PlayOn finally gets its iPhone app approved, HTML5 lets out a sigh of resignation

We're loving this new, slightly more liberal wave of App Store approvals (aren't we easily pleased?), and it looks like PlayOn drew the lucky number today. After waiting in vain for an app approval, PlayOn actually developed a fairly sufficient HTML5 solution to its streaming-web-video-to-your-device problem, but there's nothing quite like the sheen and polish of a bonafide app. Unfortunately, PlayOn's desktop software, which is required to make this Netflix / Amazon / Hulu / ESPN / CBS / etc.-beaming possible, is still PC only.

[Thanks, Corey]

PlayOn finally gets its iPhone app approved, HTML5 lets out a sigh of resignation originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 22:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon CEO talks (more) about iPhone: ‘we have to earn it’

So, Apple's talked about putting the iPhone on Verizon, Verizon wants the phone... why can't we get these two crazy kids together? Well, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg touched on that topic in a talk to investors at the Goldman Sachs conference today. "We don't feel like we have an iPhone deficit. We would love to carry it when we get there, but we have to earn it," Seidenberg said, walking a fine line between complimenting the phone and making it clear that Verizon still has a good lineup. Ivan also mixed in a basketball analogy to sweeten the deal: "This is like the Knicks getting Carmelo Anthony. Like it would be very good if the Knicks got Carmelo Anthony. But they have to play the game whether they get Carmelo Anthony, right?" Ivan hinted heavily that Verizon's forthcoming 4G LTE network could be the golden ticket, and while this isn't a new theory, it's unclear (and a little disconcerting) if he's just as in the dark as we are as to whether or not Apple will come around once LTE is up and running. Still, he put on a brave face: "At some point, Apple will get with the program." Our suggestion? Bake Steve a cake. Couldn't hurt!

Verizon CEO talks (more) about iPhone: 'we have to earn it' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Editorial: Solipskier is ruining my life

I have a problem, and that problem is Solipskier. Actually, it's a problem in two parts:

• Part A: Solipskier being an excellent game, taking perfect advantage of the iPhone's touch input and high resolution screen to execute its own particular brand of digital crack.
• Part B: A certain Nemesis X who plays Solipskier and keeps beating my high score.

The combination of a game that encourages you to try just one more time to boost your score and a smug nemesis who screencaps his own terrifying exploits and emails them to you when you're trying really hard to be a productive member of society is just too much for my soul -- not to mention my Solip-skiing thumb -- to handle.

There's really not much to the game itself. You simply draw slopes for your skier, attempting to guide the little beheadphoned guy through yellow gates and blue gates, away from red gates, and over orange jumps. It's really all in the execution, which is thrilling, and I was pretty proud of myself when I broke 4 million points the first time. My mistake was in telling Nemesis X.

NX: *Smirk*
PM: What?
NX: *Smirky smirk smirk*
PM: What? What's your score?
NX: 46 million
PM: ...
NX: *Smirk*

That was the initial exchange, at least as I remember it. Of course, 46 million was hardly even scratching the surface. In fact, one of the problems with Solipskier is knowing how far we've really progressed down the rabbit hole. This might even call for a new branch of mathematics: Solipskier theoretics.

"Given a certain exponential score increase over x days, what are the theoretical limits of that player's score over xsquared days?"

You also have to begin to flex the English language somewhat to accommodate for Solipskier-related frustrations and triumphs.

"Argh, I just red-lined a 179 mil!"

"I think I just buzzed the tower with my rainbow cape because my multiplier is still at 100+."

Of course, Solipskier ergonomics will become a multimillion dollar industry over time as the best brains of our generation will try and discern the superiority of iPhone or iPad play. Complicated wind tunnel models will be built and destroyed in an effort to figure out the optimum body position to maintain maximum mobility for the maximum duration (a good Solipskier run can ratchet into the tens of minutes). Spandex-clad creatine addicts will make whole exercise tapes dedicated to thumb, forefinger, and forearm agility.


