Recovery mode is indicated by appearance of iTunes and USB icons on the screen of the iOS device. By whatever cause, and there can be a few, the device is unable to access its operating system. So, it displays these icons to prompt the user to recover the operating system. Usually this is no big deal.

Whichever machine you use for syncing the device to iTunes, make sure its version of iTunes is the most current. Ensure that all iTunes updates are installed. If you are in doubt, launch the Apple Software Update manager. Once it checks with Apple’s servers and is certain that iTunes does not need an update, you should be ready to get started.

This image indicates the user has an update pending and it should be installed before restoring the iOS device.)

Completely power-down the iOS device. This is done by holding the home button (front, center-bottom, in default portrait mode) AND the sleep button (corner, top edge opposite the home button) at the same time until the power-off slider appears. Use the slider to completely shutdown the device.

Before connecting the iOS device to the computer, hold the home button in place. This lets the firmware know you are about to do more than the usual sync. Once iTunes recognizes the device, which can take one-to-several seconds, depending on the speed of your computer, it will prompt you to restore the device. If you have a backup from your last sync of the device, you will be given an option to use this during the syncing process. This is most likely the option you will want. iTunes should prompt you to select which backup you want to use as your source. Make your choice and the restore may take between five and ten minutes to complete from that point.

If you happen to have the sudden urge for a clean configuration, set up as a new iOS device. iTunes will return your device to factory-default setup. Even iOS can get relatively cluttered – apps, notes, photos, music, etc. While generally organized very well according to the native management scheme of the system itself, sometimes a device can seem less pleasant to operate after heavy use. Starting fresh from factory defaults not only allows you to clear up some of the unnecessary stuff your system accumulates, but lets you to start out with the level of understanding you now possess, with your current usage patterns, and to re-encounter the system with a different set of eyes than you had when you first started using it. Experience is a great thing. Experience combined with a lean setup is even better than that.

Note: In iOS 5 or later, restoring the device wirelessly is an option with or without a cable connection to a computer, provided the device is functioning properly prior to starting the restore process. There are a lot of improvements in iOS 5 that allow for updates, restores and other functions to be managed without requiring use of another computer with iTunes. This guide is intended for circumstances when the iOS device has locked into recovery mode and cannot access a wireless connection or the device itself is running an earlier version of iOS.

iOS was designed to be one of the least fussy, most responsive operating systems around. It was also designed to be stable and secure. A lot of people dislike the absence of a visible file system on the largest of that family of devices, the iPad. This is a simplification over other navigation models and it is beneficial in that it prevents the user from accidentally doing something to the file system which might result in device instability. While it shouldn’t be necessary to be an expert to use most devices, it is a good idea to learn some of the little tricks available to you. Although many people still find technology to be intimidating, the more you learn, the more fun tech can be for you.

While built-into the company’s own Windows Phone operating system, iOS is the next smartphone operating system to get this great piece of software and for a limited time it’s completely free.

The app isn’t just about storing notes on your mobile, just as with OneNote on Windows Phone it will upload your notes to Microsoft’s cloud storage service SkyDrive (you’ll need a Windows Live ID) so that you can share your notes with your PC and open notes created on the desktop when on the move.  Microsoft say of the new product.  OneNote users will also be able to view and edit their notes in the OneNote cloud app, that can be accessed through Microsoft’s Office Live service, or SkyDrive.

Microsoft OneNote Mobile is an easy-to-use note-taking application for capturing all of your ideas and to-dos on the go, brought to you by Microsoft Office.  With OneNote Mobile, create searchable notes with text, pictures, bullets, and checkboxes. Then keep your notes in sync using free Windows Live SkyDrive cloud storage to access, edit and manage them from virtually anywhere, from your PC or almost any web browser.

OneNote was first introduced in Office 2003 but wasn’t really popularly used until touch screen computers became commonplace.  Now with Office 2010 running on many tablet PCs, it’s considered a stable of the Office system.  The extension of the software into the iPhone will only help professionals who need access to notes, and the ability to create notes on the move that they can then use and work with on their PC.

What is curious about this however is the release of OneNote for the iPhone at a time when the program itself still isn’t part of the Office 2011 suite for the Mac.  Microsoft have not commented on this but it would most likely be down to the current lack of touchscreen support in Mac OS.  Now that Apple are addressing this we can expect to see the next generation iMacs and MacBooks coming with touch screens.  Thus the next version of Office Mac, due sometime around 2013, should include OneNote.

With this omission it remains to be seen how useful people will consider OneNote on the iPhone.  Many iPhone users, probably most in fact, still use a PC and this will help uptake.  The lack of OneNote support on the Mac could damage the apps chances of picking up serious traction on Apple’s smartphone platform though.

There is also no word currently on a version of OneNote for the iPad or for Google’s Android operating system.  We can be reasonably certain that the former is already in development.  The future of OneNote, and indeed other Microsoft Office services, on Android is less certain however.  Microsoft haven’t made any announcement as regards this and could decide to avoid Android development altogether.

On the flipside, Microsoft have a long history of developing Office products for the Mac, and so this was only to be expected.  Microsoft have also announced that they will be bringing their new Lync communications platform to the iPhone later this year.

The app needs iOS 4.2 or higher to run and can be downloaded from the iTunes store.  There is no word yet on how long Microsoft will be making OneNote for the iPhone free to download, though it will probably be for 30 days or less.  If you are interested in trying OneNote on your iPhone or iPod Touch I wouldn’t leave it too long before you add it to your download basket.

So why do I have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that whatever Microsoft deliver next year won’t be good enough?  Microsoft tout the features of Windows 7, its stability and reliability almost to excess.  Certainly it’s the most stable, reliable and dependable operating system the company has ever produced.

