Free iPhone Calls, Free iPhone SMS: Google Voice now on the iPhone

Google has released an entirely Web-based version of its service that works on the iPhone as well as Palm’s Pre and Pixi handsets.

Apple may still officially be “pondering” whether it should approve Google’s Google Voice app for iPhone, but there’s finally good news: Google has released an entirely Web-based version of the service (at m .google.com/voice). It works on the iPhone as well as Palm’s Pre and Pixi handsets, and brings a large chunk of the functionality of the native Voice apps for Android and BlackBerry to your phone’s browser.

This new version, like mobile Gmail, is among the most app-like browser services I’ve ever seen, period, letting you dial from your Google contacts list or a keypad, read and listen to messages, send text messages, and configure the app right within mobile Safari. When you make calls using it, the person who answers sees your Google Voice number, not the “real” one associated with your phone: Google makes an outgoing call from the iPhone, then reroutes it over a line of its own.



There’s only so far that a Web-based telephony app can go. On Android and BlackBerry, Google Voice can insert itself as your default phone interface, and it gets access to the contacts stored on your phone. On the iPhone, it stays a secondary interface and can’t see your local contacts. (You can, however, use Google Sync to sync your phone’s contacts with your Google Account.) When you make an outgoing call, your iPhone confirms you want to do so and shows Google’s routing number rather than the one you’re really calling–kind of confusing. And while the interface for wrangling messages is a vast improvement on the rudimentary one in the old Web-based Google Voice, it still send you out of Safari and into QuickTime when you want to listen to a message.

[via PC World]

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WWDC: Attack of the Apple "Fans"

Apple's keynote address from its Worldwide Developers Conference may be over, but the dust surrounding the event has not yet settled. Overall, many fans were happy to see what Apple announced during the speech, but there were also howls of derision directed at AT&T, and sometimes even Apple.

Here's a breakdown of the reactions:

AT&T

AT&T is getting slammed right now for to its inability to keep up with international iPhone carriers. Unlike other iPhone users around the world, AT&T customers will have to wait until later this summer to use fancy new iPhone features like Multimedia Messaging and tethering.

Dan commenting on the iPhone blog kept it simple and said, "AT&T sucks, period." KRG over on CrunchGear, meanwhile, made a crack about AT&T service, "Why would you want to make calls [with the iPhone 3GS]? I didn't think that was a working feature in the old iPhone 3G anyway."

Blogger Matthew Schulz is starting his own grassroots campaign against AT&T on Twitter: "ACT NOW: Tweet @ATTNews re: WWDC FAIL! We can make a difference!"

Weighing in on the iPhone 3GS pricing debate, Technologizer and former PC World editor-in-chief Harry McCracken, Harry McCracken said he has no sympathy for iPhone 3G users who may have to pay more to get the new iPhone. That set off an interesting debate. Commenter Michael started his argument with a literary allusion, "Harry McCracken...You're a Douche." But John Doe was quick to defend the Technologizer with a counterpunch directed at Michael, "Wait, someone disagrees with my whine? Let me attack them."

iPhone 3GS

The new iPhone is supposed to be faster than current models, it has a compass (something that got one WWDC audience member a little too excited), and an upgraded still camera with video functionality.

But some people just weren't buying it, literally.

[via PC World]

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Shazam: find which song is playing with your iPhone for free

This free iPhone app identifies songs that you play to it and then tells you what they are.

If you have ever wondered about the name of a song on radio, or wanted to know the name of the band whose song is playing in a store then Shazam is for you. This free iPhone app records a snippet of a song then identifies it.

To get started, you simply need to click the "Tag Now" button on the top-right of the screen. Shazam will then record a 10-second sample of a song using the iPhone's microphone. The app encodes the sample and sends it to the Shazam servers. If the song is recognised, you will get a results screen with a picture of the album cover and the name of the artist, the song and the album.

You can't identify all songs. Shazam will normally only recognise songs that have been released on an album or as a single. Live music won't be recognised and neither will whistling or humming. If there is too much noise around you, the app may also have difficulty. You will usually have enough time to get a second sample and have another attempt at identifying the music.

Shazam keeps a record of the songs you have tagged, and has a small wizard which lets you sort in different orders, such as by tagging date or by artist name.

[via PC World]

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Rejected! 10 iPhone Apps That Didn't Make Apple's App Store

A 'throw shoes at Bush' app, a breast-jiggler, a naughty entry from the South Park guys--these are some of the iPhone apps that Apple unceremoniously denied shelf space

Apple has irked more than a few iPhone app developers by rejecting their creations for inclusion in the App Store, sometimes for reasons that seem to have little sense. The company won't reveal much about its mysterious and often seemingly-arbitrary process (representatives didn't respond to multiple requests to comment on this story), but we had no problem tracking down developers whose apps had been snubbed.

So cue the 2 Live Crew, smart-phone fanatics: We're delving into 11 iPhone apps banned in the U.S.A. and beyond.

1. Obama Trampoline

Swamiware's Obama Trampoline game, rejected by Apple this month, lets you place one of 18 politicians onto a giant trampoline, then use his or her body to pop balloons floating across 

the screen. Barack Obama, John McCain, and other politicians from both parties were among the character choices.

"It's cartoony," says Swamiware President and CEO Patrick

 Alphonso, hoping to deflate any implications of disrespect. "It's a game."

Apple, of course, didn't see the fun, and the game didn't get in. Swamiware is now working on retooling Trampoline for another try, but the guesswork is leaving its team less than elated.

"We spent a lot of time and money on this product," Alphonso says. "It sucks to develop an app and get it rejected for reasons that you weren't aware of."

2. MyShoe

The journalist who chucked his shoe at President George W. Bush missed his mark, and so too did an iPhone game based on the now-infamous incident. MyShoe, conceived by a Pakistan-based programmer, turned the iPhone's accelerometer into an apparatus for imaginary footwear-flinging.

The developer has been quoted as saying the game also let you take aim at Bin Laden and other public figures. Even so, it appears that Apple wanted to dodge the controversy, with its reviewers citing the App Store's rule against "ridiculing public figures" and flinging this idea right into the trash.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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17 Free iPhone Apps You Need Right Now

We take a fast look at new iPhone applications that let you drink beer virtually, interact with music in cool ways, and even do some useful things.

Everybody who knows about the new iPhone applications knows about Super Monkey Ball and MLB At Bat. But after dropping all kinds of dough on a new iPhone and a 3G service plan, you can save some cash and get these great free programs ASAP.

Note: We tested all of these apps on a first-generation iPhone with the 2.0 software installed, so data uploaded and downloaded at EDGE speeds. You'll also notice that this list is short on location-based apps such as Loopt and Whrrl. That doesn't mean they're bad--it's just that the reviewer values privacy and finds them a little creepy.

If you're comfortable with having everyone know where you are at all times, go ahead and try those apps out, too. Here, though, are my first favorites.

Also be sure to see our complete collection of stories, videos, and blogs about the Apple iPhone 3G.

AirMe and Exposure

One of a few Flickr front-ends for the iPhone, AirMe outdoes Exposure (another free iPhone app for Flickr) by allowing you to upload pics directly from your iPhone to your Flickr account. Results are instantaneous: You snap a pic with your iPhone camera, AirMe geotags it (if you want it to), and it's on your Flickr page within a minute. On the other side of the fence, Exposure lets you browse your Flickr photosets, see photos that have been taken close to your current location (again, if you want it to), and basically presents a iPhone-friendly front end to Flickr. It did crash a few times during testing, however.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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17 Free iPhone Apps You Need Right Now

We take a fast look at new iPhone applications that let you drink beer virtually, interact with music in cool ways, and even do some useful things.

Everybody who knows about the new iPhone applications knows about Super Monkey Ball and MLB At Bat. But after dropping all kinds of dough on a new iPhone and a 3G service plan, you can save some cash and get these great free programs ASAP.

Note: We tested all of these apps on a first-generation iPhone with the 2.0 software installed, so data uploaded and downloaded at EDGE speeds. You'll also notice that this list is short on location-based apps such as Loopt and Whrrl. That doesn't mean they're bad--it's just that the reviewer values privacy and finds them a little creepy.

