iOS Devices

Keynote take too long to watch? Try this shortened version…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGY28Qbj76A&hl=en]

The resale value of Apple’s first-generation iPhone looks set to shoot higher as the company engages in a new strategy to defeat iPhone unlockers.

It’s a pretty simple strategy, authorisation of new devices will now take place in-store in both the US and the UK. Essentially, when you purchase an iPhone you’ll be asked to sign an contract on the spot, or you won’t be able to buy the device. This means you’re tied into a contract, or you’re paying AT&T or O2 and Apple a monthly fee in addition to the purchase price in exchange for owning an iPhone 3G.

As the all-new model hasn’t hit the streets yet (it launches July 11) we also don’t yet know what hardware locks may have been put into place to secure the new model against being jailbroken, which suggests the original iPhone may become a collector’s item, and seems likely to command high prices once the initial rush of second-hand sales have passed. We anticipate many of the older iPhones will migrate to Russia, where no launch plan has yet been announced.

Oh to be in London today.  The sun is shining, the weather is nice (!!) – at least for the moment – and O2 is giving iPhones away for free* with certain plans.  Business plans included.   I am ordering the whole office iPhones!!  From O2:

iPhone is now free on selected Pay Monthly tariffs*
There’s only one thing better than an iPhone. The new 3G iPhone.
*Best of all, the new 8GB iPhone won’t cost you a penny on our £45 and £75 tariffs. And it’s just £99 on our £35 tariff and new £30 tariff.
All tariffs include unlimited browsing on your iPhone, unlimited Wi-Fi access, visual voicemail and reduced roaming rates with our International Traveller Service and are subject to a minimum term contract of 18 months.

As far as we can tell, no other carrier has dropped the free bomb yet.  Come on Telefonica!  Our Madrid office needs new iPhones!

Welcome to the cut out and keep guide to first glance reactions to the iPhone, with analysts raising estimates and saying Apple looks good to hit its ten million sales target, and citing the potential effect of the disruptive technology on the smartphone market.

Ralph de la Vega, President & Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility said: "This device is a true game changer. Why? The immediacy of the data at your fingertips is huge. Imagine, looking up anything, anywhere. It (3G iPhone) allows you to leave your computer at home. It totally and completely mobilizes your data. Before this device you weren’t really un-tethered, but with this you are. I think people have tried to build a $100 laptop, and here is a $200 phone that can do all that over 3G. It will have a big impact, and will be ubiquitous."

AT&T has revealed iPhone subsidies will cut its earnings per share by 10 cents to 12 cents in 2008 and 2009 with Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner said the move will put pressure on AT&T’s forecast for double-digit earnings growth this year.

Under the new pact, AT&T will not give Apple part of its monthly service fees, unlike their first iPhone agreement.

"I think that in this type of market asking shareholders to deal with more dilution for the sake of iPhone is a lot," said Crowell, Weedon & Co analyst Douglas Christopher, who has a buy rating on AT&T shares.

Gartner analyst Kenneth Dulaney said the plan to stop paying a portion of revenue to Apple made the hit to earnings all the more surprising. "This says that the product is so hot the carriers have lost all their power to negotiate," he said.

Jupiter Research analyst is excited about MobileMe, saying: "One of the pieces that’s been missing at least from Apple’s portfolio has been a strong social networking play. It’s fantastic to have the sync features across all of my devices. We know consumers want to buy content once, create playlists once, pay for access once, etc. and then be able to access from any device. Apple sets a high bar here that has been challenging to replicate at least with media. (Their "nod" to MS on "Outlook for the rest of us" acknowledges that)"

Ian Fogg, also of Jupiter Research, notes: "Worldwide availability on the same date, just a month from now. This takes some doing. Congrats to Apple for understanding that launching in just the US isn’t the way to win hearts, minds and wallets elsewhere."

