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There's no doubt that the iPhone has redefined the mobile industry. With a design aesthetic that's second to none, Apple and Steve Jobs are usually credited for making the iPhone as sleek and sexy as it is. But, the story behind the iPhone's iconic design points to industrial designer Jonathan Ive as the true genius behind the game-changing design.

The Mobile Data Association, a UK company that gives recognition to "those UK companies and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the uptake and success of mobile data over the last 12 month," has chosen Jonathan Ive for their 2008 MDA Personal Achievement Award.

Ive serves as Apple's Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, and his hand in crafting the iPhone has earned him the MDA Personal Achievement Award for having "completely redefined the mobile phone as we know it." With time-tested classic designs like the original iMac, iPod, and iMac G4 tucked under his design-belt, Ive already had some serious design-experience. And, now the iPhone's oft-copied design philosophy is starting to be recognized among Ive's previous iconic designs.

While the iPhone may not be the best handset on the market or even a good fit with some mobile users, there's no denying that Apple iPhone "sets the bar very high for all present and future competitors and as such, is shaking the mobile phone industry. We look forward to seeing Ive's design innovation continuing to challenge the mobile world."

[Via: ArsTechnica]

Can't wait until July 11 to get a taste for the next iPhone firmware revision to be released for first-generation iPhones and iPhone 3G handsets? Well, you're in luck. Gizmodo has posted a video walkthrough demonstrating some of the new iPhone 2.0 OS firmware's features.

The video demo shows off the new Fetch New Data option, Parental Controls, BCC email field, and new scientific calculator that the iPhone 2.0 OS will be rocking. And, screenshots of iTunes 7.7 confirm rumors that the iPhone and iPod Touch can be used as iTunes remotes.

Head on over to Gizmodo for the video demo.

[Via: TUAW]

The iPhone has already started to bring mobile gaming back from the plateaued purgatory that it's been trapped in for the past few years. Huge display, accelerometers, graphics acceleration, and multi-touch make for an immersive gaming experience that serves up a feast for your eyes.

Check out this here video of Crash Bandicoot Nirto Kart running on an iPhone. Controls are apparently affected through the iPhone's tilt-sensors, while the multi-touch display is relegated primarily to showing off all those eye-candy graphics.

Crash Bandicoot coming to an AppStore or jailbroken iPhone near you? We can't wait.

Thanks, Zyl!

Here's a piece of news for all the iPhone users that are at the same time fans of the Friendfeed service. Friendfeed has launched the iPhone-optimized version of their site, allowing you to get in the loop with your friends activities while on-the-go.

And while we're happy to see Friendfeed going the "iPhone route" I can't quite understand their design decisions. Why on Earth they've placed the search bar at the very bottom of the page. Locating it at the top makes much more sense. Their idea seems to allow faster posting rather than browsing. There's a logic behind that move, but still I want to see the search field at the top, always. Period.

To give Friendfeed a try on your iPhone, simply point Safari to friendfeed.com and take it from there.

[Via: JustAnotherIphoneBlog]

Google has released the web-based version of its Google Talk optimized for the iPhone/iPod Touch. The application works from Safari and looks pretty much the same as the GTalk desktop client.

Feature wise, Google made sure you can easily select people you want to chat (add them to "quicklist"), search contacts and manage multiple conversations. However, because it's a web-based app, there are downsides too. For instance, when you navigate away to another browser window or application, your status will be change to "unavailable" and the GTalk session will be restarted when you return.

It's nice and everything but a surprise to see Google optimizing a whole array of its apps for the iPhone. However, I would suggest using some of the existing native chat applications (in case you have a jailbroken iPhone/iPod Touch), or web-based meebo.com which allows you to chat with your buddies who use other IM clients, too.

To use GTalk on your iPhone/iPod Touch, simple point Safari to www.google.com/talk and take it from there.

For those of you currently enjoying the free 200 SMS text messages that come bundled with your EDGE-only iPhone data plan, you're not going to like AT&T's decision to cut the bundled text messages with the upcoming iPhone 3G rate plans. But, that doesn't mean you have to sit back and take it.

Here's an interesting way to use your mobile email application to send and receive free SMS text messages without AT&T's help:

• Create a new email
• The "To:" field should be filled out with your SMS text message target's phone number followed by "@teleflip.com." Something like this - 1235551234@teleflip.com
• Tap out your text message and send it out.
• The message will be sent to the phone number that you entered preceding "@teleflip.com"
• Any text message replies will be sent to your email address.

That's it, it's really that simple. Using the iPhone's incredibly integrated email client (that basically does away with any need for MMS - assuming your friends and family are wise to the mobile email) is definitely a novel way to send and receive SMS text messages, and we like it.

Alternatively, you can use the TxtDrop web-app to send free SMS text messages. Simply point your iPhone Safari browser to http://txtdrop.com/iphone/ and go about your merry text messaging way!

[Via: MacsimumNews]

By now it's clear that most first-generation iPhone owners are planning to hock their jailbreak-able and unlock-able Apple smartphones in preparation for next-generation iPhone 3G's arrival. But, there are likely to be more than a few of you out there that just can't bear to part with your precious handset. For you sentimental types, Apple and AT&T have confirmed that you can hold on to your de-activated iPhone and use it as a WiFi Internet Tablet and iPod.

"If the [original] device is not re-activated as a wireless phone after you’ve upgraded to iPhone 3G, it will still work as an iTunes player and can access Wi-Fi," an AT&T spokesman told Apple Insider.

So, your deactivated iPhone won't be able to surf the web via AT&T's network or make voice calls, but thanks to the magic of WiFi, you can still browse your favorite tech blog (ahem) and even hit up the iTunes Music Store. And, if you so choose, upgrading the iPhone to the iPhone 2.0 OS will open the doors to Apple's AppStore and access to more enterprise features.

As for our own iPhones, they'll be finding new homes in the next few days.

[Via: AppleInsider]

The iPhone's conspicuous lack of a physical keyboard is at once a draw for those in-the-know and a deal-breaker for the virtual-QWERTY-wary. By nixing a physical keyboard from the iPhone's design, Apple has been able to further their minimalistic design philosophy with the iPhone and iPhone 3G. But, clean lines and sleek style come at a price - namely the absence of a physical keyboard.

Despite much improved enterprise support in the iPhone 2.0 OS firmware that will be available as a free update for iPhone users and pre-installed on all iPhone 3G hardware, Apple is rumored to be testing prototypes for an iPhone with a physical, slide-out keyboard. The prototypes are said to have been seeded to unnamed wireless carrier executives for in-the-field feedback.

Steve Jobs previously criticized the need for physical keyboard on touchscreen handsets, but that doesn't necessarily mean he and Apple won't be going after another profitable niche with a keyboard-toting iPhone.

Physical-QWERTY lovers out there might do well to keep their hopes from flying too high for now, however, since Apple is known for throwing us for a loop with leaked misinformation.

If true, we could see yet another iPhone variant hit the market - iPhone Pro, anyone? Or, at the very least, support for Bluetooth keyboards…

[Via: MacRumors]

When Apple hits the NAND flash memory market for some binge-shopping, the world pays attention. Apple is the NAND market, at least on this planet, and the iPhone-maker routinely affects global flash-memory supply with their massive orders.

The latest such NAND flash-memory order to shortchange the rest of the world's flash-memory buyers is Apple's 50 million-strong order for 8GB NAND chips. Samsung will be supplying the flash memory chips that will reportedly go to use in the iPhone 3G. And with the handset expected to sell handfuls of millions by year's end, it makes sense that Apple is gobbling up flash chips in anticipation of lofty demand.

To make matters worse for anyone in the market to pick up significant volumes of NAND chips, Samsung cut back on NAND production for April and May - in an attempt to avoid oversupply. The reduced production combined with Apple's recent NAND-binge will make it hard for Samsung to supply any similarly large orders for other customers.

That's how the NAND-chip crumbles.

[Via: DigiTimes]

While still nothing close to a fully-acceptable Flash-based browsing experience, Thomas Joos has managed to bring Flash Lite to the iPhone. The porting of Flash Lite bodes well for the possibility of having real-deal Flash support on the iPhone in the future - whether Apple will officially support such an undertaking is unclear, perhaps a jailbreak-based Flash solution will pop up?

That's right, the pared-down Adobe Flash client has been ported over to the iPhone as a native application, making it possible to interact with Flash-based webpage elements. And, quite interestingly, Joos's motivation for bringing Flash Lite to the iPhone was to make sure his "Rock Werchter Mobile Guide" could reach as large an audience as possible. With many mobile enthusiasts now rocking iPhones, Joos wanted to make sure that the iPhone could view the "Rock Werchter Mobile Guide" Flash-based content.

There were a lot of technical back-and-forths to get Flash Lite working on the iPhone, but rest easy knowing that the native Flash Lite client passes code through eyeGT for rendering.

[Via: iPhoneAtlas]

Love the MacBook Air's keyboard? Who doesn't - it's probably the best keyboard I've seen so far. Heck, even Steve Jobs said it's the best keyboard Apple ever made, and you know he cares about the details…

Anyway, what do you think about having that kind of keyboard on your iPhone? Naturally, you won't get the feel - just the look. But it's worth it, or at least that's my take.

Katak made this happen and now you replace the default iPhone virtual keyboard with something different, nicer, slicker… ok, I'll stop here. The screenshot on the right side should speak instead of me.

In order to install it on your iPhone, you'll need a jailbroken iPhone and you'll also need to uninstall any other customized keyboards you may've be using. The MacBook Air Keyboard app is already available from Installer.app, via the Planet-iPhones source, which is part of Community Sources now.

