“Some interesting information has come to light… that may indicate a future direction of Apple’s iPhone OS products,” Chauncey Dupree reports for 9 to 5 Mac.

Dupree points to “some pretty definitive evidence that future iPhones and iPads will have video chatting capability… Icons were found in the 3.2 SDK which seem to indicate that there will be video calling on a future iPxxx device.”

Also, Dupress reports, “Hidden in some of the underlying iPad telephony apps are some VideoChat strings that are equally, if not more, telling evidence of future VideoChatting capabilities… Also, we’ve found some references to ‘iChat.’”

Full article, with screenshots, here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“Apple’s new iPad is being criticized for lacking the capacity to render interactive content built using Adobe’s Flash platform, but the company shows no sign of reversing course,” Daniel Eran Dilger reports for AppleInsider.

“Since the iPhone debuted in 2007 without any support for Flash, Adobe has begun a revitalized campaign to breathe interest in Flash,” Dilger reports. “This includes the announcement of a new series of Flash 10.1 runtimes for Windows Mobile, Nokia S60/Symbian, Palm WebOS, and Android phones (but not RIM’s Blackberry). This suggests not having Flash will be a problem for the iPad.”

Dilger reports, “[However], Adobe’s arguments for Flash are difficult to support in the mobile realm. The iPhone has been wildly popular since its debut despite its lack of support for Flash. Apple’s smartphone dramatically raised the bar for what customers expected in a mobile web browser. By doing this without Flash, Apple essentially redefined what the web should look like, at least on a mobile device.”
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“I can type fairly quickly on my iPhone, at least in landscape mode — I average about 30 – 35 words per minute compared to around 77 WPM on a standard keyboard — but the guy in the video [below] has gone to plaid with his typing speed,” Chris Rawson reports for TUAW. “Using an app called iTextSpeed, this anonymous texting speed demon reaches an incredible 56 words per minute on his iPhone in portrait mode.”

Full article here.

In its offices from Baltimore to Shanghai, international architecture firm RTKL uses iPhone to stay in touch, access apps that enable creative collaboration, and travel with ease.

Most of the iPad reactions I’ve read have been negative, but I have been completely satisfied with what Apple announced. iPad is exactly the product I’ve been wishing for ever since I wrapped my mind around the iPhone and its constraints. While the rumor mill was churning with all kinds of crazy possibilities for the Apple tablet, I mostly rolled my eyes, because I felt strongly that all Apple needed to do to revolutionize computing was simply to make an iPhone with a large screen. Anyone who feels underwhelmed by that doesn’t understand how much of the iPhone OS’s potential is still untapped,” Joe Hewitt blogs.

“I spent a year and a half attempting to reduce a massive, complex social networking website into a handheld, touch-screen form factor. My goal was initially just to make a mobile companion for the facebook.com mothership, but once I got comfortable with the platform I became convinced it was possible to create a version of Facebook that was actually better than the website! Of all the platforms I’ve developed on in my career, from the desktop to the web, iPhone OS gave me the greatest sense of empowerment, and had the highest ceiling for raising the art of UI design,” Hewitt writes. “Except there was one thing keeping me from reaching that ceiling: the screen was too small.”

“At some point I came to the conclusion that Facebook on iPhone OS could not truly exceed the website until I could adapt it to a screen size closer to a laptop,” Hewitt explains. “It needed to support more than one column of information at a time. I couldn’t fit enough tools on the screen to support any kind of advanced creative work. Photos were too small to show off to my far-sighted parents. The web required too much panning and zooming to enjoy reading. Beyond just Facebook, most of the apps I used most on my iPhone also suffered from these limitations, like Google Reader, Instapaper, and all image, video, and text editing tools. The bottom line is, many apps which were cute toys on iPhone can become full-featured power tools on the iPad, making you forget about their desktop/laptop predecessors. We just have to invent them.”

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“Yesterday we reported that Google’s long awaited own-brand phone, the Google Nexus One, hadn’t enjoyed the best start in life, having only sold 20,000 units in its first week in the US,” Adam Bunker reports for T3.

The Nexus One “has just had its price slashed,” Bunker reports.

“Up until today, anyone in the US who’d wanted to upgrade to the Nexus One on T-Mobile had to pay out $379,” Bunker reports. “With the price cut in effect, this figure stands at $279… Not only that, but anyone who’s already upgraded receive a $100 refund.”

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

Today, Apple’s MobileMe introduced a new Gallery app for iPhone and iPod touch.

The app features iPhone- and iPod touch-optimized controls and gallery displays that make browsing photos and videos easier and more interactive.

The Gallery app is free for MobileMe members and available now on the App Store in iTunes here.

Source: MacDailyNews