UPDATED! Pre-Verts? Pre-Jects? Or Just Pre-Mature? TiPb and CrackBerry.com Want to Know!

I wasn’t at CES with CrackBerry Kevin and Smartphone Expert Dieter. I was at Macworld getting, you know, iPhone news. But even TiPb couldn’t ignore the Pre and it’s former-iPod/iPhone team designed goodness. So tempting is the Pre, in face, that we suspect iPhone and BlackBerry loyalists alike might stray from the fold to at least try it out come launch day (whenever that is). So, the question becomes, what to call them roving polygadetists? What matches up with CrackBerry or the Jesus Phone?

CrackBerry Kevin has been using Pre-Jects for a while now. TiPb has thrown around Pre-Verts. We’ve even carried the argument over to the Twitter (@reneritchie and @crackberrykevin — just don’t tell @backlon!)

Are we being Pre-Mature about the whole thing? Or Pre-sumptuous in not letting you, or much smarter and better looking commenters choose the name? We’ve even set up a handy, dandy poll in the forums.

UPDATE: Ah hellz ya! Dieter has got him a rebuttal going on over at PreCentral.net! Let’s get it on!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

UPDATED! Pre-Verts? Pre-Jects? Or Just Pre-Mature? TiPb and CrackBerry.com Want to Know!

U2 Ditches Apple for Dell… er… Palm… er… RIM?

We can just feel CrackBerry.com’s Kevin preening over news: Biggest. Jump. Since. Mayer.

Yep, U2 has left the warm embrace of Apple (though Product Red iPods no doubt remain) for the harsh corporate sponsorship of RIM. Of course, they flirted briefly with Dell first, and Bono’s Elevation Partners are huge backers of Palm — though according to PreCentral.net they likely needed to spend their cash on far more serious things, like bringing the Pre to market… Still:

“This tour announcement marks the first stage of a relationship and shared vision between RIM and U2 that we expect will lead to new and innovative ways to enhance the mobile music experience on the BlackBerry platform for U2 fans. We look forward to sharing more details as the relationship unfolds.”

Kevin already called it “sloppy thirds” on our behalf (thanks!) and while Apple is continuing to discover fresh new talent with every iTunes/iPod ad, RIM keeps just going where Apple’s long gone from. Wait, do we sense a trend here?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

U2 Ditches Apple for Dell… er… Palm… er… RIM?

Review: A Personal Assistant Premium for iPhone

A Personal Assistant Premium attempts to simplify the task of monitoring your digital life by collecting and displaying account information from a variety of services. It’s a helpful app, though not nearly as powerful as it could be, because of some significant design quirks.

March 24 Apple Event to Focus on… Pro Apps?!

With the new hardware dropped last week, and an Apple Special Event still in the rumor-mill or March 24, we’ve naturally been hoping for a sneak peek at iPhone 3.0, just like we got for iPhone 1.0 and 2.0 for the past 2 years. But now Sevenmac.de (via MacRumors) is raining on our parade with a report of what the even might actually focus on:

software. More precisely, Apple’s video Pro Apps should receive updates or see new versions.

Pro apps are way past due for an update, no argument there. What with Apple pulling out of NAB even before they pulled out of Macworld, a Special Event makes the kind of sense that does. Still, we want us our iPhone news! stamps foot and throws tantrum

Doubtful anything Final Cut Studio Pro or any of the other Pro Apps have on tap will be directly iPhone related. Unless anyone has any ideas to the contrary?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

March 24 Apple Event to Focus on… Pro Apps?!

AT&T Cracking Down on iPhone 3G Unlockers?

