Worried that upgrading your shiny Mac to Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) for $29 will screw up your iPhone? No worries. Dev-Team has announced the Snow Leopard upgrade does not affect the redsn0w jailbreak or the ultrasn0w unlock.
Next on the horizon from Apple is the iPhone 3.1 update, possibly coming our way this month. AT&T is expected to release an MMS update on September 25 using iTunes.
Novothink's Surge for iPhone and iPod Touch is the first solar charger to be certified by Apple. This device has its own internal battery and LED status indicators, in addition to a full-fledged solar panel on the back of the unit.
Surge allows full access to the iPhone when docked, with openings to the speakers, USB port, and camera lens. There's even a cord included to hang the iPhone from a backpack or your wrist while outside to facilitate charging.
Only three short weeks until AT&T activates iPhone MMS on the 3G and 3GS. The company announced today that service would be made available via software update on September 25.
AT&T has been coping with an onslaught of data usage, and they expect the situation will get worse as soon as iPhone users start texting with pictures and videos. Wireless use on the AT&T network has grown 350 percent year-over-year for the past two years. The company released the following announcement:
Next year could be it for AT&T. Customers are losing patience with spotty service. Lawyers are filing class action lawsuits about the lack of MMS. Now Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster has forecast the end of Apple's iPhone exclusivity deal with AT&T.
According to Munster, the economics of the situation don't make sense for Apple, as evidenced with the success they've had in France moving to a multiple carrier business model. Market share for the iPhone in France has increased to 40 percent since they ended an exclusive deal with Orange.
Every iPhone owner has had moments of frustration. Most of us refrain from smashing our phones to bits or throwing it out the window. Others take their anger to a whole new level.
One firearm owner with an iPhone 3GS to spare has performed his own ballistics tests on the device and posted the results on YouTube. Apple probably didn't anticipate their phones would have to take bullets when they designed the 3GS.
There are carriers in several markets around that sell unlocked Apple iPhones. These iPhones can be used with any compatible carrier around the world.
Here's a list of the countries and carriers that sell unlocked Apple iPhones:
Belgium - Mobistar
Czech Republic - O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone
Greece - Vodafone, Cosmote
Hong Kong - 3
Italy - 3, TIM, Vodafone
Luxembourg - Vox Mobile, LUXGSM
Macau - 3
Malaysia - Maxis
New Zealand - Vodafone
Philippines - Globe
Russia - MegaFon, MTS, Beeline
Saudi Arabia - Mobily
Singapore - SingTel
Slovakia - Orange
South Africa - Vodacom
TomTom's iPhone car kit accessory should hit shelves any day now. The device is currently under review by the FCC, and with added software will provide turn-by-turn directions while fixing the iPhone or iPod Touch on the car windshield.
It works in conjunction with the TomTom iPhone application, available now on the App Store for $99.99 (US and Canada version). The car kit has its own GPS chip, making it possible that other third-party navigation apps can be used with the accessory in combination with an iPod Touch or iPhone.
Subscribers to the Rhapsody music service will soon have their own iPhone app. That is, if Apple approves the software for distribution in the App Store.
Rhapsody is a service developed by RealNetworks, charging $14.99 monthly for streaming access to over eight million songs. The iPhone application would make it possible for Rhapsody To Go plan subscribers to listen via Wi-Fi, 3G or EDGE.
Surprise! The popular iPhone app Yelp has a secret feature that overlays nearby points of interest on live video of your surroundings. This augmented reality feature is available in Yelp version 3.0.0 on iPhone 3GS.
To turn on the feature, called Monocle, make sure "Location Services" are ON. Launch Yelp and select the "Nearby" screen from the bottom menu. Now gently twist or shake the iPhone a few times until the dialog box stating "The Monocle is activated" appears.
Apparently if you have an iPhone 3GS and you're looking for the nearest burger in Paris you're in luck. Presselite has released their 99 cent iPhone application, Metro Paris Subway.
It allows iPhone users to view many points of interest, including metro and bus stations, superimposed over live video of current surroundings. Just a month ago we explored a video of the prototype NYC version of a similar augmented reality application.
