iTunes Activation App
Specifically, one memo issued late last week noted that all company owned retail stores would soon see their desktop systems updated with an icon (below) "for the iTunes utility that will be used for unbricking iPhone 3G devices during the activation process." Employees were asked not to use the partial iTunes software until launch day, but were told that they "WILL need this icon for iPhone 3G launch on July 11th!"
The instructions support expectations that, at least in the case of sales at AT&T stores, each iPhone 3G will need to be unboxed and fully activated at the point of sale. In a second memo, the wireless carrier put out a call for additional part time staffers for launch weekend, which listed among the available positions a back office manager / inventory runner whose job would include bringing iPhone 3Gs from the inventory room to retail sales consultants and then helping to unbox them in order "to facilitate unbricking."
Call for Part Time Staffers
"Although we cannot predict the number of customers who will visit our stores the weekend of July 11 - 13, we want to be prepared for crowds," AT&T's vice president and general manager for the New England region told staffers in that memo. He asked that employees consider adopting at least one additional four- to seven-hour shift during the weekend, as additional staff are needed to fill a variety of positions, including Crowd Manager, Greeter, and Floor Coordinator.
Among the duties required of a Crowd Manager will be to "coordinate efforts with Line Manager to ensure customers are iReady," and set up stanchions to facilitate the queuing process. Greeters will be required to welcome customers to the store "within 10 feet or 10 seconds," as well as control the flow of those customers in and out of the store. Meanwhile, Floor Coordinators will be tasked with managing the occupancy level of the store and ensuring customers are sold iPhone 3Gs in the order in which they arrived.
Network Optimizations
Simultaneously, AT sized to handle additional T1 now and adding capacity as triggers dictate.
* Modify system parameters to maximize resource efficiencies.
Advertising
Finally, AT&T said that over the next few months, it plans to rev up a new series of regional advertising campaigns that will focus on network strength and exclusive devices like the iPhone 3G.
"Over the next few months you will notice a local advertising campaign that focuses on network strength," the carrier told employees. "You will hear it on the radio and see it online, on billboards, on bus wraps and other out-of-home media."
AppleInsider also recently covered an internal memo from Apple to its own retail staffers.
Specifically, the survey of 3,600 RBC Technology Adoption Panel members conducted shortly after Apple's annual developers conference this month indicated that 56 percent of those consumers who plan on buying a smartphone in the next 90 days have their heart set on the sleek new iPhone 3G.
That's a jump from just 35 percent of consumers who said they anticipated buying one of the new touch-screen handsets back in March when the firm conducted a similar survey before Apple had announced pricing and features. Another 25 percent indicated that they may buy an iPhone 3G "sometime in the future" -- a more than twofold increase in interest from the March study.
There's more good news for Apple. The same study showed that purchase interest in the Apple handset is two times greater than that of other brands surveyed. Consumers holding out for a BlackBerry device in the next 90 days made up 23 percent of responds, while Palm garnered interest from just 3 percent. HTC, Nokia, and Samsung each had the interest of 2 percent of respondents to the study, and Motorola just 1 percent.
Consumers routinely cited the iPhone 3G's lower price (67 percent) and faster 3G internet access (63 percent) among the top reasons they plan to choose the Apple handset. 47 percent indicated GPS was a strong selling feature as well, while 35 percent included enterprise email in the list of selling points, and 20 percent check-marked third party applications.
Overall, RBC analyst Mike Abramsky said the surge in interest is the biggest jump ahead of any consumer phone recorded by his firm's internal panel since 2003.
"Overall intentions by the panel to purchase smartphones jumped to 10.5 percent, indicating a significant expansion of the smartphone market," he wrote. "[The] iPhone's TAM (Total Addressable Market) handset share [is] expected to rise from 0.3 percent in 2007 to 1.7 percent in 2009.
The analyst, who reiterated his Outperform rating on Apple shares, said he continues to expect that the company will ship 14 million iPhones in 2008 and 24 million in 2009.
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In addition to laying the groundwork for the future replacement for .Mac, the update is also key to fixing a number of major bugs identified since the release of Mac OS X 10.5.3, including an Adobe CS3 corruption bug with remote file saves and a chronic shutdown flaw.
Also mended with the fix are reliability with AirPort when on 5GHz 802.11a and 802.11n networks, iCal stability, access to secure websites with Safari, and a number of fixes for Expos� and Spaces.
Support for additional cameras' RAW photo formats has also been expanded, the company says.
Apple recommends the update for all Leopard users to improve the stability of their systems, and rolls in previous security updates released between Mac OS X 10.5.3 and the new update.
Additionally, the company has released Security Update 2008-004 for Mac OS X Tiger client (Intel, PowerPC) and Tiger Server (Intel, PowerPC) that bring security fixes built into Mac OS X 10.5.4 to the earlier operating systems, including protection against vulnerabilities in significant components such as CoreTypes, the Dock, SMB File Server, Ruby and Webkit.
A third update, Safari 3.1.2 for Mac OS X Tiger, fixes a specific flaw in WebKit (addressed for Leopard in 10.5.4) that would allow malicious JavaScript to either crash Safari or else allow running hostile code through the browser.
The full list of fixes in Mac OS X 10.5.4 follows below:
General
* Includes recent Apple security updates.
* Resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 les on a remote server.
* Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
* Addresses an issue that may result in a partially installed X11 application.
