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CUPERTINO, California —Apple on Thursday, March 06, previewed its iPhone 2.0 software, scheduled for release this June, and announced the immediate availability of a beta release of the software to selected developers and enterprise customers.

The iPhone 2.0 beta release includes both the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) as well as new enterprise features such as support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide secure, over-the-air push email, contacts and calendars as well as remote wipe, and the addition of Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to private corporate networks.

The iPhone SDK provides developers with a rich set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and tools to create innovative applications for iPhone and iPod touch. Starting today, anyone can download the beta iPhone SDK for free and run the iPhone Simulator on their Mac. Apple today also introduced its new iPhone Developer Program, giving developers everything they need to create native applications, and the new App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to iPhone and iPod touch users.

With the iPhone SDK, third party developers will be able to build native applications for the iPhone with a rich set of APIs, including programming interfaces for Core OS, Core Services, Media and Cocoa Touch technologies. The iPhone SDK will allow developers to create amazing applications that leverage the iPhone’s groundbreaking Multi-Touch user interface, animation technology, large storage, built-in three-axis accelerometer and geographical location technology to deliver truly innovative mobile applications.

Apple has licensed Exchange ActiveSync from Microsoft and is building it right into the iPhone, so that iPhone will connect out-of-the-box to Microsoft Exchange Servers 2003 and 2007 for secure over-the-air push email, contacts, calendars and global address lists. Built-in Exchange ActiveSync support also enables security features such as remote wipe, password policies and auto-discovery.

The iPhone 2.0 software supports Cisco IPsec VPN to ensure the highest level of IP-based encryption available for transmission of sensitive corporate data, as well as the ability to authenticate using digital certificates or password-based, multi-factor authentication. The addition of WPA2 Enterprise with 802.1x authentication enables enterprise customers to deploy iPhone and iPod touch with the latest standards for protection of Wi-Fi networks.

Pricing & Availability
Apple plans to release the final iPhone 2.0 software, including the iPhone SDK and new enterprise features, as a free software update for all iPhone customers by the end of June. Third party applications created for the iPhone will also run on the iPod touch, and iPod touch users will be required to purchase a software update to run these applications. The free beta iPhone SDK is available immediately worldwide and can be downloaded at developer.apple.com/iphone/program.  More at Apple.

Cupertino, Calif — Feb 05, `08 — Apple today added new models of the iPhone and iPod touch which have double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go. The iPhone now comes in a new 16GB model for $499, joining the 8GB model for $399. iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

Both iPhone and iPod touch feature Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world’s most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari and mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

Pricing & Availability The new 16GB iPhone is available immediately for a suggested retail price of $499 through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and AT&T retail and online stores. The 32GB iPod touch is available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of $499. More at Apple.

Feb 03, `08 — This Slashdot article writes about Time Warner internet access subscribers in Texas complaining of connectivity issues on Apple’s iTunes support forum.

“Starting on Thursday, January 31st, Time Warner subscribers in Texas starting experiencing connectivity issues to the iTunes store to the point where the service wasn’t usable. General internet traffic issues haven’t coincided with these problems, and many folks have reported that the store works as normal when they head to the nearest mega-bookstore and use their ISP instead. Time Warner has announced that they’re going to begin trials of tiered pricing in one local Texas market, but I’ll be darn sure to switch my provider if I hear the slightest hint of destination/content based tiers instead of bandwidth tiers.”

Excerpts from the Apple - Support - Discussions:

Thread starter post by user “kmcippant”:

iTunes Store Very Slow Posted: Jan 31, 2008 8:33 PM

I was impressed last week when I downloaded an entire album in under 10 minutes, now the store is very sluggish. I could not preview any tracks without it buffering 8 times and now it is taking me 10 minutes just to download one song. The rest of my internet is working fine.

Please check on your servers.

User “ranpritch” writes:
Same problem here in Euless, Tx (suburb DFW). Started to buy movie last night. Estimated download 36 hours. Stopped & started the download several times, but to no avail. Now, almost 24 hrs later the movie is half the way downloaded! I have checked my Time Warner cable speed & get pings from west & east coast from 4.8 to 6.0 mbps. I can normally download movies from ITunes in 15 to 20 minutes. Downloads from other sites are normal. What gives?!

