AT&T reports that smart phone users, which make up 3% of their market, are eating up nearly 40% of the data bandwidth on their mobile network.
To no surprise, AT&T is considering ways to free up network bandwidth so that everyone without a smartphone, isn’t effected. So what does this mean? It means AT&T might be giving a screw j_b to iPhone users. – by far the biggest consumers of bandwidth from smartphones.
iPhone users on average consume five to seven times more data per month than average wireless subscribers, according to analyst firm Sanford Bernstein. And all this usage is clogging the network, causing many iPhone users, especially in large cities such as New York and San Francisco, to experience dropped calls, slow 3G service, and issues connecting to the network at all.
So what is AT&T considering? I would think upping the usage fees, but this might not work for those who don’t care about monthly fees. Another approach are incentives.
“We’re going to try to focus on making sure we give incentives to those small percentages to either reduce or modify their usage so they don’t crowd out the other customers in those same cell sites,” said de la Vega according to a transcript of the conference. “And you’ll see us address that more in detail.”
Either way, I have a strong feeling AT&T will be limiting or slowing data usage for iPhone users.Â
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Today I updated the official company GetUSB.info iPhone to software rev. 3.0. It only took two blue screens of death in Windows to accomplish the task. Hint: Make sure all other applications are closed during the update.
So there are 1.2 million’ish bloggers, blogs and websites that have reported about the iPhone 3.0 software, and I’m adding just one more review. So far 3.0 version is working great. I have many different applications and they all seem to be working just fine.
Three notable features I just love are:
1) The ability to Copy and Paste. About time and love the way Apple has integrated the feature. Here is a snap shot [gotta love the message of the snap shot… Moto Razr crashing…too funny!].
Today I was doing some research for a good solar powered iPhone charger. I went the direction of a DIY [Do It Yourself] project then realized this is all a waste of time. Maybe there are a select few that would jump on a DIY solar powered iPhone charger project, but considering the complexity of the tutorials I found, very very unlikely my average reader would actually do it.
So to save yourself the 30+ minutes of looking for a good tutorial, just spend 3 minutes and buy one that will A) work better, B) look better and C) be cheaper.
The project directions can be found here and you’ll quickly see it’s a complex project that requires some tools you might not have, plus supplies you’ll surely need to buy. All in all, it’s about a $70 project,
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How would you like to connect wirelessly to your iPhone? Imagine sharing your photo’s or [soon to be] video with your TV or monitor without a cable? How about sync your iTunes without the white USB connector, or update contacts, schedules, calendar and more without making a connection. How about getting real crazy and juicing up your iPhone without a plug?
Well, all of this will be possible with the new Alereon wireless USB technology for the iPhone and those who integrate into their peripheral.
The demonstration consists of a small wireless USB peripheral connected to a typical iPhone or iPod’s edge connector. The adapter enables any iPhone or iPod to both provide extra battery power/charging as well as synchronize wirelessly to iTunes whether on a Windows or MAC OS machine. Future enhancements will enable connectivity to HDTVs for displaying photos or videos.
The ultimate vision of Alereon is to have a peripheral device integrated into
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Do you know what Femtocells are? I didn’t know until just the other day when I read an article about AT&T testing Femtocells to boost iPhone reception inside your home. To restate: a femtocell is a device to boost your mobile phone signal. You can say phone booster. Apparently Sprint has been selling this technology for a while and now AT&T is on board to improve their popular selling iPhone.
The goal is to improve your G3 service inside the home via your high speed internet connection. Think of a femtocell as turning your house into a cell phone tower.
Testing is currently taking place through AT&T with expected products to ship the first half of next year. So for those of you in the void, yet addicted to your iPhone, there is hope. And it’s on the way.
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fing is a free iPhone app that allows you to use IM chat technology for free phone calls. fring is a mobile internet & community portel to be used with your social network sites, IM chat software and VoIP services like Skype.
The concept is leveraging your network connection from your iPhone to use the on-line chat and VoIP services you traditionally use with your PC or Mac.
Use fring to check and see who’s on-line. Use fring to call those you see on-line.
Beyond fring’s social appeal, it also saves money letting you make affordable local and international calls to landline and regular cellular numbers using your SkypeOut/SkypeIn account or almost any internet voice service (SIP) such as SIPNET, EuteliaVoIP, VoIPVoIP and VoIPTalk, even from non-SIP enabled handsets.
What’s more, fring does all the work for you, automatically logging you into your favorite WiFi hotspots so you save time and hassle without having to configure your WiFi access points each time.
