AT&T says original iPhones can be deactivated and used as WiFi iPods
Original iPhone owners who prefer not to give away or sell their old iPhones after upgrading to an iPhone 3G can instead keep their devices and use them as WiFi-enabled iPods, AT&T has confirmed. The exclusive US provider for the Apple handset iss…
Swiss, Hong Kong iPhone plans detailed
Swisscom and 3 Communications have released details on iPhone 3G plans in Switzerland and Hong Kong.
Our iPhone 3G Giveaway Happens July 9th. Hie Thee to the Forums!
In our forums, dhp1080 asked an important question: since the iPhone 3G comes out on the 11th and whoever wins is surely going to be the sort to go out and buy one that day, doesn’t it make more sense to hold the drawing for the winner of our iPhone 3G giveaway a bit earlier? Yes, […]
iPhone 3G plans start at $48 in the Netherlands, $128 in Denmark
T-Mobile has announced three distinct iPhone 3G plans for the Netherlands starting at $48 USD, meanwhile Telia of Denmark has introduce a single plan for $128 USD that will see a 33 percent reduction after the first six months. T-Mobile of the Net…
Updated! iPhone 3G International Update: Australia Plans & Prices, Canada Stumbles, Sweden Crumbles?
Thanks to reader, Adam R. who wrote in to let us know Australian rates have been revealed, and his Blackberry can now “go the way of the dodo”. First up is Optus who’ve announced both pre-paid and post-paid plans. Pre-paid Turbo Caps start at AUS$30 for an AUS$30 “mycredit”, AUS$110 “mybonus”, and AUS$30 “mytime money” — […]
Question of the Day: How Often Do You Replace Your Cellphone (and Why)?
Like many current iPhone owners, I have been tossing around the merits of upgrading to the 3G version when it hits on July 11th. The debate about whether or not it is truly worth it has gone back and forth since the official announcement, but the bottom line is that I am an early adopter. I have come to accept this about myself and what it can mean for bank account but many others take a completely different approach. The iPhone debate aside, I have a related two part question for you today. First off: how often do you replace your cellphone? And second: Why do you usually make the change?
Verizon’s LG Dare Full Review (Verdict: Best iClone Yet)
“Dare to be different,” the saying goes, but the LG Dare is really Verizon Wireless’s attempt to fit in, to offer a phone that’s more like the AT&T LG Vu and Sprint Samsung Instinct, not to mention Apple’s similarly priced iPhone 3G. The truth is, the Dare may not be as glamorous or well-priced as the Instinct, but it has a better browser, a motion sensor and some cool software tricks that make it a fine phone for people who choose to remain in Verizon’s walled garden. And it puts Verizon’s previous iClone attempts, the LG Voyager and the Samsung Glyde, to lowdown dirty shame.
As I think we’ve firmly established, we call these iPhone clones because they are made superficially with the look and feel of the iPhone in mind. They are not direct competitors to the iPhone, as they don’t run on a smart, open platform like iPhones or Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones do. The Dare, like the Instinct, is closed and proprietary, geared to customers who like much of what the carrier has to offer, and would just like a better way to make use of it. And after spending some time with the Dare, I can safely say that, much like the Instinct, it really does let you do that. 
Easier Access
For starters, Verizon has done away with its dependence on unchangeable, annoyingly deep menus. With the Dare, you can drag any app or function directly to the desktop for one-click access. You can add key people to the Favorites launcher, where you simply drag their face to the phone or message icons to call or launch a new SMS.
Even those cryptic notification icons always seen at tops of phones are clickable on the Dare.
E-mail and Web
Let me get this off my chest first: The Dare browser is WAY better than the Instinct’s, both in rendering speed and page layout. You can navigate Gizmodo with very little trouble, especially if you’re going read-only. My only complaint was that there was no way I could find to speed-scroll through so many blog posts without giving my thumb a callous.
Verizon’s E-mail app is basically the same as it’s been for about six or eight months. I do not recommend it for business use, as it’s not very full featured, but I was able to get the Dare to notify me whenever any mail from three different accounts came through, and the iPhone-like QWERTY keyboard with pop-up letters really helped when typing. The only trouble I had sending e-mail was due to a funky POP3 account with ambiguous recommended settings. (One negative: You can’t edit POP settings once you’ve configured them, so I had to keep deleting and adding the same account over and over again.)
