Jeremy Schoenherr of MLB.com demonstrates a new platform to view Major League Baseball scores and highlight videos on the Apple iPhone during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Monday, June 9, 2008.
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs announces a number of new languages that the updated Apple iPhone will work with during his keynote speech at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Monday, June 9, 2008. Jobs announced innovations to the Mac OS X Leopard operating system and a long-awaited update to the iPhone.
News
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg) SAN FRANCISCO - The iPhone will soon be $200 cheaper and support satellite navigation and faster Internet access, but higher monthly service charges are likely to erase most of the savings.
Apple Inc. revealed Monday that it has scrapped its pricing plan for the iPhone as it unveiled a model that works over faster wireless networks, addressing key criticisms about the device that have hurt the company’s foray into the cell phone industry.
An 8-gigabyte version with the new features will go for $199 when it goes on sale July 11, and a 16 gigabyte model will cost $299, the Cupertino-based company said.
The Portable iPod Video Enlarger and DVD Player is a gadget that can solve all iPod Video watching problems at once. It comes with a big 8 1/2" widescreen LCD that is 2 3/4 times larger than the iPods screen! It uses active matrix technology, which makes screen draw images faster than typical LCD monitors, resulting in a sharper, more detailed resolution. iPod is carefully placed in the plastic case at the right side of video enlarger, it can charge, remains fully functional and is protected from scratches. If you want to watch movie with someone, you will find useful the dual headphone jacks, and if there are more than two viewers then remote control and AV output feature will come in handy. However, big screen means big battery drainage: you will be able to watch one-two movies before the battery will be depleted, it allows three hours of continuous DVD playback on a five-hour charge and four hours of iPod video playback, so do not forget to charge it before a long trip.
This gadget will be very useful for enhancing the video watching experience on iPod. Moreover, the ability to play DVD frees you from that entire DVD-to-iPod conversion problem, which troubles many iPod owners. While selling at almost the same price as usual portable DVD players, its connectivity with iPod makes this gadget a lot more interesting. If you liked it, you can get it for 269.95 dollars.
source
The days of lugging around and pulling out hefty guide books could be nearing an end: The eyePhone, a program currently being developed in Europe, uses a combination of satellite information, object-recognition software and Internet data to provide information on landmarks in a scene captured through a mobile phone's lens.
The user snaps a photo, highlights a building or mountain or some other major site, then waits as the object-recognition program, developed by SuperWise Technologies AG, identifies this image and links it to the relevant facts. Initially, the search draws on pre-processed information, but by clicking on "more," you can gather additional details. The advantage of the Apollo object-recognition system, according to its developers, is that it can work in a variety of weather or lighting conditions, and effectively picks out objects regardless of the person's position. In other words, you don't need to be standing in a certain place for it to recognize a church or mountain peak.
Check out this promo video; but don't get too anxious, since the technology probably won't be available for consumers until 2009 or 2010.
A person holds an iPod. US researchers have created a nano-fiber textile that harvests energy from movement, paving the way for clothing that could one day power an iPod or other wearable electronic devices, according to a study published Wednesday.
(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)PARIS (AFP) - US researchers have created a nano-fiber textile that harvests energy from movement, paving the way for clothing that could one day power an iPod or other wearable electronic devices, according to a study published Wednesday.
Using the same mechanical principle as a self-winding watch, but on scale measured in billionths of a meter, tiny nano-generators can scavenge "wasted" energy from sound waves, vibrations, or even the human heart beat.
The fibers, developed by a team of scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology led by Zhong Lin Wang, are covered with pairs of zinc oxide nanowires that produce tiny pulses of electricity in response to friction.
"The two fibers scrub together just like two bottle brushes with their bristles touching," converting the mechanical motion into electrical energy, explained Wang.
"Many of the devices could be put together to produce a higher output," he said.
This method of generation energy from friction is called the "piezoelectric effect."
The fibers could also be woven into curtains, tents or other structures to capture energy from wind motion, sound vibrations or other mechanical energy, according to the study, published in the British journal Nature.
The human body contains many sources of energy that could drive nanogenerators, including blood flow pumped by the heart, exhalation from the lungs, and walking.
Even the act of typing on a computer is a potential source of nano-scale energy.
So far, Wang and his colleagues have made more than 200 of the microscopic nano-generators. The fibers assemblies were each tested for 30 minutes to check durability and power production.
Other kinds of nano-generators driven by scavenged energy aim to power biosensors to monitor a patient's glucose levels, strain sensors for bridges, and environmental sensors to detect toxins.
There remains at least one significant problem before Wang's nano-fibers can become part of our daily wardrobes.
Zinc oxide is sensitive to water, which means that clothes made from these fibers could never be washed, the study said.
Richard Koman, newsfactor.com Wed Feb 13
Reports that Apple is cutting production orders on current iPhone models support rumors that a 3G version of the cutting-edge device is in the works for midyear, analysts say.
Last week, Craig Berger of FBR Research reported to clients that Apple has been accelerating production cuts for the iPhone and iPod Touch. "For both iPods and iPhones, we believe Apple was previously targeting a roughly 50 percent quarter-over-quarter decline for first-quarter units, whereas we now think the firm is targeting a 60 percent quarter-over-quarter unit decline for first-quarter units," Berger said.
In a research note Monday, analyst Richard Gardner of Citigroup cited the falling production numbers as an indicator that Apple is gearing up for a new model, The Washington Post reported. In Europe, iPhone sales have been underwhelming. "We believe that lack of 3G has been a significant headwind for iPhone in Europe, where 3G is already pervasive," Gardner said.
What is it ?
So, you can’t play the actual instrument and you suck at Guitar Hero? Not to worry, there’s another way to master the tech world’s recent obsession with the guitar. Specifically, PocketGuitar -- new software for cracked iPhones and iPod touches -- allows you to play your iPhone and iPod touch like Eddie Van Halen and strum along to your favorite tunes without ever having to reach around that all-too-cumbersome fretboard.
What we Think ?
We can’t all be rock stars, but with all the devices for the musically impaired on the market today, it’s absolutely not just Ziggy who gets to rock out.
When it is available ?
The software is available for free at ModMyifone.com.
Journalists test an Apple iPhone following its introduction in Berlin September 19, 2007. German telecoms operator Deutsche Telekom said on Saturday it had signed up 70,000 iPhone customers in the 11 weeks since November 9, 2007.
(Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - German telecoms operator Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) said on Saturday it had signed up 70,000 iPhone customers in the 11 weeks since November 9, 2007.
Deutsche Telekom's mobile telephony arm T-Mobile is the exclusive seller of U.S. Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone, a device allowing users to play music and browse the Internet while on the move as well as making phone calls.
"The iPhone is by far the most sold multimedia device in T-Mobile's portfolio," the head of T-Mobile Germany, Philipp Humm, said in an interview published on T-Mobile's Intranet, or in-house Internet web site.
French operator France Telecom (FTE.PA) said on January 10 it had sold more than 70,000 iPhones since they arrived on November 28.
Apple Inc said on January 15 it had sold 4 million iPhones since the launch at the end of June.
(Reporting by Nikola Rotscheroth, writing by Peter Starck; editing by Tony Austin)
Journalists test an Apple iPhone following its introduction in Berlin September 19, 2007.
(Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)
Attendee Wil Gieseler talks on his Apple iPhone in front of a iPhone poster at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008.
(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and China Mobile (0941.HK) have called off talks to launch the U.S. firm's popular iPhones in China, dashing speculation the device will hit the country's store shelves soon.
Shares in China Mobile, the world's largest cellular operator, sunk to an intraday low minutes after the news, sliding nearly 3 percent to HK$130.00 in late afternoon trade.
The iPhone, a cellphone that accesses the Internet and plays music, sells for about $500 in the United States -- about double the average monthly salary in China. News that the two telecoms giants were in talks over the device's potential launch in the world's largest telecoms arena helped Apple's stock climb more than 10 percent on November 13.
"Our parent has terminated talks with Apple over the iPhone," a spokeswoman for listed China Mobile said, confirming several unsourced Internet reports. She would not elaborate.
Experts said last year that the iPhone would have to navigate a spate of technical, content and fee issues unique to China, including a standard revenue-sharing agreement that China Mobile would be sure to dislike, before any launch could proceed.
The iPhones -- one of the hottest gadgets to hit U.S. and European stores in 2007 -- might also be incompatible with China because of their "locked" SIM cards. That meant the device would not be able to piggyback another operator's network.
It's unclear what Apple, which has declined to comment on the issue, planned now for China.
China Unicom (0762.HK) (CHU.N), the smaller of the country's only two wireless carriers, said in 2007 it had no plans to bring the device into the country but was open to the idea.
(Reporting by Vinicy Chan; writing by Edwin Chan; editing by Anne Marie Roantree)
Be.ez, a leading manufacturer of multimedia accessories in Europe and Asia, is due to launch at Macworld 2008, the LA Volute Thema, a new spin on two of its bestselling Mac sleeves and bags for the winter season.
(Photo: Business Wire)
The original iPod is displayed after its introduction by Apple Computer Inc. chief executive officer Steve Jobs during a news conference in Cupertino, Calif. in this Oct. 23, 2001 file photo. Since the iPod debuted in 2001, more than 119 million have been sold, helping to propel Apple's market capitalization from $6 billion to $155 billion.
(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, file)
A journalist holds the Apple iPhone in this June 29, 2007 file image. Microsoft will not launch a product that competes directly with Apple Inc's iPhone, Chairman Bill Gates said in an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
REUTERS/Mike SegaWe had a pretty good idea that a new iPhone would be coming in 2008, but what will it look like?
A report from Goldman Sachs Wednesday spotted by AppleInsider doesn't exactly shed much more light on that subject, but says that Apple is gearing up to deliver two new iPhones next year. The first one sounds like it will be just a storage upgrade with more flash memory in the first half of the year, while the second half of the year should bring the long-awaited 3G iPhone, according to the report.
Not one, but two iPhones could be released next year, according to Goldman Sachs.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Both Apple CEO Steve Jobs and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson have indicated that 2008 is the year for the 3G iPhone, so that's not much of a surprise. An iPhone that could connect to 3G (third-generation) data networks would allow for faster download speeds, but Apple has held off on introducing such a model to this point because of concerns over battery life, according to Jobs.
Goldman also thinks that Apple is getting ready to introduce a newer version of Apple TV, which had a disappointing first year. But the report doesn't make much sense; it says Apple is going to attach an LCD screen to Apple TV. Maybe I'm missing something very obvious, and feel free to point it out below, but I just can't fathom why Apple would want to do that. Apple TV's problems have nothing to do with the lack of a display.
Anyway, the report also says that Goldman can't find as much evidence of the long-rumored ultraportable notebook that's supposedly on tap for Macworld, saying that "possible design issues" might have delayed that model. Just another day in the Apple rumor business.
With the scrutiny the iPhone has received since its launch earlier this year over network lock-in, ASERT believes that hackers will be enticed by the possibility of attacking Apple users and the opportunity to ‘be the first’ to hack a new platform.
Geez, what kind of twisted mind would deliberately concoct software that could turn your Precious into a useless lump of semi-toxic whatnot?
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The great news is there are tons of choices that will help you keep that gizmo looking brand new.
The choices these days are dizzying. Some are quite fashionable, like an all pink patent leather-look Liz Claiborne cell phone case.
If you love the look of your phone, there are clear, hard plastic cases. The advantage is that if you drop them, it's the case that's scratched, not the phone.
There's also one that's like a mini wet suit, giving your phone the same protection as a scuba diver or a surfer.
For those who own this year's number one electronics fashion statement, the iPhone, there's a new line of thin plastic skins called BodyGuardz, custom cut to fit dozens of the latest small electronic devices.
You spray on a liquid that keeps them from sticking to your hands, put the plastic on and voila... nearly invisible protection. They are popular with iPhone owners. They're even made for some laptops.
Consider it post-holiday wrapping.
Ask.com today announced a new feature called AskEraser that deletes a user's search activity data from the company's servers.
Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld
In what's likely to be seen as a privacy-friendly move, IAC Search & Media's Ask.com search engine Tuesday announced a ew feature called AskEraser that deletes a user's search activity data from the company's servers.
When enabled by the user, the feature will completely delete search queries and associated cookie information from Ask.com servers -- including IP addresses, user IDs, session IDs and the text of queries made, according to the company. In most cases, the deletion will take place within a few hours of the time a search is completed, the company said.
The feature is available to users of the company's U.S and U.K. search engines and is designed to give users more control over their search data, the company said in a statement. "AskEraser is simple, straightforward and easy-to-use. It is an idea whose time has come," Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone said in a statement.
