The Macintosh Wizard And PC Tech Blog

Viewing a lot of video’s on the Internet through web sites such as the New York Times can not be done without the Flash plug-in for the Safari web browser.  Apple has hinted at releasing the plugin in a software update.

Other iPhone software that may or may not be included in the first software update could be MMS or multimedia messaging service and IM or instant messages.  Both of these features are included in the AT&T iPhone Launch Training Participant Guide on Page 31.  The training guide already says that these features are part of the iPhone Data Plan.  These software updates are reported to be coming sometime in the next few months.  Sources are Engadget and MacRumors.

The iPhone from Apple does not have a user replaceable battery. The people over at Apple understand that most users will need to have it replaced within a year. Purchasers of the iPhone have been wondering what they are going to do once the battery starts to die. If the iPhone’s battery lasts longer than the one year warranty, then there is still an option. The out-of-warranty battery replacement program run by Apple costs $79.95 plus $6.95 for shipping. The turnaround time is expected to be about three business days. Three days is a long time for the hip Apple user, so Apple has come up with a rent an iPhone program. No word yet on how much to rent an iPhone is however. If Apple finds anything else wrong with the iPhone the reported fee is only $29.

People at this point might be thinking about replacing the battery themselves. Checkout the tear down photos all over the Internet. There are three soldered leads from the battery to the iPhone board so it is not as easy as most think.

For the small fee to replace the battery correctly, Apple is willing to do what regular iPhone users should not. Plus, by having them do it, you know it will be done correctly the first time. Source is Engadget and Apple.

The first iPhone accessory from Apple is the $129 bluetooth headset and a dock is included.  Details for the headset are a 5.5 hour talk time and 72 hours of standby time.  The dock has dual purpose, it charges the iPhone and the headset at the same time.  The dock however, is available separately for $49.  The bluetooth travel cable which is seen on the left goes for $29.  It comes with a pair of stereo headphones.  The dock has an audio line-out port.

An Apple approved “Works With iPhone” logo is available for products.  This means that there are quite a few accessories in the works.  Unfortunately, there have been a few reports out that not all current iPod accessories work with the iPhone.  Some of the more popular accessories for the iPod may work on the iPhone on a future firmware update.

Goldman Sachs is estimating that 700,000 iPhones have been sold in the first weekend.  The availability page from Apple’s site tells us a story of high demand and a slow ability to replenish supplies.  Saturday June 30th, Apple showed 100% availability at their stores although reports say that these were only stocked with 4GB versions.  On Monday, stock dropped off to 84% and then just 61% as of yesterday, July 2nd.  Today July 3rd, Apple’s only showing a 42% availability, which are most likely the less desirable 4GB model.

AT&T stores still do not have any stock of the iPhone in either the 4GB or 8GB versions.  They have been out of stock since their opening hours on June 29th.  This means however, that Apple fans will have to either find a store which may not be in your area or order online.  Information for this post is from Engadget and Goldman Sachs.  The wait for an iPhone ordered online is between two to four weeks.  The silver lining of course to this is that Apple is selling more iPhones than expected.

Several articles have come out today from popular web sites claiming that the iPhone costs $200 to make for the 4GB version and $220 for the 8GB version.  This is interesting not only because of the amount that these phones sell for $499 for the 4GB version and $599 for the 8GB version.  But also because Apple stands to make $299 and $379 respectively.  This does not take in to account for the research and development for the iPhones, partner license costs, marketing, etc.  Estimates on how much the iPhone actually cost to make were slightly higher in January of this year.  Recently, Apple announced to its customers that the iPhone would come with a glass screen and extended battery life from what was announced at this year’s MacWorld Conference in San Francisco, California.  Information for this post was found on Engadget and Portelligent.  This is yet another reason to wait to purchase the iPhone.  Apple’s online store will undoubtedly have refurbished iPhone’s in six months to a year.

News of iPhone’s hidden processor was found to be a 620MHz ARM CPU.  The details for the CPU are interesting and may foreshadow what’s to come to the iPhone.

1. ARM1176JZF chip with TrustZone (enables trusted computing environment for media, applications, network, operating system which is not good news for hackers).

2. It seems that the iPhone can throttle its processing capabilities from 620MHz to 700MHz or more, depending on what required at the time.

3. ARM Intelligent Energy Manager which reduces power consumption 25-50% in portable devices.

4. 16K / 16K cache

5. It includes a vector floating point co-processor which is great for embedded 3D graphics.

6. ARM Jazelle technology enabled for embedded Java execution.

7. SIMD a high performance integer CPU (8-stage pipeline, 675 Dhrystone, 2.1 MIPS)

8. 0.45 mW/MHz power draw (with cache)

Reports across the web about the iPhone battery have been very favorable, even among the die hard Apple fans.  There is a Samsung chip in the iPhone (S3C6400) which is clocked at 667MHz and its specifications are ARM1176JZF.  In any case I am going to wait until the 3G model arrives, which may or not be in six months to a year from now.  Sources for this post are Engadget and Gearlog.