Happy Birthday iPhone!

Yep, your favorite buddy is turned 1 year old at 6:00 EST. This was the phone that changed it all! Now there’s a pile of touchscreen mobile phones, but only one can take the cake (no pun intended). The iPhone changed every notion of what we thought a smart phone should be, and has, of late, given RIM, Palm, and other smart phone manufacturers a run for their money. Currently, the iPhone has 90% customer service satisfaction. 98% use mobile safari, 94% are using email, 90% are text messaging, and 80% are using 10 or more features.

Amazing huh?

A lot has also changed in one year for ‘ol iPhone. One major change is pricing over the year. From the $599 8GB and $499 GB models, to dropping the 4 GB model, and finally $399 for 8GB and $499 for 16 GB. Now, iPhone 3G is priced at $199* and $299* for the 8 GB and 16 GB models respectively.

Now, the real moment is July 11th.

 

[Read at TUAW]

 

*$199 and $299 prices are for those qualifying for AT&T handset upgrades. Click this link for further information.

Blizzard Announces Diablo III for Mac, Starcraft II

Blizzard has officially announced Diablo III, almost a decade after Diablo II. Plans are to simultaneously release Starcraft II on the same date, both of which will come in delicious PC and Mac versions.

Specifics on D3, like system requirements and release date, haven’t been released to public yet. What is known is that D3 will run on a custom 3D graphics engine and will contain worlds similar to D2.

Starcraft II and Diablo 3 on the same day? Can you say nerd freakout?

EDIT: Sorry! I said that Starcraft II and Diablo III will release on the same day, this was incorrect. I misread the TUAW entry and posted that statement immediately. Premature excitement . Thanks to rbarris at Blizzard for that correction!

 

[Read at TUAW]

It’s About That Time of Year

No, not THAT time of the year – but it has just about the same amount of excitement.

That’s right folks, it’s the time of refreshing for the iPod lines! FBR research analyst Craig Berger, with his number crunching and analysis abilities, predicts that there will be a lower priced iPod nano and a refresh to the classic and touch lines. It’s almost been a year since the touch intro and “classic” branding, so his prediction is most likely correct. Also, and this goes without saying, Apple will make iPhones by the boat-load.

What features do you want to see in the classic/nano/touch lines?

 

[Read at Engadget]

US Businesses Likey The Mac

According to Computerworld, a Yankee Group Research report found that 80% of US businesses now use Macs. Doesn’t that give you just a warm fuzzy feeling? This is almost twice as much than what was reported two years ago. Yankee Group also estimates that Apple’s market share is up to 8-10% overall.

That’s right, Mac has a hold on the corporate industry as well.

I’m sure that iPhone and iPod have contributed to this change dramatically. Called the halo (not this) effect, iPhone and iPod sales have turned on their customers to try the Mac out. I know a few people that, after buying an iPod or iPod touch, have converted over to a Mac. Also, lets face it, iPhone IS a Mac. Built on the same API’s as OS X such as Open GL ES, Core Animation, and Power Management, the iPhone is essentially a Mac on the go. When people see how easy it is to use iPhone or iPod/iPod Touch, they think it must be the same with Mac and… Voila! Halo effect.

Mark another one on the scoreboard for the boys at Cupertino!

 

[Read at TUAW]