Morphie Knox

The Morphie Knox is an wallet type case for an iPod nano 2nd gen, and the iPod nano 3rd gen (coming Q1 2008). The case is made out of high quality aircraft grade aluminum to protect both your iPod and other wallet possessions. The Morphie Knox is expected to have an MSRP of $40.00.

Morphie Radura

The Morphie Radura is a clear polycarbonate case for the current line of iPod’s and iPhone. The Radura covers the entire scratchable surface of the iPod or iPhone, but leaves all of the connections and click wheel open and free. The case also has rubberized shock-resistant inserts for added protection. MSRP of $20.00.

Morphie Ratchet

The Morphie Ratchet is a hard plastic, 360 degree belt clip with a frost colored base. The Ratchet can be used with a 2nd & 3rd Gen Nanos, 5th and 6th gen iPod classics, iPhone, iPod touch. MSRP of $18.00.

Morphie Run

The Morphie Run is a no-slip armband made of hard plastic that rotates 360 degrees for music right there with you anywhere you go. The Run can be used with all of Apple’s current iPod/iPhone models, 5th Gen Classic, and iPod 2nd Gen. MSRP is $25.00

Morphie Base Case

The Morphie Base Case is a tough case made out of shock-absorbent silicone and provides your iPhone or iPod with a soft second skin. The Base Case comes in Black, Pink, and Frost at an MSRP of $12.00

mStation Stereo Orb II

The Stereo Orb II is a docking station and speaker system in a variety of colors. The Stereo Orb II boasts compatibility for all of the iPod’s and iPhone allowing syncing through iTunes with a USB cable. The speaker system on the Stereo Orb II is said to have 30 watts of power. MSRP of $129.99

More information of the mStation’s new products will be announced at CES 2008.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY8OxHeNKfY[/youtube]

[Via TUAW]

While you may not notice a difference, Apple is definitely trying to figure out ways to keep the battery life, and make the iPhone perform faster. Could this possibly be for the upcoming SDK release in order to make sure the phone will run most 3rd party apps? Hopefully, and we’ll see come February.

[Via iPhoneAtlas]

Looks like Macmall will be the best place to pick up some deals on Black Friday, though we’re still waiting to see what the Apple store has to offer, it most likely won’t top the 22% Macmall is giving.

Sending the iPhone off to Apple for an official repair job will set you back a not-insubstantial $199 for the 4GB version and $249 for the 8GB (plus $6.95 for shipping and handling); that’s assuming they don’t call upon their “service may not be available if your iPhone has been damaged due to accident or abuse” disclaimer.

The alternative is trying to fix it yourself, using third-party replacement components (costing from $150 to $200) and in the process well and truly voiding your warranty.  PDAParts offer a video guide to the operation, shown below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1z0pw2VK7M[/youtube]

Let’s face it, you’ll need guts to try to do it yourself.  This is one of those occasions when it might be better to stump up the money and let the pros take care of it; or, more sensibly again, invest in some protection with an iPhone case, such as the range available from the MY iTablet Store.

Hon Hai, which operates under the trade name Foxconn, pulled in a staggering $40.6bn profit last year and expects that to increase by a further $14bn this year.  Part of that increase will be down to the iPhone; Apple acknowledge that Foxconn is the supplier of their iconic first-generation cellphone.

On-site, workers live, play and put together electronics.  There are swimming pools, basketball courts, restaurants and and internet cafe; the factory city even has its own TV station, Foxconn TV.  Meals are subsidised while rent is free.

It’s an interesting story if you’re curious about how our growing fetish for electronics is sated, well worth a read.

Who would want something taken away from their iPhone? Probably people that work for large companies that don’t allow camera phones. iResQ is now offering to remove the camera from your iPhone for just $100. While it sounds like a costly investment, it might be a small price to pay to actually have a decent phone that you can take to work.

You might however, want to check with the security staff where you work before taking advantage of this service. Many companies probably won’t care that you got it removed, simply because they’ll have no real way to tell if the camera is gone. I suppose that iResQ could actually replace the lens with a piece of metal, or something else that would make it very obvious that the camera is indeed missing.

iResQ offers iPhone camera removal service [via infiniteloop]

iSuppli tore apart their own 8GB iPhone (everyone seems so eager to tear apart their iPhones) and came up with a figure very close to the one previously reported. According to their findings, the $600 8GB iPhone probably cost Apple closer to $250 to make.

