Video Calls On iPhones Now Available With Fring’s iPhone App

Regarding All Those iPhone on T-Mobile US Stories

Regarding all those iPhone on T-Mobile US stories clogging the interwebs lately: that’s all they are — stories. No leaked carrier roadmaps, no Cupertino commuters logging into popular Twitter apps via a T-Mobile IP. No Steven P. Jobs standing on a stage, announcing the CEO of T-Mobile, and a new, magenta (TM) iPhone.

It’s just an analyst who thinks AT&T will someday lose exclusivity and Verizon is all Droid‘ed up now, and T-Mobile is GSM like the iPhone (though not on the same 3G frequencies — d’oh!), so why not?

We know some of you already use an unlocked iPhone on T-Mobile’s 2.5G/EDGE network. We know a lot of you would like an alternative to AT&T. And we feel for you. We really, truly do.

But there’s no more to the story than that for now. In fact, there’s less.

[Still, many thanks to everyone who sent every version our way!]

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

Regarding All Those iPhone on T-Mobile US Stories

Square to Enable iPhone to Handle Real-World Credit Card Purchases

Square is a new startup that aims to let the iPhone and iPod touch (and eventually other mobile devices) to handle real-world credit card transactions via a small swipe-able accessory plug-in. Founded by the man created by Twitter, Jack Dorsey, TechCrunch scored the video demo above:

It’s a bit hard to see the iPhone’s screen due to the daylight, but you can easily see just how fast Square works for transactions. Simply put, it’s amazing.

Also note how I can sign with my finger on the iPod touch’s screen. And I can request to get a receipt via email, which I enter the first time, but the app will remember every time you come back and use the same credit card.

TechCrunch later posted a copy of what the receipt looks like. Apple Retail, as they point out, has been doing mobile transactions for a while, and are in the midst of switching from their old Windows CE boxes to iPod touch-based EasyPay solutions, but this solution is slick and looks to be well funded.

So, what do you think, is this the future of physical transactions, and do you want it now?

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

Square to Enable iPhone to Handle Real-World Credit Card Purchases

In Stock: Griffin PowerDock 2 Charging Cradle

In Stock: Griffin PowerDock 2 Charging Cradle

Griffin PowerDock 2 Charging Cradle [$39.95 - TiPb store link] Does your family own a family of iPod or iPhone models? Can you only find one charger when all of you need to recharge? Call a cease-fire with PowerDock, a charging base where every iPod and iPhone in the house can get together to charge its batteries.

Just slip your iPod or iPhone into place to safely charge. Models available with two or four Apple Universal Docks built into a single charging base. Substantial brushed aluminum with a grippy rubber base stays put on countertops and desktops. Includes a collection of Universal Dock insert adapters to ensure that every iPod and iPhone in the house gets a place at the table.

Features:

• Charging base plugs into standard 120VAC wall outlet
• Sturdy bushed metal base stays put on your desk
• Charges any combination of iPod/iPhone models
• 8 Universal Dock inserts included to fit most iPod models that charge by Dock Connector
• Certified by Apple as a “Works with iPhone” Product
• Certified by Apple as a “Works with iPod” Product

Technical Specifications:

• Power input: 1110-240V AC @ 50-60 Hz
• Power output: 5V DV @ 1.2 Amps
• AC Power Supply: 6′ (1.8m)
• 8 Universal Dock inserts included to fit most iPod models that charge by Dock Connector

Learn more about Griffin PowerDock 2 Charging Cradle at the TiPb store…

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

In Stock: Griffin PowerDock 2 Charging Cradle

iPhone app manages Netflix queue

TouchMatter has released ezMoviePick, an iPhone companion app for Netflix. Like the popular restaurant app, UrbanSpoon, ezMoviePick lets you shake your mobile device to receive a recommendation.

AT&T ranked last in cellphone service survey

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone

There's bad news for AT&T in a recent customer satisfaction poll. Consumer Reports asked 50,000 readers across 26 U.S. cities to rank cell service providers on a variety of scales. Verizon came out ahead in 19 of the 26 cities. AT&T was dead last.

Dropped calls and voice service were among the chief complaints, and that's no surprise to us. We've heard the frustration of fewer bars in more places and experienced it ourselves.

But here's the interesting part. Despite the dissatisfaction with AT&T, 98% of respondents said they'd buy another iPhone. It would seem that the overall experience is good enough to eclipse the gaping hole in what should be the device's main function: making and receiving calls.

Last summer, I spent a week in the middle-of-nowhere, Pennsylvania. Everyone's Verizon-powered phone worked perfectly while my iPhone had gone deaf and dumb. Frustrating for me, and bad PR for my relatives. If the iPhone does go non-exclusive in the US, I'll be the first in line to switch.

When reached for comment, AT&T had this to say:

"We appreciate and value all customer feedback. We learn from it and it helps us serve our customers better. Without question the surest indication of customer satisfaction is churn, or turnover. For the last quarter, our postpaid churn was just 1.17 percent."

AT&T ranked last in cellphone service survey originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T ranked last in cellphone service survey originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey says AT&T customer satisfaction lowest in industry

A Consumer Reports survey of cell-phone customers puts AT&T at the bottom of the pack.

fring for iPhone updated with free one-way video calling

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

fring, the free iPhone app that allows users to connect to multiple IM accounts at once, including Skype, has been updated today [iTunes Link]. fring now incorporates free video calls for fring-to-fring or fring-to-Skype chats.

