Dear iPhone 4 owner,

Apple recently announced that iPhone 4 customers who purchased an iPhone 4 Bumper are eligible for a full refund.

As of today, we have automatically processed your refund. If you would like to check the status of your refund, click here.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Sincerely,
Apple Retail Store Support

Check it out here:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/firefox-home/id380366933?mt=8

One of the features missing on the iPhone is HTML signature for Mail, and if you are using two different email addresses like me you probably want to have two different Signatures, right? Even with the new iPhone 4 you can’t.

I created a solution for that (without jailbreaking the iPhone) and I use it all the time.

Yesterday I decided to share it with the world, please go here to use it and drop a line if you like it or if you have any suggestions .

The Great Israeli company Fring just updated their iPhone App to allow video calls.

Fring App supports Skype video calls on iPhone 4 before Skype, Great Job.

*** UPDATE – Use coupon code [carbon50] at checkout for %50 off.

For days I looked for a nice affordable iPhone 4 Cover.
I love the bumper but wants some personalization and protection to the back of my iPhone.

Since I couldn’t find anything, I created one, Check it out – works great with Apple Bumper.

http://www.coolgeex.com/products-page/iphone-cases/iphone-4-carbon-fiber-back-cover/

Front facing camera, FaceTime, LED flash, speed, the screen, folders, multitasking, HD video, speaker quality, design, multiply exchange servers.

All and more are GREAT FEATURES.

BUT…..

Since I got my new iPhone (Jun24) I’m busy with troubleshooting a new issue every day.

FaceTime not working after porting a number.

FaceTime disconnecting every 30sec or so.

Bluetooth headset & Car Bluetooth connects and disconnects every few minutes .

Bluetooth muffled on other end of the line.

When exchange server configured Auto-Lock disabled. (enabled if exchange removed and reinstalled but shows nothing on the Auto-Lock settings page)

Passcode lock settings missing.

And the BIGGEST PROBLEM: Can’t be used as a phone.

Most of my calls ends with a drop-call, I barely press the End button (with or without the Bumper).

** I tried everything that I can think of to fix the problems, I also tried everything that I saw online.

The thing that bother me the most is that Apple does not recognize most of the problems, I actually been offered by Apple Store employee to return my iPhone 4 and get a new iPhone 3gs – Just ridiculous.

If you just Google few of this issues you’ll find that lots of iPhone 4 users are sharing the some problems, here is a partial list:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2481487&tstart=0

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2475125&tstart=90

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2469599

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20008764-233.html

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=947641

http://appletoolbox.com/2010/06/iphone-4-facetime-doesnt-work-after-porting-number-from-sprint-verizon-or-t-mobile-fix/

Here we go:

On the 24th I upgraded my iPhone at an Apple store.
I also got a new iPhone with a new line and ported the phone number from T-Mobile. (2nd phone)

The Apple store employee that helped was very nice and the new iPhone worked great, including FaceTime.

Once my T-Mobile number was ported FaceTime stopped working.

The iPhone could not receive FaceTime calls but could initiate FaceTime calls.
When I tried the caller ID that appeared on my UPGRADED iPhone were the Other iPhone New Temporary number I got until the port from T-Mobile completed.

So from that I understood that FaceTime servers registered the phone number as the FaceTime user name, but the problem was that the servers registered the temporary number (a number ATT gave us until the port from T-Moblie will complete).

So I started troubleshooting the iPhone, this is what I did:

Restarted the iPhone
Tried using FaceTime with other people.
Reset the network settings
Called AT&T to reActivate the sim card.
Restore the phone from backup.

Nothing worked… So I called AT&T Again – no help.
Called Apple Care / technical support – no help.
Went back to the Apple store- nothing.
Called AT&T again and they put Apple Rep on the line – no help and a very rude response.  (first time from Apple)

The AT&T rep that helped me finally understood the problem from being with me on the phone for hours trying to find a solution and she got AT&T engineer on the phone that fully understood the issue and thanked me for bringing it up.

He had no solution but he gave me his personal phone number to discuss the progress of resolving it.

He said that he will work with Apple engineers until it will be resolved.

