Apple prototyping “iPhone lite” and MacBook Mini / media pad for Verizon?

Hot on the heels of yesterday's reports of Apple and Verizon dealings comes some tantalizing, but still unconfirmed, new details from BusinessWeek. According to the publication, the gang in Cupertino has prototyped two devices for the carrier. The first one is a smaller, less expensive device that's been dubbed as "iPhone lite" by someone who's apparently seen it in person. The other is called a "media pad" (Joggler, anyone?) for music, photos, HD video, and placing calls over WiFi. Details are scant beyond that, and while that pad sounds a lot like an iPod touch to us, we can't help but wonder if it has something to do with those 10-inch displays that Quanta's rumored to be manufacturing. Don't put too much stock into this, as the reports could end up being all for naught, but one thing's for sure: you can bet the suits at AT&T are keeping a very, very close eye on this. In other, even sketchier and likely unrelated rumors, a listing for "MacBookMini" has popped up in Adium's statistics. While we wouldn't normally think anything of this -- as TUAW correctly notes, anyone can edit their computer IDs -- it was from these pages that we first heard the name MacBook Air. Chances are this is nothing, but with all this talk of 10-inch screens and media pads, it kind of makes you wonder.

[Via TUAW]

Read - BusinessWeek
Read - Adium stats

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Apple prototyping "iPhone lite" and MacBook Mini / media pad for Verizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thanks to iPod and iPhone sales, Apple surprises Wall Street

It's just a quick update on Apple's financial achievement:  the computer giant surprises Wall Street.  Apple posts results above analysts' expectations. iPod touch and iPhone sales contributed to this result significantly. For the period ended March 28, Apple reported net income of $1.2 billion, or $1.33 per share, compared to earnings ...

Rumor: Verizon Getting Apple iPhone “Lite” and “Media Pad”?!

Drop one tiny Verizon rumor pebble into the pond, and watch the iRipples spread like crazy. Cases in point:

Business Week (via MacRumors) is reporting that Apple will introduce two (2) new devices on Verizon this year:

1. iPhone “Lite”, which would be thinner and cheaper than the iPhone proper due to the system on a chip technology Apple has been amassing lately (i.e. PA Semi, Arm and PowerVR licenses, etc).
2. “Media Pad”, which would be smaller than an Amazon Kindle but with a larger screen and described as yet another breakthrough device on the scale of iPod or iPhone, with photos, HD movies, music, and Wi-Fi for — presumably browsing and — VoIP calls.

To further the rumor, one of these new toys may come as early as this summer. (WWDC time frame?)

We’re still not sure about any of this. iPhone did begin life as a larger, iTablet-like Safari Pad, and recently developer Craig Hokenberry made an interesting argument for a “Front Row To Go” pad that sounds similar.

Meanwhile, sucking the oxygen out of the lower-cost market is something Apple did with the iPod nano, however Apple has repeatedly said there’d be no iPhone nano (for whatever that’s worth…) but more importantly, unlike the GSM iPhone, a CDMA iPhone Lite or “Media Pad” wouldn’t enjoy the international portability of the iPhone (sure, “world phones” typically do some EDGE, but we’d want ultra-fast HSPA+, right?).

Just 2 years post launch, the GSM iPhone is in over 80 countries. The CDMA Amazon Kindle? Still just 1. Apples to oranges, we know, but it’s something to consider for “Media Pad” class devices.

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

Rumor: Verizon Getting Apple iPhone “Lite” and “Media Pad”?!

Two New Devices from Apple: Category Defining ‘Media Pad’ and ‘iPhone Lite’?

Apple and Verizon partnership rumors seem to have taken on a life of their own with multiple reports that the companies are planning to work together as early as 2010. Businessweek provides the most intriguing report yet with claims that Apple could...

Review: Typing Genius for iPhone

Typing Genius is probably best known for unlocking emoji emoticons, but the app is actually a pretty good way to practice typing with the touchscreen keyboard of your iPhone or iPod touch.

iPhone Dev 101: The “Hello World!” app

Filed under: Features, How-tos, Developer, iPhone, iPod touch

In the last iPhone Dev 101 post, I told you a little about creating your first project using Xcode; however, in this post, I want to show you how to create your first application that will run in the iPhone simulator. In honor of staying with the classic way of teaching programming, we'll create a "Hello World!" application as our first one.

Creating the new project
If you have installed the iPhone SDK/Xcode, then you can launch Xcode by navigating to /Developer/Applications. Once there, you can double click on the Xcode application (you may also find it handy to just drag the icon to the dock if you will be using it a lot).

