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Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices
There's not a lot of details on this at the moment, but the Financial Times is reporting that US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices to see whether they unfairly restrict rivals like Google and Microsoft. As you'll recall, Apple recently revised its rules on outside advertisers and, specifically, their ability to collect analytics on ads for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, effectively cutting out Google's AdMob in the process -- something the company's CEO has publicly complained about. What's next? That's still not certain -- the Financial Times says that while US regulators have taken an interest, it's still not clear whether the FTC or the Department of Justice will handle the investigation going forward.
Three will carry iPhone 4 in the UK, O2 cuts off unlimited data
While American iPhone users are limited to a single carrier, the UK offers plenty of choice to customers. Three has announced that they will carry iPhone 4, with pre-orders beginning on June 15th. O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone were all confirmed on the 7th. Even poor math students will notice that UK iPhone customers now have five carriers to choose from. Of course, all of the UK's carriers are GSM. We only have two of those here in the States (AT&T and T-Mobile). Three is the first to announce a pre-order date (the same as in the US) and, as Engadget notes, typically undercut the competition when it comes to price. It all adds up to a bevy of choice -- and a potential price war -- for UK customers. In another adjustment, O2 just announced a new pricing model, citing "clarity" and "sustainability" as key advantages. It's caught the attention of our UK readers (thanks everyone!) as it removes the unlimited option for data usage, much as AT&T did last week. The top plan now maxes out at 1GB of data, with buy-up options for 500MB or 1 GB coming in the fall. Of course, like AT&T, O2 is framing these changes as optimizations to the real data needs of its customers. As of now, the lowest O2 bundle (500MB) provides at least 2.5 times what the 'average O2 smartphone customer' uses. In fact, O2 claims 97% of their smartphone customers won't need to buy additional data allowances under the new arrangement. "With the wide range of Internet based services now available on mobile devices we're providing customers with generous clear data bundles that give customers freedom," said O2's CEO Ronan Dunne in the company's press release. We're not sure what was so opaque and ungenerous about "unlimited data." In June, O2 will introduce three inclusive data bundles for new and upgrading smartphone customers. You'll find their latest information here. Have fun on release day, folks, and may the best provider (for you) win your business.
UK's O2 to impose 3G data limits for iPhone 4 users
It seems like the entire United Kingdom (at least those who aren't out partying it up with Patsy Kensit at the Met Bar) has emailed us in the last two minutes to clue us in on the fact that O2 has posted its new iPhone 4 pricing. It looks like your beloved "unlimited 3G" plans of are a thing of the past -- instead, you'll be paying for up to 1GB of data of month. As you approach the limit, a text message will notify you and let you purchase an 500MB for £5 or 1GB for £10. How very AT&T of them, eh? But don't worry, kids! Texting is still unlimited. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in... and we mean everyone.]
iPhone 4 coming to Three UK, pre-orders starting June 15
And just like that, the UK has turned into a veritable treasure trove of carrier choice. Three has just announced that it too will be carrying Apple's latest iPhone starting from June 24, expanding on the options to be provided by O2, Orange, Vodafone and, most recently, T-Mobile. That's now the complete set of five UK networks all ready to take your name and credit card number on launch day, while Three is also the first to announce its pre-order start date -- which it places at June 15, the same time that Americans will be able to pre-order. Three's strategy in the UK has usually been to undercut the big dogs with alluring pricing, so next week should be a very interesting time for British iPhone lovers indeed. [Thanks, Yusuf]
The Mac is far from dead
Over at Newsweek, Dan Lyons, formerly famous as Fake Steve Jobs, asks the question: Does Apple's iPhone 4 signal the death of the Macintosh? He goes on to answer this question in his article with lots of attention-grabbing phrases like, "RIP, Macintosh," and "You've been dropped. Dumped. It's over." Of course, later on in the article, sandwiched in between several paragraphs of hyperbole, Lyons also says, "To be sure, Apple won't kill off the Mac." Well, okay. What exactly are you trying to say then, Fake Steve? Reports of the Mac's death may be exaggerated, but it's not hard to see why some might think it's on its last legs. As Lyons points out, Jobs didn't discuss the Mac at all during the recent WWDC 2010 keynote, instead spending all of his time discussing iPhone 4 and iOS 4. Apple also dropped its Apple Design Awards for the Mac, which meant others had to step in and take up the slack. Apple's party line on the iPad is that it's the future of computing, and eventually the only people who'll need to use a traditional computer are users doing highly specialized tasks that the iPad doesn't and might never be able to handle. But even with all that, the Mac is far from dead. Read on to find out why the Mac isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Samsung: iPhone 4's retina display is nice, but it's no AMOLED
Samsung seems to have taken exception to a little sidenote made by Steve Jobs during his iPhone 4 announcement at WWDC10 this Monday. While waxing poetic on the virtues of IPS, Jobs let us know that he considers it an entirely superior display technology to OLED, and now the world's biggest display maker has a few words to say about it. According to a Samsung spokesperson, the high-res retina display on the iPhone 4 offers only a 3 to 5 percent advantage in sharpness over its own Galaxy S Super AMOLED screen, but sucks down a wasteful 30 percent more power. Moreover, Samsung believes its screens offer better viewing angles and contrast, and concludes by saying that "structurally, IPS LCD technology cannot catch up with AM-OLED display technology." And here we thought Samsung and Apple were getting along so well.
