Report: DOJ reviewing U.S. telecom deals with handset makers

The U.S. Department of Justice may be considering opening an investigation into mobile handset exclusivity deals.

White iPhone discoloration: Not just heat

Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Odds and ends, iPhone

Last week, several readers were pointing out stories of white iPhones that had taken on a yellowish hue. It was assumed that heat was the issue. Keen to tempt fate, I played Star Defense [App Store link] for 30 minutes straight last night with my iPhone resting on my bed. It warmed up pretty good, but stayed white.

Earlier today, frenchiPhone.com reported that the issue is most likely the combination of a hot iPhone and a certain case, though they did not specify which one. Additionally, they state that cleaning the effected area with a cloth and some rubbing alcohol will remove the stain. We haven't tried this, so we can't confirm that it works/won't damage your phone.

Our best advice, based on the limited information we have, is to remove your white iPhone from its case if you're going to be doing someting intensive for a long time, like play StarDefense, run a GPS app, etc.

I probably don't have to tell you this, but just in case ... do not apply stain stick to your iPhone.

White iPhone discoloration: Not just heat originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

White iPhone discoloration: Not just heat originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Purplera1n for Mac to Jailbreak iPhone 3GS Released; UltraSn0w Unlocks iPhone 3GS

TomTom for iPhone en route

Although final details are still hazy, we've got more information on TomTom's upcoming turn-by-turn navigation solution for the iPhone.

Reports: Nokia says no Android phone in the works

Nokia has denied today reports that the Finnish company is working on a mobile phone running on Google's Android mobile operating system.

Review: Shortcovers for iPhone

Reading an e-book with the Shortcovers app is fine, as far as mobile e-book readers on the iPhone go. But this app's nice interface doesn't go nearly far enough.

Apple Stores will replace broken iPhone displays

Filed under: Hardware, Retail, iPhone

Apple's service options for iPhones have improved since 2007. Back then, long-term repairs meant traveling to an Apple Store and paying the $29US fee for a loaner. Later that month, Apple released the Apple Care Protection Plan for iPhone. Among other things, this plan extends technical support to two years from the date of iPhone purchase, and extends hardware coverage to two years from the same time period.

This week, Apple announced that a specific repair, screen replacement, can be performed at Apple Store Genius Bars while the customer waits. The service is free if your phone is under warranty, otherwise it will cost you $199. Yikes. Of course, "Under Warranty" refers to the date purchased as well as other factors like liquid damage* or jailbreaking.

Here's hoping you won't need this service (hold on tight or buy a case), and if you do, you aren't 200 miles from the nearest Apple Store like yours truly.

Speaking of repairs, we've seen iPhones and iPod touches survive some serious knocks, like a run-in with a pickup truck.

*Note that Apple will let iPhone owners swap their liquid-damaged iPhones for replacements, provided that it succumbed to an out-of-warranty encounter with liquid.This post was about screen repair specifically.

Apple Stores will replace broken iPhone displays originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple Stores will replace broken iPhone displays originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are iPhones burning up in the infernos of processor overtaxation, or is it all a big misunderstanding?

Apple hasn't ever been great at this whole "heat dissipation" thing, but some new developments in the supposed overheating iPhone scandal of 2009 have us wondering how widespread or reproducible these problems might be. Here are a few semi-facts we've managed to amass:

• Somebody's white iPhone 3GS grew some ugly brown markings during heavy use.
• A new development is saying that the discoloration came from a case (pictured), not from cooking the plastic.
• More users than usual have been reporting an overheated iPhone error after the 3.0 update, but as Apple's support documentation points out, this could just be from the time of year (summer, in case you haven't been outside lately).
• There isn't a large mass of evidence denoting a major fault to the 3GS, 3.0 or chintzy white leather cases.

So, all that said, what's been your experience?

View Poll

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Are iPhones burning up in the infernos of processor overtaxation, or is it all a big misunderstanding? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is Your iPhone Battery Life 20% Less With Push Notification?

