iPhoneFellas

LG Known for Easy Use Smart Phones But Can They Challenge iPhone?

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:19:09 +0000

One of the biggest factors that has led to the sweeping success Apple has experienced with its flag ship iPhone device is the fact that the smart phone was specifically shown to consumers as a very easy to use product that would give them the full range of features without being tough to use. This has turned it from just a toy for the hi tech savvy world to a device that everyone from teens to soccer moms have embraced on a scale that few analyst in the tech sector would ever have predicted. The device has won over fans left and right and come to such a powerful spot in the market that it would be tough for any challenger to take them 9on head to head. This means that those challengers have had to innovate which is precisely what LG has made its major aim for its devices. There are not too many lines of smart phones on the market that combine a low cost and easy of use due to the cost of R & D at most firms. This is not the case with LG, a maker that has managed to really give a hard shot to the mobile phone industry with its new LG Pop, a phone that is set to take on Apple from a direction they may not have planned on. The smart phone has features, but not as many as the iPhone and this has reduced its cost by a huge margin. The 3 mega pixel camera is what most reviewers say will work well for the average web using public for services such as Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or Myspace and the fact that it costs so much less means these users might just be switching from a standard mobile to the Pop since many want a low cost smart phone.

This is not an angle many developers have taken and it may just be the right mix that gives iPhone some competition by providing lower income customers, or simply those who don’t want to spend hundreds, with a viable smart phone option.

Wave From Samsung Threatens to Drown Out Apple’s iPhone Serenade

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:03:52 +0000

If there is one thing for certain about the smart phone market today it is firstly that Apple dominates on a level that is difficult for competitors to penetrate and secondly that the giant is going to be faced with a great many competitors in the coming years. The fact is, say analysts, everything is eventual and with such a lucrative consumer base at stake, companies are bound to be willing to pull out all the stops when it comes to going toe to toe with the world’s leading maker of smart phones today. With all of the competition starting to crowd in around Apple, the company has begun to take upgrades and new versions of its popular iPhone to whole new levels. The stylish new Wave from Samsung is bound to create a few big waves of its own since the phone has many of the same features as the Apple flag ship product, plus it offers consumers more choice in a market that has been lacking such options for quite some time. This is bound to have an industry wide effect, say those who keep tabs on the mobile phone manufacturing industry, because as consumers are given more choices, companies will have to begin to specialize and show what makes their brand stronger than the others.

Traditionally, the iPhone has been marketed not only as state of the art, but easy to use. This combo has lead it to the top and the Samsung Wave is Samsung’s way of responding to this by presenting a smart phone that reviewers have heralded as extremely simple to get the hang of. Wi Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, HSDPA, EDGE and the 3G that is a iPhone standard are all parts of the package when it comes to what the Wave has to offer in terms of connectivity. This alone stands to make it an amazing product that gives Apple a real run for their money.

The Showdown Begins Between the Popular iPhone and Newcomers Nokia N900 and HTC HD2

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:34:54 +0000

Smart phones have been one of the most sought after devices by consumers ever since they hit the market only a few short years ago. The most dominant device by far to date has been Apple’s coveted iPhone, a truly revolutionary hi tech marvel renowned for both its features and its ease of use. With this machine, consumers could make calls, surf the web, send text messages and even watch movies or play games if they so desired. Then along came the Nokia n900, from the Finnish company known worldwide for producing exceptionally well crafted electronic devices. The Nokia’s incredibly robust processor paired with a touch friendly interface that reviewers are raving about, is set to make it a very popular bit of competition to Apple’s hitherto unchallenged dominance. The fact that the device is capable of doing just about everything that the iPhone can, particularly with its new Fennec browser, is certainly making the gurus of Apple quite nervous.

In reality, the Nokia smart phone is only the first in what will most likely be wave after wave of products released to try and grab a share of the vast iPhone market in the hopes that Apple can somehow be toppled from their throne. The HTC HD2 with its sleek design and user sensitive features such as lights dimming when appropriate and a very large screen that users have been complimenting regularly, is set to steal a solid chunk of the smart phone market share, as well. The battle now will go to whichever company can continue to release the right mix of new features and impressive pricing, say the experts. After all, a device can be worlds ahead of its time, but it must also be at an affordable price so that the mass of the market can afford to get behind it to give it the push it needs to become number one.

