Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

RWW Live: iPhonemania

Yesterday, we recorded the latest episode of RWW Live, a new regular bi-weekly feature on Sean Ammirati’s ReadWriteTalk podcast show. The idea is to get together a number of writers from the ReadWriteWeb blog network (that includes last100!) for a live discussion on recent events in the technology world.

In episode 4, devoted almost entirely to the iPhone, I was joined by ReadWriteTalk host Sean Ammirati, ReadWriteWeb editor and founder Richard MacManus, ReadWriteWeb writers Bernard Lunn and Marshall Kirkpatrick.

You can listen to the podcast below (recorded using the TalkShoe platform) or subscribe here.

As Richard, over at ReadWriteWeb, notes:

We’re still experimenting with the format, but we’re hoping to get the RWW community involved as much as possible in future episodes – for example by doing a live post at the same time, twittering the chat URL, and so on. We’d love to hear any ideas you have on making this an interactive, read/write experience. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Update: iPhone woes continue: iPhone software 2.0 upgrade bricking first-gen iPhones

Update: After several hours of waiting, the iPhone 2.0 software update finally resolved itself. It recognized where it left off in the installation, re-started it, and finished. I now am running the 2.0 OS on a first-gen iPhone.

While I expect the installation process to improve — as demands on the servers decrease — I have one word of advice for those who have yet to upgrade: patience.

Patience is something we need for the entire iPhone experience — from MobileMe, to the App Store, to the 2.0 OS upgrade, to waiting in life to buy and activate an iPhone 3G.

My original post

It’s happened to me. My iPhone is bricked.

The iPhone 2.0 software upgrade bricked my iPhone.

And here I thought I was home free.

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Surprisingly, Apple botches the debut of MobileMe. Where is it?

mobilemeIt’s not often that Apple botches the debut of a product or service, particularly under the direction of Steve Jobs, but when it comes to the introduction of MobileMe the Cupertino boys blew it big time.

Where the hell is MobileMe?

MobileMe was supposed to have replaced .Mac, Apple’s $99-a-year personal Web service, sometime Thursday. .Mac was taken offline Wednesday night at 9, Pacific time, with the promise of a return a few hours later.

It was supposed to go MobileMe first, then the debut of the App Store, followed by the iPhone 3G. But MobileMe stuck its head above ground only a few times Thursday, remaining unlaunched for a majority of subscribers. They were given repeatedly the error message “This service is temporarily unavailable.”

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Amid the App Store fanfare, Apple releases significant update for AppleTV

remoteWhile we’re waiting for MobileMe to become available for longer than five minutes, it’s worth noting among the App Store fanfare that Apple has also updated its AppleTV.

Early Thursday Apple released iTunes 7.7, making the App Store possible. It also provides support for a new iTunes remote app — appropriately named Remote — that allows any iPhone or iPod Touch to control iTunes media playback on a computer connected to the same local network.

In addition to iTunes 7.7, Apple also made available AppleTV 2.1 software; you can find it by checking software updates under the AppleTV settings panel.

The non-sexy part of the updated AppleTV software are security improvements, which Apple discusses here. The sexy enhancements are support for Remote and MobileMe — if it ever gets here.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog folks went the extra mile, as they say, and photographed the setup, including MobileMe. Among MobileMe’s features is the ability to upload photographs from the phone’s camera or a computer and have the galleries available on the iPhone and AppleTV, a nice cross-product, platform feature.

Once we get MobileMe, we’ll see how well the iPhone, AppleTV, and MobileMe integrates.


First look: window shopping at App Store

App Store on iPhoneIt’s a gorgeous day outside so why not go shopping? Indoors. In front of my computer. At the App Store.

Yes, Apple’s App Store has arrived in iTunes via a free software update for older iPhones and the iPod Touch ($10 fee); it will be included on the iPhone 3G, available tomorrow. And it’s everything we hoped it would be, with a few exceptions.

As you would expect, the App Store is easy to browse, shop, and purchase, just like it is in iTunes for music and video. It’s colorful, well-organized, informative, and fun.

For now, though, I must window shop. The 2.0 software update hasn’t arrived for me to load programs and begin playing.

Nevertheless, I could still shop, and I never even broke a sweat.

The Process

It’s just like buying music or video.

All apps are nicely organized into categories: New, What’s Hot, Staff Favorites, Quick Links, Top Apps, Top Free Apps, in addition to Business, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Games, Healthcare & Fitness, Lifestyle, Music, Navigation, News, Photography, Productivity, Reference, Social Networking, Sports, Travel, Utilities, and Weather.

