The iPhone Dev Team (not the Cupertino version) plans to release the first ever software-based unlock application for the iPhone 3G on New Year's Eve.
Code-named YellowSn0w, the program is a one-touch iPhone app that allows you to use a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card from another carrier and have your phone up and running in a matter of minutes. YellowSn0w is a first because it allows you to unlock the iPhone without any tech-heavy tinkering on the physical device or with the software itself.
Dev team member MuscleNerd announced via Twitter yesterday that he would demo the new app on the live video streaming service Qik. In the video (which you can find here), MuscleNerd switches his iPhone 3G from the AT&T network to T-mobile in a matter of minutes. As you can see, YellowSn0w is very raw at the moment, but according to MuscleNerd the team is packaging the app into a user-friendly interface.
YelloSn0w capitalizes on a software weakness in the iPhone's baseband radio -- the radio is how a cellular phone communicates with the network -- to unlock the iPhone from AT&T's network. In the video, Musclenerd notes that his SIM card has a notch in it, but says that YellowSn0w users will not have to do this. The notch simply allowed the Dev Team to easily experiment and find weaknesses with the iPhone 3G's SIM lock. The SIM lock is how AT&T is able to stop users from switching to another carrier with the iPhone 3G by making the phone unable to recognize another carrier's SIM card
Apple's decision not to participate in the 2010 Macworld Expo in San Francisco is the latest blow to the decade-old trade show.
Earlier this year, Belkin and Adobe both announced they were withdrawing their booth commitments at Macworld 2009. Other companies are also rumored to be scaling back their Macworld Expo presence.
Still, the company behind the Macworld conference--IDG World Expo, which is owned by the same parent company as PC World--promises that Adobe will still be involved in some demo sessions. The changes, it insists, are no cause for concern.
Apple announced today that it would end its relationship with the annual Macworld Expo after this January's event.
The company also said that Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller and not Apple CEO Steve Jobs will deliver the opening keynote address for the 2009 San Francisco show in early January.
"Every year we see a certain percentage of exhibitors pull out of the event for their own business reasons," a statement from IDG World Expo says. "In this economic climate, it shouldn't be a surprise to see this. The important thing to understand is that Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 will be similar in size to last year's event, and attendees will continue to visit nearly 500 great Mac product vendors on our exhibit floors."
IDG World Expo indicated registrations were "on pace" with past years as early December.
End of an Era
Apple has been a long-standing central component of the conferences, with Steve Jobs typically delivering keynote presentations and introducing new products at the shows. Products such as the iPhone, iTunes, the Macbook Air latop, and the Safari Web browser were all unveiled at Macworld conferences.
Now, however, Apple says it is forced to reevaluate its strategies when it comes to conferences and in-person expositions.
"Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers," a statement released Tuesday explains.
Apple is also scaling back its presence at other expos, including NAB, Macworld Tokyo, and the Apple Expo in Paris.
Background
The Macworld Expo used to take place on both the West Coast and East Coast. The East Coast Macworld event--which was held in New York and Boston over the years--was cancelled in 2005. Apple had pulled out of that event just three years earlier.
Apple on Tuesday announced that Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 will be the company's last. The company also said Steve Jobs will not deliver his traditional keynote at the event this year.
Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller will be delivering the keynote at the 2009 expo. That, said Apple, will be its last keynote at the show.
"I think it's the end of Macworld Expo," Michael Gartenberg, vice president of market research firm JupiterMedia and editor of the MobileDevicesToday blog, told Macworld. "It's the end of an era."
But Paul Kent, vice president and general manager of Macworld Expo organizer IDG World Expo, said that his organization would strive to serve Mac users at next January's trade show and beyond.
"Macworld Conference & Expo has thrived for 25 years due to the strong support of tens of thousands of people in the Mac community worldwide who use [Expo] as a way to find great products, partake in professional development training and cultivate their personal and professional networks," Kent said. "We are committed to serve their interests at the Moscone Center, January 4-8 2010."
