July 20th, 2009

The iPhone development 'emergency guide'

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 11:04 am

Categories: WWDC, iPhone OS 3.0, iPhone SDK

Tags: Apple iPhone, Developer, Apple Macintosh, Gemmell, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, David Morgenstern

Blogger and Mac developer Matt Gemmell recently offered an “emergency guide” to professional programmers new to the Mac and iPhone. Its a bare-bones, short-form explanation of what’s what for those getting started developing for the Apple platform.

Gemmell says that the iPhone Development Emergency Guide is aimed at “competent developers who haven’t written code for the iPhone platform before, and just want to get started right now. “Competent” here doesn’t mean programming newbies, rather, programmers who are “confident of your ability to read documentation, do your research, and apply your existing skills to a new language, IDE, SDK and platform without the need for a preface, introduction and lecture on guiding principles.”

As I mentioned in June, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference saw the arrival of many iPhone-centric programers to the community. Some noted a hint of backlash from longtime Mac developers, so Gemmell’s post offers another example of how the community is welcoming the newcomers.

Here are a couple of interesting observations:

Gemmell warned about over-reliance on the performance of the iPhone Simulator environment on the Mac. There’s no substitute for real-world testing on the mobile hardware.

Read the rest of this entry »

June 17th, 2009

Signs of iPhone growing pains at Apple's WWDC?

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 10:27 pm

Categories: 10.6, App Store, WWDC, iPhone, iPhone 3.0

Tags: Apple iPhone, Developer, Apple Macintosh, WWDC, Apple Inc., Session, Desktops, Hardware, David Morgenstern

Programmers are finally unpacking their gear after last week’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco and blogging about the experience. Some noticed rough edges in the community. Or even sharp edges.

The divide between longtime Mac developers and the iPhone newcomers was noted by Neven Morgan, the iPhone developer of OneTrip and Quip, the daily quotes machine. In a blog post, he said that the success of the iPhone could cause some dissension in the family.

The tension was more noticeable this year than the last. I really hope the divide between Mac-only developers and those who have newly arrived to the OS X platform via iPhone doesn’t become a troubling community issue. I understand why a desktop-centric veteran of Mac OS would be annoyed by a building covered with naught but iPhone app icons. I also understand why Apple is focusing on this new product so much: it’s popular, it’s ripe with potential, it’s a great mix of the accessible and the technologically impressive. Who knows how one should properly think about this. I just wish mom and dad would stop fighting, you know?

However, John Gruber at Daring Fireball saw new interest in the Mac from iPhone developers who had grown up on other platforms.

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June 9th, 2009

Apple vs. Microsoft: Yet another upgrade pricing fiasco

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 10:15 am

Categories: 10.6, Mac OS, Microsoft, WWDC, Windows

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows 7, Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Pricing Strategy, Microsoft Windows, Pricing, Marketing Research, Operating Systems, Software

Once again, Apple shows Redmond how it should be done on pricing upgrades, especially ones with plenty of internal fixes. Will Windows users feel grateful when Mac users get their upgrades for half to a quarter of the price? Or is it another sucker moment?

At the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday, Phil Schiller, senior vice-president of worldwide product marketing, laid out the complex upgrade pricing for the next version of Mac OS X, called Snow Leopard: $29. And $49 for a 4-seat “family” license, which brings the cost per seat down to $12 and change.

A longtime developer sitting next to me said before the keynote that the pricing might be essentially free, which in the world of OS upgrades was $19. I thought it actually could be freely free, meaning zero.

Still, $29 will get most Mac OS X Leopard users to upgrade right away, which is what Apple wants (the more-reliable version will reduce support costs) and what developers will also want since they will likely offer versions that take advantage of the rewritten OS.

But what of Microsoft? Here’s what Mary Jo Foley at All About Microsoft has uncovered on upgrade pricing:

Read the rest of this entry »

June 9th, 2009

Why AT&T won’t support MMS and tethering on the iPhone 3GS

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:45 am

Categories: MMS, Tethering, WWDC, iPhone, iPhone 3.0

Tags: Apple iPhone, MMS, AT&T Corp., Text Messaging/SMS/MMS, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Online Communications, Jason D. O'Grady

One of the most incredible surprises at yesterday’s WWDC keynote address wasn’t the iPhone 3GS’ more CPU, more RAM, 3MP camera or its battery — it was that AT&T won’t be offering MMS and tethering to its U.S. iPhone customers, at least initially.

