iPhone News, Current Events, Announcements, and Opinions

Infinite Labs has released Mover 3, a major update to its popular file sharing app for the iPhone and iPod touch. For those who don't know, Mover allows users to share contacts and photos with multiple devices simply by flicking the desired info from one device to the other. Version 3 has been rewritten from the ground up and promises greater performance and reliability. Additionally, Mover now supports video sharing from an iPhone 3GS.

Mover is available in two flavors: Mover+ [App Store, $1.99] which is a free update for current owners of Mover+ and allows you to send and receive contacts, photos, and video. Mover Lite [App Store, Free] can send contacts and photos as well as receive all content from Mover+.

A video of Mover in action follows below!

Hands-On Mobile has recently released Karnival [App Store, $5.99], a carnival-themed Tycoon game, and it looks really good. The game puts you in the shoes of a boy with the arm of a goat who's decided to view his curse as a gift and start his own Karnival. The goal of the game is to create a successful Karnival by offering entertainment from other "freaks," rides, and other similar attractions. Gameplay looks to be very similar to games like Roller Coaster Tycoon, so if you're a fan of such titles, this one may be right up your alley.

We haven't had a chance to check out Karnival yet, but our friends over at Touch Arcade had lots of good things to say. Video below!

Glenn Corpes today released a new racing game called Ground Effect [App Store, $3.99]. It puts you in the seat of a hovercraft that reminds me a lot of Star Fox 64. Races take place on a series of deserted islands with tons of obstacles, mountains, rocks, and checkpoints to fly through. Each level requires you to make it through the course as well as place 3rd or greater to move on to the next level. There are a total of 14 levels and 10 "ground effect" crafts to choose from.

I've already gotten my hands on this game and so far it's been very entertaining. Graphics are great and the tilt controls are nice and smooth. If you're a racing game fan, I definitely recommend checking out Ground Effect. Gameplay video below!

Rumors of an iPhone on Verizon's network have once again begun to circulate, this time from a report by OTR Global. In the report, they claim that Apple is considering making a new iPhone that would hybrid Verizon's CDMA2000 technology with AT&T's UMTS 3G network. The ability to easily put both in one device recently came about with Qualcomm's new hybrid CDMA/WCDMA chip.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we've just added the ability to subscribe to iPhone Alley updates via email! The service is provided by Google/FeedBurner so you can be sure that your address is safe. The updates will come in daily between 5PM and 7PM and are grouped together as a single email.

To subscribe, hit the "Subscribe via Email" link in the sidebar or just subscribe here.

Enjoy!

Radioshack has officially announced that they will begin selling the iPhone 3G and 3GS in select company stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth and New York City metropolitan areas, starting some time later this month. They also added that they hope to have them available in stores nationwide by some time around 2010.

In a lawsuit that can only be described as bizarre, Apple, Steve Jobs, and Sarah Jessica Parker are being accused of stealing the idea for the iPod and iPhone back in 1989. The plaintiff is Franz A. Wakefield, who says that after winning first place at the 17th Congressional District Arts Competition, he was asked by Congressman William Lehman to disclose trade secrets to the FBI, which he claims included concepts for the iPod, iTunes (including $0.99 song prices), and the iPhone.

UK iPhone owners subscribed to O2 will be allowed to unlock for other carriers, according to the CEO of O2's parent company, Telefonica Europe. "Once the iPhone becomes available on other UK networks," says Matthew Key, "we will allow O2 customers to unlock their iPhones, although of course they will still need to honour any outstanding contract period they have. At the end of their contract period, they are entirely free to move to another operator -- though naturally we hope they won't want to!"

Software developer Apimac announced the release of English-Italian, English-German and English-Spanish dictionaries for the iPhone and iPod touch on Friday. The applications promise a comprehensive and up-to-date dictionary with grammatical notes; a huge phrase book containing thousands of English phrases with their translation, an exhaustive business dictionary for helping users to compose commercial letters, send emails and make phone calls in the language of the user's choice.

