FreshPhoneNews.com

Just when you’d almost forgotten (or given up hope on) the 3^rd generation iPod Touch, in comes a rumor to remind you of your former dreams. According to the blog of a popular radio show, the Covino & Rich Show blog, the images you see here are totally legit shots of the 3^rd generation iPod. The show hosts claim they were sent in by a loyal listener and this is not a publicity stunt. The images are not the final production unit, but early prototypes the tipster got their hands on since they deal with used electronics. Right. The disassembled iPod Touch you see here does have the red circuit board that is a generally used for prototyoes. So as usual we are slightly skeptical since there no real way to confirm this and radio show hosts have been prone in the past to do a fair share of marketing for their shows…you get the idea. Enjoy the prototypes though.

via

Sling has just made public the fact that it has submitted version 1.1 of its popular SlingPlayer app for the iPhone to Apple. Guessing that after Google’s app got rejected, all third parties are letting the public know just-in-case. The new app brings true 16×9 wide-screen support, improved remote control interface, faster speeds all around including channel changing, initial connection, remote control response. The U.S. version of the app doesn’t have 3G support but SlingMedia has submitted an app specifically for out-side the U.S., mainly for Europe that will have 3G support. Now we wait for the approval.

AdMod, the company that serves Mobile Ads and is the one iPhone OS devs and mobile Web devs all turn to, has just issued a mobile metrics report analyzing the geographic distribution of the iPhone and iPod Touch. The group analyzed data from over 16.8 million unique iPhones and iPod touch units browsing over 7,000 mobile sites and using over 2,500 different ad-toting apps over the course of June. Some of the major findings of the AdMob report are;

• 54 percent of iPhone and iPod Touch users are in the United States.
• After the U.S., France, Germany and the UK each had more than 5 percent of all iPhone and iPod Touch devices.
• iPod Touch users represent 38 percent of total iPhone OS devices in North America.
• Of the 45 million iPhone OS devices Apple has sold, approximately 13 million iPhones and 12 million iPod Touch units have been sold in the US. That leaves about 20 million devices spread across the rest of the world.

Right so basically 46% of all iPhone and iPod Touch users are outside the U.S. what does this mean?  For one thing that Apple still has a pretty big chance of increasing the size of its pie by focusing outside the U.S. a bit more. It also means that the current user base of the iPhone and iPod Touch is closer to home and Apple knows exactly what to sell and how to sell it in the Land of the Free. But what will happen if and when the non-U.S. iPhone user base crosses 50 percent, where will the product offering shift? Does this have anything to do with carriers being able to support the full functionality of the iPhone and iPod Touch? It very well could be.

Another interesting revelation in the report is the fact that Android’s share is up by 25 percent on a month on month basis. Android has a 5 percent worldwide OS share, placing it ahead of Windows Mobile for the first time. It isn’t king of the universe yet, but looks like it’s started the journey.  Here’s the AdMob press release;

AdMob June 2009 Metrics Report Details

Distribution of iPhone OS Devices by Country

46% of iPhone & iPod touch Users Outside the U.S. and Growing

SAN MATEO, Calif. and LONDON, July 23, 2009 – AdMob, the world’s largest mobile advertising platform, examines the geographic distribution of iPhone OS users in its June 2009 Mobile Metrics Report. AdMob’s latest report also uses this network data in combination with Apple disclosed figures to estimate the number of iPhone and iPod touch devices in various countries.

The report finds that worldwide adoption of Apple devices continues to grow. While North America leads with 58 percent of iPhone and iPod touch users, Western Europe and Asia have increasingly become popular geographic regions, representing 26 and seven percent of Apple device users, respectively. The worldwide ratio of iPhone to iPod touch users in the AdMob network was roughly two to one in June; although this varied from region to region, this ratio has remained relatively constant over the last several months, implying a similar growth rate for both devices worldwide.

Highlights from the June 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report:

• 54 percent of iPhone and iPod touch users are in the United States
• Following the U.S., France, Germany and the UK each had more than five percent of all iPhone and iPod touch devices
• iPod touch users represent 38 percent of total iPhone OS devices in North America
• Requests from the Android OS increased 25 percent month over month. Android has five percent worldwide OS share and is slightly ahead of Windows Mobile for the first time

For the first time, AdMob’s June 2009 Mobile Metrics Report also features an estimated breakdown of the number of iPhone and iPod touch devices sold in various countries. Given Apple’s recent announcement that 45 million iPhone OS devices have been sold worldwide1, AdMob estimates that there have been 13 million iPhone and 12 million iPod touch units sold to date in the U.S. based on user data in AdMob’s network. Additional details and worldwide country estimates are listed in the feature section of the report.

This analysis is based on the 16.8 million unique users on iPhone and iPod touch devices on the more than 7,000 mobile sites and 2,500 applications in AdMob’s network in June 2009, the vast majority of which were free to download. Please see the notes section of the full report and the Metrics blog for more details on methodology.

