Roundup

FileChute to the rescue for sending large files

FileChute from Yellow Mug Software has been kicking around for awhile, but has been pretty much under the radar for most people. Some of our readers mentioned it when we reviewed YouSendIt last January. FileChute is powerful because it can send any size file, as long as you have space on your iDisk, FTP site, or WebDAV web server.

Livespeakr now accepting pre-orders

Just to refresh our memories, the Livespeaker is a speaker cradle that holds the iPhone/iPod. The speakers are protected against RF (radio frequency) noise, so you can enjoy pristine audio without the cell signal getting in the way. The speakers will expand, rotate, and contract to fit movie/Cover Flow viewing angles, and will fit in your pocket. The speakers are powered by rechargeable batteries, or AC adapter.

First Look: Sharecard for iPhone

When you first launch the application, you are able to set the default vCard to send. When you navigate back to the vCard tab, and tap the "Send Card" button, you will have the option to send the card via email. In the email section, you can either type in a new email address, or select an email address from your contacts.

Boingo Mobile comes to the iPhone/iPod touch

Good news for travelers or anyone who is frequently on the go: Boingo has just released Boingo Mobile for the iPhone and iPod touch. Boingo Mobile is actually a pretty handy service, especially for the frequent traveler. For $7.95 a month (5.95 EUR, 3.95 GBP), you get unlimited data and VOiP access to all Boingo Mobile hotspot locations throughout the world. This includes practically every major airport, US Starbucks and McDonalds locations and an insane number of hotels.

Walmart workers back iPhone launch rumors

Newer sources back the notion that Walmart will soon begin carrying the iPhone, Bloomberg reports. The news agency cites cellphone department workers at five California Walmarts, who again say that the iPhone is due by the end of December, and that sales training for it is already in progress.

Google pushes AdWords advertising to iPhone, G1

Google is adopting a more concentrated approach to marketing on cellphones, an announcement reveals. The company says it has revised its AdWords advertising system, and will now allow advertisers to push desktop-like web ads to the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 and other phones with full HTML support.

PocketFinder launched for iPhone 3G

Location Based Technologies has released its latest PocketFinder Location software, now in the form of an iPhone app. By using the program, a person's friends and family should be able to view the location of their iPhone worldwide, from any smartphone or computer. Included in the app are alert zones, which allow customizable alerts to be sent out whenever a user leaves a specified area.

Songbird Remote Controls Playlists from your iPhone or iPod Touch

One of the great strengths of Songbird, a jukebox app intended to serve as a more open-ended iTunes killer, is its Firefox-like extensibility. The 779Media group jumps out of the gate with a remote-control application for iPhones and iPod touch devices that, while simple in functionality, does give you basic play/pause/back/forward control from anywhere your home wireless network reaches.

Slydial: Great, if you can get it...

I found this great iPhone app last night called Slydial. It lets you leave a voicemail on someone's mobile phone without bothering the person to answer. So, the recipient will not get a ringtone but will get your voicemail message. And it's free!

In the news today:

a hidden video-out feature on the iPhone 3G Apple's black Friday new app: TouchGrind and more after the break...

We had a pretty good weekend in term of news. First the 2.2 update, and hours later, the release of QuickPwn 2.2 and PwnageTool 2.2. That kept me busy for quite a while as I was writing all these tutorials on how to jailbreak your iPhone.

In the news today:

Apple iPhone black Friday sales MMS on the iPhone. Is it here yet? iPod Touch faster, better, stronger than the iPhone Apple wants you to "iPhone your life" Apple violates its own policy! App reviews: Guitar Rock Tour, Got Your Back More after the break...

This was a very poor day in iPhone news but here are some of the highlights of the day...

Husband Blames iPhone For Smutty Pic Debacle, Fate of Marriage Hangs on Apple Support Discussion

A Jersey woman has called out to Apple support forum users for a little help with a problem she is having. Apparently, she borrowed her husband's iPhone and found a raunchy pic of him attached to an email sent to another woman's address. The husband admits to taking the picture, but claims that the email attachment was a glitch. In fact, he said that the folks at his local Apple Genius Bar informed him that "photos sometimes automatically attach themselves to an e-mail address and appear in the sent folder, even though no e-mail was ever sent." The wife has asked support forum users whether or not this could be true and adds that the future of her marriage rests on the answer.

iTunes Plus coming to 3 remaining majors?

