Thursday, July 2nd
Last updated: 8:24 PM EST

Evening Edition

Apple issues heat warning for iPhone 3G and 3GS
Apple has provided a set of guidelines to help prevent users from overheating their iPhone 3G and 3GS handsets. Although the support page does not directly acknowledge the widespread reports of excessive heat with the new 3GS model, the company suggests the handsets should be operated in temperatures below 95℉ (35℃) and stored in areas that do not exceed 113℉ (45℃).

QuickerTek launches Apple Juicz iPhone, iPod battery
QuickerTek has launched a new external battery, the Apple Juicz, for iPhones, the iPod touch and other iPods. The 2200 mAh polymerized Lithium-ion battery measures 1.75- x 2.5- x .375-inch and connects through the data port and offers roughly three times the battery life of the iPhone internal battery. The Apple Juicz is rated for an additional 30 hours of music, six additional hours of video or three extra hours of talk time when used with an iPhone. the battery charges via the iPhone's USB charging cable, taking about three hours to fully charge. It has a built-in LED battery level indicator.

ExactScan 2 Pro adds OCR, barcode scanning, more
ExactCODE GmbH has released ExactScan 2 Pro, adding a professional version of its ExactScan 2 software for scanning or converting documents to PDF files. ExactScan's professional version adds optical character recognition (OCR) and barcode scanning, and can produce searchable PDF files, in addition to standard PDF and Tiff files. The pro version can also handle multi-page PDFs. The latest version of both pro and standard ExactScan, v2.7, can autoscan on paper placement, automatically crops on flatbed source and realigns paper sizes on source changes.

Afternoon Edition

IDG announces Independent Developer Pavilion
IDG World Expo has announced the Independent Developer Pavilion, a new floor area dedicated exclusively to independent Mac software developers. Available for Macworld 2010, the area is intended to attract attention from media, shoppers, industry and potential investors. When taking part in the Pavilion, developers are asked simply to bring a notebook and their product, as IDG will provide the remaining services and equipment.

MCS Music sues Microsoft, Yahoo, Real Networks
MCS Music America has filed a lawsuit against Real Networks, Yahoo and Microsoft over alleged music copyright infringements earlier this week. The copyright administration company claims the defendants breached copyright on several pieces of music and their artists. MCS represents a large number of other plaintiffs and says streaming music services such as Rhapsody, Zune and Yahoo Music allow users to retain the copyrighted tracks for an extended period of time, saying the defendants are required to obtain the rights for such a form of distribution.

iPresentee announces iWeb Intros add-on
iPresentee has announced iWeb Intros, a set of Flash welcome clips meant for Apple's iWeb design tool. The templates can either stand on their own, or be incorporated into an existing static template. Arrangements in the initial package include Desert, Groove, Paint, Splatter, Dreamy Intro and Multilingual Greetings.

Facebook iPhone app to get image zoom, uploads
Facebook is preparing an update to its popular iPhone app, with several features designed to take advantage of the latest firmware, according to Inside Facebook. Facebook 3.0 integrates a new menu selection for news feeds, along with a section for organizing events or sending RSVPs. Users can create new photo albums, view profile picture albums or upload content, while image viewing supports zoom.

TurningPoint AnyWhere 2.0 upgrades interface
Turning Technologies has launched a new version of its poll creation and sharing software, TurningPoint Anywhere 2.0. The software features a floating toolbar, which allows users to poll in any application and receive a display of both questions and results. Version 2.0 delivers an improved interface, a function for creating and storing questions in advance, and dynamic charts for real-time results during polling.

Broken iPhone screens now replaceable at retail
Owners of an iPhone with a broken screen can now have the display replaced at an Apple Store, reports say. Apple has typically kept most of its iPhone repairs out of retail, instead relying on central facilities to have a device fixed if it is not simply swapped. Replacing a display involves a special machine, which removes the old one using suction, allowing a new one to be attached with minimum struggle.

Sprint plans 3G femtocell before AT&T
Sprint this week staked its ground and claimed it would be the first US carrier to have a 3G femtocell. The company was already the first American firm to have any kind of femtocell in the Samsung Airave but now says to Unstrung that it should beat AT&T to having a device that can share 3G data with the home, improving reception for some smartphones and other devices that don't have their own Wi-Fi. Most current femtocells only boost voice service by creating a miniature cellular signal that pipes all data through a home Internet link.

