This post was written by Mary Joseff
Apple Inc. has filed a patent for a technology which would enable a layer of solar cells to be inserted under a touch-sensitive screen of the sort used in the iPhone. This would let owners of Apple devices, such as iPods and iPhones, charge the devices by leaving them out in the sun. If awarded, the patent has the potential to make the iPhone a truly portable device by eliminating the need for the phone to be connected to a power supply by wires.
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Softbank Corp. has won the right to sell Apple Inc.’s iPhone in Japan and will market the popular next-generation phone in 2008, in a coup for the nation’s third-largest mobile communications carrier. For Apple, Japan’s large but saturated mobile phone market will be an important stepping stone in its bid to expand its global mobile phone share.
Apple Inc. has unveiled a service that allows users to wirelessly sync and access information across multiple devices. Dubbed MobileMe, it’s a cloud storage service that enables push e-mail and real-time synchronization of calendar items, contact information, and other data on an iPhone without the need for a Microsoft Exchange server. The Web-based MobileMe works with the iPhone’s mail, calendar, and contacts applications in addition to working with Mail, iCal, and Address Book on the Macintosh and Outlook on Windows. Additionally, MobileMe offers online storage for documents, files, and photos.
Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. have settled claims that the iPhone’s “visual voicemail” technology infringed on the patents held by Klausner Technologies Inc. The visual voicemail feature lets iPhone users see a list of people who’ve left them phone messages and listen to the messages in any order they choose. With the settlement, in which Apple and AT&T have agreed to take out licenses on the technology, both the companies have joined eBay Inc.’s Skype division, which had also settled a similar lawsuit last month.
Apple Inc., which had made AT&T the exclusive carrier of its iPhone, has extended its exclusivity agreement with AT&T for a year. The exclusivity deal, which the company had signed with AT&T last year, was due to expire at the beginning of 2009. With the 120-year old brand becoming cool again due to its alliance with iPhone and the smartphone sales improving, both the companies seem to be happy with the results of the deal. By subsidizing each iPhone 3G sold by $300, AT&T is able to make the smartphone far more attractive to consumers.
Apple Inc.’s bet on cellphone software appears to be paying off. In the month since Apple opened an online software clearinghouse called the App Store, users have downloaded more than 60 million programs for the iPhone, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in an interview at Apple’s headquarters. While most of those applications were free, Apple sold an average of $1 million a day in applications for a total of about $30 million in sales over the month, Mr. Jobs said.
mindSHIFT Technologies Inc., a leading provider of premier IT infrastructure and software services for small and medium-sized organizations, has announced plans to support Apple Inc.’s recently released iPhone, as well as Mac laptops and desktops. This strategic move by mindSHIFT extends the company’s comprehensive suite of premier managed IT services, enabling customers to more easily take advantage of the benefits of innovative new technology with the confidence that their IT infrastructure will be expertly managed by a fully-staffed team of experienced IT professionals. As mindSHIFT’s newest supported mobile device, the iPhone provides mobile users with enterprise-class remote access any time, anywhere.
Following Apple Inc.’s deal with Best Buy, the company is likely to sell more than the estimated 12 million iPhones by the end of the current year, according to the Lehman Brothers analyst Ben Reitzes. Reitzes also thinks that his estimate of the sale of 24 million iPhones in 2009 is conservative. Apple’s expanding Best Buy presence will create an additional iPhone halo effect, Reitzes believes.
When the new iPhone goes on sale Friday, Apple Inc. will also launch an online software store, called App Store, to peddle a potpourri of programs such as games, pedometers, tip calculators and language translators for the device. The company hopes that by enabling buyers to transform the phone into a personalized electronic Swiss Army knife of sorts, it can boost sales. The store is another way that Apple is changing the mobile market since the first version of the iPhone went on sale in June 2007. The new App Store will be the only retailer of Apple-sanctioned software programs for the iPhone family and the iPod Touch.
After almost a year of the launch of the original Apple iPhone, Apple Inc.’s CEO Steve Jobs has introduced a 3G version of the device, finally putting to rest months of rumors and speculation. While some of the rumors panned out — the new handset will offer full GPS — other rumors, like the addition of a 32GB model, fizzled. With support for three 3G bands (850, 1900, 2100) and both UMTS and HSDPA networks, the iPhone 3G is well positioned for using high-speed networks across the world. If data speeds hold up as Jobs demonstrated, the new iPhone really is ready to put the Internet in your pocket. The latest iPhone version will go on sale from July 11, 2008.