3G iPhone

The Christmas holiday season - also known as crunch time for retailers - may have already arrived.

Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they're fair game.

We've seen all sorts of weird news regarding Apple's iPhone over the years, but you have to admit this latest bit of news does seem a little out of whack.

Leading UK telecom service provider O2 has yet to clarify whether it will allow its users to unlock their iPhone devices once their contracts with O2 expire.

That's right, Adobe will allow developers to create applications in Flash that they can then port to the iPhone and iPod Touch as native applications. The new feature will be available in Flash Professional CS5, where developers will have the option to export as .ipa files.

With a little imagination and inspiration, spooky can be sophisticated, and wicked can be whimsical.

BCE Inc.'s Bell Canada and Telus Corp. reached agreements with Apple Inc. to sell the iPhone, stepping up competition with Rogers Communications Inc., which has held the exclusive right to sell the device in Canada.

The reviews of Microsoft's new mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5, are in - and none of them are glowing. It seems that Windows Mobile 6.5 is more of a superficial cosmetic overhaul, not a bona fide upgrade capable of handling the mobile market's stiff competition.

A mobile commerce facility has been launched by Amazon to allow people to pay for items with their phone.

The Zune HD has piqued our interest as an iPod touch competitor, but it seems Microsoft's plans to take on Apple in the portable multimedia player market run deeper.

Olive, the company creating a new standard in high quality digital music experiences, today announced the introduction of the free iMaestro(TM) application for the Apple iPhone(TM) and iPod® Touch, giving consumers an easy way to control the Opus Hi-Fi Digital Stereo from anywhere in their home.

A group of lawmakers wants the FCC to investigate Google Voice over charges the service blocks calls to their rural constituents. Such calls are expensive to connect, but landline carriers are prohibited from blocking them.

This past spring I looked at the burgeoning field of iPhone photography, or "iPhoneography," as it is known by some.

Adobe's digital-imaging technology goes mobile as the company brings the Photoshop.com Mobile app for the iPhone. Well, iPhone users can now take advantage of the touchscreen controls and edit photos, apply effects and share images simply with the flick of a finger.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air brings together two essential accessories for iPhone 3G/3GS models into one package-a rechargeable external battery pack concealed inside of a protective form-fitting case.

Cellular carriers now offer decent pricing for domestic calling plans, with choices among large pools of minutes each month or unmetered (so-called unlimited) service. Rates for dialing from your cellphone to outside the United States remain usurious, however.

The ongoing battle between Apple Inc. and persistent iPhone jail-breakers continues this week after the hacking community offered up a fresh volley of smartphone freedom in the shape of the newly unleashed 'Blackra1n' solution.

The unofficial iPhone Dev Team team has released PwnageTool 3.1.4, an update to its Mac hacking utility for iPhones and iPods.

Famed iPhone hacker George Hotz is at it again, and this time he's making it (black)ra1n! Following on his "purplera1n" iPhone jailbreak utility, Geohot has released his "blackra1n" to jailbreak Apple's latest iPhone OS 3.1.2 for iPhones everywhere.

Carphone Warehouse has lost its exclusive hold on the iPhone as bitter high-street rival Phones4U announced it will also be stocking the Apple device in time for Christmas.