Sonos has recently started shipping the Sonos ZonePlayer S5, a wireless speaker dock specifically designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. The unit allows you to stream music from any computer in your house, controlled by the free Sonos app which we reviewed a little while ago. The beauty of this unit is that it doesn't require you to dock your iPhone to play music, although it doesn't actually play the music you have loaded on your iPhone. However, this means that you're free to take a call or use other apps on your phone while music is playing. When you want to change the music, just pop open the app. In addition to playing music from your iTunes library, the S5 can access music from web services such as Last.fm and Pandora.

At $399, it seems a bit pricey for a speaker dock so this may not be for everybody. Sonos promises that they'll send us one to evaluate so you should see a review from us sometime this month. For an in-depth demo, check out the video below!

Orb, the media-sharing software for the PC, has just been released for the Mac. Orb lets you access your media, like music and videos in iTunes and photos in iPhoto, by streaming them to your iPhone from your Mac. As long as you have your Mac on and running the Orb software, you can access your media anywhere you have internet access, including the iPhone if you download the OrbLive app [App Store, $9.99].

In a new patent application published this week by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple details a method of sharing files between devices on the same personal network in order to simplify the syncing process. The patent describes a system for controlling what content is synced between devices and what isn't, and includes a new app tentatively named "Grab and Go" that would allow the user to access files from other local devices.

Apple has posted a job opening located at their corporate headquarters for the position of "iPhone OS Platform Security Manager." The individual would be responsible for a team of securing the booting, installation, and running of firmware. We're guessing that this lucky individual will be the one responsible for thwarting jailbreaking and unlocking efforts from our heroes in the iPhone Dev Team.

Orb Games has just released what may become my new game obsession for the iPhone. It's called Kamikaze Race [App Store, $0.99] and it puts you in the seat of an extremely fast car on a busy highway. But there's a catch: your brakes have stopped working and your accelerator is jammed! The goal is to simply survive as long as you can, unlocking achievements as you go.

I've had some time to play with Kamikaze and I have to say that it's addictive, fun, and totally intense. A trifecta of fun that makes it a winner, especially at just $0.99. If you're still not convinced, check out the gameplay video below!

Storm8, a developer responsible for iMobsters, Vampires Live, and Zombies LIve, is the target of a class action lawsuit accusing them of secretly collecting the phone numbers of users who download and play their games. The company claims that their games have been downloaded more than 20 million times. Storm8 admitted to transferring users' phone numbers back in August, but shook it off as only a bug.

Have you ever wondered how the iPhone and Apple's other devices like the iPod and iMac got the iconic lowercase "i" preceding their name? It all started with the iMac, but why? Who's idea was it? The answer is Ken Segall, and Cult of Mac recently got a chance to sit down with him for an interview about the birth of the "i" and life at working with Apple during the company's rebirth as one of the leaders in consumer gadgetry.

According to Einar Rosenberg, Apple has begun experimenting with putting RFID chips with the possibility of a wide range of uses, such as doubling as a credit card, assisting in identifying lost or stolen devices, paying for mass transit, or possibly even using it to sync with a Mac. The source adds that there seems to be a decent chance that we will see it in the next iPhone.

This has yet to be confirmed, but could be really interesting. Two sources have now stated that AT&T (and through them, probably Apple) have stated that a $99 8GB iPhone 3GS may be in the works. One source has stated that this is their way of combating the DROID fever that's been building with the competing device on the horizon.

Over on the PC end of things, Intel has issued an official comment concerning the iPhone sync issues some users are experiencing with certain PCs containing a specific Intel chipset. “Our leading theory is a BIOS or system configuration issue, but we are still investigating,” Intel said.

IvySkin has announced its first case with an integrated battery pack for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The SmartCase features an integrated battery which they claim provides 200% more battery life and a protective case. The case is made of a polycarbonate hard shell, coated in a polysilicon material and a glass "touch-thru" screen. If you don't need the extra juice, the battery can be removed from the case and replaced with a slim backing, slimming it down for extra pocketability.

The IvySkin SmartCase will cost $79.99 when it's available later this year.