One of the AppStore’s hottest downloads has more than 500 reviews and a 1.5 star average rating, which has to be bad news for someone.

We got a press release yesterday from uLocate Communications touting the succes of its GPS navigation app for the iPhone, WHERE, free software downloaded more than 125,000 times in its first weekend. A quick check on the WHERE product page in iTunes tells a different side of the story.

“Doesn’t work,” Worthless” and “Just keeps crashing” are the kinds of reviews that get a developer working on an update right away, though other users seem to be having no problems and love the application, with one fan reporting, “I feel that I’ve missed too much in life already because Where wasn’t available before.”

As we reported Monday, some developers are pointing the finger at Apple, claiming the 2.0 firmware is unstable and causing their apps to crash. Apple, of course, has little to say on the matter thus far and seems content to let the waves of elation and frustration that have accompanied the AppStore’s big splash settle out on their own.

The good news for users of software such as WHERE, is that at a cost of “free” deciding it’s not worth the hassle costs no more than a little wasted time, something Apple’s early adopters seem to have in abundance.

• CG: Jackass iPhone devs line-cut by exploiting naming conventions. Gizmodo: http://tinyurl.com/6p99yw (via Daring Fireball) #
• CG: Apple on iPhone cut and paste, GPS turn-by-turn and the lack of an iPhone office suite: http://tinyurl.com/67bgph (ExtremeTech) #
• CG: MacRumors reports that Psystar is indeed likely to get a butt-kicking over its Hackintoshes: http://tinyurl.com/5a69qq #

Apple filed suit against Florida-based computer maker Psystar on July 3rd, alleging copyright infringement, inducement of copyright infringement, trademark infringement and other legal claims. It seeks any profits earned by Psystar from sales of its Open Computer, triple damages for willful acts, a permanent injunction against the sale of the product and a recall of units already sold.

Despite a seemingly definitive ruling against Apple clone-makers in a landmark 1983 copyright decision, Psystar has lately continued selling what it calls “open source” computers with copies of OS X, while Psystar owners and managers admitted in public statements their knowledge of the existence of Apple’s software license agreement and its terms, according to the suit.

Legal experts speculate Psystar has almost no credible defense against the suit and believe this may truly be the end of Apple clones after the last major knock-off shop, Franklin Computers, closed its doors in the wake of the 1983 case.

Via CNet.

Photo by Jim Heid

Apple reports being sold out of all models of the iPhone 3G in 117 of its 188 retail outlets in the United States five days after bringing the product to market. The company updates a page on its website after 9pm in each time zone where you can check availability near you, but there have been reports the information is unreliable. Yesterday dozens of people waited in line to buy a phone at the Apple store in Kansas City based on notice the store was fully stocked, but apparently the store’s shipment never arrived and the manager had to begin placating angry customers by 1pm. If you live in many locations along the eastern seaboard, you might consider driving to New York, but there you will encounter the same long lines persisting in front of stores in other major markets such as San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta.

The Apple website says, “Shipments of iPhone 3G arrive most days and availability is updated nightly,” for each of its stores, but advises to “get there early” because the phones are sold on a first come-first served basis. With wait times exceeding three hours and the sale/activation process continuing to take upwards of half an hour in the store, you’ll invest time as well as money getting a new iPhone anytime soon.

Via Fortune.

Veiosoft plans to release software on July 28 that will unleash more of the computing power inside Apple’s wireless handhelds. The $7 program distributed through the AppStore will allow any Mac, Windows or Linux machine to recognize an iPhone or iPod Touch as a volume when the handheld is registered to the same network, allowing transfer of data files between machines with drag and drop ease.

Using Finder and Bonjour, DataCase makes upload applications and server configuration unnecessary to move files between computers or take important data with you on your handheld. Macs integrate seamlessly with your handheld using Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) connectivity, while Windows and Linux computers are supported through HTTP and FTP.

The program supports up to 16 different volumes on the iPhone or iPod Touch, each configurable with read/write/browse permissions. Those concerned about the security implications of makng data so portable should be pleased to know files can me made invisible and alerts set to require authentication before allowing a connection over the network.

Many have felt the iPhone’s true innovation lies in portable computing and DataCase looks ready to begin delivering on that promise.

• CG: Apple reports that over 10 million applications have been downloaded since the iPhone App Store’s launch. http://tinyurl.com/6xlon8 #
• CG: Apple’s renewed importance and interest in gaming births Touch Arcade, a site dedicated to iPhone gaming. http://toucharcade.com/ #
• CG: Touch Arcade comments on iPhone control issues for Ms. Pac-Man: http://tinyurl.com/5olhvg - not sure swiping would do it for me. #

iBeer is a virtual pint for the iPhone and iPod Touch that is supposed to behave like a real pint of delicious bubbly beer, according to the developers.

Thanks to the iPhone’s accelerometers, it tips, pours and drains like a real pint. It even foams up when you shake the iPhone.

However, the $3 app is getting mixed reviews on the iTunes App Store. Some love it, but many say the fun lasts for about 30 seconds.

“For $3, I can get a real beer,” says one.

Here it is in action on YouTube:

There are still long lines and at least a 3 hour wait to buy the iPhone 2 — four days after the device first went on sale.

I went by the Apple Store near San Francisco’s Union Square on Monday evening. At about 7.30PM there was a long line of about 120 people stretching nearly the entire city block.

The concierge at the front door (pictured above talking to the cop) told me the wait was about 3 hours. The cop told the concierge to call if she needed any help later on. She just laughed. She was about to cut the line off — the store closes at 9PM.

She said the line had been like that all day — a work day for most San Franciscans. A coworker from Wired.com went to the store at lunchtime thinking they could walk right in and pick up a iPhone, and were flabbergasted to see there was still along line.

The problem is the activation procedure, which she said takes an average of 20 to 30 minutes for each customer — even existing AT&T subscribers. Unlike the first iPhone, no one is allowed to leave the store with an inactivated iPhone.

Earlier in the day, my wife went by another San Francisco Apple Store in the Stonestown shopping mall, where there was a line of about 25 or 30 people.

Anyone else seeing long lines?

Thanks to blogger Cory Bohon at The Unofficial Apple Weblog, we bring you news that Mac Mix has some serious discounting available on bundles of Mac software. You can choose your own mix of titles from a set of 28 productivity, web tools, image & video, system enhancement and entertainment packages. Discounts range from 10% off any single title up to 75% off a bundle of twelve. The 500th purchaser will receive all 28 titles for free.

This might just go down as the nerdiest thing in the history of the iPhone. But it’s also totally sweet. The iPhone-packing groom is Jerad Hill.


Via Digg.

Apple reports over 10 million applications downloaded from the AppStore in its first weekend, according to a press release issued by the company today. There may be discord brewing between the company and developers of the applications being distributed in the AppStore, however, as blogger Bret Terpstra writes for The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

Many applications from the App Store are crashing frequently, according to Terpstra, and some veteran developers are pointing the finger at Apple, claiming crash logs indicate a “growing consensus that Apple has released a highly unstable “final” version of the 2.0 firmware.”

If it seems prices of the latest iPod and iPhone accessories are rising, you may have Apple’s licensing department to thank, according to a story in Popular Mechanics. Though the company is typically reticent to discuss the details of arrangements such as the one that allows some electronics manufacturers to place a “Made for iPod” designation on their products, managers and decision makers for both retailers and manufacturers indicate Apple’s licensing fees and specially made chips that allow gadgets to work with Apple gear can add 10% or more to the price consumers pay for an item.

Last year, Apple introduced a proprietary authentication chip that works like a silicon key to unlock streaming video functionality on iPhones and iPods and generally authorizes the devices to work with approved accessories. The “auth chip” meant third-party companies wanting to produce iPod-compatible gadgets first had to deal with Apple—the only company selling the chip. Previous-generation iPods could output video over a generic $2 iPod video cable, but new phones and iPods require officially licensed Apple cables—and these can cost up to $50, according to the report.

Apple’s contention is that its authentication technology and licensing protocols, which can entail auditors from Cupertino poring over a company’s books and records to ensure that Apple gets paid for every device sold, helps maintain high quality for products associated with the Apple brand. Some manufacturers complain, on the other hand, they must reduce the quality of their wares in order to pay Apple its share and still keep prices at levels that stimulate consumer demand.

Updated below - Apple CEO Steve Jobs pronounced the iPhone 3G’s worldwide reception “stunning,” according to AppleInsider.

Noting the 1 million phones sold in its “opening weekend” (as the lines between commerce and entertainment grow ever more blurred), Jobs trumpeted the fact that “It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start.”

Of course, its availability in more than 20 countries helped iPhone 3G sales, whereas the original phone was first offered only in the United States, but consumers’ embrace of the new model is sure to heat up the smartphone market. The sales numbers are impressive by any measure, especially given widespread activation issues that slowed down the purchase process and caused much grumbling among opening weekend buyers.

Apple’s sales figures are the subject of some debate in the wake of the company’s press releases this morning, according to a post at Fortune’s Apple blog. While sales at Apple retail outlets are counted at the register, sales to partner carriers such as AT&T are counted by the company when they leave the loading docks in Asia. “In other words, some of those 1 million iPhones recorded as sold by Apple (AAPL) may still be in transit,” says the Fortune report.

Also today, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster put sales at around half the 1 million reported by Apple and said he thinks it will take two weeks or more to hit the 1 million served mark.

Last.fm iPhone Demo from Toby on Vimeo.

I was rather effusive in my enthusiasm for the launch of intelligent music radio application Pandora on iPhone. It symbolized, more than anything, that Apple was perfectly willing to let people listen to music on the device without the company’s blessing — some of the time anyway.

Tonight, Last.fm launched its own iPhone app, and it’s a doozy. The video demo speaks for itself, but I’m quite impressed with the events integration and the detailed information. I’ve been a bigger fan of Last.fm than Pandora for some time, not least for the huge amount of information on bands that it has to offer. Additionally, the social networking features are very cool — being able to e-mail any track to a contact? Genius. It’s available through the App Store now.

Sadly, it won’t Scrobble the tracks you listen to in the main iPod application, except after a sync with iTunes, nor will it keep playing while you browse on Safari, but those are technical impediments on Apple’s part. Altogether, it’s an impressive effort. With Pandora and AOL Radio, it has officially made the iPhone superior in every way to a satellite radio — unless you care about Howard Stern. This is the true future of radio, and it’s finally on the right platform.

Via Digg.

“This is journalism to you?” Exactly. Anyone know who that brave man in the iPhone line was? I would like to give him a prize.

Via Daring Fireball.

• CG: Queues of 40-50 people in UK O2 stores reported. I’m guessing they’re not there for Nokias… #
• CG: iPhone unboxing images to lust after if you’ve not been lucky enough to get one yourself: http://tinyurl.com/64sh2p (MacRumors) #
• CG: Incisive first-day AppStore commentary from Daring Fireball: http://tinyurl.com/66uh4j - interesting free/paid-for app comparisons. #
• CG: Turns out you can take iPhone screen-grabs by holding Home and tapping the power button. Photos are (logically) sent to the Photos app. #
• CG: Counterpoint (i.e. positive) article regarding SSD impact on battery life: http://tinyurl.com/5a4kdu (via Alexander Klimetschek) #
• CG: First-day reports suggest many O2 stores had just a dozen or so iPhones for sale, with only a few 16GB models. Feel Jobs’ wrath, UK! #
• LM: part 1 of my interview on TalkingHeadTV: http://talkingheadtv.com/?p=64 #
• LM: part 2 of my interview on TalkingHeadTV: http://talkingheadtv.com/?p=65 #
• LM: part 3 of my interview on TalkingHeadTV: http://talkingheadtv.com/?p=66 #
• LM: part 4 of my interview on TalkingHeadTV: http://talkingheadtv.com/?p=67 #
• Well, the iPhone launch is totally messed up, eh? #
• PM: That was me. How’s iPod touch 2.0 upgrading going? #

Apple confessed to problems making the transition from .Mac web services to its highly anticipated MobileMe product, according to MacWorld, but the service may be up and running this morning after yesterday’s rocky rollout.

A statement posted earlier today to the Apple website read “”The MobileMe transition is underway but is taking longer than expected. Please refer to the official System Status to the right for current information on the availability of MobileMe services. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

But as you can see from the screenshots below, we finally have a log-in page and access to our me domain. The servers are running very slow at this writing. Stay tuned for updates; your mileage may vary.

Access to the account page behind the following secure screen

Was met with a Loading wheel that I gave up on after 5 minutes

But I was able to get to my Gallery

Though not my mail. I have confidence Apple engineers will work out the kinks.

It’s iPhone launch day in the US and early reports from several sources indicate a scene of controlled chaos across the country as Apple Retail and AT&T employees work to satisfy the demands of people who must have a new phone today. It’s nothing like the mayhem that attended demand last summer when the first gen iPhone made its debut, but AT&T’s on-site activation requirement seems to be making the purchase of of a new iPhone much longer process than the 15 minutes touted earlier in the week as the time it would take to get in and out with a phone.

Steve Wozniak was quoted in MacWorld admitting gadget lust would keep him in line overnight down in San Jose to get a new phone this morning, but said,”"A lot of the people I know just aren’t going to upgrade yet.”

Image via CNet

The new iPhone OS 2.0 software has been unlocked and jailbroken, according to Gizmodo blogger Jesus Diaz.

After taking months to crack the code on last summer’s inaugural release, the iPhone Dev Team has opened the gates to unsigned software on the iPhone 3G before its US debut. The Pwnage tool that will allow unofficial carriers access to the phone and give users full read/write access to the filesystem to enable installation of unofficial, “jailbreak” applications is “imminent,” according to CNet, though no firm release date has been announced.

• CG: More evidence, it seems, that solid-state drives don’t actually improve your battery’s run-time: http://tinyurl.com/3kuorq #
• CG: iTunes 7.7 just waved hello from Software Update. #
• CG: Looks like the iPhone app store’s up and ready for taking all your cash. If only you could get the apps on to your phone already! #
• CG: Jobs on iPhone apps: 25% free; 90% $9.99 or less. Refers to launch as the biggest of his career. USA Today: http://tinyurl.com/5jzu5l #