iPhone news roundup: benchmarks, Facebook, and (obviously) rumors
By Nilay Patel 
posted Aug 17th 2007 6:03AM
posted Aug 17th 2007 6:03AM
- Logic3 unveiled the i-Station Traveler (pictured), the first speaker dock we've seen specifically for the iPhone. While most iPod docks tend to work fine with the iPhone, the $60 Traveller is designed specifically around the horizontal orientation, allowing you to watch movies while the iPhone is docked.
- Meebo and Facebook both launched iPhone-specific versions of their sites, allowing you to IM your friends and stalk your exes with all the swoopy-slidey flair you'd expect.
- Orange continued to act all coy about potentially being Apple's partner in France, saying only that it had "no comment" on the iPhone, even as rumors heat up.
- The iPhone got straight-up benchmarked for the first time: Craig Hockenberry whipped out his stopwatch and discovered that Javascript in MobileSafari runs right around eighty times slower than on a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo Mac. He also whipped up a little app using that pirate toolchain we love so much and discovered that native ARM code runs some 200 times faster than Javascript in the iPhone. Looks like that Safari sandbox might not be so "sweet" after all.
- AT&T seems to have decided that its vendetta against the trees of the world might be a little misplaced, and is in the process of moving to "summary billing," according to a call center employee. Either that, or they're trying to guilt people into switching to e-billing by sending out ridiculous bills. Really, that's what the email says.
Read - i-Station Traveler
Read - Meebo
Read - Facebook
Read - Orange declines to comment on the iPhone
Read - iPhone benchmarks
Read - AT&T reducing paper bills
[Thanks, risingsonn and The Boy Genius]
Is AT&T on autopilot? I'm glad they're remedying the problem.
Maybe this will get people thinking. I think paperless billing should be the default. If someone wants a bill sent via snail mail, they should have to visit the website.
Not surprised about the benchmark test. Did anyone think it would even come close to a Mac? Really interesting research though.
GG
umm that makes no sense to start paperless first then give them the option to do paper, and only after you log on.
We maybe be computer savvy but it doesn't mean everyone will be.
why
Spoke to Hutchinson 3 (service provider in UK, usually deals with higher spec handsets), who said they would not be stocking the iPhone, as they understood the UK version to still be 2.5G.
This is a pity if the guy in sales was correct, as 3 provide (i believe) the biggest 3G network in the UK, with services based data features and would be the ideal network for the iPhone.
Maybe no 3G iPhone for europe afterall?
Those numbers seem stagering when you use comparison between th eiphone and imac. However, does anyone reaaly expect something as small as the iphone to run anywhere close as fast as an imac. I have to say that fractions of a second are not noticable anyway. But I really dont understand the ramafications of those numbers. So, ill continue to love my iphone and my only complaint is really that apple is keeping the phone closed off. Also, I have that checkerboard of whote dots on my phone which is a 7***** paneel ID# and apple said they would fix it for free, however I prefer to just monitor the situation and if i start get serious color degredation and dead pixels then ill send it in. 1 year hardware warranty from the time of purchase and apple is nowoffering an apple care plan for the iphone... fyi-- an out of warranty repair for the iphone is $250.00 as said to me by a "product specialist"
Spoke to Hutchinson 3 (service provider in UK, usually deals with higher spec handsets), who said they would not be stocking the iPhone, as they understood the UK version to still be 2.5G.
This is a pity if the guy in sales was correct, as 3 provide (i believe) the biggest 3G network in the UK, with services based data features and would be the ideal network for the iPhone.
Maybe no 3G iPhone for europe afterall?
ds
The Logic3 i-Station seems interesting enough.
How long until Apple and car audio makers realize that the iPhone in horizontal mode is the perfect faceplate for our dashboard car audio?
It was OK to tuck an iPod in the glove compartment, but the iPhone should be docked on the dashboard.
Facebook on iPhone -
600 bucks plus a 2 year contract to literally poke people
the logic istation-3 is a rip-off of the iriver unit 2...
(check googe images, its not on their website yet;-))
Hang on......
Javascript runs 80 times slower than on a Mac.
ARM code runs 200 times faster that Javascript.
Does that make the iPhone 2.5 times faster than a Mac?
LOL, shirley not :P
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
VENDETTA AGAINST THE TREES OF THE WORLD!!!
Amazing.
But seriously.....
This is my first post, so please bear with me here.
I, like many others, love the iPhone and think there is great potential for the device. However, I am also troubled by the lack of native third party applications due to Apple’s locked system. I have seen numerous posts from iPhone users begging to have their favorite Mac widgets ported over to the iPhone. While I think that would be great, I don’t see Apple rushing to do this until they can somehow monetize these widgets. Well yesterday, as I checked out Amazon’s new iPhone-specific web portal, it dawned on me that Apple can create a huge revenue stream by getting into the ad business, while also giving us all the other widgets we love so much.
Imagine the following:
You plug your iPhone into your computer one day and discover a new tab called myMall. Under this tab is a listing of popular retailers, whose online stores you’d like to have synced to your iPhone. Think ‘bookmarked,’ but much better because when you next turn on your iPhone you find a button on the home page called myMall. Clicking it leads to a page similar to the home page, but each new button is a native widget for the retailers you’ve chosen to sync with iTunes. Now, the appeal here is the absolute ease and pleasure in maneuvering these widgets to carry out purchases.
Imagine now that you have chosen to sync the Barnes & Noble widget with your iPhone. Then, one day, you’re sitting on the bus and see someone reading a book you have been meaning to read yourself, but kept on forgetting. Well, instead of making yet another mental note, what if you could do the following:
1. Click on your B&N widget.
2. Type in your search into a VERY simple and elegant page.
3. Have all of your results come up in the Cover Flow format, with only product pictures showing. (let’s face it, Cover Flow is great, but wasted on the iPod).
4. Scroll back and forth through the result and click on a cover to make it flip and reveal product details (synopsis, ratings, review, other formats, etc.)
5. Quickly add items to your shopping cart.
6. Pay for your items using one of the credit cards saved on your iTunes (this is already done with songs so it can’t be that difficult to build on), or enter new credit card information.
7. Have your item(s) shipped to an address that is saved in your iTunes account, or enter a new shipping address.
8. Enter a pin number of sorts to confirm my order and finalize the transaction.
I realize the process listed above ‘appears’ long, but anyone can see that the actual use of this ‘widget’ would be as fluid and simple as the google maps interface that is currently present on the iPhone. Further, with something like this generating revenue for Apple they should have a greater incentive to provide the non-retail-oriented widgets (like AIM, To Do Lists, lyrics search) that we all been clamoring for.
That is the idea, and I would love some feedback from any and all on its feasibility and:
1. How it can be refined.
2. The ideal pricing structure between Apple and the participating retailers.
3. Security issues regarding the storage of private financial data on iTunes, and any holes I'm not thinking of right now.
4. How Apple’s relationship with Google can be utilized here.
5. The potential reaction from ad giants such as Google.
6. Possible legal ramifications.
7. A list of stores that would work well as iPhone widgets. Personally, I would love to have the following store widgets on my iPhone: Barnes & Nobel, eBay, JetBlue, 1800Flowers, Nike, Best Buy, Cirtcuit City, Walmart, Apple Store, Game Stop, Puma, Pottery Barn, Ikea, Amazon, Ticketmaster, Yankees (team specific widgets?), Fandango, Moviefone, Gap (simple retailers, but no giants like Macy’s?), Expedia, Hotels.com, Sephora.
8. Oh yeah, good idea or bad idea?