Apple is discussing deals with the three major music labels yet to sign on to iTunes Plus to remove the locks on their music as well, alleged sources tell CNET. Two reported contacts describe "preliminary" negotiations that would expand Apple's deal for music without copy protection beyond EMI and independents to include Sony, Warner and Universal. The talks are said to have been spread over the past several months for at least two labels and aren't certain to result in a favorable income.

Walmart will sell iPhones starting Dec. 28

Walmart will be taking a pass for most of the holiday shopping season with one particular item: the iPhone. It will begin selling the handset December 28, according to Jamie Townsend, of research firm JRPG.

TouchTerm Puts a Terminal Client on Your iPhone

iPhone/iPod touch only: With Mocha VNC Lite, iPhone and iPod touch users already have a tool for connecting remotely to their desktops, but what about those who like to get things done over a command line? Free iPhone app TouchTerm provides SSH-encrypted terminal access to any Linux, OS X, or even Windows system running a server, making mobile rebooting or service starting over Wi-Fi or EDGE/3G connections possible.

PhotoArtist adds Photoshop-like effects via iPhone

Big Canvas has launched a new photo manipulation program through the App Store. PhotoArtist allows users to add Photoshop-like filters to an image, using an iPhone or iPod touch. Images are selected from an existing library, or in the case of the iPhone, photos from the onboard camera; there are currently six different filters, including illustration, watercolor, cartoon, mono, pen and halftone.

Mophie intros Juice Pack iPhone 3G battery extender

Mophie has introduced its latest accessory for the iPhone 3G, the Juice Pack 3G battery extender. The device features a lithium polymer battery that is claimed to offer an additional 350 hours of standby time, 6 hours of 3G talk time, 12 hours of 2G talk time, and 6-7 hours of internet use.

Apple Rejects CastCatcher 1.3 App for "Transferring Excessive Volumes of Data"

I think Apple's rejection of the latest update to CastCatcher—an internet radio app—is the first we've seen because it "transfer[s] excessive volumes of data over the cellular network." Interestingly, the current version, 1.2, is still in the store, and return7's co-founder, Amro Mousa, told us that CastCatcher 1.3 doesn't "use more bandwidth than prior versions (or any other streaming app)."

iPhoneize your website, instantly!

If you don't know anything about the iPhone, the MobileSafari browser, or web design in general, creating an iPhone version of your website can be daunting. Intersquash.com makes it easy. Just put in the address of your site's RSS feed, give it a name, and click iPhoneize. If you want, upload an icon. That's all you have to do: Intersquash gives you a little bit of code to paste into the body of your site, and it's magically optimized for iPhone viewing.

Richard|Solo 1800: More of everything!

We reported on the Richard|Solo Smart Backup Battery for iPhone a few months ago. Now Richard|Solo has released a much improved version of the Backup Battery that not only provides more power for your iPhone or iPod, but some excellent new features that trash the competition.

New iPhone ad series features wide range of apps

Another week, another Apple ad on TV -- a new entry in the series of iPhone commercials that have dropped the "This is how you enter the App Store" opening. Eagle-eyed readers have also noted that some of the new ads include a subtle "Sequence shortened" caption that reminds us things may go a bit slower in real life than they do on TV.

NPD reports iPhone was top US handset in Q3

There's word this morning that the NPD Group's latest research shows a surprising finish for the iPhone in the 3rd-quarter sales competition among US cellphones bought by consumers; for the first time in three years, there's a new top model. The Motorola RAZR, long the most popular handset for adult consumers, has fallen before the touchable juggernaut from Cupertino, CA.

Classics: The iPhone e-reader to rule them all?

The application comes with a dozen public-domain books ready for you to read: with more promised in future (free) updates. As you might expect, there's plenty of attention paid to the application's handling of your reading too: pressing home places a neat ribbon bookmark on the page you were reading, for example.

