Macally has launched a line of cases for the iPhone 3G that includes a Bella leather case for $19.99 that comes in colors to match the black or white phone.

Other cases include the Metro at $19.99, MClip and IceCase at $19.99 each, MCase slip on case for $19.99, MSuit for $12.99, a privacy screen protector for $9.99 and a mirror finish screen protector for $9.99. Macally also has other accessories for the iPhone 3G.

"Anyone buying the new iPhone 3G will want to protect it with a durable, stylish and form-fitting case designed to enhance its appearance and capabilities," said Andrew Saldana, VP Sales & Marketing of Macally. "Our cases let customers make the most of their new iPhone 3G, while also showing off the device's streamlined design. We even have two white protective cases to complement the new white color option available on the iPhone 3G."

Via Macally

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Palm officially launched the Treo 800w smartphone this week. A bit of information on the phone showed up back in May. The 800w will be a Sprint exclusive and will run on Windows Mobile 6.1. The 800w supports Sprint’s EV-DO Rev A broadband network.

The device has built-in GPS and can offer point-to-point directions and a searchable index of points of interest. Palm says the device is perfect for business users and integrates right out of the box with support for Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007. The Treo 800w will retail for $249.99 after discounts and 2-year activation.

"Palm is adding a unique stamp to the Windows Mobile experience with the Treo 800w," said Stephane Maes, vice president, product marketing, Palm, Inc. "It's an easy-to-use feature-packed smartphone that will keep users happy, empowered and productive."

Via Palm

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iSuppli analyzed the iPhone 3G now in detail the manufacturing cost after they published a Virtual Teardown of the iPhone 3G back in June. The results are almost the same. Apple has about $174.33 pure manufacturing costs on the iPhone 3G, which is around $50 less than for the original iPhone.

So by even providing more functionality (GPS, 3G) Apple still managed to lower the cost, which enabled them to offer the new low pricing without killing their margins.

As reported, Apple sold 1 million iPhone 3G phones in the first weekend.
More details on Apple Insider.

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Early iPhone 3G customers reported that the iPhone 3G screen has a yellowish hue that was different to the original iPhone screen.

Apple said that they configured the screen with a more natural and warmer color temperature. Now it looks like Apple was not really happy with the screen setting as a new firmware iPhone 3G update 5A347 is reducing the yellow tint of the screen.

The iPhone firmware build 5A37 is not fully released as you only get it when you do a backup and restore cycle through iTunes 7.7.

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Apple recommends switching off 3G, especially when 3G coverage is spotty. To disable 3G, from the Home screen choose Settings > General > Network and set Enable 3G to Off.

You should also minimize use of location services (GPS), fetch new data less frequently, turn off push email, auto-check fewer email accounts, Minimize use of third-party applications, turn off Wi-Fi, turn off Bluetooth, adjust brightness of the screen, and turn off EQ to extend the battery life of the iPhone 3G.
After you have switched off everything, you could also just use a plain Nokia GSM phone instead.

More details on the Apple site.

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iPhone Dev Team will publish their PwnageTool 2.0 iPhone 3G unlocking tool soon. Today the group posted a lengthy blog post that gives some insight into the dynamics of releasing a hacking tool.

The post was triggered by an announcement of George Hotz (alias geohot) who basically said he would release an iPhone 3G unlocking tool called yiPhone if the iPhone Dev Team would not release their tool soon.

George Hotz was affiliated with the iPhone Dev Team before the first iPhone unlocking hack became public. iPhone Dev team says that they parted ways because geohot did not follow the groups rules.
In any case iPhone Dev Team will not jump the gun on the PwnageTool 2.0 release because they want to make sure they will be "market leader" and give copy cats a chance to build a better, easier tool than theirs.

It is interesting to see that the economics and obstacles inside the hacking community are very similar to "normal businesses".
More details on the iPhone Dev Team site.

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iPhone Dev Team has managed to unlock and jailbreak the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 software. The group has now published a video of the soon to be released PwnageTool 2.0 that makes it really easy to unlock and jailbreak the iPhone 3G.
Will the possibility to install software outside the App Store infrastructure grow wild? The current iPhone users that have theirs unlocked will sure be waiting for this unlocking tool in order to upgrade to iPhone 2.0.
You can see the video of the PwnageTool 2.0 here.

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Verizon Wireless announced on iPhone 3G launch day the new LG Chocolate 3 phone.

The new LG Chocolate 3 is a flip phone style music phone with support of the new Verizon Wireless V CAST Music with Rhapsody.

Other features of the LG Chocolate 3 include 2.2 inch QVGA screen, 2MP camera, media player, video recording, VZ Navigator-capable, Chaperone Child-capable, Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR, One-touch speakerphone and Speaker-independent voice commands.

