New iPhone App: TripJournal

I dl and bought the app yesterday, and it's great!

It is tracking where you are and the export can be to Google Earth with a KMZ file. Meaning the complete tracking and pictures if taken are exported to a file for Google Earth and will show like below example:

 

from what I did this morning. You can even experience yourself by dl the file

 

TripJournal.kmz 

 

and open in Google Earth.

 

Another possibility is direct exporting to Picasa, see example.

 

Check the product at their website.

 

What they write:

 

Trip Journal is the ultimate trip tracking, recording, documenting and sharing solution that is currently available for the iPhone and Android powered smart phones. 

Use Trip Journal to document your vacation experiences and share them with your friends and family. Track your traveling route, record waypoints, photos and notes and attach them to the trip. Visualize the recorded information and follow your position on the map. 

Impress your friends by sending them real time updates from the places that you are visiting, and let them know about what you have been doing lately, share your recorded information as nicely designed KMZ files that can be viewed in Google Earth. 

New Malicious Worm Affects Jailbroken iPhones in Netherlands

BBC reports that a second worm has been discovered that attacks certain jailbroken iPhones. The malicious software was discovered by security company F-Secure but appears to be isolated and specific to the Netherlands. It is specifically targeting people in the Netherlands who are using their iPhones for internet banking with Dutch online bank ING. It redirects the bank's customers to a lookalike site with a log-in screen. F-Secure estimates the number of affected phones to be only in the "hundreds" at this point, though it could theoretically spread. The worm appears to exploit the same users as the harmless Australian worm which displayed a photograph of popsinger Rick Astley. Only individuals who had specifically jailbroken their iPhones, installed SSH and not changed the default password seem to have the potential to be affected. This particular worm, however, is potentially far more serious as according to F-Secure it also "enables the phone to be accessed or controlled remotely without the permission of its owner." Update: Additional information from Intego reveals that the worm also steals personal data as well as opens the iPhone up to further access/control. When active on an iPhone, the iBotnet worm changes the root password for the device, in order to prevent users from later changing that password themselves. It then connects to a server in Lithuania, from which it downloads new files and data, and to which it sends data recovered from the infected iPhone. The worm sends both network information about the iPhone and SMSs to the remote server. It is capable of downloading data, including executables that it uses to run and carry out its actions, as well as new files, providing botnet capabilities to infected devices

link: Mac Rumors: Apple Mac Rumors and News You Care About

AT&T to Allow Skype and Google Voice to Operate on Its Mobile Network.

This is major I think, as especially when calling international using Skype will cost nothing.

Some info from MacRumors:

The Washington Post reports that AT&T may be planning to announce support for Skype, Google Voice, and other related Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services over its mobile networks, including via Apple's iPhone. One source close to the thinking of AT&T executives said the company has been deliberating the decision for weeks and that top executives have said they were close to accepting voice over Internet services on all AT&T phones, including the iPhone. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because a decision hadn't been officially announced. Skype currently operates on the iPhone through WiFi access, but not on AT&T's 3G mobile network. Apple reportedly rejected a Google Voice iPhone application in late July, sparking an inquiry into the situation from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In its response to the FCC, Apple claimed that it had not formally rejected the application and was still reviewing it, but Google's response painted a very different picture, claiming that Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller had directly delivered the rejection notice to a Google executive via telephone. For its part, AT&T noted that it played no role in the specific Google Voice iPhone application review process, although the company's agreement with Apple does reportedly require that it provide permission for any iPhone functionality to originate or terminate a VoIP connection on its network. Update: AT&T has confirmed that it has notified Apple and the FCC that it will permit VoIP functionality on the iPhone over its 3G network. AT&T today announced it has taken the steps necessary so that Apple can enable VoIP applications on iPhone to run on AT&T's wireless network. Previously, VoIP applications on iPhone were enabled for Wi-Fi connectivity. For some time, AT&T has offered a variety of other wireless devices that enable VoIP applications on 3G, 2G and Wi-Fi networks. AT&T this afternoon informed Apple Inc. and the FCC of its decision. The announcement covers traditional VoIP services and does not address the issue of Google Voice, which is not strictly a VoIP service, although it provides some functionalities similar to VoIP. But it remains unclear whether AT&T has ever actually opposed Google Voice on the iPhone, as the company claimed that it played no role in the application review process.

link: Mac Rumors: Apple Mac Rumors and News You Care About

Facebook 3.0 for iPhone

If you use Facebook and have an iPhone, here it is version 3.0.

