Section: iPhone , iPhone , Mac + Computers , Peripherals , Keyboards Blogger Phil Gyford recently decided he’d stop wondering which text input device is best for him and put them to the test. So, he gathered up six gadgets with different types of input and from different generations. To undergo his test, he decided upon a 221 word passage that he would type on each device and time the amount of time it took him to complete the passage. As you can see from the chart below, the results, while interesting, aren’t really surprising. It makes sense that the keyboard would be the quickest, yet I’m also not surprised the iPhone, with its superior predictive text, is right behind it. He also offers some fascinating analysis of each input method based upon how many corrections he found himself making while entering the passage. Obviously, the more mistakes you make, the longer it takes. Therefore, the better the device is as finding these mistakes itself, such as with the iPhone, the more painless it’s going to be to use. For those interested, the passage he typed was: I have enough faith in my fellow creatures in Great Britain to believe that when they have got over the delirium of the television, when they realize that their new homes that they have been put into are mortgaged to the hilt, when they realize that the moneylender has been elevated to the highest position in the land, when they realize that the refinements for which they should look are not there, that it is a vulgar society of which no decent person could be proud, when they realize all those things, when the years go by and they see the challenge of modern society not being met by the Tories who can consolidate their political powers only on the basis of national mediocrity, who are unable to exploit the resources of their scientists because they are prevented by the greed of their capitalism from doing so, when they realize that the flower of our youth goes abroad today because they are not being given opportunities of using their skill and their knowledge properly at home, when they realize that all the tides of history are flowing in our direction, that we are not beaten, that we represent the future: then, when we say it and mean it, then we shall lead our people to where they deserve to be led! Be sure to head over to Mr.

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Text input speed test: Pen vs. keyboard vs. Newton vs. Graffiti vs. Treo vs. iPhone

After last month’s announcement that the largest retail store chain in the U.K. would start offering the iPhone, now comes word that Tesco is also slashing prices that would make even its U.S. cousin Wal-Mart jealous. Tesco is selling the iPhone in their Tesco Phone Shops throughout the U.K., and they have announced that the base plan for service is a mere £20 ($32.54 US) per month, a full 1/3 lower than competing carriers, according to AppleInsider . Customers will be able to purchase an iPhone 3G on a 12-month contract instead of the usual 24 months, at a slightly higher up-front cost of £222 ($361 US). Tesco Mobile relies on the O2 network for its service, but signing up directly with O2, the cheapest iPhone plan is £34.26 ($55.74 US) per month with a two-year contract, and the device itself is free. Tesco Mobile is also offering an iPhone 3G for free with a two-year contract, but the monthly plan adds up to only £702 ($1,142.15 US) over 24 months instead of O2’s cost of £822 ($1,337.39 US). However, O2 customers get 600 minutes per month, while Tesco customers only get 300. Chatterboxes who require unlimited calling with Tesco will have to fork over £60 ($97.62 US) each month on a 24-month contract, and if they want the newer iPhone 3GS, that will cost them £320 ($520.64). The U.K. iPhone market has heated up in recent months after O2 lost its exclusivity in September. Competitors Vodafone and Orange quickly jumped into the fray to offer the device, and the Tesco Mobile deal is seen as a way for O2 to gain back some of their market share.

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Tesco iPhone Monthly Plan Is Really Cheap

Next time U.K. shoppers drop into their local Tesco store for a loaf of bread, they’ll also be able to pick up an iPhone at the same time, courtesy of a new partnership with local carrier O2. The deal, announced today, will bring Apple’s iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to more than 100 Tesco Phone Shops by the end of the year. Tesco Mobile is the retailer’s mobile virtual network operator, who will also offer the device online through its Tesco Direct site. Tesco’s pay-as-you-go service may be branded Tesco Mobile, but it relies on the O2 network, similar to how MVNO Virgin Mobile operates using Sprint’s network here in America. Tesco is the world’s fourth-largest retailer, making the deal Apple’s next step toward even wider distribution in Europe. It also marks a new advantage for partner O2, who lost their U.K. exclusive on the iPhone recently and now competes for customers with rivals Vodafone and Orange

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U.K. Grocery Chain Tesco Bags iPhone

Up until now, Britain’s Telefónica-owned O2 has been the country’s exclusive carrier of iPhones.  This is set to change next year, when rivals Orange and Vodaphone will begin offering iPhones of their own. In response, Telefónica chairman and CEO Matthew Key announced that O2 will unlock out-of-contract iPhones for use on other networks: “Once the iPhone becomes available on other UK networks, we will allow O2 customers to unlock their iPhones, although of course they will still need to honor any outstanding contract period they have. At the end of their contract period, they are entirely free to move to another operator.” End-of-contract unlocking of cell phones is the status quo in the UK — this is just the first time it’s been offered for the House of Jobs’ cash cow.  On the other hand, O2’s generous data terms (unlimited and — for the first year — free) is also a huge incentive for current customers not to jump ship at contract’s end. So how does this affect the USA?  Right now, AT&T’s stranglehold on the iPhone offsets the fact that their network and customer service — how can we put this delicately? — suck.  At the same time, lots of Verizon and Sprint customers who desire an iPhone are loathe to settle for the Death Star as a carrier.  If and when the iPhone shows up on other networks, AT&T will have to offer beaucoup perks and otherwise jump through hoops to keep current and potential customers from fleeing in droves. [Via Wired Gadget Lab ]

