Touch Screen Provides Tactile/Haptic Feedback
iPhone owners have long been complaining about the lack of the tactile or haptic feedback. Meaning the iPhone touch screen is not able to provide response when you hit a key which makes it difficult to type without staring directly at it.

RIM on the other hand uses “Click Through” technology on the the Storm’s touch screen to provide both audible and tactile feedback whenever you click the screen. In fact, the screen on the Storm is really just one large button that actually depresses when you click it.

Expandable Memory
The iPhone 3G is limited to either 8 GB or 16 GB of storage, depending on which model you choose. The BlackBerry Storm ships with just 1GB of on-board memory, but it also has an expandable microSD media card slot that can accommodate cards up to 16GB. So the Strom users could purchase as many microSD cards as they wish and swap them out at will, meaning that the Storm has virtually unlimited storage capacity.

Stereo Bluetooth Capability
One of the vital wireless feature that the iPhone 3G and even T-Mobile G1 lack is the Stereo Bluetooth Capability. With the iPhone, users still can’t listen to their music collections via Bluetooth, wireless headsets–at least without buying a third-party adapter–because the device doesn’t support Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) technology. That means wired headphones are a must when using Apple’s smartphone to listen to music in stereo.

BlackBerry smartphones have supported stereo Bluetooth for quite some time, and the Storm will be no exception. If you have pair of wireless headphones, or you’ve had your eyes on buying a new set, you may want to choose the Storm over the iPhone 3G so you can employ the headphones along with your new handheld.

Removable/Replacable Battery
Almost all other smartphones have removable batteries. The Apple iPhone doesn’t. To this day it causes frustration for some users, especially for frequent travelers and people who constantly listen to music, play games or watch videos or movies. Being able to swap in a spare would be great.

Since the iPhone has a fixed battery that cannot be swapped out, you need to charge regularly or purchase expensive–and awkward–third-party portable charging solutions like the Incase Power Slider Case/Battery Booster costing 100 big ones. The BlackBerry Storm has a removable battery that can be replaced with another when fully drained. Extra BlackBerry batteries sell for as little as $5.

Camera and Video Recording
The 2 megapixels camera of the iPhone 3G is disappointing, but what’s worse is that it won’t record any video. The Storm ups the ante to a 3.2-megapixel camera and also offers video capture. That’s a big plus in favor of the Storm, no doubt.

Wireless Tethered Modem
Many smartphone owners, particularly business users, employ their handhelds’ Internet connections to access the Web via otherwise unconnected PCs or laptop computers. The ability to tether can come in extremely handy while travelling and visiting various hotels, airports, lounges, etc. that charge for Wi-Fi access. In such situations, you can simply connect your smartphone and computer and avoid Wi-Fi fees. AT&T has said that it is working with Apple to bring that functionality to the iPhone. While they haven’t provided an exact date, it is coming.

Copy and Paste
Since day one iPhone users have asked for it and Apple is yet to provide it on the iPhone. This feature might sound a bit trivial for a mobile device but just try transferring a URL or some quote or important text from a Web page to an email message without it, and you’ll soon see why such a simple function can be so important.

With the BlackBerry Storm users will be able to cut and paste text by simply pressing a finger down at the beginning of a selection and then another finger at the end to highlight the text. After you make a selection, the BlackBerry Menu key shows options to copy the text and paste it at a later time.

Mutitasking: Get More Out of Your Day
In the smartphone context, multitasking means running multiple applications in the background while using your device for other purposes. Right now, the iPhone OS does not allow for multitasking, and as such, you can only run one third-party application at a time.

Th BlackBerry Storm on the other hand its 528-MHz processor and the HSPA network combine to support your need to multitask and prioritize without falling behind or out of touch. Designed to provide you with access to your voice and data services at the same time, it helps you get more out of every day.

