This is probably one of the most exciting application to be announced for the iPhone since its launch. SHAPE Services, a German company, known for making mobile IM clients, has just announced IM+ for Skype for the iPhone, a web site optimized for the iPhone which means it will allow you to access Skype via iPhone's Safari browser, no iPhone hacks needed here.

Thus bringing cost-effective calling to landlines and mobiles from your iPhone.

With IM+ for Skype you can now chat with Skype friends, call any PC, mobile or landline phone from wherever you are; making it very cost effective as all that you will be using is iPhone's data services which is unlimited. Based on information on their website, the other important aspect is it does not need WiFi and should work on AT&T's Edge network as well.

The application is currently in beta and hence the company is inviting people to participate in a beta testing round. They are also making it attractive and will be awarding an unlimited license for the most active beta testers.

IM+ for Skpe also works with most of the other mobile phones like BlackBerry RIM, Windows Mobile Pocket PC, Palm OS, Symbian and J2ME devices but will cost you $25 after a 7-day free trial. You can try this out for free for a limited time on your iPhone .


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According to the usual suspects, now you can 100%-unlock the iPhone using a Turbo SIM card, without depending on the version of your current carrier card. Testers say it will give you full calling, SMS and GPRS data capabilities with any network and no extra hardware needed, since it only requires you to modify the $80 blank SIM using your own iPhone.

The hackers are claiming that this method doesn't use card readers and it doesn't depend on your previous card version either, so it doesn't matter if it is a V1, V2 or V3. All of them will work fine.

While the Turbo SIM-based method is not software-only, it seems simple and cheap enough for anyone to follow.

However, to save you any potential pain we will test it here as soon as we get our Turbo SIM cards —which are about to arrive. We will give you a full report on our results as soon as we try it. [Bladox Forums]

I found this at gizmodo.com



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It seems that quite a few iPhone owners are reporting that their screens have either stopped responding to input or that part of the screen has gone dead. Apple's online forum has seen many posts from iPhone users reporting similar issues with their screens. To make matters worse, Apple support seems to be all over the map in how they are handling the issue. Most customers are being forced to send in their phones for repair and pay $29 for a loaner, while others have been able to get the $29 loaner fee waived. Since the product is so new I would think that Apple would be quickly replacing these phones in order to keep the excitement of their customers going, while at the same time, getting these phones back so that hopefully they can uncover what's causing some of the screens to fail.

CNN Money is reporting that Apple purchased the patent to property rights for the iPhone touchscreen's chemical makeup from a bankrupt Finnish firm that could not solve degradation and loss of sensitivity that developed over time; typically within three to six months.

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When I first read about Thomas Martel, I thought he was the biggest moron on the place of the planet and many of you agreed. Maybe he was doing it for the publicity or maybe he really needed to have this thumbs shaved down, who knows. I really wanted to kick this guy’s ass, though. What’s the point? The screens are crapping out and you wouldn’t be able to text on it anyways.


Well, the North Denver News has pulled a fast one on us. The Rockie Mountain folk have a sense of humor like us and have revealed that the whole story was fake. Anyone that’s taken anatomy will tell you that your phalanges don’t have muscles. That was fun wasn’t it? Hey NDN, leave the funny to us. We know what we’re doing

see editors note at NDN

from CRUNCHGEAR
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AT&T pulled the bait and switch on its own employees. One was repeatedly told that his employee discount would apply only towards iPhone calling plans, but not the iPhone itself, or its associated data plan. The employee twice verified the existence of a calling plan discount - at an AT&T store, and with AT&T customer support. He even called customer support before the 14-day return window closed and again verified that, yes, his discount applied to the calling plan. After the employee received his first bill last week, he sat down and wrote us this letter:

"I was told I should write to you about my experience with my iPhone purchase. I am currently an employee at AT&T. I, like everyone else that loves electronics, was chomping at the bit to get the new iPhone the minute it came out. That is, until I heard rumors that we would not receive our employee discounts once we associated the iPhone with our account. I was upset but had decided not to get this little gem. I did, however, want to go to the store where they were at just to see one in person. I was asked if I would like to purchase one by one of the sales people. I told her that I would but I didn't want to lose my company discount on my phone service for the two phones I had on my account. She informed me then that I had misunderstood the discount procedure. We could not get a discount on the equipment (iPhone) or the mandatory data package associated with the phone but we would, in fact, retain our discount on our calling plan being as the calling plan has nothing to do with the type of phone you are using at the time you make the call. I thought about it and made the purchase.
I went home to activate my new toy and received a warning that I would lose all discounts associated with my business account. I did not activate the phone. I called customer support on June 30th around 9:00 a.m. to verify with them the message I had received. They informed me with the same information that the sales person at the store had told me. I would retain my discount on my calling plan.

