From the very first moment I thought about starting iPhone J.D., I knew that I would never want this to be a rumor site. Perhaps it is because I'm attorney and feel very serious about the need for confidentiality, or perhaps it is because most of the stories behind rumors just seemed way too shady for me; either they were the result of people breaching duties of confidentiality, or they were the result of people just making stuff up. That doesn't mean that I don't speculate about future products from time to time, but in my mind there is a huge difference between dreaming up what seems logical to come next and trafficking in information obtained from improper leaks. I will admit that there is one caveat to my general rule; I suspect that from time to time, companies like Apple will purposefully leak information to a trusted news source like the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times just to get a story out there. On the rare occasions when I suspect that is what is going on, I have no problem talking about the rumors. I was thinking about this when I saw, as reported by Philip Elmer-Dewitt in Fortune and various reporters from the Wall Street Journal, that the FBI arrested five people who leaked information about the iPhone 4 and the iPad and other technology products for violating insider trading laws. The reports are interesting, and I'm sure that we will see more to this story in the future. Other interesting news from the past week:
- Here is an example of my speculating about what we might see in the future. Imagine that you are in a foreign country looking at a menu in another language. Wouldn't it be neat if you could point your iPhone camera at the menu and, in real time, view the menu on your iPhone translated into English? Sounds hard to believe, but we may be very close to having this technology. There is a new app called Word Lens that purports to translate, in real time, information on signs from Spanish to English and vice versa. The app itself is free, and includes a demo mode that reverses the order of text. (Click here to get Word Lens (free):
) You can pay $5 in the app to buy the Spanish to English module. I didn't purchase it because it seems to me from using the demo mode that the technology is not quite ready for prime time, but the following video gives you an idea of what this might look like when the tech is perfected. Really neat stuff:
- EA has always made great games for the iPhone and iPad, and right now every single one of those games is on sale for just $0.99. This even includes some of their more expensive titles, such as Mirror's Edge, Tetris and Scrabble for the iPad which normally cost $6.99. I bought Scrabble a while back (before this sale) and it is fantastic, and I've been looking at Mirror's Edge for a while now so I took advantage of this chance to get it for only a buck. Madden NFL 11 for iPad normally goes for $12.99 (the iPhone version is normally $4.99) and both are on sale for $0.99. Other EA titles include Sim City, the Sims, Need for Speed, Risk, Monopoly, Clue, American Idol and Yahtzee. You can see all of the EA titles on the App Store by clicking here. This is a great time to pick up a bunch of them.
- Prizmo is a great app to scan and OCR documents. I reviewed it a few months ago. It was recently updated to add the ability to export to MobileMe and Evernote, making the app even more useful.
- Women can carry around an iPad in a purse, but what is a man to do? Jennifer 8. Lee (yes, her middle name is a number) explores this question for the New York Times.
- Electronista reports that, according to a study by ChangeWave Research, 78% of corporate America is planning to get an iPad.
- Business Insider names the iPad as the Biggest Tech Winner of 2010. The iPhone 4 is #10 on the list.
- Macworld recognizes what it considers the 36 best iPhone apps of the year. There are so many great ones on that list.
- New York attorney Nicole Black identifies some holiday gift ideas for the mobile attorney.
- Black also loves the GateGuru app, an app which I reviewed earlier this year. Version 2.0 of the app launched this week, adding integration with TripIt and Kayak, estimated security line wait times (based on input from other users) and international airports. It is a free, must-have app for the frequent traveler. Click here for GateGuru (free):
- The RichardSolo 1800 external battery for the iPhone normally goes for $50, but right now it is only $30. I reviewed this battery over two years ago and I am still using it all the time.
- Yesterday I mentioned the beautiful Infinity Blade app. Dave Caolo of TUAW notes that over $1.6 million has been spent buying the app since it was released two weeks ago. $5.99 of that was from me. Click here for Infinity Blade for iPhone and iPad ($5.99):
- Sam Oliver of Apple Insider reports that Google Latitude is now available for the iPhone, just a short 22 months after it was first announced. Click here for Google Latitude (free):
- Why yes, there is still time to vote for iPhone J.D. in the ABA Journal Blawg 100, so don't feel guilty that you waited until now to vote. The important thing is that you are voting now so that you don't forget.
- And finally, I see from a story in iPhone Savior that a seller on Etsy designed an iPhone Christmas tree ornament. The price was right at only $2.00, but it looks there were only 86 for sale and they are now all sold out. There was both a black and a white model. I'd like to think that one person bought the entire stock and now has a Christmas tree covered with nothing but ornaments that look like this:
