Posts in news

Firefox Home Approved, Mozilla Fans Rejoice

Looking to access your Firefox profile in the cloud? Firefox Home, approved by Apple yesterday, can now be found on the App Store. While I don’t touch Firefox too often, I still appreciate some of its features and am looking forward to the latest update. For those still using the mighty fox, Firefox Home for the iPhone can collect your open tabs, bookmarks, and other related data so that you have a portable carry-on for that workflow.

You can download Firefox Home at this link.

[via TechCrunch and CNET]

Mozilla Explains Why Tabs on Top is Better for Everyone

Firefox isn’t removing the choice of placing tabs on the bottom. Rather, they’ve been debating on where to place tabs after a fresh installation. They’re arguing about default settings if you will, and while it’s not the most exciting news, Mozilla has decided that Firefox will come shipped with tabs on top as the default preference. Being a Chrome user, it’s certainly what I prefer.

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Follow Apple iPhone 4 Special Conference Live on MacStories

This time around we really don’t know what to expect. Last night, Apple surprisingly sent a very few invites to select press and invited journalists over at Cupertino’s campus to attend a special conference about the iPhone 4.

Of course they’re going to cover the antenna issue. Of course they’re going to explain the situation. But how? And most of all, what’s the exact status of this situation? Is Apple actually going to recall the first 2 million iPhone 4 models?

Stick with us tomorrow to find out. Apple special conference. One live. Invited panelists on MacStories. It’s an offer you can’t refuse.

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Analyst Claims Apple is Fixing the iPhone 4’s Design Flaw

We’re not talking about a software fix folks. MacRumors via TheStreet is reporting that Apple is altering the manufacturing process to include a component that dampens (and hopefully eliminates) the iPhone 4 antenna issue. TheStreet reports,

Apple has told its manufacturers to alter the iPhone production process to include an internal component that will insulate the defective antenna connection that has disrupted the phone’s signal reception, said Kumar. This internal bumper will give Apple a non-cosmetic solution and will presumably avoid the need to change the appearance of the phone, said Kumar.

MacRumors indicates that further iPhone 4 delays may be caused by Apple’s manufacturing fix as they prepare new models with the insulating component. It’s also mentioned that the Rodman Renshaw analyst (Kumar) doesn’t have an established track record yet in the industry, implying that it’s possible these rumors are completely false. Again, this is an extra rumor to look forward to tomorrow. If all Apple has to do is add an extra part, then a fix should be relatively quick as there’s no major change required in the assembly process.

[TheStreet via MacRumors]

Apple Engineer Reportedly Warned Steve Jobs about the Antenna Issue

Bloomberg writes this morning on Apple’s senior antenna expert, Ruben Cabellero, who personally warned Steve Jobs (a year ago) about the potential antennae issues with the iPhone 4.

Last year, Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert, informed Apple’s management the device’s design may cause reception problems, said the person, who is not authorized to speak on Apple’s behalf and asked not to be identified. A carrier partner also raised concerns about the antenna before the device’s June 24 release, according to another person familiar with the situation.

Nothing else is revealed about the Caballero other than he was made unavailable for comment. Apple’s press conference is tomorrow, so it looks like Bloomberg will just have to wait.

[via Bloomberg]

Boy Genius Claims that FaceTime is Coming to iPod and iPad

We pretty much figured that FaceTime would eventually end up on the iPod relatively soon, but we didn’t think we’d hear millings about the iPad just yet (considering it doesn’t have a front facing camera). Sure the iPad would make the perfect FaceTime device – but this leads us to ponder whether Apple will release an updated model this Fall.

Questions aside, Boy Genius Report does ask a valid question: how the heck can you call an iPod touch or iPad without a phone number? The answer lies in your Apple ID. Using your email address (which I do not like the idea of at all), people will be able to make FaceTime calls to your device. Kind of like how Textie on the iPhone and iPod touch works. Push Notifications will alert you to calls, and Boy Genius Report admits that there’d have to be some minor changes in iOS 4.x to make it happen. Chalk another one up on the rumor mill kids - this one is pretty good.

[via Boy Genius Report]

Archetype a Huge Success: 160,000 Players in First Week

Another success story in the making, Archetype has managed to garner 160,000 players within a week of launch according to TUAW. Amidst a massive advertising campaign, Archetype has become somewhat of an behemoth in mobile gaming, delivering a “big budget” experience Apple’s mobile devices, directly competing with titles like Nova and ngmoco’s Eliminate.

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The iPad Will Follow in the iPhone’s Success Says Goldman Sachs

AppleInsider brings to light a recent Goldman Sachs report that suggests the iPad, like the iPhone, will dominate its corresponding market with a well curated App ecosystem, vibrant developer community, and technological superiority in a number of areas.

Sachs points out that despite having only 3% of the world’s mobile phones in the market, Apple has managed to rake in the most profit (and continues to do so) despite the recent recession which cut competitor’s profits in half. Apple could manage to nearly double the profits of what RIM, Motorola, Nokia, HTC, and Sony Ericson generated, combined by the end of 2011.

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