jkOnTheRun

Orb arrives for jailbroken iPhone, iPod Touch: streams TV content and more

Way back when I got my iPhone, I played a bit with Orb to stream music from a Windows PC to my handset. It worked pretty well for audio streaming and was easy to access although limited to the Safari web browser. There's now a semi-official Orb application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but of course you'll need to have your device "jailbroken" to use it. The Register found the above YouTube video showing how to install the application, but the more exciting stuff happens a few minutes in: there's a live demo of remotely accessing the television guide on a PC running Orb and choosing to watch an NBA game on TNT. The television content stream looks great, especially when the device is rotated into landscape mode.

I suspect we'll see an official Orb client, not to mention one from Sling Media, once the Apple iPhone SDK comes out of beta. For now, you jailbreakers can make do with this.

iPhone owners will get free AT&T WiFi after all

MacRumors was among the first last week to report that iPhone owners were enjoying free WiFi at AT&T hotspots, but after a few days of wireless bliss, the service disappeared. I suspect part of that shut down was due to folks spoofing the Mobile Safari User Agent on notebooks, but that's just a guess. Looks like the free service wasn't a fluke though: MacRumors astutely noticed this tidbit on the official AT&T iPhone rate plans page:

"To use iPhone, you'll need to sign up for a 2-year service agreement. Plans start at $59.99 and include Visual Voicemail, Unlimited Data (email and web), 200 SMS text messages and access to AT&T's more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including Starbucks* all for use in the U.S.
*Wi-Fi available at U.S. company operated Starbucks locations equipped with a hotspot."

AT&T doesn't indicate how much access you'll have, so it could be limited. You should get two-hours of free WiFi per day when you make a purchase with a Starbucks card, so perhaps it's the same limited deal. Regardless, I'd expect iPhone users to see the free WiFi access back in the very short term. Unlimited would be nice, but I'd take two hours.

Document creation on the iPod Touch: Glide OS Mobile

Here's a slick way to create documents on that iPod Touch, provided you have some WiFi connectivity: use Glide OS Mobile. Michael Connick does just that and uses the web-based application to create his WordPress blog posts as well as his tweets in Twitter. Michael couples this solution with the iCopy bookmarklet for copy and paste functionality on his Touch. He has several other core applications and functions listed this morning; well worth the look if you're an iPod Touch or an iPhone owner.

It's been a minor pet peeve of mine that my iPhone doesn't fully work with Google Docs, since that's my main word processor these days. I can view my docs, but I can't edit them, nor can I create new ones. I may look into the Glide OS Mobile solution because that would actually let me create a new Google Doc. I figure I can create the doc and then paste it into an e-mail or provide the URL of the document. Google Docs does support new document creation through e-mail via the old Writely functionality, so that might work. It would depend on the document creation: if it's no easier to use Glide OS Mobile, I can just use the native mail application for the same purpose. My gut says that the Glide OS Mobile approach might work a tad better since it's web-based and Mobile Safari supports landscape mode making for a bigger keyboard.

iPhone users reporting free WiFi at AT&T hotspot locations

I haven't verified this myself but Mac Rumors reports a number of iPhone owners getting free WiFi service at their local Starbucks and other AT&T hotspot areas. Apparently, your AT&T phone number is the key as that's what you enter for authentication. If true, I would expect that this would preclude the iPod Touch since there's no phone number attached. I also see that someone has spoofed the iPhone User Agent on a notebook to use the free wireless service. That didn't take long. ;)

This all must have just happened because I was in my local Starbucks on Monday morning and while I did get an AT&T hotspot logon page, I didn't get the "special one" for iPhone owners. I might need to make a Starbucks run later today to verify. After Dad's FiOS install of course... we wouldn't want any technical questions to go unanswered during the install, now would we?

Update: jkOTR reader, Jamie just confirmed the service via Twitter. Thanks Jamie!

With a subsidized Apple iPhone, everyone wins

Yesterday the news rumors hit that AT&T might be subsidizing the next Apple iPhone. On our podcast, we discuss what it will take for us to upgrade or buy a new iPhone: what compelling features, for example, would get us to pull the trigger. That show will be up later today, but it was recorded before the subsidy rumors. Now that they're out there, what does it mean? If true, it means that everyone wins. Nobody truly loses anything that I can see.

From a consumer standpoint, people will get the latest and greatest iPhone for $200 less than what it would cost without the subsidy. Yes, they would commit to a two-year service plan with AT&T, but original iPhone customers did the same, so there's no difference there. Apple still gets the same retail price per phone, since the AT&T subsidy offsets the discount. And if you hit an Apple store to buy your phone, it sounds like they'll make an additional $200 as there's no subsidy there. That begs the question of why would anyone buy an iPhone in a retail Apple Store? If I were Apple, I'd want those customers in my store because they're more likely to come back and buy other Apple gear.

I'm personally not a fan of subsidized phones, but this selling model is ingrained into the American cellular market, so it wouldn't surprise me if the news were indeed true. In this particular case, the consumer isn't any worse off, although there actually is a loser in all this that I just thought off: AT&T's competitors. I'm sure we'll hear of mass migration numbers as customers leave other carriers for a subsidized iPhone. Will you be one of them?

