Just in case Apple was unsure of what to add to any iPhone updatesâ€â€software or otherwiseâ€â€that it might be about to release at a certain San Francisco-based trade show, we’ve got a handy checklist for them. Specifically, Dan Moren went through the feature wish list we painstakingly compiled last summer and marked off what Apple has added since then and what’s still missing. The result? A revised wish list just in time for any last-minute Expo-fueled speculation.
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Written by Philip Michaels on January 9th, 2008 with no comments.
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Dan Moren, who normally leads the posting charge round these parts, is patrolling the spacious confines of the Consumer Electronics Show, keeping an eye out for any interesting iPhone developments and accessories. Judging by the news coming out of Las Vegas, it seems like phone-related announcements in general are few and far between — an accessory here or there and maybe an interesting bit of software. But nothing that’s altered the smartphone landscape, certain — and that’s not too surprising, really, considering that the main event in the mobile phone industry, the Mobile World Congress, kicks off a month from now in Barcelona. And you would also figure that most iPhone news would occur at Macworld Expo next week — if it occurs at all, that is.
But there is one bit of iPhone-related discussion from CES that I thought I’d pass on. During a panel session on mobile gaming, one analyst suggested that the iPhone hasn’t been very good in the short term. As Nancy Gohring of IDG News Service reported:
Apple’s iPhone is a capable phone that holds promise for the future of gaming, said Travis Boatman, vice president of worldwide studios for Electronic Arts’ mobile division, speaking during a panel session at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “But it’s a replacement for someone who had a Razr before. They still want their content but there’s no distribution platform in place so there’s a negative impact on the industry,†he said.
Because Apple so far hasn’t allowed iPhone users to download just anything, iPhone users may be giving up games that they played on a phone they previously owned, he said. “These devices are capable and powerful,†he said. “They’ll be great in the long term but it will take some time as people adapt to devices.â€Â
The article goes on to talk about problems with mobile gaming in general, and as I read it I couldn’t help but think to Mac gaming guru Peter Cohen’s review of the iPod version of Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s a nice-looking game, according to Peter, but through no fault of either Sega of America or Apple, it’s just not the sort of thing that’s suited to the iPod’s interface. The take-away, for me anyhow: Some games just aren’t appropriate for some mobile devices.
Which brings us back to the iPhone. I know there’s been some work done developing game emulators for the iPhone, and the conventional wisdom is that next month’s SDK release will usher in a new era of iPhone-compatible software development, games included. But I can’t help but wonder if games is a genre that will really ever take on the iPhone, beyond a puzzle game or two, the odd poker offering, and maybe an impressive casual game. The phone’s interface, the fact that I don’t see users warming to something that might require them to tap feverishly on the screen, Apple’s general ambivalence to gaming — it suggests to me that there are other third-party opportunities for the iPhone that are more likely to thrive than games.
But now’s the chance for you to tell me how wrong I am.
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Written by Philip Michaels on January 8th, 2008 with no comments.
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iPhone Central’s Big Cheese, Dan Moren, recently reported on leaks of a purported 1.1.3 iPhone firmware update. These leaks are based on pictures and video showing off some alleged upcoming iPhone features. Personally, the evidence look kosher to me but if you want to doubt, be my guest.
I’m offering this lackadaisical invitation largely because I’d like to address this broader issue: Regardless of what the next iPhone update offers, is it worth your while to update? Let’s look at the pros and cons:
PROS:
• Without the update it’s possible that you won’t be able to use whatever Apple-authorized applications are made available as the result of Apple releasing an iPhone SDK in February.
• Some of the alleged features look very cool. Under the listing of “supposedly,” you’ll be able to move icons around on the Home screen, add Safari bookmarks as icons on the Home screen, have more than one page on the Home screen, send SMS messages to multiple recipients, drag a pin to any location you like in the Maps application, access a hybrid map and satellite view in Maps, and kinda/sorta pinpoint your iPhone’s location in the Maps application through cell tower triangulation.
CONS:
• If you’ve unlocked your iPhone to use with another carrier there’s the possibility that applying the update will kill your phone.
• If you’ve jailbroken your iPhone to use with third-party applications, there’s a very good chance that those third-party applications will disappear when you apply the update. Getting those third-party applications on your iPhone is possible thanks to a couple of security exploits that Apple is sure to close with the next update. A lot of very smart people will invest a lot of time trying to find a way to jailbreak an iPhone running the 1.1.3 firmware so that those third-party applications can be used, but no one knows how long it will take or, ultimately, if it will even be possible.
I’ve made no secret of my love for third-party applications running on my iPhone. And because I do love it to its jailbroken core (and find that I already have many of the alleged features mentioned as part of this similarly alleged update) I’m going to be in no rush to update my phone. You, of course, may feel differently.
Regardless of which side you come down on, history has taught us that it’s prudent to let others update their stuff before you do. Having a measure of patience allows you to learn from others’ mistakes and, if you choose to, avoid making them yourself.
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Written by Christopher Breen on January 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
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He’s probably too modest to mention it himself — or else he doesn’t know that I’ve published it — but Dan Moren, who produces most of the content ’round these here parts, has written a year-in-review article about the iPhone over at the Mothership. (Dan also looks at the year’s developments on the iPod front in the article as well, but seriously — who owns one of those? I mean, how many of those things has Apple sold? 100 million-plus, you say? I’ll be quiet then.)
Dan’s article recaps all the 2007 highlights for the iPhone (you know — like, its launch). Looking back over his list, it’s striking how many of the things that caused such a furor at the time — bricked iPhones! that $200 price cut! — have, with the passage of time, acquired the musty whiff of nostalgia.
It also makes me wonder what iPhone-themed development from 2008 will strike us as the most important thing ever, only to acquire a “wait, that happened this year?” feel by this time next year.
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Written by Philip Michaels on December 27th, 2007 with no comments.
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You’ve had your iPhone for about six months now, but what have you really done with it? Checking your mail, surfing the web, listening to your music, and watching videos is all well and good, but what about using it for something productive—like a marriage proposal?
iPhone user Claude M. spent a few hours producing a version of an iPhone ad with his own special touch—at the end, he asks his girlfriend, Doris, to marry him. Aww, so sweet. And it probably didn’t even require jailbreaking the phone. Of course, now that it’s been done, someone will inevitably figure out a way to top it, right? Check the full video below. We hope she said yes, especially after all that effort (points for not trying to hide it in a bread basket or something—disaster always follows that).
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Written by Dan Moren on December 27th, 2007 with no comments.
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