iPhone performs better than Palm Pre and BlackBerry in Consumer Reports Testing

Apple's recently released iPhone 3GS pulled out a victory in Consumer Reports' latest smartphone showdown.

In handing the iPhone the top spot in this year's smartphone list, Consumer Reports on Wednesday praised the iPhone 3GS for its "superior display, reinforced by top-notch multimedia, navigation, Web browsing, and battery life." However, the iPhone didn't win in all of the categories.

Consumer Reports gave high marks to the Palm Pre and BlackBerry for their messaging functionality. The organization also praised the Pre as a "superior multitasker" for its "deck-of-cards handling of multiple applications."

In light of the changing features and needs of the smartphone category, Consumer Reports changed some of the criteria for this year's showdown. The changes helped some older phones--like the iPhone 3G--move up in the rankings, while other phones--like the Samsung Blackjack II and BlackBerry Pearl Flip--dropped due to the changes.

Changes include putting more emphasis on things like the display, navigation, multimedia, and messaging, while putting less of an emphasis on features such as talk time and voice quality.
It's unclear how the iPhone 3GS would have rated, had MMS messaging been available from AT&T at the time of the tests. AT&T said functionality would be available sometime this summer.
article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10278119-37.html

iPhone 3GS Produces ATT's 'best-ever sales day'

The iPhone 3GS launch on June 19th produced a "best-ever sales day" for AT&T's retail stores, a leaked memo is said to claim. The carrier similarly notes that it experienced its second-largest amount of one-day foot traffic, and the most transactions and upgrade eligibilities it has ever had to process. This comes despite also recording the largest-ever number of phone and feature orders through the AT&T website.

If true the achievements are notable for several reasons, such as surpassing the iPhone 3G launch in 2008, which itself drew major numbers that led to crashing activation servers. Records would further come in spite of Apple taking orders at its own stores and website, and allowing Best Buy and Walmart as third-party vendors. The 3GS can also be seen as an incremental upgrade to the 3G, mainly adding better performance.AT&T has not published exact numbers; Apple however has announced worldwide sales of over 1 million units during the launch weekend, the greatest percentage of which are likely to have been sold in the US.
article source: http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/07/02/iphone.3gs.launch.record/

iPhone releases OS 3.1 in Beta

Apple this week released a beta version of the iPhone 3.1 software. At the moment the beta is intended only for app developers and isn't really recommended for the rest of us. A number of blogs have already begun digging around in the software already, of course, and have uncovered a handful of new features.
Among them are Bluetooth integration for voice control, non-destructive video editing, AT&T profile 4.2, an update of the modem firmware, and vibration when the user moves icons around.
No word from Apple when the public version of the new OS will be available, because, well, this is Apple we're talking about.

article source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2349581,00.asp

iPhone Travel Apps - Top 20

Forget Super Monkey Ball. New iPhone travel apps are changing how we interact with the world.

It's March in Saigon and I’m staring up at a huge portrait of Ho Chi Minh—the fourth of the morning—when I realize I know almost nothing about him. But I don’t reach for my guidebook. Instead I pull out my iPhone, tap on an app called Air Sharing, and within seconds I’m scrolling through dozens of Wikipedia pages, photos, and PDFs I’d saved for precisely this moment. Like that, I’m an Uncle Ho expert.

In the short year since the opening of the Apple App Store, iPhone applications have already begun to transform travel. No, I’m not talking about More Cowbell. I’m talking about location-aware apps, shareware apps, and just plain good idea apps. Want the best pho in Saigon? Just ask Google Mobile. Looking for the coolest attractions nearby? HearPlanet will find them—then read their Wikipedia entries out loud. And that’s just the beginning. According to tech analyst Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies, which counsels corporations like Microsoft and Philips on future technology, GPS-enabled apps will be fully personalized within the next 18 months. Imagine landing in Buenos Aires only to have an app sort through your most played songs, then search out upcoming concerts you might like. So with more than 2,000 travel apps and dozens being added every week, where do you begin? With the 20 best, of course.

