Want TomTom for iPhone 3G and 3GS? On Sale Now!

The TomTom app for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS has gone on sale [iTunes link] through the App Store, with versions for the US and Canada, UK and Ireland, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand all available to download. Prices range from around $74 for the Australian mapping to $132 for the Western Europe setup; that doesn’t include the nifty in-car dock which has a separate GPS receiver and hands-free kit integrated.

Exploding iPhone Investigation

Media reports claiming that one or more iPhones have exploded in Europe have led Apple to investigate, according to Reuters.

One such report includes the case of an 18-year-old iPhone user in France who claims to have heard a hissing noise coming from his girlfriend’s iPhone before it shattered. The teenager reportedly suffered minimal injuries from the incident, which resulted in his eye being struck by a piece of iPhone glass, as reported by Google.

Helen Kearns, European Commission Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs, explained the following at a news briefing: "Apple has come back to us ... and what they've said to us is that they consider these are isolated incidents. They don't consider that there's a general problem."

"They're trying to get more information on the specific details of those incidents, and they will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause," Kearns added.

Although the current media reports share a small amount of explosion cases for the iPhone, numerous similar cases have been reported by users of the iPod. According to Google, in late July, Seattle-based television news station KIRO reported that an “alarming number” of iPods had “suddenly burst into flames and smoke, injuring people and damaging property."

Why Was Google's Voice iPhone App Rejected? Apple Explains...

Apple has officially answered FCC questions about why Google Voice was rejected to appear in App Store. For those who didn’t keep track of the news, Apple rejected the Google Voice application for iPhone and removed all related third-party application from App Store. The rejection has drawn great attention & criticism around the net and even Federal regulators wanted to know why Apple rejected Google’s innovative Voice app from its App Store.
This is not the very first time Apple rejected iPhone applications submitted for App Store. Developers, bloggers and journalists around the net have criticized Apple for rejecting applications especially for those innovative applications trying to add feature and even replace iPhone’s default application like Phone or Mail applications.
Okay, here is the Apple’s answer to FCC’s question on why the Google Voice application was rejected:

Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it. The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail. Apple spent a lot of time and effort developing this distinct and innovative way to seamlessly deliver core functionality of the iPhone. For example, on an iPhone, the “Phone” icon that is always shown at the bottom of the Home Screen launches Apple’s mobile telephone application, providing access to Favorites, Recents, Contacts, a Keypad, and Visual Voicemail. The Google Voice application replaces Apple’s Visual Voicemail by routing calls through a separate Google Voice telephone number that stores any voicemail, preventing voicemail from being stored on the iPhone, i.e., disabling Apple’s Visual Voicemail. Similarly, SMS text messages are managed through the Google hub—replacing the iPhone’s text messaging feature. In addition, the iPhone user’s entire Contacts database is transferred to Google’s servers, and we have yet to obtain any assurances from Google that this data will only be used in appropriate ways. These factors present several new issues and questions to us that we are still pondering at this time.

The answer is not very convincing.

Facebook 3.0 - The Soon to be Released Free iPhone App

Facebook has Submitted its 3.0 version of Facebook for iPhone application to app store. The new Facebook 3.0 is expected to be released by next week. The new version 3.0 has lots of new features. Here are some of the amazing feature of Facebook 3.0 iPhone application.

Features of new Facebook 3.0 iPhone application

* Easier photo tagging facebook3 iphone thumb
* Upload image to any album
* Create photo Album
* Call or text people from the friends page
* Typed message will be restored after a call
* Events
* Notes
* News feeds

Free iPhone Games Produces Varying Amounts of Fun

One of the iPhone’s most revolutionary features is its large library of instantly accessible free games.
The question is whether any are worth your time. To find out, I thought I’d put the App Store to the test by downloading the top 10 free titles from the “All Games“ category (based on number of recent downloads as of July 17, 2009), and playing each one for as long as it held my attention. The only caveat was a 15-minute time limit for each game. If a free game holds your attention for at least 15 minutes, that’s good.



1. “Wooden Labyrinth 3D Lite”
I had a love/hate relationship with my old tabletop Labyrinth game as a kid. I loved the concept, but I hated how much I sucked at manipulating those little knobs to guide the ball past the holes. The iPhone version, with its simple tilt controls, makes things more enjoyable. I’m surprised how accurate and realistic the physics are, and I love the way the 3-D perspective shifts as you tilt the unit, making the screen feel like a window into an alternate world. The randomly generated levels in this “lite” version are hit-or-miss, but the variable difficulty ensures lot of replay value.