Charles Dunstone, CEO, The Carphone Warehouse Plc, said:, "The  iPhone 3G is a massive step forward for mobile internet. The iPhone continues to lead the pack and now customers will have fast, simple access to true internet on the move. It’s rare for a mobile phone to cause global excitement but iPhone sets the standard for others to follow. I’m delighted that we’ll be offering the new iPhone 3G for free on a contract. We’re expecting a huge demand when it goes on sale across our 800 stores on 11 July and there are some great upgrade offers for those that have previously bought an iPhone on the O2 network"

Lehman Brothers this morning raised its price target on Apple to $234 from $202 and cut AT&T’s target to $49 from $54, citing Apple’s announcement of the 3G iPhone at a discounted price tag. "We believe existing revenue sharing arrangement (with Apple) costs AT&T $100 during the life of an iPhone customer", said Lehman Brothers analyst Thomas Seitz. Citigroup also raised its price target on Apple to $287 from $248.

Charles Golvin, a principal analyst with Forrester Research, agreed. "Apple needed 3G, they needed a more attractive price, to make its goal," he said, adding that the prospects of reaching the 10-million mark this year are "pretty much a certainty."

"Apple is competing in more markets at lower price points (again subject to price plans). Therefore, we feel that this time the potential for disruption is greater than before," observed Steven Hartley, senior analyst for London-based Ovum.

Shares tell the news:

HTC, down 57 points at NT$765

RIM. up $2.71 after falling to $132.41 on late trades last night.

Palm, down 28-cents to $6.79 per share

Nokia, fell last night, now at $26.61

Enterprise users for the iPhone seem pretty pleased. You have to admit, it is quite impressive. The Army dude is hardcore about getting shot at and destroying missing iPhones. Guess it goes with the territory.

 Here, for your delectation and delight, we’d like to present you with Apple’s latest TV ad spot for the iPhone 3G…."It’s finally here, the first phone to beat the iPhone…

Apple will not receive follow-on revenue from most of its new telecom partners according to SEC filing Form 8-K for APPLE IN. This is a very interesting development for several reasons.  It means that Apple is stuck in their original agreements with AT&T, O2, Orange, Tmobile, etc.  It also means that the old model wasn’t optimal for Apple and it is going for a new model where it is no longer taking a cut of monthly revenues.

The new carriers will be doing the writeoff themselves for the new countries.  How this will affect Apple’s sales model is unclear.  Will they sell them in the Apple stores for the $199 price?  Will they still be Jailbreakable and/or downgradable?

So many questions… From the SEC Filing:

Item 8.01. Other Events

Apple Inc. ("Apple") Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced today at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference that Apple has sold over 6 million iPhones to date, including over 700,000 in the current June quarter. Mr. Jobs also announced that the new iPhone 3G will be available initially in 22 countries, and that the iPhone 2.0 software will be available to all iPhone customers, both beginning on July 11, 2008.

Apple has signed multi-year agreements with carriers authorizing them to distribute and provide network services for iPhones in over 70 countries. These agreements are generally not exclusive with a specific carrier, except in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and certain other countries. Under the vast majority of these agreements, Apple will not receive follow-on revenue generating payments from carriers for the new iPhone 3G beyond the purchase of the device by carriers or a commission on sales of the device by Apple. Apple will continue to receive payments from cellular network providers related to first-generation iPhones as long as they remain active on authorized networks.

Apple assumes no obligation to update any of the statements in this Form 8-K regarding the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 software.

The Guardian today is running a piece on five ways the new 3G iPhone could change the music distribution industry.

1. Unlimited Music downloads on the mobile itunes Library?  Maybe not now but soon.
2. iTunes is currently in 22 countries.  The iPhone will be in many more.  Expect Apple to close the gap with many more international iTunes music store releases
3. The experience of having a mobile device that can also purchase music in a smooth package is something new and revolutionary.
4. Subscription model – not just for unlimited tracks – but also a possible model based on "by musician" type model.  Imagine Music meets podcast.  Paid subscription.  New music as the band produces it.
5. It doesn’t stop there.  With all of the tools avaialble on the iPhone, you can also mix and record music…or add to your favorites.  It truly is a new paradigm – in your pocket.

