Mostly Rumor: Navigon to make app kit for iPhone very soon

Navigon was one of the first turn-by-turn navigation apps available for the iPhone earlier this summer. TomTom, a major competitor in the navigation space, announced its own app and companion car kit at WWDC in early June, though the app only recently made its debut in the App Store in mid-August, and it was just [...]

China clears iPhone for network, puts picture online

China has cleared a version of the iPhone to use Chinese mobile networks and posted pictures of the handset online as China Unicom prepares to launch the phone.

Palm Tries to Preempt Apple Again — Announces Pixi Ahead of iPod Music Event

Yes, Palm just announced the Pixi, rocking EVDO Rev A on Sprint. We knew Palm would be announcing what’s basically the Centro to the Pre’s Treo — a lower end device based on their new webOS platform. We just didn’t think they’d be gutsy — or crazy, depending on your read — to go head-to head with another Apple event.

Our sibling site, PreCentral.net, has all the details, videos, and first opinions you can shake an incredibly thin budget smartphone at, so head on over and check it out. We’re not sure about the lack of center button, tiny keyboard, why it didn’t go GSM on AT&T, or why they yanked the Wi-Fi out of the platform (Verizon snuck into the design committee?!) The latter may be especially irksome since EVDO Rev A doesn’t allow simultaneous voice and data, and unlike the Pre, the Pixi won’t have Wi-Fi to fall back on in a pinch.

Still, there’s lots to like here, including the mind-bogglingly slim form factor, artistic back panels (iPhone users need to shell out for a Gelaskin to match that splash), and especially the amazing pace Palm is setting by releasing a second form-factor of a brand new OS so rapidly. Available before the holidays at a rumored $99 price point, it could bring some hurt to the BlackBerry Pearls and low-end WinMo’s of the world. How it fares against a $99 iPhone 3G, however, remains to be seen.

As does the Pixi’s position in the news cycle once Apple starts “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it” and makes with the iPod and iTunes announcements while they’re at it…

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

Palm Tries to Preempt Apple Again — Announces Pixi Ahead of iPod Music Event

TiPb Preview: “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it” Apple Special Music Event

It’s only rock and roll, but we like it — Apple’s 2009 iPod- and iTunes-focused special music event — has a tag line and a date, this Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 10am PT, 1pm ET. TiPb will be live meta-blogging the event, and following it up with a special edition of iPhone Live! at 5pm PT, 8pm ET.

Last year’s event, “Let’s rock“, started with Steve Jobs saying the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated, and went on to announce 7,000 apps and 1 million downloads in the App Store (yeah, that’s changed by a factor of 10 or more!), 65,000,000 iTunes customers, iTunes 8 with Genius, new visualizations, HD TV Shows (and the return of NBC), and Album view, iPhone OS 2.1, the second generation “funner” iPod touch, Spore and other game demos from Phil Schiller, as well as new nanochromatic iPod nanos and down-tweaked classics, and headphones, and in-ear headphones, with remote and mic.

What, oh what, could this year possibly hold?

iPhone

iPhone news will likely come as an adjunct to the iPod touch. Apple may also mention AT&T getting MMS on Sept. 25th, but we wouldn’t blame them for scowling as they do so…

• iPhone 3.1 previewed as part of iPod touch announcement (to ship later). See our walkthrough for more.
• New video out cables supporting 720p (and 1080p?). Sure it’s unlikely, but it is possible and would be competitive with the Zune HD
• Ringtones pre-fab style. Apparently they make money for Big Music and are too complicated for users to self-create using the process introduced at 2007’s music event.
• Scott Forestall will announce MMS for AT&T on Sept. 25, and give them yet another stank-face for the delays and ongoing lack of tethering.

iPod touch

This will be the big news. The iPod touch platform is the future of the iPod platform, and it’s closing the gap on the iPhone fast…

• Camera, even if delayed. 3mp with video, just like the iPhone 3GS. Get ready Flickr and YouTube, you ain’t seen nothing from Apple’s mobile platform yet.
• Mic. Hello ultimate VoIP handset.
• Voice Control. With a mic, both that and VoiceOver should cross over easily.
• All the above will, of course, require iPhone 3GS style internals. ARM Cortex A8 processor, PowerVR SGX graphics core, and 256MB of RAM.
• Since the iPod touch has historically sported 2 NAND Flash memory slots to the iPhone’s 1, double the storage is also likely. Yes, 64GB of goodness is definitely in the cards.
• Priced at $199/$299/$399 for 16GB/32GB/64GB
• Could Apple possibly pull an iPhone 3G and keep the iPod touch second gen at 8GB around at $99? We doubt it.
• We also doubt an OLED screen, though the Zune HD will have one. If iPod touch does get it, will iPhone 3GS owners shed some not-as-bright-and-sharp-tears?
• No iPod touch nano — yet.

