Could Apple be taking a few steps backward?
According to an Apple insider, Steve Jobs is currently testing a version of the iPhone with a slide out keyboard, apparently aimed at the corporate world (But when he says the ‘Corporate World’, we all know he means the ‘BlackBerry World’).

“What he is apparently doing is canvassing the idea with operators. And he has taken this beyond just chatting: actual prototypes - not just mockups - have been sent to senior executives at some operators. I’m not allowed to even hint which operators… but I can report that the keyboard has “issues” which are not yet resolved.”

Issues being that Apple is even trying out the keyboard! I think its a stupid idea and wouldn’t expect to see it anytime soon. I don’t think a keyboard will ever be as sexy as a touch screen.

Note from Mr. Mayor:
At the same time, having a physical QWERTY keyboard is the one of the main things BlackBerry users hanker for. Touchscreen aint their ‘cup of tea’. With a fully functional QWERTY keyboard in-tow, could this new device take a bigger chunk of the corporate, Berry-loving market to the Apple side of the fence? Without a doubt this is what Apple has in their sights.

[via The iPhone Blog]

written by Councillor Ben \\ tags: iPhone, iSlider, QWERTY Keyboard, Rumors

Only 11 more sleeps… and to celebrate Apple has posted a guided tour of the new iPhone 3G!

It may only be a short video but it showcases all that’s new in the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 software update. Nothing mentioned or talked about that most of you won’t already know,  but its sure to get you excited and add to the current iPhone 3G frenzy!

Check it out at the Apple iPhone Website

written by Councillor Ben \\ tags: 11th of July, 3G, Apple, iPhone

We are nearing the launch of the new iPhone 3G.  AT&T is gearing up for their July 11th 8:00am launch date, by announcing the prices of the plans needed for the new iPhone 3G.  For those looking to start a new contract or are eligible for an upgrade can grab the iPhone for $199(8GB) or $299(16GB).  While those that want to upgrade the phone but can’t upgrade the contract must pay $399(8GB) and $499(16GB). AT&T has also prepared a video to help you help them.  It highlights what you need to have ready for when you buy the phone, since you need to activate in-store.  Here is a view of the prices of the plans that will be available for your new iPhone purchase.

Here are the individual plans, which do not include text messaging:

And here is the Family Plan, which also does not include text messaging:

And here are the texting options:

We leave you with the video AT&T created to help you make the proccess easier for the both of you.  Enjoy, and start making your plan of what to do while waiting in line for the new iPhone 3G!

AT&T iReady

written by Councillor Wes \\ tags: 3G, Apple, AT&T, iPhone

Yes, Telstra will begin selling the iPhone 3G on July 11, joining both Optus and Vodafone. Telstra is the first of the three to reveal any Australian pricing for the iPhone. While there’s no full details yet, Telstra has given us more information than we’ve seen from anyone else.

On a 24-month contract from $30, the 8G iPhone will be available for an upfront cost of $279, or $399 for the 16GB version. On plans above $80 a month, there’s no upfront charge for the phones. Still $80 a month means that you’ll be paying $2000 over the course of the contract.

Telstra has two obvious starter advantages in the marketplace: the extensive coverage of its Next G network, and the ability to offer free WiFi access in all its hotspots (which include McDonald’s and Starbucks outlets as well as Qantas lounges).

Time will tell how it compares to the other networks pricings…

[via LifeHacker]

written by Councillor Ben \\ tags: 3G, australia, iPhone, Telstra

Bundled with the new iPhone SDK 8 beta release that Apple shipped out to developers the other day was the pre-release of iTunes 7.7. It seems that iTunes 7.7 will be a requirement for the new iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 firmware.

According to the readme file inside the new iTunes Beta, iTunes 7.7 will allow iPhone and iPod touch users to download a free application that can remotely control iTunes on their mac’s. It is said that this will most likely work via a home network wi-fi connection. Reportedly, this free application will be available in the App Store upon the 2.0 firmware release.