Public Radio Player 2.0

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:24:31 +0000

The new Public Radio Player 2.0 app for the iPhone allows listeners to tune in to their favorite shows on demand using streaming media technology. Consumers will be able to stream archived radio shows as well as listen to live broadcasts of their favorite radio programs. Since there is no download to use up valuable space on the iPhone or iPod touch, listeners won’t need to download any podcasts before listening. The player allows for a simple tap and listen method to streamline tuning in.

As with its prior release, Public Radio Player 2.0 will allow listeners to zero in on public radio stations from around the country and see what is playing in a convenient menu format that lists the titles of each program scheduled. The app features the ability to search by station call letters, subject matter and the name of the radio show they want to tune in to. Each search looks through live and on demand content. Users will be able to set a favorites list so that they can return to the programs or stations that they like best.

Fans of shows like Fresh Air, Marketplace, This American Life, Car Talk, Prairie Home Companion and Talk of the Nation will be able to listen whenever they like in case they miss a specific broadcast. Music fans will be able to search all stations in search of the tunes they want to hear.

GM Getting in on The iPhone Craze

admin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:46:37 +0000

It seems that everyone wants an iPhone, even General Motors. The highly anticipated GM Volt is expected to hit the streets in 2010 and according to latest reports will contain a very high-tech dashboard. The dash is expected to provide an iPhone-like touch screen interface between the driver and the car. The large iPhone type display screen is expected to be standard and will allow owners to customize certain driving and charging parameters. Other features will be included as well but what may really have consumers heading out to their local GM dealer is the inclusion of the iPhone screen.

3G iPhone for 2008?

admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 01:02:50 +0000

A report by financial analyst Richard Gardner of Citigroup stated recently that Apple may release a version of the iPhone that has 3G technology. The new iPhone version is projected to be released by mid 2008. The shipments for the iPhone are projected to be weak during the coming March quarter and the analyst stated that the inclusion of third generation or 3G technology could help Apple to meet its target shipment of 10 million iPhones in 2008.
3G technology is a high-speed Internet communication for wireless browsing that will provide the phones with broadband internet capabilities.

This upgrade could help Apple to realize more relationships with carriers as it begins to build up a presence in Europe. Although 3G is not widely recognized in the U.S., Apple may position the new iPhone model as a high-end smart phone and leave the current iPhone to ship as more of their mainstream product. AT&T’s announcement last week that it is planning to expand its 3G wireless coverage to more than 350 major markets in the U.S. may help Apple’s plan to forge ahead with the new iPhone version.
The plan is then as the iPhone becomes more popular, many customers will come to prefer to use it on the network that Apple has built a relationship with.

Gardner also stated that currently nearly 35 percent of all the iPhones that have been sold since it was first introduced in June 2007 have been unlocked and sold in many countries where Apple has not yet formed a relationship with a wireless carrier. Until the iPhone becomes more readily available in those countries, unlocking numbers will be high. Once Apple has forged relationships in those countries with wireless carriers, they expect the new version to be a huge success.

Apple iPhone 16GB released

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:48:24 +0000

It has long been anticipated that Apple will release a version of the iPhone with more storage space. So it comes as no surprise that today Apple did just that, announcing that the new 16GB model will be on sale for £329, a whopping £70 more than the 8GB version.

For those with larger media collections, it will be an awaited move. For the rest though; nothing exciting – there has been nothing said about any major new ‘under the hood’ updates such as new programs or features, although the model is shipping with the latest firmware that was released by Apple just a month ago. Oh, and before you get your hopes high, no the phone still isn’t 3G. It has been rumoured that the 3G 16GB iPhone will be launching sometime later this year but we wouldn’t advise you to hold your breath for it.

However, this is a reason to rejoice for those who have not yet purchased an iPhone. Industry experts have said that Apple has poised itself for a price slash on the 8GB model, but whether it will be soon enough to hold out even longer is something that’s not quite as easy to predict.

The iPhone’s non-cellular relative the iPod Touch has taken most of the limelight this time, with Apple doubling the memory of the iPod as well. There have been considerably more features added to the Touch, including the mail, stock, weather and notes application that were already found on the iPhone. The 32GB version of the Touch is being sold for £329.