Other iPods

Microsoft is abandoning their non-touch iPod rivals, but Apple owns that market and they’ll keep it going as long as it makes business sense.

• iPod nano with camera (and mic?). It would need to sync content off, but so do most point and shoots.
• iPod nano 32GB doubtful for an on-the-go device, so we could see price drops instead to clearly distinguish them from the iPod touch.
• iPod classic hangs on one more year — until the iPod touch hits 128GB. Throw it a camera bone, maybe?
• Both iPod nano and classic could get the VoiceOver (though not Voice Control) upgrade.
• iPod shuffle was revised already this year, so at most a price drop back to $50.

Apple TV

Stays a hobby. Sniffle.

• Nothing. No TV recording or 1080p. (Imagine the bandwidth).
• Okay, maybe — just maybe — HD TV rentals. (But what would they charge, $0.50?!)

iTunes 9

• iPhone app management. 11 screens. 180 app slots. We don’t need this, we need a mobile solution like categories or stacks or something, but this will do for now.
• Kevin Rose asked for Social, Jens Alfke said Apple didn’t get it. iTunes 9 will split the difference and stay with the steady, if uninspired type of integration already seen with Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook in iPhoto. Share your media tastes via Facebook and Twitter. (If there is something better, including a “social app”, we’ll swoon appropriately).
• Ringtones, already mentioned.
• “Cocktail” album packages. We’re ambivalent about this, really. If Apple can wow us with amazingly integrated music, art, lyrics, and more, then we’ll be pleased. If this is just some Big Music scheme to bring back DRM, we’ll scream bloggy murder. Whatever the package, keep the music easily accessible in DRM free format, you hear us?
• No Blu-Ray. That would require new Macs with Blu-Ray drives, and this isn’t a Mac event. We’ll revisit this in October.
• TV rentals, per above, would be nice if unlikely still (we blame Hollywood).
• Subscription music hasn’t caught on, but that might just be because iTunes hasn’t done it yet. Outside chance. Even outsid’er chance for TV/Movie subscriptions (and yes, we blame Hollywood for that as well).
• Oh, and it will once again kill Palm Pre sync dead. (And we’re not alone in thinking that)

Beatles on iTunes

• Not going to happen — yet. Too much money to be made on CDs and Rock Band first. (Blame Big Music).

Steve Jobs

• If he shows, it’s to show he’s doing well but is he needed? Likely not here, not now, despite the whispers that would no doubt flood his absence.
• “One more thing” Boom! Steve! would be swell, but we’re betting he saves himself for the iTablet, which won’t be tomorrow.

What Say You?

Well, that’s what we think we’ll see tomorrow. But what do you think? Did we miss something, everything? Let us know in the comments.

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

TiPb Preview: “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it” Apple Special Music Event

Apple Seeds Mac OS X 10.6.1 Build 10B504 to Developers

MacRumors has received word that Apple has seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.1, Build 10B504, to developers this evening. The new build, which has appeared approximately one week after the initial seed of OS X 10.6.1, carries only a single incre...

Apple Could Unveil New iPod Touch, Nano and Shuffle at Tomorrow’s Special Event

From the Forums: Glass Up or Down, MMS, AT&T, iPhone Help

Welcome to From the Forums. If you are curious as to what all of the hot topics are on the TiPb forums, this is the place to be. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

Our first thread of the day includes a poll and comes to us from cobra302 – Glass up or down? Are you one of the brave few who actually set their iPhone face down?

Like c0mpguru mentions in the following thread, MMS is finally coming to your iPhone on September 25th. Most of you should be excited judging from the anger and outrage from this long delay but we want to know have your feelings changed what so ever toward AT&T?

So you are having an issue with your iPhone and need some help? Perhaps you have some time to kill and feel like helping others with their iPhone issues? If you answered yes to either of these questions then please stop by and visit our dedicated iPhone Help forum.

See you on the forums!

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

From the Forums: Glass Up or Down, MMS, AT&T, iPhone Help

New AT&T Specific Features Could be Released in Future iPhone OS Updates?

