iPhone 4 FaceTime on AT&T 3G Works Great

The iPhone 4 was officially released yesterday, and one of its highly touted new features is the front-facing camera and the inclusion of Apple FaceTime. The only serious drawback to the new FaceTime feature is that both parties must be connected to a WiFi network. Is this an Apple imposed limitation, or is this an AT&T limitation? Being a mobile technology junkie, I had to find out for myself if the AT&T network was capable of handling a high-quality FaceTime call.

Being the MacGyver of mobile computing that I am, here’s what I did to test it out. I took my Google Nexus One running Android 2.2 FroYo on the AT&T network and enabled the WiFi HotSpot feature as seen below:

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Apple’s iPhone 4 Hits the Streets

Did you notice anything different on the way to work this morning? If you live in the US and pass by the Apple store (or any retailer that’s selling the iPhone), you may have noticed a small lineup of people in front of the store waiting for their chance to own the latest Apple phone. Rich Brome – Editor in Chief at Phonescoop.com, had this to say about the extra long lines this time around:

Apple’s marketing engine has done a great job once again, at building up the anticipation and getting people to line up overnight to spend their hard earned money on a new phone. While the iPhone is still locked to AT&T’s network in the US, Apple is looking at selling it unlocked in Canada when it goes on sale next month. This means you can pick up an iPhone without having to sign a long term contract with a carrier. This is something Google attempted with their Nexus One phone when it launched. For the customer, the end result is a more expensive phone since the carrier isn’t subsidizing it with a 2 or 3 year contract. However the customer ends up with a phone that will work with any compatible network. Which is certainly an advantage if you don’t like signing long contracts or you travel on a regular basis.

Early reports from the lucky ones who received their device yesterday and early this morning are indicating that Apple may have some issues with the physical hardware. The first is a yellow tint on the new Retina Display. Sadly, this is a problem that has come up all to often with device manufacturers. The second issue is around the cellular reception of the iPhone. In case you’re not aware, the sides of the device are used as the various antennas required (Bluetooth, WiFi, and Cellular). Left-handed people are reporting that the signal drops when holding the phone along the bottom. There’s a chance that this is related to how the software displays the signal strength. If Apple’s lucky, that’s all it will be. If it’s a deeper design issue, it’s going to be costly for Apple to fix it. And finally, if you happen to drop your device, you’re not going to be happy. Check out this video by iFixYouri.com – and remember to get a good case and don’t drop it!

Apple Facing More Antitrust Investigations

Apple is having more and more problems with the Federal Trade Commission these days. It wasn’t that long ago when Apple and Antitrust were two words you never expected to hear in the same discussion. As Apple has climbed to the top of various markets, they’ve been gathering more attention from the FTC.

According to the latest word on the street, the FTC is going to be probing Apple to determine if their tactics are restrictive to competitors in the new iAds mobile advertising space. Current policies at Apple have prevented several companies from running or advertisments on iPhones and other mobile devices powered by Apple.

The FTC is already looking into Apple’s ban on Adobe’s Flash, and Apple’s marketing practices when it comes to iTunes. And then of course, there’s the whole human rights issue around the manufacturing facilities in China. Oh, and let’s not forget the security concerns circling around the iPhone. Given that Apple is no longer a small computer company with 3% of the market, they need to start acting like a responsible enterprise and taking a serious look at these issues. It’s always better if you address them before the government forces you to change your ways – just ask Microsoft.

Apple’s New iPhone 4: Canada Bound

Yesterday, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs introduced the world to their newest iPhone: the iPhone 4.

The good news for Canadians is that the iPhone 4 is coming sometime soon.  Rogers will be announcing the launch on their network “within weeks”.  We’ll post pricing and availability when we know.  Most likely pricing will mirror the US – except for that little 3-years-instead-of-2-years part – and should be $199 on contract.

