When it comes to taking crisp, steady footage, photographers can opt to leave their heavy DSLR cameras and tripods at home. The new crop of iPhone stabilizers makes it an option to skip high-tech and heavy equipment.
The Grip and Shoot Bluetooth Camera Remote for iPhone debuted on Kickstarter this week. It has 25 days left to raise $275,000. If it reaches its funding goal, this camera rig will be available to the masses for $99.
The kit comes with a shooter case, bluetooth low energy (BLE) grip and a tripod mount. This means steady photos and video on your iPhone 4S — no matter what app you’re using.
The shooter case, which fits around the iPhone, is made to attach to the grip. The BLE grip allows mobile photographers to take pictures, start video, zoom in and zoom out with one button. The BLE cell battery will operate up to 10,000 clicks.
The grip also works wirelessly, unattached to an iPhone, as a trigger remote. Use the kit’s tripod mount to attach an iPhone to a standard tripod instead of the grip — great for distance shots. Or, use it as a standalone mount for the camera for closeups. The grip triggers the iPhone camera via bluetooth.
The system is portable, meaning easier commutes and travel for serious mobile photographers.
The camera rig creators are Robert and Ben Zajeski, both engineers from Illinois. The iPhone-accessory makers want to keep the API open for developers to further the bluetooth-based technology.
Do you use your phone as your primary camera? Tell us in the comments if you buy photo and video accessories for your iPhone.
Leaked Photos Suggest Full-Body Makeover for iPhone 5 - E-Commerce Times
Several photos emerged Tuesday that appear to tip off features in the upcoming version of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone.
The photos originated at 9to5Mac, repair firms uBreakiFix and iFixyouri, and SW-Box, a Hong Kong -based seller of mobile phone accessories. They show the back plate of what appears to be a new model of the iPhone and some internal parts.
As with most leaks like this, there's no way to verify the authenticity of the photos or if what's in them will be part of a final product, an engineering prototype or is just bogus.
However, a major change revealed in the photos is an apparent modification in the device's docking connector. It's smaller -- a move that could enable Apple to increase the size and quality of the phone's speakers.
Accessory Problems
If Apple changes the dock connector, it could create headaches for some segments of the iPhone's accessory industry.
From the photos, the cutout for the connector looks like it could accommodate a micro USB port or a proprietary port that's smaller than the one on previous models, according to Jim Mielke, vice president of engineering for ABI Research.
"Either way it would be a problem for existing peripherals, unless Apple ships an adapter cable of some sort with the new phone," he told MacNewsWorld.
He added that shrinking the dock connector isn't necessary for increasing the size of the iPhone's speakers. "Apple had room to mess with the speakers before," he said. "There was plenty of room inside the old phones to make the speakers bigger."
'Quick and Dirty Fix'
The photos also suggest the next iPhone will have a longer display.
Changing the display size could make things difficult for developers, according to Miroslav Djuric, chief informaton architect for iFixit, a parts provider for Apple products.
"Once you change the length of the screen and not the width, then you're going to have a completely different resolution than you had before," he told MacNewsWorld. "So applications will look extra wide or extra scrunched, depending on the orientation."
On the other hand, maintaining the same width while elongating the screen means legacy apps could be displayed on the device in a kind of letterbox without rewriting the software. "That would be a quick and dirty fix," Djuric observed.
More Durable Body
Boosting the size of the iPhone not only allows for a larger display, but also a larger battery -- a necessity for 4G mobile technologies like LTE. From what's been seen on Android phones, LTE sucks up battery life, Djuic noted.
"To combat that, they're putting in bigger batteries into the phones," he continued. "One of the reasons this iPhone is longer is to incorporate a bigger battery inside so when it's running on LTE, people aren't calling Apple with complaints about their phones lasting an hour."
Another change appearing in the photos is a return to a metal alloy, likely aluminum, for the back of the phone.
With the iPhone 4, Apple went to a glass back panel for the handset, which increased its fragility. "That glass back panel breaks all the time," uBreakiFix communications director Adam Nations told MacNewsWorld.