Windows 8, when it finally arrives, will no doubt be even more reliable, stable and dependable than even Windows 7 is capable of being.  Then there’s been all the tablet talk in the last year or so.  Google rushed a new version of its Android OS out of the door, Steve Ballmer has said that the next version of Windows will be tablet friendly and the world is looking forward to all that.

If we look at the, now mature, smartphone market though what do we see?  Probably the biggest and most popular smartphone OS out there at the moment, Google’s Android, is still based around a desktop with widgets on it.  Indeed its handsets still come with a cursor you can move around.  This is a good example I feel that no matter how good this particular smartphone OS might be, its still a step behind its users.

If you look back historically for instance to the days of MS DOS and Windows 1.  By the time Windows and Mac OS were first released, users had already been clamoring for a GUI OS with alternatives such as DesqView and GEM rising to fill the temporary gap.  With almost every OS the world has seen it’s been a step behind its users.

But surely this is the problem, as new technology comes along we find more and more innovative uses for it and so the technology keeps getting left behind.  Operating systems suffer from this problem even more.  Look at Windows.  The current version is leagues behind where its users want it to be.  Only now are Microsoft taking features such as tablet functionality and System on a Chip seriously.  All the companies responsible for hardware and operating systems are staying one step behind their users.  There’s one exception to this however and that’s Apple.

Apple are the only technology company that’s being proactive and trying to anticipate what its users will want to do in the coming years.  It’s this forward-thinking attitude that have put the company firmly in the lead, and that will keep it there until anybody else is brave enough to catch up.  Nintendo and Microsoft have both achieved this to a lesser degree in recent years with innovative new ways to interact with their games consoles.  These innovations aside though there’s very little that’s staying ahead of the users of modern technology.

So where does this leave any OS?  If you look at any of the desktop operating systems, OS X, GNU/Linux and Windows, they’re all currently playing catch up with their users.  Now smartphone and tablet operating systems are doing the same with Google and Microsoft rushing to finish products they should really have brought to market a couple of years ago.

That was the time when people wanted these features, right back at the beginning.  Unfortunately unless and until the big technology and software companies realise that the consumer is now ahead of them, no operating system will ever be good enough.

It’s exciting too, finally a smartphone OS for people who bemoan the lack of buttons on their handsets and a budgeting department that Ridley Scott would be jealous of.  Microsoft have $1 billion to throw at this product launch worldwide, and this is on top of whatever handset manufacturers and mobile operators will add to the mix.  You can be certain that you’ll be hearing a lot more about this mobile OS over the next few months.

Everything’s in place too, the new Windows Phone website has launched and the new version of the Zune software, which will be used to synchronise the devices with your PC has also been made available today.

What happens now will depend very much on the quality of the advertisements that Microsoft produce.  Apple received a pasting with their negative anti-Windows adverts around the time that Windows 7 launched.  People don’t like negative advertising, but equally they don’t respond to adverts that don’t speak to them.  With Windows Phone 7 Microsoft have to make certain that they do this.

If you’re as excited about this new smartphone OS as I am you’ll be getting on regardless, but if you’re an average phone user who hasn’t yet made the jump to a smartphone you’ll be harder to impress.  You might be pushed towards it as handsets with buttons become increasingly harder to buy, but if Microsoft get it right, this could tempt you to at least try a device in a store when you’ve not wanted to try the app-centric iOS or Android in the past.

Whatever happens it’s clear that both iOS and Android are here to stay.  They both have a large market share and they both have legions of fans.  I don’t believe that WP7 is tempting enough to lure anyone away.

Give it time though and if Microsoft have got the advertising right you’ll pass by a mobile phone shop in a couple of months and might wander in to try one.  If they get it wrong, good luck to them.

GizmoRip is a program specifically designed for Apple devices such as iPods, iPads or iPhones, offering options to transfer music and video back to iTunes or another location on the hard drive. The freeware will identify connected all supported Apple devices automatically, and display their contents in the program interface. It generates a general file listing of all multimedia contents and displays playlists stored on the device as well.

The software will recognize multiple devices, offering to switch between them easily from a pulldown menu in the main interface. It will also display the type of Apple device, and the free and used space on it. A click on the Recover Music button, or a selection of the same option under the File menu initiates the transfer of the playlists and multimedia files selected back to iTunes. This works on any computer system running iTunes, even if iTunes was just installed on it.

It is possible to restore just one playlist for instance, or everything that is on the iPod or iPhone. GizmoRip ignores existing files automatically, with an option to change that behavior in the program settings.

Here it is also possible to disable the import of the music and video contents to iTunes, and to specify an alternative export directory, in case iTunes is not installed on the target computer system.

GizmoRip is a nice to have software program for Windows. It can be useful in multiple ways, including restoring music after a hard drive crash, but also transferring music and videos to a computer that does not have iTunes installed. The program is compatible with all versions of the Windows operating system from Windows 2000 to Windows 7.

The move which is backed by €10M in funding, aims to create apps that would work on any device from Internet TVs to smartphones and tablets.

There are some big names behind the project too including Telecom Italia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and the World Wide Web Consortium.  It is being led by the German Graunhofer Institute for Open Communications Systems (Fokus).

The move would be very welcome with consumers and reminds this commentator of the introduction of the C programming language, which also came with claims at the time of unifying code across platforms.  It was relatively successful in this regard, but now companies such as Apple have moved to different language and instruction sets and are forcing developers to use specific development tools for their own platforms in the name of security and stability.

