like this? If you are, users are reporting friendly feedback from Apple representatives, so it is definitely worth calling them up if you are having any problems of the sort. Just try not to pop them

Many European countries have strict laws that prevent locking of phones or that require that a locked phone be unlocked for a fee during the first 6 months of a contract and for free after 6 months. In Italy, its against the law to lock a phone, in Belgium the law does not allow the sale of locked phone. In The Netherlands and Spain, providers must provide unlocking codes, but can charge a fee during the first 12 months. The unlocking code must be provided for free after 12 months. In Finland carriers are not allowed to sell locked phones.

Engadget is reporting that there are rumors that the relationship between Apple and French carrier Orange have soured over the unlocking issue to the point where Orange may not go ahead with their announced launch of the iPhone. These restrictions and Apple’s apparent stubborn commitment to a locked phone, exclusive carrier agreements and a share of subscription revenue, means that the Apple’s addressable iPhone market is substantially smaller than the current smartphone market.

So either Apple’s plan was to deliberately go after a limited number of geographies, or they had bigger plans but did not do… more...

As we all know the iPhone’s keyboard takes some adjustments and getting used to. For one it lacks tactile response but we do get an extremely customizable keyboard. However a study has been done that shows the iPhone’s keyboard is 2 times slower amongst a small group of people new to the phone yet experienced with other mobile keyboards.

The study takes a look at 20 participants all of whom have yet to use an iPhone and coming from phones with either a physical QWERTY keyboard or a numeric keypad. In some cases typing text messages of a fixed length over a small course of time showed that they were half a slow on an iPhone versus a phone they were already used to.

Evidently there are some problems with the study as they are taking a look at users on the iPhone who have yet to fully adapt to the system. They didn’t give them enough time to adapt and overcome wanting to use their old phone. In addition they used a very, very small group and the types of phones each had used were… more...

I remember when I purchased my first iPod, I had a few dead pixels on my screen. It only bothered me when I watched my podcasts on the device. It was rather annoying.  I am surprised I haven’t heard to much on dead pixels on the iPhone. I hadn’t noticed any dead pixels on my own iPhone, but I was still a little paranoid and stumbled across an excellent way to check your iPhone screen for dead pixels.

iPhonedpt.bravehost.com allows you to view any dead pixel on your screen with a few simple checks. This web-based check simply blanks the screen with black, blue, red, yellow, or green. If anything is wrong, you will notice a “dead” or “stuck” pixel.

How has your iPhone screen been treating you? Despite the concerns some people have with the multitouch in the lower part of their screen, I have had no issues with mine. But one thing that I do notice is the screen smudges. It’s not a surprise to me. It’s the summer and in Boston, where I live, it is hot and sticky. So every time I get a phone call and I put that gorgeous screen up to my sweaty face, I have to wipe the bad boy down with my shirt. Add my fingerprints and you get another layer of film that I need to wipe off. (I disgust myself).

Hey, that’s what you get when you have a screen that covers the entire side of the phone right? Check out this video which takes the iPhone commercial we all know and love and adds a cool effect.

As I was browsing the many iPhone forums, I came across a rather popular problem that is occurring on iPhone screens. Many people are complaining that their iPhone is experiencing a faint grid on their screen. Many users have not said anything because they thought it was normal, but after seeing that it is not all iPhone, but some, others are starting to worry.

The problem is said to occur on units with a display model number of 7455232. It is described as little white dots in a checkered pattern all over the screen. Although not all 7-series display model numbers are experiencing that particular problem, but may be experiencing different contrast ratios.

If you are experiencing any of the problems on your iPhone, it is recommended to contact Apple Support (after trying the steps Apple recommends you do before contacting them) and they should will help you. 

Here in the United States, the iPhone will be in hand by the end of June. But you Europeans and Asians are still left guessing about when the iPhone will make an appearance.

Most people overseas may decide to just wait for the iphone (whenever that may be), but for those who are in serious need of multitouch phone use, there is an alternative.

Taiwan’s High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC), the largest manufacturer of mobile devices running on Microsoft Windows OSs, announced the HTC Touch today. The Touch runs on Windows Mobile 6 Professional and boasts touchscreen access to email, contacts, and appointments. And whether you think it’s cool or not or as innovative as the iPhone or not, it carries with it one major point of distinction: It’s available right now in the UK and in the rest of Eruope and Asia by the end of the month.

Here are a few videos showing the HTC Touch in action.

[Via Wireless IT World]

We know Steve, you have told us a million times. The iPhone will kick ass for business. But even if the multi-touch display keyboard works better than people fear, will it be big enough or robust enough to truly do business?

Park your reservations about anything Microsoft at the door because once you see this demonstration, your jaw might hit the floor. Here is Microsoft’s Center for Information’s concept demonstrated at the Convergence 2007 conference.