Each app page includes all the information you need to make a purchase: multiple screenshots (a nice touch), a (usually) detailed description, appropriate links (developer’s site, support, license agreement), and social touches like Tell A Friend.

When you download an app, be careful. For free apps, it’s no problem. Click on “Get App” and the program immediately begins downloading. When it’s done it shows up in your library under “Applications.”

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What’s in store for the Apps Store: third-party applications for iPhone finally arrive

iphone 3gAll that remains is the App Store.

Late tonight we’ll get our hands on MobileMe, which we’ll take for a test drive tomorrow.

The big three tech writers — The York Times’ David Pogue, the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg, and USA Today’s Ed Baig — gave the new iPhone 3G mixed but positive reviews today. The iPhone 3G will be available Friday morning.

Leaving the App Store and third-party applications as the only unfinished business for the second generation iPhone. The App Store also is expected to debut Friday morning.

We’ve been given a taste of what to expect after Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference last month, when we saw programs such as Loopt, Twitterific, Typepad, the Associated Press Mobile News Network, and other apps in action.

But what else is going on out there? What can we expect when the App Store doors are thrown open for business?

More than the iPhone 3G hardware, more than the MobileMe service, the App Store and third-party applications is where the action is.

Thanks to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, who more than any other Web resource, has kept tabs on upcoming iPhone apps since the developers conference in early June. Here is a sampling of apps from TUAW, and others. It is by no means comprehensive as we expect to see all kinds of applications — from super polished to rough around the edges, from the big guys to the little guys — come opening day.

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MobileMe launches Wednesday night; will it be revolutionary or underachieving?

mobilemeWith the launch of Apple’s MobileMe just a day away, I have to wonder: How revolutionary will it be?

Will it be blah like .Mac, the lackluster service it is replacing?

Will it be underachieving like Apple TV versions 1.0 and 2.0?

Or will it be revolutionary, the first service to truly bring the “cloud” and “cloud computing” to the everyday masses?

I’m anxious to find out.

Apple will take .Mac offline Wednesday at 6 p.m. PT, with the unveiling of MobileMe later in the evening. Members will not be able to access mac.com or any .Mac services during this time with the exception of .Mac Mail via a desktop application, iPhone, or iPod Touch.

It’s unlikely, however, that the “cloud” portion of MobileMe will be turned on and operating. For that capability we’ll probably have to wait until Friday, when the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 2.0 software, and the App Store are released.

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Hope for Flash on iPhone? New Mac version runs 3 x faster

Hope for Flash on iPhone? New Mac version runs 3 x fasterIt’s something Mac users have lived with for years: the version of Adobe’s Flash Player for OSX runs much less efficiently than its Windows counterpart. Perhaps then, we shouldn’t have been all that surprised to hear Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ explanation of why the iPhone doesn’t support Flash. Simply put, it runs too darn slow, while the cut-down version designed specifically for mobile devices – known as Flash Lite – isn’t fully-featured enough to grace the screen of Apple’s device. However, Adobe could be about to put its house in order with regards to support for the Mac, leading to speculation that the iPhone could be next.

According to Adobe developer Tinic Uro, the latest beta of Adobe Flash Player 10 running on Mac OSX is significantly faster than previous versions. “If you have followed GUIMark at all you will notice that this version of the player runs this benchmark substantially better on OSX than any previous Flash Player version”, writes Uro on his personal blog. “It should be up to 3 times faster”.

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AT&T releases official pricing plans for iPhone 3G; total cost of ownership is going up

att iphone 3gAT&T announced pricing details today for the iPhone 3G, which goes on sale at 8 a.m., July 11. There’s been a little grousing here and there, but for the most part the No. 1 carrier in the U.S. — and its accomplice, Apple — have received a free criticism pass.

Now that official pricing is here, we should be disappointed in AT&T and Apple. The iPhone 3G is going to be a heck of a lot more expensive to own.

In fact, the whole iPhone 3G pricing scheme smacks of corporate America — a product hits it big, so the next time out let’s milk it for every penny possible.

That’s what it feels like.

Here’s a quick review of what it will cost to own a brand-spanking new, faster, sexier iPhone 3G.

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Coming soon: iTunes remote control app for iPhone and iPod touch

Coming soon: iTunes remote control app for iPhone and iPod touchThis one is obvious but cool nonetheless.

With the launch of the App Store next month, Apple will release free software that lets you control iTunes on your Mac (or PC, we presume) via an iPhone or iPod touch. MacRumors notes the discovery in a pre-release version of iTunes 7.7 seeded to developers last night. “In the Read Me of the iTunes installer is a hint at a previously unannounced iPhone/iPod Touch application”:

… the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store.

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