Microsoft to sell Windows 7 family packs
An investigation of Microsoft's licensing for Windows 7 has revealed today that the company plans to introduce a Family Pack bundle for the new OS when it ships in October. Kristan Kenney has found installation rights for "qualified" Family Pack owners that give owners of that special copy the option of installing it on two extra PCs without encountering activation problems. The Family Pack only appears for the Home Premium edition's license and not for Professional or Ultimate.

iPhone 3GS behind AT&T's 'best-ever sales day?'
The iPhone 3GS launch on June 19th produced a "best-ever sales day" for AT&T's retail stores, a leaked memo is said to claim. The carrier similarly notes that it experienced its second-largest amount of one-day foot traffic, and the most transactions and upgrade eligibilities it has ever had to process. This comes despite also recording the largest-ever number of phone and feature orders through the AT&T website.

EU scraps plan to tax phones with GPS, TV
In some good news for local cell phone manufacturers, the European Union's plan to introduce new taxes for handsets sold throughout Europe has been scrapped, says a Wednesday report. The new taxes would have raised prices customers pay for new phones and most likely lowered the sales numbers of an already falling market. The decision came from Sweden, which hosts the rotating presidency of the EU, and will mean the Customs Code Committee will continue to treat cell phones as duty-free items.

Morning Edition

Palm Pre demand has 'settled'
Sales of the Palm Pre have cooled off to where supply is keeping up with demand, JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster said in an investment note today. He believes that about 270,000 Pres will have shipped in the first month of sales but that waiting lists have largely been reduced, revealing a near-ideal balance in what Palm ships each day. About 40,000 of the smartphones are estimated to now ship each week through Sprint directly, while more should also arrive through Best Buy and Radio Shack.

Apple aims for patents on iPhone RFID, haptics
A variety of Apple patent applications have been newly published by the US Patent and Trademark Office, exposing possibilities the company has been considering for the iPhone and iPod touch. Unusual filings include one for an RFID tag reader, which would be embedded within a handheld's touchscreen, allowing users to scan an RFID tag simply by passing the device over top. An iPod or iPhone could alternately be made to operate as a tag itself, quickly transmitting information such as personal identification.

LG prepping Black Label iPhone challenger, more
LG is developing a new designer phone that would specifically target the iPhone, the company's wireless chief Ahn Seung-kwon told Korea's Yonhap today. Only providing a teaser, he says the future device would ship in the fall and come within Black Label series that has so far been reserved for LG's best non-smartphones, such as the Arena and Viewty.

AMD Radeon HD 4200 to fight NVIDIA's 9400?
AMD is developing an integrated graphics chipset for budget PCs that could take the performance crown in the category, a leaked roadmap shows. Codenamed RS880 but likely to be badged Radeon HD 4200 when it ships, the design will have a new graphics core that should run about 15 percent faster than "anything comparable" on the market, implying that NVIDIA's GeForce 9400 or 9400M may be the primary targets. The Inquirer adds that it should support AMD's Stream general-purpose computing technology and, by extension, would eventually support OpenCL.

Apple working to patch iPhone SMS vulnerability
Apple is working to fix a critical vulnerability in the iPhone's text messaging function, says security researcher Charlie Miller. Presenting at the SyScan conference in Singapore, Miller explains that while he has agreed with Apple to avoid details -- at least until the next Black Hat USA meeting -- he can say that the vulnerability might allow a hacker to run exploits on a remote phone, using code sent through SMS. In theory an affected phone could be used to track a person's location, or listen in on ambient conversations; alternately, it could be made to participate in a botnet or a denial-of-service attack.

Current CULV notebooks too cheaply built
Many of the Windows PC makers building ultraportable notebooks based on Intel's low-cost CULV platform are learning first-hand that their cheaper case designs aren't enough to sustain the systems, a research note from AmTech analyst Doug Freedman says. Many of the companies design the systems with plastic shells to keep their prices down but are discovering that the cases are cracking, often forcing major replacements. Which companies are affected aren't mentioned, but Lenovo and MSI are some of the first making systems in the category with the IdeaPad U350 and X-Slim line respectively.

Early Morning Edition

Sonos readying touchscreen controller
Sonos is poised to update its veteran home audio controller with its first touchscreen model as a leak has shown this morning. Where the existing controller depends on button controls and a small screen to steer the wireless audio system, the CR200 spotted by Automated Home would have a much smaller overall profile but a larger touchscreen as its near-exclusive interface. All the multi-room audio selection and track queuing of the current model appear to carry over, as would a charging cradle for power.

Wednesday, July 1st
Last updated: 8:24 PM EST

Evening Edition

Gridiron launches Flow product management app
Gridiron Software has launched its workflow tool for professional product management, Gridiron Flow. The application provides creative professionals and workgroups with the ability to see, access and share project files within one interface. Gridiron Flow was recently available as a public beta and has added several new features with its full release, such as Share Maps and support for Adobe CS4. Other functions provide users with real-time access tracking, and time-tracking of how much time was spent on a file or project.