iSights.org

Is Apple stealing ideas from iPhone developers? No.

iPhone Atlas is running an article asking if Apple stealing ideas from iPhone developers. The Atlas article, in turn, is based primarily on accusations being made by Jonathan Zdziarski, best known for the iPhone 2.0 "emergency call" passcode hack.

Fundamentally, Jonathan accuses Apple of attempting to patent a home screen idea previously used by an application called Intelliscreen.

He writes, "At the worst, this is an attempt to steal a concept. At the very best, it's an attempt to patent something that was so obvious, a competitor figured it out long before Apple did."

So is it true? Is the big Apple ripping off some poor defenseless developer?

Quick answer: No. Apple did not rip off Intelliscreen.

Intelliscreen, however, could have ripped off Apple. Keep on reading for the proof.

Plug In Your iPhones: Software Update 2.1 Is Ready

If you have a 3G iPhone, or an original iPhone that you've upgraded to 2.0.2, then it's time to plug it into iTunes 8 and click that "Check for updates" button.

Why? Because the new iPhone 2.1 update is now available from Apple's servers. Weighing in at 237.8 MB , it promises:

• Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
• Significantly better battery life for most users
• Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• Faster installation of 3rd party applications
• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
• Improved performance in text messaging
• Faster loading and searching of contacts
• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

Will it deliver? I'll know in approximately 27 minutes.

Visit the Apple iPhone Software Update page for more information.

iPhone 3G Sales "In Perspective"

TechDirt is running an article placing iPhone sales "in perspective". Recent mobile handset numbers show that 282 million phones were sold in the first quarter of this year, and that Nokia alone appears to sell approximately 1.28 million handsets per day.

Mike concludes, "So, yes, selling 1 million handsets over the weekend is a nice round milestone -- and certainly other handset makers are probably jealous of the attention it's getting. But, it's not having a huge impact on the overall handset market just yet."

But let's compare Apple's to Apple's, shall we? According to Gartner, worldwide smartphone sales in 1Q 2008 totaled 32.2 million units, which would put the average daily sales of higher-end phones at roughly 358,000 units.

Or in other words, Apple sold -- singlehandedly, and per day -- almost as many smartphones over this weekend as all of the other manufacturer's combined.

Plus, if Apple meets its numbers of selling 10 million phones in 2008, they'll have gained roughly 10% of the entire worldwide smartphone market. Which, ignoring the low-end "free" handsets sold by Nokia and others, also just happens to be be the most profitable end of the market.

Just, of course, putting things into perspective...

iPhone Hackers Root Cause Of 3G Lines

The three and four hour long iLines of iCustomers waiting to get iPhones across the US arose from a perfect storm of three contributing factors.

First to shoulder their share of the blame are the consumers themselves, who got exactly what they demanded, and as such were effectively hoist on their own petard. More on that later.

Second was Apple's misguided decision to simultaneously release the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 2G 2.0 software update on the same day.

Finally, the third portion of blame needs to be placed directly at the feet of the iPhone hacker community.

Most of it, actually.

iPhone Lines - We're Waiting, We're Waiting

From a marketing standpoint, Appe's decision to require in-store activations guaranteed long lines and the appearance of high consumer demand as loyal customers patiently awaited entry into their local store.

But when you're the one forced to stand in one of those lines while each and every phone sold goes through a fifteen minute activation process, it takes on an entirely different perspective.

And one completely different from the original "pay for it and you're out of here" process.

Apple can only hope that the future experience of owning and using the new 3G iPhone will wash away the memory of those wasted hours and the dissatisfaction of that decision.

BTW, this entry was generated during one of those wasted hours...

The iPhone's Biggest Missing Feature

With both the WWDC and the iPhone's launch anniversary approaching, speculation is once again running rampant regarding the 3G iPhone.

When will it be announced? When will it ship? What features will it have? What chipset will it use? Will it have real GPS or fake? Will the back be metal, paper or plastic?

On, and on, and on.

Readers are asked again and again, "What features do you want?" What makes it a "must have", as opposed to being a total piece of garbage?

But in all of the articles and all of the replies, there's one "must have" feature that's continually forgotten and constantly overlooked. And one which would have me standing in line to upgrade at nearly any price.

And so would you, if you stopped to give it a second's thought.

A Reality Check On iPhone Restrictions

Many bloggers, developers, and people who should otherwise know better have been complaining about the "restrictive" native of the iPhone SDK and Apple's seemingly "arbitrary" limitations on iPhone applications.

Therefore it was with great interest that I read an article by Craig Hockenberry of Twitterific fame, which dramatically illustrates just what happens when Apple's guidelines are bypassed.

The iPhone SDK: Promises Broken, Promises Kept

Back when the iPhone was originally announced at MacWorld San Francisco, much was made of the fact that the iPhone wasn't just a phone, but a software platform in its own right.

Build on OS X we were told, Apple would be able to quickly and easily add applications and extend existing functionality.

But in reality, this never occurred.

Apple's Application Store: Not Just For iPhones?

In an earlier article I discussed how Apple new iPhone application store will promote an avalanche of applications as developers flock to both a super cool hardware platform and a marketplace designed to promote their creations to every iPhone owner.

In fact, the store is the only place where the average user can acquire third-party applications. A system described by many as being a "walled garden" around the iPhone and the iPod touch.

A point that has so many profound ramifications that one has to ask: can Apple enforce it? And if so, will they extend the concept to its obvious conclusion?

Why The iPhone Application Store Will Create An Avalanche of Applications

One of the announcements to come out of the iPhone SDK press conference was the creation of the "App Store", a place for developers to display and hawk their wares for both fun and profit.

In fact, the App Store is the only place where they can do so, which is bound to be a point of contention between Apple and the "information wants to be free" crowd.

Even so, I tend to think this is a good thing. Why? Well, one big problem software authors face is exposure. It's not enough to create a cool application. People have to know about it, find it, and download it. And in many cases simply getting paid for your work is a major hassle as well.

The App Store makes all of that happen.