iPhoneBeacon.com

Two weeks after an iPhone 3GS was dropped in a swimming pool while recording video, the phone is still frickin’ working says its owner.

“I’m talking to you on it now,” says Khena Kara, the iPhone’s owner, speaking from his home in Nashville, TN. “It’s still going strong.”

Kara’s iPhone 3GS gained internet fame after Kara accidentally dropped it in a swimming pool while recording a video. The iPhone kept recording as it sank to the bottom, and as he fished it out. “It still frickin’ works!” he says in surprise as he pulls the iPhone from the pool. Kara posted the footage to YouTube, and it spread fast on blogs and Twitter. It has now been watched more that 500,000 times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qbWjaW25mQ

But many questioned the video’s authenticity. Most notably, Mashable wondered whether it was real.

“Yes, it’s real,” says Kara of the video. “It was the pool in my subdivision.”

Above is a video still of Kara taken from the iPhone video right after it was fished from the pool. And below it is a new picture of Kara taken with the same iPhone.

The new picture’s metadata appears to back up Kara’s story.

Here’s the full picture of Kara emailed to CoM. The photo says it was sent from an iPhone. The picture’s metadata says it was taken with an iPhone on July 5 — almost two weeks after the pool video was posted.

The photo’s GPS data points to a subdivision outside Nashville, and the Google satellite image of the subdivision shows a large swimming pool. Kara asked that the satellite image not be published.

“I don’t want that many people to know where I live,” he says. “There are too many weirdos out there, and if you had seen some of the responses I’ve gotten, you’d swear I posted a video of me killing a puppy or something. It’s crazy.”

The crazy response is partly because of the video’s popularity, and partly because of the Mac-versus-Windows flame war it started.

“This thing has taken on a life of its own,” adds Kara, who speaks with British accent even though he is half French, half Sicilian. He was born and raised in Paris, France, and educated by a British tutor. His father is a famous French movie star.

“I had no idea how much attention it would get. It’s insane. I had no frickin’ idea.”

Questioning the video’s authenticity, some wonder if Kara put the iPhone in a waterproof case before he dropped it in the pool.

Kara says the iPhone was wrapped in a rubbery case, but it’s not waterproof.

“It’s a cheapo rubber case,” he says. “I don’t remember the brand. The case might have helped, but all the holes are still exposed, so it didn’t make that much difference.”

Others have accused Kara of working for Apple.

“I’d be happy to work for Apple,” says Kara laughing. “I’ll move to Cupertino if you want me to. They can send me free stuff too.”

Posted by Leander Kahney

Among the third-party products demonstrated during June’s WWDC keynote, the one that may have generated the most anticipation was TomTom’s TomTom for iPhone. This combination of an iPhone app providing turn-by-turn driving directions and a hardware accessory, the Car Kit for iPhone, that enhances the app will enable the iPhone to take the place of a standalone GPS unit for many users. Unfortunately, TomTom CTO Peter-Frans Pauwels didn’t provide many details during that demonstration other than to say that TomTom for iPhone would be available “later this summer.”

Macworld recently had a chance to talk with with Tom Murray, Vice President of Market Development for TomTom, and while the company hasn’t yet announced a release date or final pricing information, Murray was able to expand on some of the information presented at WWDC. (You can see a video teaser of TomTom for iPhone on YouTube.)

iPhone challenges

While other vendors have announced, and in some cases already released, navigation apps for the iPhone (AT&T’s Navigator and Sygic’s Mobile Maps are a couple of the latter), Murray noted that TomTom for iPhone is unique because it’s a two-part solution. By combining software and hardware, the company says it can provide an experience that’s much more comparable to that of a standalone navigation unit than an app on its own.

