Dive into OS X

Apple has just posted 10 interesting iPhone tips on their site, labeled “finger tips“. So, you can check out some of the hidden features of the iPhone.

With only twelve hours left before the launch of the iPhone, pictures are finally starting to leak. These pictures were found on Flickr.

You can check it out here.

After Apple made an exclusive five-year deal with AT&T for the US iPhone distribution rights, it has been widely speculated that a similar single company deal would be sought for the European market.

Given the fragmented nature of coverage in Europe across regions in comparison to the US, a sole distributor may end up causing a lot of problems. So, maybe Apple wants to make a deal with more than one distributor.

For the moment, Vodafone is the frontrunner to carry sole rights to the iPhone in Europe. Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom’s Orange are also in the running to bring the iPhone to Europe. Deutsche Telekom is better known as T-Mobile in the mobile space.

Apple has a preference for Vodafone, probably due to their coverage. Vodafone is one of the few cell carriers with a presence in almost all of Europe. Orange European coverage is significantly less than that of Vodafone. And Deutsche Telekom network is even more limited than that of Orange.

The deal between Apple and Vodafone is not signed yet. Apple wants Vodafone to take a guaranteed number of iPhones off their hands, but Vodafone doesn’t want that. and Vodafone does want the ability to subsidize the gadget and influence its retail price, which Apple doesn’t like.

What’s interesting about this possible partnership is that Vodafone runs a true 3G network, while Apple has designed the iPhone to run on a 2G network here in the States. The iPhone would likely have to be upgraded to support the faster data network. And, funny enough, 5 million units of the 2nd generation iPhone are rumored to begin shipping from Taiwan in September.

Apple has not yet announced a European launch date for the iPhone. The price is expected to be around 500 euros with a two year contract required.

AT&T return policy normally gives you 30-days to decide. However, that’s not the case for the iPhone; you only have 14 days. And  if you return the iPhone within the 14-day window you will only receive 90% of the money you paid. Apple is keeping 10% for restocking fees.

So, when you just want to buy the iPhone to test it out, you better think twice, because it can cost you 10%; which is a lot.

This gallery of Apple’s computers features most of the major products from the last three decades, starting from 1976 through 2007.
Some data to remember:

• 1977 - Apple ][ - The first successful mass-market personal computer!
• 1984 - Macintosh - The original Mac!
• 1998 - iMac - We all loved it!
• 2001 - iPod - Set the tone for a new century of consumer electronics!
• 2007 - iPhone - Yes, you want one!

This type of auction scams are back, again!

iPhone auction scam on eBay

Last time we saw them was last year during the PS3 launch.

I don’t know how many people were ripped off but this scam appears to be to the scale of tens of thousands. So watch out, and DO NOT BUY!!

Check out the last secret features of the IPhone.
1 The ringtone exterminator

2 Pranks: a barrel of fun apps

3 iSpy suite

4 Tricorder

All revealed by Joy of Tech.

Apple has created a 20-minute video describing how to use the features of the iPhone in detail.

You can check it out at Apple’s site, or you can watch it at YouTube:
Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

The Safari 3.0.2 Beta is now available for download. This beta includes fixes for international users and for missing text issues caused by having a large number of fonts installed.

Apple Inc.’s digital music store iTunes is now the third-largest music retailer in the United States with 9.8 per cent market share in the first quarter, ranking behind market leader Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s with a 15.8 percent share and Best Buy’s with a 13.8 percent share, according to The NPD Group. Apple has overtaken online retailer Amazon.com, which share was 6.7 percent in the first quarter, slightly ahead of the target of 6.6 per cent.

The NPD Group report also highlights the growing strength of digital music in the U.S. market as physical sales of compact discs continue to slide.
Both, Wal-Mart Stores and Best Buy’s, mostly sell music in the CD format. Online store bestbuy.com has a 1.1 percent market share with sales of both CDs and digital music. Amazon also sells music mainly in the CD format, but last month it started selling digital music but without copy protection software such as that used by iTunes.

NPD said the iTunes digital music store had benefited from sales of Apple’s iPod digital music player during the holiday season. The vast majority of digital songs and albums bought on iTunes will only play on iPods, as well as the iTunes PC application.

iTunes last month rolled out a new service called iTunes Plus which sells higher quality digital songs without copy protection at a premium price.

Apple’s rise in the NPD survey reflects a key shift in the music industry: compact disc sales are declining while digital music sales are climbing. That, plus the popularity of Apple’s iPod portable music players, has helped boost iTunes sales.

Still, digital music represented less than a quarter of total music units sold during the quarter, NPD said.