Back in December, 2011, Gannett armed their print and broadcast journalists with iPhones and iPads. Now, with over 1,000 iOS devices now in the hands of their print and broadcast journalists, they're combining traditional broadcast equipment with some of the best in mobile technology. At this point, the iPhones and iPads have become an essential requirement in the day-today operations throughout the Gannett organization.

“Reporters and photographers need to collect and record things, do some rudimentary editing and transmit that content. This one device can accomplish some or all of those critical steps," says Gannett’s Director of Digital Content MacKenzie Warren.

iPhone and iPad accessories play a big role for Gannett as well. With plenty of iOS device accessories out there to make use of, they have no trouble finding additional tools that help the print and broadcast journalists in whatever circumstances they may come across. Be it the need to get a POV shot from a car or bicycle and as noted by Patti Dennis, VP of news at Gannet's KUSA Denver "the story dictates the tool,” and that could mean anything from using a tripod mount to the widely used mCam, made out of aluminum and acts as a mount but also offers a wide-angle/macro lens as well as a microphone for recording audio.

Looking at the Gannett situation a bit, it's easy to see how Apple devices are changing how news is brought to the masses. The next time you're watching the news, those photos, those videos could essentially be coming to you from not only an iOS device but after having been recorded, edited and even uploaded to a server somewhere directly from one. The traditional tools are of course still playing a big role in the day-to-day operations but the landscape has changed now all thanks to Apple.

Source: TV News Check

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple’s iWork VP Roger Rosner has been charged to lead Apple's entry into the digital textbook arena.

According to people familiar with the matter, Mr. Rosner—Apple's vice president for productivity applications, in charge of its iWork document, spreadsheet and presentation software—is closely involved in developing the new digital-textbook service. Apple last week said it was holding an event in New York City on Thursday for an announcement, which people familiar with the matter have said will be around digital textbooks.

With Apple's education event happening January 19th, we'll soon be able to lay to rest all the rumors surrounding what, exactly will be unveiled. It seems, however, that rather then looking to replace textbooks with their digital counterparts right away, Rosner's team will introduce a new set of tools for publishers to create "iTextbooks". Apple's iTunes U podcast section is a critical if not mainstream success, and their iBooks eBookstore and reader already have a small set of textbook publishers participating. If Apple can expand on that existing base with tools to make the transition easier, they could start to get some momentum going.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

According to All Things D, Apple is set to hold a media event in New York later this month. The news comes from sources close to the situation who told All Things D that the event is not related to the iPad 3 or a new Apple TV.

According to sources close to the situation, Apple is planning an important — but not large-scale — event to be held in New York at the end of this month that will focus on a media-related announcement.

There is nothing official coming fom Apple just yet, but as soon as we hear more, we will let you know!

Source: AllThingsD

Microsoft has released their SkyDrive app for the iPhone and iPod touch, giving users access to their free cloud storage service and allowing 25 gigabytes worth of space for storing files, photos and other media types.

SkyDrive from Microsoft is the place to store your files so you can access them from virtually any device. With SkyDrive for the iPhone, you can now easily access, manage and share files on the go. You can also upload photos or videos from your iPhone to SkyDrive.

• Access all of your SkyDrive content including files shared with you
• View recently used documents
• Upload photos or videos from your phone
• Share a link to any file using email
• Create folders. Delete files or folders

New to SkyDrive? If you use Hotmail, Messenger or Xbox LIVE, you already have a SkyDrive account. If not, sign up for a new account at SkyDrive.com and then easily upload files from your PC or Mac to access them on your phone.

The app is available now for the iPhone and iPod touch for free in the App Store.

• App Store Link

Let's be blunt -- if you're not in the TiPb Forums you're missing out on the best darn discussion in iPhone and iPad today, so head on over and register now!

• Next Apple media event to be on October 4th?

• It does not appear that T-Mobile will be getting an iPhone this year.

• For your chance to win iMovie for your iOS device visit this thread!

• Everything you need to know about Apple's iCloud.

See you in the forums!

GENWI and iSites have recently released their iPad app creation services which cater specifically to the content and media publishing industry. If you need an on-the-fly solution for publishing content to an iPad application, this may be for you. Advanced options also include the ability to customize your interface through HTML5 and CSS.

The big convenience for content publishers is that it allows you to make changes and add to your app in real time via their content management servers. Monthly fees will vary based on what native platforms you'd like and what feature set you need. Pricing points are as follows -

• Basic - $99/month
• Premium - $399/month
• Professional - $499/month
• Enterprise - Call for pricing

You will have to be enrolled in the Professional pricing scheme in order to create native iPad apps but the ability to update content in real time may make the cost worth it for publishers. iSites currently serves clients such as The Stanford Daily, Forbes, Cox Media, and many more.

It's also worth noting that this suite is specifically geared at content publishers and media industries. It isn't an all-in-one solution for creating advanced applications such as games. But if you need content published quickly and need the ability to create a good looking app on an easy to use platform, this is probably your best solution for the price. If any of you use this service, let us know what you think!

GENWI

Remote Potato HD is coming soon for the iPad and if you’re a Windows Media Center user this could be the perfect app. With Remote Potato HD you can browse and stream all of your Windows Media Center content directly to your iPad in high resolution; locally or over the internet. You can also access your Media Center EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and schedule recordings all from within the app.

