May

30

skybox-d5-video.jpgWalt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal interviews Steve Jobs at the “All Things Digital - D5″ conference today. Mossberg asked “Any undisclosed iPhone features you’d like to share with us today?” Jobs smiled and said, No. Walt asks why there isn’t a physical keyboard on the iPhone, when RIM and Palm have shown there’s a real demand for them? “Was there no one in Cupertino who thought that was a good idea?” Jobs’s answer: “No. … Once you learn to trust the keyboard, it’s a better keyboard. I’ll bet you dinner that you’ll love it.”

full interview

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May

29

Ok, so here’s a guy that’s dreaming. VIM3 blog clams to have “inside” info on several unannounced iPhone features. I don’t think Apple would intentionally leave out all of these features. We examine below.

Here’s the low down:

4 and 8 gig?! There’s more Memory! - The iPhone will be sporting a substantially “larger” flash memory drive that first announced. There will be two models one with about 40% less memory than the other. This explains the the 100 dollar difference in price from the smaller model to the larger. (Note: Makes sense…at the 4 and 8 gig sizes, the Nano size premium is only 50 dollars…why would the iPhone be 100?)

iPhonePlanet: notice how they give no clam to size. This would be nice but …… not going to happen.

User Replacable Battery - The iPod has been critized by many for not having a way for the user to have the battery replacable by the user. Well, the iPhone guys heard you…at least for the iPhone. The iPhone will sport a way to replace the battery. The lower speaker area of the iPhone slides down to reveal a battery…(this was not featured in the Macworld display model). No more worries of 3 hour battery life.

iPhonePlanet: no iPod has every had a user replaceable battery. First gen iPhone …. not going to happen.

Wireless N Support - The iPhone features a wireless chipset, which includes draft-N support. Nothing more to say here.

iPhonePlanet: why would this be a secret?

Software - Why was OS X delayed? Maybe because teams have been hard at work on iPhone software? The iPhone will feature variations of iWork and iLife suites. The iPhone variation of iWork will feature word processing, spreadsheets, and a slideshow viewer.

iPhonePlanet: now this I could see and really use. I see this coming in a software update at a later date, but ……. not going to happen .. out of the box.

iTunes Streaming - Want to listen to something on your computer that not on you iPhone? iPhone features built in Bonjour (from OS X)! The iPhone will allow you to stream content from an iTunes computer on a Wi-Fi network! You can watch The Incredibles on your iPhone without taking up disk space!

iPhonePlanet: I like the concept and this may come true, but …. not going to happen …. out of the box.

iTunes Store - Ever want to buy those DRM free EMI music on your phone? The iPhone can let you do that! The iPhone features a variation of the iTunes Store, which allows you to buy pretty much anything already available. The service will allow you to download using Wi-Fi internet or if you have internet service through your carrier (AT&T in the USA). The best part is…you can transfer your purchases to your computer. Just as iPhone copies media from your computer, iPhone utilizes iTunes “Transfer Purchases” to copy your recent iPhone/iTunes Store purchases.

iPhonePlanet: again possible future feature.

Price / AT&T Service Plans - The 500 or 600 buck price point seem a little high? Steve knows it high, but would u buy an iPod in Feburary or March if the price difference between an iPod Video and iPhone wasn’t that great? You might have waited. The iPhone will see a rebate with a 2-year contract and special iPhone plans from AT&T.

iPhonePlanet: the opening price’s are set in stone ….. expect nothing different.

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May

28

A little more than two years ago, Glenn Lurie’s new bosses at Cingular Wireless put the Portland native in charge of a super-secret project: Negotiating the rights to be the exclusive wireless carrier for Apple Inc.’s long-awaited iPhone.

Lurie, a onetime soccer standout at Wilson High School, played professionally in Cleveland, Atlanta and Portland before launching his cellular career in 1993 selling phones at a store in Mall 205. He worked his way into the management ranks, then weathered a succession of mergers in the cell phone industry. He’s now a top executive in the wireless division of AT&T — whose name Cingular took after its latest merger.

