Apple

Lithium-ion batteries are our friends. They have a great energy-to-weight ratio, no memory effect and they don't lose a charge quickly when not in use. About one percent of these batteries is recalled due to problems.

Unfortunately, these problems can include overheating, spontaneous combustion and explosions. A French teen has reported hearing a loud hissing noise before his iPhone screen shattered during a call. The photo above shows the screen, which he says launched a piece of glass into his eye.

Apple has been prolific in the patent department lately, especially when it comes to patents that relate to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The latest filing shows a process that would allow someone on a phone call to send files to the other party without ending the call or leaving the phone app.

The iPhone would automatically determine where to send the files based on the contact information of the person connected. Even if multiple parties are in a conference call, the person sending documents, emails, contacts or text messages could send this data in one step while still connected to any of the participants.

Update: Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS will support MMS. AT&T will begin support of MMS on their network starting on September 25, 2009.

iPhones across the world have had MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) capability since the iPhone 3GS was released on June 19. Apple declared that AT&T would make MMS available to its customers in "late summer" of this year.

Well it's getting close to crunch time for AT&T. Last time we checked, the second half of August can be referred to as "late summer" here in the Northern Hemisphere. There's been no MMS news except for disgruntled iPhone owners complaining.

Now iPhone users can get even more free apps. There's a new way to keep track of developers that run promotions. Many companies will temporarily drop the price of an app for a limited time, or even offer the application for free.

FreeAppAlert organizes all of these deals into a central location. Every day tens of paid iPhone apps are listed that have dropped their price to FREE for a limited time.

Apple has filed patents indicating the company is working on "consumer abuse detection" for devices such as the iPhone and iPod. The system described in the patent filing shows circuitry that would record information whenever the hardware is treated in a manner that is not covered under warranty or Apple Care coverage.

Shocks and impacts to the iPhone, exceeding the maximum safe operating temperature, and exposure to water are examples of events that could be recorded, along with any resulting damage to the device. During a warranty claim, the data could be retrieved to see if the device has been abused or is still covered.