It is starting to get slightly sad.  Microsoft is releasing emails to developers asking them not to jump ship.  Blackberry and now Samsung are releasing iPhone clones.  Samsung’s looks "bricky" with the type of screen you’d be happy with in 2006.

Oh, and this bad boy runs Windows Mobile 6.  Sure, you can install Opera Mini and have an "OK" browsing experience.  However, you are still stuck with the clunkieness of the WM6 interface and instability of the overall OS.

According to photographs released with a statement from Samsung, the Omnia resembles the original iPhone in its dark, shiny finish, curved edges and slim form.

The phone will be unveiled at the CommunicAsia trade fair in Singapore starting June 17 and go on sale in southeast Asia that week. It will be available in Europe in July.

All of this reminds us of when the Coyote pulls out the umbrella to shield himself from the fast approaching boulder.

BGR (not to be confused with PBR) got the latest Blackberry leak on their iPhone kil..competitor.  Interesting timing.

It looks pretty similar to iPhone version 1 overall in form factor.  It has lots of buttons (see right) but most importantly, it runs the Blackberry software that millions of businesses have doing their enterprise email.  Us IT people aren’t known to like switching platforms very often so no matter how good or bad it is, it will get adopted in a lot of businesses.

If you’ve used an iPhone and a Blackberry, you know there is a world of difference in the details.  Web browsing for instance.

Here’s a typical scenario: A small business director asks his IT guy "why can’t we have an iPhone" (he just spent $20,000 on BBY infrastructure/clients and training).  IT Director: "Here!  Have a blackberry thunder, it is pretty much the same thing!"

Sorry to Mr. Small Business Director….

Speaking of drinks (PBR), does anyone else think the "blackberry thunder" sounds like a bad drink?  Maybe 2 parts blackberry schnapps and 1 shot of Rumpleminze?  OK, obviously the weekend is hitting.  Back to work!

Apple’s latest round of job postings includes a Input Device Firmware Engineer who is responsible for the iPhone’s Multi-Touch firmware.  One of the prerequisites?

Familiarity with video camera, displays, or input technologies.

Obviously, if they are recruiting now for this position, the next iPhone doesn’t necessarily carry this functionality.  However, recent rumors have pointed to such functionality.  In fact, low quality video recording is currently available on generation 1 hardware through jailbroken Apps so it isn’t a huge stretch.

Videoconferencing on iChat has never worked perfectly for us….especially over Jabber and to AOL users on Windows.  According to Crunchgear all that can now change.  They found a little blurb in some "leaked" photos (which frankly look about as real as any we’ve seen – but are probably not real):

Video just became a little more fun. Start a real time video chat with other AT&T subscribers via 3G networking, or with iChat buddies via WiFi. The video calling revolution has begun.

Now available on iPhone and – Windows!

Steve Jobs announced that AOL IM would be available in iPhone 2 at the SDK preview earlier this year.  Video on the iPhone and iChat on Windows however is a bit surprising. 

The video capabilities coincide with earlier reports that the 3G iphone will indeed have video capture capability – which would be nice.

Seriously.  If real, this makes sense.  Go Apple!

Apple’s next-gen iPhone is going to light a fire under the mobile TV market, with the potential to become the de facto standard for mobile TV among consumers.  We know Sling will make an appearance at some point….but that isn’t all.

"The iPhone could become the mobile video delivery device of choice for many consumers, by providing a compelling mobile TV and video proposition before mobile broadcasting networks, such as DVB-H become widely available", said Analysys Mason analyst, Mark Heath, in a report titled, "iPhone Shows the Way for Mobile TV".

The analyst notes that while many operators already offer mobile TV using their 3G networks, such services suffer poor quality and coverage problems. That’s partially because 3G only supports "relatively low penetrations of mobile TV users," the analyst said.

