Hasta La Gadget!

The iPhone 3G may, at least for some users, have an additional, undocumented feature: It can be used to toast bread.

Reports are coming in that the new, million-selling iPhone is suffering from overheating issues. The handsets are getting so warm, in fact, that the plastic cases of the white models are discoloring to pink. The picture above is from Ben on the French site Le Journal du Geek.

It’s not just anonymous forum posters, either. Melissa J. Perenson of PC World has a toasty 3GS, too:

And at some point, I became aware the handset had become very hot. Very, very hot — not just on the back, but the entire length of the front face, too. I was using a game, and then later the Web browser for reading the news about Michael Jackson, all over a Wi-Fi connection while plugged in. And in those circumstances, well…toasty doesn’t even describe how surprisingly hot it got. It was too hot to even put the phone against my face. No discoloration to report, though; I have the black handset, and didn’t see any effects.

Other reports across the web, including the Apple discussion forums, seem to point at GPS use and playing games as the culprits. Of course, there are problems with product launches all the time, and Apple users tend to be more vocal than most. And Apple is notoriously reticent to admit anything is wrong, Remember the first gen white MacBooks that turned yellow on top?

If true, these overheating issues may even end up in an exploding battery scandal. To add to the confusion, I have noticed my 2G iPod Touch getting a lot hotter than usual since updating to the v3.0 software. This happens while web browsing, and the battery is draining fast, too. I have no idea if this is related, but if it is it could point at some bad power-management software in OS 3.0.

Overheating problems with the iPhone 3GS [Nowhere Else]

Topic : Battery getting hot [Apple Discussions]

Worries of overheating for iPhone 3G S? [Le Journal du Geek]

Apple has confirmed rejecting an iPhone application that displayed photos of topless women, despite the software developer’s claims that the app was temporarily “sold out.”

The app, called Hottest Girls, was the first app in the App Store to show nudity, according to developer Allen Leung. However, the app disappeared from the App Store on Thursday morning. Leung posted on his web site that he pulled the app to mitigate server overload, as Wired.com reported yesterday. But a subsequent statement from Apple refutes his claim.

“Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography,” an Apple spokesman told CNN Thursday afternoon. “The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store.”

Leung then updated his web site to remove his false explanation.

It’s not surprising that Apple chose to deny the app, and it’s unlikely we’ll see a porn app again in the App Store — lest developers wish to be banned. When Steve Jobs introduced the App Store on June 9, 2008, porn was at the top of the list of content that would not be allowed in apps.

“There are going to be some apps that we’re not going to distribute,” Jobs said. “Porn, malicious apps, apps that invade your privacy.”

More interestingly, Hottest Girls reveals a vulnerability in the App Store: Developers can update their apps with prohibited content and cross their fingers that Apple won’t notice. In May, Wired.com reported on a developer who was able to sneak profanity into his karaoke app Lyrics by hiding it in an Easter egg, easily unlocked with a secret code (swiping downward three times in the app).

In that same article, we highlighted the issue that Apple doesn’t have the manpower to police the entire App Store. There are currently more than 50,000 apps in the App Store, according to Apple, and the role of gatekeeper will get more difficult as the App Store continues to expand. Hottest Girls is another example of a developer who tricked the gatekeeper — but only temporarily.

Prohibited content such as porn and dirty words are only a minor concern compared to the idea of a developer updating his approved app to later include malicious code. Jonathan Zdziarski, author of the book iPhone Forensics: Recovering Evidence, Personal Data, and Corporate Assets, explained to Wired.com that the iPhone’s API is mostly secure. But a few areas where users’ privacy can be violated include audio, the camera and the address book.

For example, a malicious audio app could potentially allow a developer to record a user’s conversations without him or her knowing. And a harmful photo app could snap photos with a user’s camera even when the user is not pressing the shutter button. Third, a malicious app can steal your address book contacts.

The greatest concern is malicious code isn’t something a developer would try to publicize (like Leung did with Hottest Girls), because that would result in getting caught and thus failing to steal users’ information. We’ll continue looking into this issue to keep you informed.