The LG Chocolate 3 will be available for $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.
Via this Verizon announcement.

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Apple announced that 500 applications for the iPhone and the new firmware 2.0 are available via the iTunes App Store. One must have App comes from Google. Google Mobile App for the iPhone gives you a single text box to search through your contacts and the web.
Google Mobile App tries to bring the same search convenience to the iPhone.

The first native iPhone Google App still will hopefully see some improvements to also search files, email, calendar, and notes on the iPhone.

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The iPhone 2.0 Software update was available unofficially today and Gizmodo reports that hackers at the iPhone Dev Team already have unlocked and jailbroken the iPhone 2.0 update. A couple weeks ago we actually reported that unlocking the 3G iPhone would be harder - looks like it is not that hard afterall.

Their iPhone unlocking tool Pwnage is not released yet, so it is hard to say if unlocking will actually work on iPhone 3G devices or if it just will apply to upgraded iPhones. This time around it will be harder though to buy a new iPhone without signing a contract as carriers require you to sign a contract at purchase.

It will also have to be seen how attractive unlocking of the iPhone 3G will be to iPhone owners. It could add some flexibility on using more SIM cards and install apps outside of the App Store, but this also could lead to lots of hassle.
More details on Gizmodo.

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the O2 online shop states that it has run out of stock on the 8GB and 16GB black iPhone 3G.

The O2 shop was crashing this morning because of the high demand and the 16GB was already out of stock pretty quickly.

At this point it is not clear how many iPhone 3G units O2 had available before the launch on July 11th. Was today just a smart marketing move, or is the demand for the iPhone 3G really tremendous. I am tending to believe demand is high. Many Europeans waited for the 3G version of the iPhone and now it is almost here.
According to The Guardian Carphone Warehouse still has iPhone 3G phones for new O2 customers for pre-order. Current O2 customers have to wait until Friday to try to get their hands on a new iPhone.
Via the O2 Shop.

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Nokia announces a global consumer survey that reveals that a majority of old mobile phones are lying in drawers at home and not being recycled.

Now with Apple launching the 3G iPhone, it is of course important to know where you can get rid of your Nokia 3G phone environmentally friendly.

Only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones despite the fact that most have old devices lying around at home that they no longer want.
Three out of every four people added that they don't even think about recycling their devices and nearly half were unaware that it is even possible to do so.

The survey is based on interviews with 6,500 people in 13 countries including Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia, Sweden, UK, United Arab Emirates, USA, Nigeria, India, China, Indonesia and Brazil.

In fact, up to 80% of any Nokia device is recyclable and precious materials within it can be reused to help make new products such as kitchen kettles, park benches, dental fillings or even saxophones and other metal musical instruments.

Nokia has collection points for unwanted mobile devices in 85 countries around the world, the largest voluntary scheme in the mobile industry. People can drop off their old devices at Nokia stores and almost 5,000 Nokia Care Centers.
Via this Nokia announcement.

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Sharp announces a new waterproof DMB TV phone for Softbank in Japan. According to Sharp the 824SH is the thinnest waterproof DMB TV phone.

The features of the Sharp 824SH include 2.8 inch screen, 3.2MP camera, IPX5/IPX7 waterproof, FeliCa, Bluetooth, and irSS.
The clamshell style phone is 15.3mm thin and comes in 11 colors.
The new Sharp Softbank 824SH phones start to ship in July and August.
Via this Sharp press-release

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Openmoko has announced that its Neo FreeRunner mobile phone will be available for purchase on July 4th. The phone uses GNU/Linux and comes with software for dialing, SMS, and recording contacts. The handset will also receive updates over time that extend its functionality.

The first software download for the device will be in August and will include location based applications. The phone will come in two versions operating on either an 850MHz network or a Tri-Band GSM for use in different countries.

The handset is black and weighs 6.5 ounces. The 2.8-inch touchscreen has a resolution of 480 x 640. Other features include Wi-Fi, AGPS, GPRS 2.5G, Bluetooth, dual 3-axis motion sensors and 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB of NAND Flash. The device will retail for $399.

Via Openmoko

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Google released in the US a new version of Google Talk designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch browsers.

In addition to sending your friends Gmail messages from your iPhone, you can now chat with them too.
Google Talk for the iPhone is just a web service so no apps need to be installed.

There are some differences from using Google Talk on your computer. For instance, in order to receive instant messages with Google Talk on your iPhone, the application needs to be open in your Safari browser. When you navigate away to another browser window or application, your status will be changed to "unavailable" and your Google Talk session will be restarted when you return.

