Griffin announce Lucky 7 Slots for iPhone

Griffin Technology Inc., creator of all things iPod and iPhone, today announced the availability of its second app for iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod touch. Lucky 7 Slots, a Vegas-style slot machine game, is offered exclusively through Apple's App Store and iTunes.

Lucky 7 Slots is the second in a series of applications that Griffin is rolling out for the Apple App Store. Griffin apps are available for download directly onto the iPhone or via iTunes, and give users the convenience of accessing the game at all times, even when iPhone is in Airplane Mode.

To play Lucky 7 Slots, simply place a bet and set the reels rolling. The machine begins the game with 1000 credits and allows you play between one and three credits a spin. When you're finished playing, Lucky 7 Slots keeps track of your winnings.

• Easy to play slots simulator
• Fast animation and graphics
• Keeps track of your winnings and hands played, won and lost
• An iTunes App Store exclusive

Pricing and Availability
Lucky 7 Slots is priced at $1.99 and is now available for download at Apple's iTunes App Store. For additional information on Lucky 7 Slots, please visit the product here.

Why my iPhone 3G went back

It is a sad day in the Geekanoids office. I love my Mac computers, my Leopard, all of my iPods, but my iPhone 3G just did not cut the mustard. I had the original iPhone and loved it (still do) and I suppose that the greatness of the original, plus a couple of other things, combined into the decision to return my 3G... let me explain...

First off, the iPhone 3G. Yes, it was sexy, but it felt cheap. The 3G connectivity was poor to say the least. I found myself turning 3G off to get a good signal in my area, and to correct an error where the handset would not receive cellular data. This error would stop Maps, Email, Internet, basically anything that needed access to the cellular network would fail. It also ran warm, and after a couple of days use a small pimple had raised up on the back of the handset. These problems may have been isolated to just my iPhone, but they worried me.

Then throw in the equation of the original iPhone. It was better built and felt classy. The brushed aluminum back was really nicely done and did not show those fingerprints. The screen seemed nicer to me, yes, we all know about the yellow added to the 3G, but c'mon Apple, you should give us the choice.

Finally, a look at me. I am in the office probably 75% of my time, bringing you reviews. Of the remaining time that I am out, I probably have my laptop with me. During this time, I only get a few calls, so I can pick those up on my original iPhone. If I want an Application, I can get that over my broadband connection at home (rather than EDGE). If I want to find my way, I have a TomTom. So I came to the conclusion, that problems aside, I did not need 3G. Don't get me wrong, it is a great mobile phone, just not essential for everyone, and definitely not an essential upgrade from the original iPhone.

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D for iPhone

When the App Store first went online a few days ago, I rushed to download all the free apps that caught my attention. Then I came across some users reporting that Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D was only available in the UK store and that it was pretty good. So I splashed out the £5.99 for it... and was it worth the money? Well, I have to say a resounding YES.

The graphics are amazing, on par if not a little punchier than the games dedicated Nintendo DS. The game play is very smooth, with good animations and special effects. There is a little bit of slow redraw in the distance, but it is not distracting. The controls are superb too. You tilt forwards to speed up, backwards to slow down and left/right to steer. Skids are performed by touching the screen whilsts turning and power-ups are planted onto your opponents by tapping the appropriate icon. On the sound front it is amazing, very cool music and in-game sound. It also shows that the iPhone 3G has greatly improved speakers, having played this on both the new unit and the first generation.

If you want to give a paid for App Store offering a go, make this one of your first choices.

iPhone 3G GPS Not Working - How to fix it

There have been many reports of the iPhone 3G having problems with its GPS positioning. Many users are reporting that they go into Maps on their new iPhone, click the target to lock onto their position and it is just not working. I too was experiencing this and have three things to advise, that may point to a solution.

Firstly, check the version number for your 2.0 software. Mine was factory shipped with 2.0 (5A345). I did a restore through iTunes and it downloaded the later 2.0 (5A347) version. After this was downloaded the iPhone got a cellular signal a lot quicker, plus a lot stronger signal too.

Secondly, check you at least have a cellular or mobile phone network signal. The iPhone (both 3G and first generation) use the cell network to work out your position. I found that once I had a four bar signal or more, the iPhone locked onto my position very quickly. It was not that accurate, but it did respond quickly.

Finally, put your iPhone 3G outside for at least 15 minutes. You will find that if it has a non-restricted path to the satellites you will get it to lock on. After leaving mine outside, the target changed to the blue glowing dot and found my position. It was very very accurate, even tracking if I was at the top or bottom of my back garden. This is very impressive indeed.

iPhone 3G update : thanks Apple Store Bluewater

A very quick update for you all. Having driven back down to Apple Store Bluewater today, I am a happy bunny. Just 30 minutes later and I was out of the store with my iPhone 3G. A big shout out to Nick, thanks so much for doing the VMWare goodness on my contract and getting the iPhone into my hands so quickly. It makes a lot of difference when you are served with a smile, by someone who is genuinely interested that you have a great Apple experience.

Rather than rush my review for you, I have left my iPhone sealed until tomorrow. Hopefully, by about midday, you will be able to see a very special video review of my new baby. It'll be worth waiting for... believe me.

iPhone 3G Speeds - 2G Queue - no iPhone for UK

Please excuse the rather strange title, but I would love to share my experience with you today... one that was shared by thousands. It purely reflects my personal experience, not my opinion of the product... the new iPhone that I have yet to get my hands on.

So, my iPhone was ordered from O2 just over two weeks ago. Yes, I know it was first come first served, but when I was in the store there were supposedly six 16GB versions in stock and four people ahead of me, so no problem. Then when I sat to do my paperwork, oh no, they had sold the last 16GB version. Well, an 8GB one would not do, and whilst the salesperson was very apologetic, they did not really seem that bothered. The customer experience at O2 is nowhere near that of an Apple Store, so it is a shame they tarnished my experience.

I then headed on down to take some more photos at the Apple Store in Bluewater. Mid-morning and about twenty people in front of me, there were problems. Aparently the O2 servers that allows Apple to activate the sim cards was down. Perhaps it runs on Windows, if only O2 would listen to Steve Jobs ! An hour or two passed, and although it was a long wait the guys and gals there were great. They served up cappucinos and hot chocolates from the local Starbucks. Then lunchtime came around and they were waiting on O2 to call them to do things over the phone. That call did not happen for a long time, so an Apple provided prawn sandwich found my hunger satisfied, but no sign of my iPhone. Around 4pm I really had to leave, at which time they had sold just three iPhones. What an absolute mess. As I write this I am trying to ring them to ask if they actually put on aside for me, along with my £15 complimentary iTunes voucher.

Well, the good news is that the Apple Store seem to have plenty of stock and some more customers have been lucky and got their sims activated and are now enjoying using the device. From what I saw whilst at the store, the device is very sleek, with the curved glossy back being very comfortable to hold. The screen also seemed very bright and crisp, although I did not side-by-side comparison.

A big thank you to all those smiles at the Apple Store Bluewater. Although I came away empty handed, you made the day bearable, although the caffeine shots have left me a bit wide-eyed.

iPhone 3G activation DOWN at Apple Store

After waiting in queue at the local O2 store and having an iPhone 3G sold from under my nose, I headed on down to cover the launch at the Apple Store Bluewater. Unfortunately the O2 servers were experiencing serious overload, so the queue was not moving. The guys and gals here were breaking into the petty cash to supply us with coffee and cakes, but people were getting a little frustrated. Let's hope the queue starts moving soon. Expect to see full coverage on the website later in the day.

iPhone 3G lands at AT&T Store

Wow, this video is an exciting one, building up some great anticipation for tomorrows iPhone 3G launch. It shows a delivery of the new iPhones to an AT&T store, duly stacked onto shelves and locked away. I am very surprised that this video was allowed to be shot, I guess it is an employee or a friend of a friend. The 16GB white models come in white boxes, how cool is that!

Click here to watch the attvideolog Youtube video.

O2 iPhone 3G Launch - Official Details

This one skipped under my radar, but I have been looking for the official word on how O2 are handling the iPhone 3G launch this Friday. Well, below is their official press release. Of note is the fact that any existing user can buy an iPhone PAYG sim card from July 11th too. This can be topped up as you use it and for £10 per month you get unlimited data and wi-fi access. No word on if these sim cards will be free, or if you can get one of the myriad of free O2 sims and then just get it put on the iPhone deal, but I will let you know this as soon as I find out. Here follows the press release.

O2 announced this week, that Apple's highly anticipated iPhone 3G will go on general sale from 8.02am on Friday 11 July in O2, Apple and Carphone Warehouse retail stores*. To ensure fairness, O2 will sell the device on a strictly first come, first served basis to both new and upgrading customers in all retail outlets.

Demand for the revolutionary device is already at unprecedented levels, far in excess of the original iPhone. “We’ve never seen any mobile device create the excitement and demand of the iPhone 3G,” said Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2 in the UK. “We want to ensure that everyone who wants an iPhone 3G can get one so we’ll be working with Apple to continually replenish our supplies throughout the summer.”

This morning customers who had pre-registered their interest in iPhone 3G were given the opportunity to purchase via O2’s online shop (http://shop.o2.co.uk) a limited stock of devices which had been set aside. The response was so great that the online store completely sold out of iPhone 3Gs within just a few hours. Though O2 had invested several million pounds to increase the order capacity of the site (with order processing capacity increased by over 250 times its normal rate), at times the site still couldn’t process the sheer weight of demand.

Details of when new supplies of iPhone 3Gs will be available via the O2 online shop will be updated regularly via the website.

Business customers can from today also start placing orders for iPhone 3G through O2 business channels. Delivery timings will be communicated when an order is placed.

iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is significantly faster than the first generation iPhone. The device has built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, iPhone 2.0 software (which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync) and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK. These can be accessed via iTunes.

The 8GB iPhone 3G will be available for free to customers opting for the £45 or £75 tariffs and £99 on the £30 and £35 per month tariffs. The 16GB model will cost £159 on the £30 and £35 tariffs, £59 on the £45 tariff and it will be free on the £75 tariff. All customers will continue to receive unlimited UK data browsing over O2’s mobile network and unlimited access to over 9,000 Wi-Fi hotspots through both The Cloud and BT Openzone***.

Existing iPhone customers can upgrade early to the iPhone 3G through O2 channels by re-signing a new 18 month contract, taking advantage of the same great offer as new customers. They will then be able to give their existing 2G iPhone to a friend, family member or colleague who can transfer onto an iPhone tariff if they are an existing O2 Pay Monthly or business customer, stick in their existing O2 SIM and buy the appropriate Bolt Ons for unlimited data, or buy an iPhone Pay & Go SIM card from 11 July offering unlimited data and unlimited Wi-Fi access to The Cloud and BT Openzone hotspots for £10 per month. Full information is available on o2.co.uk/iPhone.

The iPhone 3G will launch on O2 Pay and Go (Prepay) in time for the Christmas shopping period, with pricing details to be confirmed closer to launch.

*The iPhone 3G will go on sale at 8.02am in all Apple stores and at selected O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores on the high street. All remaining stores will open at standard trading times. Check with your local store or online for opening times.
**Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.
*** Subject to O2’s excessive use policy.

Fonix iSpeak delivers voice dialing on the iPhone

Fonix Speech, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fonix® Corporation (OTCBB: FNIX) has announced the release of Fonix iSpeak™ - a voice activated application for the Apple iPhone™ 3G. Users can initiate several operations simply by speaking the command in natural language. Fonix iSpeak™ connects the user by just saying the phone number or by saying the name of a person in the contacts database. Additionally, users will be able to navigate their music libraries and launch a song or playlist simply by saying the name of the artist, song, or playlist.
Fonix iSpeak™ is the first of several anticipated product releases that support the growing mobile device and gaming industries and is at the core of the efforts of the company to focus its efforts on these markets.
“The powerful and dynamic tools provided by Apple have allowed the Fonix team to quickly and efficiently develop Fonix iSpeak™ for the Apple iPhone 3G ” says D. Lynn Shepherd, Fonix Sr. VP product engineering. “The feature rich iPhone™ is easy to use and our robust embedded speech interface will further create a positive and natural user-friendly environment which will further illustrate the dynamic features of this phone.”
Fonix iSpeak, includes a run-time engine that sits on the phone allowing users to interact with the personal contents of their Apple iPhone™. Unlike other voice applets that enable voice search of the Internet by sending commands over the airwaves, this client-side application gives users the power of voice interaction with their personal content and eliminates network latency.
Fonix iSpeak will be available for release directly from Fonix Speech Inc., and expects to be available through traditional Apple™ distribution channels. For more information, call (801) 553-6600 and say “Sales” for demos, availability and pricing.

Apple Store add new iPhone 3G details

The second addition to the online Apple Store seems to be some new iPhone 3G pages. Clicking through the links from the store gives you a summary of what's new, plus help in finding an O2 or Carphone Warehouse store to buy your new device. Rumours are rife that come July 11th there will be a big shortage of the new iPhone 3G. O2 have apparently run out of stock for online ordering... let's hope they kept enough back for their stores!

New iPhone 3G Tariffs O2 UK + PAYG + Free Upgrades

During the exciting announcements for the 3G iPhone last night, it was great news that the UK will be getting the new model on 11th July. It seems that we will also be treated to a PAYG version, so a double whammy of great news. Going for the triple, O2 have also published their costings for the iPhone 3G on various tariffs. The goods news is that the 8GB and 16GB models are free on their highest £75/month tariff, and the 8GB model is also free on the lower £45/month option. Both models are significantly cheaper, with £159 being the most you will pay for the 16GB version on the lowest £30/month deal... I know where my money will be going.

Existing users can also upgrade to the new version free of charge. The only requirement is that you sign a new 18 month contract. You will not be expected to complete your current contract or pay for ending it early... fantastic.

Check out the new tariffs here.