Could we see Apple allowing a similar feature through Apple TV soon? Or even Airport Express Capabilities?

written by Councillor Ben \\ tags: Apple, iPhone, itouch, iTunes

Ever want to run Google Earth on your iPhone? That reality might not be very far away. iPhone Earth is a new 3rd party app being worked on by Earthscape. The new app interacts with the iPhone’s accelerometer, which allows you to navigate Google earth by tilting and rotating your iPhone. Unfortunately the app is still in a private beta (you can apply for the private beta here), but it does look wonderful from all I’ve seen.

Now wouldn’t it be nice if the 3G iPhone had a GPS receiver? Can I get a seconder?

For more info, visit Earthscape.

[via BGR]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Accelerometer, Earthscape, Google Earth, iPhone, iPhone Earth

We’re all sitting here waiting for the unveiling of the new 3G iPhone… and while the wait continues, more and more deals are being made over in Europe that are providing some hints as to Apple’s attitude towards service providers. New deals have been made with providers in Italy, Austria and a small group of other countries as well. Looks like Apple is mixing things up, exclusivity is no longer the word of the year.

On Friday, Orange announced it will sell the iPhone in Austria, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, and a few African nations. Good on ‘em.

These multiple supplier deals can only mean one thing. Apple has broken down on their insistence to have exclusive marketing agreements wherever the iPhone is sold. The ‘big iPhone launch’ is still rumored to be in the works, a huge launch including all sorts of counrties around the world… So perhaps Apple is gearing up to get the iPhone into as many hands as possible. More carriers means more plan options and choices… and a little healthy competition amond providers has to be a good thing.

No word yet whether this new attitude will affect AT&T’s 5-year deal with Apple… But note this: AT&T and T-Mobile have begun offering WiFi side-by-side at Starbucks locations. T-Mobile uses a GSM network (a necessity for the iPhone), while Verizon and Sprint run on CDMA. If a carrier is going to break the non-exclusivity stranglehold that AT&T currently has, look for T-Mobile to step into the ring.

All I know is this. Exciting ‘iPhone’ times are upon us. The iPhone is not only scheduled to go 3G in early June, but it will also (probably) launch in numerous countries around the world at the very same time. Also, with this news of non-exclusivity breaking from Europe, look for more carriers to pick up the iPhone, therefore increasing proliferation of the device and lowering monthly plan prices (fingers crossed!).

[via Yahoo! News]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: 3G iPhone, AT&T, iPhone, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon

I’ve tried them all. The BlackBerry, Treo, Blackjack, and iPhone to name a few.

It seems that no matter who you talk to, people either love having a physical keyboard with actual buttons to press, or they love the ‘virtual’ touchscreen keyboard like the one on the iPhone. That’s all well and good, and I respect each and every users’ right to have their own choice and opinion… But I can’t say that I belong in either of those groups… Not to be too big of a ‘grump’ here, but let me tell you why I’m not a big fan of either.

I enjoy the physical touch and tactile feel of a full QUERTY keyboard like those found on the BlackBerry 8800 and 8300 series. But that being said, I do not feel comfortable typing on them one bit. While I do a lot of email, when I’m on the go if I am on the go and receive an urgent message on a BlackBerry, most of the time I’ll simply call the person back. It should be noted that I currently own a BlackBerry 8700, 8800 and 8300 series, and all of these were purchased for me by the company I work for. I’ve also tried out the 8100 (Pearl). Of all these devices I enjoyed typing on the 8300 Curve series the best.

Same deal with the touchscreen keyboard on the iPhone (Yes, I own one of them too, except this one I bought for myself). At first, I honestly didn’t like it at all. In fact I hated it. But as I began to use it, I started to appreciate the way it recognized words and phrases, and after not a long time I was already up to the typing speed I had reached on the BlackBerry. The ability for the controls and keys to change on the fly was also a hit with me.

So why am I not a fan of either? To tell you the truth I can’t exactly pinpoint one exact reason. Perhaps I’m just an all around grouch, or perhaps it’s just very, very uncomfortable for me to clutch onto my device, while pecking away with my thumbs or fingers on a device no wider than the width of my hand. It’s uncomfortable. It’s a social no-no to do it while in the company of friends or family… and often times it is simply a huge distraction, especially when I’m driving around.

