Apple iPhone OS 4.0: Sneak Peek at 10 am Pacific Today

If you have somehow forgotten, today Apple will be providing us a sneak peek at the iPhone OS 4.0.

Here is one thing I believe will be announced:

1. Multitasking (confirmed) – It has to be announced, the iPad sorely needs this to stay competitive as does Apple in the mobile phone market

That list isn’t long, but here is what I’d love to see, and why I think we may see it:

› Continue reading

Tags: Apple, Apple Game Center, Game Center, Intelliscreen, iPad, iPhone, iPhone OS 4.0, iTunes, phone, Quattro Wireless, Tethering, The Weather Channel, Verizon

iPhone OS 3.0 – Apple to preview on March 17th, 2009

Apple will be previewing the new iPhone OS 3.0 on Monday March 17th, 2009 @ 1pm EST (10am PST) at the Cupertino Apple Town Hall. 

This has been repoted by quite a few various sources including Engadget, Macrumors, etc.

As far as “What” will be presented, it is known that this will be a developer version of the operating system only.  It will show off an updated SDK (for developing for the iPhone OS 3.0).

Rumors are running rampant on the net with regards to what the new OS major revision will contain.

Widely held to be true, are rumors of:

• MMS (Multimedia text messaging)
• Tethering via Bluetooth and USB (we’ve been talking about tethering on the iPhone for a while now, this isn’t a big surprise — after all it already worked almost a year ago)

More “out there” options, that have no confirmation, but seem likely are:

• New Home screen app (SpringBoard) – we all now have too many apps to efficiently manage with the 16 icons (+4 static) per screen
• Push notification to apps
• Background processes
• Copy & Paste
• Flash support
• Magnetometer support (digital compasses, as in the Android G1)
• Syncing of notes
• Better bluetooth support (headphones, car kits, etc)
• Horizontal Keyboard
• Video Conferencing (ok, we’re stretching it now)

In my opinion, we’re likely to see MMS, as  well as tethering.  Don’t get too excited, I’m sure tethering will come with a clause from ATT (most likely a monthly fee just like the blackberry).

Otherwise if we get just 1 or 2 of the wishlist items, I think we should be happy.  We’ve been looking for Copy / Paste, Flash, Push notification, and background processes for a while.  I know push notification is working for “MobileMe”, but I mean the type of push notification Apple was touting last summer (here’s a hint, its the same as the original Exchange push notification that Apple NEEDED to have in order to somewhat compete with blackberry).  

Let’s hope there is good news on Monday for us all.

Tags: Apple, Apple iPhone, Apple Town Hall, AT&T, blackberry, bluetooth, copy paste, Cupertino, engadget, Flash, homescreen, iPhone, iPhone OS, iPhone OS 3.0, magnetometer, MMS, OS 3.0, Push notification, Springboard, Tethering, video conferencing, WDC

AT&T iPhone Tethering to cost $30/month

Macblogz reports, AT&T iPhone Tethering Plan Specifics, No Unlimited Plan?

Read the article, in summary:

• Ralph De La Vega announced an official iPhone tethering plan
• Supposedly, delayed because AT&T is paranoid about how the service will run on their network
• 5GB Data Cap (just like blackberry users)
• Initial connection through iTunes? (might be just initial setup)
• Expected Speeds: GPRS: 30k – dialup speeds / EDGE: 110k – ISDN / 3g: 1000k – slow broadband
• Will be $30 / month, new iPhone plans may roll out including tethering
• Do not pro-rate tethering/bandwidth, it can become a nightmare, instead wait until new billing cycle (not sure how this will work)
• Unlimited bandwidth = AT&T says to get a wireless PC Card
• No ETA on launch

Tags: 3g, AT&T, bandwidth, battery life, iPhone, Ralph De La Vega, Tethering

iPhone 2.2 Screenshots, Podcast Updates, and Tethering

Some new news has been uncovered.  In a post on AppleInsider.com, Sam Oliver writes about the new iPhone 2.2 screenshots.  

The screenshots (shown above) show a new podcast interface to the iTunes store. Additional changes (reported a while ago) include modifications to the categories screen.  The new screen includes larger icons.  Personally, I prefer having the one line, shorter height categories.  You can fit more on the screen.  

As far as tethering on the iPhone — my bones tell me that AT&T is conjuring up another fictional fee to place on the functionality.  When will the time end that we have to pay a company to stop blocking functionality?

Reported in AT&T: Tethering Coming to the iPhone Soon, on Technologizer — the AT&T Mobility President and CEO Ralph De La Vega just told an interviewer, Michael Arrington, that AT&T is working with Apple to let the iPhone server as a tethered wireless modem for laptops.

This disgusts me.  

First of all, there was an app already out there that let us do this.  Apple removed it.  

Second — aren’t we already paying through the nose for our iPhone?  I’m paying AT&T an additional $30 a month, just to use the iPhone.  

If you’re willing, jailbreak your phone, and install PdaNet for iPhone.  

Hey — AT&T — if you don’t want us jailbreaking the phone, try not to eliminate functionality, spend 3.5 months recreating it, and then charging us for it.

Tags: 2.2, 3g, Apple, AT&T, at7t, iPhone, iTunes, pdanet, Podcast, Ralph De La Vega, Tethering