From TG Daily

Four out of 10 Blackberry users are tempted to switch to an iPhone while iPhone users are fanatically loyal to the Apple device.
That’s according to a survey by Crowd Science. The CEO of the outfit, John Martin, claimed that the results “reflect the great challenges Blackberry faces in stemming the iPhone stampede.”
The survey shows that only 14 percent of non-Blackberry smartphone users will buy another Blackberry. And 82 percent of iPhone users are loyal followers of the Apple fashion.
The survey also shows that people using iPhones use a wide range of the functions available on the phone, including email, GPS, wi-fi and Internet access.
And iPhone users appear to be far happier with their machines than Blackberry users are, according to the survey. They like the screen size, the way you can navigate on the iPhone, the large number of add-ons and video playback.
Rather than being restricted to a bunch of fanboys, 71 percent of owners of smartphones use them for business and pleasure.

Good morning boys and girls

RIMM will be in trouble when the iPhone becomes available on other carries and more businesses start adopting the iPhone.

BY the way.  I just recently got an alpha pager which has a keyboard like the original blackberry.  After owning an iPhone for two years, I can type much faster on the touch keyboard versus the regular.

Once the masses see that the keyboard is not as bad as they think, watch out.

“iPod3,1” References in iPhone OS 3.0 Point to iPod Touch Refresh

Tuesday June 23, 2009 03:53 PM EST; Category: iPod
Written by Eric Slivka

Mac Rumors
A recent posting at iPod touch Fans has gained some publicity for the re-discovery of references to an “iPod3,1” model in the public release of iPhone OS 3.0. The current iPod touch is termed “iPod2,1”, so the references suggest that Apple will be releasing a revised iPod touch model at some point in the relatively near future. The news is unsurprising, as Apple appears to be following a yearly cycle of product refreshes in recent years, and with both the first- and second-generation iPod touch models having seen September release dates, the release of a revised “iPod3,1” iPod touch in September is a reasonable expectation.

The “iPod3,1” reference was actually first discovered in the iPhone OS 3.0 beta back in March, along with entries for several other unreleased and/or unspecified products. Among those entries was one for “iPhone3,1”, which appears to represent yet another iPhone model that has not yet been publicly released. Similarly, the mysterious “iFPGA”, and “iProd0,1” products referenced at that time remain unknown.

These findings do seem to predict future models, as reports as far back as late January pointed to the existence of an “iPhone2,1” model, which eventually turned out to be the just-released iPhone 3GS. The next-generation iPod touch would certainly contain the updated ARM Cortex processor and improved Power VR graphics chip found in the iPhone 3GS. Other rumors have even claimed that the next iPod touch would also include a camera, which would presumably also be able to take video. This “iPod3,1” is most likely to be released around September based on Apple’s history of iPod updates.

willrob - 24 June 2009 11:13 AM

... Other rumors have even claimed that the next iPod touch would also include a camera, which would presumably also be able to take video ...

Would it be good for consumers for Apple to disrupt the consumer camera, leaving the pro camera to incumbent Nikon, Canon and Sony?  I’ve been taking many casual pictures using iPhone and use my camera only during vacations.  If iPhone/touch is good enough, I’ve ditched my camera.  Good enough=limited zoom ability, wide angle, take good outdoor picture from 2 feet to infinity.

Edit: Have a video camcorder but no longer use it, find it too cumbersome to use.  Now use a still cum video camera.

iPddTouch with video would be a low end (sub $1000.) camcorder killer. If introduced in September it will break all sales records IMHO

SNIPUS - 24 June 2009 12:55 PM

iPddTouch with video would be a low end (sub $1000.) camcorder killer. If introduced in September it will break all sales records IMHO

And will squish that touch based music player the Zune HD that Microsoft are planning to launch then.

I expect a new iPod touch soon after the close of the back-to-school season. Perhaps an early October release for the Christmas season. Indeed, adding a decent camera would propel sales IMHO and the economies of scale that have been achieved with the iPhone 3G and now the iPhone 3GS suggests a new iPod touch with enhanced hardware features available at today’s retail price.

Road test: Gokivo iPhone navigation app

Same price point as the ATT offering, although they’re changing .99¢ for the app, ATT’s is free.

Looks like a line is forming for this Friday’s Japan launch

IPhone 3GS in Japan: Less of a crowd, more of a party

As the sun set in Tokyo on Thursday evening and the clock counted down toward the launch of the iPhone 3GS on Friday morning, the number of people waiting in front of Softbank Mobile’s flagship store in the Omotesando district grew to around 100 and comradery and a party-like atmosphere spread through the crowd.