My colleague David Morgenstern wrote about the outrage that’s brewing with AT&T about the omission of two major iPhone OS 3.0 features.

In case you’re wondering why AT&T won’t be offering MMS and tethering until “late summer” Boy Genius Report offers this explanation. It’s because “AT&T has to manually remove all the “Opt Out MMS codes” on each account.”

Really AT&T?

Don’t you have some kind of whiz-bang script that could flip that little bit of information on each account? Someone has to manually remove the code? Really? If true, this makes me more scared that ever to be a AT&T customer.

BGR also notes that tethering is also on hold for AT&T’s U.S. customers because it’s in the process of putting together a $70 per month unlimited data and tethering plan. SMS and MMS will not be included in that plan, sadly.

June 9th, 2009

AT&T's $200 early upgrade fee & iPhone eligibility

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:49 am

Categories: AT&T, WWDC

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple iPhone 3G, 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless And Mobility, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

Well that’s a wet blanket.

After getting all excited about the iPhone 3GS announcement yesterday, I rushed over to the Apple online store to place a pre-order for a 32GB model only to discover that I’m not eligible for the $199/$299 (plus two-year contract, natch) pricing that Apple advertises.

After entering my account information on buyiphone.apple.com I get this message:

The problem is that the “early iPhone upgrade” that they speak of is actually a $200 penalty, making prices a little too expensive for my budget:

The weird part is the 12 July 2009 date after which I “may qualify” for a standard $199/$299 iPhone upgrade. According to AppleInsider AT&T won’t subsidize the cost of another new phone by $400 after less than a year of service. An AT&T representative told me that iPhone 3G customers have to wait 18 months before being eligible to upgrade to the 3GS at regular prices.

I purchased my iPhone 3G on 08 June 2008 and was confused by the 12 July 2009 date show above. Why are some iPhone 3G’s eligible for an upgrade after 13 months while others aren’t eligible for 18 months? A blog post at iPhonesTalk thinks that it’s a wrinkle with the AT&T family plan and explains how to swap iPhones among family:

…sometimes the other member of family plan is eligible. So just get the 3G on the family’s members line, then simply swap the SIM card… It’s not illegal really; the same family uses it and pays the bill.

Another iPhone 3G on my AT&T family plan purchased on launch day (08 June 2008) is showing up as not being eligible for an upgrade until 12 December 2009 – corroborating the 18 month policy. A friend who purchased his iPhone 3G on 08 June 2008 was also given a date in December before being able to upgrade, indicating that 18 months of “eligibility” is required to obtain the 3GS at the $199/$299 pricing.

What are you seeing for eligibility? 18 months? Are you becoming eligible because of the family plan?

June 9th, 2009

The 'incredible' growth of the Mac

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 6:56 am

Categories: 10.6, Developer, Mac OS, WWDC

Tags: Developer, Apple Macintosh, Sales, Company, Desktops, Apple Mac OS, Apple Mac OS X, Operating Systems, Hardware, Software

Apple rarely directly addresses the size of its installed base. In its financial reports, Cupertino will talk up units sold and the percentage of growth. But to rally the troops at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, the first flag raised was of Mac growth.

Phil Schiller, senior vice-president of worldwide product marketing, took the stage, telling the crowd that there were many reasons for the excitement and anticipation surrounding the developer conference. One big one could be seen in the chart projected behind him.

He pointed to a chart showing the first 5 full years of Mac OS X, from 2002 to 2007 which went from about zero installed base to about 25 million.

Of course early on right after the release of Mac OS X, much of the growth was the transition from the Mac OS to Mac OS X. However, since the introduction of the Intel-based Mac hardware and the rise of the Apple Store, sales have picked up. And then there’s the “halo” effect from the iPod and the collapse of Microsoft’s Vista transition.

However, Schiller didn’t go into details. He wasn’t offering a history lesson.

