A new accessory for iPhone users promises clean smudge free screens. The only drawback, you look like a freak wearing them. Phone Fingers cover, well, just that, your ‘phone fingers’ so that you don’t dirty up that shiny glass iPhone or iTouch screen with your grimy finger tips. They are apparently made of latex, so they’re essentially like little black condoms for your digits. I’m baffled and bewildered on every front. Is latex going to slide naturally across the glass iPhone screen? Who in the hell would stop and put these things on before using their iPhone? And what do you tell the parents of the children who run screaming in horror when you wave at them with your bizzaro phone hand? Couple more picts after the jump.
Apple today unveiled the iPhone and iPod Touch Software Development Kit (SDK) and Microsoft Exchange support
Software developers finally get a look at the iPhone SDK roadmap to create applications for the phone. Over a year after the iPhone was introduced, and a couple of week late, Apple has given developers the tools they have been asking for. Starting today Apple will be open up the same APIs and tools that they use internally to build iPhone software. Now third-party developers can now begin to officially produce legitimate software, not iPhone software hacks. The SDK will rely on Apple’s Xcode development environment for Mac OS X, but optimized for the iPhone. So basically, if you can develop applications for the Mac then you should be able to do the same for the iPhone.
The full featured SDK gives developers full access to the iPhone’s core OS including graphics and networking. Apple created something called Interface Builder, that “Makes building your user interface as simple as drag-and-drop” plus debugging and analysis tools. What does this mean for the average iPhone user? It mean there will be a host of new software including everything from games and instant messaging to powerful business applications. The applications will be exclusively distributed through iTunes and the new AppStore, a new wireless store for iPhone applications. You can search applications right from your phone and then download them via Wi-Fi or through the cellular network. The same software developed with the SDK will also run on the iPod Touch including all the new enterprise additions.
Apple also introduced Microsoft Exchange support built right into iPhone, removing the greatest barrier for adoption of the iPhone into the corporate world. Apple has licensed ActiveSync with Exchange server from Microsoft. Built into the next software update, the iPhone will have access to push email, push contacts with global address book, live calendar events and remote wipe plus additional security. Although IT managers will inevitably find something to complain about, the list will have been reduced significantly, making the iPhone an almost unstoppable business tool.
The iPhone 2.0 software update that will make all this happen will not be available until June, but developers and companies will get a beta SDK starting today.
Considering how long the iPhone has been out it’s a wonder no one has filmed this before. I know there are plenty of people out there just like this guy with absolutely nothing better to do. So here’s what happens when your iPhone stopwatch runs for over 41 days and then runs out of numbers on the screen to display the time. This clip would have been twice as cool (or more) had the phone exploded, or sprouted arms and strangled the guy for wasting his time, but alas, no such excitement. Just a 1 and a lot of zeros.
Apple’s iTunes music store is now the number two music retailer in the U.S. trailing only Wal-Mart. With over six million songs from all the major labels, iTunes has sold over four billion songs since it started. I’m sure the record labels never imagined when Steve Jobs came to them with the idea to sell digital music online that it would grow into the juggernaut it is today.
The new iPhone model Q380 is out and the Chinese all want it. The only problem is that Apple does not make a model Q380 of their popular smartphone. It is a fake and apparently not everybody in China thinks so. The Epoch Times has a very interesting read on the world of counterfeit mobile phones and in particular the iPhone.
To meet iPhone demand, an underground factory produces a lot of fake iPhones under the CECT name. These phones cost between 600 to 2,000 yuan (approximately US$72.50 to $241.50).Recently, a gentleman from Hong Kong bought what he thought was the latest iPhone, model Q380, which was strongly recommended by an electronics store salesperson in Shenzhen. The salesperson claimed it was the latest official model, costing 680 yuan (approximately US$82.00), and could be returned within 3 months if it was broken. The gentleman found the sound too loud after buying it. He checked the official website, only to find that he had been cheated because apparently there was no official model for the so-called iPhone Q380.
Frankly I’m surprised this story was so entertaining to me, given that fact that so much fake stuff comes out of China. But I just love the fact that the man in the story is not happy with how loud the sound is but I apparently can’t get the sound loud enough.[via The Epoch Times]
Microsoft offers to buy the search portal for $44.6 Billion.
Fearing that they are slipping behind Google, Microsoft is making a big play to take control of Yahoo.
“We have great respect for Yahoo, and together, we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers, and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online-services market,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
Yahoo said in a responding statement that its board “will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly, in the context of Yahoo’s strategic plans, and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders.”
If Yahoo accepts the $31 a share buyout, Microsoft will finally have the tools and traffic, to compete against Google for online advertising.
“Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player, who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition,” Microsoft said. “Together, Microsoft and Yahoo can offer a credible alternative.”
It is quite ironic for Microsoft to be talking about Google in much the same way people talked about them during their anti-trust battle.
Now that the iPhone 1.1.3 software update is out, and you can add Safari Web Clips to your home screen on the iPhone and Touch, don’t let your visitors settle for the generic icon that Safari will stick in there. Here are drop dead simple instructions on how to add your own web site icon or logo to your visitors iPhone or Touch.
1.) Fire up Photoshop and create a shiny new graphic at 114 x 114 px (technically the size is 57 x 57 px, but this size worked best for our icon)
2.) Save the file as a 8 bit PNG with the name apple-touch-icon.png
3.) Upload the file to the root directory of your web server. That’s it! Safari will re-size larger images and automatically add the glass look so it fits right in with your visitors other icons.
Apple’s iTunes music store is now the number two music retailer in the U.S. trailing only Wal-Mart. With over six million songs from all the major labels, iTunes has sold over four billion songs since it started. I’m sure the record labels never imagined when Steve Jobs came to them with the idea to sell digital music online that it would grow into the juggernaut it is today.