Another great feature, if you have an Apple TV, is AirPlay. As Remote Potato HD uses the Apple video player, to play back content, AirPlay can be used to stream to your Apple TV 2. This would enable your Apple TV to become a type of Media Center Extender.

In order to use the app with your Media Center system, you will have to install an application that handles the streaming and transcoding. This is available free from Remote Potato. The app has already been submitted to Apple for approval; so expect it to arrive any day now. No news on pricing yet but the existing version for iPhone and iPod touch is priced at $6.99.

There is a video demo of the app after the break. It looks like a fantastic solution; if you are a Windows Media Center and iPad user. I will be trying this one out as soon as it is available!

[Remote Potato via The Digital Lifestyle]

AirPlay is now available for your Windows Media Center box. It was only a matter of time after the AirPlay encryption keys were cracked that we would start to see AirPlay appearing on other platforms. Now it has been ported to the very popular Windows Media Center.

Developer Thomas Pleasance has put together a simple install package that does its magic and sure enough, once installed, your Media Center box appears on your iOS device as AirPlay capable.

I have tested AirPlay on my Windows 7 Media Center box and it works very very well. There is currently no support for music streaming or video content which contains DRM; such as iTunes purchased content. Photos, YouTube and any other video content seem to work perfectly. The software is currently in beta but don’t let that put you off!

Do any of our readers use Windows Media Center? Will you be giving this a whirl?

[Thomas Pleasance via The Digital Lifestyle]

IAlready jailbroken your Apple TV 2 and curious how to install the nifty little XBMC add-on that allows you to stream and add even more content from your network? Since we don't have Cydia for Apple TV (yet), the process of installing jailbreak apps is a bit different. Hit the jump for a quick walkthrough on how to get XBMC working on your jailbroken Apple TV 2.

First you'll need a jailbroken AppleTV. If you haven't done that already, check out our guide on jailbreaking the AppleTV 2 with Seas0nPass.

After you've done that, follow these steps.

1. Open a terminal app as you'll need to gain SSH access to your AppleTV.
2. Type ssh root@apple-tv.local - if that doesn't work for you, instead of typing apple-tv.local, replace it with your AppleTV's IP address which can be found under Settings then Network on your AppleTV.

3. You'll be asked for the password to your AppleTV next. By default, it is alpine. If you have changed it, enter the password you chose on your own instead. You may be asked if you're sure you wish to continue, just type "yes".

4. Once you are at the root menu, type (or copy/paste) this: echo "deb http://mirrors.xbmc.org/apt/atv2 ./" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbmc.list and hit "enter".
5. Next type (or copy/paste) this: apt-get update and hit "enter".

6. A list of available apps will populate. Type (or copy/paste) this: apt-get install org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2 and hit "enter".

7. You'll see the app begin to install and once it reaches 100%, you're done. Your AppleTV should flash briefly and when the main menu pops back up, XBMC should be added.

As a side note, I had issues getting my MacBook to connect to my AppleTV via SSH. I kept getting connection refused or invalid host errors. There is a file on your Mac you can delete in order to stop these errors (not sure where it would be located on a PC if anyone wants to chime in here). You'll need to unhide files on your Mac first. You can do that by following the steps below.

1. Open Terminal and type (or copy/paste): defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE and hit "enter".
2. Type (or copy/paste): killall Finder

That should unhide all of the hidden files on your Mac. Now you should be able to navigate to /Users/username (in my case Ally)/.ssh and delete the file titled "known_hosts". It should be the only file in that folder. Then try the above steps again. Only some of you may need to do this but I figured I'd throw it in there for anyone who has issues connecting via SSH to their AppleTV.

If you tried this or have installed XBMC, let us know how you like it so far!

If you have any questions or need any extra help, jump on in to our Apple TV Forums.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

Have a rather large iTunes library and curious how to still get it all your apps, games, movies, music, TV shows, and podcasts onto your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Fret not, w're going to show you a neat little trick to help cut down the size of your music and fit more of everything else... after the break!

Built right into iTunes is a feature that automatically converts your higher bit rate song (256kbps is the current standard) to 128kbps for optimized transfer to your iPhone and iPad. Music lovers might not want to risk any loss of quality but for most people the difference is not distinguishable and the storage savings are significant. Here's what to do:

• Plug your iPhone and iPad into iTunes
• Select "Convert Higher Bit Rate Songs to 128kbps AAC"
• Sync
• That's it!

Note: if you have a large iTunes library it might take a long time to do the initial conversion (my 495+ song took about an hour) but it only happens the first time and when it's done you'll have tons of space for videos, apps, or anything else (I saved about 3.4GB!)

Bonus tip: With iTunes 10, if you just select the "convert" box, the memory display bar will automatically adjust, so you can see how much space you'll be saving before hand and can decide if it's really worth it to you.

It's too bad they don't offer this for video! If you try it out, let us know how much space you saved and if you have any questions, leave them in comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward.)

Well known media player manufacturer Xtreamer, has just launched a new media player, called the iXtreamer. It is aimed squarely at iOS users because not only is this a media player, it also has a dock on the top which accepts virtually all iPod / iPhone devices as well as the iPad. When a device is in the dock, it offers a full charging solution; but more importantly, provides access to your music, video and photo libraries all via your HD TV. The iXtreamer has its own on screen UI to access and play your content via a remote control from the comfort of your living room.

