iOS Devices

Loopt, the location-based social networking application for the iPhone and other smartphones (and iPod touch users), is announcing that they will now be offering a GPS for iPhone (and assuming other phones) through AT&T.  The Always-On Location Service, which won’t run on the iPhone, will constantly update Loopt of your location and will eventually cost $3.99/month (currently 3 month free trial) and be billed by AT&T on your phone bill rather than through iTunes or the App Store.

This is an interesting development for a number of reasons.  Firstly, it bypasses the iPhone entirely.  It doesn’t use GPS, it uses AT&T’s cell location data to triangulate your location (like A-GPS).  With your permission (and $4/month) AT&T is sending your constant whereabouts to Loopt.   The service is also operating through AT&T and their billing system (which is more tedious to navigate) rather than Apple’s iTunes ecosystem.  This is the same tracking information that police would request if you had committed a crime and were being chased. 

We’re a bit leary of this whole system.  While AT&T can already track your location without your say, a service that does this for another business could be another level of privacy concerns.  Also, the $4/month charge is questionable because it is something the iPhone could do on its own.  An extra monthly charge to let an application run in the background seems unfair.

Plus, why does Loopt get to use this service while Google Latitude and other social Networking applications (FourSquare?) are closed out?  An always-on locations service should be an API that any developer should have access to.

From Loopt:

You can sign up for the trial here.

"Seth the Blogger guy" is really Seth Bloom, a Senior Vice President at AT&T’s outsourced public relations group. His title is as genuine as his message.

Everything from the 45 degree head tilt to the silly graphics have the ring of an out of touch PR agency trying to hit the blogger demographic. The intent? To stop the downward spiral of negative publicity surrounding AT&T’s fumbling of the iPhone.  Result?  "Save your PR spend and put it into your network."

Update: Mr. Bloom writes in to clarify his postion:

Wow, yeah.  Tough crowd.

I guess that I’d just ask – if you agree it makes sense – that you let folks know that the “blogger guy” moniker stems from what I do for AT&T – work with tech bloggers around the country.  It’s genuine, not contrived. 

Seth [Bloom]

Two separate iPod case makers today effectively confirmed Apple’s next-gen iPods will carry cameras, reinforcing months of expectation of the same.

UK case manufacturer Proporta has distributed a press release offering cases for the as-yet unannounced iPod nano. The manufacturer hasn’t yet released any images of the new range, presumably being under an NDA of some kind with Apple Inc. – but has confirmed the new models will feature cameras, or at the least it believes they will.

“The new Apple 5G iPod nano looks set to be a typically beautiful new product from the Apple stable, building on the already impressive 4G nano by adding a camera and improving the size of the screen,” the company said, announcing its new range.

The new products include an Aluminium Lined Leather Case and the Ted Baker Leather Case.

Another European manufacturer, Hama, is also showing cases for the next generation of Apple iPods, including for the iPod nano and iPod touch, Engadget reports.

Interestingly, both cases feature holes for the cameras we now know are iPod-bound. Also of interest is the lack of any mention of the iPod classic, which is bound to fuel further speculation that the original iPod may have reached the end of its journey, despite one recent Digitimes report claiming the iPod classic will also gain a camera.

Apple will reveal all on September 9th at a keynote presentation during which the company is also expected to introduce iTunes 9, equipped with extra features. Speculation exists that music from The Beatles will also be made available through the service at the event.

Many also anticipate the introduction of iPhone Software 3.1. While this expectation is based on thin reports, AT&T’s promise to at last provide support for MMS messaging on the device later this month lends a little weight to the notion.

AT&T will not, however, introduce support for tethering, explaining that its networks are not yet sufficiently robust to handle an anticipated increase in data traffic when it does so.

Use of an iPhone to access the Web climbed c.10 per cent in August when compared to the previous month, and its share of total internet traffic has more than doubled since October last year, the latest NetApplications statistics inform.

iPhone’s accounted for 0.33 per cent of Web traffic last month, up from 0.30 per cent the month before and 0.14 per cent in October 2008, the figures reveal.