Eventually, as our society descends into madness, we'll have whole branches of medicine dedicated to treating Solipskier-caused thumb and eyesight injuries (I currently have to keep my thumb mostly straight so it doesn't cramp up, the diabolical NX alternates fingers), and "I was playing Solipskier" will supplant canine-blame as the number one excuse heard at school for poor performance. Subway systems will have to be re-imagined to accommodate passengers caught in a Solipskier trance (I suggest holding the train at the stop until the Solipskier player breaks a multiplier or, heaven forbid, red-lines a 179 mil).

Sadly, I think my despair is actually heightened in my few moments of sanity. I step back, take a deep breath, and realize that Solipskier is just one of hundreds of games that are lurking out there, ready to devour my free time and my iPhone's battery life. In fact, I start laughing nervously every time someone mentions Angry Birds. I know that if my thumb accidentally slips and buys it from the App Store totally against my will one day, I won't see my friends or family for a month.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to Photoshop a Solipskier screencap into some absurd score that will ruin NX's week and buy me some time to beat his latest missive.

Solipskier is currently playable in browser via Flash, or as a $2.99 iPhone / iPad Universal App. An Android version is forthcoming.

Editorial: Solipskier is ruining my life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple backpedaling on some iOS development restrictions, will allow third party tools and ad services

Woah, who saw this coming? Apple has changed its super-controversial stance on third party developer tools for iOS apps, now allowing any and all comers, "as long as the resulting apps do not download any code." We're guessing this is mostly a nod to game developers, who use ported engines like Unreal and interpreters like Lua, but it also apparently covers apps developed in Adobe Flash CS5. In addition, the rules on mobile advertising have changed, so AdMob ads are seemingly back in, and Apple's also publishing its App Store Review Guidelines at long last, which will give developers a better idea of how their apps are going to be scrutinized by Apple before they submit them. We're sure we'll be hearing plenty in the coming weeks as developers and arm chair analysts rifle through Apple's so-far-secretive guidelines, but mostly we're just excited to see what sort of innovation and development accessibility we've been missing out on while these third party tools have been off the market. The full (and brief) release can be found after the break.

Update: Google's responded to the newly-relaxed restrictions, saying "Apple's new terms will keep in-app advertising on the iPhone open to many different mobile ad competitors and enable advertising solutions that operate across a wide range of platforms."

Update 2: Our friend John Paczkowski at All Things Digital has Adobe's statement: "We are encouraged to see Apple lifting its restrictions on its licensing terms, giving developers the freedom to choose what tools they use to develop applications for Apple devices."

Update 3: In case the last update didn't give it away enough, Adobe announced in a blog post that it'll resume development on its Packager for iPhone tools, for Flash CS5 devs who want to convert their work to the portable powerhouse.

Meanwhile, it seems like it's time for a little recap:

• Apple's iPhone lockdown: apps must be written in one of three languages, Adobe in the hurt locker
• Adobe says iPhone / iPad adoption and 'alternative technologies' (cough, HTML5) could harm its business
• Steve Jobs responds directly to developer over new iPhone SDK rules, cites blog for explanation
• Steve Jobs publishes some 'thoughts on Flash'... many, many thoughts on Flash
• Adobe's CEO: Jobs' Flash letter is a 'smokescreen' for 'cumbersome' restrictions (update: video)
• Adobe decries Apple's 'walled garden,' yet pledges 'best tools' for HTML5
• Adobe targets Apple in ad campaign launched today, publishes open letter from founders
• Steve Jobs' D8 interview: the video highlights (updated)
• Adobe's CEO: 'we've moved on' from Apple's argument, and Flash still rules

Continue reading Apple backpedaling on some iOS development restrictions, will allow third party tools and ad services

Apple backpedaling on some iOS development restrictions, will allow third party tools and ad services originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 4.1 is live, available to download right now

If you can just put down Angry Birds for one minute and plug your iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 2nd generation, iPod touch 3rd generation, or iPod touch 4th generation into iTunes, you should be in for a pleasant non-surprise: iOS 4.1 is finally out and ready for your consumption. It's not a huge update, but Game Center is an exciting addition (for the few, proud devices that are getting it), and we're sure your face will be happy to stop getting accused for iPhone 4 hang-ups with the long overdue proximity sensor fix (shots of the changelog are after the break). Let us know how 4.1 is treating you in comments below.

