By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

The SEC has announced an investigation after a fake report indicating that Steve Jobs had suffered a major heart attack caused Apple (AAPL) stock to drop 10%. The report first appeared on CNN’s iReport citizen journalism site, which describes itself as a source of “Unedited. Unfiltered. News.”

CNN says it is cooperating with the investigation, giving the SEC what information it has about johntw. While most likely this will be limited to an IP address and an email address, it’s quite possible the SEC will catch the peson.

CNN has a disclaimer on the iReport site:

The views and content on this site are solely those of the iReport.com contributors. CNN makes no guarantees about the content or the coverage on iReport.com!

The report, since removed, said:

Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven’t seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.

CNN issued the following statement:

iReport.com is an entirely user-generated site where the content is determined by the community. Content that does not comply with Community Guidelines will be removed. After the content in question was uploaded to iReport.com, the community brought it to our attention. Based on our Terms of Use that govern user behavior on iReport.com, the fraudulent content was removed from the site and the user’s account was disabled.

This highlights the major flow of citizen journalism: anyone can post to these sites, and how do you know just who is trustworthy and, at least to a point, profession. So much of the “news” on these sites is junk or spam. Some sites (e.g., Huliq) do not publish stories from users until an editor has “approved” them.

CNN has no such policy. Of course, bloggers in general can post anything they want, including obviously false stories — out-and-out lies — that people who fail to think take as true, particularly in the political sector.

The timing of the post was particularly noteworthy, being just prior to the market open on Friday. Apple stock has been in a steep slide since the middle of August, despite the company’s continued stellar performance, due to concerns about the economy’s dismal outlook.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

A false report on CNN’s new social news site, iReport, caused Apple stock to plummet on Friday morning. The site allows users to post unvetted, unfiltered stories, and a report of a massive heart attack suffered by Steve Jobs caused the drop (as you can see above).

Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton said, plain and simple:

“It is not true.”

This was a major failure on the part of CNN’s new site, which is still in beta, but it’s also likely to call into question “citizen journalism” period. iReport allows content to appear immediately on that site, and report deemed newsworthy are then posted on the iReport page on CNN.com. This story has since been removed. It read:

Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven’t seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.

Steve Jobs’ health has been the source of much investor and analyst concern since he appeared rather gaunt and ill at WWDC in June. Jobs’ has suffered from pancreatic cancer in the past.

Still, Jobs has been good-humored about it, going so far as to post the following slide (below) during the recent Apple “Let’s Rock” event.

And it appears that rumors of this heart attack have been greatly exaggerated, as well.

What is interesting is that this reporter (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he disappears from the site soon) has no history of iReports (now that the story has been pulled down, anyway). The drop in stock made for a nice price point to jump in. The story’s timing was perfect: 6 AM PDT, just prior to market open.

Due to this, I would be surprised if there wasn’t an SEC investigation. Hang onto that IP address info, CNN! Apple stock has since recovered.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

You might laugh at those Zits comic strips, which have shown a teenager text messaging his mother from across the room (and more), but you shouldn’t. A recently released Neilsen Mobile report indicates that using a cell phone to actually talk to someone has become passe, and that text messaging is more popular than calling.

This is good news for wireless carriers, who see text messaging as a cash cow. Of course, since California has become the latest state to ban text messaging while driving, people in California will soon have to resort to actually speaking to people, at least while behind the wheel.

From the above table, you can see from Q1 2006 to Q2 2008, calls themselves have remained fairly constant, while text messages have skyrocketed. Seemingly echoing Zits’ strips, the leading texters are in the 13-17 year age range (see below).

1,742 a month? Using a 30 day month, that’s nearly 60 a day, and (subtracting 8 hours for sleep, but not excluding school time) about 3.6 an hour.

Small wonder that California opted for a teenage cell phone ban prior to the text messaging ban Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (that still sounds weird) recently signed into law (and which will take effect on January 1st).

It also makes the recent Harris Interactive poll that said that 42% of teens say that they can text while blindfolded a heck of a lot more believable. I would challenge them to do that on a touch-screen only device, like the LG Dare or the iPhone, though!

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

It appears that not telling people about your battery replacement plan prior to them buying the product is not quite the same as really, really poor battery life. Unlike the iPod battery lawsuit, which eventually led to an out-of-court settlement, this one has been thrown out of court.

Jose Trujillo’s lawsuit claimed that Apple and AT&T did not notify him or other customers about potential battery limitations either before the phone’s launch or before it was purchased, using that as the basis for his suit.

According to Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly in Chicago granted Apple’s request that he dismiss the lawsuit as without merit. In his ruling, he said:

“Apple disclosed on the outside of the iPhone package that the ‘battery has limited recharge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by Apple service provider.’ Under the circumstances, no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred.”

While there are at least two other iPhone battery lawsuits pending — this decision is only about Trujillo’s lawsuit — based on this ruling, it’s likely they will be dismissed as well.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Today was the introduction of the T-Mobile G1, the first Google Android cell phone. The launch event didn’t include details on the service plans, but closer examination of the plans after they were posted to T-Mobile’s site reveals some worrisome details.

First of all, T-Mobile’s 3G network is the smallest among U.S. carriers. T-Mobile insists that they’ll have HSDPA up and running in twenty one markets by mid-October when the phone hits stores — and twenty seven markets by year’s end. Many of T-Mobile’s customers will be relegated to EDGE anyway.

