For a lot of people, the iPhone successfully replaced the iPod. In the end, I guess this is good for the user, and bad for Apple, but since there are still a lot of ways to cover the losses inflicted by the iPhone on its iPod brothers, I don't worry at all for the Cupertino-based company. Just look at the latest iPhone-related rumor - Apple may bring wireless music purchases right to the 3G iPhone!

According to the New York Times, Apple is already in talks with some of the major music labels regarding a future deal, to allow the 3G iPhone owners to purchase music right on their phones, by using a mobile version of the iTunes Store. Obviously, they should also be connected to the Internet through a high speed WiFi connection, despite the fact that the mobile iTunes Store is going to be installed on the handset, and not on a remote server, as it happens for computer users using it.

The problem is that it's most likely we won't see this becoming reality before mid-June. After all, the 3G iPhone is expected to arrive on the 9th of June, and Apple should also allow the 3G iPhone to become popular with users, at least two or three weeks, in my opinion.

If you didn't get a download manager until now, I am sure you probably never had the chance of downloading a large file, and see your connection failing at 99%. Believe me, that can really ruin your day! Anyway, since there are a lot of solutions for avoiding such unfortunate events, today I decided to tell you a few words about such a program for Mac OS X, released recently by a company based in Innsbruck, Austria, called Many Tricks.

Their download management "trick" is simply called Leech, and the current version is 1.1. This program gives you complete control over your downloads, offering queue, pause and resume, download from password-protected servers and the ability to store your passwords using the keychain.

The minimum requirements of this program are pretty light, in my opinion - Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard or later, 2.2 MB Hard Drive space and a Internet connection should be enough. Leech 1.1 is available as a Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, and its price is €6.95, but a trial version is also available.

By the end of the year, the iPhone may be available unlocked in most markets where Apple decided to sell it. No, no, don't get me wrong - Apple or its partners will sell the device unlocked, but this will come for a price. Probably, the difference between the iPhone coming with a carrier's plan and the unlocked one will be higher than $29, the price required to unlock your iPhone using the iPhone Sim Unlock solution I'll tell you about today.

Probably you wonder "why another unlock tool?", aren't you? Well, it seems that tools such as iJailbreak weren't exactly easy to use, so these guys from Amsterdam decided to give this a try. iPhone Sim Unlock claims its software "works for ANY version of iPhone Firmware(including the latest 1.1.4 / bootloader 4.6 and 16GB models!)," and despite the fact Apple would have their heads for this, they promise "lifetime updates and support." Even more, since this is a software unlocking solution, you can always restore the device to its original state, and that's what I can really call "good news!"

For those $29 I mentioned at the beginning, you will get access to detailed unlocking instructions, which allow you to unlock the iPhone in less than 3 minutes, but you will also get the lifetime updates and support I just told you about, together with a free wallpaper pack, 24/7 support, as well as extra downloads.

Since I have no iPhone to play with around, I will be waiting for your feedback. The only problem is that iPhone Sim Unlock doesn't provide any "Money Back Guarantee," so you'll have to assume the risks...

One of these days, I was thinking about Apple's policy regarding its name and related products. What if, one fine day, after eating an apple, I get called to a lawsuit for some "apple infringement," being accused of...something, I can't tell exactly what that could be. Fortunately, I am just kidding, because this won't ever happen. Anyway, it's interesting to see that, after being the target of various lawsuits for a long time, Apple starts attacking others in the court of law too, and this time, it's about Atico International.

Who is Atico International, that's not really important. If the name sounds like something new, then it's enough to say they are into the iPod accessories industry. So...what did they do wrong, after all?

According to Apple, they infringed on some of their iPod-related patents, including the ones related to the Universal Dock, three dock adapters, as well as all the patents related to remote controls. Even more, they are accused of trademark infringements involving the iPod mark and image, with the most important part being the "Made for iPod" trademark, since it is said Atico was operating outside the official program related to this.

For now, no judge has been asigned to the case yet, so we'll surely hear about this trial again in the future.

What do you think about an Orange iPhone? I mean, come on! Maybe some people would like to have some different color, something to make them stand out from the crowd, so why not Orange? Well... you will probably be able to paint it Orange, if you like, but I can't imagine Apple selling Orange iPhones anytime soon. Anyway, this is about the new areas where the French-based carrier Orange will officially support the iPhone, and not about the color(tricked ya??)!


Currently, Orange is the official partner for the iPhone in France, but they are also leaders of the market in a lot of other countries, and where they are not the leader, they still managed to grab a strong share, so it was only a matter of time until they would sign a new agreement with Apple... which has just happened, so a bunch of countries should get ready for the iPhone assault!

Which countries? Here's the list - Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland. Even more, it seems that even the markets in Africa where Orange is currently operating will receive the smart phone, although I doubt the sales will reach any significant numbers there.

These being said, it's only a matter of time until the iPhone will be available all around the world, but the question is another - will they manage to stay ahead of the competitors' tornado?