News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
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A strong association with, and support of, the iPhone platform will be a case of 'enlightened self interest' for us, and good for our customers. Simon Hackett, CEO, Internode
What do you get when you cross the head of a growing, upstart ISP with the sheer gadget appeal of the iPhone? Free WiFi at least, if you're in South Australia (or one of a few other places).
This week, Internode an SA stalwart that has rapidly expanded its footprint nationwide in recent years announced it would allow iPhone users to log onto its network of 108 hotspots for free.
Turn on your iPhone within the radius of one of Internode's hotspots, and you'll be able to not only access the web, but access MobileMe fuctions like email, contacts and calendar; the built-in Google Maps client; and Apple widgets.
There's no need to fire up Safari first; configure your iPhone once, and it will automatically switch from 3G to WiFi connectivity whenever it detects the Internode SSID extending a lifeline to users who are pushing the boundaries of their regular subscription plan, or those who want to do some serious web browsing, music buying or Twittering while sipping a latte.
CEO Simon Hackett admits his decision to explicitly support the iPhone comes out of his own love for the device, which he has been using since it came out in the US. Asked why Internode had decided to explicitly support the iPhone when many other smartphones also support WiFi, Hackett isn't afraid to play favourites.
"We've done a lot of testing of other devices prior to the launch of the iPhone," he explains. "Frankly, every other device we've tried has just sucked.. compared to the iPhone. The iPhone is the real game-changer here: with WiFi and 3G access being smooth and almost seamless, and with its internet tools being of 'lapotop quality' rather than just being 'toy' applications, it truly is a game changer."
Market demand has also played a part, he adds: "Phones with WiFi have been very rare visitors to our hotspots in the past," he explains. "iPhones are highly frequent, and growing rapidly. A strong association with, and support of, the iPhone platform will be a case of 'enlightened self interest' for us, and good for our customers."
While the access is free, an obvious use of the Internode hotspots would be to allow customers of Internode's NodePhone VoIP service to make calls using their normal VoIP details and a client application on the iPhone or, it would be, if Apple hadn't banned VoIP applications on the device.
Still, Hackett is open to the idea: "We would be happy to brand a VoIP client for the iPhone to work with our NodePhone VoIP service."
Telstra and Optus already allow iPhone customers to failover onto their respective WiFi networks, but the Internode network fills a big gap in those companies' relatively sparse SA coverage. Outside of SA, Internode's network has just four locations in NSW, four in Queensland, two in Victoria, and one in the Northern Territory. (a full list is available here).
The network is also available to laptop users, who can access Apple MobileMe and iDisk functions or use a NodePhone VoIP client to make calls at Internode hotspots.
Hackett is eager to continue expanding the hotspot network and welcomes proposals from interested parties: "anyone with a decent place for iPhone users (and laptop users) to congregate and use them, and with authority to let us deploy there, is invited to drop us a line," he says. "We'd love to consider it."
Carriers love to talk about 3G-WiFi failover, but does it work as described? Are you using it regularly? Tell us about it in the AMW Forums.
A strong association with, and support of, the iPhone platform will be a case of 'enlightened self interest' for us, and good for our customers. Simon Hackett, CEO, Internode
Apple sold 2.3 million Macs and 22.1 million iPods during the holiday shopping season, helping the company turn a $US1.58-billion profit during its fiscal first quarter. The Mac totals mark the third consecutive quarter that Apple has set a quarterly sales record for its desktops and laptops. The Mac totals mark the third consecutive quarter that Apple has set a quarterly sales record for its desktops and laptops. For the quarter ended December 31, Apple reported a profit of $US1.76 a share on revenue of $US9.6 billion.
Jim Dalrymple,Philips Michaels and Peter Cohen | Jan 23, 2008
If you're using Apple's Safari browser, PayPal has some advice for you: Drop it, at least if you want to avoid online fraud. Safari doesn't make PayPal's list of recommended browsers because it doesn't have two important anti-phishing security features, according to Michael Barrett, PayPal's chief information security officer. "Apple, unfortunately, is lagging behind what they need to do, to protect their customers," Barrett said in an interview. "Our recommendation at this point, to our customers, is use Internet Explorer 7 or 8 when it comes out, or Firefox 2 or Firefox 3, or indeed Opera." Safari is the default browser on Apple's Macintosh computers and the iPhone, but it is also available for the PC. Both Firefox and Opera run on the Mac. Unlike its competitors, Safari has no built-in phishing filter to warn users when they are visiting suspicious Web sites, Barrett said. Another problem is Safari's lack of support for another anti-phishing technology, called Extended Validation (EV) certificates. This is a secure Web browsing technology that turns the address bar green when the browser is visiting a legitimate Web site.
Robert McMillan | Feb 29, 2008
This morning Apple announced a strong push to help companies incorporate the iPhone into their enterprise environment, putting RIM's popular BlackBerry handheld devices squarely in its sights. The changes will come in a forthcoming release of iPhone software. During an event held at the company's Cupertino headquarters, Apple senior vice president of product marketing Phil Schiller announced the company's plans. "We've been hard at work trying to understand what it takes to bring the iPhone out across the enterprise," he told guests. The list of features that Apple describes as important to enterprise end users includes "push-based" e-mail, calendar info and contact management; additional support for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) including Cisco IPsec; and two-factor authentication, certificates and identities.
Peter Cohen | Mar 7, 2008
Apple has acquired a fabless semiconductor company, PA Semi, according to a report at Forbes.com. PA Semi designs energy efficient processors based on the Power architecture that Apple used in its Macintosh computers for many years before adopting Intel's x86 chips.
Mikael Ricknas | Apr 23, 2008
As I type these words, I am waiting for Apple's Developer Connection web site to ease up sufficiently for me to download the long-awaited Software Developer Kit for the iPhone (and iPod touch, just by the by). In a way, I hate developer-oriented announcements — "here's a really cool thing we're working on, and it's available now, and hoi polloi can have it in about six months". Actually, it's the six months I hate.