That’s one-third of the number of machines running Linux currently being used to access the Web; and is a higher figure than use of Java ME and Symbian devices to get online.

Mac operating systems accounted for 4.87 per cent of traffic, up from 3.79 per cent in October last year. Windows held fairly steady at 93 per cent, the figures reveal.

Internet Explorer continues to be the most-used browser, with 66.7 per cent share; it’s followed by Firefox with 22.98 per cent and Safari, which grabbed 4.07 per cent of overall traffic, the fresh NetApps stats claim.

Chrome continues to climb, now capturing 2.84 per cent of use, while Opera is used during 2.04 per cent of online sessions, the researchers said.

With Windows 7 due to go on sale October 22, 2009, NetMarketShare.com is tracking its usage market share at  1.18% with the release candidate made available by Microsoft. Most usage comes at the expense of Windows XP users, who have skipped upgrading to Windows Vista, but are now upgrading to Windows 7.
 

Apple has filed a patent describing an iPod/iPhone-integrated personal fitness system capable of monitoring and recording personal fitness data, and of sharing and comparing different exerciser’s data using the web.

Patent number 20090221404 involves interfacing portable media devices and sports equipment. It seemingly describes a solution that takes the existing Nike Plus system for personal training and adds numerous bells and whistles.

The abstract of the filing, published last night and filed on September 26, 2008, reads: “Circuits, methods, and apparatus that allow sports or other equipment, such as gym or other cardio equipment, to write data to a media player. Examples further provide the uploading of this data to a computer and third-party website. To monitor progress, the third-party website can be used to track workout data over time. The third party-website can also collect data from other users, which is particularly useful for providing a competitive environment. This data can then be graphically displayed in various ways to provide encouragement.”

The system would enable gym and other such equipment to monitor exercise sessions in order to write that data to the media player. It also lets the data be uploaded to a website, where users can monitor progress over time. That feature also enables data to be gathered from multiple users, so fitness freaks can get all competitive while they sweat over their exercise machines.

Describing the background of the application, Apple writes: “Portable media players have become very popular the past few years and their market penetration shows no signs of abating. People use them when walking, driving, and commuting by bus or train. They are also particularly useful as a distraction or source of entertainment when working out. People often bring these to a gym or similar location to use while exercising.

“While exercising, many people like to keep track of their progress. For example, the distance "traveled" while on a treadmill may be recorded and progress over time monitored. This can provide positive feedback when progress is made; it can also provide encouragement to improve when efforts have been somewhat lacking.

“This data is typically recorded using a clipboard and paper or notebook. However, this is somewhat time consuming. Because people often carve a few minutes out of their day to exercise, it is not desirable to lose time keeping track of this data; they may need to quickly return to work or home. Also, since it does not happen automatically, such record keeping can become spotty at times.

“The portable media players that are often found at the gym are capable of carrying data. Unfortunately, there is currently no simple way to transfer workout data to them. That is, there is no easy way to transfer data from equipment in the gym to a portable media player.”

The application then says that a solution to allow sports and other types of equipment to write data to a media player for record-keeping and other purposes is required.

The inventors are Jesse Dorogusker, Scott Krueger, Lawrence Bolton, Emily Schubert, Gregory T. Lydon, Debbie Lambert, Michael Hailey and Donald Ginsburg.

You know that "Auto-Tune" voice – the one popularized by T-Pain?  If not, here’s a refresher:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU&w=600&h=360]

Want your voice sound to sound like that?  Now "there’s an app for that" from Smule called I am T-Pain ($2.99 App Store).  Here’s a video of it in action:

via TUAW

OK, that whole story was so that we could put up that I’m on a boat video.

