iPhone Atlas

(Credit: Apple, Inc.)

Editors' note: This firmware is not recommended for iPhone 3G users.

Based the availability of the firmware, there's a good chance that iPhone 3G S users should expect a firmware update for their new iPhones after connecting it to iTunes for its initial sync. If you are not automatically asked to check for or install an update, press the Check Update button in iTunes on the device summary screen just in case. If an update is available, iTunes will tell you.

Last time Apple released such a massive software and hardware package, its servers were overwhelmed, so it might be wise to predownload the firmware linked above if you have ordered an iPhone 3G S. Before using the firmware, launch Settings on your iPhone 3G S, select General, and then About. Look for version with a value of 3.0 (7A341) and if it is present, you don't need to use the firmware linked above.

According to a report on Open Salon, Apple appears to be preparing direct movie and TV show downloads on the iPhone.

Open Salon claims that an ad appearing in the free version of the app Twitterfon is the first place this new iPhone feature was discovered. However, the ad in question is nowhere to be found at press time and hasn't been confirmed.

iTunes TV ad

(Credit: Open Salon)

According to the report, the ad supposedly led to a place that pointed to some movie and TV show listings. The listings were broken down by genre, and although titles were listed, none would work when accessed.

This week Apple made a very small, but important tweak to the user rating system on its iTunes app store. It now shows which version of an application the user was running when they wrote the review. This has been applied retroactively, so that reviews written before the change will show which version the users had installed at the time they wrote it.

This is important on two levels, with the first being how transparent user reviews are. No longer do you have to wonder what version a user had installed when they said there was a problem, or broken feature. If you find several reviews chiding a bug that has since been fixed, it may lead you to dismiss them and make a purchase, which could end up bringing in more sales for both Apple and the developer.

It also doubles as a permanent record of application updates, that is assuming the user reviews make mentions of new or updated features. When an application is updated the developer can put out a list of what's been fixed, added, or removed, however Apple does not offer users a way to go back and review a change log. Sites like AppShopper.com have started to build an archive for this very purpose, and with this update this is the closest thing users have received.

In addition to showing you which version users had installed from the mobile version of the App Store, Apple has also built this into the latest version of iTunes. Here, as usual, iTunes users get an extra layer of depth compared to their mobile brethren in being able to sort the reviews by version number. Unfortunately, Apple does not let you skip to a specific version, it simply puts them in order, which forces you to skip through several hundred pages to get to the version you're looking for.

This is a promising sign of further changes coming to App Store reviews, but on the mobile side it's still a long ways off from offering some of the great sorting features iTunes users are able to get on the desktop.

App reviews on both iTunes and the iPhone's App Store now show which version fo the application the reviewer was running on. Click to enlarge.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Apple has announced that 300 million iPhone apps have been downloaded or distributed from the iTunes App Store since it first opened in July 2008. The announcement was made via ads placed in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. The ads emphasize and promote some of the more popular apps for the iPhone.

Apple has also confirmed via these ads that the App store recently passed the 10,000 mark in available apps in the iTunes App Store. Apple reported in it's last earnings report on October 21, 2008 that iPhone users had downloaded 200 million apps and the available apps around that time was over 5000.

No breakout of paid vs. free applications was provided.

The German blog Schimanke.com has posted some screenshots from the beta version of the iPhone 2.2 firmware. The images reveal more information about the new release, including details about new iTunes and App Store features. These features only appeared within the last week and have not been fully implemented on the iTunes-infrastructure side.

The screenshots show that Apple will be adding delivery options for over-the-air downloads of additional media, including video and audio podcasts. The 10 MB download size limit will be in place when the iPhone is on a cellular network.

We've already reported about the new App rating system and the new Google Street View, Bus Schedules, etc..

Apple previously rejected Podcaster--an iPhone application that lets people download podcasts directly to their devices without going through iTunes-?from the App Store.

There is currently no indication regarding iPhone OS 2.2's release date.

Slide to unlock, eh?

(Credit: Playboy.com)

The iPhone hype has either reached a high point or totally jumped the shark, depending on your personal opinion. Playboy.com just announced that it has launched its official iPhone effort, which it calls "iPlayboy."

We'll just say that it sure gives "touch screen" a whole new meaning.

Playboy's virtual goodie bag for the iPhone consists of 12 "sexy non-nude wallpapers" for the sleek Apple handset, a special photo album with another dozen photos of Playmates, an episode of Playboy's Sirius Satellite Radio show, and a video customized for the iPhone's interface. It's free, and available on the main Playboy Web site.

Now that the adult entertainment world has officially penetrated the iPhone hype machine, the next step is obvious: naughty toy add-ons!