July 2 - 11:35am EDT   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. [full story]

June 30 - 12:20pm EDT   Fluent Mobile says it has developed the first news app that highlights only content formatted specifically for mobile devices. Fluent News for iPhone searches a variety of sources, including the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, using proprietary algorithms claimed to reduce search times and minimize bandwidth consumption. [full story]

June 29 - 4:45pm EDT   Dell's rumored smartphone may only be an Internet-capable handheld, a leak today says. A contact for the Wall Street Journal supports the belief that an Android-based touchscreen device is in the works but that it won't have phone features. It should be slightly larger than the iPod touch and would instead focus on Internet access. [full story]

June 26 - 9:30am EDT   When it ships later this year, the Zune HD could cost as much or more than the iPod touch by the time both updates are released this year, an additional leak said Thursday. An interview with a previous source on Neowin cautions that prices aren't "set in stone" but has the base 16GB model costing between $249 and $279, or at least as much as the Zune 120 does today. A current 16GB clickpad Zune costs $179. [full story]

June 26 - 7:30am EDT   Apple today dramatically increased its stake in PowerVR graphics designer Imagination Technologies through a purchase of a total of 13.72 million extra shares. The move, which includes both 2.2 million extra shares as well as 11.52 million shares on the existing market, well over doubles the original 3.6 percent stake bought late last year to 9.5 percent. It's believed the extra investment is a reaction to Intel, which last week increased its own stake a second time to 14 percent. [full story]

June 25 - 4:15pm EDT   Sony spokesman Al De Leon today teased that Sony is considering downloads of non-game software for the PSP. In an early demo of the upcoming PSP Go, De Leon told Crave that most of the downloads from the soon to be expanded PlayStation Network store will be games but that there's a chance "non-gaming applications" will be available. What these would entail isn't mentioned, but Sony already incorporates utilities such as Skype in PSP firmware. [full story]

June 25 - 12:00pm EDT   New data published by AdMob today showed that Apple's share of mobile web use has suddenly surged and now makes up more than two thirds of all mobile traffic in the US. In May, iPhone requests represented 69 percent of all traffic, a sudden jump from 59 percent the month before. By comparison, BlackBerries accounted for just 13 percent of traffic and Android phones represented 7 percent. [full story]

June 25 - 11:10am EDT   Apple has approved what may be the App Store's first truly pornographic title, claims the app's developer, Allen Leung. While Hottest Girls has been available for download for some time, Leung recently updated the software to include partially or completely naked women, without any objection from Apple so far. Until recently the company would typically reject any app with "offensive" content, including even historically important works like the Kama Sutra. [full story]

June 25 - 10:10am EDT   (Updated with feature information) Apple is now distributing an update to the Remote iPhone app, bringing it to version 1.3. The app lets users control music playback on a computer or Apple TV, whether through basic play, pause, skip and shuffle commands, or the creation of custom playlists. Users can additionally control speakers connected through AirTunes. [full story]

June 24 - 3:40pm EDT   A leak today of purported ad material from Microsoft appears to have clarified some of the company's launch plans for the Zune HD. The documents handed to Gizmodo show the player shipping only in 16GB and 32GB capacities; they also indicate that colors will be dictated by capacity and that the 16GB version will have a simple black while the 32GB model comes in the golden color seen in most previews. [full story]

June 24 - 10:30am EDT   USBfever has launched the Mini Capsule Microphone, a new attachment designed for the second-generation iPod touch. The device offers plug-and-play capabilities, and works as both a microphone and a speaker. Power is supplied by an iPod's internal battery. While meant for Touches, the mic is also said to be compatible with the iPhone and iPhone 3G. [full story]

June 23 - 4:30pm EDT   Three key instant messaging apps for the iPhone and iPod touch have been updated to take advantage of background push notification. AIM is now at v3.0.1, and relying on push technology can inform users of messages even when using another app. The update also enables notifications through SMS, implements fixes bugs, and lets users stay logged in for up to 24 hours. The paid version adds landscape modes for the buddy list and conversation views. [full story]

June 19 - 4:50pm EDT   The unofficial iPhone Dev Team has released a new version of PwnageTool for the Mac, updated to jailbreak devices running the iPhone 3.0 firmware. Once jailbroken a handheld can load unofficial applications, and provide access to normally forbidden code. The software is not currently functional with the iPhone 3G S, but should work on first- and second-generation iPhones, as well as the first-generation iPod touch. Second-generation Touches must use redsn0w instead. [full story]

June 18 - 7:50am EDT   Sirius XM early today launched its promised Sirius XM Premium Online app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The free software gives either of Apple's devices access to almost all of Sirius' and XM's stations as long as they have an active Internet-enabled subscription to one of the two. Songs can be tagged to buy through iTunes; channels can also be tagged as favorites or browsed while still listening to a single feed. [full story]

June 17 - 4:20pm EDT   With the launch of iPhone OS 3.0 today, Electronista and MacNN are taking a look at the major upgrade to see how well the features work in practice on existing iPhones and the iPod touch. We'll see whether the 3.0 update alone will be enough to satisfy owners or whether they still stand to benefit from the upgraded hardware in the iPhone 3G S. [full story]