Kent added that future events "will continue to provide quality education, dynamic product viewing and will additionally focus on the amazing ways people are putting Apple products to work across all endeavors from desktops to iPhones to games to music. We look forward to many successful years of Macworld to come."
Apple's Reasons
"Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers," the company said in a statement posted to its Web site. "The increasing popularity of Apple's Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways."
Besides its stores, Apple also holds its own events during which the company has introduced new iPods and computers in the past few years.
"Unlike other companies, Apple are able to draw press and analysts to an event anytime they want," said Gartenberg.
Gartenberg also believes that the absence of Jobs at the keynote sends a signal to the community. "Without Steve Jobs it's probably going to be a tame Macworld this year," he said.
Kent disagreed. "We are on track for a terrific show this year with strong attendance and nearly 500 exhibitors showcasing their products at this January's event," he said.
Apple points out that it has been scaling back on trade shows over recent years including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.
In 2002, when IDG World Expo announced plans to relocate its East Coast Mac trade show from New York to Bsoton, Apple announced it would stop participating in the summer trade event. After two Macworld Expos in Boston, IDG World Expo pulled the plug on that event.
It's been a tough lead-up to Macworld Expo this year. Earlier this month, Belkin pulled out of Expo citing economic conditions. And Adobe will also not be exhibiting at the trade show this year, but it will have employees on hand to lead training sessions.
For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld.com
Microsoft has released a free high-resolution photo viewing app for the iPhone called Seadragon. Using the iPhone's powerful graphics processor, Seadragon can view giga-pixel sized images and provide a deep zoom, allowing users to get very up close and personal with thousands of pictures.
Seadragon comes preloaded with a variety of snapshots, including some from the Library of Congress, world maps, large artwork, and user-submitted pictures from Microsoft's Photosynth -- a program that stitches large-scale images together to create a faux 3-D composite. (At the time of this writing, Photosynth has been experiencing problems and is inactive.)
I was immediately impressed with the quality of Seadragon's images. The "city lights at night" picture comes through with stunning clarity, filling the 3.5-inch screen. When I scoped out the aerial maps section, Seadragon found my current location and gave me a sharp overhead view. I daresay the picture was crisper and more detailed than anything I've seen from Google Earth.
Seadragon uses the iPhone's multi-touch capabilities to zoom in and out, and each picture loads and focuses quickly. For large image collections, Seadragon provides a slideshow view. You can add content through other Photosynth users and RSS feeds such as Flickr and Deep Zoom Content.
It's obvious on first impression that Seadragon has potential, but what's the future of this app? If it could be seamlessly paired with photojournalism sites such as The Boston Globe's "The Big Picture," I can see it changing the way we view mobile media.
Seadragon is available only on the iPhone and iPod Touch at the moment. No word yet as to when Microsoft will release the app to its own Windows Mobile service.
What's Macworld without rumors? According to an iDealsChina report, Apple will soon launch a Nano iPhone-or perhaps an iPhone Nano-- which purportedly is a smaller, cheaper version of you-know-what. There's even a photo of the Nano iPhone's case, which iDealsChina claims is designed by silicone-case designer XSKN.
The timing is certainly right for a hot iPhone rumor, particularly with the Macworld Expo in San Francisco just three weeks away. The iDealsChina story alleges that Steve Jobs will use Macworld to launch the iPhone Nano, which will have a touchscreen and camera, but no 3G. Of course, iPhone Nano rumors have been flying for some time now. PC World reported on similiar blogosphere musings way back in July 2007.
Who knows, maybe the alleged $99 iPhone at Wal-Mart is actually the iPhone Nano. Keep in mind, however, that Apple doesn't play in the tech industry's bargain basement -- note its lack of $500 notebooks or netbooks--and there's no urgent need for Cupertino to change its strategy now.
So we're taking the iPhone Nano rumor with the proverbial grain of salt. Apple officials, masters of Soviet-era secrecy, aren't talking.
These days, you can't swing a shuffle by its headphones without hitting someone with an opinion about whether or not Apple will or should release a netbook.
