Teen who hacked iPhone trades gadget for new car
Via the Associated Press:
AP—— The teenage hacker who found a way to unlock the iPhone so that the device would not be restricted to use solely on AT&T Inc.’s cellular networks will be trading his reworked gadget for a new car.
George Hotz, of Glen Rock, N.J., said he had reached the deal with CertiCell, a Louisville, Ky.-based mobile phone repair company.
Hotz posted on his blog that he traded his modified iPhone for a “sweet Nissan 350Z and (three) iPhones.”
Full story
George Hotz
CertiCell
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Why a True Apple Fan Would Never Buy an iPhone
It’s been called the Second Coming—a gadget so revolutionary that people literally fall to their knees in praise of its magnificence. And why shouldn’t they? It’s from Apple, the same company that heroically unshackled us from the misery that is Windows. Apple opened our eyes to a whole new world of computing, one where fantastic design and seamless integration rule above all else. Macs taught us how easy managing a digital photo album could be, and were the de facto force behind our extensive (and legal) digital music libraries.
So why am I, a die-hard-Mac-fanatic, not purchasing Jobs’ brand new marvel? For a number of reasons, all of which are tied to one unfortunate reality: The iPhone is many, many things, but it sure ain’t no Apple.
Let me explain:
- Got a .Mac account? I do. And I couldn’t imagine life any other way. Syncing my emails between different computers is no longer an option for me—it’s a requirement, and I have only Apple to blame for my expectations. The iPhone? It won’t be doing that.
- Speaking of email, how could Apple drop the ball on such an important feature of the iPhone? Noticeable delays between the reading and deleting of emails? Manual deletion of emails one at a time with no option to delete a selected grouping? No BCC option? Yikes.
- On my Mac, Safari is the most dependable browser I’ve ever used. Not on the iPhone. Call me crazy, but surfing the internet sans Flash and Java just doesn’t feel like a true Web experience to me.
- The Edge Network. Can this actually be faster than dial up?
- 8 gigs is just too meager for the iPhone. One of my favorite things about using a Mac and iPod together is the ease with which I download music and sync them. The iPhone’s memory limitations require users to manually manage music and photos—something Apple liberated us from, a loooong time ago. Looks like you’ll have to carry around your iPod and a bigger phone in your pockets now.
- In case I haven’t already made it abundantly clear, syncing is vital to a true Mac user. So why does the iPhone’s Calendar app have so many problems syncing events with a desktop?
Look, I know there are a ton of other problems ($85.95 for a new battery after 300–400 charges?!) with the iPhone. I also know that in many ways, the iPhone rocks. But when Apple creates something unique, and invites me to make it a part of my life, I expect that device to bring it. Maybe my expectations are too high, but Jobs and Co. has taught me to expect only the best out of my gadgets. Ultimately, the iPhone is a jack of many trades, but a master of none. It delivers the internet, serves as an iPod, and provides portable access to iCal and iPhoto—but requests that you enjoy them in an undeniably diminished way.
For a true Apple fan, this is just simply too much to ask.
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
iWhack BETA, Whack-a-Mole for iPhone
I have not seen many games for the iPhone. Of the ones that I have seen—most don’t work. That may be the case for this too (I don’t have an iPhone), but somehow I don’t think so. The game, iWhack, is built with absolute positioning of div tags and it looks for good, old-fashioned mouse clicks. a.k.a. Flash is not needed.
Click the image above or click here for a quick link to the game.
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Apple may have sold 700,000 iPhones, beating estimates
Via Bloomberg, “Shoppers may have bought as many as 700,000 units over the weekend, Goldman Sachs Inc. analyst David Bailey said, twice his projection of 350,000. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster pegged sales at about 500,000, more than twice his original 200,000 estimate.”
“Jobs says he aims to sell 10 million of the phones in 2008, capturing 1 percent of the global market for handsets. He expects consumers will buy 1 billion mobile phones next year, which would be almost four times the number of personal computers sold.”