According to Murray, the biggest challenge presented by an iPhone-based navigation solution is that dedicated navigation devices have better GPS reception than an unassisted iPhone. In addition, the iPhone doesn’t include any of the special technologies TomTom implements in its own navigation units; for example, gyroscopes and other hardware that allow a unit to better approximate its position when it loses the GPS signal in, say, a tunnel. The size of the iPhone is also an issue—4.3-inch screens are becoming the standard for standalone devices, while the iPhone’s screen is only 3.5 inches in size. And few iPhone owners have car mounts for positioning the phone safely while driving.

There are also logistical issues. For example, because the iPhone doesn’t support background processes, any navigation app must shut down during phone calls, making real-time tracking difficult—something that doesn’t happen on a dedicated GPS unit, even one that includes telephony features. And while the iPhone offers far more space for data storage than do most GPS units, the company recognizes that iPhone owners will want to use much of that space for apps and media, so navigation apps need to avoid abusing the opportunity.

Car Kit not required, but recommended

iPhone owners will be able to purchase and use the TomTom software and maps without the Car Kit hardware accessory; however, the Car Kit for iPhone was designed to enhance the software by addressing several of the limitations mentioned above. For starters, the Car Kit includes a separate GPS receiver that performs better than the one built into the iPhone; Murray said this receiver is closer to what you’d find in a dedicated GPS unit. The TomTom app uses this receiver when your iPhone is docked in the Car Kit, allowing for improved real-time navigation, especially in cities with large buildings or in locations with lots of trees or other natural obstacles. The Car Kit also includes a built-in speaker that provides better audio quality and considerably louder output, making it easier to hear spoken directions.

The Car Kit is also a car mount for placing your iPhone in a safe location for driving. The unit includes the same EasyPort mount as TomTom’s recent standalone GPS units, letting you adjust the cradle’s angle, rotation, and relative position (you can position the cradle sitting on or hanging from the mount). The mount locks in place when in use, and folds flat for easier storage. The Kit’s power cable plugs into your car’s accessory jack or any USB power source and charges your iPhone while docked.

Finally, the Car Kit includes several additional audio features. For example, it includes a 1/8-inch audio-output jack for connecting the iPhone and Car Kit to any car stereo with an auxiliary-input jack; this lets you listen to both navigation directions and iPhone audio—including music—through your car stereo. You also get a microphone that lets you use the Car Kit as a Bluetooth speakerphone. (Yes, even though the iPhone physically connects to the Car Kit, it uses a Bluetooth connection for phone calls.)

We asked TomTom how the company will promote the TomTom for iPhone package, given that the software and hardware will necessarily be sold and distributed separately—the app through the App Store, the hardware through other outlets. The company says it intends to sell each separately, as well to bundle the two, but that making people aware of the hardware if they purchase the software first will be the biggest challenge.

TomTom features, iPhone UI

While the iPhone’s hardware can’t match that of a standalone GPS unit, Murray noted that TomTom is taking advantage of the iPhone’s own unique features to enhance the app. For example, unlike TomTom’s dedicated GPS devices, the TomTom app’s interface has portrait and landscape modes depending, of course, on how the phone is oriented. You can also use the iPhone’s multi-touch gestures—tap, swipe, pinch, and zoom—to navigate the interface and zoom in and out of maps. You’ll also be able to access your iPhone contacts from within the TomTom app, letting you quickly choose a destination or starting point from a contact’s information. (Integration with other apps has not yet been announced.)

Mapping and navigation will apparently work much as they do on the company’s standalone units, with a similar interface, most of the same core features, and similar voice-guided navigation. The app will include TomTom’s IQ Routes feature, which takes advantage of other TomTom GPS owners’ driving experiences to determine the actual speeds driven on particular routes at particular times of day. Murray said the “trillions of bits of data” lets IQ Routes provide accurate information about historical drive-speed norms, generating more accurate drive times and letting the software choose the actual fastest route, which may not be the same as the shortest route.

One feature Murray couldn’t yet confirm or deny is Map Share, which lets users make route corrections—for example, road closures or incorrect street information—on their devices and then sync those changes with TomTom’s servers to share them with other users.

