V-MODA have unveiled two new colours in their VIBE noise-isolating 'modaphone' earphones. The one of most interest to Apple fans is surely the Red Roxx, coloured to match the limited edition (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition iPod nano. The other colour is La Mocha which complements the Zune.

The earphones are done out in an all-metal design, with lightweight, compact size and three sizes of ultra-soft silicone fittings for a secure and comfortable fit.

By the time you've waited for between 6 and 12 months for your new iPhone, you may have gone just a little crazy. Relieve your madness with these iPhone-busting ideas:

1. Spin the iPhone

"iPhone’s accelerometer detects when you rotate the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display, so you immediately see the entire width of a web page or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio."

See how fast you can rotate the iPhone before the operating system simply gives up trying to reorient what's on the screen.

2. Grease the iPhone

It's a touchscreen, man, but you just know that after your morning coffee and doughnut and several grovelling calls to the boss that you might have trouble getting your iPhone to understand your gestures. See how much gunk you can get on the screen before you (a) can't control the screen and (b) can't read it anyway.

3. "Venus fly trap effect" for your iPhone

"The proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away."

Go on, wave it about near your ear and see how many times it tries to save power and 'prevent inadvertent touches' before it just gives up and goes to sleep (or cracks open on your skull)

Though nothing was explicitly announced in the keynote speech, it appears from the Apple Store that the Airport Extreme wireless networking base station has been upgraded to include the draft 802.11n wireless specification that dramatically boosts the theoretical maximum data transfer speeds.

Practically, this could give 5x the performance and 2x the range of the existing 802.11g-based Airport Extreme base station.

Microsoft have planned a universal Mac version of their Office 2008 suite of applications to be released some time in the second quarter of 2007.

Universal software is coded to run natively on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, without Mac OS X having to do any translation, thus resulting in faster (and possibly more stable) execution.

In what appeared to be quite an emotional moment for Steve Jobs — after the excitement of the iPhone and Apple TV — he made the announcement that "Apple Computers Inc" is no more...

They've renamed themselves "Apple Inc." because they believe they've evolved from a computer manufacturer to a fully-fledged consumer electronics company.

It probably won't make a huge difference to present or future Apple fans. It would be very possible to start reading more into this announcement than is really there. The iPod, the iPhone, and the Apple TV, are all computers - they're just more mainstream consumer focused than Apple's desktop and notebook computers have been.

Perhaps a fitting change after Apple's first 30 years, though, and surely a few more surprises and direction changes in the future. Long live Apple Inc!

Apple's video-streaming-to-TV solution - working title iTV - was given a name today, and whilst the unimaginatively but undeniably practical "Apple TV" was overshadowed by the much awaited iPhone announcement, Steve Jobs gave some demonstration time in his keynote speech at Macworld this morning.

We covered the prototype "Apple TV" in September last year, and from February the UK gets the finished article.

Featuring a 40GB hard drive, 802.11b, g, and (draft) n wi-fi wireless compatibility, usable with a PC or Mac, and supplied with an Apple Remote, it will retail for £199.99, and offer streaming of your iTunes music, photos and movies to your high definition (or at least, widescreen) TV.

Update: These specs are for the original 2G (EDGE) iPhone. Here's a comparison with the iPhone 3G.

Get the latest iPhone news or visit our sister blog iPhonic.tv

So, after months (years) of speculation and rumour, Apple has finally announced the iPhone in all its glory.

Tech Digest has already covered the initial communications aspects, and what it might mean for UK consumers if and when it arrives in Britain, plus reactions from the likes of Orange and Nokia (scroll to end of this article for the links) so in this article I'll take a look at the key features of this 'revolutionary' new mobile phone.

First up is that gorgeous touch screen that fills almost the entire front panel. It's a 3.5 inch (diagonal) screen, boasting a resolution of 320 x 480 at 160 pixels per inch. That's more than enough for widescreen (16:9) viewing, though you'll probably get black bars at the top and bottom of the images.

So, the Apple iPhone has finally been announced (read all about it here if you're still in the dark). So what does this mean for existing mobile phone makers? I just interviewed Nokia's vice president of Nseries Computers Pekka Pohjakallio at CES, and here's what he had to say, having spent the morning receiving text messages from Nokia's spies watching Steve Jobs' speech.

"I think it confirms our story," he says. "We have been preaching the message of converged multimedia in one device, with lots of use cases and a good experience for the whole life of Nseries. And now Apple have come and said basically the same thing, even if they have implemented some things differently.

"It just confirms our message, and it's good to have others preaching the same message. The best company will win in the end, so I think it's good news for us. It's not a threat, although of course it's hard competition, but that usually makes you perform better yourself."

OK, so we now know the iPhone exists. But when will UK punters be able to buy it. It ships in the US in June, but sadly we won't be able to buy it until Q4 in the UK.

That gives Apple a long time to work on a partner for the handset for Europe.

