We’re less than two weeks away from the start of Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, where the company is widely expected to unveil a new iPhone handset. While we can’t be sure of that — Apple rumors have a way of taking on a life of their own — it’s still fun to speculate. Here’s a roundup of the latest rumors about what a new iPhone will look like.

One of the most detailed reports about a new iPhone came from a Chinese Website, on which someone posted a list of features that the new phone will offer. They include: 32 GB of storage (up from the current high of 16GB); a 3.2-megapixel camera (up from 2 megapixels) with autofocus; a 600-MHz processor (up from 400 MHz); 256 MB of RAM; and an FM receiver.

Those specs sound great, but it seems odd to me that Apple would include an FM receiver on the phone. I’d love to see it, but the company hasn’t budged on this point in the past. Its iPods lack FM radios, even though many other MP3 players offer them, so it would be odd to see this feature debut on the iPhone.

John Gruber, a technology pundit who blogs at Daring Fireball, has made a similar prediction about what we might expect to see in a new iPhone. He seconds the notion that we’ll see a faster processor (600 MHz) and more memory (256 MB) and says both of these will dramatically improve the performance of the phone. He also says the improved camera will include video recording capabilities.

The Apple iPhone Apps blog, an Apple enthusiast site, also is offering a detailed list of the features that might be found on the new iPhone. The site says the new phones will be available in 32GB and 16GB versions, for $299 and $299 respectively. The new iPhone will feature a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording, double the memory and processing power, a built-in FM transmitter, an Apple logo on the back that lights up, a rubber-tread backing, and a built-in compass.

The site also says that the new phone will feature an OLED screen, which is slightly different from the LCD touch-screen used on the current iPhone. An OLED screen would use less power, and therefore increase the iPhone’s battery life. But OLED screens are rare and relatively expensive.

The Apple iPhone Apps blog even has a release date for the new phone: July 17. They say that the phone will be announced at the WWDC in early June, and will hit stores in July.

All of these reports sound intriguing, for sure. But whether they will be proven accurate is another question. In less than two weeks, however, we will know for sure.

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, new iphone features

“Apple announced recently that iPhone and iPod users had downloaded an impressive one billion programs from the company’s online App Store in a mere nine months. Meanwhile, 15 of the 20 most popular paid downloads since the service opened have been games,” Seth Schiesel reports for The New York Times.

“These two facts are not unrelated. Apple hasn’t been this relevant in video games — and video games have not been so relevant to Apple — since the early 1980s, when the Apple II was a major platform for computer games,” Schiesel reports.

“What the iPhone offers that the DS and PSP lack is its huge library of downloadable games among the more than 35,000 total programs available on the App Store,” Schiesel reports. “Most of the top games on the iPhone cost less than $5 and can be downloaded in a matter of minutes. They are designed, like arcade games, to be consumable in bites of only a few minutes each. And as in an arcade, if the iPhone user gets bored, it is easy and cheap to find another momentary diversion.”

Schiesel reports, “The real question is whether the iPhone provides a unique, unparalleled gaming experience for a phone, which it surely does. After Apple’s many years in the gaming wilderness, it is a pleasure to say welcome back.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: In the full article, Schiesel expends a lot of digital ink complaining about the iPhone’s battery life. We’re not sure if he understand to turn off the 3G, fetch new data manually, turn off push mail, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, etc. which will greatly extend his gaming time. Find out more about extending your iPhone’s battery life via Apple here. Even with everything turned on, our iPhones never fail to last the whole day, thanks to our Mophie Battery Cases which can greatly extend iPhone’s battery life. If you’ve got everything turned off and still run out of juice before the day is done, we highly recommend Mophie Juice Pack for Apple iPhone 3G.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Mr. Reeee" for the heads up.]
Send us links! Email: webmaster@macdailynews.com

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone gaming

For the second time in a row, the popular Apple iPhone has won the JD Power award for customer satisfaction.

In the Volume 1 of the 2009 Wireless Consumer Smartphone
Customer Satisfaction Study, conducted by JD Power and Associates, Apple managed 791 points out of
1,000; while closest rival LG received 772 points, Samsung got 759, and Research In Motion scored 739 points. With the overall smartphone satisfaction increasing since last year’s JD Power study; the industry average this year was 751 points.

The study was conducted between the July and December 2008 period, with the company surveying 2,648 smartphone users who have been using it for less than two years.

For the study, five parameters were used to gauge the level of
customer satisfaction with regard to smartphones. These parameters in the order of importance for smartphone users were: ease of operation – 30 percent; operating system – 22 percent; features – 21 percent; physical design – 18 percent; and battery function – 9 percent.

Though Apple iPhone scored pretty high on most of the parameters, the one constraint that it faced was battery life, which is indeed a problem as per the iPhone owners.

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone awards

According to Trip Hawkins, the founder of Electronic Arts, both Sony and Nintendo are beginning to get “freaked out” by the raging success of the Apple iPhone as a gaming platform.

“The iPhone for us was a spectacularly pleasant surprise,” says Hawkins speaking of his success through the App store with his new gaming company. “We had no idea it was going to be as good for us as it turned out to be…

“It’s by far our most effective platform. We make as much money with these games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms.”

Continuing, Hawkins adds: “Between the iPod Touch and the iPhone, I think the platform is freaking out Sony and Nintendo. Apple has sold 30 million units so far and it has created tremendous awareness. It has taken ground all over the world. But it has only penetrated one half of one percent of its total market.”

Hawkins’ new company, Digital Chocolate, has produced a few titles for the iPhone, and the top four sellers have 10 million downloads in under 100 days.

Permalink to this article | Topics: Consoles Gadgets Phones

Related articles:

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone games, iphone success

iPhone

A Microsoft job listing for a ‘Software Development Engineer’ is listed on Careerbuilder and is all about Halo and presumably, future Halo projects planned.

Microsoft are ”looking to blend console, web, and mobile to create an immersive Halo world that follows the dedicated Halo fan wherever they go.”

As VG247 states, could this be the Halo game for the iPhone that fans have been waiting for? Let us know your views.

CLICK HERE to keep updated with the latest news.

ShareThisto make sharing easy, try it now.

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone games

Is using the Apple iPhone for business really a viable option? It can be. Your particular business situation will dictate if this phone is something your company should consider or if it will be impractical. There are situations where the iPhone will shine and then there are other situations that will make it totally impractical.

You should consider the Apple iPhone for business if you need to stay in contact with others constantly. This would include texting, chatting, email and cell phone communications. An ideal example for an iPhone in a business environment is a buyer for a retailer. When the buyer goes to shows or other purchasing events, using the iPhone as a camera to send potential product to management can give the competitive edge to your business. The fashion industry lends itself to iPhone use. If you are attending the fashion shows in order to see which designer lines to bring in, then the iPhone is what you need. You can snap a picture or take a video of the hottest items still on the runway, send them to purchasing and orders can be placed before the end of business that day. If your business thrives on having the latest and greatest designer fashion in your shop, then the sooner you can place orders for the upcoming season, the more profitable you will be. If you do not get the new styles in first, someone else will. Antique dealers and art collectors will benefit from having an iPhone. There is no better way to send pictures of art and antiques to clients and to your business than with an iPhone. When you are looking to make purchases, you can keep customer wish lists with you, along with their contact info. If you find something they are looking for, you can let them know before you make an offer on the item. In a sense, you are pre-selling your inventory! It does not get any better than that. These are some of the ways that using the Apple iPhone for business purposes can be profitable. This would justify the cost.

On the other hand, if you are in an environment that is less than safe for a sensitive device like the iPhone then using the Apple iPhone for business probably will not make much sense. Construction sites, factories, assembly lines, shipping and receiving departments, and anything near water are not favorable to iPhone usage. The touch screen is very sensitive. Dirt, debris, water, moisture, grease and oil are not friends of the iPhone or any other cell phone. Industrial environments are too tough for this delicate phone. It does not handle being dropped well. There is a high risk of breaking the screen or damaging the unit. This is really a phone for a less stressful environment. If this is your particular business situation, then using the Apple iPhone for business is not a wise investment.

Therefore, now that you understand which business applications are suitable for iPhone use and which are not, you can decide where your business fits in. Should you buy the Apple iPhone for business? If you can justify the high costs of the phones, and using AT&T for your business cell phone service the perhaps it is worth it. You are the one who knows your companies finances. If the iPhone fits in then you can consider it. However, if you are in an industry that tends to be rough on laptops and cell phones or if you require an industrial strength walkie-talkie phone due to your working environment, then using the Apple iPhone for your business is not a viable option. What should you decide on?

Article Written By J. Foley

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone for business

Apple’s iPhone has sprung up as a serious video game platform, fulfilling the long-held promise of mobile phone gaming and positioning itself as a legitimate competitor to traditional handheld gaming consoles.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has sold around 30 million devices on the market — 17 million iPhones and 13 million iPod Touches — and consumers are buying and playing games by the tens of millions.

Meanwhile, game designers are diving headlong into the market, churning out offerings at a furious pace.

Some say the iPhone’s GPS, connectivity and touch screen gives it an edge over the Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP — its more established handheld console competition.

Nintendo has sold more than 100 million DS units and the Sony has shipped more than 50 million PSP consoles since both came to market in late 2004.

Since Apple’s App Store went live last July, developers have emerged and make thousands of games, ranging from action and shooting games to puzzles and arcade games. Developers take 70 percent of the revenue, while Apple keeps 30 percent.

Major game publishers such as Electronic Arts, Gameloft and Glu Mobile and up-and-coming startups and small developers are jumping in.

Gameloft said it has made more money selling iPhone and iPod touch games in the past eight months than it has made overall from some other carriers. It offers 27 games in the App Store and has sold 2 million copies so far.

