Is iDay over yet? Soon enough we can all go back to our daily lives without having to hear about the biggest flop of all time ever again. If you’re on Verizon, then I feel sorry for you. But you’ll be happy to know that the “nation’s most reliable network” just got faster. Everyone in the country now has EV-DO Rev. A coverage, meaning you can now download Justin.tv lightning fast. Who needs the iPhone and EDGE service when you can have a CDMA wonder phone? I really want to know. Press Release → Read More
I’ve been lusting over the new Blackberrys and the 8320 (aka “Curve 2″) might be the one for me. After my brief stint with a Sony Mylo I’ve become enamored with anything that has Wi-Fi capability. I like to surf the net from my phone because it allows me to alienate myself from everyone else and EDGE bites it, so Wi-Fi is a must for me. Come September, T-Mobile will be getting their very own Curve and it’s Wi-Fitastic. A few more specs after the jump. → Read More
Thousands of people are eagerly waiting in line to get their hands on the iPhone. However, for those of us tied into long term contracts or who just find the high price tag too much cash to part with, we’ve compiled a list of how to emulate iPhone’s features on your everyday handset. Visual Voice Mail Perhaps the most talked about feature, visual voice mail easily lets you play your messages out of order with more detail about who called and when. There are a couple of startups who offer this feature, Callwave and Gotvoice. Both of these programs also have other features like voice-to-text, or voicemail-to-email. Browser People have been gushing over iPhone’s browser, which lets you surf the “real” internet through a zoom and scan interface. Opera has recently come out with Opera Mini 4 Beta that has the same zoom navigation feature controlled by your number pad. Microsoft has their own version for Windows Mobile called Deepfish in limited beta. Email iPhone offers a rich HTML email interface including attachment support. Microsoft Exchange support stirred up quite a bit of controversy, but that may be resolved. Email has been offered on cell phones for a while now. Either Gmail, Yahoo, and Windows Live mail will work on your phone. Of course, Blackberry users need not apply. Maps iPhone is featuring a version of Google Maps that takes advantage of the touchscreen interface. A simpler Google Maps version is available for the rest of us and Yahoo is expected to release a mobile maps product on its Go platform soon. For voice and maps integration, readers should check out TellMe as well. Music Apple is claiming the iPhone is the best iPod to date. We’ve covered several other mobile solutions for playing music on your phone. The most recent player has been MusicStation, which mimics iTunes and plays songs with accompanying album art. If you’re only interested in playing the music you already own, you should also check out MyStrands, Avvenu, and Pandora. Widgets iPhone also lets you get information like weather and stock quotes through widgets. There are several companies already offering content widgets on a variety of phones. You should check out Bluepulse, Widsets, and GetMobio for ways of getting the content you crave to your phone. Of course, if you’re willing to spend a couple days installing all this software, you might as well wait → Read More
Now that we’re all burning up coal trying to watch pictures of people standing in line for iPhones, it’s important to remember that there are better ways of generating electricy but not all of them are created equal. Bay Area orgo-aniacs will enjoy this article by Bruce Karney who tells us all you’ll need to know about installing solar panels on your split-level out in Atherton. Interesting: Solar panels last about 30 years, losing approximate 0.5% of their efficiency each year. The only required maintenance is to hose them off a couple of times each summer. Do this from the ground, with a nozzle on your hose. The inverter, which converts direct current from the panels to alternating current used in your home, will need to be replaced after about 15 years. Expect to pay $2000 for the part and $400 for the labor sometime around 2022. → Read More
http://player.stickam.com/stickamPlayer/174323485-1873655 Our intrepid intern Ilya is down at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan shooting live video of people waiting in line. Watch as he watches the folks watching for the iPhone. We might have to change systems in a minute, but until then, here we go. → Read More
Playboy, always at the forefront of high technology and commerce, has created some special wallpapers for your iPhone. Not much skin in these — they want you to “buy” their “magazine” to see boobs — but it’s important that people understand that even in the dusty halls of Playboy, behind a vaseline-stained skrim and rolls of gauzy curtain material, there is a TV playing CNN non stop and someone — probably a jaded pornagrapher — is paying attention to what the kids are into today. PR0N page via Machinist → Read More