(When asked which TomTom GPS unit the iPhone will most-closely compare with, Murray said there is none—the iPhone’s screen size makes it similar to the older, 3.5-inch-screen models, but features such as IQ Routes make its software more similar to that of newer models.)

Pricing and availability haven’t yet arrived

Unfortunately, TomTom wasn’t able to provide concrete information about pricing and availability—the company is still saying simply “later this summer.” However, Murray did tell us that the company is leaning towards a set price for the application and maps, rather than taking the subscription approach of AT&T. The application you purchase through the App Store will include the TomTom navigation software and the latest TeleAtlas maps for your area; North America and Europe will be the initial areas offered.

Due to the size of the maps, the download will be quite large for an iPhone app—close to 1GB. (TomTom doesn’t yet know if the download will be restricted to WiFi connections.) iPhone users will be able to update their maps, although the policy and process for updating—for example, via in-app purchasing, App Store updates, or using software similar to TomTom Home—has yet to be determined.

Those interested in more information on TomTom for iPhone can sign up for status updates at the TomTom site.

When isn’t there intrigue surrounding an announcement from Apple? It’s practically embedded in Apple’s marketing mojo. So while Apple’s announcement today that Senior Vice President Phil Schiller would be leading the charge at its June Worldwide Developer Conference instead of Steve Jobs isn’t exactly major news, it does raise questions.  What should WWDC congregants expect?

Apple previously stated that Jobs won’t return from his health-related leave of absence until the end of June. The company says the WWDC will showcase previously-announced technologies: the next major version of the Mac OS X operating system called Snow Leopard and version 3.0 of the iPhone mobile operating system. But would Apple, minus Jobs, also unveil the next version of iPhone hardware?

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster for one doesn’t think so. Instead, he expects Apple to hold a special event in late June or July to announce a new iPhone. Munster also believes Jobs will return to the company around that time, perhaps in a reduced role as chairman.  Apple doesn’t “seem to be sending any body language that make us think any thing different,” he told me.

But others think Apple could indeed bring out a new iPhone at WWDC.

Blogging in The Business Insider, Dan Frommer serves up a few reasons why it could happen. For starters, WWDC is potentially an even bigger deal these days for Apple than it used to be, since the company has pulled out of the Macworld trade show. And Frommer says “If Steve Jobs is too sick to give a keynote in early June, it seems a stretch to assume he’ll be dramatically better a few weeks later.”

What’s more, the first iPhone contracts run out late in June, and consumers will likely have a hot new smartphone to tempt them by then. That’s the Palm Pre that Palm showed off at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Indeed, the Pre watch is also on. Piper Jaffray is speculating that its launch could take place June 5, a few days prior to WWDC. But either way it should arrive in June, assuming Palm sticks to its guns and delivers as promised in the first half of the year.

“The Palm Pre is going to send a shot at Apple here,” Munster says.  “At the end of the day there is a lot of pressure on these companies to innovate faster than they ever have.”

By Ed Baig

The other day, as I sat waiting for Jeff Bezos to appear in an auditorium to announce the new Kindle DX, I was surrounded by iPhones. Literally. Two people to my right, two people in front of me, and three people in back of me were all tapping out IMs or emails on their iPhones. What struck me was how awkward most of these people looked, tapping away with a single finger, laboring to type sentences just a few lines long.

Now I know some people can type quickly using the iPhone’s virtual keyboard. A week earlier I’d witnessed a woman, her iPhone sitting on a table, taping with two fingers at a highly elevated rate (the rat-tat-tat of her typing on the table was quite noisy, which drew onlookers). But there are still a lot of people out there who just can’t get used to typing on the iPhone. And many a Blackberry user has told me she will never be able to switch to the iPhone because she needs a physical keyboard.

My wife is a case in point. She lives on her Blackberry and can type emails with astonishing speed. When she was required recently to get a “personal” cell phone separate from her work cell phone, she opted to get the exact same Blackberry Curve on AT&T that she used for work–even though she could have gotten the iPhone for the same price (at least in terms of hardware costs). She’s a Blackberry user through and through, even after a couple of her Blackberries broke (more on that in a minute).

