App Store Success Reportedly Overwhelms Even Apple’s Expectations

In the first of a three-part series on Apple's App Store, the Financial Times reports that the phenomenal success of the iPhone application marketplace has topped even the initial expectations of those within Apple.

Already, the app e...

iPhone Users On O2 Suffering Long Data Access Failure [Updated]

BlackBerry Bold 9700, Storm2 Hands-on Video, Smartphone Round Robin

Week 2 of the 2009 Smartphone Round Robin sees me take on TiPb’s Public Frenemy #1, the almost-diametrically opposed BlackBerry — or is it? This year in addition to the new flagship BlackBerry Bold 9700, we officially have an actual touch-screen ‘Berry in the ‘Robin — the Storm2. What’s an iPhone blogger to do?

Lucky for me, I have the world’s foremost BlackBerry lover in my corner, CrackBerry Kevin Michaluk himself, and as if that weren’t enough, I’ve enlisted the million-strong CrackBerry Nation to help me out as well!

Remember, every day you post on my CrackBerry Forums thread, you’re entered for a chance to win the BlackBerry of your choice. (And there’s a total of 6 smartphones up for grabs — one per SPE site — so check them all out!)

Now grab your hotdogs, popcorn, and spicy drink, because after the break CrackBerry Kevin gives me a guided tour of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Storm 2, and everything new in hardware and BlackBerry OS 5.0.

[YouTube Video link]

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

BlackBerry Bold 9700, Storm2 Hands-on Video, Smartphone Round Robin

Review: Mill Colour for iPhone

Spend some time learning running your photos through this free photo grading app, and you’ll be amazed with the results.

Last Minute Shopping at TiPb iPhone Accesory Store

Last Minute Shopping at TiPb iPhone Accesory Store

There’s still time to get your order in at TiPb’s iPhone Accessory Store and receive your iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, or iPhone 3GS gear before Christmas. Last minute shopping has never been easier if you’re hunting for an iPhone fan.

Today: order before 4pm Eastern and choose 2-Day or Next-Day Air.

Tomorrow: you can still choose Next-Day Air as long as you order before 4pm Eastern.

If you’re not sure what to get that special iSomeone, we have our complete TiPb store Holiday Gift Guide, and Top 5 Must-Have iPhone Accessories for New Users ready to help you out.

Shop now!

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

Last Minute Shopping at TiPb iPhone Accesory Store

European App Stores Get Apple’s iTunes 12 Days of [Free Stuff for] Christmas App

Apple has released a new iPhone app called iTunes 12 Days of Christmas [Free - iTunes link] that provides push notifications for a FREE iTunes gift every day from December 26 to January 7 — but the catch is (for right now at least) you have to have a UK, Portuguese, etc. App Store account.

That’s right, iTunes 12 Days of Christmas isn’t showing up in the US or Canadian App Store yet. Whether it’s a promotion specific to certain European countries, or whether Apple needs to figure out licensing for different regions before rolling it out, it’s Joy to the Euro, bah-humbug for North America for now.

If you see it in your local App Store, let us know and enjoy your freebies. (And be sure to tell us whether the freebies are naughty or nice).

[Thanks to Pedro for the tip!]

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

European App Stores Get Apple’s iTunes 12 Days of [Free Stuff for] Christmas App

iPhone Hints: Speak and ye shall be heard

The iPhone 3GS's Voice Control feature is remarkably useful and efficient; this week's installment of iPhone Hints shows you how to get the most out of it.

iPhone Developer Tapulous Captures Sales of Nearly $1 Million Per Month

Reuters reports on iPhone developer Tapulous, the team behind the popular Tap Tap Revenge applications, noting that the small company is reportedly bringing in nearly $1 million per month in revenue. The success of Tapulous, which boasts only 20 emp...

Apple already locking down dates for iPhone announcement at WWDC 2010?

Shocking news, people: Apple might hold WWDC at Moscone West in June, as it has for the past several years. That's at least the word according to AppleInsider, which just noticed that Moscone West is mysteriously booked from June 28 to July 2 by "Corporate Event," which has signified upcoming Apple events in the past. If you'll recall, the original iPhone was released in June of 2007, followed by the iPhone 3G at WWDC 2008 and the iPhone 3GS at WWDC 2009, so the smart money is on another refresh this year -- and you can't have whispers of an iPhone refresh without rumors about it coming to Verizon, so there's tons of chatter in the air. We're staying out of that for now, since we haven't heard anything new or particularly interesting, but we'd like to point out that we're also due an iPhone SDK event in March on Apple's campus if Steve holds to pattern -- anyone care speculate on what iPhone OS 4.0 might bring to the table?

Apple already locking down dates for iPhone announcement at WWDC 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T Network Woes: Company Claims Infrastructure Spending Not the Cause

Vodafone UK to start iPhone sales Jan. 14, 2010

Filed under: iPhone

Vodafone announced in September that it would start iPhone sales in the UK in early 2010. Two weeks into the new year is pretty early.

The BBC says Vodafone will start its UK iPhone sales January 14, 2010.

Vodafone UK CEO Guy Laurence says his company has been prepping its network for the added demand the iPhone will bring for over a year.

