RIM debuts new BlackBerry browser

Research In Motion on Monday debuted a new, long-awaited Web browser for its BlackBerry devices, touting the Webkit-based application as easier, faster and better at rendering Web sites.

The new browser, which will be available this year, was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

RIM has long been criticized for its browser, which reviewers (including this one) have said is out-of-date compared to competing handsets that use Apple, Google and Palm operating systems.

The new browser is key to preserving the company’s large consumer adoption base, which has been growing thanks to two-for-one carrier deals and despite an overall lack of innovation in software from the company.

Four months ago, RIM debuted the Storm2, an update to its fully touchscreen BlackBerry, which made all the right moves on the hardware front but still felt behind in terms of software.

The Canadian company last year bought browser specialist Torch Mobile in a bid to revamp its browser.

Apple Platforms Generate $25 Million for Gameloft in 2009

Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch have been a major boon for mobile game makers. Developers are hopeful that the launch of the iPad will yield even more opportunities, but for now the massive iPhone installed base has been serving them well. Gameloft has been a big beneficiary of the iPhone boom. Last month, the publisher announced that it exceeded 10 million paid app downloads on the App Store and this week Gameloft noted that App Store revenues grew to 17.6 million euros (about $25 million) last year.

Total revenues at Gameloft grew 11% to 122 million euros despite the fact that the company’s fourth quarter saw a 6% sales dip “due to Gameloft’s withdrawal from boxed games in January 2009 and to the drop in the dollar.” Mobile games accounted for 94% of the company’s sales in 2009, while console games took up the remaining 6% of sales.

The French developer saw 39% of its full-year sales in 2009 come from Europe, while North America accounted for 32% and the rest of the world made up 29% of revenues. Profitability is up as well, as Gameloft said its operating margin before stock options is expected to reach between 8% and 9% in 2009 compared to 3% in 2008.

Gameloft is forecasting even more growth for 2010. “In the long term, Gameloft is in an ideal position to benefit from the rapid emergence of digitally distributed video games on mobile phones, tablets, consoles and from major technological innovations brought to the market by companies such as Apple, Palm, Nokia and Google,” the publisher stated.

Apple confirms 3G VoIP apps on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch; Skype is waiting

Apple Inc. confirmed last night that it is now allowing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch developers to build apps that can make Internet calls over a 3G cellular network.
“We revised our Program License Agreement in conjunction with our updated Software Development Kit for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Apps,” wrote an Apple spokesperson. “Included in this update is the ability for developers to create VoIP apps that utilize cellular networks.”

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol — essentially, Web-based telephony.

As we reported last night, several VoiP apps have been approved for use on the iPhone, including iCall and Fring.

Skype, one of the most popular VoIP applications, said it had a 3G iPhone app ready to go, but wanted to get a couple of service details squared away.

Skype is waiting for Apple to clarify when the new SDK terms of service for iPhone OS 3.2 SDK beta, which were published yesterday, will go into effect for current iPhone users who are still bound under the terms of iPhone OS 3.12 SDK, according to Skype spokesman Chaim Haas.

“As soon as we have that clarification, Skype will submit its application for approval,” Haas wrote.

Apple announced Wednesday that iPad owners will be able to purchase monthly 3G plans for the device, which is quite a bit larger than a normal cellular phone, but could easily be used to make and receive calls.

Now that Apple and AT&T have green-lighted 3G data calls, iPad owners will not necessarily need an additional voice plan (not that the option for one was announced, but plenty of people were wondering).

In fact, the arrival of VoIP to iPhone may well be the beginning of a long decline for the concept of “voice minutes” — at this point, there’s really no point in differentiating one kind of call from another — it’s all data.

Apple Stock Takes a Wild Ride After iPad Unveiling

Apple’s stock soared after the iPad, a hybrid iPhone and netbook computer, was unveiled Wednesday and then plunged with the rest of the market Thursday morning. That shows the best and worst aspects of investing in Apple, all in less than 24 hours.

Apple is a phenomenal company, but it has to do business in the same fragile economy and stock market as everyone else. No matter how brilliant Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, is, the stock is vulnerable to a second dip into recession; $499 for the basic iPad will attract a lot of buyers, but fewer if the economy tanks anew.