O2 offers early iPhone 4 upgrade amnesty in bid to retain customers
Would you look at that. Following in the footsteps of AT&T, O2 has today announced it'll allow current customers to pay off the remainder of their contracts at a discounted rate when they re-up with the network for the iPhone 4. Irrespective of how much you're paying now, the UK carrier will charge you a flat rate of £20 ($29) for each leftover month. Considering most iPhone users rock out at £30 and above, that's a solid 30 percent discount (or contract amnesty, however you wanna view it) for the impatient types. Of course, you'll be trading away your usual 14-day cooling off period if you take them up on this deal, so you'd better make doubly sure you want the iPhone 4 on O2 before taking the plunge.
TUAW TV Live: topical talk at 5 PM EDT today
This has been quite the week in the world of Apple: the new iPhone 4 was announced, the iPhone / iPad / iPod touch operating system gained a new name, Safari 5 hit Software Update, and thousands of Mac and iOS developers are building their knowledge for the future at WWDC 2010 in San Francisco. Hmmm. Sounds like a topic or two for TUAW TV Live! Join me and a possible guest for an hour of talk about iPhone 4 lust, some demos of several apps, and even a short tutorial on how to use Apple's iPad Camera Connection Kit to move both photos and video into your iPad. All the fun starts at 5 PM EDT today, and all you need to do is drop by TUAW just before that time. The streaming video will be ready to roll, the chat will start up, and you can start basking in the glow of intense geekdom.
Exclusive: mDialog Ad Developers' Toolkit for iOS 4 and iPad
If you've got video you're looking to put on the web and monetize, but you want to make sure said video is a) compatible with the iPad and iPhone and b) is nice and secure and c) is easy to deploy and can run ads based on a variety of criteria, then mDialog has a way. In fact, the company's Ad Developer's Toolkit is a complete solution for running ads and streaming video -- and running ads in the video. mDialog will put ads in streaming live video or prerecorded segments on your site, and give you stats and measurements on those videos. Plus, those videos can be seen on the iPad and iPhone. mDialog provides some snazzy tools to help you view metrics and control distribution of your videos and ads. I spoke to Greg Philpott, CEO of mDialog, about the analytics side of the equation, and you can see the video of that conversation above. Later Greg showed me how you can easily toggle ads on your video to be pre-roll, post-roll or in the body of the video itself. Greg also demoed the ability to limit your ads to a specific geographic area. You simply enable the control and click on where you'd like to target the ad. It's quite simple and cool to be able to control your ads so easily. mDialog is "Video as a Service" and is fully compatible with HTML5. They've baked-in security to protect your content (using AES-128), and you can control how your video is distributed and how ads run within it. Some of the security options: you could limit the dates available for a video, have ads run a certain number of times for a viewer (capping the number of views per person) or in certain locations only. All of this stuff is easily tracked with pie charts and maps. I have to say it's an elegant product and a compelling service for anyone wanting to get into the video biz -- especially on Apple's mobile devices.
iPhone 4 at Best Buy for launch, at least 45 devices per store?