Canadians get all the fun stuff: Socialized healthcare, clean air, provinces and territories instead of states. And now, along with getting the BlackBerry 8830 smartphone, they’ll be getting GPS Nav from Bell, powered by TeleNav GPS. We just so happen to be giving away free service right now if you’d like to test out the wonders of TeleNav’s GPS service on your Blackberry. TeleNav is donating a Bluetooth GPS receiver and 3 months of TeleNav service for two lucky readers. Here’s how to win: Tell us your most creative idea for using the new “share my location” features (hit the jump to read more about the feature). Maybe a nice game of tag? Perhaps using it to organize a revolution of some sort? Whatever you think of, e-mail it to us at: contest at crunchgear dot com. Use the subject line SHARE YOUR LOCATION. The top two entries win the prize. We’re extending the contest to MONDAY, JULY 2, to give everyone some more time to enter. The service is available for select handsets and devices from all the major carriers. Check here to see if yours is supported. Hit the jump to read the full details on the new features. Many thanks to TeleNav! → Read More
Say goodbye to Net Neutrality, folks. The FTC just released an NIE of sorts, detailing the whole history of Net Neutrality and why, ultimately, the agency does not support the concept. Yes, our glorious leaders in Washington have decided that it’s a good idea to let The Market decide what’s best for all of us. All bow before the Invisible Hand. The FTC came out against Net Neutrality because: Policy makers should be wary of enacting regulation solely to prevent prospective harm to consumer welfare, particularly given the indeterminate effects on such welfare of potential conduct by broadband providers and the law enforcement structures that already exist This report isn’t law or anything, but it’s kinda lame to see our officials genuflect before the Almighty Telecos. I wonder if it has anything to do with how much money the industry gives to Congress. Nah, couldn’t be. FTC Nixes Net Neutrality [Consumer Affairs via Digg] → Read More
Nuts to the Apple store on Fifth Avenue. The Apple store in SoHo is where it’s at. (And, incidentally, where Peter and I will be for the actual launch. Woo!) The line wraps all the way around the block and the NYPD officers guarding it look absolutely thrilled to be there. And look at these two dudes, playing table tennis to pass the time. I’m sure that’s a metaphor for something. Something sinister. → Read More
Back on June 20, I reported that there’d be new, slimmer MacBooks coming in October that along with being made from new materials would also feature some “speeds and feeds” updates to the internal components. Today, another “trusted source” told us this was correct and added that the iPhone’s multi-touch technology is theoretically supposed to roll out with all the new laptops, including those coming out in October. The feature will be built into the touchpads, allowing you to navigate through your notebook’s files, applications, etc. the same way you can on the iPhone. (Yes, I know you can already scroll with them, that’s nothing new. I’m talking about all the other finger gestures that can be done on the iPhone’s screen.) There’s no reason to believe that Apple isn’t capable of adding this functionality and it would definitely be a sweet addition. Just having it for flipping though your iTunes Library and for zooming in on photos or docs or sites would be great. Here’s hoping this comes true. → Read More
I was tired of hearing about the iPhone weeks ago. Nevertheless, the march towards 6pm goes on. The folks at our sister site are working feverishly to get you every single possible angle on people waiting in lines. Just kidding. There’s more to their coverage than that. Check out all the iPhone news on CrunchGear. Highlights include Playboy’s new backgrounds for the mobile gadget (’cause god knows you need porn on the go) and the mayor of Philadelphia who left his spot on line when someone asked him about the city’s murder rate. Personally, I plan to hide under a rock at 6pm. The constant coverage on the Internet about Apple’s new gizmo is long past the ‘overboard’ stage. When is enough enough? The iPhone isn’t ending world hunger. It’s a gadget. Is it big news for the mobile and consumer electronics industries? Yes. But the 24/7 level of coverage is unwarranted. I think what bothers me most as a native New Yorker is that some of my own kindred are waiting in line too. New Yorkers are supposed to be savvier than this, no? We’re supposed to be more jaded by hype because we’re exposed to it everyday. It’s hard to keep projecting my air of cultured, metropolitan superiority when so many of my cohorts are acting like technopop lemmings. → Read More
http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/3TxsFhtGmlPvPgZrn Newsweek’s Steven Levy gets manhandled by someone who apparently wanted his mic on Fox News today. Levy, the lucky dog, actually had an iPhone and speculation was rife that he was getting his stuff stoled. → Read More
Don’t be fooled by Apple, AT&T and their luscious iPhone. The Verizon Wireless store on Broadway in SoHo is clearly jumping. Any minute now, an old man will go in there and ask what a “text message” is and how his daughter ran up his phone bill. Then the clerk will cry. iPhoneeee → Read More