The new player's prices seem to be in line with rivals O2 and Orange. Vodafone UK's lowest plan is £30 a month for 24 months, with additional charges for iPhones ranging from £59 for an 8GB iPhone 3G to £239 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS. Vodafone will also offer a £35 a month/24 month contract that will include an 8GB iPhone 3G at no additional cost.

Data usage for both business and consumer contracts will be capped at 1GB a month. The company will also offer tethering at launch with plans starting at £5 a month.

Thanks Simon for the tip!

Vodafone UK to start iPhone sales Jan. 14, 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Vodafone UK to start iPhone sales Jan. 14, 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WWDC 2010 — Home of New iPhone Introductions — Kicks off June 28?

A “corporate event” scheduled for Monday, June 28 to Friday, July 2, 2010 has set the internet speculation level to red, as it sounds like the only Moscone Center reservation capable of being next year’s Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) — the event whose keynote has for the last two years featured the introduction of new iPhone hardware.

In 2008 Steve Jobs held up the iPhone 3G (1,2). In 2009 Phil Schiller showed off the iPhone 3GS (2,1). Jobs is back, 4th generation iPhone (3,1) rumors are progressing right on schedule, so… Yeah, we’re excited. (And who knows, maybe an iTablet won’t be as mythical by then either?)

Apple officially announced WWDC dates in March. Apple also typically holds iPhone Software Sneak Preview Events in March. We’re just saying… 2010 is almost here. Bring the future!

[via 9to5mac]

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

WWDC 2010 — Home of New iPhone Introductions — Kicks off June 28?

iPhone Hits Vodafone UK January 14 — TiPb’s Got Your Plan Info

Here, above, are the full plans available for Vodafone’s iPhone, release date just announced as January 14, 2010… and still no price war. Of course that stands to reason as the iPhone costs every carrier pretty much the same thing in terms of hardware and network usage, but we still hoped one crazy UK telco or another would decide to go for it.

Handset costs start at £59 for the iPhone 3G, £149 for the 16GB iPhone 3GS, and £239 for the 32GB iPhone 3GS but go down to free with more expensive plans on 24-month contract. Data usage stays pegged at 1GB no matter how much you pay, however. Minutes go from 300 to 3000, texts start at 3000 and stay there.

Interestingly, the last row shows tethering as an option, £5 for 500MB, £10 for 1.5 (it says MB, we’re guessing its a type of GB), and £15 for 3GB.

So that’s O2, Orange, O2 reseller Tesco, 3 rumored, and Vodafone now launching, anyone getting (or moving over to) a new iPhone carrier for the new year?

[Thanks tipster!]

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

iPhone Hits Vodafone UK January 14 — TiPb’s Got Your Plan Info

Rumor: Moscone schedule + “corporate event” = Verizon iPhone?

Filed under: Rumors, WWDC, iPhone

Rumors and speculation are fun. Sometimes 2 + 2 = 4... and sometimes they don't add up to anything. Here's today's equation:

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2010 seems likely to happen at the end of June/beginning of July.

The schedule for the Moscone Center, traditional home of WWDC, shows a "Corporate Event" running June 28 through July 2, 2010. This is around when Apple usually holds WWDC. "Corporate Event" has been the WWDC placeholder-name on the Moscone schedule in the past, at least until Apple was ready to say, "Hey everybody, we're having a party and here's when!" Additionally, Moscone is booked for all of June and most of July by other companies or organizations. Given that, it's likely that WWDC 2010 will be June 28 through July 2.

That space on the calendar may be a big deal.

If WWDC goes the way these things normally do, registration and other pre-conference fun will happen on Monday, June 28. The WWDC keynote will take place on Tuesday, June 29 -- three years to the day after the first iPhone was released.

Maybe Apple had to settle for that week because the International Stem Cell Conference and the NACUBO Annual Meeting beat them to the dates they really wanted. But it's also possible that Apple is waiting until its exclusivity deal with AT&T ends -- the exact day its exclusivity deal ends -- before announcing an iPhone for Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint.

Verizon's CTO made noise last week about his company being prepared for the iPhone in terms of network capacity, though he said nothing about an actual deal.

Do you think 2 + 2 = anything this time?

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/parislemon/ / CC BY 2.0

[via MacNN]

Rumor: Moscone schedule + "corporate event" = Verizon iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor: Moscone schedule + "corporate event" = Verizon iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone and Vodafone UK set the date: January 14

Vodafone has decided if it can't give us the iPhone for the holidays, it'll do the next best thing and spill details of its launch and pricing of Apple's finest. Available from January 14, the iPhone will be yours for £30 ($48) per month on two-year contracts, though up-front charges will set you back £239 (£386) for the 32GB 3GS variety. A monthly 1GB of 3G data is permitted, alongside unlimited WiFi, but what might be most interesting here is that Vodafone will allow you to use the iPhone as a modem. Such use will not be covered by your allowance of course, and will cost £5 ($8) for each 500MB downloaded, but we're happy to see a carrier offering the option. Furthermore, though Vodafone's agreement to carry the iPhone seemed a rushed defensive move, the company now claims it has been preparing its network for over a year to handle the increased traffic it expects.

iPhone and Vodafone UK set the date: January 14 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WWDC 2010 Likely from June 28-July 2nd

A tweet and article (and forum post) have pointed out that Moscone's summer schedule has blocked out June 28th-July 2nd as the likely dates for Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2010.

The schedule lists a "Corporate Event" ...