Filed under: iPhone, App Store
Qik for iPhone updated, now uploads video over 3G
Hmmmm. Seems that FCC pressure might be doing wonders for those App Store approvals. Qik, which we reviewed earlier this month, had been pretty well kneecapped by either AT&T or Apple; choose your villain.But lo and behold, today Qik [iTunes link] was updated so now it can upload video over the 3G network, not just WiFi as was the case in the first release of the app. I just tried it and it worked fine, happily uploading a video with no WiFi in sight. That realy improves Qik, but on every other smartphone Qik allows live streaming. Only the best and most powerful smartphone in the world has the no live restriction.
Coincidence or conspiracy? I downloaded the update, and yes, it works over 3G now. It's clear that something is causing Apple/AT&T to loosen up a bit. May that continue. Kinda hard to argue that Sling Mobile can't work over 3G now, isn't it? As most know, Sling Mobile was crippled for the iPhone even though it is allowed on every other capable phone on AT&T.
Let us know your results with Qik, and if you get a moment, send the FCC some flowers.


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Duncan said 10:57PM on 8-21-2009
Im still crossing my fingers for SlingPlayer
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errdayimhustln said 11:08PM on 8-21-2009
most powerful smartphone??
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Martin said 11:31PM on 8-21-2009
The jailbroken version of Qik streams live over 3G, and that's using my 3G with no video camera. Sounds like it's still being strongarmed a bit.
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Geoff Pado said 12:10AM on 8-22-2009
As a developer, I'd like to point out that the reason that there's no live streaming is an SDK limitation, not a "rejection politics" reason. There's just no way to get live video data while staying within the public APIs.
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Herchu said 11:04AM on 8-22-2009
That explains a LOT.
Thank you!
mech said 12:34AM on 8-22-2009
just use the cydia one. you are welcome.
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Park said 2:32AM on 8-22-2009
3G uploading is good... I guess. But when you're talking about an app that, at its core, is a live streaming app, it's still crippled like hell. Let's hope that the next "update" makes qik on the iPhone what it's really supposed to be.
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macserv said 2:33AM on 8-22-2009
iPhone users consume far more bandwidth than any other device on AT&T's network. More than all their other devices combined, if I remember correctly. Making this kind of data transfer or streaming functionality available for the iPhone means far more data usage than on BlackBerry or WinMo.
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Park said 8:39AM on 8-22-2009
Sure, that's completely true, but if AT&T wants to have an exclusive market on the iPhone they should also allow it to work like all other phones on their network.
macserv said 2:38AM on 8-22-2009
I should note that I'm not defending AT&T — the extreme popularity of the iPhone (and net-connected apps for it) is a shitty reason to cripple the device... it's like holding back a really exceptional student because your infrastructure just doesn't have the resources to teach them at an advanced level
Duncan said 5:28AM on 8-22-2009
but in your analogy, the student in the crapy school isnt an exception, that student type has a large share of the education going on there, and even knowing this the school dosent care enough to dig into its enormously deep pockets to fix up their god damn school.
haha
James Donevan said 8:28AM on 8-22-2009
"As a developer, I'd like to point out that the reason that there's no live streaming is an SDK limitation, not a "rejection politics" reason. There's just no way to get live video data while staying within the public APIs."
Clearly you are new here. TUAW bloggers rarely let facts get in the way of a good story. Research and reliable sources are usually eschewed in favour of sensationalism and bandwagons.
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airmanchairman said 9:17AM on 8-22-2009
Damn right, James.
Even though some of those bloggers have (no kidding) PhDs in software design and application development.
Crying shame....
Mel Martin said 11:58AM on 8-22-2009
James:
Thanks for writing. Let's see. Qik announced a new version. We reported it. It had been crippled by Apple/AT&T. We reported that. The FCC is now on their tails, and things are loosening up. All facts.
Apple/AT&T could allow streaming anytime they want. Another fact. Qik does stream on jailbroken phones. Yet another fact. That Apple has no SDK for streaming is indeed a 'rejection' of that feature. Another fact.
Thanks again for writing.
Mel
TUAW
punkassjim said 9:37PM on 8-22-2009
Mel, you may want to go back and re-read your post about Qik being "hobbled." What you call "facts" are usually called "opinions" until you produce some sort of evidence. You didn't quote anyone from Qik, you didn't link to any corroborating information, and thus you merely posted an opinion piece. You've proven, time and time again, that you write for sensationalism, you don't do much research on your stories, and you can't even quote people accurately, whether they're "sources" or publicly-available articles. As far as I can tell, you're just competing for post count with Steve Sande. Sorry, he's far better at it.
"Kinda hard to argue that Sling Mobile can't work over 3G now, isn't it?"
…and you've proven that you aren't very good at simple logic, either.
FoundInTheFlood said 11:56AM on 8-22-2009
After an older article i thought there is only the jailbroken version of quik so i got that one. I guess the one in the appstore is better since its a later version ... ill test it out now.
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exNewt said 12:36PM on 8-22-2009
I prefer Bambuser for Jailbroken iPhones; live video streaming and works with the ancient 3G iPhone...
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