Group claims iPhone twice as reliable as BlackBerry

The iPhone is an extremely reliable smartphone, a study from a warranty extension company claims. SquareTrade says that within one year of ownership, the failure rate for the iPhone is just 5.6 percent; this is half the rate for Research in Motion's BlackBerry phones, and almost three times less than the 16.2 percent for Palm's Treo line.

Onyx Online Could Turn iPhones Into Nifty Social Gaming Devices

Onyx Online, for the iPhone, is kind of like Xbox Live. Sort of. The ambitious service is the brainchild of Trism developer Steve Demeter, who hopes to add a slew of "social media" features to iPhone games, like leaderboards, achievements, forums, and the like. There's even a pissing contest feature, wherein Onyx-enabled games will allow players to view each other's profiles, scores, challenge friends, and see what games people are playing. Like we said, just add a headset and some 15-year-old boys screaming "your gay" and you have Xbox Live (and no, there's no typo there— even when they scream it, they use the wrong spelling, just like in the forums).

Hey New York Times! Fix Your Stupid iPhone App

If you'll allow me, I'd like to unleash a small personal diatribe. I promise it'll be brief. But I've been suffering through the buggy pile of crap that is the New York Times iPhone app for long enough.

This is your daily fix of iPhone news, all in one place. Since we don't have time to blog about it, it doesn't mean we should tell you about it... Click the links to read the full stories.

Review: OtterBox Defender for iPhone 3G

Overall for protection of the iPhone 3G you’re going to be hard pressed to find a case that looks as good at the Defender and protects as well as the Defender. I don’t know if I’d recommend it for daily use (unless you’re a careless or somewhat clumsy person) but if you find yourself on construction sites, camping areas, or some other area where the risk to your iPhone is fairly high - you simply can’t go wrong with this case.

Safari Bookbag - Your Library on Your iPhone

Safari Books Online has announced Safari Bookbag, a free App for the iPhone that allows you access to downloading chapters or full books in PDF format from your Safari Books Online library. Users of the Safari Books Online service can sync their iPhone with the “My Downloads” library from their Safari account. Once downloaded onto your iPhone you tap the title of the book to open it. Books can be downloaded to your iPhone whenever an internet connection is present. They will be stored in and available within the Bookbag App.

The Next Steps to Accelerate the Tectonic Shift in Mobile, Part 1

Is the iPhone the answer to all prayers and complaints in the mobile startup world? No, it is not. One phone alone cannot deliver that. But it is the kickoff to a tectonic shift. Away from an industry structure based on structural and size advantages to an industry structure driven by innovation, consumer choice and software developers. To date, the players owning the customer billing relationship and the infrastructure have been favored (carriers/operators). The iPhone AppStore and its ease of web browsing kick off the shift to an industry structure that unbundles billing and infrastructure from the services running on top of those.

John McCain Finally Gets His Own iPhone App

Sure, Obama may have had his official iPhone app out a while ago, allowing supporters to easily make calls on his behalf and do all sorts of other things, but don't think there isn't a John McCain app out there as well.

AT&T announces free Wi-Fi access for iPhone users (again)

After several false starts, AT&T on Wednesday began sending SMS messages to iPhone owners announcing that they can now access free of charge the carrier's nation-leading Wi-Fi network of more than 17,000 hotspots.

First look: 'Classics' aims to kindle iPhone reading surge

E-books are just beginning to gain traction with consumers today, a phenomenon that seemed to start quietly with offerings from Sony, then taking another large step with Amazon's Kindle. However, the iPhone -- a device not meant for dedicated reading -- is increasingly turning people on to digital reading.

From now on, everything worth of your interest that don't have time to blog about will be summed up in a news roundup that we will publish here. So if we miss some of the cool iPhone news, you'll still be able to know about it. We will give you a short snippet of what it's about with a link to the source of the article.

Ford Makes Photo Editing iPhone App

In an unique attempt to spread the word about their upcoming crossover car, the Ford Flex 2009, the Ford Motor Company has developed a free native iPhone application for editing and enhancing photographs.

