If there was any city in Europe that an international iPhone conference should be held at – its Amsterdam. No, not because it has an infamous red-light district and liberal policies towards the recreational use of cannabis, but because Amsteram represents some of the same values of free expression that makes the iPhone what it is today. Before the iPhone – mobile development was considered by many too difficult or cumbersome to deal with. Technology was limited, access to carriers for distribution was limited, and most of the deals were done behind closed doors.

While we may still have a ways to go before we reach mobile utopia (many would say that the Android platform is the next step in the right direction), the coming together of developers and thought leaders from around the world in a global conference is a step in the right direction.

Later this month (November 25th – 27th), the iCE Amsterdam conference will open its doors to those same developers and thought leaders to come together and share their knowledge and insights into the most exciting mobile platform on the planet. Some of those people include:

• Jonathan Wight, Chief Technology Office of Small Society, most notably on app projects like myStarbucks, WholeFoods and Obama 08.
  
• Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova co-founders of Imangi Studios, the team that bought us the popular “Harbor Master”
  
• Paran Johar, JumpTap’s head of global marketing activities
• Dom Sagolla of San Francisco who helped create Twitter in 2006, He is also the founder of DollarApp, and the co-founder and host of iPhoneDevCamp
• Mike Lee, known by some as “the World’s Toughest Programmer”, has worked on some of the best known titles on the App Store, including Obama ’08 and Tap Tap Revenge.

Just to name a few.

During the Pre-Conference day on Wednesday 25 November the iPhoneDevCamp will part of the program. iPhoneDevCamp is a not-for-profit gathering to develop applications for iPhone and iPod Touch using both the native SDK and web standards. Previous iPhoneDevCamp events have been held at Adobe Systems in San Francisco, July 2007 and August 2008. The last iPhoneDevCamp was at Yahoo in Sunnyvale, August 2009.

The event is actually sponsored by the city of Amsterdam itself, and if my “Convert” app from Polar Bear Farm is correct, cost ranges from $732.45 for one person to $294.46 per person if talk four of your closest friends into going with you.You can register for the conference here.

Okay, I don't usually simply re-post something that someone else created… but this video, created by apple fan gave me a good chuckle and I thought our readers would appreciate it. (In case you haven't seen the original commercial that this is a spoof of – click here).

Is the Droid an iPhone killer? I doubt it. Will it help the Android platform gain traction on Apples iPhone? Absolutely. The gloves are off – and as consumers we will only end up getting the best out of it as OEMs fight to create better platforms. Bring it on!

Yesterday, AT&T announced that iPhone users could finally make VoIP calls over their 3G network, not just over WiFi.  I can call my friends using my Skype app – and it will only cost me airtime!  Or better yet, I can call my friends abroad and pay Skype’s long distance fees (MUCH cheaper!) vs. AT&T’s fees.  Love it.  Really, it’s all about me. But wait, this story turns out to be bigger than me. 

At the heart of it – it’s really about Apple vs Google. In July, we all remember the big controversy surrounding Apple "rejecting" the Google voice app from the iTunes store. Apple said, "The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail."   And then in August Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from the Apple Board.   Hhmmmm…  Let’s face it, this is war.

Yesterday Verizon announced that they are teaming up with Google to bring a bunch of Android based devices to the #1 carrier in the country.  Plus Google is already working with T-Mobile and Sprint.  Rut rho for AT&T and Apple. As of now, Apple has one device on one network in the US – and Google is working with the other 3 major carriers.  Can Apple really compete against Google? So was AT&T’s announcement yesterday that they reversed their policy and will allow VoIP over the 3G network just a stab in the back to Google?  Sure seems to be. Look, I love Apple.  I have 3 Macs at home, 4 iPods, and even my kids have an iPod Touch so they can play games and be like Mommy & Daddy.  But I can’t stand the reception I get on my AT&T iPhone.  I’d love to switch to Verizon, but I can’t stand their hand-sets.  I’m hoping the iPhone will go to other carriers.  But I have a feeling that Google may not let that happen…..

Adobe this morning is making news as they announced the next iteration of Flash – version 10.1, which includes support for the expected personal computers, smartbooks, netbooks and of course… smartphones. Of the list of supported handset manufacturers… one name is (un)surprisingly missing. Apple.

Pundits around the net have long speculated (pretty much since iPhone day one) on when Flash integration would finally happen. Adobe has approached Apple and has been trying to work around the issues involved, and Steve Jobs himself has commented on the topic, saying that Flash Lite (the baby version of Flash that was initially designed to support mobile devices) "is not capable of being used with the web." It simply is not a web plugin technology and only bears fleeting relation to the desktop version of Flash, which Jobs said "performs too slow to be useful" on the iPhone.

"There’s this missing product in the middle," Jobs stated, however with the iPhone conspicuously off the supported handset list, it seems that Flash 10. 1 isnt that product.

Or is it?

Does it really matter what Adode does to Flash? Will it ever get approved on the iPhone?