The 90/10 rule- why Apple generates fan loyalty

I had a couple of conversations today where the subject of Apple customer loyalty arose and it made me realize that I have never written about my feelings about that.  You find a number of terms bandied about describing those who are big fans of Apple products, from "fanboys" to the "cult", and while these are often used by Apple's detractors there is little doubt that there is a fair bit of envy behind them.  What company wouldn't love to have a customer base that is so happy with their products that they are recognized as zealots?

Walt Mossberg- 3G iPhone in 60 days

Walt Mossberg has stated on record that a 3G iPhone will be released in 60 days. This timeframe fits what many have believed but it's nice to hear someone who is well in the loop confirm it.  I am very anxious to see how many iPhone owners will upgrade to the next gen model.  Steve Jobs is probably not very happy that Mossberg spilled the beans so don't be surprised if he tries to shut the WSJ down.  :)

(vis Gizmodo)

Stream 90 free audio channels to iPhone, iPod Touch with FlyTunes

I tucked away this little Geek.com review of FlyTunes for a spare moment and I'm glad I didn't lose track of it. FlyTunes is a currently free web service for your iPhone or iPod Touch; it offers audio streaming of 90 different channels. I spent some quality time with the service this morning and came away very impressed. The user interface is simple and lets you hop around different music genres quickly and easily. Bear in mind that the streaming won't happen in Safari, but in QuickTime which will open automatically. The 90 channels are listed on the FlyTunes site and there's an indicator of which offerings play nice with EDGE thanks to lower bit-rate streams. There's definitely something for everyone in the genres as they range from Rock, Pop, and Country to Weather, Sports, Talk and more.

Definitely a handy web service if you just don't feel like listening to what's stored on your device. Interested but don't want to sign up for yet another service just to try it? No prob: hit up the FlyTunes simulator in your web browser. Or you can nav to that link on your iPhone or Touch to give it a sample. I noticed during the registration process, they ask if you live in the United States, so I can't vouch for this service outside of the U.S.

iPhone gets unlimited calling at $119 a month

With the slew of $99 unlimited calling plans announced by most U.S. carriers last month, iPhone owners were wondering how long they'd be left out of the game. The wait is over although (and this should come at no surprise), you'll pay a little more than the now-standard $99 monthly fee for unlimited calls. $119 gets you all the voice calling your voice can take each month. All plans already have unlimited data so there's no change or benefit there, however, you're still stuck with the 200 text message limit.

We're a two-iPhone family, so we'll stick with the shared Family plan at $109.99. We share 700 minutes and I generally only call Barb and my two friends so we're all good. With only two friends, I never even took full advantage of the five "My Faves" spots on T-Mo. The one thing that has me stumped in all this: why does the new "unlimited" plan still show as eligible for rollover minutes? What exactly are you rolling over? ;)

(via Neowin)

Apple's iPhone gets Microsoft Exchange support, more

The Apple news is coming hot and heavy out of Cupertino. I've been following along with Engadget's live blog feed and see that Apple did indeed license Microsoft ActiveSync; the next version of iPhone software will natively support over-the-air Exchange synching. That means contacts, e-mails, and calendar events, but no tasks or notes. There's a slew of enterprise support features that come along for the ride, namely WPA2 security for WiFi, remote device wiping and VPN support.

News continues to develop, especially in the area of the iPhone SDK, so stay tuned!

Get, listen to podcasts on the iPhone without synching

The iPhone is a great media player, but requires that the vast majority of your content be synchronized over from a PC or Mac. There are exceptions that take advantage of the device's wireless capability but by and large, most of what you listen to or watch came over from a computer. Wouldn't it be great if you could leverage the iPhone's connectivity to pull down and listen to podcasts? With the Podcaster web application, you can.

I gave Podcaster a try this morning and was able to add our podcast by searching for it with no problem. Listening to the podcast worked well over WiFi, but I gave it a try over EDGE as well since Podcaster actually streams the file to your iPhone. I let the file buffer-up for about a minute, just to be safe and had no hiccups in the playback over EDGE. Your mileage may vary based on your signal strength and the bitrate used by the podcast. This is a nice web app that frees your iPhone from the confines of the iPhone dock and also saves space since the files are streamed right in Safari. Although I didn't try this function, Podcaster can apparently now import an iTunes podcast playlist; useful for when you can't find what you're looking for in the directory.

(via Palm-Mac)

How to make your iPhone vibrate first, ring second

It's usually the simple solutions in life that make my day. Case in point with the following scenario: you want your iPhone to vibrate first upon receiving a call, and then play a ringtone if you haven't taken the call in 10 seconds or so. That's pretty common functionality in many smartphones and even on feature phones, but it's not available natively on the iPhone.

The simple why-didn't-I-think-of-that solution? Customize a ringtone by adding a period of silence before the actual sound. This is easy to do in GarageBand, Audacity or a number of other audio editing apps. Then load up up the custom ringtone on your iPhone; I've found that iToner works great on the Mac, but again, there are several alternatives. Now, make sure you set your iPhone to use the new ringtone and also to vibrate upon an incoming call. When you get dialed up, your iPhone should "play" the silenced part of your ringtone while vibrating. Simple and effective plus I can be discreet and still keep my "Eye of the Tiger" 'tone.

(via IntoMobile)

Turn your iPhone/ iPod Touch into a Windows SideShow device

Windows SideShow is the technology that allows OEMs to create devices that interact with Windows Vista machines and add functionality like remote control capability.  The original concept was demonstrated by some OEMs as plug-in devices that can be used with or without the Windows PC.  A company has announced software along with a public beta that among other things will let you turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a Windows SideShow device and perform functions on the Windows PC.

