Appletell

Apple has now opened up its iPhone and iPod Touch developer program to areas outside of the United States.  Why does this matter?  Now, developers outside of the States can create official, Apple accepted apps that can be published in the App Store that is to come out with the new iPhone software in June.  All of this news comes from a TUAW reader who says he has been accepted into the program but lives in the UK.

This is great news not only for the developers who will now be able to create apps, but also for everyone who owns an iPod Touch or iPhone.  This creates a potential for hundreds of more apps created by the large population of Apple developers outside of the States.  I’ve said it before, the SDK announcement is going to be huge, and I have a feeling the App Store is going to be filled with hundreds of goodies to waste some time trying out and using.  The usefulness of the iPhone will skyrocket with third party apps, and I can’t wait.  Are you excited?

According to the latest iPhone firmware release, Apple is currently working on an iTunes controller for your iPhone called, you guessed it, iControl.  This application would allow you to wirelessly browse your iTunes library from a local source and stream your music and other content.  This information came from a group of strings in the latest beta release of the new iPhone software and could be one of the apps Apple will be releasing themselves when the SDK comes out.  If you’ll remember, back in July, Apple applied for a patent for this sort of thing.  That patent stated:

A portable multimedia player (such as the iPod. manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.) is used to wirelessly access and control a media server (such as a personal computer running iTunes software) that is streaming digital media by way of a wireless interface to a media unit (such as a stereo/speakers in the case of streaming digital audio).

This all sounds pretty cool to me and would be another great addition to the phone.  However, it leaves me wondering whether or not, like above, other iPods will get the same functionality.  It may be kind of hard at this point considering all iPods (besides the Touch) have yet to receive some sort of wifi connectivity.  Could this be a sneak peak of things to come?

Via [TUAW]

For those of you who use Aperture, a new version of the SDK for the popular photo management app has arrived. If you can’t remember straight, Aperture 2.1 added a greater ability to write and create plugins, extras, and even editing tools. A month later, the SDK has arrived, allowing the general public to stop looking at and finally create these add ons. Hopefully with the SDK out, Aperture’s functionality will be greatly improved (sorry, I’m a Lightroom fan.) The SDK is available for download from ADC, so go, check it out, and start coding!

[ADC] via [TUAW]

It is fairly well known that Apple has not been very enthused about having Java on the iPhone, most likely due to battery drainage.  However, DigitalArts is now reporting that Sun is still trying to find a way for this to happen.

“We’ve expressed our intent to do this and our desire, really, to work with Apple to build a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) for the iPhone and we’re sort of moving forward with that,” said Eric Klein, Sun vice president of Java marketing, this week.

While this goes on, Sun has started working with Innaworks on a product named alcheMo.  This is currently in beta release and would be used to convert the Java ME code that developers use into a code that would be allowed on the iPhone via the SDK.  Right now, this is more targeted towards game developers and would contain an optimization translator.  However, Sun still wants to get their actual platform on the machine via their JVM, and Klein says that they are currently “in discussions” with Apple.

What do you think, is it going to happen this time or is Apple still going to say no?

As you know, the new iPhone SDK beta 4 has recently come out, but there is something interesting about this one.  Originally, developers believed that the iPhone would not allow background processes, such as receiving instant messages from one application while in a different one.  A reason for this could possibly be the drain it could cause on the battery, or simply Apple just wanting to keep the device stable.  However, the new SDK beta now supports the UIApplication delegate class which, according to TUAW:

“There are definitely some very interesting methods added to UIApplication’s delegate, including methods for badging the Springboard icon, and methods related to gaining and resigning “active” status - seems like background apps may be permitted somehow.”

So is this concrete proof of background processes, or is this whole idea just blown out of proportion to begin with?  I’ll let you be the judge, but I, for one, sure hope that Apple will allow apps to run in the background.

A few days ago, Apple quietly release the fourth installment of its iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), and it is available on the Apple Developer Center site. 

The most publicized and prominent change in the newest SDK version are certain changes to the iPhone simulator.  Previously, a developer would be unable to render 3D graphics in the iPhone simulator, and would be forced to test out those changes on the iPhone or iPod touch.  The Simulator now supports OpenGL ES, allowing the previously mentioned rendering to happen within the iPhone simulator, right on your computer.  Another prominent addition to the SDK is code signing, so though invalidated code will work in the iPhone Simulator, it would be worthless on the iPhone. 

