Remember last year, when a little-known company named Uniea announced new iPod nano cases—with correct physical dimensions—before the new iPod nano was ever shown? As we mentioned shortly afterwards, readers were quick to slam Uniea and its mock-ups, but the cases proved perfect fits when the new nano was released. Now, there are all sorts of friend-of-a-friend stories swirling around about the second-generation iPhone, and perhaps not…

ChangeWave has released the results of its latest smart phone survey, which focused on the likes and dislikes of iPhone and BlackBerry owners. Unsurprisingly, email access was the feature BlackBerry users liked best by an overwhelming margin, while the iPhone’s integration of phone, iPod, and web browser was listed as the best feature by its users, with the touch screen interface and ease of use running second and third, respectively. iPhone…

As noted in our sixth edition of iDesign, Apple rarely partners with other companies to develop new products, but when it does, there’s a reason. Harman Kardon, for instance, used its audio expertise to develop crystalline globe speakers for Apple’s G4 Cube and iMac computers, while sporting giant Nike was picked to broaden the iPod nano’s athletic appeal with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit and related apparel. But iPod accessory collaborations…

A group of Russian leaders were recently seen passing around an iPhone at a business conference, the latest indicator of Russian interest in the phone, according to a new report. Citing a journalist attending the conference, the Washington Post reports that Dmitry Kozak, the Russian minister of regional development, was seen showing the device to Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president-elect,…

Beginning today, each Wednesday on iLounge we’ll be spotlighting another reader-submitted picture from our galleries as the Photo of the Week. This week’s photo is from our iPhones Around the World gallery, and shows an iPhone on location at the Mayan Ruins in Tulum, Mexico. To share your photos and to be considered for our Photo of the Week, you simply need to submit your own photo to one of our galleries. So get out there, take some…

AT&T plans to subsidize as much as $200 of the price of the 3G iPhone, according to a Fortune report. Citing a person “familiar with the strategy,” the report states that the subsidy would bring the price of the base-model 3G iPhone to $199 for customers who sign two-year contracts, a price that would help AT&T lure more customers away from rival carriers Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Subsidized iPhones will reportedly be available…

AT&T has announced its new Text Accessibility Plan (TAP) for iPhone, designed to give customers with disabilities access to all the iPhone’s non-voice communication abilities without having to pay for voice service. The plan will include unlimited text messaging, web browsing and e-mail for $40 a month, and is available to new and current iPhone users with qualifying disabilities through AT&T’s National Center for Customers with…

When Apple created the iPhone’s touchscreen interface, it also created a fundamental “going forward” challenge—how can the size-obsessed company keep making its devices smaller without over-compromising their usability? Steve Jobs, after all, dismissed with a “yuck!” the idea of using a stylus with the touchscreen, noting that a finger was the best possible way to interact with the device. Apart from shrinking users’…

Following yesterday’s report that Hon Hai has been instructed by Apple to begin preparing material supplies for the 3G iPhone, the Taiwan Economic News has printed a story containing supposed specifications of the new handset. According to the report, the new iPhone will weigh between 3.9 and 4.2 oz., compared with the current model’s weight of 5.6 oz. A new plastic casing is said to help with the weight reduction, along with a new, smaller…

One of the most unusual earphone designs we’ve ever seen, Denmark-based Cellpoint Connect’s new Flamingo Music Headset ($50) combines chrome, plastic, and rubber into an active lifestyle earpiece that’s supposed to grip your ear while piping music through a medium-sized speaker into your ear canal. A number of rubber tips called EarPads are included to help you resculpt the earphones to fit the shape of your ears, a system which Cellpoint calls “EarClick2,”…