The Apple Core

July 19th, 2008

My top 10 free iPhone applications

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:54 am

Categories: General

Tags: Apple iPhone, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

It’s been a week since the iPhone 3G launched and I wanted to run down my top 10 free iPhone applications – so far. So here goes…

	Image Gallery: Top 10 free iPhone applications.

July 18th, 2008

Review: Jawbone 2 bluetooth headset

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:58 am

Categories: Accessory, Bluetooth, iPhone

Tags: Headset, Bluetooth Headset, Battery Life, Jason D. O'Grady

Back in June 2007 I reviewed the original Jawbone bluetooth headset and despite its drawbacks I found it to be the standard by which I judge all other BT headsets. Its military grade noise cancellation is second to none and of dozens of Bluetooth headsets that I’ve used over the years everything else pales in comparison to Jawbone.Recently Aliph released the successor, the Jawbone 2 (US$129) and I’m happy to report that it fixes almost all the things that annoyed me about version 1 and it’s even smaller. Battery life is better, the Jawbone 2 easily lasts for three to four days of light use when I turn it off when not in use. The J2 earloop is smaller and more streamlined, making it easier to pop on my ear when the phone is ringing. The power down sound is also quieter and doesn’t deafen you when powering the unit down like the original Jawbone did. Most importantly, Aliph made the rubber earpiece attach more firmly to the body of the Jawbone 2. The old, Jawbone 1 earpiece would constantly wriggle off, promptly me to have to add a dab of hot glue to keep it in place.

Unfortunately,  Aliph continues to use a proprietary power charger with the Jawbone 2 and while it’s better than the original – it now connects to the headset via a magnetic latch – it still requires Jawbone’s proprietary, expensive (US$30) charger. It baffles me why companies continue to force their proprietary chargers on us when they could easily switch to a micro USB connector. The only factor preventing the Jawbone from being the perfect Bluetooth headset is the fact that they elected to force their proprietary charger down our throats. If you forget the adapter while traveling you’re hosed and your Jawbone becomes a brick when it runs out of juice. Unacceptable.

July 18th, 2008

Marware C.E.O. Premiere case for iPhone 3G

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:58 am

Categories: Accessory, Cases, iPhone, 3G

Tags: Apple iPhone, Velcro, Apple iPhone 3G, C.E.O. Premiere, C.E.O. Premiere Case, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

My favorite case for my iPhone 3G is the C.E.O. Premiere from Marware (US$35). It’s designed to fit the iPhone 3G’s thicker profile – although it could probably be 1mm thinner – and is made from premium textured Nappa leather. The C.E.O. Premiere has a beautiful perforated texture with contrasting white stitching and a permanently attached belt clip. It’s important to note that the version sold direct from Marware features a magnetic closure, while the version sold at the Apple retail and online stores features a velcro closure. I prefer the magnetic version because it’s silent when opened and closed. Velcro cases have been known to wake my daughter when I come to bed late and open the case to dock my iPhone.

The C.E.O. Premiere case has open corners that allow your iPhone to easily be pushed out of the case. The open corners allow convenient access to the headphone jack and the sleep/wake button without blocking the speaker. The C.E.O. Premiere comes with a clear protective film, microfiber cleaning cloth and a lifetime guarantee. Marware also makes a C.E.O. Premiere for the iPhone 2G.

July 17th, 2008

More iPhone 3G observations

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 11:57 am

Categories: Opinion, Review, iPhone, 3G

Tags: Apple iPhone, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

After almost a week with the new iPhone 3G I have some additional thoughts that I wanted to share on my experiences:

• As I previously mentioned, AT&T’s 3G coverage is completely non-existent in my area, despite AT&T’s coverage viewer claiming that I’m blanketed in 100 percent 3G. Something is very wrong. Luckily AT&T/Apple offer a 30-day return period where you can get out of the contract.

• I tested 3G in neighboring towns (Avalon and Ocean City, NJ) and it’s indeed fast.

• Most iPhone 2G cases, especially ones that are hard or form-fitting (like silicone skins) won’t fit properly on the iPhone 3G because it’s 1mm thicker in the middle and more tapered at the edges.

• Syncing to MobileMe from a computer is set by the System Preference and the fastest interval is 15 minutes although you can select “Sync Now” at any time.

• Idea: iPhone’s mail client should be able to access iDisk in order to send attachments from the iPhone.

• Applications over 10MB can only be downloaded from a Wi-Fi connection – not over 3G or Edge. Apple needs to put the size of applications somewhere easily visible in the App Store.

• In order to address developer line jumping in the App Store Apple should add sorting by release date (newest on top), and user ratings in addition to popularity (which they have now).

• 3G data can be accessed while making a phone call, unlike Edge, which cannot.

• Screenshots can be made on the iPhone 3G by pressing home and sleep at the same time. The screen flashes white and the shot is stored in the camera roll.

• While in Safari mobile, the button for “.com” can be switched to .net, .edu, .org or .com by holding the key for two seconds – a boon for people that visit .org and other TLD’s.

• Mobile phone/GSM reception is definitely better thanks to the iPhone 3G’s plastic rear panel. I can now get one or two bars of reception in areas of my home where I previously got none.

• Some applications that are desparately needed:

• An app that toggles 3G, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and even the cellular radio to conserver battery. Bonus points if they add a schedule feature to, for example, turn off all the radios while you sleep then turn them back on when you wake.

• A WordPress and Movable Type client for blogging.

• A cheap gas finder.

• A FileMaker client.

• The dock is no longer bundled with the iPhone and costs US$30 when purchased separately.

