Section: iPhone , iPhone It isn’t too often you hear Microsoft praising Apple, or their iPhone. Few may remember this, but the CEO of Microsoft Steve Balmer said in 2007 that, “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share,” in an interview with USA Today . In many parts of the world, the iPhone has captured significant marketshare. Especially Japan, where the iPhone has 46% of the Japan smartphone market . Recently Windows Mobile was compared to the iPhone at the Connect! tech summit in London and much praise was made to the iPhone OS, by Microsoft UK’s Head of Mobility, Phil Moore. Here’s what he had to say: “We’re still playing catch-up. When Apple came on to the scene a couple of years ago, it threw away the rulebook and reinvented it. We unfortunately don’t have that luxury. It’s true, Apple caught us all napping. It launched something that was very iconic, new and unseen with a very good user interface.” Hearing the quote at first made me wonder why a company with so many resources couldn’t keep up with Apple. Thinking over it, Microsoft has many enterprise users who rely on certain products, and having them reinvented is not something Microsoft can afford to do.

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Section: iPhone , iPhone Students at the University of Michigan Electrical and Computer Science division will be part of the very first live iPhone orchestra performance on December 9th, 2009. This concert will be both free and open to the public. Each of the students will be using one of Apple’s iPhones to create the music as part of a class at the college known as “Building a Mobile Phone Ensemble.” As part of this orchestra, students can create sounds using all sorts of different inputs on the device. For instance, blowing into the microphone, tapping the screen, or tilting the device can all create different noises to make up the overall experience. Being that the students in the class must know about both music and technology, this class certainly involves some pretty bright kids. However, I’m sure they’ve had plenty of practice before this live event. You can actually watch a video of what the performance is like, and join their Facebook page to find out more about what they’ve been doing. With this and applications such as the Ocarina now in the eye of the public for the iPhone, it really has been fascinating to watch what some people were able to do with Apple’s device. In the future, I’m sure we’ll only be seeing more and more of this sort of intriguing usage. Via [ 9to5Mac ] Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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Section: iPhone , iPhone We’re less than a week away from Black Friday, which I’ve now learned isn’t a sequel to Black Sunday , so many of you are likely already planning your shopping day. If you’re looking for some help navigating the inevitable sea of humanity, you may want to take a look at Retrevo’s new gadget shopping advisor that works over SMS & Twitter. “What? No iPhone app?” you say. That’s coming next year, apparently. In the meantime, the consumer electronics shopping site, Retrevo, is introducing a new shopping service; RetrevoQ, a live, automated shopping advisor for in-store shoppers. Let’s say you see a gadget in the store you like, but you’re not sure if it’s worth the price. Rather than call a relative or look it up on your iPhone, you can ask RetrevoQ via an SMS text or Twitter. They’ll send back three, real-time pieces of advice to help you decide: Real-Time Recommendation – Is it a good product? Fair Price – What should you pay for the product? Online Price Range – Is there a better deal available online? To learn more about Retrevo and the RetrevoQ service, visit www.retrevo.com/content/media . Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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Section: iPhone , iPhone Here, I’ll make it easy for you you: iPhone. There. You’ve made the right choice. But if you want something a little more scientific, and without the Apple slant, the fine folks over at Appmodo have put together a smart phone comparison of the iPhone, Palm Pre, Android G2 and Blackberry Storm that offers some more useful details…even if the obvious choice is still the iPhone. The article doesn’t take a stand in any direction. Rather, it simply presents the strengths/weaknesses of each device split into nine categories: Graphical User Interface “GUI” and the integration of multi-touch/gesture controls Keyboards Networks Data Syncronization Applications & Development Multi-tasking Hardware Browsers and Web Integration Cut, Copy, and Paste I question the usefulness of giving “Cut, Copy, and Paste” its own category, especially considering that the number of compatible “fart apps” isn’t mentioned at all, but to each his own, I guess. A lot of your decision will come to carriers, I’m guessing, but if you’ve got some freedom there, this article is a great help as you make what’s likely to be a fairly expensive and long term commitment. Read [ Appmodo ] Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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Section: iPhone , iPhone When Cnet’s Don Reisinger announced he was switching from an iPhone 3g to a Blackberry Bold (yes, you read that right), he was surprised by the offended tone some of his readers took, so much so that he’s written a follow up piece announcing why he’s leaving the iPhone behind: “MarkCharge” said that I was “an idiot” for switching to the Bold. “Rahulunbhatia” told me that he “has used both” and “the iPhone is much better.” “JKing29” said that I’m “crazy” for “going from a good phone to a bad phone.” Though there were a few folks who said that I’d be happier with the Bold, the overwhelmingly negative responses got me thinking: what’s up with all the BlackBerry hating? Reisinger spells out his needs: the virtual keyboard doesn’t work as well for him as the physical buttons of a Blackberry, and he likes the e-mail program (which is what he uses the most) better than Apple’s. On the downside for the Bold, the application store isn’t as mature, he can’t have his iTunes library as readily available (although he could, of course, just carry a phone and an iPod like many do), and the Bold is extremely expensive without a contract (like the iPhone isn’t?). Of course, it’s possible that someone could write an e-mail application that would fit the needs of other users…but would Apple let it be sold on the App Store? Still, it’s amusing to find die-hards out there giving someone heat for preferring a product from someone other than Apple. When it was Macs, we were a cult, but with the popular iPhone, it’s a little harder to write those voices off. Now that the iPhone will (finally) be getting MMS , cut and paste , and a slew of other features in OS 3.0, do you think we’ll be seeing compatibility with external keyboards? What are the features in other gadgets that you covet in future iPhone releases? Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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Section: Software + Apps , Miscellaneous , Third-Party , iPod + iTunes , iPod touch , iPhone , iPhone , iPhone SDK & Apps , Mac + Computers , Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for April 16, 2009: Macintosh Spiderweb Software, Inc. announced today the release of a new version of Geneforge 5: Overthrow for the Macintosh. The v1.0.3 update fixes a handful of bugs and should smooth out occasional glitches in the sound. Geneforge 5: Overthrow is a fantasy role-playing game, the final chapter in the epic Geneforge saga. Return to the world of the Shapers, where a sect of powerful wizards fights a devastating war against their rebellious creations. Explore a vast, war-torn world, create and mold your own army of strange, powerful monsters, and choose a side to lead to final victory. SintraWorks has announced PDFClerk Pro 3.7 , an update to their very popular PDF Document Editor for Mac OS X. PDFClerk Pro is a multi-faceted PDF editor with powerful and unique capabilities. It is designed to make standard operations easy and accessible, while allowing ample flexibility and adjustment to more complicated workflows for those with more advanced needs. Version 3.7 sports annotation sequence inversion, form field tab ordering and support for mixed mode editing. Chronic Logic has announced that Zatikon 1.0 is now a free game for OSX, Windows and Linux. Zatikon is an online, turn based, multiplayer tactics game featuring over 30 unique units, each with their own set of spells and abilities. Construct your own distinct army

