Apple

Although the new second generation iPhone has been on sale for just a matter of hours or minutes (depending on what country you live in), many owners the first generation iPhone are already enjoying what many consider to be the most important new feature on the iPhone 3G. That so-called "feature" is the new iPhone operating system, OS 2.0, which has been under testing/development with approved iPhone developers for months.

At the World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple's Steve Jobs today announced a July 11th launch date for the new 3G iPhone. In doing so he also confirmed the rumors floating about that it would be just $199 for an 8GB iPhone.

It was also confirmed that the new iPhone would have built in A-GPS, which uses cell towers to supplement the GPS satellite system. The 3G technology will, according to Apple, allow the new iPhone to load pages up to 36 percent faster than the N95 and the Treo. Battery life will not suffer with all the

Rumors are now flying about Foxconn Electronics manufacturing 3G versions of the iPhone for delivery in June. The rumors began when the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported that foreign investors in Tapei indicated that Foxconn Electronics, currently the sole manufacturer of the iPhone, received orders from Apple to assemble second generation iPhones that support 3G.

The Commercial Times also reported that various component manufacturers had received similar orders from Apple, instructing them to begin preparing material supplies by the end of May. The

Although Lenovo's ThinkPad X300 is slightly thicker than Apple's MacBook Air (.73 to .92 inches compared to .16 to .76 inches), it is equipped with an array of features that could give it the edge in the competition.

First off, the X300 boasts an integrated DVD player, unlike the MacBook Air which needs an external player for DVDs. The X300 also has three USB ports compared to the Air's one. In addition, the Lenovo has an ethernet port as well as wireless capabilities, while the Apple relies solely on wireless

Apparently, being unpopular in high school precludes you from creating desireable cases for notebook computers. Or so it seems, based on a recent offering by duo Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans. Bechtolt and Evans, after seeing Steve Jobs announce the Macbook Air earlier this year (during which he pulled the Macbook Air out of a manila envelope), came up with the clever idea to create a "functional" case for the Air that looked just like the real thing. Cute.

Though to many of you, this might be old news, we just stumbled upon the AirMail case, as they've dubbed it. The AirMail case is made of vinyl and lined with fleece and will supposedly protect your Macbook from the rigors of everyday life. But don't worry, that's not it. According to AirMail's website

Today Apple announced plans for its newest matchbook-sized device. At 2 GB, the new iPod Shuffle will have double the storage capacity of the previous Shuffle. At the same time Apple announced a price cut on the 1 GB version, dropping the tag to $49 from $79. This new 2 GB version will cost $69, a full ten dollars less than the 1 GB Shuffle's previous price. Apple has also been selling refurbished 1 GB Shuffles for $49 recently, so that price will probably drop as well.

Both versions of the half ounce flash memory based music players have clips for easy portability and come in five colors: silver, blue, green, purple and (Product) Red. (Product) Red is a corporate charity

Today in Cupertino, California Apple announced updated versions of both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The storage capacities of both devices will be doubled. Increased storage calls for increased price, of course, so Apple updated that as well.

The new iPhone will have 16 gigabytes and retail for $499 whereas the 8 GB version currently retails for $399. So you are essentially paying $100 for 8 more gigs of storage. You get a slightly better deal on

A cooperative effort between IBM and Apple will soon lead to Lotus Notes for your iPhone or iPod Touch. IBM plans to formally announce the software's availability for Apple devices at next week's Lotusphere conference in Orlando, Fla. With Microsoft as their main competitor, the arrangement

stands to be mutually beneficial. Taking advantage of Apple's success in providing alternatives to Microsoft products, IBM should be able to proliferate its own software. In turn, with an estimated 135

Apple announced today at MacWorld the release of firmware version 1.1.3 for the iPhone. The major new feature is the addition of gps to Google Maps. Actually cell towers will be used to triangulate your position rather than satellites. You simply open maps and hit the target button to triangulate

your position. Once you have been located you can use the eyeball button to drop a pin on your location then drag it to a destination on the map and get directions. 1.1.3 can also display the hybrid

The Macworld conference begins next week on Jan. 14 and many in the industry expect Apple to announce the next generation, possibly smaller iPhone. Most analysts do not expect it to be available early in the year however. That being said, there are still many expectations for improvement of the current iPhone.

Analyst Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group expects improvements in the speed of the Internet network and an improved battery. AT&T has already announced that it would bring faster service to