Simplyfreeiphone dot com » iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3GS drop to $97 signals iPhone 4G release

Steve Elliott — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:26:04 +0000

Well, this is intriguing: Walmart just officially announced that it’ll be selling the 16GB iPhone 3GS for $97 starting Tuesday, a full $100 off the regular price.

Given the high probability that Steve Jobs will introduce the thoroughly-leaked next-gen iPhone when he gives the WWDC 2010 keynote on June 7th, this cheap iPhone deal seems like either an attempt to clear out remaining inventory or a way to slide the 3GS down the line to replace the $99 8GB iPhone 3G.

Either way, the 3GS just got a lot cheaper, which is never a bad thing.

Source: Engadget

Orange announces UK iPhone deal

Steve Elliott — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:47:54 +0000

Orange has reached an agreement to sell Apple’s popular iPhone in the UK.

The deal ends an exclusive arrangement between UK network operator O2 and the Californian phone maker, which has been in place since 2007.

Orange said its customers would be able to buy the phone “later this year” but did not specify a date or pricing.

However, analysts said that in markets where there was already competition there was little difference in handset prices but small variations in tariffs.

“There’s not a lot they can do – they are subsidising the hardware, so they can’t afford to do much on the tariff,” said Carolina Milanesi of Gartner.

“You may see a £30 per month tariff versus £35, but I would not expect anything more.”

Data jam

Orange recently revealed plans to merge its UK network with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile to create a business with 28.4 million customers.

If given the go-ahead, it would be the UK’s largest provider, overtaking Telefonica’s O2, with about 37% of the mobile market.

“That would be good for Apple,” Dave McQueen, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media told BBC News.

“Then, around three quarters of the UK market will then have access to the iPhone.”

O2 has offered the handset in the UK since its launch in 2007. In February, it said it had sold more than one million of the handsets.

The launch of the latest iPhone 3GS in June significantly boosted sales, with many stores running out of stock.

The phone has also allowed the firm to win subscribers from other networks, according to analysts.

However, the rise of smartphones – which have the ability to surf the web and send e-mail – has put a burden on the O2 network, according to Mr McQueen.

“IPhone users to tend to use data quite extensively – perhaps more than anticipated,” he said.

“Orange has always a good data network and if the T-mobile deal goes through it would allow them to share the burden.”

O2 will continue to sell the handset in Britain, alongside iPhone rival the Palm Pre.

The Palm phone, described by some as an “iPhone killer”, will be available exclusively to O2 from 16 October.

O2 said that it always knew that its exclusive deal was for “a limited period of time”.

The new agreement with Orange brings the UK into line with many other countries around the world which have multiple operators that offer the iPhone.

In countries where exclusive deals still persist, such as the US, some customers choose to “unlock” their phones using third party software so they work on an unlicensed network.

However, Apple has warned that the practice can cause “irreparable” damage to a handset and has engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse, releasing periodic software updates which prevent unlocked phones from working correctly.

Source: BBC.co.uk

Is the iPhone Boom a Business Boom?

Steve Elliott — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:41:44 +0000

We all know how the iPhone frenzy has grabbed popular imagination since it was first announced in Jan 2007.

With its cool feature set, slick appearance, powerful computing capabilities, beautiful display and intuitive touch navigation, this poster boy of the mobile generation has captured the imagination of gizmo freaks and tech phobics alike.

Apple thought it would hit 10 million iPhones sold by the end of 2008 and some commentators are suggesting that the total to date is actually 23 million. The release of the iPhone 3GS and Christmas on its way is sure to bump that up even further, if stock allows!

According to a research from IDC, 70 percent of those polled who own, or plan to purchase an iPhone in the next year, consider it to be for both personal and business use.

Considering the vast proliferation of iPhones in such a short span, it is natural that all those who own a iPhone would want to extend its use to business as well. And it is no joy carrying around a Blackberry and iPhone in either pocket. All that does is to exert extra downward pressure on the belt. It is no wonder then, that iPhone’s usability in a business context is a raging debate nowadays. That is still a secondary question, because the fact remains that present and future end users of iPhone see is as something they want to use for business.

The Bad News

Unfortunately for corporates, iPhone was created mainly for the meatier consumer market, and never really meant to be a business tool.

What Obstructs “iPhone for Business”

- It’s mainly a PIM

- Third party applications not supported

- Lack of Exchange Support

Mainly a PIM – iPhone mainly has PIM(personal information manager) capabilities (email, contacts, calendars, calendars, notes) and not meant to be used for team collaboration, which requires the ability to share and work togather on information.

Sorry Third Party Developers – iPhone runs on a custom built operating system called the “iPhone OS”, and at this point does not allow third party applications to be built & installed on this native OS. Users are restricted to applications prebuilt into the system (mail, sms, calendar, photos, etc). This meant no special business centric applications could be created to make use of iPhone’s computing & display capabilities and internet-ability.