Apple officially surpasses 10 million iPhones sold in 2008

Apple announced today during its quarterly conference call that it has already surpassed its goal of 10 million iPhone sales in the calendar year of 2008. The company, which sold just under 7 million iPhones during the September quarter alone, said that this was the iPhone's "breakout quarter."

MapQuest aims towards iPhone

MapQuest, the creator of its namesake mapping website, has debuted a version of the site designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch. Whereas Apple handheld users were previously directed towards the desktop pages, the site now presents pages formatted for the size of the iPhone, with special controls and larger buttons and fonts.

School of Rock app released for iPhone, iPod touch

Paramount Digital Entertainment has launched the School of Rock app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The program is based on the School of Rock movie, and teaches users about the principles of music, while focusing on four main areas, divided into the School of Drums, School of Keys, School of Guitar and School of Bass.

Cooliris Comes To iPhone - Now You Can Surf The Mobile Web in 3D

Cooliris (formerly PicLens) makers of a browser plugin which transforms the web into an immersive 3D experience, has just released their first application for the iPhone. The new Cooliris App brings 3D web surfing to the iPhone. Like their plugin, the iPhone app lets you browse using their unique "wall of content," a 3D wall that you can flick through using finger swipes and can touch to zoom in and out. This app lets you search Google, Flickr, Yahoo, SmugMug, and DeviantArt. Also like their browser plugin, the Cooliris iPhone App delivers relevant news and articles from across the web via a "Discover" feature which presents iPhone-optimized content organized in categories like News, Sports, Tech, and more.

BlackBerry app store to rival iPhone's

Research in Motion today confirmed the existence of its rumored BlackBerry Application Center, the company's attempt to parallel the iPhone's App Store. The portal will serve as a central hub for BlackBerry owners looking to download and manage apps instead of the web downloads and separate stores used before.

Fring partners with Austria's mobilkom for VoIP

fring's press release states that "[t]his is the first time a leading network operator has integrated an open mobile VoIP communication and mobile internet community offering into their business model, and represents a sea change in the relationship between traditional mobile carriers and mobile internet communications offerings such as fring."

Lala Unveils iPhone App, Unusual 10-Cent Song Sales

When we last checked in with Lala, the music service promised us access to our local collections from anywhere over the web. Using a unique combination of uploading and matching their collection to yours, you can sync your various libraries and listen to them any place where internet is available. Now they are back with some brand new features, including a vastly expanded catalog, an iPhone app and the unheard of 10-cent song.

Preview Video of synthPond Music Toy

An iPhone developer has forwarded a video of his upcoming synthPond iPhone application that provides a music toy to create 3d/4d sound effects through your iPhone or iPod Touch headphones.

Brightkite Location-Based iPhone App Now Available

Brightkite has released a native iPhone application to interface with their web service. Brightkite is a location-based social network in which you can see where your friends and what they are doing.

Let it snow: Snow Reports for iPhone

Snow Reports, from Eddit Incorporated, provides the ability to create your own personalized lists of your favorite ski resorts, and then track the snow conditions and weather at those resorts. Snow Reports can access information for over 2,000 ski areas around the world through OnTheSnow.com's online service.

These are some of the things that happened today in the iPhone world and even though we didn't have time to blog about it, I thought that would be nice to share these news with you:

Using the iPhone's GPS without a network connection

We know the iPhone 3G has "assisted" GPS that uses the phone's Internet connection, but with some patience and preparation, you can still use Google Maps and the GPS to some degree without connectivity.

Study: iPhone users frustrated with news portals

Study proves iPhone users are frustrated, but not by slow speeds or crappy battery life.

Turning the iPhone Into a Digital Photography Tool

The iPhone 3G brought changes in shape, function, features, etc., but to the dismay of many cell phone photographers, the device retains the same 2.0 megapixel camera as the first iPhone. apple enhanced the camera via software improvements by coupling the camera to the GPS features of the iPhone 3G to enable photo geotagging, but this did little to calm the complaints about the camera’s resolution, lack of flash and other features available on a few other phones. However, users have developed exciting ways to use the camera, and there are several innovative third-party applications to help along the way.

