iPhone 3GS refurb drops to $9 at AT&T as update looms

AT&T gave a clue that the iPhone 3GS was on its way out Friday after it dropped the price of a refurbished iPhone 3GS down to $9. The terms still demand a two-year contract but put it at its lowest official, non-promotional price yet. New devices are still on sale.

Apple has been giving small clues of an upcoming iPhone update that would phase out the iPhone 3GS. Canadian provider Koodo started off its support of Apple by selling only the iPhone 4 in what's likely a reflection of any remaining iPhone 3GS units being cleared out.

Most anticipate the iPhone 5 launch following its pattern of the past two years, where the once-current phone stays on sale but in a discounted and possibly storage-reduced form. If so, it's possible the iPhone 4 will cost $99 or less.

By Electronista Staff

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Gresso exhibits $30,000 diamond-encased iPhone

Gresso, a design house which specializes in creating customized expensive and exotic renditions of devices, has just released a $30,000 diamond bedazzled iPhone 4. The Lady Blanche features a coating of diamond-coated mineral glass on the case and six panels imbedded into the back of the iPhone. Three contain Swiss watch movements, each showing the time in a different time zone. The other three chambers contain diamond crystals freely floating around.

For those who cannot afford the price tag, Gresso is offering a version of the phone with Swarovski crystals instead of diamonds. It sells for $7,000.

This is not the first iPhone treatment for the Russian designers. They offer three models embellished with African Blackwood. In December, they gave the iPad the same Blackwood treatment. [via Pocket-lint]

By Electronista Staff

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SURC case and infrared remote for iPhone 4 now shipping

A company called Mashed Pixel is now shipping a case for the iPhone 4 called the SURC that features a built-in infrared unit that can be paired with a free app from the company that turns the iPhone 4 in an easy-to-use universal learning remote control that not only controls most infrared-enabled appliances and devices, but learns how to control the devices from the user's existing remotes, saving valuable "training" time.

The case, despite being quite form-fitting, features a tiny battery built in it and a micro-USB connection for recharging that also lets users charge and sync the iPhone without removing the case. The SURC app is customizable, allowing users to program gestures or use the iPhone's motion-sensing capabilities to be assigned to specific buttons (such as waving the iPhone upwards to indicate raising the volume).

The app features an extensive database of pre-programmed devices, meaning very little time is needed to adapt the SURC case and app to a user's equipment. Because the control is handled by an app, the screen can be changed to reflect each different type or make of device being used, or even "gang" actions together (such as switching from cable TV to turning on the DVD, audio receiver and changing the input of the HDTV for movie watching).

The case it also also provides the usual protection to the iPhone 4 itself (the company says it is working on cases for the iPhone 3G and 3GS, along with the iPod Touch and iPad). Unlike some other infrared remote cases, the SURC places the infrared lights at the top of the iPhone case, meaning users do not have to hold it "upside down" to work. The latest version of the app, v1.2, adds a TV guide to the program (U.S. only).

The case comes in a choice of four colors, and retails for $75.

By Electronista Staff

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Verizon iPhone, iPad 2 pulling developers away from Android?

The Verizon iPhone and iPad 2 launches may have pushed many developers to refocus their resources on iOS rather than Android, according to numbers collected by Flurry. Developers creating new apps using Flurry Analytics showed a tendency to step away from the Android platform, which represented 36 percent of new project starts in the first quarter of the year before dropping to 28 percent in the second quarter.

As developers showed waning interest in Android, new project starts for iPhone apps rose from 54 percent to 57 percent of Flurry Analytics total numbers for the first and second quarters, respectively. The iPad also showed gains, jumping from 10 percent to 15 percent in the same period.

"Of note, this drop in Android developer support represents the second quarter-over-over slide, which follows a year of significant, steady growth for the Google-built OS," Flurry wrote in a blog post. "Over the course of 2010, Android developer support had climbed steadily each quarter, peaking at 39% in Q4 2010."

Flurry suggests the iPhone launch on Verizon was one of the contributing factors, as Apple's smartphone finally went head-to-head with Android devices on another major carrier in the US. "With the iPhone finally launched on Verizon, the pendulum appears to have swung back more in favor of iPhone over Android development," Flurry opines.

The iPad 2 launch is said to have further tightened Apple's control of the tablet market, providing yet another reason for developers to focus resources on iOS rather than Android.

"With developers pinched on both sides of the revenue and cost equation, Google must tack aggressively at this stage of the race to ensure that Apple doesn?t continue to take its developer-support wind," Flurry says.