“The problem is the extreme platform fragmentation,” said project lead Stephan Steglich.  “We have a lot of different platforms that apps run on – the iPhone, Android, Symbian – and that’s only on the mobile side. If you extend that to include the automotive part and consumer electronic area you have more platforms,” Dr Steglich told BBC News.  

“Companies can afford to have an app on two or at most three platforms – they’re extremely costly to develop and ensure the user experience.  “That’s what we want to address – to provide a system that runs on all these platforms and domains, where the developer comes up with one application for one platform and lets you run it on all these devices – mobiles, automotive, gaming, and so on.”

There is really little reason why modern operating systems cannot allow programs written for different platforms, and using different tools and languages, to run effectively.  This is doubly relevant as we are now beginning to see examples of virtualization demos on smartphones and as the mainstream processors become fast, powerful and cheap enough to accommodate this.

The move aims to develop web apps that will work across these platforms.  ”The greatest common denominator among all these devices is the web browser – that’s the only thing people can use to accept the same content,” Dr Steglich explained.  This will enable cross-platform compatibility and slash development costs.  Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 9 beta software is demonstrating how web apps can look and be treated by an operating system as though they’re installed on the computing device itself.

The move isn’t without its critics and many believe it won’t get off the ground, but it will be welcomed by consumers and app developers alike and, sometimes, that’s just enough to create a critical momentum.

The apps, ranging from between £10,000 and £40,000 each.  One of the most expensive is a DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) app that provided a “masterclass for changing your wheel”.

A spokesman for the DVLA told BBC News:”We want to make it as easy as possible for motorists to renew their car tax, tell us about a change of address or update their driving licence, meaning they stay safe and legal to drive.

“This would also bring benefits for DVLA, for example by reducing the number of reminders that need to be sent out.

“We considered how an application could help with this but no final decisions have been taken and the app, for now, is still in development,” he added.

This information has emerged only a few weeks after the government announced a wholesale review of all its websites after the Central Office of Information revealed that UK.gov had spent £94m on website development and running costs and a further £32m on web development staffing during the year 2009-2010.

The new government coalition in the UK is currently implementing swingeing cuts across all government and public services, in order to reduce the country’s huge budget deficit.

 The job hunting app has been downloaded more than 53,000 times, but critics have asked “why someone who can afford both an iPhone and the expensive running costs would need a Jobcentre Plus app.”

“It seems many Government bodies have given in to the temptation to spend money on fashionable gimmicks at a time when they are meant to be cutting back on self-indulgent wastes of money”, he told BBC News.

In a statement, the Cabinet Office said “The government recently announced a freeze on all marketing and advertising spend for this year and this includes iPhone applications.  Future spend on iPhone development will be subject to strict controls: only essential activity, approved by the Efficiency and Reform Group, which is chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will be allowed”.

In a statement for Microsoft, Michael Chang, Group Product manager for Windows Live Messenger said…

“While Messenger for iPhone is relatively new, for many connecting with Messenger friends on your mobile phone is not new. In addition to the more than one million iPhone Messenger users, there are over 24 million people who connect with Messenger friends from other mobile phones through a client application, their phone’s browser, or SMS. Along with Messenger Connect, Messenger IM in Hotmail, and the coming integration with Xbox LIVE, the new iPhone app is just one more way that we are bringing Messenger to you across the web and on your phone. We’re very excited about the new Messenger beta available now and thank you for being part of the Windows Live family.”

The release came as part of Microsoft’s new Windows Live Wave 4 launch, some aspects of which, such as the new Hotmail rollout have hit problems.

It was reported yesterday that so far only 1% of Hotmail users have received the update to the web interface they can use to access their email.  Other products, such as the beta for the new Windows Live Essentials Suite have gone smoothly.

1 Million downloads doesn’t necessarily mean 1 Million happy customers and we’ll be keeping an eye on the reaction to the new iPhone software from consumers.  So far though it looks like Microsoft is still firmly still in the game when it comes to Internet communications and social networking.

A total of 11 Foxconn employees have tried to kill themselves this year, two have survived.

Many western companies that rely on far-eastern factories for cheap mass-production of goods have been criticized over the years for the manner in which workers are treated in their factories.  Apple however is one of the few that brought it’s own shortcomings to the public’s attention by publishing it’s own report on worker’s welfare last year, and vowing to take action.

Nevertheless this will raise further questions generally about the welfare of far-eastern factory workers in countries such as Taiwan and China, as Foxconn has had suicides for workers as young as 16.

Foxconn is a part of the world’s largest manufacturer of consumer electronics, Hon Hai Precision that employs 800,000 workers, mostly in China.

Foxconn said it took worker’s welfare seriously and said it was enlisting the support of counselors and Buddhist monks to provide emotional support at this difficult time.  However the Chinese governments’ own Labour Watch has criticised the company for their “military-style administration and harsh working conditions”.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Nan Gang at this difficult time.

Today Opera Software announced the approval of Opera Mini for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch devices. The Opera Mini application is available for download in Apple’s App Store.

One of the main advantages of the Opera Mini browser is a feature called Opera Turbo which compresses the data before it is send to the mobile device. This not only speeds up the web browsing experience (especially on slower networks) but reduces the bandwidth costs of the user significantly.

Iphone and iPod users can download Opera Mini directly from their mobile devices or by opening the Appstore in iTunes to download it instead.

In this tutorial I will be using Sound Juicer for ripping and Gtkpod for syncing.  I will assuming you have followed the original tutorial and are able to now sync your iPhone. There are, of course, a few tools to install – which I will cover now.

MP3 Support

Because Linux will default to Ogg Vorbis format, you need to add MP3 support for Sound Juicer. You will also, most likely, need to install Sound Juicer itself. For the longest time I used Grip for all of my ripping needs, but that tool has fallen behind and Sound Juicer is much better integrated with GNOME. So let’s install.

