China Unicom’s iPhone gets regulatory approval

Still having doubts that an iPhone will ever come to China via legitimate means? Have a gander at this. According to the listing above, which was discovered on China's State Radio Regulatory Commission (SRRC; basically the Chinese version of the FCC) website, we're looking at a GSM / WCDMA cellphone complete with Bluetooth, an internal model number A1324, a little-known manufacturer called "Apple Inc." and an approval date of May 7th, 2009. We're also told that the certificate expires in five years, which should give China Unicom plenty of time to capitalize on its reported three-year deal to offer the phone in mainland China. So, all we need now is what's we've needed for years: a handwritten note from El Jobs himself saying that this whole thing is more than some sick charade.

[Thanks, Joe]

Filed under: Cellphones

China Unicom's iPhone gets regulatory approval originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WriteRoom notetaking app adds Web syncing

The version 2.0 update to Hog Bay Software's $5 note-taking app, WriteRoom, adds web-based syncing via Google App Engine.

iPhone developer slams Apple over App Store yank

The CEO of a company whose Google Voice-related application was recently yankedfrom the iPhone's App Store blasted Apple, Computerworld reports.

Updating doesn’t help your iPhone app, but price drops do

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Here are two different insights from Pocket Gamer about how developers can grow the profile of their iPhone apps. The first comes to us from the wisdom of Peggle, that game that I just can't stop playing. Apparently, they've coined the term "Peggling," which means lowering the price of your app, and seeing a huge benefit from it. Whenever a game drops its price down to 99 cents, much as Peggle did soon after release, it sees a significant bump in the charts. I'm sure there are many other factors at play here -- Peggle was a great game, so you can't sell more of a crappy game just by selling it for cheaper, and I saw a lot of Twitter and blog attention when the price dropped, so it pays to have people watching the price in the first place. But under the right circumstances, dropping the price can do a lot for a game that's already selling pretty well.

But an update, apparently, won't. That's what the makers of Zen Bound told Pocket Gamer -- they say that when they released an update with new levels and new features, it didn't make a difference in their sale numbers at all. Games like Pocket God have made a reputation for themselves by providing regular and solid updates, and certainly it seems like those updates have at least spurred sales, if not made them blow up, but the Zen Bound guys say that singular updates on major products probably won't kick sales into gear.

Interesting. We're at least a few generations into App Store sales at this point, and we're started to see trends and consumer behavior in better relief; developers are getting better and better ideas every day about how to price and service their apps and customers.

Updating doesn't help your iPhone app, but price drops do originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Updating doesn't help your iPhone app, but price drops do originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Black Hat: SMS Attacks Not Just for iPhones

Technologizer is reporting on the developing story on SMS attacks coming out of today’s Black Hat Conference sessions. Seems like while the iPhone is grabbing a lot of attention, almost all GSM phones are said to be vulnerable. Basically, they get around the anti-spoofing security and send data designed to get access and take control of the phone.

On the iPhone specific side, however:

In a final coup for the conference, Lackey and Miras demonstrated an iPhone app they call TAFT which can, at the click of a few buttons, transmit various types of attacks against specific, vulnerable phone models, including iPhones, and phones running the Windows Mobile 5 and pre-”cupcake” Android operating systems.

Vendors, including Apple are working on patching the exploit, though there is still no word which specific models or firmware versions are vulnerable.

More as the story continues to develop.

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

Black Hat: SMS Attacks Not Just for iPhones

The iConcertCal app gets you to the show

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

iConcertCal is a new app for the iPhone that lets you track where and when all your favorite musicians are performing. Using some of the new features in the APIs of iPhone OS 3.0, it reads all the artists in the iTunes library of your iPhone, uses the built in GPS to find your location and then displays results dependent upon how far you are willing to travel.

A while back we reviewed the non-iPhone version of iConcertCal which, acting as an iTunes visualizer, created an iCal calendar of the artists in your library while creating a separate calendar appearing when the visualizer is launched. This new app takes that technology and brings it to a new level.

After setting a location either through "use my location", or choosing from a number of pre-set cities, and setting how many miles should be searched, finding a concert is a snap and can be done a number of ways.

Choosing "My Shows" displays a day-by-day list of all matches found in your iTunes library. Choosing "All Shows" brings up a list of all concerts in your specified area, and tapping on "Venue" lists all music venues in your area along with how many shows are scheduled. Tapping on a venue, affords you a list of all of those concerts.