Djuric added: "You can scratch aluminum. It will dent if you impact it on concrete, but it's not going to shatter."
"If nothing else," he continued, "it's going to be nicer for people if they drop the phone."
Ending Antennagate
The photos also show that the phone's antenna -- an embarrassing source of controversy for Apple when it released the iPhone 4 -- is incorporated into the back plate.
"It looks like Apple is definitely going to improve the antenna design," Djuric observed. "If they relocate the antenna at the back and make it bigger, that's going to improve things."
The photos also show a unibody design, similar to what Apple uses for its notebook computers; movement of the earphone jack from the top to the bottom of the phone; and relocation of one of the phone's stereo microphones from the top of the device to a space between its camera lens and flash.
"The microphone on the top is quite inconvenient," Djuric contended. "I've noticed that microphone is obscured by my thumb when I use the phone's camera."
'Doubling Down' on Secrecy
Information leaks about new products appears to be a growing problem for Apple.
"Apple right now is leaking internal information much more than it did than when Steve Jobs was alive," Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst with the Enderle Group, told MacNewsworld in an interview earlier this month.
That's giving more credibility to the information in the leaks, he added.
Apple's uncharacteristic information leakage has apparently caught the notice of its CEO Tim Cook, too. At The Wall Street Journal's All things D conference this week, he declared that Apple would be "doubling down on secrecy" when it comes to new product releases.
T-Mobile & Orange Everything Everywhere £50-million investment programme - Phones Review
There’s big news today for the UK mobile industry as Everything Everywhere, which runs T-Mobile and Orange has announced plans for a £50 million investment programme, intended to give customers a new service approach. The overhaul will bring several changes to T-Mobile and Orange customers.
The revamped customer service will be the first in the UK to be designed around phone operating systems and the devices that use them. Specialist agents will be highly trained to offer customers advice on specific devices and operating systems such as Apple iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry as it’s acknowledged that smartphone use and growth has completely changed the way people use their phones.
Experts in customers’ digital needs will be able to avoid the need to constantly transfer customers to different departments and will be able to offer advice on technology, devices and accounts. Being switched between departments can be a real bugbear to many consumers so this will be a welcome change. The £50 million will be spent on contact centres, high street stores and customer-facing staff.
Up to 12,000 employees will also be able to receive training at a special Development Academy. Around 7,000 customer service employees will receive training in operating systems and eventually they will be accredited with their area of specialty. It’s hoped that this will create excellent communication skills as well as engagement with the customer and also instill loyalty. Everything Everywhere Chief Customer Officer Jackie O’Leary said, “Being the first in the industry to champion something new is exciting and we are extremely pleased by the amazing feedback we are receiving from our customers, our people and the handset manufacturers and operating systems we represent.”
Trials have already been taking place and have proven to be successful with significant improvements in resolution of customer issues at first point of contact. There was also a double-digit increase in Net Promoter Scores that measure customer service and now the new approach is rolling out across the organisation. The companies previously announced that both would be offering T-Mobile and Orange products across stores.
Is this an impressive step forward by Everything Everywhere? Are you a T-Mobile or Orange customer and happy to hear this news? Do you think customer service needed revamping? Send your comments to let us know.
Samsung Launches iPhone-Killer In Europe and Now Facebook Wants To Make One - Yahoo Finance
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The global smartphone business has become a two-horse race between Apple and Samsung.
Apple (AAPL), obviously, makes the beloved iPhone, but Samsung recently surpassed it to become the largest smartphone maker in the world.
This week, Samsung is launching its latest, greatest phone, the Galaxy S3, in Europe. This phone has a huge screen, much bigger than the iPhone's, and many early reviewers love it. The S3 will presumably be an even stronger competitor to the iPhone, and it will put more pressure on Apple to release a blockbuster new product when the iPhone 5 arrives later this year.
Meanwhile, Facebook (FB) is poaching ex-Apple engineers to build a smartphone, Nick Bilton of the New York Times reports.
