Hold your breath, it has been reported by many sources that now users would be able to buy iPhone’s without sticking to one carrier for years , yes of course its true and has been reconfirmed with a leaked document from Apple , the document states that Customers purchasing iPhone at full price are no longer required to have an AT&T account or provide a form of ID , and the device salesare limited to one unit per person per day .

The prices for the various models available without contract are :-

• iPhone  3G , 8GB   @ $499
• iPhone 3GS, 16GB @ $599
• iPhone 3GS,  32GB @ $699

Upto 5 phones per day can be purchased but with contracts or upgraded price, where you would have to pay few extra dollars for every phone you buy exceeding 1 unit.
And no verification for an active AT&T account required .

But the phone will still be locked to AT&T and can be either used with AT&T without contract (with same plan charges -as stated by AT&T ) or unlocked through iTunes or other unofficial methods for free and later on can be used with other Service providers , the only happening over here is users can cancel the service without any termination fees , and that’s not a big deal anyways .

Maybe AT&T and Apple are planning to move this aged inventory out of the room , for something new in the stores this summer .  We guess iPhone 4G , pretty cool but that’s just a guess .

Apple has always been making smart moves towards improvisation of its products and services. We were expecting this very soon , apple has added a feature to gift applications on the App store where you would be able to gift a game or an App to anyone on their email addresses , previously Apple had introduced this feature on the music store in iTunes, which has come up to the App store too.
Of course developers are going to generate some more revenue this summer, merry christmas developers, but it also comes as an asset to App lovers and gamers.

iPhone marketing author Rana Sobhany reports: “Apple has now integrated gifting into the App Store, a move which will likely bring significant additional revenue to developers around key holidays. On the iTunes side, music gifting has become very popular since it was implemented, particularly related to music discovery among friends, and I believe that this behavior will continue into the application space as well. “

To access this feature users just need to agree on the new terms and conditions of the iTunes store after signing in ,
click ‘Buy App’ and then select ‘Gift this App’ by clicking the arrow beside buy App , and you are done

gift app img

The gift feature works well and has been tested by few users , hope this feature brings new colors to App store , and also serves as a good news for developers over these vacations.

The Clorox Company, has been a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products which includes bleach products, cleaning products, natural cleaners, auto care products etc . Recently  Amanda Mahan the Digital Creative Director of Clorox Co. discussed the development of an iPhone application termed “Clorox iStain” which would be launched in mid-April.

According to studies tens of thousands of people search the internet for Stain removal tips and guides and as the leading manufacturer in this product category Clorox has taken the initiative to develop an App which delivers relevant tips to such users directly on their iPhone .

This iStain application would enable consumers to browse by stain types and search on stains and offer solutions for their queries . This application would also focus on Quick Stain removal tips and tricks not only with Clorox products, but also with products like Club Soda, in case it is the best method. It would also allow users to add their own tips , rate them , and provide feedback on the same. This data would also be available on Facebook and other social Networks. The idea is to make the application more social and viral .

We all love our iPhones and merely the thought of losing my iPhone scares the hell out of me. However some developers have actually taken the pain to address this concern for iPhone users by developing applications that helps you to track your lost iPhone. Also, in case of phone theft applications like iHound ( developed by Daveworld) can come handy – you don’t mind spending $2.99 for the possibility to get back your stolen iPhone, do you  ?

The basic principle of this application is integrated GPS and text messaging.  What you’d need to do is…

• Install the application on your iPhone
• Protect it with a Security code , of your choice
• Set a custom message in your phone , (this will be the message forwarded to your alternate number  in case somebody stole it from you )
• Check the option – NOTIFY IF SIM CHANGED

Once you have set up your phone like this, it is secure.

If someone finds your phone and is unaware of the owner information, you can  track his current location and call him up and request him to give your phone back, but in case he tries to use another SIM card, you will be notified regarding this through text messages which in turn will provide his identity by providing his new number through push notification and location through the same application.

While the application is working, you can also send text messages to the person who has your phone with a desired ring tone and volume, and offer a deal to return your phone. During this session your phone will be locked by the security code and a spoof screen would be displayed, the user would have no access to any of the phone’s features and any attempt to unlock it with a wrong code will be notified immediately.

3.1 was a major upgrade to iPhone OS and those of us who are using it have all faced a bunch of problems. Though Apple has been doing their best to resolve some of these still there are plenty of issues in hand that needs to be sorted.

Here are some of the common iPhone OS 3.1 Problems and their possible fixes.

• Podcasts: Often the sound would get jumbled up. This issue has been reported and accepted by Apple and a minor fix is to be launched in future firmware upgrade
• Random Freezes and Shutdown: This is a major complaint amongst the iPhone users. There are about 1000 posts regarding this issue in Apple’s discussion forum and the problem as determined by users is when the phone goes to sleep mode, and the user tries to unlock the device display, the phone turns unresponsive and kind of stuck, the display remains blank and it doesn’t react to any keystroke. The only solution is a RESET.
• Battery Life: After upgrade to OS 3.1 many users reported that they experienced a faster draining of the battery life. It was also observed that the battery level goes down even when the phone is not in use. Apple is aware of this problem and is finding the root cause for this by capturing power log files from the iPhone users while they sync with iTunes, using a special file named batterylifelogging.mobileconfig
• Slow Performance with MobileMe : Many users have complained that  their phone turns slow n sluggish after syncing with MobileMe . This problem can be resolved by :-
  • Launch the Settings App
  • Go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars
  • Go to your MobileMe account
  • Turn off contacts and calendars
  • When prompted, delete them from your iPhone
  • Reset your iPhone by holding down the sleep and home buttons until the Apple logo appears.
  • Perform steps 1-5, but this time turn contacts and calendar syncing on.

  If the problem persists Delete  MobileMe Account from your iPhone, perform a RESET and set your Account once again

• Unknown Error (-50) : You might  face this problem when you are syncing your iPhone to iPhoto. Install iTUNES 9 and start up from a scratch , the problem disappears
• Problem with Exchange Server 2007 : If you are  using Exchange server 2007 and you are on OS 3.0, you may be  having a pretty tough time. The root of the problem lies in the fact that the older versions are not equipped with hardware encryption. Your IT admin who takes care of exchange server needs to turn off Hardware encryption for older phones to solve the issue.
• Bricked Phones: This is often the biggest concern amongst iPhone users while upgrading their OS. If you are one of those unfortunate few who might have bricked their phones here is a solution that works in most cases.
  • Press and hold Sleep/Wake and Home until the iPhone resets.
  • When the Apple logo appears release Sleep/Wake, but do not release Home until you see the prompt  to connect the iPhone to iTunes.
  • Connect your iPhone to its USB sync cable.
  • iTunes should launch. If it doesn’t, launch it manually.
  • Perform a restore of your iPhone’s firmware, settings, apps, and media.

Apple has addressed some of these issues in the later releases of OS 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 but just in case you are struck with any of the issues above, this post would surely come handy.

On Friday Apple announced that iPad would be available on store in the US from April 3rd.  While the millions of Apple enthusiasts and developers are waiting to get their hands on to this new device,  Apple offers some good news for Australia.  On Apple Australia website they have officially confirmed that iPad would be available in Australia from late April.

For UK also, Apple does not have a fixed date for release and mentions that it would release Wi-fi and Wi-Fi +3G by late April.

Customers will be able to pre-order both models from Apple’s online store from 12 March, but only the Wi-Fi model can be reserved and picked up in store.

Steve Jobs said, “We are excited for customers to get their hands on this revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before”.

Apple has not yet announced the international pricing for iPad and this is expected to be available in April. The price of iPad in International markets has been a matter of speculations for some time now and if rumors are to be believed iPad might be costlier in the UK compared to the US.

Have you noticed that the ‘you must be 17 or older’ warning is being shown in iTunes more and more? I have a ton of apps on my iMac, and there are usually a good 20 or so updates to download every week. Very often, when I click ‘download all free updates’, I get this warning first. Even when the apps I’m updating are perfectly innocuous, and have no connection with any type of obscenity or violence.
But this isn’t some mistake by Apple. In fact, it is part of their policy to rate all apps that rely on user generated content as 17+. Before this policy was clearly spelt out, there certainly was some comlnfusion. For instance, rejected the popular Twitter client for iPhone Tweetie because one of the trending topics on Twitter at the tine contained an objectionable word. Apple approved the app later, but that was an early indicator of how Apple would approach this problem.

Today, Apple clearly follows this policy of giving an ‘R’ rating to applications that provide acess to user generated content. This might seem unfair at times, but when you consider the sort of content such apps can offer, you realize this is a good policy. Consider the recently launched app TWI (Texts While Intoxicated). I’ll leave you with a screenshot from this app.