British ad watchdogs nix iPhone "whole internet" claim
Filed under: iPhone
What is the “whole internet,” anyway? Is it a place you can go, or is it really just an idea? Can you put it in your pants? Apparently not, if the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority’s point of view is to be taken as gospel. Complaints to the oversight agency by British consumers who were dissatisfied with the Apple claim of the “whole internet” on the iPhone have now resulted in a ruling: Apple ads in Britain that say “all the parts of the internet are on the phone” need to be pulled off the air, according to a BBC report.
The reasoning behind this order is fascinating: the iPhone can’t be said to bring users the entire internet because it doesn’t support… wait for it… yes, Flash and Java. Goodness me. Not that Apple’s iPhone ads are free from controversy in the 3G era, but I don’t recall any of the ads for the current iPhone making the specific “whole internet” claims — although the spots for the original version did say something like that. If anyone can point to a specifc ad that’s raising the ire of the ASA, please do let us know.
Thanks to Grant, Martin & Richard for sending this in.
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Orange says Polish iPhone 3G customers weren’t paid actors
Filed under: Cellphones
Folks, be honest with us here — did you really expect Orange and / or Apple to say anything other than this? Amidst reports that iPhone 3G line sitters at Polish Orange stores were actually paid to be there, the carrier has shot back in order to defend its dignity. In an e-mail reply to an Ad Age inquiry on the matter, a spokeswoman proclaimed that as “part of the excitement around the launch of the iPhone, some of [Orange's] team has been joining customers outside [of the] shops.” She also noted that “sales were strong” and that Orange “was happy,” though actual numbers were not revealed. So there you have it, now make of it what you will.
[Image courtesy of AppleBlog]
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Favorite iPhone apps: Steve’s take
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, App Store
Well, Victor took away part of my thunder with his pick of Texas Hold ‘Em, but I have three other frequently-used iPhone apps in mind.
Twitterrific is my first choice. I love Twitter and formerly used the awe-inspiring Hahlo web app on my iPhone, but there’s no native Hahlo app…yet. So for the time being, Twitterrific is what I use to blast my tweets out to the world. If native Hahlo ever appears, Twitterrific gets nixed immediately. So much for loyalty, eh?
My second fave is DataCase. Yeah, I’ve tried a bunch of the others, but DataCase is still (in my opinion) the best little app for shooting files to my iPhone and then sucking them down to another Mac. I’ve even had it work with Windows. The interface is not my favorite, but I can put up with a lot for functionality.
Número tres is NetNewsWire. This is the iPhone companion to NewsGator (Mac) and Feed Demon (Windows). Although NetNewsWire received low reviews in the iTunes App Store, I’ve found it to be very useful for my RSS needs and have no complaints. And the price is right - FREE!
App Store Links –
Twitterrific (free, US$9.99 for an ad-free version)
DataCase (US$6.99)
NetNewsWire (free)
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TUAW hands on: the simple joys of Koi Pond
Filed under: Gaming, iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
About a week or so ago, I spent $0.99 at iTunes to pick up a copy of Koi Pond. With all the software that constantly moves onto and off of my iPhone, it should say something that over a week later, Koi Pond is still installed. It’s a little treasure.
Koi Pond provides exactly the experience its title suggests: it puts a virtual Koi Pond onto your iPhone, allowing you to place plants and feed the fish. The fish in question swim around the screen and run away from the rippled waves you create when messing with the water. If you leave your finger still enough, eventually a koi or two will investigate and nibble on your finger before darting off on its pre-existing fishy business.
In theory, there is no point to Koi Pond. It’s there to experience and enjoy. In practice, my elder children issue each other challenges: “Make the worst pond” (no fish, no plants, no sunlight, brown rocks, rotting food) or “Make the most psychotic koi” (one fish, sunlight, lots of splashing), etc.
For $0.99, it’s a great deal on a little toy. Turn off autolock and cheerfully burn out your screen by sitting it on a stand on your desk. The fish will swim and burble ad infinitum. (It helps to have the iPhone docked while doing this.)
Koi Pond is available for iPhone and iPod touch. It costs $0.99 at the iPhone App Store.
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WinMo mag suspends publication; will publish iPhone Life
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, iPhone
In a rather surprising move, the publishers of the top Windows Mobile monthly magazine, Smartphone & Pocket PC, have announced that they’re suspending publication. What’s even more interesting is that they will be publishing a quarterly iPhone-oriented magazine titled Smartphone magazine’s iPhone Life.
Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine publisher Hal Goldstein noted in a blog entry that the reason isn’t that sales of Windows Mobile devices are plummeting — on the contrary, almost 20 million Windows Mobile devices were sold during the last Microsoft fiscal year. It’s just that advertising support from Windows Mobile manufacturers, cellular carriers, and developers has dropped significantly.
It appears that they are expecting big things from the iPhone market and advertisers, as they will be publishing the quarterly iPhone mag in paper and online versions. My personal speculation is that they realize that with all the venture capital going into iPhone development, there will be a lot of developers who will want to buy ad space to flaunt their products.
Do you think this move is indicative of a larger trend that may spell doom for Windows Mobile? Voice your opinion in the comments!
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Apple acknowledges iPhone passcode flaw, promises fix next month
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Apple’s taking a pretty lackadaisical attitude toward one of the most easily avoided security flaws in recent memory, calling the iPhone’s passcode lock bypass a “minor iPhone security issue” and saying that a fix will be rolled out in September. Thanks, Apple; we suppose it’d be a little too much trouble to ask for a fix sooner, even though you already fixed it once in 1.1.4. For what it’s worth, a company spokeswoman is quick to point out that the flaw can easily be hidden by changing the home button double-click functionality to take you to the home screen, but most users don’t know that, now do they? Way to show some hustle, guys — cookies and gold stars all around.
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UK’s Advertising Standards Authority yanks iPhone ad for being misleading
Filed under: Cellphones
Apple’s iPhone 3G ads paint a pretty cheery picture of the device in action, but just as many of you have noted, the omission of Flash and Java means there’s a big difference between what the “the real internet” and what’s on the iPhone — enough so that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has pulled one of Apple’s latest ads from the airwaves because it claims “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone.” At least two people complained to the ASA that the ad was misleading because sites that use Flash and Java don’t work on the iPhone, and the board agreed, saying that “We concluded that the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone” because “viewers were likely to expect to be able to see all the content on a web site normally accessible through a PC rather than just having the ability to reach the website.” If we had to guess, we’d say this decision is more likely to prompt Apple to be more careful with its ads in the future rather than ever bring Flash or Java to the iPhone, but you know Adobe is feeling pretty smug right about now. Check the ad after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading UK’s Advertising Standards Authority yanks iPhone ad for being misleading
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New iPhone ads now showing
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
There are a couple of three new iPhone ads showing tonight, “Lonely Planet,” “Cro Mag” and “Vicinity.” All are available on Apple’s ads page now (that is, if your Friday night needs a shot of pure excitement). The ads focus on the App Store and the ease of downloading new iPhone applications wherever, whenever you like (and again I refer you to the Friday night possibilities for fun). [We missed "Vicinity" on the first look, but thanks to Alan for following up.]
“Lonely Planet” features a Lonely Planet phrasebook for Mandarin Chinese, which ties in nicely to the current Olympic festivities. “Cro Mag” shows Cro-Mag Rally, recently reduced to $5.99US, and actually demos the gameplay briefly before showing one of the interesting challenges of iPhone gaming — the phone call that interrupts your game.
Thanks Alan
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Brando unites external iPhone battery with speaker at long last
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Nothing says “I’m mad as hell about my iPhone 3G’s battery life and I’m not going to take it anymore” better than blasting it out of a loudspeaker. Bonus points for that loudspeaker being integrated with a battery pack, which in turn connects to your — you guess it — iPhone 3G (or original iPhone, if that’s how you roll). Well, $44 to the folks at Brando will buy you that very opportunity, it turns out. Who knew?
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AT&T adds two international data plans for iPhone, still pricey
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Following new plans geared to the decidedly less fruity phones in AT&T’s lineup earlier this month, the carrier has announced a pair of international data packages geared specifically toward the iPhone and iPhone 3G. The bad news is that they still cost more than the average subscriber’s entire monthly bill; the good news, though, is that they should still manage to save globetrotters a buck or two (or a thousand) who insist on keeping data roaming enabled while out in the field. 100MB of global data is going to set you back $119.99 on top of your regular package, while 200MB runs $199.99 — certainly not enough to go crazy in the App Store, but probably enough of a meager allowance to take care of email and stay on the grid. The new plans are available starting tomorrow.
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