9to5 Staff

http://player.stickam.com/stickamPlayer/174207768-4654009

 Electric Pig is an up-and-coming technology news and reviews site, while we put our own models through their paces, we thought we’d offer you a few initial thoughts from the team there.

Lift your hats once again to the iPhone Dev Team, who have succesfully unlocked iPhone Software 2.0.

The team has been working on unlocking Apple’s iPhone software for months, and the current build is stable and effective – a Gizmodo reporter has been using his iPhone (using beta of v.2) for a week on the Vodafone network, rather than through AT&T.

The team intends releasing a new version of its free Pwnage tool so others can unlock and jailbreak their handsets for use with unapproved applications on non-official networks.

We are waiting with baited breath and bricked iPhones.

 Yes, it’s here – Truphone has introduced a VoIP application for the iPhone – low-cost rates, no global roaming charges, and here’s the video of the software in action…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx9V-lN9XTg&hl=en&fs=1]

What is it like to wait on line in Holland for an iPhone? Look no further than Tmobile’s Webcam. http://hosting.dutchview.nl/t-mobile20080710/t-mobile.swf

party is over…

As the iPhone 3G circles the globe over the next 24 hours, more and more stores will begin opening up.  Distorted Loop points out that Apple is leaving a trail of stores all over the world.  Eventually there will be over 70.  And they will have iPhone and iPod Apps stores.  But will these iTunes stores carry any more products?    Some international movies? 

With that big of a footprint, reaching that many people (India=1 billion sets of eyes and ears), will some movie and record studios come beckoning?  They’d be fools not to!

In case you were wondering, we gave it a shot.  Updated the iPhone to 2.0, ran Ziphone, and it crashed.  Then we downgraded to 1.4,  Crash again….holding pattern.  Zibri how long are we going to have to wait?

Oh well, we’ll have iPhone 3Gs in T- minus …

Anyone out there tried the other jailbreaking methods?  Any success?

First things first.  Get the 2.0 Firmware here.   If you dare… At the moment Apple hasn’t put it out as an upgrade on iTunes.

Second,  go ahead one day. In New Zealand it is tomorrow.  Go ahead click on the Apps store link.

Third, Visit the Apps store screenshot (below).

Maybe check out the Autopsy as well.  Note that those bottom screws help to take the iPhone apart without having to pry anything open and should make battery replacement a reality.

 An irritated Italian consumer rights group has filed an anti-trust complaint with local regulators against the restriction of sales of the iPhone in Italy.

They are complaining because the device is only available through Vodafone and Telecom Italia. 

Italy’s anti-trust agency has begun gathering information on iPhone distribution, but hasn’t yet begun a full anti-trust investigation, following reception of the complaint from the Movimento Difesa del Cittadino (MDC).

Both Italian carriers offer the same prices on an unlocked version of the iPhone – €499 for the 8GB model and €599 for the 16GB.

"We learn with pleasure booting dell’Antitrust part of a pre-inquiry to verify a possible dominance of only two operators currently marketing the I-Phone, Tim and Vodafone," said MDC (well, as explained by Google Translate.

 You are staring at iPhone Jonny – he’s the first person in the world to buy an iPhone (we think), and was photographed queuing outside his local Vodafone store yesterday – thanks EnGadget (maybe you’ll link back to us one day, hey?) – waiting at the head of the queue to pick up his iPhone.

Now he has. Yes, you heard us right – the iPhone 3G went on sale today, but in fact it is tomorrow it goes on sale – except in New Zealand, where it’s tomorrow already! Sometimes time zones are kind of exciting.

Parts of Australia will now be getting the iPhone 3G as they have a few hours difference to New Zealand. And then it invades the rest of the world as the dawn of the new day breaks….

So, Jonny has his iPhone 3G – congratulations, Jonny, drop us a line if you come across us, we think the whole world wants to know what you – someone who isn’t a highly-paid journalist working for some major media outlet – think of your new purchase!

What’s going to be frustrating for New Zealand’s iPod touch owners is that there’s no sign yet of iPhone Software Update 2.0, which you need to actually install and use applications on the iPhone or iPod touch.

