Sorry everyone, no iPhone Live! this week. Nope. Not gonna happen. Instead, this week we’re bringing you — Smartphone Experts Roundtable Live!

Tonight, Wednesday, June 24 at 8pm EDT/5pm PDT, SPE Editor-in-Chief, Dieter Bohn (representing PreCentral.net, AndroidCentral.com, and WMExperts.com), Kevin Michaluk (fearless leader of CrackBerry.com), and Matt Miller (editor of NokiaExperts.com) will be joining yours truly (from theiPhoneBlog.com, ‘natch) to talk Palm Pre, BlackBerry Tour, Nokia N97, and our very own iPhone 3GS/iPhone 3.0.

As always, pre-show will start about 5 minutes before if you want to drop by early and reserve a space in our chat room. See you then!

Join in via http://www.tipb.com/live

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Smartphone Experts Roundtable Invades TiPb Live! 8pm EDT/5pm PDT

Went into the App Store and what did I see, why an updated Remote app for iTunes and Apple TV! One of the first apps in the App Store at launch, the latest update for Remote [free - iTunes link] turbo charges the cool factor with support for gesture-based Apple TV control. Very slick:

• Hold down “Menu” to bring up main menu. Swipe to move around.
• Tap to play or pause music or video.
• Drag left or right and hold to rewind or fast-forward music.
• Flick left or right for previous or next music track.
• Flick left or right or drag and hold to rewind or fast-forward video.
• Flick down to show chapter markers, then flick left or right to skip through video.
• Drag two fingers left for 10 second reply.
• Tap “Exit” or “Options” for those actions.

If you hit exit, you get similar functions, art display, etc. to the previous version of the Remote app. Hitting Options brings up a new overlay menu on the Apple TV. Speaking of which…

The new Apple Remote app’s gesture features require iPhone 3.0 and the latest Apple TV software update, also released today (which seems to have gotten a UI over haul as well). Get that, or you won’t get the nifty new interface.

I’m trying it. I’m liking it. How about you?

More screen shots after the break!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Quick App 3.0: Apple iTunes/Apple TV Remote Adds Gesture Support

One of the biggest gripes a lot of iPhone 3G/3GS readers have is battery life. Now this is mainly due to not being able to put the iPhone down to give it a rest, but we now have another solution to your iPhone addiction. Enter Case-Mate’s Fuel Case for iPhone 3G/3GS, which is available in TiPb’s store for $74.95. For a full review, follow us after the break!

Design & Usability

The Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G/3GS is integrated with a 2300mA Lithium Polymer battery, Case-Mate says it will add up to nine hours of additional talk-time, up to seven hours of internet browsing, up to eight hours of video, 24 hours of audio, and 250 hours of extra standby time.

The times that Case-Mate claims are pretty much dead on. If you have trouble putting your iPhone down and typically end up with a dead battery sometime during the day, Fuel is the right case for you.

Usually when I get into my car after a full day at work I would have 20%-30% of my battery left. With the Fuel I’ve been leaving with anything from 80% to being topped off and that’s still with some juice left in the case itself. Not too shabby. I think it’s also important to note that you do not need to remove the phone from the case to use the iPhone in any way, including phone calls.

On the bottom front of the case you will find 3 built-in LEDs that allow you to see exactly how much “Fuel” you have left and a power button that allows you to turn the charger on or off as you see fit. Both of these are nice little bonus features.

To charge the case you only have one option — you must use a standard 5-pin USB cord. One is included but it would be nice to have the option to charge the case without using my laptop. On the plus side, Fuel fully supports syncing while iPhone 3G is docked into the case.

One nice features Fuel has that other iPhone charging cases lack is a belt clip that rotates 180-degrees. This sounds great but unfortunately Case-Mate dropped the ball on this one. I found myself worrying about the lack of protection on the upper half of my iPhone and the screen. Since you have to place the iPhone face-out, the screen is left completely unprotected. This means you have to be careful not to bump into anything or you will damage your device.

So, the next possibility would be to place the phone in your pocket. There’s only one thing wrong with that — the belt clip is not removable. Granted it still would be a tight fit without the clip due to the added size it gives the iPhone, but the option would still be better.

As to the belt clip itself, it does it’s job well. Rest assured, your iPhone is locked in place and will not fall out on you.

Conclusion

Even with the complaints about the belt clip, I still like this case. The pros outweigh the cons by far. I found myself using the case at work around my desk and at home when I was lounging around. Even though the size adds to the iPhone it still feels good in the hand while using it.

Overall the Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G/3GS does it’s job and it does it very well. Since Apple chooses not to make the iPhones battery replaceable companies like Case-Mate have stepped up and offered us some solutions. For $74.95 you can’t go wrong with this one, Fuel will give your iPhone the boost it needs to easily make it through your entire day and, in some cases, days.

Pros

• Battery life as advertises.
• Feels good in the hand
• Reasonable price
• Ability to sync while your iPhone is in the case
• Works with the new iPhone 3GS

Cons

• Lack of screen protection
• Belt clip is not removable
• Case only chargeable via micro USB cable

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Review: Case-Mate Fuel Case for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

Once again validating Dieter’s iPhone 3GS vs. Palm Pre web rendering smackdown, MacRumors reports on Medialets‘ latest Sunspider Javascript tests pitting the iPhone 3GS against the iPhone 3G (both on 3.0 and 2.2.1), Palm Pre, and Google Android G1.

As MacRumors points out, not only is iPhone 3GS’ clear, current speed advantage impressive, but the 3x improvement iPhone 3.0 gives the iPhone 3G is most impressive as well.

Bill Gates’ “power of software” indeed…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Confirmed Again! iPhone 3GS Beats Pants Off iPhone 3G, Android, Palm Pre at Javascript

We all know Google isn’t a search engine company, they’re a company that makes googzillions of dollars monetizing search (and trying to monetize other things) via their AdSense advertising platform. For iPhones, this was previously constrained to the browser window of Mobile Safari (or Chrome Lite for Android users). Now, however, the Official Google Blog announces:

AdSense for Mobile Applications allows developers to earn revenue by displaying text and image ads in their iPhone and Android applications. For our beta launch, we’ve created a site where developers can learn more about the AdSense for Mobile Applications program, see answers to frequently asked questions and sign up to participate in our beta. Advertisers can also learn about the benefits of advertising in mobile applications.

Advertising lets Google and others supply lots of free services to users. Will it be as successful embedded in apps as it is in the browser? Developers, are you interested in Google AdSense monetizing your apps? Users, would you put up with Google advertising if it meant cheap or free apps?

[Thanks to Icebike for the tip!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Google Announces Adsense for Mobile Applications for iPhone

iSupply gets a lots of headlines, like this one from Reuters, guestimating the raw component costs of popular gadgets like the iPhone 3GS. And good for them.

Media literacy 101, however, demands we remind again that the iPhone 3GS didn’t pop into consumers’ hands fully formed from a Star Trek transporter or the toes of the frost-giant Ymir (Bing it). It cost money to research and develop both hardware and software, to design and prototype, to test and certify, and it cost money to manufacture, to ship, to stock, to advertise, and to sell.

Even if we stick to iSupply’s guesstimates of raw component costs, to paraphrase Aaron Sorkin’s hyperbole, while the second iPhone 3GS may have cost $179, the first one cost a billion dollars.

So take that $179 number you’ll see all over the net with a grain of salt before you start knocking on the door at 1 Infinite Loop demanding your iPhone 3GS at “cost”.

[Thanks to the Reptile for the tip, image via rapidrepair.com]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Why the iPhone 3GS Doesn’t Cost Apple $179

Our sibling site Android Central is all over the new HTC Hero announcement — the latest Android smartphone and one that looks decidedly different from its G1 predecessor.

We weren’t exactly fond of the G1’s user experience, but did lust after their notification system and push Gmail. Does this latest entry, with its Senses UI, up the ante? And should Apple be worried yet, or is Microsoft and Windows Mobile still the low-hanging fruit in Google’s sights?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

The Competition: HTC Hero (Android)

iPhone 3.0 features Calendar Subscriptions, where you can enter the URL for a shared calendar and near-instantly add it to your iPhone.

That’s all well and good to share a family or business calendar, but what about more wide-ranging ones? What about national holidays, religious events, movie release dates, sports team schedules? Luckily, Apple’s already made this simple for Mac OS X iCal users, and even more luckily it works just as simply for iPhone 3.0 users as well.

We’ll share how, after the break…

Adding Subscription Calendars

Just point Mobile Safari on your iPhone to: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/calendars/. Apple provides categories for Most Recent, Most Popular, Alphabetical, Staff Picks, plus a handy search box. Once you find a calendar that interests you, click the Download link.

Your iPhone will ask if you want to subscribe (see image above), and once you confirm, will offer to take you straight to your calendar events to see what’s new.

Viewing Subscribed Calendars

Each subscription is given its own calendar in the iPhone Calendar App, so you can choose just that calendar to view. All views, month, day, and details are supported.

Removing Subscribed Calendars

Not all shared calendars are created — or maintained — equally. Movie Release Dates doesn’t seem to include June or July yet (making it rather useless at the moment), though national holidays and others seem quite up to date.

If you subscribe to a calendar that later disappoints, just head on over to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar. You’ll see all your subscriptions listed under Accounts. Choose the one you want to edit or remove, and hit Delete Account if it displeases you.

Share Your Favorites

If you have or find any great shared calendars, please drop a comment below and let us know about them!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.0 How To: Easily Subscribe to US Holidays, Sports Team Schedules, Movie Release Dates, and More!

Steve Ellington from the theautomaticfilmmaker.com let us know that he’d shot the above music video entirely on the new iPhone 3GS. While Ellington had fun filming the little robot, he was also “quite impressed with the camera.”

CBS4 in South Florida must also have been impressed. They claimed the “new iPhone good enough for the evening news” when a producer shot a segment entirely on Apple’s latest handset as well.

While RED likely has nothing to fear — yet! — citizen journalism and individual creativity are likely in for a huge, Jobsian boom!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Wednesday Fun Video: iPhone 3GS Shot Music Video!

Apple Insider reports that, based on a Piper Jaffray survey:

12% of consumers who visited a retail store this past weekend to make their iPhone 3G S purchase said they were replacing a BlackBerry handset, the latest sign that Apple continues to make headway against rival Research in Motion in the high-stakes smartphone market.

28% of iPhone 3GS said buh-bye to their old carriers and hello to AT&T as well, proving once again just how valuable the iPhone is to new customer acquisition…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Buh-Bye BlackBerry Say 12% of iPhone 3GS Buyers