Tony Fadell (otherwise known as the real creator of the iPod) has left Apple for greener pastures. Many believed that Steve Jobs was the mind behind the iPod but in truth Tony brought the idea and design for the most popular personal music device in history to the world and helped change the face of Apple. It has been widely reported that Fadell introduced his MP3 player design to the Apple team in 2001.

So who will Apple find to replace Fadell as the their popular iPod Division? We can say that at this point it looks like Mark Papermaster a former IBM chip developer (the developer) is headed in that direction if he can only get through the noncompete agreement red tape. It seems that IBM is feeling a bit threatened by Papermaster’s expected move from IBM’s chip making division to managing Apple’s mobile entertainment device division. IBM reportedly is so worried about the expected move that they are in the process of suing Apple in an attempt to stop Papermaster from joining the Apple team. The basis of the IBM lawsuit revolves around a common noncompete clause (most major employers will force, threaten, berate their employees into signing noncompete agreements but they are rarely upheld in court) in Papermaster’s contract with IBM. Their main complaint; chip manufacturing and development of personal music players compete. Really? The real problem is that Apple is crushing IBM one chip at a time. I say this as I type on my trusty (but secondary) IBM Thinkpad.

Wal-Mart has jumped on the iPhone band wagon in a big way. They introduced an iPhone ready version of their popular shopping website. Getting there is easy, just go to  http://www.wal-mart.com  on your iPhone and you will automatically be redirected to the iPhone version of the site.

Once you are on the new site you will be given the option to browse either Wal-Mart’s products or services (Only some recipes as of this writing but promising none the less).  We found the product section very well built allowing iPhone users to quickly browse Wal-Mart’s many product offerings. We were able to see which products were available online as well as check individual store’s stock. As of this writing we were unable to make purchases through the iPhone browser but instead were directed to the regular non-iPhone site. We have provided feedback to Wal-mart on their new iPhone site and hope that they consider taking our advice on the features that we found lacking. We’ll keep you updated.

We reported it, then un-reported it then reported it again then re-un-reported it… You get the picture. After months of speculation, insider interviews, spy photos and reports of tests AT&T has finally released their WiFi plan for their iPhone users.

iPhone users from accross the U.S. report recieving the following text message:

AT&T Free Msg: Your Apple iPhone now has free AT&T WiFi access at thousands of hotspots nationwide, including Starbucks*. For info visit www.att.com/attwifi

We’ll see if they actually keep it up this time.

Since its inception in July, a more fair user-review process has been one of the most constant complaints/requests for the App Store. The old process, which was the same as the existing policy for podcasts, movies, TV shows and music, allowed anyone to review an applcation, regardless if that person had purchased the app or not. The frequent result is as you might expect: 100 reviews kvetching about price by people who never even purchased the application. That isn’t fair to developers, and it isn’t fair to potential buyers.

Fortunately, Apple has decided to change the review process. Starting today (well, I noticed it for the first time today, and so did Matt Gemmell), you have to actually own the application in order to review it. Go ahead and try to enter a review for an app you haven’t downloaded or purchased, you’ll get the dialog box at the top of this post.

This is a GREAT step to making the App Store more equitable for both users and developers. Certainly, it doesn’t make up for all of the other valid complaints about the NDA and Apple’s non-transparent app review process, but it does address the issue that arguably can have the most impact on application sales.

Although free apps will surely still be littered with reviews that solely exist to complain or try to promote another product or continue Internet wars like we’re all 12 years old, I don’t expect BS reviews to continue to appear on paid apps. After all, is someone really going to pay to trash a competitor’s app? This means that the reviews, both postive and negative, can become more reliable, and that would-be customers have a better chance of actually parsing their opinions before making a purchase.

From TUAW

I reported this as a rumor months ago but now can report that the popular do nothing game Line Rider is officially coming to the iPhone. For those who don’t know, Line Rider has enjoyed a healthy cult following since its introduction to the web several years ago. In its original form the instructions are simple, just draw a line vertically from top left to bottom right, hit the play button and watch a little guy try to ride a sled down your line and fall off the end.

InXile, the company that makes it, tells us that they are working on a version of Line Rider for the iPhone. Previously there was a jailbreak app of Line Rider that was rumored to have been crushed when the company found out about it.

You can currently check out Line Rider for free online. I think that you will really like it for the simple laughs you’ll get from it. Personally I think it’s more fun to watch my daughter play it than it is to play myself. My lines are always jacked up and my little guy suffers for it. Line Rider should be appearing on App Store in the near future.

Read another review by our friends at Kotaku here

Ben Reitzes of Lehman Brothers says that all US Apple retail stores had 16GB iPhones in either color ready to sell for the following morning. Something that Apple hasn’t been able to do since the July 11th launch. It doesn’t seem that the demand is falling, Apple just appears to be finally making more of these devices. Also be on the look out for much lower Ipod touch and general Ipod prices. Apple insiders report that their prices will get cut so they don’t canablize the new iPhone 3G. This lines up nicely with the rumor about getting refreshed Ipods in September.

The talented guys at RipDev never seem to be hindered by the fact that to this point you really are not allowed to have an iPhone on the Russian networks but that all may change soon. It looks like Russian iPhone cravers may not have much longer to wait for their piece of the iPhone pie. Russian communications company VimpelCom has announced that they are working to bring the iPhone to Russia which will make them the first company to do so. They have not released any details yet, but VimpelCom representatives said they hope to be selling the iPhone “…later this year.”