Now the math…
First weekend: 700,000 * $499 (conservative estimate) = Gross $349,300,000
Lifetime: 10,000,000 * $499 (conservative estimate) = Gross $4,990,000,000
I have a feeling that Jobs is doing his happy-dance.
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
Random links for Monday, June 25th
- Is Google going to launch a Google-branded handset?
A short post asks this question citing Google’s announced partnership with LG Electronics. - Creating and Testing Mobile Web Sites with Adobe CS 3
Short article on testing .mobi sites with Dreamweaver CS3 and Device Central. It’s another great read from Scott. - Vodka Authentication by SMS
Apparently, counterfeit Vodka is running rampant in Russia. To combat that effort, the Russian government is creating a Vodka authentication system via SMS. “By sending the serial number of the bottle to a designated short code, they will get a response by SMS certifying (or not) the product.” - Penrillian .sis Packager
Penrillian have recently released a useful .NET application that allows anyone to package up passive content (music, images, ebooks etc) as part of standard UIQ or S60 .sis install. - Nokia Mobile Web Server
- ustwo is hiring interface designers
- iPhone guided tour from Apple
- Top 10 phones for playing games
It is what it is. Every list of links needs a good “top 10″ article. - Appleiphany
“Appleiphany (noun): The feeling experienced when using or viewing an Apple device, questioning why the heck things haven’t worked like this all along. Example: When viewing the recent iPhone Guided Tour, I kept asking myself why mobile phones don’t already do all this stuff… seriously, it’s so dang obvious. See also hindsight.”
Get ready to dig deep. Business 2.0 has a nice guess on how much the iPhone’s data and voice plan is going to cost. They are estimating based on current BlackBerry fees.
Figure between $34.99 and $79.99 for data and $39.99 to $99.99 for voice. If your on the lowest plan, thats $80/month before fees and tax. With that you would roughly be at 450 phone minutes, but unlimited data and either unlimited or 2000 text messages (source, engadget).
In the end, if you last the entire two years, you’re going to wind up at $2,420 before tax. ($80/month plus 4GB model).
Source, gizmodo
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
Video of inaugural Chinese iPhone knock-off
Via macdailynews.com, YouTuber “benjamin1272” has posted a video of one of, if not the, very first Chinese knock-off of Apple’s iPhone. Other phones trying to be iPhones are around, but this is the first classic Chinese knock-off that macdailynews.com has seen stealing the Apple logo, icons, etc.
Meet the “tPhone” complete with a stylus:
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s iPhone software development capabilities.
Gizmodo is giving away an iPhone for free (sort of)
Gizmodo.com is giving away an iPhone for free (sort of). Eureka, the show on Sci-Fi, is helping them deliver Apple’s newest toy to one Gizmodo reader.
Here’s what you have to do to win: Create or design an original invention (emphasis on original – no recycled projects please) and send in a sketch, render, mockup, blueprint or some kind of image plus a description detailing your invention to contests@gizmodo.com with “Made in Eureka” as the subject. The better it is, the better your chances are of winning.
Contest ends July 10, so get moving!
Did Apple shrink the iPhone just days before its release? No—but it certainly looks like they tried to. boingboing.net noticed that Apple has changed the size of the hand that holds the iPhone in their ads. With a quick comparison of the official Apple photos, you will see what all the fuss is about.
My view has always been that the iPhone is a bit on the large side. Sure, as a true PDA replacement the size is not so bad. But a replacement for my compact RAZR, no. Perhaps if they started with the bigger hand in the first place I could have been convinced. For now, it is still huge.
Opera Mini 4 beta is now available
The new Opera Mini 4 beta is out. Among a variety of new features, the most notable of these is content zooming—the ability to see an entire web page and zoom in or out (Does this remind you of anything—perhaps the iPhone?).
Here is a short video of the new browser installed on Cameron’s Sony Ericsson K750i showing nytimes.com:
Source: Cameron Moll
