Articles by Jeremy Sikora

BGR has just reported that AT&T may be working on a handset exchange program to be unveiled this upcoming June. Do you think this may have something to do with a new iPhone being released? Yeah, TiPb thinks so as well.

So, say you bought the iPhone 3G sometime in the last year and a new one comes out this June or July, technically you should not be eligible for the subsidy price. What does AT&T do about this? They introduce their new “Phone Trade-In” program of course. This may be one way AT&T will try to calm the angry hordes of people who feel they are owed the lower price. Keep in mind this is not without strings attached.

• The phone being traded in can’t be more than two years old and must be in fair shape
• The new phone will not have any subsidies applied to it, so basically whatever your trade-in covers will be your “savings”
• Trade-ins will be valued from $50 to $200

This is very nice of AT&T if this does indeed turn out to be true. While I would not go this route, it may be a valuable option for people looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest iPhone this summer.

(Personally, I say unlock your current iPhone and sell it on eBay. You should receive more $$$ than AT&T is willing to give you…)

[Via BGR]

Today we have a few good apps worth grabbing at discounted prices.

First up is an application everyone should be aware of by now, BeeJiveIM. From Monday, March 2 until Sunday, March 8th you can purchase BeeJiveIM in the app store for the low price of $9.99, which is down from $15.99. Not a shabby deal, grab this one before the sale ends! You won’t regret it.

Next we have a app we featured in a Quick App a while back, Resco Bubbles. You can now get Resco Bubbles for only $.99. This game is pretty addicting, well worth a buck!

This next app is in direct competition with another app from the previous Apps for Less. i Fishing is now on sale until March 4th. You can catch yourself this fine fishing app for only $.99! That’s $2 off the regular price.

Last but not least, we have one for the kids today. Whack It: For Kids is now 50% off and is available for the low price of $.99. This sale will run for only 3 weeks so be sure to get in on the sale. Your kids will appreciate it.

As always, if your application is going on sale or you’ve just dropped your price, be sure to let us know and we may include it in the next Apps for Less!

Over the past two weeks, the App Store has seen its fair share of good quality games creating some waves among gamers, Aqua Moto Racing (iTunes link) being one of these games.

Aqua Moto Racing offers racing with an unprecedented sense of speed on the platform. With state of the art handling and graphics this game truly puts your Jet Ski riding skills to the ultimate test. Race in the beautifully rendered American locations; Emerald Bay, Everglades and Long Beach Port. Start off with participating in a Championship for beginners. Perform stunts and keep a tight line around the buoys to power your boost. Collect medals in the Time Trial mode by beating set target times. Register a profile and compare your race results with friends all over the world. Race against Aqua Moto Racing Lite World Records through Ghost Play.

I know most of you are probably thinking we have more than enough less than stellar racing games available in the App Store. Hopefully Aqua Moto Racing is a good sign of things to come. Where most of the other racing games have failed, this gem of a game succeeds. With good graphics, great control, virtually no slow down, no crashing, etc… This game is a keeper for $2.99.

UPDATED: Developer NiceMac provided an update in the comments:

The app was not rejected, however it could not be approved at this time.

It does no good to send hate mail to or bash Apple or any other involved parties. In fact, it could damage relationships required to get this product to market.

Instead, we encourage positive emails and messages of support to all those involved.

ORIGINAL: Lately I have been the bearer of bad news. First it was Apple rejecting the official South Park application and now they’re breaking our hearts once more and waving bye bye to Howard Stern and Sirius XM by rejecting the uSirius StarPlayr application that we previously told you was due to be in the App Store in a few short weeks. Yes this is a very sad day, as I am a huge Howard Stern fan like many of you.

“As of yesterday, the uSirius StarPlayr Application for iPhone still had a status of “In Review” with Apple. Late last night, we became aware that the application could not be approved at this time. As fans, we are committed to continuing to work with all parties involved as necessary in any capacity required to see this product to market. It is our goal, as it has always been, to release this application at as low of a price point as possible, if not free of charge.”

With no real reason given why this application was rejected, we must sadly move on. You really have to wonder what exactly made Apple reject this application. Surely it was not Sirius XM as Howard himself loved the idea and was ready to pick up an iPhone just for this application.

Apple, why did you reject this one? This was an application that I been patiently waiting for… oh so much. This news will surely disappoint Howard and many of the other Sirius XM iPhone owners out there.

Hopefully, we will see this application available on Cydia or the App Store sooner rather than later.

[Thanks to Darren for the tip!]

The forums are seeing a lot of action as of late and today is more of the same!

The rumor mills are just getting started about the next generation iPhone and you can expect that to increase by the day. Knowing that a new Apple phone is only 5-6 months away, will you be purchasing the next iPhone? Be sure to get your vote in and let us know why or why not!

