GadgetMETER - Meet The Coolest Trends » Apple

MacBook Air Bugs are being reported

Quang Ly — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 19:44:19 +0000

The new MacBook Air models unveiled late last month are the slimmest computers that came from Apple as of late. There are reports, however, that the early MacBook Air adopters have encountered some bugs. Among the issues is a bug where the display flickers or shows horizontal lines of varying colors when a computer wakes from sleep or after hot-plugging a display. Another bug causes the screen to fade from light to dark repeatedly after waking from sleep. Apple’s internal support system includes suggestions for interim fixes in each of these cases, but no permanent fixes are available at this time. Apple has stated internally that the aforementioned issues have been isolated and will be addressed in an upcoming software update. When dealing with customers, Apple employees have been instructed to state that the company is aware of these issues and is working on solutions.

Every great leap encounters a few hurdles.

Apple Finally Approves Google Voice App

Quang Ly — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:52:57 +0000

Apple Finally Approves Google Voice App - GV Connect

Apple finally approves Google Voice App (the second time) and it is available on the iTunes store now here for $2.99 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gv-connect/id347835665?mt=8

GV Connect is a native iPhone/iPod Touch application for your Google Voice account. The app features the following:

Place calls using your Google Voice number rather than your mobile number.
Send and receive text messages (SMS) from your Google Voice
Listen to voicemails and recorded conversations right on your device (pause, rewind, fast foward)
Mark messages as starred, block senders, delete conversations
Set call forwarding, do-not-disturb), rediections
Retina displays

I suspect the FTC inquiry on Apple’s blocking of a native Google Voice app sparked the change.

Top 5 Useful and Free iPhone Apps

Quang Ly — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:57:37 +0000

Top 5 Useful and Free iPhone Apps

There are thousands of apps available to use on your iPhone, iPod and now your iPad as well and, surprisingly, many of the best are free to download.

The following list shows 5 of the very best free apps that also happen to be extremely useful as well. There are loads of apps out there that can help make your life that bit easier so it’s well worth going through them to find the ones that will apply to you and your life.

Here are a few of the best useful apps out there that are well-worth a look.

Thetrainline – For those of you who commute to work by train, Thetrainline is a free transport app that outshines all of the others – and it’s free. The app can help you to plan your journey, obtain offline results and timetables and also has a location-aware ‘next train home’ option. All of these features are available on Thetrianline’s clear and streamlined interface. There are of course other train apps available but many will cost you upwards of £5 and when you can get this one for free and it does the job – why look elsewhere?

Skype – This is a great money-saving app and allows you and your friends to chat to each other for free via your Skype app. The interface is simple and usable, enabling anyone with a Skype account to make free calls to other Skype users and also offers you the ability to make cheap calls to anywhere in the world. Pay as you Go users will find this app particularly useful but so will iPod touch owners as this app also allows them to make calls to other Skype users.

Dropbox – There are many apps out there that transfer content between your computer and your device but this one is free and actually a lot easier to use than many of the paid ones out there. Any files you want to sync up – just drop them in to a folder on your computer and Dropbox will enable you to access them.

Around Me – Around Me is a great app for when you’re out and about. It works out where you are and then shows you all the local banks, bars, petrol stations and restaurants etc that are in your vicinity. The app is really useful when you happen to be in unfamiliar surroundings and the ‘augmented reality’ landscape mode is great for getting to know the area, just be aware that this new technology isn’t completely there yet so expect that you may come across a few little errors.

Moneysupermarket.com Voucher App – No matter what you’re looking for, moneysupermarket.com will no doubt have a voucher for it that will help make savings on your purchases. There are thousands of free discount codes and vouchers on this iPhone app that can help all UK shoppers save money on whatever they want to buy.

Apple iTunes Cloud Lala Very Cloudy

Quang Ly — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:07:33 +0000

Apple iTunes Cloud Lala Very Cloudy

Many people expected that Apple would offer your iTunes music and movies over the cloud after it acquired Lala.com last December. That is of course after Apple obtained the appropriate music licenses to do so. Lala, the music serviced, shut down after being acquired by Apple this past May.

The Lala team leadership that went to Apple after the acquisition seems to leaving. Bill Nguyen, Lala’s founder, is known to be press friendly and against Apple’s culture of secrecy. Another founding member has left the company leaving Apple’s media cloud plans in a haze.

Google, on the other hand, hired Elizabeth Moody, an attorney with deep experience negotiating digital-music deals. Record executives expect Moody will help cut the first cloud music licensing agreement. Google has told label managers that it wants to launch a music service this year.

Apple is not worried though since it is still the #1 online and offline music store and jukebox.

However, in this fast pacing media game, tables can turn very quickly.

