Gizmodo: iPhone

Rumor Smashed: AT&T's iPhone Black Reference Just Placeholder Text

Jason Chen — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:10:29 EDT

An AT&T spokesperson just told us that the iPhone Black dropdown reference on the AT&T Wireless website is just a temporary placeholder. The spokesperson says that it was used over the weekend for a "scheduled catalog update," distinguishing the various iPhone models (4GB, 8GB and 16GB). Sorry dudes, the 3G iPhone is probably not called the iPhone Black. Unless, of course, the spokesperson was just covering AT&T's butt, which could always be possible.

Control Your TiVo With Your Ubuntu Machine

Jason Chen — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:10:00 EDT

This Ubuntu app isn't quite as cool as the TiVo remote app for iPhone we saw last week, but the concept of controlling your TiVo over your network is just getting started. By allowing any network device to issue orders, you can essentially make your cellphone, laptop, PC, wall panel or internet connected dog into a remote for your TiVo. [Zatz Not Funny]

AT&T Slips iPhone Black Reference in Customer Pages

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:47:14 EDT

Something called the "iPhone Black" is now appearing in the "Select Model" popup menu on AT&T's registered customers screen. An AT&T spokesperson has told us that the company doesn't have any comment on this. And we don't know what "iPhone Black" means, but some may take this as a confirmation of the rumored all-black iPhone allegedly coming next month. However, since there's no other information except this screenshot, we will take it as is. [AppleInsider]

Update: AT&T's just denied the existence of an iPhone Black, pointing to leftover placeholder text from a weekend update.

New iPhone Firmware Beta Has a 3G On/Off Switch: I Wish It Was Automatic

Brian Lam — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:09:19 EDT

The iPhone's recently released firmware 2.0 Beta 5 has a 3G on/off switch for users. Underneath, there's a warning that 3G browsing will kill your battery faster. While that's more proof of the upgraded hardware we already expect, what I find most interesting is the manual control. It's not too late to change it, but I was hoping that Apple would approach the 3G/2G power consumption and speed tradeoffs by having an automatic toggle for 2G and 3G:

It could have a smart mode that would turn 3G off to save battery for background email downloading, weather checking and standby; and then turn it on for YouTube, maps, web browsing and iTunes music store downloading. Wouldn't that make a lot of sense? P.S. Apple, you can have this idea for free in trade for some copy and paste action in the next beta. [Chronic Dev via Apple Insider]

iPhone "Currently Unavailable" Online: Brilliant Pre 3G iPhone Strategy?

Addy Dugdale — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

The iPhone is "currently unavailable" at the AppleStore US, following the dry-out in the UK. Does this mean they are waiting for the shipment of the next version? If so, this is a brilliant and rare move for Apple.

We won't know for sure until next month, but knowing Apple's tight command of their stock levels, it looks like this may be the reason. But considering we're almost exactly 30 days from the WWDC keynote, it could mean the 3G iphone is coming sooner than we think. Let's assume this is what is happening. If so, this move is brilliantly kind and uncharacteristic of Apple. What they're doing is trading off secrecy to protect people from buying the first-gen iPhone in its last days before its successor is unveiled. I mean, if you'd bought an iPhone and it was upgraded to v.2 days after your purchase, wouldn't you be pissed? Maybe they'd rather short the sales for a month and not have to deal with thousands of pissed off customers. [Apple Store—thanks, Erik]

Lextech App Turns Your iPhone into a Surveillance Device

Addy Dugdale — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:45:00 EDT

A company called Lextech has created an application that lets you control surveillance devices via your iPhone. As well as watching the action on the phone, the app also lets you control the cameras via its touchscreen. See the system in action in a couple of videos after the jump.