Mobile coming to iPhone

Well I do not need it often my files on the iPhone, but think this is a great addition.

The iPhone Is Now the Best Selling Phone In the U.S.

From Techcrunch:

When the economy takes a hit, so do cell phone sales. Last quarter, mobile phone sales in the U.S. dropped 15 percent to 32 million units, according to market research firm NPD Group. But in hard times, the strongest brands also take share. And that is exactly what Apple did. The 6.9 million iPhones it sold last quarter catapulted the $200 device into the top spot among all cell phones, even beating out the much cheaper and still-popular Motorola Razr. (Yes, they still sell that thing. They just don’t make any money off of it.) Here are the top five phones sold last quarter, according to the NPD Group:

1. Apple iPhone 3G

2. Motorola RAZR V3 (all models)

3. RIM Blackberry Curve (all models)

4. LG Rumor

5. LG enV2

Note that the BlackBerry Curve is No.3. Who says expensive smart phones are only for geeks? Everybody is getting one.

iPhone leads in Flickr cameraphone uploads

Well I do not have one, I use the Nokia N95, but the Apple iPhone is by a wide margin the phone most used by Flickr uploaders, updated charts from the site suggest. The charts track the number of people with a particular device "who have uploaded at least one photo or video with a particular camera on a given day over the last year," according to Flickr, and show the iPhone as nearing 100 percent of site cameraphone users. Nokia's N95 has an overlapping figure of about 70 percent, but the N73, N82 and Sony Ericsson K800i are the only other phones on the list, at just over 20 percent each. The N73 and K800i are in decline, while both the iPhone and N95 are increasing in popularity.
Flickr cautions however that while the charts are normalized against increasing site membership, only phones that identify themselves can be recorded, and these are likely a minority.

In the realm of regular cameras, the three most popular compacts are variants of Canon's PowerShot series, led by the SD1000. The two most popular DSLRs are versions of Canon's Digital Rebel, while Nikon's D80 is in third place. The only professional-grade camera on the list is Canon's EOS-40D, ranked at fourth.

Great new iPhone game

"Connected" Part 2 of 2

Well ... talk about free publicity .......?

"Connected" Part 1 of 2

David Lynch on the iPhone :-)

One more reason to buy an iPhone

Although not possible to buy or use an iPhone in the Netherlands it is getting more interesting, also by using the iPod Touch for this functionality.

From the makers of Movable Type.

For a long time now I have been one of those iPhone hold outs that insists on waiting for the next generation before taking the iPhone plunge. But today could be the tipping point for me and many other Movable Type users like me.

Today we are happy to announce Movable Type for the iPhone and iPod Touch, made possible through a plugin developed by Brad Choate that makes use of the design developed by Walt Dickinson for TypePad. The plugin works by installing an alternate template set
that is automatically used in place of the primary Movable Type user
interface when the application is accessed via an iPhone or iPod Touch.
The integration with Movable Type is totally seamless.

Walt has done an amazing job creating a truly thoughtful user
experience. He certainly had the option to just boil down the
application to a smaller, more browsable version of itself. But he
didn't. Instead Walt designed the ideal user experience for iPhone from
scratch. He created custom graphics, layouts and entirely new screens
for the application in order to make this plugin feel like a completely
native iPhone application.

The plugin, and its design, is completely free and open source. It is available through our plugin directory or from code.sixapart.com.

Apple Sells One Millionth iPhone

CUPERTINO, California--September 10, 2007--Apple® today announced it sold
its one millionth iPhone™ yesterday, just 74 days after its
introduction on June 29. iPhone combines three devices into one--a
mobile phone, a widescreen iPod®, and the best mobile Internet device
ever--all based on Apple's revolutionary multi-touch interface and
pioneering software that allows users to control iPhone with just a
tap, flick or pinch of their fingers.