The new feature is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't go far enough in addressing consumer privacy concerns, said Jeff Chester, executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington-based nonprofit. Allowing users more control over their search data is likely to give Ask.com -- which lags behind Google and other search engines -- an important PR boost, Chester said. It also strikes all the right notes at a time when there is growing concern around online privacy, he said.
But there are important caveats to keep in mind, Chester said, Ask.com, for instance, will still collect and store user search data by default, unless the user specifically enables AskEraser, Chester said. And enabling AskEraser does nothing to prevent third parties with whom Ask.com has relationships from collecting and storing search data.
With third parties, Ask.com will continue to supply user information such as IP addresses, the last URL visited, browser and platform type, data in undeleted cookies from Ask.com and the search query data itself. A recent Ask.com deal with Google Inc. for search display advertising would also allow the search giant to gain access to some of its smaller rival's search data, Chester said.
Ask.com has also said that it will also retain user search data in cases where it is required by law to do so, according to Chester. Formal legal requests for search data will continue to be honored, even if AskEraser is enabled.
As a result, Chester argued that Ask.com still hasn't fully addressed consumer privacy concerns.
"Some privacy advocates will suggest that this announcement shows the 'market' is working," he said. "No doubt, that's what Google and the other online advertisers opposed to a serious privacy policy will echo, whispering it to regulators, lawmakers and journalists. That's why a national privacy policy is required."
InformationWeek
"People were generally happy with the tools we've offered in [Office] 2007," Reed Shaffner, product manager for Microsoft Office, said in an interview. "You're not going to hear about a ton of new features." Office 2007 has seen strong sales that Microsoft officials have credited with significantly bolstering the company's financial earnings.
SP1 is available today as a free download from OfficeOnline and will be available as an automatic update between three and six months from now. It will also be available for companies through Windows
Microsoft said in November that Office SP1 wouldn't be available until next year, so it might be considered an early release.
Before release, Microsoft limited beta testing to some large enterprises and internal Microsoft users, an indication that the company believes Office 2007 SP1 isn't as significant as some other products that go through a much more intensive testing phase before release. Shaffner said SP1 shouldn't cause any compatibility problems, but added that companies should test it anyway before releasing it across their businesses.
Most of the changes are relatively minor, including specific fixes to increase stability under certain conditions, including the five bugs that most often crashed each Office application. Other improvements include compatibility with Windows Server 2008, improved performance and better protection from security
Apple's iPhone takes another step to becoming a business tool
Astaro Corporation is offering iPhone support to virtual private networks controlled by its Astaro Security Gateway appliance.
This support allows iPhone users to connect to such networks using their home and business networks. It means iPhone users can access email and internal sites protected by Astaro's security solution.
The company claims setting the system up requires just a few clicks to create VPN access on the Astaro appliance side.
Astaro's product offering is available commercially for business, the company also offers a free home user license which offers protection to ten IP addresses.
"As an Apple iPhone user myself, we have made it extremely easy to access networks protected by Astaro Security Gateway" said Gert Hansen, chief security architect and co-founder of Astaro. "It's a great feeling to
provide everyone with an iPhone the ability to connect to their networks for free. It turns the iPhone into a real business tool, albeit a very stylish one."
Astaro has created a configuration guide providing step-by-step instructions on how to configure Apple's iPhone and Astaro Security Gateway VPN settings.
This document as well as Astaro's free home user license download is available from the company's website.
Latest research puts iPods and iPhones in top five must-have items this season
iPods, iPhones, PSPs, and Nintendo's Wii and DS Lite seem set to be the top five electronic gadgets under European Christmas trees this year, new research claims.
comScore this morning released the results of its study (assessed during the first three weeks of November) looking into the frequency of online search inquiries for the most popular gadgets in the UK, France and Germany this Christmas.
The Nintendo Wii (with an average of 4.9 million weekly searches) seems the most in-vogue gadget this season, hotly-pursued by the iPod, which drew 3.5 million searches. The Nintendo DS Lite, the Sony Playstation PSP, and the Apple iPhone (1,706,504 searches) complete the top five.While iPod achieved 1,706,504 searches of its own, the iPod nano received an average of another 287,000 searches each week.
The most popular mobile phone was the iPhone, with the Nokia N95 and Samsung U600 its closest competitors.
ComScore assessed the figures by tracking searches across a clutch of leading electronics devices.