I guess this means no more security guards numbing their arses as they sit, bored, behind banks of monitors. [Lextech via Nowhere Else 2.0]

AT&T Says Free Wi-Fi for iPhones Will Come... Someday

Elaine Chow — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:45:00 EDT

All AT&T's flip-flopping between offering free wireless at Starbucks and then taking it away—turns out it was some peon screwing up after all. An spokesperson for the company told the New York Times that the confusion was due to a "human error." But the day when iPhone users can definitively access the internet while sipping on frappuccinos will come, the PR flack assures, AT&T is just refusing to say when. Oh, come off it, AT&T. The cat's out of the bag already, you might as well roll out the service now. I'm sure there will be plenty of secrets you can accidentally release before deadline in the future. [New York Times]

iPhone World Map Charts Jobs' Giant Game Of Risk

Mark Wilson — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

It's tough to keep track of the iPhone's slow global release, so one Apple fan assembled all the data into one easy to read map. If the country is red, then they either have the iPhone or will be getting it this summer. (Note: Switzerland, Spain and Poland are still just rumored, not official).

It's like one of those pandemic maps from the movies. You see the military general plotting two little red dots. Then four. Then eight. And then, all of the sudden, the dots have covered the general's body, spewing puss across the room in all directions. [Apple 2.0]

AT&T Changes its Mind Again, No Hotspot Access for iPhone Users

Adam Frucci — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:57:03 EDT

AT&T has flip-flopped yet again on the issue of iPhone customers getting free access to AT&T hotspots. While yesterday the iPhone plans page clearly stated that access to the hotspots was included with all plans, that statement is now gone again. Hey, AT&T: why don't you make up your minds and be clear about this? This is ridiculous. [AT&T via I4U]

Raging Thunder iPhone Racing Game Shows Tons of Potential

Jason Chen — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:00:00 EDT

If you needed some indication as to how much power the iPhone had for games, this Raging Thunder demo should make you giddy for what's to come. Not only does the game use the accelerometer, which acts as a more-than-adequate wheel, everything's rendered in pretty decent OpenGL 3D graphics as well. It's no GTA4, but you can download it from Installer.app now. If Zune can do multiplayer Wi-Fi games, the iPhone should too. And maybe, just maybe, multiplayer games over the internet? [ModmyiPhone via TUAW]

iPhone / iPod TiVoRemote App Makes Telnet Control Easy

Christopher Mascari — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:45:42 EDT

Remember when we showed you an iPhone controlling a TiVo over IP by means of Telnet? Well, over at the TiVo Community Forum, a user named Duckfin has compiled a "quick and dirty little program" that gives the iPhone and iPod touch a proper TiVo Remote. The app which is named TiVoRemote, no surprise there, actually makes practical use of TiVo's Telnet control feature. But as with most apps these days it does require a jailbroken iPhone / iPod. For installation and info hit the jump.

Installation is pretty simple and allows for TiVoRemote to be installed via Installer.app, once a new source is added. After launching the program and entering the settings menu, all that's required is the TiVo's IP address. Once entered, your iPhone / iPod is ready to control your Series 3 or HD TiVo. As you can see from the video above and picture below, the key layout is pretty basic. But I am sure it's only a matter of time till it gets spruced up, allowing the TiVo guy to be on the iPhone / iPod. From complete instructions hit the TiVoRemote link for the Google Code page. [TiVoRemote via TiVo Community Forum]

Native Orb App Brings Live TV to Your iPhone

Adrian Covert — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:41:46 EDT

The OrbLive streaming media app is for everyone who is sick of waiting for a Sling Mobile client on their iPhone. As you may (or may not) know, Orb pulls files off your PC and streams them to any device with an app or web browser capable of accessing the Orb interface. From there you can stream music, video files, and if you have a TV tuner card, live TV. While Orb was previously accessible via Safari, this new, official app is supposed to be an easier, more intuitive way to get your media on the go. It does require a jailbroken iPhone, however. Check out the video of the client in action. [Orb via Register Hardware]

100+ iPhone 2 Designs I Guarantee Steve Jobs Won't Unveil Anytime Soon

Adam Frucci — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:31:00 EDT

I recently challenged you all to come up with the most ridiculous iPhone 2 concept designs possible, and boy oh boy did you ever deliver. What you're about to see is over 100 of the most impractical, nonsensical and flat-out retarded cellphone designs the world has ever seen. No, you won't be seeing any of these on stage at WWDC next month and you certainly won't see them at the Apple store, but hopefully the sheer insanity and creativity of your fellow readers will tide you over until the real thing drops. Enjoy.

