Eyeing the iPhone? Hold on till the India launch

The much anticipated iPhone from Apple will finally be launched in the US on June 29. It will pack a phone, audio/video player, a 2 megapixel camera, internet capabilities and intelligent touch screen operation onto a single device. It will cost approximately $599 for the 8 GB version and $499 for the 4 GB sibling. While US consumers will get their hands on the iPhone this June, Europe will have to wait till the end of the year. The rumoured launch date for Asia is early next year. As for the Indian launch date, on contacting Apple India, all we received was silence. So if you plan to buy an iPhone during your next trip to the US or order it from there, there could be a problem. The phone feature might not work at all in India, as Apple plans to launch the product with specific service providers in mind. For example, it has tied up with AT&T in the US and might tie up with Vodafone in Europe, though there is no confirmation on the latter. That said, with a high price tag and touch-screenonly interface, will it be able to woo buyers? It’s all in the details: It has a 3.5-inch ‘multi-touch’ screen, that lets you operate the device with just your fingers. The software that works in the background ensures that inputs from more than one finger are understood and acted on effortlessly. How it would actually behave in a realworld scenario remains to be seen. The iPhone also features a predictive QWERTY touch keyboard, where you type by tapping at the screen with your fingers. Again, while this enables the iPhone to have a larger screen, how comfortable it will be to use remains to be seen. Power talk: The battery has enough juice for five hours of talk, video or browsing. Apple promises up to 16 hours of audio playback, which is on par with the top MP3 players. Videos will look good, thanks to the 320x480 screen resolution. Though, the constant finger tapping on the touch screen is likely to take away some of the gloss pretty soon. The device features a proximity sensor that turns the screen off when it is close to your face, say to make a call. To make a call, simply point your finger on the name in the address book. The iPhone can synch your contacts from a PC, Mac, or internet service automatically. It also supports IMAP, POP3 email and Yahoo Push email. With POP3 you can download mail and contacts from the server on to your device, while IMAP will allow you to access your email directly from the server without having to download it. Via push mail service, you will be updated about your emails as you receive them.You can even use the onscreen display to make three-way conference calls or manage calls from two different sources. To browse the web, the iPhone will make use of Safari browser. Hold on to your wallet: On the negative side, it is rumoured that the iPhone won’t support MMS messaging for pictures or videos. Plus there is one thing that has always bugged even iPod users: not being able to play say a DivX or any other video file other than what iTunes supports. The iPhone too will support content that is compatible only with iTunes. Then, for Indian users, the biggest limiting factor as of now is that the phone function will work only with the service provider Apple has tied up with. So hold on till the India launch.

Safari for windows Users From Apple

A report published in newspaper described thier test ride with safari , here is a description of it Just when you thought that the browser wars were well and truly over, with Firefox being the techies’ choice, Internet Explorer (IE) being that of the masses, and Opera bringing up the rear; Apple has thrown its own browser into the PC arena. Safari, the highly-acclaimed internet browser that was previously available only for the Mac platform, has now been made available for Windows. The browser comes in two versions (for Windows XP and Vista) for the PC—one with QuickTime bundled with it and the other without. Both are available for free download from http://apple.com/safari he former is a handy option for those with ample bandwidth (it’s a 28 MB download) and the need for an incorporated media player (handy if you are YouTube freak and cannot live without your daily online video fix), but if it’s just a browser you are looking for, then grab the latter, which tips the scales at a more moderate 8 MB. Looks, speed, functions to kill for: Mind you, the term ‘just a browser’ is misleading. Like all Apple applications, Safari is drop-dead gorgeous. And it sure is fast! It launches in no time at all and continues in the same vein when browsing the net. Apple claims that the browser is the fastest in cyberspace when it comes to rendering HTML pages and Javascript, and judging by my brief experience, it is no idle boast. Then there are the inevitable little touches that are the hallmark of Apple design—a scrollbar is visible only when you need it; the address bar (in which you type the URL) acts as the progress bar too, filling up with blue colour to indicate how much of the site has been downloaded; and a smooth metallic look that makes FireFox and IE look downright dowdy. There are some neat touches in browsing too. The browser automatically transfers your bookmarks from other browsers the first time you start it. iPod users will find adding new bookmarks absurdly simple—the interface is almost the same as iTunes. For those who scan web pages for text, selecting the ‘Find’ option throws up a handy ‘Find’ banner in the browser toolbar. Just enter the word you are searching for on the page in the space provided, and the browser will highlight the instances where the text appears—and dim out the rest of the page! The browser also creates ‘anchor’ points (generally the search results page or the top level of a website) during your surfing to which you can go back instantly using the SnapBack feature, saving you the trouble of hammering away at the ‘Back’ button. The browser comes loaded with what has now become standard browser baggage—popup blocking, downloads manager, private browsing, RSS feeds, tabbed browsing and automatic form filling (you can fill forms with information directly from your Address Book if you wish). But it's a beta! All of which should have the net browsing community hailing the arrival of a new contender for the ‘best browser’ crown. The problem is that Safari is still in beta—a term that is used to hide a thousand vices. And the browser does have its problems. It is prone to at least one crash every three hour. Some websites also do not function completely within Safari—I could not chat in Gmail while using the browser. Finally, rumours (not confirmed, alas) are already rife about the browser’s not being quite secure. That said, the Windows version of Safari is faster and sleeker than anything in the browser bazaar today. And that should give the folks at Microsoft and Mozilla something to think about. With a bit of luck, this could trigger off another session of browser wars. Which is good news for anyone browsing the net!

Apple launches browser for Windows

an Francisco: Apple is introducing a version of its Safari Internet browser for Windows, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Monday, taking on Microsoft in its key stronghold of Web access software. The move by Apple, which has expanded beyond its Macintosh computer core with iPod media players and the upcoming iPhone, could let the company control how large numbers of people use the Web at a time when services and programs are increasingly Internet-based. Jobs also said Apple would let outside developers create applications for the iPhone by tapping Safari, softening the company’s previous position that the device would not support other software due to security concerns. But investors were disappointed that Jobs — known for his surprise announcements — did not have bigger news to unveil — and Apple shares sank nearly 3.5%, their biggest one-day fall in about four months. Speaking at Apple’s annual developers’ conference in San Francisco, Jobs put Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer browser squarely in his sights, saying that test versions of the new Safari 3 were twice as fast at loading Web pages. “We would love for Safari's market share to grow substantially,” Jobs said. Safari has 5% of the browser market compared to 78% for Internet Explorer. A free test version of Safari 3 is available to the public now as a download and the final version will be available as a free download to users of both Mac OS X and Windows in October, the company said. The focus on Safari sets the stage for a new browser war nearly a decade after Microsoft knocked off pioneering rival Netscape by including Internet Explorer for free in Windows. Analysts said Apple clearly hopes to replicate its success in making a Windows version of its iTunes media program, a move that helped drive sales of its iPod media players as well as Mac computers. Soleil Equity Research analyst Shannon Cross said the availability of Safari on Windows would boost popularity of the software and encourage Web site creators to make their sites compatible with the browser. “It should also help increase Apple’s exposure to the Windows community and potentially attract a larger audience of switchers,” Cross wrote in a research note. REUTERS

Apple patents button-free mouse

Apple patents button-free mouse: Apple’s latest patent is for a mouse without buttons. The new model resembles the Mighty Mouse, Apple’s last mouse technology breakthrough that featured touch-sensitive side buttons and Bluetooth technology, but uses touch sensors instead of buttons, the Hanover-based computer magazine c’t reported. The new mouse does not have a scrolling ball or wheel. And Apple has more plans for the future. According to the magazine, the company has also sought a US patent for a device that would let consumers use Apple’s new iPhone to control the company's television set-top box via Bluetooth.