InnoPocket launched HexaPose Stand for Apple iPad

Quang Ly — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:42:47 +0000

InnoPocket have launched HexaPose Stand for Apple iPad. The HexaPose Stand is made of solid aluminum and tough polycarbonate with a chic design tailor-made for the Apple iPad. It comes with a rotatable pivot which can allow you to freely rotate your iPad horizontally or vertically. The pivot can also be adjusted 3 ways for different viewing angles for surfing, reading, gaming or movie viewing. HexaPose Stand is the perfect gadget for your iPad if you use iPad at home just as your PC. It makes your iPad look like an iMac.

Features

Clip-on, sleek looking table and desktop stand for your iPad
Solid and strong aluminum base
Precision molded polycarbonate frame to hold the iPad securely
Hold iPad in both landscape and portrait orientation
Multiple viewing angles for surfing, reading or movie viewing
Cutout gives access to iPad’s dock connector for charging and syncing

MSRP: US$49.99

About InnoPocket

Founded in 1999, InnoPocket designs and manufactures a complete line of custom cases for laptop, PDA, smartphones, MP3 players and gaming devices.

GadgetMETER’s Take

This would be great for a keyboard and desktop solution as well.

Contact
InnoPocket
Website: http://www.innopocket.com

My iPhone4G died…and was resurrected.

Jay — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:56:39 +0000

I was two days into happy iPhone 4g ownership when the unthinkable happened – my iPhone went crazy. Up till now, I was feeling pretty good about this beauty – I had none of the yellow spotting/streaking that blogs were talking about, I wasn’t able to consistently reproduce the attenuation issues, and all the other minor problems that people were talking about had yet to make their appearance on my new Precious. So imagine how freaked out I was when I saw this on my baby:

(I’m really sorry about the video quality – I was fully intending to take some decent video of the problem under good lighting but by the time I got home to get my car to get to my Genius Bar appointment, I had run out of time. So the above was grabbed using my fiancee’s iPhone 4 while we were waiting at the Apple Store in Ardmore. The lights there are like being under interrogation and the reflection off the shiny screen of the iPhone makes it incredibly difficult to capture what’s happening on the screen properly).

If you watch the above video enough, you’ll see that my screen has basically washed out – I had maybe 4 colors (if that) on the screen. Furthermore, on the left hand side you can see vertical scrolling reminiscent of VHF reception issues on early television screens. I had not dropped the phone and it had spent its entire two days previously either living inside my pocket (with nothing else in there) or on a flat desk surface. You’re talking to a guy who has never dropped an electronic device and went through 2 years with his iPhone 3G having never suffered a scratch. Suffice it to say I’m careful with my tech. So you can imagine just how freaked out I was by this.

I have to say that I was very pleased with both AT&T and Apple’s response to this issue. Since I’d ordered the phone from AT&T, I took it first to my local AT&T store. The rep there was pretty impressed with the problem but they had zero spares on hand to do a swapout. He recommended I go to the Apple Store to resolve my issue. The Apple Store was able to give me a Genius Bar appointment the same day and they swapped out the phone without any problems. The Apple rep was also pretty impressed by the error, having never seen anything like it before on any iPhone. I walked out of there relieved and clutching a new Precious. It was going to be a good day after all. And I was able to use the Precious to do this:

If you want the full story on that, you’ll have to check out my personal blog!

Apple and the Garden

Jay — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:31:06 +0000

Adobe is all up in arms about the new license terms for Apple’s iOS 4, which restricts platform developers to using only specific native tools. That pretty much cuts out all other development platforms and cross-compilers, most especially Adobe. Needless to say, Adobe is not pleased. Well you know what? I’m totally on Apple’s side in this fight. Adobe took a chance when it developed Flash, and for a while that chance worked out for them. Their small platform ended up being used for more and more on the ever expanding Internet, allowing them to grow into almost a de facto standard. That’s fine for something like the Internet, which is an open environment that was built up through the combined efforts of a lot of organizations. But the iPlatform is not the Internet. Apple has created a walled garden and they have the right to manage that garden however they like.

In Philadelphia, sections of the city have city-owned pots of land that residents can rent out for a year. On those plots of land, folks have planted vegetable and flower gardens. The gardens are secured by fences and locks, but each resident doesn’t get individual access to their plots – they have to share the lock code with each other because there’s only one lock. The rules are relatively simple and the renters tend to watch out for each other because they tend to be long-time renters, paying the nominal fee every year. Importantly, they tend to follow the rules and they act to ensure that others follow the rules. Every so often, the rules change and some people stop renting space because of those rules. But that frees up a plot for someone new to come in, and they come in knowing the new rules and agreeing to honor them.

What Adobe is trying to do is pay the fee to access the garden and then passing out the combination to the garden’s lock to anyone who wants to pay. In their best case scenario, they don’t even have to pay the fee for access – they just start selling the key and let the community sort out who’s supposed to be there or not. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. For good or bad, Apple’s ecosystem is THEIRS. They didn’t set out to build something on top of an already existing platform (like Google), nor did they try to make their ecosystem the biggest in the world by making development as easy as possible to as many as possible (like Microsoft). Apple started out with a simple idea – let’s sell music. Maybe they had this end state in mind all the time, maybe they didn’t. Doesn’t matter. It’s all theirs. And because it’s theirs, they get to make the rules, and even change those rules, whenever they want.

Note that this viewpoint is not necessarily a conflict with the fact that I am using a jailbroken iPhone. Since I’ve bought the device and own it, I think I should be able to do whatever the heck I want with it. To not have that right is like buying a piece of produce from the community garden but being told that I can only use it in stir fry or fruit salad. It’s stupid to even think that that sort of thing is possible, and just because it’s tech vs. produce doesn’t make it any less so. However, once I change the parameters of the agreement of sale, I don’t have the right to request Apple’s support to fix my problems. To extend the produce analogy even further, that’s like my buying a bell pepper, agreeing to use it only in stir fry, then putting it in fruit salad and complaining when people don’t like it. I know and accept the risks of jailbreaking but by that same token, Apple shouldn’t be going out of their way to stop me. Would I like Apple to be less restrictive in terms of what they do or don’t allow in the App Store? Absolutely. The main reason I jailbreak is to skin my phone and to get access to two apps that Apple won’t sell. But those are the risks I’ve accepted because I’m choosing to go around the ecosystem.

Back to the topic at hand though – Adobe vs. Apple. Whether or not Apple is right or wrong ethically is not the issue. Apple is doing what it feels it needs to do to protect their investment in the iOS infrastructure. Adobe is trying to grow their produce in the Apple garden and calling foul because they got caught. Sorry, Adobe – you didn’t pay for the garden and you don’t get to access the garden and set your rules in the garden just because you pout about unfairness. You want to build out your Flash platform, then you go out and build your own damn garden. Otherwise, be happy with the pervasiveness you have on the Internet and pray that you can find a workaround to making money once HTML5 begins supplanting your fancy animations.

Apple MacBook Touch Tablet Report by Oppenheimer

Quang Ly — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:11:32 +0000

MacBook Touch iTablet

Oppenheimer released their report on the rumored Apple Tablet predicting the size and functionality of the potential game changer. It also suggested the pricing and sales structure for publishers and the app store.

You can download it here (right click save as).

Thank you Kevin Rose for this.

PowerCurl – Cord Management for Apple MagSafe Adapters

ethan — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:35:19 +0000

I am not a MacBook owner so I don’t pretend to know how much of a nuisance transporting the cords and adapters are. However, I can tell you that transporting the adapter for my Vaio notebook is quite an affair. Between rigging up the cords to stay put around the adapter and then untangling the mess that unwinded in my bag, it becomes quite a process. I don’t want to draw any conclusions too quickly, but I can’t imagine the process is too much different for those who wield a Mac.

In just 24 hours, the community over at Quirky.com has developed a solution to the cord management for Mac adapters in both the 60W and 85W varieties – called the PowerCurl.

The PowerCurl fits around the adapter box and includes a clip to keep the cord tight and manageable. The supersweet design of the PowerCurl also keeps the adapter elevated to keep the unit from overheating. Orange, sexy, and practical, and only $9.99 the PowerCurl is affordable as well.

Get Your Pre-Order of Mac OS X Snow Leopard Right Now

Quang Ly — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:04:06 +0000

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is now available for pre-order. It will be shiipping this Friday August 28, 2009. One of the biggest advantages is that it frees up 7 Gigs for disk space and performs faster. The reason being is that Apple decided to toss out support for PowerPC chips and go solely on Intel (Universal Binary).

Mac OS X Snow Leopard

The price is only $29 for an upgrade? Much more reasonable than the headaches and price you get from Microsoft Upgrades.

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard

AT&T, Google, & Apple respond to the FCC

Jay — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:48:59 +0000

As everyone in the tech world knows, the FCC is poking into why exactly Apple decided to reject the Google Voice application from the App Store. The investigation has dragged in Google and AT&T as well, with the FCC asking some hard questions about what exactly happened. Today, all three companies delivered their responses. I strongly urge you to read their responses via TechCrunch, because of the flurry of commentary that’s popped up on the web since the release, it’s my opinion that TechCrunch has gotten to the heart of the matter in Michael Arrington’s unique style.

