Because in the words of our own Wilson Rothman, "It feels like not much has changed." The only thing he notices off the bat is that returning to the book you're reading, after going to the main menu, is quicker, though it's still just as slow to load a new book up. As for page turns, he's still seeing the 1-2 second page turns he saw before, and the highlights-and-notes bug he uncovered during his review seems to be unrepaired.

It seems the Nook—a beautiful piece of hardware in its own right—is still in need of one heck of a firmware update. [Teleread Thanks JP!]

Update: According to B&N spokespeople:

This week, we are conducting our first over-the-air update with version 1.1 software. Nook 1.1 enables seamless connection of a customer's Nook in Barnes & Noble stores, providing exclusive content and promotions over our free Wi-Fi connection. This update also begins to provide some core speed and performance improvements and enhances the customer's reading experience by enabling them to begin reading their content sooner. Information can be found at www.nook.com/support. As with any new software, we will continue to optimize and expand Nook's capabilities using seamless over-air-updates which don't require any action by the Nook customer. We expect to conduct a larger Nook software update early next year.

The Android 2.1 firmware update doesn't bring much to the Droid plate, apart from added speed (the video below shows one modder unenthusiastically exclaiming "I'm amazed by how fast it is"), three new homepage screens, and Google news and weather. There's no multitouch, but then, you already know how to do that. [AllDroid via Engadget]

The Android 2.0.1 update should be out by the end of the year, but Droid owners (the only ones lucky enough to play with Android 2.0 at the moment) will also get an OTA update with a few Droid-specific fixes. We're told these include improved camera autofocus (thank God) and better voice reception (although in my experience the Droid's reception is stellar). We'll let you know when it's released, which should be before New Years. [Android via Engadget]

Forum-dwellers at PreCentral are claiming the update doesn't bring much to the table, with it apparently addressing lag when using multiple programs. Mind you, considering we described the Pixi as being "brain-damaged, three-legged dog slow" in our review, it's a much-needed fix. Let us know how you get on with the firmware upgrade, and if that three-legged dog just grew an extra limb. [PreCentral]

Here's the rundown:

Kindle (Global Wireless) and Kindle (U.S. Wireless)

* Longer battery life for Kindle (Global Wireless): You can now read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to 2 weeks.
* Built-in PDF reader: Your Kindle can now display PDF documents without losing the formatting of the original file. Send PDF documents directly to your Kindle (via your @Kindle address) or drag and drop PDF files from your computer to your Kindle (when connected via USB). Learn more.
* Manual screen rotation: The Kindle screen can now manually rotate between portrait and landscape views so you can see the entire width of a web page or magnify the page of a PDF file. The page-turn buttons work the same in either orientation, and the 5-way controller movements are switched to match the orientation. Learn more.
* Option to convert PDF files to Kindle format. If you prefer to have your personal PDF documents converted to the Kindle format (so that they can reflow), type "Convert" in the subject of the e-mail when you submit your personal document to your @kindle.com address.

Kindle (U.S. Wireless) and Kindle (Global Wireless) users can go to Archived Items on their Kindle and download the Kindle User's Guide, 4th Ed., which now documents all the features of Kindle Software 2.3.

Kindle DX

* Better cropping of PDF files: In landscape orientation, white margins of PDF documents are automatically cropped to maximize the amount of content shown on the screen.
* Option to convert PDF files to Kindle format. If you prefer to have your personal PDF documents converted to the Kindle format (so that they can reflow), type "Convert" in the subject of the e-mail when you submit your personal document to your @kindle.com address.
* View pages longer: We've extended the time before Kindle DX switches into screensaver mode - from 5 minutes to 20 minutes - giving you more time for reviewing your content.

You should get the update automatically via your wireless connection, so you don't need to do anything special to get this stuff. [Amazon]

You'll be able to share game trophy and progress info, plus PlayStation store purchases on your Facebook news feed, and deeper integration is expected down the road. [PR NewsWire and Sony via Kotaku]

Firmware 3.10 also includes:

• The Photo category on the XMB has been revamped to make it easier to see more of your photos stored on the PS3.
• The PSN Friends List has been modified based on feedback we received after update 3.00. Additionally, you can now choose a color for your PSN ID on the XMB.

