Kevin Rose: AT&T Has to Clear Firmware Updates + Dvorak on Malicious Health Rumors
One of the most important aspects of the iPhone is how it’s breathed the air of change into long stodgy, backwards thinking mobile cellular providers. We can argue whether its been less effective post iPhone 3G where subsidies have returned, but either way Apple fairly neatly removed the carrier middleman from its usual intrusive position in the smartphone space. App Store is clearly the crowning example thus far, but frequent firmware updates is sometimes likewise cited.
On the latest This Week in Tech (TWiT) podcast, however, Digg founder Kevin Rose credited an unnamed source inside Apple as saying AT&T had to approve the next iPhone firmware update. Of course, Rose has been, er… somewhat less than accurate in regards to iPhone news in the past (including his reports that the iPhone 3G would have video iChat). In his corner this time, however, are server logs showing iPhone 2.0.1 traffic on popular Apple news sites originating from both Cupertino and AT&T HQ regions.
Has AT&T always played a role in firmware testing or is this a new factor in a post 3G world? If it’s new, will it make 2.x updates take longer than 1.x did? And do international carriers like 02, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Rogers, Orange, etc. all have similar advanced testing privileges? If so, will 22+ (70+ eventually) carriers wanting to test new firmware result in huge delays or staggered launches? Or is this just another well Dugg tempest in a Royal Jasmine teapot?
On a side note, the same episode of TWiT saw the crankiest of geeks, John C. Dvorak “dot org slash blog” claim that one particularly damaging rumor circulating about Steve Jobs current health was deliberately and maliciously spread at an exclusive CEO gathering by an as-yet unnamed but well known executive with a personal grudge against Jobs and Apple. Dvorak maintains the rumor, which recent reports have indicated is false, was spread to other CEOs who then propagated it, adding to the confusion and downward pressure on Apple’s stock. If he can get a second anonymous confirmation on the story, Dvorak claims he will name names in his Marketwatch column.
As a huge fan of Karma, that should make for an interesting day, and likely more than a “slime bucket” response from El Jobso.
iPhone App Avalanche 3
It’s the end of July and there’s still plenty of summer left, so snow and avalanches are still many months away. Fortunately, any time of year is perfect for an App Avalanche, and there are always new and updated apps in the App Store for your iPhone. It’s time for App Avalanche 3!
New
South Park Imaginationland, from RealNetworks, Inc., brings the world of South Park to your iPhone. What’s not to love about controlling Butters and his adventures in the South Park universe? Bounce Butters through over 60 levels as he tries to rescue Imaginationland. Get it here for $9.99.
Fotomatic, from SoundSpectrum, is an app for viewing your favorite photo albums from Facebook, Flickr, and Picasa sites. A nice feature is the ability to view albums while other photos download. You can choose from different animated slideshow themes and view your photos on the go, or even view public photo albums. Get it here for $4.99.
BeatMaker, by Vincent Bongiomo of Intua, is a music creation studio combining features of professional drum machines, samplers and sequencers. It is designed for an intuitive music-making experience with sampling from the original sound-bank or BeatPack, a free synchronization companion to expand your audio library. Start making music by downloading here for $19.99.
What’s Hot
AOL Radio, from AOL (naturally), is powered by CBS Radio and provides over 200 stations and over 150 CBS radio stations from across the U.S. Music, sports, talk radio and news right on your iPhone. Give it a listen by downloading here today for the low price of FREE.
Yelp, by Yelp, Inc., is an app that takes advantage of the location feature of your iPhone and can help you find just about anything. Looking for a restaurant that serves certain kinds of food? Need a gas station? You can pick from general categories or narrow your search to specifics, then read reviews from local Yelp users! Get it for free here.
WHERE, by uLocate Communications, is another location-based application that ties in some of the other popular location-based apps like Yelp and Eventful. Find restaurants, the cheapest gas near you, local events, and more. You can even locate your friends with BuddyBeacon. Download it for free right here.
Top Paid Apps
Units Convertor, from Yuchao Zhou, is an expensive app for converting measurements like temperature, length, mass, weight, volume, pressure, and power. That’s a lot of stuff to convert! It has a very simple interface — just turn the wheels and you can get multiple values for a single measurement. Get it here for only .99 cents.
Brain Challenge, by Gameloft, is a highly-acclaimed brain training simulation for your iPhone with 43 mini-games to keep your brain in tip-top shape and on your toes. You can train in the categories of Visual, Memory, Logic, Math and Focus. It’s also toted as a great stress relief - now can’t we ALL use a little of that? Get it here for $9.99.
