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24 July, 2007 Peer Review: iPhone madness continues
























Are you exhausted by the barrage of iPhone stories out there? Even complaining about them has become cliché. There just aren't many other new gadgets to write about in July (like TV pilots, most gadgets launch in the fall). It's a relief that at least some websites have begun to write about something else (hence the headline "Harry Potter is the new iPhone"), but we've rounded up the best of recent iPhone coverage after the jump so that you can skim while recovering from your all-night HP reading marathon.

Are you exhausted by the barrage of iPhone stories out there? Even complaining about them has become cliché. There just aren't many other new gadgets to write about in July (like TV pilots, most gadgets launch in the fall). It's a relief that at least some websites have begun to write about something else (hence the headline "Harry Potter is the new iPhone"), but we've rounded up the best of recent iPhone coverage after the jump so that you can skim while recovering from your all-night HP reading marathon.

A lot of current iPhone coverage concerns hacks:
Wired reports about someone who claims to have put his iPhone on the Vodafone network, while other hackers make it work with unlocked Cingular SIM cards. Someone even managed to get it to run Skype.

These are positive hacks, but it's not all good news. "Intended to be a convenience, the unique dialing feature included in the iPhone version of the Safari browser might soon become a nightmare," writes Robert Vamosi of CNet. That's because SPI labs researcher Billy Hoffman has found that the dialing feature allows hackers to "redirect free calls to fee-based phone numbers, track phone calls, manipulate the confirmation screen to place a call even if a user doesn't accept, place a phone in an infinite loop where the only escape is to turn off the phone or prevent the phone from dialing."

Others report on iPhone's effects on the wider world:
For example, the iPhone may be feuling a flash memory shortage that will lead to higher prices in other gadgets. According to Darren Yates' Techlogg article, "The latest weekly spot prices show that between July 9 and July 16, prices for 1GB chips rose 11.4%, 2GB chips 16.4% and 4GB chip prices lifted 9.8%... Whether or not this will result in a rise in pricing of flash-based consumer electronics items remains to be seen."
What's next for iPhone and the iPod family?
Rumors abound that Apple will release a new iPhone before Christmas this year. It will be "streamlined," which means it may not have Internet browsing, but less expensive. It will probably also piss off a lot of iPhone owners who wanted the device more for its screen than its slow-loading Safari. And we reported on rumors of a future karaoke iPod, which would almost certainly have a touchscreen.
Oh, and how's the performance holding up?
We've rounded up plenty of reviews already, but more recently AppleHound compiled a list of 68 iphone 1.0 bugs. The good news is "very few of the listed flaws are likely to affect users," according to Wired's Scott Gilbertson.
Soft resale market
Lastly, if you're thinking of buying an iPhone just to re-sell it on Ebay at a profit, think again. Reporter Rachel Metz failed to do so, and The New York Times found many similarly disappointed potential iPhone scalpers.

Posted by THE SAINT :: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 ::
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