Tag: techdigest
This week's hottest iPhone stories: developers, applications, scams, Flash, iTunes, delays, European threat, Greenpeace
Just a week after we discovered the iPhone’s US launch date, Steve Jobs delivered his keynote address at Apple’s World Wide Developers’ Conference.
Developers who had been eagerly waiting to see what kind of opportunities they’d get to put their applications on the iPhone found out: there’s no Software Development Kit – just use Safari and Web 2.0 technologies.
Unsurprisingly, that annoyed some people, but not everyone. It certainly hasn’t stopped some iPhone applications appearing two weeks before the iPhone does. Whether they’re useful though…
It must be a trick or a scam, surely? Pure Mobile (who also have a presence in the UK) has been offering an unlocked iPhone – though there’s precious little other detail. Quite how they’re going to get hold of one, unlock it, and offer it to punters is rather bemusing. Maybe they need a call from the Better Business Bureau?
European iPhone launch at risk from arrogance – but whose? Apple's or the mobile operators
We already know that the iPhone won’t be legitimately found in Europe until at least the last quarter of 2007, but recent reports suggest that we could be waiting a lot longer than that.
While it may not have been the most popular choice, we were at least hoping that Apple were close to a pan-European deal.
Off the record, though, some mobile operators are saying that they’ll never stock the iPhone, thanks to Apple being “unbelievably arrogant” and “making demands that ‘simply cannot be justified no matter how hot the product is'”.
We’re led to believe that Steve Jobs talked tough to get his way with AT&T, and that Verizon refused to bow to the pressure.
Is the same true in Europe, or is the differing nature of European operators making it harder for Apple to get its own way? Is it possible that the operators are the arrogant ones, unhappy at being asked to agree to a new business model (who wants to share revenue, eh?)
What are the options?
Samsung launch YP-U3 flash MP3 player
Samsung has announced its YP-U3 flash-based MP3 music player – a successor to its U2 player that we looked at last year. We’ve known about it for a month or so now, but it’s hitting shelves around about now.
Adding itself to the mini-player market made popular by the iPod Shuffe, it measures just 25.4mm high and weighs 22.8g. It comes in five colours: black, white, pink, green and blue and with blue LED lights, and features touch sensitive controls, a matching colour earphone reel and buds, and an inbuilt retractable USB plug.
Apple iPhone application development: can't do right by some
Andy Merrett writes…
Thanks to the amount of hype and spin surrounding the iPhone, it seems that, when it comes to third party applications, Apple can’t do right by some people.
Apple were criticised right from the start when it looked as if they wouldn’t offer any kind of third-party application support for the iPhone.
Now that their initial solution has been unveiled – Web 2.0 and AJAX – they’re being slated again. Pick a derogatory word about Apple’s solution and it’s probably been used against them.
It seems few people stop to consider that this is Apple’s first-generation iPhone. As with the first Apple TV, the first iPod, the first Mac, the first iMac, or the first MacBook Pro, it will have first-generation functionality.
Everyone knows that future generations of the iPhone will feature more functionality. Take a look at the evolution of the iPod, now imagine what an iPhone could look like in five years’ time.
iPhone opens up to developers via current web standards: No complicated SDK needed
Andy Merrett writes…
Developers have been waiting for some time to find out exactly if and how they can create applications for the iPhone – and yesterday Steve Jobs told them.
At his opening Keynote speech to the World Wide Developers’ Conference, he made it clear that the iPhone would handle applications, and they’d all run using Web 2.0 and AJAX technologies via the updated version of the Safari web browser.
I’ve already written that developers may now take notice of Safari because of the iPhone, and this effectively seals the deal.
WWDC 2007: Apple reveal near-finished OS X Leopard
Many Apple Mac fans and developers were hoping for Steve’s keynote speech to include copious references to the next generation of Mac OS X — Leopard — and indeed there was plenty of demonstration of the system that’s now, apparently, nearly complete.
There’s still plenty of testing to do (developers at WWDC were able to pick up a beta copy of Leopard) so it’s unlikely to arrive before October – still plenty of time to drool over some serious features backed up by amazing eye candy.
Admittedly, most features shown off were more developed versions of what we saw last year, but it all looked very slick, and there were some surprises to be seen.
WWDC 2007: Live blogging Steve Jobs' keynote speech: Today from 6pm BST (10am PST)
Live blogging Steve Jobs’ Keynote Speech
All times are BST in reverse chronological order:
Does the Church of England have any rights over a virtual Manchester Cathedral?
Andy Merrett writes…
An almighty row (no pun intended, honest) has broken out between two giants: Sony and the Church of England.
It’s all down to the highly controversial use of Manchester Cathedral in Sony’s hit game “Resistance: Fall of Man”.
Both the Church, and relatives of victims of Manchester’s gun crime, have condemned Sony for producing the game, branding it “sick” and “highly irresponsible”.
Sci-fi it may be (the first-person shooter is annihilating aliens as they dash around the sanctuary toting a huge gun) – and that’s the line Sony is sticking to – but the Church of England is considering legal action if the game is not removed from shelves and if Sony do not apologise.
In the highly unlikely event that Sony do remove the game voluntarily from shelves, they’ll be reaching up to the number one shelf position – this controversy will probably just increase the game’s popularity.
So does it matter?
IBM releasing disease prediction software
IBM has announced that it is to donate software to scientists and public health officials that is able to predict the spread of infections diseases amongst countries.
Brits can't live without their broadband
A new survey by Orange Broadband has found that 61% of Britons can’t live without the Internet, with half saying that they spend three or more hours online every day.
