Ever tried visiting Adobe’s “Download Flash” page from an iPhone or iPod Touch? It’s hilarious as you can see from the screenshot above. Since Adobe couldn’t get Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to support Flash in the iPhone’s Safari, they decided to try to pitch the end users who could eventually notify the Cupertino folks to act on the matter. I’m guessing Adobe’s thinking is that once a user sees this message, he or she will immediately write an email to steve@apple.com saying just how frustrated he/she is because his beloved devices can’t handle Flash. That, of course, will force Apple to change its ways and accept the inevitable by adding Flash support to Safari. Hmmm, something doesn’t work here, right?
When considering your next smartphone acquisition, it sometimes makes sense to take into account the “total cost of ownership” (TCO) associated with your hardware. One phone may cost less at the checkout counter, but may end up costing you more through monthly rate plans and data services. The difference can sometimes add up to a decent chunk of change over the course of a couple years. What about Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless, and how does it measure up against the iPhone 3GS? According to the cost comparison gurus at BillShrink.com, Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid costs about the same as the iPhone 3GS.
As you can see in BillShrink.com’s handy-dandy comparison chart, the Droid goes round-for-round with the iPhone 3GS. Both phones boast almost identical feature sets (although iPhone multi-tasking is sadly missing), identical pricing structures and average rate plan costs. Taking all that into account, both the iPhone 3GS and Motorola Droid will end up costing the average customer $2,830 over the course of a 24-month contract.
It’s clear that Motorola has the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone 3GS squarely in its sights. The Droid isn’t just going up against the iPhone 3GS with high-end features, it’s taking the fight to the TCO battlefield. The Droid has higher-end hardware (better display and camera), but the iPhone 3GS has the iPhone AppStore. Which will you choose?
China isn’t just some foreign country with a penchant for censoring their citizens into oblivion and peddling counterfeit handsets on the cheap. The land of dim sum and stubborn Communist politics has become the latest country to launch the iPhone. As expected, the iPhone is now ready to cater to the single-largest wireless market, by way of China Unicom’s network (China’s No. 2 wireless network). The 8GB iPhone 3G will cost $732, with the 32GB iPhone 3GS commanding a $1,025 price tag.
Now, considering how all that hard-earned cash will only buy a China Unicom iPhone that lacks WiFi support, it’s hard to see the handset making it big in China. There are gray-market iPhones that cost less, come unlocked and actually support WiFi. Good luck, China Unicom.
Angry Mob Games‘ upcoming top-down, twin-sticks shooter Guerrilla Bob is one badass looking game. The main character wears a beret, has tons of weapons, and is named ‘Bob’. That right there is the recipe for badass, folks.
Guerrilla Bob will take players across a number of locations like canyons, deserts, and deserted towns. Along the way, he’ll most likely meet some opposition as well as “epic boss battles”. The game will also include multiple levels of difficulty, scoring system, and online leaderboards so you can compare with your friends who the best Bob is!
Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is one lucky company to have such a dedicated community of users. On that note, we spotted a fan-made video which we call “iDon’t Care” and which, as you can presume, answers to Verizon’s Droid commercial. The main point of the clip is “iDon’t buy brands who bash other brands.”
Personally, I’m impressed with the Droid and see it as one of those devices I’ve waited for so long to appear. However, will iPhone users switch sides is another story. What do you think?
Earlier this month, EA Mobile mentioned NBA Live was making its way to the iPhone platform later this month. As we all know, time does fly, and thus explains NBA Live finally releasing on the App Store.
NBA Live is a great effort by EA to bring its popular basketball game franchise to the iPhone. Players are controlled by touching the left side of the screen, which pops up a virtual control stick onto the screen. You then tilt your finger in the direction you want your player to move to. If you’re in possession of the ball, you can either shoot or pass. Depending on your momentum and how well you’re covered by a defending player, you can even perform a variety of dunks with a flick of your thumb. While on defense, you can steal or attempt to block a shot by jumping.
NBA Live features all 30 NBA teams, players, and accurate stats. Multiple game modes allow players to either play a quick game in Exhibition Mode, or dedicate themselves to a full season of play in Season Mode. Player models and animations are pretty detailed as well, considering the platform its running on. All in all, NBA Live is a title basketball loving iPhone owners should absolutely consider owning.