This is the third iteration of Facebook's smartphone plans--from hardware to software and back to hardware again.
If Facebook is serious about jumping into making smartphones with both feet this time, Facebook investors should be very afraid.
Why?
Several reasons:
- The move would clearly be defensive, not offensive. According to a Facebook employee quoted by Bilton, "Mark [Zuckerberg] is worried that if he doesn't create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms." Translation: Facebook is doing this because it thinks it has to, not because it wants to.
- Hardware is an extraordinarily difficult, low-margin, commodity business. The only two companies that are doing well right now in hardware are Apple and Samsung. Both have been making and selling hardware for decades. Lots of other companies that have been making and selling hardware for decades are cratering, such as Research In Motion and Nokia. Palm already cratered.
- The smartphone "platform" business is already dominated by Apple and Google (Android), and there are already a whole lot of also-rans. Amazon has entered the platform game. Samsung may "fork" Android and enter the platform game. Microsoft is desperate to make its new Windows mobile product matter. RIM still has a piece. And so on. If Facebook really wants to build a brand new mobile platform, it will be starting from miles behind the leaders.
- Hardware distribution is critically important, and Facebook also faces vast, entrenched competition there. How is Facebook going to get shelf space at the carriers? By offering super-cheap phones? That won't do wonders for its margins. Is Facebook going to build a network of stores? Is it going to try to circumvent carriers? Google already tried that. Didn't work.
- Although Facebook might want to be a mobile platform, there's no obvious need for a Facebook phone. There are already a gazillion phones and Facebook is available on all of them as an app or via a browser. Why would anyone want a dedicated Facebook phone, especially if it didn't run all the apps that run on Apple and Android phones?
- A full-fledged hardware business would likely radically reduce Facebook's profit margins. One of the advantages of Facebook's current business is that it is extraordinarily profitable. The hardware business would likely make it a lot less profitable (per dollar of revenue).
- Facebook knows absolutely nothing about making, selling, or supporting hardware. Really--nothing. Yes, Facebook could use its billions to buy RIM or Nokia, and then it would know something about hardware. But RIM and Nokia are deeply troubled companies that are already cratering. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to buy, integrate, and FIX RIM or Nokia? (Google's about to give us a case study in how difficult it is with Motorola).
That's just a start.
Perhaps Facebook doesn't really have any intention of building a full-fledged phone--perhaps it just wants to partner with someone like HTC or Samsung. But even then, all the same challenges apply.
Facebook already has an "operating system" for mobile--it's called the social graph.
So instead of building a phone, which seems like a desperate move, Facebook should partner with every operating system and carrier and hardware maker it can to try to embed this social platform within every mobile platform. And it should build great apps to float on top of these systems. (And if Apple keeps giving it the brush-off, it should probably start by cozying up to Samsung, which is the only company giving Apple a run for its money).
Yes, everyone wants to be Apple.
But there's only one Apple right now.
And Facebook's chance of becoming the next Apple seems even smaller than Apple's chance to become Apple was.
The fact that Facebook is even thinking of going into the hardware business is a bad sign. If Facebook actually does go into the hardware business, it will be a really bad sign.
SEE ALSO: The Global Smartphone Business Is Now A Two-Horse Race--Between Apple And Samsung.
BOKU And T-Mobile USA Partner For In-app Purchases In Carrier’s App Store - SYS-CON Media
BOKU, Inc., the global leader in online mobile payments, today announced that they are an approved carrier-billing gateway for the T-Mobile Mall, T-Mobile's digital storefront. T-Mobile USA is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG (OTCQX: DTEGY). The partnership enables T-Mobile’s app and game developers to accept in-app payments from T-Mobile’s 34 million subscribers. Applications and games will be distributed and marketed through the T-Mobile Mall, and transactions completed using BOKU will be billed directly to a subscriber’s carrier bill.
