Join me and our regular cast of great TiPb characters for all the week’s news, views, and rants. If you have any questions, leave a comment below, hit us up on Twitter @theiphoneblog, or better still — join us live in the chat room via http://www.tipb.com/live

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Could we see a combination CDMA/HSPA iPhone hit Verizon before the holidays? No, we don’t think so either, but that’s the rumor we’re hearing again.

Of course, we’re no stranger to iPhone on Verizon rumors, whether they be wishful thinking or the result of ongoing, longterm Apple/carrier negotiations that may or may not ever amount to anything, it’s ironic that rumors about America’s most reliable network are almost always anything but…

Given the limited remaining lifespan on CDMA (Verizon’s going LTE for 4G) and market (primarily the US — even Bell and Telus in Canada are going HSPA), it just seems like such an un-Apple-like thing to do. Then again, Verizon’s customer base is no doubt a huge temptation for Apple. Given how many iPhones they sell on AT&T, if they hit Verizon, we can only imagine the market share shift. (Not to mention the load balancing of network traffic that would hopefully follow).

Again, we’re not getting our hopes up. We don’t think we’ll see an iPhone on Verizon any time soon, especially not before the holidays. Let’s face it, it’s almost October already and the window to effectively launch and market the iPhone on a new US network by then is rapidly diminishing from slim to none.

But, if you want to sound off anyway about how much you want a an iPhone world-phone on Verizon, hit the comments.

[Thanks tipster!]

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

Wednesday Crazy Rumor: Could We See an iPhone on Verizon by the Holidays?

RedLaser [$1.99 - iTunes link ] scans barcodes, identifies the item your scanning, and then presents Google Product Search and Amazon shopping results for that item.

Sound familiar? It should, it was one of the few things we really lusted after when Google demoed the original Android G1 almost a year ago. Go into Barnes & Noble, see a book you like, snap the barcode, and instant price comparison. Boom. You can decide whether you need to buy it immediately or if you prefer to to order it and wait a little.

Both the iPhone 2G and 3G lacked the autofocus and short range macro clarity for that task, and while the iPhone 3GS made up for that in large degree, RedLaser is going the extra mile and enabling barcode scanning without using the autofocus. So, yes, it works fine on all generations of iPhone.

Doesn’t sound like it was easy — Apple rejected the application’s use of the camera 6 times before iPhone 3.1 rolled around and they got the big, green light to start scanning. It will no doubt be appreciated by users.

The features break down as follows:

• Scans UPC, EAN, and UPC-E
• You can email a list of products
• Automatically localized for currency (USD, EUR, GBP) and regionalized Amazon stores (.com/.co.uk/.de/.co.jp/.fr/.ca/.cn)

In our tests, it worked well (though getting our hands to hold the iPhone steady enough was a challenge — need to cut down coffee intake!). If you try it out, let us know what you think!

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

Quick App: RedLaser Barcode Scanner for iPhone

The iSkin solo for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS [$29.95 - TiPb Store Link] has quickly become one of the most popular slim-fitting skin cases available today. To find out why, follow us after the break!

The iSkin solo comes in 4 vibrant high-gloss colors: blue, red, black, and white. At first glance it appears the solo is just another hard plastic shell, and some might worry that it has a higher probability of scratching your phone than protecting it. But have no fear, it’s actually a very soft plastic with the interior being an even softer matte rubber finish that will not scratch your iPhone.

Another perk of this soft plastic is that it’s not tacky like most silicone cases out there. The biggest complaint I hear about silicone cases is the amount of dust and lint they attract. This is not the case with the iSkin solo. So, while it does provide you with a material that will ensure that your iPhone will not go slipping out of your hands, it’s also great news for those of you who put your iPhone into your pocket or purse and want to be able to remove it easily and — lint free.

On the protection front, the solo has you pretty well covered. You get decent protection without sacrificing any functionality. Your screen, docking port, headphone jack, and camera access are readily accessible while your volume and power buttons remain safely protected. As a added bonus, iSkin includes a nice crystal clear screen protector that is equivalent in quality to the ones you can purchase separately. Will the solo save your screen from cracking if you drop it on concrete? Of course not, but it will protect your device from your typical bumps and scratches.

Overall I am a fan of what the iSkin solo brings to the table. If you are seeking a case that provides heavy duty protection, I suggest you look elsewhere but if you want a case that will provide casual protection for every day use along with a a nice sleek look, this would be an excellent choice.

Learn more and purchase @ TiPb Store >>>

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

iSkin solo High-Gloss, Streamlined Protection for Your iPhone

With the release of the iTunes 9.0.1 update last night, we downloaded it and proceeded to run some tests, and lo and behold, it seems that annoying out-of-order podcast bug is gone for us.

You remember the one, where you’d sync a number of episodes and instead of being sorted numerically, up or down, (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4) they were randomly assigned (i.e. 1, 4, 2, 3).

If you’ve installed iTunes 9.0.1, and tested out the sync sequencing, let us know if you’re back in order as well.

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

iTunes 9.0.1 Fix the Out-of-Order Episodes Bug for You?

Not that any of you AT&T customers really need the reminder. Regardless, the wait is almost over folks, AT&T is finally flipping the MMS switch for all of their iPhone customers this Friday, September 25th.

Sure, this day marked in your calendars but would any of you like to take bets on whether or not the network will buckle when you have every single iPhone owner sending picture after picture all day long? Don’t be too upset when the person you are sending the image to tells you they have not gotten it yet. That’s more than likely to happen unless AT&T really used this extra time wisely and beefed up their network like they claimed in preparation for the flood gates they are about to open…

Still, according to some of our readers, it seems as if AT&T is currently sending out text messages reminding you of this day that so many of you cherish.

“Picture &video message(MMS) will be available for iphone on 9/25. While we prepare your account for MMS capability, the current ” view my message” experience will be turned off but your ability to send and receive text messages will not be affected.”

How many of you have received this message?

[Thanks for the tip Mike!]

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

Reminder: AT&T MMS Coming This Friday

Snapture [$1.99 on sale - iTunes link], as can be seen by that little price and link notation right there, has gone from a must-have Jailbreak-only app, to a new home in Apple’s very own iTunes App Store.

For those unfamiliar with Snapture, it takes the iPhone camera experience to another level, such as taking photos by tapping anywhere on the screen (or lifting you finger off the screen), variable image sizes, pinch-to-zoom up to 5x, 8 direction alignment level and rapid-fire multi-shot (3 to be specific) functionality. (Yeah, color mode and taking pictures with the volume buttons didn’t survive the cross-over, but a satisfying amount did).

If you want to get a lot more out of your iPhone camera, give Snapature a try and let us know what you think!

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: Snapture Camera Enhancers Goes From Jailbreak to App Store

While everyone is waiting on Apple to unveil their universally rumored iTablet/iPad device next year, Gizmodo has just scored the scoop on what Microsoft just might be planning to counter it — the “Courier” tablet.

Decidedly un-Apple in it’s approach, with dual booklet screens, pen and touch input, and feel that’s all organized chaos, it’s also strikingly different to Microsoft’s previous Tablet PC efforts (which were largely tweaked versions of XP and then Vista). Here’s why:

Until recently, it was a skunkworks project deep inside Microsoft, only known to the few engineers and executives working on it—Microsoft’s brightest, like Entertainment & Devices tech chief and user-experience wizard J. Allard, who’s spearheading the project. Currently, Courier appears to be at a stage where Microsoft is developing the user experience and showing design concepts to outside agencies.

Head on over to Gizmodo to see a video of the concept in action (not iPhone friendly, sorry). Then come back here, tell us what you like and don’t like, and let us know how you think Apple’s take on the tablet will differ.

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

The Competition: Microsoft “Courier” Tablet

Looks like the USB Implementers Forum has taken Apple’s side over Palm’s in their ongoing war of USB locking vs. USB spoofing. Digital Daily (via MacRumors) has the deets:

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the industry group that oversees the Universal Serial Bus standard, has finally responded to Palm's (PALM) claim that Apple (AAPL) is "hampering competition" by repeatedly disabling the Palm Pre's ability to sync with iTunes–and it's not looking good for Palm. In a letter submitted to Apple and Palm today, the group dismissed Palm's claim that Apple has violated its USB-IF Membership Agreement. Worse, it took issue with Palm's alleged use of Apple's Vendor Identification Number (VID), which it says violates USB-IF policy.

Palm’s response?

"We engaged with the USB-IF because we believe consumers should have freedom and choice in how and where they use the non-rights managed media they already own. We are reviewing the letter from the USB-IF and will respond as appropriate."

We’ve already weighed in on the situation in general (we think Palm has more important things to spend their limited funds and resources on), and PreCentral.net has posted up the whole sordid history along with their take, but what do you think? Is the USB-IF making the right call?

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

USB Implementors Forum on iTunes Sync: Apple’s Right, Palm’s Wrong