Rob Enderle says Apple must, but it may be too late (oh, Rob...), Macworld's own Peter Cohen says he wishes Apple would, and Wired's Charlie Sorrel says nah gonna happen any time soon.
The Macalope hates to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it looks like Rob's right. According to PC World, sales of netbooks overtook iPhone sales in the third quarter of this year.
Well, that's it then. Let's turn the lights out on the iPhone and...
Wait, what?
Sales of all netbooks overtook just the iPhone? What kind of statistic is that?
Even worse, when you dig a little deeper, you see that Gartner provided the iPhone sales number of 4.7 million. But Apple reported sales of 7 million. Well, Gartner says Apple stuffed the channel with about 2 million units. Maybe they did, but did DisplaySearch, which provided the netbook numbers, take into account any channel-stuffing? It's hard to tell, but looks like it just says "shipments."
Sooo, before everyone gets their collective undies in a wad about netbooks destroying Apple...
Well, you should really ask yourself why you're all wearing the same pair of undies. Because if you're doing that, you've got bigger problems than worrying about Apple's sales figures. Why don't you just work on that and wait until January when we see what gets announced at Macworld and what iPhone and MacBook sales actually look like for this quarter?
The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat
You know, not a lot of people realize how hard it is being a mythical Mac pundit. First of all, there's the reading and research (look at all those links in the previous bit!); then there's the ups and downs of the news cycle.
Take today for example. The Macalope had bookmarked the rumor that Microsoft would be announcing a Zune phone at CES in January. Can you imagine how exciting that would have been?! Steve Ballmer going up against Steve Jobs?! And almost certainly crashing and burning?! Ooh, it'd be like a second Christmas!
Sadly, it is not to be. The phone-related announcements from Microsoft at CES will be related to Windows Mobile.
Sigh. The crash and burn will just be a fizzle.
Well, maybe the Macalope will just go out to the driveway and blow up some of his old Revell models with firecrackers. It's the next best thing.
As An Aside, That Kid Ended Up In Juvi
Or, we could watch the Psystar case, which is comical in the same way those fainting goats are.
First, Groklaw tore them a new clone hole (tip o' the antlers to Adrian Kingsley-Hughes) over their license, which is a copy/paste of Apple's, except for the fact that Psystar makes it even more restrictive.
Now they've changed their suit against Apple to say that the company is abusing its copyright by preventing competition.
You know, the horny one had a classmate back in junior high school who, after everyone else handed their homework in at the beginning of class, would spend the next 50 minutes flipping wildly through his binder claiming "I did it! I know I did it!" only to admit at the end of class that, no, he hadn't actually done the homework.
The Macalope's not sure why he's relating that particular story right now. Maybe the relevance will become clear when the bell rings.
For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld.com
One of the most notable features missing from Apple's iPhone 3G is the ability to copy text from one location and paste it to another. But thanks to a new Web service -- no, it's not an application -- called Pastebud, copying and pasting within the iPhone's Safari browser, and back and forth between Web pages and the e-mail app, just might become a reality…and soon: Reports indicate that both free and $5 commercial versions of Pastebud could be available as early as tomorrow.
Pastebud employs Safari bookmarks to enable iPhone copy and paste. One bookmark displays the page from which you want to copy text, another appears to contain all the Pastebud commands. The service lets you drag a finger across on-screen text to highlight it, and the secondary Pastebud bookmark is used to copy that text. Once a selection is copied, you can paste it into an e-mail or onto another Web page using the Pastebud commands.
And because Pastebud's not a standalone piece of software, it's not subject to Apple's strict -- to say the least -- App Store approval process.
Pastebud isn't the first third-party attempt at bringing copy and paste to the iPhone. Back in August, OpenClip seemed promising, but Apple made some technical tweaks that did away with that option.
And though Pastebud's not "true" copy and paste in the full sense of the term -- it only works in the Mail and Safari -- the existence of such a service is a big step in the right direction. Especially since the majority of copying and pasting would likely be performed in these apps anyway.