I wouldn’t be the first to suggest that Apple make a slider version of the iPhone that would incorporate a physical keyboard. On a lot of levels, it would make a lot of sense. Apple could do a so-called consumer version of the iPhone, as well as a model that had a slightly more corporate bent to take on Blackberry directly in that market. (The Blackberry Curve did outsell the iPhone last quarter).

However, the iPhone’s virtual keyboard is tied into an overarching Apple design philosophy for the device and chances are very slim Apple will alter the iPhone hardware beyond a few small tweaks. From a software standpoint, where the biggest changes will come, one of the key additions in iPhone 3.0 OS is native support for a landscape (horizontal) virtual keyboard, which would allow you to go to a more ergonomic two-thumbed approach and should make the overall typing experience significantly better. True, that functionality has been available for a while–but only through third-party apps that only a small minority of users download.

The rumored Motorola Android phone looks a lot like my dream iPhone.

(Credit: The Boy Genius Report )

Why didn’t Apple offer a landscape mode for the keyboard from the getgo? That’s one of those Apple mysteries that’s hard to solve along with “The Case of the missing stereo Bluetooth,” “Voice dialing, where are you?”, and the ever popular “Waiting for cut & paste,” an existential drama in three acts. Word is these features should be available in iPhone 3.0.

Will having a native landscape mode for the virtual keyboard satisfy Blackberry keyboard aficionados? Probably not. As good as Apple’s virtual keyboard might be for a virtual keyboard you’ll still have millions of people who only feel comfortable with a physical keyboard.

Personally, I’m partial to hard keyboards and I initially liked the slide-out keyboard on my Sprint Mogul, though I still miss the feel of the Blackberry keyboard on my ancient, email-only Blackberry 857. However, there is one big strike against physical keyboards: because you have moving parts involved, they tend to be plagued by mechanical failures over time. My Mogul keyboard is on the fritz and some days I want to throw the phone against the wall (my contract is up in June, which is when I will replace it). Fellow editor John Falcone, who got his Mogul at around the same time I did, is also having problem with his keyboard, which leads me to believe many physical keyboards simply have a limited lifespan. In the case of the Mogul, which is made by HTC, the problem may involve the sliding mechanism and the connection between the keyboard and the phone’s motherboard–not necessarily the keys themselves.

Blackberry keyboards tend to be pretty durable. But my wife’s scroll wheel on two her older Blackberries died from heavy use. Apparently, this problem was widespread because in future devices Blackberry moved to a trackball in the Curve. But it, too, can develop problems over time as dust and dirt from your fingers clog things up–just like with a computer trackball.

Clearly, by going with a virtual keyboard–and a pure touch interface–Apple and AT&T have managed to avoid customer-service headaches related to the breakdown of broken parts associated with physical keyboards, navigational joysticks, trackballs, or scroll wheels. When an iPhone gets screwed up, it tends to involve a bum battery, some form of mysterious internal glitch that causes intermittent freezes/shutdowns or battery drains–or someone just dropping the phone. At least those are the problems I hear about.

But even as I point out the downsides to physical keyboards, I’d still opt for an iPhone with a slide-out “hard” keyboard if given the choice. That’s part of the reason why I’ll take a long look at the Palm Pre when it comes out around the same time the 3rd-generation iPhone does (both are expected to arrive in June) and anything new and interesting Blackberry has on tap.

What do you guys think? Any iPhone owners still struggling with the keyboard? Or is it just fine the way it is and will only get better with a native landscape mode?

Before Apple started making immensely slick, sexy hardware, the main issues were always “specs”, “graphic cards”, “memory”. Then, the game changed. People started buying Apple computers because they looked good — inside and out. Their computers (and gadgets) are immensely appealing. Their operating system, OS X, is a pleasure to look at. When the iPhone was announced, I knew it was going to be the equivalent of Naomi Campbell in the cell phone world. And I was right.

