iPhone Pink?

Spotted on Crave, a custom pink iPhone.

Google; AT&T shocked by iPhone usage

Apple Insider reports that Google on Wednesday said it has seen 50 times more search requests coming from Apple iPhones than any other mobile handset -- a revelation so astonishing that the company originally suspected it had made an error culling its own data.

According to the Financial Times Vic Gundotra, head of Google’s mobile operations, said that if other handset manufacturers follow in Apple’s footsteps and make Web access easier on their handsets the number of mobile searches could outpace fixed internet search “within the next several years.”

[source : ZDNet blogs]

iPhone now available with 8GB

TUAW reports that the US Apple Store came back online this morning with updated, larger-capacity iPhone and iPod touch models.

The iPhone is now available with 8GB. The iPod touch is now available in three models; 8GB, 16GB and 32GB.

TUAW gives credit to Engadget for calling this update about five hours before it hit the street.

Gold and Diamond Cases for the iPhone

Spotted on Ubergizmo, an 18-carat gold and diamond case for a girl's new best friend, the iPhone.


Handcrafted with 42 pieces of diamonds encrusted in 18-carat gold, this Diamond Case will hit your bank account for massive damage - to the tune of $20,000 more like it. Of course, those with a whole lot less money can always settle for the limited edition $90 carbon-fiber case.


And another elegant diamond iphone case spotted by Crave.

Apple iPhone sales hit four million mark

Apple Inc. has sold four million iPhones since the cellphone was launched in June, chief executive Steve Jobs said Tuesday.

"That averages 20,000 iPhones a day," Jobs told a standing-room crowd in a cavernous room at the opening of the California company's annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco. "We are really pleased with this."

Steve Jobs: iPhone talks in China have not ended

Steve Jobs on CNBC denies that iPhone talks have broken down with China Mobile. The rumored negociations have never existed.

A single member of China Mobile has flown out to Cuppertino once.

Steve Jobs would like the iPhone in China but has nothing new to announce for now.

[source : The New York Times]

How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry

It was a late morning in the fall of 2006. Almost a year earlier, Steve Jobs had tasked about 200 of Apple's top engineers with creating the iPhone. Yet here, in Apple's boardroom, it was clear that the prototype was still a disaster. It wasn't just buggy, it flat-out didn't work. The phone dropped calls constantly, the battery stopped charging before it was full, data and applications routinely became corrupted and unusable. The list of problems seemed endless. At the end of the demo, Jobs fixed the dozen or so people in the room with a level stare and said, "We don't have a product yet."

[source : wired]

iPhone Home Phone

Spotted on Engadget, an "i-Phone home phone".

"OpenFrame – a new home phone envisioned by John Sculley, former Apple CEO – resembles Apple's iPhone".

Apple files patent application to use iPhone to purchase "to-go" items - no more waiting in line

Apple just filed a patent application on December 20 for a method whereby a media player, PDA, or cellphone could be used to place a wireless-order at a particular store - doing away with the dreaded “queue.”

iPhone users are already able to wirelessly download music from iTunes’ catalogue at all Starbucks locations, and this technolofy would take the Apple-Starbucks relationship to the next step. USPTO patent application #20070291710 outlines a system that is capable of logging orders and notifying the customer when the order is ready for pick-up. The system would also track customers’ shopping habits and purchases.

Customers might tap a button to order their favorite drink, say a double-shot mocha, as they stroll up to the nearest coffee shop. When the drink is ready go to, the device–such as an iPhone–would chime or blink to let the thirsty one know it’s time to scoop up the order at the counter.

The iPhone may be set to take on a new role - transitioning from a cellphone/media player phenom into a life-assistant for your daily activities. We’ll have to wait and see just what Apple does with this new technology. A patent application doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple will be putting the new tech into their future lineup, but if it does pan out, we couldn’t be happier. There’s nothing worse than waiting in line.

[source : Forbes]

Most people read time from cell phones over watches

In an ongoing Gizmodo poll, it appears that nearly two-thirds of people prefer to check the current time on their cell phone rather than on a conventional wristwatch.

The poll, at the time of this post, is showing that 64.7% of people look up the time on their phones, compared to just 31.0% of people who still use a wristwatch. The missing option from this poll are people who use both.
The Gizmodo poll also revealed 28% of their (savvy) readers used iPhones.

