iPhone

Using the iPhone for learning

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:03:05 -0400

Nearly 1,000 Freshmen students at Texas' Abilene Christian University (ACU) started school with a pleasant surprise. As part of the university's pilot mobile learning project, each got to choose between a spanking new Apple iPhone 3G or iPod Touch. The idea is to fuse the traditional learning experience of the students, with ready access to the Internet for mobile learning. As such, a bundle of mobile web applications have been specifically written to help connect students through maps, news updates and campus directories. Campus email and filing systems have also been integrated with the mobile ACU portal as well.

To read more about this unique approach:
- check out this NetworkWorld article

New law in the EU could force iPhone redesign

Paul Mah — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:49:51 -0400

The EU's 2006 Battery Directive, which originally was implemented to prevent the use of unnecessary toxins, is now being strengthened and amended under a "New Battery Directive." Essentially, all battery-powered devices that pack a power cell will be required to have batteries that can be easily removed for disposal or replacement. This makes perfect sense--users will no longer have any excuses not to properly dispose of their batteries before throwing their obsolete gadgets into the dumpster. The downside though, is that media players and mobile devices belonging to a certain company named Apple probably would not make the cut. While I personally don't think gadgets would become bulkier as a result, some redesign would certainly be in order.

To read more about the New Battery Directive:
- check out this article in The Inquirer

IBM puts Lotus Notes onto the iPhone

Paul Mah — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:11:37 -0400

IBM released a new software that will bring the email, calendar and contacts functionality of its flagship Lotus Notes software to the comparatively new iPhone platform. Available as a web-only application, access will be free for anyone with an existing Lotus Notes license. Despite gains by Microsoft in the area of enterprise collaboration and messaging, Lotus Notes remains popular among corporations with some 140 million licenses moved. The aspirations of Apple in the enterprise arena continue to gain slow-but-steady momentum. Already, the iPhone is able to connect to Microsoft's Exchange to access email, while mobile versions of other services, such as Salesforce's business applications, already are available on Apple's App Store.

For more on the story:
- check out this New York Times article

Apple clamps down on unofficial applications

Paul Mah — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:49:23 -0400

If you've been following our report on Apple's arbitrary rejection of Alex Sokirynsky's Podcaster application, you might be interested to know that the developer has actually found a loophole in the form of an ad hoc licensing scheme originally intended for education and software testing. New licenses are created in exchange for a $10 contribution, allowing Sokirynsky to distribute his application away from the restrictions of the Apple App Store. Unfortunately, Apple has just shut Podcasters out of this unorthodox channel as well. Critics have labeled this controversial move as risky, both from a legal perspective and as a precedent in shuttering other modes of distributing software to the iPhone.

For more on the story:
- check out this AppleInsider article

iPhone traffic clogs up plans to launch the Blackberry Bold

Paul Mah — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:48:55 -0400

The reason that the Blackberry Bold has yet to launch in the United States with its exclusive carrier AT&T is because of Apple's iPhone, according to a report by the Globe and Mail. Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek wrote to clients this week noted that the iPhone lacks the data compression technology found in RIM's BlackBerry devices. The result is that a great strain has been placed on AT&T's cellular infrastructure, which resulted in a lack of resources to launch the Bold as the company tackled its iPhone-related issues. Misek said, "We believe that AT&T is now realizing that it can have up to 20 Blackberrys for every iPhone on its network." More provocatively, he also noted that "AT&T will need to spend as much as $1 billion to repair its network."

To read more on this issue:
- check out this Globe and Mail article

Apple's unpredictable rules for iPhone applications

Paul Mah — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:23:16 -0400

If you are thinking of writing applications for the iPhone, you might want to read this story first. The New York Times has a report on an Alex Sokirynsky, who spent two months working nights and weekends to write an application that was eventually rejected for its web store. The reason: The "Podcaster" application that he wrote, which allows users to listen to and watch Podcasts on their iPhones, "duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes." This is strange on two fronts: first, this software has other features, one of which other than allows users to stream podcasts so they can also download them first for listening later. Second, there already are all sorts of applications that duplicate various aspects of its own software.

For more about this article:
- check out the New York Times blog

Apple iPhone less stable than Windows Mobile

Paul Mah — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:41:12 -0400

The Mobile Gadgeteer of ZDNet, Matthew Miller, rants about a number of issues he experienced with his recently purchased iPhone. Probably the chief among them would be "major issues" relating to the native Safari web browser that "I never see on Internet Explorer Mobile or Opera Mobile on Windows Mobile."

Other issues include various problems related to the installation of applications. Miller went on to lament on the number of resets he had to do on his iPhone 3G to get it working stably. If you have ever been a Windows Mobile user like I was, you will know that is saying a lot by itself. Still, it is really only Apple's second mobile device out the door. It's not like Microsoft's Window Mobile was perfect a few years go either. Let's just sit back and see what the iPhone 3.0 will offer.

For the low-down on the iPhone 3G:
- check out this ZDNet blog

Google Translate for the iPhone

Paul Mah — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:36:25 -0400

With the heat being turned up on Apple's iPhone and Google's soon-to-be-released Android-based devices, seeing "Google and iPhone" in the same sentence caused me do a double take. As it is, Google has released an iPhone version of its Google Translate web service for translating languages. Apparently, you can get between 200 and 400 translation per 1MB of data download. Interestingly, the project came about due to a Google engineer requiring this feature on his iPhone. I suppose he'll have to switch to an Android device once they come out. Anyway, if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, you can point your browser over to translate.google.com.

To read more about Google Translate for the iPhone:
- check out Google's Mobile Blog

Apple finally restores MobileMe

Paul Mah — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:42:00 -0400

Apple admitted to problems with its sync service, saying it has restored full email service to the 1 percent of its total subscribers who had been locked out of their accounts for more than a week. Some users dispute Apple's claims though, saying that they were still unable to access their accounts despite being told that their email service had been completely restored. The new problem also left some customers with missing contact and calendar data from their iPhones and iPod touches, though not from their personal computers or MobileMes. This issue appears to have been fixed too, though users in some cases will have to follow these instructions to reset their data before their devices will work properly.

For more on the woes over at MobileMe:
- check out this MacWorld article

Nokia removes BlackBerry Connect from E71 and E66

Paul Mah — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:40:26 -0400

Citing RIM as a competitor, Nokia has chosen to eliminate the BlackBerry Connect application from its new E71 and E66 smartphone offerings. What it means is that customers will not be able to use these devices to access BlackBerry-enabled corporate email systems. Somewhat ironically, E71 owners will still be able to sync the phone with Microsoft's Mail for Exchange, Nokia's own Intellisync, and various other consumer e-mail accounts such as Gmail and Hotmail. Not surprisingly, the primarily reason appears to be that Nokia is having a hard time penetrating the BlackBerry-dominated North American market. The recent launch of Apple's iPhone 3G, which is being pushed by AT&T, couldn't have made things any easier.

For more on Nokia's decision to drop BlackBerry Connect:
- check out this InformationWeek article