The update is actually pretty cool, as far as such things go, peppering status updates with Trophy information, purchases, and other in-game data that the developers can choose to include. It's a pretty minor update, really, but also includes better photo browsing and, um, different colored PlayStation Network profiles. Sweet, I guess. [Kotaku]

Apple Issues Update for Current-Gen iPod Nano

Apple quietly issued a firmware update for its newest, video-taking iPod Nano, and it's pretty minor but does fix a few problems. Audio podcasts can now be played back in Normal, Slow or Fast modes, and a few random bugs were patched (Nike+ integration, mono audio, VoiceOver). It's in Remainders because it really is a minor update—we wouldn't even bother with it except the Nano is such a ridiculously huge seller. [TUAW]

Barnes & Noble Giftcards Won't Buy Ebooks, Screwing Some Nook Pre-Orderers

Apparently Barnes & Noble's giftcards will buy you everything B&N sells—except ebooks. It's an inexplicable and irritating omission, but what makes it really rankle is that nobody seems to know about it, even those who work at the stores. Check out this story:

My wife and kids pre-ordered a nook for my birthday at our local B&N. The sales person also sold her a $100 gift card to "get my eBook collection started." When I tried to purchase a few books, I found out that gift cards can't be used on eBooks.

What a dick move! We're going to assume ignorance on B&N's part, but this is sloppy stuff, especially given our proximity to the holidays—their giftcards are incredibly popular and this will not be an isolated incident. Get it together, B&N. [Consumerist]

Dell Mini 3 Officially Launched in China

The Android-running Dell Mini 3 smartphone officially began its launch sequence today. It's been shipped out to sellers in China today, for release later this month, with a Brazil release to follow later this year. In early 2010 it should hit AT&T and Verizon—we'll see if we care by then. It's a noticeably low-key release, considering it's the first handheld in years from Dell, but it ends up in Remainders due to its current China-only status. [Electronista]

Palm Stock Skyrockets After Nokia Takeover Rumor

Palm stock skyrocketed today, with trading over 15 times heavier than normal, due to an odd rumor that Nokia would be buying the company. It doesn't really make any sense to us—Nokia is really unlikely to be purchasing a competitor to its Symbian line, and buying the beleaguered Palm would be a weird way to try to make gains in the US market. This one plops into Remainders because it's both unlikely and mere financial news, which isn't really that exciting. [Electronista]

Update: The firmware upgrade went through just fine on my 32GB Zune HD, and I'm definitely seeing an improvement in the browser's speed. Before, it was mysteriously slow, especially compared to the iPod Touch's browser—there's no reason for that, especially given the Zune HD's speedy Tegra processor. Even with the upgrade, it's slightly slower than Mobile Safari, especially when loading heavy sites like Gizmodo, but it's noticeably faster and not at all irritating anymore.

It's good to see Microsoft offering optimizations, but we're still waiting for a more major firmware upgrade: Social networking, IM, and YouTube should be top priorities. That being said, I still love the Zune HD—it's even wowed the notoriously hard-to-please Brian Lam.

Browser:

•Faster performance in navigating web pages
•Option to render pages as Desktop or Mobile (Option in settings)
•Better Tap-To-Zoom
•Better ability to scroll when typing a message online

Keyboard:

•Predictive Text
•Auto capitilization
•Dedicated Settings Menu
•Wider keyboard in landscape mode

Music:

•Artist bios now contain links to songs, other artists, and other albums
Radio:

•Choice of seek method (presets or seek) in settings
Other

•Apps load slightly faster, and the accuracy of the touchscreen is improved during game play.
•Apps close faster
•The power off says "slide down to power off" instead of just "Power Off"
•Faster Startup (less than 15s)

The download should be available through the Zune software, but some 16GB users are reporting it hasn't been pushed through to them yet. If you can get it, report back with anything else new/better you find. [GDGT, MobileTechWorld, thanks Ubi79!]

Samsung Announces Amazon Video On Demand Coming to Select Samsung HDTVs
Samsung to Give Consumers More Choice and Access to Digital Movies and TV shows With Access to Amazon's More than 50,000 titles, including over 2,000 HD movies and TV shows. Check your machine's manual on how to update your firmware (or if you've got an internet connected model, hit your machine's menu.)