“The mobile industry has been waiting for some sort of tipping point when the App Store was launched, that was the tipping point,” said Sanette Chao, Gameloft’s director of public relations.

Due to the high volume of offerings on the App Store, developers say the key to success is pushing a game onto a top 10 or top 25 list, where consumers can easily find them.

Apple plans to release its new iPhone 3.0 software this summer. It will offer new features such as peer-to-peer capability to allow gamers to square off against one another. The company will also let developers offer subscriptions and sell content within their applications.

Many analysts expect Apple to launch an updated iPhone handset this summer, although the company has been quiet. The second-generation iPhone 3G was released last summer.

- Apple iPhone 3G Specs

News Feed | Add to: Facebook | Twitter | Bloglines | Google

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone games, iphone gaming

Sign up to the Phones Review Newsletter (free) for updates and news CLICK HERE

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, direct tv on iphone, iphone, iphone apps, iphone direct tv

You will soon be able to enjoy “Skype” on your iPhone! The internet telephone subsidiary of eBay Inc. – Skype is planning to roll out “Skype” for iPhone, at the Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA) conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday. Well actually, Skype is planning to release a mobile version of Skype software for Apple’s iPhone.

Skype is internet-based phone software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet, developed by Skype Limited, which was purchased by eBay in 2005. Seeking to expand its users, Skype is planning to release Skype software for iPhone to allow iPhone users to make cheap and sometimes free calls right from their iPhone devices.

In an interview, before the CTIA annual mobile showcase in Las Vegas, Scott Durchslag, the Skype CEO, expressed his high optimism about the success of Skype application for Apple’s popular iPhone. He stated that Skype’s most feature-rich mobile app attract the new and existing customers. Durchslag said, “Mobile devices are where the majority of the world’s conversations are happening these days. The No. 1 request we get from customers is to make Skype available on iPhone. There’s a pent-up demand.”

Skype software uses VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) technology to make calls. The VOIP technology carries voice calls like email messages or Web pages and makes their way over the Internet, instead of a traditional phone network. “Skype” for iPhone will allow the iPhone users to make calls to other Skype users on computers or supported cellphones free, if they are in a Wi-Fi hot spot. With the Skype app for iPhone, the iPhone users will also be able to make land line calls for a fee, typically 2.1 cents a minute.

Skype announced that the free Skype app for iPhone will be officially rolled on Tuesday, and the will be available for download at Apple’s App Store or the iTunes Store sometime on Tuesday. Skype also announced that it will release Skype app for Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices in May.

Skype, which has been aiming to increase its users and make its service more popular, has already announced Skype for Nokia phones, and has already released Skype app for Android phones and for the smart phones using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile operating system. The Skype app for Android was released in January. Skype claims that it has had 12 million downloads since 2005.

According to analysts, Skype for iPhone will definitely help the company to increase its users, and will help it to compete with wireless voice service network operators such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless. Currently, Skype has more than 400 million users.

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone skype, skype for iphone, skype iphone

Ridzwan A. Rahim

2009/03/24

THE Apple iPhone is actually a little computer that happens to be a great phone.

And as with all computers, it has an operating system (OS). The OS in question is called iPhone OS.

Apple recently announced a major update to the iPhone OS.

With iPhone OS 3.0, over 100 new features will be making their way onto the iPhone in June this year, including copy-and-paste capability, MMS or multimedia messaging, a new Voice Memo app and expanded Search capability.

Owners of iPhone 3G will be getting the upgrade for free, Apple said.
The much in demand cut, copy and paste can be done within or across applications. MMS enhances otherwise normal SMSes with photos, contacts, audio files and locations.

Voice Memo arms the iPhone with the ability to capture and send audio recordings on the go. And Search capabilities in iPhone OS 3.0 will allow users to search within Mail, iPod and Notes or search across all key apps by typing a key word or phrase into the new Spotlight search which is accessible from the Home screen.

Another strength of the iPhone platform is the availability of tiny, third-party software that users can add to their phones, called apps.

To date, there are over 25,000 apps available at Apple’s App Store in categories ranging from productivity and lifestyle to entertainment and games.

For iPhone OS 3.0, developers are already working on new apps that will take advantage of the features in the new OS.

Among these features are In-App Purchases, Peer-to-Peer connection and interface with accessories.

With In-App Purchases, newspapers and magazine publishers, for example, will be able to sell premium subscription via their iPhone app.

Peer-to-Peer connectivity will be great for gaming, whereby iPhone users will be able to discover and engage each other in multiplayer games using a seamless Bluetooth connectivity that does not require pairing.

And the thousands of third-party iPod and iPhone accessory makers can now build apps that talk right to the accessories, such as an equaliser app that adjusts the settings of speakers.

Apple’s App Store is available to customers in 77 countries worldwide including Malaysia, allowing the company to reach 30 million iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Technorati Tags: apple iphone, iphone, iphone features, new iphone features