So will the iPhone SDK be late?.....

Probably! Still no official word from Apple at the time of writing this post, but it seems pretty late in the month to arrange a launch and the rumour mills are in full tilt. My own theory..... The iPhone SDK is ready and waiting to go! I find it highly unlikely that they would still be working on finalising the SDK at this late stage. What's more likely is that there are delays in either:

• Finishing or testing major 3rd Party (or Apple) iPhone apps due to be launched in conjunction with the SDK
• Getting the infrastructure in place to sell the iPhone apps via iTunes. This is most likely needed on launch date
• Finalising the new version of iTunes to include iPhone App support
• Updates to iLife or iWork Apps that may just be re-worked to include integration with the new iPhone SDK

As usual, Apple are trailblazing new technologies and you have to consider that waht we see as the final result is really just the tip of the iceberg of some pretty herculean feats of logistics and planning. Yes, I know the Apple TV was delayed and yes, even Leopard was delayed but you can guarantee that if the iPhone SDK is pushed back by a few weeks, it will be launched on the revised date. So let's cut Apple some slack and let them push out the SDK and the supporting infrastructure when it's ready. You know it will be worth waiting for!

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, iPhone SDK

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Apple relents, sanctions custom ringtones! - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Apple relents, sanctions custom ringtones! - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) Good grief! I never thought we'd see this. Apple are sanctioning the creation of custom ringtones. All the winging and moaning about the lockdown of ringtones and having to pay extra seems to have been settled in one fell swoop. You can still buy ringtones if you want but Apple have now made it simple to create your own. Much, much Kudos to Apple for doing this! I hope this generates as much positive press as the original position created negative press. Here is a direct link to the instructions

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Security on the iPhone

So I've had my iPhone for a couple of months now and I can't ever imagine being without it. Access to all my email, able to send email seamlessly, automatic switching to known and secure wifi hot spots, automatic login to most of my commonly used Web sites, all my contacts with phone numbers and other vital information, basically a treasure trove of all my personal data and access points. And if I lost it outside or god forbid, it ever got stolen....Holy Moly!! If you've got an iPhone, go now to Settings -> General -> Passcode Lock -> Turn Passcode On -> Require Passcode "After 1 minute" Do it now!!!!

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Insuring the iPhone

I just happen to have a special policy with my bank (who shall remain nameless) that covers holiday insurance for the year plus insurance for my mobile phone. As a new iPhone owner, I thought I'd let them know I've changed my phone and get the iPhone insured. The abridged conversation went like this: Me: Can I put my new Apple iPhone on my policy please? Clerk: Ah, let me just check with my supervisor.....Erm yes, but you have to be aware we can't fully cover them! They don't go on our normal policy Me: What do you mean? Clerk: Well, the cover only goes up to £300 and the iPhone costs more than that with extras and things. Me: Excuse me? It's only £269 at the Apple store! Clerk: Well yes but we can't get them. Me: So what happens if I make a claim? Clerk: Well we'd send you a cheque for £300 minus your excess, so about £265 Me: That seems fine! Clerk: What's the iEMI number? Me: 01 136..... Clerk: No that's wrong, it must start with 35 Me: Well that's what the phone says? Clerk: Hang on while I speak to my supervisor......Weird, that's seem OK. Weird, very Weird. After finishing the conversation, the following gem: Clerk: So please be sure to take good care of the Phone Me: Excuse me! What do you mean? Why do you say that? Clerk: Well, the iPhone is the first phone Apple has produced. They're not used to making phones. It might not be very durable. Me: (Restraining myself) Oh I see! Clerk: Besides you're only covered for loss or theft. So I let him off the hook at that point as I think he had my best interests at heart! Interesting to see what the reaction (and FUD) the iPhone can generate though :-)

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Why the FUD over the UK Launch?

Eek! Even TWIT are at it! Really Wil Harris, you should be ashamed of yourself. I was shocked to hear the misinformation that there were NO!!! queues for the iPhone at the UK launch. As from my previous post, there were at least 120-150 queuing up outside a relatively small Apple store in Manchester, which was probably replicated in all the other Apple stores throughout the UK. Not to mention the huge crowds at both Regent Street and Glasgow. No-one ever expected to see the sort of queues that happened at the launch in the US but to say there were no queues is just downright wrong! MacDaily News are reporting:

Nicholas Christian reports for Scotland on Sunday, "Gadget fever showed no sign of abating across the UK yesterday as customers continued to queue to snap up the new Apple iPhone [on Saturday]." "At the height of the frenzy on Friday night, iPhones were flying off the shelves at the rate of 4.2 per second," Christian reports. "A spokesman for O2... said yesterday: 'We don't have any official collated figures yet, but what we can say is that the sales are more than exceeding our expectations, and our expectations were pretty high," Christian reports. Stephen Hayward reports for The Sunday Mirror, "As many as 70,000 of the £269 must-have gadgets were expected to be sold over the weekend as Apple, O2 and Carphone warehouse stores stayed open longer to cope with the demand." "More than 400,000 are expected to be sold in Britain in the run up to Christmas and 10million worldwide in 2008," Hayward reports.

Besides which, I wonder how many UK peeps who would normally expect to get an iPhone on launch day already had a hacked phone from the US. I'm sure many of those decided to stick with the hacked phone for now. And what's with all this, not used to buying a Phone plus a contract? Granted the iPhone is on the top scale but it is a new class of device and other high end smart phones are available for a premium price plus a contract. Rant over (but I'll still keep listening to TWIT and Wil is a good guy really :-))

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