Maildash provides message templates for iPhones

PureBlend Software has released a new app designed for people who need to send e-mail or SMS messages via an iPhone, but prefer to avoid typing. Maildash allows users to quickly reply to messages by selecting a message template and hitting the send button. Maildash includes a series of common replies, and allows the customization of these templates or new ones as desired.

Briefcase file transfer app available for iPhone

Hey Mac Software has released Briefcase, a file transfer application for the iPhone and iPod touch. Users can download any type of file or directory onto their device, without the need for cables or extra client software.

Mark/Space launches Fliq social app for iPhone, Touch

Mark/Space has launched Fliq, a social networking app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Users can send photos and contacts to one another in real-time, without using e-mail, SMS or instant messaging configurations. Content can also be shared with anyone on the same Wi-Fi network.

iPhone boosting mobile developers, advertisers

The iPhone appears to be providing a significant boost to related mobile industries, involved parties claim. Andrew Fisher -- CEO of the company behind Shazam, an app which lets users identify songs through an iPhone's microphone -- notes that although his outfit is over four years old, prior to the iPhone 3G, people would only use earlier versions of Shazam three to five times per phone.

iPhone 3G shrinks profit margins of US carriers

Appleís iPhone is currently squeezing profit margins for US wireless carriers, with analysts expecting a drop in third quarter financial results in the coming weeks. Reuters reports that AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint are all expected to unveil lower-than-expected results, thanks in part to a larger subsidy on the iPhone 3G, and users reducing the total cost of their services

This is your fix of iPhone News in just one place so you don't have to visit 68 websites to be updated on what's going on in the iPhone world.

RingtoneFeeder Plus offers ringtone archive access

RingtoneFeeder has announced that it will now offer access to its iPhone ringtone archive. The new service requires an existing annual subscription, and carries an activation fee of $10, which grants full access to all ringtones released by the company. Subscribers receive four ringtones every week: one vocal and one instrumental, plus alternates for each that include an embedded ringing sound. [via MacNN]

Stone of Destiny; hidden-object gaming for iPhone

Voodoo Dimention has released an iPhone and iPod touch port of it's hidden-object game, The Stone of Destiny. In the game, players must use only a map, a book and a list of objects to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of their uncle. The Stone of Destiny takes players around the world searching for artifacts and magical runes that may reveal clues about their uncles whereabouts. [via iPodNN]

Circulating Trojan file targets iPhone followers

A Trojan attack in circulation is exploiting interest in the iPhone, say researchers with Panda Security. The company identifies the malware as Banker.LKCTrojan, an app which masquerades as a video of the iPhone. The associated file -- named "VideoPhone[1]_exe" -- specifically operates through a technique called pharming, in which DNS information is sabotaged to redirect a person to a malicious website. [via MacNN]

AT&T publishes pro-iPhone, anti-Storm sales guide

A alleged AT&T sales guide, leaked to the public, suggests concern by the carrier over Research in Motion's latest BlackBerry phone. The guide is said to be a memo circulating inside of AT&T, trumpeting the benefits of the iPhone 3G over the BlackBerry Storm, which AT&T claims will ship through Verizon sometime in October or November. The guide states that the Storm will lack Apple's proprietary multi-touch technology, as well as Wi-Fi and tri-band HSDPA, the latter allowing 3G data in more areas outside of North America. [via Electronista]

Edibles 1.3 adds enhanced food tracking options

Random Ideas has announced a new update to its food journaling application for the iPhone and iPod touch. Edibles allows users to track values important to observing a diet regimen, such as calories, carbohydrates and WeightWatchers points. Users are also capable of setting a "budget" for a value they are tracking, and then follow weekly and daily allowances based on this figure. [via iPodNN]

Stanford students writing iPhone apps

Back in July, we reported on an iPhone programming course being developed and offered by Stanford University. The course is in full swing this fall, with a reported 80 students signed up. Stanford has also started a project that is beginning to bear fruit in the form of iPhone and iPod touch apps -- the Stanford iApps Project. [via TUAW]

