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News about iPhone:

As well as highlighting details on how Apple were going to fix users iPhone 4 issues at the ‘special’ iPhone 4 conference held by Mr Jobs and team, they also announced that the iPhone 4 will be available in more than 17 countries … [visit site to read more]

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This almost goes without saying, but it’s truly been a wild ride for the iPhone 4 over the last three weeks. While most of us will just happily open our hands to Stevie J’s freebies, there’s one question that’s still bugging us: what’s actually holding back the white iPhone 4? Sure, Apple’s now promised us an “end of July” delivery for its latest iTemptation, but it has yet to specify what the manufacturing difficulty is. According to Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald, the problem stems from a little-known Chinese factory by the name of Lens Technology, which is apparently responsible for transforming fine raw glass into the majority of iPhone glass panels out there (and contrary to previous reports, Corning doesn’t seem to play a part here). Read on to find out what’s causing our invisible hero to stall. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sarsoft today releases Paddle Pong, their free iPhone game for iPhone and iPod touch. Paddle Pong is a two player paddle and ball game with realistic game physics and in-game bonuses that make game really enjoyable and fun. An iPad version, Paddle Pong HD, is also available.

Siri is an iPhone app that stands out as the only one of its kind—a virtual personal assistant.

# iphone4 Apple is announcing something about the iPhone 4 in just a few hours. Maybe it’s about the antenna . Maybe it’s about how many bajillion they’ve sold. Our coverage starts live, right now, right here: [ Gizmodo Live ] More »

Some iPhone 4 customers have been suffering with proximity sensor issues that cause accidental hangups and voice call muting, but a fix is on the way, according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. IPhone – Apple – Steve Jobs – Smartphone – Handhelds

Thought Nokia’s statement was strongly worded? That was nothing compared to the little tirade put together by RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie — a pair of dudes known for having some of the bigger mouths (and bigger egos) in the wireless industry — in direct response to Apple’s Friday press conference on antenna issues. Of course, unlike Nokia, Apple made it personal for RIM because it used the Bold 9700 as a demonstration device in its attempt to prove that signal loss was a problem for phones and manufacturers from all walks of life, but Mike and Jim are having none of it. Phrases like “self-made debacle” and “deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding” should give you an idea of the statement’s overall flavor, but basically, they’re saying that RIM puts a lot of time, money, and energy into avoiding dropped call issues and that you don’t need a case to use any of their phones. Snap!

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A few nice iphone images I found:

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced today the solution to the vexing antenna problem plaguing users of the new iPhone. The answer? Rubber bumpers.

It’s not surprising that after Apple finished explaining the iPhone 4 antenna issues to the press today, the company wanted to go one step further and say “yes, actually, we do test the hell out of these phones before we release them to the public.” Though Steve Jobs went over the lengthy and intensive kinds of radio evaluation that goes on at Apple’s headquarters, it didn’t seem to be enough for the folks in Cupertino. And that, we suspect, is why we were invited (along with a small group of other journalists) to take a brief tour of Apple’s Infinite Loop labs. Though we weren’t allowed to shoot video or take pictures, we can tell you about what we did — and what we didn’t — see and hear behind closed doors. Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Jobs had his time on stage today, and in the process, managed to not only clarify Apple’s position on “antennagate,” but also call out the entire smartphone industry at the same time. All in a day’s work, if you ask us. In any event, while we weren’t expecting major manufacturers to actually respond to the Apple press conference today (we probably should have), here we are telling you that Nokia has their own opinion on Jobs’ comments. And, sure enough, they’re full of Nokia innovation.

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In case it wasn’t obvious enough from Apple‘s agitated response to our question during today’s iPhone 4 Q&A session in Cupertino, there’s no software fix in the pipeline for the antenna issues that are plaguing users today. A prior report in the New York Times seemed fairly confident that the troubles could (and would) be solved in the near term by a simple software update, but the company’s own Scott Forstall called said report “patently false.” So, there you have it — the only thing that’ll be fixed via software is how big your smallest bar of signal is. Beyond that, you’ll need to grab some Duct tape, a free case or a white glove if you’re looking to avoid attenuation entirely. Read the rest of this entry »

