June 30th, 2009

iPhone OS and SDK 3.1 betas distributed to developers

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:30 pm

Categories: Developer, SDK, iPhone, iPhone 3.0, iPhone 3GS

Tags: Apple iPhone, Developer, Operating System, SDK, Video, Beta, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

Apple made betas of iPhone OS 3.1 (build 7C97d) and iPhone SDK 3.1 (build 9M2736a) available to developers today on its iPhone Developer Connection Web site.

According to QuickPwn.com changes include:

• The baseband has been updated to 5.08.01 - ultrasn0w users should not use the iPhone OS 3.1 beta, otherwise their iPhones could be permanently locked!
• iPhone 3GS - When you’re trimming your videos you now have the option of saving the original video by tapping the “Save as copy” button.
• Voice Control is finally working over bluetooth now!
• When you move your icons around the iPhone vibrates
• MMS is enabled by default but does not work for AT&T users
• The AT&T profile is updated to 4.2
• Improvements to OpenGL and Quartz
• There’s now a VideoEditorController API - Allows third party apps to call up video editing UI
• Video picker API

April 14th, 2009

Apple releases third iPhone 3.0 beta to developers

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:19 pm

Categories: Developer, SDK, iPhone, iPhone 3.0

Tags: Apple iPhone, Developer, Apple Inc., Beta, Jason D. O'Grady

Apple Tuesday seeded developers with the third external build of the iPhone 3.0 SDK and operating system.

In order to get access to the 3.0 beta software you have to be a registered iPhone developer. As with the first and second iPhone 3.0 developer builds, Apple is still warning developers that MMS and tethering are not supported and should not be used.

According to Ars Technica the 229MB update for the iPhone 3G (build 7A280F) features a major change to the newly minted push notification system:

Apple has added separate types for the three notification methods: badge, text alert, and sound. Developers can register their apps for these different notification types individually for the needs of their users.

iPhone 3.0b3 also includes improvement to the XIB files created by Interface Builder 3.1, an update to Dashcode that allows the creation of iPhone-optimized Web applications and several other API changes.

The big question is what’s changed on the iPhone itself. Stay tuned to the comments around the Web for more tips about what changed from beta 2 to beta 3.

• Beta 1 (7A238J) was released on 13 March
• Beta 2 (7A259G) was released on 31 March (18 days later)
• Beta 3 (7A280F) was released on 14 April (14 days later)

April 8th, 2009

More iPhone 3.0 hardware features trickle out

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:34 am

Categories: Developer, Hardware, Leak, SDK, iPhone, iPhone 3.0

Tags: Apple iPhone, Video, Hardware, Camera, MacRumors, Corporate Communications, Marketing, Jason D. O'Grady

It seems like only yesterday that rumors swirled about several new features in the iPhone 3.0 hardware. Eagle-eyed developers pouring over Apple’s iPhone 3.0 SDK have unearthed new clues that the new iPhone could get 802.11n, an FM transmitter, an FM receiver, up to 32GB RAM, a 3.2MP camera with video recording, editing and uploading features.

New information suggests that even more new features could be on tap for iPhone 3.0. MacRumors has confirmed the existence of the video recording feature (pictured) which will work via a small toggle switch at the bottom of the camera UI. The left setting will be for taking traditional still photos and sliding it to the right will enable the video recording option.

Configuration files intentionally hidden in the developer SDK release reference even more goodies, including an auto-focus camera, magnetometer (digital compass), and a mysterious preference labeled “Voice Control” that could indicate the presence of voice recognition and/or voice commands in the upcoming release.

March 17th, 2009

The big (and ignored) bit in Apple's iPhone 3.0 announcements

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 1:19 pm

Categories: Developer, SDK, iPhone, iPod touch

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., Digital Music, Digital Media, Advertising & Promotion, Wi-Fi, Wireless And Mobility, Personal Technology, Consumer Electronics, Marketing

Before Apple’s Tuesday announcements of iPhone 3.0, the buzz was around cut, paste and copy. However, I was encouraged by API support for the iPhone’s dock connector, which will let third-party developers talk to their mobile apps over a wire.

On this issue, Apple first pointed to “accessories,” such as speakers or other consumer audio devices. This is natural if the iPhone and iPod Touch are primarily music players (”the best iPods ever,” as Steve Jobs said at their introduction.

However, the iPhone/iPod Touch are now much more than that: they are a platform that can deliver mobile data to a wide range of markets and segments. (Today’s iPhone 3.0 announcements around in-app purchase of subscription content addresses the content creators, and the late arrival of push events helps shore up the business market.)

But with secure wired connections, the iPhone/iPod Touch is now a solid mobile data collection platform., one that supports Bluetooth wireless, WiFi and wired connections for data transfer. Not all applications want a wireless or mail data transfer.