Is it just me that feels this way? (Please tell me it isn’t!) Maybe I need to join some sort of self-help group on this one, but I don’t think so. You get what you want out of the devices, and most of the time I choose to use them sparingly when it comes to email and messaging.

So, if you were to ask me, ‘Grump, what do you prefer… typing on a device with physical keys like a BlackBerry or Treo… or typing on the virtual touch keys of devices like the iPhone?’ My honest answer would be I don’t like either. Both do the job equally well (or should I say ‘un-well’) for me. I’m not a fan of either. My hands weren’t meant to scrunch up into that claw position.

If these devices weren’t constantly given to me for work, I’d never use them. Give me the freebie phone from the local carrier and let me be.

Ok, that’s enough of a grumpy rant for today. Now I want to know…What do YOU prefer?

written by The Grump \\ tags: BlackBerry, iPhone, keyboard, QUERTY, SureType, Treo

This morning FlyTunes announced a major upgrade to their service.

The changes are quite major, and effect their own mobile content network that is used via the iPhone and iPod Touch. I’ve used FlyTunes quite a bit from my iPhone, and it’s pretty darn good. These upgrades are sure to make things a heck of a lot better.

Now you can get both audio and video podcasts at flytunes! There’s also a new user interface and a customizable channel guide. Since FlyTunes’ launch back at CES in January, the growth has been tremendous, and these updates are bound to take things to the next level.

The new audio and video channels, user interface and guide editor are available immediately to all FlyTunes users. FlyTunes is available at no charge… You can sign up at http://www.FlyTunes.fm

Read the full press release after the jump!

Continue reading »

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: FlyTunes, iPhone, iPod Touch

The strangest thing happened to me last night. I was out with a few friends having a couple ‘thank god it’s the end of the week’ beers, when I decided to ’show off’ a few of the newer iPhone games I had installed. Being in Canada, a few of my buddy’s actually hadn’t seen an iPhone in person, so it was making its rounds around the table for sure.

I decided to open up ‘Raging Thunder‘, a really good racing game that allows you to steer your race car by tilting the device to your left or right. Overall it’s a pretty darn good game and I thought my buddies would enjoy. So, I opened up the app, but just as soon as I opened it I decided to close ‘er down as I could hear someone else talking to me. That’s when all heck broke loose.

The iPhone crashed, or something along those lines. The screen was still on, plain black, but with a slight glow to it. After about 3 or 4 minutes I could see the round ‘I’m working’ graphic on the screen, but even that wasn’t moving smoothly. Another 5 or so minutes later the iPhone had restarted and everything was back to normal, or so I thought.

A phone call came in. Cool.. Picked up the phone and started talking… the other end could hear me, but I couldn’t hear them! I knew someone was on the other end but I could hear absolutely nothing. Lets restart the phone I thought… this is strange.

Restarted the phone and this time our table set out to test what was going on. Sure enough, any incoming audio would not play out on the devices handset speaker, but all outgoing audio would transmit fine. All volume settings were fine, everything was as it should have been. A few more restarts and a few more tries, and still no dice.

I left the phone as it was for the evening, but upon returning home I set out to fix the problem. ‘Hope this will be easy’ I thought… and it was, thankfully. Docked the iPhone, opened iTunes and restored the unit. I did a fresh install of 1.1.4 and after that was done, restored settings from a recent backup of the phone. From there, I downloaded and ran the latest version of ZiPhone, and I was back in business. Tested out the phone again, and bingo bongo it was working like butter again. Ordeal over.

So what can we learn from this? Be cautious about third party apps…and backup your iPhone often! I’m not going to discourage you from using or installing anything (go for it!) But I think we all have to realize that 3rd party apps can and sometimes do funny things to the iPhone. In my case incoming audio stopped working for some unknown reason, triggered by a 3rd party app crash. Install 3rd party apps at your own risk, and accept the consequences. That’s the best way to look at it.

On the way home last night I had set myself up for the worst, ‘Well, looks like I might have a brick on my hands…’ Thankfully that wasn’t the case.

Anyone else out there experienced similar problems!? Would love to hear your strange and kooky iPhone horror stories!

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone, Raging Thunder, ZiPhone