Join Chad, Rene ,and special guest, Keith Newman (of PalmCast fame) tonight 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

REMINDER: You can watch us live on your iPhone with the Ustream Viewer app [Free - iTunes link]. Just wait until the show starts (8pm ET) and search for iPhone. We’ll pop up. Literally.

Chat with you soon!

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

iPhone Live! Tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT (1am GMT)

AT&T has responded to Verizon’s latest commercials that depicts their network as small and to put it nicely, garbage. As you can see above AT&T takes some shots of their own at Big Red.

This particular commercial is just one of a series that will begin airing tonight. AT&T not only mentions a few valid points but they even scored Luke Wilson to do the dissing. Bonus points…

So, the big question remains, how long will it be before Verizon files a lawsuit of their own? Only kidding… we think?

Update: Also be sure to check out www.truthabout3g.com.

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

AT&T Fires Back at Verizon with “Side by Side” Commercial

UPDATE: Daring Fireball points out:

[This story] puts [TechCrunch's Michael] Arrington on the same side as the almost-always-full-of-sh*t Scott Moritz. On the other side: Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, who just two weeks ago said Google would not "compete with its customers" and "We're not making hardware. We're enabling other people to build hardware."

So either Mike Arrington is totally wrong or Andy Rubin is a liar.

Apple typically denies something, even decries it, until the moment they release it. Google’s not Apple, though…

ORIGINAL: Could Google be “pulling a Zune” and going from software provider to integrated device maker, ready to take on the iPhone with a pure, straight up Google gPhone? That the latest… retread of the old rumor, though TechCrunch is basically singing a castrati-high “nailed it!” at this point.

Rumors of a gPhone, or Google Phone, predated Android, but instead of following Apple, Palm, and RIM in the integrated hardware/software model, Google decided to go the Windows Mobile path, create Android OS (though with a liberal Apache license) and let other hardware makers do their thing.

Microsoft did similar a few years ago, competing against the iPod with PlaysForSure software for a variety of different music player manufacturers. Then they teamed up with Toshiba, killed PlaysForSure, and released the Microsoft-only Zune. Needless to say, their previous partners were not filled with happy joy (and how many PlaysForSure devices do you see today, oh bitter-named irony?)

There’s no indication, however, that if Google made a gPhone they would in any way kill Android for partners. Indeed, Nokia makes Symbian devices now that it controls (and is in the process of open sourcing) that OS, right alongside other manufacturers. But is it fair to be scared of Google now, having seen them decimate the competition in everything from search (anyone remember Alta Vista?) to turn-by-turn Navigation (remember those TomTom and Garmin stock charts, post Android 2.0 announcement?)

And is it even more fair when we consider that the tech community is realizing Android isn’t as open as they once hoped? Casey at Android Central sums it up:

Why would I buy a Motorola DROID or Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 if I can get an official Google Phone built from the ground up for Android? How will companies feel if the Google Phone launches with 3.0 but every other Android device is stuck at 2.0? Will they continue to make Android devices? Google would be leaving the companies that backed Android from the beginning in the dust. Simply put, the existence of a Google Phone automatically makes third-party Android phones second-tier devices because Google’s priority will shift to the Google Phone, all others second.

But back to the iPhone. One of Steve Jobs’ favorite quotes is from Alan Kay — “”People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.” Google bringing a first-party gPhone to the table would likely be the strongest competition yet for the iPhone. As much as Google’s Android partners should be afraid, Apple should be more afraid. And they should — and no doubt are — working even harder on iPhone 2010 and the iPhone OS 4.0. And that’s great news for iPhone users.

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

UPDATED: Google to Pull a Zune, Go Head-to-Head with iPhone in Software and Hardware Next Year?

AT&T announced it’s invested nearly $65 million in upgrading their 3G network in San Francisco through Q3 2009:

"More than ever before, customers look to wireless communications to stay in touch with family, friends and business colleagues," said Terry Stenzel, AT&T vice president and general manager for Northern California/Reno. "The additional spectrum helps to enhance the 3G network so that our customers have the best experience when they make a call, check an e-mail, download a video or song, access applications or surf the Internet on their AT&T device."