Before you get too excited, you should know that on the iPhone and iPod touch, video chatting is a one-way affair. Because the iPhone's camera is located on the back of the device, fring chose to enable only incoming video for the iPhone (and the iPod touch, of course, has no camera at all). So, people can send you video, but you can't send video to them. fring's application for certain Nokia devices does have two-way video calling, but iPhone and iPod touch users will have to wait for some future (and for now purely hypothetical) device with a front-facing camera before two-way video calling will be feasible.

I tested the new video chatting feature using my home Wi-Fi (I haven't yet had the opportunity to test whether this new feature works over 3G). Video performance was fairly smooth unless I made really quick motions, and lag was minimal. Audio quality was fair, but the audio did have a tendency to drop out occasionally. Overall, video chatting seems nicely implemented, though it's nowhere near as smooth as in the simulated images in fring's promo video. Given that video chatting is a one-way street for now, I'm not certain how often people will utilize this new feature.

fring's promo video for the new video chatting feature is below. Note that the images in this video are simulated -- I couldn't find a way to make video chats fullscreen as in this video, and performance on my network was far choppier than that in the video.





[Via TechCrunch]

fring for iPhone updated with free one-way video calling originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

fring for iPhone updated with free one-way video calling originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Set to Pass 100K Available iPhone Apps Milestone

Apple has approved over 100,000 applications in its App Store, according to the latest figures from App Shopper, an industry tracking firm. That number of approved apps dwarfs the number of apps offered by mobile app store competitors Android Marketplace, Windows Mobile Marketplace, BlackBerry App World, and Nokia's ...

iPhone as an eBook Reader Threatens Kindle, Says Report

Apple's iPhone is quickly becoming the ebook reader of choice for many, and could steal market share from Amazon's Kindle, according to a report from market research firm Flurry. The iPhone and iPod Touch turned into a popular handheld gaming platform over the last year, as most of the apps released ...

Square iPhone payment system gets itself a website, showcased in public

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and the quiet startup formerly known as Squirrel are finally opening up a bit. The company now called Square, as we noted back in October, has launched a website for its iPhone payment dongle, although it's still in somewhat private beta testing. TechCrunch managed to catch up with Dorsey, who gave a brief overview of the product and then showed it off by charging $4 for a cup of coffee -- so it goes in San Francisco. See Square in action after the break.

Continue reading Square iPhone payment system gets itself a website, showcased in public

Filed under: Cellphones

Square iPhone payment system gets itself a website, showcased in public originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T Exclusivity To End With Apple T-Mobile Partnership?

Psystar Agrees to Pay Nearly $2.7 Million in Settlement With Apple

Earlier today, we reported on a preliminary settlement between Apple and Psystar regarding the former's lawsuit over copyright infringement by Psystar in selling PC hardware preinstalled with Mac OS X Leopard. Engadget now reports on a new court fil...

AdMob Report Reveals 50% of Wireless Data Consumption from iPhones Alone

AT&T Ranks Dead Last in Customer Satisfaction in Consumer Reports Survey

It is safe to say that it will be a while before AT&T wins any awards for their customer satisfaction. AT&T has come in last place in a Consumer Reports mobile survey of customer service of all four major U.S. cell carriers.

This particular survey involved 50,000 readers in 26 U.S. cities. Questions that were included asked about the four carriers in different categories related to service and customer support. AT&T ranked dead last in 19 of the 26 cities surveyed and overall ranked last in every single city. Sadly the pain does not end there as voice service also ranked last while messaging and data were only average. On the customer service side of things, both the phone and internet service along with overall staff knowledge ranked poorly. Ouch…

And if you are curious as to where the other carriers ranked, Verizon came in 1st while T-Mobile and Sprint respectively took 2nd and 3rd place.

[Via AppleInsider]

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

AT&T Ranks Dead Last in Customer Satisfaction in Consumer Reports Survey

Review: LittleSnapper for iPhone

If you're tied to the Ember image hosting service and like to use it as your primary outlet for sharing images, LittleSnapper for the iPhone will be a handy extension of that service.

The iPhone on T-Mobile: Why not?

When AT&T's exclusive hold on the iPhone ends, maybe it will be T-Mobile and not Verizon that Apple turns to as a second U.S. carrier.

First Intel Arrandale (MacBook Pro) Processors Due January 3rd?

Fudzilla claims that Intel is planning on launching three Arrandale-based processors on January 3rd, 2010. These Arrandale processors are based on the advanced Nehalem architecture first introduced into desktop Macs earlier this year, and should rep...

Google Looking to Turn YouTube Into iTunes TV Competitor?

According to MediaMemo, Google might be looking to ink an agreement with networks to let YouTube stream TV shows — for $1.99, just like iTunes (and Amazon).

Of course, when you pay iTunes $1.99 you get a local copy of the TV show on your PC — to keep — and the ability to view it from iTunes or Apple TV or iPhone or iPod and back. Now all those devices can hook into YouTube (it’s built into Apple TV and iPhone/iPod touch) but do consumers really want to pay the same for a stream as a download, especially if there’s no guarantee (yet?) that you can “pay once, stream forever on all devices”?

Executives at YouTube and TV insist that the disparity is simply a perception problem and cite studies showing that most people who download TV episodes only watch them once, anyway. But that’s a tough sell.

Um, yeah, no. I’ve watched some episodes of some shows a dozen or more times. Still, Google’s a huge player, YouTube has a dominant streaming video footprint, and it will be interesting to see what, if any, deal emerges, and how this mythical service would compete with the mythical iTunes TV subscriptions we’ve also heard rumored.

What say you?

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

Google Looking to Turn YouTube Into iTunes TV Competitor?

Documents to Go update enhances app’s PDF viewer

Version 2.1 of the iPhone version of the mobile productivity suite adds support for a "Go to" page feature and opening password-protected PDFs, among other enhancements to the PDF viewer.