Check out the video over at WMExperts. Never mind that it’s Windows Mobile 6.5 rather than the still-in-the-desert Windows Mobile 7 — that words like “finger-friendlier” are being used in 2009 sends us into sympathetic collective apoplexy. Yet our ever brave sibling site holds to hope and we wish them well, ’cause we might see iPhone 4.0 sneak-previewed by the time this ships…

What do you think, enough to stem the bleeding, or too little too late?

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

The Competition: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5

BargainBin [Free - iTunes link] keeps an eye on App Store apps and lets you know about sales and price drops. So, if there’s an app out there you’re waiting to try, but are watching your budget, this might be a way to keep track of any discounts coming your way. With push notification, you’ll also know quickly when to pounce on the right deal.

If you give it a try, let us know how it works for you!

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

Quick App: BargainBin App Store Price Watcher with Push Notification

So you’d like to have the convienence of depositing your hard earned work check straight from your iPhone into your bank, no matter where you are? Well, there will soon be an app for that - USAA - a very small bank/insurance company is in the process of updating their current app.

USAA only contains one branch in San Antonio Texas and mainly serves military personnel. So with most of the bank’s customers deployed all over the world, this is an excellent idea. To make the deposit, simply take a photo. Take one of the front of the check and one of the back, and hit the send button. That’s all there is to it. There is not even a need to physically send in the check — just void it and go on your merry way as it is all completely handled electronically.

Now we don’t know about you but if our banks had an app like this, we’d be all over it. Any of our readers bank with USAA and are willing to give this a try once the update is released?

[Via NYTimes]

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

Deposit Checks Via iPhone Photos

Google’s own Google Voice app for the iPhone was infamously rejected from the iTunes App Store, so what’s the world’s leading Web 2.0 giant going to do about it? Release Google Voice as a WebApp targeted at the iPhone’s advanced Mobile Safari web browser, of course!

According to David Pogue of the NY Times, much as they did with Google Latitude when that application was similarly denied entry into the App Store, Google’s river is finding a way around Apple’s rock:

Already, Google says it is readying a replacement for the Google Voice app that will offer exactly the same features as the rejected app—except that it will take the form of a specialized, iPhone-shaped Web page. For all intents and purposes, it will behave exactly the same as the app would have; you can even install it as an icon on your Home screen.

So, will a WebApp be enough for you Google Voice users, even one as good as Google can likely make?

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

Google to Launch Google Voice on iPhone as WebApp

Let’s just ask it: is it time for an open letter from Steve Jobs concerning the state of the iTunes App Store? Apple’s CEO has written several of these over the course of the last few years — rare public statements typically addressing wide-spread perceptions of critical problems or situations facing Apple. He’s taken on DRM in music (but not video) to prevent the EU from forcing Apple to license FairPlay DRM, offered $100 to early iPhone 2G buyers incensed by a rapid post-launch price drop, addressed the lack of native apps on the iPhone amid massive developer dissatisfaction, espoused Apple’s commitment to the environment given Greenpeace’s constant PR pressure, and spoken about the uncertainty surrounding his health prior to Macworld to help assuage investor panic. There was even a “leaked” internal letter regarding the troubled MobileMe launch, one of the worst customer relations situations Apple has faced in recent years.

While the App Store is not yet a large-scale consumer facing problem like the iPhone 2G price cut or MobileMe were (some consumers don’t even use the App Store, many others don’t follow any backstage news about), nor a regulatory issue like DRM-music threatened to be (Apple is hardly a monopoly in the smartphone space) or Jobs’ health might have been to investors, it is and will continue to cause Apple pain in one very important area: tech savvy, power users (and media) who typically influence friends (and readers) and generally presage public perception.

Jason Calacanis, who’s frustration at this point clearly overcame his reason (see Marco Arment’s retort), and Mike Arrington, who might again garner Leo Laporte-esque responses himself, are easy to dismiss given their bombastic personalities, passion, and self-interests. Others aren’t so easily dismissed. Long time Mac developer Steven Frank is one example. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber is another. Dieter’s ranted about it on iPhone Live! and Jeremy and I have even written a word or two. Heck, even Apple’s highly operational COO Tim Cook and perennially affable Senior VP of Marketing, Phil Schiller, have mentioned it.

But Steve Jobs hasn’t.

Granted, Jobs is just getting back to work after an extended leave of absence and has been letting his team do their share of heavy lifting, but despite Apple’s highly innovative, world class executive team, Steve Jobs is still the voice of Apple, and there’s likely very little else — aside from carefully watching and tracking tiny improvements over an extended period of time — that will help ease the growing concerns about the App Store and grant Apple a little renewed faith along the way.

An open letter from Steve Jobs in Apple’s news feed, symbolic though it may be, stating a clear “we want a delightful App Store experience for developers” manifesto, reflecting an understanding of the current concerns, offering a “Mobile Me News” olive branch of openness — doing what he did for DRM, the $100 credits, the green initiative, the native apps SDK — would not only address the immediate perception problem, but could start fixing the root cause. Even a “leaked” letter like the one that followed MobileMe’s launch would be a start.

Apple’s often effective, often decried, culture of secrecy is widely thought to emanate from Steve Jobs. He’s shattered it before for Apple’s benefit. Is it time for him to shatter it again?

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

Is It Time for an Open Letter from Steve Jobs on the App Store?

Once again Canada’s Rogers looks to be the source of a leak surrounding an upcoming 8GB iPhone 3GS, which — if true — would bring Apple’s latest hardware down to the budget smartphone price point of $99.

MacRumors caught the story, though their take is that the price point is uncertain, and whether or not Apple will release the low-storage iPhone 3GS option in all geographies (i.e. in the US) is unknown.

True leak or cascading data error? We’ll find out soon enough.

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

Rogers Canada Website Leaks 8GB iPhone 3GS?