Personally, I have never been big into phone cases. They can be bulky, flimsy, and having one clipped to your belt makes most people look like a tool. I prefer to let them hang out naked and free—as nature intended. Still, iPhones don’t come cheap, and if you dropped all that cash on one you are certainly justified in wanting to protect it from the elements. That is why I have put 4 major iPhone cases (the Case-mate leather collection, the Otterbox Defender Series, the Ivyskin Xylo T2 Touch-Thru Case, and the iShield Mirror) to the test in an effort to determine whether or not they will truly fit your needs.

The case-mate leather collection:

The leather collection from Case-mate comes in both a variety of styles and colors that include line leather, croc-embossed leather, and carbon fiber leather versions (the Black Croc-Embossed Leather iPhone Case/Holster Combo is pictured here). They are branded as luxury models with prices to match (line leather $49.99, croc-leather $59.99, and carbon fiber $69.99 for combo versions). All of the cases include a holster, screen protecting film and a design that features leather wrapped around an impact-resistant plastic shell—which makes them basically the same in terms of shape and protection. So, if you dig this style of case, the decision is going to come down to the leather used.
 

I found that all of the versions lived up to their luxury status in terms of materials and craftsmanship. Protection is going to be good but not great considering that the top is completely exposed and the screen is protected by nothing more than a simple scratch resistant film, but it should do the job for normal wear and tear. That holster is a friggin’ beast though, so if you don’t need to clip this to your belt you are better off saving a little cash and purchasing case-only. Case-mate’s Naked Case was also tapped for this review, but units are hard to come by. Look for a stand-alone review soon.

Otterbox Defender Series:

Out of all the cases reviewed, the Otterbox is going to offer the highest degree of impact, dust, scratch and water resistance. It features multiple layers of protection with a hard-shell case that covers the body of the phone, a thin plastic membrane that covers the screen, camera and Apple logo, and a rubber jacket. It allows access to all of the iPhone’s controls (except the silence switch) and if you lead an active, rugged lifestyle, the Otterbox should stand up to punishment—just don’t expect this thing to be completely waterproof. While the rubber layer does fold into the iPhone’s open ports and their is a mesh over the speakers and microphone, it is not designed to be submerged in water. 

Naturally, with the plastic case covering the screen itself, you are going to have to deal with the occasional air pocket, touchscreen command error and blurry photograph—but these issues do not represent much of a problem. However, I did manage to rip the rubber outer casing inside the first day of using it, so I have my doubts about the long-term durability of that layer. It is also very bulky, but that is to be expected with a case that offers this type of protection. All-in-all I would say that the Otterbox’s $50 price tag is a little steep—if only for that issue with the rubber outer layer. Also available in a yellow version.

Ivyskin Xylo T2 Touch-Thru Case:

Ivyskin is heavily touting their Surface Xylo Wave (SXW) technology as a “breakthrough” given the fact that it allows for normal touchscreen operation through a hard shell case. But, to be honest, I found that the Otterbox, the Xylo, and the iShield mirror are all basically the same in this respect. The plastic covering the skin on all three cases is extremely thin and offers protection that will hold up to scratches and light impacts. I would say that the screen on the Xylo is the thickest of the bunch, but I doubt that it will offer a substantial increase in protection over the other two devices. They also deliver the same amount of accuracy with the touchscreen—that is to say you will occasionally find yourself double-tapping to type or open up a link, but it does not represent much of a problem. When it comes right down to it, the technology works well.
 

As for the case itself, the Xylo T2 is made of a basic polycarbonate, which is like wrapping the phone in a form-fitting jewel-box. It will provide adequate protection against minor damage, but don’t expect it to withstand a jarring impact. However, if you are looking for full protection against everyday wear and tear it will do the job with a design that does not add a ton of thickness to the phone itself. Not bad for $34.99. Also available in a variety of colors.

iShield Mirror:

Finally, the iShield Mirror is basically the same case as the Xylo T2 but the plastic covering the touchscreen is thinner and it offers a gimmicky film on the surface that allows it to function as a mirror when the phone is not in use. To be honest, the images in the mirror end up being too distorted to make it functional, and the film renders the screen image fuzzy in low light and nearly invisible in the sunlight. So, if you are looking for a case of this type, I suggest getting over yourself and ditching the mirror functionality for the Xylo T2—especially since it will only cost you $5 more. 