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., and SEATTLE, Wash. (October 14, 2009) – Samsung Electronics America Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced that Amazon Video On Demand will be available on select Samsung HDTVs via a downloadable widget, offering consumers access to Amazon's huge selection of over 50,000 titles from leading movie studios and networks. Starting today, owners of Samsung LCD and Plasma HDTVs Series 650 and above and Samsung LED HDTVs Series 7000 and above can download the Amazon Video On Demand widget for free using the Internet@TV - Content Service feature on their HDTVs. Amazon Video On Demand delivers immediate access to more than 50,000 premium, commercial-free movies and television shows available to rent or purchase on demand. Today's announcement of Amazon Video On Demand availability adds to Samsung's existing Internet@TV lineup, which now includes premium services and content from Twitter, Yahoo!, YouTube and others.
"Consumers have told us they want easy access to premium on demand TV shows and movies, and we're very pleased to continue to offer more ways to do that with Amazon Video On Demand through our Internet@TV – Content Service feature, " said John Revie, Senior Vice President of Visual Display Marketing at Samsung Electronics America. "Whether it's watching their favorite Blu-ray movie or instantly streaming their favorite content, we're committed to offering people maximum choice and will continue to be an innovator."
The Amazon Video On Demand widget allows customers to search, browse, and rent or purchase from Amazon's digital video catalog directly from their Samsung HDTV. Amazon's catalog includes over 50,000 titles with over 2,000 in high definition, and features new-release movies and "day after" broadcast TV episodes. With Amazon Video On Demand, customers pay only for what they want to watch with no subscription required. Customers' purchases are stored online in their Amazon Video On Demand video library which also enables customers to access their videos from PCs, Macs, and other compatible devices.
"We are pleased to offer customers access to our library of over 50,000 movies and TV shows on Samsung's award-winning line of HDTVs," said Bill Carr, Amazon vice president of Video and Music. "Our customers love the experience of getting our service directly in their living room, and Samsung is helping us deliver on the promise of even greater access to thousands of titles directly on the TV."

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., markets a broad range of award-winning, digital consumer electronics and home appliance products, including HDTVs, home theater systems, MP3 players, digital imaging products, refrigerators and washing machines. A recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology, Samsung is the HDTV market leader in the U.S. Please visitwww.samsung.com for more information.

About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection.Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel; Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial.
Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), Amazon Mechanical Turk and Amazon CloudFront.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr,www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn.

As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

###

Samsung and Blockbuster Roll Out BLOCKBUSTER On Demand® Services For Select Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray Players and Blu-ray Integrated Home Theater Systems Starting Today

Millions of Homes Across America to Gain Access to Movies Through BLOCKBUSTER On Demand ; Blockbuster Service to Provide Seamless Entertainment Experience
Across Multiple Devices in the Home

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., and DALLAS (October 14, 2009) – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, and Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B), a global leader in entertainment, today announced the immediate availability of Blockbuster's vast and growing library of premium digital entertainment for rent or purchase on select 2009 Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray Players and Blu-ray integrated Home Theater Systems.
Specific models featuring the new BLOCKBUSTER On Demand service include Samsung Series 650 and above LCD and Plasma HDTVs and Series 7000 and above LED HDTVs. The service is also available on Samsung BD -P1600, BD-P3600 and BD-P4600 Blu-ray players, as well as select Samsung Blu-ray integrated Home Theater Systems (HT-BD1250, HT-BD3252, HT-BD7200 and HT-BD8200) via firmware upgrade.
"This is another real example that shows our commitment to giving consumers even more ways to access and enjoy a broad variety of high quality content through innovation, and really pushing the envelope with defining what connected TV experiences can deliver," said Tim Baxter, President of Samsung Electronics America. "Whether it's renting their favorite Blu-ray movie from Blockbuster or streaming their favorite content, our goal is to take the TV-watching experience to new levels and deliver maximum value."
With this service rollout, Blockbuster is introducing a seamless entertainment experience that allows consumers to watch BLOCKBUSTER On Demand content across multiple Blockbuster-enabled devices in the home. For example, Mom or Dad could order "Scooby Doo: The Goblin King" from BLOCKBUSTER On Demand onblockbuster.com at work, and the kids could start watching right away on their Samsung TV in the living room and watch it again on a Samsung Blu-ray player in the den. Mom and Dad could later order "Observe and Report" directly on the Samsung Blu-ray in the den, start watching, and then continue watching it on the Samsung TV in the bedroom.
"We're excited to bring BLOCKBUSTER On Demand through Samsung into millions of homes across the country," said Kevin Lewis, senior vice president digital entertainment for Blockbuster. "We're combining the newest movies available for digital delivery with a feature-rich and easy-to-use interface, and through our seamless digital connection, we're integrating it across Samsung's enabled HDTVs, Blu-ray players and Home Theater Systems to create a complete movie viewing experience consumers will value and enjoy."
With the BLOCKBUSTER On Demand service, owners of these Samsung devices now have the hottest new releases from Blockbuster right at their fingertips — whether it's the latest comedies such as "Year One," action-packed thrillers like "State of Play", hot box office hits such as "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past", and award winners like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." The video on demand (VOD) movie rentals range from $2.99 to $3.99, while purchases will typically range from $7.99 to $19.99.
The BLOCKBUSTER On Demand service provides comprehensive on-screen search and browsing capabilities, as well as full details, ratings, trailers, and other information about each movie directly on the television, eliminating the need for customers to manage a viewing queue on their PC. The offering will be easily accessible by selecting the Internet@TV feature on Samsung TVs or clicking a color-coded button on remotes for Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems. Once a customer rents or buys a movie, they simply press play to begin instant viewing.
To support the launch, Samsung Blu-ray disc players with the integrated BLOCKBUSTER On Demand service will be sold in Blockbuster's thousands of corporate-owned stores and participating franchise stores.