Nokia’s looking to ride the mojo of any negative fallout from today’s Apple press conference, slipping out a rather fascinating statement this afternoon. The gist of it is that Espoo’s keen on letting everyone know how much blood, sweat, and tears they’ve poured into perfecting their antenna design strategy over the years, going so far as to say that they “prioritize” it over the physical design of the phone if they need to in order to optimize its call performance — an opinion moderately different from the “we want to have our cake and eat it too” philosophy espoused by Jobs today. In closing, Nokia acknowledges that a “tight grip” can mess with the performance, though they say they’ve done a bunch of research on the ways their phones are typically held so that the antennas are placed optimally. Interestingly, there was a stink not long ago about the severe signal degradation some E71 users were seeing when they placed their hands on the lower rear of the phone — but you can’t win ‘em all, we suppose. Follow the break for the full statement. Read the rest of this entry »

So, you didn’t get a chance to make it over to the press conference that Apple held today? That’s a real shame. Then, hopefully you managed to watch our Liveblog of the event, or you’ve already read our summary of all things announcement related. And once you get all caught up in the text format, you’ll probably want to watch Steve Jobs on stage, talking about all that, right? Right. Now you can.

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In a day filled with Apple and iPhone 4 news, we are still surprised that this one managed to pop up. Today, it was revealed that the San Mateo Superior Court Judge, Clifford Cretan, has officially granted an application to withdraw the warrant obtained in the effort to search Gizmodo’s journalist, Jason Chen’s home. The application was submitted by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office, and despite the fact it was granted, that doesn’t mean that this is the end of the story.

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When something as massive as an antenna issue hits the Internet, you can imagine that every option has already been considered by the masses. And when Consumer Reports are being released, not helping the situation at all, we can see where people might begin to get worried. But, rest easy in knowing that Steve Jobs realizes that every option has to be considered, but that a hardware recall isn’t at the top of their list. In fact, it sounds like they’re ready to try just about everything first, before they get to that point.

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When the iPhone 4 was announced, there were two version: the black model, and the white one. Of course, right at the start people had already made up their minds about which handset they’d be getting their hands on. For many, the white model was the one to own. But, what Apple forgot to mention (or perhaps it hadn’t been known at the time), was that the white version wasn’t actually going to be available at the time of launch. So, people had to wait — not that that made sales suffer, or anything, considering that Steve Jobs today announced the iPhone 4 has launched more than 3 million handsets in just three weeks. And that’s counting the (only) 1.7 percent of devices returned.

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Time to stop the speculation. Over the course of the last 22 days, we’ve heard from every angle of the Internet that the iPhone 4 is plagued with reception issues. And, throughout those days, we’ve heard all sorts of reasons: it’s the antenna, it’s the software, it’s the way you’re holding it. Maybe it’s even your face. Or, it’s a combination of all of those things, jumbled into one big issue that no one could figure out why the new iPhone was suffering from. Well, we can finally say that we’ve got an answer, and it’s straight from Steve Jobs himself. The antenna is the best antenna they’ve ever created, but it does have a flaw — just like every other smartphone on the planet.

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Apple’s not really ready to say it’s sorry about the iPhone 4 antenna design, but it is willing to give all you darn squeaky wheels free cases for your trouble. Since Apple can’t build its own Bumpers fast enough, it will give you a few options and let you decide, then send it your way for free as long as you purchased the phone before September 30th. Not good enough for you? Well, if you already bought a bumper from Apple you’ll get a refund, and you can also return your phone for a full refund within 30 days as long as it’s unharmed.

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In response to a question at its press conference today about whether Apple could’ve done anything to avoid its antenna issues with the iPhone 4, Steve took the opportunity to rip on bigger rivals, saying that making a phone so big “you can’t get your hand around it” helps, but that “no one’s going to buy that.” We’re assuming he’s likely talking about the latest crop of 4-, 4.3- and 5-inch phones that include the Galaxy S series, the EVO 4G, Droid X, and Dell Streak, even going so far as to call them “Hummers” (we take it you don’t ever drive a Hummer, Steve?). Though ripping on the competition is to be expected, perhaps the more interesting takeaway here is that we can’t realistically expect an iPhone much bigger than the 3.5-inch display they use today — presumably that’ll all be reserved for iPad territory going forward. We personally don’t mind something with a little more screen real estate — but hey, maybe humans need to go through a few more cycles of evolutionary hand enlargement before Cupertino’s willing to capitulate. Read the rest of this entry »

Not much of a surprise here, but Apple has now finally revised its previous “by the end of July” iPhone 4 launch timeframe for some of the remaining international countries to a specific date: July 30th. That includes Canada, a whole host of European countries, plus Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Absent from that list, however, is South Korea, which had been among the “end of July” group, but has apparently been pushed back to an unspecified date due to a delay in receiving government approval.

