As the summer months approached not too long ago, people board planes to get away from it all. We take our family and friends with us on all sorts of trips. Following that logic, we have to bring along the iPhone, of course.

As we will see, a high-technological device like the iPhone can turn out to be quite a handy tool on the road.

First we’ll look at special settings that any reasonable traveler should activate while being abroad. Then we’ll extend our iPhone’s functionality with several apps off the App Store. 

T-Mobile released its iPhone pricing. While the iPhone itself seems cheaper, their 24 months contract certainly are not. For now. Until June 30 Orange offers half its monthly charge for the entire span of your contract. That’s a really great deal you’re getting – See Part 1 for further details. After that point in time, this might shift towards T-Mobile. Read this to see who wins over the homo economicus.

The iPhone costs on a 24 mo plan laid out for you...

When Apple announced the new iPhone 3GS, the all new updated version of their cellphone line, I decided I wanted this hot piece of technology.

Now, as virtually nothing is free of charge, the price tag for some iPhone Pleasure in Austria is quite astonishing and requires some calculations before you jump on the 24 months cellphone plan bandwagon.

The iPhone 3GS? You want it? See the costs involved, after the jump.

Our two options are either T-Mobile Austria (see Part 2 for a price analysis) or Orange. While T-Mobile won’t tell me what the prices are yet (Update: They did, yesterday), here are my calculations for an Orange plan that would be affordable and reasonably priced.

After two weeks of all the iPhone apps I care to download, I can say this: most of them are useless.

DataCase iPhone App Video: Turn Your iPhone Into A Wireless Drive.

iPhone Applications are blossoming since Apple opened the App Store a couple of days ago. Michael Arrington says exactly what I thought from day one when the App Store opened its doors. However, it looks like this is a pretty neat Application (unlike most downloaded-to-test-but-never-touched-in-real-life) that has a great potential, especially for its wireless hard-drive capabilities. Handy dandy. The user-interface could be a little bit more attractive, but that’s probably just me. DataCase for iPhone & iPod Touch by veiosoft.com.

Short update: I am testing thw wordpress application ja automattic.

Look at this freak, his iPhone is so last year.

In late June (obviously the iPhone month in the US) a new generation of beggers has emerged. Unlike homeless people living in the streets, these people already have what they wanted. Too bad their iPhone (first generation, obviously) now is “so last year.” A point that gets rough on them. An explanation for this and even more, after the jump.

Begging for an iPhone 3G · by geekculture.com/joyoftech

iPhone 3G – The only cellphone that gets to beat the iPhone

I can’t help but make this shout-out post confirming the rumors that I want it. Really badly.The new iPhone 3G. 200 USD. UMTS. 8 GB. Available July 11.

Is it me or does the new iPhone look even more fancy?

• Watch the new adon apple.com/iphone – Not iPhone style, if you ask me.
• Take a glimpse at the ridiculously high set monthly plans of T-Mobile Austria. If they keep their plans like that, I will pass on the iPhone, once again… I am paying 25 EUR a month with unlimited talking, so what the heck?! The new plans are said to be “more flexible.”
• Apple conversion of 199 USD to EUR: 199 EUR. Haha! Turned out one (Austrian carrier) uses a fairer conversion factor. See below.
• Finally, I get over the Post-Keynote-Craze and realize I signed a contract that continues until October ‘09.

What will US Americans have to pay for the iPhone plans? AT&T have monthly plans for about USD 59.99 – consumer.

The Unoffical Apple Weblog writes… “the base iPhone monthly cost for most consumers will go from $59.99 a month (that’s the base first gen iPhone plan with unlimited data, 450 minutes a month, and 200 text messages) to $69.99 a month. High speed networking costs money, people!”

The Austrian carrier for the iPhone are one and T-Mobile.

• One offers the 8GB for EUR 149, the 16 GB for EUR 229 with a monthly plan of EUR 39 (Große Plaudertasche + iPhone Pack) – Further conditions on one.at (click the iPhone 3G banner). Until the end of 2008 the monthly costs are reduced to EUR 24.
• T-Mobilehas confirmed thereallegedlymore “flexible” plans and prices. Classic is EUR 39 a month (35 for the first 10.000) and the Supreme EUR 55 a month (with a EUR 10 discount a month for the first 10.000, so it’s EUR 45). The iPhone costs either EUR 149 (8GB) or EUR 229 (16 GB) with the Classic plan (EUR 39/month). It’s “only” EUR 99 (8GB) and EUR 179 (16GB) with the Supreme plan (EUR 55/month). I now want to know where their deal is more flexible…?

Sputnik went “beep … beep” and yelled out loud: “IT’S ON”

Once upon a time, there was a satellite weighting 84 kilogram*. Produced by a country, that nobody would have ever expected to be able to kick off a competition, namely the Cold War (I am well aware that this was not the only reason why there was such a thing as the cold war, but still, I am sure it contributed to the whole broiling situation between the US and Sowjet Union). Russia was the first to send a satellite (that was capable of making “beep … beep … beep“) into the Earth’s orbit 50 years ago.

If you ask me the satellite wasn’t just sending “beep”s to Earth. It rather was screaming “It’s on” to Western space agency, NASA. In modern face-book-terms the Western world, considering themselves as more modern that anything else, was b!t@h-slapped. Their reaction? A Race For Space. Due to a lack of scientists, the government had to invest into reforming the school system putting an emphasis on science (Physics&Co, subjects that we take as granted). Their motivation was caused by a striving to catch up with the Sowjets. And wait, there’s a shocker: Both sides realized that satellites could (they are, indeed) useful for rocket launching/controlling.

SAN FRANCISCO – “The Beat Goes On” was the ultimate slogan for Apple’s music event on wednesday. In Moscone Center (the usual Apple presentation hall), Steve Jobs was pulling out numerous cool new iPod-ish devices. Apart from majorly updating the whole iPod line up, Apple introduced a new iPhone-like iPod, called iPod touch. Oh and of course something scandalous happened in the end!