YOUR TURN

Do you have a favorite iPhone travel app? Is there a new travel app that we should know about? Let us know your thoughts in the commenting area below.
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1. Next FlightGot bumped? Leaving early? Next Flight tracks scheduled departures from more than 4,200 airports and 1,100 airlines. It sounds overwhelming, but you can filter by carrier. $2.99

2. UrbanSpoonUrbanspoon is the gold standard in the U.S., London, Melbourne, and Sydney: Shake your phone, watch the dials spin like an old-school slot machine, and up comes the best guide to local restaurants yet. Free

3. HearPlanetLike having a tour guide in your pocket, HearPlanet tells you what attractions are nearby and then plays the Wikipedia description aloud. $5.99

4. Air SharingDon’t waste time (and money) downloading docs abroad. Air Sharing lets you save HTML Web pages, PDFs, text files, you name it, for off-line perusal anytime, anywhere. $4.99

5. TweetieFinally, a practical use for Twitter. With Tweetie you can send vacation pics and witty comments from afar faster and more easily than with any other app. $2.99

6. IAmHereWant your friends to know exactly where you are? (Scorpion Bay, Baja!) IAmHere sends an email with a link to Google Maps. In my tests it was accurate to within a hundred feet. $0.99

7. World CustomsWhich way to wrap that kimono? World Customs dispenses international dos and don’ts, one for every day. (Kimono? Left over right.) $0.99

8. Wi-Fi FinderInternational data rates can be crushing, so finding Wi-Fi is key, especially if you Skype. Wi-Fi Finder tracks over 200,000 hotspots in 135 countries. The only quibble: It could do better at distinguishing free from paid spots. Free

9. The Weather ChannelWeather Bug and AccuWeather come close in the race for full-featured meteorological apps, but the Weather Channel’s gets the nod for customization and the ability to check out conditions in multiple locations at a glance. Free

10. Google EarthAlthough slow even on Wi-Fi, browsing satellite images of anywhere from your vacation destination to the top of the Matterhorn is still one of the best ways to get the lay of the land. Free

11. PackingBecome a packing perfectionist with this easy tool. Create lists of necessary items and check them off as you go. The packing application will make preparing for your vacation a breeze. $1.99

12. RoomIf you're always forgetting your hotel room number—and modern keycards don't remind you, of course—log it in this free program. Free

13. FlightTrack ProMade for busy travelers like you, just forward your airline confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and TripIt flight itineraries will appear automatically in FlightTrack Pro. $9.99

14. Lonely Planet PhrasebookAt $10, it's spendy for a one-language application, but—very cool—it speaks the translated phrase aloud. Perhaps not such a big deal in Mexico, but in tongue-twister countries, such as Morocco, it's a huge plus. $9.99

15. SkypeBreak the international calling shakedown—jumping on a Wi-Fi network lets you make free (or cheap) calls. Free

16. WriteRoomAmazingly, the iPhone comes with no way of syncing text files and its Notes app stinks. This simple word processing tool transfers text easily between desktop and handset so you can leave your laptop at home. $4.99

17. Amazon KindleThe Kindle's nice, but why carry two devices when you can download e-books directly to your phone? Have an iPhone AND a Kindle? Once you've bought the book, you can read it wherever you want. Free

18. Cheap Gas Pretty straightforward—shows you the least expensive petrol wherever you are. Awesomely helpful if you don’t know the area. Free

19. Babelingo Great linguistic value—300-entry phrase book with 11 languages for just $3.99.

20. WhereShows you what’s around you, from Starbucks to movie theaters and show times. Free

by Steve Casimiro

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/best-iphone-travel-apps-text/1

Steve Jobs returns to Apple job -- whence iPhone 4G

Steve Jobs is back at work on the Apple Cupertino campus, in part to guide iPhone 4G development. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers debate the significance of his return to Infinite Loop.
Richi Jennings is your humble blogwatcher: he has selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention a list of Konami-code sites...

Kicking us off today, it's Jacqui Cheng:
Apple has confirmed that Steve Jobs is back at work on a somewhat reduced schedule. Jobs is now working on Apple's campus for a few days per week and making up the rest of the time while working from home....Apple had stated earlier this month that the CEO was still expected to make a timely return at the end of June, despite months of speculation that Jobs might not ever come back. We're glad that Jobs has managed to prove the rumor mill wrong this time around, though COO Tim Cook has proven himself quite capable of running the ship in Jobs' absence.

Next, Erick Schonfeld asks what it all means:
Steve Jobs is officially back at work, according to Apple PR. Even though he had a liver transplant earlier this year, a detail which was leaked to the Wall Street Journal and conveniently reported on a Friday night after the markets had closed....What is all of this messaging about? When Jobs took his medical leave of absence in January, he said he would return by June 30. This is Apple’s way of telling investors that he kept to that deadline despite the seriousness of his operation. The official story is that he is back, even if only part-time. But honestly, if he took another six months, would anyone blame him?