• Resolves sporadic issue that may cause iPhone to not wake from sleep
• Resolves intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular network services until restart
• Fixes bug that could cause occasional crash during video streaming

It weighs 241.7MB. Go get it in iTunes. After the update—which is also available for the iPod Touch—you will be able to update to AT&T Carrier Settings 5.6. [Thanks Mark]

Sonos's Twitter integration is pretty simple but also quite cool for devout Twitterers: Directly from the Sonos controller (either physical or any of the software clients), users can post their current artist and track name to Twitter. The update will be free and enters into beta today, though it won't be fully finished until sometime later this fall. [Sonos]

Go to "System Update" in the XMB to get the update, which replaces the Information Board with an icon-based system called "What's New," plus premium themes, trophy displays, and a status indicator at the top that shows things like number of friends online and messages. Check it out and let us know of anything else you find hidden in the update. [PlayStation Lifestyle]

While the latest DSi firmware 1.4 tempted users with social networking on Facebook, it also blocked infamous R4 cartridges, a popular way to load pirated software on the DS/DSi. But according to this clip, Nintendo's efforts were again futile, as pirates have already circumvented new security measures.

The moral of the story: The DSi, even with its aggressive PSP-style updates, has no more chance of preventing piracy than the DS. [Kotaku]

Here's a statement from Apple on the software update:

We appreciate the information provided to us about SMS vulnerabilities which affect several mobile phone platforms. This morning, less than 24 hours after a demonstration of this exploit, we've issued a free software update that eliminates the vulnerability from the iPhone. Contrary to what's been reported, no one has been able to take control of the iPhone to gain access to personal information using this exploit.

Update 1.1 offers new audio notifications that have a richer tone, though users still cannot change sounds themselves. Animated drop down and context menus have also been added to WebOS and result in a more fluid user interface. In addition to aesthetic changes, Palm has improved the functionality of several applications—the photo app is noticeably faster with photo rendering. Javascript Interpreter performance upgrades were included with the update and seem to make everything on the phone a bit speedier. Palm also addressed owner complaints by improving auto-complete functionality and adding a more comprehensive dictionary. The update isn't without its drawbacks though; some users have been lamenting the loss of the key combination that quickly opens a new card. Overall, the update was well thought out and dramatically improves usability overall—hit the link to check out all the changes. [Pre Central]

There are a ton of minor fixes to the Pre, which you can read about in the changelog below. The big standout is re-enabled iTunes compatibility. As Palm says in their blog, "That's right — you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1)." How they managed to hold back from adding in "...Bitches!" at the end of that, we'll never know. But there are a bunch of other sweet new features, especially "person reminders," which let you set individual reminders for each person in your contact list (imagine a buddy calls, and a message pops up, reminding you to, say, congratulate him—or, if you're like me, to ask him to pay you back the money he owes you). So cool! [Palm]

Update: Confirmed.