Experience your iPad music collection on the spectacular artistic GUI on your TV screen with amazing picture quality of HD video and crystal clear sound clarity of 7.1 CH digital audio. Use your iPhone or the included remote control to navigate through your entertainment choices using crisp, animated HD menus.

Now combine this with a media player that can also play content from a local hard drive, USB Drives or network attached storage and the package starts to look particularly attractive. File support is well covered, the iXtreamer supports, BluRay image files, MKV, AVI and a lot more besides, all in 1080P HD. YouTube access is also included along with internet radio and TV streams.

Xtreamer has big plans for the device; they are currently investigating the possibility of getting access to apps and games on your iOS device and showing them on your HDTV too. They do state that this will depend on Apple’s willingness, so I think you can rule that one out for the foreseeable future.

This does look like a very good media player with some special features to attract iOS users. The iXtreamer is currently priced at 199 Euros ($270). Shipping is available worldwide and it is available now.

Although this has much greater file support than the Apple TV, does it offer enough for the extra cost? Let us know in the comments!

[Xtreamer]

SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad is finally getting near to release. A short video walkthrough of the new app has been posted on Sling's official YouTube account. The video emphasises that the app is all about the quality of the video, due to Apples excellent H.264 streaming capabilities. The interface looks very similar to other recent versions of Sling Player Mobile.

Now here is the bad news, Sling Player Mobile for iPad will be a separate app, no universal binary love here. If you already have the iPhone version you will have to pay again for the iPad version. It will cost another $30, the same price as the current iPhone version.

Also, Sling point out that the iPad version will only work with Slingbox PRO-HD and Slingbox SOLO equipment. Legacy versions do not have the hardware capability to stream at the iPad’s higher resolution.

No word on when this is going to hit the app store; but you can sign up now, to be kept up to date on availability information.

Are you are looking forward to this app? Do you think it is fair that you will have to pay again for the iPad version? Let us know in the comments!

[Engadget]

Is AirPlay going to be Apple's go-to-marketed strategy, using an iOS 4.2 iPad or iPhone and Apple TV one-two punch combo get around tradition media? Following up on the discovery that iPad Netflix will stream to Apple TV, Seth Weintraub figures out the following:

AppleTV is a Airplay-compatible device, meaning it can stream video/sound from other Apple devices. We found out last night that it isn’t just iTunes content that it will be able to broadcast. Any H.264 content from the web can be broadcast over Airplay to your HDTV.

That includes any video that can play on your iOS 4.2 device, like: Facebook video, YouTube, Netflix, Videos, BBC News, MLB and really anything else you can watch on your iOS device. That also includes videos built into Apps and magazine subscriptions too. All of this can be beamed to your AppleTV via Airplay.

John Gruber adds the following, from a friend:

Apps using the built-in media controller views get AirPlay out for free. Apps that don’t (like Hulu) need to roll their own using AVFoundation.

So any iOS app that uses the built-in media playback views is going to be an AirPlay source.

[9to5Mac, Daring Fireball]

When you think about using iPhone or iPad to locate and bookmark video -- much faster than any remote driven TV device could ever do -- and then shooting it over to enjoy on the big screen, the plan does seem to come together, doesn't it?

I had the pleasure earlier this morning to speak briefly about Apple's upcoming iPhone 4 press conference with Kirk Yuhnke of ABC15 news in Phoenix, AZ. Will Steve Jobs be there? What action will Apple take?

Check out the video after the jump and join us for the live meta-blog starting soon.

[ABC15 Phoenix]

Video link

Busy week for TiPb in the media! Smartphone Experts Editor-in-Chief Dieter Bohn joined CNN's Richard Quest on Quest Means Business yesterday to talk about the Latest smartphones

iPhone 3G S, Palm Pre, and "any of the others" are discussed. Give it a watch!

Maybe, in that news of Disney joining up with Hulu to offer even more free, advertising supported television and movie content via the web, could reduce the amount of people in the US who choose to pay for that same content, ad-free for rental or purchase via iTunes. However, there are some other factors involved that Business Week isn't addressing:

• Hulu is only currently available in the US. iTunes TV and movies are available in Canada, the UK, Australia, and most recently Germany.
• Streaming content such as Hulu is a great option, but not always the best option for every situation. Being able to download, store locally, and watch or take content on the go to watch is still important. (And will remain so until the Internet is as ubiquitous and transparent as electricity).

Most importantly, however:

• Apple has repeatedly stated that they operate the iTunes store at break-even levels just to get people to buy more iPods and now iPhones. Whether that's semi-disingenuous or not, the iPhone will eventually be able to play Hulu content as well -- either directly off the web like YouTube or via a 3rd party Hulu offering in the App Store. More reason to buy iPhones and iPod touches.

If nothing else, Apple has proven to have some small insight into where the "fat middle" of consumerism. They don't blaze trails, they don't bleed edges, but they wait and see and when they feel a market is mature, they offer their take on it.

Our bet is we see that Hulu app... whether AT&T allows it or not is another matter...

For the last few months I've been conducting an experiment, trying to figure out whether it better suited my needs to sync my iPhone 3G to my desktop computer, to my laptop, or to embrace the (potential) future and try to sync only over-the-air with the cloud (online services and storage).

First, a little about the contenders.