If you're comfortable with having everyone know where you are at all times, go ahead and try those apps out, too. Here, though, are my first favorites.

Also be sure to see our complete collection of stories, videos, and blogs about the Apple iPhone 3G.

AirMe and Exposure

One of a few Flickr front-ends for the iPhone, AirMe outdoes Exposure (another free iPhone app for Flickr) by allowing you to upload pics directly from your iPhone to your Flickr account. Results are instantaneous: You snap a pic with your iPhone camera, AirMe geotags it (if you want it to), and it's on your Flickr page within a minute. On the other side of the fence, Exposure lets you browse your Flickr photosets, see photos that have been taken close to your current location (again, if you want it to), and basically presents a iPhone-friendly front end to Flickr. It did crash a few times during testing, however.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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iPhone Lawsuit Seeks Over $1 Billion in Damages

Lawyers filed a class action lawsuit against Apple and AT&T seeking $1.2 billion in damages because the iPhone is locked to AT&T's wireless network. The suit also notes that Apple will not allow unauthorized applications on the iPhone.

Filed on behalf of Paul Holman in the State of Washington and Lucy Rivello in California, the lawsuit explains that in the United States the SIM chip is locked to the wireless carrier, not the hardware device.

When Apple released the iPhone it tied the device to AT&T. Switching out the SIM with one from another carrier simply caused an error when the phone was rebooted. However, the cellular community quickly tackled the iPhone and found several ways to unlock the phone, allowing users to activate it using another carrier.

On September 24 Apple warned customers that unlocking the phone could render it inoperable when future software updates were applied. Three days later, an iPhone update was released that effectively bricked unlocked iPhones.

"Apple expressly designed its software release 1.1.1 expressly to disable Third Party Apps and to disable any unlocked SIM cards, and to create technical barriers to install new Third Party Apps or to unlock the SIM cards," the lawsuit reads.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Apple Posts New iPhone TV Ads

Apple has a new string of iPhone television ads for the U.S. market that you can now view online at Apple's Web site.

The ads are "man in the street" testimonials - iPhone users shot literally on the sidewalk, against a black backdrop - explaining how they use their iPhones.

"Doug" describes the virtues of Visual Voicemail, while "Elliot" explains how the iPhone's Web surfing capabilities saved him from an awkward social encounter. "Stephano" lauds the iPhone's flexibility, enabling him to get rid of a bag he said he used to carry the four devices that the single iPhone has replaced.

The ads end with the caption "iPhone," and "Only on the new AT&T," accompanying logos of AT&T and Apple.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Travel Accessories for the iPod and iPhone

These add-ons for Apple gadgets, for the plane, car, and hotel room are cool--but are they worth the money?

An Apple iPod or iPhone is an essential travel accessory in its own right. Not only can you listen to music and watch videos, but you can also store your business contacts on either device or use your iPod to back up files.

But as feature-packed as Apple's devices are, you'll probably still want to accessorize them. Here's a look at some cool add-ons for the airplane, car, hotel room--or anywhere you travel.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Samsung Unveils Its iPhone Rival

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and audio product maker Bang & Olufsen on Tuesday unveiled their latest joint music-mobile phone, Serenata, which holds 4G bytes of songs and has a number of other music features similar to the iPhone.

The handsets will go on sale in Europe by the end of the month, said Anthony Lee, a spokesman at Samsung. Pricing has not yet been determined.

The handset doesn't look much like a mobile phone: the top half is dominated by a navigation wheel, the designers having dispensed with buttons. The 2.26-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) touch screen is below the navigation wheel, in the place where the buttons are found on conventional mobile phones.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Apple's Options for Stopping Open Source iPhone Use

Although Apple's Steve Jobs has declared war on iPhone hackers, no one knows for certain how he plans to stop them.

The major reason that Apple wants to stop hackers from creating new open source programs for its iPhone, some analysts say, is that it has signed exclusivity agreements in various countries with service providers such as AT&T, T-Mobile and O2. Because Apple wants these companies to have incentives to continue developing exclusive applications for the iPhone, they say, Apple must make an effort to stop open source use.