Version information

* Version: webOS 1.1.0
* Release date: 23 July 2009
* Configuration: Sprint 1.7

New applications
NFL Mobile Live from Sprint

* Watch or listen to live NFL games right on your phone.

Feature changes to existing applications
Calendar

* For Calendar accounts you create on your phone, the default reminder intervals are 15 minutes for timed events and one day for all-day events. A few notes:
o This change applies only if software version 1.1 was on your phone when you bought it, or if you did a partial or full erase on your phone and signed in to your Palm profile again after updating to version 1.1. If you simply update your phone to software version 1.1, the default reminder intervals in Calendar do not change.
o This change applies only to Calendar events you create on your phone, not to events that are synchronized to your phone from an online account.

Camera

* The Photos application opens more quickly when launched from the camera.

Clock

* Enhanced support for time zones in Clock.
* When you set an alarm in Clock, an alarm icon appears in the notification area at the bottom of the screen. Tap the icon to display alarm details. Alarm details include the following:
o If the alarm is set for the current day, the alarm time appears.
o If the alarm is set for tomorrow, the alarm time and "Tomorrow" appear.
o If the alarm is set for any day other than today or tomorrow, the day of the alarm appears.

Contacts

* Friends added and deleted in Facebook on the web are now correctly added and deleted in the Facebook account in Contacts on the phone.
* As soon as you create or makes changes to a Google contact on the phone, the phone begins a sync to reflect those changes in Google on the web.

Email

* When you set up an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) email account, you can enter the mail server name as an IP address.
* Support for self-signed certificates with multiple common names has been added.
* When you reply to an email in HTML format using an EAS account, the formatting of the sender's original message is now retained in the reply.
* Palm's EAS implementation now supports several Exchange ActiveSync Policies, including the following:
o PIN/Password Required. IT administrators can ensure a password is assigned to the phone. Administrators can also specify the minimum length of the password.
o Inactivity timeout. IT administrators can ensure that an inactive phone goes into a locked state after a certain time period. You cannot set a higher timeout interval for your phone, but you can set a shorter interval.
o Remote Wipe. IT Administrators can remotely erase all data on a phone from their Exchange console. IT administrators can also have the device wipe itself if an incorrect password is entered more than a specified number of times.

Messaging

* You can enter emoticons in new text, multimedia, and instant messages. Emoticons also display in incoming messages.
* If you set the phone to use a 24-hour time format, the message times shown in a conversation appear in 24-hour time.
* If you go into an IM account's preferences, all the options are available even if you are signed in to the account. You can tap Remove Account to delete the account, enter a new password to update the password, or tap Sign In to sign in with your updated password. Previously, you needed to sign out of the account before you could use these preferences.
* When you delete an IM account, a message now appears asking you to confirm that you want to delete the account.

Phone

* When multiple missed call notifications are displayed on the dashboard, the time of the most recent missed call is shown.
* When you slide the ringer switch off, a bell icon with a slash is displayed. Previously, the icon was a speaker with a slash.
* In Phone Preferences, the Show Contact Matches preference is now turned on by default. When typing on the keyboard in the phone app, the phone automatically displays both the numbers being entered and any contact matches for the characters entered.

System

* Improved functionality of person reminders. A person reminder is a notification that you create in a contact entry. The notification appears when you have a call or exchange an email, text, multimedia, or IM message with a contact.
* Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1).
* When you enter a search term in Card view or the Launcher to perform a universal search, if you select the Wikipedia web search option, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.

Web

* You can now use symbols from the symbols table (Sym Sym key icon + key) when you enter text into a web page dialog box.
* If you have a page open at a certain zoom level, leave the page, and use the onscreen Back Web Back button button or the back gesture to return to the page, the zoom level is restored right away.
* A new gesture is now available that works the same as the onscreen Forward Web Forward button button. To move forward through open web pages, make a short swipe left to right in the gesture area.
* When using the Wikipedia drop-down search feature in the address bar, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.
* When you tap a link, the link appears highlighted to indicate it has been activated, even if it takes a moment for the linked page to open.

YouTube

* After you enter search text, you can tap the Search Search icon icon to perform a search. You still have the option of pressing Enter Enter key to perform the search.