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Share The Air: UK’s O2 Cell Carrier Promises To Unlock Out-Of-Contract iPhones

  It’s amazing to notice how iPhone gives birth to a new breed of artists – those who never miss a moment worth capturing in the photo or painting. Many professional painters, designers and photographers recognized the iPhone and iPod Touch as the new age art mediums, and have become evangelists of the iArt. What is the secret of such a great popularity? The well-known photographer Chase Jarvis formulated the answer quite well in the title of his new published book “The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You” (he only used an iPhone for this photo book). In other words, people enjoy the possibility to implement their creative ideas on the go, and to be ready when spontaneous inspiration catches them. Just add a few specialized applications to your device and get a portable art or photography studio in your pocket — so what are YOU waiting for? Below you can find some beautiful paintings and photos made with the iPhone or iPod Touch. Indulge yourself in this collection of visual delicacies. You can also find some neat artistic applications you might use in your daily creative life at the end of the post. Fingerpainting David Hockney One of the most famous Britain’s artists, David Hockney has worked in numerous art forms and mediums in his lengthy career. Now he creates mini masterpieces using his iPhone and the Brushes app. ‘I lie in bed and send illustrated art lectures to friends and also my own iPhone paintings,’ said Hockney.

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Discovering the iArt: Inspiration and Applications

TV on the iPhone isn’t anything new, but a new web site makes it much easier, more direct, and less expensive for iPhone users in the UK. Just by visiting the site and logging into the new beta web app from TV Catchup, you can access 11 slightly delayed British TV channels, streamed directly to your iPhone. As long as you live somewhere within the UK, pointing your iPhone’s Safari browser at the TV Catchup optimized site will allow you access to Britain’s five main networks, including BBC 1 and 2, ITV and Channel 4, as well as six additional channels, including BBC 3 and 4 Music. Attempting to access the site from outside of the UK results in a dialog informing you that you aren’t authorized to play back the content in question, which comes as no surprise given the general attitude of major U.S. TV networks when it comes to international access. If you are in the UK, you get streams from each channel delayed only about 20 seconds behind the live TV feed. You can also watch in either landscape or portrait mode (using your phone’s built-in Quicktime player) and pause any footage. Keen readers will observe that the BBC is already available to all on the iPhone via its own iPlayer web application (also limited to UK residents).

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Lots of Nearly Live TV Now Available Free to UK iPhone Users

Vodafone announced today that it will begin selling the iPhone in the UK beginning in 2010, according to Reuters . The news comes on the heels of an announcement from France Telecom’s Orange yesterday that it would also start selling the popular smartphone , following the end of O2’s exclusivity deal this month. Orange will reportedly be offering the device for sale in three weeks . Vodafone also will be selling the device in Ireland. It will begin selling the phone in both places at the end of this year. Analysts see the move as a huge boon for Vodafone’s business, which had been suffering in the British market because of O2’s exclusivity deal. If you’re not keen on waiting, you can already pre-register online for iPhone updates through Vodafone’s web site. Once it becomes available on Orange and Vodafone, the iPhone will be officially offered by three of Britain’s five mobile operators. The exponential increase in competition could have significant benefits for the consumer, if price wars ensue. The iPhone is already one of the most heavily subsidized devices on the market, though, so it’ll be interesting to see how far into profits cellular network operators are willing to cut to win consumer favor. The iPhone is such a valuable property because of its data-intensive nature. Cellular providers are seeing profits from talk and text steadily decreasing as talk time becomes cheaper and plans become more competitive. Look at the U.S., where Sprint recently introduced free calling to any mobile on any network for those subscribed to its top-of-the-line Everything plans. Data use has become the real money maker for wireless companies, since customers still regard it as a premium and are willing to pay more for it.

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Vodafone Getting in on UK iPhone Party

On the other side of the Atlantic ocean is little island nation known as Great Britain. That tiny nation of funny-named food and wrong-side-of-the-street driving, is home to our sister publication, MacFormat . It’s like Mac|Life but with Jaffa Cakes, fish and chips, and tea. read more

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MacFormat Relaunch

If you’re an unhappy T-Mobile customer in the UK, they might allow you to upgrade to an iPhone even though they’re not an authorized carrier of the phone. According to MacNN , T-Mobile UK started distributing the unlocked iPhone 3Gs in an attempt to stop customers from leaving the company for other carriers. read more

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T-Mobile UK Allows Users To Upgrade To iPhone

This video, from Drew Carey’s libertarian-leaning ReasonTV, is supposed to convince Americans that they shouldn’t buy iPods. Why? They may be “designed by Apple in California” but almost all of the 451-odd parts hail from abroad — the screen from Japan, the battery from Chile the CPU design from Britain — and it’s assembled, of course, in

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Cringe As Bikini Babes Smash “Unpatriotic” iPods in Anti-Apple Video