We waited over 10 hours in line for the iPhone 3G last week, and all we got was a fully network-locked 16GB iPhone 3G that took several excruciating hours to activate. So, with Hong Kong’s Alibaba Wholesale pushing fully unlocked iPhone 3G handsets through parent company Union Camera Ltd., we’re feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse.

The mobile electronics retailer is offering brand-new, unlocked iPhone 3G handsets in 8GB and 16GB trim. But, with Alibaba requiring a $1,000 USD minimum purchase order, that tinge of buyer’s remorse we were feeling is starting to fade. Still, iPhone 3G hopefuls looking to pay a premium for an unlocked handset might find this deal attractive.

We’re not sure how these guys managed to get their brand-new iPhone 3G’s unlocked already, but anyone looking to find out just how legit this offer really is can put in an order through Alibaba’s online store-front.

Drop us a line if you decide to take the plunge.

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Ambrosia Software, Inc. presents another of their first iPhone games, Mr. Sudoku. Available when the App Store launches for $9.99 and written specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch, Mr. Sudoku is a game truly meant to be played on a mobile device.

Sudoku is an addictive, logic-based number placement puzzle game. Each puzzle starts with a partially completed grid that you’ll have to solve. The object is to insert numbers in the boxes so that each column, row, and each of the nine boxes contain the digits from 1 to 9 exactly one time only.

Mr. Sudoku’s unique and innovative interface lets you use a familiar input device to select your digits — your own personal digits! Simply use your finger to draw the number you want, and it’s instantly converted into the actual number. Ensuring the strategy and brain-flexing doesn’t stop, there’s 4 difficulty levels with 1,000 puzzles per level, for a total of 4,000(!) different puzzles!

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Ambrosia Software, Inc. presents another of their first iPhone games, mondo Solitaire. Available when the App Store launches for $9.99 and written specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch, mondo Solitaire is a game truly meant to be played on a mobile device.

mondo Solitaire’s beautiful, crisp graphics let you easily identify your cards and assess your current move. With over 100 included games, you’re sure to find all your favorites, and discover new games to enjoy!

Mondo Solitaire is a casual game you can pick up and play whenever you want, yet dismiss quickly to take that incoming call. When you’re ready to resume, tap the Mondo Solitaire icon and you’re back where you left off!

Using a familiar library search interface, sort and select all of your games — by name, style, favorites, and even popularity. The categorized interface makes it really easy to find the exact game you want to play.

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Earlier in June, Apple ordered 25 Million of these chips…Amazing, its just amazing when you think of all those iPhone and iPods that Apple will be making out of these chips…

This should come as good news to Apple shareholders and supporters alike…
July 3, 2008 6:35 AM • by R. Look • Posted to News | Rumors Comments (0) | Permalink
Samsung recently told its downstream customers it will have to reduce the amount of 8GB NAND flash chips available to them due to Apple buying approximately 50 million of the units to cover iPhone and iPod production through the rest of the year.

Earlier in June, Apple ordered 25 Million of these chips…Amazing, its just amazing when you think of all those iPhone and iPods that Apple will be making out of these chips…

This should come as good news to Apple shareholders and supporters alike…

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If you navigate away from the Google Talk browser and go into another browser or application on your iPhone, it will automatically set you status as unavailable and you will not receive any instant messages. When you return to the browser, your Google Talk session will be restarted. I did notice that it takes around 25 seconds (on WiFi) to reconnect which does seem a little long to me. Other than that, it looks great and is

very user friendly. Below is Google’s official press release and screenshots.
Press Release:
Posted by Adam Connors, Software Engineer, Google mobile team

We’ve just 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 while you’re on the move, too! In your iPhone browser, just go to www.google.com/talk, sign in and start chatting. That’s it. Google Talk runs entirely in the browser so there’s no need to download or install anything.

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.

Other than that, we’ve tried to keep the design as faithful to the desktop experience as possible, so it should be familiar to you. You can select from a quicklist of the people you contact most, search your contacts, and manage multiple conversations. You’ll never have to miss out on the latest gossip or updates from friends just because you’re away from a computer.

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Below is the list of my current top ten themes and how to get them. Note: Some of these themes are tweaked to my liking…they may have a different dock or wallpaper than the original theme.
10. Realize - MMiThemer

9. Chalkwork - MMiThemer

8. Buuf2 - Installer: ModMyiFone

7. Ethereal - MMiThemer

6. A8stract - MMiThemer

5. The Lonely Tree - MMiThemer

4. Leaf - Installer - Installer: ModMyiFone

3. iRobert’s - MMiThemer

2. Fresh - Installer: ModMyiFone

1. Reveal - Installer: iSpazio

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1. You will need to be able to SSH into your iPhone.

