Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Unlocked iPhone for European Use is Here!

Plus, it has all the feature needed.

Incoming, outgoing calls, sms, EDGE data access is possible now. The steps are probably a bit too technical (we're trying to unlock a phone, after all), but if you want them this forum post has it. Also, you might also want to check the post at myitablet.

Remember that doing this will without a doubt void your warranties.

Friday, July 27, 2007

iPhone Europe (Finally) Confirmed, Here's a Quick Recap




  • Will be available by Q4 of 2007 which is December, very likely.




  • Apple will release them to a select few countries (UK, France, Germany?)




  • Apple will work with more than one carriers to bring iPhone in Europe.





Friday, July 20, 2007

Vodafone Concerned with No 3G in iPhone

Hm, how do I put this. Pretty much everyone pre-iPhone release was wondering whether the puny EDGE connection is good enough. Nevertheless, once everyone get a hold of their own iPhone, the complaints were quickly replaced by awe and joy.

So, I don't see why Vodafone is concerned that the current iPhone does not work in 3G. That's like getting themselves away from a deal with Apple, I think.

Here's the full scope at Reuters.co.uk

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Rumor: iPhone UK in September?

Another day, another rumor, and today PC World supplies us with another dose of iPhone UK news: Sources close to Apple informed PC Advisor about stuff that, in the end, can be deducted that the Apple iPhone handset will be available in UK by September. Well, logically, there's no handset without a phone, right?

Here's the full scoop at PC World.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

iPhone in Europe will Stay on EDGE as Well

After a couple slow days on the iPhone outside the USA news front, here's a small scoop from Computerworld. It is said that, according to an analyst from Italy, the first European batch of iPhones will be on EDGE. This dismisses previous rumors that the iPhone will be 3G at day one in Europe.

The full scoop is available at ComputerWorld.com.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

iPhone Unlocking Software to be Ready Soon?

Uniquephones, an UK based company, has mentioned that they already have 75% of the iPhone unlocked. They are going to complete it and sold the software for about 50 pounds.

It is pretty interesting to notice that according to the US Copyright Office, consumers are allowed to unlock their phones so it can be used with other carriers. We still don't know how Apple would react to this, though.

Here is the full scope at afterdawn.com.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Hackers might Ruin iPhone's Market in Asia?

After a slew of European iPhone news, MarketWatch.com releases an article questioning whether hackers might hurt Apple's iPhone deals, especiallyin Asia.

We know that hackers has been able to get some iPhone features to work without AT&T activation. Browser and iTunes work on WiFi, and it is predicted that hackers might even be able to get VoIP calls done with WiFi as well.

They mentioned that it is usual in China and other parts of Asia that they might modify iPhone to get it working there without having to obey to Apple's deal. Could this bring trouble for Apple in the foreseeable future?

Here's the full scoop at MarketWatch.com.

Just What is Wrong With All This European Deal? Times Online's Confirmation is Wrong?

I just blogged about the confirmation that O2 had sealed a deal with Apple to bring iPhone to UK. But just now I read from The Register that everything is just speculation!

The idea that any UK network operator has agreed a launch date, and retail price, for the iPhone is pure fantasy. Such things won't be sorted out until much closer to any launch, and will depend on market conditions at that time, but it's much more fun to speculate and if you can report such details as fact (as some news services have done) then all the better.


How crazy! I don't know anymore. I'll keep you all posted, though. Here is the full scoop at The Register.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Confirmed: O2 to Bring iPhone in United Kingdom

Times Online UK reported that O2 has won against rival (including Vodafone) to seal the deal with Apple to bring iPhone to the UK. The phone is scheduled to be released in Christmas this year. It's good to mention that the phone is expected to be sold at £ 300. Would be interesting to see how it would fare, since I heard that most phones are given away free there, tied with services provided.

I am sure iPhone would sell tons like it would in the US, though.

Here's the confirming news from Times Online.

Prediction: Apple's Future in Europe Might not be Bright

International Herald Tribune releases an article about a Berlin-based mobile phone consultant who flew to the US and acquire an iPhone. He returned and showed the phone to his clients, which then revealed this finding: those interested with iPhones are those into graphics or real Apple freaks. Mostly the same group of people, mostly, I should say.

The difficulty to write SMS, no push email, no Outlook sync, and lack of 3G are some of the top reasons why iPhone might not succeed in Europe as much as in the US.

Read the full story at International Herald Tribune

Thursday, July 5, 2007

iPhone UK=O2, iPhone France=Orange?