Genome + iPhone = Helps Transform Individual Health Care

With employees spread across five continents, effective mobile communications are essential for Illumina, a San Diego, CA-based biotechnology company that designs breakthrough tools for genetic analysis. Using iPhone, sales reps can track customers, executives can manage employees, and everyone can stay in touch. And soon Illumina will make it possible for consumers to carry their personal genomes with them on iPhone.

iPhone was an obvious technology choice, says Jay Flatley, Illumina's President and CEO. "First and foremost, it's a great phone. But what our employees need goes well beyond that. They need a computer in their hands that can do calculations and data searches, and can manage sales using SalesForce Mobile. Because of the flexibility of the interface, iPhone was the ideal tool for us."

With iPhone apps like Workday HR management software and Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, Illumina executives can do everything from tracking payroll to participating in meetings wherever they are. "iPhone has improved the overall productivity of people at Illumina," says Scott Kahn, Illumina's Chief Information Officer. "It's rare that you deploy a tool and don't get any negative feedback. But with iPhone, the first response is usually 'Thank you.'"

Sharpen Your Brain Using 10 Free iPhone Apps

If you have some time on your hands, there are some great applications that can be great to keep you sharp and on your toes. If you want to make good use of your time, then there are some excellent applications to help you do just that.

1. Weird Laws – If you want to keep up with or research some of the craziest laws out there, this application is for you. You can be the source of all trivia with this application and wow people with your knowledge.

2. Discovery Channel – If you are a follower of the Discovery Channel or simply want to keep up with some interesting trends or information, this can bring great insight. You can expect from this free iPhone application what you expect out of the TV station so the information is endless.

3. Mind Reader – Prepared to be “wowed” as this application reads your mind and spits back some interesting information at you. This may be a game but it definitely involves some ideas that are sure to keep you sharp.

4. Tap Word – Another game but one to keep you on your toes! Here you can use your iPhone to perform a word search and keep sharp even in the most dulling circumstances. This is one to keep with you for the anytime challenge.

5. Doodle Buddy – This is a great way to keep sharp because nothing shows your talents like art. You can express yourself artistically with this application and keep sharp as it allows you to have an excellent outlet. Sure to break up a boring day too!

6. NPR News – For the person who wants to stay on the go no matter where they go, this educational station can travel with you for free. Keep up with your love of NPR News or just get introduced to it with this application.

7. Crack the Code Free – This is an excellent way to keep your mind sharp because you have to really work at cracking the code. This is an excellent game of skill and knowledge and works with your skill so you are constantly on your toes.

8. Wikipedia Mobile – If you want to keep in touch with everything that you’ve ever wanted to know and be the bearer of all trivia and knowledge, keep this traveling online encyclopedia with you at all times.

9. Myths and Facts Free – Ever wanted to decipher between fact and fiction but never have the time? If you have time on your hands, this is a great application to use to keep up with what is true and what is totally false.

10. Chess Free – No game can test your knowledge better than chess, so this is a great game to keep with you. This application can teach you a thing or two about the game and keep you intrigued.

Free iPhone Ringtones Made Using the Following Software

Want to convert your favorite audio file or an mp3 as a iPhone ringtone? Here are some handy applications which enable you to create iPhone compatible ringtones from different audio formats MP3, WAV, WMA and MP4 etc., for free.


iRinger: Free iphone Ringtone Maker Software. It allows any iPhone user to customize their iphone ringtones. It’s a handy ringtone maker solution that does not require any ” jailbreak” for your iphone. You can customize the ringtones with a variety of features supported by iRinger. It runs on all the versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows Vista. It requires iphone firmware 1.1.2 or newer, iTunes software 7.5 or newer, also works with the new iphone 3G.

ToneShop: Free iPhone ringtones maker (Windows). ToneShop is an free software utility which allows us to make ringtones from MP3, WAV, WMA and MP4 audio formats. It’s very simple to use, just we need to select the input file, define the audio snippet you want ringtone of and select the desired output format according to your cellphone. Using ToneShop you can create ringtones in MP3, WAV and AAC formats. The Apple iphone M4R (AAC) format is the latest addition to it. ToneShop Works on Windows 2000, XP and Vista PCs (32 bit and 64 bit)

iPhone Finally Gets MMS

AT&T finally gives MMS to its iPhone customers, though missing its target of a "summer" launch

AT&T promised early this year to have MMS ready for the iPhone during the summer. After all, it didn't seem like that was too tall an order considering its other phones offered MMS and the iPhone OS v3.0 came with built-in support for MMS.
Now AT&T has finally announced an official date -- September 25. AT&T will roll out the update to iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S phones, which will allow them to send video clips and pictures in text messages. The MMS capabilities will be offered for free as part of the existing service bundle.

