White iPhones Are Cracking

From Engadget -

More and more reports of white iPhone 3Gs cracking are surfacing—with photos. The question now is whether the black models are constructed better or is their color better in hiding the cracks.

Source article here.

Inside the iPhone Factory

From TUAW -

Over at ReMoveTheLabels.com, a poster's mom apparently bought an iPhone and found a surprise waiting for her on the onboard camera roll: three pictures. Two were blurry but the third is a real surprise: a picture straight from the iPhone production line.

Source article here.

Domain Shortcut Helps Type URLs in Your iPhone More Quickly

From lifehacker -

For iPhone/iPod touch users - There is an expansion to the .com keyboard shortcut for entering email addresses and non-.com URLs. In Mobile Safari, hold down the .com button for a second to see other domain options (i.e. .net, .edu, and .org). When the keyboard has the @ symbol but no .com key, you can hold the '.' (period) key to get the same domain shortcuts—something that comes in especially handy when you're manually entering email addresses or filling in login credentials in new apps.

Source article here.

QuickSend Sends Simple, One-Hand Emails from Your iPhone

From lifehacker -

Free apps QuickSend creates and quickly sends simple emails through a one-hand-friendly user interface. The UI has two scrollable sections: the first with email addresses of your contacts and the second with messages. Line up the two you want, tap the Email It button and QuickSend launches a new email with the necessary fields auto-populated. All you have to do is hit send.

Source article here.

Red iPhone Rumor

From ubergizmo -

Since the iPod nano comes in a variety of colors, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise that a red iPhone 3G model could be in the pipeline for the coming holiday season especially if it will be under the RED campaign where some of Apple's past products have previously appeared.

Source article here.

A Level: Virtual Spirit Level for iPhone

From Wired -

A-Level is a level simulator app that uses the iPhone's motion detectors to determine whether it is flat. If not, a numerical readout tells you how many degrees off you are and the app also shows the traditional bubble-in-liquid display. You can use it in landscape or portrait mode, as seen above, or laid flat on its back.

As for accuracy, it comes with a disclaimer: "This application is for recreational use only". A promised update will allow calibration, which should help. But for now, just having a level in your pocket all the time is great, and means one less thing in the toolbox.

Source article here.

ARToolKit v4.4 running on iPhone

"The first true augmented reality application running on the iPhone .. here's a sneak peek of our ARToolKit v4.4 iPhone. This footage is of an alpha release, but we're getting up to 10fps video capture and realtime tracking, and we've got lots more to come. Stay tuned..."

iPhone 3G Stress Tests

"This is PCWorld's video on how the iPhone 3G holds up when dropped, soaked, scratched, and tortured! This is an amazing demo, and I think the phone actually holds up better than the original!"

PhoneSaber App for Star Wars Nuts

"A demo of the free application, phonesaber, available in the iTunes App Store."

iPhone 3G is running Apple $53 less than original

From Engadget -

The teardown and bean-counting experts over at iSuppli are at it again with the iPhone 3G, finding that the whole kit tallies up to just $174.33 for the 8GB model in material and manufacturing costs. That works out to about $53 less than iSuppli's estimate for the original 8GB model back in June of last year, an amount saved in part by moving to a single 10-layer circuit board (versus a pair of 6-layer boards). The firm figures Apple's shelling out about $50 in royalties for each iPhone 3G that rolls off the assembly line, leading to a grand total of $224.33 in costs. Offset that with a healthy AT&T subsidy, and all told, Apple is enjoying a 55% margin.

Source article here.

World's 1st Jailbroken 3G Phone Video

World's 1st Jailbroken 3G Phone from iphonedev on Vimeo.

Apple: We Don't Hate GPS, Cut and Paste, or iPhone Office Suites

AppScout's Sascha Segan interviewed Apple product head Greg Joswiak on missing iPhone applications and features and got the following answers -

Why isn't there cut and paste?

Apple has a priority list of features, and they got as far as they could down that list with the 3G iPhone. Meaning cut and paste was just not a priority.

What's the deal with GPS driving directions? (Apple's SDK license agreement prohibits development of driving-directions apps, and according to NY Times's David Pogue the iPhone's GPS antenna is much too small to emulate the turn-by-turn navigation of a GPS unit for a vehicle.)

The iPhone's GPS is just like the GPS in other phones, many of which do provide driving directions. Rather, there are some murky complicated issues preventing driving directions apps at the moment.

Where's the iPhone office suite?

There might be issues with applications each having their own file space. (There's no cross-application file structure.)

Source article here.

Apple Sells One Million iPhone 3Gs in First Weekend

From PR Newswire -

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple(R) today
announced it sold its one millionth iPhone(TM) 3G on Sunday, just three
days after its launch on Friday, July 11. iPhone 3G is now available in 21
countries -- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland,
Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US -- and
will go on sale in France on July 17.

"iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend," said Steve Jobs, Apple's
CEO. "It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so
the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world."

The new iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone
plus 3G networking that is twice as fast*, built-in GPS for expanded
location-based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes
support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs over 800 third party
applications available through the new App Store. In the US, the new iPhone
3G is priced at just $199 for the 8GB model, and $299 for the 16GB model**.

*Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.

**Requires new two-year AT&T rate plan for qualified customers, sold
separately.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the
Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the
Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with
its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and
professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media
revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online
store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary
iPhone.