Our mate, Ryan Tate, has a deep throat:
Apple won't say whether Steve Jobs was at the office today as part of his official return to the company. But a Valleywag spy spotted the CEO on his company's Cupertino campus. Jobs apparently left early....Earlier today, Apple declined to tell Bloomberg News whether Jobs was on campus. The company had good reason to avoid such a discussion: Entertaining that line of questioning might have led to a discussion of Jobs' itinerary and unwelcome question about why the CEO had to leave early, and about his health. More practically, it also would open the company up to endless questions from reporters about where Jobs is on campus that day. Of course, there's a good chance Apple is going to be getting those queries anyway, whether it answers them or not.

Comparing Jobs to Bill Gates, it's Stuart Miles:
The return of Jobs as promised, is likely to be a relief to stock holders who were, it seems, starting to get worried that the visionary wasn't at the helm....It is not sure though how long Steve Jobs will last in his postion with some experts suggesting that his reign at the company as CEO will be shortly over perhaps taking on a chairman or more "senior architect" role similar to Bill Gates at Microsoft before he finally stepped down from the company last year.
And Dean Takahashi dreams of insectitude: [Is that even a word? -Ed.]
This is one of those days when I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the secretive Cupertino company, which has mastered the art of operating in stealth. ... How many other CEOs can make the news just by going to work?.

Meanwhile, Harry McCracken asks the big questions:
Others will blog (endlessly) about Jobs’ health, how many hours a week he’s really putting in, questions of shareholder disclosure, etc., etc., etc., etc. I have only one question: When will we next see a Steve Jobs keynote? Maybe soon; maybe not so soon. And maybe never, although I have no reason to think he’s done with them, and I certainly hope he isn’t....I’m a bystander, not an Apple cheerleader. But I’m in favor of the tech world being interesting, and it would be a more boring place without Jobs keynotes.

In case you hadn't noticed, Dan "fakesteve" Lyons is back, too:
Palm, which has reinvented itself with a business model that basically involves doing whatever Apple does, only two years later, announced today that its CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is planning to receive a liver transplant. No official date -- they just say it will happen sometime in the next 12 to 18 months.

Palm says Rubinstein's liver will have features that my liver lacks, though they won't say what those features are. Meanwhile Roger McNamee has been posting Facebook updates saying he has seen a working prototype of Ruby's liver and it totally blows my liver away. Just like the Pre blows away the iPhone, right?

article source: http://blogs.computerworld.com/steve_jobs_returns_to_apple_job_whence_iphone_4g

Sirius XM Rolls Out iPhone App, But No Stern or NFL on the Go

Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart fans got a tiny bit of good news yesterday. Sports followers and Howard Stern listeners, not so much.
Sirius XM Radio rolled out a new software application, giving subscribers the ability to tune in to 120 of the satellite radio service's stations via an iPhone or iPod Touch.
However, some early takers were annoyed to find that several of Sirius XM's biggest draws -- channels devoted to baseball, football and Stern -- are not available.
"Laughable and pathetic," grumbled one Stern fan, in a typical complaint, posting on the iPod discussion site iLounge.com. "It's almost like Sirius is trying to fail."
A spokesman for Sirius XM declined to elaborate on the omissions, but this is not the first time stations have not been available on the company's Internet streams. In some cases, Sirius XM doesn't own the rights to stream its standard content on the Web. And when the New York-based Sirius merged with XM Satellite Radio of the District last July, some programming unique to each provider was not readily accessible.
Satellite radio has faced a slowdown in sales in the past year as consumers hold off on buying new cars and after major electronics retailer Circuit City went out of business. Analysts who follow Sirius XM rated the new iPhone software, which requires a paid subscription, as mildly positive for the company.
"I don't think it's a game-changer in the sense that it will drive mass subscriptions, but it's good for them to be there," said James Goss, a media and entertainment analyst with Barrington Research Associates. "They might generate extra subscriptions."
The company's stock, which had been trading around 35 cents, opened at 42 cents yesterday but ended the day at 34 cents.
With its entry into the iPhone "App" space, the company will be competing for attention against popular free services such as Pandora and Slacker.
Although the download is free, only Sirius XM subscribers are able to use the application. Owners of Sirius XM radio devices typically pay about $13 per month; to listen via the Internet, or through the new iPhone software, listeners pay an additional $3 a month.
Sirius XM, which has about 20 million subscribers, recently announced that it will raise its subscription rates, since its royalty dues have increased. Beginning in August, users will have to pay an additional $1.98 a month.