Back when Apple re-introduced Push Notification at the iPhone 3.0 Sneak Preview Event, Scott Forstall claimed that, unlike background multitasking that could cause an 80% drop in battery life, Push Notification would only cause a 20% drop. While some debated the truth (or truthiness) of his claims, it did set the expectation that users running Push Notification-enabled apps would see lower battery life, and gave an indicator of just how much less.

So, while it too a while, now that we finally have Push Notification, and some of the more popular messengers and games are implemented it, how’s your battery life doing?

Are you seeing a hit compared to your pre-Push Notification days, and if so, is it in the 20% range? Let us know which iPhone you have, how often you’re getting Push Notifications, and how your battery is holding up!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Is Your iPhone Battery Life 20% Less With Push Notification?

Apple to Add Micro Projectors to iPhone and iPod Touch?

In a brief note, DigiTimes reports that Taiwanese firm Foxlink is currently developing micro projectors for use in mobile phones, with Apple being one of the companies expected to launch devices with built-in projectors later this year. The projecto...

White iPhone 3GS suffering heat and discoloration

The white iPhone 3GS reportedly overheats during a period of using the GPS and 3G of the phone, and its case changes color. Engadget says it turns a browner and Gizmodo reports as being pink. Looks like the iPhone 3GS is now available in black, white, brown and pink :-) ...

People line up for iPhone 3GS debut in Japan

Apple released its new iPhone 3GS in Japan on Friday. According to the Asahi Shimbun, more than 200 people lined up at Softbank Mobile Corp.'s Omotesando store in Tokyo. The Japan's launch is a week after Apple introduced the new iPhone in the United States and Europe.  It's reported more than ...

Leaked: Sony Ericsson’s upcoming Android phone

Pictures leaked by a Danish site appear to reveal Sony Ericsson's upcoming Android phone.

iPhone 3.1 Beta Walkthrough

iPhone 3.1 Beta 1 has just been released, and unlike the major new version that was iPhone 3.0, it’s still unclear how many features — compared with bug fixes — will be added. However, enterprising developers have already discovered at least a few things we can all look forward too.

So, here’s TiPb’s iPhone 3.1 Beta Walkthrough, and we’ll keep it updated as/if Apple releases future betas.

Home Screen

The jigglies — what Dieter lovingly calls the little dance icons do when you hold them down long enough to make them moveable and rearrangeable — now make the iPhone vibrate once to further indicate the change of state. Whether or not this will somehow factor in to the iPhone 3GS accessibility features is uncertain.

Voice Control

Voice Control, after holding down the Home button for several seconds, let you speak simple commands to place calls and control music. In iPhone 3.1, it will also work over Bluetooth.

The exact process isn’t clear yet, but it’s hard to imagine anything other than holding down the call button on a Bluetooth headset function similarly to how the Home button currently works.

Messages

After being present in iPhone 3.0 Beta 1 through Beta 4, before being stripped out in Beta 5, AT&T users will again find MMS functionality restored to the interface. However, it’s not functional without hacking the carrier file, and it’s unknown if it will survive until release or be stripped out again if AT&T still isn’t ready for the feature to go live.

Calendar

Calendar gets a minor tweak in iPhone 3.1. Now event alerts also display the location of the event in the popup. Presumably, this is now considered important glance-able information.

Photos

Video trimming is now non-destructive. Previously, if you trimmed a video, it was automatically saved over the original, meaning you could never undo or go back to the full clip. Now, a Save As… dialog gives you the option of preserving the original and creating as many version copies as you want (an short clip to email, a longer one to share to YouTube, and the full clip to sync and bring into iMovie, for example).

Phone

Copy and Paste comes to the Phone Keypad. Just tap and hold and the input area will change from dark blue to light blue, and the Copy Paste menu will pop up.

Reportedly, the iPhone Paste feature is “smart” enough to change alphanumeric phone numbers to pure numbers (i.e. 1-800-FLOWERS to 1-800-356-9377).

When Will it Ship?

If history is any indication, iPhone 2.0 was released on July 11, 2008, and iPhone 2.1 followed some two months and 4 betas later on September 12, 2008 hot on the heels of Apple’s Let’s Rock introduction of the 2nd generation iPod touch. Will we have to wait for another new iPod and music event before we see 3.1?

