Tag Archives | Apple. iPhone

TeleNav Coming to Verizon iPhone

Posted by Dave Z on February 8, 2011 at 2:47 pm

TeleNav, my favorite iPhone navigation app, is headed to Verizon. And, unlike its AT&T brethren, it’s coming in at a reasonable price point. Assuming I make the jump in the next week or so, this will be one of my first purchases. The AT&T Navigator branded TeleNav app currently runs $10/month or $70/year, whereas an annual subscription to the new app on Verizon will run only $22. Guess that’s what happens when you take out the carrier middle man. As you might expect, this dual platform approach has raised some questions regarding carrier control and the possibility of platform “fragmentation” – which TechCrunch counters as BS. But, any way you slice it, Verizon iPhone owners will have a compelling navigation experience available to them shortly. Yet for those looking for an inexpensive or free turn-by-turn GPS app, I continue to recommend MapQuest.

(This post republished from Zatz Not Funny.)

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The Verizon iPhone 4 Isn't a World Phone, But It Could Have Been, Sorta

Posted by Harry McCracken on February 7, 2011 at 2:52 pm

9to5Mac’s Seth Weintraub has an interesting scoop: The new Verizon version of the iPhone 4 uses a Qualcomm chip that’s capable of working on both CDMA and GSM wireless networks. The phone itself is CDMA only–it doesn’t have the SIM slot required for GSM–but the chip might hint at multi-network capability that would let the iPhone 5 and/or iPad 2 work anywhere in the world. That would be a cool last gasp for old technology before the first LTE-based Apple gadgets show up–something that’s unlikely to happen before mid-2012 or so.

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I Own a "Vast Kindle Library," and I'm Worried

Posted by Harry McCracken on February 5, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Today, I wanted to buy a book. I did what I usually do these days before I plunk down my money for one: I checked to see if it was available as an Amazon Kindle e-book–one which I’d be able read not only on a Kindle but also on an iPad, an iPhone, an Android phone, a Mac, or a PC. It was. My finger instinctively lunged towards the 1-Click button.

And then it dawned on me: With the recent development that Apple is going to require creators of e-reader apps to sell books using its in-app purchasing feature, it’s not the least bit clear what the fate of Kindle books on Apple devices will be. (Apple says that as long as e-readers support in-app purchases, they’ll be able to retain access to digital books bought elsewhere–even though this violates the App Store approval guidelines.)

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The Verizon iPhone 4 Reviews Are In. I Bet You Can Guess the Overall Gist

Posted by Harry McCracken on February 3, 2011 at 8:53 am

The Verizon iPhone 4 doesn’t hit stores until a week from today. But if you’re interested in whetting your appetite, read one or more of the reviews which started hitting the Web yesterday evening. They vary in length, comprehensiveness, and attitude, but in many ways they’re remarkably similar. Everyone points out that the AT&T and Verizon flavors of the phone are largely identical. Everyone mentions AT&T advantages, such as international capability, the option to talk and use data at the same time, and–when 3G coverage is strong–the faster data. Everyone talks about the Verizon network’s robustness and discusses the new hotspot feature. And everyone reports a good experience with the Verizon version and gives it a thumbs up–often decisively so over the A&T one.

As usual, the last paragraphs of the reviews often serve as the most concise summary of the overall take. So here they are–along with links to the reviews in their entirety.

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Verizon's iPhone 4 Tethering Reality Check

Posted by Ed Oswald on January 26, 2011 at 2:12 pm

Much ado was made over the hotspot feature of Verizon’s version of the iPhone 4. However, some who may have thought the carrier was going to make this a standard feature may want to think again. A Verizon spokesperson has confirmed to Macworld that the tethering functionality would be an optional, extra-cost feature.

Verizon will charge an additional $20 per month, which will give the user 2GB of data to use (additional usage is charged at $20 per 1GB). This will be a separate data plan altogether, and follows pricing for tethering on other smart phones on the network that have the capability. While the charge may dampen the enthusiasm a bit, it’s better than AT&T’s tethering offering, which also costs $20 a month, but takes data of your iPhone data plan. That means you only have 2GB to use overall before you’re socked with overage charges.

I wonder if AT&T will respond by changing its own tethering plan, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

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Apple's iPhone 4 Screw Job

Posted by Ed Oswald on January 20, 2011 at 1:19 pm

Apple has been notoriously antagonistic towards do-it-yourselfers, preferring their customers have their equipment serviced through the company’s official channels. The Cupertino company may have found another way to foil these handy folks: using rare, hard-to-find screws.

Called “pentabular” screws, their pattern looks similar to a Torx screw, yet different. The best way to describe it probably is flower-shaped. Drivers for these screws aren’t readily available–making it more difficult to perform DIY repairs.
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Microsoft Brings OneNote to the iPhone. Is the Rest of Office Next?

Posted by Harry McCracken on January 18, 2011 at 10:31 am

Microsoft apps for Apple’s iPhone aren’t new–there are already ones for Live Messenger and Bing, for instance–but it’s still noteworthy when the world’s biggest software company releases software for the phone made by its most venerable archrival. And today Microsoft is releasing a version of its OneNote note-taking app for the iPhone–the first time that any Microsoft Office program has arrived on iOS.

OneNote for iPhone syncs with OneNote’s other incarnations on Windows, on the Web, and on Windows Phone 7. (It does so using Microsoft’s SkyDrive online storage service, and you need a Live ID to use the app.) It’s easy to use and has basic note-taking features, including the ability to add photos and checklist items. It does feel more like a complement to OneNote’s other versions than a fully autonomous app–I don’t see any way to create a new notebook, for instance–and it certainly doesn’t compete with the 800-pound gorilla of note-taking, EverNote, in terms of features and supported platforms. But OneNote users who have iPhones should be pleased to have access to their jottings on the go, and it’s good to see the app arrive on the single most important smartphone platform. (Microsoft says it plans to update the software as time goes on.)

The most intriguing thing about OneNote for the iPhone is the fact that it brings a little bit of Microsoft Office to iOS for the first time. There have been rumors in the past that Microsoft was considering releasing a version of Office for the iPhone and/or iPad, but this is the first tangible proof that the company doesn’t think it’s self-destructive to put part of Office on an Apple mobile device rather than preserve it for Windows Phone 7, which includes mobile versions of OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook as standard equipment.

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Yes, You Can File Your Taxes on Your Smartphone

Posted by Ed Oswald on January 17, 2011 at 9:53 pm

Three things are certain in life: birth, death, and taxes. So why not turn the process of filing your taxes into a mobile app? That’s exactly what Intuit–makers of  TurboTax–have done with SnapTax. Available for both the iPhone and Android, anyone who is eligible to file a 1040EZ will be able to use the app to file from start to finish.

For those of us who are tax illiterate — 1040EZ users are those who make under $100,000, have no dependents, and are going to claim the standard deduction. Essentially the profile of the “mobile generation,” Intuit believes.

While the download is free, Intuit will charge a $14.99 fee to file the form electronically. SnapTax uses optical character recognition to “scan” W2 forms, making the process of data entry much easier. Like its big brother TurboTax, the user will always have a running tally of their refund (or, gasp, how much more Uncle Sam wants) during the process. It will also allow for the submission of state income taxes as well.

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