Free iPhone 3G

Yesterday was the big Apple event and out of it came iTunes 10. The new software adds features like a music social network and naturally supports the iPhone.

I mentioned yesterday that rumors were circulating about a new iPhone 4 coming with a redesigned antenna. We have more of those rumors surfacing today claiming a redesigned [...]

To show off its new GameCenter service, Apple demoed a beautiful upcoming game called Epic Citadel ( link ). The game’s graphics are powered by the Unreal Engine 3—pretty amazing for a cell phone. A demo version of the game is currently available in the App Store for free. Download Epic Citadel .

There were a few announcements from today’s Apple event that will affect iPhone users. The event introduced new iPods, iTunes 10, and a new AppleTV as well: iOS 4.1 to be released next week. Fixes proximity sensor bug where users could accidentally press buttons with their face while on a call. Fixes bluetooth bug where users experienced dropped bluetooth signals with headphones, car stereos, etc. Introduces high dynamic range (HDR) photos to iPhone. HD video uploads over WiFi. TV show rentals. GameCenter arrives, matches you up with friends or strangers to play multiplayer games.

Out of all of Case-Mate’s iPhone 4 case lineup, the Tough ($34.99, link ) is the most serious about protection. Available only in business-like black, it’s a two-part case, with a tight skin of silicone rubber that wraps around the phone, and then a thick plastic outer layer for rigidity and extra toughness. Protection is the byword for the Tough .

Scrabble ( link ) for iPhone is on sale for $0.99 for 48 hours. That the lowest price it’s ever been (the game was $9.99 when first introduced). It’s the classic board game brought to the iPhone by Electronic Arts, featuring single player, challenge friends via Facebook, pass-n-play, and local network play. Scrabble is a $0.99 download in the iTunes App Store.

Case-Mate are pretty high up on our list of good case makers, with crafted, well-designed cases. We just got hold of their Torque case ( $24.99 ) and took the automobile-influenced sleeve for a spin. While not a bad case by any stretch of the imagination, we felt the stylings and quality didn’t justify the price for what turns out to be a very simple case. When I first spied the Torque on Case-Mate’s website, I assumed that because it was two-toned in design, it would be a two-piece case along the lines of the Incipio Silcrylic , with a hard outer layer and soft inner layer

Radio Alarm ( $1.99 ) is a beautifully designed alarm-clock app that can run in the background and wake you up with your favorite radio station or iPod music. But that’s not all it does, as it has a nice set of complementary features, including a sleep timer, soothing nature sounds to go to sleep to, and Retina Display-friendly graphics. Although you probably shouldn’t rely on your iPhone to wake you up every morning (a lot can go wrong), Radio Alarm has quickly become my favorite app to do so. The app supports a local Chicago station, WBBM, I like to listen to in the morning. So it’s nice to have the station fade up in volume to gently wake me until I’m ready to hop out of bed. And if I want to keep listening over my morning coffee, I just carry the iPhone with me

Google has released a big update for its Google Mobile iPhone app ( link ) that adds push notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar. The notifications can be adjusted in the app’s settings to only appear during a specified time. For example, you could turn off notifications for while you’re sleeping. Also added to the Google Mobile app were instant as-you-type info for flights, weather, stock quotes, and currency conversions that show up without even tapping Search . We wonder why Apple simply doesn’t have an option to turn on Local Notifications for its Mail app so there’d be no need to use a push notification server. Or maybe Google was wondering the same thing and got tired of waiting for Apple to implement it. Google Mobile is a free download from the iTunes App Store.

Facebook just announced a major new feature for the world’s most popular social network: location based check-ins . A new version of their iPhone app has just been put out ( link ), which is now location aware. The feature was obviously taken from incredibly popular apps like foursquare, and lets you tag yourself and friends at locations, stores, restaurants and the like: Go to Places on the iPhone application or touch.facebook.com site and then tap the “Check In” button. You’ll see a list of places near you. Choose the place that matches where you are. If it’s not on the list, search for it or add it. After checking in, your check-in will create a story in your friends’ News Feeds and show up in the Recent Activity section on the page for that place. While the feature shows up in the app for everyone across America, the capability to actually “Check In” is rolling out slightly slower.

The Sound ID 510 bluetooth headset ( $130 ) is compatibile with any bluetooth phone, but it’s unique to the iPhone in that its the first headset to have its own iPhone app. Add in touch volume controls and a glossy design, and the headset could have been released by Apple itself. Although the headset lacks premium features like voice menus and quick contacts, the Sound ID 510′s size, performance, and accompanying app make it an appealing choice for iPhone owners. The Sound ID 510 is small and compact even by modern bluetooth headset standards. It weighs only 0.28 ounces (8 grams) and is 2.1 inches long, 0.6 inches wide, and 0.3 inches in thickness. Despite the small size, the headset still offers excellent battery life, with 5 hours of talk time and 135 hours of standby. The downside that it takes 2.5 hours to fully charge. The headset has touch volume controls operated by running your finger up or down the glossy surface of the headset