Meeting behind-the-scenes with Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs and other tech heavyweights, Lurie won the deal for Cingular and took part in the unveiling in January at the MacWorld conference. Lurie, who now lives in Atlanta, stands at the center of a frenzy of anticipation as techies await the product’s formal launch next month.

The iPhone is a cell phone, address book, Web browser, music player and TV rolled into one. It’s the most eagerly awaited tech product in years and Lurie, in town this weekend to watch his son in a soccer tournament, is one of the few people in the world with his own iPhone.

He won’t show it to you, though, or tell you much about it, Jobs or the negotiations. Mystery, he’s learned from Apple, is an extremely valuable commodity.

“Steve was very clear on what he thought the benefits of us doing it that way,” Lurie said during a conversation Friday.

“The buzz has exceeded all of our expectations,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest benefit out of this.

Read the full Q&A

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May

28

iphone_land.jpgDuring his presentation of the iPhone, Steve Jobs mentioned that they have filed for more then 200 patents to protect the inventions they’ve put into this new gadget. Want to know what exactly have they patented?

To find out which of the cool iPhone features has been patented by Apple and are now protected from replication and which ones you can expect to be copied soon by the likes of Nokia, Samsung or Motorola, we’ve combed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark database and checked all relevant Apple’s patents.

And we came to a conclusion that this time Steve Jobs did his homework and most of the key features that make iPhone an iPhone will not be easily copied by competitors. This applies to Multi touch display, the idea to use full screen of the device for User Interface, scrolling, zooming and other finger gestures, soft on screen controls, multifunctionality, proximity, ambient light sensors and many other functions.

Read Full Story

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May

24

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Analyst: Apple to demo new MacBook Pros at WWDC, but no iPhone.: “Apple will show off new MacBook Pro notebooks along with a full demonstration of the next operating system, Mac OS X 10.5 (a.k.a. Leopard), at next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), a Wall Street analyst predicted Wednesday.

PiperJaffray analyst Gene Munster rejected rumors that Apple will tout its iPhone at the conference, which opens June 11 in San Francisco. Instead, Apple will launch the new cellular phone in late June. At WWDC, Munster wrote in a note to investors, CEO Steve Jobs and crew will flesh out the remaining undisclosed features of Leopard, announce updated or new MacBook Pro models, and perhaps unveil a revamped iMac desktop lineup. ‘We believe the Street would react positively to such product announcements,’ he said.

Munster’s forecast didn’t exactly come from left field. Apple has already promised that Leopard, once scheduled for a spring release but now shooting for October, would be feature-complete by WWDC. Developers, in fact, are to receive beta copies of the new operating system at the conference.

Nor is the MacBook call a long shot. Just last week the Cupertino, Calif. computer maker tweaked the MacBooks by boosting hard disk capacity and bumping up processor speeds, clearing the way for an upgrade to the pricier Pro models. Analysts, pundits, and bloggers have for weeks been hyping the idea of LED-backlit MacBook Pros using the new Intel Santa Rosa chip set.

Although neither Apple or AT&T have spilled an iPhone launch date, Munster figures it will come after WWDC. That means there’s little chance sales will boost Apple’s bottom line for the quarter ending June 30. However, during the next three months, Munster predicted Apple would sell approximately one million iPhones at an average price of $550 each. But because Apple plans to account for iPhone revenues over the life of each phone’s contract, the company will see only $27.5 million in recognized revenues for the quarter.

Munster also pegged the September quarter as the time frame for a widescreen iPod — essentially a stripped iPhone. ‘Expect Apple to launch new widescreen iPods with the iPhone’s multi-touch technology at a price-point below the iPhone’s $499,’ said Munster. ‘Like $399.’”

(Via InfoWorld.)

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May

24

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Survey Says Many AT&T Stores Taking iPhone Pre-Orders: “Eager to get an iPhone, but concerned you may be left wanting when AT&T ships the smartphone next month due to overwhelming demand? Try heading on down to your local AT&T (Cingular) store to see if you can have your name placed on a waiting list.
A waiting list, you ask? Yep. It appears many AT&T stores, contrary to the operator’s official policy of no pre-orders, may in fact be doing just that for Apple’s eagerly-awaited iPod/phone/Internet device hybrid.