Continue reading iOS 4.1 is live, available to download right now

iOS 4.1 is live, available to download right now originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple demoes iOS 4.2, features AirPlay media streaming

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/news/technology/apple_demoes_ios_4_2_for_the_ipad_not_shipping_yet_engadget'; Apple is also talking up iOS 4.2 today, which will be everything iOS 4.1 is bringing, plus some extra goodies, and will finally bring iOS 4 (hello multitasking!) to the iPad. The most exciting of the new features is AirPlay, which is Apple's redub for AirTunes, with the important addition of being able to stream music and video from your computer to your i-device over WiFi. Also over WiFi is a new wireless printing feature, complete with a little Print Center applet that sits in the dock and lets you manage your print jobs. It might not be sexy, but it's certainly a welcome addition to iOS. Apple will be launching iOS 4.2 for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices in November.

Apple demoes iOS 4.2, features AirPlay media streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dual SIM iPhone 4 case gives your multiple personality disorder a new lease on life

Sure, there are any number of phones with dual SIM card slots, most of them built for Asian markets, but the iPhone 4 is about the furthest thing from dual SIM: in fact, it doesn't even have one Big Person SIM to call its own. Luckily, USBFever has a hacktastic solution to this problem (a followup to their iPhone 3G version), with a new $30 case that can host dual full size SIM cards on the back of an iPhone 4 (entombed in some classy clear plastic, naturally), while running an adapter to the iPhone 4's micro SIM slot. You can then switch between the two SIMs from the iPhone's own settings menu, though unfortunately you can't rock both SIMs simultaneously. Looking for a more DIY approach? Bust out your X-Acto and check out our SIM resizing guide!

Dual SIM iPhone 4 case gives your multiple personality disorder a new lease on life originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPADock overachieves in the best sort of way

Yeah, it's iPAD, not iPad, for this dock. PhotoFast's iPADock can be configured to handle dual iPads, four iPhones, or two iPhones and one iPad, thanks to its modular design. Of course, you have to thread your own iPad or iPhone charging cables through the dock, and then jack into one of the plentiful powered USB plugs in the back (three regular, four power-only), but that's only a minor detail. The back also harbors memory card slots galore and a stash for your iPad Camera Connection Kit dongles, so quit whining. You'll be able to score the iPADock in Japan at the end of next month for 5980 yen (about $71 US), and PhotoFast is on the hunt for a US distributor.

iPADock overachieves in the best sort of way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone gets third party apps for third party hardware, but the proprietary SDKs make the future sad

Leave it to Apple to make the process of building software to work with new third party iPhone hardware sound like some Kafkaesque nightmare. Here's the basic gist of it: Apple, just like always, has to approve any third party hardware that plugs into one of its iOS devices over the 30-pin dock connector. What's new is that before only the first party manufacturer could build software that works with that hardware, but now Apple is allowing that manufacturer to act as a gatekeeper for third party apps that would interoperate with its hardware. That means exciting times for app developers that are raring to mix with the likes of Line 6's MIDI Mobilizer (pictured) and AKAI's SynthStation 25, but it's also a far cry from the land of computers where anybody can build a plug-and-play USB MIDI device, and anybody can build software that speaks to it. It also means juggling proprietary SDKs, NDAs, and other agreements, which could become very difficult for developers if or when the hardware availability balloons. Hopefully we can get something more elegant before it comes to that. Hit up the source link for an in-depth discussion of this issue.

The iPhone gets third party apps for third party hardware, but the proprietary SDKs make the future sad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JailbreakMe using PDF exploit to hack your iPhone, so could the baddies; Apple looking into reports

As with any jailbreak or rooting of a handset, "hacking" a phone OS is usually exactly that: exploiting a weakness to get unsigned code onto a device. That means that any other hacker, be they sufficiently nefarious, could use that same exploit to mess with your phone in the bad, not-installing-emulators-off-of-Cydia sense. Early iPhone jailbreaks (back when installing your own ringtones was a wild idea) took advantage of a TIFF exploit, the recent EVO 4G root found a hole in Flash Lite, and the JailbreakMe exploit is stuffing its code in a PDF font. Until Apple patches this exploit (when asked, Apple told us it was "aware of the reports and looking into them") we'd be extra careful about which PDFs we open -- there aren't any reports of malicious use so far, but with Safari's seamless handling of PDFs, it wouldn't be hard for some hacker to hide a potentially phone-invading PDF behind some harmless looking hyperlink. The iPhone devteam points out that this isn't the only known exploit for Safari on iOS, so there's no need to start hyperventilating about this particular one... unless it's a slow day at your mainstream media publication and you're looking for something to hyperventilate about.