Here is TechCrunch’s commentary on AT&T’s response, as well as the full text of the AT&T letter.

Here is TechCrunch’s commentary on Apple’s response, as well as the full text of the Apple letter.

Here is TechCrunch’s commentary on Google’s response, as well as Google’s response.

Most importantly (and if you want to skip over the previous to get to the meat of the matter), here is Michael Arrington’s insights into Apple’s distorted reality as evidenced in their letter. Even someone like myself, who writes about gadgets out of love and as a distinctly part time hobby could see issues with Apple’s responses.

Mr. Arrington points out something that didn’t even occur to me until I read his post – aside from the email app and the phone, most of what I do with my iPhone does indeed revolve around Google-provided services. I use Safari to access Google Reader. I use third party apps that get me to POI’s via Google’s mapping app. I use Google’s mapping app as a poor man’s GPS when I am too lazy to fire up my Mio. I’ve already swapped out Apple’s Contacts and To-Do apps with an app that sync Google Calendar to my iPhone (and, god willing, will allow Tasks syncing in the near future). As Google improves the Safari version of gMail, I’ll probably start moving over to using that more than I use the Apple mail client, especially because Apple seems incapable of providing a universal inbox a la the Palm Pre. He’s absolutely right that the iPhone is a very pretty shell around a bunch of Google services, with Google Voice supplanting yet more iPhone functionality.

Dammit I never should have sold my Google stock. At this rate, AT&T will be a dumb (albeit expensive) pipe to an Apple manufactured platform that provides a pretty (non-Android) version of the Google OS.

Apple To Stream First Live Concert on iPhone Tonight

Quang Ly — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:38:58 +0000

Apple will mark its place on the online world and devices with the first ever live concert streamed to the iPhone by the electronica band Underworld. You can watch the live iPhone streaming at iphone.akamai.com or underworldlive.com. You can catch the live streaming and free show at 9pm PT.

Apple To Stream First Live Concert on iPhone Tonight with Underworld

This break through event coincides with Apple’s release of its own HTTP streaming protocol that uses adaptive bitrates to deliver continuous and smooth stream in various network congestion. Tonight’s concert will test.

Underworld - Born Slippy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlLWFa1b1Bc

Underworld’s bandmembers Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are huge Apple fans and recently released their entire catalog on iTunes. Apple is using partners at Inlet Technologies and Akamai to power tonight’s show.

Apple Store Unveils “Flying Apps”

Quang Ly — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:34:08 +0000

The Apple Store in Palo Alto unveils new Flying Apps screen that is quite eye catchy. It is amazing to watch and mesmerizes you for a bit. The video show cases apps flying pass a giant iPhone.

NetFlix Streaming iPhone App Rumor

Quang Ly — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:41:20 +0000

NetFlix Streaming iPhone App

Let’s talk about an amazing brand called Netflix. It has been able to stay relevant being a completely online movie delivery service even while Blockbuster has the straddle strategy (online and brick and morter). We think that Netflix’s success has a lot to do with the abundant LongTail collection of niche films as well as popular ones. In addition, they were really the first company to deliver movies through the mail and online.

A search for Blockbuster’s iPhone app yielded no results on the iTunes App Store at the moment.

There is now a rumor that Netflix Watch Instantly streaming service would be available on Apple’s App Store as well as available on the Nintendo Wii.

This is something I’m sure a lot of Netflix subscribers would love to have. The biggest question is if AT&T would allow such bandwidth utilization of streaming video on their 3G network. Afterall, they seem to have an unofficial hand in dictacting Apple approval of iPhone apps that competes with their core business like Google Voice. Ironically though, AT&T and Apple do allow the MLB At Bat app to stream video over the network. Let’s not forget the iPhone also comes with a YouTube player that can stream both on 3G and Wi-Fi. According to AT&T, it doesn’t want all this video streaming to further clog its pipes, which could be the reason why the rumored Hulu app is not released yet.

The next question would be if Apple themselves would allow such a service to compete with its movie downloads. Then again, Apple does offer radio streaming apps like Last.FM and Pandora which theoretically competes with its iTunes Music Downloads. Apple’s app approval still seems unpredictable despite its disclosure.

Via TechCrunch

Google and Apple Marriage Falls Apart

Quang Ly — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:04:57 +0000

Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from sitting on Apple’s Board of Directors after nearly 3 years. It was a wonderful partnership at the start. Apple would create the fan boy devices while Google concentrated on dominating online services. However, as Google moves toward the telecom space with Google Voice, the mobile phone, its own browser, and creating its own operating system Chrome for both mobile and desktops, conflict of interests undoubtly arise with Schmidt sitting on the board.