Other less significant changes in the SDK include a slimmed down program, while still maintaining the full capabilities of the last version.  Xcode 3.1 has been included, along with UIFont, UIApplication, Audio ToolBox, and more NSXMLParser support.  With 200,000 subscribed developers and counting, you can be sure to expect a good handful of great new apps available when the App Store opens its doors in June

Via [MacNN]

A recent patent application filed by Apple sheds light on a new application possibly coming soon for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Although at first glance the application looks almost exactly the same as the current Short Messaging Service (SMS) application for the iPhone, it is actually quite different.  Some of the main differences would include an Internet-based chat service (as opposed to a cellular phone texting service), a dedicated text input area, suggested words shown, and a slightly tweaked UI.  Some of the patent text also detailed the possibility of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), much like today’s iChat Theater.  Hopefully this patent will turn into an actual product, as Instant Messaging has shown up regularly as one of the most requested features on the iPhone.  Should this not become reality, the only alternative for IM would be the rumored AOL Instant Messaging Application, but that would be slightly limited by possibility of Apple blocking apps such as Firefox, Java, and other background apps.

Via [AppleInsider]

The iPhone SDK will bring thousands of new applications to the iPhone and iPod Touch that weren’t possible to make in the past. Evolution Robotics is creating a revolutionary visual search technology they call ViPR - and it’s coming to the iPhone this June. ViPR lets you take a photo with you’re iPhone’s built-in camera of any book, movie or CD, send it to their server, and automatically get an e-mail back with all the information about it; YouTube videos, iTunes music store links, Wikipedia links and more.

The iPhone is not the only phone to be treated with ViPR. It will also be deployed in Japan on KDDI’s camera phones this Spring. Check the video after the jump, you’ll see how well this demo of ViPR performs - even when the camera angle is not straight:

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As you know, Apple recently released a new build of the iPhone beta SDK to developers.  At first, this build may seem like just another update, but Zibri, creator of the popular iPhone hack tool, ZiPhone (which was recently updated), would beg to differ.  After looking through the code of this new release, he found evidence of support for a 3G chipset for the iPhone.  The code mentions “SGOLD3,” a chipset created by Infineon that supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA and a 5 mega-pixel camera.  This would be a nice step up from the iPhone’s current S-GOLD2 EDGE chipset and 2 mega-pixel camera.

Hopefully this evidence turns out to true because I don’t think iPhone owners can handle any more false rumors, such as Walt Mossberg’s 60 day 3G iPhone promise that turned out to be a misinterpretation.  However, unfortunately, there is also evidence in the code to prove that this may all just be a over reaction as well.  MacRumors has pointed out that the code also contains a reference to “SGOLD1,” a chipset that never appeared in the iPhone.  Only time will tell what’s in store for iPhone 2.0 and when it will be available, but let’s hope it’s soon!

What are your thoughts? Is this concrete evidence of a 3G iPhone, or just another over hyped news story?

Image via [Mac|Life]

Many iPhone fans are awaiting Apple’s upcoming 3G iPhone, and unfortunately for them, Apple isn’t planning on commenting until everything is ready! All people can do is speculate, and most rumors that have been floating around seem to point at a summer date (specifically June due to the public release of iPhone Software Version 2.0 and the iPhone SDK) for the release of the 3G iPhone.

Scott Craig, Bank of America analyst, said Apple will start producing 3G iPhones this May, and is expected to manufacture 3 million units and reach 11 million units by this September. If the predictions are correct, the demand for the 3G iPhone will be extremely high, and Apple’s efforts will be well worth it. “Our latest channel checks point to a significant production build of a 3G iPhone beginning in the month of June after an initial small build in May,” Craig told Reuters.

Of course, company representatives have had nothing to say about the rumors and speculations, so we’ll just have to wait a couple of months for the confirmation of these rumors, if they in fact turn out to be accurate.

How badly does Apple need to release a 3G iPhone? Pretty badly, according to analysts, if they wish to reach their goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008. If iPhone sales haven’t been as high as Apple expected so far, a new 3G model could put the iPhone back in the spotlight. What Apple must now take into consideration is that competition on the smartphone market currently very high, especially with the coming of Google Android, and it’s not going to be easy for Apple…however, if the rumors are true and new 3G iPhones are released along with the iPhone Software Version 2.0 and the iPhone SDK, Apple should not need to worry.

Via [eFluxMedia]