Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Wireless, iPhone

When Apple announced the 3GS with all its whiz-bang new features, honestly the only thing I cared about was the increase in capacity. Everything else was just a bonus. I had my bank account all primed and ready to buy the thing as soon as it came out down here in New Zealand, but I was also keeping a wary eye on the NZ telcos to see what sort of blech they'd bring to the situation. Well, the blech they've brought is bad enough that I'm not buying a 3GS any time soon.

I looked forward to the release of the iPhone 3GS in New Zealand with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Excitement, because it would be nice to finally own an iPhone that can hold all of the music I actually listen to (16 GB just doesn't cut it). Trepidation, because as I made clear in an earlier post, the NZ telcos don't make buying an iPhone a cheap proposition.

The more time passed without any major announcements from either of the main NZ telcos, the more I knew their plans would suck. Vodafone already sold the 3G down here, so they were in a position to do pretty much whatever they wanted to the prices. Telecom was supposedly in "deep negotiations" with Apple to sell the iPhone in New Zealand, but the days stretched into weeks without any official word.

Traditionally, Apple has kept the prices of new products either the same or slightly lower when refreshing product lines like the iPod or iPhone. Many worldwide telcos have followed suit; in fact, across the Tasman Sea, Vodafone Australia offers a free iPhone when you sign up to a two-year plan.

Pretty much the most I was hoping for from the NZ telcos was that they'd keep their plan prices the same. I got my wish, sort of.

Continue reading Why I'm not buying an iPhone 3GS in New Zealand (spoiler: it's not Apple's fault)

Why I'm not buying an iPhone 3GS in New Zealand (spoiler: it's not Apple's fault) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Why I'm not buying an iPhone 3GS in New Zealand (spoiler: it's not Apple's fault) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review

One of the problems with some previous bar code scanners for the iPhone has been a lack of good close focus (helped somewhat for owners of the iClarifi case), but the new and better camera in the iPhone has greatly improved the situation. It is, therefore, no surprise that new software is rolling out to aid in your shopping by scanning bar codes and connecting you to Amazon to allow you to comparison shop.

Cyclops [App Store link] requires the new 3GS camera, and in my tests it worked pretty well. It correctly identified 9 of 10 products on the first try, although I was doing the test at home under pretty good lighting. I tried some poorer lighting and mixed tungsten and sunlight, and it did 6 of 10 scans correct. The challenge is still to hold the camera steady and try to make sure you get a sharp image, but the software did pretty well even with imperfect focus.

The software is free, so it is not a very risky proposition. I can't guarantee you'll be popular at a retailer while you price check, but I think it most cases the software will work for you. Be careful to get the distance right so the bar code pretty much fills your screen. It gives the software the best chance of interpreting the scan.

One weakness is you can't get the info out of the program easily. It would be good to be able to email the Amazon data to yourself or others.

If you need this sort of information, and don't mind nasty looks from store clerks, I'd suggest you give it a try.

Here are some screen shots as I put the program to work today:

Cyclops bar code scanner for iPhone 3GS originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cyclops bar code scanner for iPhone 3GS originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Twitbit [$4.99 - iTunes link] is a Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch that provides built-in push notification for @mentions and direct messages (DMs).

For those of you still reading — those didn’t immediately jump over to grab it — what this means is you get all the functionality you’ve come to expect — reading, posting, multiple accounts, start and stop following, searching, trends, user profiles, reply chains, etc. etc. and you get any @mentions and DMs pushed straight to you without the need for an extra enabler app (which most other Twitter clients currently require).

The folks at High Order Bit were gracious enough to give us a sneak peak to try out, and I’ve been using it pretty much non-stop since. And… I’ve found all the functionality I need and then some. The push works wonderfully as well. So far, so fast.

One thing I particularly liked (but others may not) is that, when you get multiple @mentions or DMs, rather than having the latest obliterate the previous text alert (fix that by implementing a genius stacking system, will you Apple?), Twitbit collates them up. You don’t get to see the contents of the latest message, but you do get to see “X new @mentions and X new DMs” (see screenshot below). At least you have some idea of volume.

Of course, iPhone notifications being interruptive as they are, there’s still a chance something will pop up while you’re watching a movie or playing a game…

Given that limitation, more granularity as to who and what Twitbit pushes would be grand — and it’s likely forthcoming in an update — but wow are these young upstart devs and apps giving the entrenched Twitter clients a race for their functionality.

If you want an amply functioning Twitter client with built-in push notifications, take a serious look at Twitbit and let us know what you think.

Tons of screenshots after the break!

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

Quick App: Twitbit Push Notification Twitter Client for iPhone

It’s that time again — time for us to pick out some of the hot topics on TiPb’s forums. In order for you to reply to any of the following threads please be sure to register. It’s a painless process that will only take a moment of your time. We promise!

Our first thread today was started by Rene, and he wants your opinion - who’s at fault over the latest iTunes update and it’s halting communication with the Pre - Apple or Palm? Palm had to see this coming no? Let us know what you think!