Just got the news from Independent.co.uk regarding the whole iPhone-in-Europe speculation. Yesterday we heard about the Apple and T-Mobile deal for Germany. Yesterday post also mention that Vodafone will be the one for UK and Deutsche Telekom for France.

However, today's news from Independent.co.uk reveals another speculation that O2 is the one closest to bringing iPhone in UK, while Orange is predictd to sell iPhone in France. The phone is scheduled to be released in December 25.

Here is the complete scoop at news.independent.co.uk.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Apple goes with T-Mobile to bring iPhone in Germany

T-Mobile is expected to sell Apple iPhone for about 450 euros ($612) in Germany. The full-scoop is available from Reuters, which gets its source from Rheinische Post.

There is no news update on other parts of Europe, but it is believed that the potentials would be Vodafone in Briain, Deutsche Telekom in France, and Telefonica in Spain.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

How to Make the Non-Phone Feature of iPhone Works Outside USA!

Finally, someone found out a trick to do it. Here's an excerpt:

But here’s the loophole: iTunes then asks if you wish to get a prepaid account. Ka-ching!

He promptly cajoles his US-based sister to let him use her US debit card to get the account and some pre-paid minutes (which cost him all of US$30), upon which the phone is, of course, activated.

Everything worked – internet surfing, email, photos and movies, ipod stuff – except the phone part (duh).


The full article as available here at Macadoodle. This sounds pretty great. I'm not sure how many of you would like to own a $600 WiFi-enabled iPhone, but that's a great hack nevertheless.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Another iPhone Contest from Things You Should Do

Here is another contest with an Apple iPhone as the prize. It's not that hard to join this competition,

You write a post on your website about some great place you think belongs on the Things You Should Do list. You email me the link to your post to enter the contest.


You should be a US resident, as usual.

The Apple Phone Show have 1 iPhone to Give Away

And they're holding a contest, of course. All you have to do is link to them from your home page, and you can enter the drawings where you can get 1 8GB iPhone (provided you're lucky enough of course!).

The competition is for US resident only, but it's probably a good thing to know.

The iPhone contest from Apple Phone Show can be read here.

Snatch 5 Available iPhones from Jason Calacanis!

It's going to be a Mahalo contest, but they haven't decided yet what contest it would be. This is pretty much the contest with the biggest count of iPhone to give away, so if you want this phone for free you're best to keep an eye on the future Mahalo iPhone contest.

Win an iPhone from Viddler.com!

Viddler is giving away two 8GB iPhones in their latest contest here.

Anyone submitting a MeToday video, in hopes of getting an iPhone, should read our full contest rules. Before being awarded an iPhone, you will be asked if you read the latest copy of the rules. We’re just covering our butts here, mmmkay?


Oh, and the contest rules are here.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Another "Knockoff" gets Redesigned, now More Like iPhone: Meizu MiniOne M8 from China

Meizu MiniOne, iPhone knockoff from China

Aside from the obvious-looking Windows and Internet Explorer icon, can you notice how similar is the China-based Meizu MiniOne M8 with iPhone?

While the feature is more-rock solid that the current iPhone (3G, HSDPA with WiFi, 16GB flash), I wonder if there's any credibility left when the design is so close to the original iPhone. This phone is scheduled to be out by 2008, and I am sure there will be the next-generation of iPhone by then. Well, let's see how the competition goes.

Read the full scoop and the interesting readers' commentaries at Engadget.

iPhone 3G is a Big Possibility

Steve Jobs hinted that Edge is indeed not ideal for web connections, but cramming 3G connection inside the present iPhone will disrupt the design, since the space needed for the components will be different and the power consumption will rise as well.

However, in the future these trade-offs will go towards 3G, meaning that the next iPhone will have different shape, and power management, and who knows what else. Here's hoping that the one hitting non-USA area will be the next-gen iPhone capable of 3G!

The full story is available here at vnunet.

iPhone in Canada to be Carried by Rogers Wireless

This week and a call to Rogers Wireless’ customer support lines later, things look to be a bit more optimistic. According to comments from a customer service representative, Rogers will be carrying the iPhone and will actually function as the exclusive Apple iPhone carrier for the nation of Canada. No exact release date or price could be specified, even though the carrier claims it will provide full support for the phone when it’s released.


This is from John Wiseman. Gizmodo also confirms the same thing:

Rogers is actively working with Apple to launch the iPhone in Canada as soon as possible and will be the exclusive provider of the iPhone in Canada.


No news about date and pricing, but stay in touch!

Friday, June 29, 2007

Another Rumor: Announcement for European iPhone Next Monday?

