iphone

Before you activate your iPhone, read this!

I was casually cruising the news sites yesterday when I came across a story about porting "ineligible" numbers to AT&T and iPhone. I clicked on the story because I know some of the people who lobbied for and won the rights to treat phone numbers more like personal property you own than corporate property you rent. I was right with the author until he said (without comment or outrage):

On that screen, enter your name, Social Security number, and your current billing information and home telephone.

Say WHAT!?

Apple and AT&T are demanding customers reveal SSNs to activate their iPhones. That should be the lead of every technology and business article written this week. If you don't believe me, read on.… Read more

Apple posts iPhone Web development guidelines

Echoing much of what was said at the Worldwide developer conference earlier this last month, Apple has posted Web development guidelines for the iPhone to its Developer Connection Web site. The guidelines discuss the finger as an input device, laying out pages for the iPhone, what's supported in the iPhone's version of Safari, and pays special attention to writing tidy and vigorous JavaScript (as we noted earlier today, the iPhone is a sluggish JavaScript performer). Among the notable points:

Apple provides dimensions in pixels for controls including the status bar, URL text field, and keyboard. "[...] when the … Read more

BMWs support iPhone audio out of the box

Apple may be rumored to be working with Mercedes on an in-car interface, but it is Benz's arch-rival BMW that has been one of the first automakers to declare its cars' compatibility with the all-conquering iPhone. According to this page on Bimmer's Web site dedicated to welcoming the gadget, these 2007 model-year BMWs will come with the option of an interface to allow them to use the iPod function of the iPhone:

3 and 5 series models with a production date of March '07 or later X5 models with a production date of April '07 or later 6 … Read more

Shooting with the iPhone

In our effort to put the iPhone through its paces, we took a few photos using the camera. For the most part it did well, but it had trouble with overly bright environments, while distant objects looked a tad too fuzzy. Also, because it doesn't offer a flash or any image-editing options, night shots looked somewhat poor. Colors showed well, however, even if whites were a little too soft. Our iPhone camera slide show has all our shots, while our iPhone review gives you the full analysis of the handset's performance. And to see how the iPhone compares … Read more

Meebo now works on the iPhone (kinda)

We got word earlier today the team behind Meebo has feverishly been working since last Friday to get it working on Apple's iPhone. One of the handset's shortcomings is its lack of an instant messaging client. Meebo, which has been providing a Web-based IM client that mimics desktop chatting software, did not work come iPhone launch due to the mobile version of Safari using its double-tap navigation. Meebo requires double clicking to start up an IM conversation, and many of the buttons and window functionality were simply not working.

The result is what the Meebo team claims to … Read more

iHype: Is the iPhone today's Cabbage Patch Kids?

My friend Chad, a techie and savvy lawyer at a tech firm, and I had lunch today where we spent more time pawing at my iPhone than catching up. He said to me that he's been reading blog after blog, review after review and lusting after one of these puppies. Apparently, there are now outages of the 8 gig, which validated my 10-hour wait, in some part.

Anyway, in the midst of sitting at a street cafe on Belden Lane on a sunny day in San Francisco we were more focused on the hot little item in our hands … Read more

Video: An iPhone without the phone (or the contract)

Erica Sadun at The Unofficial Apple Weblog has a handy little tip on how to transform your iPhone into a Wi-Fi-enabled iPod.

It involves signing up for the iPhone prepaid option, activating the iPhone, doing a bit of SIM-card fu, canceling the payment plan, and then enjoying the iPhone's iPod and Wi-Fi functions without the contract.

Sadun's instructions, tests, and results are here.

Update: Tom Merritt tested this out, "borrowing" Jasmine France's iPhone, and it worked smoothly for him. Watch his Insider Secrets video above to see that SIM trick and other SIM-swapping advice for … Read more

Apple rolls out web development guide for iPhone apps

Just in time for the iPhoneDevCamp this weekend (where Web developers will gather for a no-holds-barred effort to develop iPhone apps), Apple has released a Web development guide for the iPhone. The guide provides useful hints about the iPhone's abilities, how to integrate your app with the iPhone's phone, mail, and maps, the kinds of media types that the Safari browser supports, and more. Of course, there's also a link to the Safari for Windows beta, plus additional information about the Safari Webkit. If you're a potential iPhone developer, the guide is worth checking out. As … Read more

goMovies (iPhone App)

Check out movie times with this nicely designed app for the iPhone. Just enter your ZIP code and the date, and goMovies will let you sort by theater or by current movies. Though you can't buy tickets in advance, discovering when and where movies are playing by using your phone is definitely useful.

iPhone link: http://webologistdesign.com/gomovies/demo/index.php

Web site link: http://webologistdesign.com/gomovies/

iPhone battery test results

Immediately after we posted our Apple iPhone review, Senior Editor Donald Bell and I handed our iPhone off to CNET Labs for battery drain tests. And now we can report that our first results are in. Just to remind you, the iPhone has a rated battery life of 8 hours talk time, 24 hours of music playback, 7 hours of video playback, and 6 hours of Internet use.

Talk time: When we tested the iPhone with the Wi-Fi function turned off, we got about 7 hours, 20 minutes of talk time. When we tested it with the Wi-Fi activated, we … Read more