Premium Unlimited-Use Plans
The good news is, unlimited use of e-mail and web are included in Verizon’s new premium price plans, along with unlimited text messaging, unlimited use of basic V Cast clips and ACTUALLY USEFUL stuff like the ESPN MVP sports and WeatherBug web apps. Though it seems at first glance that pricing is a tad higher that Sprint’s, the difference is negligible:
$80/month - 450 primetime talk minutes
$100/month - 900 primetime talk minutes
$120/month - 1350 primetime talk minutes
$140/month - Unlimited talk minutes
And yes, there are family premium plans that give you these perks for multiple (compatible) phones. The phone itself is $200 after a mail-in rebate.
Lighter Features
In our introductory walkthrough video, we showed you some awesome traits. After a revisit during our review, here’s how those features held up:
Slow-mo video cam - It’s a bit grainy, but with decent light, it could make some interesting videos at 120 frames per second. The 3.2 megapixel camera is decent, but nothing to write home about.
Full photo editing - Speaking of camera, the editing feature is not as “full” as we first thought. There’s no red-eye reduction or shadow/highlight or color adjustment. Most of the options are actually novelty, and even for being silly they are not very useable.
Music player - Good: Plays MP3s and even iTunes Plus DRM-free AACs that you drag to the “My Music” folder of the MicroSD card (up to 8GB); Bad: Still has issues with tags, and appears to count image metadata as additional song files, so browsing by Artist or Album is fine, but browsing “All Songs” is messy. 
In addition to that the video player reads standard MP4 (but not H.264), and pauses songs when you switch to video playback, only to pick up where it left off once you’re done.
Hardware
Like the Sprint Instinct, there’s a 3.5mm jack for universal headphone fit, but unlike the Instinct, the Dare has a motion sensor inside that tells whether you’re holding the phone horizontally or vertically. Videos, photos and the music browser all automatically adjust, as do keyboards and web pages. It’s a nice touch, though I’ll be honest, you don’t really miss it on the Instinct.
The Dare’s touchscreen leaves something to be desired. It’s not as snappy as the Instinct’s, and even after calibrating the screen, I found myself resorting to fingernail tapping to gain some precision.
The body of the Dare is a tad chunkier, but shorter too, with a slightly stubbier screen.
Dare vs. Instinct
The Instinct is, inside and out, a more elegant device. I preferred Instinct’s e-mail app, and its included news, sports and weather web apps were great. Verizon is promising some unlimited-use apps like ESPN MVP and WeatherBug to compete with that, and while they’re pretty nice programs, they were not ready to be used on the Dare at the time of this review.
The thing I can’t stand about the Dare is VZ Navigator. I have tried to appreciate this, and since unlimited use of it comes with the premium plan, it can be considered a feature of the phone. Still, it’s the worst GPS UI I’ve ever played around with, and Verizon would do much better to kill off their own licensed app and go with Telenav, which Sprint and AT&T both use.
Still, after playing with both, I have to say that the Instinct’s aesthetic assets don’t fully make up for the Dare’s key advantages, one of which happens to be Verizon’s network. In the northeast at least, there’s no substitute.
Conclusion
Like the web apps, there are a few more wait-and-sees: Visual voicemail isn’t in effect yet, and may or may not come via over-the-air update. Rhapsody is just launching today, and for $15/month extra you will be able to sideload the Dare with Rhapsody-to-Go tracks, though a Windows PC is required for that.