By Mike Musgrove Washington Post Staff Writer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061804004.html

iPhone 3GS Jailbreak complete, but won’t be released yet

The eagerly awaited iPhone 3GS jailbreak hack is working and finished, says its creator, the iPhone Dev Team. It could be released in the next ten minutes if the Team so desired, but it’s going to be kept under wraps for the time being so that it’s harder for Apple to circumvent it.
It sounds cruel, but the iPhone Dev Team has a sound reason for not jumping the gun. “We can jailbreak the 3GS right now,” it reveals, but “once the jailbreak is out, Apple will fix the iBoot-family bug we use to accomplish it. If you bought your phone after Apple has done this, there’s nothing you can do…the jailbreak isn’t going to work for you.”
This relies on Apple updating the iPhone OS 3.0 software in the near future, which is quite likely once the various bugs are identified. Apple also needs to fix the previous Ultrasn0w exploit too, ironically. The iPhone Dev Team admits that Apple could still find out how to prevent the unreleased iPhone 3GS hack by itself, but doesn’t want to hand it over on a silver platter.
So you’ll have to stay patient in the meantime, and once iPhone OS 3.0.1 is launched, the iPhone 3GS will be hacked open like a ripe watermelon.

article source:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology/2009/06/29/iphone-3gs-jailbreak-complete-but-won-t-be-released-yet-115875-21481114/

5 Free Ways To Get Michael Jackson Content Online

Michael Jackson was a cultural icon and a musical legend. So you could be forgiven, on this Friday, if you try to get some Michael Jackson loaded up on your PC or smartphone, even at the office.
If you don't own any albums, there are plenty of free ways to check out the massive quantity of Michael material online, whether you're at your PC or on the go.

Pandora: A customized Michael Jackson radio station on Pandora.com will start with Michael Jackson himself, heading into other artists with "disco grooves, a subtle use of vocal harmony, mid rhythmic syncopation, antiphony and mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation." More likely than not, you'll hear music seriously influenced by Michael - whether it's one of his family's bands (like The Jacksons, the Jackson 5, or Janet Jackson) or music in a similar vein (Pandora gave me Rick James within six songs.) You can log into Pandora through your Web browser, or use a smartphone client on iPhone, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile. Check out our reviews of Pandora on the PC and on the iPhone.

Slacker: Slacker has the same trick of creating a customized, Michael-themed radio station with a lot of other Jackson family content, as well. But much more than Pandora, Slacker loads up their custom station with modern descendants of Jackson's music, artists like Beyonce, Usher, and Justin Timberlake. Check out our reviews of Slacker on the PC, iPhone, and BlackBerry.

Nutsie: Nutsie has a mobile app that taps into your own iTunes library, but what we're most interested in here is their Web site, which serves (among other things) as a weird sort of YouTube search engine. If you search for Michael Jackson songs, it will pull semi-random YouTube tribute videos to those songs, giving you a very serendipitous look at Jackson's effect on pop culture.

YouTube: There are lots of Michael Jackson videos on YouTube. Remember, the "real" version of Thriller is more than 13 minutes long. The "real" version of Bad, directed by Martin Scorsese, is 16 minutes, but I couldn't find it on YouTube. You can get YouTube on the iPhone and many other smart phones, through customized apps or the Web browser (go to m.youtube.com).
MTV.com: MTV.com also has tons of Michael Jackson videos, of course, including that crazy-long version of "Bad" that I had trouble finding on YouTube, where Jackson plays a young man named "Darryl."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2349409,00.asp

Michael Jackson's death won't affect any Beatles-iTunes deal

Michael Jackson's position in long-time efforts to make the much-coveted Beatles catalog available digitally is one of the most misunderstood aspects in the very complicated negotiations.
The sudden death of one of the world's best known entertainers on Thursday will have no impact on whether songs from the Fab Four will finally make it to iTunes and other Web music stores. Rumors aside, no deals are imminent, music sources told CNET News.
Jackson bought ATV Music Publishing, the company that owned the words and music to 250 Beatles songs, nearly 25 years ago. He sold a 50 percent share in the company to Sony in 1995 and together they operated Sony/ATV. The actual recordings of the Beatles playing their songs is owned by EMI, one of the four largest music labels, and Apple Corp., the company that looks after the Beatles' business holdings and rights.
What that means is that if you want to record and release a version of "Help," then you need to compensate Sony/ATV. A filmmaker wishing to add a recording of the Beatles performing the song to a soundtrack must negotiate with EMI and Apple Corp.
In the latter scenario, Sony/ATV would collect a share of that deal and could veto it since the company owns the copyrights to the music and words. That typically doesn't happen, and to be clear: Sony/ATV has never stood in the way of a digital deal for the Beatles catalog, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Indeed, the sources said that Jackson and Sony/ATV welcomed it.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Jackson was in financial trouble at the time of his death. Jackson borrowed twice against his Sony/ATV stake, according to the Journal story. How that will affect Jackson's stake in Sony/ATV, which was held in trust, is unclear.
"Jackson was incredibly proud of his association with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and his role in the company," said a company representative. "He was a great partner."
Correction: Michael Jackson borrowed against his stake in Sony/ATV, and how that will impact the company is unclear.