But then, here’s the kicker: the fine print at the bottom of T-Mobile’s 3G detail page (emphasis T-Mobile’s):

If your total data usage in any billing cycle is more than 1GB, your data throughput for the remainder of that cycle may be reduced to 50 kbps or less. Your data session, plan, or service may be suspended, terminated, or restricted for significant roaming or if you use your service in a way that interferes with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users. Some devices require specific data plans; if you do not have the right plan for your device, you may not be able to use data services. Some downloads, such as movies, music, and games, not included. Domestic use only.

One thing’s for sure: you’re not going to be using the G1 for tethering purposes.

Some will say, big deal, 1 GB is a lot of data. Well, in reality, nowadays, it’s not. And the way they advertise their service plans is somewhat misleading:

You can choose from a data plan that offers 400 messages and unlimited data access for $25 a month—or add unlimited messaging for just $10 more a month.

While we all know that cell phone data plans aren’t really unlimited, this is the first time I’ve heard of throttling like this, and after only 1 GB of usage. Comcast, meet T-Mobile.

I expect users to buy the phone anyway, but I also expect to see some fallout.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Let’s not let the fact that the device hasn’t even been officially introduced yet slow us down, shall we? On Tuesday, prior to the introduction of the T-Mobile G1 (AKA the HTC Dream or Google’s first Android phone), Amazon confirmed rumors of a built-in app on the device which allows access to and purchase from the Amazon MP3 store directly on the phone.

Amazon’s music is all MP3, and thus all DRM-free, from all four major labels as well as independents. The rumored application had been nicknamed “AndroidTunes” by some.

While browsing, searching, sampling and buying can all be done over a cellular connection, according to the press release, downloading requires a wi-fi connection:

The T-Mobile G1 comes pre-loaded with an Amazon MP3 application, giving customers a phone-optimized version of the Amazon MP3 store and the immediate gratification of buying and playing their favorite music. Amazon MP3 has worked to make its DRM-free music available through numerous products and services, such as Pandora MySpace Music, and now Android and T-Mobile G1.

Downloading music from Amazon MP3 using the T-Mobile G1 requires a Wi-Fi connection but searching, browsing, listening to samples and buying MP3s can be done wherever customers are connected to the T-Mobile network. Downloaded MP3s can be played anytime on the T-Mobile G1, PCs, Macs or any other MP3 music player.

The best thing about Amazon MP3’s music, as I keep emphasizing to anyone who will listen, is the DRM-free MP3 format. Even if you buy DRM-free music from iTunes it’s still AAC format. Thus, I generally steer people toward Amazon MP3.

However, iTunes’ dominance lies not just in the iPod / iPhone devices but in the ease of buying. You already have iTunes installed on your PC, making it easy to buy.

So, if the G1 and descendents take off, will this app make a real impact, because it makes it easier to buy? This could be the “vehicle” that drives Amazon MP3 to iTunes level, because now Amazon MP3 will have a similar method to drive people to the store. And once people figure out the benefits of DRM-less music, this might actually become a battle.

The real war won’t start until more devices come out. And the stranglehold that iTunes has on the marketplace is still a big obstacle, even with this new system.

This could be fun.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

The new Microsoft ads went live on Thursday. And at the start of each ad is Sean Siler, a Microsoft employee who, luckily for Microsoft bears some resemblance to John Hodgman, the PC in Apple’s ads. In the first and third ads, he says “I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype. In the second ad he says, “I’m a PC, and I’m not alone.”

Thereafter, in each ad, follows a montage of people saying “I’m a PC,” and sometimes adding an additional comment. Bill Gates shows up in ad 1, as does Eva Longoria — and Tony Parker.

The idea of this campaign, despite the fact it might be confusing, though not as confusing as the Seinfeld ads, is that the people in the ads, by saying they are PCs, are showing the variety of users of Windows computers.

Quite a few Microsoft employees show up in the ads, and if they do their email address is shown on the screen as well. If you try emailing Sean Siler’s email, you’ll get an interesting auto-reply: More

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

The iPhone 2.1 software update, which has been long awaited (long, because despite only being announced at Tuesday’s “Let’s Rock” event, long-suffering 3G users have been waiting for an improvement in 3G support since the iPhone 3G’s launch), has arrived.

Interestingly, once again it installed “Apple Mobile Device USB Drivers,” which had also been installed by iTunes 8.0 when I installed that yesterday (yes, on Vista). The download is 237.8 MB, and for once Apple is fairly open about the changes.

Not only does the software show release notes when downloading (above), they’ve even gone so far as to put up a web page with details.

Here are the details (emphasis mine):

The iPhone 2.1 software update contains many bug fixes and improvements. To get it, connect your iPhone to your computer using iTunes 8 and click Check for Update.

Update includes:

• Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
• Significantly better battery life for most users
• Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• Faster installation of 3rd party applications
• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
• Improved performance in text messaging
• Faster loading and searching of contacts
• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

The question is, does “improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength” display mean it’ll just show different bar results, but still perform poorly when compared to other 3G phones in the same area (within inches, in my informal testing)?

Still updating, will update this post when I’m done testing. More