[Via: JustAnotherIphoneBlog]

Remember TiVoRemote, the application that lets you control your TiVo from an iPhone/iPod Touch? Well, it's been recently updated and now looks way much better. Aside from the improved user interface, TiVoRemote v0.23 also brings some neat features. For instance, it can now detect TiVos in your house (in case you have more than a single unit installed), providing you with an option to select which device you want to control. Then there's the ability to download the "Now Playing" list data from TiVo and see what's been recorded on you iPhone, and start playing the recordings automatically…

If you own a TiVo and an iPhone you'll certainly love the app. You'll need a jailbroken iPhone/iPod Touch and then all you need to do is add "http://tivoremote.googlecode.com/svn/www/repo.xml" to your Installer.app and look for TiVoRemote under the "Toys" category. Alternatively, you can download the app from Google Code and manually install it.

[Via: Gizmodo]

Competition is a good thing. It not only offers consumers the freedom to choose whatever service or product fits their needs, but it also sets the stage for price-wars in the on-going battle between companies to capture as much market share as possible. In the end, consumers win - more service options, better prices, tasty freedom.

To that end, Telstra has just enlisted itself as the most recent iPhone 3G carrier to hop on board the iPhone-wagon. Following on previous statements by a Telstra exec that the iPhone 3G would be capable of currently unimaginable data speeds (which all but confirmed previous rumors that Telstra was going to pick up the iPhone 3G), the Australian wireless carrier has officially thrown their hat in to the ring. With Vodafone already claiming its stake in the Australian iPhone market, Telstra will be going at it to win as many Aussie-hearts as they can.

Much like China Mobile and China Unicom, Telstra was hesitant to agree to the original iPhone's revenue-sharing model. But, now that revenue-sharing has been pushed to the wayside, like so many failed business models, Telstra is more than happy to offer the iPhone 3G to existing and new customers alike.

Of course, Telstra is marketing the iPhone 3G as compatible with its almighty Next G data work. Whatever Telstra has to do to sell more iPhones is fine by us.

[Via: iPhone Central]

The problem that the original iPhone had in cracking the potentially lucrative Chinese market was that it came leashed with a now-unreasonable revenue-sharing business model from Cupertino. China Mobile wasn't too keen on sharing revenue on a handset that it couldn't be guaranteed would be a China Mobile exclusive.

Now, with the iPhone 3G following more traditional and accepted subsidization practices, Apple and China Mobile are reportedly past the "biggest hurdle" standing in the way of the iPhone Chinese aspirations.

"Apple is no longer insisting on a revenue-sharing policy, so the biggest hurdle for China Mobile to bring in the iPhone has been cleared, but there are practical issues still to be resolved," said China Mobile spokeswoman Rainie Lei.

But, there is, as of yet, no timetable for introducing the iPhone to mainland China. Cross your fingers, China. With a little luck, you'll have an iPhone in hand before the year's out. That is, if China's oppressive censorship doesn't get in the way first.

[Via: Reuters]

We can't wait for the iPhone 3G to hit market, and it seems most of the US smartphone consumer market is thinking along those same lines. RBC Capital Markets has just released the results of a study that indicates a majority of consumers in the market for a new smartphone are seriously considering the iPhone 3G as their handset of choice.

The study, which surveyed 3,600 RBC Technology Adoption Panel members after Apple's iPhone 3G unveiling at WWDC earlier this month, showed that a full 56% of mobile consumers looking to buy a new smartphone in the next 90 days planned to buy and iPhone 3G after its July 11 launch.

The results offer a glimpse in to the blooming smartphone market in the US. Just this past March, RBC conducted a similar survey to estimate potential iPhone 3G interest. The study was conducted prior to Apple revealing the surprisingly low iPhone 3G price-point - and showed that only 35% of consumers planned to buy the iPhone 3G.

It seems that the $199 admission price for the iPhone 3G-show has hit a sweet spot among consumers. With an entry-level iPhone 3G costing little more than a few tanks of premium gas, interest has increased significantly.

And, more encouraging for Apple, the RBC study showed that only 23% of smartphone buyers were waiting it out for a new BlackBerry handset in the next 90 days. Palm limped in with a 3% planned buying-share. HTC, Nokia, and Samsung managed to swing 2% of the votes their way, while Motorola barely managed to convince 1% of respondents that theirs was the smartphone to own.

So, the iPhone 3G is set to take the US smartphone market by storm - that much is clear - but why? The lower price-point and faster 3G data access were indicated as the most compelling reasons to buy the Apple handset, with 67% and 63% of survey respondents indicating such aspects as most-important in their buying-decision. The addition of GPS was listed as most-important to 47% of survey participants, while 35% and 20% place a premium on enterprise support and third-party applications, respectively.

Will the iPhone 3G deliver on the hype in the US? Most definitely - and probably more so than the first go-around with the original iPhone. Will the iPhone 3G make as big a splash overseas? Probably, but only time will tell.

[Via: Electronista]