According to analysts Sprint Nextel may start offering the iPhone this fall. I bet the device makes it to all carriers in the country after the AT&T exclusive ends.

The Belkin TuneCast Auto Live accessory for the iPhone is now shipping in America. The device is available for $79.

We learned last January that Skype was working on its own iPhone app, little did we know at the time how long it would be before we saw the app in person. Apple also allowed third party browsers into the App store for the first time early this year.

We first heard that Apple might let iPhone apps run in the background early in 2009. This was one of the iPhones biggest missing features according to many. February brought early grumblings that we might see a new iPhone in the summer. Early expectations were for several models, which turned out to be false.

Adobe announced early in 2009 that it was working on Flash for the iPhone. We all got excited at that, unfortunately flash is still not here. O2 announced in February that it has sold 1 million iPhones in the UK. Its success proved the iPhone was a global phenomenon.

Australian Jeweler Peter Aloisson went nuts in March and designed an iPhone selling for $2.5 million. The thing was covered in gold and diamonds. We heard in March that the new iPhone 3.0 OS would add MMS and cut and paste to the iPhone. Those things were sorely lacking on the iPhone to start with.

Later in March the cut and paste features along with other nice additions in OS 3.0 went official. The first word of the iPhone 3G selling without a contract came in March with a whopping price of $499-$599 depending on the model.

Apple announced in April that almost a billion apps had been downloaded from the App Store. That was just the start for the app store in 2009. Apple placed an order in April for 32GB chips foreshadowing the new iPhone 3GS models.

We started to hear grumblings in April that Verizon might get its own LTE version of the iPhone in 2010. We still don’t know if that will happen or not. TomTom unveiled the first full PND software and hardware system for the iPhone in June. The system turned the iPhone into a serious PND device with all the features you expect.

We learned in June that Steve Jobs was coming back to Apple after being away for health reasons since January. Jobs survived pancreatic cancer. The iPhone 3GS was fond to vastly outperform the iPhone 3G in 3D performance in June when benchmarked. We love us some iPhone 3GS around here.

In July Apple announced that 1.5 billion downloads had been made from the App store. That was another half a billion downloads compared to the numbers early in 2009. iPhone sales boomed in 2009 with the release of figures in July showing that sales had grown 626% year over year. Apple and AT&T landed in hot water with the FCC over the rejection of the Google Voice app from the App Store. The case brought to light the practices of those at Apple who wield the ban hammer for apps.

In August we learned that Apple owned 13.7% of the global smartphone market. That percentage continues to grow today with the iPhone rapidly moving up in popularity. AT&T was sued this year for lack of MMS on the iPhone. The feature was added in the 3.0 update but AT&T didn’t activate the feature because of the drain it would place on its often shoddy network.

There you have a sampling of the most important iPhone news items of 2009. Happy New Year and we look forward to reporting more iPhone news in 2010!

PC World reports that the language from the UK and Swedish App Stores is not present in the app store rules for the US. The Apple TOS apparently places no limitations on the use of apps in the US.

PC world figures that the terms and service may have been misunderstood. It wouldn’t make much sense to have apps not be usable legally to business users.

The prices of the five versions as follows:

• TomTom Australia – $74
• TomTom New Zealand – $90
• TomTom UK & Ireland – $99
• TomTom US & Canada – $99
• TomTom Western Europe – $132

[via SlashGear]

TechCrunch writes:

That means that shortly, we’ll have access to the much-improved app which is scheduled to have features such as a News Feed that is more like the one on Facebook’s site, the ability to “like” items and a new customizable home screen. More importantly, it will also have video support for the iPhone 3GS, something which Hewitt threw-in at the last second, unexpectedly. And perhaps best of all, the app will have the ability to manage events, finally.

USAA has just updated its free iPhone application, adding the ability to deposit checks wirelessly. Just taking a photo of both sides of the check using iPhone’s camera, then you can send the check’s image directly to USAA.

In order to reduce fraud, only qualified USAA customers –who had eligible credit score and insurance from USAA– can make deposits into their accounts over the air.

[via Washington Post]

The WildCharge works via connecting the zero-profile conductive strips on the base-plate with contact-point nubs on the back of the iPhone case. What’s special about it is the fact that you needn’t line up the phone with the strips; just placing it down at any angle is enough.

The “skin” case for the iPhone is priced at $34.99, while a bundle including the base-plate is $79.99; both are available to order now. We’ll have a full review of the WildCharge wire-free charging system for the iPhone 3GS very soon, but until then enjoy the unboxing video and gallery.

[vms c0c690931222ff4467bb]

Meanwhile, they have already demonstrated this flaw in action to CNET‘s Elinor Mills before the conference.

Here’s what happened: While I was talking on the phone to Charlie Miller, his partner, Collin Mulliner, sent me a text message from his phone. One minute I’m talking to Miller and the next minute my phone is dead, and this time it’s not AT&T’s fault. After a few seconds it came back to life, but I was not able to make or receive calls until I rebooted.

The attack is enabled by a serious memory corruption bug in the way the iPhone handles SMS messages, said Miller, a senior security researcher at Independent Security Evaluators. There is no patch, despite the fact that Apple was notified of the problem about six weeks ago, he said.

[via CNET]

Please note that Google Voice is not a VOIP service. Basically, it’s a service that lets you manage a free phone number that Google gives you. Since the app relies on the Internet connection (3G, EDGE, Wifi, etc), so you still need an actual phone plan.

The GV Mobile features including:

• Dial numbers (domestic for free and international at a variable rate) via the iPhone’s address book or typing in on the keypad
• Send SMS messages
• Retrieve and delete recent call history
• Playback and delete voicemails
• Take calls from different phones other than your iPhone
• Add, delete, enable, or disable the phones that Google Voice forwards calls to

Google Voice is currently in beta and invite only.

[via Engadget]

iPhone users can view the new home page at m.yahoo.com, which comes up with three tabs: “Today”, “My Favorites” and “All Sites”.  These include Yahoo Finance, eBay, Facebook, MySpace, Maps, Messenger, and so on.

According to CNET, Yahoo is now prepping the native iPhone app of this sync functionality. [I hope Apple will not then remove it from App Store, due to "duplicating features that the iPhone comes with..." LOL!]

The Web giant claims one out of every two mobile users views its home page, and has 34 million unique users per month, according to recent Comscore data.

[via CNET]

A company called MotionTouch has announced a new iPhone charger that gets power from the sun or some ambient lighting to charge the battery inside the sleeve. The device is called the Powcell sleeve and it slides onto the back of the iPhone much like the Mophie offering.

The rear of the sleeve is covered in a solar panel that charges the sleeves internal battery even when it isn’t connected to the iPhone. The maker says that the sleeve doesn’t block any of the features of the phone. Pricing and availability for the charger is unknown.

[via MotionTouch]

Now that a brand new 3G sells for $99 AT&T has cut the prices on its refurb fleet to woo customers willing to take a chance on a refurb. The iPhone 3G refurb now sells for $49 online with a new two-year contract. That is a steal if you can live without the 3GS.

If 8GB at $49.99 isn’t enough storage for you, the refurb 16GB iPhone 3G can be had for $99 online. That is a cheap price, and for some the $149 saved compared to the iPhone 3GS will seal the deal. For others, the new sexy 3GS is well worth the extra green.

[via AT&T]

SI has announced a new iPhone app that puts the hotness of the swimsuit edition on your iPhone. The Si Swimsuit 2009 is the app and SI is calling is the “world’s sexiest app” with hundreds of photos. In addition to the photos of swimsuit models, the app offers scores and team information.

The app sells for $2.99 and features video and photos of all 20 models from the 2009 SI Swimsuit franchise. Users can also create a custom sports calendar to follow their favorite sports teams from pro or college venues.

RSA has announced that it has a new iPhone app called RSA SecurID Software Token for iPhone that allows the iPhone to be used as a RSA SecurID authenticator. The app allows the iPhone to be used as part of a two-factor authentication network.

The app generates a one-time password that changes every 60 seconds to enable secure access to enterprise applications and resources. The app is available through a download on the App Store for free. The RSA SecurID software token seed must be purchased at an undisclosed price.

[via RSA]

Ars Technica wrote:

…beta 2 enables them to connect to their devices wirelessly instead of requiring them to be tethered for development purposes with Instruments. The WiFi connection supports all the same features a developer would get (through Instruments) when tethered.

[via MacRumors]