Cydia Installer Update

This update fixes several bugs related to the crash, the error “Bad Url” certain sources and the display of custom html pages. Adding new sections that combine the best packages and included several new icons and small badges that identify applications that change the system (daemon, exstension, uikit, library, console). [via iSpazio]

BBC brings radio to iPlayer for iPhone/iPod touch

The UK's official broadcaster, the BBC, has announced expanded support for the iPhone/iPod touch version of its iPlayer service. As of today the software now supports radio, allowing users to listen to episodes from a variety of programs up to seven days after the original airdate. [via iPodNN]

iPhone Developer University Program

The iPhone Developer University Program is a free program designed for higher education institutions looking to introduce curriculum for developing iPhone or iPod touch applications. The University Program provides a wealth of development resources, sophisticated tools for testing and debugging, and the ability to share applications within the same development team. Institutions can also submit applications for distribution in the App Store. [via Apple]

Review: X-Plane 9

X-Plane 9 for iPhone / iPod touch isn't for everyone. If you're looking for a high-action game, look elsewhere. But if you are a fan of flight simulation software and would like to have the opportunity to "fly" anywhere you happen to be, X-Plane 9 is definitely worth the US$9.99 price tag. Austin Meyer has a reputation for constantly improving X-Plane 9 for Mac, so I'm confident that we'll see significant upgrades and bug fixes in the very near future. [via TUAW]

Summizer, Twitter trends on your iPhone

Summizer (iTunes link) is an app for following trends on Twitter. Similar to a few web apps, it searches Twitter for keywords and allows you to save searches to watch for updates. It's small, simple and elegant. Use it to find out who's talking about what, or even who's talking about you. If you've ever used Twitter's tracking feature (currently disabled), you already know how this works.

[via TUAW]

Review: Fizz Weather

Fizz Weather is a good general weather app that gives you the basics. If you like the Weather Channel forecasts and maps, you will probably like Fizz Weather, even if the forecasts are a little terse. If you need to know more than "Sunny. Mild.", you’ll likely be happier with another solution. If you need, want, or rely on local radar, this is also not the app for you. [via JAIB]

Apple, AT&T hit with another iPhone lawsuit

Another lawsuit against Apple and AT&T is hitting the courts, with New York resident Jai Sen crying foul over both companies' advertising of the iPhone 3G, software problems, and cracks in the device's chassis. The lawsuit comes through the US District Court for the Eastern district of New York, and encompasses a class-action perspective, with other plaintiffs simply referred to as "others similarly situated." [via Macnn]

And this is your daily fix of iPhone news. There was much more going on on the various iPhone blogs but I don't want to report to you each and every post related to the iPhone. Most of them are useless and don't deserve to get much attention. I just want to report to you what I think is real news.

Internet petition protests iPhone auto-correction

An internet petition has been building to protest Apple's auto-correction feature on the iPhone, entitled Please Let Us Disable Auto Correction Steve. Many users would at least like the option to switch the feature off. The truncated words, commonly used while writing on mobile devices, are particularly problematic. Frühjahr Design has received nearly 3,000 "signatures" on its petition in the few days since its launch. [via Macnn]

UK's "Stuff" names iPhone 3G gadget of the year

Apple's iPhone 3G has won a public vote to find the year's best gadget, beating strong competition from three games consoles, a budget laptop and a balloon-shaped iPod speaker system. The latest version of the mobile that combines a phone with a music and video player was chosen by readers of Stuff magazine in its annual Gadget of the Year awards. [via Reuters UK]

SwirlyMMS for iPhone 2.x Released Those of you who are fans of SwirlyMMS will be happy to know that the SwirlySpace Team announced that SwirlyMMS 1.2 for firmware 2.x has been released. [via iPhone Alley]

First post-patch iPhone 3G lawsuit wants Apple to pay $5 million

Jumping on an increasingly overloaded bandwagon, a Little Rock, Arkansas man has started a class action lawsuit expecting at least $5 million in damages for Apple and AT&T overselling iPhone 3G relative to the network load, even though a fix has already been put into place. [via Apple Insider]