Free iPhone

It probably didn’t come as a surprise, but Steve Jobs has announced that the iPad will not be able to share the iPhone’s connection. The announcement was actually just a direct answer from Jobs to a Swedish fan who emailed him directly with the question.

iPad-iPhone tethering wasn’t expected, but it was hoped for; no handheld Apple devices currently have the ability to receive a tethered connection, unless connected to a computer.

It is also unlikely that this feature would be enabled in any future updates as a 3G iPad would solve the problem.

Yet another reason not to buy the 1st generation iPad.

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Is Apple about to redefine computing with the much anticipated iSlate in the same way it already has for the mobile phone with the iPhone, or the humble music player with the iPod?

If the rumours, speculation, and evidence are anything to go by, the iSlate will be announced in January.

The rumour that Apple engineers are working on a new handheld touchscreen computer have been circulating for some time. Known in the industry as simply ‘the tablet’, it is hoped the device will enable video streaming, downloading and reading books (bye bye Kindle), listening to music, running Apps…the list goes on.

The rumours the iSlate will be announced in January have hit a high not seen since the release of the iPhone in 2007. Shares in Apple have soared in the last few days in anticipation of a ‘major product announcement’.

Apple has so far remained tight lipped about what the major product announcement will be, but an Apple insider let slip to The new York Times that “Steve is extremely happy about the new tablet.”

The blog MacRumours.com revealed that Apple had bought the rights to the iSlate.com domain name.

The cost of the iSlate is as much of a mystery as every other detail about the newest device from Apple. That won’t be a concern for regular readers of this blog who will all be awaiting the release date with baited breath so they can order their free iSlate and be among the very first iSlate owners.

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So I finally got used to the Apple way of life after receiving numerous free Apple products including iPods, iPhones, and a Mac Mini. Now I have fully embraced Apple products I’ve decided to grab myself a free iMac.

The iMac’s stats are actually lower than my current PC, but as I now know, things run much smoother on Apple gadgets and I’m assured that the free iMac will be the best thing I’ve ever not paid for!

As the iMac will be free, I have a choice of specifications depending on how many referrals I get over the next month or two. The more people that sign up for a free iMac, the higher the spec I will receive.

I would ideally like the 24″ model with a 3.06Ghz processor and 1TB HDD but at £1800 retail that would be 90 referrals which may take me a few months, although there are people who could easily get a free iMac every month they get so many sign ups! I’m not that succesful yet, but give me some time and I’ll be updating this blog from a shiny new free iMac, or perhaps I’ll be logging on from my free iPhone.

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As brilliant as Apple itself is, it is still amazing to know that almost one billion iPhone and iPod Touch applications have been downloaded from its iTunes App Store in such a short period of time. An average of over 100 million downloads per month is likely to touch the billion mark by early May.

To celebrate its success, Apple will be offering $10,000 worth gift cards to a lucky person who will also receive a 17-inch MacBook Pro, an iPod touch, and a Time Capsule.

Here’s the deal, every application downloaded will be counted as a separate entry. Non-iPhone owners can also enter to win without purchase.  To be honest, the chances of winning are very rare so don’t get your hopes too high. You’re looking at about a 70 million to one shot to win.

To enter the competition you should be in United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

Entries are limited to users 13 years and older from participating countries. Users are limited to 25 entries per day, and the contest closes when the billionth app is downloaded.

Enter now, either without purchasing, or by downloading an application to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Need an iPhone first? Get your free iPhone now!

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Yesterday’s sneak peek at the iPhone 3.0 software update contained little in the way of surprises, but it did serve to underline a key point – when you buy an iPhone, you’re not just buying a piece of kit; you’re buying a platform.

Apple’s strategy seems to be one of constant update and improvement to its products. But in a new strategy, rather than forcing users into a upgrade cycle with the deviceitself, as they always have in the past with numerous iPod updates,  the company is now pushing out regular software updates every few months that add new capabilities and functionality to the handset. This strategy is nothing new, as owners of PSPs and PS3s will gladly tell you.

In truth, the improvements coming to iPhone 3.0 are designed to plug some holes in the software that should have been fixed a long time ago – copy and paste is available at long last, as is the ability to send picture messages, to type emails using a landscape keyboard and to get push notifications from many applications. These features, and many more besides, have long been available on numerous other smartphones, and Apple’s decision to belatedly address them perhaps shows that they are starting to feel the heat from other phone makers. Most of these features are already available on the iPhone, but only if you jailbreak it and use 3rd party apps.

Significantly, the iPhone 3.0 update enables iPhone and iPod touch owners to wirelessly play games together or share contacts using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and to carry out voice chat while playing.

Game developers will also be able to introduce micropayments into their games, enabling users to pay for extra levels, weapons or features in whatever game they are playing.

I’ve got an idea that Apple may have hidden quite a few features in the iPhone 3.0 that will sit there waiting until it’s installed in the anticipated new iPhone model – rumoured to be released later this summer.

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