Posts tagged with "iPhone"

Behind The Scenes of Verizon iPhone: Special PIN Security Protocol, “ACME” Code Name

In a lengthy report published earlier today, TechnoBuffalo shares some of the interesting details behind the launch of the Verizon iPhone 4, which went on sale in the United States in February. In the months leading to the launch of the CDMA device, speculation was running wild on the Internet as to whether Apple was really ending AT&T exclusivity to release an updated version of the iPhone to support Verizon Wireless’ CDMA infrastructure; citing a source “close to the action”, TechnoBuffalo says only top executives at Verizon knew about the device, which internally used to be mentioned as “ACME device” to avoid other employees would hear the “iPhone” name and leak information outside of the company. Public testing of the CDMA iPhone 4 began at Apple Stores (and obviously, Apple’s own campus, where Steve Jobs said they had installed Verizon and AT&T towers) six months ahead of the official launch, meaning in summer 2010 shortly after the release of the AT&T iPhone.

Though key employees and executives were in the loop, everyone else at the carrier knew little more than the rest of the public. And it would seem the higher ups wanted to keep it that way. No one talked about the Apple smartphone externally, and even internally, it was still a hush-hush operation. In fact, says the source, the word “iPhone” was never uttered; only its codename was referenced: It was called the “ACME” device.

Between NDAs to sign, corporate secrets and internal discussions about field-testing and cooperation with Apple, the most interesting tidbit details how, rather than installing geo-location software (like Find my iPhone) on the prototypes to make sure they wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands (as the AT&T iPhone 4 did), Verizon testers were required to text a PIN code every 12 hours as a confirmation the device was being used internally for testing purposes only.

Our source describes a unique protocol requiring staffers to text a secret PIN code to a dedicated phone number every 12 hours. This served as ongoing confirmation that the handset was still in the proper hands. So no PIN code, no functionality.

Unlike the original iPhone 4, Apple managed to keep the Verizon iPhone closely under wraps until the official announcement, not even allowing Verizon to tease anything at CES 2011 in Las Vegas a few weeks before. The security measures taken by Apple to ensure devices were only used internally are particularly interesting, and a sign Apple must have reconsidered its testing process after the AT&T iPhone got leaked to Gizmodo.com in Spring 2010, months before the WWDC announcement.

Prototypes Turns Mockups Into Tappable iPhone Demoes

If you’re an iPhone developer, you know how long it takes to turn a mockup realized in Photoshop, Illustrator or Fireworks into a working app that can be tested to see if your idea is actually working on a device’s screen. Whilst an app screen may look good in Photoshop with its fancy graphics and menus you first sketched on your notebook, there’s always the risk that, once running on a real device with an actual multitouch display, your idea will simply suck. Prototypes, a new Mac app released today at $39.99, is a new tool for developers aimed at making the process of converting a mockup into a tappable and shareable application super-simple. Prototypes won’t magically turn your .png’s into Cocoa code, instead it will allow you to display these images on an iPhone or iPod touch screen, and allow users to tap around and get the idea of how an app works.

From Prototypes’ desktop view, developers can import image files and start building a new project. Once all the images are in, Prototypes offers the possibility to create connections and links between objects and pages, add tappable areas and establish dependencies between app menus and sections. What Prototypes basically does is simple: it takes all your app mockups you’ve created in Photoshop, bundles them up in a package, and takes care of including animations, transitions, hotspots, and more to give users the feeling that they’re using a real application while, in fact, they’re just tapping on “smart images” connected by links. It’s genius. Of course you won’t end up using an app on your phone – you’ll simply be running a bookmark saved from the web that’s nothing but a living mockup meant for testing purposes.

Prototypes also offers developers a way to share these mockups with users, their boss, or friends: by hosting a mockup on the free ptyp.es service, devs will be able to easily allow everyone to “install the app” using Mobile Safari and a special PIN code for extra security. You can try one of Prototypes smart mockups by heading over this link with your iPhone, saving the page on your Home screen, and entering 12345678 as PIN.

I think Prototypes is an incredible idea and a great time-saving utility for iOS developers that have been looking for ways to test a mockup without actually writing code. You can get the app here at $39.99.

Rent A Car From “Real People” Using An iPhone App

Getaround, a peer-to-peer car rental marketplace that allows you to rent a car in your neighborhood from “real people”, is launching publicly today with an iPhone app available in the App Store for free. Just like popular service AirBnB allows you to find places to stay using an app on your iPhone, Getaround lets you rent cars by day or week from actual people who are also using the service, and not car rental services that force you to pick up a car in a single location. By integrating with Google Maps and thanks to full backing from a car insurance company, Getaround lets you immediately see on your phone which cars are available and where, who’s renting them and for how long / at which rate they’re available. Furthermore, the company has also started shipping the Getaround CarKit, a device that once installed on a car will allow to unlock it without a key, only using your iPhone and a virtual “key” interface that also shows the name of the person that has agreed to share his car.

This idea of renting cars using mobile apps and web interfaces is nothing new, but Getaround’s implementation looks impressive: not only they’re building a community to help you discover people that might share your common interests, Getaround actually helps you get a car with full insurance and a kit that doesn’t need any key in your pockets. For those who decide to share their car (Getaround says most cars in the US stay sit idle for 22 hours a day on average), this service will help them earn some dollars each month, and even “review and rate” the person who took their car thanks to a full-featured community website.

TechCrunch reports a statement from co-founder Jessica Scorpio:

Getaround gives people more choices, going far beyond traditional rentals to provide more local and affordable alternatives. We’ve also found that our members like the “community building” aspect, where Getaround connects them with people who share similar values and interests. As an added benefit, we help people protect the environment by sharing resources, taking unneeded cars off the road and reducing traffic and auto emissions through better planning.

Users can sign up to Getaround for free, and the whole service is completely free to use unless you consider the 40% commission they’re taking off a successful rental. Getaround is rolling out today in the US starting with San Francisco, San Diego and other cities where “the most demand is”, though they have already announced they obviously plan to move outside the US in the future and offer mobile apps on other platforms.

MacHeist Releases Official iPhone Game “The Heist”

MacHeist, the website that’s become popular among Mac users thanks to its app bundles, marketing tactics and online “missions” to complete to get access to free software and other gifts, has released today its first official iPhone game, called The Heist. Whilst there’s no official mention of a new MacHeist bundle in the app (but according to the rumors it will come soon, especially considering the latest refresh to the website’s homepage and multiple hints), the app features a “secret vault” you have to crack to earn a “valuable prize” that awaits you at the end – and we’re not saying what it is just yet to spoil all the fun.

To crack the vault and beat the game, in fact, you’ll have to solve 60 different puzzles organized in 4 types which, in pure MacHeist style, are intricate and complicated enough to keep you engaged for a good couple of hours. The game features Game Center integration with 19 achievements to earn, as well as lots of hints and easter eggs that remind us of a new MacHeist coming out sometime in the future. For instance, the tap tap tap developers managed to include a fake phone call from “Sophia” that totally mimics the Phone.app interface, letting you think that you’re getting an actual phone call from MacHeist. It’s all in the details.

You can download The Heist at $0.99 from the App Store. Check out more screenshots below. Read more

Spotify Adds Play Queue to iPhone App

Following a recent redesign that brought a completely new look and clean design to the mobile app and an update to the desktop application which enabled sync for iPods and a variety of other perks for Premium subscribers, Spotify announced another minor update for the iPhone app this morning, finally bringing the much desired “queue” functionality and a new action bar to quickly share songs and add them to playlists.

Whilst there’s still no version for iPad available – but we know they’re working on it – the latest Spotify for iPhone allows you to add a song to the play queue and listen to it as soon as the song that’s currently playing is over. As you build your queue, Spotify will keep adding songs on top of each other, letting you choose which songs you want to listen to without constantly going back to a playlist and hit the play button. Unfortunately, it looks like there’s no queue management interface just yet, and the only sign of animation I could find is the album artwork that “flies” onto the Now Playing button when you add a song to the queue. But other than that, I couldn’t find a screen specifically detailing my existing queue.

Another new feature is the Twitter-like swipe bar that contains buttons to star a song, add it to a playlist, jump to an artist or album page, and queue. The design is very nice and I think this will make me save a lot of time when starring songs and checking out artist profiles on Spotify.

The Spotify iPhone app is available for free in the UK App Store. Get it here.

Report: iOS Devices Streaming 80% of Mobile Video

Freewheel, a video monetization startup, is reporting that Apple is dominating mobile video – 80 percent of it. FreeWheel said in its Q1 2011 report that the majority of video views are occuring on Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPhone and iPod each grabbed about 30 percent of all mobile video views while the iPad grabbed 20 percent; the remaining 20 percent belonged to Android devices. Everything else accounted for less than 1 percent of all video views on mobile devices.

FreeWheel attributes Apple’s dominance in mobile video to the early lead the company has had in the mobile video market with their line of iOS devices. They also believe that greater viewership on Apple devices represents the adoption of video publishers and mobile developers who build their apps / videos for iOS devices first before moving to other platforms. Despite having sold just 20 million tablets worldwide, the iPad already accounts for 20 percent of videos viewed on mobile devices, according to FreeWheel. GigaOM said in their article that “We thought the iPad would be an ideal device for viewing video when it was announced, but the extent to which it has been embraced by even traditional video producers and distributors speaks to the power of the platform. TV networks like ABC and HBO have built applications for the iPad, as have pay TV operators like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and others.”

While mobile video viewing accounts for only one percent of all online video views, much of it is driven by news and live events. Mobile views peaked during the Japanese tsunami / earthquake crisis and also during the NCAA Men’s College Basketball March Madness Tournament. This makes sense because much of the Japan / basketball events happened during “working hours” when viewers turned to their smartphones and mobile devices because they couldn’t watch TV at work.

The 20 percent that the iPad gets is the biggest stat in my opinion; most people don’t take their iPad with them everywhere they go, like an iPhone or iPod Touch. Most people use it after working hours, and to have that 20 percent is outstanding. [via GigaOM]