'Leaked' photos show iPhone 4G

Pictures have appeared online purporting to show the next Apple iPhone, complete with aluminium back

Grainy pictures supposedly showing the next-generation iPhone have appeared online. The images show a sleek-looking iPhone with an aluminium back that is more reminiscent of the first-generation iPhone and new iPad computer than the glossy-backed iPhone 3G and 3GS handsets.

Apple has refused to confirm whether the device in the images is a prototype of its new device. Gadget fans are well known for creating "mock ups" of supposed Apple devices, and then seeding them around the internet.

There are rumours that the new iPhone will be unveiled in June, and will feature an eight megapixel camera with flash, more storage and a front-mounted camera. The iPhone 4.0 software update, which was revealed by Apple last week, will also add multi-touch capabilities to the device.

A return to the aluminium form factor would make sense for Apple. It's very first iPhone, launched in July 2007, had an aluminium back, as does its latest gadget, the iPad, which went on sale in the United States earlier this month. Shoppers in the UK will have to wait until late May to get their hands on the touch-screen, tablet style computer, after Apple pushed back the launch date, citing "overwhelming" demand.

In February, rival phone maker HTC unveiled a handset made from a single piece of aluminium, using a manufacturing technique similar to the one used by Apple to make its unibody Macs. The HTC Legend has been widely praised for its cutting edge design and ease of use, and for the software laid over the Google Android operating system that makes it easier for people to communicate across social-networking sites.

Apple Now Blocking Wi-Fi Finding Apps, Sparks Debate Over Competition

People don't pay much mind to the fact that Walmart, Sears and loads of other retailers shy away from selling wildly explicit material, but when it comes Apple, it seems that everyone is keeping a close eye on what they do. Just a few months after the company announced that it would be yanking some sexually-related apps from the App Store (and taking a sufficient amount of heat in the process), the company now seems to be doing a similar thing to apps of a much less risque description.
According to a new report, Apple has begun to yank Wi-Fi finding applications from the App Store, which is curious on a number of levels. For starters, we have always heard that Apple was quick to ban/block apps that basically served the same function as an app that was built into iPhone OS. This is the reason why you really won't find any additional Mail apps on the App Store. In a way, we can understand that logic. But we still can't quite wrap our heads around this one.

Wi-Fi finding apps were extremely helpful for those who needed to sniff out an open access point just to download a large file attachment or send a large e-mail. Now, it seems that those who haven't already downloaded one will be out of luck. We did notice that Apple's iPhone OS provides this functionality on a very, very basic level. If you go into the iPhone's "Settings" pane, you can then switch "On" the Wi-Fi and watch as it searches and displays whatever Wi-Fi access points are nearby. But there's no additional detail or extra search options; it's the bare minimum, but apparently Apple isn't too keen on people making this better via their own app.This all brings us to a very important question: why can't Apple developers, who pay hard-earned money to be a part of the program, develop apps to compete with Apple's own? Does Apple really think that no one can ever out-do their own apps? Do they simply not want their own apps to look paltry in comparison to third-party alternatives? It's hard to say what Apple's thinking here; they'll let people download apps that turn the iPhone into a flashlight, but they're blocking sophisticated Wi-Fi finding apps that actually boost productivity and make the iPhone itself a more attractive smartphone option. Will anyone ever truly understand how Apple ticks?

Apple opens gates to VoIP on 3G – Free voice calls for everyone!