We’re filing this one under insane, creepy, interesting, telling, and WTF. You’ve possibly heard of the WWE murder/suicide of the week, featuring popular WWE superstar Chris Benoit and his family. Yah, it’s not gadgety, but it’s about Wikiepedia, and if you like, then you’ll love! → Read More
Mere minutes until the iPhone’s launch, Apple lifted the veil on some of the iPhone accessories. They’re exactly what you’d expect: a Bluetooth headset, a dock and dock adapters, TTY adapters, stereo headsets, etc. There’s also a USB power adapter, which, according to Verizon, you’ll need to buy ASAP. Apple also debuted its “Works with iPhone” label. Just like the similar iPod label, you’ll need to see this logo, for which I’m sure Apple charges a nice royalty for, in order to make sure that the accessory you’re buying works with the iPhone. iPhone Accessories [Apple] → Read More
Since all you people seem to want to hear about is the iPhone, here’s a pretty good parody ad from CollegeHumor. They say they’ll have two more up on the site today – check here. http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1765295 → Read More
This is it. Today’s the day when every angel gets its wings. Some of us will be covering the New York madness, such as it is, but let’s not forget some of the other cities suckered into Apple Fest ’07. For instance, in that great liberal crack den known as San Francisco, a “comedy circus group” (ugh) has set up a mini golf course and we’re also receiving reports about a man, possibly more than one, in a suit who is standing in the line. At last check he had a MacBook Pro on his person. There’s also reports of clowns spewing iPhone propaganda. He must be a gadget blogger. Apple Store San Fran iPhone line already a three-ring circus [AppleInsider] → Read More
Collaborative communications tool, Foldera, is going into public beta today with the release of their 3.0 version (Note: Michael Arrington is on the board of directors of the company). Foldera is aimed at small to medium sized businesses looking to aggregate all of their project related communications into collaboratively managed folders – think of it as Outlook online, but self-organizing by topic. It competes with Outlook/Microsoft Sharepoint, Live Office, and recently profiled Orgoo. We covered last year’s private beta. The 3.0 version features simple search across all your content (contacts, emails, events, tasks, and files), contextual help, and an intuitive drag and drop interface. Once your organization is on Foldera, you can trade information and bundle your projects into discrete folders. You get your group started by each signing up for accounts and importing your email and contacts from Outlook, Gmail, or Yahoo contact list on to the service. Editing and access to contacts can be managed through permissions. Foldera’s user interface looks very similar to Gmail’s AJAX interface. On the left hand side, you have a list of folders by subject containing your calendar, email, files, and tasks tied to that subject. The main pane on the right shows the content. Folders are permission controlled workgroups, where you can send emails, assign tasks, trade files, and plan events on the calendar. All activity from that folder can be commented on by other users and is tied to that folder and the contacts it’s shared with. When you receive email replies to messages you sent from within the folder, they’re automatically filed in that folder for all members to see. Within the folders you can also plan events, assign tasks, and share files (1GB of storage). When tasks are completed, the person who assigned them is notified by email. The calendar is a lot like Google calendar, with the ability to easily overlay events from other folders or users, but doesn’t allow exporting or importing feeds. The file system tracks versions of files as they are uploaded to the service and lets you easily attach them to emails. Google’s addition of folders to Google Docs generated a great deal of conversation yesterday over the benefits of tags and folders. However, Foldera’s folders are a bit more flexible than traditional folders because they do allow files to linked to multiple projects (folders) in their drag and drop interface. Foldera is Free → Read More
The iPhone drops today. If you didn’t know, you’re probably dead and aren’t reading this anyway. If you did know, hopefully you’ve been reading our roundup of early reviews. One thing in particular has caught my eye but has been the subject of very little gratuitous blathering speculation: the iPhone’s headphone jack. Think you’re going to use the iPhone as an iPod with your fancy aftermarket headphones? Think different(ly). But is this a missed moneymaking opportunity for Apple, or a sign of hidden secret just beyond the horizon? → Read More
Now this is an interesting little bugger. It’s an SSH application for the iPhone written in Ajax and available for download onto your favorite servers. Back when I used to be a sysadmin I always looked for SSH implementations for my portable devices. Not having one was usually a dealbreaker. I wouldn’t call this an ideal solution — it could be rife with insecurity — but it’s the coolest iPhone app I’ve seen in a while. App Page via Skippy → Read More
