Well, if you can't beat 'em, then just keep 'em busy. That seems to be the thinking at Apple these days at least, which has ratcheted up its fight with the iPhone jailbreaking community once again by updating the bootrom on iPhone 3GS units that started shipping in the past week. That was apparently first discovered by Mathieulh and later verified by iPhone Dev Team member "Muscle Nerd," who confirmed that the update (iBoot-359.3.2) renders the iPhone 3GS "impossible" to jailbreak for the time being. Of course, that time could well end up being fairly short, but if you just have to jailbreak a 3GS right now, you'll probably want to try to track down some old stock or snap up a refurbished unit.

[Via Daily Tech]

Not that we're surprised, but Bell isn't the only Canadian carrier stealing the iPhone exclusivity limelight from Rogers. Telus is proudly proclaiming on its home page that it, too, will have the iPhone 3GS in November. No word on prices, but we doubt the companies will stray too far from the current trends. Now that the playing field's a bit more even, may the best carrier (or the one with the best advertising, at least) win!

It's official, Bell and Apple have agreed to sell the iPhone 3G and 3GS in Canada starting November. The move ends the Rogers exclusive in while christening Bell's new 3G network with Apple's darling. Hmm, first O2 lost it exclusivity then Rogers, we're sensing a trend.

[Thanks, Sean]

Oh, brother. TomTom just hit us up with the real details on its iPhone car kit slip this morning, and we've got a feeling you won't like what it has to say. It confessed that the posting was indeed a mistake, and thus, the pricing was also incorrect. If you'll recall (c'mon, it wasn't that long ago), the Apple store listing explained that the £99.99 car kit included the iPhone app, when in reality, that price definitely does not include the app. Jump on past the break for TomTom's official statement, which now curiously states that the "iPhone 2G" will be compatible with the car kit, yet doesn't mention the iPod touch at all.

The TomTom iPhone Car Kit has just gone up for pre-order on the Apple UK store -- we presume it will go global in the hours to come. It'll cost 5 pence shy of £100 and ships in 2-3 weeks with the dock and adhesive disk in the box. Better yet, for that price you also get the £60 navigation app for the UK/Ireland. Then there's this little note:

"The Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, but the Car Kit app only works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G"

So what about the iPod touch compatibility as claimed in the TomTom FAQ? Or is that just a gaming device now?

Update: Just hit mainland Europe for €99,95.

Update 2: Oops! Looks like the page was pulled -- back to waiting! See the original after the break.

[Via Recombu]

Um, where to begin? How about a definition:

twinge n. A brief experience of emotion, typically an unpleasant one.

Funny, that's the reaction we had when first laying eyes on Mobile Mechatronics' iTwinge iPhone keyboard. At the moment, we're unclear if the iTwinge electronically docks to the base of the iPhone or if it's just a $30 (plus shipping) sleeve with Pogo-like coating for capacitive touchscreens. According to the FAQ, the ultra-low power iTwinge "uses the phones power" but doesn't require any software to work with Apple's iPhone 3G or 3GS handsets. Regardless, after 4 hours of usage an "average user" will increase typing speed by 30% to 40% with 70% to 80% fewer typing errors. Golly! If you pre-order now you can expect shipment in November. So go ahead, we dare ya. Another pic after the break.

[Via ChipChick]

Back in June it was revealed that the iPhone 3GS' newfound support of OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics put one of the first meaningful, material boundaries in software capability between iPhone generations (magnetic compass and video would be two other biggies), meaning that 3D-accelerated games targeted specifically for the 3GS platform could look a good deal fancier than their 2G / 3G counterparts -- and furthermore, they could be built to only work on the 3GS if the developer chose not to build in support for both. French software shop Eurocenter is touting that its newly-released Adrenaline Golf is the first game to take advantage of the 3GS' added graphics capabilities -- and while we can't verify that no other application submitted to the App Store in the past three months hasn't utilized OpenGL ES 2.0 in some regard, we can definitely verify that it looks way cooler on the 3GS. The good news is that Eurocenter has set up the game so that it chooses the correct graphics engine at runtime, regardless of the iPhone you're using, but after you see it on the 3GS it might seem a little inadequate on the older gear. Follow the break for our side-by-side demo of the sweet 3GS-exclusive water reflections, which are considerably better than real life since you don't risk getting wet.

Update: Sure enough, Eurocenter got a little overzealous with their claim -- Rocking Pocket's Blue Skies has had 3GS-specific enhancements for a while now. Thanks, everyone!