The share price could also fall victim to perhaps the biggest threat that any asset faces: excessive expectations.

For the last decade Jobs has managed to do everything right, from the various iterations of the Mac to Pixar to iTunes and the iPod and the iEverything else. He has a knack, maybe better than anyone else does, for identifying a need in the marketplace, often one that consumers never realized they had, and designing a product or service to fill it.

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But nobody’s perfect. Jobs has made mistakes, although not lately. It doesn’t look as though the iPad is one, but it’s way too early to tell for sure. And then there is his health to consider.

As the MoneyWatch house contrarian, I’m supposed to express disdain for anything as successful as Apple. But while the stock is close to all-time highs, it doesn’t look expensive.

By one popular valuation measure, the PEG ratio (the price-earnings multiple divided by the annual earnings growth that analysts expect over the next five years), Apple appears cheap. Its PEG (lower numbers are better) is 1.06, while those of Hewlett Packard, Dell and Microsoft range between 1.16 and 1.46.

But the ratio is susceptible to changes in circumstances. The five-year earnings growth estimate may prove to be way too optimistic if a new rival comes along and shakes up one of Apple’s markets or if an old rival proves more adept at fending off its competitive threat.

Apple is the kind of company that investors either love or hate, marveling at its success or awaiting its comeuppance. The true contrarian play might be just to leave the stock alone.

iPad (Apple Tablet) announced: GPS, WiFi starting from $499

Prices start at $499 for the sleek, full-color, half-inch thin gadget that is designed for a variety of media, from videos to games to electronic books and newspapers.

Apple is using the first chip to come out of its PA Semi acquisition in its new iPad, a processor called the Apple A4. Apple CEO Steve Jobs made the announcement at the media event Wednesday where the iPad was unveiled, according to Engadget’s coverage of the event, where he said, “It’s powered by our own silicon. The 1GHz Apple A4 chip. It screams.”

AT&T lowering cost of unlimited voice and data for iPhone users

The battle of snarkiness between AT&T and Verizon is resulting in benefits for subscribers.

Yesterday, AT&T announced a new unlimited voice and data plan for smartphone owners, including those who use the iPhone, that offers unlimited voice and data service for $99.99 per month. The change was the result of Verizon lowering the cost of its unlimited plans earlier in the day, and consumers are the beneficiaries of the battle of the cell phone titans.

Prior to the announcement, iPhone users paid $100 monthly for unlimited voice, then tacked on another $30 a month for unlimited data. Starting on Monday, January 18th, 2010, a combined unlimited voice and data plan is available for $99.99. That’s a savings of $30 per month. For a Family Talk plan with two iPhones, the deal is even better — $179.99 per month.

Unfortunately, AT&T still charges for text messaging separately, so if you want to add on an unlimited texting plan it’ll be another $20 per month. Beginning on Monday, existing AT&T customers can change to the new plans without penalty or a contract extension by using the online account tools at www.att.com/wireless.

iPhone apps lose $450 million to piracy

Apple has made an absolute fortune from its iPhone range and downloads from the App Store, but it’s also lost a small fortune to piracy.

Figures from financial site 24/7 Wall St suggest app piracy has cost the platform holder and iPhone developers over $450 million since July 2008.

Over three billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store to date but it’s estimated that for every legitimate, paid download, three illegal app downloads have been made.

A number of game developers, including Rally Master Pro creator Fishlabs and Tap Fu studio Smells Like Donkey have been stung by iPhone piracy, leading them to question whether Apple’s doing enough to combat the problem.

SDK 3.1 beta is out

Only two weeks after launching the 3.0 software update for iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple is now working hard to deliver an update to the iPhone OS. The iPhone SDK 3.1 beta was pushed out to developers on 1st of July, and the recipients report the software already has a few new features and refinements.

Apple has not mentioned specifically the improvements in the iPhone 3.1 beta update, but numerous developers have downloaded the software and reported on forums and blogs some of the new things they discovered within the update.

