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February 2008 Archives
Feb 1, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:30 PM ETReview: Seidio Super Slim Rubberized Hard Case for iPhone
That's right, it's not just slim, it's super slim. The $30 Super Slim Rubberized Hard Case for iPhone from Seidio is a two-piece, hardshell case that's designed to protect your iPhone from the harsh environment of the everyday world. But does it live up to the name? Let's take a...
Feb 1, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:03 PM ET
Garmin navigates its way into iPhone territory
We've long had to put up with a seemingly endless parade of would-be "iPod killers," so it seems only fitting that we've now moved on to a bevy of "iPhone killers." Latest among this devious lineup is the first cellphone entry from GPS maker Garmin, the nüvifone. At first glance,...
Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 2:09 PM ET
iPhone vs. semi-trailer
Here's another one to file away under iPhone durability. We've seen how well the iPhone handles a direct shot from a golf ball (hint: not great). But how will it deal with being run over by a semi truck? Mike Beauchamp accidentally left his iPhone on the back of his...
Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 1:09 PM ET
Say hello to the 16GB iPhone
For the first time since the iPhone's release, Apple's rolled out a new hardware version of the handset, one which doubles the included storage to 16GB of flash memory, for a cost of $499. The 8GB unit remains $399, which means that the same cost that fetched you a 4GB...
Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 4:38 PM ET
Apple takes the bronze for worldwide smartphone market share
So, now that we're half a year into the iPhone's reign of terror, how goes the fight against smartphones everywhere? Market analysis firm Canalys has posted some data from the last quarter of 2007, giving us an idea of where exactly the market for smartphones stands. While Nokia continued to...
Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:23 AM ET
New iPhone ads for the Audi driver and social network addict
Imagine you're out buying an Audi A4. Such is the premise of one of Apple's two new iPhone commercials, available on their website as of this morning. One, Cars, focuses again on the iPhone's capability for bringing the entire Internet to your iPhone so you make sure you always get...
Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 2:59 PM ET
AT&T rolling out 3G all over the place
3G, 3G, 3G—it's like the Marcia Brady of wireless technologies. Some days, that's all I hear about. No, the iPhone hasn't gone 3G yet, despite word from those on high that the technology will find its way into the handset by year's end. But, as you may recall from Steve's...
Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 5:17 PM ET
Upgrade your iPhone without a new (Faustian) contract
With the release of the new 16GB iPhone yesterday, there was some question over whether or not AT&T would make you sign a new two-year contract if you merely upgraded your phone. Wired reported that some complaints on Apple's discussion boards indicated they were being told they had to get...
Feb 7, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:51 AM ET
iPhone vulnerable to JavaScript exploit
The dangers of the Interweb are almost enough for me to go back to writing letters and sending telegrams to my loved ones—almost. You think browsing the net on your iPhone is safe and then wham—you get hit by a truck. Literally. Because you weren't looking where you were going....
Feb 8, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 10:47 AM ET
Having the Internet on your phone is grrrrrrreat
Apple's going advercrazy. Earlier in the week, two new iPhone ads showed up on the Internets. Now, the final part of the trilogy has appeared: The Great Thing. If you can guess what this ad is about, I promise to buy a cookie, should we ever meet in person. And...
Feb 8, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 2:49 PM ET
1.1.3 unlockable out of the box
So says George Hotz, who you may remember from his infamous hardware unlock back in August of last year—if not, don't worry, we've posted his face as a refresher. This time, the procedure doesn't require you to take life, limb, and soldering iron into your own hands, but nor is...
Feb 11, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:18 PM ET
AT&T orders up Starbucks Wi-Fi
The one upside to Starbucks's ubiquity, in my opinion, is that it means you can almost always find reliable Wi-Fi access, even if you have to shell out a few bucks for it. Up until now, the service had been provided by a deal that the coffee empire had struck...
Feb 11, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 6:03 PM ET
Subterranean navigation on your iPhone
I spend my fair share of time—and, come to think of it, many other people's fair shares as well—on the road these days, usually for work. In that regard, the iPhone is one of the best things that's happened to me: even without GPS, Google Maps is a great help...