On a lighter note, it’s interesting to see that the Apple US site was down for a while earlier today and when it was back up, surprise surprise, the 16GB iPhone was listed. The UK store however, took a while for the update to occur. So next time you see that the Apple store isn’t working, maybe, just maybe, it’s because they’re getting ready to launch the much awaited 3G version of the iPhone.

Wikipedia on the iPhone

admin — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:47:41 +0000

Patick Collison spent the Christmas break to code an iPhone application which allows the full Wikipedia project (including the app itself, indexes and dumps) to be stored and viewed offline on 2GB of the iPhone’s free space..
There’s also a mongrel-based ruby server for offline browsing on a PC used for debugging during the development. See sh/server in the source distribution.
As he admits this is a work in progress so theres still some problems opening certain articles and its prone to crashing..BUT its working AND hes working on improving it.

Wikipedia iPhone

Installation
Put the app in /Applications. Use something like Customize.app to get it onto your springboard. Untar the dump, and put the contents at /var/root/wp. If using Windows, check out the in-depth Windows installation instructions contributed by rebelxtnut.

Application: Wikipedia.zip

Dump: English (October 2007) German (January 2008)

How to jailbreak your iPhone 1.1.3 firmware

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:27:45 +0000

So after all the rumours and waiting the iPhone Dev Team finally release the jailbreak for the iPhone 1.1.3 firmware
This jailbreak comes with a forewarning on how difficult this upgrade is compared to the others so be sure to backup as you may need to restore your iPhone using iTunes if you run into any problems.

This latest jailbreak also comes as an upgrade so you must already have a 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 jailbroken phone before attempting this.

1.1.3 soft upgrade jailbreak.

MAC VERSION - Download the 1.1.3 package maker and execute Run_This. Read instructions, pressing Enter when prompted, and the image will be uploaded to your phone. Then continue to the Installer instructions below.

You must begin with a 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 jailbroken phone with Installer.app installed and AT LEAST 300mb free space on your iPhone and 1GB spare on your computer.
Connect your phone via USB to your computer.
Download, extract, and run iBrickr Special 1.1.3 jailbreak edition (ibrickr.exe is in the archive).
iBrickr will determine what firmware you are running on your phone and confirm you can apply the update..
iBrickr will then guide you through the process of obtaining and modifying the 1.1.3 firmware
iBrickr will upload the new firmware image to your phone. Please note that this only uploads the file on your phone and does not modify it at all.
When iBrickr finishes (should take about 10 minutes), it will tell you to go to Installer and install the “1.1.3 soft upgrade” package. Do that.
The upgrade will pause about halfway through the process. THIS IS NORMAL. DO NOT INTERACT WITH YOUR PHONE WHILE THIS IS HAPPENING. Just leave it plugged in and wait
When the installer has finished (this should take another 10-15 minutes), your phone should reboot with a freshly activated 1.1.3 firmware.

and how does this 1.1.3 jailbreak work?

iBrickr grabs the 1.1.3 iPhone firmware image and extracts, decrypts, and decompresses the disk image.
Patch is then applied, jailbreaking the disk image and activating it, and also installing Installer.app.
New modified image is uploaded to the phone, as 113_upgrade_image.bin.
The “1.1.3 soft upgrade” app flashes the phone with the image and reboots.
Your iPhone is now upgraded with the latest 1.1.3 firmware, with all your settings and music restored.

this upgrade is by no means safe and more than previous jailbreaks you may run into many problems not least of all a non working iPhone.
Check the FAQ for an idea of what to expect and answers to questions regarding problems running the 1.1.3 soft upgrade from installer, problems after last reboot and PANIC: Everything is broken and I need my phone please help!
Also check this walkthrough of the upgrade process from lifehacker

iGoogle for iPhone goes live

admin — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:11:43 +0000

Google has announced a version of iGoogle optimized for the iPhone.
Features include showing all the gadgets and feeds of a tab in a single column with a scrollable interface and the ability to collapse or expand any gadget or feed by clicking the header.
Users can also switch between tabs by choosing a name from the drop down menu at the bottom of the page.

The iPhone interface has a public URL: http://google.com/ig/i, but iPhone users will be automatically redirected to this URL.

The standard US only mobile version can also be accessed here
The limitations over it and the iPhone version include limited number of gadgets and that it only displays feeds.