Eric Schmidt’s resignation comes only a few days after the FCC sent letters to Google, Apple and AT&T on why Apple denied Google Voice from the iPhone App Store.

Apple released a statement on the matter

Apple today announced that Dr. Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, is resigning from Apple’s Board of Directors, a position he has held since August 2006.

“Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.”

Image Courtesy of Technologizer

FCC Steps Into Apple and AT&T for Google Voice Removal

Quang Ly — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:29:58 +0000

FCC is now investigating the removal of the iPhone app Google Voice by Apple. Apple’s vague reasoning for the removal is that it “duplicates existing features”. We all suspect however, that AT&T is threatened by Google Voice free SMS messages and voicemail competing with AT&T’s pricing and thus “suggested” to Apple to remove it.

FCC Letter to Apple

July 31, 2009

Catherine A. Novelli, Vice President
Worldwide Government Affairs
Apple Inc.
901 15th Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005

RE: Google Voice and related iPhone applications

Dear Ms. Novelli:

Recent press reports indicate that Apple has declined to approve the Google Voice application for the iPhone and has removed related (and previously approved) third-party applications from the iPhone App Store. In light of pending FCC proceedings regarding wireless open access (RM-11361) and handset exclusivity (RM-11497), we are interested in a more complete understanding of this situation.

To that end, please provide answers to the following questions by close of business on Friday, August 21, 2009.

1. Why did Apple reject the Google Voice application for iPhone and remove related third-party applications from its App Store? In addition to Google Voice, which related third-party applications were removed or have been rejected? Please provide the specific name of each application and the contact information for the developer.
2. Did Apple act alone, or in consultation with AT&T, in deciding to reject the Google Voice application and related applications? If the latter, please describe the communications between Apple and AT&T in connection with the decision to reject Google Voice. Are there any contractual conditions or non-contractual understandings with AT&T that affected Apple’s decision in this matter?
3. Does AT&T have any role in the approval of iPhone applications generally (or in certain cases)? If so, under what circumstances, and what role does it play? What roles are specified in the contractual provisions between Apple and AT&T (or any non-contractual understandings) regarding the consideration of particular iPhone applications?
4. Please explain any differences between the Google Voice iPhone application and any Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications that Apple has approved for the iPhone. Are any of the approved VoIP applications allowed to operate on AT&T’s 3G network?
5. What other applications have been rejected for use on the iPhone and for what reasons? Is there a list of prohibited applications or of categories of applications that is provided to potential vendors/developers? If so, is this posted on the iTunes website or otherwise disclosed to consumers?
6. What are the standards for considering and approving iPhone applications? What is the approval process for such applications (timing, reasons for rejection, appeal process, etc.)? What is the percentage of applications that are rejected? What are the major reasons for rejecting an application?

Request for Confidential Treatment. If Apple requests that any information or documents responsive to this letter be treated in a confidential manner, it shall submit, along with all responsive information and documents, a statement in accordance with section 0.459 of the Commission’s rules. 47 C.F.R. § 0.459. Requests for confidential treatment must comply with the requirements of section 0.459, including the standards of specificity mandated by section 0.459(b). Accordingly, “blanket” requests for confidentiality of a large set of documents are unacceptable. Pursuant to section 0.459(c), the Bureau will not consider requests that do not comply with the requirements of section 0.459.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,

James D. Schlichting
Acting Chief
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
Federal Communications Commission

FCC Letter to Google

July 31, 2009

Richard S. Whitt, Esq.
Washington Telecom and Media Counsel
Google Inc.
1101 New York Avenue, NW, Second Floor
Washington, DC 20005

RE: Apple’s Rejection of the Google Voice for iPhone Application

Dear Mr. Whitt:

To that end, please provide answers to the following questions by close of business on Friday, August 21, 2009.

1. Please provide a description of the proposed Google Voice application for iPhone. What are the key features, and how does it operate (over a voice or data network, etc.)?
2. What explanation was given (if any) for Apple’s rejection of the Google Voice application (and for any other Google applications for iPhone that have been rejected, such as Google Latitude)? Please describe any communications between Google and AT&T or Apple on this topic and a summary of any meetings or discussion.
3. Has Apple approved any Google applications for the Apple App Store? If so, what services do they provide, and, in Google’s opinion, are they similar to any Apple/AT&T-provided applications?
4. Does Google have any other proposed applications pending with Apple, and if so, what services do they provide?
5. Are there other mechanisms by which an iPhone user will be able to access either some or all of the features of Google Voice? If so, please explain how and to what extent iPhone users can utilize Google Voice despite the fact that it is not available through Apple’s App Store.
6. Please provide a description of the standards for considering and approving applications with respect to Google’s Android platform. What is the approval process for such applications (timing, reasons for rejection, appeal process, etc.)? What is the percentage of applications that are rejected? What are the major reasons for rejecting an application?