* Improves L2TP VPN client reliability.
AirPort
* Addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks.
* Addresses AirPort issues that may result in slower performance in Logic Studio or MainStage.
iCal
* Improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone.
* Resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator.
* Addresses an issue in which events in all calendars affect availability. A checkbox now enables information-only calendars to be transparent from free/busy lookups.
* Resolves a UI issue preventing delegated calendars from showing up as a separate window.
* Addresses an issue with copying and pasting attendees from one event to another.
* Resolves an issue in which iCal may not delete events after a specied time interval, even when set to do so in iCal preferences.
* Addresses an issue in which To Dos cannot be marked private.
Safari
* Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages.
* Resolves issues that may be encountered when accessing secure web pages with client certificates that reside on a smart card.
Spaces and Expos�
* Addresses an issue in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space.
* Fixes an issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space.
* Resolves an Expos� issue that may result in only a subset of windows being shown.
AppleInsider has learned that, somewhat unsurprisingly, the iPhone 3G will be more expensive in parts of Europe relative to the US when compared in US dollars. While the new model was publicly announced with a dramatic $199 price tag along with a two year service plan from AT&T here in the US, sources familiar with the details of Apple's European mobile carrier partners have indicated that the new iPhone will be priced at 199 Euros in parts of Europe, like Spain.
Thanks to the weak US dollar, at current exchange rates that works out to a little more than $310 in US currency. That pricing premium is nothing new, as Apple's Mac and iPod products in Europe are commonly priced the same in Euros as identical models of Apple's American products are in US dollars, making them a bit more than 50% more expensive outside the US.
Apple is not unique in this type of international pricing. Other American consumer electronics products have a similar price premium in Europe despite the strength of the Euro to the US dollar. And across the board, European prices for everything from food to clothing are similarly about the same in Euros as they are in dollars in the US, in part because EU countries add tax into the advertised price, while states that charge sales tax in the US add it on top.
The end result is that travel to Europe is very expensive for Americans and conversely, Europeans can bargain hunt in the US with a highly favorable exchange rate. That reality has caused a significant number of Europeans to buy their iPhones while visiting New York or San Francisco, causing inventory shortages in the US while Apple's European iPhone retail partners saw a more tepid demand.
The Man with the Plan
Apple is apparently taking international exchange rate pricing pressures into consideration in the iPhone 3G rollout, requiring that domestic iPhone purchases be activated with AT&T in the store at the time of sale. This will make it unattractively expensive for Europeans to buy iPhones in the US for export.
Now that Apple has "signed, sealed and delivered" iPhone distribution contracts with mobile providers in nearly every major market, the company doesn't have to leave the door open to grey market unlock scalpers, who have helped sell a significant percentage of iPhones to international users. The article "Does the iPhone Shortage Herald an Impending 3G Release? Probably Not" profiled Apple's inventory challenges and the unlocked iPhones being sold for more than $730 in Bangkok.
While pundits fretted over "missing iPhones" supposedly lost to a crisis of overseas unlocking, Apple executives expressed the idea on several occasions that unlocked phone sales were not a problem for the company and only indicated strong demand for the iPhone overseas. Now that Apple has official distribution deals internationally, it has no need to allow grey market sales.
Flat Rate or No Date
iPhone sales quickly grew to become the second largest selling phone platform in the US, but also rose to the top web browsing client in America. Web server tracking logs also indicate extremely broad distribution of the iPhone worldwide, a factor that no doubt helped Apple sell foreign providers on signing up to offer the iPhone.
Sources close to Telefonica, Apple's Spanish iPhone partner, indicate that Jobs leveraged that worldwide iPhone demand to push mobile providers to offer a flat data rate, something that many international telcos were loath to do. They would prefer to sell data by the kilobit, which not only adds up to bigger bills but is also easier to load balance on the network.
Since Apple doesn't make a per-kilobit commission, it would rather have its customers on a flat rate than encourages data use and shows off the differentiation of the iPhone as a mobile web browser and email device. While individual plans in every launch country have not yet been officially released, sources indicate Apple had demanded all international carriers offer a flat rate for unlimited data, although those plans are often more expensive than AT&T's iPhone deal in the US, perhaps as high as 90 Euros per month.
The Big Launch, Part Two
After orchestrating a media circus at last year's iPhone launch that involved long lines of giddy customers, dramatic retail store closings that involved an interior makeover, and Disneyland-style retail employee theatrics to welcome buyers, Apple appears to be aiming to top its own record for the most spectacular launch of a consumer electronics product.
In Spain, Telefonica's office building in the shopping mecca of Madrid's Gran Via is getting quietly rebuilt in a first floor makeover planned around the July 11 launch of the iPhone 3G. Windows displays have been gutted in the prime retail space, and its animated video screen signage is not yet functional (below). Apple is withholding any comment on launch events, apparently in an effort to prevent the story from getting old before the launch itself occurs.
With that launch now just two weeks away, Telefonica and Apple's other international partners are scrambling to set up a flawlessly executed media extravaganza set to explode just prior to the iPhone 3G going on sale.
You Want WiFi With That?
Telefonica is also rolling out WiFi hotspots that offer iPhone users a custom web page to log in using their mobile number (below). This echos the deal between AT&T and Starbucks to offer iPhone users free WiFi access in the US, a deal that was prematurely advertised, then backtracked upon in a bungled rollout that appears to have been originally intended for embargo until the iPhone 3G launch.