The iPhone 4 at Best Buy on launch day? It'd be no surprise, really -- after all, the retail giant had both the iPhone 3GS and iPad right from the get-go. We just got word from one of our trusted sources that Best Buy will indeed have the newfangled phone at launch, and even better, we've got some details on the inventory. A minimum of 30 units for the 32GB device and 15 of the 16GB will apparently be available at each store, and employee purchases are banned at launch. We can't say for sure without more paperwork, but this source has been pretty reliable before -- if nothing else, it should give you a decent idea just how early you should be preparing to wait in line. Oh, and RadioShack fanatics? Yeah, we've heard you can head down there for launch, too, but we don't yet have a clue as to how many will be in stock.
Great moments in reality distortion: the iPhone 4's Retina Display and Winnie the Pooh
Apple's making some big noise about the iPhone 4's new Retina Display and its ability to render print-like text quality, but apparently the iBooks team didn't get the memo: as New York Times design director Khoi Vinh noticed, there's a sad little moment in the iPhone 4 promo video when Scott Forstall says "the text is just perfect" just as a poorly laid out page of Winnie the Pooh flashes on the screen. Of course, almost every e-reader and e-reader app is capable of mutilating a layout, but it's crazy to think that this is what Apple actually chose to put up while hyping their new display -- and it's crazy to think that the same fastidious minds that created the iPhone would approve of iBooks doing this to Winnie the Pooh. Khoi's entire post is pretty interesting, so hit the source link to check it out -- and skip to about 3:02 after the break to see the RDF in effect for yourself.
Join the TUAW team for a post-keynote Talkcast tonight at 10 PM EDT
If you were one of the crowd who listened to the TUAW Talkcast this past Sunday evening, you'll remember that we promised to do a post-WWDC 2010 keynote Talkcast. It was supposed to happen Monday night, but we had all collapsed after the stress of churning out streams of news for our readers all day. Now that we're tanned, rested, and ready, we'll be hosting a special edition of the Talkcast tonight at 10 PM EDT. Topics will include Safari 5 (which I'm using to post this), iOS 4, iPhone 4, and anything else that we happen to think about. To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm tonight. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Note: For those who want to listen to the show on iPads or iPhones without calling in, you can try this MP3 streaming link once the show begins -- we're not 100% sure it will work, but do let us know.
Skype eager to work with Apple FaceTime, pretty much anyone else
We're still playing the wait-and-see game when it comes to Skype on webOS and Windows Phone 7, but it looks as if to-be iPhone 4 owners won't have to wait long before Skype-based video chatting becomes a reality... if Skype has its way, that is. According to someone on the inside quoted over at Pocket-Lint, Skype "would welcome the opportunity to work with Apple," specifically in reference to integrating FaceTime capabilities into the firm's own app. The mystery man also affirmed that Skype would "welcome the opportunity to work with Apple to bring mobile video calling not only to our many millions of Skype users on iPhone around the world, but also to the countless more making video calls on desktops, TVs and other connected devices." 'Course, there's no specific time frame given, and only Jobs knows if the two companies have said a word to one another about making this happen. One thing's for sure, though -- enabling FaceTime usage within Skype would suddenly made the iPhone 4's video calling abilities a whole lot more appealing. And by "appealing," we mean "useful." Update: Skype hit us with some clarification -- the company wants to make sure you know that it's not interested in using FaceTime across its own platform, but it'd be happy to play nice with Apple in order to add video calling within the Skype iPhone app. Full statement is past the break.
The FaceTime promo video that's not what you think
Last month a pair of actors inadvertently revealed that Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty, was holding auditions for an Apple TV ad that featured an as-yet unnanounced video chat feature on the iPhone 4. Although the Web is all abuzz with links to the promo video made for FaceTime that premiered yesterday at the WWDC keynote, many of them are incorrectly attributing it to Mendes; our colleagues at Engadget pointed out that this is not the rumored commercial, but is an internally produced piece. Nevertheless, the video is extremely well done. It features interesting use cases for the face-to-face chat feature -- specifically, a young, traveling dad and his family at home; grandparents enjoying a far away graduation; girlfriends selecting outfits for a night on the town; a soldier and his baby-to-be; and finally, a couple using sign language to converse, which sparked a round of applause during the keynote.It's heartwarming, and it clearly demonstrates what FaceTime does. Sharp-eyed TUAW reader Christopher pointed out a minor continuity error in the clip. The "father" is shown holding his iPhone 4 in portrait mode at 00:22 and 00:26, yet when we look over his shoulder at 00:25 and 00:28 he's holding it in landscape orientation. We'll keep our eyes out for the actual TV ad soon.
iPhone 4 guide: preview, pricing, availability
In a lot of ways, Apple's iPhone 4 announcement was short on surprises. We've been playing with the new iPhone OS 4 (now dubbed iOS 4) for a while, and photos of the hardware had been widely disseminated, a rarity for an unreleased Apple product. Still, Apple managed to fill in the gaps and build up the hype, and there's plenty to know about this handset that extends beyond what you can glean from bricked hardware of dubious provenance. Follow along with us as we break it all down, including detailed impressions from our hands-on time with the device.
How-to: check your iPhone 4 upgrade eligibility
AT&T's made it pretty clear how this upgrade sitch is going to go down for existing customers moving to an iPhone 4 on the 24th of the month, but if you want to double-check and make sure you're good to go (we can't blame you), there's an easy way that was briefly mentioned yesterday: dial *639# on your current phone. You'll be returned a text message from AT&T detailing your situation -- either you'll be told you can get a full upgrade price (meaning $199 / $299 for the 16GB and 32GB, respectively) or you'll be eligible at some particular date in the future. Not all's lost in the latter case -- you can still pay $200 more for the phone as an "early upgrade," which is less than the no-commitment price of $599 / $699. We'll have a more comprehensive breakdown in our full iPhone 4 guide coming later today, so stay tuned!
Thoughts on the new iPhone and AT&T
iPhone 4 is a desirable and powerful update to the iPhone that we know and love, but as is always the case with Apple, there are some downers. Off the top of my head, here's what I think is disappointing. I'm surprised 32GB is the top memory tier; I think a lot of us expected 64GB. You have been able to get that amount of memory in the iPod touch since September of 2009. Bummer. FaceTime video chat is a great idea and everyone expected it was coming. Once again though, Apple is being held back by AT&T. To do video chat, you have to be WiFi to WiFi. How usable is that? Not very. Apple hinted that it will work over 3G, maybe next year, but we know how good AT&T is at meeting deadlines. Read on for more...
iPhone 4's seams explained, ready to solve AT&T call issues? (video)
When we first exposed the iPhone 4 to the world, many of you were skeptical about its authenticity. Frankly, so were we, initially anyway. A device with black seams disrupting its otherwise clean lines just couldn't be from Apple, a company notorious for its obsessive design aesthetic. Well, now that the iPhone 4 is official, Steve took a moment to explain that the stainless steel band is actually an integral part of the iPhone's antenna system -- one part dedicated to Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS; the other larger half to UMTS and GSM. Something that, according to Steve, has never been done before in a phone. We'll have to wait a bit before we know whether this "brilliant engineering" translates into fewer dropped calls for frustrated AT&T customers. But it's hard to imagine that Apple would take the time to show its antennas to developers if there wasn't a downstream reward for consumers. Remember, Steve did say last week that things "should be getting a lot better soon" on AT&T. Click through to hear Apple's loyal software developers ooh and aah over the iPhone's really cool ability to convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical current, and back. Amazing.
Apple posts WWDC 2010 keynote stream
Apple has posted the stream of yesterday's WWDC keynote by Steve Jobs. During the keynote, Jobs unveiled iPhone 4 along with many new features of iOS 4, including the FaceTime video conferencing feature. Jobs also announced the iMovie app for iPhone and iBooks with PDF support. When Jobs was showing off the iPhone 4's new Retina display, there were some technical issues due to the number of people in the hall using mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. It was a slightly embarrassing -- and awkward -- moment for Jobs, but as you can see from the keynote stream, no editing of said moment was done, and you can replay the awkwardness in all its glory. As of the time of this writing, the keynote is not yet available in the Apple Keynotes Podcast series on iTunes, but it should be added shortly. Update: It's there now.
Steve Jobs' WWDC10 keynote video is now live on Apple's site
Yeah, we liveblogged the hell out of Steve Jobs' keynote yesterday, but there are few things more charismatic than Apple's CEO in the midst of one of his ambitious product launches. And to feel it for yourself, you've either gotta be there or you have to watch the video -- fortunately, the latter is now available for consumption right now on Apple's website. [Thanks, Dilwar]