The Exchange improvements seem to indicate that the phone would be able to do remote wipes from IT, required pin codes, remote wipes after a certain number of failed pin entries, and auto lock. This would seem to be setting the Pre up for more widespread enterprise adoption.

As for the mention of more apps, no one is sure whether that means more bundled apps on the phone, or more app store offerings. But maybe that means a dedicated Facebook app is finally on the way? And for the love of God, NO MORE NASCAR APPS. [Pre Central via Boy Genius Report]

However, that said there is as of yet no nanotechnology update process available to us that will physically fix that keyboard. You know, the one with the space bar placed precariously toward the far right extreme of the typing area?

Seriously, if this were in my hands and I was firing off a text in the heat of the moment after six pints or so at the local Irish pub I frequent, my message on the other side would probably look like a viral marketing campaign for that cheesy V remake coming to TV this fall. [Nokia via BGR]

A rapidly growing thread over at Apple's Support site is brimming with people reporting that the new firmware update—which simply jacks up the MacBook's SATA interface to a maximum potential bandwidth of 3GB/s, like in older models—causes their laptops to fail to recognize a wide variety of third party hard drives, leaving their computers effectively crippled.

You could argue that Apple's firmwares don't necessarily need to accommodate whatever modifications and third party hardware users might subject them to, but in this particular situation, that logic doesn't hold. The only way to even notice the MacBooks' decreased 1.5GB/s bandwidth would be to install an ultra-fast, aftermarket SSD, so Apple's firmware update was a response to its users' desire to use third party hardware. From the looks of it, this particular hiccup will affect more users than the first one, so Apple should be—pending an investigation—obligated to fix it. Should.

If you haven't applied the first update, Adam's initial advice has turned out to be very prescient:

If you're not planning on swapping in an SSD, you don't need to worry about this firmware update.

[Apple via The Register]

Panasonic claims that they did this for safety reasons, and from the horror stories of batteries exploding in phones that have really cheap third-party batteries, we're apt to believe them. But you have to ask yourself, do you want to save $30 or do you want shards of plastic in your eye? The choice is yours. (And if you choose $30, don't update your firmware.) [Panasonic via Slashdot]

The guts of the machine are a 400MHz processor, 32MB RAM, and 8MB flash memory, plus two external antennas for wider coverage. You can also stream media from USB drives through the USB port to UPnP devices. It's 802.11n compliant, of course, and will retail for $120.

Main point? That it's Linux-based, so people can shove apps on there like BitTorrent downloaders and whatever else you can find that runs on Linux. [Linksys]

It's called the MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7. Check it:

MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 addresses an issue reported by a small number of customers using drives based on the SATA 3Gbps specification with the June 2009 MacBook Pro. While this update allows drives to use transfer rates greater than 1.5Gbps, Apple has not qualified or offered these drives for Mac notebooks and their use is unsupported.

You'll still need an SSD to take advantage of these speeds, but if you really want to do that, now it looks like you've got the option. If you're not planning on swapping in an SSD, you don't need to worry about this firmware update. [Applw via MacRumors]

iPhone site appadvice has both rationalized and confirmed that even though you can't see more than 180 apps in the iPhone's menus, the iPhone can support as many apps as it can store. How? Spotlight. It's common sense when you think about it. You can search basically everything on the phone with Spotlight, even content not on the menu. So of course you can search additional apps.

Though let us be the first to say it: If you have more than 180 apps on your iPhone, it's time to do some housecleaning. [appadvice Thanks Brian!][Image]