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Some interesting news about iPhone sync speed and the use of USB hubs. I seriously doubt there is an issue with USB 2.0 specification so this must be related more towards the USB stack the iPhone uses with their chip. Apparently having the iPhone connected to a USB hub for sync will slow the process. To throw more flame on the fire, if you have a USB 1.0 device [like a keyboard or mouse] also connected to the USB hub, the sync grinds to a halt.
You’ll could definitely run into problems if it’s a self-powered USB hub, so try one with a separate power connector/source.
Word on the proverbial street is that most who did a direct connect from iPhone to Mac or PC had a much faster sync time – down to a couple of minutes.
How about you? Have you tried with or without the hub? Comment.
Tip:Â Wired.
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The long awaited iPhone 3G was released on Friday, July 11th. But what should have been a happy and joyous day for iPhone fans, ended up being an exercise in frustration for many.
AT&T’s insistence on trying to activate the phones in store taxed Apple’s authentication server (more info) and caused lines to move at a snail’s pace or sent buyers home with a phone only good for making emergency calls. During last year’s iPhone 1.0 launch Apple had everyone activate their own phone at home through iTunes.
Worse yet, AT&T outlets were allowed to sell far fewer phones that Apple Stores, forcing them to turn away customers who waited hours to get their hands on one.
The iPhone 3G line outside the Manhattan Apple Store on 14th Street at 12:52PM. Estimated wait time was ~4 hours. (Photo credit: MethodShop.com)Earlier this week, Apple also had problems with the relaunch of their data service now called MobileMe (it was previously called iTools and .Mac). The MobileMe service is designed to synchronize a user’s personal data across devices, including the iPhone, but many users were denied access to their accounts this week, including Frank Accarrino.
“I’ve been trying to upload pictures from iPhoto to my .Mac website for the past few days but it’s offline. I can’t even get to my Mac mail. I bet Steve Jobs is pissed right now,” Frank told MethodShop.com.
Apple is usually known for flawless product launch events. Let’s hope Apple solves these network issues for next time. It’s estimated that 1 million iPhone 3G models were sold in the U.S. this weekend.
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Wish you knew where your friends and family were at all times? Have you heard of Loopt yet?
Loopt is a mobile phone application that enables users to spy on see the location of their friends on an interactive map (see image below). The application also allows you to message friends in your general area and setup automatic alerts to notify you when friends are nearby.
In the last few months, Loopt has published several BlackBerry versions of its software for all major American cellphone carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T, Alltel and Sprint. Loopt also demonstrated an Alpha version of their software for the 3G iPhone at the 2008 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). You can sign up to be notified when the full iPhone version of Loopt is released here.
If you have a Jailbroken iPhone, then the function and features of Loopt might sound similar to Twinkle. Twinkle is a native Twitter client for the iPhone that pairs your GPS location with your Twitter posts. Twinkle also gives you the ability to add images to your Twitter Tweets.
But whether or not you use Loopt, Twinkle or Twitter.. it’s not any fun unless all your friends are also using the service.
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There’s no doubt that an iPhone update is imminent. But while nearly everyone has agreed on that, nobody knows anything definite about the specifics… except that the new iPhone will be compatible with the Microsoft Exchange email services. There’s a link on the main Apple.com iPhone page where you can apply to be a beta tester.
In regards to the iPhone, here’s what we know today:
Apple.com lists the iPhone as “Currently Unavailable.†Stock is so low that you can’t buy it. Usually a good sign that a new model is coming out soon.
Apple continues to make iPhone sales deals across the globe. Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Australia were all announced with the last few months.
A 3G settings screen was found by hackers in the latest firmware update for the iPhone.
The new iPhone will most likely be unveiled during Steve Jobs’ keynote speech at Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) on June 9th.
AT&T is prohibiting retail-store employees from taking vacations between June 15 and July 12, claiming that they’re expecting a “heavy selling periodâ€. They implemented a similar policy last year for the iPhone launch.
AT&T executives have said numerous times that all of their smartphones (the iPhone is one of the) will support 3G networking soon.
The Apple Stores have been out of stock of the iPhone for weeks. And people are forming daily lines outside Apple stores that still have a few iPhones in stock.
And here are some rumors that the guys at MethodShop.com compiled, about what Steve Jobs might announce at the WWDC on June 9th:
Rumor: The new 3G iPhone will be about 20% thinner.
