Last time iPhone 4.0 was spotted in a server log, now it’s been seen again in a developer’s analytics data. Sure, this stuff can and will be faked, but given that Apple typically introduces new OS versions in March, and that iPhone 3.2 is still nowhere to be seen, maybe they are concentrating on 4.0 and early tests are already underway?

‘Tis the season to see rumors, if nothing else!

[via MacRumors]

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

iPhone 4.0 Spotted in App Analytics!

Nielsen reports that the iPhone 3G is the most popular phone in the US with 4% “embedded base of all subscribers”.

BOGO-buoyed BlackBerrys come in a close second, followed by Motorola’s monstrous RAZR. Now that’s the sheer-face-of-the-cliff-style functionality drop-off right there, isn’t it?

[via Gizmodo]

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

Nielsen: iPhone Most Popular Phone in the US

iTunes Connect, the online portal developers use to upload and manage their App Store apps, appears to be down for the moment.

Apple had previously announced that iTunes Connect would be unavailable over the holidays between Dec. 23 and 28, but did someone jump the gun? Hit the eggnog a wee bit early? Could just be a server down — it is the age of the cloud, after all.

Or is it every developer and their team trying to wedge in some last minute app-tivity before the big close? DDoS by holiday?

If you’re a developer and your iTunes is suddenly won’t-Connect, let us know, and let us know when it’s back up. Otherwise, we guess your holidays start early :-/

[Thanks to @dmackdaddy for the tip!]

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

Developers: Is iTunes Connect Down for You?

Epic, makers of a little game called Gears of War 2, have shown off their Unreal Engine 3… on an iPhone (and iPod touch!). No games announced using it yet, but if there is any Power of Awesome in this ‘verse, there will be and soon! Apparently, Epic will also be bringing the Unreal Engine 3 to other platforms in the new year as well, starting off with another platform announcement at CES in January.

2010 should be an interesting year for mobile gaming!

[AndandTech via Engadget]

Video after the break!

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

ZOMG!1!1! Unreal Engine 3 Running on iPhone!

The holidays are upon us soon the new year will be here, and to celebrate TiPb is teaming up with TeleNav to offer TiPb’s TeleNav AT&T Navigator Give Away! And since we’re already running the huge Round Robin contest in the forums, we figured this one would be perfect for the social networks.

How can you win?

1. Follow both @theiphoneblog and @telenav on Twitter
2. Become a fan of both theiPhoneblog and TeleNav on Facebook
3. Tweet from your Twitter account: “I want to win @theiPhoneBlog's Ultimate @TeleNav Travel Pack! http://bit.ly/8gan2b”

What can you win?

1. Grand prize: The first place winner will receive one grand prize consisting of the “Ultimate Car Pack” which includes one year of AT&T Navigator (Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"): $69.99), a dashboard mount for a cell phone (ARV: $25), a mobile phone charger (ARV: $20), a $100 gift certificate to the iPhone Blog iPhone Store, and a $100 donation in their name to Toys for Tots. – (Total ARV of grand prize: $214.99)
2. Second prizes: Two second place winners will receive a one-year subscription to AT&T Navigator. (ARV: $69.99 each) All prizes will be awarded.

It’s US only (AT&T Navigator requires AT&T after all!) but you only need to enter once, and winners will be announced on January 2, 2010 — so what are you waiting for? Ready, set, follow, fan, and tweet!

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

TiPb/TeleNav Giveaway — One Year of AT&T Navigator, Accessories, TiPb Store Gift Certificate and More!

[YouTube video link]

Remember that Apple patent for hyper-reality 3D displays that tracked user’s head location and automagically rotated objects? The folks over at Construction Software Advice sure do, and they let us know about a little demo they’re calling Apple 3D Head-Tracking – The Ultimate Display for Construction.

Will we see this live on our iPhone or Mac any time soon? Who knows, but the future is coming and concept previews help make the wait just a tad easier. (Seriously, future, get here now!)

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

Tuesday Fun Video: 3D Head-Tracking Demo

So the oldest 2007 iPhone 2G can easily download and run (most of) iPhone OS 3.1 while the current 2009 crop of HTC Dream and Magic devices on Rogers will officially be stuck on Android 1.5? According to sibling site AndroidCentral.com:

“HTC is not currently planning any Android 1.6 upgrades for Rogers Dream or Magic. Android 1.6 was only made available for "Google"-branded devices such as the G1. It is not available for HTC-branded products such as the Dream or Magic, which use Android 1.5. We believe that Android 1.5 is a stable and reliable software platform that delivers a terrific user experience.”