He also understood that this is a problem that will welcome any new (porting) AT&T / iPhone user.

In the meantime I kept on trying to fix the problem my self so I tried to:

Reset the iPhone content and settings and reActivate with iTunes. Finally it worked.
But when I restored the phone from backup it stopped working again. So I figured out that theres a file (plist or cookie) on the phone that saves the Facetime user information.

This time I reseted only the phone settings. And when I tried FaceTime again the phone registered the right number.

I know that most Apple reps can not understand the problem or give a solution.

So try just Reset the Settings (only the settings) and it should work.

I tried it on 3 different phones and it did the job.

* Please leave a comment if my solution helped you.

Do the following:

1. Go to the App store
2. Download the new Apple Store App
3. Reserve your iPhone to pickup at a store near you

This is the only way that I found working at the moment, Good Luck!

You’ve all seen by now the new iPhone, and Gizmodo covered it A-Z from rumors to facts.

They also covered the features missing they like to see.

One of the features that I see in my iOS4 GoldMaster edition is the ability to Gift an App.

It does not working yet but this is a cool feature for parents that want to buy apps for their kids without giving them full access to their iTunes account OR if you just want to Gift someone you Love.

Pioneer Submitted their iPhone App that links Pandora radio to 2 of their units weeks ago and finally got approved.

One of the most notable features in the AVIC’s software is Pandora Link, which adds the ability to stream audio and display metadata from the Pandora Internet Radio app on a connected iPhone with a 3G connection.

Users are also given access to album artwork and controls such as skip track, thumbs up and down, bookmarks, and station changes from the X920BT’s and the Z120BT touch-screen interface.

Alpine got their app available at the app store for a while now and it looked like Pioneer will not get their App approved, but after weeks of waiting Apple approved Pioneer App.

This is very good news for people how  owns the AVIC-X920BT  or the AVIC-Z120BT in-dash navigation.

You can get the App at the app store for free.

We’ve since confirmed that this isn’t an isolated incident, but it’s definitely not showing up for everyone. AT&T could be rolling this out across their database slowly. Another possibility: they may not have intended for anyone to see this yet, and just borked the query for a handful of people. AT&T offered up early upgrade paths for long-time iPhone owners with both the 3G and the 3GS. MobileCrunch

The change also showed on my account, here’s a screen shot:

Here is one option for Why will AT&T will do something like that?
Apple : Jun 7th Steve Jobs Announce The New iPhone at WWDC
AT&T : Set early upgrade date to AROUND June 20th (Mine set to Jun 20) so early adopters can still upgrade though AT&T’s & Apple systems.
Apple : Pre-orders start after Steve Jobs Keynote at WWDC.

Just a thought:

Verizon: Apple Booked an event for 22nd. The Event Will be for Announcing The All New CDMA iPhone (Verizon).

******I don’t think that the iPhone will be on Verizon this year, AT&T just gave Apple customers a great plan for iPad GSM Internet, I don’t think that AT&T will do it if they didn’t got something back from Apple.

Like the iPhone US Monopoly.

So now Opera came out with their Mini Opera browser for the iPhone.

When I first played with the Opera Mini browser on a non iPhone devices I was impressed, so naturally I wanted to be able to use it on my iPhone.

And I knew that Apple will never let it happen, but yesterday Apple surprised me by Approving The Opera New App, and now I understand why.

The new Opera browser have some nice features, but (and a big but):

“Opera Mini makes the Apple Safari Mobile Browser look good”

After testing the two rivals browsers using AT&T 3G and Wifi I found that Safari is the browser that I’m going to use.

Safari preformed faster and the user interface/experience was better than the Opera Mini.

If I had to make the decision for Apple, I will definitely Approve that App.

Opera today announced its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store. Opera Mini will be available as a free download within 24 hours, depending on market.

For More Info Go to Opera.

Yesterday I installed the iPhone OS on my iPhone 3Gs.

It is a beta version and there is few bugs that I found, but I really like it, Apple just took the time to add the missing iPhone features.

I really think that this is the “biggest and most exciting iPhone software update yet”.

• Multitasking is cool, but it will be more useful when all the Apps will support it.
• The Folders are great, I hate crowded desktop on my Mac and even more on my iPhone, Folders solved the problem.
• Mail is now more similar to his desktop brother, you can view all your mail boxes in unified inbox.
• I was missing the Camera zoom feature and now they put in the camera App, no need for 3 different camera Apps to get all you need from one camera. I just hope that the new iPhone will have LED Flash.
• The Game Center looks Cool but I didn’t have a chance to try it out (none of my friends installed it yet)
• I do have a different background on my iPhone now, this is a nice refreshment from the old boring dark background.
• Connecting Apple Bluetooth  keyboard is very cool, not perfect yet but you can always press the Eject button to switch back to the iPhone Keyboard.

There’s lots of new features and settings like Photos (closer to the Mac iPhoto) and playlists but this is probably the TOP features.

Today, Apple unveiled plans for the biggest and most exciting iPhone software update yet.

iPhone OS 4 will include over 100 new user features for iPhone and iPod touch owners to enjoy.

And for developers, a new software development kit (SDK) offers over 1500 new APIs to create apps that are even more powerful, innovative, and amazing.

iPhone OS 4 will ship this summer for iPhone and iPod touch, and for iPad in the fall. A developer beta is available now.

I already downloaded the new OS developer beta and about to install it, very exciting.

Check out the full details at : http://www.apple.com/iphone/preview-iphone-os/

The solution is pretty easy, all you need to do is to press the screen until the “COPY” option comes up.

Then you can flip your iPhone and the image rotation will not change (don’t worry the ‘COPY’ option will disappear after few seconds.

The iPad is coming and Apple fixing last bugs…

A month ago Techcrunch published a post about AppMakr a dead easy app design engine that allows you to enter a URL or search term, pick a few images, and publish an app to the App Store in a few minutes.

In the last few months I’m working on 3 different iPhone Apps, the first is a utility App for singles, the second is a Social App and the third is an App for CoolGeex.com.

Well, as you can see, I’m pretty busy, so today I decided to take some of the load off by trying to build the CoolGeex App using AppMake web based system.

This is my experience:

The process was extremely easy and friendly to use, it literally took me less then 5 minutes (Maybe 2 Minutes).

The longest thing during the process was getting the graphics ready to upload. (you are going to see the Cool Geex App in the Store Soon)

Conclusion:

I recommend AppMakr period, If you want to build an App for your Website this is the way, don’t spend your time trying to code it yourself.

AppMakr offers two plans: One for $199 and the other for $499

I contacted the AppMakr people recently and they Gave me a 25% Coupon to share, there it is: AM4COOLGEEX25

Screen Shots:

BGR received some exclusive iPhone OS 4.0 details from one of BGR trusty Apple connects.

Here are some iPhone OS 4.0 features, according to BGR source:

• There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
• “A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.
• Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
• The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
• The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

Source: BGR

As it looks for now, I see a better reliable WiFi Connection on my iPhone 3Gs. before the update I could not connect to certain Cisco Wireless routers and now it works like magic.

About the battery meter! we’ll see soon.

What’s the solution to Apple’s stinginess about Google getting an official Google Voice app on the iPhone App Store? A webapp that has about all the functionality, but usable on any HTML5-capable smartphone.

The webapp mimics the functionality of hitting up Google Voice on your desktop. You can make calls, send texts, listen to voicemails, change your settings and access your contacts all from your phone’s browser. It syncs up with your Google account’s contact list—not your iPhone’s contact list—so you’ll have to make sure to sync your contacts to Google first. The Pre however, if you already have your GV account as one of your contacts, should have a more transparent process.

Unlike the Google Voice app now, which calls your phone first and then connects the other party, you actually dial out directly into the Google Voice service, which then hooks you up with who you’re trying to reach. It’s going to be like the 406 numbers that Google Voice users are used to using for shortcuts to their contacts, but possibly not 406, since Google has a pool of numbers they are using.

Google also tells us that you can add dialing credits directly from the phone if you want to make overseas calls, saving you the trouble of having to get on a computer.

All in all, the experience is solid and fluid, mimicking an iPhone app as best as possible on a web interface. If we had any gripes, it would be that when you’re texting someone from your contacts list, it only grabs the phone number and doesn’t display the name after it. Also, that you can’t text multiple recipients. But calling from your contact list is fluid and takes only one more step than regular dialing from your iPhone.

Source: Gizmodo.com

We’ve seen in the last 2 days that the Nexus One is being featured on the Google search homepage. This is the kind of advertising that money can’t buy, because it simply isn’t for sale.

But now we see that Google Adwords giving some special treatment to the New Superphone in the sponsored links section.

I know that I can’t have 3 different links in one Ad…

Finally! We’re getting word that the Facebook 3.1 iPhone app now has push notifications and contact syncing, something that was a shortcoming of previous versions. You should be able to download the update through the App store soon.

Source: Gizmodo.com

After a long wait Marketcircle Finally released Billings touch for the iPhone

Billings is now able to sync over local Wi-Fi with Billings Touch – a new companion application for your iPhone and iPod touch.
New “unfiled slips” support slips created on the fly with Billings Touch.

Create clients, add new projects, and track time when you’re mobile. Invoice clients straight from your iPhone or sync over WiFi back to Billings on your Mac. Also keep track of mileage, expenses, and client payments.

What’s New in Version 3.0:

• New user Experience and GUI.
• Comments on updates from your network
• Connection suggestions

Billings Touch (Billings 3 iPhone companion) was submitted to the App Store today.

The app will be available in a free trial form from the App Store once it’s available. This “free trial” form will be Billings Touch, with no expiry period, but with features locked like sending out invoices, amongst other things.

To unlock the features, there will be a fee(undetermined) that you will pay through an in-app purchase, converting the trial to the full version.

Finally….

Marketcircle advertised on their site that an App for the iPhone will be released in the beginning of 2009, then they changed it to the following:

“In the second half of 2009, you’ll be able to purchase a companion to Billings for your iPhone. Track time & expenses and then wirelessly sync with Billings at home or at the office.”

I saw a demo of the App before and it looked promising, I guess that I’ll have to wait and really see if the version released is similar to the one I saw.

But if you choose to go ahead you’ll see that Google Wave already supports iPhone Users.

Google even created an iPhone icon for the iPhone Spring Board

I have so many Issues with my iPhone, lets hope that the update will fix them.

UPDATE: There’s also a carrier update

The apocalypse is nigh because AT&T has opened their network up to VoIP applications running over 3G on the iPhone. In other words, AT&T is now totally cool with Skype running over 3G.AT&T supposedly just told Apple and the FCC this afternoon that their network is ready for VoIP over 3G for the iPhone, meaning it might take a bit to show up in apps, but the floodgates are open now.

AT&T EXTENDS VOIP TO 3G NETWORK FOR IPHONE DALLAS, October 6, 2009 – AT&T today announced it has taken the steps necessary so that Apple can enable VoIP applications on iPhone to run on AT&T’s wireless network. Previously, VoIP applications on iPhone were enabled for Wi-Fi connectivity. For some time, AT&T has offered a variety of other wireless devices that enable VoIP applications on 3G, 2G and Wi-Fi networks. AT&T this afternoon informed Apple Inc. and the FCC of its decision. In late summer, AT&T said it was taking a fresh look at VoIP capabilities on iPhone for use on AT&T’s 3G network, consistent with its regular review of device features and capabilities to ensure attractive options for consumers. “iPhone is an innovative device that dramatically changed the game in wireless when it was introduced just two years ago,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets. “Today’s decision was made after evaluating our customers’ expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer.” AT&T allows customers to download or launch on their wireless devices a multitude of compatible applications directly from any lawful Internet website. Additionally, because AT&T uses GSM technology, the most pervasive and open wireless technology platform in the world, we support customers using any GSM phone that works on AT&T’s frequencies. AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

via Gizmodo.

iPhone Carrier Update For MMS is now pushed, open iTunes and check for updates.

Just Make sure to restart your iPhone to make it work. The ATT Carrier Version is 5.5

FINALLY.

Your iPhone About Page should look like That: