So genesis of the iPhone was sometime back in 2005, right? Interestingly, Apple happened to file a continuation on a patent application around that time covering a Universal Remote for controlling a number of home entertainment devices.

A touch screen, hand held controller with a dynamic display that interacts with your entertainment appliances for information and can control a growing array of your media devices. A very iPhone-looking figure after the jump…

From this and Apple’s earlier Universal Remote patent, we get this interface and device image:

Crazy? Perhaps using your $500 (or $1,936 depending on how you do the math :O ) iPhone to control your flat panel is not logical, but Apple does have a fantastic track record with integration between Macs and digital cameras, printers and other periphery devices.

A bit of detail from the patent:

1. A universal remote control, comprising:
a display screen, a user input mechanism a processing unit configured to display information on the display screen and to accept selection data from the user input mechanism; and a wireless communication mechanism configured to provide communications between the processing unit and an appliance; wherein the processing unit is configured to accept display information from the appliance for display on the display screen; wherein the processing unit is further configured to accept information entered through the user input mechanism for communication to the appliance; wherein the wireless communication mechanism is configured to periodically broadcast a discovery command; and wherein if an appliance is in range, the appliance responds to the discovery command to facilitate communication of the display information from the appliance to the universal remote control; wherein a set of standard graphical representations of appliance-control mechanisms is stored in the appliance and can be sent over a wireless communications link to the universal remote control for display to the user.

OK, so most everything is controlled by IR (and it makes no sense for the iPhone to have IR), but bucking that trend is Samsung’s recently rolled out Bluetooth HD TV for $4600, which it claims is the world’s first.

Apple has proven time and again that it thinks about ease of use. Toying with some code to turn an iPhone into the end-all of universal remotes by trying it out on the Apple TV would be the beginning of resolving one of the greatest problems in modern consumer electronic times (then again, maybe not, but it would be cool).

Posted on June 21st, 2007 by admin
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About 40 percent of people seeking information on Apple’s overly hyped iPhone handset are not presently AT&T wireless customers, the mobile carrier’s chief executive Randall Stephenson said Tuesday.

AT&T, which has an exclusive agreement to sell the Apple handset in the U.S., has received over 1 million inquiries from people seeking more information on the combined cellphone, iPod and Internet device.

Since the carrier’s deal with Apple will reportedly span 5 years, people planning to purchase an AT&T iPhone will need to join AT&T’s wireless network. In some cases, that will mean jumping ship from their existing wireless providers.

The unusually large number of non-AT&T customers expressing interest in purchasing the Apple device “speaks volumes,” Stephenson said during a speech at the NXTcomm communications conference in Chicago.

“I really believe this is going to be game changer,” he added. “Not only for us but the industry at large.”

While it’s too early to tell how many of those consumers expressing interest in iPhone will actually go out and purchase one, a recent analysis by investment bankers at Bear Stearns estimates the Apple device will add nearly 1 million new subscribers to AT&T’s wireless network during the second half of 2007.

An additional 3.5 million are likely to follow next year, the firm said.

Thanks Apple Insider

Posted on June 20th, 2007 by admin
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Apple announced today more detailed specifications regarding the battery-life of the iPhone. In a surprising move, the company now gives much better numbers than it initially did in January when the device was introduced.

The updated official battery-life numbers are now the following:

- 8 hours of talk-time (formerly 5 hours)
- 6 hours of Internet use (formerly 5 hours)
- 7 hours of video playback (formerly 5 hours)
- 24 hours of audio playback (formerly 16 hours)
- 250 hours (or more than 10 days) of standby time

The company also added the device will feature “Durable Glass Top Surface”, replacing plastic front protection with optical-quality glass which is clearer and less scratch-sensitive.

The news come as clear confirmation to an exclusive report MacScoop had published on April the 19th, citing source who had the chance to use the iPhone for longer than just a few minutes. The source claimed that the true iPhone battery life would actually “surprise us” by exceeding initially announced battery-life. The report contradicted other reports on the Internet which claimed it would disappoint us.

With this announcement, Apple squashes one of the biggest concerns analysts and commentators had regarding the iPhone. The company also showed a bit of openness to developers, during the World Wide Developers Conference’s kick-off keynote last week, by announcing support for online Web 2.0 applications, through a full Safari engine port residing in the device. Though many developers still believe Apple can do much better in this area.

The last point remaining in question is the quality of the touch-screen keyboard the iPhone offers. Many believe that a touch-screen keyboard will never deliver the same experience as a physical one. Only time will tell if people can actually get used to it.

The iPhone will be made available in the U.S.A on June 29 at Apple and AT&T retail stores. It should be released in Europe by the end of this year and in Asia in early next year.

Posted on June 19th, 2007 by admin
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only 10 days left for the iphone launch, more than 97% of the people who got the iphone in their hands will next think about some sort of protective iPhone case to keep their Gadget safe, Keeping this in mind Pacific Rim’s iShield Designed a case for $35 with faux leather.

I am sure this Pacific Rim’s iShield keeps your Precious safe and sound from the horrors of everyday life. Though there’s no screen protector, the synthetic leather case looks like it’s more than strong enough to insulate the iPhone from most minor bumps and bruises.

Posted on June 19th, 2007 by admin
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The iPhone dominated the news this week after two events provided new and rare details about the most hotly anticipated tech product since the original Macintosh computer in 1984.

Press coverage is running at a fever pitch in advance of the iPhone’s June 29 launch. Search for “iPhone” on Google News, and you’ll get 7,653 recent stories. On Google itself, the query brings up some 73 million hits.

Last Friday, an “iPhone Sales Training Workbook” for AT&T Wireless employees was leaked to the press through the MacRumors forum, revealing some details about the device. And Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs revealed a few more facts during his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote Monday.

Despite all the coverage, it’s hard to separate opinion from the facts, the new details from the old. So here are the six new facts we learned this week about the Apple iPhone.

1. The iPhone is a communications mixed bag, with support for IMAP, POP3 and Yahoo Push e-mail. It will automatically recognize phone numbers in e-mail messages and provide one-click access to dialing them. However, it will not support Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), so users won’t be able to send text messages with pictures or video to other cell phone users. The iPhone will not let users “chat” with friends directly via instant messaging (IM).

2. When you’re watching a video on the iPhone and a call comes in, the video will automatically pause while you take the call, then resume when you hang up.

3. The iPhone does not offer Global Positioning System capability.

4. Third-party applications will be allowed only as Web-based applications loaded from the Internet on the iPhone’s Safari Web browser. Apple will roll out a Windows version of Safari, which should drive support, application development and awareness of the browser to improve the Safari-centric iPhone experience, especially for Windows users.

5. In order to use an iPhone, buyers will be required to first set up an account with the iTunes store using their credit cards, even if they have no intention of buying anything there. This is in addition to the required carrier contract with AT&T iPhone. Current iTunes account holders will be able to use existing accounts.

6. We already knew that iTunes would provide sync capability between iPhone and e-mail, contacts, calendar, photos and other data on both PCs and Macs. We learned this week that the synchronization is automatic when the iPhone is plugged in.

Thanks TechGear

Posted on June 18th, 2007 by admin
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Closing out his keynote address at Apple’s annual developers conference on Monday, chief executive Steve Jobs announced that iPhone will not go on sale until the early evening of June 29th.

Jobs told a crowd of developers in San Francisco that the inaugural Apple handset would be available beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 29th, but did not specify whether that time was pacific time, eastern time, or local regional time.

Representatives for Apple did not respond to inquiries seeking clarification.

It was previously assumed that the device would be made available through Apple and AT&T retail stores in the early morning hours.

The later timeframe appears to have been selected as part of a broader bid by the Cupertino-based Apple to entice a media frenzy with large crowds, in which those with day jobs are not at a disadvantage when it comes to snagging an iPhone on day one.

Reports as to how many iPhones will actually be available on June 29th have ranged from less than 40 per AT&T store to 3 million in total. The device is due to go on sale at approximately 1800 AT&T locations in addition to over 170 Apple retail stores.

Thanks Apple Insider

Posted on June 14th, 2007 by admin
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In an email to subscribers on Tuesday, Apple Inc. touted its hotly anticipated iPhone, offering prospective customers suggestions on how to best prepare for the device’s late-June arrival.

“iPhone arrives on June 29,” Apple said. “[It] features an amazing mobile phone, is the best iPod we’ve ever created, and puts the Internet in your pocket with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching, and maps.

Since iPhone syncs with a PC or Mac just like an iPod, the Cupertino-based company told its customers to behin organizing their content now so they can “start calling, texting, emailing, surfing, listening, and watching even faster” when they get their iPhone.

Apple’s suggestions follow:

Contacts

Making a call with iPhone is as simple as tapping a name. You won’t need to re-enter all your contacts because iPhone syncs with the address book you already use on your computer—Address Book or Entourage on a Mac, or Outlook or Outlook Express on a PC. If you keep your contacts on the web using Yahoo! Address Book, iPhone can sync with them, too. To get ready for iPhone, organize your contacts in one of these applications and make sure they’re up to date with the latest phone numbers and email addresses. If you don’t have contacts on your computer, don’t worry. You can still enter them directly into iPhone.

Calendar

Using its built-in calendar, iPhone lets you check your appointments with the flick of a finger. iPhone uses iTunes to sync with the calendar application you already use on your computer—iCal or Entourage on the Mac, or Outlook on a PC—just like it does with your contacts. If you don’t already use one of these applications to manage your appointments, now is a great time to start, so you’ll be ready to sync when your iPhone arrives. If you choose not to use a calendar program, that’s OK. You’ll be able to enter appointments directly into the iPhone calendar.

Email

iPhone is the first phone to come with a desktop-class email application. So now your phone can display rich HTML email with graphics and photos alongside the text. iPhone will even fetch your latest email every time you open the application and automatically retrieve your email on a set schedule, just like a computer does. iPhone works with the most popular email systems—including Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL, and .Mac Mail. If you’re not already using one of these services, now would be a great time to get an account. iTunes will make email setup on iPhone a breeze by automatically syncing the settings from email accounts stored in Mail on a Mac or Outlook on a PC. Don’t worry if you’re not on one of these email services; iPhone also works with almost any industry-standard POP3 and IMAP email system.

Photos

iPhone has a 2-megapixel camera and a gorgeous 3.5-inch display, so it’s a great way to enjoy and show off your digital photos. iPhone uses iTunes to sync your photos from iPhoto on a Mac or Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Album, or any picture folder on a PC. You can carry thousands of photos on iPhone, but you can start by creating an album or two with 50 to 100 of your favorite photos, so that when you first sync your iPhone, you’ll be ready to quickly show off some of your best iPhone photos.

Music and Video

iPhone is the best iPod ever. Its beautiful, 3.5-inch widescreen display allows you to easily enjoy the music, TV shows, and movies you have in your iTunes library. If you already use iTunes, you can start getting ready for iPhone Videos by creating a playlist of a few hundred of your favorite songs. If you don’t have iTunes, now is a good time to download it and start a music and video library. That way, when you sync your iPhone with iTunes, you’ll be able to take your favorite music, as well as a few of your TV shows and movies, with you wherever you go.

iTunes account

To set up your iPhone, you’ll need an account with Apple’s iTunes Store. If you already have an iTunes account, make sure you know your account name and password. If you don’t have an account, you should set one up now to save time later. To set up an account, launch iTunes, select the iTunes Store, and click the Sign In button in the upper right corner of iTunes. Sign in and you’re ready to go.

Posted on June 13th, 2007 by admin
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Coming out of WWDC are reports that Apple has officially admitted that the Apple iPhone will not support Adobe’s Flash plug-in in Safari.

Flash support has been a long unanswered question about the Apple iPhone. Steve Jobs had made comments early on that we might see Flash in iPhone according to David Pogue

Markoff: “Flash [in the iPhone]?”
Jobs: “Well, you might see that.”
Of note, Jobs did say that Youtube support would be in the iPhone… but by sidestepping Flash altogether:

Jobs: “Yeah, YouTube—of course. But you don’t need to have Flash to show YouTube. All you need to do is deal with YouTube. And plus, we could get ‘em to up their video resolution at the same time, by using h.264 instead of the old codec.”

This portion of Jobs’ plan came true with the Youtube addon for Apple TV which will require Youtube to convert their catalog of videos into the h.264 format.

From Macrumors.

Posted on June 12th, 2007 by admin
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With just a day to go before the WWDC and nineteen before the Second Coming, the thick fog of Apple-OCD is smothering the land. So I’m surprised it took this long for an Apple-juice-addled obsessive to compile a list of (fairly minor) UI changes made in the iPhone between its January debut and the even-slicker-than-usual ads rolled out last week.Hit the jump for the full list of 16 ways the iPhone has grown up, which range from the useful—message previews in the mail screen—to the mundane—the home icons are in a different order. No hair in funny places, though.

1. Bluetooth icon shifted to top right
2. Time font is less bold
3. Home icons have changed order
4. Web home button changed to Safari button
5. In iPod mode the icons and order have changed, and Podcasts added
6. The incoming call screen includes Wi-Fi status
7. Photos screen changed from glossy grey to glossy dark blue (possibly different color schemes available)
8. Includes number of picture in album next to name
9. Photo album screen does not include number of photos at the top
10. Mail screen’s top right button changed from “vertical or horizontal view” button to edit button
11. Mail screen shows first sentence(s) of message
12. Bottom bar of mail screen includes the time mail was last updated
13. Mail message view screen changed with the sender now above the subject and date sent
14. Arrows and the number of messages have changed positions in the top bar
15. Back arrow to the inbox includes the number of unread messages
16. Ring tone has changed

From  GIZMODO

Posted on June 11th, 2007 by admin
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AT&T / Cingular stores have started displaying banners of the iPhone which read “Coming June 29″. Forum user was able to get some iPhone photos:

The Apple iPhone has been announced to be available starting June 29th, 2007 but few details about how sales will be organized have been released.

Posted on June 8th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Photos | No Comments »