I am very content to say that this is Verizon’s best attempt at a customizable, user-friendly touchscreen phone, and that, if you are into buttonless touch interfaces, you could do a lot worse across all the carriers. I think the $200 iPhone trumps the $200 Dare if you don’t care which carrier you’re on, but for those of you who are sticking with Verizon, you might, um, venture to pick up a Dare. [LG Dare at Verizon Wireless]
ruBooks 0.921
ruBooks, an upgraded version of the popular eBooks Reader. One of the better, but lesser known features of the iPhone/iPod Touch is the ability to read eBooks. With the availability of numerous ebooks sources, this feature gives the user the ability to replace an invertible bookshelf worth of high-quality titles. This ability has been greatly enhanced […]
Apple named in lawsuit over wireless data, circuits
A small patent holding firm claims that Apple and other large PC makers are violating broadly-worded patents for encrypted wireless signals as well as the inner workings of many computer circuits. Saxon Innovations LLC’s lawsuit was filed in late …
iPhone Keeps Cyclists’ Leg Skin From Becoming Part of the Street
Sure, the iPhone can help you make calls and check your email and settle arguments in bars, but when was the last time it helped keep a stretch of skin on your leg from getting peeled off on a hot stretch of pavement? Not recently, I’m guessing. But that’s just what happened to an avid cyclist who got a popped tire while traveling at about 25MPH.
In the instant just before executing my turn, something in the road punctured my front tire. In two places. 130 psi of traction and control were gone in an instant. I immediately went into an uncontrolled fall at 25 mph. Since I had already started my turn, the vertical stability of my bike gave way to momentum and gravity. I hit the pavement hard, sliding about 20 feet before friction brought me to a stop. Suddenly the pavement didn t feel so good beneath me. I had a nasty abrasion on the outside of my right leg and right forearm, and a very sore right cheek , which took the brunt of my fall. I stood up as quickly as I could to take inventory of my faculties to see if I suffered any broken bones. Luckily, I hadn t.
Once I gathered myself and my bike to the side of the road, I reexamined my injuries. I was somewhat pleased the abrasion on my arm was not as bad as it could have been, saved by the leather-palmed gloves I was wearing for such an occasion (which were now ruined, but a small price to pay for the protection they provided). And my leg could have been worse, too, had it not been saved by my my iPhone. Oh no! , I yelled.
Panic raced through me. Retrieving the iPhone from my pocket immediately revealed the screen had not suffered breakage, so I pressed the Home button and the iPhone sprang to life. I was still about a mile from home, so I unlocked the display and immediately pressed the Phone icon so I could call home for assistance. The ringing sound at the other end was music to my ears; the phone still worked!
Sure, any phone could have protected him just as easily I’m sure, but could that phone then help you look up the surgery you’re avoiding due to its protection? I think not. [Gantos]
O2 limits Apple iPhone 3G availability
O2 plans to limit the new iPhone 3G to just one device per person when it goes on sale on July 11.
First Side-by-Side: iPhone Vs. iPhone 3G
This appears to be the first shot in which we see the iPhone up against the iPhone 3G. While the angle isn’t all that telling, maybe that’s exactly the point. For all intents and purposes, the two phones look one in the same. But to fanboys and those who’ve already held the original iPhone for hours on end, sure, that extra .02″ of thickness coupled with thinner edges could feel a lot different. [iLounge, in case you didn’t notice the subtle watermarking job.]
Build Your Own iPhone Anti-Interference Shield With a Can of Red Bull
One of the things that irritates me about iPhone ownership is how my computer speakers buzz whenever the phone gets too close. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal except for the fact that my desk is the most logical place to charge my phone. Fortunately, someone has come up with a simple MacGyver-esque solution to this problem using nothing more than a Red Bull can and some double stick tape. The creator warns that it could interfere with your reception, but it shouldn’t pose much of a problem. Besides, your desk is probably littered with empty soda cans as it is. Hit the link for the full set of instructions. [Project Page]
Trivia Why?s Daily Quiz
Specifically created for the iPhone and iPod Touch but playable in any modern web browser, Trivia Why’s Daily Quiz keeps you sharp with a few minutes of exercise for the left side of your brain and a touch of wit for the right. Know all the answers? Congratulations, you’re a trivia genius! Not so sharp […]
MailCoaster
MailCoaster is a fast and easy email application for iPhone and iPod Touch. - Login to your regular mail account - Scroll through and read your latest messages - View attachments - Compose, forward, or reply to messages - and more … MailCoaster works with regular POP/POP3 and IMAP accounts as well as popular Webmail systems from Hotmail, MSN, AOL, Gmail, […]