The 10.6.1 build 10B503 notes were posted today by World of Apple.  Along with the following improvements, the build includes an updated version (MAC 10,0,32,18) of Adobe’s Flash Player which was a few revs behind when released last week.  The build is a significant step up from Snow Leopard GM 10A432 and addresses a variety of issues but is under 72MB in size.  From the seed notes:

The 10.6.1 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes for:

•  compatibility with some Sierra Wireless 3G modems
  
•  an issue that might cause DVD playback to stop unexpectedly
  
•  some printer compatibility drivers not appearing properly in the add printer browser
  
•  an issue that might make it difficult to remove an item from the Dock
  
•  instances where automatic account setup in Mail might not work
  
•  an issue where pressing cmd-opt-t in Mail brings up the special characters menu instead of moving a message
  
•  Motion 4 becoming unresponsive

AT&T’s network, which is crumbling under the pressure of the high iPhone traffic, seems to be the reason why we haven’t seen MMS and tethering.  Should AT&T have noticed about two years ago that iPhone traffic was starting to tax their network?  Should they have waited until now to roll out some upgrades?  That’s what they are claiming as the reasons for holding back MMS and tethering.  

AT&T said today that MMS messaging, which has been a glaring omission on the iPhone 3G and new 3GS, will arrive on Sept. 25. It’s not quite the "late summer" launch that we were told about, is it?

Why the delay? Well, AT&T said earlier that it was because the company was "finalizing internal system upgrades".  They say that tethering will be announced sometime in the future.

Really? We have to wonder why all of the other industrialized world telcos and some of the third world iPhone carriers have had MMS and tethering since launch.

Full Press release:

An Update on iPhone MMS for our Mobility Customers

We know many of our iPhone customers are eager for an update on our rollout schedule for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). We’ve been working for the past several months to prepare our systems and network to ensure the best possible experience with MMS when it launches – and that launch date is: September 25 for iPhone 3G and 3GS customers. MMS will be enabled through a software update on that day.

We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS. The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One. We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end.

We’re riding the leading edge of smartphone growth that’s resulted in an explosion of traffic over the AT&T network. Wireless use on our network has grown an average of 350 percent year-over-year for the past two years, and is projected to continue at a rapid pace in 2009 and beyond. The volume of smartphone data traffic the AT&T network is handling is unmatched in the wireless industry. We want you to know that we’re working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in data demand, new devices and applications for years to come.

We thank you for your business and look forward to keeping you updated on our initiatives.

Sony Walkman outsold the iPod in Japan for the first time in four years, new research claims – but the research is flawed…

Electronics research firm, BCN, made the new claim for Japanese marketshare this morning, saying Sony’s Walkman claimed 43 per cent of local sales of portable music players in the week ending August 30. This compares to Apple’s 42.1 per cent share.

These results are being explained as significant because they represent the first time since January 2005 Sony has beaten Apple in this market, but the figures don’t include iPhone sales, rendering them questionable.

Sony is offering its products at lower prices than those Apple charges, but despite the slight lead, analysts aren’t totally blown away. “Sony has gained customers seeking less expensive products and those seeking high quality by broadening its lineup,” Kazuharu Miura, an analyst with Daiwa Institute of Research told Bloomberg. “But you can’t really say Sony regained its competitiveness against Apple unless it improves its market share in the U.S. and Europe.”

Apple’s music player sales will also have been impacted by expectation of new model iPods later this month. Promise of a product upgrade will inevitably depress sales of the current range. We can’t see Sony’s slight lead maintaining itself once new iPods ship.

Sales of portable music players in Japan fell by 13.5 per cent in August from a year earlier, the report claims.

Meanwhiole, Credit Suisse analyst, Bill Shope, raised his target price on Apple stock from $175 to $200 this morning, predicting strong Mac and iPhone revenues, and positive momentum from next week’s iPod refresh.

Great news for i.TV fans. The highly anticipated i.TV app update is now available at the iTunes App Store. This update (iTunes link) includes a redesign and intuitive UI experience with complete integration control of iTunes and TiVo with more remote features on the way.

The differentiator, though, is push notification services. Schedule a TV episode or movie to watch and you’ll be notified via Push either to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Not bad for a free app.

From the developer:

The top TV and movie guide for the iPhone and iPod touch is now your remote control!

We value your feedback: feedback@i.tv

What’s new

THE APP YOU ALWAYS WANTED!

