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iPhone bills are huge (in size, too) -- TONIGHT on ABC News
iPhone Pong -- we can all die happy now.
Is a cheaper, smaller iPhone in the works?
Daily News staffer has an iPhone
Blogging from inside the Sherman Oaks Apple Store
Massive disaster averted: iPhone will play nicely with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
Word on the street: the iPhone sucks
iPhone porn (i.e. Apple's new keyboard video)
MS Office 2008 for Macintosh will sync with the iPhone.
So you'll be able to do a PowerPoint presentation anywhere, anytime, on a teeny screen! OK ... you can plug the iPhone directly into the projector with the proper Apple AV cable.
Love or hate the iPhone, it's the future of computing. We'll all be carrying around something similar within the next 10 years.
Maybe tonight, according to Ars Technica's Infinite Loop:
When we received our first iPhone bill, we were surprised both by how large it was and the reaction the story received. Yes, we know you can call AT&T or go online and cancel the paper billing or remove the itemized data listings, but that didn't help all the iPhone users who received their first box of papers a month after the iPhone's release.
By "large," they mean number of pages:
One of our bills is a whopping 52 pages long, and my own bill is 34 pages long. They're printed on both sides, too. What gives?
The AT&T bill itemizes your data usage whenever you surf the Internet via EDGE, even if you're signed up for the unlimited data plan. AT&T also goes into an incredible amount of detail to tell you—well, almost nothing. For instance, I know that on July 27 at 3:21 p.m. I had some data use that, under the To/From heading, AT&T has helpfully listed as "Data Transfer." The Type of file? "Data." My total charge? $0.00.
...
ABC News is hoping to do a story on-air tonight about the iPhone bill issue, and Charlie Gibson wants to hold up an especially egregious example of these monstrosities.
They're looking for New Yorkers, so if you've got a story, go to the Ars site and do tell.
Yes, you can play Pong on the iPhone. Seen on O'Reilly via Jonathan Saggau (go to the link to see the code, check back for a download link.
Rumour has it that Apple Inc. is planning on introducing a cheaper, smaller version of the iPhone later this year. The rumour gained momentum last Thursday when it was made public that Apple Inc. filed a patent application last November describing "a multifunctional handheld device with a circular touch pad displaying illuminated symbols that could change depending on the mode in use," which Apple enthusiasts are interpreting as an "iPhone Nano."
Self-acknowledged Mac geek Tom Gapen brought his iPhone in today. Looks pretty darn cool. He had no problem setting it up with iTunes, and while Web service is sketchy in the building (no Wi-Fi passes through these hallowed walls), it, as I said, looks mighty cool.
About the only chink in the iPhone's armor today came from reports that talk time is less like Apple's claimed 8 hours and more like the industry-standard 4 hours. No biggie there -- I thought the 8-hour claim was a bit optimistic in the first place.
Did I say the thing looks extremely cool?
And for those who like to see what's under the hood, some geeks have already cracked the case at ifixit, seen by me via ZDNet.
(Image above from http://stream.ifixit.com)
A tableful of iPhones is being mobbed by geeks three deep, sweating over each other like a pen of sweaty hogs. iPhones are still available and being sold (I guess $500 gadgets don't move as easily as Nintendo Wiis)sold out this morning. I'm with the 3-year-old, so we'll be playing "Dora the Explorer" in a minute.
But just think how many grubby germs will be on the glass faces of those iPhones on that table. I'm sure somebody on "CSI" will be lifting prints off of an iPhone any day now.
The horror -- HORROR, I TELL YOU -- in the enterprise about the iPhone's former inability to access e-mail from the now corporately ubiquitous Microsoft Exchange e-mail servers has been addressed by the fine folks in Redmond:
The update is expected to address the many issues Exchange 2007 users have been having, including with Mac Mail and the fact that when they access their mailboxes on a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 server, certain IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) clients cannot open the bodies of the e-mail messages, which triggers an error message.
This fix is important as the iPhone will work with Exchange Server via IMAP4, Keith McCall, chief technology officer of Azaleos and a former Exchange executive, told eWEEK.
"Exchange 2007 has had some difficulties with the IMAP4 protocol implementation, which are at least partially expected to be addressed with Exchange 2007 Rollup 3. We are currently testing these fixes to see that they do address the issue with Mac Mail," he said.
For the rest of us, that means that iPhone users will be able to access e-mail with the IMAP protocol, meaning the mail remains on the server and won't be tied to the internal memory of the iPhone. So you can access your e-mail with the phone, then access it again with your desktop e-mail client.