• Take phone calls while sending and responding to email or browsing the Internet
• Maintain GPS-based directions or maps on your display even while taking a call
• Snap the perfect picture and send it out even when you’re already on the phone
• Discuss and revise Microsoft® Word, Microsoft Excel® and Microsoft PowerPoint files—edit while using the speakerphone

My impressions on the iPhone 3G to Firmware 2.0.1

I just downloaded and installed the new iPhone 2.0.1 firmware and the observations i noticed after updating are that it has gotten rid of the keyboard lag that has been irritating me most. The download and install takes a while. It?s a hefty 249mb in size but even after it?s downloaded iTunes takes a while to finish the update.

• Loading up SlashGear on WiFi, iPhone 2.01 finished roughly 2-seconds faster than 2.0.? iPhone OS 2.01 literally obliterated 2.0 beating it by a massive lead of 26-seconds when loading up iPhoneBuzz.com!? If you don?t believe me, watch the side-by-side video below and see it for yourself.? Poking around in the about page of the new firmware, it looks like there?s a new modem firmware.? iPhone OS 2.01?s modem firmware is now 01.48.02 versus 01.45.00 on iPhone OS 2.0.
• Other differences include call quality which seems to have better reception.
• Another notable improvement includes faster SMS.? By faster, you can say good-bye to the lagging keyboard.? I still need to test out the back up feature, which everyone on the net is swearing up and down the pole that it?s much faster now.
• iTunes sync and backup is faster.
• The didn?t wipe out our media (pics, vids, tunes) on the iPhone 3G. Awesome.
• Flipping pages on the home screen seem faster and smoother.
• iPod Touch users can also update.

That?s all for now from me, but feel free to chime in and post your comments should you discover something new.

FYI, Pwnage and WinPwn are in the process of being updated to handle the new firmware update. So if you?re jailbroken and unlocked (first gen users), I?d hold off clicking update in iTunes.

You will also need to download and install NetShare from the Apple App Store

1. The First Step: Setup a new network on windows (call it netshare). To do this you need to go into your network connections and right click on your wireless connection. Then click the wireless networks tab. Click add. Name your network whatever. I call mine ?netshare.? Set net authentication to open and data encryption to disabled. click the box on the bottom that says ?this is a computer to computer ad-hoc network?
2. The Second Step: Connect to the ad-hoc network by disconnecting all other connections.
3. The Third Step: Go to the wifi networks on your iphone and select netshare. Set the IP address to 192.168.10.1 and the subnet to 255.255.255.0. Set it to use Static
4. The Fourth Step: Go to the TCP/IP settings and set your computer?s IP. To do this you need to right click on your wireless connection and click properties. Then left click on Internet Protocol TCP/IP and select properties. Select the use the following ip address box and set the IP to 192.168.11.4 then set the subnet to 255.255.255.0. Once you have the IP and Subnet set click OK.
5. The Fifth Step: Run the proxifier program
6. The Sixth Step: Select the proxy settings button on the tool bar
7. The Seventh Step: Click Add then enter 192.168.11.5 in the address and set the port to 1080. Select Socks ver 5 then click OK.
8. The Eighth Step: Tap on ?Settings? on your iPhone and select ?Wi-Fi?.? Tap on the blue Arrow next to the Wi-Fi network you created (should be netshare) and choose ?Static? for the ?IP Address? option.
9. The Ninth Step: Enter the iPhone IP address you entered into your PC earlier (I suggested you use 192.168.11.5) In the ?IP Address? field.
10. The Tenth Step: Press the home button on your iPhone then launch the NetShare app. You should be ready to go. Try and access a page on your PC?s internet browser. You should now have internet access on your PC provided by your iPhone.
11. The Eleventh Step: You can test the connection by using the proxy checker. Netshare should show your connections at 1 and the give you the current data rates

Troubleshooting: I found that NetShare doesn?t work well on a slow EDGE connection, even wnen configured correctly, if you don?t establish a quick EDGE connection before launching the NetShare app as instructed in The Tenth Step. What you can do is just before launching NetShare, launch Safari on your iPhone and load any webpage. Once the iPhone has established an EDGE connection and is downloading the webpage, hit the Home button, launch NetShare, and then try and access the web via your PC again. It should work this time.

Apple?s struggling to crank out enough iPhone 3G handsets to meet supply.

