Facebook for iPhone just received an update that contains one of the most sought after missing features, push notifications. It has been a long time coming as most of us hoped for this feature when Facebook 3.0 was released. The only other difference noted in 3.1 is very Android-like, the ability to sync your friends with your address book.

Now all we need is for Apple to step up to the plate with iPhone 4.0 and give us a better way to handle our notifications. At least we can all dream right?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

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

Facebook 3.1 with Push Notifications for iPhone Now Available

You just got your new iPhone for Christmas and you may have been wondering what case you should purchase to protect your new gift. I’m here to tell you if you are in the market for a slider case the Case-Mate Smooth for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS [TiPb Store Link - $27.95] is one to consider. For the full review follow me after the break!

Inside the package you obviously get the case itself but you also get a crystal clear screen protector along with a small microfiber cleaning cloth. I personally choose not to use them but it’s a nice gesture that I’m sure some of you can take advantage of them. The Case-Mate Smooth feels as it’s name describes – smooth. With it’s soft to the touch matte finish and with very minimal bulk added, it feels great in the hand. Even better is that offers a decent amount of grip without the sticky finish. You don’t have to worry about a ton of dust or having a hard time removing your iPhone from you pocket or purse.

Like a majority of other sliders the Case-Mate Smooth comes in two separate pieces that easily slide on your iPhone and lock securely together. The major difference I noticed was that this particular case is the installation, it is much easier to slide on and off than most other cases. In more or less words, it fits perfectly. It slides on easy enough that you do not have to worry about scratching the back of the phone or the chrome bezel.

On the negative front, some may feel the case simply does not cover enough area of the phone as the complete top of your phone is unprotected. I’m sure Case-Mate feels some would like access to the sim card tray but I am not one of them. All of the other ports you would expect to be accessible are. Things like the volume control, power button, and headphone jack are all can easily accessed.

Admittedly slider cases generally are my least favorite to use out of all of the various types on the market today. This really held true until I was given the chance to test out the Case-Mate Sooth case [TiPb Store Link] and then my opinion changed. Sure there are a few minor annoyances but it’s a very solid effort. All other slider case manufactures need to take note here follow Case-Mate’s lead.

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

Review: Case-Mate Smooth Case for iPhone 3G/3GS

So the rumor is Steve is about to introduce a new tablet device — no, not Steve Jobs of Apple, but his nemesis Steve Ballmer of Microsoft — and he’s rumored to be doing it tonight at CES!

Our sibling site, WMExperts, has the details and Dieter and Phil will be there live covering Ballmer’s keynote at 9:30pm ET, 6:30pm PT, 2:30am GT (tomorrow morning, yeah?)

Will it be the crazy courier concept we saw before? More Tablet PC tomfoolery? Surface-to-go? And if Apple is unicorns, is this the pegasus?

And does this have any effect on Apple’s rumored iTablet show on Jan. 27? Or does Apple just ignore what everyone else is doing, as usual, and show up with what they got?

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

Microsoft’s Ballmer to Try and Pre-empt Apple, Introduce HP Tablet Tonight?

A long time ago on a blog far, far away, Casey Chan wrote about the iPhone. Then there was a great disturbance in the ’sphere and he ended up editing Android Central and embracing the dark side of the G1. Easily, seductively, his powers grew with the Hero and now the insidious DROID itself. But a new hope emerged in the form of the 2009 Smartphone Round Robin, which forced him to put down the evil red eye of Google (and their massive Nexus One coverage!) and pick up the brightly sided iPhone 3GS. Did he restore balance to his mellow?

Given the Jedi-level help our TiPb Forum masters, certainly unlearn he must. Right? Well, take a read of his final iPhone from an Android perspective review and let us know — what forever controls his destiny?

Also, your only hope to win a brand new iPhone 3GS is to head on over to that thread linked above and drop a new reply every day. (Or a brand new Android device if you help me out on the Android Central Forums — and I’ve also snuck into the WMExperts Forums a tad early to get a jump start on next week!)

And for all the other videos, reviews, and contest threads (there are 6 smartphones up for grabs after all!) keep your browsers locked on smartphoneroundrobin.com!

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

iPhone Review from Android Central’s Casey — Smartphone Round Robin

Computerworld is rumoring that Apple’s allegedly-to-be-announced-January-27th iTablet/iSlate will run on Verizon’s CDMA network according to… an analysts sources (!)

“The tablet will be supported by multiple [mobile] carriers,” said Brian Marshall of Broadpoint AmTech, citing unnamed sources he said were close to the situation. “Verizon and others,” he continued. “Definitely Verizon. I’ve been told that’s a certainty.”

Meanwhile, AppleInsider quotes another analyst who says, when it comes to the iPhone, Apple and Verizon can’t see eye-to-eye on pricing. Control-freaks the both of them, no one is yet blinking:

Currently, it is estimated that Apple gets a favorable $700 average selling price per iPhone, subsidized through exclusive carrier AT&T. Compare that with the ASP of the Motorola Droid, exclusive to Verizon, which costs an estimated $450 per sale.

Also, combined CDMA/GSM chips, which would let the iPhone run on both Verizon and GSM carriers like AT&T and most of the rest of the world, aren’t likely to be ready until the second half of 2010.

Hey, maybe Verizon will get a CDMA iTablet, but it can also be perpetually tethered to an AT&T/GSM iPhone! Sound off in the comments!

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

Computerworld: iTablet Will Be on Verizon, iPhone… Maybe