"One million iPhones in 74 days--it took almost two years to achieve
this milestone with iPod," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We can't wait
to get this revolutionary product into the hands of even more customers
this holiday season."

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in
the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the
1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry
in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system
and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the
digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players
and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market this
year with its revolutionary iPhone.

Nice: To all iPhone customers

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are
upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after
it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some
observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we
are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone
from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a
breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this
holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it
will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and
every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the
iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just
that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology
for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is
bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always
someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses
the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is
life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut
or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology
product because there is always something better and less expensive on
the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies
that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years
of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are
introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right
decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology
road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early
iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower
price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that
trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore,
we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone
from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any
other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any
product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are
still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week.
Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our
valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you,
and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

From Engadget: Google is working on a mobile OS, and it's due out shortly

Can it be true? Is the Googlephone nigh at hand? Not that we haven't been hearing this time after time (after time after time,
etc.), but we've actually got some hot news from a number of very
trustworthy sources about Google's plans for the mobile space. Namely,
Google's mobile device platform is well on its way, and will be
announced in the very near future.

We understand that the
"Gphone OS" (our name for it, not theirs) began development after
Google's very quiet 2005 acquisition of mobile software company
Android, started by Danger cofounder and former-prez / CEO Andy Rubin.
At Google, Andy's team has developed a Linux-based mobile device OS (no
surprise) which they're currently shopping around to handset makers and
carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, customizable system --
with really great Google integration, of course.

As for the
timeframe on this thing, we keep hearing Google will announce its
mobile plans some time post-Labor Day (September 3rd); from what we've
heard Google isn't necessarily working on hardware of its own, but is
definitely working with OEMs and ODMs to get them to put the Gphone OS
on upcoming devices. Think of it more in terms of Windows Mobile or
Palm OS (in the early days) -- Google wants to supply the platform, but
we don't think they want to sell hardware.
Still, don't entirely rule out the idea. Andy Rubin knows how to make a
device and put it in peoples' hands, so nothing is impossible on the
hardware side. Either way, we're totally stoked to peep the software,
we've been waiting for the Googlephone for years on years.

Still,
we can't help wondering what El Jobso thinks about all this. Apple has
been so buddy-buddy with Google lately, especially on the iPhone
-- and now Apple's mobile team is on the verge of outright competition
with one of its closest partners. We know that's how the industry
works, but it's got to sting a little, you know?

From Rediff News: Forget iPhone, the Gphone is here

Google, the nearly $13.5 billion search engine
major, is believed to be a fortnight away from the worldwide launch of
its much-awaited Google Phone (Gphone) and has started talks with
service providers in India for an exclusive launch on one of their
networks.

Talks are believed to be taking place with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, respectively India's first and third largest mobile
telephony operators, and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam.

Sources
close to the development said a simultaneous launch across the US and
Europe is expected, and announcements would be sent to media firms in
India and other parts of the world. US regulatory approval, which is
expected soon, is the only hurdle that Google is waiting to cross, they
added. Google plans to invest $7-8 billion for its global telephony
foray.

In India, it is also believed to be in talks with Indian
providers to offer data and content and platforms including Instant
Messaging (IM) and Search functions. However, these could not be
confirmed.

A Google spokesperson said, "We don't comment on
market rumour or speculation. However, Google is committed to providing
users with access to the world's information, and mobile becomes more
important to those efforts every day. We're collaborating with partners
worldwide to bring Google search and applications to mobile users
everywhere. However, we have nothing to announce at this time."

Reports
of the Internet major getting into handset manufacturing as an answer
to Apple's iPhone has been doing rounds in cyberspace and international
media for some time. These reports suggest that Google has developed a
prototype that will hit the markets in a year's time. The US-based
company has neither confirmed nor denied these reports. The Wall Street
Journal too had reported that Google had invested "hundreds of millions
of dollars" in the project and was involved in discussions with
US-based T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

Globally, Google is
likely to participate in the upcoming auction for 700 MHz spectrum for
which it is prepared to spend up to $4.6 billion. The firm is also
introducing ads to YouTube videos which could be replicated on mobile
phones. Ironically, Google recently partnered Apple to produce services
such as e-mail and maps for its iPhone handset. And Eric Schmidt,
Google's chief executive, said recently that more Google services for
the iPhone would be rolled out.