Seeing that the two companies came up with very similar answers means that they’re both likely not far off. Not many products on the market these days have such high margins. Granted, you still have to factor in costs for software, support and marketing. But remember, Apple is making a chunk of money from AT&T every time someone buys one, which drives the margin even higher. Well done Apple.

Seeking Alpha’s Sramana Mitra dips a toe or two into the murky waters of Apple’s mysterious hardware suppliers, secure in the knowledge that if only one thing is known to be true then that’s that “someone must be making a killing off this on the chip side.”  It’s a safe assumption, and Mitra herself is leaning toward graphics maestros Nvidia being next in line for some vicarious light from the Cupertino halo.

Previous reports in the EE Times - which quoted industry analysts FBR staking their professional reputation on Nvidia subsidiary PortalPlayer gaining lucrative iPhone CPU+GPU chip contracts – suggested that the established relationship between Apple and PortalPlayer would see the development of all-in-one chipsets handling applications, audio and video processing.  Mitra believes this could be a further foray into coming competition with Microsoft’s growing focus on home-entertainment, currently centred on the Xbox 360 and its role as a media streamer.

Interesting as market prediction might be, for the prospective iPhone user the key implication is the eventual success of the device in those central areas of usability, entertainment and longevity.  The gradual evolution of the iPod has show Apple’s willingness to invest long-term strategy in refining a product, unveiling a raft of incremental advances that maintain their lead above competing products.  Yet to compare the DAP market with the far faster-paced cellphone market – and, more importantly, to presume that excellence in one makes success in the other an inevitability – is a dangerous naivety that Apple would do well to avoid. 

Users are less forgiving of a sluggish, under-powered and slightly incapable cellphone than perhaps any other item of personal electronics.  Whether Apple is using the iPhone as a potential test-bed or viewing it as a relatively straightforward adjunct to the iPod line, they would do well to remember that any drawback or failing, no matter how minor, will be greatly magnified.

Apple’s iPhone and the Future of Nvidia [Seeking Alpha]

According to them, German-based Balda is the only company that offers the caliber of display needed for Apple’s revolutionary phone. Balda currently offers screens that are thinner and more sensitive than today’s traditional plastic displays. They also claim that their screens are more resilient to scratches and smudges while offering a higher resolution. All of this from a glass display. Honestly, the thought of a glass display terrifies me. But if it’s as good as they boast, it ought to do well.

Another key factor that was taken into consideration is the fact that Balda’s glass screens are capable of detecting input from more than one source. This is of course key because of the new “Multitouch” technology being used in the iPhone. This is still only speculation, but they definitely make a compelling argument.

A Balda-Faced iPhone? [via gizmodo]

The good people over at Cnet have put together a list of motion-sensing phones. You’ll notice that this is not something new to the world. In fact, several of these phones have been on the market since 2005.

It is interesting to see how a technology such as this can be on the market for years without the majority of the public even knowing it’s even out there. Granted, many mobile phone enthusiasts have known about these phones for some time, but the average Joe probably hasn’t. But with the release of the iPhone, it is something that will likely be seen by many such people.

Motion-sensing phones [via cnet]

With the materials coming in at the beginning of April, they will likely begin production shortly thereafter. This sounds about right if they’re going have the iPhone ready for launch by June.

Since they are expecting the components to be shipped by the beginning of next month, it would seem that they have finally decided upon which manufacturers are going to be supplying the components. We’ll let you know when we have the full list.

Apple notifies iPhone part makers [via looprumors]

According to an earlier estimate by iSuppli, each sensor will cost $11; however, this recent article suggests a lower price range of $5 to $7 per device component from Micron. Furthermore, Micron’s semiconductor fabrication plant in Avezzano is supposedly the sole provider of the sensor for Apple’s iPhone. Given that this info is true and accurate, Apple started placing initial orders between 2,000 to 3,000 wafers per week for a theoretical yield of 600,000 sensors per week.

The camera of the iPhone is of Micron [Via macnn]