• The 3G dock now has a flush front allowing it to be used easier in dock.

July 15th, 2008

iPhone 3G succumbs to being jailbroken

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 11:54 pm

Categories: iPhone, Jailbreak, 3G

Tags: Apple iPhone, iPhone 3G, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

Yesterday was a watershed day for the iPhone 3G. First it was unlocked (if only with a SIM adapter) and later in the day it was jailbroken by the rabid efforts of the iPhone Dev Team. A video posted on their blog appears to show all the gory details. Pictured above is a screenshot of the new and improved device selection screen. (Tip: Engadget)

July 15th, 2008

Apple to Psystar: See you in court

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:39 am

Categories: Hardware, Legal, Clone, Psystar

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Shenanigan, Apple Inc., Ina Fried, Psystar, Desktops, 3G, Hardware, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics

Fellow ZDNet blogger Adrian Kingsley-Hughes broke the story that Apple has finally had it up to here with the shenanigans of Mac cloner Psystar. By shenanigans I’m referring to the Florida company’s practice of shipping its US$399 Intel clones with Mac OS 10.5 Leopard pre-installed in direct violation of Apple’s End User License Agreement (EULA).

Psystar has been shipping their wonderful cloned Macs (a.k.a. Hackintoshes) since April 2008 and I’ve been using one ever since – and it’s performed well. Click on the Psystar category to read more of my previous coverage.

A report by News.com’s Ina Fried reveals that the suit was filed July 3 in U.S. District Court in Northern California but the complaint itself is not available. An Apple representative told Fried that “We take it very seriously when we believe people have stolen our intellectual property.” Psystar has yet to comment, but clearly must have been expecting some sort of action eventually.

The real question is why Apple waited three months to file suit. Personally I think that they had their hands full with the iPhone 3G announcement and wanted to get that out of the way first.

What’s your theory?

July 15th, 2008

iPhone 3G unlocked with SIM adapter

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:25 am

Categories: iPhone, 3G

Tags: Apple iPhone, SIM Card, Adapter, Cellular Phones, 3G, Flash Memory, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

Well that didn’t take long.

Just four days after its release the iPhone 3G has been unlocked according to a report at Gizmodo (via TechGuru). In order to accomplish the feat Breno MacMasi used a SIM card adapter that piggy-backs onto the iPhone’s native SIM card and tricks it into thinking that it’s using an official carrier.

It’s not a full software unlock – yet, but it definitely works according to the YouTube video above posted by MacMasi. How long will it be before we see a full software unlock for Apple’s latest gadget? Anyone want to hazard a guess?

July 14th, 2008

27 international carrier iPhone 3G rates compared

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:09 pm

Categories: International, iPhone, 3G

Tags: Apple iPhone, Carrier, Zambelli, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

After reading my piece comparing worldwide iPhone 3G data plans reader Fabio M. Zambelli has elaborated on it further and produced a global chart that compares how the 27 carriers in 21 countries charge for an iPhone 3G (8GB) and the two-year minimum contract after two years.

The text of the article is available in Italian with an English translation (thanks to Google). Zambelli concludes that “The approach of AT&T is not so bad, much better than a lot of international carriers.”

July 14th, 2008

Cool iPhone App: Eventful

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:54 pm

Categories: Software, iPhone, 3G, App Store, 2G

Tags: Apple iPhone, Event, iPhone App, Web Site Development, Web Technology, Digital Music, Digital Media, Channel Management, Telecom & Utilities, Internet

Eventful launched a free iPhone app (iTunes link) that complements their existing Eventful Web service which has nearly 7 million registered users already and is growing fast.If you’re not familiar, Eventful bills itself as the world’s leading events web site “enabling a community of millions to discover, promote, share and create events.” It allows you to set up a group of events that you like and it notifies you when performers, events and other related things are happening near you.

The new iPhone app has a new feature called Location Toggle which lets you see what events are going on both where your phone physically is at the moment, as well as in a location saved in your preferences. With it it’s easy to quickly find out if any of your favorite performers are playing in the city you’re in while you’re on the road, as well as back home.

July 14th, 2008

Tearing down the iPhone 3G

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:15 pm

Categories: iPhone, 3G

Tags: Apple iPhone, Infineon Technologies AG, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless, Corporate Governance, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Business Operations, Corporate Law

iFixIt.com was one of the first to get their hands on iPhone 3G and they promptly ripped theirs apart to report on its internal working and components. Since then TechOnline has taken things to the next level – submitting individual chips to an acid bath to reveal their manufacturer, make and model.Among the secrets revealed by the teardown is that four Infineon chips are being used for GSM and 3G networking and the inclusion of TriQuint for three front-end modules.

“Infineon clearly made their mark on this board with four key design wins,” said Allan Yogasingam, a TechOnline technology analyst. “And TriQuint really came from left field with their win their modules. I didn’t see a single press-release or speculative article hinting at a relationship between the two companies. In today’s internet world, that’s a tough thing to keep under wraps.”

If you’re into tech porn the folks at Semiconductor Insights have a complete video teardown of the iPhone 3G.

In Part 1, we look at the main board and see just how much TriQuint and Infineon won out on the new iPhone, as well as how Apple stuck with what worked on the original iPhone.

In Part 2, we show why we think Apple may be pulling away from prior deals with Samsung in favor of other memory suppliers, while also exposing who’s supplying the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability for the new iPhone (hint: no surprises here).

If that’s not enough for you, don’t forget to check out the 56 photo ZDNet take apart gallery.