“With ThinkRemote Community Edition, information is available at consumers’ fingertips like never before. Users can change the music on their PC from their cell phone, review stock performance at their bedside, or control their smart home from anywhere in the world. The possibilities are limitless,” said Chris Walker, ControlThink Chief Technology Officer.

The new beta also can work on the following devices:

• Windows Mobile phones
• iPhone and iPod Touch
• Playstation Portable (PSP)
• Playstation 3 (PS3)
• Nintendo DS
• Nintendo Wii 
• Web browsers
• Other mobile phones

Head over to the ThinkRemote web site and sign up for the beta if you're interested.

Old school goes new school: Palm apps on the iPhone, Touch

We've made note of StyleTap before; it's the Palm emulator that lets you run thousands Palm OS applications on Windows Mobile devices. Two days ago, Matt Miller shot me a link to a video showing said StyleTap running on an iPod Touch of all things. Now it's just an experimental version so don't get ready to fire Blazer up on that iPhone just yet. OK, I kid about the Blazer part, but not about the experimental part. We'll have to see how this pans out with the iPhone SDK, but can you imagine the ability to run tons of Palm apps on your Apple device?

Assuming this does happen, what Palm software would you most want to run? This question serves a dual purpose since I'm still playing with the Palm Centro; you'll give me some ideas of good third-party software I should be trying...

jkOnTheRun video: iPhone eBook reading with TextOnPhone

Yesterday I mentioned TextOnPhone, an eBook web app for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Here's an eleven-minute walkthrough to give you an idea of what it offers. I specifically did this demo in a "worst-case" scenario by using EDGE, i.e.; I shut my WiFi radio off on the iPhone. You can see the performance of the experience, which overall, I think is very good. The application wisely caches ahead a number of pages so that you really don't need to wait for pages to load. There are some basic user customization settings and some excellent eBook reading lists and I'm very impressed that the app remembers where you left off in a book. Overall, I was pretty impressed in the short time I've used TextOnPhone.

TextOnPhone: 20,000 eBooks on your iPhone, iPod Touch

I've been so busy reading eBooks on my UMPC of late that TextOnPhone somehow slipped past my radar. This web service is compatible with both the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch only, but sounds like it really leverages the Safari platform nicely. TextOnPhone offers over 20,000 texts for your reading pleasure, plus it offers advanced features like text search, personal notes and the ability to remember where you left off the last time you were reading with it. You can also read in either portrait or landscape, plus there's a one touch button for e-mailing a page to a friend. Presumably, most of the titles will be Public Domain content, but maybe the service will show Apple that people do indeed want to carry, read and enjoy eBooks. If it doesn't, I'm sure someone will take advantage of the existing iPhone SDK. *cough* Fictionwise *cough*

I spent about 15 minutes trying to connect to TextOnPhone, but the servers might be clogged because I'm getting time-outs on my iPhone. Could be due to the news that IntoMobile is reporting: TextOnPhone is enhancing their platform for authors, readers and publishers. I'm looking forward to giving this a try once they're done enhancing and get back to serving pages. ;)

jkOnTheRun review- ezSkin slimline for iPhone

The folks at ezGear offered up the opportunity to review one of their ezSkin slimline cases for the iPhone, so I've got a short video review to show it off. For $29.99, it's not a bad deal for the thin protective case plus belt holster for your iPhone. I like the partnership between ezGear and the invisibleSHIELD folks because there's an included invisibleSHIELD for the front face of your device. While all of the cutouts provide access to your iPhone controls, the controls don't extend beyond the case cutouts. Some folks might find this an issue but I suspect it's more a matter of getting used to having a case on the phone.

Apple iPhone gets 16 GB, iPod Touch hits 32 GB

Just a quick note since the web is buzzing with rumors of updated Apple products. It's true per the Apple store web page, which just came back up for me a short while ago. The iPhone is now available in a 16 GB capacity at $499, or $100 more than the 8 GB model. The iPod Touch gets a boost as well: $499 nets you a 32 GB unit. A quick scan of the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines don't show any changes, but if I missed something, don't hesitate to point it out. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. ;)

iPhone appendage adds 6x optical zoom

Paparazzi without an iPhone? Of course... how can you possibly snap a detailed view of a starlet going out for milk and bread when you're a block away and can't zoom in? Could a $20 investment change your mind? Hard to say because I'm only imagining this 6x optical scope for an iPhone is actually easy to focus. Then again, I've seen plenty of fuzzy Hollywood pics, so anything is possible. This ocular wonder attaches to a case that fits around your iPhone and even includes a nice neck-strap to further ensure you look like a tourist. Hmm... could be a good cover if you really are paparazzi.

(via TRFJ)

HyperOffice- use iPhone with Outlook with or without Exchange

HyperOffice is webware that lets enterprise workers work together without having an Exchange Server solution in place.  The online solution allows workers to collaborate just as if there was an Exchange Server in place without the need for that overhead.  Today the company announced a set of tools that brings the benefits of an Exchange Server solution to the iPhone.  The HyperShare gateway is part of HyperOffice and allows workers to use their Outlook information on the iPhone without the need for any other software.  No software is needed to be installed at the corporate level so iPhone owners can install HyperOffice and begin to use it with the iPhone just as if there was native Exchange support on the phone.