But research reveals iPhone users are already accessing television and video content more widely than users of other mobiles – suggesting the future addition of 3G support in the device will kick-start mobile TV consumption.

The iPhone’s high-quality widescreen, low battery consumption and substantial memory will make the device perfect for such uses; while the iTunes Store is already expanding the reach of TV shows to mobile devices. 

Chief advantage for Apple is the future iPhone’s ability to support multiple methods of delivering TV and video content, including sideloading (ie. iTunes), WiFi and 3G, minimising the amount of TV and video traffic that needs to be carried on 3G networks.

"If the iPhone is able to achieve significant worldwide market share, it will be well-positioned to have a significant impact on the way mobile subscribers purchase and watch mobile TV and video content," added report co-author, Dr. Alastair Brydon.

Strangeley, everything else in the picture is not stretched.  And that speaker looks like it wouldn’t be stretched….what do you think?

New Photos emerging from Moscone reveal a new branding strategy for Apple’s OSX.  Take a gander:

Some things to note: Is that MacBook Air is using a 16:9 14 inch display we mentioned earlier? To the right you see the little accelerometer icon.  And what is that iPod Touch orange icon?  Is that the new iPhone?

It has arrived. The limited-edition (500-only) Joy Division Zune, carrying artwork derived from Factory Records design guru, Peter Saville’s, Unknown Pleasures.

It goes on sale when the Joy Division documentary ships on June 17, with all 500 units shipping pre-loaded with the film.

Is this a fitting epitaph to iconic Joy Division singer, Ian Curtis? Is it the sign of Microsoft’s New Order in the music player space, or is it an Unknown Pleasure because no one cares about Zune?

In the spirit of American Idol, you get to decide. Say your piece in the comments below…

Thanks to Pitchfork.

It’s crystal clear now that Apple is going to be in Spain this year.  On again,  off again news that Spain’s Telefonica Movistar unit will be offering the iPhone in Spain – went official today.

Telefonica this morning confirmed it will begin selling the iPhone in Spain this year. The company owns UK network, O2, which sells the device in Ireland and the UK.

At the end of March, Telefonica had 23 million users in Spain, where it is the leading mobile phone firm. 

Also in Europe, it recently emerged Apple  will offer the iPhone in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia through TeliaSonera AB. It is in talks with Royal KPN NV to distribute iPhone in the Netherlands.

Same story, different Carrier/Country.  Softbank announces that they will carry the 3G iPhone on their UMTS 3G Network later this year…

"?????????????????????????????????iPhone??????????????????????????????????????"

Since they don’t mention exclusivity, NTT Docomo, KDDI and the rest still have a shot – so don’t go dropping your current provider just yet!

 We thought while you were waiting you may enjoy this video of Japanese researchers playing a game they apparently built in an hour, Multiplayer Pong.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LdpmxHE7VU&hl=en]

Thanks to TUAW for the heads-up.

 Impatient Mac users in the UK have been complaining that while the BBC streams shows to their platform using iPlayer, it doesn’t yet allow them to download shows for offline viewing, a feature Windows users already enjoy.

Things have changed.

Developer wizard_drongo has released an application called iPlayer Downloader which enables Mac users to download shows from iPlayer in the QuickTime format. It’s not a legal tool, as the software also eradicates and DRM on iPlayer shows, meaning episodes can be transferred to other devices, encoded into different media, and watched beyond the BBC’s permitted window for using such content.

It’s highly probable the BBC will move fast to undermine the hack used in the software in order to protect its service and its content suppliers, but meanwhile Mac users with a penchant for Doctor Who can build their unofficial collection of digital recordings.

The move is likely to increase the pressure on the BBC to enable show downloads for Mac users, the company has promised to make such features available later this year. This will only allow Mac users to watch content for a defined period, after which downloaded files will cease to work.