• My MacBook is purposefully kept light. Aside from whatever temporary I'm working on at the time, it has almost nothing on it, including no media unless I'm actively watching it. It's speed on-the-go with limited capacity.
• My iMac is heavy duty and also serves as my media machine. It's connected on one end to a Drobo and serves an Apple TV in the living room on the other. It's pure power and content, but absolutely no portability.
• My cloud is, well, the cloud -- everything I keep on my MobileMe, iDisk and Apple keeps ready for me on their massive iTunes servers.

A month with each of them (Round Robin interuptus notwithstanding) and what were my results? Which have I stuck with (for now)? Read on to find out!

Syncing the iPhone with a Laptop

The laptop is a convenient sync-solution to be sure. It goes almost everywhere I go, so it's almost always available. If I get new content, be it a new podcast or a new iTunes movie, I can immediately plug my iPhone in and sync it over. This is one heckuva compelling argument, even more so prior to iPhone OS 2.2, when the iPhone itself couldn't directly download new podcasts. It also makes for easy charging on-the-go. There's always a USB port available, and I don't have to worry about iTunes wiping out my current content to "helpful" prepare for syncing with a different machine. Have a problem? If Apple pushes out a firmware update, or -- horror of horrors -- I need to restore, the laptop being mother-ship, means I can handle it right away -- no waiting to get home to re-load everything.

The downside? My laptop hard drive is small. My old laptop had a tiny 100GB 7200RPM drive (I went for speed over size) and my new one has a 128GB. With the OS, applications, data, etc. (sometimes virtual machines), that leaves precious little space for media files. This meant I was always in "management" mode. I could keep a small subsection of my laptop, either subscribing to a few of the same podcasts I already subscribed to on my iMac, or moving files back and forth when I was on my home network (or, in a pinch, slooooowly over iDisk). This reduced the convenience and eliminated one of the best features of the Apple ecosystem -- the ability for it to keep track of what you've watched and how much of it you've watched across platforms. Duplicate files throw that out the window.

Syncing the iPhone with a Desktop

The desktop is a powerhouse. Big drives, lots of ports, and in my case it already serves up content to my Apple TV. That means what I want to watch and listen to it is already loaded up -- and because it's on most of the time, is constantly downloading new podcasts and other content. I can wake up in the morning, plug in, and get the latest stuff, maybe move over a TV show or movie if I want to go somewhere later and watch something (via the iPhone AV-out cables -- like a portable Apple TV!). And then when I get home at night, I can sync up again and continue watching/listening to anything I haven't finished yet via Apple TV or AirTunes speakers (and thanks to the iPhone Remote App, I can control it from anywhere in my home), from right where I left off.

Limitations? You betcha! Aside from not having my host machine with me while I'm away from home -- meaning I can't get new stuff when I want it -- if I ever decide to rent HD content (or create my own with an HD camcorder) or subscribe to HD podcast feeds to really make use of the Apple TV's 720p output, those won't transfer over to the iPhone. If I subscribe to both HD and iPod feed, then I have the same content duplication problem. Granted, for most podcasts the iPod version is fine, but when we get into TV Shows and especially movies, it just won't cut it anymore.

Syncing the iPhone with the Cloud

Since iPhone OS 2.0, with MobileMe and Exchange ActiveSync support, both my work and personal email, calendar, and contacts have been syncing with the cloud, and I've been able to buy wirelessly from the App Store (2G/3G for under 10MB, WiFi for over). That was step 1 in my considering living foot-loose and tether-free. iPhone OS 2.2 was step 2: over-the-air (OTA) podcast downloads (with the same 10MB cell/WiFi split). Sure, I'm skipping the iTunes music store, but I don't buy music anywhere near are often as I get Apps or download podcasts. If I'm out and about, without desktop or even laptop, and I find out a great new podcast has just dropped, I can either hit the "get more episodes" link, or just search for it in the iTunes App and download it directly to my iPhone. With apps like MobileFiles, I can even access my iDisk to view my docs and even transfer them to my local iPhone storage.

Need more? Yeah, I'm still waiting on Apple revamp MobileMe and add push support for Task, Note, Photo, and Backup, syncing as it looks like Microsoft is about ready to do with Windows Mobile 6.5's "My Phone" feature (cute name!) Bandwidth limitations, however, make me think I won't be getting OTA TV show or movie downloads anytime soon. Given the size of firmware updates, they too will likely remain tether-only for now. Also, just like I can be caught away from a laptop or PC, even WiFi and cell coverage have their limits.

Conclusion

After having tried these three different sync solutions, each on their own, which one have I decided on? Which one is the clear winner?

None. Frankly, each one has advantages and disadvantages, so I've evolved into a hybrid model. My iPhone is setup on my iMac desktop and I sync there fairly regularly. Due to the advances in iPhone OS 2.0 and 2.2, however, I don't sync anywhere nearly as often as I used to, and if I need new content while I'm away, I just download it directly (for podcasts) or drop it into my iDisk (for other types of small media -- using Back to My Mac from my laptop).

It's not completely elegant and seamless yet, granted, but it's amazing how far we've come even just recently, and while "sync is hard", I have every confidence future iPhone and MobileMe updates will make it easier and easier over time.

So What Do You Do?

