x RAIN is in the process of changing site hosts. Archival issues of RAIN and some other links are currently not available. We apologize for the inconvenience. We'll let you know as soon as they become available again. x

Reprinted from yesterday's late edition



BY DANIEL MCSWAIN
After months of speculation, Apple Inc. has delivered its most talked-about product to date, a marriage of some of the most popular and ubiquitous technologies into one device: the iPhone.

The iPhone, unveiled by Apple Inc. head Steve Jobs during his CES keynote address this afternoon, is arguably the closest thing to the idealized "smart phone" to hit the consumer market yet, combining full phone functionality with music, video, photo and computing options that before now were not available under the same roof.

The device, which will hit shelves in June and will be available in 4 GB ($499) and 8 GB ($599) models, is navigated by a touch screen that controls nearly all of the iPhone's long list of functions.

As you'll see from the photo, the iPhone runs on Mac OS X, which would lead one to believe that the iPhone will work much like any other operating system. It would follow also that the built-in WiFi connectivity of the iPhone would be able to access the extremely popular iTunes software, including the iTunes radio streams, putting a portable Net radio station library in the hands of every iPhone user worldwide.

Read detailed accounts of Jobs' CES keynote address in Gizmodo here and in Engadget here. Stay tuned to RAIN for more iPhone information in upcoming issues.


From Online Media Daily: "Apple's [iPhone] could well transform the nascent mobile advertising field, marketing executives said  Tuesday...

"The new Wi-Fi-enabled device... lets users... download and play music and videos;... In addition, with a wide 3.5-inch screen, the phone offers new promise for wireless video ads...

"Cyriac Roeding, vice president of wireless at CBS Interactive,  agreed that the new iPod phone... is likely to spark a surge in mobile marketing — provided that users embrace it the same way they turned to the iPod a few years ago. 'If we can get the same effect in the wireless world, then we will see an uptick in mobile advertising automatically,' he said...

"Downloading music or videos is expected to be seamless—which analysts say will speed adoption of mobile content. If that proves to be the case, marketers will likely step up sponsorship efforts by, for example, offering free downloads, [said eMarketer senior analyst for wireless John du Pre Gauntt] predicted...

"The iPhone isn't the only development this week that's likely to drive a mobile marketing surge. Verizon and Qualcomm's MediaFlo Monday unveiled a plan to stream live TV to cell phones—which also will likely encourage the growth of mobile video ads, said CBS's Roeding."

Read the entire article at Online Media Daily.

From the Digital Music Weblog: "Pandora is starting to insert advertisements into its audio stream, something that came as a bit of a shock to long time Pandora listeners and fans.

"We spoke with Pandora's CTO Tom Conrad... about the move, and he reassured us that the Pandora most of us know and love isn't going to change overnight.

"Digital Music Weblog: How 'wide' is the current trial, and how is it determined who hears ads?

"Pandora: Less than 10% of our daily listeners hear the ad.... It's cap'd at once per day per listener and it's targeted by age.

"DMW: What formats for ads are you trying?

"P: The only ad style we're testing is NPR-style ('this station brought to you by...') The ad we're running right now is 9 seconds. There are no current plans to test other styles or lengths...

"DMW: Does Pandora plan to target ads based on user preferences in music?... Should we expect Pandora to roll out a full ad system to all users?

"P: As with the rest of the Pandora product, our ad delivery system evolves incrementally over time. We're always looking for ways to improve our ability to deliver relevant ads that don't detract from the listening experience."

Read the entire article at the Digital Music Weblog.