User “hondo01″ writes:
I am also experiencing the same issues with iTunes. It keeps trying to rebuffer the stream with songs or videos. I am using iTunes 7.6 (29) with Mac OSX 10.5.1. I also have a windows machine with iTunes 7.5 loaded and it now does the same thing. I have tried taking both systems off the wireless router and plugging directly into the broadband router and still get the same problems. I have noticed that most all of these threads are from users in Texas. Is everyone using Time Warner Roadrunner? Just curious if this could be an ISP problem.

User “sundevil86″ writes:
I’m a Roadrunner user from Texas too! And I did NOT upgrade to 7.6 yet. Same problem as everyone else, VERY sluggish iTunes performance–but NO problems with streaming media from any other sites. So it may be an ISP problem in part, but is still only affecting iTunes.

User “bdskip” writes:
Experiencing the same issue with TWC in Arlington as well…did notice that a 10:00 podcast downloaded in about 7 seconds, yet a single 3:00 song purchase takes 15 minutes or longer to download.

Not sure what any of that means, but I’m beginning to think TWC is somehow throttling bandwidth related to music and video content on iTunes.

More at Slashdot, Apple Support Discussions.

Cupertino, Calif — Apple on Wednesday, Jan 30, announced that MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest notebook, is now shipping.

MacBook Air measures an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks.

MacBook Air has a stunning 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe. MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.

Pricing & Availability
The new MacBook Air is now shipping and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), and includes:

* 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with 1280×800 resolution;
* 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache;
* 800 MHz front-side bus;
* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
* 80GB hard disk drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
* Micro-DVI port (includes Micro-DVI to VGA and Micro-DVI to DVI Adapters);
* built-in iSight video camera;
* built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
* one USB 2.0 port;
* one headphone port;
* multi-touch TrackPad with support for advanced multi-touch gestures including tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe; and
* 45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options and accessories for MacBook Air include the ability to upgrade to a 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; 64GB solid state drive, MacBook Air SuperDrive, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple Remote and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork ‘08, Logic Express 8, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 1.5. More at Apple.

El Segundo, California - On Dec 31, Axiotron announced that its flagship product, the Modbook, the first fully functional Apple-authorized tablet Mac solution, is now shipping to consumers.

The only Mac-based tablet computer on the market, Axiotron’s Modbook seamlessly integrates a state-of-the-art Wacom digitized pen-sensitive LCD slate-style display with Apple MacBook’s legendary ease of use and design sensibility, giving artists and design-oriented professionals enhanced onscreen writing and drawing functionality when they need it most.

A perfect blend of style and functionality, each Modbook comes pre-installed with Mac OS X Leopard, the award winning OS X’s built-in Inkwell handwriting recognition, a 2.0 GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a built-in iSight camera and an integrated 24x DVD Combo drive or 8x DVD SuperDrive.

Also, every Modbook features a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).

In addition to all of the features of the powerful Apple MacBook base system, the Axiotron Modbook’s largest-in-class wide angle 13.3″ widescreen display offers wider viewing angles and a higher contrast ratio, resulting in darker blacks and more vivid, saturated colors while maintaining the same resolution and aspect ratio of the original MacBook display.

Modbook is available today at Macsales for $2279 (Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, 80 GB), $2479 (Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz, 120GB, DVD writer) . More at Axiotron.

SEATTLE & NEW YORK –BUSINESS WIRE– On Dec 27, `07 Amazon.com and Warner Music Group announced that DRM-free music audio downloads from Warner Music Group are now available to customers on Amazon MP3, Amazon’s a la carte MP3 digital music store where every song and album is playable on virtually any personal digital music capable device.

Beginning Dec 27, songs from WMG’s digital audio catalog will be available for purchase and download from Amazon MP3. In addition, Amazon and WMG will make available to consumers digital music products such as album bundles containing exclusive tracks.

Warner had been holding out against using the format because MP3 tracks are easier to share between users and may be freely burned onto CDs.