C) 2008 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac,
Mac OS, Macintosh and iPhone are trademarks of Apple. Other company and
product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Tip: Updating iPhone to 5A347 reduces yellow tinge

From Ars Technica -

Ars Technica forum readers have discovered that iPhones purchased in-store were shipped with a slightly older firmware revision—2.0 5A345. Updating an older phone via the built-in mechanism in iTunes will pick up the newer revision, which resets the screen's color calibration to be a little less yellow and more like the original iPhone. Furthermore, store-purchased iPhones can be set to the 5A347 firmware by attaching the device to a computer, allowing a backup to be performed, and then clicking the "Restore" button. (Above photo shows two iPhone 3Gs running 2.0 firmwares 5A347 (left), and 5A345 (right).)

This process will take you at least 30 minutes depending on how much content is on the iPhone, but if that yellow tinge is annoying, it might be worth it.

Source article here.

iPhone 3G Taken Apart

From Ubergizmo -

iFixit took apart their iPhone 3G immedietly after the iPhone launch. Among other things during the disasembly, iFixit found that the battery was not soldered on, as well as the LCD and glass covering of the display was not glued together like the first iPhone.

Source article here.

iPhone 3G Yellow Screen Issue?

Spanky Deluxe of the MacRumors Forum posted the above photo with the following comment -

"You can see it clearly in the following photo. The iPhone 3G is on the left, my old iPhone 2G is on the right. The 3G's one is distinctly yellow and dimmer than the 2G one when set to identical brightness."

Judging from how fast the thread grew (13 pages as of this writing), this might yet become a big issue.

Source forum thread here.

iPhone SMASH

"we (me and kethe, that is) were trying to find out what the iPhone is made of. after being gentle with it for some time, we got a little frustrated and decided to just smash the damn thing."

Cool Tip: iPhone 2.0 Software Has Built-In Screen Capture

From Gizmodo -

The iPhone 2.0 software has a built-in screen capture shortcut. Hold the "home" button, then hit the "power/sleep" button, and presto, a capture of your screen is in your photos. This doesn't work in the 1.1.4 or earlier versions.

Source article here.

iPhone OS 2.0 Unlocked

From Gizmodo -

The new iPhone OS 2.0 software has been unlocked and jailbroken by the iPhone Dev Team. The code wizard commandos at the iPhone Dev Team have been working on this non-stop since the early days of beta testing. Now that the official iPhone OS 2.0 is out, the iPhone Dev Team will release their Pwnage tool for everyone to unlock and jailbreak their iPhones soon, although the specific date/time is not firm yet. It may not be as interesting as before—since most countries now have the iPhone and it will be impossible to buy without doing a contract first—but people looking to install unsigned applications and buy pay-as-you-go cards while traveling—instead of roaming—will find it very useful.

Source article here.

Friend Book App: Shake Two iPhones Together to Share Contact Information

Hong Kong's iPhone 3G gets an unboxing

First indication of iPhone 3G PAYG price

From Mobile Computer Mag -

Vodafone Italy has said it will be selling the iPhone 3G, without subsidy, for €499 for the 8GB model and €569 for the 16GB version. Anyone interested in the Pay & Go option can sign up on the O2 website to be sent details as soon as they're released.

Source article here.

Lines Begin to Form for Apple 3G

From Gear Diary -

This early lines are beginning to form in front of the Apple Store in New York for the Apple 3G launch. Number one in line is a man and woman with a baby who’ve told the police and security guards that their goal is to set a record for time in line and possibly the first baby to wait with them (or some such nonsense.

The New York police will allow everyone to stay and indicated that as of yet there are no plans to put out barricades. It appears that most (if not all) of the people in line are part of some group who may be either attempting to set a record for waiting in line or gain some publicity for themselves. It’s too early to tell if this is a publicity stunt or whether these folks will stay in line through sun and rain for the next seven days.

Source Article here.

iCall App Enables GSM to WiFi / VoIP Switching On The iPhone

From iPhone Hacks -

iCall is a newly announced app coming out on Apple’s App Store. It promises seamless call switching between VoIP via WiFi and regular calls. There will be no hacking involved, they are fully approved Apple developer. iCall has a two tier system with a free version and a ‘pro’ version with added features. iCall is their own service provider so don’t expect to use this application with any of your current VoIP plans like Vonage.

Source Article here.

Apple orders 50 million iPhone NAND chips from Samsung

From Engadget -

Per DigiTimes, Apple has ordered from Samsung, the world's primary supplier of flash memory 50-million "8Gb-equivalent" NAND chips presumably for use in iPhones. This follows a June oder for 25 million of the same chips. In response, Samsung has reportedly told its lesser customers that it would "sharply cut supply" of NAND to them while the order is being fulfilled.

Source article here.

Hands-On Google Talk for iPhone

From Gizmodo -

The new Gtalk webapp for the iPhone has a nice design, and sending messages was easy, but bottom line it's still runs in Safari and doesn't work in the background — which means incoming calls and other interruptions such as going to the home screen immediately sign you out.

There are also no preference settings and no Gtalk AIM support. Meaning, the program sucks. If you need a solid IM solution now try Agile Mobile's AM client (recently released on Installer) instead.

Source article here.

AT&T announces iPhone 3G pricing plans

From Engadget -

AT&T has announced its pricing plans for the 3G iPhone, which will be available starting 8 am, July 11th.

New customers and those eligible for an upgrade will be able to buy it at $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB), while "early upgraders" will have to fork over $399 or $499, all with a two year contract and $18 upgrade fee. A no-commitment version of the phone will be available for $599 and $699, though it looks like that will come after the initial launch.

Full details are available in the source article here.