One of the biggest items of "news" this week in the world of iPhones has been gossip about Apple talking to Verizon about the iPhone. I don't think that there is much real news here. Verizon has a motive to leak a story that it is talking to Apple just so that current Verizon customers have a reason to stick with Verizon in the hopes that the iPhone is coming soon. Apple has a motive to leak a story that the iPhone might go to Verizon to try to gain leverage in its negotiations with AT&T. And Apple would be silly to not always consider its options and talk to other carriers. So perhaps Apple really is talking to Verizon about the iPhone, but that doesn't mean that it is going to happen. It may well just be posturing. Ultimately, I predict that the iPhone will stay exclusive to AT&T for at least another year or two. But this is just my guess, and nobody really knows what is going on.
Here are some other iPhone news stories that caught my attention this week:
- iPodNN notes that The Missing Sync 2.0 for iPhone is out and it allows two-way sync of notes, tasks and various documents between your iPhone and your computer. Sounds useful.
- Macworld reports (as do many others) that Amazon has purchased the makers of Stanza, a great iPhone e-book reader. Amazon is certainly doing its part to keep the e-book space interesting, and it is nice to know that even though you can now buy everything from groceries to electronics to clothes on Amazon, they are still thinking of what started it all -- books.
- RIM copied Apple and created an app store for the Blackberry. I'm happy that my Blackberry-using friends can experience an app store, but how does it compare to Apple's app store? Not too well, according to this report by Kelly Talcott in the New York Law Journal, who calls it "cumbersome to use." But hey, at least they finally have something.
- If you want to watch video on your iPhone, you may want to find a way to prop it up. I've previously noted a virtually free way to do this using a paperclip or a dollar bill, but if you want to shell out the big bucks and spend $5, Macworld reviews Crabble, an iPhone stand that fits in your wallet.
- Do you love your iPhone? Yes, apparently, you do. TechCrunch reports that J.D. Power -- not to be confused with the powerful website iPhone J.D. -- has released the results of its Consumer Smartphone Satisfaction Study, and the clear winner is the iPhone.
- And finally, the New York Times says that people use iPhones primarily for personal use, not business. TechCrunch says that this is rubbish, and I agree. Sure, iPhone users spend a lot of time using their iPhones for personal use such as music, video and games, but that is just because there are so many fun things you can do with your iPhone in addition to business. If I had to use a Blackberry, I'm sure that 90% to 100% of my use would be for business because, well, what else am I supposed to do with it besides check e-mail? Please don't make me use that horrible web browser. But with an iPhone, you can get all of your work done with it just like you would on another smart phone, plus you can spend additional time with it for personal enjoyment. Frankly, I think that this is the reason that many iPhone users wish for more iPhone battery life. It's not that the iPhone battery is worse than other smartphones; it's that you use the iPhone so much more than you would other smartphones.