iPhone

Handicapping the mobile music services

I'm a big proponent of cloud-based music services for mobile devices. I struggle figuring out which 500 songs I want on my 8GB iPhone at any given time, and the problem gets worse as as I download more apps. So it's gratifying to see an explosion of mobile music services in the last six months. Start-ups and established companies alike seem to believe that the current model, where users transfer songs from a computer to their phone using a wired connection, is not long for this world. Instead, these companies are coming up with various ways to dispense … Read more

Firefox on the iPhone? Mozilla submits Firefox Home to Apple

Updated (12:30 a.m. PT, July 1, 2010): Clarified the relationship between Firefox Home and Safari.

If you've been one of the many clamoring to see Firefox running on an iPhone, you may get your chance--of sorts.

Back in late May, Mozilla announced that it would be creating an iPhone version of its Firefox browser--though the solution is not a browser itself. On Wednesday, Mozilla submitted its Firefox Home iPhone app to Apple for testing--and, it hopes, for approval.

The free Firefox Home is more of a window to your Firefox browsing rather than a competing browser itself, … Read more

How long should your iPhone last?

Let me start by saying that I bought my iPhone 3GS in October of last year and have no plans to upgrade to the iPhone 4. Luckily, while the new iPhone--antenna issues aside--has certainly been enhanced, the differences between the new model and my "old" 3GS aren't huge, especially now that I've installed iOS4. However, even if there was a big difference, I knew going in that I would largely be ignoring whatever next-generation model Apple put out because I'm not a serial upgrader.

But recently I've been thinking about how long a … Read more

Apple antenna issue a 'physics problem,' not a software problem

Almost a week after the iPhone 4's launch, questions remain over why users experience signal loss when gripping the phone in a particular way.

Apple has called this a "non issue," despite users being able to repeatedly reproduce the problem. In the meantime, it's been suggested that it might be a problem that can be fixed with a software update. Others have said, and Apple has suggested, that users buy a case to prevent fingers from coming in direct contact with the antennas built into the metal band surrounding the iPhone 4.

Brian Klug and Anand Shimpi at tech blog Anandtech have conducted their own hands-on experiments comparing different smartphones and their reception when the antennas are covered. They sum up their findings this way: "At the end of the day, Apple should add an insulative coating to the stainless steel band, or subsidize bumper cases. It's that simple."

The bumper case is a rubber holder that just surrounds the exterior of the device, and that Apple started selling the same day as the iPhone 4 for $29. Apple has already said it's not giving the cases away for free. It's not clear why the company wouldn't do that, especially when the problem has been reproduced by many people, though it varies by place and person. … Read more

Are supply issues putting Apple at risk?

Early demand for the iPhone 4 that exceeded supply could put Apple at risk and is prompting frustrated customers to consider competing smartphones, according to a new report from iSuppli.

Though Apple and its partners racked up 600,000 preorders for the iPhone 4 in one day and sold 1.7 million units in just three days, iSuppli believes the early heavy demand has come at some cost to the company.

The huge wave of preorders on June 15 caused the ordering systems of Apple and AT&T to stall, shutting out some customers and forcing the companies to … Read more

The 404 613: Where we're now offering paid 404 Plus Plus for $49.99 a month (podcast)

The 404 Podcast will never charge for premium content because the words "premium" and "The 404" have never occurred in the same sentence before, and besides, we're no Hulu, who just announced Hulu Plus, a premium subscription service that offers all-you-can-eat helpings of your favorite primetime shows from ABC, NBC, Fox, and other cable channels for $9.99 a month. In addition, Hulu Plus will also stream full back catalogs of shows like Glee and Saturday Night Live.

The company also announced a Hulu Plus app that works with the Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod … Read more

iPhone 4 video embodies new-tech aesthetic

It's easy to see how the iPhone 4's high-definition 1280x720 video would be a handy feature. It's an entirely different thing to see just how impressive it can be in the right hands.

In this case, those hands belong chiefly to Michael Koerbel and Anna Elizabeth James, students at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, who wrote a short video called "Apple of My Eye." Koerbel recorded it with an iPhone 4, and James edited it on the same hardware with Apple's new iMovie app--all in less than 48 hours. … Read more

No free bumpers for iPhone users?

Apple apparently has a game plan for dealing with iPhone 4 reception complaints--and it expressly prohibits giving customers free bumpers.

According to a purported list of procedures reportedly leaked to Boy Genius Report, AppleCare representatives are being instructed on how to coach users about the proper way to handle the latest-generation smartphone:

1. Keep all of the positioning statements in the BN handy - your tone when delivering this information is important.

a. The iPhone 4's wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. Our testing shows that iPhone 4's overall antenna performance is better than iPhone … Read more

World Cup Soccer collection for iPhone

The World Cup is now down to the final eight. In the U.S., where soccer mostly flies under the radar, the success of the USA team brought out a huge number of fans, many of whom probably now have a new appreciation for soccer. With the U.S. out of the running, and only eight teams left, it will be sad to see the most popular tournament in the world come to an end.

Fortunately, you can continue the fun on your iPhone with the right iPhone soccer game. I've rounded up the best soccer games at the iTunes App Store … Read more