When attempting to connect to Telefonica's WiFi public hotspots in train stations and other locations, existing iPhone users in Spain are presented with the option of logging in with their phone number to access their account. However, there are no current iPhone service plans being offered by Telefonica or its Movistar mobile brand in Spain.
The web page text reads:
"Beinvenido a la pagina de Registro inicial de su iPhone movistar en el servicio Zona WiFi de Telefonica. Por favor, indroduzca su numero de telefono. Di los datos con correctos, empezara a navegar immediatamente y no se la requeriran en futuros accesos. Si no tiene contractado el servicio iPhone Movistar y quiere accedar al serviceo Zona WiFi de Telefonica, pulse aqui."
In English: "Welcome to the initial registration page for Telefonica Movistar WiFi. Please enter your phone number. If the information is correct, you will be able to browse immediately and not require future access. If you do not have a Movistar iPhone service contract and want to access Telefonica Movistar WiFi, click here."
The combination of a flat rate mobile data plan and free access to public WiFi hotspots run by Apple's partners will help position the iPhone as more than a basic smartphone, targeting its value as wireless mobile Internet platform. The mounting details of Apple's international launch of the iPhone 3G also calls to mind Bill Gates' 2003 email (unearthed by Todd Bishop of the Seattle PI and recently cited by the Daring Fireball) referencing the planning Apple invested in setting up the original iTunes Store. "Steve Jobs�s ability to focus in on a few things that count, get people who get user interface right and market things as revolutionary are amazing things," Gates wrote.
iPhone 3G launch info roundup: Europe, India, South America
Published: 06:55 PM EST
A flurry of information about Apple's iPhone 3G launches in key parts of the world has surfaced on Thursday, including when Belgium will announce its iPhone release date, pre-registrations and even pre-orders are taking place in multiple countries, and more than one carrier has accidentally slipped rough details of its iPhone service plans.
Belgium to learn more iPhone details soon
While Belgium wasn't included in the initial batch of 22 countries receiving iPhone 3G on July 11th, residents won't have long to wait until they learn when they can buy the device themselves, says a report from the country's news outlet De Redactie.
The exclusive Belgian carrier, Mobistar, plans to announce issue a release date on July 4th, with the actual launch to take place sometime during the summer.
Pre-registrations take place in Colombia, Germany, India
Meanwhile, potential iPhone subscribers in two countries scheduled to receive the Apple handset later in the year now have the option to receive updates.
Colombians, who will get the phone through COMCEL, can sign up on a teaser page to be called or e-mailed when more information on the iPhone is available.
Simultaneously, Indians can pre-register through Vodafone, either through a website or through a text message to the carrier.
The most elaborate signup campaign, however, is taking place in Germany.
T-Mobile in its home country has started taking registrations through its official iPhone website. Customers can pick a particular iPhone model and plan and register the choices with T-Mobile to streamline the launch on July 11th.
Mexico, Sweden providers leak iPhone plans
Mexicans and Swedes are now aware of some details of their iPhone plans, even if the relevant carriers haven't made any official announcements.
Extracted, hidden code from Telcel's website (obtained by Ayudamemac) reveals four contract plans for Mexican iPhone users: $36 US, $49 US, $59 US, and $79 US plans offer between 200 and 700 minutes per month respectively along with between 100 to 250 SMS text messages.
However, only the top plan offers unlimited data; the lesser plans are capped at between 100MB to 200MB of data per month.
The iPhones themselves are also purportedly more expensive, with the least expensive plan asking a customer to pay the equivalent of $311 US for an 8GB iPhone. That same phone is free on the $79 monthly plan, while the 16GB model sells for $433 on a basic plan and $122 on the top plan.
In a less complete leak, TeliaSonera Sweden has inadvertently posted its own page which lists three plans.
The page has only placeholders for the prices of each plan and the phone itself, but indicates that an iMidi plan will have just 100 minutes of call time per month, 100 SMS messages, and 100MB of data. An iMidi plan offers 250 minutes, 250 messages, and 250MB of data, while an iMaxi plan quadruples all of these to 1000 each.
A flurry of information about Apple's iPhone 3G launches in key parts of the world has surfaced on Thursday, including when Belgium will announce its iPhone release date, pre-registrations and even pre-orders are taking place in multiple countries, and more than one carrier has accidentally slipped rough details of its iPhone service plans.
While Belgium wasn't included in the initial batch of 22 countries receiving iPhone 3G on July 11th, residents won't have long to wait until they learn when they can buy the device themselves, says a report from the country's news outlet De Redactie.
The exclusive Belgian carrier, Mobistar, plans to announce issue a release date on July 4th, with the actual launch to take place sometime during the summer.
Pre-registrations take place in Colombia, Germany, India
Meanwhile, potential iPhone subscribers in two countries scheduled to receive the Apple handset later in the year now have the option to receive updates.
Colombians, who will get the phone through COMCEL, can sign up on a teaser page to be called or e-mailed when more information on the iPhone is available.
Simultaneously, Indians can pre-register through Vodafone, either through a website or through a text message to the carrier.
The most elaborate signup campaign, however, is taking place in Germany.
T-Mobile in its home country has started taking registrations through its official iPhone website. Customers can pick a particular iPhone model and plan and register the choices with T-Mobile to streamline the launch on July 11th.
