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TomTom Provides Update to App For iPod Touch/First-Gen iPhone Users

Matthew Tilmann — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:24:23 -0600

Fans of TomTom who use an iPod Touch or first-gen iPhone can now not only navigate their music, but can navigate around town too according to Apple Insider. The catch is, one needs TomTom's car kit, due to the Touch and phone lacking a GPS chip.

Version 1.2 had been submitted to Apple on November 12th and was released yesterday. Users can now look forward to newly updated maps and IQ Routes. Additional features include lane guidance, text-to-speech, and iPod player support.

TomTom's app sells for $99.99 USD from the App Store, and TomTom's car kit is available on their website for $119.95 USD.

OnLive Claims it Can Run its Live Gaming Service on the iPhone

Florence Ion — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:18:23 -0600

OnLive caused rifts earlier this year with its plans to release “cloud gaming” software, which would allow users and gamer aficionados to use software to play video games, instead of piecing together often-expensive hardware to run the latest gaming titles.

However, without even determining an actual release date, OnLive claims that it’ll be possible to stream games and play them live on your iPhone. AppleInsider reports that at a recent even in New York, the company touted that its software could run on two separate phones, a television, and a computer simultaneously, with gamers on all devices able to communicate back and forth with each other.

CEO Steve Perlman admits that it’s just a “tech demo”, but doesn’t elaborate on how accurate the demo really is.
Though OnLive’s service sounds like a plausible advancement in gaming, we agree that we’ll have to see this service in action to believe that it’s really that powerful.

This iPhone App May Save Your Life

Brian Proffit — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:19:40 -0600

Forbes reports that a new iPhone application called Allscripts Remote might just save your life. The app interfaces with Allscripts server software providing wireless access to real-time patient information, as well as communication with emergency rooms, and the ability to wire prescriptions directly to pharmacies.

According to Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman, the Institute of Medicine says “each year 7000 Americans die and almost a million and a half Americans are injured because of preventable medication errors that could have been prevented with an electronic system.”

Dr. Richard Levine is testing the system and appreciates the fact that “this system will give me pop-up warnings if the patient has allergies and I’ve inadvertently prescribed the wrong drug, or if I’ve prescribed something that interacts with another medication.” He also said the fact the he no longer carries a prescription pad was “a real WOW factor.”

The software is still in test mode as they verify that the system meets all the HIPAA Act privacy regulations. More than 100 medical groups around the country are already participating in the test. Of course the system has advantages beyond error prevention. According to the Allscripts site, “difficult medical decisions that need to be made while out of the office, at the hospital, on call or on personal time can be made more effectively – thus helping providers take control of their time.” In other words, you have the information you need at your fingertips to make critical decisions and prescribe treatments while waiting your turn to putt.

FCC Votes to Speed Cell Site Approvals

Brian Proffit — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:50:08 -0600

Hillicon Valley reports that the Federal Communications Commission voted to adopt rules designed to speed up the process of getting new nodes on wireless phone networks. State and local governments now must rule on site applications from wireless carriers within 90 days if it’s an addition to an existing site, or 150 days for new sites.

According to the FCC press release, “This action will assist in speeding the deployment of next generation wireless networks” by essentially forcing regional bureaucrats to move more quickly. Apparently the previous wording of “within a reasonable period of time” left too much leeway for local governments to define “reasonable” so the FCC is doing it for them. If they fail to respond within the new limits, the wireless carrier applying for site approval can take them to court.

The new ruling also said that it is illegal for a State or local government to deny an application just because service was already available from another provider. So your county commissioners can’t keep your 3G coverage map from turning blue by denying AT&T’s application because Verizon is already there.

The International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry (CTIA) had called for these changes, and responded by saying, “the Commission provided much-needed certainty to the process.”

Qualcomm In Discussion with Apple to Supply Chips for iPhone

Andrew Villa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:07:21 -0600

Qualcomm Inc., the world's largest maker of mobile phone chips, may be discussing with Apple to supply products for the iPhone, says Bloomberg.

It is unclear if Qualcomm is pushing Apple for the iPhone, or if the company is looking to expand its market.

Qualcomm is behind the CDMA2000 3G technology that Sprint and Verizon use for their networks, though it is being phased out in favor for the LTE 4G networks that are currently being tested in various areas of the country.

Mercedes-Benz Just Got A Whole Lot Cooler

Liam Widman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:55:24 -0600

Mercedes-Benz is joining up with Hughes Telematics to bring you the ability to control dozens of the vehicles features, using an iPhone. It's called the 'mbrace' app. With it, you can control the doors to make them open and close. You can contact roadside assistance. And best of all, you can find your car by using an app on the iPhone. Never lose your car in a massive parking garage again!

The system will be included in all new Mercedes-Benz products from now on, while current customers with the car maker's Tele Aid system are eligible to retrofit their dash system with the new mbrace system for $280 a year.

Sascha Simon, the director of advance product planning at the firm said, "With mbrace, we begin the introduction of a whole new generation of innovative and personalized services that fit our drivers' mobile lifestyles, keeping them connected to the people, places and services that are important to them and offering them enhanced safety, security and navigation options. Most importantly, the flexibility of Hughes Telematics' architecture will also allow us to continually add new features and innovations that will keep Mercedes-Benz on the forefront of in-vehicle services." The whole system can also work using Blackberry devices.

The standard mbrace features include Automatic Collision Notification, SOS/Emergency Calling, Safe Ride, Roadside Assistance Connection (in-vehicle and mobile application), Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance, Automatic Alarm Notification, Vehicle Information and Crisis Assist; but if you get the premium version, you can add features like Location-Based Weather, Location-Based Traffic, agent-assisted Route Assistance, Point-of-Interest Destination Download (through agent), and "Mercedes-Benz Concierge," which functions much as a hotel concierge making restaurant reservations, locating stores and services, cash wire assistance, etc.

Using Non-Visual Voicemail to Take Voicemail Notes

Scott Rose — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:52:55 -0600

I like how my iPhone’s Visual Voicemail lets me listen to messages out of order. But I also use my iPhone for note-taking, and I can’t listen to my Visual Voicemail while using another app. Or can I?

That’s one our biggest frustrations with the iPhone. But if someone leaves you a voicemail with lots of important information, and you don’t have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes, you can still call your voicemail the old-fashioned way. Go into your phone’s keypad and hold down the 1 key for two seconds to access your voicemail. Then, put your call on speakerphone, press the Home key to bring up your apps, and switch to whatever note-taking app you’d like.

Calling our voicemail the old-school way, then putting the call on speakerphone, lets us take notes at the same time.

If you’re lucky enough to have Google Voice (invite-only at press time), the service transcribes any voicemails you receive and can send you a copy as an SMS text message or email it to your Gmail account. Apple has declined to allow a native Google Voice app on the iPhone (and pulled all third-party Google Voice apps from the App Store), but you can still access the service by surfing to www.google.com/voice/m in Safari on your iPhone.

$3 Million Worth Of iPhones Stolen In Belgium

J.R. Bookwalter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:50:20 -0600

In case anyone needs further evidence of just how hot Apple’s iPhone is around the world, Belgian newspaper De Standaard reports today on the theft of nearly 4,000 iPhones from CEVA Logistics, a distribution company with a warehouse in Willebroek.

Valued at approximately 2 million Euro ($3 million U.S.), the iPhones were en route to Belgium’s only official provider, Mobistar, who notes that the devices have already been blocked from their network and are urging potential customers to beware of buying iPhones through unauthorized sources.

“We have the serial numbers of the stolen iPhones block[ed] anyway so they cannot be used,” says a Mobistar spokesperson. “[For] people who want to buy an iPhone, [it] is best done in an approved outlet and not on the street or on the black market.”

The thieves used a fire ladder to access the roof of the large warehouse, cutting a hole directly over the area where the iPhones were stored shortly after they had been delivered. The report suggests that the theft may be an inside job based on these specific details. Local police have launched an investigation, but with little else to go on right now, it could be some time before the case is closed.