It's ridiculous that Apple hasn't added some sort of copy and paste function to the iPhone yet, but I'll take what I can get until it does. My only reservation relates to privacy. When you copy text using Pastebud, it has to be stored somewhere. (Pastebud servers?) Since the Pastebud website is not currently live, there's no privacy information available.
It still remains to be seen whether or not Apple will find some way to block Pastebud, but I plan to give it a try as soon as it's available. Stay tuned...
Visit www.Apple.com
Has Apple's iTunes Music Store had its day? Despite rumours that Apple would announce a DRM-free iTunes operation yesterday, nothing of the sort actually occurred. And a new review claims that Amazon MP3 is much, much better.
Macworld's Dan Moran says don't be surprised if a DRM-free iTunes doesn't happen anytime soon:
"The reason is simple: there is no reason. If that sounds like a spurious Zen koan, just look at the evidence. Apple is still the leading music retailer in the US, beating out even the brick-and-mortar chains. In the digital download market, its lead is even bigger. And the growth doesn't appear to be slowing, much less shrinking. Much as a vocal minority of consumers hate DRM and refuse to buy songs laden with it, they're still a minority: your average consumer doesn't know DRM from ERA."
And the arrival of a heavyweight like Amazon weighing in on the digital music download scene puts it under extreme pressure - especially as Amazon's Amazon MP3 music store does sell DRM-free MP3 tracks at cheaper prices and higher quality.
PC Advisor's indepth review of Amazon MP3 makes it clear that iTunes is under attack from a very tempting alternative.
In his verdict on the new Amazon store reviewer Simon Jary states that:
"While iTunes currently offers a greater depth of music - as well as movies and TV shows - Amazon MP3 is pretty certain to catch up. Its prices are erratic but I couldn't find one album there that was cheaper in iTunes.
"And some of the savings are dramatic, even on new releases. Combine that with the higher-quality compression and lack of DRM restrictions, and Amazon MP3 is a compelling alternative even for long-term, heavy iTunes users like me.
"iTunes works more seamlessly and is nicer to navigate but the price, quality and unrestricted nature of Amazon MP3 had me converted almost immediately," Jary concludes.
Apple iTunes vs Amazon MP3 review
Moran, meanwhile, isn't so sure that Apple is under such attack and pooh-poohs the myth that a DRM-free service is the be all and end all:
"It's a different story for all those other digital music stores: Amazon, Napster, and Rhapsody all need to be selling DRM-free tracks as the price of admission. Without DRM-free tracks, anything you buy at those stores couldn't be played on an iPod, and without iPod support, those stores would just become yet another set of bygone civilizations now residing on the bottom of the ocean. On the one hand, the seafood's great; on the other, they don't exactly do a raging tourist business.
If at first you don't suceed, change your tactics. That seems to be Psystar's plan in its suit against Apple. The little clone company that could (if only permitted by law) has, in its most recent filing, dropped the contention that Cupertino is violating antitrust laws -- convenient, given that those allegations were already dismissed by presiding judge, William Alsup.
Instead, Psystar is trying a different tack, suggesting that Apple is abusing its copyright to prevent competition via the End User License Agreement (EULA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) -- the latter being the hammer Apple is using to thwack Psystar with a countersuit.
ZDNet also points out an interesting section of Psystar's new complaint, which suggests that Apple has deliberately added code to OS X to make it kernel panic on unauthorized systems. I'm not sure if this refers to the software that hackers need to work around to get OS X to boot on PCs, but it seems like there are plenty of people out there who have gotten the software working on generic PCs (with the requirement of a little technical know-how, to be sure).
Well, we look forward to seeing what happens if Psystar's new angle falls through. Maybe they'll just accuse Apple of being mean. I'm sure that will hold up.
For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld.
Eleven years ago I was working in IT, doing systems management for the ill-fated interactive branch of a major textbook publisher. That summer I got my first look at a product that had debuted only a few months before, and as it turned out, wouldn't be part of Apple's product line for much longer. It was called the eMate 300. With the steady rise of "netbook" laptops, I think it's high time for Apple to take another look at that product and recognize some of its great ideas and innovations.