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It’s become the stuff of legend over the past few weeks, but if you’ve been holding out for a white iPhone 4, well, today’s not your lucky day — but Apple’s now saying it’ll ship by the end of July. That’s later than the previously announced middle of July ship date, but we’re going to keep believing that when it does arrive, it’ll be the answer to all of our problems. Be sure to check out our live coverage of the iPhone press event here! Read the rest of this entry »

It’s fairly obvious that the howls around the web for Apple to address this antenna issue has gotten underneath the skin of one Steve Jobs, and in a fashion that’s very much unlike Apple (or AT&T, for that matter), the aforesaid CEO has actually handed out a bit of hard data surrounding dropped calls on the iPhone 4. According to Jobs, AT&T won’t reveal the exact amount of call drops for competitive reasons, but they did manage to push out a meaningful delta. As of today, they’ve noticed that the “iPhone 4 drops less than one additional call per 100 than the 3GS.” In other words, the iPhone 4 has actually been dropping more calls than the 3GS in the three weeks that the former has been on the market. Of course, Steve’s also playing up the fact that just a fraction of a percent of all buyers have bothered to call in about their bout with dropped calls (and why would you, knowing there’s no cure?), but it’s still interesting to finally get some cold, hard facts on this disaster. Even if it’s but a snippet. Read the rest of this entry »

If you think the proximity sensor on your iPhone 4 has been acting wacky, don’t worry, turns out you’re not crazy: Apple has just committed to fixing weirdness in the next software update at its press conference today. Problems have mainly revolved around the sensor failing to detect your face when you’re on a call, leading to accidentally hang-ups, mutes, and so on as your ear makes contact with the screen — not too cool. Then again, if you’ve been staying off your phone lately for fear of dropping a call, well… maybe you didn’t notice. Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s iPhone 4 press conference out in Cupertino, Apple has revealed that they’ve pushed 3 million phones so far since launch a little under a month ago. For the record, that’s about twice the number Apple sold in the first weekend — 1.7 million — so the pace has clearly slowed down a bit, though that would appear to be due almost exclusively to supply constraints.

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Those guys at Mozilla have been extremely busy recently. As we told you a few days ago, their popular internet browser has been updated to version 4 (beta) and once it is finalised into ‘version 4.something’ it promises to be a cutting edge, fast, … [visit site to read more]

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According to financial publication Bloomberg, Steve Jobs was warned about the new antenna design as long as last year.

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The cynic might say that Mozilla heavily previewed their Firefox Home app for iOS back in May so that, should Apple reject it, they could make a huge song and dance of it.  Happily that won’t be necessary, since Apple’s App Store guardians have approved the browser companion app for iPhone and iPod touch.  The concept is a little confusing at first glance: Firefox Home isn’t a standalone browser, instead using Firefox Sync to bring your browsing history, bookmarks and open tabs from the desktop to your mobile device.

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Alright, we know that playing with the Firefox 4 beta has been a full-time job for you Mozilla fanboys and girls out there, but let’s try something fresh on for size, shall we? Firefox Home has finally been whisked into the App Store on news that Apple gave it the green light, meaning you can now sync your bookmarks and open tabs between your desktop and your phone. Some of us can go a few minutes without browsing the web in the off chance we’re away from our PCs… aw, who are we kidding? No we can’t — and neither can you, so you may as well grab it if you’re using Firefox and an iPhone. Read the rest of this entry »

Apple’s been pretty vague about what’s going to go down tomorrow at the press conference it’s holding in Cupertino, but we’re going to be there live, covering whatever it is they have in store for us. We have a feeling it’ll have at least something to do with that antenna issue you may or may not have heard about, so strap yourself into your seat, grab an orange soda, and keep it parked right at Engadget for the best, up-to-the-minute live coverage on the internet.

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Look, we get it. There’s a problem with the iPhone’s antenna. But was the open letter to Jobs calling for a “clearly written explanation of the cause of the reception problem” and a “public commitment to remedy it free-of-charge” really necessary? What, you don’t have better things to do? The full press release (and the Senator’s letter) is after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Well it’s not the full 4.1 we were expecting… but here’s a little tidbit from Apple. One of the main features? The update “improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display.” Interesting. We’re updating some devices right now, and will report back with what we find.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: It looks like iOS 3.2.1 for iPad is coming down the tube, as well. We’ll let you know what changes we’re seeing!

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We’ve been assuming that the next iPod touch will get in on Apple’s FaceTime video-calling action, but the open question has been how calls will actually be initiated without phone numbers, and BGR’s saying it has the scoop: it’s going to be based on email addresses. Registering an email address with the touch and FaceTime will let people videocall you using that address, but apparently calling an iPhone user will still involve knowing their phone number, which is a little odd — but BGR believes the email-based system will extended to the phone eventually as well. It all sounds plausible enough, but we’ll wait and see — we’ve been burned waiting for Apple to add a camera to the touch before, after all. Read the rest of this entry »

As if we needed any more drama in this situation, Bloomberg has someone “familiar with the matter” that claims Apple’s own antenna expert, Ruben Caballero, told Apple management that the iPhone 4 antenna design could cause reception problems, dropped calls, and a serious engineering challenge. Caballero is a senior engineer for Apple with a large quantity of antenna patents under his belt, and while we certainly don’t know the whole story — perhaps his claims were somehow quelled by Apple’s own testing — it certainly adds a twist to this story if Steve Jobs and co. had been alerted to this very real problem during the design phase. The Bloomberg article also claims, from a different source, no less, that a carrier partner also raised antenna concerns before the release. Apple and Caballero naturally did not comment on this report. We’re not really sure about the real-world implications of all this behind-the-scenes drama, but we suppose we’ll see what Apple has to say for itself tomorrow. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent survey of 4,028 US consumers by ChangeWave has created some interesting statistics to give us an insight into the smartphone market. Unsurprisingly the figures back up the idea that we have become smartphone mad with 16% of respondents saying that they’ll be buying a smartphone within the next 90 days; the biggest increase in the survey’s history.

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Apple have just released iOS 4.1 to developers which they mentioned would include a fix to the signal problems.  However, although the signal bars seem to be showing up better than before, it would appear that the the actual antenna … [visit site to read more]

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I’m not one to go for mood lighting. In my house, lights are usually on or off. I can understand that some folks like the light to reflect the mood for parties or other reasons. If you are the type that likes to play with the lighting in a room GE has a new app for your iPhone that makes getting the lighting just right a snap.

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Apple will be holding a press conference about the iPhone 4 tomorrow and has invited several journalists and media representatives to the event.

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Ubiquitous Colorware is back and this time it is looking to paint iPhone 4 in all sorts of funky colors.  However, pretty does not come cheap. The company is charging $250 a pop for the paint job.

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Headline says it all folks. Obviously the company is going to be getting out in front of this antenna drama (finally). We’ve been invited and we’ll be there, presumably reporting live! It all happens at 10AM PT, Friday the 16th. Read the rest of this entry »

If you were to ask one individual, it would seem that that title is very, very true. Who would that individual be? That would be Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner. He was speaking at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference today, and that’s exactly what he said regarding Apple’s new handset. Basically, despite the fact he may work for the company that he’s referencing, we can still all assume that he’s not saying the very kindest things about the iPhone 4.

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While SMS and mobile email are great, they still can’t match the emotion, interaction, and intonation of a live conversation with someone — that’s why our phones still ship with microphones and speakers, apparently. Of course, this is much more difficult when one of the parties is deaf or hard of hearing, which is where video relay services come in. With the help of a videophone or your computer’s webcam, you can make a call with a live translator, who speaks your signed ramblings out loud to the hearing person on the other end. Of course you’re usually stuck at a desk when doing this, but now ZVRS is going to be supporting calls made from the iPhone 4 over FaceTime. It might not be quite as sexy as Apple’s goosebump-raising iPhone 4 commercial, since the phone obviously makes two-way sign language calls possible, but if the person on the other end doesn’t have an iPhone 4 or doesn’t know sign language, ZVRS seems like the next best thing. The new service will launch on July 26th. Check out a video of it in action after the break, the actual call starts at 2:25. Read the rest of this entry »