Just because you live in a tropical paradise doesn't mean you need to forgo a shot at the iPhone 3G -- heck, Hawaii has already proved that. There are yet more vacation havens within AT&T's expansive realm, though, and the carrier's about to throw two of 'em a bone later this month when it brings Apple's bundle of joy (or seething hatred, depending on your disposition) to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico's solid for 3G coverage -- but you may as well just leave the "3G" off "iPhone 3G" when you head over to St. Croix, seeing how there's no HSDPA to be found in those parts. Anyway, you'll be able to get "iReady" (AT&T's verbiage, not ours) on October 17.

If you can't get your goods into China via the front door, there's always the back. Apple is now selling its iPhone 3G unlocked via its on-line Apple Store in Hong Kong. The 8GB model sells for HK$5,500 (about US$694) or HK$6,200 (about $797) for the 16 gigger. Already available since July 11th with a local Hutchison Telecommunications contract, this is the first time that Apple has sold its device unlocked in Hong Kong:

"iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation."

Unfortunately for the 1 billion mainland Chinese, the terms and conditions limit sales to those in Hong Kong only -- not that the gray market cares about T&Cs. It'll be interesting to see if Apple extends the unlocking more broadly (presumably as exclusivity deals expire) or if this is strictly a local phenomena, perhaps in direct response to having its WiFi and the imperialistic 3G gutted from handsets sold under Apple's rumored China Mobile deal.

[Via PC World, thanks Twins N]

Currently, over 400,000 unlocked iPhones are roaming around China. Now that China Mobile is about to officially launch Apple's latest handset in the world's most populous country, we can only imagine that figure going up. In a bizarre twist of trying to keep a homegrown 3G standard (TD-SCDMA) alive, the carrier has announced that it is intending to launch the mobile with WiFi and 3G disabled -- a move that would make it less appealing to those who may be considering buying one, unlocking it and using it on the expected W-CDMA network from China Telecom. Uncool, China Mobile. Very uncool.

[Via mocoNews]

Worried about long lines for the iPhone 3G come this holiday season? Already breaking into cold sweats at the thought of standing knee-deep in snow for three hours so that your loved ones won't be filled with contempt for you? Take heart, consumers -- Apple has you covered. The company has just launched an online tool to take you through the process of purchasing an iPhone 3G, allowing you to just pop into your local Apple Store for retrieval and activation. Sure, this still doesn't let you just order a phone for delivery like a normal person, and it's a day late and a dollar short for the people who've already wasted precious time waiting for this thing, but it's nice to know it's there if you need it.

We're not particularly inclined to believe them, but the whispers that Apple is about to bump the top-end iPhone capacity to 32GB are getting harder to ignore -- especially since 8GB inventory is drying up, leading to speculation that's it's going to be dropped as soon as next week. We think the timing's a little odd on the heels of the Let's Rock iPod refresh, but considering the rampant speculation that Apple was forced to bump the nano to 16GB and drop the "limited edition" 4GB model entirely at the last minute in response to the new Zune lineup we suppose it makes competitive sense. AppleInsider also says customers will once again get the option to activate in-home, but we haven't heard anything about that -- we'll see what happens in the next few days.

[Thanks, Harry]

fsjk85 at the Australian Whirlpool forums was playing around with his camcorder's NightShot function when he found something interesting -- a hidden data matrix code on the left side of the iPhone 3G. We're guessing that's where Apple imprints the serial and IMEI numbers of each handset since it can't exactly hide them under a removable battery (cough), but we'll leave it to the rest of you to decode this sneaky tag and solve the mystery once and for all.

Update: We just got a much higher-res image of the code -- check it out after the break. [Thanks, Ben]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We're not saying a transparent box designed to "acoustically amplify" your iPhone speakers is an unmistakable ripoff or anything, but we do believe your $19.99 would be better spent on materials and beverages of choice as you exercise that DIY muscle. At any rate, Griffin Technology has today introduced the AirCurve (that's the thing we just described) alongside the Clarifi ($34.99; pictured after the jump), a polycarbonate protective case for your iPhone 3G. Unlike alternatives, though, this one has a "close-up lens," which supposedly gives your iPhone 3G the ability to take remarkably detailed macro shots with even "more accurate colors." Call us jaded, but both of these things have marketing hoopla written all over 'em.