Point your iPhone Safari browser to www.google.com/talk to start chatting on your iPhone.

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Nokia pays 264m Euro (~$411m) to buy the remaining shares of Symbian Limited, which they do not already own. This move is the enabler for the big announcement of the new open Symbian platform and the Symbian Foundation.


"This is a significant milestone in our software strategy" said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia. "Symbian is already the leading open platform for mobile devices. Through this acquisition and the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, it will undisputedly be the most attractive platform for mobile innovation. This will drive the development of new and compelling, web-enabled applications to delight a new generation of consumers."

Symbian Limited is the software company that develops and licenses Symbian OS, the market-leading open operating system for mobile devices. User interfaces designed for Symbian OS include S60 from Nokia, MOAP (S) for the 3G network and UIQ, designed by UIQ Technology, a joint venture between Motorola and Sony Ericsson. A privately-owned company established in 1998, Symbian has its headquarters in London, UK and other offices in the United Kingdom, United States and Asia (Bangalore, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo).

Mobile devices based on Symbian OS account for 60% of the converged mobile device segment (source: Canalys, 12 months to Q1 2008). Symbian OS represented approximately 7% of all mobile device sales in 2007, up from 5% in 2006 (source: Strategy Analytics). To date, more than 200 million Symbian OS based phones have been shipped, over 235 models, from 8 vendors and on more than 250 mobile networks around the world. More than 4 million developers are engaged in producing applications for Symbian devices.

Nokia expects the acquisition to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2008 and is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. On a reported basis, Nokia expects the transaction to be dilutive in 2009, approximately breakeven in 2010, and accretive in 2011. On a cash basis, Nokia expects the transaction to be dilutive in 2009 and accretive in 2010 and 2011. After the closing, all Symbian employees will become Nokia employees.
Via this Nokia announcement.

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Nokia announced today that the N78 phone ships in the United States. The feature packed Nokia N78 was announced in February.

Features of the 3G HSPDA Nokia N78 include WiFi, 3.2MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, microSD card slot, A-GPS, geotagging of photos, FM Tuner, FM transmitter, media player and Bluetooth.

"Offering the robust feature set expected from an Nseries device, the integration of these features with Nokia's new suite of Ovi services is what makes the Nokia N78 a perfect companion for a connected and mobile lifestyle," said William Plummer, Vice President of Go-to-Market for Nokia. "Whether using GPS to find my way across town, adding geotag information to the images I capture and upload to Share on Ovi, or using the FM transmitter to listen to my music collection through my car stereo, the Nokia N78 keeps me connected and entertained wherever I go."

The Nokia N78 is available at select consumer electronics and wireless retailers, online retailers and at the Nokia Flagship Stores in Chicago and New York, the Nokia N78 retails for approximately $560.

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Sprint has announced that it will be the exclusive carrier of the new Samsung instinct hand set. The device will be available on June 20th for $129.99 and is aimed directly at the iPhone 3G. the Instinct offers live TV, stereo Bluetooth, GPS and one-touch access to favorites.

The Instinct will connect to the Sprint EVDO Rev A high-speed network for fast downloads and uploads. The $129.99 price is with a 2-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The touch screen phone has a QWERTY onscreen keyboard and has localized haptic tactile feedback for pressed buttons. Speech to Action functionality is also offered, something the iPhone is missing.

The phone can connect to POP3 and IMAP email accounts, surf the web, text and play games. The camera is a 2MP unit with a built-in camcorder. Memory for the device is expandable up to 8GB via microSDHC cards and the phone ships with a 2Gb microSDHC card. Two batteries are included with up to 5.75 hours of talk time each.

Via Sprint

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AT&T will offer the iPhone 3G for $199 to new customers and existing AT&T iPhone users. Now Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner says that AT&T pays a $325 subsidy on the iPhone 3G.

If Apple sells the iPhone 3G through an Apple store the company gets an extra $100 from AT&T.
All in all Apple still makes quite a bundle on each sold iPhone 3G if these numbers are correct

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Sony Ericsson shows off the Sony Ericsson Maria Sharapova Design Collection just days before the most famous Tennis Championship at Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova is Sony Ericsson’s first global brand ambassador. The four year agreement was sealed in January 2008 and the Maria Sharapova Design Collection is the first design collaboration campaign to be announced.

The Maria Sharapova Design Collection consists of the IDC-31 Courtside Case, the compact IDC-32 Exercise Case, the IDC-33 Party Bag and the IDC-34 Travel Wallet.
The Maria Sharapova Design Collection will be available in all markets in Q3.

Maria Sharapova is very exciting, but the new Sony Ericsson accessories are not really.

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