apple

AT&T grants iPhone users free hotspot use ... finally

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Though not confirmed by AT&T, it appears that AT&T hotspots are now enabling free WiFi access to iPhone users. Several WiFi hotspots that folks tried offered iPhone users a custom portal to access free WiFi. A special formatted page asks the user for the iPhone mobile-phone number in order to access WiFi for free.

It's about time. Since last July, subscribers to AT&T's highest-speed DSL services have received free access to its WiFi hotspots throughout the country. In January, it began offering free WiFi to all DSL subscribers. But iPhone users have been left out of the fray.

For more about iPhone users being able to access free WiFi at AT&T hotspots:
- check out this report from MacRumors.com

Will AT&T subsidize the 3G iPhone?

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Fortune is reporting that AT&T is planning to this time subsidize the 3G version of the Apple iPhone, knocking off the price by $200. By offering the phone at a cheaper price, AT&T reportedly plans to put the squeeze on rivals Verizon and Sprint by putting the popular device within reach of more subscribers who have spending limits.

Apple is expected to announce two versions of the 3G iPhone, according to the report: an 8GB iPhone for $399 and a 16GB iPhone for $499. Since iPhone users have proven to be heavy data users, it follows that recouping the subsidy wouldn't take too long for AT&T.

For more on the 3G iPhone report:
- read this article from Fortune

ALSO NOTED: Is Comcast planning a wireless network?; Skype launches mobile app for 50 handsets; and much more...

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:59:51 -0400

> Is Comcast planning a wireless network

> Nextlink launched online spectrum exchange services Article

> AT&T and Starbucks USA have begun of the rollout of AT&T's WiFi service at company-operated Starbucks stores Article

> Skyle launches mobile app for 50 handsets

> Cable companies exit Pivot JV with Sprint

And Finally... Dare we say it. Could Apple's 3G iPhone be introduced on June 9? Article

Fring announced native VoIP application for iPhone

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Israeli company Fring has introduced the first native, true VoIP application for the iPhone. The application doesn't require users to route their calls through an analog VoIP bridge, like previous iPhone VoIP apps have. Using either SkypeOut or SIP, users can call landline/mobile numbers and even IM using Skype, Google, ICQ, MSN, Twitter, AIM, and Yahoo. Of course, users will need a jailbroken iPhone to use the application, but given the fact that Apple has vowed not to shut down VoIP over WiFi apps, we should see a legitimate version of Fring after Firmware 2.0 lands in June.

For more on Fring:
- see this press release

Related articles:
- VoIP developers fire up for iPhone iPhone VoIP story
- Jajah developing VoIP for iPhone iPhone and Jajah story

Another sign emerges pointing to 3G iPhone

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:53 -0400

Another sign has emerged pointing to a 3G version of the iPhone. iPhone hacker Zibri, which created the ZiPhone application that unlocks the device, says that while looking through the code of the iPhone beta SDK, it has discovered a line that makes reference to Infineon's HSDPA baseband processor. Specifically, Infineon's SGOLD3 is fully HSDPA 7.2Mbps capable.

To read more about the 3G iPhone speculation:
- check out this article from telecoms.com

Related articles:
- Analyst: Infineon-powered 3G phone by June? Report on 3G iPhone
- WSJ's Mossberg rescinds 3G iPhone prediction 3G iPhone article

More speculation surfaces about 3G iPhone

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:59:54 -0400

Due to disappointing iPhone sales across Europe, Apple is reported to have ramped up its efforts to launch a 3G-enabled handset. According to the market research firm Gartner, Apple has already placed a contract with an Asian manufacturer for 10 million of the second generation cellphones.

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said that the new handset was likely to include an OLED display in an effort to reduce the overall power drain that the 3G components will bring with them.

Launch timescales for the new handset are thought to be only months away, perhaps around the time that Apple releases the iPhone 2.0 firmware upgrade.

To find out more about the iPhone speculation:
- read these articles in GearLive and PCadvisor

Related articles:
Analyst: Infineon-powered 3G iPhone by June? Report
Rumor du jour: HSDPA iPhone coming in June Report

iPhone owners big users of data

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:53 -0400

According to a new survey from M:Metrics, 85 percent of iPhone owners in January searched the Internet for news and information, making the slick device the most popular handheld device for wireless Internet access on the go.

