An 8GB iPhone 3GS is now only $49 at Apple and AT&T with a new two-year contract. This is a $50 price drop and is $150 less than the current iPhone 4 with 8GB of storage.

There was no official announcement. The price on the Apple site was just lowered quietly. This price is for new customers or current customers who are eligible for an upgrade after having met their contract requirements.

AT&T previously changed their price saying it was a directive from Apple. However, Apple’s price change came later, according to AppleInsider.

Before buyers jump, they would be wise to wait till after the Tuesday Verizon event to see what the rival wireless company has cooked up in regards to a potential Verizon iPhone.

iPhone 3GS Price Officially Lowered to $49 is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Best Buy is going to have some deals on cell phones during the month of December, including a free iPhone 3GS December 10th, according to Boy Genius Report.

The report comes from an unnamed source with Best Buy. The deal will be available to new AT&T customers, those who are adding a new line to an existing account and to those who are eligible for an upgrade under normal AT&T guidelines. The report claims that there will be enough inventory to support the free iPhone deal at Best Buy retail stores. And the price is the result of an instant rebate, meaning it the out-the-door price is free.

A deal like this one and another from Radio Shack which offers the iPhone 3GS for only $50 (and the iPhone 4 for $50 off) is likely an inventory clearing move on the part of Apple and retailers. It might also be a move by AT&T to tie in customers before a Verizon iPhone. Many expect this to happen becomes available in early 2011, though neither Apple or Verizon have announced anything about an iPhone partnership.

How To Get a Free iPhone 3GS at Best Buy is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Going after the Blackberry crowd or iPhone users who wish they had a physical keyboard like a Blackberry, ThinkGeek.com released an interesting case that has a flip out keyboard.

The TK-421 iPhone Case with Flip Out Keyboard is for the iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4. It has a QWERTY thumb-board on the inside of the back cover that allows the iPhone to swivel out (see the video below). When the user is finished it can be hidden behind the phone case. The keyboard connects via Bluetooth, something now possible thanks to the update to iPhone 4.1 earlier this year. The keyboard has a built in rechargeable battery that gets power from the included USB cable.

When not in use the keyboard is held in place behind the phone by magnetic clasps.

At the end of the above video, the keyboard itself is finally demonstrated and it sounds very “clicky” and even looks like the user had to strain a little to press the keys. That could be video and sound effects. But it will be interesting to see if this keyboard can actually improve the user’s typing without destroying battery life — or thumbs.

The case can be purchased for $49.95 at ThinkGeek.com.

iPhone Case with Flip Out Keyboard: ThinkGeek Aiming at Blackberry is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

XGearlive is focused on ‘sophisticated coolness’ for the cases they make for all iOS devices, MacBook Pros and other mobile devices. Their Touge Special Edition case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS successfully applies their design philosophy with a case that one of our guest reviewers, my son, said was ‘hardcore and stylin’.

XGearlive sent over a couple of cases and my family and I chose to review the cool Touge Special Edition case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. So many people are focusing on accessories for the iPhone 4 because it’s the latest and greatest. But people are still using, and even buying, 3G/3GS iPhones. Case in point, our family has three.

The first thing our guest reviewers (my wife and two sons) noticed was the cool factor. We had a mini-war in our home as to who would get to use it first because they all liked it so much. My oldest son said that at school his friends were very impressed and stunned to learn it costs less than $20. XGearlive wanted to capture the Japanese street racing scene in their design. As you can see it is eye-catching. We looked at the red version but there are also purple and black versions. Our opinion is they succeeded in making a great case that stands out and gets attention.

The other thing all three of our reviewers noticed was how well the case protected the iPhone. Both of my sons actually dropped their phones from about 4 feet and the case did its job, protecting it from breakage. Because it has a  dual layer, the shock is absorbed. This is due to the carbon fiber graphic design exoskeleton.” That even sounds cool.

We also noticed that installation of the case was very easy. It slid on and off without any problems. My wife and oldest son said that they liked how the material the case is made from was easy to grip. But my youngest, who plays a lot of games, said that after a long gaming session his hands got sweaty and the case easily slipped out of his hand. That was probably more a problem with his hands than it was the case.

The bottom of the case folds off to reveal the dock connector. It is nice that the dock connector is protected yet still accessible when needed. Some people have had a problem with moisture or dust getting into their dock connector, which can cause damage. This case protects against such damage. Since the bottom portion folds out, users can still dock the phone without removing the case entirely. One extremely minor issue is the gap this fold out portion leaves, as you can see below.

Another important factor in iPhone cases is access to the ports and buttons. This was not an issue with the Touch Special Edition. All buttons worked flawlessly and the headphone jack was easily accessible.

All three were very impressed with the case and so I bought another one in order to keep peace in our home.

