News

So we’ve all been waiting a while for this. Last night sometime, Apple released iPhone 2.2 Software Update which includes many of the changes I’ve been anticipating over the past couple of weeks.

Included in the update is Google Street View, public transit and walking directions, and over-the-air podcast downloads via the iTunes app. The update also includes numerous fixes including added stability in Safari and fixes for Mail. Other feature include:

iPhone 2.2 Software Update
This update contains many bug fixes and improvements, including the following:
+ Enhancements to Maps
- Google Street View
- public transit and walking directions
- display address of dropped pins
- share location via email
+ Enhancements to Mail
- resolved isolated issues with scheduled fetching
of email
- improved formatting of wide HTML email
+ Improved stability and performance of Safari
+ Podcasts are now available for download in iTunes
application (over Wi-Fi and cellular network)
+ Decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
+ Improved sound quality… more...

What would you do if someone tried to take your iPhone? Me - I would probably chase the person down for my iPhone back. However, wrestling around with a stranger for a phone would scare me just a little. That is eactly what one man did to get his iPhone back.

Gene Wood, operations manager at Ask.com, was aparently riding the San Francisco subway and watching a movie when someone grabbed his iPhone from behind him and took off.

Naturally, he did what any iPhone owner would do given the chance: wrestle the thief to the ground. According to Valleywag and his story, Gene did manage to get his iPhone back undamaged.

“I jumped on his back and got my arm around his neck tackling him to the ground. We slide up against the brick wall that makes up the stairs going up at Church. I bring my other arm around and push his face into the corner of the wall and the ground with my elbow. At this point I terrified myself a bit as I’m on top of him screaming at the top of my lungs “Give my fuckin phone back… more...

As we reported ealier, we were all anxiously awaiting Google’s updated voice search app. It is officially available to download in the app store!

It also adds location-aware results for searching for things like movie show times. The update is available for free. Take a look at the video:

If you were like me, you were anxiously waiting to get your hands on the extremely hyped updated version of Google’s search app. My colleague, Chris, wrote on Friday that “Sometime today (I can’t find it yet) there will be a nifty new app in the iTunes store that lets you search Google by voice. “

It is now Monday, and I still can’t find it myself! According to The New York Times, Google planned to release the free application through the iTunes Store “as soon as Friday.” The application, an update to Google Mobile App, is meant to allow you to talk into your phone, ask any question, and the results of your query will then be offered up on your iPhone. Neat concept, and many of us want to try it out, however, where is it?

As we all know. Apple’s app department is not quick on their toes. One reason for the delay could be that it has been bogged down by Apple’s App Store approval process, which can take days or even months. Indeed, the Google Earth app… more...

Instead of depending completely on whichever mobile phone is in your pocket, what about making the phone number itself “mobile?”

That is exactly what FreedomVOICE’s Newber Software will do for your iPhone, currently pending Apple’s approval.

What does it do? The software’s “Newber number” would ring by default to the iPhone. However, it won’t replace the iPhone’s existing phone number, which would still be able to take calls of course. If a user wants a landline connection for a particular phone call, the Newber software could be asked to send calls coming in on the Newber number to another nearby phone. Newber uses a mix of GPS, cellular positioning, and Wi-Fi to automatically detect phones in the area.

It may sound a little confusing, so take a look here to read more about it and watch some demo videos. According to the site, they added a contact finder feature which “brings the ease of Newber to outbound dialing. When you choose a contact from your iPhone it automatically dials their phone numbers in the order of your choice.… more...

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs states that the iPhone and iPod touch “may emerge as really viable devices in the mobile games market this holiday season.”

This is interesting and I have heard mixed opinions about whether or not the iPhone/Touch is a gaming device that should be compared to another gaming device like the PSP.

We would like to know what you think. Do you think the iPhone is a gaming device that you would prefer over another? Do you even consider the iPhone/Touch a gaming device at all?

It is no secret that games are quite successful in the App Store. With over 1200 games, it is clear that developers like the numbers when they put out a game for the iPhone/Touch.

The Wall Street Journal notes that Sega has sold over 500,000 copies of Super Monkey Ball and that about 25% of more than 200 million applications distributed by the App Store have been games.

That is phenomenal. What do you think?

Via: The Wall Street Journal

It wasn’t that long ago that the iPhone was crowned the second most popular headset in the US; The top being the Motorola RAZR. Now a study by NPD Group finds that during Q3 this year the Motorola king was finally dethroned and replaced by wonderful iPhone.

For the last three years, the Motorola RAZR was the top selling handset in the US. Until now, that is. Despite a 15% decline from the year-ago, the iPhone has taken the #1 spot in the US for consumer sales.

“The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality,” said Ross Rubin, NDP’s director of industry analysis.

Via: Tuaw

I had a friend who accepted a job in South Korea to teach English and before she left, she really wanted to get an iPhone. Thankfully for her, she ended up not getting one, but if she is still there in 2009, I’ll bet she’ll get one, along with others in South Korea.

The iPhone is available in over 70 nations, but it has yet to make it into one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world - South Korea.

In September Korea Times informed readers that the launch was going to be delayed past the holiday shopping season due to the government’s slow actions in overturning outdated technology standards that blocked the iPhone from sale.

Now the Korean government wants revisit the limitation for a 2009 launch!

A decision could be soon, and it wouldn’t go past early next year at the latest,” said an official from KCC’s policy bureau.

It has been an interesting few days for iPhone fans who are looking for an alternative to Safari (and who isn’t? Safari crashes on the iPhone like it was running on OS 9 or something). First came the news that Apple had banned a mobile version of Opera from the iPhone store. This isn’t surprising, the quote from the New York Times was:

Mr. von Tetzchner said that Opera’s engineers have developed a version of Opera Mini that can run on an Apple iPhone, but Apple won’t let the company release it because it competes with Apple’s own Safari browser.

The quote seems unambiguous. After some investigation John Gruber discovers that the the wasn’t a ban involed but rather that Opera hasn’t been submitted to they App store to begin with. It gets better, after investigating the matter further Mssr. Gruber isn’t sure if Opera violates the SDK or not.  Read the entire article on Daring Fireball.

Digg co-founder, Kevin Rose has recently released a video demonstrating Qik running on a non- jailbroken iPhone.

The video shows some of the improvements Qik has made to their iPhone client over the past couple of weeks in terms of UI and core functionality.

In addition to the application’s improvements, Qik has also managed to get the beta version of their app out to testers without requiring them to jailbreak their iPhones through the ad-hoc method.

Many have speculated that we’ll soon be seeing Qik in the App Store, along with a slew of other video-enabled applications. I for one would love to have some video applications to choose from in the app store.

Unfortunately, I don’t see any video application being released in the app store so those speculations are most like hopes and dreams. Video applications like Qik would most likely be rejected as Apple does not currently allow direct camera access to 3rd-party applications.