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The Upgrade Rush Seems to Be Over
Before we begin with our tips, a note: Yesterday, we received countless emails about trouble downloading the 3.0 update. Today, we haven't received a single one. It seems like it's as safe as it will ever be to plug into iTunes and update the firmware—or just to call your mom and tell her the coast is clear now.
The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.
Tethering and MMS Aren't Supported Yet, But Both Are Technically Possible
Proceed at your own risk, but tethering and MMS are both possible on your AT&T-based iPhone right now, even though neither is formally available to consumers. The good news is that jailbreaking your iPhone isn't a requirement. That bad news is that you may screw up Visual Voicemail (probably a fair trade-off). More on these hacks here.
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You Can Turn Off Shake to Shuffle
If you are a jogger, jump roper or even nervous twitcher, you'll find that the iPhone's new Shake to Shuffle feature may inadvertently change your track. This feature can be deactivated in the settings menu. But unfortunately, the similar Shake to Undo cannot be deactivated at this time.
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Autofill Is Turned Off By Default
It's a minor point, but Autofill (which allows you to paste in name, address and phone number on webpages quickly) is by no means auto. Go into Settings -> Safari -> Autofill to activate the handy function. And if you aren't stored as a contact on your phone already, you'll need to create a personal entry from which Autofill can pull your personal information.
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Download Movies, But Over Wi-Fi Only
On one hand, it's pretty neat to be able to download video through iTunes. On the other, this option isn't available over 3G (as it is with music). So it's still best to grab the last season of 30 Rock before leaving for the airport.
The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.
IMAP Mail Search Doesn't Look Beyond Subject Line
It's very convenient to search your Gmail without going to the actual website through Safari. And while that search works for To, From and Subject lines, the search "All" tab is still doesn't seem to search beyond the subject line—instead, it's probably meant to signify searching "To, From AND Subject." Maybe you were wise enough to figure that one out on your own. It took us a minute.
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Push Notifications Are Supported; Push Apps Are Still Rare
While the iPhone can't multitask, Push Notifications get us halfway there. Apps like the new AIM will allow for IMs to pop up without actually being inside the AIM app. Games will allow player to player invites. But as of now, there's virtually nothing in the App Store that takes advantage of Push Notifications. So hang in there. The feature is officially here, but content hasn't arrived yet.
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CalDAV May Sound Weird, But It's Useful
Maybe you don't even know/care what that the CalDAV protocol is. No problem. Basically, it's a way you can sync calendars like GCal with your iPhone calendar. And it's super easy. Go to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendar -> Add Account... -> Other -> Add CalDAV Account. You'll need to enter the proper information (Google lists theirs here), but it's just a URL and your login info. Then open the Calendar app, which will sync in near real time with your cloud calendar.
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It's Possible to Search Music In Spotlight, Or iTunes Itself
It's hard to miss the iPhone's new Spotlight Search that allows you to dig through a lot of your phone's content (Contacts, Emails, Apps and Media) instantly. But what if you're in iTunes? don't go back to the mainscreen because there's a new search bar that's a bit hidden within the music player. Just scroll up in any iTunes list (portrait mode) and the bar will be revealed.
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You Need an iPhone 3GS to Get Every New Feature
Here's how you enable, Video recording, Tap to Focus photography, Compass, Nike+, Voice Control: buy an iPhone 3GS. Older handsets will not be able to check out these nifty tricks. Sorry, we didn't make the rules. Or the iPhone.

Daring Fireball was first to point out the support article, titled "iTunes: About unsupported third-party digital media players." In the one paragraph article, Apple writes:

Apple designs the hardware and software to provide seamless integration of the iPhone and iPod with iTunes, the iTunes Store, and tens of thousands of apps on the App Store. Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.

Unofficial translation: We have the power to hit the kill switch on Pre syncing before you can switch from Pandora to Tweed (which is actually pretty fast). Tread lightly.

What this means for the Pre compatibility actually being shut down by Apple, nobody knows. But that's a pretty strong message, even if it isn't quite a threat. [Daring Fireball via TechCrunch]

Not only can you use the Konami code to get the phone into dev mode, you can hold the volume-up button while it's booting in order to set it to restore mode. Once in that mode, you can use Palm's firmware flasher app to place on your own custom firmwares (doing whatever the hell you want to the phone) even if it hasn't been authenticated by Palm. Expect lots of low-level hacks that can do some really, really cool things. [Stephen Troughton-Smith via Daring Fireball]

• The Complete Guide to iPhone 3.0

Unconfirmed
• No More Free App Re-Downloading
• Direct iTunes TV and Movie Downloads
• Even the Camera's Better
• "Jibbler," for Voice Control
• Video Editing Controls

Features
• Parental Controls
• iPhone as Sex Toy

Walkthroughs
• Video Walkthrough
• How iPhone 3.0 Feels Different

How To
• How to Enable MMS
• How to Tether With AT&T
• How to Fake the iPhone 3.0 Firmware Right Now

Jailbreaking
• Look, It's Been Jailbroken!