Here's the original source. Key questions:

1. 3G instead of EDGE?

2. Partnership not only with Vodafone but Vodafore, T-Mobile (as carriers) and Carphone Warehouse (as virtual network carrier).

Engadget asks whether it's possible a 3G iPhone would arrive first in Europe instead or at least at the same time with US.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Vodafone Best Candidate for Apple's Partner in Europe?

Reuter reports that Vodafone is in alk with Apple to launch the iPhone in Europe. According to the article, another possible candidates are Deutsche Telekom and Orange.

PureMobile to Offer Unlocked iPhone for use in US dan Canada?

Apple iPhone Black Unlocked GSM Cellular Phone, at Pure Mobile, a CNET certified Store. They mentioned that it should work Cingular, T-Mobile, Fido, Rogers and other GSM Carriers in United States and Canada.

By the way, definitely go there before the Apple lawyers team goes there and sue their ass off or I don't know what. Is this thing even legal?

iPhone in India Real Soon?

While the official release would be around 2008, news has it that grey market operators in India claimed that they can unlock the iPhone so that it can be used in any network in India. Theoretically, if this is possible, then it would be possible in other places as well. Here is the full scoop at Business Standard.

Digital Inspiration added that even though those grey market operators might be able to do so (despite never handling a real iPhone themselves!), people will have to activate the iPhone through the iTunes service as well, so the unlocked phone might not get the features aside from the simple SMS/call ones!

Trimming

From now on I will be trimming the updates on the general news, I will be posting only on the subject of iPhone for those outside the USA.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Engadget's List of iPhone Disappointments, from Real Testers


  1. The keyboard was simply described as "disappointing". Keyboarding with two thumbs often registers multiple key presses (two or three at a time) resulting in a lot of mistakes. The best way to type is with a single finger (as shown in most of Apple's demos), but two thumbs is supposedly very difficult. After trying it for a number of days our source gave up using their thumbs.


  2. The text auto-correction only works well for simple words, but doesn't work for proper names. We can only assume this bit will get better with time as Apple fills out its predictive text dictionary.

  3. ....



Read the complete article here at Engadget. Unlike the previous posts, this one is serious and is worth the time reading before you decide to get the first release of iPhone.

iPhone List of Disappointment by Blah Blah! Technology

There's an article regarding iPhone disappointments at Blah Blah! Technology. It turns out that there's so many weaknesses on the oh-so-great iPhone we all adore!

(hint: It's not serious)

Already Out! iPhone Docking Station with a Spot for Bluetooth Headset

While there's no news about whether Apple's own docking station will have a bluetooth headset spot, 4UStuff from China has already produced said product. We don't know how good will this thing integrate with the iPhone, but at least we know it's there.

MacDaily News' Interesting Take on Future iPhone Pricing

Anyone considering holding their breath for a $120 Apple iPhone should have medical attention standing by at all times.


This is regarding the opinion by John Jackson, wireless industry analyst at the Yankee Group, who said, "When the iPhone Nano comes out at $120, everyone is in big trouble."

I don't think the prices will go that low, but I believe there will be a stripped-down, cheaper version of iPhone coming. Here's the complete MacDaily News article and here's the original article containing Jackson's prediction.

iPhone Predicted to Kickstart Waves of Touchscreen-only Devices

Shipments of this advanced strain of touch screens are projected to jump from fewer than 200,000 units in 2006 to more than 21 million units by 2012, with the bulk of the components going to mobile phones, according to a forecast by iSuppli Corp., a research company.

"This new user interface will be like a tsunami, hitting an entire spectrum of devices," predicted Francis Lee, chief executive of Synaptics Inc., a maker of touch sensors.


Azcentral has the complete coverage on this subject.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

30 Times more Powerful than the iPhone?

Say what? What did they measure and how did they come up with the number?

The i-Mate Ultimate series is said to be 30 times stronger than the iPhone. Here's the spec details. Also,


i-mate is due to launch a series of new devices in September including the Ultimate, Urban and Jama ranges, however Morrison refused to disclose how many models there would be in each range. He said that the Ultimate's "big selling point" would be its power and high bandwidth, "around 3.6MB compared to the iPhone's 128K". He added that the retail value on each phone had "yet to be decided".


From Ultimate "30 times more powerful" than iPhone, claims Morrison.

My take on this? User experience matters! Stop boasting about specs and worry about that!