Feb 12, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:10 AM ET
Hills to be alive to the sound of iPhone ringtones
To those Austrians jealous of their neighbors to the northwest, the news that the iPhone is coming to their home country might be worth a little celebration. According to T-Mobile CEO Hamid Akhavan, the company will be Apple's partner in Austria—or, if you prefer, Österreich. The phone will be reportedly...
Feb 12, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:04 PM ET
iPhone's gray market isn't black and white
We know that lots and lots of phones are being sold that aren't used on Apple's partners' networks, and we furthermore know that these phones are being spread all over the world. BusinessWeek's Peter Burrows takes a look at the gray market of iPhones: handsets that are bought from Apple...
Feb 13, 2008 - Posted by Peter Cohen at 2:11 PM ET
Case-mate offers Privacy Screen Pro for iPhone
Case-mate on Wednesday announced the release of the Privacy Screen Pro for the iPhone. It costs $20. The Privacy Screen Pro is a clear screen attachment that adheres to the iPhone using static cling. It prevents casual users from seeing what’s on your iPhone screen — at angles 45 degrees...
Feb 13, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:40 PM ET
iWebSaver helps keep pages for on the go
Those of us who've been using Mobile Safari for any length of time have dealt with this not infrequent frustration. There you are, reading a news article on the latest celebrity break-ups the upcoming election, but you're about to head onto the subway/get on a plane/enter a dead spot. Sometimes...
Feb 14, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 10:58 AM ET
Mac developer on developing for the iPhone
If you're a Mac developer looking forward to the release of the iPhone Software Development Kit with a glee usually reserved for Christmas mornings, then you might want to temper that enthusiasm just a wee bit. Developing for the iPhone, as it turns out, won't be quite like developing for...
Feb 15, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:11 PM ET
Device allows you to watch TV on your iPhone
I ask you this: why can't I watch TV on my iPhone? Seems like it can do everything else. Packet Video's matchbox-sized Mobile Broadcast Receiver, demoed earlier this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, aims to fill that niche. The device basically acts as a go-between for television...
Feb 15, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:00 PM ET
iPhone users search on Google. A lot.
At this past week's Mobile World Congress, Google's Vic Gundotra, head of mobile operations, told the Financial Times that search traffic from iPhones was blowing away the competition—to the tune of 50 times the amount of searches coming from other mobile devices. In fact, the numbers were so out of...
Feb 18, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 10:26 AM ET
Skyhook makes finding yourself even easier
Those of you looking for more accurate positioning from your iPhone's Wi-Fi location functions will be happy to know that the process just got even easier. When we first explained how to add your access point to Skyhook Wireless's database, it required you to assemble a bunch of information and...
Feb 18, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:03 PM ET
China reputedly home to 400,000 unlocked iPhones
Talks with Chinese telecom partners may not be going swimmingly, but that doesn't mean that the iPhone hasn't gotten its foot in the door of the world's most populous country. According to China Mobile, the country's biggest mobile operator, there are 400,000 unlocked iPhones currently in service on their network....
Feb 18, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 1:10 PM ET
Quick and dirty tracking apps for your iPhone
Looking for a way to easily track recurring information like expenses or mileage by harnessing the awesome power of your iPhone? A reader over at our sister site, Mac OS X Hints, may have just the thing for you. Using Google Docs's recently rolled out survey feature, you can quickly...
Feb 19, 2008 - Posted by Philip Michaels at 1:20 PM ET
"Your singing was as dreadful as this touchscreen interface is wonderful"
Apple and American Idol are teaming up to bring music and video content to the iTunes Store. But lost amid the hoopla over the news that you'll be able to buy 99-cent versions of would-be musical superstars caterwauling pop tunes is the iPhone-related angle to this Apple-Idol partnership. Specifically, Apple...
Feb 19, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:57 PM ET
MegaPhone 1.5 comes through loud and clear
If you've liked iPhoneDrive, you'll love MegaPhone—mainly because they're the same product. The team at Ecamm Network have renamed our favorite Swiss Army knife iPhone utility and rolled in a bunch of new features for MegaPhone 1.5. Top on the list: the ability to add and edit Notes on the...