Oh, and are you looking for a surefire way to steer clear of PDFs? Cydia has a PDF loading warner that lets you skip PDFs your browser is trying to load on a case by case basis. Of course, you'll need to jailbreak your phone to use it. Ironic, right?

JailbreakMe using PDF exploit to hack your iPhone, so could the baddies; Apple looking into reports originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry users running out of loyalty: 50 percent plan to defect to iPhone or Android

Nielsen has its own angle on the smartphone numbers game out today, and the results vaguely resemble the numbers from Canalys. Perhaps more interesting than the ever present market share tug-of-war (Nielsen pegs Google, RIM, and Apple at 27 percent, 33 percent, and 23 percent in sales to new smartphone subscribers, respectively) a note on brand loyalty turns out ugly for BlackBerry: while 89 percent of iPhone owners plan on getting another iPhone, and 71 percent of Android buyers plan to re-up, only 42 percent of BlackBerry owners plan to stick around. The defectors are pretty evenly split, with 29 percent planning to go iPhone, and 21 percent to go Android. That compares to 2 and 3 percent in the iPhone and Android camps planning a move to BlackBerry. We'll see if BlackBerry 6 can solve this little problem for RIM, but the few tweaks we've seen so far seem hardly capable of stemming the flow.

BlackBerry users running out of loyalty: 50 percent plan to defect to iPhone or Android originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

var digg_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/02/canalys-android-takes-q2-smartphone-market-share-lead-in-us-wit/'; We knew Android phones were selling like gangbusters -- Google has been none too shy in telling us as much -- but numbers were slightly less clear in a larger context. Well, if a new report by Canalys is to be believed, those numbers are just fine in a larger context. Canalys claims that in Q2 Android was up a whopping 886 percent over last year's sales during this time period (remember, the original Droid didn't come out until November), and those wild sales put it at 34 percent of the US market, compared to RIM's 32 percent and Apple's 21.7 share. Of course, RIM has a big launch on the way, and we're not sure how much of the iPhone 4's heady run this report captures, so things could naturally look different for Q3. Also, it's worth noting that the breakdown of phones actually in use is of course dramatically different. Still, nobody is doing that bad: the smartphone market is up 64 percent year-over-year, and Apple and RIM grew 61 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Oh, and remember Nokia? Yeah, they're still beating the world with a 38 percent market share and 41 percent growth. Check out the press release after the break for all the percentages your heart could ever desire.

Continue reading Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

var digg_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/02/canalys-android-takes-q2-smartphone-market-share-lead-in-us-wit/'; We knew Android phones were selling like gangbusters -- Google has been none too shy in telling us as much -- but numbers were slightly less clear in a larger context. Well, if a new report by Canalys is to be believed, those numbers are just fine in a larger context. Canalys claims that in Q2 Android was up a whopping 886 percent over last year's sales during this time period (remember, the original Droid didn't come out until November), and those wild sales put it at 34 percent of the US market, compared to RIM's 32 percent and Apple's 21.7 share. Of course, RIM has a big launch on the way, and we're not sure how much of the iPhone 4's heady run this report captures, so things could naturally look different for Q3. Also, it's worth noting that the breakdown of phones actually in use is of course dramatically different. Still, nobody is doing that bad: the smartphone market is up 64 percent year-over-year, and Apple and RIM grew 61 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Oh, and remember Nokia? Yeah, they're still beating the world with a 38 percent market share and 41 percent growth. Check out the press release after the break for all the percentages your heart could ever desire.