Never mind, though – the software has escaped, you can download it now, but will have to install it manually, check here for the link and the details.

 Apple has introduced its MobileMe service, and also offered an update for the Apple TV to enable iPhone remote controls and Mobile Me support, and for business users, the company has also this morning introduced the iPhone Configuration Utility for Mac and Windows.

The 2.29MB configuration utility lets you set up configuration profiles and install provisioning profiles as well as applications, and lets you get information about iPhones, including their console logs. 

Configuration profiles are XML files that contain device security policies, VPN configuration information, Wi-Fi settings, APN settings, Exchange account settings, mail settings, and certificates that permit iPhone and iPod touch to work with your enterprise systems. full account of what this software does is available within this PDF document.

Apple TV 2.1 adds support for MobileMe and the new Remote application that will be free in the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. MobileMe now shows up in the Photo section and there is a way to connect with the new iPhone and iPod touch remote application under the Settings -> General -> Remotes section.

Finally, Apple’s Mobile Me service has been sighted in full operation during the day, but it’s intermittent – the service is presently non-functional.

Apple may have a huge big massive hit on its hands in the form of the iPhone – but Research In Motion’s fight back plan may be falling apart, an analyst said this morning.

Nomura analyst Richard Windsor has warned clients that Research In Motion is struggling to develop the touch interface for use within its forthcoming ‘iPhone killer’, the BlackBerry Thunder. The analyst says the implementation even lags behind Nokia (who we think themselves are trailing Apple on touch controls).

"Those who have handled prototypes complain of poor typing, unresponsive keys, bugs in the user interface cause by touch as well as accelerometer issues," Windsor said, as reported by MarketWatch.

The analyst also warned Nokia’s future touch-controlled Tube just won’t have the edge and usability of an iPhone. (see, we told you…)

So, right now it looks like Apple’s about to clean up in the smartphone space. Did we mention UK iPhone 3G carrier O2 this week saw pre-orders for the device flying in at a rate of 13,000 per second?

"Demand was at 13,000 orders per second," said O2 yesterday. "Frankly, we have to admit we just weren’t prepared for this unprecedented level of demand. No website is."

9 to 5 Mac’s spies are all over the iPhone launch. Here’s our latest image, it shows the first stocks of the iPhone 3G being delivered to The Carphone Warehouse.

The hugely anticipated mobile phone officially launches tomorrow, with Apple’s carriers and some selected high street retailers, such as Carphone Warhouse in the UK, opening early as the iPhone 3G is introduced globally.

All involved in the launch now warn customers to expect limited supplies, as early ordering systems in the UK and Australia this week buckled under the strain, indicating significant demand for the device.

A ChangeWave survey yesterday suggested iPhone will have a "tsunami-like" effect on the smartphone market. The researchers spoke with 3,567 consumers, finding Apple’s market share now to be catching up to that of Palm, which is looking less and less popular.

“These numbers are good news for Apple,”  said Tobin Smith, founder of ChangeWave Research and editor of ChangeWave Investing, “but it’s when we asked respondents about their planned smart phone purchases over the next 90 days that the tsunami-like effect of this marketplace transformation becomes crystal clear.”

The survey found that a full 56% of respondents who plan to purchase a smart phone in the next 90 days say they’re getting an Apple iPhone – a huge 21-point leap from the previous survey. And this means Apple seems set to dominate the smartphone market within weeks, grabbing 56 per cent market share and eclipsing current number one smartphone maker, Research In Motion.

ChangeWave also revealed that 55 per cent of current iPhone owners are Very Likely to buy the iPhone 3G for themselves or someone else in the future – half of these will do so within the first 90 days of release.

 Apple this morning introduced iTunes 7.7.

Installing the application offers users a route to the App Store – you can browse and download applications now, but you’ll need to wait until iPhone Software 2.0 ships to run them on your iPhone.

The App Store isn’t automatically showing as an option when you log into the iTunes Store, though it has been showing up occassionally this morning in the main view as a menu navigation option. If it doesn’t, it is very easy to get there – open up the new ‘Applications’ folder you’ll see in your personal iTunes navigation area to the left, once in Applications select "Get more applications" using the button at the lower right. And you’ll be in the App Store.

