Gizmodo: iphones

Actors Paid To Stand in iPhone Line by Orange in Poland

Jason Chen — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:40:00 EDT

A spokesman for Orange in Poland unabashedly proclaimed that they "have these fake queues at front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone." An interesting technique to be sure, we're just wondering if these actors will give up their places when it comes time to actually buy the phone, or if they're going to actually go through and get an iPhone (maybe give them out for free after?). It's not something we would have done, and it would have probably worked had the spokespeople not acknowledged it so openly. "Why yes, that is a sock in my pants. Why do you ask? "[Reuters]

All Things Macworld 2008: Get it Right Here

Sean Fallon — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:49:44 EST

Just in case you missed anything, here is all of the news from Macworld 2008:

MacBook Air Full Coverage:
• Details on the New MacBook Air
• Hands on With the New MacBook Air
• Hands on with the Apple Multitouch Gesture Pad
• Adding a 64GB SSD To the MacBook Air? $1300 Extra, Please
• MacBook Air's Fatal Flaw: Battery, RAM, HD Sealed Like an iPod
• Apple's Official 60 Second MacBook Air Tour

Time Capsule:
• Apple Announces Time Capsule Backup Server
• Hands On With the TIme Capsule Backup Server

Apple TV Take Two:
• Apple TV Take 2: $299, No Computer Required, Direct Rentals
• Apple TV Take 2 Impressions

iPhone & iPod touch Firmware Updates:
• iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware Update Gets Official
• Hands on With the 1.1.3 iPhone Firmware
• Apple Adds Mail, Maps and More to iPod Touch For $20

iTunes with Movie Rentals, etc.
• iTunes Movie Rentals Official: Every Major Studio Onboard, 1000 Films Available
• iTunes / iPod-Ready Digital Copies on Fox DVDs Official, Free

Live Blog Transcript of Steve Jobs' Macworld 2008 Keynote
• Gizmodo's Live Keynote Coverage

iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware Update is Official

Adam Frucci — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:27:53 EST

The iPhone got its expected firmware upgrade, delivering version 1.1.3 that we've seen and debated about before. It delivers new features like the ability to send SMS messages to multiple recipients at once, faux-GPS on Google Maps via triangulation, Google Maps showing the hybrid map view, drag and drop icons on the home screen and bookmarks on the home screen (i.e. Webclips). There are also some new features, such as videos with chapters, the ability to display lyrics on music. Check out some screenshots below and hit the jump for the official press release.

Apple Enhances Revolutionary iPhone With Software Update
MACWORLD SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced a free software update for its revolutionary iPhone(TM) that allows users to automatically find their location using the redesigned Maps application*; text message multiple people in one message; create Web Clips for their favorite websites; customize their home screen; and watch movies rented from the new iTunes(R) Movie Rentals right on their iPhone. With its revolutionary multi-touch user interface and pioneering software, users can
easily add significant new features to their iPhone through software updates whenever an update becomes available. New iPhone products shipping from the factory will include the software update and existing iPhone customers will automatically get the update for free when they sync their iPhone with iTunes (http://www.itunes.com).

"iPhone doesn't stand still — we're making it better and better all the time," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We've delighted millions of users with this revolutionary and magical product and it's great to share these improvements with them."

Maps, one of the most popular and helpful applications on iPhone, has a new interface that is simpler and easier to use and adds incredible new features such as the ability to find your location automatically. With just the tap of a button, iPhone can now triangulate your position using nearby Wi-Fi base stations or cellular towers. You can use this as a starting or ending point for directions or to find local points of interest. The new hybrid map view combines map view and satellite view so you can see major street names overlaid on satellite imagery.

Users can now create Web Clips — icons on the home screen that take you directly to your favorite websites, including to the exact spot you have zoomed into. Web Clips are a great way to easily track websites that you frequently check such as news, blogs, sports sites and movie listings. In addition, users can now customize their home screen by repositioning any of the icons, and even create up to nine different home screens that they can easily flick between.

iPhone's new software update also adds the ability to send the same SMS text message to multiple people, and iPhone saves a history of your text messages, so with one tap you can send a new message to the same group.

With Apple's new iTunes Movie Rentals, movie fans can rent movies on their computer, easily and quickly transfer them to their iPhone, and watch them anywhere on iPhone's gorgeous 3.5 inch screen. Users can also now navigate forward or backward through their movies by chapters, select alternate language tracks and view subtitles, if available.

