17 more countries get the iPhone 4 on Friday

Like a swart rider thundering across the forests of Saskatoon, the green plains of Europe and the misty steppes of Asia, the black iPhone 4 is entering Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland on Friday, adding to those countries’ already high happiness indices.

Not much more than that (I’m sure your local blogs will share with you the local prices in drachmas, pesos, pfennigs or whatever it is Sweden uses and we’ll put them here when we grab them) but get in line now. After all, World Cup is over so you guys have plenty of time.

Simon, our local Australian, reports that he expects it to cost “It’s usally about $1000 for the 32GB” and he is so happy but he told us “I wish it ran Android.” Dream on, Simon!

You can also pick up a grey market version in many markets, including China, but barring a full SIM unlock, these things aren’t very portable right now.

The phone is available now in France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US.

Article from Techcrunch

Did Microsoft Kill Xbox Live+Windows Live Cross-Platform Play Because Console Gamers Were Too Bad?

Oh, what could have been. Rahul Sood, of Voodoo PC fame (now at HP), says he’s heard from people in the know that Microsoft was working on a project that would have integrated Xbox Live with a sort of Windows Live. The end goal was to have been console gamers and PC gamers playing against each other on a combined Xbox Live+Windows Live service. The reason why this project never saw the light of day? Because console gamers are rubbish.

What happened was that the combined service, or whatever you want to call it, was moving along smoothly, even getting to the testing stages. That is, testing between console gamers over here and PC gamers over there. Console gamers would be using their standard controller and PC gamers would be using their standard mouse and keyboard.

Every single time the PC gamer killed the console gamer. And I don’t mean killed as in “fragged,” but killed as in the PC gamer knocked the teeth out of the console gamers every single time.

So partially for this reason—console gamers didn’t stand a chance against PC gamers—that Microsoft decided to kill the project. Maybe that’s good (would PC gaming be more popular today?), maybe that’s bad (would PC gamers have to put up with 12-year-olds screaming stupid nonsense at the top of their lungs all game long?). Who knows.

Now, this could be saying a few ones. One is obvious: a mouse and keyboard is more precise than any console controller. That’s not disputable, right? I should hope not! Two, it could be saying something about the relative skill level of PC and console gamers. Can you name even one “famous” professional console gamer? I certainly cannot, but I know you’ve heard the name Fatal1ty before. Perhaps PC gamers are simply better at gaming then their console counterparts?

Then again, it could simply be function following form. PC games (that’s from-the-ground-up PC games, not mere ports) are usually more complex than console games, so after years of getting used to playing, say, Eve Online (or name-your-complex-game), they’ve developed better skills?

No one is saying that PC gamers are “better” than console gamers, just that maybe they have a higher developed skill-set thanks to a more precise input method and generally harder games. Please don’t throw pointy things at me.

How a 15-yo Kid Tricked Apple With a Disguised iPhone Tethering App

Oh, Nick Lee, you clever boy. You see, Nick here tricked Apple with a very simple iPhone application: Handy Light. On the surface it looked like any other $0.99 flashlight application. But, secretly, it was a lot more useful.

On the surface, Handy Light just allowed you to make your iPhone's screen go blank with a color of your choice. You opened it, clicked a swatch from a simple palette, and that was it: Life in technicolor. Another stupid flashlight application, like a hundred others. Or so the people who test applications at Apple's App Store thought.

Inside, the app was a full tethering application, a program that allows you to use your iPhone as a 3G modem, so you can surf the web from your computer connected to the iPhone. All without having to pay the additional $20 per month that AT&T stupidly wants you to pay for that kind of service. That $20 on top of the data plan you already pay for the iPhone.

It worked beautifully: You just needed to set up a Wi-Fi network in your computer, connect your iPhone to it, change a few parameters in your computer's Wi-Fi settings, and that was it. Within seconds, your laptop was able to surf the web.

And use past tense because, unfortunately, it didn't last long. The app was pulled from iTunes as soon as news of its true nature appeared online. Those who downloaded it, however, can keep enjoying its benefits.

From Gizmodo

iPod touch 4th generation: What to expect

I am really wanting the iPod touch 4th Generation even though it hasnt been released or announced but looking at rumours and a bit of my own knowledge some of this seems very plausable, the camera, retina and gyroscope seems very possible, This article can be found here.

5 MP camera
A 5MP camera was mentioned in a Christmas sales presentation at John Lewis yesterday. We reckon it’ll have a front-facing camera, too, to enable Apple’s video-call facility, FaceTime, to work on it.

It’ll probably pack an LED flash, as well.

A gyroscope
We know that some of the best games on the iPhone involve tilting dexterity, so this little gizmo will mean a whole raft of groovy games at your finger tips.

A faster processor
Expect it to mirror the engine inside the iPhone 4.

128GB of storage
iPod touches double their memory capacity with each release.

A high-res screen
And possibly the Retina display that the iPhone 4 has. This packs four times as many pixels into the screen compared to previous models – and does look rather pretty.

802.11n Wi-Fi
The iPad and iPhone already have it so there’s no reason to think the iPod touch won’t get it.

Streaming iTunes
Apple bought online music store lala.com in December 2009 – then went and sold it on May 31 this year. Hmmm, that would suggest to us that the iPod touch 4 will be iTunes-ready.

Senior Apple Engineer Warned Steve Jobs About Possible iPhone 4 Antenna Issues

The PR storm Apple is in after it turned out users were running into reception issues with theiriPhone 4 devices due to a flaw in the antenna design appears to be destined not to blow over anytime soon, hastily scheduled press conferences and unhelpful software updates notwithstanding.

Bloomberg this morning published a report sayingRuben Caballero, one of Apple’s senior engineers, actually told chief exec Steve Jobs in the early design phase of the fast-selling smartphone that the antenna design could lead to dropped calls, citing a person familiar with the matter who requested to stay anonymous.

Not only that, another unidentified source tells Bloomberg, but a carrier partner also voiced some concerns about the antenna design before the device’s June 24 release.

There are only so many carriers this could be, obviously. The exclusive carrier in the United States if of course AT&T, and Apple’s European partners include Vodafone, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, while Softbank carries the iPhone 4 in Japan.

Here’s the key part of the Bloomberg report:

Apple’s industrial design team, led by Jonathan Ive, submitted several iPhone designs before Jobs and other executives settled on the bezel antenna, said the person familiar with the company’s design. Caballero, the antenna expert, voiced concern in early planning meetings that it might lead to dropped calls and presented a serious engineering challenge, the person said.

The metal bezel surrounding the handset would need to be separated in sections to create individual antennas capable of handling particular ranges of the radio frequencies for different wireless networks, the person said. If a user covered one of the seams between the sections, their finger would act as a conductive material, interfering with the signal, the person said. Consumer Reports suggests iPhone 4 users cover the antenna with duct tape to help mitigate reception woes.

Can someone please email Steve Jobs to verify if he really dismissed concerns voiced early in the design process by a senior member of staff and a carrier partner, and ask him why?

Thanks!

There. Fixed. (iPhone 5 Preview)

No more iPhone 4 reception problems. Just don't hold it by the antenna. Please. 

Breaking: Tapulous Acquired By Disney

Tapulous has been acquired by Disney. The iPhone gaming startup with several hits on its hands was founded by Bart Decrem, who will join Disney as a senior VP. COO Andrew Lacy is also joining Disney as a senior VP. Disney is very interested in social and mobile gaming, having recently invested in Playdom’s $33 million round.

Tapulous is a hot iPhone gaming startup which has raised only$1.8 million from angel investors including Marc Benioff, Jeff Clavier, and Andy Bechtolsheim. Legendary Silicon Valley mentor and Stanford professor Rajeev Motwani, who passed away last year, was also an investor. Its flagship game, Tap Tap Revenge, has numerous versions which have been downloaded millions of times. The basic game, which lets players tap to the rhythm of songs with their fingers is free, but players must pay for new songs. Its latest game is Tap Tap Radiation for the iPad.

Tapulous’ music-oriented games appeal to a younger crowd in particular. The company puts out versions of Tap Tap Revenge featuring the songs of specific artists such as Justin Bieber Revenge, Lady Gaga Revenge, Nickelback Revenge, and Nine Inch Nails Revenge. Its other mobile music, Riddim Ribbon is also a hit.

Disney Interactive Studios sells a slew of video games built around Disney movies and characters such as Toy Story, Cars, and Hannah Montana. Most of these games are for consoles like the Xbox, PS3, or GameBoy. Buying Tapulous gets it into the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad gaming platform and gives it a strong presence in music-related games.

Update: And here is the Tapulous blog post by Decrem confirming the deal.

Today, we announced that we are joining Disney. We will be a key part of Disney Interactive Media Group, spearheading their drive to be the leader in mobile entertainment.

As part of Disney Interactive Media Group, we’ll develop more games, more quickly and with the resources of the world’s leading entertainment company. We will continue to develop apps that live at the intersection of music and gaming, but we’ll also push into new and exciting areas of mobile social entertainment.

He also notes that Tap Tap Revenge has been downloaded more than 35 million times and played 1 billion songs. The price was not disclosed.

Update 2: I spoke with Decrem on the phone. He will be the GM and senior VP in charge of mobile for Disney Interactive’s gaming group, but will remain in Palo Alto.

“We will be at the center of Disney’s mobile strategy,” he says. “They have 40 apps in the app store today. There is Disney, Marvel, ESPN, Pixar—the idea of combining what we know about games in the app store with Disney’s brand and ID is exciting. It is exciting to be in the driver’s seat.”

Decrem’s charter is to add social elements to all of Disney’s games over time. For now, he is focussing on keeping Tapulous humming, but he will influence mobile games across Disney Interactive’s portfolio. It also sounds like he is ready to hire in Palo Alto “We really want to build a big footprint here in the Valley,” he adds, noting that there is a lot of empty office space in the old Facebook headquarters.