Gizmodo has an interesting article about Apple’s AppStore and how, and why, certain applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch (right) are rejected — or not.

Apple is claiming that it hasn’t actually rejected the Google Voice application. It’s still “studying” it, the company claims. Does anyone else actually believe this? There’s no reason for Apple to “study” a proposed application for months — either it meets the criteria or not. Certainly, Google Voice meets all relevant criteria. It’s obvious that Apple just doesn’t want competition for potential voice applications from partner AT&T on this.

Shame on you, Apple and AT&T. Do the right thing and approve Google Voice. Let the market determine the success or failure of an application — and make the iPhone, the greatest gadget of all time, even more useful for consumers. Stop denying your user base access to this technology. Now.

I recently wrote about growing disenchantment with Apple and its products. Well, that unhappiness continues to grow, and the angst is moving beyond the iPhone to the iPod, other Apple products, and Apple’s way of doing business.

Take this recent blog entry from a former rabid fan, for instance. Jason Calacanis has just about had it with Steve Jobs and Co., and isn’t shy about listing his complaints. He says that Apple is displaying anti-competitive, monopolistic practices (does that sound like any technology company you’ve heard of — maybe one that was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice?), stifling innovation in MP3 players, banning other browsers and Google Voice from the iPhone, and other transgressions.

And he asks, with considerable justification, what would happen to Microsoft if it did similar things? Why does Apple get a pass? Because it’s a cool company? That’s not going to work much longer. Apple needs to change its business practices, and soon. If not, it could be facing legal troubles similar to its hated rival, Microsoft.

It’s not hard to find digital recording devices these days; heck, my iPhone has a bunch available. But there are times when you want more than just basic sounds recorded, when high-quality sound is a requirement.

For those times, consider the Zoom H2. The Zoom is an MP3/WAV recorder that fits in your hand. It comes with a 512 MB SD memory card, which should provide up to 280 hours of recording time. It records audio at a selectable number of quality settings, giving a lot of flexibility.

Some of its high-end features include automatic gain control (which will boost the recording sensitivity when a sound is particularly low) and a filter to block out excess wind noise, when recording outside.

The Zoom has a USB cord, and works with both Macs and PCs. I can see a number of uses for this recorder; we’re in the days of podcasting, and this would be a perfect gadget for recording podcasts. It would also be great for recording interviews and concerts, or recording separate audio for video cameras with built-in mics that aren’t very good (which includes the large majority of consumer video cameras).

It’s not cheap, but if your needs for audio go beyond the basics, it will end up being a good value.

We pretty much all love our iPhones, right? And now that I’ve had mine for about a year now (no, I didn’t sing Happy Birthday to my phone, in case you’re wondering), I thought it might be a good time to go over my favorite apps. If you’re like me, you have a lot of apps, but there are some you keep returning to again and again. Here’s my list.

Google for iPhone is at the top of my list. I use the voice search functionality often, and it’s a serious time (and typing) saver. I also have a gmail account (free Google e-mail). In addition, there is a calendar, Google Docs, an RSS reader, and more. My iPhone’s Swiss Army Knife.

AP Mobile is up next. I check the news often, and the AP is my primary source. This app has improved over time, allowing a lot of customization, local news, a technology category (you can imagine I spend some time there) and more.

Clock. This built-in app is one I bet many people overlook, but I’ve come to rely on the alarm clock functionality. I use it a lot since I’ve discovered it — one of the things I like best is that you can set different alarm sounds, the same way you can set ring tones. Instead of the hated buzzing of most alarm clocks, I have it set to graceful bells. It’s a nicer way to wake up.

Recorder. This is a voice-recording app that’s come in handy numerous times. In my day job as a magazine editor, I’ve used it time and again to record phone interviews. The digital clarity is quite good compared to my old, trusty (and revered) Radio Shack microcassette recorder, and since I have a 16GB iPhone, hard drive space to record conversations has never been an issue.