This is our eighth release of i.TV and we hope that you’ll note the significant investment we have made to respond to your feedback and improve the app. If you have previously reviewed the app and were unhappy, we hope that you’ll take a moment to resubmit your review with a positive rating.

Update: It looks like the ZuneHD Marketing director is leaving MS two weeks before the unveiling.  

As Apple preps itself for its annual September iPod refresh keynote, Microsoft has kissed the Zune goodbye – but the company hasn’t abandoned its pipedreams for the portable media device market entirely.  Instead it is now simplifying its offering around the Zune HD, which goes on sale on September 15 (US only).

The company’s focus on touch is also reflected in its promised Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, which it will make available from October. This integrates touch capacities as Microsoft continues to lag behind Apple in its implementation of new mobile technologies.

“While you can preorder the Zune HD right now from a handful of electronic retailers, your choices are somewhat limited,” reports Paul Thurrot. “In pre-order form, you can only get a black body style by getting the Zune HD 16 GB. And if you preorder the 32 GB version, you can only get it in platinum. But if you wait until September 15, you can choose either color in either capacity, and if you order on Zune Originals, you’ll be able to customize your device further with other colors and etchings.”

Which is exciting news to consumers wanting to get on board the Zune HD train.

As part of its stab at the iPhone, Microsoft has also announced that a range of new mobile phones featuring the latest version of Windows Mobile will hit stores on 6 October. These offer an improved user interface, better browsing capabilities and access to services such as the Windows Marketplace for Mobile and the back-up and the free sync service Microsoft My Phone. Interestingly, despite Microsoft’s development of the Silverlight multimedia standard, the software also supports Adobe Flash Lite.

Adobe Flash Lite was of course derided by Apple CEO Steve Jobs as not being sufficiently tuned for mass market use.

There’s been some interest in eBooks of late, as devices such as Kindle, iPhone, iPod touch and others make electronic book-reading a little more comfortable.

Whether you’re an eBook afficionado, or a book as an item purist, you’ll have read about Amazon’s Kindle book store, now a UK start-up has introduced itself, offering six times the number of titles offered by Amazon in multiple formats for multiple platforms.
 
Coolerbooks.com has moved to partner with Google to launch the world’s biggest online ebookstore – 40 times bigger than Waterstones it aims to offer over two million titles by the end of 2009, with one million titles available right now.
 

Coolerbooks.com is the first ebookstore outside the US to partner with Google to include over 1 million public domain books (close to half a million outside the US) from Google Books in its online library.

Starting today, Coolerbooks.com will feature a Google API with out of copyright works from the Google Books index, accessible for free via the Coolerbooks.com website, and the company’s own ereader.

Company founder and CEO Neil Jones is an eBook evangelist, he believes that by 2015:
 
– A quarter of the UK population will own an eReader
– Every eReader will have the technology to contain as many books as are in the British Library
– eReaders will be a regular part of school and university education

The company offers its own eReader software. Cross-platform this lets users access a plethora of eBook formats, including EPUB, PDF, MP3, FB2, RTF, TXT, HTML, PRC (non DRM), JPG, GIF, BMP.
 

As we reported last week, Vonage submitted its iPhone app to the store to go thru the approval process.  One short week later, they say they are approved.  

Vonage is the second big VoIP company (almost 3 million US subscribers) to have an iPhone and iPod touch application.  Skype, which Ebay sold today to private investors for $2 Billion, was the first.  

There are many other VoIP services on the iPhone but they all have one thing in common:  They are all only allowed to function on Wifi.  Vonage will be no exception.  While it hasn’t shown up in our app store, it is expected to by the end of the week.

TechCrunch’s Sarah Lacy joins Jon Fortt of Fortune and host Scott McGrew talking about if Apple is taking too much control..

Update: The Loop says their sources say noway José to new AppleTVs.

In yet another research note to investors, Gene Munster today said that AppleTVs are going to get updated at September 9th event.  His rationale?  The 40GB version is taking 1-2 weeks for delivery at the Apple Store (160GB version is next day).  He pads this by saying that the AppleTV hasn’t been 2 weeks behind in shipping since he’s been tracking the device.  

