With a view toward resale, hackers put footprint on market
Apple Insider Oct 4, 07 2:57 PM CDT
(Newser)
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One of every 10 iPhones sold in September was bought to be unlocked and resold, an investment bank has estimated. The anecdotal research comes from several hours spent monitoring Apple stores; the analysts assumed that all iPhone purchases of the maximum five per customer were made by hackers, appleinsider.com reports. Unlockers were in particular effect in New York City locations.
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Handset from LG
latest answer to
Apple's hot product
InformationWeek Oct 3, 07 8:31 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Just as your head begins to ache with the iPhone cacophony, Verizon Wireless today announced its own challenge to Apple's hot commodity—the strikingly similar LG Voyager. A Verizon exclusive, Voyager also features a large touchscreen, but adds a full Qwerty keyboard that slides out sideways. Add Verizon's faster 3G technology and a just-in-time-for-the-holidays rollout, and get out the aspirin.
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Microsoft rolls out its second generation of mp3 players
CNET Oct 3, 07 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Zune is getting three shiny new models in November, Microsoft announced yesterday, including nano-like flash-integrated 4GB and 8GB players, and an 80GB hard drive model, all priced just like corresponding iPods. They’ll sport new features like wireless syncing, touch-sensitive navigation pads and a redesigned, DRM-free marketplace. But they probably don’t have enough to take serious market share from Apple, analysts told CNET.
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Campaign blasts recent update that shut down modified handsets
Apple Insider Oct 2, 07 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Nokia, seeing Apple vulnerable on the issue of iPhone mods, is throwing down the gauntlet in a new ad campaign proclaiming its N95 phone "open to anything," and recommending that users "load it up" with third-party apps and mods. The ads respond to Apple's draconian iPhone update, which some users claim "paperweighted" even unmodified handsets.
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Apple plays hardball
as update shuts down all hacked phones, not just unlocked ones
ComputerWorld Oct 2, 07 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Apple’s latest firmware update doesn’t just shut down unlocked iPhones as threatened; it shuts down all phone hacks, including homemade applications, ringtones created by third parties, and the ability to use the phone as a drive. Even some unhacked phones have become completely inoperable. That’s enraged the iPhone community, ComputerWorld says, but Apple refuses to help anyone who modified their phone.
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Starbucks offers instant iTunes downloads for impulse buyers who
like what they hear
New York Times Oct 1, 07 3:27 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Ever hear a song in a coffee shop, and reminded yourself to look it up later? Starbucks is taking the “later” out of the equation, allowing latte-sippers in New York, Seattle, and soon other cities, to log on and buy whatever they’re hearing instantly off iTunes. It’s the latest in a long line of impulse-buying technology, the Times says.
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Deal seen as move to boost use, fend off iPhone with more location-based services
New York Times Oct 1, 07 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Nokia announced it would buy Navteq, a mapping and navigation software maker, for $8.1 billion, the New York Times reports. Nokia is trying to bring mapping and other location-based services to cellphones in an attempt to combat sliding sales from handset market saturation and compete with Apple's iPhone, which comes with Google's navigational software.
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Band leaves cost of downloading new
album up to fans
Wall Street Journal Oct 1, 07 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
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“No, really, it’s up to you,” Radiohead’s website tells consumers pricing out a digital copy of the band’s next album, set to debut Oct. 10. The band is testing the theory that consumers will pay a fair price for the 10-song set if given the choice, bucking Apple’s industry-setting rates. Disdain for singles has long kept Radiohead off iTunes.
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Bored already with the iPhone? Salivate over this upcoming release.
Apple Insider Sep 26, 07 5:14 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Early-'90s techies who used a Newton MessagePad can break out the champagne; though that device was killed in 1998, Apple plans to give the PDA a 21st-century go. AppleInsider reports that the company has spent the past 18 months chipping away at a brand-new device, built on Apple's signature multi-touch technology—albeit with plenty of iPhone-related interruptions.
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Will allow users to cover their tracks, install update, be covered by warranty
CNET Sep 26, 07 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser)
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When Apple warned Monday that unlocked iPhones would be destroyed by an upcoming software update—and that the hacked phones wouldn't be covered by the warranty—the hackers who made the tools to unlock the phones in the first place got to work. Yesterday the iPhone Dev Team said they will soon release a tool for restoring iPhones to their factory settings, hiding any evidence of tampering.
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Low prices, lack of DRM major selling points
Associated Press Sep 25, 07 4:14 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Amazon threw down the guantlet to iTunes today when it launched its digital music store, Amazon MP3. Roughly 2 million songs are available for 89-99 cents each, with albums going for $5.99 to $9.99. Not only do those prices beat iTunes's, but all the files are DRM-free. Selection is limited, however, by some major labels' refusal to let their music be sold unlocked.
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Unlocked phones will be 'irreparably damaged' by upgrade
InformationWeek Sep 25, 07 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser)
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IPhones that have been unlocked to work on cellular networks other than AT&T may be damaged "irreparably" by an iPhone software update being released this week, Apple warned yesterday. What's worse, the company says the unlocking also voids the warranty, so users would have to pay for replacements out of pocket. One of the features included in the update will enable users to buy music over a WiFi connection.
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Customers will scoop up as many as 50 million free downloads
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sep 24, 07 4:19 AM CDT
(Newser)
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For more than a month beginning next week Starbucks will offer customers free iTunes downloads of songs by major artists like Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligence r. The freebie marks a new partnership between the coffee giant and Apple, Inc. Company executives expect Starbucks will give away 50 million songs by the time the promotion ends November 7.
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Jobs doesn't appear to be target in backdated options case
Wall Street Journal Sep 20, 07 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a case involving backdated stock options, the Wall Street Journal reports. Apple's former counsel, Nancy Heinen, is the target and not Jobs. Though Apple already admitted to backdating options, and that Jobs had a hand in picking dates, the company maintains he's done no wrong.
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Rollout starts tomorrow; UK deal
a bonanza for Apple
Guardian (UK) Sep 17, 07 6:07 PM CDT
(Newser)
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European technophiles are about to get their fingers on the iPhone’s touchpad, and thanks to some 11th-hour bargaining, O2, the UK’s largest mobile operator, will have the franchise there. But O2’s deal is “madly money-losing,” a competitor tells the Guardian , because Apple reaps as much as 40% of O2's revenues from use of the gadget.
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