Continue reading Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

var digg_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/02/canalys-android-takes-q2-smartphone-market-share-lead-in-us-wit/'; We knew Android phones were selling like gangbusters -- Google has been none too shy in telling us as much -- but numbers were slightly less clear in a larger context. Well, if a new report by Canalys is to be believed, those numbers are just fine in a larger context. Canalys claims that in Q2 Android was up a whopping 886 percent over last year's sales during this time period (remember, the original Droid didn't come out until November), and those wild sales put it at 34 percent of the US market, compared to RIM's 32 percent and Apple's 21.7 share. Of course, RIM has a big launch on the way, and we're not sure how much of the iPhone 4's heady run this report captures, so things could naturally look different for Q3. Also, it's worth noting that the breakdown of phones actually in use is of course dramatically different. Still, nobody is doing that bad: the smartphone market is up 64 percent year-over-year, and Apple and RIM grew 61 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Oh, and remember Nokia? Yeah, they're still beating the world with a 38 percent market share and 41 percent growth. Check out the press release after the break for all the percentages your heart could ever desire.

Continue reading Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

var digg_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/02/canalys-android-takes-q2-smartphone-market-share-lead-in-us-wit/'; We knew Android phones were selling like gangbusters -- Google has been none too shy in telling us as much -- but numbers were slightly less clear in a larger context. Well, if a new report by Canalys is to be believed, those numbers are just fine in a larger context. Canalys claims that in Q2 Android was up a whopping 886 percent over last year's sales during this time period (remember, the original Droid didn't come out until November), and those wild sales put it at 34 percent of the US market, compared to RIM's 32 percent and Apple's 21.7 share. Of course, RIM has a big launch on the way, and we're not sure how much of the iPhone 4's heady run this report captures, so things could naturally look different for Q3. Also, it's worth noting that the breakdown of phones actually in use is of course dramatically different. Still, nobody is doing that bad: the smartphone market is up 64 percent year-over-year, and Apple and RIM grew 61 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Oh, and remember Nokia? Yeah, they're still beating the world with a 38 percent market share and 41 percent growth. Check out the press release after the break for all the percentages your heart could ever desire.

Continue reading Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth

Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Library of Congress adds DMCA exception for jailbreaking or rooting your phone

This is a wild one, and we're still parsing through the announcement, but on the surface it looks like the Library of Congress has added new anti-circumvention exceptions to the DMCA that, among other things, allow people to tweak their handsets for the purpose of installing legally obtained software -- known as jailbreaking in iOS land, and rooting in the Android / webOS world. Check out the full statement from the Librarian of Congress, which is mostly an update of existing exceptions on record, after the break, but here's the primary excerpt:

Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.

Now, before all you EFFers go all totally wild (although it's undoubtedly a win for the EFF line of thinking on this issue), you should know that this in no way requires Apple to jailbreak your phone for you, or lay down its arms in this ongoing fight. Basically, they just can't sue you for the specific act of breaking their protections, but there's nothing stopping them from putting those protections in there in the first place, or for suing you for an infringement not covered in this exception -- like distributing Apple code in a non-Apple-approved way, or installing illegal or pirated software. Not that any of you jailbreakers would ever do that. What's more, the DMCA still broadly forbids distributing to the public any "technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof" that's primarily designed to break access controls, so Apple can always go after the Dev Team directly -- and we'd still keep those dreams of opening Joe's Jailbreak Hut on ice for now.

On a more minor note, the language pertaining to unlocking a handset to work on another wireless network has also been expanded from "firmware" in 2006 to "firmware or software" in the 2010 revision. Also, and very exciting for the YouTube set, the section pertaining to cracking a DVD video and excerpting scenes for commentary or criticism has been expanded beyond educational use into documentary and non-commercial applications.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Library of Congress adds DMCA exception for jailbreaking or rooting your phone

Library of Congress adds DMCA exception for jailbreaking or rooting your phone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone headed for T-Mobile USA in Q3?