He hypothesizes that the 160GB version will stick around and Apple will have a bigger model(s) ready for release next week.  That is pretty light evidence, but on the the other hand, AppleTV is LONG overdue for an update.

AT&T announced today a substantial strengthening of its 3G mobile broadband wireless network where it has deployed spectrum in the 850 MHz band across large portions of metro New York City, Long Island and New Jersey.  That should mean that New York iPhone users like myself should be able to make calls without getting dropped every few minutes and shouldn’t have trouble getting data in the largest city in the US.  They’ve also added additional bandwidth pipes to those 3G towers as promised in an announcement in June. 

The 850MHz band is especially effective inside and around buildings, something New York has plenty of.   Are any of you New Yorkers getting more love from your iPhones as of today?

More from Ma Bell:

“AT&T’s ongoing investment to build broadband networks helps to create jobs, fuel economic growth and enable our customers to quickly access the content that matters most to them,” said Jay Summerson, vice president New York, AT&T external affairs. “Our customers have embraced smartphones and upgrades like the additional 3G spectrum deployment allow them to enjoy the benefits of these devices and mobile broadband for years to come.

The 850 MHz spectrum was deployed for 3G use at more than 1,600 cell sites in metro New York, Long Island and New Jersey. It is considered a high-quality spectrum, which generally results in better in-building coverage. While specific benefits of the additional 3G spectrum will vary by location, AT&T 3G customers should see improved quality and coverage throughout New York City, Long Island and New Jersey where 850 MHz spectrum has been deployed. AT&T technicians nationwide responsible for monitoring network performance for service quality and coverage have seen significant increases in total 3G data traffic in areas where the 850MHz spectrum has been deployed.

“Where we deployed the additional 850 MHz spectrum, we saw an immediate increase in wireless data activity across the AT&T 3G network in those areas,” said Tom DeVito, vice president and general manager for AT&T in New York and New Jersey. “The additional spectrum helps to enhance the 3G network so that our customers have the best experience when they make a call, check an e-mail or surf the Internet on their AT&T device.”

This deployment is one part of AT&T’s ongoing initiatives to enhance the speed and performance of its network. Recently, AT&T announced plans to further upgrade its 3G network nationwide with HSPA 7.2 technology to deliver considerably faster mobile broadband speeds. The upgrades are planned to begin in the fourth quarter, with completion expected in 2011. Additionally, AT&T is continually optimizing and adding cell sites in New York, New Jersey and across the country to maximize performance for customers. AT&T is planning to add nearly 1,900 cell sites nationwide this year, and we’re adding new backhaul connections across the country to support the increasing volumes of mobile data traffic.

AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most open and widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T offers 3G data roaming in more than 100 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 215 countries.

Across the U.S., AT&T’s 3G network is available in more than 350 major metropolitan areas. For more information about AT&T’s 3G coverage in metro NY or anywhere in the United States, consumers can go to http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/. The online tool can measure the quality of coverage based on a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

The winner of a recent Startup Weekend on Microsoft’s campus didn’t build anything for Windows, no, but software for an iPhone, Engadget informs.

Microsoft hosted a gathering of developers on its campus recently, offering developers access to its own development tools. The only snag was the winning app was designed for an iPhone. Learn That Name, a name recognition memory game, was voted best app in show.

>

Do you remember the days when Microsoft’s Zune team had an iPod amnesty bin in their entrance hall, in an attempt to convince company staff to dump their Apple product in favor of Zune?

Perhaps Microsoft is starting to acknowledge the ubiquity of Apple’s mobile platform.

AT&T has hinted a new version of the iPhone OS will ship later this month, iPhone Software 3.1.

The new software is likely to deliver on some of the promises made to AT&T users when iPhone 3.0 shipped, specifically MMS messaging (at last) and the capacity to engage in Bluetooth file transfers.

iPhone 3.1 will also likely offer support for any of those features we’ve been hearing so much rumour and speculation about, such as social networking of iTunes songs played, potentially a subscription-based streaming music service and more.

We also predict the software update will be made available for iPod touch users (yes, that’s pure speculation, but let’s face it, it’s the least likely unlikely you’ve ever seen this side of a specious double-negative).

