Magellan recently announced they are releasing a GPS car kit of their own and it already has hit the FCC. Like the much anticipated TomTom car kit, the Magellan will give the iPod touch and first generation iPhone GPS capabilities as long as you are using the Magellan GPS application. [iTunes Link] This particular car kit is crammed with some nice features:

• Fully adjustable mount that works with any skin or case
• Rotates for both portrait and landscape use
• Enhances signal with built-in GPS receiver
• Noise-canceling speakerphone
• Bluetooth hands-free calling
• Amplified speaker for clear, powerful sound
• Works with any GPS application (Unless you are using a iPod touch or first generation iPhone – you then must use the Magellan application)

Currently no price has been announced but you can expect the Magellan car kit to hit stores before the end of the year. Those of you in the market for a GPS car kit now have one more option available to you. Decisions decisions…

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

Magellan GPS Car Kit for iPhone/iPod touch Coming Soon

If you are not familiar with our Apps for Less posts, they are a great way for us to point out a few good iPhone (and iPod touch) applications available in the App Store that are currently on sale, or ones that have come down permanently to a price that we feel are worth mentioning to our readers.

Today we have some good news for all of you Konami fans out there. Konami has announced that every single game in the iPhone catalog is on sale for $.99 until November 30th. The titles are as follows:

• Metal Gear Solid Touch – The award-winning commercial warfare adventure brings Old Snake to the iPhone though five chapters spanning 20 stages in which familiar enemies attempt to keep Snake from accomplishing his mission.
• Field Prowlers POLICE RUSH! – In this all-new exciting car chase game, players assume the role of a police officer sworn to protect and serve by chasing down criminals and arresting them. Gamers will draw lines on the touch panel with their finger and guide their two patrol cars to hunt down bomber vehicles on the run from the law. To succeed, players will have to capture all the criminals across 30 missions over several distinct stages.
• Frogger – Help guide one of Konami’s most beloved characters safely across the highway while avoiding oncoming traffic and other obstacles.
• Silent Hill: The Escape – Enter the fear-provoking town of Silent Hill where players must solve puzzles, uncover dark secrets and gather clues to avoid grotesque monsters and survive.
• Silent Scope – Players will fight to save the President and the First Family from terrorists by using their marksmanship skills in this fast-paced rail shooter.
• Krazy Kart Racing – Pick one of ten classic Konami heroes and speed across 16 themed racing circuits in this 3D cartoon styled racer.
• DanceDanceRevolution S – In this addictive music rhythm game, choose from up to three gameplay modes with 26 songs and 18 playable characters.
• DanceDanceRevolution S+ – Groove in classic DDR style, but with an added bonus of being able to download new tunes to tap to on the go.
• Power Pros Touch – Experience the crowd cheers, fight songs and over 120 variations of play-by-play baseball commentary as players chose from 25 to 162 game seasons.

If you see any other great deals, let us know in the comments, or send them our way any time for inclusion in a future Apps for Less!

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

iPhone Apps for Less: Konami Edition

TomTom has released a rather significant update to their $99 iPhone Turn-by-Turn GPS application [iTunes Link]. It seems as if they had second thoughts about omitting first generation iPhone 2G (and iPod touches) support in the TomTom car kit. It was only last month that TomTom officially stated the kit would not enable GPS with the original iPhone or iPod touch. My how quickly things change, perhaps the release of the free Google Navigation application had something to do with it…

If anyone still rocking the first generation iPhone or a new iPod touch and try TomTom out, let us know how it goes!

[Via AppAdvice, thanks Tyler]

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

TomTom Updates App to Include 1st Gen iPhone and iPod touch GPS Support

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 (screenshot after the break!).

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

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

By now most of you have seen the infamous Verizon “map for that” attack ads against AT&T. It was only a matter of time before we heard Verizon’s response to the lawsuit [Full document PDF link] that AT&T recently slapped them with and respond they did. Verizon’s lawyers put their heads together to come up with the following opening line:

AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.

Ouch, if you continue reading the lengthy document you will find that Verizon does not intend to remove the ads from the air unless it is forced to. They also claim AT&T agrees the map coverage is indeed accurate and before anything progresses both parties need to do some more of their own investigating into the matter.

All of this really isn’t necessary, both parties should agree to carry along and spend their time doing something more productive – improving both of their respective networks.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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

Verizon Replies to AT&T’s Lawsuit Over Attack Ads — “The Truth Hurts”

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has updated links within iTunes to redirect the user to a browser-based preview page called “iTunes Preview“. So now you can send a link for a certain album to a friend and they can view it regardless of whether or not their computer has iTunes installed. Previously a link would recognize iTunes was missing and require that iTunes be installed.

These iTunes preview links can be found in the iTunes “Copy Link” feature. From there you can browse customer reviews, albums, artists, and tracks directly from the web. The only thing missing is the App Store, perhaps that is something Apple is currently working on.

So for those of you who hate opening iTunes to view a link or simply don’t have it installed, Apple has just given you one more option.