There’s 500 applications to choose from now, including the much-vaunted Apple Remote app which lets you remotely control your iTunes collection or Apple TV using your iPhone or iPod touch, the absolutely outstanding Band music application, voice recorders, social networking, free and paid for applications. We had a hard time resisting purchase of a guitar tuner application, for example, so we didn’t.

The bad news? None of these applications will work on your iPhone – yet – but with the iPhone 3G beginning to go on sale in some parts of the world (where the Friday dawn is approaching in their time zone) we can’t believe we have too long to wait until iPhone Software 2.0 ships.

No big surprises here…AT&T is getting their 3G iPhones and *gasp* the white ones come in white packages. 

What will they think of next?

It ain’t easy. Budget about 40 minutes for a first timer. Hopefully new MacBook Pros are easier!

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/660044 w=400&h=225]

Macbook Pro HDD switch in HD from max milion on Vimeo. Via MacRumors

David Pogue from the New York Times has another crazy iPhone video posted to the site.  It is cheesy and corny and all of that but there is some information to pull out.  Isn’t there?

Apple’s iPhone 3G will grab 35 per cent of the US market for touchscreen-equipped mobile phones by the end of the year, new research claims.

Bonny Joy, analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “We estimate the Apple iPhone will account for 6.3 million of the 18.1 million touchscreen phones sold in the United States during January to December 2008, for an impressive 35 per cent marketshare. We expect the release of the heavily-subsidized 3G iPhone 2.0 on July 11 to catalyze a healthy spurt in touchscreen volumes during the second half of the year.”

Neil Mawston, Director of Strategy Analytics, added, “Apple is in a strong position today but its rivals are not standing still. Samsung and LG already offer numerous, popular touchscreen models such as the Instinct and Voyager, while Blackberry and Nokia are scheduled to launch their own portfolios in the coming months with the Thunder and Tube. Clearly, the competition is rising fast and hanging on to that 35 per cent marketshare will be a major challenge for Apple in 2009.”

Do you think it will be a challenge? 

Microsoft will offer the next version of Office for the Mac by January 2011 at the latest – possibly as early as January 2010, the company said this week.

The company’s Mac Business Unit’s senior marketing manager, Amanda Lefebvre, also said it intends restoring support for Visual Basic for Applications in the next version, Information Week informs.

"We’re on a two to three year lifecycle," she said, admitting, "We were a little beyond that for our last round."

Mac users who purchased Mac Office 2004 had to wait four years for Office 2008. To try to prevent such delays in future, the Mac Business Unit has also initiated a huge recruitment drive, partially to find developers to work on Visual Basic for Application.

The company is also developing tools to integrate Mac Office into corporate Windows environments that run Microsoft’s Exchange Server and Unified Communications Server, said Lefebvre.

These moves reflect Apple’s growing market share in the consumer and the enterprise markets.

 Last.fm has introduced a royalty scheme for unsigned acts, offering independent artists the chance to accrue royalties from Last.fm each time their track is listened to through the site.

Unsigned and independent artists can sign up for the program when they upload their music to Last.fm, and earn revenue when their tracks are played free-on-demand, or on Last.fm’s streaming radio, or both.

Martin Stiksel, Last.fm co-founder, told Distorted Loop: “This is a big day for independent artists. We’re leveling the playing field by offering them the same opportunities as established bands to make money from their music. "

The move is one of several digital initiatives from Last.fm as the company positions itself to clean-up in the music subscriptions market, presumably with an eye toward a mobile streaming play at some future point. Perhaps its highest profile recent move was the introduction of Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ album for free streaming playback through the service. Another recent move saw Last.fm reach a deal with Universal Music under which the label’s entire music video catalogue will be made available for free-on-demand streaming to Last.fm users.

The Universal video content will be ad-supported, in the same manner as Last.fm’s pioneering free-on-demand service which launched in January. Artists, labels and copyright holders receive a share of revenue from the ads displayed next to their content.