Pricing & Availability
The iPhone software update 1.1.3 is available immediately for free via iTunes 7.5 or later for all existing iPhone customers in the US, UK, Germany and France. New iPhone products shipping from the factory will include the software update and existing iPhone customers will automatically get the update for free when they sync their iPhone with iTunes (http://www.itunes.com). iTunes Movie Rentals are available in the US only.

Further information for iPhone can be found at http://www.apple.com/iphone.

*Availability and precision of Maps positioning features will vary depending on actual location.

Macally FlexTune Dock Holds iPhone Sideways For Video Without the Neck Strain

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:47:44 EST

Most iPod docks think vertically: iPod slides in, charging and playing in the most upright of fashions. But Macally's new FlexTune dock gives you two 30-pin choices, one centered old-school towards the bottom, and one off to the right, so that you can clamp in your iPhone or iPod touch to view video the way God intended, in 16:9. It's a great idea, since the larger the iPod/iPhone screen gets, the less important LCD-equipped video docks become. The FlexTune takes four AA batteries for portable enjoyment, and has a line-in jack for non-iPods. Let's just hope the FlexTune sounds halfway decent, but for $60, we're not entirely optimistic. [Macally]

14th St NYC Apple Store Is 2nd Biggest In US, First to Offer Free Pro Classes

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:18:44 EST

It may not be the biggest like we suggested—Chicago's Michigan Ave still beats it by a few square feet—but the first three-story Apple Store has a lot going on that others do not:
• Apple's first three-story glass staircase (we were wrong about the elevator)
• 46-foot Genius Bar capable of serving 100 tech-support seekers per hour with 12 stations. It isn't the longest GB in the world though; somewhere there's a 50 footer.
• Pro Labs: Free multi-session classes in Logic, Final Cut and Aperture. Six students sign up for 2hrs, once a week for four weeks. The classes are intense and totally free, starting Jan. 7.

Other facts [UPDATED, with video!]:

• It won't be open 24 hours like the Fifth Avenue store, but it will be open til midnight.
• A Concierge team wearing light blue shirts will be on hand to show off all the shop's wares.
• A total of 175 employees will work the store, mostly veterans from other NYC stores.
• This store will have an entire floor dedicated to service, that's 50% more total space for tech support and education than any other Apple Store. [14th St NYC Apple Store]

The Apple Store West 14th Street to Open on Friday, December 7 Manhattan's Largest Apple Store has Entire Floor Dedicated to Service
NEW YORK—December 6, 2007—Apple® will open its newest retail store on West 14th Street in New York's Meatpacking District on Friday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m. EST. The Apple Store West 14th Street is Apple's first three-story store with two floors dedicated to products and a third dedicated to services, including a 46-foot Genius Bar and specially designed areas for workshops and personal training. The Apple Store West 14th Street also introduces Pro Labs where customers can receive free, in-depth training on Apple's industry-leading pro applications including Final Cut Pro®.

"We are thrilled to open our third and largest store in Manhattan on West 14th Street," said Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president of Retail. "We think New Yorkers will love this stunning new location and the incredibly talented team we've assembled to make the Apple Store West 14th Street a place where people can shop, learn and truly be inspired."

The knowledgeable staff at the Apple Store West 14th Street includes more than 175 highly trained Mac® Specialists, Mac Geniuses and Creatives who are ready to share their expertise in video editing, digital photography, music production and more. The team of Creatives at West 14th Street will begin leading free multi-session Pro Lab series in January, offering personalized instruction and hands-on experience for customers who want to take their music, video and photography skills to the next level.

Every Apple retail store offers customers great ways to get more out of their Mac, iPod® and iPhone™ including workshops and personal training through Apple's popular One to One program. This holiday season and all year round, customers can also book a free appointment with a Personal Shopper to get buying advice or help selecting the perfect gift for everyone on their list. The hands-on Apple retail store experience gives customers a chance to test-drive Apple's entire product line including the revolutionary iPhone, the all-new iPod nano with video playback and the widescreen iPod touch, as well as the critically acclaimed iMac® line featuring the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and gorgeous 20- and 24-inch displays.

More than 275 million people on three continents have visited Apple retail stores since they opened in May 2001. Apple now operates 204 stores, including 13 in the UK, seven in Japan, four in Canada and one in Italy.

