Double Sales Predicted for IPhone…

New York-based investment banking firm Morgan Stanley has just expressed its belief that the new 3G iPhone and its $199 US price tag will give Apple’s smartphone a big boost in terms of sales.

The prediction is that, the lower price, coupled with the release of the iPhone in additional markets will see some 27 million iPhones being sold in 2009, this being more than double the unit amount expected to be shipped this year. We’ll see…

Mac OS X 10.5.4 update released by Apple

Staying clear of a Patching Day model Apple has now let loose the 10.5.4 update for its latest OS (operating system) release dubbed Leopard. Working with Mac OS X 10.5, 10.5.1, 10.5.2, and 10.5.3 installs, the new update includes all the security fixes released since January 15 plus changes like:

General

- Resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 files on a remote server.
- Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
- Addresses an issue that may result in a partially installed X11 application.
- Improves L2TP VPN client reliability.

AirPort

- Addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks.
- Addresses AirPort issues that may result in slower performance in Logic Studio or MainStage.

iCal

- Improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone.
- Resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator.
- Addresses an issue in which events in all calendars affect availability. A checkbox now enables information-only calendars to be transparent from free/busy lookups.
- Resolves a UI issue preventing delegated calendars from showing up as a separate window.
- Addresses an issue with copying and pasting attendees from one event to another.
- Resolves an issue in which iCal may not delete events after a specified time interval, even when set to do so in iCal preferences.
- Addresses an issue in which To Dos cannot be marked private.

Safari

- Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages.
- Resolves issues that may be encountered when accessing secure web pages with client certificates that reside on a smart card.

Spaces and Exposé

- Addresses an issue in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space.
- Fixes an issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space.
- Resolves an Exposé issue that may result in only a subset of windows being shown.

To update your Mac OS to 10.5.4 just use the Software Update feature or download and install the package available here

iPhone 3G review

Introduction

It’s finally here – the iPhone 3G. No, we mean that literally. It’s finally at our office and boy, are we excited! GPS, HSDPA purring under the new iPhone hood with a hefty number of software enhancements.

But all them software goodies are available for the first-gen iPhone too – so is it worth the fuss? It may as well be, but we never know before we take it out for a spin.

Apple iPhone 3G official images

Key features:

• 3.5″ 16M-color TFT display with a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels
• Quad-band GSM support
• Tri-band UMTS support with HSDPA
• Built-in GPS receiver
• Wi-Fi
• 8 to 16GB of onboard storage
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor
• 2 megapixel camera
• Silky smooth user interface with multi-touch user support
• Unsurpassed web surfing experience
• Push email with MS Exchange support
• AppStore access for direct application download and installation
• Redone rear
• TV-out port

Main disadvantages:

• No video calls over the 3G network
• The handset wobbles on even hard surfaces
• There are a number of messaging downers
• Camera has no auto focus, nor video recording… nor any settings at all
• Safari browser doesn’t support Flash and Java, doesn’t have a download manager
• Bluetooth support limited to headset use only (no A2DP or file transfers)
• No office document editor
• No copy/paste functionality
• You cannot sync Notes and TO-DOs

Now, since we’ll be heavily comparing the old and new iPhone, how about the following arrangement – the first one we’ll call Number One and the newbie will be Number Two. Sorted. Wait a minute, no good? Crap, we knew it. OK then, the first one will be the iPhone 1G (as in “generation” of the device), while the new one will still be iPhone 3G (as in “generation” of the wireless network). That might sound inconsistent, but it’s short and we like it this way, so before you go ballistic in the comments section, remember Number One and Number Two.

The iPhone 3G 16GB (White) in hand

So, back to the drill – the 3G-enabled iPhone was rumored ever since the iPhone 1G surfaced last year. Now that we have the real thing in our hands, it doesn’t seem that groundbreaking anymore. Nevertheless, there are quite a few things to cover so we think reviewing it in detail is worth it. There’s the updated design, the new white color (which we happen to have), the new iPhone 2.0 firmware/software/OS (call it what you will) with AppStore on board, the push email functionality and, finally, the GPS and HSDPA topping.

The Apple iPhone 3G

We will also be on the lookout for improvements in terms of audio quality, loudspeaker volume and camera image quality against the iPhone 1G.

Seems like quite a workload, so let’s waste no more time and get to it. Join us after this short break for more on the iPhone 3G.