Apple Removes C64 - Commodore 64 Emulator for iPhone

Apple to kill Palm Pre iTunes media sync again?

CIO's Al Sacco wonders if Wednesday's Apple event means an iTunes update that could once again leave Palm Pre users without the ability to sync music files via the Apple software.

C64 emulator un-approved again

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store

The first thing I thought when I saw that the C64 emulator we posted about the other day still had the BASIC interpreter hidden in it was, "Well that won't last." And unfortunately for fans of software emulation on the iPhone, I was right: the software got pulled from the App Store but quick. You can't really blame Apple here -- they've made it pretty clear that they don't actually want people running unlicensed, emulated code on the iPhone, so it's not hard to see why, when it was discovered you could still activate the interpreter, they cleared it out of the store.

The good news is that the emulator has been updated to delete the interpreter completely, and the owners of the software have resubmitted it yet again to the App Store. But as much as I enjoy seeing emulators on the iPhone (I've made it very clear I'd love to see an official NES arcade app), I can't say I'd blame Apple for just passing on this one outright. They've had to go through this app at least twice now, and especially since app approval is already taking so long, that's pretty much a waste of time. Mistakes like leaving the BASIC in the app are making it much easier at this point for Apple to just say "no emulators, period," and move on. Hopefully this app will get re-approved, and that'll be the end of it.

C64 emulator un-approved again originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

C64 emulator un-approved again originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Review: The Typography Manual for iPhone

From visual examples to the dynamic calculators, The Typography Manual gives all the information you need to understand the terminology of fonts and type, going above and beyond just the basics.

Eleven iPhone games I won’t delete

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

This won't be a detailed review of eleven games. This is a quick list of games that I've found impossible to remove from my iPhone -- some for fun, some for kid entertainment and some just because they are cool to show off. Several are free, some I caught on sale, but ones like Fieldrunners and Sway I'd buy at any price.

Cro-Mag Rally [iTunes link] -- I used to play this on the older PPC-based iMacs and it was also an early entrant to the store. Cro-Mag is cute but it also plays exceedingly well. If you want something like Mario Kart on your iPhone, this is about as close as I've found. For a quick racing game that nearly anyone can enjoy, Cro-Mag is a true iPhone "classic."

MotionX Dice [iTunes link] -- You never know when you're doing to need some dice. Plus, MotionX gives this app away, and it's a beautiful example of what can be done on the iPhone. When someone wants to "see something" on my iPhone, often I'll show them how the shadows cast by the dice change as I move the iPhone. Then we'll play some dice games.

Flick Bowling [iTunes link] -- There are faster, cheaper versions of bowling on the iPhone. I find Flick provides just enough eye candy and immersion to suit my taste. Plus, it loads pretty fast and you can get to bowling without a lot of setup. It's a casual game that looks bigger than it is.

Dizzy Bee [iTunes link] -- One of the big, early hits for the iPhone, in no small part because the super cute free version moved a lot of units. Dizzy Bee is the app everyone seemed to give to the kids to play with, but the challenges get pretty tough. Like any great game: simple to learn, hard to master. Plus, there's now a sequel.

Keep reading for some games that are a little more under the radar and some genuine iPhone essentials...

Continue reading Eleven iPhone games I won't delete

Eleven iPhone games I won't delete originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Eleven iPhone games I won't delete originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Munster predicts: Apple to sell 7 million iPhones in September quarter

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Other Events, Apple Financial, Steve Jobs, iPhone

Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster, who is not pictured at right, is continuing his love affair with all things AAPL. In the last few weeks he's told us that the iPhone will be picked up by another U.S. carrier in 2010, that Steve Jobs will be on hand at the September 9th Apple music event, and that there would be an AppleTV announcement at the event (this was quashed by Jim Dalrymple at The Loop).

Now the Munster-man is back with even more good news. He believes now that manufacturing capacity for the iPhone 3GS has ramped up and supply is adequate, Apple is on track to sell 7 million iPhones during the quarter ending September 30th.

According to Munster, tight supplies of the 3GS at launch led AT&T store managers to recommend the less pricey 3G to customers. Now that supplies are adequate, store managers are recommending the 3GS, which remains the best selling device at AT&T outlets. Piper Jaffray's figures indicate that during August, the iPhone took share from BlackBerry, the Nokia E71x, and other competitors.

