3G iPhone Coming in 2008
2007-11-29 16:10:37
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson confirmed at a meeting in Santa Clara, CA that Apple and AT&T will be releasing the iPhone on a 3G network next year. AS to when exactly there was no word.
The current Apple iPhone in the US runs on the AT&T network and is not capable of 3G connectivity yet. The iPhone, whose most outstanding featureis its internet connectivity, relies on EDGE technology. However, EDGE is not the latest nor the fastest of mobile data technologies which renders the iPhone underpowered for its features.
Apple did not release 3G iPhones initially due to problems theey had with battery life. Apparently, the iPhone itself already consumes too much power that if a 3G iPhone were to run on the current batteries, it would only last a few hours. Though many conspiracy theorists suggest that Apple did not release a 3G iPhone yet so they can have more sales when they actually do. ...more
Today's roundup started slow but other news came up later in the day. Here's for today from the usual suspects Mashable , TechCrunch and PEHub .
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IPTV and media service company Avail Media, Inc. has just closed the final tranche of a $25 million Series B equity round. Valhalla Partners joined previous backers Columbia Capital, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, and Pioneer Ventures for this round. Along with the company's $5 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, the total amount of capital raised by Avail Media this year alone now reaches $30 million.
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Cannibalism. Google Maps today released an additional layer to their maps, terrain. This new feature on Google Maps is not new on Google Earth, in fact, Earth has been using the layer since their first version.
Unfortunately Google earth isn't as accessible as Maps since it is a desktop program and Google would definitely choose to pamper their online version hence the introduction of the Terrain layer to Maps is a step towards making Google Earth completely online. In short, Earth has its days numbered. But don't worry, EArth is still a long way from extinction.
Another service Google Maps will be making obsolete is the GPS device. Today, Google Maps Mobile introduced the feature, My Location. It isn't as precise as a GPS coordinate set but does serve the same purpose. With My Locations, any mobile phone will become a GPS-like device telling users their position on a Google Map. But again, don't worry, MyLocations is limited to using triangulation between cell sites to determine a user's location with in 500-5000 meters. However, if and when the technology of My Location pars that of GPS, it will take out a big chunk of the GPS market. ...more
Today's roundup from TechCrunch , Mashable and PEHub
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Spotzer , a video advertising company has just closed on its most recent round of funding, amounting to $14.8 million. Sierra Ventures and European Directories were the backers for this round, and the funding will be used primarily to beef up the company's sales force.
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A South Korean man was apparently killed when his mobile phone's battery exploded in his chest pocket.
The man was found in dead at work in a quarry this Wednesday morning with his phone melted in his chest pocket. Police assumed that the battery exploded. However it hasn't been confirmed as the cause of death.
The phone and battery were made by LG Electronics, one of the biggest consumer electronics companies native to South Korea. They confirmed that it was their product found at the scene but claimed that a battery explosion was virtually impossible. ...more
Google, according to the Wallstreet Journal, is planning to roll out an online storage service. This however is not new news, rumors have been going around for quite some time now regarding the search engine giant's online storage service, Platypus or GDisk or Gdrive as many has called the app. The news is, when the service will be made available to the public. According to the WSJ, Gdrive may be available in as little as a few months from today.
Google however has not confirmed nor denied this. A spokesperson said, "storage is an important component of making Web [applications] fit easily into consumers' and business users' lives." All we know is that there will be ample space for a free accounts and a whole lot more for paid accounts.
This announcement from the WSJ has re-lit the flames of the rumor going around Google's online storage and many bloggers have welcomed the news as a good thing. Though there are already many online storage services, when Google enters the niche, it suddenly becomes hard to compete. Furthermore, with Google wide range of online apps, it's not hard to imagine how an online storage service will play its position with Google's exeisting web and mobile products. ...more
Today's edition of 'Round the CLock will cover yesterday as well. Yesterday was very boring and I thought I'd include that roundup with today. So here goes.
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Snooth got another $1 million in angel funding, from its initial investors including Ryan Moynagh and Will Armitage, and a new group of international investors as well.
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Zoho today announced that their online word processor Zoho Writer will have fu;; functionality offline.
Earlier this year Zoho introduced the Zoho Writer web application as a viable substitute for MS Word. the online application however had limited offline functionality which incluided viewing and ... actually just viewing (pretty useless). Today's announcement changes all that.
Zoho Writer is now capable of working completely offline through Google Gears. Creating Editing and Reading new documents thorough Zoho Writer Offline works like any other desktop word processor except that when you go online, the files are automatically synchronised in your Zoho account. This feature effectively cuts a couple of steps when backing up files online.
The funny thing is that Zoho utilizes Google Gears for its offline functionality while Google Appshave yet to release their offline functionality suite. ...more
Recent news from the French indicate that local ISP's are considering blocking (effectively illegalizing) P2P file sharing. The French Government along with the local film and music industry have proposed a pact with French ISP's to cut off the internet connections of users who violate their new rules on P2P file sharing.
The pact is not actually all encompassing for the beloved file sharing, instead regulations will be imposed and violators will be cut off. According to the agreement, user downloads will be monitored. Illegal downloads will constitute a strike and just like baseballs, after three strikes, you're out. Harsh? Maybe. The scheme's details aren't out yet and the question remains, how do you determine legal and illegal downloads?
French President Sarkozy says, “We run the risk of witnessing a genuine destruction of culture…The Internet must not become a high-tech Far West, a lawless zone where outlaws can pillage works with abandon or, worse, trade in them in total impunity. And on whose backs? On artists’ backs.” Which is true and the film and music industries both agre. ...more
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