Report: Apple chooses European iPhone carriers

Apple has chosen T-Mobile, O2, and Orange as its European launch partners for the iPhone after wrangling a revenue-sharing agreement, according to the Financial Times.

The four companies are set to announce their partnership by the end of the month, the report
said. The deals would require the carriers to share 10 percent of all
revenue from voice and data services over the iPhone with Apple,
according to the report. Apple has a revenue-sharing agreement in place with AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S.

No new details surfaced in the report about the type of iPhone that
would hit Europe, but most industry observers think Apple has a 3G
model in mind for across the pond. T-Mobile provides mobile service to
Germany, Orange operates in France, and O2 is based in the U.K.

Apple has said it wants to launch the iPhone in Europe by the end of
this year. Tim Cook, the company's chief operating officer, mentioned
that Apple wants to start in Europe with "a few major countries," and
France, Germany, and the U.K. probably fall into that category.

Apple Patent Shows Simple Nano-like iPhone

A disgusting and insulting reality is that some people don’t want to carry the Internet around in their pocket. These same people do, however, tend to like listening to music and talking on the phone. What better way to kill two birds with one stone than a phone that plays music?

This is not a new idea at all. I remember being the first and last person to buy the Samsung Uproar back in late 2000 for $400, listening to people wonder aloud how phones could possibly get any more advanced.

Well, phones got more advanced. But one thing that’s never quite been perfected is an easy-to-use music player coupled with an easy-to-use phone. And if there’s one company that could do it, it’s probably Apple.

A patent application submitted by Apple shows such a phone. It’s based on an iPod Nano-like form factor and would consist of a simple phone/music player donned with a touchpad that would display different symbols based on the phone’s current mode.

While the article I’m linking to makes reference to the idea that this phone would be perfect for your grandparents, I would tend to think that maybe it would still be a little bit advanced for people who shouldn’t even be allowed to operate motorized vehicles.

I do think it would be great for people who are sick of carrying around a phone and an iPod. This could sell like hotcakes to younger stay-at-home moms and people like my parents who don’t need data access but still want to see what all the fuss is about concerning portable music.

The ease-of-use for sending text messages will also be something to keep an eye on. If Apple gets that part right, then the floodgates could open for the tween market as well.

Cheap and simple iPhone Nano for your Grandma [UnwiredView.com]

United States Patent Application: 0070152983

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From Engadget: Is that possible?

Switched On: Comparing Apples and Blackberrys (Part 1)

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:

Apple has just introduced an incredibly promoted portable touch-screen device touted as revolutionizing an entire industry. Lines formed in anticipation of its release. The most controversial aspect of it, though, is its text-input method. And one more thing, the year is 1993 and the product is Newton. The disappointment of Newton's handwriting recognition resulted in negative reviews that left Apple with egg freckles on its face and the bold Newton MessagePad and its successors all but doomed.

Will history repeat itself with this year's model? The first sign that the iPhone's touch-screen keyboard may have a learning curve came during the Steve Jobs interview at the D: All Things Digital event when Apple's CEO offered to buy Walt Mossberg dinner if he wasn't happy with the iPhone's keyboard after coming up to speed on it.

Reinforcing that, in Apple's video walkthrough of the iPhone, the black-shirted narrator notes that "it's easiest to begin typing with just your index finger" but encourages that "as you get more proficient, migrate to using two thumbs" for the payoff that "in about a week, you'll be typing faster on iPhone than any other small keyboard. Perhaps the keyboard's tag line should be, "Give us a week. We'll take off the wait." Fortunately for Apple, most reviewers have not thrown Apple's baby out with its backspace.

Continue reading Switched On: Comparing Apples and Blackberrys (Part 1)

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That is rather early ...

Amazon Offers Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) for Pre-Order

Amazon has begun offering Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) for pre-ordering on their website.

Amazon first listed Leopard on June 12th, a day after Apple's WWDC keynote announcing Leopard's new features. It is already ranked as the 51st most p...

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