Apple has rejected an iPhone app for making contact with your Congressperson. Why? Because it identifies each US Representative/Senator with a 'bobblehead' caricature by MAD magazine artist Tom Richmond (who, having done 540 not-terribly-disrespectful caricatures, is justifiably pissed). “Obscene, pornographic, or defamatory”?!? Well, maybe the Nancy Pelosi is gratuitously goofy...
posted by oneswellfoop on Nov 9, 2009 - 152 comments

Verizon takes iPhone head-on. Will Android finally become something to people outside the nerd set? Will all those people still waiting for the iPhone to come to Verizon actually buy in? Personally, I'm not giving up my iPhone, but I was amused by the commercial.
posted by dame on Oct 20, 2009 - 154 comments

There's an app for everything. Even when there shouldn't be. [more inside]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Sep 30, 2009 - 21 comments

When it was released, the Apple iPhone 3GS advertised Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), but also noted "MMS support from AT&T coming in late summer." This has resulted in some legal issues such as a number of lawsuits. But now, AT&T has announced that MMS is coming to the iPhone on September 25, just a little past all defined ends of summer. [more inside]
posted by mephron on Sep 4, 2009 - 44 comments

Shoot It! Create and mail a real [paper!] postcard from anywhere and to anyone around the world.
posted by ColdChef on Aug 12, 2009 - 34 comments

There's no way we get all this stuff and everything is done fair and square and everyone gets treated right. A Chinese employee of Foxconn, entrusted with fourteen (maybe sixteen) prototype iPhones misplaced one before they could be shipped; what followed was his detainment and torture at the hands of company police, and his eventual suicide. Shanghaiist has confirmed the story. Fake Steve weighs in.
posted by littlerobothead on Jul 22, 2009 - 124 comments

'Find My iPhone' in Action (via) [more inside]
posted by cjorgensen on Jun 23, 2009 - 42 comments

As expected new iPhones were announced yesterday, taking a bit of wind out of the Palm Pre's excellent sales, pissing off some current iPhone users over upgrade fees, and leaving several gadget makers wondering if they have a future.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Jun 9, 2009 - 200 comments

Ever wondered what makes people complain about the media? An Apple ad was recently banned by the ASA as it was felt that the ad exaggerated the speed of internet services. Could the complainants have been genuinely mislead about the phone's services? In the case of one complainant, a man who had queued on release for the first iPhones to arrive in the UK, it seemed an ideal way to fight back against poor customer service. "We arent a cult, we are just a brand..."
posted by mippy on Nov 26, 2008 - 23 comments

Brian Eno brings generative music to the iPhone.
posted by Artw on Oct 15, 2008 - 39 comments

Is the iPhone the future of comics? Artist P J Holden demonstrates the interface for Murderdrome, which uses the rather slick new Comic Reader from Blue Pilot Software, and discusses the iPhone as comics platform. Also: Manga on the iPhone, How to read .CBR files on your iPhone, iPhone/iPod touch emulator for comic creators.
posted by Artw on Aug 23, 2008 - 16 comments

Poolga: iPhone and iPod Touch wallpapers from a selection of designers and illustrators from around the world.
posted by defenestration on Jul 6, 2008 - 26 comments

Those new, cheap iPhones? Read the fine print. Those new features? Might be just industry changing.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Jun 9, 2008 - 246 comments

Extensible applications such as Firefox appear to be banned by Apple's iPhone SDK license agreement: No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and builtin interpreter(s)… An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. An Application may write data on a device only to the Application's designated container area, except as otherwise specified by Apple. Applications may only use Published APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any unpublished or private APIs.
posted by finite on Mar 7, 2008 - 142 comments

Huh. Not the only time it's been noted, but still,Dieter Rams did make it look good first. An interesting guy who's basic design precepts Jonathan Ive has been very successful at emulating. For which I am only happy. [more inside]
posted by From Bklyn on Jan 16, 2008 - 10 comments

"(Steve) Jobs, a notorious control freak himself, wasn't about to let a group of suits — whom he would later call "orifices" — tell him how to design his phone."
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Jan 10, 2008 - 203 comments

The son of industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger (creator of the distinct styling of the Apple IIc and subsequent products, as well as founder of frog design) shares memories and photographs (auf Deutsch; Google cache) of Apple's early attempts at an iPhone.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 18, 2007 - 6 comments

Maddox on iPhone
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Jul 17, 2007 - 92 comments

Bob Lefsetz has been sharing his opinions on the music industry for years. In last night's newsletter, he announces, "Let the games begin!" - and indeed, let them. Universal Music has declined to re-sign to a long term deal with Apple, essentially leaving them open to exclusive deals with other services. The fact that Doug Morris (chairman of UMG) and Zach Horowitz (President of Universal's parent company, Vivendi) have been gearing up to loosen the stranglehold that iTunes has on online distribution is not exactly news. They've used similar tactics against Microsoft's Zune and YouTube. But with the release of the iPhone and following his well-timed decision to openly "share his thoughts" on DRM, not to mention his landmark deal with (perennial "armpit of the industry") EMI to sell their music DRM-free and at a higher cost - the real question is: is Steve Jobs ready to play hardball?
posted by phaedon on Jul 2, 2007 - 48 comments

“There has never been a massively successful consumer device based solely on a touch screen” ...designers and marketers of electronic devices centers are having a spirited debate about whether consumers will have the patience to overcome the hurdle that will be required to type without the familiar tactile feedback offered by conventional keyboards. Any significant number of returns of the iPhone could conceivably undermine what until now has been a remarkable promotional blitzkrieg that culminates in the phone’s release June 29.
posted by wfc123 on Jun 13, 2007 - 52 comments

Innovation, originality, revolution... Oh.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on May 14, 2007 - 23 comments

"The difference between BJ and AJ, Before and After Jobs, is not the process," [Don Norman] continues. "It is the person. Never before did Apple have such focus and dedication. Apple used to wobble, moving this way and that. No more."
posted by Blazecock Pileon on May 8, 2007 - 26 comments

Edward Tufte bought an ad (for his wonderful new book) on the front page of NYTimes.com, which ran for 24 hours on 26th November. Imagine how pleased he was when Steve Jobs used that day's paper to demo the iPhone.
posted by tombola on Jan 11, 2007 - 44 comments

Breaking News: Apple Announces Touchscreen iPhone. In this morning's MacWorld keynote, Steve Jobs announced the iPhone, a touchscreen smartphone with only one button. Two years in the making, it runs OS X, works as an iPod, displays video on a 3.5" screen, and has the usual bells and whistles (Bluetooth, e-mail, Google Maps, WiFi, etc.), plus some other slick features like: a proximity sensor that turns the screen off when it's near your ear, an accelerometer that detects whether it's in portrait or landscape, and an ambient light sensor to dim the screen accordingly. I'm not usually a gadget person, but this thing seems pretty damn cool. Now let's just see how much it costs...
More live MacWorld coverage available at: Engadget , MacRumors.
posted by EnormousTalkingOnion on Jan 9, 2007 - 406 comments

iphone is this it ?
posted by baker dave on Jan 9, 2007 - 132 comments

iPhone is here (nearly!) ...Apple reveals the iPhone! And the iPod nano?
posted by tommyc on Sep 7, 2005 - 151 comments

Apple is at work on the iPhone, if you believe John Markoff of the New York Times. Do you?
posted by alms on Aug 18, 2002 - 38 comments

Apple and Palm's new iPhone? Apparently this is just a mockup, and its a little bit unclear what all the little buttons do, but I still want one.
posted by bshort on Apr 12, 2001 - 12 comments