Lost iPhone

It hurts when  you read the title of this post, doesn't it?  Well, I had to hear it directly from an acquaitance.  To make the story short, it was really his fault for putting himself in that situation.  I won't get into that.

He called me up and asked what I know about lost iPhones.  Well, there were a few cases like this on the Web so we kind of have something to go on.  The guy lives in Taiwan so I'm not sure how the subscriber-provider-Apple relation is like.  To my knowledge, they don't even have an Apple store.

I'll keep you updated on developments.  I've asked him to make sure he did in fact register with Apple or his provider and give them a call and provide them with the IMEI number and serial number.  The hope is that someone will log on with it and they'll be able to track the thief down.

Any tip will be appreciate by the iPhone mobile warrior community at large.

iPod Classic - Just How Classic?

Over the Holidays, I had a $100 coupon for signing up with Audible.com and some leftover credits on Amazon from a while back. So I figure since I'm going to give my jailbroken iPhone away, I'm gonna need a new iDevice.

I was torn between the Classic and the iPod Touch. I ended up with an iPod Touch (8GB - it's a downgrade from the 16GB in my iPhone) because I felt the 2nd generation iPod Touch had a lot of offer expecially with the built-in features - Nike+ and voice recording. And let's not fool ourselves. Apple is prepping for the iPod Touch and the iPhone platform in general for much more than music and games.

Now, 8GB verus 120GB in the Classic. I only considered the Classic because I felt Apple may not continue making it beyond this year. iPod Touch stands at 32GB. We can potentially see a 64GB model in late 2009. Apple might just say "okay, it's got enough storage for 95% of the users and we want to move everyone to the new iPhone/Touch platform".

And it's definitely a possibility considering it's Apple we're talking about. It'll force a wholesale upgrade.

And by then, the Classics, what's left of it, may see its value increase on Amazon or Ebay as a result. Plus, for folks who lamented the fact that Apple didn't increase the storage for the late-2008 Classics, there are now 240GB microdrives that'll fit in these iPods perfectly. Gizmodo has more info for you if you're interested.

Lots an awful lot of music, pictures, and movies. Thirty-six hours of audio and 6 hours (7 hours by some reviewers), it's any audiphile's dreams.

The iPod Touch is awesome but with the Classic's storage and upgradability, it's a music player in its own class. I just hope Apple won't truly turn it into a classic.

Note: You can still get the Apple iPod touch 16 GB or Apple iPod classic 120 GB Black (6th Generation) (Amazon purchased Audible las year). All you need to do is to sign up for Audible for one year and they'll give you a coupon for $100 off an iPod (or other Audible compatible player).

iPhone Game Thoughts: Duck Hunt and Footbal

Macworld reports that Apple pulled Duck Hunt from the app store at Nintendo's request.  Frankly, I'm very surprised by how long it took for Nintendo to make this request.

However, the developer will provide an updated version without infringing on Nintendo's copyright - meaning removing the graphics and music.

Now, sports games.  Today, Macworld wrote an article about football games for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  I thought "wow, how could I have missed those games completely".  I have been complaining about the lack of sports games.

Well, it turned out it's not real football like what we see on the DS or PSP.  No Madden.  Still, it's a great post that I recommend readers head over to read.  Instead of real football, it's finger football or paper football.  Basically, you flick something between a graphical pair of hands set up to look like the goal post to see if you can make the "field goal".

There's a game called "X's And O's" but I hesitate to call it a real football game.

So far, Real Soccer 2009 is the only sports game that is true to being what the specific sport is about.  But for developers out there looking to get into the app store where there isn't a lot of competition, sports games like football, baseball, hockey, and basketball are nonexistent and will millions of iPhone users who are also sports fans, you can probably charge a pretty dollar to get us to purchase and download the games.

Think about it.  We're waiting.

Weekend Updates

Nothing major here but I just want to share my addiction to blogs and updates on all things Apple.

Typically, we get our regular updates.  I'm not going to mention sites I visit here and now because I'll inevitably leave some out and that's unfair.  Suffice to say, I go through a lot of them as I've got them in my Google Reader.

But come weekends, I start to sweat, shake, feeling something's not quite right.  I've provided some posts here but I ended up having a very busy weekend.

On Apple will start writing more weekend posts to carry everyone through until Monday.  Meanwhile, I've updated daily headlines on general mobile issues as well as Apple specific posts that I think you would also be interested in reading about. 

So, visit Mobile Digerati.  I've also started a section on mobile gaming that I know is going to be huge in 2009.

Macbooks (Pro) at UFC

I was at a friend's house last night watching the pay-per-view UFC.  It was my second UFC party.  I had a good time.  Pizza, chicken, drinks (soda, smoothies, Gatorade - I don't drink).  Bunch of guys getting together to have fun.  

It was when I was in the kitchen looking at everyone and I realized how mobile tech has permeated through a lot of our lives.  Laptops (a couple of Macbooks and Macwinds) dotted the living room while smartphones orbited them.  

Folks were connected to my friend's Wi-Fi network surfing the web - Facebook, news, UFC updates.  There were texting, twittering, and emails flying back and forth.  But of course there was the main event.

The UFC fight.  None of that distracted from what we were doing - watching some great fights.  I honestly don't care too much for it.  We could be hang out to watch a couple of DVDs and I would be fine with that.  It was about hanging out.

It was when I was paying attention to a few of the fights that Dave the Warrior (a Mac convert) pointed out to the laptops the UFC folks were using to keep track of God knows what for the sport.

Wow.