"The iPhone has certainly delivered on its hype," Mark Donovan, senior analyst for M:Metrics, said while releasing the figures. "Beyond a doubt, this device is compelling consumers to interact with the mobile web, delivering off-the-charts usage from everything from text messaging to mobile video."

Moreover, 30.9 percent of iPhone users, which can access both EDGE and WiFi, watched television or video via their devices, according to the survey. The market average is 4.6 percent. The survey also found that 49.7 percent of iPhone owners visited social networking sites and 58.6 percent conducted web searches, compared with the industry average of 6.1 percent.

For more about M:Metrics' study:
- read this article from InformationWeek

Related articles:
- AT&T: 95% of iPhone owners surf the mobile web Report
- Google: iPhone traffic dominates mobile search Report

Rumor du jour: HSDPA iPhone coming in June

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:59:56 -0500

The iPhone rumor mill is running at full throttle with the expectation that Apple will announce an HSDPA-enabled version in June. But given Apple's long history of delays, meeting this schedule--albeit 12 months after the original U.S. launch of the iPhone, could be a risky punt.

However, what appears to be solid information is that the current iPhone baseband supplier Infineon will provide the HSDPA chipset--a story reinforced by the German company also planning to ramp down production of the EDGE baseband solution used in the current generation of the iPhone in order to clear inventories ahead of the 3G model.

At a more curious level, UBS analyst Ben Reitzes speculated these new iPhones would be offered by new international operators.

While it remains unclear what this might mean, Morgan Stanley offered the bizarre explanation that Steve Jobs' travel expenses could provide the answer. Apparently, Jobs spent $550,000 on air travel--nearly three times more than the average spent over the past year and a half. Morgan Stanley claims that this was the need for Jobs' integral involvement with operators in Asia and Europe vying to secure iPhone contracts. Wow, that's an interesting hypothesis.

For more on this story:
- read this report from The Times
- check out this article from Apple Insider

Related articles:
Network capacity is the issue, not the iPhone Editorial
Chungwha Telecom wants to offer the iPhone, if it's 3G. Report
AT&T: 95 percent of iPhone users surf the web. Report

Apple takes advantage of WiFi in products

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Apple didn't announce its intention to include WiMAX in its laptops nor did it announce a 3G iPhone during this week's MacWorld. But it did reveal that iPhone sales reached 4 million, and it announced new products and upgrades that take advantage of WiFi:

iPhone location service: The iPhone can now determine a user's location by triangulating either cell towers or leveraging Skyhook Wireless' positioning system that uses WiFi signals.
Time Capsule: Apple combined an operating system-based backup feature with a network-attached storage system. The Time Capsule includes an AirPort Extreme Base Station that includes 802.11n with an internal hard drive.
MacBook Air: Apple introduced a high-performance laptop that includes 802.11n and Bluetooth.

For more about Apple's products announced this week:
- read this piece from Wi-Fi Net News
- JupiterResearch gives its take on the new products

Related articles:
Apple premieres iTunes movie rentals Article
HSPA PR machine heats up as WiMAX heats up Article

Rumor: Apple may include WiMAX in notebooks

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Rumors are flying that Apple may unveil notebook computers featuring WiMAX during the Macworld event this week. The technology, which has been soft-launched by Sprint in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., may be included in an ultra-portable 13-inch notebook computer and possibility across Apple's MacBook Pro line. Tech gossip rag Valleywag says banners throughout San Francisco's Moscone center, where Macworld is held, sport the tagline: "There's something in the air."

If true, the move could provide a nice boost for Sprint's planned nationwide rollout in 2008. Sprint so far has the major handset makers on board but no public commitments thus far from computer and consumer electronics companies. The question is: Would such a move be a risky one for the company? Tell us what you think.

