apple

So the press has become Steve Jobs' willing tool? What else is new?

A unexpected bump in the head landed yours truly in the emergency ward earlier in the year. When they wheeled me into the CAT scan, I handed over my cell phone.

"Oh, we don't need that," the attendant told me. "We only take iPhones."

Wow, I thought. Of all places to land a scoop!

"You mean there's something about the device which interferes with the picture process?"

"No," the attendant laughed. "We're just looking for iPhones, not that other stuff."

OK, I thought. Apple had developed a … Read more

iPhone music app offers new way to annoy bandmates

I'll jump on the iPhone bandwagon, now that the price has dropped, and there's faster data transfer.

I can't wait to get rid of my Verizon Wireless service, which has deteriorated horribly in the last two months (nice timing, guys!), and my contract expires a convenient four days before the iPhone 3G goes on sale.

But exciting as it might have been for iPhone holdouts like me, today's keynotes at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference didn't have much music-related news. Steve Jobs did promise that the audio on the new iPhones would sound better than … Read more

AT&T raises iPhone data plan to $30 a month

It turns out there's a reason behind the iPhone 3G's dramatic price cut ($199 for the 8GB model)--AT&T has agreed to subsidize the phone in return for a $10 increase in monthly unlimited data plans. Unlimited 3G data plans for business users will cost $45 a month in addition to a voice plan, presumably because of a higher consumption of data. So even though the phone itself is cheaper, it will cost you more in the long run. That said, the faster 3G data service might be well worth it to most people.

This … Read more

Mac OS X 10.6 details leak out

Updated 3:44 p.m. PDT: Apple PR formally issued the press release in question that went out inadvertently earlier Monday.

Apple quickly retracted a few Mac OS X 10.6 tidbits leaked out by its Canadian subsidiary following the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, but the Internet misses nothing.

Scores of sites picked up on a press release that went out from Apple Canada and was pulled at some point after it went live. According to the release, Snow Leopard--which Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed is the code name for 10.6--will focus more on improving the basic plumbing of … Read more

AT&T's iPhone 3G subsidy will cost 'em

A newly negotiated deal with Apple could hurt exclusive U.S. iPhone carrier AT&T in the short term, but the cell phone carrier sees a big upside for the future.

Following the much-anticipated launch of the iPhone 3G at an Apple event in San Francisco on Monday, AT&T announced that it had struck a new deal with Apple. The new arrangement between AT&T and Apple is similar to other contracts AT&T has negotiated with other smartphone manufacturers such as Research In Motion and Samsung.

Since the first iPhone was launched last summer, … Read more

Why the iPhone 3G will change the GPS game

OK, maybe I was wrong. I'm a big enough person to admit it. You see, a couple of months ago, I wrote that there was no way that smartphones and cell phones with integrated GPS would take over the portable navigation device (PND) space, but now I'm having second thoughts. I'm not saying that PNDs will go the way of the dodo, but it could go the way of the PDA when smartphones really came on the scene. They'll still exist, but the demand will be less and their reach will be limited. They'll be … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 741: 3Gasm

All the iPhone and App Store news you can shake a stick at. Plus, RIM and Palm say they're thrilled about the new iPhone. Huh. Us, too! But it's a delayed, uh, 3Gasm, since the phone won't be coming out until July 11. In other news, Amazon broke itself, the MPAA wants to break your movie recording, and SanDisk kills the TakeTV and Fanfare less than a year after it was born. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 741

Live blog: Steve Jobs at WWDC 2008 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9960064-37.html

What’s good for … Read more

No 3G music downloads for iPhone

According to Apple's iPhone 3G product page, the mobile version of the iTunes music store will remain accessible only over the phone's Wi-Fi connection, and will not take advantage of the new 3G capability. I guess it shouldn't come as a shock that the wireless version of iTunes (dubbed "iTunes Wi-Fi") should remain a strictly Wi-Fi service. Still, it does seem like Apple has missed an obvious opportunity to allow users more ways to purchase music.

With services such as Napster Mobile and Rhapsody already allowing wireless music downloads over 3G networks for many iPhone … Read more

iPhone 3G lets you talk on the phone while transferring data

Unlike the original 2.5G iPhone, which doesn't allow EDGE data connections while voice services are active, the iPhone 3G allows users to transfer data over the UTMS/HSDPA network while on telephone calls--a significant enhancement.

Apple says:

iPhone already gives you mobile multitasking. But 3G technology lets you multitask in more places--without connecting via Wi-Fi. Since 3G networks enable simultaneous data and voice, you can talk on the phone while surfing the web, checking email, or using Maps. All from your 3G cellular network.

Cross-posted from our sister site iPhone Atlas

iPhone 3G details: Dimensions; weight; 3G chip specs

Apple has now posted additional details regarding the 3G iPhone, including:

Screen: 3.5 inches (diagonal); 480x320 pixels (163 ppi) Input method: Multitouch Storage: 8GB and 16GB Cellular: UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) Wireless data: Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)UMTS/HSDPA: (850, 1900, 2100 MHz); EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR GPS: Assisted-GPS Camera: 2.0 megapixels Battery: Talk time: Up to 5 hours on 3G; up to 10 hours on 2G; Standby time: Up to 300 hours; Internet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G; up to … Read more