A new DAWN Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

After many delays, including at one stage actually being cancelled, the DAWN mission is sitting on the launch pad at the Cape. The mobile service tower has been rolled away from the Delta II, and launch is scheduled for 07:20 EDT (12:20 BST). It's actually looking like the mission is going to go this time, and you can follow the launch live on NASA TV.


Update: The launch is on hold, as the range is reported not to be clear. The Coast Guard is attempting to contact a ship which has strayed into the harzard zone, the region where the solid rocket boosters may fall back into the ocean.


Update: The ship has cleared the hazard zone, and the launch will come out of hold at 07:30 EDT, for a scheduled launch at 07:34 EDT.

Update: Lift-off...


Update: At T + 1 minute 23 seconds we have the initial solid rocket booster separation of the first six boosters, and ignition of remain three boosters.


Update: At T + 11 minutes the spacecraft has successfully achieved its planned parking orbit with an apogee of 100.6 miles, perigee of 99.99 miles and inclination of 28.6 degrees.

Update: At T + 12 minutes the spacecraft has gone out of range of the Antigua tracking station. The next communications will come when it approaches the west coast of Australia.


Update: At T + 61 minutes 58 seconds the DAWN spacecraft has successfully separated from the Delta 2 third stage.

A quick patch to iUI Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

I've mentioned Joe Hewitt's iUI web framework before, and it does a pretty good job of imitating the iPhone native look and feel for web applications. However I was fiddling around with the framework and really wanted to be able to load an HTML fragment inline instead of appending it, which is the current behaviour of the "_replace" target, so I created a new "_insert" target to do just that...

The great thing about open source is that I can take some software that almost does what I want, scratch my itch, and make it do exactly what I want. If you're interested in scratching the same itch, you can download the patch files [1, 2] I've generated against the current release of iUI.

First commercial iPhone app? Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

Although developers are officially denied access to the iPhone as a platform, and restricted to Web technologies to deploy applications for the phone, it hasn't stopped people developing unofficial native applications.

CREDIT: Engadget

However as far as I know Navizon "virtual GPS" is the first commercial application. Apart from the fact that I don't think their application is worth paying for, I've knocked similar things together in Python on my Nokia in an afternoon, it seems like a risky strategy. Rumours are circulating that Apple may brick unlocked iPhones with the next firmware update, which might leave Navizon with a number of very unhappy customers. Additionally, while Apple might tolerate the open source community hacking on their new phone, will they be so forgiving of a commercial developer? This is going to be an interesting one to follow along with...

Update: Tom Robinson has a good article on alternative methods for geolocation.

What really matters for a mobile phone? Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

Lets talks about what actually matters here, how much is it going to cost me to make a call or send a text message from my mobile phone?

Cubic Telecom (via The Register) launched their service at at TechCrunch 40 a few days ago...

Interestingly perhaps their website, which had a lot of information about the service including detailed pricing plans, has disappeared behind a sign saying "Coming soon..." since I first looked at it, although of course the Google cache of their site still gets you backstage behind the curtain.

What they're doing is really interesting, forget their hardware, it isn't fancy. But because it isn't really the point. They're going to make international roaming much, much, cheaper by establishing MVNO agreements with local operators. In other words where ever you are in the world you're making a local call. Their phones also offer PBX functionality, allowing you to have up to 50 local phone numbers assigned to your handset. Which presumably will then ring anywhere in the world. Finally, they're also offering VoIP via in-built WiFi directly from the handset.

For most of you this probably not a big deal, but for guys like me who spend half their lives in airports and who regularly run up phone bills that would finance the debt of several small African countries, all I can say is "...what took you guys so long?".

Of course a standard charging connector for mobile phones would probably affect the quality of life of most people far more than anything else the industry could do for us...

There went the iPhone? Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

As predicted, yesterday's special event saw the UK launch of the Apple iPhone. Surprisingly it left me unmoved, and from the reactions I've seen elsewhere I'm not alone. In fact I've been left with a certain feeling of disappointment...

