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Filed under: Culture , Apple Of course, it all seems so obvious now! How did we not interpret El Jobso's true meaning of the iPhone kill-switch -- it actually kills you. We have noted iPhone expert Stephen Colbert to thank not just for this brilliant deduction, but also for sticking up for the lot of us and giving the iPhone 3G a cold staredown -- but not before declaring, "I knew I should have gotten a Zune! They can't kill me... or do anything else." Zing! Clip after the break (iPhone at 5:45). [Thanks, Matt] Continue reading Colbert's top threat of the week: killer iPhones. Solution: buy a Zune. Permalink | Email this | Comments

If the majority of new products and services from wireless carriers and handset manufacturers recently seems to be an answer to something from Apple, it’s probably because it is. Sure, Apple’s iPhone, iPhone 3G, iTunes integration, and AppStore may not be directly responsible for all of the wireless industry’s recent advancements, but Cupertino’s entry in [...]

Open operating systems, for most folks, means that the operating system is essentially free. The average computer user knows that Linux is free, as in beer, while Windows costs money. The case is the same for mobile OSes although, until very recently, the idea of purposely using an open OS has been a fairly nebulous [...]

Filed under: Software , Apple , OS X Mom-and-pop shops and giant corporations are clearly still trying to wrap their heads around the iPhone SDK, probe its capabilities and limitations, and figure out just what kinds of apps to bring to the table, and Microsoft is no exception. The company maintains a fairly active Mac development division -- a bit of a redheaded stepchild for the company, but a profitable one at that -- so it totally makes sense that they'd want to bring the iPhone into the fold from that angle. Indeed, the head of Microsoft's Specialized Devices and Applications Group (of which the Mac fiends are a part) have assigned a small handful of engineers to figuring out how, if at all, they can add value to Apple's talkabout; some sort of Office extension is an obvious one, but recent acquisition TellMe is also looking into whether it can shoehorn any voice recognition goodies on there as well. The strange bit, of course, is that this flies in the face of Microsoft's own Windows Mobile, which itself could use all the engineering help it can get to roll out its long-promised killer revamp as quickly as possible; then again, Office Mac is itself an affront to Windows, so maybe it's business as usual in Redmond. [Via iLounge ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

I am pretty excited about the iPhone 2.0 upgrade for a couple of reasons. I use a hosted Exchange service to keep all of my devices and other computers (UMPC and MacBook Pro) updated with my latest contact, calendar, and task data so finally having this on my iPhone will let me stop performing the Entourage, iCal, iTunes shuffle. I am also a 3rd party application fan on my mobile devices and look forward to seeing what software becomes available in June. I read today on the Cnet News.com Beyond Binary blog that Microsoft has been playing with the iPhone SDK and is considering a version of Office for the iPhone.

As expected, Apple released its iPhone software development kit Thursday--the SDK is available for download now at developer.apple.com. Apple also touted a June software update that will enable a series of new iPhone games capitalizing on the device's touchscreen and motion-sensing capabilities as well as the addition of Microsoft Exchange, which promises users access to email, calendars and other enterprise tools. All upgrades are tied to Apple's stated goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of the year--according to CEO Steve Jobs, the device already boasts a 28 percent smartphone marketshare, behind BlackBerry maker Research In Motion at 41 percent. While Apple will make the iPhone SDK available for free, developers must also join Apple's developer program for $99 to secure distribution for their applications via the App Store, a new application the computing giant will embed on all iPhones. The App Store will deliver all iPhone applications, both free and premium, and will serve as the exclusive platform for iPhone app distribution. Apple will also create a section of its iTunes digital storefront where users may browse available iPhone apps. According to Apple, developers will name the price of their premium applications, with Apple taking 30 percent of revenues off the top "to pay for running the App Store." Apple will refuse applications that fall into the following categories: "Porn, privacy, bandwidth hog, illegal, malicious and 'unforeseen,'" with further clarification no doubt to follow. A Q&A followed Thursday's presentation at Apple's Cupertino, Calif. headquarters, with Jobs asked what safeguards will be implemented to guarantee apps that are secure and in accordance with user privacy concerns. According to a live blog at Gearlog , Jobs replied "This is a big concern. It is a dangerous world out there. We tried to strike a really good path here. On one side you have a closed device like iPod...