For more about the Apple/WiMAX rumors:
- read this piece from Valleywag

Related articles:
The HSPA PR machine heats up as WiMAX heats up Report
Motorola showcases mobile WiMAX handoffs Report

Report: iPhone major hacker target in 2008

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:57 -0500

Researchers at Arbor Networks are predicting the iPhone will be the subject of serious attacks from hackers in 2008. Hackers already broke Apple's security system in 2007, but Arbor Networks predicts that hackers are attracted to attacking Apple users and to becoming the first to hack a new platform.

"2007 was the year of the browser exploit, the data breach, spyware, and the storm worm," the Arbor report said. "We expect 2008 to be the year of the iPhone attack, the Chinese Hacker, P2P network spammers, and the hijacking of the Storm botnet."

Apple's release of a software development kit for the iPhone in 2008 could unleash a host of attacks, and AT&T and all WiFi networks in range could be the next target, noted Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Security.

"Imagine a successful mobile worm that distributes itself over both cellular and WiFi," he said. "That's a day that security professionals have been worrying about for years."

To read more about the iPhone hacker predictions:
- read this article from Mobile Tech Today

Related articles:
Warding off hack attacks Report
Apple warns unlocked iPhone users Report

Apple changes mind on iPhone third-party development

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Apple basically has done an about-face when it comes to opening up the iPhone to third-party developers. CEO Steve Jobs, in an open letter on Apple's web site, said that a software developer's kit (SDK) to enable programmers to make applications for the device will be available in February. Previously, Apple protected native applications from outsiders except for the company's own developers and restricted outside applications to Web-based programs that operated in the iPhone's Safari browser.

Is this a realization that Apple can't operate in the mobile environment the way it operates in the consumer electronics and computer market? The company's products have always been closed up tight, and they have been successful. Apple believed it could translate that success in the wireless world, but likely didn't expect the enormous backlash from both developers and customers, who seem to continually be finding new ways to unlock the iPhone.

While the phone will remain locked on AT&T's network, opening up to third-party developers is a step in the right direction. The best innovation will happen over the long run that way. And when the advanced applications and data services are finally served up on broadband connectivity, that is when things will get really exciting.--Lynnette

SPOTLIGHT: Software update disables hacked iPhones

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:59:52 -0400

Apple's latest iPhone software update makes some hacked iPhone inoperable. According to bloggers, some of the unlocked iPhones still work but they only work with the original SIM card that forces the iPhone to connect to AT&T's mobile network. Article

ALSO NOTED: Apple general counsel to work for Qualcomm; The Cloud offers iPod Touch users WiFi access; and much more...

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:59:51 -0400

> Apple general counsel Donald Rosenberg is leaving for Qualcomm. Article

> Chunghwa Telecom awarded a 3G network expansion and services contract to Nokia Siemens Networks for $43.3 million. Article

> UK WiFi operator The Cloud offering iPod Touch users WiFi access. Article

And Finally... Experts say the patent threat to the 802.11n standard is overblown. Article

Motorola: iPhone altering carrier attitudes about WiFi

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Tom Meredith, chief financial officer with Motorola, admitted that Apple's move to include WiFi in the iPhone is forcing mobile operators to seriously consider selling devices with WiFi capability included. Motorola, according to Meredith, has not been able to convince service providers to allow WiFi connectivity--until now.

"Carriers didn't want to have anything to do with WiFi," Meredith said during the 14th Annual Citigroup Technology Conference. "They are now coming around to WiFi as an optional feature, recognizing the inevitability."

AT&T has always had a habit of disabling WiFi capability in devices, except of course in the iPhone. In July, Research in Motion revealed that AT&T would be the first customer of the 8820 WiFi/cellular BlackBerry device.

Meredith also said operators were previously opposed to touchscreen devices, but that the iPhone has changed that game too.

For more about Motorola's comments regarding the iPhone:
- read this article from EE Times

Related article:
Apple's $100 iPhone rebate

InterDigital signs iPhone patent deal with Apple

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Apple signed a seven-year, $20-million plus patent deal with InterDigital to cover the current iPhone, according to a filing InterDigital made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal is retroactive to the day Apple released the device in June and appears to cover the use of EDGE technology.