Once Xcode launches, click File > New Project. Under the iPhone OS section on the left side of the resulting window, select "Application." Select "View-based Application" from the templates that show up on the right side, and then click the "Choose" button. You will then be prompted to specify a project save name -- this will also be the name of your resulting application, so choose your project name wisely.

You're project has now been created, and the Xcode window that is displayed will contain all of your code, resources, etc. There isn't much there now, but the application is fully functional at this point. You can click the "Build & Go" button in the toolbar, and the application will be compiled and launched in the iPhone Simulator. Again, this is a fully functional application, but it doesn't do anything useful at this point -- the usefulness of the app is up to your coding, but Apple supplies you with the base code and dependencies.

Continue reading iPhone Dev 101: The "Hello World!" app

iPhone Dev 101: The "Hello World!" app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone Dev 101: The "Hello World!" app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Personnel Moves: Former AMD Chip Executive Hired, Papermaster Finally Begins Work

The Inquirer reports that former ATI chip designer and executive Bob Drebin is apparently now a Senior Director at Apple. Drebin was formerly the Chief Technology Officer for the Graphics Products Group at AMD, assuming the position as part of AMD's...

Review: Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles for iPhone

Gameloft's conversion of the Nintendo DS game has remarkable polish but frustrates with an insufficient save game system and controls that are frustratingly difficult to use.

Pack like a pro with your iPhone

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

I'm never very organized when I travel. I usually pay the price too, with panicked runs to the store when I reach my destination. Toothpaste, ties, batteries, you name it, I've had to buy it on the road. I've never been one for making huge lists, but Packer Pro [App Store link] may just change that.

This $3.99US app runs on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. It forces you to organize BEFORE you leave, and will certainly cut down on trip related disasters brought about by little or poor planning. The app starts you out with either a way to create your own lists, or better still, gives you some templates to add to or delete from. They are incredibly detailed, (i.e. sewing kit, set email auto-responder) and there are templates for out of country travel, or just quick trips. If you are not traveling alone, you can specify how many are going, their gender and whether they are adults or children. You can specify expected weather, to help you select clothing and accessories. The templates really reduce the typing, and the information is very, very detailed.

I'd like to see some additions to this app. The free Travelocity TravelTools [App Store link] app includes flight schedules, wait times and airport delays, gate information etc. It would be great to see that all integrated into this app. And Tripit, [App Store link] which my colleague Steven Sande reviewed earlier this month is a very innovative travel organizer, but it doesn't really do the packing part. An app with all these features combined would be the ultimate travel app, but it might be pretty large. Blue sky request. Get destination weather and flight schedules, and adjust my packed items depending on weather forecasts. I know that these changes would take this app out of the 'packing' realm, but it would be a really cool app I'd want.

If your packing is not so ambitious, take a look at Packing [App Store link], a cut down version of the app for $0.99US which has less depth but still lots options that will satisfy many travelers.

Packer Pro fills a unique niche and it's another one of those apps that continues to make the iPhone so different from the rest. If you travel, and always wind up on a mad dash to the pharmacy, or convenience store, this app is for you.

Here are some screen shots:

Pack like a pro with your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pack like a pro with your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Buys iPhone E-Book Reader Stanza

Amazon liked the iPhone E-Book Reader Stanza so much, they didn’t just buy the app, they bought the whole company! That’s what the New York Times makes it sound like, quoting Amazon spokesperson, Cinthia Portugal:

“It’s very early days for e-books, and we believe there is a lot of innovation ahead of us. [...] Lexcycle is a smart, innovative company. and we look forward to working with them to innovate on behalf of readers.”

Translation: Amazon, not content with Kindle, wants to own the E-Book space. All books space, actually. All space in general, pretty much.

Lexcycle, for their part, claim not to be making any changes to the Stanza iPhone users all know and love.

But how do we feel about putting all our E-Books in one megacorp’s basket?

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

Amazon Buys iPhone E-Book Reader Stanza

Amazon acquires Lexcycle

Stanza eBook-maker Lexcycle has been acquired by Amazon.com. Lexcycle told its customers that the product will not change significantly.

More rumors on the Verizon-iPhone front

Filed under: Rumors, iPhone

If USA Today says it, it must be truthy -- hence the enthusiasm for today's report that sources close to the discussions are confirming an ongoing confab between Apple and Verizon on the topic of bringing everyone's favorite smartphone to America's most popular cell carrier. The future prospect of a Verizon iPhone, originally rumored and countermanded for this year, has perked up the ears of AT&T naysayers around the USA.