The holiday shopping season is right around the corner, and you know what that means. Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is going to make another killing. The latest rumors circling Taiwanese manufacturers and component suppliers indicate that Apple is preparing for increased iPhone 3GS demand by boosting production orders for the iconic smartphone.
Citing various industry sources, DigiTimes says that Apple has upped its Q4 iPhone 3GS production orders to Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai) and Primax Electronics by 17-20%. Even OmniVision, the company that supplies the image sensors used in the iPhone camera module, is reporting tight supplies through November. As always, when Apple demands more product, component suppliers drop everything and answer Apple’s call – the rest of the industry be damned.
Apple set a new sales record in Q3 2009, despite shortages that left some markets hurting for iPhone hardware. And, if all goes according to plan rumor, the traditionally strong holiday shopping season could give Apple another record quarter.
Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has sent specifications of the device to Australian media companies in an effort to sound out whether they would be interested in delivering their content to the tablet.
Ummm what? Since when does Apple give anyone the specifications to their devices before shipping them? Is Apple aiming to announce the iTablet, say it is going to ship “tomorrow”, and have content partners already lined up? Doubtful. They’ll probably do what they did with the iPhone and announce it a few months before shipping it so media companies have time to get their shit together and format their content for the iTablet, if an iTablet even exists, which I have to repeat is total bullshit.
Here is another quote of epic proportions:
The tablet is tipped to be a larger version of the iPhone. It is small enough to carry in a handbag but too big to fit in a pocket.
Carry in a handbag? So you’re saying the number one users of this device will be women? Men who carry bags do so because they carry around a laptop.
But seriously, just how credible is The Sydney Morning Herald? They said this on October 27th 2009:
Apple is also working with the major music studios to develop a new album format, delivered over iTunes, that will include liner notes, artwork and potentially mobile ringtones and music videos in a unified software package that the labels hope will boost sales of albums, instead of just single tracks.
It’s called iTunes LP and it was announced on September 9th. I hope this blog post, and every other blog post linking to your bullshit to fuel the iTablet rumour, gets you some page views because maybe then you could hire someone to do your fucking research.
iPhone hacker George “geohot” Hotz has released an update to his “blackra1n” jailbreak utility that should give new iPhone 3Gs owners reason to celebrate. The blackra1n RC2 update will jailbreak factory-fresh iPhone 3GS’s loaded with iPhone OS 3.1.2 by Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), but only through a “tethered jailbreak” method.
While the initial release of the blackra1n utility was capable of jailbreaking iPhone OS 3.1.2 for iPhone 3GS hardware already in the wild, it was useless in jailbreaking newer iPhone 3GS units already rocking iPhone OS 3.1.2 from the factory. The same applies to the iPhone Dev Team’s PwnageTool 3.1.4 release. The updated blackra1n RC2 utility changes all that.
This is what to expect with the blackra1n RC2 release:
Fixed 3G issues
Tethered jailbreak for factory-fresh iPhone 3GS’s and new out-of-the-box iPod Touch 8GB
So what is this “tethered jailbreak” we keep mentioning? Simply put, it’s a less convenient jailbreak method that requires the user to keep their iPhone 3GS connected to their computer during the jailbreak process. Any subsequent reboots (resulting from power loss or a manual reboot) will require a computer to boot successfully. The jailbreak is possible (using blackra1n RC2), but it’s decidedly more of a hassle. But, then again, how many times do you reboot your iPhone?
Note: if you already jailbroke your iPhone 3GS using blackra1n RC1 (the initial release), there’s no need to run RC2. Also, if you would rather wait for the iPhone Dev Team to build the tethered jailbreak option into PwnageTool, sit tight, they’re working on it.
China isn’t just some foreign country with a penchant for censoring their citizens into oblivion and peddling counterfeit handsets on the cheap. The land of dim sum and stubborn Communist politics has become the latest country to launch the iPhone. 
The holiday shopping season is right around the corner, and you know what that means. Apple (
iPhone hacker George “geohot” Hotz has released an update to his “