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Apple released the first million or so iPhones without the option for custom etching of text on the back. A company in Seattle allows not just etching of text, but also your favorite graphics on your iPhone.

iPhiend reporter interviews owner.

iPhiend – I found out about your service through a friend who wouldn’t stop bragging about having your company put an Aztec border on the cover of his gateway laptop. I understand from your website that you specialize in Apple products.

Owner – Yes, although we etch many products like your friends laptop cover, we have tooled our equipment to precisely etch Apple products. For items such as the iPhone and iPod a black mark can be added to the back. Items like the iPod nano which are colored anodized aluminum may be marked on the front and the back.

iPhiend – I know I don’t want to part with my iPhone for long. What is the turn around time?

Owner – Normally an iPhone can be etched in 1-2 days. Plus what ever shipping method is selected of course.

iPhiend – So this equipment looks like it cost a million dollars. You must charge quite a bit to make this worth your while. What would you charge for an iPhone with a graphic and text?

Owner – You are spot on, this equipment broke the bank for sure, but our prices are quite reasonable. So long as it was only one side, a graphic and text engraved on an iPhone would run around $55.00

iPhiend – Is there anything that you won’t etch?

Owner – We try to stay away from etching the edges of electronic devices and borders. Also the maximum etching area is 17.5” X 10.5” X 4”. This will fit most laptops. There are a few materials which we cannot etch on due to the poisonous gasses created during the laser etching process or because the laser is incapable of etching certain materials.

iPhiend – So how does one start the process of getting their iPhone or MacBook etched?

Owner – Well they just need to head to www.etchaniphone.com or http://markapod.provitron.com and click on the Start Here button in yellow.

We here at iPhiend were very impressed by the capabilities that Provitron was able to display to us. Although their service for etching iphones and other products is rather new, they have the process down to a science. iPhiend would love to hear how your projects turned out.


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If you are one of those who was disappointed not to see Bluetooth's A2DP profile in the iPhone feature list then here is some good news for you as there is a workaround.

Thanks to a tip from one of TUAW's reader, you should be able to stream audio from your iPhone to a Bluetooth headset.

What is A2DP?

In order to use Bluetooth, a device must be compatible with certain Bluetooth profiles. A Bluetooth profile is a standardized interface between Bluetooth devices. Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) is a profile that defines how high quality audio (stereo or mono) can be streamed from one device to another over a Bluetooth connection - for example in this context, music streamed from an iPhone to a wireless headset.

Now that we all know what A2DP stands for lets find out how you can stream audio from your iPhone to a Bluetooth headset. Audio here means audio from audio tracks as well as videos

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The hottest techno-gadget ever made has its own ultimate guidebook – The iPhone® Book written by #1 top-rated technology book author Scott Kelby and renowned gadget guru Terry White. This new book will be released on August 13th, the first iPhone book in print, is a lot like the iPhone itself — simple to use and fun to learn. The book’s layout is brilliant with each page covering just one single topic so finding the information you need is quick and easy, including full-color photos so you can see exactly how it works from setting-up wireless Internet to watching videos. The iPhone Book is truly the ultimate “how-to” guide for Apple’s new groundbreaking phone.

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USBFever.com today rolled out its iPhone KickStand Crystal Case , a protective case that supports the cellular handset like a photo frame either horizontally or vertically. The iPhone KickStand Crystal Case includes a removable belt clip that, when absent, provides an opening for a neck strap. The case offers cut-outs for access to all of the iPhone's key buttons and ports, conforming to the iPhone while guarding the screen from dust and scratches. The iPhone KickStand Crystal Case is priced at $17.

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On the authoritative 4G Mobile website, 15-year mobile phone architect Willie Lu posts what he says are 10 documented problems with the iPhone:

1. The current wireless system architecture is very closed. Basically, it is still the old coupling technology to put together multiple radio standards into one handphone which is a big question in terms of transmission performance and system performance. For the next generation iPhone, the wireless architecture must be open, and the key system modules should be extensible and upgradeable based on the open wireless architecture (OWA) platform.

2. The wireless transmission efficiency is very low. While it is limited somehow to the closed system architecture, it is also stucked in the radio resource management (RRM) layer. The swicth with GSM, EDGE and Bluetooth is based on an inefficient algorithm to make RRM even worse if the user wants to have high-speed data while the voice is in short-time inactive mode. Because of the current billing model, the service provider is reluctant to turn off the voice when the data service is being charged.

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Sharp-eyed hackers have found references to games inside Apple’s uber-phone, whatever could that mean? Homebrew games are the only way to play on iPhone... so far... We’ve lamented the iPhone’s lack of games in the past, but now it seems Apple’s more on the ball than we previously thought.

Ingenious hackers have found references to games (or rather, references to removing games) inside the iPhone’s software, and since there’re no games currently present, it can mean only one thing – they’re coming.

Whether Apple will design its own titles or allow developers free reign to make games for the touchscreen wonder remains to be seen.

