Welcome the latest addition to the App Store, Type n Walk! This apps allows you to text on the go by “display[ing] a transparent viewport of what’s directly in front of you.” In other words, using the iPhone’s camera, the app displays a transparent text messaging screen, allowing you to ‘type n walk’ without worrying about tripping on a rock or walking into a tree. Seems a bit unnecessary; but then again, there’s an app for everything these days.
[Via Gizmodo]
We’ve been here before, so let’s do it again. According to an Oppenheimer research note from analyst Yair Reiner, who apparently has no real connection to Apple, the oft-rumored Apple tablet will release around March or April with production starting as soon as February. Reiner says that the tablet will feature a multitouch 10.1 inch screen, it will look similar to the iPhone, and will sell for $1,000. He also says that Apple has approached book publishers in hopes of forming “a very attractive proposal” to distribute their content digitally. Reiner: “As innovative as it is, we believe the [Amazon] Kindle has disgruntled the publishing industry (book, newspaper, and magazine) by demanding exclusivity, disallowing advertising, and demanding a wolfish cut of revenue. The tablet is set to change that.” According to Reiner, Apple has offered the publishers a revenue cut of 70% without requiring exclusivity. Sure, this is interesting and all, but there has still been no word at all from Apple about this tablet device and Reiner’s information is not entirely substantiated with proper evidence. Folks, take all of this with a grain of salt, would you?
In related Apple news, analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray says that the Verizon network with be “the next big feature” of the iPhone. Munster: “We continue to believe there is a 70% chance that Apple will launch the iPhone with Verizon in mid-CY10.” He also mentions that the next-gen iPhone may feature hardware support to read RFID chips, enabling swipe payments. “The iPhone could feasibly become a full digital wallet,” says Munster. News of a new iPhone comes from another direction with Eldar Murtazin, editor in chief of Mobile Review. Murtazin tweeted “Foxconn received order for next generation iphone.” Engadget calls him “the ultimate insider” when it comes to mobile news, so maybe you can take his word of a manufacturer ramping production for a new iPhone with a smaller pinch of salt.
Whether these rumors about the tablet and next-gen iPhone are true or not, sompthin’ is a brewin’ at Apple and we can all smell it.
[Via Engadget, here & here; Reuters; AppleInsider]
New York Times tech columnist David Pogue is known for showing off his show-tunes background in funny tech-based gags. Check out his latest titled “Apps!…I Did it Again,” a song about the iPhone’s ability to run a myriad of (pointless) apps to the tune of Britney Spears’ hit song.
[Via Gizmodo]
Multitasking?
Springboard exposé?
These concept UIs were created by Ocean Observers. Apple, take note.
[Via Gizmodo]
Looks like Verizon is about to play some hardball with AT&T. Yeah, the iPhone may have thousands of cool apps, but Verizon can boast its vastly superior 3G expansion. The question is, which is more important to you: thousands of games or better data reception?
[Via Engadget]
The day has finally come, people. AT&T has enabled MMS, the ability to send and receive pictures and video, on the iPhone. (iPhone 3G & 3GS customers only, sorry original iPhone owners.)
The steps to getting MMS running on your iPhone are simple. First open up iTunes and make sure you are running iTunes 8.2 or later. Next, connect your iPhone to your PC or Mac. The update window should pop up automatically after iTunes recognizes the connection. If it does not, go to the iPhone device tab and select “Check for Update.” If you have not updated your iPhone to version 3.1 you must do this first. The actual MMS update is installed via a “carrier settings” update; this means that it is not an iPhone software update, and it should install on the phone within seconds.
![[Update Settings Screenshot]](http://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/SECRET_PRODUCTS/S_PROJECT_13/HT3880/HT3880_1.png)
Once you’ve completed the update, disconnect the phone from your computer and RESTART the phone. The MMS feature will not show up until the phone has been restarted by holding down the power button. After the phone turns back on, check that the update installed by opening the Messages application and looking for the small camera button next to the text input bar. It looks like this:
![[Text Field Screenshot]](http://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/SECRET_PRODUCTS/S_PROJECT_13/HT3880/HT3880_3.png){kind=small}
And there you have it. MMS on the iPhone. One small step into the 21st century, one giant leap for AT&T.
[Via Apple]
[Via Gizmodo; Explosm.net]
The Lexus LF-Ch concept car sports headrest mounts for iPhones.
According to the press release:
“The LF-Ch has four sport seats that feature trim lighting along the cushion’s edge for cabin illumination. Rear passengers can enjoy headrest-mounted iPhone® docking capability for audio and video entertainment. In addition, the LF-Ch has storage in the rear seat armrests for small items such as iPods®, PDAs and cell phones.”
Very cool indeed.
Guess who’s back, back again? Steve Jobs graciously owned the stage in San Fransisco on Thursday during the latest Apple keynote presentation. There was lots of discussion and reveals on the iTunes and iPod front. Let’s not waste any time and get right to it. Read on for all the juicy details of the keynote.
Note: When asked why Apple did not include a video camera in the new iPod touch, Jobs responded: “Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine. We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it’s the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that’s the big draw. So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff. We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.”
Check out the gallery below for some official press shots of the new products and services.
[Gallery images via Apple]
The long hoped for feature for the iPhone finally gets a date of arrival: the Multimedia Messaging Service feature will be enabled on all iPhone 3G and 3GS devices (sorry, original iPhone users) on September 15. For those of you not in the know, MMS is the feature that allows you to send and receive picture/video messages to other cell phone users. Up until now, iPhone users have been stuck in the dark ages, only able to send and receive texts (and more recently audio and contact files). MSS will be enabled through a required software update via iTunes.
What took so long, you ask? Put simply, AT&T’s service is sucky and they believed that their cell tower structure was not ready to handle the heavy traffic of iPhone users sending pictures to each other. After having plently of time to fix and upgrade things (and breaking a promise of a Summer MMS release), AT&T is confident in saying:
“We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS. The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One. We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end. … We want you to know that we’re working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in data demand, new devices and applications for years to come.”
Note that there was no new information divulged about tethering. It was only mentioned that it will be supported “in the future.”
Get downloading, iPhone users! For detailed information about this update see my previous post.