This next thread was started by Behshad, and he wants to know when AT&T finally gets around to activating MMS - will you even use it? Personally I’ve gotten used to using email to send pictures, especially coming over from Windows Mobile and Sprint 2 years ago. But if it’s there, I’ll use it. How about you?

Every single one of us here at TiPb have come from, or still currently use a Palm device, so this next thread we hold close and dear to our hearts. Scott R wants all the Palm users (or ex-Palm users) to chime in and share his or her dislikes and likes for the iPhone. Help him out and let him know what you think.

Lastly, we’d like to point out a newer forum you can find on our forums - iPhone App Announcements. This is a great place for you to check out to see what new applications developers have to offer and you may even find some free promo codes in there as well! And if you are a developer, feel free to post about your new application and chat with some of our forum members to get some feedback!

See you on the forums!

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

From the Forums: iTunes 8.2.1 Update Breaks Palm Sync, AT&T & MMS, Palm Users, New Applications

Filed under: Bluetooth, iPhone, iPod touch

More coverage of the ongoing Wi-Fi struggles of iPhone 3.0 users: In a discussion comment, Liam noted that he got full bars but no Internet using his iPhone 3GS until he turned off Bluetooth. After reading that, I wondered if Bluetooth is another suspect in the widening catalog of speed and signal problems reported with the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 3G / iPod touch combination.

I ran the DSLReport speed test on my iPhone 3GS and found that with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth both enabled, latency increased a bit, and download speed decreased by over a third when compared to running the test with Bluetooth disabled. Upload speed didn't seem to be affected.

A possible reason was proposed by Doug Hogg of Toy Kite Software, creators of the Bluetooth-enabled two person game iSamurai: Real Life Sword Fight. Doug discovered problems in playing the game after updating to iPhone 3.0 software, but found that turning off either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi solved everything. It seems that both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi share the same antenna, so when Bluetooth was made active in the 3.0 software, conflicts arose.

On the Toy Kite Software site, Doug was a bit more specific. The iPhone 3.0 software brought with it a service discovery process that switches between looking for another device on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth using the single antenna. While searching, problems can occur with already established connections that can cause lags and loss of data packets sent between devices. Apple is working with Toy Kite Software to correct all this, but I wonder how much speed and even signal strength loss can be regained by turning off Bluetooth when it's not being used. In my case the difference was substantial.

It's also interesting to note that the iPhone 3GS uses a combination Wi-Fi / Bluetooth Broadcom chip that handles 802.11a/b/g as well as Bluetooth 2.1. Previously separate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips were used.

If you are having any speed or signal problems, try turning off Bluetooth and see what happens. I don't think that this will solve everything, but until Apple gets its act together on fixing all of this, what we're left with is a rag-tag assortment of tricks that may or may not help.

Let us know if this one works for you.

Bluetooth: Another Wi-Fi killer for the iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bluetooth: Another Wi-Fi killer for the iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, Internet, iPhone, iPod touch, First Look

Cable, broadband, and phone giant Comcast has joined the ranks of companies jumping on the iPhone bandwagon with a helpful and free new app: Comcast Mobile [App Store].

Let's get one thing out of the way right now; this app will not let you stream video from your Comcast set-top box to your iPhone. So what does it do?

• Provides a unified inbox for Comcast email and voicemail
• Lets you sync your SmartZone contacts with your iPhone or iPod touch
• Shows call logs for Comcast Digital Voice, and allows call forwarding and control of voicemail.
• Gives you detailed TV listings in The Guide, complete with reminders and favorites
• Allows viewing of On Demand movie trailers

How does this compare with the AT&T U-verse and DirecTV apps? The AT&T app doesn't provide any email or voicemail features, nor does it provide a way to sync with an online address book. Both apps do provide the capability to remotely schedule a DVR, a feature missing in Comcast Mobile that the company says will be available in the next release. DirecTV doesn't provide phone service, although they do provide HD television for some traditional telecom firms like Qwest.

I had a chance to work with a pre-release version of the app loaded on an iPod touch, and I was impressed with the stability, speed, and functionality of Comcast Mobile. Read on for more details about the app.

Continue reading TUAW First Look: Comcast Mobile for iPhone and iPod touch

TUAW First Look: Comcast Mobile for iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW First Look: Comcast Mobile for iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IDC says PC shipments were slightly higher than expected for the second straight quarter.

The 10.0v3 update for FileMaker Pro 10 and FileMaker Pro 10 Advanced tackles a number of known issues with the database software's performance. WhoPaste, TextExpander, and LiveInterior 3D saw updates on Wednesday as well.

Got some extra iPhones just lying around, picking up dust? You could hawk them on ebay. Or, you could turn them into an extremely shiny, small, expensive server farm. In an effort to promote their iPhone app, ServersMan, the Japan-based app developer has used his app to create a teeny tiny web server farm. It's just a prototype, but it's a cool idea.