Request for Confidential Treatment. If Google requests that any information or documents responsive to this letter be treated in a confidential manner, it shall submit, along with all responsive information and documents, a statement in accordance with section 0.459 of the Commission’s rules. 47 C.F.R. § 0.459. Requests for confidential treatment must comply with the requirements of section 0.459, including the standards of specificity mandated by section 0.459(b). Accordingly, “blanket” requests for confidentiality of a large set of documents are unacceptable. Pursuant to section 0.459(c), the Bureau will not consider requests that do not comply with the requirements of section 0.459.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,

James D. Schlichting
Acting Chief
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
Federal Communications Commission

FCC Letter to AT&T

July 31, 2009

James W. Cicconi
Senior Executive Vice President-External and Legislative Affairs
AT&T Services, Inc.
1120 20th Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20036

RE: Apple’s Rejection of the Google Voice for iPhone Application

Dear Mr. Cicconi:

To that end, please provide answers to the following questions by close of business on Friday, August 21, 2009.

1. What role, if any, did AT&T play in Apple’s consideration of the Google Voice and related applications? What role, if any, does AT&T play in consideration of iPhone applications generally? What roles are specified in the contractual provisions between Apple and AT&T (or in any non-contractual understanding between the companies) regarding the consideration of particular iPhone applications?
2. Did Apple consult with AT&T in the process of deciding to reject the Google Voice application? If so, please describe any communications between AT&T and Apple or Google on this topic, including the parties involved and a summary of any meetings or discussions.
3. Please explain AT&T’s understanding of any differences between the Google Voice iPhone application and any Voice over Internet Protocol applications that are currently used on the AT&T network, either via the iPhone or via handsets other than the iPhone.
4. To AT&T’s knowledge, what other applications have been rejected for use on the iPhone? Which of these applications were designed to operate on AT&T’s 3G network? What was AT&T’s role in considering whether such applications would be approved or rejected?
5. Please detail any conditions included in AT&T’s agreements or contracts with Apple for the iPhone related to the certification of applications or any particular application’s ability to use AT&T’s 3G network.
6. Are there any terms in AT&T’s customer agreements that limit customer usage of certain third-party applications? If so, please indicate how consumers are informed of such limitations and whether such limitations are posted on the iTunes website as well. In general, what is AT&T’s role in certifying applications on devices that run over AT&T’s 3G network? What, if any, applications require AT&T’s approval to be added to a device? Are there any differences between AT&T’s treatment of the iPhone and other devices used on its 3G network?
7. Please list the services/applications that AT&T provides for the iPhone, and whether there any similar, competing iPhone applications offered by other providers in Apple’s App Store.
8. Do any devices that operate on AT&T’s network allow use of the Google Voice application? Do any devices that operate on AT&T’s network allow use of other applications that have been rejected for the iPhone?
9. Please explain whether, on AT&T’s network, consumers’ access to and usage of Google Voice is disabled on the iPhone but permitted on other handsets, including Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices.

Request for Confidential Treatment. If AT&T requests that any information or documents responsive to this letter be treated in a confidential manner, it shall submit, along with all responsive information and documents, a statement in accordance with section 0.459 of the Commission’s rules. 47 C.F.R. § 0.459. Requests for confidential treatment must comply with the requirements of section 0.459, including the standards of specificity mandated by section 0.459(b). Accordingly, “blanket” requests for confidentiality of a large set of documents are unacceptable. Pursuant to section 0.459(c), the Bureau will not consider requests that do not comply with the requirements of section 0.459.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,

James D. Schlichting
Acting Chief
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Federal Communications Commission

Via TechCrunch

Apple rejects Google applications for iPhone

Quang Ly — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:19:39 +0000

Apple recently banned all iPhone applications based on Google Voice, this will certainly add some friction between the two “frenemies” as their competing interests grow more acute.

It is likely not Apple’s fault but more than likely reflects the will of AT&T. AT&T can threaten to revoke Apple’s iPhone subsidy if Apple doesn’t adhere to its wishes. The Google Voice app on the iPhone would have enabled customers to send and receive free SMS and access visual voicemail while bypassing AT&T’s voice network and associated fees. Within a matter of months or weeks, AT&T’s SMS (short text messages) cash cow could have taken a serious hit. The Google voice app could have also become a compelling remedy to the Visual Voicemail issues that AT&T has been experiencing.

Question: Why does it cost so much to send text messages which employ a single “one way” communication mechanism, uses little network bandwidth — yet it’s free to download a full HD movie on a Wi-Fi Network? It is certainly not a technological issue but rather one of convenience. SMS is much more convenient, has less friction and is often a more efficient way to communicate instead of using voice. Like Twitter and e-mail, it’s asynchronous yet these services are free!