Rumor: The new 3G iPhone will have built-in video chat that would allow you to video chat with other iPhones or even computers with webcams.
Rumor: The Apple TV is going to get an add-on USB camera that will turn the Apple TV into a video chat system (see item above). How would it work? A picture in picture effect would happen if you were watching a movie on your Apple TV when someone tried to “video call†you from an iPhone.
Rumor: Just like the iPods, the new iPhone will come in several colors including black [pic] and white [pic]. Several colored iPhone photos have already surfaced on the Interweb. There’s no doubt that black would be an extremely popular iPhone color.
Rumor: The new iPhone will have built-in GPS (it’s about time).
Rumor: Apple will also announce a new, wireless keyboard specifically for Apple TV, with multi touch capabilities. Basically it will be a super remote control.
iTunes is much more than a digital music jukebox. It’s capable of handling many different tasks involving digital media. Some of iTunes’ most popular features include buying music and videos online, burning CDs, and syncing files with your iPod or iPhone.
But one of the lesser known functions hidden within iTunes is the ability to convert audio files.
Why would you need to convert an audio file? Converting audio file types can be useful in many different situations. Here are a few examples:
You have an AAC file in iTunes that’s not compatible with your Zune that can play MP3 and not AAC files.
A WAV file needs to be emailed to a client for approval but it’s too big. You need to convert the file to an AAC so it’s small enough to easily send via email.
You are making a music video and want to use a song you got online as the soundtrack. However, the editing program won’t import the song because it doesn’t support MP3 or AAC.
You need to remove the DRM (Digital Rights Management) from an AAC song you purchased from the iTunes Store (see step #7).
“This morning I had to go buy another copy of OS X Leopard (my original copy got scratched). As I walked closer to the Apple Store on 5th Avenue I was somewhat surprised to see a line of about 50 people waiting in line. The 3G iPhone announcement isn’t rumored to happen until June 9th right? Are these people going to wait in line for over 2 weeks or do they know something we don’t?
I asked the security guard by the Cube what was going on and he said it was for the iPhone. That’s all he knew and he very was annoyed at me for asking him about the iPhone line. I’m doubt I was the first person to ask.
Still confused I walked downstairs and bought my copy of Leopard. Before I left the Apple Store, I asked Jessica, my cashier, if the people outside were waiting for the new 3G iPhone. She cryptically said “They are waiting to buy an iPhone. We will sell them whatever phones we have in stock.” She was kind of pissed off too.
For some reason the majority of people waiting in line were Chinese. I was later informed by a friend that to get around iPhone quantity restrictions (one one per person), you can pay people (usually from Chinatown I guess) to buy you extra iPhones and even hold your place in line.
I wonder how many of these people will still be in line on June 9th.
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Do you know what 
fing is a free iPhone app that allows you to use IM chat technology for free phone calls. fring is a mobile internet & community portel to be used with your social network sites, IM chat software and VoIP services like Skype.
The concept is leveraging your network connection from your iPhone to use the on-line chat and VoIP services you traditionally use with your PC or Mac.
Use fring to check and see who’s on-line. Use fring to call those you see on-line.
Beyond fring’s social appeal, it also saves money letting you make affordable local and international calls to landline and regular cellular numbers using your SkypeOut/SkypeIn account or almost any internet voice service (SIP) such as SIPNET, EuteliaVoIP, VoIPVoIP and VoIPTalk, even from non-SIP enabled handsets.
What’s more, fring does all the work for you, automatically logging you into your favorite WiFi hotspots so you save time and hassle without having to configure your WiFi access points each time.
The 
Earlier this week, Apple also 
There’s no doubt that an iPhone update is imminent. But while nearly everyone has agreed on that, nobody knows anything definite about the specifics… except that the new iPhone will be compatible with the Microsoft Exchange email services. There’s a 
And here are some rumors that the guys at MethodShop.com compiled, about what Steve Jobs might announce at the WWDC on June 9th:
Rumor: Just like the iPods, the new iPhone will come in several colors including 
iTunes is much more than a digital music jukebox. It’s capable of handling many different tasks involving digital media. Some of iTunes’ most popular features include buying music and videos online, burning CDs, and syncing files with your iPod or iPhone.
But one of the lesser known functions hidden within iTunes is the ability to convert audio files.
Why would you need to convert an audio file? Converting audio file types can be useful in many different situations. Here are a few examples:
“This morning I had to go buy another copy of OS X Leopard (my original copy got scratched). As I walked closer to the 