Mexico, Sweden providers leak iPhone plans
Mexicans and Swedes are now aware of some details of their iPhone plans, even if the relevant carriers haven't made any official announcements.
Extracted, hidden code from Telcel's website (obtained by Ayudamemac) reveals four contract plans for Mexican iPhone users: $36 US, $49 US, $59 US, and $79 US plans offer between 200 and 700 minutes per month respectively along with between 100 to 250 SMS text messages.
However, only the top plan offers unlimited data; the lesser plans are capped at between 100MB to 200MB of data per month.
The iPhones themselves are also purportedly more expensive, with the least expensive plan asking a customer to pay the equivalent of $311 US for an 8GB iPhone. That same phone is free on the $79 monthly plan, while the 16GB model sells for $433 on a basic plan and $122 on the top plan.
In a less complete leak, TeliaSonera Sweden has inadvertently posted its own page which lists three plans.
The page has only placeholders for the prices of each plan and the phone itself, but indicates that an iMidi plan will have just 100 minutes of call time per month, 100 SMS messages, and 100MB of data. An iMidi plan offers 250 minutes, 250 messages, and 250MB of data, while an iMaxi plan quadruples all of these to 1000 each.
Those familiar with Apple's third-party iPhone development software say that Beta 8 alludes to a special, pre-release version of the iTunes 7.7 jukebox software necessary to load a matching new version of the iPhone 2.0 firmware on the device itself, suggesting that Apple is nearing the point at which it will let developers test third-party software and the App Store in real-world conditions.
This iTunes release hasn't yet been seeded along with the new SDK, according to the people familiar with the revision.
Appropriately, the SDK suite itself is said to be focused almost exclusively on bug fixes rather than introducing new features.
Registered developers should have access to Beta 8 through the
Apple makes example of iPod repairman in lawsuit
Published: 08:55 PM EST
The owner of an iPod repair shop is being sued by Apple for misuse of the coveted iPod trademark -- and of allegedly manipulating Apple to both send him replacement units for free as well as tricking the electronics giant into repairing out-of-warranty iPods.
The simplest component of Apple's nine-page lawsuit, filed late last week, accuses Michigan state resident Nicholas Woodhams of misusing Apple's "iPod" and "Pod" trademarks through the name of his iPod Mechanic company and website.
Apple charges that Woodhams wasn't given permission to use the media player's name and was asked to stop using it in 2006. He reportedly agreed and struck an agreement with Apple to stop using the name over a phase-out period that would see him drop the iPod Mechanic name by January 2007, with the ipodmechanic.com domain parked by March of the same year.
None of these happened, Apple says. Accordingly, users can still visit and do business with the site today.
More egregious are accusations in the lawsuit that Woodhams has knowingly committed fraud against Apple by convincing the Cupertino, Calif.-based firm to send him free components.
One such act reportedly had Woodhams exploiting Apple's iPod shuffle Advance Replacement Program in 2007. In the official approach, customers with broken iPod shuffles were asked by Apple to fill out an online repair form and ship out their damaged iPods in exchange for fresh replacements; if they failed to return their old models, they would be charged the price of a new player.
The defendant, however, is claimed to have filled in many of these forms for customers himself, using a credit card he knew would be authorized for a potential charge -- a prerequisite to getting the replacement -- but would immediately decline any actual credit charges Apple would make when the broken unit mysteriously failed to ship.
Woodhams and those aware of the scheme "never planned" to return any iPods and ultimately sold the brand new models at a heavy discount, the complaint reads -- a tactic no longer in evidence on the site, but one which reportedly cost Apple over $75,000.
In a second fraud claim, Apple also says that Woodhams persuaded Apple to repair out-of-warranty iPods by swapping the back cases of out-of-warranty iPods with those of iPods still covered for free under Apple's one-year service agreement. The approach purportedly let him avoid paying for the repair or the necessary parts himself, though Apple doesn't illustrate the financial damage it says was suffered as a result of the deception.
As both the contract breach and the alleged fraud are all viewed as deliberate, the iPod maker believes it's owed triple damages in addition to forcing Woodhams to give up using the iPod Mechanic website and the associated marks.
Neither Apple nor Woodhams has commented on the lawsuit.
The owner of an iPod repair shop is being sued by Apple for misuse of the coveted iPod trademark -- and of allegedly manipulating Apple to both send him replacement units for free as well as tricking the electronics giant into repairing out-of-warranty iPods.
Apple charges that Woodhams wasn't given permission to use the media player's name and was asked to stop using it in 2006. He reportedly agreed and struck an agreement with Apple to stop using the name over a phase-out period that would see him drop the iPod Mechanic name by January 2007, with the ipodmechanic.com domain parked by March of the same year.
None of these happened, Apple says. Accordingly, users can still visit and do business with the site today.
More egregious are accusations in the lawsuit that Woodhams has knowingly committed fraud against Apple by convincing the Cupertino, Calif.-based firm to send him free components.
One such act reportedly had Woodhams exploiting Apple's iPod shuffle Advance Replacement Program in 2007. In the official approach, customers with broken iPod shuffles were asked by Apple to fill out an online repair form and ship out their damaged iPods in exchange for fresh replacements; if they failed to return their old models, they would be charged the price of a new player.
