News

Nobody can seem to get enough of the iPhone nano. Ever since the first news of a mini-iPhone patent surfaced almost four years ago, the concept refuses to disappear for more than a few months at a time. Now Bloomberg cites sources within Apple who say the smaller handset is indeed in the works.

According to the report, prototypes of the iPhone nano exist and have been considered as a way for Apple to increase competition against popular, cheaper Android devices. By using current-generation components Apple could reduce manufacturing costs on a new handset coming in at two-thirds the size of a normal iPhone.

If you're a regular iPhoneFAQ reader, this won't be the first time you've heard us advise you against buying iPhone or other mobile phone insurance through your wireless provider. When AT&T began offering iPhone insurance, we demonstrated how overpriced and undervalued their policy offerings were, hopefully saving many of you a great deal of money and frustration. Since the Verizon iPhone was announced, we've been waiting to find out what Verizon was going to step up to the plate with on the insurance front, hoping we'd be impressed. Unsurprisingly enough, we're not.

Hoping for anything else was sort of pointless given that Verizon and AT&T both offer insurance through the same third party company, Asurion. While the coverage that Asurion offers is excellent, the pricing is anything but. So, even though the same wizard is behind the curtain at both AT&T and Verizon and not ignoring the fact that replacement costs to the consumer are roughly $50 higher with the CDMA iPhone, we were hoping we'd see Verizon pushing aggressive pricing for insurance to give AT&T iPhone owners more reasons to switch.

The long wait is over for iPhone gaming enthusiasts. Finally the iControlPad, a concept that first surfaced in May 2008 is available for order and shipping next week. The device has two clamps that snap on around any model of iPhone, instantly giving the phone portable gaming controls.

iControlPad works with other smartphones as well thanks to Bluetooth connectivity. Essentially the accessory holds the device of your choice in place and provides a digital d-pad, two analog nubs, six front buttons and two rear buttons. At 1500 mAh, the battery in the iControlPad can even charge your iPhone with a USB cable.

Antennagate could be coming to a Verizon Wireless location near you. Turns out when Apple said any changes to the Verizon iPhone 4 antenna were simply to accommodate the CDMA network, they meant it. Some were hopeful that visible changes in the external antenna design would improve reception problems when the phone is gripped in specific ways.

Now that the Verizon iPhone has made its way into the hands of consumers there are reports of the same reception issues that AT&T customers experienced. Holding the iPhone in specific ways that cover the sides of the device cause a drop in signal strength due to the external design of the antenna.

Those looking for a Babel Fish can now have the next best thing on their iPhones. Today Google released the iOS version of its Translate app. This mobile powerhouse will translate between more than 50 different languages. What's more, Google Translate listens to spoken sentences in 15 different languages and spits out a written translation.

Text in 23 languages can also be spoken aloud by your iPhone with the press of a button. The app also features a zoom capability that makes the translated text large on your screen to show another person what you're trying to say. Speaking words into the app is as simple as pressing the microphone button, while entering text with the keyboard is also possible.