Amazon’s download store is a major competitor to Apple’s iTunes, which uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) to restrict the use of some of its tracks.

Sony BMG is now the only major recording group not signed up with Amazon MP3, which is only available to US customers at present.

Amazon launched its MP3 download store in September after reaching agreements to sell unprotected tracks from Universal Music Group and EMI. More at Amazon.

Little Rock, AR — The world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, has closed its video downloading service less than a year after it started selling films online.

The retreat for Wal-Mart, which accounts for about 40 percent of all DVD sales, follows the company’s 2005 decision to abandoned efforts to build an online DVD rental service. The world’s largest retailer instead turned its rental service over to Netflix.

It stopped the service on Dec 21, according to a message on the discount chain’s video download website. Wal-Mart said the decision had been forced by Hewlett-Packard withdrawing the software running the site.

The move ends a challenge to Apple’s iTunes store, Amazon and Netflix to win customers who rent films over the web.

The market for online video downloads has become very competitive with video rental chain Blockbuster buying Movielink over the summer to expand into this area.

On Wednesday, Dec 12, Google Mobile released new iPhone interface for Picasa. After you go to Picasa on your iPhone and log in, you can quickly see all your albums that you’ve uploaded to Picasa Web.

If you click on any of the albums, you can get a full view of your picture with comments from your friends. Or you can click on Slideshow, sit back and watch the pictures scroll. You can also search for photos in your album or through community photos. Finally, you can view your friends’ albums through favorites.

If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch go to http://picasaweb.google.com and check it out. More at Google Mobile Blog.

Dec 07, ‘07 — Apple Leopard users say their systems have taken to randomly flashing the color green, InformationWeek reports.

InfoWeek further writes, “A poster to Apple’s support forum named “Matthew Hickey1″ recently reported that his Leopard-based PowerBook displays the green flashes whenever he tries to close applications.

Numerous follow-up posts indicate that the problem isn’t unique to Hickey’s machine. Other users of Leopard, officially known as Mac OS X 10.5, say they’ve experienced the weird green flashes. Apple support forum member “bob812″ likens them to “a strobing effect.”

So far, Apple does not appear to have a fix for the issue. “I was on the phone with support for three hours trying to resolve the problem but no luck,” wrote “DJS223.”"

Comments on Apple Discussions:

User “Matthew Hickey1″ Posts:
“Before anybody suggests it, no I haven’t been drinking or taking drugs….

I’m curious if anybody else has noticed a random green flash (like the flash that photobooth provides only green) from time to time when closing applications or performing other similar tasks. I can’t decide whether it’s some kooky “feature” or whether there are compatability problems with my ATI X800 graphics card, or whether my display has decided to give up.

Anyone? ”

User “Chrissli” writes:
“I also have a 30″ and get these green flashes, but these are not the only graphic errors I have. I also have problems when entering time maching (1 third of the screen seems to be slower) and i sometimes get small green flashes behind the dock.

Also my menu bar is not transparent.

When I switch my resolution to a lower one, the problem is gone.

I have a radeon 9650.”

User “Andrew Hoyt” writes:
“Yes! I have gotten green and purple flashes (at first I thought this was a feature) and my time machine appears exactly as in the picture you linked. I can still use it, it’s just crazy.

I have an ATI Radeon X800 XT for a graphics card, I am thinking that could be a problem. I did a clean install of Leopard on another disk and got absolutely no problems.

Tried archiving and installing on my main drive array- no such luck, still flashes.”

More at InformationWeek, Apple Discussions.

Dec 07, ‘07 — iPhone Dev Team has released the code for anySIM iPhone unlocking tool on Google Code today.

In their words, “You may know anySIM, the most popular and free unlock solution for Apple’s iPhone. Because of the public request and to archive a constant code quality, we now opensourced it!

The source will go online at firday, the 7th of december. Anybody is welcome to contribute patchs to the software on the proper way. You will be able to submit potential changes to the tree via svn by than. We are looking forward to your contribution!

Feel free to join IRC as well at irc.osx86.hu”

More at iPhone Dev Team

Dec 05, ‘07 — Mobile phone company Orange has said 20% of customers who have bought iPhones from it in France have opted for unlocked ones, NOT the half, as earlier reported, BBC News correcting the story now.

Orange sold the popular Apple product for €399 euros ($585) with a two-year contract, or €749 euros without one. Elsewhere, mobile companies only sell iPhones to customers who take out network contracts with them.

Orange sold 30,000 iPhones in the first five days, 20% of which were unlocked so they could be used on any network. Orange says that 48% of people buying the phones were new customers for the network. More at BBC News.

Dec 05, ‘07 — Orange has said half of customers who have bought iPhones from it in France have opted for unlocked ones, BBC reports.

Orange sold the popular Apple product for €399 euros ($585) with a two-year contract, or €749 euros without one. Elsewhere, mobile companies only sell iPhones to customers who take out network contracts with them.

Orange sold 30,000 iPhones in the first five days, 52% of which were unlocked so they could be used on any network.

On Tuesday, a German court overturned an injunction that had forced T-Mobile to sell unlocked phones. In the two weeks that the injunction was in place, T-Mobile sold unlocked iPhones for €999 euros, compared with €399 euros for a phone with a two-year contract.

More at BBCNews.

Paris, France — Dec 05, 07 — Just 5 days after the full commercial launch, Orange has already sold 30,000 iPhones, thus confirming the strong appeal of this new type of mobile, available since 29 November in 680 Orange points of sale in France.

* 48% of iPhone sales lead to a new Orange line subscription
* 80% of customers sign up for a dedicated “Orange for iPhone” plan at the same time

“This is a very good score, especially as one in two iPhone purchases is accompanied by a new Orange line subscription”, said Louis-Pierre Wenes, Executive Director in charge of France operations. “This confirms that the iPhone will make an active contribution to the acquisition of new customers”, he added. More at FranceTelecom.

HAMBURG, Germany — Dec 04, ‘07 — Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile can sell iPhones with a T-Mobile contract and may continue to offer the device with a locked SIM card, a German court ruled on Tuesday, reversing a lower court’s decision that said an unlocked version must be sold in Europe’s biggest economy.

Rival Vodafone had obtained a temporary court injunction preventing T-Mobile from locking the iPhone’s SIM card — thus preventing it from being used on other networks — and offering it only in combination with a T-Mobile contract.

T-Mobile had appealed that injunction, which led to the new ruling, and the wireless operator unveiled an unlocked version of the phone priced at $1,465 (€999), more than twice the $585 (€399) price of a phone sold in combination with a two-year T-Mobile contract.

NEW YORK –BUSINESS WIRE– Dec 03, ‘07 — Klausner Technologies announced today that it has filed patent lawsuits under its visual voicemail patents against Comcast, Cablevision and eBay’s Skype with damages and future royalties estimated at $300 million.

The lawsuit asserts that the above companies’ VOIP voicemail products and services infringe Klausner Technologies’ U.S. Patent 5,572,576. The patent has already been licensed to various other companies which provide the same visual voice messaging services, including Time Warner’s AOL for its AOL Voicemail services, Vonage Holdings for its Vonage Voicemail Plus services as well as others, under the Klausner Patents.

Cablevision’s Optimum Voicemail, Comcast’s Digital Voice Voicemail and eBay’s Skype Voicemail each violate Klausner’s intellectual property rights by allowing users to selectively retrieve and listen to voice messages via message inbox displays.

Against Apple:
Klausner Technologies also announced today that it has filed a patent lawsuit under its visual voicemail patents against Apple on the iPhone, with damages and future royalties estimated at $360 million.

The lawsuit asserts that Apple’s iPhone Visual Voicemail infringes Klausner Technologies’ U.S. Patents 5,572,576 and 5,283,818.
Klausner Technologies was founded by Judah Klausner, the inventor of the PDA and electronic organizer. Apple’s original groundbreaking PDA, the Newton, was, in fact, covered under an OEM patent license granted by Judah Klausner over twenty years ago under his landmark US Patent 4,117,542.

