iPhone

This week was low key on the official-news front, but rather busy on the rumors front. As a gadgets blog, we report on rampant speculation, as well as cold, hard facts--and everything in the middle. Here's some of what you missed.

• Fact: Amazon releases two free games for the Kindle.

• Rumor: iPhone 5 might be here sooner than we think, with a smaller iPad in tow.

• We think: This might be the best case for the iPad.

• For nerds: Is PC gaming about to zenith?

• For geeks: How a life-size Gundam comes to be, with video.

• Awesome: Samsung's … Read more

With a virtual flood of new apps and updates coming in to the iTunes App Store every day, a few are bound to slip through the approval process that maybe should not have--or at least would not have passed muster with Apple guidelines. I personally don't think Apple needs to filter apps (as long as they work), but, at the same time, if they have a family-friendly vision of the App Store, I have no problem with that.

Two days ago an app that slipped by the App overseers was a real winner, but probably made a few too many people in high places angry. The app in question is called MiTube, formerly available to jailbroken iPhones only, that lets you easily search for and download YouTube videos. A couple of us here heard about MiTube (free) Wednesday morning, downloaded the app, then noticed later that it got pulled by Apple at around 7 p.m. By 5 p.m., MiTube was already No. 11 on the top-free-apps list.

I guess we all know why something like this usually doesn't get accepted. YouTube wants page views, submitters want to make money, and letting people download videos to local drives (like the iPhone) defeats their business purposes. It's sad, really, because as much as I'd like to recommend MiTube, it's no longer available.

Do you think Apple/YouTube/Google should let these apps get posted and not worry or do you think they have every right to keep these apps under wraps? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps--both 99 cents--are a utility to bring your desktop browser bookmarks to your iPhone and a surprisingly fun and challenging labyrinth game sequel.… Read more

We almost lost Jeff last year to Batman: Arkham Asylum, the hugely popular video game based on the popular bat-mythology. Good news for gamers: The Dark Knight will return next year with a sequel called Batman: Arkham City. According to inside sources, Arkham City will debut on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC next fall, but you can watch the teaser trailer and even preorder the game right now!

Images of the next-generation Apple iPod Touch have been popping up on the Internet, and it looks like the next version will feature an updated camera with a LED flash … Read more

If the approximately 250,000 reviews of the Angry Birds game aren't enough to help you decide whether to spend 99 cents, head over to Apple's newest category on the App Store: Try Before You Buy.

Apple recently introduced the category, which brings together the free or "lite" versions of some popular iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps, perhaps for those who may experience app-buyer's remorse.

The move to surface these free trial apps is being interpreted by some as a way for Apple to show that it's unnecessary to jailbreak an iPhone to use … Read more

Every major rock festival now features an iPhone app to help you navigate the grounds and find out when your favorite bands are playing, but Lollapalooza, which happens this weekend in Chicago, has a couple of unique wrinkles.

The Coachella iPhone app that I used earlier this year had a friend finder and the ability to post photos, but AT&T's network had trouble sending regular SMS messages, so I didn't even bother trying to use these data-intensive features. To try to get around this problem, the Lolla organizers have teamed up with AOL Lifestream to provide … Read more

China Unicom will start selling Apple's iPhone with Wi-Fi capability next week, according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

The report cites an unnamed China Unicom official.

The iPhone went on sale in China in October, but with 3G cellular service only. Chinese regulations don't allow Wi-Fi devices that do not use the country's own wireless standard, called WAPI (Wired Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure). Apple chose to introduce the iPhone, but with Wi-Fi disabled, to get its foot in the door of the Chinese market.

But China Unicom has hinted since early this year … Read more

Let me preface this review by saying I'm a lifelong Trekkie. While I've stopped short of attending conventions, I have purchased posters, novels, and even the CD soundtracks from several of the movies. Sometimes I'll listen to James Horner's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" score just driving around town. That's right: I'm a big enough Trek nerd that I know who the composer is.

Consequently, I was excited--OK, geeked--to check out Star Trek Captain's Log, a new "official" app from Paramount Pictures. After all, is the iPhone … Read more

We've been waiting for iSkin to release a version of its popular Solo case for the iPhone 4 and now it has along with a Revo4 case. Both these cases come in multiple colors and iSkin is offering a "special introductory" price on the Solo (pictured on right), which it will sell for $14.99 until August 31, 2010.

ISkin's news release says the company is offering that special price--the Solo normally lists for $29.99--to support Apple's iPhone 4 case program. We're not sure what that means, because, after all, Apple's is … Read more

How's this for a data point: Apple's retail store revenue increased 72.8 percent year over year to $2.58 billion in the June quarter. That means, according to Needham analyst Charlie Wolf, that Apple Store revenue for that period was greater than the company's total quarterly revenue from the second quarter of fiscal 1996 through the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004.

The engine driving those rising revenues? The iPad, whose launch generated a 38.7 percent increase in visitors per store, a 52.9 percent increase in same-store revenues, and a stunning 106.3 percent increase … Read more