[Via iLounge]
Read - AirCurve
Read - Clarifi

Make no mistake about it, the iPhone (and the App Store in particular) has made the lives of many home owners much, much easier. As it stands, there are already a few apps out there that interface with Crestron gear, but to date, there's no official Crestron app to fiddle with. But give it 60 days or so and there will be -- at least, that's the good word over at the company's booth today at CEDIA. Said application will be 100% free to download, and as you can see in the gallery over at Engadget HD, it elegantly enables wired home owners to control lighting, temperature and all sorts of other things via WiFi or 3G, at home or anywhere else in the world. Users can even program in settings for multiple houses, enabling them to turn the AC on in Orlando while blasting the heat in Jackson Hole. So let's see, all you need now is an iPhone, a couple properties, a few dozen grand to blow on Crestron HA gear and a tiny bit of patience.

We've known that a pay-as-you-go iPhone 3G plan was in the works at O2 since June, but the carrier has at long last fessed up and provided the formal introduction. The iPhone 3G Pay & Go plan will be live on September 16th, enabling users in the UK to purchase the handset sans contract for £349.99 (8GB) or £399.99 (16GB). Yeah, it's quite a bit more than free on contract, but those prices do include unlimited browsing and WiFi for the first 12 months after the phone is activated. Once that honeymoon ends, you're looking at £10 per month to keep browsing. Also of note, Visual Voicemail is conveniently omitted from Pay & Go phones, but if you're cool with that, you can get going in a fortnight by heading to your local O2, Apple or Carphone Warehouse store.

[Via Stuff, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

For better or worse, it looks like the so-called iControlPad is edging closer to reality -- or at least something really similar. According to a new image (and our limited Spanish translation skills), Belkin is actually looking to produce an App Store gaming controller, though we're still not entirely convinced that what we're seeing is legitimate. Whatever the case, the JoyPod would somehow, someway provide users who purchased Super Monkey Ball to play it using a bona fide game pad, though we can't figure out if the iPod touch / iPhone slips in behind the controller or if it just morphs to fit the JoyPod's space constraints. Guess we'll see (or not) soon enough.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Belkin pinged us to say this is 100% fake. Ah well, at least you know the truth now.

Folks, be honest with us here -- did you really expect Orange and / or Apple to say anything other than this? Amidst reports that iPhone 3G line sitters at Polish Orange stores were actually paid to be there, the carrier has shot back in order to defend its dignity. In an e-mail reply to an Ad Age inquiry on the matter, a spokeswoman proclaimed that as "part of the excitement around the launch of the iPhone, some of [Orange's] team has been joining customers outside [of the] shops." She also noted that "sales were strong" and that Orange "was happy," though actual numbers were not revealed. So there you have it, now make of it what you will.

[Image courtesy of AppleBlog]

Apple's iPhone 3G ads paint a pretty cheery picture of the device in action, but just as many of you have noted, the omission of Flash and Java means there's a big difference between what the "the real internet" and what's on the iPhone -- enough so that the UK's Advertising Standards Authority has pulled one of Apple's latest ads from the airwaves because it claims "all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone." At least two people complained to the ASA that the ad was misleading because sites that use Flash and Java don't work on the iPhone, and the board agreed, saying that "We concluded that the ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone" because "viewers were likely to expect to be able to see all the content on a web site normally accessible through a PC rather than just having the ability to reach the website." If we had to guess, we'd say this decision is more likely to prompt Apple to be more careful with its ads in the future rather than ever bring Flash or Java to the iPhone, but you know Adobe is feeling pretty smug right about now. Check the ad after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Given that just about every high-end handset on the market has a diamond-encrusted cousin out there somewhere, it was only a matter of time before Apple's latest got its own stupidly expensive sibling. Knalihs Anthem is offering up 50 iPhone 3Gs with over 475 diamonds weighing 3.75 carats in total. Each mobile will be bundled with all the appropriate paperwork certifying the gems, and while the first ten units will go for a cool $10,000 apiece, the other 40 will be priced in due time. So, any guesses as to whether pricing shoots up or down?

[Via Luxury Launches, thanks Yogesh]

There's been a lot of discussion lately about iPhone 3G reception issues. Whether they exist or not is largely irrelevant in a world dominated by sound-bite driven perceptions. Nevertheless, some industrious Swedes decided to apply a little scientific method to the argument and found something interesting: the iPhone 3G performed just as well (or just as poorly, depending upon your mood) as a Nokia N73 and Sony Ericsson P1 when compared head-to-head in a mobile communications test chamber. The test was conducted by real-life antenna engineers just like those camera-fumbling souls contracted by the FCC. Of course, who's going to let a few facts stand in the way of contrary opinion and litigation, eh?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]