Macs.  Specifically, Macbooks.  I saw a couple of the old Black Macbooks.  A white one.  The rest were Macbook Pros.  I'm guess they're the 15" models.  The fights were being ran with Apple's mobile platform!

I'm sitting here watch the Superbowl pregame show now.  Keith Olbermann is on the field, Costas is in the booth and they're making predictions.  Makes me wonder what platform is being used to run the Superbowl.

(Source:  UFC) You can see a lot of Macbooks being used.

Note:  Would it be awesome if Apple surprises us with another Superbowl commercial?  This time the Apple tablet or new MacHybrid!  "Mac:  Why 1984 didn't turn out like 1984".

MacRumors Sighed Potential New iPhone

I love rumors but I don't write about them. Why is why you are wondering why I'm getting this from MacRumors of all places.

Well, MR likes to delight us with rumors but they also provide news as well. And this is more news than rumors.

According to this post, MacRumors has found evidence in the iPhone's firmware (I'm guessing it's the 2.2.1 that was just released). What is it?

Well, it's not like Apple wrote "iPhone 2009" or anything like that. It's the iPhone code designation, "iPhone2,1". It's not a designation Apple simply use to upgrade capacity between models. The original iPhone was "iPhone1,1" and the iPhone 3G is "iPhone1,2".

How does Macrumors know for sure? Well, they point to how Apple labeled the original iPod Touch and the current generation iPod Touch. Well, not iron-clad but very convincing.

Less certain proof is a new iPhone is instored is a developer who has seen it used via logs from an ad company.

But you're saying "dude, we know it's coming. Nothing new year". I know that but there's a couple of reasons why I'm posting about it. Three reasons.

• I'm very excited. If it's in the current firmware, it may mean the new iPhone is closer to release than the June or July time frame that I think a lot of folks believe.
  
• You're going to hear a lot of rumors that may be triggered because of this Macrumors posting. I will enjoy reading them as much as the next iPhone fan. But just keep in mind they're rumors.
• The 3rd generation of iPhone (as opposed to "iPhone 3G") is coming. Months away.

If you need (want) an iPhone now, today, tomorrow, or next month is just as good as any to get the iPhone 3G. There is no need to way. You won't be disappointed with the current iPhone. The soon you get it, the happier you'll be. I picked up the 16GB iPhone three months before Apple released the iPhone 3G. I don't regret it one sec.

But it is late January. Maybe Apple will release the next iPhone early. Maybe not. Personally, I'm in the "maybe not" camp. If Apple follows their late June pattern, you're a good half year away.

Can you really deny yourself the coolness of the iPhone for another whole half year? If you can, you're a better person than I am!

Source: Macrumors

Note: I'll be honest. Whether I upgrade to the next iPhone will largely depend on the battery life. If Apple implements the new battery technology they're using in the 17" Macbook Pro, maybe they can greatly increase the battery life of the next iPhone. I've seen them all and I'm using the G1 right now. The iPhone 3G has a slightly better battery life than the G1 which isn't saying much.

Another note: The iPhone 3G has already been available in the US for 6 months. Everywhere else, it's only been a couple of months. Taiwan got theirs a month ago. I don't think Apple will want to upset folks who just got their iPhones for a couple of months only to see Apple come out with newer models.

Apple Lets Podcaster In - What Changed at Apple?

We've heard the stories about Apple's secrecy and it sort of went insane in the early days of the iPhone SDK with the nondisclosure agreements.  And when Apple finally dropped the NDA, developers were generally happy (users probably were affected much).

Well, you might not have know that an app called Podcaster was rejected and because of the NDA, the developer couldn't well talk about it much.  It was a big story.  You can google for details if you want to learn more about it.

Well, Apple has finally approved Podcaster.  Originally, it was rejected for duplicating a function on the iPhone -  well, eventually, an iPhone update on the iTunes allow iPhone users to wirelessly download podcasts, very much like what Podcaster does.

Macworld is just as baffled by this change of heart at Cupertino as we are.  They believe it's a removal of a feature in the original Podcaster app or that RSS Player, the new name for Podcaster, slipped through without Apple noticing.

I don't think those possibilities are likely.  Apple isn't stupid.  Well, okay, anyone can drop the ball at the gate.  I think it's more likely one of the reasons below or a combination of them all:

• The iPhone platform has matured enough where Apple is comfortable about the app landscape and features that it might include with the iPhone and iPod Touch in the future.  Apple probably wanted to get a feel for the how they want to manage the app store.  At the time, Apple was also dealing with a really bad MobileMe issue.
• Likely anything at Apple, they don't just open the flood gate.  Things tend to trickle out at Apple.  First web apps.  Then iPhone SDK a year later.  Lifting the NDA months after that.  Finally RSS Player.
• Apple has recently allowed competing Web browsers into the app store.  It's conceivable that Apple will let other applications that might duplicate features that already exist on the iPhone be made available.  Personally, I'm looking forward to the Google app include gTalk and gmail.  
• Competition.  Android Market should be out of beta soon.  Pre will offer a great challenge given the number of old Apple folks there - we could be looking at an app store with SDK similar to the iPhone.  RIM will soon make its app store available for the Blackberries and I'm sure Microsoft won't be too far off with their own implementations.  Apple could be looking at the market and realize that they need to be more open than they otherwise would have liked.
• Money.  More paid apps, more revenues for Apple.  
• Learn from the past.  Instead of shutting folks out, Apple might realize it's better to work with developers.  

As someone who relies on his iPhone and Touch more and more, I am very glad at this surprising development.  Whatever the reasons are, iPhone mobile folks have a brighter future to look forward to.  Now, if we can't get an iPod Tablet, then my mobile world will be perfect.

Via Macworld