The defendant, however, is claimed to have filled in many of these forms for customers himself, using a credit card he knew would be authorized for a potential charge -- a prerequisite to getting the replacement -- but would immediately decline any actual credit charges Apple would make when the broken unit mysteriously failed to ship.
Woodhams and those aware of the scheme "never planned" to return any iPods and ultimately sold the brand new models at a heavy discount, the complaint reads -- a tactic no longer in evidence on the site, but one which reportedly cost Apple over $75,000.
In a second fraud claim, Apple also says that Woodhams persuaded Apple to repair out-of-warranty iPods by swapping the back cases of out-of-warranty iPods with those of iPods still covered for free under Apple's one-year service agreement. The approach purportedly let him avoid paying for the repair or the necessary parts himself, though Apple doesn't illustrate the financial damage it says was suffered as a result of the deception.
As both the contract breach and the alleged fraud are all viewed as deliberate, the iPod maker believes it's owed triple damages in addition to forcing Woodhams to give up using the iPod Mechanic website and the associated marks.
Neither Apple nor Woodhams has commented on the lawsuit.
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"Use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home -- a free download from the App Store," it reads.
While the depth of control offered by the app is still very much unknown, the virtually confirmed existence of such an app fulfills a longstanding desire at Apple to use its touchscreen devices as makeshift remote controls. A patent originally filed as early as December 2005 hinted at plans for a wireless iTunes remote that would collect track data from a nearby computer and give users more control than just the pause, skip, and volume controls from most remotes, including Apple's own white stick remote bundled with some Macs.
A remote control function has also been hidden in recent iPhone betas but at the time didn't provide enough evidence of its ultimate function.
Beyond the new remote functionality, iTunes 7.7 is also known to add an Applications tab to let users specify loading only certain software on the phone, and will be necessary for both iPhone 3G and the MobileMe sync service.
Apple has simultaneously begun accepting submissions of programs from members of its iPhone Development Program that are ready to post their content to the App Store, ensuring the service will be stocked ahead of its formal debut on July 11th.
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The wireless carrier said 400MB of data will provide subscribers with "up to 200,000 text emails or 3,100 web pages or 1,360 photo attachments." A $75 plan will include 300 anytime minutes, 100 outgoing text messages and 750MB of data -- good for "up to 380,000 text emails or 5,900 web pages or 2,560 photo attachments."
For $100 per month, Canadian iPhone users get 600 anytime minutes, 200 outgoing text messages and 1GB of data, which should be sufficient for "up to 524,000 text emails or 8,000 web pages or 3,500 photo attachments." Finally, a high-end plan priced at $115 per month offers 800 anytime minutes, 300 outgoing text messages and 2GB of data -- good for " up to 1,048,000 text emails or 16,000 web pages or 7,000 photo attachments."
All price plans require a three-year contract and include unlimited weekend and evening minutes, unlimited Visual Voicemail, and unlimited incoming text messages. Each plan also includes free Wi-Fi access at all Rogers and Fido hotspots.
Separately, Rogers will offer two voice value packs for popular wireless features: a $15 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 2,500 Sent Text Messages and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes; and a $20 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 10,000 Sent Text Messages and 6:00 p.m. Early Evening Calling and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes.
Rogers Wireless iPhone 3G Price Plans
Data Usage - What You Get
Fido, Canada's fourth largest wireless provider and Rogers partner also announced Friday that it will offer an identical set of iPhone 3G service plans.
Sweden
TeliaSonera said iPhone 3G services plans will start at $50 USD (299 SEK) for the "iMini" plan that will include 100 minutes, 100 SMS messages, and 100 MB of data. Customers who choose the iMini plan and agree to an 18-month contract with the carrier can purchase the 8GB version of the handset for $415 USD (2495 SEK) or the 16GB for $550 (3295 SEK). However, opting for a 24-month contract will reduce the cost of the 8GB model to $280 (1695 SEK) and the 16GB model to $415 (2495 SEK).
A $80 (489 SEK) "iMidi" plan offers 250 minutes, 250 SMS messages, and 250 MB of data. Customers who choose this option along with an 18-month contract can purchase the 8GB iPhone for $315 (1895 SEK) and the 16GB model for $450 (2695 SEK). With a 24-month contract, the 8GB model drops to $165 (995 SEK) and the 16GB to $300 (1795 SEK).
A high-end "iMaxi" service plans fetches $145 (859 SEK) and includes 1000 minutes, 1000 SMS messages, and 1000MB of data. When combined with an 18-month contract customers can pick up an 8GB iPhone for $235 (1395 SEK) or a 16GB iPhone for $365 (2195 SEK). However, stepping up to the 24-month contract reduces the cost of the 8GB model to just 15 cents (1 SEK) and the 16GB model to $130 (795 SEK).
Norway
Over in Norway, Netcom announced that its own iPhone 3G services plans will start at $80 (NOR 399) for a "Small" plan that includes 100 minutes, SMS messages, and megabytes of data each month. Customers who sign up for the small plan can purchase an 8GB iPhone 3G for $280 (NOR 1390) or a 16GB model for $461 (NOR 2290).
Netcom's $140 "Medium" plan includes 250 minutes, SMS messages, and megabytes of data each month. With this plan, an 8GB iPhone costs $139 (NOR 690) and the 16GB model costs $320 (NOR 1590).