“It shows great, steady growth of adoption of Mac OS X — this isn’t shipments, it’s actual active users,” he said simply. “But something incredible has happened over the past 2 years,” he continued.

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June 8th, 2009

iPhone Software 3.0: Outrage climbs over missing AT&T support for new iPhone features

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 3:19 pm

Categories: 3G, WWDC, iPhone 3.0

Tags: Apple iPhone, AT&T Corp., Apple Inc., Text Messaging/SMS/MMS, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Online Communications, David Morgenstern

The grumbling began in the audience during the keynote address to the Worldwide Developers Conference. Some of the most requested features available in the forthcoming iPhone software update won’t be supported at launch by AT&T, the U.S. carrier.

To give Apple and AT&T a quick reading on customer dissatisfaction, MacTech, a Mac developer magazine and online resource, on Monday started up a poll on the topic named: Shame on you AT&T. It went live during the keynote!

For example, tethering, or using the phone as a cellular modem for a MacBook — with either the standard iPhone USB adapter or through Bluetooth connection — won’t be supported by AT&T. Apple said that 22 carriers were ready to go with this capability, but there was no no word in the keynote address about if and when this would be offered to AT&T customers.

Another missing feature is MMS support. However, Apple said this support would follow in the summer.

Here’s the the statement from MacTech:

Today, in addition to a new iPhone 3GS phone, Apple spoke about iPhone 3.0 software and new features coming. Absent from the announcement is support for features in the United States at the same level as the support in other countries.

In an effort for AT&T to understand the ramifications of their decisions, support levels, and more, MacTech Magazine has opened a survey for all to participate in to send AT&T a clear message as to what the community thinks.

The poll asks responders if these features are important to them, such as tethering, video SMS, and network quality. It starts with “AT&T: You should be embarrassed for your support. Shame on you.” That’s a yes-no question.

AT&T and Apple executives may want to check out the responses to Question 7:

The following describes me best:
- I’m happy with AT&T
- I’ll go with whatever carrier supports the iPhone
- I’m looking for any way to leave AT&T as soon as possible

Another great day in AT&T branding history!

June 8th, 2009

WWDC 09: the announcements (Updated 10x)

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:34 am

Categories: 10.6, Announcement, MacBook Pro, Safari, WWDC

Tags: Operating System, Apple MacBook, Expresscard, Battery, Apple MacBook Pro, Engineering, Flash Memory, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets

Following is a wrap-up of the announcements at WWDC 2009 in San Francisco today.

iPhone 3GS:

• “The S stands for speed.”
• Launching Messages: 2.1x faster
• Load SimCity: 2.4x faster
• Viewing an Excel attachment: 3.6x faster
• Load NYTimes.com: 2.9x faster
• Averages 2x speed increase — some things are even faster
• OpenGL ES 2.0 support
• 7.2Mbps HSDPA
• 3 megapixel camera
• Auto-focus, auto-white balance, auto-exposure, tap-to-focus
• Better light sensitivity. Auto-macro — close as 10cm away. There’s an API.
  
• Video Capture — 30fps VGA, has an API
• Scrub and edit the video with your finger
• Share it from the iPhone to YouTube
• VoiceControl — (”play songs by The Killers”), ask iPhone “what’s playing now?” You can also say “play more songs like this” and Genius will play more songs like this.
• Digital Compass — Integrated into maps — shows compass to use orientation on maps.
• Hardware encryption — Remote wipe, encrypted iTunes backups
• Improved battery life — Up to 9 hours WiFi, 10 hours video, 30 hours audio, 12 hours 2G talk, 5 hours 3G talk time.
• $199 / 16GB
  
• $299 / 32GB
  
• Available: June 19
  
• Keeping the iPhone 3G for only $99
  

iPhone 3.0 demos:

• Gameloft’s Asphalt 5 — Racecar sim with Bluetooth P2P multi-player
• AirStrip Critical Care — Medical app alerts Doctor with patient data. The monitor window for  looks pretty amazing. “The medical community is flocking to the iPhone.” Dock-connector accessory possibilities are almost endless “I can look at this real-time waveform data even if I’m not at the bedside.” Showing zooming, scrubbing to look for abnormalities.
• ScrollMotion’s iPhone book store — Contains over 500 best-selling book, 50 major magazines, 170 daily newspapers, and 1m books. Whoa. Take that Kindle!
• TomTom — Turn-by-turn directions and a car-kit with: windshield mount (portrait or landscape modes), dock with power, speaker, GPS enhancer, handsfree calling, and audio output. Availability: Summer, Price; TBA.
• ngmoco StarDefense — 3D tower defense game with multi-touch support and expansion sold through in-app purchases.
• Pasco — K-12 science app.
• ZipCar — 6,000 self-service vehicles in US & UK, 300k members. Instant car location and reservation via GPS and the new embedded Google Maps integration. (I’m a ZipCar customer, so this is pretty neat.) You can even activate the car horn remotely (to find the car) through the app!
• Line 6 and Chordmaster — Control your guitar and amp from your iPhone
  

iPhone SDK 3.0:

• 1,000 new APIs
  
• In-app purchases
• CoreLocation: turn-by-turn directions and embeddable Google Maps
• Push Notifications: alerts, sounds, badges

iPhone OS 3.0:

• A major new upgrade to iPhone.
• Cut/copy/paste
• Landscape mode
• MMS
• Rent or purchase iTunes content from the phone
• Tethering: 42 partners at launch, no AT&T
• Safari Javascript benchmarks 3x faster
• Auto-fill
• HTM5 support (with offline db support) and audio/video tags
• 30+ languages supported: Hebrew, Arabic, Thai and others
• New feature: Find my iPhone. Log into MobileMe and it shows you on a map where your phone is. Also: “Send it a message, have it play a sound (whether or not you left it in silent mode) and the waiter can find it and call you.”
• Remote wipe

iPhone:

• “it’s been an incredible year for the iPhone. It was less than a year ago that we released iPhone 2.0…”
• Developers have downloaded the SDK over a million times.
• More than 50,000 apps on the App Store
• Sold more than 40m iPhones and iPod touches.
  
• On April 21 crossed over a billion apps downloaded

Read the rest of this entry »

June 8th, 2009

WWDC 2009 coverage and where to find it

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:55 am

Categories: Conference, WWDC

Tags: Engadget, Hardware, 3G, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jason D. O'Grady

Sadly, I’m not sitting the auditorium at Moscone West today. But fear not, there are plenty of people covering the event via 3G from the audience.

The following are liveblogging Phil Schiller’s keynote address today at WWDC 2009. If you have other liveblog sources, post them in the TalkBack.

• CNET
• gdgt
• Electronista
• Engadget
• MacRumorsLive

Many iPhone software and hardware updates are expected today. Oh, and Apple’s online store is down, natch.

Stay tuned for updates as we get them.

Photo: Engadget

June 7th, 2009

iPhone "3GS" to pack better battery

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:14 pm

Categories: Battery, Rumor, WWDC, iPhone, iPhone 3.0

Tags: Apple iPhone, Battery, 3G, Cellular Phones, Corporate Communications, Engineering, Wireless And Mobility, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Marketing

On the eve of Phil Schiller’s keynote address at WWDC a couple of new details on the new iPhone have trickled out via Daring Fireball.

The first is that the third-generation iPhone is code-named “iPhone 3GS.” It’s only a code-name so iPhone 3GS is unlikely to be the device’s actual shipping name. Could it be an Easter egg/vague reference to the Apple IIGS from 1986?

Apple got itself into a bit of a conundrum by using the name iPhone 3G for its second-generation iPhone, essentially eliminating it as an option for tomorrow’s phone. Painting itself into a corner with the iPhone 3G could why Apple decided to go with a goofy name like “iPhone 3GS.” What’s next, a “3GSi?” I’ve actually been warming up to the term iPhone Video lately, It’s a logical progression just like the iPod video was before it.

The other interesting rumor that came out of Jon Gruber’s post is that battery life on the new iPhone is 15-20 percent longer than the iPhone 3G. This would be a nice feature if it turns out to be true but I want it to come by way of a higher-capacity pack — and this sounds like software to me.

Stay tuned as we approach Monday’s 10am PT/ 1pm ET Schiller keynote at WWDC 2009.