iphone

BBC's iPlayer to launch in late July, Mac and Vista support on the way

The BBC's iPlayer will be making it's official, public beta debut July 27 to U.K. residents who are legal TV license holders--a yearly taxation system that pays for TV ownership and usage. The small desktop software client allows users to download and view episodes or entire series of BBC television programming on their PCs.

In addition to launching the Windows client, the BBC will also be rolling out integration of the iPlayer to the BBC's U.K. site, and later to YouTube. The team behind it is also working on versions of the iPlayer client … Read more

Before you switch to the iPhone

Since the iPhone is available only with AT&T, we have little doubt that some eager buyers will be switching carriers just to buy it. If you're one of those people, there are a few points you should consider before making that big purchase on Friday. Remember, you'll be shelling out $500 or more for that shiny new gadget, so you want to make sure you're spending your money wisely.

AT&T coverage Without a doubt, you better make sure that AT&T has adequate coverage in your area. That would include your home, … Read more

Today's Apple iPhone video: the keyboard!

It's time for the third installment in the Apple miniseries: How To Use Your iPhone. In today's episode, we learn how to use the touch-screen keyboard.

The video with the now-familiar man in the black shirt (does this guy have an agent yet?) takes us through typing on the touch-screen keyboard. The effectiveness of the keyboard has been one of the main questions about the iPhone, although three out of four hand-selected reviewers didn't find it that difficult after some practice.

Apple briefly covered the keyboard in the overview video it released last week, but this episode … Read more

Apple's iPhone audio gaffes

A couple of small--but I think somewhat serious--issues regarding the audio output of the iPhone have been percolating on the Web for the last week or so. The issues involve the iPhone's headphone/headset jack and the phone's ability to output stereo sound via Bluetooth.

Let's start with the headphone jack. In Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret's iPhone review for the Wall Street Journal, they state, "The headphone jack, which supports both stereo music and phone calls, is deeply recessed, so you may need an adapter for existing headphones." Why the port would be … Read more

What did Variety say?

The New York Times:

The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype.

The Wall Street Journal:

Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer.

Newsweek:

And there it is: one of the most hyped consumer products ever comes pretty close to justifying the bombast.

USA Today:

Apple's iPhone isn't perfect, but it's worthy of the hype.

Jane's Defence Weekly:

While it doesn't kill people (despite what you might have heard), the Apple iPhone should be an integral part of any strategic urban assault … Read more

Crave's iPhone roundup

In case you temporarily lost consciousness yesterday, or missed our coverage of the fast-approaching iPhone release day, here's a roundup of Tuesday's Crave-ing of Apple's newest gadget.

Both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times' gadget gurus unveiled their reviews of the smart phone.

Details surrounding the available data plans from AT&T are now available.

iPhone features--some we knew about, others we didn't.

A new iPhone video demos some new features.

Apple Stores will host iPhone premieres from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight on the night … Read more

AT&T Stores: One iPhone per customer

UPDATE: AT&T is saying one, Apple is saying two. It may be that AT&T outlets are limiting purchase to one-per-customer, while Apple retail outlets will sell each customer two.

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Though we still can't call it absolutely confirmed, several AT&T retail locations have now told us that there will indeed be a one iPhone per customer rule. While some locations claim to still not have this information, three stores in the San Francisco Bay Area told us that the one-per rule is definite. However, it is still not clear if this is a … Read more

Video formats supported by iPhone: H.264 up to 1.5 Mbps and MPEG-4 up to 2.5 Mbps

The iPhone supports the exact same set of video formats as the current 30GB and 80GB iPods, meaning that video exported for use on the iPods should be immediately usable on the iPhone.

The supported formats are:

H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 768 Kbps, 320 by 240 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 … Read more

iPhone will require iTunes 7.3, Mac OS X 10.4.10, XP SP2 or Vista Home Premium or better

The iPhone will require iTunes 7.3, which has not yet been released, according to a newly revised specifications page.

On the Mac side, the iPhone will require Mac OS X 10.4.10. On the Windows side, the iPhone will require Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.

iPhone keyboard: Learns what you type, dynamically resizes key "hot zones"

Another iPhone demonstration video has been posted to Apple's Web site, this time detailing usage of device's the virtual, touch-screen keyboard.

Claiming that the keyboard "constantly analyzes keystrokes as you type," Apple says the iPhone keyboard uses two methods of text prediction: storage of frequently used words, including names and other data stored on the device, and a full dictionary that can auto-correct mistyped words.

As previously recommended, Apple says its best to start by using one finger with "deliberate" taps to type.

A magnifying glass pops up when touching and dragging over words … Read more