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After only four months, VLC Media Player is no longer available on the App Store. This free app makes it possible to play a variety of media formats on iOS devices without first converting them to the normal iPhone video format. If you haven't already downloaded the app, you've missed the boat.

The problem stems from incompatibilities between Apple's App Store Digital Rights Management (DRM) policies and the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) that governs distribution of some open source software including VLC. In fact, many observers were surprised to see Applidium's port of VLC appear in the App Store in the first place.

After years of speculation, rumors and false alarms, it looks like Verizon Wireless fans are finally about to get their own iPhone. Invitations went out today for a special news event in New York City hosted by the president and COO of Verizon himself, Lowell McAdam.

Although the invitation itself is vague, reports about the content of Verizon's presentation have gone wild on the Internet. This message comes on the heels of an iPhone-less CES just days ago, when the company disappointed Verizon-watchers with little news. Notably, CNET blogger Rick Broida reported on a tip he received two days ago stating that 1/1/11 would indeed bring a Verizon iPhone announcement.

Purported next generation iPhone 5 parts have been revealed by two independent smartphone repair outfits. This unreleased iPhone features four antenna separation gaps in the silver frame, one at each corner of the device. In contrast, the iPhone 4 only has three of these black lines.

Although these changes to the iPhone frame are likely a redesign of the antenna, it's not clear if the changes are to accommodate the Verizon Wireless LTE network or simply to reduce the attenuation issues experienced by some users. Apple decided to distribute free cases to iPhone 4 owners last year due to complaints that the iPhone 4 dropped calls when held a certain way.

Maybe you've never heard of OBD-II. Simply put, this On-Board Diagnostic system is a computer found on cars built after 1996. Now the data collected by this computer can now be accessed by the Griffin CarTrip On-Board Diagnostic Computer Reader. But why would anyone need this data on their iPhone?

Well for one you can find out exactly why your "check engine" light is on by retrieving the code, even reset the lamp without going to a garage. This alone could save some money, but performance monitoring can help save gas, too.

Ever forget to sync your iPhone? Tired of waiting for the backups to complete when you just want to add a few iTunes songs to your iPod app? Enter the SuperHero Dock Backup and Charger for iPhone, revealed at CES 2011. This puppy comes with an SD card built-in and backs up your iPhone effortlessly.

Every time you dock the iPhone to charge, the SuperHero will make an incremental backup of your contacts and photos. The SD card is 4GB and can be replaced with a larger capacity card. More than one iPhone can also be backed up using the SuperHero.