iSuppli, the electronics supply chain, confirmed previous estimates for the material costs of the 3G iPhone with their material tear down. The tear down analysis revealed an estimated material cost of US$174.33 which matches almost exactly the previous estimates of US$173.This analaysis only accounts for material costs and not for packaging, shipping, or software development. The analysis took a close look at the iPhone 3G’s use of an Infineon Technologies AG baseband chip. A technology that supports the HSDPA, WCDMA and EDGE air standards, plus the integration of three separate TriQuint Semiconductor tri-band WCDMA Power Amplifier Modules (PAMs). These features show that the Apple iPhone 3G is suited to go world wide.This reduction is significant from the original costs of US$227 for the first generation and confirms Apples ability to lower production costs. With estimates for production costs to fall even more in the near future Apple’s shares are only starting to look better and better. It’s time to get on board!

Often times I imagine myself as Luke Skywalker about to make that impossible shot that saves the Rebel forces from Darth Vader’s Evil clutches.

Of course my Datsun 180b is hardly an X-wing and the Brooklyn Bridge is no Death Star but still I can’t help but relive my Leia fantasies of youth when a cool iPhone App like PhoneSaber comes along.

The App uses you Apple iPhone’s inbuilt accelerometer to generate sound at the slightest movement of your projected lightsaber.

iPhone Phonesabre on 12seconds.tv If that’s not enough, and quite clearly its not, there’s also Star Wars: The Force Unleashed a multi-touch StarWars gaming fantasy writ large on the grins of nerds everywhere. Sorry honey I won’t be home tonight- there’s a universe that needs saving. Zhoom zhoom.

Fear not frugal iPhone shoppers, Brazilians have come to the rescue with the first iPhone 3G unlock solution using a wafer-thin SIM adaptor.

Using methodology similar to the TurboSIM from the original iPhone unlock Paulo and Breno of DesbloqueioBr use a SIM adaptor which tricks the iPhone into believing a test SIM has been inserted and then allows functionality to continue unabated.

The SIM adapter and chip carry all the software/mechanics needed to complete the unlock and Engadget tested it with both Fido and AT&T locked devices with success - so how much? Where can you get it? When will it be available? Now word yet but check out the video and wait patiently dear reader, your Apple iPhone’s freedom awaits.

Apple’s goal of 10 million iPhones in 2008 is looking good with news that in the first weekend they have not only sold their millionth iPhone but registered 10 million app downloads from the new App Store.

Hardly able to contain his glee Steve Jobs noted “It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

The new release adds GPS and 3G connectivity to the familiar model and though it has not been without its problems the new Apple device is clearly a hit around the world having been released in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US.

With the mobile phone market shifting to a service delivery market Apple’s new App Store appears to be taking full advantage. Using WiFi to wirelessly download from 200 free offerings or a range of 800 applications with 90% priced under $10 the App Store has seen iPod and iPhone users engage with their location-based, productivity and social networking options.

Apple shares anyone?

The network gridlock that Apple suffered when it launched the iPhone 3G last Friday was a result of being unprepared and could have been avoided . but there are still inevitable iphone complaints :

1) The 3G Network:

Suspiciously poor 3G reception and speeds. Specifically, we’ve seen several people report one bar of 3G reception in areas where other devices report strong reception.This may be a problem with a batch of iPhones, or with something in AT&T’s network, though we’ve also seen someone reporting the problem on O2 in the UK.

“- it would mysteriously drop from four bars of 3G to one for no apparent reason, while our Motorola RAZR2 V9 reported better reception . Then it would shoot back up to four bars for no apparent reason a few minutes later.”

2) Incompatibility with accessories:

Buyers of Apple’s new iPhone 3G are complaining that, unlike the original version, the device can’t be used with many of the pricey charging stations, sound docks, and other accessories they had bought previously for their iPods.

A number of forum members speculated that the problem relates to the fact the iPhone 3G exclusively uses a USB connection to link to charging devices, whereas the original iPhone can use either USB or Firewire connections.

3)Web Browsing :

Some are complaining that the Safari Web browser is prone to crashing on the new devices; others said they couldn’t get the iPhone 3G’s vaunted GPS feature to work properly.

4) Battery life :

According to users iPhone 3G delivered 4 hours, 27 minutes of talk time. Also found the battery indicator on the new 3G model slipping below 20% by early afternoon or midafternoon on some days, and it entirely ran out of juice on one day. Added that the iphone turned down the screen brightness, and at times turned 3G off entirely to save battery.

5) Cost:

Reviewers point out that despite a drop in the cost of the iPhone itself, having one will end up costing you more than owning a first-gen iPhone. That’s a result of increases in the cost of AT&T’s phone and data plans. Though you save $200 on the phone, you’ll pay $240 more for the service over the life of the two-year contract you must purchase,

6) GPS:

They can’t provide turn-by-turn directions, merely showing you as a blue spot moving along a map–and sometimes they can’t even do that.

What’s still missing…
* Voice dialing
* Video recording
* A real camera
* Memory-card slot
* Copy-and-paste function
* MMS for sending photos to other phones
* Bluetooth stereo audio
* Support for Adobe Flash, Windows Media Video, or Java

The paparazzis got her….iPhone 3G unboxing captured on video. More to come soon!

A large fries with every iphone 3G purchase!

According to Bright,the dutch blog, the boxes of the iPhone 3G are being made in Malaisia ,they’re made by potato starch . The Dutch company PaperFoam, which also supplies Motorola is the specialized company using this patented natural and green material. The inner tray of the box will be fully recyclable.

 

 

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been speaking to USA Today about the launch of the App Store.
Jobs stated that he expected to launch the virtual store with 200 software applications, but confirmed that more than 500 will go live at launch. Of these, 25 percent will cost $0.00 and 90 percent will cost $9.99 or less. “This is the biggest launch of my career,” said Jobs.”The reaction has been so strong”, he said. “So many developers responded.”

 

 

Jobs insists Apple will not rely on the App Store as a source of significant revenue, in much the same way iTunes music sales have contributed little to the firm’s bottom line: “We are not trying to be business partners,” he said. The goal is to “sell more iPhones.”

 

 

The App Store is expected to go live Thursday evening

 

 

Apple iPhone users have long been spoiled with cool apps and games but Aqua Forest is somewhere inbetween and one awesome use of the accelerometer and Touchscreen features.

Command fire, water and wind like the Moses of a lesser God as you wreak havoc on the iPhone’s pixelated world.

Not a game? Not an App? Why am I interested? Check out the video

The undisputed champion “iphone” in the Blue corner and the “Blackberry thunder” in the red corner … Are you readdddyy tooo ruuummmbbllle?

• The Blackberry Thunder is running on Verizon in the US. The iPhone 3G is for AT&T of course.
• Both have a full touch screen.
• Both support mp3s
• Blackberry thunder sports video recording but still not in the poor iphone.