For example, Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone software, talked up how a blood pressure cuff could be connected to the iPhone for data collection. After the data is retrieved, it is sent to your doctor.

The more practical approach will be that your iPhone app will talk to a desktop application through the dock cable and store the results over a period of time, days or weeks. The application can then send the batched data as well as trend alerts to a server run by the doctor or medical group.

Read the rest of this entry »

March 11th, 2009

Apple syncs its VoiceOver accessibility technology to iPod Shuffle

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 9:21 am

Categories: 10.5, 10.6, Leopard, SDK, iPod shuffle

Tags: Apple Macintosh, User Interface, Apple iPod, Apple iPod Shuffle, Apple Inc., VoiceOver, Accessibility Hierarchy, HIToolbox, Apple Mac OS X, Apple Mac OS

The new iPod Shuffle is not only smaller than the previous flavors, but it connects with VoiceOver, the Mac’s accessibility interface that was introduced in Mac OS X Tiger.

Before Tiger, Mac OS X offered a number accessibility APIs for image magnification and inversion, as well as the means to control the mouse with the keyboard. In Tiger, Apple added VoiceOver, a “full-featured screen reader and control interface.”

Fully integrated into the Mac OS X Aqua user interface, VoiceOver reads out loud the content of documents such as webpages, email messages, and word-processing files. It provides a comprehensive audible description of your workspace and all the activities taking place on your computer, and includes a rich set of keyboard commands that allows you to navigate the Mac OS X interface and interact with application and system controls.

VoiceOver includes some exciting advanced features, such as the ability to handle fast speaking rates (over 750 words per minute) without choppiness, and the evaluation of an entire paragraph to determine the speaking context. VoiceOver also includes a realistic voice in Alex, and support for refreshable braille displays.

On the Shuffle’s VoiceOver page there are a number of audio examples. I noticed quite a difference between the expression of VoiceOver in Mac OS X Leopard and that in Tiger (which sounds similar to its implementation under Windows, according to Apple). Perhaps this is the natural-sounding Alex voice?

Read the rest of this entry »

April 11th, 2008

iPhone beta presages A2DP, GPS

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 7:01 am

Categories: Bluetooth, Firmware, GPS, SDK, iPod

Tags: Apple iPhone, String, Beta, iPhone Beta, GPS, Bluetooth, Handhelds, Wi-Fi, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

Greek technology site iPhone Hellas has been combing the text strings in the recent beta of Apple’s iPhone 2.0 firmware. As we’ve seen in the past, the text strings refer to unannounced iPhone features and also mention extra steps included to prevent unlocking.

Strings were found containing “A2DP” and “HeadphoneBT” implying stereo Bluetooth and possibly a Bluetooth remote control feature. Strings for “RoleGps,” “RoleRemote,” and “RoleA2DP” allude to potential GPS navigation funtions. There’s a “Printers” directory in the /Library and a new “YouTubePlugIn.webplugin” string presumably for the Safari browser. A “Google411″ text string may reference Google Maps and local directory services.

Finally, the ominous sounding “BRICKED_AND_SIM_LOCKED_STRING” implies that Apple is taking further steps to prevent unlocking.

The final version of the iPhone 2.0 firmware is due in June 2008.

April 10th, 2008

iPhone 2.0 to get contact searching; meeting invites

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 5:46 am

Categories: SDK, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Firmware, Jason D. O'Grady

On 06 March 2008 when Apple announced the details of the iPhone SDK eagle-eyed Daniel Ahdout noticed a tiny spotlight search icon in the top of the alphabet in the contacts application.

As it turns out, contact searching and meeting invitations may be coming to your iPhone with the release of the 2.0 firmware, which is expected in June.

Engadget has posted screenshots from the latest build of the iPhone SDK that clearly show not only contact searching but also meeting invitations.

The weird part: the two new features are purportedly in the Enterprise version of firmware 2.0. According to the report the Enterprise version doesn’t have icons for the App store or iTunes store either.

I don’t know about you, but I’d hope that contact searching and meeting invitations would be in the consumer version of the firmware too. For that matter, I bet there are plenty of “Enterprise” users who love to have the App Store and iTunes Store icons too.

Who knew that there was even a  separate Enterprise version in the first place?

Instead of segregating features based on a perceived need Apple should give iPhone users a robust configuration interface that allows end users and administrators to customize their iPhone experience to suit their need. That would make more sense to me.

What about you, would you be miffed if Apple didn’t include contact searching and meeting invitations in the consumer version of firmware 2.0?

