When it's warmer than the current 12°F here in Denver or I'm on a trip somewhere, I love to go geocaching. If you're not familiar with the pastime, geocaching involves using a GPS receiver to find hidden caches that can contain logbooks, "prizes," or even clues to other caches. To find out where a cache is hidden, you need to have an account with Geocaching.com and then search by city or location to see what's near you. The rest is up to your ability to find the cache based on the latitude and longitude provided, as well as clues that may have been supplied by the person who hid the cache, or by other people who have found the cache before you.

The company that popularized geocaching is Groundspeak, and they've just released version 3.0 of their self-named Geocaching app [US$9.99, iTunes Link]. Like a fine wine, this app is definitely getting better with age. Groundspeak added a pile of new features to the app, including the ability to view geocache photo galleries, rotate maps to match your heading (iPhone 3GS only), and view geocaching.com web pages without leaving the app.

One feature I like is the ability to save maps and photos for offline use. Sometimes when I'm geocaching in areas that don't have good cell phone service, I've felt that it would be nice to just shut the phone feature off. Now I can do that by searching for sites near a location, and then saving the information on my iPhone for future reference.

For geocachers who purchased earlier versions of the app, Geocaching 3.0 is a free upgrade. I highly recommend getting the update, and remember to restart your iPhone after installing the app.

There's bad news for AT&T in a recent customer satisfaction poll. Consumer Reports asked 50,000 readers across 26 U.S. cities to rank cell service providers on a variety of scales. Verizon came out ahead in 19 of the 26 cities. AT&T was dead last.

Dropped calls and voice service were among the chief complaints, and that's no surprise to us. We've heard the frustration of fewer bars in more places and experienced it ourselves.

But here's the interesting part. Despite the dissatisfaction with AT&T, 98% of respondents said they'd buy another iPhone. It would seem that the overall experience is good enough to eclipse the gaping hole in what should be the device's main function: making and receiving calls.

Last summer, I spent a week in the middle-of-nowhere, Pennsylvania. Everyone's Verizon-powered phone worked perfectly while my iPhone had gone deaf and dumb. Frustrating for me, and bad PR for my relatives. If the iPhone does go non-exclusive in the US, I'll be the first in line to switch.

When reached for comment, AT&T had this to say:

"We appreciate and value all customer feedback. We learn from it and it helps us serve our customers better. Without question the surest indication of customer satisfaction is churn, or turnover. For the last quarter, our postpaid churn was just 1.17 percent."

Back when the iPhone was first announced, there was no SDK, you'll remember. Jobs said that developers could just make web apps, and that they would be good enough. Of course, he was wrong -- given what you can do with your iPhone now compared to what you could do with your iPhone then, even Steve would be happy to say that yes, there is a native app for that. But let's not toss the projects out with the development platform, so to speak. Neven Mrgan, one of the devs over at Panic, has released Pie Guy, a free and surprisingly full-featured game for the iPhone that exists only as a Javascript web app. To play it, just point your iPhone 3GS (the page says you need one of those, and while I was able to play it on my 1G, it was too clunky to enjoy) to mrgan.com/pieguy, add that page to your homescreen, and there you go.

In case you haven't guessed from the pic above (or the name), the game itself is a straightforward Pac-Man clone. But what's most interesting here is the example this game sets. Think about it: a full featured, automatically updated game release, delivered straight to the iPhone without any approval required by Apple. The revenue model might need some work, but maybe we dismissed this whole "web app" idea a little too quickly. For devs looking to go around the App Store's process, maybe there's a solution here. Boy, Flash sure would help with that, wouldn't it?

TUAW has introduced several Quirky projects to you in the past. Quirky is a community of folks who come up with really cool ideas, and then the best of the ideas are fine-tuned by the folks who run the site and readied for manufacturing. Once a minimum number of customers commit to buy the product, it is put into production.

While looking at the headline for this post, you might think that we're talking about an oddly-painted BMW, but the Quirky Beamer is actually a case for the iPhone. Not just any case, mind you, but one with a built-in bright LED light that can act as a real flashlight or provide illumination for your nighttime photos.

Compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the Beamer uses replaceable lithium coin cell batteries to provide up to 10 hours of illumination without chewing up your phone's batteries. Pressing the button on the case once turns on the light for 10 seconds, enough to find your keys or take a picture of your buds. To turn the light on for an indefinite amount of time, press the button twice. A third press turns it back off.

Quirky won't produce the Beamer until 500 commitments at $32.00 are received on the site. As of 9 PM on Sunday night, 106 people had committed to the product. If you're looking for a way to flash your friends and not get arrested, the Quirky Beamer might just be the answer.

[Thanks for the tip, Chris T.]

Boy Genius Report is claiming that two separate sources have told them that AT&T is looking to sell an 8GB iPhone 3GS for $99 US before Christmas. While this news wouldn't come as a shock, it would certainly take more than AT&T to make it happen. As most of you know, Apple doesn't make an 8GB iPhone 3GS and it would probably mean the discontinuation of the iPhone 3G in general.

If you think back to the time of the first generation iPhone (it was so long ago now), you'll probably remember that Apple quickly discontinued the 4GB iPhone after realizing that most people were opting for the larger capacity. Not too long after that, Apple introduced the 16GB version and discounted the price of the 8GB. Now that the iPhones themselves are subsidized by the wireless carrier, the game is a little different.

I doubt that we'll see AT&T discount the 16GB iPhone 3GS to $99 US, even though it would be a huge strategic move before the holiday season, but I have a hard time believing that Apple would be willing to manufacture an 8GB iPhone 3GS. It's one thing for them to continue with the 8GB iPhone 3G because they already have the manufacturing in place, but for Apple to start manufacturing another iPhone 3GS at a capacity less than its current models -- that just seems out of place.

I've found it disappointing that the iPhone (a professional device) has had a smaller capacity than that of its sister, the iPod touch. Currently, the iPod touch is shipping at a top capacity of 64GB and the iPhone only 32GB. Here's the point: if AT&T and Apple could work together and release the 16GB iPhone 3GS at $99 then that could potentially allow for the 32GB at $199 and a 64GB model at $299. That would be a killer plan for the two companies just before the holiday season.

While this may be far-fetched, I don't think it's impossible: Apple did release a bump in storage to the 16GB iPhone in early 2008 without any warning. Here's hoping that they do that again.

With the introduction of the iPhone 3GS back in June of this year, iPhone lovers finally got what a lot of other smartphones already had -- video recording capabilities. A little over a week later, I wrote a post titled "How to make iPhone videos sparkle with iMovie." At the time I remember thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if I could do editing on the iPhone instead of having to do it on my Mac?"

Somebody at Nexvio was obviously thinking the same thing, and the company has introduced ReelDirector [US$7.99, iTunes Link], a video editing app for iPhone. One reviewer noted that "it's not Final Cut Pro," but make no mistake -- ReelDirector is a powerful, easy-to-use, and fun iPhone app for creating videos with titles and effects. It's perfect for putting together on-the-spot vacation videos to send to friends and relatives, making quick video podcasts, and teaching kids (or yourself) the basics of video editing.

Rogers Wireless has a little over one week left of its Canadian iPhone exclusivity. Wireless carrier Telus announced today that it'll start sales of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on Thursday, November 5, 2009.

While the Telus network has been CDMA-only, the carrier is not selling a modified phone. Rather, the company is launching its iPhone-compatible HSPA network, which it's marketing to consumers as 3G+.

Prices on the new network match what many expected from Bell, which is also starting Canadian iPhone sales soon. Telus will sell an 8GB iPhone 3G for $99 (Cdn$), a 16GB iPhone 3GS for $199.99, or a 32GB iPhone 3GS for $299.99 with three-year contracts. Minus the monthly plans the 8GB iPhone 3G will run buyers $599.99, the 16GB iPhone 3GS will run $699.99, and the 32GB iPhone 3GS will run buyers $799.99.

[via Telus]

It's like Econ 101 with the iPhone lately, says our old friend Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Demand is high, supplies are low, and so shortages are apparently expected. Especially in international markets, there just aren't enough iPhones to go around -- Munster cites a fellow analyst's report that 3 Italia, the Italian company charged with selling Apple's smartphone in that country, is selling 20K iPhones, but could be selling many more if they had the stock to do so.