Visit AdMob’s Metrics Report site to access the full June 2009 report, view past reports, or sign up to get an email notification when future reports become available. AdMob stores and analyzes handset and operator data from every ad request in its network to optimize ad serving.  Each month, the AdMob Mobile Metrics Report aggregates this data to provide insights into major trends in the mobile ecosystem.

via

While we are no fans of number crunching, the hottest handset manufacturers performances always cause a bit of a stir; we do want to know how the brand we hate or love has done in the last year or so. Apple has just released its earnings’ report for its 3rd quarter, which ended June 27th, and…well…Apple is just rolling in the good stuff. Cupertino has actually reported the best earnings for a non-holiday quarter in its entire history. The figures speak for themselves;

• 5.2 million iPhones sold (626 percent growth Year-on-Year)
• 10.2 million iPods sold
• 2.6 million Macs sold
• $1.23 billion in profits, up from $1.19 in Q3-08
• $8.34 billion in sales, up from $7.46 in Q3-08
• $1.34 EPS, up from $1.19 in Q3-08

And what does the proud CEO Steve Jobs have to say? Simply, “We’re making our most innovative products ever and our customers are responding. We’re thrilled to have sold over 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter and users have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications from our App Store in its first year.” And must be comforting to know that Apple didn’t get fall off track while Jobs was on leave, they certainly earned an applause.

via

Ok, many people have been going around asking about the ways to make the new iPhone more current, meaning how you can sync with your Google Calendar. And for most the simple answer is the easy to setup CalDAV that works equally well with both the iPhone and iPod Touch. But there’s a lot more that can be accomplished with your Apple device, such as adding TV show schedules, network premier schedules, sports team schedules, movie releases, concert tour schedules. A lot of folks simply stick to U.S. holidays calendar, but why limit yourself.

The easiest way to get your hands on a good calendar subscription is to find a good directory. To make life easier for you, we recommend iCal World or iCalShare among many. Pull either directory out in your iPhone Safari browser and have a go through the many available subscriptions. When you find one you like, do the inevitable, click on it. Now if the link is alive and well, Safari will ask you if you’d like to sign up for the subscription. You tap ‘subscribe’ on your iPhone and well you’re on your way. The confirmation window means the subscription is in the bag. Go on, tap ‘View Events’ and see your new events in the Calendar app. The only annoying factor about these free subscriptions is that they are not all well maintained. Many will have dead links, so you’ll have to be a bit vigilant and look around for a while. But seriously, this is the iPhone we’re talking about, you’ll be spoiled for choice as well. Let us know if you come across any particularly interesting subscription.

While project Yellowsnow was the delight of all iPod Touch and iPhone owners, the release of the unhackable iPod Touch 2G left owners of this new iPod out in the cold. No cool apps and themes…until the Dev Team announced that it was working on project redsn0w. The first beta is now out there and will bring new joy to all you iPod Touch 2G owners. Unless of course you’d rather pay for iPhone OS 3.0. Anyway, the beta caters to one and all, meaning Windows, Linux and OS X. The Dev Team really does think of everything. As with all jailbreaks, this is not for the faint of heart. Don’t get in over your head, do back up your iPod Touch 2G and make sure your comfortable with your jailbreaking abilities. Presenting project redsn0w.

Thank you Dev Team.

For all of us who simply can’t get enough of pointing out the evils in Apple and the iPhone, here’s a real kick in the shin; according to Mobinaute, Apple is currently leading the market when it comes to touchscreen phone sales with Samsung next in line. Apples 2008 share comes to a nice 33% of the touchscreen market while the combined sales figures for the iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G total 13 million units. But Samsung has a pretty decent share of the touchscreen market too, what with 10 million touchscreen devices sold in 2008 give it a 25% market share. Not bad, not bad at all. Seems like Samsung’s most popular phone is the F480, which is similar to the Behold for T-Mobile USA, as it sold about 5 million units. The rest of the market is taken up by other big manufacturers such as LG (surprise), Palm (even bigger surprise) and HTC (should have a better chunk, don’t you think?)

via

iPhone gamers who were being suffocated by all the waiting for Konami to release the much promised Metal Gear Solid Touch, now have a purpose to live. Konami is right on schedule with its release and has even put some fresh screen shots of what the game will look like on your Apple device. Oh yeah, iPod Touch crowd can jump for joy too.

Konami also made an official statement saying, “A special ‘Advance Edition’ of Metal Gear Solid Touch containing the first 12 stages of the game is scheduled for release on the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch in March of 2009. The final release will follow with eight additional stages of gameplay, and will be available to existing players via a free update on the Apple App Store.”

Metal Gear Solid Touch is slated to be a success, let’s just hope it’s ship hasn’t sailed. Remember, you Metal Gear Solid Touch with 12 levels on March 18th, eight more later, all for $9.99. Check out the screen shots.

Sometimes I think the only reason Apple doesn’t ask for user feedback on the App Store or iTunes is that they wouldn’t be able to swim out of all the complaints they’d get. But that doesn’t mean Apple is oblivious of all that needs a fixin’ over at iTunes. The newer, prettier version of iTunes is now good to go. iTunes 8.1 is aiming to be faster, stronger and easier to use that it’s dad. For one thing, the Genius feature now supports movies and TV shows instead of just sticking to music. You can also import CDs much faster and at a better quality. So basically this makes your sync-life much easier, regardless of whether you use an iPhone or iPod. Shopping through iTunes may actually become a breeze after all. And for those who want the Apple 4GB iPod Shuffle, you gotta have iTunes 8.1.

via

iPod Touch 2G owners will be wriggling in their seats with glee for this one. Seems like all the toil and labor the Dev Team has been putting in is finally going to pay off. The Dev Team has discovered a serious flaw in the bootrom of the device that renders it pwned for life. Firmware updates from Apple can just take a hike. The firmware patch of this untethered jailbreak has been launched to the masses but it isn’t available yet on any Pwnage tool like QuickPwn, etc. bold early adapters can check it out here, but you cautious sorts should sit tight and wait for the QuickPwn/Pwnage Tool version.