Are iPhones just too sexy to compete against them?

At the moment, the computing industry and the phone industry are merging — fast. This is a prediction that many of us technical writers made a long time ago: computers would eventually be as small (and as light) as phones and they would be able to make phone calls.  Phones would become more and more complete, and would eventually become computers. Everybody could see that the discrepancies between the two would become less and less marked — and they did.

I was waiting for a killer landmark product that would show the inevitability of this convergence. I was disappointed when a proprietary product like the iPhone became that landmark. I saw the rise of the iPhone, while free software projects and phone stacks had immense difficulties coming to life. The most prominent ones were OpenMoko, Maemo, QTopia — none of them were there just yet. Nokia missed the boat with the N800. Then Google saved the game with Android. The rest is history — history that is being written right now.

How far will Android go?

The problem with Android:

Android at this point is the only serious threat the iPhone faces.  Forget about Nokia, that was smart enough to create something very close to the iPhone way before the iPhone itself was conceived (the N770 and N800), and “forgot” to put a GSM card in it… and then bought Trolltech (creator of QTopia) while maintaining the GTK-based Maemo at the same time — and finally came up with the N95, a symbian-based “iPhone killer” that has a long, long way to go.  Android is the only possible iPhone killer.

But, is it?

The trouble is, Android is not a phone. It’s a _platform_ — a set of interacting software components. Any phone maker can build a phone that uses Android as its main operating system, without paying a single cent for it.

The first Android phone that came out, the G1 (or HTC Dream), is a remarkable device. In many, many ways it is better than the iPhone. Even its interface is more usable, especially because it’s more focused around the device being a phone.

But it’s not sexy.

That’s right, unless you are a hardware engineer, the HTC Dream/G1’s hardware is not sexy. It doesn’t have the iPhone’s curves, it’s chunkier, and it just doesn’t feel as appealing. Even the way its fantastic integrated keyboard slides out… makes it look like an engineering miracle, rather than a mouth watering gadget.

The same can be said about Android’s interface. It’s fantastic. It’s functional. But when you see it, you don’t think “curves”. You think “squares”. In some ways it’s more functional than the iPhone’s GUI.  But it just doesn’t look quite as good.

Mind you, this is just me saying it. I am sure there are plenty of people who would disagree with me. But, forget for a second the beauty of free software, forget that you can download and use Android and even change it and redistribute, etc. Out in your hands an iPhone and a G1/HTC Dream, and play with them briefly, simultaneously. Then, tell me.

Is this ever going to change? I don’t know. The issue is twofold: hardware and software.

Talking about the hardware, at the moment, the only real phone out there that uses Android is the G1/HTC Dream. Android is a new platform, and designing/building phones takes time. This is probably why Android phones are not popping up like mushrooms just yet. It was fortunate that HTC was involved in creating the first Android phone, because they really know what they are doing. You can pick on the lack of sexiness in the G1/HTC Dream, but it is still a fantastic piece of hardware. Others will follow. The hope is that at least one of them will realise that it is important to create a phone that appeals to gadget lovers. But, it’s only a hope. When the Macbooks came out, I hoped that other laptop makers would wake up and finally create sexier laptops… but that wasn’t quite the case. Most (all?) laptop makers are still stuck to the case design from the middle ages. So, we shall see.

Talking about the software, again, Android is new. It was created in a remarkably short amount of time, and the results are impressive. It will definitely improve with time — in fact, it already has. However, it still looks quite “square-ish”, and I do wonder if there is any desire, at Google, to make it any different. Maybe that’s one way to differentiate the iPhone software from Android. Or maybe I belong to a minority, and most people actually prefer the look of Android compared to the iPhone’s. Who knows? I guess I will find out when I read the (probably harsh) comments to this article.

Maybe creating a simil-iPhone, with its curvy hardware and curvy user interface, would be just an attempt to catch up that wouldn’t stand a chance… and a better route would be to look for the next cool thing.  Before Apple. Before anybody else.

Anyone up for the challenge?

Palm Pre and the rumored new iPhone 2009 are undeniably the two biggest hypes in technology these days. The Palm Pre we feel we already know really well and the other is basically still a blur besides its operating system.
The mystery new iPhone which we refer to as iPhone 2009 is generating much more interest around the globe according to our analysis. Is it the ‘unknown’ that drives the hype? Should have Palm kept the Palm Pre more under wraps until launch?
Palm unveiled the Palm Pre at the CES 2009 in January and it got major attention. The timing was great and nobody else showed something at that time that could steal its thunder.
The new webOS of the Palm Pre is a real stunner and there are lots of very smart features inside the Palm Pre that got the press and many consumers very excited.
Now we have waited over 5 months and we watched lots of Palm Pre videos, seen many Palm Pre photos (Palm site) and read about all its features. The only two things we do not know is the price and when Sprint is starting to sell the Palm Pre.
In the meantime the rumor hype machine around the anticipated new iPhone 2009 from Apple is in full gear and Apple has detailed the new iPhone 3.0 OS and it matches many of the new Palm Pre features. Now it is more a matter of taste to go with the webOS look and feel or stick with the Apple OS UI language. The big unknown is what the new iPhone would be like. At this point I believe many of you who are looking to buy the Palm Pre are waiting to see what new iPhone Apple is unveiling.

This does not mean that the Palm Pre will not be successful. There are many reasons for consumers to chose the Palm Pre no matter what the new iPhone is going to be including basic ones like the Palm Pre is completely new, The Pre is not from AT&T and the Pre is not an Apple product.
It is tough astonishing that a mystery product can create much more hype than a well known product that shines really bright. There is of course also a disadvantage to this situation. If Apple is going to disappoint at the WWDC 2009 by, worst case, introducing no new iPhone, than Palm has a big chance to capture some significant market share away from the Apple iPhone.

Amazon Monday debuted a Kindle Store tailored specifically to Safari browsers on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. According to Amazon, when iPhone and iPod Touch users now click on the Kindle for iPhone app’s “Get Books” button, the new store provides easier browsing of the Kindle store on Safari.

Since its release on March 4, the Kindle app for iPhone has, according to Amazon, become the iPhone’s most popular e-books application. Through its Whispersync technology, Amazon can also enable digital bookmarks that allow customers to pick up where they left off in their reading, whether accessing a book on iPhone, iPod touch or Kindle. The Kindle Store stocks 280,000 books, according to Amazon, including all but six of the 112 current New York Times best-sellers.

“The response to Kindle for iPhone has been tremendous. Customers love the convenience of accessing their Kindle books whenever and wherever they want, plus the convenience of not having to remember or locate their last page read because Whispersync does that for them,” said Ian Freed, vice president of Amazon Kindle, in a statement. “The most common feedback we heard from customers was that they wanted a better experience for purchasing new Kindle books from their iPhones. We’ve been working hard to respond to that feedback with a new Web site optimized for Safari on iPhone and we’re excited to do that today.”

Amazon’s release of the large-screen Kindle DX last week set off an explosion of speculation over its perceived e-reading competition with Apple, especially since Apple is widely rumored to be releasing a multipurpose tablet device at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

If that’s the case, an Apple device that could provide not only a state-of-the-art e-reading experience but also all the other things mobile device users want could mean a serious threat to the Kindle’s long-term viability as an e-reading-specific device of choice.

But as Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research said, suggested to ChannelWeb last week, Amazon is making moves to complement Apple’s business model, not attempt to box it out of e-reading.

“I do think that Apple will come out with a device and among its uses will be as an e-book reader. But Amazon’s business is distributing content and selling stuff. This tidy but small device is for Amazon a secondary market, just as the iTunes business is secondary for Apple,” Gottheil said.