iKit whipped out a cool new case for the iPhone 4 that is called the Chrome with kickstand for the iPhone 4. The case comes in silver, blue, and pink colors for right at $35.

A cool app called Word Lens for the iPhone has debuted. The app lets you take pictures of signs in foreign languages and translates them for you so you know what they say.

A thief stole an iPhone from a woman’s hands in San Francisco. What the thief didn’t know was that the lady was testing real-time tracking software on the device and the police used it to find him 9 minutes later.

LG has announced that it can’t keep up with the demand for screens from Apple for the iPad and iPhone. LG says that it may be Q2 2011 before it can meet the demand.

The iPhone 4 will eventually be offered in white and black colors, though it launched in black only. If you are holding out for the white iPhone 4 apparently, the handset may be in London now. Lots of white iPhone boxes in crates were spied by a geek last night.

I have no idea why you would want to cram your iPhone in a DSLR case. If you need a high-end camera, just carry a high-end camera. If the thought intrigues you, the iPhone DSLR prototype has surface and has to be one of the ugliest accessories ever.

HMB TEC has offered up some odd new accessories for the iPhone that plug into the 3.5mm headphone jack. The accessories include a fan, laser pointer, stethoscope, and a few others.

A new accessory called the AmpliTube iRig has launched that lets you plug an electric guitar into the iPhone. The app needed along with the adapter lets guitarists choose from a bunch of amp and stomp pedal effects.

There are lots of games out there, and a rising number of them are pretty good, but the iPhone / iPod has thus far been devoid of another major aspect of the game industry: Third-party peripherals.

[via Joystiq]

The Juice Pack Air promises to double your iPhone 3G’s runtime, as well as offering the protection of a hard case.  Despite that, it’s only 0.75-inches thick, and adds just 20-percent more weight.  Check out our review of the Mophie Juice Pack Air here.

To enter, and stand a chance of winning a Juice Pack Air worth $79.99, leave a comment in this post telling us about the time you drained your iPhone 3G’s battery the quickest.  We’ll pick one comment at random after the closing date – May 18th at 12pm central time – and that person will take away a Mophie Juice Pack Air!  If you want more chances to win, we’re also giving them away at SlashGear and PhoneMag.

Terms and Conditions

Competition is open to residents of the US over the age of 18.  Family members of Mophie and R3 Media are not permitted to enter.  Competition entries are only accepted via the specified comments section; entries left in the comments of any other post will not be recognized.  Entries should be submitted before 12pm central time on May 18th; one entry per person.

The winner will be announced on this site and contacted via email; they will be expected to respond within 48 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected.  Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Winner agrees that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, R3 Media.  Prize consists of a one Mophie Juice Pack Air.  There is no cash alternative.

While 3D content for the iPhone is limited, the iWear range of headsets are also useful for watching iPhone and iPod content on a “larger” display.  Battery powered, the headsets include an in-line remote and headphones, and can be used with other AV sources with the included adapter cables.

The Vuzix “Works with iPhone” Apple Certified Cable will be bundled with the Vuzix iWear AV230XL, which SlashGear reviewed back in January.  It’ll also be available as an optional upgrade for other models and existing owners, priced at $39.95.

Press Release:

Vuzix announces ‘Works with iPhone’ Apple Certified Cable with 3-D Support for Complete Line of AV Video Eyewear

Rochester, NY – April 2nd, 2009 – Vuzix Corporation, the leader in video eyewear for the consumer, defense and low vision assist markets, is thrilled to announce Apple iPhone® compatibility. Every “Works with iPhone” product is designed for optimal connectivity with the iPhone® and is certified by Vuzix to meet Apple performance standards. Additionally, the cable is the first on the market that supports 3-D video in the following formats:

• Side by Side
• Interlaced
• All 3 Major Anaglyph Modes

The cable will be available bundled with the Vuzix iWear® AV230XL and available as an upgrade for all current Vuzix Video Eyewear customers for only $39.95. Vuzix’ ability to allow the consumer to upgrade their video eyewear ensures users have the latest technology without having to repurchase a whole new product.

“The iPhone® compatibility combined with the recent announcements of the Wrap 920AV and the Augmented Reality Accessory Kit keep Vuzix at the forefront of the mobile video and 3-D revolutions,” said Vuzix CEO, Paul Travers. “As our products become increasingly more affordable, extensively available and highly compatible with a broad range of content types and mobile devices, the widespread adoption of Vuzix Video Eyewear is inevitable. We are excited to officially extend this compatibility to iPhone® enthusiasts worldwide,” added Travers.

Vuzix continues to set the standard for innovative and high-quality Video Eyewear products. The iWear® VR920 is the world’s best-selling virtual reality system while the iWear AV310 Widescreen boasts the world’s first 16:9 widescreen Video Eyewear. The AV230XL is designed for the everyday consumer and features the convenience of AA-battery power and a sub-$200 price point. The latest edition to the Video Eyewear family, the Wrap 920AV raises the bar once again with a true ‘sunglass look’.

Taking $10 from your wallet to keep your phone more safely in you hands, the Mobigrip is available in a range of colours including black, white, red, graphite and green. You could go as far as to ordering your Mobigrip with a fireball motif or even including your own design or photo. To attach, simply peel and stick the grip to the ‘clean’ underside of any hand held device. Then just slip the bungee over your finger.

This addition to your iPhone is developed with safety and a longer life of your toys in mind. I like to think that it was designed specifically to mix modern day chic with country and western role playing. My mind already wonders to an office full of iPhone fans, weapons sitting in the back of their suit-pants, drawing their phone in a mid-office stand off during a battle-to-the-death quick-draw for the last can of coke in the vending machine.

Check it out:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiCj7v7JqYQ[/youtube]

[via Gearlog]

In the box you get the iBooster unit itself, built into a docking cradle, together with a magnetic vehicle antenna, cigarette lighter power adapter and printed installation guide. It’s compatible with both the original iPhone 2G and latest iPhone 3G, and Wilson also produce a model intended for the BlackBerry range of smartphones. Each will go on sale in Spring 2009.

Installation is straightforward: the iPhone drops into the cradle, then you plug in the antenna and stick it, via the magnetic pad, to the outside of your vehicle. The power adapter hooks up to another port, and that automatically powers the iBooster on. No settings or tweaking necessary.  If you’re using a case for your iPhone that means it won’t fit into the cradle, the amplification will work wirelessly up to 2.5ft away from the iBooster, so you can leave it on a seat or in a different mount.

While most of the design decisions make sense, it’s not all quite so straightforward. The strangest aspect of the iBooster is its inability to natively recharge the iPhone; you need to add a separate charger, that plugs into a third port on the cradle. Why it can’t split the supply from the cigarette lighter is unclear; we’re waiting to hear back from Wilson about why this is the case, as those with only one suitable power socket in their car will have to choose between boosting or recharging.  We’re also hoping they can confirm which bands the iBooster supports, and as such whether it’s only currently of use with US-spec 3G or will handle Euro 3G too.

Wilson aren’t aiming the iBooster at your everyday iPhone user – the $350 price underscores that – but at the mobile professional for whom ensuring a few extra bars, and therefore a few extra calls and a successful data connection, is worth the hassle.  In fact they promise to increase the transmission power to the cell site by up to 20x over the iPhone alone.  Every iBooster is apparently manufactured within a room with zero cellular signals, connected to a central server that monitors quality actually during the build process.

Of course, ease of setup and convenience is all pointless if the device doesn’t actually do what it’s supposed to: boost iPhone signal strength. Initial impressions suggest greater call stability and improved sound quality, but we’ll be testing the iBooster out over the next week to see if it’s really worth that premium price-tag.  Keep reading iPhone Buzz to find out the results!

The peripheral enables your iPhone to be in a casing that allows for a PSP like feel. It adds physical buttons to the iPhone for the purpose of playing games.

However, according to an IntoMobile writer,

Apple still has to put in their two-cents on whether the iControlPad will actually be allowed to take advantage of the iPhone dock connector.

I hope so. Let’s hope.

This Silicon Touch iPhone case works in tandem with and iPhone application to help the visually impaired feel the icons and what it is they are typing.  One thing that we would never have even imagined in such a product is the multi-touch and gestures actually working with this accessory. We are told that multi-touch features will not be compromised.

There are also many nice features like text to speech and moon type tactile feedback.  We hope that there will be high enough demand for this product to see it come to market. It looks like only time will tell.

[Via SlashGear]

The week started with news that the App Store had accumulated 60 million downloads, equally $30 million sales. Plus, the first monthly sales reports were released to app developers, giving them insight into just how their software was doing. Later on, we learned that Best Buy is all set to sell the iPhone 3G beginning September 7 and HSBC is even considering a 200K iPhone 3G order.

Moving onto software issues and complaints, there was an initial problem at the beginning of the week following the 2.0.1 firmware update, which may have caused GPS issues to develop. We also learned that a building at the Apple Inc headquarters caught fire. Damage was mostly caused by water and smoke and no injuries were reported. And as many iPhone users have been unable to maintain a 3G connection, analysts now believe the problem lies with the Infineon chipset. However, a September software update should provide a fix for the reception problems, even though Infineon denies their chipsets are to blame.

But it wasn’t all bad news this week. In fact, several applications hit the App Store, to bring greater functionality to the iPhone. For instance, a web-based app of Google Translate was launched that brings you translating power on the go. Plus, an e-book reader called Stanza has opened the door to Kindle-like abilities, though you can only download public domain titles at the moment. A program call Qik makes video streaming possible from your iPhone and Simplify Media makes live streaming of your music library a breeze. Box Office has also returned to the App Store, though now it’s called Now Playing.

We offered several application reviews this week, as well. Crossword Light provided a detailed crossword puzzling experience, while Tilt Snake was a fun diversion, reminiscent of the old arcade game, though it could be improved.

Finally, a few iPhone gadgets and gizmos found their way onto iPhoneBuzz this week, notably the iPhone Dock Projector. It remains to be seen if this portable projector offers up a decent picture, but the idea is brilliant. Plus, the Steve Jobs bobble head iPhone dock is just a one in a million eBay offering that Apple diehards will have to have.

[Via Speck Products]

The two new cases are the Landau and Plus. The Landau is your basic case which provides all-around protection (including a screen protector) without limiting access to any of your ports or buttons. The Plus is a more rugged case which covers the entire non-screen surface of the phone. ezButtons are built into the case, which are essentially areas which have extra silicon padding. This allows you to press on specific areas of the case and have the desired button be activated. Your iPhone’s screen will be protected by a standard static screen protector.

Both cases will be available in Frost White, Onyx Black and Cool Blue. The Landau will also be available in Princess Pink. The ezSkin Plus is expected to run $19.99, while the Landau will be $5 less. Both are set to ship on July 8, 2008.

More supposed 3G iPhone pictures have surfaced this week. They depict a white device, with a glossy case finish. The case is a pretty close match to what we have seen for the other rumored pictures, and also those rumored case specifications match up. So could this be the real thing? Only way to be sure is to see what Apple brings with them to WWDC.

The latest version of iPhone firmware 2.0 and the accompanying SDK were released this week. There is not much new about this release except some bug fixes and a larger SDK. Some of the demo applications in the SDK were removed, but that is about it. One interesting thing about the new SDK is that it must be used with the latest version of Leopard, which is now at 10.5.3.

Gaming on the iPhone is going to be huge. The device is very powerful, and the touch screen makes it prime to use for mobile gaming. So in light of this, popular first person shooter game Bioshock is coming to the iPhone. The game has not been ported to any mobile device what so ever, and the fact that the iPhone will be able to run it with full 3D speaks volumes of its abilities.

We round out our week in review with the news of a Palm OS emulator coming to the iPhone. StyleTap, will be bringing the ability to the iPhone. This will instantly allow for the 20,000+ applications and utilities to run on the iPhone. StyleTap will be announcing more details on he software in July, including price and how it will be marketed.