The Consumerist posted a interesting little story that caught our attention. It goes something like this: A customer replaced his 8 GB iPhone 3G with a 16 GB model within the first month of his service. After receiving his new iPhone 3G, it was later stolen. Now he is not being allowed to purchase a new iPhone 3G from AT&T and Apple. Keep in mind he intends to pay the full, unsubsidized price of the phone but it seems AT&T may think he’s unlocking these phones. Here is the consumers letter:

I origninally bought an 8gb and returned it for a 16gb within the first 30 days of service. Now I lost my 16gb and they won’t sell me another for 18 months! After using my lunch break I went back to work and decided I would try again at another ATT store. The next store said they had to deal with the same problem and asked me if I was attached to my phone number. They offered to cancel my line and start another, or add a line so that I could purchase an iPhone. I told them this was not an option because I had to pay an ETF through Verizon to keep this number and I would not part with it. I also did not need another line and would not pay more for monthly service, especially if I was about to pay $500 for a replacement iPhone. I then asked to speak to the manager who said that he would emails his ops team, whatever that means.

Have any of you ran into this problem? Personally we have yet to hear this happening to anyone else. Could there be more to this story…?

[Via The Consumerist]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

AT&T Cracking Down on iPhone 3G Unlockers?

iPhone app phones home to foil pirates

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, Jailbreak/pwnage

Like many iPhone developers, Ben Chatelain is frustrated to see cracked versions of his project, Full Screen Web Browser, showing up online. Following the usability suggestions of John Gruber, Ben has chosen to do something about it. The latest version of his app has detection capabilities for pirated instances, and reports the UUID of the device back to his server. After 10 days of running a cracked version, users are presented with a "trial over" dialog box and given the option to buy up to the legitimate version.

As antipiracy measures go, this is about as benign as you can get, and it's in good alignment with the stated 'we crack so we can try before buying' philosophy that the crack community espouses; the alternative approach from RipDev may block piracy altogether, but it also involves more work and more cost. There might be some legitimate purchasers who balk at any phone-home capabilitity that includes personally identifiable data, but Ben claims his implementation only pings back from cracked versions.

With the pingback code running, his preliminary stats show that about 10% of the users of his latest version are running unlicensed copies -- that's very low compared to some popular games, where whisper numbers estimate that more than half of all users never paid for the app. It's important to remember that pirated copies ≠ 'lost sales,' at least not at a 1:1 ratio, as most users of cracked copies would never have bought the app at retail. Ben's approach at least gives those users the opportunity to choose a legit copy over a cracked one.

[hat tip to Razorianfly]

iPhone app phones home to foil pirates originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone app phones home to foil pirates originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone Developer Introduces Anti-Piracy Feature; Turns Cracked Apps into Demos

March 24th Event to Focus on Software?

Sevenmac.de reports [Google translation] that they have received an anonymous tip that the rumored March 24th Apple special event will focus on software.

Sevenmac has now received from an anonymous information source a report that the...

Yelp Review

For fans of location-based (GPS) restaurant and business finder applications, Yelp is one of the more polished apps available in the Apple iTunes AppStore. This program works best with the iPhone 3G although I'm pretty sure it works with first generation iPhones and iTouches. If I'm incorrect, please let me know. ...

iPhone tops mobile web searches

iPhone rules! Thanks to its user-friendly browsing interface, iPhone has been the preferred mobile device for web searching activities, according to a report. The Apple iPhone was the source of more mobile Web searches in February than all other mobile and wireless devices combined, according to a report from Net Applications. While ...

Watchmen: Justice Is Coming is coming to iPhone

Warner Bros has announced its online multiplayer game Watchmen: Justice is Coming for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Yeah, iPhone users can play the Watchmen MMO iPhone game alongside the movie’s debut on March 6. Kotaku wrote: Described as a "multiplayer online adventure fighting game," Watchmen: Justice Is Coming brings post-Keene Act, ...

Amber Alert App Languishes in Approval Limbo — Dev Writes Open Letter to Steve Jobs

Longtime reader and tipster The Reptile wrote in to tell us about Fortune’s coverage of the iPhone Amber Alert app and its problem getting into the App Store:

Now Jonathan Zdziarski, one of the original iPhone hackers and the author of several O’Reilly books, has hit on something that might work. It’s an open letter to Steve Jobs pleading with Apple’s CEO to speed up approval of the Amber Alert iPhone app that’s been sitting in the queue since February 14. The application uses GPS location information to funnel sightings of missing children to the nearest law enforcement agency as quickly as possible.