At a first glance, reports say that the iPhone 3.1 improves Voice Control functionality (introduced with the iPhone 3GS), which now works over Bluetooth as well. Video editing on the iPhone 3GS will be improved also, as users will be able to save a copy of the original video before they start trimming.

Other visible user interface improvements reported include tactile feedback (vibration) when moving applications icons on the screen and paste capabilities in the dialer application. The dialer app will also convert alphanumeric numbers (such as 1-800-MY-APPLE) into regular phone numbers when pasted in.

Developers also found a few under-the-hood changes in the iPhone 3.1 software beta to the OpenGL and Quartz engines and an Video Editor Controller API, which allows third-party applications to call up the video editing interface.

The MMS functionality is enabled by default say developers, but it still doesn’t work for AT&T users (although the AT&T profile was updated to 4.2). It is yet unclear whether this change signals that AT&T will enable MMS messaging as soon as the iPhone 3.1 software update is widely available to the public.

Apple has not said when a final version of the 3.1 software will be released to all iPhone users or whether this update addresses the latest iPhone 3GS overheating reports.

Turn-by-turn GPS navigation in the new iPhone

With the announcement of iPhone OS 3.0, we knew that real-time, turn-by-turn navigation would soon become a reality on the iPhone. It was just a matter of when and how, and it looks like we finally got our answer on Monday.

Joining Apple onstage at the WWDC 2009 keynote, longtime GPS manufacturer TomTom unveiled its application for the iPhone, bringing maps and voice-guided directions to the smartphone. The biggest boon for drivers is the addition of the audible prompts, since the current iPhone is only able to provide text-based instructions through Google Maps. In addition, TomTom will offer a car kit for the iPhone, which includes a vehicle mount and car charger.

The TomTom app is expected to be available this summer, but as CNET’s Erica Ogg and Kent German point out, the big question is how much this will cost. Mapping and navigation software isn’t cheap, so it’ll be interesting to see where they put the pricing on this app and how it compares with Sprint Navigation on the Palm Pre. Also, I have to wonder, would Garmin have been better off going the app route instead of launching its own Nuvifone line of GPS-enabled smartphones, which has yet to see the day of light?

The New iPhone: iPhone 3G S

The most talked-about bunch of updates Apple unveiled at WWDC came from its iPhone 3.0 software upgrade, which purportedly adds 100 new features to the iPhone. Critics have long stressed the need for cut, copy, and paste features across the iPhone OS, and those features are now built in. Also, all key apps in the iPhone now feature landscape mode to maximize screen width. And in the U.S., iPhones on the AT&T network will finally feature MMS support later this summer.

Search features have also been enhanced in iPhone 3.0 with the addition of Spotlight. This will enable users to search not only their contacts, but also calendar entries, notes, e-mail, and even apps on the device.

iTunes will now allow iPhone users to purchase or rent movies directly from the device, and Apple has added parental controls that will restrict the kinds of movies, shows, and apps that children can run on the phone or iPod touch.

For Mobile Me customers, Apple will offer a service called Find My iPhone, which will locate a lost or stolen device (if it’s turned on).

As promised in a previous iPhone announcement, iPhone 3.0 includes push notification for instant messaging and other applications.

Perhaps the most exciting update for iPhone 3.0 is the addition of tethering capabilities. At last, users who are away from their Wi-Fi network will be able to use the iPhone’s cellular broadband connections to connect their laptop to the Internet. This feature will work via USB or Bluetooth, and is supported by 22 carriers in 44 countries.Unfortunately, AT&T is not one of the carriers supporting this feature, which leaves U.S. iPhone customers wanting.

The iPhone 3.0 software is available to developers today, and ships to customers next Wednesday.

Along with the updates iPhone software, Apple is releasing new iPhone hardware. The iPhone 3GS will sell for $199 in a 16GB version and $299 in a 32GB version. The existing iPhone 3G will continue to be available at a price of $99. (All prices with a 2-year AT&T contract.)

The iPhone 3GS will be faster than the iPhone 3G, and will include video capture, voice control, built-in support for Nike+ accessories, hardware encryption for Exchange users, and improved battery life. The phone will be available on June 19.