The Wall Street Journal just reported that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is on his way to returning from his six month medical leave of absence later this month. According to the report, certain Apple executives were receiving weekly updates on his health from his physician, and now he is on his way to recovery. They also say he'll be bringing a new iPhone with him.

Remember that brouhaha over the Palm Pre syncing with iTunes? (Check out PreCentral.net’s massive Palm Pre review for more on it from a functional perspective.)

Well, DVD Jon’s nanocr.eu site (via Engadget Mobile) says he’s confirmed that:

the way [Palm Pre] hooks to iTunes is very shady indeed. Turns out that the Pre identifies itself as an iPod when it’s in Media Sync mode, but only on the system’s mass storage interface; the root USB node still comes through as a Palm Pre.

This leads them to believe it might be something Apple could more easily block, if Apple so chooses to. We’ve already gone over the reasons why we think Palm’s decision to sync directly with iTunes (as opposed to with the iTunes library XML file like RIM and Nokia do) is ballsy but ultimately bad for Apple (since they’ll get blamed for problems by consumers who don’t understand the hacky nature and limitations), Palm (since they will have to work at maintaining unlicensed compatibility), but most importantly consumers (because the experience is flawed and unreliable).

Here’s hoping Palm finishes their strut around the launch-day press lines and the next update contains something closer akin to a non-shady, yet still iTunes and user friendly solution for everyone…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Palm Pre Hack: Pretends to be iPod to Interface, not Node

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Bad Apple, iPhone, iPod touch

Yeah, I know we haven't seen it yet, but based on what we do know, here's some things I'll bet Apple missed that I'd like to see ASAP.

• Unified mailbox as an option: This works great in OS X. I sure am getting tired of checking 3 email accounts with hundreds of extra finger swipes every day. Even an icon to get me to any inbox I want to see would be an improvement. Some people don't want this. A simple software switch would be fine.
• Louder speakerphone: I have no idea why this as been such a problem since day 1. The volume of this phone is just not loud enough in a noisy environment. Maybe this is a hardware thing, maybe it's software. Whatever. Just fix this!
• Getting to Bluetooth and location manager: These settings are just buried too deep. How about a switch in the top level of settings? Once again, save me all that tapping.
• Consistency of app settings: Sometimes they appear in settings, sometimes within the app. I shouldn't have to scrounge around trying to guess which app works which way.
• Moving icons around on the desktop: Have you ever tried to organize icons by type, or popularity? Gee whiz, what a nightmare. Maybe this could be done by dragging apps in iTunes, or some easy method on the phone itself would be even better. As it is now, it's like one of those old plastic puzzles where you had to get things in order. Every drag of an icon on the iPhone often has unexpected or at least unwanted results. This is not one of those 'it just works' things on the iPhone.
  

Apple might surprise me and sneak some of this stuff in. Or not. You probably have your own list. Let's hear it. C'mon Apple, we're counting on you to get these things right. For the rest of us.

What I'd like to see in iPhone 3.0 (but probably won't) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What I'd like to see in iPhone 3.0 (but probably won't) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve gone round and round on this before. I think Dieter and I may have mentioned this as one of a hundred guesses on the last Phone different podcast, but discounted it as being, like iPhone Extreme, something that fits into Apple’s brand but doesn’t really feel like a direction Apple would go.

TUAW was tipped to it being — briefly — on the AT&T website, however, so we have to consider it, don’t we? (If the screen cap is for real).

Once upon a time Steve Jobs said no one wants to watch video on a tiny screen. Then Apple released the iPod video. So, there is precedent. Also, Apple named the iPhone 3G after its “killer” feature — access to a faster cell network. So, if Apple considers video shooting, editing, and sharing to the the third generation’s “killer” feature, iPhone video would certainly throw the spotlight on it (better than iPhone Compass, at least!)

That’s the same thinking that was behind my betting the farm on iPhone HD last October. While Apple doesn’t seem eager — yet! — to give me my 480×800 screen resolution, Microsoft has jumped on the moniker with Zune HD via its support for HD Radio and 720p dock-enabled output. If Apple includes new AV cables that let the newer, faster, more powerful CPU, RAM, and GPU push 720p as well, and HD is now off the table thanks to Microsoft’s accelerated announcement last week, could iPhone video be a similar (if not quite as sexy) option?

What do you think?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Rumor: Third Generation iPhone 2,1 to be Called iPhone Video?!

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Rumors, WWDC, Apple, iPhone, App Store

With WWDC 09 coming up next week, Wall Street analysts are polishing their crystal balls and commenting on what they think we'll hear about. In a post on Barron's Tech Trader Daily blog, Eric Savitz polled the top tech analysts for their ideas.

