Jan 10
It’s nearly 5 months until Apple’s usual time for iPhone announcements, however it is likely an announcement will be later this month on 27 Jan 10. This is also the time when many tipsters are talking about Apple revealing their iSlate device. If Apple goes ahead with an earlier than usual iPhone refresh announcement, it is likely that this has been done to stop all of the rumours, and to prevent its competitors (Google, Motorola, HTC) from taking too much of a dent out of its sales). However if Apple don’t release the iPhone 4G straight away, surely this will have an impact on iPhone 3G/S sales, so perhaps no announcements at all?
I have compiled my list of wishes for the refresh (I dub it iPhone 4G, even though most mobile networks are only 3.5G ready)
- Up to 128GB storage
- 1GB RAM
- 1GHz CPU
- Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX545 mobile GPU
- 802.11n WiFi
- (4G LTE)
- 5MP Camera, with LED flash and camera capable of recording 720p videos
- Forward facing camera for 3G video calls or IP video calls, maybe HD too?
- LED/OLED LCD Screen with higher resolution, perhaps 800 x 640 like the Nexus One
- Improved battery life
Software Updates (4.0)
- Multi tasking (let us decide whether we wan’t to enable this and pay in terms of worse battery life)
- Allow video apps (Slingplayer) access to the 3G network.
- iPhone Messaging Service (iMS) (free iPhone-to-iPhone) app similar to Blackberry Messaging Service. If you have a contacts mobile number, then you can iMS them.
Tagged with: 4g • Apple • iphone • iphone 4g • iSlate • wishlist
Nov 02
With multiple mobile networks around the world jumping on the Apple iPhone bandwagon, many consumers tied-to or brand loyal to these networks will be considering a move to the iPhone. However, are many of these customers simply jumping for a quick buy, expedited by the imminent marketing campaigns by the network carriers?
We’re nearly 6 months away from the (dead-cert) annual iPhone refresh in June 2010, so would it be a wise and calculated move to hold fire on an upgrade or new purchase until then? We’ll look at both sides of the argument.
Buy an iPhone 3GS now!
For consumers without an iPhone it is difficult to convince you not to get an iPhone as soon as. The increased functionality the iPhone will give you over your old device will more than pay for the contract (and phone) price. After a couple of weeks of use, you will soon wonder how you coped with your old phone – be it a Blackberry, Samsung, Nokia or Sony Ericcson that the iPhone replace.
Cutting Edge Features:
- 3MP camera/ video camera
- 3.5G HSPDA 7.2Mbps
- Compass combined with GPS, Google Maps and Google Street View – a winning combination!
- App Store…100,000 Apps and counting.
But wait 7 months and you might get an iPhone 4G!?:
- More memory, 32GB might go to 64GB? With all those Apps/ SatNav/ Videos/ Music/ Movies, you will soon run out of memory with the 32GB iPhone 3GS
- Quicker network – will we see WiMAX or LTE 4th Generation Radio Technologies? Theoretical speeds of 172Mb/s download, 86Mb/s upload, (we’ll never see those speeds though!). Also there are hardly any 4G networks around.
- Faster processor using less energy. With Intel developing smaller nano metre processors that consume fractions of the power, Apple might look to change their iPhone’s CPU with Intel’s variety – following the Mac’s lead. More power – less energy.
- OLED Screen – Vivid colours, lower electical consumption
Exciting possibility!
Apple is unlikely to add all of those on the wish list, but the technology is there, so it isn’t impossible to do. It will come down to price, space and battery performance at the end of the day, and hopefully Apple will work its magic to make it all happen.
There is no questions that the Apple iPhone is THE phone to have in its extensive functionality, looks, and overall appeal. However Apple need to remain at the cutting edge of mobile phone design, not simply add more memory, and odd features here and there as they did with the iPhone 3GS from the iPhone 3G; they will soon loose out to the likes of Google Andriod devices on this front if they do this.
Tagged with: Apple • iphone • iphone 3gs • iphone 4g
Sep 29
With yesterday’s announcement from Orange UK, Vodafone UK have now reached an agreement with Apple to sell the most popular Smartphone.
The agreement allows Vodafone to sell the iPhone from early 2010, later than Orange who are anticipated to ship devices before Christmas.
The opening up of the exclusivity will undoubtedly spur price wars between the different carriers, and also demonstrate who’s network more importantly can cope with the huge spike in mobile data usage.