In addition to Japan, the iPhone 3GS will also debut on Friday in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands. Other countries will get it in July or August.

Apple triples its share in mobile graphics chip designer
Fri, 06/26/2009 - 04:38 — Seth Weintraub

At the end of 2008, we found out through a company filing with the London Stock Exchange that Apple had owned 8.2 million shares of Imagination Technologies.  That’s roughly equivalent to a 3.6 percent stake in the company.  According to Bloomberg, Apple has been buying up shares over the past year and, with a recent 2.2 million share purchase, now has a 9.5% stake in the company.

Imagination develops intelectual property behind PowerVR portable graphics engines that go into high end mobile devices like the iPhone and iPod touch.  Interestingly, Palm’s Pre and some other higher-end smart phones use Imagination Technologies’ chip designs as well.

Mossberg: New MacBook Pro has best battery life “ever tested”

By Aidan Malley
Published: 07:05 PM EST

Although they’re not without their drawbacks, the new MacBook Pros have been celebrated by one veteran columnist as having the best stock battery life of any notebook seen so far—and has debunked some myths about battery use in the process.

Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal wrote on Thursday that the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro updates in June have achieved record results in his own, “harsh” battery tests that involve maximum display brightness, continuous music and no energy saving settings.

The 13-inch model, which has the smallest battery of the two, still managed to last almost 5 hours under high strain. Similar conditions put against the 15-inch led it to run for 5 hours and 21 minutes. Either result by itself would be the best “ever tested” that doesn’t bend the rules to get to that figure, Mossberg says, such as by using an extended capacity battery that bulges outside of normal dimensions.

He predicts that, under less strenuous conditions, the new MacBook Pro could last even longer and would likely approach Apple’s official target of 7 hours, which was reached by browsing the web using Wi-Fi.

All the gain comes from using a sealed-in battery. By removing the need for a special battery bay, a latch and other mechanisms needed to remove the battery without disassembly, Apple could expand the size of the battery itself. Mossberg acknowledges that the move is controversial and not without its problems: it forces customers to visit a service location to replace a dead battery, and it prevents long-haul travelers from running the notebook without AC power.

But the newspaper writer simultaneously points out that some of the assumptions about battery use are false. The NPD Group, for example, observed that only 5 percent of notebook owners ever buy a second battery; it’s unknown how many of these have needed theirs. Consequently, most notebook owners are only concerned about the runtime of the battery that comes with the system—which, in Apple’s case, is far longer than for competitors.

As such, the new MacBook Pros should provide a “very good experience” for typical buyers, Mossberg explains.

willrob - 26 June 2009 09:06 AM

Mossberg: New MacBook Pro has best battery life “ever tested”

By Aidan Malley
Published: 07:05 PM EST ... All the gain comes from using a sealed-in battery. By removing the need for a special battery bay, a latch and other mechanisms needed to remove the battery without disassembly, Apple could expand the size of the battery itself. Mossberg acknowledges that the move is controversial and not without its problems: it forces customers to visit a service location to replace a dead battery, and it prevents long-haul travelers from running the notebook without AC power.

But the newspaper writer simultaneously points out that some of the assumptions about battery use are false. The NPD Group, for example, observed that only 5 percent of notebook owners ever buy a second battery; it’s unknown how many of these have needed theirs ...

Agree that the need for removable battery is a myth.

I’m curious as to why none of the articles mention the microprocessor that regulates the flow of current into the cells.  IIRC the original presentation made a big deal about how much slower the ability to re-charge degrades and estimated a five year useful life.  That’s as big of news to me as the hours before depletion.

Michael Jackson posthumously tops iTunes charts

In the wake of Michael Jackson’s death, fans are lining up to listen to his music in record numbers.  In fact, the current iTunes Top 25 has songs from the Jackson’s songs 19 times.  Nine of the top 10 albums are also Michael’s.  No previous artist, living or dead, has achieved that level of popularity on the music service since it opened in 2003.

Widevine Licenses DRM for iPhone.

Widevine provides digital media solutions for the delivery of digital entertainment to any device. Hundreds of service providers use Widevine’s multiplatform, multiformat DRM and video optimization solutions for securing high quality video and audio. Today, millions of consumers enjoy digital entertainment secured and optimized by Widevine on retail consumer electronics devices and legacy STBs from all major consumer brands. With over 55 patents Widevine is an industry leader and innovator of content protection and video optimization technologies.

Cool.