Nirmal has posted some details about the official prices of the iPhone 3G by Vodafone and I can definitely say that this will make a lot of people change their mind about buying the iPhone 3G.

According to the price details unveiled by Vodafone, the iPhone 3G will be available at a price of 31,000 INR for 8GB and 36,100 INR for 16GB (Thats $700 for 8GB and $820 for 16GB). These prices are extremely high as compared to the iPhone 3G price in US i.e. $199 for 8GB and $299 for 16 GB.

The ironic part is that though iPhone 3G is being launched in India, no major region of the country operates on 3G networks and most of it still survives on 2G Edge connections.

For more details about how to place an order for an iPhone 3G through Vodafone in India, please visit the Official iPhone 3G Website

So is anyone still planning to buy an iPhone 3G in India?

Perhaps with the new open-source community project called OpenClip, it will be possible for users to use copy and paste functionality among some iPhone apps without begging Apple to add this feature to the firmware.

This is how it works, when a developer adds the OpenClip framework to an iPhone app, that app gains copy and paste functionality. So basically it all comes down to how willing and supportive the iPhone app developers are. GeekBrief has also made a video demo of the copy/paste functionality being used within some native iPhone apps.

The OpenClip framework does not violate the iPhone SDK Agreement in any way so developers don’t need to worry about getting busted by Apple. The best of all is that the OpenClip framework is non-profit and open source.Here you can see a list of all upcoming apps for iPhone that support copy and paste functionality.

The gPda team is working on a new hardware aluminium skin for the iPhone that will make the Apple logo glow just as it does on a Macbook.

The Apple Logo glow does not take much of the iPhone battery but definitely adds more to its style, and the glow intensity can be adjusted manually through the iPhone settings.

gPda has already managed to mod some iPhones and it shall be available for purchase at an online store shortly. To watch a live video demo of the Apple Logo glow, visit iNews76.

I have done the homework for all of the iPhone app junkies out there by compiling a list of the 10 most useful free iPhone utility apps. All these apps belong to the Utilities category and are handpicked by me.

1. Ruler

This app will allow you to use your iPhone as a Ruler. You can measure any object by placing it on the device screen or just beside it.

Get App

2. MiGhtyDocs

The app allows you to synchronize your iPhone with your Google Docs files for offline reading. This way you can read/edit them anywhere even without an Internet connection.

Get App

3. UniCon

This is the most simple, free and easy to use unit converter app for iPhone. It allows unit conversions of 70 different units from 11 unique categories.

Get App

4. SpeedType

The ultimate typing tutor app for iPhone. Use SpeedType to test your iPhone typing speed.

Get App

5. Teleport Lite

This is the lite version of the Teleport app for iPhone. Allows you to view and control your computer from any part of the world remotely.

Get App

6. Flashlight

Flashlight app for iPhone lets you use your iPhone screen as a guiding flashlight. It even allows you to illuminate other colors such as red, blue, green etc.

Get App

7. Compass Free

Compass Free helps you use your iPhone as a free compass to assist you in navigation and journey.

Get App

8. Currency

Currency app provides up-to-date exchange rate information for over 50 currencies and 70 countries.

Get App

9. Barcode

This is a Barcode reader app for iPhone. Allow you to open matrix links in Safari, email addresses and even phone numbers.

Get App

10. PassGen

PassGen is a random password generator app for iPhone with self-customizable options such as digit size and character case.

Get App

Bonus App: If Found

If Found application lets you store your contact information on your iPhone so in case you lose it, the person finding your iPhone can return it back to you which he definitely will! because of AT&T contract.

Get App

If you know more useful iPhone apps, please share in the comments below. Thanks

While the short ad film is not exclusively about the iPhone, the way the camera focuses around it multiple times is just way beyond usual. Some of the iPhone shots from the ad film can be seen below.

Full motion ad film can be viewed on YouTube.

Right now its hard to believe if Apple would ever officially plan to release the iPhone in Pakistan as the target market is not too fond of touchscreen devices and some hardly even know what is 3G.