Sync from your desktop? From your laptop? Pure cloud baby? Or, like me, do you keep a couple tools at the ready? Let me know what you're doing, especially if you have any ninja-sync skills you wouldn't mind sharing!

Well, according to Gizmodo, they're back baby, and with free WiFi streaming movies and media to sweeten the deal -- if only slightly:

It's kind of crashy, could use a better navigation UI and takes too long for movie streams to get going (and then when they do it's kind of finicky) but we definitely appreciate being to stream The Fifth Element over Wi-Fi in decent quality, when it actually gets going. More than anything though, it just makes us soak our pillow with even more drool dreaming of a Hulu app.

So, is the free-ness worth the -- what might just be growing -- pain? Think Joost has something here? If you try it out, let us know!

(Thanks Matthew for the tip!)

Rumor gets reported there will be Flash on the iPhone. Rumor gets smashed. Rumor gets reported there will be unlimited music on the iPhone. Rumor gets smashed. Rinse and repeat.

What's going on? Why aren't we getting these stories straight?

Turns out maybe these stories weren't meant to be gotten. Turns out maybe these stories were meant to get us.

There was a time when media really was the fourth estate, when it reported the news. In something akin to the scientific method, media observed what was going on in the grand experiment that is society, looked for pattern and flaw, then contextualized it, gave it form and flavor, and broadcast it by mule and truck and cable and fiber to those who wanted or needed to know.

Now media is entertainment and is competing with itself and other forms of entertainment for your attention and your dollar. One of the ways to compete is to get mysterious "un-named sources" to give you the highly prized "sensational headline". And instead of digging for these sources and convincing them to come forward, the anonymous sources now trip and push past each other to get to the reporters first. Why? Because controlling the story is important. Information is power and spin is leverage.

Okay, soap-box, what does this have to do with the iPhone? Two interesting and very similar blog posts emerged recently shedding new light on both the Flash and unlimited music stories that have been all over the web lately. Let's take a look:

Flash first. GearLive heard it was good to go. Adobe said they didn't know. Steve Jobs said not so much. Adobe's CEO said the SDK would allow it. Then Adobe contradicted their own CEO. Is there really so much confusion? Is Adobe's CEO really that tech un-savvy? Is El Jobso?

Robert Scoble (via Fake Steve) calls shenanigans on all of them:

Today I got a note from someone I know who works closely with Adobe and Apple. [...] He says that he’s seen Flash running on an iPhone in a lab and that it’s been running for quite a while and that it’s not a technical issue that caused Steve Jobs to go public about not putting Adobe’s Flash on the iPhone. [...] So, what’s the reason, according to my source? Adobe is playing hardball with Apple over their PDF renderer. “Adobe wants Apple to use the Adobe PDF renderer.” His thesis? Steve Jobs is playing hard to get to get Adobe to give up this demand.

Unlimited music next. The Financial Times reported that Apple, long hating on the subscription model, was doing an about-face and embracing unlimited music, only to have Business Week report the exact opposite the very next day. Both cited high placed sources. Both can't be right, can they?

Matt Buchanan over at Gizmodo believes they can -- if only by virtue of opposing manipulations:

The labels, particularly Universal, are known to be hot on a subscription deal, since it'd provide more reliable revenue from iPods [...] Apple, on the other hand, is already [earning revenue] with iTunes just the way it is. [...] Since the labels really want a subscription model, it makes sense that label sources would play it up to the press, giving them more leverage at the negotiating table by showing the heavy buzz/demand the rumor is generating. Apple-side sources would spin the opposite way, since—if they really were considering a subscription model—it would give them weight to push down the price, both what they'd give labels and what they'd charge us. And as both the FT and NYT have noted, price is likely to be the major sticking point.

Nate Anderson coverage on Ars Technica also reminds us that the manipulations aren't just limited to Apple, Adobe, and the recording industry -- iTunes competitors aren't going to miss a chance to rattle the "monopoly" saber either:

The argument is a simple one. "Apple has a monopoly," [eMusic CEO David] Pakman told me Friday, citing their US market share at 80 percent. Companies in that situation have to play by a "different standard," especially when it comes to anything that could be construed as "tying" (recall that Microsoft was accused of exactly this sort of tying when it rolled new "features" like Internet Explorer into Windows and then had to deal with years of litigation). If every iPod comes with [the hypothetical service], that's tying," Pakman said. eMusic and others would certainly bring the matter to regulators' attention.

Could they be right? Is whether or not the iPhone can run Flash academic? Is whether or not some consumers might want the subscription model just as irrelevant? Are Adobe, Apple, and Big Media just playing games? Are would-be competitors playing along to send a message? Are reporters, desperate to fill column inches and make post counts, playing along? And are consumers -- the people to whom these issues matter most -- providing very loud, very public reactions, only to get played by all sides?

If so, this means iPhone users won't get Flash or unlimited music -- even if we want it, even if big business would make money and increase market share by giving it to us -- until "those who sit above in shadow" decide they've leveraged and manipulated every last little bit they can from us and from each other.

And we should know that by now, shouldn't we?

The Flash drama continues, with more twists and turns than a California highway. It looks as though iPhone may be getting native Flash support after all, if dragged kicking and screaming. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen spoke to reporters during a conference call...