They?re in such high demand, the company?s on track to shift more than 40 million of the touchscreen mobiles in its first year alone.

That?s almost 7 times the amount it shifted of the first generation iPhone, but with demand outstripping supply, reports suggest Apple?s pushing its Far Eastern manufacturers to their full capacity.

According to TechCrunch, Apple?s manufacturing partner, Foxconn, is churning out iPhone 3Gs at the rate of 800,000 per week. But there could be trouble ahead, as that number is reportedly ?above current full capacity.? TechCrunch says that if it continues, there could be quality control issues around the corner.

Issues like cracking cases?

Apple is about to launch a mini version of the hugely successful iPhone. It is expected to be in the shops in time for Christmas. The new introduced device with be a smaller, cheaper ?iPhone nano? in time for Christmas gift shopping.

The report claims the new device will retail at up to $150. The Daily Mail cites industry sources for its claims.

?A cut down version, with the candy bar shape of iPod nano music players, would be a huge hit as a Christmas gift,? the industry insider told the Mail. The report speculates the nano phone will have a touch wheel on the back and a display on the front.

First intimation of Apple?s plan to launch an iPhone nano were revealed in April, when it emerged the company was considering the launch of an entry-level model to widen the reach of the iPhone.

Just as the iPod lineup developed and branched out, so does Apple have plans for the iPhone lineup. Here?s some of what is being considered:

A ?Pro? or ?Max? model, that is noticeably thicker than current model (over 15mm, versus 11.6mm for existing iPhone), to incorporate a battery with almost triple the duration of the existing iPhone. This model is also the 3G model. It is targeted for power users and enterprise, meaning people who may use their phone 2-3 days in a row (on a business trip) without accessing a PC or having the time or opportunity to charge it.

Existing iPhone stays the same, along with no 3G, just Edge.

Also being considered, and with engineering and development basically done, is a new entry model, that is slimmer than the iPod Touch (an amazing 6.2mm versus iPod Touch?s already amazing 8mm), and slightly less wide (58.6mm versus 61.8mm for iPod Touch). Screen size is the same; this width reduction comes from the casing. It does not offer video playback and has only 4GB. Could be as low as $159. Name to be determined, internally referred to as iPhone Shuffle, definitely not the final name. Edge, of course.

Be warned, all we’re reporting here are the latest speculation. We are not known as a rumor site of any accuracy, and we present this rumor and all rumors merely as topics of discussion for our readers.

1. Lack of instant messaging

Yes MSN/Windows Live Chat, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, Facebook are useless for you if you have iphone.It don?t have any inbuild IM Chat Client.So please buy iphone if you want to miss all that.

2. You can?t stream music wirelessly

You can?t stream music wirelessly from the iPhone to any supported Bluetooth headsets due to lack of support for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP). (see comments for details)

3. Flash doesn?t work

Apple iphone doesn?t have adobe flash player installed so you can?t view flash enabled websites.So enjoy iphone if you want to miss your games and applications build on flash.

4. Apple may track you

With its licensing and GPS application iPhone may exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.

5. iphone doesn?t play patent and DRM free music

Yes its true iphone only players mp3 and AAC formats it don?t have any support for patent and DRM free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora.So enjoy iphone if you aren?t aware of this and this is not in your business.

6. Lack of ?Cut and Paste? feature

The best feature of iphone is to copy and paste long texts,sentences,phone no contacts etc.It will ease our work by many times that what we call ?smartphone?.Iphone doesn?t have this feature so please go and enjoy your ride over iphone 3G if you want to miss this feature

7. Same crappy camera

iphone 3g camera can?t cope shots in low-light and still have no flash.More over their isn?t any video recording capability either, even though this has been found on simple phones.You please enjoy your smartphone which can?t have basic features of simple phones.

Now some question are again unanswered like does iphone 3g cost $199? is it a good deal? or you are being fooled? Have you ever think that we have to sign a 2 year deal with a same network.So if we have to buy a iphone on $199 then we have to stick with AT&T and their incensed networks.Suppose we buyed the iphone and they change their network and calling rates. With a high rates does $199 deal is still good?

