International Herald Tribune launches iPhone site

IHT.com has developed a version of the site for iPhone users. The version is ‘iPhone optimised’ rather than being an iPhone app - e.g. an application built exclusively for the iPhone - co-creator Michael Cosentino is keen to point out in a blog post.

Last week the New York Times announced plans to develop an application for the Apple device.

NYTimes innovation plans: Widgets, iPhone, APIs

Silicon Valley Insider talked to Marc Frons, chief technology officer of NYTimes digital, about the projects he’s working on and the development that they’ll be rolling out in the near future. Here’s a brief overview:

Things we have already covered:

• Those APIs: the plan is to eventually let developers outside of the Times play with its content and create new sites or services.
• Times People: expect more development so it’s not just a browser plug-in.

The shock of the new:

• Widgets: Customisable box of Times stories, video, slideshows and the rest on your blog or social network page? Yes please.
• Aggregation: It bought Blogrunner an eternity ago and uses it now just to pull content from partner sites into NYTimes – think PaidContent, CNET stuff on the Tech pages. But ‘bigger plans’ are afoot – Frons won’t say more though.
• Apps: Yes, NYTimes.com is working on apps for Apple’s forthcoming iPhone store.

Forbes: AP wants a button on iPhone home screen

The Associated Press wants to grab itself a prime piece of technological real estate, it announced last week that it wants an AP button on the iPhone start-up page for quick access to news.

“There was a button for stocks, there was a button for weather, but there was no button for news,” says Jeffrey Litvack, director of global product development with the AP.

According to Forbes, the AP wants to be the organisation to run any ‘news’ button.

The AP launched its Mobile News Network last week.

Litvack says it can distribute stories from AP reporters and over 100 papers in a single service. He’s hoping its perfect for the iPhone and that Apple is listening.

Mashable: CoverItLive to integrate Twitter

Live blogging service CoverItLive is planning some handy updates including possible integration with fellow online tool Twitter.

Details are uncertain at the moment, but Keith McSpurren, president of CoverItLive, says an iPhone version is also in the pipeline.

Fortune: How Apple plans to sell 45 million iPhones in 2009

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has released a detailed report about how he sees Apple quadrupling its 2008 sales and hitting the 45m figure he had previously predicted.

These are the key elements:

- Introducing a 3G iPhone within the next 3 to 6 months
- Offering a family of 2 to 3 iPhones - including lower-priced models selling for $200 to $300 - by Jan 2009 at the latest
- Entering new countries, effectively doubling the addressable market every year for the next two years
- Adding new features, such as games and remote purchases starting in June.