AT&T says the tardiness was necessary to "to give our customers a positive experience from day one." AT&T adds, "[We needed] to make sure our network is ready to handle what we expect will be a record volume of MMS traffic."

The company says that another OS-supported feature that is highly anticipated -- tethering -- is coming soon but that there is "no set date". AT&T says it "expect[s] to offer it in the future", but says it can't yet, describing, "This function could exponentially increase traffic on the network, and we need to ensure that some of our current upgrades are in place before we can deliver the expanded functionality with the excellent performance that customers expect."

Apple Rejects Torrent App, Approves Vonage App

Apple still is making some high profile rejections, but its also making some tough approvals

Just over a month ago Apple rejected Google Voice, a voice iPhone app that would allow international calling at reduced rates and free SMS text messaging. Apple claimed the rejection was not due to the voice functionality, but rather because the app replaced parts of the iPhone's interface.
Now after controversy over whether the reaction was proper, Apple has approved a separate voice-over-IP (VoIP) app from Vonage. Apple gave Vonage the green light to begin beta testing the new app among a select group of its customers. The new app is available on the iPhone and iPod Touch to these testers.

Still, the approval process was not without its difficulties. Apple last week admitted that Vonage's app approval was also hung up on technical issues (exact details were not specified), and the approval had been delayed. Apple promised that it was working with the developer to resolve these issues, and apparently it was good to its word.

Meanwhile, another app met a less fortunate fate. µMonitor, an app that would have allowed iPhone customers to control their home computer's uTorrent client on the go, has been unceremoniously rejected.

Spotify iPhone App - learn to music on your iPhone

Spotify (Free with premium subscription) is now available for iPhone (and iPod touch) is now available — if you live in the UK, Sweden, Spain, France, Norway or Finland.



According to Spotify, if you live in those countries and have a premium subscription, you can enjoy:

• Access to millions of tracks with Spotify’s constantly updated catalogue


• Search and stream music instantly. Browse by artist, title, album, genre, label or year


• Create and synchronise playlists. Updates from the desktop application will be synced instantly and vice versa


• Playlists can be downloaded and played in offline mode when you have no connection, are on a plane or subway, or abroad and subject to roaming data fees


• Listen to tracks and albums in their entirety. Rewind, fast-forward, pause, skip and shuffle


• View cover art for all tracks and albums

So, if you live in one of those countries, and have a premium account, and an iPhone or iPod touch (list long enough yet?) and you try out the Spotify App, let us know how it works for you!

Free iPhone application can help track disease outbreaks

A new application for the iPhone may help veterinarians track the spread of infectious diseases like the H1N1 virus and West Nile virus.

Outbreaks Near Me was developed by John Brownstein, an assistant professor at Children’s Hospital in Boston and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues. The application is based on a Web site called HealthMap, launched last summer, which scours the Internet for disease-outbreak information and compiles it on a customizable map.

The new application will collect reports from news media and the public about new outbreaks of infectious diseases, and users will be able to set alerts when new outbreaks are reported in their area.

Outbreaks Near Me can be downloaded for free on iTunes. Click here for more information

Mint.com Releases Free iPhone App

Everyone is often told to spend wisely and avoid going over your budget. Many may have this in mind but normally, they still overspend anyway. One problem is budget tracking and fitting their needs according to their available cash flow. This time, with the Mint.com app, you can use your iPhone as a useful ally in making sure that your are really saving and not actually throwing your money away.

Mint.com releases a useful free app with new features. Among the features include a virtual accountant where you purchases are categorized and a “Push” alert to make sure that individual are aware of the transaction related to their account.

The Mint.com app is free for download and is now available at the iTunes store. This app is simply a must for people who tend to overspend or have issues with regards to the proper handling of money and embarking on shopping sprees.

50 Free iPhone Apps for Business Travelers

If your work has you out of the office more than you're in it, you know the value of tools that help you stay in touch. With the iPhone by your side, you don't need to haul a laptop everywhere you go.

In this collection of apps, you'll find tools for getting work done on the road, keeping in touch with coworkers, and getting quick information. Best of all, every app in this list is free.

That means you can try them out at no risk: keep the ones that help your business and delete the others. Your work is crucial, and a free iPhone app is a top-notch assistant.