When you find something you like, you have the option of buying tickets, which takes you to the authorized ticket seller site, emailing the information, bringing up a map to get you to the hall or getting transferred to the iTunes store to buy some of the artist's music.

This alone is cool enough, but the best trick isn't immediately apparent. What happens if you have many songs on your computer that aren't on your iPhone? Or what happens if your largest iTunes library lives on another computer? They've got you covered.

By going to their site on the computer containing your largest library, and setting up an account, all artists on that computer will be indexed. Next go to the app and use the same settings. Automatically all the artists on the computer will be transferred to the iPhone app whether or not the artists are on the iPhone, and that information will be used by the iConcertCal app.

With over 60 gigs of music on my MacBook Pro and deciding to have my iPhone 3GS sync to my MacBook holding around 10 gigs of music, I authenticated my MacBook Pro and now the iConcertCal app shows me all the artists my the 60 gig library. Sweet!

Take a look at the gallery of screenshots and see if you can figure out which band I'm seeing four times this week from seat DD 6.

The iConcertCal app gets you to the show originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The iConcertCal app gets you to the show originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: ESPN ScoreCenter for iPhone

ESPN's app for keeping up on the latest scores from the world of sports makes a solid debut on the App Store. But Sportacular and an updated SportsTap remain your best choices for finding out the score.

Security Vulnerability in iPhone’s SMS Messaging System to be revealed Today

Leaked iPhone Bezel Actually for Creative Zii Egg?

Back in May, an image of an "Apple iPhone 3Gen 2009" bezel appeared on Chinese parts supplier websites. This led many to believe that the new iPhone would adopt a slightly different design with a higher earpiece. As it turns out, it appears...

Email driving: Risky thrill sport, or just plain stupidity?

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone

We all know that texting and driving is dangerous, but what about going beyond just sending short text messages, and actually composing and sending emails while driving? I'm voting for "stupid" as the proper adjective to use.

iPhone Savior had a report this morning about Lane Roster, a Huntington Beach, California repo man who has taken driving and emailing to an extreme. Mr. Roster decided that he absolutely had to send emails while driving, so he mounted his iPhone on the dash of his car and loaded the Email 'n Walk app [app store], a program that uses a camera view of what's directly ahead of you as the backdrop to a standard email screen.

Email 'n Walk, as the name implies, is designed to be used while walking. Roster, in a phone interview with iPhone Savior, stated that "If I can't email and drive or send an occasional text I would get absolutely nothing done." He also admitted to getting into two minor accidents while emailing and driving:

"I had only two minor love taps where I rear ended some folks," Roster said, "There was no major damage to speak of. I just settled it right there with good ol' American greenbacks and we were on our way. I won't lie, I do swerve a tad some days when I'm tired, but email driving is a real rush man!"

I'm going to end this post with two quick reminders: don't text (or email) and drive, and try to stay out of Huntington Beach, California if you value your life and your car.

Email driving: Risky thrill sport, or just plain stupidity? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Email driving: Risky thrill sport, or just plain stupidity? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take Back the Beep campaign aims to slim down voicemail messages

New York Times technology writer David Pogue has launched an effort to have cell phone operators remove the lengthy recorded messages played before you can leave voicemail for their subscribers.

Apple Not Exhibiting at CES 2010

MacUser received word from the Consumer Electronics Association's Jason Oxman that Apple is not exhibiting at CES 2010, confirming a report by Engadget debunking the original Wall Street Journal report.

"Apple is a member of the trad...

Top 10 iPhone annoyances — and how to fix them

Even the iPhone isn't perfect. PC World counts down the top 10 iPhone annoyances and what you can do about them.

Logitec introduces cross-eyed XY stereo microphones for your Walkman or iPod recording pleasures

The XY technique of placing two mics together, pointing in contrasting directions, gives excellent field separation while eliminating phase problems -- and it also looks pretty cool. Exactly which of those benefits Logitec had in mind when developing the LIC-WMREC03P (for Sony's Walkman) and LIC-iREC03P (for the iPod/iPhone) microphone attachments is unknown to us, but it certainly looks a fair bit more impressive than last year's LIC-iREC01. The devices have a frequency response of 20Hz to 16kHz, sport a pair of simple toggles for adjusting sound levels, offer 3.5mm and USB inputs, and come with a pair of wind socks if things get breezy -- or if they just don't look pudgy enough for you. Both are expected to hit Japan in January, each at an expected price of ¥7,980 (or about $84).