I will illustrate the installation using Synaptic. You can do this via command line if you want. If you do this via Synaptic you will not have to monkey with manually adding any repositories to your /etc/apt/sources.list file. Fire up Synaptic and install the following:

• Sound Juicer
• lame
• ubuntu-restricted-extras
• gstreamer0.10-lame

You will have to search and select each of those one at a time. And you might find that adding ubuntu-restricted-extras will include the gstreamer application for you. Regardless, select the above and then click Apply to install them.

Once these are all installed you are ready to rock.

Sound Juicer

Figure 1

Now that you are ready, put in an audio CD into your CD device. When you do this a window will open asking you what application you would like to launch. From the drop down select “Open Audio CD Extractor” (see Figure 1). This is Sound Juicer.

You can configure this to be the default action if you like. This will, of course, depend upon what you typically want to happen when you insert an audio CD.

Figure 2

When Sound Juicer open (see Figure 2) you will first want to take care of one option – the output format. Because iPhones (and Apple in general) do not support the Ogg Vorbis format, you have to change the default output format for Sound Juicer. This is why you had to install gstreamer and lame.

Click on the Edit menu and select the Preferences entry. From the Preferences window change the Output Format to “CD Quality, MP3 (.mp3 type)” and then click Close.

You are now back to the main Sound Juicer window. Select the tracks you want to extract and then click the Extract button.  Of course, depending upon the CD, you might have to enter the CD information by hand.

Depending upon the speed of your machine, the speed of your CD drive, and the size of the data on the CD, this could take some time. To extract Rush Signals took 6 minutes 27 seconds. Once completed these files will be found in the ~/Music folder in a sub folder named by the extraction process (in the case of my example, ~/Music/Rush.

When that is finished you can close Sound Juicer, connect the iPhone, and sync with the help of Gtkpod.

Gtkpod

Figure 3

Once you have connected your device, and you see the phone icon on your desktop (see Figure 3), it is time to open up Gtkpod. I am going to assume you have already set up your iPhone repository in Gtkpod as outlined in the original article.

When Gtkpod is opened (and connected to your iPhone) you only have to click the Add Folder button fromt he main window, navigate to where the new directory holding your just-ripped music is located, select the folder containing your music (in this case /home/jlwallen/Music/Rush), and click Add. Depending upon the size of the directory, this can take some time.

Figure 4

When the files/folders are added you will see them listed in the main window (See Figure 4) and all you have to do is click the Save Changes button.

After the changes have completed (You will see the familiar Sync window on your iPhone), you can then exit out of Gtkpod, right click your iPhone desktop icon, and select Unmount from the menu. NOTE: You might also have to unmount the Camera portion of the iPhone before you remove your device.

Final thoughts

Is it as easy as iTunes? No. But it’s not iTunes and, in my opinion, that’s enough reason to be satisfied with the tools. And what is better – with this method you can sync as many iPhones as you like on this one computer. No more Apple 1:1 lock in. You want to put all of the songs on one iPhone onto other’s – go right ahead.

Hopefully soon this process will add to it syncing of the rest of the data to and from the iPhone.

Magellan Sails Over To The iPhone, Finds It Flat

Magellan has finally gotten in on the whole iPhone game with their new Magellan iPhone app. And it works for the iPod Touch too! It does so in the same way that the Dual XGPS300 works to give the iPod Touch aGPS. Magellan has a car kit like the one from TomTom that does same the trick for the iPod Touch.

Also, while your iPhone or iPod Touch is plugged in they will be charged. Plus, you will be able to enjoy a sound that is slightly louder than the ones on your device thanks to the built-in ones on the car kit.

And so Magellan begins sailing the seas of iPhone turn-by-turn navigation. But will it and the others be able to stay afloat as Google continues to follow their ‘get it for free’ business model? Stay tuned. [read]

TouchDJ

So here’s another thing that you can do with your iPhone – dj-ing. After some problems getting approved for the app store, the Touch DJ app is finally here. There’s a lot do on the app. For example — you can get your mixing done visually, do live remixes with the onboard sampler, drop fx and you also get to pre-listen tracks before dropping – full on professional dj style. And what if you suck at putting tunes together? You will suck in a more sophisticated way than you ever have through your iPhone. [read]

Star Wars Trench Run Game

Do you want to relive every moment of the climactic sequence of events that led to the destruction of the Death Star? Better yet, do you want to be the one who destroys it? Well guess what? Now there’s an app for that! Called Star Wars Trench Run, this game drops you right into the thick of the action with hordes of TIE fighters chasing you.

You are to steer the X-Wing and make that narrow route through the thermal exhaust port to hit the weak spot. In the mission mode, you are led through the cinematic effects with dialogues from the movie. In the arcade, you get to choose your poison and take on the baddies in a classic space dogfight. Go ahead, knock yourself out and may the force be with you! [read]

Google Earth Update For iPhone

Google has been rolling out the 2.0 update to their iPhone Google Earth app and the new features are pretty exciting. Of the many new things, you can finally make custom maps on the app by syncing Google My Maps to it. [read]

ShopSavvy For The iPhone

ShopSavvy has been Big in Japan where everyone uses their phone to do everything including shopping. ShopSavvy has also been on Android for over year now, letting the green robot’s followers shop at ease through their phones. Now iPhone owners can do the same.

