SiliconBeat

iPhone

With Apple expected to unveil its tablet computer next Wednesday, my Tech Files column on Monday will be about some of the features I hope the tablet will include.

But I’ve also been thinking a lot about something else that Apple might announce at its special event: iPhone 4.0, the latest version of the operating system that underlies its iPhone and iPod touch gadgets. Apple announced the last two major updates to the iPhone OS at March events, but recent rumors suggest that this update will be unveiled two months early.

The last two updates included significant new features for the iPhone. iPhone 2.0 opened the device to native third-party applications and paved the way for the company’s trend-setting and uber-successful App Store. iPhone 3.0 added long-awaited features, such as copy and paste, multi-media messaging and stereo Bluetooth. I’m hopeful that iPhone 4.0 will be just as significant a release.

Here are some of the things I’d like to see in it: Read the rest of this entry »

Altec-Lansing inMotion Max

At long last, I wanted to write an updated review of the Altec-Lansing inMotion Max iPod speaker system.

As some readers may recall, I planned to test out then-new inMotion Max last spring. However, I soon abandoned the idea of writing a full review of the product, because I ran into a serious glitches.

At random intervals, the device would seize up, stop working and stay that way until I unplugged and reset it. At least one reader experienced a similar problem with the device, so it looks like the glitch might have been with a particular batch of the speaker systems.

But it doesn’t look like the problem was endemic with the device. Altec-Lansing ended up sending me a replacement unit to test out, and I played with that speaker system quite a bit over the next several months. The problem didn’t recur with the new unit. So I don’t feel I can fairly mark the device down for the problem. Just be aware that it can occur. Read the rest of this entry »

Palm Pixi

After covering Apple’s music event this morning, I met with Palm and got a hands-on look at the company’s new Pixi smartphone, which Palm announced early today

I was a bit underwhelmed by the actual phone, which will be the second to run Palm’s WebOS software. But the Pixi, which Palm plans to launch before the holidays, will have at least one new features that will be very cool.

I found a lot to like about Palm’s Pre, the Pixi’s WebOS predecessor. One of the features that I liked most was something Palm calls Synergy. The feature collects and combines address book information from a variety of sources and displays them all together.

Read the rest of this entry »

(updated below)

VentureBeat’s Paul Boutin reports today on a new smartphone sales report, but methinks he missed the real news.

The new data comes from IDC. Boutin makes much of the fact that according to IDC’s report — at least as quoted by him; I’ve only seen the press release, not the full report — the BlackBerry Curve was the top-selling smartphone in the United States last quarter, outselling the iPhone 3G S.

“Despite all the buzz, attention and money thrown at iPhones and anything to do with iPhones, the new iPhone 3G S came in second,” Boutin writes.

Read the rest of this entry »

(updated below)

I’ll write a more complete review tomorrow, but here’s what I think of the T-Mobile myTouch 3G so far:

Pros

Good size. Much slimmer than the G1, the first T-Mobile Android phone. Fits more easily in the hand than the iPhone.

Virtual keyboard. This is something that was a big problem with the G1; you had to use its physical keyboard to enter text. With the latest version of Android, though, you get a virtual keyboard. And — a la the new iPhone OS — it’s available in landscape or portrait mode for most applications.

Read the rest of this entry »

(updated below)

My colleague John Boudreau is feverishly writing a story about Apple’s earnings. But here’s my quick take:

1. Very good quarter for the Mac. Apple sold 2.6 million Macs in the quarter, coming within spitting distance of the most the company has ever sold in a quarter. Unit sales were up 4 percent from the same quarter last year.

That may not sound like much, but given the terrible economic environment in general and the slumping PC market in particular, the Mac results are solid. Read the rest of this entry »

Universal Studios Home Entertainment today announced a plan to deliver iPhone and iPod touch-enabled features on its upcoming Blu-ray releases that can be accessed with applications from the App Store.
The new functions will be launched July 28 to coincide with the 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray release of the box-office hit Fast & Furious, starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. For the first time, iPhone and iPod touch users will have the ability to control interactive content on their Internet and Wi-Fi connected Blu-ray players.
Later this year on select Universal releases, consumers will also be to access bonus content found on their Blu-ray disc and download it into their iPhone or iPod touch; use the devices as a remote to control their Blu-ray disc features; and access additional detailed information about the film, including its cast, while watching the movie.
These releases will also integrate with social network applications or sites such as Facebook and Twitter to allow users to update their friends about movie-related activities.

IPhone and iPod Touch users will be able to use the interactive technology tied to the Fast & Furious “Virtual Car Garage” bonus feature. They also can use their devices’ touch screens to control 360-degree views of the movie’s street-racers and get technical specs for the film’s high-tech cars.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G

Google and T-Mobile this morning showed off the myTouch 3G, the second phone in the United States to run on the search giant’s Android operating system.

The companies debuted the phone at a small press event in San Francisco. The event started with a panel discussion that focused on the new phone, Android and the evolving role of carriers in an era of increasingly open phone platforms.

I got some hands-on time with the new phone and got a fairly favorable impression of it. The big difference between the myTouch and the G1, the first T-Mobile Android phone, is that the myTouch lacks a keyboard. Thanks to that, it’s slimmer, sleeker and seemingly lighter than the G1.

Read the rest of this entry »

SlingPlayer for the iPhone

The problem with Sling Media’s new new iPhone application has nothing to do with the fact that it’s running on the iPhone, an AT&T spokesman, responding to the controversy over the new program, told me today.

Sling today released its long awaited iPhone application, which allows users to stream live television signals to the iconic smartphone. But unlike beta versions of the program, the final release is critically hobbled by the fact that it can’t use AT&T’s 3G network. Instead, it can only access the signals over WiFi networks.

Company spokesman Mark Siegel explained to me this afternoon that AT&T considers the streaming of television signals to any device over its wireless data network to be a violation of its terms of service.

Read the rest of this entry »

SlingPlayer for the iPhone

iPhone owners can now watch live television with the iconic smartphone, thanks to a new application from Sling Media, the makers of the Slingbox. But the feature has some serious drawbacks and limitations.

Sling announced in January that it would be releasing an application for the iPhone that would work in tandem with its Slingbox devices. Those devices attach to cable and satellite set-top boxes and allow users to watch both live and recorded television programs from them on Internet-connected devices, such as PCs and some phones.

Sling’s decision to bring the feature to the iPhone appeared to address a big hole in the lineup of Sling-compatible devices as well as a sizeable gap in the iPhone’s features. Although you can buy many recently aired TV episodes in Apple’s iTunes store and watch some others through the YouTube and Joost applications, you generally can’t watch live television programming on the device.

Read the rest of this entry »