Greg Sandoval
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10273698-93.html

Apple iPhone 3GS- where does it get its speed?

So, where does the Apple iPhone 3G S get its claimed "2x faster" leap in speed? Rumors are rampant that Apple is using a new chip to crank up the performance.
Why rumors when Apple has already announced the iPhone 3G S? Apple doesn't disclose chip-level hardware specifications. Moreover, Apple clearly wants to convince any prospective buyer than it's not the iPhone's individual parts that matter but the Apple-branded whole.

Apple claims a speed jump up to two times faster than the previous iPhone: a lot of that may be due to the new processor.(Credit: Apple)
The fact is no one will know for sure until teardown specialists like iFixit and iSuppli actually disassemble the iPhone 3G S. "Until we actually decap those chips, we won't know exactly which chip it is," according to Francis Sideco, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli.
Kyle Wiens, one of the founders of iFixit, said Wednesday he is flying to Europe to get his hands on the iPhone 3G S and take it apart.
So, what does Apple claim exactly? Here's the Apple ad copy on its Web site. "The Fastest iPhone Ever. The first thing you'll notice about iPhone 3G S is how quickly you can launch applications. Web pages render in a fraction of the time, and you can view e-mail attachments faster. Improved performance and updated 3D graphics deliver an incredible gaming experience, too. In fact, everything you do on iPhone 3G S is up to two times faster and more responsive than iPhone 3G."
Technology Web site Anandtech claimed Wednesday that it knows what the chip is. "Although unannounced, the iPhone 3GS uses (again) a Samsung (system-on-a-chip) but this time...it's got a Cortex A8 and PowerVR SGX; just like the (Palm) Pre," according to an analysis published Wednesday at Anandtech by Anand Shimpi, editor in chief .
Most smartphones today--including the previous versions of the iPhone--are based on some version of an application processor design from U.K.-based ARM. The Cortex A8 is a newer, faster version of the ARM design.
A T-Mobile Netherlands' Web page has published features that specify "256 RAM" and "600 MHz-processor." The link is cited in a report published Wednesday by AppleInsider.
"My gut tells me the Cortex A8 is very possible," said IFixit's Wiens, responding to an e-mail query. Though he emphasized that he is simply guessing. iSuppli's Sideco said that the 600MHz speed cited on the T-Mobile Web site doesn't necessarily mean that Apple is using the latest and greatest ARM design. "I wouldn't necessarily make that connection," he said, adding that there are 600MHz ARM processors available based on older designs.
That said, if the Anandtech report is true, this means the iPhone 3G S's application processor--essentially the brain of a smartphone--is similar to the processor used in the Palm Pre. The Texas Instruments' chip in the Pre is also a Cortex-A8 design core from ARM.
Here's what ARM says. The Cortex-A8 processor "is the highest performance, most power-efficient processor available from ARM. With the ability to scale in speed from 600MHz to greater than 1GHz." And using argot probably lost on many readers, it is an in-order, dual-issue, superscalar microprocessor core. Over-simplified translation: it can do more than one thing at a time.
These specifications compare favorably to the processor used in the previous iPhone: an older-generation ARM chip running at 412MHz.
The Palm Pre chip also integrates a Powervr SGX 2D/3D graphics accelerator based on a design from Imagination Technologies. The Anandtech report claims that the iPhone 3G S also uses this graphics silicon.
One of the big mysteries is how much tweaking Apple does to the basic ARM chip design. In one respect, this question is answered very visibly since Apple stamps its brand on the iPhone processor. And for future iPhones, Apple is expected to tap proprietary technology from the recently acquired P.A. Semi. "With their acquisition of PA Semi, the apps (application) processor is the most likely slot to get internalized," according to Sideco, referring to the likelihood that Apple will focus in-house development on the main processor inside the iPhone.
Marion Morales, vice president of IDC's semiconductors research program, said last month in a phone interview that though Apple uses Samsung chips, "when you look at the processor itself, they're designing the processor and using Samsung as a foundry (factory)," he said, underscoring the fact that Apple emphasizes internally developed technology and de-emphasizes external suppliers, even large companies like Intel and Samsung.
Originally posted at Nanotech - The Circuits Blog
article by:
Brooke Crothers is a former editor at large at CNET News.com, and has been an editor for the Asian weekly version of the Wall Street Journal. He writes for the CNET Blog Network, and is not a current employee of CNET. Contact him at mbcrothers@gmail.com. Disclosure.