Research has surfaced that was conducted by CoolBrands Council and it has found that the iPhone had been knocked out of the coolest brands mark by Aston Martin. Even James Bond likes Aston Martin; it’s a hard brand to beat.

Rumors floating around are suggesting that the official Google Voice app for the iPhone may be imminent. The app was submitted after Apple relaxed app guidelines for the App Store.

Some iPhone 4 users have been reporting significantly decreased upload speed sin some areas. AT&T has announced that a defect in its network is causing the issue and not a change in how it throttles the iPhone.

We had heard that a new firmware was coming that would address the poor signal that some users of the iPhone 4 complain of. Apple has now stated that the reception issues with the iPhone 4 are a hardware problem and won’t be fixed with software. The software will only fix the bar display to show accurately.

The current iPhone 3G uses the Broadcom BCM4325, which has an FM receiver.  However Apple have locked down its functionality; currently it will only receive short-range FM transmissions from the Nike+ exercise peripheral.  Of course, there’s no telling whether Apple will similarly lock down the FM capabilities of the iPhone 3.1; many third-party accessory manufacturers, who already offer a broad range of FM transmitters, will likely be hoping they do.

As for the WiFi n functionality, the newer Broadcom chip supports all manner of MIMO dual-antenna signal boosting and better reception.  There’s also a shared Bluetooth and WiFi receive signal path which should save power and space but not at the cost of signal strength.

[via 9to5 Mac]

But that doesn’t mean this blog was quiet this week. In fact, we found out that the iPhone firmware 2.2 has a few extra features no one noticed right away, including Emoji and StreetView support in Google Maps.

We also learned that a big group of current iPhone users actually switched from a different carrier in order to use the device. Plus, the iPhone Developer Tech Talks launched this week, bringing iPhone app creation abilities to a wider audience.

The mini-USB plugs were recalled recently, and now customers are getting their replacements. Funnily enough, they have arrived for many in huge boxes with just an instruction sheet warning customers to return the defective plugs or else.

A heart rate monitor app went live on the App Store this week as well, which makes it easier to keep track of your heart rate anywhere at anytime.

Lastly, we took a look at PhoneTag Voicemail. The service that allows users to view transcriptions of their voicemails by means of a text message or an email, was very useful and for the most part intuitive. Many will find it to be a suitable alternative to the iPhone’s Visual Voicemail capability.

Developers have located these secret features, which are like little nuggets of iPhone treasure. Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating, but it’s still pretty cool. One thing uncovered are Emoji, a form of Japanese icon. With 461 characters included on the iPhone 3G now, it is likely this was to please the Japanese market. The icons can be used mid-sentence or as an emoticon of sorts.

Another feature is Street View support in Google Maps. This is a must-have if the phone is to stay on level with the upcoming T-Mobile G1, the first Android phone. One last feature unearthed is the ability to turn off auto-correction while typing. So, if you always found the predicative text feature always guessed what you wanted to say wrong, you can turn it off for good.

[via Electricpig]

We did have hope there for awhile because push notification was included–or at least the framework for it–in a beta but was then removed. Speculation seems to point to the reason for this being that Apple wanted to focus on fixing the numerous problems already facing the iPhone such as 3G complications, MobileMe syncing problems, etc.

So for now, push notification is nowhere in sight. But who knows. Since unreleased iPhone software is still under wraps by the NDA, it could spring out at us as if from nowhere. Maybe. Hopefully?  

[via Macworld]

At the beginning of the week, we found out that the home activation available for the first-generation iPhone would be reinstated, at least in part, for iPhone 3G purchases. And then, we got the details of the new purchasing system Apple has put in place so you can buy the iPhone 3G from your home, input all of your information and simply go to your local Apple retail store to pick it up and have it activated.

We also learned that the iPhone 3G could reach sales of 5 million in Q4, which is exciting news. And an unlocked version of the phone is now available in Hong Kong, though at a significantly higher price than if purchased through a carrier. To continue Apple’s plan for rolling out the iPhone 3G across the world, Russia will be getting the device on October 3rd.

iPhone Firmware version 2.2 entered Beta 1 for developers only this week and while details were a bit sketchy at first, we eventually learned that MobileSafari would be getting a bit of a facelift. App Store rejections letters are also apparently under the NDA developers sign to upload their apps to the store. Whether this was also a stipulation or a recent addendum in response to the frequent posting of these letters on online forums is unknown.

And last but not least we had a comparison of the iPhone 3G and the recently announced T-Mobile G1. Even though I would have loved to pick a clear cut winner, I found the playing field uneven, especially when you consider that Apple is bringing their own hardware and software to the table and the T-Mobile G1 features hardware and software from different makers.

In fact, it looks quite similar but just has a few tweaks to it. The magnifying glass and refresh button have been removed from the top bar and are now replaced with the URL bar and Google search field.

This makes it look much more like the desktop version of Safari. Also, when you refresh a page now it will show a small icon within the URL bar. It’s not earth-shattering but definitely an improvement, I think. Are you excited for this upgrade?

[via iPhoneAtlas]

We still have no idea what the newest firmware would contain in comparison to the current version. Firmware 2.1 did address several bugs and issues that have plagued several iPhone 3G users since the device’s launch, so it is not clear what 2.2 would bring to the table.

One possibility is the once promised background push notification that would make it so you could receive IMs even when browsing the web, checking email, etc. But, a recent email sent out by Steve Jobs (supposedly) may indicate otherwise. Of the background push, Jobs writes:

We’re running a bit late. We want to get it 100% right the first time.

Steve

This might just be another one of those wait and see sort of things.

[via MacRumors]

This firmware was called a “big update” because it addresses several of the issues users have been experiencing. Big fixes being the primary focus, Jobs noted the major areas addressed including battery life, app crashes, back up lag and dropped calls.

But that was it, really. This was truly a music event and Apple stayed on target with their message. Prior to the event, rock music was blasting. But the show ended with a performance by Jack Johnson. Nothing against Jack Johnson, but “rock?” Really?

Stay tuned for a recap of the day’s events including the details on the iPod nano and iPod touch updates.

[via SlashGear]

3G performance on the phone running 2.0.2 was by far improved. And though it may not be running at lightning speed, it’s certainly a big improvement, especially when compared to the performance of the phone running 2.0.1.

You can see three side-by-side speed tests below. In each test, the iPhone running on the update completely loads iPhoneBuzz.com before the phone running the old OS even begins or gets close to completing. Tests where the phones were switched to use Wi-Fi loaded pages at about the same rate. Wi-Fi is also still considerably faster than 3G when loading a page.

Sure, this may not be the most scientific of tests, but it certainly seems like a massive improvement, wouldn’t you say?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYR2WOD6WsY[/youtube]

It seems both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G are affected, though no one knows for sure if the update is truly to blame for the problems, which consist of everything from errors to failure. For some, the GPS continues to search but never finds a location.

Plus, some GPS outages and problems were reported prior to the update, as well. Even so, it seems awfully suspect for one to install the latest update and immediately experience a GPS outage, don’t you think?

[via EngadgetMobile]

“We’ve added lots of new features, including 2.0 support, spotlight file indexing of .ipsws, canned websearches, installer custom configuration, custom root partitions and various other things that you’ll see on the release” iPhone Dev Team

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R63lKICiWfg[/youtube]

So far the tool itself is yet to be released.  The Team are saying it’ll be “soon”, although not this weekend, and that the wording in the video should be pretty much ignored since it’s mainly just placeholder text.

Some have questioned the need for Pwnage now that Apple have released the App Store and made the iPhone available in many more countries.  The increased tweaking tools, such as predefined websearches and custom root partitions, are obviously a move by the Team to keep the tool relevant.  True, casual users probably won’t need to use it, but those looking to get the most out of Apple’s “21st Century Newton” should start biting their nails in anticipation now.

[via Engadget]

“Normally if you choose to update, the iPhone or iPod touch software is updated but your settings and media are not affected. If your device currently has a software version prior to 2.0 (1.x) and you are updating to software version 2.0 or later, all data on your device will be erased in order to perform install the new software. In this case, iTunes will offer to create a one-time media backup of your device depending on what content is on your device and what content is stored in the iTunes Library you are connected to. You should ensure that you have enough free space on your Mac or PC to accommodate a backup that matches the capacity of your iPhone or iPod touch (4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB) if you proceed with the this backup,” per Apple.

Once you download the new firmware and iTunes 7.7, simply open iTunes and clicking the option + clicking the check for update button will prompt iTunes to ask for the ipsw location; once you’ve done that, iTunes will begin the firmware update.

Arn, the self-proclaimed macrumors god, has this to say MacRumors:

I’m not sure how you got two dmgs. It should download as a single .ispw file. That’s what I used to install.

I just played Super Monkey Ball. I suck at it.

fyi, it took me a while to download and install it. I tested it before I posted it on the site, so I didn’t brick thousands of iphones. That being said, you should still do it at your own risk. The numbering thing bothered me a little, which is why I waited to post it. So there could still be some issues down the line, though I would suspect a reinstall would prob fix it, if this wasn’t the “right” version.

Arn

So there you have it.  If you get this bad boy installed and all is well, drop us a note.

Update: Ewdi just emailed confirming the firmware is indeed the real deal and had no problems with the update!

[via phonemag - macrumors]

This is part of a screen shot taken from this page relating to the iPod Touch on Apples Australia website. While it could be just a slip as it is not showing up anywhere else, I am going to say this is pretty solid, as it is still up, and after all the attention it has got Apple would have surely taken it down were it fake. When June 27th rolls around, we will be able to know for sure.

UPDATE: Reader iPhoneOVERATED just pointed out that Apple squashed the early launch date of AppStore rumor.

An Apple representative confirmed that July is still the plan, and the Aussies have since updated their page to point to a link to the iPhone’s SDK page. It’s not clear where the June 27th date came from, but there seems to have been some confusion this month about the App Store: a source had told us last week that applications would be “launching” on Monday, and “launching” appears to have meant “showing off quick snippets of the application’s capability” in this context. -CNET News

Hope this clear things up.