Just in case you missed Walt Mossberg’s sitdown with Steve Jobs earlier today, but in the open Q&A his Jobsness was asked point blank about the openness of the iPhone, and whether users can expect their $600 cellphone to be able to add on third party iPhone software and apps. His reply?

“This is an important tradeoff between security and openness. We want both. … we’ll find a way to let 3rd parties write apps and still preserve security on the iPhone. But until we find that way we can’t compromise the security of the phone. … I’ve used 3rd party apps… the more you add, the more your phone crashes. No one’s perfect, and we’d sure like our phone not to crash once a day. If you can just be a little more patient with us I think everyone can get what they want.”

You heard it folks, Apple’s working on allowing third party devs into the hallowed ground of the iPhone. One big issue (kind of) down, now we’ve just got to work on getting that thing a real keyboard and some 3G.

From Engadget

Posted on May 31st, 2007 by admin
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Today, much of the tech press is interested in speculating on the iPhone’s data plan. Here’s something new to add to the conversation.

Last week, when a Cingular business sales rep told me that the date for release was June 11th, she also told me that the data plan would be $30 bucks. I have less reason to believe the date, but the pricing seems like something she knew as a fact. $30. Such an exact number.

I told her that I thought it was a bit high, since the phone doesn’t have 3G. She said that they had the best data network in the country, so the phone would download fast, so again, take this with a grain of salt. This is a sales person, not an engineer. Maybe it includes Wi-Fi. Maybe you can’t just get the EDGE access. That would make me a bit upset if you couldn’t split the two up.

Because I can stomach the monthly fee for minutes and txt, and I can stomach the iPhone’s $599 price tag, but I’m not sure I want to pay another $30 for EDGE data plus Wi-Fi. That’s maybe more than I can swallow.

This is all speculation, of course. Brian Lam

From gizmodo.com

Posted on May 30th, 2007 by admin
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 Glenn Lurie, AT&T’s point man on the iPhone project. He is interviewed by Seattle Times ,belows are the conversation.

Q: One point of skepticism is the price. That BlackJack is pretty nice, and it costs $500 less than an iPhone …

A: Here’s how I’d explain it. The most popular iPod, a 4-gigabyte Nano, costs $200. If you’ve got a RIM BlackBerry or Palm Treo, you probably paid $200 minimum. Then you’ve got a phone that you got for free or paid maybe $50.

You’re at $450 or $500. The question you’ve got to be able to ask yourself is, is this device going to be able to replace those three, so you carry one? That’s the question.

I think when people get their hands on it and really experience it — the touch screen is phenomenal, this touch screen is like nothing you’ve ever used — to experience that, the skepticism, I think, around some of those things will go away.

There are other things — you have the widgets, some of the Google applications that are coming — there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue.

Q: So you don’t think you’ll have to subsidize the phone’s price?

A: We’re not talking about that.

Q: What’s your impression of Apple?

A: It’s a great company. I know there are lots of interesting thoughts out there about how Steve and his team have done so many things, but they have been such innovators. If you look at the music side, it’s hard to argue that they aren’t driving a lot of things.

Q: What’s your favorite iPhone feature?

A: I don’t know if I can answer that. It’s a pretty incredible browsing environment. That’s the first part that I think will blow people away. It’s the first widescreen iPod they’ve ever done; it is very, very good, works extremely well.

I think the other thing people haven’t really thought through is that Apple’s so good at simplifying things. That’s just what they’re known for; they’ve really simplified the phone. The standard phone applications are really intuitive, whether it’s receiving a phone call, putting that person on hold, adding another party and bringing a conference call together.

Q: Won’t the full-powered browser hurt AT&T? People won’t need to use its services as much — they’ll just pull things from the Web, instead of calling directory assistance, for example.

A: No, actually it won’t. I think it will be great for us, and here’s why. One of the things with this device — people are going to be asked to have an unlimited package — people are going to have to have a package with us to browse. That’s one good thing for everybody.

I think this is going to create a new way people use handheld devices because the browsing experience is as good as the PC browsing experience. So I think it’s not going to hurt us at all. I’m excited about what it will do for the industry in terms of how people view mobile browsing.

Q: What’s the risk in your deal with Apple? Are there downsides or concerns?

A: Not that I can see. The thing I get asked about a lot is, obviously, that our companies are different cultures. But they have been incredible to work with.

The one thing we found as commonality is our pursuit of customer experience. Whenever we got into discussions, the thing we kept coming back to was this unwavering “what’s the customer experience going to be?” That’s gotten us over the hump every single time.

Q: What do you think of Jobs?

A: He’s a great guy. I’ve been dealing with Steve a lot. I think my prior comments fit: He is all about the customer, the customer experience, making sure that what customers get meets expectations. That’s what my mesh has been.

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: Cingular iPhone | No Comments »

Could this possibly be the first video taken by an iPhone? Over at iPhone Matters, Gregory Ng posts that he received a copy of this video from an Apple Store employee in California. In the video, you can see what appears to be an iPhone appearing on the iMac screen as recorded by its iSight. The video is not the highest quality and Ng writes that the sender compressed the iphone videos before sending it over email. What do you think? Real or hoax?

If this video is legit, I am not sure how I feel about the quality of the iPhone camera. Maybe it is because the guy has a shakey hand. The sender admitted it was further compressed to email to me. Will see if this anonymous tipster can send me the original video at full quality. What do you think?

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Videos | No Comments »

Let the speculation, uh, heighten. The iPhone has been FCC-approved and people have even started to covertly preorder it, so it’s got to be coming soon, right? The problem is, in the absence of an official release date, everyone and their brother is coming up with what they believe are reasonable release dates.

Since there are so many release date for the iPhone floating around out there, it’s probably worth taking a look at some of them and the reasoning behind them. Our first contestant is June 20, which was mentioned on CNBC’s On the Money show as being confirmed by a “telco analyst.” This date is backed up by the fact that iPhone sales and support training is running from May 30 to June 20, so it’s entirely possible that the iPhone is coming out once sales and support training is over.

Unfortunately, as Gizmodo points outthe “telco analyst” in question was actually just an employee at an AT&T store. Given my previous experiences regarding getting correct release dates from a store employee, I’d say the AT&T employees know about as much concerning the real date as I know about quantum mechanics. Gizmodo is offering two other iPhone release dates that they think are more correct: June 15, and June 12. June 15 is being given because some AT&T/Cingular employees will not be able to take vacation>for several weeks after that date. 

Last but not least, there’s June 12. Gizmodo likes this one best, and I’m tempted to agree with them. The June 12 date has popped up a few times before and was apparently given by the Business Marketing Group to people who attempted to confirm it with them. It also follows Apple’s practice of releasing products on a Tuesday, but more importantly, the 12th is the Tuesday immediately following the WWDC Keynote speech. It’s entirely plausible that the iPhone could be launched at the keynote, but then again, June 12 isn’t really “late June” if you want to be particular about it. Apple may also want to use all the time they have to prepare the device, stores, and support for the launch.

It’s still impossible to say when the iPhone will really come out, but if you’re holding your breath for it, you can probably relax for at least another couple of weeks

Posted on May 28th, 2007 by admin
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Apparently the next generation iPhone which will probably be announced in spring 2008 at Macworld will incorporate a SiRF Star III chip or something along those lines. According to a source:

Apple is certain to use a chipset using Assisted GPS technology, which cuts down the time needed to determine a location using GPS. (A-GPS) is necessary in urban areas with tall buildings or locations with heavy tree cover.

A-GPS helps the device for a fast satellite fix by getting some help from cell phone towers. SiRF’s press release from February of this year does talk about a collaboration with NXP Semiconductors to speed the development of cost-effective location-aware 3G wireless handsets though. Something to think about…

Posted on May 26th, 2007 by admin
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CNBC’s most recent ”On the Money” report claimed iPhone will be released on June 20th.  Their source? They get it from a Cingular phone store employee. Although CNBC doesn’t label it as a rumor, many people believe this is not an official release date.  Yet, Apple’s only statement is that the iPhone is on track for “Late June.”

