iPhone 24×7

March 25th, 2008

Mobile Twitter

Everyone these days has a Twitter and is a Twitterholic. Today I have a nice, improved feature for iPhone users. (If you don’t know what Twitter is, it’s a “service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”)

Using Twitter’s mobile site you can now Tweet with ease on the go. I find it easier and (more importantly) faster then other web apps such as PocketTweets. The only negative is Mobile Twitter just seems to be a little less dressed up then the rest. Meaning you lose a little of the “Apple Look.”

One of the nicest things about being a Twitter user who has an iPhone is the amazing amount of options you have to post to the site. The two sites mentioned above are my favorites and what I use, but I suggest if you don’t like them you keep looking.

Also, feel free to add me on Twitter.

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By Matt Pippen -- 0 comments

March 20th, 2008

Flash on the iPhone

One of the features I have been long awaiting on the iPhone is Flash. Surrounding the release of the SDK, rumors were made regarding reasons Flash still wasn’t on the iPhone. These ranged from licensing issues to the current versions of Flash were not suited for the iPhone.

Tuesday we heard comments from Adobe’s Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen:

“We believe Flash is synonymous with the Internet experience, and we are committed to bringing Flash to the iPhone,” Narayen said. “We have evaluated (the software developer tools) and we think we can develop an iPhone Flash player ourselves.”

This settles the question - “Is Flash is coming to the iPhone?” The question is now when it’s coming to the iPhone. However, timing could very well even be effected by limitations of the SDK.

My plea to both Apple and Adobe is they can settle this with the consumer and innovation in mind. The Internet on the iPhone won’t be the “full Internet experience” that consumers are looking for unless Flash is brought to the iPhone. Through that experience, portable media can evolve into what it should have been, not watered down as with previous devices.

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March 20th, 2008

The iPhone’s Safari Exploit

A Safari exploit has been discovered that stretches from the Mac/PC version of Safari to the iPhone/iPod version. For the Mac/PC version, the exploit would just cause Safari to crash, but the iPhone/iPod version causes your device to entirely lock up. Not the worst damage ever, but you could lose data.

What makes this exploit somewhat threatening is it involves no user interaction. Visiting a website with the code is enough.

I am not harping on Apple for having an exploit. Exploits are found even in the best programmer’s code. I am, however, saying Apple made a mistake in the way they have patched it.

Safari 3.1 contained a patch to this exploit, but it remains unpatched on the iPhone. Meaning there is the source code for this exploit on the Internet, it’s widely know, and open to attack. We all must wait until the next iPhone/iPod Touch update for a patch as well. You can see how this situation is potentially threatening.

If you are that concerned you can disable Javascript on the iPhone to prevent the vulnerability from effecting you. At this point, I don’t believe that’s required.

See More:
iPhone World Article

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March 18th, 2008

The iPhone’s Move to Intel

Coming to an iPhone near you: Intel Processors. The Inquirer is reporting more information from CeBIT where the iPhone was used to represent the smartphone move to Intel’s Moorestown platform. It would be wise to point out the iPhone could have well been representing smartphones in general and not meant a thing about the device itself, but iPhone 24×7 wouldn’t be a true Apple-related blog if we didn’t make the jump.

To clarify, the Moorestown platform is based on Intel’s Atom processor which will still use the Core 2 Duo instruction set. This means bringing an amazing amount of power and flexibility to the iPhone, especially when it comes to software. In addition, reports are telling us these chips could cut idle power consumption 10 times over.

The platform likely wont be making a move to the iPhone until 2010 according to AnandTech, so all recent or considering iPhone buyers can rest assured that they won’t be missing out on this at least for another while.

To give you a sense of how small these processors are, the image above is a picture of Intel’s Atom processor, formerly known as Silverthorne.

These chips are literally the future of mobile computing and could end up in a “MacTouch” device, an idea I have mentioned before. Not only could these chips bring seamless integration between computers and mobile devices for software, but they can bring the horsepower to run those applications.

With platforms such as Moorestown, “The Future is Calling,” and Apple is waiting to pick up.

See More:
Inquirer Article

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March 18th, 2008

Review: Smart Backup Battery Pack

Do you often find yourself in the middle of day with your iPhone battery in the red? If so, I might have the perfect product for you. Even for those who need a the extra battery for those “what if” moments this review product could really help you.

A couple of weeks ago I received an iPhone/iPod accessory in the mail for review called the “Smart Backup Battery Pack.” It’s made by Richard Solo, created by the same person who founded The Sharper Image.

I was really skeptical when this product arrived because of the large amount of accessories that are simply horrible, so I went into the review open minded but expecting a “so so” product. On the contrary, I found out how amazing this product really was.

Let’s look at how it works out in the real world.
My iPhone died at the beginning of class while I was using it. I plugged the battery pack into my iPhone and let it charge for a minute. As soon as the iPhone gained its reserve battery life back, I was back to emailing and Tweeting. It took about 1 hour and 30 minutes for the battery to charge to 75% while I was using it. (The reason it didn’t make it to 100% was because the battery pack ran out of “juice”.)

