The Net Applications quarterly browser market share report came out this past weekend, and the results are pretty staggering as far as the mobile space is concerned. The iPhone, which has only been on sale for a mere five months, represents 0.9% of the total browser market share. While at first glance this number may seem rather low, this figure represents all browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.

To put a little perspective on this, consider the Windows CE platform, which comprises all of the Windows Mobile platform devices. Windows CE garnered 0.6%, giving it 2/3 of iPhone’s reach in the mobile browser market. Still need more? Well, Windows Mobile devices have been for sale since 1996, and Microsoft shipped over three million of them in Q1 2007 alone. Apple, on the other hand, as mentioned earlier only released the iPhone about five months ago and has sold somewhere around 1.5 million to date.

In simple terms, the iPhone is responsible for almost one out of every 1,000 page views, and this figure will only go higher. I currently use both an iPhone and a Windows Mobile 6 device, the T-Mobile Dash, and without question the Internet experience on the iPhone is light years ahead.

Get your act together Microsoft. Make a mobile browser that actually shows Web pages how they’re supposed to look.

You can file this one as “well, duh,” but Bloomberg is reporting that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that Apple will release a 3G version of its uber-popular iPhone mobile device in 2008. There was no additional information given as far as a release date, price or any new features, so it looks as though the first shot we have at getting any real details about this won’t be until MacWorld in January of next year.

Having a 3G (third generation) network to support the iPhone will be truly wonderful and MUCH needed. To describe it without using any tech jargon, think of it as several times faster than your current EDGE experience and closer to that of what you experience when connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot. Verizon and Sprint customers (and some AT&T) know full well the joys of wireless communications with 3G.

However, only adding a 3G radio to the iPhone won’t be enough to satisfy the fanboys like myself, and if Steve Jobs wants to knock everyone’s socks off again he’s going to have to build some new capabilities into an ‘08 iPhone model. Notably, MMS, GPS, an IM application (iChat would do just fine please), true bluetooth support, a file system browser, the ability to cut and paste (still not sure how they’re gonna accomplish that one though) and most importantly, corporate email support with Microsoft Exchange!

We are painfully reminded every day when we venture out of our homes that the iPhone does not have 3G technology. The EDGE network is brutally slow and painful and there simply is no way to sugarcoat that harsh reality. But wait! All hope is not lost my fellow iPhoners, as we do have a little feature called Wireless Fidelity, better known as WiFi (and no, I didn’t need to Wikipedia that ).

Many features on the iPhone, most notably Safari and Mail, operate such that the greater the available bandwidth the greater the experience of using the application. So it becomes important to know how much you got coming down the pipe back and forth between your iPhone and wireless router. Enter iNetwork Test.

The Web site iNetwork Test exists to perform exactly this function, to tell you how fast your WiFi network speed is currently operating. The site is a piece of cake to use, simply navigate to inetworktest.com and click the “Start Test” button. Then just wait. The quicker your connection the quicker the test will complete. Once the test completes, you select whether you’re operating via WiFi or EDGE, and the Web site records your score.

My WiFi network speeds were as follows:

1st attempt - 925 kbps
2nd attempt - 940 kbps
3rd attempt - 841 kbps
4th attempt - 894 kbps
5th attempt - 910 kbps

Once your score has been recorded you can click on the “Results” button to see how your score relates to the average EDGE and/or WiFi speeds. At the time of this writing, the average EDGE speed is 208 kbps, and the average WiFi speed is 798 kbps, putting me a bit above the average — gotta love that fiber optic pipe.

And to the wise guys out there, yes, it can detect if you’re not using an iPhone:

iNetwork Test for iPhone

2659.3 kbps
Not an iPhone

Apple Insider is reporting (via Piper Jaffray) that the next major iPhone firmware update won’t be coming out until early next year (it’s likely to see minor feature additions and bug fix updates like the one we saw last week). However, the good news is that when the update finally makes its way onto our iPhones it will come with Spotlight, the system-wide search feature found in Apple computers like the Macbook, Macbook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro.

It should come as no surprise, really, as the iPhone runs — albeit stripped down — Mac OS X just like the aforementioned computers. Also, technically speaking, the iPhone itself is quite a powerful little computer.

Once embedded onto our iPhones, Spotlight will allow users to search through contacts, emails, phone numbers, and calendar events via a single interface.

The update is currently rumored to drop around February, when the iPhone SDK is to be released and the platform will finally be open to third-party applications.