The big market this summer will be eBay - just imagine how many Europeans will want to import one from the US.

Then Apple may sell a Sim-free version on its UK website and through its retailers. But if it does partner with a UK network here's the runners and riders.

Vodafone - (Maybe) Although Voda has close links with Verizon, Cingular's big US rival network, it needs a big hit and there's no denying that the iPhone will be huge. However I think it will be put off by the fact that the phone is not 3G and not compatible with its music download offering.

Orange - (possible) Has Euro-wide distribution say can offer Jobs and co a lot of potential punters. But see statement below - doesn't sound good. Has also invested a lot in its music download service and might see the iPhone as muddying the waters.

T-Mobile (The best bet) Again a big Euro-wide network so lots of distribution. Likes to get in quick with high profile phones too. Less concerned about music downloads. So in our book the frontrunner.

O2 (unlikely) I can't see it, even though it is owned by monster Spanish network Telefonica it probably doesn't have the reach.

3 (mmm) Wouldn't have thought so. The iPhone isn't 3G for starters.

Orange has just issued this statement... Doesn't sound like it is going to be first in the queue for the phone does it?

"Today's launch of Apple’s iPhone is another example of how the world of entertainment technology is converging. It reinforces our belief here at Orange that we shall see many more similar moves in the future. We have already seen our own Music Player service grow rapidly in the last year to average 100,000 single downloads per month, with over 500,000 tracks to choose from currently. Apple's entry into the market will no doubt stimulate even further interest in mobile music services.

"Europe is undergoing a digital revolution and Orange , Apple and other key companies are at the forefront of that. As the technology and entertainment industries merge over the next few years, consumers will be able to do things they previously only ever dreamt of and will be able to access all the services they need from a single provider”

Get the buzz on the iPhone here : Which UK network will get the iPhone?

All times are London (GMT):

7.10pm: Keynote speech is over.

7.02pm: Now John Meyer is taking to the stage for a performance - a la Apple - finish with some music.

7pm: Looks to be wrapping up - standing ovations - thanks to developers -families - etc.

6.58pm: Company name change - going to be called Apple inc. - no longer Apple Computer Inc.

6.56pm: Want to grab 1% of the mobile phone market - there's 957m sold worldwide so that would give Apple around 10m.

6.55pm: Steve back on stage. Something's going on with the 'clicker' he's using to present with - all a stage trick of course... talking about 'tv scramblers etc - well anyway...

6.45pm: Stan Sigman from Cingular on stage - entered agreement with Apple without even seeing the phone. exceeded expectations. in US price of the phone includes 2 yr contract with cingular.

6.42pm: Comes with stereo headphones, mic, and switch. Bluetooth accessory also available - auto pairing.

6.41pm: Compares to other phones - with audience laughter.

6.40pm: Great reaction from TUAW: "Internet communicator, iPod and a phone - let's see what you can do in a real-life scenario." He listens to the Red Hot Chili Peppers--he loves those guys--and a phone call comes through. The music freaking. fades. out.. Phil, on the phone, "I was hoping you could send me a picture so I can make it a wallpaper" emailing a pic from iPhoto (on phone, remember) while still on call with Phil. Take THAT Zune."

6.35pm: Steve back on stage. More demo'ing of emailing to a person whilst talking to them on the phone. Lots of neat tricks.

6.34pm: Talking about reinventing Yahoo mail apps - says mail on the iPhone is killer - "take great form factors and great ui and take them to semless web experience"

Continued after fold...

Unnamed sources cited by The Wall Street Journal are convinced that Apple will team up with the US wireless operator Cingular Wireless to provide the much rumoured 'iPhone'. They also think it likely that Apple will release an unlocked phone that can be used on any network.

Whilst this is US-centric news, and we know that North America nearly always gets hold of the latest technology first, an unlocked UK version could be good news, allowing users to choose their network provider by simply purchasing (or transferring) a SIM card.

We'll all find out if the phone is coming to Macworld or not in a little over 6 hours' time.

(Via Digit Mag)

With just over a day to go before Steve Jobs delivers his keynote speech, and the rumours and expectations are (as per usual) in overdrive.

Some fall into the 'clutching at straws' category whilst other rumours which were around for most of 2006 have been dismissed by counter-rumours. It's not news... but then, this is Apple.

Whilst there's plenty of CES banter going on around here, there's another large technology show running at exactly the same time - it's Macworld 2007.

The conference and expo will only appeal to a subsection of techies (namely Apple aficionados) but it doesn't make it much less important, or eagerly awaited. I'll forgo the mutterings about bad diary planning and instead let you know that you'll find the latest news, including the much anticipated two-hour keynote speech from Steve Jobs, on Tech Digest.

With Microsoft and Sony (amongst others) pushing for control-by-Internet of your TV (amongst other things) you can be pretty sure that Steve will talk more about Apple's iTV, as well as other consumer-friendly entertainment paraphernalia. Oh, and probably some more Macs...