Probably, Mobilink planned to use a Jailbroken iPhone just to make their ad film more interesting and controversial however I will be confirming this through inner sources soon.

iPhoneBrowser is a software for Windows which will simulate and allow you to use iPhone in mass storage mode thus giving you access to all its files and folders.

The iPhoneBrowser provides a Windows based GUI for manipulating files on the iPhone.

It will not only let you browse through your iPhone files and folders but will also let you copy them back to your PC. Plus you can even preview media files such as images, videos in real-time.

The only downside is that you need to have a Jailbroken iPhone to use this application.

1. Selling a phone at $600 on contract

The first, like many of Apple’s mistakes, were born out of hubris.  Apple firmly believed their device was revolutionary, and worth every premium they demanded.  The cost of $600 with contract was near unprecedented, and after Apple ran out of rabid iPhone fans willing to pay the price and sales started flagging, Apple were forced to lower the price to a more manageable $400 and issue a $100 credit to furious early adopters a mere two months later. Of course Apple paid this in their fait currency, iTunes credit, so all Apple really lost was face.

2. Activation at home

Another mistake driven by hubris, Apple sold the iPhone without any contract, feeling confident that Apple engineers preventing the unlocking of the phone were smarter than the thousands of unpaid hackers rearing to undo their work. This was clearly not the case, and less than 6 weeks later the iPhone was freely unlockable, fuelling a gigantic unlocking and smuggling trade. Apple initially lashed out in anger, using one of the many bug fix updates to brick many unlocked iPhones. After an extremely negative reaction however they became more circumspect in their cat and mouse game with hackers, and eventually came to realise that selling iPhones to the world market did extremely well to bolster flagging sales on the AT&T network.

3. Web apps

Not much to say here. Believing smartphone users would be satisfied by web pages masquerading as native applications seemed a form of madness. The jailbreaking community soon showed Apple the error of their ways, producing numerous native apps, some of which may still not be surpassed by official SDK applications, due to the restrictions on these. After assuring prospective iPhone buyers before the launch that web apps would be more than good enough, Steve Jobs again had to engage in an embarrassing climb down exercise with the announcement of the iPhone SDK.

4. Selling a EDGE phone in Europe

While the US market, with its poorly developed GSM 3G market was ideal for the release of an EDGE phone, Europe was much less welcoming. Despite apparently setting records as the best selling phone on many of the exclusive carriers (other phones are mostly available on all carriers) numbers released by the carriers suggested much less than 500 000 iPhones were sold officially in Europe into a combined population (Germany, France and UK) of more than 200 million, compared to 5 times as much into the slightly larger 300 million American population.

5. Exclusive carrier agreements

Another area where Apple over-estimated the strenght of their brand, they were promising to deliver millions of customers to carriers in return for a share of their revenue. When rampant unlocking proved that such arrangements would be a little value, and poor sales due to lack of consumer subsidy showed that iPhones were an elastic commodity after all, new carriers refused to sign up to Apple’s usurious agreements, and Apple were forced to abandon their world-changing business model.
So, one is led to ask, what is left of Apple’s promise to change how phones are sold? Not much really, and far from being revolutionary, 3G iPhone will be just as conventional as any other high-end phone.

Especially with all those Urdu/Hindi and other native language slangs, I wondered whether I will have to sacrifice SMS or the iPhone. Well luckily I practiced enough with the virtual keyboard that I can now type blindly but for other new iPhone users there is a service called TypingWeb which can help you Improve iPhone typing speed.

TypingWeb is a typing tutor web app specially built for iPhone users. It allows you to track your progress by giving you beginner to advance typing lessons and keeping a real-time track of your typing speed. Taking 10-15 minutes iPhone typing lessons daily can easily you make you an expert within a week.

To get started with iPhone typing lessons, visit the following URL on your iPhone:

http://iphone.typingweb.com/

We contacted Telecom Italia who refuse to comment on the matter.

[Thanks, jimbojambo and Claudio]