Do you have an iPhone and hate paying for Internet access at the airport? Want your laptop to work in any Park or public place?

With tethering software, users can connect their iPhones to their laptops and utilize the 3G network they pay for through their AT&T data plans to get Internet access to their laptops. It?s really a rather wonderful thing, and is available on other networks like Verizon.

An app called NetShare from Nullriver briefly appeared in the iPhone app store in the evening of July 31st, for a price of $10. Unfortunately, it was gone in twenty minutes, and raised the hackles of more than a few iPhone users who want to fully utilize the bandwidth they have purchased and own.

But not so fast! The app is back in action here in the afternoon, noontime PST at this link. We don?t know if Apple is going to keep it up, or if AT&T has relented, but for now, it is available again. This would be the first legal way iPhone users have had to tether to their laptops.

I?m not sure if this works with Windows laptops or not. There is a note on the iTunes store that says it?s complicated to set up for Windows users, but apparently does work.

This may violate the AT&T terms of service, but it?s not known whether or not they can detect its usage. Word is that first-gen iPhone users who have unlocked tethering haven?t been caught.

Good luck!

Apple has equipped some of its developers with the tools needed to begin authoring iPhone applications that can receive data over the internet, like instant messages, even when they?re not running.

The capability to produce these applications, sometimes called background apps, has been atop the wish lists of iPhone developers, mainly because Apple prevents the iPhone from running more than one application at a time.

That means that an instant message conversation in AOL?s free AIM app for the iPhone would abruptly terminate should a user receive a phone call. The user wouldn?t receive any new incoming messages until the phone call was over and the AIM application was relaunched. The same would happen if a user clicked on a web link sent via instant message, triggering the Safari app to launch and the AIM app to quit.

Apple?s argument against traditional background-capable applications is a sound one, and one that?s in the best interest of iPhone users. During the company?s recent developers conference, iPhone chief Scott Forstall noted that implementations of background applications on rival mobile operating systems are largely flawed in that they lead users to believe that they?ve quit applications when those apps remain open.

This in turn eats at battery life, where the iPhone 3G is already limited by power-hungry 3G and location services, and also weighs on processor performance with each additional application that continues to run as a background process.

To solve this problem, Forstall said Apple was developing an alternative to background applications known as a ?Push Notification Service? that developers could tap through a series of APIs, or easy to use programming functions, beginning in September. Instead of allowing potentially dozens of third party services to simultaneously access an iPhone directly, the push service would funnel all transmissions from developers? servers through a central Apple server, which would then relay the data to iPhones through a single persistent and well-managed background connection.
iPhone’s push notification service
Apple?s overview of its Push Notivation Service.

Through this technique, Forstall said developers can push badges to icons (like the email count indicator seen on the iPhone?s Mail icon), notification sounds, or pop-up text alerts like those that currently appear when an iPhone receives a text message. This management system was also developed to scale easily with larger apps, the exec said.

The first beta release of iPhone Software 2.1 last week whet the appetite of iPhone developers waiting on the push capabilities when it included some references to the feature. However, a second beta that arrived last night finally includes a rough implementation of the push services API, according to MacRumors.

?This is the second beta of the iPhone SDK targeting iPhone OS 2.1, including bug fixes to iPhone OS as well as an early implementation of the Apple Push Notification Service API,? Apple said. ?This API is not yet integrated with a live push server.?

Only a select group developers are reported to have received the latest beta, which as Apple noted, isn?t fully functional. Still, the iPhone maker has two months left to meet its self-imposed deadline to roll out Push Notification Service tools to its broader developer community. If it makes good on its promise, the first background-conscious iPhone applications should start cropping up on the App Store later this fall

Apple has manufactured the telecom?s dream: a phone that will rack up a massive bill all too easily.

To begin with, we?ve got a phone that basically sells itself on its ability to surf the Internet and download data. If you?re with AT&T, you?re all good and dandy on that point (unless you?re on international roaming), but for most of us throughout the world?including the Australian company my phone is with, Optus?the included data is a joke and the price per kilobyte is exorbitant.

Then there are text messages, which are arguably more commonly sent and received than phone calls. The iPhone?s user interface for text messages encourages chat-like conversation, shooting the number of back-and-forth ?LOLs? and other noise sky-high. I hear that in the US that?s 15 cents a message (25 cents here).

If the average number of text messages sent per user in a month is 188 and we conservatively double that number for iPhone users, we have $56.40 on top of the bill.

$56.40 for a few bursts of text.

*If that figure worries you, just be glad you?re not paying the bill for a Korean teenager (unless you are): apparently they send an average of 60.1 messages a day.

And finally, we have phone calls. The interface is pretty slick and intuitive, so it?s not at all a hassle to whip out your phone and make a call. But on the iPhone, it?s also very easy to fall into some bill-boosting habits that simply aren?t readily accessible on most other phones. For instance, it makes holding your current call to answer another one a very easy and convenient option. Two calls ticking away at once, and you?re not even using one. Ouch.

It?s a great phone, but it sure can run up your bill.
Now for the ?Glass Half-Full? Perspective

But it can also significantly reduce the size of your phone bill in ways many other phones can?t if you?re smart about it. If you?re an iPhone user with a big bill problem, let?s look at paring that down.

In this article we?ll look at three problem areas: calls, text and data.

Cutting Call Costs with VoIP

While there is no official Skype app for the iPhone (I?m hanging for one, but doubt they?d let it into the store), Fring is an alternative that lets you make VoIP calls that are much cheaper than regular cell call rates. Fring is an app, not a VoIP network, and serves as a mobile channel for:

* SkypeOut/SkypeIn

* SIPNET

* EuteliaVoIP

* VoIPVoIP

* VoIPTalk

For most people, the SkypeOut/In option will be the most popular option. It?s certainly not as good as having free Skype-to-Skype, but still makes calling people a lot cheaper. You?ll need to:

1. Download the app using the Fring repository in Installer, which you can do by following these instructions.
2. If you don?t already have a Skype account, get one. If you do, top up your credit.

I?d much rather an option that lets you do free Skype-to-Skype chat, but we?ll probably have to wait until hell freezes over.

If all you want is SkypeOut, there?s a web-based app called IM+ for Skype. It certainly is less of a hassle than installing an app, and has no SkypeIn, but it?s an option.

Cutting Message Costs with Instant Messengers

There are a variety of instant messengers out there and regardless of whether you?re using wifi or data, this is definitely the cheaper option. Of course, if you?re in America it?s the cheapest option no matter what because of the unlimited data (I?m jealous, if you hadn?t noticed).

While I?ve noticed that many Skype users tend to open up the app only when they need to have a voice conversation (I?m one of those guys that keeps it open all the time), mainstream instant messengers are usually a different story. There are two main ?camps? of instant messenging networks and each is covered by a different app.

Palringo

The first camp is the MSN Messenger?er, sorry, Windows Live Messenger?and Yahoo! Messenger crowd. The demographic is usually pretty young, but I?ve met 80 year olds through these networks too, so who am I to generalize? If you?re an MSN/Yahoo user, this is the one for you, though it also supports AIM, Google Talk, Gadu Gadu, ICQ (people still use that?) and Jabber. Get it here (iTunes Store link).

AIM

I?ve noticed this ?second camp? of IM users seems to circle around AIM and .Mac (now MobileMe), probably because they?re all integrated in iChat. If you?re an iChat user, you?ll be able to talk with your friends from the AIM network, MobileMe, .Mac, and ICQ using the AIM iPhone app. Palringo does support AIM, but iChat users will have a mixture of AIM and MobileMe/.Mac users in their contact list. Get it here (iTunes Store link).
Smart Data Usage Practices

Note: if you?re on an AT&T unlimited data plan, this section only applies to you if you?re roaming.

The iPhone will always look for wifi first and cellular data networks second. Unfortunately, one of the common bits of advice to save battery life on the iPhone is to turn off the setting Ask to Join Networks, which means your phone will no longer actively look for new wifi networks to join.

If there?s a wifi network where you are and you can?t see it because of this setting, you might be wasting money on cellular data. So decide what you want more: longer battery life or a shorter bill, and then decide whether or not this setting should be off.

Another tip for saving battery life that actually does save data usage is turning 3G off. Of course your phone will just jump onto EDGE or GPRS, but since those networks are slower it takes longer to rack up the same data charges, meaning that your frustration will be mixed with a nice dose of frugal satisfaction.

If you travel overseas frequently, make sure you go into Settings > General > Network and switch off Data Roaming. Thankfully Apple included this feature in the 2.0 software?people have racked up thousands and thousands of dollars in data charges while travelling simply because this feature was lacking in firmware 1.0.

Finally, keep a close eye on your usage (Settings > General > Usage). Knowing how much you are using with your current habits is essential to making better choices in the future.

Enjoy your (hopefully) much shorter bill!

1. Caps Lock

I don?t really know why, but a lot of people seem to have the urge to write in ALL CAPS. Personally I find it annoying but then again I guess that is a matter of taste (and maturity). So How do you activate caps lock on the iPhone? Simply double tap on the caps lock key anytime your in the keyboard mode. The caps key should turn blue and YOU CAN SHOUT ALL YOU WANT!

Not working for you? You might have to activate this functionality in your settings, they are off by default. Go to Settings -> General -> Keyboard and enable the caps lock function.

2. Take a screenshot

How do folks get all these nifty screenshots of iPhones up on their blogs?
The new iPhone 2.0 software has a screenshot functionality: Hold the Home button (the round one on the bottom of the front screen) and press the power button at the top. Your screen will flash and presto you have a screenshot of whatever you where looking at in that moment floating around your camera roll.

3. Appstore – New Apps

A functionality I?ve been sorely missing from the Appstore is the possibility to see new products or a list of updated software (as far as you haven?t installed it yet that is). Here the fine folks over at Pinch Media come in to save the day. They have an unofficial RSS feed to keep up with iTunes App Store additions. The categories are New Apps, Updated Apps, Top 100 free apps, and Top 100 paid apps.

4. Domain ending / TLD short cut

When you type a website URL in the address bar or enter an email address in mail, you can now hold down the ?.com? button to get a selection of 3 other domain name endings: ?.net,? ?.edu,? and ?.org?.

You can also get your local language specific top level domains displayed by setting your correct keyboard or keyboards. To do so go to General -> Keyboard -> International Keyboards and turn ON the desire keyboards.

You can then rotate through the languages by tapping the small ?globe? icon on the left side of the spacebar to select the language. After having selected the desired language you will then also get the most common top level domain for that country e.g. for Germany you will get .edu, .org, .de, .com.

5. Disable the auto-correction / dictionary function on the iPhone 2.0

This has been driving me absolutely crazy! I hate auto-correction since I like to communicate in a bilingual mish-mash and after typing half a mail/sms I usually see that my phone has auto-corrected every other word to some crap?

Now for the old iPhone software there was a very convenient little tweak called ?Kb application? that you just need to install and suddenly under the keyboard settings you had a little slider to disable the auto correction. Unfortunately such a tool doesn?t exist yet for 2.0.

However if you happen to feel adventurous then of course there is a way:

Step 1. SSH to iPhone
You need a jailbroken iPhone for this and you need to install SSHd via Cydia.
Then you can telnet to the IP of your phone. The IP address of your iPhone is listed under the WiFi connection you have established, press the blue > button for it under Settings -> Wi-Fi.

Step 2. Goto the directory: /System/Library/TextInput

Step 3. Rename ?TextInput_en.bundle? to whatever you like (e.g. ?TextInput_en.backup) and voila the auto-correction is disabled for that language. Obviously if you are using a different language/keyboard setting you need to rename that file, e.g. ?TextInput_de.bundle? needs to be renamed for German.

As usual if you go fiddling with your phone and don?t know what you are doing don?t come crying to me when it?s broke, otherwise I wish you happy hacking?.