First Gen iPhone Shortage Hits NYC

Benny Goldman — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:30:00 EDT

At the Apple store on NYC's West 14th Street this morning, I caught this line, 30 people deep (my conservative estimate). I asked an employee what they were waiting for, and he told me "the iPhone." When I incredulously said it wasn't coming—we suppose—for another month, he said it wasn't the 3G iPhone, but "the one that came out last June. It's been out of stock all week." I asked him if he thought anyone should tell these poor saps that they should hold off for a month—before their dreams are crushed—but he just said "I don't think so." He couldn't actually confirm whether or not replenishments were on their way.

Free AT&T iPhone Wi-Fi Is Officially Back

Jason Chen — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:55:00 EDT

The flip floppery AT&T iPhone Wi-Fi access has finally been made official, with AT&T adding a note on their own iPhone plan page that reflects the free Wi-Fi. That's 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, some of which are at Starbucks, some of which are at a Barnes and Noble. Finally, now with wireless access, you've got something to read at Barnes and Noble. [AT&T]

iPhone Stocks Being Replenished, Not Sold Out, Say UK Retailers

Kit Eaton — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:50:00 EDT

Despite the rumors of iPhones being out of stock in the UK, it's not really true—according to the retailers themselves. Reghardware has spoken to both O2 and Carphone Warehouse, and both say they're just tackling getting more 16GB iPhones for their online departments. Apple themselves have stock and O2 and Carphone Warehouse have iPhones available in their high street stores. Does this info mean they won't be getting any more 8GB versions, though? Well, we can speculate that, but we don't know. It also leaves us wondering what this news does to the iPhone 2.0 rumors. [Reghardware]

.Mac Push Email Coming To iPhones

Mark Wilson — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:30:00 EDT

According to what look to be leaked screens of the upcoming iPhone firmware, .Mac push email could be coming to the iPhone. A new "Fetch new data" button will lead to the list of email accounts (in the picture here). Notice that some are listed as "fetch" while .Mac is listed as "push." And while we realize that even the hardcore Apple fanbase tends to steer clear of .Mac, there are bound to be like, 5 or 6 people who are just thrilled. [TUAW]

SIMable May Be Easiest Way to Unlock 3G GSM Phones

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:30:00 EDT

A company called SIMable has produced a little chip that they call the "10-second solution" for unlocking carrier-tethered GSM handsets. The gimmick is that, instead of unlocking the phone itself—and risking invalidation of your warranty— the chip works on the SIM card, provided you punch a hole in the SIM.

Yes, I said "punch a hole." The SIMable card lies flat against the SIM, and you first have to perform the following surgical procedure. At least the hole-puncher comes free with the £16.99 chip:

For certain 3G phones including the 8GB Nokia N95, Nokia E51, Sony Ericsson W200 and others to maintain "full 3G functionality," you will have to make an addition cut to the card itself:It's not clear if SIMable is shipping to the US, though there's no reason to believe it wouldn't work here. There's also no mention of Apple's iPhone on the site, although the Inquirer mentions it in the first paragraph of their own writeup. Hopefully SIMable is just getting around to that, after testing on 70 or so other, more popular phones.

Update: Corrections were made to the post following some clarifying comments (thanks!). As far as this being a copy of other products, that may very well be the case, although SIMable maintains that it is not:

NOTE - SIMable is not linked in any way to other similar products and enables full 3G functionality. We include a free customised cutting press ruling out any messing around with scissors.

[SIMable via The Inquirer]

iPhone Stocks Run out in UK, No More Until 3G

Addy Dugdale — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:40:00 EDT

Both 8GB and 16GB models of the iPhone are out of stock in the UK, according to both the O2 and Carphone Warehouse websites, although units are still ready to ship from the Apple Store online. I guess they're clearing the decks for the 3G version. Just tell us cuando, cuando cuando, Apple. [Pocket Lint]

NBC Streaming Full Episodes of 30 Rock and the Office to iPhones (for Free, No Ads!)

matt buchanan — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:50:10 EDT

Even though there's no love lost between NBC and iTunes, that doesn't mean NBC doesn't love you! At least if you've got an iPhone or iPod touch. They're streaming full episodes of 30 Rock and The Office to iPhones (and touches) in QuickTime, for free, with NO ads. They work, nicely, but the major catch is that if you exit Safari, you've gotta re-DL all over again, and the files are huge, so is this Wi-Fi only, really. This looks weird for NBC, but it's really not.