Of course, they probably don't need to -- iPhone sales are already holding the company up above expectations, and Apple may even be figuring that a little demand never hurt anybody. Why sell a ton of phones when you're already selling more than you expected to? I doubt it's as mysterious as that (they probably expected to sell a certain number and it turns out there are more iPhone fans than they counted on overseas), but even if shortages happen, no one's going to be second guessing Apple's strategy. As far as straight results go for the iPhone, they haven't done anything wrong yet.

[via 9to5Mac]

Every so often an app comes along that you just get excited about. Well, I'm excited about the Layar Reality Browser [iTunes link], and even better: it's free!

This app has been available on the Android platform, and iPhone users have been eagerly awaiting it. Wait no more.

The Layar app will only run on an iPhone 3GS because it really needs that built-in compass. So what does it do? Quite a lot. The app displays real time information based on your location and the direction you are facing, overlaying the camera with locations and information that you are looking for.

Yes, like other apps with augmented reality, it can find food and shopping, but that's only the beginning. You can find apartments for rent, Flickr photos taken near your location, mountain peaks, tourist information, and the list goes on and on. The Layar screen shows your live camera view, a radar-like display showing you a 360 degree view of 'hits' near you, the accuracy of your GPS fix, and the number of items it has located.

The Layars app is based on an open architecture, so it can interact with an unlimited amount of information set up to talk to the platform. It is globally aware, not just U.S. centric, and lots of 3rd party developers are jumping in.

In operation it generally worked very well. I didn't see any crashes, but at times some of the many servers supplying information did not seem to be up and running. When I wanted to see some information on the mountains in my area, it worked great one time, and the next time it said there was nothing around, even though I was standing in the foothills of some 5,000-foot peaks.

Generally though, the app was well behaved, and as you explore the riches it contains your mind races with all the possibilities an app like this has. You don't have to use only the camera view. You can get a list of nearby points of interest or see everything on a 2D Google map. Wikipedia is even available. When I brought it up, it gave me some information on my town, a nearby school, and some info about nearby parks.

I hope this app really grows, because the potential here is limitless. Try it for yourself. There's no cost, and no risk. You'll be surprised at all the stuff around you. I'm going on a trip soon, and can't wait to explore with Layars.

Let us know how it works for you.

When I opened my iPhone 3GS, I was surprised to find that the power adapter was nothing but a little 2-prong AC plug (I live in the US) that allowed you to plug in the standard USB to 30-pin connector to charge the phone.

I wanted to get a spare; checking online told me that the Apple Store wanted US$29 for the little plug, which just seemed like too much for too little, so I went shopping.

On eBay I found a bunch of auctions based in Hong Kong selling what looked like the exact same thing for anywhere from under around $2-4, and they often included the USB cable to boot.

I ordered four from a vendor and after a few weeks received them. They looked perfect, right down to the little green dot -- but none of them worked. They might start charging, but after a few minutes the iPhone would beep a few times and I would be informed that "this accessory is not compatible." And so it went for all four pieces. After sending some pictures back and forth and reading a few emails containing a combination of surprise and amazement from the vendor, my money was refunded.

Undaunted, or maybe just dumb, I went back to eBay and found another vendor that claimed to be selling, "100% Brand New Original OEM Charger and Original OEM USB Cable for iPhone/iPod" for around US$4. I just checked eBay and found this same vendor raising the price to US$10 in one auction and lowering it to $US.01 in another.

The iPhone was slow to launch in Canada and after a rocky start, Rogers has been the exclusive carrier. That changed this week when Bell and Telus both announced independent deals with Apple. Starting in November, each will carry the 3G an 3GS. Just in time for holiday shopping!

Keen customers know that both Bell and Telus are CDMA-only right now. However, they've both pledged to deploy compatible HSPA networks that will serve as an inroad to 4G.

Neither company has released details like pricing, plans, etc., but Telus has set up a web page for interested customers.

After the debacle earlier this year when I lost my iPhone 3G, I decided to not only protect the new phone -- my lost 3G had been "naked" -- but make sure that whatever I used to protect it had a bit of heft.

