iLounge

Nielsen: Apple iPhone 3G top U.S. cell of 2009

• December 22, 2009
• iPhone
• digg this

According to new data released by Nielsen, the iPhone 3G was the most popular cell phone in the U.S. in 2009. Using data procured from January to October, iPhone 3G users represented four percent of all subscribers, followed closely by the RIM BlackBerry 8300 Series of phones, with 3.7 percent of the market. The Motorola RAZR came in third, with 2.3 percent of the market; only one other phone, the LG enV2, counted for more than two percent. Apple was also among the top ten brands accessed over mobile devices from January to September, coming in tenth; Yahoo!, Google, MSN, AOL, and the Weather Channel make up the top five.

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Mix: WTO, iTunes Connect, iPhone cops, Unreal Engine

• December 22, 2009
• Mix
• digg this

The World Trade Organization panel has upheld a ruling that China is obstructing trade by forcing foreign suppliers to distribute movies, music, and books through state-owned companies. The original ruling did, however, allow the government to continue reviewing products for objectionable content, noting that the state-owned distributor restriction was not necessary to protect public decency standards. “The Chinese side feels regret about the appeals panel’s other rulings.” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement. The original complaints about China’s restrictions came from U.S. movie, music, and publishing companies, who claimed the rules cost them millions of dollars each year in lost business. China’s restrictions have also been pointed to as a reason why there is no iTunes Store in China, despite the local popularity of the iPod and iPhone. [via AppleInsider]

Apple has announced that developers can now search through their iPhone and iPod touch applications in its iTunes Connect portal. The update from Apple says developers logging into the Manage Your Application module will now find a summary of their last 10 modified apps, the new search area that allows for queries by name, Apple ID, or status, and a new application detail view that provides the ability to preview the app in the App Store and provides Crash Reports. [via Mac Rumors]

Tasmanian police officers are utilizing a new system that works both in patrol cars and on police-issued iPhones to check vehicles against a database of unregistered vehicles and unlicensed or disqualified drivers. Previously, officers has to contact Radio Dispatch Services to run the check for them. The iPhone application, used primarily by motorcycle officers, lets the officer simply take a picture of the vehicle to be checked, can can also search for outstanding warrants and other offenses. According to The Mercury, 167 unregistered vehicles have been found and 107 disqualified or unregistered drivers caught in just 10 days of operation. [via MDN]

Epic has demonstrated a new Unreal Engine 3 tech demo running on a third-generation iPod touch. The Unreal Engine is used to display the 3D worlds in some high-profile modern video games, including Gears of War 2, and according to AnandTech, the demo also runs on the iPhone 3GS, but is unable to run on older hardware due to its reliance on OpenGL ES 2.0. Although the company isn’t currently planning to release its own iPhone games, it does plan to make the iPhone engine available to licensees at some point in the near future, which would allow other companies to use it in their own App Store releases. A video of the demo in action is available at the above link. [via Touch Arcade]

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Zagg intros ZAGGsparq mobile battery

• December 22, 2009
• iPod Accessories,iPhone Accessories
• digg this

Zagg has introduced its new ZAGGsparq mobile backup battery for the iPod, iPhone, and other USB devices. The ZAGGsparq features a 6,000 mAh lithium polymer battery, which the company claims is good for up to four iPhone recharges. Other features include LED lighting to indicate the current power level, two USB ports to charge multiple devices at once, and a compact black body with with integrated standard outlet prongs. The Zagg ZAGGsparq is available now and sells for $70.

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Apple TV subscription service in 2010, CBS, Disney on board?

• December 22, 2009
• iTunes
• digg this

Both CBS and Disney are considering signing on for Apple’s TV subscription service, according to a new report. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is currently making a push to complete licensing deals and would like to introduce the service in 2010, although it is unclear whether any networks have signed on yet. The report goes on to state that the service is part of a larger strategy to overhaul the iTunes Store, offering consumers more ways to access and manage their media. This plan ties in with Apple’s plan to launch a multimedia tablet next year; the report cites people briefed by Apple that the company plans to launch it by the end of March.