CREDIT: Engadget

Comparing the iPhone specification to the Nokia's current flagship product the Nokia N95, the iPhone doesn't really measure up very well. Crucially it lacks that 3G magic we're used to in the UK, and the absence of an onboard GPS has always puzzled me, but perhaps the thing that's going to surprise Apple is the reaction they're going to get to the crippled Bluetooth functionality. The iPhone can only use it's Bluetooth to talk to a headset, we're used to more. I doubt I could even find the data cable for my Nokia N80. Having to sync my phone by plugging it in with a wire is so last century.

The deal with the Cloud is interesting, but not amazingly useful. The places people want to use WiFi such as train stations, airports, coffee shops and book stores, are mostly using T-Mobile in the UK. The Cloud on the other hand seems to have most of its hotspots located in pubs. I don't know about you but I've never taken my laptop out of its bag in a pub in my life. I don't think I've ever seen anyone working on a laptop in a pub either. I've never figured out how the Cloud made any money. I'm presuming there are other hotspots, but I don't think I've ever run across one.

With estimates that somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of early adopters have hacked their iPhone, either by installing third party native applications, or by unlocking it, it looks like there is a lot of suppressed demand for both. I'm guessing that the UK market isn't going to take well to a locked iPhone either, again we're used to being able to unlock our phones. In fact we're so used to having unlocked phones, it'll probably confuse quite a few people that they can't just put one of their pay as you go SIM cards into the phone from the outset. It's interesting that Apple have gone with Carphone Warehouse, their normal policy is to sell all their phones unlocked.

Of course the big stumbling block is price, like most Brits I was guessing that Apple just wouldn't be able to persuade a UK network to sell the iPhone without a subsidy. It's totally alien to the way the UK market works, I've never paid for a phone and I've always had high specification phones. It's also interesting to see that the O2 contract is for 18 months. Lately, driven by the uptake in 18 and 24 month contracts in the US, the networks have been trying to push these fairly hard in the UK. They aren't popular, I'm on a 12 month contract and wouldn't sign an 18 month one under any circumstances.

I guess that I expected better from Apple, and I'm part of the mounting back lash. That said, just as soon as someone manages to jailbreak the new iPod touch I'll be picking up one of those. For me at least, it's pointless getting one unless I can use third party applications. Although the lack of any Bluetooth at all is puzzling. I know that in the US Bluetooth never really made a big impact, but in the UK, and Europe, Bluetooth is everywhere. Virtually everything electronic I own talks to each other via Bluetooth. It'd be weird to own a pice of kit that doesn't...

As for a phone, I'll stick with my Nokia for now. Maybe the next generation iPhone will tempt me when it arrives early next year. But unless they fix the crippled Bluetooth at least I'm not so sure, even then I wouldn't buy a locked phone.

Update: At least according to the New York Times (via TUAW) it isn't as if they don't have the margin to offer the subsidies we were expecting either...

Here comes the iPhone? Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

Reports are coming in (via TUAW) that Apple has announced an invite-only event to be held next Tuesday at the Regent Street Apple Store. The invite is pretty cryptic, even for Apple, but like almost everyone else I'm presuming that the tagline "Mum is no longer the word" is hinting at a UK release for the iPhone.

Update: My main objection to the rumours that O2 were Apple's chosen partner for the iPhone in the UK seems to be disappearing as, despite having a perfectly good 3G network, they appear to be rolling out an EDGE network across the UK. That more or less both confirms that Apple are going to be the shipping a 2.5G iPhone in the UK, and that O2 is their chosen partner. There really isn't any other reason for O2 to do this...

Update: I'm going to be presenting in a conference during Apple's announcement, so if you want to follow along you'll have to make do with Engadget's live coverage.

Update: My comments on the release of the iPhone in the UK.

Applications on the iPhone and the iPod touch Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

With all the unofficial third party applications appearing for the iPhone one of the questions on my mind during last nights special event was whether the iPhone hacking effort was going to port seamlessly to the new iPod touch. Whether these third party applications could be run on the new iPod...

Well it looks like that's going to be the case, and better yet the conspicuously missing email and maps applications present on the iPhone but not on the touch will probably be really easy to pull across onto the new iPod as well. That turns the iPod touch from an interesting media device, to a working internet tablet...

Update: Interestingly Apple's Greg Joswiak says that the community has Apple's blessing (via Ars Technica) for native applications, and confirms that the iPod Touch and iPhone use the same software platform. Apple seems to be taking the middle ground, and while it won't support native code on the iPhone or the iPod touch, they're not going to forbid it either. Crucially Joswiak added that they will also not design software updates specifically to break native applications, although he made no promises about accidentally breaking them...

Update: Predictably the iPod touch firmware restore files have a different password to the iPhone's firmware, but the hunt is on to break the image. With that done, a jailbreak should be possible fairly quickly...

The 3G iPhone? Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

Only hours after the beat goes on and rumours of a European 3G iPhone release at the Apple Expo later this month are starting to circulate. It does make a certain amount of sense, a $200 price drop is pretty remarkable, and opens the way for a new 3G model to fill the vacated $599 price point.

None the less for a company that's not really known for rapidly upgrading their product lines, the 4GB iPhone died a suspiciously quick death. Surprisingly perhaps, Apple has understood from the outset the rapid turnover in models necessary in the mobile phone market. There is a reason the margin on mobile phones is notoriously low.

How long does a mobile phone stay on the market? In the US it might be different but in the UK, and the rest of Europe, it's a matter of months. I bought, or rather was given for free by my network, a Nokia N80 when I last renewed my contract just under a year ago. You can't even buy the handset anymore, if it was a desktop machine they'd still be churning it out. But it's a phone, the turn over time for phone models is 6 months to a year tops. If Apple are even selling the original iPhone in twelve months time then they're showing they don't understand the market they've got into...

Of course in the twenty days between now and the Apple Expo I'm sure Apple will shift a lot of iPod touch models to people desperate to get their hands on that touch screen goodness and can't yet buy an iPhone. One way or the other Apple will get their early adopter tax out of us Europeans.

I've got very little sympathy for those people who feel cheated because the price of their phone has dropped. Reducing the price by a third is actually fairly mild compared to some of the price drops you see on high end Nokias a few months after they roll out. The price of a high end phone can drop from (a subsidised price of) several hundred pounds to free with a twelve month contract in the space of a few weeks after launch. Sorry, but those are the breaks...

My prediction? If there is any truth to the rumours at all, then we'll see a 3G iPhone later this month at the $599 price point, possibly with more memory and a better camera. Such things actually matter in the European market. But six months after that the new phone will be sitting at the $399 price point and the current iPhone will be a memory.

To those of you complaining about that, you're buying a piece of disposable consumer hardware, not a desktop machine that's going to be with for the next three or four years. Forget about it...

Update: So even if you don't qualify for any other refund, Apple are now going to give you a $100 credit in the Apple Store if you were an early adopter. Happy now?

The beat goes on... Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

With last minute rumours (via CrunchGear) of a UK launch of a 3G iPhone hitting the wires in the hours before today's special event, my speculations a couple of days are suddenly looked less unlikely...

CREDIT: Engadget

I'll be following the live coverage of the event, so if you don't want to follow the event yourself, check back here later today and I'll have the high and low-lights for your entertainment.

Update (09:46am PST): The Apple Store is down ahead of the event, which pretty much confirms we're looking at new hardware...


The UK Apple Store
Update (09:48am PST): Engadget is reporting it's a fairly small audience, unlike the event in August, but that all the usual suspects are present. But Gizmodo are reporting that it's "packed in here" so I guess your milage may vary at that point...

CREDIT: Engadget

Update (10:06am PST): Steve Jobs is on stage,

Today, we get to talk about music. We’re going to start with iTunes... iTunes is clearly leading the way. We're going to ship a new version of iTunes tonight to support some new products. The biggest new feature: ringtones.

CREDIT: B. Lam, Gizmodo

Update (10:08am PST): Apparently when you plug in your iPhone a bell icon will pop up inside iTunes showing you which songs you can turn into ringtones. Pick up to 30 seconds of the song add fade ins, fade outs, and create your ringtone before you click the buy button...

CREDIT: B. Lam, Gizmodo

Update (10:14am PST): Moving on,

Now let's talk about the iPod... today we're going to refresh or replace every single product in this lineup to get ready for this holiday season.

So that's a new iPod, a new iPod nano and a new iPod shuffle?

Update (10:18am PST): Looks like it,

CREDIT: B. Lam, Gizmodo

with the iPod shuffle coming in (PRODUCT) Red as well as other colours, and the new iPod nano coming with an enhanced UI that have a lot of the features of the iPhone like CoverFlow. The leaks had the new form factor for the nano down surprisingly accurate as well...

CREDIT: Engadget

Update (10:28am PST): The "iPod" is now being renamed the "iPod classic", which is interesting. Does this hint at a widescreen iPod with the same sort of form factor and touch screen as the iPhone? The iPod classic has the same enhanced UI as the new iPod nano, which means it still has a click wheel...

Update (10:32am PST): Yup, here we go...

When we introduced the iPhone in Jan, we said it was the best iPod ever. and iPhone owners agree with us, it's incredible with its multi-touch interface, it is the best iPod ever. People have been asking us when we're going to bring this technology to the iPod. The answer is we're going to do it today. And this is what the product looks like..

The touchscreen iPod is here, and they're calling it the iPod touch. It's the same size as the iPhone, but it's much thinner, only 8mm thick...

CREDIT: Engadget

Update (10:39am PST): The big news is that the iPod touch has WiFi, if you look in the picture above you can see the signal strength meter. We've got a touch screen internet tablet here?

Update (10:42am PST): Looks to be the case, it comes with the same Safari as on the iPhone. It flips, landscapes, pans, flicks, scrolls just like the iPhone version does. This really does look to be a phone-less iPhone...

CREDIT: B. Lam, Gizmodo

Update (10:46am PST): That means it can access all the iPhone optimised websites, like the new Facebook site...

Update (10:48am PST): Gizmodo just reported that, "A reader just bought the 8GB iPhone for $399 and 4GB iPhone for $299 in an Apple store just now. Possible price drop?". The iPod touch comes in two models, an 8GB and 16GB model at $299 and $399 respectively. The other updated iPods are available now, but the touch ships in a few weeks. Some time this month?

CREDIT: B. Lam, Gizmodo

Update (10:52am PST): Did you spot the missing icon on the iPod touch dock? That'd be "...one more thing", the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store.

CREDIT: B. Lam, Gizmodo

It looks like browsing the store is similar to the normal iTunes application. You can tap on a song to preview it, and then tap the download button to purchase. The next time you dock the iPod touch to your computer, it’ll sync the song into your iTunes library. The new store is also rolling out for the iPhone...

CREDIT: B. Lam, Gizmodo

Update (10:59am PST): ...and there is a partnership with Starbucks,

When you get near a Starbucks a fifth button will come up in the WiFi music store -- you may have been in a Starbucks wondering what song is that playing? Now you can buy it with a tap of your finger. And if you just missed it, you can still find it...

CREDIT: Engadget

Update (11:09am PST): They've rolled Howard Schultz, the founder and chairman of Starbucks, onto stage to talk about the partnership. There is free access to the iTunes store while at Starbucks, just the store though, not the rest of the web? I guess T-Mobile, who provide wireless access for Starbucks wouldn't be too happy about that...

Update (11:12am PST): Here we go, Steve is back on stage and Apple is dropping the price of the iPhone. I guess they figure they've cleaned out the early adopter market... they’re dropping the price of the 8GB model to $399, that's a US$200 drop, and interestingly the 4GB model has been discontinued. I guess nobody was buying it?

Update (11:16am PST): Looks like Steve is winding up, KT Tunstall is on stage and will be performing...

CREDIT: Engadget

Update (11:22am PST): ...and we're done.

Update (11:37am PST): The U.S. store is back up and filled with new toys: the iPod shuffle from $79, the iPod nano from $149, the iPod classic from $249, the iPod touch from $299 and the newly reduced iPhone at $399. Interestingly the UK Store isn't back up yet, all we've got is an Http/1.1 Service Unavailable error...

Update (11:42am PST): The UK Apple Store is back to showing the "We'll be back soon" holding page. Looks like they're having problems...

Update (11:58am PST/7:58pm BST): The UK Apple Store is finally back up, about twenty minutes after the US Store. It looks like we have all the new toys: the iPod shuffle from £49, the iPod nano from £99, the iPod classic from £159, the iPod touch from £199. No iPhone though, the last minute rumours we're very accurate it seems.

With thanks to Engadget and Gizmodo for real time coverage.