iPhone

Tests clear iPhone 3G antenna as cause of reception problems

A new series of tests coming out of Sweden appears to absolve the iPhone 3G's antenna from blame over the phone's reception issues.

A Swedish tech publication known as GP conducted a series of tests this week on the antennas of iPhone 3Gs belonging to users reporting reception issues, as a follow-up to an earlier test on an iPhone 3G that was connecting to 3G networks as designed. In both cases, the iPhone 3G antenna was functioning normally and emitting a strong signal, leading GP to conclude that the iPhone's hardware is not the culprit.

The GP … Read more

In U.K., iPhone ad banned over 'all Internet' claim

The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for the iPhone that promised users access to "all parts of the internet" on their Apple device.

The TV advertisement featured an individual flicking through holiday-related Web pages on an iPhone to a voice-over saying: "You never know which part of the Internet you'll need. The 'do you need sun cream' part? The 'what's the quickest way to the airport' part? The 'what about an ocean view room' part? Or the 'can you really afford this' part? Which is why all the parts of … Read more

Violent comic book doesn't meet Apple's standards

Apple recently took an axe to Murderdrome, an electronic comic book in its App Store that the company deemed too violent.

Murderdrome, created by the United Kingdom-based Infuriouscomics, had been created especially for the iPhone. Apple turned down Infuriouscomics' application to put the comic in the App Store.

"This is due to the part of the SDK that suggests content must not offend anyone in 'Apple's reasonable' opinion," a post on the Infurious blog read. "Here at Infurious, we would love to work with Apple to ensure a content-rating system can be put in place to … Read more

'Tetris'-like iPhone app to be pulled

A young software developer has decided to pull his iPhone game from Apple's App Store because it was too similar to the classic arcade game Tetris.

Noah Witherspoon, a college student in Atlanta, created a free game called Tris for Apple's handset platform. But Apple recently contacted Witherspoon to let him know that the Tetris Company, which licenses the eponymous video game, had notified it about copyright and trademark infringement claims against the app.

Witherspoon wrote on his blog that he has chosen not to take the matter to court and will pull the game on Wednesday. "… Read more

Apple to open up for the enterprise?

While on vacation in San Francisco last week, my family and I happened to stop by the Apple Store in Union Square. The buzz within was overwhelming--foreign tourists looking for cheap iPods, college students grabbing MacBooks, and business folks lining up for the 3G iPhones.

All of this activity isn't lost on large organizations. It seems that Apple is sitting pretty, ready for a backdoor entrance into the enterprise market with Macs and iPhones over the next few years.

The market certainly appears headed in this direction, but ironically, Apple may be its own worst enemy. Why? With its … Read more

iRecord Pro adds support for iPhone 3G

CNET Reviews posted a great article last week on the best MP3 players for people who like to record audio directly to a device without the aid of a computer. (The article referred to these people as "pirates," rather than "lawful archivers of personally owned content." Argh, mateys!) I second their strong approval of Toshiba's Gigabeat U, and generally think the Gigabeats were sorely underrated.

But what if you've already got an iPod, as sales statistics suggest more than 70 percent of you do? Streaming Networks' iRecord is the answer. Connect any device with … Read more

Report: iPhones en route to Russia

Russians may soon get their chance to queue up to buy the Apple iPhone. Legally, that is.

Official sales of the iPhone are likely to start in October, with a deal having been reached between Apple and Mobile TeleSystems, Russia's largest carrier, according to the Reuters news agency, citing market sources. A second, carrier has also signed a framework agreement, and a third deal is in the offing, Reuters reported.

A mobile telecommunications analyst told Reuters that MTS aims to sell 1 million iPhones within two years, and that total sales by the top three carriers over that two-year … Read more

Polish cell carrier stocks iPhone lines with actors

In New York, some Apple fans were miffed that the first people waiting in line for the iPhone 3G were activists hoping to stir up publicity for a cause. But don't you think they would've been even more ticked off if those first spots in the line were taken up by paid actors?

That's what's happened in Poland, where mobile phone operator Orange has admitted to Reuters that nearly two dozen stores in the country were manned with a line of actors in anticipation of Friday's iPhone launch.

"We have these fake queues at … Read more

Apple sued over iPhone 3G reception issues

An Alabama woman has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming the iPhone 3G's network is slower than advertised.

In a 10-page complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama, Birmingham resident Jessica Alena Smith charged Apple with breach of express and implied warranty and with unjust enrichment. Smith, who refers to the phone she purchased throughout the complaint as "Defective iPhone 3G," is seeking class action status.

The lawsuit claims that Apple's iPhone 3G advertising campaign is misleading.

"Defendant intended for customers to believe its statements and representations about the Defective … Read more

Apple acknowledges iPhone 3G reception issues

Apple has finally acknowledged the iPhone 3G's reception issues, confirming that the iPhone OS 2.0.2 software update was designed to fix those problems.

A company representative told the Associated Press overnight (thanks, Macworld) that the latest update "improved communication with 3G networks," after weeks of silence regarding the reception issues reported by iPhone 3G owners around the world. Apple was reportedly working on such a fix last week, but Monday's update was labeled with the briefest of descriptions--"bug fixes"--making it difficult to know exactly what was addressed with the update.… Read more