AT&T 3G MicroCell Site Goes Live, Monthly Fees to Be Up to $19.99? [Updated]

Engadget Mobile reports that AT&T's 3G MicroCell site has gone live as the company is apparently preparing to launch its service that will allow wireless subscribers to utilize their home Internet connection for enhanced voice and data coverage. The...

Apple Investigating Reports of Poor Battery Life for iPhone OS 3.1 Users

The iPhone Blog reports that Apple is taking steps to investigate numerous reports of reduced battery life from iPhone OS 3.1 users. The company's AppleCare division has reportedly begun contacting users complaining about the problem in its support ...

iPhone 101: How to Maximize iPhone Battery Performance

Poor battery life and iPhone are a few words that get mixed together all too often it seems. While some will say it’s fine, others will say it’s pitiful. As many of you know, battery life will fluctuate greatly between users and their individual usage patterns but TiPb wants to provide you with some simple tips and tricks on conditioning your battery to provide a maximum life and squeezing as much usage out of each charge as possible.

The battery in an iPhone is a lithium-based battery which is most common in consumer portable devices. A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles in its lifetime and the following tips are just a few ways to efficiently gain longer battery lifespans while extending overall battery life of your iPhone.

• Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).
• Avoid heat – do not leave your iPhone in a hot car or in direct sunlight.
• Optimization of your settings. Yes, some of these are no brainers but can be effective. Simple things like:
  1. turning off Location Services,
  2. turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use,
  3. fetching new data less frequently,
  4. setting the brightness of your screen below 50%,
  5. turning of the EQ while listening to music,
  6. turning off 3G while not surfing the internet (Yes, we said it…)

All of these add up to better battery life.

After you’ve tried some of the above tips and you are still not happy or your battery life is just horrid all together, you may want to try restoring your iPhone and do not restore from a backup file but rather restore as a new iPhone. All too often we hear about horrible battery life striking many of you after updating your iPhone to the latest software. If this is the case, 9 times out of 10 a separate restore as a new iPhone will clear up your battery issue.

Have some battery saving tips you’d like to share? Leave them in the comments for others to take advantage of!

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

iPhone 101: How to Maximize iPhone Battery Performance

Game Room: Blades of Fury for iPhone

Dedicated fighting fans will recognize the debt that Blades of Fury owes to some classic console fighting games, but give this iPhone game credit: It offers intuitive combat, explosive action, and the graphics are some of the best we’ve seen on the iPhone platform to date.

Poll: FCC to Announce “Net Neutrality” Today. You Want?

Do you want legislated net neutrality?(polling)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the FCC is set to announce what amounts to “net neutrality” today, something that will make users and technology companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple’s iTunes ecstatic, while roshambo’ing Big Telco right where it hurts.

Basically, net neutrality means data carriers like cable and DLS providers and wireless/mobile telephone companies can’t restrict what travels over their lines or airwaves. Data is data. Disallow SlingPlayer or Skype? Sorry, not allowed.

It’s not all good news for consumers, however, as carriers like the iPhone’s AT&T are already buckling under the existing data load, and allowing bandwidth gulping apps like SlingPlayer could bring down more towers, faster. It could also cause Big Telco to respond by raising their rates.

Also, the proposal would only prevent networks from blocking legitimate websites and services, not those deemed illegitimate (i.e. torrent sites).

Of course, an FCC proposal is a long way from a new network order, and AT&T and other ISPs, as well as those who oppose government regulation on principle, will likely continue to oppose it.

Hit the poll above and let us know what you think.

[Via Macworld]

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

Poll: FCC to Announce “Net Neutrality” Today. You Want?

Monday Fun Video: Steve Jobs Intros 2005 Motorola ROKR

My, oh, my how far we’ve come in so few years. Daring Fireball sums it up beautifully:

Hard to believe this was just four years ago. The demo starts around 2:45; the look of utter contempt comes about a minute later.

(Not iPhone friendly, sorry).

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

Monday Fun Video: Steve Jobs Intros 2005 Motorola ROKR

Roger Ebert Gives Thumbs Up to Apple VoiceOver Technology

TiPb’s been saying Apple’s accessibility technology is thumbs up for a while now, but the New York Times and legendary film critic Roger Ebert are giving real-world examples of just how good — and inexpensive — these new offerings are.

The NYT tells us Kara Lynn was given a deliberately crippled PC for $8,000 for text-to-speech, but instead she bought her own iPhone 3G and a $15 text-to-speech app, that was both less expensive but also provided greater mobility and functionality. (iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 include built-in VoiceOver and other accessibility features).

Ebert wrote in saying he likewise ditched the $8,000 PC after giving it a test drive, and instead went with his own MacBook, which again provided greater features and flexibility.

Again, kudos to Apple for emphasizing accessibility.

[Via AppleInsider]

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

Roger Ebert Gives Thumbs Up to Apple VoiceOver Technology

WSJ to begin charging for mobile access to content, including iPhone?

The Wall Street Journal announced that it will begin charging for mobile access to its news content as of October 24th. While mobile applications such as the WSJ’s iPhone application will remain free of charge and will offer free access to selected content, full access will require a weekly subscription fee. Beginning Oct. 24, the WSJ [...]

Concept ‘iHammock’ gives your iPhone a recharging vacation

The life of an iPhone is hard and we know it. After spending the day searching for 3G and running apps, the iHammock takes the edge off. This dock is actually a decent idea. Too bad it’s just a rendering of a proposed product. Most love to take naps in hammocks, but that’s not why we [...]

FCC and Net neutrality: the realities of how it will affect Apple

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will deliver a speech on Monday that sources say will outline a plan to adopt new net neutrality rules. According to a report published by Reuters, the FCC chairman’s plan will seek the adoption of new rules intended to ensure that ISPs can’t arbitrarily block or slow down their customers’ [...]

App Store phone hotline available to select big iPhone developers?

The Register reports that some high-profile iPhone app developers can simply call a dedicated contact at Apple to get assistance with App Store issues. Mike Simon, CEO of LogMeIn, describes that a representative at Apple had recently called the company and offered to be a single point of contact for any App Store-related issues. Simon stated, [...]