I, Cringely Reports the Possibility that Apple and Google are Helping Each Other with the iPhone

Where Google comes into this story is with the Google Web Toolkit (GWT), an open source compiler that compiles Java source code into optimized browser-specific JavaScript code. GWT makes writing AJAX apps like writing regular apps in the sense that developers can use many of the tools they are used to. And GWT adds the advantage that the GWT compiler handles all the problems of working with specific browsers.

Now imagine you are the developer of an AJAX application and you suddenly have an urgent need to support Safari for Windows. The easiest way to accomplish that is through GWT.


Of course. We do realize that the release of Safari for Windows is within the grand scheme of things. Here's the complete article.

Advertising Age Predicts that iPhone will Fail

The hype has been enormous. Apple says its iPhone is "literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone." A stock-market analyst says, "The iPhone has the potential to be even bigger than the iPod."

I think not. An iPod is a divergence device; an iPhone is a convergence device. There's a big difference between the two.


I would actually cringe on this article, seeing myself rooting for the iPhone to revolutionize the way we use cell phones, but it does provide an interesting insight regarding the divergence/convergence difference. Here's the link to Advertising Age's article for those interested.

Roughly Drafted Predicted iPhone to Lead Mobile Development and Browser Market Share

With even moderate success for the iPhone, Apple will rapidly end up leading mobile development and mobile browser market share, both powered by open standards and an open source browser engine.

Apple will also maintain wide cross-platform reach of its Safari browser, making it easy for mobile developers on any platform to build applications that can be tested to work against a standards compliant browser like the iPhone’s Safari.


Here's the link to the full article.

Friday, June 22, 2007

20-minute Guided Tour on iPhone Available on Apple's Website!

Go go go! Note that regarding the typing process on iPhone, the guide man said:

"In about a week you'll be typing faster on the iPhone than on any other small keyboard, especially if you trust the intelligence of the keyboard."

Thursday, June 21, 2007

We Want no Fake iPhone: Chinese Knockoff Factories releases tPhone

Engadget reported the news (with video) of an Apple iPhone knockoff named tPhone. By the looks of it alone, well, it resembles an iPhone, plus it holds removable batteries and microSD slots. A knockoff is a knockoff, however, so if you just want to show-off that you can own an "iPhone" while living outside USA this might be the phone to look for. Otherwise, just stay here so you can keep up with the news of iPhone for non-USA residents.

Here's the link to Engadget's article.

Adobe to Hold iPhone DevCamp

Adobe is going to hold a free-for-all, iPhone DevCamp event which will talk about how to develop web-based applications and optimize web sites for iPhone. The scheduled date is Friday 07/06, Saturday 07/07 dan Sunday 07/08. The hour varies each day, so you might want to check the home page of the event for further information.

You will have to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before attending the event, and here is the page where you can register yourself to be an attendee. As a non USA resident, I can only envy those close to Adobe's home who's able to pay the event a visit. However, I'd like to wait about the news to circulate on the internet regarding the content of the event. Here's hoping the presentation materials to be available on the Web as well.

Good News for Mac Developer: Test Websites' Display on iPhone using iPhoney

MarketCircle.com releases iPhoney, and here's what they have to say about it:

iPhoney gives you a pixel-accurate web browsing environment—powered by Safari—that you can use when developing web sites for iPhone. It's the perfect 320 by 480-pixel canvas for your iPhone development. And it's free.




I think it's important to mention that iPhoney is not an iPhone emulator, it only emulates the browsing capability of the phone. It is a Mac only software, though, requiring Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later, and they recommend you to install Safari 3 as well (currently still in beta) for better emulation.

The file is pretty small, 492KB in size and you can grab your own copy here.

Gizmodo is Giving Away an iPhone

Here's what you have to do to win: Create or design an original invention (emphasis on original - no recycled projects please) and send in a sketch, render, mockup, blueprint or some kind of image plus a description detailing your invention to contests@gizmodo.com with "Made in Eureka" as the subject.


There's not much legal information in it, but I'm pretty sure it's for USA residents only. However, you might want to check them out anyway and let me know if there's any more details I missed.

Here's the link to Gizmodo's iPhone contest.

Welcome to iPhone Outside USA Blog!

My name is Hafiz and I am an Indonesian. I would love to own an iPhone, just like every single one of you there, but since I live outside USA I will have to wait a little longer to have it. So, I create this blog so I can keep track on news and everything iPhone-related, especially news for the majority of us who lived outside USA but wants an iPhone as well.

So stay tuned! You might want to subscribe to this blog's RSS as well, so you can keep up with the updates here!

Oh, and last thing, welcome to this blog, iPhone lovers all over the world. Hope you enjoy your visit here.