March 27 - 9:15pm EDT   Outdoor enthusiasts now have instant access to trail maps right from their iPhones. Podpro is offering a free service for skiers and snowboarders that delivers instant access to more than thirty-three of North America's most popular ski resorts. With Podpro's service users can retrieve live weather reports, ski conditions, as well as lodging options from anywhere. [full story]

March 7 - 5:30pm EST   Cellular carriers are working hard to combat a new FCC regulation that would force all cellphone service providers with half a million subscribers or more to install 8-hour backup systems at almost every cell transmitter site across the U.S. The rule, which the FCC drafted after Hurricane Katrina knocked out hundreds of cell towers and sites along the Gulf Coast in 2005, is designed to strengthen the nation's communication system to help save lives during future disasters. Wireless carriers argue that the regulation was illegally drafted and that it would impose a huge economic and bureaucratic burden, according to the Associated Press. [full story]

February 26 - 6:45pm EST   Some users of Microsoft's "Live" services have reported difficulties trying to sign in with their Windows Live IDs. According to The Associated Press the problem is affecting many services, such as the Xbox Live community, as well as the Windows Live Messenger application. The issue is not comprehensive, as some users are able to sign in to the services without an issue. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem, but did not mention when a fix would be available. [full story]

February 26 - 2:55pm EST   Community chat service TalkShoe has come to iPhone, bringing live phone calls together with online chat. The service presents users with a Web-based interface to host live discussions, according to Yahoo News, and is designed to facilitate discussions about podcasts or other events in real time as they progress. TalkShoe's new iPhone interface allows users to take part in community calls, while registered users can use an iPhone to conduct as well as manage those calls. iPhone users have access to a link that automatically dials in and participates in a call, allowing up to 250 people to talk together simultaneously. [full story]

February 22 - 4:45pm EST   DriveSavers unveiled an iPhone recovery service at Macworld Expo in January, offering users the opportunity to save essential data from a malfunctioning iPhone that was not backed up. The service is able to recover pictures and critical data, once all other possible recovery alternatives have been exhausted. DriveSavers advertises a five to seven day turnaround for the recovery service, and costs anywhere from $500 to $1400, depending on the quality of the recovery. [full story]

February 11 - 11:25pm EST   BlackBerry devices on Monday saw a major service outage over the US and Canada, that spread across all service providers. According to Yahoo News, RIM did not comment on the outage, which Yahoo says is predictable behavior, based on a similar incident from April of last year. In the past, RIM has remained quiet on service outages for quite some time, then finally providing a cryptic answer. It is unknown how many users were affected during the outage; some users were able to access their device later that afternoon. [full story]

December 26 - 11:10am EST   Nokia has offered Apple a chance to join its Ovi Web portal, which would integrate the iTunes Store with the company's own collection of services -- including the Nokia music store, photo sharing, and access to services like Flickr. "In Finnish, Ovi means door. And our door is open. Of course, Apple can get into our portal. We even invite (Apple Inc chief executive) Steve Jobs to do so," said board member Anssi Vanjoki. Vanjoki also said that Apple's iTunes Store would be an enrichment for Nokia's customers, according to Thomson Financial. [full story]

December 14 - 10:15am EST   Orb Networks has released an application that streams music from a Windows-based PC over the internet to select iPhones, effectively making entire music collections available to iPhone owners on-the-go. Users install the Orb application on a Windows PC where music is stored, then surf to the free service at mycast.orb.com using an iPhone to play any track stored on the home computer. Orb also enables users to send friends text messages with links to music, and the software is available for free. [full story]

December 12 - 2:15am EST   Apple's second hottest seller this year has been little more than an empty box, since the company's retail stores are selling large amounts of the .Mac packages – largely due to the integration of the service with Mac OS X and iLife. Computerworld reports that the .Mac retail box, which contains a serial number on a slip of paper and empty space for the most part, has been leaping off shelves at the Apple stores. According to NPD research analyst Chris Swenson, this could indicate a growing trend with software developers, offering a boxed idea or service, rather than distributing software for users to install on their machine. [full story]