iPhone

What's the Chinese word for Antennagate?

There isn't one and there isn't going to be one if China Unicom can help it.

Sources at the carrier tell Caixin that when Apple's iPhone 4 debuts in China on September 16, it will be sold with a complimentary case, presumably intended to head off the death-grip drama that troubled the device's launch in the States and ultimately forced Apple to give out free cases to all iPhone 4 owners and extend a liberal return policy.

Good news for iPhone users who had lusted over the Android-only app Goggles from Google. It's set to hit the App Store sometime in the next three months.

A report by The Register, which was covering the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University on Monday, makes note of Google staff engineer David Petrou's keynote, wherein Petrou said the application was, in fact, still in the works. Better yet: pending Apple's approval, it's scheduled for release by the end of 2010.

Goggles was unveiled by Google last December as a way for users to search the Web … Read more

Wilson is out sick today (read: too scared of the rain to leave his house), so we're upgrading to someone better: Scott Stein of CNET's own Digital City podcast! He joins us on today's episode of The 404 to give us his personal review of the Apple iPad and five ways it's still better than the iPhone 4. We also discuss the next generation of portable adult entertainment, six tech species in danger of extinction, and the RIAA requiring FM radios in all cell phones.

Scott is CNET's resident laptop expert, but he also happens … Read more

The funniest thing to me about all the hoopla this summer over the iPhone 4's antenna problems is that everyone kicking and screaming about the situation seemed to overlook one small thing: pop a bumper on the device and it works absolutely fine.

Sure, when a company advertises the benefits of an all-new antenna design and the sleek metallic lines of a device like the iPhone 4--and charges $30 for a little plastic bumper--people develop expectations.

But throw in the bumper for free, which Apple was forced to do after Consumer Reports' damning review, and suddenly you've got … Read more

Apple is apparently ramping up its battle to prevent iPhone and iPod owners from jailbreaking their devices.

The company has applied for a patent, titled "Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device," that covers a series of security measures to automatically protect devices from thieves and other "unauthorized users." Unauthorized users apparently applies to those who engage in jailbreaking, which allows devices to run apps not approved by the company producing the operating system--such as Apple, the main target of such bypasses.

The application, which was filed in February 2009 and published … Read more

Even with the huge success of the iPhone 4 and the iPad, we all know Apple hasn't been resting on its laurels. We still have a big hardware event to come this fall with Apple's now annual iPod launch event. Among the rumors and speculation around the Web, some news Web sites are saying we might see a full revision to the iPod Touch, a new iPad, and maybe a completely rebuilt Apple TV.

The guys over at AppleInsider uncovered a particularly interesting tidbit by studying the "Configuration Descriptors" within the USB configuration files of the most recent iOS 4.1 beta. Apparently, by following Apple's past releases, they were able to pick out new versions of devices by the code names Apple uses for its products. Check out the story linked above to see how they figured it all out. Especially interesting is the "unknownHardware" named in the third configuration file--could this be the smaller iPad people have been talking about or maybe the Apple TV?

Like everything Apple, we will not know what the company has in store for new hardware until the event (oh, the drama), but it's always fun to watch the rumors unfold on the many Apple rumor sites.

This week's apps include an easy to use news reader and a game that challenges you to run the longest distance while killing off monsters.… Read more

Movie sequels almost universally suck, but video game sequels? More often than not, they improve on the original.

So it is with Top Gun 2 ($2.99), the unexpected but very welcome follow-up to last year's widely praised Top Gun. It's essentially the same game, but just plain better in nearly every respect.

As before, you pilot your jet from a chase-plane view, tilting the iPhone for decidedly arcade-style steering. Top Gun 2 is more like a racing game than a flight simulator, as you're effectively on a straight-line track in the sky the entire time.

But … Read more

Last week I endured a crazy line and my own nagging doubts/consumer guilt, and pulled the trigger to buy an iPhone 4. In our CNET office, I feel like a bit of an apologist. Many fellow editors are bullish about Android, and I already owned a 3GS. My purchase couldn't be fully justified, other than via one bit of logic: the iPhone remains my most-used gadget.

I also, as you might recall, own an iPad. It's been a surprisingly useful device, more so than I even expected. Even so, Apple's tablet has gotten tough love from … Read more

As with any classic role-playing-style game, EpicWin ($2.99) gives you experience points in a number of categories that help your character gain skills and move through a mystical world. The difference in this game? You have to complete your own real tasks to advance your character.

While task management and to-do lists are nothing new on the iPhone (see OmniFocus or Things), EpicWin puts a new spin on how you treat your responsibilities that may just cause you to get more done. With so many games geared toward farming computer crops, creating made-up mobs, or killing virtual vampires, EpicWin turns your to-do list into a game with real rewards (and some fun fake ones, too).

Setting up your EpicWin world is pretty easy. In fact, it's the first few tasks (renamed "quests" for this game) you must complete on your list the day you install the App. Those tutorial quests set you up to begin your journey toward tackling your tasks and completing them as your new avatar (choose from three free characters or two you can purchase in-App).

Being a tall, lanky dude, I of course chose the skeleton character for my avatar and began creating quests. The cool part about adding tasks to EpicWin (despite the fact that it does not sync with any current task managers or calendar to-do lists you may have) is that you get to determine each quest's level of Epicness. … Read more