My choice of case was the locally-grown (Fort Collins, CO) OtterBox Defender, which fit the bill perfectly. It has what OtterBox refers to as a 3-layer design, including a thick screen protector, a hard shell that encloses the iPhone, and a rubberized exterior jacket that cushions shocks and keeps ports covered. While it has been an awesome case in terms of protection, it's pretty chunky and I've often wished I had something a bit skinnier.

OtterBox came to the rescue last week with a new line of protective cases called the Commuter. There are two models -- the Commuter (US$34.95) and Commuter TL (US$29.95). Like the Defender, these cases work with both the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Read on to hear more about the OtterBox Commuter cases, and a chance to win either a Commuter or Commuter TL case from TUAW and OtterBox.

The legendary Dev-Team has done it again. It just released the new version of the Pwnage Tool, a desktop application that's used to create custom firmware packages to jailbreak iPhones and iPod touches.

Jailbreaking is the act of modifying the official firmware in order to run applications not approved by Apple. Chief among those applications, at least for the iPhone crowd, is the SIM unlock that allows the phone to be used on unofficial cell phone service providers.

The Dev-Team has found holes in previous versions of the iPhone OS that allow this code modification and has developed tools to make exploitation easier for the average user to accomplish. Once implemented, the jailbreak process installs an app that acts an unofficial App Store of sorts. The iPhone or iPod touch user can browse and install games, utilities, themes, and general applications. Cydia, one of these installer apps, even has a store with applications for sale.

Traditionally, when Apple releases a new iPhone OS version, that software upgrade breaks any jailbreak and SIM unlock present on the device. And so, you end up with the cat-and-mouse game that Steve Jobs alluded to shortly after the first firmware loophole was exploited and the original iPhone was unlocked.

Well, the mouse has stolen the cheese once again, and the Pwnage Tool released today will jailbreak the latest firmware, version 3.1.*

The big asterisk at the end of that previous sentence is that the Tool will only work on about half of the devices that use the iPhone OS -- only the original iPhone, original iPod touch, and iPhone 3G. The iPod touch line just released, as well as the 2nd generation iPod touch and the iPhone 3GS, cannot be jailbroken at this time. That means if you've already upgraded to 3.1 on your 3GS, you still won't be able to SIM unlock it as of the time of this post.

So, if you want to SIM unlock your iPhone 3G or the original model, Pwnage Tool 3.1 should do the trick. On the 3G, you'll need to use Icy or Cydia to also install the ultrasn0w app that actually performs the software unlock; however the original iPhone should be unlocked without this additional step.

You will need a Mac to run Pwnage Tool 3.1, but a Windows version is expected in the near future. Also expected soon is redsn0w, for both Mac and Windows, that further simplifies the jailbreak process by avoiding the need to create a custom firmware package.

Keep in mind, if you've been waiting for a jailbreak solution before upgrading to the latest firmware, many users have had fairly substantial issues with iPhone 3.1. My fellow TUAW blogger, Josh Carr, has reported that lots of iPhones and iPod touches are working poorly after upgrading. You may wish to hold off and stick with 3.0 or 3.0.1 until a solution is found, either by Apple or some other group of smart people.

But, if you're so inclined, you may find links to download Pwnage Tool 3.1 on the Dev-Team's official blog. Make sure to read the instructions thoroughly, and take heed of all of the warnings. They are there for a reason.

Our planned look at the camera feature on the iPod nano got delayed by a household medical emergency, as described in one of our nano example videos above. It did give me a bit more time to go a little more hands on with the nano video camera, and the end result is satisfactory. You're not going to buy this nano for the camera; it's just a bonus feature. Will it be the deal breaker over buying a nano versus another iPod, an iPhone or even a Flip? It all depends what you want out of it.

The video above was shot indoors using the nano. It was actually my fourth attempt at taking an indoor video because if you want any luck with the nano's camera, you've got to have decent lighting. This shot was my first attempt with the camera, and you can see the difference the lighting made.

As mentioned during the keynote, Apple is looking to take on Flip mino with the new nano. As such, we decided to see not only how the nano compares to the Flip, but also to an iPhone 3GS. Continue on reading to see how these shots turned out.