Feb 19, 2008 - Posted by Dan Frakes at 6:47 PM ET
Make Safari stop rotating, for better bedtime surfing
I don't know about anyone else, but much of my iPhone Web surfing happens during down time: when I'm lounging on the couch or on the floor of the family room, or before I go to sleep at night. Sometimes I'm sitting up, but I occasionally lean to the...
Feb 20, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:55 AM ET
iPlayer coming to iPhone within weeks
And here I was complaining that I couldn't watch TV on my iPhone. Seems my pleas have been heard: the BBC has announced plans to bring support for its iPlayer service, which streams free episodes of BBC television shows, to the iPod touch and iPhone. You know what this'll mean?...
Feb 21, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:17 PM ET
Touchpad turns your iPhone into a portable trackpad
Now here's an application for the iPhone that I can get behind. Jahanzeb Sherwani, a Computer Science PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University, has developed an iPhone app called Touchpad that lets you turn your iPhone's touchscreen into a proxy pointing device for your Mac or PC. Use it to...
Feb 21, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 1:15 PM ET
Make your iPhone shake and rattle before it rocks and rolls
You probably know that you can have your iPhone both ring and vibrate by adjusting the options under Settings -> Sounds, but what if you want it to vibrate first, and then ring, as many other cell phones do? A reader of New York Times tech columnist David Pogue's blog...
Feb 21, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 4:34 PM ET
Review: Marware Sidewinder for iPhone
The advent of the iPhone has prompted so many case manufacturers to come up with holster-based designs that it's difficult, at times, to tell all of them apart. At least Marware's $25 Sidewinder for iPhone has one distinctive feature: its retractable arm for managing those unwieldy iPhone earbuds. But beyond...
Feb 22, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:20 AM ET
Solve the multiple camera application launch dilemma
OS X has long allowed you to specify what application gets launched when you attach certain devices, such as a digital camera, to your Mac, but sometimes this can be more annoyance than feature. For example, say you've got both a digital camera and your iPhone: you probably don't mind...
Feb 22, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:14 PM ET
iPhone location as theft deterrent
I don't know if iPhone theft is a huge problem—I've had mine for over six months, and the only people who've tried to steal it are people I actually know, but I presume that, like any expensive gadget, it's a tempting target for thieves. But hey, unlike your average iPod...
Feb 22, 2008 - Posted by Roman Loyola at 1:10 PM ET
Review: Incipio Executive Ovrmld
Incipio’s Executive Ovrmld ($25) combines leather and plastic to create a protective shell for your iPhone. The only parts of the iPhone that the case leaves exposed are the ones that need to be—the touchscreen, Home button, receiver speaker, and sensors on the front; the speaker, microphone, and dock-connector port...
Feb 25, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:28 AM ET
And the winner is...iPhone!
In case you didn't watch the 80th Academy Awards last night (hey, it's my equivalent of the Superbowl), you may have missed a cameo by our favorite device, the iPhone. I'll say no more about the clip, but other than the iPhone, the only other technological gadget to appear during...
Feb 25, 2008 - Posted by Roman Loyola at 2:11 PM ET
Review: Incipio ECOcase
With its brown canvas covering and "pouch" design, Incipio’s earthy-looking Ecocase ($20) provides almost complete coverage of the iPhone—once you slide in your iPhone, nearly all its surfaces are protected. Of course, as with all pouch cases, you have to take your iPhone out of the Ecocase to access the...
Feb 25, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:28 PM ET
I can't get no iPhone satisfaction? Not true, say business users.
To all those who said the iPhone couldn't possibly succeed in the world of business, I proffer this one interesting statistic: according to the folks at ChangeWave Research, Apple led the pack in business customer satisfaction among smart phone manufacturers, topping the likes of RIM, Palm, and Motorola. A healthy...
Feb 25, 2008 - Posted by Dan Pourhadi at 4:28 PM ET
Water turns 8GB iPhone into 16GB iPhone
I made a fascinating discovery today, one which will undoubtedly land me an interview spot on CNN and a stint on all the major morning talk shows: drop your 8GB iPhone into a glass of water -- entirely submerged -- and watch it be magically replaced by a brand-new 16GB...
Feb 25, 2008 - Posted by Philip Michaels at 5:43 PM ET
SDK ETA?
