I figured Macworld would be lacking in huge announcements, but I thought we would at least hear an announcement about an upcoming iPhone feature, software update, or something.

However, they did update the iWork suite which includes some nifty iPhone features, but other than that, they keynote was pretty boring. What did you think?

My associates, Hadley and Chris were there, so I’m sure they will deliver their experience and reactions as well.

Stay tuned…

Many people have been demanding chromatic iPhone 3Gs since the release. This demand has sparked many rumors whenever there is a WWDC and now that Macworld is tomorrow, will we actually get different colors?

Adding to the pre-Macworld chaos, a pink iPhone, complete with logos and trademarks, came up for auction on eBay recently. However, it was discovered that this was custom made.

There were rumors of a third color option of the iPhone prior to the iPhone 3G launch. At the time it was expected to be a product (Red) iPhone, but afterward it turned out to be only the black and white models we have now.

I doubt we’ll ever see a chromatic series of iPhones, but it is just as possible as an “iPhone Nano.” However, if there is an “iPhone Nano,” I am pretty sure we may see those in different colors.

Appsamuck is a resource for new iPhone developers. They provided one new app per day with source for 31 days. I’m not sure when this began, but it is finished and all 31 apps are there waiting for newbie developers to pick over.

In their welcome, Appsamuck say:

Over the years, we have given many presentations on developing Mobile applications. One thing that we have heard time and time again is that people have a hard time writing their first mobile application. We think sometimes people have a hard time taking those first steps. It is easy to think that it will take too much time, and that it will be too hard. But that is simply not the case. But instead of telling people, we are going to show them how easy it really is.

The examples aren’t tutorials though, that is, there’s no explanation of the hows and whys of the code. But anyone with a bit of nous should be able to nut out what’s going on and find examples of methods they can apply to their own applications.

If you’re a new iPhone… more...

James Stoup has a way of cutting through the static surrounding issues and getting to the heart of the matter. The issue James is taking on at Apple Matters? App Store suckiness. The opening paragraph sets up the rest of the article:

I find it ironic in the extreme that Apple, a company whose foundation is built on the idea of selling high quality products, would create a store whose very design kills high quality products.

If you’ve been following the controversy about cheap apps in the App Store you know the problem: How can a company invest in producing an app that will sell for more than a few bucks when that app has to compete against apps that cost .99?

James has a novel solution: set a minimum price for apps and make that minimum $4.99. As a consumer it probably sounds like crazy talk, as a developer it likely sounds like nirvana. As an iPhone user user you’ll be better off if you read the article at Apple Matters.

Ask anyone who has been on the internet more than twice and they will tell you that print media is dead. Yeah, you lose some of the serendipity with the internet and coupons are much harder to cut out (I keep scratching my screen) but the future is clear and dead trees aren’t in the equation.

All that noted the old school magazines still carry a certain cachet. Particularly the big ones. You know: NewsWeek, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Parade (well just the Howard Huge part).

But no mag carries more automatic respect than Time magazine and Time loves the iPhone. How can you be sure? First Time named the iPhone the #1 gadget of the year (2007) and secondly the mag has devoted an entire piece to the best apps for the iPhones.

The bad thing about the list? It is a slideshow. iPM is here to help. Time’s choices are:

1. Pandora Internet Radio
2. AroundMe
3.… more...

The G1 from Google and T-Mobile hasn’t set the world on fire (the phones do make nice Christmas bonuses however) but the real promise of Android (the OS that powers the G1) isn’t a single phone it’s in the openness of the OS. Anyone can download the code, go crazy and make something really great.

So even if you’re not impressed by the current android powered offering doesn’t mean every phone that comes along will be like the G1. Imagine what a company that has mastered hardware and software could do with a mobile phone and some open source code. Well, you know what Apple did (OS X Mobile is based on OS X which is based on BSD which is open source) when the company applied the assembled lobes to the problem but could another company pull off the same trick?

Maybe. But you have to wonder what company has the skills to challenge the iPhone. The go to company is Nokia, they know all about phones but for some reason the phones have never sold well in the US. Another company that… more...

Argue all you will about how open or closed the iPhone should be. In the end it just doesn’t matter, the folks who demand complete control over their purchased devices will continue to jailbreak their iPhones while those who just want a smooth consumer experience will opt for the standard iPhone experience. If you are one of the people who want complete control over your iPhone the news is good. The geniuses at the Dev-Team have the unlock up for the latest iPhone software revision.

They call it yellowsn0w and it isn’t working for everyone yet but it will get simpler as the days go by. So if you’re the unlocking type: get busy and send a big thank you to the folks at the Dev-Team.

You know, some apps show off how cool the iPhone is, apps like MachDice and Clinometer. But others simply show off how cool and clever developers are. iChalky is one, iSteam is another.

You will get bored of playing with iSteam quickly, but I doubt you’ll ever get bored of showing it off.

The premise is simple but very very well done by the guys at GreatApps. Your iPhone’s screen is steamed up and you can scribble on it with your finger. It even has realistic droplets of water that run down the screen. A squeaky sound of finger on glass is also included; however, I didn’t find that always worked and didn’t really sound right. A nice touch is you can fog the screen up again by blowing into the mic.

It also works on the iPod touch but you will have to use an external mic.

Currently it is free in the App Store and as such is a must have just to show off to those unfortunates who don’t possess an iPhone.

Second time lucky! As I started to say the other day, I popped EA’s iPhone version of Monopoly in my pocket before I went on holidays.

The game is great, my experience of trying to write a review, not so great, and probably almost deserves it’s own article. Suffice to say, I tried to write the review using my iPhone but that really highlighted the absence of copy & paste as it meant I couldn’t write offline. And when I tired writing online, Safari didn’t seem entirely compatible with iPhone Matters’ blog engine, losing both changes to the article, and comments when I tried to explain what happened. As such, I decided, for sanity, to complete this article on my return to the civilized world of desktop Macs. So in reality, this is about my fifth attempt to write this piece.

Monopoly for the iPhone is based on the “Here and Now: The World Edition” edition. Therefore locations and events are modern as is the money. According to the Hasbro website the “World Edition” is “the first ever global MONOPOLY featuring… more...

iPhonematters has taken a quick glance at what the iPhone at Wal Mart might mean before. But when we took a look at it firm conclusions were hard to reach. did the iPod start selling even more crazily because it was at Wal Mart or was the iPod at Wal Mart because it was selling like crazy? Reaching a firm conclusion either way is difficult. Doesn’t mean Wal Mart isn’t excited to have the iPhone though, check out this screen shot:

Just because iPhonematters can’t quite decide if the Wal Mart made the iPod ubiquitous or if Wal Mart just wanted to get in on the inevitable ubiquity doesn’t mean other folks can’t reach a conclusion. Don Reisenger at CNet is certain that the iPhone at Wal Mart is the move that will take the iPhone clean over the top, ensuring domination of all… more...