One thing’s almost certain though, we’ll buy them through the iTunes Store in the same way we load up our iPods.

Props to the Download Squad for unearthing Apple’s game-shaped trail of breadcrumbs, now all we need is for the big A to seal the deal with a few tasty titles!


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Are you the list-making type? Grab this application for the iPhone, which helps you manage your tasks and to-do lists. You can use it as a standalone application on your iPhone, or with the Mac OS X client, so you can sync tasks from your Mac to your iPhone. You'll need to register to get started.


iPhone Link:
http://www.easytaskmanager.net/iphone/index.html

Web site link:
http://www.easytaskmanager.net

I found this at reviews.cnet.com
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Over at InfoWorld, Tom Yager found out that even amidst the newest iTunes update (7.3.2)/iPhone Firmware 1.0.1, his suggested method of ‘activate and cancel’ still works! What ‘activate and cancel’ means, is that you activate the iPhone, and then cancel the agreement with AT&T within 14 days, and the iPhone will still work and you won’t be penalized for the cancellation (if cancelled within 14 days).

I like the idea of this personally because I think it’s completely stupid for the iPhone to be completely locked out unless you agree to a 2-year AT&T agreement. I mean, can you imagine how many would buy the iPhone, just for the widescreen iPod part of it? For PDA funtions? This provides a pretty safe way of doing it without having to deal with hacks. Cool!



You can check out the rest of the article here .


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Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and other online giants have all said they hope to take advantage of what they see as great potential in mobile advertising. But some startups say that those companies are looking at delivering the ads the wrong way.

While the most popular mobile advertising mechanisms so far are banner or text ads in mobile Web pages, some startups are pushing technology that essentially delivers a pop-up advertisement to mobile phones. The ads appear not when customers are using a browser, but they can pop up on the phone’s idle screen any time.

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Apple's media event yesterday, August 7th, was supposed to be exclusively for the announcement of the new iMacs. So it was, as Steve Jobs demonstrated a sleeker, more feature packed, sexier version of the iMac ever seen.

He also announced a slew of software updates such as iLife, iWork and .Mac online service. However, one of the updates that would interest iPhone users is that Apple has fully integrated .Mac Web Gallery with iPhone, so you can view all your photos and movies from wherever you are, and even post photos right from your iPhone.

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Are you still looking for this iPhone voice recorder promised by Steve Jobs last January? Well, Steve Jobs may have not delivered on this one but Eric Sadun did . The newest iPhone hack, the iPhone voice recorder, has been developed by Eric and can now be downloaded here.
Even though the iPhone voice recorder may not have all the features it could have, it's already perfectly usable in its actual form.

The voice recorder saves files in "adaptive multi-rate", a format that can be played in Quicktime.

Have fun listening to your wonderful voice! Don't you hate listening to your own voice? I just can't get used to that!


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Some so-called iPhone themes for rival devices have been little more than a new icon set and a couple of wallpapers; alternatively, you get the product of many hours of work and real consideration as to how Apple might have developed an interface for a different device. AppleCor, a theme for the Sony PSP, definitely falls into the latter category: coders from the QJ.NET forums have put together an awesome, comprehensive package that, in their words, “approximate[s] how Apple may have designed the PSP if given the chance.”

Check out more of AppleCor’s features after the cut

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I just read about this very cool Google feature over at Web Worker Daily. The feature is called Google 411 and all you have to do is call 1-800-466-4411 (800-GOOG-411) from your phone and say what you want to search for. You'll get the number and an option to be connected to the number free of charge or you can say "text message" if you want the information sent to your mobile phone. This feature is only valid for business listings and will work from any phone - not just the iPhone.


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I saw the other day that a programmer under the nickname “stepwhite” had managed to get a usable - but not particularly elegant - port of the InfoNES emulator, complete with games, to the iPhone. At the time it seemed to be more a proof-of-concept than anything else: it ran slowly, relied on you jabbing at an on-screen image of the keypad, and you couldn’t save your progress making it faintly impractical as an ongoing commute-time distraction.

Now, however, some enterprising iPhone hackers - NerveGas and NightWatch (who also goes by the more mainstream name of Patrick Walton) have taken that starting point and turned it into what might be the first must-have for retro gamers with iPhones.

Both speed and functionality have been addressed in a complete re-write; it’s now as fast as you’d want it to be, with far better control that makes better use of the MultiTouch screen. Installing it will require access to the iPhone’s file system, but once you’ve done that your only problem is keeping an eye on the time so that you don’t spend all day playing.

You can download the updated NES app for iPhone here.

[via TUAW ]


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Because Apple aimed the iPhone first at consumers, the company made it extraordinarily easy to use. It appears to have all the key core functions that most enterprise business customers are looking for: personal information management tools. However, Gartner, in a pair of research reports on the matter, flat-out says the iPhone "is not yet an enterprise mobile device."

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