For now, you can still access Google Voice services on your iPhone by going http://voice.google.com. You can send FREE SMS messages, but since web pages don’t support push notification you’ll have to refresh to see new in-coming messages. I will anticipate that Google will eventually use some of their AJAX mojo to enable auto-refresh for receiving SMS messages.

AT&T Killed Visual Voicemail and That’s NOT the Worst Part!

Quang Ly — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:36:23 +0000

I was recently aware of this problem when I noticed I wasn’t getting visual voicemail for the past several weeks. I dialed and held the #1 on my keypad to see if I missed any voicemail. Turns out I had over 20 business and personal messages. So I Googled only to find out this problem has been going on for weeks and has appeared on both CNET and TechCrunch.

AT&T Reveals Its New Service the Death Star

This leads to my rant on why the Visual Voicemail issue isn’t even the worst part. What really bothered me was AT&T’s lack of responsibility to notifying and informing their customers of this issue so people could manually check their voicemail until this issue has been resolved. AT&T is aware of this problem and has been supposedly working on a fix for several weeks now. Therefore, it is absolutely inexcusable for AT&T not to publicize this failure. Voicemail is an integral to our lives as email.

I contacted AT&T Tech Support twice and both customer service representatives were not aware of this problem. How can a system wide issue not be communicated to even their own support staff?

My real estate agent was also missing my voicemail until I told her about this issue. She’s had several dozen messages that were missed. Another friend of mine missed over 40 messages. How much loss in business do you think could have been prevented if AT&T advised their customers to check their voicemail manually? What has changed? There were not any new features in Visual Voicemail that could have broken it!

Our GadgetMETER writer, Jay Chang, made a wonderful suggestion: switch to Google Voice. Which is exactly what HE did.

Here is our laundry list of complaints with the Death Star known as AT&T….and yes, I cannot wait for the Class Action Lawsuit. Maybe George Lucas will make another Star Wars Trilogy.

AT&T did not notify customers about a known issue with visual voicemail causing loss of business and life disruptions.
Poor 3G service in New York City and San Fransisco. Would you bother upgrading to 3GS knowing you would get shady service in these cities?
Long term contracts. I get it. The contracts help subsidize the iPhone purchase. However, AT&T has taken advantage of this by overcharging because Verizon is not in the iPhone game. Once Verizon is, I’m giving AT&T a two fingered salute goodbye!
Still no official 3G tethering. I’ve heard they are planning to charge more. Why does AT&T plan to rape their customers? We already paid for the data plan, it shouldn’t matter what devices use it. Comcast Internet doesn’t charge me extra for additional devices I use on my Wi-Fi connection at home. If you want to do a simple hack to tether the iPhone 3.0, check out our post here.
Telecom companies have never been known to innovate and move technology forward. It’s always been Silicon Valley. Once we move to Wi-Max and Google offers its own low cost or free universal Internet Access, I would excpect to see low cost data and voice plans.

If you are having iPhone visual voicemail problems, try these steps from CNET. It didn’t work for me but apparently it worked for others.

I cannot imagine all the problems in people’s lives this has caused. Share your stories with us.

Apple iPhone 3GS

Quang Ly — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:29:57 +0000

Apple iPhone 3GS

The wait is finally over. Apple introduces the new iPhone 3GS (S stands for Speed) today.

The iPhone 3GS now comes with twice the speed of the 3G. One of the anticipated features is video recording support at 30 FPS VGA mode. We will just have to assume that the next generation after this will support HD. We’ll take VGA for now. You can also edit the video directly on the iPhone. iPhone 3GS also has improved 3MP camera.

Copy and Paste
Yes. We know. This should have been included a long time ago. Better late than never.

Tethering
Tethering allows you to use your iPhone as a bridge between your laptop and your carrier’s 3G Internet. There has been so many times I was in NYC where I need to get online with my laptop but all the immediate Wi-Fi hotspot are locked down or require subscriptions. Let’s just hope AT&T doesn’t take too much advantage of this demand.

Voice Memos
We’re not sure if this is exclusive to the iPhone 3GS or the OS 3.0 update but essentially you can record memos now on the iPhone. You can also do voice dialing by holding the home button and speaking the name of your contact.