By leveraging BOKU’s advanced payment technology, developers can integrate in-app payments into their Android app with BOKU’s 1-Tap™ SDK for Android. Game developers increase consumer conversion and expand their global customer reach simply by dropping the BOKU Android SDK into their application. BOKU’s highly developed technology that’s integrated across over 60 countries and hundreds of carriers handles everything from localization to payment authorization. Integrating with BOKU simplifies the purchase experience for consumers, eliminating the need to manually enter credit card information. Through a simple two-step process called 1-Tap Billing, customers will be able to easily and securely purchase and upgrade games without leaving the gaming experience.
“Our merchants find significant value in the high conversion rate of mobile payments with in-app purchases.” said Ron Hirson, President of BOKU. “By combining our bank-grade technology with the access to millions of customers who regularly use the T-Mobile Mall, we’re confident this global billing and distribution method will add tremendous value to game developers seeking a wider audience and increased revenue.“
“BOKU is a strong partner and a key part of our strategic vision to offer our consumers payment options that add value to and simplify the transaction experience,” said Venetia Espinoza, T-Mobile USA’s director of Digital Stores and Mobile Payments. “Our quality games and gamers combined with BOKU’s strong connection to T-Mobile APIs, simple 1-Tap SDK integration and access to the Android developer community will undoubtedly bring in more people to our app store ecosystem and benefit everyone in the process."
With this agreement T-Mobile customers will be able to access the T-Mobile Mall’s portfolio of games and use mobile payments to purchase a wide variety of in-app content within downloaded apps, including virtual goods found in online games from publishers. Game-insight International is one game developer already taking advantage of the T-Mobile app store billing relationship with BOKU. “We selected BOKU because great technology is critical to our success, and they run a cutting-edge technology focused business. Their sophisticated Android SDK lets us quickly and easily access payment systems that handle complex transactions across multiple currencies with maximum uptime, and that’s what we want in a billing partner,” said Game Insight’s CEO, Alisa Chumachenko. “Our business is driven by quick and easy in-game transactions. BOKU’s 1-Tap SDK keeps players in the game with less time navigating transaction menus; something everyone can appreciate. This new partnership will extend BOKU’s 1-Tap convenience to even more loyal gamers across our growing network of titles.”
About BOKU:
BOKU, the leading online mobile payments company, brings bank-grade payments technology and mobile users together, creating a trusted, accessible platform for consumers, merchants and carriers alike. Based in San Francisco with offices in Europe, Australia, Latin America and Asia, BOKU reaches nearly 4 billion consumers worldwide, across 66 different countries. Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists fund BOKU including Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures and NEA. For more information visit: www.boku.com
About Game-insight International:
Founded in 2010, Game Insight is one of the leading social and mobile gaming studios in Russia, with a strong brand representation globally. Game Insight's portfolio includes games on Android, iOS, social, Web, and HTML 5. The studio is committed to creating high quality, free-to-play games on all platforms. Find more information on Game Insight at the official Web site: http://www.game-insight.com/
About T-Mobile USA:
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG (OTCQX: DTEGY). By the end of the third quarter of 2011, approximately 129 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group — 33.7 million by T-Mobile USA — all via a common technology platform based on GSM and UMTS and additionally HSPA+ 21/HSPA+ 42. T-Mobile USA’s wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile USA among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit http://www.T-Mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. For further information on Deutsche Telekom, please visit www.telekom.de/investor-relations.
Useful Links:
BOKU website: http://www.boku.com
Media Kit: http://www.BOKU.com/press/media
Game-insight International website: http://www.game-insight.com/
T-Mobile website: http://www.t-mobile.com
T-Mobile USA, Boku team on carrier billing for in-app purchases - Fiercemobilecontent
T-Mobile USA is teaming with Boku to introduce new carrier billing options within the T-Mobile Mall digital storefront, enabling Android application and game developers to accept in-app payments from the carrier's 34 million subscribers.
T-Mobile USA developer partners may now leverage Boku's 1-Tap SDK for Android to sell a variety of in-app premium content and services, like virtual goods and new gaming levels. Boku's 1-Tap Billing model enables consumers to make digital purchases with their wireless phone number and charge them to their monthly operator bill, sidestepping the need to manually enter credit card information or store financial data on their device.