For more about Apple's deal with InterDigital:
- read this article from Cnet

Related article:
InterDigital wins patent dispute against Samsung

ALSO NOTED: Investors don't like $200 iPhone price cut; Pace Micro demos pay TV via WiFi and WiMAX; and much more...

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:51 -0400

> Investors didn't like Apple's $200 price cut on the iPhone. Article

> Pace Micro Technology teamed up with two Israeli firms to demonstrate that pay TV can make use of a combination of WiFi and WiMAX. Article

> RAD Data Communications enables 3G backhaul via DSL lines. Article

And Finally... Wireless operators aren't the only ones under fire for terminating heavy Internet users. Article

Apple cuts price of iPhone, WiFi enables iPod

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Apple has lowered the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399 and dropped the 4GB iPhone model altogether, citing a clear customer demand for the model with more internal memory. The price reduction seems to be a strategic move as Apple launches WiFi-enabled iPods that look to echo all the features of the iPhone, save the actual phone capabilities. The price reduction marks a $200 price cut: "We want to put iPhones in a lot of stockings," Jobs quipped. With an estimated 50-percent margin that Apple has been getting on the iPhone, the company has some wiggle room to drop prices.

Here's more on the WiFi-enabled iPods:

iPod Touch
Looks like there's a new iPod in town--the heavily-rumored, touchscreen-sporting iPod Touch. The form factor looks almost identical to the iPhone and it boasts WiFi, Cover Flow, Multitouch, Calendar, Contacts, Clock, Calculator and a very iPhone-like UI.

iTunes over WiFi
There's one more thing today--the rumored iTunes WiFi Music Store. Accessible from the iPod Touch (and, ostensibly, from the iPhone as well), the WiFi store has the same selection and pricing as its desktop brother and allows users to preview songs in the same manner. Download a song directly to your iPod and you can listen to it right away--sync your iPod with your Mac or PC when you get home and the songs you purchased over-the-air will automatically download to your hard drive.

Apple teams up with Starbucks
Starbucks has been trying to break into the music retailing game for a while now, so it makes sense that it has partnered up with the leader in the digital music game. Walk into any Starbucks and a special Starbucks icon will pop up on your iPod or iPhone. You'll then be able to browse the last 10 songs played in the store and purchase them over-the-air from iTunes. Users will also get free access to the iTunes Store over the in-store WiFi, though I'd assume you can't use the WiFi for anything else. They'll be rolling the service out in most U.S. metropolitan areas by the end of this year, with all Starbucks locations slated to get it by 2009.

For more details and photos of the new iPods:
- read this full write-up

Related articles:
- iPhone outsells other smartphones in July
- iPhone buyers opt for more expensive model
- Apple iPhone has 50 percent margins

Legal concerns stop iPhone unlocking software

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Uniquephones in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was supposed to release software designed to unlock Apple's iPhone on Saturday, but fear of litigation has stalled the plans. According to John McLaughlin, founder of the company, he received a phone call at 3 AM Saturday local time from a man claiming to be from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, an international law firm, calling on behalf of AT&T. The man told McLaughlin that he could be sued for copyright infringement and for dissemination of Apple's intellectual property.

Meanwhile, the news is abuzz over a 17-year-old hacker who unlocked the iPhone for use on T-Mobile's network or overseas networks.

For more about unlocking the iPhone:
- read this article from IDG News Service
- take a look at this report from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

T-Mobile, Orange and 02 to reportedly get iPhone

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Now this rumor seems to have some teeth behind it--given it's from The Financial Times. According to the report, T-Mobile of Germany, Orange of France and O2 in the U.K. have each reached exclusive deals with Apple for the iPhone. What's more, the deals see the carriers paying Apple 10 percent of the revenues made from the calls and data transfers from iPhones. While none of the carriers would comment on the report, the newspaper's sources say that the carriers will officially announce their deals with Apple at the IFA trade fair in Berlin at the end of the month. Vodafone, like its friend Verizon in the U.S., reportedly turned down the iPhone deal because it did not want to pay the steep percentage of revenues to the handset maker. Will the Europe-bound iPhone still be restricted to EDGE and WiFi?

For more on the report:
- read this article from The Financial Times

Related article:
iPhone Europe and future generations