3G cellular technology has been widely expected for the next iPhone revision, but that's not all. Sources indicate that Apple will buy Iridium Satellite and incorporate the satellite phone technology into the iPhone, making it work anywhere on the planet.
An undocumented change discovered in the beta iPhone 2.0 firmware may indicate that Apple plans to turn the iPhone and iPod touch into portable backup destinations for Time Machine. Could this presage versions of these devices with dramatically more storage?
Starting with new contracts as of 25-May-08, the $175 early-termination penalty that AT&T charges will turn into more of a prorated fee that's reduced by $5 per month.
You may not be able to buy an iPhone legally throughout much of the world yet, but that's not stopping people in all sorts of countries.
Tune into this two-part MacNotables podcast to hear more about the iPhone SDK announcement, including the business model, the positive initial response from developers, the enterprise aspects of the announcement, and more.
iPhone owners can get an unlimited voice usage plan, although that plan wasn't posted on Apple's site for over two weeks after AT&T's announcement of such services.
At a special event in Cupertino, Apple talked about what users can expect to see in iPhone 2.0, and officially announced the release of the iPhone software development kit. The iPhone 2.0 software is scheduled for release in June 2008, a year after the original iPhone shipped. However, a beta of 2.0 is available immediately for selected developers and enterprise customers; it includes support for the iPhone SDK along with new enterprise features.
Steve Jobs dismissed the Kindle by claiming that people don't read anymore, but that's just wrong (case in point, you're reading this now). Could Steve be aiming to soften up the market in advance of a tablet-sized iPod tweaked for reading? Adam makes the case for why we're reading more than ever and why Apple is the company to bring us the device that will finally fulfill the promise of the ebook reader.
The latest version of the operating system for the iPhone and iPod touch fixes some bugs and may lay some groundwork for the upcoming SDK.
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless shave off the top of their profit margins by offering $100 per month unlimited cellular calling plans, with various included and add-on unlimited text messaging and phone-based Internet and email access. Verizon led the movement, with AT&T and T-Mobile joining later in the day. Sprint Nextel is still lost at sea.
The 1 GB iPod shuffle just dropped $30, and Apple will be releasing a 2 GB model later this month. What's to quibble about? Is the iPod shuffle really "impossibly small?" Nah...
Apple says that iTunes movie rentals expire after 24 hours, but is that really true? Mark Boszko investigates, and find out that you're not necessarily out of luck if you can't finish in that 24-hour window.
Starbucks is likely a launch partner for the 3G iPhone, based on yesterday's deal to bring in AT&T as their in-store Wi-Fi provider. The tea leaves - excuse me, coffee grounds - aren't hard to read.
AT&T announces network upgrades, which gives us more confidence about the near-term arrival of a 3G iPhone that can make use of a bigger, faster network.
Responding to customer and media complaints, O2 has added minutes and text messages to its UK iPhone plans in some cases and reduced the overall cost in others.