Our guess is Apple will try to get 3.1 out earlier to fix a few of the more onerous bugs, but as always, only Jobs knows for sure…

Note on Using Beta Software

Unlike iPhone 2.0 Betas, where access seemed much more limited and leaks were few and far between, 3.1 like 3.0 seems to be on every iPhone users want-now list. Also, unlike 2.0 when many devs were seasoned pros, now Apple is touting thousands upon thousands in the program, some seemingly happy enough to enable 3.0 access for the general user base.

However, betas are intended for developers to test and report back on. They’re not as stable, not as snappy, not as feature-complete and anyone trying to use them as a production OS on their main (or worse, only) device is likely to have something less than an ideal experience. People trying to use it as such may wish they could go back to iPhone 3.0 almost as much as they wished for 3.1. Think thrice before taking the plunge.

[Via Chris, Muero, WhenWillApple, and BGR. Thanks to everyone who sent in descriptions and screenshots.]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.1 Beta Walkthrough

iPod touch and iPod nano Getting Camera?

Could the iPod touch and iPod nano also be getting in on the camera action? We’ve heard the rumor before but evidence continues to mount with Techcrunch claiming:

One of our sources in Asia say that Apple has placed an order for a massive number of camera modules of the type that they include in the iPhone. These are inexpensive cameras, in the $10 range. And the size of the order, our source says, means they can only be used for one thing - the iPods.

As Dieter mentioned on iPhone Live! a camera is such a natural fit for the iPod touch that it’s hard to imagine Apple not doing it at this point. Adding video recording, editing, and sharing (along with the beefier chipset) also seems like a no-brainer port from the already-enabled iPhone 3GS. Even if Apple sticks with VGA resolution, users who want highly portable video recording might easily take the iPod integration over the better quality of a dedicated device like a Flip Mino HD.

Macrumors is also showing off a case that, if real, re-enforces the iPod nano camera rumors as well. Absent the iPod touch interface and processor power, however, it’s hard to see that being functional for anything but still photography. That being said, it remains a great way for Apple to keep moving the traditional iPod line forward even as it approaches market saturation.

Anyone eager to get their iPod camera action on?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPod touch and iPod nano Getting Camera?

Video: Pocket Cemetery iPhone App preys on grief, sends prayers to Flash memory

Death is a certainty and as inescapable as the people who will prey on your grief. The new Pocket Cemetery App on iTunes lets you create virtual tombstones for "dead relatives, friends, pets, or celebrities" that you can decorate with bitmapped flower images. You can even use the on-screen QWERTY to tap out and "send" a little prayer. As Wayne Perry describes it, Pocket Cemetery is "like having a little virtual heaven in the palm of your hand." Unfortunately, heaven will cost $2.99 and there won't be any connectivity -- this App runs isolated on your iPhone without any means to share your memorial, prayers, or grieving. But hey, maybe we're alone in our criticism; Pocket Cemetery already has a first "user review" rating it 5 out of 5 stars by a first time reviewer just 1-hour after launch. Impressive.

P.S. Don't just stop at the video above, Wayne's generated a different pitch on his YouTube channel capitalizing on the deaths of Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, and Farrah Fawcett. Elvis too, even though we know he's just in hiding.

Video: Pocket Cemetery iPhone App preys on grief, sends prayers to Flash memory originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cameras Ordered for iPod Touch? Another Case Design

TechCrunch now claims that they too have heard evidence that the next generation iPod Touch will have a built in video camera.

One of our sources in Asia say that Apple has placed an order for a massive number of camera modules of t...

Review: Fast & Furious for iPhone

The movie it's based on may be shallow entertainment, but this racing game for the iPhone and iPod touch has a lot of depth to offer.

More Evidence of Cameras in Next Gen iPod Touch and Nano?

Two new images of cases for the upcoming iPod Touch and iPod Nano have begun circulating. The new cases suggest that the next generation Touch and Nano will indeed include a camera.

The first image from Uxsight is listed as a "New iPo...