Google has done it again; this time adding sophisticated voice recognition technology to an iPhone application. So far this technology only works with the iPhone, expect to see it for free in the App Store sometime very soon.

With this application users will virtually be able to ask their iPhone any question like, “Where is the nearest Starbucks?” or “How old is the oldest man in the world?” The application converts the audio to a digital file that is sent to Google’s servers, which try to determine which words were spoken and send them to Google search engine. With the use of the iPhone’s built-in GPS, Google can give local results.

Both Yahoo and Microsoft have offered similar voice services that just do not match up to what Google has to offer. Yahoo’s oneSearch service does not appear to be nearly as accurate as the service offered by Google. Microsoft’s Tellme service will only give results in specific categories such as directions, maps and movies. Google voice search however is far from perfect. “It’s important to understand that machine recognition will never be perfect,” Mr. Reddy added. “The question is, How close can they come to human performance?”

Google has declined to say how often the service is inaccurate, but they do believe that it is easily accurate enough to be useful to customers. If you want restaurant recommendations and driving directions this application can help you out. You can also look up contacts in your in you iPhone’s address book.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Via NYT]

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Microsoft is going to launch a web-based version of their office Suite sometime in 2009. This web-based version will include full versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. Users will be able to access this service from anywhere with a web browser.

All the popular web browsers will be compatible with this web service including Mozilla’s Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Apple’s Safari web browser. Of course the question arises, will this service work with the iPhone? Sarah in Tampa has put together a quick Q&A to clear these questions up.

Fortunately for all of us who have decided to stick it out with the iPhone, our long wait is finally going to pay off.  The upcoming Web Office Suite will work just fine with the iPhone’s Mobile Safari Browser. There are a few rumors going around right now saying that a private preview of this service will be available by the end of 2008 but we wont be holding our breath.

[Via On10]

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It is very inconvenient for the iPhone to only have a landscape QWERT keyboard in Safari and not in any other mode. For over a year nothing has been done as far as updates or application to remedy the problem. iSoft has been the first to set out and bring one to the iPhone.

Although Apple would never allow such a useful application, it did not stop the development of such a feature.  There are three catches to this feature that will be deal-breakers for most. The first roadblock that users will face is the fact that your iPhone must be jailbroken to get the service to begin with.

The second issue is the cost, not everyone is willing to first jailbreak their iPhone, then fork over the $4.95 to get the full version. The third problem that users must face is the fact that this keyboard is not integrated into the iPhone itself. It is more of an application than anything. The phone numbers and contact information is not displayed correctly or in any visually stunning fashion.

Overall we found that this is a nice step in the right direction. Without it being an integrated service we really don’t see anyone paying $4.95 for this application. It just won’t get any use. Even the free trial is not worth switching from the native SMS application.

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AT&T Mobility CED, Ralph De La Vega, has recently announced the arrival of the tethering plans for the iPhone. We all knew that AT&T has been working with Apple to bring an official tethering plan to iPhone customers, but no previous details have been leaked.

AT&T has always done their best to bring customers what they want in a cellular service, iPhone owners have been asking for a tethering plan for over a year not but AT&T could not deliver because of the network. Ralph De La Vega said, “Regardless of how many billions of dollars AT&T pours into their 3G network, it hasn’t been stable enough to handle all you iPhone users,”

AT&T is simply worried as to how well the network will hold up to millions of users all jumping on at one time.  They have never has such an issue because there has never been such a huge rush in data use in their history. There is still no word on an official launch date. Here are the details on the iPhone tethering plans:

• 5GB Data Cap (just like Blackberry users) – AT&T will automatically turn off your tethering connection if you use too much bandwidth. Of note, the 5GB cap might get sliced for all users, not just iPhone users, in order to accommodate all new tethering plan customers (bandwidth demand).

• Initial connection through iTunes? (not sure if this is every time you connect, or just for initial setup)

• Expected speeds: GPRS: 30k – dialup speeds / EDGE: 110k – ISDN speeds / 3G: 1000k – slow broadband.

• You’ll want to disable auto-updates for everything, so as to not go over usage limitations.

• Will be +$30/month, new iPhone plans may be rolled out with tethering rolled in.

• Do not pro-rate tethering/bandwidth, it can become a nightmare, instead wait until new billing cycle.

• For unlimited bandwidth, AT&T will tell you to get a wireless PC card.

• No idea on a launch date.

[Via MacBlogz]

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AT&T has recently acquired Wi-Fi provider Wayport, adding thousands of hotspots to their network.  AT&T seems to be bumping up the amount of hotspots that they now have to offer with the opening of free Wi-Fi access to iPhone users. The purchase price for Wayport was $275 million.

Now AT&T has around 20,000 wireless access points in the US and 80,000 around the world including roaming locations run by partner networks. Some of original AT&T Wi-Fi locations include Starbucks, Barnes  and Noble bookstores and many major airports.

Wayport has major hotspots at McDonalds, Four Seasons hotels, HealthSouth, and Sun Healthcare locations. AT&T had previously been contracting with Wayport, but says that the acquisition will expand its capabilities by allowing the entire network to be managed by one company.

[Via AppleInsider]

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Leading technology developers for mobile devices, Paragon Software Group, has launched the world-famous Merriam-Webster’s Dictionaries application for iPhone and iPod Touch. The application consists of one explanatory and two bilingual – Spanish-English and French-English dictionaries.

The database contains over 476,00 entries with more than 143,000 etymologies detailing word origins, 100,000 quotations and 1,100 synonymy paragraphs. You can access the dictionary anywhere without an Internet connection. The Merriam-Webster’s French-English Dictionary provides the most extensive coverage of Canadian French words and phrases.

The Merriam-Webster’s Spanish English Dictionary covers Latin American and European Spanish, and contains over 80,000 entries and 100,000 translations. The application uses a SlovoEd engine that compresses the database for minimum memory space while still allowing users to quickly perform multiple lookups. In addition you can perform simple one-touch translations on the go.

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CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, Ralph De La Vega, took a few moments at Web 2.0 to talk about the broadband limits regarding the iPhone 3G and the economy’s effect on AT&T.  From what he said, they are ready to take on larger broadband limits.

The U-Verse portion of AT&T is taking a beating, it is down 499,000 subscribers from this time last year.  AT&T’s wireless business is doing extraordinarily well due to the iPhone 3G. In the most recent quarter they added 2 million subscribers. “Customers want more speed and we have the capability to deliver that.”
This means that they now have the resources to start focusing more bandwidth toward an iPhone 3G tethering plan. At this time it would be more profitable as tethering is in such high demand.

Ralph De La Vega told interviewers that this company is working with Apple to let the iPhone serve as a wireless modem for laptops in the near future. Ralph De La Vega says that it will happen “soon”. If AT&T does not have a tethering plan soon, applications such as NetShare, PDANet and iModem will continually allow customers to tether the iPhone at no additional charge.

[Via Technologizer]

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Shortly after we see the first iPhone keyboard, another one surfaces.  This one is far less attractive and seemingly less portable. The advantage this one has over the other is Bluetooth connectivity. The picture make it appear to be very large in comparison to the other ones on the market, making it hard to carry around.

The one we recently reported came potable with a fold down clamshell design.  The wires however made it more of a hassle than it needed to be. This $92 keyboard comes in handy for those who write novels on their iPhones. From pictures you can not accurately gauge just how large the keyboard really is. It appears that the iPhone sits upright in the center of the support, but this can’t be deterined for sure. The BTKeyMini by Avalive works directly with the iPhone and is available for pre-order right now.

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One of the major issues that iPhone haters bring up when trying to put it down, is the onscreen keyboard. A lot of people just don’t adapt to it very well. It appears that this may not be as strong of an argument as it once was with a new 3rd party add-on keyboard.

While this keyboard may make the iPhone a lot more bulky, it adds a bit more convenience for those who have larger fingers or just cannot get use to the touch.  From what we see there may be a bit of hacking involved to get it working. From the looks of it this keyboard will not make for sending a quick text message. It appears to require a few seconds to set up. This device would definitely be something fun to experiment. It just goes to show that anything is possible if you try.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Via CrunchGear]

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Lucasfilm Ltd. has released their official Lightsaber Unleashed application in the App Store. We quickly downloaded it and dove in to what has become a very fun and interesting application.  When you open the application you are taken to what looks like an ad for another StarWars game.

After selecting Lightsaber you are taken to a screen that allows you to either select one of 5 characters or create your own. The selectable characters include Darth Vader, Rahm Kota, Maris Brood, The Apprentice and Shaak Ti.  You can view a full screen picture of there character as well as read a bio about them. The color of their Lightsaber is displayed as a shadow to their picture.

Creating a custom character is more detailed than we had imagined.  You select their Name, Character Picture, Custom Lightsaber and Even write a Bio for them. Lightsaber customization is very easy, just choose one of 5 handles and then scroll the colors until you have get the desired shade.

Now its time for the fun part, the actual use of the Lightsaber. After selecting you character you come to a screen than allows you to swing the Lightsaber and hear authentic sounds. As if that was not enough you can set StarWars music to play in the background as you wield your Lightsaber. When you eventually get bored of this mode you can tap the Lightsaber icon to get a full screen light saber that even flashes upon impact.

This application really has it all, it is entertaining and very customizable. Its clear that developers did not just throw this together one night. They invested time into this application to make it the best Lightsaber application there is for the iPhone. You can download Lightsaber Unleashed for free right now in the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch.

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With every iPhone update that Apple releases they try to find ways to crush advancements that the iPhone Dev Team are making. We expect firmware 2.2 will have a few different tweaks to prevent jailbreaking, what we didn’t expect was that the new MacBooks would be the next wave of defense.

People over at Howard Forums are complaining that they are unable to jailbreak their iPhone using the Pwnage Tool on newly purchased MacBooks.  The new MacBooks do not recognize iPhones that are placed in recovery mode (DFU Mode), a vital step in the jailbreaking process.  It seems the creation of the modified firmware is where Apple has decided to put an end to it. This is going to create problems because users who are not trying to jailbreak their phones can not restore their iPhone anymore.

It seems the way Apple has stopped progress is in a small software modification as not much else has changed. It looks like the culprit in this case just may be the new build of iTunes. As with all the attempts that Apple makes to stop people from jailbreaking their phones, it is only a matter of time before the iPhone Dev Team finds a way around it.

[Via Engadget and HowardForums]

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