A "Large" plan priced at $221 each month includes 1000 minutes, SMS messages, and megabytes of data. Customers who choose this plan receive an 8GB iPhone 3G for just $0.20 (or NOR 1) and can upgrade to a 16GB model for $179 (NOR 890).
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The shift from evening to morning reflects rumors of an early American launch that is believed by some to be necessary to handle the long wait times for in-store activating plans, which are believed to take roughly 10 minutes or more per customer.
O2 is also said by the new sources to begin stocking up on iPhone 3G units the week before the launch rather than the just-in-time deliveries that were made in some areas with launches of the original Apple cellphone. Demo units may be in use shortly afterwards, according to the reports.
For some customers, though, the most important news may come a year later. Separate O2 staff are suggesting that the wireless carrier's usual policy of offering an unlock code for Pay As You Go phones after 12 months will remain true for iPhone 3G.
While the request for an unlock code costs �15, the gesture would at least theoretically allow iPhone customers in Britain to use their handsets on competing networks such as 3 or Vodafone or to swap SIM cards temporarily for local phone service while on vacation.
It's unknown as to whether or not this policy will hold. For the original iPhone, Apple is known to have taken extra steps in hardware to prevent unlocking , but now is relying primarily on the service signup requirement to guarantee use with official providers.
It would also represent one of the first instances where unlocked iPhones would be sanctioned as a matter of policy rather than law; unlocked iPhone 3G units will be sold in France, for example, but primarily because providers aren't allowed to offer an exclusive device without it also being available as a stand-alone unlocked version.
In a research note, Pacific Crest's Andy Hargreaves notes that both the iPod mini and the PlayStation 2 both saw "massive acceleration" when their prices dipped below $200 for the first time, selling several times the amount they'd managed the year before.
For Apple, the change saw iPod sales grow from selling 8.3 million of the players in one year to 32 million -- or nearly four times more. If Apple's estimated six million iPhones sold in the past year matches that same change in growth rate, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company would sell over 23 million iPhones by June 2009.
"The relationship [between price and sales] is shockingly consistent," Hargreaves says. "At average prices above $200, Apple never sold more than [6 million] units in a rolling four-quarter period. At prices below $200, Apple never sold fewer than [8 million]."
The analyst also explains that this doesn't take into account the wildcard of free iPhones and heavier discounts in Germany, the UK, and other countries, which could add "several million" more iPhones to sales for every quarter and overcome rivals like Nokia, whose N95 is often given away with many plans.
The iPod's surge in sales after price drops.
Even on the more modest curve on Sony's PlayStation 2 console, the iPhone is likely to sell many more units, according to the report. When the Japanese electronics giant slashed the PS2's price to $199 in May 2002, it not only reversed a drop in sales but saw Sony's monthly sales jump 61 percent on average. A similar change would give Apple a still significant 17 million iPhone sales in 12 months.
Pacific Crest's researcher further suggests that Apple is generating more money per iPhone than already high estimates: an early prediction would have AT&T alone subsidizing as much as $350 of the cost of an iPhone to reach the $199 price point.
Regardless of Apple's income per phone, the company is also thought to have momentum on its side by launching earlier than phones based on Google's Android as well as very similar touchscreen phones from other rivals.
"We believe Apple has already established its brand as a premium name in the space, and the company appears to be continuing its recent history of introducing revolutionary products," Hargreaves asserts. "This combination should allow it to maintain a leadership position and mitigate the margin pressure that can come with increased competition."
According to the claim, every O2 shop in the UK from July 1st onwards will handle the contract sign up process for the new iPhones in advance. Both the credit check and contract itself can optionally be setup ahead of time such that early buyers will only have to pick up and activate their iPhones on launch day; plans won't go live until subscribers give stores registration codes that set the plan in motion.
The unusual approach is aimed at creating a "successful and painless launch" that would let the most eager early adopters walk out of the store quickly, according to the report.
This same source would also have O2 retail stores tentatively opening their doors for the iPhone 3G introduction at 7AM local time -- before normal store hours and much earlier than the original iPhone launch, which took place in the evening. A number of fellow UK residents also say they have heard similar claims that narrow the launch time to 7:02AM, a play on O2's name that was also made with last year's 6:02PM unveiling.
These details are unconfirmed and are called partly into question by the store worker's claims that all O2 shops will receive about 5,000 units for launch; the quantity would be extremely large for most stores, though the O2 staffer claims that his store received a single 5,000 iPhone shipment for the earlier November launch that lasted until May, a story also supported by other British customers.
However, word of a morning launch follows on the heels of a similar rumor regarding AT&T, which is said to be preparing for an 8AM American launch that may be timed to guarantee that all customers can activate their phones the same day.
The rumor also backs an O2 spokeswoman's comments that Apple itself may be forced to sell only prepaid iPhones in its stores due to the lack of an O2 account activation system and proper training. Visitors to official Apple outlets will only have access to Pay As You Go plans, the newer report says.
The patents superficially refer to any device with a touchscreen capable of collecting information and, while meant for in-field situations such as police stops, are allegedly so broadly worded and illustrated that virtually every company making a tablet-like device or a touch smartphone has violated some parts of both patents, which are exclusively the rights of a little-known tablet PC maker referred to in the 13-page document as Nova Mobility.
In sync with the broad reach of the patents, Typhoon plans to implicate as many major touchscreen device manufactturers as it can and includes Apple along with Fujitsu, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Nokia, Panasonic, Palm, Samsung, and Toshiba as new defendants in a suit that had started primarily with Dell, whose Latitude XT tablet PC the plaintiff says was the primary reason for the initial lawsuit.
Typhoon is also exiting settlement talks with Sand Dune Ventures, which makes the Tabletkiosk line of ultra-mobile PCs, and is drawing the company back into the much larger lawsuit.
Illustrations describing Typhoon's touchscreen computing patents.
Among the more notable devices that Typhoon says tread on its patent are the HTC Touch smartphone, Lenovo's ThinkPad X-series notebooks, Nokia's N810 Internet Tablet and Palm's Treo handset line.
It's unclear as to how well the lawsuit and the requested jury trial will succeed. While some aspects of the patents appear relevant, others are references to outmoded technology; in one instance, a patent refers to storage over floppy and SCSI drives, neither of which are used by the named devices.
However valid the case, Typhoon believes it can generate a steady revenue stream from all of the affected companies. It wants not just financial damages but an injunction against the products involved until the companies agree to pay a "reasonable royalty" every three months.
As is nearly always true for these lawsuits, Apple hasn't commented on its involvement in the matter.
Like SproutCore, LLVM is neither new nor secret, but both have been hiding from attention due to a thick layer of complexity that has obscured their future potential.
Looking for LLVM at WWDC
Again, the trail of breadcrumbs for LLVM starts in the public WWDC schedule. On Tuesday, the session "New Compiler Technology and Future Directions" detailed the following synopsis:
"Xcode 3.1 introduces two new compilers for Mac OS X: GCC 4.2 and LLVM-GCC. Learn how the new security and performance improvements in GCC 4.2 can help you produce better applications. Understand the innovations in LLVM-GCC, and find out how you can use it in your own testing and development. Finally, get a preview of future compiler developments."
There's a lot of unpronounceable words in all capital letters in that paragraph, LOLBBQ. Let's pull a few out and define them until the synopsis starts making sense.
Introducing GCC
The first acronym in our alphabet soup is GCC, originally the GNU C Compiler. This project began in the mid 80s by Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation. Stallman's radical idea was to develop software that would be shared rather than sold, with the intent of delivering code that anyone could use provided that anything they contribute to it would be passed along in a form others could also use.
Stallman was working to develop a free version of AT&T's Unix, which had already become the standard operating system in academia. He started at the core: in order to develop anything in the C language, one would need a C compiler to convert that high level, portable C source code into machine language object code suited to run on a particular processor architecture.
GCC has progressed through a series of advancements over the years to become the standard compiler for GNU Linux, BSD Unix, Mac OS X, and a variety of embedded operating systems. GCC supports a wide variety of processor architecture targets and high level language sources.
Apple uses a specialized version of GCC 4.0 and 4.2 in Leopard's Xcode 3.1 that supports compiling Objective-C/C/C++ code to both PowerPC and Intel targets on the desktop and uses GCC 4.0 to target ARM development on the iPhone.
The Compiler
A compiler refers to the portion of the development toolchain between source code building and debugging and deployment. The first phase of compiling is the Front End Parser, which performs initial language-specific syntax and semantic analysis on source code to create an internal representation of the program.
Code is then passed through an Optimizer phase which improves it by doing things like deleting any code redundancies or dead code that doesn't need to exist in the final version.
The Code Generator phase then takes the optimized code and maps it to the output processor, resulting in assembly language code which is no longer human readable.
The Assembler phase converts assembly language code into object code that can be interpreted by a hardware processor or a software virtual machine.
The final phase is the Linker, which combines object code with any necessary library code to create the final executable.
Introducing LLVM
GCC currently handles all those phases for compiling code within Xcode, Apple's Mac OS X IDE (Integrated Development Environment). However, there are some drawbacks to using GCC.
One is that it is delivered under the GPL, which means Apple can't integrate it directly into Xcode without making its IDE GPL as well. Apple prefers BSD/MIT style open source licensees, where there is no limitation upon extending open projects as part of larger proprietary products.
Another is that portions of GCC are getting long in the tooth. LLVM is a modern project that has aspired to rethink how compiler parts should work, with emphasis on Just In Time compilation, cross-file optimization (which can link together code from different languages and optimize across file boundaries), and a modular compiler architecture for creating components that have few dependencies on each other while integrating well with existing compiler tools.
LLVM only just got started at the University of Illinois in 2000 as a research project of Chris Lattner. It was released as version 1.0 in 2003. Lattner caught the attention of Apple after posting questions about Objective-C to the company's objc-language mailing list. Apple in turn began contributing to the LLVM project in 2005 and later hired Lattner to fund his work.
Clang and LLVM-GCC
Last year the project released Clang as an Apple led, standalone implementation of the LLVM compiler tools aimed to provide fast compiling with low memory use, expressive diagnostics, a modular library-based architecture, and tight integration within an IDE such as Xcode, all offered under the BSD open source license.
In addition to the pure LLVM Clang project, which uses an early, developmental front end code parser for Objective C/C/C++, Apple also started work on integrating components of LLVM into the existing GCC based on Lattner's LLVM/GCC Integration Proposal. That has resulted in a hybrid system that leverages the mature components of GCC, such as its front end parser, while adding the most valuable components of LLVM, including its modern code optimizers.
That project, known as LLVM-GCC, inserts the optimizer and code generator from LLVM into GCC, providing modern methods for "aggressive loop, standard scalar, and interprocedural optimizations and interprocedural analyses" missing in the standard GCC components.
LLVM-GCC is designed to be highly compatible with GCC so that developers can move to the new compiler and benefit from its code optimizations without making substantial changes to their workflow. Sources report that LLVM-GCC "compiles code that consistently runs 33% faster" than code output from GCC.
Apple also uses LLVM in the OpenGL stack in Leopard, leveraging its virtual machine concept of common IR to emulate OpenGL hardware features on Macs that lack the actual silicon to interpret that code. Code is instead interpreted or JIT on the CPU.
Apple is also using LLVM in iPhone development, as the project's modular architecture makes it easier to add support for other architectures such as ARM, now supported in LLVM 2.0 thanks to work done by Nokia's INdT.
On
Google Android delays advantage Apple and iPhone 3G
Published: 08:00 AM EST
Apple's second-generation mobile handset will have a several month head start on those based around Google's upcoming Android mobile platform, as the search giant and its partners are reportedly struggling to push the first models to market by year's end.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google, which said in November that it along with more than 30 partners would begin releasing the first Android-based mobile phones during the second half of the year, now says those handsets won't arrive till the fourth quarter. Some partners, however, are finding they'll need even more time than that.
For instance, the financial paper said that T-Mobile's first Android-based handset is now due during the fourth quarter, but the project is consuming so many of Google's resources that a similar initiative by Sprint Nextel won't be ready by year's end as originally planned.
Similarly, the world's largest wireless carrier, China Mobile, had also anticipated marketing an Android handset to its more than 400 million subscribers in the third quarter, but people familiar with the situation say the carrier may see those plans pushed out till early next year.
For its part, Sprint is is said to have sought development of its own brand of services based off Android for a phone that would run on its current 3G network, rather than bundle those the standard services Google has built into its mobile platform. Those plans may now be up on the chopping block, according to the Journal, as the carrier considers scrapping them in favor of throwing its resources behind a handset that would operate on its future 4G network.
Meanwhile, China Mobile is reportedly finding it difficult to both intertwine the Google software with its own branded data services, as well as translate it from Roman characters into Chinese.
"Meanwhile, the Android software has yet to win broad support from large mobile-software developers," the Jornal said. "Some say it is difficult to develop programs while Google is making changes as it finishes its own software."
Google's Android takes design cues from Apple's iPhone software.
Android's rocky start underscore the challenges faced by Google -- or any other high tech firm -- when trying to manage a large group of hardware, software and service providers. By contrast Apple, whose upcoming iPhone 3G is expected to present one of the strongest tests of Google's Android strategy, maintains a tight grip on nearly every aspect of the handset's design.
Android's new slide-to-unlock system.
Google, aware of the benchmarks in service, quality and user experience set by the original iPhone, is further reported by the Journal to have seeded to its handset partners several prototype devices, including one that "has a long touch-screen, similar to the Apple iPhone, a swivel-out full keyboard, and a trackball for navigation similar to the kind on some BlackBerrys."
More information on the Apple-inspired Google Android platform is available in AppleInsider's Android topics page, or in specific reports on the software's initial announcement, notes of interest, development kit, and recent refinements.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google, which said in November that it along with more than 30 partners would begin releasing the first Android-based mobile phones during the second half of the year, now says those handsets won't arrive till the fourth quarter. Some partners, however, are finding they'll need even more time than that.
For instance, the financial paper said that T-Mobile's first Android-based handset is now due during the fourth quarter, but the project is consuming so many of Google's resources that a similar initiative by Sprint Nextel won't be ready by year's end as originally planned.
Similarly, the world's largest wireless carrier, China Mobile, had also anticipated marketing an Android handset to its more than 400 million subscribers in the third quarter, but people familiar with the situation say the carrier may see those plans pushed out till early next year.
For its part, Sprint is is said to have sought development of its own brand of services based off Android for a phone that would run on its current 3G network, rather than bundle those the standard services Google has built into its mobile platform. Those plans may now be up on the chopping block, according to the Journal, as the carrier considers scrapping them in favor of throwing its resources behind a handset that would operate on its future 4G network.
Meanwhile, China Mobile is reportedly finding it difficult to both intertwine the Google software with its own branded data services, as well as translate it from Roman characters into Chinese.
"Meanwhile, the Android software has yet to win broad support from large mobile-software developers," the Jornal said. "Some say it is difficult to develop programs while Google is making changes as it finishes its own software."
Google's Android takes design cues from Apple's iPhone software.
Android's rocky start underscore the challenges faced by Google -- or any other high tech firm -- when trying to manage a large group of hardware, software and service providers. By contrast Apple, whose upcoming iPhone 3G is expected to present one of the strongest tests of Google's Android strategy, maintains a tight grip on nearly every aspect of the handset's design.
Android's new slide-to-unlock system.
Google, aware of the benchmarks in service, quality and user experience set by the original iPhone, is further reported by the Journal to have seeded to its handset partners several prototype devices, including one that "has a long touch-screen, similar to the Apple iPhone, a swivel-out full keyboard, and a trackball for navigation similar to the kind on some BlackBerrys."
More information on the Apple-inspired Google Android platform is available in AppleInsider's Android topics page, or in specific reports on the software's initial announcement, notes of interest, development kit, and recent refinements.