Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Apple’s 1.1.4 firmware update for the iPhone and iPod touch just hit the wires, courtesy of iTunes 7.6.1.9. Nobody knows what exactly is in store (SDK support, perhaps?), so obviously those jailbreakers out there might want to hold off while the braver souls among us give it a shot. For the record, no SDK has hit Apple Developer Connection yet, so take that for what you will. So far those who’ve successfully updated haven’t seen any changes, but we’ll keep you posted. So far the entire official word from Apple on the release seems to be “Bug fixes.” Typical.

Update: So far we’ve tested 1.1.4 on a jailbroken 1.1.3 iPhone and a non-jailbroken 1.1.3 iPhone, and had zero problems with either, including intact music libraries after the procedure — your mileage may vary! We went through all of the system settings and can’t spot anything new. Multiple sources are claiming ZiPhone works, but it’s not fully tested and may be a little wonky at this point, so proceed with caution.

Update 2: Well, ZiPhone claims to have worked, but there aren’t any icons for our installed apps, and we can’t uninstall or reinstall. Also, it’s worth noting that since this is a rather hefty update in terms of file size, and yet added features seem non-existent, our best guess is that this paves the way for an SDK in the coming weeks.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Read - iPod touch update direct link
Read - TUAW’s live coverage

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Never heard of Abilene Christian University? We’re guessing a wide majority of the general public hasn’t either, but the institution is definitely getting its name out there by promising each incoming freshman this fall an iPhone or iPod touch. Granted, these aren’t being explicitly marked as “free,” but similar to Duke’s efforts in years past, ACU plans on using these devices for educational enrichment. Reportedly, the handhelds will enable students to “receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors’ offices, and check their meal and account balances” — and that’s just for starters. Interestingly, we aren’t told whether or not the folks already enrolled will be left out — nor what determines which Apple you get — but we do know that the entity is hoping to “expand the program in the future.”

[Thanks, Byzil]

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Filed under: Cellphones

There’s no love lost between Nokia and Qualcomm — the two companies have been suing each other willy-nilly for a year and half now — but it looks like they’ve agreed to stop the vicious procedural and technical legal maneuvering that’s marked the dispute so far and make a go at actually resolving some issues. That’s right, after filing nearly a dozen lawsuits and engaging in an endless war of paperwork, the two companies have agreed to sit down with their arbitrator and figure out who owes who how much, and who gets the kids patent licensing rights. Still, it’s not over over — only two cases are being consolidated before the arbitrator, and although Nokia and Qualcomm say they’ve agreed to postpone the other outstanding cases and hold off on filing any more lawsuits, we’d say there’s just too much bad blood here for things to end this easily.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Last we saw Panasonic’s P905i handset it was bunched in between a slew of other phones NTT DoCoMo was touting, but now that the phone is finally on sale it’s getting the spotlight to itself for a little while. In case you missed it, the real stand-out feature on this one is the phone’s Viera image processing and 3.5 inch, 854 x 480 screen, which should get put to good use thanks to the ample supply of PMP features including, of course, a 1seg TV tuner. Otherwise you can expect the usual 3G capabilities, along with a 2 megapixel camera, 1GB of built-in memory, and support for the DCMX iD mobile banking service. No word on a price just yet, but you can probably guess if it’s in your budget or not.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Why is Nokia always trying to outdo everyone with its fancy-schmancy concepts and designs? Why can’t they just get in line and keep it simple? We may never know the answer to those questions, but what we do know is that the company is presenting a new concept device called the Morph that would be right at home… in the year 3000. The unit is included in the MoMA’s “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition catalog, and boasts the ability to stretch and flex to almost any shape a user could think of. The nanotechnology-based device would deliver transparent electronics, self-cleaning surfaces, and the malleability to transform into any number of configurations. Of course, the actual technology required to put this together is years or even decades away, though Nokia expects to see some of these innovations making their way into high-end products within seven years. See the device doing its thing in some photos after the break.

Update: Tipster Pdexter pointed us to a video of the Morph in “action” — check it out after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia’s nanotech Morph goes on display, signals melting devices in our future

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Filed under: Gaming

It’s no surprise that Sony has had some sort of new PS3 SKU in the works, but the company has now finally gotten official with it, and thrown in another surprise to boot. On that former front, Sony’s announced the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 Bundle, which includes said game, an 80GB PS3 and a DualShock 3 wireless controller (also available separately), all for the usual $500 price tag. Look for it to coincide wit