"Well, you really believe that Flash is synonymous with the Internet, and frankly, anybody who wants to browse the Web and experience the Web's glory really needs Flash support. We were very excited about the announcement from Windows Mobile--adoption of Flash on their devices--and the fact that we've shipped 0.5 billion devices now, non-PC devices. So we are also committed to bringing the Flash experience to the iPhone, and we will work with Apple. We've evaluated the SDK. We can now start to develop the Flash player ourselves, and we think it benefits our joint customers. So we want to work with Apple to bring that capability to the device."

Do let's pretend that Steve Jobs earlier comments were some kind of smokescreen intended to mask Apple's true motives, while backdoor negotiations with Adobe unfolded. That makes sense, doesn't it? No, I didn't think so either.

Read

Steve Jobs might want to look in his rearview mirror, because there's a hulking eighteen-wheeler barreling down the highway, belching thick black smoke, and crushing every vehicle in its path.

The software giant is working with long time rival Adobe to bring Flash player Lite (yes, THAT Flash player) to Windows Mobile devices, while simultaneously incorporating support for its own SilverLight technology. The move will give Microsoft a leg up over Apple, making its mobile platform more web 2.0 friendly in supporting these ubiquitous web animation and runtime environments.

Apple has valid reasons for eschewing Flash lite, so it claims, like poor performance and a not-so-much like a desktop experience. Even if valid, it's never a checkmark in your favor when competing products support features yours does not.

Wake up, Apple. You're in Micrsoft's crosshairs now.

Read

Avi Greengart, Research Director for market research firm Current Analysis, says Adobe's Flash player performs poorly on iPhone, in its current incarnation, proving more trouble than it's worth.

“There is no question the iPhone delivers a compelling Web experience and there are good reasons to want Flash in there, but Flash Lite wouldn’t give you the Web experience you’re looking for."

The jixt of this statement, as we've known for some time, is that Adobe's Flash Lite player comes with a high resource overhead, taxing the processor as well as battery life. Or so Apple claims. Forces are at work behind the scenes to develop a more optimized solution to bring native Flash content to iPhone users.

Much as I sometimes lament the absence of Flash, I don't see it as a crucial feature. So long as some method exists for scraping content from YouTube, as it does now. That said, having no Flash support is yet one more missing feature that Apple haters will use as fodder for flinging rotten fruit at the device.

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Time has declared the iPhone their Invention of the Year.

"Yes, there's been a lot of hype written about the iPhone, and a lot of guff too. So much so that it seems weird to add more, after Danny Fanboy and Bobby McBlogger have had their day."

Nice! In one fell swoop, they've insulted me and any readers. Not too shabby, and they still get the link. Anyway, they give five reasons and then justify it all in the essence of their article:

1. the iPhone is pretty
2. it's touchy-feely
3. it will make other phones better
4. it's not a phone, it's a platform
5. it is but the ghost of iPhones to come

I'd add a few more reasons the iPhone was tops, but I think I'll save it for a later article.

The cost of a show was not enough for NBC Universal. No, NBC Universal wanted a cut of the hardware sales for iPods and iPhones. I really don't get this. Would they bother Apple for a cut of computer sales? Do they get a cut of television sales? Would they bother TiVo for a cut of hardware sales? No, no, and no. I think they were just looking for publicity for their two new video sharing sites in taking their Apple spat public. I think one of them is called Whatever and maybe the other one is IDon'tCare.

Apple Dealing with Film-Makers Directly for iTunes
Apple has sidestepped some of the major studios for some films, opting instead to deal directly with film-makers. This could be a sign of things to come -- it would be great to not have to report every major film-studio or TV channel contract tiff.

Apple iPhone Dev Center
Apple has created a web site devoted to developers that are interested in putting their programs on the iPhone. Apple is calling it the iPhone Dev Center, and it's a repository of tips, tricks, and guidelines to follow should anyone want to make an iPhone web app. It's also probably a list of instructions that one would have to follow to get listed as a featured application on Apple's web app listing.

Molson Reveals iPhone on Rogers in January?
For any Canadian readers, Molson ran a contest that had an iPhone as the prize. They had a disclaimer on the iPhone prize, stating that it couldn't be activated on the Rogers network until January. So, odds are pretty good that the iPhone will be out in Canada in January. Molson has since pulled the language for the contest, saying they have no idea when anything is coming out ever. And they never had any idea. (images below via Electronista)

Is the iPhone Running Leopard?
There's an article at Wired that delves deeper into Jobs' open letter about 3rd party applications on the iPhone and the connection to Leopard. One of the tidbits that Jobs talks about briefly is signing applications, and Wired has a good look into what that would mean for 3rd party iPhone apps. And, there's some discussion whether the iPhone is based off of Leopard or not: "It's not known for sure at this point, but all indications are that the iPhone is a Leopard-based device," as stated by Carl Howe, analyst at Blackfriars. It clearly is. Witness the uname -a of my laptop on 10.4 vs. the uname -a of my iphone:

The important bit there is the kernel version. Apple releases the OSX frameworks to correspond with kernel versions of darwin for every version of OSX. The iPhone has been running Leopard (9.0) since it came out in June. My 10.4 laptop is running darwin 8.10.0, which corresponds to 10.4.10.

iPhone Security Faults
Meanwhile, there's been a rash of complaints about the iPhone's security. You may have seen headlines that compare the iPhone to Windows 95, for example. It's of course, a loaded comparison, made for sensationalism. You could just as well compare the iPhone's security to Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows XP if you're logged in as an administrator (which is everybody -- you can barely run Office as a limited user). But, Windows 95 gets the headline. Since the iPhone is made of UNIX, user separation is built-in, expect apps to run as something other than administrator/root/super-user when the SDK update comes out. Perhaps earlier; we can't know as Apple isn't commenting. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that 'run as root' is a good security model. It's so bad, it's not even a security model.

iPhone de-bricking: re-virginizer tool available
The Elite team posted a re-virginizer tool that people can use to restore the ability to upgrade. This tool locks the iPhone with the proper bits in place on the iPhone radio; some of the free iPhone unlock tools wrote stuff to the iPhone baseband radio that was invalid; this led to bricked phones when it came time to update the firmware to 1.1.1.