Okay, so the developers are called Big in Japan but ShopSavvy does scan the barcode of an item to give you all the relevant information and also deals. So if you are in a shop, hunting for a big pack of wipes, you might be informed that a shop two blocks away has a better deal. But even though that means shop owners might lose business it does make shopping easier for their customers, so they are supporting this app. [read]

Fit Or Not

Here’s a lesson in why you should just skip some of the apps in the app store. This new app called ‘Fit or Fugly’ passes judgement on your beauty. Yes, it actually tells you if you look good or bad or fugly. Yet another app that taps in to the everlasting well of human vanity. Meh.

Ravensword: The Fallen King

Fans of RPGs, gather round your respective monitors. This is the story that you are all familiar with. A really great RPG game is now on the iPhone as Ravensword: The Fallen King. This is one game that RPG geeks cannot afford to miss on their iPhones. And if  you have never played an RPG before, this can be a great one to start with. This is not a classic RPG board game like Settlers of Catan for the iPhone but a well made 3D Fantasy RPG.

iPhone App For In Store Appointments

Apple has declared that they will be making an app that will allow iPhone users to schedule in-store appointments for Apple Stores from wherever they are. Now that’s a nice way to integrate the shopping experience with the iPhone. [read]

As for the iPhone of the present, we now have the first truly malicious iPhone malware going around while Apple continues to grow in the smartphone business, posting more profits that the Finnish giant Nokia.

iPhone Malicious Code Now A Reality

For those who paid no heed to the first ever iPhone worm, here’s a much scarier piece of a news. While the first worm never really did much other than change your wallpaper to rickroll you, there’s a new piece of code that has truly malicious intents for your iPhone.

It attacks the same way as the last one does but instead of making its presence known, it will silently steal all the personal data that it can find on the iPhone and inside the apps. Thankfully, just like the last worm, this malicious program can only infiltrate jailbroken iPhones that have open SSH sessions and have not changed their default root password. So to all those who are jailbreaking their iPhones, do take your time to understand exactly what you are doing and close this gaping security holes. [read]

New iPhone May Be Verizon Only

After the rumors of the next generation iPhone going worldmode surfaced, we now have rumors about the iPhone being made solely for Verizon. This is the result of a confusion regarding reports from chip-maker Qualcomm who have been making new CDMA chips for their parters, including Verizon. [read]

Famous iPhone Dev Quits, First Of The Many To Follow?

After enduring Apple’s shenanigans with the app store approval process, the famed developer Joe Hewitt (creator of the Facebook app)  has officially declared that he is quitting iPhone development. And he makes no bones about being vocal about why he quit, clearly stating that his decision “has had everything to do with Apple’s Policies”.

With so many other developers also complaining about Apple’s policies, Joe’s move may be taken as an example and followed. And if that does happen, Apple will be losing the most important part of what makes the iPhone tick — great apps from great developers. [read]

iPhone Now Has 17% World Smartphone Market Share

Apple is fast closing in on the others in the global mobile Handset Market. After being in the market for barely two and a half years, Apple now constitutes 17.1% of the total global smartphone market.

This is a 50% growth for Apple in recent times, showing exactly how fast a company can grow with the right steps and a brilliant product. The other reason why Nokia is so very important is because it is also one of the largest sellers of smartphones. Its smartphones are the reason why Symbian still holds such a large share of the market. Blackberries may have been very popular in different pockets (RIM is on the wane) but nothing beats Nokia’s worldwide reach. Nothing until now it seems. [read]

Want More Bang For Your Buck? Try The App Store

Analysts have shown that iPhone users have more than just the highest number of Apps to choose from. They also have more value for money when calculated on dollar for dollar. [read]

Apple Creates More Profit Than Nokia

In the last quarter (Q3), Apple made much more money than the world’s number one mobile handset maker – Nokia. And the difference is significant too. While Nokia made $1 billion, Apple made $1.6 billion. [read]

Apple Adds App Approval Status Tracker

Apple now allows app developers the peace of mind of at least knowing what stage of the approval process their app is in. A new feature added by Apple gives the status of apps as they go through the approval process.

You and I might not think much of it but this translates to a bit more clarity for the developers. They have always complained about how tough it is to communicate to the iPhone app reviewers. So instead of leaving them in the dark, this tracking feature tells them how tantalizingly close they are to approval. Hopefully, Apple is feeling the pressure to streamline and organize the process now that the app count has reached 100,000. As more developers race to get a piece of the action, Apple will be forced to make the process easier on them to and that means having to handle less complaints and queries and clarifications. [read]

Punch Him In The Face With Your iPhone

We all have that annoying friend who we would love to haul over and roundly beat up. But you obviously cannot do that in real life without falling out with your friend and/or getting thoroughly beaten up yourself in the process. The answer is in a new stress/anger/frustration management iPhone app called FaceFighter.

The app lets you kick, punch and block your opponent, all the while seeing bruises and bandages appear on his face. You can also knock out his teeth. To get started, you have to take a picture or choose one from your camera roll. Then you follow the app’s instructions to line up the face with the cut out, zoom in, zoom out and all that. Then you are ready to knock the living day lights out of that guy, virtually of course.

This is not much of a game although it is not as simplistic as that app that lets you shoot things that your camera is seeing. Still, if you do not want to spend $0.99 for the paid version, you can download Face Fighter Lite, which is free. [read]

Universal Studios Can Has iPhone App Too

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the latest big name to have released its own iPhone app. This is not a stand-alone app that lets you borrow their titles online but it will enhance your Blu-ray movie viewing experience.

The latest group of Blu-ray releases from the company – American Pie Presents, 9, Inglorious Basterds, etc. are going to come with two BLU apps. These BLU apps can be used by iPhone and iPod touch users in conjunction with certain Blu-ray players.