Not likely – not without serious limitations or controls placed on it by Apple. Flash gives developers something that Apple does not want them to have… a platform for developing games and other applications that are browser based that fall outside of the App Store approval process, out side of Apples financial walled garden, and outside of Steve Job’s control.

Take for example the Flash game below entitled "Parking Lot 3" by Addicting Games.  A basic game that has the player trying to park their car in various positions without striking any objects. As a former resident of San Francisco, I can understand how this can be a challenge to many.

The game can be found, along with many other free, ad supported flash games, at the Addicting Games website.

To get this game on the iPhone however, Addicting games has to buy a Mac ($1,000 or so),  register as an Apple developer ($99 – $299), and get Apple’s approval before their app can be released. (This is just to develop free apps!) If they want to distribute a paid version, they then have to give 30% of all revenue to Apple.

Pretty sweet deal for Apple!

It’s hard to believe with all the money being made by Apple because of the App Store, that anything remotely threatening its walled garden will appear on Apples multi-touch devices any time soon.

****Update****

At MAX 2009, Adobe showed a number of applications and games for iPhone that have been built using a prerelease version of Flash Professional CS5, set to be released in 2010 with a public beta to be released later this year. This does NOT allow developers to develop Flash programs that work in the browser, however it does provide a shell in which a Flash program can be turned into an iPhone App, complete with the regulations and constraints of the App Store.

Interestingly.. in the question and answer section of the article, Adobe uses some interesting verbiage to answer the question " Will iPhone users be able to view web content built with Flash technology in the iPhone browser?" Their answer:

"Flash Player uses a just-in-time compiler and virtual machine within a browser plug-in to play back content on websites. Those technologies are not allowed on the iPhone at this time, so a Flash Player for iPhone is not being made available today."

Not "doesnt work" , "isnt possible" or even "needs work". Its simply… "not allowed".

****

Its not a new concept that major brands have been launching their own branded iPhone apps as marketing tools and new ways for customers to interact. Beth Snyder Bulik at the Silicon Valley Insider has a great post showing some of my favorite winners and losers here.

Today Starbucks announced the release of its second iPhone app, the “Starbucks Mobile Card” app – and I’m here to shout it from the rooftops - this is one of the best uses of mobile technology in the US marketplace today.

Lets take a quick look at some of the features available on the Starbucks Mobile Card app:

1. Check your Starbucks Card balance. While this one is a no-brainer, anyone who has a gift card knows how frustrating it is to use it a few times and suddenly have no idea how much money is left on it. Most gift cards generally have a toll-free number on the back, however its a time consuming process that requires you to type in card number via touch-tone every time you need to check. With the Starbucks Mobile Card app, simply do it once, and the information is constantly at your fingertips.

Fill-Er-Up!

2. Reload Your Starbucks Card: No need to be in a Starbucks store anymore to get this done – simply use any major credit card and your account is fulled back up with coffee buying purchasing power. As a brilliant marketing ploy to get consumers to start using this – Starbucks is offering a $5 bonus credit to anyone who adds more then $25 through the app the first time.

3. (And here’s where it gets interesting): Pay with your iPhone. Yeah – that’s right – at 16 test store locations, you can now use your iPhone to create a 2D barcode (looks like they are using the QR code format) that is scan-able at the store register. It makes sense that this is a limited trial – each store had to be equipped with a special scanner that is able to read the unique code off of the phone. If this is a success – its not hard to see every major brand in the country that uses gift cards coming around to implement applications like this in the near future.

Changing the way you get your fix

As a general question to Apple and the iPhone development teams.. I still wonder why the integration of RFID for contactless payment systems has not been integrated into the iPhone as of yet. It would allow consumers to store their credit card information into their phones (securely) and with a wave of your phone over a special scanner, make a payment without ever getting the plastic out of your wallet.

Current the 16 stores testing the mobile payment trial are these:

• 20520 Stevens Creek Blvd: 20520A Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014
• 5180 Stevens Creek Blvd: 5180 A Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, CA 95129
• Mountain View: 1037-C El Monte Ave, Mountain View, CA 94040
• Shoreline & Pear: 1380 Pear Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043
• Castro @ High School: 750 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041
• Miramonte & Cuesta: 809A Cuesta Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94040
• Charleston & Independence: 2410 Charleston Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043
• 1687 Hollenbeck Ave.: 1685-87 Hollenbeck Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
• Key Tower: 700 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
• Columbia Center: 701 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
• 1st Interstate / Wells Fargo: 999 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
• 40th Floor Columbia Tower: 701 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
• 7th & Stewart: 1700 Seventh Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
• 7th & Pike: 1524 7th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
• University Village II: 2650 NE 49th St, Seattle, WA 98105
• Madison Park: 4000 East Madison Ave, Seattle, WA 98112

Currently there has been no word on if Apple takes any percentage of the sale, though I find it hard to believe that Starbucks would agree to that. Then again – it is Apple we are talking about here. Traditionally in-app-purchase has been limited to paid applications (the Starbucks app is free), but utilize the iTunes billing mechanism that this app seems to circumvent.