Surprise: Texting while driving is dangerous

A new study concludes what many of us already knew: driving while texting on a phone isn't safe. But PC World's Todd R. Weiss thinks such studies are useless without action.

Matalot task management app released for iPhone

Matalot is a new task management app for the iPhone that features a unique rotary priority interface.

Apple Rejects All Google Voice Apps

Apple has systematically removed and/or rejected all Google Voice apps for the iPhone (and iPod touch) from the iTunes App Store, whether by Google themselves or by third party developers.

Rejection is something we’ve all become very familiar with since the inception Apple’s App Store. However, Apple picking off the two Google Voice applications that were already available in the App Store (GV Mobile and Voicecentral) along with flat out rejecting Google’s official application, is something else.

It all started with Sean Kovacs’ GV Mobile client, which originally became available last week (according to Kovacs after being approved by Apple VP Phil Schiller himself), being yanked from the App Store for allegedly duplicating the iPhone’s calling and text messaging features. When Apple contacted Kovacs, no specifics were given on what needs to be changed to get his app back into the store and Kovacs claims Apple refused to send an e-mail to confirm that GV Mobile was yanked. The following is from Kovacs blog:

Richard Chipman from Apple just called - he told me they’re removing GV Mobile from the App Store due to it duplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc). He didn’t actually specify which features, although I assume the whole app in general. He wouldn’t send a confirmation email either - too scared I would post it. I’ll see what I can do to get it back up there gang…

Voicecentral has since also disappeared from existence within the App Store. They have been less vocal as there is not a single mention of the disappearance on their website.

Is this Apple’s doing or more of a carrier-forced rejection? TiPb thinks the carriers are pulling Apple’s rejection strings on this one as Google Voice has the potential to hit the carriers where it hurts - free SMS messages, cheaper phone calls, etc…

What do you readers think about these rejections?

[Via AppleInsider]

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

Apple Rejects All Google Voice Apps

OS X 10.5.8 Development Wrapping Up?

MacRumors has received word that Apple seeded OS X Leopard 10.5.8 Build 9L30 to developers last night, including only a single documented change related to an issue with external monitors and waking from sleep mode. There are reportedly no listed ou...

Google Latitude comes to iPhone… as a web app

Google recently released Google Latitude for iPhone and iPod touch as a web application and currently supports iPhone/iPod Touch OS 3.0 or above. For the time being, it's only available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Our Latitude web app provides all the core functionality you might expect: ...

RSA launches security token app for iPhone

The iPhone has all sorts of uses for the business professional. You can keep in contact with corporate email accounts and you can access corporate networks if you need. RSA has a new iPhone app that adds another important feature to the iPhone mix. RSA has announced that it has a ...

Apple and China Unicom Finally Maybe Potentially Have an iPhone Deal. Possibly.

CNN Money’s Fortune blog is rounding up news about a potential Apple deal with China Unicom to finally bring the iPhone to China.

The story is this: Shanghai Security News reported a 3-year deal for China Unicom’s 600+ million subscriber base. China Unicom’s spokesperson told Reuters:

“Discussions are still ongoing, we have not reached any formal agreement,”

The great unknowns, however, remain whether China will allow Wi-Fi, the full App Store, and other features rumored to be on China’s “no go” list.

Apple, of course, still sells officially unlocked iPhones in Hong Kong and similar markets for those who can afford a premium for standard iPhone.

[Thanks to Andrew for the tip]

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

Apple and China Unicom Finally Maybe Potentially Have an iPhone Deal. Possibly.

Apple Rejects Official Google Voice iPhone Application

TechCrunch notes that Apple has rejected Google's official Google Voice iPhone application. Apple has also begun disabling and pulling all applications that take advantage of Google Voice functionality, claiming that they "duplicate features that co...

Apple iPhone Deal With China Unicom Imminent?

Fortune summarizes recent fast-moving developments in reports of Apple and China Unicom's negotiations to bring the iPhone to China. While an initial story out of China claimed that the two companies had reached a three-year deal, subsequent reports...

1GHz ARM Mobile CPU on the Horizon — but is it iPhone Bound?

Apple Insider reports that Samsung has a 45 nanometer, 1GHz ARM processor, code-named “Hummingbird” on the horizon.

It uses the same Cortex A8 architecture as the current iPhone 3GS (which runs at a clocked-down 600MHz) but due to the smaller size, is said to not consumer any more power or generate any more heat than the current 833MHz generation.

Apple has made huge investments and agreed to large scale licenses of the ARM chip, even as they’re moving ahead with their own, in-Apple chipset initiatives.

So, even if Samsung ships this baby in time there’s still no telling if Apple will use it for a forth generation iPhone, likely to cycle around June 2010.

Still… Zoom. Zoom.

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

1GHz ARM Mobile CPU on the Horizon — but is it iPhone Bound?

Reminder: Pink Screen of Death Signals End of iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 — Go Install Beta 3

If you’re a developer who just woke up to find the dreaded pink screen of death (PSoD) with that horrifying icon set telling you to plug into iTunes on an otherwise no-longer-functional iPhone, take a deep breath.

As we reported yesterday, for some reason Apple timed iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 to expire today, July 28 at 12am local time. However, they released iPhone 3.1 Beta 3 the day before. So, hit developer.apple.com, download, tether up, and install the fresh new firmware… for as long as that lasts.

Since Apple intends beta software to run only on development devices for testing purposes, not actual user iPhones for daily use, they probably don’t think anyone will be legitimately inconvenienced if caught traveling away from iTunes and Xcode. Even legit devs, however, may balk at having to purchase a second iPhone or iPod touch just for firmware testing, and could well get caught in the lurch.

Here’s hoping Apple doesn’t time things quite so tightly next beta.

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

Reminder: Pink Screen of Death Signals End of iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 — Go Install Beta 3

Castle of Magic for iPhone

Boasting amazing graphics and stunningly detailed 3-D worlds, Castle of Magic is certainly among the best-looking games in the App Store -- and arguably one of the most enjoyable to play.

China Unicom finally brings iPhone to world’s most populous country

Is it really happening? Is the world's most thickly settled nation finally getting the iPhone in earnest? If a bold (albeit woolly) report from China's own national news agency is to be believed, China Unicom has just locked down a deal that'll grant it exclusive rights to sell Apple's heralded smartphone in mainland China for three whole years. Unfortunately, most of the nitty-gritty details are absent, but we are led to believe that this will be the first-ever iPhone sold with any branding at all outside of logos splashed on at Cupertino. The "Wo" icon you see just below the speaker signifies that this here device is ready to rock on the carrier's 3G network, though we still can't say with any amount of certainty if said image is fully legitimate. We're also waiting to hear whether it'll be the iPhone 3G or 3GS (or both) that's sold, and we're particular curious as to whether or not these handsets will include WiFi modules.

In related news, it does sound as if China Unicom bent over backwards a bit to make this all come together, with the article stating that it signed on to move between one and two million units per year regardless of how many consumers actually show up to buy one. If you'll recall, an eerily similar agreement has Russian operators in a world of financial hurt, but we get the feeling the reception in China will be quite a bit warmer. At any rate, it's noted that Unicom will be snapping up the devices from Apple at a cost of around 3,000 Chinese yuan apiece ($439), with end users being asked to pay an undisclosed lesser amount on contract. If all goes well, the units could hit Chinese shops as early as September, though only time will tell how everything shakes out. Oh, and considering that Apple can hardly keep up with iPhone 3GS demand as it is, we suspect it'll want to wait a few months anyway before stressing its supply channels further.

Filed under: Cellphones

China Unicom finally brings iPhone to world's most populous country originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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