The pocket BLU app allows you to remotely interact with your Blu-ray player through a sleek iPhone interface. It features advanced remote control features, a pop-up keyboard and more. Social BLU allows you interact with Facebook and Twitter if your Blu-ray player is connected to the Internet.

Premiere League On iPhone Via Sky TV

You can now watch the Premier League and more on your iPhone through the newly launched Sky TV app for the iPhone. For £6 per month, users will be able to access live TV channels that are part of the Sky Sports bundle including Sky News, Sky Sports channels and ESPN channels.

The app currently works only over WiFi and not 3G and that is because O2 forbids its customers from using any such app in its T&C. That’s because the carrier has their own similar services to protect. Existing Sky subscribers will have to pay separately for this service and new customers will have to apply for a Sky customer ID. [read]

Ding! First Round Of UK iPhone Battle

As you might know, Orange UK has recently started selling the iPhone and in response to this new competition Vodafone and O2 have gone in to defense mode. To keep more customers on its side, Vodafone sent out an email to all those who had registered with the carrier prior to the iPhone release, in which they claim that their’s is the network that is the fastest for the iPhone.

In a slightly surprising move, O2 has begun offering an unlocking service for the iPhones. No, they are not going to hack any iPhone you bring in but they will unlock their own iPhones at the end of a contract. They are going to charge a £15 fee for it and they are also warning that the process might take some time, as long as up to 14 days. Even though they are charging for it, it would seem like they are trying to ring up some customer good will by doing this. Once they have unlocked the iPhones, the customer can insert any SIM card in to their iPhone and start using it legitimately.

O2 has also asserted that they have seen tremendous growth in their data network. According to the company — data usage on their network has grown 20 times in the last 12 months, doubling every 4 months. They are also offering free home broadband to people who buy into the tethering option to use their iPhone as a wireless modem.

Analysts have also been quoted saying that the iPhone is the best way to make customers pay more, even in this recessive market. But Vodafone is surely on the right track because what iPhone users mainly want is network strength. They are paying an awful lot to get the connectivity and hence they expect a lot in return. [read]

Orange has only just started selling the phone, so it is too early to say anything about them. But as far as the response goes, it has been extremely positive. The company has tweeted saying that they have recorded more than 30,000 iPhones on the very first day. For a phone that has been launched months back, this is really good indeed. The Droid has sold 100,000 units through the first week and it is a newly launched phone that has gotten positive reviews. Orange’s free film-themed app has also received a lot of success, hitting the number on spot in the entertainment category and the number two spot on the free apps category.

Hilton iPhone Apps To Give You More Choices

Guests of the Hilton hotel might soon be able to check in remotely and have food waiting for them when they arrive through multiple apps being launched by Hilton. I say might because once they reveal the app, it will still have to go through the App Store’s approval process. These apps are going to give you many more options and will “help you manage your stay.” [read]

Taptu Goes Real Time

Taptu is already well loved for their friendly mobile-searching app and now they are about to kick things up a notch. They have partnered with the real time search engine OneRiot to bring you search results as they are unfolding across the web. [read]

First iPhone Worm Rickrolls Jailbroken iPhones

This has been the main worry about everything Mac, They do not have viruses now, true but as they start to get more popular they will attract the attention of malware creators. So in that vein of paranoia, we have news of the first ever worm for the iPhone.

You can cut out the screaming and the deep breathing exercises because it is a) completely harmless and b) only effective on jailbroken iPhones. It does things like change the wallpaper and rickrolling users, so it is not exactly destroying your iPhone yet. A worm on a jailbroken phone is a worm on a device that has already been tampered with. So you can wait for the first ever worm on legit iPhones before you hit the panic button. [read]

Complete Car Control Via iPhone

Okay, this is certifiably crazy. In fact, we should probably start a ‘gHacks Certifiably Nuts’ award just for these fellas. But I must admit that what they are is doing is pretty cool. We know that the iPhone can already be used to start your car remotely but fully driving with the iPhone kinda takes the cake.

So what you do is you take some electronic control circuits, hook them up to control your steering, acceleration and brakes and then control them wirelessly. If you want a less vague and more accurate description, check out the videos. It is quite nicely done and I especially love the fact that they are using the accelerometer to control the steering.

The result is pretty 007-ish — that you can drive your car through your iPhone. Look M(a), no hands! [read]

HD Radio Comes To The iPhone Via Gigaware

Now that the Zune HD is out, your least favorite co-worker who loves to make fun of your liking for Apple has probably been going on and on about how his Zune HD does HD radio and your iPod Touch does not. Setting aside the all important the question of how many good HD radio stations are there near you, you can now get back at him saying “there’s an app for that!”

But that would be kinda half true because even though iBiquity has made an app that plays HD radio on your iPhone, you still have to get an additional hardware for accomplishing the feat. The device is called Gigaware Navigation Controller and is essentially an HD tuner with iPhone integration. It allows you to seek and auto tune as well. Plus there is Facebook tagging and iTunes tagging.

Works with the latest iPhone and the iPod Touch. Available on RadioShack. [read]

Sparkz Projector For Your iPhone

Do you want to spend a lot of money on a pico projector that will work with your iPhone/ iPod Touch/iPod Video? If you do, you can now have the Sparkz dock that lets you connect any of those devices and more to it so that you can project your favorites onto a nearby screen. It will support a/v and VGA inputs too.

Other than this extended support for inputs, it has a resolution of 640×480, stereo speakers and a 60-inch viewing area. It charges your docked device while it is projecting and it comes with its own tripod. The price so much goodness? A mere $495. Hey, I did say a lot of money. [read]

Balloon!

There’s a new app on the app store and it is called Balloon! It is sort of a ‘message in a bottle’ meets social networking kinda app that lets you set off random bits of text with an image into cyberspace. These bits are called balloons and they directed at no one in particular and you have no control over when, where or whom they reach. So where is the fun part?

You can catch balloons that others have set off, add some text to them and let them go again. This way, balloons go on drifting, collecting text and slowly building up interesting stories of their own. Things like these get better with time and participation, so in a bit you might start catching very interesting balloons of your own.

But the most fun part and also the crux of the app is the tracking ability through which you can track your balloon and see whom it has reached and what has been written on it. And the developers have very intelligently made this a paid-only feature. So when you download the free version, you can do everything except tracking. The paid version is for $2.99.

UI seems light-hearted and cartoonish, so I think most of you will have a lot of fun using this app. [read]

Shazam Goes Premium with Shazam Encore

The popular song identification app has finally released their ‘premium’ version as promised earlier. And as everyone was anticipating, this new app is a paid for app.

They do add some new features to make this upgrade worthwhile for you. You can now have songs recommended to you based on the songs that you have tagged for indentification, see what is popular and search for music through the app. Another major part of the upgrade is a performance speed boost. There is also a car mode in this premium app and it apparently allows you to operate the app even when you are driving a car.

If there’s one thing we don’t need in this world – it is another thing to distract drivers.

The new premium app is called Shazam Encore and it has been released alongside a new free version of the Shazam. This new free version does less than the original version and its users will be limited to only five track identifications per month. Those who have original Shazam app can keep on using it as it is. The Encore is going for £2.99, €3.99 or $4.99. [read]

Knocking Away MMS

You can finally stop whining and cursing about AT&T’s broken promises and lame delays in rolling out MMS because now you can do more than what MMS allows you to do through a new app called Knocking.

With this app you can share up to 100 photos almost instantly with another Knocking user. MMS does not allow you to share entire albums at once but Knocking lets you do that. And the app works over both 3G and WiFi, all the more reason to love it. Other than those obvious advantages, there is another greater advantage that MMS will never be able to give you.

You can control what the other person is seeing through the app, making it much easier to share what you really want to share. Knocking had Facebook connect and through that you can share your ‘knocks’. If you hurry, you might be able to get it for free for yourself and others because this app is free only till the first 50,000 downloads. If that seems a lot, you have to remember that this is the App Store we are taking about. It might reach that number extremely fast. [read]

The process requires some manual work at the beginning as the program will only accept wav audio files for input. This means that the user either needs to have a wav file of the future ringtone or convert an audio file into wav format before the creation can commence.

The user needs to add the paths to the Nero AAC Encoder executable and the iTunes library to the portable program upon startup. The program will then check the locations and if they are valid open a file browser to select a wav audio file from the computer system. That wav file will then automatically be converted into the m4r ringtone format. It is then copied to the iTunes library and the ringtone folder of that library.

The process is fine for users who want to created iPhone ringtones every now and then. It could be made more user friendly by adding support for mp3 files and the creation of multiple ringtones at once. It is – as of now – only possible to select one wav file at a time. Not very handy for users who want to create several ringtones for their iPhone. The portable software iRingtones is available for download at the Codeplex website. It is compatible with most versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system and requires the Microsoft .net Framework.

Overall, the reviewers have liked it and from what I have seen of it, I like it too. But whether that liking will germinate into a purchase is completely up to the individual and I can’t really advise for or against it. To me it is a mixed bag and you have to take your pick.

Here are reasons for choosing it.

That Display

You gotta admit it, that 854×440 display looks really great compared to the iPhone’s puny 480×320 display. And the screen looks positively gorgeous. If I wanted a great smartphone to watch movies on, I would definitely choose this.

Google’s Got Your Back

When you have a company like Google making applications for you, you know you will have things to like. Google’s minimalist approach, tight online integration and great web presence makes it the perfect giant to have backing you up in your connected life.

One of the main features of new Android OS is the Navigation feature on Google Maps. People liked it so much that everyone predicted it being the future and the death of all standalone devices and expensive apps. Best of all, the service is free and integrated with Google Maps. It does have some hiccups but I am sure they will be cleaned out soon enough.

iPhone’s lack of an integrated Instant Messenger app really lets it down and the presence of the very same thing lifts up the Droid. From what I read about the user experience on the Droid regarding this and other Google apps, you folks are going to love ‘em to death.

And if there’s one thing that we all love about Google, it is Gmail. It is what I use for my personal account and it is also what I use on my own domain through Google Apps. Gmail on the Android 2.0 is like a perfect little version of the actual Gmail, complete with full labels and threaded emails. If you like Gmail, you will like it on Droid.

Also, the Wave is coming and the Android might have something special for the Surfers.

NOT AT&T

Not having to put up with AT&T’s finicky (and frustrating) network and working on the best network in the country will really help you love the Droid. Imagine a (almost) headache free network experience… makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

It’s Android!

Some people will choose it simply because it is the first Android 2.0 phone and has the best Android experience so far. Some will also choose Android because of Android’s (mostly) open source philosophy. But that is not a very practical reason. The multi-tasking however, is a very practical reason and Droid does it quite well thanks to Snapdragon and Android.

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And now for the other side of the debate.

Multimedia Meh

If you want agreat multimedia experience, stay on the iPhone. It’s not like the Android cannot play media but the experience is just not the same. It’s like the latest Linux and the Mac OS. One does it and the other does it well.

iTunes Baby!

I refuse to believe anyone who claims that they have it better without the world’s largest mobile app and digital music store. Not to mention movies and the other things that are rumored to be coming. If you have used it, you will miss it on Android and there are no comparable replacements for this. Nothing compares to iTunes.

Show Me 10,000 Apps And I Will Show You 100,000

The Android Marketplace over 10,000 apps and there are quite a few apps there which the iTunes Store does not have. But the iTunes has ten times as many apps at over 100,000. Do you still need me to spell it out for you?

Also, since the Droid runs a standard Android install, it does not do much out of the box You will have to download various apps for doing things like viewing PDFs and different mail attachments, etc. Sure the apps are free but you have to find them and install them. With the iPhone, you can hit the ground running.

Other customized Android phones come with these apps pre-installed though.

Security

You cannot lock the screen with a pass code. There is also no support for a remote wipe. You can get that through another app but nothing as integrated as the Find My iPhone Feature. Plus, you can install apps from sources outside the Marketplace.

That’s a good thing right? Yes but you will also be vulnerable to malicious apps that can cause some serious damage. You will receive a warning if you try to install from outside the Marketplace but it can be done.

Tough Keyboard, No Multitouch

One of the few complaints with the physical parts of the phone is the keyboard. Reviewers and users have been reporting having a tough time with the keyboard. As for the virtual keyboard, it is all good except for the fact that there’s no multitouch. Multitouch has been intentionally disabled on the Droid as per agreements between Motorola, Google and Verizon.

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So there you have it, the most popular pros and cons laid out for you. Choose for yourself and choose wisely.

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If you want to know more about the iPhone, head over to this week’s Saturday Apple Pie at Otaku Gadgets.

This time around, the iPhone gets awarded the ‘Worst Phone Ever Award’, gets a new 3GS rumor, gets completely unlocked and a lot of other things. Not to mention some great new apps, which is business as usual for the App Store.

If you want more Apple news, tune into the weekly Apple round up on Otaku Gadgets tomorrow.

News:

iPhone Devs Farm Phone Numbers

Seems like iPhone Devs have been farming app users’ telephone numbers again. This time it is Storm 8. Storm 8 makes games, the ones that you see above. And all of them have been accused of carrying a special code that collects the user’s phone number without permission. This has been revealed in a lawsuit and Storm 8 has (sort of) acknowledged that the apps do this. [read]

$99 8GB iPhone 3GS For Christmas [?]

Boy Genius Report claims that they have insider news about a new iPhone offer that will hit AT&T before Christmas. They claim that the iPhone 3GS 8GB model will start selling for $99 only. Before you get into a tizzy, remember that there is no proof of this right now. Not even a suspicious looking flyer. [read]

RFID On The iPhone [?]

So there is this rumor that says Apple is testing out next-generation iPhones that have an RFID chip. What Apple intends to do with it is unknown at this point though. They might enable using the iPhone as a credit card. It might become the new way to shop at (Apple) stores. It might also enhance the Find My iPhone feature. Whatever it does, it will probably be an industry-first. Do we know another RFID-enabled consumer phone? [read]

iPhone China Sales Disappoint

The iPhone Sales In China have disappointing, really so. The first week after the launch saw only 5000 phones sold. The high price and the other factors are being blamed for this. [read]

Quirky’s Beamer Flashes The iPhone

Quirky is a company that has been coming up with really interesting accessories for the iPhone. They now have a new case on sale that adds a much-wanted feature on the iPhone – a flash. Not Flash as in Adobe, but an LED flash that can be switched for a 10-second period (single button press) or can be kept on as a flashlight (double button press). The case itself comes in two parts and hardly adds bulk to the device. Handy for shooting in low light. [read]

Aussies Love The iPhone

A survey by Millward Brown suggests that the iPhone is perceived as the biggest phone brand in Australia. [read]

CNET UK Hates iPhone

CNET UK has all of a sudden award the Worst Phone Ever editorial award to the iPhone. According to the editor, the iPhone is a great computing great device but it fails at being a great phone. [read]

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Apps:

App Store Has More Than 100,000 Apps Now [Official]

Apple has confirmed officially that the App Store has reached over 100,000 apps. Woot! So now you have that many more reasons to love/hate the iPhone. If you just hate having that much competition as a dev or having to trawl through all that as a user, you know you are not alone. [read]

Louvre App Coincided With Louvre Apple Store

The new Apple Store at the Louvre Carousel, the first French Apple Store ever, will open on the 7^th of this month. Coinciding with this is the introduction of the Muée Du Louvre’s very own iPhone app. Through it, visitors can soak in the beauty of the artwork and take a virtual tour through the museum. Best of all, it’s free! [read]

App To Cure Fear Of Flying

Are you afraid of flying? Don’t worry, there are a lot of other people out there who suffer from the same fear. Thankfully, now there are people who help others overcome their fear of flying. Virgin Atlantic has been helping those who are too afraid to fly through various seminars called Flying Without Fear. Now they have an app that will help do the same for iPhone users. It provides helpful tips and is modeled on the successful strategies that are used at the seminars. [read]

iPhone App Acts Like TiVo for Radio

We already have a lot of radio apps for the iPhone but this one does something new. Called the Public Radio, it allows iPhone users to record their favorite NPR programs and then listen to them in their own time. [read]

Stacks For The iPhone, Springload Your Apps

For those who have an unlocked iPhone, here’s a way to better utilize the four app slots on the iPhone’s home screen. Much like Stacks in the OS X Dock, the Stacks app for iPhone allows you to pin multiple apps one slot. This can be done for any or all slots. The is currently in alpha. [read]

Unlock iPhone OS 3.1.2 With Blacksn0w

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this and it is finally here. Available on Cydia, the Blacksn0w app lets you unlock the new iPhone OS 3.1.2 and the new baseband. [read]