Has Apple dropped the ball? There doesn’t seem to be a duplicates functionality, or official Amber Alert app that could explain the problems this time (see PodCaster and StarPlayr), does there? Is Apple that understaffed and ill-prepared in the face of 25,000 apps, or are the $99 novelty apps and iPod touch-highlighted games making so much money, no one really cares about the rest?

Full text of the letter after the break…

To: Steve Jobs’ Executive Team
From: Jonathan Zdziarski
Subject: AMBER Alert Application

Steve,

The need to send this email represents everything that is wrong with your App Store review process. I’ve been working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to build an App Store application that revolutionizes how missing children are reported to law enforcement. By using the iPhone’s GPS and some geo-analytics, we’re able to build automated search radii and quickly relay sightings to law enforcement agencies. With an audience of millions of iPhone users, the missing kids that are out there stand to gain a LOT more exposure.

Yet nearly a month has passed since my February 14th submission, and the application continues to sit “In Review”. NCMEC has adapted their infrastructure to handle these submissions and has a call center trained to respond to them, as well as their CIO, regional directors, and many others ready to devote time to making this application successful - yet this entire team continues to wait on Apple to approve this application.

I won’t get into the politics of the App Store review process, or my beliefs about how this has hurt your relationship with independent developers. Instead, I’m simply asking that you pick up the phone and help push this application through. If you had to sit and look at these kids, as I have in the time I did developing and testing this application, you’d realize just how urgent it is to have an application like this be able to get information out (and sightings back in). As a developer and a human being, I’m anxious to see this application released. If I were the parent of one of these missing children, I would be unable to withstand the unreasonable delays Apple has taken in approving this application. The reprobate and fearful world these children are surviving in may very well be prolonged because of Apple’s lack of interest in independent developers like me.

Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss this. Otherwise, I hope you’ll do the right thing and light a fire under someone’s seat in the App Store. If there is any application that should be getting reviewed today, this is it.

Jonathan Zdziarski

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Amber Alert App Languishes in Approval Limbo — Dev Writes Open Letter to Steve Jobs

Cydia Store now open for jailbreak app sales

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, Jailbreak/pwnage

As previously reported, users of jailbroken phones and the developers who cater to them now have an avenue for commerce in apps: the Cydia Store. Smoking Apples visits the store and has a solid rundown, noting that Amazon Payments is the only funding source for the moment (PayPal is on the way, says Cydia lead Saurik/Jay Freeman).

The limited number of apps on the store versus the overwhelming bounty of the official App Store may help users find the apps they truly want, says SA. Freeman has a list of apps queued up for release over the next few weeks before he begins accepting unsolicited submissions.

If the functionality you want and need is uncertain or unlikely to show up in the App Store (*ahem* -- tethering, anyone?), would you jailbreak your phone and buy from the Cydia Store?

Cydia Store now open for jailbreak app sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cydia Store now open for jailbreak app sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snow Leopard to Add 4-Finger Multi-Touch Gestures to Original MacBook Air

When Apple introduced the new MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros in October, they also introduced a new four-finger multi-touch trackpad gesture that allowed users to easily switch between applications (swipe left/right) or invoke Exposé (swipe...

MacBook Touch/iTablet/iPhone HD Panels on Order?

MacRumors is reporting on a Digitimes story that says Taiwan-based supplier:

Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new products, but it said it does not know what applications the new products are for.

Apple has denied interest in producing both a tablet and a netbook in the past, which is what they do both when they really have no interest, and also when they’re about the release something. What with all the new hardware Apple dropped last week, TiPb has speculated that the March 24th date for a rumored Apple Event could be used to debut the iPhone OS 3.0 beta, a higher resolution iPhone HD… or an iTablet form factor.

If Apple does release a new device, would it really be a netbook scale version of Mac OS X or a large-size iPod touch running the iPhone version of OS X? Either way, developers would need time to ramp up (or down) their apps. Either way, could this be more fuel for that fire, or simply more grist for the rumor-mill?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

MacBook Touch/iTablet/iPhone HD Panels on Order?

Touch Panels for Apple Netbook Ordered?