They're putting their shows out online in a million different ways (you can even download 30 Rock, The Office, Conan and Leno direct to your desktop now) and more than happy to pipe 'em to you, as long as it's in a controlled sandbox of some sort. NBC Direct requires a walled-garden player install with loads of DRM, and they wanted copyright controls from Apple and Microsoft to give just two examples, not to mention Hulu. It's sorta surprising that the QuickTime feed for iPhone is unprotected, but theoretically it's restricted to two devices. You know, if they'd just relax a bit, overall, they'd be in a good place online. [Silicon Alley Insider, Thanks Peter!]

Sprint Spending $100 Million to Kick iPhone in the Nuts (iPhone Wearing Cup)

Mark Wilson — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:10:00 EDT

Starting May 9th, Sprint will begin a massive, $100 million marketing campaign aimed straight at the iPhone's nether regions. Stacking its 3G Instinct against the iPhone, Sprint hopes to show that EVDO and GPS make their product way better than anything coming out of Cupertino.

The problem isn't that the Instinct is necessarily a bad phone, or that Sprint is a worse service than AT&T. It's that Sprint's series of commercials will cost the company $100 million to promote a message that will most probably be a moot point in one month if/when Apple announces their 3G iPhone. Here's their second commercial:

Also, in a more general suggestion to the advertisers of the world, never put a your device side by side against a competitor if the competitor has a higher screen to case ratio. We'll probably be posting the other three spots as they come in...but even if we don't, expect to see the series all over the television soon.

Oh, and to put $100 million into some perspective, that's more money than it would cost to run a 2009 Super Bowl commercial every day for a month. [via Kansas City Star]

UPDATE: Sprint wrote us to clarify that prior to what we'd heard earlier (from an unofficial source within the company), these spots will only be seen online. The major televised marketing campaign will begin in June and Sprint does "not have a final total" for the device's marketing budget.

Italy's iPhone to Have Two Carriers: The End of Exclusivity?

Kit Eaton — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:50:00 EDT

Following Vodafone's announcement that it would be bringing the iPhone to ten more countries, including Italy, Telecom Italia issued its own short and sweet press release: "Telecom Italia announced today it has signed a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Italy later this year." So that's two separate companies laying claim to the Italian release of the iPhone, which sounds like the end of Apple's exclusivity deal to us. There are even rumors that a third Italian carrier is thinking about it: "evaluating the market opportunity," as Wind's website puts it. Dare we hope that this news also implies unlocked iPhones? [Gadget Lab]

iPhone SDK Beta 5 Now Up: Bug Fixes, Updated OS Support

Jason Chen — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:29:55 EDT

Besides supporting the latest iPhone OS version, beta 5 doesn't do a whole lot else besides throwing in small tweaks to the UI, tweaks to the developers tools and some bug fixes. No big feature addition like last time, but you gotta update if you're making iPhone apps. You just gotta! There probably won't be very many more of these before the next iPhone's out.

This ﬁfth beta release of the iPhone SDK includes a complete set of tools, compilers, frameworks, and documentation for creating iPhone OS applications. These tools include the Xcode IDE, and the Instruments analysis tool, among many others. With this software you can develop applications that run on iPhone and iPod touch using the included iPhone Simulator.

[Apple]

Unlocked iPhones Putting Gadget Activation Company Out of Business

matt buchanan — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:33:16 EDT

Hey, you there, with the unlocked iPhone. I bet you're feeling pretty good about it, satisfied you're totally getting over on the Death Star. But have you ever thought about the little(r) guy, the outside contractors doing the flooring, you might be screwing over? Cause you are. Synchronoss makes the activation magic happen for the iPhone, as well as a lot of other gadgets. But the millions of unlocked iPhones floating around—a trend they expect to get worse—is costing them a quarter of their revenue, nearly $30 million. That bit of news today nuked their stock value by 44 percent, meaning you guys are basically killing the company. Do you feel so righteous now? Oh, okay. [Alley Insider]