From the face of it, Orange’s network looks to have the most extensive 3G network out of the three network operators; and when it has completed its merger with T-Mobile, they will arguably have the best network coverage for any phone let alone the iPhone.
Watch this space.
Tagged with: exclusivity • iphone • o2 • orange • vodafone • vodaphone
Aug 17
TomTom today have finally released the much anticipated iPhone Navigator version of its market-leading GPS software. News first broke in New Zealand as TomTom started the process, or should I say Apple started the process of adding the different versions to the App Store.
Current Options and Pricing as of 17/08/09
As reported by Engadget, Recombu posted the following intriguing first review of the software. Click below to view more…
Continue reading »
Tagged with: Apple • handsfree • iphone • tomtom
Aug 11
Engadget have reported that the latest update from SlingMedia for the SlingPlayer for iPhone and iPod Touch (1.1) may finally allow streaming over 3G. This is great news for SlingBox customers as this is primarily why people buy SlingBox’s – to watch the TV while they are away from home – mostly on the move.
“The company’s submitted a version for use outside of AT&T’s homeland that would finally allow for streaming over a 3G connection — again, not a certainty for approval, but we’ll be most interested to see if that one makes its way through the system.” Engadget reports.
Continue reading »
Tagged with: Apple • iphone • slingplayer iphone
Aug 01
Apple has eventually responded to Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner’s iPhone hack that was announced at the Las Vegas Black Hat Conference. They have released the 3.0.1 Software Update on Saturday.
The iPhone 3.0.1 Software Update is available in iTunes.
Apple iPhone’s were said to be able to be hijacked by modified SMS messages. The hack if thought to only affect 3.0 software iPhones.
A spokesperson for O2 UK said “We will be communicating to customers both through the website and proactively. We always recommend our customers update their iPhone with the latest software and this is no different.”
The team that came across the vulnerability published its results and how the hack was performed so that the issue could be addressed swiftly. Malicious hackers could potentially exploit the weakness in as little as two weeks.
Initially the team focused on the German network operators, and then later AT&T in the US. However the vulnerability is said to affect all networks.
Tagged with: 3.0.1 • iphone • software update
Jul 27
The BBC has reported that Spotify, the music streaming application, is to release an Apple iPhone application as soon as Apple clears the app for iTunes.
Spotify had been linked as direct competition against Apple’s iTunes Store, however this will see the application working alongside Apple’s technology.
Spotify for the iPhone will be a FREE app, however it will require a premium membership to use, currently £9.99/ month. This membership allows users to listen to music without being interrupted by adverts. Spotify for the iPhone will allow users to search for music, build playlists, and then let users stream these playlists. If approved, it will be likely that the application will be limited to WiFi connections only. Similar apps that make use of lots of data typically have been restricted to WiFi only, as opposed to the mobile networks’ 3G network.
Spotify for the iPhone hopefully will be available within a few weeks (assuming Apple approve it). Spotify currently has over 2 million users in the UK, and more than 6 million across Europe. Spotify hasn’t launched in the US yet, but is hoping to at the end of the year. A Google Android Version of the app is also in the pipeline.
BBC News Story
Tagged with: app store • Apple • iphone • spotify • spotify iphone
Jul 14
65,000 Apps, 100,000 Developers later.
It was only on April 24th 2009 that the downloads had reached 1 Billion, but it appears that now applications are being downloaded at an even faster rate!
In numbers the current download rate is:
- 6,172,840 app downloads a day
- 257,202 app downloads an hour
- 4,287 app donwloads a second
- 4 app downloads a millisecond
Continue reading »
Tagged with: app store • app store downloads • Apple • iphone
Jul 05
Since updating to the latest 3.0 software on my iPhone 3G, its battery life can taken a significant turn for the worse. Already bad before the update, (lasting 1 day or so using moderately), the new features found in 3.0 have caused my iPhone to virtually run out of juice in around half a day!
This occurance seems to be something found by other iPhone 3G users. iPhone 3GS users aren’t experiencing the issue as much, perhaps due to the hardware alterations and the fact that 3.0 was installed on their device from the start.
I like to have all the features that I use regularly, enabled and turned on all the time. It would be a complete pain constantly entering the iPhone’s settings to disable and enable things as and when I need them. Therefore my configuration before the 3.0 update was as follows:
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Tagged with: 3.0 software • Apple • iphone • iphone 3.0 • notifications
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