Posted on May 26th, 2007 by admin
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The Cingular brand name is officially dead, gone, swimming with the fishes. By the end of this week all 1,800 Cingular corporate stores will have been rebranded to AT&T. Cingular has meant a lot of things to a lot of people. Hot phones, horrible service, botched launches,  and much much more. AT&T is re-adopting their corporate name right in time for the upcoming Apple iPhone(formly also called Cingular iPhone) launch, which is sure to cement the AT&T brand into every home, brothel, and trailer park in the United States. It’s a bit much to say that the good old “jack” will be sorely missed, but these store renovations mark the last in a rapid fire string of events that have certainly altered the fabric of American wireless carriers. Oh how melodramatic.

From Boygeniusreport

Posted on May 24th, 2007 by admin
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 From Engadget

There are carrier exclusivity agreements, and there are carrier exclusivity agreements — and Apple’s iPhone deal must have been pretty sweet for Cupertino to guarantee their new hotness to AT&T and AT&T alone for five friggin years. USA Today reports the supposed half-decade deal precludes Apple from developing a CDMA handset in that time (duh), meaning that if you live in the US and don’t want to move to AT&T, it’s going to be 2012 before you even have a chance at an iPhone. Better still, Today reports that Cingular’s arch-nemesis Verizon is claiming to have an iPhone-killer in the wings. According to Denny Strigl, Verizon CEO, “We do have a very good response in the mill. You’ll see that from us in the late summer.” It’s war, people, make no mistake about it.

Posted on May 23rd, 2007 by admin
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Cingular Wireless believes the price is right on its new $499-plus Apple Inc.(Nasdaq: AAPL)iPhone, and expects the new device to help increase its business after the launch in June.

Some commentators have questioned the high price of the iPhone. At $499 for a 4-Gbyte device and $599 for an 8-Gbyte model, it easily tops most of the smartphone offerings that will be its main competition.

Cingular, however, believes that the device is “absolutely priced right” for the audience it is targeting. “I am not at all concerned,” says Glenn Lurie, Cingular’s president of national distribution.

“Most of you in this room are probably going to be carrying a cellphone,” explains Lurie. “Most of you will have a smartphone –- a BlackBerry or a Treo -– and most of you have an iPod in your bag or suitcase.”

Cingular’s claim is that the cingular iPhone can replace all three.

Nonetheless, questions remain over how much influence, if any, Cingular has over iPhone pricing and feature developments. “It’s an iPod, so Apple sets price points,” Lurie stated after a few questions about whether the carrier could cut the price of devices over time.

The operator has an exclusive deal to distribute the iPhone in the U.S. and stressed it had worked closely for two years with Apple on the iPhone project.

Apple, however, has control over some issues that would normally be the domain of the wireless operator.

For instance, Cingular couldn’t tell  why Apple had chosen to launch an EDGE-enabled device, rather than one that’ll run over its faster UMTS network, which would seem to make more sense for such a high-powered device. “You’ll have to ask Apple that,” a Cingular rep told us.

The computer vendor is predicting it will sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008. Cingular stressed, however, that this figure incorporates sales from the other non-U.S. carriers that will sell the new Apple device.

“I think other carriers are going to be interested,” dead-panned Lurie.

Branding should be easy. Cingular will have its name and -– eventually -– the AT&T Inc.  logo on the phone’s screen. It won’t be embossed anywhere on the device, however. This is highly unusual in the U.S. mobile market, where branding is everything. Apple should have a slightly simpler job launching the device in Europe and Asia using screen-only branding, however.

It’s not yet clear whether Cisco Systems Inc’s newly announced lawsuit against Apple will change any of Cingular’s launch plans.

Posted on May 21st, 2007 by admin
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