Although the paper cites Verizon's CDMA network as the target for the iPhone deployment option, most other observers (including Verizon executives) have noted the upcoming LTE/4G network, built atop the GSM standard that the iPhone already knows and loves, as the likely deployment environment. Robert swooned over the possibility of an LTE-enabled iPhone back in February; of course, way back in 2007, Verizon's attitude towards Apple's phone was far less conciliatory.

Even though AT&T is eager to hold onto its exclusive deal for iPhone in the US as long as it can -- and there's plenty of financial motivation already -- there's enough meat to this report to make me believe that Verizon-Apple negotiations are more than a stick to push the incumbent carrier toward a better deal. Getting earlier access to LTE (AT&T's buildout is at least a year behind VZW's) and more domestic options for the phone would be a win for Apple, as would a more generous revenue sharing plan with AT&T.

What's not clear to me is the percentage of would-be iPhone buyers who have so far avoided the phone because of carrier exclusivity and the two-year contract requirement. If having Verizon as a choice would flip you from the 'no' to the 'heck yeah' column, pipe up.

Update: Just discussed the Verizon rumors with Randall on TechVi.

More rumors on the Verizon-iPhone front originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

More rumors on the Verizon-iPhone front originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Adds ATI/AMD Graphics Guru to iPhone Chipset Team

The Inquirer (via iLounge) is reporting that AMD (formerly ATI) Graphics Products Group CTO Bob Drebin has updated his LinkedIn page to show he’s found a new home — at Apple.

This is another in an increasingly long line of chip-related acquisitions, licensing deals, and staffing additions Apple has made in the chipset arena in the last year, including buying PA Semi, licensing ARM and PowerVR, and hiring Mark Papermaster.

Even though leaked specs for the next gen iPhone suggest previous iPhone chip-maker Infineon is still on board for now, it’s fairly clear Apple is looking to make changes further out on the product road map.

Our editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn, is wondering what they think they know about chips that nobody else does, driving them to move this in house?

We’re guessing it combines Apple’s desire for control and hardware customization/differentiation. Why do you think, and more importantly, what do you think Apple is going to do with all this firepower under the iPhone (and iPod touch) hood?

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

Apple Adds ATI/AMD Graphics Guru to iPhone Chipset Team

World of Warcraft (WOW) Coming to iPhone?

Apple Corrects 10-Q SEC Filing, Announces Shareholder Approval of ‘Say on Pay’ Proposal

Apple today announced that it has filed an amended Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, correcting errors in the reported vote totals for shareholder-submitted proposals at its most recent annual shareholder meeting.<p class="q...

Apple Announces 24/7 Live Chat Support for MobileMe

Apple, via their MobileMe News blog, has just announced Live Chat Support 24/7:

We’re pleased to announce that English language Live Chat support is now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you encounter an issue while using MobileMe and would like to address it immediately, simply go to MobileMe support. Click on the topics at the bottom left of the page to see if your question has already been answered. If it’s not, click the Chat Now button to initiate a realtime help session with a MobileMe support agent.

If you have cause to try it out, let us know how it works for you.

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

Apple Announces 24/7 Live Chat Support for MobileMe

Review: Kern for iPhone

Kern is a text-based puzzle game that uses letters and ligatures instead of falling blocks.

iPhone 3.0: Paste Long Passwords into Wi-Fi Settings?

Back before the iPhone, I was using one of GRC.com’s long, pseudo-random passwords for my WPA-protected Wi-Fi network. Typing it into iPhone 1.x, even iPhone 2.x was a non-starter, however, so I shrank it down considerably.

Similar security-conscious folks have lamented not only the lack of copy and paste on the iPhone, but especially the lack of “paste-into-password field” to support just those kinds of super-secure strings.

Well, it looks like we might be getting them — along with the previously discussed copy and paste features, in iPhone 3.0.

Whether this makes it or not into the final release version is something only time will tell (because Apple, of course, isn’t saying).

But we want it.

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

iPhone 3.0: Paste Long Passwords into Wi-Fi Settings?

Verizon and the iPhone: wishful thinking?

Another round of reports suggests that Verizon is angling to get into the iPhone game, but it seems unlikely to happen in the short term.

Free iPhone toolbar icons for developers

Are you preparing an iPhone app as a developer but have no ideas to create toolbar icons? I found this interesting stuff for iPhone developers: iPhone toolbar icons and I think you will love it. The site explains how these work: iPhone toolbar icons are 24-bit PNGs with an alpha channel and ...