[Via AppleInsider]

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

Apple Quietly Adds Browser-based iTunes Preview

Much has been said about Verizon’s latest addition to their smarthphone arsenal, the Motorola Droid, some good and some bad. I decided to pick one up and decide for myself. It’s been a little less than a week that I’ve spent with my Droid and I must say, I’ve actually come away quite impressed. Now by no means am I saying the Droid is the best looking device on the market, nor is it the perfect smartphone — that simply does not exist. But what we have here is a very solid effort by Motorola. Sure Apple is at the top of the game in regards to UI, ease of use, speed, etc… but they have to play some major catch up with the release of their next iPhone — namely on display, notifications, and multitasking.

For the full run down follow me after the break!

Display

I want to start with the first thing that really pops out when you turn the Droid on — the display. I will admit I never had issues with the screen on my iPhone… until the Droid came along. The Droid’s display has a resolution of 480×854 and is 3.7-inches of pure delight. So much so that after using the Droid for almost a week now when I look at the screen on my iPhone everything on it comes across as being blurry.

Apple, we all beg of you, please make Rene’s dream of an iPhone HD come to life by giving us a better screen on the next version of iPhone. Pretty please…

Notifications

The way the Droid handles notifications is not something new but rather a staple of the Android OS. Like many of you, I feel the iPhone does a very poor job with any sort of push notification whether it is a incoming text message or a sports score. So poor in fact that if I receive a sports score and then a text message right afterwords I have no way of knowing the sports score ever came through! On the Droid I can get all the scores pushed to the device and have email, text messages, etc and a simple swipe down on the screen reveals every single notification. I’m not sure about any of you but how the iPhone handles push notifications is getting pretty old at this point.

Multitasking

According to our poll of what Droid feature would you like to see on your iPhone, many of you would like to see the ability to multitask 3rd party applications. Apple’s response to your request has been that multitasking will kill your battery faster than you could ever imagine. Are they correct? Yes and no. Multitasking will have a negative effect on your battery but it’s not as much as Apple claims it to be. Apple needs to let the consumer decide for themselves. If they’d like to take a hit in the battery life department to be able to multitask 3rd party applications, why not let them? Give us the option and make everyone happy.

Conclusion

So what does this all mean for Apple, and for me? Will I be ditching my iPhone for the Droid? No. I could never leave all of you behind. But I will be keeping the Droid as it definitely has my attention. I can’t say it’s the Verizon network as AT&T service is top notch where I live, but the three things I discussed above have me hooked and good. The Droid really is Apple’s wake up call in a sense. It’s finally a competitive enough device that it should force them to step up and greatly improve upon the iPhone next time around. While I would never tell any of you to do away with your iPhone I will tell you this, if you have a chance to pick one up and give it a whirl, do so as you are sure to enjoy it.

If you are interested in learning more about the Droid be sure to check out Android Central’s full hardware review as Casey knocked it out of the park. And if you’ve already tried the Droid, drop us a note in the comments and let us know how it treated you.

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

An iPhone Blogger’s Trip to the Dark Side with Verizon’s Motorola Droid

It seems as if AT&T is gearing up to launch their HSPA 7.2 in the Dallas area, making good on their promise of having it rolled out in 6 major cities 1 major city in the US. (If anyone in Charlotte, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, or Miami is seeing signs of the boost yet, let us know).

This is indeed the right time for AT&T to give their network a boost, especially with image the latest Verizon “map for that” commercials portray.

With these upgrades, you should have a better wireless experience with more capacity on our network and improved coverage inside your home and other buildings throughout the DFW area. Look for improved coverage in area communities like Allen, Arlington, Carrollton, Colleyville, Dallas, Denton, Ft. Worth, Frisco, Garland, Grapevine, Grand Prairie, Irving, Keller, Mesquite, McKinney, Lewisville, Plano, Richardson, Rockwall, Southlake and more. We updated nearly 1,000 cell sites in these areas! The fastest gets faster! AT&T has the fastest network in Dallas/Ft. Worth* and we’re excited to announce that Dallas will be among the first 6 major U.S. cities in which AT&T plans to upgrade its existing 3G technology to HSPA 7.2.** This new upgrade will provide considerably faster mobile broadband speeds, and we plan to make it available by the end of the year.

AT&T claims to have spent 50 million to improve their 850 mhz network in Dallas alone. That should mean pristine service for those enough luck enough to be a resident of the Dallas area. At least you that’s what one would hope…

[Thanks to David for the tip!]

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

AT&T Ready to Rollout HSPA 7.2 in Dallas

Gigaware and RadioShack have teamed up to bring you an exclusive HD Radio iPhone/iPod touch solution with the Gigaware In-line Control with HD Radio for $80. Previously, if you wanted a portable way to listen to HD radio, your options were limited — the best solution being the Zune HD. This version’s highlights include:

• Easily connects to your iPhone and iPod touch via the dock connector
• Receive HD radio signals that offer CD-quality sound
• Song information, such as title and artist, appears on your iPod’s display
• iTunes Tagging saves artist and song information to your iPod for purchase via Apple’s iTunes
• Discover HD2 substations hidden between your regular stations that only HD radio can deliver
• Play, Stop, Pause, Forward, Backward and Scan controls that your fingers can locate by touch

So at $80 a crack, is this something you would be willing to try out or are you happy enough with your own music and iTunes?

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

Gigaware HD Radio for iPhone/iPod touch Now Available at RadioShack for $80