Apple is having trouble reaching a substantial number of networks for the service, however, as companies such as News Corp.,  Viacom, Turner Broadcasting, and Discovery Communications appear to be hesitant to join up. Although Apple is said to be offering between $2 and $4 a month, per subscriber, to broadcast networks, and $1 to $2 a month to basic cable networks—much greater reimbursement, in some cases, than what the companies receive from traditional distributors—some executives are worried that the service could undermine the successful model of selling bundles of cable networks to distributors, while others are concerned that the service wouldn’t include advertising. “You don’t want to shoot a hole in the bucket to create another revenue stream,” one media executive said. Apple’s plan may be changing as it continues to try and sign on networks, say people familiar with the matter; the initial proposal had the company selling access to ad-free shows from a group of top cable and broadcast networks for $30 per month.

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iPod touch users lag on iPhone OS 3.0 adoption

• December 21, 2009
• iPhone
• digg this

According to new data from online advertising firm Chitika, nearly half of all iPod touch users have yet to upgrade to iPhone OS 3.0, suggesting Apple is having a hard time convincing users that the upgrade is worth the money. A sampling of traffic from Chitika’s advertising network shows that while 95% of iPhone owners, who received the upgrade for free, are running iPhone OS 3.0, while only 55% of iPod touch owners have the newer software installed. As Chitika researcher Daniel Ruby points out, this number becomes even more surprising when one considers that the majority of iPod touch units sold in the last six months came with OS 3.0 pre-installed. Released in July as a $10 upgrade for iPod touch owners, the update offers features such as stereo Bluetooth, Copy & Paste, Spotlight search, In-App Purchases, and Push Notifications, and saw its price cut to $5 in September; Apple is still selling some refurbished iPod touch models with the older software installed.

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Mix: Magellan, WWDC 2010, SNL, Tapulous

• December 21, 2009
• Mix
• digg this

Magellan has revealed further details of its upcoming Premium Car Kit. The adjustable, rotating car mount is compatible with most skins and cases, and features Bluetooth for hands-free calling, a noise canceling microphone, a built-in GPS receiver for greater accuracy, an auxiliary audio output, the ability to recharge the connected device, and compatibility with the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and second- and third-generation iPod touch units. The Magellan Premium Car Kit is available for pre-order now and will sell for $130.

A new listing on the Moscone Center events calendar may reveal Apple’s planned dates for its 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference. Currently, the calendar shows a listing for a “Corporate Event” on June 28 - July 2; AppleInsider notes that previous Apple events have been reserved using the same title. If so, the dates would overlap with the three-year anniversary of the original iPhone’s launch on June 29, 2007. Apple has used its WWDC event to announce new iPhone hardware the last two years, revealing the iPhone 3G in 2008 and the iPhone 3GS earlier this year.

The iPhone was the subject of ridicule during a skit from this past weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live. Discussing reports from last week that Google may be preparing a self-branded Android phone to further challenge the iPhone, Seth Meyers, during the show’s Weekend Update skit, said, “Also a challenge to the iPhone: making phone calls.” The joke was met with laughter from the crowd; SNLis filmed in New York City, which has often been cited as having problematic iPhone coverage. A clip of the joke appears in embedded form below.

Update: The clip has been pulled from YouTube due to a copyright claim from NBC Universal.…

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iTunes U hits 100 million downloads

• December 21, 2009
• iTunes
• digg this

Apple has revealed that iTunes U, the education-specific section of the iTunes Store, has seen more than 100 million downloads since its launch in 2007. iTunes U offers free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks, and other content, with more than 200,000 educational audio and video files available. According to Cnet, more than 175 higher-education organizations provide content for iTunes U, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and Harvard University.

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Vodafone UK to begin iPhone sales Jan. 14

• December 21, 2009
• iPhone
• digg this

Vodafone in the U.K. has announced that it will begin selling the iPhone on January 14, 2010. According to the BBC News, tariffs will be available from £30 (roughly $48) for 24 months, while the phones will run from £59 (~$95) for an 8GB iPhone 3G to £239 (~$385) for a 32GB iPhone 3GS. Both business and personal contracts will be subject to a 1GB per month “fair use” data limit, and also include unlimited Wi-Fi use. Tethering will also be offered as an option, starting at £5 (~$8) for 500MB of bandwidth. Vodafone has been working for over a year to prepare its network for the iPhone launch, according to Guy Laurence, CEO of Vodafone U.K.

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Enter the Sonos ZonePlayer S5 Giveaway today

• December 18, 2009
• Site News
• digg this

If you haven’t yet gotten in your entry for our Sonos ZonePlayer S5 Giveaway, there’s still time to do so. In our Giveaway of the Month for December, iLounge and Sonos are giving away three ZonePlayer S5 all-in-one music systems. To enter, simply fill out and submit the form on the giveaway page—the giveaway will end on December 31, 2009 at 11:59PM Pacific Time. Good luck!