Fieldrunners. I have a number of games on my iPhone, but this is by far the one that has wasted the most of my time. It’s absolutely addicting. Fieldrunners is a tower defense game; you need to stop the baddies from getting through to your base by blocking their way through a series of towers. The towers can be filled with machine guns, missiles, electricity-generating machines, and more. I’m actually not much of a video/computer game guy, but this one keeps me coming back.

Well, there’s five iPhone faves. What are some of yours? Comment below.

The rumors are flying fast and furious that the popular iPod Touch — essentially, the phoneless version of the iPhone — may be getting a camera upgrade.

According to the Website TechCrunch, Apple has placed a massive order in Asia for camera modules of the type that would fit the Touch.

Other circumstantial evidence is starting to crop up, too, such as new Touch cases that have a camera lens-sized hole in the back, and other rumors. Keep in mind that this is all speculation, and based on non-direct evidence. The amount of information coming out, however, lends weight to such speculation.

The Touch coming with a camera would be great news, and bring it even closer to the functionality of the iPhone. We’ll update you when we have more.

One of my pet peeves is people talking on their cellphones while driving. It’s becoming more and more commonplace to see folks gabbing away while driving, completely distracted from the road. That’s why I use a Bluetooth headset, which lets me answer calls and talk while both my hands are firmly on the wheel.

That’s not the only way to answer calls and talk, though. Motorola makes the  MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone, which attaches to your visor via a clip. The T505 gives you a couple of options for listening to your phone: either through the built-in speaker or through your car speakers using the FM transmitter.

It’s easy to use: when a call comes in, simply touch the front button on the left, and start yapping. You can do more than make calls with the T505, too; it works to route your cellphone’s music through car speakers (if your phone is also a media player.)  Note that you need to have a Bluetooth-enabled phone to make this work, but that shouldn’t be a problem for most, since just about every cellphone released for the last several years has Bluetooth connectivity built in.

Consider the T505 or another Bluetooth headset to stay safe while driving; remember, the life you save may be mine!

You know, it’s not a requirement to have a smartphone to play movies and music — I just thought I’d mention that, since there’s such a mad rush to buy those phones nowadays. But cheaper options do exist, and they can be much cheaper and offer quality that’s as good as, or better than, their smartphone counterparts.

Case in point: the Archos 605 media player. While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of an iPhone or Palm Pre for example, it does what it does very well, and with no monthly service contract. It’s not trying to be a phone: it knows what it is, and is comfortable with that. I like gadgets without an inferiority complex.

The Archos can be had for as little as $120.  For that you get a 4.3-inch TFT LCD screen with a resolution of 800×480. Compare that to the iPhone’s resolution of 480×320, and you can see that the Archos provides a better experience for viewing movies and videos.

The MP3 player plays all the standard music formats, and the Archos has a built-in external speaker. That helps if you don’t have headphones handy (although you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time listening to music or movies on that tiny speaker).

The Archos also includes wi-fi capability, and you can buy an Opera Web browser plug-in for the unit. That allows you to surf through the Archos portal for entertainment to download. One nice touch offered by the gadget is a fold-out kickstand, which allows you to sit the player upright for watching video. That’s a thoughtful addition, and something more media player manufacturers should do.

The Archos has been out for several years now, meaning it lacks that “Wow” factor that some folks just have to have. If you can live without that, and just need a good, basic media player, this may be your thing.

A week ago, I wrote about an issue related to the brand-new Palm Pre smartphone. A reviewer said the Pre had a dangerous bottom lip that was quite sharp and could end up cutting users. Of course, I had to find this out for myself. So I headed down to my local Sprint store and had an extensive demo, playing with the Pre for quite awhile. Here’s my own take on the phone, and how it compares to my beloved iPhone.

First, I’ll address the issue that raised my eyebrows at first: that bottom piece of the phone. You can’t feel the dangerous lip when the phone is closed; it’s only when you slide down the keyboard that you notice that sharp edge. It’s at the bottom of the keyboard when opened.

Is it dangerous? Yes, I believe it will end up possibly cutting you occasionally. But I have to say that I don’t think it’s as big a deal as the reviewer said. Although the reviewer used the edge to cut cheese, the phone does have to held at an unusual angle to expose that edge, one that I don’t think will happen that often. That said, yes, it is very sharp indeed. I wouldn’t let me younger children play with it, for example, the way they can play with my iPhone, with its completely rounded edges.