Conclusion:

With the exception of the iShield Mirror, I can confidently recommend all of these cases. I found myself using the Xylo T2 the most in everyday situations because of its small form factor and complete screen coverage and the Otterbox while I was out mountain biking on the trails. But the case-mate leather collection was the most physically attractive option by far. In the end, it will really boil down to the lifestyle you lead, how much you are willing to spend, and your personal preferences. [case-mate and Ivyskin Xylo T2 and Otterbox and iShield Mirror]

Zinio, that wonderful source of online versions of your favorite magazines, is field-testing (or as they say, “incubating”) The Zinio Mobile Newsstand, a service made specifically for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and makes use of the graphics and multi-touch features of these gadgets.

At the moment, all you need do is head on to zinio.com/iphone on your device to get full, free (for now, otherwise it’s US$5 per issue), hi-resolution and fully readable copies of your titles.

Available ones include Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, Men’s Health, Playboy, Penthouse, Esquire, PC Magazine, Popular Photography, Elle, Technology Review, Reader’s Digest, Macworld US and Macworld UK.

Read them while they last! (And if you know how to tweak Safari to pretend it’s an iPhone, you can read these mags on your Macs as well, in full desktop mode. Heh.)

With the iPhone 2.0 buzz continuing to escalate, mobile phone blog Dial-a-Phone reports that patents filed by Apple in recent weeks suggest the device will include GPS capabilities and gaming among its core functions. United States Patent Application 20080113614, filed by Apple on May 15, 2008 and titled “Personal media devices with wireless communication,” details communications between WiFi-enabled handsets: “Such communication provides users of personal media devices with access to several WiFi oriented applications,” the patent reads. “For example, in one embodiment a personal media device may wirelessly download subscription assets (e.g., podcast) as they become available. In another embodiment, content specific or local to a merchant may be provided to personal media devices that are in wireless communication with a wireless router affiliated with the merchant. For example, if the merchant is a restaurant, the merchant may provide a menu to the personal media device and the user may place an order on his or her media device by selecting items on the menu.”

On April 17, Apple filed two patents: Number 20080088858, titled “System and Method for Processing Images Using Predetermined Tone Reproduction Curves,” outlines a new image processing method and system suggesting enhanced iPhone camera capabilities, while patent number 20080088602, for a “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” details configurable user inputs based on how the product is to be used, with functionality modes including “PDA, mobile phone, music player, camera, video player, game player, handtop, Internet terminal, GPS receiver, and remote control.”

A week earlier, Apple filed patent number 20080085707, “Dynamic Carrier Selection,” which is summarized thusly: “The mobile device may not be associated with a particular home network operator. Bids can be received from multiple network operators for rates at which communication services using each network operator can be obtained. Preferences among the network operators can be determined using the received bids, and the preferences are used to select the network operator.” In other words, expect the long-dormant Apple MVNO rumors to resume in force

http://myfreeiphone.co.uk/wordpress/

myfreeiphone has now added dozen's of  free iphone games for your enjoyment, there will be more games added weekly. visit here using your iphone or ipod touch.

FreeVerse is very excited of their success in the development of iPod Touch and iPhone games. They have been creating and coding games since the first iPhone SDK beta was released in Marchand have now released some public screen shots.

The first game Flick Sports is very similar to Wii Sports on the Wii and is planed to launce in June…

“Using the iPhone’s unique flick/pinch feature, we’re working on Golf, Bowling, Soccer, and Baseball (to start). Fun, colorful and quick, these will be ideal games for a modern mobile platform.”

Another game they are working on is called Wingnuts MotoRacer is a motorcycle native game for the iPod Touch which is also be released in June…

“Ah, the wind in your hair, the bugs in your teeth and the open road stretching out in front of you! Using the iPhone’s cool accelerometer, (you know, that doohickey that knows when your iPhone is sideways or not), you can steer your motorcycle to victory in this wild racing game. Awesome characters and a touch of humor, its a Freeverse game after all, will add to the fun.”

They are very excited about their involvement in the development of native Apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch and say many new titles will be on their way. If you can not wait for the June launch of iPod Touch version 2.0 then FreeVerse has posted some Web App games on their site, click here to visit the online FreeVerse iPhone game collection on your Apple Touch device

Sick of paying apple for your ringtones? well you can now make your very own ringtones.

http://myfreeiphone.co.uk download and start making your fav songs into ringtones.

there are 75+ free iphone ringtones for you to download too just to get you started.

UPDATE: Ben Stahlhood has now created a complete guide to building native iPhone applications using XCode 3.0 under Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). Included are instructions for setting up a staging area, creating a mountable iPhone filesystem, installing the toolchain, and finally setting up XCode with a custom iPhone application template. Much of this process was developed by Newman and others in the development community, but has been updated and refined significantly by Stahlhood.

—-

The field of unofficial third-party native iPhone application development is maturing rapidly. Thanks largely to the spectacular Installer.app/AppTapp from Nullriver Software (see our guide on using it to install applications on your iPhone) and the efforts of a handful of dilligent third-party developers, there are now well-working native instant messaging clients, a GPS application, and several other useful apps.

Bringing more developers into the fray, however, is a process that has been mitigated by a three significant factors: 1. Developers have yet to establish a method for monetizing native iPhone applications; 2. The fact that Apple could introduce an iPhone software/firmware update that disables most/all third-party applications, or could introduce its own scheme for third-party applications that obviates the current method; 3. The lack of a cohesive SDK (software development kit) for creating applications.

The first issue will likely see some progress shortly: Nullriver Software tells iPhone Atlas they’ll soon be implementing a method to charge for applications. The second issue is more precarious, hinging on Apple’s whim from update-to-update until (if) some formal policy is enacted. The third problem is in the early stages of resolution, thanks to the efforts of Lucas Newman, an avid iPhone developer who worked on the first native iPhone game, Lights Off and helped develop our initial 5-step native application install guide.

Lucas’ unofficial SDK consists of the following components:

• An 18-page PDF instructional guide with steps for downloading and installing the development toolchain.
• An Xcode template
• A set of sample iPhone applications

and provides all the foundation necessary for intermediate to advanced developers to begin creating native iPhone apps.

As discussed in the guide, most of the familiar Cocoa frameworks exist on the iPhone, including: Core Foundation, Foundation, Core Graphics, Core Audio, and CFNetwork. There is also a UIKit, which is roughly equivalent to the Desktop Mac OS X’s AppKit

Unfortuantely, there is no interface builder for the iPhone: all interfaces are done in code.

Lucas’ guide includes sample code for creating a window, handling input (swipes, etc.), transforming views in 3D and more www.myfreeiphone.co.uk

Sample applications, along with built versions and all components (source, images, etc.) include: FlipACoin, Motion and NetServices. You can move these applications to your iPhone by putting Installer.app on your iPhone, then install OpenSSH (under ‘System’ in the Installer.app interface) immediately. You can then use the fifth step in our 5-step guide to transfer apps from your desktop system to the iPhone. Full instructions are here.

The rumours over the 3G iPhone are coming so thick and fast it’s like living in a milkshake blender (we’ve all got one. Either that or a George Foreman grill).

A keyboard, GPS, 5-megapixel camera, bigger storage space and smaller phones…depending on which paper you read in which country, the 3G iPhone is going to be a dramatically different piece of kit.

Firmware updates have also hinted at big changes to the capability to the iPhone’s next generation, so obviously the theorists have been hard at work (or avoiding actual work, you could say).

However, it could just as easily be nothing more than UMTS / HSDPA 3G connectivity, and the ability to switch it on and off as desired.

The chat is that on 9 June, at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2008, there will be some announcement regarding the iPhone from Mr Jobs. The anniversary of the iPhone, on the 29 June, is the date tipped for the 3G iPhone release, but we all know Apple’s penchant for springing a surprise or two.

Web watchers

The main difference between the 2.5G and 3G phones is…well…3G. And that’s something everyone agrees on.

However, despite being desirable for web browsing, the addition of unlimited Wi-Fi to most data tariffs has helped take the edge off that need, though the frustration of a hedgehog-slow EDGE connection is annoying, especially in the low-coverage areas.

If only 3G appears, it might not be enough to push some maybe-buyers over the edge into Apple-y goodness, as mobile web-browsing is surprisingly low on many users’ consumption habits.

Picture…perfect?

The obvious difference between the iPhone and other top-end smartphones is the 2-megapixel camera. Although the business user might not be interested in high-quality snaps from the phone, the iPhone is being pushed to all and sundry, so a better camera would make sense to turn up. The chip rumoured to be used in the new phone can handle up to a 5-megapixel sensor, but one that advanced is unlikely.

The addition of GPS makes perfect sense too, as a geotagging feature would really propel the iPhone into the social networking stratosphere. Plus, Google maps just isn’t the same without a GPS backbone, right?

Where can I get it?

Well, here’s where the rumour mill kicks into overdrive. Taking the UK as a case-in-point, O2 has an exclusive agreement to sell the iPhone. However, UK-based Vodafone has signed a deal to sell the iPhone in 10 other countries.

The rumour, according to Italian paper La Repubblica, is Apple could abandon its revenue sharing deal with carriers, instead moving to the standard ‘we sell you the phone, you subsidise it’ model. It makes sense not to lock it to one operator, as now the phone is now known and desired, so proper competition with the relevant price wars can only be a good thing.

Chris Phin, deputy editor of MacFormat magazine, says: “The latest beta firmware for the iPhone does seem to suggest that there will be the option to turn 3G on and off.

“That makes sense when you think how power-hungry 3G can be, though as some have already suggested, it would be nicer if this was handled automatically, with background mail checking happening over EDGE, only switching to 3G when actively using the web connection such as when surfing in Safari.

“Though a June launch at WWDC would make sense, we’re starting to hear murmurings that it could be earlier. It’s not unknown for Apple to launch products before big events such as WWDC to keep the focus on the show’s big news.

“With supplies with O2 and even Apple surprisingly patchy even now, it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that the channel is being cleared out in preparation for a new model.”

So we might see a iPhone Nano, a larger capacity memory, or even the much-fabled Mac Tablet - essentially a bigger version of the iPhone with more processing power.

Or Apple could announce it is scrapping the iPhone and moving instead to offering RFID-tagging of dogs. Only time will tell

You don’t need Steve Jobs’ permission to watch TV on your iPhone any more. And you don’t need to pay the cable company twice. A native Orb client for the iPhone and iPod Touch popped up on the installer networks overnight, and Orb confirms that it’s official.

The client software allows you to watch live TV on an iPhone or Touch wherever you are, in addition to your music. You’ll need a TV card or adaptor for your PC, of course, to get the live TV. So provided you have an internet connection, there’s no need to perform DIY transcoding using software such as Visual Hub. The client will even transcode the video stream nicely for 2.75G Edge networks. Orb does in software what Sling Media does in hardware.

One of the drawbacks of the iPhone/Touch is the narrow choice of supported video formats - a strange omission in what is the best personal media player on the market. But then it’s not so strange when you consider Apple’s ambitions to sell you TV shows and movies - which you’ve already paid for with your cable subscription.

Orb effectively fixes this problem, as the transcoding is performed “in the cloud” transparently.

And it looks a bit like this:

McAfee’s anti virus solution for the iPhone, called Stinger, would be the first of the of it’s kind. A version of it was leaked to the public recently, and the official statement from McAfee is that the software is a proof of concept and is not ready for the public to use yet. This is very clear when you consider the application was not built with the SDK, and would have to be written over again for use on iPhones using the SDK.

Though McAfee has not announced any plans to follow through and actually get this software out the door, they are pleased with the reaction they have gotten from the iPhone community. All this means that contrary to earlier reports that said this software could be malicious, it seems that is not the case. Either way, be careful, as leaked software has a tendency to become infested with malware.

To some, it may seem that it is not necessary to have anti virus on the iPhone, or mobile phones in general for that matter. This is not true, the iPhone firmware 1.1.1 was jailbroken and subsequently unlocked thanks to an exploit, that with anti virus software may not have worked. While that was a case where the exploit was good, it could have just the same been used to execute malicious code. With mobile phones becoming more and more advanced, you will surely be seeing more of this type of software. www.myfreeiphone.co.uk

Maybe it’s the price that has been holding you back from buying an Apple iPhone.

If that’s the case and you happen to live in Germany, you could effectively score quite an awesome deal, slashing the price on the iPhone to just 99 Euro. That works out to about $155, which is a sharp contrast to the standard $399 asking price that you’ll find in AT&T stores in the United States.

T-Mobile Germany is placing the iPhone on sale, but as with most of these kinds of deals, there is a catch. In order to buy a 99 Euro iPhone, you’ll need to sign up for one of their beefiest wireless plans. The Complete XL goes for 89 Euro per month, which is only 10 Euro less than how much you’d pay for the iPhone. With that plan, you get a 1000 minutes, 300 text messages, and unlimited EDGE data. You also get free access to T-Mobile hotspots. I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to spend $150 a month on cell phone service.

Dialing it down, you can also look into their smaller plans. Opting into the L, M, and S plans will send the price of the iPhone to 149, 199, and 249 Euro, respectively. The S plan limits you to 500 MB of EDGE data.

www.myfreeiphone.co.uk