While I still firmly believe Apple’s primary currency is mindshare and their primary concern is profit share, analysts fill their plates with metrics and so it’s dinner time once again for smartphone marketshare reports!

And how is Apple doing? Up from 5.3 to 10.8 according to Gartner, while the smartphone market as a whole was up 12.7%.

Of course, when you don’t sell below-cost, margin eating goods, high market share goes hand in hand with high profit share, so Apple is no doubt enjoying both at the moment.

Other big winners included RIM’s BlackBerry, up from 13.3% to 19.9%. Falling in share were Nokia, down from 45.1% to 41.2% and “others” dropping from 28.1% to 18.8% (we have to figure Palm is hidden in there somewhere, and will no doubt rebound when the Pre hits the market starting June 8).

[via Apple Insider]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone Doubles Share of Smartphone Market

The DLO SlimCase for iPhone 3G is available from The iPhone Blog Store for $39.95. If you are looking for a case that allows you to easily remove your iPhone while still keeping it secure when in the case, this one might be for you!. Let's see how it measures up after the break!

Design

The DLO SlimCase comes with the case and wrist strap. There is a nice leather finish on the outside of the case and a soft, non-scratch material on the inside. This material allows the iPhone to slide into the case smoothly, yet holds it in place securely as well. The included wrist strap attaches at the top of the case and does not impede placing the iPhone in or out of the case.

Daily Use

When I first looked at this case I was perplexed as to why the whole top half of it was open. As you can see in the pictures, there is no flap or clip to keep the iPhone from falling out! However, after spending some time with the case, I feel this design was done for three reasons; 1) easy access to remove the phone as needed for docking, etc. 2) to keep the form factor compact 3) complete and unobscured access to the iPhone’s external buttons.

The DLO SlimCase is durable and stylish. The removable wrist strap comes in helpful too. The smooth leather case allows it to easily slip in your pocket and I feel it is protected. The only concern I have is if the case is dropped. I feel fairly confident that the iPhone will stay in the case, but the issue is the top corners; they are unprotected and if it takes the brunt of a fall, could harm the iPhone’s shell.

Using this case daily, I did not encounter any problems. It didn’t get stuck in my jeans pocket and it held up well under the daily abuse a case can get. I kept the wrist strap attached, but found that the case gave the iPhone sufficient grip so I did not use it. The Big question I know is on your mind: with a gaping opening at the top of the case, did the iPhone stay in securely? The answer is yes. The iPhone does fit securely, I had no issues with it coming loose.

Conclusion

This iPhone case is a double-edged sword; easily removable and slim, yet a compromise on the top corners if dropped. I am giving this case a 3 instead of a 4 because I have concerns if I were to drop the case, would the top corners be protected? If this is not a concern for you, then this is a great case that looks good, has a nice finish and allows you to remove the iPhone easily for docking or other activities.

Pros:

• Nice leather finish
• Easily remove the iPhone as needed
• Case is compact
• Openings for accessing everything you need on your phone
• Wrist strap

Cons:

• Top corners are exposed
• Not dockable

TiPb's Rating:

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Review: DLO SlimCase for iPhone 3G

More a cameo than a starring role, never the less the iPhone and MobileMe feature in Apple’s latest marketing campaign “Get the most from your Mac: Our picks for getting your best pics”:

Let friends download full-resolution images. Enjoy your own online gallery where you can share photos and videos. Let friends download your photos and upload their best shots. You can even publish and view photos directly from your iPhone. Visit a live sample gallery now.

While thin on iPhone overall, it does showcase the incredible ecosystem Apple has plugged the iPhone into, including Mac’s for photo editing and organization, printing services for books, calendars, etc. sharing online and to devices from Apple TV in the living room to MobileMe online and iPhone and iPod on the go, and back up solutions like Time Capsule.

That 360 degrees of integration is one of Apple’s — and the iPhone’s — greatest strengths and one smartphone-only manufacturers have no short-term way of matching.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone and MobileMe: Apple’s Picks for Getting Your Best Pics

There’s no technology that’s 100% safe from fraud or social engineering. Those are predators that walk the cyber landscape, and just like hunter gatherers had to watch out for saber-toothed tigers and dire wolves, modern consumers have to keep an eye out for scammers and spammers.

So, it comes as little surprise that Fox New York (via Consumerist) reports iTunes is among the many attack vectors Bad Guys use when committing their fraud.

The crux of this one is bogus charges on your credit card, from $1 to full on $50+ gift card purchases:

Over on GetSatisfaction, there’s a long thread about fraudulent iTunes charges, but no clear answer about what’s going on. In fact, some people seem to be getting hit with charges on their credit cards from a fake APL*ITUNES business even if they don’t have iTunes accounts, while others who do have iTunes accounts receive receipts via email for real gift card purchases that they didn’t make.

So stay informed, check your accounts and your credit card charges, and report anything fishy (or phishy).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Fraudulent “iTunes” Alert — Check Your Charges!

Confession: we secretly hope the Palm Pre does very well. Not because we want one ourselves — we’re pretty happy with the iPhone round here — but because we want Apple and AT&T to think we want one so they continue to drive up innovation and drive down costs respectively. Competition is, was, and will forever be a Good Thing.

Case in point: we’ve heard rumors about Apple pressuring AT&T to lower data rates and/or offer lower price points for capped service. Wall Street Journal takes these rumors and shows why competitive pressure may be at the root of them with a little side-by-side comparison to the impending Palm Pre/Sprint rates. Neatly summarized:

So essentially, iPhone users have to pay $150 a month to match what Sprint will offer Pre users for $100

Hey, if Palm can get Apple to get AT&T to knock 33% off the monthly bill, more power to them (and money to us!)

[Thanks to the Reptile for the tip and @CRA1G for melting our hearts -- a little!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Pressuring AT&T to Lower Rates in Face of Palm Pre Competition?

Sponsored Post: Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G

Case-Mate would like to introduce you to your new best friend…the iPhone 3G FUEL. It’s a protective case, carrying solution, and extended battery life all in one. So from here on out you're good to charge on the go. So the next time you're rushing to get to the airport at 6am and you forget your charger…relax, your iPhone 3G is taken care of.

Extended battery life features include up to 9 hours of additional talk time, 7 hours of internet use, 8 hours of video playback, 24 hours of audio playback, and 250 hours of stand by time beyond standard iPhone 3G battery life.

Additional features include: power on/off button makes more efficient usage of the fuel by only engaging when you decide to, rechargeable through a standard 5-pin usb cable (included), fully supports syncing while iPhone 3G is docked in the fuel, fully ratcheting 180-degree belt clip, and easy slide in/out access to your iPhone 3G.

Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G is available now from the TiPb iPhone Store…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Sponsored Post: Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G

Dataviz has posted to Facebook and Twitter that they have submitted Documents To Go for the iPhone. They say it should be available soon and is

Very reasonably priced and there won’t be a need to have a discount for existing customers…

We have been very excited about what DataViz is bringing to the table in their very popular Microsoft Office compatible software. Our Editor-In-Chief when to Mobile World Congress and brought us back some juicy info. How has this changed? What will this version of Documents To Go do? We should find out in a couple of days.

What are you hoping for? Word, Excel and PowerPoint functionality? I would love the triple play. Do you think DataViz will deliver?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Dataviz: Documents To Go has been submitted to the App Store!

That’s what some are taking away from the analyst briefings we linked to last week. Apple would have only one hardware platform, but different versions of the software for different SKUs of the iPhone.

Sigh. It’s hard enough to convince people that software isn’t just math, and math isn’t free, without dodgy OS stripping schemes artificially creating crippled, low-end versions. Apple thus far has known this — Mac OS X comes in only two versions, client and server. Likewise, they tend to have their free/cheap regular software like iPhoto, and pro apps like Aperture.

Could we see a “pro” version of the iPhone OS? Perhaps, but while the guts of the device would likely stay the same for compatibility and component cost reasons, it’s hard to see no hardware differentiation like more storage, better camera, tweaked casing. After all, that’s what Apple’s historically done with MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

If Apple did go with pure software differentiation, might also make for yet another interesting chapter in the Jailbreak cat-and-mouse game…

Apple believing their software differentiates the iPhone from OTHER smartphones is something they’ve made a point of making a point about since launch (and likely what they meant again this time). But differentiating within the iPhone platform? Well, we just hope they’re leaning towards iPhone Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. Because, you know, people just loved that about Windows Vista.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Rumorous Maximus: iPhone Models to be Differentiated by Software?