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Section: iPhone , iPhone Got an original iPhone that’s just begging to be upgraded? It’s awfully enticing, with all the increased storage space and 3G capabilities, and how could you forget the new plastic case that’s just waiting to be scratched? Yes, there are a ton of reasons to upgrade, but it’s hard to justify the cost when you have a phone that works. Rapid Repair might just have a solution for you. Rapid Repair now has a 1st generation iPhone Buyback Program. It’s fast, it’s simple and they feel the prices are fair. It could be a better idea than eBay where you aren’t guaranteed anything except fees, fees and more fees. They’ll even buy (in some cases) broken iPhones. So, if you broke it, they might buy it

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Section: Macintosh and iPhone software updates and announcements for January 13, 2009: GiantCrayon Games has released ShiveringKittens , a quirky new iPhone game in which players rescue adorable kittens from the ice blocks that formed around them in a tough Minnesota winter. Players free the kittens by arranging falling blocks in the right order. The more ice blocks players connect, the more kittens they rescue and the more points they earn. Synectics Business Solutions, Inc. has announced a new version of their software to complement their well-established online backup service. Built upon the same modern infrastructure as their Enterprise version, BackJack’s Business version delivers more cost-effective, simpler and more secure online backup for business Mac users. BackJack remains the most trusted name for the online protection and recovery of critical files. Freeridecoding has announced BurnAgain FS 1.2 , a free update to the CD/DVD multisession burning utility for Mac OS X

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Section: Apple News , Updates , Conferences , Macworld , Mac + Computers , Laptops , MacBook Pro Shortly after the update of the 17” MacBook Pro at this year’s Macworld and news that it will contain a longer life, non user replaceable battery, Apple has published a support article that can help users when the time to replace their battery comes. According to details from this article, the replacement price will be $179 if the battery is out of its one year warranty period. When it comes time to actually replace the battery, it can surprisingly be done in one day at an Apple store if you schedule an appointment. If you choose to send it in, it will take 3-4 business days after your shipment. With it taking only one day to replace the battery at an Apple Store, it kind of got me wondering how hard it could possibly be. Although Apple may have certified workers and special tools for the process at each store, one day isn’t long at all, especially considering the unibody design of the machine. However, even if us customers could find a way to do it ourselves, it doesn’t appear as if Apple will be selling batteries by themselves. Any thoughts? Via [ Apple Support ] Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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Section: iPhone , iPhone Enter the Pre (pre what? you might ask). The Palm Pre. Palm’s newest smartphone, just announced today at CES, is slated to be the next iPhone killer: a smartphone that does all the same things the iPhone does, and then some. It features a multi-touch screen, but unlike the iPhone also comes with a physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard. And MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) capability, which gives you the ability to send video and picture messages. For a full comparison, see Harry McCracken’s excellent side-by-side T-Grid over at Technologizer . The highlights of the Pre, which make it better than the iPhone (or so we are led to believe), are a virtual laundry list of features. Since the phone is based on Palm’s next-generation platform, the usability of the features will have to be tested when the phone is released. Here are just a few of the major highlights: OS: The Pre runs Palm’s new webOS.  No clear winner in the battle, as the Pre is the first webOS-based phone.  Apple has definitely set a high bar with OS X for the iPhone, though. Modem Tethering: Included. This feature allows the phone to act as a modem for your computer, so you can browse using your phone’s cell connection.  This is a promised, but not-yet-delivered feature for the iPhone.  It’s usefulness is also based in large part on how useful the phone’s browser is…which brings up another great point….

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