Free voice calls, that is, as long as you have an iPhone 3G and a VoIP app that lets you make internet voice calls over the 3G wireless data network. How is that possible, you ask? Well, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has apparently done an about face on their policy that prohibited VoIP apps from using a carrier’s wireless network to make free voice calls. Following AT&T (NYSE: T)’s decision to allow VoIP on its 3G network, Apple has opened the doors to a whole new world of VoIP calling, where iPhone users can make no-cost calls to other VoIP users from anywhere they please (as long as they have a decently strong signal). The implications of the move are huge – AT&T risks losing revenue from its wireless voice business if customers wholesale adopt 3G VoIP calling. For the customer, though, it doesn’t get any better than this.
VoIP iPhone apps, like fring, have been available for a while. But, their usefulness was previously limited to WiFi networks (unless you had a jailbroken iPhone, of course). You could make free phone calls from your iPhone’s fring app, but only if you had a WiFi connection handy. Today, that all changes. fring has announced that it’s iPhone app is now completely functional over a AT&T’s 3G network. That means fring users can make free voice and video calls to other fring users, Skype, GoogleTalk and MSN on both WiFi and 3G networks!
“fring users and our team alike are very excited that Apple Inc. have allowed independent iPhone VoIP applications over 3G networks, letting users make voice and video calls over whichever internet access suits their needs at any given place and time,” said Avi Shechter, Co-Founder & CEO of fring in a statement released today.
Now that VoIP is officially allowed on AT&T’s 3G network, will we see more iPhone users adopting VoIP apps as their voice call method of choice? That could hurt AT&T’s bottom line in the long run, while putting additional stress on their network. With the iPad expected to bring even more pain to AT&T’s data network later this year, things should get interesting for Big Blue.

Carphone: Battle To Beat iPhone To Hot Up

Carphone Warehouse is predicting an exciting year for smartphone technology as rival firms try to catch the runaway success of the Apple iPhone.

The retailer reported that Nokia was "back with a vengeance" as the Finnish company's Illuvial phone helped it to a 6.3% rise in like-for-like sales in the third quarter.
Carphone's finance chief Roger Taylor said iPhones led the way as smartphones, including LG's BL40 Chocolate phone and Research in Motion's Blackberry, sold well over Christmas.
Cheaper SIM-only deals, which surged in popularity at the start of the recession, did not prove as attractive.
Mr Taylor said: "There's no doubt that iPhone has set the bar and everyone is going hell for leather to jump over it.
"The good news is no one can stand still, not even Apple. It's quite an exciting pipeline for the year ahead."

Mr Taylor added that the strong demand for high-technology phones was good news for Carphone because there are bigger profits to be made on handset deals.
His comments came with technology blogs abuzz with rumours that Apple is preparing for the launch of iPhone 4.0 software.
That speculation was ramped up when the US firm invited reporters to an event on January 27 - ostensibly to introduce its eagerly-anticipated tablet computer.
Carphone Warehouse, which is looking to spin off its TalkTalk business in March, also added another 36,000 broadband customers in the third quarter.
It attributed its success to its official sponsorship of ITV's hit show X-Factor, while it was also boosted by its takeover of Tiscali's UK operations.
The surge in both its retail and broadband business led Carphone to increase its full-year forecasts for the second time in two months.

Google Android now has access to Fring mobile app

Fring has released their mobile application for the Google Android mobile platform.
Incidentally, Fring is already available on several other mobile platforms like Apple iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile.
Google Android version was much awaited and it has finally arrived.
Fring allows the user to communicate through several networks like Skype, Google Talk and MSN. It also works with Yahoo, AIM and ICQ.

The latest addition has integration with Twitter network as well. Read More....

Apple Updates Mac/Windows Safari to 4.0.4 — Raises Stakes in JavaScript Wars

Apple has just released desktop Safari for Mac and Windows to 4.0.4, which improves full history search performance, has the mandatory stability improvements, and security fixes, but the big news as far as we’re concerned is the number one item on the list — Improved JavaScript performance
Desktop Safari is the big brother of the iPhone’s Mobile OS X Safari, and they share a rendering engine (WebKit), and a JavaScript engine (Nitro), and improvements in desktop Safari and Nitro have traditionally filtered down to Mobile Safari with the subsequent iPhone OS update. That’s right, we’re looking at you iPhone 3.2 (where ever you are!)
Since the current iPhone 3.1 Safari is still outperforming even brand-new devices like the Droid, that may seem a little greedy, but we know Google’s Android and Palm’s webOS aren’t sitting still in the rendering race, and have updates of their own in the pipeline, so once again, competition benefits the end users. Bring. It..Read More.....