A potentially rare Apple iPhone 3GS prototype is being offered for sale on eBay.

For anyone in the UK interested in a small part of Apple history, vofffka is happy to ship worldwide

The iPhone 3GS during a talk time test. The “Watchmen” DVD is merely there to simulate a user holding the phone to their ear, thereby shutting off the screen. Music from the Zune is being played through both phone mics.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)
Last year I had a bone to pick with Apple for not including a call duration feature on the iPhone. Not a big deal to most people I’m sure; however, when it comes to testing talk time here in CNET Labs, I can’t think of a more useful feature.
With last year’s iPhone 3G, I was able to circumvent this inconvenience by tracking the phone’s “Time since last full charge” duration. This number, as you might have guessed, tells you the amount of time that’s passed since the phone was last fully charged. So, all I had to do was charge the phone fully, start the test, wait until the battery died, plug it back in, and check that number.
This worked fine last year, but with the current round of iPhone 3G and 3GS testing, I’m getting extremely varied results–so varied, in fact, that I can no longer trust this method.
No matter, though, since the latest iPhone OS 3.0 added a call duration feature. I figured I’d just set up the talk time test–which involves taping earbuds from a MP3 player to the mic of the iPhone and a landline phone, calling the landline phone, and waiting for the battery to die. Then I’d come back several hours later and have delicious results waiting for me (kind of like an iPhone-testing-results Crock-Pot).
Once again, I’m slapped back to reality as, unfortunately, the couple of times I’ve tried using the call duration feature on the 3G and 3GS I’ve had little luck. Apparently, if the phone’s battery dies in the middle of a call, the duration of that call isn’t saved on the phone.–yet another roadblock.
Barring sitting around monitoring multiple phones (3G, 3GS, and Palm Pre), waiting 10 to 12 hours for them to die–and hoping I’m around when that actually happens–my only alternative was to log on to AT&T’s wireless site and access the call durations from there. Of course, nothing can ever be that easy. As it turns out, we only have the account information for one of the phones. Apple has told us that it either doesn’t have or can’t access (they weren’t very clear) the account information for the 3GS.
So, as suggested to me by our resident iPhone expert, Kent German, I decided to switch the SIM card of the 3G (which we do have the account information for) and use it for the 3GS. Although testing with this method will take twice the time, at least the results will be accurate.
None of this would not be so bad if, in addition to talk-time testing, I didn’t have to test the phone’s Web site loading performance (through 3G and Wi-Fi); battery duration during music; and battery duration during video–each in 3G and airplane modes.
Also, we run each test at least two times to ensure accurate results. In addition, the music tests can last up to 35 hours or more. And the video tests, which last from 8 to 12 hours, require me to be present the whole time thanks to the iPhone’s lack of a video repeat feature. I’m required to come back and restart the movie every two hours. I can track the audio, no problem, thanks to the device mentioned here.

here’s a bit of a kerfluffle arising from the discolored iPhone 3GSes out there. Some users insist that the new phone is to fast for its britches and is cooking the case, but one Apple technician seems to think it could be the result of faulty cases. Really, sir. I find your ideas fascinating and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility, but there are steps to be taken to prove it. The FrenchiPhone post suggests that a quick wipe with some alcohol takes the color right off. Is this the solution? A cheaply dyed leather case might transfer its color to the iPhone and account for wipe-able stains, but we’ll wait for the other users with toasty iPhones to give it a shot.

Apple hasn’t ever been great at this whole “heat dissipation” thing, but some new developments in the supposed overheating iPhone scandal of 2009 have us wondering how widespread or reproducible these problems might be. Here are a few semi-facts we’ve managed to amass:
Somebody’s white iPhone 3GS grew some ugly brown markings during heavy use.
A new development is saying that the discoloration came from a case (pictured), not from cooking the plastic.
More users than usual have been reporting an overheated iPhone error after the 3.0 update, but as Apple’s support documentation points out, this could just be from the time of year (summer, in case you haven’t been outside lately).
There isn’t a large mass of evidence denoting a major fault to the 3GS, 3.0 or chintzy white leather cases.
So, all that said, what’s been your experience?

Earlier today, Apple announced that they sold over one million iPhone 3GS units this past weekend.
The “Apple PR RSS” update feed simply stated “Apple Sells Over One Million iPhone 3GS Models.”
In response to the one millionth iPhone 3GS being sold, Apple CEO, Steve Jobs stated,
“Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”
Furthermore, Apple has also gone on record stating that the iPhone 3.0 software update has been downloaded by over six million iPhone users (of roughly 40 million iPhone/iTouch users total.)
Apple has managed to roughly match the same numbers they encountered when they first began selling the iPhone 3G this time last year.

According to iSuppli the 16GB iPhone 3GS costs a total of $178.96 to build. That is broken further down, which you can see on the chart below, however in simple form that total is based off a bill of material cost of $172.46 with a manufacturing cost of $6.50.

Interesting to note is that this model (16GB iPhone 3GS) is only a few dollars more to build in comparison to the 8GB iPhone 3G which came in at $174.33. Additionally, these figures take the materials and manufacturing into the cost, however there is also other items such as packaging and shipping to the retail locations that can be factored into the cost of each iPhone.

Of course, in reality Apple could be spending a lot less to build each iPhone 3GS, because no matter what we see from iSuppli, they are most likely not privy to any special deals that Apple may receive for buying these materials in the bulk quantity the would require. Nonetheless, it is neat to see that the new model is just a few bucks more than the previous, even with the upgrades.

over on Facebook and Twitter, the app is about 98%, no 92%, no 97% done, however there was not any other indication as to when it would actually be submitted to Apple for approval into the App Store.
As to what we can expect to see, how about we begin with what we are not going to see — Push Notifications. According to the post, Push Notifications are currently being worked on, however they will not be in Facebook v3.0, instead it looks like we “can expect it in a 3.1 update later this summer.”

Anyway, moving on, aside from the lack of Push Notifications there are plenty of other new features to look forward to.

1. The “new” News Feed
2. Like
3. Events (including the ability to RSVP)
4. Notes
5. Pages
6. Create new photo albums
7. Upload photos to any album
8. Zoom into photos
9. Easier photo tagging
10. Profile Pictures albums
11. A new home screen for easy access to all your stuff, search, and notifications
12. Add your favorite profiles and pages to the home screen
13. Better Notifications (they link to the comments so you can reply)
14. Quickly call or text people right from the Friends page
15. Messages you are typing will be restored if you quit or are interrupted by a phone call

In light of a spate of recent iPhone 3GS overheating reports, Apple published a set of guidelines to help iPhone users ensure that their devices remain at proper operating temperatures to prevent overheating and related issues. More accurately, Apple released the tips the day that many of the initial reports surfaced, last Thursday, June 25, so it’s unclear whether or not the two are connected–Apple has not issued an official comment on the reports. But the following information could be valuable to any iPhone owner concerned with possible overheating. “Burned” iPhone 3GS (via NowhereElse.FR) with iPhone Overheat Warning Screen

From Apple:

iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS should be used in environments where temperatures remain between 32 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures outside of this range could decrease battery life temporarily or effect performance.iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS should be stored in locations where temperatures remain between -4 degrees and 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: Temperatures within sealed motor vehicles can exceed 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

iPhone owners who don’t follow these suggested best-practices could experience any of the following “symptoms:”

iPhone could randomly cease chargingiPhone display could become less brightiPhone cellular connection could weaken or diminishiPhone temperature warning screen could appear, rendering your device useless except for making emergency phone calls

Apple also included the following suggestions, though most of these are simply common sense, at least for experienced gadget users:

Don’t leave your iPhone in a vehicle during a hot dayDon’t leave your iPhone in direct sunlight for any extended period of time-Avoid using data intensive applications, like GPS or streaming-media apps, for extended periods of time on hot days or while in direct sunlight.

Note: Apple’s iPhone overheating tips appear to be aimed specifically at iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS owners, but I’d say they’re equally applicable to first-gen iPhone users. I’m guessing there’s no temperature warning screen on the original iPhone, though.)

I’ve got a few of my own tips, too.

First of all, you should try not to use too many applications at once on a hot day or while out in the sun, since your device is more likely to overheat. As a rule of thumb, the more tasks your device is performing, the more battery life it will need, and in turn, the hotter that battery and its surrounding components will get.

Secondly, don’t worry about it if your iPhone gets warm. All mobile devices, cell phones, netbooks, laptops, etc., tend to heat up on hot days or during extended use. However, if your device seems to be getting uncommonly hot to the touch or it’s too hot to handle for long, turn it off and let it cool down.

Finally, if you must use an iPhone or other device in steamy environs, try to keep it in the shade or at least out of the direct sunlight. I wear a baseball hat constantly, but in addition to showing my support for the best team in baseball–Go Red Sox!!–it also works great as an “umbrella” or sorts for my iPhone or BlackBerry.

I keep both my iPhone and BlackBerry busy in the car, getting GPS driving directions and listening to Pandora Radio via my stereo Bluetooth FM transmitter, which is sure to get any mobile device nice and toasty. But I keep them out of the sun by throwing my hat down on top while they’re in use.

Leave it to iPhone to reinvent the way you cut, copy, and paste words and images. Multi-Touch makes it faster and easier than ever

Cut, copy, and paste words.

Quickly cut, copy, and paste words with a tap. You can also copy content from the web, then paste it into an email or text message.