HyperShare is a one-time download to the desktop. It migrates Outlook contacts, calendars and email folders in minutes, then automatically delivers email to the email application built into the iPhone, with support for folders, attachments, documents and tasks - and replies and new messages are relayed back to Outlook or to the corporate Exchange server.

Operating as webware, HyperOffice requires no IT overhead or firewall modification -- and no software is installed on the corporate network.

HyperOffice allows workers with iPhones to share calendars, tasks, documents and contacts just as if an Exchange Server was in place.  The iPhone tools are now in public beta and include a 30-day free trial of HyperOffice to get you going.  These new tools will also work if your organization has an Exchange Server already active so it sounds like the best of all possible solutions for the iPhone.

Is the iPhone a potential Vista SideShow competitor?

Sitting here in the home office this morning in front of the Mac, I had a revelation this morning. Well, it could just be a brain fart too... time will tell. As I'm reading feeds, I also have a slideshow of AP photos playing on the iPhone sitting in the dock: the photos are pulled down with FlickrFan and then synched over via iTunes. I have the slide-show displaying a random photo for 20 seconds and then it's on the next one.

Glancing over at the pics every now and again made me take a step back at this setup. I've got a computer pulling information and an external device display showing bits of that information for a specific purpose. Sound familiar? Sounds to me just like a Windows Vista SideShow device running a gadget.

Turn your iPhone into a mobile Flickr photo frame

I've held off on trying FlickrFan, a new Mac application written by Dave Winer last month. In case you haven't heard about it, it's an OPML / RSS program that allows you to subscribe to Flickr feeds so you can view slideshows of pictures on your Mac. Dave originally wrote it to further bridge the web with high-def televisions. So why did I, with a diagonal total of 121-inches of HD goodness on three televisions, not look into FlickrFan yet? Simple: I don't hook up my MacBook Pro to any of my HD sets and I don't have a MacMini (which is the perfect platform for this type of application).

Still, I was intrigued by what I've heard about FlickrFan and, given my mobile technology mindset, I wanted to see if the usage of it could go beyond the confines of my living room.

iPhone 1.1.3 firmware: the downloading has begun

I had to step out for an errand, but now that the MacWorld keynote is over, I see the newest Apple iPhone firmware upgrade available via iTunes. I've got 1.1.3 downloading as we speak and the latest feature updates are shown to the right and of course, there's a guided tour here.

Part of the reason for the iPhone's current and future success is the relative frequency and stability of the updates. Every other major handset manufacturer should be watching and learning from this. While many of the features are incremental changes, they're hitting the devices every few months, not once every year or two. The mobile space is changing far too fast for long-term release cycles these days. Is the iPhone the "perfect" phone? No, not by a long shot for many folks, but when something needs fixing or improving, odds are that it will happen sooner rather than later.

100,000 hotspots for iPhone, Touch users willing to view an ad

Yes, the MacWorld keynote is going on right now, so it's likely that only three loyal readers will actually see this post in a timely fashion, but it's worth a mention. Besides, thanks to tabbed browsing, we can read the keynote liveblogs; I'm a fan of Engadget's, but that's just me.

There's a new free, WiFi hotspot option for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch owners, courtesy of JiWire. The company just announced their Ads for Access campaign, which opens up the WiFi floodgates at over 100,000 U.S. locations. You'll need to view an ad for the free access which, all things considered, is a small price to pay. Check the JiWire site for a full directory of hotspots; I did and was surprised to see a number of participating locations in my area. You know, the place where there are more cows than people? I guess cows need the web too.

Google updates iPhone interface, but still has room for improvement

Google is among the first to make a MacWorld-related announcement; the iPhone interface that they introduced last month gets a facelift today. I don't see the changes yet in Safari, but that should be a matter of time as they propagate through. Some of the highlights:

• User interface improvements; again, I can't speak to these just yet since I haven't seen them.
• Customization of the tabs. Huzzah! Sounds like you can pick and choose which Google apps you want on your mini home page. I always wanted to add Google Docs in lieu of Gmail; I don't need a Gmail tab since I've got my iPhone Mail app configured to use Gmail's IMAP service.
• Faster Gmail and Calendar, with a new month view in the Calendar.
• iGoogle support. One of our jkOTR readers, Rob, sent me this info over the weekend, but I didn't get time to play with it... too busy doing CES laundry. ;)

So what's missing, in my opinion? I'm still hoping we'll see the ability to edit Google Docs. I have no desire to write a lengthy feature story right on my iPhone, but I'd like to make an edit or two every now and again. I do like the fact that I can create a note in Google Notebook right on my phone, but is it too much to ask to have the ability to edit a note?

Before I forget: some folks don't want to view a mobile version of Google; be sure to look at the bottom of the web pages. You should see a link for the Classic version as well as this Mobile version.

Could Adobe AIR fill the MacWorld balloon?

The jet lag from CES 2008 still hasn't worn off, but maybe that's a good thing. I woke up at 12:15 this morning feeling like I had a full night's sleep, even though it was only a few hours of rest. Of course, the middle of the night is usually when I have my best thought of the day; yes, I only get one and that's on a good day, so here's today's.

The banners at MacWorld have this catchy little phrase: "There's something in the air." OK, it could be that we'll see WiMAX-ready hardware coming out of Apple, but that might be a little premature. After all, Sprint won't be rolling out WiMAX coverage until April or May and it's going to take a while to blanket the country. We know that the Apple iPhone SDK is appearing by next month and that one of the grudges folks have with the device is the lack of Flash support. Could it be that the iPhone will support a light version Adobe AIR, just in time for the SDK release? Or maybe I just need more sleep... and a better thought for the day.

Apple iPhone interface: result of tablet research

We're taking a load off in the Sands press room so I just saw Fred's awesome article at Wired. If you haven't read it, it provides many behind-the-scenes details of how the iPhone came to be. Most of the deets have been shared over the past six months in various places, but this is likely the best piece I've read that puts them all together.

If you had any doubt about Apple even considering a Mac tablet, this quote should squelch it:

"Apple's hardware engineers had spent about a year working on touchscreen technology for a tablet PC and had convinced him [Jobs] that they could build a similar interface for a phone."

Of course, many research products never see the light of day or are put to use in ways not originally intended. Still, it's good to know for sure that it's a possibility. Anyway... a good overall read and highly recommended.

Will CES be spoiled by a rotten Apple?

I'm boarding my plane for CES in a few short minutes, but can't get one particular thought out of my mind. Last year, Apple completely deflated the CES balloon with the iPhone announcement at the same time as the show. Those in attendence at CES will likely attest: it was as if the Earth stopped spinning for a few minutes at CES and the show was definitely in the shadows as opposed to the forefront.

In 2008, MacWorld is a week after CES, but I still suspect a masterful PR move from Apple this week. Nope, I don't expect any new hardware announcements as those will be reserved for next week. I said it before, but want to go on record now: I think Apple will provide a killer upgrade to the iPhone this week if at all possible. We've already seen a build of the iPhone firmware 1.1.3, but I wonder if we've seen all of the features in the final version. I could be way off base here, but that's my guess... folks buzzing about new iPhone software with at least "one more thing" in it that we're not yet aware of. Full support for Microsoft Exchange perhaps? Could we see some off-the-cuff comparsion to MIDs with Apple suggesting "hey, that's nothing new... we've had a MID out for quite some time..." Thoughts?

WeBot: media streaming from computer to iPhone, Nokia Internet Tablet

I'll have to add this on my "to do after CES" list because there's just no time to play right now. My busy schedule doesn't mean you can't give WeBot a try though. It's a free beta and works similar to Orb in that it can stream your digital media from a computer to your iPhone or Nokia Internet Tablet through a web browser. Tunes are 128 kbps stereo and it appears to be MP3 support only for now. Based on the set bitrate, you'll likely have issues using EDGE on the iPhone for this, so WiFi is the much safer bet.

To use WeBot, you first have to install the Java-based WeBot on your computer for Windows, Mac or Linux. After that, you'll pick and choose what content you want to share and that's about it. Since the content is shared through a web-browser interface, you can placeshift your media to a full computer as well. Depending on browser support, I wonder if it works on Symbian, Windows Mobile and Palm?

(via IntoMobile)

SyncYourMail: Synchronica's Exchange service for iPhone launches

I last looked at Synchronica's e-mail service for the iPhone back in August. Back then, it worked as advertised and sent my hosted Exchange e-mail right to my phone. If you're using Exchange for your mail and the server is configured for IMAP support, you won't need a service like this, but it comes in handy if IMAP isn't enabled.

Synchronica's free beta still continues, but it looks like that's drawing to a close in the near future. I just received an e-mail indicating that a professional hosted version of the service is now available at SyncYourMail. Prices are in Euros: 39.95 gets you a year of the hosted service. I should point out that the Synchronica Mobile Gateway isn't just for iPhones: you can use it with Windows Mobile, Symbian, and many other devices as well. The service offering will vary by device; some are fully supported with contacts, calendar event and more. For the iPhone, the service is still limited to mail only. Although the company could work out over-the-air contacts and calendar items, I suspect we'll see that natively from Apple in the first half of 2008.

Apple iPhone vs. Verizon Voyager: round one at Gear Diary

When we got a sneak peek at the Verizon Voyager before its official release, it didn't take long for the "iPhone killer" debates to ensue. Clearly folks are interested in the new LG device from Verizon as our hands-on video was the seventh most viewed post written in 2007. But is it a serious competitor to the wildly popular iPhone?

Stan Lau provides some insight to that question by comparing two of the many functions in these two handsets: contacts and web-surfing. Admittedly, Stan is a happy iPhone owner, but he feels that the difference between the devices is like "night and day". For example, he didn't see any extended fields like address in the contacts app of the Voyager. With the nice QWERTY keypad inside the phone, one would expect useful text fields to take advantage of it. One of the highly touted features of the Voyager is the full HTML browser, but Stan ran into some issues there as well. Give his short take on these two devices and share your thoughts, especially if you've used both the iPhone and the Voyager!

One quick note since Stan mentions the use of CoverFlow for his contacts. I haven't seen function on my iPhone but perhaps it's due to the lack of contact photos. Sounds like a great feature, but not on my iPhone; anyone else?

iPhone 1.1.3 video walkthrough: A-GPS, bookmarks on home screen, more

Last week, Gear Live offered up screenshots of the upcoming 1.1.3 iPhone firmware upgrade. Apparently many folks felt that the pics were Photoshopped and some even claimed that the site was simply trying to increase traffic with the alleged fakes. Although I've yet to meet Andru Edwards of Gear Live personally, we have had conversation as peers in the tech blogging world. I've always perceived Andru & his team as hard-working and honest folks, so I really didn't need proof of the 1.1.3 upgrade.

