Modality updates Flash Cards

Modality from North Carolina has moved on to the 21st century by introducing digital flashcards in a large suite of software titles that were specially designed to be viewed on the iPhone.
Using outstanding anatomical illustrations from Netter's hugely popular Atlas of Human Anatomy (4th Edition), Netter's Anatomy allows you to carry the bestselling reference for human anatomy on your iPhone or iPod touch. Navigate through images with the flick of a finger, pinch to zoom, and tap to test your knowledge of muscles, bones, vessels, viscera and the joints. Use study mode to explore images at your own pace and quiz mode to test yourself on what you know.
Sounds like an excuse to get a 3G iPhone IMHO ;)

Apple's lucrative iPhone revenue sharing goes away, replaced with "traditional" model

AT&T (well, Cingular at the time) and Apple entered into a very peculiar marriage of convenience to bring the original iPhone to American airwaves whereby AT&T shelled out cash to Cupertino each and every month for iPhone subscribers on its network (the exact terms were never publicized). Very simply, Apple had something good; they knew it and leveraged it to the very maximum of their ability, dangling the tantalizing prospect of endless publicity and droves of new customers in exchange for the deal. That same logic left Apple struggling to find partners in Europe, though, ultimately deploying the 2.5G model in just five markets there under AT&T-like terms.

Fast forward to July 2008 and the iPhone 3G, and the picture has changed just a bit. At least 70 countries will see the updated version before the year's out, but why the sudden change of heart by the world's carriers? Turns out the answer might lie in a revamped sales model that more closely mirrors the deals carriers set up with other manufacturers. AT&T has gone on the record saying that it'll take a huge revenue hit -- 10 to 12 cents per share both this year and next before finally planning on profitability in 2010 -- in order to deeply subsidize the phone on its own accord, taking Apple and its precious monthly kickbacks out of the picture. This is presumably the same kind of setup Apple is offering to carriers around the globe, a setup that they're already well acquainted with that provides a clear path to black ink (or so they would hope, anyway).

What does this mean for Apple, then? There's some chatter that the move away from a monthly revenue model will "force" Apple into charging for firmware updates much the way it does for the iPod touch, but that's not really a valid train of thought. We already know that Apple's committed to updating iPhones at no charge, something it can do by virtue of its accounting model where it recognizes revenue from the sales of devices over time. That accounting model was chosen precisely because it looked best on paper while Apple was continuing to churn out fee-free upgrades, not because of the original revenue model in place with AT&T. For what it's worth, they're still going to be rolling in the dough; carriers, on the other hand, are going to be waiting a while to dig out of that deep subsidy hole.

Aiptek joins the fold with PocketCinema V10 mini-projector

If there are two things Aiptek knows, it's cheap and small. Along with Foxconn and Honlai, Aiptek is introducing a pocket-sized projector over in Taipei, and it's being eloquently dubbed the PocketCinema V10. Reportedly, the device taps 3M's miniature projection technology to shoot up a 50-inch image, and if you don't have a bona fide source laying around, it can still entertain guests by reading from the 1GB of internal memory or 3-in-1 multicard reader. Furthermore, it packs a built-in battery and stereo speakers, but unfortunately, we can't tell you where or when you'll be able to purchase one of these unpriced wonders.

WiMax Eee PC 901 specs, older Eee PC price cuts

As you know, Asus will be announcing its Atom-based 8.9-inch Eee PC 901 and 10-inch 1001 tomorrow at Computex. However, the more obscure WiMax Expo show has already kicked off featuring a WiMax-enabled Eee PC 901. While the WiMax version won't ship until later (for obvious reasons), the 901 models at the show are being displayed in both black and white models based on a 1.6GHz Atom processor with 1GB of memory, Bluetooth, WiFi, memory card slot, and a 20GB SSD for Linux builds or 12GB SSD for Windows. Oh, and the 1.14-kg laptop features a 4- or 6-hour battery life depending upon battery selected. As to the older Eee PCs, ASUS' CEO said they'll be cutting prices on those which makes the Celeron M 701 and 900 models all the more attractive.