Boku now partners with more than 250 mobile operators in 66 countries, among them T-Mobile USA rivals Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S). The firm has raised more than $75 million in venture funding since launching in 2008, and in March closed a $35 million round led by New Enterprise Associates and Telefonica Digital.
Earlier this year, Boku signed an agreement to expand its services to the offline sector, teaming with MasterCard's PayPass retailer network to enable consumers to make payments, earn discounts and receive targeted offers via mobile phone wherever PayPass is accepted.
The T-Mobile Mall is featured inside the larger Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play storefront and offers apps and games curated by T-Mobile USA. The mall includes Music Hub (offering access to music apps as well as MP3 tracks and albums and ringtones), Game Base (a collection of pre-screened titles) and Apps (highlighting T-Mobile's own applications as well as solutions from selected partners).
For more:
- read this release
Related articles:
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Boku lands $35M to fuel mobile payments growth, led by Telefonica
Boku extends mobile payments platform to MasterCard PayPass
Boku launches 1-Tap Billing for Android
BilltoMobile teams with Boku for Verizon mobile payments
Leaked iPhone Schematic Corroborates 4-Inch Screen Rumor - PC Magazine
Evidence continues to mount that the next iPhone will have a larger screen.
The folks at MacRumors got their hands on an image of a purported design schematic for the front panel of the next-generation iPhone. The leaked schematic appears to show a longer phone with a different aspect ratio than the iPhone 4S.
The diagram jives with images of case parts that leaked just yesterday. Those images showed an iPhone that is taller and thinner, with a much smaller dock connector, and relocated headphone jack.
According to MacRumors, the leaked schematic shows the so-called "active area mask," where the display will be, measuring in at 3.55 inches high and 2.02 inches wide, corresponding to an opening measuring about 4.08 inches diagonally. Apple iPhone displays have typically measured slightly smaller than their front panel openings, so the part falls in line with the rampant 4-inch screen rumor.
Moreover, the aspect ratio for the device in question is roughly 16:9, supporting past rumors that the next iPhone is going to get taller, but not any wider. In comparison, all iPhone models to date have sported a 3.5-inch display with 3:2 aspect ratio. This change will likely impact third-party software, requiring developers to tweak their apps.
The new leaks ironically come as Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday said the company will be "doubling down" on product secrecy.
Other rumors about the next gen iPhone indicate that Apple plans to swap out the glass back it currently uses on the iPhone 4S, in favor of a metal back — possibly made of a super-tough alloy called Liquidmetal. The updated phone is also expected to have a smaller, pill-shaped dock connector that has fewer pins than the existing 30-pin dock connector, possibly only 16.
Meanwhile, if you're hoping for Apple to unveil its next iPhone at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month, then you might want to think again. Apple didn't unveil the iPhone 4S until last October, and most rumors claim the tech giant is planning to keep a similar timeframe for the launch of its next iPhone.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the iPhone 4S and the slideshow below.
For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.
LG's HD Screen Puts Pressure on IPhone - Mobiledia
The South Korean company's new display sports 440 pixels per inch, out doing the iPhone 4S's 326. The screen also features new technology for better color accuracy and a unique transmission of light that will allow for the battery life of the handset to remain unaffected.
"As smartphones become increasingly valued for how well they do multimedia and with the rapid growth of LTE enabling faster large file transfers, our new 5-inch full HD LC panel is certain to prove a significant asset to the mobile market," said executive vice president of LG Display Sang-Deok Yeo.
When Apple unveiled the iPhone 4's Retina display in 2010, former CEO Steve Jobs said that it would take competitors some time to catch up. Jobs' statement held true until recently, but now displays on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus and HTC's One X are both larger than the iPhone's 3.5-inch screen and greatly rival its image quality.
LG's new 5-inch display will outdo the iPhone's screen by an even larger margin, threatening to turn one of the Apple handset's greatest strengths into a weakness in comparison with newer devices on the market.