See Also:

• Porn Comes to the iTunes App Store
• Apple Relents, Adds ‘Pornographic’ E-Book Reader to App Store …
• Want to Fool Apple’s App Store? Plant an Easter Egg
• E-Reader iPhone App Rejected Because Users Can Download Kama Sutra …

I don’t know whether this is real or fake, and I don’t care. This image (above) purporting to be a one-pose narcissist’s iPhone home screen is redonkulously hilarious. Makes you want to Jailbreak your iPhone, doesn’t it?

Imgur via Gizmodo

Smartphone maker HTC is on a roll with the Android operating system. The company introduced its third Android-based device, called the HTC Hero, on Wednesday. It’s a touchscreen phone that will come with a newly designed user interface.

The phone has a 3.2-inch display, GPS, digital compass, a 5-megapixel auto focus camera and expandable MicroSD memory. The HTC Hero also features an anti-fingerprint coating on the screen for smudge resistance and a Teflon coating on the exterior.

HTC’s latest release adds momentum to Google’s Android operating system, which was introduced last year. The first Android phone to hit the market was the HTC-produced T-Mobile G1 phone in North America in October. Since then, HTC has also launched Magic, a touchscreen phone that eliminates the physical keyboard of the G1.

While other manufacturers have announced plans to release Android phones, HTC is currently the only handset maker that has actually delivered one to the market.

The HTC Hero will be the first Android phone to support Flash, says Adobe. Apple iPhone does not support Flash, while Palm has said the Palm Pre will be Flash-friendly through firmware updates towards the end of the year. HTC also said it will integrate the upcoming Flash Player 10 for smartphones into their next generation phones.

HTC Hero’s user interface also evokes some of the principles of the Palm Pre webOS interface that tries to organize the phone around contacts and other information. The HTC Hero will allow users to add widgets to bring the information they want to the surface. That includes twitter feeds, weather data, email or calendar. HTC will also have a profile feature called ‘scenes’ that lets users create different customized content profiles around specific functions or times.

And as in the iPhone and Palm Pre, the HTC Hero will include an universal search functionality that looks through emails, contact list and other information.

The HTC Hero will be available in Europe in July and in Asia later in the summer.The North American version is expected later this year. No word on pricing yet for the phone.

More photos of the HTC Hero

See Also:

• T-Mobile Announces Android-Powered MyTouch
• Second HTC Android Phone Peeks Out
• Android-Powered G1 to Premiere in San Francisco
• HTC Magic Android Phone Gets Unboxed
• Smartphone War Heats Up, Google Phones Still MIA

Photos: HTC Hero/HTC

A LiveJournal blogger tells the first riveting tale involving Find My iPhone, a new feature in the latest iPhone 3.0 operating system designed to help users recover their lost or stolen iPhones.

Kevin Miller, who goes by the LJ handle HappyWaffle, recounts his experience quite thoroughly. In summary: After attending Brickworld, the world’s largest Lego convention, Kevin and his friends end up at a dive bar in uptown Chicago, where he accidentally (and perhaps drunkenly) leaves his iPhone. They return to the bar to recover it, but the iPhone is apparently in the hands of an individual who still subscribes to the philosophy of “Finders, Keepers.”

The group proceeds to use a MacBook Pro and Sprint wireless EVDO card to log in to Apple’s MobileMe internet service, where a map spits out the location of the iPhone. From thereon, the story gets exciting: The trio of “skinny white guys” stumbles into a Puerto Rican neighborhood. (He notes that he brings up race only to illustrate that he and his friends stood out awkardly.) Kevin uses MobileMe to send messages to his phone requesting it be returned.

Then, in a dramatic turn of events, the dot on the map begins to move, and the group follows it. After a game of refresh-the-map-and-chase, they eventually come face to face with the thief, and he sheepishly hands it over.

Amusing tale, though we’re not very thrilled about the idea that Find My iPhone is conducive to confrontation, as demonstrated by Kevin. The outcome could have been far different had the thief been armed.

What are your thoughts about Find My iPhone and how it was used in this particular story? Any suggestions for how this feature can be used more prudently? Add your comments below.

See Also:

• Apple Rolls Out iPhone 3.0 Operating System Upgrade
• Apple Bestows Cut-and-Paste, MMS on iPhone Users
• Gadget Lab Video: Masked Developer Demos iPhone 3.0 Beta

(Thanks, Mat!)