iPhone 4 is now officially announced and will be available very soon at an Apple store near you.

iPhone 4 is build on state of art hardware and software technologies, that no other smartphone offers. Apple iPhone is challenged by Android phones in recent days. Biggest advantage of Android is, it allows a huge amount of people and companies to collaborate on this OS. Any company who wants to make a smartphone based on Android can do so without paying a licensing fee. Smartphone companies are also free to modify the OS according to their requirements.

If you are still divided between choosing a right phone for you, folks over TiPB compared iPhone 4  specifications with Android giants Nexus One, HTC Evo 4G and Droid Incredible.

[Credits TiPB]

The iPad apps on display at SAPPHIRE NOW enable users to access SAP Business Suite 7, SAP BusinessObjects Crystal Reports 2008, enhancements for SAP Business ByDesign 2.5, and more. Join SAP.info as we tour the event floor!

Accessing SAP with iPad: HPI’s dunning app in action (photo: Frank Völkel)

The way the business world accesses its data is undergoing a phase of rapid upheaval. One tour of the SAPPHIRE NOW exhibition areas and it’s clear that many companies have not been able to withstand the magnetism of the iPad. Not only is nearly every stand giving away one of Apple’s new tablet computers at least once a day; a significant number of presenters are using the handy touchscreen device to access a wide variety of SAP software. An array of such apps are already available for iPad – such as the Hasso Plattner Institute’s dunning app for SAP Business ByDesign 2.5, displayed above – or are in the final stages of testing. With HPI’s app, for example, users can display open customer invoices in Google Maps based on their geographic location. In a demonstration at SAPPHIRE NOW, this data was loaded in real time from SAP Business ByDesign.

Even in the United States, iPad has sold out at nearly all Apple Stores throughout the country; most customers must now register on a waiting list to purchase the device. However, consumer demand was not the sole factor that drove Apple’s sales figures past the one-million mark in the device’s very month. At SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando, you get the feeling that iPad may establish itself in the field of business even faster than iPhone.

More proof of this is seen in the many presentations involving complex business applications, where Apple’s computer interfaces are considered the ultimate in user-friendliness. The talk is often of small apps with which users can access larger SAP applications from their iPads and iPhones. For many SAP partners, this opens a new field of business – one that many would have not predicted just one year ago.

In the near future, everything will be mobile: various devices, the corresponding software, and any users who have not already made the transition. With the right tools and integration, employees will be able to work on and analyze any business data from anywhere by smartphone or tablet PC. It’s evident that most SAPPHIRE NOW attendees have developed something of a dependency on mobile connectivity, constantly checking their e-mail and synchronizing their appointment schedules during short breaks at the event.

SAP is also accelerating its development of software for mobile devices. It wants to become the world leader in mobile business software, particularly with platforms anddatabases from the recently acquired Sybase. SAP plans to address the full range of mobile devices in the future, from smartphones like iPhone and Blackberry to tablet computers like iPad. The conventional desktop PC is no longer a topic of conversation.

Here, we present a number of iPad apps that have debuted at SAPPHIRE NOW.

1. Syclo Smart Mobile Suite: Integrated with SAP Business Suite 7

2. Mellmo Roambi Visualizer: Business Intelligence

iPad as a replacement for desktops and notebooks (photo: Frank Völkel)

Syclo Smart Mobile Suite

Syclo is showing off its Smart Mobile Suite, a development platform for mobile devices that makes SAP Business Suite 7 integration possible. It also includes the following functions for SAP systems

• Smart Service Manager
• Smart Work Manager for SAP ERP
• Smart Inventory Manager for SAP ERP
• Smart Rounds for SAP ERP

Speaking with Syclo, it became clear that different devices need to be available for specific fields of use. Development platforms like Smart Mobile Suite thus have to support multiple mobile operating systems.

Mellmo Roambi Visualizer for Business Intelligence

Mellmo is offering integration with SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI R2/3.0/3.1 based on its own Roambi Enterprise Server 3. Roambi Visualizer functions as an interface to Enterprise Server 3 for iPhone and iPad, making it possible to prepare data forgraphical presentation in business reports on the latter device. The data can take the form of RPT files created with Crystal Reports 2008 or earlier versions of the software. Users can also access non-SAP environments, such as IBM Cognos Reports 8.3/8.4 or later and Microsoft Reporting Services 2005/2008.

Roambi Visualizer (with SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse) on iPad (photo: Frank Völkel)

via http://en.sap.info/sap-on-ipad-it’s-all-going-mobile/32788/3

Now we can synchronize our contacts and calendar with GMAIL Contact and Google Calendar using PUSH technology. It really easy to setup that in your iPhone. Just select Microsoft Exchange when adding new account. For iPhone and Windows Mobile devices, Google Sync allows you to get your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar events to your phone. Once you set up Sync on your phone, it will automatically begin synchronizing your address book and calendar in the background, over-the-air, so you can attend to other tasks. Sync uses push technology so any changes or additions to your calendar or contacts are reflected on your device in minutes. The connection is always on so you don’t have to manually sync your phone after Sync has been set up. This means that when your colleague changes the time of the TPS report cover sheets meeting, you’ll know about it right away.

Since Sync is a two-way service, you can make changes on your phone or in your Google Account. Your calendar and contacts are always up-to-date, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Also, since your data is automatically backed up to your Google Account, it’s securely stored even if you lose your phone.

Sync: Set Up Your iPhone or iPod Touch

Important! Google Sync uses the Microsoft© Exchange ActiveSync© protocol. When setting up a new Exchange ActiveSync account on your iPhone, all existing Contacts and Calendar events will be removed from your phone. Please make sure to back up any important data before you set up Google Sync.

Agile Messenger is the worlds most feature rich and user friendly all-in-one MSN®, AIM®, Yahoo!®, ICQ® & GoogleTalk® instant messaging client for your iPhone!

Send instant text and picture messages to anyone on your MSN®, AIM®, Yahoo!®, ICQ® & GoogleTalk® contact list directly from your iPhone! Save money on SMS: Agile Messenger sends all messages through your data-plan, there is no per message charge!

You can find Agile Messenger in the App Store now.  It’s currently priced at a ‘special introductory price’ of $9.99 for its first 30 days.

So, what’s with the new iPhone 3G?

Well, it’s pretty much the same iPhone as before — except now it’s down to $200, and has way faster 3G data, A-GPS (which is even better than regular GPS), as well as a flush headphone jack (which is great for anyone who doesn’t want to use Apple’s bundled headphones). Oh, and it’s also a little thinner around the edges, and a little thicker at the center. If you want to know what it was like to try out, check out our iPhone 3G hands-on.

How’d they get the price so low? The iPhone used to be crazy expensive.

Actually, depending on how you do the math it’s not actually cheaper. Now, in some countries the iPhone is free when you sign up for service, and in the US you’ll pay $200 for the 8GB model — half what it was a month ago — so you’re definitely paying less up front. But the data plans cost more now, so you might wind up spending more money over the long run.

Read the rest of this entry »

Google Reader is a hot ticket for iPhone and iPod Touch users lately. We saw a native attempt at Google Reader, which worked quite well actually. There is just nothing like the real thing though right? So here it is, Google has finally brought full support of its RSS reader, Google Reader, to the mobile Safari browser. The service says it is still in beta, but it seems to be working very well.

“This new version is designed to offer many of the same features as the desktop, while making it quick and easy to act on items. If you’ve used list view, then it should be familiar to you. Scan the titles for an item that interests you, tap and it expands in place. Starring, sharing, and keeping unread are done in place, so you never have to leave the list view or refresh the page. We think it’s a very fast way to power through your reading list.” – Google Reader Blog

The application looks to bring a more desktop like Google Reader experience to the mobile Safari browser. To access the new Google Reader, just visit http://www.google.com/reader/i/ on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The service is still in beta and you will not be redirected to that page just by visiting Reader, so bookmark it for future use.

[Via Google Reader Blog]

As the iPhone continues to march across the globe, Google’s special (and slick) interface that was introduced in mid-December has been limited to English speakers. However, yesterday the company rolled it out to 33 countries in 16 languages, including Chinese–despite the fact the handset is not available through any Chinese carriers.

More importantly, Google continues to create special mobile variations of its other pages, which now includes Google News and support for users of Google Apps. Google Apps users can now check their mail using the same interface regular Gmail users have been enjoying, with the added benefit of being signed in to use the other mobile Google services.

The updated news viewer allows users to browse by the front page or by section, and features a built-in search tool. It’s still essentially a link repository to other third-party sites, but it’s now far easier to parse through on smaller screens than its original format.

What really makes the updated News page shine is that it integrates YouTube videos in the related stories. If there are videos for a selected subject, you can view them as thumbnails, which when clicked will jump you to the handset’s built-in YouTube viewer. Short of actually having Flash, this is the closest you’ll get to being able to casually watch Web videos while browsing other news networks. You could also use a conversion tool like vTap or Avot mV, but this new system requires one less step.

I still think most iPhone users will be inclined to use Safari’s built in-search tool, which can be set to use either Google or Yahoo without having to venture to a search page first. With the speed of EDGE, I often find myself skipping any unnecessary page load when it comes time to search on the go, something that won’t be fixed until the purported 3G version of the handset comes out later this year.

The recently released iPhone SDK Beta 3 continues to give up juicy hints as to Apple’s intents for the handset’s next major update; not only has the 3G chipset been identified but new code referring to stereo Bluetooth headset support, suggestions of GPS and new functionality for mobile Safari and Google Maps.  There are also signs that Apple may not be taking the ongoing hacking of the iPhone lying down, with the inclusion of a “BRICKED_AND_LOCKED_SIM_STRING” that suggests the handset could seize up should an unlocking attempt be made.

In terms of Bluetooth, A2DP has been included in the code as well as “HeadphonesBT” that indicates wireless stereo capabilities, long requested for the handset.  Bluetooth remote control is also mentioned.  The new beta also references “RoleGPS”, which many have assumed will mean either in-built navigation capabilities or at least compatibility with an external GPS device (likely connected via Bluetooth).

The library also includes a mention of “Printers”, a new addition, while reference to Nike+ sports monitoring equipment have been deleted.  The suspected integration of the currently standalone YouTube app into mobile Safari is also present, via a “YouTubePlugIn.webplugin” component, and “Google411″ – the search company’s directory enquiry service – is now associated with Google Maps on the iPhone.

Finally, there are suspicions that Apple will require official activation of an iPhone via iTunes before Firmware 2.0 is permitted to install.