 

1) Documents Free: A lightweight office suite with a spreadsheet, text editor, file browser, and Google Sync.


2) DocWrite: Dictate into this app and it will transcribe your notes and store them for you.

3) iAnywhere Mobile Office: This app extends Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange to enterprise iPhone users.

Free iPhone App Launched by Sunny Leone

We're not up to speed on the finer points of Sunny Leone's work (or at least, we weren't until an eye-popping Google Images search), but we gather she's fairly well known in the entertainment world.

Now there's some good news for fans who want to keep up with her doings on their iPhones: yes, there's an app for that. A free one, launched by T3 IT.

This being the app store, it doesn't contain anything that would flout Apple's upper ceiling of a 17+ age rating - the blurb describes it as a "bikini and lingerie model app... although there is no nude picture or video, material, the content is very provocative".

Quite. The app offers photo galleries, video clips and Leone's personal blog. A separate paid version has more content for 59p, and T3 IT has launched a similar premium app for another star, Aria Giovanni.

Apple has been uncompromising in its no-apps stance for iPhone, but it's interesting to see the entertainment world experimenting with tame iPhone apps for promotional purposes in this way.

Apple Allows iTunes Competitor on App Store

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller has made it his personal mission to fix the iPhone's App Store. Phil Shoemaker, Apple’s Director of Application Technology is also playing a hand. Why would the top brass at a company like Apple be having to work so hard to "fix" a wildly successful marketplace that sold over a billion apps? It boils down to one thing -- perception.

Apple has consistently shown inconsistency, approving usenet applications designed to assist in filesharing, while rejecting others that monitor your torrent client. Likewise it rejected Google Voice, while approving a similar app from VoIP service Vonage. Still other controversial apps -- like the infamous "Babyshaker" app -- it approved only to later reject. However, there are some signs that Apple may finally be loosening up when it comes to its app store censorship.

This week Apple approved Spotify Mobile, a European music download service's application. The app will compete directly with iTunes in digital music sales.

In the past, Apple forbade most applications that competed with the handful of applications it offers for the iPhone. It relaxed this restriction slightly, recently allowing rival web browsers -- but only those based on WebKit, the rendering engine Apple's Safari browser uses.

For those interested, Spotify offers 6 million songs on-demand for $16. You can stream songs to your phone, or download songs to listen to when offline.

Google Voice iPhone App Breaks the Law, AT&T Launches iPhone MMS

The excitement of the iPhone finally getting multimedia messaging, is overshadowed by the Google Voice drama

After a long wait AT&T finally rolled out support for the multimedia messaging service (MMS) protocol. This means that iPhones can at last send pictures, video, and audio recordings like users of other smartphones.

IPhones have actually had MMS support built in since June when the iPhone OS v3.0 was released. AT&T, however, kept the functionality disabled for fear it would overload and break its network. Meanwhile, AT&T upgraded much of its network and built extra capacity to handle the service.

On September 22, early last week, it sent a free SMS text message to inform its customers that it would be rolling out the update on Friday. The message read, "AT&T Free Msg: Picture & video messaging (MMS) will be available for iPhone on 9/25. While we prepare your account for MMS capability, the current 'view my message' experience will be turned off but your ability to send and receive text messages will not be affected."

Users began receiving the update when they synced their phones with iTunes on Friday. The update wasn't without its problems -- most of which appear to be software/firmware related. Some users found that their attempts to send MMS failed. Apple and AT&T suggested users first try to reset their networks settings. A more extreme fix involves selecting your iPhone's settings in iTunes and choosing "General > Reset All Settings > enter your pin if prompted". That fix appears to get MMS working, but you may have to reenter your Passcode, Wi-Fi passwords. You may also lose your VPN connections and remembered Wi-Fi networks. A perk, though, is that your apps are arranged alphabetically, something previously not easily done.

iPhone 3GS 3.1 Firmware has been jailbroken successfully!

iPhone 3GS users, I have got some terrific news for you. The twittersphere is buzzing with cpich3g’s latest tweet claiming a successful jailbreak of iPhone 3GS 3.1 firmware:


* iPhone 3GS firmware version: 3.1 (7C144)
* Baseband(modem) version: 04.26.08
* Tool used to achieve the Jailbreak: PwnageTool

You all know what this means, right? A Jailbreak tool for 3GS (Pwnage 3.1 3GS) is coming your way real soon.

