So, if you own a slingbox, and you’ve paid $30 for the iPhone app, you’ll be able to watch all your TV shows right on the iPhone anywhere there’s a 3G connection. (editor’s note - Only available in countries that suport the AT&T network)

Extend your living room TV experience to your iPhone or iPod touch with SlingPlayer Mobile™ software. With a Slingbox®* at home and SlingPlayer Mobile on your compatible phone, enjoy live or recorded TV over a Wi-Fi connection. If you like TV, it’s hard not to smile when you take control of your TV and DVR right from your iPhone’s stunning touchscreen interface. Flip through your local channels with the virtual remote control. Pause, fast-forward, rewind, and even schedule DVR recordings. Watch video on demand and even pay-per-view programs. Never miss another show or game — whether you’re in the back yard, out to lunch, or on the other side of the world. It’s your TV. Don’t let it be trapped in your living room. Set it free — with your iPhone!

Source - http://www.slingbox.com/go/iphone

Currently the iPhone 3GS has the ARM Cortex A8 CPUs and PowerVR SGX GPUs chips from Samsung.

Thanks to iFixit Twitter Feed for this picture on the new A4 chip.

The casing of the exclusive iPhone 3GS Supreme was created using 271 grams of 22 carat solid gold.

The front bezel houses 136 flawless diamonds totalling a massive 68 carats while the Apple logo on the back is made from a further 53 gems.

The front navigation button is made from a single diamond of more than seven carats.

Designer Stuart Hughes, from Liverpool, Merseyside, took ten months to make the phone after it was commissioned by an anonymous Australian businessman.

Mr Hughes said: “The Iphone is the phone with the most tricks on the market.

“What possibly could we do to trick it up more? Bless it with the finest precious metal and jewels.

“Most of the ten months was spent trying to source the diamond for the navigation button.”

The phone comes in a special 7kg chest made from a single block of granite and Kashmir gold with a Nubuck leather lining.

Google did announce a new mobile news look for these devices, but no word on the Gmail interface.

I have had a couple of people ask me recently what are the “essential” apps for getting your iPhone up and running. With over 100,000 apps in the app store at the moment, it is almost impossible to give an exact list. So what I wanted to do is give you my list of 16 essential (and cool) apps, which will help you fill up your first screen on your new iPhone.

The first thing you need to do is open a US iTunes account. See my post on 5 iphone tips & tricks on how to do this from a country outside of the US. This is essential to getting the best apps on the market, as many developers do not sell their apps in the South African store. After you have opened a US iTunes account, be sure to get some credit, by buying an iTunes voucher. You shouldn’t need more than $15 to get the show on the road.

(The links on the app names below all open iTunes links)

Shazam - Free
Every time you hear that song on the radio, and you don’t know what it is, use Shazam. Instantly identifies the artist and song title for you.

Layar Reality Browser - Free
If you have acquired a 3Gs, get this app. It allows you to see what is around you, using your GPS position. Going to become very useful in the future as augmented reality starts to get more popular

Skype - Free
Everybody knows about Skype.Free VoIP calls on the go. Simple, effective and easy to use.

Dropbox - Free
Keep your files in sync in the cloud, and access the on your phone. You can upload files on your computers at work or at home, and then access them on your phone.

Evernote - Free
Keep your notes synced and up to date on the go. You can also create Notes and take pictures on your phone and sync them back to your computers.

Facebook - Free
Everyone loves Facebook The latest update is super, and you can pretty much do everything on your iPhone that you can do on the website

PicPosterous - Free
Posterous is a fantastic site that allows you to automagically upload your photos to other services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc. The app allows you to take pictures on the fly and then update them to these services.

Wikipedia - Free
The mobile interface for the ever popular Wikipedia site. Useful if you looking for info on something while on the go

Doodle Jump - $0.99
What would a new iPhone be without a game. The most addictive iPhone game of all time. Just get it. You won’t put it down

Photoshop Mobile - Free
Edit your photos on your phone. Very simple to use and has loads of cool feature. You can also upload your edited photos to the photoshop.com site.

TweetDeck - Free
The best free twitter app. Also recently updated with some nifty features, and it syncs with your desktop Tweetdeck. Tweetie2 ($2.99) is also another great twitter app.

News24 - Free
The ultimate South African news site on your iPhone. You can also view news and storie from other 24.com platforms such as Fin24, Wheels24 and even has a function to view resturants closest to you.

ZATV Guide - Free
Keep up to date with your favorite tv programmes and whats showing today. You can also set your favorite channels for a quick glance

CNN Mobile - $1.99
Best app for international news on the go. The coolest feature of this app is that it offers live streaming for breaking news.

Flickr - Free
You can upload and view photos on your Flickr stream. You can also view your contacts pictures as well as comment on them with the app

Ping! - $0.99
A fantastic little app that allows you to “ping” another iPhone user, much like Blackberry Messenger. The app will send the other Ping! user a push notification to alert them to the message. There is also a free version available, which has limited functionality.

So that’s my list, if anyone else has some suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. Who knows, we may just fill up the next screen

Poker apps have already been a big hit for the iPhone and the action looks to heat up even further with the release of World Poker Tour Texas Hold’em for the iPhone and iPod Touch. If you’re a fan of the WPT televised poker broadcasts you’ll be immediately right at home with the World Poker Tour Texas Hold’em app, as it includes the voice of announcer Mike Sexton and familiar avatars of famous players at the poker table.

One cool feature of WPT Texas Hold’em is that it features different gameplay modes that let you play alone against computer opponents or in multi-player mode, just like you’re playing online poker. You get the best of both worlds, playing solo when you want but also jumping into multi-player games on their dedicated poker network,where other mobile users or gamers at desktop PCs can join in on the fun. That’s a pretty unique feature for a poker game, as most existing apps are either one or the other, as far as emphasizing solo play or only providing multi-player action on a network.

As far as the gameplay, it’s pretty straight forward and simple, as you can muck your cards by flicking the touch screen and elect your betsizes by using a sliding virtual wheel. The menus to access various parts of the game are intuitive and easy to use, and audio clips from Mike Sexton make you feel like you’re playing at a WPT final table yourself. You can play various types of tournaments in both solo and multi-player, choosing betwen either No Limit or Pot Limit Texas Hold’em, get the game here.

The first purpose of the material was to protect helicopter blades in extreme environments, so as expected, it provides top of the line protection against blemishes and scratches. The sweetest thing about the Invisible Shield is the combination of being extra slim, tremendously tough, and fully transparent. In addition, the skin is specially designed to match the exact shape of every gadget, giving unequaled scratch protection. This makes it the ideal iphone cover.

Invisible Shield Features:

• The shield is super-thin and will not increase bulkyness
• Precisely cut to match thousands of cell phones and electronic devices
• Patented film that is scratch proof
• Virtually indestructible and completely transparent
• Originally developed by the Military
• Provides increased grip to your gadget
• 30 day money back guarantee
• Lifetime replacement guarantee

For those looking to purchase the Invisible Shield, we are teaming up with InvisibleSkinz.com to give our readers a 20% discount. InvisibleSkinz.com is a leading online retailer of the Invisible Shield and offers a lifetime replacement guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with the product within 30 days, you can return it for a full refund. To enjoy the 20% off discount from InvisibleSkinz.com when buying your next Invisible Shield, use the following discount coupon code at checkout.

20% off coupon code: iphone20

The discount coupon code is only valid at InvisibleSkinz.com

Instead of generating understanding and goodwill, a video posted on YouTube has been mocked by angry customers, social media experts, bloggers and commenters as defensive and too little too late.

Rather than empathize and connect to with their customers on a personal level, AT&T offered up a know-it-all spokesman who evokes little empathy, while failing to apologize for AT&T’s flaky service.

You can also view your Flickr contacts pictures, as well as view recently uploaded pictures by your contacts. You can also comment on your contacts pictures & videos, as well as an option to search for photos from within Flickr.

Overall the app has a very easy to use interface, which allows users to control thier Flickr stream and activity from the iPhone. I also enjoy the slide show on the front page, which shows your contacts (who have the app installed) Flickr stream in a slideshow. Very cool to watch

To download the app, click here, or you can scan the QR Code at the top for a direct link

Cross posted on http://www.marcforrest.com/2009/09/08/flickr-iphone-app/

Their most significant rivalry today is mobile phone platforms, where Google’s Android phones compete with Apple’s iPhones. So far, Apple has had more success, both in getting consumers to buy its phones, and in getting software companies to develop apps for its platform.

But Google has a big year ahead: It’ll eventually be distributed by all four major U.S. wireless carriers, while Apple is exclusive with AT&T. And phone manufacturers like Motorola have plans to make lots of mid-range, high-volume phones with Android. Assuming the efforts are adequate, Google could catch up significantly in the next year.