The eMate 300 was doomed from the start. It was a product built on Apple's Newton operating system, a PDA before the PDA market had really formed. The eMate 300, along with the rest of the Newton product line, was discontinued--"Steved," as we said in those days--when Steve Jobs took the reins of the company back from then-CEO Gil Amelio in 1998.
But the eMate 300 was--and still is--a cool piece of tech. It featured a 480-by-320 pixel display, set in landscape orientation, inside a "clamshell"-style case, complete with stylus and keyboard. The eMate 300 was envisioned as a Newton for the classroom--a way to get computers into the hands of kids before Apple engineered the iBook. The device had no moving parts, and I remember Apple booth monkeys at Macworld Expo Boston, set up in a tent across the street from Boston's World Trade Center, dropping the eMate 300 onto concrete to show how tough it was.
The eMate 300 suffered the same fate as other Newton devices in early 1998. A lot of explanations have been put forth as to why--the Newton business wasn't making the money that Apple needed it to; the Newton itself reminded Steve Jobs too much of John Sculley, and so on. But the bottom line is that the eMate 300 really never had much of a chance for success.
Though I would, years later, get an eMate 300 on eBay. It sits in my office to this day.
So now we have the iPhone, and with each progressive firmware update, the device gets more robust. You can 10,000 third-party applications for it, and that number is increasing at an astounding pace. Apple has received plaudits from analysts, industry insiders and developers alike for creating an ecosystem that has let third-party iPhone developers flourish.
Meanwhile, a somewhat obscure segment of the laptop market has started to gain a life of its own. Asus, HP, Acer and other companies are putting forth inexpensive, miniaturized laptops based around Intel's Atom processor architecture. In fact, I wrote about my experience with the Asus Eee PC in this very space last week.
Equipped with small screens and smaller-than-average keyboards, these netbooks aren't general-purpose laptops, like a MacBook or MacBook Air, but they cost a fraction of the price. And they're certainly easier to use for writing lengthy e-mails, composing business presentations and doing other similar types of work than an iPhone or another smartphone, such as a keyboard-equipped Nokia model or a Blackberry.
During Apple's most recent quarterly phone call with financial analysts, Steve Jobs suggested the iPhone is Apple's answer to the netbook--a product that offers the full Internet experience, but is small enough to fit into a pocket. The problem with that, as I see it, is that while the iPhone renders Web pages beautifully, and is suitable for responding to e-mails or instant messages with terse replies, it's not a replacement for a laptop.
I can't imagine trying to write a product review on an iPhone, for example. I can't imagine trying to produce a spreadsheet or graphics for a business presentation using an iPhone. There are just a lot of things the iPhone is simply too small for, and that the touch-screen, accelerometer-equipped interface--no matter how innovative--is just not designed to do effectively.
That's where a netbook comes into play. That's why I'm hoping that Apple will recognize the opportunity it has here.
In a perfect world, what I'd love to see happen is for Apple to introduce an iPhone Pro, if you will--a product that's mid-way between an iPhone and a MacBook, both in terms of capability and in terms of price. And there's definitely a big gap there which I don't think would cannibalize either iPhone or MacBook sales.
Imagine if the iPhone were installed in a clamshell design, complete with a keyboard. You'd have the best of both worlds--a touch screen-equipped device running a broad variety of third party software, with the flexibility to input large amounts of text easily.
I'm Macworld'sGame Room columnist, so you might be wondering how a netbook might fit in there. (Indeed, this particular post began life as an editorial in my weekly games newsletter.) Netbooks are not known for their game prowess, though the iPhone is increasingly associated with games. I don't think this would change with another iPhone product focused on reaching out to consumers and professionals looking for a netbook-style product.
Admittedly, it presents some engineering and usability problems, if my concept of a clamshell-style iPhone-derived product were to come to pass. But I still think such a system could potentially offer users just as good a gaming experience--and could pave the way for other kinds of games to run on the platforms--games more suited for keyboard controls.
Believe me, I understand it when people who remember the eMate 300 look at it as a failure and don't want to see Apple repeat the same mistake again. And Apple can't be all things to all people. And I certainly acknowledge that my concept of a keyboard-equipped iPhone probably offends the sensibilities of some of you reading this.
For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld.
Nintendo's Wii Fit game and Apple's iPhone 3G are among the top 20 products Japanese consumers confessed to buying on impulse in 2008.
In a survey conducted by Japanese search engine Goo, the Wii Fit ranked third for the year behind the year's two sweet sensations: salted sweets and raw caramel. Wii Fit became a national phenomenon because it was seen as an easy and fun way to get fit.
Around 3 million units of the software and companion "balance board" hardware are expected to be sold by Nintendo in Japan this year, it said recently. Worldwide the company expects to sell 10 million units this year.
One other game, "Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G" for the PlayStation Portable, was among the top 20 in the ranking. The Capcom game is one of the most popular for handheld platforms in Japan and has sold more than 2.5 million copies since its launch in March. It was tied for 12th place with another local diet fad: a book that preached the values of keeping-in-shape by eating bananas for breakfast.
Following hot-on-the-heels and tied for 14th place was both a mobile PC and the iPhone 3G.
Japan was part of the simultaneous worldwide launch of the iPhone 3G on July 11 and the phone got considerable media coverage in Japan. It was the first time the iPhone was available here (the previous 2G version wasn't compatible with Japan's cellular networks) and some people began camping out several days before the phone went on sale to be assured of getting one. When sales began, parts of the launch were broadcast live on Japan's morning TV shows.
The popularity of the mobile PC this year can be put down to low prices. Not only are computers like Asus' Eee PC redefining what consumers expect to pay for a laptop but machines are being offered for as little as ¥100 (US$1) by cellular carriers in return for signing a 2-year flat-rate data contract.
Well, it's official - Q3 2008 saw Apple's only current smartphone, the iPhone 3G, outsell the numerous devices based on the Windows Mobile platform not only in USA but on worldwide scale. That's some surprising news, we bet Mr. Jobs is already throwing in a dinner party. Despite the global financial crisis the smartphone market share is still growing (though at a slower pace than last year) and territories are being remapped. The third quarter of 2008 saw some really interesting changes in position. Nokia is still king of the hill with 42.4% market share in Q3, but for the first time they have a decline in sales as compared to last year. Windows Mobile has shamefully slipped behind Apple proving that sometimes it's not all about pumped up specs, but user experience and service integration count big time as well. RIM's Blackberry devices are also growing in popularity having 81.7% more sales than last year's quarter. And they should do even better in Q4. Seems like the Bold and the Storm just might liven up the conservative facade of the brand. Different OSes are changing market shares too. For the first time Symbian has fallen bellow 50% market share possibly because of the rise in popularity of touch-screen devices, which effectively lacked in the Nokia portfolio in Q3. Sony Ericsson's UIQ wasn't there to fill the gap either. The now elederly WinMo will probably continue to suffer hard hits from the competition due to its inferior user-friendliness. The OS definitely needs a serious refresh and we really hope to see one soon. But user-friendliness is only part of the game. The successful future of the smartphone platforms will also depend on building up better application portfolios, wider online services with easier and more intuitive access. AppStore or no AppStore, Apple's application business model is one fine example of delivering the right content straight to the device hassle-free. Tags: Misc
Most likely you've never heard of Lenovo making mobile phones. Still, they do - mainly for the Chinese market. Their new Lenovo P80 is a stylish flip phone that comes in various color combos. The P80 is slim, has an external OLED display and is equipped with a modest 3 megapixel camera. In case you didn't know Lenovo actually sold their China-based cellphone business along with the brand to a company called Hony Capital. They have taken up the task of continuing that not so successful part of Lenovo's business and the first result is the new Lenovo P80. The Lenovo P80 main display is a 2.8-inch TFT unit, but the device also has an ingeniously hidden 1-inch OLED one on the outside. The rest of the modest specs include a 3 megapixel snapper (CIF video @15fps), FM radio, Bluetooth and a microSD slot. There is dual-band GSM support and of course, but no 3G. 