Google explains this is a consequence of being not evil “open”, again via AndroidCentral.com:

When we open source our code we use standard, open Apache 2.0 licensing, which means we don’t control the code. Others can take our open source code, modify it, close it up and ship it as their own. Android is a classic example of this, as several OEMs have already taken the code and done great things with it. There are risks to this approach, however, as the software can fragment into different branches which don’t work well together (remember how Unix for workstations devolved into various flavors — Apollo, Sun, HP, etc.). This is something we are working hard to avoid with Android.

Working well together isn’t the problem. Rogers, HTC, and Google ignoring an entire country full of early adopters — the very users that help drive a platform — is the problem. How many Dream and Magic owners, likely geeks who form the loving core of Google and Android’s user base, will be happy to here they’re “stable* with 1.5 and don’t need and won’t be getting 1.6 (and who knows about 2.x?) while seeing the Motorola Droid and upcoming Hero updates, never mind Nexus One, splashed all over their interwebs.

There are pros and cons to both the integrated hardware/software/benevolent dictatorship model of Apple and the licensed hardware/software/wild west model of Google, to be sure. Buyers should beware of Apple control over the App Store and ecosystem, but they should also beware of hardware fracture from the hands-off overlords.

Sure, one day Apple will kill backwards compatibility as well, iPhone 2G first, then subsequent devices over time. If you’d bought an iPhone 3G earlier this year, however, how happy would you be if Apple and Rogers announced 2.0 was “stable” and that you don’t need and won’t be getting iPhone 2.x? 3.0? Would you be enjoying all the iPhone 3GS cut and paste and video commercials then? How happy would you were told your brand new iPhone 3GS wouldn’t be getting 4.0 next year?

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

2007 iPhone 2G is on iPhone 3.1, 2009 Android Dream/Magic Stuck on 1.5

Look what we have here — some great news for AT&T as it snags first place in Gizmodo’s 12 city 3G data test. (Just like their latest commercial claims.) The 12 cities are as follows: Maui, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Tampa.

When it comes to being number 1, AT&T hasn’t always been this lucky (remember a little something called customer satisfaction?) Perhaps this is a sign of good things to come and maybe, just maybe, some of that anger and hatred AT&T has gotten in the past will turn into a positive vibe.

“It was measurably faster, however, download-wise, in 6 of the 12 markets where we tested, and held a significantly higher national average than the other carriers. Only Verizon came close, winning 4 of the 12 markets. For downloads, AT&T and Verizon came in first or second in nine markets, and in whatever location we tested, both AT&T and Verizon 3G were consistently present. If you’re wondering about upload speeds, AT&T swept the contest, winning 12 for 12.”

Personally, I’ve tested speeds with my AT&T and Verizon lines respectively and get the same results here in Chicago. AT&T’s 3G data speeds always come out on top in both uploading and downloading.

Love AT&T or hate them, these results are somewhat impressive.

[Via Gizmodo]

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

AT&T Wins Gizmodo’s 12 City 3G Data Test

From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

• It’s week 2 of the Smartphone Round Robin and that means Phil from WMExperts is a guest in our forums, go easy on him and help him out with all of his questions he has regarding the iPhone!
• Whether you have a 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB iPhone – how much free space do you currently have?
• Wondering what the latest and greatest iPhone apps are in the App Store today? We have a forum for that. Visit our iPhone App Announcement forum.
• Think of a world where the iPhone simply does not exist (I know it’s painful but try…) What phone would you choose to be your daily driver?

See you on the forums!

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

From the Forums: Help Phil from WMExperts, Free Space, New Apps, Anything but iPhone

PCWorld, ReadWrite Enterprise, and 9to5mac all have interesting “what-if” articles up that describes a mirror universe where Apple and Microsoft unite to fight off the advances of an all-powerful Google.

Admittedly a lot has happened over the last year or so: Google entering the smartphone space with Android and the desktop with Chrome OS, the strained relations over Google Voice, the shattered directorate as Google CEO Eric Schmidt left the Apple Board while Arthur Levinson stayed on Apple and left Google.

PC World thinks Apple’s device could make up for the long delays in Windows Mobile 7 while Microsoft could provide the equally long-missing enterprise credibility for the iPhone.

9to5mac, for their part, points out that Microsoft’s Bing could also supply many of the search and mapping related features the iPhone currently relies on Google for.

Could their enemy’s enemy be their friends, even when Apple and Microsoft have had such a longstanding, classic rivalry of their own? And in this mirror universe, is it Steve Jobs, Steve Ballmer, or Eric Schmidt who wears the goatee of evil?

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

Mirror Universe: Apple and Microsoft United Against Google