South Korea has been long regarded as one of the most closed markets on earth for outside electronics imports–probably largely due to the fact that most of South Korea’s economy is electronics–but there’s word that Apple may be making some headway there, and soon, the iPhone may be available to purchase in South Korea.
This is an EXTREMELY big deal that I’ll let Chung Yun-ho, manager of Veyond Partners, explain in more detail:
“This is a big strike for the government in saying that this is an open market. Many people regard Korea as an advanced telecom market but they are acknowledging that we are lagging behind in smartphones. They wanted to pressure the telecom companies to embrace new things.”
And pressure they did–the iPhone is easily one of the biggest names in smartphone out there, so getting this bad boy into the Korean market is really going to shake up the game.
Apple’s latest software update for the iPhone just hit the street, but if you’ve unlocked your iPhone you’re probably holding steady on 2.0 for fear of losing service. But…drum roll please…the iPhone Dev Team has already cracked 3.0 and will release the software, now called Ultrasnow (the last version was Yellowsnow), to unlock the iPhone 3G running the latest iPhone software, 3.0. They plan on releasing Ultrasnow this Friday. For the proof in the pudding, check MuscleNerd’s demo video below.
Note: You’ll need to Jailbreak your iPhone for this to work. We assume Quickpwn will be released in accordance.
Apple has issued an update to their iTunes application, iTunes 8.2. Sure, it will fix some minor bugs found in the previous version, but it’s actually a necessity for supporting iPhone Software 3.0, which should launch sometime later this month. Of note, it also fixes some minor bugs and includes many accessibility improvements.
Macrumors has compiled a list of new functions found in the latest iPhone 3.0 build, Beta 3.0. Here’s their list verbatim, but I’m gonna warn you: it’s not exciting.
Ability to close all open Safari windows. Previously there was no ability to close the last remaining Safari window, but a red “x” is now functional in the page navigation, allowing users to close the final window, replacing it with a blank page.
Battery percentage indicators. Allows users to view their remaining battery life as a percentage rather than just as an icon.
Push notifications preferences. Allows users to toggle whether they want to allow push notifications as sounds, alerts, and/or badges.
Expanded Data Detectors. Increased ability to automatically detect text such as e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and addresses and activate appropriate actions such as initiating a phone call or adding info to the Address Book when the items are touched.
Variable scrubbing speed during iPod playback. Provides users with four options to allow them to fine tune navigation within a track.
Variable playback speed for podcasts. Options include 1/2x, 1x, and 2x speeds.
Single-tap jump back for podcasts. Tap a single icon to rewind podcast playback by 30 seconds.
Additional data for podcasts saved on iPhone. Saved podcasts now display run time, time left, and publication date.
As we draw closer to June, the rumored month for the 4th gen iPhone launch, yet another iteration of the iPhone 3.o software for developers has been issued, beta 3. Hang tight as I’m sure the blogosphere will explode with news about what has been added or removed since the last installment. For additional details hit the ‘read’ link.
According to a bootscript found in the iPhone 3.0 software update, the next iteration of the iPhone, and even perhaps the 3G iPhone, will include an FM transmitter for wirelessly sending music to your car’s radio. The added functionality also hints at the possibility of FM traffic updates and possibly FM radio reception on the handset. Nothing is entirely clear as of yet since the software is dev only and the current 3G iPhone already includes FM hardware, which is limited to use with the Nike+ exercise accessory.
Generally speaking, with in the first 5 reviews of just about any app in the App Store, people complain about how much it crashes and as a result that it sucks. With App Store development being today’s best way to strike it rich, everybody wants in. Apparently it looks like Apple wants you to be in too. Partnering with Standford, Apple will release videos and other source materials from Stanford’s undergraduate iPhone app development course through iTunes. Taught by two Apple engineers, the first video is over an hour long and is up right now. They will be free through the “iTunes U” educational channel. Here’s how the path looks on my iTunes:
Perhaps the screen shots of iPhone 3.0 Software circulating the Net weren’t enough for you? If not, then you’re in luck, because the dudes and gals at Engadget scored a video walk through of the new and sort of soon to be released OS. The video’s pacing is a bit slow, but shows the MMS capabilities, the built-in voice recording capability, spotlight search, copy/paste functionality and more.
Push notification for applications. That means you can get an IM and not have the app running. Sweet and finally
Copy and paste. Double tap on some text and you’ll get a pop up for ‘cut, copy or paste.’ Double tap again and your clipboard will display allowing you to paste from a selection.
MMS
Google and Yahoo calendar support, perhaps among others
iPhone Spotlight (like on the Mac) lets you search the iPhone’s contents (the app must support it, though)
Search in mail, calendar and iPod. This has long been available in the phonebook, so they’re just porting it over
3G tethering
Landscape keyboard in mail and other applications it was not previously available in
A2DP (stereo) Bluetooth so you can stream your tunes to compatible devices
Turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps
VoIP communication with gamers over WiFi – you can talk to them Xbox style
Rumble pack functionality for games
Availability? Summer of this year. No exact date was mentioned. It is free for iPhone users and will cost Touch users $10. There are a few other features that were announced, but the above are the pertinent ones, at least as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t have any sources to confirm my predictions, but below are the features I expect we’ll see announced tomorrow during Apple’s preview of the iPhone 3.0 software:
Mail will be more streamlined. So if you have 3 mail boxes you won’t have to navigate to each box
Contrary to the majority, I think we’ll see background processes announced, but due to battery limitations I’d assume only two processes will be able to run at a time
Copy and paste
Perhaps grouping of apps, but this might be a stretch, though
A premium game store which will coincide with the launch of Metal Gear Solid Touch launching 2 days later
I’ve heard murmurs of a 10-inch tablet computer being announced tomorrow, but I think Apple, assuming they have something like that in the works, will stay on point since their concern is to surplant any Palm PRE buzz.