I think this will be a great addition to the iPhone IF a feature that allows you to use the iPhone as a filesystem is released in parallel. As it stands presently, I know the contents of my contacts, phone numbers and calendar events as I am 100% responsible for creating them. Thus, there’s really no point in allowing me to search through them for keywords, it would actually take longer than browsing directly. Email being the only current exception, as some search functionality would be nice. However the true power of Spotlight on the Mac comes from its ability to search through all types of files, not just a finite set of pre-defined types currently available on the iPhone. If users were allowed to use the iPhone as a storage disk, and put whatever we wanted on it, then Spotlight would truly prove an invaluable resource.

Although it wasn’t slated to reach U.S. iPhone users until tomorrow, the latest firmware update version 1.1.2 is now available. It hasn’t *technically* come to the iTunes masses yet, however Engadget has uncovered the file buried somewhere on an Apple server. If you’re interested in grabbing it before it makes its way to iTunes, check out this download link:

iPhone1,1_1.1.2_3B48b_Restore.ipsw (160MB)

*photo courtesy of Engadget

Unfortunately I have yet to install this myself, as my iPhone dock isn’t at my apartment right now so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow. However early reports are stating that this update brings support for international languages (recall that it launches in Europe tomorrow) and numerous bug fixes. Not included with this update, to the dismay of many including myself, are voice memos and the ability to use the iPhone as a storage disk. Also, a word of wisdom to those with unlocked iPhones, this update will break jailbreak and you will not be able to use it, so it may be a good idea to hold off on this update until a fix is drafted.

Apple announced today that Mac OS X Leopard, their latest and greatest operating system, will go on sale Friday October 26th at 6:00 P.M. at Apple stores and authorized Apple Resellers. Leopard — Mac OS X version 10.5 — will cost $129 for a single-user license and $199 for a five-user license. However, the standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac from Apple or an Apple Reseller on or after October 1, 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95.

Leopard includes over 300 new features including Stacks, Quick Look, Spaces, Time Machine and more. For a complete rundown of all the new features of Mac OS X Leopard, visit Apple’s new Leopard features site.

It will be nice to finally have Leopard released into the wild — no pun intended — given the 4-month delay in development so that Apple could hit the target iPhone release date. This seems to be just another instance of Apple pushing-the-bar in terms of advancing the technology available in the marketplace, as Leopard brings to the table features never seen before on any operating system. I hate to sound fanboyish, but their products really are amazing.

Let’s end with a little forward-thinking, how about the multi-touch technology of the iPhone and iPod Touch in a future version of Mac OS X with a touchscreen monitor?

As an update to an earlier post in which the exact date was not known, the iPhone will be available in France beginning November 29th exclusively to customers of Orange. It will be sold via Orange’s online and retail stores, and it is unknown whether the Apple’s local online store will be selling iPhones.

The French iPhone will come in an 8GB model for €399 including V.A.T. for any subscription to one of the dedicated rate plans and will work with either a PC or Mac. And as is the case here in the U.S., activiation will require an Internet connection and iTunes store account.

À bientôt iPhone!

Apple Insider and numerous other Mac-related sites are reporting that the iPhone and iPod Touch contain water-damage sensors at the base of their headphone jacks. The sensor is a white disc that will irreversibly change colors when put in contact with water, thereby voiding your warranty from Apple. So do yourself a favor, and keep that iPhone in your pocket when near aquatic environments.

Apple has launched an official directory of iPhone and iPod Touch web applications. The directory, which currently includes over 200 third-party Web-based iPhone/iPod Touch-optimized applications, breaks down into categories such as Games, News, Sports, and Weather. Each application offers a description, developer name, web address, and date of inclusion to the directory.

The iPhone and iPod Touch web applications directory can be found at apple.com/webapps. Those interested in developing their own applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch can read this guide on how to get started.

I for one am very excited about this directory. Although I’ve used a number of the applications included in the current directory, there are many I’ve yet to check out and more will constantly be added.

Now if only they’d let us write non-Web-based applications…

AT&T announced today that it will purchase spectrum licenses from Aloha Partners LP to the sum of $2.5 billion. The move, which looks to enhance AT&T’s spectrum positioning by adding 12 MHz of spectrum at the 700MHz range, will increase AT&T’s ability to provide its customers with voice, data and video services.

In addition to enhancing AT&T’s services, it will also boost coverage, as the 700MHz spectrum covers 196 million people in 281 different markets — including all of the top 10 and 72 of the top 100 markets.

Forrest Miller, group president of Corporate Strategy and Development for AT&T, said that “customer demand for mobile services, including voice, data and video, is continually increasing.” With respect to the spectrum, he added “Aloha’s spectrum will enable AT&T to efficiently meet this growing demand and help our customers stay connected to their worlds.”

The only thing barring a done deal between Aloha and AT&T is government approval, which is expected within six to nine months. If the deal goes through this would likely silence critics of Apple’s iPhone who claim that the AT&T network on which it runs is inferior to others such as Verizon.