AT&T Upgrading Core Network
Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, was interviewed recently and he talked about many things concerning the iPhone and AT&T's network. Their core should make for faster downloads for anything that uses AT&T's networks, wired or wireless. That means us: anyone using an iPhone should see a smidgen of a benefit, but the real help comes when we're using 3G fast internet iPhones.

I'm really sorry. I swore that some other article was the last thing I'd write on the price drop, but these both showed up, and I just have to highlight it.

Point: No one Cuts Prices after 2 Months

First off, Mike Mace at Mobile Opportunity has the following tidbit to say:

"no one I know in the tech industry -- and I mean no one -- cuts the price of a consumer tech product two months after launch unless they're seriously worried about demand. [...] If current iPhone sales are okay, the only other reason I can think of to cut prices this soon would be if you're worried about a competitive situation."

Counterpoint: Oh Yes He Did

On the other side, we have Pete over at Consumer Generated Media. Pete thinks that the letter itself is a PR coup, and that the letter is going to be put in PR textbooks throughout the world.

"While Menu Foods practically hid their CEO during the pet recall issue, Mattel put their CEO, Bob Eckert, on the website video airwaves to nurture trust and confidence in the wake of the toy recall (a still-in-progress case study). Now we have Steve Jobs, who just wrote and posted the most remarkable letter in response to concerns about iPhone’s recent price decrease. He coupled an apology with a $100 Apple credit for all early-buyers of the iPhone. This is classic Defensive Branding. I predict it will be one of the most discussed, debated, and linked-to letters of the year"

Pete more or less dissects the letter sentence by sentence, picking out all sorts of PR thingies that do PR stuff. There's a ten-point analysis of the entire letter that explains the hows and whys of the language in the letter and its effect on a consumer...

Anyway, so Mike Mace thinks that the price cut is unpossible, unfathomable, you just don't do price cuts after two months. Pete of CGM adroitly notes that Steve just did exactly that, and explains how from the PR side. Neither gets in to why a price cut was done (Well, Mike Mace does postulate that some new Nokia smartphones could give Apple a headache, but I don't buy that.) You'll have to listen to our podcast for the full discussion, but Dieter and I both agree that a glove has been thrown down. Apple wants to own the smartphone industry.

There's a great article over at the Salt Lake Tribune, titled "NBC is loser in spat with Apple." It's a good article, insightful in most of its points, but the title makes me feel left out. What about my suffering? I lost something too, eh? At any rate, it's well worth the read. It appears the only language that Vince Horiuchi speaks is "money quote."

Finally, NBC, which is in fourth place in the ratings, needs iTunes to drum up interest in its series. [...] It also doesn't help that this deal went sour just before the start of the fall TV season, when millions will be turning to iTunes to get episodes of new shows. [...] NBC, like all the other television networks, doesn't understand why downloadable content is going to change the face of TV. They just want to make money off it.

[via]

AdMob offers a new spin on web advertising. Rather than a generic text link, AdMob links aggregate targeted content advertisements and generate relevant results that tie into services like Google Maps, directing iPhone users to services they might wish to exploit.

Make sense? No? I don't understand what I just said either. So just watch the video above and let the guys from AdMob explain. I need a nap.

ReadSource

The ever well known, ever lovely, law blogging babe Denise Howell of Bag and Baggage poses for the camera and shows us her skinned iPhone, courtesy of DecaGirl.

You can see more photos of her with her colorful iPhone in Scoble's Flickr gallery.

ReadSource

A website called Booksoniphone.com offers a full library of copyright free books available for reading right on your iPhone, from within Safari. Once you visit the site you'll need to create a free account profile, complete with username and password. After logging in you'll be able to browse a fairly substantial library of works by drilling down into categories and authors to find anything that suits your fancy.

The experience isn't thrilling, but does make for a wonderful way to pass the time when you find yourself stuck in dull situations, like office meetings, child berthings, that sort of thing.

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Thomas Robinson has started a really cool project that enables XBOX 360 owners to use their iPhone as an XBOX Media Center Remote, controlled via WiFi. A simple menu-driven interface allows you to play music, video, DVDs, photo slideshows, and more. I like!

The project is fully open source and can be downloaded free from Thomas's website.

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An online media service called Texterity delivers mobile editions to popular print magazines right to your iPhone, via Safari. In a nutshell, what Texterity does is simply digitize each print magazine page, turning it into an image file that can then be displayed and viewed within Safari much like a photo. Just point your browser (from the iPhone) to http://iphone.texterity.com/magazines/. Tap on any magazine that you like and a fully illustrated thumbnail library appears, representing pages from the selected magazine. Using the "Pinch" gesture, allows you to zoom and drag any portion of the document, making it readable. Believe it or not this is a workable solution. I've tried it myself.

