With the release of the second generation iPhone 3G right around the proverbial corner, Apple has released the accompanying iPhone OS 2.0 to the public. iPhone OS 2.0 has been in beta testing with developers for months now, and has been the test bed for the first official third party applications which are now available via the iPhone AppStore (you must be running OS 2.0 to access the AppStore).

New iPhone 3G models will be pre-loaded with iPhone OS 2.0, but the public release of the software allows existing owners of the first generation iPhone to upgrade their phones to the new 2.0 firmware. The new iPhone OS brings a host of new

When it was announced earlier this past week that AT&T planned to open its retail locations at 8am for the launch of the Apple iPhone, many were perplexed at the lack of a similar indication from Apple. After all, why would Apple allow AT&T to draw the crowds to their stores and forfeit all those direct iPhone sales -- not to mention the oodles of companion purchases? As it turns out, Apple isn't that stupid (surprise, surprise), and will be joining the 8am party along with AT&T.

Although unannounced, we've just returned from a long overdue 2 week vacation. A lot transpired during the two weeks our offices were closed (and not just in the world of the iPhone). We won't be able to catch you up all on all of it, but we'll certainly get the important things posted ASAP. Speaking of which, how nice to come home to recently surfaced iPhone 3G unboxing pictures. The following pictures, which turned up on the iPhone Portugal forums seem to be the first legitimate unboxing shots of the new 3G iPhone.

If you're like me, as soon as you get your iPhone 3G home and unboxed, you're going to want to slap a full body 3G iPhone invisibleSHIELD on it before exposing it to the elements. My current iPhone has been protected by the invisibleSHIELD since a few weeks after I purchased it on release day last year.