The iPhone Blog


iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 2 Now Live

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 03:22 PM PST

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All iPad/iPhone developers out there will be happy to know that if you head over to the Apple Developer site you’ll notice that the iPhone 3.2 SDK beta 2 is now available for your downloading pleasure. The servers are still getting flooded at the moment but you might as well try to get your download on.

Of course this SDK is under a NDA so if you want to know about all of the changes from the previous beta, you’ll have to check it out for yourself. And feel free to share your finding with us in the comments below!

[Via TUAW]

iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 2 Now Live is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Apple’s iPhone Market Share Still Growing, iPhone 3GS #2 US Best-Seller

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:42 PM PST

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PreCentral.net points us to comScore’s latest stats showing Apple’s iPhone market share is still on the way up, going from 24.1% to 25.3%, a 1.2% increase.

Google’s Android, with its Droid on Verizon splash jumped 2.7% (to reach 5.2). Everyone else was in the negative, with RIM down 1% (though still huge at 41.6%), Microsoft down 1% (to 18%), and Palm down 2.2% (to 2.7%).

It’s also important for TiPb to once again point out that Apple’s high margins means that market share likely translates into a higher profit share than most as well. That means, for example, when we see CrackBerry.com boasting about being #1 Q4 IDC results for best selling smartphones, the iPhone 3GS coming in at #2 and the iPhone 3G coming in at #4 (with the Droid at #3 and the Pearl rounding things out at #5), Apple’s bankers are likely much happier, and their R&D department working on iPhone gen 4 and gen 5, much better funded.

Apple’s iPhone Market Share Still Growing, iPhone 3GS #2 US Best-Seller is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Shocking! Repetitive! Higher iTunes Music Prices Slowed Sales

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:29 PM PST

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When iTunes Music went DRM-free and “hits” jumped from $0.99 to $1.29 stories soon followed that the higher price point was leading to slower sales… and now that iBooks and publishers aim to increase eBook sales from $9.99 to up to $14.99, MediaMemo is telling them to “beware!”:

Warner Music Group (WMG) said this morning that it has seen unit sales growth at Apple's (AAPL) iTunes decelerate since the price increase: Industrywide, year-over-year "digital track equivalent album unit growth" was at five percent in the December quarter, down sequentially from 10 percent in the September quarter and 11 percent in the June quarter.

If people have to spend more they’ll buy less? And if they think the price is unreasonably high they’ll buy less still? Shocked. Shocked are we!

The thing is this — under the new 70/30 agency model, publishers can charge what they like. If nobody buys a new bestseller at $14.99 but they do at $12.99, publishers can set that price on iBooks and still get their 70%. They can go back to $9.99 if they want to. Same with music.

Way back when iTunes Store launched, Steve Jobs made it a point to say their competition wasn’t physical media — it was free pirated media. There’s a price point where users will feel it’s cheap enough they don’t even want to bother with the steps involved in pirating eBooks or MP3s, they’ll just click the Buy Now button and thank Apple for the convenience.

That’s the real model.

Shocking! Repetitive! Higher iTunes Music Prices Slowed Sales is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Google Announces Buzz; or Will Social Networking Blend?

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:15 PM PST

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Our sibling site Android Central let us know that Google has shoved every social media form you can imagine, from Facebook to Twitter to Foursquare, to — dunno, Friendserjaiku? — into something called Buzz.

After Google Wave, which came off as WikiChat to us, we’re not sure about all this Google-mash, but Phil gives us a pretty good intro:

For starters, go to buzz.google.com, and you’ll be taken to a Web app that lets you see and create Buzz messages. You can see messages from people you “follow” or interact with often, or you can see messages from people nearby.

Personally, I needed one more platform to push my Twitter feed to anyway… What do you think? Want? Will use? Yeahbuwhy?

Videos after the break!

Google Announces Buzz; or Will Social Networking Blend? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Contest Reminders: Developer Survey and Round Robin — Win a 32GB iPod touch, iPhone 3GS!

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 08:12 AM PST

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A couple quick contest reminders as deadlines loom (LOOM I tell you!):

The Developer Survey we mentioned here is still running but will end this weekend. Interpret is putting together an exciting set of data about mobile app development and needs your input. Take the survey here and be entered for your chance to win a 32GB iPod touch. Heck, if that isn’t your style, you can also opt for up to $550 to purchase the phone of your choice.

Since not everybody will qualify for the developer survey prize, one more reminder: the Smartphone Round Robin contest is still running, but will end on Thursday. You can enter to win an iPhone 3GS by posting in this thread. Everybody’s been asking so here’s the news: we are announcing the winners on Friday!

Contest Reminders: Developer Survey and Round Robin — Win a 32GB iPod touch, iPhone 3GS! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


TiPb at Macworld 2010 — Conference Begins!

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 07:55 AM PST

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Macworld 2010’s conference portion starts today at the Moscone Center and I’ll be heading over in a few minutes. The Expo starts Thursday, and Leanna will be joining me to bring every complete TiPb coverage.

If you’re a developer and you’re going to be at Macworld, shoot me an email (rene@tipb.com) or ping me on Twitter (@reneritchie) and let me know. If you’re a reader, be sure to say hello!

And here’s all the Macworld highlights, and a discount code, for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad lovers once again… after the break! Still not sure if you’re coming to Macworld? IDG was kind enough to pass along a discount code for TiPb readers, good for $15 off the Expo or 15% off the Conference.

Here’s what you’re going to want to check out:

See you there!

TiPb at Macworld 2010 — Conference Begins! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Notion Ink Adam — Don’t Call it an “iPad Killer”!

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 07:38 AM PST

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Notion Ink’s Atom is one of the next generation “tablet” style devices that will no doubt be compared head-to-head with Apple’s iPad. First, a note to traditional media — if we never read the phrase “iPad killer” it’ll be too soon. We clear?

Second and that said, SlashGear shows off some renders and it looks like the Adam brings some interesting ideas with it.

the Android-based slate using the latest-gen NVIDIA Tegra chipset and Pixel Qi's innovative low-power display.

Pixel Qi uses a tranflexive display that blends characteristics of LCD (or LED like the iPad) and e-ink (like the Amazon Kindle).

Apple did a lot of UI work to scale the iPhone OS for the iPad, so it will be interesting to see how a non-integrated OS/hardware company will be able to scale Android, and of course, there’s iPad’s iTunes ecosystem to contend with — something even companies like Acer have said is a show-stopper.

We like competition, though, because we like Apple being competitive.

Notion Ink Adam — Don’t Call it an “iPad Killer”! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Apple Store Down — iPad Ordering, New MacBooks, or Just Aperture 3?

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 06:48 AM PST

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The Apple Online Store is down again, and it’s a Tuesday, and it’s Macworld — though sadly neither of those two things mean much anymore — and so our email boxes are flooding with heads-up and excited guesses about everything from iPad pre-ordering going live, to MacBook Pro updates, to… Aperture 3.

Yeah, Aperture 3. Sorry iPad fans and MacBook hopefuls, but Apple has already put up a PR and so far that’s it.

We’ll updated, of course, if there’s anything else.

It is a Tuesday after all, and Macworld…

Apple Store Down — iPad Ordering, New MacBooks, or Just Aperture 3? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


Navigon MobileNavigator Goes 3D, Social, and Intelligent

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 06:43 AM PST

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And now we can tell you why Navigon is so excited about their new 3D terrain viewing, social media integrated, intelligent routing version 1.5 update to MobileNavigator [$69.00 on sale -- iTunes link] that they’ve put it on sale and are giving TiPb readers a chance to not only win copies, but get a guided tour at Macworld 2010 on how to use it. Here are the highlights:

  • Connection to Facebook and Twitter: A simple icon tap posts users current position, destination, and ETA without navigation interruption.

  • NAVIGON MyRoutes: Analyzes driving habits, patterns, location, time/day and provides up to three routes clearly displayed in-map with ETA, distance and driving times for each.

  • Panorama View 3D (in-app purchase – $9.99): True 3D in-map views obtained from NASA's height and terrain data enable intuitive orientation of surrounding environment, and what lies ahead with digital landscape elevations, shadows, and geographic images. Panorama View 3D is integrated in-map, independent from the phone's data connection.

MobileNavigator is typically $89.99 but is on sale during Macworld for $69.00. The update is free for existing user. Traffic Live, typically a $24.99 in-app purchase is likewise on sale for $19.99. As mentioned, Panorama View 3D is also an in-app purchase at $9.99.

TiPb’s Navigon give-away is still going on, so check it out, MobileNavigator 1.5 will hit the App Store this spring and will run on iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 2G and iPod touch via GPS-enabled dock accessories.

Navigon MobileNavigator Goes 3D, Social, and Intelligent is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog


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