While this may appeal to some people, I’d argue this isn’t all that big of a deal.  You still have to pay full price for the phone, you just don’t have a contract with the phone provider.  Functionally, this means that you could quit using AT&T whenever you wanted.  And then you’d have an iPhone that was connected to….well, nothing.  And, because of hardware limitations, you can’t used your iPhone on a competing network.  So, contract or not, you have to do business with AT&T.

Why is AT&T and Apple doing this?  Probably to move this aging inventory out the door.  What’s going to replace it?  Our guess is it’s going to be the iPhone 4G, and that’ll drop this summer.

It’s hard to argue with logic like that.

Ken has a number of other pics, and shows how to carve, shape, and decorate a Steve Jobs cheese head for a nice plate of nachos, some pad thai, and other recipes.  Delicious.  Gross and creepy, but delicious.

We’ve written about this before, but today is the day:  Plants vs Zombies, the huge hit game for PC and Mac, is out on the iPhone today.  Best of all — check this out — it’s only $2.99.  This is, quite possibly, the best deal in gaming right now, especially considering that the PC version of this game sells like hotcakes at $19.99.

Anyway, this is a strong recommendation from us here at WG; drop $2.99 on this one, and you won’t be disappointed. 

Ooooh, lookie – silly bonus video!

Coincidentally, I’m apparently doing iPhone app stories today, but this one is a doozy:  an iPhone app called Siri.  Siri is an app that you speak into, and it accomplishes all kinds of tasks.  You can ask it about movies, to get you a taxi, find a nearby gas station, to find a restaurant, etc.  Marketed as a “personal assistant”, Siri then grabs whatever you need from a variety of sources, and brings it all right to you.

The kicker here is ease of use.  You say “gas station” into the app, and it finds all the nearest gas stations and mechanics for you.  Pick one, tap the screen, and it calls them for you.  Easy.

My time with this app is limited, so don’t consider this an official review, but I couldn’t help thinking that this is the future I was promised as a child by all those crazy sci-fi writers and “futurists”.  I can walk down the street, talk into my pocket computer, and have a taxi meet me at the corner or have movie tickets waiting for me at the theater.

Now if someone would just get me my damn flying car, and a robot friend, my future would be complete. 

[via Laughing Squid]

Then, something strange happened. Out of all the people to review or receive an Ipad, Pee-wee Herman got his hands on one and the result was… Well, weird and hilarious.

[Via: FunnyOrDie]

Look, you have to understand that Apple people are REALLY ideological.  Owning an Apple computer is like a religion.  They’ll practically overflow with excitement if given the opportunity to tell you how great their computer, gadget, newfangled thingy is compared to the industry standard.  And if you remind them that Apple controls about 3% of the computer market, and has been in steady decline for years, well….it’s like you spit on their messiah.

So when Apple zealots talk about the newly announced Apple iPad, and they’re disappointed, you know this thing has got to be bad.  Like, really bad.  Look, Steve Jobs could sell them a product called iPoop and they’d love it, so this thing must suuuuuuuuck.  If you’d like to read multiple impressions of the device, by people who got some hands-on time with this puppy, this is probably the best site to do so.

The bottom line is that the iPad is like a big iPhone, except without the two best things on the iPhone (the phone, and the built in camera).  Basically, it’s an expensive tablet that can run apps.  Mind you, the iPad is competing against netbooks.  A netbook costs half as much, and can run every PC program in the world.

In fact, this little parody sums up what the iPad can do in a beautifully understated way.  Watch it, and feel the oozing disappointment. 

Bitter + funny = snarky. 

I was searching the net and happened up a really solid review of Google’s Android, and while I’m very happy with my iPhone 3GS (you’ll read my reasons below), it does seem that the Android has become a worthy competitor.

The hardware design is merely par for the course; it’s well-made but has some rough edges. The hardware specs, however, combined with Android 2.0, makes this a good enough device to be a solid competitor to the iPhone 3GS. This is the hardware that Android should have shipped with. In some areas it is better, in some areas on par, and some areas slightly worse than the iPhone or other high end smartphones.

While the review is great, your own personal desires as to what you like in a smart phone come into play.  The interface looks a little archaic to me and the iPhone 3GS is still faster on a couple of key levels.  Engineers and designers still haven’t figured out a way to increase battery time and it sounds like the Droid suffers from it as much as the iPhone.  In my personal opinion, it’s still not a good enough phone to get me to move from AT&T back to Verizon, however, here’s the complete review from Ars Technica to read for yourself.

**UPDATE**

Found the marketing video from Motorola.  Looks like they’re bashing the iPhone.  Wonder what apple is going to do to attack back?

This was just too good not to put up. This guy is super serious about his music and the stylophone.

If you want your own stylophone so that you can start your own 80’s one-hit wonder band, you can get them from here, on your iPhone, or right here.

What makes the iPhone so unique and consequently, desirable, is their apps.  There’s an app for cooking, cleaning and shopping.  Suppose you have an unruly dog, there’s an app trainer for that.  If you have cancer, there’s an app to cure it.  Ok, maybe not cure, but certainly cope.

Now, there’s an app to help you blow out the candles on your asthmatic grandma’s birthday cake.

No, really, there’s an app that blows.  I’m serious, here’s how it works:

I figured you’d want to know how the app works before you make the leap and spend the last ninety-nine cents in your bank account, so I purchased it.

Verdict? Not worth it.

Your asthmatic grandma has far more wind to blow than this little gizmo.  However, if you close your eyes really tight and put the thing up against your ear, you’ll get the feeling that you’re right next to the turbine engine of a badly refurbished B-52 struggling to make lift-off.  Seriously folks, it made the family cat run around the house like an insane maniac.  Don’t get it.

Check out our video review:

[pic]