No Exchange Support – The gravest ommision was a lack of support for MS Exchange, which meant that users could not view even the most most elementary business information – business mail, contacts, tasks, and calendars, on their iPhones, what to speak of advanced collaboration. The only way to achieve this was complicated and unreliable workarounds.

The Good News

iPhone’s Business Friendly Features

- Rich Safari Browser

- Web 2.0 Applications Allowed

- Internet Friendly

- Recent Apple Announcements

Hurray for Web 2.0 – The good news is that they allowed a small window, through which an elephant could be pushed. Soon after its launch, Apple announced that it would allow third party web applications supporting web 2.0 standards, to run on iPhone though its rich Safari browser. This effectively meant that iPhone could be part of the web 2.0 revolution, and access all the rich applications therein.

The Safari Browser – iPhones web browser Safari, is a full web browser with the works. It is light years ahead of the custom made web browsers of traditional corporate handhelds like Palm’s Blazer browser, Blackberry browser, etc. It is not just comparable to a desktop browser, but is a desktop browser. This allows iPhone to ride high on the current web 2.0 wave, rather than just being a bystander.

According to AT&T and Google, iPhone generated 50 times more search requests than any other mobile handset.

Internet-ability- iPhone allows internet access through 3GS, wi-fi or wide area EDGE networks. One important prerequisite for a mobile to be an effective remote collaboration tool is the willingness and comfort level of users to use the device for web access. With no little thanks to the large display & the safari browser, the iPhone has been a huge success as a device for web access. The iPhone increased the average wireless data usage as much as 30 times higher than on other phones.

Apple finally Awakens from its Slumber – Only lately has Apple has woken up to the previously ignored aspect of business usage. This was largely caused by the hue and cry raised by the media and users over its frustrating lack of business friendlyness. Even as I write, there is news of iPhone finally offering Exchange support, and an iPhone SDK (software development kit) which will allow programmers to develop applications specifically to be installed on the iPhone.

But these new developments are not just in their infancy, but even foetal stage. It will be some time before these new applications find their feet, an truly provide trouble free functionality to businesses.

Exchange support at this time is issue riddled and works only for companies that support Exchange 2007 or Direct Push on Exchange 2003. Moreover, this and the launch of installed applications for iPhone wont take place until a firmware update slated for June 2008.

Webapps to the Rescue : HyperOffice as a case in study

Amongst the first companies to regonise the oppurtunity presented by iPhone for rich business applications was HyperOffice. Already well experienced in the web based business collaboration domain, they developed HyperOffice for iPhone, an iPhone specific version of their flagship product, HyperOffice.

This allowed business users to use almost the entire feature set HyperOffice right from their iPhones. Rather than an isolated personal information manager, HyperOffice allowed iPhone to be used as a dynamic collaboration tool through which users could access the company intranet, share contacts and calendars, plan projects, share and edit documents, schedule meetings, & many other things.

They also realised early on that a major pain point for users looking to use iPhone for business was a lack of Exchange support. HyperOffice allows users to get past this hurdle easily by acting as a bridge between Exchange and iPhone. It allows users to receive information directly from Exchange, or access Outlook information (mail, contacts, calendars, tasks) right on iPhone, with or without Exchange. No matter where users access mail and other information – Outlook, iPhone’s email client or on any other web device, information is automatically synched. Users always get updated information.

Source: Kansieo.com

Competition time – Win a free iPhone 3GS with Gadgets4nowt.co.uk

Steve Elliott — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:00:28 +0000

In the fourth of its series of fantastic competitions, Gadgets4nowt is giving away a free iPhone 3GS.

All you have to do is answer one simple, Apple related question on the competition page, here.

About the prize:

Meet iPhone 3GS, the fastest iPhone ever. Featuring a remarkable video camera, Voice Control and more. It’s a revolutionary phone, a great widescreen iPod and a breakthrough Internet device in one. And with tens of thousands of apps from the App Store, it can do just about anything.

Key feature of the iPhone 3GS

Faster performance
Revolutionary mobile phone
Great widescreen iPod
Breakthrough Internet device
Maps with GPS + digital compass*
Video recording
3-megapixel auto focus camera
Voice Control
Messages with MMS** support
Thousands of apps on the App Store
16GB | 32GB
Black | White

* Compass reliability may be affected by usage conditions, such as nearby magnetic fields.

** MMS may not be supported by your wireless carrier. See your carrier for details.

Revolutionary phone
Widescreen iPod
Internet in your pocket
Maps with built-in GPS
Visual Voicemail
Push email, calendar and contacts with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
Third Party applications from the App Store