[Via Akihabara News]

Read - LIC-WMREC03P for Sony Walkman
Read - LIC-iREC03P for Apple iPod/iPhone

Filed under: Portable Audio

Logitec introduces cross-eyed XY stereo microphones for your Walkman or iPod recording pleasures originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Security researchers to unveil iPhone SMS vulnerability later today

Filed under: Security, iPhone

Two security researchers, Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner, have discovered a serious security vulnerability affecting SMS messaging on the iPhone that will be unveiled later today at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. This flaw affects all iPhones and can allow an attacker to gain complete control of an iPhone, including the ability to make calls, browse the web and access the camera. This exploit is caused by corruption in the iPhone's memory handling and is executed by sending a burst of text messages by using a uncommon text character or by sending a hidden message.

So far, Apple has been rumored to have a fix in the works, but there's been no confirmation yet when it will be available. The researchers also say that there's nothing you can do to protect your iPhone from this vulnerability, other than to turn off the phone. More details on this issue will be discussed later today at Black Hat, hopefully outlining a path to fix this issue.

Meanwhile, the two developers have already demonstrated this flaw in action to CNET's Elinor Mills, proving its existence and extent of the threat.

We'll be providing more coverage on this issue once it's unveiled, so stay tuned to TUAW.

Security researchers to unveil iPhone SMS vulnerability later today originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Security researchers to unveil iPhone SMS vulnerability later today originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google voice developer goes “hacked” only

As Apple suggests dire consequences could come from users hacking the iPhone, one well-publicized former App Store program has made the jump to hacked hardware only. Developer Sean Kovacs was surprised on Monday to discover that his GV Mobile client for Google Voice was to be pulled from the App Store — even though it had [...]

SMS hack could potentially compromise the security of all iPhones

A single character sent by text message could allegedly compromise every iPhone released to date. This accordingy to security experts. Talking at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, experts Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner say they’ve discovered a bug in the iPhone’s approach to SMS that exposes it completely to remote control through a [...]

Apple launches MobileMe ‘iDisk’ app for iPhone/Touch

Apple’s free MobileMe iDisk application is now available on the App Store, allowing users to remotely access files saved online via the MobileMe service. “You can already access your iDisk online at me.com,” Apple’s Web site reads. “And now you can access it right from your iPhone. Free for MobileMe members, the iDisk app for iPhone [...]

Yeah, there’s an app for that. But for how long, and at what cost?

Filed under: iPod Family, Apple, iPhone, App Store

With the recent kerfuffle surrounding the removal and rejection of Google Voice apps from the App Store, many developers are beginning to question the trust they have placed in Apple to provide them with a reliable system for developing and distributing applications.

Generally, the major hurdle associated with iPhone development is getting approved by Apple. It's no secret that this process is often quite frustrating, and sometimes downright arduous. Developers often wait several weeks without any response before they are suddenly rejected, and then they must make the requested changes (if possible), resubmit their application, and again wait for a response.

But once they have put your app through the paces, and presumably have double and triple checked to ensure that you have complied with the terms, you're safe, right? Your hard work has paid off, Apple has accepted your app, and now you can move on.

Wrong.

As the developers of GV Mobile and VoiceCentral recently discovered, Apple can take an app that was previously given the all-clear, decide that it now duplicates native functionality of the iPhone, and yank it from the App Store in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, there are some serious flaws in this process. First, the functionality provided by both of these apps isn't actually provided by the iPhone, so there's really nothing to duplicate, unless Apple is going to start expecting developers to predict future features and avoid duplicating those too. Then you have the fact that the feature sets provided by the apps and the iPhone itself have not changed since Apple approved them in the first place, so if they truly are duplicating native functionality, they should have been rejected from the start, not months after they were approved.

Now one might also argue that some features offered by Google Voice do overlap with the iPhone, such as the SMS and voicemail functions. But even if you concede that point to Apple, couldn't they just ask the developers to remove those features and resubmit? What about the other apps -- like Skype, TextFree, or iCall -- that offer similar feature sets, are they going to disappear too? And if AT&T is really responsible for this, as has been suggested previously, why was the app pulled from the App Stores of other countries? Why not just honestly tell the developer that the app is being pulled at the request of the carrier?

Continue reading Yeah, there's an app for that. But for how long, and at what cost?

Yeah, there's an app for that. But for how long, and at what cost? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yeah, there's an app for that. But for how long, and at what cost? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: B&N Bookstore for iPhone

This app from the book retailing has a lot going for it. But how does it measure up to Amazon's mobile offering?