Apple Reporter

Google is speculated to announce their new phone plans this Monday, November 5 (tomorrow). As one of the most speculated gadgets of this year (along with the iPhone), the “gPhone” rumors come in many forms, from the standard phone with the Google App suite, to the free ad-based wireless phone. In fact, some rumors say that the gPhone is not even a real phone at all, and merely a Linux-based phone OS for phones that already exist.

Whatever happens tomorrow, the real question is how does this affect Apple and the iPhone? Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt is on the board of directors at Apple, and I’m sure that Apple isn’t so happy that they are releasing a direct competitor to the iPhone. But will it be a real competitor to the amazingly-well selling iPhone? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Note - above picture is not actual gPhone, just a mockup found on Google Images.

If you haven’t jailbroken your iPhone/iPod Touch yet, it couldn’t get much easier then this. Go to jailbreakme.com and double-tap “Install AppSnapp”. This will install Installer.app for you on your iPhone/iPod Touch, and from there you can do what you want. This does use the TIFF exploit in Safari that has not been fixed yet, but now that this is out in the open, Apple is sure to patch it up quickly.

Apple announced several additions to the iPod, iPhone and iTunes today at a news conference in Cupertino.

iPods 

The iPod Shuffle retains its storage capacity but ads several new colors.  Price remains $79.

The completely redesigned iPod Nano loses its tall slender look in favor of a short version of the classic iPod, but adds a 2″ screen for watching videos and sharing photos.  Nano also adds cover flow, a popular feature on recent versions of iTunes and the iPhone, enabling users to flip through images of their iTunes cover artwork. Both 4Gig and 8Gig options are available at $149 and $199, respectively.

The 6th Generation iPod, now called iPod Classic offers a smoother design and dramatically increased storage.  The iPod Classic is now available in 80Gig and 160Gig versions, which hold up to 40,000 songs and up to 250 hours of video.  It seems that it will not be long before an iPod that holds the entire iTunes library is introduced. I’d love to hear from any reader who has actually filled a 20Gig iPod with music, let alone 160Gig.  Prices for the 80Gig and 160Gig versions are $249 and $349, respectively.

For everyone who wanted an iPhone for everything but the phone (myself included), the wait is over.  iPod Touch offers many of the same features of the iPhone: touchscreen iPod, brilliant 3.5 inch diagonal screen, video capabilities for movies and TV shows (although not any from NBC), and, most importantly, WiFi access.  The built in Safari browser allows users to access full web pages and web services.

iPhone

The wait is over - for an iPhone price reduction and storage increase.  There is something to be said about being the first to own an iPhone, and I have drooled in envy for every one I have had the opportunity to play around with.  But I knew why I was waiting.  The updated iPhone increases minimum storage capacity from 4Gig to 8Gig, and reduces the price a whopping $200 from $599 to $399.  Take this into consideration:  Apple’s buzz campaign for the iPhone, which began in January and culminated in June with the release of the device netted Apple an extra $200 million in margins.  Not bad. They were obviously able to sell the device for the lower price at launch, but chose to milk the “early adopter” craze of mobile phone contract-breakers, gadget freaks, and even people who didn’t know what the iPhone did - but had to have one anyway.  That strategy paid off, big.

iTunes

The iTunes WiFi Store was launched today, enabling iPhone or iPod Touch users to access over 6 million songs from any WiFi connection.  Users can browse the iTunes catalog, listen to 30 second previews, and purchase and download songs to their device.

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When the iPhone was launched on June 30 to much fanfare, the primary negative reaction was not “I already have a phone,” or “my contract doesn’t expire for another year.” Many, if not all, iPhone buyers were already mobile users, and most were willing to give up their existing contracts to get their hands on one. The primary negative reaction to the device was price. In a day of free or low cost phones, spending upwards of $600 plus a two year contract with AT&T.

Yesterday, Apple quietly added a small section to the Apple Store announcing refurbished iPhones for $100 off their launch price, bringing the cost of the 4Gig iPhone to $399 and the 8Gig to $499.

Who knows, maybe Steve Jobs has his hands on the next generation iPhone - and you can have his old one.

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Picli, the UK-based art-photo posting and rating site, recently launched iPicli, enabling users to view the site in an iPhone optimized format. Yesterday, the company announced users can now submit images directly from their iPhone to the iPicli site, using a special coded email address to avoid spam and other unauthorized postings.

Images are temporarily held in an “unpublished” area where users can add tags and descriptions of their images before posting to the live Picli site.

It will be interesting to see the quality of images coming directly from user’s iPhones compared to more professional images posted on the site. But since iPhone is based on Mac OS X, maybe an iPhone optimized version of Adobe Photoshop Elements is not too far off in the future…

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From a great creative and design inspiration site, Airbag Industries, a collection of free iPhone wallpapers in case you’ve had enough of Nemo.

Posted by Leigh Fatzinger OnMessage Blog

Apple has begun the iPhone print campaign, which has been seen in recent issues of the Economist, Newsweek, as well as on the back cover of the August 2007 Details magazine. Ads feature the tag line “Touching is Believing”.  That’s true, by the way.

More sites are up and running that are optimized for the iPhone.

Today, Picli, a UK-based photo sharing and voting site announced iPicli, which is optimized exclusively for viewing Picli images on the iPhone. Two things about this launch are impressive: it takes advantage of the completely smooth scrolling in the iPhone browser to view images on the featured gallery in Picli. Secondly, it shows the enthusiasm for developing iPhone optimized websites - even when the iPhone is not available outside of the United States.

In addition, Digg, the news voting and posting site, has launched their iPhone optimized site, which can be seen here.

Technorati Profile

Answering to one of the only substantial criticisms of the Apple iPhone in enterprise environments - the lack of synchronization to Microsoft Exchange email platforms - IceWeb, out of Herndon, Virginia announced today an iPhone email and synchronization solution for their hosted Exchange customers. It is a relatively clever fix working with both the limitations of the AT&T data network and the Exchange platform. This is a promising step to the end of the “walled garden” approach Apple has taken with 3rd party “push” email services.

And now the downside:

You need to be an IceWeb subscriber. Most people aren’t, but those who use both the iPhone and IceWeb are likely elated by this announcement.

It is only a step in the right direction to obtaining Blackberry-like functionality on the iPhone. Calendar, Address Book and To Do’s are still cradle-synched.

It is not “push” email. Rather, it allows an iPhone user to run a script to “pull” email from their Exchange servers.

According to the company’s press release:

“Apple is expected to release a software update in late Summer or Fall of 2007 that will expand upon the existing/base email and synchronization capabilities. This update is expected to allow full “over the air” wireless synchronization of Calendar, Contacts, and Email pulled from a Microsoft Exchange service such as IceMAIL. Until this update is released, the Apple IPhone utilizes a combination of desktop/cabled synchronization (for Calendar and Contacts) and IMAP wireless email send/receive.”

In other words…it’s a start.  And for customers of IceWeb, it may just be enough to limit the number of devices that need to be carried around in addition to the iPhone.

UPDATE: THIS CONTEST HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

I am creating a new masthead for Apple Reporter. That little “talking bubble” is getting so passé now that Apple Reporter is gathering momentum (and readers) don’t you think? There are some guidelines to follow, of course, and a deadline, and of course, prizes! So what’s the scoop? (more…)

It’s official, the much-anticipated iPhone has a release date: June 29th. The commercial aired during 60 Minutes this week confirmed what we’ve all been waiting to hear: when, exactly, we can get our hot little hands on an iPhone.

Now the speculation can begin in earnest. some of my favorite Mac rumors swirling around the interwebs today are the rumor of the 12th mystery application, the opening of the iPhone platform at WWDC in June and the New York Times’ concern that the iPhone has been so hyped people will actually be disappointed with it once they get it. (not likely)

(more…)

Amazon announced today that it was finally opening its long-rumored DRM free music store. You an look for it to open later this year. With a full catalog of DRM free music and 12000 choices so far, is this a threat to iTunes? Not really. Apple continues to be at the forefront of the DRM free fight with the remaining three record labels (EMI being the only major label who has already signed on with both Amazon and Apple). Steve Jobs continues to use his heavy hitting industry clout to bend the last hold outs to his will, er, make them sign a DRM free agreement for his customers. (more…)

BoyGenius reports that AT&T has released the following internal memo, limiting vacation time for its employees during part of June and July in anticipation of a heavy sales period fueled by the release of the iPhone. Hat tip to BoyGenius for the heads up!

To: All Company Owned Retail Employees

From: [Name removed]

Subject: iPhone Launch Period

Date: May 4, 2007

As previously announced, Apple and AT&T will soon debut the iPhone,
which combines a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and
breakthrough internet communications into one small and lightweight
handheld device. The new AT&T has a multiyear, exclusive agreement to
provide U.S. service for the iPhone.

To ensure proper staffing during the product launch period, Sales personnel
planning to take approved time off are encouraged to schedule their
vacations before June 15 or after July 15 to participate in the iPhone
launch.

Previously approved vacation will be allowed where voluntary rescheduling
is not feasible

No additional vacation requests will be approved during the launch period
(6/15 – 7/15).

I want to thank you in advance for your understanding as this is likely to
be the biggest selling period we have seen in a few years.

Happy Selling,

[Name removed]

From the Apple News Page, breaking news on the release of Apple’s next generation operating system, Leopard, and the release of the iPhone:

Apple Statement

iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard’s features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we’re sure we’ve made the right ones. [Apr 12, 2007]

Apple started a test program in recent months that made their systems available at Best Buy brick and mortar stores. It worked so well in the handful of Best Buys that carried their products that they have reached an agreement to expand. Now you can get your daily recommended dose of fruit at 200 more Best Buy stores.

The program has been tried a few other times with limited success, notably in 1998 and in 2004. Recent successes have been credited to an increase in store employees trained in Apple product usage and sales (it isn’t just their operating system and look that is different than the Microsoft world). The first stores to add Apple to their product lineup are the stores that have experienced a slow down in sales of Windows products.

In addition to adding Apple computers to the line up at hundreds of select Best Buy stores, other products will make an appearance as well. iPods and Apple TVs will be sold in every Best Buy store when the program starts. The iPhone is rumored to be making an appearance as well, if Best Buy offers Cingular/AT&T sign up along with it, as it is still under contract as a Cingular exclusive.

I think apple making their products more available to more consumers is a smart move. They have been in limited Circuit City stores and nearly all CompUSA stores for some time now, and show significant improvement in sales from it.