Lenovo P80 various colors
Lenovo P80 various colors
It's finally here - the iPhone 3G. No, we mean that literally. It's finally at our office and boy, are we excited! GPS, HSDPA purring under the new iPhone hood with a hefty number of software enhancements. But all them software goodies are available for the first-gen iPhone too - so is it worth the fuss? It may as well be, but we never know before we take it out for a spin. Now, since we'll be heavily comparing the old and new iPhone, how about the following arrangement - the first one we'll call Number One and the newbie will be Number Two. Sorted. Wait a minute, no good? Crap, we knew it. OK then, the first one will be the iPhone 1G (as in "generation" of the device), while the new one will still be iPhone 3G (as in "generation" of the wireless network). That might sound inconsistent, but it's short and we like it this way, so before you go ballistic in the comments section, remember Number One and Number Two. So, back to the drill - the 3G-enabled iPhone was rumored ever since the iPhone 1G surfaced last year. Now that we have the real thing in our hands, it doesn't seem that groundbreaking anymore. Nevertheless, there are quite a few things to cover so we think reviewing it in detail is worth it. There's the updated design, the new white color (which we happen to have), the new iPhone 2.0 firmware/software/OS (call it what you will) with AppStore on board, the push email functionality and, finally, the GPS and HSDPA topping.
Apple iPhone 3G official imagesKey features:
Main disadvantages:
The iPhone 3G 16GB (White) in hand
The Apple iPhone 3G
We will also be on the lookout for improvements in terms of audio quality, loudspeaker volume and camera image quality against the iPhone 1G.
Seems like quite a workload, so let's waste no more time and get to it. Join us after this short break for more on the iPhone 3G.
Read More...... Well, it's official - Q3 2008 saw Apple's only current smartphone, the iPhone 3G, outsell the numerous devices based on the Windows Mobile platform not only in USA but on worldwide scale. That's some surprising news, we bet Mr. Jobs is already throwing in a dinner party. Despite the global financial crisis the smartphone market share is still growing (though at a slower pace than last year) and territories are being remapped. The third quarter of 2008 saw some really interesting changes in position. Nokia is still king of the hill with 42.4% market share in Q3, but for the first time they have a decline in sales as compared to last year. Windows Mobile has shamefully slipped behind Apple proving that sometimes it's not all about pumped up specs, but user experience and service integration count big time as well. RIM's Blackberry devices are also growing in popularity having 81.7% more sales than last year's quarter. And they should do even better in Q4. Seems like the Bold and the Storm just might liven up the conservative facade of the brand. Different OSes are changing market shares too. For the first time Symbian has fallen bellow 50% market share possibly because of the rise in popularity of touch-screen devices, which effectively lacked in the Nokia portfolio in Q3. Sony Ericsson's UIQ wasn't there to fill the gap either. The now elederly WinMo will probably continue to suffer hard hits from the competition due to its inferior user-friendliness. The OS definitely needs a serious refresh and we really hope to see one soon. But user-friendliness is only part of the game. The successful future of the smartphone platforms will also depend on building up better application portfolios, wider online services with easier and more intuitive access. AppStore or no AppStore, Apple's application business model is one fine example of delivering the right content straight to the device hassle-free. Tags: Misc
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Does the unlock work with new iPhones and re-locked iPhones?
Yes, our unlock works with ALL iPhone's regardless to their history. If your iPhone is running the latest 2.0.2 firmware or previous - our solution will unlock it, including the new 3G iPhone with 2.0, 2.0.1, and 2.0.2 firmware!
Do you provide support?
Yes, we have a support staff that is ready to answer questions 24/7 every day of the week! We pride ourselves with our customer support which is why we have sold over 1 million solutions to date!
Do I have to pay for future updates?
No - when you purchase our solution, you purchase a lifetime membership - which ensures you will always have access to the latest iPhone unlocking news and solutions.
Does your solution work with PC/Mac?
Our solution caters for both PC and MAC users.
Above discussion, may be clear all iPhone unlock software related enquiry! from my side i suggest to check it properly & from that you understand it is worthy for your hasselfree iPhone using.