The Apple Store West 14th Street is located at 401 West 14th St. at 9th Avenue, one block south of Chelsea Market. It joins existing Apple retail stores on Fifth Avenue and in SoHo.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market this year with its revolutionary iPhone.

China Unicom "Willing to Discuss" iPhone Deal

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:20:04 EST

Now that China Unicom is heaving its 156 million subscribers into the ring across from China Mobile's 350 mil in the opening wrassle for the iPhone's Chinese distribution rights, the American market is looking pretty small. A Unicom exec said: "We're not in any discussions with Apple right now, but we're always willing to discuss a good business opportunity." Yesterday China Mobile said it was interested in the iPhone, but not the revenue-sharing scheme that cuts Apple a piece of subscriptions. Analysts say that although this could give Unicom some leverage (if they cave in to Steve), Unicom isn't any more likely to be cool with rev-share either. Oh China, don't you want to sell your soul for a pretty pretty iPhone? [NewsFactor]

Munster Says 3 Percent of Teens Own iPhones, 9 Percent of Friends Totally Jealous

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 08:47:44 EDT

Phil Elmer-Dewitt, voice of the newly relocated Fortune Apple 2.0 blog, published Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster's latest report, a survey of 980 teens that reveals:
• 3% of students surveyed own iPhones
• An additional 9% expect to buy an iPhone in the next 6 months
• 4.2% of surveyed adults also had iPhones
• iPod market share is holding steady at 82%, with Sony and SanDisk tied for second place (4% each)
But PED thought Mr. Munster's numbers were a tad fishy, that rather than accurately reflecting the US, it was a snapshot of a tech-savvier subset.

There are roughly 28 million teenagers in the U.S., and it seems unlikely that they account for 840,000 of the 1.1 million iPhones sold so far.

And this doesn't even begin to factor in the 4.2% of adults Munster claims have the Jesus phone.

The other ambiguity is this 82% iPod market share. Does it include iPhones? Or can this mean that, in spite of brisk iPhone sales, iPod sales have remained consistent? Here's the chart—as you can see, the iPhone could be under iPod or Other:
[Apple 2.0]

Software Guru Rips Apple for Cashing in on Closed Systems

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 08:42:05 EDT

A few days ago, veteran Mac software developer and Apple community gadfly Wil Shipley published a tirade against Steve Jobs and Apple for limiting development on products like iPod and iPhone. He says what motivates the company now is not quality assurance, the usual excuse, but profiteering:

Why is iPhone locked and exclusive to AT&T?

Apple wanted a share of the carrier's profits, which meant giving AT&T an exclusive deal. Which meant, we get screwed so Apple can make more money. It's that simple.

Regarding software development for iPods, iPhones and other Apple toys:

Apple wants every app perfect. Which is nice, in theory. In practice, it means innovation only happens at Apple's pace. The marketplace of ideas is much smaller, and the devices are much poorer because of it.

On "Made for iPod" and "Works with iPhone":

Apple's "approval" just comes from Apple getting a cut. It's a measure of greed, not quality.

And of course, there's the small matter of 99-cent ringtones of songs you already own:

Apple did a deal that benefits record companies and Apple. Not artists, certainly not consumers.

More dangerous talk at Wil's website, "Call Me Fishmeal." [Call Me Fishmeal via Gadget Lab]

Apple Sells 1 Millionth iPhone

Wilson Rothman — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:38:38 EDT

Seventy four days out from launch, Apple has sold 1 million iPhones—smack dab on target with recent analyst predictions that the iPhone would surpass the mil mark by Sept. 30. In a press release, Steve Jobs said that it took nearly two years to sell that many iPods. The big boss continued: "We can't wait to get this revolutionary product into the hands of even more customers this holiday season." Too bad it won't be that even more revolutionary iPhone that seems just around the corner. Critique aside, we congratulate Apple on the iPhone's momentum.

Apple Sells One Millionth iPhone
CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced it sold its one millionth iPhone(TM) yesterday, just 74 days after its introduction on June 29. iPhone combines three devices into one-a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod(R), and the best mobile Internet device ever-all based on Apple's revolutionary multi-touch interface and pioneering software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers.

"One million iPhones in 74 days-it took almost two years to achieve this milestone with iPod," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We can't wait to get this revolutionary product into the hands of even more customers this holiday season."

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market this year with its revolutionary iPhone.