April 8th, 2008

Apple leaks iPhone 3G chipset in SDK

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:57 pm

Categories: 3G, SDK, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Chipset, HSDPA, SDK, Apple Inc., ZiPhone.org, Cellular Phones, 3G, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

ZiPhone.org has uncovered code in the latest iPhone SDK beta that hints that the next generation iPhone will use Infineon’s SGOLD3 (PMB8878) “3.5G” processor. From their marketing material:

INFINEON IS one of the early platform vendors to support HSDPA category 8 (7.2 Mbit/s). The implementation of equalizer based advanced receiver technology improves the data throughput, especially at high data rates, by up to 40%. In addition, the software programmable slot processing in the HSDPA Rx path provides further flexibility for performance enhancements. The HSDPA performance of S-GOLD3H meets and exceeds all test cases as specified in the 3GPP standard.

AppleInsider notes:

Unlike the EDGE-only chipset from the current Apple handset, the new Infineon hardware not only adds 3G over HSDPA but runs up to the international standard’s newer 7.2 megabit per second spec — twice the speed of the 3.6-megabit access seen on most HSDPA networks.

From Wikipedia:

High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is a 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity. Current HSDPA deployments support down-link speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.4 Mbit/s. Further speed increases are planned for the near future. The networks are then to be upgraded to Evolved HSPA, which provides speeds of 42 Mbit/s downlink in its first release.

March 12th, 2008

iPhone SDK downloads surpass 100,000

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:22 am

Categories: SDK, Software, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, SDK, Apple Inc., Jason D. O'Grady

Apple today announced that more than 100,000 developers have downloaded the beta version of the company’s iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) in the first four days since its launch on 06 March 2008.

“Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible with more than 100,000 downloads in the first four days,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Also, over one million people have watched the launch video on Apple.com, further demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone.”

It’s pretty obvious that the iPhone SDK is a really big deal, right?

Could Apple have been planning an SDK all along? Or were they coerced into doing it by the crafty cottage industry of jailbreakers that’s grown around iPhone? Or in an attempt to goose waning sales after the inevitable plateau? Anyone seen the AAPL stock price lately? Conspiracy?

Other SDK items of note: Apple’s iPhone Human Interface Guidelines, Rogue Amoeba’s SDK bug report, third-party iPhone apps won’t run in the background and Apple’s taking a 30 percent cut of sales. (Jon Gruber has been covering SDK like a madman.)

For more on the SDK launch event where AOL, Electronic Arts, Epocrates, Salesforce.com and Sega have demonstrated their wares read David Morgenstern’s Reporter’s Notebook.

March 7th, 2008

Who should be thanked for the return of Mr. Jobs to Apple?

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 7:33 pm

Categories: Mac OS, Microsoft, SDK, Steve Jobs, Windows

Tags: Strategy, Job, Steve Jobs, Apple Macintosh, MacWeek, Operating System, Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., IBM Corp., NeXTstep

News of Singularity, a non-Windows operating system from Microsoft, sparked my interest in OSes past and present. It got me thumbing though the back issues of MacWEEK for memories of OSes that were built from scratch and now forgotten. But in the research, I found some ironic gold regarding NeXTstep, the foundation of what became Mac OS X, and the return of Steve Jobs to Apple.

Microsoft’s “proof-of-concept” Singularity OS was introduced at its annual Research Techfest in Redmond. According to Mary Jo Foley, it’s being offered to computer science departments.

Singularity is an operating system and set of related tools and libraries that is developed completely in managed code. Singularity is not based on Windows; it was written from scratch as a proof-of-concept.

“We decided not to build operating systems that are built on technologies that are 30 years old,” said Principal Researcher Galen Hunt.

Ouch. Tough talk for someone inside Microsoft. But my guess is that Hunt is talking about Unix and not just Windows, so the shot may pass muster with the corporate communications dept. on the Redmond campus.

Now, Apple has plenty of experience in the OS research area. Back in the late 1980s, a group of its programmers got together and brainstormed ideas for a new OS, some that could be grafted onto the existing Mac OS core and others that were more difficult, requiring a whole new kernel and OS. The ideas were put on pink and blue cards, with the former being the tougher set. This was the origin of Project Pink, and the Blue Meanies, the team that pushed forward System 7.

In 1992, Apple and IBM (and Motorola) formed an alliance to create a RISC processor, reference hardware for that chip and operating systems that would run on it. Around the time of that deal, Pink and its development team were shipped out to a new Apple-IBM company called Taligent, which was to develop the future Mac OS and replace OS/2 on the IBM side.

We should note that Pink/Taligent was aimed at the next-generation Microsoft OS, also built from scratch, called Cairo. (Remember that?) It was also aimed at NeXT, which offered its NeXTstep-based workstations.

Read the rest of this entry »