Munster's last prediction isn't so rosy, but is based on historical precedent -- he expects Apple's stock price to dip after tomorrow's event by about 1 percent.

[via AppleInsider]

Munster predicts: Apple to sell 7 million iPhones in September quarter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Munster predicts: Apple to sell 7 million iPhones in September quarter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Quick App: Flickr for iPhone

Yahoo! has (finally!) released an official Flickr app (free – iTunes link) for the iPhone and iPod touch, and… Dunno. I’m not a big Flicker user. So, I haven’t really formed much of an opinion about the official Flickr app. Leanna, who does use Flickr, liked the homepage (it has a nice Ken Burns-style pan and zoom animation) but felt the rest was underdeveloped and was surprise to see it didn’t add “taken with iPhone” (or other, proper, device attribution).

Note: the app, of course, is rated 17+ because, also of course, someone might accitentionally type “nudie pics” in the search bar. (Likely violence abounds as well, as do lego vikings!).

If anyone else has had a chance to test drive it and has an opinion to share, let us know in the comments. Despite — in spite? — of Yahoo’s travails of late, Flickr is still a monster of a site and it’s nice to see it show up and represent on the iPhone — given the iPhone is its most popular camera and all…

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

Quick App: Flickr for iPhone

Dev Team Warns Jailbreakers & Unlockers to Avoid Upgrading to Upcoming iPhone OS 3.1

Found Footage: Use your iPhone in your Halloween costume

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, iPhone

Are you still struggling to find that perfect Halloween costume this year? Here at TUAW headquarters we've seen people dress as iPhones, more iPhones, even more iPhones, iPods, and of course more iPods. If you're looking to use Apple gear for your costume in a way that's a little more unique, check out this robot head made using MouthOff, aluminum foil, tons of tape, and of course an iPhone. While the execution leaves a little to be desired, the idea is a solid one that can be adapted to many types of costumes. If only the iPhone app supplied a hole to eat and drink through, this costume idea would be flawless.

[via Engadget]

Found Footage: Use your iPhone in your Halloween costume originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found Footage: Use your iPhone in your Halloween costume originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

T-Mobile and Orange to merge

Orange and T-Mobile have announced plans to merge in a deal that would create the UK's largest mobile operator.

Apple CFO Speaks: iPhone 3GS Still Selling Out, No Apple DVR

Apple Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Peter Oppenheimer, spoke with analyst Robert Cihara of Caris & Company recently, and according to AppleInsider, revealed the following:

• Apple is still struggling to meet to demand for the iPhone 3GS, and with China coming on board soon, that may be a longer term problem (it was still sold out when I checked a couple of local (Canadian) places last week).

• There’s no plans for an Apple TV that would record cable or satellite as it doesn’t fit Apple’s current business plans (though one may wonder if there is, still and in fact, a plan for the “hobby” Apple TV device?)

Caris further predicted 27 million iPhones would be sold in 2009. Exciting number, that, and the graph above shows how important it’s becoming to Apple’s bottom line.

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

Apple CFO Speaks: iPhone 3GS Still Selling Out, No Apple DVR

Yahoo! A first look at the official Flickr iPhone app

Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, First Look, App Review

At long last, the official Flickr iPhone app is in the App Store. This free app allows Flickr users to upload their iPhone photographs to their Flickr accounts as well as view photostreams that have been created by themselves and others. The app has the following features:

• Shoot, upload and share photos and videos
• Geo-tag photos or add to a set
• View photos by set and tag
• View photos from friends and family
• Search and view photos by contact
• Make comments on photos
• Search by subject, people or places

I'm not a big Flickr user, but decided to give the app a quick look today. There were several things that I wasn't thrilled with. For example, geotagging in the Flickr app has to be done at the time that the photo is taken. If you try to add a geotag to a picture that's already in your photo library, the Flickr app adds your current location -- not the location where the photo was actually taken.

Flickr does the same thing for the photo date -- if you wait a few days to upload a photo, it marks it with the upload date, not the date that the photo was actually taken. In addition, the Recent button is supposed to show recent activity and uploads, but even after 30 minutes it still didn't show that I had uploaded several photos.

I'd also like to see the app offer the ability to look for photos taken near your current location. While this is a long-awaited addition to the App Store, the app doesn't appear to be very well thought out or executed. At least it's a first release, so we can expect upgrades in functionality down the road.

Yahoo! A first look at the official Flickr iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo! A first look at the official Flickr iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments