Press Releases & News

Pebble Learning, creators of PebblePad, has launched an iPhone app for the online personal learning system. Universities and professional bodies using PebblePad have been keen to see the introduction of an iPhone version of the software to support a range of learning activities. Users can now record their thoughts, or upload photos straight from their iPhones to their online personal learning space, wherever they are.

The growth of wireless zones has contributed to the cost of mobile internet browsing dropping considerably in the past year, and the costs are likely to drop further under pressure from consumer watchdogs.

Colin Dalziel, Operations Director at Pebble Learning, comments, “The massive increase in the number of applications for the iPhone and Android-based smart phones has been phenomenal and now the 100,000+ applications include a PebblePad app. We anticipate use will include recording and reflecting upon activities immediately at the point of action, as well as collecting photographic evidence to support research, project work, professional development and work-based learning.”

The items recorded on the iPhone can be sent directly to a blog to allow users to keep an ongoing record of their activity. Any item recorded on the iPhone can also be reused in a number of ways within the online system to present rich portfolios of work for a variety of purposes. These may include peer review activities, formal assessment or as supporting material to enhance a job application or career progression.

Colin continues, “The convenience of having a device in your pocket to record evidence and activity is likely to make online portfolios a rich and powerful medium for presentation.”

The new application will be discussed at Pebble Learning’s inaugural conference: 8-10 June 2010 in Shifnal, Shropshire, UK.

For more information on the iPhone app, including a video, visit: http://www.pebblepad.co.uk/iphone.asp

For more information on the PebblePad Conference, visit www.pebblepad.co.uk/conference , call +44 (0)1952 288300 or email conference@pebblelearning.co.uk. Conference bookings close on 5 April 2010.
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Notes to editors:

About PebblePad http://www.pebblepad.co.uk
PebblePad is an innovative personal learning system designed to support any learner, learning at any level. Its unique interface hints at the user friendly system which allows users to build and share a broad collection of items related to their studies, personal development, continuing professional development or any event of personal significance.

For more information contact Pebble Learning: info@pebblelearning.co.uk or phone 01952 288300

About Pebble Learning Ltd
Pebble Learning, with its blend of technological and pedagogic expertise, offers a wide range of services designed to help the UK educational community develop expertise in the use of innovative personal learning technologies to meet the challenges and realize the opportunities elearning offers.

For more information contact Pebble Learning: info@pebblelearning.co.uk or phone 01952 288300

Press enquiries:
Catherine Dhanjal, TheAnswer Ltd
Tel: 01883 650434 or 07941 669925
Catherine.dhanjal@theansweruk.com

25 February 2010 TA-595

Time.com (www.times.com), the online edition of the prestigious American weekly newspaper, has recently published a ranking of the 10 best iPhone applications of this year.

At the first place we find Tweetie 2 app, the version for iPhone of the Twitter client. Immediately following ranks Yelp, an app that allows users to orient their self  among the local restaurants and places of particular interest. In the third place we find Slaker, a web radio that offers to users over 100 music stations.

The remaining apps that didn’t manage to win a place on the podium are: Flight Track Pro (an app that allows you to monitor the status of flights), Mint (an app useful for the finance administration and management), Sling Player Mobile (that allows you to watch some television broadcasts directly from your iPhone), The Small Chair (exclusive contents of the famous publishing group Mc Sweeney), RunKeeper the perfect application for runners, Photoshop.com Mobile (the mobile version of the known editing software) and finally Locavore (an app that will keep you updated on everything you need to know to eat locally).

From 3,000 to 4,000 new iPhone were stolen during last weekend in a big warehouse logistics, near Willebroek in Belgium. The smartphone’s consignment was destined for Belgian operator Mobistar and the estimated value of the theft amounts to be around 2 million euros (3 million USD).

The police are still investigating on the largest iPhone heist to date and the first surveys seems to be an inside job. To push in this direction the same modality of the theft, in Hollywood-style. During the weekend the thieves have had plenty of time to a ladder to climb onto the roof of the huge warehouse of the Ceva Logistics company and make a hole in the roof, magically just above the point where the dozens and dozens of iPhone’s boxes were deposited. Obviously, this makes suggest that the thieves had prior knowledge of where the phones were stored.

Patti Verdoodt , a spokesman of the company, announced that a new shipment of iPhone is going to arrive soon, however in time for Christmas shopping. In fact the operator Mobistar has managed to provide a number of iPhone just enough to meet the high demand already in the last months.

Source of the news: iWikiPhone – Latest iPhone News

Alert for iPhone with jailbreak, the cell phone modification  that allows you to install any applications.
According to the software company Intego, Antivirus for Mac, there’s a new mobile phone threat for the users with Jailbreak iPhone.
Thanks to new tools crackers steal any data or information stored on smartphone, including email, contact information, text messages and also music, photos.
How does the “enemy” to get into the iPhone?
The “thief” of data obtains access to the smartphone by using the standard utility SSH root password that is  only installed in the jailbreak iPhones.
From that moment until now all stored data can be stolen!
Unlike from the first iPhone worm, this new worm is even “sneaky” and quiet … you cannot feel his presence … under no circumstances.
Intego Company, which has integrated the security tools in the program Intego VirusBarrier X5 can detect and remove the worm detected in Mac, he clarified that there is no permanent solution to protect the iPhone and therefore does not recommend the jailbreak procedure.

iPhone App Reviews – latest iPhone applications – iWikiPhone

5,000 of Chinese customers have bought an iPhone, after only a few day since the launch. This number is considered a bit low by the major world media, especially given the number of customers of China Unicom who have signed plans and related services to the new 3G cellular network recently launched, of about 1 million.

In any case, Chang Xiaobing, president of China Unicom said that the company is satisfied with the current trend: “We are satisfied of iPhone’s sales so far, and we aim to reach 1 million of new 3G users per month in the near future. “The operator also said to provide an increase in incomes for the fourth quarter year generated also through the Apple smartphone.

In this regard, the leaders of China Unicom provide that gross receipts are decreasing from 39% now to 36% over the next quarter, mainly due to the competition and increased costs necessary to support the subsidies. In this last item fall within the additional expense that operators have to meet to offer iPhone in their catalog: in addition to the subsidy on the total price the reduction in revenues is also due to higher expenditure in advertising and marketing necessary to promote the smartphone.

Source of the News: iWikiPhone – iPhone News

According to the latest rumors Nokia, the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, is suing Apple for infringing patents on mobile phone technology used in iPhone. The Cupertino company has also been accused of “trying to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation”.

The patents used without permission from Apple would be ten in all and concern strategic technologies for the use of GSM, UMTS and Wi-Fi protocols, as well as the wireless transmission of data and codes of languages.

During the last twenty years, Nokia had invested about 40bn Euros (£36.2bn; $60bn) on research and development. Despite this, Nokia has seen its first quarterly loss in a decade amid falling sales (from 41% to 38%). Analysts said that this poor results had come partly as customers turned from Nokia mobile phones to the iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry.

These same analysts have estimated that the Finnish industrial giant could get to ask Apple the amount of one million dollars in damages.

Apple for the moment did not comment on the news.

Source of the news: iWikiPhone – iPhone News

John Lily, the CEO of Mozilla, during an interview said that the company is working to develop an application for iPhone, although he preferred not to release further details.

Mozilla will release an app to the iPhone app store in the next few weeks, it’ll surprise people.

The new browser for the Apple phone would have to be issued in the coming weeks, although it is doubtful that Apple will insert in the App Store an alternative and equivalent to the native browser Safari. In fact in the company’s guidelines is clearly prohibited the duplication of core functions of the iPhone.

At the same time there are those who do not exclude the possibility that this application will be approved, as Apple did begin to approve third-party applications earlier this year. And that could open the door for the Weave service, as well.

Mozilla Wave is essentially a way for Firefox users to upload their personal browser preferences to Mozilla’s servers and then be Able to Access them from Firefox on from any computer or device.

Source of the news: iWikiPhone – Latest iPhone Applications

According to the latest rumors, the engineers of Cupertino are working on a new application that will enable the use of FM radio on iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch.

The latest models of Apple’s phone would already have the functionality to receive and transmit on FM, although it is still not used. This application will unlock this new and long-awaited feature, allowing users to listen to radio broadcasts. The interesting news is that this software will work on the models already on market and therefore you will not need to buy any additional accessories.

The application will also recognize the music played on your favorite radio station, so you can buy it through iTunes. But not only, 9to5Mac has reported that on the iPhone and iPod Touch will be offered all the features already available in the new iPod nano: time shifting to pause, record and then listen to the live broadcasts, put tags for artists and songs.

This is not the first time that Apple “wakes” some hidden software in its products. For the second generation of iPod Touch, for example, the Bluetooth was enabled nine months after launching the product on the market, with the update 3.0 of the software.

It has been finally released a new firmware update for iPhone and iPod Touch, to fix bugs encountered by many Apple users.

Only a month ago, Apple released iPhone OS 3.1, which debuted a number of new features, such as Genius, ringtones and much more. Some iPhone users have informed Apple about some more or less important problems that they have find.

iPhone OS 3.1.2 is only a minor release, that should resolve malfunctions on 3 specific areas. First of all, it has been solved a problem that occurred sporadically, which prevented the iPhone to wake up from sleep mode. It was also solved the intermittent problem that could interrupt the cellular network services until th restart of the terminal. Finally, it has been removed a bug that could cause occasional crashes while streaming movies.

As with all updates iPhone, also this new version of iPhone OS is offered automatically through iTunes, or you can force it with the command “Check for updates” on iTunes. This release is also accompanied by an update to AT&T’s carrier settings file for iPhone users in the US.

iPhone OS 3.1.2 is compatible with all iPhone models and weighs in at approximately 240 MB.

Source of news: iWikiPhone – iPhone App Reviews