The Pre has a nice feel in the hand — it’s slightly smaller than the iPhone, and curved to fit a palm nicely. The screen is bright, although smaller than the iPhone. It also has several items that the current iPhone lacks (although the iPhone 3GS will fix some of these shortcomings): namely, a physical keyboard and video capability.

I’m afraid the Pre’s keyboard disappointed me. It’s tiny; I mean really, really tiny. For me (and I have pretty small fingers for a guy my size), typing on it was a miserable experience; I much prefer my iPhone’s onscreen keys. There is a tactile feel, but it would take me a long time to get used to the cramped confines of the keyboard on this phone. Still, if you must have a  physical keyboard, this has one.

I didn’t try the video camera, but I’m told it works well (that’s another feature coming to the new iPhone). Swiping and moving around on the screen was much like using my iPhone; I did like the fact that you can have multiple applications open at one time on the Pre, something else you can’t do with the current iPhone. One worry is that the Pre application store doesn’t have many apps available yet; I’m sure that as the phone’s popularity grows, so will the store.

Overall, I like the Pre, but the drawbacks of the sharp edge and miniscule keyboard will keep from being an owner. For a first-generation phone, however, Palm has done a great job. It’s good to have more competition in the smartphone race.

Apple has released details of the newest iPhone. This is obviously big news for you iPhone Phanatics out there (and yes, my hand is raised high, too). I’ll get into more details an an upcoming blog entry, but wanted to give you a quickie overview.

First, the new version is called the 3GS (the “S” standing for “Speed”). It seems to have most of the stuff that iPhone users of previous models have missed. Let’s start with video. The iPhone can now shoot video (and about time, too!) Also included is video-editing software and the ability to easily upload video to YouTube.

The camera has been upgraded to 3 megapixels, which will make for much sharper pictures. You can also focus on different parts of the image through a touch method. In all, the video and photo upgrades alone make this a worthy upgrade.

But there’s a lot more than that. Capacity has been increased, from a top end of 16GB to 32GB. I personally haven’t come close to maxing out my storage yet, but for those of you with hundreds of applications and thousands of songs, this is great news.

The new iPhone is also much faster; Apple says it’s at least double the speed of the current 3G. That means faster downloads of applications and e-mail, and quicker loading of Web pages. Woo-hoo!

The new 3GS will be sold for $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB). That means no price increase for a better phone. Well done, Apple. In addition, the current 8GB 3G is now being offered for $99. Wow: an iPhone for a hundred bucks? Awesome.

More will be coming on this in the days and weeks ahead, but I wanted to whet your appetite.

This is disturbing, to say the least: the Palm Pre smartphone debuting Saturday, which has gotten so much good press (including on this blog), has a significant drawback which I urge you to consider if you’re looking at buying one — one of the edges is sharp, maybe even dangerously so.

While cruising the gadget site Gizmodo, I came across a very thorough review of the Pre. Although largely positive, the reviewer mentioned the very sharp bottom edge of the phone. Says the reviewer:

“If you’re pushing up screen from the bottom of the phone, as you’d instinctively want to do, prepare to get sliced. It’s just that irresponsibly sharp.”

“Prepare to get sliced”? Are you kidding me? And to demonstrate the sharpness, he does a video demonstration by cutting a block of cheese with the phone. Amazing.

This is beyond stupid; if true, this is negligent, and will likely result in lawsuits. Yes, I said it and meant it. Palm, you’re in big trouble if this is as dangerous as the reviewer claims. People, including children, could get hurt with this edge. This one terrible flaw could also kill sales outright.

In my mind, it doesn’t matter a whit if it’s the best phone on the market in every other way; if this is a real issue, I would recommend in the strongest terms to stay away from the Pre. If you test it out, make sure you’re careful, and pay extra attention to the allegedly sharp bottom edge.

I’m going to try and get hold of one myself on Saturday; I’ll report more on it then.