I made notes during the launch announcement and am including them below…just in case you didn’t want to read a long article about all the new features:

iOS4 – the name of the new OS rather than iPhone OS.  It makes sense given that it’s on the iPad as well.
iBooks – iPad and iPhone – download to both, saves your place on either and no extra cost for book.  Added PDF support.
Lots of HTML5 mentions.
$5billion in App store sales, $1billion to developers – Apple emphasize the later but my thought was “Holy Shnikies!  Apple made $4 billion just from Apps!!!”
iPhone – New design, super slim 9.3mm, glass on front and back, metal band around outside is also antennas
Front-facing camera for video conferencing called FaceTime, but only over WiFi
Rear facing cam is 5megapixel, but loaded with geeky tech goodness for great shots
SUPER high res screen, 960×640, 4x times current, called Retina display, 326 pixels per inch, 70% of iPad res – All that to say, “WOW!”  That is going to be a gorgeous screen!
Apple’s own A4 processor, the same as is in the iPad.  Should be blistering fast.
Larger battery for 40% longer life – 3g talk – 7hrs, browsing 3g – 6hrs, wifi browsing – 10hrs
Three axis Gyroscope – for better 3d gaming
HD Video capture – 720p, 30fps video
Built-in video editing (with optional iMovie) – Looks like it will be a very capable video editor, indeed!
Unified inbox with multiple exchange accounts support
Bing search added
iAds – because Apple isn’t making enough money yet.
By September will roll out to 88 countries – very fast rollout
June 21st, free upgrade too all iPhone, iPad and iPod users but won’t have all features on 3G iPhone and 2G touch

Sounds pretty darn impressive.  Are you getting one?

How the iPhone 4 Compares to Other Top Smartphones

Engadget has put together a great chart showing the comparison between Apple’s new iPhone 4 and 4 of the top smartphones available today from competitors. The comparison does a great job of showing exactly how the new iPhone 4 stacks up against the HTC EVO 4G (Android), Nokia N8 (Symbian), Palm Pre Plus (WebOS), and the HTC HD2 (Windows Mobile).

I’m not going to ruin the results for anyone, you’ll just have to go and check it out for yourself. Apple has done a great job, as usual, with the presentation and story behind the iPhone 4. Head over to Engadget’s site and check out the comparison then let us know your thoughts. Is the iPhone 4 really a ground breaking device?

iPhone Security Vulnerability Exposes Your Data

A new report form Bernd Marienfeldt exposes a large security vulnerability in the way the iPhone secures your personal data. Oh, and if you have enabled a PIN prompt on your iPhone to help protect your device if it was to be lost or stolen, it won’t prevent prying eyes from accessing your data. Unlike the iPhone worm, this vulnerability is not limited to people with jailbroken devices.

So how does this work? Since the iPhone 3GS fails to provide full disk encryption, you take a iPhone and connect it to a computer running Ubuntu Lucid Lynx. This will allow access to the complete file system of the phone.

So you may feel that your data is safely stored away on your iPhone, it’s still accessible to the more knowledgeable cracker. This is something Apple has to face more and more as their platform continues to grow. They have managed to fly under the radar of the growing security aware public for a while now. But with the install base growing to such a large number, it brings more attention to the platform from the hacking community. As I mentioned in a previous post, Apple needs to get serious about security if they want to be taken seriously in the enterprise.   

Source = engadget mobile

All iPad Competitors will Fail – Really?

“The Apple iPad sure has the entire world interested in what it can do.  I’ve had everyone from managers and directors at the office (including the Chief Medical Information Officer at the hospital where I used to work) ask me what it was, if it was for them, and why they should buy one. Those are hard questions to answer, especially if you don’t know what the person’s intended use for the device is. However, I have had a fair number of those same people indicate that they were going to wait until either a MS/Windows or Android tablet was released and they were going to get it. Really? Personally, I think this is a horrible idea.  Here’s why…”

If you don’t know how someone is thinking of using a product, it is very hard to recommend a suitable product for them. If the person is the Chief Medical Information Officer at a hospital, then you really need to be aware of their plans. There is a significant difference between using the iPhone or iPad for business or enterprise versus using it for personal use. iTunes is a key part of the Apple Ecosystem for personal users. However, security of data on the device, remote management, compliance with government standards and the ability to side-load your custom applications are all key elements for any business that plans to role out a mobile device to their staff.