20 Fantastic Free iPhone Apps for Parents

It’s hard to believe that a little device that’s the size of your hand can actually help parents become more organized, time-efficient, knowledgeable, even relaxed. However, that’s the beauty of an iPhone. The key, though, is to find the right apps to get you there, and with so many choices (more than 75,000), it takes time and effort to find good ones.

What follows is a list of 20 free apps that won’t necessarily make you a better parent, but can make your life a little easier, or help out in a pinch wherever you are. And when you have a screaming, bored, hungry, or need-to-use-the-bathroom kid, sometimes a little help is all you need. The apps listed below have been compiled from the eyes of a parent, but many can be used regardless of whether you do or don’t have children.

There are also several apps listed below that are ‘lite’ versions. These are completely functional, but just offer limited options compared to their more robust, feature-rich priced apps. What other great iPhone apps are you finding helpful as a parent? Let us know in the comments.

WebMD Mobile

WebMD’s iPhone app enables parents to look up symptoms and try to figure out what’s ailing their children. Of course, it shouldn’t take the place of professional medical advice, but for those cases when your child has a minor rash, fever, cough, etc., this is a great resource to try and narrow down what is going on, and prepare for a doctor visit if necessary.

AT&T Opens iPhone to 3G VoIP Traffic, President of Skype Responds

AT&T does the unthinkable and ungimps the iPhone

When it comes to VoIP on the iPhone, both Apple and AT&T have been quite restrictive with regards to what is made available to customers. Customers wishing to use VoIP programs like Skype on the iPhone have been relegated to using Wi-Fi instead of streaming data over AT&T's already fragile 3G network.

Perhaps the biggest battle came with the rejection of Google Voice. Apple flatly rejected the application citing that it would cause confusion with the existing phone features on the iPhone. Many people, however, believed that the snub came down directly from AT&T.

The block of cellular VoIP on the iPhone infuriated many considering that Blackberry devices running on AT&T networks have had access to such applications (including Google Voice). AT&T today even acknowledged the artificial iPhone blocks; "For some time, AT&T has offered a variety of other wireless devices that enable VoIP applications on 3G, 2G and Wi-Fi networks."

No Refunds on iPhone Apps - iPhone Users Complain

Competitor after competitor have launched their own app stores, but none have been able to come close to matching Apple's industry-leading iTunes App Store, which serves the company's popular iPhone smartphone. The App Store has suffered a bit in the past from controversy, though, with many developers unhappy with Apple's inconsistent approach to application acceptance.

Now, with Apple trying to put that controversy in rear view, a new one is brewing. Recently, there has been a growing user outcry, particularly in the influential business user segment, over Apple's no-refunds policy concerning App Store downloads.

With some apps like GPS applications or business applications coming in at $30, $50, or even more, users are becoming furious when these pricey apps occasionally fail or prove to be bug prone. With no returns, these users are out of luck, with Apple leaving them no recourse. Apple's policy explicitly states -- refunds will only be offered if the download fails.

These complaints have been given a prominent voice by a recent piece from Eric A. Taub of The New York Times. Mr. Taub writes, "None of this may matter if the most expensive app you’ve downloaded is a 99-cent virtual beer glass. Once the novelty wears off, most people can live with the financial loss. But asking people to spend $100 on an app that they haven’t had the opportunity to try and can’t return may limit its popularity. Even if you don’t return a piece of consumer hardware you purchased, you can always try to sell it to someone else. But an unwanted app remains yours forever."

Dragon’s Lair Swashbuckles its Way to the iPhone!

Dragon’s Lair [$4.99- iTunes link], the original laser-disc (wikipedia it!), fully cell-animated arcade adventure from the legendary Don Bluth is officially, nostalgically available for the iPhone and iPod touch.
If you weren’t there to experience Dragon’s Lair’s emergence onto the arcade scene in the wayback days of yore, it’s hard to explain the impact it made. Suffice it to say, if the iPhone version captures that kind of magic, every 30+ year old will download it on sight, and many younger folks might just fall in love with it as well.
It’s not Pac-Man or Street Fighter; it’s a very different type of gaming experience, so if you’ve been waiting for it, let us know how it translates, and if you’re trying it for the first time, let us know what you think!

Free iPhone App To View Videos And Movies On The Go

The National Film Board of Canada is launching a new iPhone application that allows free viewing of hundreds of documentaries, animated films and trailers.Users can stream a video as they watch it or temporarily store it on the iPhone, to be played back at any time up to 24 hours later.

The full list of videos is available at NFB.ca, where the films can also be viewed.

The NFB's was founded in 1939 and has since created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies.