Tuesday, January 23, 2007

iPhone at work - could be trouble.

iPhone cranks up buzz on office iPods

Chad Graham
The Arizona Republic


Judging by the drooling over Apple Inc.'s new iPhone, there's a whole new wave of little handhelds about to invade workplaces across the Valley.

The devices, costing $499 and $599 and set to arrive in June, have reignited the debate over what role, if any, MP3 players have in the workplace.

A Harris Interactive poll indicated that 32 percent of workers nationally used some kind of music-listening device. Nearly 80 percent thought it improved their satisfaction and/or productivity.
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But not everyone believes the iPod in the workplace is a positive development. Some argue that employees waste time and block open communication by putting those conspicuous white headphone buds in their ears.

Still, one Valley surgeon's office uses iPods to educate patients and employees. And an advertising agency has a "resident DJ" who "spins" tunes to set the workday's mood.

Yet one workplace expert warns that not following iPod etiquette can cause hurt feelings between cubicles. That's especially true now that we'll be able to listen to music, make a phone call and surf the Web with one device. More...

iPhone news

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Wireless and Mobile - iPhone

LG's New Buttonless iPhone

South Korea's LG Electronics Co. said Thursday it will start selling next month a new mobile phone that incorporates a buttonless touch-screen resembling the much-hyped iPhone from Apple Inc.

LG's Prada Phone is being produced in partnership with the Italian fashion brand. It is set to go on sale in late February for 600 euros ($780) at mobile phone dealers and Prada stores in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, and comes to Asia in March.

The company did not announce its U.S. plans.

The no-button interface with the entire phone face covered by a touch-sensitive screen resembles the Apple iPhone, announced by the U.S. company earlier this month to much fanfare as an innovation that could shake up the industry.

Apple's iPhone is set for U.S. release in June and will cost $599 for the high-end model with 8 gigabytes of internal memory _ the same as the LG model. Other markets will see the iPhone later this year and in 2008.

The LG phone has a wide-screen display and can play most popular digital music and video formats, and has a 2-megapixel camera like the iPhone. Its memory can be expanded with cards.

The iPhone allows Internet use also through regular wireless Wi-Fi networks, and has a full-featured Web browser.

The LG phone is 12 millimeters (0.47 inches) thick, just 0.4 millimeters (0.016 inches) more than the iPhone.

Wireless and Mobile - iPhone