The iPhone violates Klausner’s intellectual property rights by allowing users to selectively retrieve voice messages via the iPhone’s inbox display. Apple has called iPhone’s Visual Voicemail “one of the greatest advances in the history of mankind … without question.”

Against AT&T:
Klausner Technologies further announced today that it has filed a patent lawsuit under its visual voicemail patents against AT&T for selling the Apple iPhone, its Visual Voicemail service and other visual voice messaging services, with damages and future royalties estimated at $360 million.

The lawsuit asserts that sales of Apple’s iPhone, Visual Voicemail and other visual voice messaging services implemented by AT&T infringe Klausner Technologies’ U.S. Patents 5,572,576 and 5,283,818.

All three suits have been filed by the California law firm of Dovel & Luner in a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas.

Nov 29, ‘07 — Staff at the UK’s biggest mobile phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, have been caught misleading customers about Apple’s popular iPhone handset, undercover researchers from BBC One’s Watchdog found staff made false claims about what would happen if a phone was stolen and had not been insured.

This was in the hope customers would take out the store’s own insurance. The firm said there could be “some element of confusion among an isolated number of sales consultants”.

The findings come just a year after Carphone Warehouse was fined £245,000 by the Financial Services Authority for breaking the rules on selling insurance.

Viewers complained to Watchdog that they had been told if they lost their iPhone, they would have to buy an entirely new 18 month contract - at a minimum cost of £630, which is obviously not true.

Staff at the stores receive commission on all insurance and phones they sell. More at BBCNews.

Nov 29, ‘07 — Apple will introduce a 3G version of the iPhone next year, Crayton Harrison of Bloomberg is reporting on AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson’s comments at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California

He furtherwrites, “”You’ll have it next year,” Stephenson said in response to a question about when the 3G iPhone would debut. He said he didn’t know how much more the new version will cost than the existing model, which sells for $399. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs “will dictate what the price of the phone is,” he said

Jobs said in September that the iPhone’s battery life would be too short if it supported faster networks. The handset has eight hours of battery life, and 3G chips are “real power hogs,” he said at a news conference in London. “We’ve got to see the battery lives for 3G get back up into the five-plus-hour range,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see that late next year.”" More at Bloomberg.

Paris — Nov 28, ‘07 — Apple’s much-hyped iPhone went on sale in France on Wednesday at 12 select stores here, including mobile carrier Orange’s new boutique on Paris’ most famous avenue, the Champs-Elysees.

Didier Lombard, head of Orange parent France Telecom, said he hopes to sell as many as 100,000 of the handset by the end of the year, despite its high price tag. It goes on sale nationwide on Thursday.

Europe has presented two challenges to Apple’s strategy of offering iPhones through a single mobile operator for each region.

French consumer law requires Orange to sell handsets that are “unlocked” and able to work on any carrier, which Orange will do. And Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is selling an unlocked phone via its T-Mobile unit after a Hamburg court ordered it to, in response to a challenge from rival Vodafone Group PLC.

Orange will offer the unlocked iPhone for €649 euros ($956) to which the user will have to add €100 euros if another operator is used, the head of Orange France told Le Figaro newspaper.

In Germany where the iPhone was launched three weeks ago T-Mobile offers the device without a contract for €999 euros.

Orange confirmed it had agreed to share revenue from iPhone subscriptions with Apple in return for its exclusivity agreement but declined to comment on analysts estimates that Apple’s cut could be around 25 percent.

AT&T sells the 8-gigabyte iPhone for $399 in the United States, having slashed the price by a third about 10 weeks after its debut. Consumers in Britain, where the iPhone is sold by exclusively by O2 — pay about $556.

STOCKHOLM — Nov 28, ‘07 — Nokia could experience delays or holdups in its smartphone strategy if rival Apple goes on the defensive to protect its intellectual property rights regarding the touch-screen iPhone, says Steve Goldstein of Marketwatch.

He further writes, “”I think Apple will likely view Nokia as infringing on its user interface patents,” said London-based Nomura analyst Richard Windsor Wednesday. “But I don’t see this being the same scale of (the) legal battle Nokia has with Qualcomm IWindsor said. He said Nokia is likely working on an overhaul of its s60 platform, to be ready in the second half of 2008, a move that will feature touch.

He said Apple claims to have filed at least 200 patents relating to the touch screen user interface on the iPhone and is likely to protect them. He said Apple and Nokia would be more likely to end up in an agreement in 2009 rather than slugging it out in the courts.” More at MarketWatch.

Nov 26, ‘07 — Electronista is claiming that some developers are gaining early access to Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch software developer kit, citing “reliable sources”.

Last month Steve Jobs announced in an open letter that an iPhone/iPod touch SDK would be released in February 2008.

Eelctronista further writes, “A handful of companies are said to be getting rough versions of the tools to help code more advanced applications than would be possible with the current web-only solution. Exact details of what the kit allows are unknown, though it is confirmed that it produces native programs and somewhat resembles Google’s OpenSocial in that it mediates between the programmer and the iPhone operating system.

Although treated as a welcome development, the SDK will not be the same as writing a Mac OS X application and has its clear limits, people familiar with the matter say.

The group of companies has only received its development tools within the past two weeks and is allegedly unable to provide a timetable for when finished software will be ready, though it should be well ahead of the community at large, which only receives the SDK in February.” More at Eletronista.

Nov 25, ‘07 — Alexander Wolfe of TheInformationWeek writes on British iPhone buyers’ uproar over reception problems they’re experiencing on the network of O2, Apple’s exclusive service provider in England.

The issue has come to light on Apple’s own discussions forum, in a thread entitled, “UK 02 - poor signal strength/reception problems.”

The O2 reception thread started on the Apple forum less than two days after the iPhone went on sale in England at midnight on Friday, Nov 9, by user “lawlbaker2″ on Nov. 11, and is still going strong, with 104 messages posted as of Nov 25.

Thread starter First post from “lawbaker2“

“My iphone can barely pick up even the slightest signal, although on occasion can pick up 3 ars, only for it to drop out again. I have two other 02 phones, a Sony Erricson and a Nokia n95 with no reception problems at all. Is anyone experiencing same problem with their iphone, I would like to hear from you.”

Another post from “lawbaker2″ with pictures, showing almost no reception while undocked and a side by side comparison with Nokia N95:

“I have taken some photos to show what happens to the iphone signal when connected to the dock. Apple are looking into it, but for now, connected to the dock and on speakerphone, calls are crystal. I hope this info and photos help those who are struggling to understand why they are unable to use their iphone as intended.”

User “Charles Duffy” writes:

“I am having the same problem - live in central London and cannot get a signal. Called o2 on Sunday and they said that it could take up to 24 hours to delevlop a full signal (??). Went to work in Luton on Monday and same problem. Called o2 and after some basic checks they are confident that it is a problem with the phone reception. Try your bluetooth connection - it is unlikely to work - the phone cannot detect any signal. The o2 guy told me that there is a 14 day EXCHANGE policy on any faulty iPhones (I also believe you are entitled to a 14 day cooling off period with this type of new contract). I got the impression that mine was not the first call on this issue. Will try to replace tomorrow.

DO NOT ACCEPT a repair! Your product is simply not fit for purpose and this overrules and of their terms or conditions.

User “Pukster” writes:

“I’ve been on o2 for years and all my sony erricson phones have never suffered from lack of signal strength but the iPhone, i’ve got the same issues as the rest of you and i live innercity! lol”

User “Ian Stubbs” writes on dock boosting signal:

“The cradle boosts the signal without the cable attached. Plugging the cable into the iPhone without the cradle does not affect the signal. Hence the cradle is boosting the signal, not the cable. “

Mr. Wolfe further adds, “Lest someone paint these Apple forum denizens as cranks, a further indication that perhaps the problems extend beyond a small group of users comes from the fact that there are also two threads on the customer forums of UK iPhone service provider O2. (The threads, here and here, are much, much shorter and less current than the Apple Discussions postings.)” More at TheInformationWeek, Apple Discussions: Topic : UK 02 (poor signal strength/reception problems)

And just in case of Apple removing the thread, I’m posting a Screenshots for the backup as mentioned by Mr. Wolfe, Click on thumbnails to see larger, readable images.