Unfortunately no adult content is available, sorry pervs. And what's worse Rachael Ray's "EveryDay" Magazine is among the top featured. Having to see RR on my TV is nauseating enough. On my iPhone the experience is even more hideous.

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Robert Scoble grabs his camera and heads to the Web 2.0 Summit Party to interview high profile attendees. He says that everyone there seemed to have an iPhone, except for himself. Come on, Robert - you know you want to join the cult. Drink from the fountain of Kool-Aid, it will make you sleepy.

My favorite quote comes from his interrogation of Robert Sears, Chief Architect of Multimedia Experiences at Nokia, about the Finnish company's answer to the iPhone...

I proudly showed him I hadn’t yet joined the iCult, even if the rest of my family had. Whew, dodged that one. I came real close to buying an iPhone tonight before the party. Anyway Sears smiled when I asked him if Nokia had an answer to the iPhone. Ahhh, I love the smell of cell phone competition in the evening, don’t you?

LOL! Robert, Nokia has no answer to iPhone. And when such a product does see the light of day it's going to suck donkey testicles. The challenges Nokia faces in replicating an OSX-like experience are enormous. The Symbian OS that powers Nokia Smartphones is fundamentally inferior to OSX and doesn't even support a touch interface. They sold off their touch framework (UIQ) to Sony-Ericsson last year. Sears can smile coyly all he wants, he's bluffing.

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Dieter Bohn (yeah, his name is so French) of WM Experts does a nice walk through comparison between the HTC Touch and iPhone, stacking up each device's feature set and functionality. I agree with Dieter's overall assessment and conclusions, except for his assertion the Touch's onscreen keyboard comes out ahead of iPhone through third party software. Windows Mobile offers greater flexibility and productivity, but overall it's an inferior platform compared to OSX. That said I still prefer WinMob to Blackberry or Symbian.

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Tech writer Steve Gilmorr grabs his Sanyo Xacti cam and hits the headquarters of Salesforce.com to interview Marc Benioff, Doc Searls, Dan Farber, Robert Scoble, and other technocrats to share opinions on various topics including iPhone and Microsoft's waning dominance. Enjoy.

It fascinates me that Apple's marketing and commercial videos for the iPhone so far has also been all training. They show the iPhone being used for the main tasks that people will use, and that's it. The interface is good enough that it sells itself and doubles as a training video, which is brilliant.

• YouTube
• Google Maps
• Internet Browsing
• iPod Video
• Overall How-To

• the guided tour video
• activation and sync video

Hey iPhone users, eMusic has your number! Well not exactly. They won't be calling you on your phone, but they are however giving away 35 free (yes, that's free as in beer) tracks for iPhone users who sign up for a trial membership of eMusic's popular music service. This offer is supposedly "no strings attached' meaning you can sign up, download your free tracks, then cancel and still keep my your music. Not that I endorse such behavior. Looks around nervously

Sign up now and they'll also throw in a free hat! No, sorry no hat either. I am such a tease today.

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AT&T's recently announced peer to peer content service, called Video Share, won't work with iPhone. Why? Because the service requires a 3G network connection. You know, 3G? That lamentedly lacking technology in iPhone?

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This is a very professional video even if it is faux. I like it better than the real ads made by TBWA\Chiat\Day. The producer of this video even created a website for it. Check it out.

Read Thanks to Sam Mistrano for the tip

John Markoff of NYT waxes philosophical on the argument over hardware buttons vs. bitmap screen in his latest editorial.

The downside is that typing is done by pecking on the screen with thumbs or fingers, something hardly anyone outside of Apple has experienced yet. “The tactile feedback of a mechanical keyboard is a pretty important aspect of human interaction,” said Bill Moggeridge, a founder of Ideo, an industrial design company in Palo Alto, Calif. “If you take that away you tend to be very insecure.”

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Solutions Research Group has published an interesting study profiling the demographic of iPhone users most likely to be wasting their time in the waiting line outside Apple Stores on June 29. I know I'll be standing in line to, so stay out of my way, cause I'm in it to win it!

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Uncle Walt has an iPhone and is eagerly showing it to anyone he can impress. His impression so far is mixed, with the onscreen keyboard being the crux of his unease.

“I don’t know whether I’ll give it a good review or not,” he said, noting that he will use the phone for the next couple of weeks before writing his review. “I can already see some things I don’t like about it. I see some other things that I do like a lot about it.”

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"What will change? Pretty much everything. And funnily enough, most of it is not actually caused by the iPhone, they only happen to occur so closely to the iPhone, that the iPhone will be given much of the credit."

Tomi Ahonen (with a name like that he can only be Finnish) goes on to state what the iPhone will do to mobile handset design, mobile internet, mobile advertising, mobile media, Silicon Valley, the blogging communities, mobile messaging, and the inevitable roar of media come June when the device is actually available.

"But the level of the noise around mobile will double in June. Very many big guns will join the game. That is good. And it will be a change from an old Era, where handset makers like Nokia and Motorola ran the show with the major mobile operators (carriers). Now media giants will join in, as will major IT players and internet companies."

[via Slashphone]

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