Does this mean that Yahoo (and maybe Google) will be offering IMAP service to their e-mail users? Both currently offer the POP protocol, in which all mail is downloaded to the device itself and then either erased from the server or kept there (to be dealt with via a Web interface). I've tried using POP mail while keeping messages on the server, and it's a pain in the ass. When I see an e-mail, I want to either keep it or delete it right then and there -- so that's why IMAP, especially in this age of total connectivity, is the way to go.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes of ZDNet collects the early review buzz on the iPhone. The verdict? Not ready for prime time. In Kingsley-Hughes' words:
Overall, I’m disappointed. When I look at the iPod of the MacBook, I see real cutting-edge innovation. Sure, you can buy cheaper but it’s hard to buy better. The iPhone lacks this cutting-edge feel and is missing key cellphone features present if phones which cost less than half the price Apple expects you to pay for the iPhone. It’s not a tool, it’s a shiny bauble.
You know you want it. You want to touch it. Caress it. Tap it. It's the iPhone virtual keyboard, and Apple previews it in this video.
The Universal Solar Charger from Brando is a God-sent for the gadget lover.
The device is small enough to carry around but don't let that fool you.
It also uses good ol' fashioned electricity to charge a variety of gizmos such
as cell phones and mp3 players
Anticipating an increase in service demand - thanks to Apple's much-hyped iPhone - AT&T has hired 2000 temporary employees and has trained them on how to sell Steve Jobs' latest gadget.
Considering that AT&T has some 1,800 stores nation-wide, the surge in available staff amounts to just one extra person per store.
One more thing - in case you were wondering - we are NOT (sadly) getting any kickbacks from Apple Inc., there's just plenty of iPhone-related news coming out regularly.
Russell Shaw of ZDNet finds the patent Apple is applying for that will render your iPhone uncapable of being recharged if its stolen.
ZDNet tipped me off to Apple's iPhone video guided tour, guaranteed to increase your lust for the pricey new, not-yet-released gadget you can't have.
ZDNet is as obsessed with the iPhone as anybody else and got these shots via Endgadget. Also, Jason D. O'Grady of ZDNet reports, there's a dedicated YouTube button in the second row of virtual keys in the picture. A dedicated YouTube button? For the love of Pete!
If so, take a tip from Jacqui Cheng of Ars Technica:
Anyone who thinks they can sneak into an AT&T store hours ahead of the 6 PM iPhone launch has another thing coming, according to new rumors reported by (you guessed it) AppleInsider's sources. Tipsters from within the AT&T retail stores have told the site that they plan to close the stores temporarily a couple of hours before the official launch in order to prevent crowding inside of the retail space and allow the employees to put up displays worthy of making an appearance on the Broadway hit "Jesus Christ Superstar."
"[AT&T stores] will be setting up roped queue lines for when they re-open at 6:00 p.m.," said one tipster, who spoke with representatives at his local AT&T retail store in a smaller suburban market in central Pennsylvania. "They then plan on staying open till 10:00 p.m."
Me: laughing my ass off at Jacqui's final graf:
Since no one seems to be clear what the status is on supply, I guess we're left to guess on that one until the last second. And by "last second," I mean when some angry geek goes postal because he or she was a mere two people away from the cutoff.
AND ... if you're that geeky, there's an iPhoneDevCamp to teach you how to develop apps for the thing:
It's more of an intensive boot camp than a conference, since the primary goal seems to be to get as many people as possible together to talk about, learn about, and write applications for the iPhone. There will be a few presentations in the beginning as well, but most of the time will be dedicated to actual development. And developers, if you don't have a shiny new iPhone by July, don't worry: it's recommended but not required.
The good news is that the DevCamp is free, and will be held from July 6 to 8 in the Bay Area. No venue has been picked yet, but the organizers are trying to nail that down quickly. The organizers are also actively seeking sponsors and a few presenters, so if you can help out in either of those capacities, you might want to let them know.
And there's MORE, MORE, MORE iPhone news from Ars Technica's Infinite Loop. While Click's Armando Hernandez already reported on the battery life, the other news is that the iPhone's surface will be "optical-quality glass" instead of plastic:
Those who were concerned that the iPhone would display the same level of delicious scratchability as the iPod can now rest eas(ier) knowing that the front will not be quite as scratchable as its previous audio-only predecessors.
While we all know how close Apple and Google are becoming (would I be surprised to see Google buy Apple? No), beginning today, owners of Apple TV will be able to watch YouTube videos on their newish box. So if you have a hankering for British cell-phone salesman Paul Potts singing operatic arias, you can do it.
But the big news, learned by me from Ars Technica's Infinite Loop, is that you can do the exact same damn thing on your shiny, keyboardless new iPhone beginning June 29 -- launch day for the lusted-after gadget.
As Ars' Jacqui Cheng so wittily writes:
The company says that a new, Apple-designed app (wow, thanks for specifying that, Apple) will allow users to stream YouTube content to the device through WiFi or EDGE. This announcement only comes a few days after YouTube launched its own, "universal" version of YouTube Mobile. Apple just isn't content to let other people do the work, I guess.
The iPhone will apparently be able to stream YouTube videos upon launch on June 29, so you'll never have to miss out on your buddies' video blogs.
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