Mobileography

A few details about version 2.2 of the iPhone firmware have emerged.  According to the Digital Earth Blog, it will include Google StreetView, an expected move since it was recently released for Google Maps Mobile (Nokia, etc) and is part of Android.

In addition, you’ll finally be able to disable auto-correction on the keyboard. I personally hate it, so I’ll be happy to get rid of it.

Beyond that, they’ll be including support for Japanese emoji icons, which has been blamed as part of the reason for the slow iPhone adoption in Japan.

No word on Background Push Notification in this update, nor a release date for it.

(via MacRumors)

admin Apple, Software Apple, background push notification, firmware, iphone, streetview

Samsung has released another firmware update for the popular Instinct, and it seems to be a good one.  According to Gizmodo, the update includes some major enhancements to the browser.  The browser seems to to be the achilles heel of most phones (just ask my wife about her BlackJack), so it’s nice to see them working hard to make this one better.

They claim a 10x improvment in rendering speed, which must be a stunning improvement for people that are used to the old one.

In addition, you can now hide the browser controls (to give you more screen real estate), the favorites UI has been improved, and there have been 34 other browser-related tickets closed.  Not bad!

admin Browsers, Samsung, Software browser, firmware, instinct, Samsung, update

They promised it by the end of September, and it just made it in time — the Facebook 2.0 app for the iPhone.

It brings with it a host of new features, including:

• Full news feed, not just status updates.
• Notifications. These will even work with the background push notification, once Apple gets it going.
• Redesigned profiles.
• Find/approve new friends.
• Full inbox. The current version only will show your 30 most recent messages.

admin Apple, Software app, Apple, facebook, iphone

It’s another great innovation for the iPhone that every other phone has had for about 8 years — an “at a glance” home screen.

Right now, it’s just a patent application, but it looks pretty nice.  As an iPhone user, I can certainly see how this kind of screen could be useful.

On the other hand, they’ll need to be very careful about the privacy implications.  It was less than a month ago that they had the big issue with people being able to bypass the security code, and this appears to have a similar issue.  Based on the sketch, you can see recent information (calls, texts, voicemail, etc) without unlocking the phone.

That being said, I’m sure Apple is keeping that in mind and will find a way to make it work that pleases (almost) everyone.

admin Apple, Software Apple, iphone, Security

Google has just released a nice update for Google Maps Mobile, including StreetView and walking directions! This update is for Blackberry and other Java-enabled phone for now (no Symbian or iPhone yet), but other devices are coming soon.

You can download the update at google.com/gmm, or watch the video below for more info:

admin Google, Software, blackberry Apple, blackberry, gmm, google maps, google maps mobile, iphone, streetview, symbian

NokNok is reporting a rather interesting rumor — Apple will be releasing a version of iTunes for S60 in January. Â It’s a very intriguing thought.

On one hand, it’s completely illogical. Â Why would they support other phones? Â Why not just drive more users to the iPhone?

On the other hand, it will increase the reach of the iTunes Store, resulting in more sales. Â Anything to drive more sales to the store must be a good thing, right?

I tend to agree with NokNok that this won’t really happen, but you never know. Â Here are a couple of teaser screenshots for you:

admin Apple, Nokia, Software, s60 Apple, itunes, Nokia, s60

If you have any iPhone, you can now go get version 2.1 of the firmware, which Apple promises will fix a LOT of bugs.

The official changelog from Apple is below.

—————-

iPhone version 2.1 contains many bug fixes and improvements, including the following:

• decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
• significantly improved battery life for most users
• dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• faster installation of 3rd party applications
• fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes if you have lots of 3rd party applications
• improved performance in text messaging
• faster loading and searching of contacts
• improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

admin Apple, Software 2.1, Apple, apps, firmware, iphone

We’re still a few days away from the 2.1 update for the iPhone, but it was released for the iPod Touch tonight. Â A few nice tidbits, which should apply to the iPhone update when it comes out:

Â

• The whole system feels much faster.
• Playlists now show the album/artist in addition to the song title (see screenshot to the right).
• The “shake to shuffle” that was introduced for the Nano is not included.
• Genius playlists are in, as long as you have enabled them in iTunes.
• Apps install much faster — “almost like they do in the Apple adverts”.
• Updated apps keep their same location. Â Yes! Â This has been driving me nuts.

admin Apple, Software 2.1, Apple, apps, genius, iphone, ipod touch, playlist

Apple released all of their new stuff today, and it was mostly what we predicted a few days ago. Â People are feeling a bit let down, but I think that’s largely because most of the presentation had already leaked.

The only decent surprise was “genius”, which runs in iTunes and on your iPod/iPhone. Â This is the main new feature of iTunes 8, which was just released. Â Based on what you’re listening to, it will suggest other songs to play. Â This information will up loaded each week to Apply (opt-in, anonymized) to help improve the algorithm. Â I’m skeptical of how well it will work, but you never know.

Next was the revamped line of iPods, featuring the new iPod Nano. Â The main thing with it is that is looks like a second gen (tall and skinny) but plays video like the third gen. Â The leaked photo we showed you back in August proved to be the real thing.

It now comes with an accelerometer, to help it know when you’ve rotated the screen and so you can shake it to shuffle your playlist. Â $149 for the 8GB (available now), and $199 for the 16GB (available in the next few days).

They showed off some new app games for the iPhone and Touch, but nothing real exciting.

The iPhone and iPod Touch got the version 2.1 firmware, as expected. Â You can get it on Friday. According to Jobs, you’ll have “Fewer dropped calls, big battery life improvements. Â No crashes with Apps, backing up is faster.” Â No mention of Background Push Notification, so I guess they’re still have problems with that.

That’s really about it. Â I really thought we’d see some kind of Macbook refresh, but it didn’t materialize. Â I’m anxious to get home and try out iTunes 8. Â I’ll report back later with my thoughts on those.

admin Apple, Hardware, Software 2.1, Apple, iphone, ipod, itunes 8, shuffle, touch

As you know, EA is releasing Spore for the iPhone this Sunday. Â Now they’ve just announced a handful of other games that will be coming out:

• Yahtzee Adventures
• EA Mini Golf
• Lemonade Tycoon
• Mahjong
• Monopoly: Here & Now The World Edition
• SimCity
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09
• Need for Speed Undercover
• The Sims 3

admin Apple, Games, Software Apple, ea, Games, iphone, simcity, sims, spore, tiger woods