Digitimes relays a Commercial Times report that Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for "Apple's new netbook" due in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new product...

Attack of the Super iClone: Nokia and Verizon Team Up for 4G iPhone “Killa”

Our newest sibling site, NokiaExperts.com has linked up an article suggesting Nokia and Verizon’s previous iClonic efforts were just generations one, and now they’re preparing to transform and merge into… A Nokizon (Verkia?) uber-iPhone killer?

It seems that Verizon may have deep hard feelings against the Apple and iPhone exclusivity deal and appears to be making a deal with Nokia to create a 4G LTE (long term evolution) touchscreen device for the US market.

The backstory here is that Apple reportedly went to Verizon first with the iPhone and was rejected, so despite the recent rumors (and Verizon’s rather sad little surveys), there’s no reason to think Apple will be helping them out any time soon, hence… Vernokiazon?

No word on specs or release dates or whether it will have phaser functionality and arrive on unicorns or anything yet, but in all seriousness, Nokia puts out amazing specs (see the n97) and Verizon has a great network, so is it possible that whatever they put out could join the Android G1, BlackBerry Storm, WinPho 6.5/7, and the Palm Pre in the long list of “iPhone Killers”.

[NokiaExperts.com via TheStreet, thanks to The Reptile for the tip!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Attack of the Super iClone: Nokia and Verizon Team Up for 4G iPhone “Killa”

Washington: You, Storm, are no iPhone!

We’re not sure if picking on the BlackBerry Storm is even sporting anymore, and you know, we probably wouldn’t even bother if RIM hadn’t styled it the “Apple Killer” even while bleating that they “couldn’t type on glass”. Well, according to BlackBerryCool.com, it turns out some other people couldn’t type on the Storm’s specific type of glass either: the US Government:

“The BlackBerry, to me, is a utilitarian tool,” said Rodell Mollineau, communications staff director for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “It’s not easy to send e-mails on that thing. It is not a good touch screen, and it’s not like the iPhone, where there are so many other great features to it.”

Dear US Government, next time just read TiPb — we could have saved you lots of frustration (and who knows, maybe even restored your childlike sense of wonder!)

Oh, and get more iPhones!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Washington: You, Storm, are no iPhone!

The iPhone Blog Week in Review for March 09, 2009

Every week I will be bringing you what I think are the week’s biggest stories and articles. Let’s get started, after the break!

iPhone Mobile browser Share Now 67%!

Having recently used Windows Mobile Internet Explorer, it’s easy to see how the iPhone can walk right in a steal marketshare with it’s Safari Browser…

Watchmen MMO coming to iPhone

This looks promising; an exclusive MMO for iPhone in the Watchmen universe. Looks OK, watch the video and tell us what you think!

Dual-Mode Access for new Airport Extreme!

Now you can access both B and N bands without slowing down your network while using your iPhone!

Tap Tap Revenge 2 is now avaialbe for Free in the App Store!

I liked the first one and liked Tap Tap Dance even more. It is nice to the original updated with the newer graphics.

What is going on March 24?

iPhone 3.0? iTablet? What? no one seems to know, but the Internets are swirling with rumors that something is going to happen…

Amazon Kindle for iPhone

I have to admit this app works great! I am not much of a reader (I prefer Audible) but for what it is, the tool is awesome and I am quite pleased!

Verizon questionnaire asking about iPhone’s?

It looks that way. Could AT&T be sucking customers off America’s largest 3G network for iPhone lust… hmm… could be…

Review: Belkin TuneCast for iPhone

If you are looking for an FM Transmitter for your car, this one might just do the trick!

TiPb Live!

It is back and Kindle-fied!

McNamee says that iPhone 2G users will jump ship for Pre…

Yes, Roger thinks that the Pre is Soooooo good that when the first gen iPhone users contract expires in June, they will flock to the Pre. Hmm, not sure about that, but we can dream, no, Roger?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

The iPhone Blog Week in Review for March 09, 2009

Review: iReddit for iPhone

iReddit’s interface, speed, and overall experience is excellent. But this 1.0 version is crash-prone.