Solitaire, by Mobilityware, is the classic game of solitaire for your iPhone. It is the Klondike version, which is also the most popular version and most well-known. Your game is saved when interrupted by a call, which is a nice feature. Your best times and number of moves are saved as well. Get it here for $1.99.
Top Free Apps
Labyrinth Lite Edition, by Carl Loodberg of Codify AB, is a throwback to yesteryear and the old wooden labyrinth, requiring the twisting of knobs to tilt the surface and guild your steel ball safely to the goal without dropping through one of many holes. Now, the sky is the limit on the iPhone - tilt your iPhone and guide the ball through 10 fully-playable mazes. Get it for free here.
BreakClassic, brought to you by Anton Butsev of bootant.com, is a simple classic brick breaker game. The developer is listening to reviews and has indicated that ‘pause’ control and other features are going to be added. It’s nice to have developers that listen and improve their product, and what more can you ask from a free app? Get it here.
Sudoku (Free), from Darren Sillett of Mighty Mighty Good Games, allows you to choose from four different skill levels and provides an assortment of puzzles in different styles to play the popular game of Sudoku. You can pause the game and continue where you left off. Also, hints are available as well as storing your best times. Get the free version here.
That’s it for the iPhone App Avalanche 3. Be sure to stop by next week for another Avalanche of Apps!
The strange economy of the App Store
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Freeware, Apple, iPhone, App Store
A few App Store apps have already gotten the public browbeating for tweaking their prices, and here’s another: as Johnathan notes, there’s a new app on the top of the heap in the paid pile, and apparently the only reason “Units Convertor” (sic) is there is because it used to be free.
We can’t necessarily call them out for switching just to sit on top — what would you do if you had a free app that was being downloaded like crazy and decided you wanted to make some money from it? But being that free apps far outweigh paid apps in terms of distribution, even the #21 free app can quickly jump to the top of the paid pile. We’ve already posted about how developers might be getting a raw deal out of the App Store (and some publishers have told us personally that they agree), but the economics are very interesting in there right now — you’ve got a basically free economy, and considering that most of the apps out now are easy to make, it’s just as likely that you’ll see a free version of an app that does the same thing as a paid app.
Of course, what’s happening in there actually mirrors what’s happening out here with software: some of the best applications around are actually being given away for free. We’re still in a strange place with the App Store and its pricing, and you have to think that eventually things will settle down and the developers who deserve to get paid will.
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iPhone Push Notification API released to select developers
CrunchGear notes that a version of the iPhone Push Notification Service API has been released to “a handful” of developers, and, according to them, will “surely” be released to everyone when iPhone OS 2.1 is released.
If you remember our WWDC keynote coverage (around 11:05 a.m.), the Push Notification Service maintains a connection with third party servers to alert you via an icon badge, custom sounds, or text alerts.
An app that uses this feature isn’t really running in the background, but instead sort of registering itself with a metaphorical “hotel operator” that lives in your phone. Once there’s something new to tell you, the hotel operator notifies you.
Hopefully this has little effect on battery life, but without actual, real-world use, it’s hard to say.
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Two auto performance meters for iPhone
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Software, Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store
I’ve seen a lot of fun accelerometer uses in the App Store so far, but this is probably the coolest — Dynolicious will actually use your iPhone’s accelerometer to determine all kinds of stuff about how awesome your ‘92 Subaru is, from 0-60 and 1/4 mile time up to lateral Gs and horsepower. Just throw your iPhone somewhere secure in the car, hit go, and Dynolicious will track all that hardware stuff for you (even over multiple runs). Very awesome — it’s in the App Store right now for $12.99, which is pricey, until you see what an actual GTech meter will set you back.
What? Gas is super expensive right now, and you want it even cheaper? Wish granted: our friends at Autoblog have also dug up an app called g-tac, which will track your times and even graph them out for you. Unfortunately, g-tac won’t do the cool accelerometer stuff, measuring out your lateral gs and horsepower for you, but you know the old saying: you can have things fast, good, or cheap, and you only get to pick two.
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Cracks ‘appearing’ in new iPhone 3Gs
Filed under: iPhone
Let’s be honest here for a second. Cracks don’t appear. Cracks don’t form. They don’t develop. Your iPhone 3G cracked because you dropped it. ‘Fess up! It’s not a manufacturing defect if your phone takes a tumble down a flight of stairs. This is why we can’t have nice things.