Apple has managed to keep a leg up on its Android competitors with its App Store and the iOS platform, of late, but it has been out-performed in the display area of devices. Smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S3 continue to push the envelope of how large a handsets screen should be, and its 4.8-inch display is already selling well in Europe, something analysts expect to continue when it launches in the U.S. next month.
Apple's rivals are beefing up their hardware game, but analysts do not expect Apple to increase the screen size of the next iPhone by more than a half of an inch. Although it would likely be enough to continue in the line of the incredible success of the handset's predecessors, the modest change would not be without risks.
As users' consumption of media on smartphones continues to increase, Apple is banking instead on its software more than ever to be a difference maker. Despite its retina technology, the 4-inch display of a next-generation iPhone will clearly appear inferior on store shelves sitting next to a larger device like the S3.
It remains to be seen if consumers will gravitate towards larger-screen devices. More customers watch videos and other media on their phones, making larger screen real estate a bonus, but the form factor must still balance portability and convenience.
Apple is likely set against making a display larger than 4-inches because it fears it will lose out on customers who don't want to carry around a big device. But if the company's software and the other hardware in the next iPhone aren't good enough to make up the difference, it will risk losing out on the people who do.
Romney iPhone app goes viral after ‘America’ misspelled - KDVR.com
A typo on a new mobile app from the Romney campaign was the butt of jokes on social media on Wednesday, May 30, 2012
(CNN) — It’s probably not the kind of thing voters will use to choose the leader of the free world.
But the Web was taking no shortage of presidential potshots Wednesday over Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s new mobile app, which embarrassingly misspelled “America.”
Yes, Internet. Welcome to “AMERCIA.”
“Sorry about the shaking California, that was just the rest of America laughing at Mitt Romney running for Pres. of #Amercia,” wrote a person behind a parody President Obama account on Twitter (referencing a minor earthquake late Tuesday).
The gaffe, presumably by some poor developer hired by the campaign, appears on “With Mitt,” the campaign’s newly released iPhone app. The app invites users to photograph themselves with their choice of 14 pro-Romney slogans such as “I’m a Mom For Mitt,” “Obama Isn’t Working” and “The America We Love,” and then share them on social media.
But one of the slogans reads, “A Better Amercia.” Oops. Somebody didn’t observe the “I-before-C” rule.
The “With Mitt” app was still available in Apple’s App Store on Wednesday morning. The Romney campaign has submitted an update to the app and was waiting for Apple’s approval Wednesday morning. No one with the campaign was speaking on the record about it, but staffers were downplaying its importance in the run-up to November.
Slips of the tongue by political candidates are, of course, not uncommon. In 2008, then-candidate Obama got grief for saying he’d visited “all 57 states.” And Vice President Joe Biden’s free-speaking nature has gotten him no shortage of headlines.
But the Web’s politically minded (many of whom, presumably, don’t consider Romney their top choice), were noting that when a mistake appears in writing, it shows a lack of attention to detail.
“If you’re applying for a job, and you misspell the name of the company you want to work for, you won’t get that job. #Amercia,” wrote a Twitter user.
“#Amercia” was a trending topic (meaning it’s one of the most discussed terms) on Twitter late Tuesday and again Wednesday morning.
The typo has already also inspired its own Tumblr blog, “Amercia Is With Mitt.”
It features photos created with the app and, as of Wednesday morning, included a group of spelling bee champions, Beaker from “The Muppet Show” and Rich Uncle Moneybags, the Monopoly mascot, among its subjects.
And numerous images were popping up on Instagram — one highlight being Bart Simpson having to write the correctly spelled “America” during his iconic chalkboard gag from the intro to “The Simpsons.”
To be honest, the Romney camp is probably more pleased at winning enough delegates in the Texas primaries Tuesday to make him the unofficial GOP nominee than it is worried about a spelling gaffe.
And it’s worth noting that lots of folks who support Romney probably only learned that the app exists because of talk about the typo.
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