One negative was the screen protector that comes with the case. My oldest tested it. The problem was that it was like almost all screen protectors meaning it was hard to apply without getting dust under the protector. Be sure to clean the phone and apply it in a very clean environment. There is a firm cardboard applicator that comes with it. This kept the bubbles out that normally plague screen protector applications. If you do get it applied properly it has a finish on the front that when the phone is turned off makes it look like a mirror.

The micro-fiber cloth was a nice add-on. It did a good job of cleaning the screen especially before applying the protector.

Pros:

• Looks great
• Very protective
• Inexpensive
• Fold out bottom to expose dock
• All other ports and switches easily accessible
• Includes a screen protector and micro fiber cloth

Cons:

• Part that folds off can get in way with dock cables connected
• Screen protector no easier to apply than most
• Fold  out part leaves a gap

XGearlive Touge Special Edition Case for iPhone 3G and 3GS is “Hardcore and Stylin’” is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

As we previously reported, there seems to be a problem with the iPhone 4 glass. Now SquareTrade, a company that sells extended warranties of electronics including the iPhone 4, has a study that shows the iPhone 4 glass breaks 82 percent more often than the previous generations of the iPhone.

There were 20,000 iPhone 4 accidents in the first four months of the life of the new phone. 4.7 percent of all iPhone 4 owners have reported an accident compared to only 2.8 percent of iPhone 3GS owners in its first four months. The company is guessing that over 15 percent of owners will report an issue in the first year compared to just under 8 percent for 3GS owners.

As Laptop Magazine writer Dana Wollman suggests, Apple cannot be help responsible for people dropping their iPhone. However, if the iPhone 4 design leads to an increase in breaks, then the court of public opinion may hold the company responsible.

Wollman cited the same article from Ryan Block of gdgt that we cited in our previous report of this issue. He offered evidence that suggests the back glass of the iPhone 4 might have a flaw which is exacerbated by slide on cases with particles of dirt or other objects scratching the glass and eventually becoming a full crack.

iPhone 4 Breaks More than Previous iPhones says Squaretrade Study is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

One of the most significant upgrades to the iPhone 4 that came from iOS 4.1 is the HDR photo capability of the camera. Sadly the feature is not available on the 3GS. It would be nice if Apple made it available even though the older model’s camera isn’t as good as the iPhone 4′s. But there is an app for that.

HDR stands for ‘High Dynamic Range’ and it describes a process of taking two or more photos of varying exposure settings and combining them to make the picture look closer to what the human eye can see. For example, with my iPhone 4 I took the following pictures. Notice the sky is blown out and almost entirely white in the left hand photo. But the lake and shore is exposed better.

On the right, the sky and clouds look richer, but the lake and shore are too dark. When the iPhone 4 combines these two photos you get the following:

The sky comes from the right photo and the lake and shore comes from the left.

Sadly, this will not work on the iPhone 3GS unless you get the app TrueHDR. It is a camera app for $1.99 and it works on the 3GS. It creates nice images and it does a better job than the built-in HDR tool in iOS 4.1. Compare the above picture shot with the built-in iPhone 4 HDR camera app and the one below shot with TruHDR. While the above gives a more interesting sky, the one below is actually closer to what the sky looked like the day the pictures were taken. So TrueHDR is more accurate.

The app is simple to use. In automatic mode, which is new in the app’s recent update, point the camera at your subject and tap the screen where you want the camera to focus. Tap the camera butter to engage the shutter release. It takes its first image, then a second image, and finally a third. It then shows you the brightest and the darkest image and asks if you want to combine them or clear them. Once they are combined you hit Save and it is exported to your photo library.

The above is actually aimed at a computer monitor. The first image is what the app looks like when it is first opened. Tap the camera button and the numbers show up. Once the first image is taken the 1” turns white. Then the 2” and 3” after the second and third images are taken. Below on the left is the image thinking” as it tries to display the brightest and darkest image. On the right is the image interface while it is merging the three photos.

Notice that once it is finished merging them, it displays the results. There are options to go back and try again, share it on Facebook, Twitter, via email, or you can save it to the photo library. The Home button takes you to the application’s home screen where you can start the process all over again. The picture below is not a good gauge as to the quality, since it’s just pointed it at a computer monitor. The above photos of the lake better represent what it can do.

TrueHDR is easy to use. It takes longer than the HDR tool built into the iPhone 4 with version 4.1 of the iOS. But it results in richer images and works on the previous generation iPhone. One  warning – hold your hands still while taking the three photos or the results will be blurry.

TrueHDR is worth the $2 for even iPhone 4 users.

Auto, Semi-auto and Manual Capture Modes

Auto Capture is only available in the latest version of TrueHDR which was just released to compete with the new iOS 4.1 HDR tool. In SemiAuto mode it asks you to tap one exposure point and then another. It will then merge the photos. It works best in this mode if you tap a dark and then light area or vice cersa. The Manual mode is similar except that it tells you to tap the light area first and then the dark area. Finally, if you already have two images in the photo library you can select Choose Pictures and it takes the images from the library and tries to combine them.