The way I see it, having a platform that meets and/or exceeds all of the requirements of big business, and also provides functionality to general consumers is more important to long term success. Sure, having a central ecosystem like iTunes is good for consumers, but I would rather have platforms that satisfy both consumer and enterprise needs. Then connecting these altogether with a nice easy to use market/platform would be fairly easy to add on. From XP to Vista to 7, Windows Servers, Xbox, Windows Phone, and Zune, Microsoft has something to help both the consumer and the enterprise manage their lives and their business. Connecting everything together seems easier than Apple’s position of building out those products to where the enterprise needs them.

But that’s just my thoughts. Take a chance to read the article over at Just Another Mobile Monday and let me know what you think. Is everything that goes to compete against the iPhone and iPad doomed to failure?

HTC Sues Apple for Patent Infringment

The world was surprised when Apple filed suit against HTC for patent infringement in regards to their Android based devices. HTC has vowed to fight Apple on that lawsuit. Today, HTC has launched a lawsuit against Apple for infringing on 5 of their patents. While the press released on HTC’s website makes no mention of the patents in question. It does say that they have been innovating in the mobile space for more than a decade, but there is no reference to how this relates to Apple’s products or their own patents. HTC is asking to halt the import and sale of iPhone, iPod, and iPad products.

The mobile space is getting to be a nasty place! Apple sues HTC, Nokia sues Apple, HTC sues Apple – where will this end? You can read the press release after the jump. Also, check out HTC’s A Quietly Brilliant Story, which shows all of the firsts that they have been involved with over the years.

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Nokia Files Patent Suite Against Apple, Again

On Friday, Nokia filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple Inc in regards to the iPhone and iPad products. This is the 5th complaint between Nokia and Apple over the course of the last year. Nokia claims that Apple has infringed on 10 different patents and is demanding royalties be paid on the more than 51 million iPhonas / iPads that have been sold to date.

There’s been a lot of focus on patents lately and it’s likely that this will only get worse as key players continue to battle for dominance in what will be the new computing frontier. Apple filed against HTC, HTC licensed a number of Microsoft patents, and HP buys Palm partly to gain control of Palm’s patents. Industry analysts are predicting that worldwide shipments of converged mobile devices (smartphones) will exceed 390 million by 2013. Because of that, all of the major players are working to position themselves in an attempt to control the lion share of the mobile market. Controlling the operating system used on those devices, or being the hardware manufacturer that produces the majority share of those 390 million devices will not only mean incredible revenues, but also a significant amount of power over the mobile industry – in much the same way Microsoft did with the PC many years ago.

So how does Nokia’s actions effect mobile users today? It doesn’t. This issue is before the court and will take years to resolve, and when it is resolved, most likely the court will order one company to pay the other company and maybe stop selling the devices. But that won’t effect those people that already have a device. So continue to enjoy your phone or buy that new one you’ve been looking at and don’t let all the patent fuss get in your way.

Apple Announces Multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0

Yesterday was Apple’s big announcement – iPhone OS 4.0. There was a bunch of new features announced, including the long awaited – multitasking. If you want to follow the announcement, check out live.gdgt.com.

There’s a lot of focus on multitasking these days, so I wanted to run through what Apple announced and what it means for developers and the applications you use every day. Apple’s focus was to find a way to allow multitasking but without allowing background processes that end up killing your performance and battery life.

“How are we adding multitasking while preserving battery life and performance. We looked at tens of thousands of apps in the app store, and we’ve distilled the services those apps need to run in the background. So we implemented those services, and we’re providing those services as APIs to developers so they can add multitasking while preserving battery life.” – Scott Forstall, SVP of iPhone Software via live.gdgt.com

The announcement goes on to define the seven (7) background services they are providing – Background audio, Voice over IP, Background location, Push notifications, Local notifications, Task completion, and Fast app switching. These are the only multitasking services exposed to the developer. Let’s quickly run down what each one of these can do for you:

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