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With the appropriately geeky tag line, "Take THAT BlackBerry!" the shopping website ThinkGeek has announced a flip-out physical keyboard accessory for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. The TK-421 iPhone case comes complete with a rotating hinge and its own built-in Bluetooth mini-keyboard.

The TK-421 is no iTwinge, but it does have a similarly odd name. The keyboard has its own USB-rechargeable battery and works with any application that already uses the on-screen keyboard. The product provides protection for the sides and back of the iPhone just like a case.

Millions and millions of wireless customers from Verizon and AT&T have said they're waiting to buy an iPhone until the device is available on America's largest carrier. Comments by Verizon Wireless CEO Ivan Seidenberg to investors at a Goldman Sachs conference give the impression that these people could be waiting a lot longer than they thought. Rumors have indicated the company will partner with Apple on the release of a CDMA iPhone as early as January 2011.

Instead, Seidenberg associated the iPhone with Verizon Wireless' upcoming Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, rolling out now and not scheduled to cover the entire US until December 2012. If you bought an iPhone now, that's only three months after your two-year AT&T contract would expire.

Some unlucky iPhone users got the short end of the battery life after updating to iOS 4.1. Users have reported battery life issues among other problems with prior firmware updates (remember iPhone OS 3.1?) but now some running iOS 4.1 are seeing their battery percentage drop to zero within hours.

Online discussion forums are hopping with activity from iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS users complaining of shortened battery life and warm phones running iOS 4.1. Some reports have suggested that errant processes are running in the background constantly and draining the battery power. Bugs in the modem firmware, tethering software, and Game Center have all been cited as possible causes of the issue.

With all of the hoopla over the white iPhone 4 launch and a possible Verizon Wireless CDMA model it's easy to forget that carriers are frantically working to upgrade their cellular data networks. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and its the technology behind next generation 4G wireless networks. AT&T along with Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile have all committed to LTE standards.

AT&T, currently the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the US, plans to begin rolling out its LTE network in mid-2011. Trials of LTE are currently underway in Dallas and Baltimore as the company continues to expand HPSA+ 3G availability across the nation. The implementation of LTE could coincide with Apple's iPhone 5 launch next year.

In one example of a dramatic reversal of App Store policy, Apple has finally accepted two third-party Google Voice iPhone applications after rejecting the apps over a year ago. The apps are named GV Mobile+ and GV Connect, each available on iTunes to US users for $2.99.

The official Google Voice app remains in limbo, with Google claiming in a letter to the FCC that Apple rejected the app. Apple stated that it was reviewing the app but the company hasn't updated the status of its review in the past year. Google Voice duplicates dialing and telephony features built into the iPhone.