Yair Reiner of Oppenheimer believes that the new iPhones will be delayed until WWDC so that the conference focus will be on Snow Leopard and iPhone OS 3.0. Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers is in agreement, and Wu also believes that AT&T will offer more flexible service plans, and that the iPhone line will split into a high-end version with improved battery life and a junior version with less functionality.

Savitz's post goes on to tap Phil Cusick of Macquarie Research for his ideas, which also include the split of the line into high-end and entry-level iPhones. He's noted as saying that the high-end phone will include both a front camera for video chat and a rear mounted autofocus camera, but that an OLED screen won't be a feature of this device.

Kathryn Huberty of Morgan Stanley is cited as believing that the new iPhones will be unveiled at WWDC, with a $100 price cut, lower AT&T service plan fees, and entrance into the China market, thereby increasing demand. Huberty is noted as thinking that Apple won't add another US carrier before 2011. Vincent Rech of Societe Generale also believes that China is ripe for an iPhone distribution deal.

Everybody's favorite research analyst, Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, has high hopes for AppleTV in the near future, according to a post on the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital site today.

Blogger John Paczkowsi cites Munster as believing that Apple is working on both a new AppleTV for a September release and an App Store to go with it. WWDC 09 might be used as a launch site for an AppleTV SDK, along with an announcement of an App Store for AppleTV for a 2010 launch.

Munster, who has a pretty good track record at Apple predictions, feels that future AppleTV apps could include digital video services for expanding content offerings (he cites Hulu as an example) and that an SDK would enable use of the iPhone or iPod touch as a game controller.

The consensus? Pretty much everyone believes that new iPhones are imminent, although the timing of the release is up in the air. Several of the analysts believe that the new devices will be announced at a separate Apple event towards the end of June where Steve Jobs can make his long-awaited return to the company.

Whatever the outcome of WWDC, be sure to stay tuned to TUAW for our continuing coverage of this important event.

Wall Street analysts anticipate WWDC 09 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wall Street analysts anticipate WWDC 09 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The folks at Beejive have been hard at work in their hive on version 3.0 of their wicked-cool IM client for the iPhone. Version 2.0 won an Editor's Choice Award at Macworld back in January for features such as audio messages and image transferring. Scheduled to be ready in time for WWDC, the most notable new feature in 3.0 is the inclusion of push notifications for all account types. Additionally, the interface has been updated, scrolling speed has been improved (thanks to atebits), and various other tweaks and additions have been stuck in there.

Oh, and one more thing. Just for you guys, here's a video preview of the new version showing off push notifications in Beejive 3.0. Check it out below!

Short version: When Steve Jobs went on leave of absence before Macworld, Apple said he would return end of June. Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, say Jobs will indeed return.

Longer version: After suffering a protein-digestion problem which rendered Steve Jobs unable to function on a day-to-day basis at Apple, he took time off and corrective measures. Periodic visits back to the HQ not withstanding, and speculation of a surprise cameo at WWDC running ever-rampant, Jobs is still on track to return just precisely when Apple first said he would.

New iPhone good to go:

Apple is ready enough with its latest iPhone to be in a position to unveil it next week, said a person who has seen the new model. The new phone will look similar to last year’s model but has more processing power and some new features like video editing, this person said.

Confirmation all around then, thanks familiar person!

[And digitalrio for the tip]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

WSJ: Steve Jobs Ready to Return to Apple Helm, New iPhone as Described.

Our slideshow from Day 2 of the E3 gaming trade show in LA focuses on upcoming gaming releases.

Hackers are claiming to have won a $10,000 prize for hacking secure mail provider StrongWebmail.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Rumors, iPhone

Further fueling the iPhone fire (try saying that one five times fast), TUAW has received an anonymous tip stating that AT&T's support website will be updated with "iPhone Video" as one of the model choices when choosing Apple as the phone manufacturer.

While I only see the original iPhone and 3G choices on the support site now, it stands to reason that this photo may have been taken from a screen showing unpublished support content. Click the image for the full-res photo.

This adds to some already interesting news, reported earlier by AppleInsider, that new model placeholders have begun appearing in inventory for Carphone Warehouse, a retailer that resells the iPhone. These models were labeled with a "V3", which could simply mean Version 3, or the V may also stand for "Video" or "Video 3G". Other retailers have also recently reported additional entries or placeholders showing up in their inventories, and many carriers have also received end of life notices for the current 3G models.

So even if a new model isn't announced at WWDC, it's a pretty safe bet that Apple has something in the pipeline.

Rumor: New iPhone to be called "iPhone Video?" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor: New iPhone to be called "iPhone Video?" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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