World of Apple

On launch day ExtremeTech was able to speak briefly with Apple’s head of iPod and iPhone marketing, Greg Joswiak. The site was able to ask Joswiak about the lack of copy and paste functionality and David Pogue’s comments last week that the GPS unit was too small for proper navigation.

When asked about the lack of copy and paste functionality on the iPhone, Joswiak didn’t fully dismiss the function, stating that Apple wasn’t against the idea but had a prioritised list of features and were only able to get so far down the list with this product release.

Finally on David Pogue’s comments that the iPhone’s GPS antenna was too small for turn-by-turn navigation, Joswiak stated that this was untrue, continuing that there are many “complicated issues” surround driving applications but ended with “It will evolve. I think our developers will amaze us”.

Over the weekend multiple reports surfaced that the display on the iPhone 3G had a noticeable yellow hue. Now it has been revealed that the increase in warmness is an intentional move by Apple.

“Borchers indicated that this definitely isn’t a bug or a display defect. Yes, the display on the iPhone 3G has a warmer look—and that’s by design. The previous iPhone’s white was more of a cool blue (Borchers likened it to harsh fluorescent lighting), while this one’s is warmer and more of a sunny yellow,” reports Macworld.

Borchers continued, “We moved the white point in order to make [the display feel] more natural”

According to research by Richard Baguley the new iPhone’s color temperature is between 6800 and 7300 Kelvins, compared with a color temperature of about 8300K on the original iPhone.

Following the discovery of the yellow displays many began reporting that an updated version of the 2.0 firmware could fix the non-issue.

Today, John Gruber writes on his popular blog that updating the firmware is effectively pointless and it certainly doesn’t make any changes to the iPhones display white point.

Images courtesy of Mat Honan.

In addition to selling over 1 million iPhones, Apple has also announced that downloads from the App Store topped 10 million. More than 800 native applications are now available on the App Store, with more than 200 offered for free and more than 90 percent priced at less than $10.

“The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly.”

Apple has announced that it sold its one millionth iPhone 3G on Sunday, just three days after its release in 21 countries on July 11.

“iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

Today marked the release of the iPhone 3G across the world, New Zealand began the process and the launches slowly spanned the globe.

The first cracks began appearing when the iPhone was set to launch in the UK, as customers queued through the early hours of the morning they were quickly disappointed as stocks dwindled at O2, Carphone Warehouse and Apple Stores across the country. Most O2 stores reporting that they had less than 50 units.

These issues and frustrations were nothing compared to what would occur as US purchasers began hammering the iTunes activation servers. Not long after the 8AM launch of the iPhone 3G on the East Coast Apple’s servers began slowing and eventually died leaving thousands queuing across the country.

Reports emerged that some were being sent home with un-activated units, instead being told to activate them at home through iTunes.

The problem was increased by magnitude as Apple simultaneously released the iPhone and iPod touch 2.0 firmware update causing a flurry of users to attempt to download the software.

As servers failed many iPhone owners in AT&T and Apple stores were left with half “bricked” iPhones and users at home trying to update were also suffering with non-functional units.

The problems come after a significant delay in the release of MobileMe which took over 24 hours to fully come online and is reportedly still sluggish.

Apple has quietly adjusted the packaging for the iPhone Bluetooth headset. The Dual Dock is no longer included with the iPhone Bluetooth Headset but the Bluetooth travel cable is.

Image courtesy of iLounge.com

As far as World of Apple can tell the Bluetooth headset has not been revised and the price remains at $99 (£59).

With the iPhone 3G launching in countries across the World, Apple has released a configuration utility to assist enterprise customers in creating configuration profiles that will allow iPhones to communicate with their enterprise systems.

Configuration profiles are XML files that contain device security policies, VPN configuration information, Wi-Fi settings, APN settings, Exchange account settings, mail settings, and certificates that permit iPhone and iPod touch to work with your enterprise systems.

• iPhone Configuration Utility 1.0 for Mac OS X - 8.77MB
• iPhone Configuration Web Utility 1.0 for Mac - 2.29MB
• iPhone Configuration Web Utility 1.0 for Windows - 5.18MB

Apple has also published an iPhone Enterprise support page which includes a detailed Enterprise Deployment Guide (PDF).

Image courtesy of iFixit.com

In particular the site notes that the LCD and glass components are no longer glued together as they were in the original iPhone. And that the battery is no longer soldered into place.

Also in related news some photos of the iPhone 3G launch in New Zealand are viewable online.

Apple has today officially released the iPhone App Store just in time for the iPhone 3G going on sale on July 11. These apps will be available on Apple’s revolutionary new App Store, enabling customers to wirelessly download them directly onto their iPhones and start using them immediately. More than 125 applications are being offered to iPhone customers for free.

“iPhone represents a new software platform for developers, combining the most advanced mobile operating system, sophisticated developer tools and a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly sell and distribute their applications right onto every iPhone,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The reaction from developers has been very, very positive and we’re opening the App Store with over 500 native iPhone applications available for immediate purchase and download.”

The App Store will offer over 500 native applications from hundreds of companies around the world in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

“iPhone enables The Associated Press to deliver news in a way that simply wasn’t possible before,” said Benjamin Mosse, director of Mobile Products, The Associated Press. “Taking advantage of iPhone’s revolutionary location-based services, our Mobile News network can capture and store local news stories that can be read by users even when they’re offline and our award winning photography and AP video are displayed in stunning clarity on its high resolution screen.”

“iPhone is changing the entire mobile industry and has quickly become the number one mobile device for accessing eBay,” said Ken G. Sun, group product manager, eBay Mobile. “Users can shop, track bids and get great deals from the largest online marketplace in the world directly from their iPhone. We couldn’t deliver such a complete and easy-to-use eBay experience on any other mobile device and iPhone users can download it free from the new App Store.”

“iPhone is one of the most popular ways for people to enjoy Facebook on-the-go and we’re excited to deliver a great native application via the App Store,” said Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook. “Facebook is even cooler on the iPhone 3G, with the ability to discover friends nearby, or to effortlessly take pictures and upload them instantly to their Facebook account.”

“The global MySpace community will love MySpace Mobile on iPhone,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO and Co-Founder of MySpace. “With rich features such as seamless photo uploading from iPhone to your MySpace profile, the MySpace Mobile application is gorgeous and as intuitive as possible—empowering the community with complete control over their global MySpace network right from the palm of their hand.”

“Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch open up the world of games to an entirely new audience,” said David Cobb, vice president of Product Development, Sega. “The touch and tilt controls are natural and easy to learn, making gaming even more inviting, creative and rewarding. Super Monkey Ball takes advantage of these defining aspects and offers consumers an extremely accessible, imaginative and fun game experience. Whether an iPhone owner is new to games, or has been a fan for years, they will be intrigued and engaged by Super Monkey Ball and this progressive way to interact with entertainment.”

“With an iPhone in your pocket, you’ll never roam alone,” said Jeffrey Glueck, CMO of Travelocity. “From finding the nearest hotel with just a few taps to checking your flight status in a snap, the magic of iPhone lets us put tools that no one has ever seen before in the hands of travelers.”

Although not officially released as of yet, Mac Rumors has discovered the download link for the iPhone 2.0 firmware.

The firmware which is version 5A347 is available to download here.

Apple has also recently posted a guide about updating the firmware on a iPhone or iPod touch, the upgrade to 2.0 comes with a warning:

Normally if you choose to update, the iPhone or iPod touch software is updated but your settings and media are not affected. If your device currently has a software version prior to 2.0 (1.x) and you are updating to software version 2.0 or later, all data on your device will be erased in order to perform install the new software. In this case, iTunes will offer to create a one-time media backup of your device depending on what content is on your device and what content is stored in the iTunes Library you are connected to. You should ensure that you have enough free space on your Mac or PC to accommodate a backup that matches the capacity of your iPhone or iPod touch (4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB) if you proceed with the this backup.

As the update isn’t officially available those wishing to update should heed caution. The firmware can be installed by holding the “Option” key and clicking the “Check for update” button in iTunes.