Below is a video demonstrating TrueHDR in the manual mode. It is actually a demo of the previous version of the app. The video also demos another HDR app called ProHDR which is also just $1.99 and the reviewer likes better. I prefer TrueHDR.

Pros:

• Rich images when compared to iOS 4.1 built in HDR tool
• Easy to use
• Export to social networking sites and email

Cons:

• Slow
• Takes more steps the iOS 4.1 built in HDR tool
• If the user doesn’t hold the phone very steady it results in blurred images

How To Take Better HDR Photos With iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS with TrueHDR is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

If the screen on your iPhone 3GS looks like it has been dragged behind a car for a few miles or has a crack the size of the Grand Canyon, you should look into replacing the screen. While it sounds like an expensive and difficult task, all it takes is some patience and a $24 part and your iPhone 3GS will be good as new.

This guide on How to Replace an iPhone 3GS Screen comes via Make, where Morten Skogly of Norway undertook the process and documented it in an easy to follow set of pictures and instructions. If pictures and text aren’t enough there’s a video of how to disassemble the iPhone 3G embedded below.

What You’ll need:

• iPhone 3GS with a broken screen, but a working LCD
• Replacement Touch Screen Digitizer from DealExtreme (Part #16101)
• A collection of tools including double-sided tape, a hair dryer, paper clip, scissors, sharp knife, tiny Phillips screwdriver, a box and a cotton swab with electronics cleaner.
• The full guide has the rest of the information you need to replace the screen on your iPhone 3GS.

Once you’ve assembled your supplies and set aside a block of time to work undisturbed you are ready to begin disassembling your iPhone 3GS. The video below should give you an idea of what you’re up for and the How to replace your iPhone 3GS screen will walk you through the 9 step process.

When you have finished, you’ll have an i Phone that looks as good as new, and for only $24. This perfect for fixing an iPhone you plane to use or for fixing your iPhone up before you sell it to Gazelle or on eBay.

How To Fix a Broken iPhone 3GS Screen for $24 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Despite the iPhone 4′s pre-ordering and hardware issues, the iPhone 4 has proven to be the “most successful product launch in Apple’s history,” claims Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, at a press conference this morning. In just three days, Apple sold over 1.7 million iPhone 4 devices.

Come launch day, thousands of people camped outside of Apple and AT&T stores across the country on the off-chance that they would be able to purchase the highly demanded iPhone 4. With features like FaceTime, the new Retina Display, and an updated camera, the iPhone 4 is quite the upgrade from its 3GS predecessor. It’s no wonder that this new Apple device has gained so much publicity and hype the past few weeks.

The past iPhone releases saw impressive sales as well, though nowhere near the iPhone 4. The 3G and 3GS sold over 1 million units on their launch weekends. The original iPhone reached the 1 million mark 74 days after launch. Obviously, the iPhone’s popularity has increased significantly since the first iPhone.

Steve Jobs ended the press conference with an apology to “all those customers” who were not able to buy an iPhone 4 due to its limited supply. Heartwarming, really.

Via MacRumors

iPhone 4 “Most Successful Product Launch in Apple’s History” is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

iSuppli, a market research firm, discovered that the iPhone 4′s parts cost around $187.51. This is a little bit higher than previous iPhone models, with the average cost between $170 and $180.

The iPhone 4 is currently available for $199 or $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models, with a new 2 year contract from AT&T. Looking at these prices, it would seem that Apple is being quite generous, almost giving away the iPhone 4 and not making any profit. However, without a new two-year contract, Apple cannot offer the low price points because they are not subsidized by AT&T. The unsubsidized prices are $599 and $699 for the 16GB and 32GB models. So is Apple really just breaking even? When looking at these figures, it is quite evident that Apple is making a pretty penny on its new iPhone 4.

Here is a breakdown of some of the various costs of parts that make up the iPhone 4

• 3.5-inch Retina Display – $28.50
• A4 processor, the heart of the iPhone 4 – $10.75
• Gyroscope – $2.60
• Accelerometer – $0.65

Think these prices are low? They are very similar to that of the iPhone 3GS. When it was first released, the cost of the iPhone 3GS’s parts were around $179. Since then, parts cost around $134. Despite this decline in manufacturing costs, Apple did not lower the price of the iPhone 3GS, which stayed at a constant $99.

Price mark-up aside, not many phones on the market can offer all of the features on the iPhone 4 – at least straight out of the box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYFwsfFkNLE

Via Businessweek

iPhone 4 Parts Cost Around $188 is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

Mahalo produced a very nice infographic that visually compares the differences between the new iPhone 4 and the current iPhone 3GS model. The new iPhone is going to be available on Tuesday, June 15th and will ship later this month on the 24th.

This iPhone 4 infographic highlights the primary differences including processor, battery life, storage space, camera quality, display resolution, and then lists other cool new features.”

If you are still undecided, check out Notebooks.com’s Easy Guide to the iPhone 4, which answers questions like, “Should I Buy One?” and many more.

iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS Comparison Infographic is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.