Just kidding. Apple could have has another iPod nano or G4 Cube problem on its hands: careful users are seeing cracks and fissures on their new iPhone 3Gs. MacRumors has a thread about new, white iPhone 3Gs (which haven’t been “dropped or pressed”) that are beginning to show hairline cracks around the edges and near the buttons and headphone jack.
Reasonably, though, if you treat it like a phone, and use it every day, it’s going to get worn. That’s when cracks, scuffs, and abrasions happen. When you have a white finish on your iPhone, dirt will inevitably get in there, and even the most minute scratch will show up. Every phone I’ve ever owned I’ve dropped at some point, and it gets a scuff, or a scratch or a crack.
There are plenty of options to protect your sweetness, though: For example, there are all kinds of hard-shell cases you can buy. ZAGG’s excellent invisibleSHIELD product is certainly durable, and could prevent dirt from getting into any fissures that appear on your iPhone’s back cover. You can also wait a little while for the Golden Shellback, a vacuum-applied polymer that waterproofs any device, inside and out. Nifty.
Update: Commenters are literally pouring in to tell us that as careful as they’ve been with their iPhone 3Gs, even the most babyed devices are showing cracks. Joel Renda says, “The problem is not the plastic, but that the metal frame is too small for the plastic to lock on without causing the stress fractures.” It’s pretty clear Apple has a manufacturing defect on its hands.
For those with cracks, taking it back to the Apple Store (or possibly the mobile phone retailer where you made your original purchase) is your only recourse. Several people have noted here and elsewhere that they’ve successfully had their handset replaced after a careful inspection.
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Dear Auntie TUAW: Is My 2.0 iPhone Slow and Buggy?
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone
Dear Auntie TUAW,
I’ve been looking to see if there was a post about this, but have people been noticing that the 2.0 firmware on their original iPhones has made them slow, partially responsive, and more buggy? I’m looking for a way to downgrade mine until they get it figured out. Thanks!
Signed, David C.
David, read on for the answer from Auntie TUAW.
Continue reading Dear Auntie TUAW: Is My 2.0 iPhone Slow and Buggy?
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PerversionTracker returns
Oh yes. The site that hates Mac software — all of it, without exception — is back to hate some more.
PerversionTracker has returned after a long, long hiatus, and now it has iPhone software in its sights. (For the uninitiated, the old PerversionTracker took Mac apps and ripped them to pieces while screaming with joy.) No word on whether the folks at VersionTracker are irked, peeved or fuming.
Why has it returned now? What could possibly have got those hate glands working again? After all, everything in the App Store has to be approved by the gods of Apple before it goes live. There won’t be anything worth hating. Will there?
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AT&T updates iPhone plan for hearing-impaired
Filed under: iPhone
Back in April we noted that AT&T was offering a Text Accessibility Plan for hearing-impaired customers that offered unlimited SMS and data for $40 per month. Now that the 3G iPhone is out, the plans have been updated. Original iPhone customers can still get it for $40, but the 3G crowd is going to have to pony up another Hamilton, bringing the total to $50 per month (Enterprise customers can get the plan for $65). Both plans charge 40 cents per minute for voice calls and include Visual Voicemail.
To be eligible for the plans customers have to complete AT&T’s disability certification forms (PDF link). These plans are apparently only available on the iPhone.
[via electronista]
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First Look: 1Password for iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
Managing passwords on the go is about to get easier, now that 1Password for iPhone has hit the App Store [iTunes link]. The release features secure notes, wireless sync to your Mac, and all the credential-caching fun you expect from the full-size tool — in a handy pantsable format.
I was able to install 1Password on my iPod touch and (after a few false starts) synchronize my 600+ desktop entries to the device, but unfortunately now 1Password coughs and dies on the touch when launched. I did manage to get some setup screenshots before things went south, including the desktop-side code entry to pair the device and the computer, so feel free to peruse the gallery — once we have a bit more time (and I’ve thinned out my sync list) we’ll give the long-awaited utility the full review it deserves.
1Password for iPhone requires 1Password 2.8.1 on the Mac for synchronization. For a limited time, 1Password for iPhone can be downloaded free of charge.
Update: Agile has let it be known that version 1.2 of 1Password has already been sent in to the App Store, so you should be seeing the upgrade as soon as Apple gets it loaded (which may be a little while).
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