Whatever the content of the new patch, we’re pretty certain we’re going to know by the middle of next week on September 9, when Apple opens the curtains and informs the public and the industry of just how it’s going to improve its iPod products to maintain another year or two of market leadership. (Hint: It’s not just cameras, it’s what you can do with them that matters…).

Also of interest to industry watchers is if we’re going to find out what those recently noticed ‘iProd0,1’ and ‘iProd1.1’ products are going to be – 6-inch giant iPod touch maybe? Or just a casual slice of rumour-mongering?

Wait and see. It’s open season on speculation once again. Enjoy.

Apple may soon be offering the iPhone to a bigger population than that of the US and the UK combined, as the company continues to engage in talks with China’s biggest mobile telco, China Mobile.

As we quietly confirmed last week, the recently-hatched China Unicom deal is a non-exclusive one, and while that deal alone may make for up to five million iPhone sales in China (up to one-in-five of all iPhones sold next year), but Apple’s management continues to negotiate for a bigger prize in getting hitched with China Mobile.

With 460 million subscribers, China Mobile offers the iPhone access to a market that’s bigger than the US and UK populations combined. And that’s got to be good for a few million more sales, once the deal’s inked.

No saying the deal will ever appear, of course, as talks between Apple and China Mobile have “reached no conclusion yet”, reports IDG News Service. And discussions began two years ago, that report confirms.

At issue, China Mobile seems to want to offer its own App Store in preference to Apple’s, and has also implemented a non-standard form of 3G, which the iPhone isn’t equipped for.

Meanwhile China Unicom will begin offering the must-have smarter smartphone from the fourth quarter.

Normally we like our news short and succinct.  But there are always exceptions, especially when it comes to information about  the Operating System we are going to use for the next few years.

John Siracusa isn’t at a loss for words about Snow Leopard.  In fact, he fills 23 oversized web pages full of information on the new Apple Operating System.  That might be more pages of information than even Apple includes with the OS.  That being said, the review is great (OK we’re not even done yet, but it isn’t easy to get through in one sitting).  Read what some consider the definitive review here.

Also this morning, Gizmodo points us to a post on why Apple dropped ZFS from Snow Leopard.  Former Sun employee and storage guru, Robin Harris, postulates that there were licensing issues that prevented Apple from going full bore with ZFS.  While he originally thought there were technology issues keeping ZFS out of Snow Leopard, he now believes that the issue involved the GPL vs CDDL licensing scheme that Sun wanted to use.

The issues revolve around the issue of patent indemnification claims and whether Apple would be vulnerable to claims such as the one NetApp is currently pursuing against Sun.

He believes that Oracle’s takeover of Sun should alleviate those issues in the long run and that ZFS on Snow Leopard is far from dead.  Apple still lists ZFS as one of the Open Source technologies it uses.

As a refresher, ZFS brings many exciting technologies to storage:

• Manage storage, not disks. You can put all your disks in a pool and specify the redundancy level. ZFS takes care of the rest.
• No more silent data corruption.Wonky things can happen to your data to and from a disk. ZFS checksums every file before it is written and stores the checksum on the parent. When the file is read, the checksum tells the filesystem if that is the block it wrote.
• Easy snapshots. Ever wish you could roll back to a known good state? Snapshots make that easy and ZFS makes snapshots easy.
• High performance software RAID built-in. Worried about protecting your data. ZFS provides strong RAID capabilities without adding hardware.
• Transparent compression on the fly. Save capacity by compressing old and/or large files automagically.

It may not be a Beatles line or a Hendrix line (it’s a Stones line) but the September 9th event is now official.  Apple sent invites out to the tech journalist community today. The event will again be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10AM PST.

UPDATE: In keeping with previous years, Apple this morning confirmed there will be a simultaneous European press/industry briefing held in London on the same date, with the keynote presentation streamed via satellite to attendees at the invite-only event.

Remember, 9to5mac will have live coverage (video again hopefully) so come join us for the festivities.  Photo iPods for everyone!  

via Giz