[source : textually.org]

Apple working on auto-volume control for iPhones

According to UK's Daily Mail amid growing fears that listeners could cause irreversible damage to their hearing - the highest setting is as loud as a chainsaw - Apple is developing an automatic volume control.
"A new patent reveals that the next iPods and iPhones could automatically calculate how long a person has been listening and at what volume, before gradually reducing the sound level.

The device will also calculate the amount of "quiet time" between when the iPod is turned off and when it is restarted, allowing the volume to be increased again to a safe level.

The patent states: "Since the damaging effect on users' hearing is both gradual and cumulative, even those users who are concerned about hearing loss may not behave in a manner that would limit or minimise such damaging effects."

[source : textually.org]

President Clinton: iPhone user

Hate it or love it, there's no denying the iPhone is hot amongst the A-list -- even if they can't seem to hold it the right way -- and it doesn't get more A-list than former President Bill Clinton, who told TUAW reader B. Ioffe that he was an iPhone user while signing his device at a recent rally. Bill said he got his from El Steve himself, which is interesting -- wonder if he asked board member Al Gore first?

[source : engadgetmobile]

Intel's Silverthorne chip will be available in Apple devices

According to Intel, Apple has apparently committed to using the company's 45nm Silverthorne chip in multiple products slated for 2008. The chip offers the processing power of second-generation Pentium M processors, with the power consumption of a cellphone chip. Of course, it's not just the processor. Apple is expected to emerge as a major supporter of Intel's whole "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device platform, which packages processor, graphics and connectivity into a small enough bundle to give iPhone-powering Samsung a run for its money in ultra mobile products -- and Intel has made it clear that it has its sights set on that very member of Apple's lineup wit. The best news for dreamers that've been holding out for a true Newton successor all this time is that the chips provide plenty of juice for a UMPC-type device should Apple choose to go down that path.

[source : engadgetmobile]

Mobile-Phone Spending in U.S. Rises to Record After New IPhone

According to Bloomberg, U.S. customers shelled out 40 percent more for handsets last quarter than a year earlier.
"Americans, previously hard-pressed to pay $50 for a phone, are now more like their European and Asian counterparts and paying $300 to $400 for the top devices. That will translate into higher sales for Apple and may bolster rivals Nokia and Sony Ericsson which tried for years to promote camera and music phones to U.S. buyers.
"The iPhone has made the U.S. consumer appreciate the value of the mobile phone,'' said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner Inc.

[source : textually.org]

Apple working for Japanese iPhone launch

Apple is already in negotiations to release the iPhone in Japan, reports indicate. Sources say that Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently met with Masao Nakamura, the president of Japan's largest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo.
Jobs has also supposedly met with people from Japan's third-largest carrier, Softbank, and executives from both carriers are said to have flown multiple times to Apple's Cupertino headquarters.
Notably excluded from reports is Japan's second-rated carrier, KDDI.

[source : textually]

iPhone integrated Land Rover LRX

In a press release issued by the automaker, it notes that the concept vehicle will boast a couple of touchscreens, one of which is used to "control the LRX's iPhone facility." Additionally, you can catch an iPod docking station and a set of removable speakers on the tailgate, though i can't say that's the most convenient location for such a device.

we should find out a whole lot more when it launch at the Detroit Auto Show floor next month.

[source : engadgetmobile]

iPhone GPS Module

The iphone GPS module allows jail broken iphones to finally have GPS functionality. This module is in development and will be shipping in February. All software is open source and more applications are being written every day. This module gives you the ability to explore all the benefits that GPS on a platform that is small enough to put on a keychain. Plans are already underway for a stylish plastic enclosure as well.
Features:

• Channels: 16
• Update Rate: 1 sample / second
• Acquisition Time: Hot: 4 Seconds, Cold: 45 seconds, Indoor: A long time
• Serial Output: 1 Serial, 1 USB
• Position Accuracy : 2.5m
• Protocol Support: NMEA 0183 ver 2.3

Iphone Software: Requires Jail Broken Phone (tested on firmware version 1.1.2).Software will be open source/community basedFirst prototype (on iphone with 1.0.1 firmware)

[source : justamp]