According to a recent posting by Channel Checkers, which surveyed 36 of AT&T/Cingular’s approximately 10,000 stores, 64 percent of respondents indicated that - yes indeed - they are keeping a waiting list. The remaining AT&T outlets are apparently sticking with the home office’s official policy of planning to sell the iPhone on a ‘first come first serve’ basis.

Reportedly, the average number of names per waiting list is 25. One New York City store has thus far compiled one with 1,900 people, while another, which wouldn’t give an exact number, says its list runs into the thousands, however. Channel Checkers says it excluded these stores when determining its average.

Channel Checkers boils the iPhone-waiting-list phenomena down to sales-people, who work on commission, being ‘industrious.’

AT&T’s official position remains it is not taking pre-orders.”

Read Full Story

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May

24

Apple is hard at work making the next version of the iPhone worth every penny of its subsidized $499 price tag. The next iPhone probably due out at Macworld or early spring of ‘08 will incorporate a GPS receiver chip closely matching the SiRFstarIII from SiRF Technology. Even though the StarIII’s power consumption is a bit higher than Apple would like it is considered the best chip for a mobile device of this kind, having the capability to receive signals from 20 different satellites simultaneously and a super fast First Fix Time.

Because of the high expectations placed upon the iPhone, Apple is certain to use a chipset using Assisted GPS technology, which cuts down the time needed to determine a location using GPS. (A-GPS) is necessary in urban areas with tall buildings or locations with heavy tree cover.

The first phone/GPS devise to fully utilize this technology is CNS-4320 from DiXCOM. The CNS-4320 hybrid device uses GSM radio with GPRS data for text and multimedia messaging. DiXCOM has also equipped the CNS with the Traffic Message Channel (TMC) for real time traffic information, a technology Apple is thought to be developing.

Read Full Story

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May

17

According to FCC documents obtained by AppleInsider, the “GSM Cellular Telephone with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi” carriers model number A1203 and FCC ID: BCGA1203.

In an SAR Test Report conducted on February 6th, 2006, FCC Test Lab Manager Lothar Schmidt wrote the following:

“The Apple Inc. A1203 GSM Cellular Telephone with Bluetooth and Wifi, FCC ID: BCGA1203, is in compliance with the limits for general population uncontrolled exposure specified in FCC 2.1093. The device was tested according to the measurement standards and procedures specified in FCC OET Bulletin 65, Supplement C (Edition 01-01) and IEEE p1528/D1.2, April 21, 2003.”

Per Apple’s request, the test report omitted the following for “short term” confidentiality reasons: Test Setup Photos, External Photographs, Internal Photographs, and the iPhone User Manual.

Permanent confidentiality omissions included the iPhone’s Block Diagram, Operational Description, Radio Schematic, Radio Bill of Material, Radio Tune-up Procedure, and Exhibit notes.

Read Full Story at AppleInsider

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May

12

According to an AT&T manager at a local store, the official release date for the iPhone is June 29th, with stores receiving shipments on June 28th. Apple has yet to confirm a release date, only saying the iPhone is on track for a “late June release”.

The head manager at the AT&T store stated shipments will arrive at roughly 4pm central time on June 28th and will be available for sale the following day. The manager referenced a corporate email as the source of her information.

Everything iPhone forums

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May

12

apple_truck.jpgThe release of Apple’s iPhone is getting close. For the last six months the news has been all over the place. Perhaps one of the most anticipated electronic product launches ever.

Our sources inside Cingular AT&T have told us the iPhone will be delivered to some company stores via armored truck. We laughed at this too, but then realized all the implications. We were told that during the launch of the Moto Razr several hundred units went missing, and to combat would-be thief’s all precautions would be taken by Cingular AT&T. “We are currently scrambling trying to get store’s ready for delivery. Management staff has been told no vacation time will be granted during the initial lunch period.”

iPhonePlanet.net

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