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App Mix: NFS Shift, Dragon Search, Cash Cab, Muppets

• December 18, 2009
• iPhone Applications
• digg this

EA has released Need For Speed Shift, its latest game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Need For Speed Shift features 20 licensed cars, a unique driver’s seat view, both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi multiplayer across six game modes, the ability to personalize each car’s performance and styling, a driver profile that provides a “persona” based on the player’s skills, driving style, success rate, and other attributes, 18 unique tracks, three difficulty settings, and more. Need For Speed Shift is available now and sells for $10.

Nuance Communications has introduced Dragon Search, the company’s second application for the iPhone. Powered by Nuance’s NaturallySpeaking software, Dragon Search allows users to speak their search queries into the device and returns results across a variety of sources, including Google, Yahoo! or Bing, depending on preference, YouTube, Twitter, iTunes, and Wikipedia. Dragon Search is available now as a free download from the App Store.
 
Capcom has debuted Cash Cab, its latest game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Based on the Discovery Channel’s game show of the same name, Cash Cab has players attempting to answer trivia questions of an increasingly difficult nature as the move from one point of New York City to another. The game features video snippets taken from the show, a variety of question categories including history, pop culture, language, and science, 21 different NYC destinations, the ability to listen to music from the iPod while playing, the ability to upload high scores to Facebook, and more. Cash Cab is priced at $5.

Disney Interactive Studios has unveiled The Muppets Animal Drummer, its latest application for the iPhone and iPod touch. Drummer puts lets users play listen to and play along with Animal, matching his beat and timing to score points and unlock new songs. The app also includes a Free Play Mode in which users can play along to original music—including a record feature—or to songs from their iPod library. The Muppets Animal Drummer is available now and sells for $2.

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iPodweek coming soon, still time to sign up

• December 18, 2009
• Site News
• digg this

The latest edition of iPodweek, iLounge’s weekly newsletter recapping the last seven days in news, reviews, articles, and more, will be sent out later today. In addition to rounding up the week’s top stories, iPodweek also features giveaways and accessory discount offers from various companies. If you haven’t yet signed up to receive iPodweek, there’s still time to register and receive this week’s edition — just use the simple form below to submit your email address.

IMPORTANT: Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Earthlink and others, make sure we don’t end up in your spam box. Please accept emails from iLounge.com. Thank you.

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CEA: Over 100 vendors, special spot for 2010 CES iLounge Pavilion

• December 18, 2009
• CES iLounge Pavilion
• digg this

iLounge and the Consumer Electronics Association are pleased to announce that the iLounge Pavilion, a unified iPod, iPhone, and Mac showcase at the 2010 International CES, has expanded to include over 100 exhibitors, representing a record number of Apple-related vendors at the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology. In recognition of its growing importance, the iLounge Pavilion has been given a prominent new position in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall, immediately accessible from the Grand Lobby of CES. The 2010 International CES is scheduled for January 7-10, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the submission deadline for iLounge’s official Best of Show Awards fast approaching. The full press release appears below.

CEA and iLounge Announce Over 100 Exhibitors, Special Location for iLounge Pavilion at 2010 International CES
Leading Makers of Apple iPod, iPhone, and Mac Accessories Join To Announce First Products of New Decade

Arlington, Virginia and East Amherst, New York (December 18, 2009) - The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and iLounge today announced that the iLounge Pavilion, a unified iPod, iPhone, and Mac exhibition area at the 2010 International CES, has expanded to include over 100 exhibitors—a 150% increase from previous commitments, and a record number of Apple-related vendors at the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology. Based on tremendous industry demand and the iLounge Pavilion’s growing importance, CEA has given the Pavilion a new and prestigious space in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall, immediately accessible from the Grand Lobby of CES, near both keynote speeches and attendee registration. The 2010 International CES is scheduled for January 7-10, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The iLounge Pavilion started as a 4,000 square foot area, and has grown to become one of the largest attractions at the 2010 International CES,” said Dan Cole, Vice President, Sales and Business Development for CES. “With over 100 vendors already in place, the Pavilion will be an amazing showcase of iPod, iPhone, and Mac products. The incredible demand for booths this year has enabled us to allocate 30,000 square feet for the iLounge Pavilion at the 2011 International CES, with space selection to begin shortly.”…

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