Maybe you don't need a fancy-pants case for your iPhone. You just want to keep it as protected as possible and you're happy to keep it stowed away whenever you're not using it. If you're just such a person, you might consider Marware's $20 Sportsuit Sleeve for iPhone.
The Sportsuit Sleeve is a simple, neoprene pouch sized for the iPhone. Similar to Marware's Sleeve cases for the iPod line, this SportSuit Sleeve features a Velcro-adorned flap to secure the top of the case, with a notch cut out of the flap on the left side for access to the iPhone's headphone jack. The front of the case has an elastic pocket, made of Marware's "Orca-skin" elastic fabric, for storing your iPhone's earbuds or other small accessories. On the back of the case, which is internally reinforced with a stiff card, you'll find a mount for Marware's Multidapt system for accessories. Included with the case is a plastic, quick-release, Multidapt belt clip that swivels 360 degrees, a clear-plastic film for protecting the iPhone's screen, and a microfiber cloth for cleaning.
The construction of the case is solid: the neoprene is thick and cushiony, so accidentally dropping your iPhone will probably not inflict substantial damage on it. The belt clip is plastic, but feels secure and is not likely to come off by accident. However, one problem with the nature of the case is that since the iPhone's speaker is not exposed, ringtones and other alerts are often muffled. (If the case is attached to your belt, the vibration is usually still strong enough for you to feel the phone ringing—although in cases where the phone vibrates only once, it's easy to miss.) And, of course, using any of the iPhone's controls involves, at the very least, opening the Velcro flap, if not removing the phone from the case entirely.
One major benefit of the Sportsuit Sleeve's appearance is that it doesn't immediately scream "I've got an iPhone!"—potentially making your handset less of a target for would-be thieves.
If you're looking for a simple, low-profile case and don't mind the inconveniences of a pouch-style design, the Sportsuit Sleeve might meet your needs.
With firm dates for the iPhone's appearance on the European continent (even if limited only to the UK, France, and Germany), thoughts begin to move farther afield. Apple's said that they plan to continue their expansion into Asia in 2008, but what of specific news of deals with providers in other countries?
Well, according to the CEO of Telstra, the largest telecommunications company in Australia, they're in discussions with Apple over bringing the iPhone to the land down under.
[CEO Sol] Trujillo said Telstra would be interested in the device if it delivered an enhanced experience for their customers.That's kind of a turn from back in February, when Telstra's #2, Greg Winn, said Apple should "stick to its knitting." Winn has since allegedly been fitted with a lovely crocheted gag."The answer is simple: yes we'd be interested and we're exploring that option," he said.
"We've had conversations with Apple and a lot of others and what's interesting now is that everybody's now responding to the Apple iPhone.
Of course, it's not all candy and rainbows: Telstra uses a technology called "Next G" that operates in the 850MHz frequency and supposedly requires specialized handsets (the iPhone's Quad-band radio does, however, work at 850MHz, so I'm not sure how much alteration is necessary). And, of course, the question remains as to whether Telstra will pony up the same sorts of deals as other providers.
Mr Trujillo said deals struck between Apple and AT&T in the US, O2 in the UK, T Mobile in Germany and Orange in France - all believed to involve revenue sharing - would have no bearing on a possible deal between Apple and Telstra.Yeah, good luck with that one, Sol.
In the first few days after installing 1.1.1, I started noticing that, for the first time, my iPhone's battery life seemed to be suffering from a problem with premature exhaustion. At first I chalked it up to chance: perhaps I'd been overusing the phone, or maybe I just hadn't been paying good enough attention.
But the other night, my iPhone's battery ran all the way down, after a fairly normal amount of usage. At that point, I started investigating this problem with a thoroughness reminiscent of the great detectives of our age: Columbo, Miss Marple, and of course, Encyclopedia Brown.
What I found, sprinkled throughout Apple's Discussion Boards, was a substantial number of anecdotal stories that seemed to concur with what I had noticed: after installing the 1.1.1 update, battery life appeared to be greatly reduced. Some users pointed fingers at the iPhone's Wi-Fi implementation, which in some cases seemed to be having problems as well (I sometimes can't find my home network when I'm sitting five feet from the router); others noted that the phone had grown increasingly warm (another symptom I'd noticed).
Several users have reported that restoring their phones firmware to 1.1.1 has alleviated the issue; others have gone so far as to take their phones back to the Apple Store and have them replaced. Given that the problem seems to have occurred with the advent of the 1.1.1 update, it suggests that what the software taketh away it could giveth back. But despite the fact the thread is listed as "Answered," no official statement has been made by Apple, and no 100% effective solution found.
So, I ask you, fellow iPhoners: have you noticed anything of this sort? Battery life dropping, warm iPhones, problems with Wi-Fi? Hit the comments below and let us in on it.
Apple and T-Mobile have released information about the rate plans for the iPhone in Germany, so if you're in Germany, and interested in buying an iPhone, we're guessing you will be quite interested. All plans include unlimited data (of course), Visual Voicemail (right), and access to T-Mobile's 8000 Wi-Fi hot spots in Germany—whaaa? This is, on the face of it, roughly the same deal as Apple struck with O2 in the UK, and which our fearless leader Mr. Snell mourned the lack of in the US.
In terms of phone usage, however, that €49 gets you just 100 minutes and 40 text messages. You can also shell out €69 to jump up to 200 minutes and 150 text messages, or €89 for the grand daddy of 1000 minutes and 300 text messages. I'm not sure exactly how this compares to what German phone users usually get—a quick check of T-Mobile Germany's site (thoughtfully rendered into English) shows a 100 minute plan going for €28, a 200 minute plan for €38, and a 1000 minute plan for €68. And, of course, the iPhone plans get you some text messages, unlimited data, and hot spots thrown in, which doesn't seem too shabby.
What say you, readers from Deutschland? Outrageous or in line with your usual prices?
The next time Apple wants to bring the hammer down on someone for leaking details about an upcoming product or feature, maybe they should start with Jimmy Smits.
That's what faithful reader Markito is wondering, anyhow, after watching an episode of the CBS drama Cane, which stars former U.S. President Matthew Santos. We'll let Markito pick up the narrative from this point:
I was excited to see one of the characters (a daughter) texting her boyfriend on her iPhone about being grounded. Suddenly I was shocked to see the boyfriend's photo next to his text message, as if it were iChat.My question is, is the chat-side photo a new feature that I just never found out about, or is Hollywood photoshopping again (like the upside-down iPhone on Journeyman)?
It wasn't a static shot of the phone, as she was actually typing a text message on it. But it all looked very black and white, so probably fake.
Markito thoughtfully included a screen capture so you could see this iChat-like interface on the iPhone with your own two eyes.
So getting back to the question at hand: Is this some actual new feature or just another example of Hollywood fakery like CGI and green screens and Dane Cook's career?
Hollywood fakery, I say. I'll explain my rationale after the jump.
Continue reading "Tonight on Cane: New iPhone features"
Way to act like my dad, Apple. So just because other people have been buying iPhones for the purpose of unlocking them and reselling them, I get punished? According to the AP, Apple has imposed a limit of two iPhones per customer, and isn't allowing customers to pay with cash (or, according to other sources, with Apple Gift Cards). Previous to the policy change, which occurred last Thursday, customers were allowed to buy up to five iPhones in whatever way they wished.
It's kind of an odd move, when you think about, making it harder for people to buy your product. But it appears that the unlocking contingent has Apple seriously worried—is it purely about the money they might lose out on from the deal, or are they worried about upsetting AT&T? There also remains the question of what happens when a legitimate unlocked iPhone goes on sale in France at the end of next month. We expect the price premium to be considerable, and I'd guess that similar sales limits might be enforced.
[Image via Bloomberg]
It's true: after the 1.1.1 update to the iPhone, I thought things would never again be the same when it came to installing third-party applications. But I should never have doubted my own sage words of advice. If anything, the latest method of installing third-party applications is even easier than the prior AppTapp method: you don't even have to connect the iPhone to your computer.
Before installing, it's recommended you get on a Wi-Fi network and set your phone's auto-lock to "never" (under Settings -> General -> Auto Lock). Then just point Safari towards jailbreakme.com. Read the information, and then head down to the bottom where it says "Install AppSnapp." Clicking that link will cause Safari to quit and return you to the home screen—but don't touch anything yet. After a minute or so, the iPhone will return you to the "Slide to unlock" screen. And then you're all set: on your Home screen you'll find the icon for the new Installer.app (which, incidentally, is a lot slicker-looking than even the earlier versions).
Now, here's the scary part. This hack relies on a vulnerability in Safari's handling of TIFF files, meaning that essentially it's giving arbitrary code on the web access to your entire phone. If that worries you, don't install this hack. The good news, however, is that if you install the hack, it will supposedly patch that vulnerability. So there you go! Me, I'm just psyched to have third-party apps back.
[via Gizmodo]
Apple's notoriously close-mouthed when it comes to the specifics of its business deals. In Monday's financial results conference call, questions about Apple's deal with AT&T were met with a polite but firm admonition from Fred Oppenheimer, followed by a comment about how nice the weather was in Siberia this time of year.
But that doesn't prevent analysts from analyzing. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray did a little bit of magic math and came up with a figure: $18. That's the amount that AT&T gives Apple per month per iPhone customer, coming to a total of $432 over the life of a two-year contract. That number's by no mean absolute; Citibank's Richard Gardner did his own adding and subtracting and came up with a $12 figure, which works out to $288 for 24 months. Either way, it's worth noting that if 250,000 iPhones were indeed purchased for unlocking, that's a substantial amount of potential cash that Apple is losing out on—possibly as much as $130 million in profits. Just think how many iPhones they could buy with that...wait.
The 1.1.1 crackfest continues with the release of iFunstastic 4.6.1. What can you do with iFuntastic? Heck, what can't you do with it? Besides custom ringtones, changing up your Home screen, and altering the system sounds, the program also makes it a snap to jailbreak your phone, regardless of the firmware version. It'll even walk you through downgrading to 1.0.2, jailbreaking, and then upgrading back to 1.1.1 in such a way that it keeps your phone hackable.
The major annoyance at this point is the time it takes, and the number of times you have to restart your phone along the way. Other than that, though, this is iPhone hacking at its best. One other note: iFuntastic is now shareware. You'll get five free uses, but after that, you'll have to pony up $5.
