According to Jobs: No iPhone-to-iPad Tethering, 10 Hour Battery Life Reaffirmed

As we approach the iPad's launch, people seem to be getting Swedish site Slashat.se reportedly emailed Steve Jobs asking the simple question "Will the wifi-only version somehow support tethering thru my iPhone?" Steve Jobs' reply was a simple "no" ...

Is Skype/Verizon Deal Delaying Skype Over 3G for iPhone?

Is the recently announced Skype/Verizon deal delaying the release of Skype over 3G for the iPhone? Previously AT&T announced they would change their policy and allow VoIP over 3G, Apple announced they would change their SDK agreement to allow it, and Skype announced they would provide it to their iPhone users. AT&T has come through, Apple has come through, other VoIP clients have begun offering 3G. And Skype…? They said they were waiting to make sure Apple was okay with it. They made sure. They said they were waiting to improve 3G call quality. And…? Still nothing.

They did, however, announce a deal for Skype over 3G with Verizon at Mobile World Congress a couple weeks ago. Since then, WMExperts tell us the Windows Mobile Skype app is no longer available for download. According to Venture Beat (via BGR) their Symbian Skype App has now been pulled from the Ovi Store. When asked why Skype was removed from the Ovi Store, Venture Beat was told:

Skype has made a decision in the United States to not promote the Skype for Symbian app through the Ovi Store. We did this so that we could drive more attention to the recently announced Skype and Verizon Wireless agreement. This was a marketing decision — plain and simple

The iPhone Skype app [Free - iTunes link] is still in the App Store (after a short hiccup) but it’s still Wi-Fi only. When asked for comment after the Verizon agreement, a Skype rep would only tell TiPb that there was no further updates since last time.

So, is it just taking longer than we expected to get that really great 3G voice quality out for Skype? Or has the Verizon deal sucked all the attention out of the room? 9to5Mac thought so a couple weeks ago, do the Windows Mobile and Symbian actions now lend credence to that theory? And are you still waiting for Skype over 3G for iPhone, or have you started using alternatives? Let us know!

Is Skype/Verizon Deal Delaying Skype Over 3G for iPhone? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Analyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without Verizon

Filed under: Apple, iPhone

One of the questions that always seems to come up during our TUAW Talkcast and TUAW TV Live sessions is "When do you think Verizon Wireless is going to get the iPhone?" According to recent comments from Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig, the answer to that question is irrelevant to Apple.

Craig anticipates that Apple could sell 33 million iPhones in 2010, and that number would rise to 35 million in 2011 even without a second U.S. carrier. However, the upside to Apple in selecting a second U.S. carrier -- possibly Verizon Wireless -- is that the number of 2011 sales could rise to as high as 55 million.

Other Wall Street analysts believe that Apple's decision to stick by AT&T for the iPad indicates a vote of confidence for the carrier, with analysts at Credit Suisse even going so far as to say that there's a 75% chance that AT&T will keep iPhone exclusivity for another year.

While the analysts don't seem to see a real downside risk for Apple, Credit Suisse recently downgraded Verizon from Outperform to Neutral based on the absence of the iPhone from their product line. It would definitely be in Verizon's best interest to make an agreement with Apple to carry the iPhone; however, Apple is unlikely to make agreements with non-GSM carriers such as Verizon Wireless until they are well into a transition to the 4G LTE technology.

[via Cult of Mac]

Analyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without Verizon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without Verizon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Steve Jobs: iPad Won’t Tether To The iPhone

How To Restore The Casing Of A Scratched iPhone

Apple’s video advertising options detailed in patent application

Filed under: Multimedia, Rumors, One More Thing, iPhone, Apple TV, iPad

In the battle of the network superstars between free-to-stream, ad-supported video (the Hulu model) and pay-per-show, ad-free TV (the iTunes model), there's been a big missing piece: how to monetize shows and sell ads for content that's downloaded and played on mobile devices like the iPad? Obviously, it's a better deal for the user if they can watch at will, without having to maintain network connectivity on the go (to say nothing of the streaming quality, or lack thereof, when connected over 3G), but making sure they see the ads in the content -- and reporting back to advertisers who want to know who watched what -- is much more challenging for anywhere, anytime viewers.

Wherever there's trouble, they're there on the double: the Bloodhound Gang known as Apple's engineering team has a patent application that may offer a way forward. First filed in September of 2008 and made public on March 4, this patent received a thorough analysis over at Patently Apple. The core idea: watch a block of ads to 'unlock' the next segment of video content, not unlike the way most network streaming sites appear to work now. The difference is in the implementation, reporting and controlling how the ads appear and which content is freed up. Users might be able to 'pay past' the ads, or watch them all at the beginning of the program to deliver a more seamless viewing session.

More intriguingly, Apple's patents suggest that advertisers can require or customize a particular level & kind of user interaction that will be embedded in the ad experience, requiring viewers to engage on some level before proceeding to the next segment (thereby ensuring that they're paying attention and not off making a snack). That would be something of a Holy Grail for advertisers who fear that their messaging is getting lost in the TiVo/DVR 'just skip it' timeshifting era.

Combined with the October 2009 patent regarding ad-subsidized hardware platforms, which lists Steve Jobs and Mike Matas among its co-inventors, and it's looking like we might be moving towards a future where that $499 iPad can be had for a fantastic, subsidized price of $199... if you accept a certain level of embedded and un-skippable advertising alongside your media and mobility experience. "Magical & revolutionary," you betcha. The idea of power-ads taking over your media playback might not bother everyone, but if you buy Fake Steve's argument, that's where the $30/month TV subscription plan comes in. Can't take the ads? Just pay to play.

[via MacRumors]

Image from Apple patent, courtesy Patently Apple site. No comment on the fact that it looks like a picture of Charlie from Lost (Dominic Monaghan).

Apple's video advertising options detailed in patent application originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's video advertising options detailed in patent application originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TUAW’s Erica Sadun Shares SDK Sugar with iPhone Devs

iPhone developer extraordinaire Erica Sadun has been running a great series of “iPhone Dev Sugar” posts over on TUAW:

• Should you be building universal apps for App Store?
• Create shiny buttons easily
• Simulating device events with iSimulate
• Re-signing applications - Installing the 3.2 SDK alongside the 3.1.1 SDK
• Three lessons from the iPhone (big fingers, attention spans, fast launches)
• Letting go of iPhone visual design patterns
• Simple table badges
• Improved Network Reachability routines
• SwapKit

For anyone interested in the nuts and bolts — and subtleties — of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch development, they’re definitely worth a look. Check them out, and if you have any ninja-level tips of your own to share, don’t be shy!

TUAW’s Erica Sadun Shares SDK Sugar with iPhone Devs is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Review: Doom II RPG for iPhone

Instead of the normal "run-and-gun" mayhem, Doom II RPG is a turn-based role playing game with more emphasis on strategy and dungeon crawling than pure gunplay.

Custom iPhone Stands Made Completely With Cutlery [iPhone Accessory]

Apple Rejects iPhone App That Will Tell You The Radiation Emitted By Your iPhone

Apple sues HTC, Pioneer AV receiver works with iPhone, Netflix looking at interest for app

Apple has filed a patent infringement suit against HTC alleging that HTC has infringed on 20 Apple patents all related to the iPhone. Presumably, the patents are the ones Apple has already fought Palm over for multi touch capability. Pioneer has unveiled a VSX-820-K AV receiver that is Works with iPhone ...

FastTrac 1.2

Juicy Development’s FastTrac claims it can get users on more rides and attractions at Disneyland while avoiding long queue times.