2. Find the com.apple.SpringBoard.plist file on your iPhone. It is located in the System/Library/LaunchDaemons folder.

3. Drag the com.apple.SpringBoard.plist file off of your iPhone and onto to your computer. You will want to change the name of the file to System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.SpringBoard.plist (original) or something similar. That way, you can keep it as a back-up of the original file….just in case!

4. Open the System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.SpringBoard.plist file you saved on your computer with any code editing software (I used Miscrosoft FrontPage).

5. Once it is open, find the part in the code that looks like this - /Library/Intelliborn/intelliScreen:/Library/Frameworks/SummerBoard.framework
/SummerBoard.dylib
Note: There will be other code in front and behind it but, you only need to worry about this section.

6. Delete the bold section of the code shown below. /Library/Intelliborn/intelliScreen:/Library/Frameworks/SummerBoard.framework
/SummerBoard.dylib

7. Replace the section you deleted with this -
/Library/MobileEnhancer/MobileEnhancer.dylib

8. The code should now look like this -
/Library/Intelliborn/intelliScreen:/Library/MobileEnhancer/MobileEnhancer.dylib

9. Save the file as com.apple.SpringBoard.plist (DO NOT SAVE OVER THE TOP OF YOUR ORIGINAL FILE).

10. Drag the com.apple.SpringBoard.plist that you edited and saved back into the System/Library/LaunchDaemons folder on your iPhone.

11. Restart your iPhone and check your Settings…RiP Dev should show up now!

This worked for me. I was able to use both Kate and IntelliScreen like normal.

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Not anymore as AT&T has finally announced the rate plans for Apple’s iPhone 3G as a follow up to the iPhone 3G Guided tour published by Apple yesterday.

AT&T’s iPhone 3G rates plans now include the data plans, so don’t be shocked when you see them after the jump.

iPhone 3G rate plans:

iPhone 3G plans are as mentioned below:

* 450 minutes with 5000 night and week end minutes additional minutes $.45 for $69.99
* 900 minutes with unlimited night and week end minutes additional minutes $.40 for $89.99
* 1350 minutes with unlimited night and week end minutes additional minutes $.35 for $109.99
* Unlimited minutes for $129.99

The above plans include unlimited data (email/web) and Visual Voicemail.

However, the above plans does not include SMS and you will need to purchase that separately.

* 200 Messages for $5 per month
* 1500 Messages for $15 per month
* Unlimited Messages for $20 per month

Upgrade policy:

AT&T has officially clarified the upgrade pricing for existing iPhone and non-iPhone owning AT&T customers.

The 8GB iPhone 3G model will be available for $199 while the 16GB model will be available for $299 pricing for the following customers:

* iPhone customers who purchased before July 11
* Customers activating a new line with AT&T
* Current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount

AT&T customers who are not currently eligible for an upgrade discount i.e. those who didn’t purchase an original iPhone and aren’t otherwise eligible (you can check your eligibility to upgrade here) can purchase iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB model. Both options require a new two-year service agreement.

AT&T customers who are upgrading to iPhone 3G will now have to pay an $18 upgrade fee and new AT&T customers will pay the standard $36 activation fee.

There is no need for current iPhone owners who are upgrading to return their old iPhone and can instead use them as a Wi-Fi iPod.

iPhone 3G without a contract:

Interestingly AT&T has also decided to sell iPhone 3G for $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB) without the need to sign-up for a two-year agreement, however you will end up paying a huge $400 premium.

Erica Sadun at TUAW is recommending that “new and current iPhone users will be better served mathematically by signing up for the upgrade ($199 to transfer service to a new iPhone, phone included), pay for a month of service and then cancel the contract after 30 days, keeping the phone and paying the $175 early termination fee plus that one month of service, which will run about $70 plus $36 for activation. This comes to about $450 plus tax versus what AT&T is asking: $600 plus tax. For the 16 6B model, this works out to $550 (or so) compared to the $700 sticker price.”

So for all those thinking that Apple had slashed the prices of iPhone 3G think again. iPhone Hacks reader, Stanley, was spot on when he said “I never trust anything to be truly free!”

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It is a program that you download to your computer, it creates ringtones and then you sync them to your iPhone via iTunes (see demo video and screenshots below). What is really nice about this application is the ability to customize your ringtones. If the multimedia file is longer than 30 seconds, you are easily able to choose the exact 30 second clip that you would like as your ringtone. If the file is shorter than 30 seconds, it will automatically convert the file into a ringtone for you. The application costs $14.95 USD. For more information head over to their website.

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