iPad makes its sitcom TV debut on ABC’s Modern Family

Quoting the husband / wife banter about the iPad (if you don’t like to read, just watch the video below):

Husband: Well…got to hit the sack, big Saturday tomorrow
Wife: That’s right, it’s somebodies birthday
Husband: It’s not just that, the iPad comes out on my actual birthday. It’s like steve jobs and god got together to say we love you Phill
Wife: What is so great about that doohickey anyway?
Husband: doohickey Elly Mae, it’s a movie theater, a library, and music store all rolled into one awesome……pad.

Later in the show the iPad is actually shown, check out this video from Engadget below:

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Humor, iPad, Product Placment

Verizon Skype app gotchas!

The new, much anticipated, Skype app for Verizon mobile phones was released today. The release feels like a stab in the back for iPhone users who have been waiting for 2 months to get 3G VOIP calling. The good news for iPhone users is we don’t have to feel that bad because there are a couple big gotchas with the Verizon app.

Gotcha 1

Back in mid February PCWorld asked the following question:

Are there any gotchas? On paper, this whole deal sounds…suspiciously enticing. The better Skype Mobile works, the more likely it is that lots of Verizon customers will do most (or all?) of their calling using it. Even if Skype cut Verizon in on any revenue it made, that couldn’t be good for Verizon’s bottom line.

It turns out PCWorld had it wrong, it’s more likely that Verizon is kicking back to Skype rather than the other way around. All calls placed within the US via the Skype app are actually billed out of your regular anytime minutes!

From Twitter:

Official Skype: @marcucci it only uses your minute allowance for numbers within the US – international calls and calls to other people on Skype don’t (view)

Marcucci: @skypemobile Yeah, I saw that…I am a skype out/in user and want to use to skype rather than minutes…I’m pretty sure others do too… (view)

Gotcha 2

No WI-FI! I guess Verizon doesn’t want to lose any money by people using the phone on Skype via WI-FI? Yeah, this seems extremely shady to me too. Oh, and I don’t mean no WI-FI use in the app, you can’t even use WI-FI on the phone at all while the app is running!

From Twitter:

Benpike: @skypemobile wait… so I can’t have WiFi on if I’m using the app? That’s just absurd. (view)

Official Skype: @benpike sorry, my bad – on Android, you’ll have to switch off WiFi to use the app. Finding out why. (view)

I wish everyone could have Skype the right way, but I can’t say that this whole fiasco with Verizon and Skype isn’t putting a smile on my face while I wait impatiently for the 3G iPhone app.

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Apples & Oranges, iPhone apps

Where in the world is the 3G Skype app? (Updated)

First a quick recap…

On January 27th Apple updated their terms to allow 3G VoIP apps. With Skype’s official stance on the subject being they had the 3G version ready, everyone expected the new app to hit the virtual shelves within a couple days.

Then on February 3rd, when we all expected to download the 3G version to our iPhones, Skype said it would be delayed in order to get it right. Even though it seemed a bit suspicious since they were supposed to have the 3G version ready and waiting, everyone was just excited that VoIP over 3G was finally a reality.

…end recap!

Here we are, 2 months later and still waiting. With no official word since February 3rd, the excitement has been replaced with frustration. Many people, myself included, are starting to wonder if the Skype – Verizon deal is the reason for the iPhone app delay.

After digging around I stumbled upon a thread in the Skype forums where a user claimed that Peter Parkes told him:

The deal with Verizon included exclusivity so Skype is not going to issue an update for the iPhone that will allow it to work over 3G.

As plausible as this is, I doubt anyone from Skype would let this slip to a random person. I guess we’ll see what happens tomorrow after the Verizon Skype app is released.

UPDATE In another thread the same user made the claim, but in this case Peter Parkes responded directly to this claim:

There’s no way I would have said that we’re backing away from iPhone, let alone not releasing a 3G-capable version, quite simply because it’s not true.

We’re absolutely committed to the iPhone platform: I cannot emphasise this enough. We’ll be releasing the 3G-capable version of our app very soon indeed.

Thanks to @paulmontag for the link (via @PhoneinCanada)

As I continued my search, I found two official responses on the matter.

First, Twitter user Dakota Allen claimed to get an official tweet saying the app was “coming soon” on March 23rd.  I did a little fact checking and was able to confirm this claim:

@dakotadallen: Is Skype for iPhone over 3G coming? Or has Verizon paid to ensure that doesn’t happen? (view tweet)

@skypemobile: it’s coming soon – watch this space (view tweet)

Second, taking a look back at the comments on the February 3rd update, Peter Parkes finally replied to all the questions:

Nikunj and others – I appreciate your patience. Unfortunately we don’t have any additional information to share right now. Our iPhone team is working hard to get the updated app ready to release – when it is, we will get it to you as soon as we can.

So the official stance is basically the same as it was on February 3rd, we are are still working away and it should be coming soon. I’m not 100% satisfied with this response, but any response is better than none. At least we know they are still working on it…right? I’ve also contacted Skype PR for an official response, but not holding my breathe that they’ll respond.

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at&t, iPhone apps, Speculation

Will iPads require an update before their first use?

Apple just started taking iPad apps for review in preparation for iPad launch 2 weeks from now. So it looks like iPhone OS 3.2 beta 5, released a couple days ago, will be the final GM release. Even if this is the GM, it seems highly unlikely that Apple would be able to get it on units shipping  in 2 weeks. Are they going to pull off a miracle and ship them with the GM version? Was this the reason for the 1 week delay? I know with the ease of updates for the iPhone OS family (iPhone, iPod touch and now iPad) they could possibly ship it with an earlier beta and just have the user update, but when I buy a new product the first thing I want to do is play with it…not spend 30 mins updating it’s OS.

I’m very interested to see how this is going to play out. Will Apple require you to activate the iPad similar to the iPhone (minus the AT&T part) before you can use it? Maybe when you plug it in to activate it they will require the final 3.2 GM release to be installed? We aren’t going to be getting any iPads here at When Will Apple (we need that money to pay for the prizes), but we will be heading to the Apple Store to check it out as soon as they are on the shelves.

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iPad, Speculation

It’s that time of year…4th gen iPhone poll is up!

This is what it’s all about, our biggest poll of the year is now live!  We come back in 2010 with another great prize… wait for it… a new 4th gen iPhone (tell your friends). Also, this year we have a bonus prize available so even if you lose you can still win. Check out the poll for complete details and remember you need to register with us to be prize eligible.

when will 4th generation iPhone be released?

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Featured post, iPhone 4, Speculation