Are you the type who set your Countdown Dashboard widget to February as soon as Apple promised that this would be the month it rolled out a Software Development Kit for the iPhone? If so, you may want to start thinking of March as the new February... at least if...
Feb 26, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:41 AM ET
Listen to, don't watch, your video podcasts and music videos
Want to save a little battery life while listening to your favorite video podcast on your iPhone? Or maybe you just want to cue it up to listen to when you're at the gym working out, but don't need to watch the video. An anonymous tipster over at our sister...
Feb 26, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 2:30 PM ET
iPhone 1.1.4 is all about the bug fixes
As you may have read over at our lovely parent site (or seen as you plugged your iPhone into iTunes), firmware update 1.1.4 is on its way down the tubes. I've already upgraded my phone to the latest available software, so I can take full advantage of its brand new...er...bug...
Feb 26, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:42 PM ET
College offers iPhones to incoming freshmen
Back when I was a freshman, we were lucky if our rooms had cable TV hookups and, er, running water. Nowadays, forking over tens of thousands of dollars a year not only gets you an education, but also—in the case of the almost 5,000 student Abilene Christian University—your own iPhone...
Feb 26, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 4:57 PM ET
Review: Contour Design iSee for iPhone
I'm not usually a huge fan of holster cases; there's something about them that makes me feel a little too corporate. I also worry from time to time—perhaps irrationally—about the phone falling out of the holster and being dashed into a million pieces. Still, I can understand the appeal of...
Feb 27, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:57 PM ET
Apple announces special event for SDK and "enterprise features"
Well, it's still February now, but it looks as though the SDK may not officially make it out the door until next month, suggesting that rumors of a delay were on the money. Apple's now sending out invitations to the press for a special event to announce the iPhone's Software...
Feb 27, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:29 PM ET
Review: Belkin Acrylic Case for iPhone
Belkin's $30 Acrylic Case for iPhone is like many other plastic iPhone cases on the market these days: it's transparent, protects most of your iPhone from damage, and--most importantly--doesn't get in the way of using the phone. The Acrylic Case consists of two halves that sandwich the iPhone between them:...
Feb 28, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 11:05 AM ET
Irish iPhones are smilin'
Thanks to the fact that it shares a mobile phone provider with one of Apple's already established countries, it appears that Ireland will be the next nation on the list to receive iPhone-hood. O2, the iPhone's British distributor, said today that they'll bring the iPhone to Eire on March 14th....
Feb 28, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:01 PM ET
Tim Cook: Apple "not married" to exclusive deals for iPhone
Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook spoke yesterday at the Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium in Las Vegas and had some interesting things to say about the iPhone. In what's already becoming one of those soundbites heard 'round the world, Cook made a comment about Apple's choice to use exclusive...
Feb 28, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 1:17 PM ET
Apple faces patent suit over caller ID
It's time for yet another iPhone lawsuit, this time from my grand old home state of Massachusetts. An electronics consultant by the name of Romek Figa claims to hold a patent which the iPhone infringes upon—namely, the display of caller ID information. The patent was granted wayyyyy back when in...
Feb 28, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 3:53 PM ET
Review: Seidio Rubberized Spring Clip Holster for Unskinned iPhone
I admit I was a little skeptical of Seidio's $30 Rubberized Spring Clip Holster for Unskinned iPhone after my first encounter with it. The simple holster uses a mostly-open design with only two small, curved brackets at the bottom and a spring clip at the top for keeping the iPhone...
Feb 28, 2008 - Posted by Jason Snell at 7:40 PM ET
Five headphone/microphone adapters reviewed
Over at the Mothership, I review five headphone adapters (microphone and clicker included) for the iPhone. The contenders are: the Griffin Technology SmartTalk, the Shure Music Phone Adapter, the Boom Bags iJack, the Newer Technology Mic Extender, and the FastMac iPhone Adapter w/ Mic. Click on over to Macworld.com to...
Feb 29, 2008 - Posted by Dan Moren at 12:55 PM ET
Review: Marware Sport Grip for iPhone
Marware's $15 Sport Grip for iPhone is a silicone skin case for the iPhone that's available in blue, pink, clear, and black. The Sport Grip provides simple protection for the iPhone while leaving all of its controls easily accessible. As with most silicone skins, the Sport Grip has a large...
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