The battery comes with all the attachments - retractable USB charging cable and the AC wall charger. This gives you the option to charge the battery pack at a computer or at the wall, like normal.

A nice touch to the battery pack is the indicator lights. It gives you a general feel as to the status of your battery.

The only real complaint I have is that it doesn’t hold as tight as possible to the iPhone (or iPod) when connected. You have to hold them as one to make sure it doesn’t fall out.

Finally, the battery pack isn’t limited to use on your iPhone. It supports all iPods but the iPod Shuffle which doesn’t use the 30-pin connector.

How much will cost you? $49.95. If you order in bulk (2+) you are eligible for discounts as well.

Pros:

• Well Designed
• “Plug and Charge”
• Convenient
• Can use on iPods (Except Shuffle)
• It works!

Cons:

• Doesn’t hold very tight to iPhone when connected

Final verdict: 4.5/5 iPhones

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March 18th, 2008

AT&T Offering Refurb iPhones

AT&T is now offering 8GB Refurb iPhones though their website for $249.00. As with anything brought to you by AT&T there are restrictions. In this case, it’s 1 iPhone per a customer. It’s not like you’ll be using more then 1 at a time though, so shouldn’t be an issue unless you are reselling.

One other interesing point to note, when you buy the iPhone from AT&T you aren’t agreeing to a contact. All you are doing is buying a phone. It isn’t until you activate the iPhone in iTunes to you agree to a new 2-year contract.

If you don’t mind going refurb here is a great way  to save $150 dollars on an iPhone. Also, commenters in the MacRumors forums have said if you call AT&T you can get the 4GB refurb iPhone for $199 (not available online).

If you’ve been wanting an iPhone and price is the issue, AT&T may have the solution for you. (Can’t believe I just typed that)

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March 9th, 2008

3G iPhone in 2nd Quarter

The latest news in the 3G iPhone pipeline comes from Richard Gardner after meeting with several Taiwanese electronic companies.

Gardner is claiming a 3G iPhone could be arriving April to June 2008, 2nd Quarter of this year.

We have been hearing announcements since last year of the announcement of a 3G iPhone, and news from the pipeline shows that it is drawing nearer and nearer. My question remains in what else will be updated besides a 3G chipset.

This news also comes along side AT&T announcing an expansion in their 3G network to 350 cities in the U.S. by the year’s end.

Things certainly seem to be aligning for a 3G iPhone announcement.

See More:
Tech Trader Daily

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March 9th, 2008

iPhone Update 1.1.4

Apple released iPhone update 1.1.4 over the past month. This update wasn’t like past updates though. It didn’t include any new features, just “bug fixes.”

One important thing to point out is Flash is still missing from the iPhone. This is one of my biggest annoyances with the iPhone. It’s a complete Internet browsing experience…except for Flash. This isn’t only my compliant, but one of many in the iPhone community.

As far as third party reports, iToner 1.0.6 is said to still work, and ZiPhone as well as many other jailbreaking applications will work as well.

Expect developments in the short term as a beta of the SDK was recently released.

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March 9th, 2008

iPhone Comes to Ireland

Apple’s COO Tim Cook recently announced O2 would be carrying the iPhone in Ireland starting March 14.

The 8GB model will cost 399 Euro, and the 16GB model costing 499 Euro.  The rates are a bit more interesting. For 45 Euro per a month you get 175 minutes and 100 texts. For 65 Euro per a month it bumps to 350 minutes and 150 texts. Finally for 100 Euro per a month you max out at 700 minutes and 250 texts. Your probably asking “Where’s the data limits?” Unlike other countries O2 is only giving 1GB of data for each of the above plans. Which is on O2’s part disappointing. In the end this could actually hurt customers who use a large amount of data. Which isn’t to add in the fact the iPhone uses a large amount of data standard. Think about how often it checks your email, one of the many mobile Internet functions of the iPhone. In addition,Visual Voicemail isn’t supported.

This wasn’t the only think Cook said. He brought up Apple’s pursuit to expand the iPhone into new geological areas.

Many Canadians have been long hoping this would be them. However, I believe a Canadian iPhone launch might be a bit further off due to Rogers, the primary Canadian wireless carrier, dislike to offering an unlimited data plan.

See More:
Ireland iPhone Information

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March 9th, 2008

iPhone Leads…Again

ChangeWave research is reporting Apple’s iPhone has a 59% satisfaction rating within the Corporate community. This has them leading over RIM’s 47% with the iPhone only having 5% of the Corporate market.

This is a monumental testament again to the iPhone’s ease-of-use. I stress it a lot, but it’s true. People love the iPhone because it is designed with the customer in mind. The iPhone will only be moving more toward this in the future, especially for the Corporate community with the release of the iPhone 2.0 update in June. We’ll be talking about that shortly in another post.

I want to hear from you. What do you think of the iPhone’s ease-of-use, or does it even exist at all?

See More:
ChangeWave Article

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