Multi-tune Vitamin

Sarah — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:30:13 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit that my love for my iPod is nearly boundless. And the new Shuffle design has me practically giddy. 1.8″ by .3″ and the new VoiceOver feature is going to be hard to beat.
However, there’s got to be room for more than just Apple style. A new MP3 player is about to come on to the market that while probably not giving the Shuffle a run for its money should at least make the playing field more interesting.
Introducing The Vitamin from iXing

Designed by Sangnam Park, this little pill is actually an MP3 player. It supports only MP3 and WMA files (which means I’m not getting it since my entire library is in AAC format, a far superior format to MP3 imo). It also has a 30 channel FM tuner, though seriously I don’t really know anyone that listens to the radio anymore. Even I get my NPR via the internet these days.
Other than the novelty of its looks I really don’t think it can outdo the Shuffle. But I do think style is a valid consideration when shopping for an MP3 player so I can’t count it out just yet. I honestly like the design. To change tracks you just twist the pill one way, or to go back a track, twist it the other way. I also like the display, which the Shuffle lacks.
I don’t know yet how they are going to manage volume control (possibly on the head phones themselves?).
Also there is no info on the capacity, at least none that I could find. But it should hold a minimum of 1000 songs (or appox. 4 GB) if it wants to be competitive.

via Gizmodo

iPhone 4G With Unibody Design

Quang Ly — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:28:23 +0000

The excitement for the forthcoming iPhone 4G is roaring. Rumor has it that the iPhone 4G will feature unibody design following the recent MacBooks. Unibody is made of hard Aluminum and provides more durability.

Here is a concept picture of the iPhone 4G. Let us know what you think. You want one?

iPhone 4G With Unibody Design

This is our iPhone 4G wish list / rumor. We really hope Apple delivers on these.

Higher Resolution Camera with Video Mode.
Turn By Turn True GPS
OLED Screen
UniBody Design
iChat Front Face Camera
Haptic Technology (the touch screen will be raised in text mode for tactile feel)
Long Lasting Battery
Faster Processor
More Disk Space
FLASH and JAVA Support

iPhone 4G With Front Camera Multi-Way Video

Quang Ly — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:11:04 +0000

The iPhone 4G is rumored to have a built in front camera embedded inside the touch screen so the other person on the line can see you as if you were talking face to face. Here is a mock up design of the iPhone 4G with the MacBook Air inspired asthetics.

iPhone 4G With Front Camera Multi-Way Video

The technical challenge for Apple and AT&T (the cellular carrier and possibly Verizon), however, is how they plan to support the 2 way video bandwidth on a 3G network.

AT&T recently announced that they are planning to double the speed of their 3G network so this multi-way video and audio conferencing on your iPhone may very well be true.

Thanks Rodolphe Desmare for the art.

New Apple iPhone 4G with OLED

Quang Ly — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:33:14 +0000

The new iPhone 3.0 update will finally solve some of the common feature requests that are standard with any smart phone such as ability to send MMS and copy and paste functions.

New Apple iPhone 4G with OLED

Furthermore, it looks like the next generation if the iPhone 4G is rumoured to have something else skin deep. It will supposedly have an OLED screen by Korean electronics manufacturer LG. The advantage of OLED is that it does not require a backlight for displaing images or video on the screen thus vastly improving battery life. It should also be thinner and have better picture quality.

So what do you think? Think this is going to happen? Comment below.

Apple Blinking LED T-Shirt

Quang Ly — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:36:57 +0000

Apple Blinking LED T-Shirt

Do you have one of those friends who just love anything from Apple? Well, if you do, you may want to consider getting him or her the Apple Sound Activated LED T-Shirt. It lights up depending on any noise. It displays an equalizer meter illuminated by the audio around you.

Yes, it is machine washable and is powered by a hidden battery pack inside the shirt pocket.

So now your friend can be the coolest kid in town, until Apple invents a Touch Screen T-Shirt worn by another hipster.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6btxBRrnLiQ

Via Techblips

Apple Introduces The New MacBook Wheel

Quang Ly — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:41:13 +0000

Apple introduces the revolutionary One Button MacBook Wheel with no keyboard. This revolutionary product brings excitement for fans of the iPod wheel.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

New Talking iPod Shuffle with VoiceOver by Apple

Quang Ly — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:07:35 +0000

Talking iPod Shuffle

Apple doesn’t like to talk much about new rumours. Instead, it leaves the talking to the new Talking iPod Shuffle. It has a new exciting feature called VoiceOver. If you press a button while the song is playing, it will let you know the title or artist. VoiceOver will also tell you when your battery needs charging. It is smaller than the size of a key chain and can hold up to 4GB.

How To Hack Your MacBook To MacTablet

Quang Ly — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:26:27 +0000

MacBook To ModBook

Do you want to turn your MacBook to a MacTablet? Well, now you can! You will be amazed by the guys at TechRestore with what they can do. For a limited time (March 6, 2009), you can have them turn your MacBook to what they call a ModBook for $1149.

For more information on their service, check out TechRestore

Via – GadgetGrid