For those that were unsure of the firmware pictures and features, Andru has an outstanding video walkthrough of the iPhone upgrade. In it, he shows off what we might see in the next iPhone firmware version; I say might because Apple isn't going to release a function if it doesn't work as designed, so keep in mind that what you see may not be the final firmware. What's in the version that Andru has, however, is exciting:

• Customization of the home screen and multiple pages for home
• Safari bookmarks for your home screen with icons that are screen snips of the bookmarked site
• Assisted GPS in Google Maps which is essentially the new "My Location" feature
• Hybrid views of satellite and aerial maps
• Ability to send SMS messages to multiple recipients

Again, it remains to be seen if all of these features (or more) will make it to the next public firmware release. My guess is that we'll see all of them and I'd bet that the release will be timed to coincide with the start of CES. At last year's CES, the announcement of the iPhone was the most talked about news item... and Apple doesn't even attend CES!

Matt Miller looks at gadgets over the past year

Fellow podcaster Matt Miller handles a lot of gadgets over time, if you want to know how many he's seen this year check out his look back at the gadgets he's played with this year.  Talk about geek overload!  He's written up his favorite devices and he's given some gadget awards so don't miss his look back.

Voice announce calls on iPhone with... GarageBand?

This has to go in the "why didn't I think of that?" category which I don't think we have. It's a slick and simple hack to get an iPhone to voice announce your callers by name and the concept can be used for practically any phone that supports custom ring tones.

Here's the trick from Mac OSX Hints: just use GarageBand 4 to record a contact name in your own voice. NOTE: Feel free to ask a friend to record the name for you if they have that sexy, breathy voice that's pleasing to the ears. Save the recorded name and use it as a custom ringtone for that particular contact and you're good to go! It's a bit of work to do the voice-overs for all of your contacts, but you can do as many or as few as you need in a relatively short time.

(via Steve Rubel)

Free web-based task management service optimized for iPhone

Need a simple task management system that you can access from any web-browser? There's a number of them out there, but one of the newest is now optimized for (you guessed it) the Apple iPhone. Once you create a free account at Getting Tasks Done!, you can build an unlimited number of projects, each with any number of tasks. You can share certain tasks with friends and also access them on most any computer browser. With the new iPhone optimization, you're not limited to IE, Firefox, Opera or Safari; you can manage your task list right in Mobile Safari, plus read one of up to 200 motivational phases if you need a little kick in the pants.

Once you've got your account all set, you'll want to bookmark this link on your iPhone: http://gettingtasksdone.com/iphone/ I wonder if the iPod Touch will work without any modification of the User Agent string? Anyone care to take on that task and get back to us?

(via IntoMobile)

Vista SideShow coming to Windows Mobile devices, iPhones and more

Microsoft Windows Vista is nearly a year old and yet one of the more interesting functions just hasn't matured into widespread usage. I'm thinking of support for Windows SideShow devices; secondary displays that can show information from your PC, even when it's not powered on. The concept is great but so few devices actually support it.

Ikanos Consulting is looking to change that by introducing SideShow support for both Windows Mobile devices and the iPhone. Go Gadgets for Windows Mobile is on the release calendar for some time in 2008, but if you're interested now, you can sign up for the beta. Currently, there's only screenshots of the iPhone version; no beta yet. According to Ikanos, the SideShow information is done through a web-based renderer which could lead to using any device with a web-browser and external connection with SideShow. Good to see this platform developing!

(via Engadget Mobile)

Quicken coming to the web, iPhone for $3 a month

Intuit is planning to offer a web-based version of Quicken on January 8th and the first iteration will be optimized for iPhone users as well. The online version will have comparable features to the lowest end version of Quicken's desktop client. That should allow for basic money management, spending trend analysis and checkbook balancing. Intuit also plans to have an online version optimized for RIM-based and other mobile devices, but no details on when.

Although it makes sense for a web version and then optimizing for mobile devices, I figured we'd hear about an iPhone application from Intuit considering the iPhone SDK should roll out a month after the web-based version of Quicken. At $3 a month does this sound appealing to you? I would hope that you can export your financial history and data if you choose to unsubscribe as well. Although it likely has fewer features than Intuit's planned offering, I have to say that I'm impressed with Mint, a free service to help manage the home budget.

Thoughts on traveling with my mobile gear

Last week's trip to Albuquerque was a mentally challenging one given the sad circumstances and when I decided what mobile gear to take with me I knew that would be the case and didn't want issues created by those choices.  I am happy to say that my mobile kit worked flawlessly and thought I'd share why that was.  The main device in my kit for the trip was the HP 2710p Tablet PC.  The 2710p is thin and light and easy to carry and can take anything I throw at it.  I was able to work online in the airports and easily work offline on the flights.  I got a lot done and fellow travelers were very impressed with the convertible Tablet on the plane.  I gave several demos to folks who wanted to know how the Tablet worked and who watched how I worked, read digital magazines, read the New York Times and performed other leisure activities when I wanted down time.  The long battery life was so welcome that I never had to attach the ultra-slim battery that was nestled warmly in the gear bag.  The web cam let me record the impromptu video tribute in the hotel room when the feeling presented itself.  Kevin was impressed with how thin and light the 2710p was the morning we worked together in a Starbucks.  He used both his MacBook Pro and the Samsung Q1 to work for a few hours, while I just plugged away on the HP.  When my back got stiff from working with the HP in that hard wooden chair I spun the screen around into slate mode and went to one of the comfy chairs for a while.  Versatility is the key with the HP.

The HTC Advantage performed admirably for me on the trip as well as the HP.  It's so small that it takes almost no room in the front pocket of my gear bag yet can do so much it is well worth the space.  I kept up with email regularly on the Advantage and finished one ebook and started another in my free time.  The process of finding and buying the second ebook on eReader was quick and painless and with the integrated 3G on the HTC took only a couple of minutes.  The most useful function provided by the Advantage on this trip was as a GPS using the TeleNav service.  Neither Kevin nor I had been to Albuquerque and the GPS was worth it's weight in gold.  We always knew where we were and more importantly where we were going due to the flawless navigation.  Kevin was very impressed with TeleNav which he'd never seen before.  Come to think of it he was impressed with the HTC too and said at one point that push come to shove I could travel with it alone and he's right, I could have without giving up too much functionality.

The iPod Touch came along for the trip too and it worked as expected.  I listened to my music every chance I got and even watched The Manchurian Candidate I had downloaded for the trip.  The seamless web browsing was also great given the free WiFi in the hotel and a lot of fun.  It was worth bringing for the music so the rest was just free benefit for me.  We compared it to the size of Kevin's iPhone and the Touch is overall the same but much thinner.  Speaking of the iPhone I got to play with Kevin's a bit and am impressed with how well it works.  Kevin is very happy with it and I understand why a little better now.  I don't need one myself but for those who own one I can understand how much you like it.  There is nothing better than great technology that is fun to use, something that Apple gets better than anyone.

That sums up the trip from a gear standpoint.  I can travel very light and easy and not give up anything in the way of functionality nor productivity.  The right gear goes a long way to make a trip easy yet fulfilling from a work standpoint.

iPhone Q3 US sales top all Windows Mobile smartphones

We knew that iPhone sales must be pretty high with the number of them that we see in the wild.  Apple has been happily selling them right and left and some US sales figures reported by RoughlyDrafted for the third quarter shows that iPhone sales topped all other handset makers except RIM BlackBerry.  The significant thing about the numbers revealed is how iPhone sales grabbed 27% of all smartphones sold in the US for Q3 of this year, even though iPhones are tied to AT&T while other makers are not.  These numbers indicate that Apple outsold all Windows Mobile smartphones in the US for the quarter, along with all Symbian phones. 

Apple’s debut at second place across the entire North American smartphone market region for the third quarter ending in September is particularly noteworthy because the iPhone was only being sold in the US, and is only available through AT&T; all of the other mobile platforms are available to Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile as well as AT&T.

The iPhone wasn’t available in the significant markets of Canada and Mexico, along with parts of the US that AT&T does not service, including much of Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Alaska. In some of those areas, the Public Service Commission limits competition to just two carriers, such as Verizon Wireless and Alltel in the Dakotas.

Coolest feature I skipped in Google's iPhone interface: suggested search

I spent a little more time with the new iPhone interface for Google applications today and either missed one cool feature or it was already there and I never saw it. What is it? When typing in a Google search term, the application will suggest terms based on the characters you entered; just like on the desktop. It's one thing to bring the desktop apps to the handheld, but even more empowering to bring traditional desktop-only features to them. Again, I might have missed this before today; that's a real possibility since the official Google news on the new interface doesn't mention it. Can't say that I Google too much on my iPhone and when I do, I typically use the dedicated Google search field in mobile Safari. After seeing the suggested searches feature, I'll probably use the mobile search more often than the dedicated search.

Google is completely iPhonified

Engadget Mobile has a nice screenshot of the new Google Mobile interface that appears specifically designed for the Apple iPhone. While I don't agree that web sites should be customized for a particular device, other mobiles are sure to benefit by this move. I'm also not complaining about it as the Google optimizations are part of the reason I'm now likely to leave my Exchange server for Gmail's IMAP offering. While I'd lose access to integrated over-the-air calendar & contacts, this new interface offers up both with a few quick button presses.

I kicked the new Google interface around for a few minutes this morning: it's quick to use and in typical Google fashion, has a simple, utilitarian design that works well. A menu-bar sits on the top and offers up: Google's Home Page, Gmail, Calendar, Reader and More.

Mophie Juice Pack doubles iPhone run-time

I've personally never been disappointed with the battery life on my Apple iPhone, but if you've been let down, the Mophie Juice Pack could ease your pain. This external battery extender wraps itself around your precious to provide a non-slip grip as well as more juice. Expect an additional 250 hours of standby, 8 hours of gabbing or 24 more hours of tunes for $99. There's also an LED charge indicator on the back of the unit as well as a notch for your camera sensor.

iPhone battery kit for DIY-ers: $25, steady hands, and nerves of steel

It's early to be worrying about a replacing the non-replaceable battery in your Apple iPhone, but if you're the plan-ahead type, you'll want to check out this $25 kit reviewed over at Gear Diary. igonemobile offers the package, which includes a 1400 mAh battery, pry-tool, screwdriver and instructions. You have to supply the nerve to cut the cord on your existing battery, not to mention the surgeon skills required to carefully and correctly solder wires to the new battery. I'm sure those with excellent hacking skills can handle this in their sleep, but I'm not one of those people: soldering and I just don't get along well. C'est la vie. As they say, those who can, do; those who can't... write blogs.

Zinio offers free magazine content for iPhone, iPod Touch

Oh, the timing of press releases. Looks like Zinio, my favorite electronic magazine provider, isn't taking the Amazon Kindle release lying down. They've got a press release for iPhone and iPod Touch owners that piqued my interest when I saw news of it on Mobility Site. The Zino Labs team is now offering a select group of magazines for your device at zero-cost, as in free. I just hopped over to www.zinio.com/iphone on my iPhone and see 18 current magazine titles on the newsstand. The offerings are an eclectic mix, although three of the 18 are shall we say, gentleman's periodicals, and include popular titles like Car & Driver, Men's Health, Macworld, Woman's Day and Kiplinger's to name a few.

Using a WiFi connection, I just tapped the cover of Men's Health, a magazine I currently subscribe to. That led me to a thumbnail page-by-page view where I could navigate around. Tapping any page causes that page to take up your whole screen. Of course, you can pinch to zoom and read or tap and drag around that page. After that, it gets tricky. You can't move to another page without tapping a little arrow that appears at either the top or bottom of the page; I had to zoom in on the arrow in order to flip pages. There's also a button for the magazine contents, which provides a clickable list of the articles and stories. I found that to be a good way to navigate around. It's not ideal yet, but it looks like an early attempt that should get better over time. Plus, it's free!

Watch your recorded eyeTV on your iPhone/ iPod Touch

I made it clear on the video that I am pleased with the Pinnacle HDTV USB tuner with the included eyeTV software for watching TV on my MacBook Pro.  The Pinnacle is a full DVR too and recording TV couldn't be easier and works very well.  It turns out it works better than I thought as jkOnTheRun reader Valto posted in a comment to that video post telling me to enjoy watching those recorded TV shows on my iPod Touch.  It turns out he/she was right and I am happy to report that this little known feature of the eyeTV software is sweet indeed.

What you have to do in eyeTV is go into the Preferences and on the Wi-Fi Access tab turn Wi-Fi Access on.  What this does is two things- when you record a TV show when it's done the eyeTV software automatically creates a H.264 format video which is then available to be streamed to your iPhone/ iPod Touch over your home Wi-Fi network.  This preference dialog box also gives you a local network IP address to access your recorded TV via the iPod.  As this indicates the URL is a web-based interface for your handheld to access your entire recorded TV shows.  Once you play one it streams it wirelessly to the handheld which is cool.  The video playback is flawless and since it's streaming you don't have to take up any storage space on the iPod or iPhone which is always scarce.

Kudos to the eyeTV people for thinking ahead and providing this capability right out of the box.  Kudos too to Valto for bringing this to my attention.  Gotta go, football's just starting on my Mac.  :)

Yes Virginia, there is an iPhone SDK

Thanks to jkOTR reader Joe for shooting me the information; the kids were off from school, so I was introducing them to bookstores and overpriced hot chocolate when the news hit. Apple will indeed offer an SDK for the iPhone in February of next year. This means the iPhone won't be a web-only device, but will offer true native apps from third party developers, just like the Windows Mobile platform we've come to know and love.

I'm not suprised at the news on two counts. One: the iPhone isn't just a phone and it isn't just an iPod; it's a true handheld computer based on Mac OS X, which gives it nearly unlimited potential. Sure, there are much more powerful and capable handhelds, but the device's potential is now only limited by its hardware. Two: in my opinion, Apple couldn't release an SDK before Leopard; that would have complicated things for developers and users. Now that the cat's out of the bag on October 26th, this move makes perfect sense.

What new iPhone features will appear on October 26th?

Just a quick thought since it's now official that Mac OS X 10.5 or Leopard will be available on October 26th. I figured I'd be sneaky and look at the official product page for the new OS version to see if they mention that it works with the iPhone. It doesn't mention it but there's a link to show what mobile devices are compatible with the Leopard version of iSync. If you have a mobile phone and a Mac, you might want to check the list. Now I realize that the iPhone uses iTunes and not iSync, so this was a dead end. Still, folks are thinking that Notes will sync and possibly Tasks. Any thoughts or guesses? What features are "missing"?

Update: Notes synching will officially be supported per Apple when discussing the new Mail features.

Reader question: how to get a DVD on the iPhone?

Got a question in the mailbag, and even though it applies to the iPhone, I suspect my answer will apply to the new Zunes as well. The question is: how to get or rip DVDs for use on the iPhone. There's a number of solutions, but the best I've found is Handbrake, a free application for Mac or PC. In fact, Handbrake has custom settings specific for outputting DVD content to the iPhone's screen and resolution. I used it just this week to get "Star Trek: Insurrection" on my iPhone since I'll be traveling this weekend; with the decent screen size and res, movies look fantastic on the device.

You can play with the various Handbrake settings to change the output resolution, bitrate and such, but the iPhone presets work extremely well. You'll get a nice compromise between picture quality and file size: Insurrection is an hour and 42 minutes long but only takes up 1.2 GB on my iPhone. Bear in mind the time to convert the audio & video: my 1:42 movie took about an hour to complete. Don't forget that the new Zune devices will support H.264 / MPEG-4 codecs, so I imagine you'll be able to use Handbrake to get DVDs on those as well. Handbrake will not work if a DVD has copy protection enabled; I've already found that out the hard way with the latest James Bond movie. I'll leave that to you and Google to figure out. ;)