Last week, Reuters reported a rumor about the deal but wrongly identified Mobile TeleSystems as the carrier. That rumor suggested an October launch. Also, when Steve Jobs spoke with CNBC shortly after the launch of the 3G iPhone, he said that a deal with Russia would likely happen “…later this year.”

RoughlyDrafted is reporting that a “source close to AT&T” says that the reason for these connectivity problems is a result of  iPhones demanding that cell towers devote more power than necessary to their connections. Whaa?  2.0 and 2.0.1 firmware don’t help much, most users are reporting that the effects and data loss are still there. Supposedly 2.0.2 firmware addresses the issue with mix results. There is a hope however of a rumored firmware update to be released in September will fix the issue. Don’t get your hopes up to much, there is no way to confirm this as of yet and we don’t know if this is real or hype from the marketing machine that is Apple.

Don’t start counting your chickens yet but it’s being reported that the Apple iPhone team is working on a deal with AT&T that may allow for legitimate tethering on the iPhone 3G.

Of course if you were on your toes you could have created a Wi-Fi hotspot with your iPhone using NetShare, but that app has long since been pulled then returned then pulled again from the Apple App Store and if you don’t have it now you probably won’t get it.

The fact remains that iPhone users are demanding a way to use their iPhones as modems. The only alternative to date is jailbreaking and homebrew software.

Currently, AT&T allows tethering with their BlackBerry devices but not for what you are currently paying for your iPhone data service. Expect at least a $10 upcharge for this service.

We are now officially in hurricane season and with one large tropical storm under our belts already we now have Gustav headed our way. Fortunatly, Weather Underground has developed an iPhone-specific version of their mobile site including a tool that tracks tropical storms. The Weather Underground mobile site’s URL is http://i.wund.com, and you can access their tropical storm page at http://i.wund.com/tropical.

As shown in the screenshot, the tropical storm tracking tool not only shows the location of the storm but also current intensity and other relevant data about each storm that it tracks. Right now it’s focus is on Tropical Storm Gustav, which is currently being reported as a Category 3 hurricane. To access the full-screen view shown in the screenshot above you will have to rotate your iPhone for landscape mode.

I am the go to weather guy for my family and many of my friends mainly due to the great weather apps that I carry on my iPhone and right now I am in central Louisiana on business so you’d better bet that I am adding this one to my homescreen.

Thanks to TUAW for the great screenshot!

A new UK iPhone ad has been banned bythe U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (who knew?). They received reports of misleading claims. The ad which was made for television claims that “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone.” The complaints stated that the iPhone doesnot support Java or Flash which could be required on some websites. ASA (Avertising Standards Authority) concluded that the “ad gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone”.

Apple of course responded by saying that it could not ensure compatibility with “every third-party technology in the marketplace”. Adobe are you going to take this?

Gizmodo reported an iPhone passcode flaw which was also reported by MacRumors. This flaw is schedlued to be fixed in the next iPhone update, however in the meantime there is a simple fix to remedy the problem. Users should set their “Home Button” double-click preference to “Home” or “iPod” rather than the default “iPhone Favorites”.  While getting a fix in the new update is great, we are more interested in fixing those iPhone 3G reception issues.

If you happen to be following the news yesterday you might have caught the story from Gawker. Gawker reported that Steve jobs died yesterday, as did several news outlets including CNET. The mess up which was a computer glitch from Bloomberg. Don’t be alarmed that an obiturary was released, most notable persons already have obvituaries created with news outlets. This saves them time and money when the actual story unfolds. Our concern if this wasn’t caught as fast as it was, would Apple’s share price drop? Then if so would Bloomberg be held legally accountable?

Once again the Dev Team has pulled through with some very important updates to both the Pwnage Tool and QuickPwn. Their latest comes in the form of PwnageTool 2.0.3.1. You can download it here.

Also, QuickPwn Release Candidate 3 has been released. Supposed to be fixed in this release is the issue for 64-bit Windows users and the new version is supposed to work for all Windows versions. Download QuickPwn RC3 here.

If you’ve been having a problem with jailbreaking, these releases should address your issues and as always, as much as we love the dev team we cannot guarantee that they will work properly. Please understand that you will use these programs at your own risk.

The cost of data plans in Canada have been a much talked about subject since the arrival of the iPhone 3G in Canada and the United States. After taking much heat for their unpopular iPhone 3G data plans in Canada, Rogers announced their six gigabytes for $30/month deal at the last possible moment. iPhone 3G users in the States can surf all they want with no data limitations for the same $30 a month. So what happens with a United States based iPhone 3G crosses the border into Canada? A good ole fashoned wallet gouging that’s what.

The unlimited data offered by AT&T for the iPhone is all good while you are in the United States, but as soon as you go outside the country, you can hand over your wallet. Prior to the writing of this article, AT&T only offered two data roaming plans: one at $24.99 for 20MB and another at $59.99 for 50MB. We are now hearing that AT&T is expanding their data plan roaming offering and sources close to the issue say that you won’t be saving any money but you will get a little more data. The new plans are said to be 100MB for $120 OR 200MB for $200.

Sorry my Canadian friends, Rogers has yet to announce any ground-breaking improvements to the data plans that they currently offer and have not as of this writing expanded their data roaming plans for those of you who want to visit the good old US of A. I’ll keep you updated if any more news on this issue come down the pipes.

Thanks to the Wired Blog for the awesome AT&T Death Star logo