Software utilities

The iPhone is being sold in Germany by T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom (some tips and tricks for iPhone German users are already online). Vodafone a few days ago managed to win a judgment, so now T-Mobile decide to sell an unlocked version of the new Apple jewel, at 1,000 €! Not that cheap, but it’s a great achievement for Vodafone. T-Mobile announced that this will continue until judges decide on the case (so they say that it won’t last forever). We will see when iPhone will be launched in France and Italy (rumors said that there was an agreement between Telecom Italia and Apple, while now Vodafone seems the first on the line).

An UK based company, Goldstriker, offers 24ct gold plated phones and iPods. Also, they also sell the housing, or if yours is in good conditions, they offer the possibility to transform your own!

Here an extract from their homepage:

Mobile phones are without a doubt a ‘‘must have’’ accessory, with ipods becoming a close second. Although you may always endeavour to have the best mobile or ipod on the market, you never achieve any uniqueness or originality as they are so widely available to everyone. Goldstriker international are now giving you the opportunity to express your individuality, and stand out from the crowd.

We have the widest range of 24ct gold plated phones and accessories on the market today, however if you can’t find what you are looking for, just contact us and we will be happy to assist with your enquiry.

If you already have one of these phones/ipods and don’t wish to purchase another, simply order just the housing and transform your existing one. You can even send us your own housing to gold plate providing it is in good condition.

Please browse our online store and enjoy the examples of our stunning work.

Some news report that an Apple service center would have refused to repair an unlocked iPhone. The doubt that Apple would accept this kind of software (or hardware) modification was an important point of discussion in many technology blogs and newsgroups. Now it seems that any iPhone modification, included the “unlocking”, could void the warranty, exposing users to very expensive repair costs.

A related funny news is that a T-Mobile shop in Newport Beach, California, is advertising the possibility of iPhone unlocking with a self-explanatory ad: We unlock iPhones! (source iPhone Matters)

Giorgio Armani and Samsung presented a new co-branded phone, called (guess??) Giorgio Armani-Samsung. This will be the first of a series of products, from Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Casa, which will couple the fashion design of Armani, one of the biggest companies in fashion world, with Samsung technological skills and know-how.

The phone, available from November 2007, has a big 2.6 inches QVGA TFT LCD display touch screen. Despite its compactnes, the phone will be packaged with a 3 Megapixels video camera, a music player and a full internet browser. Its internal memory can be expanded with a microSD slot and it’s shipped with a stereo Bluetooth® earphone.

Here it come another iPhone competitor!! 

Rumors about the launch of the iPhone in France!It will be presented at the Apple Expo in Paris on 24th of September, but will be available only in November. The price for the iPhone should be around 300 €, for the version with less memory. No 3G connection will be available, and no flat for Internet will be given by Orange, the chose carrier in France.