We always suspected the iPhone 3GS was capable of 1080p HD video playback, and now we've got proof. Although Apple lists the iPhone 3Gs's max video playback res at just 640x480, iLounge linked to Chinese forum post claiming that the 3GS could do 30Mbps 1080p playback earlier today -- and when we saw that the only thing we needed to do to test it out was download the free FileAid app, well, you know how we've just spent the last 20 minutes. We tested out a bunch of HD trailers from Apple's QuickTime trailer site, some videos we shot with a Lumix DMC-GH1 and some other random videos with general success, but there were some major hiccups: high bitrate 720p video off the GH1 stuttered during playback, and loading the Avatar trailer consistently crashed the phone's audio driver until we restarted. We tried the same thing on an iPhone 3G and just got error messages at almost every resolution, so it seems like it's a combination of the 3GS's extra horsepower and different built-in software at work here -- software that's clearly not ready for prime-time, as evidenced by the bugs. We're hoping Apple is polishing that up and getting ready to unlock this functionality, since it'd be sweet to just plug into an HDTV and play video -- anyone listening out there in Cupertino? Video after the break.

Read - Apple iPhone specs
Read - Chinese forum posts claiming 30Mbps 1080p playback

By far the slickest, most mystical way to charge a smartphone these days comes courtesy of Palm's Touchstone system -- but that doesn't do iPhone owners much good, which is where WildCharge steps up to the plate with a jacket that makes all iPhone models compatible with its wire-free charging mat. It's not as elegant by any stretch of the imagination, but if you squint a little, the jacket (or "adapter skin," as WildCharge calls it) looks like a totally believable case that you might buy in your local Apple store, especially if you can get past the hump at the bottom. iPhone Buzz took the $79.99 pad / jacket combo for a spin recently, and while they've yet to post impressions, the shots of the system doing its thing in its natural habitat might be enough to turn folks on or off. Ultimately, we still think we fall on the "just drop it on the dock before you go to bed" side of this argument -- especially considering the weird hump-laden jacket with exposed metal contacts on back -- but if you're looking for an easy way to charge from a second location that doubles as a conversation piece, WildCharge might have your answer.

As brilliant as the $99 subsidized iPhone 3G strategy might seem on paper, the fact remains that the 3G now is a 13 month-old device -- the better part of a lifetime by smartphone standards -- and it stands to reason that Apple wouldn't be interested in consuming manufacturing capacity indefinitely with outdated equipment, especially since that game plan cuts into economies of scale on the 3GS' chipset and superior camera hardware. The solution? Let iPhone 3G inventory cool down for a few months -- $99 is a nice, round number after all that's plenty low enough to move units -- and when the carnage is over, phase it out in favor of a new lower-cost 3GS. That's sure to leave new 3G owners fuming, but newly leaked screens out of Rogers seem to indicate that's exactly how this is likely going to go down: add a black 8GB 3GS into the mix that can serve as the company's new entry-level device below the 3GS in two colors, likely for $100 less than the 16GB model. There's no word on when this might happen, but Apple's likely to host its usual Fall event to roll out new iPods (and more?), so this could serve as an interesting -- if not ultimately predictable -- footnote.

You won't find an official announcement anywhere on the iPhone dev-team's blog yet, but a new version of the redsn0w jailbreak, 0.8, has just been posted to its official torrents that apparently includes 3GS compatibility (in addition to support for the 3G and original iPhones plus the second-gen iPod touch, as before). Whether it's better than GeoHot's purplera1n jailbreak is unknown, but hey, the more, the merrier -- even the iPhone hacking community isn't immune from brutally competitive market forces, eh?

[Via iPhone Download Blog]

Update: Now it's been announced. Get to it, jailbreakers!

Don't worry, everybody, your iPhone baking itself to a crisp is no cause for panic, now that Apple has found the culprit: the weather and your heartless negligence. Apparently you've been leaving your brand new iPhone 3GS in a hot car, and the warm sensation you feel any time you hold the phone has nothing to do with beefed up processors or inadequate cooling. Phew, glad that's all sorted and now nobody will have any problems with self-destructive iPhones they paid hundreds of dollars for. Besides, it serves you right.

Meanwhile, hapless Samsas Traum has found a problem of his own (pictured) that's sure to be blamed on some other act of god in the near future by Apple's spin team: the oleophobic coating is getting rubbed right off his screen. Apparently he has a bit of a fondness for a certain "Flick Fishing" app, which explains the highly localized nature of his oleophobic destruction. We haven't heard many other reports of a similar nature, but we'll keep an eye out for telltale Tap Tap Revenge markings on the iPhones of our rhythm-addled loved ones.

[Thanks, Rafa]

Read - Apple blames overheating iPhones on the weather
Read - Oleophobic coating wearing off fast

Now, we're hoping this isn't some elaborate hoax perpetrated on the kind citizens of the internet, because if it's real, it's amazing. Here's the deal: a man capturing video poolside with his iPhone 3GS somehow loses control of the device and ends up dunking the entire phone... while filming. Miraculously, he manages to fish out the handset and it's still rolling. We don't know what the lifespan was / is beyond this clip, but obviously long enough to upload the video or transfer it to a computer. Impressive stuff, though we strongly suggest you don't test this one out on your own. Check out the full video after the break.

[Via George Ruiz]