SANTA ROSA, CA –Marketwire– Nov 21, ‘07 — Burst.com today announced today that it has signed an agreement in principle to settle its case against Apple ending almost 2 years of litigation. Apple agreed to pay Burst a one-time payment of $10 million cash in exchange for a non-exclusive license to Burst’s patent portfolio, not including one issued U.S. patent and 3 pending U.S. patent applications related to new DVR technology. Burst agreed not to sue Apple for any future infringement of the DVR patent and any patents that might issue from the pending DVR-related applications.

The $10 million patent license provides Apple with the right to use Burst’s intellectual property in its own technology and products, without further consideration. Burst, however, retains the right to enforce its patent portfolio against others.

Court costs, expenses and attorney’s fees in connection with the settlement of the litigation with Apple will reduce proceeds to the Company to approximately $4.6 million. According to the agreement, payment to Burst is to be made promptly after signing of a definitive settlement agreement. Burst’s Board of Directors has indicated that it will be considering a cash distribution to Burst’s shareholders from the Apple license fee, in an amount to be determined. More at MarketWire, Court Order Notice at Burst.com

Nov 21, ‘07 — Apple has been forced to release a version of the iPhone in Germany that is not locked into a specific network or contract, scuppering its exclusive deal with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile.

Following a preliminary injunction, T-Mobile said that it would sell an unlocked phone for $1465 ( €999 ) until a final decision is reached. It will continue to offer iPhones locked into a two-year contract for $585 ( €399 ). Its announcement comes after rival Vodafone went to a German court to challenge T-Mobile’s exclusive tie-up with the iPhone in Germany.

Vodafone Deutschland won the injunction barring T-Mobile from offering the iPhone exclusively with a so-called SIM lock that stops users from switching the device to any other operator’s network, and with a minimum two year contract.

There is no indication that the case could be replicated in the UK. A Vodafone spokesman said: “This is particular to Germany. The regulatory situation is very different from the UK, so we won’t be doing it here.”

The case is due to come before the courts in around two weeks time, when Vodafone will push for Apple to sell unlocked iPhones at the same, or a similar price as the phone locked into the T-Mobile contract.

Apple has offered the iPhone exclusively to one operator in each of the countries that it has launched, in a bid to secure a percentage of phone usage revenues from the mobile operators.

Taipei — Nov 21, ‘07 — Digitimes is reporting on “3Q07 North America” a report from Strategy Analytics. “Handsets from Motorola and LG Electronics (LGE), collectively accounted for seven of the top-ten best selling consumer handsets in the US in the third quarter of 2007, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.”

Digitimes further writes, “3G devices accounted for 55% of the top selling device volumes. That share will continue to grow during the fourth quarter,” states Chris Ambrosio, a director in the Wireless Practice at Strategy Analytics. “While the iPhone gets the headlines, the “Sync” from Samsung and the “Chocolate” from LG quietly stole the show in the category of iconic, 3G feature phones. Samsung, in particular, is well-positioned to dominate 3G sales during the critical fourth quarter holiday season.” More at Digitimes.

Ok let me repeat, “3G devices accounted for 55% of the top selling device volumes”, and still Apple’s so called revolutionary iPhone is NOT 3G, though rumors of 3G iPhone making rounds on the internet for a while.

Nov 20, ‘07 — It sounds like Apple is updating the iPhone and adding what iPhone shoud’ve come out with in first place, 3G. Unwired View is reporting / speculating on Vodafone getting exclusive right to 3G iPhone in the spring of ‘08, citing Italian site Morse.it

“Italian site Morse.it reports that Vodafone has signed an agreement with Apple for the exclusive distribution rights to 3G iPhone UMTS. The UMTS iPhone 3G will be launched next spring, simultaneously in all countries where Vodafone operates.

The new 3G UMTS iPhone should be announced after Christmas, or early next year (Macworld Expo?), so as not to negatively impact Christmas sales of the current generation iPhone.”

Unwired View further cites an article from theRegister.co.uk and another article from Morse.it from the past week corroborating the story. More here.