They also mentioned SF will get some HSPA 7.2 next year as well. (First towers to go up around Cupertino in an effort to keep the iPhone-makers happy? We joke.)

Given the last update in AT&T’s lawsuit against Verizon’s “map for that” commercials, where Verizon basically said AT&T had failed to invest in their network infrastructure, we’re wondering if we’ll see more press releases like this (or emails like this) in the near future?

[Thanks Gregg for the tip!]

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

AT&T Invested $65 Million in 850Mhz 3G Upgrades for San Francisco

The following Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by the TiPb iPhone Accessory Store

What to get for that annoying iPhone owner who knows has everything? For that new iPhone user who’s just getting started? For that last minute drop in you never expected but suddenly have to render iSpeechless?

The TiPb iPhone Accessory store’s got you covered! We asked the iPhone staff for some of their favorite accessories of the year, and put them together into our 2009 Gift Guide — jammed packed with iPhone goodness just in time for the holidays, after the jump!

Rene’s Picks

• iSkin solo FX is just crazy cool. Semi-translucent soft, non-slip case that shows your iPhone (and Apple logo), and adds a screen protector that’s see-through from the front when the iPhone is on, but mirror-like from an angle or when the iPhone is off. Comes in green, purple, blue, red, and orange. Depending on your iPhone color (black or white) you can get some fantastic looking tones and textures.
• Plantronics Voyager PRO Bluetooth Headset is just so Galactica. I know I’ve said that before, and I’ve said that thanks to my grappling-ground ears, this is the only Bluetooth headset that’s I’ve used, that’s actually stayed in place, for more than a short time. It’s big, sure, but most of it is tucked behind your ear, and the boom mic provides for great sound, and — yup — a look straight out of Sci-Fi (or maybe SWAT).

Dieter’s Picks

• XGear Stylus is a hard case with a unique, ribbed design. No slip = win. It comes with mirror films and a microfiber cleaning cloth. Also red, white, and black.
• Motorola H17 Bluetooth Headset. I love it because it’s tiny, charges lightning quick, has great sound quality on the listening end because of Moto’s Crystal Talk Technology, has great sound quality on the sound end because of the dual-microphone design. Most of all, though, I love it because of the flip out boom that turns the headset OFF when I’m not using it.

Chad’s Picks

• Smartphone Experts SidePouch. If a side pouch is your thing (like it is me) you will like the style and value of the Smartphone Experts Side Pouch for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Light and durable, this is a great addtion to your case collection; not to mention there is a color-combo to suit your liking!
• Blueant S1 Sun Visor Bluetooth Car Kit with Multipoint. If you have been in the market for a hands-free solution for your iPhone and car, this is it! I love this bluetooth speaker. It works great with the iPhone 3GS Voice Control and sounds great.

Chris’ Pick

Incipio SILICRYLIC Silicone Crystal Case has to be my favorite accessory. I have dropped the iPhone a few times, and the case has saved it. Well worth the money, and it looks pretty good as well.

James’ Picks

• mophie Juice Pack air. A few months ago, this was my Pick of the Week. It is still the case I use. Like most iPhone owners, I chew through the battery very quickly. With all of the apps, data, music and video available to me, I seem to always be needing a fresh charge. The Mophie Juice Pack Air is exactly the case I have needed. It does not add too much thickness or heaviness to my iPhone 3GS and holds a full charge when I need it. I have recommended it to family and friends and all who have purchased will echo my sentiments. A must buy for the heavy user!
• Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset. I have tried many bluetooth headsets over the years and have found one nagging issue. No, it’s not sound quality. Rather, I have not found a headset that will stay in my ear without using an over-the-ear clip. The Platronics Discovery 925 is the first headset that I have tried taht will fit in my ear without any other assistance. Also, the sound quality is great and I have not had any complaints on my voice quality.

Jeremy’s Picks

• Marware C.E.O. Premiere has the classic horizontal holster case design that covers your iPhone in a textured, soft leather with quality stitching and an ultra-slim non-removable belt clip. The interior of the case is made up of microfiber cloth which is a welcomed addition that promises not to scratch your device while it is in use. Also it’s doubling as my Droid case.
• Blueant Q1 Voice Controlled Bluetooth Headset is an excellent, top quality headset that should not be passed up if you are in the market for a top of the line piece of technology. Buy it now!

Leanna’s Pick

iSkin Solo FX. For a case that’s both fashionable and of high quality, look no further than the iSkin Solo FX. I use this case regularly for it’s looks and protection. It has a snug fit yet doesn’t scratch my precious iPhone, feels great in my hand, and looks amazing! One of these days I will own all 4 colors

Matt’s Pick

Otterbox Defender is absolutely my favorite case, no doubt the best that I have come across! While this case is a bit more expensive than other iPhone cases, it is definitely worth it. The case nearly seals your iPhone within itself, leaving open only the necessary holes to allow speaker usage. I have put this case through quite a bit, from dropping it off the side of a cliff into sand, to spilling coke on it, to dropping it more than anyone should consider healthy for an iPhone and, still, it has defended it. If you have had issues with keeping an iPhone okay then this is probably the case for you.

Your Recommendations?

What did we miss? Any must-have accessories? What does your secret gift’er need to wrap up for you this year? What are you telling Papa Jobs you really want left under your iPhone? We only started this list; didn’t even check it twice! Check out the TiPb iPhone Accessory store and drop some ideas in the comments, would ya? Make sure we get this right!

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

2009 TiPb Store iPhone Accessory Holiday Gift Guide

Over the weekend in Belgium thieves made a clean getaway with close to 4,000 iPhones. The market value of that many iPhones, 2 million euros, or $3 million U.S.

The iPhone thieves cut a hole in the ceiling of a warehouse where the devices were being stored waiting to be delivered to Mobistar in time for holiday shopping season. According to Mobistar, local police have zero leads but think twice about landing one of these phones as a spokesperson from Mobistar is promising they will not work.

“We have the serial numbers of stolen iPhones blocked anyway so they can not be used,”"People who want to buy an iPhone, which is best done in an approved outlet and not on street or on the black market.”

In the end, crime does not pay folks…

[Via AppleInsider]

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

Close to 4,000 iPhones Stolen from Belgium Warehouse

Instapaper and Tumblr developer Marco Arment riffs on the NYT’s article on Palm webOS’ trouble wooing developers, and it’s predictably good stuff.

His major point is that with its huge install base (which topped 50 million iPhones and iPod touches months ago), it makes more financial sense to develop for Apple’s platform, rather than Google’s Android or Palm’s webOS which might have on 5% to 10% as many devices on the market.

Giving developers an app store is the easy part. The hard part is bringing us enough customers. The iPhone is so good that it built up a huge installed base without any third-party apps, but no Android or webOS devices can say that yet.

Arment points out that the iPod touch makes a huge difference as well, giving developers a similar device to work on without the need for an expensive cell phone contract. He also echoes Fake Steve’s comments on different hardware complicating development, though he thinks if Android popularity continues to grow, the platform might justify the investment one day.

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

More on the iPhone (and iPod touch) Development Advantage

Apple quietly introduced a new Apple Remote [$19.00 - Apple Online Store link] along with the updated iMac, Mac Mini, Magic Mouse, and Apple TV 3.0 last month. Not to be confused with the Apple-produced Remote app [Free - iTunes link], which allows an iPhone or iPod touch to control an Apple TV or iTunes, the Apple Remote is a hardware accessory that not only controls the aforementioned Apple TV or iTunes (and Front Row!) all on its own, but can also control an iPhone or iPod touch when they’re placed in the — sold-separately — Apple Universal Dock [$49.00 - Apple Online Store link]

So, how new is it, why would an iPhone or iPod touch need a hardware remote anyway, and most importantly, how does it perform? Read on after the break!

New as in Ish

If we define new as revolutionary, like some of the leaks suggested, than this is hardly a “new” remote. Indeed, the Remote app for iPhone and iPod touch already fulfills that revolutionary roll, and does so well. If we define new as in it’s aluminum and black, matching Apple’s new design motif, and has an extra button, then, okay, it’s new-ish.

But that still leaves us with — why would any iPhone or iPod touch user with that free app even want a separate, physical, uni-tasker, hardware remote in the first place?

Think Apple TV on the Go

No, seriously, with the Apple Universal Dock (which really doesn’t still come with the old white remote, does it Apple?!) and its built in IR receiver, combined with an Apple Composite AV Cable [$49.00 - Apple Online Store link] or Apple Component AV Cable [$49.00 - Apple Online Store link], your iPhone or iPod touch becomes an Apple TV. Only portable.

Total Cost of Pwnership

Now it won’t take the Wolfram Alpha app to tell you that each piece of the above equation costs, well, as much as the Wolfram Alpha app. We’re talking fifty bucks for the dock and fifty for one of the cables — so that’s $100 to start. Add in an Apple USB Power Adapter [$29.00 - Apple Online Store link] so you don’t drain your battery while you play, and we’re talking $130. That’s more than half the price of an Apple TV — and that doesn’t count the cost of the iPhone or iPod touch.

But lugging an Apple TV around would, pointedly, suck, and portability and convergence have their price, don’t they? (Even if portability in this case means lugging an extra dock, cable, and remote).

Oh, Yes. The Remote

Back to business. Assuming you want to rent or buy iTunes movies and take it over to your friends’ and/or family’s to watch, and you have the dock and cable, and you don’t like the idea of jumping up and running over every time you want to play, pause, or change media, then how good is the Apple Remote at keeping you on the couch?

Pretty good.

It’s essentially the same as the previous old, white Apple Remote, though it’s longer, sharper edged, made out of sturdier aluminum, and has an easier battery access door on the bottom. It’s major change, cosmetics aside, is that the play/pause button has been separated from the select button and placed down below, off-centering the menu bottom and taking a place to the right of it on the side.

That’s an… odd choice coming from Apple. And for iPhone users it likely adds little functionality, since unlike the Apple TV, there’s no iPhone interface for selecting media on your TV while continuing to watch/listen to something else. (Or selecting it at all, even on the iPhone/iPod touch as you can press the remote arrows on a menu screen to your heart’s content and it just. won’t. scroll!)

Let me explain that better (would that Apple had actually implemented it better so I wouldn’t have to). On the Apple TV, with the old Apple Remote, you could start a song, but if you wanted to look for another song in a another playlist, you had to hit the select button to choose that playlist, and since the select button was the same as the play/pause button, how would it know if you actually wanted to pause the music, or just keep browsing while the music kept playing. With the new Apple Remote, those buttons and hence behaviors are distinct, and you can use menu to drill up and select to drill down, without having to simultaneously end the current track while still browsing for the next. (But it’s actually worse than that, since while browsing the play/pause button can pause the music, but not play it again, so much for better…)

iPhone and iPod touch via the IR dock enjoy none of this functionality (such as it is), so the new button is pretty much the same as the old from a usage point of view. (Exactly the same, play/pause and select both play/pause!). Perhaps that still-in-limbo iPhone 3.2 update can add that to it’s to-do list?

Also, with the sharper angles on the new Apple Remote, that tired old cliche about “feeling great in the hand” reminds me why it’s not so tired. Depending on your hand size, the new version may not feel anywhere as great as the old.

Enough. Bottom-line This.

More curious than compelling, the new Apple Remote certainly better meshes with the latest Apple aesthetics, even if it’s functionality remains decidedly last gen.

If you already have an old, white plastic Apple Remote, and you’re not a fashionista with $15 in-pocket, determined to have something to match your current iPhone and Mac, there’s no need to get the new Apple Remote.

If you are said fashionista, or you have an Apple TV or use Front Row a lot on your Mac, and think that little button tweak will save you a lot of musical frustration, then go for it. $15 is less than you’d spend at some fast-food joints these days.

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

Review: Apple Aluminum Remote Control for iPhone and iPod Dock, Apple TV, and iTunes