This setup uses a Robotech Bluetooth module that’s placed in a modified battery sleeve and connected to an unlocked iPhone (or iPod Touch) which, in turn, communicates with the keyboard using the Bluetooth SPP profile. Of course, that’s still a long ways from an officially supported solution, but if you’re looking to give it a go, Ralf is promising to dish out the necessary schematics and source code soon.
[Via Engadget]
The iPhone went on sale at Walmart today for $197 / $297, just as we expected. The plan is to attract consumers who don’t shop at Best Buy, Apple, or AT&T stores, so basically Wally doesn’t care about anyone reading this.
[Via Engadget]
At long last, iPhone users who have grown increasingly frustrated by using Google Maps as their primary navigational tool can find relief… sort of. Available right now in the App Store, XRoad’s G-Map application requires no internet connection whatsoever in order to function; rather, it packs oodles of maps into a 932MB package that covers most of western America and a few sporadic locales on the east. We’re a bit baffled (and angered) by the not-at-all-comprehensive coverage, but we suppose we can expect updates to patch the gaps in the near future. It provides most of the same amenities you’re used to seeing on real-deal GPS units, including POI editing, memo capabilities, location searching, etc. A word of caution, though: early reviews don’t seem too stoked about it, so you may want to gloss it over good before hitting your card for $19.99.
[Via Engadget]
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“Future versions of Imagination Technologies’ graphics cores could mean iPhone games far more sophisticated than ‘Super Monkey Ball.’”
Apple has taken a small stake in a British chip designer, revealing how the company plans to power the graphics in future iPhones and iPod Touches.
Imagination announced Thursday that Apple has acquired a 3.6 percent stake in the company, which will only cost Apple 3.2 million pounds, or about $5 million. Imagination designs chip cores for a variety of applications, but its most prominent designs are its PowerVR cores for graphics in mobile phones.
That is believed to be the source of Apple’s interest in the company, according to AppleInsider, which has tracked Apple’s interest in the PowerVR technology for some time. Earlier this year Imagination announced that a “international electronic systems company” had acquired a license for the PowerVR graphics cores, and in Thursday’s press release, Imagination said Apple was also a licensee.
[Via CNet]
It seems that the iPhone Dev-Team has finally done the impossible — they’ve gone and unlocked the iPhone 3G. The hack isn’t out yet, and it requires that you’ve got a baseband of 2.11.07 or earlier, but when it drops, the crew seems fairly confident it will result in freedom from carrier oppression.
After some rumblings this past March, Microsoft has now officially joined the iPhone development community with Seadragon Mobile, a free app that lets you “infinite zoom” gigapixel-sized images. Although Seadragon is available as a Silverlight application on the desktop, Microsoft isn’t bringing Silverlight to the iPhone, so don’t get your hopes up. We’re itching to see if the company has any more apps in the pipeline — we’ll wish for an Office editor, but expect a Minesweeper variant.
[Via Engadget]
Online shoppers looking to spend the holiday season firmly planted on the couch can add the iPhone 3G back to their lists — we’ve just confirmed that Apple and AT&T have quietly brought back in-home activation. Sure, it’s been available in limited circumstances before, but now it’s here and for real, just like with the first-gen unit. Would-be unlockers looking to score a phone for $199 flat can’t start celebrating just yet, though — you’ll still have to provide your billing details and face an ETF if you don’t activate within a set period of time.
[Via Boy Genius Report]
Dell just dropped the new tiny-tower OptiPlex 160 for businesses and educational markets looking to save space and “go green.” This 1.85-inch thick machine packs the usual assortment of ports, and an integrated power supply (no brick!), but unfortunately forgoes the integrated disc drive. The $563 base model incorporates a single-core Intel Atom processor, 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM, integrated video, and Vista Home Basic SP1 — most of which reminds us of the Eee Box, other than the extra two Benjamins Dell’s asking for. You can also spring for a 64GB SSD and an external DVD-ROM drive, and there will be a dual-core Atom option in 2009. While folks over in Round Rock envision these in the workplace, we certainly wouldn’t mind taking one home for a romantic weekend with Ubuntu.
[Via Engadget]
If there’s one problem with modern operating systems it’s that they’re all rather planar. Sure, OS X, Vista, and others have some 3D tricks up their sleeves, stacking windows and layering them on cubes and such, but when you get down to business everything’s rather more Flatland than Lawnmower Man. Apple, at least, has a plan for changing that in its patent application titled “Multidimensional Desktop,” unearthed by MacRumors, describing a way in which depth could be added to your typical virtual desktop. The patent covers dozens of scenarios, including geometric icons representing applications or documents being attached to the side surfaces, possibly replacing the rather tired “File, Edit, etc.” menus at the top with positional hotspots on the right. Another example describes how light emanating from one 3D icon, a little sun representing the weather, could illuminate the other icons. It all sounds rather conceptual, but with the amount of detail included here (not to mention the familiar dock at the bottom) it’s hard to label this is as just a flight of Cupertino creativity not intended for release.
[Via MacRumors]
