Rene Ritchie has been covering the personal technology industry for a decade. An outspoken analyst and critic, he writes at iMore.com/vector, podcasts at applepodcasts.com/vector, and you can find his show at youtube.com/vectorshow. Follow him @reneritchie on Twitter andInstagram.
Out of the closest iPhone lover Paul Thurrott of the Supersite for Windows got his beige-boxy hands on pre-release version of the iPhone 2.0 software update and the pre-requisite iTunes 7.7 software, and ran the upgrade process through its paces. His verdict? [Installing the 2.0 upgrade] is a multi-step and time-consuming process but is largely hands-off. [...] There's a new App Store...
This is it. We're in the home stretch. Third period power play, clock's all but run out, and Steve Jobs is cranking back for the slap shot. In 5 days we find out if Apple scores the go-ahead goal, the two-peat for smartphone (even gadget) of the year, or if they bounce it off the goal post with their mostly evolutionary, not so much revolutionary, next generation handset. Yesterday we...
Not evil twin to theiPhoneBlog.com Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple’s current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place — best not to linger...
This is it. We're in the home stretch. Bottom of the 9th, basebands loaded with 3G, and Steve Jobs is at bat. In 7 days we find out if Apple scores a home run, the two-peat for smartphone (even gadget) of the year, or if they strike out with their mostly evolutionary, not so much revolutionary, next generation handset. What's the difference? The big one -- at least this time around --...
You knew it was coming, inevitable as the rise of Old Glory on July 4th -- the first iPhone 3G line up has begun at the NYC Apple Flagship Store! Or should we say... Tailgate Party! (iPhone launches are the Superbowl of consumer electronics, aren't they?) The line began forming today, the Friday before the Friday of launch, just 1 week (and a few hours) before the first iPhone 3G...
Sure, Casey has his reasons not to upgrade, but I'm all over the latest/greatest. To help out, Apple has posted a great article to their Knowledge Base (KB) that explains the steps necessary to properly move all your data over from your original iPhone (2G) to a hawt new iPhone 3G. The summary reads: This article explains how to replace an original iPhone with an iPhone 3G using the...
At the rate Apple's Vice President of Design keeps winning awards for the iPhone, he's going to need a bigger mantle! Last time it was the unprecedented (and continued!) domination of the uber-elite Black Pencil, now it's the Mobile Data Association 2008 MDA Personal Achievement Award. Said the judges of Ive's iPhone design: "It sets the bar very high for all present and future...
Thanks to reader, Adam R. who wrote in to let us know Australian rates have been revealed, and his Blackberry can now "go the way of the dodo". First up is Optus who've announced both pre-paid and post-paid plans. Pre-paid Turbo Caps start at AUS$30 for an AUS$30 "mycredit", AUS$110 "mybonus", and AUS$30 "mytime money" -- but no "mydata". At AUS$100 you get 100/800/100 and Plus 1GB "...
The App Store will officially launch alongside the iPhone 3G on July 11th, but what's going to be available? We've seen the highlights. Super Monkey Ball. Ebay. Twitteriffic. Loopt. But a handful of Apps do not a Store make. Apple will need some volume and to get it... they've imposed a deadline! Yup, of the fraction of developers who've been accepted into the program, only those who...
Those lucky... bloggers over at Gizmodo have scored a video walkthrough of both the iPhone 2.0 software (build 5A345) and the matching iTunes 7.7 developers received last week. What say they? As you can see in the video, the App Store is there—although it's not active yet—along with the new Push data feature, the content restrictions, and the BCC field in Mail, among the rest of the...
Whoa! Looks like Hong Kong's kung fu may not be as good as we thought it was. While their rates aren't terrible, it doesn't seem like many people will actually be able to enjoy them, least not at launch! Reader Janric sent this in: Unfortunately, you need to register in 3's website and pray that you'll be one of the random 500 lucky ones selected for the July 11 launch. In other words...
What's this year's new hottie in Smartphone-ville? (Not) Surprisingly, the same as last year's, only this time all dressed up in 3G chic. That's right, in an RBC Capital Markets survey of 3600 technology adapters (and panelists all), a whopping 56% of those who intended to buy a smartphone in the next quarter had their sights, and lust, firmly set on the iPhone 3G. That's twice as much...
Current German and Austrian iPhone carrier, T-Mobile pushes its way into the lowlands with news on their upcoming Netherlands iPhone 3G rates: Cheaper plans start at €29,95 for 150 min, 150 SMS, and unlimited data, with €79.95 for an 8GB handset, and €159.95 for 16GB. Premium plans end at €64.95 for 500/500/unlimited, with €1 for an 8GB and €19.95 for the 16GB. T-Mobile WiFi Hotspot...
UPDATE: Rogers has posted early-cancellation fees for their already ridiculously expensive iPhone price plans, and not surprisingly they appear at first glance to be stratospherically high: (ii) $1100 or (iii) $220 per month remaining in the service agreement, to a maximum of 400 The 400 there, as well as this thread on iPhoneinCanada.ca, makes it look like a typo -- ironically Rogers...
Not to be outdone by the Kings of Hong Kong, Mexico's Telcel has also revealed what they're going to be beating, piñata-style, out of the subscribers for the honor of owning El Jobso's iPhone 3g. Low end plans start at US$36 for 200 min, 100 SMS, and 100MB of data (!), with US$311 for the 8GB handset and US$434 for the 16GB High end tops out at US$79 for 700/250/Unlimited data with a...
The man with the enormously big hands is back, baby! Apple has posted a new Guided Tour video, highlight the new form and features of the upcoming iPhone 3G. For those keeping track, following on a Keynote and the release of software updates (OS X 10.5.4 last night, the beta for iTunes 7.7 along with SDK beta 8 last week, etc.), Guided Tour videos are usually the next indicator that...
Proving their kung-fu is far better than Canada's or Scandinavia's, Hutchison Telecom's 3 brand just kicked out some positively Confucian price points: With a 2 year contract, the low end plan will run you just HK$188 (a WOW-inducing US$24!!) for 500/500/500 (minutes, heart-to-heart minutes, and data megs), along with 25 MMS and 15 SMS (+ unlimited intra-SMS), and HK$2938 for the 8GB...
If it's a day that ends in a "y", then its likely the status of the Apple / China Mobile talks has changed! On again/off again seems to be on again, with reports now saying the obstacles have been hurdled, the chasm bridged, the bamboo curtain rolled up to let in some sun. But can China Mobile beat competitor China Unicom, or even the massive gray market, to the punch? Only time, and...
One year ago today people were lining up outside Apple Stores. Woz was handing out snacks. El Jobso was making surprise cameos. Scoble was screaming. Leo was chatting up the Google devs. Mossberg was flaunting his demo. Colbert was begging for his. Vloggers were vlogging and boy-oh-boy bloggers were blogging. The mainstream media was going gaga. Mike was live at the Mall of America....