The next thread comes to us from TiPb’s very own Rene Ritchie. He wants to know what podcasts are currently on your iPhone? I’m sure every single one of our readers already subscribed to iPhone Different and iPhone Live… right?

Usually the main question from someone who is looking into buying an iPhone is battery life. No different here, jstac wants to know about the iPhone 3G’s battery life. My answer is simple — all depends on how you use the device. It can be good and it can be bad.

Another question that gets asked a lot about the iPhone 3G is it’s build quality. While I personally have had no issues with mine since July 11th, other people have not been so lucky. How about you? Be sure to check out this ongoing thread on the build quality of the iPhone 3G.

To join in on the forum fun be sure to register! It’s a simple process that will only take a moment of your time.

See you on the forums!

I’m a big fan of not using a hard case as doing so hides the beauty of the iPhone. So I tend to look for pouches, sleeves, and sometimes leather cases. Enter the Krusell Hector Leather Case for the iPhone and iPhone 3G which happens to be available in TiPb Store for $29.95. I’ve spent a good amount of time using this case, so read on for the full review! Read the rest of this entry »

Could this be a sign of things to come with tethering and the iPhone? Will all of us who own iPhones be vulnerable to these overages if we choose to start using software like the upcoming SlingPlayer Mobile?

A Chicago man (Jamesus — hoping it was not you, buddy!) decided to watch a Bears game via Slingbox on his laptop before leaving for a cruise… Harmless enough one would think, but his AT&T wireless data card decided to pick up a international signal while he was still in Miami… end result: A $28,067.31 bill for international data charges. It’s safe to say the data card was picking up the wrong signal and with a few customer service calls he eventually did get the charges dropped down to $290.65.

So all of you travelers out there, take heed if you are traveling on a fringe area and take all precautions to avoid something like this happening to you…

*It seems that this story comes to us via the Chicago Sun-Times and their feature: The Fixer. The man who was charged could not get AT&T to remove the charges from customer service calls until the Sun-Times got involved and the story ended up in the paper. Knowing that, it makes AT&T look a lot worse then they already did… Ouch.

[Via EngadgetMobile]

There is a new email promo floating around from Best Buy (got mine last night). Their Reward Zone and Premier Silver members are being offered a pretty enticing discount when purchasing new a iPhone 3G. Here’s how it works: Reward Zone members purchasing a new iPhone 3G will be lucky enough to have $50 knocked off the regular price while Premier Silver members get a even more generous $100 off of a new iPhone 3G.

Keep in mind this offer is only good until Saturday February 28th and you must sign your life away to AT&T for two years. So, if you are out shopping for a brand spanking new iPhone 3G and you’ve been a Reward Zone member before February 21st… head on over to Best Buy!

Today on Apps for Less we have 3 very well polished games to recently hit the app store.

First up, if you are a Chef Ramsay fan you will not want to pass this one up. For a limited time you can cook up Hell’s Kitchen for $2.99. That’s 50% off the regular price!

“The Hell’s Kitchen game is perfectly suited to take advantage of the power of these devices. Rich graphics featuring Gordon Ramsay in 3D, realistic sound effects, and easy touch screen game play to quickly move players from dining room to kitchen all combine to create one of the most dynamic iPhone and iPod touch games available.”

Next up is a good one for all of you fishing fans out there. Maybe you saw this app in the latest iPod Touch commercial Rene posted about a few short days ago. Flick Fishing is now on sale for only $.99! Get this before it goes back up to it’s regular price of $2.99.

“With 6 fishing locations, 9 types of bait and tackle, 12 tournaments and dozens of unique species of fish, Flick Fishing is an unrivaled fishing simulation, and just plain fun!”

Last up we have iDracula, again this is a limited $.99 sale offer! It will be back up to it’s $2.99 price in a short time so don’t delay!

“Can you stand the night? iDracula is an intense survival shooter – the most intense game in the App Store. You begin with a simple gun and slow monsters, but as the time passes, they grow stronger and faster, dropping better weapons. You will also be able to gain “perks”, as you earn enough experience.”

So there you have it, a quick wrap up of three of the hottest new games to hit the App Store! Grab these deals before they disappear!

You really have to love Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park:

“We’re always in favor of people downloading. It’s how a lot of people see the show. And it’s never hurt us. We’ve done nothing but be successful with the show. How could you ever get mad about somebody who wants to see your stuff?”

Well Apple drops the ball yet again with the official South Park app in the App store… and yet again a 3rd party picks up the slack. South Park Mobile is available via Cydia and if you are not jailbroken, check out www.southparkmobile.net on your iPhone. What this app allows you to do is stream full episodes of South Park for your viewing pleasure right on your iPhone. Every single episode, from every single season is available for you to stream. Keep in mind this is not something official from Mr. Stone and Mr. Parker but it’s the best we currently have available to us.

*You must be on firmware 2.2+ in order for this Jailbreak App to work.

[Thanks to Jaun for the tip!]