"The open source applications are probably affecting AT&T more than they're affecting Apple," says Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, a division scientist at BBN Technologies. "I would imagine there's an exclusivity clause somewhere in the contract with AT&T, at least for a particular period of time, primarily so people couldn't go to other carriers."

Read the whole article @ PC World

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iPhone's Bluetooth Bug Under Hackers' Microscope

Almost lost in the hubbub over Thursday's iPhone firmware update and whether it would "brick" unlocked phones was the fact that Apple Inc. patched 10 vulnerabilities -- twice the number of fixes issued since the phone's June debut.

The iPhone 1.1.1 update, which like previous upgrades is delivered through Apple's iTunes software, fixes seven flaws in the built-in Safari browser, two in the smart phone's Mail application and one in its use of Bluetooth, the short-range wireless technology.

The seven Safari vulnerabilities include several cross-site scripting (XSS) flaws, one that can disclose the URL of other viewed pages -- an online banking site, say -- and another that lets attackers execute malicious JavaScript in pages delivered by the SSL-encrypted HTTPS protocol. One of the Safari flaws, and an associated vulnerability in Mail, involve "tel:" links, which can be exploited by hackers to dial a number without the user confirming the call.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Unauthorized iPhone Apps Market Flourishes

Software developer Dylan Schiemann used Steve Jobs' own words against him in a presentation on developing third-party software applications for Apple's iPhone.

"You can write amazing Web 2.0 and Ajax apps that look and behave exactly like apps on the iPhone," CEO Jobs said at an Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June in San Francisco.

"It depends on your meaning of the word 'exactly,'" Schiemann said Monday at the AjaxWorld 2007 Conference & Expo in nearby Santa Clara.

Jobs says Apple will allow third-party software developers to write applications to run on an iPhone, but not be installed on it. Instead, the apps can only be delivered through the device's Safari Web browser. While an endorsement of Ajax from Steve Jobs is welcome, Schiemann and others at the Ajax conference say there are limitations on how their apps can run on Safari, and there is a vibrant community of developers writing apps to install directly on iPhone, contrary to Apple's wishes.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Apple Newton to Be Reborn?

Interesting story on AppleInsider today about a new iteration of the Apple Newton rumored to be in the works. The Newton, of course, was ahead of its time--when it came out in 1993, it was still too big and bulky to be true handheld, and consumers weren't quite looking for such a device.

The AppleInsider piece cites insider sources, and provides some specs, too--the fabled Newton device would be 1.5 times the size of the iPhone, and would have a 720x480 display that fills much of the surface (I'm thinking along the lines of how the iPod Touch and iPhone are laid out). And, of course, it would use the multi-touch screen technology we've all become so familiar with since the iPhone's introduction this past summer.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Graphics Tool Goes on iPhone

iPhone users involved in heading-up creative graphics and design businesses can now control many of their business systems using their choice of mobile device.

Project management and ad agency groupware, Creative Manager Pro, has been updated to version 8.4.4. This latest version is optimized for the iPhone, iPod touch and is ready for Mac OS X 10.5.

Creative Manager Pro is a web-based product, so enabling its feature-set in order that they be accessible using the built-in Safari browser on Apple's mobile devices was inevitable.

Now, iPhone and iPod touch users can review the status of projects and contact clients on the go. Designers and other staff can also enter timesheets using the devices.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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Disability Advocates Gripe to FCC About iPhone

A group representing people with a hearing loss filed complaints with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last month, accusing Apple Inc. of not making its iPhone compatible with hearing aids.

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), a Bethesda, Md. advocacy group, filed formal complaints with the FCC in August, Brenda Battat, the HLAA's associate executive director, said in e-mailed comments about Apple's iPhone. "The phone [is] not usable with a hearing aid, either on the microphone or telecoil setting," said Battat. "Clearly it was not designed to be hearing aid compatible. It should have been."

Under its Section 255 regulations, the FCC requires phone manufacturers, including those selling mobile handsets, to make their products accessible to people with disabilities, if such access is "readily achievable." That standard is defined by the agency as "easily accomplishable without much difficulty or expense."

Read the whole article @ PCWorld

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