Apple allows iPhone to run third-party apps

Apple CEO Steve Jobs made somewhat of a reversal on his decision to lock developers out of the iPhone. He announced during his keynote address at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco that developers of third-party applications will be able to create Web applications for the iPhone using Apple’s Web browser, Safari. But Apple isn’t providing a software development kit or support community for iPhone applications at this point.

According to the announcement made by Jobs, developers will be able to create Web 2.0 applications “which look and behave just like the applications built into iPhone.” Apple plans to ship the phone June 29. Apple had previously said the Mac-based operating system on the iPhone would be locked down in the interests of security. But third party applications created using Web 2.0 standards can extend the device’s capabilities without compromising its reliability or security, the company said.

But developers want more. Can the iPhone be a success without creating a developer community or will Apple have to give them what they want?

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Bluetooth and Wibree wed

Nokia’s new short-range wireless technology called Wibree will now become part of the Bluetooth specification as an ultra low power Bluetooth technology. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group and Nokia announced that the Wibree forum, the group specifying Nokia’s technology, will be merged with the Bluetooth SIG.

Because Wibree addresses devices with very low battery capacity and can be easily integrated with Bluetooth technology, it will round out Bluetooth technology’s wireless Personal Area Networking (PAN) offering and strengthen the technology’s ability to provide wireless connectivity for smaller devices, the Bluetooth SIG said. Nokia introduced Wibree in October, raising concerns that the technology would compete with existing technologies. Nokia officials were adamant that Wibree is not designed to compete with existing technologies.

Wibree requires a fraction of the power that other radio techs do, so it is ideal for small devices. Nokia has suggested that Wibree could be integrated into mobile phones, PCs, small watches or wireless keyboards. Wibree, which utilizes dynamic packet lengths, is an ideal solution in situations where bursty data transfers are needed, while Bluetooth is better equipped to handle larger data loads, making the two complementary.

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Palm’s “new category of mobile device,” a laptop?

Palm has been ramping up for this announcement for a while now, but if initial reports offer any indication, it looks like the company’s posturing about “a new category of mobile device” as of late has now deflated: Palm CEO Jeff Hawkins unveiled the Palm Foleo: a so-called “smartphone companion.” Apparently, the Foleo is a subnotebook-sized gadget that syncs with a Palm device via Bluetooth, providing a 10-inch display and full-size keyboard (read: a hardware add-on that makes your mobile phone less mobile). According to the press release, the Foleo will feature instant-on access, five hours of battery life, will run Palm’s new Linux-based smartphone OS and will retail for $500.

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Taking stock of Palm’s new hand

CNET News.com’s Tom Krazit talks about what Palm co-founder Jeff Hawkins is up to and the company’s ambitions to steal some of Apple’s thunder.

Did Hewlett-Packard spy on one of its chief rivals? So says a former executive, according to a published report that’s stirring up a new storm.

Researchers say they have uncovered more than 200 planets outside of our solar system–including one where there’s an abundance of water, one of the key requirements for sustaining life.

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SBC to offer Wi-Fi access at 6,000 McDonald’s.

This is old, but worth repeating.

 SBC Communications Monday said it would sell wireless Internet access at up to 6,000 McDonald’s restaurants, as well as providing the Internet connections for the stores in its region. SBC says the move, the  most aggressive by any  U.S. local telephone  company into Wi-Fi  access, will help it retain  customers and drive  subscriptions of  high-speed Internet  access for homes. The second-largest U.S.  local telephone company  had previously  announced deals to put  wireless data  connections, known as  Wi-Fi, in UPS stores, part  of its plans to build a  network of 20,000 Wi-Fi  access points over the  next three years. Under an agreement with Wayport, SBC will offer  daily access for $7.95 and monthly access to its  Wi-Fi hot spots for $19.95. Later this year, the  company will offer  discounted service as  part of a bundle with its  digital subscriber line  (DSL) high-speed Internet  access. Lauren McCadney,  assistant vice president of Wi-Fi services at SBC, said the company had been  surprised at the adoption  of Wi-Fi services by its  home high-speed Internet customers. SBC sells a  wireless home router as  part of its service, and  McCadney said SBC was  selling about 3,000 home  Wi-Fi routers a day. Wi-Fi “isn’t just for  frequent business  travelers,” she said. “It’s  your basic person who’s  getting used to  broadband, they have a  laptop, and they really  want to be able to  experience the full  benefit by moving  around and being able to access the Internet.” The number of public  Wi-Fi hot spots is  expected to double this  year to more than  130,000 in the United  States, according to  research firm Gartner Inc.  Yet many analysts remain skeptical that there is a  profitable business in  selling Wi-Fi access, with  competition from free  Wi-Fi spots and other  data services. Phil Redman, Gartner’s  research vice president  for mobile and wireless,  said Wi-Fi services would  expand as companies  work out roaming  agreements between  their networks, but Wi-Fi  service would likely  become an add-on  product. SBC’s move “seems like  more of a plan to drive  more DSL business than  anything else for SBC,” he  said. “If you hook up  every store to a higher  speed network  connection, that’s great  for them. The wireless  part of it is a much  smaller opportunity.”

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GPS – Another old article – where we were.

http://realestate.smarteragent.com
Brad & Eric Blumberg
Using GPS technology, Smarter Agent allows an agent to stand outside a house and receive information about the proptery and its surroundings, as well as any property in the vicinity. The system fetches actual MLS data such as the asking price, a description of the property and size of the lot. Better yet, Smarter Agent can be accessed through a cell phone or handheld PDA, even a car’s on-board GPS system. And no typing is required – the system automatically recognizes your position via GPS data. It’s setup on a voice recognition system where no typing or writing is required.
This technology is being currently tested in PA, NJ, DE, and FL.

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Nissan: Don’t mix cell phones and car keys

Nissan North America has a warning for customers: placing your electronic key too close to your cell phone could leave you stranded.
The automaker is asking customers driving new models of two of its flagship sedans to keep their car keys and cell phones at least an inch apart to avoid disabling the “intelligent keys.”

Cell phones kept near Nissan’s I-Keys–wireless devices designed to allow drivers to enter and start their cars at the push of a button–can erase the electronic code on the keys, rendering them unable to unlock or start the cars.

The problem has occurred on the 2007 Nissan Altima and Infiniti G35 sedans–two of their top-selling models, the company said on Thursday.

“We discovered that if the I-Key touches a cell phone, outgoing or incoming calls have the potential to alter the electronic code inside the I-Key,” Nissan spokesman Kyle Bazemore said.

“The car won’t start and the I-Key cannot be reprogrammed,” he added.

The problem has occurred in a “very small percentage” of cars sold, Bazemore said. He also said a new version of the I-Key would be available in the fall.

Bazemore said current owners have been notified of the potential glitch via mail and can get new keys from dealers if they encounter the problem.

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