phones

Jobs confirms iPhone app blacklist feature

Straight from the horse's mouth: Apple's iPhones do indeed have the capability to check for, and potentially defang, software that Apple deems unfit for the iPhone.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed the existence of the so-called "kill switch" capability, following last week's ruckus over early reports of just such a function. The word from Jobs was tucked at the bottom of a story in The Wall Street Journal about Apple's hot-as-a-pistol first month of sales at its App Store.

The intent behind the capability is high-minded, Jobs said. Apple would need it in case … Read more

Samsung's showcase in San Fran

Samsung Electronics, an arm of the giant Korean company (second only to General Electric in annual revenue among conglomerates), held a press event in San Francisco last week to show off its products for the coming holiday season.

I'd been looking for an excuse to go up to the city, so off I went-- taking Caltrain rather than driving. Conveniently, the Samsung event was just a few blocks from the train station in San Francisco.

Jobs on iPhone apps: $30 million in 30 days

In a variation on the new math, 2.0 plus 3G equals $30 million now and about $360 million next summer.

Or in plain English: Apple has raked in about $30 million in sales of iPhone applications in the one month since the company opened its App Store and brought the iPhone 3G onto the market, CEO Steve Jobs told The Wall Street Journal. Jobs also sees big numbers ahead, if Apple continues its current pace of selling an average of $1 million worth of applications per day.

That rate would add up to $360 million by the first anniversary … Read more

Apple, AT&T mum on iPhone 3G issues

Note: CNET News' Tom Krazit and Marguerite Reardon co-wrote this article.

After his third iPhone 3G continued to cut him off in the middle of his conversations, Ryan Shaw had seen enough.

"The phone was a disappointment from the standpoint that it couldn't maintain a consistent connection with the 3G network...All the other features were fantastic," said Shaw, a sales professional living in a Cleveland suburb. But those other features weren't enough to prevent him from returning to Verizon and the BlackBerry after deciding the hassle just wasn't worth it.

Widespread complaints about the iPhone 3G's reception … Read more

MiGhtyDocs puts offline Google Docs on your iPhone

If you're not satisfied with Google's cute but data-sucking incarnation of Google Docs through mobile Safari, you might want to download MiGhtyDocs. This free application on the app store will pull down all of your documents and spreadsheets from the service, making them available to read and access even when away from a data connection.

All you have to do to get any document cached for offline viewing is open it once. If there are any changes since the last time you accessed it, they'll be download the next time it syncs back up with Google's … Read more

Determining enterprise readiness for the iPhone, open source, and more

I had to laugh when I read this New York Times piece discussing the iPhone's readiness for the enterprise. Apparently someone at Gartner has now (sort of) blessed the iPhone as "enterprise ready."

Meanwhile, many of us have been using it for months or a year already in the enterprise, and finding it "enterprise ready" without someone else's official blessing.

It's the same with open source. Periodically an analyst, in true politician style, tries to get out in front of the open-source momentum to tell us that (Get ready for this) more and … Read more

Cases, accessories for your Apple iPhone 3G

It's now almost a month since the release of the Apple iPhone 3G, and the accessory market for the iPhone is jumping with joy. That's because cases and accessories are now selling like hotcakes for this latest version of the iconic Apple handset. There is a ton of them out there, but we've picked a few of our favorites. For cases, a couple that we liked were the Griffin Wave for its colorful selection, as well as the Apple iPhone 3G Ultra Slim Pouch for its leather exterior and micro suede lining.

As for accessories, we definitely … Read more

Nokia N85 clears FCC

The Federal Communications Commission this week approved a version of the Nokia N85 with support for U.S. 3G bands. Only the most passionate cell phone geeks know that the FCC holds a treasure trove of information on upcoming handsets. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on … Read more

What makes the Nokia N95 a smartphone?: Ask the Editors

Q: I guess I'm missing something, because I don't really see the overwhelming appeal of the Nokia N95. Yes, it has all the radios that we all want, but it's SO big. Also, it has Symbian, which seems about as common as a unicorn.

With its different interface and high price, why do so many editors love it so much? I would expect the iPhone or a BlackBerry model or a Treo model to be ranked higher than the N95 as a smartphone. Wouldn't you call the N95 a feature-phone rather than a smartphone? -- George, … Read more

T-Mobile to launch open development platform to challenge iPhone

As reported on Moconews, T-Mobile USA is planning to launch an open development platform for all of its phone platforms from upcoming Android to Java to Sidekick and Windows Mobile.

From Moconews:

Starting this fall, T-Mobile USA will take the extraordinary step of ditching its traditional deck on the phone and replacing it with a platform that's open to almost any developer, multiple sources have told us. Think of *Apple's* App store, but for the entire carrier's handset line-up from smartphone to feature phone.

While this is an obvious attempt to compete with the iPhone App store … Read more