Rumor: AT&T Says No Employee Vacations Between June 15 and July 12 For the 3G iPhone

Jason Chen — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:29:00 EDT

According to cellpassion, AT&T's pulling a similar move as Apple did last year, disallowing any employee vacations for a period from June 15 to July 12. If this is true, there's only one reason why AT&T would do this: the 3G iPhone. Why did they pick June 15 when the keynote for WWDC is June 9? Beats me. It seems more and more likely that the phone is coming, however, so don't buy anything until after June unless you want to be a sad sack. [Cellpassion]

Ten More Countries to be Blessed With iPhone

Kit Eaton — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:45:00 EDT

All those who're desperate for the JesusPhone to bless your shores need to read this list: Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Vodafone's just announced that its customers in these ten lucky countries will be able to buy iPhones for use on its network "later this year." [Vodafone]

Contest: Take Your Shot at Photoshopping the Most Ridiculous iPhone 2 Fake Ever

Adam Frucci — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:00:00 EDT

With the impending announcement of the next version of Apple's fancy-ass phone, the fakes are starting to roll in, and they aren't great. But if you're going to create a mediocre fake, why not just go all out? This lukewarm crap is boring. I want ridiculous fakes. I want iPhone 2 mockups that have can openers attached, or that have full QWERTY keyboards that roll out on edible slices of American cheese. So let's make this happen. Your challenge: make the most ludicrous, fake and unlikely iPhone mockups you can. The dumber the better. Send them to me at contests@gizmodo.com and I'll make a gallery of the results by the end of the week. Get cracking, people!

iPhone 2.0 Firmware Will Have Handwriting Recognition, Go to Japan and China?

Jason Chen — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:46:28 EDT

A blog on the Wretch.cc network (kinda like a Chinese blogspot) has screens from the Chinese version of iPhone's 2.0 firmware, detailing the new handwriting recognition. If it's real, which it seems to be, the new firmware will let people draw in characters with their fingers, then pick the closest approximation among choices that pop up.

For the Chinese version, you've got the choice of either handwriting or using Pinyin, which is like spelling out the word you want and choosing the correct character. Would Apple add all this Chinese and Japanese support if the iPhone wasn't coming to China and Japan officially? No, probably not. [Wretch via Macrumors]

Remote Plant Watering Via iPhone

Brian Lam — Mon, 05 May 2008 02:33:19 EDT

Peter set up a robotic watering can to take directions from an iPhone. When Safari's screen state goes from horizontal to vertical, it sends a status update to a webserver via javascript that sets the watering can up or down. Pretty simple but clever setup. [Maker Faire]

HTC Diamond Has Ultra-High Density Display

Elaine Chow — Sat, 03 May 2008 18:00:00 EDT

The first "official" photos and specs for the HTC Diamond have been leaked, complete with a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 pixel screen (twice the lines of the iPhone in smaller surface,) Windows Mobile 6.1 and 3G connectivity. Could this be the most important product of the year HTC said it would reveal in London on Tuesday? The fabled iPhone Killer? Addy will be liveblogging the event, so we will discover it then. It certainly seems like a good cellphone, judging from the specs.

• large 2.8 inch VGA display (640x480 pixel resolution)
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Quadband GSM/GPRS/Edge and UMTS/HSDPA
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0
• 3.2megapixel camera with autofocus
• extra VGA camera in the front for video telephony
• QWERTY keyboard
• Qualcomm 528 Mhz CPU
• 4 GB of internal memory plus a MicroSD slot
• FM Radio
• an accelerometer sensor (like the iPhone's)

[newsMobile— Thanks Giancarlo!]

AT&T/Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Disabled... For Now

Elaine Chow — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT

AT&T's free Starbucks Wi-Fi for iPhone usersdeal didn't last very long. Users on the MacRumors forum say that locations where Wi-Fi worked just days ago now have the free iPhone access removed. Considering AT&T never made an official mention of the service, it's possible somebody at the Death Star jumped the gun and the mistake has been corrected. Or maybe the company found out that a simple hack would let anybody with a friend's iPhone number get a free ride. [MacRumors]