iPhone

A report confirms that AT&T has begun to test enhanced 3G services in Chicago. The enhancements being tested give devices supporting HSDPA a theoretical peak 7.2Mbps download speed versus the 3.6Mbps of the current network. The report did not mention much about how upload speeds might be enhanced.

Unfortunately, this news might mean very little to current iPhone 3G users since the Infineon chipset in the iPhone 3G may not support these faster speeds that could top out at 14.4Mbps. A future chip update may allow future iPhones to support this speed or higher.

The … Read more

Sony is expanding its mobile-audio lineup with eight new Xplod in-dash CD receivers. Of these new models, three offer built-in Bluetooth connectivity and seven feature USB ports--five of which are iPod compatible. Also among these new models is Sony Xplod's first double DIN receiver in years.

Starting with top-tier model being added to Sony's GT line of car stereos, with the high-end CDX-GT930UI features a rear USB connection for iPod, iPhone, Walkman, and other USB devices, as well as a rear aux-in. Out back, you'll also find four-volt front, rear and sub preamp outputs. On the business … Read more

An iPhone is many things, but a massage therapist it is not. However, if you're in a pinch, the lightweight app Massager may sooth you until your next appointment. The app takes advantage of the iPhone's vibrating motor to create four patterns based on Swedish, Shiatsu, deep muscle, and relaxation massage. Starting and stopping the massage are easy enough to accomplish by tapping and untapping the button. While you can manually increase the intensity by putting some muscle behind the iPhone's flat face, it doesn't even come close to what a pronged massager can do. Yet … Read more

An iPhone is many things, but a massage therapist it is not.

However, if you're in a pinch, the lightweight application Massager may soothe you until your next appointment.

The application takes advantage of the iPhone's vibrating motor to create four patterns based on Swedish, Shiatsu, deep muscle, and relaxation massage. Starting and stopping the massage are easy enough to accomplish by tapping and untapping the corresponding button.

While you can manually increase the intensity of the vibes by putting some muscle behind the iPhone's flat face, it still won't come close to what a pronged … Read more

As if being the No. 1 free iPhone app of 2008 wasn't enough for Pandora, it has launched version 2.0 of its app just six days into 2009.

New features in this release include a progress bar for songs (finally!), 30-second previews for bookmarked songs, the ability to create a new station from a song or artist, artist information, cover-flow view for song history, and some sharing features.

While this update isn't anything revolutionary, it certainly rounds out the cool features in the app, like embedded iTunes purchasing. With Tuesday's Macworld announcement of iTunes downloads, now being possible over 3G, … Read more

The Macworld show floor can induce deja vu for habitual attendees. From a hardware perspective, often it's the same vendors offering the same products, with slight variations from year to year. Despite the gloomy economic outlook, however, I found a surprising amount of new products on the show floor (or, at least new to me). Here are the highlights.

Though the addition of DRM-free music is grabbing the most iTunes headlines, there was more music news at the Macworld 2009 keynote on Tuesday.

Apple Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller also announced that beginning Tuesday iPhone users will be able sample and wirelessly download iTunes tracks over AT&T's 3G network or EDGE. Previously, iTunes song downloads, unlike apps, were available only over a Wi-Fi connection.

The process works relatively well, though we encountered a couple of hiccups. Like with the iTunes Apps store, you must use Wi-Fi or a wired connection to your computer … Read more

While there are more than 10,000 applications for the iPhone, many of the most popular ones are games. A quick glance at the top 25 paid applications reveals that 18 are games; games comprise 14 of the top 25 free iPhone apps as well. And those ratios are likely to hold for the foreseeable future.

That's most likely what led the organizer of the Virtual Goods summit to announce on Tuesday the first iPhone game conference, dubbed the iGames Summit, slated for March 19 in San Francisco.

"The market for iPhone games is exploding, and we're … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--At the MacWorld ShowStoppers event Monday night, I got a quick look at Newber, an iPhone app from Freedom Voice Systems that lets you redirect calls made to a new number you give out ("newber," get it?) to alternate numbers depending on your location. If you're in the office at your desk, the app can send calls to your work phone. At home? It rings the house phone. Neither? The call will ring on your iPhone. (See also: Grand Central.) The app uses GPS to suggest call routing, but ultimately you make the routing decision. Sounds … Read more