iPhone News Feeds

Saturday, March 1, 2008 — 12:27 a.m. — on my couch

80,468.

That’s how many page views iPTIB had in February.

That’s incredible.

I’m speechless. Last month, when we had 63,000, I wondered how we’d ever top it. Now I know.

Thanks to you, iPTIB is RedEye’s most popular blog. And thanks to you, iPTIB is one of the most popular iPhone blogs in the world. Yes, the world.

Whether you are someone who checks 4 or 5 times a day or once or twice a month, I could have never posted numbers like this without you. From your insightful comments and questions to your work in the Twitter Army to your IMs and e-mails … you make a difference here and I thank you very much for that.

Still, it only gets better my friends. We’ve got an SDK coming soon. A 3G iPhone is right around the corner. Soon, we’ll have more than one type of iPhone to talk about. And someday we’ll have more than 2. And I plan to be here every step of the way as your iPhone leader.

Remember, it has never been easier to get iPTIB wherever you are. You know I’m always blogging away. Plus, we have the Twitter Army for breaking news and starting Monday you can get the best of iPTIB Monday through Friday via an SMS alert.

And as I always say … I want to know what I can do to make your iPhone experience better. Let me know what you want to see more of … less of … whatever’s on your mind. If you have an idea you want to explore, send it my way and we’ll talk about it.

I’m heading to bed … I still can’t believe we broke 80,000 page views. That’s more than a quarter million since we’ve launched.

As I said before, that’s incredible.

Thank you again, callers — each and every one of you — for your support. I look forward to what’s next.

Thanks for calling.

Friday, February 29, 2008 — 5:28 p.m. — on my couch

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Earlier today, iLounge posted a report from sources that reportedly talked about the SDK. They mentioned that Apple would be restrictive in how the applications were handled.

But Electronista has a different report that puts things in a much more positive light.

It says that Apple would only place restrictions on apps that are sold for a fee through iTunes and not restrict free programs at all.

That’s a good model and that makes sense. If you have to pay $10 for an app in iTunes and Apple gets a piece of that pie, then the company should have a say in it. But free apps — which could number in the thousands — wouldn’t be scrutinized.

But remember … we don’t know anything for certain until March 6. One thing Steve Jobs doesn’t want to do I’m sure is get up on stage and start talking about rules and regulations. There needs to be something said for creativity.

I for one don’t buy games off the iTunes store now because I don’t have an iPod that plays games. I always worried that if I did I’d be bankrupt because I’d buy everything in sight. With the SDK coming, I may need to lock my credit card away.

7 days and we’ll know.

Comments are open for any thoughts, as always.

I’ll write on the weekend as time permits and of course as news happens.

Remember, sign up for Twitter breaking alerts at www.twitter.com/iptib before March 6 and you’ll get the news as soon as I get it … and remember Monday is the first day of daily SMS alerts. Just text iphone to 25808. Now you never have to miss a single thing at iPTIB.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Thanks for calling.

If you happen to own an iPhone, and you happen to have updated to the 1.1.4 firmware, you can now easily jailbreak, activate, and unlock your phone with a couple of simple solutions. As you may have heard, iNdependence 1.4 beta 5 is out, which will do all sorts of non-Apple approved things to your device from OS X, though if you’re looking for the ultimate cross-platform solution, you probably can’t do better than the latest version Zibri’s all-in-one package, Ziphone 2.5. Both apps make it about a million times easier than this was a few weeks ago, though we’ve seen video of a new solution — jailbreaking directly from iTunes – that could make this process even simpler (though considerably more illegal). Check that out after the break and get a glimpse of your deviant future.[Via TUAW; Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Friday, February 29, 2008 — 1:19 p.m. — on my couch

I got a question from a caller about Twitter vs. SMS, and it got me to thinking that I should probably should clarify a few things that I hope will be helpful.

You might remember my original Twitter post called My Twitter Philosophy, where I explained when I would use Twitter and when I wouldn’t. In a nutshell, I never want Twitter — or SMS for that matter — to be a substitute for the blog — they should all work together in tandem and do different jobs.

Twitter is for breaking news and big posts that I think you should read right away. Because you all embraced Twitter so quickly, I coined it the Twitter Army and am now proud to report that we have 120 recruits. I’m looking to increase that greatly.

SMS is a daily capsule/summary of what folks — yours truly included — are talking about at the blog.

My hope is that you’ll go for both methods … Twitter to be alerted instantly when the 3G iPhone comes out and SMS to catch up on some lively comments from the Twitter community — which, by the way, now extends to more than 40 countries.

Several of you have already signed up for the daily SMS alert, and I thank you very much for that.

Remember, there’s no charge for either of these services beyond the normal text message that comes out of your allowance. And, there’s a certain peace of mind in knowing that you can rest assured you’ll get breaking news when it breaks and reliable updates every day.

I’m really dedicated to building both the Twitter Army and the SMS alerts. The more people, the merrier … simply because it means that I know you are all getting the news you want and need fast.

Let me know if you have questions. I’m always here.

Thanks for calling.

Friday, February 29, 2008 — 12:30 p.m. — on my couch

WANT DAILY IPTIB TEXT ALERTS? TEXT IPHONE TO 25808 

You all may have seen iLounge’s report today about the SDK.

In a nutshell, iLounge’s sources say that the final SDK isn’t due until June, iTunes will be the central hub for downloading the apps and developers likely won’t have access to products that use the dock connector, but will have access to Wi-Fi and the camera.

Good story … the new part of this is the dock connector limitation. If true, it would certainly impact the kinds of great things we could get.

I’ve mentioned before that iTunes will be the hub for the applications. I’ve mentioned that Apple will want full and strict control over what an official app is. And I’ve mentioned that we have to be prepared that an event called the SDK roadmap could mean that we get only a taste first and the full meal later.

iLounge is right on that stuff … this isn’t the world premiere. This is the final trailer. The time between March 6 and June is actually going to be the most exciting time in the SDK world, even if it makes us bite our nails off and pull our hair out.

Feel free to discuss in the comments … I know you all want the SDK badly and are trying hard to wait … I know it’s not easy. Believe me, I do. … but I think what we see March 6 will be pretty wowing. I really do.

I hope I’m right.

Thanks for calling.

Friday, February 29, 2008 — 12:07 p.m. — on my couch

WANT DAILY IPTIB TEXT ALERTS? TEXT IPHONE TO 25808 

**UPDATED WITH QUOTES FROM O2 IRELAND CEO.**

Just wanted to let all the readers in Ireland and elsewhere know that I’ll be following up soon on some of the most burning questions concerned iPhone Ireland — from the lack of visual voicemail to the high tariffs to the limited data plans.

I now have a contact at O2 Ireland who is currently getting me some answers. With the time difference I may not hear anything back before Monday, but the wheels are in motion.

It’s interesting to note the prices in Ireland … very different from the U.K. for example.

The entry level tariff includes 175 minutes and 100 SMS messages for €45 a month. If you do some quick conversion that’s about £34 in the U.K. Difference is that in the U.K. for that price you get 600 minutes and 500 SMS message. So clearly there’s a discrepancy. That’s not to mention of course the visual voicemail and free Wi-Fi access at Cloud hotspots that is not included in Ireland.

And according to Independent.ie, O2 Ireland isn’t apologizing for the fact that the Irish iPhone will cost more than any other.
“You can’t compare it with other products,” Danuta Gray, O2 Ireland CEO said yesterday. “Comparing it with a standard handset is just not like-for-like. I have music on it, videos on it, DVDs, photo albums, camera. To me it’s just an amazing device and I think the type of price here compared with this type of functionality is where the value should be judged.”

No question that it’s an amazing device, but there’s one thing Gray may be underestimating. First off, she confirmed that the network won’t accept unlocked phones … but with Ireland being late to the game and everyone knowing the price outside of Ireland, consumers may be more interested in giving O2 the business instead of their business.

Is O2 in for a backlash? Will Visual Voicemail and unlimited data ever come to the Emerald Isle?

These and other burning questions … tackled … answered … next time on iPTIB.

Anyone out there in the studio audience have any questions? Let me know … I’ll get the answers for you.

Thanks for calling.

It was only a matter of time till the serious iPhone SDK rumors started flying, and with Apple’s Town Hall event next Thursday, it’s possible some of what we’re hearing is right on. If that’s the case, prepare to be letdown in a major way. According to iLounge, Apple will be severely restricting access on software for the iPhone and iPod touch, only allowing apps to be downloaded through iTunes, hand-picking which applications will make it to the store, and cutting off developer’s access to accessories which interface with the dock connector. Additionally, the report claims that the SDK we see next week will be an incomplete beta, with the full version rolling out in June to coincide with the WWDC. Thinking of any good reasons to keepjailbreaking your phone? Yeah, us too.[Thanks, Omega]

Phew, we were starting to worry we’d get through the week without someone suing Apple. This time it’s a patent lawsuit by a Massachusetts man named Romek Figa, who claims to have patented a caller ID system infringed by the iPhone. Figa’s patent, which was granted in 1990 and references two-line LCD screens and external caller ID equipment, describes a way to associate incoming numbers with stored contact names, and he’s looking to halt sales of the iPhone and have Apple pony up some hefty damages and license his patent, which the company has thus far declined to do. We wonder why. We also wonder why Figa hasn’t sued Nokia, Microsoft, HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson, since, you know, all those companies make phones with caller ID as well, but maybe that’s coming next — he could probably end up simply owning Moto’s flailing phone division, if his lawyers play their cards right.Update: According to statements by Figa’s attorneys this morning, Moto, Nokia, and Samsung have already licensed the patent, but Apple “refused to take a license on the terms offered.” Interesting — but they also said Figa sent his demand letter directly to Steve Jobs, which seems like the least efficient way possible of handling this deal.[Via AppleInsider]

Hold the presses: Apple may be releasing a new iPhone this year… with 3G! Crazy, we know. The latest iteration of this rumor comes to us courtesy of UBS analysts, who say Infineon will likely be building chips for the phone — they’re powering the current iPhone, so no real surprise there. UBS is also betting on a mid-year 3G iPhone launch, and thinks that EDGE production will ramp down early so Apple gets a chance to clean out inventories. We’ve got a good feeling about this one, guys.[Thanks, Tim G.]

It’s confirmed: Apple’s next event is scheduled for March 6th, next Thursday. It’ll be a Town Hall event; obviously new MacBooks and MacBook Pros aren’t to be expected, but the unambiguous “iPhone software roadmap” and the image above should help guide our assumptions as to what will be discussed. The SDK’s a given, but “exciting new enterprise features,” eh?