We hear so many iPhone-Verizon-tomorrow-OMG rumors that our nation's brave also-ran carriers hardly get a word in edgewise. While Sprint remains a total longshot, T-Mobile USA is an interesting proposition for the mere fact that it's a GSM network, though its 1700 / 2100 3G network remains ostensibly incompatible with the iPhone 4's existing radio. According to Cult of Mac, a "highly placed source" at T-Mobile let it slip that they've got an 80 percent chance of getting the iPhone in Q3. Now, that's an oddly specific number, and we have no idea what it's contingent on, or how much exactly this source knows. Basically, we don't know a lot here. Of course, the biggest evidence of this possible T-Mobile coup remains the statement from Deutsche Telekom's CEO in March, saying that the USA branch is hoping to get the iPhone later this year. We really don't know who or what to believe, but we do know one thing: if Apple decides to sell a T-Mobile USA iPhone, there's an 80+ percent chance it will tell everybody.

iPhone headed for T-Mobile USA in Q3? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple to give away free cases to iPhone 4 users

Apple's not really ready to say it's sorry about the iPhone 4 antenna design, but it is willing to give all you darn squeaky wheels free cases for your trouble. Since Apple can't build its own Bumpers fast enough, it will give you a few options and let you decide, then send it your way for free as long as you purchased the phone before September 30th. Not good enough for you? Well, if you already bought a bumper from Apple you'll get a refund, and you can also return your phone for a full refund within 30 days as long as it's unharmed.

This solution comes at the end of 22 days of Apple engineers "working their butts off," according to Steve, with "physics" ultimately being pinned as the main culprit. Apple claims you can replicate the left-handed "death grip" bar-dropping problem on the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, and Samsung Omnia II, and that "phones aren't perfect." Steve also claims that only 0.55% of people who bought the iPhone 4 have called into AppleCare to complain about the antenna, and the phone has a 1.7% return rate at AT&T, compared to 6% with the 3GS, though he would cop to a slight increase in dropped calls over the iPhone 3GS. For this Steve has what he confesses to be a pet theory: that 3GS users were using the case they had from the 3G, and therefore weren't met with the horrible reality of a naked, call dropping handset. Hence the free case solution, which will probably satisfy some, infuriate others, and never even blip onto the radar of many of the massive horde of consumers that's devoured this product in unprecedented numbers.

Apple to give away free cases to iPhone 4 users originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bloomberg: Apple engineer was concerned about iPhone 4 antenna early on

As if we needed any more drama in this situation, Bloomberg has someone "familiar with the matter" that claims Apple's own antenna expert, Ruben Caballero, told Apple management that the iPhone 4 antenna design could cause reception problems, dropped calls, and a serious engineering challenge. Caballero is a senior engineer for Apple with a large quantity of antenna patents under his belt, and while we certainly don't know the whole story -- perhaps his claims were somehow quelled by Apple's own testing -- it certainly adds a twist to this story if Steve Jobs and co. had been alerted to this very real problem during the design phase. The Bloomberg article also claims, from a different source, no less, that a carrier partner also raised antenna concerns before the release. Apple and Caballero naturally did not comment on this report. We're not really sure about the real-world implications of all this behind-the-scenes drama, but we suppose we'll see what Apple has to say for itself tomorrow.

Bloomberg: Apple engineer was concerned about iPhone 4 antenna early on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZVRS to support live sign language translation via iPhone 4’s FaceTime for calls between deaf and hearing users

While SMS and mobile email are great, they still can't match the emotion, interaction, and intonation of a live conversation with someone -- that's why our phones still ship with microphones and speakers, apparently. Of course, this is much more difficult when one of the parties is deaf or hard of hearing, which is where video relay services come in. With the help of a videophone or your computer's webcam, you can make a call with a live translator, who speaks your signed ramblings out loud to the hearing person on the other end. Of course you're usually stuck at a desk when doing this, but now ZVRS is going to be supporting calls made from the iPhone 4 over FaceTime. It might not be quite as sexy as Apple's goosebump-raising iPhone 4 commercial, since the phone obviously makes two-way sign language calls possible, but if the person on the other end doesn't have an iPhone 4 or doesn't know sign language, ZVRS seems like the next best thing. The new service will launch on July 26th. Check out a video of it in action after the break, the actual call starts at 2:25.

Continue reading ZVRS to support live sign language translation via iPhone 4's FaceTime for calls between deaf and hearing users

ZVRS to support live sign language translation via iPhone 4's FaceTime for calls between deaf and hearing users originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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